Here Comes the Bride

Have you ever been to a wedding? I’m sure most have.

There are many variations of ceremony out there. Many different cultures and beliefs can alter the way a ceremony proceeds. But there is one moment that occurs in most everyone. 

It is that moment…the moment of awe- of reverence- as the chords strike the familiar tune- duh, duh, duh, duh- Here comes the bride.

There is a hush that falls on the crowd, and all will rise to watch the bride come towards her groom. They watch to see the love and intimacy that pass between the couple in those moments. They look to see her walking; in purity, in innocence, in love.

Here comes the bride, all dressed in white…I am sure that you would recognize that familiar tune if you heard it. But have you ever heard the actual lyrics? Here is the first verse for you:

Here comes the bride, dressed all in light

Radiant and lovely she shines in his sight

Gently she glides, graceful as a dove

Meeting her bridegroom, her eyes full of love.

In so many places in scripture, the church is referenced as the bride of Christ.

In Isaiah 54:5 we are told “For you maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is His name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer”

In Revelation 21:9-10 we see John receiving a vision from one of the seven angels holding a bowl with the seven last plagues. He speaks to John saying, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” And John was carried away by the angel, and shown the holy city of Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God.

Revelation 22:17 speaks of the church’s cry “The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come”. And let the one who hears say, “Come”.

At this moment, we are not radiant or lovely, but He is forming us, preparing us to meet Him. One day, we will glide towards our heavenly bridegroom with eyes full of love; but for we now are preparing for the marriage supper, and our eternal union with our Savior and King.

Many find it strange to reference the Lord in such an intimate manner. But our relationship with God is not like that of a man and woman on earth. It is the communion that was meant to be from the beginning. An uninterrupted, uncorrupted, holy union of spirit to spirit communication. Just as God walked with Adam and Eve in the cool of the day, so He desires to fellowship with us. We are shown God’s intention to restore that union in Eph 5:27 “So that He might present the church to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.”

What will it take for us to be ready? For us to be without spot or wrinkle? I don’t know about you, but I could stand some serious ironing myself! We are all a mess, even being cleansed daily in the blood of Christ. I believe there is coming a day, when we shall be forever cleansed, and every spot shall be removed. Until that day, we are to be preparing ourselves as a bride prepares for her groom. We should be actively working to make ourselves ready for that marriage supper in eternity.

What are the things that a bride does to prepare herself for marriage? She may do many things in the days leading up to her marriage ceremony. She will have spent countless hours looking for the perfect dress, the one that she knows will take his breath away. She will have likely performed some types of pre-wedding beauty rituals to ensure that her body was purified and clean. But there is one thing that she will do on the day of her wedding that will take precedence over all other things. She will beautify herself. She will take great pains to ensure that her hair and makeup are just perfect.

On the day of her wedding, she will spend much time in front of a mirror, staring at her reflection, primping until she feels satisfied she has reached a level of “perfection”.

Scripture tells us that we are all looking into mirrors. Corinthians 13:12 tells us “for now we see only in a mirror dimly, but then face to face”. Like James states in 1:22-24, speaking of people who were hearers of the word, and not doers, “they are like a man who stares intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away, and at once forgets what he looks like.”

What does this mean? It means that we can spend all the time we want staring into mirrors- both physically and spiritually- working to make ourselves perfect for man and Jesus- or we can simply submit to His divine work in us- His perfecting work- and see His reflection in us.

A bride will want to be beautiful for her groom. Just as in the song lyrics, she glides, gracefully down the aisle towards her groom. In purity. In innocence. In love.

How can we begin to prepare ourselves for that eternal wedding celebration? There are three things that we can do now to be in position of readiness:

    1.  Submission

   The first thing we must do is submit to the work of the Holy Spirit. He gently nudges and prods us daily, wooing us to spend time with Him, and allow Him to shine light into the dark places of our lives. Submission is scary for most- as they see that loss of control and power over their lives as a form of oppression. The truth is, submission is freedom. There is such glorious freedom in letting go, of not overseeing things you honestly cannot control anyhow. Any person who truly believes they are in control of their circumstances is a bit delusional. We cannot guarantee our next breath…how can we stand in control of the vastness of our lives? Willingly laying down our need to work- to fix- to make things happen…there is such freedom and joy in that, and it allows the Holy Spirit room to come in and work.

  Submission includes preparation- We are following orders, obeying and ridding our lives of things as the Holy Spirit prompts us. Scripture gives a striking picture of the difference between prepared brides and unprepared brides in Matt 25. Five of those virgins prepared themselves, and made sure they were ready when the bridegroom came. The other five were not, and they lost their place in the wedding supper. I do not believe this speaks of salvation, for anyone who has truly placed their hope and faith in Jesus will not be cast off…but it bears asking- if you have truly done so…how can you help but submit to your future bridegroom…who loves you so much?

2.  Deliverance

   The second thing we must do to prepare goes very close in hand with submission. As the Holy Spirit begins to illuminate areas of our lives that are impure or unclean, they will need to be dealt with. We will need deliverance from these things in our lives. 2 Corinthians states “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom!” There is freedom that comes with submission. And there is freedom that comes from being delivered of things that bind us up and tie us down to this world. There are chains and strongholds that need to be broken from us, things we carry that weigh us down, and will prohibit us from running the race of faith like we need to do. 

   Each one of us, individually, needs to pray- seek the Lord- and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal things to you that need to be laid down. Areas of your life that are “grey”- things you know you probably should not do, or say, or involve yourself with, but you find excuses for. 1 Corinthians 6:12 says “I have the right to do anything- you say- but not everything is beneficial. I have the right to do anything- but I will not be mastered by anything”. 

    Perhaps there are things you “have the right to do”. And God is not going to take them away from, if they are not causing you harm, per-say. But they are not beneficial to you. They are not helping you grow- perhaps they are holding you back. If we want to really walk in purity before our Lord- if we really want to begin seeing the power of His kingdom unleashed on this earth- through us!, then we must submit to the deliverance of these needless and often harmful things in our lives.

3.  Refining-

    The third step in this process is refining- We are refined just as a silversmith takes untouched minerals, and heats up the metal time and again, pulling up all the dross and impurities, removing things that should not be there, and heats it hotter and hotter, making sure to get every last bit, until he can see his own reflection in that metal. And here is the ticket- He never leaves us. In this refining process- He stays close at hand. Just as a potter never leaves the clay on the wheel, and the smith never leaves the metal to burn, He watches over us. 

    We need to be in that fire with Jesus. We need to be refined through the fires of life. We need to lose some- it’s not good for us to win all the time. We learn our greatest lessons through times of loss and defeat- these are the times that drive us to our knees. We need to understand the joy of letting go- of dreams, of desires, of things, of people, whatever needs be. If we truly want to be preparing to meet Jesus- becoming more and more like Him each day- then we will be willing to submit to the deliverance of our souls, through the fires of refinement.

-         I want to say that again- If we truly want to be preparing to meet Jesus- becoming more and more like Him each day- they we will be willing to submit to the deliverance of our souls, through the fires of refinement.

   There is a beautiful song written by Brian Doerksen, many of you will likely know it, called Refiner’s Fire. The whole song is beautiful, but the chorus is the cream- Refiner’s fire- my hearts one desire- it to be Holy, Set apart for you Lord, I choose to be Holy, Set apart for you my Master, ready to do your will.

Is that really your hearts one desire? Do you desire to be set apart for the Lord- submitted and ready to do His will? Everyone who submits to a master must go through the process of preparation. They must be trained and ready. They must be rid of any baggage or claims to their lives held previously. They must be solely and completely focused on service to the master.

But we have such a more intimate and beautiful promise! Jesus does not simply want us as servants- he wants us as companions, for all eternity. It is a daily process- we will never arrive this side of heaven. No one is perfect, but we are told to seek after it. We are told in Scripture to be holy as He is holy. We are told to seek first the Kingdom of God. We do this by submitting ourselves to the fire, being refined in love and care by the master artisan, Jesus. He is lovingly and painstakingly crafting each of us into the bride He wants us to be. There is a corporate bride, which is the church- but He also responds to each of us individually- as the love of His life- the ones He died for- the ones He longs to be in relationship with for eternity.

It is our responsibility as believers to be actively growing. This is not a spectator sport. It’s an all-out battle for our spiritual growth, and the growth of those around us.

What will we do? If we obtain salvation and nothing more? If we don’t prepare ourselves to meet Him? If we waste our days? What shall we say to our bridegroom, who has been preparing a place for us all along, yet He was not important enough for us to prepare for?

There is still time! Begin today! Submit to the refiner’s fire, till He can see His reflection in you. Let Him cover you with the oil and perfume of His presence, that you carry out into the world. Let Him raise the dross and sludge from your heart and make you light and fit for travel. Let Him put a song in your mouth to offer in worship and praise.

Jesus loves us regardless. No matter how you respond tonight to this message, He loves you. He died for us when we were wretched, and vile, and filthy in our sins. He will love you still if you do nothing for Him. But oh friend- what will you do on that day, if you stand unprepared? Which face of your bridegroom would prefer to see? The one beaming with love and pride for His stainless bride, or one of love, clouded with the shadow of sorrow, for His love and care was simply not enough to motivate you?