Several years ago, Dave Best and his fiancée planned more than a year in advance their wedding in Wales on July 6, 2008. They wanted to give their family and friends plenty of time to prepare, but they worried that even with all that lead time, some of them would not be able to attend. They didn't need to worry about their friend Dave Barclay, though. He was so excited about the wedding that he showed up a year early!
When Dave Best wrote Barclay about the July 6 wedding in Wales, Barclay assumed Best meant July 6, 2007. So Barclay bought a plane ticket from Toronto for $1,000. Once he arrived in Wales, he called Best to get a few details about the location of the venue for the ceremony. It was only then that Barclay discovered he was a bit ahead of schedule.
After a year, Barclay gave it another try. He said, “At least it assured me a mention in the wedding speech” (Reuters, “Wedding guest turns up a year early," www.uk.reuters.com, 7-11-07; www. PreachingToday.com).
Dave Barclay was well prepared for that wedding.
2,000 years ago, Jesus planned for His wedding with the church, the body of people who would trust Him with their lives. At the time, He didn’t have a specific date, but He paid the bridal price on a cross, rose from the dead, and returned to His Father’s house to prepare a place for you and me who believe in Him.
Before He left, He promised to return to get His bride and bring her to His Father’s house, where they would enjoy their wedding festivities. We’ve had plenty of time to prepare. The question is: Are you ready for the wedding? If you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Matthew 25, Matthew 25, where Jesus tells us how to get ready for the wedding.
Matthew 25:1 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom (ESV).
Jesus’ audience looked forward to a coming Kingdom, where Messiah would rule over the whole world from Jerusalem, bringing peace and prosperity for everyone in His Kingdom. Here, Jesus describes that Kingdom as a wedding.
So if you want to understand the coming Kingdom of Heaven, it helps to understand the wedding customs of His day.
When the groom’s father declared the groom was ready to get his bride, the groom returned to his bride’s home to bring her to their new home together in his father’s house. As he got close to the bride’s home, the bridal party would go out to meet him on the way. Then together, in a grand procession with torch lights, they would accompany the groom back to his father’s house. There, a rabbi performed the wedding ceremony, which allowed the bride and groom to consummate their marriage. Typically, in Jesus’ day, that ceremony was the start of a seven-day celebration ((D. A. Carson, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Matthew, Mark, Luke, Vol. 8, p. 513; C. S. Keener, C. S., 2014, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, Second Edition).
In the same way, Jesus will return for His bride, the church. All those in the bridal party will meet Him on the way and return with Him to His Father’s house, where they’ll celebrate for seven years (not seven days), while those on earth will go through great tribulation (Daniel 9:27; Revelation 11:2-3; 12:6; 13:5).
In Revelation 19, John describes that wedding celebration in heaven. He writes:
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 peals of thunder, crying out, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb” (Revelation 19:6-8).
That marriage supper happens in heaven while the earth is going through tribulation (as described in the previous chapters, Revelation 6-18). Then, Jesus will return with His bride to rule and reign on this earth for a thousand years (as described in the next chapter, Revelation 20).
Do you want to participate in that great wedding feast? Then...
BRING YOUR LAMP AND JOIN THE BRIDAL PARTY.
Connect with the church as you wait for the Bridegroom’s coming. Associate with Christ’s bride, the body of believers, as you wait for Jesus’ soon return.
In her book Traveling Mercies, Anne Lamott shares a story her pastor once told about the need for a church family.
When she was about seven, her best friend got lost one day. The little girl ran up and down the streets of the big town where they lived, but she couldn't find a single landmark. She was very frightened. Finally, a policeman stopped to help her. He put her in the passenger seat of his car, and they drove around until she finally saw her church. She pointed it out to the policeman, and then she told him firmly, “You could let me out now. This is my church, and I can always find my way home from here.”
Lamott further writes: “And that is why I have stayed so close to [my church]—because no matter how bad I am feeling, how lost or lonely or frightened, when I see the faces of the people at my church, and hear their tawny voices, I can always find my way home” (Anne Lamott, Traveling Mercies, Anchor, 1999, p. 55; www.PreachingToday.com)
Find your way home with by staying close to your church. More than that, find your way to your new home when Jesus comes by connecting to His bride, the body of believers where you live. If you want to participate in the great wedding feast to come, bring your lamp and join the bridal party. But not only that...
BRING SOME OIL SO IT CAN FUEL YOUR LIGHT.
Invite God’s Spirit to live within so He can power your witness. Receive the Holy Spirit so your life shines brightly when Jesus comes again.
Matthew 25:2-12 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you’ (ESV).
The foolish bridesmaids forgot their oil, so they missed the wedding. The wise bridesmaids brought some oil, so they made the wedding.
You see, torches were an essential part of the wedding procession, which usually took place at night, because they lit the way from the bride’s home to the groom’s house. One commentor says, “It is unlikely that ‘lamps’ refers to the small Herodian oil lamps, which could be carried in the hand; all the evidence points instead here to real torches... [which] may have burned for only fifteen minutes. [Then] the burnt rags would have to be removed and new oil-soaked rags would need to be wrapped on the sticks of which they were made...” (C. S. Keener, C. S., 2014, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, Second Edition, pp. 110–111).
That’s why the bridesmaids needed a reserve of oil. They needed the oil to keep their “lamps” burning should the bridegroom delay his coming.
Now, D. A. Carson says, “Everyone in the procession was expected to carry his or her own torch. Those without a torch would be assumed to be party crashers or even [thieves]” (D. A. Carson, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Matthew, Mark, Luke, Vol. 8, p. 513).
That’s why the groom locked the foolish bridesmaids out of the wedding festivities. They lacked the oil to keep their lamps burning, so the groom considered them imposters. You see, it’s not enough just to join the bridal party. You must also have an oil-soaked lamp to prove you genuinely belong.
Now, oil throughout the Bible is a symbol of the Holy Spirit (1 Samuel 10:1, 6, 10; 16:13; Zechariah 4:1-14; 1 John 2:20). So if you lack the Holy Spirit, you don’t genuinely belong to Christ’s bridal party. You see, it is not enough just to belong to a local church, you must also belong to Jesus Christ Himself.
The Bible says, “Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you” (Romans 8:9-11).
The Holy Spirit is the life which energizes your mortal body. Or to use Jesus’ metaphor here in Matthew 25, the Holy Spirit is the oil which lights your life, so it shines brightly as a genuine testimony that you belong to Christ.
So, how do you get the Holy Spirit? It’s very simple. Just invite Him to live within you, so He can begin to change you from the inside out. Just ask God to give you His Holy Spirit, so you can genuinely shine with His righteousness, not your own.
Jesus Himself said, “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:13)
Just ask God to give you His Spirit, and He will!
Francis Chan talks about the time when his teenage daughter “was not in love with Jesus.” He spent nights crying, bawling, praying to the Lord. He said, “Here I am known for my ability to communicate, but there was nothing I could do for my own daughter that would make her fall in love with Jesus.”
He prayed, “God, either your Spirit comes into her, or your Spirit doesn't. It doesn't matter how great a dad I am. I cannot bring her to life.”
One day she came to her dad and said, “You were right, Dad. The Holy Spirit was not in me. But now he is.” She talked about how near she was to God and how everything had changed. Francis Chan and his wife were skeptical. They wanted to see evidence of change, and they did. 18 months later, they saw that she really was a new creation. Francis Chan says, “I didn't do that. It was the Holy Spirit” (Francis Chan, “Catching Waves,” LeadershipJournal.net, posted 5-17-10; www.Preaching Today.com).
Even if your dad is a well-known, effective communicator, you still need the Holy Spirit within to make a difference. No number of sermons can change your life; only God’s Spirit can. So go beyond just listening to sermons in church. Invite God’s Spirit to dwell within.
Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us” (Leadership, Vol. 12, no. 2; www.PreachingToday.com)
When the Holy Spirit lies within you, your past doesn’t have to define you anymore, and your challenges are easily overcome. He changes you from the inside out so the light of your life shines brightly in a dark world. In that way, you will be ready to meet Jesus, your Bridegroom, when He comes again.
If you want to participate in the great wedding feast to come, 1st, bring your lamp and join the bridal party; 2nd, bring some oil, inviting God’s Spirit to dwell within. Then...
WATCH FOR YOUR BRIDEGOOM.
Anticipate Jesus’ coming at any time. Look forward to Christ’s return at a day or hour you do not know.
Matthew 25:13 Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour (ESV).
Hachi: A Dog's Tale tells the true story of Parker Wilson and his dog. Wilson is a college music professor, who one day steps off a commuter train at the end of the day and finds a stray Akita puppy. He soon discovers the puppy escaped a damaged crate after being shipped from Japan to Woonsocket, Rhode Island.
Parker takes the dog home determined to find its owner. He puts posters all around town and waits for a response. In the meantime, the professor and the little dog become fast friends. So when no one responds to the posters, Parker’s wife reluctantly agrees to let him keep the dog.
A Japanese colleague at the university notices the word “Hachi” (the Japanese word for the number 8) on the dog’s collar tag. So that’s what Parker calls his new pet.
One day Hachi follows Parker several blocks to the train station as he leaves for work. The dog refuses to return home, so his master has to walk him back to the house. At the end of the day, Hachi hears the train whistle and runs to the train platform where he curls up waiting for Parker to get off the train. The next day the dog is there to greet him again. This happens day after day after day, establishing a pattern. Parker is stunned by his dog’s loyalty.
One day, Parker suffers a fatal heart attack in the classroom. Unaware what has happened, Hachi waits for his master at the station for hours. And for the next ten years, every evening, the loyal dog waits at the train station for hours. Then, after the long wait, as Hachi drifts off to sleep one last time, he sees his master again and runs towards him. His faithful waiting has finally paid off (Hachi: A Dog's Tale, directed by Lasse Hallstrom, Culver City, CA: Stage 6 Films, 2009; www.PreachingToday.com).
In the same way, we wait for Jesus, who has delayed His coming now for 2,000 years. But there is coming a day when our waiting will pay off and we will see Him! Perhaps today! That’s when the party starts!
If you want to participate in the great wedding feast to come, bring your lamp and join the bridal party; bring some oil, inviting God’s Spirit to dwell within; then watch for your Bridegroom to come at any time.
When America went to war after Pearl Harbor, many couples married rapidly as men were drafted into the armed services. Typically, a young man proposed to a young woman, but he shipped out with the Navy before they could have a wedding. They had to wait until he had enough leave to come home. In the meantime, she and her mother planned the wedding down to the last detail. They even printed the wedding invitations but left the date off. Finally, after eighteen long months, they received a telegram which said, “You should get the white dress you've been wanting.” The groom was on his way, so mother and daughter added the wedding date on the invitations by hand and sent them off (Betsy Childs Howard, Seasons of Waiting, Crossway, 2016, page 35; www.PreachingToday.com).
We don’t know the day, but we do know Jesus is coming any day now. Tell me. Are you ready? Please, whatever you do, don’t miss the wedding!
