Note: There is a companion sermon to this one, titled THE VOICE OF THE BRIDEGROOM. I preached them on two consecutive worship assemblies, with THE VOICE OF THE BRIDEGROOM being first, and this sermon following shortly afterward. Both sermons are on Sermon Central.
THE VOICE OF THE BRIDE
I. Introduction
In symbolic language regarding the fall of Babylon and Jerusalem, capital of Judah, John and Jeremiah described the fall of both by writing "the voice of the bridegroom and the bride will not be heard in you any longer." In the first sermon in this series, we found those voices to be associated with joy and gladness, such as that normally associated with the beginning of a happy marriage.
John the Baptist rejoiced that many were heeding the voice of the Bridegroom
John 3:26-30 They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—well, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.” To this John replied, “A man can receive only what is given him from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Christ’ but am sent ahead of him.’ The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete.
In scripture, Beulah means "married land" (Isaiah describes Israel in her future glorified state:
Isa 62:1-4 (NKJV) For Zion's sake I will not hold my peace, And for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, Until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, And her salvation as a lamp that burns. The Gentiles shall see your righteousness, And all kings your glory. You shall be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord will name. You shall also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem In the hand of your God. You shall no longer be termed Forsaken, Nor shall your land any more be termed Desolate; But you shall be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; For the Lord delights in you, And your land shall be married.
II. The church is the Bride of Christ Eph 5:25-29
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for her, that he might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that he might present her to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church.
In a metaphoric sense, but borne out through literal applications, Christians are the members of the body of Christ:
1 Corinthians 12:27 Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.
Ephesians 5:30 For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones.
These verses show that the church is not only the bride of Christ, but his very body with its various members - eyes, hands, head, feet...and I believe we take no undue liberties in including - the voice:
III. The Voice of the Bride
Disciples of Christ, who are the bride, convey the voice of the Bridegroom to others. His design is that the message of salvation be communicated through human agents.
A. Jesus' mission
Jesus, quoting Isaiah, concerning his mission, said:
Luke 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, Because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.
B. “So send I you”
The resurrected Christ said to the disciples:
John 20:21 (ESV) ... As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you....
You have a part in all the things Jesus said he was anointed by the Spirit of the Lord to do.
C. Paul: "We are ambassadors for Christ"
2 Cor. 5:20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. Ambassadors are the voice of the one for whom they speak.
D. If anyone speaks, let him speak what God has said, not what we think he should say, or what we suspect he would say.
1 Peter 4:11 (NASB) - "Let him speak, as it were, the utterances of God"
Jesus himself spoke only that which he received from God.
John 7:16 … "My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me.”
John 12:49 For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment--what to say and what to speak.
Accordingly, Jesus takes no personal credit for the words he spoke, but emphasizes that he spoke only the Father’s words.
John 14:24 Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father's who sent me.
For this reason, I cringe when I see marquees and bumper stickers which “quote” God as saying some catchy and clever thing, and which in the minds of some readers may seem to be consonant with God’s thoughts, but which God did not really say.
If we, as Christ’s bride, or in another analogy, as members of the body, are to convey his message to the world, it must be Christ’s message as he received it from the Father, not our own message.
E. Paul's charge to Timothy was to pass on that which Timothy had heard:
2 Tim. 2:2 Entrust what you have heard to faithful men, who will teach others also
IV. The Principal Message of the Bride's Voice
A. The voice of the bride is the Gospel:
Gospel defined 1 Cor 15:1-8 - read
B. Though the message is information, it contains things to be obeyed, not merely ingested intellectually
2 Thess. 1:6-8 - read
C. The Gospel is God’s Power for Salvation:
Rom 1:16-17 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith."
Paul wrote: "Woe is me if I do not preach the Gospel." 1 Cor. 9:16
D. When and Where is the gospel to go?
1. The gospel was to go forth from Jerusalem
Luke 24:46-47 Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, "and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
The first gospel sermon was preached at Jerusalem, on the day the New Testament church was established (Acts 2)
2. Where is its spread to end?
Mat 28:19-20 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, "teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.
Jesus’ disciples were to transition from functioning as a group and split up, eventually going throughout the world. The message that transformed the world in a generation was the gospel.
Paul, who later joined in this work, wrote to one of the churches:
1 Corinthians 2:1-2 And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
And so it was done.
Col 1:21-23 And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now he has reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in his sight; if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.
V. What is the lesson in this?
A. Hear the voice of the Bridegroom, as Heaven commands.
Thus, hearing his voice, you will be counted among his sheep.
John 10:3 To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
B. This church must be a voice for the power of the gospel. In this remarkable journey through life, it seems we have embarked on a journey to a destination beyond the world we know.
Look around you at the people in your life. Many of them were in your life 15 years ago, many will be 15 years from now. They are your companions in this remarkable journey, which you have already begun. They are your opportunities to exhibit the life, attitudes, and the message of Christ, which he received from no other source than the Father.
Thus, the voice of the Bridegroom is uttered through you.
C. The voice of the bride is inaudible to those who will not hear
Isaiah 6:9-10 He said, "Go, and tell this people: 'Keep on listening, but do not perceive; Keep on looking, but do not understand.' "Render the hearts of this people insensitive, Their ears dull, And their eyes dim, Otherwise they might see with their eyes, Hear with their ears, Understand with their hearts, And return and be healed."
Acts 28:24 - And some were persuaded by the things which were spoken, and some disbelieved.
Isaiah couldn't do anything with them. His efforts to do so are preserved for us in his book of prophecy.
Jesus didn't reach them either though he tried.
Paul did not succeed in penetrating their stubborn resistance to hearing his message with their “dull” ears.
The voices of the Holy Spirit and the church join together in enunciating the same offer Jesus made to the woman of Samaria:
The Spirit and the Bride say, "Whosoever will, let him come and take of the water of life freely." Rev 22:17
If you haven't responded to the Bridegroom's voice, do so now. If you have, then project His voice to the world around you.
