“For the Man the King Delights to Honor”

You know, as a teacher of sexual purity and marriage, I so far talked to many young people from all walks of life regarding dating, sex and marriage and this is the common comment I get: “I love your teaching and the way you explain it but honestly speaking, nobody is living to the standard of God’s word. I mean, look no further. Look in your church. Who will wait until marriage these days? Whether a person is a son or daughter of a pastor, or she/he is a pastor themselves, they don’t wait for marriage. So, don’t you get discouraged to still speak about sexual purity, virginity and all that?”

And my never changing reply to that comment is this: “Never! It is the word of God that changes people, not me and the word of God never stops doing that and there are always people in all generations who let the word of God does His marvelous work in them. So, why should I get discouraged?”

Well, guess what?

This past weekend, I found those people who unreservedly gave themselves to the word of God.

My only daughter, Lydia, and I traveled to Indianapolis to attend one of my cousins’ son wedding and the bride and the groom were those loving couple who “waited” faithfully until their wedding day, Saturday, March 9, to be one, physically, mentally and spiritually and their wedding ceremony was filled with the Glorified Holy God, Jesus Christ.

No, these beautiful people didn’t make it to the altar by themselves. Oh, no, never! Throughout their dating and courting season, they were surrounded by amazing men and women of God, people who were their role models, people who mentored them and spoke the truth of God in their lives.

I don’t think anybody left their wedding ceremony with dry eyes. We all were wiping our tears. Look at the bridesmaids. I am glad they all came with a paper tissue.

We all cried when the bride entered the sanctuary! The young, strong and handsome groom, Micah, was standing next to the pastor and his eyes were fixed on the door, waiting for his bride to enter with her dad. The moment Hollie entered the sanctuary, Micah couldn’t hold on to his tears anymore and he burst  into tears. He suffered to see this day but his suffering quickly turned into unspeakable joy.

Yes, sexual purity is not only a matter of physical purity, just being a virgin, but it is also a mental and emotional purity. At the presence of sexual purity, wedding ceremonies make a lot of sense, a ceremony where the bride and the groom wait to be one until they are pronounced husband and wife before God and witnesses.

At Hollie and Micah’s wedding, when the groom kissed the bride after they exchanged their vows, I wanted to shout hallelujah to the top of my lungs. Well, I guess I did. The joyful noise/voice you hear (elelelelele) at the end of the video is mine! Yes, a joyful day!

I can imagine the joy their former pastor and their mentors have felt that day! Job well done for all of them too!

Oh, Hollie and Micah, may God bless your marriage! May your marriage proclaim the Gospel, the yet to come marriage of Jesus Christ and the church! May God make your marriage a beacon of hope for the young people! May your offspring takeover the land of America for the glory of God!

““What should be done for the man the king delights to honor?” – – – For the man the king delights to honor, have them bring a royal robe the king has worn and a horse the king has ridden, one with a royal crest placed on its head. Then let the robe and horse be entrusted to one of the king’s most noble princes. Let them robe the man the king delights to honor, and lead him on the horse through the city streets, proclaiming before him, ‘This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor!’”” (Esther 6:6b, 7-9) ///