ENGAGED” .....
That word means you have said “yes”.... to something and you have become pro-active in that area.
Being engaged can mean many things...
You may be engaged in Education, Good health, Building a business, Politics, This meeting, Self improvement and many more things....
OK, how many thought of a man and a woman getting engaged when I announced the title of this message? Most of you.... Since that’s the case, here’s a few statements I came across about that....
“Don’t just say you love me, Put a ring on it”! Put some commitment on it.
Whoever called it an engagement ring... should have called it the “Yes Dear” Diamond?
Before an army officer can get married, they need to know the rules of engagement.
This one guy asked his girlfriend what sort of engagement ring she'd like.
She said, “Don’t get me one that's like you.".... “But I’m full of sparkle, he said. “No, you’re Cheap and round" she answered.
My dog swallowed my engagement ring last night, I couldn’t give it to her until he coughed it out when he barked. I told her it was a lot like me, It was a diamond in the RUFF.
One guys engagement fell through, because when he told her that his dad was very rich and divorced, she became his mom.
We say a couple is “Engaged” but In Croatian, it’s zauzet... in Czech, it’s Zapojeno.... In Dutch, it’s bezet.... In Irish, it’s gabháil.... In Italian, it’s impegnato.... In Portuguese, it’s acionado.... In Swahili, it’s kushiriki....
Well, my opening scripture is about engagement.... Matthew 1:18,19 “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused (engaged or committed) to Joseph, and before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost”…You may notice here, that The angel didn’t appear with the miracle message, until there was a commitment.
Many folks want God to do something, and if He does, then they will make a commitment. But throughout scripture we find the opposite is true. God waits for our commitment of faith and trust, before He moves and reveals. You don’t just give God a road test, or try it before you buy it.... Man looks at the outward appearance, but God sees the heart...At some point you move beyond kicking the tires and looking under the hood....to get in and drive this thing!!!
The woman with the issue of blood, pushed through the crowd and made a commitment to get to Jesus... The blind man kept yelling louder and louder until he stopped Jesus, even though the disciples tried to shut him up....Zacchaeus climbed a tree, so he would be able to see and hear Jesus. He made a commitment... The friends of the paralyzed man tore the roof off to lower their friend down to where Jesus was ministering... that commitment resulted in wholeness and healing... You don’t have to be great to start, but you do have to start to be great... We are committed in the ups and the downs, the little things and the big things of life...There are no unimportant decisions, they all have significance and impact.
An engaged man asked his father for advice for a long and happy marriage... He said, “Dad, you and Mom have been happily married for 50 years now. How do you do it? "Oh, That's easy son, when your Mom and I first got married, we made a deal. She would make all the little decisions, and I would make all the big decisions. "
Hey, that sounds like a good arrangement. But how do you decide what's a big decision, and what's a little decision?
"Well son, she told me that we haven't had any big decisions yet." The biggest decision anyone can make is the decision to make Jesus their Lord and master. And give Him permission to call the shots in their lives. In the same way, when a couple becomes engaged, It’s official that there is no more place for anyone else in that way in their lives. They are stating that they are no longer in the market but they are off limits.....
A young woman entered a bible preaching Church out of curiosity. While there, she heard the gospel for the first time and was converted. As she continued to attend, she heard God’s call on her life to go to China as a missionary. She was the only daughter of a multi-millionaire. She was socially prominent and wealthy. But her parents were not Christians. When she told them of her decision to go to the mission field, they sneered at the very thought. They were sure that they could quickly put a stop to what they called, “a passing whim”. This girl was engaged to a successful, prominent businessman—but he was not a Christian either. When she talked with him about giving his life to Christ, he took a stand just as her parents had. Later on the parents gave a social event and invited their wealthy friends. They told these friends about their daughter’s intentions and enlisted their help to change her mind. During the evening the daughter listened to all their arguments against going to the mission field. Finally, she walked over to the piano and began to play and sing: the words of the song were “Jesus, I my cross have taken, All to leave and follow Thee, destitute, despised, forsaken, and now to You my all shall be.” Her fiancé was so touched by her action. He walked over to her and said, “I did not know Jesus could mean so much to any person. If He means that much to you, please pray for me that I might know Him as well.” They both made their commitment to one another and to the Lord. They were married and BOTH went to China. Where they labored among the people for many years together and saw many come into the kingdom.
The Jewish engagement ceremony, and the wedding are meant to be very prophetic events, pointing to Christ and His church.... Paul said this in 2 Corinthians 11:2 “F or I am jealous over you with a holy jealousy that comes from God. I promised to give you to Christ, as your only husband. I desire that you be committed (engaged) to Him as His pure bride”.
Engagement is a state of being considered married before you actually are married. When Paul calls us the Lord’s pure bride, it means we enter marriage as virgins. For we have saved ourselves for Him alone. In the custom of the Jewish Hebrews, the woman and man who were promised to one another, but were not intimate until after the wedding ceremony. Until that time, she would aways wear a veil in his presence, representing her purity.
Likewise we are reserved for Christ alone. There is no place for any but Him in our lives. Like the Bridegroom of the bible, the time will come when He will take us unto Himself and we will be glorified for we shall be like Him for we shall see Him as He is.
Look at Revelation 19:6-9 “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.
7 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 8 it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure” for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.
9 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.”
In the Hebrew wedding customs during the time of Christ, typical weddings were divided into 3 ceremonial sections; the betrothal (ketubah),
the wedding (Chuppah),
and the feast. Seudat Nissuin)
During the betrothal, the father of the bridegroom would present a bridal contract (ketubah). Once both sides agreed on the ketubah, the bride would be showered with gifts and the bridegroom would offer his covenant bride a cup of wine (mohar).. If she drank the cup before everyone, she thereby expressed her will to marry him by her own consent. The glasses are then broken. The bridegroom would usually leave a special gift (the mattan) to help her remember their covenant. The “mattan” (a type of the Holy Spirit) helped the bride remember and grow in love with the bridegroom day by day when they were apart.
Then the bridegroom’s party would depart. The bridegroom would spend at least nine months to one year working to build a house for their future family. (Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us) The bride would prepare herself and her bridal garments, usually made up of fine linen. She had to keep herself chaste and undistracted by other would-be lovers while her bridegroom was laboring to build a house for them, (she was reserved for him alone) She never knew when he would come to receive her when he had everything ready. When the bridegroom had finished all preparations, he would usually seek permission from her father to go and receive his bride. The timing of the coming of the bridegroom to receive his bride, whom he had redeemed and paid for with a precious bridal price, was in herfather’s authority. Before the bridegroom left to receive his bride to himself, he would usually send his friends ahead to blow the trumpet (shofar) and shout a warning, “The bridegroom is coming” would be the shout, as they moved through the streets!
When the bride heard this trumpet and shout, she would go out, dressed in her bridal garment together with her friends. These friends would accompany the bride in a procession to the bridegroom’s home. They would prepare lamps to light the way, because it would usually be dark, but a typical lamp had an oil compartment that only contained sufficient oil to light the lamp for a couple of hours. If the bridegroom delayed his coming deep into the night, their lamps would run out of oil. Those who were wise would bring along larger containers with extra oil to last through the long, dark night. We need to check the oil of the spirit in our lives. The fruit of the Spirit, the operations of the Spirit, and the character of the Spirit that are all about the oil.
The bridegroom would usually come between sunset and sunrise. He would come like a thief in the night to snatch away his bride, which was part of the fun and ritual
When the bridegroom saw her, he lifted her up and carried her back to the home he had built for them. In that home, under the chuppah, they would receive the wedding blessings and consummate their marriage covenant. The feast then began in the house of the bridegroom and would often last for seven days or longer. We will be 7 years in heaven with the bridegroom, before we return to earth.
So, all believers are grouped together, from every continent, every race, every denomination, and every language. We are all called the bride of Christ. Jesus prayed that we become one, even as He and the Father are one. If this is true, shouldn’t we try harder to get along. We are the bride.
Can you imagine a person fighting themselves. Giving themselves a black eye, or a smashed nose.... hitting themselves in the head with a hammer....I mean just really beating up on themselves. Or refusing to like themselves, mistreating themselves, constantly saying terrible things about themselves, and not taking care of themselves? Eventually that would have disastrous results.
That’s what the Lord sees when we don’t take care of each other, in the body of Christ, and we don’t like each other, we talk against each other, and don’t treat each other in love as the bride of Christ. When I set myself against someone in the body of Christ, I am opposing the bride whom He loves and died to have as His own.... In Jesus’ time a young girl would be engaged, or committed to an older man when she was 5 to 12 years old or younger. He might be 40 and possibly a successful business man. So he and the girl’s father would come to an agreement and seal the deal. He would then instruct the father and mother how hewanted the girl to be raised, to his liking.... She was not her own, but she belonged to another. From the time of engagement, her life was shaped and guided so that she would be pleasing to the man she would marry. She was all about pleasing him. And he would check in often to see how that process was being carried out till she was 13 and could marry. That is what it meant for the future bride to be espoused to someone.
When things try to intrude upon your commitment to Christ. When there are conflicts which distract you from serving Him, and pull you away from His first place in your life, and He gets put 2nd, 3rdor last on your priority list....after fishing and football, You need to declare... I AM ENGAGED! I BELONG TO ANOTHER, I AM RESERVED FOR THE ONE I LOVE. My life Is now lived to please Him! That relationship should shut down our critical spirit, cause us to be quick to apologize and repent, examine our heart and be willing to change our habits and patterns....
Listen to the prayer of Jesus for His bride..... John 17:13 “Father, I am coming to You now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of My joy within them. 14 I have given them Your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 17 Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth. 18 As You sent Me into the world, I have sent them into the world.
19 For them I sanctify Myself, that they too may be truly sanctified. 20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in Me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as You are in Me and I am in You. May they also be in Us so that the world may believe that You have sent Me. 22 I have given them the glory that You gave Me, that they may be one as We are One—
23 I in them and You in Me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that You sent Me and have loved them even as You have loved Me. 24 “Father, I want those You have given Me to be with Me where I am, and to see My glory, the glory You have given Me because You loved Me before the creation of the world”.
If you are a believer in Christ, you have given Him the right to order your life, and determine your priorities. You have given Him the right to order your daily schedule and speak into your plans. And He has done that... It’s called His written plan... The word of God.
How can I call Him my Lord and never check to see what He wants for my life, and what He wants me to do each day? He is Lord of the New Year… He’s the true Victor of the Super Bowl of life…. He’s the great lover of Valentine's Day… He’s the King of Kings on Presidents' Day… He’s the King of Saints on St. Patrick's Day… He’s the humble servant of Palm Sunday…. He’s the resurrected, risen Lord of Easter… He’s the Holy Spirit sender of Pentecost…. His banner over me is love on Flag Day…. Independence Day, He is my source of freedom…. Labor Day, He is my rest…. Halloween, He destroys the works of the evil one…Daylight Saving Time, He is my Redeemer….. Election Day, He is the undefeated one…. Veterans Day, He is the lord of armies…. And Thanksgiving, He is my reason to Praise….
The appearing of Christ at the rapture, will consummate in two amazing events... The marriage supper, where Jesus fulfills His promise and receives His bride to Himself, to be with Him for all eternity. Revelation 19:7 “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; 8 it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. 9 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, Following this, will come the judgment seat of Christ. This is where believers are rewarded based on how faithfully they served Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:10 “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad”. The bad referred to here, is about not repenting, not forgiving, not getting rid of some secret sin in your life. Some of the things we might be judged on are how well we obeyed the Great Commission (witnessing to others), how victorious we were over sin, did we overcome? And were we faithful with what we were given?.
Luke 18:8, “When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith (pistinon...or faithfulness) in the earth?” There are five heavenly crowns mentioned in the New Testament that will be awarded to believers.
They are the imperishable crown (immortality), the crown of rejoicing (for maintaining our joy in every situation), the crown of righteousness (overcoming sin), the crown of glory (we glorified God with our lives), and the crown of life (Those who valued the Lord more than their own life, and put Him first in this life).
Romans 5:17 says, "Those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ." This is describing this time and beyond, when we will be given rulership so that we may reign in whatever position we are given as we come back to earth in our glorified bodies to rule in the millennium and on into the new heaven and earth.
Friend, whatever it takes to overcome in your life here, believe me, it will be worth it when we get there. He wants us to have heaven to go to heaven in.....
“Thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven...”
Be encouraged in the testing and trials. In the ups and downs and good times and bad.... When we the bride, stand before Jesus our espoused.... it will be like no celebration you’ve ever experienced. Nothing on this earth can compare to that time. Get your joy back, get your peace back, get your confession back, get your shout and your praise back... It won’t be long now... till the heaven’s open, the trumpet sounds, and we rise together to meet Him in the air and so shall we forever be with the Lord!
If there are things which need repentance, if there is forgiveness needed, if there is obedience to something God has put on your heart but you have not done it.... do it now....
Let’s take a moment and give our first love, first place.... Mark 12:30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ And you shall love your neighbor as yourself”.
If you would feel led to support this ministry, send your donation to "Eagle's Rest, P.O box 2820, Key West, Florida 33040. I want to thank you in advance and may God richly bless you for your faithfulness.... See less
