Hebrews 10. I want to begin tonight's message
by reading one verse right here. And let's see if we can enter
into the amazement of what this is saying to us. Verse 22, Hebrews
10, 22, it says, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having
our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies
washed with pure water. Let us draw near with a true
heart in full assurance of faith. having our hearts sprinkled from
an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. About
two or three weeks ago, on a Sunday night after the service, I was
standing in the foyer with a few of you brethren, like we do,
talking, and one of our little ones was walking through the
foyer like she was on a mission. I mean, she was on a mission
headed outside. I guess she was going to go play
with the other kids. But as she was literally bouncing through
the foyer, she turned and looked at me and stopped and threw her
arms out and wrapped them around my calves and buried her face
in my knees and hugged me. And I reached down and I hugged
her back. And when she was done, she turned
and went about her business. And I told those of you brethren
that were standing there, I said, now that's what you call approaching
with boldness. In full assurance of faith that
you'll be received. Full assurance that you will
be received and not rejected. Is it not amazing that we can
approach our God in the very same way? Uh, we can't approach
the president that way, but we can approach the God of heaven
and earth in that exact same way. According to His own Word,
we can draw near to Him in full assurance of faith. We have the privilege and we have the liberty to come
right up to the very God of heaven and earth. And He said we'll
be received. He said He will receive us. And
it's because of one reason only. It's because of the blood and
the water that flowed from the death of our Lord and Savior,
Jesus Christ. The end of verse 22 says, having
our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience. And our bodies
washed with pure water, that covering of the blood that paid
the debt and the washing of that pure water that made us clean. Now, this table, we're gonna
observe the Lord's table tonight. And this table is in remembrance
of that acceptance that Christ has provided for us in the sacrifice
of Himself. And this table is not something
that we should take lightly. Not at all. Not every person
should take this table. Not every person should take
this table. This table is a great blessing
to those who have received the assurance of faith. But this table right here is
damnation to those who have not received the assurance of faith. And it has nothing to do with
eating the bread and drinking the wine. You tell people that
it's damnation to those who have not received the assurance of
faith and they, you know, it's like they're poisoned or something.
It has nothing to do, that's just bread and that's just wine,
that's all it is. It has everything to do with
a sinner's heart in why he or she wants to eat that bread and
drink that wine. It has everything to do with
that. I want to explain what that means. I believe this is
very important. As we partake of this and move
forward with this ordinance, this is so important. In this,
I pray we'll see whether or not we ought to take this table.
Turn with me over to 1 Corinthians chapter 11. 1 Corinthians 11, this is where the Apostle Paul
gave the instruction of observing the Lord's table in our worship
and it says in verse 23, the Apostle Paul said, for I
have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you. that the Lord Jesus, the same
night in which he was betrayed, took bread. And when he had given
thanks, he break it and said, Take, eat, this is my body which
is broken for you, this do in remembrance of me. After the
same manner also he took the cup when he had supped, saying
this cup is the New Testament in my blood this do ye as oft
as you drink it in remembrance of me for as often as you eat
this bread and drink this cup you do show the Lord's death
till he come. Now watch verse 27. Wherefore
whosoever shall eat this bread and drink this cup of the Lord
unworthily shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let that man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread
and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh
unworthily eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning
the Lord's body." He said, before you do this, and we all need
to pay attention to this right here, before we do this, He said,
we need to examine ourselves. Paul said, you need to examine
yourself to see whether or not you would be taking this table
in a worthy way or in unworthy way. Because anybody who takes
this unworthily is eating and drinking damnation to his or
her soul. That's pretty serious, isn't
it? That is very, very serious. People take this, they don't
even think twice about it. And this is serious. This is
so, so serious. What makes the difference in
whether we take this table worthily or unworthily? What makes the
difference? The apostle Paul said, it has
everything to do with discerning the Lord's body. It has everything
to do with discerning the Lord's body. This table represents the
broken body and the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. This
table represents His death. That's what this represents,
His death. And here's what it all comes
down to. This is what it all comes down to. Why did Christ die? Why did Christ die? Why did Christ
have to die? What did Christ accomplish in
his death? What do we discern about this? What do we discern about why
Christ had to do that? What do we discern about ourselves
in this? What does the fact that he had
to bring himself to this say about us? What does that say
about us? Why did it have to come to that?
That's the question. Why did it have to come to that?
What did he accomplish in that? Think about this, honestly, honestly,
think about this. Did he have to be brutally mutilated? Did he have to be brutally mutilated? And did he have to suffer the
vengeance of God and the torments of hell? Because we're all a
bunch of fine Christian people, and we really didn't have much
wrong with us, just a few little small things. And we really could
have saved ourselves, but it's always good to have a backup
plan. And really, did he have to do
that for that reason? Really? What do we discern in this? What do we discern? Do we see
His death as being His half of the work and now we have to do
our half of the work? Do we see ourselves as having
the ability to save ourselves and there really wasn't any good
point to His death? Enter into the mentality of of
the flesh. Enter into the mentality of what
people think. Really, I can save myself and
I don't know what the point of his death was. I mean, I don't
know why he died. What do we discern about this? People say with their mouth,
they say, Christ died on the cross to save me from my sin. That's what people say. but then
they believe with their heart, well, he died, but I still have
to save myself. That's what they think. He died to save me. Did Christ
die to save you? Yes, he died to save me, but
he really didn't save me. He didn't really accomplish what
He set out to do. This is what He came to do. But
He didn't really accomplish what He came to do. That's something that I'm going
to have to accomplish. It's on me. Salvation is on me. If I'm going to be saved, it's
going to hinge on how I take matters into my own hands and
what I do with those matters. Okay, well, then why did Christ
die? If that's so, if that discernment
in that mentality of religion, that's religion, if that's so,
then why did Christ die? What really was the point of
his death? If we wanna get to the root of
the issue, it all comes down to works and grace. If you wanna
get to the heart of this, it comes down to works and grace. Did Christ save his people? Or are they really gonna have
to save themselves? What do we discern about the
Lord's body? His broken body, and He has shed
blood. What do we discern about this?
Turn with me over to Galatians chapter 2. In Galatians 2 verse 21 it says, I do not frustrate the grace
of God. For if righteousness comes by
the law, then Christ is dead in vain. Now that's what God's people
discern on this. That right there, that verse
is what God's people discern on this. If righteousness before
God Acceptance and perfection, if it comes by my obedience to
the law, meaning if it comes through my good deeds, if it
comes because I have earned my own self-righteousness, if I
have my own righteousness, it's a self-righteousness. And if that's the case, then
Christ died in vain. If that's the case, Christ died
in vain. If I believe that my own goodness
makes me worthy to approach God, then that's what I discern about
the Lord's body. If that's what I believe, then that's what I
discern. I discern that His broken body
and His shed blood was in vain. And any man or woman who takes
this table, believing that in his or her heart, that Christ
died in vain, that he was just a, it was just a vain thing. The man or woman who eats to
that and drinks to that, you'll hear people say, well, I'll drink
to that. I mean, I agree with that. I'll celebrate that. The
man or woman who eats to that and drinks to that is eating
and drinking damnation to his soul. But the man or the woman who
eats and drinks, crying, God forbid, there is no way that
Christ died in vain. No way. Looking at myself, I
see exactly why he had to die. looking at myself and looking
at my flesh, I see exactly why He had to die. It was the only
way that this wicked, sinful flesh could be redeemed. It was the only way. I am so
wretched in my flesh. I am so miserable in my flesh. I am so sinful and I'm so vile
and I'm so ruined in my flesh. I could not save myself. My worthlessness could not start
the work. It could not finish the work.
All it could do is suffer the vengeance of God and the torments
of hell. That's all this flesh could do
is suffer the vengeance of God and the torments of hell. That's
why Christ had to die. That's the reason why. He died
to suffer that for me. This represents me. This represents what should have
happened to me. I should have been broken and
emptied. But He died to suffer that for
me. He died to end my wretchedness
and to redeem me back to God. And in His gloriously broken
body, we just read where our Lord said He took bread and He
said, this is my body, meaning this represents my body. And
I love the fact that it says He broke it. He's the one who
broke it. No man broke it. He broke His
own body. He shed His own blood. And in
that glorious broken body and that precious shed blood, that's
what He accomplished. That's what He earned for me. And He earned that to the fullest,
completely. God's people are complete in
the accomplishment of what He did. The man or woman who says
that, that's a true discernment of the Lord's body. To put it
in simple terms, here it is. If we feel in our flesh worthy
to take this, meaning, you know, we're good,
fine Christian folks and good enough and, you know, I'm not
perfect, but I'm good enough. If we feel that we're good enough
and we're worthy to take this, we should not take this table. That's a self-righteousness in
the man or woman who does that. Man or woman who approaches God
with that is gonna receive damnation to his or her soul. But if we
see ourselves to be so unworthy to take this, I am not worthy
to eat that bread and to drink that wine. If we feel so vile and so wretched
in our wicked flesh that we're ashamed to even approach this
table, totally ashamed. And if we completely understand
why Christ had to endure this, and if that's our only hope,
that broken body and that shed blood, if that's our only hope,
then that is a correct discerning of why He had to die, and that's
a worthiness to take the table. That's a worthiness. God said,
with that discerning, you are worthy and you're welcome to
walk right up to this table. and to partake of what's been
provided for you. To see ourselves as being worthy,
that's unworthy. And to see ourselves as being
unworthy, that's worthy. Go with me now back to Hebrews
10. We're going to see Christ was the only one that was worthy. We're only worthy in Him. Hebrews
10, verse 1, it says, For the Law, having a shadow
of good things to come, and not the very image of the things,
can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year
continually make the comers thereunto perfect. For then would they
not have ceased to be offered? Wouldn't they have stopped? If
man could have accomplished a remedy for his own sin. Wouldn't they
have stopped killing all those animals? Verse two, then would
they not have ceased to be offered because that the worshipers once
purged should have had no more conscience of sins. But in those
sacrifices, there is a remembrance again made of sins every year.
For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should
take away sins. Wherefore, when he cometh into
the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldst not,
but a body hast thou prepared me. In burnt offerings and sacrifice
for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, lo, I come, in the
volume of the book it is written of me, to do thy will, O God. Above, when He said, Sacrifice
and offering, and burnt offerings, and offering for sin thou wouldest
not, neither hadst pleasure therein, which are offered by the law.
Then said He, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He took away
the first, that He may establish the second. By the witch will
we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus
Christ once for all. Do we want to truly discern the
Lord's body? Know what it is to truly discern
the Lord's body? If we want to understand what
we're confessing and what we're discerning in observing this
table, here it is right here, verse 11. It says, every priest
standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same
sacrifices which can never take away sins. They just keep doing
it and they keep doing it and they keep doing it according
to the law, according to the scripture, according to the Bible.
That's what the Bible says. That's what the Bible says. They
just keep on and they keep on and they keep on and they never
put away one sin. Verse 12 says, but this man,
after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on
the right hand of God from henceforth expecting till his enemies be
made his footstool. For by one offering, he hath
perfected forever them that are sanctified. whereof the Holy
Ghost also is a witness to us. For after that, He had said before,
this is the covenant that I will make with them after those days,
saith the Lord. I will put my laws into their
hearts, and in their minds will I write them, and their sins
and iniquities will I remember no more." Now where remission
of these is, there's no more offering for sin. Having therefore
brethren boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us through
the veil, that is to say his flesh. That veil in the temple, you
know that when he cried, it is finished and bowed his head and
gave up the ghost, that veil, that huge veil that was separated
God's people from His holiness, that veil was torn in two. And that represents the body
of the Lord Jesus Christ that was torn in two to end that separation
between God's people and His holiness. a new and living way. Verse 20, a new and living way
which He hath consecrated, new made, newly made for us through
the veil, that is to say His flesh, and having a high priest
over the house of God, the one who entered the holiest with
His own blood, Because He did that, verse 22 says, let us draw
near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our
hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed
with pure water. If we can rejoice in that, and
if we can say that is my only hope, If we can do that, number
one, if we can do that, we're blessed. We're a blessed people. If we can say it is absolutely
nothing but the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, then we're
a blessed people. And if we can see that that is
our only worthiness before God, then let's draw near to this
table. If he is our only worthiness,
then we can draw near in worthiness. And we can draw near together
with a true heart in full assurance of faith, believing that in Christ
we'll be received. And that's the faith, that's
the assurance of faith that causes a person to, every time they
see Christ, they believe in their heart. I can open my arms wide
and hug him and he'll hug me back. and He'll receive me. So if we have that, let's take
this together. I've asked two men to come read
Psalms for us, two different Psalms. And before they do, I
want to point out that these are the words of our Lord Jesus
Christ. As we read what David penned,
let's realize that these are the words of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is His suffering from the
cross. in everything that he accomplished
for us right here. All right, Brother Luke, you
come and read for us.