The Bride Made Ready
9/28/1996
September 1996, Komba, Africa
Before very long, Jesus will come back for His Bride made ready (Rev. 19:7). And, the will of the Father for us is not to attend a bride, but to be a Bride...not to attend a house, but to be a House. We can only do this as we love each other and exchange our lives with each other every day.
We help each other to know Jesus better by helping each other put away sin, love one another more, and care for others’ needs more than we care for our own. These are the teachings of Jesus. This is how He lived His life for us, and now He has called us to live this way for one another. This is how the Bride is made ready for the return of her Groom, Jesus.
The will of the Father is that we would become more and more beautiful as we learn how to truly love each other more. As we put away our selfishness and pride that keep us separate from each other, and as we willingly open our hearts to be vulnerable with each other, then the Spirit of God, the Grace of God and the Love of God pour out on us...and we become a beautiful Bride READY for the return of our Groom, Jesus.
This is a Church—to live this way every day, not attending the house of God, but being the place where God Lives. Then our homes, our workplace and our Church all become one. There are no more barriers from my heart to yours and no more barriers between my home and yours. I put away selfishness and pride, I put away laziness and unbelief, and I love others as Jesus has loved me. When everyone does that, from the least to the greatest, Jesus pours out His healing oil and we are a Church and a beautiful Bride.
Invitation of God to the World
The Invitation of God to all of the world is to be a Home together for the Father, Son and Holy Ghost—to be a Bride that has made herself ready for the return of her beautiful Groom, Jesus (John 13-15, Eph. 2-5, Rev. 19:7). Jesus said, “this is how all men will know you are My disciples,”—not by how loud you sing on Sunday morning, not by how well you preach, not by your meetings—but “by how you love one another daily.” This is how all men will know that this is from Heaven. The world MUST see us loving each other. They cannot see through the walls of a room once a week. It is very hard to love one another in a room anyway. They see us loving each other when they see us carrying each other’s loads, when we take care of each other when we are sick, when they see us give each other the best things we have. This is how all men will know that we are His disciples—not just by what we believe, but by how they see us loving each other. This is the call of God for His People today.
Build on the Rock
Build on the rock of putting into practice His Word. If you ever hear anything that Jesus is saying, do something about it today. Take action, today, to change for Jesus. Don’t just think about it. Act on it. Jesus said this is building on the Rock—putting it into practice and not hearing it only. Disciples of Jesus do this! So, brothers and sisters, be the Church to the Glory of God. Be a Family together every day. Make Jesus very proud of you.