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Betrothal

Betrothal
Words of Faith 1-24-17
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2017
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
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John 14
"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. [2] In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. [3] And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

Jesus was leaving and it was starting to sink in. Peter had asked “Lord, where are you going?" and Jesus had replied, "Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later" [13:36-37].
It was still difficult for the disciples to comprehend that Jesus was not going to lead a revolution. He was not going to establish an earthly “kingdom” as many envisioned. They had seen Him operate with such miraculous power. It was difficult to imagine anyone capturing or hurting Him. It was all very troubling. After three precious years of teaching, ministry and close fellowship, it was all coming to an end.
It was here that Jesus offered some of the most comforting words in all of Scripture. “Don’t be troubled. Put your faith in God. Put your faith in me.” But there is more. Jesus revealed one of the more lovely pictures of heaven. There is a house with many rooms, a place for you that I am preparing.
It is interesting because the words are similar to those used at the time of betrothal. In Jewish custom, when a woman was betrothed or engaged to a man, he would then leave her to build and prepare a home or a room for her in his father’s house. Only when the room met the approval of his father would the bridegroom then return for his bride. A party would take place and they would go to the new home.
This is the picture of our betrothal to Jesus. The church is His bride, which he has made spotless and pure. He has gone to prepare a place for His bride. The betrothal was sealed with the breaking of a plate— to symbolize that the betrothed would never be the same again—and the drinking of a cup of wine. The Bridegroom would say to the bride, “I will not drink again from this cup until I return for you.” Both Mark and Luke record Jesus saying similar words at the Last Supper (Mark 14:24-25).
For us, there is great joy is in knowing that Jesus is our Bridegroom. He has gone to prepare a place for us and He will indeed return to take us to that place. We have no reason to fear death if we are in Christ Jesus.
Are you troubled? The word in the Greek means agitated, stirred or roiled like boiling water. Do the events of the world have you troubled? Do the events of your life have your troubled? Trust in God. Trust in Jesus. He is our Bridegroom and we are His bride. He has gone to prepare a wonderful place for us. He is coming back to get us. Glory be to God.

Lord I give thanks to You for choosing and cleansing me. I trust in You. Give me peace in this time of waiting. Direct my days. Order my steps. Calm my thoughts. In Jesus’ name.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2002, 2017
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2010 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.