THE BRIDE HAS MADE HERSELF READYMESSAGE delivered
by Ps John Emmanuel Williams at the Official Opening of the SIB Metro Church on
12th July 2008 (Transcript by Ronny Cham) “THE BRIDE,
NOT THE WIFE” My desire is to
share with you what a healthy church is all about and to encourage you to
aspire to be such a church. First
of all, I would like to extend my heartiest congratulation to the Ps Bios
Solingkin, Brother Tan Kok Liang, the leadership of this church and all of you
– you have done a great thing in the opening of a new church for the
extension of the Kingdom of God in this City. I take particular
interest in your Vision Statement stated in your website, www.sibmetro.com which says, “Persevering in Love, Growing in Power”. I also noted your “What’s On this week” column in the website which reads,
“Empty office space turned into a
holy Sanctuary where life in Christ prospers”. These confirm in my spirit what God has laid
upon my heart to share with you this afternoon. First, spaciousness
of the church - John 14:2, “In My
Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I
go to prepare a place for you.” (NKJV) This scripture is
usually taken to refer to a thing that is ‘after life’ but, Jesus
referred to something “on earth as it is in heaven”. Hence, the things on earth reflect the
things in heaven. House with many rooms indicates (1) spaciousness, which speaks
the vastness of the Kingdom of God; (2) free from congestion that causes
conflict and strife – Genesis 26:22, “And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel
over it. So he called its name Rehoboth, because he said, "For now the
LORD has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land." (NKJV);
(3) room for all to do, live and enjoy according to His Will, and (4)
it’s the Father’s House where all are welcome, all have a sense of
‘belonging’, all come to ‘learn’ and all come to
‘share life’. Secondly, the church
in the New Testament is described as a “body” of many parts - 1 Corinthians
12:12, “For as the body is one and
has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one
body, so also is Christ.” (NKJV) A healthy body is
one which is not paralyzed, not suffering from arthritis, the movement is not
impaired, but flexible, strong and each part functioning and playing its role
making the body lively. Ephesians 4:16, “.. from whom the whole body, joined and knit
together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by
which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of
itself in love.” (NKJV) Thirdly, the church
is referred to as a ‘building’ in the New Testament - 1 Corinthians
3:9, “For we are God's fellow
workers; you are God's field, you are God's building.” (NKJV) Ephesians 2:21-22, “..in whom the whole building, being fitted
together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being
built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.” (NKJV) A strong building
is one which has a strong foundation.
A strong foundation assures stability. This is a new church, it is being built,
it is under construction. I pray that your aim and your desire is to build this building into a holy place, a holy
sanctuary where God inhabits in your midst. Finally, the church
in the New Testament is described as “the Bride” - Revelation 19:7,
“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." (NKJV) We refer
‘wife’ to someone who has been married, who is involved in the
daily chaos of life in a home, tired may be, or stressed out. But the Word of God described us, His
church as His Bride, someone who is about to get married. Someone who is experiencing intimacy and
love, in eager anticipation of the wedding to come; it speaks of someone who is
in a state of preparedness for the wedding day. I am donating a
clock to your Church, prophetically, each time when you look at the clock, I
pray that God will bring to your mind, your spirit, the eschatological
dimension of the Bride (His Church) waiting for her Bridegroom (the Lord Jesus)
as you wait in eager anticipation and always in a state of preparedness for the
coming of the Lord Jesus Christ again. Transcript by Ronny Cham |
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