JESUS WAS INVITED TO THE WEDDING   

"Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples."    

- John 2:2

WHEN YOU ARE INVITED TO A WEDDING FEAST  

“When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him."  

- Luke 14:8

THOSE INVITED TO THE WEDDING FEAST    

"And sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come."  

- Matthew 22:3

KINGDOM OF HEAVEN COMPARED TO A WEDDING FEAST   

“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son." 

- Matthew 22:2

AN EXCELLENT WIFE, WHO CAN FIND?

"An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain."

- Proverbs 31:10-11

WHAT GOD HAS JOINED TOGETHER

“Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” 

- Mark 10:9 

INVITE TO THE WEDDING FEAST AS MANY  

"Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ 

- Matthew 22:9

WITHOUT A WEDDING GARMENT  

"And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless."  

- Matthew 22:12

HE WHO FINDS A WIFE  

“He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord.”   

– Proverbs 18:22

WHILE THE BRIDEGROOM IS WITH THEM  

And Jesus said to them, “Can you make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them?" 

- Luke 5:34

BE LIKE MEN WHO ARE WAITING  

"And be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks."  

- Luke 12:36

MARRIAGE ORDAINED AS A REMEDY   

"Marriage was ordained for a remedy and to increase the world and for the man to help the woman and the woman the man, with all love and kindness."  

- William Tindale (1494-1536) English Biblical Scholar

THE WEDDING FEAST IS READY 

"Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy."  

- Matthew 22:8

COME TO THE WEDDING FEAST  

"Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.”’ 

 - Matthew 22:4

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REPENT, FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS AT HAND 

From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 

- Matthew 4:17

REPENT AND BE BAPTIZED  

"And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."  

- Acts 2:38

 WHEN ONE SINNER REPENTS  

"Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”  

- Luke 15:10

COME TO CALL SINNERS TO REPENTANCE  

"I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”  

- Luke 5:32

PROMISED FORGIVENESS FOR YOUR REPENTANCE   

"God has promised forgiveness to your repentance, but He has not promised tomorrow to your procrastination."  

- St. Augustine (354-430) Theologian and Philosopher

GODLY GRIEF PRODUCES REPENTANCE   

"For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death."  

- 2 Corinthians 7:10

THAT ALL SHOULD REACH REPENTANCE   

"The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance."  

- 2 Peter 3:9

REPENT THEREFORE AND TURN BACK   

"Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out."  

- Acts 3:19

NO MAN EVER REPENTED OF BEING A CHRISTIAN 

"There is one single fact which we may oppose to all the wit and argument of infidelity, namely, that no man ever repented of being a Christian on his death-bed."  

- Hannah More (1745-1833) English Religious Writer

BUT UNLESS YOU REPENT   

"No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish."  

- Luke 13:3

BAPTIZE YOU WITH WATER FOR REPENTANCE   

"I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire."  

- Matthew 3:11

REPENTANCE IS THE TRUE TURNING  

"Repentance is the true turning of our life to God, a turning that arises from a pure and earnest fear of Him; and it consists in the mortification of the flesh and the renewing of the Spirit."  

- John Calvin (1509-1564) French Theologian

REPENT OF YOUR WICKEDNESS  

"Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you."  

- Acts 8:22

JOY IN HEAVEN OVER ONE SINNER WHO REPENTS  

"Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance."  

- Luke 15:7

THE TIME HAS COME, REPENT AND BELIEVE 

"And saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” 

 - Mark 1:15

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TRUE AND GENIUNE WORSHIP

"The true, the genuine worship is when man, through his spirit, attains to friendship and intimacy with God. True and genuine worship is not to come to a certain place; it is not to go through a certain ritual or liturgy; it is not even to bring certain gifts. True worship is when the spirit, the immortal and invisible part of man, speaks to and meets with God, who is immortal and invisible."

- William Barclay (1907-1978) Scottish Scholar and Teacher

LIVING WATER AND THE HEART OF WORSHIP

"It is one thing for the living water to descend from Christ into the heart, and another thing how--when it has descended--it moves the heart to worship. All power of worship in the soul, is the result of the waters flowing into it, and their flowing back again to God."

- G. V. Wigram (1805-1879) English Biblical Scholar

GREAT INCENTIVE TO WORSHIP HIM

"There is, however, equally great incentive to worship and love God in the thought that, for some unfathomable reason, He wants me as His friend, and desires to be my friend, and has given His Son to die for me in order to realize this purpose. not merely that we know God, but that He knows us."

- J. I. Packer (1926-2020) Canadian Evangelical Theologian

WORSHIP IS GIVING TO GOD

"Worship is giving God the best that He has given you. Be careful what you do with the best you have. Whenever you get a blessing from God, give it back to Him as a love gift. Take time to meditate before God and offer the blessing back to Him in a deliberate act of worship. If you hoard a thing for yourself, it will turn into spiritual dry rot, as the manna did when it was hoarded. God will never let you hold a spiritual thing for yourself; it has to be given back to Him that He may make it a blessing to others."  

- Oswald Chambers (1874–1917) Scottish Evangelist and Teacher

WE'RE HERE TO BE WORSHIPPERS OF GOD

"We're here to be worshippers first and workers only second. We take a convert and immediately make a worker out of him. God never meant it to be so. God meant that a convert should learn to be a worshiper, and after that he can learn to be a worker...The work done by a worshiper will have eternity in it."

- A. W. Tozer (1897-1963) American Pastor and Missionary

WORSHIP IS THE SUBMISSION  

"Worship is the submission of all our nature to God. It is the quickening of conscience by His holiness, the nourishment of the mind with His truth, the purifying of the imagination of His beauty, the opening of the heart to His love, the surrender of the will to His purpose."  

- William Temple (1881-1929) English Anglican Priest

AND THOSE WHO WORSHIP   

"God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”  

- John 4:24

EVERY KNEE WILL BOW BEFORE ME

"It is written: ‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God."

- Romans 14:11 

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“Delight yourself in the Lord; trust in him and He will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him.” – Psalm 37: 4-7

There is a time in the life of every Christian when they will find themselves asking the question, "What in the world is God doing in my life?”

These verses in Psalm 37 were written as a meditation addressing the question of the prosperity of the wicked. It is written as a poem built upon an acrostic of the Hebrew alphabet, meaning that each sentence starts with a letter from the Hebrew alphabet and continues in order all the way through. 

This would also mean that the Psalmist must have had plenty of time to think about what he was writing in view of the circumstances in his life. Can you imagine how much time would go into writing a letter of advice to a friend who was hurting, starting each sentence with a letter of the alphabet?  

In difficult times, it is a great comfort to know that others before us have gone through similar difficulties and have tried to share their struggles with us so that others may learn from their testimonies. John Bunyun (1628 – 1688) wrote The Pilgrim’s Progress at the age of forty-seven during six months of incarceration at Bedford Prison. I’m sure he asked the question, “What in the world is God doing in my life?”

History tells us that“Pilgrim’s Progress” went on to become the second bestselling book in all history next to the Bible. God knew what He was doing with Bunyun’s hardships. He sees things from Eternal perspective. God knew that Bunyun’s suffering would in the future bless thousands in the future. He would later write these words,

"God alone is able by Himself to put the soul into a more blessed, comfortable and happy condition than can the whole world; yea, and more than if all the created happiness of all the angels of heaven did dwell in one man’s bosom. I cannot tell what to say… The life, the glory, the blessedness, the soul-satisfying goodness that is in God, are beyond all experience.”

Here is some good advice in times of questioning what God is doing in your life, or when you’re just not sure what your course of action you should take in a given situation.

There are four things that you must do according to the Psalmist in chapter 37.  I have added the Hebrew translation for some of the words below for better amplification of these verses:

1. “Delight yourself in the Lord; (Delight: to be happy about, take exquisite delight, to make merry over, make sport of).

2. Trust in Him and He will do this; (Trust: – trust with, confidence, secure, confident, bold, careless). He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. (Cause: Petition, desire, and request).

3. Be still before the Lord (Still/Rest: Silence, still, silent, cut off, cut down, rest, cease, forbear, peace, quieted, tarry, wait).

4. Wait patiently for Him” (Wait Patiently: Pain, formed, bring forth, be pained, tremble, travail, dance, grieved, grievous, wounded, shake 2). Such a diversity of feelings allowed in the translation of waiting patiently.)  – Psalm 37: 4-7

God wants us to wait patiently on Him. He is no idle husbandman. In the Hebrew text, this waiting can be compared to the same expectation a child has on Christmas morning waiting to open presents. Yet, how many of us wait for God in that posture as we are experiencing difficult trials? It is so against our nature not to panic or become anxious. Why then, does God ask us to be wait and be patient when trouble comes?

It is because God wants us to believe and experience that He truly does have our lives in our hands; He really is mindful of us, and He knows what’s best for us.  Simply, He LOVES us. 

There is no trial or hardship that comes into our lives that He does not allow.  Therefore, He has planned to bestow the grace and the courage needed for us to have victory in our hour of struggles. He wants us to run to him as a shelter from the storm, for He provides the safety we seek.

Delighting yourself in the Lord in the midst of difficult trials is a choice. You can choose to worry and be discouraged this day, or you can choose to have God that as your refuge and strength. Choose this day to delight in the Lord, trust in Him, be patient and know that He is God.

He hears the cries of your heart. It may not seem like it, but this burden that you are struggling with is best suited for you and will prove over time most effective to make you stronger and work to the glory of God. 

DO NOT LET YOUR HEART BE TROUBLED  

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me."  

- John 14:1

THOUGH I WALK IN THE MIDST OF TROUBLE  

"Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and your right hand delivers me."  

- Psalm 138:7 

THEY CRIED TO THE LORD WITH THEIR TROUBLE  

"Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction. Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!" 

- Psalm 107:19-21 

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"Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."  - Romans 8:1

CONDEMNATION INCURRED BY THE DEVIL   

"And not a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil."  

- 1 Timothy 3:6

HAPPY IS HE WHO DOES NOT CONDEMN HIMSELF  

"The faith which you have, have as your own conviction before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves." 

 - Romans 14:22

I DO NOT CONDEMN YOU EITHER   

"She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.” 

- John 8:11 

RESULTED CONDEMNATION TO ALL MAN   

"So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men."  

- Romans 5:18

ALL MEN STAND CONDEMNED  

"All men alike stand condemned, not by alien codes of ethics, but by their own, and all men therefore are conscious of guilt."  

- C. S. Lewis (1898-1963) Irish Writer and Scholar

BY YOUR WORDS YOU SHALL BE CONDEMNED  

"For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”  

- Matthew 12:37

WHO IS THE ONE WHO CONDEMNS?  

"Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us."  

- Romans 8:34 

I DO NOT SPEAK TO CONDEMN YOU   

"I do not speak to condemn you, for I have said before that you are in our hearts to die together and to live together."  

- 2 Corinthians 7:3

EARLY CHRISTIANS CONDEMNED FALSE DOCTRINE 

"The early Christians condemned false doctrine in a way that sounds almost unchristian today."  

- Vance Havner (1901-1986) American Country Preacher

DO NOT CONDEMN, AND YOU WILL NOT BE CONDEMNED   

“Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned."  

- Luke 6:37 

THE SAME SENTENCE OF CONDEMNATION  

"But the other answered, and rebuking him said, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?"  

- Luke 23:40

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"There is no neutral ground in the universe; every square inch, every split second, is claimed by God and counter-claimed by Satan."

- C. S. Lewis (1898-1963) Irish Writer and Scholar

THE DEVILS SHOUTS FOR JOY

"When a Christian shuns fellowship with other Christians, the devil smiles. When he stops studying the Bible, the devil laughs. When he stops praying, the devil shouts for joy."

- Corrie ten Boom (1892-1983) Holocaust Survivor Christian Writer

PRAYER NEGLECTED

"The enemy uses all his power to lead the Christian, and above all the minister, to neglect prayer. He knows that however admirable the sermon may be, however attractive the service, however faithful the pastoral visitation, none of these things can damage him or his kingdom if prayer is neglected."

- Andrew Murray (1794-1866) Scottish Missionary

ALL OR NOTHING

"Satan would seem to be mannerly and reasonable; making as if he would be content with one-half of the heart, whereas God challengeth all or none: as, indeed, He hath most reason to claim all that made all. But this is nothing but a crafty fetch of Satan; for he knows that if he have any part, God will have none: so the whole falleth to his share alone."

Joseph Hall (1574-1656) English Bishop, Satirist and Moralist

SATAN USES THE FLESH 

"It is true that Satan often uses the flesh to secure the consent of man, yet in each instance of enticement the enemy creates some kind of thought by which to induce the man. We cannot separate temptation and thought. All temptations are offered us in the form of thoughts. Since the latter are so exposed to the power of darkness, we need to learn how to guard them." 

- Watchman Nee (1903-1972) Chinese Church leader

SOON THE BATTLE WILL BE OVER

"Soon the battle will be over. It will not be long now before the day will come when Satan will no longer trouble us. There will be no more domination, temptation, accusation, or confrontation. Our warfare will be over and our commander, Jesus Christ, will call us away from the battlefield to receive the victor's crown.

- Thomas Watson (1620-1686), Puritan Preacher

SATAN WILL ASK THE CHRISTIAN  

"Again, Satan will ask the Christian what was the time of his conversion. Art thou a Christian, will he say, and dost thou not know when thou commencedst? Now content thyself with this, that thou seest the streams of grace; you may know the sun is up, though you did not observe when it rose." 

 - William Gurnall (1616-1679) English Anglican Clergyman 

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“For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel." - Colossians 1:5

THE DEATH OF HUME'S MOTHER

Hume, the historian, received a religious education from his mother, and early in life was the subject of strong and hopeful religious impressions; but, as he approached man-hood, they were effaced, and confirmed infidelity succeeded. Maternal partiality, however, alarmed at first, came at length to look with less and less pain upon this declension, and filial and reverence seemed to have been absorbed in the pride of philosophical skepticism; for Hume applied himself with unwearied, and unhappily with successful efforts to sap the foundation of his mother's faith.

Having succeeded in this dreadful work, and as he was returning, an express met him in London, with a letter from his mother, informing him that she was in a deep decline, and could not survive long; she said she found herself without any support in her distress; that he had taken away that only source of comfort upon which, in all cases of affliction, she used to rely, and that she now found her mind sinking into despair; she did not doubt that her son would afford some substitute for her religion; and she conjured him to hasted to her, or at least to send a letter, containing such consolations as philosophy could afford to a dying mortal.

Hume was overwhelmed with anguish on receiving this letter, and hastened to Scotland, travelling day and night; but before he arrived his mother expired. No permanent impression seems, however, to have been made on his mind by this trying event and whatever remorse he might have felt at that moment, he soon relapsed into his previous hardness of heart. Thus, it is false philosophy restores the sting and gives again the victory of the grave.

- Moral and Religious Anecdotes by Norman Islay Macleod C. 1850s

When I read this account of the death the famous atheist Hume's mother, I found myself hoping that she had returned to her Christian foundations in her last hours. Did she find her faith her last hours? Did Mr. Hume find his faith in last hours? We will never know this side of Eternity. 

YOUR HOPE WILL NEVER BE CUT OFF  

"Do not envy sinners in your heart. Instead, continue to fear the Lord. There is indeed a future, and your hope will never be cut off." 

- Proverbs 23:17

LIVING HOPE THROUGH THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST  

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead."  

- 1 Peter 1:3

TRAIN UP A CHILD WHEN HE IS YOUNG

"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."

- Proverbs 22:6 

THERE IS AWAY THAT SEEMETH RIGHT TO A MAN

"There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death."

- Proverbs 14:12

GRACE WORKS HOPE AND MERCY

"The law works fear and wrath; grace works hope and mercy."

- Martin Luther (1483-1546) German Priest, Theologian

HOPE HAS TWO DAUGHTERS  

“Hope has two beautiful daughters. Their names are anger and courage; anger at the way things are, and courage to see that they do not remain the way they are.”  

- St. Augustine (354-430) Theologian and Philosopher

SET YOUR HOPE COMPLETELY ON THE GRACE

 "Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep a clear head, and set your hope completely on the grace to be given you when Jesus, the Messiah, is revealed. As obedient children, do not be shaped by the desires that used to influence you when you were ignorant."  

- 1 Peter 1:13-14

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"And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it." - Genesis 28:12 

In this verse in Genesis 28:12, we are told that Jacob left Beersheba (meaning, "Well of the oath"), toward Haran (meaning, "strong and enlightened") a 12-mile journey. He stopped at a certain place for the night and had a dream. What did he dream? 

A stairway was set on the ground and its top reached to the sky, and angels of God were going up and down on it. Some were going from the earth to the heaven, others from the heaven to the earth. The Hebrew translation suggests that the ramp extended both towards earth and the heavens, rather than it was supported upon a cursed earth. This is also the only place in the Bible where the word, "Ladder" is used. 

Some Hebrew commentators have written that this story is meant to teach us the following, a man does not always remain at the same stage. He is always ascending or descending. When he reaches the top, he must concern himself with the probability that he will fall. When he reaches the bottom, he must strive once again to climb to the top. That is the nature of man. 

Chaim Potok, novelist and narrator of contemporary Jewish experience, said, "When the soul of a man is in its darkest night, he must strive constantly for new light. When one thinks there is only an end, that is when one must struggle for the new beginning." It is at this point in his life that Jacob was in the "dark night" of the soul. His brother was out to kill him for the birthright that Jacob had stolen. It was here that God extended His vision, His "Enlightenment" to Jacob's eyes. 

The vision revealed the knowledge of God's involvement with man. God's angels, His messengers, were revealed to Jacob personally, ascending and descending to heaven with a God given destination. Jacob came to understand through this enlightenment, that God was involved directly with His people on earth, and therefore directly involved with the direction that Jacob was going also. Notice that in this story, Jacob lies in a horizontal position with his head on a rock, while God's vision was one of a vertical nature; a ladder going from heaven to earth, revealing God's plan that was one of heavenly movement. 

It is here that God reiterates the promise that he had given his forefather Abraham, (Gen 28:14). The promise that Jacob's descendants would be blessed by the "Seed" that would come from his family. But this time, the promise was given to Jacob PERSONALLY. God wanted a personal relationship with Jacob, not that of a grandchild relationship that was handed down. God was asking him to get his head off the rock and look at all that was available to him, a relationship that was interactive with God, a virtual ladder between heaven and earth. 

It is interesting to note, that God led Jacob to stop at a certain place for the night that meant, "Enlightenment," a foreshadowing of what was to come. It may be that God is leading you from the place of your "well of oath" or first commitment, to stop at a certain place of "enlightenment". 

I have seen many people fight and claw their way to the top, only to find that they had placed THEIR ladder against the wrong building. They are unhappy with their career, their relationships, their homes, and their very lives. God offers a glimpse at HIS ladder that is supported by heaven itself, and a promise of His involvement in our lives. If today, you find your head against a rock, look up, for you may see angels descending from the heavens with a message from heaven to you. 

EXPERIENCE AND HUMILITY TEACH MODESTY AND FEAR

"It is a little learning, and but a little, which makes men conclude hastily. Experience and humility teach modesty and fear."

- Jeremy Taylor (1613-1667) Church of England Cleric

I WILL INSTRUCT YOU AND TEACH YOU

"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you." 

- Psalm 32:8 

GOOD AND UPRIGHT IS THE LORD

"Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in his ways. He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them His way." 

- Psalm 25:8-9

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