Participants: Ty Gibson
Series Code: 14SCM
Program Code: 14SCM000015S
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00:38 Wow! Well we're just so happy to invite you to join with us
00:41 as we begin the Sabbath here in West Frankfort, Illinois. 00:46 We're at the beautiful Worship Center 3ABN... 00:51 has been built by you: those of you that support this ministry. 00:57 And we've just been praising God here since Wednesday night. 01:01 It's been a tremendous time, hasn't it? 01:03 This is meeting #15, if you can believe it or not - Wow! - 01:06 and we still have a full day to go. And each sermon has 01:10 been powerful and pointed and very practical. 01:14 And the music has been really, really wonderful. 01:16 This has been a great Camp Meeting, and were we to stop 01:19 just now I think it would be one of our best. 01:22 But we've got one more full day to go 01:24 and a lot of blessings in store. Wow! 01:26 And we just are looking forward to this whole weekend. 01:30 And every single message has been anointed. 01:34 We have felt the power of the Holy Spirit here 01:37 when we've been in the back praying with the speakers. 01:41 It's just amazing. 01:43 I heard from Lonnie Melashenko today. He called me 01:47 back to tell me what a blessing it was 01:50 for him to be here with this congregation. 01:53 And he was at... picking out some flowers 01:57 for the service they will have for his father 02:01 when he called me. So keep the Melashenko family 02:05 in your prayers. You know, Jim, I met Colin and Judy. 02:10 They are from England - OK - and they came all the way over 02:14 just for this Camp Meeting. I don't know where they are seated 02:16 but Colin said - There they are right here. They are right down 02:19 front - that 3ABN was instrumental in his coming back 02:22 to the Lord - Amen - coming back to the church, and so he came 02:25 to be with us. So Colin and Judy, you've come a long way. 02:27 God bless you both. Right. And we're so happy that 02:31 you're here and we want to hear more about your story 02:35 some time because... I know you were able to share some of it 02:38 with Danny and he was real excited 02:40 when he heard about your story. 02:42 So God bless you and we're... again, welcome to Illinois. 02:47 Well listen, our brother John is going to sing. 02:49 Indeed! He's going to be singing Your Grace Amazes Me. 02:53 And then, of course, our speaker is Ty Gibson. 02:55 All right. And we know Ty. We all know that he's 02:59 the co-director along with James Rafferty 03:01 of a fantastic ministry. What's the title of that ministry? 03:07 Lightbearers Ministry. That's right... OK! 03:10 And it's so tremendous I forgot the title... but... 03:16 But he's also very active here on 3ABN. 03:21 And we enjoy so much being with James and Ty. 03:26 They were wonderful men. They love the Lord Jesus with 03:30 all of their hearts but they're real people. Um-hmm. 03:34 Real people who enjoy life, enjoy... 03:40 You heard this morning when Ty was telling a little bit about 03:45 how he got James involved with romance 03:48 and that's how much... These guys have a great relationship. 03:54 They really do. And I wish some more of us had better 03:57 relationships with each other. 04:00 But... What are you trying to say, Gilley? 04:07 As I tell people "We have the same father 04:11 just a different mother. " All right? Um-hmm. 04:14 John, are you ready? OK... 04:35 My faithful Father, 04:43 enduring Friend, 04:47 Your tender mercy's 04:51 like a river 04:55 with no end. 04:58 It overwhelms me, 05:05 covers my sin. 05:10 Each time I come into 05:14 Your presence I stand in wonder 05:20 once again. 05:26 Your grace 05:29 still amazes me. 05:33 Your love 05:36 is still a mystery. 05:41 Each day 05:44 I fall on my knees... 05:50 Your grace 05:52 still amazes me... 05:58 Your grace 06:00 still amazes me. 06:19 O patient Savior, 06:26 You make me whole. 06:31 You are the author 06:35 and the healer 06:39 of my soul. 06:42 What can I give You? 06:49 Lord, what can I say? 06:54 I know there's no way 06:57 to repay You... 07:01 only to offer You 07:05 my praise. 07:09 Your grace 07:13 still amazes me. 07:17 Your love 07:20 is still a mystery. 07:24 Each day 07:28 I fall on my knees... 07:33 Your grace 07:36 still amazes me... 07:41 Your grace 07:43 still amazes me. 07:47 It's deeper, 07:50 it's wider, 07:54 it's stronger, 07:57 it's higher, 08:01 it's deeper, 08:05 it's wider, 08:08 it's stronger 08:12 and it's higher than anything 08:18 my eyes can see. 08:22 Your grace 08:25 still amazes me. 08:29 Your love 08:32 is still a mystery. 08:36 Each day 08:39 I fall on my knees... 08:45 Your grace 08:48 still amazes me... 08:53 Your grace 08:55 still amazes 09:01 me. 09:20 Amen. 09:25 Amen! I've said it before and I'll say it again: 09:29 I'd be willing to max out a credit card 09:32 and pay monthly payments with 15% interest 09:35 till the second coming to sing like that brother. 09:41 Well, good evening everybody! Good evening! 09:44 I'm so glad to be here at... wait a minute... 09:51 For the life of me I can't remember the 09:53 name of this ministry. Hold on just a minute... 09:56 Jim... what's the name of your ministry? 09:59 Hope Channel. The Hope Channel... that's right. 10:02 That's right... that's right. 10:13 That fact is I'm very happy to be here at 3ABN... 10:19 mostly because of you and secondarily because of Jim. 10:24 I've been given the privilege of speaking 10:28 on an amazing subject. 10:31 You saw the title, didn't you? 10:33 The People He's Coming For. 10:35 Now I want to clarify: I wish the title of this message 10:39 was: The People For Whom He's Coming. 10:43 But I'm not going to get into the grammar of the preposition 10:48 at the end of the sentence. What I'm going to do 10:52 is begin with a thesis statement 10:57 right after we offer a word of prayer. 11:00 Father in heaven, You are so incredible! 11:07 The closer we get to You the more our hearts race. 11:14 We are literally excited 11:19 by the prospect that soon and very soon we will have 11:23 the privilege of standing in Your immediate presence. 11:26 What grace, what love, what acceptance 11:32 we will see in Your eyes. 11:36 Thank you so much for the opportunity 11:40 to know You and to prepare for the soon coming of Your Son 11:45 who will usher us into Your presence. 11:49 Please, Father, right now give me clarity. 11:51 Help me to speak effectively on Your behalf. 11:53 May all my brothers and sisters here and those who are viewing 11:58 be blessed by the breaking of the Bread of Life. 12:03 In Jesus' name, Amen. 12:06 So my opening thesis statement is simply this: 12:09 listen very carefully... We're going to go in a direction 12:12 that might be a little bit unexpected 12:15 on a topic such as ours. 12:17 Thesis statement: the second coming of Jesus 12:21 is a matrimonial event. 12:26 The second coming of Jesus is a matrimonial event. 12:30 Now we have oftentimes specialized 12:35 in reducing the glorious Biblical truth of the second 12:39 advent to a negation argument 12:44 to proclaim what it's not. 12:48 In other words, we have often reduced the second coming 12:52 to simply a doctrinal argument regarding the fact that it's not 12:57 a secret rapture and amassing the arsenal of texts 13:02 from scripture to point by point demonstrate 13:07 that fact. Now... it's important 13:12 for us to understand the manner of the second coming of Jesus. 13:16 But listen very carefully now: 13:19 not at the expense 13:22 of understanding why He's coming. 13:27 The truth of the second advent of Christ is a positive 13:32 Biblical declaration. In order for us to construct 13:37 our argument against the secret rapture 13:41 we have to pool various Bible verses - 13:45 and it's a sound argument - in order to piece by piece, 13:49 line by line - prove our point against what we know to be 13:55 a false doctrine. But the fact is 14:00 if we focus on what it's not 14:03 to the exclusion of what it is, 14:06 our hearts are robbed of the anticipation 14:11 of a beautiful event that ought to have our hearts racing 14:17 and palpitating with excitement for the prospect of Jesus 14:22 coming back in our lifetime. 14:25 Now I've stated that the second coming is a matrimonial event. 14:29 Let me wrap additional language around it so you know 14:32 exactly where I'm coming from as we formulate the message 14:35 tonight. The second coming of Jesus is 14:39 the consummation of a great love story. 14:45 It's that climactic point - the crescendo point - 14:49 of the ages 14:53 when human hearts that have been knit together 14:57 in deep love for the Savior finally stand in His presence 15:03 and feel the affirmation 15:06 of a bride before her groom. 15:10 Jesus is looking to form a corporate bride 15:15 to be prepared for His coming. 15:18 So the short answer to the question regarding the people 15:22 for whom Jesus is coming is simply this: 15:25 He's coming for a bride. He's coming for a group of people - 15:30 a corporate body - who are head- over-heels in love with Him. 15:34 He's coming for a people whose hearts have been 15:39 growing and swelling with excitement for who He is 15:44 as the divine lover of our souls 15:46 to the point that when He comes He will look into our eyes 15:50 and there will be resonance. He will see our acceptance 15:55 of Him, our love for Him returning to His heart. 16:01 And what joy Jesus Himself will experience 16:07 to be in the presence of those who love Him like that. 16:11 Now in order to get into the meat of this message tonight 16:16 I want you to begin with me by allowing scripture to paint 16:21 for us a picture of God's matrimonial aspirations 16:27 beginning with the Song of Solomon. 16:29 No better place to begin. 16:31 Song of Solomon is one of those books of the Bible - 16:34 one of a very few... one of three - 16:36 that were under debate during the period of time when 16:39 the canon of scripture was being composed 16:42 that gave us the 66 books. 16:45 We almost ended up with just 65 16:48 because there were many scholars who were arguing against 16:51 Song of Solomon being included in scripture. 16:54 They just couldn't understand why the Holy Spirit 16:59 would inspire a love song such as this. 17:03 And so scholars were arguing against 17:07 Song of Solomon being included in scripture. 17:10 Praise God that scholars who understood 17:15 the depth of God's love for the human soul won out 17:18 in that argument and now we have the privilege 17:21 of having this sacred text at our disposal 17:24 and we need to remember something about it. 17:28 Song of Solomon is a part of scripture. 17:31 Because of this we understand 17:35 that all scripture is given by inspiration of God 17:38 and is profitable. We understand according to Peter 17:42 that holy men of old spoke as they were moved upon 17:45 by the Holy Spirit. So yes, Solomon composed 17:50 his book, the book that bears his name. 17:52 Solomon composed it, but he composed it 17:55 like all the other prophets: under inspiration of the 17:57 Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit's fingerprints are all over 18:01 this love song. 18:03 When we come to Song of Solomon we see a basic 18:07 pattern that develops. This is a song about a love 18:13 relationship between Solomon and his girl. 18:16 She's called the Shulammite. 18:19 Solomon loves her and expresses through various poetic means 18:25 his love for her. She responds in the song 18:28 by expressing her love back to him. 18:31 And it's just this beautiful lyrical cadence back and forth. 18:35 "I love you. " "No... I love you more. " 18:37 "You're beautiful, beyond anything I've ever encountered 18:40 in this... " "No, you are altogether lovely. " 18:43 Back and forth, back and forth. 18:45 Some of the most beautiful lines not just in scripture 18:48 but in all of literature are found in the Song of Solomon... 18:53 the Song of Solomon. For example, at one point 18:57 the woman - the Shulammite - looks at Solomon 19:00 and she says: "Your eyes are pools of understanding. " 19:06 "You get me... you understand me, Solomon, 19:10 and I'm affirmed in the fact that when I look into your eyes 19:15 I feel understood. " 19:17 Another line that's incredible in Song of Solomon 19:21 is when the Shulammite - the woman - says to Solomon: 19:26 "You are my lover and my friend. " 19:32 In other words, Solomon, under the inspiration of the 19:36 Holy Spirit understood that the pinnacle of love 19:40 is friendship, mutuality, reciprocation. 19:46 The pinnacle of love is when the person 19:50 your heart is reaching out to 19:53 you sense is reaching back into your heart. 19:56 It's the most amazing thing in the world to fall in love 19:59 with someone. It's incredible on a whole new level 20:03 to realize they love you back. 20:06 That's the beauty of the Song of Solomon. 20:10 Now this is incredible because as we move through 20:13 this beautiful love song going back and forth 20:16 we come to the point in the song 20:20 where God Himself is introduced to us in chapter 8. 20:25 Chapter 8 of Song of Solomon, coming to the last chapter, 20:30 don't miss this... this is the part you're probably heard 20:32 in weddings: verse 6. Notice that I'm going to read it 20:37 in the New King James version 20:39 and I'm going to call your attention to a poor translation 20:43 in most versions and give you something here that I think 20:48 will be a blessing from the text. "Set me as a seal... " 20:51 verse 6... "upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm. " 20:56 Pause right there. What is she basically saying? 20:59 My heart... my arm. The interior of my being, 21:05 my thinking and feeling process and my deeds. 21:08 This is an early-developed mention of what we have later on 21:13 in the book of Revelation of the seal of God 21:17 in the forehead. The seal of God taking captive 21:23 the hearts and minds of God's people. 21:25 This is love that is being described here. 21:29 Not slavery; not servitude. 21:32 This is: "Solomon, you're in my heart, 21:36 you're in my deeds. I live for you from the inside out. 21:40 Set me as a seal... fix me in your love. 21:45 Solidify me. Bring me into a relationship with you 21:49 that's immovable... that cannot be changed. 21:53 Seal me in this relationship that we have. " 21:57 "For love... " the text continues... 22:00 "is as strong as death. " That's simply a poetic way of saying 22:05 "I love you and you love me with a love that can't even be 22:10 thwarted by death itself. I would rather die 22:16 than stop loving you. " 22:18 That's what she's saying. "There is no self-interest 22:22 that could in any way compromise my love for you. " 22:26 And then: "Jealousy is as cruel as the grave. " 22:30 That doesn't sound real nice, but literally what it means 22:34 is that jealousy, that this quality of love 22:37 that is exclusive, that jealousy is as tenacious 22:42 not cruel in the sense that we understand the word cruelty 22:45 today but as tenacious as the grave. 22:49 A person dies. They go into the grave 22:50 and nothing but the voice of God at the resurrection 22:53 is bringing that person back to life. 22:55 "Death is tenacious in its grip on those who have 23:01 fallen to it. I love you and you love me 23:04 like that, Solomon. 23:06 With that kind of love... with that strength of love. 23:10 With a love that is stronger than death and more tenacious 23:14 than the grave. " Then notice the language of passion: 23:18 "Its flames are flames of fire. " 23:22 The flames of fire. What's being described here? 23:26 This love between us. 23:29 "There's a fire in my heart for you. 23:33 There's passion for you, Solomon... " and Solomon 23:36 to the Shulammite: "There's a living, thriving 23:40 energy-emitting kind of love 23:44 in my heart for you and in yours for me. " 23:47 Notice this now... here's the point: 23:48 Its flames are flames of fire. My version 23:52 "A most vehement flame. " 23:55 Now it's there that the trans- lators have gone all wrong 23:59 because they didn't know what to do with this 24:01 in the original language. 24:03 So they said: "Huh... we're just going to go ahead and 24:06 and translate this vehement because we think it's simply 24:10 conveying the idea of strength. " But here's what it 24:13 literally says in the Hebrew: 24:16 "It's flames... " That is, the flames of love... 24:20 "are flames of fire... the very fire 24:24 of Yahweh Himself. " 24:28 And there for the one and only time in the song 24:32 God is brought into the picture. 24:36 Essentially what Solomon has ingeniously crafted for us 24:40 is a love song in which he has created 24:43 a sense of how powerful and beautiful the love is that can 24:49 exist in its ideal form between a man and a woman 24:53 in marriage. Not love as we've experienced it necessarily 24:57 if we've had broken love relationships. 25:00 When God speaks in matrimonial terms to you and me 25:04 don't do an immediate crossover into whatever pain you may have 25:08 experienced. But you know if you've ever been married 25:12 if you said "Yes" to marriage vows 25:16 you know that whatever brokenness may have befallen you 25:19 afterwards that you married because of what you knew in your 25:22 heart marriage ought to be. 25:25 The ideal of marriage, right? 25:28 And because you know in your heart what it ought to be 25:31 you can resonate with what's being described here. 25:35 Regardless of whatever pain or brokenness we've experienced 25:38 the fact is that matrimonial love at its zenith, 25:42 at its pinnacle, in all its beauty, is the most incredible 25:46 thing two human beings can ever experience in this life. 25:50 And here we are told by Solomon that this love 25:56 is like the very love of Yahweh Himself. 26:02 Then, verse 7: "Many waters cannot quench 26:07 love nor can the floods drown it. If a man were to give all 26:12 the wealth of his house for love it would be utterly 26:15 despised. " You hear what's being said here? 26:19 Love is, according to this text, 26:21 the absolute most precious, most valuable 26:25 thing that any human being can ever experience. 26:28 And in its purest form 26:31 that love that we know we were made for 26:34 exists in the heart of God. 26:37 As Solomon comes to the conclusion he does something 26:40 ingenious that is lost upon us unless we look at the text 26:44 very carefully, and that is this: 26:46 Solomon is the male lover in the song. 26:51 Shulammite is the female. 26:54 Amazingly, Solomon is the male name 26:59 that is Shalom. Peace... wellbeing. 27:04 An overall sense of composure and happiness 27:08 and joy all bundled up into one. 27:11 Peace, Shalom. That's the name of the man in the love story. 27:16 Shulammite is the female pronoun. 27:20 It's the female name for peace. 27:23 Shalom and Shalom have fallen in love, and we come 27:29 to the point in verse 10 where the Shulammite says: 27:34 "I am a wall and my breasts are like towers. 27:38 Then I became in his eyes 27:42 as one who found Shalom... peace. " 27:48 This is the point of resolve. 27:51 This is what it was all moving toward. 27:53 The whole trajectory of this relationship 27:56 was that the man and the woman - Solomon and Shulammite - 28:00 Shalom and Shalom - would together in their love 28:03 find Shalom. They would find complete satisfaction 28:08 in one another's love. 28:10 When we look at the Biblical narrative as it unfolds 28:15 over and over again God introduces Himself 28:21 in matrimonial terms. 28:23 He wants us to view Him as a lover in pursuit 28:27 of His beloved. Turn now in your Bible to Ezekiel 16. 28:32 Anybody who has any familiarity with me at all 28:36 is familiar with my love for this passage. 28:41 If you've encountered it before 28:44 in my preaching, so what. 28:50 That's OK... you're about to see it again. 28:52 All right. Ezekiel chapter 16 28:56 in verses 4 through 8 we have a microcosm 28:59 of the plan of salvation in the form of a story. 29:03 The whole plan of salvation is encapsulated 29:07 in verses 4 through 8. 29:10 And God here - Yahweh - the Almighty Creator of heaven and 29:14 earth... He is telling a story to you and me. 29:17 "As for your nativity and the day of your birth 29:22 on the day that You were born... " I'm in verse 4... 29:25 Your navel cord was not cut nor were you washed in water 29:30 or no one cleansed you. You were not rubbed with salt 29:34 nor were you wrapped in swaddling clothes. " 29:38 Look at verse 5. 29:40 "No eye pitied you. " Another version says 29:42 "No one loved you on the day of your birth. " 29:46 "No one loved you to do any of these things for you, 29:50 to have compassion on you, but you were thrown 29:54 into an open field. " This is God telling you and me a story. 29:58 And He says: "On the day that you were born... " 30:01 Of course, locally historically this is God telling a story 30:04 about Israel. On the larger scale 30:08 the microcosm in its macro manifestation 30:12 is a story about all of humanity. 30:14 You and I from birth are as it were abandoned 30:20 babies that nobody loves. 30:23 That is to say no matter what mother, father, 30:26 brothers, sisters you happen to have, 30:29 whether they be good familial relationships or negative ones, 30:33 the fact is that in this broken world nobody 30:37 can love you in the way - to the degree - 30:41 with the quality of love with which you heart longs to be 30:44 loved. God alone has that gift of love 30:49 to bestow upon you. And God says that your condition 30:53 as a sinner is characterized by the fact 30:57 that you are born into abandonment. 31:00 You are born into abandonment and He says: "No one 31:04 loved you. " This is amazing. 31:07 "No one loved you. You were thrown... " verse 5... "into 31:09 an open field. " Look at this... verse 6: 31:13 "And when I passed you by I saw you struggling 31:18 in your blood... in your own blood. " 31:20 Can you picture it? 31:23 An abandoned baby torn from the womb 31:28 the umbilical cord not properly, caringly cut. 31:32 The blood of birth still on the flesh of this infant. 31:36 Yanked from the womb and thrown off the side of the road 31:42 into an open field. 31:45 And God says: "I was passing by 31:48 and I saw you struggling in your blood. " 31:54 "I saw you dying. " 31:57 And He says: "I said to you in your blood 32:01 live! Yes, I said to you 32:05 in your blood live. " That's verse 6. 32:10 God is speaking into our broken, damaged, 32:15 wounded, fallen condition of lovelessness 32:19 and He says to you and me: "I want you to survive this. 32:24 I want you to live. I don't want you to be overcome 32:30 and succumb to death. 32:33 I want to give you the gift of eternal life and salvation. " 32:37 And so how's He going to do it? 32:39 Verse 7: "So I made you to thrive 32:44 like a plant in the field. And you grew and you matured. " 32:48 Hold onto that. "You grew and you matured 32:51 and you became very beautiful. " 32:56 This is God speaking to you and me. 33:00 This finds parallel in Paul where Paul describes 33:04 that God is in the process of forming a bride without spot 33:10 or wrinkle or any such thing. 33:12 The plan of salvation isn't merely about getting you and me 33:16 out of hell into heaven. 33:18 Out of trouble into the good place. 33:20 The plan of salvation is about something more than that. 33:23 According to scripture the plan of salvation... 33:26 Right here in this incredible text the plan of salvation 33:30 is a beautification process. 33:33 God is looking into your brokenness and mine 33:38 and He says: "I'm going to give you beauty for ashes. " 33:41 "I'm going to restore to you the beauty of character 33:46 and personality that I created you for. 33:49 You're going to grow up and mature, " He said, 33:52 "into a very beautiful woman. " 33:57 In the corporate sense. Men, don't take it personal. 34:00 "You're going to grow up and mature into a beautiful woman. " 34:03 God wants you and me to be beautiful. 34:05 I want to tell you something in passing here. 34:07 Yes, God loves you... He loves me... 34:11 with agape love in the New Testament 34:13 which is unilateral love. It's one-way love. 34:17 It's "I love you regardless of what's going on with you 34:19 because I am love. 34:22 And you can't alter the fact that I love you. " 34:25 That's agape love. It's one way; it's unilateral 34:27 but it looks for reciprocation. 34:31 God loves you and me unconditionally 34:34 but that unconditional unilateral agape love 34:37 God lavishes upon our heart for the purpose of stimulating 34:43 a response. He wants us to look back into His eyes 34:47 and say something like "I love You, too. " 34:52 I John 4:19 says "We love Him because He 34:55 first loved us. " That's the circuit of beneficence 34:59 to use the words of the book Desire of Ages. 35:01 That's the circle. That's the love of God going out and down 35:06 and then He smiles because it comes out and up 35:10 to Him from our hearts. 35:13 This scripture says God is in the process of beautifying us. 35:18 "You became beautiful. " Then look at this, verse 8, 35:21 this is amazing: "When I passed you by again... " 35:25 You've been going through a maturation process. 35:28 "When I passed you by again and I looked upon you 35:34 indeed... " My version says: 35:37 "your time was the time of love. " 35:42 Another version: "I passed you by again 35:45 and I saw that it was time for you to fall in love. " 35:50 She's grown up in verse 7. 35:53 She's thriving... she's gone through puberty. 35:55 Spiritually the church has got to grow up. 35:58 And as the church grows and matures in this beauty 36:03 that God has planned for us the bride of Christ is 36:06 becoming ready for His second coming. 36:11 "I passed you by again and I saw that it was time 36:14 for you to fall in love, so I spread My wings 36:17 over you and I covered you... " And watch this: 36:20 "Yes, I swore an oath to you. " 36:24 In the Hebrew: "I entered into covenant with you. " 36:28 I made a covenant promise. 36:30 "I swore an oath to you and entered into a covenant with you 36:34 and... " Notice this tender language from God in heaven... 36:40 "and you became Mine. " 36:44 There is a natural and godly possessiveness to love. 36:48 There is an exclusiveness to love. 36:51 There is a forsaking all others for the one. 36:55 And God is here delighting in the fact that His people 36:59 grow up and mature to the point where He can look upon them 37:03 and see beauty and say to them 37:07 "You became Mine. " 37:10 Now when He says "Your time was the time of love; 37:13 I saw that it was time for you to fall in love, " 37:15 God is describing here preparation for marriage. 37:21 She's finally ready... it's time for you to fall in love. 37:26 I want to say to you... From the bottom of my heart 37:29 I want to say to you, my brothers and sisters in Christ, 37:33 I want to say to us as Seventh-day Adventists, 37:36 it is time for us to fall in love with Jesus. 37:41 It is time for us to grow up and mature 37:44 beyond mere negation arguments 37:48 and comparing ourselves among ourselves 37:51 and assessing one another with downward gaze 37:56 with condemnation. It is time for us as a people 38:01 to grow up spiritually, 38:05 to become beautiful in God's eyes. 38:08 It is time for you and me to fall in love with Jesus. 38:14 Now quickly rush over to Hosea chapter 2. 38:19 Hosea chapter 2, and you'll see additional matrimonial 38:22 language that is introduced to us to describe 38:28 God's aspiration for you and me 38:30 preparatory to the consummation of the ages: 38:34 the second coming of Jesus Christ. 38:36 In chapter 2 again the sin problem is described. 38:40 Here the sin problem is described as the people 38:44 forgetting God. God says in Hosea: "I loved you. 38:49 I gave Myself to you. 38:51 We entered in to marriage relationship with one another 38:55 but you forgot Me 38:57 and you pursued other loves, you pursued other lovers. 39:02 And as you pursued other loves 39:06 I realized that something needed to be done. " 39:09 So He says in verse 14 of chapter 2 of Hosea: 39:13 "Therefore behold I will allure her. 39:17 I will bring her into the wilderness and I will speak 39:21 comfort to her. " That is: "I will speak words of love 39:25 to her" in the Hebrew... in some versions as well. 39:29 God is saying here that He is going to save 39:32 you and me by alluring us to Him. 39:37 By putting on display before us the beauty, 39:40 the irresistible beauty of His love for us. 39:45 "I'm going to allure you to Me. " 39:47 "I'm going to take you into a quiet place alone 39:49 and I'm going to speak words of love to you. " 39:52 Now watch what happens. This is the ultimate paradigm shift 39:56 in verse 16. 39:58 "And it shall be in that day... " 40:02 Pause... what day? In the day when I allure My people 40:06 to Myself. When I capture their attention and pull them away 40:11 from the idols of this world, from the other lovers 40:14 that they have been pursuing. 40:16 When I finally arrest the attention of My people 40:20 and allure them to Me, verse 16: "And it shall be in that day 40:24 says the Lord that you will call Me 40:28 my husband and you will no longer call me my master. " 40:36 Here God is drawing a contrast 40:39 between two kinds or qualities of relationships. 40:43 There is on the one hand the servant/master relationship. 40:48 And God looks upon that kind of dynamic 40:51 and He pushes back on it. 40:53 He essentially says: "I don't want that between you and I. " 40:56 "I don't want you to be My servant in the slave sense. " 41:01 There's another sense in which scripture does use the word 41:04 servant in a positive sense. Paul talks about being 41:08 a willing captive to the heart of God. 41:12 But that's very similar to a man and a woman falling in love 41:15 and entering into an exclusive relationship 41:18 in which I give myself to you voluntarily. 41:20 It's still not coercion or manipulation. 41:24 But here the servant/master dynamic 41:29 is negated in favor of a husband/wife... 41:33 a bridegroom dynamic. 41:36 God says that when you finally see me for who I am, 41:40 when your attention is drawn to Me and you are 41:44 allured to Me, you see My love for you, 41:47 in that day you will stop relating to Me as a servant 41:52 to a master and you will begin relating to Me 41:55 on a whole new premise. 41:58 You won't say any more: "My Master. " 42:00 You'll say: "Ah, my Husband. " 42:04 There are two different dynamics described here. 42:09 This is where God is leading His people. 42:12 And then He drops to His knees in verse 19. 42:18 "I will betroth you to Me forever. Yes I will betroth you 42:23 to Me in righteousness and in justice, 42:26 in loving-kindness and in mercy. I will betroth you to Me 42:32 in faithfulness, and you will know the Lord. " 42:36 This is so incredible that God would speak to you and me 42:39 like this. This tells us that He is aiming for something 42:44 beautiful and high and glorious and wonderful 42:47 in the relationship between ourselves and Him. 42:51 And I want you to notice that the weight of the focus 42:55 is on His love and mercy 43:01 and righteousness and faithfulness to us. 43:06 That's the nature of the Biblical covenant between 43:11 God and His people. 43:13 Salvation is premised upon God's promises to us... 43:17 not ours to Him. 43:19 God's love for you and me... not our ratcheted-up 43:25 disciplined love for Him. 43:27 It is impossible for the human heart if left to itself 43:33 to bring about the kind of love that is described 43:38 in scripture. We need a Savior. 43:42 We need One who is unswervingly faithful to us 43:47 in the face of our rebellion and unfaithfulness 43:53 to finally get our attention so that as we run from Him 43:58 into the arms of other lovers finally our hearts are broken 44:03 by the fact that He has never stopped loving us. 44:07 And so covenantal love in scripture is God's promise 44:13 of faithfulness to you and to me. 44:17 And that love reaching into our hearts 44:20 produces a returning current of love 44:24 to complete the circle of beneficence. 44:27 We don't initiate the circle with our faithfulness. 44:32 You will continue, I will continue to be weak 44:36 and impotent and crippled in our spiritual experience 44:40 precisely to the degree that we emphasize the human part 44:44 of the equation. 44:47 To the degree that we focus on, preach about, and communicate 44:52 what we ought to do, must do, ought not to do, 44:55 ought not to do... should not do, 44:57 to the degree that we focus on the human part of the 45:02 equation. Not that there isn't a human part... 45:04 there is. But the human part is utterly and completely 45:08 dependent on the divine part. 45:12 You've seen these pictures, haven't you? 45:15 of massive icebergs jutting up out of the ocean 45:21 larger than any building in any skyscraper city. 45:27 And then you eyes drop down in the photo to see 45:30 that what you thought was massive was just the tip of the 45:32 iceberg and there is this massive ice structure 45:38 that is beneath the surface of what we see. 45:43 The objective love of God for you and me, 45:48 His faithfulness, is that massive structure 45:53 beneath the surface that gives rise to this tip of the iceberg 45:59 that we tend to want to focus on and specialize in. 46:02 To the degree that we focus on what we had better do, 46:06 ought to do, should do we will be spiritually weak 46:10 and impotent. BUT, the more you focus on the heart of Jesus 46:14 toward you the more you'll find yourself experiencing 46:18 a kind and quality of love for Him that you never thought 46:20 was possible. Your experience will begin to be built upon 46:24 His promises not yours... which Ellen White in Steps to Christ 46:27 says of those promises that they are like ropes of sand... 46:30 the promises of human beings to God. 46:35 But God's faithfulness is the point of the covenant. 46:39 He drops to one knee here and is proposing to you and me. 46:43 He says: "I will betroth you to Me forever. " Amen! 46:47 "I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and justice 46:51 and loving-kindness and mercy. That's how I'll relate to you. " 46:54 "And I'll relate to you, " He says, "with faithfulness 46:57 and you shall know the Lord. 47:00 You'll know Me when you get a glimpse of My faithfulness 47:04 toward you. Then you'll begin to know Me as a husband 47:10 rather than a master, and the whole tenor and quality 47:14 of your spiritual experience will be radically changed. " 47:18 You will find yourself loving the things that God loves 47:21 and hating the things that God hates. 47:24 You'll find yourself saying things like: 47:26 "I do always those things that please Him. " 47:29 "Oh how I love Your law. It is my meditation 47:31 day and night. " "I delight to do Your will 47:34 O my God because Your law is in my heart. " 47:37 "Give me understanding and I shall keep Your law. " 47:40 "Yes, I will observe it with my whole heart. 47:43 As the deer pants for the water brook so pants my heart 47:47 for You, O God... for the Living God. 47:50 When will You come to me? " 47:53 You'll begin to identify with the language 47:57 of love that is pervasive in scripture. 48:01 Language that at one point in your experience 48:04 was foreign to you. You just passed over it. 48:07 You didn't even know what to do with it. You didn't relate 48:09 to that language. You're like: "What does that mean? 48:11 I don't get that; I don't feel that; I don't experience that. " 48:14 You will. You will when you shift 48:19 the weight of your focus and dependence 48:22 upon the covenant faithfulness of God 48:26 in the plan of salvation through which He gave His Son 48:30 at Calvary to die for you and me. And the vision of that 48:34 love will radically change the quality of your experience 48:39 with God. Now the Old Testament 48:41 is pervasive with this kind of matrimonial language. 48:45 God is a pursuing lover. 48:48 It's not surprising then that when we come to the 48:51 New Testament to the gospel of John in chapter 3 48:55 and verse 29. Does this give you a hint of where we're going? 48:58 You should be turning there now. 48:59 John chapter 3 and verse 29. It shouldn't be surprising 49:04 to us then that when Jesus comes into the world, 49:09 when He steps out of eternity into time, 49:12 when Jesus comes up close and personal into our world 49:17 John the Baptist sees Him and points to Him 49:21 and he says: "He's... " And then he tells us who He is. 49:26 John's followers were saying: "Wait a minute. Who is this guy 49:29 who has come out of nowhere here? 49:31 We're followers of you, John the baptizer. " 49:34 And John says: "Ah, wait a minute. 49:37 Let me clarify something here. " 49:39 Verse 29 of John 3: "He who has the bride 49:43 or He to whom the bride belongs 49:45 is the bridegroom. But the friend... " That is, 49:50 in our culture the best man... 49:52 "the friend of the bridegroom who stands and hears Him 49:57 rejoices because of the bridegroom's voice. 50:00 Therefore this joy of mine is complete. " 50:03 John essentially says: "Ladies and gentlemen, 50:06 may I introduce you to your groom. " 50:11 He essentially says: "Jesus has now come to this world 50:16 to claim His bride. " 50:19 The gospel of John then unfolds with a kind of wooing process. 50:25 It unfolds like a tryst. 50:27 Like a beautiful interaction between Jesus and one person 50:32 after another. From every angle possible 50:36 people are getting a glimpse of His goodness and His love. 50:39 And then we come to chapter 14 50:42 the great second coming passage of the New Testament. 50:48 And there Jesus says to His disciples: 50:51 Verse 1: "Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God 50:56 believe also in Me. " 50:57 Notice this: "In My Father's house are many mansions. " 51:01 More accurate translation: "In My Father's house are many 51:04 rooms. " "If it were not so, I would have told you. 51:08 I go... yes, I'm leaving... I go to prepare a place 51:13 for you. But if I go to prepare a place for you 51:16 I WILL COME AGAIN to receive you to Myself 51:22 that where I am there you may be also. " 51:27 Jesus, who was introduced by the baptizer 51:30 as the groom who has come for His bride, 51:33 is now invoking the local cultural language of the time 51:37 regarding matrimony. 51:40 In that culture a man would see a woman 51:43 over the vegetable stand or at the well, and he would say: 51:48 "She's the one. I hope she feels the same way. " 51:52 And he will go through a wooing process getting to know her. 51:55 And if that love begins to reciprocate 52:00 and they begin to understand that "Hey, this is mutual! 52:03 Not only do I love you but you love me! " 52:06 Then at that point the man in that culture 52:11 would say: "OK... it's settled. " 52:15 The proposal is made; the date is set. 52:18 "I'm going away. I'm going to go to my father's house 52:22 and I'm going to prepare the matrimonial room... 52:26 our new home. I'm going to prepare the place 52:29 for you, my bride. But be sure of this: 52:33 I'm coming back to get you as soon as the room is ready. " 52:38 And then he would go back and he would get his bride. 52:42 The marriage would take place and he would take her 52:46 to live forever for the rest of their lives 52:49 with him in his father's house. 52:53 Jesus is telling the story of His second advent 52:57 in the exact narrative trajectory 53:02 of the Old Testament here. 53:04 When you come to chapter 17 He pulls that language up again. 53:09 Chapter 17... you're going there quickly. 53:11 Chapter 17 verse 3. And Jesus in verse 3 53:15 defines eternal life in the same terms that Hosea used 53:18 in chapter 2 of Hosea. 53:20 "And this is eternal life, " Jesus says, 53:23 "that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus 53:26 Christ whom You have sent. " 53:28 "That they might know You. " Down in verse 20 53:31 notice the language: "I do not pray for these alone 53:34 but also for those who believe in Me 53:39 through their words. That they all may be one... " 53:43 Watch this... "as You, Father, are in Me and I in You 53:46 that they also may be one in Us 53:50 that the world may believe that You sent Me. 53:52 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them 53:56 that they may be one just as We are One. " 54:00 Verse 23: "I in them and You in Me. " 54:04 This is the language of the closest intimacy. 54:07 "That they may be made perfect in one 54:11 and that the world may know that You have sent Me 54:13 and... " Watch this: "have loved them as You have loved Me. 54:18 Father, I desire also that those whom You have given Me 54:23 may be with Me where I am. " 54:29 Jesus closes His public ministry 54:34 expressing the aspiration 54:38 to be with us and for us to be with Him. 54:42 As we come to the book of Revelation 54:44 the second coming is depicted in chapter 19 54:48 again with matrimonial language. 54:51 Chapter 19 verse 7: "Let us be glad and rejoice 54:55 and give Him glory for the marriage of the Lamb 54:59 has come and His wife has made herself ready. " 55:05 Remember? The bride has been going through 55:08 a maturation process, a beautification process 55:11 of character and personality, 55:13 growing in the love of her bridegroom. 55:19 She's made herself ready. 55:22 She's made herself ready. Verse 8: 55:25 "And to her was granted to be arrayed in fine linen 55:29 clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts 55:33 of the saints. " Do you see what's happened here? 55:37 Jesus comes for a people... 55:41 the people He's coming for. 55:43 He's coming for a people - a corporate body 55:47 like you and me - whose love has reached back 55:52 to His love, whose faithfulness has reached back 55:57 into His faithfulness. 55:59 He's initiated the relationship. 56:02 He's wooed us; He's cultivated a connection with us. 56:08 We've moved through a trysting process. 56:10 He's been romancing our hearts through Bible study and prayer. 56:16 And as we have grown closer to Him - and I urge you 56:19 in the name of Jesus that if what we're describing here 56:22 does not approximate what you know to be your experience 56:26 with Jesus, it is time for you to fall in love. 56:32 It is time for you to begin to identify 56:35 with the lover's heart that is the Savior of the world. 56:40 Jesus is coming back for a people. 56:44 He's coming back for you and me: 56:47 a beautiful bride who has made herself ready 56:50 who loves Him in return for His love... 56:55 His faithful covenantal love for us. 56:58 Do you want to be ready when Jesus comes? Amen! 57:01 Well that's what it looks like. 57:03 Let's pray together. Father in heaven, 57:05 thank you for loving us the way You do. 57:08 You're incredible in the extreme, Lord. 57:11 We've not known any love like this 57:15 even in the best relation- ships that we've ever had. 57:18 We long for a love that is greater still. 57:22 Our hearts were made for You. 57:25 Prepare us, Lord, for the soon coming of Jesus. 57:30 In His name we pray, Amen! |
Revised 2022-04-26