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[0:00] The Lord's Table. It's called the Lord's Table, the Lord's Supper or Holy Communion.

[0:17] Different words for the same thing, for this time together, this holy time. And every believer is invited to come and join in this. It's about communion, communion, communion with God, communion with each other as God's family, as we share, as we share together in our life together of faith and our life as God's family, as God's people from all different places and countries and cultures, but yet one family under God.

[0:43] And there's a commonality here. There's a common blessing. There's a common fellowship. There's a common faith. There's a common worship as we come at this holy time of communion.

[0:54] And communion, it speaks of union. It speaks of commonality. It speaks of a wantness that God creates, not man. Communion. It's something that God makes possible, isn't it?

[1:07] And Adam and Eve had a communion with God in the garden. As they were first there in the garden, they talked with God, they walked with God. There was a closeness with God in the garden of Eden.

[1:19] They freely communed with Him and talked with Him and He with them. They were close in the garden at the start. But then sin separated and disjointed that closeness and curtailed that closeness.

[1:38] And so there was a division, there was a separation. As the Bible says that our sins are separated between us and God. And God wants that we meet with Him today. That we have that closeness with Him again.

[1:51] That He can commune with us and we with Him. And in Exodus 25.22, we read that it says, And there I will meet with thee and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat.

[2:07] This was addressed to Moses. Speaking of the tabernacle, speaking of that holy place, the holy of holies. There will I meet with thee and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat.

[2:19] It's talking about the Ark of the Covenant. And it goes on from between the two cherubims, which are like angelic creatures, which are upon the Ark of the testimony of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.

[2:33] So what it was saying here in Exodus 25.22 is the context is of the Lord talking with Moses. And He says to Moses, I will commune with thee, I will meet with thee.

[2:46] Communion is that. It's that communing. It's that communication. It speaks of an approaching unto God. It speaks of God's presence, of meeting with God and of worship.

[2:58] And the Lord says to Moses, I will meet with thee. And I will commune with thee. It's very personal, isn't it? That's how you get that, thee. It makes it very personal.

[3:10] God was talking to Moses first person. And Moses was told that he could commune, talk, communicate with God within the veil. At this special, most holy place.

[3:23] It was a restricted place for select times and a select few. Very limited in time. Very limited in person.

[3:35] And in the inner room of the tabernacle or the tent of meeting, at the Ark of the Covenant was that place where God said he would commune. He would meet. And so you can picture it here, the Ark of the Covenant.

[3:50] That's what Moses had. Communion at the Ark of the Covenant. In the holiest of all. The holiest of holies. The holy of holies. The centre of the tabernacle.

[4:00] Right in the midst. And there was this large sacred container made of wood and overlaid with pure gold. With two winged angels outstretched above. Shielding people from the glory of God that resided there.

[4:14] As that one at that select time would enter in. The glory would kind of be shielded, you can imagine. As the cherubim, these winged creatures were above.

[4:27] That meeting place. That place. And inside the Ark of the Covenant, inside this container, this sacred box, were ten commandments.

[4:44] The law of God. The golden jar of manna. Which showed how the people were sustained through forty years. As God fed them and supplied. And then the rod of Aaron, which produced fruit.

[4:57] All of these items were placed in this vessel, this container. Under the mercy seat. The lid was called the mercy seat. That was on top.

[5:09] And you could picture that this mercy seat represented God's throne. A mercy seat. It was a throne, in effect.

[5:20] Of God's throne. God's residing. God's meeting place. And inside this container, the manna, you're representing God's provision.

[5:33] Through those forty years, God sustained the children of Israel. And the manna, it also speaks of the Lord Jesus as being the true bread that comes from heaven. There's lots of pictures we could go into.

[5:45] And really, there's different ways of looking at some of these items. But there's many spiritual truths that you could consider. And we're just scratching the surface. Just touching on them, really. And then the rod of Aaron, you could consider, represents the Holy Spirit.

[5:59] Which quickens from death to life. And causes us to yield fruit spiritually. And you think of the wooden nature of this container, this vessel. The Ark of the Covenant.

[6:09] Made of wood. And some have said that wood is a symbol of cursed and dead humanity. Which is why the Lord Jesus was crucified on a wooden cross.

[6:21] He became cursed for us on that rugged, rough wood. He became our curse so that we could receive God's blessing. And as life sprang forth producing fruit in Aaron's rod.

[6:33] The Holy Spirit gives us life. And causes us to have spiritual growth. So the Ark, it signified the presence of God. God meeting with his people.

[6:46] Communion. It shows for us God's grace. And God's blessing. It tells the Covenant. The Ark of the Covenant. We think of the Covenant today. The New Covenant.

[6:57] The New Testament between God and man. The Ark reminds us of God's judgment. God's righteous standard. The law was in this container, this vessel. God's righteous standard.

[7:08] His holiness. His absolute perfection. His absolute perfect standard. That none of us can attain unto. God's righteous standard was pictured here. And also God's gracious provision of atonement.

[7:21] God's provision was here. In that we see the blood was sprinkled on this container. And provision was made. At the mercy seat. Mercy was found there. For us.

[7:32] The law was contained. If the box had been opened, it would have been condemned. But the mercy was there. The mercy seat. And so too we have mercy. Because of the finished work of Jesus Christ today.

[7:45] Now looking back in those Old Testament times. They could only picture it. And kind of illustrate it in symbols. But now we have the reality of that. And now we have this.

[7:56] Moses had that picture of communion. Now we have the reality. That we can commune with God. We can meet with God. And he with us. And it was at that place. At that tabernacle place.

[8:07] At that Ark of the Covenant place. Where the glory came. And God and man could meet together. And just as Moses did. So could we. We can have that closeness again.

[8:18] That closeness that Adam and Eve had. That closeness that Moses had. As he met with God. And God with him. As we come at this time of communion.

[8:29] We can look back. To what God has done. We can look back to the cross. And see what God has done. He's made it all possible for you. For me. To know a closeness with God. And see that mercy seat.

[8:42] Where God did a wonderful work. In the cross. In Christ dying on the cross. He paid our price. Our penalty. Paid for our sin.

[8:54] And made that separation. Become a communion. Taking away the separation. And making us joined unto God. And there's no veil there now.

[9:07] And we'll just come to that. In a moment. But think of that. Which the Ark of the Covenant pictures for us. It pictures the Lord Jesus. It pictures his work for us.

[9:18] For our sins. And the mercy seat was of gold. That was beaten with a hammer. It was beaten into shape. As were the cherubim. These creatures. They were beaten into shape.

[9:28] Hammered with the blows of a hammer. As our Lord was beaten. It pictures again. What God did. At the cross. It speaks of forgiveness for you. It speaks of healing.

[9:39] It speaks of a rejoining. It speaks of a communication with God. God. So Moses knew God personally back there. In the Old Testament time. And so can we today. Because of the cross.

[9:51] Because of the cross. Jesus has made it all possible. So we can enter in. What's stopping us from communion with God? What's stopping you? What's stopping me? From having that closeness.

[10:02] From having that communion. Together with God. Back on the cross. The Lord Jesus. As he breathed his last breath. In Matthew 27. From verse 50. It says.

[10:13] Jesus. Jesus. When he had cried again. With a loud voice. Yielded up the ghost. He yielded up his spirit. As he cried out. With this cry. Not a cry of defeat.

[10:25] But a cry of victory. It is finished. And behold. The veil of the temple was rent. Was torn in two. Rent in twain. From top to the bottom. From the top to the bottom.

[10:37] Completely torn in two. And this great veil. Was something that covered the Holy of Holies. It was substantial. It was something. That was made of fine twined linen.

[10:48] And some have said that wild horses. Couldn't tear it apart. It was so substantial. In its construction. This veil. This curtain. And this veil covered the Holy of Holies.

[11:01] In the tabernacle. And then through the various temples. This veil. Was a separation. But it's there no longer. This veil. This curtain.

[11:11] Is there no longer. This veil has been torn. Fully torn. Such that it's not there anymore. And entrance has been made. As he's parted that curtain. If you like.

[11:22] Torn it. From top to bottom. And so now. Entrance can be made. And we can enter in today. Boldly. In Hebrews 10. 19 through 20. It says. Having therefore boldness.

[11:34] Brethren. To enter into the holiest. By the blood of Jesus. By a new and living way. Which he has consecrated for us. Through the veil. That is to say. His flesh.

[11:44] Someone has pictured it here. As you see. The. Someone has drawn this picture. Of the temple. Of the old covenant. Being torn. And it says there. A new and living way.

[11:56] And the words. It is finished. Was the Lord's cry. And at that very moment. At that very instant. Everything changed. The old covenant. Was done away. The new covenant. Has come to play.

[12:08] And. We can enter in now. Boldly. Brethren. Brothers and sisters. We can enter in. Why? Because of the blood of Jesus. Because of the blood of Jesus. And it says.

[12:18] By a new and living way. Through the veil. That is to say. His flesh. His flesh was torn. His flesh was ripped. And. Scourged. And bruised.

[12:29] And bleeding. And mangled. The flesh was torn. And so too. The veil was torn. Torn in two. From top to bottom. So that we can have communion with God.

[12:41] If we miss communion with God. Fellowship with God. If we miss this. We miss something vital. What's breaking our communion with God? Now sometimes we can have.

[12:52] Things get in the way. Just like a veil. Things that bar. That hinder. That obstruct our fellowship with God. Those things that we want to bring to him. And ask his forgiveness.

[13:04] And we can do that just now. We can do that at all times. What's breaking our communion with God? These are things to consider. And that. The truth is God is with us.

[13:15] He's not far away. He's close. And we can know his abiding presence today. Not just at a special time or place. Not if we're a certain lineage. Or a certain tribe. Of a certain.

[13:27] A certain select group. But all can come. Whosoever will. Can come now. And it says. The cup of blessing. Which we bless. Is it not the communion.

[13:38] Of the blood of Christ. The bread which we break. Is it not the communion. Of the body of Christ. I'm going to call the ushers forward now. Just to help us. At this time.

[13:50] It's our custom to. Pass the bread and cup. And hold together. And then join. As one. To partake. And every believer is invited this morning. To be a part of that.

[14:00] As the Lord leads you. Feel very invited. And feel very welcome. Every believer. As we. Bring to mind. Communion. Communion. Communion. Communion.

[14:10] What it means. His abiding presence. He will abide with you. Remain with you. Stay with you. Make his home with you.

[14:22] It's the sense of it. Make his abode with you. His dwelling place. No longer in a tabernacle or a temple. But in your vessel. Your body.

[14:33] Is the temple. Of the Holy Spirit. That's astounding. And astonishing. Isn't it? At communion. We call to mind. What God has done for us. And what it means for us.

[14:44] At communion. We behold him. The Lamb of God. Slain for the sins of the world. Slain for sinners. And God says to you today. I will meet with thee.

[14:57] And I will commune with thee. Yeah. That's precious. Isn't it? And so. The word urges us to. Examine our hearts.

[15:10] Examine ourselves. Consider. God's righteous standard. It's beyond. Our attaining. God's righteous standard. We'll never.

[15:20] We'll never measure up. Never ever. Yet there is God's gracious provision. God's mercy. Is found at the mercy seat. God's mercy is found.

[15:31] Where the blood. Was sprinkled. God's mercy is still found. Where the blood is. As it's applied to our hearts and lives. As we.

[15:42] Put our faith in what. Jesus has done. In his precious. Spotless blood. Shed. For unworthy men. That we can have. His grace. His grace. His grace.

[15:53] Today. God. And so. This is. Just a reminder. Of what we're. Joining here. As our Lord instructed us to. Be prompted again.

[16:04] So. Think back to the cross. To think back to the cross. This morning. And. I've heard it put. Sometimes. Church. It's not meant to be just another meeting.

[16:16] But. For you to meet with God. It's for us to meet with God. It's not the trappings. Or the order of service. Or the. Particular elements.

[16:26] Of the service. But it's the main point. The core of it all. Is that we meet with God. Isn't it? That's what matters. That's what counts today. And he wants to meet with you. And come in with you.

[16:38] And. What a glorious. Joy it is. To know that the. Entrance has been made. That veil is torn. It's no longer separating us. There's nothing that needs. Separate you from God.

[16:49] By faith. Because of the blood of Jesus shed. Because of his veil. Because of his. Flesh torn. Because of his wounds. We can be saved. And we can know his grace.

[17:01] Because payment was fully made there. Back at the cross for you. And so. The way into the holiest. Is made open to all. And we have free access. And we've got to trust him.

[17:13] I'll call the ushers forward. To help. As we just. Prayerfully examine our hearts. The word says examine yourselves. Let's just spend. Amen.