We will today, as is our custom,
the last Sunday of each month, conclude our service by observing
the Lord's Supper. The Lord Jesus Christ himself
gave this ordinance to his church on the last night before he was
crucified, the last Passover. In Luke's account of that night,
we read these words. This is from Luke chapter 22. And when the hour was come, oh,
the hour, this is the hour for which time was begun. When the hour was come, he sat
down and the twelve apostles with him. And he said unto them,
with desire, I have desire to eat this Passover with you before
I suffer. And as they did so, that is,
were doing the Lord's, or the Passover rather, The Lord gave
this ordinance that we will observe today. The Passover, so to speak,
just melted into the Lord's Supper. And that was the last Passover.
What about those Jews that still observe it? They're deceived.
They're blind. No more Passovers, because Paul
tells us in 1 Corinthians 5, for even Christ, our Passover,
is sacrifice for us. And what was true of the type,
that is the Passover, A picture of Christ is true of the fulfillment
of that type. God himself was to provide the
lamb, wasn't he? That lamb was to be put to death. The death of that lamb was to
atone for, typically with the Passover lamb, and put away sin. The lamb was to be all sufficient
sacrifice for sin and infinite atonement for transgression.
The lamb promised was provided. was provided. John pointed him
out to everyone that was within hearing distance when he saw
Jesus Christ and cried with a loud voice, Behold the Lamb of God! Behold the Lamb of God! May we do that very thing today,
Billy. May God in His grace allow us
to behold once again fresh the Lamb of God. After all, after
all, if we don't, If we don't, when we observe this, don't remember
Him, then have we really did what He commanded? Have we really
observed the Lord's table if we don't remember Him? As someone
so wisely said, this is a hymn book, not H-Y-M-N. This is a hymn book, H-I-M. It's all about Jesus Christ.
I remembered an article and found it that Brother Darwin wrote
along this line. Let me share it with you. It
might ring a bell with you too. The Bible, Darwin wrote, the
Bible is not a how-to book. It's not a road map. It's not
a calendar of events. It's not a history book or a
code of conduct. The Bible is a H-I-M book. From beginning to end is the
declaration of the redemptive glory of God in Christ. Take
the preeminence of Christ out of the Bible and all you have
is another book. Use the Bible for any other reason
than to declare Christ crucified and you misuse the word of God. And that's exactly what we find
in scripture. After our Lord rose from the
dead, before he ascended back to glory, he told his disciples,
these are the words which I spake unto you while I was yet with
you. This is in Luke 24. that all
things must be fulfilled, which are written in the Law of Moses."
Now remember, what he mentions here is all the Bible they had
at that time. "...which are written in the Law of Moses," the first
five books, "...and in the Prophets, and in the Psalms concerning
me." That was the whole Old Testament. It was all about Him. The Word
of God is about God the Word again. On that night Before Christ
our Passover was sacrificed for his sheep, he said this, this
is from Matthew chapter 26, verse 26. And as they were eating,
Jesus took bread and blessed it and break it and gave it to
the disciples and said, take, eat, this is my body. Now the
Catholics say, they use a big word called transubstantiation,
that in the process from the bread, the wafer from the priest's
hand to the mouth of the recipient, it actually becomes the body
of Christ. What utter nonsense. How can
intelligent people, blind, just blind, oh no, it's just a picture.
It wasn't his literal body, the bread is a picture, a type of
his body. And he took the cup and gave
thanks, and gave it to them saying, drink ye all of it, for this
is my blood of the New Testament, the new covenant, which is shed
for many, for many, for the remission of sins. For many. If he was
going to lay down his life for the world, why didn't he say
for many? Why didn't he say for everybody? That wasn't so. The many for
many. For the redeemed. For the redeemed. For the called. For every believer. The supper of the Lord is designed
for the family of the Lord, nobody else. It is indeed a family meal. Christ invites none but his family
to partake of it, and every one of these are expected to take
their seats at the table. Oh, Jesus will have none missing
at supper time. Oh, and that time in glory, well,
he went on that same night and said this, but I say unto you,
I will not drink henceforth of the fruit of this vine until
that day, that day that will never end, that day without a
night, until that day when I drink it new with you in my father's
kingdom and there will be none missing at suppertime. All his
children will be there. Each time we observe the Lord's
Supper, I read verses from 1 Corinthians 11 where Paul tells us the very
same thing we just read that our Lord said in Matthew 26.
Paul in verse 26 of 1 Corinthians 11 said this, for as often as
you eat this bread and drink this cup, you do show the Lord's
death till he come. That's our text. Just those three
words. That's the subject. Till he comes. We won't need this then. No,
we won't need a reminder then. We shall see him as he is. Till he comes. Those three little
words. The first one is till, or until. We need this ordinance now. We
need this reminder. It's good. It's good for us.
It's needful for us to be reminded that Jesus Christ, our Passover
trod the winepress alone. Oh, can we think about that too
much? And that there was no one with
him. He single-handedly obtained eternal
redemption for us. He did. He did. My faith doesn't
make it effectual. My faith flows from the work
of grace. There was none to help. There
was none to help. There was none to assist. There
was none to join him in trotting that winepress of the fierceness
of Almighty God. He did it all by himself. No
wonder Paul said, God forbid that I should glory. He said,
I'm not going to join you, Pharisees. No, no, I did it one time, but
no more. God's given me something better.
He forbids that I glory in anything except the cross. of our Lord
Jesus Christ. And He didn't mean the wood,
the literal cross. He meant the atonement, the redemption,
what Christ accomplished upon that cross. There was none to
help. He did it all alone. And when
He did, He purged our sins. Oh my soul, is anything more
important? Is anything more glorious? Is
anything more comforting? Is there anything we need to
be reminded of anymore? He did it all. We read in 2 Corinthians
5 verse 21, For God hath made Him, Him, no one else, to be
sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness
of God in Him. The Him there can only be speaking
of one person. One person. We know who the Him
is. It must be about Jesus Christ. Who but Christ could be made
sin by God? Who but Christ? In Luke 23 we
read this, when Pilate, for the last time, brought Christ out
before that bloodthirsty mob, the Pharisees had already plotted
and planted people around, when Pilate, which was the custom
at the Passover feast, to release a prisoner to them, whoever they
chose, that's what Pilate was doing. The Pharisees had already planted
people and told them, when he comes out and asks that all of
you say, give us Barabbas, give us Barabbas, that's what was
happening. And we read in Luke 23, and they
were instant with loud voices, requiring that it might be that
he, that is Christ, might be crucified. And the voices of
them and of the chief priests prevailed. And Pilate gave sentence
that it should be as they required. And he released unto them him
that for sedition and murder was cast into prison, whom they
had desired. But he delivered Jesus to their
will. Wow, what a verse. He delivered
Jesus to their will. We hear men Talk about man's
glorious will. Man's free will. Man's mighty
will. God won't interfere with man's
will. Huh? I'll tell you what happened. Here's a picture of what man's
will would do if given permission by God. Huh? Crucifying, crucifying. Oh, but there was a will greater
than theirs. that demanded, that required
the death of the Son of God. They could curse Him, humiliate
Him. That's what man's will was. They
could strip Him and scourge Him and spit in His blessed face
and nail Him to a cross and while He suffered and died make fun
of Him, mock Him. They could do all that. That's
what man's will did. But man's will could not do this. They couldn't do this. They couldn't
make the Son of God to be sin. Only God could do that. Only
God Almighty could do that. Only a just God could do that.
Man cried, crucifying, crucifying. But there was another voice.
Another cry from heaven itself, from a just God himself that
said, Awake, O sword! Against the man who is against
my shepherd, against the man that is my fellow, saith the
Lord of hosts, smite the shepherd! That was the will that prevailed.
He was smitten of God, the prophet said, and afflicted. He was wounded
for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities.
The chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes
we are healed. All we, like sheep, have gone
astray. We have turned every one to his
own way, and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. Many hands were raised to wound
him. None would interpose to save.
Oh, but the awful stroke that found him was the stroke that
justice gave. God willed to make Christ sin
who knew no sin. Oh, my soul, with this blessed
outcome, this blessed result, that we might be made the righteousness
of God in Him. That's what we'll remember today.
That's what we'll celebrate today. and rejoice in doing so. We'll
remember and celebrate and rejoice in the sure triumph of our great
God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Most of the articles, nearly
all of them I believe, has to do with the atonement, redemption
by Christ in your bulletin today. I love what Mr. Spurgeon said
in that article by him. As for a hazy atonement which
atones for everybody in general, but for nobody in particular,
an atonement made equally for Judas as for John, I care nothing
for it, neither do I. But a literal substitutionary
sacrifice, Christ vicariously bearing the wrath of God on my
behalf, this calms my conscience. Yes, this gives me peace. May we as we eat the bread, and
drink the wine representing the body and the precious blood of
Christ, hear once again the words of a holy God himself saying,
when I see your faith, I'll pass over you. No, no, no. When I
see your repentance, no. When I see your good works, no,
no. God says, when I see the blood,
Oh, when I see the blood, bless his name, I will pass over you. There's no redeemed sinner. There
is no possibility of any sinner redeemed by the Lord Jesus Christ
ever waking up in hell. It ain't gonna happen. It's never
happened, it never will happen. All who are redeemed are vessels
of grace. All who are regenerated are patterns
of grace. All who are saved are monuments
of God's sovereign grace, and all the citizens of heaven sing
the loud praises of God's grace. Remember the hymn we sang a while
back, one of Don's hymns? First time we sang it, we'll
have to sing it again. He wrote, God will not charge
one sin to his children, no, not one, no, not one. Nor will
he ever for sin condemn them, no, not one, no, not one. There
is not a sheep that shall ever miss heaven. No, not one. No, not one. Not one to Christ,
the Good Shepherd given. No, not one. No, not one. Jesus
Christ, our Almighty Savior, shall never fail to save His
own. He'll never lose one of His redeemed
ones. No, not one. No, not one. So we observe this ordinance
only till He comes, only till he comes, then we won't need
it. Thomas, Thomas, reach forth your
hand. Feel the wounds. Feel the wounds. Thomas, because you see me, you
believe. Blessed are those who shall not
see me, and yet shall believe. But one day, though now we see
him not, yet we rejoice with joy unspeakable and for all the
glory with the sure hope that one day, one day, As Job said,
though I die and the skin worms have feast on my flesh, in my
flesh I shall see God with my own eyes. How will you see God,
Job? In the face of the Lord Jesus
Christ, the God-man. We shall see him as he is. Here's the second word. He. Till he comes. Not if he comes. There's no ifs about it. There
are no ifs in the covenant of grace, no maybes. Everything in the everlasting
covenant of grace is sure, is sure. Listen to what the prophet
said, what God said by the prophet, Isaiah 55 and 3. Incline your
ear and come unto me. Here in your soul shall live.
And I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure
mercies of David, the son of David. That is the Messiah. Covenant mercies are all His
mercies. They are purchased by Him. They
are promised in Him. They are treasured up in His
hand. And out of His hand they are dispensed to those needy
sinners that He redeemed. He's the mediator and the trustee
of the covenant. That's what David relaxed in
on his deathbed, didn't he? And he had regrets. He spoke
of them. Oh, but above all that, he said, now these be the last
words of David. David, the son of Jesse, said,
the man who was raised up on high and anointed of the God
of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel said, although my house
be not so with God, yet. We all can say that, can't we?
Every believer can say that. Although our house be not so
with God. Oh, we have rebel children, loved
ones. Most of our families are lost
or blinded by some free will religion. Oh yes, though my house
be not so with God, yet, yet, he had made with me an everlasting
covenant, ordered in all things and sure. Certain, this is all
my salvation and all my desire. The sure mercies of David are
made sure by Jesus Christ. That's why he's called the surety.
He's the surety of his people, Hebrews 7 and 22. By so much
was Jesus made a surety of a better testament or covenant in eternity. The Lord Jesus Christ stood up
at the call of God the Father, as the covenant head and surety
of His people, to answer both for their debt that they owed
to God and for their duty, so that He stood in their room instead. And all that He did, and all
that He suffered, all that He and God the Father coveted in
eternity to do, Christ did. And they agreed to this, that
everything that He did He would be representing his people, and
it would be charged to their account. Wow, how about that? How about that? Is it that what
Paul told Philemon concerning that runaway slave of Nesimus
that stole from his master and fled? But sovereign grace found
him and saved him. And Paul wrote to Philemon and
said, anything he owes you, anything he's wronged you about, he said,
charge it to me. Put it on my account. I'll pay
it. That's what Christ told God the Father. In that everlasting
covenant of grace, Father, in the fullness of time, you'll
send me, and I will go and do everything your holy law requires
for you. I will live for them, and I will
die for them. I'll suffer for them. I'll raise
for them. I'll come to glory for them,
and I'll intercede for them before your throne as their representative. Put anything they owe you on
my account. I'll pay it. Jesus paid it all. So we can be certain that there's
no possibility that the captain of our salvation won't bring
many sons to glory. There'll be no children missing
at supper time in glory. It doesn't speak of when he comes,
does it? Doesn't speak of that. It's amazing
to me how people, otherwise intelligent people, will believe every nut
that comes down the pipe claiming to have figured out when Jesus
Christ is coming back. I mean, every year or two, somebody
raises up and says, oh, yes, I figured it out. On September
the 1st, 2023, Jesus Christ is coming. Well, he's came then,
because it's past that, isn't it? And people will believe it. People will believe it. Sell
their belongings, quit their jobs. Believe it. It's happened
time and time again. When the disciples of Christ
asked him that very question about his coming, he said, it's
not for you to know. It's not for you to know. No
man knoweth that hour or day, not the angels of heaven, but
my Father only. The joy is not when he comes,
or where he comes, or how he comes. We're told to keep this
ordinance till he comes. Who's coming? That's what we
want. to consider, to remember. We're
looking for who, not what, not where, not when, not how. Who? Who? Jesus Christ. He said, in
my Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have
told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare
a place for you, I'll come again and receive you to myself that
where I am, there ye may be also. Oh, when I think of my Dear friend,
my pastor, my dear friend Dave Coleman, Lester, others, and
I miss them. I miss them. I think of where
they're at now. Where they're at, but more than
that, who they're with. That where I am, there ye may
be also. For the Lord himself shall descend
from heaven with a shout. with the voice of the archangel
and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ shall
rise first. Then we which are alive and remain
shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the
Lord in the air. And so shall we ever be with
the Lord." Comfort one another with these words. In the next
chapter, 1 Thessalonians 5, Paul says, For God has not appointed
us to wrath, but to obtain salvation. by our Lord Jesus Christ, who
died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, whether we're
living or dead, we should live together with him. When he appears
to us, whether in the sky, while we're living, or at the last
crossing of the Jordan, when this life is over, either way,
we will be with him. Do you remember years ago when
Don was here preaching? And just as today, we were going
to conclude the last service of that weekend, Sunday morning,
by observing the Lord's table. Don was sitting right there in
that second pew next to the shelf. And just as I began to read,
he said, Larry, would you mind if I said something? I said,
go ahead, Don. He said, Brother Scott Richardson,
before he died, gave Marvin Stoniger a pocket. He said, Marvin, you
know, of course Marvin pastors there that were, Brother Scott
pastored for, who am I, so I don't know how many years. But he told
Marvin, he said, now this is yours each time you touch this
or think about it, you might remember me. My dear friend and
pastor did the very same thing. He gave me this knife for a birthday,
years ago. Every time I reach for it. Every time I reach in my pocket. Every time I use it, I think
about God. I think about God. Christ said,
every time you eat the bread and you drink the wine, think
about me. Remember me, beloved. Now are
we the sons of God. And it doth not yet appear what
we shall be. But we know that when he shall appear, we shall
be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Christ, before
he went back to heaven, gave this ordinance, looked back and
said, now keep this, keep this, and as often as you do it, remember
me, till I come. And that's the last word. Come. Oh, bless God. Jesus Christ is
coming. He always does, doesn't he? When
he came the first time, we read in Hebrews 10 and 5, Wherefore
when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering
thou wouldst not, but a body hast thou prepared me. And burnt
offerings and sacrifice for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then
said I, Lo, I come the first time to do thy will, O God. He came to save his people from
their sins, and he will surely come to take those people whose
sins he bore and his own body on the tree, every one of them
back to the Father's house. There's no sheep. Let me quote
it again. There's not a sheep that shall
ever miss heaven, no not one, no not one. Not one to Christ,
the good shepherd given. No, not one. No, not one. If any one redeemed sinner of
that multitude that no man could number don't go to glory, it'll
be the fault of the shepherd. He's responsible for the sheep.
He's got to answer for the sheep. And bless God, he will. Father,
I and the children that you gave me, here they are. None is lost. I lost none. He will throw our
crowns at his feet. and seen worthy is the Lamb. He always comes to his people,
doesn't he? Nothing can keep the good shepherd
from his sheep in life or in death. The bridegroom away from
his bride is not possible. We read in John 6 this story. When the evening was now come,
the disciples went down into the sea and entered into a ship
and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was now dark
Hmm. Have you been there? Are you
there now? It was now dark, and Jesus was
not come to them. Hmm. The sea arose by reason
of a great wind that blew, and Jesus was not come to them. It
was dark. They were afraid. They were in
peril, and Jesus was not come to them. It was three o'clock
in the morning, But Jesus had not come to them in the midst
of a fierce storm. But Jesus had not come to them. Oh, but He came, didn't He? Bless
His name, He came, yes. Doesn't He always come? Huh? Doesn't He always come? He always
comes to His own. He said, I'll never leave you,
I'll never forsake you. When they had rowed about 5 and
20 or 30 furlongs, they see Jesus walking on the sea and drawing,
coming nigh unto the ship. And they were afraid. But he
said unto them in his eye, be not afraid. Yes, he says, I'll
come. I'll come when the storms of
life are raging. Stand by me. When the storms
of life are raging, stand by me. When this world is tossing
me like a ship upon the sea, O thou who rulest wind and water,
stand by me. In John 14, again, this is the
night just before he went to the garden, to Gethsemane, where
he was arrested. He told his disciples, he'd already
told them in chapter 13, he said, I'm going away and you can't
come with me. He said, pretty soon the world's going to rejoice
and you're going to lament. You're going to have sorrow.
Peter said, Lord, can I go with you? No, Peter, you can't. You
can't follow me now. Then he told them, in chapter
14, verse 18, I will not leave you comfortless. I will come
to you. I will. I will not leave you
comfortless. I will come to you. He was about
to be taken away from them, and they felt like Orphans. Orphans. They would be without
their protector. Our Savior knew their fear. And
before he left this world, he said, don't be afraid. Don't
be afraid. I will not leave you comfortless. Do you know what he really said?
That word comfortless? Orphans. That's what it is. I will not leave you orphans. I will come to you. Orphans. I will not leave you as orphans.
Mother and father might, but I won't. Friends once beloved
may grow stony-hearted and turn against you, but I never will.
I, the faithful and the true witness, the immutable, the unchangeable
Jesus, the same yesterday and today and forever, I will not
leave you orphans. I will not. I will not. I will
not forsake. I will come to you. This is good,
as I said, for life and for death. I will come to you. Oh, in that
last moment when our pulse beats faintly and we're just about
to pass through that veil into that upper world. May we have this upon our lips
and in our hearts in that hour. My master, fulfill the word on
which you have caused me to hope. I will not leave you Orphanless. I will not leave you rather as
an orphan. I will come to you. Until that blessed time comes,
we will do as our Lord commanded us. And in doing so, oh, will
you pray with me, God, help us to remember Him until He comes. Grace be unto you and peace from
Him which is and which was and which is to come. From Jesus
Christ, who is the faithful witness and the first begotten of the
dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth, unto him that loved
us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made
us kings and priests unto God and his Father. To him be glory
and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. Behold, he cometh. He cometh with clouds, and every
eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him. And all kindreds
of the earth shall wail because of him even so. Amen. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning
and the ending, saith the Lord, which is and which was and which
is to come, the Almighty, the Almighty. Oh, face to face with
Christ my Savior. Face to face, what will it be? When with rapture I behold Him,
Jesus Christ who died for me. Face to face, oh blissful moment. Face to face to see and know.
Face to face with my Redeemer, Jesus Christ, who loved me so. God bless you.