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"Here as in Heaven."
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Welcome to Garden Church podcast. We're in part two of a series on the book of Revelation. We're doing a deep dive into how to read and interpret this amazing book. Enjoy.
Darren Rouanzion:What's up, 10AM? You got a lot of people outside. Outside 10AM, how are we doing? There's a delay. I didn't hear anything out there.
Darren Rouanzion:10AM outside, are you there? Hey, okay. Praise the Lord. Hey, it's June 8. It's Pentecost so for those of you that don't know, Pentecost means fiftieth.
Darren Rouanzion:It's fifty days after Passover. The day that we celebrate the birth of the church which happened at the 09:00 service, the day after Jesus' resurrection. So, you missed it. No, I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding.
Darren Rouanzion:We know without a doubt that the the spirit of God gave birth to the church and we are here because of history, what happened historically, we're here biblically because, the Pentecost was a Jewish festival that celebrated two things, the celebration of the covenant law, Exodus 19, God forming a people out of Egypt and the fruits where it was a combination of these two events that they came fifty days after Passover to renew the covenant to the Lord, Yahweh and, bring their fruits offering and that it was at that festival that the Holy Spirit fell. So, we know that that this is a significant thing for us. We always, we are here because of the work of the Holy Spirit. I'm here because of the work of the Holy Spirit without question. I grew up in the church, left it, came back, worked for a church and then I met the Holy Spirit.
Darren Rouanzion:And I planted this church, out of being filled with the Holy Spirit and hearing the voice of God say, plant a church in Long Beach and so I believe that's the power of our story as Christians that it just takes one moment often. We can live a life of obedience in the same direction, a long obedience in the same direction as Eugene Peterson says, but we can be compelled in these moments. So we wanna create space for you to receive and be filled and be, encountered and baptized in the spirit. So we do have baptisms today also. We're doing baptisms.
Darren Rouanzion:We baptized 20 something people a few weeks ago, and we're gonna baptize a couple people today and if you've never been baptized, this is your opportunity to get baptized. You might not have the clothes that you wanna get wet. Who cares? It's a proclamation of your faith in Jesus and a welcome to the family. So we'll do that at the end of the service but today is also my son's birthday.
Darren Rouanzion:Amos, he's eight years old today. So it's been a wild journey with him. I can't believe he's eight. And tomorrow's my anniversary. So we're a busy or our anniversary.
Darren Rouanzion:My wife and I are celebrating eighteen years. And I think it's it's significant because of what marriage represents in the Christian life. I want you to think about this. What I love about Christianity more than any other religion really sets us apart because of the gospel. What it means to believe and marriage really is a great metaphor actually that's used throughout the old and new testament to describe identity, purpose, vocation and the gospel message as we'll see today in Revelation 19.
Darren Rouanzion:But, there's nothing like marriage because, in some ways what happens is you you you, like like eighteen years ago, on June 9, I was standing before about 325 people, 270 were invited and pastor Bill who preached a couple weeks ago, know pastor Bill, he married my wife and I and he pronounced at this ceremony after we said this covenant to one another and to the Lord, he said, you are now husband and wife. He pronounced a new identity. Now, let me tell you something. I was 22 at the time, my wife was 21, very young, but nothing in our life prepared us for marriage. Now, let me tell you, we took pre engagement counseling, we did pre marital counseling, two different groups.
Darren Rouanzion:We went to Rock Harbors, we got pre engagement and pre marital with Bill. We I had read lots of books on godly marriage. Nothing in my life prepared me for marriage. Like in fact, I would say young people check this out. Dating today prepares you for singleness.
Darren Rouanzion:Am I right? Yep. All the married people are like, yes. Because your entire life is pointing for yourself. In fact, dating is is like a Yelp review of how to date.
Darren Rouanzion:It's like a a buffet culture we have where we're nitpicking things. That is not biblical marriage. Nothing prepared me. And then, so here's the thing. So he announces, pronounces that I'm a husband, but do I have any idea?
Darren Rouanzion:Any idea with all of the books, with all of the meditation, do I have any idea how to live? As of course not. I did not have any clue and everything changed, only I didn't know everything would change once I get married. I mean, it starts small. Let me give you an example.
Darren Rouanzion:So I remember eighteen years ago, you go from paying rent with roommates. Back eighteen years ago, I paid $1,200 between four people for a two bedroom, two bath in an apartment complex that had two parking spots, three pools and Jacuzzis and a fitness center. I mean, can you Amen? Hallelujah. Yes?
Darren Rouanzion:Like that? And then you take it So it's 200 and like There was like $300 apiece. And then you get married, you take on the whole thing. And then you start bringing things together. So what what began to change is I brought in debt to our relationship, she brought in savings.
Darren Rouanzion:So my bank account went up, hers went down. That changed. But then it's little things like you're you're coming together and all of sudden you go to sleep at night sharing a bed which you've never shared a bed. We've never shared a bed before, so we're learning how to sleep in the same bed with somebody. That changed how we sleep.
Darren Rouanzion:And then all of a sudden, I was used to making Hamburger Helper. Now she's making these gourmet food. Like there was like a menu every week because she wanted to cook, and she came from a family of chefs. And it wasn't just like get the cheapest stuff, it was like get the right ingredients. Everything began to change.
Darren Rouanzion:So our sleep patterns changed. Our dietary habits changed. I found myself one day calling her frantically because she had a specific kind of toilet paper we needed to buy. It wasn't just get the cheapest ply, it was get a specific brand. I'm like, what is it again?
Darren Rouanzion:I don't know. So all of a sudden, they're purchasing and the type of toilet paper changes. Anyone wanna say amen? Amen. Everything changed.
Darren Rouanzion:Now those are all the funny things but what about the character? All of a sudden, like an introvert, extreme introvert marries an extreme extrovert. One person's like, you're killing my social life. One's like, you're killing me with your people. And you start navigating these decisions and then serious things come up, health crisis.
Darren Rouanzion:And now you're wondering sickness and in health. I had a great healthy wife and then now she has a heart condition. All of a sudden, everything changed. And I'm learning through this relationship how to be her husband. Now here's the thing.
Darren Rouanzion:Did I have any clue when I started? No. Do I have a clue now? Absolutely not. But when I act outside, when I when I respond in anger, when I get the wrong ply, when I when I when I do things that don't align with what we've agreed upon, do I lose my identity as a husband?
Darren Rouanzion:No. In fact, what happened eighteen years ago is Bill announced, you are husband. Now be husband. You see the gospel is the same. And that's what I wanna show you through the metaphor of marriage.
Darren Rouanzion:So go to Revelation chapter 19. How are doing church? This is a a beautiful part. Pull up your Bibles. Let's go to 10AM.
Darren Rouanzion:Let me see the the Bibles that are in the room. If you hold up a phone, you're in the wrong house. Here we go. We read the written word today. That way we can't flip the page and be lusting on Instagram.
Darren Rouanzion:I'm just saying. I'm just saying. Oh wow. You're gonna get serious that fast. It's okay.
Darren Rouanzion:We'll relax. This is the final word of the story. It it's so interesting. We're in the book of Revelation if you're new. The final word in the story of God is not wrath, it's a wedding.
Darren Rouanzion:Revelation doesn't end with escape, it ends with union. Heaven and earth are married together once and for all. The church is his bride and Jesus doesn't return just to bring judgment to the world, he comes to return in love, to embrace his bride. So let's pray. Jesus, would you anoint this talk, anoint this time, let us be good soil.
Darren Rouanzion:Let our hearts be open to your Holy Spirit to speak to us. Awaken us to the wonder of your word. That we would have revelation unveiling of who you are Jesus Christ in this time in Jesus' name. Amen. We're gonna read chapter 19 verses one through 10 together and you gotta read along because there's four parts you have in this read along.
Darren Rouanzion:Okay? I normally don't make this much request of your participation but today it is. There's a word here I want you to yell, shout and I'm gonna practice it. The word is Hallelujah. So, let's practice on three.
Darren Rouanzion:One, two, three. Wait for the delay outside. I'm just kidding. We'll do it all together here. So when it gets to hallelujah, you're gonna try it one more time.
Darren Rouanzion:Say hallelujah. Hallelujah. Alright. Here we go. After this verse one, I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting.
Darren Rouanzion:Hallelujah. Salvation and glory and power belong to our God. For true and just are his judgments. He has condemned the great prostitute who corrupted the earth by her adulteries. He has avenged on her the blood of his servants and again they shouted.
Darren Rouanzion:Hallelujah. The smoke from her goes up forever and ever. The 24 elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshipped God who was seated on the throne and they cried, Amen. Hallelujah. Then a voice came from the throne saying, praise our God all you his servants.
Darren Rouanzion:You who fear him both great and small. Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude like a roar of rushing waters and like the loud peals of thunder shouting. Hallelujah. For our Lord God almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory for the wedding of the lamb has come and his bride has made herself ready.
Darren Rouanzion:Fine linen, bright and clean was given to her to wear. Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God's holy people. Then the angel said to me, write this, blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the lamb. And he added, these are the true words of God. At this I fell at his feet to worship him but he said to me, don't do that.
Darren Rouanzion:I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God for it is the spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus. The word of the Lord. This one preaches itself. I love this.
Darren Rouanzion:What is this story? How are we going to engage in this test in what's happening? of all, we have this chorus that breaks out. Heaven roars because Babylon has fallen. The word that's used four times in Revelation 19, the only time this word is used in the New Testament, hallelujah.
Darren Rouanzion:It comes from the Old Testament and it's a a transliteration of a Hebrew word which means you praise God. Or more specifically, you praise Yahweh. And it's really drawn from the the Psalms specifically as they retell the Exodus story. So when the phrase, Hallelujah is shouted, it has to do with God's the final deliverance of his people. It is a war cry as the world saw Babylon's wealth and luxury from heaven's perspective.
Darren Rouanzion:Babylon was filled with evil and violence. It was clothed with evil and violence. And when it collapses, heaven celebrates. Darrell Johnson says, this is the sound of history redeemed. The sound of evil unmasked.
Darren Rouanzion:The shout of the free. Hallelujah. Oh, we can do better than that. Worship here is a war cry of victory. Hallelujah.
Darren Rouanzion:Hallelujah. It's Hallelujah. Jesus reigns not our diagnosis. Hallelujah. We have unrestricted access to the king, not our wheelchair.
Darren Rouanzion:Hallelujah. The the destiny of our people has been realized in Christ. Hallelujah. Babylon has fallen. Caesar doesn't sit on a throne.
Darren Rouanzion:Sickness no longer has the final say. Our divorce no longer defines who we are. We are his bride. That's how our story ends. With a hallelujah.
Darren Rouanzion:Worship. Let me tell you this. I I I share this all the time. That how a story begins shapes the story you're telling. But how the story ends also shapes the story.
Darren Rouanzion:Right? So in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. I was talking to Ezra recently. Well, I think it was yesterday, we were going through the book of John because youth, you're gonna be reading the book of John and Acts during the summer. There's a summer reading plan and Ezra wanted to get on top of it.
Darren Rouanzion:So we are reading through it and he was We were doing a little mini bible study and and he was asking questions. I said, hey, before you ask questions, you gotta know context. What's the context? And I said, hey, if you were gonna read a story and it begins with once upon a time, he What context is that story? He said, fantasy.
Darren Rouanzion:I was like, yes. If I share If I said, in a galaxy far far away, he go He smiles and he says, Star Wars would be the context. I'm like, exactly. So John has a context. So for us, as people, humans, our human story has a context.
Darren Rouanzion:And for far too long, the Christian church begins the story in Genesis chapter three, Not chapters one and two. You see chapter three, brokenness and sin. Chapters one and two, God creates the heavens and earth and it is very good. Our story begins with good. Purpose, identity, vocation.
Darren Rouanzion:And then obviously chapter three, things go things go south. And the rest of the bible is God redeeming what was lost in Genesis three and then we get to the end and guess what? It's very good again. And the story is not a story of wrath and justice being poured out although it it it comes that way. God will judge all the evil doers and destroyers of his creation but it ends with a wedding.
Darren Rouanzion:It ends in an epic worship service where we cry out, you reign Jesus. Praise God you people. Isn't that good? I think it's cool. So, this story, this song is about God's redemptive redemptive plan being fulfilled in creation.
Darren Rouanzion:It's the cosmic crescendo. This is not a polite chorus, this is a roar. And what is it saying in a nutshell? If I were to summarize the verses we read, it's saying this, the wedding is on. The wedding is on.
Darren Rouanzion:The bride is dressing up for the wedding banquet. You see this is where, the story of all of scripture comes to its climatic end. This is a moment the old testament prophesied about, that the new testament's waiting for and we're reading about how the story ends. Verse seven it says, let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory. For the wedding of the lamb has come and his bride has made herself ready.
Darren Rouanzion:Fine linen, bright and clean was given to her to wear. Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God's holy people. You see, if you were to read the old All of the scripture in one sitting, you would see these literary themes throughout the entirety of scripture and one of the biggest themes is this idea of wedding. That throughout the old testament, the coming of God's kingdom is not pictured as a courtroom of judgment. It's not a battlefield of holy war.
Darren Rouanzion:It's actually a wedding feast. That when kingdom finally comes it looks like a wedding feast which I wanna say is perhaps one of the most consistent themes of God's desire for his people. If you were to read the Old Testament you will see that the prophets would speak to Israel about the covenant they made with Yahweh. And when he speaks to Israel, he speaks to them through the prophets that they have broken their marriage vows to Yahweh. If you read Isaiah and Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Joel, Amos, all the old testament prophets call out the people of God.
Darren Rouanzion:It begins in Exodus chapter 19, right, where God delivers the people of God out of Egypt and he brings them to Mount Sinai and there he comes down in fire and smoke and lightning and he brings them the covenant of the law to Moses and in that experience, the rabbis and commentators say, this was a marriage ceremony. God married the people of Israel. If you obey me fully and keep my covenants and for for me, you will be a treasure possession, a kingdom of priests, a holy nation. Right? Set apart.
Darren Rouanzion:If you obey and what do they do for the rest of their lives? Do they obey? Okay. That's great. Some of you read the bible.
Darren Rouanzion:No. No. They fail over and over again and when the prophets call them back to their covenant, they're saying, they say it's not about you breaking the law, it's about you having an adulterous affair with another God. You've broken the marriage vows. That's what the language is in the old testament.
Darren Rouanzion:It's such a beautiful call to intimacy. So in the Old Testament, you have this bringing to people back to the, the covenant of God that they made. So marriage in the bible isn't just a mere, a metaphor. It's the culmination of covenant. It's the whole story of scripture leading to Revelation and Revelation pulls back the curtain and brings kind of this theological blueprint which if you were Jewish in the century reading this, you would see the implications of the story of God rolled out through Jesus, the gospel in the wedding ceremony, experience of the Jewish betrothal ceremony.
Darren Rouanzion:So a better way to say is a Jewish betrothal is a theological blueprint for the story of the gospel. And so I'm gonna give you some ancient context of a Jewish wedding. Okay? You with me on this? Just stay with me because I wanna show you the gospel as it is presented to us through the Jewish wedding ceremony.
Darren Rouanzion:When you see this you're gonna like, oh my gosh, all these light bulbs are gonna go off. Why this is the climax of Revelation? You'll see in just a moment. So this is the gospel through a Jewish wedding. You with me?
Darren Rouanzion:I need more than that. Are you with me? I'm just gonna get my love from outside. Outside, are you with me? That's what I'm talking about.
Darren Rouanzion:They're better. Three second delay. Bleep out the curse words. Here we go. So there's six, seven, there's seven parts to a Jewish wedding.
Darren Rouanzion:Okay. Seven. So write these down. Number one, the covenant is initiated. Shiduken is where the part of a wedding is a father of the groom initiates the covenant by arranging the marriage.
Darren Rouanzion:So the father initiates the arranged marriage in the Jewish context. John three sixteen, for God so loved the world, he gave his one and only son. If you read the New Testament, what you see over and over again is God the father initiates our relationship. Anyone that's here is not here because your friend brought you here. You're not here because you wanted some structure in your life.
Darren Rouanzion:You're not here because of just an accident. The father in heaven has been wooing you to himself. He has been doing this for all creation, for all time. He is drawing you. You did not choose him, he chose you And if you pull back the revelation that Jesus brings us in the New Testament, Jesus will say, the father which he came to reveal is like a a shepherd who has a 100 sheep, loses one and leaves the 99 to go after the one lost sheep.
Darren Rouanzion:And when he finds the one lost sheep, he puts it on his shoulders, comes back and throws a party. Or he's like a woman who has 10 coins, loses one, tears up her house to find the one lost coin. When she finds the one lost coin, she calls all of her neighbors and celebrates the lost coin that was found. Or even more compelling, the father in heaven is like a a a father who has two sons. And one of his sons says, dad, wish you were dead, give me my inheritance early.
Darren Rouanzion:And the father gives it to him. And then that son squanders wealth, runs off in wild living, gets to the end of his rope, goes broke and realizes he can go and be a slave at his father's health house and not starve. So he makes that dreadful walk back full of shame, creating excuse in his head. When he gets to his dad, he's gonna say, I'm not worthy to be your son. Make make me a slave, I'll pay you back.
Darren Rouanzion:And the moment he gets close enough, he sees his father running. And before he can give him the excuse, the son, before the son can get out of his mouth, I'm not worthy to be your boy. The father wraps his arms around his boy and says, kill the Catholics, throw a party, my son who was lost has been found, my son who was dead is alive again. If there's any other version of the father you have in the in your head, it is an idol. It is a false God.
Darren Rouanzion:God is not angry. God is not trying to wait for you to mess up. He is waiting. And in century context, the way Jesus tells a story, the father does a shameful act of lifting up his robe, exposing his calves to this to the community around him, and takes off running to his boy. So you know he will get even more undignified the moment you slightly turn towards him.
Darren Rouanzion:You're gonna be ambushed with his love. And in the Greek, the translation of Luke 15, I forget the verse specifically. It says, the father kissed his son and the group is Sorry, the group. The Greek word in Luke is a continual present verb meaning, couldn't stop kissing his boy. Someone needs that right now.
Darren Rouanzion:Someone needs to know that the father is initiating your love not because you can earn it or perform your way to or get enough. Not because you got it figured out, you did all the right things but because when you come into faith, he's already initiated the covenant he has for you. Amen? That's one of seven. We got a couple more.
Darren Rouanzion:Let's go. It gets better. Number two. Oh, I just need to say before we get further, let me just say covenant in our context is really hard because we don't understand the biblical understanding of covenant. Covenant in the bible is a sacred binding, relational relationship initiated by God.
Darren Rouanzion:It's a sacred binding relationship initiated by God. It's not like a contract which are conditional. Biblical covenants reflect God's unbreakable faithfulness. So it's like saying, covenant is like God saying, I choose you, I love you and I'm never giving up on you no matter what you do. That's what God says to you.
Darren Rouanzion:No matter what. Sorry, my son's here. I just Last week I got wrecked because he was in the room. Now I have to preach to my boy. I love you, bud.
Darren Rouanzion:Oh, dang. I didn't know what was gonna happen. Can I get some water? Thank you, bro. Make me nervous, bud.
Darren Rouanzion:I don't see anyone else but you. Thank you. He's taking notes. I know. Thank you.
Darren Rouanzion:Thanks, dude. Awesome. So number two, covenant, we'll go through that another time. Number two is mohar. It's the bride price is paid.
Darren Rouanzion:So the groom would pay a price to demonstrate the value of the bride. So there was no fixed amount. The rabbi or rabbinic sources suggest that the minimum payment for a bride to the family was 50 shekels which would be about two hundred days labor. It was a costly sacrifice to recognize the value of the bride and also to offer, money and resource to the family that's losing a member of their house that would provide money for the family. So in Luke chapter 22 verse 20, Jesus says, this is the cup.
Darren Rouanzion:This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Jesus paid the price for his bride. So when you put the lens of the wedding, the Jewish wedding process on what happens in the scriptures, you see the father initiates Jesus through his blood pays the price for the bride. In Revelation shares this over and over again, it says that he purchased with his blood, you. You don't live now for yourself as the bride.
Darren Rouanzion:This is a costly grace. We receive it. Thank you. He paid for it. Number three is the betrothal covenant.
Darren Rouanzion:So once the price was paid, the couple was legally bound. Although they were not living together, the bride, listen to this language, was consecrated to the groom. That word consecration is kinda challenging in our context because we think holy or consecration has something to do with limitations on what we have access to. Doesn't it? Like so the the phrase I was taught was your consecration or holy means to be set apart from.
Darren Rouanzion:Jewish people, be holy as I am holy, set apart from the world to be set apart for the vocation of being priests to the world. Right? So holiness is about being set apart from the world. But a better translation in the Hebrew and I have a a professor, I'm in seminary again, getting a biblical, a masters in biblical studies and he's a Old Testament scholar and he says, the best definition of holy is dedicated to. So it's not and and so he's like whenever you read holy, it's always bound in relational covenant capacity.
Darren Rouanzion:Meaning when God says be holy as I am holy. He's saying, be as dedicated to me as I am dedicated to you. What does that do for your definition of being a bride? Holy doesn't go to stop doing these things, it goes to where is the greater love? You with me?
Darren Rouanzion:GK Beale says, the marriage metaphor is not sentimentality, it is the final covenant fulfillment. Number four is the mikvah. Mikvah is a purification ritual. So the bride would then go on after this covenant was made to, through a purification ritual, she would purify herself before the wedding through a ceremonial cleansing bath but it would be ongoing until her groom would come. So in Ephesians chapter five verse 26, when there's this line that says, cleansing her with the washing of water through the word, That is straight Jewish wedding metaphor.
Darren Rouanzion:Paul's using this language that would have been understood to make sense of what we do as disciples, what we do as husbands for our wives. So holiness here in this part is not about performance, it's about preparation. Jesus is getting his bride ready, clothing us in his beauty. Now pay attention to the language here because this holds tension for us as disciples. It says in verse seven part, the part, for the wedding of the lamb has come and his bride has made herself ready.
Darren Rouanzion:Listen to what it says. His bride, us the church, has made herself ready. We've done something. Fine linen bright and clean was given her to wear. We made ourselves ready and we received something.
Darren Rouanzion:Alright. So this is the tension I hear all the time. Is is it grace or is it obedience? Is it, oh, it's up here. Look at Dallas where it says it this way, grace is not opposed to effort, it's opposed to earning.
Darren Rouanzion:Philippians two will put it this way, work out your salvation with fear and trembling for it is God who works in you. The church is dressing herself up with deeds of faithfulness not luxury, with love not lust. Look, so this idea comes from the scripture. It has to do with this idea of being given this identity. So if you think about it, eighteen years ago, I became husband, had no idea how to live as a husband.
Darren Rouanzion:So Bill announces, you are husband and wife. Now I live as a husband learning to be who I already am. So church, when Paul writes the letters to Rome, to Ephesians, to Galatia, actually not to the Galatian church, they they were really messed up, to Corinth. He was angry with them. He says, to God's holy people or to the saints of Ephesus, He says, this is who you are.
Darren Rouanzion:How? In Christ. So he'll explain himself in Romans one through 11, in Ephesians one through three, in in Philippians one and two. He will declare with decisive, this is the indicative announcement of what God has done for you. And then in chapter 12 of Roman, he'll say, Romans will say, in view of everything God's done for you, now live like it.
Darren Rouanzion:So in other words, when it comes to holiness, is it effort or is it grace? Yes. You are holy so be holy. This is the tension we live in as disciples. You are saved by grace.
Darren Rouanzion:You have been empowered to do what you could never do on your own strength or merit. Praise God. Now live like it. Don't live earning identity. Live from God given identity.
Darren Rouanzion:So bride of Christ, live holy and prepared. In Romans it says it another way. It talks about it, in a in a negative. It says, though don't you know that you've been buried with Christ? And when it when he says that, he's referring to baptism.
Darren Rouanzion:When we get baptized, this is a symbolic act of joining Christ's death. Being buried in the earth underwater and coming out into new life. He'll say, it has been crucified. What? Your old self.
Darren Rouanzion:Your sinful flesh. The desires of lust and greed and narcissism and all of those things have past tense been crucified. When? On the cross. Once and for all.
Darren Rouanzion:It's dead and then it'll say, so keep on killing it. It has been crucified so keep on cruc keep on killing what has died. Keep on being what you already are. How are we doing church? It's good news?
Darren Rouanzion:Is that good news? I love it. I'll say amen all by myself. I don't need anyone here to recognize the power of the gospel. Marriage speaks to both identity and purpose and how we live out of who we already are.
Darren Rouanzion:You are living like a bride. And the return of the Jewish wedding, the wedding is a big day. So number five, let's keep going. We're getting through this. We all right?
Darren Rouanzion:The the preparation period is a waiting and readiness period. After the betrothal, the groom returns home to prepare a place for his soon to be wife. The bride waited not knowing exactly when the groom would come. So you read about this when John chapter 14 verse two, Jesus says, I go to prepare a place. I will come again.
Darren Rouanzion:That's bridal groom language. Matthew 25, what is the kingdom of God? What will it be like? It will be like a groom who comes in the middle of the night. So what is our job?
Darren Rouanzion:To keep our wicks our wicks, our our candle wicks trimmed. Yeah. And to keep up storing oil. This is our task. This is readiness.
Darren Rouanzion:This is preparation. We're waiting and let me just say the church, oh brothers and sisters, this will preach. The church isn't waiting for rescue. Right? The how we read end times, how we read revelation matters.
Darren Rouanzion:We're not waiting to get raptured out of here as things get bad. We're waiting for a reunion. Trim those lamps. Clean that heart. Stay ready.
Darren Rouanzion:Point number six is the wedding procession. So at midnight, there's a midnight arrival, the groom would return after building literally a room onto his house, onto his parents house to bring his bride. When it's finished, the groom would come in the middle of the night and his his groomsmen would shout, here come the bridegroom. At midnight, Matthew 25, at midnight the cry rang out. The coming is the end of one age and it's the beginning of the next.
Darren Rouanzion:Jesus comes not to judge but to marry his bride. So we as the bride wait with anticipation for the arrival of our groom, Jesus Christ. And then everything ends at the wedding supper. This was a week long festival celebration. It would just, it would totally eclipse our wedding process today.
Darren Rouanzion:One day, are you kidding me? Try seven. With wine that's unending and food that's unending where you have to sleep it off and come back the next day. That's the kind of celebration a Jewish wedding was. It was the final step.
Darren Rouanzion:It was a week of feasting and it says, blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the lamb. Salvation ends not an escape but in a meal. Worship ends with supper as Peter's Eugene Peterson said. Heaven ends with a table not a throne room. And we are not just saved, we are spoken for.
Darren Rouanzion:Isn't that beautiful? So we have this image of the wedding, of a Jewish wedding that prepares our hearts for what we are to be and what's to come. And, I wanna invite you to allow marriage to be the way you see discipleship. That marriage now becomes a metaphor for your discipleship to Jesus. And all the things that we said, I'll come back to in a but there's a little moment here I just wanna highlight.
Darren Rouanzion:I think it's quite corrective and encouraging to us. Right? So if you read this, there's a beatitude in Revelation verse nine it says, then the angel said to me, write this, blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the lamb. That's the beatitude. Blessed are those.
Darren Rouanzion:Blessed are those who are invited. And he added, these are the true words of God. And then here comes a warning. You ready? This is a blessing and a warning.
Darren Rouanzion:An encouragement and a warning. This is how it ends. At this, I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, don't do that. I'm just a fellow servant with you and your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of Jesus.
Darren Rouanzion:I'm just a servant of the one true God. And here's the warning. Ready? Worship God. For it is the spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus.
Darren Rouanzion:Now lean in on this because this is interesting. Darrell Johnson says this one verse for it is the spirit of prophecy is the interpretive key to the whole book of Revelation. I think it's quite prophetic in the real sense for what's happened in the church. Where we worship the messengers rather than the one it's pointing to. Right?
Darren Rouanzion:And we've mistaken prophecy for the wrong things. Now, me just speak to what the scripture says and then I wanna speak if it's okay, as a pastor to the prophetic movement I've seen in the charismatic churches which we are a part of. Scott McKnight says, if it doesn't lead to Jesus, it's not prophetic. This is the interpretive key. So everything centers on the on bearing witness to Jesus Christ.
Darren Rouanzion:Prophecy is not primarily about predicting the future but about pointing to Jesus the Lord, Lamb and King. Darrell Johnson says, the very essence, very breath of prophecy is the witness to Jesus Christ. Not to the beast, not to speculation, not to political empires but to Jesus. Grant Osborne says this is in a corrective to false prophecies that are misaligned with allegiances. This sums up the entire message of Revelation.
Darren Rouanzion:True prophecy finds it center in Christ. In other words, everything points to Jesus. Every word, every gift, every miracle, everything we do has to point to Jesus. I need you to see this right now. Because we live in a world where we say it points to Jesus, but it points to the celebrity pastor.
Darren Rouanzion:It points to the political allegiance. It points to the brand of church we're participating in. I don't care what brand it is. It has to be about Jesus. We're not protecting the garden, we're blessing the Jesus and his kingdom.
Darren Rouanzion:And what we do is we try to make it ours. We're not competing against churches, we're competing against the devil. That's right. So it all points to him. And let me say in the charismatic circle, we've worshiped the messengers.
Darren Rouanzion:And I've seen it and I think God's clearing house. We need prophecy. We need biblical prophecy. We need to not be wowed by bank account numbers and words of knowledge. If they don't point to Jesus, it's not prophecy.
Darren Rouanzion:Just like church planting movements. I've seen it. We get passionate about church planting, but church planting should point to Jesus. Healing ministries should point to Jesus. Your podcast ministry should point to Jesus.
Darren Rouanzion:The church should point to Jesus. The Bible study should point to Jesus. Your marriage should point to Jesus. Your life should point to Jesus. It's all about him.
Darren Rouanzion:And somehow we've made it about us. So we're gonna practice our way. It's his way. No discipline can teach you a generous loving heart. That's the work of the Holy Spirit.
Darren Rouanzion:Which by the way, it is the spirit that points to Jesus. When the signs and wonders are happening, when there's an earthquake in a room and wind blowing and there's fiery tongues, they don't say, oh my gosh, look at the words. Oh my gosh, look at the tongues. Oh my gosh, look at the fire. They say this is a sign that he's risen from the dead.
Darren Rouanzion:That's what happens when God moves. And can I just say another thing? This is just for me. So much talk about revival. I've talked about it.
Darren Rouanzion:But can I say, if what I see on my Instagram algorithms is revival, I'm already exhausted? I'm already burnt out by it. If what God does requires it to be sustained by the flesh, then it has to be us, man made and manufactured. Because I was meditating today and Jesus says, come to me all you who are weary and burdened. He doesn't say and I will give you intensity for the prayer room.
Darren Rouanzion:I'll give you rest. You see, love what's going on in the church because I think it is a move of God. But let's not confuse our intensity with the spirit of God moving in us. See I think the real marker will be joy, not intensity. So I just wanna say for all of us in our effort, in our prayers which we will contend, we need more at the prayer room.
Darren Rouanzion:May it not be substituted for the work of the spirit. Are you with me? On this Pentecost Sunday? Can I end with a couple of thoughts, real quickly? Give me like four more minutes on how this, makes its way into our life today.
Darren Rouanzion:What does this matter? Well here's what I wanna do. I want you to now reimagine your discipleship through the model of marriage from the scriptures. Can we do that? Let marriage be a model for your discipleship.
Darren Rouanzion:No one stumbles into a wedding without readiness. Am I right? Some of you are too young. But if we're the bride, have you ever, for those of us that have been married or have you ever had friends who were the bride and planned their wedding? Do they just show up?
Darren Rouanzion:I mean, I remember eighteen years ago, over eighteen years ago, the process of preparation like the the list of to dos was so and bless my wife, she did 98% but she would call me into the two. And what color ties do you want, Darren? I don't I've never owned a tie. Purple. Sounds good.
Darren Rouanzion:Let's go. Yeah. Alright. What kind of flowers do we need? Yeah.
Darren Rouanzion:Like you want my input? No. She's like, not really. Just be a part of it. Okay.
Darren Rouanzion:I'll support you. I'm a 100% in. That's a great question for all of you getting engaged or married. Let me just say, sometimes the question is more about you just feel feeling her need, supporting her with presence than it is giving her the right answer. Just be present.
Darren Rouanzion:That's amen for some of you? We show up prepared but here's here's what preparation looks like. You ready? Six points, we'll go fast. Number one, with marriage as a model for discipleship, you live as the beloved.
Darren Rouanzion:We don't live as a worker. We don't live as a warrior. We live as his beloved. Adored. Wooed into relationship.
Darren Rouanzion:Drawn into non performative spiritual life with Jesus. He says in that same passage I just quoted that, take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am humble. Sorry, I am gentle and humble in heart. When he describes himself, he he When Jesus, the only time in scripture described himself, he uses words that would have been offensive to the Greek and the Jewish community. He described himself as gentle and lowly.
Darren Rouanzion:Accessible. And what he offers you is not a vacation or a break. He offers you work equipment to do life where you are better. And wanna know how you get it? Not by striving but by surrender.
Darren Rouanzion:Amen? Live as beloved. Number two, we live from security. We live from security. We no longer have to perform our way into identity.
Darren Rouanzion:No longer have to chase approval. We are sealed by a covenant that's everlasting because of him. So when we approach Jesus in our prayer tomorrow, we're not bringing in all of the mistakes we made the the day before. We start with security knowing that he's calling us his beloved for no good reason. Number three, we live with undivided loyalty.
Darren Rouanzion:If marriage is our metaphor for discipleship, then marriage demands exclusivity. No longer can we have two masters being served. Matthew six, you cannot serve both serve two masters. Richard Bockham says, the harlot and the bride represent two incompatible ways of life. So when you say yes to Jesus, you say no to counterfeit loves.
Darren Rouanzion:And what's happened is you have brought in because America's so good at this, brought You've brought in Jesus into your already overfilled idolatry lifestyle. But your idolatry is masked with good habits that culture says is okay. Too much screen time. Too much Instagram. Too much spending on self.
Darren Rouanzion:Too much Amazon Prime without thinking about it. Too much lusting after a new house or a new life. Too much thinking and talking bad about people in your own heart or speaking it to your friends, asking for advice but really just gossiping. That's all false gods wooing your heart into a way of living. We have undivided loyalty to our groom.
Darren Rouanzion:You alright with that one? Number four, we live in continual repentance. We live in continual repentance. So brides don't drift, they prepare. Peter one thirteen says, prepare your mind, set your hope fully.
Darren Rouanzion:Holiness is your adornment, it's your adoration. It's an invitation to live focused on the Lord. He is inviting us into living in a constant state of repentance. Disciples repent daily not to stay in line but to stay in love. So we constantly return to our love.
Darren Rouanzion:Sin is not a violation of the law, it's a betrayal of our love. Number five, we live in readiness. This is where brides don't drift, they prepare. So holiness is our constant state of preparedness. We are ready in and out of season.
Darren Rouanzion:And number six, we live with beautiful simplicity. Doesn't love simplify everything? Like when you're in love, you go out of your way. When I I mean, you woo that. I I remember dating Alex.
Darren Rouanzion:She's my girlfriend. I was 19. I'm I'm sentimental. Tomorrow's my anniversary. Like I paid for our date with quarters because I didn't have a job.
Darren Rouanzion:Alright. I got gas money from a friend. I mean, was bad. You should get a job, folks. And I did.
Darren Rouanzion:Like four months in, she's like, if you wanna date me, you gotta have a job. Was like, praise God. I haven't I've had a job ever since. But you like stay up late to unreasonable hours to chat on AIM Messenger. Right?
Darren Rouanzion:Like you do the craziest things because because what happens, all the peripheral stuff, all that goes away because you're just fixed. And what does Revelation say over and over and again, behold. Perhaps the issues of addiction, the crisis of your anger, of the bitterness and resentment, the failure of this relationship, the unreconciled friends that you have. Perhaps it's that you've been you've been beholding to the wrong things. And Revelation just says, behold the lamb of God.
Darren Rouanzion:Maybe you just slowly today repent and get back to looking at Jesus. Fix your eyes on the one true king and let him do what he needs to do with the rest of your life. Live with beautiful simplicity. So let me end with this. It says, I just wanna say church, it's This isn't about being busy for God, it's about being his.
Darren Rouanzion:The wedding is coming, the table is set, we don't live in fear of wrath. We live in anticipation of union. The lamb wins, so let your life be hallelujah. Let your life be hallelujah. Hallelujah?
Darren Rouanzion:Alright. We're gonna worship. So will you stand right now?
Intro/Outro:Thank you so much for listening. For more information, please visit us at garden.church.