Be Prepared to Meet Your Bride Groom - Part 1

Be Prepared to Meet Your Bride Groom - Part 1

                 Hello and welcome to My Little House of Prayer. I am your host Dayla Smith. I am so glad that you could join me today. I am so excited this week. Not only to be able to bring you this message this week, but also, because I am getting ready for my daughter’s baby shower. He is her first and my first grandchild. Yep, the baby is a little boy. I am so excited over this. I’m gonna be a grandma. Alright, enough bragging. 

                    This is part 1 of a 2 part series. Today’s message focuses on the bridegroom, the Son of God and the man of God. Next weeks message will be on what is expected of the bride of the Son of God and a woman or man of God. So, let’s begin today’s message. 

                  The first thing to begin to be prepared to meet your bridegroom, Jesus Christ, is that according to the Jewish marriage customs; the bridegroom takes the initiative in choosing His Bride. Just like what Jesus said in John 15:16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.

 John 3:29 He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.Then according to the custom, the groom leaves his father’s house to go to the home of his prospective bride, to negotiate the price for the bride. The groom must provide what we would call a dowry for His bride. Funny how the world has twisted that around, huh? To the point, a lot of men today do not even ask the father of the prospective bride for her hand in marriage. There are still some that have that respect for her and her family.  The father of the bride knows what is best for her. He is to protect her until she is married. How can He protect her if the bride groom just takes her? Remember in John 10:10 it says, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” Jesus not only does not steal His bride, He clothes her in His protective hand. 

               Jesus is the bride of Christ’ bridegroom. He chose us. We did not choose Him. If it weren’t for His sacrificial influence, we would never have been redeemed. His blood became the dowry to buy all sinners back. He’s a gentleman. He will not force us to choose. He has left that choice up to us. And  that is the first stitch we will make in our wedding gown. When we decide to accept the precious gift of Christ’ salvation and to walk in it, that is stitch number one. All of our choices in the rest of our walk decides if our gown is complete, without spot or wrinkle. Don’t we want a beautiful wedding gown? One that is so pristine white that it shines just like the light of the Son of God.

                Ephesians 5:22-29   22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. 25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:

Isaiah 61:10 I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.

                       Once the bridegroom establishes and pays the price for his bride, they are considered to be husband and wife. Like today, the body of Christ, makes up the bride of Christ. According to Jewish custom, she is declared to be consecrated or sanctified and set apart exclusively to her bridegroom. As the body of Christ we are called to be 1 Peter 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;

              Then, they would drink a cup of wine over which the betrothal benediction had been pronounced. Jesus did this at the last supper or passover. Exodus 19:5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:

Psalm 135:4 For the Lord hath chosen Jacob unto himself, and Israel for his peculiar treasure. 

Matthew 26:17-30  17 Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover?18 And he said, Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the passover at thy house with my disciples.19 And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them; and they made ready the passover.20 Now when the even was come, he sat down with the twelve.21 And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.22 And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I?23 And he answered and said, He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me.24 The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born.25 Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I? He said unto him, Thou hast said.26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.27 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.29 But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.30 And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives.

1 Corinthians 11:23- 26  23 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread:24 And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.25 After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, this cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come. He created a new and everlasting covenant with the Bride of Christ. You see, He saw her through the eyes of faith. Through the eyes of great love. Hebrews 11 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

                       Then, the groom would return to his father’s house. Why? To prepare a place for him and his bride for a year. It also afforded the bride time to prepare her trousseau. Trousseau means to gather the clothes, household linen, and other belongings collected by a bride for her marriage. Well, after the crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus did just that. John 20:17  17 Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.

John 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

                         So, Jesus goes to prepare a place for His bride. How awesome is this?At the end of the separation, the groom would come to take his bride. This usually occurred at night with a shout. Although the bride was expecting her groom to come get her in the night, she never knew when it would happen. She had to stay alert and watchful for him. The shout was a warning to her that she must be prepared. Matthew 24:36-44  36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.37 But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.

1 Thessalonians 5:2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.

2 Peter 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

Revelation 16:15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17  16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

                        So, the bridegroom collects his bride and then, he and her go into a bridal chamber or huppah. There the marriage is consummated. He then would come out and announce that the marriage was consummated. Then, the attendees would pass on the great news for the next 7 days. John 3:29 He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled. The friend of the bridegroom? The world would call this man, the groom's best man. For the Lord. His best man is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is what caused John the Baptist to leap in Elizabeth’s womb as Mary, pregnant with Jesus, approached her. Which can be found in Luke 1:41-44. You see, the Father loves the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Son loves the Father and the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit loves the Father and the Son. What do you do when you love someone so deeply after the relationship is formed? You just gotta tell someone about it. You like to show the relationship off to others. This is the same for the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It should also be like that in the hearts of everyone in a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, the bride of Christ.  That flame should never die out. We should carefully guard and protect that zeal for the Lord. We should want to tell someone everyday about our relationship with the Lord. 

                  For the next 7 days, or 7 days of huppah, the wedding guests celebrate the great news, while the bride remains hidden in the huppah. Then, after these 7 days, he brings his bride out to let everyone see who she is. The Lord will do the same with His bride. He plans to show her off. He plans to accentuate her beauty for all the world to see. Romans 13:14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof. This is how He accentuates her beauty. He clothes her with Himself. He hides her within Himself. This statement reminds me of a wonderful old gospel hymn. Rock of Ages. Such a beautiful hymn. Look it up. It has 4 verses. I love cyber hymnal. It has every gospel song written.  When we become saved, that is the beginning of putting on the Lord Jesus Christ. All throughout the bible, the Lord tells us how to put on Christ, and not to make provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lust thereof. This is how we keep the home fires burning for our relationship with Christ. When we are in love, that person is always on our mind. 

 Revelation 21:2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

                My question for those of you tuning in today, is this. Who are you in love with? Are you in love with the only one who can save and redeem you to the utmost? Are you wanting to get to know intimately this Jesus whose been loving you so very much? So much so, that He came to earth as a man to walk among us. To be an example for us. Then, paid the price for us to have this divine relationship with Him when He went to Calvary’s cross. He stretched out His beautiful strong arms on that cross and said, “I love you this much.” So much so, that He became sin for us, who knew no sin. You can find all this in the bible. I would strongly advise you not to just take my word on any of this. God and search for yourself. You'd be surprised what all you will find as you search. I can’t wait for your praise reports. I have a few of my own. This message for one thing. It was a complete study for myself. You see, this is just my testimony of all the things about my Lord and Savior I’ve learned along the way. We can’t take anyone where we’ve never been. So, If you want to have a very real and intimate relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, it is very simple. We must realize that we are a sinner in desperate need of a Savior. That can only be found in the Lord Jesus Christ. Then, we must acknowledge all of our sins before Him, and ask for His forgiveness of each and everyone of them. And in doing so, we must repent. Repent means to change our mind or decision making concerning our sins. We must seek Him for better choice making. All throughout His Word, He gives us a way to escape those temptations. Thank Him for His wonderful forgiveness, and forgive those who have harmed or sinned against us. Forgiveness determines our future walk with the Lord. It is a requirement, not a suggestion! In so doing, we must ask Him to come into our hearts and allow Him to be Lord over our lives. Then, read His beautiful love letter to us. His Holy Word. The bible. We must pray and seek His beautiful face. That is how we can become part of the bride of Christ.  Then, we must tell someone throughout our walk with the Lord about the great things He has done for us. I want to pray a prayer with you right now. It is called the sinner's prayer. This is just an outline for us. We must do the work. Let’s pray. Lord Jesus, I confess my sins and ask for your forgiveness. Please come into my heart as my Lord and Savior. Take complete control of my life and help me to walk in Your footsteps daily by the power of the Holy Spirit. Thank you Lord for saving me and for answering my prayer. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

             I want to thank you so very much for tuning in today. I want to pray for us. Lord Jesus, I come before you thanking you for a wonderful relationship with you. How blessed I am for this. Help all of us to be what you have called us to be. The true Bride of Christ. In Jesus’ wonderful Name, amen. 

             It is such a blessing to share my testimonies with you. May you have a blessed week. Thank You.