Trim Your Lamp

Matthew 25:7

Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.

Jesus tells a parable about ten virgins who went forth to meet the bridegroom. The Scriptures say that five took their lamps with no oil, and that five took their lamps with oil. The five who took their lamps with oil and trimmed their lamps, when they heard the bridegroom was coming. In other words, these five virgins who had oil understood that their lamps could not be what they needed to be until they trimmed them. The trimming of the lamp was taking off that which kept the light from shining brightly so that the bridegroom would clearly see them.

The Scripture says in Matthew 5:14, Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. As the light of the world, every believer must do what they can to make sure their light shines brightly to the lost around them. When I was a boy, our church had an old-fashioned service that used lanterns with oil or kerosene to provide light. I remember before we lit those lanterns, we would get scissors and cut the old, crusty wick so that we could light the lamps and get a bright light as we had services. This is what God was talking about when these virgins trimmed their lamps. They were cutting off the old, crusty part of the wick so they could have a bright light for the bridegroom to see.

As believers, we are to be soul winners. Anything that hinders us from being the soul winners that God wants us to be should be trimmed out of our lives so that we can reach more people for Him. Let me share some things that hinder many from being a better soul winner.

First, a lack of the ability to carry on a conversation has hindered many from being an effective soul winner. You can certainly introduce yourself and immediately go into the Gospel with the lost, but you're going to find that you will not win their heart over if you don't learn to converse with them first. I purposely learned how to be a conversationalist so that I can create a friendship before I witness to them. Now this does not mean we need to talk to them several times before witnessing to them, we just need to learn how to converse with them to find out what we have in common before we present the Gospel. You will be a more effective soul winner if you learn how to be a conversationalist. You will be a better soul winner if you trim off the timidity and fear of talking to people and learn how to be a conversationalist.

Second, lacking a happy spirit will hurt your ability to be a good soul winner. I have learned that when I meet people with a smile on my face and a joyful tone in my greeting that it allows me a better chance to witness to them. You will likely have problems witnessing to people if you're a grouch. The lost will listen to a happier person more quickly than they will to a sad person. Learn to have a joyful and happy spirit, and you will be surprised how many people will want to listen to you and what you have to say about the Gospel.

Third, a lack of focus because of extra affairs added to our lives will hinder us from being a good soul winner. There are some things we add to our lives that are not bad, but they keep us from being consistent soul winners. If something keeps me from going soul winning, I will remove it from my life so that I can please my Saviour in reaching the lost for Christ. Some things are not bad, but they hinder us from soul winning; therefore, remove them so that your light can shine brightly to a lost world that needs the Gospel.