amazed and surprised and giddy
that he did. I told him I heard that he was
a vegetable and they were treating him with salad oil. He had a good laugh out of that
but he said his wife had him a cardboard with a bunch of holes
in it and a pin with yarn and he was having to run all the
pins through the holes and then take them out again I guess to
get his Dexterity back again, but he's doing great. So but
to continue remember them your prayers. Happy birthday this
week to Sylvester tomorrow How you 84 86 You know what 86 that's it I
mean put somebody out of business
you 86 But happy birthday, buddy One
of the old salts have been here with me from the beginning. Let's
see. Can't think of anything else.
Cynthia's not gonna have her operation right away. She's waiting
on the results of a CT scan for... So she will... Yeah, but she's
gonna have her knee replaced. So remember her in your prayers
and seek the Lord's help for them. Other than that, let's
begin our worship service with hymn number 442. Praise him,
praise him, Jesus, our blessed Redeemer. Praise Him, praise Him, Jesus
our blessed Redeemer. Sing, O world, His wonderful
love proclaim. Hail Him, hail Him, highest archangels
in glory. Strength and honor give to His
holy name. Like a shepherd, Jesus will guard
his children. In his arms he carries them all
day long. Praise him, praise him, tell
of his excellent greatness. Praise him, praise him, ever
in joyful song. Praise Him, praise Him, Jesus
our blessed Redeemer. For our sins He suffered and
bled and died. He, our rock of hope of eternal
salvation. Hail Him, hail Him, Jesus the
Crucified. Jesus who bore our sorrows, love
unbounded, wonderful, deep, and strong. Praise Him, praise Him,
tell of His excellent greatness. Praise Him, praise Him, ever
in joyful song. Praise Him, praise Him, Jesus
our blessed Redeemer. Heav'nly portals loud with hosannas
ring. Jesus, Savior, reigneth forever
and ever. Crown Him, crown Him, prophet
and priest over the world victorious, power
and glory unto the Lord belong. Praise Him, praise Him, tell
of His excellent greatness. Praise Him, praise Him, ever
in joyful song. after scripture reading prayer
we'll see him number 466 Christ live with me have your Bibles
turned Isaiah the 44th skewed 45th chapter somebody's bills verse twenty-three our lord says
this I have sworn by myself the word is gone out of my mouth
in righteousness and shall not return this is what he swore
that unto me every knee shall bow and every tongue shall swear
surely shall one say, In the Lord have I righteousness and
strength. Even to him shall men come, and
all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed. In the
Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified and shall glory. Let us pray. Our Father in heaven,
merciful, gracious, sovereign ruler of this universe, We bow
to you for your majesty, and we're thankful that you have
given us faith to believe your word. We are thankful for such
sound and absolute things that are set forth as in this passage,
that these things will be done. They will occur, they will take
place where you have ordained them and predestinated them,
and you have sworn by yourself and you can swear by no greater.
Father, we ask today that you would be merciful and gracious
to us and give us the privilege to worship you as you ought to
be worshiped, to sing your praises, to let us know in our own minds
that we must decrease and Christ must increase. Father, we pray
for those who are sick, going through trials and troubles,
tribulations, sorrows, We know that you know every case, for
you are God and omniscient, knowing all things and doing all things
well. We ask, Lord, your mercy and
grace upon those who are suffering, that you would uphold them and
lift them up and cast their eyes upon that which is eternal, knowing
all too well that our days are numbered, our months with thee,
our bounds are set, and we cannot pass. knowing that soon we will
step out of this mortal veil and step into eternity before
the blink of an eye, it seems. Help us, Lord, to look to Christ
in all things and trust Him. Help us now, we pray in Christ's
name, for His glory. Amen. Hymn number 466, Christ
liveth in me. What's far from God and dead
in sin, the light my heart could see. But in God's word, the light
I found, now Christ liveth in me. Christ liveth in me. Christ liveth in me. Oh, what a salvation this is. As rays of light from yonder
sun, the flowers of earth set free. So life and light and love
came forth from Christ living in me. Christ liveth in me. Christ liveth in me. Oh, what a salvation this, that
Christ liveth in me. As lives the flower within the
seed, as in the calm the tree. So praise the God of truth and
grace His spirit dwelleth in me Christ liveth in me Christ
liveth in me Oh, what a salvation this that Christ lived in me. With longing all my heart is
filled that like him I may be. As on the wondrous thought I
dwell that Christ lived in me. Christ liveth in me. Christ liveth in me. Oh, what a salvation this, that
Christ liveth in me. Steve, stand. Let us pray. Our Father, we come
again in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, with thankful hearts full of
praise, that you have done all things for us necessary for our
salvation. That Jesus Christ, our Lord,
went to the cross and satisfied your law and justice on our behalf,
died the death that we owe you. and Father redeemed us by his
blood out of every kindred, nation, tongue, and people, and tribe,
and made us kings and priests unto our God. We have nothing
save what you have given us by your grace and mercy. As we return
unto thee that which you've given us, let us do so with joy and
thanksgiving, praying Christ's name. Okay. you. And Jim is doing a fine job in
the absence of old Debbie One-Eye. I invite your attention back to
Isaiah chapter 45. This passage declares that God's
intent in salvation assures the accomplishment of salvation. If there is ever a declaration
of intent, regardless of where it's at, then the whole matter
of salvation is forever settled if the intent has to do with
salvation. In the matter of the salvation
of our soul, certain things are universally accepted by men,
by religion generally, in the expansive umbrella called Christianity. Though men may vary in how salvation
is accomplished, the general tenet is that Christ is the Savior. Most of them believe that. Another
generally held tenet is that God sent His Son into the world
with the intent to save sinners. except for a few very liberal
organizations which hold that Christ's coming was an example
of proper moral behavior or a martyr for a cause or a generic expression
of the love of God, all believe that there was some intent in
Christ entering into the realm of humanity. But intent for most
religion is where the theology ends. they end with intent. Much of that has to do with Old
Covenant theology, which has God ready to pardon, but not
necessarily pardoning, waiting on men to repent. That's Old
Testament or Old Covenant theology. Men speak of God in terms of
God wants something for you. That indicates an intent. God
desires something for you that indicates an intent. That's as
far as it goes. They don't go any further. They
rely on men to finish that up. But when men talk about God's
will, they generally mean His willingness. And that's where
their thinking is. god is willing to do this if
you do something then he's willing to do something for you but when
you read about god's will and god's pleasure or his desire
he always says he will do it when nebuchadnezzar came back
from his insanity after roaming in the fields and eating grass
and growing hair on his back and nails like a beast. He said,
I came to my senses, this is what I realized, God doeth according
to his will in the armies of heaven and among the inhabitants
of the earth and none can stay his hand or say unto him, what
doest thou? God doeth. in this very same
chapter rather in the next chapter in chapter forty six verse ten
he says God says I declare the end from the beginning from ancient
times the things that are not done saying my counsel my purpose
shall stand and I will do all my pleasure what does that mean?
God does what he wants to do so if he wants to bless you Get
ready to be blessed because He always does according to His
will, according to His will. But men stop at willingness and
therein lies the problem. The value of intent is always
proportional to and dependent upon the authority or perceived
authority that backs it up. In other words, if sufficient
authority and power exists, that intent must be performed. When
David was confronted by the pagans with the gods that they had built
out of silver and gold, they were beautiful creations of art. And they said, David, these are
our gods, look at them, how beautiful, where's your god? David said, our god is in the
heaven. He had done whatsoever he has pleased. You sit here today, old and young
alike, you're not useless. You're being used, whether you
know it or not, whether you like it or not. You're a part of God's
purpose, and you will be used for His glory, or you will be
used for His judgment and wrath. but you will toe the line and
walk the walk and talk the talk." The last time somebody heard
me say something like that, they said they didn't believe in predestination. I just looked at my watch and
said, you said that right on time. Because they did. They did. Even those who believe in UNIVERSAL
REDEMPTION generally assert that God has sufficient POWER to accomplish
what He intends, but for some IMAGINED REASON doesn't exercise it. Does God have POWER to save His
people? He created the heavens and the
universe in the span of His hand. He holds the mountains in a balance. He measures the sea in the palm
of His hand. He knows the numbers of the sands
of the earth. He created everything with the
word of His mouth. Does He have power? He's all-powerful. He's absolutely and completely
sovereign. How cruel men make God. when he says he has power to
save but doesn't. Many years ago, I read a book
by John Owen. John Owen was an old puritan.
He's hard to read. I don't recommend anybody read,
try to read John Owen. It'll wear you out. But he made
a statement in there that there are basically three things that
are true or not concerning salvation. There are three possible concepts
of God's intent to save. One is that God intended to save
all men. The second is that God intended
to make salvation possible but actually secured the salvation
of no one. And the third thing is that God
intended to save someone in particular and save them. We'll consider
these this morning. First is this. When God sent
His Son into the world to save sinners, He intended to save
all men. Now there's just two verses in
Scripture that they use to support this. John 3, 16. For God so
loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever
believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 1
Timothy 4, 2, 4. Whom God would have all men be
saved. Those two verses are what they call the universal teaching.
Now, since all men will not be saved, we know that. According
to scripture, there are those who perish in eternal damnation.
This notion makes God a total failure. If God intended to save
all men, but some don't get saved, then God's a failure. Because He somehow had insufficient
power and authority to accomplish His intent. The title Savior
that he applies to himself in our text would not then be applicable,
would it? Call him a Savior who doesn't
save? How can that make him a Savior
if he don't save? But he calls himself a Savior.
A Savior if all he has is intent but lacks power to perform does
not merit the title of Savior. The blame for all those finally
lost lies at the door of God and nowhere else if he intended
to save men but could not save them. I have quoted this before. A professor at Piedmont Bible
College in the 1960s said Calvary is a glaring testament of the
colossal failure of the triune God's effort to save humanity.
Now, if I was in a room with him, I'd want to slap him for
saying something like that, but this man, though blasphemously
wrong, was at least consistent with his brand of theology. If
God intended to save all men but didn't, then he's a failure. So that takes care of the first
question. were the first thing sent forth. Secondly, when God
sent His Son into the world, He intended indeed, wanted all
men to be saved, but His intention was more in the form of a non-binding
desire or wish. He actually accomplished the
salvation of no one. He did this deed by making salvation
a possibility or a general opportunity for all men. And this theology
is fraught with problems that are inconsistent with itself
on a number of levels. The proponents of this notion
say that God loves everybody, but in the end, the time changes
toward them, exercising wrath born of hate and vengeance, plunging
them into utter hell. But He loved them all the way
up to that point, and then BOOM! He throws them out. Their view of God's love is that
it is powerless, actually. anemic and unrecited and shameful. You also have Christ paying the
sin debt for all men, yet having some men paying that sin debt
again. Have you ever bought anything? Paid money for it? Put it in
your pocket and possessed it and got a receipt for it? How
would you like it if Wal-Mart come knocking at your door the
next day and said, you've got to pay that again? Wouldn't like
that at all, would you? Preachers stand in pulpit and
say, Christ died for your sins. He paid your sin debt. And then
tells you if you don't agree with it, at the end of time,
you're going to have to pay it. Well, he must not have paid it
then. Because judgment cannot twice
demand. payment at my bleeding surety's
hand, and then again at mine." This makes God unjust, this view
of making salvation possible, but actually saving no one, and
in the end putting some He wanted to save into hell that He loved
and died for, still ends up in hell. This makes salvation ultimately
the act of the will of man. Man's imagined free will is the
final arbiter and the salvation of the soul. Let me tell you
about your will. It's not free. No such thing exists in God's
universe except in one person, that is, God Himself, and His
will is not free to go against His character. Scripture says
He cannot lie for He is not man. He cannot lie. Why can't he lie?
It's not in his character to do so. Your will follows your
character. Your desires, your affinities,
your inclinations, this is where your will goes. And when you
read about man's will, when you think about man's will, just
add I-N-G to it. What's he willing to do? I'll tell you what he's not willing
to do. He's never willing to do something he won't do. Well, that's it. You will never
choose freely what you do not want. And man by nature, born
as he's born into this world, as he proceeds from the womb,
speaking lies as soon as he is born, whose heart hates God,
the carnal mind, his enmity against God is not subject to the law
of God, neither indeed can be. Trust your will if you want to.
I expect you will. It seems to me that there are
two motives in the way men think on this line. The first motive
is to exalt the will and power of men, make them some kind of
power. The second is to protect their
puny deity from culpability, their demigod that they have,
that stump that they worship. he doesn't save all men, we can't
blame him because some folks wouldn't let him. That's what they say. Is it true? No, it's a lie straight out of
hell. Hatched in Hades. And the devil set on eggs. The
latest way that this notion is accomplished is by declaring
God to be this gray-haired granddaddy this cosmic muffin sitting on
a cloud all nice and sweet and precious. He's a gentleman, they
say. One preacher down south said
he was solicitous. What does that mean? He's a beggar. He sits at the door of man's
will and just begs him to let him save him. their view of God's
gentleness is that he will not override man's will to save him.
Oh, God won't overcome your will to save you, they say. God won't
do that. But this makes God awfully cruel,
because they also believe that God will overcome man's will
to put him in hell. Won't overcome man's will to
do him good, He'll overcome man's will to put him in hell forever
and punish him and do evil to him. This is accusing God of
unspeakable cruelty, asserting that God will not override man's
will to do him eternal good, but will override his will to
do him eternal harm. This is inconsistent of any notion
of God's goodness or anybody's notion of goodness. He's also have a problem with
the results of the fall. They have dead men willing. Man
is dead in trespasses and sin. Now what does it mean to be spiritually
dead? It's not a term you'll find in scripture. You'll find
scripture saying they're dead in trespasses and sin. That's
judicially dead, dead according to the law. They've broken the
law. They're condemned to die and they're dead. What does that
mean, dead? That means they're incapable.
incapable of having a relationship with anything outside the realm
of their own existence, like a body in a casket. It has all
the equipment that it had before it died. It has a nose, it has
eyes, it has ears, a mouth, feet, hands, all those, it has a heart,
a liver, lungs, an intestinal system. has a circulatory system,
has all of that in there. But he's dead. The one thing
he don't have is the thing that can't be touched, that's seen,
understood, life. But what he's incapable of doing
is talking to you. You're in a different realm now.
You're among the living. And they're dead. Talk to them
if you will. Kiss their cold frame if you
want to. They won't feel it. take their cold, dead hands.
I have many times of those I've had to put in a grave. They don't
feel me. I feel it, but they don't. They
cannot communicate with anything outside their own particular
environment. And when man is dead in trespasses
and sin, he cannot commute with anything spiritual, anything
alive. It's impossible. It's impossible. But they say that didn't really
happen in the fall of Adam, though God said, In the day ye eat of
these fruits ye shall surely die, and dying ye shall die. They have dead men willing, deciding,
and accepting, when in fact dead men can't do anything. They,
in effect, deny original sin by attributing to God-haters
the ability and desire to choose that which is good. That's what
they say. But can an Ethiopian change the
color of his skin? Can a leopard change his spots?
And how can ye who are accustomed to doing evil do good? The whole concept of salvation
origination is conditioned on their own righteousness as meriting
a right standing before God. This is so because in their choosing
of the right thing, when confronted with the choice between right
and wrong, this is how they are saved. This is base self-righteousness. They have neither biblical, rational,
nor consistent views of salvation. The third thing is this, that
God intended to save some men and accomplished what He intended. Now this is not conjecture or
theological opinion. It is fact. The fact is that
God's intent is God's accomplishment. It's always that way. I will
do my will according to my will in the armies of heaven and among
the heavens here. None can stay his hand. Isaiah
14 says, I will do all my pleasure. Or Isaiah 46. Isaiah 14 said,
I have purposed it. I shall do it. I shall do it. He qualifies for the title of
Savior because He has saved His people from their sins. That's
why He qualifies for the name. He saved all of them, all for
whom He came to die. In this matter, there can be
no doubt except by a willful disregarding of Scripture. God
sent His Son into the world with the intent of saving sinners
and He accomplished the salvation of all who intended to save.
That's why they called Him by that name that wasn't a name
Jews like to use. Jesus. Why not name Him Zechariah
or Moses even or Daniel, somebody like that, some famous prophet.
We shall call His name Jesus. Why? For He shall save His people
from their sins. That's why we're going to call
him that. Jesus is a derivative of Joshua, which means Savior. He was made to be the righteousness. God made Jesus Christ to be the
righteousness of His people. It made Him to be unto us wisdom,
righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. He satisfied
the demands of law, paid the penalty for those whom He died,
and those for whom he did this are freed from the penalty and
the guilt of sin all that the father giveth me shall come to
me and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out for
I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of
him that sent me and this is my father's will which is sent
me of all he's given me I should lose nothing but raise it up
again in the last day this man turn over to Hebrews
chapter 10 Paul in comparing all the priesthood
of the Old Testament and what they did and what they couldn't
do and all the sacrifices. I mean there were millions of
lambs, rams, bullocks and kids, turtle doves slain. Their throats
cut and their blood spilled out in basins and scattered and sprinkled
on everything. It was a veritable crimson river
of coagulate that had formed one giant pointing finger that
pointed toward the Lord Jesus Christ and the blood he shed.
The law had a shadow of things to come, but not the very things,
because all the sacrifices offered in the law never took away sin
or made a comers there unto perfect. For if they had, there wouldn't
have been any more than one sacrifice if they were made perfect. All that Old Testament stuff
was to show, to picture, what the Lord Jesus Christ would accomplish
on Calvary's tree, from Genesis chapter 1 all the way through
Malachi. That Old Testament was about the Lord Jesus Christ.
And in comparison to the priests of the Old Testament, who never
sat down, there were no chairs in the tabernacle of the temple,
there was no seat, there was no settee, there was no cushion
of love seats, none of that. No beanbag chairs. No, not in
a temple, because the priest never sat down. Why? For 24 hours
a day, three different shifts. They kept the lights and the
candles of the lampstand burning. They kept the table of showbread,
made sure the bread was fresh. They kept coals on the altar
of incense. They kept fire in the brazen
altar. They kept fresh water in the
basin. They never stopped. Once a year, the high priest,
the great high priest, the high priest would go in under those
four fold curtains and offer blood for the people, for the
sins of the people on what was called the Day of Atonement.
And he would sprinkle blood on the mercy seat. The mercy seat
was a gold tabletop with two cherubim facing each other. And
underneath that was the Ark of the Covenant. And inside the
Ark of the Covenant was the broken law, the Table of Showbread,
or not the Table of Showbread, but the manna. a bowl of gold
of manna and Aaron's rod that but him, and he sprinkled everything
in there. He sprinkled himself. He sprinkled
the walls. He sprinkled the mercy seat. And above the mercy seat was
the shekinah glory of God looking at what he was doing, giving
atonement, setting aside the sins of his people, but only
for a year. It had to be done every year. so the high priest is said to
be compared to and all the other priests are said to be compared
to and they are compared to in verse 12 but this man who the
Lord Jesus Christ the one who said lo I come and the volume
of the book is written to me to do thy will oh God but this
man after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever sat
down on the right hand of God. He sat down. Those priests, the
high priests, their work was never done. It was never done.
So the work must now be done. When he said, it is finished
on Calvary Street, same word is used here. The word perfected. It says, from henceforth expecting
till his energy made his footstool, right, his anticipating, for
by one offering he hath perfected same word he used on the cross
when he said it is finished same word in john nineteen accomplished
for accomplished and fulfilled that same word all the law was
fulfilled he accomplished what the old testament said he would
and then he said it is finished and he gave up the ghost or died
the death that we owe god for by one offering he hath perfected
forever how long forever, forever and ever, them that are sanctified. How are they sanctified? According
to verse 10, by the which will, God's will, we are sanctified
through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once, the word
for offer in italics added by the translators, but not in the
original text, once. We're sanctified by by the will
of God. It was the will and it must have
been an intent. He intended to sanctify us and
He sanctified us by this. He has perfected forever them
that are sanctified where the Holy Ghost also is a witness
to us that after He said before, when did He say it? Jeremiah
chapter 31. This is the covenant that I will
make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my
laws, and that's his word, in their hearts and in their minds
will I write them. You ever wondered why when you
hear the truth of the gospel you just know it's so? You ain't had no education. You
ain't been to no theological school. How do you know it's
so? It's written in your heart and in your minds. and their
sins and iniquities will I remember no more." That's what God said. I won't remember them. Now, if
somebody calls them up to you, the rest assuredly ain't God.
If your conscience bothers you, that ain't God, that's your conscience.
If some preacher calls out your sins, that ain't God. If you're a child of God, God
does not remember your sins at all. That's a wondrous thing. Now where remission or putting
away or doing away with sin is, there is no more offering for
sin. Why? Once was enough. The Cross
of Calvary. Who was this salvation made for? They are named in the Scripture.
They are called those that were given to God, and I just quoted
from John chapter 6, they are called the elect of God, chosen,
elect, Greek word, eclektos, chosen out of, a fallen race. They're called the church, the
ekklesia, the gathered together group. They're called the bride
of Christ. They're called the sheep. They're
called the beloved. They're called the children of
God. and they are always willing when God acts upon them. My people
shall be willing in the day of my power, he said. Look back at our text in Isaiah
chapter 45. He alone is the Savior. He says
in verse 22, and be ye saved all the ends
of the earth, for I am God. There is none else, no other
Savior, no other Savior. No matter who or where you are
or what state you're in, all the ends of the earth, look to
Him if you want to be saved. he is god and there is none else
and clearly intends to save he said i have sworn by myself the
word is going out of my mouth in righteousness it says the
same thing in isaiah 55 my word is going out of my mouth and
shall not return to be void but shall accomplish what unto i
send it and because he has authority
and power what he intends he will perform although the philippian
church be confident this god who has begun a good work and
you will finish it will complete it until the day of jesus christ he said this is going to happen
mark this down you can put this in your pipe and smoke it every
knee shall bow to me every knee shall bow you have a joint in
the middle of your leg for that reason. Because you're going
to hit the dirt one of these days. Every knee shall bow. When? When people are made to
see who Jesus Christ is. For he was found in the fashion
of man, and being found in the fashion of man, he was obedient
even to the death of the cross, wherefore God is highly exalted
in him, and given him a name above every name, that at the
name of Jesus every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess
that he's Lord to the glory of the Father." Every one of them. He said, well, how about those
in Haden? They're going to bow, too. Everybody's going to bow because
he's the Lord. He's the Lord. And somebody's
going to say, the Lord said, I swore unto this. Somebody's
going to say, and the Lord have I righteousness. Every child
of God says that. my righteousness is Jesus Christ
alone. He's made to be righteousness
to me. I have no righteousness but Him.
You see, He was made to be sin on the cross of the Lord Jesus
Christ. He was made to be sin. And God poured His wrath out
on Him and punished our sin, the sins of His people in Him,
that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. The Lord also says this, even
to Christ shall men come. They shall come. All that the
Father giveth shall come. All who are taught of the Father
shall come. Every one whom God draws shall come. And all that
are incensed against him shall be made ashamed, brought to shame. He that loveth not the Lord Jesus
Christ, let him be anathema maranatha, accursed when the Lord comes.
and in the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified."
What does that mean? Counted as having never sinned.
That's what justified means. Counting as having never sinned.
And they shall glory in what? In God, who are Israel, true
Israel, are the people of God, not the nation. that God chose
to show that no matter whom He chose, if He didn't do something
for their heart and mind, they wouldn't do anything except sin
against Him. They were a natural election.
But there's a spiritual election, an election unto salvation, as
it's called in 2 Thessalonians 2, verse 13. Behold the seed
of Israel. He is not a Jew, which is one
outwardly Paul said. one inwardly whose circumcision
is of the heart and not of the flesh, whose praise is of God
and not of men. You see, what God intends, God
accomplishes. That's the title of my message.
Intent equals accomplishment. What God intends. How do I know?
Because the Bible tells me so. I'll quote Daniel 4 again one
more time. he hath done, or he doeth all things according
to his will, among the inhabitants of the earth, that's us, among
the host of heaven, that's the angels, none can stay his hand. What
does that mean? You can't stop him. You can't hinder God. you know
what you are you know what I am that's it you can hold one breath
at a time that's all you're capable of doing try to reserve one right
now try to breathe one in and then breathe another in without
breathing out what's your life? that a breath We're nothing. We're nothing. Our hope is built on Christ alone,
His blood and His righteousness. We're going to celebrate what
is called the Lord's Table. The Lord's Table are for those
who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, who are trusting in His
merit alone and not their own. who are trusting that He alone
is their righteousness, and they have nothing to offer God save
for Him, who are able to discern the body and blood of Jesus Christ
in these elements that are not actually the body and blood of
Christ, but symbolic of the body and blood of Christ and the unleavened
bread and the wine. They examine themselves, and
then they eat. They examine themselves. What?
Do I trust Christ? Am I laying all my hope on Him? I do, and you're welcome to this
board and to this table to take this breath delightfully, because
you're doing something that the world will never understand. You're setting forth the death
of the Lord Jesus Christ and He comes again. and these things. If I'm letting
bread, that's bread. Bread without yeast and wine. These are elements that anybody
can have. Nothing magical or even spiritual
about them. What they are is a reminder in
our flesh that Jesus Christ came in this life. The Word was made flesh and blood
among us, and we beheld His glorious blood, begotten of the Father,
for the grace of truth. And in His flesh He gave His body
for us, and that cost Calvary. And He shed His blood for us. And we died. All our sins. Let us rejoice. May we take this table. Let's ask the Lord to bless us
upon the name of his Father. Gracious Lord God, what a privilege
it is for your children to gather around this table to sit and
to consider the glory of Jesus Christ and what he's done for
us. We do know that 2,000 years ago when a lonely hill called
Golgotha replaced the skull of our Lord Jesus Christ, count
voluntarily. He gave his life for us. And in that And the night I rode the train,
he took bread, the unleavened bread of the Passover feast.
He said, thank you, this is my body, welcome to you, as often
as you do this. Do this in remembrance of me. Afterwards, he took the covenant
to be blessed He said to his disciples, this cup is the new
covenant, the new testament in my blood. As often as you eat
this bread and drink this cup, you will show forth my death
if I come with you. Do this in the name of Jesus.
In the biblical record, it is afterward
that it suddenly ends and our Lord went out. We betrayed our
friends' kids. We're standing. What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Oh, precious is the flow that
makes me white as snow. No other fount I know, nothing
but the blood of Jesus. This is all my hope and peace,
nothing but the blood of Jesus. This is all my righteousness,
nothing but the blood of Jesus. Oh, precious is the flow that
makes me white as snow. No other fount I know, nothing
but the blood of Jesus.