Longing for God's Triumphant Reign

Good morning. My name is Billy Nye. I'm one of the associate pastors here at Christ the King.

And I would like to welcome you to open your Bible if you have one.

If you don't, there's one in the pew in front of you.

And open to the very end of the book, the very end of the Bible, the book of Revelation.

And we are toward the end, only a couple chapters away, chapter 19.

Chapter 19 in the book of Revelation.

Longing.

Longing is a powerful force.

Our lives tend to be governed by longing.

People will do some pretty astounding things and will endure some very difficult things

because they are longing for something.

It doesn't matter whether you are very young or very old.

You have longing.

An infant longs for her mother's milk and lets everybody within a one mile radius know that she is longing for her mother's milk.

A five-year-old yearns for his next Lego set.

At least five-year-olds in our household do.

A teenager longs for her driver's license and the independence to make choices on her own.

A young man desires to meet and to be with the love of his life.

A young married couple longs for financial stability or for children.

And if God grants those children, those longings change.

Then they long for a nap or a quiet evening on the couch.

And once you hit middle age, your longings start becoming more for retirement.

A rest from your labors.

Our longing is never over, is it?

And whether those longings are fulfilled with good gifts that God does give,

or whether those longings end in disappointment and they linger,

we continue to long.

We are a longing people.

But it is very important that we make sure that our greatest longings,

our strongest longings are good ones.

Because our longings shape our living.

If you're joining us for the first time this morning,

we've been journeying through this book of Revelation.

And Revelation has a way of shaping our longings.

Two weeks ago, Pastor Mike showed us from chapter 17 in Revelation,

this very nasty lady named Babylon.

She is a prostitute.

And the prostitute Babylon stands for the whole system of the world

that is set up in opposition to God and opposition to God's people.

She sells pleasure and possessions, but at a high price.

She costs something.

Your allegiance.

Your allegiance to her master, the beast, and his master, the dragon.

And we are told not to marvel at this world system,

this cultural and social force that seduces us with her pleasure and possessions.

We are told not to long for her trinkets.

And last week, Pastor Matt helped us see from Revelation 18 the reason why.

Because Babylon is going to meet a soon and sudden end.

So, we need to set our affection not on the allure of this world's pleasures and possessions,

but we are to hate everything that Babylon stands for.

And to come out of her.

And to live in this world as exiles with longing.

Not for this world.

But longing, hungering for our true home to be with Jesus.

And this morning, our longing is going to be sharpened and nourished.

You might be saying,

Billy, I listened pretty carefully to what Caleb read just a few minutes ago.

I didn't hear the word longing.

Can you show that to me in Revelation 19 somewhere?

Yes, I can.

You did not hear longing.

You heard celebration.

Did you hear all those hallelujahs?

All that praise?

Four times.

It shows up.

A lot of intense joy in God.

Do you know why?

Because longing is about to be satisfied.

Heaven's longing is about to be fulfilled.

And if heaven longs for it,

then we, as heaven citizens who are in exile in the world still,

we must long for it too.

And we must live for it.

But what is it?

What is this it that we should be longing for and living for?

What is this it that heaven is celebrating the fulfillment of?

It's this.

Look at verse 1.

Hallelujah.

Salvation and glory and power belong to our God.

Look at verse 6.

The end of verse 6.

Hallelujah.

For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.

Verse 6 summarizes it beautifully.

What are we supposed to be longing for?

What has heaven been longing for for so long?

And now it's about to come about.

And heaven's going crazy because of it.

It's this.

It's God's full and unchallenged rule over all things.

His triumphant reign over his victory.

Over his enemies.

And it's near.

It's very close.

That's what heaven's been longing for.

In fact, that's what the whole Bible has been longing for.

That's what history has been longing for.

Before sin entered the world, before humans embraced Satan's rule, Satan's authority, the universe was enjoying God's good and unchallenged rule.

No one questioned the creator's authority and his goodness.

But then mankind said, no.

We want to be kings ourselves.

And by doing so, all of creation has been subjected to chaos and disorder, to death, to decay, to corruption and evil.

And we feel it right now.

We feel the uck of it.

But now, in Revelation 19, we get a delightful picture that God's great victory, his full and unchallenged rule over all things, is close.

It's very near.

And heaven's longing is about to be fulfilled.

And we, now, here, must long for it and live for it now.

In fact, if we were to squish what this passage means for us into one sentence, it would be this.

If we long and live for God's triumphant reign now, we will not be disappointed then.

If we long and live for God's triumphant reign now, we will not be disappointed then.

So, let's proceed into the details of this text together with this big, huge truth in the back of our minds.

And we're going to see two reasons in the two sections of this text, verses 1 to 5 and then verses 6 to 10.

Two reasons why we should long and live for God's triumphant reign now.

Here's the first.

First, God's unchallenged rule means our future relief and vindication.

God's unchallenged rule means something very special.

Our future relief and vindication.

Look at verse 1.

After this, or literally after these things.

That's pointing right back to Revelation 18.

Right on the heels of Babylon's predicted doom, John hears a sound.

I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven crying out.

Apparently, at a 1992 game against the University of Nebraska football team,

the cheers at Husky Stadium at the University of Washington reached an ear-splitting 133.6 decibels.

That is 13 decibels louder than a thunderclap.

Now imagine the sounds.

Not of 100,000 people, but hundreds of hundreds of hundreds of thousands.

The redeemed, combined with rank upon rank of angels.

The entire population of heaven is saying,

Yes!

They're raising this resounding shout of praise because God's going to get victory.

Our human ears would just be done.

And forget about it.

There is so much joy and festivity going on with God at the very center of it all in heaven.

Hallelujah!

Four times.

Verse 1, and verse 3, and verse 4, and in verse 6.

We hear this big command to praise God.

That Hebrew word, hallelujah, we're used to hearing it in lots of different songs,

but it means hallelujah, y'all praise Yah, Yahweh.

Y'all praise Yahweh.

You praise Yahweh.

It's a command.

Praise Yahweh, everybody.

Yahweh is God's covenant name, his personal covenant name that is known to his people.

And this word, hallelujah, it's the only place in the New Testament that it shows up,

it's right here in this chapter.

It shows up in the Old Testament in Hebrew, but it's the first time it shows up in Greek,

and the last time it shows up in the Greek New Testament.

We should get the sense of, wow, what is going on in this passage?

What is going on that four times hallelujah is bam, bam, bam, bam?

Well, heaven's rejoicing because God's great victory is very near.

God is going to win the day and save his people forever.

Salvation and glory and power belong to our God.

We've heard something similar back in chapter 7 when God's saints are gathered together,

and they say, salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb.

So the gathered body of redeemed sinners in heaven,

probably a bunch of angels all are rejoicing over this,

but this praise is not just from them.

Look at verse 4.

The 24 elders and the four living creatures,

they fall down and they worship God who is sitting on the throne saying,

Amen, hallelujah.

And then comes this throne, this voice that's from the throne itself,

probably an angelic messenger sent on God's behalf says,

Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, small and great.

Man, it's just this, heaven is resounding with praise.

Verse 4, verse 2.

For his judgments are true and just.

For he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality

and has advantaged on her the blood of his servants.

God is going to put Babylon down and heaven is going nuts.

And it's jolting because we've just heard from chapter 18,

this mourning, this sadness, this loss,

the kings of the earth, the merchants, the sailors,

they're all saying,

Oh, the source of our selfish gain and profit is gone.

What are we going to do now that Babylon has fallen?

And then all of a sudden, heaven's like,

Yeah!

It's just jolting, the change of tone.

It might be a cause for sadness if your intimacy is with the world,

knowing that the world is going down.

It is cause for great joy and celebration for those whose hearts are set on heaven.

And as you notice verse 3,

this victory is permanent.

It's going to last forever.

The smoke of her burning goes up forever and ever.

Babylon's not going to come back.

Okay, so it's evident.

Heaven has been longing for this victory

and now is celebrating it.

And this is why.

Babylon's doom is our relief and vindication.

In verse 2, it's very clear.

It's right for God to judge Babylon,

the great prostitute.

Because she corrupted the earth,

she shed the blood of God's servants.

Church, while we still live and breathe,

we are in exile.

The church has never been at home while still in this world.

In fact, the moments when she feels most at home in the world

is when she is least at home in heaven.

We live in Babylon by necessity.

We live here.

We can't get away from it.

We live in a social and cultural system

that is fundamentally opposed to God.

And because it's opposed to God,

it's opposed to us, his people.

And it has been this way for 20 centuries.

It was this way when John dipped his pen in ink

to write down this vision.

It is this way now,

and it will continue to be this way

until God puts Babylon down.

And it's helpful to keep in mind

how the people receiving this book,

originally, the seven churches of Asia,

how they would have felt about hearing this great joy

over God's full and unchallenged reign coming

and Babylon being put down.

Lots of these churches were suffering intense persecution.

Keep a finger in this passage.

Flip back to chapter 6.

Revelation chapter 6.

Revelation 6 · chapter mention

Look at verse 9 of Revelation 6.

And then they were told,

God's people have been and are and will be persecuted.

And when his people are persecuted,

God doesn't just shrug his shoulders and say,

oh man, not again.

There is a limit to how much he will allow.

And when his saints ask how long,

he says, just a little while longer.

And I will avenge you.

I will vindicate you.

And when his vindication comes,

it will be sudden and terrible,

as we saw back in chapter 18.

You don't mess with God's people and get away with it.

But he will vindicate his people.

He will be seen to be right.

Relief and vindication is coming

for those of us who live in Babylon.

Imagine how the members of the church in Smyrna,

one of the seven churches of Asia,

imagine how they would have felt when they heard this.

Jesus had just told them in chapter 2,

he said, be faithful unto death.

And it's going to be that way for a couple of you.

How do you think they would have heard this?

They'd be thinking, I might have Roman soldiers

kicking down my door any minute,

but Babylon ain't going to last.

I might have to be faithful unto death,

but my God will triumph over my enemies,

and he will vindicate me in the end.

I just need to hold on so that I can overcome.

Imagine today how our brothers and sisters in Pakistan

woke up this morning.

They didn't know if this Lord's Day today,

May 12th, would bring for them

from their Muslim countrymen hate, persecution,

or fellow saints in Iran,

or those who had just experienced

the bombings in Sri Lanka.

It's not going to be that way forever.

There will be relief,

and there will be vindication.

God is going to rule triumphantly

over his enemies.

Now, we can hear that,

and we're like, okay, good.

That's good for them.

I don't really feel that myself right now, though.

We don't really feel that opposition

in our corner of the world at the moment.

But there is more to the world's opposition to us

than violent persecution.

There are endless attempts to seduce us

away into her corruption.

Do you see that in verse 2?

Who corrupted the earth with her immorality?

As Matt encouraged us last week,

we must see through the seductive advances

of the world to make us long

for what she can offer,

what the prostitute can offer.

Instead, we've got to hate

all that Babylon stands for,

which is the worship of self.

We must hate it.

We must long for a greater object

of our affection.

And that fight,

that longing,

that struggle,

it takes energy.

It's hard.

The struggle against sin is real.

Many of us in the room

are feeling that right now.

But here's the beautiful news

of God's great victory.

It ain't gonna last.

Relief is coming.

Your struggle against sin

is just for a while.

Your struggle against

whatever temptation

Satan is throwing your way

is going to be temporary.

So hold on.

Hold on.

We need to long

and live

for God's unchallenged rule.

It's coming.

And when it does,

we will not be disappointed.

Here's the second thing.

Let's look at the second section

of our text this morning.

The second reason

that we are to long

and live

for God's triumphant reign

is found in verses 6 through 10.

It's this.

God's unchallenged rule

means

our forever union

with Jesus.

God's unchallenged rule

means our forever union

with Jesus.

If you thought

the sound of great praise

in verse 1

was spectacular,

it's tripled

in verse 6.

Then I heard

what seemed to be

the voice

of a great multitude

like the roar

of many waters

and like the sound

of mighty peels

of thunder

crying out.

Not just a great crowd.

Not just a stadium

full of people

but Niagara Falls

combined with

a raging thunderstorm.

It just staggers

the imagination

to try to conceive

of a massive thunderstorm

raging over Niagara Falls

in the middle

of a football stadium

of millions of people.

But that's the effect

that John's trying

to get across.

Major noise.

Basically,

the roof of heaven stadium

just got blown off

by the roar

of its citizens

going absolutely wild.

I thought

the joy

was really evident

in verse 1

in this

hallelujah chorus

but now,

whoa!

Look at the last half

of verse 6.

Hallelujah!

for the Lord

God,

the Almighty

reigns.

This is heaven

sounding

a similar

triumphant note

as verse 1

but it's just

amplified.

At last!

Finally!

God's rule

and reign

is coming

fully and finally

and His enemies

are going to be

vanquished.

But it's not just

that His enemies

are vanquished.

Take a second

to think of

your favorite

epic movie.

They tend to star

Russell Crowe

or Mel Gibson

but whichever one

you've got

in your mind

just

think of

epic movie,

okay?

When do you

as the viewer

experience

the greatest

sense of relief

and satisfaction

when you watch

movies

like that?

It's when the good

guy finally beats

the bad guy,

right?

it?

Well, yes

but there's

something else.

It's not just

that, is it?

It's not just

vindication.

It's not just

triumph.

It's when the good

guy beats the bad

guy so the good

guy can have his

girl.

Right?

The story ain't

over until the bad

guy dies

and the good guy

and his girl

are finally

together forever.

Well, heaven

is not just

celebrating

because God's

enemies are

going down.

Heaven is

celebrating

because God's

going to finally

get his girl.

Look at verse

seven.

Let us rejoice

and exult

and give him

the glory

for

why so much

joy?

For the marriage

of the Lamb

has come.

God's triumphant

reign doesn't

just mean that

he vindicates

his people.

It means that

he also is going

to have his

people.

He's going to

marry his

people.

Back in

biblical times,

the whole

marriage process

looked something

like this.

The prospective

groom would

head from

his father's

house to

the prospective

bride's

father's house

and negotiate

a betrothal

with him.

He would have

to pay a price

for the bride

and then the

groom and the

bride would

legally be

declared married

after the

price was

paid.

After the

payment happened,

the couple

would then

drink a cup

of wine

together to

seal and

ratify the

fact that

this was a

legit union.

This marriage

was going to

be a new

covenant of

these two

people together.

But then,

that wouldn't

be it.

They would

be legally

married,

but they

would not

consummate the

union.

They would

not be

physically

intimate for

about a

year.

The groom

would go

home to

his father's

house and

he would

begin preparing

a place for

his bride and

preparing the

wedding feast.

This could

take a while,

about a year.

While he was

away working on

her behalf,

she would be

waiting faithfully

for him,

but not just

twiddling her

thumbs.

She would be

waiting faithfully,

not making any

commitment with any

others, but

also preparing

herself.

A lot of work

that goes into

being, not just

the wedding, but

creating a new

life with her

future husband.

So she began

preparing herself

actively for this

wedding day.

Then he would

come suddenly,

usually in the

middle of the

night, and that

was part of the

fun, didn't know

when he was

going to come,

and then the

wedding feast

would begin.

It would be

joy.

Throughout the

Bible, the

relationship between

God and his

people has often

been compared to

a marriage.

God is the

groom.

He's the

initiator in the

relationship.

He comes to his

people, and he

desires to bring

her into a

healthy, exclusive,

protected, intimate

relationship with

himself.

And God makes all

the arrangements.

He does all the

work.

First, he saves her

from the bad guy

way back in Exodus.

Remember that?

He delivers her from

slavery to Pharaoh,

but not just that.

He brings her into

a promised land, a

place where she is

going to be with

him forever.

But the very sad

part of this story,

the tragedy of it,

is that God chose a

very unfaithful bride.

Right away, before

they even got to the

promised land, she

started turning away

to other lovers.

Remember the golden

calf?

She started falling

to seductions of

false worship, the

old Babylon, and she

was turning away from

her faithful bridegroom.

The Old Testament

prophets would often

compare Israel to an

unfaithful wife, panting

after lovers, running

headlong away from her

husband.

It's in Ezekiel 16 and

Jeremiah 2.

The whole book of

Hosea is all about

this.

But then we come to

Isaiah 54.

And God, he does

discipline his people.

He sends his wife

away.

He briefly abandons

her to her own

self-worshiping

devices.

But then he makes

the most profound

promise.

For the Lord has

called you like a

wife deserted and

grieved in spirit,

like a wife of youth

when she is cast off,

says your God.

For a brief moment I

deserted you, but with

great compassion I will

gather you.

In overflowing anger

for a moment I hid my

face from you, but with

everlasting love I will

have compassion on you.

And then about 700

years later, breathing

the air of planet

earth as God made

flesh, Jesus Christ

spoke these words.

Can the wedding guest

feast when the

bridegroom is here?

He began pointing to

himself.

He's saying, I'm here.

The bridegroom is

back.

And he didn't just

show up just to hang

out.

He showed up to do

what he promised to

do in Isaiah 54.

To gather his bride

back to himself in

great compassion and

everlasting love and to

win her heart back to

him from her

faithlessness.

In essence, he came

back to re-betroth her

to himself.

To pay the price, to

drink the cup, and to

betroth her to himself

in love.

So, he's having his

last meal with his

disciples in John 13

through 16.

He drinks the cup of

the new covenant of

betrothal and points to

the price he was about

to pay, the shedding of

his own blood.

And he also promised

that he was going to go

away for a period of

time to prepare a place

for his bride and his

father's house.

And he gave his bride

instructions of how to

be faithful in the

meantime until he comes

back.

because he's going to

return soon and

suddenly to take her

home to be with him

forever.

And here.

Revelation 19, verse 7.

Revelation 19:7

Heaven is trembling

with anticipation.

God's great unchallenged

rule is not only going to

trounce the bad guy.

God's unchallenged rule is

also going to bring about

the wedding feast.

God is going to get his

girl.

Church, do you know

something that's

ridiculously amazing?

We are the girl.

We are the bride.

We are the objects of our

bridegroom's great affection.

And he's coming back for us.

Sinful, weak, foolish,

faithless, bumbling us.

Just let that sink in for a

minute, people of God.

We are the bride of the

Lamb.

Why would he want to be with

me forever?

Why would he love me?

Why would he pay a price

for me?

Why would he go to prepare

a place for me?

We, fellow sinners,

this truth should melt our

hearts and convince us of

our God's immense love for

corrupt and faithless people

like us.

The God of endless days

died to betroth himself to

you forever.

And he has gone away to

prepare a place in his

father's house for us and he

will come soon and suddenly

take us to the joyful

wedding feast.

It doesn't mean that we're

anything lovely in

ourselves.

I know that about me.

I think you know that about

you.

He doesn't love us because of

something in us.

He loves us because he loves

us.

And it is his love for us

that makes us lovely.

Speaking of lovely, look at

the last part of verse 7.

And his bride has made

herself ready.

It was granted to her to

clothe herself with fine

linen, bright and pure, for

the fine linen is the

righteous deeds of the

saints.

Church, listen carefully to

what God's word is telling

us.

While we live here in

Babylon, our primary

occupation must be preparing

ourselves for the wedding

feast.

Let's pretend a young

couple get engaged to be

married.

They are officially

betrothed, rings and all.

The wedding date is set and

the groom-to-be is busy.

He's finding an apartment

for them to live in.

He's arranging the wedding

venue.

He's securing an

officiant.

He's visiting caterers.

He's making plans for the

honeymoon, et cetera, et

cetera, et cetera.

All the while, the bride

spends the months of her

engagements, going out with

friends, taking a couple

vacations by herself, sitting

on the couch, watching

Netflix the rest of the time.

And the day of the wedding

arrives.

And her phone goes off.

Beep, beep, beep, beep,

beep.

Wedding today.

She gasps.

She doesn't have a dress.

She doesn't have shoes.

She doesn't have jewelry.

She doesn't have

bridesmaids' dresses.

She doesn't have a hair

appointment.

Nothing.

She just shows up at the

wedding, sheepish, in sweats

and a t-shirt, completely

unprepared.

Let that not be us, church.

Let that not be us.

Our greatest longing and our

greatest goal in living now is

to prepare ourselves for the

wedding day then.

To be with Jesus forever.

How are we going to do that?

Notice the end of verse 8.

The beautiful wedding dress that

she has on is the fine linen of

righteous deeds of the saints.

Bright and pure.

Now what are those righteous

deeds?

And how do we clothe ourselves

with those righteous deeds?

It's all about living a life of

faith in response to this grace

of being betrothed to our

bridegroom.

It means longing for our true

husband and living in a way

that's pleasing to him.

It means setting our affection on

him alone.

Not giving away to the

seductions of Babylon's false

worship of self.

It means laying our lives down

in love for each other.

In all of our relationships.

Marriage, children, friends,

family, everything.

It means laying our lives down.

It means walking in humility.

It means avoiding moral

compromise at work.

It means caring for outsiders

in our community.

It means guarding our mouths

against speaking gossip and

disciplining ourselves to speak

the truth even if it hurts us.

It means refusing to complain

or grumble by resolving to

trust God in every situation.

It means putting all of our

energy into learning and loving

our God's commands in his word.

It means confessing our sin

and turning from it daily.

Taking up our cross and

following the lamb wherever he

goes.

And you might be thinking

that sounds really hard.

Look at that beautiful phrase

in verse 8.

It was granted.

In other words

all those righteous deeds

that we are to walk in

are enabled.

Do you hear that granted language?

It's grace language.

It's enabled by the grace

that purchased us

as his bride

in the first place.

It's like this.

We aren't his bride

because we've put on

the righteous deeds.

We put on the righteous deeds

because we are his bride.

And there's one more way

that we can prepare ourselves

for that day.

Look at verses 9 and 10.

It's by pondering the joy

of being at that feast.

There's this final reminder

of the goodness

and the privilege

that we currently have

as those who are invited

to the great wedding feast.

The angel tells John

write this down.

It's always good to pay attention

when an angel tells you

to write something down.

So let's listen.

Blessed are those

who are invited

to the marriage supper

of the lamb.

It doesn't say blessed are they

when they get there.

It says blessed now

are those

who are invited now.

It's zeroing in

on the present blessing

of trusting the promise

of that future hope.

This is the fourth time

that word blessed

has shown up

in the book of Revelation.

It's kind of woven

in and out

of the book of Revelation

and it's meant

to communicate to us

if we listen to these words

in the book of Revelation

now

and we savor

what they mean

and we ponder it

and we seek to

bring that into

the soil of our hearts,

it's going to bring

present joy

and blessing

now.

So if you've trusted

in Jesus Christ

you are his forever.

You are called

to the feast.

You are invited

to the greatest joy

ever known

around God's table

at the wedding

of Jesus

and his bride.

In fact the promise

is so staggering

in verse 10

John bows down

to worship

the one who speaks it

to him.

The trustworthiness

of the word

and the glory

of what he was

experiencing

this promise

it was so much

for him.

It was too much

for him

and so he was tempted

to worship the angel

who just relayed

the message

but the angel

says don't worship me

I'm just a fellow servant.

The promise

of the wedding feast

is meant to bring

present blessing

for those of us

who hold

to the testimony

of Jesus

now.

It's a little morsel

of goodness

that's meant to

nourish your soul

with longing

so that your living

might be that

of a bride

who is preparing

herself

and waiting

for her groom

waiting for the

day when he

comes to take

her to himself

and if you take

a little peek

at the very next

verse in verse 11

you'll see that

he's coming

riding on a white

horse

see that next week

he's coming

church

he's coming

for you

his triumphant

reign is coming

long for it

live for it

and you will not

be disappointed

when he comes

by way of

response

let me just

ask you a few

questions

to consider

do you

share

heaven's joy

at the thought

of God's

forever

rule

do you

share

heaven's joy

do you

also

long

for God's

unrivaled

kingdom

if you do

continue to

set your

heart

on that

blessed

reminder

that you

are

personally

invited

and that

you yourself

are a member

of that

bride

that was

purchased

at the

price

of

the

lamb's

blood

if you

don't

if that

does not

strike

joy

at least

a little

bit

in your

heart

or if

that joy

is fuzzy

then consider

this second

question

what does

bring you

joy

what do

you celebrate

and rejoice

in

if the

objects

of your

affection

are only

things that

don't last

things of

Babylon

then chances

are your

heart belongs

not to

the bridegroom

but to

the prostitute

to

allegiance

not to

the true

king

but to

the beast

come out

there's no

joy there

there's no

lasting

fulfillment

there

revelation

does not

give us

the option

of

neither

rejoicing

in Satan's

rule

nor in

God's

rule

there's no

third way

we either

delight in

the fact

that God

is our

king

or we

delight in

the fact

that we

are our

own

kings

or queens

and if

that is

the truth

then we

are in

league

with the

beast

and the

prostitute

there's no

third way

don't try to

ride the

middle

it's either

one

or the

other

if you

do

share in

the joy

of heaven

though

at least

a little

bit

there's that

there

it's a seed

it's planted

it's bearing

fruit in your

life

then you're in

the fight

against Babylon

you're struggling

against setting

your heart

on the things

of this world

then if that's

you consider

this final

question

is Jesus

your bridegroom

calling you

to prepare

yourself

in a particular

way

today

is there a

sinful habit

that he has

made you aware

of this week

that you know

you need to

put off

you know you

need his grace

to put off

to put away

to come out

of

or is there

a habit

of righteousness

that you know

that he is

calling you

to put on

how can you

make effort

today

grace enabled

effort

to prepare

yourself

actively

today

this week

for the

wedding feast

may God

give us

the grace

that we need

to faithfully

respond

to this word

let's pray

to that end

father you

have sent

your son

to betroth

himself

to a bride

forever

and your

unchallenged

rule is

soon coming

when you

will vanquish

your enemies

and you

will bring

the wedding

feast

about

God

would you

please

change our

longing

from anything

that's said

on this

world

to your

unchallenged

rule

help us

to long

for that

day

to long

for the

wedding

feast

to long

to be

with you

in our

union

with you

forever

give us

grace

God

to put

aside

to put

off

that

which

does not

bring

ultimate

and lasting

fulfillment

give grace

now

minister to

each one

of us

by your

spirit

we pray

in Christ's

name

amen