If everyone could turn to Revelation, we're now in Revelation chapter 19. We're gonna be splitting up Revelation 19 into three sections. So we'll do the first one today. Verses one through 10. And as you turn there, I wanted to call to mind something. I wanted to call to mind the world that we live in. We live in a world where truth and the idea of truth, especially absolute truth, seems fleeting. It's something that many people would think of as being non-existent. What is truth? That's the question that everybody asks, just like Pilate asked of Jesus when he was speaking to Jesus right before his crucifixion. And he said, what is truth here in Jesus's claims? In our world today, many people seem to think that there's many versions of truth, that each person has their own version of truth. In that postmodern thinking, each person's truth is good and is right and is valid. In light of that, there's a lot of pessimism. Pessimism about anybody who does claim to have absolute truth. Pessimism about finding truth. For those who believe in truth, there is great difficulty because the question is where to turn? Where do you turn to find the truth? If I think that there is truth out there, who do I go to for it? You know, most have abandoned their parents as a source of truth, or their ancestors, or those who are older or wiser. That's been thrown out, but say you do look to your parents, so do look to those who are older and wiser, and start to ask them, and they tell you things, and then you realize that they're faulty, and that they have suppositions, and they have things that are controlling their understanding of truth. And so you start to question them, and that you look, do you look to the media? I mean, you look on any different news channel or any different news station, and there's all these different truths that are laid out, all of them based on what those people believe, what are their suppositions, their presuppositions. Each one has a different truth. Is there any truth underneath all of that? You could look to politicians and get the same. You could look to your peers or look to the culture, and you get all these different versions of what truth is. We are in desperate need of true words to hold on to, of true words to lash ourselves to, like the old sailors used to do when they were in the midst of a storm, a terrible storm, and there was a threat of being washed overboard, and they would lash themselves to the mast. We need true words to lash ourselves to today, true words to listen to and to heed. And that's what we're given today. Revelation 19 1 through 10 we're giving true words from God So as I read I want you to listen to these true words After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of great multitude in heaven crying out Hallelujah Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for His judgments are true and just. For He has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality and has avenged on her the blood of His servants. Once more they cried out, Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up forever and ever. And the 24 elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who was seated on the throne saying, amen, hallelujah. And from the throne came a voice saying, praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him small and great. Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder crying out, hallelujah, for the Lord, our God, the almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory. For the marriage of the lamb has come and his bride has made herself ready. It was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure, for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. And the angel said to me, write this, blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the lamb. And he said to me, these are the true words of God. Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, you must not do that. I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. These are the true words of God, the angel says. And as followers of Jesus, our only hope is holding onto, believing in, lashing ourselves to these words that God has given us. And I want to point out the four different words, true words that God gives us, or words that God has given on four different subjects in our passage today. And first, we see that the true word of God about the judgment of the world. Second, we're gonna see the true word of God about his glorious reign. Third, we're gonna see the true word of God about the holiness of his bride. And finally, I want us to see the true word of God about the blessing of his salvation. So let's look first at God's true word about the judgment of the world. So back up to verse one. John hears a loud voice like a great multitude in heaven. Who are they? Who is it that cries out? You know, it's the, it's the saints of God. It's the same great multitude we saw in Revelation 7 where Jordan described them. He said a great multitude that no one can number from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages standing before the throne and before the lamb clothed in white robes with palm branches in their hands and crying out with a loud voice. Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the lamb. So here again in our passage today, we hear the worship of those who've been washed by the blood of the Lamb. And they cry out in praise to God, and they sing of His salvation. Hallelujah, salvation and glory and power belong to our God. Salvation, salvation belongs to our God. What's the basis on which this heavenly chorus pronounces the salvation of God. What is it based on? What's it founded on? They say it's because God's judgments are true and just. You see, church, the only reason we have hope of salvation is because God's judgments are true. Think with me a minute what that means, that God's judgments are true. It means that though everything in the world, everything we see screams at us that this world and all it offers is all that there is. Though everyone we know and even our own flesh tells us that this world's pleasures are real and lasting, it is God's judgment that matters. The word he gives in the end is what's really true. So the question is, will we believe the truth of God's judgments? You know, it's a question that's faced us throughout the study of Revelation. It's a question that faced those seven churches to which this letter was written and all of the churches to us. And we find ourselves living in a world that's hostile to God. It demands our allegiance. It demands that we worship its idols rather than worship Jesus Christ. And this world presents to us a lie. A lie. We are told in this lie that those who join with the world, that those who seek her pleasures, that those who worship her idols and prove of her sins, you know, if we would just be like everyone else around us and do what the world is doing, then we will be given ultimate pleasure and ultimate satisfaction. Life will be good. But, but the world tells us we choose to foolishly reject the things of this world, the ways of this world. If we follow Jesus, then we're going to lose everything. There's going to be no pleasure. There's going to be no satisfaction. We'll even lose our lives. It's a lie church. It's a lie that we hear every day. It's a lie. We are tempted to believe. And it seems so real to us. Job talked about that when he said, why do the wicked live and reach old age and grow mighty in power? And we see that, we look around and we see that those who do the things that this world does gain much from it. You know, politicians burn a little incense to Caesar and they get elected, they gain power. You know, businessmen who run their businesses in such a way, they'll sell sexual license, they'll endorse homosexuality, they'll gain wealth from it, they'll gain success. Their businesses will grow, they'll flourish. We see around us fathers and husbands, wives and mothers who will abandon their vows. or they'll kill their children, murder their children, and what do they gain? They gain freedom, they gain pleasures, they gain much success. Young men and women who follow in the footsteps of their peers, and they gain friendships, they gain pleasures, they gain much. But what of the godly? What of those who follow Jesus Christ, who hold to their testimony in Him, They rarely gain any pace of power. Politicians, if they manage to stay in politics at all, they're sidelined, they're mistreated, they're cast out. Businessmen will struggle and struggle to build up a business, just to have it torn away by abortion or homosexual lobbies, the trade guilds of our day. They'll lose all that they've built up. Fathers and mothers, you've watched opportunities pass away with each child you've welcomed in your home. Young men and women, you've likely seen friendships go. You've watched pleasures, enjoyments, and excitements of the future seem to dwindle because of your commitment to Jesus Christ. The lies of this world are convincing. They convince sometimes even me. That's why we must hold on to, we must lash ourselves to God's true word about the judgment of the world. In verse two, our text says, for he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality and has avenged on her the blood of his servants. Remember who that prostitute is. That prostitute, she is the world. She represents the cultures and the kingdoms that man has built up throughout the ages in defiance to God. But what is her end? Do the power and wealth and riches that she promised last? No, they're destroyed. We looked the last few weeks at the great weeping and mourning of those who had attached themselves to her, to the city of man. Will that be your end? Will you watch all you have believed in crumble? Will you watch as Babylon's promises dissolve and will those be your promises? They were lies, sweet lies, convincing lies, lies to lead astray even God's people if that were possible, but they are lies. The lies of this world cannot stand the judgment of God. God will judge the world and all those lies will be turned on their head. That's why it says he avenged on her the blood of his servants. Though God's people suffer at the hands of the world, enduring persecution and even death, when God's judgment comes, then the world will die and God's people will gain life. The picture we get of the world's destruction is a powerful one. In verse three, once more they cried out, hallelujah, for the smoke from her goes up forever and ever. See, in times of warfare, when a city was destroyed and defeated, then you could see the smoke from the fires rising up from miles away. And that's the image we have here. Babylon, the city of man, is destroyed, lies in smoldering ruin, but she will never be rebuilt this time. Her judgment, God's judgment on her is true and just, and it is final. So as the people of God, we're called to read these words, to believe these words. Do not believe the world's lies. These are the true words of God concerning the judgment of the world. So that's the judgment of the world. Secondly, I wanna look at the true words of God about his glorious reign. We see this in our passage as our passage continues. So in response to the great multitude praising God for his judgment, we have a response by God's heavenly court. In verse four, we read, and the 24 elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who was seated on the throne saying, amen, hallelujah. And from the throne came a voice saying, praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him small and great. And then once again, the saints are called upon to give praise to God and they respond with a deafening sound. In verse six, then I heard what seemed to be the voice of great multitude, like a roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder crying out, hallelujah, for the Lord, our God, the almighty reigns. The Lord, our God, he reigns. The second true word of God that we must hear and believe today is that our God reigns. Now, there's a number of senses in which we see that God reigns. We see that He has reigned. We see that God does now reign, and we see that He will reign. So in understanding that God has reigned, we have to first understand that God is sovereign over His creation. He always has reigned. And there was never a time when anything has been outside His control or His power. And we see this throughout the scriptures. Whenever the scriptures speak of God's creation or God's providence, John 1, 3 speaks of Christ saying, all things were made through Him and without Him was not anything made that was made. A little later it says, Colossians 1.16 speaks of Jesus this way, For by him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through him and for him, and he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. So Christ reigns, he always has, but Christ does also now reign. And the second understanding we have is that there was a realization of Christ's reign. His kingdom was established when He rose from the dead. We can see that in the fact that Jesus Christ, when He rose from the dead, He took His place at the Father's right hand, a position of power and authority from which He sent His Spirit to govern His church. So Christ now exercises His rule over the world. He exercises His rule over the church, and He exercises His rule through the proclamation of the gospel. John was pointing to this at the beginning of Revelation when he identified himself. He called himself, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and of the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus. John is our partner in the kingdom of Jesus Christ here and now. So Christ always has reigned. Christ does now reign. But there's a third aspect of the reign of Christ that our passage today specifically speaks of, and that is the completed and final reign of Christ that will come at His return. The saints praise God, saying, So just as these same saints lifted up praise to God for the completed and final judgment of the world, they now lift up praise to God for his reign that has come in its fullness, the reign of Christ that he will bring in his return. You know, we saw that back in chapter 11 with the opening of the seventh seal when the heavenly court cried out, we give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, for you have taken your great power and have begun to reign. So with the final judgment, the Lord will begin His reign. And we need to be reminded of the coming reign of Christ for the same reason that we need to be reminded of the coming judgment of the world, because we are so prone to forget God. Rather, we tend to think of the things that we see, taste, hear, and touch, the senses of our flesh, the entirety of the world around us. We cannot see God. We cannot see his hand, so we forget that the sovereign creator who is the one who guides our steps. We cannot hear God speak, so we forget that he is the voice of the king that we are to listen to. We cannot see God's kingdom, so we forget that we belong to a kingdom that is not of this world. But these are the true words of God concerning his coming reign. The kingdoms of this world will be thrown down. Christ will return and he will reign completely and finally. The early church confessed this. At the name of Jesus Christ, every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. So we've seen the true words of God about the coming judgment. We've seen the true words of God about his glorious reign. Now I want us to look at the true words of God about the holiness of his bride. Verse seven continues, let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory for the marriage of the lamb has come and his bride has made herself ready. It was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure. For the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. Now it could have easily just as easily called this the true word of God about the marriage of the lamb. And I think that would have been right in doing that. There's enough in that phrase, the marriage supper of the Lamb, to fill a thousand sermons. But there's something here we need to see. I want to draw our attention to something that's misunderstood frequently in our day and misunderstood frequently in our gathering. What I want to draw our attention to is the description that God gives of the bride of Christ. And she is here described in terms of beauty and purity. She's clothed as a bride ought to be clothed. And she stands ready, looking to the joy of finally being united to her beloved. But look what is said of her adornment, her clothing, fine linen, bright and pure, is declared to be her righteous deeds. The church is closed with the righteous deeds of the saints? Probably sounds a little odd to our ears. After all the clear teaching of scripture is that when we stand before God on that day of judgment, it will not be for anything we've done that we stand before God and are counted as righteous. We're counted as righteous only because of the work of Jesus Christ. He alone lived a perfect life that was pleasing to his father and that perfect man died on the cross. bearing our sins so that God can now look at us as righteous. That's the great transaction that Paul speaks about in 1 Corinthians 521, excuse me, 2 Corinthians 521 when he says, for our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. So it's only because Jesus has paid for our sins and given us his righteous standing as the beloved son that we have peace with God, we have no fear of his wrath, You know, earlier in Revelation, in chapter 7, used the same words about the clothing of the saints, but here it said they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. So their robes are fine and pure because of the blood of Christ. Isaiah 61 teaches the same. I will greatly rejoice in the Lord. My soul shall exult in my God, for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation. He has covered me with the robe of righteousness. God clothes his people in righteousness, a righteousness that is bought and secured by nothing but the blood of Jesus, a righteousness not our own. An alien righteousness is our hope. And yet Christ here says that the fine, the pure garments of his people are their righteous deeds. How can that be? How does it fit? How does it make sense? What is it? How does this work? Are we saved? and declared righteous by faith, and faith alone, not of works, lest anyone should boast? Or when we stand in that day, are we gonna be clothed in our righteous deeds, those good works that God has prepared beforehand for us, that we might walk in them? The answer, according to Revelation and the rest of Scripture, is that those are both true. We're clothed in both. We are adorned in the righteousness not our own, an alien righteousness that is ours by faith in Jesus Christ. And we're clothed and adorned by the righteous deeds that God himself empowers us to walk in. That's one of the reasons we've had you reading the book, A Hole in Our Holiness, because of this very issue. There's a couple of misconceptions that we must address in order for us to understand and grasp onto this teaching here. The first is a common misunderstanding about whether or not God's people can ever do anything that is good. In our day, we've got many people are discovering anew the teachings of the Bible concerning the depravity of man, that man is depraved in his sinfulness and the need of the grace of God for his salvation. These are wonderful insights. There is no one who does good, not even one. All men have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. And in our sin we cannot submit to God, we cannot please God. Wonderful teachings. I have nothing good in me, nothing righteous. These are the words of Isaiah 64, 6 when we talk about our own righteousness before God. We have all become like one who is unclean. All our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. So my own deeds to establish my own righteousness before God are utterly unacceptable before him. I need the righteousness of Christ. But this is where the problem comes in. That many of us start to think that even after I've been born again by the power of the Holy Spirit of God, that this verse still describes my every thought, my every deed, my every work. All that I can do even now is polluted before God, utterly unacceptable before Him. So how could Revelation describe the beautiful adornment of Christ's bride as her deeds? You know, is God displeased with everything we do? Is it all so filthy that it is utterly unacceptable before Him? The answer here and throughout Scripture is no. God is pleased with the righteous works of His people. Colossians 1, 9-10, Paul speaks of the believers concerning their faith and says, So Paul hears of their faith and what does he pray for? That they would be accepted by God despite the fact that they never please Him? know that they would walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him. He prays for their works, their deeds, that they would be pleasing to God. This fits with the admonition in the second part of Romans. Remember the turnover from the beginning of Romans, it talks about our standing in Christ. In the second part of Romans, it calls us to what we are to do in light of the gospel. And he says, I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. So present your bodies as living sacrifices. In other words, because of what Christ has done in you, you now start doing works that are acceptable and pleasing to him. These works are a response of faith. They're a fruit of true faith. In fact, it is expected in the kingdom of Christ that all true faith will produce such God-pleasing works. That's why James says, the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead. We are justified by faith alone, but it is not a faith that remains alone. There are works that are produced out of that faith. So the first misconception we address is the thinking that says that all we ever do is sinful and unacceptable before God, even as believers. But if our faith is a true lively faith, wrought in our hearts by the work of the Spirit, then it will be accompanied by works. The second misconception I wanted to bring to mind that we have concerning this relationship between justification and our works, our deeds, is related. And this one says that if we're justified by faith, not by anything that we can do in ourselves, then what does it really matter how we live? What does it matter if I sin? Now most of us are not perhaps going to think that we can just go sinning on recklessly, doing whatever we want with abandon, but we do sometimes live in such a way that we aren't really all that interested in considering how we walk, in considering our deeds, in considering our sin, fleeing from sin. Are we concerned with that? Running from sin? Is that what describes your faith and your walk? Is your claim on Christ's righteousness leading you to be satisfied with sin, with compromise with the world? I'm saved. I'm justified. God sees me as righteous because of Jesus. It doesn't really matter what I live like. It doesn't really matter how I live. There's something I want to ask you is whether or not, how often do you really consider your personal sin before God, how he looks at it? If you're a child of God, accepted, adopted into His family, loved by God, do you even think of the fact that your sin displeases Him? It displeases Him as a father would be displeased by his son. You know, Hebrews 12, seven speaks of that, that God is displeased by our sin, and He disciplines us. He disciplines us because He loves us, because we are His children, and He desires in us holiness. That's why He disciplines us. His goal is to have us turn from our sin and walk in holiness. So Revelation here is teaching the same as well. If you remember back in the letter to the Laodicean church, A church that was so content in their sin and compromise with the world that Christ said He would spew them out of His mouth, and yet He left them with this admonition. He said, So will you continue to displease God by your sin because you think you can? Saying to yourself, I'm saved, I believe in Jesus, I'm going to heaven. What does it really matter if there's a few areas that I'm a little rough in? We all sin, Jesus saves us anyway. Why bother with it? Will you continue to be satisfied in your sin? Young people or children, will you continue to be satisfied in the rebellion that you have against your parents? Not realizing that one of the primary marks of a Christian is obedience. Are you clothed with those white garments, with the garments of obedience, submission? Young men and women, how long will you be satisfied with the lusts of your minds, thinking things, watching things, reveling in the satisfaction of desires that God intends for husband and wife? What about the white garments of purity and chastity? Husbands and fathers, mothers and wives, How long will you continue in the same sins as those who are but youths? You know, content in your sin, claiming the righteousness of Christ yet indulging in your own pornography, visual pornography, written pornography, adultery, whatever it is that you you pursue to satisfy your flesh. Ephesians 5, 3 through 5 says, sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness, nor foolish talk, nor crude joking which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure or who is covetous, that is an idolater, has no inheritance of the kingdom of God in Christ. Friends, I could go on and I perhaps should go on to capture each one of you. What sin do you walk in? Is it complacency, idleness, unholy talk, stubbornness, hatred? If you repent of your sins and turn to Jesus Christ in faith, believe these true words of God about His bride. It will be granted you to clothe yourself in fine linen, bright and pure. It is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. so that you will live a life marked by your death in Christ and your new life with him. Humble yourselves, repent of your sins. Plead with God to do this work in you and then strive to mark yourself this way. Strive for holiness. So we've heard the call to believe the true word of God about the judgment of the world the true word of God about His glorious reign, the true word of God about the holiness of His bride. And finally, I want us to turn and hear God's true word about the blessing of His salvation. In verse 9, And the angel said to me, Write this, Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. Blessed are those. Do we know this blessing? What is so blessed about this invitation? Those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. I want to note first whose wedding feast it is to which we have been invited. Let us rejoice and exalt and give Him the glory for the marriage of the Lamb has come. The marriage is of the Lamb. And who is this lamb? John the Baptist declared the identity of this lamb. When he saw Jesus coming toward him, his entire life's purpose was summed up, came to its fruition when he declared this. And he said, behold, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Jesus is the lamb of God. You know, I call to mind the Old Testament record of the salvation of God's people in Egypt. how God's judgment was coming on Egypt. The angel of death was going to come and he had his people kill the lamb and smear its blood on the doorpost so that when God's judgment came, it passed over. Judgment was averted by the blood of the lamb. So it is with those who are invited to the marriage supper of the lamb. God's judgment is coming upon the whole world and we will all face eternal judgment for our sins. Yet for those who have been washed with the blood of the lamb, judgment will pass over us. Blessed are we who have been covered by the precious blood of the lamb. The lamb invites those who to whom or for whom he gave his very life to save them from their sins. Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the lamb. So secondly, I want to note the uniqueness of this blessing. There are none who are blessed except those who are invited to this marriage feast. The blessing is found in no other feast. It's found in no other gathering. It's found in no other invitation. Now that's not what the world wants us to believe. The world wants us to believe that there are many paths to blessing. There are many tables at which we can sit. There are many good people who have found other paths of blessedness. What of the faithful Muslim? The devout and kind Buddhist? The good Roman Catholic? As long as they are sincere and good people, surely they will be blessed as well. We all know Mormons whose lives and religious devotion are unparalleled. Surely they have found blessing where they are. What of your own family, your friends, those who you love and care for, who are genuine and kind, good folk who just haven't quite had time for Jesus yet? It's just not where they're at. Surely there's blessing from them as well. The world tells us there are many paths to blessing. But listen to the true words of God. Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. God declares that there is no other state of blessedness except to be seated with Jesus Christ at his feast. The only true place of blessing in this is the loving presence of God, and no one can come to God except through His Son, Jesus. He said, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. No one comes to the Father. No one comes to God except through Jesus Christ. Who? There's no other way of blessing this. There's no other who can atone for our sins, who can wash them away. And so that leads us to lastly note the necessity of this blessedness. You see, you and I, every one of us, are sinners. We have sinned not just against other people, family, friends, neighbors, but our sin is much worse than that. We have sinned against God. Our every ill thought, our every selfish deed has been perpetrated before an all-seeing God, and that God, who is aware of every single evil thought, Every deed is himself righteous and holy. He sees my sin, he sees your sin, and he hates it. You and I and all people are enemies of God deserving his judgment and his wrath. We deserve to burn in hell forever. How can we be blessed? How? How can I find any place of blessing? God is against me. Only in the arms of Jesus Christ can I escape the judgment of death. Romans 4, 7, blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin. I am blessed when I am forgiven. I am blessed when my sins are covered. You are blessed when God no longer counts your sins against you. Jesus is your only hope for that. He who was God and became a man, and though he was already blessed, beyond all blessing, he died on the cross for our sins, for those who are cursed. Sinners like you and me. He took our curse upon Himself so that we who have no blessing could be blessed in Him. Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb, because the Lamb Himself has saved them. Do you believe the true words of God concerning His salvation? Do you believe that only in Jesus Christ you can be truly blessed? Trust Him. Believe in Him. You will be blessed. Do you know the blessing of God's salvation? Today we've been called to hear and believe the true words of God. We've heard the true word of God about the judgment of the world, that this world is but passing and her judgment is sure. All her promises will be nothing. But those who persevere in faith in the Lord Jesus Christ will be saved. We may lose our lives in this world, but in His return, life and salvation will be ours. We've heard the true word of God about His glorious reign, that His reign was and is and is to come. There will come a day when Jesus Christ will return, and when he comes, he will bring his kingdom completely and with finality. We've heard the true word of God about the holiness of his bride. He did not redeem a people for himself and leave them filthy in their sins. No, he washed us clean with his own blood, and we who have been redeemed now strive to walk in that holiness without which no one will see the Lord. Finally, we've heard the true word of God about the blessing of His salvation. Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. If you would have this blessing, if you would escape the snares and passing pleasures of this world, if you would find a seat of honor and blessing in the coming kingdom of Christ, if you would be clothed in holiness on that day when Christ comes, if you would be blessed, then turn to the Lord Jesus Christ. If you would know the blessing of the salvation, turn to Him. Believe in Him. He is the way and the truth and the life. Let's go ahead and close in prayer. Our Heavenly Father God, our gracious God, we thank you that you have not left us wandering in this world without a guide, without a true word, but you've given us your true words. You've given us your true words about your son, who he is and what he has done. I thank you that you have redeemed your bride, and I pray that your bride would be strengthened today, and that those who do not know you would see their need of you, that they too would be blessed as they turn to you in faith. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.