Good morning. If you'll find
your seats and turn in your hardback hymnal to 509. 509. We'll stand together and sing
this one acapella. The sands of time are sinking,
the dawn of heaven breaks. The summer morn I've sighed for,
the fair sweet morn awakes. Dark, dark hath been the midnight,
but day spring is at hand, and glory, glory dwelleth in Emmanuel's
land. O Christ, he is the fountain,
the deep sweet well of love. The streams on earth I've tasted,
more deep I'll drink above. There to an ocean fullness His
mercy doth expand, And glory, glory dwelleth In Emmanuel's
land. Oh, I am my Beloved's and my
Beloved's mine. He brings a poor, vile sinner. into his house of wine. I stand upon his merit, I know
no other stand. Not even where glory dwelleth
in Emmanuel's land. The bride eyes not her garment,
but her dear bridegroom's face. I will not gaze at glory, but
on my king. of grace, not at the crown he
giveth, but on his pierced hand. The lamb is all the glory of
Immanuel's land. Be seated, please. Good morning. Adam, that song was just so appropriate
for what I want to try to preached this morning, the last stanza
of this hymn, the bride eyes, not her garment, but her bridegroom's
face. And it reminded me of a conversation
that Brian and I had when he and Laura Grace got married.
He was talking about the plans before the wedding. And I stopped
him and I said, Ryan, I said, there's two people at a wedding
that you can't have a wedding without, but they're the two
most insignificant people there. He said, who's that? I said,
the preacher and the groom. Weddings are not about the groom.
They're all about the bride, aren't they? And surely there
is a, a time when our Lord will parade his bride before all creation
as a trophy of his grace and we look forward to that day.
But I'm thankful that the bridegroom in the marriage feast of the
Lamb is the one who gets all the glory. And how different
that is from the way we do things here in this world. If you'd
like to turn with me in your Bibles to John chapter two, John
chapter two. Let's ask the Lord's blessings.
Our merciful heavenly father, thank you. for bringing us once
again to this place where we can open your word, where we
can open our hearts before thee and come to you in prayer. And Lord, we pray that what we
do physically and in our desires, Lord, that you would do spiritually
and effectually that you would open your word in such a way
as to speak truth and grace and peace and hope and comfort to
our hearts. We pray that you would open our
hearts in such a way, Lord, that we would be, that we'd be changed
and brought in faith to Christ. And Lord, we pray that you would
open the windows of heaven, that you would come down and meet
with us Lord, make yourself known, reveal your glory as the bridegroom
and cause us, Lord, as your bride to glory in your face. We ask it in Christ's name, amen. You have your Bibles open to
John chapter two. Verse one, the third day there
was a marriage in Cana of Galilee and the mother of Jesus was there
and both Jesus was called and his disciples to the marriage. Now, perhaps next Sunday we'll
get into the details of this miracle that our Lord performed. It is the first of the miracles
recorded in scripture. where he turned the water into
wine. And what a significant picture
of the Lord fulfilling all the requirements of the law and bringing
in the new wine in his life to his people. But this morning,
I want us to think about a wedding, a marriage more particular, being
the reason for everything. As we swipe the touchscreens
of our smartphones, has there ever been a generation of people
with more information literally at their fingertips and yet at
the same time have become fools in their hearts toward God. The more man increases in knowledge,
the less he seems to know about the truth. And my hope this morning
is that the Lord will reveal to our hearts the truth of who
he is and what he came to do. You know, it was only around
500 years ago when man figured out that it was the earth that
was moving around the sun, not the sun around the earth. And
yet, spiritually speaking, men today are as ignorant as man
was for thousands of years. Concerning the relationship that
the earth has to the sun, man is equally ignorant concerning
the relationship that man has with God. Men with all of their knowledge
are fools in their hearts toward God because they think that God
revolves around man. when the truth is just the opposite. And the interesting thing is
that the men who first discovered that it was the earth moving,
not the sun, were all persecuted as heretics by the religious
leaders of the day. And conversely, those of us who
now claim that it is man that revolves around God and not God
who revolves around man are declared to be heretics by the religious
establishment of our day. And yet, that's how foolish and
ignorant men are. all men have is theories as to
the meaning of life. The big bang theory and the theory
of evolution and the theory of relativity and all these different
theories and they're trying to discover the meaning of life
based on theory. And in their foolish hearts they've
they declared these theories to be laws. We base the hope of our salvation
not on a theory, but on the truth as it's revealed in God's word.
And what comfort and what hope and what peace the Lord gives
to his people. Turn with me to Psalm 115. Psalm
115. We are spending trillions of
dollars trying to plumb the depths of space in order to determine
the origins of life. In the beginning, God created
the heavens and the earth. How foolish we have become to
just not simply believe God. The Lord Jesus says of him, in
him was life. And the life was the light of
men. The Lord Jesus is the life. And he's the creator and sustainer
of all of life and we find our life in him. You see, God's not
revolving around man. Man is revolving around God. God's the one that doesn't move.
We're the ones who move all the time. He's the same yesterday,
today, and forever. He said, I am the Lord and I
change not. Men try to figure out what their
purpose in life is. And the scripture says, this
is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God and
Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. To know God, to worship him,
to believe him, to have fellowship with him, that is your purpose
in life and that is my purpose in life. It's that simple. But men won't have it. We'll
not have that man reign over us. And knowledge puffeth up. And man thinks that he's so smart
when he is truly, truly so, so foolish. Look with me at Psalm 115. Not
unto us, O Lord, not unto us. but unto thy name give glory
for thy mercy and for thy truth's sake. Wherefore should the heathen
say, where is now their God? But our God is in the heavens
and he hath done. Notice the verb tense, he hath
done. whatsoever he hath pleased." Oh, do you find comfort in that?
That our God reigns sovereign and omnipotent over his creation
and that he works all things after the counsel of his own
will and purpose. That we have a God who's never
learned anything, he's never asked a question, he's never been ignorant of anything, he's
perfect omniscience, perfect omnipotence, what a glorious
God. You see, the fear of God is the
beginning of wisdom. And the Lord says, where is the
wise? Where is the prudent? Where is the disputer of this
world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? You
see, when the Lord reveals himself We come to see that the pursuits
of the world for knowledge and for understanding as to who they
are and what their purpose is and where they came from and
what the meaning of life is becomes foolish to the believer because
he has the simple answers to those questions. Scientists now are looking for
what they call the theory of everything. You know, if we can
just figure out one, and it all has to do with dark matter, you
know, the God particle, they're looking for something. And they
think they're gonna discover some truth that's going to give
them the answer to all things. How foolish, how foolish men
are. Brethren, we have those answers.
We have those answers. And those answers are in our
God, revealed in his word. And we need not be tossed about
to and fro with every wind of doctrine. We need not be confused
in this world like the rest of the world is. We need to rest
and believe and trust and know that what God says is true and
faithful and we can we can rest in him, whatever
other things might be going on in this world. God settled our
hearts in the truth of who he is. Their idols, look with me, verse
four, their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. They have mouths, but they speak
not. Eyes they have, but they see
not. They have ears, but they hear
not. Noses have they, but they smell not. They have hands, but
they handle not. Feet have they, but they walk
not. Neither speak they through their throat. Look at this, verse
eight. They that make them are like
unto them. So is everyone that trusteth
in them. Man You know, here's the truth. We wake up in the morning, we
open our eyes and immediately we are in the center of our own
universe, aren't we? And we interpret everything we
see and everything we experience and everything we know in light
of who we are and where we are as if it's all revolving around
us. Isn't that the natural bent of the natural man? Why have
we come here this morning? to be corrected in that error
and to be reminded, to be reminded that the sun is not moving. The sun is not moving. We're
the ones revolving and rotating around the sun. Lest we fall into the error of
this world and begin to think like the world thinks, let us
be reminded our God holds all things in the palm of his hands
and he hath done whatsoever he wills with the armies of heaven
and with all the inhabitants of the earth and that no man
no man can stay his hand and no man can say unto him what
doest thou He does what he wants, when he wants, with whomever
he wants, however he wants, and whatever he does, he does it
right. And the fact that he did it makes it right. And the fact
that he said it makes it right. You know, you and I have to,
when we make decisions, we have to factor in, you know, the pros
and cons and the right and wrong of every decision that we make.
God never does that. Because he said it, because he
did it, makes it right. He doesn't have to weigh things
like we do. Not unto us, O Lord, not unto
us, but unto thy name, give glory for thy mercy and for thy truth's
sake. Let's read a couple more verses
here. Look at verse 9, O Israel, that's God's people. That's those
who have been given a new nature in Christ. Jacob was given a
new nature, wasn't he? And now sometimes the scripture
refers to us as the sons of Jacob and we are because we've still
got that old man and we're still deceivers and we're still supplanters
and we still succumb to the temptations of the world and the flesh and
all the things that this world has to offer. And here the Lord
says, I'm giving you a new nature, a new name. Your name now is
Israel, the Prince of God. You know the truth. Oh Israel, Here's God speaking,
may the Lord speak these words effectually to our hearts. Oh
Israel, trust thou in the Lord. He is their help and their shield. The world is looking for the
answers to all these things out there and all they have is theories.
We have the truth. Trust in the Lord, trust him. Oh, house of Aaron, trust in
the Lord. He is their help and their shield. I am thy shield, is what the
Lord said to Abraham. And I am thine exceeding great
reward. Do you need to be reminded of
this? I do. I so need the Lord to remind
me of this often. Ye that fear the Lord, trust
in the Lord. Trust him. He is their help and
their shield. The Lord hath been mindful of
us and he will bless us. He will bless the house of Israel
and he will bless the house of Aaron. He will bless them that
fear the Lord, both small and great. The Lord shall increase
you more and more, you and your children. Is there one simple truth that
explains all the events of time from beginning to end? And the answer to that question
is yes, there is. It's a marriage. It's a marriage. The scriptures are clear. God
the Father, according to his own will and purpose, chose a
bride for his son before time ever was. Before Adam was created,
let me show you that. Turn with me to Ephesians chapter
1. Verse three, blessed be the God
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with
all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ, according as
he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. God sovereignly, according to
his own will, chose a particular people as the bride for his son. Romans chapter nine, turn with
me there. Look at verse 11. For the children, Talking about
Rebecca's children, Jacob and Esau, for the children being
not yet born, neither having done any good or evil that the
purpose of God according to election might stand not of works but
of him that calleth. It was said unto her. Before
these boys were born, before they had done anything good or
bad, God had chosen one over the other. God had elected one. And God says to Rebekah, the
elder shall serve the younger. Esau was born first and Jacob
later. As it is written, Jacob have
I loved, but Esau have I hated. What shall we say then? Is there
unrighteousness with God? You see, the unbeliever who thinks
that the sun revolves around the earth, the unbeliever who
has that perception of God would say, well, that's not fair. God
owes everybody on earth the same chance and, you know, Now what
they say, is God unfair? Is he unrighteous? God forbid,
perish the thought. What does he say? For he saith
to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy. It's
completely up to me. The sun's not moving. You see, Men who have increased
in knowledge have become fools in their hearts toward God and
they are as foolish about the things of God as men were before
it was discovered that it was the earth moving. I will have compassion upon whom
I will have compassion. Come ye blessed of my Father
Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of
the earth. You see, this marriage was literally,
we talk about marriages being made in heaven, and this marriage
was literally made in heaven. This marriage will know nothing
of separation or divorce. This is a perfect marriage. And
the bridegroom is going to make sure that it is. He's the one
that's going to keep his bride. He's the one that's going to
present her faultless before the throne of God with great
joy. He's the one that's going to make her beautiful with his
comeliness and he's going to put his robe of righteousness
on her. This is the reason for everything. It's all about a marriage. And
it's significant, it's significant that the Lord would perform his
first miracle at a wedding. The Lord's telling us something
here. He's telling us this is the first cause of all things.
This is what everything is about. This is the reason why the world
exists. I've chosen for my son a bride.
And I've created her out of him. And this goes back to the very
beginning in Genesis, when God caused Adam to go into a deep
sleep. a picture of the death of the
Lord Jesus on Calvary's cross. And while he was in that sleep,
what did the Lord do? He took from the rib of Adam,
the bone closest to his heart, and he created a woman, Eve. And when Adam woke from that
sleep and he saw his bride, what did he say? This is now bone
of my bone and flesh of my flesh. The man shall leave his father
and his mother and cleave unto his wife and the two shall be
made one flesh. And Ephesians chapter 5 tells
us that this union between a husband and a wife is a living testimony,
a living testimony of the whole purpose of everything. The marriage
that God the Father has has made for his son, the bride. And the Lord Jesus redeemed his
bride. You know, back to Adam and Eve,
it's significant that the scripture says that Eve was deceived. Adam wasn't deceived. Adam ate
of that fruit with his eyes wide open. Eve was enticed by the
devil. But when she gave it to Adam,
Adam wasn't deceived. Adam knew exactly what he was
doing. You know, sin has deceived us. We're easily deceived by
Satan and confused by things. But when the Lord Jesus went
to Calvary's cross, the scripture calls him the last Adam, the
bridegroom, the husband of his bride. He went to that cross
with his eyes wide open. That's why he prayed in the garden
and said, Father, if there be any way this cup can pass from
me, let it be nevertheless not my will, but thy will be done.
He knew that when he went to that cross, he was going to be
drinking down to the bitter dregs all the sins of all of his bride. And he was going to suffer the
shame and separation and sorrow and penalty for those sins. He ate of the fruit with his
eyes wide open. And just as Adam eating, now
I'm not excusing what Adam did, but we're seeing it as a type
of Christ in his church. And just as Adam followed his
wife and became her redeemer. You see, they were both cast
out of the garden. Had Adam not taken of the fruit,
Eve would have been condemned and who knows, you see the picture
there. That Adam took on the sin of
his bride, his wife, in order that through his sin could bring
about the seed of the woman. the seed of the woman, which
is Christ. And that seed could not come
unless Adam stayed with his wife. So we see the redemptive work
of the Lord Jesus, who paid the dowry for his bride by his precious
blood. You know, here's another place
where we've reversed the order of things, just like we We parade
the bride and everybody else there is insignificant. I'm not bad-mouthing that. Weddings
are weddings. They're what they are. And I'm
happy for the bride to get all the attention at a wedding. But
I'm just trying to look at this marriage between Christ and His
Church. And dowries today, The woman pays the dowry, in
cultures where dowries are still paid and they are. We talked
to friends in India, they still have dowry system over there
and it's the bride's family that plays to the groom's family,
the money, to be part of his family. But it's not the way
it is in the scriptures. The two times that a dowry is
paid in the scriptures, The man pays it for the bride. And in both of those cases, circumcision
is the price of the dowry. Now when Jacob's daughter Dinah, there was a man by the name of
Shechem and Shechem took Jacob's daughter Dinah and slept with
her before he married her. And Dinah's brothers, Shechem
said to his father, get Dinah to be my wife. And whatever the
dowry is, I'll pay it. And so Dinah's brothers said
to Shechem, we want all the men in your tribe. Shechem was not
a part of Israel. They were a pagan nation. We
can't give our daughter. to a pagan tribe, you must be
circumcised. And that's the only dowry that
we're requiring. The scripture says that. That was the dowry, the circumcision
of these men. And while they were recovering
from the circumcision, Dinah's brothers went in and killed every
one of them. The other time was when Saul put David in a place
where he thought, I can get rid of David. And what he did is
he promised Micah, he promised David to give his daughter, Michael,
to David. And the dowry price that David
had to pay to Saul for Michael was 100 foreskins of the Philistines. And David said, no problem. He
went out and got 200 and brought them. And so the man is paying
the dowry for the bride with the foreskins of circumcision
in both of these cases. What is that a picture of? The
scripture says that the Lord Jesus was cut off and that's
what circumcision literally means. The translation of the word circumcision
is cut off. And the Lord Jesus died in the
flesh as a man on Calvary's cross. And the circumcision that the Lord, are you able to
be baptized with the baptism that I'm gonna be baptized with?
Are you able to suffer the circumcision that I'm gonna be suffering?
You see the Lord Jesus was circumcised spiritually when he was cut off
from the land of the living on Calvary's cross. What am I saying? Well, you've made the connection.
That's the dowry. that the bridegroom paid for
his wife. And he paid it to his father,
the father of the bride. The Lord Jesus paid the dowry. His life was the dowry. His blood
was the dowry. And he didn't pay it to the bride.
He paid it to her father. who had chosen her in the covenant
of grace, and he redeemed her. And now the Lord Jesus has ascended
back into glory, and he has sent his spirit, and the Holy Spirit
is taking this message of the gospel, the accomplished work
of the Lord Jesus Christ, having bought to himself the bride that
the Father had given him in the covenant of grace before the
world ever was, and the Spirit of God right now, and I pray
maybe even now, is taking the message of the Gospel and making
it effectual to the hearts of those that the Father chose,
those for whom Christ died, and bringing them in faith in a union
relationship so that the two now shall be made one. It's a marriage. It's all about
a marriage. And when the last, and when the
last of God's elect, the last one, we don't know who that is,
maybe it'll be today, and that'd be wonderful. You see, the church,
we are left behind as a witness of the gospel to the world. Well,
who's in the world that needs to hear the witness? It's God's
lost sheep. And when the last one of God's
lost sheep hears the gospel, and is brought to faith in Christ,
there's not a need for this world to exist for one more minute. You see, a marriage is the reason
for everything. Turn with me to Revelation chapter
19. Revelation 19. Look at me at verse seven. Let
us be glad and rejoice and give honor to him for the marriage
of the lamb is come and his wife hath made herself ready. And
to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean
and white for the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints.
And he saith unto me, write, blessed are they which are called
unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, these
are the true sayings of God. Let the men of this world run to and fro and spend their
lives and their fortunes trying to figure out the origins of
life, the purpose of life, the meaning of life, what their purpose
is here, what the meaning of the world is, where we come from,
where we're going. We don't have to do that. We
know where we came from. And we know where we're going.
And we know who's doing it. And we know what The reason for
everything is. It's all about a marriage. It's
all about Christ, the bridegroom and his bride. Amen. All right, let's take a break.