Harold Hoffman - The Bride: Lesson 2 | MIDWEEK

I got a little excited church something about being in the house of the Lord Amen something about being in the house of the Lord that just it just makes me feel like I'm at home Amen well welcome everybody to our Wednesday night Bible study here at First Church of Sterling Heights where our mission is always to love the Lord learn the word and live the life of a few of a true follower of Christ amen can we give the Lord a hand clap help me out here Church help me out amen you know I know that there's lots of needs and there's lots of there's lots of distractions that are going on but that's all they are church is just distractions to keep us away keep us from doing what we're supposed to be doing what the Lord designed us to do and that's to worship and praise Him and amen amen so why don't we just lift our hands let's go to before the Lord in a word of Prayer there's lots of needs in the house Lord Jesus we come before you this afternoon Lord God to give you all the honor and the glory and the praise you're worthy Lord Jesus we worship you and we give you thanks God we praise you today Lord in all of your heavenly glory we thank you this afternoon Lord God for blessing us today with a breath of life that's never promised [Music] with an extra double portion of the spirit of wisdom and discernment to discern what's from you Lord and what's from the enemy God we're asking you Lord to continue to illuminate the straight and the narrow path of righteousness bless us guide and direct our steps Lord God and just let us live in freedom in and victory today and Jesus holy and mighty name we pray hallelujah let's give the Lord a mighty hand clap Church I can feel the Spirit of the Lord moving in this place like a mighty rushing wind and there's a spirit of worship that needs to be brought forth right now our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ why don't we worship Him together in Jesus name in Jesus name come on shouts of praise in this house right now oh we're gonna worship the God in this house come on can you just begin to lift up your voices and cry out to the Savior right now God will love you Jesus we need you God our world needs you Oh Lord we thank for the opportunity to be in your house again god there's so many people in this world that don't have the opportunity to come into a house and we will never overlook the opportunity that we have Oh God to lift up our hands to lift up our heads see you Oh God to lift up our voices and shout Oh Lord to be able to be in this place with our hands lifted and our voices lifted oh god I'll never look for you alone our word is anybody else grateful for that for the ability to be able to lift her voice to be able to have a house of God and be grateful thank you [Music] my face not he said on our job chris has taken rushon [Music] his food [Music] so I will leave from the stage true with stop chasing them cuz you're making [Music] [Applause] [Music] Jesus it's you [Music] your Andre you know Scott see your [Music] every chain trust [Music] this June [Music] mistakes [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] how [Music] every fortune [Music] goodbye [Music] [Music] she's but [Music] and now hear her cry of every angel soon [Music] No [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] just wanna hear you say well it'll of iwere we hear you say it was simple [Music] aloneness world [Music] I'm gonna give you something from the Lord right now that I feel for our church and I feel for our city specifically for our church right now so wonderin if you can just receive about the same I believe that we are facing spiritual opposition believe that we're facing so many things in the spirit that a lot of us may or may not understand we're trying to build something here God's trying to build something here and he's using me and he's using you to be able to do this and I believe that the enemy knows that there are so many distractions that could come our way that could make us get get our focus completely lost with what God is wanting to build for the word of the Lord says that when the enemy comes in like a flood the Spirit of the Lord will raise up a standard against the enemy [Music] so we're building the standard way in our world in this church in the city were building the standard and there are things that were setting in place and we're saying we're not moving on us you know we're not stopping to put we're not stop praying we're not going to stop praying we're not going to stop singing songs to our God and I'm gonna stop doing this I know the whole world is trying to get us all messed up but we're not going this out and with that being said I know how easy it is for us to come in here on a Wednesday and be so weary and just be man because we're in a fight every single day and there's people that work crazy amount of hours already and it's just Wednesday you know and I am and I just wonder if if we I know that one person like that just say that that's one person they're fighting so much but I wonder if there is a church of a hundred people in this room right now that can bind together and say I know you're weak right now and I know that I'm weak right now but you know what we're gonna hold this standard we're gonna hold this wall we're gonna hold this fourth standard against the enemy when the enemy comes in like a flood the Spirit of the Lord the Spirit of the Lord will raise a standard and I believe that I'm speaking to people that have the Spirit of the Living God living and breathing inside of you if that's you can you just lift up your hands like this we just say Lord we surrender God whatever it is that you want to do God we believe in your power we believe in your spirit God I believe in your word and every word that is written in that word is from you gotta believe I believe that I believe whenever there's a promise or when there's something special in the work I believe everything that you have written everything that you have spoken and we receive it right now hallelujah we're gonna sing them one more song and this is a song that we've sang before and it simply says I'm gonna see a victory but I want you to have a different understanding before we start seeing that song every time that I've sang that song or heard that song I've always thought about it from I'm gonna see a victory in my life the whip that the victories that I need to see and and and we can proclaim that and it's completely fine you know but but I was I was by myself and I was listening to this song and I felt the Lord quickened my heart real quick and say have you ever seen a highlight reel ever seen a basketball game like you know Michael Jordan you know anybody Larry Bird whoever and you you're watching something that's already happened and so it's like I love watching the highlights of something but I already know the income not the outcome I already know that they won the game I just want to see how it happened so I just kind of picture it whenever we sing this song it's the exact same way that God has already this is this has already finished but we're living in the highlight reel and we're getting the seed how it's gonna come up how it's going to come to pass how we're gonna win the victory and ease and all of this is because the battle is the Lord's right so can we just lift up shouts of praise just one more time and we're gonna sing and we're gonna believe that we're gonna see the victory but not for ourselves but it's already won because of the God that we serve [Music] the weapon maybe four the darkness falls [Music] [Music] [Music] jeez everyone usually to [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] you turn [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] see I'm gonna see [Music] I'm gonna see a picturing a victory for the cuz this is how I fight my battles [Music] this is how I fight my battles come on I want to hear somebody fight this is how I fight [Applause] come on how do you fight your battles this is how a fight we don't need all this stuff to fight in the spirit I wonder if you can lift your voice right now and close your eyes and be alone with the Savior and lift your voice in victory because you know he may look like I'm surrounded but our rounded by you every push like I'm surrounded founded by you come on singing it may look like I'm sure every voice say sir cuz this is how safe this is how there are some people that can start fighting right now [Music] which is four six just get you the word but I wonder [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] for victory his mine [Music] here's mine victory today [Music] come on can we sing their victories my victories [Music] sakes [Music] [Music] you believe say Troy [Music] today pods are [Music] come on do you have victory in the house right now through Jesus do you have power in the name of Jesus hallelujah we love you Lord we love you Jesus just one more time you take what the enemy meant for him you turned you I want the enemy to hear us say that then you take what the enemy meant for evil and you that's what you do you he wanted this to be a disaster but he's not gonna happen come on singing again you take what the enemy meant furry can you turn you [Music] one more time to take would be sorry [Music] you turning now right now can you just lift up your voice right now and clap and say oh god we believe in their power [Music] yes with [Music] Jesus me [Music] Jesus feel like you wants to do something else just can't we just lock in for a second can we just hold it for a second let's turn this into a prayer let's turn this into prayer let's turn this into prayer Lord we seek after you O God we seek after your face well we're after your heart God not your hand right now we're after your heart right now God not your hand not just the blessings o God we don't we're not here for a blessings guy we're here Lord to submit a bless your heart God just to tell you what you mean to us to show you what you mean to us alone we thank you Lord we thank you Jesus high exhaustion a high exalt your name Jesus Jesus Jesus hallelujah pray for the power of the Holy Spirit to move throughout this church right I pray that you touch every home that's represented in this house right now I pray a war for every father in this place pray for every mother pray for every child Lord touch a scar for this generation Oh Lord oh Lord this generation in this world is crying out for a save our city is crying out for a savior but we say Jesus we speak the name of Jesus we shout name of Jesus [Music] Jesus Jesus sees exchanges I know this looks so different from any Wednesday night but I feel you love this Cup I feel like you want this to happen I feel you're calling us back to prayer again I feel you're calling us back to the place of personal worship no wonder we've been quarantined no wonder so we can get this stuff right it Jesus [Music] I love Jesus I worship and adore you I just wanna tell you [Music] I love you Jesus [Music] more than anything cheese I've tried it all before god there's nobody greater than you cheesy nothing is greater than you nothing is stronger than you long Holly name of Jesus I pray right now look at your power will continue to move throughout the service goddess pastor brings us the world so grateful that you've allowed us to be together Oh Lord you will continue to move throughout the smoothest push away the doubt push away the fear push away the uncertainty push away all these things that this world is trying to push to us and I'm asking you a round or two to just have your way have your way we are completely surrendered to you got completely surrendered to the way that you want for this to go we say yes before you even ask us over we say yes so god we receive your word O Lord and Jesus can you clap your hands in this house do we do we believe that we have the victory today do you believe you have the victory today Church why don't we just lift our hands and worship Him just a little bit longer why don't we just love him a little bit longer we're in a spiritual battle church this is a spiritual battle that desires and needs to spiritual tools of worship and praise and prayer amen I just wonder what would happen if we would bind together as a church body and push back the darkness of this world to unveil the truth and expose a false prophet I wonder what would happen if we just had that faith if we would push back the fear if we can get on board with our pastor and flatten the fear we know that whatever we feed gross and whatever we starve will die and my prayer today church with my brothers and sisters is that we just we pray together on one mind in one Accord to strengthen our faith in Jesus name hey sis just real quick sister Hoffman just brought something to my attention this is Josie she got baptized here you know this past week and her and Adam are expecting a child and she has not felt the baby move since noon today so they're advising her to go to the hospital and and this is this is where we need to step in the gap and we don't know what's going on but we know a Savior who does who has every answer who has every so if we could just gather some ladies around here let's break for Josie today god we know that you are you are all-powerful you're not limited God in any way shape or form or we don't have a clue what may be transpiring even now as I speak to you but God all authority is yours all power is yours all ability is yours so Lord right now I speak life God Lord Jesus you said life and death are in the power of the tongue so Lord I'm speaking and choosing life right now God for this unborn child Lord God that is in the womb right now I'll pray a protection a pray a healing I pray a restoration God let everything function let everything work God the way you have designed it and orchestrated it to be there Jesus we come boldly now to you you said you were a present help in a time of trouble God we claim that promise right now we come to you right now expecting and believing Lord that everything's gonna work out right that everything's gonna work out well today god be with Josie right now be with Adam right now God Lord and I pray Lord as they go to the way to the hospital you'd give them the best doctor staff you'd give them the very best nursing staff God today mighty Lord let it all work together for good in the name of Jesus we believe together as a church family in Jesus name we pray together Jesus name Amen amen amen amen amen amen there's a mighty move of God in this place today I can feel faith it's just so strong church there's chains of bondage that are being broken right now [Music] the Lord is with us he's in this house right now there's miracles that are happening as we stand here in his in his glory Church we just have to step into it Amen let's give the Lord another mighty hand of praise [Applause] as our Usher's come forward so let's I just let want to welcome everybody the house of the Lord one more time First Church of Sterling Heights for those that are here in person or those that are watching online we're just so grateful and thankful for the church body and again I play I might my plea is for those that are in the house and those that are that are watching at home we really need to get serious about the things of God now is the time we can't waste any time we can't wait any longer and if you're not baptized in Jesus name we can make that happen here whatever you want amen [Music] so we'll just pray over our offering church [Music] Lord Jesus we come before you this evening God to give you the honor and the glory in the praise we thank you one more time for your mercy and your grace and your unconditional love we ask you Lord to bless the cheerful Giver Lord Lord God that you just bless bless the the cheerful Giver and we ask you to multiply Lord God what rightfully is yours into the storehouse we thank you we love you we appreciate you in Jesus holy and mighty name why don't we greet one another how it's appropriate and come forth with your tithes and offerings [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] well good evening everybody we're delighted that you're here thank you very much for coming and this trailin already gone I think Draven's gone trailin met someone today on the street and and they're here tonight and his wife doesn't understand English and trail ins taking them well that's just good we just want you know we're delighted that you're here thank you so much for coming so you're gonna go talk with him a little bit okay that's wonderful so that's he plays a violin so so you will set you up with Raylan you could play a song for us later on sometime like you know whatever on a Sunday or whatever you do a song with us that'd be great okay thank you thank you amen and and she she's weeping and she doesn't know why and so they're gonna go have a little time with these precious people and Jesus name so it is my responsibility for the next couple of weeks to take you on a series of lessons before we begin our next semester of life groups and so I chosen to teach you on a concept that I think is a an entire Bible concept on on the bride and I I can only you know I'm limited I can only see things through the lens of my own personal experience I remember when we bought the property to the north of us there was it was all weeds overgrown and there were little outbuildings I know there were five or six of them over there and you couldn't see him really they were just covered up with weeds and I remember when we finally got possession of that property I I took my dad over there with me and we pried open one of the doors of of one of those outbuildings and the entire building the the it wasn't big it was probably ten by ten but the entire building was full of egg cartons styrofoam egg cartons thousands and thousands of and then we pried open another door and it was full of cardboard cylinders from toilet paper except the toilet paper was gone all it was was just a cardboard cylinder thousands of thousands and thousands of them and then we went to the next building and it was full of pieces of of wood not not like chopped wood for fireplaces good but you know planed wood but but there wasn't a piece longer than probably twelve or fourteen inches they were old cut-offs and and I asked my dad I said do you have any idea what's going on here and he said oh yes he said makes perfect sense to me and I said okay what he said the depression he said these people lived through the depression and he said if you would have Harald he said you never threw anything away never and I did live through the Great Depression I was born in 1957 I wasn't there when Pearl Harbor was bombed but I but I find myself asking this question more and or in the light of Bible prophecy what do I think this means what do I think is going on and it's it's my opinion and I preface these lessons with this it is my opinion that that 9/11 opened up a Pandora's box in in in this country and it's not original with me but I'm gonna read you a passage that I think describes what happened on September 11th this is from Ezekiel thus saith the Lord God it shall also come to pass that at the same time shall things come into thy mind and thou shalt think an evil thought and thou shall say I will go up to the land of unwalled villages I will go to them that are at rest that dwell safely all of them dwelling without walls and having neither bars nor gates to take a spoil and to take a pray tutor thy hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations which have gotten cattle and goods that dwell in the midst of the land this this is the message it says at that time you'll start thinking things over and cook up an evil plot you'll say I'm going to invade a country without defense attacking an unsuspecting carefree people going about their business no gates to their cities nor locks on their doors and I'm going to plunder the place march right in clean them out this rebuilt country risen from the ashes these returned exile and their booming economy centered down at the navel of the now I know that when you really get down to it it's talking about Israel but I do believe it could be a picture of America and there are seven seals mentioned in the opening chapters of Revelation and when the first seal was opened it says a conquering spirit was loosed upon the earth it's the second seal that intrigues me it says in verse three of chapter six when he had opened the second seal I heard the second beast say come and see and there went out another horse that was red and power was given to him that set thereon to take peace from the earth that they should kill one another and there was given unto him a great sword again I think it's a description it could be a description of where we are it appears to me that peace has been taken from this earth and I don't think it's coming back until the king of peace returns with his church he is called the Prince of Peace but a prince is not a king he's a king and waiting I think there's a lot of difference between the Prince of Peace Bible talks about the Prince of the power of the air the power of the air is the Lord the Prince in Waiting is Satan he'll be the king if the King in power now dies or abdicates but we have a problem with that the Bible said the lord almighty omnipotent reigneth and in the original language it's a present progressive word which means I'm doing it and I'm just going to keep on doing it and so I don't think the king is going to die or abdicate the throne so I think Satan is relegated to a prince status I remember years ago my wife used to get a a very expensive magazine called Architectural Digest yeah I don't know it it was seven or eight bucks on the newsstand but they'd send us these things in the mail and say give us ten bucks and you can have a whole year so I'd send them ten bucks and they I get whatever 99-92 a hundred dollars for the magazines for ten bucks and I just quit her what would I call that her prescription to that magazine subscription now it was a prescription I had it right the first time it was it was he was hooked she was hooked on prescription drugs but it was a magazine prescription and it just looks to me like the interior decorators of this country have gone stupid and so I just quit getting her the magazine because I couldn't find any room any room of a house in the magazine that looked like it was pretty they were all ugly and sign of the time but I remember opening up Architectural Digest and they're on the premiere page which right inside the front cover you could buy a watercolor painted by Prince Charles not a copy you could buy an actual watercolor from them and they weren't terribly expensive a couple thousand bucks but it wasn't like it was a hundred thousand or you know it was you could actually get a watercolor painted from him ball maro castle or Windsor Castle or whatever and I just remember to look at that and thinking this guy has been to the greatest colleges in the world he has lived a life of privilege and he's painting watercolors and trying to hock them on in a magazine that's the frustration of being a prince she how old is the Queen she's almost a hundred and jelly he's honored yet but I know Prince Philip peace he's 99 I think and that looked at me like the old girls interested in sitting down anytime soon and if you think if you think Charles has been frustrated you ought to talk to Satan trust me that is one frustrated Prince because he is never ever going to be in charge and when he comes back this verse intrigues me it's in first Corinthians six and two do you not know that the Saints shall judge the world I believe that was what will happen remember he's coming back and those that are with him are called chosen and faithful I think that's just what this is talking about something that's going to happen at a future date but is is what we are dealing with now is it possible it's what Jesus referred to as the beginning of Sorrows and I will try this is a verse that I'll do my best to live by in these lessons and really whenever I speak to you it's in proverbs 11 and verse 1 it said a false balance is an abomination to the Lord but a just weight is his delight so I'll try my best to be balanced here's acts 17 and 11 these were more noble than those in Thessalonica in that they received the word with all readiness of mind and searched the Scriptures daily whether those things were so something about the people of Berea so I'll do my best to be a good Berean here in our Bible class and because I'm aware of verses that say now we look through a glass darkly another one says of that day an hour one knows one verse says in an hour you would not expect Jesus one time said it's not for you to know you know there's another side of the argument and here is a verse that intrigues me it's in mark 13 and verse 23 but take heed behold I have foretold you all things there were many things that Jesus taught us disciples so that they didn't get it and later on in Luke 24 said he opened up their understanding concerning the scripture I heard of the Bible's prophecy but basically for most of my ministry I have avoided prophecy because I am one of those people that's cursed with I don't want to get involved in something if I can't completely understand it it's very difficult for me to to just get partial understanding of something and so when I look at prophecy there's just parts of it I don't get and there is however one verse that's always stood out to me and this is it and I fell at his feet to worship Him and he said unto me see thou do it not I am thy fellow-servant and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus worship God for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy that's revelation 19 and 10 and so for most of my life I have seen prophecy used as something to either terrify somebody with or exalt just a handful of special people these are the prophecy guys you know and I fell under the sway of an old preacher in Florida years ago and he said I don't know a lot about prophecy but I know as much as anybody and I guess my guess is as good as the next guy but I think we're getting into a time right now when we're gonna find out real soon which one these guys have been telling the truth and one thing is certain this thing I can tell you for sure if you will take the truths of prophecy and revelation into your heart they will demand radical change in your personal life and we will begin to prepare our hearts for his coming and we'll want to share this truth with other people so they can prepare and what would you do if you could pick up a newspaper today and it would tell you everything that's going to happen for the next 30 years how valuable would that newspaper be well the truth is you can because the Bible is is what you could call the first rough draft of history and Revelation begins with this first the revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave unto him to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass I'm gonna tell you what's about to happen that's how that book begins I remember the day when my first daughter was married my wife still hasn't told me how much that day cost she hid stuff from me for several years on credit cards that I she didn't think I knew that she had she just did everything she could to make that us very special day for that girl and I love her for that but we probably could have bought a very nice car for what that cost maybe a house whenever I perform a marriage if you've ever been with me in a marriage in this church or anywhere else I always remind the crowd that what's going on on that day is it's it's a billboard it's a marquee it's an advertisement for for a coming great event that just as that bride was being taken that day by her groom it is a pitcher that the Lord the great bridegroom is going to come for his bride and when you get down to it when you really get down to it and I've argued with pesters about this point for many years but when you really get down to it there's only one Bible definition for marriage and it's found in the book of Malachi chapter 2 and verse 14 yet ye say wherefore because the Lord has been witnessed between thee and the wife of thy youth against whom thou hast dealt treacherously yet is she thy companion and the wife of thy covenant I am convinced that marriage is a covenant of companionship and and and I introduced this concept to you last week the type scene of a marriage in the Bible there was always a go-between there was a brace that was negotiated on for the purchase of the dowry you could call it for this bride and then the bride had to agree on this price and then they had a meal and then the bridegroom left and at that point the betrothal was complete and they were technically married and the groom leaves to build a much better place by the wealth and returns to the blowing of the shofar and the friend of the bridegroom announcing that the bridegroom has come and the bridesmaids with their oil filled lamps lighting the way to the new house and the magnificent meal that goes on at that house and the consummation of the Covenant and all of the picture the typology that's there that when he leaves she goes and washes and his name is called out over her marriage is is a picture of this amazing truth that God has always desired a covenant of companionship because the Bible begins with a wedding and it ends with a wedding it is Genesis 4 and verse 1 this marriage was consummated in chapter 4 of verse and verse 1 and Adam knew Eve his wife and she conceived she had a son she said I have gotten a man-child from the Lord and if we have time later on we'll go to Revelation 12 which I think talks about the pregnant bride of Christ and the bride of Christ is also mentioned in chapter 19 in chapter 21 of Revelation but in Chapter 12 he has already come and he has taken his bride and the marriage is consummated and in Chapter 12 she brings forth a man child Jesus began his ministry at a marriage in Cana of Galilee John 2 and verse 1 says and the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee and the mother of Jesus was there and there's there's so much prophecy there but the next verse is just as important and both Jesus was called and his disciples to the marriage and if you obey the gospel you you you get a wedding invitation and at this wedding Jesus is the bridegroom and the church is the bride and he declared the end from the beginning so we must be a student of the beginning if we're going to understand the events of the end so this may be a little bit boring tonight but I've got to lay the basis and the groundwork for what I want to teach you for the next four weeks because we have to go back to the beginning in the Old Testament because the Old Testament is filled with marriage language in the Old Testament Israel was God's bride and it says in Isaiah 54 and verse five and six for thy maker is thine husband the Lord of Hosts is his name thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel the God of the whole earth shall he be called for the LORD hath called thee as a woman Forsaken and grieved in spirit and a wife of youth when thou was refused saith thy God but if you know your Bible the Covenant that God had with Israel was broken and this is what Jeremiah said about that the Lord said also unto me in the days of Josiah the King hast thou seen that which backsliding Israel hath done she has gone up upon every high mountain and odor every green tree and there hath played the harlot and I said after she had done all these things turned out unto me but she returned not and her treacherous sister Judah saw it and I saw when for all the causes whereby Beck's living it backslidden backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away and given her a bill of divorce yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not but went and play the harlot also and it came to pass through the lightness of her whoredom that she defiled the land and committed adultery with stones and with stocks God divorced Israel and Judah because they committed adultery with other gods so in Isaiah 50 and verse 1 thus saith the Lord where is the Bill of your mother's divorcement whom I have put away or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you behold for your iniquities have you sold yourself and your transgression is your mother put away so God is the way and the life and the truth and since he is the truth he cannot violate his own nature so he can't break his own law so let me read to you what his law says in Deuteronomy 24 when a man have taken a wife and married her and it come to pass that she find no favor in his eyes because he has found some uncleanness in her then let him write her a bill of divorcement and give it in her hand and send her out of his house and when she is departed out of his house she may go and be another man's wife and if the latter husband hate her and write her a bill of divorcement and giveth it in her hand and sendeth her out of his house or if the latter husband died which took her which is the second husband which took her to be his wife her former husband which sent her away may not take her again to be his wife after that she is defiled for that as an abomination unto the Lord and thou shalt not cause the land to sin which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance here's the message if a man marries a woman and it happens that he no longer likes her because she's fat something he has found something wrong with her he may give her divorce papers put them in her hand and send her off after she leaves if she becomes another man's wife and he also comes to hate her and the second husband also gives her divorce papers puts them in her hand and sends her off or if he should die then the first husband who divorced her can't marry her again she has made herself ritually unclean and her marriage would be an abomination in the presence of God and the file the land was sin this land that God your God is giving you as an inheritance so when I read that it seems very very clear to me you can't remarry the woman you divorced that's his law so God can't violate his own law this is what Ezekiel said in 16 and 32 but as a wife that committeth adultery would take his strangers instead of her husband here's verse 59 for thus saith the Lord God I will even deal with thee as thou has done which has despised the oath in breaking the Covenant here's the message God the master says I'll do to you just as you have already done you who have treated my oath with contempt and broken the Covenant but after these strong words of judgment I find these words of comfort here's a Zico 16 and verse 62 and I will establish my covenant with thee and thou shalt know that I am the Lord that thou may remember and be confounded and never open thy mouth anymore because of thy shame when I am pacified toward thee for all that thou hast done saith the Lord again here's the message I firmly establish my covenant with you and you'll know that I am God you remember your past life and face the shame of it but when I make atonement for you make everything right after all you've done it will leave you speechless so it seems very obvious to be that God is going to reestablish his covenant not with Israel as a nation as a whole I wish I had time to deal with this but I'm not good enough and well versed in enough of it to really deal with it tonight but we will later the Bible talks about two witnesses that are going to preach to the nation of Israel and it doesn't say the nation will be saved as a whole but those who do recognize the Lord as the Messiah and repent will be spared the same scenario that I found in the Book of Ezekiel is the same scenario that I found in Hosea Hosea you remember was married to a prostitute by the name of Gomer she had three children you've got no DNA back then Hosea doesn't know if any of these kids are his biological children but this is what it says in Hosea 2 and verse 2 plead with your mother plead for she is not my wife neither am i her husband let her therefore put away her whoredoms out of her sight and her adultery from between her breasts I'll be careful as I read this but here's what the message says halt your mother in the court she's no longer my wife I'm no longer her husband tell her to quit dressing like a and showing her breasts for sale which goes to what the pastor has said for years if it's not for sale don't put it in the window but again the harsh is followed with the promise here's Jose Isaiah three and five afterward shall the children of Israel return and seek the Lord their God and David their King and shall fear the Lord and His goodness in the latter days something's going to happen in the future I found this verse in Matthew 21 and verse 43 therefore say unto you the I King Damita and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof here's the message this is the way it is with you God's kingdom stuck into it God's kingdom will be taken from you and hand it over to a people who will live out a kingdom life I wonder who that is because the next verse says if you fall on him you'll be broken if he falls on you you're going to be crushed that's 44 here's 45 the spiritual leaders knew he was talking about them so the fruit bearing nation that he is talking about I'm absolutely convinced as the church and it's obvious the church the early church included Jews who recognized who he was here's first Corinthians 12 and 13 for by one spirit are we all baptized into one body whether we be Jew or Gentile whether we be a slave or free and have all been made to drink into one spirit this is a amazing verse it's in Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 15 having abolished in his flesh the enmity or the hatred even the law of Commandments contained in ordinances for to make in himself of to one new man so making peace so here's verse 19 now therefore you are no more strangers and foreigners but fellow-citizens with the Saints and of the household of God this is very relevant right now because what this is saying his salvation is not ever going to be by race it's gonna be by grace we accept the terms remember a go-between negotiates between the bride and the bridegroom and the bride has to accept the terms the more and more I study this this just becomes so prominent in my heart because the bride accepts the terms and when he leaves she washes and has his name called out over her and rises to walk in newness of life and begins he's not the only one making preparations she's making preparations for his return and when the Lord poured out his spirit on the day of Pentecost he is so obvious it was a Jewish Church but in verse chapter 18 and verse 5 Paul and when Silas and Timothy were come from Macedonia Paul was pressed in his spirit and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ and when they opposed themselves and blaspheme he shook his raiment and said unto them your blood be upon your own heads I'm clean and from now on I'm going to the Gentiles I'm not preaching to you anymore this is vital to understand this concept in the light of what I'm going to try to deal with in the next couple weeks let me talk to you first of all about some brides in the Old Testament because of course it says in King James all these things happen then them for examples unto us and they are written for our not theirs but for our admonition upon whom the ends of the world are come listen to what I found an amplified now these things befell them by way of a figure as an example and warning to us they were written to admonish and fit us for right action by good instruction we in whose days the ages have reached their climax their consummation and concluding period I can't teach you about the bride and the New Testament and ignore the brides in the Old Testament I found at least seven important brides in the Old Testament the first one I found was Eve her lesson is she was the bride that was taken from the body he opened his side and what he took from the side of Adam was where his bride came from not by chance that they shoved that spear into his side and out came blood and water which are the sacraments of the New Covenant and just as Adam and Eve became one flesh on the sixth day at the end of the sixth day of redemption Christ and his bride will be united in marriage Eve teaches us she's the first bride she came from his side the next real bride that I found important was Sarah Sarah is what I'll call the bride of restoration in Genesis 18 and verse 11 now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken and age and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women but Sarah was restored here's what it says in Hebrews 11 through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed and was delivered of a child when she was past age because she judged him faithful who had promised what is Sarah's pitcher and what is her lesson the type seen for us today she used to be young she used to be fertile she got old she lost the ability to have children the way of women and just as Sarah was restored in her old age to fruitfulness this has to happen to the New Testament church listen to these verses in acts 3 repent therefore and be converted that your sins may be blotted out when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord and he shall send Jesus Christ which before was preached unto you watch whom the heavens must receive until the time of the restitution of all things which God has spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began now as near as I can tell there are 40 men in the Bible that we can call prophets I've never done it always wanted to do it but I think if you would take the time and read and study the word of the Lord somewhere in there every one of these men would have something to say about restitution what does the Bible say is restoration well when I studied the story and the restoration prayer of David Psalms 51 what does he say restore unto me the joy of my salvation I am sorry but I meet people who just act like seven mother-in-law's moved in with them last week Sunday after church during tweener services some lady I thought the service at the beginning was milder it's it's never the same which I'm glad of we don't want one service being consecutively and consistently better than the other because then the other service will be treated like a stepchild and people said now I want to go to that service because that's when the good stuff always happened sometimes it's the second service that in my mind is better than your first sometimes it's been the first that's better than a second my personal opinion is that the first service this past Sunday was a little Meeker and milder than the second service was and III but but even though I consider the first one a little more tame when I was in the break room with our with our team getting ready for the second service this lady said came in and she said I am I do not mean to bother you I'm sorry I know I'm not supposed to be back here but she said I can't help it she said that was the greatest church service I've ever been in in my life that's what she said to me she said I have never she said I've been coming here for several weeks but she said it's always been good but today the music was exceptional she said the word of the Lord was amazing and I wanted to say I didn't really think it was that hot by part I thought the music was good I didn't think I did that good of a job but I remember I was with Billy Coe years ago and I did a care I did a terrible job I mean oh I muddied the water I was so ashamed and when I got done this lady came up and she said that was the greatest message I've ever heard in my life and I said well you're a very accomplished liar thank you for trying to encourage me and she looked at me and walked away and Billy rebuked me and he said here's your problem Harold you have a level of oration and oratory that you want to arrive at every time you preach and when you don't get to that level of speaking ability you think you did a bad job he said now let me tell you what just happened that woman was sincere because she said it would he said it wasn't the messenger it was the message that you were preaching your problem Herald is you've exalted the messenger over the message and you're under estimating the power of the Word of God and I needed rebuke because he was right and that lady Sunday just came in there and I thought I could have done better there were things that would have changed she said it was the best service she's ever been in in her life and she was telling the truth if you don't believe that go to Mass if you don't believe that go to one of them want to go go to one of them dead places where that guys swing on that plate with him smoke go go go go go just go through all that Daddy and it's just we got nothing to be i boy I was asked to speak somewhere between the North Pole and a South Pole a couple years ago to pray oh and and I was I was I was I was I was afraid I was nervous and I tried to get out of it I knew it was on NASA or not national but it was on television and and as soon as I got there the television producer said you'll be happy to know we're in at least 18 million homes right now and that didn't help me at all I went to the bathroom and threw up I did and I got on that platform and all of a sudden they had some rabbi in front of me and he prayed the worst prayer I've ever heard in my life then I heard some worth of ducks priests pray and it was like are you kidding me and then they had a Muslim cleric pray and I stood there or set there and said that's the best you got I got nothing to be ashamed of I'm better than all you guys put together and I was I'm a great preacher and people say that's arrogant now I know anybody that preaches the truth is a grey preach I preach the truth I'm a great preacher I'm just telling you we take for granted what we think is a mild-mannered apostolic service if you've never been in one it could be one of the most refreshing experiences you've ever had Lord restore unto us the joy of our salvation it says in Psalms 23 he will restore your soul I think that's your thought life and your emotions the Bible said in Joel 2 he will restore to you the years the years that have been wasted Isaiah 58 talks about here restore the old paths that says in Isaiah 57 and 18 he will restore comfort at the time of mourning Nehemiah five and eleven said God will restore his blessings on your life and one that I refer to all the time is Amos 9 and verse 11 he will restore and rebuild the tabernacle of David which I personally think is an Old Testament form of worship instituted under David that was gone and fell apart when Solomon became King but when the New Testament church not just had good doctrine but they had great worship and in acts 15 which is the first fight in the New Testament church over racism James the half-brother of Jesus said the reason we have this great harvest is not just because of our doctrinal stance but because of the way we're worshiping we have great doctrine and Pentecost there is no more scripturally documented doctrine in the Bible than water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ we're right about that being filled with the spirit to a point where he takes over the hardest thing of your life to control which is your tongue when he can take your tongue and magnify him in a language you don't know that's legitimate power that's we're right about that that God is not three persons in a in a triage of beings were right about that but this thing about lifting your hands and clapping and stand it up and musicians and instruments and we're right about that how exciting it is to live right now because the glory of the ladder house must exceed the glory of the former house praise God [Applause] praise God the next bride that I found was Rebecca she is well I'll call the bride of separation the longest chapter in the book of beginnings the longest chapter in Genesis is chapter 24 it is the story of a father sending a servant to find a bride for his son she's related to Abraham by blood she was a virgin she's drawing water from the well and evening she's serving that water to anyone that wants it she receives gifts she was willing to separate herself from her family and go to where her new bridegroom would be she met Isaac in the field of wish I had time to talk to you about that you want to meet the Lord make sure you're in the field that's where the meeting takes place she was loved and she was married by Isaac Rebecca teaches us something that Eve didn't teach us she taught us that we're going to be a separated people we're going to be willing to leave our comfort zone and be a part of something else rachel is the next bride that I can find she's the shepherd bride like like like like Rebecca she is introduced to us at a well there there were three flocks of sheep waiting to drink at the well there's so much typology here I I wish had time to teach you but it's John John rode rode in in first John he wrote about little children he wrote about young men he wrote about fathers I I don't have it she was a keeper of a sheep he she is an amazing Old Testament bride Ruth is the next bride I could find she's what I'll call the bride of the visitation he will find if you study anything about Orthodox Judaism during the Feast of Pentecost the Book of Ruth was always read during the feast of Pentecost because it was a time of harvest Ruth he's a Gentile woman she's from Moab the Bible said Moab is his wash pot it's where he does his dirty laundry she was a Gentile woman but finds a place of unique acceptance because she's willing to look at her mother-in-law and listen to what she says she said your God is going to be my god she said wherever and however you get buried I'm gonna get buried the same way and whatever and whoever you call people they are going to be my people that's a great picture of making a covenant with the Lord because you're gonna have to find out who he is that he's not Allah he is Jesus Christ you got to understand his name you need to know who he is and are you willing to be buried the way others have been buried are you willing to be buried with him in Baptism that's important because if you'll do that then there's something beyond that there are people that you've never met who live in Bethlehem Judah Bethlehem is a place of bread for Judah as a place of praise it always amazed me that a limit left Bethlehem Judah why would you leave a place where they're supposed to be bread and a place where they're supposed to be prayed because there was a famine which ought to teach us a lesson we cannot afford the luxury of having one bad church service there can never be a famine in First Church there's always going to be a place of fresh bread and praise because if we don't keep fresh bread served and praised being exalted people are going to make stupid decisions when there isn't fresh word and great worship we can't afford that so he goes to Moab which wasn't far away but as a Fresa Nate read the first book of the first verse of Ruth there was a famine in Bethlehem Judah in the time of the judges we still have the book of Judges if you read the book of Judges there's only one famine mentioned there it was the time when God called things that weren't as though they were a man hiding behind a winepress by the name of Gideon and God said you mighty man of Valor and hearing his shiverin and and and hiding behind the wine he's going to who me are you talking about me yes I am you're going to be a mighty leader remember what Paul said I thank my God who counted me worthy think of a parade think of a hundred floats in the parade but every one of the floats is a picture of your walk with God that the first float is the picture of how you were crude and and just a heathen and didn't know him and the next ninety-nine floats are pictures of transitions and changes that you made in your life until finally when you get to the end of the parade the last float in the parade is a picture of you serving God with integrity and with consecration and with strength this is what Paul is saying I thank God that he didn't look at the first float in the parade he literally looked at the end of the whole parade and he counted me worthy before I was even worthy Wow what a deal what a deal oh Jesus here's my problem Elimelech I don't find any reference to him pray should we go to Moab or not but they just left but I do know that during the time that he left Gideon had thousands of men join up with him until finally it was winnowed down to just a couple hundred who was shouted shining and drive away the enemy here's the sad part of the story a limo that could have possibly been one of those hundreds that shouted and shine if he just would have stayed but he left at the wrong time and this woman who's a Gentile meets a kids man Redeemer and it's found in Ephesians now therefore you are no more strangers and foreigners but fellow-citizens with the Saints and she's steadfast she's serving and when she getting ready to meet Mary bows ass I found this today I could have just I just stood up and just lifted my hands in my office I've never saw it before it's in Ruth chapter three and verse three this is what the bridegroom said to his potential bride he said wash thyself therefore and anoint thee and put thy rapier I want you to wash then I want you to get it on it and then I want you to put your best duds on and I think that's what our bridegroom is saying to us I want you to get washed in my name I want you to get anointed with my spirit and then I want you to put on the best garment that you can find I want you to be different I want you to prepare yourself to please me Jesus name Esther who is what I'll call the orphan who became a queen it's all of that it's only two books in the Bible where God is not mentioned does anybody know where the other one is somebody said it somebody who said it who is it what is it okay anybody else the two that I found were Ruth and the Song of Solomon I'll have to read Esther but that that that if Esther is one of those than fine is it isn't it obvious to us that whether God was mentioned or not in any of those books he was at work and she's prepared chosen interceded for her people I think we'll stop there that these TVs are Old Testament brides that I think are snapshots pictures of what you and I should be that we should be that bride that was taken from his side that we should be a bride that's restored in our old age we should be a bride that's willing to separate unto him we should be a bride as willing to be involved with the Sheep that we should be a bride that is willing to wash and anoint and put on your best garment and be a part of something that nobody said you were allowed in and we should be a bride it says for such a time as this that's why I'm here and Jesus name let's stand Lord Jesus I thank you for your word I thank you for the pictures the snapshots I thank you for the movies I thank you for the scenes that I can look at through words and I can see not only what I am but what you want me to be Lord Jesus you've gone you said the bride doesn't need fast while the bridegroom is with them but when he's gone that's when the bridegroom will fast that's when the bridegroom will listen to the friend of the bridegroom a man and the bride will listen and take instruction would you please help me Lord as a as a friend of the bridegroom to prepare this church for what you want please help me Lord not to be intimidated by a white envelope that somebody puts in a plate or something that somebody texts on an app please God help me not in my older age to start making spiritual decisions based on money I'm asking you God in these times of this last season of my ministry I'm asking you God that you would help me to do the very best that I can to prepare these people so that when you come you would be more than happy to present this church to yourself that we don't have a spot we don't have a wrinkle we don't have have anything that would displease you please help me Lord to have the courage to address the issues that are so culturally relevant to our times that we need to be a people that are willing to separate from family friends former relationships to be gifted and go to another place and be involved in the field to meet our lover and to meet our groom guide us we pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ amen amen and I love you you've been such a wonderful people you were here mid some came to both services Sunday prayer meeting Monday night was stellar the last two prayer meetings have been really exceptional and and this is what could and should happen that the because of the way our services are now sometimes our altar services can be abbreviated and and and and and for what it's a host of reasons but the prayer meeting can become the incubator for the church where you say if they didn't get the Holy Ghost on Sunday and people did get the Holy Ghost this past Sunday but it's been a long dry spell and I was getting nervous but I'm grateful for the people that were filled with the Holy Ghost Sunday and the people that were baptized Sunday and Monday night and prayer meeting with the way and the strength of our worship and our prayer on Monday you could say would you like to have Holy Ghost just come to prayer meeting because there won't be a lot of offerings taken there won't be a lot of preaching there just it'll just be worship if you immerse someone that's hungry for the Holy Ghost in the midst of 90 to 100 people that are magnifying God they'll get the Holy Ghost easy they'll get the Holy Ghost easy that's right they will they will so I love you and I thank you a man you were here Sunday you were here Monday you're here tonight now go take a couple days and be with your family and I'll see you again soon okay god bless every one of you have a great night in Jesus name you

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Length: 97min 44sec (5864 seconds)

Published: Wed Jul 22 2020