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As a church, we are looking at a very obscure book, a rarely preached-on book in the Bible, but I think it's a beautiful book. This is the book 'Song of Solomon'. It's found somewhere in the middle of your Bible. It's one of those books that are considered the poetic books of the entire Bible and I think it is a marvelous book because it touches on a beautiful theme of love and romance. In particular, it speaks about the love and romance between King Solomon and the Shulamite woman and I think this is a picture of the love between Christ and His church.

Now, you recall that this song is really a story and you could really go through this sermon series as if you're watching a mini movie and this mini movie is broken up into several episodes. We saw that episode one was where the lady said- the Shulamite woman said, 'I'm mesmerized by you', she is absolutely in love with King Solomon, she's smitten, she's head over heels in love with him and we see that this is a picture of the passion God has for His people and that is to be a picture of the passion of the church for God. You see, God doesn't love us in a cold and indifferent way, as if He just gave His Son very unwillingly. The Bible speaks of God's passion and desire for you, for His church, for His people. And I think as Christians, as followers of Jesus Christ, we, if we really know Jesus, we would have a passion for God- that coming to church is not just routine, serving God is not just mechanical movements but there's a heart that is pounding with love and passion for Him, is that you? Because that is how Solomon and the Shulamite woman were in love.

And then episode two, is where the lady said, 'I'm meeting with you'. Now, this is not just an ordinary meeting because this is the special meeting where King Solomon asked for her hand of marriage, in essence, he says, 'Will you marry me?' And we saw that this marriage or this proposal is a very important procedure in Jewish ancient weddings. There are three parts to a Jewish wedding: first, a contract, then a consummation, then a celebration. So this contract is what they call a betrothal, a covenant is made, a bride price is agreed upon and the marriage in a sense, is now considered binding, it's legally binding. Anyone who is unfaithful will be stoned to death in that time.

So we saw that she now accepts his proposal, they are betrothed to each other and this is a picture of how the church today is betrothed to Jesus Christ our Lord. We are waiting for our Groom to come for us again. So the lady now, the Shulamite, agrees to the proposal, and says 'Go home fast, prepare a house for us, prepare a home for us and come back for me, so haste', but in the meanwhile she really misses him. Usually it takes about six months to a year to prepare a place so she, in the meantime, expresses her longing, her desire, her missing him by a dream whereby she's looking for him in the city and and so on and so forth.

And it's in the midst of this dream, in the midst of this longing that Solomon adds in chapter 3 and verse six these words: What is that coming up from the wilderness, the columns of smoke perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all the fragrant powders of a merchant, behold, it is the litter of Solomon.

You say what is this about? Well it's actually Solomon, after six months to a year, preparing a house, ready now to come back and fetch his bride. So in the middle of her longing she sees Solomon in the distance- 'He is coming back for me!'. So, she says: 'Behold, it is the litter of Solomon'. Now, some of you may say: What litter? Rubbish ah? You mean Solomon came back with bags of rubbish and 'He is coming for me with bags of trash'? No, no, no, that's not the meaning of the word litter. In English, litter can mean rubbish, or litter can mean a carriage, a sedan, a high-class word they use is palanquin and in those days, it might look something like this and Solomon is coming in his carriage! (Pointing to picture on slide): Of course this one- not Solomon lah, it's a bride, alright, but something along these lines. 'He's coming in a carriage for me!'

Now, I think if you are Chinese, you are familiar with this concept of the bride coming in a carriage right? Because in the Chinese culture, our carriage more colorful ah, red color one, ang ang one, blood red, bright red and then you have tong tong chiang, you have the trumpets, you have the cymbals, making lots of noise- people walking like that, I don't know what, they make a festivity of it as the groom comes to fetch his bride. And this concept is not just in ancient Israel or China, Singapore also right, we also come in carriage.

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Sixteen years ago, I came in a carriage- my sedan, my palanquin: 16 years ago, look at my excitement, wah, what am I supposed to do, take orange ah? But anyway, this was how I came to my wife's house to fetch my bride.(Pointing at picture) So, this is nothing really unusual to us. Solomon is coming to fetch his bride and he's saying, 'I'm'- or she's saying 'I'm marrying you'. This is a scene of a wedding, this is the scene of that completion of that marital process. So we read: Behold, it is the litter of Solomon and he's coming in his carriage. It's a glorious scene where there's smoke, perfume, aroma, myrrh, frankincense. It speaks of the splendor of the king.

So this is poetic language. Solomon is describing the beauty of that scene, the majesty of that scene in ways that we could see, we could hear, we could smell, and then he goes on to say: Around it are 60 mighty men, some of the mighty men of Israel, everyone with the swords on and so on and so forth.

And I think again this is how men or guys, you go for your bride, right? You go with your, in Chinese we call it the xiong di.  All your brothers, all your brothers dressed in a suit, wearing sunglasses, look very macho, very fierce and then, that's how it is, he comes with his brothers: 60 mighty men. David had his 30 mighty men, Solomon had double of that, 60 and they were a formidable sight and this carriage that he was in, was also a work of splendor. Solomon made himself a carriage from the wood of Lebanon, the very best wood, made its posts of silver, back of gold, the seat of purple, its interior was inlaid with love, done with exquisite workmanship by the daughters of Jerusalem, and now she says: O get out, go out O daughters of Jerusalem, and look upon King Solomon, with the crown with which his mother crowned him on the day of his wedding, on the day of the gladness of his heart.

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So we know this is wedding day. This is the day the bride will be fetched, this is the day of beauty, joy and splendor. I still remember, 16 years ago, going to my wife's apartment and this is what I got right, I got my wife. This is where I fetch my beautiful wife, she allowed me only this picture so that is partial not full picture but this was a day of joy. This was a day of- look at how happy I am. (Laughter) So, it's a day of joy alright and this is a picture I think, of King Solomon meeting with the Shulamite.

He says: Behold you are beautiful, my love, behold, you are beautiful. But that is the day she looks the most glorious. It's probably the time she has all her hair done up, ornaments, bridal gown, the veil, she has a manicure, pedicure, all kinds of cure and she's now ready with anticipation for Solomon and when Solomon sees her behind the veil, he says: Oh, you are beautiful! You are gorgeous! And now he describes his beauty using seven body parts.

It begins with the eyes- your eyes are doves behind your veil. Very clear, it's a mark of beauty. Why doves? I do not know- but, your eyes are beautiful- that's his point.

He goes on to say, your hair is like a flock of goats, but it is rather a bit strange, leaping down the slopes of Gilead, your hair is messy like a goat- no, no, that's not what he's saying, it's probably referring to the fact that goats in those days, a lot of them are black in wool, or whatever you want to call that, is black color and as they leaped down the slopes of Gilead- it's long, flowing, wavy, maybe that's how it is, and so he says your hair is beautiful: Black, flowy, long hair.

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And then he says: Your teeth are like a flock of shorn ewes that have come up from the washing, all of which have twins and not one of them- not one among them has lost its young. If you are a dentist this is a verse for your practice alright. You can have this on your on your, on your dentist practice: Your teeth are not like a flock of shorn ewes, but I'll make it like that. Well, what is he saying? He is saying that your teeth are washed, white, glorious, like the shorn ewes that have been to the washing, your teeth bear twins. In other words, they are symmetrical: not one side like that, the other side the other way, and then he says not one of them has lost its young, in other words there is no missing teeth, not bo geh aah.  Wah! Beautiful, symmetrical, perfect set, white and glistening.

So he says: You're beautiful, my bride- your eyes, your hair, your teeth. He goes on to say: your lips are like a scarlet thread. It's red, it's beautiful, your mouth is lovely, your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate. I don't think he is talking about the size, big cheeks you have, no, I think he is probably talking about the color. It's rouge, it's beautiful, you're not pale-faced, you're not bin cheh cheh, like green and whitewashed, it's rouge, behind your veils- like a wedding veil. You're- okay, this is where I still cannot figure out: Your neck is like the tower of David. Uhh.. probably referring to her posture, how regal and majestic it looks. I guess her neck didn't look like this. She didn't walk around like- she is like this. Your neck is like a tower of David, majestic and regal.

Goes on to say, your two breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle that grazed among the lilies, probably referring to how graceful it is, how beautiful it is, how healthy it is. So he describes her in this various ways, and then he says: Until the day breathes and the shadows flee- when it is evening time, he is saying, I will go away to the mountain of myrrh and the hill of frankincense. The mountain of myrrh, the hill of frankincense speaks of a place of aroma, fragrance, beauty, sweetness. I think here he is speaking in a very euphemistic way, in other words, a nice way of saying something rather difficult, we will consummate our marriage in the evening. So, this is his expression of desire to be with her and then he says: you are altogether beautiful my love, there is no flaw in you.

He continues that wooing as it were, when in verse eight he says: Come with me from Lebanon, my bride- first time in the Song of Solomon, he calls her 'my bride'- come with me from Lebanon. You say, what is so special about Lebanon? Well, he goes on to say: Depart from the peak of Amana, from the peak of Senir and Hermon, from the dens of lions, from the mountains of leopards, come away from these inaccessible places. Previously, we could never get close, you were inaccessible like that dove in the cleft and like these animals and these inaccessible mountains but tonight it's the wedding night- come, that's what he is saying. You've captivated my heart, my sister, my bride. 'Sister'- please don't think it's incest, alright, a sister is probably a term of endearment of intimacy- you have captivated my heart with one glance of your eyes, one look from you and I was breathless with one jewel of your necklace. 'How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride, how much better is your love than wine and the fragrance of your oils than any spice, your lips drip nectar, my bride, honey and milk under your tongue, the fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon'.

So he's very complimenting of her in every way, he rejoices in her beauty, he rejoices in everything about her and then there's one thing else he said he is rejoicing in. He says in verse 12: A garden locked is my sister, my bride, a spring locked, a fountain sealed. What is he talking about? Why is she a garden, why is she a spring, why is she a well and why is she locked and locked and sealed. Well, when you look at these words: spring, fountain and in the context of this whole Song of Solomon, I think he is referring to marital consummation and that she is someone who has been chaste and pure till this time.

She is like a garden locked. You see, in Proverbs, Solomon is the same author right? Solomon wrote Proverbs, Solomon wrote song of Solomon, and he describes water, wells, springs, fountains- you see these words? And what does he compare these things to? He compares these things to sexual intimacy: drink water from your own cistern, flowing water from your own well. In other words, rejoice with the wife, your wife and not with someone else. Why do you want to drink from other cisterns, why do you want to have relationships with other women? He says, 'Don't do that, drink from your own cistern, flowing water from your own well.'

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Should your own springs be scattered abroad, streams of water- he is saying: Do you want your spouse to be with others? No, of course not. So, let them be for yourself alone and not for strangers with you, let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth- a lovely deer, a graceful doe, same gazelle, fawn- you read that in song, let her breasts fill you at all times with delight, be intoxicated always in her love.

So, Solomon is saying, you are like that garden, that fountain, that spring, that well. I'm going to drink from it and one of my joys is that you were a chaste woman- You are a chaste woman, and it is locked, and it is sealed.

He says, 'As I enter the garden, I will realize that there are great delights there, your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates with all choices- fruits, henna, with nut, saffron, calamus, cinnamon, with all the trees of frankincense, myrrh, aloes with all choices, choice spices, it's beautiful, it's varied, it's rich, it's sweet, it's alluring. That's how delightful you are as a garden'. That's the imagery, a garden fountain, a well of living water and flowing streams from Lebanon.

So, what is he saying? 'Well, it's going to be a wonderful night and I am thankful you are that locked garden and a sealed spring'.

So how will the lady respond? How- what will she say? 'Ah, don't come near me, you smell, you come from so far, sweaty'. No, that's not what she said, she said it in another very poetic way, she says: 'Awake oh Northwind, and come oh Southwind, blow upon my garden and let its spices flow'. In other words: Come, blow, let my attraction, let all this draw my beloved to my garden, and she said: Let my beloved come to his garden and eat its choicest fruit.

So, this is the genius of this poetry: it is very suggestive, but it is not indiscreet. It is not inappropriate, it is spoken of in such a restrained but tasteful way and you could probably imagine, if you're in a movie, the scene will now- the camera will now withdraw and it becomes dark and that's it. Nothing else for us to see, nothing else for us to know and they consummate their marriage that very night. Well, you can imagine, after that night, light comes on, you can hear the birds chirping and Solomon wakes up from his bed, and now Solomon said this in chapter 5 verse one: 'I came to my garden, my sister, my bride, I gathered my myrrh with my spice, I ate my honeycomb with my honey, I drank my wine with my milk'.

He said it was a wonderful night. I think that's what he said and then he goes on to say eat friends, drink and be drunk with love. So, I think in these verses Solomon is saying: Hey, the marriage is done, we had a contract, now there is the consummation, and then there is the celebration that starts maybe a seven day feast, where friends and family gather to celebrate the union of the two. So, in these verses- these two verses are central, right? Because they highlight the climax of this whole event. In fact, this is the center of the Song of Solomon.

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You say, what do you mean by the center of the song of Solomon? Before these two verses, there are 111 verses or statements; after these two verses, there are another 111 verses or statements. Now, don't ask me who calculated that, I do not know, but that guy- really diligent: 111 verses before this, 111 verses after this. This is the central climatic portion of the Song of Solomon, it celebrates the beauty and the glory of sexual union in a marriage and like I said there is nothing embarrassing or shameful or filthy or perverse written in these words. It is not inappropriate, it is not demeaning but Solomon uses a language that is respectful, precious, safe and sweet, because his point is to display for us, the beauty, the delight and pleasure of sexual union in marriage and how God has given sexual union in marriage as a gift to be enjoyed for all of us.

See, we live in a world where sex is very much perverted today. It's hard for you to think of sex as a good, glorious and a Godly thing in the perverse world we live in, it's hard, right? Because, whenever someone talks about sex, er- you have this cringe, you have this awkwardness, this shame, but not Solomon, not when it comes to marital sex.

A story is told of a young pastor who was asked to preach about sex. Now, he's absolutely uncomfortable with that, but he had to do it. So he started to write his sermon about sex and feeling rather embarrassed he substituted every word sex with simply the letter S. So his sermons script is full of S, S, S, S, S, S, S and one day his wife walked by, saw that sermon script, saw all the letter 'S's there, and asked him, 'What are you preaching on, dear?' Feeling somewhat embarrassed still, he said to his wife: Well, I'm going to preach about sailing- he lied, but he didn't want to say it was sex, he said it was sailing.

Well, the very Sunday, he went on stage to preach. His wife, unfortunately, couldn't go to church service that day because she was ill, but the next week when she went for church service, all the members came to the wife and congratulated her on how well her husband did the week before, they said to her: Wah, your husband did a great job, he touched on a very difficult subject and he handled it so well. And this is what the wife said: Well, I'm so glad he did so well because he's only done it twice in his life and both times he went overboard.

Sex is something rarely touched upon in church, but let me say this, if the church doesn't touch on it, you can be sure the world majors on it and the world majors in all its perversions and lies and I think it is appropriate that the church will look at something as important as this. Now, I am not saying every sermon is about sex, of course not, but it must not be neglected. So, it is important for us to realize sex in the Bible is a good thing, in and of itself, in marriage, it's a beautiful thing. See, when God made Adam and Eve, He told them: This is what marriage is all about. This is what union is all about, that the man will leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

This is given before they sinned. In other words, God made man sexual before they were sinful. There's nothing wrong with sex in marriage, it's given by God, it's a beautiful thing. Of course, with the fall comes all the perversions but it doesn't mean that we then throw out sex in marriage. Like we've read just now, Proverbs 5 tells us to rejoice in the wife of our youth, like what we've read before as well that there are people who are false teachers, led of demonic spirits, who forbid marriage. They teach that godly living is to be not married, to remain single and to abstain from sex. But, that's not a biblical teaching, because God made man sexual before they were sinful. So, in Hebrews we are told, let marriage be held in honor among all- it's a beautiful thing, nothing wrong with that, but this is where it goes wrong: But let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.

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Nothing wrong with drinking from your own cisterns, from your own wells but everything wrong when you drink from other wells, alright? Nothing wrong with sex in marital relationship, but everything wrong with everything that goes on outside of it, including premarital sex. This is serious, because this Shulamite said: Do not stir up or awaken love, until it pleases- she said that several times. So, though she longs to be with Solomon, she never really consummates until marriage and the Bible tells us that we are to abstain from sexual immorality. You say, what's the will of God in my life? Sometimes you want to find some exotic, some unique strange will of God in our lives.

I tell you what's the will of God- sanctification, and one of the aspects of sanctification is abstinence from sexual immorality. So, maybe some of us today are already in such sins. Maybe you're having an affair, nobody knows, you know. Maybe some of you young people have believed that there is nothing wrong with a one night stand, or string of friends with benefits, and you've fallen into premarital sex. Now you you kind of live a double life- that you still come to church, you serve God, but there's this closet, this drawer, this cupboard in your life that you don't quite want to open up to God and you say: What's wrong with it, since everyone else in my hostel is doing it, everyone else in my class is doing it and what's wrong with that?

Well, God says: This is my will for you that you abstain from it. You say, 'Pastor, why?', Why would God be so restrictive? Well, don't you realize what Solomon is saying- this is the best gift, your chastity and your purity is the best gift you can give to your spouse. Locked garden, not an open garden that everyone else has drunk from and if you really love and you want to give yourself entirely to the one you love, 'Then', he says, 'do not awaken or stir up love until it is time'. Then- and and I'm sure you've heard of people- how they struggle with guilt and fear and suspicion and feeling of being dirty and how they are insecure and they feel betrayed when after they have slept with someone that the person leaves him, leaves her for- whichever maybe.

You see, there is no real security. There's no real safety and that's not the right environment or place for sexual intimacy. God's desire is not to restrict us as if He doesn't want pleasure for us, He is the one who designed sex, but He wants you to have the maximum pleasure in the safest realm with the least regret and guilt, and that's in marriage. So God is not a stick in the mud, who is restrictive as if the devil has again made us believe that- Oh, doesn't want you to eat of the fruit because he doesn't want you to be like God. But He says: Chastity and purity is a beautiful thing and you would understand when you're married one day.

So, God's will is for you to live in such a way. Maybe some of us today need to believe, keep calm and we should wait until marriage. Hard to do, but that's the will of God. So, maybe some of us may need to come to repent. Now my purpose of preaching this is not to make you feel lousy about yourself and make you feel depressed and condemned but I'm reminding you of the love of God for you and that even if you today have already sinned in this regard, you say, 'Is there hope for me.? I'm really broken in my sexual sins'. Well, I say: You can come to Jesus, to the foot of the cross, repent and be washed. I think that's the joy we have, now we certainly shouldn't take God's grace for granted, but we need to run to His grace, we need to be washed, forgiven, at the foot of the cross, once again. Don't hide your sin but come to Him. Maybe you have to change your lifestyle, maybe you to say no to cohabitation. Whatever the case may be, repent, be washed, be chaste. Guard your chastity, let that be a beautiful gift on wedding day.

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Now this is what we have been looking at. We saw this same verse in Genesis 2 just now, but the apostle Paul now quotes Genesis 2:24 in his letter to the Ephesians. So he says the same thing.

The two shall become one flesh. And now this is the ball. This is what many of us probably never realized; he says, this mystery is profound and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. You say, what are you talking about? Well, I'm saying that marriage is to portray Christ and the church. Now- that, maybe you say: Okay, I can understand that- the way I love my wife is the way Christ loved the church. The way my wife submits to me is the way the Church submits to Christ, I see that. But what if there is more? It's not just love and submission, but deep intimacy and joy reflected in sex. 'WHOA! Pastor, you're really pushing it too far- You're saying this sexual union teaches us something about Christ and the church?'. Yeah, I say yes!

But why would you say this is sexual union? Wouldn't this just be marriage? No, I think it includes marriage, but it certainly also includes sexual union. You say: How do you know that? I Corinthians 6:16 states: "Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one"- What, what do you mean by one? "one body with her."- In the sexual union. For as it is written, the two will become one flesh. For it is written, this is what was meant from the beginning, when the husband leaves the father and cleaves unto his wife: that is marriage and included in this understanding is sexual union. So sexual union between a husband and wife is meant to teach us something about the mystical union between Christ and the Church, not literally that there is sexual union. But what sexual union brings and represents will be there in this mystical union.

I think Piper puts it eloquently and I think I'll let him speak rather than myself. He says, "Sexual intimacy and sexual climax get their final meaning from what they point to." So, sex- there's a point, right? It's pleasure, it is for procreation. Sure. But piper is saying that beyond pleasure and procreation, there is the purpose of portrayal- pointing us to something else. Sexual intimacy and sexual climax get their final meaning from what they point to, what they portray. They point to what? They point to the excellencies that are unattainable and inconceivable in this life.

He's saying that there's a great joy that in this world none of us have ever experienced before, but this sexual union with the joy and ecstasy and pleasures therein, is a little sample, is a little reminder of this great ecstasy to come.  Just as the heavens are telling the glory of God's power and beauty, so, sexual climax is telling the glory of the immeasurable delights that we will have with Christ in the age to come. You see, all creation tells of the splendor of God- even sex, and there will be no marriage there, Winnie and myself, when we go to heaven, we'll no more remain husband and wife, but what this marriage meant here will be there, except that the pleasures of marriage and the meaning of marriage there will be multiplied to the 10th, to the millionth power. In other words, what we have here is just a very small sample and foretaste of the great delights of the union with Jesus in time to come.

Well, I hope this has helped you, but if not, let a simpler person like myself say, that a 'Focus on the family' series some three, four years ago, I simply made the statement: 'Marital sex reflects the intimacy and the ecstasy that we would enjoy with Christ'. Now, that's scriptural, that's found in the Bible. It's amazing! Sex is not a dirty word. It's not a dirty word. In fact, I say to you in marriage, it is a glorious word because the mystery is profound. I speak concerning Christ and His church. Now, I'm going to show you 3 quotes- I say in advance, three quotes by someone else, that are rather abstract, but if you really think about it, I think it will be helpful.

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Peter Kreeft, he says, 'I think a secularist or rather someone who doesn't know God, know religion- nothing, a secularist- He has only one substitute left for God, only one experience in a desacrilized world that still gives him something like the mystical self transcending thrill of ecstasy, that God designed all souls to have forever, and to long for until they have it. That experience has to be sex. Read it, think about it. And Peter Kreeft  does really swing this: You and I are made for the ecstatic joy. Wired in all of us is a craving for joy.  And this joy is not diversed, cannot be diversed- it's found only in God. But because we sinned against God, we are cut off from the source of joy and so we are living in this perpetual hunger for joy, this self-transcending thrill of ecstasy that we're designed for- we've lost it, because we're cut off from God!

So if you today do not know God, the only thing left behind for you that might come a little bit close to a taste of that, he's saying, is sex. Because God designed sex to be a picture of the thrill and joy man is meant to have. So, that's what he is saying- that's the only thing left. He goes on to say: For we are designed for something beyond morality, something in which morality will be transformed- mystical union with God. And sex is a sign and appetizer of that. Sex, it's a sign and appetizer of that mystical union with God- that joy and ecstasy and delight when he returns. And the last quote I give you is a simple one, but it's a little bit profound in the way you think. It's from Bruce Marshall when he says: The young man who rings the bell at a brothel is unconsciously looking for God.

Are you serious? I thought the man who comes to church is looking for God. No, no, no, he is saying, the man who is going to the brothel is actually unknowingly looking for God. You say, why? This young man is going to the brothel and ringing the bell for what? For sex! Why does he want sex? Because sex brings him pleasure and joy, right? But he doesn't realize that actually what he is living for and what he needs is not that sexual pleasure, but that pleasure from God. He didn't know that deep in his heart, his real need is not sex. It's God.

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The deep need of the human soul today is that joy and ecstasy with Him. At His right hand there are pleasures forevermore. That's what we're made for! That's what sin has done to us- cut us off from joy and now we're going for all the counterfeit joys, temporary pleasures. What sex reminds us, it's found in Christ and the Church. And so, marital sex reflects the intimacy and ecstasy that we will enjoy with Christ and when you understand this, when you see this marital unit in such a light, then when you read Revelation, the book of Revelation is not just about judgment and fire and brimstone, but it is a book of delight, where John says: Let us rejoice and exalt and give Him the glory! For the marriage of the Lamb has come, why is this glorious? Because like how Solomon and the Shulamite and any couple would consummate their marriage, there is going to be ecstasy and joy when Jesus comes!

That's what thrills our hearts and that's what is going to satisfy us and thrill us forever and ever and ever. And that's why the author says: Come, Lord Jesus. Because his longing for this void to be finally filled, by the joy in God.

This is what Jesus is, to the church of Jesus Christ. Let's bow for a word of prayer together. We speak a profound ministry today, profound not because I said so, but because Paul said so. Because marriage is a picture of Christ and His church, in the way we are to love our wives, in the way the wives ought to submit, to the husband and amazingly, insects. (Laughter) Vanish those thoughts of filth and perversion, but bring yourself back to the garden of Eden, where everything was good and pure and respectable and without shame. God designed it to be so, not just that man would have a way to have offspring, not just a way for man to have pleasure, but for man to be reminded that there is a greater joy that is to come, when the Church reunites with her Groom.

And so we cry together with John: Come, Lord Jesus, there is a real ecstasy and joy for evermore, that awaits those who believe in Jesus and so I say friends, if you today are going through pains and sufferings and sorrows, I am sure it is difficult, and nobody is here to minimize your pain. But let me say this, if you just consider the exceeding joy that is to come, all your griefs and sorrows here and now will be swallowed up in that joy and we will be able to say with Paul: Though it is grievous for now, it works for us, an exceeding weight of glory.

I find today in Christiandom a weird perversion, where we believe God is going to make everything nice and easy for us here and now- everything is good, everything is going to go our way, everything is sweet. There will be no thorns. There will be no difficulties, there'll be no pains. That's not what the Bible says! There are many who for their faith, suffer all their lives! But, this is the true promise of Scripture, that as you go through the sufferings in this life, you can look forward to a glorious, ecstatic, soul-thrilling eternity to come.

And my friends, this is the promise of God, this is the unshakable promise of God. Jesus is coming again and you can go through your sufferings with joy, you can go through your sufferings trusting Him like the Shulamite, longing and dreaming and pining for your groom. He will come. He will not break His Word, He will not break His covenant. Maybe some of you today are in danger of slipping into false teaching, you see, that teaching sounds so attractive- It makes me feel good! They still preach somewhat the Bible, a little bit of a change here and there, a little bit doubtful, but it's okay, I think. Well, let me say this: Paul tells us, in II Corinthians 11, that the priority of the bride is to remain pure and chaste.

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What does it mean to be pure and chaste? In other words, you will not be led astray by satanic teachings- you'll guard against false teachings in your life. You will say: Lord Jesus, I want to be faithful to Your Word. Your Word not man's words, not just experiences but Your Word, because I want to remain pure and chaste as I await Your return. The Bible tells us, if we are really serious about Christ's coming, we will purify ourselves, even as He is pure.

Maybe today, you are living in sin. Once again, I am not here to condemn you, I'm here to say: There is forgiveness in the blood of Jesus, stop hiding your sin, stop covering them up. Open yourself at the foot of the cross, bow before Him, ask for forgiveness, let Him cleanse you, wash you. Turn from your wicked ways, keep yourself pure.

Maybe you have been living for yourself, but the call of God is that we, as we wait for His return will be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the Book of the Lord. Maybe even for you going to Punggol is a chore- it's so far, you say.. There's so much sacrifice I have to make, you say- let me say this, going to Punggol is never going to be convenient for many of us. But, it's not about convenience! It's about serving Jesus! And if it's for Jesus, there's nothing too great if He's given Himself for you. There's no sacrifice too high for someone who sacrificed Himself.

Maybe some of you today are single and you cringe and you struggle in a sermon like this because it makes you feel even more lonely. Let me say that marriage is a beautiful thing, singleness is also a beautiful thing. You can serve God with it. But you're not missing out folks! Because all that we experience in marital life, glorious as it may be, is just a foretaste of that which is exceedingly even more glory. And you, will enjoy that with everyone else, married or single.

We all wait for that ultimate Bridegroom. And lastly, folks, if you're here, and you do not know Jesus, let me invite you to come to this groom. He gave His life to save you from your sins, He calls you today to repent and to believe in His Son. Would you? Would you be part of the bride of Christ, destined for the marriage supper that ushers us in to a glorious eternity. May the Lord speak to you this day. Married to Jesus Christ.

Father, we thank You for Your Word and we ask that the mystery today will no more become an unknown reality, but progressively it will grow in our hearts and in our minds, and in our understanding, that it will become a life-transforming truth, that your Church will have a deep joy in the midst of suffering, Your Church will be a people who are loyal to Scripture, and diligent in pursuing holiness. We pray that your Church will be a people who are sacrificial and servant-hearted, that we will be stewards of all that you've given to us, that your Church today, will long and desire the coming of our Savior. And we ask today that if there be anyone here who has not known Jesus as yet, Lord, please work in their heart that they may repent and come to your side for salvation and life. We love you Lord, because You first loved us. We rejoice, we can say these words: My beloved is mine, and I am my beloved's. We thank You in Jesus' Name. Amen.

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