down and junior church can be dismissed at this
time as well y 'all did well for the first time
hearing that I love that song and obviously the
words minister to us as they're making their
way down if you would go to Matthew chapter 8
We're going to be looking this morning at the
section in verses 23 and wind at 34. But we're
going to actually look at two different sections.
The first section we're going to look at verses
23 through 27. And so that will be our principal
text this morning. And so let's read this and
then we'll ask God to help us this morning as
well. Now when he, that is Jesus, got into a
boat, his disciples followed him. And suddenly
a great tempest arose on the sea. So that the
boat was covered with the waves. But he was asleep.
Then his disciples came to him and awoke him
saying, Lord, save us. We're perishing. We're
dying out here. But he said to them, why are
you fearful? Oh, you of little faith. Then he
arose and he rebuked the winds and the sea. And
there was a great calm. So the men marveled saying,
who can this be? That even the winds. and the
sea obey him. Would you join me in asking God
to help us this morning? Father and Lord, your
word is life. It is light. Lord God, it gives
us direction and instruction. But Father, this
must be guided and enabled, made possible by
the Holy Spirit of God. Father, I pray, Lord,
for your help this morning. Lord, I pray that,
Lord, you would use, Lord, your sacred word,
Lord, you would use your promises to comfort
your people. But Father, would you help me, Lord?
Would you calm me, Lord? God, help me not to
seek attention, but Lord, to focus all glory,
all praise, all honor onto Christ. Lord, I pray
that, Lord, you would guide my tongue this morning.
And Lord, that which not to be said or is unhelpful
or adds more obscurity, Lord, that you would
keep me and refrain me from speaking that. And
Lord God, I pray that that which needs to be
said, you would even call to mind this morning,
call to my remembrance. Father, would you show
your people Jesus this morning? Show them what
kind of man this is that calms even the wind
and the waves, and they must obey him. It is
found in Christ Jesus, our hope alone. It's in
his name we pray. Amen. You have to understand
something about this great gospel, this book
of Matthew. I believe there's just one central
question that he's really asking over and over
again, and that is, who is Jesus? Throughout
his gospel, this question is answered, again,
not by telling you who he is, but rather showing
you who he is. In chapter 1, Matthew opens this
gospel and he uses a title. He calls Jesus the
son of David and the son of Abraham. Now that's
important because Matthew is written primarily
for a Jewish audience. So when they're reading
this and they see these titles, son of David,
son of Abraham, No doubt they would immediately
connect these promises given to these men with
Jesus. See, both David and Abraham were given
great promises by God through a covenant. And
basically the covenant said a future blessing
would come through one of their descendants.
Abraham, he was promised that the entire world
would be blessed through his seed. And David
later on was promised that a king would arise
after him, one of his own descendants, who would
reign on his throne eternally. And Matthew picks
up his quill and begins to write, showing that
these promises are fulfilled in Jesus. It is
also in chapter 1 where we learn that Jesus was
born in Bethlehem to a virgin named Mary, which
is fulfillment of the promise given to Isaiah.
God told that great prophet, that Emmanuel, God
with us, would be born to a virgin, Isaiah 7
.14. Later on, God told the prophet Micah that
that virgin -born son would be born in Bethlehem,
Micah 5 .2. We turn the page, we go to chapter
2, and there we see that the son that was born
to Mary is the same one that King Herod is trying
to kill. which caused his parents to flee out
of Israel and then go into Egypt. Why? Well,
Matthew says, so that the prophecy given to Hosea
might be fulfilled, saying, out of Egypt I have
called my son. Hosea chapter 11, verse 1. We
go on to chapter 3, and Jesus is the one upon
whom the Spirit of God descended when Christ
was baptized, and we also hear God the Father
speaking from heaven. In chapter 4, Jesus is
the one who's being led into the wilderness,
into the desert area, to be tempted by Satan.
But unlike Adam, and unlike Israel, who both
failed in their testing, Jesus Christ passed
the test and resisted temptation. He then begins
to speak. Chapters 5, 6, and 7, that great sermon
on the mount, he's teaching the people one, he's
teaching though with authority, unlike the scribes
and the Pharisees. And then we come to chapter
8, where we spent last week and we'll spend today.
He's the one who's healing lepers by touching
them. He's causing men who've been paralyzed
to be made whole by simply with a word. And he's
casting out demons simply by his word. All manner
of sick people are brought to him and we are
told that he was healing them all. He is the
one with just either a touch or a word brings
healing and brings life. But he's also the one
in chapter 8 who demanded radical commitment.
Nothing, including one's family, can come before
the commitment to follow him. Matthew, he's very
clear. He's been painting this gloriously clear
picture of who Jesus really is. But today the
picture is going to get a little sharper. We'll
see two more accounts revealing the authority
that Jesus has. He has authority over nature.
And he has authority over the kingdom of hell.
He has authority over the kingdom of darkness.
These events, what we're getting ready to read,
these are not just ostentatious displays of the
miraculous. They're given for a point. They were
meant to show you and I, or to show the reader
at that time, who Jesus is. Is he just a wise
rabbi? Is he nothing more than a very talented,
well -spoken, articulate teacher? Or is he Lord
of all? We come to our text this morning. He
got into a boat. His disciples followed him.
A great tempest arises on the sea. It says the
boat was covered with waves, and he's asleep.
His disciples in, they're panicking here. They
come to him. They wake him up. Lord, save us.
We're going to drown. Jesus gets up from sleep.
He looks to his panic -stricken disciples and
says, why are you all afraid? Why do you have
such little faith? And he rebukes. It tells us
the winds. He rebukes the sea. And suddenly there
was a great calm. Now notice, the Lord got into
a boat with his disciples. Why? Why leave? I
mean, he's so popular where he is. All kinds
of people are coming to him. He's going to leave
because the crowds are unrelenting. His presence
is demanded everywhere. Everyone wants to have
an audience, a private audience with him. They
want him to either touch them or speak a word
to them. They know that this man has power. And
Jesus and his disciples, they have been so very
busy serving the people. But there's no end in
sight. People just keep coming and coming, wave
after wave. More people. Jesus and his disciples,
they didn't have time to grab a bite to eat,
much less rest. What's he been doing? He's exhausted.
He's been teaching. He's been healing the sick.
We're told that he's been casting out demons.
And now it's evening time. He's tired. He's hungry.
He's weary. Now some of you, I know, know what
this is like because I've talked to you. If you've
ever worked in the medical field, which I have
not, think of this as a busy day in the ER. Your
shift has ended, but you can't leave. You're
exhausted. You want nothing more than just to
get out of there and relax, but you can't because
more critical patients keep coming. This is what
it's like. So Jesus, in wisdom, he eventually
decides we need to leave this area. This is the
only way we're going to get away. They're going
to get into a boat and they're going to go to
the other side of the Sea of Galilee. So they
get in the boat and immediately it sounds as
though Jesus, being exhausted, quickly falls
asleep. And while he was sleeping, notice the
text, a great tempest arose. Great tempest, great
megas, tempest, seismos. And seismos is the word
that we get in Greek. It's a word we get for
earthquake. It's also used for violent storms.
These are fierce, ferocious storms that could
arise. Now, this is no ordinary storm. It is
a life -threatening storm. Now, some commentators,
I could never be dogmatic, and I don't even know
if I hold to this. Some say that this storm was
caused by Satan. He's the prince of power of
the air. He has caused this violent wind to rush
down to create this storm to try to drown Jesus
before he could go to the cross. Speculation,
we can never prove it. Nor does it really matter.
But this is a fierce, mega storm. Why? Well,
the Sea of Galilee, it's located about 700 feet
below sea level. We had the privilege to go there
years ago, and many of you have as well. And
it's also surrounded by mountains on the eastern
and western sides. So sometimes you'll get these
strong winds coming off the Mediterranean. And
they'll come whipping down there. And they will
then cause these horrible storms to rise. Mark
says in his gospel that the boat began to fill
up with water. Mark 4 .37. A great windstorm
arose. The waves beat into the boat so that it
was already filling. Now, you don't have to be
a seasoned sailor. nor an expert sailor to know.
Let me just give you a basic lesson. Water out
of the boat, good. Water in the boat, bad, really
bad. Now keep in mind, this is night, right?
It's evening. It's not illuminated here. There's
a violent storm that rushed upon them and this
boat is filling up with water. What does that
mean? The boat's going down, folks. The disciples
know what this means. They thought, we're going
to drown. We're dead men here. And keep in mind,
at least several of these disciples we know were
seasoned fishermen who had spent their lives
on this sea. They knew what storms were like.
They were accustomed to how this could be, and
even they were terrified at this point. Why?
It's not an ordinary storm. It is absolutely
megas, as Greek would say. It's a big storm,
and it's causing terror in the life of the disciples.
Now Matthew also tells us that the boat was covered
with waves. Look down at verse 24. And notice
the juxtaposition. That he was asleep. The boat
sinking. The master is sleeping. He's asleep.
He's exhausted. He's spent. He's given of himself
and given of himself and given of himself all
day. He's weary. Now here we see our Lord's humanity.
He truly is a human. He's man. He's a man like
us. He needed to sleep. He needed to eat. He
needs to rest. And that's what he's doing. Verse
25, the disciples, they wake him up. Put yourself
in their shoes. Lord, save us. Do something.
We're perishing. Again, a stark contrast between
Jesus and the disciples. They're panicking, Jesus
peacefully sleeping. Now I don't know, Matthew
never explains how Jesus is peacefully sleeping
in the stern, that is the back of the boat, in
such a violent storm. He must have been absolutely
exhausted. So you find these disciples, they're
terrified, the boat's taking on water, and Jesus
is asleep without a seeming care in the world.
Now sometimes we're too quick to criticize the
disciples, so let's give credit where credit's
due this morning. They had enough sense to go
to Jesus, right? They wake him up and they're
crying out for help. So what I see here, it's
a picture. Their faith is not yet mature. It's
not yet complete. But they do know to go to Jesus.
Now, Matthew is always doing contrast. He'll
contrast a Jew and a Gentile. He'll contrast
faith. And we see that even here. Earlier in
this same chapter, chapter 8, we looked at it
last week. We find an example of a great faith.
It's a Gentile Roman centurion, a Roman soldier.
So much so that it amazed Jesus. We find that
in verse 10. When Jesus heard it, the faith of
the centurion, he marveled and said to others
who followed, Assuredly, I say to you, I have
not found such great faith, not even in Israel,
not even among my own people. But now Matthew
highlights little faith. Oh, you have little
faith. But where is this little faith found?
In those closest to him. His disciples. Look
at verse 26. Why are you fearful, O you of little
faith? Strong faith founded in Gentile, weak
faith founded in the Jews, but here's the point.
All faith was centered on Jesus. What ultimately
mattered, folks, was not the quantity of their
faith, but the object of their faith. Faith in
itself saves no one. It cannot. Jesus saves everyone
who puts their faith in him. Jesus is the Savior.
Jesus saves and faith is the instrument that
connects us to the Savior. So the disciples go
and they wake Jesus up. Now why did they wake
him up? What made them think that he could help
them in this situation? They'd never seen him
do anything with nature before, or had they?
Now recall all that they had seen up to this
point. Cure lepers by touching them. Make whole
paralytics with just a word. Everyone who was
sick got healed. And they also knew that he could
cast out demons by just one word. So in my mind,
they're reasoning here. If anyone can help us,
the situation looks bleak. It's night, we're
drowning. If anyone can help us, it's Jesus.
So they wake him up. That's what they did. Verse
26. And you don't find Jesus immediately saying,
oh, thank you guys. Yes, thank you for waking
me up. Let me tell you how this is going to play
out. Instead, there's a rebuke. Before he rebukes
the wind, he kind of rebukes his disciples. Why
are you so afraid? Are you of little faith? Now,
this is almost comical. He says, why are you
so afraid? And to me, that's an obvious question,
right? What do you mean, why are they so afraid?
They're afraid because they're drowning. They're
going to die. The ship is going down. This is
a terrible storm. Water is coming in the boat.
Waves are coming upon them. So why then did Jesus
ask this strange question? He didn't need information,
by the way. Because here's what he's saying to
them. Why are you afraid of a storm if I am in
the boat with you? Do you not yet know who I
am? See, everything in Matthew is pointing us
back to Christ. Why are you so afraid? Do you
still not get it? You don't know who I am? And
I think if anyone should have known who he was,
it should have been the disciples. They had the
inside track. They spent all their time with
him. But their faith was not yet mature. And
Jesus gets up and he rebukes the wind and the
waves. And notice there was an immediate calm.
And Matthew says, a great calm. Do you see what's
happening here? As soon as Jesus spoke, wind
and waves obeyed. One minute you have sea churning,
waves raging, and the next moment it is as smooth
as glass. The disciples are like, whoa. How is
this happening? Jesus created that sea. Jesus
created those winds. They had no option but to
obey him. Verse 27. So the men marveled. They're
in amazement saying, all right, who is he? Who
can this be that even the wind and the seas obey
him? Here's the question. What man can control
even nature? And I think maybe some of their
minds might have gone to this verse. Maybe not.
Psalm 89. Oh, Lord God of hosts, who is mighty
like you? O Lord, your faithfulness also surrounds
you. You, look at verse 9, you rule the raging
of the sea. When its waves rise, you still them.
Okay, now what the psalmist just said is that
God, Yahweh, is the one who calms seas and waves.
Elohim, Yahweh, both of those are used in the
psalm there. Matthew says in Matthew 8, Jesus
is calming the seas and the waves. You know what
Matthew is showing? Remember he's painting this
picture. He didn't come out directly and say
Jesus is God. But what he's telling you, the
one in that boat there, that is God in the flesh.
That's who he is. Now here's the thing. We saw
his humanity. He had to sleep. He had to eat.
He was just working out of sheer exhaustion.
Here's another picture. We see his divinity.
The one who's exhausted in the stern of the boat
is the one who just woke up and told the wind
and waves, y 'all obey. Y 'all be quiet now.
And they obeyed. In Mark's gospel, we read this.
And they feared exceedingly. Talking about the
disciples. They feared exceedingly. Mark 4, 41.
They said to one another, who can this be? One
minute. So think about this. One minute the disciples
were in fear. Why? There's a storm and their
lives are in jeopardy. Now there was an even
greater fear. They feared exceedingly because
who was in the boat with them? They were uncomfortable.
It's not comfortable being near him when he's
showing his power. They were more afraid of him
than they were of the storm. And by the way,
they should have been. They should have been.
Commenting on this verse, R .C. Sproul says,
Yes, human beings are afraid of floods, fires,
earthquakes, and disease. But in the heart of
every creature made in the image of God, there
is a terror far greater than all these things
combined. Because there is a threat far greater
than any force of nature can present. It is the
threat of falling into the hands of the living
God. The disciples were starting to understand
more of who Jesus was. It's not fully formed
yet. Their faith is not yet quite mature. But
Matthew's painting this picture for his readers.
The one that's in the boat with these men, this
is the son of the living God. This is God in
flesh. Remember what Isaiah called him? Emmanuel,
God with us. He literally is Emmanuel, God with
us, just as Isaiah had promised. And by the way,
you're going to see his mission now. He's coming
back to take back all that Satan had stolen.
This is where we come to our next section. Jesus
had come to defeat the kingdom of darkness and
usher in a kingdom of light. Look at the beginning
of verse 28. When he had come to the other side,
this is the Decapolis, this is a Gentile area,
to the country of the Gergesenes, there met him
two demon -possessed men. Let me just, as a side
note, has nothing to do with the sermon. Some
critics of the Bible say, hey, Mark only mentions
one, Matthew mentions two. Okay. There's no discrepancy
there. Mark just mentioned the one that might
have been more vocal. Matthew's talking about
the two. There is no discrepancy whatsoever there.
But he met two demon -obsessed men coming out
of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no
one could pass that way. And suddenly they cried
out, saying, What have we to do with you, Jesus,
you son of God? Had you come here to torment
us before the time? Now a good way off from them
there was a herd of many swine feeding. So the
demons begged him saying, if you cast us out,
permit us to go away into the herd of swine.
And he said to them, go. So when they had come
out, they went into the herd of swine and suddenly
that whole herd of swine ran violently down the
steep place into the sea and they perished in
the water. They drowned. Then those who kept
them fled and they went away into the city and
told everything, including what had happened
to the demon possessed men. And behold, the whole
city came out to meet Jesus. And this is, I don't
think I quite understand it. And when they saw
him, they begged him to depart from the region.
They're just as uncomfortable. See, Jesus crossed
that sea, the Sea of Galilee, with his disciples.
Now, what's the question that's ringing in their
ears? Who can this be that even the wind and
the seas obey him? We get to the other side,
and it's interesting that a few thousand demons
are going to answer that question for him pretty
clearly in verse 29. What have we to do with
you, Jesus, you son of God? They got it. See,
Jesus goes in this area, the Sea of Galilee.
It's known as the Decapolis, mostly Gentile.
Now, there would have been Jews living there
as well. Now, he leaves Galilee, where he's immensely
popular. He's so popular that he needs to head
across the lake, but he heads to the Gentile
area. No, there's a purpose there. Why go there?
Why not go somewhere else to escape? Jesus in
John chapter 10, he said this, Other sheep I
have which are not of this fold, they're not
just Jews, them also I must bring, and they will
hear my voice, and there will be one flock and
one shepherd. I believe that Matthew painting
this picture, he's foreshadowing. That the salvation
the Lord came to bring was not exclusively for
the Jews. Remember, he's written to a Jewish
audience. Rather, he wants to note the Gentiles
are also going to be included in this. Now, these
men, we're not given details at all how they
came to be possessed by so many demons. But we
certainly can see the effects of the torment.
Through these men, we see what Satan would like
to do to each of us if he were permitted. We're
told that Satan longs to steal, kill, and destroy.
These men are living in absolute torment. This
is an object lesson. This is life in his kingdom.
This is life in the kingdom of darkness. Now
notice, these men were living in mountainous
tombs. They were living as if they were wild
animals. I find this interesting. It's not the
central point of the text. But God always exalts
humanity, created in his image. We bear the Imago
Dei. Satan loves to dehumanize mankind and cause
them to live as animals. Again, this is not the
central point here. But you and I today, we see
more animal -like behavior in our culture as
it has moved further away from God. You see this
typified in violence. Just animal -like violence.
There's this lack of respect for life. The dignity
and sanctity of life is no longer respected.
And through aberrant sexuality, we see, which
is so very prevalent, animal -like behavior.
I've heard literally on TV evolutionary biologists
say that man is hardwired to be immoral. He must
spread his seed everywhere because it's hardwired
through him by evolution. He's nothing more than
an animal. And yet we see that man was not created
to live by base instincts as if he were an animal,
but by reason and faith in the living God. Now,
we know from Mark's gospel that these men would
run on naked. They were crying and they were
cutting themselves with stones. They acted insane.
There was no control over their own faculties
whatsoever. Why? Because they had been possessed
by the demon hordes of hell. That's why. Now,
everyone was afraid of them. Look at verse 28.
They were exceedingly fierce so that no one could
pass that way. I mean these men were so crazy
and so ferocious that they were a danger to anyone
who might even get near them or pass by them.
So what happened? People stopped going by the
way of the tombs. That's a graveyard by the way.
Let's not go by that path. We know from Mark
again that these men were often chained up but
to no avail because they somehow had supernatural
strength to break the chains. Everyone is afraid
of these men. Except Jesus. There was no one,
Mark says, who could tame them. That is until
Jesus arrived. These demons immediately recognize
who Jesus is. They didn't need anyone to tell
them. You see that in verse 29. Suddenly they
cry out saying, what have we to do with you,
Jesus, you son of God? Have you come here to
torment us before the time? Now what had the
disciples been asking? Who is he? What do the
demons answer? It's Jesus, son of God. The demons
immediately recognize who he is. The disciples
were just starting to understand better. I believe
that moment on the lake was a huge leap forward
in their understanding. But it will not be until
Matthew chapter 16, where Peter makes his great
and first confession, that their belief will
be fully articulated for the first time. So a
lot more has to take place. But we see here the
demons, they recognize him. But they also knew
a couple other things. Notice that they knew
a future judgment awaited them. Have you come
here to torment us before the time? They know
what awaits them. They know that Jesus is the
judge. And they know that Jesus is the judge
that they must face on judgment day. They also
knew that he had authority over them. He had
authority. He could do with them whatever he
wanted. If he wanted them out of the men, he
could immediately cast them out of the men, and
these demons would be powerless to resist him.
Look at verse 31. So they're begging. So the
demons begged him, saying, if you cast us out,
because they have to do his bidding, by the way.
Please, don't send us to final judgment yet.
Permit us to go away into the herd of swine.
Again, I find this interesting. They know they
can't resist him, so they're begging him because
they know a future day awaits, but that day's
not yet. So don't torment us before the time.
So Matthew is showing his reader something. He
has authority over wind, he has authority over
waves, and he has ultimate authority over nature
and hell itself. Jesus, this is the point. Jesus
is the sovereign son of God who has all authority
over all things and all people. That's what Matthew's
saying. Verse 32. Notice what Jesus spoke one
word here. They're like, please, please, please,
please. And he said, go. Jesus said, go. And
what happens? They go into a herd of pigs. And
I don't know if the pigs were like, hey, we're
smarter than the men. This isn't going to happen.
They kill themselves. We don't know what happened
here. But Jesus' command that the demons leave
these men with one word, go. Again, I'm referencing
Mark's gospel because it's more elaborate there.
It gives more details. In Mark's gospel, Jesus
asked the identity of the demon. And do you remember
how they answered? Legion, for we are many. Well,
that's interesting. A legion was the largest
unit of a Roman army. If it were to be fully
staffed, it would have about 6 ,000 soldiers.
Now, that does not mean that there were necessarily
6 ,000 demons in these men. But it does mean
there were many. Because it says legion, for
we are many. There were many demon spirits possessing
these men. Jesus simply said one word, go. And
thousands of demons went. That's the point. And
what did they do? They entered the herd of pigs
that was close by. Mark tells us about 2 ,000.
About 2 ,000 pigs run down a steep mountain off
a cliff into the sea and drown themselves. One
word, go. absolute, absolute, total control over
the demonic forces. Do you see the picture's
getting clearer? Yeah, he's a great healer, but
that's not the point. He's wanting you to see,
oh, he has what? Authority. Yeah, what kind of
authority? Wind obeys him. Waves obey him. And
by one word, demons must flee. Now we are never
told why Jesus gave permission for those demons
to go into the herd of pigs. But it was a powerful
object lesson. It still is today. In verse 33,
those who kept those pigs, they made a living
off of them. They go in the city. They tell everything
that they had just witnessed. And the whole city
is like, what? Let's go see for ourselves. And
they have a reaction. Now notice, they see the
men who had been set free. And it says, They
were afraid. Just like the disciples earlier.
They were afraid of Jesus. They were afraid of
his remarkable power. They were afraid of being
in the presence of someone who had such tremendous
authority. They were afraid of the Holy One.
It made them uncomfortable. And they asked the
unthinkable. Now listen, they knew what these
two men had been like. They lived with them.
Now they're there. They're clothed. They're in
the right mind. Peaceful. You would think they're
like, please stay. We need you. Thank you. Instead,
please leave. Please leave our village. Please
leave our community. Please leave us alone. Just
go. We don't want you here. We're not comfortable
here. Why? We don't know for sure. It could be.
There's many reasons. Many commentators speculate.
Some say the loss of 2 ,000 pigs would have certainly
crippled the economy. The economy suffered. Maybe
some lost businesses and they're afraid of losing
further business junctures. We don't know. I
don't know. I want you to notice something else,
and this is just a side note. It has not the
central point of the text. Jesus thought that
the lives of 2 ,000 pigs were nothing compared
to the lives of these two men. Why am I saying
that? Because Jesus knew the value of human life.
If it caught PETA, we'd be really upset with
this particular section of scripture, wouldn't
we? Jesus thought if it cost 2 ,000 pigs their
lives to save these two men's lives, it's worth
it. We elevate humanity, folks. Jesus came to
that community and he came with healing. And
he offered them freedom. They said, no, would
you please leave? Now what? What's the point
that you and I are supposed to be asking? Matthew's
gospel is asking one question. Do you see? Do
you recognize who Jesus is? I wonder if that's
you this morning. Do you really see who he is?
He touches lepers, but he's not made unclean,
they're made clean. He makes paralytics whole
by simply speaking. Any manner of disease, you
name it, he heals it. He is authority. Over wind
and sea, over all of nature. And with just one
little word, he casts out the forces of evil.
That's why Martin Luther's great song, The Mighty
Fortresses of God, remember it says, one word
will fail him. Listen, friends, this is not like
who's going to win. One word, Satan's gone. Matthew
has shown us he's more than a rabbi. He's more
than a healer. He's more than a gifted teacher.
He's Emmanuel. His God with us. Now why? Why
is Matthew doing this? He wants you to see who
Jesus is so that you might trust completely in
him. So that you turn your life completely over
to him. So that you would believe upon him and
be saved, the Bible says. Jesus is that Messiah.
Son of David. Yes. Son of Abraham. He is the
long expected one. He is the Savior sent from
heaven to save people from their sins. What about
you, though? How have you responded to Jesus?
Have you welcomed his deliverance and you bowed
down before him, confessing him as Savior and
Lord? Or like this community we just read about,
have you asked him to leave? You're not comfortable.
Church, I want to talk to those who know Christ.
This ought to fuel our worship, our praise. Praise
be to God for his salvation. Why do I say that?
You and I, do you see those two men? They were
in the kingdom of darkness. We once were enslaved
to sin, enslaved to self, enslaved to Satan.
You and I once were part of that kingdom of darkness.
And Paul wrote this to the church at Colossae,
this last verse here in Colossians chapter 1,
giving thanks to the Father who has qualified
us to be partakers of the inheritance of the
saints in the light. He has delivered us from
the power of darkness. And conveyed us into the
kingdom of the son of his love. In whom we have
redemption. How? Through his blood. What does
it mean? The forgiveness of sins. Praise his
name. Giving thanks to the Father. Let us give
thanks. The Greek word is Eucharisteo, and we're
going to come to the table now. Many church traditions
call this the Eucharist. The Eucharisteo, it
simply means offering up thanks. What are we
giving thanks for today? The body and the blood
of Jesus that brought to us the forgiveness of
our sins. What a gracious God. What a mighty
Savior. What a wonderful plan of salvation that
you and I have been privileged to be brought
into. Let's pray and prepare our hearts to come
to the table of the Lord. Father, we thank you
this morning. Lord, your word is rich. It is
good. It is meaty. It is sustaining. Lord, it's
sustenance. It's nourishment for our soul. Lord,
now our eyes are directed toward Christ. Those
promises, Lord, we see sealed in the table of
the Lord as we hold in our hands, Lord, the promises
that you have made that come through the body
and blood of your Son that all who believe upon
him will be saved. Lord, we believe this and
you have sealed it with a promise and you have
given it to us that we may hold it in our hands
and drink it down, Lord, as we look to Christ
and not physically but metaphorically, spiritually,
we feast upon him, Lord, this morning as our
Lord, as the true bread of life. As the one who
gives us himself. Well thank you Lord for sending
your son. Thank you Father. Thank you Lord Jesus
for coming. For giving of yourself. For dying
on that cruel tree. And thank you precious Holy
Spirit for opening our eyes. Quickening us. Giving
us life. That we may be brought in to this wonderful
fold of salvation. Praise be to God. It's in
the name of Jesus we pray. Amen. Deacons if you
would come and prepare the table. Thank you.