THE REAL ROYAL WEDDING
Sunday May 8, 2011
“Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.”
- Revelation 19:7 (NIV)
I’m sure, given a choice; most red-blooded Americans would prefer a democracy over a monarchy.
-- Democracy is what we know.
-- We believe in government “of the people, by the people and for the people.”
-- We believe in the checks and balances of power spread out over three branches of government, the executive branch, the legislative branch and the judicial branch.
-- The consolidation of power into one individual or even a small group of individuals just would not be American.
-- Our country began with a revolution against a monarchy.
That being said, there is something to be said for a monarchy.
-- A monarchy has a romantic flare about it.
-- Monarchies are the stuff of fairy tales, Prince Charming on a white horse, Cinderella, castles and knights in shining armor.
1) It is especially romantic when it involves the ascendance of a “commoner” (like Cinderella) to royalty.
2) A “commoner” is someone who is not born into royalty but is from among the non-royal common folks.
(Illus.) The recent wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton is an example of this. Kate Middleton was not born into royalty. She was a “commoner.” That sounds like a derogatory term but it is the way the Brits distinguish between their royal family and the rest of the country. It may seem offensive to people like us who live in a democracy or a republic but the Brits love the tradition and the romance of the royal family. Though they share power with parliament, the queen is still the head of state and the royal family a symbol of national unity.
We have a young British lady working at a local bank here in Beaver Dam. I asked her if she had watched the royal wedding which was on very early in the morning. She said she taped it on her DVR and got up real early to watch it and she confirmed that it was a very exciting event for the British and that they love their royal family. Even some of their extended countries like
In a way, we can be thankful for
-- First of all, it gives us a glimpse of the past:
1) It serves as a reminder of a form of government that was once very common in the earth.
2) Much of the world was once run by kings and princes rather than presidents or prime ministers.
3) Even though their power was sometimes abused to the detriment of the people, most people still preferred the monarchy.
(Illus.) In the time of Samuel, even
-- Secondly, it gives us a glimpse of the future.
1) The final government that will rule the world is not going to be a democracy, it’s going to be a monarchy.
2) It is not going to be ruled by a president or a prime minister (i.e. some elected official); it is going to be ruled by a King.
3) That King is going to be Jesus who is going to return with an absolute power and authority modeled after a monarchy.
One of the most exciting parts of the Second Coming of Christ will be the great royal wedding of the Lamb (Rev. 19:7).
-- The Apostle John saw this in his vision when he was exiled for his faith on the
1) He saw multitudes of people rejoicing and celebrating.
2) They were celebrating the marriage between the Lamb of God and his bride.
a) The Lamb is Jesus (John 1:29).
b) The bride is the Church of Jesus Christ a “commoner” marrying into royalty! - (Eph. 5:22-33),
-- This wedding will far surpass any royal wedding the world has ever seen.
1) Just as God the Father performed the first wedding between Adam & Eve, so shall He perform the final royal wedding.
2) God the Father Himself will bring the bride down the isle and present her to the Son.
-- Weddings require a lot of planning and preparation and the wedding of the Lamb is no exception.
1) It has been in the planning stages since the beginning of time!
2) It follows the ancient pattern of “pre-arranged” marriages.
3) The invitations have already been sent out.
In order for us to be a part of that royal wedding we have to respond to the invitation and be prepared.
1. To be prepared for the real (final, ultimate) royal wedding, the wedding of the Lamb, our names must be written in the Lamb’s book of Life.
“He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels.” – Revelation 3:5 (NIV)
(Illus.) Yesterday I got to tour the Waupun Correctional Institute in with John & Christine Roberts. This institution dates back to 1851; just a couple of years after
Some people do not think that we can know for sure if we are going to heaven or not.
-- They think that we cannot know until we die.
1) The Bible says that we can know by faith that we are going to heaven.
2) By faith in Christ alone and what he has done for us on the cross we can be forgiven of our sins and receive the gift of eternal life:
“I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.”
– 1 John. 5:13 (NIV)
-- Many also believe that if we do have any chance of going to heaven at all it will depend on our own efforts to get there.
1) The Bible clearly says that no one is good enough to get into heaven, “There is none righteous, no not one.”
2) It is only by the grace of God that we can get to heaven.
a) You don’t earn a gift, otherwise it is no longer a gift, it is a wage.
b) “The wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” – Romans 6:23 (NIV)
We can have the assurance of eternal life, we can know that our name is written in the Lamb’s book of life.
-- If we repent, believe and receive.
-- Repent of our sin (ask God’s forgiveness); believe in Christ and what he did for us on the cross and receive by faith the precious gift of eternal life.
-- Then we will have a place at the final, ultimate royal wedding! Our names will be recorded in the Lamb’s book of life.
2. Secondly, to be fully prepared for the final royal wedding, the wedding of the Lamb, we must build wisely on the foundation of Christ.
“10 By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. 14 If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. 15 If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.”
- 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 (NIV)
Paul compares the Christian life to erecting a building, you have to start with a good foundation and then use quality materials if you want it to last.
-- There is no other foundation than Christ, everything else is sinking sand.
1) Many of us have probably found that out the hard way, that trying to build our lives on anything less doesn’t work.
2) Some try to build on fame and fortune, others on tradition and still others on man-made ideologies. All will prove in the end to be a faulty foundation.
-- How we build on that foundation is also important.
1) At the end of time there is going to be a “building inspection.”
2) If we used cheap, flammable material (wood, hay, straw) it will be burned up though the foundation will barely survive.
(Illus.) It would be like laying a solid, concrete foundation and then building a house made out of cardboard, it’s not going to last. It is not only flammable but flimsy. It wouldn’t take much of a wind to blow it over. It wouldn’t take much of a spark to burn it down.
On the other hand, good, solid material will stand the test of time and eternity.
-- Gold only becomes more valuable when you heat it up and remove the impurities.
1) If we build on the foundation of Christ only that which is convenient to us, serves our purposes and costs us little, it will not survive the building inspection.
2) But if we do all for the Lord and his glory, if we serve His purposes and the needs of others at personal cost to us, and if we live a life of integrity before the Lord, the final royal wedding will be an even greater occasion for us than we ever imagined.
“Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.” – C.T. Studd
3. Thirdly and finally, to be fully prepared for the royal wedding of the Lamb we will need to persevere through trials and tribulations.
“If we endure, we will also reign with him.” - 2 Timothy 2:12 (NIV)
For those who keep the faith and don’t give up there is a place near the throne.
-- The world will not always be kind to your faith in Christ.
-- Circumstances will not always be kind your faith in Christ.
-- The enemy of your soul will never be kind to your faith in Christ.
But for those who persevere through the trials and tribulations of life they will reign with the king!
The queen reigns with the king whether she comes from royal blood or not.
-- As queen she has married into all the rights and privileges of royalty.
1) She reigns at the king’s side.
2) She wears royal garments fit for a queen.
3) She communicates directly with the king, no mediator is necessary, no waiting in line, no need for a liaison.
-- The king delights in having her at his side.
1) He is attentive to her.
2) He holds her hand.
3) He is courteous to her.
(Illus.) Prince William was seen saying something to Kate when he arrived at the altar. It was later deciphered that he said simply, “You look beautiful today.”
I believe Jesus is going to say something like that to his church when he first meets her at the heavenly altar.
-- The queen, likewise, adores her king.
1) She looks to him with great affection and appreciation.
2) She feels secure in his love, knowing what he has given for her.
Friends, this is the destiny of the church.
-- We are destined to rule and reign with the King of kings and Lord of lords.
1) Not just for a temporary earthly dynasty that will one day give way to another;
2) …but to an eternal heavenly dynasty that will never end!
-- But it is going to take some perseverance to get there.
1) The enemy will do everything he can to rob us of our destiny or make us miserable trying.
2) But through the love of Christ we can endure.
“By sheer perseverance the snail made it to the ark on time!”
- Charles H. Spurgeon
Conclusion:
I don’t know exactly how this is going to look because much of heaven is still a mystery to us.
-- The Bride of Christ is not one person but many people, many, many diverse peoples from all over the world whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
-- But I do know that this is the earthly picture that the Holy Spirit has given so we have some idea of what is going to happen at the Second Coming of Christ.
Right now the church is many; it is diverse and spread out.
-- There are many different denominations, many different doctrines and many different methods of worship and ministry.
-- There are also many imperfections and faults that need to be ironed out.
But at the wedding of the Lamb she shall be one.
-- She will be one body with no fragmentation, no disunity and no corruption.
-- There will be no tattered garments, she shall be beautifully adorned in white because the Lamb who is the King of kings has shed his very own blood for his queen and made her as white as snow.
And she shall rule and reign with him forever and ever!
(Illus.) In Matthew 22:1-14 Jesus told a parable about a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. He sent out invitations thinking those invited would be honored to come. But when he sent his servants out for an RSVP none of them wanted to come. The king sent yet more servants to describe in detail the great feast that was planned with choice meats from his cattle (“prime rib”) as the main course and it was all ready, all they needed to do was come.
But the recipients of the invitation ignored the servants, some went off to their fields and others to their business as though there were nothing special happening. Others mistreated the servants and even killed some of them. When the king found this out he was livid. He retaliated by sending his army and destroying those who murdered his servants.
So the king sent out his servants one more time but this time he sent them out to the street corners to invite anyone that wanted to come.
“So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.”
This is a picture of how God has been sending out invitations to the royal wedding for centuries.
-- He sent one out to the Israelites of the Old Testament through the voices of His servants the prophets.
-- They often refused and sometimes even killed the messengers.
It is also a picture of how He has adjusted His list.
-- Whosoever will may come.
-- Even “commoners” may come!
Our presence at the royal wedding will depend on our RSVP.
-- The invitation is there.
-- All we need to do is respond by faith and we are assured of a place at what will be the greatest celebration of all time!
