No Shotgun Wedding for Jesus - He Must Have a Willing Bride

NOW TRY THIS IDEA ON FOR SIZE - It is almost as if God were saying, "OK here?s your chance - you think you can be God - give it a try on Earth. To those who listen to you and worship you - you may have them--- BUT understand this - if at anytime any one of those who may have chosen you should for any reason change his mind and decide to listen to me and call to me and want to be mine---- THEN HE IS MINE. Then when all is said and done - On judgment day - you will take yours & go to the Lake of Fire that burns but does not consume and you will be confined in the bottomless pit to be tormented for all eternity, and I will take mine and reign in the glory of Heaven for all eternity." Man was not originally told of the plan so he would not be influenced one way or the other. This was to be TRUE FREEDOM OF CHOICE. You see - the war is really over. God has already won it. He just has not yet carried out the punishment. He is allowing his human creations to choose which side they want to be on.

Remember, we talked about your God being the one you listen to. How you will serve one or the other. For if you do not choose Jehovah God, then you are really choosing Satan. It matters not if you believe the King (GOD) exists. He exists without your belief, but you will be judged by His laws regardless. For after the final judgment - there will be no more false gods - there will only be one God as there is only one True God today. We will be deceived no longer.

How many of you have ever purchased something - or say you leased a new car. You drive on your merry way, putting lots of miles on the car, getting scratches or dents in it and putting on new tires as needed. But now comes the day the time of the lease is up and you decide to turn the car back in and maybe get a new one. You are told that you are liable for the repairs to fix the scratches and dents, the tires you put on were not the original replacement brand of tires and that you will have to pay for new ones and that you will have to pay so much for each mile over the stated limit allowed.

" WOW" - you say - "I didn?t know I would have to pay those things, therefore, since I did not know it, I?m not paying ." Oh yeah? Did you read the fine print. Are you bound by the fine print if you don?t read it? Of course you are. It matters not, it you did not avail yourself of the details provided. Well, that?s the way it is spiritually too. Ignorance of the law does not free you from the law.

We spoke of how God wants his subjects to love him, not because they are forced to, but because they choose to of their own free will, So all created beings, be they angels or humans, are given free will. By giving his creations free will - it allowed for the distinct possibility that they would make wrong choices. And wrong choices we have all made. Since God is also bound by his laws, he cannot change a law once He has put it into place. He can however, offer us help and pardon for our wrong choices. He can and does show us mercy, where none is deserved. He even devised a plan whereby He himself would pay the price of the ransom to buy us back from the slavery we had chosen. He would do this IF we change our mind and choose Him over Satan.

God set up many laws to govern the people - not just to show his power - but because the laws were GOOD FOR

THE PEOPLE. If the people chose God and followed His laws, they would be Healthy, Wealthy & Wise. If however, they did not follow His laws, they were now choosing to follow Satan and were now under sin, being a slave to sin have become the property of Satan. And believe me Satan has plans of his own. He loves to cause sickness, misery and pain. Satan does not reward his followers for long. He lures us with promises and a few nice samples to set the hook. Then when we listen to him and eat of His Food, we become his slave. He then removes all the pleasure and those same samples that seemed so good at first, now become burdensome addictions that you cannot shake off. Remember, Satan was in Heaven as Lucifer and was an angel of light, so he knows some good things. He is the master deceiver, so he is able to work wonders mimicking the God he wants to usurp. But he can?t keep up the act forever, because his true nature is evil.

Back to the Garden -

Well, we all know that Satan did not take long to put his plan into action to deceive Eve and she in turn as Satan?s slave helped to deceive Adam. Now both have turned away from the God who created them and gave them dominion over everything with only one thing forbidden to them. They were not to eat from the Tree of Good & Evil. God did not stop loving them, He did not move away from them, they moved away from Him. He did chastise them however, by banishing them from the Garden.

Had Adam and Eve listened to God - they would have lived forever in perfect health. But since they chose to listen to the serpent (Satan), God had Cheribim placed with flaming swords to guard the Tree of Life to keep them from eating it, and He banished them from the Garden. Now just because they had made a wrong choice, God did not stop loving them. No - He even made clothes for them before He sent them out of the Garden. But because of their choice for Satan, they were now bound to him. They now had to work for a living. The food would no longer be given to them just for the picking. Pain was introduced - the pain of childbirth was the first. It wasn?t long until jealousy and murder were to follow. Once Satan has his hook into you, the sin in your life multiplies. (remember the sin seed we talked about earlier?)

The mental pain induced by sin was so great it caused Cain to cry out to the Lord. "My punishment is more than I can bear. Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me." But you see, the Lord had mercy on him even in his sin. The lord said to him, "Not so"; if anyone kills Cain, he will suffer vengeance seven times over." Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. The mark on Cain was an indication of God?s grace and protection.

Cain suffered less than he deserved for his murder of Abel. God had warned Cain earlier about his attitude. No human witnessed and punished Cain?s crime. But God noted it as He does all crime. Eventually all criminals must face God?s judgment no matter how well they escape human punishment.

Sin grew rapidly in the human race. Lamech killed a young man who had simply injured him. The poetic form of the text indicated the depravity of Lamech?s character as he bragged about his sinful act. Similarly, we are often tempted to demand more justice than we are due. Both divine and civil law attempt to restrain our sinful impulses and dispense a balanced judgment. Sin is never a cause for bragging. It causes only God?s wrath and judgment.

The promise to Cain led to geographic and cultural expansion of the human race. It also led to history carried out without concern for God?s presence. History thus has two types of subjects--those who move away from God and those who call on God. The interaction of the two forms the basis for divine deliverance of His people.

God knew that a plan to save his people was needed. But we have a God who attends to details. He already had a plan. When He led the children of Israel out of Egypt ,He made a covenant with them and sealed it with blood.

Exodus 24: 7-8 "Then [Moses] took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, ?We will do everything the Lord has said; we will obey.? Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, ?This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words?".

He then took Moses up to the Mountain and wrote the Ten Commandments on two stone tablets. God also gave him a few more instructions for how to build a Tabernacle, how to ordain Aaron as the High Priest and about all the sacrifices required to atone for sins. These were rules for everyday living that would help them break the sin bondage and sacrifices to atone for sins and keep them focused on God. But even before the tablets of law were delivered back to the people, the people were already deep in sin worshipping a golden calf. After the people repented of this sin, God, the ever merciful God that He is, gave them another chance. He took Moses back up the Mountain and did the tablets all over again.

God knew that the people were not strong enough to keep the laws and that they would fail over and over again. But He never changes in his love of the people. He does not wish that any should perish in the Lake of Fire. He will do all He can to redeem and rescue His people. But He is bound by His own law of Free Will that He has put in place, so each person has to be allowed to make his or her own choices. He cannot force them to obey His laws and choose Him over Satan. He wants love freely given as He freely gives it. But know this - at the appointed time, He will also punish along with Satan, those who do not choose him. They WILL be banished to the lake of fire in the bottomless pit and be forever out of the sight of God. (The Hebrew word for Hell -Sheol is translated as ?unseen state?)

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God hinted at the coming Messiah in the Garden of Eden Genesis 3:15 - when He predicted the coming and mission of the Messiah: "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed [the Serpent, Satan] and her Seed [the Messiah, Jesus Christ]; He shall bruise your head [Satan?s destruction], And you shall bruise His heel [Messiah?s death and Resurrection]"

Later He tells of the Messiah to Abraham: Genesis 12: 1-3 - Now the Lord had said to Abram: "Get out of your country, from your family and from your father?s house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

And now to Moses God gives a little more of His plan: in Dueteronomy 18:18-19 - "I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him. And it shall be that whoever will not hear My words, which He speaks in My name, I will require it of him."

[At judgment time - all confess Jesus - it is required of them - even those going to Hell.]

We read in Jeremiah 29:11-14

"For I know the plans I have for you" declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile."

This is explained further in Acts 3:22-26 - For Moses truly said to the fathers, "The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you. And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people." Yes, and all the prophets, from Samuel and those who follow, as many as have spoken, have also foretold these days. You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant, which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, "And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed." To you first, God having raised up His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities.

Romans 7: 24-25 - What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God--through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God?s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.

Enter the long promised long awaited Messiah -

Luke 4:17-19, 21

"The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to [Jesus]. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord?s favor.?....And he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing".

In Colossians 1:21-23 Paul tells us..

Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.

But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation--if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.

And in Hebrews 10:15-18

The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says: "This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds." Then he adds: "Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more." And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin.

1 Peter 2:24 "He himself [Jesus] bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed."

Hebrews 9:11-28

When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!

For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance-- now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant. In the case of a will, it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it, because a will is in force only when somebody has died; it never takes effect while the one who made it is living. This is why even the first covenant was not put into effect without blood.

When Moses had proclaimed every commandment of the law to all the people, he took the blood of calves, together with water, scarlet wool and branches of hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and all the people. He said, "This is the blood of the covenant, which God has commanded you to keep."

In the same way, he sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle and everything used in its ceremonies. In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.

For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God's presence. Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own.

Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

Hebrews 10: 26-31 If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgement and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, "It is mine to avenge; I will repay, and again, "The Lord will judge his people." It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

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God attends to details - The only ransom to purchase our souls back from Satan is the Blood of Jesus. When Satan stands on judgment day to claim us as he will - Jesus will stand up and say that He himself has purchased us with His own blood and he will claim us as His. (Thank you Jesus).

I want to read for you what David Wilkerson says on this subject - He says -

Zechariah 3 describes a high priest named Joshua standing before the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him. Also present was an agenl who had to be Christ (or Jehovah of the Old Testament), because angels do not judge.

Now, this Joshua was the high priest during the time of Ezra and Nehemiah. Ezra 2:2 records that this Joshua came out of captivity along with the prophet Zechariah. In Ezra 10:18 it appears that Joshua and his sons had married heathen women and therefore were "clothed in filthy rags." At that time, the worst way a Jew could defile himself was by marrying a Gentile. (Zech 3:3) Thus, Joshua defiled his priestly garments: "Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel"

Consider the scene now, in type: Joshua stands before the throne in his filthy garments, and the devil is at his side, accusing him. In Revelation 12:10, Satan is called "...the accuser of our brethren.." Think about it: The devil stood before the Lord to question Job?s righteousness..he stood before the heavenly throne to oppose this high priest Joshua...and he stands before God right now to oppose you and me--to accuse us of sin and unfaithfulness!

Satan argued against Joshua: "God, You know all things. You know Your law--and this man has broken it! He has sinned against You, and now his heart is like filthy rags. He is unclean, evil, unworthy.!"

The devil?s accusations were correct: Joshua had sinned. He was guilty, and his garments were spotted. And now Satan claimed Joshua for himself: "I claim this man as my own. He is filthy, living in darkness--and that is my kingdom!"

Beloved, this is exactly what happens with us! Many of the devil?s accusations against us are accurate. When we fall into sin--when we fail in our Christian walk, and our garment is defiled -- Satan comes before the throne to accuse, oppose and defame us. He points at us and says, "Look at him! You know all things, God. Don?t You see the compromise in this on?s life? If You are just, You must give me his soul.!"

That is when our Advocate steps in. Jesus stands up and says, "It?s true, Father--there is a blemish here. There has been failure, and his garment is defiled. But there is faith in his heart--faith in the power of My blood!

"You know I have made satisfaction for this man?s sin. Indeed, I have paid for every sin he has committed or will ever commit. So, by every law of justice, holiness and mercy, I hereby call for this man?s pardon and freedom. He is a brand I have plucked from the fire. I have sprinkled his heart with My blood -- and caused his iniquity to pass away!"

Jesus then turns to those standing by and says, "Take those filthy garments off of him, and put My robe of righteousness on his shoulders. Take that hat off his head and put on a crown!"

This is just what happens with Joshua in Zechariah 3. Jesus pleads his case, interceding for him: "...I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment"(verse 4) That is the passover--the sprinkled blood!

Jesus then says to Satan, "...The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?" (verse 2)

What a picture! The devil was forced to leave with a sound rebuke. And Joshua walked away with a pardon, a new garment and a crown of righteousness on his head! 1John 2:1 "...if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous..."

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Wow - Thank You - Jesus.

In Jesus? own words - John 6:28 -29 Then they asked him, "What must we do to do the works God requires?"

Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent."

John 6:37-40 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father?s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.

You see - There will be no shotgun wedding for my Christ. No for the Son of God must have a willing bride - one who longs for Him only, one who desires Him and loves Him with all her being. This is what God wants for the Bride of His only Son. We as the Church body are all one body and that body is the bride of Christ. We must be like the Wise Virgins.....

Matt 25:1-13

"At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise.

The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

"At midnight the cry rang out: `Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!' "Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.' `No', they replied, `there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves'."

"But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. "Later the others also came. `Sir! Sir!' they said. `Open the door for us!' "But he replied, `I tell you the truth, I don't know you'."

"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour."

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We not only must be a willing bride - we must be ready - dressed properly - and awaiting our groom eagerly.

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Picture this my friends -

Revelations 20:10-15

And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them.

And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.

The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done.

Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death.

If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Revelations 21

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.

I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.

He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."

He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life.

He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son.

But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars-- their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death."

One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, "Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb."

And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.

It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like jasper, clear as crystal.

It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel.

There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the

The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls.

The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia in length, and as wide and high as it is long.

He measured its wall and it was 144 cubits thick, by man's measurement, which the angel was using.

The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass.

The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.

The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of pure gold, like transparent glass.

The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.

The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it.

On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there.

The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it.

Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life.

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Our God attends to details. He even gives us a picture of what our future will be like. It is only for us to choose this day whom we will serve.

Will you be a Willing Bride? Will you come to the Wedding Banquet He has prepared just for you?