[0:01] Let's turn again for a little to the chapter we read in Hebrews chapter 12. Hebrews chapter 12. And we read there in verse 24.
[0:16] It says, And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. There are many things in life that we find it very hard to separate.
[0:35] There are a lot of everyday things that we so often use. And they're together. There are things that we all would say, for instance, bread and butter.
[0:47] We often talk like that. Or milk and tea. Or milk and coffee. And things that go together. But when we come to the Bible, there are several things that go together.
[0:59] And one of the things that always goes together, that you cannot in any way separate, is Jesus and the blood. Jesus and blood are inseparably bound together right throughout Scripture.
[1:15] And the sad thing is that many people today, if they're following into the Christian way or interested in the Christian life, try to separate Christ from the blood.
[1:27] They want a bloodless Savior. They want to look at the example of Jesus, and they think that Christianity is simply following that example.
[1:39] They look at how Jesus lived in the Bible, and they say, well, in order to be a Christian, I must try and live like that. Now, don't get me wrong. Peter tells us that the example that Christ set us is essential for our lives.
[1:56] We're not to dismiss his example at all. In fact, it's such that that is how we ought to seek to live, is following the example of the Lord Jesus Christ.
[2:09] But if we do that separate from the blood, then we're missing the whole thing altogether. Because it is by the way of blood that Jesus Christ came.
[2:23] It is in order to give his life as a sacrifice for our sin to God. And so a bloodless Christ is not a saving Christ.
[2:35] And that is why it is integral that we always focus upon the blood of Jesus Christ. And that's why the Old Testament church focused incredibly upon the blood.
[2:47] And if you went, supposing this was way back, supposing you went to the tabernacle, or you went to the temple, and we went into the court there as we arrived in it, the thing that would strike you above all, first of all, was the blood.
[3:06] You know, sometimes we have great and wonderful ideas about the structure, and yes, it was wonderful, both the tabernacle and the temple. But in many ways, it resembled an abattoir.
[3:17] Because there was the constant, constant shedding of blood. There was the constant sacrifice of sheep and of oxen, of doves.
[3:28] There was blood, blood, blood, blood. It was one of the things that was brought so forcefully before the Old Testament church, that at the very heart of worship, at the very heart of approach to God, there had to be blood.
[3:47] And so, this is something that the Old Testament church would have grasped and understood. And many of the great events in the Old Testament had blood involved.
[4:00] You think of the Passover. You remember that night in Egypt, when the Passover was instituted, and Israel were going to be delivered from Egypt, you remember how the Lamb was slain, and the blood of the Lamb was put on the doorposts and on the lintel.
[4:19] Again, you think of the great day of atonement, and you see the high priest going in, as he could only go in once a year, into the most holy place, the holy of holies, to sprinkle the blood in the mercy seat.
[4:31] Again, you see that, and this might very well be what is being referred to here, about the blood of sprinkling, because we find that, when it talks here, to Jesus the mediator, the new covenant, to the blood of sprinkling, you remember the covenant that was made at Sinai, with the children of Israel.
[4:56] And of course, remember how blood was sprinkled upon them, as a sign of the covenant, that was being made, and I believe that that's probably, what is being talked about here. It talks about that, in the previous verses, of how it says, for you are not coming to the mount, that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor with blackness and darkness, and the sound of trumpet, and so on.
[5:21] You remember when God was, meeting with his people, and nobody, not even an animal, was allowed to touch. If an animal, came near the mountain, it was to be put to death, pointing to the absolute otherness, and the holiness, and the separateness of God.
[5:39] And of course, Moses sent sprinkled blood, on the people, as a sign of that covenant. But of course you know, and we know, that Israel couldn't keep that covenant.
[5:50] They broke the covenant, because they were incapable, in the same way, as you and I, cannot keep a covenant. And that is why Jesus, is the mediator of the new covenant.
[6:03] Because God made a covenant, not directly with us, but with his son, on our behalf. And that's the beauty, the wonder of it.
[6:14] That Jesus Christ, is the basis, of our covenant, of the covenant. If the covenant, was made with you, and with me, it would be shattered long ago. But Jesus, is the basis of the covenant.
[6:26] So God the Father, has made a covenant, with God the Son, on our behalf. And so Jesus came, in order to fulfill the law, like the Old Testament church, they couldn't keep the law.
[6:40] But Jesus came, and he has, he has, fulfilled the law, on our part. And that is why he is, referred to as the mediator, of the new covenant.
[6:51] Now you and I know, that a mediator, is somebody that brings, two parties together. There are two groups, that are separate. You find it sometimes, in the workplace.
[7:03] There can be a, a mediation group, to try and find a, a resolution, where they try and work, through things. It can be through, two warring nations. And people try and, do everything they can, to, to mediate, to bring the two together.
[7:21] And that is exactly, what Jesus, has done for us. He is the mediator. Because we were, at war with God. And you might say to yourself, I wasn't at war with God.
[7:32] Well the Bible tells us, that we are, by nature, we are enemies of God. We're estranged. We're away from him. We don't want, his rule.
[7:44] And quite often, we, I remember, before I was a Christian, sometimes I would hear, a minister say something like that, and I would say, oh that's harsh. I'm quite happy, to have God rule. No, no, I wasn't. Because when we push God, when we push the Lord Jesus Christ, away from our lives, we are basically saying, I don't want to rule.
[8:03] I don't want, I want to be left alone. We don't want to be left alone, because we're afraid, of what might happen to us. But we want it on our terms. And we say, look Lord, I'm quite happy going to church, and all these kind of things, but I'm not, I don't, I want, it's my life, and I don't want, I'm not in a place or position, where I want to hand my life over, to somebody else.
[8:27] That's what happens, when we become a Christian. That we're quite happy, for our life to be handed over, to King Jesus. So that he occupies, and takes residence, on the throne of our heart.
[8:41] And so, this is all that is involved, this is part of what is involved, in this, being the mediator. Where he is, where Jesus comes, and he breaks down, that's what he did, he broke down the resistance, between us and God.
[8:57] And so he has reconciled us. So our verse tells us then, to Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaks better things, than that of Abel.
[9:09] So basically, we're seeing here, of Jesus' blood, which speaks better things, than Abel's blood. And there are many things, that we could say, and I'm sure there are, something maybe you've, talked over this before, and seen this before, and there are some very obvious things, where we see Jesus' blood, as greater than Abel's blood.
[9:32] And there are similarities as well, very clear similarities. Now we know that, Abel was the very first martyr. He was the first person, that was put to death, that was murdered in this world.
[9:46] And it must have been a, an awful thing for Adam and Eve, to see the body of their son, lying on the ground. Because they would say to themselves, we are directly responsible, for Abel's death.
[10:02] Because God had very clearly said to them, in the garden, that the day that they would eat, of the tree, the forbidden tree, they would surely die.
[10:13] And they didn't know, or understand, just the awfulness, and the full significance, of what death was. But, they were discovering.
[10:25] And the death affected everything, not just, the human, it affects the creation, sin affects everything, the whole creation. But, for Adam and Eve, as they looked on the body, of their son, they would say, we are directly, responsible.
[10:43] It was because of, our willful disobedience of God, that brought this, into the world. And so it must have been, a terrible moment for them, in the, because of the, in the way that they disobeyed God.
[10:59] And, we've got to remember that, how it came about, remember how Cain and Abel, they both went to sacrifice to God. And it's very interesting, it's just exactly, what we were saying at the beginning, about the bloodless, the bloodless sacrifice, the bloodless Christ.
[11:17] Cain represented, the bloodless Christ. Because right from the very beginning, God had obviously, made it, clear, that the way of approach, was through the sacrifice.
[11:30] And it was the shedding of blood. Because that's what Abel did. He took of the flock, and he killed, and he shed the blood. And God accepted, the sacrifice.
[11:43] Cain was a gardener. Now Cain decided, to come his own way. He wasn't going to do it, by the shedding of blood. Cain said, I'll take, I'm going to take some of the produce. And people would say, well wasn't Cain good?
[11:56] Yes, but he didn't come, the way God had instructed. He came in his own way. And that's what so many people do, that say, I'll do it my way. God will accept me.
[12:08] No. God will only accept us, when we come, in the way appointed. Not the way we choose, or the way we decide. And that's, that's what Cain stands for.
[12:20] For coming to God, the way he wanted to. The way he fancied, rather than in the way, that God had provided. And that's what God has done for us. He has made a way, in his son Jesus Christ.
[12:33] It's the only way. Jesus said that. He said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh, to the Father, but by me, by what I have done, by my sacrifice, by the shedding, of my blood.
[12:54] So, we see that Abel, stood for the believer, for what was right. And Cain, stood for those, who were, who aren't, it's not that Cain, didn't believe in God.
[13:05] He did. But he came, his own way, and he refused to do, what was required. And remember how, then Cain killed Abel. And God said, the voice of your brother's blood, cries to me, from the ground.
[13:21] So there was a voice, in Abel's blood. And so that's what we're going to look at, today, is that, what these two bloods, there's a lot of things we could say, but, four very simple things, that we'd say, regarding the blood of Jesus, and the blood of Abel.
[13:38] The blood of Jesus, speaks to us, of love. While the blood of Abel, really spoke to us, of hatred. Now, I know we could say, because there are similarities, as well.
[13:52] We could say, that the blood of Jesus, also spoke of hatred. But, above all, it speaks of love. And, that's why, Abel killed his brother, was very simply, because, remember, in a fit of, jealousy, and envy, because God, had accepted, Abel's sacrifice, and he didn't accept Cain.
[14:13] Cain just, he blew up, he became so angry, he became so incensed, against his brother, so jealous of his brother, he went and he killed his brother. You know, envy is one of the most, dangerous things, in this world.
[14:29] A jealous heart, is a murderous heart. And you go through the Bible, and you will see, so often, where, envy and jealousy, end up. The very, at the very beginning, it shows us, that's why, Abel was killed, because of envy.
[14:46] It was the reason, why Joseph, was sold, as a slave, into Egypt, was because of envy, and jealousy. It was the reason, why King Saul, hunted David, to try and put him to death, because Saul, was jealous of him.
[15:02] It was the reason, that Daniel, was thrown into the den of lions. It's because, the other leaders, were jealous of him. And it was the reason, why Jesus, was put upon the cross.
[15:13] It tells us that, Pilate knew, that because of envy, they had delivered him up. That's why, the religious leaders, hated him.
[15:24] Why did they hate him? They were jealous of him, they hated him, they were envious. So, that is why I say, it's one of the most, dangerous sins. If we harbour, envy and jealousy, within our heart, it is actually, murderous, in its intent.
[15:40] It's a dangerous thing, and it's something, we really need, to pray against. So, that's where, we find that, the blood of Abel, is speaking there, about this, this hatred, that came because, of a heart of jealousy.
[15:55] So, that's where, there's a similarity, to Jesus' blood, from a human point of view, it was the same, the same motive, of anger, and hatred, because they were jealous of him, that they put him to death.
[16:09] But Christ's blood, speaks of love. It speaks of a father's love, who gave the son. It speaks of a son's love, who willingly came, on behalf of the father, and gave himself to us, and gave himself for us.
[16:27] And he, he identifies with us. He gave himself so much to us, that he, he, it tells us, he's not ashamed, to call us brothers.
[16:39] You see, we're in, we're now part of the, the family of God. It's a, it's a wonderful thing. And so, we see the incredible cost, that was involved, in the, the giving, of the son of God.
[16:54] It's the ultimate display, of love, that the world, has ever known, or ever will know, is the father's love, in giving the son, and the son's love, in giving himself.
[17:05] So the shedding, of Christ's blood, speaks primarily, of love. Again, the blood of Christ, speaks of peace, whereas the blood of Abel, would speak of fear.
[17:20] You see, Abel's blood, was a terrifying sight. And Adam and Eve, as they looked on their son, they had never confronted, any human, dead before. And here's their son, lying in a pool of blood.
[17:32] God. And there would have been, every kind of emotion, going through. There's terror, in the heart of Cain. That's, that image, would have stuck with him, all his days.
[17:44] Oh, he tried to dismiss it, when God, tried to bring, Cain to account. Where is your brother? I'm not my brother's keeper. God said to him, your brother's blood, is crying out to me, from the ground.
[17:58] And this, this, dealing with God, here, is something, that would have, haunted Cain, all his days. But you know, the blood of Jesus Christ, is so different.
[18:10] Because it speaks of peace. How is there peace? Because there's pardon. And whenever there's pardon, there's peace. Do you know, that's one of the, the wonderful things, that happens, when you become a Christian.
[18:24] You're aware, that your sins, are pardoned. You see, before you become a Christian, the sins, the guilt of your sins, are stacking up. The condemnation, that your sins, deserve, is building up, and building up.
[18:41] And there's, there's a growing list, in the presence of God. And there is an element of guilt, no matter how you try to run away, no matter how you try to deal with it. You know, there's a kind of a fear.
[18:53] And I'm sure some of you today, if you're not in Jesus Christ, you know something, of moments, of that, that unrest, that, that fear that is there.
[19:06] Because, you are, away from God, you're estranged from God. But the wonderful thing is, at the moment we come to Christ, that's gone. There is now, no condemnation, in Christ Jesus.
[19:20] The wonderful peace in him. Remember that night in Egypt, when, if you and I, had been there, and remember how we're told, we had blood, had to go in the, the doorpost, and the lintel.
[19:32] And maybe you'd be sitting, in the house, and you'd be saying, poor, better check that that blood is on. What if it's fallen off? And you go out, and you say, oh no, it's, it's there. And because of that blood, you knew you were as safe, as safe could be.
[19:47] Because, when the, destroying angel, passed over, killing the firstborn, in every household, the, every home, that had the blood, and the doorpost, and the lintel, the angel of death, passed over.
[20:02] They were safe, they were secure, they were at peace, even though, it was a night of, death and destruction, throughout the whole land. They were safe, and secure, and they were at peace.
[20:16] And you see, that's what has happened, when Jesus poured out his blood. He poured out his blood, for you and for me. That's what we're told, his blood he is, he is our peace.
[20:27] His blood, has brought peace. You see, when, when, when Adam, was, and Eve, were expelled, from the garden. Remember how, they were, they were thrown, they were thrown out of the garden.
[20:40] And there was this, there was this sense of, restlessness. I, I often, try and picture, what it must have been like, for Adam and Eve. Who knew, contentment, and peace, the like of which you and I, cannot know in this world.
[20:56] Because there was no sin, there was nothing to threaten it, or to, to break it up. to have gone from there, to where they ended up. And that garden, was full of so much pleasure, and delight.
[21:09] And they were expelled, they were thrown out, of the garden. And I, I often try to think, how on earth, did they feel? And so, there would be this, restlessness, this, heaviness of heart, this burden, would have, taken over.
[21:28] But you know, that, which we inherited, from them, is removed, by the blood of Jesus Christ. When Jesus was born, into this world, the angels sang, glory to God, in the highest, and on earth, peace, and goodwill.
[21:45] That's what the song was, peace, and goodwill. And that's who, who Jesus is, he's termed, the prince of peace. And he gives us, this peace, by his blood.
[21:58] And it's a real peace, it's not just, a theological peace, it's not just, a peace that we read about, it's a peace, that we experience. The peace of God, that passes knowledge, or passes understanding.
[22:10] You can't explain it, to somebody else, but you know it. And sometimes, maybe in, in difficult times, in your life, when you ought to have been, utterly distraught, and maybe at one level, you were, but underneath, there was this, settled peace.
[22:27] Why? Because you were right, with God. So this is part of, what has been given to you, by the blood of Jesus Christ. Then again, the death of Abel, and his blood, spoke of separation.
[22:42] Whereas the blood of Jesus, speaks of togetherness, of union. You see, when there's, Cain lying on the ground, the family unit, is broken up.
[22:53] Adam and Eve, have lost a son. Cain has lost a brother. Cain, was dealt with by God. Cain was thrown out. Cain, remember, he became a vagabond, in this world.
[23:09] And Cain is complaining, before God, remember what he said, my punishment, is greater than I can bear. This was all part, of the separateness, that sin brings.
[23:21] This was part of, what his brother's blood, brought upon him. This separateness, this wandering. And you know, that's how it is, out of Christ.
[23:32] And this terrible thing is, that that's how it will be, eternally. That will be the cry, of those, who have pushed Christ away, and are eventually, banished from his sight.
[23:43] My punishment is greater, than I can bear. But the blood of Jesus Christ, has come to deal with that. So that the, the separateness, is taken away, there is now union, and there is now healing.
[23:57] This is what, what the Lord Jesus, has done for us. He is, he is, as we said earlier on, he has brought, reconciliation, and togetherness. We've stopped running.
[24:10] You know, Adam, ran from God, at the very beginning. Remember when God came, in the cool of the day, and he called, Adam, where are you? Where was Adam?
[24:21] He had run away. And you know, in a sense, that run, that Adam made, at the beginning, we've been, we're all, born, running away, from God.
[24:32] Naturally, that's a direction, we're going in, away from God. You know, there's, everybody in this world, is running in one of, one of two directions. Either running to God, or running away, from God.
[24:45] You have to ask yourself, that question today. Which direction, are you running in? Are you running to God, or are you running, away from God? Well, that's what Jesus' blood, has come to do.
[24:57] To stop us, running away, from God, and to begin, to run to God. And you know, that's what we find, ourselves doing, all the time.
[25:07] We're going to the Lord. And, do you know the wonderful thing, is, that even our sin, doesn't stop us, going to the Lord. You know, in the old days, before you became a Christian, what did your sin often do?
[25:22] It made you run away from God. You try to hide from God. You just, I don't want to, I don't want to face up to this. Ah, push it away. It's a very reverse, when you become a Christian.
[25:34] You face up to it. And you go to God. Because you don't run away anymore. Classic example of that, is David. David, who a man after God's own heart, and yet, you remember how he sinned, first of all, in his adulterous relationship, with Bathsheba.
[25:49] But then, to make things ten times worse, in order to cover his sin, he had Uriah killed. And remember, when Nathan the prophet came, and he told the story, and he said to David, you're that man.
[26:05] Because remember, how David was so incensed, when Nathan told the story, about the man, the rich man, who had a flock of sheep, and the poor man, who had only one little pet sheep. That pet sheep, was part of the family.
[26:19] And when a visitor, came to see the rich man, what did he do? Jumped over the fence, and took, the poor man's little lamb. Killed it. Ate it. David was so incensed, and he said, that man, that man, that man should die.
[26:35] Nathan said, you're that man. God gave you everything, but it wasn't enough for you. You took what didn't belong to you, and you had Uriah killed, that loyal servant of yours.
[26:48] What did David do? Did he run away from God? No, he didn't. He penned, Psalm 51. Here's the broken David, who runs to God, and pours out his heart.
[27:02] Restore to me the joy, of your salvation. Against you, only have I sinned. So, this is what the blood of Jesus Christ does. It brings togetherness.
[27:14] It brings us to God. It stops us running away from God. And finally, just in a word, the blood of Abel spoke of death. The blood of Jesus speaks of life.
[27:26] This is what Jesus' blood does. Because by his death, he conquered death, and he has brought life into our experience.
[27:36] When Jesus cried, it is finished. It was a turning point in this world's history. It was the moment when, when the power of death was broken, the sting of death removed.
[27:50] Yes, death is still there. It always will be, as long as this world remains, and until Christ comes. But Jesus, at that moment, he broke its power.
[28:03] Oh, death, where is your sting? Oh, grave, where is your victory? Thanks be to Christ, who gives us that victory. So today, as we come to the table, that's what we're doing.
[28:15] We're remembering what Jesus did in giving of himself and his blood. let us pray.
[28:25] Lord, our God, we pray to bless us and continue with us. Open our hearts and open our mind in order as we come to the table that we will receive you afresh. Forgive us our sin in Jesus' name.
[28:37] Amen. We're going to sing now in Psalm 9, the ninth Psalm, and we'll sing verses 7 to 12. Psalm 9, and we'll sing verses 7 to 12.
[28:56] God shall endure for a, he doth for judgment set his throne, in righteousness to judge the world, justice to give each one. God also will a refuge be for those that are oppressed, a refuge will he be in times of trouble to distressed.
[29:12] And they that know thy name in thee their confidence will place. For thou hast not forsaken them that truly seek thy face. O sing ye praises to the Lord that dwells in Zion Hill, and all the nations among his deeds record ye still.
[29:30] To the end of verse 12, verses 7 to 12, of Psalm 9, God shall endure for a. For thou hast not done for you, and the praction temus, the Lord will be good for you, and what for a�ese suffered for you.
[29:54] a a oh a a a a a a a a a For those that I have no rest, I will you tell me, If thou all have heard to this death, And live at all thy name in me,
[30:58] Then all take through this far-round heart.
[31:10] Forsaken, O Lord, that you seek thy face, O sing ye praises to the Lord, That dwells inside your hill, And all the nations among its deeps record Easter.
[31:56] When thee inquire, Dr. Blouse, We then remember there, That thou have heard ye not forget, That call upon his name.
[32:33] Amen. I'm going to read from Galatians chapter 5, And then we'll come back just very briefly to Hebrews 12.
[32:46] Galatians 5 from verse 16, This I say then, walk in the Spirit, And ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, And the Spirit against the flesh.
[32:57] And these are contrary the one to the other, So that you cannot do the things that you would. But if you are led of the Spirit, You are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, Which are these, Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, Lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, Variance, emulations, wrath, strife, Seditions, heresies, Envings, murders, drunkenness, Revelings, and such like, Of the which I tell you before, As I have told you in time past, That they which do such things, Shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
[33:34] But the fruit of the Spirit is love, Joy, peace, long-suffering, Gentleness, goodness, Faith, meekness, temperance. Against such there is no law.
[33:46] And they that are Christ's, Have crucified the flesh, With the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, Let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vainglory, Provoking one another, Enving one another.
[34:00] Again, we have that, In that we have this great, Differentiation between, The works of the flesh, And the fruit of the Spirit.
[34:14] And it says there, Of course, At the end of it, With regard to the work of the flesh, It says, Those who do such things, Shall not inherit the kingdom of God. It doesn't say, That those who have these things, In their heart.
[34:26] Because, Sadly, If the truth be told, All that awful list, Is in our heart. But, The wonderful thing, Is, That we, It's not that we do, But they're there.
[34:44] It's part of, Who we are, The deceit, That's within us. And if we don't own, Up to that, Then we don't, Know ourselves. But then we see, The fruit of the Spirit, Where God's, Life changing work, Is taking place.
[34:59] And we see that, The fruit of the Spirit, Is love, And joy, And peace. But if we come back, To Hebrews chapter 12, Just with regard, Two or three minutes, With regard to fencing the table, We see that, There are three things, Told us at the beginning, Of the chapter, Which are obvious things, With regard to the Christian.
[35:17] Because we're told there, It says, Where first seeing, We are compassed about, With so great a cloud of witnesses, Let us lay aside, Every weight on the sin, Which doth so easily beset us, And let us run with patience, The race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus, The author and finisher of our faith.
[35:36] Three very brief things, That identifies a Christian. The first is, That the Christian fights against sin. Because as we said, When we read there in Galatians, Research this whole list, Of the works of the flesh.
[35:51] Now if we are honest, Within ourselves, There are times, That sin is still attractive. We side with sin. It's a way we're made.
[36:03] Because when a person, Becomes a Christian, We don't lose, Everything that was in us. We wish we did. In glory we will. But in here, As long as we're in this world, It's still there.
[36:17] But there's a new power, Has come to dwell in us. A greater power. Greater is he, That is within you, That is within the world. And so this new power, Which is the work, The power of the Holy Spirit, At work, Is inclining us, To fighting against sin.
[36:35] We war against it. And that's exactly, What it says here, At the beginning there, Let us lay aside, Every weight, And the sin, Which doth so easily beset us. It's like the picture, Of running a race.
[36:47] You watch athletes today, And what they wear, Everything is so streamlined. It's, Everything is geared, So to give them, The best advantage in running.
[36:59] No heavy clothing. Everything is, Science is working, To produce the best, That they can wear, In order to help them, In running. So it is for the Christian.
[37:11] We're asked to get rid of, Everything that slows us down. The second thing is, We see, It tells us, Let us run with patience, Or let us run with endurance.
[37:23] The Christian keeps going. Yeah, There might be days, We're not going so well. There might be days, We feel we're not going forward at all, When we feel we're going backward. If truth be told, There are days, We might even feel like giving up.
[37:36] But we don't. Even, When we look back over our lives, Sometimes, One of the things that amazes us is, That we're still keeping going. That we're still following the Lord, After all these years.
[37:50] Despite all that's come into our life, And all that we've had to deal with, We're still on the road. And that's an evidence, Because the Christian doesn't stop. And the final thing, That we would say here, It says, Of the many things that we could say, The Christian, Is looking to Jesus.
[38:09] That's how we started, And that's how we will continue, And that's how we will end, Our whole eternity doing, Looking to Jesus. That's what it says, Looking to Jesus, Who is the author, And the finisher of our faith.
[38:22] That's what the Christian does. He, She, Looks to Jesus. That's what we're doing here today, We're looking to Jesus. We're now going to sing in Psalm 18, 118, sorry.
[38:37] And as we sing, Elements will be placed, And made ready on the table. And again, If there's anybody in the congregation, Who is a member in good standing, In another congregation, Then you're welcome to take your place, At the table of the Lord.
[38:54] It is the Lord's table. So we're going to sing from Psalm 118, And we're going to sing from verse 15, We'll continue singing, Until everything is in place.
[39:05] From verse 15, In dwellings of the righteous is heard the melody, Of joy and health, The Lord's right hand doth ever valiantly, The right hand of the mighty Lord, Exalted is on high, The right hand of the mighty Lord, Doth ever valiantly, I shall not die, But live and shall the works of God discover, The Lord doth me chastised sore, But not to death given over, And so on.
[39:32] Psalm 118, In dwellings of the righteous. In dwellings of the righteous, In dwellings of the righteous, The right hand of the mighty Lord, Of joy and health, In dwellings of the righteous, God o'er, And with the right hand of the mighty Lord And with the right hand of the mighty Lord
[40:39] Help them reliably I shall not have them live And shall the words of God discover Now are the mighty just as its soul But not to let it over O set ye open unto me There is no right just yes
[41:41] Then will I end up into them And I know Lord will bless Now we read that on the night in which the Lord was betrayed That he In the night in which the Lord was betrayed That he took bread and he gave thanks And we will seek to do likewise Lord of God As we come before you And we're just going to read your word And where we find this warrant
[42:43] Where we are to take of the supper And then we reflect upon it And we partake We ask that you will draw close to us We give thanks that this is your table That you've given to the church Because we're weary We all get tired on the journey There are days we feel that the journey's too much for us Some days we run Like as the scripture says As we are on the wings of eagles But there are other days We're ploughing through the slough of despond And so it will be And so it is And we're not the first And we won't be the last To feel like that But we give thanks That while we change And we're up and down You never change You are the Lord You are the same yesterday Today and forever And what you've been to your people in the past You're still to your people today And we give thanks that it is so We give thanks for the provision That you've given to us And we pray for the faith
[43:43] That as we come to the bread and the wine That we may reflect upon the broken body And the shed blood of Jesus And it's such a simple way You've set out for us And yet taking everyday things And yet we at this moment Set them apart to be spiritual And that we might have the faith To spiritually see what we're doing And that we might be able to rejoice In a saviour's love So we ask that you will bless us Encourage every one of your people today Grant us your grace to look to you And to believe in you And cleanse us from our sin We pray in Jesus' name Amen For I have received of the Lord That which also I delivered unto you That the Lord Jesus The same night in which you was betrayed Took bread And when he had given thanks He broke it and said Take, eat This is my body Which is broken for you
[44:44] This do in remembrance of me After the same manner also He took the cup When he had supped Saying This cup is a new testament In my blood Do this As often as you drink it In remembrance of me For as often as you eat the bread And drink this cup You do show forth the Lord's death Till he come Wherefore Whoever 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 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 discerning the Lord's body For this cause many are weak And sickly among you And many sleep For if we would judge ourselves We should not be judged And so on Now we
[45:45] As we come to the table today We've got to remember That the Lord Delights Upon us Right now The Lord delights in you Because you have come in obedience And you've come in faith To do this And as you do this You are witnessing for him Because it says Do this In remembrance of me To drink Eat and drink this For you do show the Lord's death Until he come It's a powerful statement you're making That you belong to the Lord And it's important to emphasize That the Lord delights in us Because sometimes When we come to the table We feel anything but right You know Sometimes you might look around And you say to yourself You know this Everybody else at the table Is more qualified To be at the table Than me I look at all the other Christians here And they're all better than me And sometimes we have this Way of looking at it
[46:47] And you say to yourself Oh he deserves She deserves to be at the table But I don't But we've got to remember That Was it Robbie Duncan Who When the cup was coming To this woman And she pushed it aside To the next person She couldn't take it And he went and he grabbed it And he said Take it woman It's for sinners And it is for sinners Sinners who've been saved Remember At this particular moment Stop looking down at yourself And into yourself The moment of the examination Is beforehand Isn't that what it says Wherefore Let a Let a Let a Let a Examine Examine himself Excuse me But let a man Examine himself And so let him eat And drink So that's what we do first Is we examine ourselves And then So when we come to the table Put our eyes upward Fix on Jesus And remember That he delights in you And that he's not ashamed
[47:47] To call you brother To call To be To identify You as brothers And sisters With himself You know Sometimes in a family Somebody will say You know I'm ashamed of my brother I'm ashamed of my sister I'm ashamed because Of what he's done I'm ashamed of what she's done Well despite all That we have done Jesus is not ashamed To call us brothers Isn't that amazing We're so unclean We've done so much That's wrong Today he delights in us And he says I'm not ashamed To call you Brothers And so we read there That After the same manner Also he took Well We read first of all That when he had Given thanks That Jesus That he took bread And he said This is my body Which is broken For you This do In remembrance Of me After the same manner
[48:53] Also he took the cup When he had supped Saying This cup Is the new testament In my blood This do ye As often as ye drink it In remembrance For as often as ye eat this bread And drink this cup You do show forth The Lord's death Until he come He lifted himself He said This do After the same time Then he Dilding You You You Now Now It C Thank you.
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[64:13] Amen.