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Reflections on The First Lord’s Supper | Mark 14:22-25 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (Gospel of Mark Bible Study Series) · Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago

• 0:01
  I invite you to come with me to the Gospel of Mark chapter 14
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  and look with me at verse 22 to verse 25.
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  Our time will be briefed before we partake of the Lord's Table
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  and you will see quickly how God's Providence is at work for
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  this Sunday. As we read verse 22 of Mark 14.
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  And as they were eating, he took bread and after a blessing it
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  broke it and gave it to them and said, take, this is my body.
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  And he took a cup and we had given thanks.
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  He gave it to them and they all drank of it.
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  And he said to them, This is my blood of the covenant which is
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  poured out for many. Truly, I say to you, I will not
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  drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink
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  it new in the Kingdom of God. I thank God that in His perfect
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  Providence He has allowed us to come to this text on the day
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  that we regularly celebrate communion.
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  And as you know, whenever we do observe this ordinance, we do so
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  with meditation, sobriety, and joy.
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  And that is because we seek to observe this table the way that
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  the Scriptures tell us to. And to help us do this, we take
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  the time to remind ourselves of what this is about, of why it's
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  important for us, and how we as believers should approach it.
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  And while this message will will help us indeed prepare to
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  fellowship in this manner, its main focus will be to highlight
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  particular insights about the first ever Communion
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  observations, reflections from the original Lord's Supper, if
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  you will. And we've just seen in recent
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  times that this, this celebration is hated by the
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  world. It's hated by the enemy of our
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  souls. The world saw that on display a
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  few days ago, right? But God again, in his leading,
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  has brought us to a time where we are to remember why this is
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  so cherished, precious, important, vital to the life of
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  every believer in the church as a whole.
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  And it will be quite simple, because all we're going to do to
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  grasp this truth is consider one thought from every verse that we
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  read in Mark's gospel. Shall we do that?
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  So consider this time as a time of reflection through his word.
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  And immediately after we are going to come to this table
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  together. So look with me with your eyes
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  again at verse 22. And as they were eating, he took
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  bread. And after a blessing, it broke
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  it and gave it to them and said, take, this is my body.
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  Matthew, Mark and Luke are in harmony when it comes to
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  defining and describing the initial movements of Christ
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  here. So wherever you read this,
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  you're going to find that Jesus took bread, that he blessed it
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  and that he broke it. And then he gave it to the 12
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  saying, this is my body. And we previously devoted an
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  entire message on the misinterpretation of Jesus words
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  here of those who claim that he's speaking about this bread
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  becoming his actual flesh. And you can find that in our
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  archives if you'd like. But I, I'm going to assume that
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  all of us in here hopefully believe that what Jesus is
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  speaking about in these elements are symbolic and that He
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  instituted them to be instruments of recollection of
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  certain realities. So he takes the bread 1st and he
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  blesses it, and then he breaks it and then he extends it to his
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  own. But what are we to remember
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  about the bread which signifies His body?
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  What about His body? And I believe Luke's elaboration
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  helps us. So go to Luke 22 with me quickly
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  and look at verse 19, Luke 2219 reads and he took bread and when
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  he had given thanks. So we know the nature of the
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  blessing there. He's he's giving thanks.
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  He broke it and gave it to them saying this is my body which is
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  given for you. Do this in remembrance of me,
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  that that's an important phrase which is given for you.
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  And so you believer as you come and as you receive that bread,
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  in that moment you are charged to turn your attention and your
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  affection on this truth that God became flesh in the person of
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  Jesus Christ and his body was given for you.
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  In what sense is the body of Jesus given for me in a
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  substitutionary sense, the body of Jesus Christ was ordained by
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  the Father to be bruised, beaten, pierced, punctured,
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  slashed, ultimately crushed so that by faith you believer would
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  stand whole and complete before the Father.
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  And so as I take this bread, I'm zooming into that reality of his
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  incarnation. And practically speaking, then,
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  this bread is an emblem intended to strengthen your humility and
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  your hope. Humility because you are being
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  reminded in dramatic fashion. It's not about what I have
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  accomplished or failed to perform in my flesh.
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  This is not about me and what I've done with my hands or my
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  feet or my thinking or my words. What I've done privately, what
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  I've done secretly. It is the body of another.
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  It is the life of another that purchased my salvation and that
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  cancelled my punishment. It's the body of another who
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  lived my righteousness and cancelled my sinfulness.
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  And that's why hope with that humility, is excited.
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  At the same time, you're supposed to tangibly realize
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  that is it, is it accidental that the first expression, the
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  initial response here, so to speak, at the original Lord's
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  Supper is one of gratitude? What did, what did Luke tell us
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  Jesus, that he gave thanks? That was what sprung up
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  initially, and it sets the theme of this table.
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  It's one of gratitude. This is a celebration.
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  And I can tell you this, that one of the greatest joys for me
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  when we do this every month is that when I stand there and
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  every one of you approach this table, I don't know if you
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  realize this, but I've realized this.
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  Most, if not all of you come with a smile on your face.
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  And I hope the reason why is not because you're greeting us at
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  the table, but because your heart has been enlarged with
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  Thanksgiving as you are rediscovering what this body
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  means for you. And if you need any verse to
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  help generate that sense of delight and Glee, I I think one
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  helpful verse is Hebrews 1010, not just because it's an easy
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  reference to remember, but because of what it says in that
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  one verse that connects to this truth.
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  What does the author of Hebrew say?
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  He says? And by that will we have been
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  sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once
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  for all. Do you understand the
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  implications of this, that when I am to think about the body of
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  Jesus Christ, what's supposed to spring up in my soul is that I
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  have been sanctified once and for all, once and for all.
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  So in terms of your standing before God, your justification
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  is the theological term. What this bread is supposed to
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  convey to you, what it is in a sense preaching to you is stop
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  looking at yourself. Stop trusting in yourself, stop
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  comparing you with others. Instead, savour this promise
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  that you are the recipient of a gift and that gift is the body
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  of the Son of God. And so as you come here, what
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  you're realizing again is His broken body has made my soul
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  complete and flawless forever, Forever.
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  It's not determined by your performance that week or that
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  year or that month. It's dealt with.
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  And that is what this is telling you.
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  It's remind you Christ instituted this ordinance so
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  that you can face that glorious truth.
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  Yes, your heart is prone to doubt.
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  It's prone to get calloused, it's prone to forget and this
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  body in this breath symbolizes it's meant to say, hey, it's
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  this is not about you. This is about what has been done
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  2000 years ago on your behalf. So take this is my body.
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  Turn your focus not on you anymore on who Christ is on your
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  behalf. Let's come to the next verse.
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  So take this is my body. But look at verse 23.
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  And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to
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  them, and they all drank of it. Now the cup is a separate
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  element, but the detail I want to draw your attention to is the
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  last part of this verse. And they all drank of it.
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  Why is that significant? Because there's a possible
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  interpretation of this that has great significance.
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  If they all drank of it, then could it be that Judas himself
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  participated in it? Some might object to this idea,
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  some would say we can't be certain.
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  And there is justification for that because it's not explicitly
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  told. But when you go to Luke's
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  account, he seems to be a little bit more specific to imply one
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  possible answer. So go to Luke again in 22, and
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  notice in verse 19 of Luke 22 down to verse 21.
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  And He took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it
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  and gave it to them, saying, this is My body which is given
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  for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.
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  So notice He broke the bread and he gave it verse 20, and
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  likewise the cup after they had eaten.
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  So they already ate, saying this cup that is poured out for you
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  is the new covenant in my blood. But behold, the hand of him who
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  betrays me is with me on the table.
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  So I understand that this can spark some debate.
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  And again, we can't be certain about this, but let's consider
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  the possibility that if Judas was there that he did partake of
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  these elements. And if he did, then it has a
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  major truth to tell us. One truth that it does tell us
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  is that it dismantles the erroneous idea that the
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  Eucharist. Have you heard the term
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  Eucharist? You know what it means.
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  It simply means Thanksgiving, that the Eucharist is a
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  sacrament unto salvation. There are 1,000,000 today who
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  believe that when you partake of this, it will earn you more
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  points of righteousness, or that it will better your chance for
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  eternal life. Millions, millions who will not
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  go to service unless this is a part of it, in thinking that
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  this will in some way contain salvific virtue.
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  If you are prone to believe that, if you come from a
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  background that adheres to that view, can I ask you a question
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  then? How do you explain Judas's fate?
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  How do you explain that? Because here you have a man who
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  did what? Who potentially partook, And if
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  he potentially partook, you reconcile that with what?
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  The fact that Jesus in the same context pronounces a woe
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  concerning him and says that it would be better that if he had
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  not been born. And in John chapter 6, Jesus
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  calls the same man a devil, and in John chapter 17, he refers to
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  them as the son of destruction. So if you lean towards the idea
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  that Judas did engage in this exercise, then what a strong
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  lesson demonstrating that it's possible to participate in
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  communion and be completely lost at the same time.
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  This doesn't save you. This doesn't make you more
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  favourable in God's eyes. It doesn't, and Judas is a
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  strong illustration of that. So then why did the Lord allow
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  him to partake if he did partake?
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  We're not explicitly told, but one thing is for certain, that
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  in no way does it suggest that the Lord, that the Lord allows
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  unbelievers to participate in this ordinance, because
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  Scripture tells us otherwise. And I'll tell you why that's
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  important because Paul cautions those who wrongfully approach
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  the table in a very known passage.
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  But let me remind you of it. In first Corinthians 11 verse
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  27, Paul says as he elaborates the revelation of the Lord's
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  table as an apostle. Whoever, therefore, eats the
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  bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will
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  be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord.
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  And there are, because of the strong warnings, many sincere
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  overseers, elders, pastors and a church who, in wanting to do
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  everything possible to ensure that the bread and the cup will
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  not be distributed in an unworthy manner, will establish
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  certain ideas, severe screenings and standards to determine who
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  and who cannot come to the table.
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  And if Judas is a hint to anything, it is that overseers
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  in the church do not have ultimate knowledge.
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  What is in people's hearts. Are there regulations?
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  Yes. Do leaders have the
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  responsibility to instruct and to warn the people about the
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  why, the what, the how, the whens of this ordinance?
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  You better believe it. But I want you to also see where
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  the Holy Spirit of God places the responsibility, the primary
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  responsibility of examination. It's in the next verse of First
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  Corinthians 11/27. You read it in 28.
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  Let a person examine himself, himself.
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  After all that the church does to ensure that this is treated
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  and handled the way the Bible tells us to, Examination
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  ultimately falls on the individual.
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  Let a person examine himself then, and so eat the bread and
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  drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks
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  without discerning the body eats and drinks judgement on himself.
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  So this is a corporate experience, Paul, in the same
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  context as when you come together, when you come
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  together, when you come together, there's the bait.
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  Can I take communion alone? That's not the rule, that's not
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  the real God intended, that this ordinance draws the church to
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  come together and we experience this meal as a family.
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  So I don't think God had in mind virtual communion when he
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  instituted the supper. He intended for us to be here
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  flesh and blood. And so, though it's a corporate
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  experience, there is an individual responsibility for
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  examining our own hearts. And though publicly known and
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  unrepentant, sin helps identify one's spiritual condition and
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  should be lovingly confronted by the church, A person's heart can
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  only reveal so much, can only reveal so much.
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  You know what I find so interesting about an observation
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  of the original Lord's Supper is that there was self examination
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  taking place. Have you ever considered this?
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  Look at Mark again in 1400 main text.
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  It's before verse 22 where we started.
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  Scroll back and look here at verse 18.
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  We touched on this last week. It says here and as they were
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  reclining at table and eating, Jesus said truly I say to you,
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  one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me.
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  Now look at this in verse 19. They began to be sorrowful and
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  to say to him, one after another, is it I?
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  Isn't that fascinating? In the context of the
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  institution of the Lord's Supper, you have self reflection
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  going on, indirectly reminding us that what this is about is an
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  opportunity for each of us to ruminate, reflect and assess if
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  our hearts are rightly aligned with the will of the Lord.
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  Because this call to self examination is primarily for the
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  church. It's primarily for believers.
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  Yes, even the believer can invite a particular discipline
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  in their lives. And the way that they treat
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  this, this is very holy. It breaks my heart.
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  And I've been in those services when I was first a believer of
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  how the Lord's table is treated like a drive through thing.
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  It's like, OK, open it up, let's eat, drink, OK, and then just
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  let's just rush out. That's not what the Lord had in
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  mind. The Lord had in mind that this
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  would be a sanctifying agent for the people of God.
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  It calls for us to pause and reflect, yes, joyfully reflect
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  and remember the positional promise of Jesus Christ being
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  our Savior. But it also challenges us and
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  calls us to reflect on our practical allegiance to Jesus as
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  Lord. So it's this paradoxical kind of
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  thing. We are coming with smiles.
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  We are looking at one another as family.
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  We are. We are rejoicing in that.
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  It's not about this body. It's about another body, the
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  Holy 1, the righteous one who lived and died on my behalf.
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  And yet this positional promise also asks us to reflect on our
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  practical allegiance. If I claim that to be true now,
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  is my life aligned to that? Now, here's the thing.
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  I have to say this there are some who take this a little too
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  far, and as they reflect, they realize that there's always
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  leftovers of sin somewhere, and they come to this point where
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  they feel as though they're never worthy to come to the
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  table. Worthiness is not sinlessness.
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  That's not what the Holy Spirit is trying to convey.
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  The whole point of the table is you confessing that you're not
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  worthy. In a sense, worthiness is
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  ultimately determined by you and your heart determining that you
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  renounce sin and that there's nowhere in your life that you
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  are justifying disobedience and that you want to fight and war
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  against the things that break your God's heart.
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  That's what worthiness is. Unworthiness would be to come to
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  this table in a callous, cavalier manner, without
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  thought, without reflection, without consideration of where
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  you're at today with your walk with Jesus Christ.
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  That's what breaks God's heart. That's what would invoke and
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  invite His discipline in His child's life when they are
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  absent minded as they come to this table.
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  Absent minded and how this reminds you that you're not
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  saved by works, and also absent minded and how this also reminds
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  you that you live differently because of what Christ has done
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  for you. And so there is even in the
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  institution a model of sorts, though not directly implied.
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  It's there by inference. Let's come to verse 24.
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  Here's the third observation. And he said to them in Mark
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  1424, this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out.
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  For many, this is a very important statement that the
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  Lord Jesus Christ makes. This is my blood of the
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  covenant. Luke records it differently by
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  saying the new covenant in my blood, the new covenant in my
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  blood. Now this word covenant, it's the
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  first time that Jesus utters it in the Gospel of Mark, at least
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  recorded. What is a covenant?
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  Can I give you the simplest definition?
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  It's an agreement that it's oath bound between two or more
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  parties. It's a contract.
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  That's what a covenant is. And Christ now is coming to his
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  own, and he's letting them know that he is establishing a new
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  covenant with fresh terms of agreement for all of humanity,
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  not just the 12. That's why he says here what
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  that he had did it for many. It was poured out for many, not
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  just you. Matthew elaborates for the
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  forgiveness of many. And so here's Jesus now
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  establishing a new covenant with humanity.
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  And it's about his promise of forgiving humanity.
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  Those who would apply themselves to faith repented faith on the
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  grounds of Christ's sacrifice. But why blood?
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  Why does he say here, this is my blood of the covenant?
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  Because when you study the Bible carefully, you'll realize that
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  whenever God makes a covenant with man, it's confirmed with
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  blood. It's confirmed with blood being
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  shed. You'll see it in Genesis 8 with
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  Noah, you'll see it in Genesis 15 with Abraham, and you'll see
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  it in Exodus when Moses, as the mediator of the Old Covenant, is
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  establishing an agreement between the people of Israel and
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  God Almighty. In fact, it's there.
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  It's particularly there in Exodus 24, eight.
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  Turn there quickly. It's an Exodus 24, eight where
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  you have Jesus echoing the words of Moses.
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  I want you to see it. Exodus 24, verse 8.
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  So what did Jesus say? This is my blood of the
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  covenant. And this is what Moses said in
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  Exodus 24, eight. And Moses took the blood and
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  threw it on the people and said, behold the blood of the covenant
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  that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these
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  words. If you haven't paid attention to
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  anything, please pay attention. Now here's Moses as a mediator
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  of a covenant under the law, and he takes the blood of animals.
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  And what does he do? The Bible is so precise.
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  It says here that he took the the blood and he threw it on the
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  people. He threw the blood on the
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  people. And now Jesus comes to establish
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  a new covenant with man, and he takes this cup and he says this
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  symbolizes my blood. But he doesn't sprinkle it on
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  people. He tells his people to do what
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  with it? Drink it.
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  Signifying what? Signifying that the covenant
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  under the law provides cleanliness only for the
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  external. But the new covenant that Jesus
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  establishes purifies the inner man.
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  And that is precisely the feature of the new covenant that
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  was foretold by the prophets while the old covenant was in
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  effect. Jesus didn't just come out of
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  nowhere and say, you know, I think I'm going to establish a
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  new covenant with mankind. He fulfilled what was foretold
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  ages ago, and ages ago the prophets, as they were being led
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  by the Spirit, couldn't help but highlight that the feature of
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  this new covenant is something happening inside, not outside.
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  And whatever happens outside out of this new covenant is a result
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  of what springs out from the inner man.
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  So if you have any doubt about that, let me remind you of one
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  of the clearest prophecies about the new covenant and Jeremiah
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  3131. A lot of easy references today.
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  Hebrews 10/10. Jeremiah 3131.
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  Here's what the prophet says about this new covenant that you
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  and I are enjoying today. I'll wait for the wrestling of
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  the leaves to settle. It's a good habit to bring the
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  Bible to church. Jeremiah 3131 Behold, the days
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  are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant
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  with the House of Israel and the House of Judah, not like the
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  covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took
• 27:47
  them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt.
• 27:51
  When did that happen? You read it earlier when Moses
• 27:53
  was used as the instrument to bring Israel into the wilderness
• 27:57
  at Mount Sinai to establish that covenant, and he sprinkled the
• 28:01
  blood on the people. And Jeremiah says there's coming
• 28:05
  a covenant that's not going to be like that.
• 28:09
  My covenant that they broke, though I was their husband
• 28:12
  declares the Lord. For this is the covenant that I
• 28:16
  will make with the House of Israel after those days,
• 28:19
  declares the Lord. I will put my law within them.
• 28:25
  The law is not going to be written on tablets of stone.
• 28:28
  No, no, no, the tablet of your heart.
• 28:30
  I will put my law within them and I will write it on their
• 28:35
  hearts and I will be their God and they shall be my people.
• 28:40
  This is this cup signifies my blood and I'm symbolically
• 28:45
  showing you that it's not applied externally.
• 28:48
  No, no, no, it's applied internally.
• 28:50
  I deal with the innermost part of your being.
• 28:52
  When you put your faith in this blood, it changes you.
• 28:55
  It really changes you. And so when you and I come to
• 29:01
  this table, what are we doing? We're remembering, yes, Christ,
• 29:04
  but we're also remembering other things connected to Christ.
• 29:06
  And here's this one thing. You are coming to this table and
• 29:09
  you're remembering, and you are recollecting and you are
• 29:11
  rehearsing this. We have a greater covenant.
• 29:14
  We have a greater promise. We have a greater agreement with
• 29:19
  God. Oh, yeah, I know you want to see
• 29:21
  the miracles. And I wish I lived in this time
• 29:23
  to see God move in this way. Do you realize that the people
• 29:25
  that you envy are the ones who envy you?
• 29:29
  Do you realize that the prophets of old and the miracle workers
• 29:33
  were were looking and investigating to see when these
• 29:36
  things would be, when God would do a supernatural work in the
• 29:40
  human heart? That's why I believe when a
• 29:42
  person becomes a Christian, it's a supernatural thing because the
• 29:46
  Bible describes it as a supernatural thing.
• 29:48
  It's not a superficial thing. It's not a surface level thing.
• 29:50
  It's not just mere words coming out of somebody's mouth.
• 29:53
  Something happens in the heart when this blood is applied.
• 29:57
  Surgery takes place. So I come to this table every
• 30:03
  time, as often as you do and I and I realize God in his perfect
• 30:08
  wisdom, his sovereignty has allowed me to be a part of in
• 30:13
  this time of history, a greater covenant, a greater covenant.
• 30:17
  And with that you also say and think to yourself, he keeps his
• 30:22
  promises. He keeps his promises because
• 30:26
  the prophet said there was a new covenant coming.
• 30:28
  Jesus comes into the world and he inaugurates it.
• 30:32
  God is faithful. He keeps His word, which is an
• 30:36
  important point for the last one in our study of Mark.
• 30:40
  Look at Mark 14 as we consider the last verse.
• 30:48
  Jesus says, truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the
• 30:54
  fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the
• 31:00
  Kingdom of God. So you and I as we celebrate God
• 31:06
  fulfilling His promise of giving us a new covenant, we are given
• 31:11
  another promise to embrace and believe in.
• 31:18
  Do you see the part that says until that day when I drink it
• 31:21
  new in the Kingdom? Matthew adds 2 very important
• 31:25
  words that I'm sure will warm your heart.
• 31:28
  Matthew says in Matthew 2629. Until that day when I drink it
• 31:33
  new, hear the two words with you, with you in my Father's
• 31:42
  Kingdom. So this for the disciples would
• 31:46
  have been very reassuring because what they're about to
• 31:48
  experience in a very few moments, the brutal death of
• 31:51
  Jesus Christ would not be the end of the story.
• 31:54
  They would remember what Christ had said and realizing that he
• 31:58
  is going to return. This is not the end of it.
• 32:02
  There is another thing that he is going to fulfill.
• 32:06
  And this means that the bread in the cup, as we come and eat and
• 32:09
  drink is a foretaste of a banquet in the future, a feast
• 32:18
  that Christ listen to this. This is astounding to me, a
• 32:22
  feast that Christ himself will abstain from until his church is
• 32:27
  gathered again with him. I will not drink until you and I
• 32:32
  are gathered together again in the fulfillment of the Kingdom.
• 32:38
  So every time we gather, you know what's taking place here.
• 32:40
  When you take a piece of that bread and a little bit of that
• 32:43
  cup, it's a sample. It's an appetizer of a future
• 32:50
  feast that you and I will enjoy with the very person of Jesus
• 32:55
  Christ. Is there any window in the Bible
• 33:00
  that gives us a little glimpse of what that feast will look
• 33:03
  like? Yeah, you can find it in a
• 33:05
  revelation, but my heart was reminded of a text in Isaiah.
• 33:10
  Even Isaiah gives us not just the promise of a new covenant
• 33:14
  that we are a part of, but of the promise within that new
• 33:18
  covenant of something to come. OK, here's our final text before
• 33:21
  we actually experience this together in Isaiah 25.
• 33:26
  And look at verse 6. Meditating on these passages in
• 33:39
  Isaiah made me extra excited for today.
• 33:44
  Extra excited for today. Notice what the prophet says in
• 33:48
  Isaiah 25. Six on this mountain the Lord of
• 33:51
  hosts will make for all peoples. This is a universal thing for
• 33:55
  all peoples. Not just the nation of Israel,
• 33:57
  not just the people of Jacob, for all peoples.
• 34:00
  A feast of rich food, a feast of well aged wine, of rich food
• 34:05
  full of marrow of age wine well refined.
• 34:09
  Who's the one who's setting up this feast, by the way?
• 34:12
  The Lord himself, the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples.
• 34:19
  He's saying really, Yes, really. And you get a little glimpse of
• 34:22
  it when Jesus makes breakfast for his, the sum of his
• 34:24
  disciples in John 21, right? Oh, it's going to be far greater
• 34:27
  than some fish and bread, though, far greater than that.
• 34:32
  Look at the description of this, a feast of rich food.
• 34:35
  This is not going to be a cheap thing.
• 34:37
  It's going to be a lavishing thing, a glorious thing, a
• 34:41
  wedding that you have never seen before, that no magazine that
• 34:45
  nothing could ever put together. But look at verse 7.
• 34:49
  And he will swallow up on this mountain, the covering that is
• 34:53
  cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations.
• 34:58
  He will swallow up death forever.
• 35:01
  And the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the
• 35:05
  reproach of his people He will take away from all the earth.
• 35:09
  For the Lord has spoken. So there's something permanent
• 35:14
  about this feast. So you and I, every time we
• 35:17
  partake of this, we get a little glimpse, just just a wafer of
• 35:22
  what's happening, what's going to happen.
• 35:25
  And then we go back into this world and what happens, We're
• 35:28
  exposed to trials, tribulations, pain, betrayal, sin, satanic
• 35:34
  forces. But there's something about this
• 35:37
  feast that as we come to it and as we enjoy it, there's going to
• 35:43
  be the removal of tears forever, forever and ever and ever.
• 35:51
  And what will we say at that feast?
• 35:52
  This is how specific the prophet is.
• 35:53
  You want to get an idea of what you're going to utter and what
• 35:56
  I'm going to utter in unison, verse nine, It will be said on
• 36:00
  that day, behold, this is our God.
• 36:03
  We have waited for Him that He might save us.
• 36:06
  This is the Lord. We have waited for him.
• 36:09
  Let us be glad and rejoice in His salvation.
• 36:14
  Finally here. The Lord kept His word that we
• 36:19
  would feast together, that we would come together.
• 36:24
  We are pilgrims. You're a Pilgrim and constantly
• 36:29
  exposed to all these fractured elements of our universe.
• 36:34
  But you know what happens when we come together, what we're
• 36:36
  about to do in a few minutes. We escape that briefly.
• 36:42
  Please listen to this. We escape that briefly, and we
• 36:46
  are almost transported to this truth.
• 36:49
  And what is this truth? There is a feast coming, and
• 36:57
  Jesus Christ purchased my seat at that table.
• 37:04
  When's the last time you thought about that?
• 37:05
  When you held these elements and ate them?
• 37:09
  Has that ever run through your mind Where you where you thought
• 37:11
  there is a banquet coming and the blood of Jesus has purchased
• 37:18
  my reservation. I will sit at that table, a
• 37:24
  table that will commemorate and will celebrate the fact that
• 37:29
  death has been defeated forever. I will come to a banquet that
• 37:33
  toast the arrival of my inheritance of unending joy in a
• 37:38
  new world, and I will feast not merely on food, but with
• 37:44
  unhindered, untainted fellowship with God himself and God's
• 37:51
  people for eternity. Are you ready to partake?
• 37:59
  I hope your heart is stirred. I I hope that these truths
• 38:02
  didn't skim over your mind and just kiss the surface of your
• 38:07
  heart. I I pray that you would bind
• 38:09
  these things on your heart and you would realize Jesus in
• 38:13
  student this for the church has so much to say so much grace to
• 38:19
  dispense in me. And so here's my call for you
• 38:23
  and I as we're about to sing and then line up and feast together.
• 38:28
  Examine yourself at this time. Examine yourself.
• 38:32
  Examine the truth of His body. Your humility and your hope
• 38:38
  should be exploding at this time.
• 38:40
  And at the same time that if you're not walking in a manner
• 38:44
  worthy of the Lord, God wants you to turn.
• 38:49
  Jesus Christ is inviting you to repent, to be made right with
• 38:53
  Him, and He would find greater pleasure in you taking the time
• 38:57
  to examine yourself. And if you've made right with
• 39:01
  that sin, if you've repent of that sin, then to come.
• 39:03
  If you can't let go of that sin, if you're still trying to
• 39:06
  justify it or try to debate with God of why you should be doing
• 39:09
  what you're doing or thinking the way you should be thinking,
• 39:12
  then just stay and remain and come when you're ready.
• 39:18
  The same time as you're standing there and as you're following
• 39:22
  the other person, remember this. It's not about you, it's about
• 39:27
  him. And this, this is a snapshot of
• 39:33
  a glorious thing that is coming. And if you believe in Christ,
• 39:37
  you're going there. And Jesus Christ, listen to
• 39:41
  this, is excited for that feast. I hope you are because he wants
• 39:46
  you to be. This is not your world.
• 39:48
  This is not your permanent residence.
• 39:51
  This feast reminds you that a Kingdom is coming.
• 39:53
  It will rule everything. And if you're in Christ, you
• 39:57
  will rule and reign with him if you're an unbeliever in this
• 40:01
  place. Respectfully, it is my duty and
• 40:04
  it is our responsibility as leaders to remind you that yes,
• 40:08
  you're welcome here. We're so glad that you're here
• 40:10
  to reserve yourself from participating and instead to
• 40:14
  participate in this way by observing a people who believe
• 40:18
  that they've been bought by the blood of Jesus Christ of
• 40:20
  Nazareth and that they have assurance of salvation.
• 40:25
  And if you do the same as they did, then one day you can
• 40:27
  partake of these elements for yourself.
• 40:29
  But until then, watch and realize that we are people who
• 40:34
  have been purchased by God, and that invitation is extended to
• 40:38
  you as the priest name comes up to prepare us to sing.
• 40:44
  Let us not treat this as a drive through experience.
• 40:47
  Take some time to commune with the Lord.
• 40:50
  Take some time to reflect on what He's done for you.
• 40:51
  Take some time to realize the treasure that is your
• 40:54
  inheritance. It's your portion, and it will
• 40:56
  come together. Can you do that?
• 40:59
  If you're going to look at one another, look at each other with
• 41:02
  joy and realizing this is my family, not in a distracting
• 41:07
  way. Let's, let's prepare our hearts
• 41:12
  and come to this table together. I'm going to join you in that.
• 41:39
  But we think about our salvation and Lord, we choose to trust in
• 41:49
  the saving work of Christ. We think about our shortcomings,
• 41:53
  our failures. We think about the things that
• 41:57
  we would never want anybody else to know.
• 42:01
  And perhaps even at this moment we feel the condemnation, the
• 42:04
  shame, the guilt, the filth below.
• 42:09
  Your word says that when our hearts condemn us, God is
• 42:11
  greater than our hearts and he knows all things.
• 42:17
  Thank you that when you see us, you see the spotless record of
• 42:22
  Jesus. Thank you that when you see us
• 42:27
  and you look for debt, there's no debt that we owe.
• 42:32
  Thank you that when you look for all our wrongs, you will not
• 42:35
  find us. You'll find that record nailed
• 42:39
  on that cross. Thank you that though we do not
• 42:43
  deserve it, you've extended it to us, this gift.
• 42:49
  So, Lord, we don't reflect in terms of our salvation how we
• 42:55
  can earn it, how we might have weakened our security for it.
• 43:00
  We rest in Jesus. Help us rest in Jesus.
• 43:05
  And now look, we, we Lord, we do look to our lives as professors
• 43:10
  of Jesus, of confessors of the Christ, or if there's anything
• 43:14
  in our hearts that grieve the Spirit, if there's anything that
• 43:19
  we're justifying that we excuse, we renounce it.
• 43:27
  Lord, if we can be perfectly holy at the snap of the finger,
• 43:29
  we would want it. We want to be pure.
• 43:32
  We want to be blameless. We want to be the way you've
• 43:35
  designed and called us to be. Help us really believe that
• 43:48
  you're coming back. Help us really believe.
• 43:51
  With all the busyness, the bills, the plans, this is all
• 43:57
  going to come to an end one day. And we're going to, with our own
• 44:01
  eyes, see Jesus establishing his Kingdom on the earth.
• 44:07
  That is, that is our destination.
• 44:11
  Help us really believe that there's a feast being prepared
• 44:17
  and the same people that will be sitting with in this room will
• 44:19
  be the same people we'll be sitting with at that table,
• 44:23
  glorified, perfected, in the unfiltered presence of God.
• 44:29
  Help us believe that. Help us remember to not plant
• 44:33
  our feet too strongly on the earth.
• 44:40
  We sing to you with Thanksgiving, knowing that we've
• 44:43
  been purchased, that we're free, that we're secure forever.
• 44:48
  In Jesus name, Amen. Let's stand, let's sing, let's
• 44:55
  give thanks.