Prepared for the Bridegroom

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Song of Solomon 3:6 — Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all powders of the merchant?

There are many Christians just "ready for this life to be over." Not in the depressed state of desiring death but just wanting Heaven to the neglect of this life.

Don't count yourself out. Satan tried to get Christ to question Who He was. He certainly is going to try the same tactic on us.

Who is this?** Distinguished — but not so familiar. It is Great to see a reflection of Christ as the Faithful Savior and Powerful Servant in the life of any and every believer. This is about understanding the principles that prepare the bride for marriage to the Lamb. Revelation 19:7-8; 2 Corinthians 4:4-18; The life of the Bridegroom is reflected in the Scripture and speaks about us as being followers/imitators of Christ.

WILDERNESS EXPERIENCES

There are going to wilderness experiences to help us prepare for Him! If you love the Lord, you are going to go through training. Many obstacles will come your way to test you. The only way we will know the fulness of God is through the training process.

If we are going to be what God has called us to be in His eteranal purpose, we are going to need to exemplify the life of Christ.

• Zechariah was plucked as a brand out of the fire. Bible says he was once clothed in filthly garments.

Zechariah 3:8 — Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou and thy fellows that sit before thee; for they are men that are a sign: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the Branch.

Christ the Servant

He is serving for our good and for the will of God to be working in our life. (Romans 11:22) God is not to be taken lightly as if he has a short memory and will just "forget it".

God has a whole lot more in mind for you than what you have been receiving. But, He isn't going to just pour it into you sovereignly.

There is coming a time shortly, where the antichrist is going to change laws to his advantage.

The Spirit of God is leading some into a wilderness to put into them all that He has provided — the fulness of God. Christ Himself is called a "Man of Sorrows." As he obeyed in times of suffering, He grew and became the captain of our salvation. He is our leader!

The Lord will deliver our soul from the day of evil, if we obey Him now. In order to get through the wilderness, we will have to learn how to follow the Spirit of God.

Ephesians 5:1 — Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;

1 Corinthians 4:16 — Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me.

1 Corinthians 11:1 — Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.

Philippians 3:17 — Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample.

Hebrews 6:12 — That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

1 Peter 3:13 — And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?

1 Corinthians 15:49 — And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.

Romans 8:29 — For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

2 Corinthians 3:18 — But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

I. Reflected in Temptation

Song of Solomon 3:6 — Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness …

A. The Question Answered

1. Asked about the Lord - "Who is this?"

2. Asked about the Bride - "Who is this?"

The gentile Bride will not come out of the wilderness until the Holy Ghost takes her out.

Acts 15:14 — Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name.

There will come a time when the little Bride will escape all these things and then the eyes of some will be opened and they'll say, "Who is this?"**

Preparing is not always glorious. Training yiels us all lkinds of sorrows and rejections and sufferings and aftwerwards yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness.

Hebrews 12:11 — Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

Now we all want the peaceable fruit of righteousness, but are we willing to pay the price? Go through training?

The Bride will reflect that which her Bridegroom has already gone through.

Follow in His steps. The footsteps of Jesus did not lead to a throne in Jerusalem at that time? Where did they lead? They lead to a cross outside the city. Still want to follow Him? Still want the best that He has to offer to you? As we follow, God is after everything displeasing to Him, so He can put everything glorious in us.

His goodness reflected in the overcoming Believer to form the Bride.

B. The Place of Training

1. Christ learned obedience by the things He suffered.

We are in a training process.

Hebrews 5:8 — Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;

Hebrews 2:10 — For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

Who is this that comes up from the wilderness? Isaiah says, as a root out of dry ground but not of this world.

Isaiah 53:1-3 — Isa 53:1 ¶ Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? 2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. 3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Isaiah is describing a time of great stress and struggle when Christ was rejected by men and scourged by men.

2. Temptation in the wilderness.

He did not come to reign on the throne He came to die on the cross. He came into the training ground. Where is he coming out of? The wilderness!

When Jesus came up out of the waters of baptism something happened. The Bible says that the Spirit rested upon Him like a dove. But something further, he was led by the Spirit away to a specific place. Where was He led away by the Spirit? Into the wilderness! We like the Lord will be led into and out of the wilderness. The wilderness is the training ground. You will reign because you have been properly trained in the Word by the Spirit in the wilderness!

3. The life of temptation and testing.

His whole life was a wilderness. Rejected, scoffed, mocked, falsely accused; It wasn't just 40 days that the devil came to get Christ to question but he was constantly being questioned, tested and tried all of His life time.

4. The garden experience of testing.

At the closing of His life, we find Him in a garden, but in reality it was a wilderness — the greatest trauma and tst that Christ ever faced. Jesus groaned in agony of spirit.

Luke 22:44 — And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

Have you ever groaned because of pressure? Have you ever agonized and could not form words, you just groaned? Jesus wept and groaned not for Himself, but for the world.

Luke says the he being in agaony, prayed more earnestly until his sweat was as great drops of blood. That was a wilderness. Romans 8:23,26

Who is this coming up out of the wilderness?

He was triumphant over all the powers of hell and satan himself! He bruised/pulverised him. (Romans 16:20)

5. The Bride will come to perfection in the wilderness.

II. Reflected in Power

A. Pillars Speak of Support

1. Jesus was supported in the wilderness.

Matthew 4:11 — Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.

2. The Bride is supported like Jesus.

Hebrews 1:14 as Paul 2 Corinthians 12:7-9. Tried, tested, he can support you. From bruised (Luke 4:18) to bruised/your feet (Romans 16:20).

B. Smoke Speaks of Power and Glory

The power of God displayed. God is glorified. Joel 2:30,23; Exodus 9:18; Psalm 18:3-8; Isaiah 6:1-4; Luke4:13-14; 2 Thessalonians 1:11; faith/power

III. Reflected in Character

… perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all powders of the merchant?

• powders from the crushing process
• Beauty of partaking of His Divine Nature - Spiritual Character not developed by any natural process (Acts 6:15; Revelation 12:14)