WEBVTT

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 I would like you to turn your Bibles this morning to the passage that is going to serve truthfully

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! only as the doorway to where we go as we think about the Lord's table.

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 As we go to 1 Corinthians chapter 11, we are going to just pick up on a recurring phrase

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 as the starting point, and then we are going to use that to begin to think along the lines

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 of what is said.

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 1 Corinthians chapter 11 is a passage in which the apostle writes to the church at Corinth,

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 and instead of encouraging them and kind of saying, man, I'm really glad to hear about

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 how you go about the Lord's table, he writes to rebuke and correct them.

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 In fact, he goes on to say something that is a real startling statement.

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 He says, what you're doing is not communion.

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 And the reason for that is that what they were engaged in had nothing to do with the

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 Lord's table actually and the purpose of it.

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 They were all wrapped up in themselves.

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 So here's what I want us to think about before we actually come to the table.

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 If you look there in 1 Corinthians chapter 11, verse 24, it says,

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 We see a very similar statement made in verse 25.

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 He says,

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 In the same way also he took the cup after supper, saying,

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 This cup is the new covenant in my blood.

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 Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me.

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 We're going to think about remembering.

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 Thursday morning, I awakened fairly early.

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 I love the summertime because I like to wake up to the light.

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 I don't like alarms.

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 Is there anybody else like me?

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 I mean, you know, whenever the sun is up, I think it's appropriate,

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 it's God-honoring and blah, blah, blah, to be out of bed.

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 You know, other people don't think that way.

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 But I love getting up early and enjoying time with the Lord.

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 And Thursday was a little different day in that it was a day that Judith and I celebrated our 43rd anniversary.

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 And I have to tell you, I laid there in bed for a while.

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 And I, first of all, thank the Lord for the day.

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 But then, secondly, I just, I stopped and thanked the Lord for the blessing of her saying,

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 I do to me, 43 years ago.

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 And for the blessing that that has been.

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 And later through the day, I kept on reviewing some of the particulars of our relationship

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 and the incredible blessing that she has been to me in so many different ways.

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 I will tell you that I think it's appropriate to give thought periodically to some of the blessings that you've received.

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 And while Judith and I enjoy our relationship and there's not a night that goes by,

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 that at the end I do not say, I love you to her and she says it to me.

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 And we often enjoy one another's company and speak of the blessing.

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 I got to tell you, we had a blast raising four kids.

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 But empty nesting is absolutely wonderful.

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 There is no competition.

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 How many of you understand what I said?

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 I like it.

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 So, we spend time thanking the Lord for the relationship and just thinking about the richness of it.

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 And I bring that to you because that thoughtfulness and that intentionality

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 and thinking about what that relationship is, is something that amplifies the blessing of it.

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 And so, when we look at the passage this morning and we see the Spirit of God instruct us as believers

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 and say, you need to show, you need to think about what Christ has done for you.

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 That is the purpose of what we are going to engage in this morning.

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 And as we take these elements, I want you to understand that along with taking these elements,

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 I want you to think consciously and deliberately about the blessing of your relationship,

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 your salvation, and the richness of what you have received through the finished work of Christ.

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 Don't just go through it as a routine.

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 But ask the Spirit of God to engage your heart in worship that is thoughtful and that is honorable.

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 There are a lot of different things that we could think about in relationship to what Christ has done for us.

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 And I want us to begin with probably one of the things that stands out in my own thinking,

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 perhaps the most significantly, for a number of different reasons,

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 not the least of which is how often it is mentioned in Scripture, and that is thinking about His love.

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 As you take these elements, the bread and the cup, this morning,

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 I trust that one of the things that goes through your mind is that you think to yourself

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 that this bread and this cup remind you that Christ loves you personally.

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 He knows your name.

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 You are precious to Him.

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 The Psalms and elsewhere in the Scripture, it talks about how amazing and how incredible,

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 how unbelievable it is that God thinks about us.

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 But it's more than that.

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 Not just that He thinks about us, but that He has set His love upon us.

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 I think about a passage, and I want you to look at it with me just for a moment over in 2 Corinthians 5, verse 14.

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 Listen to what it says in the text there.

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 It says,

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 And the reminder that the apostle is giving here is that the reality of Christ's love for us is a life-controlling thought.

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 And I ask you the question practically as you think about your life,

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 how dominating is the reality of the love of Christ in your life?

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 How significant, how much of a priority is the fact and the reality of the love of Christ?

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 It is something that should flood our thoughts on a regular basis

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 and leave us both with humility and passion to please Him.

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 As I think about the breadth of Scripture that deals with the love of Christ and God's love in broad terms,

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 I can't help but go back as I was listening to the music this morning.

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 Guess what one of the things was that I was doing?

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 Does anybody have an idea?

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 What was Pastor doing as he was listening to the songs?

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 I was processing the song against the backdrop of various passages of Scripture.

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 And we were singing a passage about his everlasting love,

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 and I was thinking about Psalm 136.

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 How many of you know Psalm 136 in broad terms?

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 How does it, how does it, what does it repeat?

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 For his steadfast love endures forever.

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 And by the way, does it say it once, twice?

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 It says it every single verse.

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 Now, by the way, that is repetition for a purpose, isn't it?

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 That purpose is to drive the reality of the unfailing love of God for us firmly into our little brain

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 that struggles a great deal with that reality.

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 Jesus Himself spoke about His love for us.

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 He spoke about His love for His disciples.

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 Over in John chapter 15, verse 13, as Jesus was explaining the issue of the cross,

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 He said this, greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down His life for His friends.

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 And as you take that bread and you take that cup,

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 and as you are meditating upon the reality of what that represents,

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 yes, it represents the death of Christ,

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 but I want you also to think to yourself consciously and deliberately,

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 this reminds me that Jesus loves me.

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 He loves me personally, and He loves me with an unfailing, never-changing love that doesn't give up.

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 I want to encourage you to know that as the elements are being passed,

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 one of the things that I trust we will do is that we as a fellowship will share different passages of Scripture

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 that have to do with the love of Christ,

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 or have to do with the substitutionary atonement, with His dying in our place,

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 or have to do with some other thought in relationship to the issue of salvation.

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 So having warned you in advance, what should you be doing?

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 Kind of multitasking, I know, but you're now beginning to think what?

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 Caleb, what are you beginning to think?

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 You're a deacon, bud.

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 Caleb's beginning to think about a Bible passage.

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 Jared, you're thinking about a Bible passage, aren't you?

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 Emily, you're thinking about a Bible passage.

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 Emily's looking up on her phone.

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 I can see it going like this.

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 Okay.

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 I may call on you.

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 And so having been warned in advance that I might call on you,

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 by the way, Sam, where are you?

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 Sam, my son.

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 Grandson.

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 Sam, my son, is back there.

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 You're going to have a passage of Scripture, right?

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 I stole it?

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 Well, you can...

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 He's his mother's child.

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 That's what it is.

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 Okay.

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 We're going to think,

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 we're going to spend time sharing passages of Scripture

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 that are significant to us, right?

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 I just want to whet your appetite for doing that.

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 But when we take the bread and we take the cup,

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 one of the things that I want you to do

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 is I want you to think to yourself,

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 Jesus loves me.

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 Jesus loves me.

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 There's a second thought that I want you to have

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 as we come to this subject.

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 And I want you to think about the fact

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 that he died in your place.

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 I want you to think about his atonement.

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 The Bible is quite clear

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 that Jesus didn't die for his own sins.

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 We are in, or we were in,

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 2 Corinthians chapter 5,

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 and so let me just read verse 21

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 that confirms the reality of the fact

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 that he didn't die for his own sins.

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 It says,

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 For our sake he made him to be sin

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 who knew no sin,

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 so that in him we might become

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 the righteousness of God.

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 The Scriptures make it undeniably clear

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 that Christ didn't die for his own sins.

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 And I remind you that the reality of Scripture

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 is that sin has consequences, doesn't it?

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 We know what the Scriptures say.

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 It says,

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 For the wages of sin are death.

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 Pastor Saul gave me the privilege

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 on Friday evening of sharing the gospel,

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 and it was my privilege just to go over

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 in such simple vocabulary

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 the reality of the fact

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 that Scripture tells us

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 that all have fallen short of the glory of God.

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 And the consequences of our sinfulness

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 is that there is the penalty

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 of everlasting death and suffering in hell.

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 And yet that same passage of Scripture

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 where it talks about the wages of sin

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 also tells us that the gift of God is what?

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 It's eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

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 And so when you think about the reality

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 of his atonement,

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 the fact that he suffered in your place,

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 we recognize Jesus didn't die for his sins.

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 He died for mine.

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 He died for yours.

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 If there's probably one passage

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 that presses this together

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 in just such a startlingly clear way,

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 it would be the book of Isaiah in chapter 53.

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 And so I want you to turn back there,

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 if you would,

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 to Isaiah chapter 53 for a minute

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 and mark what the prophet has to say

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 regarding Jesus' suffering in our place.

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 As Isaiah launches into this passage,

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 he begins there in verse 1

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 by making a comment

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 that even today

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 is poignant in reminding us

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 of how incredible

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 the truth of God's plan of redemption is.

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 He says there in verse 1,

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 Who has believed what he has heard from us?

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 And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

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 In that passage,

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 as we work our way through it,

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 we find there beginning in 5 and 6

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 that the Scriptures make it clear

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 that Christ suffered in our place.

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 He was wounded for our transgressions.

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 He was crushed for our iniquities.

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 Upon Him was the chastisement

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 that brought us peace.

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 After a person has committed a crime

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 and they have been judged

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 and found condemned,

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 one of the things that follows

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 in a judicial system

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 is that there is a penalty

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 that has to be paid.

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 And the individual,

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 one way or another,

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 satisfies that debt

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 by being incarcerated

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 or something appropriate

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 to the crime that's been committed.

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 The reality of the fact

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 is that Scripture makes it clear

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 that because of our sin,

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 all of us stand condemned

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 before a holy God.

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 And the penalty for our sin

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 is everlasting suffering in hell.

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 And yet the Scripture tells us

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 that Christ died in our place.

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 He died for me.

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 He died for you.

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 And as you read there

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 in verse 5 and 6,

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 it says,

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 He did this for us.

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 And in verse 6,

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 All we like sheep have gone astray.

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 We've turned everyone to his own way.

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 And the Lord has laid on him

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 the iniquity of us all.

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 As you read on in the passage,

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 there's something else,

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 and we're going to develop that

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 a little bit more in just a moment,

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 but mark the fact

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 that not only that he suffered

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 in our place,

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 but recognize in 8 and 9

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 that he was innocent

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 and that he endured our judgment.

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 Let me read it to you.

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 By oppression and judgment

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 he was taken away,

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 and as for his generation,

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 who considered that he was cut out

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 of the land of the living,

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 stricken for the transgression

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 of my people.

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 And they made his grave

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 with the wicked

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 and with a rich man in his death,

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 although he had done no violence

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 and there was no deceit in his mouth.

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 Have you ever been struck

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 as you have been reading

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 through the Gospels

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 of how often it's said

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 of this thing about Jesus,

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 it's said that in doing such and such

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 he fulfilled the Scriptures.

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 He fulfilled the Scriptures.

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 He fulfilled the Scriptures.

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 And it's just incredible

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 to stop and realize

00:15:40.980 --> 00:15:42.600
 that things that were

00:15:42.600 --> 00:15:44.259
 prophetically uttered

00:15:44.259 --> 00:15:45.700
 hundreds and hundreds,

00:15:45.860 --> 00:15:46.640
 thousands of years ago,

00:15:46.820 --> 00:15:49.180
 took place at the appropriate time

00:15:49.180 --> 00:15:50.200
 and Christ satisfied

00:15:50.820 --> 00:15:52.720
 all the predictive statements

00:15:52.720 --> 00:15:53.860
 that were made about him.

00:15:55.820 --> 00:15:57.200
 Here in this passage

00:15:57.200 --> 00:15:58.720
 in 8 and 9,

00:15:58.820 --> 00:16:00.200
 we're reminded Jesus,

00:16:01.780 --> 00:16:03.080
 where he was buried,

00:16:03.080 --> 00:16:06.540
 who he was crucified with.

00:16:07.500 --> 00:16:08.680
 And we understand that

00:16:08.680 --> 00:16:10.620
 even though he was innocent,

00:16:11.360 --> 00:16:12.560
 he suffered this

00:16:12.560 --> 00:16:13.840
 and he suffered it for us.

00:16:14.980 --> 00:16:16.200
 Mark what it says also

00:16:16.200 --> 00:16:17.740
 in verse 10 and 11,

00:16:17.820 --> 00:16:19.060
 and I want you just to mark there,

00:16:19.139 --> 00:16:19.460
 it says,

00:16:19.840 --> 00:16:21.080
 yet it was the will,

00:16:21.480 --> 00:16:22.780
 it was the will

00:16:22.780 --> 00:16:24.540
 of the Lord

00:16:24.540 --> 00:16:25.940
 to crush him.

00:16:25.940 --> 00:16:28.240
 One of the things

00:16:28.240 --> 00:16:29.480
 that has been

00:16:29.480 --> 00:16:31.460
 pawned off on individuals

00:16:31.460 --> 00:16:32.020
 is that,

00:16:32.320 --> 00:16:32.560
 well,

00:16:32.800 --> 00:16:34.540
 the crucifixion really didn't happen

00:16:34.540 --> 00:16:35.380
 and that's not true,

00:16:35.420 --> 00:16:35.780
 it did.

00:16:36.520 --> 00:16:37.940
 Another thing that has been stated

00:16:37.940 --> 00:16:38.340
 is that,

00:16:38.400 --> 00:16:38.480
 well,

00:16:38.540 --> 00:16:39.860
 the crucifixion was just kind of

00:16:39.860 --> 00:16:42.640
 a judicial accident.

00:16:43.720 --> 00:16:44.680
 It was something that,

00:16:45.100 --> 00:16:46.860
 things got out of hand

00:16:46.860 --> 00:16:48.240
 and bad things happened.

00:16:49.380 --> 00:16:50.600
 That's not what the Scriptures

00:16:50.600 --> 00:16:51.520
 tell us at all.

00:16:52.260 --> 00:16:53.580
 The reality of the matter

00:16:53.580 --> 00:16:56.139
 is that Christ suffered for us

00:16:56.139 --> 00:16:57.600
 and he took our place.

00:16:58.040 --> 00:16:59.639
 And as it says here in verse 10,

00:16:59.960 --> 00:17:00.980
 it was the will,

00:17:01.280 --> 00:17:02.360
 as it says in the King James,

00:17:02.700 --> 00:17:04.039
 for it pleased the Lord

00:17:04.039 --> 00:17:04.960
 to bruise him.

00:17:06.079 --> 00:17:07.220
 God planned this.

00:17:08.640 --> 00:17:09.160
 And so,

00:17:09.380 --> 00:17:10.860
 I want us to recognize

00:17:10.860 --> 00:17:12.500
 that the Scriptures make it clear

00:17:12.500 --> 00:17:14.900
 that we are to remember Christ.

00:17:15.019 --> 00:17:15.539
 One of the things

00:17:15.539 --> 00:17:16.519
 that I encourage you to do

00:17:16.519 --> 00:17:17.000
 this morning

00:17:17.000 --> 00:17:17.940
 is remember that

00:17:17.940 --> 00:17:18.980
 he loves you personally.

00:17:20.180 --> 00:17:21.480
 In the circumstances,

00:17:21.680 --> 00:17:22.220
 in the setting,

00:17:22.620 --> 00:17:23.519
 in the difficulties,

00:17:23.579 --> 00:17:24.259
 and the challenges

00:17:24.259 --> 00:17:24.960
 that you have,

00:17:25.059 --> 00:17:26.619
 in the moment of your life,

00:17:26.759 --> 00:17:28.159
 I want you to remind yourself

00:17:28.159 --> 00:17:30.819
 overarching all of those things

00:17:30.819 --> 00:17:32.059
 is the reality

00:17:32.059 --> 00:17:34.720
 of the never-failing love of Christ.

00:17:36.460 --> 00:17:38.199
 I want you to remind yourself also

00:17:38.199 --> 00:17:40.720
 that he has suffered in your place.

00:17:42.460 --> 00:17:43.500
 And then third,

00:17:43.599 --> 00:17:45.559
 as we play off this verse 10

00:17:45.559 --> 00:17:46.939
 here in Isaiah 53,

00:17:47.419 --> 00:17:49.000
 I want you to recognize

00:17:49.000 --> 00:17:50.740
 that all of this happened

00:17:50.740 --> 00:17:52.000
 according to his plan.

00:17:52.000 --> 00:17:54.460
 As you hold the bread

00:17:54.460 --> 00:17:55.180
 and hold the cup,

00:17:55.240 --> 00:17:56.200
 I want you to understand

00:17:56.200 --> 00:17:57.900
 that your salvation,

00:17:58.099 --> 00:17:59.019
 the plan of redemption,

00:17:59.180 --> 00:17:59.779
 was something

00:17:59.779 --> 00:18:02.779
 that was carefully orchestrated

00:18:02.779 --> 00:18:03.740
 and thought out

00:18:03.740 --> 00:18:05.059
 before the creation

00:18:05.059 --> 00:18:05.819
 of the world.

00:18:07.319 --> 00:18:08.059
 Look at a couple

00:18:08.059 --> 00:18:08.799
 different passages

00:18:08.799 --> 00:18:10.299
 that make this issue clear

00:18:10.299 --> 00:18:12.240
 that Christ's crucifixion

00:18:12.240 --> 00:18:13.420
 was not just some kind

00:18:13.420 --> 00:18:15.640
 of blip on the radar,

00:18:15.799 --> 00:18:16.700
 but it was actually something

00:18:16.700 --> 00:18:17.240
 that happened

00:18:17.240 --> 00:18:18.500
 according to divine plan.

00:18:18.500 --> 00:18:19.619
 In your Bible,

00:18:19.740 --> 00:18:20.079
 if you would,

00:18:20.140 --> 00:18:21.119
 look at Acts 2,

00:18:21.259 --> 00:18:22.019
 verse 23.

00:18:23.619 --> 00:18:24.559
 Acts 2,

00:18:24.700 --> 00:18:25.299
 verse 23.

00:18:25.440 --> 00:18:26.079
 Men of Israel,

00:18:26.200 --> 00:18:26.839
 hear the words

00:18:26.839 --> 00:18:27.980
 of Jesus of Nazareth,

00:18:28.779 --> 00:18:29.920
 a man attested to you

00:18:29.920 --> 00:18:30.460
 by God

00:18:30.460 --> 00:18:31.259
 with mighty works

00:18:31.259 --> 00:18:31.759
 and wonders

00:18:31.759 --> 00:18:32.359
 and signs

00:18:32.359 --> 00:18:33.099
 that God did

00:18:33.099 --> 00:18:33.579
 through him

00:18:33.579 --> 00:18:34.559
 in your midst.

00:18:34.619 --> 00:18:35.839
 As you yourselves know,

00:18:37.799 --> 00:18:38.759
 this Jesus

00:18:38.759 --> 00:18:41.240
 delivered up

00:18:41.240 --> 00:18:42.019
 according to the

00:18:42.019 --> 00:18:43.279
 definite plan,

00:18:43.279 --> 00:18:46.500
 definite plan.

00:18:51.039 --> 00:18:52.200
 How many of you

00:18:52.200 --> 00:18:53.759
 have had definite plans

00:18:53.759 --> 00:18:55.359
 that haven't worked out well

00:18:55.359 --> 00:18:57.059
 because other people

00:18:57.059 --> 00:18:58.920
 were involved in them?

00:19:07.920 --> 00:19:09.240
 This Jesus

00:19:09.240 --> 00:19:11.440
 delivered up

00:19:11.440 --> 00:19:12.600
 according to the

00:19:12.600 --> 00:19:13.860
 definite plan

00:19:13.860 --> 00:19:15.200
 and for knowledge

00:19:15.200 --> 00:19:15.820
 of God,

00:19:16.240 --> 00:19:17.240
 you crucified

00:19:17.240 --> 00:19:18.200
 and killed

00:19:18.200 --> 00:19:19.460
 by the hands

00:19:19.460 --> 00:19:21.380
 of lawless men.

00:19:22.960 --> 00:19:24.299
 Acts chapter 4,

00:19:25.400 --> 00:19:27.240
 verse 27 and 28.

00:19:33.240 --> 00:19:34.600
 As the early church

00:19:34.600 --> 00:19:36.080
 faced its persecution,

00:19:38.680 --> 00:19:40.080
 it's very interesting

00:19:40.079 --> 00:19:41.339
 to see how they responded

00:19:41.339 --> 00:19:41.859
 to it.

00:19:44.359 --> 00:19:45.159
 They didn't take

00:19:45.159 --> 00:19:45.879
 to the streets.

00:19:47.319 --> 00:19:48.319
 They didn't riot.

00:19:50.339 --> 00:19:51.059
 What they did

00:19:51.059 --> 00:19:51.919
 was they went to prayer.

00:19:54.179 --> 00:19:55.619
 And there in verse 27

00:19:55.619 --> 00:19:56.299
 and 28,

00:19:56.859 --> 00:19:57.759
 let me read this to you.

00:19:57.799 --> 00:19:58.779
 For truly in this city

00:19:58.779 --> 00:20:00.059
 there are gathered together

00:20:00.059 --> 00:20:01.299
 against your holy servant

00:20:01.299 --> 00:20:01.699
 Jesus,

00:20:01.859 --> 00:20:02.559
 whom you appointed

00:20:02.559 --> 00:20:03.559
 both Herod

00:20:03.559 --> 00:20:04.500
 and Pontius Pilate

00:20:04.500 --> 00:20:05.599
 along with the Gentiles

00:20:05.599 --> 00:20:07.039
 and the peoples of Israel

00:20:07.039 --> 00:20:08.279
 to do whatever

00:20:08.279 --> 00:20:09.220
 your hand

00:20:09.220 --> 00:20:10.339
 and your plan

00:20:10.339 --> 00:20:11.500
 had predestined

00:20:11.500 --> 00:20:12.620
 to take place.

00:20:17.559 --> 00:20:19.079
 I think about the passage

00:20:19.079 --> 00:20:20.480
 in 1 Peter chapter 1

00:20:20.480 --> 00:20:24.140
 and go there.

00:20:26.700 --> 00:20:28.480
 1 Peter chapter 1,

00:20:29.339 --> 00:20:32.059
 verse 18 through 20.

00:20:32.500 --> 00:20:32.639
 Jude Jude Jude

00:20:32.639 --> 00:20:32.639


00:20:32.639 --> 00:20:32.639


00:20:32.639 --> 00:20:32.639


00:20:32.639 --> 00:20:32.639


00:20:32.639 --> 00:20:32.639


00:20:32.639 --> 00:20:32.639


00:20:32.639 --> 00:20:32.639


00:20:32.639 --> 00:20:32.639


00:20:32.639 --> 00:20:32.639


00:20:32.639 --> 00:20:32.639


00:20:32.639 --> 00:20:32.639


00:20:32.639 --> 00:20:32.639


00:20:32.639 --> 00:20:32.639


00:20:32.639 --> 00:20:32.639


00:20:32.639 --> 00:20:32.639


00:20:32.639 --> 00:20:32.639


00:20:32.639 --> 00:20:32.639


00:20:32.639 --> 00:20:32.639


00:20:32.639 --> 00:20:32.639


00:20:32.639 --> 00:20:32.639


00:20:32.639 --> 00:20:32.639


00:20:32.639 --> 00:20:32.639


00:20:32.640 --> 00:20:37.220
 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways

00:20:37.220 --> 00:20:38.800
 inherited from your forefathers,

00:20:39.140 --> 00:20:42.740
 not with perishable things such as silver or gold,

00:20:44.180 --> 00:20:46.840
 but with the precious blood of Christ,

00:20:46.940 --> 00:20:50.020
 like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.

00:20:50.300 --> 00:20:53.400
 He was foreknown before the foundation of the world,

00:20:53.400 --> 00:20:56.940
 but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you.

00:21:02.640 --> 00:21:07.280
 I revel in the creative genius of our God.

00:21:08.560 --> 00:21:09.800
 I think you do too.

00:21:11.200 --> 00:21:15.500
 Judith and I enjoy landscaping to a certain degree

00:21:15.500 --> 00:21:19.060
 and planting flowers and watching them come up,

00:21:19.060 --> 00:21:23.680
 and I just marvel at the variety.

00:21:26.520 --> 00:21:27.160
 Unbelievable.

00:21:27.160 --> 00:21:33.480
 You know, I'm very glad that God thought of doing flowers

00:21:33.480 --> 00:21:37.360
 with so much more variety than I would have thought of doing flowers.

00:21:38.680 --> 00:21:39.759
 Yeah, flower.

00:21:40.100 --> 00:21:42.500
 Red, dot in the center, that's it.

00:21:42.740 --> 00:21:43.259
 You know, it's a little bit,

00:21:43.480 --> 00:21:47.940
 my flowers would be something like this and no more.

00:21:47.940 --> 00:22:01.799
 God's creativity in creation pales

00:22:01.799 --> 00:22:06.000
 against the issue of salvation.

00:22:07.680 --> 00:22:11.700
 He knew you and ordained your salvation

00:22:11.700 --> 00:22:15.440
 and put the details of your deliverance

00:22:15.440 --> 00:22:17.820
 from the bondage of sin into place.

00:22:17.940 --> 00:22:22.460
 And this morning, as you come to this table

00:22:22.460 --> 00:22:24.840
 and you take that bread and you take that cup,

00:22:25.059 --> 00:22:26.960
 one of the things that I want you to do

00:22:26.960 --> 00:22:27.880
 is I want you to think,

00:22:28.240 --> 00:22:31.820
 and he planned this before it all started.

00:22:34.720 --> 00:22:36.380
 Let me have you think of one more thing,

00:22:36.440 --> 00:22:37.820
 and we come back to this,

00:22:38.500 --> 00:22:41.600
 to the passage in 1 Corinthians chapter 11.

00:22:41.599 --> 00:22:52.939
 There is a very interesting sense in which the majority of thinking about the Lord's table

00:22:52.939 --> 00:22:56.099
 is about the past.

00:22:56.559 --> 00:22:57.879
 This is what Jesus did.

00:22:58.379 --> 00:22:59.740
 This is what he did for me.

00:22:59.740 --> 00:23:02.500
 This is his heart.

00:23:03.960 --> 00:23:07.720
 But I want you to think a little bit now, if you will, on verse 26.

00:23:09.200 --> 00:23:09.500
 It says,

00:23:09.880 --> 00:23:15.000
 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup,

00:23:15.519 --> 00:23:18.559
 you proclaim the Lord's death.

00:23:18.640 --> 00:23:20.359
 Now here's the part I want you to think about with me.

00:23:20.359 --> 00:23:22.500
 Till he comes.

00:23:26.819 --> 00:23:27.859
 Till he comes.

00:23:31.039 --> 00:23:37.500
 His coming is understood in the Scriptures as being significant to the believer.

00:23:37.500 --> 00:23:41.700
 In fact, I would say that that's probably one of the things

00:23:41.700 --> 00:23:45.119
 that would be a fair question to ask yourself.

00:23:45.559 --> 00:23:47.519
 Oh, sure, I say I'm a Christian.

00:23:47.740 --> 00:23:48.640
 I mean, you know what?

00:23:48.680 --> 00:23:49.819
 I grew up in a Christian home.

00:23:50.299 --> 00:23:52.220
 I know about Jesus.

00:23:52.359 --> 00:23:53.099
 But here's the question.

00:23:53.680 --> 00:23:59.279
 Is your heart thinking affectionately about the reality of his return?

00:23:59.480 --> 00:24:03.019
 If he is real and he is significant,

00:24:04.440 --> 00:24:06.420
 should we think about his return?

00:24:06.420 --> 00:24:08.220
 The Scriptures make it very, very clear

00:24:08.220 --> 00:24:12.700
 that the early church was just caught up in anticipating Christ's return.

00:24:14.180 --> 00:24:17.840
 And every time they would take the bread and they would take the cup

00:24:17.840 --> 00:24:18.220
 and they'd say,

00:24:18.519 --> 00:24:20.779
 Man, Jesus died for me.

00:24:23.400 --> 00:24:24.240
 They would say,

00:24:24.500 --> 00:24:28.620
 And I am reminding myself of the significance of his death for me

00:24:28.620 --> 00:24:30.779
 until he comes back.

00:24:36.420 --> 00:24:47.740
 When he returns,

00:24:47.740 --> 00:24:47.759
 When he returns,

00:24:49.220 --> 00:24:56.060
 there will be two different responses.

00:24:57.539 --> 00:24:58.180
 Do you follow that?

00:24:58.180 --> 00:24:58.200
 Do you follow that?

00:24:58.200 --> 00:25:03.960
 Unbelievers will be terrified

00:25:03.960 --> 00:25:10.860
 at the clear evidence of their eternal condemnation.

00:25:10.859 --> 00:25:18.919
 Those who are believers

00:25:18.919 --> 00:25:22.139
 at the conclusion of the tribulation,

00:25:22.859 --> 00:25:24.479
 do you know what their hearts are going to be like?

00:25:25.939 --> 00:25:28.879
 It is even so come Lord Jesus, right?

00:25:30.179 --> 00:25:30.879
 I wonder,

00:25:30.880 --> 00:25:32.420
 I wonder,

00:25:33.420 --> 00:25:34.460
 This morning,

00:25:34.880 --> 00:25:38.780
 how real is the prospect of Christ's return?

00:25:39.900 --> 00:25:42.340
 How dominating is that thought?

00:25:43.800 --> 00:25:48.960
 How central is that to the affections and interests of your heart?

00:25:48.960 --> 00:25:53.579
 I'm going to ask,

00:25:53.860 --> 00:25:55.700
 and I do want you to remember,

00:25:55.860 --> 00:25:56.900
 there are a couple different things

00:25:56.900 --> 00:25:59.220
 that we are going to work at together this morning.

00:25:59.680 --> 00:26:01.579
 Let me give you a little bit of an intro

00:26:01.579 --> 00:26:03.220
 to the way that we are going to do things.

00:26:03.259 --> 00:26:05.579
 You'll notice that we don't have chairs up here at the front, right?

00:26:06.319 --> 00:26:07.960
 Now, you understand that that's because of...

00:26:08.539 --> 00:26:08.539


00:26:08.539 --> 00:26:08.539


00:26:08.539 --> 00:26:08.539


00:26:08.539 --> 00:26:08.539


00:26:08.539 --> 00:26:08.539


00:26:08.539 --> 00:26:08.539


00:26:08.539 --> 00:26:08.539


00:26:08.539 --> 00:26:08.539


00:26:08.539 --> 00:26:08.539


00:26:08.539 --> 00:26:08.539


00:26:08.539 --> 00:26:08.539


00:26:08.539 --> 00:26:08.539


00:26:08.539 --> 00:26:08.539


00:26:08.539 --> 00:26:08.539


00:26:08.539 --> 00:26:08.539


00:26:08.539 --> 00:26:08.539


00:26:08.539 --> 00:26:08.539


00:26:08.539 --> 00:26:08.539


00:26:08.539 --> 00:26:08.539


00:26:08.539 --> 00:26:08.539


00:26:08.539 --> 00:26:08.539


00:26:08.539 --> 00:26:08.539


00:26:08.539 --> 00:26:08.539


00:26:08.539 --> 00:26:08.539


00:26:08.539 --> 00:26:08.539


00:26:08.539 --> 00:26:08.539