Revelation of Jesus Christ

Marriage Supper Of The Lamb

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Pr. Kenneth Cox

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Series Code: RJC

Program Code: RJC000026


00:19 And welcome to the continuation
00:21 of The Revelation of Jesus Christ.
00:24 Very happy to have each of you here tonight
00:27 and to welcome all of you that are joining us by television
00:31 or through the radio or on the Internet.
00:34 Glad that you're here and tuned in,
00:38 and we hope that as we go through God's Word tonight
00:41 that you will follow along. Be sure and get your Bible
00:45 and some paper and notes that as we study
00:49 tonight the 19th chapter of Revelation -
00:55 The Marriage Supper of The Lamb -
00:57 we're going to see what God has to say about how
01:01 at the end this whole thing is wrapped up.
01:05 All comes together.
01:08 So we hope you'll follow carefully
01:10 as we consider this subject tonight.
01:14 Also we would encourage you to be sure and look at the
01:19 scripture - particularly the book of Revelation -
01:23 because if there's any one book
01:25 that is vital to people today it's the book of Revelation
01:30 because it tells us where we are
01:33 and what's happening... what's taking place in the world
01:36 in preparation for the coming of Jesus Christ.
01:39 So we hope you'll be sure and get into the book of Revelation
01:42 and study it as we take a look at it.
01:45 But tonight we're looking at The Marriage Supper of the Lamb.
01:50 And then after that our presentation - our next
01:55 presentation - is on the Millennium.
01:58 That's where we'll be going...
02:00 which is the 20th chapter of Revelation.
02:02 After the marriage supper of the Lamb
02:05 then you have the thousand years or the millennium.
02:08 And that's what we're going to be looking at.
02:10 And we're going to answer such questions as:
02:13 During this thousand years that it talks about
02:17 where is the devil going to be during that time?
02:21 Where are the wicked?
02:24 Where are the righteous?
02:26 What starts that thousand years?
02:28 What brings it to a close?
02:30 We'll take a look at all those very important subjects.
02:33 So we hope you'll be sure and be with us
02:35 as we get into the subject of the millennium.
02:39 I think you'll find it to be very, very helpful to you.
02:43 We're glad tonight to welcome back the His Voice quartet.
02:49 And they're going to sing for you tonight a song entitled
02:52 Let the Heaven Light Shine On Me.
02:55 And I'm sure you're going to enjoy that.
02:58 As I heard them practicing it it sounded wonderful to me.
03:01 But before they do, Chuck Allgaier is going to come
03:04 and he's going to read with you
03:06 the 19th chapter of the book of Revelation.
03:10 Good evening again.
03:12 If you have your Bibles with you tonight,
03:14 please turn them to the book of Revelation:
03:16 Revelation chapter 19
03:18 and we're going to read that together.
03:20 So if you have your Bibles...
03:21 Revelation 19... let's read together:
07:06 May God add His blessing to His Word.
07:13 Let the heaven light shine on me;
07:19 Let the heaven light shine on me;
07:24 For low is the way to the upper bright world;
07:29 Let the heaven light shine on me.
07:35 Oh, brother you must bow so low;
07:40 Oh, brother you must bow so low;
07:46 For low is the way to the upper bright world;
07:52 Let the heaven light shine on me.
07:57 Let the heaven light shine on me;
08:03 Let the heaven light shine on me;
08:08 For low is the way to the upper bright world;
08:14 Let the heaven light shine on me.
08:19 Oh, deacon you must bow so low;
08:25 Deacon you must bow so low.
08:30 For low is the way to the upper bright world;
08:36 Let the heaven light shine on me.
08:41 Let the heaven light shine on me;
08:47 Let the heaven light shine on me;
08:52 For low is the way to the upper bright world;
08:57 Let the heaven light shine on me.
09:03 Oh, preacher you must bow so low;
09:09 Preacher you must bow so low;
09:14 For low is the way to the upper bright world;
09:20 Let the heaven light shine on me.
09:26 Let the heaven light shine on me;
09:32 Let the heaven light shine on me;
09:38 For low is the way to the upper bright world;
09:44 Let the heaven light shine on me.
09:49 Let the heaven light shine on me;
09:55 Let the heaven light shine on me;
10:01 For low is the way to the upper bright world;
10:07 Let the heaven light shine on me.
10:13 Let the heaven light
10:17 shine
10:21 on
10:27 me.
10:51 Gracious Lord,
10:55 we look forward to the day that You will come back.
11:00 That indeed heaven's light will shine upon us
11:04 and that we all might be gathered around that great table
11:09 and to enjoy the feast...
11:15 the great marriage supper that You prepared for each one of us.
11:21 Bless us this evening as we open Your Word.
11:26 May the Holy Spirit fill our hearts.
11:30 May it give us wisdom, understanding...
11:34 that we each may prepare our lives and our hearts
11:39 to be with You.
11:40 For this we ask in Christ's name, Amen.
11:51 Well, the great controversy is ended.
11:54 The victory is won.
11:57 Time of the marriage supper of the Lamb has come.
12:03 Conflict is over.
12:07 And it says here in Revelation 19... It says:
12:23 Now watch carefully as John picks up...
12:27 reaches back and picks up some of the very first things
12:31 in the book of Revelation,
12:33 particularly in the 4th chapter,
12:35 and now projects it clear to the 19th chapter
12:39 because this is what he says:
12:54 So he said this woman - Babylon - who has
12:58 done this... all this to the servants of God
13:01 down through the ages - now He has avenged...
13:04 avenged on her the blood of all the saints.
13:13 Come to an end.
13:29 So what John is trying to get across to us here, folks,
13:33 is that the things that he said and told in the 4th chapter
13:38 those visions have been given to John
13:42 all down through the book of Revelation
13:44 that we've studied here
13:46 and they have now come to a completion...
13:49 to an end. And the 24 elders and the four living creatures
13:53 and the angels are all there saying this has happened
13:57 as God said it would.
14:19 And you find that same thing there in the beginning
14:22 of the book of Revelation
14:24 where it speaks of a voice as a great thunder
14:26 and as many waters proclaiming God's greatness.
14:31 And so this is the time in which the marriage supper of the Lamb
14:37 has come. Babylon is no more.
14:41 All the false systems, all the religions,
14:47 all those that were in opposition to God
14:50 and have led people away from what God's Word teaches
14:55 they have come to an end.
14:57 They are no more... Babylon is done.
15:03 And you and I must understand that this a great controversy.
15:10 That this is a struggle
15:13 between truth and falsehood.
15:17 This is a struggle between what is right and what is wrong.
15:22 And look at it any way you want to, folks,
15:27 there is no half way.
15:30 There is no such thing in Christianity
15:35 as there is in many of the other religions.
15:39 There is no such thing in Christianity
15:42 like the ying and the yang.
15:45 Which you understand what I'm saying about
15:48 when it talks about the ying and the yang in false religions.
15:52 That's saying that there is a balance between
15:55 what is right and what is wrong.
15:56 There is no balance in Christianity between what's
15:59 right and wrong. Just doesn't exist.
16:02 It is what is right - what is righteousness -
16:06 what is just, what is good. That has come to the place
16:11 that it has triumphed and God now is in charge.
16:17 The seven last plagues have been poured out.
16:22 God has avenged the blood of His saints
16:28 and His martyrs down through time.
16:31 He has avenged them. He has poured out upon Babylon
16:36 a double portion in the seven last plagues.
16:40 The system of falsehood, the system of corruption,
16:45 the system that led people away from God...
16:47 that whole system has come to an end.
16:53 It is no more.
16:55 And now - since that has come to an end -
16:59 it's time for the marriage supper of the Lamb.
17:05 God's going to gather all of His people
17:08 for this great marriage supper.
17:12 When He has the marriage supper of the Lamb, folks,
17:15 you'll find that as John records it as the Lord gave it to him
17:19 it was patterned after a Jewish wedding.
17:25 That's how the marriage supper of the Lamb is
17:28 is after a Jewish wedding.
17:30 And the elements of conducting a Jewish wedding
17:34 is what you have in the marriage supper of the Lamb.
17:36 So these were the things in a Jewish wedding
17:40 that took place:
17:47 He goes to there;
17:51 pays the dowry.
17:53 There was no such thing as a wedding -
17:58 as a marriage - if he didn't pay the dowry.
18:03 He had to pay a dowry. Maybe it was different -
18:08 depending on what the father asked
18:11 what the dowry was - but he had to pay the dowry
18:16 whatever it was. And by the way, the dowry belonged to the wife.
18:21 She's the one that got the dowry.
18:24 That was her guarantee, if you please,
18:30 that if the home broke up she took the dowry.
18:34 That was her's... and so it belonged to her.
18:38 And there was no such thing as a wedding
18:41 without him paying the dowry.
18:44 OK. Secondly, he then returned to his father's house
18:49 to prepare a place for her.
18:51 After he'd gone to the father, talked to them,
18:55 had paid the dowry for his wife,
18:58 then he goes back and prepares a place for her.
19:03 Because up to that point there was no guarantee of the wedding.
19:06 But once he had paid the dowry
19:10 then it was solid, it was sure,
19:13 and he went back and prepared a place
19:17 where they were going to live. And many times
19:19 there he built at home at... by his father's
19:22 home... that's where he built a home for he and his wife.
19:25 And that was the place that he built.
19:28 After he had built a place,
19:31 prepared a place for her, the bride during this time:
19:38 So it's during this time while he's off building a home
19:44 for them, she is to get herself ready for the wedding.
19:49 This is when she does all the preparation for the wedding.
19:53 That's what took place... they got ready for the wedding.
19:56 And as you read through the scripture
19:58 you find many many cases of that
20:01 where it talks about a wedding and it talks about how
20:05 the bride got herself ready for the wedding.
20:09 That was typical of a Jewish wedding.
20:18 So when the house is built, everything's ready,
20:21 the bride has got herself all ready,
20:24 then he comes back to get the bride...
20:28 claim his bride.
20:32 And then from there he takes her to his father's house
20:35 for the wedding.
20:37 That is how a Jewish wedding took place.
20:42 And this whole story and the marriage supper of the Lamb
20:48 is built on that. And if you understand that
20:51 all of a sudden you can see exactly what Christ did
20:55 because it all falls within what took place here at the wedding.
21:00 For instance, it tells us:
21:10 In other words, a man leaves the home of his parents
21:16 and goes to find a bride.
21:21 Find a wife. Shall leave them.
21:23 Finds a wife. Says he shall be joined to her.
21:27 And God simply takes that whole situation
21:31 and compares it to what He does with the church.
21:43 So he takes that whole scenario
21:47 of courtship, wedding, and all
21:52 and compares it between Christ and His love for the church.
21:57 That's what he has here. All right.
22:10 So he said: "All of it's taken place. You need to rejoice.
22:16 Be merry, for the time has come.
22:19 The wife has made herself ready. "
22:24 OK.
22:36 She is arrayed in fine linen.
22:40 Clean, bright...
22:44 for this is the righteous acts of the saints.
22:50 Hmmm. How does that happen?
22:54 How does that take place? Righteous acts of the saints.
23:14 Said: "Blessed are those who are called
23:17 to the marriage supper of the Lamb.
23:19 These are true sayings of God. "
23:22 Well, let's look at it.
23:24 Christ decided to leave the Father's house.
23:32 Made that decision to come to this earth.
23:38 Came here.
23:52 He came from His Father's house.
23:54 Coming here for what purpose?
23:59 What's He coming here for?
24:01 To pay the dowry... coming to pay the dowry.
24:21 So He was there in the beginning with His Father.
24:25 And He said: "Now I have come to the earth,
24:27 I have done what You've asked Me to do.
24:29 Glorify Me with the glory I had with You
24:33 back even before this world ever existed. "
24:37 So He's coming to this earth to get His bride
24:41 to pay the dowry for her.
24:51 Do you understand that?
24:53 He paid the dowry.
24:57 That means He paid it for you.
25:01 Paid the dowry. Listen to this:
25:15 That was the dowry.
25:17 The dowry required for Him to give His life
25:23 for her. Highest price that could be asked:
25:29 that He would have to lay down His life for her.
25:34 And remember... who gets the dowry?
25:37 The bride.
25:40 Yeah. Paid it. Paid it for her.
25:44 It's good for eternity.
25:48 Throughout eternity that dowry is good.
25:52 It's a guarantee that you and I can be in the kingdom of God.
25:58 That He paid it for us.
26:01 And so He paid the dowry, and after He paid the dowry
26:05 then what did He do?
26:10 Well He went back to His Father.
26:16 Paid the dowry; that was the guarantee.
26:20 There was no question, folks... please understand
26:25 that when He died on Calvary that settled it.
26:30 There was no question after that.
26:34 He could go back to heaven and now He could prepare a place
26:39 for His bride. And so He left.
26:42 And the text that all of you know:
27:11 So He said: "I'm going to go away.
27:13 I'm going to go prepare a place for you. "
27:16 And so He went back to His Father
27:19 to prepare a place for His bride.
27:24 That's what He's been doing...
27:28 preparing a place for you and for me.
27:34 Probably His preparing a place for us
27:42 could be done a lot, lot faster
27:50 than the time that it took for the bride to prepare herself.
27:58 I'm afraid that the length of time
28:01 that we've been on this earth
28:05 from the time that He left to go back to His Father
28:11 to this day is not because He has been slow
28:16 in preparing a place.
28:19 I'm afraid it has more to do
28:22 with the bride getting herself ready.
28:31 How...
28:33 how does she make herself ready
28:39 for Him to come back?
28:42 Well, let's see what it says:
28:55 In other words, it says that this washing process -
28:59 the cleansing that takes place -
29:03 all takes place by the?
29:08 What? It all takes place by the Word.
29:14 In other words, this is how the cleansing process takes place
29:20 is by the Word.
29:29 Are some of you staying dirty?
29:34 Hmmm?
29:36 Are you not being washed
29:39 because you're not spending any time in the Word?
29:44 'Cause that's what's cleansing.
29:46 What does that do... what does the Word do
29:49 for you and for me?
30:03 That all takes place by the Word.
30:06 So dear friend, get out your Bible and read!
30:10 Spend time in the Word of God.
30:12 There is nothing, nothing... nothing that you do
30:17 that's more important than the time you spend
30:21 in the Word of God...
30:23 especially in this day and age.
30:26 That you and I must spend time in the scripture
30:31 if we are going to receive the cleansing
30:35 that He desires to give us.
30:38 Have to spend time in the Word of God.
30:58 Please notice I highlighted that word granted.
31:03 You see, in the original that meant given.
31:09 That's what it means: "to her was GIVEN" -
31:12 if you please - "to be arrayed in fine linen. "
31:16 It's not something that she
31:20 is capable of doing of her own works.
31:24 It's something that was given to her
31:27 totally and completely... and it comes free.
31:33 You can't work for it. You can't buy it.
31:37 The righteousness that you and I need and must have
31:43 is totally without one thread
31:48 of human devising.
31:51 It is completely the righteousness of Jesus Christ.
31:57 Comes no other way.
32:00 But I can't have that if I am not willing
32:07 to spend time with Him.
32:09 I have to spend time in the Word for that to take place.
32:30 Puts upon us this robe of righteousness
32:34 that He alone can give to us.
32:54 See, this is how that takes place.
32:58 Take your Bible.
33:02 Turn over with me... over to Matthew.
33:05 Gospel of Matthew.
33:10 Twenty-second chapter.
33:14 Matthew 22nd chapter. Let's look at verse 10.
33:20 Because Jesus... Jesus told the story
33:25 of a great supper,
33:28 referring to this wedding supper of the Lamb.
33:32 And He had this to say. Let's start with verse 10:
33:35 "So those servants went out into the highways
33:40 and gathered together all whom they found
33:43 both bad and good.
33:46 And the wedding hall was filled with guests. "
33:50 Servants went out and they gathered the people.
33:55 What kind of people?
34:00 Bad and good.
34:02 It doesn't say just good, folks.
34:06 Says the wedding hall was filled with bad and good.
34:11 There in the wedding hall were all kinds of morally
34:17 good people.
34:19 People who had been raised morally good.
34:26 Hall is full of them.
34:30 But the hall is also full of bad people.
34:39 Which is trying to show you that
34:44 there isn't really anything within ourselves
34:50 that makes us acceptable unto Him.
34:57 None of us.
35:01 Let's go on. Let's see... there's something
35:05 that is a common denominator among them.
35:08 Look at verse 11:
35:11 "And when the king came in to see the guests
35:15 he saw a man there who did not have on the wedding garment. "
35:20 The common denominator among them all:
35:23 they had a wedding garment.
35:27 There were some of them that were good moral people.
35:33 There were some of them that were bad.
35:37 But they had... all of them... had the wedding garment
35:44 that had been given to them by the king.
35:50 That was the thing that made the difference.
35:52 That's what gave them right to be there
35:55 was the wedding garment.
36:00 "So he said to him: 'friend, how did you come in here
36:04 without the wedding garment? '
36:05 And he was speechless.
36:09 Then the king said to the servants:
36:11 'bind him hand and foot and take him away
36:13 and cast him into outer darkness. '
36:15 There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth
36:18 for many are called but few are chosen. "
36:22 Said: "Friend, what are you doing in here
36:26 without the wedding garment? "
36:28 What... what was he going to say?
36:31 He couldn't say to the king: "Well...
36:35 I couldn't afford it. "
36:37 It was free.
36:39 Didn't cost anything.
36:41 He didn't dare say to the king "I didn't like it. "
36:44 You don't tell kings that.
36:46 So what was he going to say?
36:50 Couldn't say anything... he was "speechless. "
36:52 So with you and I.
36:55 Righteousness of Christ
36:58 is offered to you totally and completely free.
37:05 All you and I have to do is accept it and put it on.
37:12 Covers... covers all our sins.
37:18 To the morally good it covers them,
37:24 and to the bad it covers them.
37:27 This is given to all.
37:31 This is the garment of Christ's righteousness.
37:48 You see... the bride is the church.
37:54 You and I are the guests,
37:58 and we're invited to the wedding.
38:02 It's required
38:07 that we have the wedding garment
38:10 which is the righteousness of Christ.
38:12 Now I'm going to ask you something.
38:17 Are you becoming kinder?
38:23 Are you becoming more loving?
38:28 Are you becoming more gentle?
38:32 Are you becoming more forgiving?
38:37 For that is what is to happen.
38:40 That is the righteousness of Christ.
38:47 This is what must happen to us
38:51 if we're going to do what He wants us to do.
38:56 Now the bridegroom - when the bride's ready -
39:01 the bridegroom is going to return to receive His bride.
39:04 He'll come back and get her.
39:16 Watch again as John reaches back to the very first
39:21 chapter of the book of Revelation
39:23 and pulls out many of the attributes of Jesus Christ.
39:29 Because you have a word description of Christ
39:31 in the first chapter of Revelation.
39:33 Here he comes back with some of the same descriptions
39:38 of Christ: righteousness. "He judges and makes war... "
39:58 The name is called what?
40:00 There must be some relationship
40:03 between this book and the Lord Jesus Christ.
40:11 If you want to get to know Him,
40:16 you find Him right here.
40:19 That's where you find Him.
40:56 Why? Why would He have His name written
41:01 on His robe and on His thigh?
41:06 Why would He do that?
41:10 Because His robe
41:15 is a robe of righteousness
41:20 and He is righteous.
41:22 But you find it's written on His thigh
41:26 because that's a sign of His covenant
41:29 that He makes with you and with me.
41:34 The covenant that He makes and says:
41:37 "I will be your God
41:39 and you shall be My people. "
41:44 And He said: "I'll remember your sins no more,
41:47 and I'll cover you with My righteousness
41:51 and I will be your God. "
41:53 And so here He is coming back and He's saying:
41:55 "I am the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords.
41:58 I am your God; you are My people. "
42:05 Gathers His bride.
42:08 Now you have to understand
42:10 that He's the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.
42:15 And since He is that,
42:19 there is a certain amount of... how should I put it?
42:25 cleaning up that He has to do.
42:29 So you have the marriage supper of the Lamb
42:33 where you're invited.
42:38 You're a guest.
42:40 You can be there, and being that you're a guest
42:44 He in His majesty and in His kindness and His love
42:48 gives to you the robe of His righteousness.
42:55 But if you don't want
42:59 to be involved in the marriage supper of the Lamb,
43:02 if you don't want to go to it,
43:04 then there's another supper that you WILL go to...
43:10 whether you want to or whether you don't.
43:13 And both these suppers are pictured in this chapter.
43:19 And it describes it. It speaks of this angel
43:24 that stands in the sun.
43:42 Now this is not the marriage supper of the Lamb.
43:47 This is the supper of the great God.
43:51 OK? Inviting all the birds
43:55 to come to this supper. Watch:
44:19 Invitation... come.
44:25 You may eat the flesh of all those
44:30 that spurned the invitation
44:35 to the marriage supper of the Lamb.
44:38 You see, dear friend... it's your choice.
44:43 It's up to you to choose.
44:46 It has to be your choice
44:49 whether you are going to be a guest
44:54 at the marriage supper of the Lamb
44:56 or whether you're going to be at the supper of the great God,
45:00 of the great God Almighty,
45:03 where the birds will come
45:09 and they'll eat the flesh of all people.
45:28 All in opposition to God
45:33 come
45:37 to war against the King of Kings
45:41 and the Lord of Lords.
45:44 Going to fight Him... be against Him.
46:01 So here he speaks of the beast, the false prophet.
46:05 They're there. They're part of this great group of people
46:09 there, and the beast was captured.
46:13 And the false prophet.
46:27 You see, what it's talking here, folks,
46:29 is this great trinity
46:34 of evil, this trinity that was absolutely opposed
46:40 to God and the teaching of God's Word...
46:43 these are captured, thrown into the lake of fire.
46:47 Someone else is too.
47:01 When it says "they were killed
47:05 with the sword that proceeds from the mouth
47:09 of Him who sits on the horse, "
47:11 what proceeds from His mouth?
47:16 What's the sword?
47:18 The Word of God.
47:21 You see, they one time said something about
47:26 Christ judging and He said: "I don't judge you. "
47:28 He said: "The words judge you. "
47:33 You see, you have to come to the place in your experience
47:38 where when you read what it says
47:41 you're willing to accept what it says.
47:46 I run onto people that read what it says
47:51 but not willing to accept it.
47:55 Or read what it says
47:58 and say it doesn't make any difference.
48:03 I... I... In my own personal experience
48:07 I had to come to the place
48:11 where I decided that I had to give the Lord
48:16 the right to call the shots.
48:21 That I could not go on through life
48:25 calling the shots.
48:28 That I had to let Him say: "Yes, this is what you do. "
48:32 "Yes, this isn't what you do. "
48:34 And I had to accept that and say: "Yes, Lord. "
48:39 If I'm not willing to do that,
48:43 then He can't do His work in my life.
48:47 He can't do for me what He needs to do.
48:51 The Holy Spirit... the Holy Spirit, dear friend,
48:56 must come into our life and do its work to change us
49:02 and to make us different.
49:04 To make us love one another.
49:08 To make us be kind and tender and loving.
49:11 That is the work of the Holy Spirit,
49:13 and I have to be submissive to that work.
49:17 "These will make war with the Lamb. "
49:22 This is referring to the ten kings, the beast,
49:24 the false prophet.
49:39 You're called; you're chosen.
49:43 You're supposed to be at the marriage supper of the Lamb.
49:49 "These have made war with the Lamb. "
50:07 As we said, the beast, the false prophet...
50:10 they've been captured. They have been cast into the lake of fire.
50:20 Watch:
50:30 So here you have all three -
50:34 the beast, the false prophet, the devil -
50:37 they all have been cast into the lake of fire.
50:39 Which is basically saying, dear friend,
50:42 that He has brought this to an end.
50:46 There will be sin no more.
50:50 It's forever ended.
50:52 And He's going to put an end to it.
51:08 The angel came, invited them to come
51:12 and to eat the flesh of kings and captains
51:14 and horses and so forth.
51:16 And it says "they were filled with their flesh. "
51:19 Now watch as Jeremiah gives you an insight
51:24 into what happens here:
51:36 You understand what he's saying
51:41 when he says here: "I beheld; indeed there was no man.
51:45 The birds of the heaven had fled? "
51:48 Well, folks, he's just saying "supper's over. "
51:50 That's what he's saying.
51:53 The birds have come and they've eaten them.
51:56 There's no man.
51:58 They've fled... it's over.
52:01 Brought it to an end.
52:05 Sin, sinners will be no more.
52:11 Righteousness... God's kingdom will be for eternity.
52:17 To you and to me He gives that wonderful promise:
52:33 So tonight the King of Kings
52:39 and the Lord of Lords is inviting you
52:44 to come. To be part of the marriage supper of the Lamb.
52:50 Dear friend, you may have classified yourself
52:55 as some of those guests that were bad
53:00 but please notice: He had a wedding garment
53:04 for each one of them.
53:06 And that garment covers that person.
53:11 Or you may be this person who has been
53:15 raised in the church.
53:20 You may be one of these individuals that I hear
53:23 say: "Oh, I know all that, "
53:27 but in the depth of your soul you know that you are lost
53:33 just the same as that person that's bad.
53:37 But the Lord simply invites you to come.
53:41 He has a robe of righteousness to cover your life
53:46 that you and I may have the marvelous privilege
53:52 of sitting down and eating
53:55 at the marriage supper of the Lamb.
53:57 Let us pray.
53:59 Father in heaven,
54:01 for Your invitation... we thank you.
54:05 May we each one reach out and accept
54:12 this marvelous gift -
54:14 indescribable gift:
54:17 that You paid the dowry
54:21 that we each can be saved.
54:26 May each one here and those that are listening,
54:29 those that are watching, reach out tonight and accept You
54:33 into their lives we pray. In Christ's name, Amen.
54:37 God bless you; good night.
54:41 In the heart of southern Illinois
54:43 lies a small town named after A. J. Mason
54:48 who came in 1923 with plans for a dream city
54:52 and the largest coal mine in the United States.
54:55 Surveyors laid out the streets and the sidewalk
54:58 and workers built the tallest smokestack in the country
55:02 complete with a Spanish turret
55:05 and decorative cathedral doors at the top.
55:08 Railroad tracks were laid,
55:10 and as word of this dream city spread
55:13 people flocked in by the thousands.
55:16 But as the black coal came out of those deep tunnels
55:20 miners came closer and closer to the end of the dream.
55:25 And after just three years of mining
55:27 an underground river flooded the shaft.
55:31 Suddenly the operations became very costly
55:34 and although Mr. Mason poured millions into his mine
55:39 eventually it was taken over by the bank.
55:42 People left the city in droves.
55:45 Some didn't even bother to take their furniture.
55:47 Soon the tracks lay dormant.
55:50 Weeds grew up around the beautiful train station,
55:53 and abandoned homes gave way to trees.
55:57 Today locals say that Mason is the only town in America
56:02 where you can hunt quail from the sidewalk.
56:05 Although other coal companies tried to revive it,
56:08 Mason's mine never again turned a profit
56:13 and today only a few hundred people are left.
56:16 Mr. Mason's dream went up in smoke.
56:20 All that remains is a beautiful smokestack,
56:24 an old train station,
56:26 and miles of deserted tracks.
56:30 The Bible says earthly treasures are easily stolen
56:34 by thieves and destroyed by moth and rust.
56:38 But our Heavenly Father is building a dream city
56:41 with streets of gold and mansions by a crystal sea.
56:45 He invites us to come live with Him for eternity
56:48 and never grow old.
56:50 The Bible also says that where our treasure is
56:54 there our heart will be also.
56:56 And in this day and age when stocks lose their value
57:00 in minutes and entire banking systems fail
57:04 God invites us to put our treasures in things of
57:08 eternal value.
57:09 Friends, nothing is more valuable than a human soul.
57:14 Won't you help us bring the good news of salvation
57:17 to those who are lost?
57:19 Please, ask the Holy Spirit what He would have you do.
57:25 Please consider what you can do for those who
57:29 still don't know about Jesus.
57:31 As the Holy Spirit impresses,
57:32 please send your tax-deductible gifts to:
57:48 Thank you for helping us spread the light of God's Word
57:51 through television. Your gifts bring the blessed hope
57:53 of salvation to millions around the world.


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Revised 2014-12-17