Now there’s tremendous excitement in heaven. What’s the reason for the excitement? Let’s go on.

“Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.”

So that’s why all heaven was excited, because there was a marriage that was going to take place. A marriage supper.

Just recently I married off my youngest and only unmarried daughter. My little black African daughter that was picked up dying off the floor of an African hut, and thrust into the arms of my first wife and me. And she got married just over a month ago in Clearwater, Florida. And I tell you, there was a lot of excitement. I could appreciate that there’s going to be a lot of excitement in heaven. I don’t think a wedding should ever take place without excitement. But I want to point out to you one important thing, it says, “...His wife has made herself ready.”

I’ve lived in various cultures, Middle Eastern, African, and so on. I do not know of any culture where the bridegroom makes the bride ready. Isn’t that right? It’s always her responsibility. And this Scripture says, “...she has made herself ready.” Not she is getting ready, but she is ready.

Years ago when I pastored a small congregation in London, we had a Jamaican sister there. And every time she prayed, and it was quite often, she said, “Lord, help us to remember that it will not be enough to be getting ready. We have to be ready.” That has stuck with me all these years. So bear in mind, the bride or the wife has to make herself ready. And one of the preparations is described here in verse 8.

“And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.”

I want to dwell on that statement for a little while. The fine linen that will make the bridal dress for the bride, is made up of the righteous acts of the saints. You see, when we first receive Jesus by faith as Savior and Lord, His righteousness is imputed to us. But as we live for Him, it has to be outworked in our lives. And what this is talking about is not imputed righteousness, but outworked righteousness. Her bridal dress is made up of righteous acts. And that raises the question, will we have enough material for a real bridal dress, because no bride ever gets married in a bikini. A bridal robe is usually pretty full, and that’s what we’re going to need is a bridal robe made up of righteous acts.

In Matthew 5:16 Jesus said, “Let your light shine so that all can see it.” We often think about letting our light shine as something passive, that just happens because we are Christians. But if you read the rest of that verse it says,

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”

So our light shines through the good works that we perform. No good works, no light.

Now I was going to repeat—come on we’ll do it. This is our second proclamation. We make no extra charge. This is Titus 2:11–14:

“The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching

Bend the Church and Bow the World

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