The Prepared Bride - Living Grace Fellowship

Sunday 1/25/15

Topic: The Prepared Bride

Series: The Shemitah (the Sabbatical year)

The Prepared Bride.mp3

Podcast: Download (85.0MB)

Scriptures:

Ezek. 36
Heb. 12

Thought the message is called ‘The Prepared Bride’, the topic was addressing how the church at large has fallen to sleep and needs to wake up. This was connected with the parable of the 10 virgins.

We are to consider the hidden places in our heart and bring them into the light. This is part of the process by which we, as Christ’s bride prepare ourselves for His return, it is also part of the virgin’s keeping oil in their lamps.

We are to find out joy and cause of rejoicing in Him and not in possessions or circumstances. These are things no one has to tell a natural bride who is genuinely in love with her groom. Her every waking thought is on them together. Their lives intermingled and their efforts building towards goals they hold in common. Above all else, deeply finding her satisfaction and calm delight in him alone.

Hope, that is …favorable expectation… is to be found in Him and not our resources or the works of our hands. Work we do apart from God or even FOR God is necessarily done APART from God as well. He is not pleased with self-effort, with striving and working apart from Him. We are co-partners with Him in His kingdom work and He is jealous for us – he will not endure divided interests, purposes or pursuits. We are to be His alone!

These are some of the topics Rob covered in this message and we’re confident that you will enjoy the rest of it, so we encourage you to listen to the audio above.

The rest of this post was not in the message but I’ve added it to help illustrate how the words of Jesus His parables of the virgins and the wedding feast were clearly illustrative of what was common in those days. It might even open your eyes to some further revelation of truths hidden in the words of the parable before you knew what those words represented.

There is much in this illustration of the bride and bridegroom which is instructional for our day.

The bridegroom chose a loyal friend to prepare the bride for the wedding. He would accompany her throughout the betrothal period, and help her get prepared. Once the ceremony commenced and the friend heard the bridegroom’s voice, he would know that he did his job in preparing the bride to receive the bridegroom. John 3:29 describes John the Baptist as the “friend of the bridegroom” who rejoiced because of the bridegroom’s voice, when he heard about Jesus preaching.

*Wedding days in Jesus time were ripe with meaning. When the day of the wedding arrived the bridegroom would appear in festive cloths, with a crown, of gold, silver, or even flowers. He would walk with the groom along with others from a place only known to them and at an unannounced time of day to the home of the father of the bride. Virgins in Israel would wait all along the roadway with lit oil lamps leading to the home of the bride’s father if the groom tarried until night fall. They were sentinel’s true awaiting the first sound of the groom’s appointed friend, who would cry out, “Behold the bridegroom comes, go out to meet him,”. The virgins would flock to the sight of them and accompany them to the father’s house.

Throughout this time the bride would have made herself ready by

bathing
putting on perfume
lavishly dressed in white
often adorned with jewelry
completely covered in a veil

Before the arrival of the groom the bride would receive a blessing from her family and friends.

Upon arrival it would be yelled aloud again, “Behold the bridegroom comes, go out to meet him.”

Then those in the house would proceed back to the home of the groom, the bride being crowned now as well a top a litter. It was a time of great celebration with music, friend, family walking and dancing, throwing flowers and singing joyous songs.

The Chuppah (ceremony), which literally means “The covering” was symbolized by a canopy, which they both would pass under before all as they proceeded to the groom’s bedroom to make love to culminate the wedding. It was imperative that the woman be a virgin for many reasons, but the predominate one was because as the hymen broke it symbolized the two becoming one for by means of this physical union, blood was shed and there were forever now in covenant.

When they were finished they would drape the proofs of her virginity (a towel on which they laid, now stain with the blood of her hymen) in the window for all to bear testimony to her purity and their union.

Many today would see this whole event at both unnecessarily provocative and crudely embarrassing – especially for the bride. However, in their day, and according to the law, proofs of virginity were for her protection and was a strong, well-witnessed proof that kept the groom from later claiming she was not pure when they wed.

Now that they were made one through union, the doors were shut (at least metaphorically) and the feast began. There was a designated “ruler of the feast” whose responsibility is was to make all necessary preparations and benedictions. Wedding feasts were a huge celebration lasting 7 full days. It was a time of feasting, drinking wine, dancing and laughter. All guests were provided with wedding cloths or cloths of festivity. The new husband and wife wore cloths indicating celebration and were allowed to do no work. They ate, drank wine, danced and were treated like a king and queen.

*Note: Much of the information above was taken from the following website – http://www.bible-history.com/biblestudy/marriage.html

If this ministry has been a source of spiritual “food” for you, and therefore have it in your heart to contribute to it’s support, you may do so here.

Blessings!

Pastor Mark

View posts by Pastor Mark

Hi my name is Mark and though I am opposed to titles, I am currently the only Pastor (shepherd/elder) serving our assembly right now.

I have been Pastoring in one capacity or another for nearly 30 years now, though never quite like I am today.

Early in 2009 the Lord revealed to me that the way we had structured our assembly (church) was not scriptural in that it was out of sync with what Paul modeled for us in the New Testament. In truth, I (like many pastors I am sure) never even gave this fundamental issue of church structure the first thought. I had always assumed that church structure was largely the same everywhere and had been so from the beginning. While I knew Paul had some very stringent things to say about the local assembly of believers, the point of our gatherings together and who may or may not lead, I never even considered studying these issues but assumed we were all pretty much doing it right...safety in numbers right?! Boy, I couldn't have been more wrong!

So needless to say, my discovery that we had been doing it wrong for nearly two decades was a bit of a shock to me! Now, this "revelation" did not come about all at once but over the course of a few weeks. We were a traditional single pastor led congregation. It was a top-bottom model of ministry which is in part biblical, but not in the form of a monarchy.

The needed change did not come into focus until following 9 very intense months of study and discussions with those who were leaders in our church at the time.

We now understand and believe that the Bible teaches co-leadership with equal authority in each local assembly. Having multiple shepherds with God's heart and equal authority protects both Shepherds and sheep. Equal accountability keeps authority and doctrine in check. Multiple shepherds also provide teaching with various styles and giftings with leadership skills which are both different and complementary.

For a while we had two co-pastors (elders) (myself and one other man) who led the church with equal authority, but different giftings. We both taught in our own ways and styles, and our leadership skills were quite different, but complimentary. We were in complete submission to each other and worked side-by-side in the labor of shepherding the flock.

Our other Pastor has since moved on to other ministry which has left us with just myself. While we currently only have one Pastor/Elder, it is our desire that God, in His faithfulness and timing, may bring us more as we grow in maturity and even in numbers.

As to my home, I have been married since 1995 to my wonderful wife Terissa Woodson who is my closest friend and most trusted ally.

As far as my education goes, I grew up in a Christian home, but questioned everything I was ever taught.

I graduated from Bible college in 1990 and continued to question everything I was ever taught (I do not mention my college in order to avoid being labeled).

Perhaps my greatest preparation for ministry has been life and ministry itself. To quote an author I have come to enjoy namely Fredrick Buechner in his writing entitled, Now and Then, "If God speaks to us at all other than through such official channels as the Bible and the church, then I think that He speaks to us largely through what happens to us...if we keep our hearts open as well as our ears, if we listen with patience and hope, if we remember at all deeply and honestly, then I think we come to recognize beyond all doubt, that, however faintly we may hear Him, He is indeed speaking to us, and that, however little we may understand of it, His word to each of us is both recoverable and precious beyond telling." ~ Fredrick Buechner

Well that is about all there is of interest to tell you about me.

I hope our ministry here is a blessing to you and your family. I also hope that it is only a supplement to a local church where you are committed to other believers in a community of grace.

~God Bless!