Revelation 19, and look with
me at verse 9. 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. And I believe with all my heart,
one day real soon, we're going to see just how true these sayings
are. We try to enter into these things,
and one of these days, we're going to see it with our own
two eyes. We're going to be there, and
we're going to say, it was so true. Like the Queen of Sheba,
when she went to Solomon, she said, the half was not told me.
It was so true, every bit of it. He said, Blessed are they
which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. He saith
unto me, These are the true sayings of God. I just want to take a
second and look at this marriage supper, what leads up to this
marriage supper. Now our Lord said, quite a bit
about this marriage supper in his word. He told us what he
would serve. We had a marriage supper yesterday
and I enjoyed it very much and our Lord has told us in his word
what he will serve. Go with me over to Matthew 26. Matthew 26, look with me at verse
26. And as they were eating, Jesus
took bread and blessed it and break it and gave it to the disciples
and said, take, eat, this is my body. And he took the cup
and gave thanks and gave it to them saying, drink ye all of
it. For this is my blood of the New
Testament. The wine that he served represents
the blood he shed, the blood of the New Testament, which is
shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say unto you,
I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, Until
that day when I drink it new with you in my father's kingdom."
He's going to serve the exact same thing that he served at
the wedding he attended in Cana of Galilee. Delicious wine. He held it up and he said, this
represents what I came to do for you. And he said, I will
not drink of this cup, the fruit of this vine, anymore until I
drink it new with you in my father's kingdom. New at that marriage
supper. So he told us what he would serve.
And he told us who the wedding party is. And we'll get to that
in just a second. But first, I want to start here.
Don't go back with me, but in Revelation he said, blessed are
they which are called unto this marriage supper. They are blessed. They're so blessed. And the reason
is because none of them are worthy to be there. None of them are
worthy to attend. None of them deserve the honor
that is going to be bestowed on them. None of them. They're
just a graced people. And that's what we're going to
be crying throughout all eternity. Grace. Thank God for grace. Souls that have had grace poured
all over them. Look with me now at Matthew 22. Matthew 22 verse 1 says, and
Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables and said,
the kingdom of heaven is like, and that's one of my favorite
things that he says. Every time I hear him say that it makes
me want to just stop and perk up. He said, do you want to know
what the kingdom of heaven is like? Verse 2, he said, The kingdom
of heaven is like unto a certain king which made a marriage for
his son and sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden
to the wedding, and they would not come. Isn't that something? Isn't that amazing? It is so
amazing that God would show mercy to any sinner. It really is amazing
grace. It's amazing. If you didn't deserve
it, and he said, this is for you, come. And you said, me? Me? Thank you. That would be
one thing. But that's not what we did. He
said, come. Wouldn't do it. He came to his
own and his own received him not. Isn't that something? Verse
2 says, The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king which
made a marriage for his son and sent forth his servants to call
them that were bidden to the wedding and they would not come
again. Boy, you want to see mercy? His mercies are new every morning,
aren't they? Verse 4 says, Again he sent forth other servants,
saying, Tell them which are bidden, behold, I have prepared my dinner,
my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready. Come
unto the marriage. But they made light of it. Oh man, may God keep me from
making light of this. May God keep this from becoming
common to me." Every time I hear, you are welcome. You come to this marriage supper.
May God keep me from making light of it. Verse 5, they made light
of it and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise. And the remnant took his servants
and entreated them spitefully and slew them. But when the king
heard thereof, he was wroth, and he sent forth his armies
and destroyed those murderers and burned up their city. Then
saith he to his servants, the wedding is ready, but they which
were bidden were not worthy. Go ye therefore into the highways,
and as many as you shall find, bid to the marriage. So those
servants went out into the highways and gathered together all as
many as they found, both bad and good, and the wedding was
furnished with guests. And when the king came in to
see the guest, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment.
And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither, not
having a wedding garment? And he was speechless." Nothing
to say. Then said the king to the servants,
bind him hand and foot and take him away and cast him into outer
darkness. There shall be weeping and gnashing
of teeth for many are called but few are chosen. None who
were called were worthy. None. None. And the only thing that made
them accepted into this marriage feast was that wedding garment. This great king told his servants,
you go, none are worthy. Here's a big stack of wedding
garments. You go distribute them. And you tell them to come in
their wedding garment. Only in their wedding garment.
And every soul who was given a wedding garment was a blessed
soul. Blessed are they which are called
unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. He said these are the true
sayings of God. Now we said yesterday, and we know that marriage is
the symbol that God chose to illustrate his relationship with
his people. Isaiah 54 verse 5 says, thy maker
is thine husband. I love that. The Lord Jesus Christ
is the one who physically made us with his hands. He made us. And thy maker is
thy husband. The Apostle Paul said, I have
espoused you as a chaste virgin to Christ. John the Baptist said,
I am not the bridegroom. I'm just the friend of the bridegroom
who stands by him and rejoices in his voice. I just love to
hear whatever he has to say. And any soul who has this bridegroom
has much reason to rejoice, much reason. Look with me over at
Malachi chapter 2, last book in the Old Testament. Malachi 2 verse 11 says, Judah
hath dealt treacherously, and an abomination is committed in
Israel and in Jerusalem. For Judah hath profaned the holiness
of the Lord, which he loved, and hath married the daughter
of a strange God. The Lord will cut off the man
that doeth this. Look with me at verse 14. Yet ye say, Wherefore? Why? Because the Lord hath been
witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom
thou hast dealt treacherously. Yet is she thy companion and
the wife of thy covenant. And did not he make one? Didn't
he make a covenant? God the Father and God the Son
and God the Spirit entered into a covenant. They entered into
a promise with each other. This is what I love about the
covenant. They all made a promise to each other. We talk about
this covenant. They all made a promise. They're
all able to keep it. It was a covenant concerning
a bride for the son. And this covenant is a marriage
covenant. That's what the covenant was.
We talk about the covenant. This was a marriage promise. God, the father said, I will
choose a bride. That's that is what election
is. The choosing of a bride. God
chose a people. Why? To marry them. God gave
marriage vows. And he said, I'll choose a bride
for the son. And the son said, I will redeem
the bride you choose. I will take her to myself. I will make everything that she
is and everything that she has my responsibility, every bit
of it. Everything that she brings to the table, I'll take on myself,
and everything I bring to the table, she'll take on herself.
I was thinking about the fact that Cole and Mary got married yesterday,
and Mary just got her a new vehicle. Is that her payment alone still? He took that upon Himself, didn't
He? He didn't only just take her, He took all of her debts,
all of her commitments, everything that she is, everything that
she has, and that's what Christ did for us. All of our debts,
just like in a marriage, everything that comes with her, I will take
it on myself. And He said, everything that
comes with me, she will take upon herself, every single bit
of it. So God said, I'll choose you
a bride. And the son said, I'll redeem the bride. And the spirit
said, I'll call, I'll go get her. I'll go get her. I'll call her. And everything
about this covenant relates to this marriage of the lamb, this
marriage of the lamb and his wife. And here's the glorious
news of the covenant. Look at verse 15. It says, and
did not he make one? Didn't he make a covenant? Yet
he had the residue, that means the excellency of the Spirit.
And wherefore, one, why did he make a covenant? That he might
seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit
and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth,
For the Lord, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting
away. He hates the putting away of
divorce. He will not do it. He will not
do it. He said, I will never leave you. Don't you love that? The only
thing we can say is, in spite of us, He said, I'll never leave
you, never. I'll never forsake you. He said,
I have loved you with an everlasting love. In my mind, I always thought
of that as from the beginning, from before the foundation of
the world. But it also means it will never end. I have loved
you with an everlasting love. I'll love you forever. I'll love
you forever. And even though the bride that
was given to him by the Father was so unworthy, even though
she brought so much debt with her, so much shame, so much guilt,
this is what he said in Jeremiah. And I was going to have you turn,
but I'm not going to. In Jeremiah 23, you just listen, I'll turn.
Jeremiah 23, he said, This is Jeremiah 23, 5 and 6.
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto
David a righteous branch, and a king shall reign and prosper,
and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his
days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely. And
this is his name whereby he shall be called. This is the bridegroom's
name. His name is the Lord our righteousness. That's his name. Well, what's
her name? If that's his name, what is his
wife's name? Is it Sinner, knowing how wicked
she is? Is it Trickster? That ought to
be her name. Supplanter? He wrote her name
down in Jeremiah 33. Just listen to this. It says,
this is Jeremiah 33, 15 and 16. In those days and at that time
will I cause the branch of righteousness to grow up unto David and he
shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land. In those days shall
Judah be saved and Jerusalem shall dwell safely and this is
the name wherewith she shall be called. the Lord our righteousness. That's amazing. That's amazing. He gave her his own name. She takes his name. And his name is not just any
name. His name is above every name. And he gave that name to her.
I can't even enter into that. He gave the name that is above
every name. When His name is said, every
knee must bow and every tongue must confess that He's Lord.
And He gave that name to her. Can't even expound on it. Look
with me, if you would, at Ephesians 5. I'll be quick. Ephesians 5. Ephesians 5 verse 25 says, Husbands, love your wives even
as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it. He gave
himself for it. That he might sanctify and cleanse
it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present
it. that he might present it to himself,
a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing,
but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men
to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his
wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his
own flesh, but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord
the church. He gave himself. We know how
he gave himself. We know where he gave himself.
We know when he gave himself. It was on that cross of Calvary,
wasn't it? And he did that in order to sanctify his wife and
cleanse her that he might present her as his glorious bride. Now here is what's going to happen.
Turn with me over to 1 Thessalonians 4, over just a few pages to 1
Thessalonians 4. And I would say you can write
this down, but it has already been written down. This is written
down. This is going to happen. 1 Thessalonians
4 verse 16 says, For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven
with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the
trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then
we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with
them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. At that moment,
right there, we're going to hear it, we're going to see it, we're
going to be lifted, and at that moment we will be freed from
the presence of sin. At that moment. We have already
been freed from the power of sin. And we have already been
freed from the penalty of sin. But at that moment, as soon as
we lift up, we're gonna be freed from the presence of sin. I believe that song has it right.
It says, sweet hour of prayer, sweet hour of prayer, may I thy
consolation share till from Mount Pisgah's lofty height, I view
my home and take my flight. This robe of flesh I'll drop,
and rise to seize the everlasting prize, and that's a person. And
I will shout while passing through the air, farewell, farewell,
every bit of that mess. Now go with me to Revelation
19. Revelation 19 verse 1 says, And
after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven
saying, hallelujah, salvation and glory and honor and power
unto the Lord our God. And that's what we will be crying
at the top of our lungs. For true and righteous are his
judgments for he hath judged the great whore which did corrupt
the earth with her fornication and hath avenged the blood of
his servants at her hand. And again they said, Hallelujah,
and her smoke rose up forever and ever. And the four and twenty
elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that
sat on the throne saying, Amen, Hallelujah. And a voice came
out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants,
and ye that fear him, both small and great. And I heard, as it
were, the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters,
and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Hallelujah, for the Lord
God omnipotent reigneth. 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 saints. And he saith unto me,
Right, 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. Now here is the great husband.
All right, here's the great husband of heaven. Look at verse 11.
And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and he
that sat upon him was called Faithful and True. And in righteousness
he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire,
and on his head were many crowns. And he had a name written that
no man knew but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture
dipped in blood. And his name is called the Word
of God. And the armies which were in
heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen,
white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a
sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations, and
he shall rule them with a rod of iron. And he treadeth the
winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he
hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King of
kings and Lord of lords. Now look at chapter 21. Verse
1 says, And I saw a new heaven and a new earth. And the first
heaven and the first earth were passed away, and there was no
more sea. And I, John, saw the holy city,
New Jerusalem, coming down from God, out of heaven, prepared
as a bride, adorned for her husband." Now here he stands, the glorious
husband of heaven. And here comes his bride. Verse
2 says, I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down
from God, out of heaven, prepared as a bride, adorned for her husband.
And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the
tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them,
and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with
them and be their God before all the witnesses of heaven.
The scripture says an innumerable company of angels, innumerable. Before all of the cherubims,
all of the seraphims, all of the heavenly hosts, a great voice
cries, I now present to you the Lamb of God and His wife. Just before we traveled to the
marriage feast, we presented the husband and his bride, didn't
we? Final thing, after it was all said and done, I now present
to you the Lamb of God and His wife to have and to hold from
this day forward. The scripture says, and I believe
it, that every single time a sinner repents, All of the hosts of
heaven, all of the angels erupt with joy. Can you imagine the
moment that the announcement is made? The Lamb of God and
all of His bride are here. There they are, husband and wife.
Heaven erupts. Heaven erupts. Verse 3 says,
And I heard a great voice out of heaven, saying, Behold, the
tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them,
and they shall be His people. And God Himself shall be with
them and be their God, and God shall wipe away all tears from
their eyes. And there shall be no more death,
neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain,
for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the
throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto
me, You write every bit of this down, for these words are true
and faithful." Isn't that wonderful? When it's all said and done,
there they are. Bring out the wine. Bring out
the wine. It's time. Let the feast begin. Let the celebration begin. Thank
God for these true and faithful words. True words. This is how
it's going to be. We'll look forward to it. Okay,
you're dismissed. Thank you. Okay. you.