Our service is a little bit different
since we're going to have a wedding after the message this evening,
and we're going to have the message both in English and in Spanish,
the Lord willing. So those who may be joining in
by means of the streaming, buenas noches, good evening. We're happy
to have you with us and the Lord willing, The service won't last
any longer. Let me put you at ease about
that. But it will be in English, and
then Austin is going to translate into Spanish. Well, let's begin
our service tonight, reading from God's Word, Ephesians chapter
5. We'll read this passage of scripture,
and this is a text that I would like to speak to us from this
evening, Ephesians chapter five and beginning with verse 25. Husbands love your wives, even
as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it that
he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water
by the word. 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. For we are members of his body,
of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave
his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and
they too shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery, but
I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless, let
every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself,
and the wife see that she reverence her husband. May the Lord bless
His word to all of us here tonight. Now let's sing this hymn, The
Church Is One Foundation, and as we sing, pay close attention
to the words. The Church Is One Foundation,
number 186. The Church's one foundation is
Jesus Christ, her Lord. She is His new creation by water
and the Word. From heaven he came and sought
her to be his holy bride. With his own blood he bought
her and for her life he died. He left from every nation, yet
one or all One Lord, one faith, one birth,
One holy name she blesses, Partakes one holy food, And to one hope
she presses, With every grace endures. Mid toil and tribulation
and tumult of her war, She waits a consummation of peace forevermore. Till with a vision glorious Her
longing eyes are blessed, And the great church victorious Shall
be the church at rest. Yet she on earth hath used with
God the three-in-one, and mystic sweet communion with those whose
rest is won. O happy ones and holy, Lord give
us grace that we Like them the meek and lowly on high may dwell
with thee. Let us bow our heads together
in prayer. Our Father, we come before Thee
this evening with thanksgiving and praise that we may gather
together to worship Thee. And Father, we are so thankful
tonight for our church family, for the brothers and sisters
in Christ with whom we can join and sing these praises and Lord
study thy word. And we do pray that you will
bless this service for your glory, for your honor. We ask Lord that
the gospel may be proclaimed in clarity and father with power
of God, the Holy Spirit. And also, Father, we think of
Eric and Elizabeth tonight, and we pray especially for them,
for your richest blessings upon them as they join their lives
tonight in marriage. We pray that you will watch over
them. Guard them, keep them, and use
them, Father, in thy service. We thank thee so much for both
of them. And Lord, we pray that you will
bless those that join with us tonight by means of the streaming.
We ask that you will bless your word as it goes out here and
in every place where your people gather tonight. For all of these
things, I ask in Christ's name and for his sake, amen. Now let's
turn to hymn number 452, number 452, My Savior's Love. We'll sing the first, second,
fourth, and fifth, okay? First, second, fourth, and fifth. I stand amazed in the presence
of Jesus the Nazarene, and wonder how He could love me, a sinner
condemned unclean. How marvelous, how wonderful,
And my song shall ever be! How marvelous, how wonderful,
Is my Savior's love for me! For me it was in the garden He
prayed not my will but thine He had no tears for his own griefs
But sweat drops of blood for mine How marvelous, how wonderful,
and my song shall ever be! How marvelous, how wonderful
is my Savior's love for me! He took my sins and my sorrows,
He made them His very own. He bore the burden to Calvary,
And suffered and died alone. How marvelous, how wonderful,
And my song shall ever be! How marvelous, how wonderful,
Is my Savior's love for me! When with a ransomed in glory
His face I at last shall see, Will be my joy through the ages
To sing of His love for me How marvelous, how wonderful And
my soul shall ever be How marvelous, how wonderful Is my Savior's
love for me Elizabeth asked that this hymn
be sung at this time. Great is thy faithfulness, O
God, my Father. So Cindy, if you will, and she
invited Cindy to sing the hymn, so we enjoy this hymn a great
deal that speaks of the faithfulness of our God and Father of the
Lord Jesus Christ. Great is thy faithfulness. He's
a faithful God, isn't he? Amen. ♪ Great is thy greatness, O God
my Father ♪ ♪ Your peace, O show of eternal beauty ♪ ♪ Thy changes,
form of compassion ♪ Ever true. Dream is thy faithfulness. Dream is thy faithfulness. ♪ And hold it by hand and grow
by hand ♪ ♪ Praise thy faithfulness, O Lord, unto me ♪ ♪ And have
mercy on me, O Lord ♪ ♪ Courses of love ♪ ♪ Join with
all nature in an endless witness ♪ ♪ To thy great kindness, mercy
and love ♪ ♪ I is thy faithfulness ♪ ♪ I is thy faithfulness ♪ ♪ With new mercies I sing ♪ ♪ All
I have needed Thy hand hath provided ♪ ♪ Great is Thy kindness, garden
to me ♪ ♪ Garden for sin and peace that I need ♪ ♪ Live out your day and bring hope
for tomorrow ♪ ♪ Blessings of life will be thousand days long
♪ ♪ Great is thy faithfulness ♪ ♪ Great is thy faithfulness
♪ ♪ Morning by morning ♪ God, I have been a thorn in death,
O my head. Release, I pray, from this thorn
into me. Austin, if you will, come. In this passage, we read in Ephesians
chapter 5, the Apostle Paul The Apostle Paul is giving the
role of the husband and wife. Don't let me mess you up. He's
giving the roles of the husband and wife. but Christian husbands and Christian
wives. Those of the world, they will
not agree with this, but God's children recognize that God's
way is the best. It's from the beginning of creation. The husband is the head of the
wife, and the wife is to reverence her husband. But I want you to
notice in verse 31, He speaks of the husband and
the wife as being one. Man and wife are united in marriage.
They're no longer before God two, but they're one. There's
a union, and it's a picture. It's a picture of the union which
exists between Christ and his church. You notice in verse 32,
the apostle says, this is a great mystery. A mystery in the scripture
is something that had to be revealed. It's not like reading a mystery
story, a novel. It's a mystery in the sense that
the natural man would have never understood this. It had to be
revealed by God. And Paul says that the picture between husband and wife is a picture of the union which
exists between Christ and his church. When I speak of the church,
I'm not talking about a building. This building is where the church meets. I'm not talking about a denomination. I'm not talking about Baptists,
Catholics, Presbyterians, Methodists. The church is made up of every one who trusts in the Lord Jesus
Christ. Those who have been born again
by the Spirit of God and baptized spiritually into the body of Christ. And
this is a mystery. But the child of God and the
son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, we are one. We're one. There are several
pictures. One picture is of the body, the
physical body. Our body has one head, but many
members. So the church of the Lord Jesus
Christ has one head. Christ is the head, and every
child of God were members of his body. It's pictured by the shepherd
and his sheep. Christ is the good shepherd who
gave his life for the sheep. The sheep are those who trust
in Christ. The church is also pictured by
the branch and the vine. Christ said, I am the vine. You
are the branches. We recognize the life is in the
vine and gives life to the branches. The branches have no life if they're not in union with
the vine. So that too is a picture. But tonight, we're looking at
this picture, the union which exists between Christ the husband,
the church, His bride. All of these are beautiful
pictures. And they all point to the same
thing. Christ is the way. Christ is the only way. No one
comes unto the Father. but by Jesus Christ. He's the way, He's the truth,
and yes, He's the life. There is no life apart from Christ. Now there are four things that
I want to mention that I see in this passage about Christ
and His church, the bride. Cuatro cosas que quiero que veamos
en este texto acerca de Cristo y su esposa. First, in verse
25. Primero, en versículo 25. The
last part of the verse. La última parte del versículo.
Christ also loved the church. Así como Cristo amó a la iglesia. Christ, the husband. Cristo,
el esposo. his bride, the church. Do you ask, why is this written
in the past tense? Christ loved the church. Why
is this not written in the present? Christ loves the church. It is true that Christ loves
His church, present tense, but it's also true that Christ has
always loved His bride. His love for His bride is not
of yesterday, His love for his church is everlasting. It's eternal. Before there ever
was a sun to shine in the sky, Christ loved his church. If you look back to first chapter
of Ephesians, beginning with verse three, Comenzando con versículo número
tres. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ. Bendito sea el Dios y Padre de
nuestro Señor Jesucristo. Who hath blessed us with all
spiritual blessings. Que nos bendijo con toda bendición
espiritual. And heavenly places in Christ.
En los lugares celestiales en Cristo. According as he hath
chosen us. Según nos escogió. before the
foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without
blame before him, in love, having predestinated us unto the adoption
of children by Jesus Christ to himself. Now listen, according to the
good pleasure of His will. Christ, His love is uncaused. He didn't look down through the
ages to see who would choose Him. No, no. According to the
Word of God, before the foundation of the world, He loved His people
and chose them and predestinated them to be
conformed to the image of his son. In the prophet Jeremiah,
the scripture says, yea, I have loved thee. with an everlasting love. His
love is everlasting and his love is free. You can't do anything. Man cannot do anything. to cause God to love them. God, His love is free. The Apostle John says, we, speaking
of himself and other believers, we love him because he first
loved us. Christ loved the church. Husbands,
love your wives. Number two, Christ the husband
gave himself for his bride, the church. His bride, his church, We were all represented in Adam,
the first man. And when he disobeyed God, all
men fell in him. For by one man, sin entered into
the world. and death by sin. Adam represented
all men, including the bride of Christ. Christ represents
not all men, but all of his chosen. We were plunged into sin. God's justice demanded satisfaction. Payment had to be made. His bride
that he loved fell in Adam, became sinful. And God's justice demanded satisfaction. Who can pay that? We cannot pay that debt. We're
bankrupt. We're sinners. Sinners by nature, by choice,
by practice. We can't pay that debt. This
is the good news. The gospel. The Lord Jesus Christ,
God's eternal son, became flesh, came into this world, to pay the debt, the sin debt
of his bride, and to satisfy God's strict and holy justice. The scriptures tell us He who knew no sin, that's Christ. He was born without sin. He never sinned, not in thought
or word or deed, and yet he was made to be sinned. How was he made to be sinned? The Bible is very clear. God
took the sins of his chosen people and charged them to Christ's
account. He became legally liable for
the sins of his bride that we might be made the righteousness
of God in Him. We sang a hymn just a few minutes
ago I stand amazed, and if you know
Christ tonight, don't you stand amazed in the presence of Jesus
the Nazarene? that he would love me, a sinner,
condemned, unclean. And one of those verses said,
he took my sins and my sorrows and made them his very own and
bore the burden. to Calvary, the cross of Calvary,
and suffered and died alone. When he said, my God, my God,
why hast thou forsaken me? That's what all of us deserve. To be separated from God for
all eternity. Ser separados por Dios por toda
la eternidad. The Christ experienced. Pero
Cristo experimento. He suffered. El sufrio. The sin,
the hell. El sufrio la, el. El infierno. El infierno. El infierno. El infierno por
nosotros. Por nosotros, si. This is what we deserve for our
sin. We've sinned against God. People
say, La gente dice, why are you excited? ¿Por qué estás tan emocionado?
¿Por qué alzas la voz? This is the best news. Esta es
la mejor noticia. That this world has ever received. Que este mundo jamás haya recibido. That God so loved the world.
Que Dios amó al mundo de tal manera. That he gave his only
begotten son. Que dio su único hijo, su hijo
unigénito. that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have life
eternal. Number three, Christ the husband
sanctifies and cleanses his bride, the church. That's what we see
in verse 26. The word sanctifies. It means
separate. He separates his church from
the world through the gospel. The word of God. God has chosen By the foolishness of preaching,
preaching is foolish to those who perish. But for those that
are saved, it's the power of God and wisdom of God. He separates. Somewhere between the cradle
to the graveyard, God crosses the path of all of his chosen
people. And they hear. Hearing is a gift
from God. Not hearing just with these physical
ears, but hearing with the soul, the heart. Christ said, my sheep,
hear my voice. Many times, in a service just
like this, when the gospel is preached, someone hears the voice
of God. Not literally, but in hearing the voice of the preacher,
someone says, He's talking to me. Christ is talking to me. He said,
sinner, and that's who I am. And they hear the voice, come
unto me and live. Yes, he separates, he cleanses,
he sanctifies and cleanses his church, his bride. We have a beautiful picture of
this in Ezekiel. The picture is of a baby, just
born. Cast out. Cast out into the field. Unwashed. Not salted. And not loved. Just cast out. But then God passes by. Verse eight. Now when I passed by thee, and
looked upon thee, it was a time of love. And I spread my skirt
over thee, and covered thy nakedness, Yea, I swore unto thee, saith
the Lord God, live. Live. When he passed by, he said,
live. And thou became mine. He sanctifies and cleanses. We
sing a hymn. What can wash away my sins? Nothing
but the blood of Jesus. Can you get a hold of that? Can you see yourself by nature
as you came into this world, as I came into this world, all
men come into this world covered with filth, sin, What's going to wash it away? How are we going to be cleansed? God opened a fountain. And that
fountain, as the hymn writer said, is filled with the blood
of Jesus. And sinners plunge beneath that
flood. lose all their guilty side. The
fourth and last thing, Christ, the husband, has a glorious future
for his bride, the church. Verse 27, 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.
For whom he did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be
conformed to the image of His Son, to be like Christ. That
means to be without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. That's a wonderful day, a wonderful
future for all of God's people. I looked at that word, wrinkle.
When you hold a little baby, a newborn baby, Their skin is so soft, so beautiful. But as we get older and older,
those wrinkles start to appear, don't they? How much money is
spent? In our country, trying to hide
or take away wrinkles. What Christ has for his church
is a marvelous future to be with him without sin, without sickness, without growing old, but to be
with him forever. Nothing could be better. Nothing. I pray that the Lord
would bless this word to all of us here tonight. I appreciate
you, Austin. That wasn't easy, I know. Now, Eric and Eric, if you both
will stand here in the front. Your bride is going to be coming
this way shortly. No need to be nervous. Get used to this. That's part
of marriage. Everyone except my wife. You may be seated. This is a very happy occasion
for all of us, but especially for Eric and Elizabeth. And I
know they have made this a matter of prayer, and they have been
dating for several years and believe this is the Lord's will
for them. And we're so happy for both of
you. Every man needs a good wife. I assure you of that. If you
will, Eric, will you have Elizabeth to be your wedded wife, to live
together under God's direction in marriage? Will you love her,
comfort her, honor and keep her in sickness and in health, and
forsaking all others, keep yourself only unto her so long as you
both shall live? Elizabeth, will you have Eric
to be your wedded husband, to live under God's direction in
marriage? Will you love, honor, obey him,
and keep him in sickness and in health, and in forsaking all
others, keep yourself only unto him so long as you both shall
live? I do. Now, I'm going to ask Eric if
you will first repeat after me, I, Eric, take you, Elizabeth,
to be my wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward
for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in
health, to love and to cherish till death do us part. I promise
you my love and faithfulness. I promise you my love and faithfulness.
Elizabeth, now, if you will, repeat. I, Elizabeth, take you,
Eric, I, Elizabeth, take you, Eric, to be my wedded husband, to be
my wedded husband, to have and to hold, to have and to hold,
from this day forward, from this day forward, for better or for
worse, for better or for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness
and in health, to love and to cherish, and to obey till death do us
part, I promise you my love and faithfulness. And I understand there's going
to be the exchange of rings. Eric, and the reason ring is
exchanged is because it is to show, as a ring, you can't tell
where it begins or ends. And our love for our wife and
our love for our husband is to be forever, from this day forward,
forever. Eric, please place the ring on
Elizabeth's finger and repeat, with this ring I thee wed. With
this ring I thee wed. There we go. And Elizabeth, will
you place the ring on Eric's finger and repeat, with this
ring I thee wed. With this ring I thee wed. By the authority of
the state of Texas, I pronounce you man and wife. And you may now kiss your bride. Amen. I present to the church, for
the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Eric Ramirez. If you want to go out that door,
if it's not raining. Now we're going to sing a couple
of hymns, and when we stand to sing this first hymn, the ladies,
if you would like to go to the back, they sent me words.