GROW PLAN
July 7-13, 2025
Day One
Be Prepared
Wedding customs of the day included a march in the dark to the wedding venue. Each member of the bride’s party was expected to have a torch or lamp. We tend to try to look for too much in this parable, to search for meaning in the fact that they all fell asleep or to look for what the oil means, but Jesus had a pretty simple meaning to this parable. He told this story directly after He had been telling His disciples about His return. That’s why He said in verse 1 that “at that time,” the kingdom of heaven will be like …. He has just been telling the disciples that no one will know the time when He will return. Then He tells this story. The simple message is to stay prepared for His return. The bridegroom was a long time coming in the parable. Jesus may take a long time coming from our perspective. We need to make sure that we are prepared. The foolish virgins did not bring enough oil. When that was apparent to them, they should have immediately gone to get some, but they were having a good time with their friends and didn’t bother. They ended up losing out on the festivities. Jesus’ point in this parable is that we don’t want to miss out. We need to be prepared for His return.
How are you prepared for His return? Do you stay close to the Lord in His Word and in prayer? Are you waiting for Him, praising Him, spreading His Word? What can you do to be better prepared?
Day Two
The Unprepared
What does it mean to be unprepared? All the virgins say they are waiting for the bridegroom, but not all of them make it to the wedding feast. They are shut out of the bridegroom’s house, and when they call for him to let them in, he tells them he does not know them. This calls to mind Matthew 7, where Jesus said: “Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord! will enter the kingdom of heaven … Then I will announce to them I never knew you!” It is not enough to say we are waiting for Jesus. It is not enough to say that we are attending the wedding feast. We have to be truly a part of the wedding party. We must know the bride and the groom. Who does Jesus say will enter the kingdom of heaven? “Only the one who does the will of My Father in heaven.” We are prepared by doing God’s will. We are prepared by obeying Him. Jesus said: “Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me.” (John 14:15) Jesus expects us to be prepared, spiritually prepared. Prepared not just by our profession but by our genuine commitment to Him and obedience to Him. There is a deadline. There is a point where Jesus comes back, and it is too late to prepare. Don’t wait that long.
If Jesus came back tonight, are you confident that He would find you prepared?
Day Three
Be Useful
Again, Jesus talks about a long wait. “After a long time, the master of those servants returned.” The master had given his servants varying amounts of money, “each according to his ability.” The master knew his servants, their capabilities and their trustworthiness. And he gave them resources according to what they could utilize. He invested his own money in those servants, expecting a return on his investment. Each servant was expected to accomplish something with what he was given. The first two servants lived up to that expectation. They put their master’s money to work and gave it back doubled. It did not matter how much they had been given, both were praised the same way: “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!” The last servant had not put his master’s money to work. He returned only the original money to the master. The master called him “wicked” and “lazy” and threw him into the darkness. The Lord has invested much in us. He has given us the Holy Spirit. He has entrusted us with His Word and the Gospel. He expects us to put those gifts to work, to serve others and lead them to Him. We want to be called good and faithful rather than wicked and lazy. How wonderful it will be to hear God call us to share His happiness!
What are you doing with the investment God has made in you? What should you be doing?
Day Four
There will be judgment
Jesus said “when the Son of Man comes in His glory,” not if, when. Jesus is coming in His glory. As we know from the previous parables, it may take some time from our perspective, but His return is inevitable. It will happen. And it will result in judgment. Jesus will come with all the angels. He will sit on His throne in heavenly glory. And everyone, “all the nations,” will be gathered before Him. And Jesus will separate His people from those who are not His people. This is not optional. It is not avoidable. It will happen. And when it happens, you want to be among the people whom He calls “blessed by my Father.” We are saved because we are blessed by the Father. We are adopted into His family, and so we have an inheritance, “the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.” God prepared Heaven for us before He even created the physical universe. Our relationship with Him is no accident. We can see His love and His desire for us in His preparation for us to be with Him.
If you know the Lord and have a place in His kingdom, thank and praise Him for this blessing. If not, accept the blessing He offers to you. Talk to Pastor Chris or a group leader today about your need for Jesus.
Day Five
How His People Love
Jesus praises His people for taking care of the “the least of these brothers of mine.” He says whenever they cared for those in need, they cared for him. Then Jesus condemns those who are not His people for not taking care of the least of these. When they ignored those in need, they ignored Him. It is critical to understand that Jesus is not teaching salvation by works here. The sheep, the people of Jesus, are not saved because they took care of the least of these. That’s backward. The truth is that they took care of the least of these because they belong to Jesus. We are saved by faith, but when we are saved by faith, we are changed. We love others. We are motivated to serve others. We begin to put our own interests down the priority list and focus on the needs of others. That is how the people who belong to Jesus live and how they love. People who merely claim to follow Jesus don’t go through this transformation. It isn’t enough to walk down the aisle of a church and say a prayer of salvation. We must commit ourselves to the Lord. We have to submit to His will and turn our lives over to Him. So many who think they have punched their ticket to Heaven by attending church will be horrifically surprised at the judgment. Salvation doesn’t come from taking care of those who need it. And condemnation doesn’t come by ignoring those in need. But those who are saved will help those in need. It’s in their new nature. Those who merely claim a faith in Christ will not.
How does your life show that you have been transformed by your relationship with Jesus?
Day Six
God’s Plan, Not Man’s
In verse 1, Jesus tells the disciples, again, what will soon happen to Him. He tells them the Passover is two days away, and then the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified. Jesus has told the disciples about this over and over again. They hate hearing about it. But it’s critical that they know this was God’s plan. The chief priests and elders don’t know that. They have gathered in the high priest’s home to engage in skulduggery. They are scheming and plotting to arrest Jesus “in some sly way and kill Him.” They think they’re clever. They want to be rid of Jesus, and they think that they are coming up with a plan to realize their purposes. They are not. They are unwitting actors in God’s plan. God has been planning before the creation of the world for Jesus to die to save us from our sin, to reconcile us with God. This is the culmination of His plan, not the priests and elders, not the Romans. This has always been God’s plan, and Jesus will carry it out. And He wants to be sure that the disciples realize, maybe not right away, but eventually, that this was God’s plan and this was what Jesus had been talking about all along.
Praise the Father for His plan to save us through His enormous love. Praise Jesus for His tremendous sacrifice for us.