1 00:00:10,015 --> 00:00:13,305 Before we get these two married, 2 00:00:13,305 --> 00:00:18,330 they asked me to say a word to you first. 3 00:00:18,330 --> 00:00:22,891 So what I would like to do is 4 00:00:22,891 --> 00:00:28,241 first, read to you from the Word of God. 5 00:00:28,241 --> 00:00:32,004 Now I have to caution you, 6 00:00:32,004 --> 00:00:37,839 I have done some weddings just recently 7 00:00:37,839 --> 00:00:40,566 where just simply reading this verse that 8 00:00:40,566 --> 00:00:42,330 I'm going to read to you, 9 00:00:42,330 --> 00:00:43,730 from God's Word, 10 00:00:43,730 --> 00:00:47,758 caused people to be angry. 11 00:00:47,758 --> 00:00:49,534 You say, oh, what does it have to do with 12 00:00:49,534 --> 00:00:53,737 that it makes people angry? 13 00:00:53,737 --> 00:00:58,447 It has to do with a woman's reponsibility to her husband 14 00:00:58,447 --> 00:01:01,590 and the husband's responsibility to his wife. 15 00:01:01,590 --> 00:01:03,475 That's all it is. 16 00:01:03,475 --> 00:01:09,874 It's a text from the Bible that is very suitable for 17 00:01:09,874 --> 00:01:13,644 just such an occasion as this. 18 00:01:13,644 --> 00:01:17,574 What could it possibly say 19 00:01:17,574 --> 00:01:19,702 that would cause people to get so riled up 20 00:01:19,702 --> 00:01:25,090 and so offended and so bent out of shape at weddings. 21 00:01:25,090 --> 00:01:32,605 What could we read from the Word of God? 22 00:01:32,605 --> 00:01:38,762 I'm going to read from Ephesians 5:22 and following. 23 00:01:38,762 --> 00:01:42,735 And I caution you already, 24 00:01:42,735 --> 00:01:44,356 this is God's Word. 25 00:01:44,356 --> 00:01:49,045 What I tell you is on the authority of God Almighty Himself. 26 00:01:49,045 --> 00:01:51,458 I'm not making this up. 27 00:01:51,458 --> 00:01:54,458 I want you to know that. 28 00:01:54,458 --> 00:02:01,549 "Wives, submit to your own husbands, 29 00:02:01,549 --> 00:02:05,183 as to the Lord. 30 00:02:05,183 --> 00:02:09,105 For the husband is the head of the wife, 31 00:02:09,105 --> 00:02:13,090 even as Christ is the head of the church, 32 00:02:13,090 --> 00:02:20,736 His body, and is Himself its Savior. 33 00:02:20,736 --> 00:02:35,502 Now, as the church submits to Christ, 34 00:02:35,502 --> 00:02:38,720 so also wives should submit in everything 35 00:02:38,720 --> 00:02:42,794 to their husbands. 36 00:02:42,794 --> 00:02:48,978 Husbands, love your wives 37 00:02:48,978 --> 00:02:52,238 as Christ loved the church 38 00:02:52,238 --> 00:02:53,910 and gave Himself up for her 39 00:02:53,910 --> 00:02:55,925 that He might sanctify her, 40 00:02:55,925 --> 00:02:59,449 having cleansed her by the washing of water 41 00:02:59,449 --> 00:03:00,878 with the Word. 42 00:03:00,878 --> 00:03:03,781 So that He might present the church to Himself 43 00:03:03,781 --> 00:03:07,360 in splendor, without spot or wrinkle 44 00:03:07,360 --> 00:03:11,365 or any such thing that she might be holy 45 00:03:11,365 --> 00:03:16,655 and without blemish." 46 00:03:16,655 --> 00:03:21,374 Now yes, women, if you're married, 47 00:03:21,374 --> 00:03:24,533 by the authority of God, you are called 48 00:03:24,533 --> 00:03:26,740 to submit to your husband. 49 00:03:26,740 --> 00:03:29,211 You are called to submit to your husband even 50 00:03:29,211 --> 00:03:35,385 as the church has been called to submit to Christ Himself. 51 00:03:35,385 --> 00:03:37,606 Now let's look on the other side of this thing. 52 00:03:37,606 --> 00:03:41,579 Husbands are to love as Christ loved the church. 53 00:03:41,579 --> 00:03:44,592 In other words, if we're looking for a pattern 54 00:03:44,592 --> 00:03:46,480 on how to treat our wives, 55 00:03:46,480 --> 00:03:48,446 how to live with our wives, 56 00:03:48,446 --> 00:03:50,289 how to dwell with our wives, 57 00:03:50,289 --> 00:03:51,938 how to love our wives, 58 00:03:51,938 --> 00:03:53,548 what God wants us to know is 59 00:03:53,548 --> 00:03:56,123 Christ Himself is the pattern. 60 00:03:56,123 --> 00:03:58,210 He is the standard. 61 00:03:58,210 --> 00:04:05,766 His love for a spouse is the mark. 62 00:04:05,766 --> 00:04:07,738 There's no greater expression of love 63 00:04:07,738 --> 00:04:13,523 than the way Christ loves His bride, the church. 64 00:04:13,523 --> 00:04:16,524 Now men, we should stand in awe of that. 65 00:04:16,524 --> 00:04:19,546 Here's the standard. 66 00:04:19,546 --> 00:04:22,226 Now let me tell you this, 67 00:04:22,226 --> 00:04:24,641 the apostle tells us in one place 68 00:04:24,641 --> 00:04:28,891 that the love of Christ surpasses knowledge. 69 00:04:28,891 --> 00:04:31,690 Ok, I have some knowledge. You have some knowledge. 70 00:04:31,690 --> 00:04:34,428 But the apostle says that the love that Christ has 71 00:04:34,428 --> 00:04:37,173 for His church, it surpasses knowledge. 72 00:04:37,173 --> 00:04:41,260 So, if I were going to try to explain that love to you 73 00:04:41,260 --> 00:04:45,493 in perfection today, the apostle is telling me I can't do it. 74 00:04:45,493 --> 00:04:49,506 Because it goes beyond my knowledge. 75 00:04:49,506 --> 00:04:51,502 So what I'm about to try to do 76 00:04:51,502 --> 00:04:53,578 is literally impossible. 77 00:04:53,578 --> 00:04:55,691 In the fullness of it, it's impossible. 78 00:04:55,691 --> 00:04:59,116 For me to try to describe to you what that love is 79 00:04:59,116 --> 00:05:01,119 that Christ has for His church, 80 00:05:01,119 --> 00:05:04,188 that love that is now a pattern 81 00:05:04,188 --> 00:05:06,703 for this man as he marries this woman 82 00:05:06,703 --> 00:05:09,937 and for every other man here that's married. 83 00:05:09,937 --> 00:05:12,873 To try to describe that is simply, 84 00:05:12,873 --> 00:05:15,290 by the testimony of the Word of God itself, 85 00:05:15,290 --> 00:05:16,751 is an impossibility. 86 00:05:16,751 --> 00:05:20,723 But I just want to try to give you a glimpse. 87 00:05:20,723 --> 00:05:26,422 By way of trying to help you realize something 88 00:05:26,422 --> 00:05:30,013 about the love that Christ has for His church. 89 00:05:30,013 --> 00:05:31,757 Now church isn't a building. 90 00:05:31,757 --> 00:05:33,098 Some people look at this and they say, 91 00:05:33,098 --> 00:05:34,307 "Well, this is the church." 92 00:05:34,307 --> 00:05:35,897 That's not the church. 93 00:05:35,897 --> 00:05:38,747 The church is God's people. 94 00:05:38,747 --> 00:05:42,144 The church are those that He purchased with his blood, 95 00:05:42,144 --> 00:05:45,586 that He gave Himself up for. 96 00:05:45,586 --> 00:05:47,783 And here, I want to try to describe this love to you 97 00:05:47,783 --> 00:05:53,118 just a little bit. 98 00:05:53,118 --> 00:05:55,132 Let me give you an example. 99 00:05:55,132 --> 00:05:58,900 Let's suppose all of a sudden, 100 00:05:58,900 --> 00:06:01,776 all of us see at this wedding... 101 00:06:01,776 --> 00:06:04,225 We look over here, and the wedding's over, 102 00:06:04,225 --> 00:06:08,038 we all come over to where the reception's 103 00:06:08,038 --> 00:06:10,226 going to be held. 104 00:06:10,226 --> 00:06:13,913 And suddenly we see a man standing over there. 105 00:06:13,913 --> 00:06:19,422 He is the most handsome man that you have 106 00:06:19,422 --> 00:06:22,505 ever laid eyes on in your life. 107 00:06:22,505 --> 00:06:24,823 Now, here, I'm trying to describe to you Christ's love. 108 00:06:24,823 --> 00:06:29,721 The first thing I want to tell you about it is it's unselfish. 109 00:06:29,721 --> 00:06:31,925 Let me tell you something about this. 110 00:06:31,925 --> 00:06:35,279 Let's suppose we see a man over here in the reception, 111 00:06:35,279 --> 00:06:39,413 I mean this guy is handsome. 112 00:06:39,413 --> 00:06:44,940 To you ladies, he's this drop dead gorgeous guy. 113 00:06:44,940 --> 00:06:46,345 We see him over there. 114 00:06:46,345 --> 00:06:47,597 I mean, you have never seen a guy 115 00:06:47,597 --> 00:06:50,758 that looks this handsome. Ever. 116 00:06:50,758 --> 00:06:52,282 He may the most handsome guy on the 117 00:06:52,282 --> 00:06:54,754 face of the earth. 118 00:06:54,754 --> 00:06:56,701 And you see him and you begin to talk to him, 119 00:06:56,701 --> 00:07:00,292 and he tells you that he's here with his fiance. 120 00:07:00,292 --> 00:07:02,282 But he's not with her right now. 121 00:07:02,282 --> 00:07:05,112 Where is she? Maybe she's inside, she's doing something. 122 00:07:05,112 --> 00:07:10,181 The ladies' room? You don't see her. 123 00:07:10,181 --> 00:07:11,868 And what are you imagining? 124 00:07:11,868 --> 00:07:16,543 You're imagining, no doubt, a beautiful woman 125 00:07:16,543 --> 00:07:18,419 is going to walk out of this place, 126 00:07:18,419 --> 00:07:20,612 a woman whose beauty is going to be 127 00:07:20,612 --> 00:07:26,003 comparable to his. 128 00:07:26,003 --> 00:07:29,411 But all of a sudden, what happens? 129 00:07:29,411 --> 00:07:37,021 This bent, broken, diseased, ugly woman 130 00:07:37,021 --> 00:07:40,831 with sores all over her, I mean just hideous. 131 00:07:40,831 --> 00:07:43,086 She comes out and his face lights up 132 00:07:43,086 --> 00:07:46,478 and he looks at her and you can see it in his eyes. 133 00:07:46,478 --> 00:07:50,038 He loves her. 134 00:07:50,038 --> 00:07:54,248 And you look and you can barely hold down your food 135 00:07:54,248 --> 00:08:00,540 she is so grotesque and disgusting to even lay your eyes on. 136 00:08:00,540 --> 00:08:04,818 Folks, I am trying to come somewhat close 137 00:08:04,818 --> 00:08:09,773 to the love that Christ has for His church. 138 00:08:09,773 --> 00:08:11,982 Listen, His love is unselfish. 139 00:08:11,982 --> 00:08:14,887 In other words, He does not take a bride 140 00:08:14,887 --> 00:08:17,983 for anything that He sees in her. 141 00:08:17,983 --> 00:08:21,233 Folks, I am describing to you what a sinner looks like. 142 00:08:21,233 --> 00:08:24,993 The fact is that those Christ sets His love on 143 00:08:24,993 --> 00:08:28,916 are diseased inside. 144 00:08:28,916 --> 00:08:32,277 There is filth, and there is sin, 145 00:08:32,277 --> 00:08:37,017 and there is decay, and there is death. 146 00:08:37,017 --> 00:08:42,931 Christ, when He sets His love on His church, 147 00:08:42,931 --> 00:08:46,482 He doesn't set His love there for what He can get. 148 00:08:46,482 --> 00:08:49,370 And let me tell you, that is a love that is not like our love. 149 00:08:49,370 --> 00:08:53,669 Because even the most righteous man 150 00:08:53,669 --> 00:08:58,321 sets his love on a woman and marries a woman 151 00:08:58,321 --> 00:09:02,963 for something that he sees in her. 152 00:09:02,963 --> 00:09:06,898 But with Christ, 153 00:09:06,898 --> 00:09:09,898 He has an unselfish love. 154 00:09:09,898 --> 00:09:15,254 Christ has chosen to come to this earth 155 00:09:15,254 --> 00:09:18,027 and to save sinners. 156 00:09:18,027 --> 00:09:20,100 That is His church. 157 00:09:20,100 --> 00:09:23,450 Saved sinners. 158 00:09:23,450 --> 00:09:26,815 What love is this? 159 00:09:26,815 --> 00:09:29,630 It is a love that doesn't have an equal. 160 00:09:29,630 --> 00:09:37,641 It is love that surpasses knowledge. 161 00:09:37,641 --> 00:09:43,252 Look, He does not set His love on people 162 00:09:43,252 --> 00:09:49,114 because of beauty He sees in them. 163 00:09:49,114 --> 00:09:52,130 In setting His love upon people, 164 00:09:52,130 --> 00:09:54,168 He has determined by that love 165 00:09:54,168 --> 00:09:56,580 to make them beautiful. 166 00:09:56,580 --> 00:09:58,883 To make what is ugly beautiful. 167 00:09:58,883 --> 00:10:02,332 Is that not what we read? 168 00:10:02,332 --> 00:10:07,554 He takes an ugly bride. 169 00:10:07,554 --> 00:10:13,661 I'm not saying that about Priscilla. 170 00:10:13,661 --> 00:10:20,097 What I am saying, is that's what's true of the love of Christ. 171 00:10:20,097 --> 00:10:27,229 What I'm saying is, it's easier - far, far, far easier, 172 00:10:27,229 --> 00:10:30,578 for Andre to love Priscilla, 173 00:10:30,578 --> 00:10:35,325 than for Christ to love me. 174 00:10:35,325 --> 00:10:39,916 And what He saw in me, when He saved me. 175 00:10:39,916 --> 00:10:45,480 And when Christ takes an ugly bride, like me, 176 00:10:45,480 --> 00:10:48,456 it's in order to beautify that bride. 177 00:10:48,456 --> 00:10:51,438 Because He says it's in order to cleanse her 178 00:10:51,438 --> 00:10:53,684 by the washing of water with the Word 179 00:10:53,684 --> 00:10:57,333 so that He might present the church to Himself 180 00:10:57,333 --> 00:11:01,727 in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, 181 00:11:01,727 --> 00:11:07,478 that she might be holy and without blemish. 182 00:11:07,478 --> 00:11:15,600 Christ loves to impart His loveliness to the object of His love. 183 00:11:15,600 --> 00:11:20,642 Look, to be loved by anybody is a joy, right? 184 00:11:20,642 --> 00:11:23,370 I mean in this world, in this life, 185 00:11:23,370 --> 00:11:26,261 one of the most precious things we have 186 00:11:26,261 --> 00:11:28,158 is to be loved by somebody. 187 00:11:28,158 --> 00:11:30,724 When you find people who are loved by nobody, 188 00:11:30,724 --> 00:11:32,755 they're miserable people. 189 00:11:32,755 --> 00:11:36,079 To be loved by anybody is a precious thing. 190 00:11:36,079 --> 00:11:40,929 But the fact that infinite God would love sinners, 191 00:11:40,929 --> 00:11:46,261 that God the Son would choose to lay His affections - 192 00:11:46,261 --> 00:11:49,753 and look, if I told you that Christ came along and 193 00:11:49,753 --> 00:11:54,163 pitied wretched sinners, we could say, 194 00:11:54,163 --> 00:11:55,606 "Well, we understand that." 195 00:11:55,606 --> 00:11:58,476 But if I told you that He showed mercy to sinners, 196 00:11:58,476 --> 00:12:02,077 well, that's another thing. 197 00:12:02,077 --> 00:12:05,685 But when I tell you that Christ Himself came 198 00:12:05,685 --> 00:12:11,899 to delight in, to actually set His most, His deepest, 199 00:12:11,899 --> 00:12:20,752 His profoundest affection and love on those who are wretched... 200 00:12:20,752 --> 00:12:23,875 Folks, if you're here today, 201 00:12:23,875 --> 00:12:26,355 and you don't know this love 202 00:12:26,355 --> 00:12:35,696 I feel sorry that you don't know this love. 203 00:12:35,696 --> 00:12:37,378 Truly sorry. 204 00:12:37,378 --> 00:12:44,497 If you could but imagine the sweetness of that love. 205 00:12:44,497 --> 00:12:48,759 And I just want to say one thing in ending here, 206 00:12:48,759 --> 00:12:50,209 how much did He love her? 207 00:12:50,209 --> 00:12:52,456 Yes, it was unselfish love, but let me show you 208 00:12:52,456 --> 00:12:54,668 to what extents he went to love her. 209 00:12:54,668 --> 00:12:58,774 I don't doubt that Andre hasn't made sacrifices for Priscilla already. 210 00:12:58,774 --> 00:13:01,608 And God will call him to make many others, 211 00:13:01,608 --> 00:13:03,582 but what is it that Christ sacrificed? 212 00:13:03,582 --> 00:13:06,926 If we can say another thing about His love for His church, 213 00:13:06,926 --> 00:13:09,522 it's sacrificial. 214 00:13:09,522 --> 00:13:11,123 What did He do? 215 00:13:11,123 --> 00:13:14,996 He gave Himself up. 216 00:13:14,996 --> 00:13:19,688 Folks, if you've ever thought of the love 217 00:13:19,688 --> 00:13:24,606 Christ has for His church as cheap 218 00:13:24,606 --> 00:13:29,390 or if it's a light thing, you need to consider this: 219 00:13:29,390 --> 00:13:38,061 When it says He gave Himself... 220 00:13:38,061 --> 00:13:47,936 it means that in order to purchase His bride, 221 00:13:47,936 --> 00:13:53,033 He had to walk through 222 00:13:53,033 --> 00:13:58,983 the most unimaginable horrors. 223 00:13:58,983 --> 00:14:02,842 The night before Jesus Christ went to the cross, 224 00:14:02,842 --> 00:14:09,583 He recoiled in horror so much so 225 00:14:09,583 --> 00:14:12,724 that He sweat great drops of blood. 226 00:14:12,724 --> 00:14:16,974 He said, "Father, if it's possible, take this cup away from Me. 227 00:14:16,974 --> 00:14:20,206 If there's any way else to purchase this bride." 228 00:14:20,206 --> 00:14:23,191 And His Father said there is no other way. 229 00:14:23,191 --> 00:14:25,861 There is no other way to purchase that bride. 230 00:14:25,861 --> 00:14:28,479 There is no other way to show the extent 231 00:14:28,479 --> 00:14:31,271 of the love that I have for My people 232 00:14:31,271 --> 00:14:33,461 but to endure what You must endure. 233 00:14:33,461 --> 00:14:34,964 And what did He endure? 234 00:14:34,964 --> 00:14:36,246 He gave Himself up. 235 00:14:36,246 --> 00:14:39,596 He gave Himself to the very wrath of God. 236 00:14:39,596 --> 00:14:42,965 He gave Himself to suffer what sin demanded. 237 00:14:42,965 --> 00:14:44,842 And He paid it to the fullest. 238 00:14:44,842 --> 00:14:48,490 He drank that cup of wrath empty. 239 00:14:48,490 --> 00:14:50,818 Folks, that is love. 240 00:14:50,818 --> 00:14:54,695 Sacrifice, unselfish. 241 00:14:54,695 --> 00:14:56,619 Why? 242 00:14:56,619 --> 00:15:02,247 To purchase that bride and to purify her. 243 00:15:02,247 --> 00:15:04,963 To make her like Him. 244 00:15:04,963 --> 00:15:09,164 And to take her where He is. 245 00:15:09,164 --> 00:15:12,711 He came from glory to get His bride. 246 00:15:12,711 --> 00:15:15,311 Whom did He come to seek? 247 00:15:15,311 --> 00:15:17,921 He came to seek and save sinners. 248 00:15:17,921 --> 00:15:19,941 And to take them to Himself. 249 00:15:19,941 --> 00:15:22,803 And take them back to glory with Him. 250 00:15:22,803 --> 00:15:24,220 That is love. 251 00:15:24,220 --> 00:15:28,673 And there is no other love like it in this world. 252 00:15:28,673 --> 00:15:31,268 What a standard! 253 00:15:31,268 --> 00:15:36,465 What a standard! 254 00:15:36,465 --> 00:15:39,699 We just stand in awe of it. 255 00:15:39,699 --> 00:15:43,285 We just stand in awe. 256 00:15:43,285 --> 00:15:51,237 And God gave us human marriage as a little picture 257 00:15:51,237 --> 00:15:56,983 of that great relationship that He, the King, 258 00:15:56,983 --> 00:16:03,929 the Great Husband, has for His bride, the church. 259 00:16:03,929 --> 00:16:07,127 Folks, that is Gospel. That is good news. 260 00:16:07,127 --> 00:16:09,162 That is glorious! 261 00:16:09,162 --> 00:16:11,576 That is the best message for sinners 262 00:16:11,576 --> 00:16:17,313 on the face of this earth. 263 00:16:17,313 --> 00:16:22,013 And in it we see the picture of marriage. 264 00:16:22,013 --> 00:16:25,066 Which is where we want these two to be very quickly.