I invite you to come with me to the Gospel of Mark chapter 14
and look with me at verse 22 to verse 25.
Our time will be briefed before we partake of the Lord's Table
and you will see quickly how God's Providence is at work for
this Sunday. As we read verse 22 of Mark 14.
And as they were eating, he took bread and after a blessing it
broke it and gave it to them and said, take, this is my body.
And he took a cup and we had given thanks.
He gave it to them and they all drank of it.
And he said to them, This is my blood of the covenant which is
poured out for many. Truly, I say to you, I will not
drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink
it new in the Kingdom of God. I thank God that in His perfect
Providence He has allowed us to come to this text on the day
that we regularly celebrate communion.
And as you know, whenever we do observe this ordinance, we do so
with meditation, sobriety, and joy.
And that is because we seek to observe this table the way that
the Scriptures tell us to. And to help us do this, we take
the time to remind ourselves of what this is about, of why it's
important for us, and how we as believers should approach it.
And while this message will will help us indeed prepare to
fellowship in this manner, its main focus will be to highlight
particular insights about the first ever Communion
observations, reflections from the original Lord's Supper, if
you will. And we've just seen in recent
times that this, this celebration is hated by the
world. It's hated by the enemy of our
souls. The world saw that on display a
few days ago, right? But God again, in his leading,
has brought us to a time where we are to remember why this is
so cherished, precious, important, vital to the life of
every believer in the church as a whole.
And it will be quite simple, because all we're going to do to
grasp this truth is consider one thought from every verse that we
read in Mark's gospel. Shall we do that?
So consider this time as a time of reflection through his word.
And immediately after we are going to come to this table
together. So look with me with your eyes
again at verse 22. And as they were eating, he took
bread. And after a blessing, it broke
it and gave it to them and said, take, this is my body.
Matthew, Mark and Luke are in harmony when it comes to
defining and describing the initial movements of Christ
here. So wherever you read this,
you're going to find that Jesus took bread, that he blessed it
and that he broke it. And then he gave it to the 12
saying, this is my body. And we previously devoted an
entire message on the misinterpretation of Jesus words
here of those who claim that he's speaking about this bread
becoming his actual flesh. And you can find that in our
archives if you'd like. But I, I'm going to assume that
all of us in here hopefully believe that what Jesus is
speaking about in these elements are symbolic and that He
instituted them to be instruments of recollection of
certain realities. So he takes the bread 1st and he
blesses it, and then he breaks it and then he extends it to his
own. But what are we to remember
about the bread which signifies His body?
What about His body? And I believe Luke's elaboration
helps us. So go to Luke 22 with me quickly
and look at verse 19, Luke 2219 reads and he took bread and when
he had given thanks. So we know the nature of the
blessing there. He's he's giving thanks.
He broke it and gave it to them saying this is my body which is
given for you. Do this in remembrance of me,
that that's an important phrase which is given for you.
And so you believer as you come and as you receive that bread,
in that moment you are charged to turn your attention and your
affection on this truth that God became flesh in the person of
Jesus Christ and his body was given for you.
In what sense is the body of Jesus given for me in a
substitutionary sense, the body of Jesus Christ was ordained by
the Father to be bruised, beaten, pierced, punctured,
slashed, ultimately crushed so that by faith you believer would
stand whole and complete before the Father.
And so as I take this bread, I'm zooming into that reality of his
incarnation. And practically speaking, then,
this bread is an emblem intended to strengthen your humility and
your hope. Humility because you are being
reminded in dramatic fashion. It's not about what I have
accomplished or failed to perform in my flesh.
This is not about me and what I've done with my hands or my
feet or my thinking or my words. What I've done privately, what
I've done secretly. It is the body of another.
It is the life of another that purchased my salvation and that
cancelled my punishment. It's the body of another who
lived my righteousness and cancelled my sinfulness.
And that's why hope with that humility, is excited.
At the same time, you're supposed to tangibly realize
that is it, is it accidental that the first expression, the
initial response here, so to speak, at the original Lord's
Supper is one of gratitude? What did, what did Luke tell us
Jesus, that he gave thanks? That was what sprung up
initially, and it sets the theme of this table.
It's one of gratitude. This is a celebration.
And I can tell you this, that one of the greatest joys for me
when we do this every month is that when I stand there and
every one of you approach this table, I don't know if you
realize this, but I've realized this.
Most, if not all of you come with a smile on your face.
And I hope the reason why is not because you're greeting us at
the table, but because your heart has been enlarged with
Thanksgiving as you are rediscovering what this body
means for you. And if you need any verse to
help generate that sense of delight and Glee, I I think one
helpful verse is Hebrews 1010, not just because it's an easy
reference to remember, but because of what it says in that
one verse that connects to this truth.
What does the author of Hebrew say?
He says? And by that will we have been
sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once
for all. Do you understand the
implications of this, that when I am to think about the body of
Jesus Christ, what's supposed to spring up in my soul is that I
have been sanctified once and for all, once and for all.
So in terms of your standing before God, your justification
is the theological term. What this bread is supposed to
convey to you, what it is in a sense preaching to you is stop
looking at yourself. Stop trusting in yourself, stop
comparing you with others. Instead, savour this promise
that you are the recipient of a gift and that gift is the body
of the Son of God. And so as you come here, what
you're realizing again is His broken body has made my soul
complete and flawless forever, Forever.
It's not determined by your performance that week or that
year or that month. It's dealt with.
And that is what this is telling you.
It's remind you Christ instituted this ordinance so
that you can face that glorious truth.
Yes, your heart is prone to doubt.
It's prone to get calloused, it's prone to forget and this
body in this breath symbolizes it's meant to say, hey, it's
this is not about you. This is about what has been done
2000 years ago on your behalf. So take this is my body.
Turn your focus not on you anymore on who Christ is on your
behalf. Let's come to the next verse.
So take this is my body. But look at verse 23.
And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to
them, and they all drank of it. Now the cup is a separate
element, but the detail I want to draw your attention to is the
last part of this verse. And they all drank of it.
Why is that significant? Because there's a possible
interpretation of this that has great significance.
If they all drank of it, then could it be that Judas himself
participated in it? Some might object to this idea,
some would say we can't be certain.
And there is justification for that because it's not explicitly
told. But when you go to Luke's
account, he seems to be a little bit more specific to imply one
possible answer. So go to Luke again in 22, and
notice in verse 19 of Luke 22 down to verse 21.
And He took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it
and gave it to them, saying, this is My body which is given
for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.
So notice He broke the bread and he gave it verse 20, and
likewise the cup after they had eaten.
So they already ate, saying this cup that is poured out for you
is the new covenant in my blood. But behold, the hand of him who
betrays me is with me on the table.
So I understand that this can spark some debate.
And again, we can't be certain about this, but let's consider
the possibility that if Judas was there that he did partake of
these elements. And if he did, then it has a
major truth to tell us. One truth that it does tell us
is that it dismantles the erroneous idea that the
Eucharist. Have you heard the term
Eucharist? You know what it means.
It simply means Thanksgiving, that the Eucharist is a
sacrament unto salvation. There are 1,000,000 today who
believe that when you partake of this, it will earn you more
points of righteousness, or that it will better your chance for
eternal life. Millions, millions who will not
go to service unless this is a part of it, in thinking that
this will in some way contain salvific virtue.
If you are prone to believe that, if you come from a
background that adheres to that view, can I ask you a question
then? How do you explain Judas's fate?
How do you explain that? Because here you have a man who
did what? Who potentially partook, And if
he potentially partook, you reconcile that with what?
The fact that Jesus in the same context pronounces a woe
concerning him and says that it would be better that if he had
not been born. And in John chapter 6, Jesus
calls the same man a devil, and in John chapter 17, he refers to
them as the son of destruction. So if you lean towards the idea
that Judas did engage in this exercise, then what a strong
lesson demonstrating that it's possible to participate in
communion and be completely lost at the same time.
This doesn't save you. This doesn't make you more
favourable in God's eyes. It doesn't, and Judas is a
strong illustration of that. So then why did the Lord allow
him to partake if he did partake?
We're not explicitly told, but one thing is for certain, that
in no way does it suggest that the Lord, that the Lord allows
unbelievers to participate in this ordinance, because
Scripture tells us otherwise. And I'll tell you why that's
important because Paul cautions those who wrongfully approach
the table in a very known passage.
But let me remind you of it. In first Corinthians 11 verse
27, Paul says as he elaborates the revelation of the Lord's
table as an apostle. Whoever, therefore, eats the
bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will
be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord.
And there are, because of the strong warnings, many sincere
overseers, elders, pastors and a church who, in wanting to do
everything possible to ensure that the bread and the cup will
not be distributed in an unworthy manner, will establish
certain ideas, severe screenings and standards to determine who
and who cannot come to the table.
And if Judas is a hint to anything, it is that overseers
in the church do not have ultimate knowledge.
What is in people's hearts. Are there regulations?
Yes. Do leaders have the
responsibility to instruct and to warn the people about the
why, the what, the how, the whens of this ordinance?
You better believe it. But I want you to also see where
the Holy Spirit of God places the responsibility, the primary
responsibility of examination. It's in the next verse of First
Corinthians 11/27. You read it in 28.
Let a person examine himself, himself.
After all that the church does to ensure that this is treated
and handled the way the Bible tells us to, Examination
ultimately falls on the individual.
Let a person examine himself then, and so eat the bread and
drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks
without discerning the body eats and drinks judgement on himself.
So this is a corporate experience, Paul, in the same
context as when you come together, when you come
together, there's the bait.
Can I take communion alone? That's not the rule, that's not
the real God intended, that this ordinance draws the church to
come together and we experience this meal as a family.
So I don't think God had in mind virtual communion when he
instituted the supper. He intended for us to be here
flesh and blood. And so, though it's a corporate
experience, there is an individual responsibility for
examining our own hearts. And though publicly known and
unrepentant, sin helps identify one's spiritual condition and
should be lovingly confronted by the church, A person's heart can
only reveal so much, can only reveal so much.
You know what I find so interesting about an observation
of the original Lord's Supper is that there was self examination
taking place. Have you ever considered this?
Look at Mark again in 1400 main text.
It's before verse 22 where we started.
Scroll back and look here at verse 18.
We touched on this last week. It says here and as they were
reclining at table and eating, Jesus said truly I say to you,
one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me.
Now look at this in verse 19. They began to be sorrowful and
to say to him, one after another, is it I?
Isn't that fascinating? In the context of the
institution of the Lord's Supper, you have self reflection
going on, indirectly reminding us that what this is about is an
opportunity for each of us to ruminate, reflect and assess if
our hearts are rightly aligned with the will of the Lord.
Because this call to self examination is primarily for the
church. It's primarily for believers.
Yes, even the believer can invite a particular discipline
in their lives. And the way that they treat
this, this is very holy. It breaks my heart.
And I've been in those services when I was first a believer of
how the Lord's table is treated like a drive through thing.
It's like, OK, open it up, let's eat, drink, OK, and then just
let's just rush out. That's not what the Lord had in
mind. The Lord had in mind that this
would be a sanctifying agent for the people of God.
It calls for us to pause and reflect, yes, joyfully reflect
and remember the positional promise of Jesus Christ being
our Savior. But it also challenges us and
calls us to reflect on our practical allegiance to Jesus as
Lord. So it's this paradoxical kind of
thing. We are coming with smiles.
We are looking at one another as family.
We are. We are rejoicing in that.
It's not about this body. It's about another body, the
Holy 1, the righteous one who lived and died on my behalf.
And yet this positional promise also asks us to reflect on our
practical allegiance. If I claim that to be true now,
is my life aligned to that? Now, here's the thing.
I have to say this there are some who take this a little too
far, and as they reflect, they realize that there's always
leftovers of sin somewhere, and they come to this point where
they feel as though they're never worthy to come to the
table. Worthiness is not sinlessness.
That's not what the Holy Spirit is trying to convey.
The whole point of the table is you confessing that you're not
worthy. In a sense, worthiness is
ultimately determined by you and your heart determining that you
renounce sin and that there's nowhere in your life that you
are justifying disobedience and that you want to fight and war
against the things that break your God's heart.
That's what worthiness is. Unworthiness would be to come to
this table in a callous, cavalier manner, without
thought, without reflection, without consideration of where
you're at today with your walk with Jesus Christ.
That's what breaks God's heart. That's what would invoke and
invite His discipline in His child's life when they are
absent minded as they come to this table.
Absent minded and how this reminds you that you're not
saved by works, and also absent minded and how this also reminds
you that you live differently because of what Christ has done
for you. And so there is even in the
institution a model of sorts, though not directly implied.
It's there by inference. Let's come to verse 24.
Here's the third observation. And he said to them in Mark
1424, this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out.
For many, this is a very important statement that the
Lord Jesus Christ makes. This is my blood of the
covenant. Luke records it differently by
saying the new covenant in my blood, the new covenant in my
blood. Now this word covenant, it's the
first time that Jesus utters it in the Gospel of Mark, at least
recorded. What is a covenant?
Can I give you the simplest definition?
It's an agreement that it's oath bound between two or more
parties. It's a contract.
That's what a covenant is. And Christ now is coming to his
own, and he's letting them know that he is establishing a new
covenant with fresh terms of agreement for all of humanity,
not just the 12. That's why he says here what
that he had did it for many. It was poured out for many, not
just you. Matthew elaborates for the
forgiveness of many. And so here's Jesus now
establishing a new covenant with humanity.
And it's about his promise of forgiving humanity.
Those who would apply themselves to faith repented faith on the
grounds of Christ's sacrifice. But why blood?
Why does he say here, this is my blood of the covenant?
Because when you study the Bible carefully, you'll realize that
whenever God makes a covenant with man, it's confirmed with
blood. It's confirmed with blood being
shed. You'll see it in Genesis 8 with
Noah, you'll see it in Genesis 15 with Abraham, and you'll see
it in Exodus when Moses, as the mediator of the Old Covenant, is
establishing an agreement between the people of Israel and
God Almighty. In fact, it's there.
It's particularly there in Exodus 24, eight.
Turn there quickly. It's an Exodus 24, eight where
you have Jesus echoing the words of Moses.
I want you to see it. Exodus 24, verse 8.
So what did Jesus say? This is my blood of the
covenant. And this is what Moses said in
Exodus 24, eight. And Moses took the blood and
threw it on the people and said, behold the blood of the covenant
that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these
words. If you haven't paid attention to
anything, please pay attention. Now here's Moses as a mediator
of a covenant under the law, and he takes the blood of animals.
And what does he do? The Bible is so precise.
It says here that he took the the blood and he threw it on the
people. He threw the blood on the
people. And now Jesus comes to establish
a new covenant with man, and he takes this cup and he says this
symbolizes my blood. But he doesn't sprinkle it on
people. He tells his people to do what
with it? Drink it.
Signifying what? Signifying that the covenant
under the law provides cleanliness only for the
external. But the new covenant that Jesus
establishes purifies the inner man.
And that is precisely the feature of the new covenant that
was foretold by the prophets while the old covenant was in
effect. Jesus didn't just come out of
nowhere and say, you know, I think I'm going to establish a
new covenant with mankind. He fulfilled what was foretold
ages ago, and ages ago the prophets, as they were being led
by the Spirit, couldn't help but highlight that the feature of
this new covenant is something happening inside, not outside.
And whatever happens outside out of this new covenant is a result
of what springs out from the inner man.
So if you have any doubt about that, let me remind you of one
of the clearest prophecies about the new covenant and Jeremiah
3131. A lot of easy references today.
Hebrews 10/10. Jeremiah 3131.
Here's what the prophet says about this new covenant that you
and I are enjoying today. I'll wait for the wrestling of
the leaves to settle. It's a good habit to bring the
Bible to church. Jeremiah 3131 Behold, the days
are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant
with the House of Israel and the House of Judah, not like the
covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took
them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt.
When did that happen? You read it earlier when Moses
was used as the instrument to bring Israel into the wilderness
at Mount Sinai to establish that covenant, and he sprinkled the
blood on the people. And Jeremiah says there's coming
a covenant that's not going to be like that.
My covenant that they broke, though I was their husband
declares the Lord. For this is the covenant that I
will make with the House of Israel after those days,
declares the Lord. I will put my law within them.
The law is not going to be written on tablets of stone.
No, no, no, the tablet of your heart.
I will put my law within them and I will write it on their
hearts and I will be their God and they shall be my people.
This is this cup signifies my blood and I'm symbolically
showing you that it's not applied externally.
No, no, no, it's applied internally.
I deal with the innermost part of your being.
When you put your faith in this blood, it changes you.
It really changes you. And so when you and I come to
this table, what are we doing? We're remembering, yes, Christ,
but we're also remembering other things connected to Christ.
And here's this one thing. You are coming to this table and
you're remembering, and you are recollecting and you are
rehearsing this. We have a greater covenant.
We have a greater promise. We have a greater agreement with
God. Oh, yeah, I know you want to see
the miracles. And I wish I lived in this time
to see God move in this way. Do you realize that the people
that you envy are the ones who envy you?
Do you realize that the prophets of old and the miracle workers
were were looking and investigating to see when these
things would be, when God would do a supernatural work in the
human heart? That's why I believe when a
person becomes a Christian, it's a supernatural thing because the
Bible describes it as a supernatural thing.
It's not a superficial thing. It's not a surface level thing.
It's not just mere words coming out of somebody's mouth.
Something happens in the heart when this blood is applied.
Surgery takes place. So I come to this table every
time, as often as you do and I and I realize God in his perfect
wisdom, his sovereignty has allowed me to be a part of in
this time of history, a greater covenant, a greater covenant.
And with that you also say and think to yourself, he keeps his
promises. He keeps his promises because
the prophet said there was a new covenant coming.
Jesus comes into the world and he inaugurates it.
God is faithful. He keeps His word, which is an
important point for the last one in our study of Mark.
Look at Mark 14 as we consider the last verse.
Jesus says, truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the
fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the
Kingdom of God. So you and I as we celebrate God
fulfilling His promise of giving us a new covenant, we are given
another promise to embrace and believe in.
Do you see the part that says until that day when I drink it
new in the Kingdom? Matthew adds 2 very important
words that I'm sure will warm your heart.
Matthew says in Matthew 2629. Until that day when I drink it
new, hear the two words with you, with you in my Father's
Kingdom. So this for the disciples would
have been very reassuring because what they're about to
experience in a very few moments, the brutal death of
Jesus Christ would not be the end of the story.
They would remember what Christ had said and realizing that he
is going to return. This is not the end of it.
There is another thing that he is going to fulfill.
And this means that the bread in the cup, as we come and eat and
drink is a foretaste of a banquet in the future, a feast
that Christ listen to this. This is astounding to me, a
feast that Christ himself will abstain from until his church is
gathered again with him. I will not drink until you and I
are gathered together again in the fulfillment of the Kingdom.
So every time we gather, you know what's taking place here.
When you take a piece of that bread and a little bit of that
cup, it's a sample. It's an appetizer of a future
feast that you and I will enjoy with the very person of Jesus
Christ. Is there any window in the Bible
that gives us a little glimpse of what that feast will look
like? Yeah, you can find it in a
revelation, but my heart was reminded of a text in Isaiah.
Even Isaiah gives us not just the promise of a new covenant
that we are a part of, but of the promise within that new
covenant of something to come. OK, here's our final text before
we actually experience this together in Isaiah 25.
And look at verse 6. Meditating on these passages in
Isaiah made me extra excited for today.
Extra excited for today. Notice what the prophet says in
Isaiah 25. Six on this mountain the Lord of
hosts will make for all peoples. This is a universal thing for
all peoples. Not just the nation of Israel,
not just the people of Jacob, for all peoples.
A feast of rich food, a feast of well aged wine, of rich food
full of marrow of age wine well refined.
Who's the one who's setting up this feast, by the way?
The Lord himself, the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples.
He's saying really, Yes, really. And you get a little glimpse of
it when Jesus makes breakfast for his, the sum of his
disciples in John 21, right? Oh, it's going to be far greater
than some fish and bread, though, far greater than that.
Look at the description of this, a feast of rich food.
This is not going to be a cheap thing.
It's going to be a lavishing thing, a glorious thing, a
wedding that you have never seen before, that no magazine that
nothing could ever put together. But look at verse 7.
And he will swallow up on this mountain, the covering that is
cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations.
He will swallow up death forever.
And the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the
reproach of his people He will take away from all the earth.
For the Lord has spoken. So there's something permanent
about this feast. So you and I, every time we
partake of this, we get a little glimpse, just just a wafer of
what's happening, what's going to happen.
And then we go back into this world and what happens, We're
exposed to trials, tribulations, pain, betrayal, sin, satanic
forces. But there's something about this
feast that as we come to it and as we enjoy it, there's going to
be the removal of tears forever, forever and ever and ever.
And what will we say at that feast?
This is how specific the prophet is.
You want to get an idea of what you're going to utter and what
I'm going to utter in unison, verse nine, It will be said on
that day, behold, this is our God.
We have waited for Him that He might save us.
This is the Lord. We have waited for him.
Let us be glad and rejoice in His salvation.
Finally here. The Lord kept His word that we
would feast together, that we would come together.
We are pilgrims. You're a Pilgrim and constantly
exposed to all these fractured elements of our universe.
But you know what happens when we come together, what we're
about to do in a few minutes. We escape that briefly.
Please listen to this. We escape that briefly, and we
are almost transported to this truth.
And what is this truth? There is a feast coming, and
Jesus Christ purchased my seat at that table.
When's the last time you thought about that?
When you held these elements and ate them?
Has that ever run through your mind Where you where you thought
there is a banquet coming and the blood of Jesus has purchased
my reservation. I will sit at that table, a
table that will commemorate and will celebrate the fact that
death has been defeated forever. I will come to a banquet that
toast the arrival of my inheritance of unending joy in a
new world, and I will feast not merely on food, but with
unhindered, untainted fellowship with God himself and God's
people for eternity. Are you ready to partake?
I hope your heart is stirred. I I hope that these truths
didn't skim over your mind and just kiss the surface of your
heart. I I pray that you would bind
these things on your heart and you would realize Jesus in
student this for the church has so much to say so much grace to
dispense in me. And so here's my call for you
and I as we're about to sing and then line up and feast together.
Examine yourself at this time. Examine yourself.
Examine the truth of His body. Your humility and your hope
should be exploding at this time.
And at the same time that if you're not walking in a manner
worthy of the Lord, God wants you to turn.
Jesus Christ is inviting you to repent, to be made right with
Him, and He would find greater pleasure in you taking the time
to examine yourself. And if you've made right with
that sin, if you've repent of that sin, then to come.
If you can't let go of that sin, if you're still trying to
justify it or try to debate with God of why you should be doing
what you're doing or thinking the way you should be thinking,
then just stay and remain and come when you're ready.
The same time as you're standing there and as you're following
the other person, remember this. It's not about you, it's about
him. And this, this is a snapshot of
a glorious thing that is coming. And if you believe in Christ,
you're going there. And Jesus Christ, listen to
this, is excited for that feast. I hope you are because he wants
you to be. This is not your world.
This is not your permanent residence.
This feast reminds you that a Kingdom is coming.
It will rule everything. And if you're in Christ, you
will rule and reign with him if you're an unbeliever in this
place. Respectfully, it is my duty and
it is our responsibility as leaders to remind you that yes,
you're welcome here. We're so glad that you're here
to reserve yourself from participating and instead to
participate in this way by observing a people who believe
that they've been bought by the blood of Jesus Christ of
Nazareth and that they have assurance of salvation.
And if you do the same as they did, then one day you can
partake of these elements for yourself.
But until then, watch and realize that we are people who
have been purchased by God, and that invitation is extended to
you as the priest name comes up to prepare us to sing.
Let us not treat this as a drive through experience.
Take some time to commune with the Lord.
Take some time to reflect on what He's done for you.
Take some time to realize the treasure that is your
inheritance. It's your portion, and it will
come together. Can you do that?
If you're going to look at one another, look at each other with
joy and realizing this is my family, not in a distracting
way. Let's, let's prepare our hearts
and come to this table together. I'm going to join you in that.
But we think about our salvation and Lord, we choose to trust in
the saving work of Christ. We think about our shortcomings,
our failures. We think about the things that
we would never want anybody else to know.
And perhaps even at this moment we feel the condemnation, the
shame, the guilt, the filth below.
Your word says that when our hearts condemn us, God is
greater than our hearts and he knows all things.
Thank you that when you see us, you see the spotless record of
Jesus. Thank you that when you see us
and you look for debt, there's no debt that we owe.
Thank you that when you look for all our wrongs, you will not
find us. You'll find that record nailed
on that cross. Thank you that though we do not
deserve it, you've extended it to us, this gift.
So, Lord, we don't reflect in terms of our salvation how we
can earn it, how we might have weakened our security for it.
We rest in Jesus. Help us rest in Jesus.
And now look, we, we Lord, we do look to our lives as professors
of Jesus, of confessors of the Christ, or if there's anything
in our hearts that grieve the Spirit, if there's anything that
we're justifying that we excuse, we renounce it.
Lord, if we can be perfectly holy at the snap of the finger,
we would want it. We want to be pure.
We want to be blameless. We want to be the way you've
designed and called us to be. Help us really believe that
you're coming back. Help us really believe.
With all the busyness, the bills, the plans, this is all
going to come to an end one day. And we're going to, with our own
eyes, see Jesus establishing his Kingdom on the earth.
That is, that is our destination.
Help us really believe that there's a feast being prepared
and the same people that will be sitting with in this room will
be the same people we'll be sitting with at that table,
glorified, perfected, in the unfiltered presence of God.
Help us believe that. Help us remember to not plant
our feet too strongly on the earth.
We sing to you with Thanksgiving, knowing that we've
been purchased, that we're free, that we're secure forever.
In Jesus name, Amen. Let's stand, let's sing, let's
give thanks.