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[0:00] So if you want to look in one of the pew Bibles, that is page 233. So 1 Samuel chapter 11, we're going through this book in our evening service.

[0:25] The first seven chapters have shown us how God raised up Samuel in a dark time in the history of Israel to preach God's word and to shine light on the people's path.

[0:38] And this next section, chapter 8 through 15, focuses on King Saul, the first king. And there's a bit of a rise and then a fall.

[0:49] We're still in, we're actually at the high point tonight, sort of the high point of Saul's life. And we'll see that. But let's read the passage and then go further into it.

[1:03] 1 Samuel 11, beginning at the whole chapter. Then Nahash the Ammonite went up and besieged Jabesh Gilead.

[1:14] And all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, make a treaty with us and we will serve you. But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, on this condition, I will make a treaty with you that I gouge out all your right eyes and thus bring disgrace on all Israel.

[1:30] The elders of Jabesh said to him, give us seven days respite that we may send messengers through all the territory of Israel. Then if there's no one to save us, we will give ourselves up to you. When the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul, they reported the matter in the ears of the people and all the people wept aloud.

[1:47] Now behold, Saul was coming from the field behind the oxen. And Saul said, what is wrong with the people that they are weeping? So they told him the news of the men of Jabesh.

[1:58] And the Spirit of God rushed upon Saul when he heard these words and his anger was greatly kindled. He took a yoke of oxen and cut them in pieces and sent them throughout all the territory of Israel by the hand of the messengers, saying, whoever does not come out after Saul and Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen.

[2:15] Then the dread of the Lord fell upon the people and they came out as one man. When he mustered them at Bezek, the people of Israel numbered were 300,000 and the men of Judah 30,000.

[2:25] And they said to the messengers who had come, thus you shall say to the men of Jabesh Gilead, tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you shall have salvation.

[2:37] When the messengers came and told the men of Jabesh, they were glad. Therefore, the men of Jabesh said, tomorrow we will give ourselves up to you and you may do to us whatever seems good to you. And the next day Saul put the people in three companies and they came to the midst of the camp in the morning watch and struck down the Ammonites until the heat of the day.

[2:54] And those who survived were scattered so that no two of them were left together. Then the people said to Samuel, who is it that said, shall Saul reign over us? Bring the men that we may put them to death.

[3:07] But Saul said, not a man shall be put to death this day. For today the Lord has worked salvation in Israel. Then Samuel said to the people, come, let us go to Gilgal and there renew the kingdom.

[3:18] So all the people went to Gilgal and there they made Saul king before the Lord in Gilgal. There they sacrificed peace offerings before the Lord and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.

[3:34] So we'll look at this story in three parts. First, the people are attacked. Then they're saved. And finally, they're rejoicing. Those are the three parts. So first, attacked.

[3:44] I wonder, have you ever felt like you are spiritually under attack? Now, I don't necessarily mean having a sort of freaky experience with ghosts or demons or dark forces, though perhaps that's been your experience at a time.

[4:01] But I wonder, have you ever faced what seems like a constant onslaught of temptation? Maybe it's the cravings of an addiction that wants to take over your life.

[4:13] Maybe it's a feeling of depression and despair that threatens to paralyze you. Maybe it's a constant pull toward a particular sin that you're vulnerable to, like explosive anger or unforgiving bitterness or raging lust or frantic anxiety.

[4:32] Maybe you've been part of a community that's been under attack, where it seems like you're constantly being pressured to conform to other people's standards or beaten down and discouraged and caught by surprise, and it just doesn't seem to let up.

[4:50] Well, that's the situation the Israelites found themselves in at the beginning of this passage. They were attacked by a fierce enemy, by Nahash the Ammonite. His name actually means serpent.

[5:03] He besieged Jabesh Gilead, which was a fortified city east of the Jordan River, sort of on the east side of Israel, and he offered the people a bad deal. He says, I'll make a treaty with you as long as I can gouge out all your right eyes, which basically would not only shame them, but would also permanently disable them and make them never able to fight again.

[5:28] They actually would, some scholars, there's some evidence that they would actually hold their shields up in front of their left eye. So if their right eye couldn't work, they wouldn't be able to fight at all.

[5:41] And some evidence indicates that he didn't just come against this one city, but he was sort of on a rampage through several cities east of the Jordan, gouging out people's eyes, pressuring the people, taking over their cities.

[5:56] And then the Israelites also had the Philistines on the west. So they were sort of caught between a rock and a hard place, between the Philistines on the west and the Ammonites on the east. They were under attack.

[6:09] Now at this time, the nation of Israel wasn't under a central government. So they didn't have a standing army. It was an association of tribes and independent cities.

[6:20] So we actually see the leaders here of this one city who were making their negotiations for a treaty with a foreign nation on their own. But on the other hand, even though each city had its own leaders, there were close bonds between all the Israelite tribes and cities.

[6:36] So verse 2, we see that when this guy Nahash is attacking Jabesh Gilead, he's not just attacking this one city. He says, I want to bring disgrace on all Israel. And verse 3, the elders of Jabesh, they didn't try to face their attackers alone.

[6:52] They reached out for help. They sent messengers through all the cities of Israel to see if anyone could save them when they couldn't save themselves.

[7:05] Now, interestingly, in many ways, the relationship between Jabesh Gilead and all the other cities of Israel is similar to our relationship as a local church with other local churches today.

[7:18] You know, particularly as a Baptist church, we're not under a sort of central government somewhere else that runs our church from some office in the capital of Connecticut or in D.C.

[7:33] or anywhere. Our local congregation is responsible for the decisions that we make, the members of our church. And so whether that's when we bought this building nine years ago or hiring staff or choosing leaders, choosing elders and deacons and other leaders in the church, as a church, we do that together.

[7:55] Nobody else does that for us. But on the other hand, being independent shouldn't mean being alone. And so we really value our relationships with other local churches, even though we don't run them and they don't run us, but we're brothers and sisters in Christ.

[8:13] And so as one of the pastors, I've spent some time over the last few years getting to know some of the other pastors in town, getting to know some of the other churches in this area. And that's something that we value and invest time into and look into how can we support one another?

[8:27] How can we get to know one another so that if somebody's having a real hard time, we can actually be there for each other because we know each other? If you don't even know each other exists, then you're never going to know when somebody else is facing a really hard time.

[8:45] So we want to do that. Sometimes we pray for other churches by name. We spend time with each other. The same principle applies to our relationships, one with another as believers.

[8:57] You know, when we stand before God on Judgment Day, each of us are going to be responsible before God for our own actions, for our own lives. But we're not meant to fight our battles alone, right?

[9:12] We're called together as a community so we can know each other, so we can love each other, so we can be there for each other. You know, but if you don't know the people, if you don't even know the people sitting in the row in front of you, you're not going to be able to be there for them or even know if they're fighting a hard battle spiritually.

[9:35] So one of the things we do in this church is we have small groups and we encourage people. Find a small group either here at Trinity or maybe if you live on a college campus with some of your friends on campus or in another place.

[9:50] Find some small group of Christian believers that you can pray with regularly, that you can study the Bible with, that you can encourage one another and stand with each other.

[10:01] So let me encourage you, if you haven't already done that, do that. Somehow or other. And there's a whole bunch of small groups on the back of the bulletin if you want to look into the ones that we organize as a church.

[10:15] You know, when we're spiritually under attack, the answer is not to run away and sort of collapse in on ourselves and feel ashamed and defeated.

[10:27] Rather, or worse, to make a bad deal with the enemy of our souls, like the people of Jabba Gilead were offered. But we should do what they did here.

[10:41] Send for help. Call for help. They called out for help. They sent messengers everywhere throughout all Israel and said, come help us. We're being attacked. So if you're being attacked, ask for prayer.

[10:56] Ask somebody to pray for you, a friend, a pastor, your parents, whoever it is. Call out for help. Or ask for accountability.

[11:10] I'm going to give a couple specific examples. If you're tempted by pornography on the internet, don't just try to fight that battle alone. Sign up for one of the programs like Covenant Eyes that sends a report of all the websites you go to to your accountability partner every week.

[11:26] And it makes you think twice. Because you realize it's not just me who's in this battle, but there's someone who's agreed to fight it with me. Or if you're tempted to spend your money impulsively and end up in debt with nothing left to give or save.

[11:46] Go to someone else before you totally collapse financially and say, you know, I'm struggling with managing my money. This is completely countercultural, by the way, especially with money, right?

[11:58] Nobody goes for help with money until they're up to their eyeballs in credit card debt and completely sunk and facing bankruptcy. But as Christians, we should, we have the opportunity to go to one another, whatever our issue might be.

[12:16] If you're tempted to just become despairing and discouraged, just ask someone, say, you know, man, this time of year is hard for me.

[12:27] February, it's the shortest month, but it's the hardest month. I think that's true, at least. Pray for me. Like, and you know, if you know someone, if you know a friend who's discouraged, send them encouraging scripture verses, or just write them an email and say, I prayed for you today.

[12:49] That's one of the things that Paul does in his letters frequently. He says, this is what I pray for you. And he basically tells them what he's praying for them to encourage them. I'm praying for you, lifting you up before God.

[13:01] You're not alone. And you don't have to be alone. So sometimes we need to say that to each other, to say, I can't fight this battle all by myself.

[13:13] Can you come and help? And send some reinforcements. So that's how the story starts. The people are attacked, and they send for help. Second part, they're rescued.

[13:24] They're saved. Now, there's a story here, so we'll go through it and see how that happens. So verse 4, they send messengers out, and the people in Gibeah hear their report, and they start weeping.

[13:45] Now, in one sense, that's good, because it shows they care. They're not totally indifferent. They're sympathetic to the plight of their brothers and sisters.

[13:55] But on the other hand, I think it's not, it's also an insufficient response. Because if the people just wept and did nothing else, then seven days would pass, and the people of Jabba's Gilead would be in the same situation.

[14:13] You know, if someone comes to you and says, I really need some help, the first step might be to weep with them and give them a hug and comfort them.

[14:31] But you know what? If you stop there, you're not actually going to make progress beyond that. And what we see Saul do, so that's a good first step, but it's not the only step.

[14:44] What Saul does, verse 5 and 6, he hears the report, and he's not just sympathetic, but he's indignant. It says his anger was kindled within him by the power of the Holy Spirit.

[14:58] You might think that's sort of interesting. The Holy Spirit makes you angry. Most of us don't think that. But he's angry, he's indignant, he's saying this must not happen.

[15:10] These are our brothers and sisters. God has called us together as a people, and they're about to be totally disgraced. Totally put to shame.

[15:22] Totally defeated by their enemies. And he says we must not let this happen. He said we must band together and come around them and fight for them and fight with them.

[15:36] So verse 7, he does something unusual. There's lots of unusual things in the Old Testament, but we can understand them. So that's why we're doing the Old Testament here.

[15:48] All right, he took a yoke of oxen, cut them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the territory of Israel. Now basically that was a way of saying, if you don't come and help, may you become like this.

[16:03] Because you know what? If they didn't come and help, you know what was going to happen to their whole country? It was going to be cut up in pieces gradually by their encroaching enemies.

[16:13] What he's saying is, if you don't stand up for your brothers and sisters who are facing temptation, who are facing spiritual attack, you're treating them as if they're an enemy.

[16:32] If you just remain passive and do nothing, he says, it's as good as handing them over. He says, you can't just be neutral and do nothing and say, it's not my problem.

[16:49] Because then you're basically saying, because then basically what you're doing is you're treating them as if they're not your family. And the New Testament says over and over, the most common way it refers to Christians is as brothers and sisters in Christ.

[17:04] It says through Jesus, we're part of the same family. And we're not alone. And we're called to be there for each other. Winston Churchill had the same idea long ago.

[17:17] He said, all that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing. Now the people got the message. Verse 7 says, the dread of the Lord fell upon the people and they came out as one man.

[17:30] Now I imagine they were probably afraid of going into battle against this Nahash the Ammonite who was on a rampage and had taken down a few cities along the way.

[17:47] But they were more fearful of the prospect of doing nothing and letting their brothers and sisters perish.

[17:58] And then facing the Lord. You know, when we're spiritually attacked, it's very normal to feel fear. It's very normal. But the question is, who or what do we fear most?

[18:15] Do we fear the difficulty and inconvenience of helping our brothers and sisters in need? Do we fear our own pride being wounded when we ask for help?

[18:26] Or do we fear the Lord? The Lord of the armies of heaven, who's loved us and called us into his family through his son Jesus Christ and bound us together with each other.

[18:44] Which one do we fear more? Which one do we care about more? Our own pride? Our own inconvenience? Our own mercy. Our own mercy.

[18:56] Our own mercy. Our own mercy. Our own mercy. Our own mercy. In his love. In his grace. In his mercy. In his strength. Well, the people feared the Lord most of all.

[19:07] So they came out as a great army. Verse 8. There were 300,000 from Israel and 30,000 from Judah. Now just as a side note, if you're sort of raising your eyebrows and thinking, do that many people even exist in the ancient world?

[19:20] If you wonder how did they round up that many people in less than seven days? The word thousand doesn't always mean, it could mean 999 plus one.

[19:35] It's also a word that referred often to a military unit or a contingent of various sizes. So it wasn't necessarily three times the current population of New Haven, but it was a united army of 300 contingents from the north and 30 from the south.

[20:03] If you have questions about that, we can talk about that later. That's a minor point, but just a question that you, a question I had as I went along, maybe you have too. All right, verse 9, moving on.

[20:14] So they said, tomorrow, by noontime, you'll have salvation. They said, we won't let you be overcome. You've asked for help and you'll get it.

[20:26] And the men of Jabesh, it says they were encouraged, they were glad. You know, when you're besieged, when you're under attack by a persistent temptation, whatever it is, an addiction, depression, despair, binging on food or drink, whatever it might be, and you know that you have a band of brothers and sisters on your side who will fight with you and fight for you and encourage you and who won't let you alone, man, that can bring joy like nothing else.

[21:01] Because when you look at your own life and you're like, man, I don't think I can stand up under this. I don't know where my life is going. If this fails, I don't have much of a future.

[21:11] And you have somebody else who says, I'm going to be there with you. And they might even say, I haven't been where you are, but I'm going to walk with you through this by the grace of God.

[21:24] You know, sometimes we're called to walk with people and you haven't been where they are. And sometimes our tendency is to say, I, you know, I feel your pain. I understand what you're going through.

[21:35] And sometimes, honestly, the best thing to do is say, I haven't been there. So I don't understand completely, but I'm committed to you and I care about you.

[21:47] And with God's help, we're going to walk through this together. And we're going to pray together. And we're going to trust the Lord together.

[22:01] And go forward. So, Saul responded with indignation, loyalty to God, loyalty to his brothers and sisters.

[22:11] The army followed his lead. And what we see here is God raising up Saul in the same pattern as he raised up many of the judges. If you read the book of Judges, and then you read this chapter, you'll notice there's a lot of similar phrases that are used.

[22:27] Like the spirit rushed upon him. Like with Samson. Or he mustered an army and multiples of three, like Gideon. Or like Jephthah, he came against the Ammonites, who were attacking Israel.

[22:40] He also attacked, he also, as sort of in his role as a deliverer, he acted according to God's word and in sync with the prophet Samuel. Verse 7, it's interesting.

[22:53] He doesn't just say, whoever doesn't come out after me. He says, whoever doesn't come out after Saul and Samuel. So, he puts himself, he sort of describes his position as leading alongside Samuel.

[23:10] Samuel was the prophet who was speaking God's word. Saul was the military leader slash judge slash king. But he was, they were working together.

[23:24] And verse 12 to 14, you see Saul and Samuel working closely together as a team. This is really the high point of the story of Saul. Where we see God using Saul powerfully to save the people of Israel from their enemies who were attacking them.

[23:40] And in fact, if you go all the way back to the story of the Garden of Eden. And think about Adam and Eve back then. What Saul did here in this chapter is exactly what Adam should have done and didn't.

[23:55] So, God put Adam and Eve in the garden. And he said, I put you here to cultivate it and to guard it. In other words, to guard it against encroaching invaders.

[24:10] The same word. And when Adam and Eve encountered the serpent, who was trying to make a bad deal with them. And said, hey, you should listen to me.

[24:22] And don't listen to what God said. What about this tree? Doesn't this tree look good? Shouldn't we make a deal? You trust me, don't you?

[24:34] Take the fruit. And it'll go well with you. What they should have done was to rise up like Saul did. And exercise their God-given authority.

[24:46] And kick that serpent out of the garden. And say, you don't belong here. And we have the authority to kick you out. That's what Adam and Eve should have done to the devil.

[24:57] When he came as a serpent. What they did instead was to go along with him. And make a bad deal. And they got entangled in sin and death.

[25:08] And could never get out of it by themselves. But here Saul rose up against the serpent. Again, Nahash means serpent. Not a coincidence. He led the whole army of God's people.

[25:22] And he said, you don't belong here. You are. And he kicked him out. So it almost seems like Saul would be this new Adam.

[25:33] Who would crush the serpent's head. Like Genesis 3 promised. There would be a new human being. A man who would arise. And who would defeat that serpent once and for all.

[25:47] Now unfortunately. As we'll see in the next couple of weeks. Saul doesn't continue in this pattern. And he makes a shift.

[26:00] Just like Adam. And instead of listening to Samuel. And working side by side with Samuel. And submitting to God's word. What we'll see later on.

[26:12] Is he decides to lead on his own. And to ignore what Samuel says. And he decides to act on his own. As if God isn't there for him.

[26:25] That's the tragedy. We'll look at that later. So eventually God has to bring him down. But here's the high point. Saul's being used by God to save the people.

[26:36] And of course. There's a glimpse. In this story. Of an even greater savior to come. Right. Saul's used to save the people by God's power. To save them from their enemies.

[26:48] Who are attacking them at one time. And at one place in history. In one city in Israel. But one day God would send an even greater savior. His own son. Jesus.

[26:59] The new Adam. Who would deliver us decisively. And forever from our greatest enemies. From sin. From death. And from the devil himself.

[27:11] That's what Jesus did. That's what he came to do. To deliver us from our sin. From the death. That we deserved.

[27:21] Because of our sin. And from the devil. The very tempter himself. And he took that sin upon himself. And he died in our place on the cross.

[27:32] And he rose again. Victorious in his resurrection. And defeated it. And he stood firm. You know. There's a.

[27:43] John chapter 11. Jesus goes. His. Jesus' friend Lazarus has died. He goes to the tomb. And the first thing he does. Is he wept. Like all the people did here.

[27:54] He wept with his friends. To show. He's a. Sympathetic. Savior. Who cares for us. And who feels our pain. But then.

[28:05] The next thing it says. It says he was. Troubled. In spirit. Or deeply moved in spirit. John 11. 33 and 38. I think. And that word. Actually.

[28:16] Is probably better translated. That he was indignant. With anger. It's a word that's most commonly translated. Indignant with anger. That Jesus was.

[28:29] Indignant when he saw. The ravages of sin and death in the world. And how death had claimed the life of his close friend. And he's indignant.

[28:41] Like Saul was here. And he says. This must not continue. I will raise Lazarus to life. And he does.

[28:53] But then you know what? The next thing the people do. The leaders get jealous of him. And they say. Since he's raised this guy to life. We've got to get rid of him. We've got to kill him. It's the next thing that happens.

[29:04] So Jesus raises Lazarus to life. But he knows that he's going to have to die. As a result. That he was so.

[29:18] Passionately committed. To rescuing us from sin and death. That he would. Pay that price himself. That's the savior. That we have. In Jesus.

[29:31] So. Finally. We've seen the people attacked. Saved. Third. Rejoicing. When we experience God's salvation.

[29:45] We've got a reason to rejoice. And that's exactly what the people do here. Verse 12 and 13. We see that they forgive each other. At the end of chapter 10. Some people had questioned.

[29:56] Saul's leadership. And said. How can this man save the people? Well the answer was. By the power of the Holy Spirit of God. Now Saul had earned the people's trust. He had gained their loyalty.

[30:07] Some people wanted to. Punish those people. Actually to get rid of them. Who had questioned Saul's leadership. In the first place. But he wisely said no. He gave credit where credit was due.

[30:18] He said. It's not just about me. He said. Verse 13. The Lord has worked salvation in Israel. He says. It's the Lord who's delivered you. It's not me. It's not about me.

[30:29] Saul led the people in fighting off. Their true spiritual enemies. But then he also had to deal with people. Who wanted to treat each other like enemies.

[30:41] You know. Sometimes the reason. Why Christians. Lose our spiritual battles. Is that we spend our energy fighting each other. Instead of helping each other.

[30:51] And Paul says this. He warns against this. In Galatians 5. He says. Through love. Serve one another. And then he says. If you bite and devour one another.

[31:03] Watch out. Or you'll eat each other up. So he says. Let us not be conceited. Provoking and envying. One another. You know. Envy.

[31:14] Pride. Cutting each other down. Can be just as powerful an enemy. As anything else from the outside. That can be just as powerful an enemy.

[31:25] Within a Christian community. As anything that comes from the outside. So Paul reminds us. Many times. He says. Be kind. Compassionate to one another. Forgiving each other.

[31:36] As in Christ. God forgave you. You. Your brother or sister in Christ. Even if they've questioned.

[31:47] In the past. Whether you should be a leader. Even if they've seemed to. Oppose you. In some ways. Or disagreed with you. They're not your enemy. They're still.

[31:59] Your brother or sister in Christ. And so don't. You know. One of the. I think one of the marks. Of Christian maturity. Is being able to work closely.

[32:09] With people. With whom you've had disagreements. Disagreements. And personality conflicts. Instead of simply. Writing each other off. And having nothing more. To do with each other. And you may have disagreements.

[32:22] Like Paul and. Barnabas did. In Acts chapter 15. That may lead you to. Work separately from each other. For a time. Or. There may be a time of that.

[32:34] Paul and Barnabas actually. Went different directions. At one point. Over disagreement. That they had. But you know. Later on. Paul speaks of Barnabas.

[32:44] In terms of affection. He speaks of John Mark. Who was the cause of the disagreement. As a. Brother who we value. That's a.

[32:55] You know. It's a beautiful thing. When you see it happen. Because it rarely happens. In the world. Right. And. And sometimes. It might seem like it rarely happens. In the church. But it's a beautiful thing.

[33:06] When you see. Christians who disagreed. About something. And in the end. They still. Love each other. Through it. And beyond it. So the last thing they do.

[33:23] Verse 14. They go to Gilgal. Which is. They renew the kingdom. They sort of renew their. Commitment to God. As their king. And secondarily. To Saul. As the instrument. Of God's kingship.

[33:34] Finally. Verse 15. It says. They sacrifice. Peace offerings. Before the Lord. And rejoice greatly. That basically means. They had a big party. When you sacrifice. Peace offerings. Back then.

[33:45] Basically. What you did. Is you. Kill an animal. And you thank God. For it. And then you eat it together. You get to eat. The whole thing. There were some other kinds.

[33:57] Of offerings. That went different ways. And you. Some of them. You didn't eat at all. But actually. A peace offering. Was. A celebration. It was a big party. And when we stand together.

[34:08] When we fight together. Against our temptations. Against our addictions. Against our struggles. When we drive back the enemy. And the power of the spirit of God. We have a reason to celebrate.

[34:20] You know. I mean. Tonight. Lots of people are going to be celebrating. Tonight. Lots of people are already celebrating. Okay. I mean. Hey. You know. It's a little sparse.

[34:30] Compared to our usual Sunday night crowd. But hey. I'm thankful that you all came out. You know. I don't. It's better than preaching to a totally empty room. But you know.

[34:42] We have an even better reason to rejoice. Than. Everyone else who's celebrating tonight. Even if. Your team wins. We have.

[34:54] Such a reason to celebrate. And rejoice. Because. Jesus has won the victory for us. He's won the greatest victory. Victory. And you know. Every time we win a little victory. Every time you face a little temptation.

[35:07] To let bitterness. Crowd into your life. And you resist that. By the power of the Holy Spirit. By the help of other. Believers. Every time you win a little battle.

[35:19] There's a reason to celebrate. Remember. The biggest battle has been won. And every little battle. You have a reason to rejoice. So that's what we're here to do tonight.

[35:30] Is to look back. And rejoice in the greatest victory of all. What Jesus has done for us. Through his death and resurrection. And to come together. And whatever battle you're facing right now.

[35:42] Be encouraged. Let's stand together. Be indignant. By the power of the Holy Spirit. Don't just let it. Don't just be resigned to it. But rejoice.

[35:56] And we can look forward to a day. When the last enemy of death. Will one day be destroyed. When Jesus comes again. And he raises us from the dead. And we see him face to face.

[36:09] And that'll be. An even more glorious day. So that's what we have to look forward to. Tonight we're going to celebrate communion. It's exactly what we're talking about.

[36:21] It reminds us. Of what Jesus has done in the past. The victory that Christ won for us. It reminds us what it cost for him to do so. And it gives us strength.

[36:31] To face the daily battles we're fighting now. And it's a reminder. We're in this together as a team. And. You know. You know.

[36:48] One of the things about communion. Is you can't take communion all by yourself at home. You shouldn't. Okay. Maybe some people have tried. But that's not how it's meant to be.

[37:01] It's meant to be something we do together. There. So if. If Jesus. Is your savior. And your king. If you believe that he died on the cross.

[37:13] And rose from the dead on the third day. And you said yes Jesus. I believe in you. I want to belong to you. You're welcome. Take the bread and the cup.

[37:25] We're going to pass them out in just a minute. But remember that we're in this together. As you take a piece of bread. As you take one of the little cups. Look at the person next to you.

[37:35] Or in front of you. Pray for them. Remember. We're brothers and sisters in Christ together. Remember that you're not alone. And that we're eating this bread.

[37:48] And drinking this cup together. As brothers and sisters in Christ. If you're. If you don't believe in Jesus. If you're still. Just.

[37:59] Here to learn. And seeking. But. But you haven't come to that place of commitment. Encourage you. Instead of taking the bread and the cup. To just use this time to.

[38:10] Pray and reflect. On where you are. Where you stand in relation to Jesus. So. If that's you. We're glad you're here tonight as well. Elizabeth and Tyrone.

[38:24] Would you. Come here. Come to the front. And musicians can come up as well. So we're going to pass out the bread. And then.

[38:35]  We'll. Pass out the. And eat it. Then we'll eat it together. And then we'll pass out the cup afterwards. And you can take one. We'll share that together. So. So.