It seems that during this time of year more couples choose to get married than at any other.
And with all the wedding ceremonies going on You know there are many different kinds of wedding ceremonies as there are the number of different kinds of people who get married.
For instance, in Baltic religious ceremonies,,,
The bridegroom is escorted to the home of his future parents-in-law’s. They receive him as an honored guest. There are offerings of roasted grain that are thrown into a ceremonial fire.
The bridegroom then takes hold of the brides hand and walks around the fire exactly seven times, symbolizing complete Unity. Then, they are both are escorted by each of their parents to their new home.
In Asian countries
In their ceremonies the young man sends an intermediary to gain the approval of a girls guardian. (father-Uncle-Brother.)
When all the negotiations had been settled by the intermediary and the young girls family, such as the type and quantity of Gifts and the price of the bride, there would be a formal announcement of the wedding.
After the ceremony the couple lives with the Brides family and in some cases that continues for years.
A married couple is not socially expected to become economically or even residentially independent.
Marriage takes place at a very young age for Girls it is usually at 15 and for young men at 17.
Unwed young girls are always with a chaperone, Out-of-Wedlock-Births and Abortion are looked upon publicly as a Sin.
Now in this country, in this culture, one’s mate is not chosen by the parents, as in some other countries, but parental approval to marry is required.
In the Iranian Culture
Most women are given in marriage between at the age of 13-15.
While many men wait until they are between 24-27 to marry.
Women are expected to be Chaste / Virgins on their wedding day, though this is not expected of men.
In their wedding ceremonies, negotiations about the brides price, the type and quantity of gifts, are carried out by the parents of the bridegroom.
Marriage contracts must be are agreed upon by both parents before a ceremony can take place.
Included in every marriage contract are specific stipulations that will grant the right of divorce to the husband, but not the wife.
Some of those stipulations may include: the wives inability to bear children or being disobedient to her husband or for laziness, by the way, exactly who or what a lazy wife is - is determined by her husband.
All these stipulations must be agreed upon by both sets of parents
- not the couple - before a ceremony can take place
Once all negotiations are settled and the ceremony has taken place, the young bride is escorted to the home of the Husbands parents, where she will remain until her husband comes to receive her.
And it is entirely up to the husband to decide the length of stay she will live at his parents house and until he returns, this newly wed wife is a servant in the house of his parents.
This helps explain the fact that Iranian law permits a man to have more than one wife at a time but no more than four.
And he may divorce any of his wives at any time, if she violates any of the stipulations of the marriage contract.
A muslim man may marry a non-muslim women but a muslim woman may not marry a non-muslim man.
As there are many different types of wedding ceremonies, so there are many different types of objects used in wedding ceremonies to symbolize the uniting of two individuals.
Objects such as:
Jars - Coins - Property - Water - Rings - Veils - Crowns - Robes, Ropes, Bread, Wine.
Of all the different types of wedding ceremonies and all the different types of objects used in those ceremonies.
There is one type of a wedding which all those who are in the body of Christ have participated in whether you have Husband/wife or not.
And this wedding ceremony also has some very significant objects used to symbolize the uniting of two people into one.
This wedding ceremony is steeped in ancient Hebrew tradition. And it was very much in practice when Jesus Christ walked upon the face of this earth.
The custom was as follows
A young man would ask a representative of his family, usually an authority figure, to call upon the family of the maiden of his hearts desire.
Through this intermediary approach the boys family would negotiate with the girls family on the bride price and the gifts to be exchanged between families.
Now, after the Negotiations were settled, the families would make a public announcement of their agreements to allow their children to marry each other.
Then a ceremony would take place between the groom and the bride-to-be in order to formalize their desire to marry, something similar to what we would call an engagement.
But, instead of a ring being given, what the young couple would do, is pour a small amount of wine into a single cup, then they would exchange certain promises to each and to their families.
Then each in turn would drink from the cup, thus symbolizing their Unity, their Oneness and sealing the promises they have made to their parents and to each other.
The young man would then leave the love of his life in the care of her father or her family, brothers usually, if no father were present due to sickness or death.
Then he would leave, he would go away to prepare a home for his beautiful bride-to-be, a place where they would live together, forever.
Now in his absence, as he prepared a place for them to live as a married couple, she was to light a candle and leave it burning every night until the day he would return for her.
Now no one knew exactly when that would be, he could come during the bright noon day or even after the sun had set and that is why she always had to be prepared to leave with him, when he came for her.
Now when that day came when he would come for her, there would be a large wedding party that would to her parents home and begin shouting out her name, the playing of Music & Celebration would be going on.
And then, she would come out, escorted by her parents to join in the wedding feast. Both would celebrate during the wedding festival, which usually lasted seven days.
After which time, the beautiful bride and the handsome groom would go to the home which he had prepared for her and together they would live happily ever after.
Now, usually this new home that he had prepared for his bride was sometimes nothing more than an addition to his fathers house.
Now, as I said earlier, there is a type of wedding ceremony, of which all those who are in the body of Christ have participated in, whether you have a husband / wife or not, and this is it.
How could it be possible for everyone who is in the body of Christ to have been a participant in this kind of a wedding ceremony.?
Well, that’s what I want to talk to you about this morning.
If you are in the Kingdom of God, you have participated in a Wedding Ceremony whether you have a mate or Not?
You see, scattered throughout the New Testament, there are pieces of this type of wedding ceremony used to describe the relationship between Jesus Christ and His Church.
And if you are a member of his Body, which is the Church, then the scriptures which we are about to read, will be describing the wedding ceremony which you participated.
In a sense, you married Christ when you promised to love, Honor, cherish and obey only Him.
In (Rev.21:9) the writer says this: “One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me: “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the lamb.”
In this verse, John the writer is describing the “The Church.” If we back up to Verse 2 of this same chapter, we can read some of the terms used to describe the church.
VERSE 2: “I saw the Holy City, The New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.”
And then in (REV.19:7) where it says: “Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him glory!!! For the wedding of the lamb has come and the bride has made herself ready. Fine Lenin, bright and clean was given her to wear.”
And then in (EPH.5:22) Paul compares the relationship between a husband and wife, to that of Christ and his bride, thechurch.
He says in VERSE 25: Husbands love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her.
And lastly in (II Cor.11:2) He says: “I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to Him.”
In this passage of scripture Paul is talking about the church, as being presented as a wife to her husband, which in this case is Christ Jesus.
Through the scriptures Christ is always presented as the groom and the church is always presented as the bride.
And what that means is that, if you are a member of the Lord’s body, which is the church, then you have participated in a wedding ceremony.
WHAT KIND OF A WEDDING CEREMONY?
The same kind that was practiced among the people of Jesus day.
Where a young man would have an intermediary negotiate for his bride. Where a price would be paid for her and gifts bestowed upon her family as a sign of thankfulness.
Where there would be a sealing of the engagement by the drinking from one cup by both the bride-to-be and the groom.
Where the young man would leave in order to prepare a place for his new bride, promising to return for her when all was ready
And then when everything had been completed, returning with the shouts of the wedding party to claim his bride, to be forever with her.
Scattered throughout the New Testament are pieces of this wonderful wedding ceremony.
So, now let us collect the pieces and present the picture.
First of all, like the young man who desires as his bride a chosen female. The bible tells us that everyone who is in the church was chosen by Christ.
(Eph.1:4)
“For he chose us in him before the creation of the world.”
(Verse 11)
In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will.
Time and time again we are told in the Bible that like the young man who has chosen for himself a bride, we too have been chosen by God through Jesus Christ, to be his bride, the church.
Secondly, like the young man who must pay a price in order to secure the favor of the parents of his bride to be.
Jesus Christ paid the price to secure the fathers favor for his bride.
In (I Cor.6:20) we are told that, “You are not your own, for you have been bought at a price.”
And like in Jesus day, when a young man wanted to signify his engagement to the woman he wanted to wed, by drinking from a single cup of wine.
Christ also took a cup and drank from it, in order to signify his desire to be wed to his bride, the church.
In a grove of Olive trees, in what is known as the garden of Gathsemane we find Jesus taking that cup. In (Matt.26:39,42) “Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me, yet not as I will, but as you will.”
Then VERSE 42,,,, “Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away, unless I drink it, may your will be done.”
And of course we know that Jesus accepted this cup of betrothal and died to secure the love of his bride, the church.
And then, like the young man who after being engaged to the love of his life goes away to prepare a place for them to live out their days together, Christ also, is doing that even now.
In (John 14:2) Jesus tells his followers,,, “In my father house are many rooms / mansions, if it were not so I would have told you.
But I go to prepare a place for you, And I will come again and take you to be with me, so that where I am, you may be also.”
And like the bride, who was to keep a candle lit every night until the return of her beloved, we are told that we too, must keep our light shining.
In (Matt.5:14) Jesus says:
You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill can not be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on it’s stand and it gives light to everyone in the house.
In the same way, let your light shine before men.
And lastly, just as there is great joy and shouting and celebration at the wedding feast, when the bridegroom comes to claim his bride, so shall it be with us, in the church, when Christ comes back.
In (II Thess.4:16) the Bible records these words;
“For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the sound of the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
Then we who are alive shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and so shall we always be with him.”
Have you ever heard of the phrase:
“A marriage made in heaven.”
People say that there is no such thing, but the Bible says that there is and it also tells us, that if you belong to God’s Kingdom you have been a participant in such a marriage.
“A marriage made in Heaven”
I’d like to close this lesson by asking you the same question that I asked you in the very beginning of the sermon and that is:
Did you know that if you are in the Kingdom of God, you have participated in a Wedding Ceremony whether you have a mate or not?
A wedding ceremony, where Christ is the bridegroom and the Church is his bride?
Maybe you didn’t know that there is a party going on, maybe you didn’t even know that you were invited to this wedding feast.
Let me tell you, the invitation is still open.
God loves you so much.
He thinks that you are so special, that he would like for you to be his son-in-law or his daughter-in-law.
The invitation is for you to come and be a part of the wedding ceremony.
Christ invites you,
The Spirit says come.
The Bride says come.
All has been prepared, will you come, as together we stand.
