Let us Draw Near

[0:00] 1 Corinthians 10, verse 14 before, this is the covenant that I will make with them.

[0:34] 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 is now no more offering for sin.

[0:57] 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, and having a high priest over the house of God, 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.

[1:29] Let us hold fast the profession of our faith, without wavering, for he is faithful at promise, and let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the day approaching.

[1:56] At communion we think about his life, we think about his death, we think about his life in us, and we can have life. The word of God has the message of life for us, and we see much truth here, and really I'm just scratching the surface to consider what it is saying here.

[2:18] By one offering he hath perfected forever then, that I sanctified. He's talking about you, the people of God. You are saints. You are saints.

[2:30] It's a lifestyle, it's a way of living. He's perfected then. You are perfected. You are made whole and complete. You are completed in Christ, perfected in Christ.

[2:43] You are them that are sanctified, made holy. That's what his blood does. He touches our hearts, our minds, our whole being.

[2:59] And these verses tell us that you have reason for boldness, for boldness, for confidence, for assurance. This is not something that we need approached with any trepidation, that we can come to him.

[3:15] Because the blood has made the way open. It's made it possible. The way is open. His blood. The veil has been torn.

[3:27] And the veil of his flesh too. The way is open because of his flesh. It's open into the holiest. Into the holiest place.

[3:38] Into the house of God. As it were, of heaven itself. Isn't that a wonderful truth today? That it's open.

[3:49] It's an open invitation. It's not a select, not a closed off thing. For us that love the Lord. He's broken the bars.

[4:04] He's opened the door wide. He's split the veil curtain wide open. From top to bottom.

[4:15] It was God, wasn't it? From top to bottom. He split it. He tore it apart. And there's exhortations in these verses here. Let us draw near.

[4:25] Let us draw near. Let us hold fast. Let us consider one another. Life. There's life in the word. There's life through the blood.

[4:38] There's remission. There's eternal life. And it tells us here of an exhortation. Let us draw near. Let us hold fast.

[4:49] Let us consider one another. Consideration. Do we stop and think? Sometimes life is all about me. It's the me generation, isn't it?

[5:00] The selfish generation. And yet, should we, as the scriptures say, rather consider one another? Or we should consider our brother and sister. Consider others. Better than ourselves.

[5:11] And think of others. Consideration. And provocation. Of fellowship. To provoke one another to love. To provoke one another.

[5:21] To good works. To provoke one another. To exhort one another. To assemble. And so much the more, as the day is approaching, there's a missionary martyred By the Ecuadorian Indians.

[5:39] Jim Elliot. And he said this. God, I pray thee, light these idle sticks of my life. And may I burn for thee.

[5:52] Consume my life, my God. For it is thine. I seek not a long life, but a full one, like you, Lord Jesus.

[6:02] This is the table of life, as we think of his death.

[6:27] And please be invited to partake. I'll ask him, Brother Peter Guttridge and Moses, to help pass the bread and cup and hold together. And please feel welcome.

[6:40] As the scriptures tell us, that we should examine our hearts, examine ourselves. And as the Lord puts conviction on your heart to partake or not partake, then so be it today.

[6:54] And please pass the bread and cup, and we'll hold together. And I trust that there's enough for all today. I'll read the scriptures as you go ahead there.

[7:06] It says, 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.

[7:17] And when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, Take, eat. This is my body, which is broken for you.

[7:29] This do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, after he had supped, saying, This cup is the New Testament in my blood.

[7:42] But this do ye as often as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death till ye come.

[7:56] 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.

[8:06] But let a 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 concerning the Lord's body.

[8:26] Perfected forever, them that are sanctified. He promises their sins and iniquities, will I remember no more. He says, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them.

[8:50] Now where remission of these is, talking of sins and iniquities, will I remember no more. Where remission or forgiveness of these is, of sins, there is no more offering for sin.

[9:04] It's once for all. It's not something, as some would consider they're reenacting it, or in some spooky way. This is a reminder, a prompting, because I know I'm forgetful, I need to be reminded.

[9:22] It's a snapshot, a photograph, a picture to us, of the real, of that day where our Saviour took the cup and breath with his own.

[9:42] We can be prompted to think of that time, can't we? To think of his life, to think of that lifestyle that he gives to us, that everlasting life, to think of that new and living way, that we can have boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus.

[10:01] 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. I'll ask Brother Peter to praise you.

[10:14] Think of the bread, the body of our Saviour. We thank you, Lord, that that great sacrifice was made for us all that long, long time ago, but it's as relevant now to us today as it was then, and to Christians through all those generations, and to Christians yet to come.

[10:34] We thank you that we have the privilege of freely gathering here around the table. We pray that you bring the sins of the cross before us so that we will be mindful that our Saviour sacrificed all that for us, that we might have eternal life.

[10:50] We thank you now for this bread as a remembrance and a symbol of his body in his name we pray. Thank you. Let us pray.

[11:00] Please, we think about the blood, the blood of the new covenant. All right, let us pray. The Lord, come and say, thanks to this blood.

[11:13] Like you said, Jesus, that whoever is going to drink your blood, you will not be the same again. So let us feel like we are new in you, Jesus Christ.

[11:26] and that's... So let us like... Let us feel like we are new to the storm and that is... In Jesus' name, Amen.