0:00:10.015,0:00:13.305 Before we get these two married, 0:00:13.305,0:00:18.330 they asked me to say a word to you first. 0:00:18.330,0:00:22.891 So what I would like to do is 0:00:22.891,0:00:28.241 first, read to you from the Word of God. 0:00:28.241,0:00:32.004 Now I have to caution you, 0:00:32.004,0:00:37.839 I have done some weddings just recently 0:00:37.839,0:00:40.566 where just simply reading this verse that 0:00:40.566,0:00:42.330 I'm going to read to you, 0:00:42.330,0:00:43.730 from God's Word, 0:00:43.730,0:00:47.758 caused people to be angry. 0:00:47.758,0:00:49.534 You say, oh, what does it have to do with 0:00:49.534,0:00:53.737 that it makes people angry? 0:00:53.737,0:00:58.447 It has to do with a woman's reponsibility to her husband 0:00:58.447,0:01:01.590 and the husband's responsibility to his wife. 0:01:01.590,0:01:03.475 That's all it is. 0:01:03.475,0:01:09.874 It's a text from the Bible that is very suitable for 0:01:09.874,0:01:13.644 just such an occasion as this. 0:01:13.644,0:01:17.574 What could it possibly say 0:01:17.574,0:01:19.702 that would cause people to get so riled up 0:01:19.702,0:01:25.090 and so offended and so bent out of shape at weddings.[br] 0:01:25.090,0:01:32.605 What could we read from the Word of God? 0:01:32.605,0:01:38.762 I'm going to read from Ephesians 5:22 and following. 0:01:38.762,0:01:42.735 And I caution you already, 0:01:42.735,0:01:44.356 this is God's Word. 0:01:44.356,0:01:49.045 What I tell you is on the authority of God Almighty Himself. 0:01:49.045,0:01:51.458 I'm not making this up. 0:01:51.458,0:01:54.458 I want you to know that. 0:01:54.458,0:02:01.549 "Wives, submit to your own husbands, 0:02:01.549,0:02:05.183 as to the Lord. 0:02:05.183,0:02:09.105 For the husband is the head of the wife, 0:02:09.105,0:02:13.090 even as Christ is the head of the church, 0:02:13.090,0:02:20.736 His body, and is Himself its Savior. 0:02:20.736,0:02:35.502 Now, as the church submits to Christ, 0:02:35.502,0:02:38.720 so also wives should submit in everything 0:02:38.720,0:02:42.794 to their husbands. 0:02:42.794,0:02:48.978 Husbands, love your wives 0:02:48.978,0:02:52.238 as Christ loved the church 0:02:52.238,0:02:53.910 and gave Himself up for her 0:02:53.910,0:02:55.925 that He might sanctify her, 0:02:55.925,0:02:59.449 having cleansed her by the washing of water 0:02:59.449,0:03:00.878 with the Word. 0:03:00.878,0:03:03.781 So that He might present the church to Himself 0:03:03.781,0:03:07.360 in splendor, without spot or wrinkle 0:03:07.360,0:03:11.365 or any such thing that she might be holy 0:03:11.365,0:03:16.655 and without blemish." 0:03:16.655,0:03:21.374 Now yes, women, if you're married, 0:03:21.374,0:03:24.533 by the authority of God, you are called 0:03:24.533,0:03:26.740 to submit to your husband. 0:03:26.740,0:03:29.211 You are called to submit to your husband even 0:03:29.211,0:03:35.385 as the church has been called to submit to Christ Himself. 0:03:35.385,0:03:37.606 Now let's look on the other side of this thing. 0:03:37.606,0:03:41.579 Husbands are to love as Christ loved the church. 0:03:41.579,0:03:44.592 In other words, if we're looking for a pattern 0:03:44.592,0:03:46.480 on how to treat our wives, 0:03:46.480,0:03:48.446 how to live with our wives, 0:03:48.446,0:03:50.289 how to dwell with our wives, 0:03:50.289,0:03:51.938 how to love our wives, 0:03:51.938,0:03:53.548 what God wants us to know is 0:03:53.548,0:03:56.123 Christ Himself is the pattern. 0:03:56.123,0:03:58.210 He is the standard. 0:03:58.210,0:04:05.766 His love for a spouse is the mark. 0:04:05.766,0:04:07.738 There's no greater expression of love 0:04:07.738,0:04:13.523 than the way Christ loves His bride, the church. 0:04:13.523,0:04:16.524 Now men, we should stand in awe of that. 0:04:16.524,0:04:19.546 Here's the standard. 0:04:19.546,0:04:22.226 Now let me tell you this, 0:04:22.226,0:04:24.641 the apostle tells us in one place 0:04:24.641,0:04:28.891 that the love of Christ surpasses knowledge. 0:04:28.891,0:04:31.690 Ok, I have some knowledge. You have some knowledge. 0:04:31.690,0:04:34.428 But the apostle says that the love that Christ has 0:04:34.428,0:04:37.173 for His church, it surpasses knowledge. 0:04:37.173,0:04:41.260 So, if I were going to try to explain that love to you 0:04:41.260,0:04:45.493 in perfection today, the apostle is telling me I can't do it. 0:04:45.493,0:04:49.506 Because it goes beyond my knowledge. 0:04:49.506,0:04:51.502 So what I'm about to try to do 0:04:51.502,0:04:53.578 is literally impossible. 0:04:53.578,0:04:55.691 In the fullness of it, it's impossible. 0:04:55.691,0:04:59.116 For me to try to describe to you what that love is 0:04:59.116,0:05:01.119 that Christ has for His church, 0:05:01.119,0:05:04.188 that love that is now a pattern 0:05:04.188,0:05:06.703 for this man as he marries this woman 0:05:06.703,0:05:09.937 and for every other man here that's married. 0:05:09.937,0:05:12.873 To try to describe that is simply, 0:05:12.873,0:05:15.290 by the testimony of the Word of God itself, 0:05:15.290,0:05:16.751 is an impossibility. 0:05:16.751,0:05:20.723 But I just want to try to give you a glimpse. 0:05:20.723,0:05:26.422 By way of trying to help you realize something 0:05:26.422,0:05:30.013 about the love that Christ has for His church. 0:05:30.013,0:05:31.757 Now church isn't a building. 0:05:31.757,0:05:33.098 Some people look at this and they say, 0:05:33.098,0:05:34.307 "Well, this is the church." 0:05:34.307,0:05:35.897 That's not the church. 0:05:35.897,0:05:38.747 The church is God's people. 0:05:38.747,0:05:42.144 The church are those that He purchased with his blood, 0:05:42.144,0:05:45.586 that He gave Himself up for. 0:05:45.586,0:05:47.783 And here, I want to try to describe this love to you 0:05:47.783,0:05:53.118 just a little bit. 0:05:53.118,0:05:55.132 Let me give you an example. 0:05:55.132,0:05:58.900 Let's suppose all of a sudden, 0:05:58.900,0:06:01.776 all of us see at this wedding... 0:06:01.776,0:06:04.225 We look over here, and the wedding's over, 0:06:04.225,0:06:08.038 we all come over to where the reception's 0:06:08.038,0:06:10.226 going to be held. 0:06:10.226,0:06:13.913 And suddenly we see a man standing over there. 0:06:13.913,0:06:19.422 He is the most handsome man that you have 0:06:19.422,0:06:22.505 ever laid eyes on in your life. 0:06:22.505,0:06:24.823 Now, here, I'm trying to describe to you Christ's love. 0:06:24.823,0:06:29.721 The first thing I want to tell you about it is it's unselfish. 0:06:29.721,0:06:31.925 Let me tell you something about this. 0:06:31.925,0:06:35.279 Let's suppose we see a man over here in the reception, 0:06:35.279,0:06:39.413 I mean this guy is handsome. 0:06:39.413,0:06:44.940 To you ladies, he's this drop dead gorgeous guy. 0:06:44.940,0:06:46.345 We see him over there. 0:06:46.345,0:06:47.597 I mean, you have never seen a guy 0:06:47.597,0:06:50.758 that looks this handsome. Ever. 0:06:50.758,0:06:52.282 He may the most handsome guy on the 0:06:52.282,0:06:54.754 face of the earth. 0:06:54.754,0:06:56.701 And you see him and you begin to talk to him, 0:06:56.701,0:07:00.292 and he tells you that he's here with his fiance. 0:07:00.292,0:07:02.282 But he's not with her right now. 0:07:02.282,0:07:05.112 Where is she? Maybe she's inside, she's doing something. 0:07:05.112,0:07:10.181 The ladies' room? You don't see her. 0:07:10.181,0:07:11.868 And what are you imagining? 0:07:11.868,0:07:16.543 You're imagining, no doubt, a beautiful woman 0:07:16.543,0:07:18.419 is going to walk out of this place, 0:07:18.419,0:07:20.612 a woman whose beauty is going to be 0:07:20.612,0:07:26.003 comparable to his. 0:07:26.003,0:07:29.411 But all of a sudden, what happens? 0:07:29.411,0:07:37.021 This bent, broken, diseased, ugly woman 0:07:37.021,0:07:40.831 with sores all over her, I mean just hideous. 0:07:40.831,0:07:43.086 She comes out and his face lights up 0:07:43.086,0:07:46.478 and he looks at her and you can see it in his eyes. 0:07:46.478,0:07:50.038 He loves her. 0:07:50.038,0:07:54.248 And you look and you can barely hold down your food 0:07:54.248,0:08:00.540 she is so grotesque and disgusting to even lay your eyes on. 0:08:00.540,0:08:04.818 Folks, I am trying to come somewhat close 0:08:04.818,0:08:09.773 to the love that Christ has for His church. 0:08:09.773,0:08:11.982 Listen, His love is unselfish. 0:08:11.982,0:08:14.887 In other words, He does not take a bride 0:08:14.887,0:08:17.983 for anything that He sees in her. 0:08:17.983,0:08:21.233 Folks, I am describing to you what a sinner looks like. 0:08:21.233,0:08:24.993 The fact is that those Christ sets His love on 0:08:24.993,0:08:28.916 are diseased inside. 0:08:28.916,0:08:32.277 There is filth, and there is sin, 0:08:32.277,0:08:37.017 and there is decay, and there is death. 0:08:37.017,0:08:42.931 Christ, when He sets His love on His church, 0:08:42.931,0:08:46.482 He doesn't set His love there for what He can get. 0:08:46.482,0:08:49.370 And let me tell you, that is a love that is not like our love. 0:08:49.370,0:08:53.669 Because even the most righteous man 0:08:53.669,0:08:58.321 sets his love on a woman and marries a woman 0:08:58.321,0:09:02.963 for something that he sees in her. 0:09:02.963,0:09:06.898 But with Christ, 0:09:06.898,0:09:09.898 He has an unselfish love. 0:09:09.898,0:09:15.254 Christ has chosen to come to this earth 0:09:15.254,0:09:18.027 and to save sinners. 0:09:18.027,0:09:20.100 That is His church. 0:09:20.100,0:09:23.450 Saved sinners. 0:09:23.450,0:09:26.815 What love is this? 0:09:26.815,0:09:29.630 It is a love that doesn't have an equal. 0:09:29.630,0:09:37.641 It is love that surpasses knowledge. 0:09:37.641,0:09:43.252 Look, He does not set His love on people 0:09:43.252,0:09:49.114 because of beauty He sees in them. 0:09:49.114,0:09:52.130 In setting His love upon people, 0:09:52.130,0:09:54.168 He has determined by that love 0:09:54.168,0:09:56.580 to make them beautiful. 0:09:56.580,0:09:58.883 To make what is ugly beautiful. 0:09:58.883,0:10:02.332 Is that not what we read? 0:10:02.332,0:10:07.554 He takes an ugly bride. 0:10:07.554,0:10:13.661 I'm not saying that about Priscilla. 0:10:13.661,0:10:20.097 What I am saying, is that's what's true of the love of Christ. 0:10:20.097,0:10:27.229 What I'm saying is, it's easier - far, far, far easier, 0:10:27.229,0:10:30.578 for Andre to love Priscilla, 0:10:30.578,0:10:35.325 than for Christ to love me. 0:10:35.325,0:10:39.916 And what He saw in me, when He saved me. 0:10:39.916,0:10:45.480 And when Christ takes an ugly bride, like me, 0:10:45.480,0:10:48.456 it's in order to beautify that bride. 0:10:48.456,0:10:51.438 Because He says it's in order to cleanse her 0:10:51.438,0:10:53.684 by the washing of water with the Word 0:10:53.684,0:10:57.333 so that He might present the church to Himself 0:10:57.333,0:11:01.727 in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, 0:11:01.727,0:11:07.478 that she might be holy and without blemish. 0:11:07.478,0:11:15.600 Christ loves to impart His loveliness to the object of His love. 0:11:15.600,0:11:20.642 Look, to be loved by anybody is a joy, right? 0:11:20.642,0:11:23.370 I mean in this world, in this life, 0:11:23.370,0:11:26.261 one of the most precious things we have 0:11:26.261,0:11:28.158 is to be loved by somebody. 0:11:28.158,0:11:30.724 When you find people who are loved by nobody, 0:11:30.724,0:11:32.755 they're miserable people. 0:11:32.755,0:11:36.079 To be loved by anybody is a precious thing. 0:11:36.079,0:11:40.929 But the fact that infinite God would love sinners, 0:11:40.929,0:11:46.261 that God the Son would choose to lay His affections - 0:11:46.261,0:11:49.753 and look, if I told you that Christ came along and 0:11:49.753,0:11:54.163 pitied wretched sinners, we could say, 0:11:54.163,0:11:55.606 "Well, we understand that." 0:11:55.606,0:11:58.476 But if I told you that He showed mercy to sinners, 0:11:58.476,0:12:02.077 well, that's another thing. 0:12:02.077,0:12:05.685 But when I tell you that Christ Himself came 0:12:05.685,0:12:11.899 to delight in, to actually set His most, His deepest, 0:12:11.899,0:12:20.752 His profoundest affection and love on those who are wretched... 0:12:20.752,0:12:23.875 Folks, if you're here today, 0:12:23.875,0:12:26.355 and you don't know this love 0:12:26.355,0:12:35.696 I feel sorry that you don't know this love. 0:12:35.696,0:12:37.378 Truly sorry. 0:12:37.378,0:12:44.497 If you could but imagine the sweetness of that love. 0:12:44.497,0:12:48.759 And I just want to say one thing in ending here, 0:12:48.759,0:12:50.209 how much did He love her? 0:12:50.209,0:12:52.456 Yes, it was unselfish love, but let me show you 0:12:52.456,0:12:54.668 to what extents he went to love her. 0:12:54.668,0:12:58.774 I don't doubt that Andre hasn't made sacrifices for Priscilla already. 0:12:58.774,0:13:01.608 And God will call him to make many others, 0:13:01.608,0:13:03.582 but what is it that Christ sacrificed? 0:13:03.582,0:13:06.926 If we can say another thing about His love for His church, 0:13:06.926,0:13:09.522 it's sacrificial. 0:13:09.522,0:13:11.123 What did He do? 0:13:11.123,0:13:14.996 He gave Himself up. 0:13:14.996,0:13:19.688 Folks, if you've ever thought of the love 0:13:19.688,0:13:24.606 Christ has for His church as cheap 0:13:24.606,0:13:29.390 or if it's a light thing, you need to consider this: 0:13:29.390,0:13:38.061 When it says He gave Himself... 0:13:38.061,0:13:47.936 it means that in order to purchase His bride, 0:13:47.936,0:13:53.033 He had to walk through 0:13:53.033,0:13:58.983 the most unimaginable horrors. 0:13:58.983,0:14:02.842 The night before Jesus Christ went to the cross, 0:14:02.842,0:14:09.583 He recoiled in horror so much so 0:14:09.583,0:14:12.724 that He sweat great drops of blood. 0:14:12.724,0:14:16.974 He said, "Father, if it's possible, take this cup away from Me. 0:14:16.974,0:14:20.206 If there's any way else to purchase this bride." 0:14:20.206,0:14:23.191 And His Father said there is no other way. 0:14:23.191,0:14:25.861 There is no other way to purchase that bride. 0:14:25.861,0:14:28.479 There is no other way to show the extent 0:14:28.479,0:14:31.271 of the love that I have for My people 0:14:31.271,0:14:33.461 but to endure what You must endure. 0:14:33.461,0:14:34.964 And what did He endure? 0:14:34.964,0:14:36.246 He gave Himself up. 0:14:36.246,0:14:39.596 He gave Himself to the very wrath of God. 0:14:39.596,0:14:42.965 He gave Himself to suffer what sin demanded. 0:14:42.965,0:14:44.842 And He paid it to the fullest. 0:14:44.842,0:14:48.490 He drank that cup of wrath empty. 0:14:48.490,0:14:50.818 Folks, that is love. 0:14:50.818,0:14:54.695 Sacrifice, unselfish. 0:14:54.695,0:14:56.619 Why? 0:14:56.619,0:15:02.247 To purchase that bride and to purify her. 0:15:02.247,0:15:04.963 To make her like Him. 0:15:04.963,0:15:09.164 And to take her where He is. 0:15:09.164,0:15:12.711 He came from glory to get His bride. 0:15:12.711,0:15:15.311 Whom did He come to seek? 0:15:15.311,0:15:17.921 He came to seek and save sinners. 0:15:17.921,0:15:19.941 And to take them to Himself. 0:15:19.941,0:15:22.803 And take them back to glory with Him. 0:15:22.803,0:15:24.220 That is love. 0:15:24.220,0:15:28.673 And there is no other love like it in this world. 0:15:28.673,0:15:31.268 What a standard! 0:15:31.268,0:15:36.465 What a standard! 0:15:36.465,0:15:39.699 We just stand in awe of it. 0:15:39.699,0:15:43.285 We just stand in awe. 0:15:43.285,0:15:51.237 And God gave us human marriage as a little picture 0:15:51.237,0:15:56.983 of that great relationship that He, the King, 0:15:56.983,0:16:03.929 the Great Husband, has for His bride, the church. 0:16:03.929,0:16:07.127 Folks, that is Gospel. That is good news. 0:16:07.127,0:16:09.162 That is glorious! 0:16:09.162,0:16:11.576 That is the best message for sinners 0:16:11.576,0:16:17.313 on the face of this earth. 0:16:17.313,0:16:22.013 And in it we see the picture of marriage. 0:16:22.013,0:16:25.066 Which is where we want these two to be very quickly.