Hope!

So I am enjoying the outcome of my own exuberance. Are you going to get excited, Dave? I hope I can get through this without losing it. I hope that Christmas is going to be a wonderful time for all of us. And I hope that you all thoroughly enjoy every Sunday of December because since we’re not having a Christmas day or a Christmas Eve service, every December service will be the Christmas service. So from the first Sunday of December, you’re going to hear this greeting, Merry Christmas. And like not Merry Christmas coming. No, it’s already, we’re going to celebrate Christmas for a whole month. And we’re going to like it. I hope you’re going to like it. I hope that you will invite your friends to come and experience the wonderful talents, ministry of Siegfried.

I hope. I hope. I hope. I want to remind you this morning as I’m overly using that word hope. Hope is not a destination. When we talk in biblical terms, hope is not wishful thinking. Hope is not a destination. I hope you had a nice vacation. I hope to go and check out something down in Hawaii. I’ve always hoped that I could go into Scotland because apparently that’s the root of my family. But that hope has faded significantly. We use that word hope all the time. I want to bring to your attention this morning. Hope can, I suppose, be all of these things.

But the emphasis I want to share with you this morning is this. Hope is a person. Hope is a person. His name is Jesus. I had a very sobering conversation this week with two very precious friends. They’ll be listening in a couple of hours because they’re living on the West Coast. I know they’re listening to this this morning and some of what I want to share with you this morning is from that conversation that I had with them. I don’t remember exactly how the conversation got started. He, Darryl, asked me a couple of questions and I was responding to him. I don’t remember exactly how all that all went. But I do recall getting quite emotional. As I said, you know, I remember now. He said, do you think our folks, our family, do you think my mom and dad?

They are looking down upon me. That’s a nice Hollywood idea. I don’t see any scriptures to back that up. I said, don’t get excited about that. Just leave that. I said, you’ll find, you can talk to your folks when you get there and find out all about that. Everybody wanted to know a little bit about heaven. And the thing that I did tell him is I don’t think my mom and dad know that I’m speaking today. I don’t think they’re aware that I’m about to become another great grandpa. Well, April’s going to become a great grandma. I think that makes me an uncle. And I don’t think my folks know that.

But I’ll tell you this. I believe that my mom and dad, my grandmother, my uncle Milton, I believe they’re very much aware that heaven is about to experience a tsunami of saints. I honestly believe that they know it’s coming. Now the word says no man knows the hour. Jesus said nobody knows. He said, not even I know. Only the Father knows. But if you were in heaven right now, you just have to take a little glance over toward the Father. And I think you’ll see the look of expectation. If Jesus was one to get excited like sometimes I do, he might be like this, just now Father, now wait, wait. I believe that those who are there who have gone on before us are very much aware of an event that’s impending. And I believe that my folks know that I and my wife and our children will all be a part of that glorious, springful moment when we arrive. And it won’t be like arriving at a train station where there’s thousands of people and you can’t find your family. Your friends are going to see you immediately. 

There’s going to be a glorious reunion. He said, you think I’ll know Elsie, that’s his wife. Do you think I’ll know her? I said absolutely. The word says we shall be known as we are known. But she won’t be your wife, but you won’t care about that. Your love will all be poured out upon Jesus. I believe that my mom is there and my dad, I believe they’re anticipating my arrival and that excites me just to think I’ll see them again. When my grandmother died, my mom came home late at night. It was a Sunday night. They’d been at the hospital all evening and she had to take me in her arms and say, Graham has gone to be with Jesus. I was brokenhearted. I cried and cried. She was endeavoring to comfort me and the one thing that I do remember was this. She said, you’re feeling like you’ll never see Granny again, but I promise you you will. You will see your grandma again. And my grandmother is looking forward to seeing me. I believe that heaven is far more than streets of gold. I believe it’s more than angels singing. I believe it’s going to be very personal for every one of you.

And I believe that when you arrive there, there’ll be a special bellman. An angel, wings are no. Special bellman will say to you, well, Alfred and Yvonne, there’s no lobster here, but I know there’s a special place for you. I saw your name. Let me take you and guide you to your new heavenly home. For Jesus said in my father’s house, there are many mansions, that word throws us off. In this gigantic, it’s not a hotel, it’s God’s home. In that home are many rooms, but there’s rooms being added right now. I am going to prepare a place for you. So it’s going to be very personal, very exciting, very special. The word hope occurs in your Bible 129 times, regardless of your favorite translation, hope. The Bible speaks about Jesus coming for His church as being the great hope and how that hope, that if it’s living, vibrant within you, how that hope literally guides and instructs you in your life. You live differently when you have the hope of His coming. 

When I was a teenager, I was looking forward to going to heaven, but I didn’t want it to happen yet. I wanted to go to another party. There’s all kinds of things I wanted to do. And I do remember that the second coming of Christ, the rapture, was very, very obvious to all of us young teenagers. I don’t know how the rest of them handled it, but I used to go to the altar often and just say, just want to make sure I’m okay, Lord, because I was not the best. I remember coming home late one night, and my folks didn’t like it when I stayed out late. We had the car. We lived out beyond a place called Copetown. And when I got to the driveway, I picked up speed significantly coming down the highway. When I turned into our gravel drive, I was really moving because the driveway in our

house had a rise to it. I had shut off the motor, put the car into neutral. And the only noise of my arrival home was the gravel sound under my tires. When I got out, I went into the garage, and from the garage, I could go down a stairway and into the basement of the house. When I got down to the basement, I took off my shoes and I crept up the stairs. And I went down the hall towards my bedroom. There were two bedrooms at the end. 

On the right was mine and my brothers, on the left was my mom and dad. To my surprise, when I got to the end, their door was open. I never leave it open. I peered in. It was so dark. I couldn’t see, and so I dared to move a little closer, a little closer, and now I could see there were no lumps in that bed. The bed had not been disturbed. They were not there. But it’s late at night like it’s 12, 12, 30. Where could they possibly be? And then that pastor’s sermon rang a bell up here. He’s coming soon. If you’re not ready, you’re going to be. . . I dropped on my knees. I started screaming at the top of my lungs. Dear Jesus, is there another load?

Give me a second chance. I’m sorry. That was a nice song. We didn’t sing it this morning. I’m sorry for what I did to worship. I’m not understanding what that line means. I didn’t do anything to worship. But I was sorry, Lord. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. And all of a sudden, I heard my mother’s voice. David, what’s wrong? Nothing? Did you just get home?

Like, where have you been? They had been in the house next door eating apple pie and drinking coffee. The second coming of Jesus was such a reality to us in those days. But out of all of these songwriters who are famous and making millions of dollars writing gospel songs, I don’t hear one song about the second coming of Christ. And I lament over that. The second coming of Christ needs to be a living thing. First John 3, 3, everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he’s pure. Believing in the second coming has a sanctifying influence on your conversation, who you talk to, how you live, how you function, how you talk. Everything that he could come in your moment is a great guidepost in your life. May the God of hope, hope, what is hope? If you know God, you have hope. He’s the God of hope.

When you have him, you have hope. I’ve already said hope is a person, it’s Jesus. But you see, this is a tricky word in the English language. We don’t have an extra word. The English people who made up our language, ran out of ideas. We’ve got two concepts of hope. Hope is a wish, it’s a daydream. But in the scriptures, hope is a person, his name is Jesus. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him so that you may overflow with hope. How by the power of the Holy Spirit. Why are you cast down? Oh my soul. Your soul, is your mind, your emotions, and your will.

What was going on in the Psalmist? His soul was down. Why? Because he knew some things that were negative, that he affected him emotionally, that was bending his will the wrong way. His soul was in trouble and he’s crying out, he’s trying to command his soul. He’s saying, come on, soul, what’s wrong with you? Why are you cast down in such turmoil within me? So I want you to hope in God, for I shall again praise him my salvation in my God. Looking for that blessed hope. Looking for that blessed hope. Hope is a person, his name is Jesus. But when we say hope is Jesus, we need to keep this in mind. Jesus is not just the hope, but he is the founder and the source of all hope.

So we’re looking for that blessed hope, the glorious appearing of the great God in our Savior Jesus Christ. He is our hope and his appearing is our hope. It’s not a wish, it’s a reality, it just hasn’t occurred yet. It’s as good as done. Do not let your hearts be troubled, the apostle Paul said. Now this is John 14, this is Jesus. Don’t let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God, so believe in me. My father’s house has many rooms. If that wasn’t true, I would have told you that I’m going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me so that you also may be where I am.

You know the way to the place where I’m going. And it was the apostle to Thessalonica, brothers and sisters, we don’t want you to be uninformed about those who have fallen asleep in death. We don’t want you to grieve like everybody else who has no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and arose again, so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him. That’s an interesting little thing there. When Jesus comes, He’s bringing all the saints along with Him. We believe that Jesus died, rose again, so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep. According to the Lord’s Word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself is going to come down from heaven with a loud command. The voice of the archangel, the trumpet of God, the dead in Christ will first rise.

And after that, we who are still alive and are left with Him will be caught up together with Him in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. So encourage one another with these thoughts. This is just my pre-sermon text. I’m reading all of these. Listen, I tell you a mystery. It was a mystery until now. The Old Testament saints did not understand. They didn’t get it. There were even squabbles in the early days when Jesus was moving among the people. There was a certain group of religious Jews who didn’t even believe in their resurrection. And there used to be debates over that. He says, let me clear everything up for you. It’s a mystery.

The apostle says, we will not all be dead, but we will all be changed. We used to have that sign over our nursery in our church before. We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed. In a flash in the twinkling of an eye, the last trumpet for the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable and will be changed. I know you know all these verses. This is the foundation of where I want to go. I want to go to this. Ancient ritual in the Old Testament, marriage prophetically points to the coming of the Messiah, followed by the married supper of the Lamb. Every time somebody in Jewish culture got married, it was a picture of Jesus and his bride. The people didn’t understand that, but they were acting it out. And it’s a wonderful study.

Stage one of a marriage, here we are coming up to Christmas and we remember that Joseph and Mary were promised to each other. That was an arranged marriage. It was always arranged by the Father or by his delegate. So in Abraham’s case, remember, he didn’t go to find Rebecca. He made his servant promise, I’ll go, I’ll make the negotiations and I’ll bring Rebecca. It was an arranged marriage. The agreement followed by a bride payment. You couldn’t just pick up some beautiful young lady and marry her. You had to pay for her. And I’m so much aware of this. In African culture, I’ve spent years of my life in Africa and I love the culture. And I learned a great deal about the dowry, the bride payment. And I won’t go into that.

I could have you laughing this morning about how that all works and how I got myself in trouble. I had the taste of shoe leather so sometimes I put both feet in at once. I got myself in trouble. I offered to about 5,000 people in the church. I said, okay, I’m going to tell you. I said, look, I know that you people go with the payments and so on. I know the groom has to pay for his bride. And the people just sat there and thought, okay. I said, I’m stupid. I said, I provided for my daughter’s wedding. I paid for the whole thing. I prayed for dinner. I paid for the dress.

I paid. And something like 5,000 people were aghast. I think he is stupid. Because in that culture, if you want somebody’s daughter, you go and you’ve got to negotiate with the daddy. And it’s the daddy’s concept. I fed her. I took care of her all these years. I want some profit out of this. And it’s usually not money. It’s usually cows. It’s usually cows. And as a very special woman, I’m not going to get too graphic here. You could throw some stuff at me.

But a very special lady would bring in a lot of cows if she could incredibly work the farm. If she was a wonderful husband with the animals and so on, she could bring a lot of cows, bro. So I said, I blew it. I said, I paid for the whole thing. The people actually started to laugh at me. I said, but I’m going to fix it. I said, I’m going home. I said, I’ve learned. I said, I have one more daughter. And I said, I’m not going to the next one. Well, next guy, take that one. I said, in fact, I said, I’m going to make it difficult.

I want not less than 100 cows. Well that was ridiculous. Nobody pays. I don’t care how beautiful she is or if she can work three teams of oxen. She’s not worth 100 cows. Hello. So I really thought I was safe. About two months later, I was in a city hundreds of miles away. And I’m in the church auditorium and a man came in. It was a handsome young guy. He had a nice suit on. He’s carrying a briefcase. He said, pastor for us. I followed your ministry all these years.

I heard you in Nairobi. I heard you here. I heard you there. And he said, I’m on a business trip. And he said, I just want you to know, sir, I’m here to negotiate something. I said, okay. He said, I’m a blessed man. He said, 100 cows is not a problem. Compared to him, I’m a white man. But at that time, I turned ghostly white because now I’m about to offend and you’re not going to get away with offending. They don’t get angry. They get even. You will have to watch every bite of food from now on.

They could poison you. I was scared to death. I said, I said, I was making fun. He said, fun. We’re talking about your daughter. I said, well, you got to understand. He said, I do not understand. And like I was just befuddled. And all of a sudden I saw this smile come on his face. And then I heard something behind me like a chuckle and who was behind me, but my wife April, she betrayed me that day. He’d gone to her on the side and said, I want to try Canadian humor. See, they would never do that to each other. But he said, I want to see if I can be funny.

So here we have, it would have been Joseph who would have had to go to Mary’s parents and negotiate a payment. Look at this. The marriage back then is a picture of the marriage that you and I are about to participate in. 1 Corinthians 6, for you were bought with a price. Therefore glory, fire God in your body and in your spirit, which are God. You have been bought with a price. You are the selected bride. You were paid for. What did it cost Jesus to buy you? Everything. By the time Jesus had finished paying for you, he was bankrupt. My God, my God, even you have forsaken me.

He paid the supreme price. Stage two, after there’s been an agreement made between the fathers, now there has to be a ceremony called the betrothal. In order to get ready for the betrothal, the groom had to experience a bathing, a washing, an immersion. He had to be baptized. This was symbolic of the cleansing of the spirit. If you’re going to marry my daughter, I want to make sure you’re a clean man. Now you, not just, you know, free of dust and dirt. No. I want to make sure you’re a man of God. So not only was the groom baptized, but the bride. She would be baptized. This was essential. You could not deny it. Matthew 3, as soon as Jesus was baptized, the upcoming groom, he came up out of the water, heaven was opened, and he saw the spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. That’s why Jesus said to the Baptist, this is essential. No, no, this can’t be bypassed, John. And you know, John actually had declared, I have the privilege of being a groomsman. I’m not, I’m not the groom, but I’m here to be his best man. John, the Baptist, somehow understood that there was going to be a marriage. And you believe that he was a man of the spirit. His spirit was taught by God. He said, I’m here to introduce the groom. And isn’t it something that when Jesus was baptized, his father was present? For the groom’s baptism, his father was present.

For the groom’s baptism of the father would be there to make sure everything’s done all right. And after he’d been baptized, the daddy in that ancient ritual would be right there, maybe with a towel or something to wrap it around his son. I have no doubt he would have wrapped his arms around his son and said, I love you, son. You’re the best thing that’s happened to mom and dad’s life. I’m so proud of you. Why do I think that? Because the father of heaven was acting it out just the same as all marriages. Son, I’m so proud of you. You’re everything I hope for. Stage two of the preparation, betrothal, whoever believes and is baptized, that word baptized, by the way, is immersion.

I know that there are many fine Christian, wonderful biblical people, but I can’t escape it. Baptizeo is Greek and it means buried. I used to. . . You can’t trust me to do baptisms. I’ve told you this before. Years ago, I said, I’ll never baptize anyone. I said, it’s kind of frightful for the person or the candidate because I said, I always want to make sure you’re really done, so I hold you down until I see bubbles. And so I always had some other people look after it for me. Isn’t it something? Mark 16, whoever believes will be baptized, he’ll be saved.

The Ethiopian in Acts chapter 8. You became convinced through the ministry of Philip. Somehow Philip even introduced it. He said, well, what should I do to be saved? Well, you’ve got to repent of your sin and you’ve got to be baptized. And here there are in a desert place. And as the chariots ripping down these desert, the plague came around the corner and there’s a lake or a pond. And the Ethiopian got all excited. He said, hey, what’s in my way? I want to follow through. It was a biblical concept. And it’s a biblical concept for us now. For the son who got baptized, all of his friends would be there.

It was a huge thing. If you’re going to get married, it was a massive thing. The whole village, the whole town would go crazy. And after he had been baptized, that meant he’s ready now to become betrothed. And they would take to dancing in the streets. They were tired of Mexican bands. They went nuts. They were dancing in the street. And somewhere else, the bride also, after she’d been baptized, all of her lady friends would be there. And they would have a very delicate dance. I don’t know. But they got out there. Maybe they did the Wathuzi.

But it was a celebration thing. And that’s what water baptism should be. It’s a celebration of your faith and your commitment. It’s a celebration of your conversion. It’s a celebration of the fact that you’ve said, Jesus, it’s you and me. The old guy’s dead, this is a new man. I have a new heart. I have a new vision. And I’m ready. I’m ready to be part of the bride. Stage three. This is the betrothal ceremony. This was a long drawn out thing. It lasted over a year. The legal ceremony is the official movement. It’s the official thing. And this was the betrothal ceremony. It wasn’t like anything we have for a wedding here. It was a very ritualistic thing. And everybody was very. . . There were no jokes. There was no horsing around. Like it was serious because this is a moment they’re becoming officially attached. Remember Joseph finding out that Mary was with child decided I’m going to have to put her away. I’m going to have to divorce her.

There was a way to annul the marriage which had not been yet consummated. The betrothal takes place. And it’s a whole year from now before they will be consummated husband and wife. The bridal price is paid at that ceremony. Now on that special occasion the groom gives it to his bride. So the groom’s father gave the agreed price to the bride’s daddy. But the groom, he doesn’t rely on daddy forever. He brings a very costly as much as he can afford. He’s not going to bring cows. He’s going to give a gift. It might be a special drinking vessel. It might be some kind of a charm that she could wear on her wrist or it might be some money. But he’s going to give her a gift. And why would he do this? Because the daddies have agreed. But now he by his own giving is affirming I’m committed. Now you have to understand something too. 

And this is true over in African culture. If a young lady marries a young man, if he’s rich. She becomes an inheritor with him. She’s about to experience an inheritance. So when you see the groom comes to the betrothal ritual and when he gives her a gift, he’s saying, all that my father has is going to be given into my hand. All the land, all the animals, everything. I couldn’t bring it all. But this is a token. This is a token.

This is my way of saying the inheritance will be yours. Do you know what that’s called in your heart and your life? It’s called the Holy Spirit, sealed with the earnest of the inheritance. You say, what’s that all about? Hey, bro, when you give your heart and your life to Jesus, you are inheriting eternity. You’re going to live in a mansion far away. You’re going to walk. The goal is so cheap up there. The roads are paved with it. And it’s all going to be yours. But he can’t give it all to you now. So he gives you the earnest of the inheritance. He gives you what’s called the promise. He endows you with the Holy Spirit.

And it’s a life-changing, powerful thing. You now know that you know. Settle down, David. You know that you know that you know you’re a child of God. The Holy Spirit witnesses to you in your heart. I’ve seen so many people get saved. Like many, many, many, many, many, many, many, especially overseas. And you see the changes on their faces when the author thing is sort of coming to a conclusion. That’s when people often break down. They’re not crying sorrowfully. They’re such a joy. It’s overwhelming. . .

It’s an incredible thing. The earnest. It’s called the earnest. I was at an auction once and the two old guys were sitting in front of me and they were everybody’s buying steers. And these guys, they bid you know by touching their hat. Yeah, I’ll give you a. . . Yeah, I’ll give you a ten. All of a sudden, I’m very, very close. The auctioneer went quiet and one of the old boys sitting in the front said, well, I got to go home. Dinner will be on soon.

He said, I’ll stop at the office. I have to pay the earnest. I actually heard it. That’s an old farm term too. The earnest is a promise. I have the rest. I couldn’t bring it all now. I didn’t plan on buying six steers. I have enough for one. But let me give you that. This is the earnest to tell you, I’m a man of my word and I’ll come back. The bride’s family provides a meal at that celebration. And I love this. Oh, I love this.

It’s consummated by all because they drink a cup of wine. The drinking of the wine is the final ceiling of this contract. On the night in which he was betrayed, he took bread and he broke it. This is my body which is for you. And he was sealing a contract. He was saying to the disciples, he was saying to you and me, you’re going to have to wait for me. There’s time between the betrothal and the marriage. As Jesus said, I want you to drink this wine because this is the seal of the promise, the new covenant. That’s the value of the communion service. When we have communion, we’re celebrating. He made a promise and the wine is the signature of the promise. They drink.

Stage three, I’ve already mentioned this. The groom gives his gift. Ephesians one. In whom we also trusted after that, you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also after that you believed and the rest of the verse is missing, but you were sealed with the Spirit. It’s missing on my page. Sorry. Stage three also, the betrothal acts, the bridal price you were bought with the price, paid by the Father, paid by the Father, not paid by the Son. The ritual back then was a beautiful picture of what was coming. The Father paid the price at Calvary. No, Jesus paid the price. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.

Isaiah 53, it pleased the Lord. It pleased the Father to bruise him. The Father paid the price to patrol the wine after supper. They drank the wine. And now the groom has to leave. He says to the disciples, I have to go away. Don’t go, don’t go, don’t, no, no, no, it’s necessary. But I’m not going to leave you comfortable. I’m not going to leave you without a leader. I’m not going to leave you without help. The Father will send the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit. I’m hearing so many stories these days about the church that’s giving up on the Holy Spirit. This blows me away. For centuries the church ignored the Holy Spirit.

You know that. Except for this thing here. I’m not speaking disrespectfully of that, but that is so cheap and empty. That’s an empty box card. There’s nothing inside it. Anybody could do that. A criminal could do that. Hitler could have done it as he gassed the Jews. The meaning has to be rich and deep. The Holy Spirit was ignored. And then in the 1960s, God, gloriously, instigated a wave of revival. You had the birthing of some wonderful fellowships and parachurch organizations like Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship. That was a move of the Spirit.

And all of a sudden Catholics and United Church and Presbyterian people who had no knowledge of the Holy Spirit whatsoever suddenly were hankering. And they were going to these meetings and going to suppers and going to breakfast and was like, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And this was a time that people like Benny Hinn came into the forward and he took advantage of this as well. He was swept up in this thing. There was something so incredible going on in those days, a wave of the Holy Spirit. The church came alive. And I remember this group of Catholic ladies came to my church. We had a revival going on in our church. It was nothing short of incredible. It was a move of the Spirit. And the general superintendent of Canada came to my church and said, David, the whole movement is talking about what is it you’re doing? I sat there and said to him, sir, I’m doing nothing. I’m preaching the gospel and I’m allowing the Holy Spirit to move among us. That’s the only answer I have, sir. He said, this is the fastest growing church in Canada. You’ve got to be doing something unique. I said, it’s believing and allowing the Holy Spirit to move, then that’s what the uniqueness is. That’s sad. So this group of Catholic ladies came and I’ll never forget at the close of a service, one came up and she was a cute little girl. She wears a wig. I don’t know what the rest of it looked like. But she had this wig and it was way too much.

It was something. And so she came up and she said, Pastor Forrest, I love your church. I love your preaching. I just want to know what’s next. I said, what do you mean? She said, well, you know, I’m from a very state, starchy, dry old religion. So she said, I’m so excited. She said, I got the tongues. Now, what’s next? Isn’t it something? They were so bereft of any spiritual concept that they had no teaching. Well, they had this, but what’s that? And so the Holy Spirit became a focal point for churches around the world. David Duplice came from South Africa.

They called him Mr. Penny Cause. This guy caused a wave to come. And then there were all these evangelists holding tent  meetings and it was incredible. It was nothing short of incredible. The Holy Spirit was being spoken of, preached about more than the Father, more than the Son. Well, that’s over. It’s over. There are prominent denominations in our nation where if you have an experience with the Holy Spirit, you better hide the fact they will kick you out. They will say to you, how dare you? That’s not who we are. That’s not who we don’t want.

That’s not allowed. And then when you lose the dynamic of the Holy Spirit, you lose a lot more. And so we’ve got pastors like this was confirmed to me again just this week. My mouth job is that that’s not possible. Oh, yeah. That’s going on. It’s among the younger people who more recently come into the ministry. 

They hold credentials with the PAOC. They don’t believe in a literal hell. They don’t believe in a, I said, come on. They don’t believe in a literal devil. They push the Holy Spirit aside. The Sunday service is all diced and sliced. It starts sharp at 10 and it’s over dull at 11. They love to meet in the dark. I don’t understand this. And these preachers no longer believe in the second coming. They don’t believe in the rapture. They don’t believe in the rapture. They would not like what I’m preaching here this morning, but they’re ignorant then of the Word of God. Do you know what the rapture means? That very word? It means caught up. It means to take away. And that’s what the groom did after a whole year of building a room onto the father’s house. Jesus said, I don’t know when I’m coming.

And I can’t tell you. Well, who knows? He said, only the father knows. Isn’t this interesting in their culture? The daddy would say, you build a room on the side of my house where you’re going to bring your beautiful little bride. But I’m going to oversee the project. It can’t be, you know, my house is kind of a nice beige. I don’t want a purple polka dot building on the side. I want to make sure that the door is swinged by. It’s got to meet my approval. And so the groom was never allowed to go and get his bride until the father said, you can go. Mr.

Please tell him to come soon. In my father’s house there are so many rooms. I have to go. The groom said at the betrothal everybody understood. It was actually said, I will now go to my father’s house. And he would look at the bride and he’d say, I’m going there to prepare a place just for you. It’s going to be just, I’m going to spare no expense. When you get there, I promise. I’m colored blind. I’ll get my mother to pick the color for the drape. It’s going to be beautiful. You’re going to love it. And you know how long I took him to build that room?

Usually a whole year. A whole year. And he said, I will come again and receive you unto myself. This is Jesus so that where I am, you can be with me. The groom goes home, our home. If you went to heaven right now, you’d see cranes, earth movers. The electricians are late. Well, they’re out on strike. Nothing like that. What does it take to build, in my father’s house, I’m going there to prepare a place for you? Do we really care about that? Who cares? Jesus uses mundane wording to help us grapple with something.

If he tried to, in realistic terms, tell you the development of, you’d get lost in about two seconds, it would be like computer talk to you. He just, I don’t understand that. That’s why the Bible is so picturesque. So many pictures because God says, if I were to tell it, you wouldn’t work. You won’t get it. It’s so majestic. In addition to the father’s house, he remains aloof. He has no contact with her. The father decides when it’s ready, go get your bride, the rapture. The word rapture means to lift up. It means to take away. The groom leaves. The bride’s preparing herself, surrounded by her friends, her family.

She’s getting her wedding clothes already, and mama’s helping her and doing some dating. Say, when you go, you can prepare these things. There, you know, stuff to take with you, the sun’s building in addition to the house, and the bridesmaids who are going to be a part of this wedding are told, be wise and be ready. Keep your lamps well-oiled. For some reason, it was always going to take place at night. I don’t understand that. It doesn’t really matter. But the tension is mounting. Can just about hear people saying, it’s been a whole year. You don’t think that the groom’s getting cold feet. He’ll go through with it. There was so much excitement about it.

There’s a loss of anticipation in the church these days, and there are people saying, well, I don’t know about the second coming out. I don’t want to hear any more sermons about that. That’s a losing proposition. Well, where is he? Well, where’s the promise of his coming? He’s coming in an hour in such that you would think it’s not going to happen. It’ll happen in a moment, the twinkling of an eye. You won’t get an email ahead. 

The tensions mounting in Matthew chapter 24, but of that day in that hour, nobody knows not even the angels know, but they’re on their tiptoes right now because they know something’s up. First Corinthians. The moment and twinkling of an eye, the last trumpet, the trump will sound, the dead will

rise imperishable, and we will be changed. When Jesus shouts, I will have my voice back. I’m going to shout back. The groom returns. While he tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, behold, the bridegroom cometh, go out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. Jesus is telling a story about his sooner rival coming back. And if I go to prepare a place, I will come back and take you, rapture you, to be with me so you can be where I am. He’s coming soon. He’s coming soon. The house is just about ready. Jesus is ready.

What’s holding it all up? We don’t know. But keep the faith, baby. It’s about to happen any moment. I don’t care how I go. The heart attack or some angel screaming at me and wake me out of my. . . Having it so real to me, this is not a death wish, but I want to go. This is not my home. This is a nice building, nice place to gather. Not good enough. I’m looking forward to a heavenly sanctuary. My daddy was never one to sing.

I never heard him sing in church ever. I would look over and my dad, he might have been moving his lips. Not everybody’s got a vocal interest. And I’m not critical of people in the church service who don’t sing. Just don’t go to sleep on me. Okay. I thought I’d get a rise out of that one. My daddy wasn’t one to sing out loud anyway. But I was preaching a camp meeting way, way up in the north. Then went out beside a beautiful river that was flowing by and I don’t know how come what that’s got nothing to do with it. I just remember the place that I was. And as I stood there watching that river flow, to me it looked like worship. It just looked like worship to me.

Worship has to flow. Three songs up on the board. We’re going to do this. And then when we sing those songs, that’s not flowing. Worship has to be a flow. I love how this lady has been leading us in worship. We’ll come to the end of a song and she just keeps on playing. That doesn’t mean she’s playing some fiddle diddle on the bed. She’s not having fun. She’s giving you an opportunity. She’s saying, do you feel the glow? And her in a little bit more. I felt there I was looking at this river flowing by and it occurred to me. Heaven is a place of worship.

And I thought, my daddy is hearing choirs like I’ve never heard. Angels are singing. It’s got to be the most glorious thing you could ever anticipate. Come Lord Jesus, come. Come Lord Jesus, come. Hace in your coming. Stand with us. Pastor Jay-Z is going to lead us in an appropriate song. Sing it out. Come on now. Sing a new song. Claim who sits on. Heaven’s mercy. We sing worthy is love.

Let who was slain. Holy, holy is he. Sing a new song. To him who sits on it. Heaven’s mercy. Sing holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. Who was and is and is to come. With all creation I sing praise to the King of Kings. You are my everything and I will adore you. As the same side and the same heart of the blood will colonize from you our minds. Such a marvelous mystery and with St. Pauli Holy, holy, holy Who wants and is and is to come

With all creationizing Praise to the King of Kings You are my everything And I will adore you Holy, holy, holy Is that Lord God Almighty Who wants and is and is to come With all creationizing Praise to the King of Kings You are my everything And I will adore you Good I want to conclude with a comment to you The groom or his agent

The father was involved. Approach the bride and the question was Do you accept this invitation? It’s incredible to me that there are people who are in churches today And you were to say, are you going to go to heaven? 

They’d say, well, I hope so There’s a specific invitation Do you accept? RSVP is required So it’s heads are bowed, eyes are closed Just for a moment, I’m not going to I’m not going to lengthen the service I’m going to close, I’m going to close But perchance is there someone here this morning

And you have not as yet made your reservation For the marriage supper of the Lamb Have you not crossed that line? Is there a chance, sir, or madam You have not said yes To the invitation To take up residence in a heavenly home It can’t be, I think so, I hope so I may be There’s a definite move An intelligent decision I have decided to follow Jesus Heads bowed, eyes closed This isn’t trickery I just want to pray intelligently as I close Is there somebody who needs me to include them in this prayer? Because you’ve not as yet made the commitment Would you just let me know where you are Raising your hand? Nobody else is looking, just me This is between you and me and the Lord’s watching Is there anybody who say, David, you better pray for me Because I need to make that final decision Thank you You can put your hand down What a beautiful moment this is Heavenly Father, I want to pray For the person that belongs to that hand.

Heavenly Father, I thank you for the boldness That this person has experienced even now to say I have a hunch I have a hunch the master’s calling me And Lord Jesus, I pray for Golden opportunity to share with that one Just a little bit more in depth So that they can know that they know that they know

They’re officially on the guest list of heaven

In Jesus’ name I pray

Amen