WEBVTT 00:00:00.960 --> 00:00:08.980 So, what's the lesson, what's the visual aid this week? How does this golden table speak 00:00:08.980 --> 00:00:14.280 to us of spiritual realities? That's what we're going to think about this evening, the fact 00:00:14.280 --> 00:00:23.140 that the table is set, that there is bread there, reminding us that God is present with 00:00:23.140 --> 00:00:31.760 His people, and God provides for His people, or that God invites us as His people into a life of 00:00:31.760 --> 00:00:37.299 fellowship and feasting, which I think is something we can understand. We're beginning to reach that 00:00:37.299 --> 00:00:43.060 season where the planning and anticipation, for some of us it's Thanksgiving, for others of us 00:00:43.060 --> 00:00:48.939 it's Christmas. That begins, especially if you're involved in the kitchen. But we understand that 00:00:48.939 --> 00:00:55.579 central to both of these and so many celebrations is the presence of food shared around a table, 00:00:55.799 --> 00:01:01.140 and friendship, time with friends, time with family. That's true of all celebrations, whether 00:01:01.140 --> 00:01:07.920 we're thinking birthdays, weddings, there's always food, and there's always people. And it's wonderfully 00:01:07.920 --> 00:01:15.979 true of the Christian message, and it's one of the great images of the gospel, that God of grace 00:01:15.980 --> 00:01:25.900 invites us to know Him, to share fellowship with Him, and to receive from His rich supply. 00:01:27.040 --> 00:01:33.080 Tables also, I suppose, that speak to us of hospitality. Eleanor Roosevelt, the American First Lady 00:01:33.080 --> 00:01:40.359 in 1933 to 45, said this, it was a helpful comment about hospitality, true hospitality, 00:01:40.359 --> 00:01:51.420 consists of giving the best of yourself to your guests. It's good, solid wisdom. And it's certainly 00:01:51.420 --> 00:02:00.039 true of God in the gospel, that God has given us Jesus to meet all of our spiritual needs. He has given 00:02:00.039 --> 00:02:09.199 us His very best, that He might be with us, inviting us into fellowship and sharing from His provision. 00:02:09.199 --> 00:02:14.739 So, the King invites us to fellowship and feasting is the theme we're going to think about together. 00:02:14.839 --> 00:02:18.919 We're going to think about it from Exodus 25, but we're going to move beyond there to see that it's 00:02:18.919 --> 00:02:24.319 a theme, not just in this little section, but it's part of and central to, I think, God's storyline 00:02:24.319 --> 00:02:30.299 throughout the Bible from beginning to end. And it's certainly true, as Bob was already alluded to, 00:02:30.620 --> 00:02:37.459 in the mission of God's Savior, the Lord Jesus. And we'll think about God's summons as well within that. 00:02:37.460 --> 00:02:45.280 But to start in Exodus 25, just to remind ourselves once again, this is the King's table. 00:02:46.120 --> 00:02:53.360 We see it there in how it is designed and its materials. Verse 24, this wooden acacia wood 00:02:53.360 --> 00:02:59.439 table is to be overlaid with pure gold, with the gold molding, and all the vessels and the plates and 00:02:59.439 --> 00:03:07.599 the dishes are also made of pure gold. So, again, we're being reminded of glory and purity and splendor. 00:03:08.479 --> 00:03:14.579 If you've ever been to a palace, I remember years ago going to visit one of the palaces in Vienna, 00:03:14.780 --> 00:03:21.319 an unbelievable wealth and grandeur on display, especially in the tableware. You can learn a lot 00:03:21.319 --> 00:03:31.319 about a person from their crockery. And in the same way, this table is saying that God is king. He is pure, 00:03:31.479 --> 00:03:40.439 he is glorious, he is holy, and he is honoring his people because he prepares a table for them. 00:03:41.479 --> 00:03:48.340 So, it's the king's table, and it's the king's provision, in two different ways. First of all, 00:03:48.340 --> 00:03:54.580 we need to think about where this is situated. So, location matters. So, last week, if you were here, 00:03:55.000 --> 00:04:00.699 we were in the Holy of Holies, the Ark of the Covenant was in there, and the theme of atonement 00:04:00.699 --> 00:04:07.780 that brought access to God. Now, we're in the most holy place. So, all the priests who represent all 00:04:07.780 --> 00:04:16.139 the people, they can come in. And as they come into this space, they see the table with the provision 00:04:16.139 --> 00:04:22.579 of the bread. And so, there is that clear message that the Lord is near, the Lord is with us, and the 00:04:22.579 --> 00:04:30.800 Lord provides for our needs. It's there in what's described in verse 30 as the bread of the presence. 00:04:31.579 --> 00:04:37.519 And the Bible tells us these were twelve loaves, representing here is God providing for the twelve 00:04:37.519 --> 00:04:43.000 tribes, all of His people. And we discover as well that these loaves were replaced daily. 00:04:43.000 --> 00:04:52.720 God was reminding the Old Testament believer to pray and to trust, give us today our daily bread. 00:04:53.740 --> 00:05:00.360 So, as God feeds the priest, He is announcing that He is ready and willing and able to feed His kingdom 00:05:00.360 --> 00:05:07.779 of priests, His name for Israel, meeting both physical and spiritual needs from His generous 00:05:07.779 --> 00:05:12.479 hospitality, which is something we see through the story of Israel. 00:05:14.439 --> 00:05:20.779 And then, of course, there is the King's invitation. And just to focus there on verse 30, 00:05:21.479 --> 00:05:30.059 this is God's command, put the bread of the presence on this table to be before me at all times. 00:05:30.060 --> 00:05:37.220 So, every word of Scripture matters. And so, the Lord wants His people again to hear loud and clear, 00:05:38.000 --> 00:05:46.759 I am with you always, and I will always provide for you. Every day, I will provide fresh supply. 00:05:47.840 --> 00:05:54.199 This God who has saved them by His grace, calling them out of slavery, making them His own people, 00:05:54.199 --> 00:06:03.199 is now inviting them every day to experience fellowship and feasting, as He promises His presence 00:06:03.199 --> 00:06:10.980 and His provision. And again, just to think about the detail of the table, the fact that the table has 00:06:10.980 --> 00:06:17.719 poles, so it's mobile. So, whenever the tabernacle is moving, the table is moving. And we remember, 00:06:17.720 --> 00:06:24.380 Israel is on God's mission in the world. They are supposed to be spreading God's glory to be a light 00:06:24.380 --> 00:06:30.180 to the nations. And so, as the people look in and see how Israel worship, they understand something 00:06:30.180 --> 00:06:41.280 unique about our God, that He comes so near as to be present and to provide personally and generously. 00:06:41.279 --> 00:06:49.759 And so, there is that invitation to trust God with daily needs and to enjoy life with Him. 00:06:50.559 --> 00:06:57.619 That wasn't just for Israel. That was to all who would come in. Going back to that Eleanor Roosevelt 00:06:57.619 --> 00:07:03.799 quotation, if true hospitality consists of giving the best of yourself to your guests, 00:07:03.800 --> 00:07:13.480 every time the people of God would go to worship, they would see this is absolutely true of God, 00:07:13.579 --> 00:07:19.379 their King. And remember, this is in the context where every day they're going out to gather 00:07:19.379 --> 00:07:28.060 the bread from heaven. So, He's providing every day so they never go hungry twice as much on a Saturday 00:07:28.060 --> 00:07:34.939 so they can rest on their Sabbath to Saturday. And He gives them the bread of the presence as they come 00:07:34.939 --> 00:07:40.399 into worship to make absolutely clear, and no one can make the mistake. He opens up His table. 00:07:41.879 --> 00:07:51.319 The invitation is there, a holy God sharing friendship with people by His grace. And this is the same God that 00:07:51.319 --> 00:08:00.579 we worship today. It remains the invitation of the Christian faith, this invitation to trust in Jesus 00:08:00.579 --> 00:08:07.139 as Lord and King, and to understand that when we do that, we have this wonderful privilege of being brought 00:08:07.139 --> 00:08:12.579 into personal fellowship with the living God. In fact, the living God comes to dwell in our hearts by His Spirit, 00:08:13.199 --> 00:08:21.060 that every spiritual blessing becomes ours. All our needs are met by our merciful God. 00:08:22.300 --> 00:08:28.819 And we're invited to live trusting, give us today, our daily bread, physical, spiritual, 00:08:29.579 --> 00:08:37.019 trusting that He is by our side and is present with us. So, it's a wonderful theme, and I just want to 00:08:37.019 --> 00:08:41.700 spend a few minutes now recognizing this isn't an isolated theme, but it's central to the story of 00:08:41.700 --> 00:08:50.659 Scripture. So, we're going to think about fellowship and feasting and God's storyline. We had an image there 00:08:50.659 --> 00:09:01.539 of a royal banquet. Historians like to dig into all aspects of court life, and there are many who have 00:09:01.539 --> 00:09:07.600 spent a lot of time looking at the details of royal banquets of the kings of Scotland over the years. 00:09:08.360 --> 00:09:12.779 And as they go into those details, you get information, well, why were the feasts held? 00:09:13.120 --> 00:09:19.339 Who were the guests of honor? Even what was being eaten way back in 14th, 15th, 16th century. So, 00:09:19.340 --> 00:09:27.320 for example, in 1596, King James VI came for a visit with Queen Anne of Denmark, and there was a series of 00:09:27.320 --> 00:09:33.960 banquets held in Edinburgh. And so, there was one called the Sugar Banquet, for those with a sweet tooth. 00:09:34.420 --> 00:09:41.820 This lavish banquet that was hosted for the princely sum of 30 pounds, good value for money. Later on in the 00:09:41.820 --> 00:09:48.460 year, there was a meat and poultry supper with some patisserie served at the cost of 26 pounds. 00:09:49.420 --> 00:09:55.300 And at these events, and many more through that year, lots of different lords and ladies were there, 00:09:55.840 --> 00:10:01.540 lots of expensive silverware. The best of Scottish produce was on the menu. You could tuck into 00:10:01.540 --> 00:10:08.840 ptarmigan, capricaylee, stuff that we probably wouldn't go anywhere near these days. But it's clear, 00:10:08.840 --> 00:10:16.379 historians make this point that, you know, the menus change as produce changes, as they have access 00:10:16.379 --> 00:10:21.040 to foreign food, I suppose. The guest list clearly is going to change through the centuries. But the 00:10:21.040 --> 00:10:29.280 principle remains that royals love to hold feasts to celebrate big occasions. And when there is 00:10:29.280 --> 00:10:37.680 celebration, they bring their friends the great and the good. It's not how God works. But running through 00:10:37.679 --> 00:10:46.059 the Bible, there is the reality that God is the true King, who offers fellowship and feasting to His 00:10:46.059 --> 00:10:54.219 people as a gracious gift. And I think that's where God differs so markedly from the royals who would 00:10:54.219 --> 00:11:00.039 always tend to look after those who would be of benefit to them, whereas God graciously invites, 00:11:00.679 --> 00:11:06.099 as we heard in that parable, the weak, the crippled, the poor, the blind, and the lame. 00:11:06.100 --> 00:11:12.879 But I want us to just have a quick tour through the Bible from creation to new creation to just see 00:11:12.879 --> 00:11:17.420 this theme, because it's a wonderful theme. So, you think about where Adam and Eve began life, 00:11:17.500 --> 00:11:22.759 Genesis 2. We go back here so often, because there is the Garden of Eden, and it's a paradise. 00:11:23.259 --> 00:11:28.639 It's a garden full of goodness. There is everything they could ever possibly want in that garden, 00:11:28.920 --> 00:11:34.040 and God Himself came near. There's fellowship and feasting. The book of Exodus, the one that we're in, 00:11:34.039 --> 00:11:40.059 of course, they're getting the manna from heaven every day. In Exodus 24, some of the leaders have 00:11:40.059 --> 00:11:46.839 shared a covenant meal in the very presence of God. And this manna that God is providing every day, 00:11:46.839 --> 00:11:55.500 that will continue all the way until Joshua chapter 5, verse 11, until the very first day when they enter 00:11:55.500 --> 00:12:01.480 the promised land, and they get to eat from the produce of the land. And the point is, God is still 00:12:01.480 --> 00:12:06.420 going to be providing, only this time now it's not going to be bread from heaven. Now it's going to be 00:12:06.420 --> 00:12:12.200 the goodness of the land. But fellowship and feasting is there as they're in the wilderness, and it's 00:12:12.200 --> 00:12:19.320 certainly there as they reach the promised land. And part of the covenant is that when the people live 00:12:19.320 --> 00:12:25.539 in obedience to God, He promises blessing, and some of that blessing is physical and material. 00:12:25.539 --> 00:12:33.819 Good crops and harvests are there. And I think as well, it's recognized in the bread of the presence that was 00:12:33.819 --> 00:12:40.299 there, both at the tabernacle and the temple, that as the people enter into God's land, which is a good land, 00:12:40.339 --> 00:12:47.259 and as they live in right relationship with God, then they're going to receive that blessing of living in 00:12:47.259 --> 00:12:55.319 God's presence and enjoying His provision, fellowship and feasting. That was a reality celebrated in songs, 00:12:55.539 --> 00:13:03.600 the songs of Israel, famously Psalm 23, I think. We have King David praising the shepherd king, 00:13:04.100 --> 00:13:12.019 the one who spreads the table in the wilderness so that His people are supplied on the journey of faith. 00:13:12.019 --> 00:13:19.000 But as the story of Israel continues and this theme continues to develop, 00:13:20.100 --> 00:13:24.779 we see the tragedy of moral and spiritual decline in Israel and then in Israel and Judah. 00:13:25.939 --> 00:13:32.340 They turn away from God, turn away from God's Word. They presume there's greater joy. They presume 00:13:32.340 --> 00:13:39.299 there's a more secure provision to be found in finding alliances with other nations or worshiping foreign 00:13:39.299 --> 00:13:48.079 gods. And so instead of blessing, as the people disobey and turn their back on God, they discover curse. 00:13:48.259 --> 00:13:55.120 And part of that curse under the covenant was a literal physical famine. Sometimes the people were 00:13:55.120 --> 00:14:02.439 hungry as a judgment, as an opportunity to repent. And sometimes, and this was even more solemn and 00:14:02.439 --> 00:14:08.919 somber, I think it was the prophet Amos that spoke of times when there would be a famine of hearing God's 00:14:08.919 --> 00:14:17.779 word. Because God's people have sinned so much that there is now a separation that has been created 00:14:17.779 --> 00:14:27.399 ultimately leading to exile, the people now being far from God's presence. Gone is fellowship and gone is 00:14:27.399 --> 00:14:36.480 feasting. But the theme hasn't gone. And then the prophets pick up this announcement of hope, 00:14:36.480 --> 00:14:44.600 that there is the invitation and anticipation in prophets like Isaiah of a day coming, 00:14:45.600 --> 00:14:53.639 when God, by His grace, will invite the hungry and the thirsty to come to Him again and be satisfied, 00:14:53.779 --> 00:15:00.320 Isaiah 55. Or Isaiah 25. In fact, let's turn to Isaiah 25, because it's such a great little chapter. 00:15:00.320 --> 00:15:12.320 Isaiah 25 and at verse 6. Here is Isaiah anticipating this end time feast. Isaiah 25, verse 6, page 709. 00:15:12.320 --> 00:15:20.640 On this mountain, the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged 00:15:20.640 --> 00:15:26.320 wine, the best of meats and the finest of wines. On this mountain, He will destroy the shroud that 00:15:26.320 --> 00:15:35.180 enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations. He will swallow up death forever. The sovereign 00:15:35.179 --> 00:15:42.739 Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces. He will remove His people's disgrace from all the earth. 00:15:43.659 --> 00:15:51.399 The Lord has spoken. What a message to an exiled people that there is a day coming, a future day 00:15:51.399 --> 00:15:59.599 of feasting with God. Death and sorrow and sadness gone forever. Joy in God's presence, 00:15:59.600 --> 00:16:07.340 in God's goodness that will last for all eternity. It's not just a New Testament idea. It's there in 00:16:07.340 --> 00:16:14.040 Isaiah. And of course, central to that hope and central to this story is the coming of Jesus, 00:16:14.840 --> 00:16:22.740 the King, who announces, I am the bread of life. He is the great I am. He is God with us. 00:16:23.200 --> 00:16:29.000 And in describing Himself as the bread of life, He's saying, I am God's provision for you. I am all you 00:16:29.000 --> 00:16:36.240 need. Jesus came to fulfill all that the manna prepares us for, all that the bread of the presence 00:16:36.240 --> 00:16:47.059 points us to, that God in His infinite kindness has provided a spiritual feast in giving us Jesus, 00:16:47.179 --> 00:16:54.379 the King of grace. And of course, every time we share the Lord's Supper, we're being prepared to 00:16:54.379 --> 00:17:03.639 to understand that the only way in to that living fellowship, the only way in to that feast of 00:17:03.639 --> 00:17:11.420 eternal joy is through Jesus' sacrificial death, the broken body and the shed blood. 00:17:13.380 --> 00:17:19.900 And so, after Jesus returns to heaven and sends the Spirit, and we are in the age of the New Testament 00:17:19.900 --> 00:17:28.740 church, it is no wonder that the people would gather regularly to share this meal, this reminder 00:17:28.740 --> 00:17:35.980 of Christ the King who is present with His people, Christ the King who has provided for salvation, 00:17:37.500 --> 00:17:45.180 Christ the King who, by His Spirit, supplies physically and spiritually for our needs. 00:17:45.180 --> 00:17:54.820 And always with that hope that is spoken of at the climax of the Bible, Revelation 19, 00:17:54.960 --> 00:18:02.640 new creation, the marriage supper of the Lamb, the themes of so many of Jesus' parables picked up. 00:18:03.340 --> 00:18:09.960 Here is this invitation for the people of God to come to this feast. Evil has been defeated, 00:18:09.960 --> 00:18:16.140 the enemies of God have been destroyed, new creation will be established, and God and His people will 00:18:16.140 --> 00:18:24.759 dwell together forever. And we will feast from His goodness and His love for all eternity. 00:18:25.400 --> 00:18:32.460 So, this tabernacle table is just a small window into this great unfolding story 00:18:32.460 --> 00:18:41.779 that speaks to us of a King who loves to feast with His friends, who is a great host, who provides 00:18:41.779 --> 00:18:51.860 generous hospitality and issues a gracious invitation. And just so we can see that really clearly, 00:18:51.980 --> 00:18:54.980 let's just spend a few minutes now thinking about this theme, fellowship and feasting, 00:18:54.980 --> 00:19:05.519 and God's Savior. Let's think about Jesus, our King. So again, you know, the table is there. When we think 00:19:05.519 --> 00:19:10.420 about tables, we think about hospitality. And when we think about hospitality, we think about human 00:19:10.420 --> 00:19:17.620 connections. We think about Thanksgiving coming up. We think about joy that's shared. Think about 00:19:17.620 --> 00:19:24.259 Christmas gatherings, stories that are told. Whenever we share space and share a table, new friendships are 00:19:24.259 --> 00:19:31.220 being established, old friendships are being renewed. Tables can become a place of real blessing. 00:19:33.240 --> 00:19:39.859 Sometimes life is so busy that when people take the time to share a meal, where we can actually enter 00:19:39.859 --> 00:19:45.700 into deep conversation, when we can let other people into our lives, it's a wonderful blessing. 00:19:46.839 --> 00:19:54.180 Sometimes it's all too rare. And it's not about fancy food. Sometimes we get worried about 00:19:54.180 --> 00:19:59.779 hospitality because we think it's about being, you know, high-class chefs. It's not like that at all. 00:20:00.220 --> 00:20:06.259 For any of us who have known the simple joy of spending hours around a campfire or a humble supper of 00:20:06.259 --> 00:20:12.600 cheese on toast, those too can become special because it's all about the connections, 00:20:14.519 --> 00:20:17.799 the love that is shared, the relationship that is developed. 00:20:17.799 --> 00:20:24.759 Hospitality is a wonderful practice. It's interesting, I think, that for so many 00:20:24.759 --> 00:20:34.720 sort of commentators this now, they're saying, here's the great method by which Christians can make 00:20:34.720 --> 00:20:39.720 our faith credible. And they don't talk anymore so much about apologetics. Often, 00:20:40.259 --> 00:20:47.659 they're talking about hospitality. People are desperately lonely. People are looking to make connections. 00:20:47.660 --> 00:20:53.380 opportunities to meet with us, to know what makes us tick. That makes faith credible. 00:20:53.900 --> 00:21:00.300 Rosaria Butterfield, that was her story. She wrote that book, The Gospel Comes With a House Key. 00:21:01.120 --> 00:21:07.660 As people invited her into their homes and to answer her questions, she came to faith. 00:21:08.700 --> 00:21:13.700 And significantly, I think it's so important that hospitality is a feature of Jesus' 00:21:13.700 --> 00:21:22.319 own life and mission in so many different ways. And table fellowship, in the context of the Gospels, 00:21:22.620 --> 00:21:28.080 is a beautiful theme that we see in lots of different ways. So, we see how Jesus uses a table 00:21:28.080 --> 00:21:35.420 to create connections. You know, he was famous or notorious, depending how people viewed him, 00:21:35.420 --> 00:21:44.960 as one who ate and drank with tax collectors and sinners. That was a deliberate act, to extend grace, 00:21:45.720 --> 00:21:52.820 to invite into friendship. And when Jesus invites into friendship, it's an invitation into the kingdom of 00:21:52.819 --> 00:22:03.019 God. To the most unlikely people, the overlooked. So, that the far from God are being drawn near. 00:22:04.079 --> 00:22:11.859 Those who are hungry and empty, they're the ones who are being filled and satisfied. And Jesus uses 00:22:11.859 --> 00:22:19.299 table fellowship to build these connections of love and grace. And then he uses table fellowship to 00:22:19.299 --> 00:22:26.559 explain his mission. So, often we find it's in the middle of a meal that he is doing his teaching. 00:22:27.740 --> 00:22:36.359 And so often he tells parables about feasting to remind us that the great hope of the kingdom 00:22:36.359 --> 00:22:48.740 is of joy and of fellowship and of provision. And that there is an opportunity to respond and to come in. 00:22:49.299 --> 00:22:58.339 And then, of course, central to explaining his mission is the Lord's Supper, that meal that speaks, 00:22:59.059 --> 00:23:08.440 the broken body, the shed blood, new life is given, forgiveness, atonement, entry back into fellowship 00:23:08.440 --> 00:23:19.079 is secured by his sacrificial death. And hospitality becomes a way too in the Gospels where Jesus heals, 00:23:19.079 --> 00:23:28.439 what is broken. So, right at the end of John's Gospel, John chapter 21, we find Jesus hosting a beach 00:23:28.439 --> 00:23:38.779 barbecue for his followers. So, he has set a fire and he has some fish cooking. And wonderfully, 00:23:38.779 --> 00:23:51.440 Peter is invited. Peter, who had denied even knowing Jesus, I don't know this man, around a fire, 00:23:51.440 --> 00:24:04.720 is the same Peter who is then welcomed back in around a different fire. Christ shows him grace and Peter is 00:24:04.720 --> 00:24:10.799 restored to fellowship and he will feast on the kindness that Jesus provides. 00:24:14.079 --> 00:24:18.039 So, again, just to think about what's happening back in the Old Testament when the believers were 00:24:18.039 --> 00:24:24.980 given the table in the tabernacle, they were being taught by faith a really important lesson 00:24:24.980 --> 00:24:32.980 of a God who is really present and really near, of a God who really provides for his people's needs. 00:24:34.039 --> 00:24:37.240 And what they only saw in shadow, we see in glorious reality. 00:24:38.940 --> 00:24:47.519 The Lord Jesus comes as God with us. And that by his substitutionary sacrifice, we are connected, 00:24:47.519 --> 00:24:59.000 fellowship with the living God, broken by sin, restored by grace. Our brokenness too is healed as we feast 00:24:59.000 --> 00:25:11.019 spiritually on Christ. And now his mission is our mission. So, just as Israel was invited by their 00:25:11.019 --> 00:25:17.160 way of living and their worship to show people the glory of their God, so we are called to live 00:25:17.160 --> 00:25:26.279 inviting others into fellowship with God, to feast spiritually, to receive from his grace. 00:25:28.740 --> 00:25:35.340 So, let's close thinking about that. Fellowship, feasting, and God's summons. Just to bring us back 00:25:35.340 --> 00:25:42.880 to Exodus 25 and verse 30, where God says, put the bread of the presence on this table to be before me at 00:25:42.880 --> 00:25:51.120 all times. So, every time they came to worship, they knew, here is God's provision for us and he is 00:25:51.120 --> 00:26:02.420 present. God's summoning his people, come to the feast. Come and worship and receive from me. So, often we 00:26:02.420 --> 00:26:10.520 think about worship as what we do for God, but rather, as we worship, we're invited to receive from God, 00:26:10.519 --> 00:26:24.779 to be fed by his word, to receive fresh grace. We sang Psalm 34, verse 8, taste and see that the Lord is 00:26:24.779 --> 00:26:36.279 good. It's what our King summons us to in the gospel, to live, tasting, experiencing personally 00:26:36.279 --> 00:26:47.440 the goodness of life with God. The goodness of knowing peace with God through faith in Jesus. 00:26:48.759 --> 00:26:55.720 The goodness of knowing sin forgiven, of being made right, not because of our rightness, but because 00:26:55.720 --> 00:27:03.259 of Christ's righteousness credited to us. To live with the goodness of real and living hope, 00:27:03.259 --> 00:27:16.339 that when we die, that's just the beginning of our story with our God in a whole new way, 00:27:16.900 --> 00:27:25.940 to be present with him. And that for each of us, we can know and enjoy this life 00:27:25.940 --> 00:27:40.580 through receiving his son, through receiving his invitation, that we too would come to that feast. 00:27:42.259 --> 00:27:48.779 Maybe we're here this evening and we're struggling a bit in our faith, feeling a bit weary. You know, 00:27:49.180 --> 00:27:53.980 we're thinking about the theme of God being present, but maybe we feel he's more absent. 00:27:53.980 --> 00:27:58.380 We're thinking about feasting with God. Perhaps we feel somewhat starved. 00:28:01.140 --> 00:28:08.640 Well, God has provided all that we need as the answer to that, all that we need for spiritual life 00:28:08.640 --> 00:28:19.700 and strength in the gospel, in his word, as we worship as his people. 00:28:21.940 --> 00:28:29.740 And he gives us the table to remind us that Christ Jesus is the one who comes so near as to be present 00:28:29.740 --> 00:28:32.720 and by the side of his people. And by the side of his people always. 00:28:34.519 --> 00:28:41.299 That he has provided for our salvation. He continues to provide for our spiritual life. 00:28:41.599 --> 00:28:48.660 There are mercies that come to us new every morning. There is grace for us in our weakness. 00:28:48.660 --> 00:29:01.420 And we're invited to see, to behold, to enjoy the glory of Christ again and again as the answer to our sense of weakness. 00:29:02.460 --> 00:29:08.440 But for all of us as Christian pilgrims, as we go through the journey of faith, 00:29:08.440 --> 00:29:16.039 we go recognizing that God in Christ has spread a table in the wilderness for us. 00:29:17.360 --> 00:29:23.360 There is a ready supply of grace for today and there will be again tomorrow. 00:29:23.779 --> 00:29:28.960 And the King who provides for us today and tomorrow and all the days of our life will one day 00:29:28.960 --> 00:29:39.100 welcome us to that marriage supper. He's the same King who today invites us to taste and see 00:29:39.100 --> 00:29:49.900 that he really is good. That with Jesus, we fellowship and we feast with the living God.