SPEAKER_00: You're listening to the road with Pastor Teacher Steve Holt.
SPEAKER_01: Some of you in this room are struggling with cancer.
SPEAKER_01: Some of you have been robbed and then ripped off by the court system.
SPEAKER_01: Some of you have lost marriages and lost family members and leukemia or maybe a divorce.
SPEAKER_01: And you ask that question, you cry out in those lonely places of our heart.
SPEAKER_01: Why, Lord?
SPEAKER_01: Not fair.
SPEAKER_01: Life's not fair.
SPEAKER_01: But it's going to be made fair.
SPEAKER_01: It is going to be made fair.
SPEAKER_01: And justice is coming.
SPEAKER_00: Today, Pastor Steve continues his series on the book of Revelation.
SPEAKER_00: At The Road, our vision is to raise up wholehearted disciples of Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_00: For more information on The Road, visit theroad.org.
SPEAKER_00: We hope you are encouraged by today's message from Pastor Teacher Steve Holt.
SPEAKER_01: Revelation chapter 19.
SPEAKER_01: And Revelation 19 is the high point of scripture.
SPEAKER_01: It is the high point in the Bible.
SPEAKER_01: And some have called it the hallelujah course of the Bible.
SPEAKER_01: Revelation 19.
SPEAKER_01: And if you've been with us, most of you have over the last few months.
SPEAKER_01: We have been in the wrath and judgment of God now for about three months.
SPEAKER_01: And now we're coming in to this fourth-dimensional view that John got to see of the future that we can anticipate.
SPEAKER_01: And this is your wedding announcement.
SPEAKER_01: Alright, Revelation 19 is your wedding announcement.
SPEAKER_01: If you know the Lord, it's your wedding invitation if you don't.
SPEAKER_01: So turn in your Bibles to Revelation 19 or look on your app.
SPEAKER_01: And here we go.
SPEAKER_01: We've got a lot to cover here.
SPEAKER_01: Pretty cool.
SPEAKER_01: I call it the Great Feast with the Great Warrior.
SPEAKER_01: Can you imagine having this big feast?
SPEAKER_01: You're going to have this meal.
SPEAKER_01: And if you're from Japan, it's going to have sushi.
SPEAKER_01: There'll be sushi there, you know.
SPEAKER_01: You're Chinese, it'll have wonton soup and all of that.
SPEAKER_01: And if you're an American, it'll have steak and potatoes.
SPEAKER_01: But you're coming into this feast.
SPEAKER_01: You've been invited to this banquet.
SPEAKER_01: He says, after these things.
SPEAKER_01: So, as you know, 17 and 18, we talked about the Babylonian city, the Babylonian system.
SPEAKER_01: That is now being destroyed by God in the midst of Revelation 19.
SPEAKER_01: I heard a loud voice of a great multitude.
SPEAKER_01: I believe these are the tribulation saints.
SPEAKER_01: These are also those of the rapture church.
SPEAKER_01: We're up there.
SPEAKER_01: We're on the mezzanine.
SPEAKER_01: We're a part of this whole thing.
SPEAKER_01: We are fired up.
SPEAKER_01: This is bigger than the Denver Broncos coming out of the tunnel at the Super Bowl.
SPEAKER_01: This is a bunch of fired up saints in heaven saying hallelujah.
SPEAKER_01: We're going to see four times the word allelujah.
SPEAKER_01: This is the only place in the Bible where you have the word hallelujah.
SPEAKER_01: It's a transliteration of Hebrew.
SPEAKER_01: The Greek word is hallelujah.
SPEAKER_01: Twenty-four times in the Old Testament is translated, praise the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: Four times, hallelujah.
SPEAKER_01: This is why it's called the Hallelujah chorus or the Alleluia Chorus.
SPEAKER_01: The New Testament, Alleluia chorus.
SPEAKER_01: And here's why.
SPEAKER_01: Salvation, this is why you guys should be.
SPEAKER_01: When we come to worship, this is why we get fired up.
SPEAKER_01: This is why we try to stay focused.
SPEAKER_01: And drop all the stuff from your job and everything, you know, at the door, please.
SPEAKER_01: And none of us do this well, but anyway, we're getting better at it.
SPEAKER_01: Sometimes I'm terrible and I'm I get paid to do this.
SPEAKER_01: Okay?
SPEAKER_01: You're volunteers.
SPEAKER_01: But anyway.
SPEAKER_01: So we come in to praise the Lord because we have salvation.
SPEAKER_01: We have the glory of God.
SPEAKER_01: We have the honor of God.
SPEAKER_01: And we have the power of God belonging to the Lord our God.
SPEAKER_01: That's the God we serve.
SPEAKER_01: That's His.
SPEAKER_01: And men and women, all of creation is longing for this.
SPEAKER_01: All of creation is longing for this day, this hallelujah chorus in heaven.
SPEAKER_01: Romans 8.
SPEAKER_01: For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.
SPEAKER_01: For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it in hope?
SPEAKER_01: Because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
SPEAKER_01: Can you imagine?
SPEAKER_01: There's wild beasts, there's birds, there's bees, there's bears, there's lions that are actually rejoicing to see us coming into our destiny.
SPEAKER_01: This coming of the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: I don't know what this is going to be like, but it's pretty, I mean, you got to use a little God-anointed imagination, but I wonder if all of the animals are sort of all just, everything's changing right now.
SPEAKER_01: This anticipation, all of the chorus of heaven is rejoicing.
SPEAKER_01: Everyone's excited.
SPEAKER_01: For true and righteous are his judgments.
SPEAKER_01: Because he has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication, and he has avenged on her the blood of his servants shed by her.
SPEAKER_01: And so, church, all of our questions will be answered.
SPEAKER_01: Some of you in this room are struggling with cancer.
SPEAKER_01: Good friend of ours in the last two weeks may have cancer.
SPEAKER_01: Some of you have been robbed and then ripped off by the court system.
SPEAKER_01: Some of you have lost marriages and lost family members and leukemia or maybe a divorce.
SPEAKER_01: And you ask that question, you cry out in those lonely places of our heart.
SPEAKER_01: Why, Lord?
SPEAKER_01: It's not fair.
SPEAKER_01: And it's not.
SPEAKER_01: Life's not fair.
SPEAKER_01: But it's going to be made fair.
SPEAKER_01: It is going to be made fair.
SPEAKER_01: And justice is coming.
SPEAKER_01: And righteous and true are the judgments of God.
SPEAKER_01: And that's what we have to focus on in our deepest hurts and our deepest pain is that there is a day coming where true and righteous are the judgments of the Lord and the great harlot, that Babylonian system, the Antichrist, Satan demons are going to be judged.
SPEAKER_01: And again they say, Hallelujah.
SPEAKER_01: And our smoke rises up forever and ever.
SPEAKER_01: He is annihilating evil here.
SPEAKER_01: He is annihilating evil.
SPEAKER_01: And the 24 elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sat on the throne saying, Amen.
SPEAKER_01: Then a voice came from the throne saying, Praise our God, all you servants and those who fear him, both small and great.
SPEAKER_01: It's interesting, Alleluia is nowhere in, I mean, this is our transliteration in the English language, but it's like it's a heavenly dialect.
SPEAKER_01: It's as if, because it's not anywhere in the scriptures, it's as if we're getting a view of a new dialect.
SPEAKER_01: Like a new language that we're going to have in heaven.
SPEAKER_01: And it seems like hallelujah is a really popular word up there.
SPEAKER_01: So as we get the glimpse into what's happening, and for the next three chapters, we're going to see this happen.
SPEAKER_01: This new way of looking at life is exploding now.
SPEAKER_01: It's like the heavens are split open.
SPEAKER_01: John sees this apocalypse, and as he does, he keeps hearing hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah.
SPEAKER_01: Praise the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: The Lord reigns.
SPEAKER_01: The Lord is omnipotent.
SPEAKER_01: The Lord is glory.
SPEAKER_01: The Lord is honor.
SPEAKER_01: The Lord is salvation.
SPEAKER_01: It is all his.
SPEAKER_01: Hallelujah.
SPEAKER_01: The Lord is coming.
SPEAKER_01: Everything's coming together.
SPEAKER_01: And then he says, All, praise our God, all you his servants, and those who fear him.
SPEAKER_01: Do you know it's possible to serve God without fearing God?
SPEAKER_01: There's all kinds of motivations, right, in our lives for serving God, but God rejoices in those who serve him with a fear of God.
SPEAKER_01: And I grew up with a dad who's pretty cool.
SPEAKER_01: And he loved Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: He's always, I never knew my dad ever to lie about anything.
SPEAKER_01: He was an honest, upright man.
SPEAKER_01: He's still alive today.
SPEAKER_01: And if you meet him, he probably will at some point when he's visiting.
SPEAKER_01: You'll see what I'm talking about.
SPEAKER_01: But there were those times when his firstborn son did lie.
SPEAKER_01: And did do some unscrupulous things.
SPEAKER_01: Sometimes if Liz uses it, she's got a, I almost think it's the opposite sometimes with her, like mom's coming home.
SPEAKER_01: But dad's coming home, and you tell him the truth.
SPEAKER_01: And there was something that happened within my heart of what we might call the fear of dad.
SPEAKER_01: And it wasn't that he was going to whip me, that he was going to beat me, but it was a fear of the repercussions of what I knew I was guilty of.
SPEAKER_01: Well, and I think there's something healthy, church, about having a fear of God.
SPEAKER_01: A fear of being in sin, a fear of things that we're up to, and all of us here in a sense are up to no good.
SPEAKER_01: But those areas of our life that we're giving to the Lord and trying to walk in holiness more and more of serving God and fearing God.
SPEAKER_01: Serving him out of love, but also fearing him for his holiness and the fact that we might miss his favor.
SPEAKER_01: How many of you are familiar with The Prayer of Jabez?
SPEAKER_01: Okay, awesome.
SPEAKER_01: Great book, Prayer of Jabez by Bruce Wilkinson, came out, I think, around 2000, fastest-selling book in the history of Bookham.
SPEAKER_01: And so it was really popular and everything.
SPEAKER_01: I think he had 20 million that were sold.
SPEAKER_01: It was unbelievable.
SPEAKER_01: Anyway, so I'm rereading it.
SPEAKER_01: I'm re-reading the Prayer of Jabez.
SPEAKER_01: And so I was reading it again.
SPEAKER_01: And it talks about bless me, O Lord, bless me indeed.
SPEAKER_01: And then at the very, there's like four points.
SPEAKER_01: And the last one is keep me from evil.
SPEAKER_01: That I might not be one who creates evil.
SPEAKER_01: And we believe that's because Jabez's name, which means pain, keep me from causing pain in other people's lives.
SPEAKER_01: So I prayed that over my son yesterday before his baseball game.
SPEAKER_01: So we're going to pray a prayer of Jabez.
SPEAKER_01: So I laid hands on him, prayed for him.
SPEAKER_01: And then one of his little guys on the team came up and I said, Come here, Christian.
SPEAKER_01: His name's Christian.
SPEAKER_01: And I invited his parents over and I explained the prayer of Jabez.
SPEAKER_01: We prayed the prayer of Jabez over his two kids.
SPEAKER_01: Well, at the end of the day, and they had just done really well yesterday.
SPEAKER_01: This kid, who may have never been around prayer before, I don't know.
SPEAKER_01: He said, Tell your dad he can pray for me anytime.
SPEAKER_01: Because I guess he had a good game.
SPEAKER_01: Well, when we're praying for blessing, we're also praying that we would walk in the fear of God.
SPEAKER_01: Ask God.
SPEAKER_01: If it's not in your life, ask God, God, give me a holy fear for you laced with love.
SPEAKER_01: Give me a fear.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, I love my dad, but I also feared my dad.
SPEAKER_01: And I think what I feared was that I would break his heart.
SPEAKER_01: And in those little incidences throughout life, I did at different times.
SPEAKER_01: And you do too.
SPEAKER_01: And we all do.
SPEAKER_01: And he's there and he's forgiving.
SPEAKER_01: But he says here, a voice came from the throne saying, Praise our God, all you who are his servants, and those who fear him, both small and great.
SPEAKER_01: And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, and the sound of many waters, the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, Hallelujah, for the Lord God omnipotent reigns.
SPEAKER_01: So we are headed into the reign of Christ.
SPEAKER_01: He's going to reign supreme.
SPEAKER_01: He's omnipotent.
SPEAKER_01: We are headed toward that day when there is no sin, when there is nothing opposing God on this day.
SPEAKER_01: He omnipotent, all power, is reigning over the earth.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 7, and here's your, okay, here's your wedding announcement.
SPEAKER_01: Here comes the wedding announcement, gang.
SPEAKER_01: Let us be glad and rejoice and give him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his wife, that's us, the church, has made herself ready.
SPEAKER_01: Now, Hebrew weddings have changed over the years, but at the time of this writing, a Hebrew wedding really had about three parts to it.
SPEAKER_01: It still sort of does.
SPEAKER_01: And actually, in different parts of the world where you have arranged marriages, in some ways there's some similarities as far as Christian nations that have arranged marriages.
SPEAKER_01: But there were three parts, and we're gonna download this a little bit more as we come to the end.
SPEAKER_01: But the first is what we call the betrothal, and this was the contract.
SPEAKER_01: And oftentimes, church, that was between a mom and a dad of the groom and a mom and dad of the bride when they were kids.
SPEAKER_01: So when they were younger, there was already an arrangement made called a betrothal.
SPEAKER_01: And it was sort of a contract between the families that these two were going to get married.
SPEAKER_01: And when you got saved, when you gave your heart to Christ, you were betrothed to Christ.
SPEAKER_01: You became his.
SPEAKER_01: Ephesians 1.
SPEAKER_01: So if you put your faith in Christ, you now have a contract with the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, and you can't get out of it, folks.
SPEAKER_01: You can't get a divorce.
SPEAKER_01: You can run as far as you can, and the long arm of grace is going to pull you back.
SPEAKER_01: You are sealed.
SPEAKER_01: You are his.
SPEAKER_01: That's the first part.
SPEAKER_01: Second part is what we call the presentation.
SPEAKER_01: Now, the presentation is interesting because this is where, at the point where there's going to be a marriage ceremony, the groom back then would build his house.
SPEAKER_01: And usually, and good news and bad news here, usually it was right there with the in-laws.
SPEAKER_01: Okay, back then.
SPEAKER_01: Because he had the land, he didn't have the land yet, so he built that.
SPEAKER_01: So he's preparing, he's preparing, he's preparing for this marriage because he's going to go and he's going to get his bride, and he's going to bring her back to the house that he's built.
SPEAKER_01: And this is what Jesus says in John 14.
SPEAKER_01: Let not your heart be troubled.
SPEAKER_01: You believe in God, believe also in me.
SPEAKER_01: In my father's house are many mansions.
SPEAKER_01: There's an extension to his house.
SPEAKER_01: If it were not so, I would have told you, I go to prepare a place for you.
SPEAKER_01: We're his bride.
SPEAKER_01: He's preparing a place for you.
SPEAKER_01: He's building the house.
SPEAKER_01: And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself, that where I am, there you may be also.
SPEAKER_01: See the see the betrothal, the marriage language of what Jesus is saying.
SPEAKER_01: He said, look, I'm going.
SPEAKER_01: And they, the Jewish, the Jewish believers, the disciples, they would have gotten that.
SPEAKER_01: Oh, oh, yeah, okay.
SPEAKER_01: He's conjuring up an image of when we got married and how we went and built a house to get ready.
SPEAKER_01: Because then there's the ceremony.
SPEAKER_01: And that's what we're looking at here.
SPEAKER_01: This is the marriage of the Lamb.
SPEAKER_01: This is the ceremony that's being prepared by the Lord for us.
SPEAKER_01: This is the wedding announcement.
SPEAKER_01: If you're not a believer, this is your wedding invitation.
SPEAKER_01: You should come.
SPEAKER_01: Because there's two suppers in this chapter.
SPEAKER_01: You don't want to be in the second supper.
SPEAKER_01: We're going to read it in just a moment.
SPEAKER_01: You want to go to this supper.
SPEAKER_01: This is the marriage feast.
SPEAKER_01: This is what he's been preparing for thousands of years for us.
SPEAKER_01: Since Christ ascended, he's been up there working on your house to take you back to his father's house.
SPEAKER_01: Isn't that exciting?
SPEAKER_01: It's going to be a reunion.
SPEAKER_01: How many have family reunions anymore?
SPEAKER_01: Does anybody go to family reunions anymore?
SPEAKER_01: Raise your hand.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, just a few of you.
SPEAKER_01: Family reunions are like a thing of the past.
SPEAKER_01: We used to do it every year in South Carolina with my family.
SPEAKER_01: We always went to family reunions and it's like, uh, you know.
SPEAKER_01: And Matilda's, what was it called?
SPEAKER_01: It was this angel food cake moon pie thing.
SPEAKER_01: And oh, you know, and Jell-O.
SPEAKER_01: I just remember jello with whipped cream on top and grapes interspersed.
SPEAKER_01: And then sometimes it had colors.
SPEAKER_01: You know, oh, Jell-O's back.
SPEAKER_01: But here's the way it is today, men and women, is that really funerals and weddings are our reunions.
SPEAKER_01: Have you noticed that?
SPEAKER_01: That's really where family reunions happen.
SPEAKER_01: And that's the way I look at it.
SPEAKER_01: If I do any of your weddings here, I will, in my talk, I'll share how this is kind of a reunion of sorts.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, that's the only time you get everybody together anymore, is a is a marriage or a funeral.
SPEAKER_01: And marriages are so fun in that regard.
SPEAKER_01: And can you imagine?
SPEAKER_01: We're at the reunion, and you're sitting at the banqueting table, and this guy with a beard is next to you, and you're introducing yourself to people, and guys says, Hey, I'm Moses.
SPEAKER_01: And you go, get out.
SPEAKER_01: And you see this other guy, you go, you know, I think I've seen that face before.
SPEAKER_01: You're not George Whitfield, are you?
SPEAKER_01: I read your story, several versions.
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, Whitfield.
SPEAKER_01: Do you still smoke cigars?
SPEAKER_01: He said, Absolutely.
SPEAKER_01: With C.S.
SPEAKER_01: Lewis.
SPEAKER_01: It's a reunion, folks.
SPEAKER_01: Isn't that exciting?
SPEAKER_01: You're gonna see your loved ones.
SPEAKER_01: You're gonna see your moms and your dads and your and your grandparents and that child that died.
SPEAKER_01: And you're actually gonna see the one you've been married to that you've been fighting with your whole life, and you aren't fighting anymore.
SPEAKER_01: You're gonna be like asking for forgiveness.
SPEAKER_01: An awesome day.
SPEAKER_01: And to her, it was granted, verse 8, to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
SPEAKER_01: Hello.
SPEAKER_01: We just did Springs Initiative.
SPEAKER_01: That's a righteous act of the saints.
SPEAKER_01: Some of you serve in children's ministry.
SPEAKER_01: Some of you help with our youth.
SPEAKER_01: Some of you are involved in Habitat for Humanity.
SPEAKER_01: Some of you give your money to missions.
SPEAKER_01: Some of you give your money to acts of service and other ministries around the world.
SPEAKER_01: Some of you are pouring your tithes and offerings into the road.
SPEAKER_01: Those are righteous acts of the saints.
SPEAKER_01: Every time you do that, it matters.
SPEAKER_01: It really matters.
SPEAKER_01: God notices what you do even when man doesn't.
SPEAKER_01: And man usually doesn't.
SPEAKER_01: Recently talking to someone at a baseball game, and we were talking, and I said, you know, don't you ever, like, you ever struggle with comparing yourself?
SPEAKER_01: She said, Yes, yeah, we always struggle with that.
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we have struggle.
SPEAKER_01: You realize that most people don't give a rip about you?
SPEAKER_01: She goes, What?
SPEAKER_01: And I said, they really don't.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, they really, all they think about is themselves.
SPEAKER_01: And they don't really care about that you did that or you did this or that you stumbled over that because they're more worried about what you think of them than what you did.
SPEAKER_01: And so that's one of the things that's helped me with comparison is that most people don't give a rip about you anyway.
SPEAKER_01: But you know what?
SPEAKER_01: God loves you.
SPEAKER_01: And He notices your righteous acts.
SPEAKER_01: He notices what no one notices because most people can't notice because.
SPEAKER_01: Are so noticing themselves.
SPEAKER_01: And so God notices your righteous acts, and righteous acts really matter.
SPEAKER_01: And what's done in the closet explodes with loudspeakers in heaven.
SPEAKER_01: And when we do it as servants who fear God, God notices, and for some reason, this is here.
SPEAKER_01: That the fine linen and the clean and the bright of the fine linen are the righteous acts of the saints.
SPEAKER_01: And I don't get this.
SPEAKER_01: This is sort of heavenly.
SPEAKER_01: It's hard to understand, but it's almost like we'll be clothed by our righteous acts.
SPEAKER_01: Maybe we'll even notice each other, wow, that guy's kind of doesn't have a whole lot of clothing.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, they just got in by their skinny chin-chin.
SPEAKER_01: You know, and then others, you know, they they poured out and nobody cared.
SPEAKER_01: Nobody cared that they were down there working with your kid and discipling your kid, and your kid isn't largely who they are now because that teacher down there in children's ministry really cared.
SPEAKER_01: But he notices.
SPEAKER_01: And some people are gonna be, they won't even, they'll be, it'll be hard for them to walk because there'll be so much linens and so much righteous acts on them because, and they were like, not even noticed on this earth.
SPEAKER_01: Because we don't do it, listen, we don't do it to be noticed.
SPEAKER_01: But he notices, he sees your righteous acts.
SPEAKER_01: So do things quietly.
SPEAKER_01: Do things where people don't notice.
SPEAKER_01: Just do them for Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: He notices.
SPEAKER_01: And somehow we're gonna get dressed up by the righteous acts of the saints.
SPEAKER_01: Then he said to me, Write, blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper.
SPEAKER_01: So here's the announcement or the invitation.
SPEAKER_01: Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb, and he said to me, These are the true sayings of God, and I fell at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, See that you do not do that, I am your fellow servant, and of the brethren who have the testimony of Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: Worship God.
SPEAKER_01: Exclamation point.
SPEAKER_01: For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
SPEAKER_01: So here's the wedding anniversary.
SPEAKER_01: Here's the wedding announcement.
SPEAKER_01: If you're a Jesus follower, disciple, this is your announcement.
SPEAKER_01: If you don't know Jesus here, this is your invitation, because you don't want to go to the next supper that's about to occur in the latter part of this chapter.
SPEAKER_01: So here's the announcement, the invitation.
SPEAKER_01: And he says that the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
SPEAKER_01: Meaning, church, that each one of us have a testimony.
SPEAKER_01: You have a testimony of Jesus in your life, and whenever you share that, it's Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: It's not about you, it's about what Jesus did in you and through you.
SPEAKER_01: And a testimony of Jesus is at the very essence the spirit of prophecy.
SPEAKER_01: And the prophetic is either forth telling or foretelling.
SPEAKER_01: It's either forth telling or foretelling.
SPEAKER_01: And so sometimes there are prophetic words given in this church where people may come up to you and say, I feel like the Lord wants you to hear this word from the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: And you test it with Scripture.
SPEAKER_01: But at the end of the day, a true prophetic word is the testimony of Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: It lifts him up, it exalts him.
SPEAKER_01: Whenever you share your testimony with someone or something that God's done in your life, it's about Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: And to the extent that it is closest to exalting in the hope and the power and the salvation of Jesus is the anointing that will be on it.
SPEAKER_01: And to the extent it's you bragging about yourself is the extent to which it won't have the full anointing of God.
SPEAKER_01: But when we share the testimony of what Christ has done in our life, it's the testimony of Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: That's exciting.
SPEAKER_01: So share it.
SPEAKER_01: Well, I don't, you know, I don't want to brag.
SPEAKER_01: I don't want to brag.
SPEAKER_01: I don't want anybody.
SPEAKER_01: No, brag! On him, not you.
SPEAKER_01: And that's how you always judge a testimony, church.
SPEAKER_01: Is the person behind the mic or the person sharing the testimony, is it all about them?
SPEAKER_01: That's okay.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, we're all in a journey.
SPEAKER_01: But but look for that, because if it's exalting Jesus, however eloquent or unineloquent or uneloquent or whatever that of the other antonym of whatever that word is, you know, is the anointing.
SPEAKER_01: And I want to be anointed.
SPEAKER_01: How about you?
SPEAKER_01: Life's too short.
SPEAKER_01: So let's exalt Christ in our testimony of Him.
SPEAKER_01: Well, now everything shifts.
SPEAKER_01: So first, this is kind of the announcement, but starting in verse 11 is the high point.
SPEAKER_01: Just if you got your if you got a hard-copy Bible in front of you, ought to write on the side, high point of the Bible.
SPEAKER_01: High point of scripture, high point of all human history is verses 11 through 21.
SPEAKER_01: I've got mine bracketed on my Bible.
SPEAKER_01: The high point of the Bible.
SPEAKER_01: Now I saw heaven open, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on him was called faithful and true, and in righteousness he judges and he makes war.
SPEAKER_01: Now this is a different version of Jesus than what we've been taught in most of our Sunday schools.
SPEAKER_01: This is not the meek, mild, humble Jesus who looks like a suntan surfer boy from Southern California.
SPEAKER_01: This is a warrior king who's come to judge sin, who has come to judge righteousness, and he is our king of kings, and he is our Lord of Lords.
SPEAKER_01: And this is a picture of a reigning king coming back from war on a white horse.
SPEAKER_01: That's what reigning warrior kings rode.
SPEAKER_01: They rode a white horse.
SPEAKER_01: He comes in on a white horse.
SPEAKER_01: So there must be animals in heaven.
SPEAKER_01: I don't know how many times I've been asked that, but do you think there's animals in heaven?
SPEAKER_01: I said, Well, he's coming on a white horse.
SPEAKER_01: Seems like if there's horses, then there's probably whatever you want up there.
SPEAKER_01: So anyway, he comes in on a white horse.
SPEAKER_01: The armies of heaven are with him.
SPEAKER_01: That's us.
SPEAKER_01: We're going to be there.
SPEAKER_01: And he's riding in with those who've been captive to sin that are now set free in his train.
SPEAKER_01: And he comes reigning.
SPEAKER_01: It's interesting that the scripture talks about the Lord as a warrior.
SPEAKER_01: Exodus 15, 3.
SPEAKER_01: The Lord is a warrior.
SPEAKER_01: The Lord is his name.
SPEAKER_01: Isaiah 42, 13.
SPEAKER_01: The Lord shall go forth like a warrior.
SPEAKER_01: He shall stir up zeal like a man of war.
SPEAKER_01: He shall cry out, yes, shout aloud.
SPEAKER_01: He shall prevail against his enemies.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus is a warrior.
SPEAKER_01: Jeremiah 20, 11, but the Lord is with me as a mighty warrior.
SPEAKER_01: Therefore my persecutors will stumble and will not prevail.
SPEAKER_01: And we like to see Jesus on that loving, contrite, gentle shepherd side, and he is all those things.
SPEAKER_01: But men and women, he is also a warrior for righteousness.
SPEAKER_01: He is a warrior that comes to make things right.
SPEAKER_01: And if you and I in this room as men can grasp hold of this, you grabbed your masculine heart.
SPEAKER_01: You've been created by God both as a gentle and loving father and husband, but you've also been created by God to be a warrior for the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.
SPEAKER_01: And if you walked in your house and some guy's got your wife and your kids, that guy's gonna see a different side of you, I hope.
SPEAKER_01: Don't let the culture seduce you into this weak, feminized version of the masculine heart that God has put in you.
SPEAKER_01: Be a man.
SPEAKER_01: Grow in manhood.
SPEAKER_01: Grow to be a servant leader.
SPEAKER_01: I'm not talking about domineering, and I'm not talking about that egotistical submit kind of attitude.
SPEAKER_01: I'm talking about a servant heart, but a masculine heart together synergized because Jesus is also a shepherd and a warrior.
SPEAKER_01: Little different view of Jesus coming up.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 12.
SPEAKER_01: His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns.
SPEAKER_01: He had a name written that no one knew except himself.
SPEAKER_01: Again, kind of a heavenly language, it appears.
SPEAKER_01: He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of God.
SPEAKER_01: And the armies in heaven, that's us, church, and I believe there's seraphim and cherubim and the angels of heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed him on white horses.
SPEAKER_01: So we're on white horses too.
SPEAKER_01: Now out of his mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it he shall strike the nations, and he himself will rule them with a rod of iron.
SPEAKER_01: He himself treads the wine press of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God, and he has on his robe and on his thigh.
SPEAKER_01: So Jesus has a tattoo.
SPEAKER_01: King of kings and Lord of Lords.
SPEAKER_01: Church in his first coming, his eyes were full of tears.
SPEAKER_01: In his second coming, his eyes will be like flames of fire.
SPEAKER_01: In his first coming he rode on a donkey.
SPEAKER_01: In his second coming he will ride on a white stallion.
SPEAKER_01: In his first coming he comes as a servant, meek and mild.
SPEAKER_01: In his first coming, he comes with a crown of thorns.
SPEAKER_01: In his second coming, he comes with many kingly crowns upon his head.
SPEAKER_01: In his first coming, he comes with a body stripped and bloodied by his executioners.
SPEAKER_01: In his second coming, he comes with his robe dipped in the blood of the evil kings and despots who have been slaughtered.
SPEAKER_01: In his first coming, he dies alone on a hill.
SPEAKER_01: In his second coming, he brings with him all the armies of heaven.
SPEAKER_01: In his first coming, he utters not a word and lets himself be slaughtered.
SPEAKER_01: But in his second coming, a two-edged sword comes forth from his mouth to strike the nations.
SPEAKER_01: In his first coming, the symbol of his reign is a shepherd's crook.
SPEAKER_01: But in his second coming, the symbol of his reign is a rod of iron.
SPEAKER_01: In his first coming, the Romans gave him names upon a placard at the top of a cross, but in his second coming, his name will be written by God the Father on his vestments and on his thigh, King of kings, and Lord of Lords.
SPEAKER_01: Doesn't get any better than that, folks.
SPEAKER_01: He's your king and he's your Lord.
SPEAKER_01: But then there's a supper.
SPEAKER_01: There's one more supper.
SPEAKER_01: And if you're not a follower of Christ, and you don't come and repent and know Christ, this is the supper you'll be a part of.
SPEAKER_01: Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather together for the supper of the great God, that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of all people free and slave, both small and great.
SPEAKER_01: And I saw the beasts, the kings of the earth, and their armies gathered together to make war against him who sat on the horse and against the army.
SPEAKER_01: So this is Armageddon.
SPEAKER_01: Starting in verse 19, we're looking at Armageddon.
SPEAKER_01: Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshipped his image.
SPEAKER_01: These two were cast alive into the lake of the burning with brimstone, and the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.
SPEAKER_01: So this is the last time.
SPEAKER_01: This is the last time that all of the armies, all of the nuclear arsenals, all of the rockets, all of the soldiers, all of the kings, all of the presidents, all of the leaders of all the countries are coming together in that great valley called Megiddo.
SPEAKER_01: They're coming there from all nations, from the north, the east, the west.
SPEAKER_01: They're gathered together, and then Christ splits the heavens.
SPEAKER_01: He comes down on the Mount of Olives.
SPEAKER_01: He comes down on the Mount of Olives, splits the Mount of Olives, starting in the Kidron Valley, all the way to the Dead Sea, the Sea of Salt, splits that, that's opened up right there.
SPEAKER_01: The armies are behind him.
SPEAKER_01: We're a part of the armies.
SPEAKER_01: And then if you've seen, if you've been to Jerusalem, there's the eastern gate right there at the Kidron Valley.
SPEAKER_01: And if you look at the Kidron Valley, which is the valley on the eastern side of the great old walls of Jerusalem, are gravestones.
SPEAKER_01: Because for thousands of years, believers have believed this.
SPEAKER_01: That this is true, that he's going to come through the eastern gate.
SPEAKER_01: And right now, the eastern gate's sealed up.
SPEAKER_01: And on that day, that's going to be blasted out.
SPEAKER_01: So the eastern gate's going to open up and he's going to lead in.
SPEAKER_01: And this is kind of like, you know, like Gandalf.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, Gandalf on his horse, right there at Helm's Deep with the armies of Rohan.
SPEAKER_01: I thought that was a cool picture they did in the movie.
SPEAKER_01: And he's coming through the gate.
SPEAKER_01: And so he's coming through that eastern gate.
SPEAKER_01: It's all there at the Mount of Olives, which is just on the eastern side of the Kidron Valley, is split open.
SPEAKER_01: He comes through.
SPEAKER_01: You guys are with him.
SPEAKER_01: Right there.
SPEAKER_01: Everything is set at Armageddon, and then the judgment comes, and we see the lake of fire, and the first two guys that get to go in, you know, the beast and the prophet.
SPEAKER_01: Boom, in there.
SPEAKER_01: And then there's going to be a lot to follow.
SPEAKER_01: And then there's a supper of the birds of the air, of the flesh, of those that have been slaughtered, and it's never going to even be a battle.
SPEAKER_01: It's all about to happen.
SPEAKER_01: It's not going to happen.
SPEAKER_01: Because Christ comes in and he comes in and he intervenes at that moment and there's victory.
SPEAKER_01: And we're coming with him.
SPEAKER_01: We're a part of that great army.
SPEAKER_01: And every tongue will confess Jesus is Lord.
SPEAKER_01: Some to judgment.
SPEAKER_01: And some unto salvation.
SPEAKER_01: So that's the wedding announcement, church.
SPEAKER_01: And so Christ is preparing a place for us.
SPEAKER_01: He's letting us know.
SPEAKER_01: He's giving us an announcement.
SPEAKER_01: It's coming.
SPEAKER_01: It's going to happen.
SPEAKER_01: It's right before us.
SPEAKER_01: I invite you to the wedding feast.
SPEAKER_01: And so the way it was in a Hebrew wedding was, you know, the day started at sundown.
SPEAKER_01: So you made the announcement.
SPEAKER_01: This is the day we're getting married.
SPEAKER_01: This is the announcement of the marriage, but at sundown is when that day began.
SPEAKER_01: And so what the bride would do is she'd have all her maidens with her.
SPEAKER_01: And those maidens had lamps.
SPEAKER_01: And they'd light those lamps waiting for the groom to show up.
SPEAKER_01: You didn't know when he was going to show up, could be anytime from sundown on.
SPEAKER_01: And so it's pretty important that the maidens keep their lamps ready because they didn't know it was going to come like a thief in the night.
SPEAKER_01: But kind of excited thief in the night.
SPEAKER_01: So they're waiting.
SPEAKER_01: Because what he's going to do is he's going to show up.
SPEAKER_01: And when he shows up, he's going to take that bride, he's going to bring her back to his house that he's already built.
SPEAKER_01: He's built his house, okay?
SPEAKER_01: And he's going to consummate the marriage there.
SPEAKER_01: And the feast is all around.
SPEAKER_01: Everybody's like waiting for him to come out.
SPEAKER_01: You know they're going to be really happy.
SPEAKER_01: Because they're pure.
SPEAKER_01: They've waited.
SPEAKER_01: And believe me, from all the study I've done, pretty much when that sun went down, the groom was on the move.
SPEAKER_01: Because he's been waiting his whole life for this.
SPEAKER_01: He's not going to wait three or four hours.
SPEAKER_01: But it may feel like that to us.
SPEAKER_01: When's he coming back?
SPEAKER_01: But we don't know.
SPEAKER_01: So turn in your Bibles to one of the greatest passages in Scripture explaining this is Luke 14.
SPEAKER_01: Look at Luke 14.
SPEAKER_01: And I'll close with this.
SPEAKER_01: Luke 14, verse 15.
SPEAKER_01: Now, when one of those who sat at the table with him heard these things, he said to him, Blessed is he who shall eat the bread and the kingdom of God.
SPEAKER_01: And he said, A certain man gave a great supper and invited many, and sent his servants at supper time to say to those who were invited, Come, for all things are now ready.
SPEAKER_01: But they are all with one accord to make excuses.
SPEAKER_01: The first said, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it.
SPEAKER_01: I ask that you have me excused.
SPEAKER_01: And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I'm going to test them.
SPEAKER_01: I ask you to have me excused.
SPEAKER_01: And still another said, I've married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.
SPEAKER_01: So that servant came and reported these things to his master.
SPEAKER_01: And then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servants, Go out quickly into the streets and the lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.
SPEAKER_01: And the servant said, Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.
SPEAKER_01: And the master said to the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in, that my house for this feast, for this banquet, may be filled.
SPEAKER_01: For I say to you that none of those men who are invited shall taste of my supper.
SPEAKER_01: Men and women, you're invited.
SPEAKER_01: You're invited to that feast.
SPEAKER_01: Are you prepared?
SPEAKER_01: Are you prepared for the coming of the Lord?
SPEAKER_01: So easy is it not to have excuses.
SPEAKER_01: Become so busy with life that we forget to prepare for the marriage banquet that's before us.
SPEAKER_01: It's exciting, though.
SPEAKER_01: For you that are walking in the righteous deeds of the Lord, this is the most exciting day of your life and it's coming.
SPEAKER_00: You've been listening to The Road with Pastor Teacher Steve Holt.
SPEAKER_00: We hope you have been blessed by today's message.
SPEAKER_00: To connect with us further, visit theroad.org.
SPEAKER_00: If you are walking through a difficult time, we want to pray for you.
SPEAKER_00: Go to theroad.org, click on the ministries tab, and go to our prayer page to send us your prayer request.
SPEAKER_00: Thanks again for tuning in today, and be sure to listen to the next edition of The Road with Pastor Teacher Steve Holt.