Message | The Second Coming of Jesus - John Bevere

Summary

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River Valley Church Podcast Episode Summary

Message | The Second Coming of Jesus - John Bevere

Date: June 28, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this dynamic message, guest speaker John Bevere addresses the River Valley Church congregation on the topic of the Second Coming of Jesus. Drawing from both Scripture and personal experience, Bevere challenges common misconceptions about end times teaching, underscores the urgency of Christ’s return, and exhorts believers to live ready, expectant, and pure lives. With biblical analysis, historical context, and memorable anecdotes, Bevere reframes eschatology as an empowering force for personal holiness and passionate ministry.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Why Preaching on the Second Coming was Avoided—and Why That Changed

• Personal background: Bevere admits avoiding the topic for decades, concerned that eschatology led to “laziness” or an “escape mentality” among Christians ([00:54]).
• Shift in perspective: In 2021, Bevere felt compelled by the Holy Spirit to engage deeply with end-times teaching, experiencing increased passion for ministry and personal change ([01:20]).
  • Quote: “What I realized is when eschatology... is preached incorrectly, it creates a lazy attitude, an escape attitude. When it's preached or heard correctly, it creates an urgency.” ([02:35])

2. Biblical Emphasis on the Second Coming

• The Second Coming is the second most written-about topic in the Bible; 318 New Testament verses refer to it.
• Over 2,400 biblical prophecies concern Jesus’s second coming compared to 300 for His first ([02:27]).
• The seven-year tribulation is the most discussed time period in all scripture ([02:49]).

3. The Example of Simeon—How to 'Get it Right'

• Contrasting responses: Unlike the Pharisees who missed Jesus's first coming, Simeon recognized the Messiah because of three qualities: righteous, devout, and eagerly waiting ([05:00]).
  • Righteous: Obedience to God.
  • Devout: Fear of the Lord—terror at the thought of being away from God.
  • Eagerly waiting (prosdéchomai): Living in expectation ([07:00]).

4. Jesus’s Instruction: Live in Eager Anticipation

• Luke 12: Stay dressed for action; keep your lamps burning; be like those eagerly waiting ([08:16]).
• The New Testament frequently commands eager anticipation for Jesus’s return (1 Corinthians 1:7, 2 Timothy 4:8, Hebrews 9:28, etc.).
  • Quote: “What you set your sights on is what you're gonna think about.” ([11:18])

5. Why Eager Expectation Matters

• Illustrations:
  • Kids awaiting Christmas; engaged couples awaiting their wedding ([10:00], [10:45]).
  • Our minds naturally drift toward what we treasure most ([12:00]).
• Paul and John warn that those who set their minds on “earthly things” fall into patterns of sin ([13:30]).
  • Quote: “There is a power in setting our sights on his return... that will give us the ability to purify ourselves even as Jesus is pure.” ([15:21])

6. The Danger of Delayed Expectation

• Citing Matthew 24, Bevere explains that putting off Christ’s return leads to indulgence in the flesh and fractured community ([16:15]).
• Peter echoes the danger: Scoffers within the church will say, “Where is the promise of his coming?” ([18:00]).
  • Quote: “Peter isn’t talking about people outside the church. He’s talking about people inside the church.” ([18:30])
• God’s “soon” is about cultivating urgency—not deception ([21:42], [22:53]).
  • Quote: “When Jesus says, ‘I’m coming soon,’ He's not deceiving us because two days can be very soon in the scope of eternity.” ([22:16])

7. Readiness & the Parable of the Ten Virgins

• Matthew 25: All ten virgins had lamps (light), but five were wise and five foolish; only the wise were ready at midnight ([25:09]).
  • “Fifty percent... is exactly what Jesus said.”
• Paul: “Don’t be fooled by those who try to excuse these sins. Be careful how you live.” (Ephesians 5:5) ([27:41])
  • Real faith results in a changed life, not just right beliefs ([28:03]).
  • Quote: “If you believe that God’s grace means I can live just like the world, well, guess what? You’re a foolish virgin.” ([30:24])

8. Remaining in Fellowship—Obedience as Evidence of Readiness

• John makes clear: Those who obey God’s commandments remain in fellowship and will be confident, not ashamed, at Christ’s coming ([31:03]):
  • Quote: “I don't want you to be ashamed when he appears. I want you confident.” ([34:41])
• Personal analogy: The fear of getting a bad report card prompted discipline, leading to confidence at the end ([34:53]).

9. The Wedding Garment—Holiness as Preparation

• Revelation 19:7-8: The Bride (Church) makes herself ready; her wedding gown symbolizes the “righteous actions of the saints” ([36:55]).
• Bevere questions if the Western church is producing enough “material” for a wedding dress of holiness ([37:53]).
  • Quote: “Can you imagine... she shows up... with a bunch of dirt and grime stains... it wasn’t important to her.” ([38:38])
• Final charge: Don’t be caught unprepared—live in readiness and expectancy for Christ.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On urgency:
  “When it's preached or heard correctly, it creates an urgency... In a 5k race, when does the runner run the fastest? The last hundred meters, because they see the finish line.” ([02:35])
• On eager anticipation:
  “What you set your sights on is what you're gonna think about.” ([11:18])
  “All who have this eager expectation will purify themselves even as He is pure.” ([15:00])
• On misplaced grace:
  “Paul said, be careful how you live. In other words, be very careful what you believe, because it's going to determine how you live.” ([30:24])
• On holiness:
  “The fine linen is the righteous actions of the saints. I wonder if the Western church has enough material to make a bikini, let alone a wedding dress.” ([37:55])
• On preparation:
  “I don't want you ashamed. I want you ready.” ([39:10])

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Key Timestamps

• 00:00–02:50: Introduction—Why Bevere avoided end times teaching, paradigm shift, scriptural emphasis
• 05:00–08:07: Simeon’s qualities; what it means to truly “get it” regarding Christ’s coming
• 08:09–15:21: Scriptural commands for eager waiting; what shapes expectation; power of anticipation
• 16:03–21:42: Dangers of complacency; parables of the delayed return; impact on community
• 22:53–24:33: God’s perspective on “soon”; urgency as protection for the church
• 25:03–28:55: Parable of the ten virgins; wisdom vs. foolishness; internal readiness
• 30:24–33:02: Remaining in fellowship; evidence of readiness; analogy of faithfulness in marriage
• 34:41–39:35: Confidence vs. shame; the wedding garment; final appeal to readiness

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Conclusion

John Bevere closes with a passionate exhortation for believers to live in eager expectation for Jesus’s return—not out of fear, but as a “lovesick bride” preparing for her wedding day. Readiness, he insists, is evidenced not by doctrinal precision or speculation about dates, but by steadfast obedience and a life characterized by the “righteous actions of the saints.” The urgency of Christ’s imminent return, Bevere contends, is God’s gracious means of purifying and protecting His church—even, and especially, now.

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For more resources and messages from River Valley Church, visit River Valley’s website.

Transcript

[A]

I'm going to open up with two words. They're Latin words. I don't want to see if anybody knows these two Latin words, Aventus Domini. Does anybody know what these words mean in Latin? Anybody at all? It means aventus means the arrival or the coming. Domini is the emperor or the king. So they were used in the Roman Empire before Jesus was born to announce that Caesar was coming into their city. The early church, the first three centuries, adopted these words to talk about the second coming of the king. And that is our Lord Jesus Christ. Now I want to talk about, and this is what I'm going to share with you tonight, is on the second coming of Jesus. How many of you believe he's coming back soon? Amen. Without a doubt. Amen. Now I will tell you, I avoided this for four decades. I'm not kidding. I did not preach one message until this year on the second coming of Jesus, except once last year. Not one message. Why? People would ask me, they'd say, why don't you preach on the second coming of Jesus? I said, hey, I'm not called to. And there was a reason I didn't want to. And the reason was I didn't like what I saw it produce. I saw when people preached on the second coming, Christians became lazy. They got an escape mentality, or they became argumentative. They were arguing pre, post, mid, you know, all this other stuff. And I thought, I don't want that. I don't wanna see that. And so I avoided it. But then in 2021, the spirit of God started dealing with me personally and he started drawing me in. I really felt like I was supposed to dive in. And what I started seeing in me was different than what I expected. First of all, I became far more passionate about, about ministry and getting souls saved. I found myself weeping in the mornings, crying out, God, just give me the ability to win souls to Jesus. My family started saying, dad, you've changed. I'm like, what? They said, you're not getting upset as easily. My wife started calling me your favorite husband. I said, what in the world does that mean? She said, I like John 2.0 better than John 1.0. And so what I realized is when eschatology, the study of end times, it is preached incorrectly. It creates a lazy attitude, an escape attitude. When it's preached or heard correctly, it creates an urgency. Because think about it, in a 5k race, when does the runner run the fastest? The last hundred meters, he's run 4900 meters, but now he's running the fastest. They've proven this scientifically. They run the last hundred meters because they see the finish line. What I discovered is that the second coming of Jesus. Now I haven't spent hundreds of hours, I've spent thousands of hours. The second coming of Jesus is the second most written about subject in the entire Bible. It is the second most written about subject by the church fathers of the first three centuries. One out of every 30 verses in the New Testament speaks of his second coming. That's, that's 318 scriptures in the New Testament. If you look at the first coming of Jesus, there were 300 prophecies. If you look at the second hundred, the second coming of Jesus, there's over 2,400 prophecies. The seven year tribulation is the most written about time period in all of scripture, even more so than the three and a half years Jesus was here. So this is what started going through me when I started discovering this. Number one, if God talks about it this much, why don't I talk about it? But more importantly, if God talks about it, what is his wisdom behind it? And so I was quite nervous because I never thought I'd write on this. And when the Holy Spirit really started dealing with me to write on it

[B]

last year, I was like, oh my goodness.

[A]

And I remember I was a little apprehensive. And so the Lord put in my heart, he said, son, go back and look at my first coming. Were there people that didn't get it right? Yes. Were there people that got it right? Yes. Find out the difference between those people. And so the obvious ones that didn't get his first coming right were the Pharisees. Now before you throw stones at the Pharisees, can we talk about them for a minute? To become a Pharisee, that's the pastors ministers of the day. To become a Pharisee, you had to memorize the first five books of the Bible. Can you believe that? I mean, how many less ministers would we have today if we had to memorize and recite from memory Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and Acts, okay, but even though they could do that, they couldn't recognize the Son of God when he was 30 years old and raising the dead. But it says in Luke 2, 25, it says there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon who was righteous. Everybody say righteous, devout and eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come. Now I want to look at these three words that I've highlighted. This is all we get about this guy because let me set this up. About Simeon. Mary and Joseph come into the temple. Now you gotta understand, Joseph's probably In his early 20s, she's probably in her late teens. They got a 40 day old baby. Are you following me? Okay. And they come from another state, they come from Galilee, down to Judea. That'd be like they came from Wisconsin over to Minnesota, in Minneapolis, where the temple is. You got it now they go into the temple. Now if you go into a cathedral here in Minneapolis on a Wednesday, there might be two people in the cathedral. Not so with the temple. The temple was buildings, not one building. And every day there were crowds of people in the temple. This unknown couple comes in with a 40 day old baby. This guy Simeon does a beeline right towards them, holds up the 40 day old baby and cries out the Messiah. Now here are the people that can quote the first five books of the Bible from memory. And here's a guy who recognizes the Messiah. God manifests in the flesh when he's 40 days old. So what makes him different from these people? That's what I had to start finding out. And I only have these three words to go on. He was righteous, he was devout, and he was waiting for the Messiah to come. Right? Now the word righteous means he was, he acted out of a constitutionally just character. Let's put that in more modern terms. He took obedience to God seriously. He was a man who pursued godly living. Devout. The word devout is defined as one who, who takes the word of God seriously. It carries the meaning of the fear of the Lord. Now the fear of the Lord is not to be scared of God. It's actually being terrified of being away from God. But the one that's so interesting to me is that he was eagerly waiting. Everybody say eagerly waiting. Now the Greek word, here is the Greek word prostectomy. This Greek word is defined as this to remain in a place of expectancy. So this man, these are the characteristics that the Bible describes him as. If we look at what Jesus says to you and I in regard to his second coming, you're going to see

[B]

these three things mirrored.

[A]

Because in Luke's gospel, the 12th chapter, Jesus tells you and I what to do to for his second coming.

[B]

Now look at this.

[A]

He says, stay dressed for action, keep your lamps burning, and you be like men who are eagerly waiting for their master to come. Now, I added the word in eagerly. Why?

[B]

Because it's the same Greek word, prostectomy.

[A]

Okay, I want to focus in on that one first. I did not realize until late last year how Many times we are told to be eager about the second coming

[B]

of Jesus in the New Testament.

[A]

If you look at Paul's letter to the Corinthian church, look what he says. He says, as you eagerly wait for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, look what Paul writes to the Hebrew believers. Or actually Timothy. Paul writes to Timothy and he says, the prize which is the crown of righteousness is not just for me, but all who are eagerly waiting for his appearing. If you look at the book of Hebrews, chapter nine, it says, Christ will come again not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to those who are. Everybody say it. Eagerly waiting. Now, you seeing this? I've cut some out, but I wanted you to see how many times this appears.

[B]

It appears many times in the New Testament.

[A]

So as you can see, this is something that is not just spoken out once or twice. It's repeated over and over and over. So the question I have is, what causes eager expectation? All right, think about, think about when you were a little kid and your parents put up the Christmas decorations. Okay, Now I remember when I was five years old, my parents put up the Christmas decorations. I mean, my sister and I started

[B]

talking nonstop about Christmas morning. Opened up all the gifts. We talked about it through the wall at night.

[A]

We counted the days. I remember the week, we sometimes counted the hours. And I remember I hated Christmas Eve

[B]

because I couldn't sleep.

[A]

I was so excited about what was happening next morning. So what creates eager expectation? It's when we get our sights fixed on something we're looking forward to, that's gonna happen in the future that has a happy anticipation. Are you seeing this? Think about this.

[B]

Let me go to another one.

[A]

Think about an engagement, everybody. How many of you in here are married or engaged?

[B]

Let me see your hands.

[A]

So a lot of you are gonna

[B]

relate to this one, right?

[A]

I remember when Lisa and I were engaged.

[B]

It was a four month engagement. It was entirely too long.

[A]

And I remember if you got around me in those, those, those four months, I. All I talk about is Lisa and the wedding day. I mean, it was four of the longest months I have ever lived in my life because I was so excited. My sights were fixed on the day I was gonna be married to her. Well, if you look at what Paul says to the Colossian Church, it's quite amazing. He said, since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights. Everybody say sights. Set your sights on the realities of heaven and think about the things of heaven, not the things of the earth. What you set your sights on is what you're gonna think about. I had my sight set on marrying Lisa and our wedding day. That's what I thought about. I was so eager about it. Are you seeing what I'm saying? Think about when you're driving a car, if your sight. Where is your sights fixed?

[B]

They're fixed on the road.

[A]

Does that mean you don't look down at the dashboard once in a while? Sure you do. Do you look at the GPS quickly?

[B]

Yeah. Yeah.

[A]

But your eyes go back to where they're set. Do you look at the person riding in the passenger seat next to you?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Do you look at the sights outside? Yeah. But you always go back to where your eyes are set. Think about winter around here.

[B]

I mean, you guys get single digit temperatures all the time. If you leave your front door open, what happens? Your house temperature drops 20 degrees.

[A]

How do you correct that?

[B]

Just close the front door. The temperature go back to where it's set. 70 degrees.

[A]

Right. So ask yourself this question. When your. When your mind is not required at

[B]

a task in front of you, you know, the pickleball shot you have to hit, the job you're doing, the final you're studying for in university,

[A]

when your

[B]

mind's not required on those things, where does it go? Does it go to the World Cup? Does it go to how many likes that I have on my social media post yesterday? Does it go to how many followers do I have on social media? Does it go to this girl that I'm really interested in? Cause your mind will go to where it's set when it's not required. Still with me. We're told to set our sights on the things above, on the realities of heaven, because that's what we'll think about when our mind's not required at a task in front of us. See, the apostle Paul makes this statement. This is amazing.

[A]

Philippians chapter three said, for I've told you often before, and I'm gonna say

[B]

it again with tears in my eyes,

[A]

that there are many whose behavior shows

[B]

they set their mind on earthly things. They're having a terrible time getting free from pornography. Why? Their sights are set on the things of this earth, and their behavior shows it.

[A]

When their mind is not required at

[B]

task in front of them, their mind goes to earthly things. But now look at the very next verse.

[A]

He said, but we are citizens of heaven where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are.

[B]

Here we go again. Okay, here it is again.

[A]

We are eagerly waiting for him to

[B]

return as our savior.

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See, in America Western Christianity, this is hard for us to comprehend because we

[B]

have so many places we can set our mind, our sights on.

[A]

I mean, you could sit there and scroll and scroll and scroll for hours.

[B]

Still with me.

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All right, so why am I spending

[B]

so much time on this?

[A]

Why is eager expectation so important? Because John the Apostle who saw the

[B]

book of Revelation, writes in his letter, and this is quite amazing, he said, when Christ appears, we will see him as he really is. Now watch this. And all who have this. Here it is again. Eager expectation will purify themselves even as he is pure. Do you understand what John the Apostle just said to us?

[A]

There is a power in setting our

[B]

sights on his return.

[A]

And eagerly anticipated, there is a power that will give us the ability to

[B]

purify ourselves even as Jesus is pure.

[A]

So you're sitting there going, I can't

[B]

get free from substance. I can't get free from this pornography. Is your behavior showing where your sights are set? Is your behavior showing that your mind are set on things in the earth?

[A]

What is the opposite of being eager about Jesus's return?

[B]

Setting your sights on his return?

[A]

The opposite is putting it off. Jesus talks about a second coming in Matthew, chapter 24. Spends the whole chapter talking about wars, rumors of wars, pestilence, earthquakes.

[B]

There's been like 11 major earthquakes in the last 24 hours.

[A]

I'm talking real time. But then he comes to the end after he talks about the Son of Man appearing in the clouds in glory. And he says this. He tells a parable. He says, if the servant thinks my master won't be back for a while, that is the opposite of eager expectation. All right, what happens? He'll begin to beat his fellow servants and party and get drunk. What is Jesus saying? He's saying when you put off his second coming, you'll gravitate over to the desires of the flesh so easily. What does it mean, beat thee fellow servants? It means you refuse to forgive them. It means that you begin to separate in the body of Christ. You begin to create groups and you'll have nothing to do with other groups. It means you begin to become a keyboard warrior on social media. It means you, you, you. You slander people. What does it mean, party and get drunk? It means you start just yielding to the dictates of their flesh. Because your flesh has power now, because you don't have that power to purify yourself even as he is pure. The Apostle Peter mirrors this. I remember Arden and I, we spent an entire year talking about Second Peter. I just felt like on The John Bevere podcast. Our producers were like, well, can you talk about this and that and that?

[B]

I said, no, I just wanna talk about Second Peter.

[A]

And my producer thought it was gonna take about six weeks. We spent an entire year on the podcast on Second Peter. It's only three chapters. And I remember chapter one and two took nine months, right? And I get to chapter three and Peter says this. Most importantly, I'm like, I just spent nine months on 1 and 2. What do you mean, most importantly? Most importantly, listen to these words. Most importantly, I want to remind you that scoffers are going to come in the last days. And you know what they're going to say? Where's the promise of his coming? Because ever since the fathers fell asleep, everything remains the same as the beginning of creation. Hey, can I say something? Atheists and agnostics don't call church fathers fathers. Atheists and agnostics do not call creation creation.

[B]

They call it evolution.

[A]

Peter isn't talking about people outside the church. He's talking about people inside the church. And he says, moshe Borleon, remind you the scoffers will come in the last days saying, look, I want you to notice. Put that scripture up for me again. Do you notice I have dot, dot, dot. Oh, go back, go back one frame. Most importantly, I want to remind you, the scoffers will come in the last days. Dot, dot, dot. You see the dot, dot, dot, dot. Can I show you what's in the dot, dot, dot.

[B]

Now go to forward.

[A]

Most importantly, I want to remind you, scoffers will come in the last days

[B]

with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. See what happens when you put off his coming? Peter is saying, just like Jesus said,

[A]

you begin to beat the fellow servants, you begin to party and get drunk. In other words, you're going to follow. Now your sinful desire so easily

[B]

sure is quiet in this Methodist church. Are you still here?

[A]

Are you just listening real good right now?

[B]

Is that what you're doing?

[A]

Okay, so this is gonna get. This is gonna get. You're gonna see some things that listen, this has changed my life. I've been in ministry for over 40 years. This has changed my life. Okay, so now. Peter says, most importantly, scoffers are gonna come, right? But then what does he say to you and I in verse eight? But beloved, do not forget this one thing. Now, isn't these interesting words? Most importantly. And then he says, hey, you don't forget this one thing. What thing are we not supposed to forget? That one day with the Lord is A thousand of our years.

[B]

And a thousand of our years is one day to God.

[A]

Do you understand that? One day to God is a thousand of our years. I mean, I got this engineering degree from Purdue. So, you know, I just thought, well, what's an hour to God? And I divided 1,000 years by 24, and I found out one hour to God is 42.6 years. So that means if you're 85 in

[B]

here, you're two hours old.

[A]

Okay? And most of you sitting in here aren't even an hour old yet. Are you seeing this? So now I want to show you the urgency that the writers in the first century of the Bible had about Jesus.

[B]

Second Coming.

[A]

Watch this. Paul says in Philippians 4, 5. Remember, the Lord is coming. Everybody say it. Come on, shout it. Say it. He's coming soon, right? Watch this. James, take courage. For the coming of the Lord is. Everybody shout it.

[B]

Okay?

[A]

Watch what Peter says. The end of the world is coming. Okay?

[B]

I cut out about three fourths of them.

[A]

Can I show you what Jesus says? Jesus says three different places.

[B]

It's actually four, but I only put three.

[A]

I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have. In another place, he says, look, this is the book of Revelation. I'm coming soon. In another place, he writes, look, I'm coming soon, bringing my reward with me. Now, what is going on? Is God, like, deceiving us? Those were written back in the first century. We're in the 21st century. No, he's not deceiving us.

[B]

He's protecting us. Man, when you understand this, you're going to go crazy. He's protecting us.

[A]

Okay, first of all, let's get rid

[B]

of the deception, okay?

[A]

When Lisa and I were engaged for

[B]

the last two months of our engagement, she had to fly up to Indiana and get the church and the historic home that we were having the reception ready. Took her two months working 40 hours a week. I had to stay in Dallas and work my job.

[A]

That two months literally seemed like two years.

[B]

I mean, a day seemed like a

[A]

week, A week seemed like a month,

[B]

and a month seemed like a year.

[A]

It was so.

[B]

It's the longest two months I've ever lived through. And I remember when we were two days away from me flying up there for the wedding, I'm on the phone with her, and you know what I said to her? I'll see you soon, baby. Because that two days was very soon compared to that two months we had just lived through. Well, a day with the Lord is a thousand years. You're only two hours old if you're 85 in here. When Jesus says, I'm coming soon, he's not deceiving us because two days can be very soon in the scope of eternity. Now let me get to the more important aspect.

[A]

Why does God do this with us? Because to us, 2,000 years has been a long time. We're in the 21st century.

[B]

This was written in the first century. He's protecting us. What do I mean, protecting us?

[A]

Could it be that God knew that the eager anticipation of Jesus return

[B]

would

[A]

protect the 12th century Christians

[B]

from the forces of this world that are trying to pull people away? He knew it would protect the Christians in the 14th century. He's all into protecting us because the

[A]

power, the pull of this world is so stinking strong. And he said, if you keep the urgency, you don't begin to beat the male and the female servants, because you do that when you put off his coming. Now, if God did that for the 12th century Christians, how much more now the 21st century when we know were

[B]

in the generation of his return?

[A]

Remember, Jesus said, assuredly, I say to you, that generation will not pass away

[B]

until all these things are fulfilled. And that generation he was talking about when Israel would come back, think about it.

[A]

They came back after being gone all over the world, spread out everywhere, all over the world for over 1800 years. They kept their customs, they kept their language, and they kept their faith. No nation has ever done that.

[B]

Jesus said, that generation will not pass away until everything has come to pass, including him coming in the clouds.

[A]

How much more now should we be

[B]

urgent and looking for his return?

[A]

He did this to protect the 12th century church.

[B]

But how much more us now in the 21st century? I'm preaching better than some of you are saying Amen.

[A]

So Jesus says to us, stay dressed for action. Now watch this and keep your lamps burning. Now let's look at the second one.

[B]

Keep your lamps burning.

[A]

After Jesus tells about his second coming

[B]

in Matthew chapter 24, he tells that

[A]

very short parable that I just showed you.

[B]

But then he tells another, another parable.

[A]

And look what he says. The kingdom of heaven shall be like 10 virgins.

[B]

Everybody say virgins.

[A]

Say it a little louder. Notice he doesn't say harlots. He doesn't say prostitutes who took their lamps. Everybody say lamps. That speaks of light. Did Jesus ever say to agnostics, you

[B]

are the light of the world?

[A]

He says to us, you're the light of the world.

[B]

All 10 of these girls have lamps.

[A]

And what are they doing? They're going out to meet the bridegroom. So they're looking for a second coming. We're not talking about people that are atheists and agnostic. The witches are not looking for his coming.

[B]

Actually, some of them are.

[A]

Now watch what Jesus says.

[B]

Five of them were wise, five of them were fools. Do you know this has kept me up at night? I have asked myself, God, I've been up in the middle of the night, couldn't get to sleep because I said, God, why wasn't it nine were wise and one was foolish. Why five and five? I remember I preached to 10,000 people. And I remember it was a powerful service. 8,000 people stood up repenting of their offense. And I remember when I walked back to my seat, one of the other ministers that was speaking in that conference looked at me and said, God told Me in prayer 50% of the church is not ready for Jesus return. I remember I spoke in a very large church, a pastor who was older than me years ago and he looked at me with tears in the green room and he said, john, God told me 50% of the church is not ready for a second coming. The only reason I bring those two ministers words up is because it's exactly what Jesus said. He didn't say nine were wise and one was foolish. He said five were wise and five were foolish.

[A]

midnight.

[B]

What is midnight? Midnight is when the sun is down there. You know what science says? It's the darkest time of night. Gross darkness, the Bible says, is going to cover the people. Deep darkness is going to cover the people.

[A]

At midnight, a cry was heard, behold,

[B]

the bridegroom is coming. Go out to meet him. And the foolish said to the wise, watch this. The foolish said to the wise, give us some of your oil for our lamps are going out. Notice their lamps don't go out at 10:15 at night. Their lamps aren't going out at 11:10pm Their lamps are going out right at the end. You ever wonder why Jesus is over and over and over he who endures the end? My question is, who's the wise and who's the foolish? You know, Paul tells us. I didn't see this until last year. Look what Paul says in Ephesians 5.

[A]

He says, you can be sure, in

[B]

other words, you can go to the bank on this. That no immoral, impure, greedy person will inherit the kingdom of Christ and God.

[A]

Don't be fooled by those who try

[B]

to excuse these sins. Now look at the next statement. Be careful how you live. You know what the Lord asked me

[A]

he said, son, did you see anywhere

[B]

in the book of Revelation where I said to any of the seven churches, I know what you believe. He said to every one of them, I know what you do. I know your works. Believe me. What we believe is very important because it results in what we live. But the evidence that we truly are believers is we'll reflect it in our life.

[A]

Don't be fooled by those who try to excuse these sins. Be careful how you live. Now look at this. Don't live like fools, but live like

[B]

those who are wise. Live like foolish virgins. Do you understand? We're talking about people inside the church right now. There's no other way you can look at this.

[A]

Now notice he says, don't be fooled

[B]

by those who try to excuse these sins.

[A]

Why does he say that?

[B]

Because Jude tells us in the last days, he said, in his day, but especially the last days, he said, there

[A]

are gonna be people that creep into our churches unnoticed.

[B]

Watch this. Saying that God's marvelous grace allows us to live immoral lives. I have a team member who went to a wedding a few months ago. It was a big wedding. When he went to the wedding, one of the groomsmen, you know, got to talking with him and the groomsmen found out that he worked for Messenger International for our ministry. And the groomsman got so excited, he

[A]

was like, oh my gosh, I love

[B]

John and Lisa Bevere. Da da da da da da da da right?

[A]

So the groomsmen had to go back to the grooms dressing room where the

[B]

pastor who was officiating the wedding was and all the groomsmen. There were a lot of groomsmen, big wedding party.

[A]

And the pastor looks at the groomsmen

[B]

and says, tonight, guys have a great time. It's all covered by grace. Literally.

[A]

What he said, he said that night

[B]

on the dance floor, he said that very groomsmen that he met before the wedding was so drunk he couldn't stand straight. Our team member went up to him, grabbed him, pulled him off the dance floor, literally brought him outside, get fresh air, and said, what are you doing? And he told him what the pastor shared with them. They creep in unnoticed, saying, God's marvelous grace allows us to live immoral lives.

[A]

Paul said, be careful how you live. In other words, be very careful what you believe, because it's gonna determine how you live. And if you believe that God's grace can me why I live just like the world. Well, guess what, You're a foolish virgin.

[B]

I'm preaching better than some of you are. Saying amen right now. You still with me? Okay.

[A]

Now, John the apostle says, Four times in 60 verses.

[B]

This statement, Remain in fellowship with Jesus.

[A]

Four times in 60 verses. My question is, who are the people that are remaining in fellowship with Jesus?

[B]

He tells us in first John 3, 24. If you could put it up, guys.

[A]

Those who obey God's commandments remain in

[B]

fellowship with him and he with them.

[A]

Now, before you get nervous with commandments,

[B]

let me just tell you. There's 612 commandments in the Old Testament. What do those commandments prove? They prove that we could never keep them and earn a relationship with God.

[A]

Right?

[B]

But there's over 500 commandments in the New Testament.

[A]

Remember, Jesus said, he who has my

[B]

commandments and keeps them, that's the one who really loves me.

[A]

Remember, Jesus said, go into all the world and make disciples of all nations, teaching them whatever I've commanded you. So what are the commandments for in the New Testament?

[B]

To keep us in fellowship with him.

[A]

Okay. Do you want to know why I don't commit adultery against Lisa? Lisa Bevere? You want to know why? Can you just imagine if I'm sleeping with a couple women in my neighborhood and she finds out about it. What? What. What happens? I'm in trouble. First of all, I'm dead. She's Sicilian. What do I lose? You know what?

[B]

I.

[A]

You want to know why I don't commit adultery against her?

[B]

Because I don't ever want to lose those times when our heads are on the pillow and she shares an intimate secret of her heart that she'll not share with anybody else. If I'm committing adultery with a couple

[A]

other women, I'm not even in that bed with her.

[B]

And I don't think my marriage is gonna last very long.

[A]

You wanna know why I don't wanna

[B]

commit adultery with Jesus Against Jesus? Excuse me? Why I don't wanna commit adultery against Jesus? James said, hey, you're seeking to become a friendship friend with the world. You are an adulterer.

[A]

Because we're betrothed. And betrothed is not engaged.

[B]

It means we're actually married. It's just we're separated for a season.

[A]

The reason I don't wanna commit adultery against Jesus. Cause I don't wanna ever lose the times when he speaks those words that

[B]

I've never known before. When he shares the intimate secrets of his heart. I don't want to ever lose that. There's nothing this world has that's greater than that to me.

[A]

Now, why is remaining in fellowship important?

[B]

Watch this first John 2:28.

[A]

And now, dear children, remain in fellowship with Christ. Stop right there. Now, dear children. Everybody say, dear children. Okay, Is. Is. Is. Is he talking to atheists?

[B]

Come on, help me.

[A]

Is he talking to agnostics? No. And now, dear children, remain in fellowship

[B]

with Christ so that when he returns, you'll be confident and not shrink back from him in shame. 2 Responses of Believers when Jesus returns, confidence and shame. Why am I being so strong tonight? Because I don't want to see you ashamed when he appears. I want you confident. Let me give you an example. My dad never made more than $45,000 a year, but he saved like crazy, invested like crazy. So his kids go to the university of their choice. I chose Purdue University out of state school. Lot of money. I remember I'm in the freshman engineering school in the mall in the biggest lecture hall. There's about 3,500 of us in that lecture hall. We were all freshman engineers. And the dean of engineering gets up in front of us and says, look to the person to your right, look to the person to your left. They won't be here at the end of this semester or at the end of this year. We will flunk 50% of you out this year. And he said, and then next year we will flunk another 50% of you. So only one out of every four of you will be here at the end of next year. Can I tell you, that put a healthy fear in me. I started studying for finals that week, and it was the first day of school. And let me tell you something, I worked my tail off. And you know what? When the end of the semester came and finals were over, I was confident. And I remember it took about 10 days for the report card to get to my house. And I remember when the report card came, I was confident, and I opened up the report card and it was better than I thought.

[A]

I made the dean's list. And I remember my dad said, son,

[B]

can I see it? I handed it to him. He was like, his face just lit up.

[A]

Then I joined a fraternity, and I wasn't saved.

[B]

Well, that semester, I'm chasing girls. I'm going to four keggers a week. I'm playing Frisbee football all day long, and I'm not applying myself. The end of that semester, I was not confident. My report card came, and when I opened it up, my lack of confidence was founded. My dad said, let me see it. And I remember when his face saw it, how his countenance fell. He just looked at me and Said you could have done better. I was so ashamed. I don't want you to be ashamed when he appears. I'd rather you hear this. Now. You see, so many people are fearful when it comes to the end times. You should never be fearful because it's not an event. It's the wedding of the ages. It's our groom waiting for his dad to say, go get your girl. And it's a lovesick bride waiting for a groom to appear in the sky. Can I finish with this? I don't know where the time goes. This is ridiculous. How fast time. Can I. Just give me a gun so I can shoot that clock. Stay dressed for action. I'm gonna tell you a scripture. This scripture. I can't stop thinking about it. Revelation 19:7 and 8. Listen. The marriage of the lamb has come. And his bride has made herself. Doesn't say God made her. She's made herself. Ready? Okay. What is the most important thing that girls in those days had to do to prepare for their wedding was to make their wedding dress. We go to bridal shops today. We have magazines. Go to the bridal shop, buy. No, they had to make it. And during the separation time, the groom and the bride were separated for a year. They were married, but they were separated. She would make her wedding gown for the night that he would come and steal her away. What's the wedding dress made out of? Next verse. And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright. For the fine linen is the Watch this righteous actions of the saints. You know, I wonder if the Western church has enough material to make a bikini, let alone a wedding dress. Can I tell you, I'm just going to end with this. Stay dressed for action. Jesus said. When I flew up to Indiana, I remember when I walked into that Covenant Presbyterian Church, I was so amazed at how beautiful Lisa made that church. I mean, I understood now why she was working 40 hours a week that two months I was gone. I mean, the beautiful flowers on every single pew, the runner, the beautiful bouquet of flowers that were in the arts that we were going to be married under. I was like, oh, my gosh, she's worked so hard. And I remember it was so beautiful. But nothing touched what she did in that church as when she showed up at the back door with her dad and she had that gown on. Oh, my gosh, I have never seen anything so beautiful in all my life. I lost it. I mean, she's walking down the aisle and her eyes are just gazed right at me with that love in her eyes. I'm losing. I'm like. I've never seen anything so beautiful.

[A]

Now, can you imagine if I fly up to Indiana and I'm at that altar and she shows up in the back of the church with her dad. And she's got an old dress on

[B]

with a bunch of dirt and grime stains on.

[A]

It's all wrinkled up.

[B]

She's got unkept hair and no makeup on. What does that say to me? This day wasn't very important to her.

[A]

It might be important today, but it

[B]

wasn't two months ago. She didn't prepare.

[A]

And when she comes down that aisle with that dirty old dress on,

[B]

she's gonna be ashamed. Not only before me, but before all the witnesses. I don't want you ashamed. I want you ready.

[A]

Eschatology. We either talk about dates and timelines or we don't even talk about it at all. It's about being ready. Our wedding. And the bride has made herself ready.

[B]

That's what I want for River Valley Church. Every head bowed, every eye closed.