The Truth

time we'll go and dismiss our kids to little district and for the rest of us if you have your Bibles go ahead and grab them and turn with me to Luke chapter 18 there it goes I was like I'm still hearing something I mean you can keep that Vibe going the whole service if you want but um but anyways Luke 18 we're going to be in verses 31-34 we are covering four verses this morning that I would put in the category of maybe some of the most important verses to ever know and treasure in your heart and so not saying that you shouldn't all of

the verses of the Bible obviously but these four verses I think are just four verses that we should know and treasure in our heart and put in a category of just incredible importance for us um for example when the psalmist says in Psalm 1 blessed is the man who walks in the counsel of the wicked nor stands in the way of Sinners nor sits in the seat of scoffers but his Delight is in the law of the Lord and on that law he meditates day and night he is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season and its

Leaf does not Wither in all that he does he prospers it's verses like what we are going to cover today that reveal the law of God that the righteousness of God that the man or woman who Delights in what we are going to look at today meditates on it Treasures it as truth is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season and that its leaves never Wither in all that they do they Prosper because they are rightly anchored rightly grounded rooted Tethered to the true source of life and so when we read our verses today I I I

um I don't always usually have you stand but I'm going to have you stand this morning as we read this because where some weeks we are looking at a passage that is sort of the byproduct of the good news it's like here are the effects of the good news what we're going to be looking at today is the good news like it is the Gospel of Jesus Christ and so I want us to stand as I read these verses for us out of reverence for the good news for us Luke 18 31-34 Jesus says this and taking the 12 he said to them see we

are going up to Jerusalem and everything that is written about the son of man by the prophets will be accomplished for he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon and after flogging him they will kill him and on the third day he will rise but they understood nothing none of these things for this saying was hidden from them and they did not grasp what was said you may be seated let's pray this morning and and I'm going to kind of cover verse 34 in the prayer um as we look at this father we pray this

morning knowing that your Holy Spirit does a work in our minds and in our hearts to reveal your work that it pleases the father to reveal the son to us and we know that that has to be a work that you accomplish in our lives there is nothing that we can do to to muster up a certain level of intellect or even Faith to be able to understand and believe what it is that you are presenting to us but God that is a Grace and a gift that you provide to us and I pray this morning that as we look at this regardless if we've

been a Christian for 20 years or a couple of months or if we're not even a Christian and don't even know it if we have any truth that is hidden to us I pray Lord that you reveal it this morning I pray that you show us the good news the immeasurable Riches of all that you have accomplished that you say from Before Time began was your plan and your purpose to bring your son Jesus to this world to do something for us that we could not do for ourselves and so father as we unpack this as we look at this passage this morning I pray

that you guide us in understanding this truth so that it brings for us salvation that it brings for us satisfaction that it becomes our greatest treasure in life and ultimately that it reconciles and restores Us in relationship with you where we are finally able to be content loved by you known by you forgiven by you and brought into relationship that is not just for the here and now but forever for eternity it's in this that we pray amen I've got three points for you today uh again I like to keep it mixed up last week we were in narrative and I was like I got

no points for you who like to keep notes but this week I do have three points for those who like to keep notes and they all do start with an R so you're welcome for that um but we're going to be looking at the god of Revelation the god of redemption and the god of uh restoration and so starting with the god of Revelation I want you to look at verse 31 again it says taking the 12 he said to them see that we are going up to Jerusalem and everything that is written about the son of man by the prophets will be accomplished Jesus

is telling the TW Apostles in this moment that it's time it's time for him to get to Jerusalem it's the appointed time in all of creation and history for God to fulfill his greatest act for the good of humanity and for the glory of himself as acts 17 30-31 puts it the times of ignorance God overlooked but now he commands all people everywhere to repent because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed and of this he has given Assurance to All by raising him from the dead so what that's telling us

is that God has fixed a day and appointed a man by whom God will judge everyone consider them either good or bad righteous or unrighteous uh holy Saints or hellbent Sinners all people everywhere will be judged by the act of this man that verse 31 says has been written about by the prophets of the past and will now be accomplished and fulfilled and so what Jesus is about to tell the disciples in verses 32 and 33 are not only just prophesied by the law and prophets in Psalms but has been God's plan literally since before Adam ever even took a breath in Acts 4: 27-28

the disciples are gathered and they're lifting up these prayers to God and they're wanting to just spend some time with him but as they spend time with him they say this in verse 27 for truly in this city and there speaking of Jerusalem there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus whom you anointed both Herod and Pontius Pilate along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place so what Jesus is explaining in verses 31 and 32 U or in verse 31 that all the prophets have spoke of this and that not

only have they spoken of this but I am about to fulfill it and accomplish it the disciples are also saying that not only did the prophets speak of this but God planned it before Adam was ever even created before the beginning of time this was set in motion this was God's plan from the very beginning and this tells us two things about the God of Revelation number one God has revealed his plans to men throughout history so that when it happens we're not shocked we're not not surprised we're not thinking that God is reacting or responding to a situation like the prophets of the Old

Testament the law of the Old Testament the Psalms all of those things were not man-made written um scriptures in order to respond to the situation that was at hand they weren't communicating with a God who is thinking what what do y'all guys think like you're on the ground you you've got boots on the ground you're seeing everything unfold what what should we do like it's been his plan from the very beginning and he's revealing that he's unveiling that plan to us and authoring it through the law and the prophets and through the Psalms as we'll see here in a moment as well but number one

God has revealed his plans to men throughout history and number two Everything Jesus does and accomplishes is according to those plans that God has revealed in other words the Bible and every scripture that we read is authored by God and inspired by him and Jesus does everything according to what God has authored and inspired that's what he's telling us just in verse 31 all of scripture is about me and what I'm about to accomplish for you and not only that just so that you know this was not reactionary it was God's plan from before we even started this whole thing the purpose of scripture is

to show us the purpose of Christ which shows us ultimately the purpose of God and that's why if you fast forward to the end of Luke so again we've been walking through Luke for almost two years now um spoiler alert I'm going to show you the end Jesus tells the disciples before his Ascension in Luke 24: 25-27 this is what he says and he said to them oh foolish ones slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory again that's a summary of what Jesus just said in

the verses that we're covering today verse 27 and beginning with Moses and all the prophets he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself and so what Jesus did for the disciples in that moment at the end of Luke which sounds like a very long Bible study I mean could you imagine just sitting down with Jesus and he's like all right open up your scriptures to Genesis and we're going to go all the way through Malachi and I'm going to show you everything that points to me like that's that's going to be a minute is to show them that the purpose of

scripture is to reveal the purpose of Jesus and that's also literally the purpose of the church we are to open up the scriptures and explain to the world around us how and why all of the scriptures testify to the goodness of Jesus Jesus and his mission to save Sinners Like that's what our job is it is the only vehicle God uses to reveal himself to Sinners and open up their mind and heart to him this is why Paul tells Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 all scripture is breathed out by God and it's profitable for teaching for Repro for correction and for training in righteousness that

the man of God may be complete and equipped for every good work now many people people quote that for why they have maybe a personal quiet time in the mornings um reading God's word because again it equips them for the day ahead it equips them for life and and Christian Ministry and it's good like we need that Authority in our lives but it's more than that it's further than that if you look at what Paul continues to say in chapter 4 because if you didn't know this the Bible was not written in chapter and verse It Was Written in continual letters and so if you're

reading him saying all scripture is inspired by God and is useful for this reproving and correcting and rebuking he continues on in chapter 4 to say I charge you Timothy in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus who is to judge the living and the dead and by his appearing and his kingdom preach the word preach the word all scripture is inspired by God and is useful for correcting the world of their sin and so preach it declare it know it and and pass it along be ready in season and out of season reprove rebuke and exhort with complete patience and teaching for the

time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths I mean again I know that was written 2,000 years ago but is there anything that's more um explan explanatory of what we're experiencing in our world today like we're we're not holding on to what is sound Doctrine or truth we're diving into all kinds of silly myths I was in a coffee shop writing the sermon on Friday and I was Eaves dropping on the table next to me

um just because that's just one of my strategies um and there was this young guy and this gal who were having a conversation and I'm not I I had to write this down as I was like listening this conversation they were talking about the full moon that we had yesterday in conjunction with the summer solstice we had on Friday which provide which was providing the rising energy levels specifically for Virgos since their energy levels are ruled by and derived from planet Mercury due to this Collision of atmospheric and ethereal energy the girl could not drink coffee until after noon in an effort to not disrupt

her physical emotional and spiritual consciousness I mean as soon like as soon as I heard that I was just typing I was like I'm listen I'm just typing what you're saying right now so then I leaned over and I said do you know who's Sovereign over Mercury and which then I mean they saw the Bible on the table and like they just shut me off like immediately I think Paul tells Timothy you are to preach the word with complete patience because of what we are experiencing in the world like it's going to take time to enter into those types of correcting and reproving and rebuking

that might not necessarily be an in the- moment thing that happen it's going to take time we are to be ready to teach sound doctrine that is able to reprove and rebuke and correct and exhort those who believe again that the planet Mercury is Sovereign over their energy levels now the main thing here is that what we teach is in fact sound Doctrine which begs the question what is sound Doctrine well Jesus helps us with that when he says that beginning with Moses and all of the prophets he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself if the Bible were a code

with a hidden message Jesus is going to be the key to unlocking what that message is if you're preaching the Bible in any way or teaching the Bible or the principles of the Bible without Jesus Christ being the center figure of it then you are not teaching the Bible you are not preaching the word of God you are not preaching truth you are not preaching or teaching anything that actually allows for any type of effective life transformation if Christ is not the center of the message and I'll show you that here in a moment in commentating on this passage Matthew Henry said seducers are more

dangerous enemies to the church than persecutors of it people coming in and twisting the message to fit their own itching ears is what's actually a greater danger to our church than it is those just trying to Snuff it out Martin Lloyd Jones adds if we go astray in our Doctrine eventually our life will go astray as well you cannot separate what a man believes from what he is for this reason sound Doctrine is vitally important in other words if it is easy for us to twist what God has revealed if what we believe is not anchored to the revelation of Jesus Christ again that's why

Creeds and confessions are so important because they seek to Anchor us to sound doctrine that is stood up to the test of time and consistency of scriptural Doctrine and interpretation so what Jesus is telling his disciples in Luke 18 is that what he is about to experience in Jerusalem what he's about to walk through what they are about to witness is the Fulfillment of scripture of all that has been revealed thus far in other words everything God has been communicating to us from Moses to the prophets to the Psalms is about to happen it's about to come into fruition and be fulfilled it's about to

take place and be unveiled in their literal presence and so the god of Revelation is revealing to them in this moment the god of redemption the god of redemption and that's the second Point Jesus is telling us the god of Revelation is now revealing to us that he is also the God who has come to save and this is his plan to redeem Sinners look at verses 32 and 33 for he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and he will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon and after flogging him they will kill him and on the third day he will rise before

we can get to the god of restoration we must observe the god of redemption the god of redemption and specifically the method God used to redeem us because if you're looking at just the people that are in his context what they want is they believe they've had the god of Revelation already they believe they have the scriptures they have the law they have the prophets they have the Psalms like they know what to know but what they're now looking for is the god of restoration come and restore Israel back to its prominent place we're looking for a king to come and defeat all of our

enemies around us we're looking for a king to Snuff out all of the Sinners because we're good we just want to be restored back to our prominence and our promise but they're not seeing that in order for that to actually take place is there has to be redemption in the middle it has to happen first and beginning with the suffering of Jesus we see in verses 32 and 33 that Jesus had to be one delivered he had to suffer number two shameful treatment and number three he had to be killed he had to be killed first Jesus had to be delivered now he was not

delivered by like Amazon or Jerusalem Postal Service like it's not that type of delivery system when you look up delivered in Greek it's the same word that's used for betrayed Jesus was betrayed now we're aware of this Judas of the disciples who spent three years with Jesus in his inner circle was considered a friend of Jesus trusted Treasurer in the group who they entrusted the money with he was the one who sold Jesus out for 30 pieces of silver he saw Jesus no greater than a side gig now Judas usually gets the Flack for being the one to betray Jesus but honestly he isn't the

only one he's not the only one in the story who betrayed Jesus and so the question is who all betrayed Jesus well everyone everyone the Bible tells us he came to his own people and they did not receive him but rejected him his hometown rejected him his people the Jews rejected him and declared for him to be crucified he was then delivered over to the Gentiles that is the non-jewish Roman officials and local authorities they also rejected him then while he is being crucified his main Guy Peter who many theologians consider the first among equals when it comes to the apostles and the first church

in Jerusalem he denies Jesus three times everyone is denying Jesus and rebuking him or rejecting him and betraying him his own people his own friends and even disciples is not the worst of it Jesus must be betrayed by his father and you're like that sounds heretical when Jesus is hanging on the cross searching for words to utter he recounts the words of David because Jesus is greater than David and in Psalm 22:1 David cries out my God my God why have you forsaken me that means why have you hid yourself from me why have you turned yourself away from me all throughout the scriptures God

uses the language of being cut off from God because of our sin Jesus being delivered for us being betrayed for us must ultimately be betrayed by God in order for him to finish the process of becoming sin so that God might punish and kill sin once and for all like it's one thing I mean when we start thinking through and talking about the suffering of Jesus and I'm going to talk about the physical component here in a moment just the emotional anguish I mean most of us know what it feels like to be betrayed by an enemy or like to have someone who opposes you

doesn't like you and therefore they reject you and they never want to know you but then even worse than that someone who does love you maybe a family member maybe a close friend who then does know you but then rejects you then betrays you then leaves you like that's a different type of hurt than an enemy that rejects you but in this one could you imagine Jesus taking on that emotional burden of becoming our sin that has cut us off from God to the point that he's cut off in order for God to punish him he had to be betrayed so the first part of

god good news and Revelation to us that all of scripture is pointing to is that Jesus had to be delivered and betrayed as the first step of him taking our place so that God would not deliver us or betray us because of our sin secondly Jesus had to suffer shameful treatment sin is a Disobedience of God's creation towards their creator as Psalm 89: 30-32 puts it if his children forsake my law and do not walk according to my rules if they violate my statutes and do not keep my Commandments then I will punish their transgression with the rod and their iniquity with stripes sin is

not only just deserving of a cut off of relationship but it's also deserving of a punishment for it sin is deserving of punishment that ultimately precedes the death so it's not just a cut off of a relationship and then a death there needs to be a physical punishment for it as well as Isaiah 53: 4-10 prophesies the punishment of the suffering servant Jesus says this or inspired through Isaiah surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows yet we esteemed him stricken Smitten by God and Afflicted he was pierced for our transgressions he was crushed for our iniquities upon him was the chastisement that

brought us peace and with his wounds we are healed all we like sheep have gone astray we have turned everyone to his own way and the lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all he was oppressed and and he was afflicted and yet he opened not his mouth like a lamb that is led to the slaughter and like a sheep that is before it shears is silent so he opened not his mouth by oppression and judgment he was taken away and as for his generation who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living stricken for the transgression of

my people they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death although he had done no violence and there was no deceit in his mouth yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him he has put him to grief when his soul makes an offer uffing for Guilt he shall see his offspring he shall prolong his days the Lord the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand in becoming our sin in taking our place Jesus took our sentence he took our sentence and he received the punishment that we owed God the full punishment it was shameful

as Jesus stated in Luke 18:32 and33 our Passage it was a must for him to experience this shameful treatment and there is nothing more shameful than flogging in crucifixion the Roman method for fogging would be to strip the person naked and then tie them to a pole extended or suspended from it and Roman executioners would then uh tie a cord with straps or throngs that had at the end of them glass and Bone and metal and rock on the tips and they would give them 40 Lashes minus one according to the law and so what they would do even during those 39 lashes John MacArthur

talks about the fact that they would even swap out executioners to make sure that the verocity of the blows stayed intact they didn't want someone to get tired from actually fogging a an individual one that is suffering each time when it strikes the skin it cuts it lacerates and it rips away the skin exposing muscles and tissue and vein down to the bone they were so precise with their method that they knew 40 would kill a person and so they would keep it at 39 just to make sure that life prolonged again according to John MacArthur it was also custom for them to do this

um by swapping out punishers thirdly Jesus had to be killed Jesus suffered the most agonizing and painful death in history it was a scoring a crucifixion where you were suspended on a tree often times shaped like a cross arms stretched out and nailed feet extended and nailed and to mock him further they added to injury by pressing into his head a crown of thorns Jesus has literally and figuratively descended from a Heavenly Throne to an agonizing bearing sinful thorns one writer says this in describing the death of crucifixion quote death by crucifixion seems to include all that death and pain can have of the horrible

and the ghastly dizziness cramp thirst starvation sleeplessness traumatic fever tetus shame long continuousness of Torment horness of anticipation mortification of open wounds breathlessness all intensified just up to the point at which they can be endured at all but stopping short of the point at which would give the sufferer the relief of unconsciousness the unnatural position made every movement painful the lacerated veins and torn tendons throbbed with incessant anguish the wounds inflamed by exposure gradually gain greened the arteries especially at the head and stomach became swollen compressed with surcharged blood while while each variety of misery went on and stomach became swollen compressed with search charged

blood while each variety of misery went on gradually increasing there was added to them the Intolerable Pang of a raging and burning thirst add to that the weight and the burden of the Soul tortured by men but ultimately tortured by the wrath of God it is the most unbearable death in which Jesus bore and and yet Jesus died for the glory of God he died for the glory of God in that he killed and crushed sin as he killed and crushed his son and the good of mankind and that he took our sin away from us in order to give us life in order to

give us righteousness in order to give us God in order to give us everything that he is in order to take from us everything that we are that's 2 Corinthians 5:21 he who knew no sin became sin and just in becoming sin had to take on what God deems as a necessary punishment for the rebellion of mankind Jesus took that for us and paid it for us on the cross and because the death of Jesus satisfied the wrath of God due our sin God restored Jesus by bringing him back to life on the third day making him the god of restoration number three for anyone

who has ever watched an episode of fixer upper you know that before chip and Joanna get to restore an old house they must first have demo day in essence it must be demolished before it can be restored well again the Jews expected something different they expected restoration without the demolition as John MacArthur put at the they expected a messiah who would Triumph not a messiah who was tortured they expected a messiah who would kill their enemies not a messiah who would be killed by his own people they expected a coronation not a crucifixion you can't have the throne however without the thorns and that's what

Jesus accomplished for us the demolition of Jesus led to the restoration of Jesus which leads to the demolition of our sin which brings the rest ation of us to become Saints verse 33 after flogging him they will kill him but then on the third day he will rise Hebrews 10:12 says but when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins after that he then sat down at the right hand of God which is a throne not a grave Philippians 25-11 puts it this this way have this mind among yourselves which is yours in Christ Jesus who though he was in the form

of God he did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped but he emptied himself by taking the form of a servant being born in the likeness of men and being found in human form he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death even death on a cross and because of that therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on Earth and under the Earth and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is the Lord to the glory of God

the Father Ephesians 2 1-9 also says and you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked following the course of this world following the prince of the power of the air the spirit that is now at work in the sons of Disobedience among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh carrying out the desires of the body and the mind and were by Nature children of Wrath like the rest of mankind so if you look at what Jesus endured by Nature that's what we deserve we were children of Wrath we were in the position of his wrath not

in the position of his favor but God being rich in Mercy because of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead in our trespasses brings restoration he makes us alive together with Christ for by Grace you have been saved and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the Heavenly places in Christ Jesus where did Jesus go after he was resurrected he sits at the right hand of the Throne of God and where does he sit us with him at the right hand of the Throne of God how generous that is so that in the coming ages

he might show the immeasurable Riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus for by Grace you have been saved through faith and this is not your own doing it is the gift of God not a result of works so that no one may boast this is the message this concept with was foreign to them as verse 34 says they did not understand it even the disciples in this moment they understood none of these things the saying was hidden from them and they did not grasp what was said for those who don't have God unveiling it and revealing it to them as 1

Corinthians 1 says it sounds like it's foolishness to those who are perishing for the Romans and the Gentiles who had a systemic belief of polytheism they would never dare read of a God that comes down to earth to be killed by humans that sounds very weak in their mind even worse for the Jews this would be considered blasphemy but for God this is Grace this is his story that he's writing this is his movement that he is making this is his plan that was before the foundations of the Earth God at this moment in Luke 18 before the death of Jesus chose not to let

them see it yet but after the resurrection because he is the god of restoration and Redemption and Revelation he does reveal this to them in Luke 24: 30-31 when he was at table with them he took the bread and he blessed it and he broke it and he gave it to them and their eyes eyes were opened and they recognized him and then I love it says he vanished from their sight like Jesus resurrected Jesus teleports that's my personal belief and um and I believe that's what he did In This Moment we'll find out in glory at some point but then down in verse 44

and 47 of Luke 24 then he said to them these are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you so he's he's calling chapter 18 that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures and said to them thus it is written that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead again there he's just he's just summarizing our passages our verses for today and then see verse 47 and that repentance for the Forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed

in his name to All Nations beginning from Jerusalem what he is telling us in that very moment is that not only has Jesus accomplished all of the work for the removal and forgiveness of your sins but he is also now employing us to take that message and Proclaim it going and preaching pring the word to All Nations beginning with Jerusalem beginning with Indianapolis beginning with South Broad Ripple and he's going to open up Minds to be able to receive it and be unveiled so that they can treasure Jesus as Lord and Savior and see exactly what he has accomplished for them what that tells us

is we cannot lose like we can't lose like Victory is already guaranteed and this is not like a a health wealth and prosperity thing that's not what I'm talking about what I'm talking about is Sinners becoming Saints when they hear that Jesus Christ suffered their sin for them that he went to the cross and he died for them so that they do not have to die and pay the punishment for their sin in order to come back into a relationship with Jesus the fact that Jesus did that for them and it satisfied the wrath of God so much so that he restored Jesus brought him

back to life sat him down at the right hand of the Throne of God and then is just freely giving that to people if we go and tell people that he's telling us I'm going to open up their minds I'm going to let them in on this hidden truth I'm going to let them in on this mystery that is unlocked because Jesus Christ is the key and so we don't have to worry about whether or not we're going to Fumble or mess it up or whether or not we have all the answers to the questions that they might ask you just just land with these

two verses hey Jesus Christ who actually lived 2,000 years ago he was shamefully treated he was spit upon he was mocked he was scorched he was crucified he died a death and because it actually satisfied the wrath of God to our sins we didn't realize that that's what he was doing but he was actually paying our penalty for us that we owe God because the wages of sin is death he paid it for us and because it satisfied God he brought Jesus back to to life and he exalted him back to the heavens and if we believe this message he brings us to that same

place he exalts us he restores Us in relationship with him for eternity coair inheritance all of that gets to be ours as well because of the work of Jesus and all that he has done and you might say that to someone and someone might look at you and be like that's foolish you're an idiot and someone also might say I was blind and now I see I had no idea but that's true that's true I believe it my mind has been open my heart is open I receive this I believe it to be true repent and believe this message so that you can be forgiven

of sins and then go and Proclaim it to All Nations that's what he leaves us with and as it brings us to this time of communion I mean what more of a message do you need when it comes to the breaking of his body and the shedding of his blood it's doing two things for us the first is that it's uniting us as a church to the sacrifice of Christ what he accomplished on the cross in the breaking of his body and the shedding of his blood was what was necessary in order to create this new community this new kingdom of God that where whether

you're Jew or Greek or whether you're wherever you are if you believe in Jesus and trust in Jesus and have faith in Jesus then you are a part of this new community and this new community is literally sourced by what he has done at the cross it's what unites us together so that you can go anywhere and partake of this with one another and so this brings us together at the body of Christ what baptism does is baptism takes an individual and unites them to the church at large this brings the church together and unites us to the individual that is Jesus Christ himself that's

what we do when we celebrate this message when we celebrate the elements of partaking of the wafer and the juice as the body broken and the Bloodshed and the beauty is that this is not a sacrifice that we bring to the table in order to temporarily take care of our our junk Jesus's sacrifice was once and for all so that this isn't you bringing every household bringing a lamb in here and us going and saying all right let's go to the altar let's sacrifice the lamb let's shed the blood over your sins let's then find a scapegoat and shoot it off into because that's a

sign of us remembering it no more no Jesus has done all of that what did John the Baptist say when he saw Jesus approaching him Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world this is Jesus taking away your sins once and for all so that when we come in here all we bring is gratitude we don't bring any works we don't bring any sacrifice we don't bring anything other than thankfulness for what Christ has done for us and that's why Hebrews 10 11-18 puts it this way think about this as you meditate on what we are about to partake of

every priest stands daily at his service offering repeatedly the same sacrifices which can never take away sins but when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins he then sat down at the right hand of God waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a foot stol for his feet for by a single offering he is perfected for all time those who are being Sanctified and the Holy Spirit also Bears witness to us for after saying this is the Covenant that I will make with them after those days declares the Lord I will put my laws on their hearts and

I will write them on their Minds opening up our minds being able to Delight in the law going back to Psalm 1 being able to meditate on it that's not just some ethereal intellectual Ascent that we create in ourselves that all of a sudden now we're motivated to be all about the word all about the gospel that is an energy that is a desire that God gives you when he writes it on your mind and puts it in your heart and then he adds I will remember their sins and their Lawless Deeds no more no more I mean Amen to that right like Amen to

that I mean we battle as spouses right now just remembering each other's sins on a daily basis like remember like what you did last week remember what you did yesterday maybe in our work related environments we're always struggling with like man you my boss is mad at me because I did a bad job last week like culture has trained us and discipled us to view God in that way and he's telling us here no no no no no no when you come to the table you're coming to a God who has already paid for your sins who has already taken the punishment for your sins

and remembers them no more and so when you come to this table you're coming to a father who Delights in you a father who loves you a father who is willing to just pick you up and twirl you around and just lavish you with his grace and his Mercy when we come to this table we're not coming broken and bloodshed ourselves saying woe is me again here I am I'm sorry that's part of it we still sin we still mess up and we still need to bring those things to the Lord but we need to know that we're bringing them to a God who has

once and for all already taken care of them and remembers them now more and delights in you because he's written his laws on your mind and put his Desires in your heart he Treasures you he sits you down next to him and says this is my grace lavished over you man this is the message this is the gospel this is the good news of Jesus this is why we're here this morning if you're here for any other reason other than this message then as I've always said this is a dumb hobby it is a dumb hobby I can tell you so many better ways to

spend your time if it's not here for the gospel and for the spread and Renown of the name of Jesus in your household and the household next to you and for generations to come that's why we're here this morning so let's go ahead and stand as we pray together and enter into this time of communion father we thank you so much for your good news to us this morning and that's exactly what it is it's good news because ever since Genesis 3 all we had was bad news we were cursed we were stricken we were cut off we were separated from you and there was

absolutely nothing that we could do to fix it no matter how hard we tried we tried building Towers to get to you we were never going to accomplish it in our own strength and in our own works and you knew that you knew that before you created Adam and you had a plan and your plan was that you were going to send your begotten son so so that he would become sin betrayed tortured scored fogged and ultimately killed so that you would not kill us but instead grant us eternal life with you and that is not because we were awesome it's because of your glory

it's because of your beauty your grace that you lavish and are so quick to share that it pleases you to reveal the purpose of your son to us that's exactly why Jesus was delighted to unpack from Moses to the prophets to the Psalms all of the scriptures that testify to who he is and what he has coming to accomplish because it pleases you to reveal your plan to us and to show us how you're saving us from ourselves and from our sin thank you thank you we worship you and we will continue to worship you because there's nothing in us to worship all glory and

honor is owed to you thank you Jesus it's in your name that we pray amen