Sermon Central
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Wedding Day Series
Contributed by Jerry Shirley on Feb 8, 2008 (message contributor)
Summary: "Marriage Supper of the Lamb" - The church will not go thru the tribulation…we will be part of an evacuation! Inc. 4 things a good marriage will have. Link inc. to formatted text, audio & video, PowerPoint Presentation.
Wedding Day
http://gbcdecatur.org/sermons/WeddingDay.html
We’re still talking about the end of the world, but I can see on your faces you need a little break from all the carnage here on earth, so we’re jumping up to heaven to see what will be going on at the same time as the tribulation on earth. The church will not go thru the tribulation…we will be part of an evacuation!
Everyone loves a wedding, and we have one this week, and several others are on the way soon!
We will be made one w/ Christ perfectly / permanently…be glorified! It all happens at this marriage of the Lamb [we are the bride of Christ!] It’s a wedding in the sky! A million mile high club that nothing of earth can compare with.
I. The analogy of a marriage.
v. 6
The Music will be magnificent.
First we see the wedding music in v. 6.
v. 7 God chose this method of illustrating our relationship / consummation w/ Him. An exciting / happy / joyful occasion.
“John at his wedding was a most excited creature.
He gave his bride the marriage fee and tried to kiss the preacher!”
Even us pastors can get caught up in the excitement, as one preacher said, “It is now kisstomary to cuss the bride!”
15 years ago right now Kimberly and I were counting down from 150 days ‘til our wedding / a psalm a day…and it’s exciting / anticipation breeds enthusiasm!
This marriage analogy is nothing new in scripture.
Mt. 22—marriage feast.
22:9 Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage.
Mk. 2—
18 And the disciples of John and of the Pharisees used to fast: and they come and say unto him, Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but thy disciples fast not? 19 And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? as long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. 20 But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days.
II Cor. 11:2 For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
This reveals some certain truths about our relationship w/ Christ…what makes a good marriage on earth will unveil truths about our spiritual relationship w/ Jesus!
4 things any real marriage on earth should have:
1. Genuine love [unconditional/unselfish]…we do a lot of preaching about sin / tackle lots of questions about life…but it all comes down to how much do we love Him? When Christ rose from the dead, and encountered Peter, who denied Him, for 1st time what did He say? “Are you gonna cuss me anymore? / deny me? / be a coward? / lose your faith?”…no those were all symptoms…Jesus went to the heart of the matter and said: “Lovest thou me?” And the bride of Christ should build our relationship w/ Christ on undying love!
2. Intimate Communion – marriages that last have emotional, spiritual connections, not just physical. And we can have that as believers…what a privilege to live in these last days / not like OT saints [had no love letters of scripture! / couldn’t go beyond the temple court, into the holy place…only priests, and only high priest in the holy of holies, and only once per year w/ very strict standards and a penalty of death!] But when Jesus died on the cross the veil of the temple was ripped from top to bottom [symbolic of God doing it], and now NT saints can have intimate communion with Him. But we take it for granted or else we’d pray and fellowship w/ God much, much more! It’s a sign of being a faithful bride!
3. Joy – marriage is supposed to bring joy
[joke: pastor counseled alcoholic who told him he drank because of what a bad wife he had. Pastor assured him it was no excuse to drink, and couldn’t be that bad. The man offered to let him meet her. They went to the man’s house and he started talking privately w/ her while the husband waited in the kitchen. After only 5 min. the pastor walked into the kitchen and said, “pour me one!”]
Marriage is supposed to be a taste of heaven here on earth! You should be a better person because you’re married to them! And Jesus brings joy to our lives, but the question is, is His kingdom better because YOU are a part of the bride? Are you walking in joy? Many believers look like they got baptized in pickle juice!
