I wonder if, uh, if you've got the glow, if you've got the glow, it's ever happened to you. It could happen when you're, um, it, it, it seems to happen when you're chosen. Seems to happen when, uh, it could be, uh, chosen for cheerleader, chosen for a team, picked in a sandlot game, it, it could be when you're offered a job, it, it's when somebody calls out your name, fixes their attention on you and says, you're the one. It's you, but no more so it seems than in this instance. Maybe you remember this in college, like I do. There would be a young girl who, you never really took notice of. She was, if anything, she was ordinary kind of plain. I don't want plain clothes and no makeup with plain face and plain hair and didn't really, uh, assert herself too much. Your personality and her in didn't really, uh, uh, wasn't that feisty or interactive or just sort of blended in and that's the way she liked it and wasn't interested in anything else until one day you just sort of noticed there's some color in her face and, and there's some, some going out with her hair and, and those clothes look kind of good on her. And, and, and she's smiling and she's brightening up the room and she's confident and she's engaging and then as you inquire, you discover what some young man has said, you're it. You're the object of my heart's desire. And I want you to spend forever with me. There's a glow that comes from that, the security of that kind of love. And what I want to ask this evening is has that happened to you? Are you walking through this world with that kind of security, knowing that your maker, your husband, the lover of your soul has said, I choose you. You are precious to me. I want to spend forever with you. When you get the revelation chapter 19, it is an awesome contrast. There's two, there's two feasts that there's, there's all kinds of eating going on in, in Revelation chapter 19 and everybody's going to one party or the other. As the revelation chapter 19 is either a terrible warning or a, or a terrific promise. You see it says that either you're on the menu or you're the honored guests.
Which will it be? Too great piece that reminds me of one of those Godfather movies. I don't know if if you were allowed to watch those when they came on, but there was one. And I don't remember what she was, but they just went back and forth. And there was like a wedding or a baptism or some great festival taking place and and people were celebrating and then with the same music playing they would bounce to, you know, to the mob going out and wiping out their enemies. And there's people being split up against the wall by machine gunfire. There's people being garrited in the back of cars and then the same music playing. They would just shift over and you would see people drinking and dancing and merriment and joy and then they'd switch over and somebody's, you know, got their throat cut, none some restaurant table and somebody else is getting, you know, gun down and as they go out to pick up the paper and then they'd switch back over and you'd see the joy and the liveliness and the family and the fun and just the two scenes played out back and forth and back and forth. And so that's Revelation chapter 19 and the question is, which picture are you in? Which feast are you going to? Well, of course it's my desire that you could leave this room tonight and say, I have a reservation at the wedding supper of the lamb. So take God's word, take the sermon outline if you would and we're going to start with the last half of the passage and that is the part of the passage where Christ is revealed as warrior, as the captain of the Lord's army. It's the great supper of God, it's called. Christ is revealed as the captain of the army. Heaven opens up and Christ comes on a white horse. He's got a sword coming out of his mouth. He has eyes of fire behind him as an entire army. This is everything the beast, everything the dragon, everything the evil one wanted to avoid. This is what the attempt to curtail with hair and slaughtering the babies. This was the every attack that Christ would have was stood to prevent this very moment from happening when the captain of the Lord's army, Jesus Christ himself rides forth on a horse ready to commence holy war against all the enemies of God. It's a powerful contrast isn't it to Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a white on a donkey, humble, mounted there, no donkey of his own, no clothes of his own, no place of his own, coming into the city of Jerusalem to be a what? A sacrificial Paschal lamb to lay down his life, to let others take his life from him. And now we see him in Revelation chapter 19 what? The warrior, Exodus chapter 15 says, our God is a warrior. Here Christ leads his people into battle. It's a great picture. Think of Moses leading the Israelites against the Amalakites. Think of Joshua leading the Israelites in the battle with the Canaanites and Jericho. Think of David leading the Israelites in the battle against the Philistines. And here we have the King of God's people again. Out in front, seated on the horse, leading his army to battle his clothes, spattered with the blood of his enemies where he treads the wine trac of the wrath of God that's going to be poured out. I'm going to tell you something. Maybe your Jesus is still that pasty-faced Galilean. Who just talks real sweet and just wants everybody to make nice with each other. If that's your Jesus, then he's an idol of your own creation. If your Jesus is the Jesus that's meek and mild and says, peace, peace, peace, everybody. Let's all just get along. You see there's a Jesus that we might want and there's a Jesus who is. This is the Jesus who is. This is the Jesus revealed to us in God's word. It strikes me as I was thinking through the sermon and thinking of Jesus as the tender husband who loves his bride. It naturally thought to me, the men have trouble relating to that imagery. Frankly, I don't think so. But if they did, if you said, I don't know, Jesus the husband doesn't quite stir my heart, then I give you this Jesus, men. If you think you're too much of a man for Christianity, if you think Christianity doesn't appeal to the rough and tumble side of you, now I'd say this is more man than you've ever met. This is more man than you'll ever want to meet. This is the warrior king, our God, the mighty warrior coming into battle to destroy the enemies of God. It's a loving warrior. It's always a loving warrior who takes up his right arm to defend those he cares for. It's the love of God that makes him passionate and ferocious to resist evil. Her name was Julie Lindsay. Julie was in college. She was a devout Christian going to live in Montgomery, Alabama, going to school while she worked it up. Hotel, she had to work the night shift. And so it was there that three men broke in, abducted her at gunpoint, took her out into the woods, assaulted her viciously, robbed her and left her handcuffed to a tree.
She was found, she was traumatized, her life went into a tailspin, she lost her job, she lost her bearings for a while. But now a couple years later, do you know what she says? My God is awesome. I have more friends than I've ever had. I have more confidence and security than I've ever had. I've been through the valley. I've been to the dark places of this world and God was there and he brought me out of it and I don't have to be afraid anymore. I've walked through the valley of the shadow of death and God was there and he saw me through it. She's got a job working now in crime, victims, ministry. She said my relationship with God is deeper and richer. I'm wiser. I'm more mature. But I'd say I read all that story and her saying, God was great in the midst of all this pain. And I want you to know that God always has been and he's always taken the fierce attacks of the evil one and he has used them for his people's good and he has frustrated the evil one. But I want to tell you, when you get the revelation chapter 19, it's just sort of like you're saying, I'm tired of God using evil for our good and you get the revelation 19, he just says, that's enough. My people aren't going to be taken out in the woods and assaulted anymore. That's enough and he crushes evil and everything that is evil and rebellious is destroyed. There will be no more learning lessons in the valleys of life. No, it's over. God says it's over. That's a God you ought to get on your feet and follow wherever he goes. Now second, that passage I want you to see, not only as Christ revealed as the captain of the Lord's army, the warrior king, but we see revealed for us the awful end of those who resist Christ. What does it say? The consequences of spiritual treason are graphically portrayed. So certain is the victory that Christ will have over his enemies, that an angel comes forth and cries out, come to the great supper of God and who's the angel inviting? The birds of prey, right? He's saying that the birds of prey come because the enemies of God are about to be a roadkill. They're going to get run over. It is the carrion of commanders and and kings and all the armies of the earth and all the mighty men. They're going to be laid out in this bloody field. It's a macabre parody of the invitation to the marriage feast. I mean, the question goes forth, what's for supper? And the answer is what? You, you are for supper, all you who do not bend the knee to Jesus Christ. What becomes that we read in chapter 19 of the beast of the sea and the false profit, the beast of the earth, what becomes of them? They're thrown into hell, into the wake of fire, into the place of everlasting torment. He might say, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, that, I'm not getting you there. I've fallen, I see the Bible and all that, but listen, that hell idea, we've outgrown that. We're much more sophisticated now. Nobody believes in that kind of God of judgment and hell. And we've got Jesus now, sweet Jesus. Okay, let me remind you again. Every place to where Gihanna is used in the Bible, the primary word that's translated hell, in every place but one, it comes from the mouth of Jesus. There's almost nothing in the old testament about hell. Almost everything in the Bible about hell originates from the teaching of Jesus. It's the passionate love of Jesus for his people that will consign all those who have resisted and attacked them to a wake of fire. Matthew 13, Jesus says, just as the tears are gathered up and burned, so shall it be at the end of the age, the Son of Man will send forth his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom, all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness and will cast them into the furnace of fire. I'll ask you this. What happens? What would happen if you were to get on a commercial airline flight? And the, you know what they do when you get on those flights. You're sitting in your seat, you're waiting to take off and everybody's seated, and then something's got to happen before you can leave, right? The flight attendants have to go through their routine, don't they? Here's the exits, you know, take the thing, pull the strap, you know, and while they're doing that, what would you say is the general attentiveness of the people on the plane? So what if a flight attendant were to run up and down the aisle, snatching away magazines and snatching away newspapers and supposed to jump up and down and take a gas soak, life-size, the human doll and light it on fire in the plane, and say, what are you going to do when this happens? And then suppose a film were to go up showing a plane tumbling in, they'll run down the runway, you know, people spilling out the whole thing when smoking cauldron, you know. And she would say, look at that, you're going to be toast. What do you think would happen to her? What if she knew that was going to happen? What if she knew that everyone on that plane had better be prepared? It would change the whole announcement, wouldn't it? I mean, she would do whatever she could, wouldn't she? She'd wake up, you've got to get ready. Friends, for some revelation chapter 19, there's a sweet love letter from God. But if you're not on your way to that wedding yet, if you're not united, the trellis to Christ, I've got to tell you, the Bible is just saying in the most graphic terms, don't walk one more step into the future without coming to safety and relationship with Christ. Don't do it. Don't do it. Don't tempt God. When I was a little, we used to be able to, there were six kids in my family and we could go anywhere in the neighborhood we wanted, blocks and blocks away. Remember the world was a little different back then, wasn't it? And we didn't have to tell the folks, they didn't have to know. We only caveat was this, we had to be within hearing of the bell. On the back of our house was a big bell. And those were always my mother's last words when dinner was ready. Go ring the bell. When the bell rang, you had about two minutes to be seated at the table or forget dinner, okay? And if you didn't hear the bell, well then forget the rest of your life. You know, then you were really in deep weeds. So the bell would ring, you hear it, and it would summon you to the feast. Now friends, the bell is going to sound. Teenagers, the bell is going to sound. Which feast will you be going to? The great supper of God? It's a horrible day. Or the marriage. Listen, there were kids at Texas A&M University, they weren't doing anything, but building a bonfire, right? And the bell rang. So much as I wish I could tell you that, you know, in your 60s, in your 70s, in your 80s, in your 90s, the bell's going to ring. Be sure you're ready, but the bell rings for college students sometimes. And the bell rings for 10 and 11 year olds. And the bell's going to ring. It's calling us to the feast. Which will it be? I mean, why not come and come to the supper of the Lamb? God would bid you come if you're in this place this night. I mean, goodness knows there's not many of us. God must have wanted you here tonight. Why do we want you here?
Is it that you wanted his love to go out to you tonight and that you would hear it? Like maybe you just haven't heard it before because there'll be a bell that calls us to another feast. The marriage supper of the Lamb. That's the first 10 verses of this passage where Christ is revealed as our husband. And the first thing we see in chapter 19 is the glorious worship is prompted. And your outline's really a little off. This worship is prompted by the destruction of Christ's rival. Christ's rival for our affections. Let me explain. How did a Jewish wedding work? It went like this. You were betrothed. Your parents or whoever, an introduction was made, somehow the connection was made, and you were betrothed. You were promised. In essence, you were legally committed. You could not get out of that wedding, that marriage without getting a divorce. So it's not like our engagement. Betrothal isn't like what we call engagement today which has no binding consequences. It's something a couple says to each other and doesn't have any legal standing or even much social standing for that matter. Betrothal back then and you were promised of this one and in fact if you dallied with anyone else, you were a adelberer. That was it. You were committed. You weren't actually married yet. It wasn't consummated. You weren't living together, but this was a deep and binding commitment. Let me tell you something. That's what the Bible says about his bride, the church, the trod to Christ. What happens if someone came and they committed to you and that betrothal was made? But then they went away. They had business to take care of. What do they have to take care of in the interval before they can marry you? They have to pay your
dowry. They have to pay for you. So they've got to go off and get busy and get to work and take care of business and you've got to get ready as a bride for that day. So there's much to be done in that interval. What would you think of a woman who just forgot that she was betrothed? She went out at night. She hung out at the tavern. She dallied with other men. She flirted in the gates of the city. What would we say of her? We would say she was a tramp and someone who read in chapter 17 and chapter 18 last week. We read about the world being called what? A harlot, a whore, trying to seduce us away from our true husband. So the world is, tries to lure us. Come here. Come here. You don't want to be married to Christ. You don't want to be a Christian. You don't. There's too much fun to be had. There's too much pleasure. Come on. You don't want to be tied down to anybody. Come on. Give in. Go on. Come on. And so what's happening at the first of revelations chapter 19? Christ comes along and the world are rivaled. The one who's trying to steal us away from him, Christ steps in and he slays the whore. And she's smoldering. The smoke is going up and all heaven breaks out in what? Worship. Worship. Why are they worshipping? Because our God is a jealous God. It's the highest price that could be ever, the highest privilege could ever be paid to you is that God is jealous over you. When someone tries to steal you from him, it arouses his anger. Imagine that. That God would be jealous over us. The ones who are betrothed to him. Second, I want you to see then. In the Jewish wedding, there was this betrothal. But then there was all this interval activity that had to take place. And so, Revelation chapter 19 tells us that the wedding feast to draws nine. The dowry has to be paid by the to the father of the bride. And the bride has to, you know, adorn herself and get ready. How did it happen when the wedding day would come when everything was taken care of? The bride was all set, her dress, her garments, everything was ready, the dowry was satisfied. Then the groom would leave his house. And often it would be in the evening, there would be a torch light processions for the streets of the city. There would be musicians walking in front playing. It would just be a festive scene. He would make his way to the bride's house. There, take his bride. And then the whole procession would turn around and go all the way back to his house. And when they got there, the party would commence. And the party went on for seven days. Do you ever read the Bible and say, did these people work? Their party went on for seven days. In fact, sometimes the party went on for 14 days. Straight. Remember Jesus goes to the wedding and they run out of wine, you know, people. And maybe that was one of the 14 day parties. And finally, we see this tremendous celebration here in chapter 19. It's the day the wedding is over. The dowry is paid. The bride is ready. Look at verse 7 and verse 8. Rejoice and be glad. The marriage of the lamb has come. The bride is ready. It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen. Brothers and sisters, here's the question. They're not virgins. We're not pure. How could we wear white? How would we qualify as the bride? What does the Bible say? It was. It was what? It was given to her. It was given to her. Where do we get our wedding dress of white? 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. With his death, he paid our dowry. And with his life, he sowed our wedding dress. Isaiah says it. I will rejoice in the Lord for he has clothed me with garments of salvation. As a bride adorns herself so the Lord has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness. Friends, I talked to somebody today and they just said, I am such a failure and they recounted their failure. And I wanted to say to them, your problem isn't that you're a failure. Your problem is that you claim to be a Christian but you don't. You apparently don't believe it. You apparently think that you are a solid whore before God instead of that you are a pure virgin bride. Of course you're a failure. What else have you ever been? What else will you ever be? What else will you ever do but fail? Your weeks, your flawed in every way. Do you believe the gospel or not? That the perfect life of Christ is your covering before God. And that right now as he looks on you, he looks at you in such a way that you ought to go. He's reading about a wedding. Took place in California. They spent seven million dollars on it. He spent two million dollars on talent. Jay Leno, emceived the reception. Dana Carvey told jokes at the dinner. Rod Stewart, R.A.O. Speedwagon, David Crosby, Christopher Cross all saying that a staff of six who worked for nine months to plan it. 2.5 million to fly in their guests on private jets and put them in luxury hotels and ferry them in limos. A 300,000 acre equestrian center for the reception because people bit and want people to cramp. They built two stages in a $500,000 tent so there'd be no gaps in performances. They spent a million dollars on flowers and a staff of 450 waiters, bartenders, security guards, chefs and guides. They spent a half million on food, two kinds of caviar, three kinds of crab, oysters flown in from Nova Scotia, $170 on the wedding gown and attendance dresses. They had palm readers, a sushi bar, hand-rolled cigars and $150,000 worth of fireworks to end the evening. My only thought is now it's a pale imitation of what the children of God will experience at the wedding supper of the land. You can try as you might but it's nothing like being married to Jesus. It's not even close. Can I say the truth? Before I got married I would pray. God was good to me and allowed me to get married before I'd ever had relations and so it wasn't unusual to pray and say, Jesus, I don't want you to come back until I get married. You know, I waited, you can wait. I don't want you to come back until I can get married. You know what? The people of God say, Lord Jesus, I want you to come back so I can get married. So we can be married. So this whole thing can be consummating. And that's the last point is that Christ is revealed in Revelation 19 as our husband, as the lover of our souls. Deep in our hearts we have a yearning for intimacy and we cannot be satisfied with earthly marriage and it cannot be satisfied with friendships or with children or with family. Go gather with family this week many of us and you know what, for many of us it will be a disappointment. When it is over we'll be frustrated because it didn't go as well as we'd hoped or we have longings for intimacy with relatives or brothers or parents and it won't be as close and some of us will be heartbroken because some family will not even have tried to get back to be with us or to spend the holiday together and I just want to tell you something. As long as we look for the relationships of this world to satisfy our hearts instead of the only relationship that can we will be consistently bitter and disappointed and and we will destroy the relationships that we could have because we will idolize them and we will ask of them something they cannot provide. It's Jesus Christ only who satisfies our hearts. What did the what did the scripture say Isaiah 54 for your husband is your maker whose name is the Lord, Hosea 2. It will come about in that day to close the word. I'm reading right out of your sermon outline that you will call me is she is she means my husband it will come about in that day that you will call me husband and you will no longer call me master and I will betroth you to me forever Ephesians 3 so that you being rooted and grounded in love may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge that you may be what filled up filled up with all the fullness of God as the bridegroom Isaiah 62 rejoices over her over the bride so your God will rejoice over you hey don't say something that's better than a football game it was really sad they were newly wedged they hadn't been married long she was a journalist he was an Air Force officer she got sick and she was treated mistreated mist diagnosed mistreated in fact the strong medicines they gave her caused her to lose her eyesight she thought that he would leave her she feared for the relationship but it was just the officer he was more tender and committed than ever he watched over her like a hawk he attended to her every need she went through terrible bouts of a depression and discouragement and to change in her condition and finally she decided I'm going back to work I gotta I still gotta have a life he wasn't sure he liked that but he said I will work it out and he drove her to work brought her up in her office every day and this she just sent this was a really a burdensome she didn't want that form so she said I need to be independent and so he said all right will I'll show you how to you know we'll do this together so for a week he walked her to the bus he got on the bus with her he made sure she knew the bus drivers name they rode to work and counted the bus stops you know he helped her get off the bus he he counted the steps across the street counted the steps up into her office you know the whole path laid out
and then she was on her own a couple weeks past it was a Friday morning she got off the bus and as you passed the bus driver he said you are the luckiest woman I know she said yeah tried being blind at age 26 for good luck and he said I don't think you understand he said it's that good looking Air Force officer who stands outside the bus every morning when I open the door and he stops traffic and walks right behind you across the street and he holds open the door to your office and he blows you a kiss when you go in you know the greatest thing about the level guy it's so much more real than you even know he is so much more present and active than you've ever imagined he is your husband he's watching over you he's rejoicing over you he intends to spend eternity with you that'll make you go out it really should