Topic: Wedding Preparations II [Open Heavens for Teens 17 March 2020]

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MEMORISE: “3 Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place? 4 He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.” – Psalms 24:3-4

READ: Matthew 22:2-14

2 The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son,

3 And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come.

4 Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage.

5 But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise:

6 And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them.

7 But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.

8 Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy.

9 Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage.

10 So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.

11 And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment:

12 And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless.

13 Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

14 For many are called, but few are chosen.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Deuteronomy 29-30; Mark 16

MESSAGE:

In every wedding preparation, there is the wedding invitation and the guest list. Now for the wedding between Jesus and His bride, there is a guest list. That guest list is called the Book of Life. Revelation 20:15 says:

“And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”

This means you are either on the guest list or you end up in the lake of fire. There is no place to hide, no other place to go.

So what qualifies you to be on this guest list? We see the answer in our memory verse for today. You must have clean hands – hands that are not stained with sinful acts. You must have a pure heart – heart that does not harbour sinful thoughts. You must not have lifted your soul to vanity – that is that you are not carried away by the things of this world like fashion, dance, music, social media and so on. And you must not be one who swears deceitfully – that is, you don’t tell lies or make false promises you cannot keep.

Reflection:

With your current lifestyle, do you qualify to be on the guest list of the wedding of the Lamb?

Hymn 3:

1 When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word,
What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will,
He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey.

Chorus:
Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

2 Not a shadow can rise, not a cloud in the skies,
But His smile quickly drives it away;
Not a doubt or a fear, not a sigh or a tear,
Can abide while we trust and obey.

3 Not a burden we bear, not a sorrow we share,
But our toil He doth richly repay;
Not a grief or a loss, not a frown or a cross,
But is blessed if we trust and obey.

4 But we never can prove the delights of His love
Until all on the altar we lay;
For the favor He shows, for the joy He bestows,
Are for them who will trust and obey.

5 Then in fellowship sweet we will sit at His feet,
Or we’ll walk by His side in the way;
What He says we will do, where He sends we will go;
Never fear, only trust and obey.

Daily Devotional for Teen’s guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer’s Ministries.