The following sermon was delivered
on Sunday evening, May 4, 1997, at the Trinity Baptist Church
in Montville, New Jersey. May I encourage you to turn in
your Bibles with me to the Gospel according to Mark, the Gospel
of Mark in chapter 14. I shall read in your hearing
verses 22 through 25, Mark 14 beginning in verse 22. In the midst of that final Passover
meal which our Lord Jesus had duly prepared for him and his
disciples, we read, And as they were eating, he took bread. And
when he had blessed, he broke it, and gave to them, and said,
Take ye, this is my body. And he took a cup, and when he
had given thanks, he gave to them, and they all drank of it. And he said unto them, This is
my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Verily
I say unto you, I shall no more drink of the fruit of the vine
until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God. Now let us again pray and ask
God by the Holy Spirit to shine upon the face of Christ. If the
Apostle was unembarrassed to say, in writing to the Corinthians,
I was with you in weakness and fear and much trembling, It's
been four Lord's Days and five weeks since I've stood in this
pulpit, and I feel like a schoolchild saying his first poem before
the class. And in my fear, I'm casting myself
upon God, and I trust you will pray with me and for me that
God may be pleased to bless His Word to all of our hearts. Let
us pray. Holy Father, God and Father of
our Lord Jesus, the God who has promised that they who wait upon
you shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings
as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, and walk and not
faint. Gracious God who spoke to your
pleading servant Paul and said, my grace is sufficient for you,
for my strength is made perfect in the midst of weakness. We
come to you thanking you that you've revealed yourself to be
just such a God. and we thank you that how many
so ever are your promises that in Christ they are yes and through
him they are amen to your glory and upon you in the promises
we now rest for grace to preach and grace to hear shine upon
the face of your beloved son by the ministry of the Holy Spirit
we plead in his worthy name Amen. Now those of you who regularly
attend upon this ministry will I trust remember that in the
month of February at our communion service I was privileged to begin
a brief series of studies on the theme of the Three Cups of
Our Lord. This theme was suggested to me
when I was reading through that lovely little recently published
paperback by the Banner of Truth entitled The Cross He Bore by
a Mr. Leahy. And as that seed was sown
and germinated in my own reflections and meditations, this brief series
of communion meditations sprung forth in my own heart. And in
the first of those messages, we considered what I call the
cup that our Lord drank. the cup that he wholeheartedly
embraced in Gethsemane and drank upon Golgotha. It was that cup
to which he made reference when he came out of the garden of
Gethsemane to be apprehended by the authorities and he speaks
of it in John 18 and verse 11, the cup which my father has given
me, shall I not drink it? It was this cup that he drained
in the horrors of the suffering and the darkness of Golgotha. Perhaps the most helpful summary
of the significance of the cup before which he sweat, as it
were, great drops of blood in Gethsemane. Before which, the
scripture says, being in an agony, he prayed the more earnestly,
if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. I say, perhaps
the most helpful summary of what was contained in that cup is
found in the stanza of that marvelous hymn that points to the sufferings
of Christ. O Christ, death and the curse. were in our cup. O Christ was full for thee, but
thou hast drained the last dark drop. It is empty now for me. That bitter cup, love drank it
up. Now blessings draft for me. And it is with reference to the
communion cup that Paul, by the inspiration of the Spirit, can
say in 1 Corinthians 10.16, the cup of blessing which we bless. It is a cup of blessing to us
because it was the cup of cursing for him. And then we considered,
in the last time I was privileged to minister at the Lord's table,
the second of those three cups, and I entitled it the cup which
our Lord resolutely refused to drink. Gethsemane points us to
the cup he embraced and drank ultimately upon Golgotha, But
in Matthew 27.34 and Mark 15.23 we have the record of the cup
of drunk wine which he refused to drink. This cup that was set
forth as a merciful and pragmatic narcotic offered to those who
were about to be executed. Our Lord Jesus refused to drink
it. He would not alleviate anything
of his sufferings. He who counted it his joy to
alleviate the pain and suffering of others would not alleviate
the pain and suffering to which he was now to be subject as he
was about to be impaled upon a Roman cross. And we saw in
our study of the scriptures that the reason for this is not that
our Lord had an unbiblical view of suffering and the legitimacy
of using means to alleviate suffering, But he knew that it was only
as he was fully conscious and totally engaged in all the faculties
of mind and of body that he could experience the full weight of
the wrath of God as he stood in our room instead. And not
only did he refuse the cup that he might absorb all of the fountains
of divine fury that broke upon him, but remember, he was actively
both the offerer and the offering. He was ministering as he was
dying. The Scripture says, He has by
the Eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot unto God. And in those institutions that
foreshadowed the work of Christ, God very clearly said to Aaron
and his sons in Leviticus 10 in verse 9, that when you come
to do your priestly service, you shall drink no wine, nor
strong drink. Why? When they were engaged in
those sacred symbols of the Lamb of God who would bear away the
sin of the world, when in their function as priests they were
foreshadowings of our great High Priest, it was necessary that
this great truth be underscored, that He was fully engaged in
the alert engagement of all the faculties of mind and of body
when He offered Himself up in the presence of His Father. And so this night, as we bless
God that He willingly embraced and drank the first cup, we should
give thanks that He resolutely refused the second cup Give thanks
that he took the cup presented by his father, but refused the
cup presented by the soldiers. Now in the moments that remain
to us, let us consider tonight as we complete this series of
studies on the cups of our Lord, having considered the cup that
he drank, the cup that he refused to drink tonight, I direct your
meditation to Mark 14 and verse 25 as we consider the cut he
shall yet drink. Note with me in the first place
in our text the special solemnity of these words. Verily I say
unto you, I shall no more drink of the fruit of the vine until
that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God." Immediately
after the institution of the Supper of Remembrance, Jesus
heightens the attention of the disciples to what he is about
to say by introducing his words with the words verily, amen,
truly, most assuredly, And those of you familiar with your Bibles
know that at certain points throughout the Gospel records, we find the
Lord introducing certain sayings with this verbal means of underscoring
His own words. Let me try to illustrate what
our Lord is doing. Imagine with me that you've received
a letter from a very intimate, trusted, proven confidant and
friend. This is a man or a woman you've
known perhaps for many, many years, two or three decades.
And in all of that interaction, you have never known that person
to seek to deceive you. You've never known that they've
lied to you. There's been an utter transparency. When they smile and shake your
hand, the smile and the handshake is not a lie. It's a reflection
of the total disposition of the heart. Such a trusted, proven
friend. Do you have one? I hope you have
one. I hope you have a handful. Now,
if that friend were to send you a letter, and you opened the
letter and eagerly began to devour his words, as I did on Friday
when I received a letter from one such friend as mine, my dear
West Indian friend in London. And as I sought to soak in every
word, I didn't have the slightest reservation that what my beloved
black Jonathan was writing to me was an honest diffusion of
his mind and heart. I could trust every word. I had
no reason to say, what's he doing there? No reason whatsoever to
read any word, any phrase, any sentence with anything other
than the utmost confidence that my brother was conveying the
truth as he perceived it. But now suppose in reading that
letter, with that disposition, I found that my trusted friend
himself, no one at the post office, not my wife who inadvertently
opened the letter thinking it was to her, but he had taken
a phrase and underlined it twice with his own pen. What would
he be conveying to me? Not that everything else was
untrue, or tentative, or insincere, What my friend would be saying
is, though everything I say to you is true, and everything of
my heart I convey to you in my words is trustworthy, I judge
that this is of peculiar importance to you, and with my pen, speaking
all words of truth and sincerity, I underline my own words. Now
many of us can't read a book without a pencil in hand to underline.
We are emphasizing for our sake, in our judgment, what of the
author's mind embalmed in printer's ink is important to us, and that's
our privilege. But we may be underlining something
that in the author's mind is not of unusual significance. But when the author puts his
own words in italics and capitals and in a larger font and underlines
them, the author is saying to the reader, pay attention here,
if you ever pay attention anywhere. Now whenever you find in your
Bible, Jesus, who is the embodiment of truth, saying, Verily I say,
Amen Lego, Truly, most assuredly, I who am all truth, nothing but
truth, always integrity and uprightness and trustworthiness, when I underline
my own words, listen to me. They are words of special solemnity. And so as we meditate upon them,
let the Lord Jesus' own underlinings create their own impress upon
your mind and spirit. For this text begins with the
special solemnity underscored by the Lord himself. And now,
secondly, having looked and considered the special solemnity of these
words, consider with me the simple significance of these words.
And their significance is found in two basic units of thought
obvious to anyone reading with half a mind to the text. there is an assertion of what
he will not do. Verily I say unto you, I shall
no more drink of the fruit of the vine. Now what our Lord is
recorded as doing here is speaking with an emphatic triple negative. If you spoke in literal English
this way, you kids would be corrected by saying that two negatives
cancel one another. But it's one of the attractive
things about some other languages that you can pile up negatives
and still be speaking sense and good grammar and acceptable use
of that language. A more literal rendering would
be, no more will I in any wise drink of this fruit of the vine. Or the fruit of the vine in Matthew's
account, it is this fruit of the vine. Now he had already
said something similar at the very beginning of the Passover
feast which they were celebrating. When well into that feast he
established the Lord's Supper. Look at Luke 22 and verse 16.
Luke 22 and verse 16. And here we have an assertion
of what he will not do. Notice we begin with verse 14,
When the hour was come, he sat down and the apostles with him,
and he said unto them, With desire have I desired to eat this Passover
with you before I suffer, for I say unto you, I shall not eat
it until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. And then we have
the record of the institution of the special supper of remembrance. So the Lord had already spoken
in their hearing at the beginning of the Passover feast, and said,
I shall no more eat of this until I eat it new in the kingdom.
And now he affirms in the hearing of his disciples as the capstone
of the institution of the supper, he wants this truth of their
looking forward to something that not only goes beyond all
the spiritual significance of the Passover, but even the significance
of this new supper of remembrance, of a greater and more glorious
redemption, and he says, Verily I say unto you, I will in no
wise drink of the fruit of the vine until I drink it new. With you is Matthew's account
in the kingdom of God or in the kingdom of my Father. Now what
is our Lord saying in this assertion of what he will not do? Well,
according to those who have helped us to understand the local traditions
that were set in place at the time of our Lord in terms of
keeping the details of the Passover, there were usually four cups
of wine And most likely our Lord instituted the Supper of Remembrance
in conjunction with the third cup of wine. The fourth was the
cup of blessing. It was the cup that celebrated
the accomplishment of God's past redemption. and look forward
in faith to the future redemption. But before that fourth cup, our
Lord says in language that is definitive, I will no more, you
Greek students, He uses an Aorist subjunctive, I will no more drink. Definitive statement, no more
drink of the fruit of the vine. You and others may go on in celebration
of the past deliverance, but I have just told you, in giving
you this cup with its new significance, and this bread with its new significance,
I have told you, my body will be given for you in a violent
death. My blood will be poured out. There is no celebration for me
now. There is darkness and abandonment
and dereliction and the abyss. I shall no more, no more will
I in any wise drink of the fruit of the vine. There is no celebration
for me until there is crucifixion. No celebration, abandonment and
dereliction awaits. The simple significance of the
words comprised of an assertion of what he will not do, but then
notice we have an affirmation of what he will do. I shall no
more drink of the fruit of the vine, blessed until, until that
day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God. Here our Lord
says that his self-imposed abstinence from the commemorative feasting
is only for a specified period of time. Yes, he is dogmatic. The assertion of what he will
not do I know more in any wise will drink until, until, He says, until I drink it new
in the Kingdom of God. In Matthew's account, in my Father's
Kingdom. And what is the significance
of these words? Well, what our Lord is doing
is He is pointing all the way down to the consummation of the
Messianic Kingdom under the figure of a Messianic Feast. He is not
speaking of the Kingdom coming in power by the Spirit on the
day of Pentecost, and of His spiritual presence with His disciples
in all of their life, in all of their gatherings, and in a
special way when they gather to the Supper of Remembrance.
That is a blessed truth, but our Lord is not referring to
that here. You say, how do you know that, Pastor Martin? Well,
for two reasons. First of all, we know it from
the precise grammar in the text itself, and then secondly, from
the analogy of scripture. Notice the quality of this feast. It is called a drinking of the
fruit of the vine new in the kingdom There are two basic words
in the Greek language for new. One that most frequently refers
to new in time, and the other to new as to form or to quality. The new in form or quality, kainos. The new in reference to time,
neos. Let me illustrate for you kids. Maybe you don't like to be reminded
that you had special little stuffed animals. My wife still has a
whole bunch of them. She's got all her bears and her
bunnies all over the house. And I have to admit I kind of
like seeing them there as well. Now here's a kid who's had a
favorite stuffed animal. It's his special little brown
teddy bear. And he takes it to bed with him
and he drags it out when he plays outside until the thing gets
all floppy-eared and threadbare and it's a mess. And one day
for his birthday, her birthday, mom or dad gets an exact replica
of that original stuffed animal, that original teddy bear. And
when he opens up the box and sees it, oh, he jumps up for
glee, and the rest is, my new teddy bear! Well, it's new in
terms of time, but not in terms of kind. It's a replica of the
other teddy bear. Drop little hints, mom and dad
get him a panda bear and now he jumps with glee and says,
oh my new stuffed animal. That's new as to kind or to quality. Now what our Lord says here,
I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine, not until
I drink this fruit of the vine, referring to some literal drinking
of the fruit of the vine, but drink it new, in terms of the
quality, in terms of its form, it will be a new drinking in
the feast of the consummate glories of redemptive privilege and experience. It will be new as to quality
and also the precise grammar points to this as to its duration. Look at the text. When our Lord
says, I will no more in any wise drink of this fruit of the vine
A form of the verb is used that speaks of drinking once for all. But he says, until I, and we
have a present tense form of that verb, a present subjunctive,
I may be drinking or shall be drinking it new in the kingdom. It's going to be a perpetual
feast. It will be an ongoing feast. It will be an unending feast. New as to form or quality. Duration continuous. And when we turn to the analogy
of scripture, we have such text as Mark chapter 8 and Matthew
chapter 8 and verse 11. Matthew 8 and verse 11. where our Lord states in terms
unmistakable, I say unto you that many shall come from the
east and the west and shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. And the word for sit down means
to recline at table, our Lord's describing a vast banquet hall
and he says in the banquet hall as guests will be Abraham, Isaac
and Jacob in the consummate glory of the kingdom and they shall
come from east and west and sit down with Abraham and Isaac in
that kingdom. He's pointing to the kingdom
in its consummate glory under the image of a messianic banquet
and feast. And in the passage read in our
hearing by Pastor Carlson in that beautiful picture of the
marriage supper of the Lamb, We turn back in the book of the
Revelation, and the picture of the redeemed is that of those
out of every kindred, tribe, and tongue, and nation, a multitude
whom no man can number. And here our Lord is saying,
after instituting this new celebration of remembrance, of new covenant
redemption, He says verily, this is peculiarly solemn, I don't
want you to forget it, that I will not again drink of this fruit
of the vine until I drink it new in the kingdom of my Father. Now note the comprehensive emphasis
when we bring Matthew and Mark together Matthew, Mark tells
us that our Lord says, I drink it new with you. I will be the
host and the honored guest. I will drink it. But Matthew
adds the words, I will drink it with you. I cannot conceive
of my drinking of that cup as the host and the honored guest.
without you for whom I am about to shed my blood. This is my body which is given
for you. This is my blood which is poured
out for many. Verily I say unto you, I will
no more drink of this fruit of the vine until I drink it with
you in the kingdom of heaven. Well, having sought to underscore
the special solemnity of these words, the simple significance
of the words, in closing, as we come to the table of remembrance,
letting our Lord's own closing words ring in our ears, what
ought we to be calling to remembrance as we come to the table tonight?
Well, let me highlight just three very simple lines of thought
that I trust the Spirit of God will bless to our hearts. First,
see in these words our Lord's resolute commitment to the suffering
of the cross. See His resolute commitment to
the suffering of the cross. He states with this triple negative, We are interested in my new teddy
bear. Well it's new in terms of time
but not in terms of kind. It's a replica of the other teddy
bear. But a birthday later, when he
sees some kid in the neighborhood who had a lovely panda bear,
and he dropped little hints, mom and dad get him a panda bear,
and now he jumps with glee and says, oh, my new stuffed animal! That's new as to kind or to quality. Now what our Lord says here,
I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine, not until
I drink this fruit of the vine, referring to some literal drinking
of the fruit of the vine, but drink it new in terms of the
quality, in terms of its form. It will be a new drinking in
the Messiah. peace of the consummate glories
of redemptive privilege and experience. It will be new as to quality
and also the precise grammar points to this as to its duration. Look at the text when our Lord
says, I will no more in any wise drink of this fruit of the vine,
a form of a verb is used that speaks of drinking once for all. But he says until I, and we have
a present tense form of that verb, a present subjunctive,
I may be drinking or shall be drinking it new in the kingdom. It's going to be a perpetual
feast. It will be an ongoing feast. It will be an unending feast. New as to form or quality. Duration continuous. And when we turn to the analogy
of Scripture, we have such text as Mark chapter 8 and Matthew
chapter 8 and verse 11. Matthew 8 and verse 11. Where our Lord states in terms
unmistakable, I say unto you that many shall come from the
east and the west and shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. And the word for sit down means
to recline at table. Our Lord's describing a vast
banquet hall. And he says in the banquet hall
as guests will be Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the consummate glory
of the kingdom. And they shall come from east
and west and sit down with Abraham and Isaac in that kingdom. He's pointing to the kingdom
in its consummate glory under the image of a messianic banquet
and feast. And in the passage read in our
hearing by Pastor Carlson, in that beautiful picture of the
marriage supper of the Lamb, We turn back in the book of the
Revelation, and the picture of the redeemed is that of those
out of every kindred, tribe, and congregation, a multitude
whom no man can number. And here our Lord is saying,
after instituting this new celebration of remembrance, of new covenant
redemption, He says verily, this is peculiarly solemn, I don't
want you to forget it, that I will not again drink of this fruit
of the vine until I drink it new in the kingdom of my Father. Now note the comprehensive emphasis
when we bring Matthew and Mark together Matthew, Mark tells
us that our Lord says, I drink it new with you. I will be the
host and the honored guest. I will drink it. But Matthew
adds the words, I will drink it with you. I cannot conceive
of my drinking of that cup as the host and the honored guest.
without you for whom I am about to shed my blood. This is my body which is given
for you. This is my blood which is poured
out for many. Verily I say unto you, I will
no more drink of this fruit of the vine until I drink it with
you in the kingdom of heaven. Well, having sought to underscore
the special solemnity of these words, the simple significance
of the words, in closing, as we come to the table of remembrance,
letting our Lord's own closing words ring in our ears, what
ought we to be calling to remembrance as we come to the table tonight?
Well, let me highlight just three very simple lines of thought
that I trust the Spirit of God will bless to our hearts. First,
see in these words our Lord's resolute commitment to the suffering
of the cross. See His resolute commitment to
the suffering of the cross. He states with this triple negative
Celebration is over. I shall not any longer drink
of the fruit of the vial. My blood is to be poured out
for you. I am to lay down my life for
many. Here our Lord indicates there
was a resolute, unmovable commitment of His whole soul. to the work
of our salvation as we take the cup as we break the bread as
we eat and as we drink remember there would be no bread broken
in remembrance of him no cup to drink in remembrance of him
had he not embraced his own cup of suffering refuses to alleviate
that suffering with the cup of drugged wine. And we are able
to anticipate the cup that he shall drink with us, his people,
because of his resolute commitment to the suffering of the cross. And then consider, secondly,
his unshakable confidence in the triumphs of his cross. his
own unshakable confidence in the triumphs of his cross. Look
at the passage he had just said. This is my blood of the covenant
which is poured out for many. When a man's blood is poured
out, he's dead. We said dead men don't lie. Yes,
because dead men don't speak, dead men don't breathe, and dead
men don't eat, and dead men don't drink. But a man who's just said,
my blood will be poured out in a vial in death, he says, I shall
yet live. I will drink in a future date. I will be with you in my kingdom. And you, of whom he's just said,
you're going to forsake me, you're going to all flee, strike the
shepherd and the sheep will be scattered. He just said to one
of those before the rooster crows, three times you're going to deny
me. Yet he says this is the bunch
that will be with him in the kingdom. There isn't a smidgen
of doubt. He doesn't go to the cross hoping,
wishing, wondering. He goes to the cross in the confidence
that the Father's covenant engagement must be fulfilled. He shall see of the travail of
his soul and be satisfied. Everyone in whose room and place
he would pour out his blood will in due time be effectually called
by the Spirit. set apart unto God, washed and
cleansed, justified, made a new man or woman in Christ, kept
through all the dangers of His earthly pilgrimage, and brought
home at last into His presence. For He said, I came down from
heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of Him that sent
me. And this is the will of Him that sent me. that of all that
he has given me I should lose nothing but raise it up at the
last day. I shall drink it new in my Father's
kingdom with you. How could our Lord have made
more certain their security? I'm going to drink it with you
and no ifs, no ands, no buts, no commas, I'm going to pour
out my blood to secure your consummate redemption. As we come to the
table, dear folks, there's only one reason that we are true believers. We have been brought into the
way of faith and repentance and sit rejoicing in the knowledge
of sins forgiven, accepted in the beloved. It's because of
the commitments of a triune God to save all for whom the Savior
came down from heaven, for whom He lived, on whose behalf He
died, who in Him both lived and died and rose again. And that
salvation is indefectible. Christ manifest in these words
his unshakable confidence in the triumphs of the cross. And then thirdly, not only see
in these words his resolute commitment to the sufferings of the cross,
his unshakable confidence in the triumphs of his cross, but
see in these words the ground for our unquestioned faith in
the salvation Here is the ground for our unquestioned
faith in the salvation procured in the cross. Our Lord Jesus
procured a full, complete salvation that takes the sons of the kingdom
of darkness and brings them to sit at His messianic banquet
table and hear me, my unconverted friend, once you commit yourself
into the hands of such a Savior. He is committed in all the perfection
of His work and in all of the plenitude of His power to bring
you to sit with him, to drink with him in the kingdom. I found just today in a piece
of literature handed to me this very simple, some would call
this poem doggerel, but it's good gospel doggerel if it's
doggerel. And my dear unconverted friend,
man, woman, boy or girl, could it be that here is the very nexus,
the very nub of your problem? You've heard the gospel and you
know the expansiveness of the duty of believers and the struggles
and trials and you say it's all too much for me. I don't know
how I can be and do what a Christian is supposed to be and do in the
light of this text that we've looked at. Listen to this very
simple poem. Nothing, either great or small,
nothing, sinner, no! Jesus died and paid it all long,
long ago. When he from his lofty throne
stooped in love to die, everything was fully done, hearken to his
cry. Weary, working, burdened one,
wherefore toil ye so? Cease your doing! All was done long, long ago. Till to Jesus' work you cling
by a simple faith. Doing is a deadly thing. Doing ends in death. Cast your deadly doing down,
down at Jesus' feet. Stand in Him, in Him alone, gloriously
complete. It is finished. Yes, indeed,
finished. Every jot. Sinner, this is all
you need. Tell me, is it not? Open up your Bible and find one
text that says your doing adds anything to His life. The essence
of repentance begins when you say, nothing, no thing in my
hands I bring simply to thy cross I claim. You say, what a dangerous
doctrine. My friends, that's the gospel.
To him it worketh not. But believeth on him that justifieth
the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. But you say,
Pastor, doesn't the Bible say I must repent? Yes, repent of
dead works, that's the beginning of repentance. And when you realize
that God in Christ extends his mercy without asking you to lift
a finger to earn his favor, it'll break your heart and make your
sins odious and vile. Here is the ground for our unquestioned
faith in the salvation procured by the cross. When Jesus, I say
it reverently, sticks his neck out and says of this bunch, knowing
what they have been and will be in the future, I shall drink
at noon with you in the kingdom. And you're going to be there.
Because I've committed myself to get you there. My friend,
your bondage to this and that sin is real. But remember, Christ
is God incarnate, and He broke the cumulative power of all the
hosts of hell that would have piled up upon Him and kept Him
in His tomb. But He broke the chains, not
for Himself alone to be vindicated. But He broke the chains for all
who were in Him and with Him by representation and substitution. And when you throw yourself upon
Jesus, the virtue of His mighty power will be yours. Sinner, are you bound? Christ
can set you free. Sinner, are you bound? Christ
can set you free. For this purpose the Son of God
was manifested to destroy the works of the devil. Throw yourself
upon the mighty Deliverer, and you will find, as we have found,
He is more than faithful to His word. And dear people of God,
amidst the sober realities we heard this morning, the searching
words of Owen ministered to us by Pastor Carlson, The solemn
warning of our Lord Jesus will be hated in the world. Yes, those
are realities. That's the word of God. But you
see, standing behind those darker sides of what it is to be a true
Christian is Christ himself, promising his succor, his grace,
his power. And dear people of God, as we
come to the table and we take our cup, When we take our piece
of bread, let's remember the words of Jesus, especially solemn
words, verily, truly, most assuredly, I say. Because he refused to
celebrate as he committed himself to the cross, he is able to include
us in his marvelous affirmation. He will bring it new with all
of His own in the kingdom of His Father. And there the Lord
Jesus will glorify Himself at the marriage feast when He presents
us to Himself. How does it tell us in Ephesians
5? Without spot or wrinkle or any
such thing. And He will never rest till He's
got us. All there. Let's pray. Oh Lord Jesus, we thank you for
your thirst for our salvation. A thirst that caused you to embrace
the bitter cup foaming with the wrath of your father. That cup
bitter with the dregs of abandonment. Thank you for the cup you refused,
that you would not have any of your senses dulled while you
actively offered up yourself on our behalf. Thank you for
the pledge of the cup we shall yet drink. Lord Jesus, we are
thirsty to drink it with you, but we thank you for your commitment
to bring us to that banquet table. Oh, strengthen the faith of your
people. Draw in sinners to so gracious
and mighty a Savior. Oh God, seal your word to the
blessing of all who are present and to the praise of our dear
Lord Jesus Christ. We ask in His name, Amen.