WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.419 You may be seated. 00:00:09.099 --> 00:00:10.000 Good morning. 00:00:12.380 --> 00:00:17.620 My name is Matthew Capone, and I'm the pastor here at Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian Church, 00:00:17.620 --> 00:00:21.240 and it's my joy to bring God's word to you today. 00:00:21.420 --> 00:00:24.660 A special welcome if you're new or visiting with us. 00:00:24.719 --> 00:00:27.140 We're glad that you're here, and we're glad that you're here, 00:00:27.140 --> 00:00:34.020 not because we're trying to fill seats, but because we're following Jesus together as one community. 00:00:34.759 --> 00:00:39.260 And as we follow Jesus together, we become convinced that there's no one so good, 00:00:39.299 --> 00:00:43.740 they don't need God's grace, and no one so bad that they can't have it, 00:00:43.780 --> 00:00:48.859 which is why we come back over and over to look at God's word together. 00:00:49.700 --> 00:00:53.980 It's good to be back with you all after being gone for a couple Sundays. 00:00:54.320 --> 00:00:56.600 I came back, flew back on Wednesday. 00:00:56.600 --> 00:00:58.660 I was supposed to be back in the Springs on Wednesday. 00:00:59.000 --> 00:01:02.320 I got caught up in some of that FAA nonsense that happened that day, 00:01:02.380 --> 00:01:06.079 so I actually didn't get back to the Springs until early Thursday morning. 00:01:06.420 --> 00:01:11.560 But my first stop, my first leaving the house after I got home, 00:01:11.680 --> 00:01:14.879 was to go get my hair cut because it's important to keep it tight. 00:01:15.719 --> 00:01:20.280 And so I talked to my barber, and who I've been seeing, 00:01:20.340 --> 00:01:23.599 she's the only barber I've seen since I came to Colorado, so five and a half years. 00:01:24.179 --> 00:01:26.839 And so she knows I'm a pastor, and her mom was a preacher, 00:01:27.000 --> 00:01:28.519 so we talk about these things sometimes. 00:01:28.519 --> 00:01:30.459 And she asked me, you know, what did you do? 00:01:30.500 --> 00:01:31.579 What did they do while you were gone? 00:01:31.599 --> 00:01:32.179 Who was preaching? 00:01:32.739 --> 00:01:34.439 Did you have your assistant pastor fill in? 00:01:34.439 --> 00:01:36.299 And I said, well, we don't have an assistant pastor, 00:01:36.659 --> 00:01:38.319 but we have a lot of army chaplains. 00:01:38.319 --> 00:01:40.479 And a couple of our army chaplains filled in for us. 00:01:40.480 --> 00:01:42.700 And she just said, what a blessing. 00:01:43.700 --> 00:01:44.939 And I said, that's right. 00:01:45.219 --> 00:01:45.740 That's right. 00:01:46.200 --> 00:01:53.560 So we're just so grateful for Jeff and Drew bringing God's word while I was gone, 00:01:53.600 --> 00:01:56.520 and really just grateful for the presence of our military chaplains, 00:01:56.560 --> 00:02:00.060 not just Jeff and Drew, but also Andy Perch and Mark Fairbrother. 00:02:00.060 --> 00:02:04.340 It really is a blessing and an honor to have those chaplains with us, 00:02:04.780 --> 00:02:07.719 and a huge, really huge compliment to us as a church. 00:02:07.719 --> 00:02:09.759 And so we're just grateful for them. 00:02:09.859 --> 00:02:13.819 I'm grateful for them to be here with us week by week, 00:02:13.840 --> 00:02:16.000 and then to be in our pulpit from time to time. 00:02:16.099 --> 00:02:18.539 So a huge thank you to Jeff and to Drew. 00:02:19.460 --> 00:02:24.599 We're continuing our series in the Gospel of Mark together. 00:02:24.900 --> 00:02:29.379 And you'll remember that the Gospels tell the story of Jesus and his life 00:02:29.379 --> 00:02:32.020 and his death and his resurrection. 00:02:32.360 --> 00:02:35.919 And we're picking up in this section that Drew started for us, 00:02:35.919 --> 00:02:39.179 this series of hard questions that come to Jesus. 00:02:39.299 --> 00:02:41.919 People are coming, and they're trying to trap him. 00:02:41.979 --> 00:02:47.299 They tried to trap him last week with this question about who should we pay taxes to? 00:02:47.379 --> 00:02:48.839 Should we pay taxes to Caesar? 00:02:49.419 --> 00:02:53.419 And this week we're going to see another difficult and hard passage. 00:02:53.519 --> 00:02:55.619 In fact, it's not just a difficult and hard passage. 00:02:55.619 --> 00:02:58.539 I would say it falls into the category of a weird passage. 00:02:58.539 --> 00:03:06.439 We're talking about this hypothetical situation where this woman is married to seven different men, 00:03:06.439 --> 00:03:09.620 and then what happens when she ends up in heaven. 00:03:09.719 --> 00:03:12.859 And then Jesus, in the middle of it, drops this bombshell on us to say, 00:03:13.219 --> 00:03:16.120 oh, surprise, there's not going to be any marriage in heaven. 00:03:17.000 --> 00:03:21.099 If you're cynical, maybe you're thinking, yes, there is no marriage in heaven. 00:03:21.180 --> 00:03:22.379 That's why it's called heaven. 00:03:22.379 --> 00:03:32.780 Of course, I certainly hope better things for all of you. 00:03:33.859 --> 00:03:39.039 Maybe as you think about this passage, you think this is boring or irrelevant or arcane. 00:03:39.120 --> 00:03:41.099 It's some sort of weird Bible trivia. 00:03:41.300 --> 00:03:43.099 In fact, the truth is very different. 00:03:43.639 --> 00:03:49.340 Drew last week talked about this deeper truth, this deep truth that appeared in that passage. 00:03:49.340 --> 00:03:53.099 And in that passage, it was the image of God as the foundation for human dignity. 00:03:53.420 --> 00:03:59.480 I'm going to steal that from Drew this week and say there is another deep truth in this passage, 00:03:59.480 --> 00:04:04.180 and it's the deep truth of one of the great meaning and purposes of marriage. 00:04:04.840 --> 00:04:07.199 And so there's a lot going on in this passage. 00:04:07.300 --> 00:04:14.000 We're going to focus on one thing, one question, which is why is there no marriage in heaven? 00:04:14.000 --> 00:04:20.740 And we're going to see the Bible presents us with a large vision for marriage that will provide us with encouragement, 00:04:20.740 --> 00:04:26.339 whether you're married, whether you're single, whether you're widowed, whether you're divorced. 00:04:26.720 --> 00:04:29.240 And so it's with that question that we're going to turn to God's word. 00:04:29.339 --> 00:04:30.620 I invite you to turn with me. 00:04:30.959 --> 00:04:33.720 We're in Mark chapter 12, starting at verse 28. 00:04:33.839 --> 00:04:35.060 You can turn in your Bible. 00:04:35.480 --> 00:04:36.959 You can turn on your phone. 00:04:37.060 --> 00:04:38.939 You can turn in your worship guide. 00:04:38.939 --> 00:04:45.819 No matter where you turn, remember that this is God's word, and God tells us that his word is more precious than gold, 00:04:46.079 --> 00:04:52.100 even the finest gold, and it's sweeter than honey, even honey that comes straight from the honeycomb. 00:04:52.740 --> 00:04:55.439 And so that's why we read now, starting at verse 28. 00:04:58.699 --> 00:04:59.920 Sorry, verse 18. 00:05:00.379 --> 00:05:01.819 I completely switched verses on you. 00:05:01.879 --> 00:05:03.540 Verse 18, not verse 28. 00:05:03.540 --> 00:05:09.540 And the Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection. 00:05:10.500 --> 00:05:12.180 And they asked him a question, saying, 00:05:12.360 --> 00:05:19.500 Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies and leaves a wife, but leaves no child, 00:05:20.020 --> 00:05:23.960 the man must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. 00:05:24.780 --> 00:05:26.280 There were seven brothers. 00:05:26.860 --> 00:05:30.360 The first took a wife, and when he died, left no offspring. 00:05:30.360 --> 00:05:33.900 And the second took her and died, leaving no offspring. 00:05:34.439 --> 00:05:35.920 And the third likewise. 00:05:36.800 --> 00:05:38.600 And the seven left no offspring. 00:05:39.520 --> 00:05:42.540 Last of all, the woman also died. 00:05:43.460 --> 00:05:48.259 In the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be? 00:05:48.920 --> 00:05:50.920 For the seven had her as wife. 00:05:51.920 --> 00:05:54.139 Verse 24, Jesus said to them, 00:05:54.139 --> 00:05:57.019 Is this not the reason you are wrong? 00:05:57.339 --> 00:06:01.459 Because you know neither the scriptures nor the power of God. 00:06:02.060 --> 00:06:08.699 For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 00:06:09.740 --> 00:06:15.139 And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, 00:06:15.579 --> 00:06:17.139 how God spoke to him, saying, 00:06:17.599 --> 00:06:21.979 I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. 00:06:21.980 --> 00:06:26.560 He is not God of the dead, but of the living. 00:06:27.420 --> 00:06:29.600 You are quite wrong. 00:06:30.920 --> 00:06:34.259 I invite you to pray with me as we come to this portion of God's word. 00:06:36.160 --> 00:06:44.700 Our Father in heaven, we just come thanking you again for your tender love towards us, your care for us. 00:06:44.699 --> 00:06:52.360 That you're eager to instruct us and to guide us in the midst of our ignorance and our foolishness and our sin. 00:06:52.959 --> 00:06:57.639 And so we ask that you would do that again, that you would be that good father that you promised to be, 00:06:57.719 --> 00:07:00.539 that you would speak to us clearly in your word, 00:07:01.339 --> 00:07:08.379 that you would help us understand the great and glorious things that you have for us in the life to come, 00:07:08.379 --> 00:07:11.839 that you'd encourage us and strengthen us for our life now. 00:07:12.600 --> 00:07:14.560 And most of all, you'd show us Jesus Christ, 00:07:14.600 --> 00:07:19.899 that we would see him in his beauty and glory and holiness and power and authority, 00:07:20.639 --> 00:07:23.740 that you'd grow our love and our affection for him, 00:07:23.819 --> 00:07:25.439 our reverence and our all for him, 00:07:25.959 --> 00:07:27.600 and grow our obedience to him. 00:07:28.079 --> 00:07:31.040 We ask all these things in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. 00:07:31.579 --> 00:07:31.860 Amen. 00:07:31.860 --> 00:07:38.639 So we are picking up in this series of confrontations with Jesus, 00:07:38.639 --> 00:07:44.639 where the religious leaders are trying to trap him or trick him with hard questions. 00:07:44.740 --> 00:07:47.220 And as I've mentioned before, these are not sincere questions. 00:07:47.379 --> 00:07:50.080 These are not people who are seeking understanding, 00:07:50.259 --> 00:07:53.340 but instead they are out to get Jesus. 00:07:53.600 --> 00:07:58.620 Last week, we saw the Pharisees and the Herodians were talking about taxes to Caesar, 00:07:58.720 --> 00:07:59.800 and we're told explicitly, 00:07:59.800 --> 00:08:03.600 verse 13, they were trying to trap him in his talk. 00:08:04.040 --> 00:08:07.300 This week, the Sadducees want a crack at Jesus. 00:08:07.480 --> 00:08:08.379 It's their turn. 00:08:08.759 --> 00:08:10.500 And we find out right off the bat, 00:08:10.579 --> 00:08:13.920 verse 18, the Sadducees do not believe in the resurrection. 00:08:14.420 --> 00:08:17.080 Now, the way you can remember this and never forget it 00:08:17.080 --> 00:08:21.480 is to remember the phrase that the Sadducees didn't believe in the resurrection. 00:08:21.699 --> 00:08:23.860 That's why they were sad. 00:08:24.080 --> 00:08:24.699 You see? 00:08:25.759 --> 00:08:28.519 And that's the cheesy way that I have never forgotten, 00:08:28.519 --> 00:08:32.100 that the Sadducees do not believe in the resurrection. 00:08:33.039 --> 00:08:37.360 Not only that, the Sadducees lean heavily on the first five books of the Bible. 00:08:37.519 --> 00:08:39.559 They privilege those over the others. 00:08:39.819 --> 00:08:42.460 And so they present this question about the resurrection, 00:08:42.460 --> 00:08:44.139 but it's actually a trick question. 00:08:44.279 --> 00:08:49.799 They are trying to demonstrate how stupid of an idea the resurrection is. 00:08:50.240 --> 00:08:53.360 In fact, some people think that this was a question that they didn't come up with, 00:08:53.360 --> 00:08:55.100 but that people had been asking for a while. 00:08:55.100 --> 00:08:58.139 This was the gotcha question that the Sadducees had. 00:08:58.259 --> 00:09:02.399 When they really wanted to make someone who believed in the resurrection feel stupid, 00:09:02.600 --> 00:09:06.899 they would whip out the hypothetical situation of the seven husbands. 00:09:07.779 --> 00:09:10.360 Now, that takes us to verses 19 through 23, 00:09:10.360 --> 00:09:15.259 which will be wildly confusing if you're not familiar with the Old Testament background. 00:09:15.399 --> 00:09:17.440 So we have to talk about this for one second. 00:09:17.440 --> 00:09:24.300 In Deuteronomy chapter 25, there's this practice among ancient Israel that will be very strange to us. 00:09:24.300 --> 00:09:25.720 And it goes like this. 00:09:26.240 --> 00:09:31.780 If a man dies and he has not had a child with his wife, 00:09:31.900 --> 00:09:36.360 it is his brother's responsibility to come in and have a child with her. 00:09:36.940 --> 00:09:40.180 And that child will not bear the brother's name. 00:09:40.440 --> 00:09:43.500 The child will bear the name of the deceased man. 00:09:43.500 --> 00:09:49.320 And the purpose, the point of all this is to make sure there's never a line that dies out. 00:09:49.740 --> 00:09:54.159 This gets into protecting ancestral land and all sorts of things going on in the Old Testament 00:09:54.159 --> 00:09:56.539 that we're not going to go into together this morning. 00:09:56.799 --> 00:10:01.600 All we need to do is understand the fact that that happened to know what's going on with this question. 00:10:02.179 --> 00:10:04.299 So they say, hey, let's talk about this scenario. 00:10:04.759 --> 00:10:05.559 This man dies. 00:10:05.639 --> 00:10:06.539 He has no kids. 00:10:06.860 --> 00:10:11.679 There's this obligation from Deuteronomy 25 from Moses that a child has to be raised up. 00:10:11.679 --> 00:10:14.359 So one brother comes in, but he dies. 00:10:14.439 --> 00:10:15.599 He's not able to raise up a child. 00:10:15.639 --> 00:10:16.759 And then the next, and then the next. 00:10:17.099 --> 00:10:20.319 And we end up with no child but seven husbands. 00:10:21.439 --> 00:10:23.319 What is going to happen? 00:10:24.599 --> 00:10:26.500 Now, this is a scenario that they're bringing in. 00:10:26.859 --> 00:10:29.819 And the point of all this is to say, Jesus, there's no answer to this. 00:10:29.899 --> 00:10:32.479 We all know the resurrection is stupid. 00:10:33.120 --> 00:10:34.179 And we've proved it. 00:10:34.519 --> 00:10:40.779 We've proved it stupid because how in the world could someone be married to seven people all at once? 00:10:41.679 --> 00:10:50.319 And Jesus here, just like he did last week, verse 24 lays the smackdown on the Sadducees. 00:10:50.899 --> 00:10:52.819 He tells them they have two problems. 00:10:53.779 --> 00:10:57.979 You know neither the scriptures nor the power of God. 00:10:58.719 --> 00:11:02.319 Verse 25, he actually rejects the premise of their question. 00:11:02.439 --> 00:11:06.919 You think that you've trapped me because there's no way that you could be married to seven people at once. 00:11:06.919 --> 00:11:09.459 Well, you haven't trapped me because guess what? 00:11:10.379 --> 00:11:11.879 There's no marriage in heaven. 00:11:13.479 --> 00:11:17.699 Your whole question, your whole objection falls apart. 00:11:17.879 --> 00:11:18.799 We'll come back to that. 00:11:19.019 --> 00:11:20.240 We'll come back to no marriage in heaven. 00:11:20.319 --> 00:11:22.159 We have to talk about what Jesus says next. 00:11:23.360 --> 00:11:27.019 Verse 26, he then says, let's talk about not just marriage in heaven. 00:11:27.139 --> 00:11:28.639 Let's talk about the resurrection. 00:11:28.639 --> 00:11:35.240 And he references the passage about the bush, which is Jesus' way of saying, let's talk about Exodus chapter 3. 00:11:35.600 --> 00:11:40.439 Exodus chapter 3, verses 1 through 6 is what Britt already read for us this morning. 00:11:40.699 --> 00:11:44.240 It's the story of Moses meeting God in the burning bush. 00:11:44.460 --> 00:11:50.059 And God makes this important statement to him in that saying, I'm the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 00:11:51.000 --> 00:11:52.639 I am the God. 00:11:52.639 --> 00:11:56.419 And he says, I am the God of these people who we all know have already died. 00:11:56.960 --> 00:12:00.000 And so how could God say, I am the God of deceased people? 00:12:00.139 --> 00:12:01.000 What shouldn't he say? 00:12:01.199 --> 00:12:05.039 I was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 00:12:05.120 --> 00:12:06.100 I was their God. 00:12:06.159 --> 00:12:10.059 No, he is their God, which is a way of saying God doesn't view them as dead. 00:12:11.080 --> 00:12:14.500 So Jesus says, look, you are mistaken about a lot of things. 00:12:14.639 --> 00:12:17.939 One thing is you're religious leaders and you don't even know your Bible very well. 00:12:18.760 --> 00:12:22.940 And not only do you not know your Bible very well, you don't know these first five books. 00:12:23.040 --> 00:12:25.760 I'm actually quoting from Exodus, the second of the five books. 00:12:25.820 --> 00:12:27.620 So I'm beating you at your own game. 00:12:28.340 --> 00:12:31.980 You can't tell me, oh, well, it's something that shows up later in books we don't respect. 00:12:32.320 --> 00:12:37.500 I'm taking the book that you do respect and showing you that you are wrong. 00:12:38.600 --> 00:12:40.940 And so Jesus just completely dismantles their argument. 00:12:41.340 --> 00:12:44.000 He rejects the premise of their marriage question. 00:12:44.000 --> 00:12:50.919 And then he proves to them from their own privileged books that life after death is real. 00:12:52.080 --> 00:12:57.799 And so it's with all of that background we get back to our question, which is what about the marriage thing? 00:12:58.759 --> 00:13:01.919 Why is there no marriage in heaven? 00:13:02.639 --> 00:13:06.139 The challenging thing about it is that Jesus doesn't actually tell us in this passage. 00:13:06.139 --> 00:13:11.460 When we come up against questions like this, we actually have to look at the whole Bible, 00:13:11.600 --> 00:13:15.679 see what the entire counsel of God tells us so we can begin to understand. 00:13:15.899 --> 00:13:16.879 We could even put it this way. 00:13:16.939 --> 00:13:18.720 We need to know the scriptures. 00:13:18.899 --> 00:13:20.819 This is the problem that happens with the Sadducees. 00:13:20.899 --> 00:13:22.120 They don't know the Bible. 00:13:22.720 --> 00:13:28.360 If and as we do know the Bible, we're able to answer this question. 00:13:29.100 --> 00:13:30.720 And it's very, very simple. 00:13:30.720 --> 00:13:35.100 It's this, marriage is a picture of something greater. 00:13:37.180 --> 00:13:39.620 Marriage is a picture of something greater. 00:13:40.259 --> 00:13:43.840 Marriage points beyond itself. 00:13:45.279 --> 00:13:52.320 In the Old Testament, constantly God is using these marriage images to talk about his relationship with Israel. 00:13:52.660 --> 00:13:56.340 Hey, you want to understand what it's like for me, God, to relate with you, Israel? 00:13:56.460 --> 00:13:57.700 Well, it's like a husband and his wife. 00:13:57.700 --> 00:14:02.360 This gets refined in some ways in the New Testament we see in Ephesians 5. 00:14:02.660 --> 00:14:04.460 Hey, you want to understand my relationship? 00:14:04.920 --> 00:14:08.240 The relationship between Christ and the church is the relationship. 00:14:08.379 --> 00:14:11.379 It's like the relationship of a husband to his wife. 00:14:12.820 --> 00:14:17.860 All of this saying, look, marriage is meant to point beyond itself to something more. 00:14:17.940 --> 00:14:20.680 And so I invite you to look with me in page 7 of your worship guide. 00:14:21.180 --> 00:14:21.960 It says this, 00:14:21.960 --> 00:14:25.120 The Bible does not teach that there will be no marriage in heaven. 00:14:25.120 --> 00:14:30.879 Rather, it teaches that there will be one marriage in heaven between Christ and his bride, the church. 00:14:31.560 --> 00:14:41.960 In fact, the biblical picture of marital sexual union is nothing less than an anticipation of an even deeper union with the divine. 00:14:43.940 --> 00:14:45.659 And so another way of putting it is this. 00:14:45.759 --> 00:14:47.139 Why is there no marriage in heaven? 00:14:47.139 --> 00:14:54.000 Because when the real thing arrives, you don't need the sign anymore. 00:14:55.100 --> 00:14:59.159 When the real thing arrives, you don't need the sign anymore. 00:14:59.559 --> 00:15:05.639 If you drove into our church building this morning, we have a sign out front that says Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian Church. 00:15:05.799 --> 00:15:06.860 And you know what you didn't do? 00:15:07.340 --> 00:15:11.740 You didn't park your car and then go and hang out by that sign and stand on the rocks. 00:15:11.740 --> 00:15:15.180 The sign has served its purpose, right? 00:15:15.220 --> 00:15:15.759 What did you do? 00:15:15.919 --> 00:15:19.799 You came into the sanctuary where the real event is happening. 00:15:20.659 --> 00:15:27.279 The sign, it's good, it's beautiful, but it's meant to serve a purpose, which is to direct you to the real and greater thing. 00:15:27.480 --> 00:15:32.340 It has served its purpose as it's guided you into what is the real event at this church. 00:15:32.340 --> 00:15:39.519 When I was with my family on the East Coast, we were staying close to Shenandoah National Park. 00:15:39.639 --> 00:15:41.360 And so we went into the park one day. 00:15:41.780 --> 00:15:45.580 And I remember if you go into a park at the very entrance, there's going to be a sign that says, 00:15:45.700 --> 00:15:46.200 Hey, welcome. 00:15:46.320 --> 00:15:47.660 You've finally entered the park. 00:15:47.940 --> 00:15:48.840 You know what we didn't do? 00:15:49.620 --> 00:15:53.700 We didn't stop at the sign, take a bunch of pictures, and then drive back to our Airbnb. 00:15:55.100 --> 00:15:58.139 No, the sign tells us, look, this is the direction you head. 00:15:58.139 --> 00:16:02.180 The real beauty, the real glory is inside the park. 00:16:02.340 --> 00:16:05.480 That's where you have to go to get the views. 00:16:07.180 --> 00:16:18.220 The intimacy and love that we experience in marriage is going to be even better in heaven. 00:16:20.100 --> 00:16:22.420 Jesus is not just teaching about marriage. 00:16:22.560 --> 00:16:25.620 He's teaching about what it's going to be like when we go to be with God. 00:16:25.620 --> 00:16:27.280 What is heaven going to be like? 00:16:27.360 --> 00:16:31.280 Jesus is saying this, heaven is going to be better than marriage. 00:16:32.780 --> 00:16:36.440 Heaven is going to be better than sex. 00:16:36.440 --> 00:16:40.380 Those things will pale in comparison. 00:16:40.560 --> 00:16:41.700 They're going to be obsolete. 00:16:42.180 --> 00:16:44.580 You're not going to want to go back. 00:16:45.800 --> 00:16:50.920 If you go to Tinseltown, if you go to the movie theater here close to us in Colorado Springs, 00:16:51.020 --> 00:16:53.400 as you're entering into it, you're going to see what? 00:16:53.540 --> 00:16:56.580 A bunch of different posters advertising coming attractions. 00:16:57.020 --> 00:16:58.720 And that poster will tell you all sorts of things. 00:16:58.800 --> 00:17:02.320 You'll see maybe a picture of an actor or multiple actors who are going to be there. 00:17:02.320 --> 00:17:06.320 You'll have credits telling you who it is that's involved in this production. 00:17:06.460 --> 00:17:11.779 And then as you walk into the theater, you enter the building, you'll see more on the side right in the hallways. 00:17:12.799 --> 00:17:16.600 And then you get into your seat in the theater. 00:17:16.599 --> 00:17:21.459 And do you see any movie posters there? 00:17:22.899 --> 00:17:23.339 No. 00:17:24.039 --> 00:17:24.859 Why not? 00:17:25.759 --> 00:17:27.359 Because you have the screen. 00:17:27.359 --> 00:17:33.240 And the screen is so much more than the poster ever could be. 00:17:33.519 --> 00:17:34.719 The poster is just one image. 00:17:34.799 --> 00:17:37.179 The screen is able to show you this video. 00:17:37.339 --> 00:17:40.519 It's able to display something much greater and bigger. 00:17:40.619 --> 00:17:41.959 It makes the poster obsolete. 00:17:42.139 --> 00:17:44.099 The poster is just one image. 00:17:44.179 --> 00:17:46.359 And here you have video right in front of you. 00:17:46.439 --> 00:17:47.699 You have the whole story. 00:17:48.159 --> 00:17:51.559 The poster is weak in comparison to the movie. 00:17:52.139 --> 00:17:54.579 The poster is small in comparison to the movie. 00:17:54.579 --> 00:17:55.579 It's insignificant. 00:17:55.980 --> 00:17:58.779 It can tell you something about the movie. 00:17:59.139 --> 00:17:59.980 It can give you some hints. 00:18:00.039 --> 00:18:00.939 It can give you some direction. 00:18:01.960 --> 00:18:04.799 And the poster is not the movie. 00:18:06.159 --> 00:18:10.639 Marriage can tell you something about God's love for his church. 00:18:12.439 --> 00:18:16.500 And it's not actually God's love for his church. 00:18:16.599 --> 00:18:19.720 That is something so much greater and better. 00:18:19.720 --> 00:18:24.920 However, you are not meant to stand outside and look at the poster. 00:18:25.440 --> 00:18:27.779 You're meant to go inside and watch the movie. 00:18:29.799 --> 00:18:32.079 You're meant to see it as a sign. 00:18:33.380 --> 00:18:40.400 You'll see on the back of our worship guide, C.S. Lewis gets into this concept in a couple places. 00:18:40.559 --> 00:18:44.920 In his book, Till We Have Faces, which is fiction, he puts these words in one of his characters. 00:18:45.120 --> 00:18:45.860 This is at the top. 00:18:45.859 --> 00:18:54.179 The sweetest thing in all my life has been the longing to reach the mountain, to find the place where all the beauty came from. 00:18:54.559 --> 00:18:58.039 My country, the place where I ought to have been born. 00:18:58.879 --> 00:19:02.899 Do you think it all meant nothing, all the longing, the longing for home? 00:19:03.579 --> 00:19:06.000 For indeed it now feels not like going back. 00:19:07.079 --> 00:19:09.719 And here we're meant to take this as this description of heaven. 00:19:09.720 --> 00:19:13.880 And so we're learning not just about marriage specifically, but heaven in general. 00:19:14.200 --> 00:19:17.720 That heaven is the place where all the beauty comes from. 00:19:18.319 --> 00:19:22.019 You experience something good and beautiful in this world. 00:19:22.100 --> 00:19:23.480 Well, it's a derivative good. 00:19:23.559 --> 00:19:24.660 It's a derivative beauty. 00:19:24.960 --> 00:19:27.259 It will be even better and greater in heaven. 00:19:27.980 --> 00:19:31.480 You experience some love and human connection in this world. 00:19:31.539 --> 00:19:33.839 Well, that's a derivative love, a derivative connection. 00:19:33.839 --> 00:19:39.159 It will be even greater and more beautiful when we're connected to God in heaven. 00:19:39.899 --> 00:19:44.019 It is a sign beauty, not an ultimate beauty. 00:19:44.639 --> 00:19:46.839 In this second quote, C.S. Lewis goes on to say, 00:19:46.959 --> 00:19:52.959 Look, we make a huge mistake if we listen to a piece of music or we read a book and we think that's where the beauty is. 00:19:53.199 --> 00:19:56.159 No, the beauty is actually coming from somewhere even greater. 00:19:56.399 --> 00:19:58.619 And that's just a channel through which it flows. 00:19:58.619 --> 00:20:18.619 In other words, marriage is the scent of a flower you haven't found yet. 00:20:19.899 --> 00:20:24.839 It is the echo of a tune you haven't heard yet. 00:20:24.839 --> 00:20:30.819 It teaches you something small about something big. 00:20:33.339 --> 00:20:36.959 I mentioned earlier that movie posters do serve their purpose. 00:20:37.199 --> 00:20:39.220 They tell you something about the movie. 00:20:40.059 --> 00:20:43.019 And if everything I've been saying is true, then marriage does serve a purpose. 00:20:43.139 --> 00:20:47.099 It tells us something that's true about God and his love for his people. 00:20:47.159 --> 00:20:48.199 And so what are those things? 00:20:48.200 --> 00:20:57.740 First of all, marriage teaches us about the safety, the security, the belonging, the faithfulness that exists between God and his people. 00:20:58.400 --> 00:21:00.220 I've said this before a long time ago. 00:21:00.340 --> 00:21:05.200 You know, marriage at its best is when you look at another person and you say, 00:21:05.440 --> 00:21:07.340 I know your greatest strengths. 00:21:07.360 --> 00:21:08.580 I've seen you in your greatest moments. 00:21:08.720 --> 00:21:11.100 I've also seen your greatest weaknesses. 00:21:11.420 --> 00:21:13.380 I've seen you in your worst moments. 00:21:14.200 --> 00:21:16.380 I know the truth about you. 00:21:16.380 --> 00:21:20.040 And I'm still going to stay. 00:21:21.920 --> 00:21:23.140 I'm still going to stay. 00:21:23.260 --> 00:21:25.520 That's the faithfulness and the commitment. 00:21:25.960 --> 00:21:28.720 I've told you before, there are two kinds of people in this world. 00:21:28.820 --> 00:21:34.740 People who are interested in you and people are interested simply in what they can get from you, what they can achieve through you. 00:21:35.080 --> 00:21:38.940 Marriage at its best is saying to another person, I'm interested in you. 00:21:39.160 --> 00:21:40.960 Your very presence is enough. 00:21:40.960 --> 00:21:48.299 Just the fact that you're in this house with me, even if you're completely asleep, doing nothing makes a difference. 00:21:49.840 --> 00:21:53.259 And so we learn from that what God's love is like. 00:21:53.380 --> 00:21:58.039 God's love has that same safety and security and belonging and faithfulness and commitment. 00:21:58.380 --> 00:22:00.620 God looks at his people and they're very worse. 00:22:00.619 --> 00:22:04.919 And he says, I know the truth about you and I'm not going anywhere. 00:22:06.199 --> 00:22:10.439 I know the truth about you and I'm going to stay. 00:22:11.899 --> 00:22:13.959 Now you might be thinking, okay, that's true. 00:22:14.079 --> 00:22:17.359 But that can be true of other relationships besides marriage. 00:22:17.500 --> 00:22:20.000 Well, it's not the only thing that we learn. 00:22:20.000 --> 00:22:21.240 And we also learn this, right? 00:22:21.259 --> 00:22:28.279 The greatest passion and joy that you can probably experience in a human relationship is in marriage. 00:22:28.859 --> 00:22:35.440 We might think especially as expressed through our sexual relationships that show us this passion and this joy. 00:22:37.339 --> 00:22:42.039 And what we're learning from this passage, what we're learning about God and marriage is this. 00:22:42.039 --> 00:22:54.059 However great the joy of sex is, the joy that you're going to experience when you're in God's presence is even greater. 00:22:57.480 --> 00:23:07.180 However great the joy of sex is, the joy that you're going to experience in God's presence is going to be even greater and better. 00:23:07.180 --> 00:23:16.060 However connected and loved you might feel in your marriage, no matter how glorious your marriage is, 00:23:16.740 --> 00:23:22.480 you will feel more connected and more loved in God's presence in heaven. 00:23:23.840 --> 00:23:29.299 No matter how much pleasure and passion you experience in your marriage, 00:23:29.299 --> 00:23:35.539 you will experience greater pleasure and greater passion in heaven. 00:23:37.180 --> 00:23:43.740 When you are watching the movie, you don't run back to go look at the sign. 00:23:45.940 --> 00:23:53.600 When we are in heaven with God in his presence, we will not be longing to go back to our marriages. 00:23:54.820 --> 00:24:03.120 Not because they weren't beautiful or good, but because we now see the greater thing they pointed towards. 00:24:03.119 --> 00:24:11.079 That is how great and glorious heaven is. 00:24:11.079 --> 00:24:16.639 The same individual that's quoted on page seven of your worship guide, Glenn Harrison, says, 00:24:16.799 --> 00:24:18.619 these two things actually are supposed to go together. 00:24:18.720 --> 00:24:23.539 The two things I just told you, that passion and faithfulness are always supposed to be connected. 00:24:23.939 --> 00:24:29.339 And so we also see this in marriage, that there is this passion and faithfulness. 00:24:29.399 --> 00:24:30.839 We don't separate those two things. 00:24:30.899 --> 00:24:32.279 They're things that go together. 00:24:32.279 --> 00:24:38.240 And finally, we learn from marriage about just the fact that God's love overflows. 00:24:38.980 --> 00:24:43.480 We know intuitively the love between a husband and a wife, it often overflows into children. 00:24:44.000 --> 00:24:47.119 That's a symbol, a sign, an expression of their love for each other. 00:24:47.200 --> 00:24:51.660 It's so great that it multiplies and there's these new human beings that come out of it. 00:24:51.660 --> 00:24:55.900 The same is true of what God experiences in himself in the Trinity. 00:24:56.040 --> 00:25:03.300 The love between God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit is so great that it overflowed into God's work of creation. 00:25:05.279 --> 00:25:09.860 And so we just begin to get this greater vision for the way the world works. 00:25:10.140 --> 00:25:11.800 We don't want to stop at the sign. 00:25:11.900 --> 00:25:13.779 We don't want to park when we get to the entrance. 00:25:13.779 --> 00:25:20.580 No, God says there's greater and more beautiful things waiting for you as you follow after me. 00:25:21.660 --> 00:25:24.360 The Sadducees don't understand. 00:25:24.640 --> 00:25:30.380 They have a small vision of heaven, even as they don't believe in it, that heaven is not this life all over again. 00:25:30.660 --> 00:25:36.200 Heaven is a fulfillment of everything our hearts want and desire and long for. 00:25:37.940 --> 00:25:44.360 Heaven is the place where we will finally experience in full what we experience now. 00:25:47.360 --> 00:25:50.660 Now, you might be thinking, okay, this is all nice and great. 00:25:50.660 --> 00:25:53.740 It's a little pie in the sky, a little theoretical. 00:25:54.220 --> 00:25:55.720 So let's bring it down to earth. 00:25:55.779 --> 00:26:04.240 What does this mean for us as we think about our lives this next week as you're at Walmart on Tuesday morning or at the playground on Wednesday afternoon? 00:26:04.700 --> 00:26:05.580 It means this. 00:26:06.220 --> 00:26:10.279 If you are happily married, let's say you have the best marriage possible. 00:26:10.279 --> 00:26:16.639 There are probably still moments where you think to yourself, is this it? 00:26:18.599 --> 00:26:20.920 Is this actually all there is? 00:26:22.599 --> 00:26:27.519 And the reason you think that is because the best marriage doesn't fulfill. 00:26:27.619 --> 00:26:29.480 It's not going to fulfill your longings and your desires. 00:26:30.660 --> 00:26:31.660 That's not a flaw. 00:26:31.779 --> 00:26:32.480 That's a feature. 00:26:32.480 --> 00:26:36.660 It was never meant to fulfill your desires and your longings. 00:26:36.759 --> 00:26:39.019 It's meant to whet your appetite for something more. 00:26:39.079 --> 00:26:44.120 It's meant to point you beyond itself as every good sign does. 00:26:46.200 --> 00:26:47.299 You're made for more. 00:26:48.759 --> 00:26:53.539 You're made for even greater intimacy and joy and connection and pleasure. 00:26:53.539 --> 00:27:02.599 Maybe you're not a Christian and you feel this as well and you're starting to realize maybe the world has sold me short a little bit. 00:27:03.579 --> 00:27:05.019 The answer is yes, it has. 00:27:06.839 --> 00:27:11.099 There is more to reality than this world can offer you. 00:27:12.720 --> 00:27:16.480 The fact that your heart is not satisfied points you to that. 00:27:18.299 --> 00:27:19.980 Maybe you're not happily married. 00:27:20.099 --> 00:27:22.180 Maybe you're unhappily married. 00:27:22.180 --> 00:27:25.019 And the world tells you, you know what? 00:27:25.180 --> 00:27:27.799 Romantic fulfillment is actually the purpose of life. 00:27:27.840 --> 00:27:28.640 That's the good life. 00:27:28.720 --> 00:27:30.200 That's what it means to be truly human. 00:27:31.000 --> 00:27:34.580 And so you're being told you need to do whatever you can to get there. 00:27:34.700 --> 00:27:35.440 It is time. 00:27:35.940 --> 00:27:37.380 Your marriage isn't working out right now. 00:27:37.980 --> 00:27:39.360 Time for you to eat, pray, love. 00:27:40.000 --> 00:27:40.180 Okay? 00:27:41.100 --> 00:27:42.480 So you're tempted to despair. 00:27:42.620 --> 00:27:45.360 You're tempted to abandon your commitments. 00:27:47.320 --> 00:27:49.259 And God says to you this. 00:27:52.180 --> 00:27:54.460 My precious covenant child. 00:27:56.340 --> 00:28:03.500 Marriage is meant to be an appetizer for you of a great meal and a feast that's coming. 00:28:03.500 --> 00:28:08.420 And the appetizer may not be what you want it to be. 00:28:11.660 --> 00:28:13.240 And you're not going to miss the feast. 00:28:15.079 --> 00:28:17.640 You are not going to miss out on the party. 00:28:18.980 --> 00:28:21.339 You may have missed out on the poster. 00:28:21.339 --> 00:28:24.119 We're still going to watch the movie. 00:28:25.959 --> 00:28:32.579 There is something better and greater than what's happening right now in your marriage. 00:28:34.959 --> 00:28:36.899 The opposite, by the way, is also true. 00:28:36.900 --> 00:28:41.380 You can have a great marriage in an earthly sense. 00:28:42.320 --> 00:28:43.780 And you can miss out on the feast. 00:28:46.580 --> 00:28:50.420 You can have many great and glorious experiences in this life. 00:28:50.880 --> 00:28:55.320 And the feast is for those who follow and love Jesus Christ. 00:28:58.519 --> 00:29:01.780 Wherever you are, there's a big vision here that God gives us for marriage. 00:29:02.100 --> 00:29:05.800 If you're single, you might be thinking, okay, what in the world does this have to do with me? 00:29:05.799 --> 00:29:15.159 And there may be moments of loneliness and frustration and real grief. 00:29:16.740 --> 00:29:19.419 And I don't mean to downplay that in any way. 00:29:19.480 --> 00:29:22.619 You might be committed to chastity. 00:29:23.899 --> 00:29:27.279 And when you're faithful to that, when you refuse to use other people, 00:29:27.339 --> 00:29:31.460 when you refuse to separate passion from commitment, what are you saying? 00:29:31.460 --> 00:29:38.220 You're saying, I hope in something much greater than marriage and relationships and romantic fulfillment. 00:29:38.500 --> 00:29:40.740 I know it's just a sign. 00:29:41.779 --> 00:29:44.620 I know it's just an appetizer. 00:29:46.620 --> 00:29:49.000 And so God says the same thing to you. 00:29:52.000 --> 00:29:53.279 My precious child, 00:29:53.819 --> 00:29:58.019 you might miss out on the appetizer now. 00:29:58.019 --> 00:29:58.740 Don't worry. 00:29:59.220 --> 00:30:00.539 You're going to be at my feast. 00:30:03.039 --> 00:30:05.639 You might miss out on something small now. 00:30:05.779 --> 00:30:06.559 Don't worry. 00:30:06.700 --> 00:30:08.680 You're still invited to the party. 00:30:10.599 --> 00:30:13.420 You might not see everything now, 00:30:13.440 --> 00:30:16.220 but you are going to see it in full in my presence, 00:30:16.379 --> 00:30:19.240 whether you marry in this life or not. 00:30:19.240 --> 00:30:23.940 There is a bigger reality to this world. 00:30:27.259 --> 00:30:30.440 Of course, it's our Lord Jesus who teaches us these things here, 00:30:30.680 --> 00:30:33.700 and he doesn't teach them offhandedly, 00:30:33.799 --> 00:30:38.019 but he teaches them knowing that they're going to come at a tremendous cost. 00:30:38.579 --> 00:30:40.319 Jesus knows more than we do. 00:30:40.400 --> 00:30:41.819 The things that we've talked about this morning, 00:30:41.900 --> 00:30:45.599 he knows the joy and the delight and the commitment and the faithfulness 00:30:45.599 --> 00:30:48.159 and the pleasure that exists between God the Father, God the Son, 00:30:48.199 --> 00:30:49.119 and God the Holy Spirit. 00:30:49.399 --> 00:30:52.599 He knows that as he's walking in a man on the earth, 00:30:52.619 --> 00:30:53.259 and what does he do? 00:30:54.480 --> 00:30:57.039 He chooses to be separated at the cross. 00:30:57.139 --> 00:30:57.419 He says, 00:30:57.500 --> 00:31:00.279 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? 00:31:00.279 --> 00:31:07.799 Jesus chooses to be cut off from the place where all the beauty comes from 00:31:07.799 --> 00:31:11.759 so that we could be with him, 00:31:12.599 --> 00:31:16.359 that we could be with God in his presence. 00:31:18.119 --> 00:31:18.920 And so that's our hope. 00:31:19.379 --> 00:31:21.879 Our hope is not in marriage as good and beautiful as it is. 00:31:21.960 --> 00:31:29.139 Our hope is that we will be with God fully and finally one day, 00:31:29.140 --> 00:31:31.520 that no matter what happens with the appetizers, 00:31:31.700 --> 00:31:32.960 we will be at the feast. 00:31:33.020 --> 00:31:34.320 In fact, that's what we're about to sing. 00:31:34.820 --> 00:31:37.120 Page eight, we'll feast in the house of Zion. 00:31:37.240 --> 00:31:38.940 We will sing with our hearts restored. 00:31:39.560 --> 00:31:42.580 He has done great things, we will say together. 00:31:42.960 --> 00:31:45.280 We will feast and weep no more. 00:31:47.000 --> 00:31:48.259 If you're in Christ, 00:31:48.800 --> 00:31:52.160 you are going to make it to the party, 00:31:52.540 --> 00:31:56.720 no matter what happens with marriage in this life. 00:31:58.100 --> 00:31:58.720 Let's pray. 00:32:00.000 --> 00:32:01.240 Our Father in heaven, 00:32:01.540 --> 00:32:05.320 we praise you and thank you that we have an inheritance in you, 00:32:05.520 --> 00:32:06.280 stored up, 00:32:07.080 --> 00:32:08.280 unperishable and undefiled, 00:32:08.380 --> 00:32:09.259 that can't be touched, 00:32:09.420 --> 00:32:11.100 that no matter what happens to us now, 00:32:11.160 --> 00:32:14.580 there is something greater and larger that we look forward to 00:32:14.580 --> 00:32:16.020 and we long for. 00:32:16.220 --> 00:32:18.360 And we ask that you would grow that in our hearts, 00:32:18.400 --> 00:32:20.780 that we would look to you more and more 00:32:20.780 --> 00:32:24.060 and know that there's something that this world can't offer, 00:32:24.140 --> 00:32:27.420 that you do and will when Jesus returns. 00:32:27.420 --> 00:32:30.700 And we ask all these things in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. 00:32:31.080 --> 00:32:31.320 Amen. 00:32:31.320 --> 00:32:31.480 Amen. 00:32:31.480 --> 00:32:31.500 Amen. 00:32:31.500 --> 00:32:31.519 Amen. 00:32:31.519 --> 00:32:31.539 Amen. 00:32:31.539 --> 00:32:31.560 Amen. 00:32:31.560 --> 00:32:31.600 Amen. 00:32:31.600 --> 00:32:31.620 Amen. 00:32:31.619 --> 00:32:33.679 Amen. 00:32:37.919 --> 00:32:42.079 Amen.