We, of course, find these in the context of his
praying, and so we listen in on those intimate
expressions of God the Son as he speaks to God
the Father, Matthew 11, 25. We begin, At that
time Jesus answered and said, I praise thee,
O Father, Lord of heaven and earth. that thou
didst hide these things from the wise and intelligent,
and didst reveal them to babes. What a strange
statement for Jesus to have made in prayer, as
he thanks God for concealing and for revealing.
Jesus is here thanking God for his sovereign
will. That is one thing that Jesus... specifically
expressed thanks to God for his sovereign will.
Jesus thanks the Father that he hid or concealed
these things about himself, the gospel, the coming
kingdom, from those that he calls the wise and
intelligent. He's not talking about those who
passed a certain IQ test, who in themselves felt
themselves sufficient, the self -sufficient proud,
those who refused to listen to him like those
in the cities upon which he had just pronounced
judgment in the previous verses. He says, Father,
I thank you that you have concealed spiritual
things from them, but that you have revealed
them to babes. He again is not talking about
those who are of a certain age or size, but he
is speaking about those who are humble, to those
who are eager to hear, to trust, who are quick
to love. Small children is another way to say
it. And he's speaking here spiritually, of course,
about those who would receive his words. We see
here that God in His sovereign will conceals
spiritual things from some while He reveals spiritual
things to others. There are those who accuse
God of injustice in this. That is because they
view mankind as being neutral and innocent and
helpless. But in fact, the actions of God that
are mentioned here are toward human beings who
are sinners and who are in rebellion against
him. God, because he is God and is sovereign,
pronounces judgment on some which they deserve
by concealing spiritual things from them. After
all, they do not want it. They think themselves
to be complete without those things. They are
self -sufficient. But to others, in his sovereign
grace, our Lord reveals spiritual things. Now,
lest there be some who think that it's all black
and white and settled by this and that man has
no part in it, notice that Jesus goes on in the
following verses in verse 28. Come to me, all
who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give
you rest. And so the invitation is extended to
all who would come. That is man's responsibility.
But from the perspective of God, God conceals
and God reveals according to His sovereign will,
and Jesus thanks God for that. So should we.
Because the fact is that if He did not choose
to reveal spiritual things to some, none of us
would accept them. None of us would seek them.
None of us would believe. but in his grace he
has brought us to himself. And so we too can
thank God for his sovereign will. Turn with me
please to John chapter 11 as we see another matter
for which Jesus expressed thanks, and so should
we. It's in the context here of Lazarus, his
death, his burial, and his resuscitation. And
as Jesus came nearer to where... Lazarus had
been buried. It says in verse 41, they removed
the stone and Jesus raised his eyes and said,
Father, I thank thee that thou hearest me. And
I knew that thou hearest me always. Now we don't
see Jesus specifically asking something here.
He has already asked. That is not recorded for
us. It may have been in his thoughts as he was
coming to that tomb, or it may have been hours
before he even arrived there in Bethany. But
the fact is that at this point Jesus pauses to
thank God for hearing his prayer. God the Father
and God the Son were always in intimate communion.
God the Son always knew the will of God the Father.
And he acted and prayed accordingly. Likewise,
God our Father always hears us when we pray according
to his will. And one thing we can thank God for
is that he doesn't answer everything that we
ask for, right? Because there are some times
when we ask amiss. We ask selfishly. We ask out
of the will of God. We ask not knowing what is
best. The real heart of prayer is not our asking
God for things so much as it is our communing
with God and coming to know Him. And then as
we come to know Him, we will know what and when
to ask. Jesus had asked the Father for this miracle
because it was required on this occasion to again
prove who He was and to underscore the statement
that He was about to make. I am the resurrection
and the life. And so he pauses to thank God for
hearing his prayer. You and I can do the same
thing. We can thank God that he hears us and
that he answers according to his blessed and
perfect will. The apostle says to us, Be anxious
for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication
with thanksgiving. Let your request be made known
unto God. John tells us that we have this confidence
that if we ask anything according to His will,
He hears us. Let us too thank God that our Father
hears our prayers. And since we're in John, just
back up a few pages to the 6th chapter and the
11th verse, where we see Jesus doing something
which He habitually did. Therefore, Jesus took
the loaves, and having given thanks, He distributed
to those who who were seated. Here we see our
Lord thanking God for His food. This is but one
of several occasions when it specifically says
that the Lord Jesus thanked God for His food.
You and I need to follow His example. We need
to thank God for our food because that is symbolic
of God's total provision for us. We see Him as
our provider. Now it is true regarding food that
he has created food to be received with thanksgiving
by those who believe and know the truth. He tells
us, For every creature of God is good, and nothing
is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving.
God intends for us to have food, and we need
to thank him for our food. We do it at home,
we do it in the restaurant, wherever we are,
without embarrassment. We pause to thank God
for our food. But not just for that. bread, and
other kinds of food that we eat, but also for
all of His provision for us. We need to say,
Father, thank You for providing. For when we
express our thanks, it says that we are dependent
upon Him, and that is an attitude that glorifies
God. It is true that it's a testimony to the
heathen around, and it's a good testimony for
them, but above and beyond, it glorifies God
because it is saying to Him and it is saying
to ourselves again, As I pray for this meal,
like I pray for every meal, Father, I am dependent
upon you to provide this very food on the table.
Just as you provide the breath in my lungs, just
as you provide sleep every night when I rest,
everything comes from your hand. He gives liberally,
and he does not abrade and withhold. And then
turn back to Matthew with me as we notice one
final thing for which Jesus thanked God. For
God's sovereign will, for God's hearing of prayer,
for God's provision, and now in Matthew 26 and
verse 27. We'll back up one verse to get more
of the context. And while they were eating, Jesus
took some of the bread, and after a blessing,
he broke it. and gave it to the disciples and
said, Take, eat, this is my body. And when he
had taken a cup and given thanks, he gave it
to them saying, Drink from it, all of you. Notice
that Jesus here thanks God for the cup and for
the bread. Now, of course, he did that in the
context of a meal. We understand that. But there's
something more here which we know about. The
disciples did not understand it. At this point,
Jesus understood it perfectly. For as he held
that bread in his hands, as he held the cup,
and he looked at it, he recognized that it symbolized
the sacrifice that he would make for our sins
within a few hours. And so we see our Lord here
thanking God that he, the Father, had made provision
for our sins. And he himself is that provision.
Tonight as we come to the Lord's table, let us
do it with gratitude. Let us do it with gratitude
for the bread and for the cup, which symbolize
the provision that God has made, not just for
this life and its needs, but for eternal life
and our spiritual needs. And that provision is
the sacrifice of His Son, which we picture in
these elements. I'd like for us to sing a verse
or two of a song, and then I'm going to invite
those who are serving to come quickly right at
the very first verse. Let's sing together. Amazing
grace, how sweet the sound. Thank you. Would
you bow with me, please, as we thank the Lord
for his body broken for us? And where you're
seated, would you in silence and quietness of
your own heart, within the Holy of Holies, in
you, the temple of God through the Spirit, would
you say thank you for that sacrifice of his body?
Lord Jesus, you hear the prayers of our hearts.
Though hundreds of us express them at the same
moment, each is personal and intimate with you
as you are with us. Thank you. Thank you for
this element, for this bread, symbolizing your
body, sacrificed for our sakes. If you'll just
keep your hymn books in hand, we'll sing together
as the elements are passed. Let's begin with
the last verse of number 56. This is my father's
world. Symbolizing his shed blood. Indeed, Lord,
thank you for this, which symbolizes that precious
price by which we have been redeemed and redeemed
forever. Amen. fount of every blessing. of mercy
never ceasing. All for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me songs day. See? Jesus said, drink from
it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant,
which is poured out for many for forgiveness
of sin. But I say to you, I will not drink of
this fruit of the vine from now on until that
day. when I drink it new with you in my Father's
kingdom. I'd like for us to sing a verse of 479
as we anticipate that day, face to face with
Christ my Savior. Face to face with Christ my
Savior. Face to face, what will it be? to face
I shall behold. Let me share with you some thoughts
from meditation in closing. This is a prayer
written by one of the Puritans. O God, source
of all good, what shall I render to thee for
the gift of gifts? Thine own dear Son, begotten,
not created, my Redeemer, proxy. surety, substitute,
his self -emptying incomprehensible, his infinity
of love beyond the heart's grasp. Herein is wonder
of wonders. He came below to raise me above,
was born like me that I might become like him.
Herein is love when I cannot rise to him. He
draws near on wings of grace to raise me to himself.
Herein is power. When deity and humanity were
infinitely apart, he united them in indissoluble
unity, the uncreated and the created. Herein
is wisdom. When I was undone with no will to
return to him, and no intellect to devise recovery,
he came, God incarnate, to save me to the uttermost,
as man to die my death, to shed satisfying blood
on my behalf, to work out a perfect righteousness
for me. O God, take me in spirit to the watchful
shepherds and enlarge my mind. Let me hear good
tidings of great joy, and hearing, believe, rejoice,
praise, adore. My conscience bathed in an ocean
of repose, my eyes uplifted to a reconciled Father.
Place me with ox, ass, camel, goat, to look with
them upon my Redeemer's face, and in Him account
myself delivered from sin. Let me with Simeon
clasp the newborn child to my heart. Embrace
him with undying faith, exalting that he is mine
and I am his. In him thou hast given me so much
that heaven can give no more. Let's bow together.
Father, you have given us your best. Your dearly
beloved one. And our hearts receive that gift
with thanksgiving. And having remembered around
this table the purpose and reason for his coming.
We depart from here with joy unspeakable and
full of glory, awaiting that day when we shall
see our beloved one, our Savior, our Lord, face
to face. Amen. Thank you for sharing tonight
in this service. And it is our custom as we depart
from here to receive a benevolent offering, which
we invite you to share in. There will be an usher
at the door to receive that gift from you. And
I want to join what Harry said earlier in the
service. We're grateful for the food that has
been brought, and we know that others of you
will be bringing food over the next few Sundays.
This is a particularly needy time of the year
for some families, and we want to thank you for
sharing in that way and also for sharing monetarily.
in the benevolent fund received after communion
tonight. We rejoice to be able to announce that
our faith promise total thus far is very good
for the first Sunday. It's a total of $612 ,402,
which is beyond what I was anticipating for this
first Sunday. So I rejoice and praise the Lord
for that. And as others share with us, and we
gather in. Well, the fragments that remain, so
to speak. It will be exciting to see what the
final total will be. Would you stand together
with me, please? And we want to encourage you
to take that cup that you have in your hands
and place it in the container which is at the
exit. John, do you have a closing hymn for us
to sing together? Sure. Let's do one that isn't
even on my list about how great thou art. Number
16, I think it is. The fourth stanza. When Christ
shall come with shout of acclamation and take
me home, what joy shall fill my heart. Then I
shall bow in humble adoration and there proclaim,
my God, how great thou art. Then sings my soul,
my Savior God. Then sings my soul, my Savior
God. Let's bow together for a closing word of
prayer. Father, thank you for this response on
the part of many within our church. And I pray
that as others respond over the next few days
and the next couple of weeks, that you will thrill
us as together we see what we as families and
as individuals are trusting you for. Thank you
that in this first day, 60 % of our total budget
has been underwritten by faith. And we pray that
our faith in the Lord Jesus providing through
us will see the need of ministry met. And we
pray that our church and its ministry will expand
and grow and deepen through the vision of 1988.
Thank you for this service tonight and for all
who've come to share in worship of yourself.
Amen. Good night.