When Jesus shared the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins, He was speaking a truth about His return. He is likened to the bridegroom who is coming for His Church, the five wise virgins.
“Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3 Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5 But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. – Matthew 25:1-5
While I can preach an entire message on how this parable ties in with the return of the Lord for His Church, suffice it to say, for this blog, I want to focus on just this part of the parable, ‘the delayed bridegroom.’
We all experience delays at times in life. A delay, by definition, ‘is the act of postponing, hindering, or causing something to occur more slowly than normal.’ The idea of the bridegroom being delayed in this parable is conflictious because in the Jewish culture of the day, a Galilean wedding was not scheduled. It was an event that was planned out, but not set on a calendar.
People within a Jewish community would know roughly when a wedding ceremony was going to occur, but not exactly. The timing was set by the groom’s father. When he saw that his son had properly prepared everything for his bride, the groom’s father would give his son permission to go and get his bride and bring her to his house. There was an entire ensemble of the groom’s community who would accompany him to receive his bride.
Resource: ‘Before the Wrath’ – YouTube This is a documentary on how a Galilean wedding ties into the NT Rapture. I highly recommend it.
For a delay to be announced for an unannounced event seems out of place. The truth is, we all have to wait at times for things that we want right now. It would seem that Tom Petty got it right when he said, ‘the waiting is the hardest part.’
Solomon said it this way, “Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days.” – Ecclesiastes 11:1
The key phrase here is ‘after many days.’ Our bread is our sustenance and as we sow it upon the waters of our investments, God gives the increase. This can show up in our financial investments, our time management, our wise life choices in how we self-care, our relationship investments, and even our emotional and mental health. How we sow in life determines how God gives the increase. However, in our sowing, there is a season of waiting. The is the ‘after many days’ part of our sowing. In life, we have to wait on the Lord. His timing is the best timing. It’s hard to wait, but we do it because God has called us to it.
Isaiah said it this way, “But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” – Isaiah 40:31
The idea of renewed strength, mounting up with wings like eagles, and running without getting tired has heavenly and eternal properties to it. As believers in Jesus, we’re all going to be able to do all of these things and more one day; but until then, we live our lives to the best of our ability and trust in the Lord for His strength and increase as we actively obey His voice. One weary believer asked the question this way, ‘Does anyone have an ETA on ‘this too shall pass?’
All of us are in some form of in between; some form of waiting for the next good thing to happen; or some form of waiting for God’s grace to show up in our lives.
Grace is getting something really good that we don’t deserve.
Mercy is NOT getting something really bad that we do deserve.
Justice is getting exactly what we do deserve.
We don’t deserve anything good from God. What we do deserve we don’t want. It’s only by His mercy that justice is not served for us; and only by His grace that His blessing is bestowed upon us. God really does love us. Wait for Him.
As we wait on the Lord in the seeming delay, we need to be reminded that God is never late, He’s never early, but He is always on time, His time! One of the things that helps us to wait on the Lord is to hope in the Lord. It’s the hope of God’s promises to us in His Word that proves His faithfulness. We know God is faithful, wait for it. When we think of living, it must be done with a deeper appreciation for the life that God has given to us. Our life is God’s gift to us; He wants us to live it to the fullest.
Jesus said, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” – John 10:10
Abundant life, by definition, is for the believer in Jesus, both for the ‘here and now’ as well as ‘there and eternally then.’ We began our ‘abundant life’ when we invited Jesus to be our Lord and Savior. While were in this world, even though we are ‘in Christ.’ our lives will not be perfect, but they will be better because we have allowed Jesus to be the center of it.
Some people’s idea of ‘living’ is just not dying. Why this is a fatalistic viewpoint on life itself, it’s an unfortunate reality with too many people in our culture who are hurting and in desperate need of this abundant life that Jesus spoke of.
One day, when we’re all in heaven, we will be living in the fullest experience of this abundant life that Jesus spoke of in this passage. The devil, (aka ‘the thief’) will do everything in his power to discourage us in our walk of faith and to prevent our arrival and reward in heaven.
The enemy’s agenda was never to defeat the Lord. They know they can’t do that. They know that one day God’s judgment will come upon them and they will suffer in hell forever. Their goal is to kill as many humans who are not saved and to persecute as many people who are. It’s an unfortunate truth of our reality.
However, as believers in Jesus who have placed their faith in the Lord, we have the Holy Spirit and God’s Word to empower us as we press on in this life, living it to the fullest, for the glory of the Lord. You are not going to be the first person in humanity who has placed their faith in Jesus and who the Lord lets down. Our hope is in the Lord. It takes faith to have this kind of hope; a faith that is spawned from knowing that God is as faithful as His Word to us; we can and must trust in Him.
The Apostle Paul said it this way, “Now faith is the substance (realization) of things hoped for, the evidence (confidence) of things not seen.” – Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV)
“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” – NIV
“Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.” – NLT
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” – RSV
I can go on and on, but I think that you get the point; we don’t always see the other end of our conundrum, but God does; He’s already there and He has already completed it.
We sing worship songs to Jesus while longing to be with Him; and someday we will be, but for now, we worship Him, by faith, in Spirit and Truth. We don’t have to wait to get to heaven to begin living this abundant life, but it will never be fully complete in this world. Because God is faithful, He will complete it in the end.
The Apostle Paul reminds us, “He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;” – Philippians 1:6
The phrase, ‘day of Jesus Christ’ is a reference to the rapture/resurrection.
David said it this way, “I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. 14 Wait (in faith) on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!” – Psalm 27: 13,14
The phrase, ‘the land of the living’ occurs 15x in the OT. In every case it’s used in reference to this life, this world, and this place we call earth. This is the land of the living.
However, in light of eternity, Pastor David Jeremiah says of his own future demise, ‘I am not looking for the undertaker, I am looking for the upper taker.’ Pastor Jeremiah goes on to say that for the believer in Jesus, ‘When we die, we will be leaving the land of the dying and going to the land of the living,’ referring to heaven. Source: ‘The Great Disappearance’ c.2023
It can be very easy to become discouraged in this life with all of its struggles, setbacks, and sickness. However, as we endure, God is faithful to go with us and be with us every step of the way.
Your life may not be perfect, but it’s God’s gift to you. We all have a responsibility to live it unto Him, doing His will, as we wait for Him. Their might be a delay, but it’s coming, wait for it. Our abundant life has already begun, hang in there.
Paul reminds us, “For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. 8 For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.” – Romans 14:7,8
The key emphasis here is living for the Lord. Our waiting season will come to an end, but then another season of waiting will manifest. Then, that season will end, and then another will present itself, but it too will pass, but then another…you get the point.
We are all living in this delay, but our ultimately wait is for our bridegroom to come and receive us to Himself. However, more relevantly, the day to day grind that we call life, with all of its ups and downs, has its own seasons of delays and advancements. We need to trust the Lord in both the delays and advancements. Most days are good, some days are tough, but God shows Himself strong in both the good and the tough. We need tough days to keep our eyes on Jesus.
Paul reminds us, “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.” – Colossians 3:23,24
The ‘reward of the inheritance’ are those treasures that we have laid up in heaven. It’s an eternal reward of being with Jesus and all those who love Him. We don’t deserve any of it, but we will receive it when we are finally with the Lord in glory. It’s only by God’s grace that this even happens. As Christians, we recognize the spiritual resistance that occurs in life, but we also appreciate how the Lord shows Himself strong and faithful in our lack; and He moves us forward as we place our faith in Him.
If you’re in a season where you are experiencing a delay or a waiting season in your life, be encouraged, God is doing something on your behalf that will manifest in a relevant breakthrough for you; but you’re going to have to wait on the Lord for it.
Moses spent 40 years on the backside of the Gobi desert before God revealed Himself to him in a burning bush. Joseph spent 13 years in an Egyptian jail for a crime he didn’t commit; only to be elevated to the second in command in all of Egypt in one day. Jesus has been preparing a place for all of us to be with Him in heaven. He is excited about being with us and longs for the day when we all come home.
POINT: We all have to wait, and we wait while we live. Living and waiting in the delay is part of the deal if you love Jesus and want to serve and obey Him.
As we wait on the Lord, God does things that will prepare us for the next thing that He is going to do in us. It’s not always easy or comfortable, but it will always yield a fruit of righteousness if we wait patiently on Him.
Joshua and Caleb and their tribes had to wait 40 years with the other ten tribes while wandering in the wilderness before entering into the promise land. That’s a long time to wait for the promise land.
You and I are also on a spiritual journey toward heaven, our ultimate promise land. We are living in a waiting season for heaven, but called to be a light for Jesus in this world. We bring heaven everywhere we go and represent the Lord in all of our interactions. The way we live, serve, and wait is a reflection of the Lord in us.
Jesus said it this way, “Now when He (Jesus) was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; 21 nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you (in your midst).” – Luke 17:20,21
As Spirit-filled believers, we bring Jesus wherever we go. Heaven’s economy is within us. We live and do life in the delay in accordance to God’s Word and for His glory. We are vessels of the living hope that is within us and ambassadors for a kingdom that is soon to come to this world. Until then, we have a job to do, a destiny to fulfill, and a call to answer. I encourage you to live well in the delay.
A few months ago, a brother Joshua, an unknown man from South Africa who apparently loves the Lord, had a word for the Church that Jesus was coming on a certain day last year. That day, like all set dates, came and went and many believers were distraught over it. It caused a rift within the body of Christ as believers were attacking each other and brother Joshua for such a preposterous claim. While folks were upset over the missed date, there were two other prophecies brother Joshua made; one was that the Lord would return before Israel turned 78; (May 14, 2026). The other was that there would be no World Cup in 2026 because of the extreme conditions of the world, and America. Whether this is true or not remains to be seen.
The World Cup begins June 11 and goes till July 19, 2026. These soccer games will be played in various selected cities in North America, Canada, and Mexico. Many watchers claim that since the first prophecy failed, these other two will also. That’s very possible, however, if we are living in a type of bridegroom delay, then these other two dates will reveal it soon enough. If something happens before Israel turns 78, or if something happens where the World Cup games are suspended, then brother Joshua’s other two prophecies manifested. If nothing happens, then they won’t. Either way, we are in a waiting period; we’re waiting on the Bridegroom. As we do, may we continue to press in to the Lord and His will for our lives.
There is a lot happening in the Middle-East that is affecting the entire world. Why we are all praying for peace, it would seem that war is coming. This in of itself can have an adverse effect on the economies and social activities of the world. The Lord is in total control, we must trust Him. He has us. As long as the Church is on the earth, the Holy Spirit will continue to restrain evil globally. When we’re gone, so is that restraining force.
My challenge for all of us in the body of Christ is to be very good stewards of our lives and keep our eyes on those things that are above, not on this world. Our witness for the Lord must be at its best, and our example of a Christ-centered life must be displayed, even with its flaws and recoveries. This is not the time to be asleep at the proverbial switch, but to let our light shine like never before. Let’s live out the rest of our days with an abundant life mindset that will bring glory to the Lord in all of our conversations and interactions with others.
I close this blog with these words from David, “Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass. 6 He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. 7 Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; 34 Wait on the Lord, and keep His way, and He shall exalt you to inherit the land;” – Psalm 37:5-7a,34a
We are all heirs to a kingdom whose builder and maker is God. As we wait on the Lord, let’s keep our eye on the prize and embrace that which God has laid hold for us in Christ Jesus. If this bridegroom delay is legit, than we need to be doing our best and being our best in these last of the last moments of the Church age. Keep looking up brothers (and sisters), our King is coming for us. Let’s be watching for Him while serving Him in that part of the vineyard He has called us to.
Maranatha!
Encourage Men 