The expectation of His return changes the way you live
“Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and His bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear. For the fine linen is the righteous acts of of God’s holy people.”
— Revelation 19:7-8
INTRODUCTION
We are living in a distracted generation. But I am not talking about just any distraction — I am speaking of a spiritual distraction. A fog that covers the eyes of the church and steals from her the most sacred expectation any Christian can have: The return of her King and the meeting with her Lord.
“The Christian who does not long for the Bridegroom has already lost their first love.”
We have never had so much information in our hands, so many forms of entertainment competing for our attention, and at the same time, a generation of Christians so disconnected from eternity.
And do you know what is frightening?
The second coming of Christ is one of the most mentioned subjects in the New Testament. It appears in Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Peter, Revelation… There are over 300 direct references to the return of Christ in the New Testament alone.
The apostles lived in the light of this event. The early church prayed: “Maranatha — Come, Lord Jesus!”
But today? Little is said about the return of Jesus. Many churches no longer preach about it, and the vast majority do not want to hear about it.
The great evangelist and writer A.W. Tozer said:
“The second coming of Christ is not a secondary doctrine. It is the anchor of Christian hope. A church that does not live in expectation of her Lord’s return has already settled into the world.” — A.W. Tozer
I need to tell you something, and I want this to sink into your spirit:
Jesus is coming back, and soon you will meet Him.
This is reality. As real as the air you breathe.
And the question the Holy Spirit is asking today is not: “Do you believe Jesus is coming back?” The question is:
ARE YOU READY FOR HIS RETURN?
Because it is possible to: attend church, raise your hands in worship, serve in ministry, play in the worship team, give your tithes, participate in services, and still be distant from the Bridegroom.
The foolish virgins in the parable were within the wedding context. They had lamps. They were keeping watch. They were waiting — but they were not prepared.
The difference was not in what they did, but in what they had within.
Many profess Christ, but few possess Him. Many carry the name of believers, but few have the oil of grace in their hearts.
The return of Jesus will separate appearance from reality.
So I ask you, under the anointing of this word: IS THE BRIDE READY?
It is not about religion. It is about relationship.
It is not about what you show. It is about who you are.
It is not about how much you do. It is about how much you love.
Because the Bridegroom is coming back. And when He comes, only those who are prepared will enter.
- THE EXPECTATION OF JESUS’ RETURN PURIFIES US
There is a spiritual power in living with the expectation of Jesus’ return. I am not talking about a doctrine. I am speaking of a reality that transforms the way you live today.
John wrote with great clarity:
“Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in Him purify themselves, just as He is pure.” (1 John 3:2-3, NIV)
Notice: John does NOT say that the hope of Jesus’ return is an emotional comfort for difficult days. He says that hope purifies. There is a direct spiritual connection between what you hope for and how you live.
The preacher D.L. Moody once said:
“I live each day as if Jesus had died yesterday, risen today, and were coming back tomorrow.” — D.L. Moody
Moody understood something many Christians have lost: The expectation of His return is not just an element of our faith — expectation is the fuel of holiness.
If you truly believed Jesus would return tonight, or if you knew you had only one week to live… what would change in your life until then?
Would you treat your family differently? Speak differently? Forgive those who hurt you?
Would you put the brakes on certain sins you have tolerated?
Would you hunger more for God?
Would you come to the morning prayer meetings and begin reading the Word of God?
Would you have more passion for lost souls? Would you start discipling someone?
Of course you would. If you knew you would meet Him next week, you would do all of this!
And that is exactly why the enemy works so hard to extinguish this flame in the heart of the church.
Because he knows: A church that longs for the Bridegroom is a church that prepares herself. And a church that prepares herself is a church that does not become contaminated by the world.
There has never been a man or woman who walked closely with God who did not live in expectation of Christ’s return. This hope is the most powerful purifier the Holy Spirit uses in the life of a believer.
The problem is that many have lost their awareness of eternity.
Our minds are constantly occupied. Our hearts are filled with noise. Let us be honest for a minute.
In the silence of your room, when no one is watching, when there is no service, no worship, no sermon… where do your thoughts go?
You need a revelation that Jesus is coming back.
The preacher Jonathan Edwards — the man God used in the Great Awakening — wrote in his journal:
“I resolved to live in such a way that, if Jesus returned today, I would not need to change anything about my day. I resolved to wake up every morning asking: Will today be the day I meet my Lord?” — Jonathan Edwards
Church, the question I leave with you is simple: If Jesus returned today, would you be ashamed or prepared?
Because the hope of Jesus’ return does not only change what you believe — it changes what you do.
My testimony:
I know this is true not only because the Bible says it — but because I experienced it personally.
The very first Christian song I learned to sing was about the return of Jesus. And when I read the Bible for the first time, I began highlighting every verse that spoke about His coming.
Something happened inside me.
The expectation of seeing Jesus created holy fear in my heart.
It produced a desire to be clean.
A desire to live differently.
A desire to be ready for Him.
And because of that hunger… I experienced God deeply.
I am telling you:
the expectation of His return changes the way you live.
A believer who truly longs for the Bridegroom cannot continue living carelessly.
But sadly, many today have lost this expectation…
- THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BEING A CHURCH MEMBER AND BEING THE BRIDE
Now I need to take you to a place of spiritual confrontation. Matthew 25 presents one of the most important parables Jesus ever told.
“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish and five were wise.
3 The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. 4 The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. 5 The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
6 At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ 7 Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’
9 ‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’ 10 But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. 11 Later the others also came. ‘Lord! Lord!’ they said. ‘Open the door for us!’ 12 But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’ 13 Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.” — Matthew 25:1-13 (NIV)
All ten were virgins. (Not five virgins and five prostitutes.)
All had lamps.
All were waiting for the bridegroom.
All were watching for the bridegroom.
All were taking part in the same event.
All looked the same on the outside.
But half were prepared and half were not. And this, my brothers and sisters, is one of the most frightening things Jesus could have said.
He said: five wise and five foolish. Fifty percent. Half. Jesus revealed that half of that group was not ready. What does that tell us?
Not everyone who looks ready actually is ready!
Today we have many things in the church that seem legitimate but may be nothing more than a “shell.”
We have:
Christians who attend services but have no intimacy with God.
People who know the Bible, even preach, yet walk in rebellion.
People who want salvation without surrender.
People who claim to submit to God but resist spiritual accountability.
People who want blessing without holiness.
People who have been baptised but are disconnected from the Body of Christ.
The foolish virgin was not a bad person. She simply did not prepare herself — she was foolish. She did not take extra oil. She was there, part of the group, waiting for the bridegroom — but when the crucial moment came, her light went out.
And the worst part: when the decisive moment arrived, it was already too late. The door was shut.
Let me tell you something that needs to sink into your spirit: JESUS IS NOT RETURNING FOR FANS. HE IS RETURNING FOR A BRIDE.
And the Bride is not just anyone. The Bride is the one who prepared herself, who kept herself, who desires the Bridegroom above all else.
Ephesians 5:25-27 gives us the divine standard:
“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.” — Ephesians 5:25-27 (NIV)
Christ died to have an exclusive Bride.
ILLUSTRATION
Picture a simple everyday scene with me.
When a man asks a woman to marry him, and she says “yes” — what she is really saying is: “I choose you above all others.”
She is saying: “From today, I belong to you. My heart is yours. My exclusivity is yours. I have renounced all others for you.”
Now imagine if she said:
“I accept marrying you… but I still want to sleep with my ex-boyfriends some days.”
No man would accept that. None. That is not marriage — that is an offence.
Now bring this into the spiritual realm.
Jesus went to the cross. He was whipped. He was nailed. He was humiliated. He was crowned with thorns. Crucified on a Roman cross. He died one of the most shameful and painful deaths the ancient world had ever seen.
He paid the highest price the universe has ever witnessed to have a Bride.
And after all of that… He hears from people who say:
“Jesus, I love You… but I still want to flirt with sin. I still want to keep that friendship that leads me away from You. I still want to watch what displeases Your heart. I still want to keep some worldly things in the closet of my heart.”
That is not true love.
There is no Bride who loves the Bridegroom yet continues to sleep with the lovers of this world.
I ask you today, under the weight of this word: Have you been a church member, or have you been the Bride? Jesus will come for His bride!
You may be inside the group, but when the door opens… will your oil be sufficient?
The difference between the virgins was not in their outward appearance. It was in what they had inside.
What do you have inside you today? Is it oil… or is it merely appearance?
Because the Bridegroom is returning.
And He is not coming for a crowd. He is not coming for disconnected believers detached from His Body! He is coming for a Bride.
THE BRIDEGROOM’S CALL
We have reached the end of this word, but we have reached the most important moment. It is not the moment of information — it is the moment of decision.
The Bridegroom is returning.
The oil of intimacy with God must be in your vessel.
The lamp must be lit.
The heart must be prepared.
I do not know how many of you have stopped to think about what it means to be in His presence. One day we will all stand before Him.
I am talking about looking into the eyes of the One who was crucified for you.
Two things we may hear from His lips:
“Come, you who are blessed by my Father…” OR… “I never knew you…”
The difference between these two statements is not determined when you get there. It is determined by the choices you make today.
And if it were today… are you ready?
God bless you