Pastor Dana Kidder preaching from 2 Thessalonians 1:1-4 at Redemption Bible Church in Bellefontaine, Ohio.
Redemption Bible Church
To The Church
I'm gonna warn you right now. We're gonna hit the ground running. In the Old Testament, the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord. As soon as the construction of the temple was completed, immediately after King Solomon prayed a prayer of dedication, Second Chronicles chapter seven says, As soon as Solomon finished his prayer, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. And the priest could not enter the house of the Lord because the glory of the Lord filled the Lord's house. When all the people of Israel saw the fire come down and the glory of the Lord on the temple, they bowed down with their faces to the ground on the pavement and worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord saying, "For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever." But by the time Jesus was in Jerusalem, he looks upon the city and he laments in Matthew chapter 23 verses 27 and 28, he says, "Oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, "the city that kills the prophets "and stones those who are sent to it. "How often would I have gathered your children together "as a hen gathers her brood under her wings "and you were not willing? "See, your house has left you desolate." Now as he says this, Herod's temple is still standing there with all of its glory, but the glory of God and the fire that had filled Solomon's temple and departed generations earlier. In fact Ezekiel chapter 10 gives a long and detailed look at the glory departing the house of God. Ezekiel chapter 10 verse four says, "And the glory of the Lord went up from the cherub "to the threshold of the house, "and the house was filled with the cloud, "and the court was filled with the brightness "of the glory of God." God was starting at that point to remove his spirit from the people who had rejected him, rejected his prophets. They have refused to listen to the calls to repentance and instead have turned and worshiped idols. They've exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. And in Ezekiel 10 the spirit continued to move and in verses 18 and 19 it says this, "Then the glory of the Lord went out from the threshold "of the house and stood over the cherubim "and the cherubim lifted up their wings "and mounted up from the earth before my eyes "as they went out with the wheels beside them "and they stood at the entrance of the east gate "of the house of the Lord "and the glory of the God of Israel was over them. "God is at the door. "He's leaving because of their sin, "because of their rejection of him. "And all through this account, "it's not just that God is suddenly abandoning them. "He's calling Ezekiel over and over and over again "to preach to them, to call them to repentance, "to warn them of the judgment and wrath of God." But then in chapter 11 Ezekiel 11 verses 22 and 23 it says this, "Then the cherubim lifted up their wings "with the wheels beside them "and the glory of the God of Israel was over them. "And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst "of the city and stood on the mountain "that is on the east side of the city." Ichabod, the glory has departed. The house has been left desolate. But then a few hundred years later, something amazing happens. The glory returns and the glory rests not on a specific building as if the Lord needed to live in a house made with hands, but it rests on the temple of the spirit of God. It rests on his own people. Acts chapter two verses one to four says this, "When the day of Pentecost arrived, "they were all together in one place that is the believers. "And suddenly there came from heaven a sound "like a mighty rushing wind. "And it filled the entire house where they were sitting "and divided tongues as of fire appeared to them "and rested on each one of them. "And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit "and began to speak in other tongues "as the Spirit gave them utterance. "And the apostle Peter, empowered by the Holy Spirit, "immediately figures out what is happening "and he stands up to preach." Saying in verse 16 of Acts chapter two, he says this, "This is what was uttered "through the prophet Joel. "And in the last days, it shall be that God declares "that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh, "on your sons and your daughters, they shall prophesy, "and your young men shall see visions, "and your old men shall dream dreams. "And then a couple of verses later," he says, "and it shall come to pass that everyone "who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Now, an important thing happened between the time that the glory departed Israel in Ezekiel and the glory returns to believers in Acts chapter two. That important event is that the new covenant is established. Jesus himself proclaimed in Mark chapter 14, verse 24, he said to them, "This is my blood of the covenant," which is poured out for many. On the cross, as Jesus is on the cross, Hebrews chapter seven tells us, "Jesus became the guarantor of a better covenant, "and consequently he is able to save to the uttermost, "those who draw near to God through him "since he always lives to make intercession for them." Now, I'm telling you this, to connect to the Old Testament and the New Testament, maybe in a way that you hadn't thought of before. Really, I wanna show you the continuity between the people of God and the old and the people of God in the new, although there is certainly some discontinuity as well, but that the new covenant is actually new. "That all who call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." So there are many who would mark the beginning of the church to be at Pentecost in Acts chapter two. And there is something to that, I won't deny that. Something fundamentally changed when God poured out his spirit on all believers there, sealing their inheritance of salvation until glory. In other words, beginning in Acts chapter two, when God poured out his spirit on his people, he will never remove his spirit again. That is the guarantee of our salvation that we have God's spirit. But I'm also gonna argue today that the church, and if we define that as the assembly of the saints of God, the church existed even in the Old Testament, that there were believers in the Old Testament. So 2nd Thessalonians chapter one, verses one to four. Let's look at these verses today. This is where we're gonna be, although not really. You'll see. 2nd Thessalonians chapter one, verses one to four says this. Paul, Sylvanas, and Timothy. To the church of Thessalonians and God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ, grace to you, and peace from God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. Therefore, we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God, for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and the afflictions that you are enduring. This letter is written clearly to the church, he says. And today we're gonna talk just about that word, church. I want you to kind of put together last week's sermon if you were here, last week's in this week's, but I don't want you to think of these two sermons on 2nd Thessalonians as we get started with this book. Don't think of it just as a prolonged introduction, long-winded introduction to the book, but rather as an introduction to an entire study of eschatology, the study of the end or fulfillment of all things. That stuff will start to shake out as we continue through this in the weeks to come. Last week I drew your attention to the phrase, all the promises of God find their yes in him. 2nd Corinthians 1, 20. We saw that God's plan of redemption is actually centered around the person and work of Jesus Christ, which is the plan from before creation. And so it follows the scripture that God's word would also be centered around Jesus and around his redemption of a people for his own possession. So the question is, at least the question for today, how does the Old Testament fit into this? Or more specifically, how does Israel, as the people of God in the Old Testament, relate to the church, the people of God in the new? Think of it this way. Last week I pointed out at the end helps us to understand the beginning. And at the end, what do we see? At the end, we see Jesus reigning as king. In fact, the book of Revelation opens with this blessing. I actually gave part of this at the very beginning of our service. This is how Revelation opens. Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come. And from the seven spirits who are before his throne and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead and the ruler of kings on earth, ruler of kings on earth. That would make him the king of kings. And the book of Revelation closes with the conquering king. The conquering king actually seated on his eternal throne. Here he is conquering in chapter 19. It says, "Then I saw heaven opened and behold, a white horse, the one sitting on it is called faithful and true. And in righteousness, he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire and on his head are many diadems." Those are like crowns. And he's a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood. And the name by which he is called is the Word of God. The armies of heaven arrayed in fine linen, white and pure were following him on white horses. And from his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. And he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God, the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh, he has a name written King of kings and Lord of lords. He is the conquering king. And then in chapter 21, a couple of chapters later, verse five says, "And he who is seated on the throne, said, 'Behold, I am making all things new.'" Also he said, write this down for these words are trustworthy and true. But Jesus as king isn't limited to the book of Revelation. Paul calls him the king of kings and Lord of lords in 1 Timothy, chapter six, verse 15. Even the Psalmist recognizes this idea. Psalm 136, verse three says, "Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for his steadfast love endures forever." All the way back in the law, in Deuteronomy chapter 10, verse 17, Moses says, "For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God who is not partial and takes no bribe." And even though the Psalm and Deuteronomy there used the phrase, Lord of lords and not king, the concept is clearly the same. Yahweh is sovereign. He's clearly in charge in these verses. So then tie this together now with Jesus' announcement in Mark chapter one. When he first comes on to the scene, Mark chapter one, verse 16, Jesus comes into Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God and saying the time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe in the gospel. So we have that announcement. The kingdom of God is at hand. We have that announcement at the very beginning of his ministry, Mark chapter one. And the people of Israel have been waiting for this. They were waiting for a king who would deliver them. They were waiting for a king who would deliver them from the Romans, just as Moses had delivered them from Egypt so many hundreds of years earlier. Remember the triumphal entry? Remember Palm Sunday, the week before Easter? What did the crowd proclaim as Jesus is ascending into Jerusalem? Luke tells us, this is what the crowd shouted as they laid the palms and their coats down. Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord, peace in heaven and glory in the highest. Matthew says something similar, but instead of saying straightforward king, the crowd actually says, the son of David. They were waiting for their king. This is rooted in that Davidic covenant, God's covenant with David, where God promised King David back in 2 Samuel 7. Are you with me? We're bouncing all over the place today, but I warned you. 2 Samuel chapter seven says when your days are fulfilled, God is speaking to King David and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. And David's son Solomon, Solomon's temple that he built are a type, a foreshadow of the true offspring and the true house of the Lord to come. This is about Jesus and his church. This is about Jesus and his church, the true king, King Jesus. All the promises of God find their yes in him. So when we find out that Jesus is our king, when we catch a glimpse of his eternal kingdom, so for example in Revelation chapter seven, for those of us here who are not Jewish, we come to Revelation chapter seven and we catch this glimpse. After this I looked and behold a great multitude that no one could number from every nation. Not just Israel, all tribes and peoples and languages standing before the throne and before the lamb clothed in white robes with palm branches in their hands, crying out with a loud voice, salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the lamb. We begin to see that God's chosen set apart people aren't what we thought, that the kingdom isn't limited to Israel. Of course, Jesus had been saying this all along, even if he uses some different imagery and we maybe picked up on a little bit of this in Ezekiel 34. In John chapter 10, Jesus said this, "I have other sheep that are not of this fold. "I must bring them also and they will listen to my voice "so there will be one flock, "one shepherd." And then of course from what we read earlier in Ezekiel 34, let me read just a couple verses of that again, Ezekiel 34, 11, says, "For thus says the Lord God, "behold, I, I myself, will search for my sheep "and will seek them out. "As a shepherd seeks out his flock "when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, "so I will seek out my sheep "and I will rescue them from all the places "where they have been scattered "on a day of clouds and thick darkness. "And I will bring them out from the peoples "and gather them from the countries "and will bring them into their own land. "And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel "by the ravines and in all the inhabited places "of the country. "I will feed them with good pasture. "And on the mountain, the heights of Israel "shall be their grazing land. "And there they shall lie down in good grazing land." Are you thinking of Psalm 23? "And on rich pasture they shall feed "on the mountains of Israel. "I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep "and I myself will make them lie down, "declares the Lord God. "I will seek the lost. "I will bring back the straight. "I will bind up the injured. "I will strengthen the weak and the fat and the strong "I will destroy. "I will feed them injustice." Now there, that's the people of God. And the Lord there refers to the people of God as sheep. That's such a common New Testament image as well, isn't it? But so far we've talked about the kingdom of God, the church of Jesus Christ. How do these things connect? Well, Jesus himself actually brings these images together in Matthew chapter 16. So turn there. Matthew 16 verses 13 to 20. Matthew 16 verses 13 to 20 says this. Matthew 16, 13. Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of man is?" And they said, "Well, some say John the Baptist, "others say Elijah and others Jeremiah are one of the prophets." He said to them, "Who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, "the Son of the living God. "Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you Simon Bargona. "For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, "but my Father who is in heaven, "and I tell you you are Peter, "and on this rock I will build my church, "and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, "and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven. "Whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." And he stressed out, "Well, what do you do in heaven?" He's loosed in heaven, and he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ. Now, just in those verses, there's three terms that I believe help tie together, understand how all of this ties together really, but ties together the kingdom and the church. The first term is the phrase "Son of man." Who do people say the Son of man is? Jesus uses this phrase of himself frequently in Matthew's Gospel. Do you know why? Do you know why Jesus would call himself Son of man? It's because of a prophetic vision that Daniel saw. Back in Daniel chapter 7, verses 13 and 14, we read this, Daniel says, "I saw in the night visions, "and behold, with the clouds of heaven, there came one like a son of man, "and he came to the ancient of days and was presented before him, "and to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom "that all peoples, nations, and the languages should serve him. "His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, "and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed." So by the time of Christ, the time he gets to the Gospels, the Jews, the Israelites, they were waiting for this son of man whose kingdom would be eternal, and that's the same promise that is given to David's offspring. Do you remember 2 Samuel chapter 7? The son of man from Daniel's vision, he's more than just a king. When God promised David that your son will reign forever, what do you think the people thought when they started to hear about this? I don't think they thought that Solomon would live forever. They thought that David's offspring would rule forever. But by the time you get to Daniel, this son of man, this king, remember, as Daniel has written, they're in captivity. The kingdom is over. There's no king. But they're waiting for a king. So that by the time we get to the New Testament and the Roman Empire is in charge and Israel is subject to the Romans, they are waiting for a king who will rule forever. But he's more than just a king. He's clearly the king of kings whose dominion it says is an everlasting dominion. In Matthew chapter 9, Jesus uses this phrase and he tells us that he comes and he forgives sin. He heals the sick. He proves that he has dominion over all things. He is the authority, the dominion to forgive sin. Dominion over the natural world, he can heal the sick. Now tied to all of that, the phrase the son of man, tied to that is this idea of the kingdom of heaven. So listen again to Matthew 16, 19. I will give you this son of man who has dominion, who has all authority. He says I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven. Whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Now according to the great commission, Matthew chapter 28, Jesus has been given all authority. He says this. And again that vision in Daniel chapter 7 says it like this. This is where he's given all authority. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom that all peoples, nations and languages should serve him. And here in Matthew chapter 16, he's giving some of that authority to his disciples. But I'm bringing your attention to this because Jesus is clearly talking about life in the kingdom of heaven. What does it look like to be subjects of the king? What does it look like to live as free men in the society of King Jesus? He gives his earthly emissaries or to mix in that other metaphor, his under shepherds. He gives them the authority to declare who is a part of the kingdom. Matthew 18 uses the same phrase to declare who is not. Those who refuse to repent of their sins. But do you know what makes them a part of the kingdom here? They confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. The confession that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. That is the rock upon which his church is built. That's the third term that we need to focus on here this morning, and that is this word church. I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. So here's an interesting fact. The word church is only used three times in all of the Gospels, and all of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. In fact, it's not used in Mark, Luke, or John. The word church is only used three times, once right here, and then two times in the same verse, Matthew 18 verse 17, which is kind of a companion passage to this. In both of those cases, Jesus is speaking, and there's no indication at all that his disciples don't know who he's talking about. So they don't say, wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. You were talking about the kingdom. They're waiting for their king. They believe Jesus is this king. You're talking about your kingdom, king, Jesus. Now you're talking about a what now? A church? How are you going to build? Wasn't this going to be a great kingdom? See, this word for church that Jesus throws in here, it's a Greek word that ecclesia, but it's a Greek word that's common for a civic assembly, a congregation of people. So think of, for example, like a school assembly. That's the word. If we said we're going to have a school church, that's something totally different to our ears, but that's what it means, right? An assembly, Jesus applies this to an assembly of Christians, to an assembly of believers, and the reason that he can do that without missing a beat, without the disciples getting confused about that, is because the Jewish community of their day has already adopted this term, ecclesia, for themselves. In fact, there's a whole book in the Old Testament named for it, Ecclesiastes. That's what it, that's the root word, is ecclesia. And so the, I preached the Ecclesiastes several years ago now, and the narrator of Ecclesiastes is the preacher. He's preaching to the assembly. He's preaching to the church, to the ecclesia. So the Septuagint, which is a Greek translation of the Old Testament, it's the Bible that Jesus and the apostles often quote from in the New Testament, for example. It describes a congregation or a gathering of the Israelites for religious instruction, for religious worship. It actually uses the word, ecclesia, the word church, to refer to the Israelites gathering together. And you might think, well, this is a pretty minor or obscure point, but here's why this is important. The Bible that the Jews used in Jesus' day had the word church to refer to the assembled people of God. And Jesus uses that word when talking about the kingdom of heaven, the congregation of the people that live in the kingdom of heaven, the church of the kingdom of heaven. So put this together. The son of man, who is the king of kings, he is David's promised offspring. He rules and reigns over the kingdom of heaven. He refers to his subjects, his people, as the church that he is building. And so when Paul calls the Thessalonians Gentiles, by the way, Thessalonica is in Greece, when Paul calls the Thessalonian Gentile believers by this same term, when he says to the church of the Thessalonians, he's equating his readers with Israel, with God's covenant people under the old covenant. And I'm going on this tangent today for one simple reason. Sometimes, sometimes we act as though God has two chosen peoples. Sometimes we act as though the church is simply a parenthesis in God's plan of redemption, that the main focus of attention is ethnic Israel, and Gentile believers are somehow lesser citizens of the kingdom, but nothing could be further from the truth, because all the promises of God find their yes in Jesus Christ. So consider, as John introduces Jesus, in John chapter 1, verse 11, John introducing Jesus says this, "He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him, but to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, and he gave the right to become children of God, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." His own people did not receive him. Jesus himself told a parable to the Pharisees. The Pharisees had rejected him and continued to fight with him and in the parable that he tells, the people kill the son of the landowner. It's Matthew 21, I won't take the time to read the whole parable now, but he concluded with this. It's Matthew 21, verse 43, he says to the Pharisees, "Therefore I tell you the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits." Now, of course, there were Jews. There were people of Israel who did believe in him. John is writing, all of the apostles were Jewish. There was always a faithful remnant, but by and large, the people of Israel rejected Jesus as the Christ, the son of the living God. And so we can say this. All genuine believers have been given the right to be called children of God. All genuine believers have been given the right to be called children of God, even heirs of Abraham. Paul quotes from Genesis when he writes in Romans 4, verse 3, he says, "For what does the Scripture say? Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness." And then he goes on to explain in Romans 4, verse 20, he says, "No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised." That is why faith was counted to him as righteousness. But the words that was counted to him were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him, who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. Do you know what this means? This means that we are saved in the same way that Abraham was saved by faith alone. We are saved by faith alone. Like last week, this is some pretty big picture stuff. Sometimes it's hard to follow, maybe more than sometimes. Sometimes it's hard to understand. But I want to try to put all of this together kind of systematically. The big storyline of the Bible. The proto-even Gellion, the prototype evangelism, the first gospel promise is Genesis chapter 3 verse 15. I will put, God says to the serpent in the garden, "I will put enmity between you and the woman, between your offspring and her offspring." That is, her offspring shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel. Some of the older versions, and I like it better, say, "He shall crush your head and you shall bruise his heel." Who is that offspring? What did God have in mind when he made that promise? It was not Eve's son Cain. He killed his brother Abel. But rather it was the offspring, the son, who would come through the line of Seth. Now fast forward. Fast forward to Abraham. Who did God have in mind when God promised Abraham an heir so that Abraham would be the father of a great nation through whom the whole world would be blessed? Who did God have in mind? Was it Isaac? Was Isaac the one through whom all the nations of the earth would be blessed? The Israelites certainly seemed to think so. Not only did they trace their lineage back to Father Abraham, but they were given a sign that would distinguish them from all the other nations of the world, the sign of circumcision. But then their special status as God's people was even further solidified when God chose them out of all the nations of the earth to receive his law and to administer proper worship. Exodus chapter 19 verses 5 and 6. God says through Moses to the people of Israel, "Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, shall be my treasured possession among all peoples for all the earth is mine, and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." And so there are three external blessings. They were the children of Abraham that they held the sign of circumcision. They were stewards of God's law, and because of those three they were confident that they would always be the people of God. They would always have that special status, but as the New Testament makes very clear, externals do not make anyone an heir of Abraham because he was made righteous by faith. Not the keeping of the law, which was given to Israel to be a guardian to point them to Christ. Galatians chapter 3 says, "So then the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we may be justified by faith. But now the faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God through faith." That's not physical circumcision, because being a part of the people of God is a matter of faith. Galatians 5 verse 6, "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision or uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love." It's not a physical birthright. Listen to what Jesus said to a Roman centurion, now picture this, a Roman centurion, a commander of the occupying enemy army. Jesus says this to him. He expresses some belief. He expresses some faith, and in Matthew chapter 8 it says, "Truly I tell you, no one in Israel have I found such faith in. I tell you many will come from the east and the west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. And in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Do you hear it there? Gentiles. Gentiles will come from the end of the earth to enjoy the marriage feast in glory. While those who were born into it and yet reject Christ, they will be cast out because of their unbelief. So who is the offspring in whom the entire world would be blessed? Who is the offspring who had crushed the head of the serpent? Who is the offspring of Abraham? Through whom the entire earth would be blessed? Galatians chapter 3 verse 16. Answers it explicitly. It says, "Now the promises were made to Abraham in his offspring. It does not say, and two offsprings, referring to many, but referring to one, and to your offspring, who is Christ?" Paul says. And so to this son it is given dominion and glory and a kingdom that all peoples, nations and languages should serve him. And guess what? Galatians chapter 3 verse 29 says, "And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to the promise." We are joint heirs with Christ. Eirs according to the promise. That is why we can say that in Christ there is no difference between Jew and Gentile. We are one in Christ. Now I want to be clear. The church of Jesus Christ does not replace Israel as the people of God. Rather all the promises of God find their yes in him. So as Romans chapter 10 verses 11 to 13 says, for the scripture says, "Everyone who believes in him will not be put the shame, for there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him, for everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved." Jesus continues to build his church. Jesus continues to build his church and it is to the church that this promise of blessing is given to the assembled people of God who worship the Son of man who sits in glory, grace to you in peace from God our Father. and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace to you in peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. In a little bit we are going to sing, I think, "How sweet and awful is the place." There is a line in that that says, "Lord, why was I a guest? Why was I invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb? Why was I a guest at your table?" Frankly we shouldn't be. We have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We are not heirs according to the promise. As far as I know, I wasn't. As far as I'm not Jewish, I have no access to the kingdom of heaven. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, and gave us alive together with Him by grace you have been saved. And so as we come to the table, as we come to the supper, to eat and drink and proclaim His death until He comes, ask yourself that question. Why was I a guest? Why was I invited to eat and drink and proclaim Christ's death? I brought into His assembled people, His church. The answer to that question is for the glory of God. Because of His grace and His mercy, pray with me. Father, I pray that you'd help us to understand. I know that this is difficult and hard, and Lord, I pray that I wasn't too hard to follow today. I pray that you would use, that your spirit would use your word proclaim, that we would search the Scriptures. And Father, I pray that we would come to the table today with hearts of thankfulness. Not that we have inherited anything on our own, but that we were given an inheritance through Jesus Christ. That we are joint heirs with Him. That it is through Jesus Christ that we are able to come and eat and drink to be a part, as a glimpse of the eternal kingdom of heaven, where we will eat and drink with our Savior face to face. I pray that we would approach these things with humility and not with arrogance. That your name would be praised, and we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.