As a seal that has been placed unto our hearts, our father has placed his love.
"Go and Proclaim....'I remember the devotion of your youth, how as a bride you loved me and followed me throughout the desert, through a land not sown."~Jeremiah 2:2
Imagine, just for a second, your groom, who stands in anticipation, anxious, to be revealed his wife whom he has longed for, prayed for, cried for... for nearly what seems like an eternity. This groom has always longed for a Bride who has kept herself clean, physically, but also spotless from the stains of sin. Who has kept herself for his return. He has longed for his own, that they may be united as one body. And as she has so elegantly made her way down the aisle, he lifts up her veil.
"You have stolen my heart with one glance of your eyes. "
Captivated
All that he had longed for...
"Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory, for the wedding of the lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. (Fine Linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints)"~ Revelation 19:7
The significance of the wedding of the lamb is really the uniting of the purest sacrifice that gave his life for ours(John 15:13) and the bride that has kept herself clean. Jesus is coming back for a pure bride, one who has not given in to the ways of the world, but has continually cleansed herself with the blood that was shed for us on Calvary.
In preparation for our bridegroom we have a bit of a job to do in preparing for his return. The Lord is looking for us to fall in love with him, with a love that does not run dry, nor is easily waved. In most marriages, the two uniting don't just 'like' each other, but they are willing to commit their entire lives together, as one, in the pursuit of exemplifying the marriage of Christ and the church. They remain out of a covenant that has been placed together by God. The problem only comes when thee enemy tries to deceive and destroy what God has placed together and it is then that the unwavering love should keep them together. This is what the Holy Spirit desires, that even when Satan tries to come and steal your time, kill your love for him and destroy your unrelenting love, that your passion for him and desire to be with him soon will keep you.
Number two, is that you allow the Lord to work through you, in you and before you. As the groom, he is to lead not be led. He is the protector of his household and deserves submission.
“Husbands love your wives, even as Christ loved the church, and gave Himself for it; That He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.”(Ephesians 5:25-27; 31-32)
The Lord desires worship and praise unto him that is set apart from anything else... "I am the LORD, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, Nor My praise to graven images (Isaiah 42:8)." To give him anything else would not be acknowledging him as the Lord of your time, your day or even your life.It says all throughout the scriptures, mainly the old testament, that God is a jealous God, who loves us with a zealous love and wants our ALL.He wants a bride that welcomes, even more desires, everything that he has to offer.
This goes hand-in-hand with the welcoming all of the Lord, but also allowing him to work in you in the steps of reconciliation.
1. Submission- Submit to all that he has for you, with an open heart and a willing spirit
2. Healing- Allow yourself to be healed from all of life's set back. (Romans 8:28-And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.)
3.Restoration- Rooting from forgiveness is restoration. Giving everything up to the Lord allows him to work it for his good
4. Purification- And from all of this, you now have an offering of yourself to give to him, so that he may do the soul cleansing and you may sing the song of the Redeemed
"I will rejoice greatly in the Lord; My soul will exult in my God, for He has clothed me with garments of salvation; He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels."~Isaiah 61:10
The Lord is not looking for perfection, but he is looking for devotion, for true worshippers. For a pure Heart. For Clean Hands(Psalm 24:4) For a Humble Spirit. He is looking for a Bride who loves him enough to lay aside everything that has no meaning and submit themselves to him. He wants us to fall in love with him more than anything and everything. He wants our hearts, the ones he created, to be yielded back to him. Some have turned away from their first true love, Christ, but it's not too late. The Lord says in Jeremiah 33: 11, that He will restore the fortunes of the Land as they were before, but we must turn back and not forget all that he has done.
"... you have forsaken your first love.... but to those who overcome, i will give the right to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God"~Revelation 2: 4, 7
