Preparing for the Marriage Supper of the Lamb
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Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him for the marriage supper of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready. It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. And then our verse of the week is in the next verse, verse 9. I'll have it on the screen. Would you read it aloud with me? Let's read together. Blessed are those who are invited. Say that again. Blessed are those who are invited. Turn to your neighbor and say, you're invited. You're invited. Let's pick it up. Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. [00:34:04] (42 seconds)
This morning we're going to talk about the wedding table. Everyone is invited, but not everyone will accept the invitation. In your notes, I want to look at this this morning. Number one, the wedding requires preparation. I don't know how many of you have prepared and spent a lot of time working toward a wedding. But in the wedding preparation we're talking about, there's God's part. Everybody say God's part. And there's our part. Everybody say our part. Now what's God's part? Well, God's done His part. John chapter 3, verse 16. It's in the end zone of all the NFL football games. Say it with me. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting or eternal life. [00:35:42] (51 seconds)
But one of the things I want you to understand, and God wants you to understand, God hasn't changed his dress code. His spiritual dress code has not changed. Let me tell you what his dress code is. It's found in Hebrews 12, verse 14. Without holiness, no one will see God. You're not going to end up at this table without holiness. Now, some of you sitting here, or maybe online, you'd say, well, he's preaching legalism. He's preaching rules. No, it's not about rules. It's about relationship. I remember years ago, I was talking with one of my sons over a decade ago. We were talking to him about an issue that he was struggling with in his life. And these were the words he said to me. [00:42:58] (51 seconds)
This morning, the dress code I'm talking about is not a set of rules, and it has nothing to do with the outside. It's a matter of the heart. It's a matter of the heart. It's a matter of relationship. And we live this dress code now, not because of do's and don'ts, but because of our love for him. Look at what the Bible says. Paul said to the Corinthian church, he said, I promised you, and that means I espoused, I committed, I gave you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure. Everybody say pure. Now, I realize when I preach a message like this, the enemy wants to bring his billy club and beat you over the head because you've had impure thoughts. [00:44:06] (50 seconds)
You've said or done something that wasn't right. Everybody say process. Say progress. The Christian life is a process and a progress. You're not going to be there overnight. You're not going to be there overnight. It takes time. My question to you is, are you closer to him today than you were a year ago? Are you still thinking the same impure thoughts to the same degree that you were a year ago? Are you still losing your temper as much as you did a year ago? Are you still allowing foul words out of your mouth as much as you did a year ago? Are you still dabbling and dealing with sin as much as you did a year ago? [00:44:55] (53 seconds)
Paul said the washing of water by the word. There is no substitute for this book. There is no substitute. This is bread. This is life. You've got to spend time in this book Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. You've got to read it, read it, read it, read it, read it. You've got to live it, live it, live it, live it, live it. You say, well, pastor, I don't understand it. You don't understand everything you eat. Regina fixes something and I'm looking at it. I don't know all the ingredients. Regina, I love my wife. She wants it to look pretty. Hey, I don't care what it looks like. I want to know what it tastes like. [00:46:44] (46 seconds)
Some of us guys, we treat God the same way we treated preparation for our marriage. I'm going to add you to my schedule, but I'm going to do this because it's so important, and I'll just give you this. And God says, no, I want to invite you to the wedding table, but I'll tell you what it's going to cost you. It's going to cost you everything. See, in America today, we have a soft gospel that is being preached that says you come to church, you confess your sins, you ask forgiveness, and now you're saved, now you can live however you want. That's a false gospel. [00:52:25] (63 seconds)
I've given God so many reasons not to love me and he's rejected every one of them. He loves you. He knows you. He knows everything about you and he still cares for you. John chapter 10, Jesus says these words, I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me. At the wedding table, he's reserved a seat for you. It's a personal invitation but you have to accept it. No one else can accept it for you. I was raised in a Christian home. My parents taught me the Word of God. They took me to church. They shoved the gospel down me and some people think and say, well, parents shouldn't do that. Hey, my mother made me eat vegetables. If she can make me eat vegetables, she can shove the Word down me. [00:56:28] (53 seconds)
And then look at what the Bible says. The guest he had invited ignored. Everybody say ignored. They made excuses. Sometimes, many times, when we invite someone, they're going to make an excuse. I'm too busy. Really? Come up with something better. Well, I'm going to wait. Okay? I understand. But you're never promised tomorrow. Well, it's too hard to be a Christ follower. Let me tell you, there is more joy in following Christ. When I lay my head on the bed at night, I'm able to go to sleep. Can I just be honest with you? I don't have to take a pill. I don't have to have alcohol. I don't have to take drugs. I don't have to do that because I have peace. That's who God is. He gives you that peace. [01:00:08] (53 seconds)
But I want to tell you something. There's going to be a wedding that's going to make that wedding look like a pauper's wedding because when we gather at the marriage supper of the Lamb at the wedding table and we begin to worship the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, we begin to focus upon His goodness. We begin to focus on the Lamb of God who was slain from the beginning of the world when we begin to focus upon the resurrection and the life. We begin to focus on the truth, the way, the life. We begin to focus on the door. We begin to focus on the good shepherd. We begin to focus on the way. We begin to focus on the bread. We begin to focus on the living water. We begin to focus on who He is. We begin to look at who He is. We begin to realize He is worthy of our adoration and praise [01:02:03] (48 seconds)
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This morning we're going to talk about the wedding table. Everyone is invited, but not everyone will accept the invitation. In your notes, I want to look at this this morning. Number one, the wedding requires preparation. I don't know how many of you have prepared and spent a lot of time working toward a wedding. But in the wedding preparation we're talking about, there's God's part. Everybody say God's part. And there's our part. Everybody say our part. Now what's God's part? Well, God's done His part. John chapter 3, verse 16. It's in the end zone of all the NFL football games. Say it with me. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting or eternal life. [00:35:42] (51 seconds)
But one of the things I want you to understand, and God wants you to understand, God hasn't changed his dress code. His spiritual dress code has not changed. Let me tell you what his dress code is. It's found in Hebrews 12, verse 14. Without holiness, no one will see God. You're not going to end up at this table without holiness. Now, some of you sitting here, or maybe online, you'd say, well, he's preaching legalism. He's preaching rules. No, it's not about rules. It's about relationship. I remember years ago, I was talking with one of my sons over a decade ago. We were talking to him about an issue that he was struggling with in his life. And these were the words he said to me. [00:42:58] (51 seconds)
This morning, the dress code I'm talking about is not a set of rules, and it has nothing to do with the outside. It's a matter of the heart. It's a matter of the heart. It's a matter of relationship. And we live this dress code now, not because of do's and don'ts, but because of our love for him. Look at what the Bible says. Paul said to the Corinthian church, he said, I promised you, and that means I espoused, I committed, I gave you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure. Everybody say pure. Now, I realize when I preach a message like this, the enemy wants to bring his billy club and beat you over the head because you've had impure thoughts. [00:44:06] (50 seconds)
You've said or done something that wasn't right. Everybody say process. Say progress. The Christian life is a process and a progress. You're not going to be there overnight. You're not going to be there overnight. It takes time. My question to you is, are you closer to him today than you were a year ago? Are you still thinking the same impure thoughts to the same degree that you were a year ago? Are you still losing your temper as much as you did a year ago? Are you still allowing foul words out of your mouth as much as you did a year ago? Are you still dabbling and dealing with sin as much as you did a year ago? [00:44:55] (53 seconds)
Paul said the washing of water by the word. There is no substitute for this book. There is no substitute. This is bread. This is life. You've got to spend time in this book Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. You've got to read it, read it, read it, read it, read it. You've got to live it, live it, live it, live it, live it. You say, well, pastor, I don't understand it. You don't understand everything you eat. Regina fixes something and I'm looking at it. I don't know all the ingredients. Regina, I love my wife. She wants it to look pretty. Hey, I don't care what it looks like. I want to know what it tastes like. [00:46:44] (46 seconds)
Some of us guys, we treat God the same way we treated preparation for our marriage. I'm going to add you to my schedule, but I'm going to do this because it's so important, and I'll just give you this. And God says, no, I want to invite you to the wedding table, but I'll tell you what it's going to cost you. It's going to cost you everything. See, in America today, we have a soft gospel that is being preached that says you come to church, you confess your sins, you ask forgiveness, and now you're saved, now you can live however you want. That's a false gospel. [00:52:25] (63 seconds)
I've given God so many reasons not to love me and he's rejected every one of them. He loves you. He knows you. He knows everything about you and he still cares for you. John chapter 10, Jesus says these words, I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me. At the wedding table, he's reserved a seat for you. It's a personal invitation but you have to accept it. No one else can accept it for you. I was raised in a Christian home. My parents taught me the Word of God. They took me to church. They shoved the gospel down me and some people think and say, well, parents shouldn't do that. Hey, my mother made me eat vegetables. If she can make me eat vegetables, she can shove the Word down me. [00:56:28] (53 seconds)
And then look at what the Bible says. The guest he had invited ignored. Everybody say ignored. They made excuses. Sometimes, many times, when we invite someone, they're going to make an excuse. I'm too busy. Really? Come up with something better. Well, I'm going to wait. Okay? I understand. But you're never promised tomorrow. Well, it's too hard to be a Christ follower. Let me tell you, there is more joy in following Christ. When I lay my head on the bed at night, I'm able to go to sleep. Can I just be honest with you? I don't have to take a pill. I don't have to have alcohol. I don't have to take drugs. I don't have to do that because I have peace. That's who God is. He gives you that peace. [01:00:08] (53 seconds)
But I want to tell you something. There's going to be a wedding that's going to make that wedding look like a pauper's wedding because when we gather at the marriage supper of the Lamb at the wedding table and we begin to worship the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, we begin to focus upon His goodness. We begin to focus on the Lamb of God who was slain from the beginning of the world when we begin to focus upon the resurrection and the life. We begin to focus on the truth, the way, the life. We begin to focus on the door. We begin to focus on the good shepherd. We begin to focus on the way. We begin to focus on the bread. We begin to focus on the living water. We begin to focus on who He is. We begin to look at who He is. We begin to realize He is worthy of our adoration and praise [01:02:03] (48 seconds)
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