The King Marries His Bride

In Greek the word we translate church means but called out ones. This special group has a special destiny. In Revelation 19. Nine. A voice from the throne of God says right. Blessed are those who were called to the marriage supper of the Lamb.

And he said to me, these are the true sayings of God. These called out ones have an engraved invitation to the wedding feast of all time from Chicago. We welcome you to The Moody Church. Our weekly service of worship and teaching under the ministry of Dr. Irwin lutes are on this program. We continue attend part look into the future were calling when he shall come later in our broadcast will see what happens when we are the bride at his marriage supper.

Pastor Lutzer comes now to open our service you know that when we come to church.

We are in effect leaving all of the pressures and the concerns of this world and we are going to concentrate with God's help on him in worship and praise and of course our theme is when he shall come.

Bible says that when he comes, we shall be like him. We shall see him as he is. Let's pray that God will give us the ability to grasp that father, we commit ourselves to you fully and asked that your Holy Spirit might be here to guide us directives and give us a great sense of your presence and may your name be blessed and honored. We ask in Jesus name, amen. Scripture reading comes to us this morning from the book of Revelation chapter 19 verses four through nine. You will find that reading insert of your bulletin and the order of service in the 24 elders and the four living creatures fell down and worship God who was seated on the throne saying amen hallelujah and from the throne came a voice saying praise our God all you his servants, you who fear him, small and great.

Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, hallelujah for the Lord our God, the Almighty brain.

Let us rejoice and exalt and give him the glory for the marriage of the Lamb has come and his bride has made herself ready. It was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure, for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints and the angel said to me right this Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he said to me, these are the true words of God, a father, we want to thank you today that you hear and you answered prayer. We thank you today that you love us. We thank you that you care for us and today. Father, we humble ourselves in your presence.

We acknowledge that in us.

There is no good thing. The only good thing about us is Jesus then finally father.

I remember the church worldwide. Those who are in prison today. Those who are going through deep deep waters. Lord, heal your people, encourage them and grant to us father the faith to believe that you can do in a moment when we cannot because you are God. We believe you.

For miracles, we believe you for the strength that you will give to your people, many of whom are hurting Lord in the midst of that we will see your grace.

Jesus name, amen. But I'd like you to do today is to think about the most joyous happy marriage that you have ever asked the most happy wedding that you've ever been at. If you're married and you're here today.

I hope that you are thinking of your own. Unfortunately, we have many interesting and good weddings, but they end up oftentimes creating disastrous marriages like a friend of mine says I was married by a judge, now I wish I had asked for a jury. By the way I read the other day that I think something like 2,603,691 people were married in America last year to start anything but shouldn't that be an even number of today, I want you to think about a marriage in heaven.

A wedding ceremony and this is one that is very distinctly out of this world. It has no such thing as vows that say until death do us part because there is no death that will ever part us. It is the marriage between Jesus Christ and his church today. I can speak these words, we can read the Scripture as were going to, but only the Holy Spirit of God can really show us what it is. The text says because it is so overwhelming, so unbelievable, but it is in God's word and we believe it and as a result of that I believe our lives are going to be changed forever because were listening to his word. Let's take our Bibles and turn to the 19th chapter the 19th chapter the book of Revelation. Revelation chapter 9 let's look at how far we have come if you been here before you know that this is the third in a series of messages entitled, when he shall come the first message we talked about the rapture of the church because we said that it is best if we try to think of the return of Christ into stages. So the church has been enraptured to heaven.

That is us all believers throughout the world before the throne of God. And then last time we studied the judgment seat of Jesus Christ I want you to visualize that that judgment seat is now over, because now it is time for the second phase of Jesus Christ returned to take place and that is his glorious appearing on the Mount of olives, and he shall bring us with him became for the saints in the rapture you now will be coming with his saints in what is called the glorious appearing but just before that happens.

There is now this marriage supper of the Lamb. And I want to read a few verses from the text it says in chapter 19 verse six then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out how for the Lord our God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exalt and give him the glory for the marriage of the Lamb has come and his bride has made herself ready.

It was granted to her to clothe yourselves with the linen fine linen, bright and pure. The fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. That's the account in order for us to understand this, we have to go back to the way in which weddings were conducted in those days so let's walk through the stages and we can see them reflected here in Jesus Christ's relationship with us as his church. First of all, step number one, there was the engagement the engagement often was done by parents. They got together and they decided which sun in which daughter would marry and when they did this they assumption was today.

Of course we say I have to fall in love and then I married. They said Mary first and fall in love later and maybe they were on to something. But this engagement was so solid, so firm that actually it was considered to be equivalent to the marriage vow itself.

Oh, there was an elaborate ceremony as to how you might be able to get out of it, but the engagement was at.

That lasted maybe a year or two and that would give each the opportunity to see whether or not each was being true to the vows that were about to be made. That's why Joseph had such a problem with Mary when she was pregnant.

He was engaged or heard was betrothed to hurt and now suddenly she is pregnant and that he believes that she violated their agreement and he doesn't know what to do and an angel had to come and explain to him what had happened. In addition to that in the engagement. At the dowry was paid. This was an effective way in which you purchased a bride who paid a dowry.

Sometimes it was paid to her sometimes or often to her family. In the case of Jesus he paid a dowry for us.

The Bible says that he shed his blood and he purchased us with himself and I think that's why it is that he is called in this particular context. It is the marriage supper of the Lamb. Why isn't it the marriage supper of the creator or the marriage supper of the king.

After all, that's what happens in verse 11.

In this chapter he returns as gain.

I believe that the reason is because it's the Lamb that we fell in love with and it is the Lamb made himself on Jesus is the only groom who laid down his life for his bride and then was resurrected again that he might be able to redeem her cleanliness. Her and marry her.

First of all there was, then the engagement. And then after that period was over.

It was then that the groom would come to get his bride. Now mind you, during the time of waiting. During that engagement. He was very busy he would take.

Often times the home of his father.

The house of his father and he would build an addition onto it and this addition was the place where he and his bride would now live. Sometimes it had one room. Sometimes it had many rooms but he would he would prepare it. He would furnish it. He would make sure that it is ready so that when his bride moves in GSM furniture and hopefully the rooms are in accordance with her standards and her desire exactly what Jesus was referring to. He said to the disciples.

Let not your heart be troubled you believe in God believe also in me. In my father's house are many dwelling places. If it were not so I would've told you.

I go to prepare a place for you is working on the place that we are going to be and when I do that I will come again and receive you to myself, that where I am, there you may. It's at the rapture of the church that Jesus Christ comes and takes his bride to the father's house and there in the father's house there is a great deal of rejoicing when the bride arrive and what does she look like the Bible says that there are people who were saved from every kindred, every tongue and every nation. The bride is going to be so diverse representing all the different countries all the different cultures all the colors of the world. That's why so many of us rejoice in the fact that when we took a survey recently we discovered that here at The Moody Church. We have more than 70 different countries of origin. We are looking more and more like heaven all the time and that's the way it's going to be so.

The bride comes and she comes to the father's house. So first of all, you have the engagement.

Secondly, the groom returns to get his bride and then third we get to the feast itself. The feast itself. Now the Bible says here in your text is open in the last part of verse seven. The marriage supper of the Lamb has come and his bride has made herself ready. Where did that happen while it happened at the judgment seat of Jesus Christ and you are in here last week. You should get that message because I explain how that all of the things that are left on done in this life.

Finally, are adjudicated at the judgment seat of Jesus Christ.

You see, when the bride arrives in heaven. She is a legally perfect because she is the righteousness of Jesus Christ credited to her account. I love to tell people that you can get to heaven unless you are as perfect as God, which usually helps them see that they have a problem, but the good news is that when we trust Christ as Savior. His righteousness is credited to us and we arrive in heaven, and his righteousness alone, faultless to stand before that's legally but in practice there's a great deal of discipline that God has done in our lives.

And there's a great deal of imperfection and as I explained last time, people die with unresolved conflict than it's the judgment seat of Jesus Christ where Jesus takes his church that arrives in heaven.

In practice at night it is. What does the Bible say, with spots and wrinkle and blemishes, and then he he cleanses the church so that he presents it to himself without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be pure and holy before him. So now the bride is ready and now we come to the entire what is this bride wearing we might ask, you'll notice that she is clothed in fine linen and the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. Now you see we receive the righteousness of Jesus Christ. When we receive them as Savior. Most assuredly we receive his righteousness gift, but that righteousness now is worked out in our lives through our obedience as we obey the Lord, we discover that we become righteous not only legally but we become righteous inexperience as we draw on that righteousness. And we do good deeds that are very, very precious to God and so the close that are born.

The linen that is white and pure and clean. That's really what God does with our works at the judgment seat whatever comes out of the fire and when you think of the fire, gold, silver and precious stones. Whatever it is that comes out of that fire is used then to leave our garment. Someone has put it this way, that what we leave on earth where in heaven now, does that mean that all of us are going to be dressed exactly the same.

Everybody gets the same down everybody gets the same attire will that's a possibility, but another possibility because the Bible makes such a great emphasis on rewards is that it might be something like graduation. You know, when you walk down that aisle you had the very same garment is somebody else in terms of what it was made, but there were some perhaps the faculty when you graduated who had special decorations because they had made some significant achievements.

I don't know how it will be. I just know that everyone that is there is going to be happy. Everyone is going to be accepted, but the righteousness that we have that is what the where the linen, white and clean. Is the righteous deeds of the saints. That's why it's so important for us to indeed have those righteous deeds because what you do on earth you will again meet in heaven, and of course on earth. The big question is always what the bride is wearing nobody ever asks what the groom is wearing when we get to heaven when we get to heaven.

All that is going to be changed, as we shall see in a moment. So we've talked about the attire. But what about the invited guests. What about them. Now you'll notice it says them and the angel said in verse nine right to this blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he said these are the true words of God. Who are these that are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb and other some people who want to say. Well, this must be the bride but a bride isn't invited to her own wedding bride invites people bride and the groom. They invite their friends to the marriage supper. So who would be these invited guests of the Bible doesn't tell us, but I have an idea who they might be. And if we connect some dots. Maybe we can come up with something that might actually be correct.

Think of it now the church of Jesus Christ is enraptured and taken to heaven. And then there's a period of great tribulation on the air that lasts at least seven years as an AV beyond during that great tribulation that takes place. Daniel says in chapter 12 verses 1 to 3 that at the end of this tribulation. There is going to be a resurrection. I think that that's where all of the Old Testament saints are going to be resurrected. Now the marriage supper takes place at a time when Jesus is about to return to earth in glory and in future messages. We will talk about the tribulation and will talk about this passage and others that speak about Jesus returning to earth and so please keep that in mind, but if it is true now that the Jews are resurrected and by Jews I don't mean only Jews.

All those of the Old Testament. No matter what ethnic background or whatever race they may be if they believed in Jehovah. If they are resurrected after the great tribulation.

They would then be arriving in heaven just at the time when the marriage supper was happening and they would then of course also descend to earth. I'm sure with the church that Jesus has redeemed. What makes me think this is in the New Testament. There's an interesting story. Jesus was criticizing the Jews were thinking that they had an entitlement to the kingdom because they said to themselves, well you know we have the right lineage and Jesus said you might have the right lineage physically, but you never received Messiah. You do not have a heart of it is open to God and then he needs a centurion in the centurion has great faith. And Jesus says these words, he says, verily, I say to you, many shall come in the east and from the west and from the south, and they shall sit in the kingdom with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and another account.

He also adds the prophets and then he says, but the children of the kingdom that is to say, those who thought they had entitlement will be shot out in a place of darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. All of the words of Jesus are words of rebuke words of warning and words of great care so I can imagine that the people who are there. They may indeed be the Old Testament saints now just want you to visualize it.

Millions of people comprise the bride of Jesus Christ.

Now it's time for the wedding and suddenly all these Old Testament saints that have been resurrected. Come marching in.

There is, indeed, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and I'm sure that we instantly recognize them, we think to ourselves a look at their first sure there is Samson after all he was mentioned in the 11th chapter of Hebrews and all of these people all there is Rahab I remember something about her and there she is in the heavenly kingdom rank after rank. Thousands upon thousands are gathering together for the marriage supper of the Lamb you Sylvester loser who's going to serve us. I don't know who's in his service, but I know one person who will and I'm not making this up. This is a passage of Scripture. I've often contemplated, and if I think about it too long. I might break out weeping son going to go very fast. It occurs in the 12th chapter of the Gospel of Luke, Jesus said blessed are those who, when the master calms they are found to be waiting for him, for he says they shall sit down and the master himself shall gird him self with the close of the servant and shelves serve them. Luke 1237. I can imagine there are many of us who like Peter with a larger not serve me remember when Jesus wanted to wash Peter's feet. No, no, not my feet, Lord, Lord, Lord, can't you just imagine people of jumping up and saying, Lord, you sit down serve you and then he'll say don't remember how I taught you that in the kingdom he who serves is greater than he who rules and Jesus is going to serve us is Old Testament sets of wedding feast where we can eat not what you're thinking up what's on the menu.

I don't know exactly what is on the menu but I do know what were going to drink.

I do know that much in a Jewish wedding. It was very important for the bride and the groom to drink new wine I me were talking about the finest of all wine they would keep that wine as long as was necessary and they would save the very best for the wedding feast. Maybe the wind was saved to something like the wind that Jesus made at the Cana of Galilee wedding where they were upset with the host because they said you have The best line to last. They didn't know where it had come from going to be very good wine, no doubt about it.

That's what was served in the Orthodox Jewish wedding. Now come with me to the New Testament. One day Jesus gathered his disciples together and says to them. I am going to invite you to share with me the Passover and so they gathered together and in the midst of that feast is all of you know Jesus Christ takes bread and he breaks it in the says this is my body which was broken for you this. Do in remembrance of me. And then we discover that he took the cup, and he said this cup is the new covenant in my blood. This drink in remembrance of me. And then in Matthew 26 he made this amazing statement. He said I will not drink of the fruit of the vine again until I drink it anew with you in the father's kingdom. The best wine will be saved for that and even those of us who don't drink wine on earth is that going to be good wine as we enjoy the wedding feast. As I say it's very difficult for us to put her mind around all of this because some of it may be symbolic but you say today Pastor Lutzer what is really the bottom line. I mean if you're going to bring the plane down where you going to land tell you that if there's anything in this passage that is important. It is the intimacy and the closeness that we are going to have with Jesus Christ. The intimacy and the closeness and when I said that Israel was invited to the wedding. I don't mean to imply that there are going to be various gradations in heaven, there is going to be some second-class citizens. Some first-class citizens. No no no no will all be together but God oftentimes makes distinctions on earth and for a time he may make stations in heaven. But the thing that is most remarkable is the closeness that we have with Jesus. You know what Paul says in Colossians, he says, when Christ, who is our light, shall he says, then, shall we also appear with him in glory, to realize what that means. The entire universe is going to see how close we are to Jesus. Every demon every Angel, every unconverted person who is on planet Earth when Jesus Christ returns and they see that we are next to him. It says we will also be revealed with him in glory. And you even imagine what it's going to be like. I know that in weddings today. The big issue of course is the beauty of the bride what she's wearing how she comes down the aisle, the groom, I mean he could be standing there and not doing much of anything and nobody know the difference. But I tell you in heaven.

It's going to be very different than that throughout all of eternity. People are not going to ask the question, they are not going to ask the question is the bride is not the question. The question that is going to be asked is who is the groom who is that blue is the Lamb of God that read deemed to his church and cleansed, or that he should marry her.

Who is this king that descends, who is this Alpha and Omega. It is Jesus Christ the Lord King of Kings and Lord of lords. God of all God's that's who it is and the focus will be on him.

The apostle Paul said in the 11th chapter of Corinthian's he made the statement he says I have betrothed you to Christ and he said I want you to be a pure virgin. Remember during the engagement.

The whole point is whether or not your pure whether or not the bride and the groom are being faithful and true to each other and waiting for one another and then pauses. But I fear less as the serpent deceived EE so your pure minds might be led astray by the simple city that his injuries so want to ask you today, are you being true to the bride and the bridegroom eyes should say are you being true to him. You're engaged to him.

If you're a believer and let me speak now to a different category of people is the name to reach and Michelle Saylor mean anything to you. Maybe you forgot about. They are the ones you know that snuck into the White House and got past security and ended up actually being able to shake hands and to speak to our president was an embarrassment for the Secret Service. Needless to say, just want you to know that nobody arrives in heaven and gets past security, nobody arrives and says well here I am, and I think I should be admitted to. I will never happen.

There, Jesus told an interesting parable. He told a parable about a man who showed up for a wedding feast and didn't have the right garment and he was instantly spotted and he was asked to leave.

I don't know how I can make this any clearer to you today that I'm making it. But unless you accept Jesus Christ as your Savior unless you believe on him. You will not arrive in heaven.

I love to tell that story that some of you may have heard me tell years ago about the time that it was actually in the White House and in the oval office.

I was speaking over in Washington DC and a member of the president. Secret Service detail said would you like to go into the Oval Office tomorrow. It was a holiday and the president was out of town. This was when the first President Bush was president and so security maybe was in this tight as it is today, but he asked me if I wanted to go into the Oval Office the next day. Have you ever had somebody say something to you and you know without praying about it that it's God's will. I was going to say no that so we meet there and I had my two daughters with me in the wheel and I only had two that we have three daughters to her with me and that we went past that little house with all the Secret Service agents. They basically looked at us and then they looked at him and they say oh you're with him just go on in when you get to the White House on the step other Secret Service agents. They just looked at us and they looked at him and they said oh you're with him ON and then they said oh you're with him go in and then you go in the hallway and then standing there at the door of the Oval Office. There is one more guard and he allowed us to go in the we couldn't go to the president's desk.

We could put our foot into the oval office.

Imagine with me. We die in a great Holocaust. Imagine with me that we land on the other side and suddenly there it is on the other side of the curtain that we need Jesus.

I want you to visualize sentries of angels all the way to the father's house. Standing guard and then the angels look at us and they see Jesus is going to accompany us and they say you're with him go on in. We need more angels who say oh you're with him go on and then in the distance we see the glory of God and God is more holy and more righteous and more pure than we ever dreamed that he was and suddenly we have a flashback because among us there.

Some were really big centers. Some committed crimes of immorality, and theft and selfishness. That is just it just an end among those of us who perhaps didn't commit those sins we have enough of our own and we begin to look to ourselves and we begin to say we can't go and we can go and we can we can't go in but the angel says you're with him go on, and so we get escorted all the way into the father's house.

Why, because we have the righteousness of Christ credited to our account. The only way to get to heaven to make it to the wedding feast. Let's pray together now of God is spoken to you today and you've never received Christ as Savior. You can do that even right now you can say Jesus save me, you can accept him for those of you who know him, I have to ask you if you and I are being pure for the one to whom we are engaged father throughout all of eternity will sing over and over and over again worthy is the Lamb that was slain. We thank you in Jesus name, amen, amen on today's Moody Church. Our Dr. Erwin Lutzer told us what will happen when we are the bride at his marriage supper. The third in a 10 part series on when he shall come next time don't miss a sobering message when he tolerates a rifle this entire series can be yours on CD is our thank you for your gift of any amount to support The Moody Church. Our just call us at 1-800-215-5001 when you call. Mention the series. The King is coming.

Call 1-800-215-5001 or write to us at The Moody Church 1635 N. LaSalle Boulevard Chicago, IL 60614 online go to moodyoffer.com that's moodyoffer.com join us next week for another Moody Church.

Our with Dr. Erwin Lutzer and the congregation of historic Moody Church in Chicago. This broadcast is a ministry teacher