The Marriage of the Lamb — Edwin H. Waldvogel

Praise the Lord. I remember one of our faith home ministers. He had a pretty good voice and they called on him to sing in the meeting. So he got up and sang the song our brother Kenneth sang, but he said I sing because I have to Not because I'm free.

That was John Robinson was his name. He had a very keen sense of humor. And he was an Englishman on top of it. And so that made it extraordinary sort of and he Often entertained us in the meetings. With that blessed gift the Lord gave him Sort of was the spice, you know on the food That he gave us.

God's Love and the Knowledge of His Will

But I'm thankful tonight That God loves us, aren't you? And until we get that sight why we're going to perhaps fail and Not take certain steps toward the Lord Until he is able to show us what he has in mind over us His great love toward us.

It's why the Apostle prays. Oh God fill fill my people with the knowledge of your will In all wisdom and spiritual understanding that that wasn't to give them a big head. But that they might walk worthy of the Lord.

That they might please the Lord. They might seek the Lord Understand what God had in mind for Them and we still need that Illumination today, don't we at least I feel I do and sometimes I think it takes Me Too long to get smart as they say in the Pennsylvania Dutch.

We get too soon old and Too late smart, but God doesn't want that. He wants to fill us Today with the knowledge of his will doesn't want us to wait until we get to be sages. But he wants young men and young women and all of us to be filled with the knowledge of his will.

God loves us and he desires very greatly to have us for his own possession. When I was going to Richmond Hill High School, I joined the camera club. I always liked to take pictures and Enjoyed making pictures.

We had a dark room there where we could work and Enlargers and things that I could use that I didn't have at home. And I used to develop my pictures under the stairs that went to the basement at the faithful I sort of arranged for a little Clean it out, you know and made a dark room in there put all kinds of cloth around and made it dark and There I sat without any ventilation, but I could sit there by the hour Trying to develop pictures and then make enlargements.

Oh, that was my great joy to do that. And another thing I like to do is to go over to Manhattan and look in the show windows of the camera stores. I Didn't have nerve enough to go into some of them because I didn't have any money at all to spend on anything.

But you can feast your eyes on it. Can't you and so I would go over and stand on Nassau Street at that time. It was the New York camera exchange and after a while they moved uptown many of those stores.

But I would stand there just admiring the cameras. I'd look at the used cameras and Wonder if I could get one of those sometime. Maybe I Had an old Camera, I don't know where I got it from that made used glass plates.

Still had that to work with and So here I was standing there and The subway train used to cost us a nickel. So that wasn't too bad and I would take the train to Manhattan. When I had a time, you know that I'd stand there and look at the windows.

Then I'd be encouraged to go in and take these advertisements, you know. Things that this explained the cameras and things and I'd go out with my pockets full On the way home. I'd look at one after the other and then I would dream a Sort of daydream, you know what I could do with that camera.

Oh that that just gripped me somehow and One day I was standing there on Nassau Street, I remember looking in the window and Here I was spending time again, I had made another trip to Manhattan just to look in the window and Feast my eyes on the my first love, you know Here I was watching look at that those cameras.

I thought boy What I could do with a camera like that and then the Lord spoke to me. And he spoke to me on this Passage where he speaks about Levi not having any inheritance inheritance In the land the Lord said I want to be their inheritance.

I want to be your lot. I Want to be yours your portion and I still remember how I stood there and I felt so Badly in my heart. I felt so convicted Teenager. But you know, the Lord had talked to me and he said I want to you for myself and you're interested in these cameras you make trips over here and you look in the window and you covet all these things and You've got something far far better Than any camera can ever be.

I want to come to you. I want to reveal myself to you. And it just made me Stand there that I remember how the tears flowed down my cheeks and I said, oh Jesus you mean that You really want me you really want?

Me you really want to be my portion. And it just gripped me somehow that Jesus wanted to come to me like that. But he loved me that much and I turned around and went back to the faithful. I Remember that I think it was one of the last that was probably the last trip.

I ever took over there Just to look in the windows, you know and admire cameras. After a while when I went to Europe why the Lord gave me a nice camera. I got it at the PX at that time it certainly was satisfactory for the work we had to do and I got good pictures of that work.

After a while, I've gotten other cameras. But they don't interest me so much anymore. I still would like to have the very best, you know real nice Camera but That doesn't bother me at all. I don't have one.

I have one that's really sufficient really it is. Does everything I wanted to do? Doesn't bother me. I don't need anything else. I don't think I will need anything else either but One thing that just took away that desire for me.

I Thank God for that. But on the other hand the desire and to lay hold of the choice That God has made. That's the greatest thing that can come to you greater than anything this world has to offer is That Jesus wants to come.

And he came down to this world. For that purpose he's seeking hearts seeking hearts for himself sometimes. We feel well, he came to seek and to save the lost and he saved me and I'm happy and I suppose he's happy.

Well, that is just a part of the story. He didn't only save us to save us from the hands of the enemy. But he wants us for himself. He wants a people. We read that the Lord said the Lord's portion. We say Jesus is my portion.

The Lord's People as Christ's Inheritance

But then it tells us the Lord's portion is his people when you read the prayer in Ephesians. The third the first chapter there. He tells us that he wants us to know. What his inheritance in his Saints is you see that's the other side of it.

Jesus has an inheritance. Jesus has a purpose in for coming into this world. And there he is the Lord's people. The ones he has redeemed are his portion. And until that really gets into our hearts We'll wander around and we'll waste our time sort of drift along.

You might make up a success in this world. And then that'll pass away too. But God is looking for something for eternity forever and ever and We read so much about that in the Bible and this union with Jesus that we're called to.

The Holy Spirit Reveals the Heavenly Bridegroom

It's strange that we don't really catch hold of it easier. But I tell you why that is the Holy Spirit. Has to make real to us our call he has to make Jesus precious to us. He's come to do that. That's his mission.

Jesus said when he's come he'll guide you into the truth. I've got a lot of things to tell you, but I can't tell you now, but when the Spirit is come He'll talk to you. He'll take of the things of mine and show them unto you.

And we need the ministry of the Holy Spirit. More and more we see that don't we we have a wonderful privilege of Being saved and we Pentecostal people of knowing something about the touch of the Spirit in our lives that we like to think of.

The joy that the Spirit brings us the fruit of the Spirit is love and joy and peace. These wonderful fruits that are worked out in our lives. But the Holy Spirit's great work is to show us Jesus to make us to understand our heavenly bridegroom and to make us to realize to how Precious we are in his sight.

I Like the Apostle Paul. When he talked to the Ephesian elders, he told them to feed the flock of God which he purchased With his own blood. These people that you minister to he tells them they belong to the Heavenly bridegroom and he bought them with his own blood.

That's how much he loves them. The blood of God Was shed for you Peter. Did you know that? Hmm, I'm glad you do. I know you do. I know you love Jesus. Praise the Lord and we all want to love him more.

Understand better how deeply he has loved us. But he has loved us. That he might have us. He might reveal himself to us and his people are his portion. That's what he died for. That's what he lives for tonight.

Christ's Intercession and the Danger of Worldly Affection

When he prayed in John 17, he says I'm not praying for the world. That was in that particular prayer now. Don't forget. Jesus is the great high priest and I believe he makes intercession for Lost men and women and goes after them and he wants to find them.

But his great purpose. He makes intercession for his own he has a Invested his own lifeblood. And now he's drawn them to himself and he wants them to know him and love him and Find him we have in a psalm.

Is it 71 or? 73 one of these psalms. One of the two were Asaph. It's a psalm that's sort of Dedicated to him and he writes about how he had Almost fallen Into a pit that the devil digs for all of the people of God.

I Saw the wicked person. I saw the worldly person. I saw they prosper in their ways. How they get ahead how they get this world's goods. How they really seem to be blessed in every way. And I thought well what the world am I Bothering myself about trying to be a good boy and a good girl.

Working so hard at it. What good does it do? And he said I I don't know it doesn't seem to pay to serve the Lord. He says that's what I began to think In my head. Those thoughts came to me and he said I just about slipped.

It just about fell into that pit that the devil had, you know, a lot of people fall into that pit. They start out loving the Lord. They're filled with the Holy Ghost and after a while you find that the things of this world have claimed their hearts.

Claimed our attention and That first love is gone and the fire of devotion toward Jesus is not there anymore. They've listened to the tempter's voice and they didn't get the sight. That the psalmist got he said I went into the sanctuary.

Seeing Eternity from the Sanctuary

Ah. That's the place to go. You're not going to know Jesus better watching TV. Even if it's a religious broadcast. You're not going to get to know Jesus better. By going out into the woods. Somebody told me that they could worship God just as well.

Out in the woods as in church, and that's why they didn't come to church. Well, maybe you can but you don't you can't kid me on that. I've seen too many people that have fallen away by all those excuses.

But if you want to know the Lord come into the sanctuary. Come into his presence get into his presence get to church. Get among God's people. And he said I went into the sanctuary and then I saw things from eternity's view.

I Saw his the end of the way. Where does it all lead to? It's empty and it leads to death. And then I said Lord. I was as a beast before you. No Higher ambition than just to eat and drink and get fattened up for the slaughter.

Just like an animal an animal doesn't pray. Does have any contact with God? Mr. Tennyson wrote what is man? Better than sheep or goat. That nourish a blind life within the brain if knowing God. They lift not hands of prayer.

Both for themselves and those who call them friend. For the soul the whole wide world in every way is bound by chains of gold about the feet of God. What good is it? What difference is there in man who has been created if he doesn't open up his soul to God?

He's created for that. To have fellowship with God. And he said I was just like an animal before you. The Psalms says but then he says I Am Continually with thee. I like that. Whom have I in heaven but thee?

And there's none on earth that I desire beside thee. My strength faileth. He talks about it, but he says you're them. I strength the strength of my heart. You are my life and you are my portion. Forever praise the Lord.

Preparing the Bride for the Marriage of the Lamb

I'm so thankful for that. We are called To know God like that and to reach out for him. He loves us and he's looking for a company of people men and women who make him their choice. Who say I will be yours.

You know, we're talking about a wedding in the Bible the marriage of the Lamb. And of course, first of all, I get these notices from Germany every once in a while. Veer for lobe and oats what that means.

We're getting engaged. And then on the card are the two names of the fellow and the girl. Sometimes I'm shocked. Sometimes I'm not shocked. Sometimes I know a little bit about it. But oftentimes it comes as a surprise to me, but they promise and they have their Engagement party and the family comes together and I just got a letter from one of the mothers we met the parents of the bride and She seemed it seems their family fits into our family and you know how that goes.

It's gonna be okay all the way around sure but We must make our choice. You've got to make your choice. Jesus proposes to you and You say yes to him. And all to be enlightened by the Holy Spirit as to what he wants he wants a bride.

That can be altogether his a Bride after his own heart. That's why he came to this world and became one of us. That he might find a people that would be united unto him. The church the Lord's portion is his people and When that light gets a hold of us.

Why we seek to know him better all the time. There isn't one thing we would rather do Than be with him. There isn't anything that could take his place in our lives. And God wants that love to be so real to you and to me.

That wherever I go, I don't have to try to love him and put it on. You know, I know I ought to and but it's a love that he puts into his my heart he sheds that love abroad in my heart by the Holy Ghost and Jesus becomes my portion.

And it is not just a choice that I make but day by day He reveals himself then more completely to me. That's our privilege to know Jesus better and if we are His bride and if we belong to him and we realize what he wants.

Why we will say tonight. I know him better than I knew him last year. I'm getting to know him better all the time. I'm getting to love him more all the time. The bride gets to see the bridegroom and we have it in the Song of Solomon.

He's all together. Lovely. There's no flaw in him. And the more we get to know Jesus the more we say, oh Jesus you are so wonderful sometimes in this world when a Couple gets to know each other a little bit better why they break it off again, you know.

I say he ain't what I thought he was and he said she ain't she ain't the angel I thought she was either and so they Separate again. Well, you know, let me tell you something. You don't find perfection this side of heaven.

You may come to me and say I found a perfect fellow. And I say bless your heart, I hope so. As perfect as they can be. And what young man Wouldn't respond to real a real love and want to be his very best.

And that's the way it ought to be the other way around, too. But Jesus Christ is our wonderful bridegroom. And he has to create That bride and make that bride worthy of the bridegroom. We sing he saw me plunged in deep distress and flew to my relief.

Sanctification and Christ's Sufficient Grace

For me he bore that shameful cross, you know, Jesus Knew you and he knew me before he ever revealed himself to us and drew us to himself. He knew He knew our weaknesses, he knew our failures, he knew all about our natures.

Our faint heartedness perhaps or lack of real faith and faithfulness that character. That ought to characterize the Bride of Christ who gives herself Unreservedly for the bridegroom. But the wonderful thing is that Jesus works in us and he changes us and He makes us what he wants us to be.

And that's why I say when this light dawns on us Jesus. You've saved me for yourself. And you've called me to be yours and you want to be pleased with me. That doesn't put me under a strain. Sometimes it does to people they say oh, I I want to please the Lord and I just can't do it.

In my own strength, why of course you can't. But the wonderful thing is that he can and his grace is sufficient for us. So he begins that work in us and he's given us this wonderful Bible. That shows us his desire.

And shows us what that bride ought to be like. He gave himself for the church that he might have a church that is without spot. Say You really want to be without spot before God? Not because you know you ought to be and People are in the church might notice something wrong with you.

No, that's not the idea. The idea is to please Jesus and to be without spot before him in love. Oh That's different. I might be able to hide a lot of things from my fellow man. But I can't hide anything from him.

And he can make me we read is able to keep me from falling. And to present us without spot. Before his presence with exceeding joy. Hey, that's gonna be a great day, isn't it that marriage of the Lamb?

The bride will be filled with exceeding joy. He is able but all when that light shines into my heart. Jesus you want me for yourself. And you give yourself to me. To make me what you want me to be but that truth as it comes into my heart.

Yeah, I say Jesus Apostle praise in first Thessalonians 5 that we might be sanctified holy Spirit and soul and body for hope for Jesus to please him. And he comes and he wants to sanctify me holy in German it says something better than holy.

You know brother Gardner with his holy tomato juice. When he talked He would never say holy. He'd say holy is in the restaurant with brother Andrews one day and they ordered tomato juice and sometimes you get a Cocktail tomato juice, you know what that is.

It's a little sharper and they use it for cocktails and He didn't know if this grape tomato juice that had just a little treatment or not and So he said to the waitress is this holy tomato juice? And she looked at him and she said I don't know if it's been blessed.

So from that day on he didn't say is it holy he said holy. I Don't think it helped the waitress any whether you said holy or holy but He wanted to be sure it was only tomato juice you see. But God wants you to be.

What shall I say. Not only tomato juice, but free from any other things, you know from anything that defiles us he wants us to be holy and Sanctifies holy now the German Bible says door or door. That means through and through.

That's quite a statement, isn't it? But that's the way Jesus blood makes us clean. And his word comes to us and the Holy Spirit works in us and we are cleansed in our thinking. Oh What a wonderful thing, but you know, he'll make us so through and through spirit and Soul and body Praise the Lord and when we see that Oh Jesus you have a Purpose and one of these days we were singing tonight about seeing him in glory.

Seeing him over there and Sometimes people don't like to sing those words. They kind of think you're thinking about dying now and moving out and pulling into the golden mansions. That should be the furthest thing from our thoughts.

Heaven ought to be Jesus to us whom have I in heaven but me and There is none on earth that I desire beside thee. That's the thing God wants to put into my heart and yours. Oh, I want you Jesus. I Can be with you now I can please you now I can have your fellowship now by the Holy Spirit and you working in me day by day and The way is growing brighter all along the way and I don't want to try to get away with anything Lord, but I want to be transparent before you and oh, I'm so thankful that he is able to dig right down into the depths.

Holiness, Spiritual Wakefulness, and Readiness

Now there are a lot of people they don't like the head they have never seen the reason for it and So they will come to church and if you touch certain things, oh they'll fly off the handle and I'm not going back to that place anymore.

One day somebody in Germany called me a holiness preacher that was a furthest thing from my mind. He's a holiness preacher. I Just pray that God will make me a holiness preacher. And first of all make me holy and then make me to preach it.

Hallelujah, I Want to be ready for Jesus, don't you? I am so glad that he says I want you as my portion. Hallelujah, that's what I gave myself for. He gave himself for the church. You're a part of that and you cannot just say oh as we look at ourselves we say and as we look at Jesus we say Yes, Lord, yes, Lord.

Yes, Lord. Hallelujah. You're able you're working you're doing and our greatest joy Is when he speaks to us and when he cleanses us. When he shows us something that doesn't please him. We don't get angry.

But we say thank you Lord. Because he does that to take it away from us and make our eternity that much brighter and more Wonderful as we come. Oh, I believe it's time For his wife to get herself ready praise the Lord.

I uh, I Remember the day I got married the first time with my Edith and I remember when I got married the second time. You know those days you can't forget. But I don't know if I slept too well the day before I got married.

I may have been a little nervous. You know suddenly there comes a time In a bridegroom when he suddenly awakens to the responsibility. Maybe that's when the first bills come with some fellas. You get something from the gas company and it has your name on it.

And you say wait a minute here. This is a was such a honeymoon time and here comes this. This gas bill and then comes the electric bill and then the landlord comes. Then you wake up hey, wait a minute here.

But I won't forget that day and everything was ready. And oh praise God God is wanting us to be ready. Ready For the marriage of the life. And unless we get that light into our hearts as I said before that we're loved and we're called That we have a wonderful bridegroom Who is waiting for that day, too.

And has done all he can and is working to prepare that bride for the wedding. Unless God is able to show us Jesus and all his glory. We're gonna waste our time. But he doesn't want us to waste time. We don't have time to waste but we do have Opportunities to get ready for the Lord.

Awakening the Church to God's Call

No. Do you think do you think that the Pentecostal Saints in general? Have that uppermost in their mind. Do you think so? I hope so. But I don't think so. I think we would never Be satisfied with coming to church once a week if we were really awake To the love of God and the call of God.

I just got a letter the other day from someone who took a trip and Went to church during the week time a very large church nice big church. Eight people showed up for the meeting preacher and seven people Place that probably has eight nine hundred people on Sunday morning the rest evenings.

Have to have some entertainment to get the people off now this. You may say oh he's just criticizing. I feel this way about I feel that we're not alert and not awake to our wonderful Lord and To what his purposes are.

Now I'm just speaking from one angle. You see the Lord wants people to be saved. He wants all men to come to him. And he wants to fill us with the fire of the Holy Spirit that we can witness for him. But I feel somehow that Jesus would like to awaken us all more perfectly and show us the glory of the call of God and there may be many people who would love to Attend more services.

I don't know. I'm talking about the whole world whole country All of God's people not you here. He wouldn't be here if you Weren't one of those that wanted to be here and meet the Lord. But there's a need in the world today and there's a need right along this line To understand Oh Jesus you are getting a bride ready for yourself.

God help us all of us to love Jesus more. Our great heavenly bridegroom. He says my you're my people are my portion and Then we can say Lord you are my portion. You're the one Who has won my heart hallelujah.

Loving Jesus More Than the World

And I'm thankful for all he's done for all of us here and all of you especially. But it's Jesus himself Wants to become so precious to me and he doesn't want us to fear. Condemn ourselves. Be unbelieving.

But he wants us to have faith and that's why I Suppose that's one of the reasons we have a sign outside before Speaking to anyone talk to God on your knees. Now, I don't like that sign too. Well Because I don't want you to start speaking to the one next to you after you get up from your knees.

It seems that that's what it says and you could interpret it that way. But I've seen sometimes strangers come in. See this sign. And they drop on their knees right at the door there and make their little prayer and get up and come in.

But I'd like to tell you something. That isn't the purpose either. The idea simply is that we need to meet Jesus. We come to meet him because we love him. And in all of our meetings we come just to meet with him.

And that's why we talk to him. I'm glad we can talk to him on our knees and say Jesus. I I really need to meet with you tonight. You've got a job to do. You've got to get me ready. The Holy Spirit has to work in me.

I need to be changed and I will not be changed unless you make you change me unless you touch me. Unless you lay your hand on me. And you know as we come like that in that faith you will find that the Lord will work he'll minister.

Hallelujah, and he'll prepare our hearts and change our hearts. We don't come to be entertained, but we come To meet with a bright. Oh We love you Lord we love you and I'm thankful to God for all he's done.

But my prayer to him is Jesus. I want to love you more. I Want the Holy Ghost to make the truth more real to me than ever before. Fill me with the knowledge of your will. Fill me with it. And that that love for Jesus Will make us his witnesses.

We know how wonderful he is. And our hearts will go out toward those that don't know him and we'll say don't you don't you want to know him, too. Don't you want to be in the company of the redeemed and as we have that love flowing out from us?

God will draw others Through that love unto himself. Let's talk to Jesus for a moment. And let's just ask him Tonight to make us to see more clearly how much he loves us. He wants you to be with him forever and ever.

He wants you to be clothed with those white robes and To be united to him to be at the marriage supper of the Lamb to be in that bridal company. Hallelujah. Lord, we thank you that you loved the church and gave yourself for it that you might sanctify it by the washing of water Through the word that it might be a glorious church without spot or wrinkle or any such thing.

And we pray dear Lord that you will fill us with such a deep holy love for yourself. That wherever we are we may look for you and love that fellowship with our heavenly bridegroom more than Anything else we pray that other things shall lose their importance to us all together and We shall love Jesus More than we've ever loved him grip us tonight Lord.

We thank you. You brought us here With this desire in our hearts. We pray that you'll deliver us From the things of this life Lord that would hold us back fill us with the Holy Ghost. We know you've sent your spirit to us Lord to work in us and to prepare us for that day.

And we just pray have your way For thy glory tonight. God bless my brothers and sisters. Let the Holy Spirit give us real light in our hearts that we may seek and find it. Love Jesus and be ready for Jesus longing for him looking for him.

Amen.