Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] My wife reminds me of Jesus in so many ways.
[00:00:05] First of all, she's extremely merciful with me, forgiving.
[00:00:10] I've seen her love our family, specifically our six kids, with unconditional love, commitment to their good, no matter what.
[00:00:23] But one very unexpected way that she reminds me of Jesus is the delight in which she takes preparing brides for their wedding day.
[00:00:37] She has directed, I think, countless weddings. I was trying to think through how many weddings she has been a part of, and there's no way to keep track of it. When we were at the church in Lexington, she was the wedding director, so she was responsible for so many weddings in that building right when it was first built. And so many people wanted to have their wedding there. And she directed countless weddings.
[00:01:03] And I would say she enjoyed every single one of them, delighted in the process of planning a wedding, seeing this bride's dreams and vision for her special day come to fruition and whatever she wanted, trying to make all of that work. And as a dad, I've seen this process from a different perspective now. I've seen the budget of weddings and had to really rely on her creativity and planning and how to make a wedding come about. And just watching her make our daughter's dreams come true as they planned and are now planning a wedding, she reminds me of Jesus in that way.
[00:01:50] And why is that?
[00:01:52] When John, chapter 14, when Jesus tells us that he goes to prepare a place for us, that he goes to prepare a place for us, and he is the way to that place, that no one comes to the father's house where there are many rooms, except through him.
[00:02:11] What he is doing there is. He is using wedding terminology.
[00:02:17] He's talking about a wedding in the Bible. And during this time, the wedding process took part or took place in different phases.
[00:02:28] First of all, when someone was going to get married, a son would go with his father to literally purchase a bride to find a bride. They would go bride shopping, I guess, and they would offer a dowry for another man's daughter, still waiting on a dowry.
[00:02:52] And then they would leave the place where their bride to be was. They would leave her at her father's house, usually for at least a year, and they would go away and they would prepare a place at their father's house, add another room to the house, or build a house on their father's land, and eventually the groom and a wedding party that included a groomsman or a best man. Jesus actually refers to John the Baptist as his best man as he comes into the world, declaring the gospel, announcing the groom is here.
[00:03:32] This would happen usually around midnight in the dark. The wedding party would bring candles into the city and many of the brides who had been waiting on their groom to come with would be thinking, is this my guy? Is this my wedding party? Who has come to get me, to take me to his house and consummate the wedding?
[00:03:56] And then there would be the return home with the wedding party.
[00:04:01] And there would be a glorious celebration where the covenant of this marriage would be celebrated and consummated.
[00:04:10] This is the language Jesus uses in John 14.
[00:04:14] I'm going away to prepare a place for my bride, and I will return to get her.
[00:04:23] And you will hear out of nowhere a trumpet sounds, the wedding party showing up for my bride. And on that day there will be glorious celebration at his return.
[00:04:37] And we will be made one with him forever. This is what the Bible is teaching or showing or how the Bible teaches us about the Gospel and these pictures and images of marriage.
[00:04:51] But as we saw last week, when Jesus returns for his bride, one of the first things he will do is destroy Babylon. We've talked about Babylon. It is this system of power that the world runs on.
[00:05:09] Power, pleasure, provision of wealth, the now get what you want now.
[00:05:16] It is this system of power that leads the world away from God and seeks to lure Christians away from Christ and eventually is used to damage, distract or destroy the the church.
[00:05:37] And Jesus in Revelation has described Babylon as a harlot, as a prostitute, as a mother of harlots, as he begins to describe the church, who is the mother of the redeemed.
[00:05:54] And both of these women are described in terms of cities.
[00:05:59] And so as Jesus will bring in his city, the new Jerusalem, he will destroy and move out of the way Babylon.
[00:06:08] And when he dies, there will be great rejoicing. As we begin to turn the page and we begin to look toward the end of Revelation, what we see about the new Jerusalem is she is different from Babylon. And here, first of all, we see that her song is different from Babylon. Notice verse 1.
[00:06:30] After this, I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude. Throughout Revelation, we've seen this imagery of a great multitude in innumerable redeemed from all over the world, from the nations who are sealed and secured in Christ.
[00:06:46] Notice they are in heaven and they are crying out hallelujah.
[00:06:51] Now, this is the only place in the New Testament that this word is used. It means praise yah or praise the Lord. And remember last week we see the morning of Babylon. Alas, this great city is. Is destroyed. There is weeping over Babylon. And so the hallelujah of the redeemed replaces the weeping and alas of those who were trusting in Babylon. They trust in the Lord and notice what they say. Salvation and glory and power belong to our God. He is the only one who can deliver and notice glory and power. These words for weight and authority. He deserves all the weight and he deserves all of the authority. If you think about the scales, what is he worth? He's worth it all.
[00:07:43] We put it all on the scales for him as an act of worship.
[00:07:49] Now, what's interesting about the word hallelujah is that it was rarely or the word, it includes the word for the name of Yahweh, which was rarely used.
[00:08:02] The term Yahweh was sacred.
[00:08:05] Many would not even use it or speak it or write it. And many times writers in the Bible would replace it with Adonai, more generic name for the Lord or title for the Lord. But this term is used specifically the most in the psalms and specifically in what are called Passover psalms, where the Lord is praised for delivering his people from Egypt.
[00:08:33] And here we are to see another Passover song. Because the Lord has delivered his people from the power of Babylon, the slavery of Babylon. And they rejoice. Praise the Lord.
[00:08:47] Notice why for his judgments are true and just, meaning what he does and how he acts is right.
[00:08:59] God always does what's right. Why he inherently is right. He's not wrong, so he can't do wrong. So everything he's done, even in judging Babylon, is just.
[00:09:12] For he's judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth. He has purged her from the earth with her immorality.
[00:09:19] That has avenged and he has avenged the blood of his servants.
[00:09:23] So this great prostitute who we've said over and over that would have been represented by Rome at this time, and the immorality here is the Caesar worship, the spiritual idolatry and the seeking to stamp out the church and kill Christians. She deserved this.
[00:09:45] And God's justice is on full display.
[00:09:49] What she deserves. And notice once more they cried hallelujah. The smoke from her goes up forever and ever. And so they worship the Lord because Babylon has been judged.
[00:10:02] And in judging Babylon, they have been rescued from this power that has enslaved them on the earth.
[00:10:12] But notice as they cry out praise the Lord, the sounds of their worship reach the center of heaven, the place closest to the presence of the Lord, the throne of God, where the 24 elders are and the 4 living creatures. And notice what they do in verse 4.
[00:10:34] They fell down. We've talked about these magnificent creatures who would terrify us. If we saw them invoke fear into our hearts, we would not want to go near them. And they protect the throne of God. The throne of God is set apart in holiness. It's distinct. You don't tread lightly to the throne of God. These creatures protect it. And they hear the redeemed and they say, yes, notice, Amen. Which means this is true.
[00:11:07] God is just and he's right. And what he's done is just and right.
[00:11:12] And they cry, hallelujah.
[00:11:15] And from the throne came a voice saying, praise our God, all you servants, you who fear him, small and great. And so there's this back and forth between the multitude, between those who are on earth, those who are in heaven, those who are away from the throne of God. There is this back and forth where their praise echoes toward the throne and then the throne of God, and the creatures around the throne that they. They praise God back to those who are outside of this area and those who are on the earth. And then there's one voice that says, praise our God, probably one of the living creatures. And so there's this echo, reverberation of worship that is echoing throughout all the earth. But notice, they command, no matter your status, who you are, great and small, praise the Lord for what he has done.
[00:12:13] You see, Babylon honored the most powerful, the Caesars, the kings.
[00:12:19] But in heaven, we honor God.
[00:12:23] And it doesn't matter if you have great power, if you have great status, the great and small honor the Lord. Babylon honored the wealthy merchants. Here, it doesn't matter who you are, your status.
[00:12:38] Heaven honors those who honor the Lord by calling them to praise the Lord. And then verse six. Then again, it kind of echoes back in the voice of a great multitude, probably all in heaven and earth. The voice roars like many waters. This is the response to heaven's command. It shoots out from the throne of God. And then there is a response from everyone.
[00:13:06] Praise the Lord.
[00:13:08] Praise the Lord.
[00:13:12] I've been in certain Stadiums, Neyland Stadium, 101,000 people at times, where something happens and everyone erupts all at once. And it's as if you can see the sound that's in front of you.
[00:13:31] I'll never forget when the church graciously so kindly made all my dreams come true and sent me to the World Series. I got to see Game 5 in 2021 where the Braves are playing.
[00:13:47] And I'll never forget, in the first inning, bases loaded, there's a grand slam and I thought as that place erupted, that ballpark and everybody around it, I think there were estimates 300,000 people that were there.
[00:14:03] I'll never forget the eruption and almost reaching down, thinking this stadium is about to fall down, and you look out, and again, it's as if you can see the sound in front of you.
[00:14:19] Your eyeballs, in some sense, are shaking.
[00:14:23] This is what goes on. As the Lord is praised for destroying Babylon in heaven by these creatures, cosmic creatures, and then all of the earth who are declaring, praise the Lord. There is this sound, and the only way to describe it is it's like many waters, it's roaring.
[00:14:45] That's how we'll enter heaven.
[00:14:49] That's how the last days will be consummated, with this eruption of praise that we will see and feel. And it will overwhelm anything that we've ever decided to worship, that we've ever given our heart over to. In those moments, we will say, why this is who we should be worshiping, God and the Lamb who is on the throne.
[00:15:17] And notice.
[00:15:19] And like the sound of many peals of thunder crying out. Now, those are terms that have been used throughout Revelation to describe the day of the Lord. We go back to the prophets. Prophets, we've talked about this. This is just saying the end has come, final judgment. And there's the declaration, Hallelujah for the Lord, our God Almighty reigns. That will be our praise forever and ever. But we see in Revelation 18 and now in Revelation 19, there are two types of celebrations, two types of songs. We might say we talked about last week. There's a funeral dirge for Babylon in here. There's a party and there's a celebration that is beginning.
[00:16:06] And the question for everyone here today is, which group are you going to be a part of? Which song are you going to be singing? When Babylon is crushed, will you be weeping as though you're at a funeral and all of your hopes and dreams are burning before you? Everything that you gave your life over to is literally going up in smoke and you have nothing. Will you weep on that day? Will your song be a funeral dirge, or will you be a part of the celebration, the party that is about to begin as the marriage supper of the Lamb comes into picture?
[00:16:51] Which one will you be a part of?
[00:16:53] Well, let me ask, what defines you now?
[00:16:57] You can answer that question.
[00:16:59] Does the now define you?
[00:17:03] Some heart questions are, when we talk about heaven, does that seem lesser to you than what you're experiencing now?
[00:17:15] You have that reaction. How could heaven be better than what I have. Now, I know life's not perfect, but I kind of like it here and I'm working hard to make it better here. How could anything be better than here? Or I have these dreams and expectations for my life that I really want to come to fruition.
[00:17:34] Heaven sounds kind of boring compared to.
[00:17:39] You're saying something about your heart.
[00:17:42] There should be a longing in your heart.
[00:17:45] Sin, deception, distorts the picture where we think this is better and it's not. Babylon is not better.
[00:17:54] Our emotions tell us a lot when things don't go your way, when your hopes and dreams are dashed.
[00:18:04] You don't have as much money as you thought you would have. You don't have the life that you thought you would have. You don't get the recognition that you thought you would have.
[00:18:13] You can never seem to get the satisfaction or pleasure out of this world that you want.
[00:18:22] You're to leverage that disappointment and say what we're going to see at the end of Revelation. Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly. This world can't satisfy me. And it's supposed to be an act of worship when you're disappointed. When you're disappointed, you leverage that and you say, yes, this world is disappointing Babylon, her lure will never satisfy, but Jesus will. Come, Lord Jesus.
[00:18:48] And let me say to moms here today, you must reject the feminism of Babylon that defines success in self made glory. Now that's what the world tells you as a woman that you need, you need a name for yourself and you need to make a name for yourself now.
[00:19:10] And the work of nurturing the next generation to hope in God, which is work that often goes unnoticed.
[00:19:17] I mean, you get one day a year where we say you're great and you work behind the scenes all year.
[00:19:26] You work behind the scenes with no name, no recognition.
[00:19:31] And yet you have to, you have to remind yourself this is something.
[00:19:37] This is the work of glory that will echo forever and ever and ever. Who cares if Babylon gives me a name?
[00:19:45] The Lord has given me a name. Mom, grandmother, nurturer, those who are discipling spiritual mothers here today who are investing in the next generation. This work goes unnoticed by Babylon. You're not just a mom.
[00:20:03] Oh, you have a glorious role that the prostitute of Babylon would never understand.
[00:20:08] Notice as the text continues, the promise of the new Jerusalem, the bride of Christ is different. Notice. Let us rejoice and exalt and give him glory again. This idea of giving him value, putting all that we have on the scales for him. Why? For he has brought about this marriage.
[00:20:30] He has Brought about the marriage of the Lamb.
[00:20:35] Now, marriage is a covenant.
[00:20:39] It is a covenant where one man and one woman become one in every way, committing to never leave one another or forsake one another.
[00:20:49] And so here there is this marriage covenant of the Lamb that God the Father notice He is the one who has brought this about, because that's who we're giving glory to, who has set up this marriage. It is God the Father.
[00:21:06] The marriage of the Lamb. Here there is a time where Jesus relationship to his church, his bride, will be consummated in a union forever, where they will never be separated again.
[00:21:21] And the time for them to become one in every way comes at this moment of judgment and salvation on the last day. And it's called a marriage, a marriage of the Lamb.
[00:21:37] I read this week that someone said of all the books in the Bible, Revelation would be the one where Jesus is not referred to as a lamb because Revelation is the one where he comes as a king and he rules and he reigns and he judges his enemies. You're calling him a lamb in Revelation. Why?
[00:21:57] Because it is his lambness that displays his love for his bride the most in giving his life for his bride. And it is what seals this covenant between Jesus and the Church forever.
[00:22:17] It is this marriage covenant. The idea of marriage runs from the beginning of the Bible to the end.
[00:22:25] The Bible begins with a wedding and ends with a wedding. And it is the Lord's doing who brings this promise to fruition from beginning to end.
[00:22:35] Genesis begins with the promise that God's going to rescue his people. And it ends with the consummation of that rescue, not in a garden again, but in a city that we're going to talk about in the next several weeks.
[00:22:49] But here God comes through on his promise to the church of the Lord Jesus Christ.
[00:22:57] And you've got to understand, because of God's grace and his mercy and his faithfulness, only God will fulfill all of his promises to you.
[00:23:08] That is what the idea of this marriage covenant is symbolizing here.
[00:23:13] It's not a one night fleeing with Babylon.
[00:23:17] It is eternal covenant where Jesus and his bride will never be separated. He has already made the payment. He has paid the dowry the Father has with the blood of his son. He is committed to this bride forever and ever.
[00:23:35] And he is bringing this to fruition.
[00:23:39] And this is this sort of covenant. Love is what every person really wants.
[00:23:46] You see, what Babylon does is it takes that desire for love and it twists it. It twists it on yourself and it makes it about the now.
[00:23:57] And so the emotion and the desires for pleasure here. You can have love now, but it's temporary and it's in the moment and it doesn't last. And it leaves you with shame and regret.
[00:24:14] But the love of God in Christ is a covenant where you will never be forsaken. That's what you want when you think about love.
[00:24:25] You want to give yourself over to someone who will never leave you or forsake you.
[00:24:32] And the delusion of Babylon is to do that over and over and always get let down and always be forsaken.
[00:24:39] And so you live in insecurity.
[00:24:42] The pleasure of now cannot give you what the eternal covenant of marriage in Christ with Christ will forever. This is what God does for us and moms. You need to remember this again.
[00:24:58] You give yourself over to your kids who don't even.
[00:25:04] They're grow. They don't even have the capacity to love you yet.
[00:25:09] They just slobber everywhere. They scream, they're nasty, they're disgusting.
[00:25:16] Not always. They're cute and you know, but there are days where you're like, why am I doing this? I have vomit all over me.
[00:25:26] There's dirty diapers that smell.
[00:25:29] And you just keep giving yourself over and over and over again to these children.
[00:25:35] You love them unconditionally, but every now and then can creep into your heart.
[00:25:41] They don't appreciate me like they should.
[00:25:44] They don't love me like I should do. They see everything that I do.
[00:25:50] And you're wanting something that may not come, that may not be there.
[00:25:57] And that's when you have to turn to the promise of the gospel and realize only God will love you the way that you are longing to be loved. And the love that you display is a reflection of his love for you. It's an unconditional commitment to their good. Remember that this week as you love your kids and notice the text continues. Her promise is different and she's dressed differently.
[00:26:22] And his bride, unlike Babylon, has made herself ready for this marriage day. And so she has heard the sound. The groom is here. The trumpets are blaring.
[00:26:34] The wedding party is running through the city.
[00:26:37] The bride makes herself ready. But notice, per se, it was granted. And this is important in the whole next section of this, of this passage.
[00:26:49] It was granted this. This refers to God's grace, his grace in clothing this bride for his son. It was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen. It is as if the Father, who is. Who has found this bride for his son, has sent ahead a wedding dress for her so that when she hears the sound of his coming. She is going to rush out to him, ready, clothed and ready to go with him. And notice with fine linen, bright and pure.
[00:27:30] Now you remember what the angels, the seven angels who pour out wrath on the world, how they are dressed.
[00:27:38] They are dressed in the same way.
[00:27:41] Why?
[00:27:42] It represents the righteousness of God.
[00:27:45] And so this bride is dressed in the righteousness of God. Character that aligns with God. She's not dressed in the worldliness of Babel. And then he explains, this fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.
[00:28:03] This is their response to his love and grace for them, this call to be ready. They have set themselves apart from Babylon, from the world, and they are living differently than the world around them. They are dressed differently. They have been kept unstained from the spiritual adultery of Babylon.
[00:28:25] The Father has done this back to the Word, granted it's grace.
[00:28:30] How does the church keep herself pure to the end?
[00:28:34] The grace of God.
[00:28:36] Remember Revelation 17:14.
[00:28:39] And those with him, those with Christ are called and chosen and faithful.
[00:28:45] God has chosen this bride. He has called this bride to His Son, and He will keep her faithful. It will be all of grace. We won't get to the end and say, I kept myself faithful to the Gospel because I'm good and I'm smart and I knew better than the rest of the world. No, we will keep ourselves faithful to God by His grace, continuing to cling to Christ, what he's done for us in Christ to the very end. But it will all be by grace. And so God, by the power of His Spirit, sets this church apart that is ready for the groom on the last day.
[00:29:23] As Babylon is distracted looking at the now, the church of the Lord Jesus Christ is looking to eternity, waiting for him to return by his grace.
[00:29:35] And this is further described here in verse nine. And the angel said to me, write this blessed, which means happy. This is one of seven beatitudes that is that are in Revelation. It means happy are the ones who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. It means that if you have received this invitation and you're waiting on the groom, you are blessed. While the rest of the world is living however they want to, you are blessed, you are happy.
[00:30:09] This is why Christians should be joyful. Doesn't mean life's not hard and difficult, but people should look in on our lives and go, they're waiting for something else, they're looking to something else. And so their disposition is different.
[00:30:26] Now the invitation here refers to God's calling out of his church from Babylon. We Saw it last week. Come out from her. These are those who have come out from Babylon and it is an invitation. Collectively, we are the bride of Christ.
[00:30:46] But individually we are guests at this marriage supper. And you are blessed if you've been invited. Now think about this. This again refers back to God's grace.
[00:30:58] Because it's not enough just to get the invitation in the mail, look at the invitation and say, I'm so honored you would invite me, but I'm not coming.
[00:31:10] It's not enough just to hear the gospel.
[00:31:14] You must respond, you must believe.
[00:31:18] You must trust in Christ.
[00:31:20] You must turn from your sin and believe he is the only hope of your salvation. His cross, his life. And that in him you will be raised up from the dead and you give yourself over to that.
[00:31:34] But it is God's grace when this happens. Notice who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. This is a party where the marriage will be consummated. Jesus and his church will live forever in the new Jerusalem, together forever and ever. And he says here, these words are true of God. These are the true words of God. Unlike Babylon's lies, this is true. You are blessed. You will be with Christ forever.
[00:32:02] Not lured to temporary pleasure in the moment.
[00:32:08] We should all just stop and thank God in this moment that we've been invited. If you're here today and you believe the gospel, you should thank God.
[00:32:22] You didn't have sense enough to believe the gospel. Think about the moment you believe the gospel. If you're here today, you didn't want any of this.
[00:32:31] You don't want to be a part of this.
[00:32:33] Many of you made excuses and said, I've got plenty of time. Many of you just straight up rejected it. Because you said, if I follow Jesus, I'll have to give up on a lot of things.
[00:32:46] Some of you said, no, the gospel is too good. How could God forgive me of all of my sin? And it took you a while to understand it. But you didn't believe the gospel because you did it.
[00:32:59] You believe the gospel because there was a summonings from God that you would trust in Christ, that you would believe in Christ. And so however you think that works out theologically, you should praise God that you're a part of this by his grace. It's not about something you have done. It is the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. Back to that word. Grant it. He has done this.
[00:33:26] You were on campus and a campus minister walked over to you with a tract and said, let's sit down and talk about this.
[00:33:33] You came to this church because you were invited. And you heard the Bible and you heard sermons and you heard about Jesus over and over. You read the Bible over and over. And finally the spirit of God worked in your heart and you saw it as true and you gave your life over to it.
[00:33:53] And some of you were at Meemaw's house and she said, we're going to church tomorrow.
[00:33:59] And she took you to church every Sunday and some of your mothers prayed over you every night.
[00:34:09] Until one night it made sense and you took your mom's hand and you prayed to receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior.
[00:34:18] Oh, it's grace and mercy that God would do that in your life.
[00:34:22] It's not our intellect, it's not our righteousness. It is the grace of God.
[00:34:27] And let me say something to moms, even those who consider themselves spiritual mothers in our church, those who are investing in the next generation to hope in God, who are sharing the gospel and discipling the. This bond of a mom is so important in the days in which we are living.
[00:34:52] We live in world that is digital, that is fake, that just, it just ain't real.
[00:35:01] And these real life connections and bonds are what God is going to use in the days ahead to draw out, to use to save his church. Real life things, the gospel, it's not digital, it's not pixelated. It's flesh and blood on a cross for your sins.
[00:35:26] And mothers literally have cords of life that are attached to their children and they're able to speak into their kids life in a way the rest of the world just can't.
[00:35:42] And you have an opportunity, moms every day to be what is real for your kids, what is real and life giving.
[00:35:53] And when you use that to speak the gospel in these real relationships, oh God honors that and he blesses that and he invites and he uses it for his glory.
[00:36:07] Finally we see the bride of Christ. Her worship is different.
[00:36:13] Notice then I fell down at his feet. He's talking about the angel who has revealed this to worship him. Now think about this.
[00:36:22] We would say, John, after all you've seen in heaven, why would you still worship an angel?
[00:36:32] Why would you even want to do that? And he does it again before the book ends.
[00:36:37] And we just see the propensity in our heart to be idol worshipers, to worship something other than God.
[00:36:44] And this was all over the place in Rome.
[00:36:47] We think about Caesar worship, we think about the worship even of angels.
[00:36:53] This is what Colossians was written about, the worship of idols. And there's a point being made here that there is none other who is worthy of worship. Notice. He said to me, you must not do that. Do not bow at my feet. I am a fellow servant. Now think about this. This angel who's revealing all of these amazing things says, no, I'm your partner. I'm here to encourage you, John, because the church is to go out and witness the gospel. The church has the main task and I'm a fellow servant. We serve the same God, ruler, king. And notice with you and your brothers who hold the testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ, the witness of the church. We're in this together. That's what this is a part of. So he stops and he says, worship God, for this testimony of Jesus is spirit of prophecy. I am unveiling to you what is about Jesus. And it's not about an angel, it's not about a Caesar, it's not about an idol. It's about nothing else but God and the Lamb who is ruling on the throne.
[00:38:04] And so in Babylon you don't worship anything other than God.
[00:38:09] And think about Babylon. We've talked about it the last two Sundays.
[00:38:13] Babylon is full of self worship.
[00:38:17] Treat yourself worship, give yourself over to the now.
[00:38:22] That's self worship.
[00:38:24] Do what you want to now.
[00:38:26] And we may not see it as that way, but we put ourself on the pedestal and we say, you deserve everything that you want now give yourself over to it now. And there is a call here that we're meant to serve Jesus, not self.
[00:38:42] Our soul is designed to be given over to worship of God, not self. And when we worship ourself, things get distorted, things get twisted, things get out of line, even pervert it.
[00:38:55] And we're miserable.
[00:38:57] But God will do away with all of that when he destroys Babylon. We worship God and no one else. And this is a crucial point for moms today.
[00:39:08] You must teach your kids to worship Jesus, not you.
[00:39:13] Think about all the things that you do for your kids and a tendency is they're going to want to look to you for everything.
[00:39:22] And yet there has to be a moment where you say, I'm not God, I'm not your Jesus.
[00:39:29] And I need you to look to Jesus and I need you to trust in Jesus. I mean, you literally keep them alive for most of their life and some of you for too long in their life.
[00:39:42] And moms have to resist that tendency. I want you to need me. I want you to depend on me.
[00:39:49] I want to be the one to provide for you. And there's going to be times we have to say no.
[00:39:53] I need you to look to Jesus. He's the only one who can save you from your sins.
[00:40:00] And so, as we conclude today, here's the question.
[00:40:04] Are you preparing for the coming wedding?
[00:40:09] Do you take more joy and delight in what's coming than what's now?
[00:40:14] Are you preparing to meet the groom?
[00:40:18] Are you hoping in this covenant, love, not temporary pleasure?
[00:40:23] Are you dressed different than the world around you because you've been invited to the marriage supper of the lamb?
[00:40:32] And who is it that you worship?
