WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.339 You are listening to a message from Southwood Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama. 00:00:06.799 --> 00:00:09.359 Our passion is to experience and express grace. 00:00:10.000 --> 00:00:10.500 Join us. 00:00:12.480 --> 00:00:18.140 Kids, if you'll join me up here on the steps, we're going to talk for just a couple of minutes. 00:00:19.379 --> 00:00:21.559 So glad that y'all are here this morning. 00:00:21.699 --> 00:00:26.839 We are talking every Sunday this month about things that kids get excited about, about 00:00:26.839 --> 00:00:27.660 Christmas, right? 00:00:27.900 --> 00:00:28.940 Because you're excited about Christmas? 00:00:28.940 --> 00:00:29.379 Yeah. 00:00:29.379 --> 00:00:32.500 Yeah, and we're talking about why we really celebrate Christmas. 00:00:32.679 --> 00:00:34.640 Last week we talked about lights, remember? 00:00:35.379 --> 00:00:38.899 And that Jesus is the light of the world. 00:00:39.000 --> 00:00:40.500 That's what they remind us, isn't it? 00:00:42.239 --> 00:00:44.479 This week I wanted to ask you about something else. 00:00:45.539 --> 00:00:49.000 What food do you like to eat at Christmas? 00:00:49.340 --> 00:00:50.120 What do you like to eat? 00:00:50.780 --> 00:00:51.320 Gingerbread men. 00:00:52.060 --> 00:00:52.599 Gingerbread men. 00:00:52.620 --> 00:00:53.079 What else? 00:00:54.579 --> 00:00:55.060 Cookies. 00:00:55.879 --> 00:00:56.320 Cookies. 00:00:56.320 --> 00:00:56.359 Cookies. 00:00:56.679 --> 00:00:57.480 Pies. 00:00:57.479 --> 00:01:01.619 Cookies. 00:01:02.039 --> 00:01:02.919 More cookies. 00:01:03.019 --> 00:01:03.459 Me too. 00:01:03.739 --> 00:01:05.000 I would pick cookies. 00:01:05.000 --> 00:01:06.000 Gingerbread houses. 00:01:06.000 --> 00:01:07.500 Gingerbread houses. 00:01:07.579 --> 00:01:09.979 There's so much yummy food at Christmas, isn't there? 00:01:10.000 --> 00:01:12.140 I like to eat gingerbread houses. 00:01:12.140 --> 00:01:12.679 Yeah. 00:01:12.939 --> 00:01:15.019 I brought something else this morning. 00:01:15.239 --> 00:01:16.459 I brought, do you know what this is? 00:01:16.519 --> 00:01:17.340 Candy cane. 00:01:17.420 --> 00:01:18.340 Candy cane. 00:01:18.379 --> 00:01:20.679 Nothing says Christmas like a candy cane, right? 00:01:20.680 --> 00:01:21.160 I do. 00:01:22.160 --> 00:01:27.220 The best thing I like at Christmas is candy canes. 00:01:27.400 --> 00:01:27.800 Yes. 00:01:27.900 --> 00:01:29.420 I like candy canes too. 00:01:29.500 --> 00:01:31.520 And a lot of times we get these at Christmas. 00:01:31.620 --> 00:01:32.420 Would you like this one? 00:01:32.800 --> 00:01:33.080 Mm-hmm. 00:01:33.260 --> 00:01:33.460 Yeah. 00:01:33.500 --> 00:01:33.880 All right. 00:01:33.920 --> 00:01:34.160 Awesome. 00:01:34.260 --> 00:01:34.780 That'll be $1. 00:01:37.420 --> 00:01:37.820 No. 00:01:38.100 --> 00:01:38.400 $1. 00:01:38.800 --> 00:01:40.219 That's what it said on the box. 00:01:41.040 --> 00:01:42.420 It said candy canes were $1. 00:01:42.420 --> 00:01:42.700 Yeah. 00:01:42.700 --> 00:01:42.719 $1. 00:01:42.940 --> 00:01:44.860 Don't you have to pay for your Christmas candy? 00:01:45.160 --> 00:01:45.480 Yeah. 00:01:45.580 --> 00:01:46.260 Don't you all? 00:01:46.320 --> 00:01:47.000 Don't you all? 00:01:47.080 --> 00:01:48.700 When you get candy, you pay for it? 00:01:48.700 --> 00:01:49.140 No. 00:01:49.960 --> 00:01:50.260 No? 00:01:50.680 --> 00:01:55.140 When you have a big Christmas dinner at your house, don't you pay for your Christmas dinner? 00:01:55.579 --> 00:01:56.020 No. 00:01:57.359 --> 00:01:58.620 You don't. 00:01:58.920 --> 00:02:00.060 You don't. 00:02:00.780 --> 00:02:01.659 Well, you know what? 00:02:02.000 --> 00:02:02.320 You know what? 00:02:02.359 --> 00:02:06.700 That candy cane, Alex, that's going to be free for you, okay? 00:02:07.040 --> 00:02:08.640 I'm going to let you keep that. 00:02:08.680 --> 00:02:09.180 You know why? 00:02:09.659 --> 00:02:11.099 You know why you can keep that one? 00:02:11.180 --> 00:02:11.400 Why? 00:02:12.099 --> 00:02:13.280 I paid for it. 00:02:13.599 --> 00:02:13.879 Oh. 00:02:14.180 --> 00:02:14.400 Yeah. 00:02:14.480 --> 00:02:16.420 It was one that I bought it at the store. 00:02:16.419 --> 00:02:18.819 And I brought it so I could give it to you. 00:02:19.059 --> 00:02:23.219 Do you know why your Christmas dinner is free for you and you don't have to pay when you eat? 00:02:23.659 --> 00:02:24.060 What? 00:02:24.299 --> 00:02:25.159 Who paid for it? 00:02:25.439 --> 00:02:25.799 What? 00:02:26.699 --> 00:02:31.879 Probably your parents or grandparents or somebody else paid for it, didn't they? 00:02:32.219 --> 00:02:35.219 I'm going to let you all have a candy cane, but not yet, okay? 00:02:35.439 --> 00:02:38.279 Only at the end do we get candy canes, so pay attention. 00:02:38.280 --> 00:02:44.199 That's a really important thing to remember when we talk about Christmas, right? 00:02:44.580 --> 00:02:49.800 Because Jesus is born to give us a free feast. 00:02:50.199 --> 00:02:55.699 All sorts of good things like love and forgiveness and friendship with him. 00:02:55.819 --> 00:02:57.900 And we don't even have to pay for it, do we? 00:02:58.099 --> 00:02:58.420 Why? 00:02:58.740 --> 00:03:02.719 We don't have to pay because who paid for all of that for us? 00:03:02.979 --> 00:03:03.379 Jesus. 00:03:03.479 --> 00:03:04.240 Jesus did. 00:03:04.560 --> 00:03:05.340 Jesus was born. 00:03:05.340 --> 00:03:10.039 We've been singing this morning and talking already that Jesus was born not just to be born, 00:03:10.280 --> 00:03:14.140 but then to live and die on the cross. 00:03:14.420 --> 00:03:21.800 That Jesus was going to pay a very high price so that he could give us all kinds of things for free, right? 00:03:22.520 --> 00:03:29.800 So Christmas is the story of free food and lots of other things for you because Jesus paid for it. 00:03:29.819 --> 00:03:30.520 Can you remember that? 00:03:30.520 --> 00:03:35.400 When your parents tell you it's okay to eat this candy cane, because you're not going to eat it before that, right? 00:03:35.920 --> 00:03:44.680 When they tell you it's okay to eat this candy cane, you remember that it is free for you because somebody else paid for it. 00:03:44.879 --> 00:03:49.840 And that Jesus' love and Jesus' forgiveness is just like that. 00:03:49.840 --> 00:03:55.240 And when your candy cane is gone and your hands are just sticky and that's all that reminds you that you had a candy cane, 00:03:55.240 --> 00:04:00.840 you can go wash them and remember that Jesus' love and forgiveness washes you clean forever. 00:04:01.640 --> 00:04:02.300 Isn't that awesome? 00:04:02.840 --> 00:04:04.439 Let's pray and then I'll give you a candy cane. 00:04:05.439 --> 00:04:09.539 Jesus, we are so thankful that you love us, that you were born, 00:04:09.539 --> 00:04:14.120 and you paid the price of coming to this earth and then dying on the cross 00:04:14.120 --> 00:04:18.860 so that we could know you and know your love and have our sins forgiven forever. 00:04:19.060 --> 00:04:20.060 Thank you so much. 00:04:20.399 --> 00:04:23.019 I pray these kids would understand that this Christmas, 00:04:23.579 --> 00:04:28.899 that as they celebrate, they will know they're celebrating the free gift that Jesus has given them. 00:04:28.980 --> 00:04:31.620 We're so thankful and we thank you in your name. 00:04:32.139 --> 00:04:32.500 Amen. 00:04:32.500 --> 00:04:38.540 All right, Miss Angela is going to make sure that everybody gets a candy cane, okay? 00:04:38.980 --> 00:04:41.939 Be patient and very calm as you get your candy cane. 00:04:42.300 --> 00:04:45.860 And then you can go back and some of you are going to kids worship, okay? 00:04:46.839 --> 00:04:51.579 If you're going to kids worship, kindergarten and first grade, you can go as soon as you have your candy cane. 00:04:51.680 --> 00:04:54.240 You can walk out the back and they'll meet you back there. 00:04:55.399 --> 00:04:56.319 Alex, thank you. 00:04:57.240 --> 00:04:58.939 You don't have to have a candy cane. 00:04:59.000 --> 00:04:59.459 That's all right. 00:04:59.500 --> 00:05:00.740 We'll get you something else, okay? 00:05:00.740 --> 00:05:00.800 Okay. 00:05:00.800 --> 00:05:03.860 I learned about candy cane at school. 00:05:04.020 --> 00:05:04.800 Oh, you did? 00:05:05.199 --> 00:05:05.780 Oh, right. 00:05:05.900 --> 00:05:06.060 That's all right. 00:05:06.060 --> 00:05:10.500 Because of the stripes mean of Jesus' love. 00:05:10.680 --> 00:05:11.379 That's right. 00:05:11.460 --> 00:05:13.500 It can remind us that Jesus died for us. 00:05:13.600 --> 00:05:15.800 And the white is... 00:05:15.800 --> 00:05:18.560 I forgot what the white was. 00:05:18.580 --> 00:05:20.439 It washes us clean from all our sins. 00:05:20.660 --> 00:05:21.460 That's awesome. 00:05:21.580 --> 00:05:22.019 Thanks, Bennett. 00:05:23.939 --> 00:05:26.620 A good candy cane lesson for all of us. 00:05:27.060 --> 00:05:28.480 Thought you'd appreciate hearing it. 00:05:30.800 --> 00:05:40.780 I don't know what you look forward to eating at Christmas. 00:05:42.060 --> 00:05:50.680 Maybe your idea of a Christmas feast looks more like this picture up here than the candy that the kids and I are... 00:05:50.680 --> 00:05:52.259 I mean, the kids are looking forward to. 00:05:52.259 --> 00:05:58.980 Well, we're going to look at Isaiah 55 for a few minutes this morning. 00:05:59.879 --> 00:06:04.699 Because God invites all of us to a Christmas feast. 00:06:04.699 --> 00:06:12.019 To understand that it's a feast because of Christmas, we're going to have to back up a little bit. 00:06:12.079 --> 00:06:16.479 Because when you read it, you might not immediately realize that this is a Christmas feast. 00:06:16.599 --> 00:06:21.759 But we're going to go back through the first 54 chapters of Isaiah and later this week when we finish... 00:06:21.759 --> 00:06:31.860 No, we're going to go very quickly through the first 54 chapters of Isaiah to get us to where we're going to read the first three verses of chapter 55. 00:06:32.740 --> 00:06:40.279 God sends the prophet Isaiah to tell people that exile is coming. 00:06:40.279 --> 00:06:44.779 There are glimmers of hope in the beginnings of Isaiah's prophecy. 00:06:44.979 --> 00:06:46.119 We saw one last week. 00:06:46.219 --> 00:06:48.359 There's a child coming who's going to be born. 00:06:48.799 --> 00:06:51.819 And so there's some good stuff like that in the first half of the book. 00:06:51.899 --> 00:06:53.339 But most of it's pretty dark. 00:06:53.979 --> 00:06:59.079 It's about sin and idolatry and punishment and exile is coming. 00:06:59.079 --> 00:07:05.819 But God also sends Isaiah to tell his people that God is coming. 00:07:06.759 --> 00:07:12.379 At chapter 40 of Isaiah, if you want to flip back there, if you've got your Bible open, we're going to run through starting at chapter 40. 00:07:12.639 --> 00:07:14.740 There's this distinct shift. 00:07:15.339 --> 00:07:20.199 After all the darkness and heartache of exile, what's the word to start chapter 40? 00:07:20.620 --> 00:07:21.139 Comfort. 00:07:22.139 --> 00:07:25.279 Comfort ye my people, says your God. 00:07:25.279 --> 00:07:29.559 And the comfort that's offered is that God is coming. 00:07:29.679 --> 00:07:31.619 In His glory, He's coming. 00:07:32.259 --> 00:07:37.839 In fact, He's coming in the person of the servant of the Lord, the promised Messiah. 00:07:38.500 --> 00:07:43.419 So we start to hear chapter 42, Isaiah's servant songs. 00:07:43.699 --> 00:07:44.779 There's several of them. 00:07:44.919 --> 00:07:49.159 Placing hope in the righteous ruler, the light of the nations. 00:07:50.579 --> 00:07:52.519 So Isaiah says, don't fear. 00:07:53.679 --> 00:07:54.539 Chapter 43. 00:07:54.540 --> 00:07:56.900 I'm forgiving your sins. 00:07:57.260 --> 00:08:00.720 Redeeming my beloved people is God's message. 00:08:01.540 --> 00:08:07.200 And this message of good news is not merely for the remnant of God's people who will be brought back to Jerusalem. 00:08:07.720 --> 00:08:14.800 But the good news spreads to the ends of the earth through this servant, this promised light of the nations. 00:08:14.939 --> 00:08:15.980 That's chapter 49. 00:08:15.980 --> 00:08:22.580 As we keep reading, we learn in a very familiar passage that the servant will be obedient, righteous. 00:08:23.860 --> 00:08:27.540 But in spite of all that, he'll eventually be rejected and die. 00:08:27.700 --> 00:08:30.040 And die for others' sins. 00:08:30.040 --> 00:08:31.700 Chapter 53, right? 00:08:31.699 --> 00:08:34.939 But he will not only die, he'll live again. 00:08:34.939 --> 00:08:45.899 Chapter 54 promises the hope of life in his glorious kingdom where Yahweh's steadfast love and his covenant of peace will never be removed. 00:08:46.039 --> 00:08:47.179 That's where it's all headed. 00:08:47.419 --> 00:08:48.220 It's ramping up. 00:08:48.299 --> 00:08:50.279 The promises have reached a crescendo. 00:08:50.279 --> 00:08:52.059 So God has come. 00:08:52.379 --> 00:08:53.839 And we turn to chapter 55. 00:08:54.539 --> 00:08:57.360 Listen to how God caps it all off. 00:08:57.980 --> 00:08:58.939 He's excited too. 00:08:59.720 --> 00:09:02.740 Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters. 00:09:03.379 --> 00:09:05.519 And he who has no money, come buy and eat. 00:09:05.899 --> 00:09:09.379 Come buy wine and milk without money and without price. 00:09:09.379 --> 00:09:13.259 Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread? 00:09:14.279 --> 00:09:16.580 Your labor for that which does not satisfy? 00:09:17.100 --> 00:09:20.220 Listen diligently to me and eat what is good. 00:09:20.639 --> 00:09:22.480 And delight yourselves in rich food. 00:09:22.919 --> 00:09:25.039 Incline your ear and come to me. 00:09:25.279 --> 00:09:27.059 Hear that your soul may live. 00:09:27.639 --> 00:09:29.600 And I will make with you an everlasting covenant. 00:09:30.620 --> 00:09:34.419 My steadfast, sure love for David. 00:09:34.419 --> 00:09:38.419 At the pinnacle of it all is a feast. 00:09:38.819 --> 00:09:43.199 A Christmas feast because God is coming, right? 00:09:43.259 --> 00:09:45.899 That's the point of this whole section of Isaiah. 00:09:46.419 --> 00:09:49.699 It's a feast and God's people, the Jews, are invited. 00:09:50.379 --> 00:09:54.620 And in a fresh way here the nations are invited to this feast. 00:09:54.620 --> 00:10:03.899 And even by the end of chapter 55 the whole creation is invited to the feast celebrating God's presence with us. 00:10:04.419 --> 00:10:10.099 Our Christmas feasts, our feast to celebrate the coming of the Christ. 00:10:10.199 --> 00:10:11.439 That's what Christmas means, right? 00:10:12.240 --> 00:10:14.199 So is Isaiah 55. 00:10:15.459 --> 00:10:20.339 There's so much we could say about feasting in the Bible that points us to Jesus. 00:10:21.719 --> 00:10:25.979 I want to focus on two things highlighted in these verses that I just read. 00:10:26.439 --> 00:10:28.480 Two things this morning about the feast. 00:10:29.000 --> 00:10:31.980 The first is this is a free feast. 00:10:31.980 --> 00:10:40.920 It is possible that I get more excited about free food than these kids got excited about the candy cane. 00:10:42.259 --> 00:10:47.200 But there's a reason that the free aspect of this feast is so important. 00:10:47.740 --> 00:10:49.039 Notice verse 1. 00:10:49.039 --> 00:11:03.559 Listen, don't miss this, friends. 00:11:03.740 --> 00:11:09.120 The greatest feast ever is the one that you sit at for free. 00:11:09.919 --> 00:11:11.980 Not because it's worthless. 00:11:13.179 --> 00:11:15.159 It's just priceless. 00:11:15.159 --> 00:11:17.279 No money here. 00:11:17.519 --> 00:11:18.620 No price. 00:11:18.939 --> 00:11:25.139 Which is really good for us because we didn't have any money that could buy the covenant love of God. 00:11:25.480 --> 00:11:27.899 That could buy life for our souls. 00:11:28.019 --> 00:11:30.779 That could buy relationship with the holy God of the universe. 00:11:30.860 --> 00:11:31.860 How are you going to buy that? 00:11:31.860 --> 00:11:38.379 Many of us are well aware we don't have anything we can use to buy that. 00:11:38.379 --> 00:11:50.019 We know we don't deserve to feast with God, to sit at His table, to be in relationship with a holy God and pretend we have fellowship with Him like we're on His level. 00:11:50.180 --> 00:11:51.700 We know that's not true. 00:11:52.440 --> 00:11:54.919 We know we've been running away from Him for years. 00:11:54.919 --> 00:12:00.879 Or some of us, we've tried to run toward Him, but we keep falling on our faces. 00:12:01.599 --> 00:12:04.699 There's no way we can get all the way to His perfection. 00:12:06.019 --> 00:12:16.019 If that describes you this morning, and I hope one of those does, you're either running from Him and knowing you're far away, or you're running towards Him and feeling like you fall short, 00:12:16.019 --> 00:12:22.679 then there's good news here, because you're exactly the kind of person that He's inviting to this feast. 00:12:23.100 --> 00:12:23.720 Are you thirsty? 00:12:24.639 --> 00:12:26.179 Good news, you're in. 00:12:27.000 --> 00:12:27.899 Are you bankrupt? 00:12:28.659 --> 00:12:30.679 Good news, you're in. 00:12:31.500 --> 00:12:32.639 Despairing of hope? 00:12:33.019 --> 00:12:34.759 Ready to give up? 00:12:35.879 --> 00:12:38.220 Good news, you're in. 00:12:38.220 --> 00:12:50.279 This is a feast of grace, where the misfit toys go through the line first and sit in a place of honor. 00:12:50.899 --> 00:13:02.940 Listen, contrary to popular belief and many Christmas songs, the Christmas feast that God gives does not celebrate all the good people getting their just desserts. 00:13:03.800 --> 00:13:05.480 That's nice list, naughty list. 00:13:05.560 --> 00:13:06.580 We know how that works. 00:13:06.860 --> 00:13:07.620 That's not this. 00:13:07.620 --> 00:13:08.419 No, no, no, no. 00:13:09.419 --> 00:13:17.159 Christmas celebrates God delivering a feast to the hungry and the undeserving. 00:13:17.700 --> 00:13:19.659 That is grace. 00:13:19.960 --> 00:13:21.500 That's the way He works. 00:13:21.799 --> 00:13:25.860 Grace welcomes the prodigal home from the pig food to the feast. 00:13:26.019 --> 00:13:27.240 Read Luke 15. 00:13:27.879 --> 00:13:32.680 Grace gives living water to a woman at a well who has been drinking around. 00:13:33.060 --> 00:13:34.139 Read John 4. 00:13:34.139 --> 00:13:46.179 Grace goes out to the streets and the alleyways of the city and says, bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame to the banquet that the king is throwing. 00:13:46.179 --> 00:13:47.519 Read Luke 14. 00:13:47.519 --> 00:13:53.360 So you can actually quit polishing your resume and trying to earn an invite. 00:13:53.360 --> 00:14:00.639 And you can receive empty-handed the invite of the gracious king of the Christmas feast. 00:14:00.639 --> 00:14:07.879 You can come lame in both feet like Mephibosheth and eat always at the king's table. 00:14:07.879 --> 00:14:21.659 In fact, you can be empty, bankrupt, spiritually dead because grace works by raising the dead, not by rewarding the living. 00:14:21.759 --> 00:14:21.919 Amen? 00:14:21.919 --> 00:14:23.659 That's Robert Farrar Capone. 00:14:24.559 --> 00:14:25.979 And that is crazy. 00:14:26.779 --> 00:14:29.879 I mean, seriously, can you think about how ridiculous that is? 00:14:30.259 --> 00:14:35.939 That if you were going to possibly have a seat at the table with the holy king, 00:14:36.479 --> 00:14:42.459 that if you were going to get to feast at what he's laid out that is going to give true life to your soul, 00:14:42.459 --> 00:14:47.799 that if you're going to get to revel in the king's love, I mean, certainly you've got a tab to be covered, right? 00:14:47.879 --> 00:14:48.139 Anybody? 00:14:48.439 --> 00:14:51.879 Anybody got a tab that needs to be covered for coming into that kind of feast? 00:14:51.919 --> 00:14:55.399 Certainly I pay something to be there. 00:14:56.679 --> 00:14:58.639 That's got to be too good to be true. 00:14:58.899 --> 00:14:59.779 Someone told me this week, 00:15:00.039 --> 00:15:01.759 Pastor, there is no such thing as a free lunch. 00:15:01.799 --> 00:15:02.819 I learned that in high school. 00:15:04.519 --> 00:15:05.979 There's a free Christmas feast. 00:15:06.779 --> 00:15:09.319 Isaiah said, it is that good. 00:15:09.699 --> 00:15:10.559 It is that true. 00:15:10.559 --> 00:15:11.699 Look at verse 7. 00:15:11.799 --> 00:15:15.240 Who comes and eats his fill at God's free feast? 00:15:15.299 --> 00:15:16.360 What kind of people are there? 00:15:16.360 --> 00:15:23.779 Let the wicked forsake his way and return to the Lord and find compassion. 00:15:24.460 --> 00:15:33.960 Let the unrighteous man give up his lifestyle of a failed performance and his bad ideas and come to God. 00:15:33.960 --> 00:15:37.700 Because when the unrighteous person comes to God, God will ignore him, right? 00:15:38.440 --> 00:15:39.759 No, it's worse than that. 00:15:40.000 --> 00:15:45.220 God will humiliate him with a guilt trip to end all guilt trips because he's been running the other way. 00:15:46.019 --> 00:15:46.519 No. 00:15:46.519 --> 00:15:46.620 No. 00:15:46.620 --> 00:15:52.560 God will abundantly pardon. 00:15:53.519 --> 00:15:56.980 That is the way that the God of grace works. 00:15:57.379 --> 00:16:00.820 His thoughts and his ways are much higher than ours. 00:16:00.919 --> 00:16:02.600 You've heard this verse before, right? 00:16:02.639 --> 00:16:04.700 Maybe you thought, that just means I don't understand God. 00:16:04.759 --> 00:16:06.500 It means something way more specific than that. 00:16:06.500 --> 00:16:12.779 It means that God is way more gracious and his feast is way more free than you could possibly imagine. 00:16:12.779 --> 00:16:18.379 We don't even understand how he gives free food to the hungry. 00:16:19.379 --> 00:16:21.519 He's that gracious. 00:16:21.839 --> 00:16:23.899 His feast is that free. 00:16:26.220 --> 00:16:33.480 Now, if there's a free feast like that, that you're invited to, you need to be really sure you know who's paying the tab. 00:16:34.559 --> 00:16:36.419 Because you've got a big bill you've run up. 00:16:36.419 --> 00:16:49.679 Tanya and Evan, not their real names, came to Manor House Food Bank just this last Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving. 00:16:51.019 --> 00:16:53.159 They came to get some food for Thanksgiving. 00:16:53.419 --> 00:16:59.319 They're a young couple who's financially devastated recently by Evan's cancer. 00:17:00.500 --> 00:17:03.659 He's in the midst of chemo, not been able to work. 00:17:03.659 --> 00:17:07.680 The director was expecting them. 00:17:08.399 --> 00:17:15.559 She called me over and asked me to carry multiple boxes of food out to their car for their Thanksgiving dinner. 00:17:15.839 --> 00:17:21.039 Actually, what had happened is that the executive chef at the new Orion Amphitheater here in Huntsville 00:17:21.039 --> 00:17:24.559 had decided he had a good kitchen and no events going on. 00:17:24.779 --> 00:17:29.920 He'd used his kitchen to cook Thanksgiving dinner to give it to the hungry and homeless in Huntsville. 00:17:29.960 --> 00:17:30.399 Isn't that cool? 00:17:30.400 --> 00:17:35.440 And so he made all this food and she'd save some up for them. 00:17:36.400 --> 00:17:42.080 Then I got to walk with Tanya through the line getting vegetables and bread and so forth to go with it. 00:17:42.540 --> 00:17:44.640 And at the end of the line, I said, hey, you want any dessert? 00:17:46.640 --> 00:17:49.560 She seemed really hesitant to ask for anything more. 00:17:50.060 --> 00:17:51.140 But her eyes brightened. 00:17:51.200 --> 00:17:54.080 She said, oh, do you think they might have a birthday cake? 00:17:54.079 --> 00:17:57.699 Evan's birthday is actually tomorrow, too. 00:17:57.799 --> 00:18:02.039 And I don't think I'm going to have any time to make anything for us or any chance. 00:18:02.159 --> 00:18:05.939 And the lady behind the table heard her and her eyes lit up, too. 00:18:06.019 --> 00:18:08.819 She said, I just put one down. 00:18:08.899 --> 00:18:09.500 Stay right there. 00:18:09.720 --> 00:18:10.679 And she goes in public. 00:18:10.839 --> 00:18:12.960 She had made a wonderful birthday cake. 00:18:13.220 --> 00:18:15.740 She threw it on top of all the other food on the box I was carrying. 00:18:15.740 --> 00:18:24.180 So I carried it out to the car, unloaded for them a trunk full of a Thanksgiving birthday feast. 00:18:24.299 --> 00:18:26.240 They could have had all of you over for dinner. 00:18:27.640 --> 00:18:33.680 And Tanya, with tears running down her face, she threw her arms around me and she sobbed. 00:18:33.779 --> 00:18:35.740 Thank you so much. 00:18:35.740 --> 00:18:40.539 Y'all, the chef at the Orion made the food. 00:18:41.079 --> 00:18:42.759 Publix baked the cake. 00:18:43.200 --> 00:18:46.400 I said, um, I just carried it to your car. 00:18:47.960 --> 00:18:49.640 I didn't provide the food. 00:18:51.359 --> 00:18:54.339 Well, you can thank whoever did, she said. 00:18:56.019 --> 00:18:57.920 I said, why don't we just thank him together? 00:18:58.839 --> 00:18:59.720 Can I pray with y'all? 00:19:00.200 --> 00:19:01.680 Because this feast came from God. 00:19:02.160 --> 00:19:03.380 And she said, that's for sure. 00:19:03.380 --> 00:19:15.780 Listen, just like the candy canes that I gave the kids, the food at God's Christmas feast is free to us, but costly to someone else. 00:19:16.340 --> 00:19:17.940 Someone else has covered the tab. 00:19:18.400 --> 00:19:25.900 Jesus, the servant of the Lord, lays aside the amazing glories of heaven, right? 00:19:26.280 --> 00:19:27.740 Think of what it cost him. 00:19:28.080 --> 00:19:31.320 He lays aside all the trappings of glory to come down. 00:19:31.319 --> 00:19:41.000 He humbles himself to be born in a manger, outcast in a way, and then to live in a broken, rebellious, hateful world. 00:19:42.200 --> 00:19:52.919 And then he dies in physical, emotional, spiritual torment on the cross to pay the tab for our sins, right? 00:19:53.159 --> 00:19:54.299 He takes the ticket. 00:19:54.899 --> 00:19:56.319 He signs his name. 00:19:56.319 --> 00:20:00.200 He says, paid in full to Telestai. 00:20:00.639 --> 00:20:02.000 It is finished. 00:20:02.240 --> 00:20:03.220 It is paid. 00:20:04.639 --> 00:20:07.839 Won't you quit trying to buy your own ticket? 00:20:08.879 --> 00:20:11.799 To work hard enough to get into the feast? 00:20:12.119 --> 00:20:21.159 Won't you just rejoice in the one who gave it to you for free and throw your arms around him to say, thank you so much. 00:20:21.160 --> 00:20:27.220 Oh, come, let us adore him for what he has done. 00:20:29.220 --> 00:20:35.980 This Christmas feast, like so many other feasts throughout the Bible, they're reminders of what God has done. 00:20:36.060 --> 00:20:43.200 That's why we're celebrating his provision that he delivers, that he redeems, that he saves. 00:20:43.200 --> 00:20:53.100 He invites us to come and buy something that we desperately need, but could never afford for absolutely free. 00:20:53.400 --> 00:20:53.819 Hallelujah. 00:20:54.779 --> 00:20:55.960 What a Savior. 00:20:59.039 --> 00:21:02.200 One other thing that God doesn't want you to miss about this feast. 00:21:03.039 --> 00:21:07.480 His free Christmas feast is a filling feast. 00:21:09.420 --> 00:21:10.819 You won't leave hungry. 00:21:10.819 --> 00:21:12.960 Verse 2. 00:21:14.159 --> 00:21:16.599 Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread? 00:21:17.519 --> 00:21:20.059 And your labor for that which does not satisfy? 00:21:21.220 --> 00:21:23.919 Listen diligently to me and eat what is good. 00:21:24.419 --> 00:21:26.079 Delight yourselves in rich food. 00:21:26.399 --> 00:21:28.119 Incline your ear and come to me. 00:21:28.559 --> 00:21:30.220 Hear that your soul may live. 00:21:31.159 --> 00:21:31.819 Good food. 00:21:32.539 --> 00:21:33.179 Rich food. 00:21:34.059 --> 00:21:35.240 Satisfying food. 00:21:35.480 --> 00:21:40.059 Obviously for our souls, even more than our bodies, it's making clear here. 00:21:40.059 --> 00:21:43.319 This Christmas feast is going to fill you that deep. 00:21:44.200 --> 00:21:46.440 Did you notice what it is that fills you? 00:21:46.659 --> 00:21:53.179 Did you see God line up, come to the waters now with, in verse 3, come to me? 00:21:54.799 --> 00:21:58.019 God himself is the fulfilling one. 00:21:58.279 --> 00:21:59.839 The thirst quencher. 00:21:59.839 --> 00:22:03.919 That's why Jesus would stand up at the feast in John 7 and say, 00:22:04.039 --> 00:22:08.399 If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 00:22:09.619 --> 00:22:15.240 Jesus, the one who comes to pay your tab, to invite you to the free feast, 00:22:15.480 --> 00:22:20.259 is the one who gives you himself to fill you forever. 00:22:20.559 --> 00:22:23.799 He tells the woman at the well this in John chapter 4. 00:22:23.799 --> 00:22:29.599 Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. 00:22:29.759 --> 00:22:34.039 And then a couple chapters later, he tells 5,000 plus people who've just eaten their fill, 00:22:34.659 --> 00:22:37.839 I am the bread of life. 00:22:38.119 --> 00:22:44.299 Whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. 00:22:44.299 --> 00:22:47.200 That's Jesus' promise. 00:22:49.099 --> 00:22:58.200 And so God asks us this morning why we are not fulfilled when he offers such a filling feast. 00:22:59.480 --> 00:23:01.940 Will you ask yourself that question honestly this morning? 00:23:02.019 --> 00:23:03.559 Are we eating at another table? 00:23:04.579 --> 00:23:10.240 Why do we work and spend ourselves for things that don't fulfill? 00:23:10.240 --> 00:23:40.220 Will you ask yourself that question? 00:23:40.240 --> 00:23:43.839 And your mouth is parched and your stomach is aching. 00:23:44.220 --> 00:23:46.259 And many of you are ready to stop and just give up. 00:23:47.480 --> 00:23:51.059 When a truck finally pulls up and the driver says, 00:23:51.579 --> 00:23:53.460 Hey, I come this way all the time. 00:23:53.680 --> 00:23:58.220 And I just wanted you to know, you're 30 miles away from a town. 00:23:58.859 --> 00:24:03.420 But in that town is a wonderful mom and pop restaurant. 00:24:03.960 --> 00:24:06.700 It's so generous that they love when this happens. 00:24:06.700 --> 00:24:11.420 I'll call ahead and I'll tell them I'll have a group there in about 30 minutes. 00:24:11.720 --> 00:24:14.059 They love feeding people who get stuck out here. 00:24:14.720 --> 00:24:16.920 You just hop in the back of the truck and I'll take you there. 00:24:18.200 --> 00:24:22.420 Sure enough, you pile in and when you arrive in the town, 00:24:22.580 --> 00:24:28.519 there are tables full of home-cooked food ready for you, piping hot. 00:24:28.860 --> 00:24:31.980 There are pitchers of cold ice water. 00:24:32.640 --> 00:24:33.360 They're ready. 00:24:33.359 --> 00:24:34.979 They're free for you. 00:24:36.000 --> 00:24:38.859 But off to the side of the restaurant a little ways up the hill 00:24:38.859 --> 00:24:40.939 is a shack with a sign that reads, 00:24:41.679 --> 00:24:44.719 Sand and sawdust, $5 a cup. 00:24:46.259 --> 00:24:49.419 And some from your group drag themselves over there, 00:24:49.599 --> 00:24:52.799 use their last bit of energy to make their way up the hill, 00:24:52.919 --> 00:24:55.099 dig in their wallets for five bucks, 00:24:55.099 --> 00:25:01.980 and then they start trying to pour the sand and the sawdust down their dry throats. 00:25:04.599 --> 00:25:13.699 If that happened, would you be at all surprised if the truck driver and mom and pop came over to them 00:25:13.700 --> 00:25:18.600 and as they poured sand and sawdust down their throats said, 00:25:18.759 --> 00:25:19.200 Why? 00:25:19.200 --> 00:25:19.360 Why? 00:25:19.980 --> 00:25:25.860 Why are you spending your money for that which will not satisfy? 00:25:27.240 --> 00:25:29.960 That seems to be God's perspective here. 00:25:30.720 --> 00:25:35.960 He has just set the table with rich food and refreshing drink, 00:25:36.080 --> 00:25:39.420 all for free, inviting us all to come. 00:25:39.420 --> 00:25:41.000 And now he's saying, 00:25:42.060 --> 00:25:43.700 Friend, why aren't you coming? 00:25:45.140 --> 00:25:46.900 Sand and sawdust? 00:25:47.500 --> 00:25:48.759 Don't do that. 00:25:49.600 --> 00:25:53.340 Come to me and eat and live. 00:25:54.880 --> 00:25:56.600 I want to ask that why question 00:25:56.600 --> 00:26:01.019 to both Christians and non-Christians before we close. 00:26:01.019 --> 00:26:04.019 First, to Christians, 00:26:05.319 --> 00:26:10.579 Why aren't you coming to the free and filling Christmas feast? 00:26:10.759 --> 00:26:14.139 Why do we sometimes still feel so empty? 00:26:15.279 --> 00:26:17.079 It's not that God has gotten stingy. 00:26:17.779 --> 00:26:19.379 It's not that he's run out of food. 00:26:21.879 --> 00:26:25.019 It may be that we are seeking to feed ourselves, 00:26:25.019 --> 00:26:32.339 facing the same struggle God's people have often faced through generations. 00:26:33.379 --> 00:26:35.299 In the words of the prophet Jeremiah, 00:26:36.740 --> 00:26:40.440 Maybe we've forsaken God, 00:26:41.400 --> 00:26:42.960 the fountain of living waters, 00:26:43.660 --> 00:26:46.319 and hewed out cisterns, wells for ourselves 00:26:46.319 --> 00:26:48.299 that are actually broken cisterns 00:26:48.299 --> 00:26:51.400 that can hold no waters. 00:26:51.400 --> 00:26:54.019 Buying sand and sawdust 00:26:54.019 --> 00:26:58.440 instead of enjoying God's free Christmas feast. 00:27:00.120 --> 00:27:01.880 Y'all, this is a good time of year 00:27:01.880 --> 00:27:05.660 to consider what we are looking to for fulfillment. 00:27:06.540 --> 00:27:09.160 I think Christmas is especially a time 00:27:09.160 --> 00:27:12.840 where we look to the perfect thing to fulfill us. 00:27:12.940 --> 00:27:15.140 I know this because every Christmas 00:27:15.140 --> 00:27:18.560 I start looking for the perfect Christmas sermon. 00:27:19.540 --> 00:27:20.740 I feel it. 00:27:20.740 --> 00:27:23.299 I want everybody to love it 00:27:23.299 --> 00:27:25.220 and tell me how great it is 00:27:25.220 --> 00:27:28.059 and that will fill me up the perfect Christmas sermon. 00:27:28.140 --> 00:27:30.339 That is probably not what's on your Christmas list. 00:27:34.240 --> 00:27:37.420 Often we look for the perfect gift, don't we? 00:27:38.099 --> 00:27:41.700 I'll be, if I just get that, I'll be happy. 00:27:43.240 --> 00:27:44.720 How'd that go for you the last year? 00:27:44.819 --> 00:27:47.279 You got the thing you asked for 00:27:47.279 --> 00:27:49.740 that you knew would make you happy. 00:27:50.740 --> 00:27:52.440 When we look for the perfect home, 00:27:53.299 --> 00:27:54.740 decorated beautifully, 00:27:55.000 --> 00:27:56.120 the perfect family, 00:27:57.000 --> 00:27:58.299 the perfect Christmas card, 00:27:58.400 --> 00:28:00.160 the perfect Christmas experience, 00:28:00.559 --> 00:28:04.279 and y'all, they are sand and sawdust. 00:28:05.120 --> 00:28:06.680 The whole point of Christmas 00:28:06.680 --> 00:28:09.220 is that the perfect relationship here 00:28:09.220 --> 00:28:11.740 by His grace at this feast 00:28:11.740 --> 00:28:13.720 has already come to us. 00:28:13.720 --> 00:28:17.740 You don't have to look for perfection anywhere else. 00:28:17.740 --> 00:28:25.519 Father, forgive us for that seeking perfect Christmas. 00:28:26.000 --> 00:28:29.299 It's just a microcosm, God, of our lives all year 00:28:29.299 --> 00:28:31.740 for digging other wells. 00:28:31.740 --> 00:28:35.779 But I think we might need to ask God 00:28:35.779 --> 00:28:38.400 to forgive us mostly for forsaking Him, 00:28:39.660 --> 00:28:43.799 for not drinking deeply of the living water of Jesus. 00:28:43.940 --> 00:28:46.720 Why aren't we with Him more? 00:28:46.960 --> 00:28:49.599 Why aren't our lives shaped by Him more? 00:28:49.599 --> 00:28:52.240 Why aren't we speaking more of Him 00:28:52.240 --> 00:28:53.879 to others who are thirsty? 00:28:54.559 --> 00:28:57.519 It must be we're not believing what we say we do. 00:28:58.059 --> 00:29:00.859 That He is the one who quenches our thirst 00:29:00.859 --> 00:29:02.699 and fills our souls forever. 00:29:03.000 --> 00:29:04.000 Christians, come. 00:29:04.240 --> 00:29:05.639 Come to the feast again. 00:29:07.119 --> 00:29:08.139 And be filled. 00:29:10.219 --> 00:29:11.859 To those of you who are not Christians, 00:29:12.859 --> 00:29:14.799 you may think this is crazy talk. 00:29:15.099 --> 00:29:16.500 Maybe you've come to church for years 00:29:16.500 --> 00:29:18.059 and you're like, what is this guy on about? 00:29:18.339 --> 00:29:20.099 He's actually pretending this is all real. 00:29:22.259 --> 00:29:24.819 Maybe you've celebrated Christmas your whole life, 00:29:25.019 --> 00:29:29.140 but you honestly don't believe Jesus lived and died 00:29:29.140 --> 00:29:32.960 and rose to give you life that is full and free. 00:29:33.160 --> 00:29:34.299 The good life in your mind, 00:29:34.380 --> 00:29:35.900 it's still out there somewhere. 00:29:36.019 --> 00:29:37.259 You'll find it one day. 00:29:37.259 --> 00:29:38.619 And I would say to you, 00:29:38.759 --> 00:29:43.680 why keep looking when this world of sand and sawdust 00:29:43.680 --> 00:29:46.299 has not satisfied or fulfilled you yet? 00:29:47.500 --> 00:29:49.500 The one who told you it wouldn't 00:29:49.500 --> 00:29:54.640 is still inviting you to His free and full feast. 00:29:55.420 --> 00:29:56.779 He calls you to come. 00:29:56.859 --> 00:29:58.559 You've probably heard this invitation before, 00:29:59.259 --> 00:30:00.339 but Isaiah says, 00:30:00.720 --> 00:30:04.140 seek the Lord while He may be found. 00:30:04.460 --> 00:30:05.279 Don't delay. 00:30:05.279 --> 00:30:05.319 Don't delay. 00:30:07.099 --> 00:30:10.200 If you think you're thirsty now, 00:30:10.480 --> 00:30:13.339 a bit dissatisfied with life, 00:30:13.480 --> 00:30:15.039 longing for fulfillment, 00:30:15.039 --> 00:30:20.259 God says that hell is a place of unquenchable flames 00:30:20.259 --> 00:30:25.019 where those who have insisted on drinking sand and sawdust 00:30:25.019 --> 00:30:28.599 cry out for one drop of water 00:30:28.599 --> 00:30:30.819 to quench their thirst. 00:30:32.039 --> 00:30:37.519 May no one in here ever taste that agony. 00:30:37.519 --> 00:30:42.940 When Jesus today stands to offer you water, 00:30:43.460 --> 00:30:44.139 living water, 00:30:44.299 --> 00:30:44.799 life, 00:30:45.519 --> 00:30:46.059 grace, 00:30:46.619 --> 00:30:47.160 forgiveness, 00:30:47.900 --> 00:30:48.379 rest, 00:30:48.879 --> 00:30:49.299 purpose, 00:30:50.039 --> 00:30:50.519 hope, 00:30:51.160 --> 00:30:51.660 fulfillment, 00:30:52.400 --> 00:30:52.940 joy, 00:30:53.519 --> 00:30:55.639 He's inviting you to come. 00:30:56.259 --> 00:30:57.720 Won't you come to Him? 00:30:57.819 --> 00:31:01.019 Jesus is not insisting you go get your act together 00:31:01.019 --> 00:31:02.279 before you come back. 00:31:02.279 --> 00:31:05.039 He is inviting you to come now as you are. 00:31:05.579 --> 00:31:08.200 His final invitation in the Bible's last chapter 00:31:08.200 --> 00:31:10.460 is let the one who is thirsty come. 00:31:10.960 --> 00:31:15.500 Let the one who desires take the water of life without price. 00:31:17.079 --> 00:31:17.639 Priceless. 00:31:18.680 --> 00:31:22.220 Because Jesus has paid it all. 00:31:22.740 --> 00:31:24.700 There is nothing for you to pay. 00:31:25.139 --> 00:31:27.759 You throw yourself on His mercy. 00:31:27.759 --> 00:31:31.440 You receive His grace and you know His life forever. 00:31:35.379 --> 00:31:36.680 For all of us, 00:31:36.900 --> 00:31:41.059 coming to God's free and filling feast 00:31:41.059 --> 00:31:43.680 can be hard for countless reasons. 00:31:44.200 --> 00:31:45.460 I don't want to pretend it's not, 00:31:45.539 --> 00:31:48.019 that there aren't hurdles even now in your own heart. 00:31:48.180 --> 00:31:51.140 It may be your pride in not receiving grace. 00:31:51.400 --> 00:31:52.480 I don't take handouts. 00:31:52.700 --> 00:31:53.940 It's not a charity case. 00:31:53.940 --> 00:31:57.320 It may be our shame 00:31:57.320 --> 00:31:59.600 in not deserving it 00:31:59.600 --> 00:32:00.740 and we know it deeply. 00:32:00.880 --> 00:32:01.480 We feel it. 00:32:02.980 --> 00:32:04.100 I think for a lot of us, 00:32:04.140 --> 00:32:06.120 it's our fear of a God 00:32:06.120 --> 00:32:08.500 that we don't know at all 00:32:08.500 --> 00:32:09.840 or maybe we think we know Him 00:32:09.840 --> 00:32:11.660 and we just don't understand Him. 00:32:12.120 --> 00:32:13.860 And so we're afraid to get too close. 00:32:15.799 --> 00:32:17.799 All sorts of things keep us from coming. 00:32:19.519 --> 00:32:21.160 C.S. Lewis understood this well 00:32:21.160 --> 00:32:23.279 in the silver chair. 00:32:23.940 --> 00:32:25.620 He writes of an encounter 00:32:25.620 --> 00:32:28.220 of a thirsty girl named Jill 00:32:28.220 --> 00:32:31.580 and a Christ figure lion. 00:32:34.220 --> 00:32:35.700 Are you not thirsty? 00:32:36.559 --> 00:32:37.420 Said the lion. 00:32:37.920 --> 00:32:39.900 I am dying of thirst. 00:32:39.900 --> 00:32:40.799 Said Jill. 00:32:41.160 --> 00:32:41.960 Then drink. 00:32:42.980 --> 00:32:43.640 Said the lion. 00:32:44.600 --> 00:32:45.360 May I? 00:32:46.259 --> 00:32:46.860 Could I? 00:32:47.220 --> 00:32:49.299 Would you mind going away while I do? 00:32:50.299 --> 00:32:50.799 Said Jill. 00:32:50.799 --> 00:32:51.279 Jill. 00:32:52.279 --> 00:32:53.559 The lion answered this 00:32:53.559 --> 00:32:54.619 only by a look 00:32:54.619 --> 00:32:56.000 and a very low growl. 00:32:56.960 --> 00:32:57.940 And as Jill gazed 00:32:57.940 --> 00:32:59.259 at its motionless bulk, 00:32:59.359 --> 00:33:01.000 she realized that she might as well 00:33:01.000 --> 00:33:02.379 have asked the whole mountain 00:33:02.379 --> 00:33:03.339 to move aside 00:33:03.339 --> 00:33:04.599 for her convenience. 00:33:05.700 --> 00:33:07.159 The delicious rippling noise 00:33:07.159 --> 00:33:07.659 of the stream 00:33:07.659 --> 00:33:09.079 was driving her nearly frantic. 00:33:09.480 --> 00:33:10.960 Will you promise not to 00:33:10.960 --> 00:33:12.720 do anything to me 00:33:12.720 --> 00:33:13.639 if I do come? 00:33:14.279 --> 00:33:14.819 Said Jill. 00:33:14.819 --> 00:33:15.299 Jill. 00:33:15.980 --> 00:33:17.500 I make no promise. 00:33:18.599 --> 00:33:19.220 Said the lion. 00:33:20.099 --> 00:33:21.279 Jill was so thirsty now 00:33:21.279 --> 00:33:22.279 that without noticing it 00:33:22.279 --> 00:33:23.500 she had come a step nearer. 00:33:24.299 --> 00:33:25.679 Do you eat girls? 00:33:26.480 --> 00:33:27.000 She said. 00:33:27.639 --> 00:33:28.720 I have swallowed up 00:33:28.720 --> 00:33:29.899 girls and boys, 00:33:30.059 --> 00:33:31.200 women and men, 00:33:31.339 --> 00:33:32.700 kings and emperors, 00:33:32.839 --> 00:33:34.139 cities and realms. 00:33:35.059 --> 00:33:35.759 Said the lion. 00:33:36.419 --> 00:33:37.179 It didn't say this 00:33:37.179 --> 00:33:38.059 as if it were boasting 00:33:38.059 --> 00:33:39.720 nor as if it were sorry 00:33:39.720 --> 00:33:41.119 nor as if it were angry. 00:33:41.119 --> 00:33:42.479 It just said it. 00:33:44.000 --> 00:33:45.659 I daren't come and drink. 00:33:46.439 --> 00:33:46.979 Said Jill. 00:33:47.279 --> 00:33:49.339 Then you will die of thirst. 00:33:50.379 --> 00:33:51.039 Said the lion. 00:33:51.879 --> 00:33:52.500 Oh dear. 00:33:53.319 --> 00:33:55.279 Said Jill coming another step nearer. 00:33:55.599 --> 00:33:57.359 I suppose I must go 00:33:57.359 --> 00:33:59.019 and look for another stream then. 00:34:00.399 --> 00:34:02.419 There is no other stream. 00:34:04.039 --> 00:34:05.000 Said the lion. 00:34:07.919 --> 00:34:08.480 Come. 00:34:09.960 --> 00:34:10.519 Everyone. 00:34:11.119 --> 00:34:12.159 Who thirsts. 00:34:12.159 --> 00:34:15.659 There is no other stream. 00:34:16.799 --> 00:34:17.699 But at this one. 00:34:18.219 --> 00:34:18.719 Hear him. 00:34:19.139 --> 00:34:21.359 Hear him and your soul will live. 00:34:21.579 --> 00:34:23.159 His offer stands today 00:34:23.159 --> 00:34:24.179 for you to come 00:34:24.179 --> 00:34:26.159 because it is an everlasting covenant 00:34:26.699 --> 00:34:28.559 in God's love. 00:34:28.940 --> 00:34:29.960 And this table 00:34:29.960 --> 00:34:31.759 that we're about to come to together 00:34:31.759 --> 00:34:32.880 is a sign 00:34:32.880 --> 00:34:34.219 to point you 00:34:34.219 --> 00:34:36.099 to that covenant promise 00:34:36.099 --> 00:34:37.779 that he still makes 00:34:37.779 --> 00:34:39.279 and to the God 00:34:39.280 --> 00:34:40.460 who fulfilled it 00:34:40.460 --> 00:34:41.560 once and for all 00:34:41.560 --> 00:34:43.040 and he will fulfill it 00:34:43.040 --> 00:34:44.519 for you. 00:34:45.560 --> 00:34:46.380 It's the covenant 00:34:46.380 --> 00:34:47.680 Jesus told his disciples 00:34:47.680 --> 00:34:48.420 about on the night 00:34:48.420 --> 00:34:49.019 he was betrayed. 00:34:50.200 --> 00:34:51.120 He took bread 00:34:51.120 --> 00:34:53.260 and he broke it 00:34:53.260 --> 00:34:54.320 and he gave it 00:34:54.320 --> 00:34:55.440 to his disciples. 00:34:55.700 --> 00:34:56.620 As I'm ministering 00:34:56.620 --> 00:34:57.140 in his name 00:34:57.140 --> 00:34:58.460 give this bread to you now. 00:34:58.700 --> 00:34:59.940 He said take and eat. 00:35:00.460 --> 00:35:01.540 This is my body 00:35:01.540 --> 00:35:02.700 given for you. 00:35:03.120 --> 00:35:03.780 Do this 00:35:03.780 --> 00:35:05.460 in remembrance of me. 00:35:06.460 --> 00:35:07.340 And then after supper 00:35:07.340 --> 00:35:08.260 he took the cup 00:35:08.260 --> 00:35:09.240 and said this cup 00:35:09.240 --> 00:35:10.180 is the new covenant. 00:35:10.860 --> 00:35:12.300 It's the way we relate now. 00:35:12.539 --> 00:35:13.039 It's a covenant 00:35:13.039 --> 00:35:14.140 in my blood 00:35:14.140 --> 00:35:15.280 shed for many 00:35:15.280 --> 00:35:16.200 for the forgiveness 00:35:16.200 --> 00:35:17.300 of sins. 00:35:17.559 --> 00:35:18.760 That's what I'm offering you. 00:35:18.940 --> 00:35:20.000 I'm giving it to you. 00:35:20.320 --> 00:35:21.160 Drink from it. 00:35:21.360 --> 00:35:22.260 All of you. 00:35:22.620 --> 00:35:23.160 For as often 00:35:23.160 --> 00:35:24.180 as you eat this bread 00:35:24.180 --> 00:35:25.940 and you drink this cup 00:35:25.940 --> 00:35:27.420 you proclaim the Lord's death 00:35:27.420 --> 00:35:29.380 until he comes. 00:35:31.559 --> 00:35:32.519 I am aware 00:35:32.519 --> 00:35:33.840 that if you eat this bread 00:35:33.840 --> 00:35:35.740 and drink this wine 00:35:35.740 --> 00:35:37.140 you will still want 00:35:37.140 --> 00:35:38.120 lunch 00:35:38.120 --> 00:35:39.760 and coffee 00:35:39.760 --> 00:35:41.400 when you leave today. 00:35:43.000 --> 00:35:43.960 This table 00:35:43.960 --> 00:35:45.140 is not itself 00:35:45.140 --> 00:35:46.100 the forever 00:35:46.100 --> 00:35:46.720 free 00:35:46.720 --> 00:35:48.180 and filling feast. 00:35:49.019 --> 00:35:49.640 However 00:35:49.640 --> 00:35:51.720 it is a sign 00:35:51.720 --> 00:35:53.539 of that forever 00:35:53.539 --> 00:35:54.440 free 00:35:54.440 --> 00:35:55.519 and filling 00:35:55.519 --> 00:35:56.360 feast 00:35:56.360 --> 00:35:57.620 that is real 00:35:57.620 --> 00:35:58.620 and true. 00:35:58.760 --> 00:35:59.340 So Christian 00:35:59.340 --> 00:36:00.240 from this church 00:36:00.240 --> 00:36:01.240 or any other 00:36:01.240 --> 00:36:02.140 if that is 00:36:02.139 --> 00:36:03.119 your hope 00:36:03.119 --> 00:36:03.719 if you're willing 00:36:03.719 --> 00:36:04.500 to repent 00:36:04.500 --> 00:36:05.279 even now 00:36:05.279 --> 00:36:06.400 of the sand 00:36:06.400 --> 00:36:07.460 and sawdust 00:36:07.460 --> 00:36:07.879 you've been 00:36:07.879 --> 00:36:08.859 pouring down 00:36:08.859 --> 00:36:09.400 your throat 00:36:09.400 --> 00:36:11.359 and come drink 00:36:11.359 --> 00:36:12.119 of Jesus 00:36:12.119 --> 00:36:13.000 afresh 00:36:13.000 --> 00:36:13.799 then you come 00:36:13.799 --> 00:36:14.839 and celebrate 00:36:14.839 --> 00:36:15.500 with us 00:36:15.500 --> 00:36:16.460 and look forward 00:36:16.460 --> 00:36:17.480 to celebrating 00:36:17.480 --> 00:36:18.319 forever 00:36:18.319 --> 00:36:20.859 in his kingdom. 00:36:21.940 --> 00:36:22.819 If you don't 00:36:22.819 --> 00:36:23.619 find your soul 00:36:23.619 --> 00:36:24.759 filled by Jesus 00:36:24.759 --> 00:36:25.599 or you still have 00:36:25.599 --> 00:36:26.639 a lot of questions 00:36:26.639 --> 00:36:27.480 that you would like 00:36:27.480 --> 00:36:28.420 to ask him 00:36:28.420 --> 00:36:29.679 before coming 00:36:29.679 --> 00:36:31.159 what should you do? 00:36:31.159 --> 00:36:32.940 that's a very 00:36:32.940 --> 00:36:34.079 fair place 00:36:34.079 --> 00:36:34.579 to be. 00:36:35.739 --> 00:36:36.319 I would say 00:36:36.319 --> 00:36:37.359 first don't come 00:36:37.359 --> 00:36:38.539 and take 00:36:38.539 --> 00:36:39.899 the sign 00:36:39.899 --> 00:36:41.759 the sample 00:36:41.759 --> 00:36:43.159 so to speak 00:36:43.159 --> 00:36:43.980 this morning 00:36:43.980 --> 00:36:45.259 it would leave you 00:36:45.259 --> 00:36:45.739 empty 00:36:45.739 --> 00:36:47.259 and aching 00:36:47.259 --> 00:36:48.739 for more 00:36:48.739 --> 00:36:50.440 but in the name 00:36:50.440 --> 00:36:50.899 of Jesus 00:36:50.899 --> 00:36:52.440 I invite you 00:36:52.440 --> 00:36:53.199 to come to him 00:36:53.199 --> 00:36:54.440 this is 00:36:54.440 --> 00:36:55.319 pointing you 00:36:55.319 --> 00:36:56.379 to his body 00:36:56.379 --> 00:36:56.839 and blood 00:36:56.839 --> 00:36:57.519 that give you 00:36:57.519 --> 00:36:58.079 real life 00:36:58.079 --> 00:36:59.139 and real drink 00:36:59.139 --> 00:37:00.079 and will satisfy 00:37:00.079 --> 00:37:00.779 your soul 00:37:00.779 --> 00:37:01.480 forever 00:37:01.480 --> 00:37:02.480 why 00:37:02.480 --> 00:37:03.599 why keep 00:37:03.599 --> 00:37:04.379 chasing anything 00:37:04.379 --> 00:37:04.779 else 00:37:04.779 --> 00:37:05.619 when he has 00:37:05.619 --> 00:37:06.059 come 00:37:06.059 --> 00:37:07.239 to give you 00:37:07.239 --> 00:37:07.960 this 00:37:07.960 --> 00:37:08.619 you can talk 00:37:08.619 --> 00:37:08.879 to him 00:37:08.879 --> 00:37:09.279 right now 00:37:09.279 --> 00:37:09.900 as we pray 00:37:09.900 --> 00:37:11.139 if you don't 00:37:11.139 --> 00:37:11.500 know where to 00:37:11.500 --> 00:37:12.179 start in talking 00:37:12.179 --> 00:37:12.440 to him 00:37:12.440 --> 00:37:13.259 join the club 00:37:13.259 --> 00:37:14.960 we'd love 00:37:14.960 --> 00:37:15.480 to walk 00:37:15.480 --> 00:37:15.819 with you 00:37:15.819 --> 00:37:16.420 through that 00:37:16.420 --> 00:37:17.579 at Southwood 00:37:17.579 --> 00:37:18.420 we are merely 00:37:18.420 --> 00:37:19.099 beggars 00:37:19.099 --> 00:37:20.359 telling other beggars 00:37:20.359 --> 00:37:21.019 where we have 00:37:21.019 --> 00:37:21.739 found bread 00:37:21.739 --> 00:37:22.859 and we'd love 00:37:22.859 --> 00:37:23.239 to talk 00:37:23.239 --> 00:37:23.539 with you 00:37:23.539 --> 00:37:24.019 about him 00:37:24.019 --> 00:37:26.599 the bread 00:37:26.599 --> 00:37:27.139 of life 00:37:27.139 --> 00:37:29.319 the living 00:37:29.319 --> 00:37:29.799 water 00:37:29.799 --> 00:37:30.919 come 00:37:30.919 --> 00:37:32.219 and eat 00:37:32.219 --> 00:37:32.959 and drink 00:37:32.959 --> 00:37:33.699 and thirst 00:37:33.699 --> 00:37:34.839 no more 00:37:34.839 --> 00:37:35.619 let's pray 00:37:35.619 --> 00:37:39.299 Jesus what a rich 00:37:39.299 --> 00:37:39.899 promise 00:37:39.899 --> 00:37:41.859 and yet you stand 00:37:41.859 --> 00:37:42.459 behind it 00:37:42.459 --> 00:37:43.739 and you continue 00:37:43.739 --> 00:37:44.079 to 00:37:44.079 --> 00:37:44.759 and you've 00:37:44.759 --> 00:37:45.599 met us here 00:37:45.599 --> 00:37:46.179 this morning 00:37:46.179 --> 00:37:46.819 that we might 00:37:46.819 --> 00:37:47.779 know 00:37:47.780 --> 00:37:50.140 that it's real 00:37:50.140 --> 00:37:51.320 and that you 00:37:51.320 --> 00:37:52.080 still fulfill 00:37:52.080 --> 00:37:52.940 and you do 00:37:52.940 --> 00:37:53.500 satisfy 00:37:53.500 --> 00:37:54.900 forever 00:37:54.900 --> 00:37:56.400 use these 00:37:56.400 --> 00:37:57.380 common elements 00:37:57.380 --> 00:37:58.880 to point us 00:37:58.880 --> 00:37:59.680 to the forever 00:37:59.680 --> 00:38:01.460 free 00:38:01.460 --> 00:38:02.620 and filling 00:38:02.620 --> 00:38:03.200 feast 00:38:03.200 --> 00:38:05.680 that you are 00:38:05.680 --> 00:38:07.640 thank you 00:38:07.640 --> 00:38:08.060 that we can 00:38:08.060 --> 00:38:08.400 know you 00:38:08.400 --> 00:38:08.740 thank you 00:38:08.740 --> 00:38:09.060 that you're 00:38:09.060 --> 00:38:09.540 here at this 00:38:09.540 --> 00:38:10.400 table with us 00:38:10.400 --> 00:38:12.360 as we celebrate 00:38:12.360 --> 00:38:13.260 and we thank you 00:38:13.260 --> 00:38:13.820 in your name 00:38:13.820 --> 00:38:14.620 amen 00:38:14.620 --> 00:38:16.860 for more 00:38:16.860 --> 00:38:17.380 information 00:38:17.380 --> 00:38:18.220 visit us 00:38:18.220 --> 00:38:18.619 online 00:38:18.619 --> 00:38:18.920 at 00:38:18.920 --> 00:38:19.720 southwood.org