1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,400 Well, praise the Lord. 2 00:00:03,400 --> 00:00:07,920 How many of you are excited about gathering at the Lord's table today? 3 00:00:07,920 --> 00:00:12,320 Well, that was the sum of the Bible study. 4 00:00:12,320 --> 00:00:14,960 You're in good shape. 5 00:00:14,960 --> 00:00:16,440 See you next week. 6 00:00:16,440 --> 00:00:18,480 Yeah, no. 7 00:00:18,480 --> 00:00:19,480 Yeah. 8 00:00:19,480 --> 00:00:22,000 My pleasure. 9 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:32,000 Now, today is a special day as we gather together as the body of Christ, and particularly special 10 00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:36,320 because, yes, we are celebrating at the Lord's table. 11 00:00:36,320 --> 00:00:44,160 This morning, as you can see, after my ordination last Sunday, I am dressed in the requisite 12 00:00:44,160 --> 00:00:49,600 Calvary Chapel pastor tuxedo, and we're good to go. 13 00:00:49,600 --> 00:01:01,880 So today's message is entitled, In Remembrance of Me, and we'll be obviously centering around 14 00:01:01,880 --> 00:01:06,600 1 Corinthians 11, 23 through 25. 15 00:01:06,600 --> 00:01:12,200 So if you want to turn there and follow along as I read. 16 00:01:12,200 --> 00:01:19,800 1 Corinthians 11, 23 through 25, this starts off with Paul speaking, and in verse 23 he 17 00:01:19,800 --> 00:01:25,400 says, For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you. 18 00:01:25,400 --> 00:01:31,160 On the night that he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took bread. 19 00:01:31,160 --> 00:01:37,900 And when he had given thanks, broke it, and said, Take, eat. 20 00:01:37,900 --> 00:01:42,120 This is my body, which is broken for you. 21 00:01:42,120 --> 00:01:47,380 Do this in remembrance of me. 22 00:01:47,380 --> 00:01:54,480 In the same way, he also took the cup after supper and said, This cup is the new covenant 23 00:01:54,480 --> 00:01:56,640 in my blood. 24 00:01:56,640 --> 00:02:05,780 Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. 25 00:02:05,780 --> 00:02:13,360 Do this in remembrance of me. 26 00:02:13,360 --> 00:02:18,260 What does that mean? 27 00:02:18,260 --> 00:02:27,920 You know, as a worship leader, I've had the awesome privilege of leading the body in literally, 28 00:02:27,920 --> 00:02:31,760 I think, thousands of songs at this point. 29 00:02:31,760 --> 00:02:41,480 And a long time ago, we had done a song called Consuming Fire. 30 00:02:41,480 --> 00:02:49,360 And many of you probably remember that song, but the song starts off like this. 31 00:02:49,360 --> 00:02:54,000 It says, There must be more than this. 32 00:02:54,000 --> 00:02:59,380 O breath of God, come breathe within. 33 00:02:59,380 --> 00:03:03,080 There must be more than this. 34 00:03:03,080 --> 00:03:08,040 Spirit of God, we wait for you. 35 00:03:08,040 --> 00:03:11,440 Fill us anew, we pray. 36 00:03:11,440 --> 00:03:16,120 Fill us anew, we pray. 37 00:03:16,120 --> 00:03:24,240 You know, when we started doing this song, I was a young and stupid worship leader. 38 00:03:24,240 --> 00:03:25,240 Right? 39 00:03:25,240 --> 00:03:35,160 When we first started doing this, I actually looked at this song from an outward focused 40 00:03:35,160 --> 00:03:37,600 perspective. 41 00:03:37,600 --> 00:03:39,560 Right? 42 00:03:39,560 --> 00:03:42,680 As you often do when you're young and stupid. 43 00:03:42,680 --> 00:03:45,600 You have a lot of angst and you want things your way. 44 00:03:45,600 --> 00:03:48,760 And, you know, that's just the way of things. 45 00:03:48,760 --> 00:03:54,080 And I would look at those words, There must be more than this. 46 00:03:54,080 --> 00:03:58,640 And I would look at it from the perspective of God. 47 00:03:58,640 --> 00:04:03,800 I'm looking at the church, I'm looking at the people, and there's gotta be more than 48 00:04:03,800 --> 00:04:08,840 this. 49 00:04:08,840 --> 00:04:20,920 And God in His graciousness gave me time and filled me more with the Spirit so that 50 00:04:20,920 --> 00:04:25,440 I wasn't young and stupid anymore. 51 00:04:25,440 --> 00:04:35,320 And after a while, I realized, nope, this song is a hundred percent pointed inwardly. 52 00:04:35,320 --> 00:04:46,560 And in reflection, looking at myself and realizing, God, there must be more than this. 53 00:04:46,560 --> 00:04:51,800 Tell me anew. 54 00:04:51,800 --> 00:04:58,880 Sometimes I kind of look at it from the perspective of Jesus and the Holy Spirit. 55 00:04:58,880 --> 00:05:04,600 And they're up in heaven in glory and they're having a conversation and Jesus turns to the 56 00:05:04,600 --> 00:05:13,600 Holy Spirit and motions Him over and says, So, I hear you're working with wrong love 57 00:05:13,600 --> 00:05:16,520 today. 58 00:05:16,520 --> 00:05:17,800 What's that like? 59 00:05:17,800 --> 00:05:25,440 And the Holy Spirit says, Well, He's young and stupid. 60 00:05:25,440 --> 00:05:26,840 There's a lot there. 61 00:05:26,840 --> 00:05:35,960 There's an arrogance, there's, you know, kind of stuck in His ways, His perspective is kind 62 00:05:35,960 --> 00:05:36,960 of askew. 63 00:05:36,960 --> 00:05:39,920 But you know what? 64 00:05:39,920 --> 00:05:49,800 He has a heart for wanting to know you and He has a heart for wanting the people in the 65 00:05:49,800 --> 00:05:55,040 body to know you. 66 00:05:55,040 --> 00:05:58,080 And I can work with that. 67 00:05:58,080 --> 00:06:06,120 And so I imagine the Lord saying to the Holy Spirit, Then do that. 68 00:06:06,120 --> 00:06:10,120 And that is what has happened. 69 00:06:10,120 --> 00:06:17,320 The problem is that many, many years later, I'm sure this is the conversation that Jesus 70 00:06:17,320 --> 00:06:19,480 and the Holy Spirit are having. 71 00:06:19,480 --> 00:06:26,640 And that is, I hear you're working with wrong love today. 72 00:06:26,640 --> 00:06:28,120 Any change? 73 00:06:28,120 --> 00:06:33,520 The Holy Spirit says, Yeah, there's some good change there. 74 00:06:33,520 --> 00:06:37,920 But you know, He's got, He still has rough edges. 75 00:06:37,920 --> 00:06:43,800 And I mean, dare I say barnacles, some calcification even. 76 00:06:43,800 --> 00:06:45,560 But you know what? 77 00:06:45,560 --> 00:06:50,740 I can scrape that off and I can work with that. 78 00:06:50,740 --> 00:06:52,280 And Jesus says the same thing. 79 00:06:52,280 --> 00:06:57,600 And that is, Then do it. 80 00:06:57,600 --> 00:07:03,240 That's my hope for each of you today, whether you're here in the room or whether you're 81 00:07:03,240 --> 00:07:10,680 online and you're joining us as we walk through on this journey through this passage of Scripture. 82 00:07:10,680 --> 00:07:15,320 Whether you're young and stupid, you're in the middle of the journey and everything's 83 00:07:15,320 --> 00:07:21,080 going great, or you're more, maybe more towards the end, very mature, but maybe there's a 84 00:07:21,080 --> 00:07:25,840 little bit of calcification there, you know, that God has to scrape off. 85 00:07:25,840 --> 00:07:29,120 I mean, we're all in this together. 86 00:07:29,120 --> 00:07:34,840 My hope is that as we go through this, you find where you're at and that you hear what 87 00:07:34,840 --> 00:07:44,640 the Lord has to say and that you are ready to move forward because He is saying, Okay, 88 00:07:44,640 --> 00:07:48,080 then do that. 89 00:07:48,080 --> 00:07:49,280 So let's talk about this. 90 00:07:49,280 --> 00:07:55,200 Let's talk about this phrase that Jesus presented to the disciples at the, what we call the 91 00:07:55,200 --> 00:08:03,760 Last Supper, but at this Passover communion time with His disciples, when He says, Do 92 00:08:03,760 --> 00:08:06,960 this in remembrance of Me. 93 00:08:06,960 --> 00:08:12,040 So I think it's important and it just kind of presents itself that there are a few groups 94 00:08:12,040 --> 00:08:15,640 that are involved here, right? 95 00:08:15,640 --> 00:08:18,880 And the very first group is the obvious one, and that's the disciples. 96 00:08:18,880 --> 00:08:26,440 So what does this mean to the disciples, Do this in remembrance of Me? 97 00:08:26,440 --> 00:08:32,560 You know, when you look at, and again, I've said this before, when you are studying the 98 00:08:32,560 --> 00:08:38,920 Bible, always feel free, and I encourage you to look at other translations in addition 99 00:08:38,920 --> 00:08:43,360 to the one that you particularly like because it's very helpful. 100 00:08:43,360 --> 00:08:50,180 The language outside of English is much more descriptive and broad, and so it's just good 101 00:08:50,180 --> 00:08:57,320 practice to see, especially in translations that go specifically back to the Greek or 102 00:08:57,320 --> 00:09:04,360 the Hebrew or anything like that, to see what are the more descriptive meanings of some 103 00:09:04,360 --> 00:09:05,960 of the words. 104 00:09:05,960 --> 00:09:11,200 So when you look at that phrase, and in this case, you know, I was looking at it in the 105 00:09:11,200 --> 00:09:17,600 Amplified Bible, what it does is it renders the phrase, Do this in remembrance to Me to 106 00:09:17,600 --> 00:09:19,960 this. 107 00:09:19,960 --> 00:09:27,600 Do this to call Me affectionately to remembrance. 108 00:09:27,600 --> 00:09:35,600 Do this to call Me affectionately to remembrance. 109 00:09:35,600 --> 00:09:39,240 So when we look at the disciples and what this means to the disciples, to do this in 110 00:09:39,240 --> 00:09:46,080 remembrance of Me, the obvious one that they only can participate in, we will never be 111 00:09:46,080 --> 00:09:51,720 able to do this until we are in heaven with Christ, right? 112 00:09:51,720 --> 00:09:57,200 And that is that they could remember and have remembrance of the personal time that they 113 00:09:57,200 --> 00:10:00,200 spent with Jesus. 114 00:10:00,200 --> 00:10:02,140 Nobody else can do that. 115 00:10:02,140 --> 00:10:06,760 That is their particular gift and frame of mind, right? 116 00:10:06,760 --> 00:10:07,760 So what does that mean? 117 00:10:07,760 --> 00:10:15,000 Well, it means that those times when they're, you know, sitting at the campfire, right, 118 00:10:15,000 --> 00:10:21,820 on their journeys throughout Judea or Samaria, and they're telling jokes about, you know, 119 00:10:21,820 --> 00:10:26,520 that Old Testament prophet, you know, and just enjoying their time and their fellowship 120 00:10:26,520 --> 00:10:27,520 together. 121 00:10:27,520 --> 00:10:32,200 That's something that they can remember affectionately about Jesus. 122 00:10:32,200 --> 00:10:37,080 You know, when they're running on the beach of the Sea of Galilee and just having a good 123 00:10:37,080 --> 00:10:45,280 time, you know, knowing His joy and His tenderness and His goodness as He just fellowships with 124 00:10:45,280 --> 00:10:50,960 them, that is something that they could draw on in remembering Him, remembering their personal 125 00:10:50,960 --> 00:10:54,120 time with Him. 126 00:10:54,120 --> 00:11:00,100 They also can remember that personal time that they spent with Him as He was teaching 127 00:11:00,100 --> 00:11:03,840 them, in particular, as His disciples. 128 00:11:03,840 --> 00:11:08,920 When He was speaking one-on-one with each of them, again, something that the rest of 129 00:11:08,920 --> 00:11:12,960 us, we don't have that opportunity today, right? 130 00:11:12,960 --> 00:11:13,960 But they did. 131 00:11:13,960 --> 00:11:16,600 They heard His voice because He was right there. 132 00:11:16,600 --> 00:11:19,340 They saw His face, the look in His eyes. 133 00:11:19,340 --> 00:11:22,160 They knew what He was talking about. 134 00:11:22,160 --> 00:11:26,600 They understood, sometimes they didn't, but for the most part, as He explained it, they 135 00:11:26,600 --> 00:11:31,800 understood, you know, what He was trying to show them, what He was trying to teach them. 136 00:11:31,800 --> 00:11:35,400 They could see it and hear it all right in front of them. 137 00:11:35,400 --> 00:11:40,360 They can remember those, they could remember those times, those teachings that were just 138 00:11:40,360 --> 00:11:44,180 for them as His disciples. 139 00:11:44,180 --> 00:11:46,680 They could remember that. 140 00:11:46,680 --> 00:11:50,760 They could also remember the lessons that He taught the crowd. 141 00:11:50,760 --> 00:11:52,120 They were right there. 142 00:11:52,120 --> 00:11:53,720 They heard it all. 143 00:11:53,720 --> 00:11:58,560 And not only did they hear those lessons that Jesus taught the crowds, they also could talk 144 00:11:58,560 --> 00:12:04,640 to the people who were hearing Jesus talk to them. 145 00:12:04,640 --> 00:12:09,720 And they were able to find out what they thought about what He talked about, what changes were 146 00:12:09,720 --> 00:12:16,520 being made in their lives because of His words, because of His actions and deeds. 147 00:12:16,520 --> 00:12:23,960 They were able to hear their testimonies and rejoice because of the work that Jesus was 148 00:12:23,960 --> 00:12:29,400 doing in their lives as well. 149 00:12:29,400 --> 00:12:36,480 There's a very well-known pastor, I'm sure many of you will recognize him, and that is 150 00:12:36,480 --> 00:12:37,800 Alistair Begg. 151 00:12:37,800 --> 00:12:40,840 Alistair Begg is a Scottish-born pastor. 152 00:12:40,840 --> 00:12:44,120 He pastors at Parkside Church in Cleveland, Ohio. 153 00:12:44,120 --> 00:12:48,320 This is what he has to say about memory. 154 00:12:48,320 --> 00:12:54,140 He says, memory is surely one of the great and most precious gifts that God has given 155 00:12:54,140 --> 00:12:57,360 us in terms of our physical existence. 156 00:12:57,360 --> 00:13:04,840 And it is for that reason that the loss of memory is one of the saddest and most cruel 157 00:13:04,840 --> 00:13:10,920 things that really can happen to an individual. 158 00:13:10,920 --> 00:13:21,240 And it's in that vein that God, through His word, causes people to remembrance. 159 00:13:21,240 --> 00:13:30,320 He does that many times and in many different ways throughout His word. 160 00:13:30,320 --> 00:13:34,820 Let me give you a couple of specific examples in the Old Testament. 161 00:13:34,820 --> 00:13:39,340 One example is you'll read when you're studying the book of Samuel, and I'm excited to get 162 00:13:39,340 --> 00:13:42,680 to Samuel at some point. 163 00:13:42,680 --> 00:13:47,320 Maybe in about a year we'll get there. 164 00:13:47,320 --> 00:13:57,560 But in the book of Samuel, the call is given out to set up altars or stones of remembrance 165 00:13:57,560 --> 00:13:58,760 in different places. 166 00:13:58,760 --> 00:14:03,760 And the reason why they were called to erect these altars or stones of remembrance is because 167 00:14:03,760 --> 00:14:11,000 God had done something in the lives of the Hebrew nation, the Jewish nation, and it usually 168 00:14:11,000 --> 00:14:17,960 was in the saving of them from invaders, the vanquishing of an enemy, but it was always 169 00:14:17,960 --> 00:14:21,760 God in His hand that had delivered them. 170 00:14:21,760 --> 00:14:26,320 And so He would tell them, or they would instinctively know because of past instruction, that what 171 00:14:26,320 --> 00:14:36,160 they needed to do was set up an altar or a stone of remembrance so that future generations 172 00:14:36,160 --> 00:14:43,140 would see that altar, or they would see that stone, and they would ask, what is that for? 173 00:14:43,140 --> 00:14:48,880 And then the people who erected it, their forefathers would be able to tell them, that 174 00:14:48,880 --> 00:14:56,180 stone is there in remembrance of God's deliverance when we were fighting the Amalekites. 175 00:14:56,180 --> 00:14:58,600 You know, or fighting in certain name. 176 00:14:58,600 --> 00:15:03,360 And God alone saved us and redeemed us. 177 00:15:03,360 --> 00:15:10,280 And so when we see that, we worship and we remember God's providence and His delivery 178 00:15:10,280 --> 00:15:16,720 for us and His people. 179 00:15:16,720 --> 00:15:22,760 Another example, certainly to the disciples, right at this moment when Jesus is giving 180 00:15:22,760 --> 00:15:31,000 them the instruction for communion and to remember Him, and also for the early Jewish 181 00:15:31,000 --> 00:15:39,560 church is the implements or the elements of the Passover meal, right? 182 00:15:39,560 --> 00:15:44,760 The Passover meal, each element actually has a significance of a remembrance. 183 00:15:44,760 --> 00:15:53,760 So for instance, the different elements were there to remind them of their bondage in Egypt, 184 00:15:53,760 --> 00:15:58,600 God's salvation, through the blood of the Passover lamb, you know, with the blood on 185 00:15:58,600 --> 00:16:01,900 the doorposts and the lentil, right? 186 00:16:01,900 --> 00:16:06,000 Also you could look at the element of the unleavened bread. 187 00:16:06,000 --> 00:16:11,160 The unleavened bread was a symbol of sin, of having no sin, right? 188 00:16:11,160 --> 00:16:15,880 So the leaven was sin, you would take the leaven out of the bread, and that was to represent 189 00:16:15,880 --> 00:16:18,360 being sinless and pure before the Lord. 190 00:16:18,360 --> 00:16:21,800 We do that with the striped cracker, right? 191 00:16:21,800 --> 00:16:23,640 That is in essence unleavened bread. 192 00:16:23,640 --> 00:16:26,960 It doesn't rise, it doesn't puff up, whatever. 193 00:16:26,960 --> 00:16:29,200 That's the symbol for it. 194 00:16:29,200 --> 00:16:35,320 The bitter herbs, they would eat bitter herbs and they would dip them in salt water. 195 00:16:35,320 --> 00:16:40,400 Well, the bitter herbs were to remind them of the bitterness and harshness of their bondage, 196 00:16:40,400 --> 00:16:46,520 of their slavery, and the salt water was to remind them of their tears and their cries 197 00:16:46,520 --> 00:16:50,080 out to the Lord for salvation, right? 198 00:16:50,080 --> 00:16:57,600 There was even the symbol of, I think it was chopped up apples or something and nuts, and 199 00:16:57,600 --> 00:17:01,760 that was to represent, remind them of their hardship in having to build the bricks with 200 00:17:01,760 --> 00:17:03,000 the mortar and all that. 201 00:17:03,000 --> 00:17:07,520 I mean, all these elements mean something, not just for the sake of meaning something, 202 00:17:07,520 --> 00:17:16,160 but for the sake of causing them to remember what God had done, what the purpose of the 203 00:17:16,160 --> 00:17:20,480 Passover meal really was for. 204 00:17:20,480 --> 00:17:28,840 You know, the words remembrance, remember, or the derivative of either of those words, 205 00:17:28,840 --> 00:17:34,940 that is found over 200 times in the Old Testament. 206 00:17:34,940 --> 00:17:41,120 The call to remember, or remember this, or remember that 200 times. 207 00:17:41,120 --> 00:17:51,840 So what I want to do is I want to share with you that just as the early Jewish church and 208 00:17:51,840 --> 00:17:58,500 as the Jewish nation had been called to remember God through the Old Testament, I want to show 209 00:17:58,500 --> 00:17:59,820 you what that looks like. 210 00:17:59,820 --> 00:18:04,240 So I'm going to read through some verses just so you can get a feel for what that would 211 00:18:04,240 --> 00:18:10,200 mean to them as they see God in the Old Testament Scriptures. 212 00:18:10,200 --> 00:18:17,200 So Genesis 9 verses 15, for example, it says, I will remember my covenant between me and 213 00:18:17,200 --> 00:18:19,560 you and all the living creatures. 214 00:18:19,560 --> 00:18:23,400 Water will never again become a flood to destroy every creature. 215 00:18:23,400 --> 00:18:30,580 Genesis 9, 16, the bow will be in the clouds and I will look at it and remember the permanent 216 00:18:30,580 --> 00:18:34,640 covenant between God and all the living creatures on the earth. 217 00:18:34,640 --> 00:18:42,400 Genesis 19, 29, so it was when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Abraham 218 00:18:42,400 --> 00:18:48,200 and brought out Lot of the middle of the upheaval when he demolished the cities where Lot had 219 00:18:48,200 --> 00:18:49,660 lived. 220 00:18:49,660 --> 00:18:54,480 Genesis 30, 22, then God remembered Rachel. 221 00:18:54,480 --> 00:18:58,400 He listened to her and he opened her womb. 222 00:18:58,400 --> 00:19:04,600 Exodus 2, 24, God heard their groaning and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, 223 00:19:04,600 --> 00:19:07,160 with Isaac, and with Jacob. 224 00:19:07,160 --> 00:19:13,280 Exodus 3, 15, God also said to Moses, say this to the Israelites, the Lord, the God 225 00:19:13,280 --> 00:19:18,620 of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob has sent 226 00:19:18,620 --> 00:19:20,280 me to you. 227 00:19:20,280 --> 00:19:22,020 This is my name forever. 228 00:19:22,020 --> 00:19:27,280 This is how I am to be remembered in every generation. 229 00:19:27,280 --> 00:19:33,000 Exodus 13, 3, then Moses said to the people, remember this day when you came out of Egypt, 230 00:19:33,000 --> 00:19:37,840 out of the place of slavery, for the Lord brought you out of here by the strength of 231 00:19:37,840 --> 00:19:39,200 his hand. 232 00:19:39,200 --> 00:19:41,680 Nothing leaven shall be eaten. 233 00:19:41,680 --> 00:19:47,040 Exodus 28, remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. 234 00:19:47,040 --> 00:19:52,760 Exodus 20, 24, make an earth an altar to me and sacrifice it on your burnt offerings and 235 00:19:52,760 --> 00:19:55,760 fellowship offerings, your flocks and herds. 236 00:19:55,760 --> 00:20:04,040 I will come to you and bless you in every place where I cause my name to be remembered. 237 00:20:04,040 --> 00:20:09,680 Numbers 10, 10, also in the day of rejoicing and in your set feast and at the beginning 238 00:20:09,680 --> 00:20:15,120 of your munch, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and your peace offerings. 239 00:20:15,120 --> 00:20:18,960 Thus it may be a remembrance before your God. 240 00:20:18,960 --> 00:20:22,800 I am the Lord your God. 241 00:20:22,800 --> 00:20:29,440 Numbers 15, 40, this way you will remember and obey all my commands and be holy to your 242 00:20:29,440 --> 00:20:30,440 God. 243 00:20:30,440 --> 00:20:36,440 Deuteronomy 5, 15, remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt and the Lord 244 00:20:36,440 --> 00:20:41,200 your God brought you out of there with a strong hand and an outstretched arm. 245 00:20:41,200 --> 00:20:46,280 That is why the Lord your God has commanded you to keep the Sabbath day. 246 00:20:46,280 --> 00:20:54,000 In Deuteronomy 32, 7, remember the days of old, consider the years of past generations, 247 00:20:54,000 --> 00:21:02,280 ask your Father and He will tell you, your elders and they will teach you. 248 00:21:02,280 --> 00:21:09,200 Remember, remember, remember again and again and that's only the first five books of the 249 00:21:09,200 --> 00:21:10,480 Bible. 250 00:21:10,480 --> 00:21:19,680 This is how important God believes that your remembrance of Him truly is. 251 00:21:19,680 --> 00:21:24,760 It's not just the remembering of the specific events or the characteristic of God in that 252 00:21:24,760 --> 00:21:32,620 particular situation, but really the meaning behind remembrance and I believe God's desire 253 00:21:32,620 --> 00:21:41,720 in you remembering Him in these things is so that you recall the gravity of it all behind 254 00:21:41,720 --> 00:21:43,420 it. 255 00:21:43,420 --> 00:21:49,560 For instance, it's not just that He wanted them to remember that they were slaves, right? 256 00:21:49,560 --> 00:21:53,280 Anybody can remember that, right? 257 00:21:53,280 --> 00:22:03,640 But what it meant to remember was that you remembered what it was to be a slave as an 258 00:22:03,640 --> 00:22:08,600 individual and as a people. 259 00:22:08,600 --> 00:22:19,920 You remembered what it meant to be delivered and not by just a mere man, but by their God. 260 00:22:19,920 --> 00:22:30,320 And they remembered what it meant that God was righteous, that God was holy, that God 261 00:22:30,320 --> 00:22:40,280 was powerful and that strength and full of strength and what that meant in comparison 262 00:22:40,280 --> 00:22:53,000 to themselves, being a people who were unrighteous, unholy, impotent and weak in comparison to 263 00:22:53,000 --> 00:22:57,960 their God who loved them and who delivered them. 264 00:22:57,960 --> 00:23:04,160 True remembrance is not just recall or a casual reminder. 265 00:23:04,160 --> 00:23:10,640 It's a deep consideration of the event and the ramifications of what has transpired as 266 00:23:10,640 --> 00:23:18,160 well as a deep reflection of all those involved. 267 00:23:18,160 --> 00:23:24,320 So what about the early Gentile believers who would later on hear the words of Jesus 268 00:23:24,320 --> 00:23:28,880 when He said, do this in remembrance of Me? 269 00:23:28,880 --> 00:23:30,840 What does that mean for them? 270 00:23:30,840 --> 00:23:36,160 I mean, really, they are obviously different than the disciples, right? 271 00:23:36,160 --> 00:23:39,000 They came later, right? 272 00:23:39,000 --> 00:23:44,640 They're a little different than the early church that was made up of Jews, right? 273 00:23:44,640 --> 00:23:49,680 They didn't have the same history, the same instruction that they had already been drawing 274 00:23:49,680 --> 00:23:56,740 on to look back and remember what God had done and incorporate that into their understanding 275 00:23:56,740 --> 00:24:03,280 then of who Jesus was as they were celebrating communion and recognizing who He was. 276 00:24:03,280 --> 00:24:09,660 They didn't have the direct interaction with Jesus like the disciples. 277 00:24:09,660 --> 00:24:13,600 So what did the call to remember look like to them? 278 00:24:13,600 --> 00:24:18,080 Well, I think maybe instead of looking at what they didn't have, maybe we should look 279 00:24:18,080 --> 00:24:20,280 at what they did have, right? 280 00:24:20,280 --> 00:24:28,160 So what they did have was that some of them, at least some of them, had memories of hearing 281 00:24:28,160 --> 00:24:31,720 Jesus speak, right? 282 00:24:31,720 --> 00:24:39,320 They actually had been in the crowds when Jesus was teaching, like say when He was in 283 00:24:39,320 --> 00:24:44,120 Judea and He was giving the, what we call the Sermon on the Mount. 284 00:24:44,120 --> 00:24:50,200 Perhaps they were part of that crowd or perhaps they were either a Greek or a Roman that was 285 00:24:50,200 --> 00:24:55,720 in Jerusalem, you know, when Jesus was in Jerusalem and teaching in the outer courts 286 00:24:55,720 --> 00:24:57,400 of the temple. 287 00:24:57,400 --> 00:24:59,680 Maybe they actually did hear Him or His word. 288 00:24:59,680 --> 00:25:03,320 So they would have that memory to draw from. 289 00:25:03,320 --> 00:25:09,200 Also there were others that had testimonies from those who had heard Jesus speak, their 290 00:25:09,200 --> 00:25:11,140 friends and their family, right? 291 00:25:11,140 --> 00:25:14,960 Who happened to be in those same types of circumstances, but now they're getting it 292 00:25:14,960 --> 00:25:16,720 maybe second or third hand. 293 00:25:16,720 --> 00:25:23,960 But they can draw then on that what their testimonies were of having heard those things 294 00:25:23,960 --> 00:25:24,960 personally. 295 00:25:24,960 --> 00:25:30,800 As you continue on, you know, down the line, kind of like as I said in first service, kind 296 00:25:30,800 --> 00:25:34,520 of like telephone, but not really the game telephone, right? 297 00:25:34,520 --> 00:25:43,680 But more and more as you go down the line, their interaction with Jesus' words are the 298 00:25:43,680 --> 00:25:47,960 words, the letters, and the teachings of the apostles, right? 299 00:25:47,960 --> 00:25:52,720 Testifying that Jesus is the Messiah and Savior of the world, the only true God and the only 300 00:25:52,720 --> 00:25:55,720 one who could save them. 301 00:25:55,720 --> 00:25:59,480 And also they had the testimony of their own family members or friends who had experienced 302 00:25:59,480 --> 00:26:01,820 forgiveness, restoration. 303 00:26:01,820 --> 00:26:09,600 Maybe they even experienced healing or a filling of the Holy Spirit, all in the name of Jesus, 304 00:26:09,600 --> 00:26:13,360 the Creator and Lamb of God. 305 00:26:13,360 --> 00:26:17,640 And then lastly, what they had was their own testimonies. 306 00:26:17,640 --> 00:26:22,120 Testimonies of what God had done in their own lives, now transformed and changed, works 307 00:26:22,120 --> 00:26:26,680 that He had begun to do in their lives, changes that they had seen. 308 00:26:26,680 --> 00:26:31,220 They were once like this, but now they're like this in Christ. 309 00:26:31,220 --> 00:26:37,260 They have that to draw on, coming from Jesus. 310 00:26:37,260 --> 00:26:42,500 So kind of what you see is you go from the very personal and central, and you keep going 311 00:26:42,500 --> 00:26:47,760 farther and farther removed, and then farther and farther removed. 312 00:26:47,760 --> 00:26:53,480 But the beauty of that is that these people over here who seem to be farther and farther 313 00:26:53,480 --> 00:26:58,360 removed, they actually have more tools and resources maybe than the disciples themselves, 314 00:26:58,360 --> 00:26:59,360 right? 315 00:26:59,360 --> 00:27:01,800 That's God in God's providence. 316 00:27:01,800 --> 00:27:08,840 We get to, just like the Jews did, look backwards and see what the Lord has done. 317 00:27:08,840 --> 00:27:11,920 So they weren't left out in the cold, right? 318 00:27:11,920 --> 00:27:16,200 The early Gentile church certainly had the tools to work with. 319 00:27:16,200 --> 00:27:20,400 But here we are 10,000, no. 320 00:27:20,400 --> 00:27:23,720 So here we are 2,000 years later, right? 321 00:27:23,720 --> 00:27:29,040 So what do these words mean to us today, right? 322 00:27:29,040 --> 00:27:30,480 We're very far removed. 323 00:27:30,480 --> 00:27:37,960 We don't know anybody personally who knew or heard Jesus. 324 00:27:37,960 --> 00:27:41,080 We're left with writings. 325 00:27:41,080 --> 00:27:44,320 We're left with testimonies. 326 00:27:44,320 --> 00:27:45,320 So what does it mean? 327 00:27:45,320 --> 00:27:51,460 Well, it essentially means the same thing that it meant for all of those who came before. 328 00:27:51,460 --> 00:27:55,920 But again, we have the greater blessing because we get to draw from all of it. 329 00:27:55,920 --> 00:28:01,300 Not only those testimonies of people who were with Jesus or knew Jesus, but we actually 330 00:28:01,300 --> 00:28:05,000 get to draw on the Old Testament. 331 00:28:05,000 --> 00:28:12,640 Just like the Gentile church, the early Gentile church, even though that wasn't their history, 332 00:28:12,640 --> 00:28:18,480 they got to draw on that knowing that Jesus Himself had talked about Himself as being 333 00:28:18,480 --> 00:28:23,000 God, that same God, God the Son. 334 00:28:23,000 --> 00:28:26,160 And so they could dive into that word as well. 335 00:28:26,160 --> 00:28:29,800 And they weren't looking at it though from their own perspective of this is my shared 336 00:28:29,800 --> 00:28:34,320 history, but they're looking at it from the perspective of this is what God did in the 337 00:28:34,320 --> 00:28:37,680 life of the people that He set aside for Himself. 338 00:28:37,680 --> 00:28:40,320 This is how He revealed Himself to them. 339 00:28:40,320 --> 00:28:43,560 This is the work that He did in and within them. 340 00:28:43,560 --> 00:28:46,720 This is how He saved them, delivered them, redeemed them. 341 00:28:46,720 --> 00:28:49,840 This is all the plan that He has done. 342 00:28:49,840 --> 00:28:55,560 And the glory to God, He has extended the same thing to me and grafted me into that 343 00:28:55,560 --> 00:28:58,160 family. 344 00:28:58,160 --> 00:29:07,000 This is what I think it means or should mean to us today. 345 00:29:07,000 --> 00:29:09,000 This is what I believe Jesus is saying. 346 00:29:09,000 --> 00:29:12,120 If I were to, of course, this is what we all do. 347 00:29:12,120 --> 00:29:18,660 We take God's simple words and we expand them all when the simple words are probably enough, 348 00:29:18,660 --> 00:29:21,360 but play with me. 349 00:29:21,360 --> 00:29:25,040 This is what I believe Jesus is saying. 350 00:29:25,040 --> 00:29:33,200 Remember and cause your heart, soul, and mind to dwell upon every time you gather and partake 351 00:29:33,200 --> 00:29:36,540 of the Lord's table. 352 00:29:36,540 --> 00:29:43,940 Everything that I am, everything I've done, my faithful and unyielding love in your life 353 00:29:43,940 --> 00:29:48,560 as it was in the lives of those who came before you. 354 00:29:48,560 --> 00:29:53,680 Remember my teaching and abnitions to hear my voice and follow me. 355 00:29:53,680 --> 00:29:59,960 Remember that you were a lost sinner who dwelt in darkness and faced judgment. 356 00:29:59,960 --> 00:30:04,720 Remember your need for forgiveness and your need for me. 357 00:30:04,720 --> 00:30:06,680 Remember my suffering. 358 00:30:06,680 --> 00:30:12,760 Remember my horrific death and sacrifice for your sake. 359 00:30:12,760 --> 00:30:19,820 Remember my power over sin, hell, death in the grave as evidenced by my resurrection. 360 00:30:19,820 --> 00:30:26,200 Remember the gift of my Holy Spirit to you and those who came before you. 361 00:30:26,200 --> 00:30:33,920 Remember my complete word as a means and a tool to help you remember all of these things 362 00:30:33,920 --> 00:30:43,320 and remember the hope of my glorious return for my church. 363 00:30:43,320 --> 00:30:45,520 Did you do that before you came today? 364 00:30:45,520 --> 00:30:49,800 Do you remember all that? 365 00:30:49,800 --> 00:30:51,880 Let me ask you another question. 366 00:30:51,880 --> 00:30:59,120 This question is not, I repeat, is not to bring condemnation because I ask the question 367 00:30:59,120 --> 00:31:01,640 of myself. 368 00:31:01,640 --> 00:31:08,960 I know that I am woefully lacking in this area, so I ask myself this question. 369 00:31:08,960 --> 00:31:15,040 But ultimately, my hope is that what it does in asking the question and finding the answer 370 00:31:15,040 --> 00:31:20,600 is that it builds up or it shores up the walls, so to speak. 371 00:31:20,600 --> 00:31:23,320 So here's the question to you. 372 00:31:23,320 --> 00:31:29,160 What did you do to prepare for the Lord's table this morning? 373 00:31:29,160 --> 00:31:35,480 Where have your thoughts been as we made our way here today? 374 00:31:35,480 --> 00:31:42,480 Where have your thoughts been while you're sitting here listening to me ramble on? 375 00:31:42,480 --> 00:31:48,200 Perhaps your answer is, well, my thoughts have been on Jesus. 376 00:31:48,200 --> 00:31:51,360 It's Sunday, of course. 377 00:31:51,360 --> 00:31:54,720 How could I ever forget about Jesus? 378 00:31:54,720 --> 00:32:04,100 You know, to what degree is it possible for us to forget about Jesus, right? 379 00:32:04,100 --> 00:32:10,800 And I'm not talking about the wholesale forgetting that Jesus existed or that He did this or 380 00:32:10,800 --> 00:32:12,680 He did that while He was on earth. 381 00:32:12,680 --> 00:32:18,820 I'm not even talking about similar forgetting of God and the things that He did in the Old 382 00:32:18,820 --> 00:32:21,280 Testament or the New Testament. 383 00:32:21,280 --> 00:32:31,960 What I'm speaking of is a forgetting or a laying aside of all that that truly means. 384 00:32:31,960 --> 00:32:38,240 In other words, having a head knowledge rather than a heart knowledge. 385 00:32:38,240 --> 00:32:44,160 And I don't know about you, but one of the most difficult times to remain focused on 386 00:32:44,160 --> 00:32:50,720 Jesus is when I'm getting ready to come to church on Sunday morning, right? 387 00:32:50,720 --> 00:32:55,000 So this is how this generally goes for me. 388 00:32:55,000 --> 00:33:03,400 First, the alarm doesn't go off or more likely, I don't get up on time. 389 00:33:03,400 --> 00:33:07,560 Then the water in the shower is too cold or too hot. 390 00:33:07,560 --> 00:33:11,680 My clothes are wrinkled because, well, the dryer didn't get them drying. 391 00:33:11,680 --> 00:33:13,360 The coffee maker didn't work. 392 00:33:13,360 --> 00:33:15,040 My car is out of gas. 393 00:33:15,040 --> 00:33:16,160 We're running late. 394 00:33:16,160 --> 00:33:19,040 Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up. 395 00:33:19,040 --> 00:33:23,760 And then if you have kids, multiply that by 20. 396 00:33:23,760 --> 00:33:29,840 Where was my remembrance of Jesus during all of that? 397 00:33:29,840 --> 00:33:36,600 Or what about when you get here and you're in the sanctuary, right, during service? 398 00:33:36,600 --> 00:33:41,260 This is how my thoughts track, right? 399 00:33:41,260 --> 00:33:44,040 What is that person doing over there? 400 00:33:44,040 --> 00:33:46,680 Who is that guy with the funny hair? 401 00:33:46,680 --> 00:33:48,920 Who's that guy without hair? 402 00:33:48,920 --> 00:33:53,280 Why does the worship team insist on picking that song? 403 00:33:53,280 --> 00:33:56,500 The sound guys are not on their game today. 404 00:33:56,500 --> 00:33:59,560 The media guys can't seem to flip the slides. 405 00:33:59,560 --> 00:34:02,560 Genesis again? 406 00:34:02,560 --> 00:34:04,280 It's too hot in here. 407 00:34:04,280 --> 00:34:06,120 It's too cold in here. 408 00:34:06,120 --> 00:34:10,400 I wonder how long this is going to go today. 409 00:34:10,400 --> 00:34:13,360 What do I want for lunch? 410 00:34:13,360 --> 00:34:15,040 Communion too? 411 00:34:15,040 --> 00:34:18,800 Maybe they'll cut the last song. 412 00:34:18,800 --> 00:34:24,000 How can we possibly lose our memory of Jesus? 413 00:34:24,000 --> 00:34:27,720 The preacher Charles Spurgeon put it this way. 414 00:34:27,720 --> 00:34:35,240 He said, alas, alas, our thoughts, if left to themselves, are as a cage of unclean birds 415 00:34:35,240 --> 00:34:39,320 or a den of wild beasts. 416 00:34:39,320 --> 00:34:45,440 And as Hercules needed a stream of water to clean out the filthy stable, so our Lord Jesus 417 00:34:45,440 --> 00:34:53,240 Christ needed to pour rivers of water out of His own heart to cleanse the foul stable 418 00:34:53,240 --> 00:34:57,280 of our corrupt thoughts. 419 00:34:57,280 --> 00:35:00,020 And that's the key, right? 420 00:35:00,020 --> 00:35:05,040 We can't remember Jesus without exercising the tools and the power of the Spirit that 421 00:35:05,040 --> 00:35:07,120 He's given us. 422 00:35:07,120 --> 00:35:09,720 And what are those tools? 423 00:35:09,720 --> 00:35:14,960 Well, it's as we've been saying since the very beginning. 424 00:35:14,960 --> 00:35:21,740 The tools are our remembrance and deep reflection on the Word of God, our testimony of the work 425 00:35:21,740 --> 00:35:30,080 of God in our lives and the testimony of others and the work of the Spirit of God in and around 426 00:35:30,080 --> 00:35:31,640 us. 427 00:35:31,640 --> 00:35:36,000 And it's only through the exercising of those tools and the power of the Spirit that we 428 00:35:36,000 --> 00:35:42,280 can enter into a true remembrance of Jesus. 429 00:35:42,280 --> 00:35:49,560 Not the surface factual cursory remembrance of His existence, but the deep remembrance 430 00:35:49,560 --> 00:36:00,320 of all He was and all He is and all He will be and all He has done and all He is doing 431 00:36:00,320 --> 00:36:06,360 and all that He will do as Lord and King of all. 432 00:36:06,360 --> 00:36:18,880 A true flooding of your heart, soul, and mind of His very being and essence. 433 00:36:18,880 --> 00:36:24,880 And what is the effect of beholding Him in His glory, His power and strength and remembering 434 00:36:24,880 --> 00:36:34,240 all that He's done in order to ransom your soul from hell and judgment? 435 00:36:34,240 --> 00:36:41,000 Well when we focus on Him and acknowledge His position as Lord and King of all, our 436 00:36:41,000 --> 00:36:48,360 Savior, our forgiveness, the one who bore our stripes, our sacrifice for our sin, our 437 00:36:48,360 --> 00:36:53,000 comfort, and the very air we breathe. 438 00:36:53,000 --> 00:37:02,480 It's at that point that humility comes in and we see our position compared to His and 439 00:37:02,480 --> 00:37:13,080 realize the depths and unthinkable lengths that Jesus went to redeem us, to redeem me, 440 00:37:13,080 --> 00:37:21,920 a wretch, unworthy of even a glance from the Creator King. 441 00:37:21,920 --> 00:37:28,800 And it's out of this humility that gratitude and praise can be birthed. 442 00:37:28,800 --> 00:37:37,440 It's at this moment that I slide off the throne of my heart and the King takes His rightful 443 00:37:37,440 --> 00:37:39,760 place. 444 00:37:39,760 --> 00:37:49,920 Now I can worship and proclaim my remembrance of Him from my heart and my soul and my mind 445 00:37:49,920 --> 00:37:59,800 and mouth for His good pleasure and as my testimony to the world. 446 00:37:59,800 --> 00:38:07,100 So I'm sure some of you are saying, Pastor Ron, that all sounds great, but how do we 447 00:38:07,100 --> 00:38:12,720 begin to practically put this into practice? 448 00:38:12,720 --> 00:38:21,360 Well I don't know what to tell you because how you begin is the same way you begin with 449 00:38:21,360 --> 00:38:30,320 so many other points of your walk with God and that is it begins with opening up His 450 00:38:30,320 --> 00:38:33,600 Word daily. 451 00:38:33,600 --> 00:38:35,420 No way around it. 452 00:38:35,420 --> 00:38:41,480 You have to open up His Word to see Him. 453 00:38:41,480 --> 00:38:48,600 You have to read what He reveals about Himself in that Word. 454 00:38:48,600 --> 00:38:54,180 The entirety of the Book speaks of Him. 455 00:38:54,180 --> 00:38:58,640 And I'm not merely talking about reading it like you would a grocery list or a history 456 00:38:58,640 --> 00:39:00,600 book. 457 00:39:00,600 --> 00:39:05,760 I'm talking about reading His Word with the intention of finding Him in the pages and 458 00:39:05,760 --> 00:39:11,520 then the testimonies within the Book just like the disciples did when remembering the 459 00:39:11,520 --> 00:39:18,640 words of the Torah, the story of the first Passover, the Psalms, the prophets, just like 460 00:39:18,640 --> 00:39:27,320 the early church did and just like each of us is encouraged and instructed to do. 461 00:39:27,320 --> 00:39:29,220 Sometimes it's easy. 462 00:39:29,220 --> 00:39:31,040 It's just there. 463 00:39:31,040 --> 00:39:37,040 When you read it, you see God, you see Jesus in all His glory and wonder. 464 00:39:37,040 --> 00:39:41,200 But sometimes it takes more work. 465 00:39:41,200 --> 00:39:43,360 But He is always there. 466 00:39:43,360 --> 00:39:47,840 I'm going to give you one example real quick. 467 00:39:47,840 --> 00:39:55,360 You know when Pastor Nathan so graciously asked me to teach today and this was a number 468 00:39:55,360 --> 00:40:05,080 of weeks ago, I had an idea of where I was going to go and what I was going to teach. 469 00:40:05,080 --> 00:40:10,680 What I thought I was going to teach about was in the Book of Ruth. 470 00:40:10,680 --> 00:40:16,960 I have a history with the Book of Ruth because when I first started coming to Hosanna, before 471 00:40:16,960 --> 00:40:22,660 then I had been at several different types of churches and denominations throughout my 472 00:40:22,660 --> 00:40:26,320 early life. 473 00:40:26,320 --> 00:40:35,800 It wasn't until I was here at Hosanna that I heard the Word preached verse by verse and 474 00:40:35,800 --> 00:40:39,320 chapter by chapter in context. 475 00:40:39,320 --> 00:40:50,040 It wasn't until that journey that I started to actually see, really see God in it all. 476 00:40:50,040 --> 00:40:57,840 I think the second book that we were setting in when I first started here was the Book 477 00:40:57,840 --> 00:40:58,840 of Ruth. 478 00:40:58,840 --> 00:41:04,960 The Book of Ruth is a beautiful story and I'm excited to eventually get to that book 479 00:41:04,960 --> 00:41:07,480 too. 480 00:41:07,480 --> 00:41:15,480 But the Book of Ruth, just as a quick reminder, is the story of Ruth who was a Gentile widow 481 00:41:15,480 --> 00:41:20,920 who had a mother-in-law named Naomi and famine in the land. 482 00:41:20,920 --> 00:41:29,880 They came back to Israel and Ruth committed herself to taking care of Naomi and staying 483 00:41:29,880 --> 00:41:37,680 with her and Naomi's God being her God and putting away her Gentile gods for forever. 484 00:41:37,680 --> 00:41:45,400 And then in the story, there's this question of what's going to happen to Ruth as a widow 485 00:41:45,400 --> 00:41:48,840 and the Lord leads her to Boaz. 486 00:41:48,840 --> 00:41:55,360 Boaz has the title that will be brought forth and is often brought forth that he is the 487 00:41:55,360 --> 00:41:57,760 kinsman redeemer. 488 00:41:57,760 --> 00:42:06,160 Boaz is the picture of Christ and Ruth is the picture of us in our lost state and the 489 00:42:06,160 --> 00:42:08,320 one who is being redeemed. 490 00:42:08,320 --> 00:42:14,480 It's a beautiful, beautiful story, not just because it's a beautiful story about Ruth 491 00:42:14,480 --> 00:42:19,880 and Boaz, but it's a beautiful story because it's about Christ and us, right? 492 00:42:19,880 --> 00:42:25,880 So I'm reading through the Book of Ruth and it's been a while since I had read the book 493 00:42:25,880 --> 00:42:30,240 and I'm just going through it verse by verse and I can't tell you how many times I just 494 00:42:30,240 --> 00:42:41,880 had to stop and go, wow, he's right there. 495 00:42:41,880 --> 00:42:44,600 God is right there. 496 00:42:44,600 --> 00:42:50,640 And one verse in particular where Ruth has gone into the threshing floor and she's laying 497 00:42:50,640 --> 00:42:56,760 at Boaz's feet at night and he wakes up in the morning and finds her there and it's like, 498 00:42:56,760 --> 00:42:57,760 what are you doing here? 499 00:42:57,760 --> 00:43:00,760 Well, don't worry about it. 500 00:43:00,760 --> 00:43:02,680 I'll take care of this. 501 00:43:02,680 --> 00:43:06,080 And what the verse says, and I don't have it in front of me, but in essence what the 502 00:43:06,080 --> 00:43:14,840 verse says is that Boaz looks at Ruth and he says, Ruth, I have seen you and I know 503 00:43:14,840 --> 00:43:21,840 what you have done in committing to Naomi and the love that you've given her and I've 504 00:43:21,840 --> 00:43:31,360 seen how you've committed yourself to our God and I've seen how you have conducted yourself 505 00:43:31,360 --> 00:43:39,000 in all of that and you're respected and admired by many. 506 00:43:39,000 --> 00:43:45,320 And then he says, stay here, close to me. 507 00:43:45,320 --> 00:43:53,160 Don't go anywhere or with anyone else. 508 00:43:53,160 --> 00:44:12,240 And then he says, I know what has to be done and I will do it until it is completed. 509 00:44:12,240 --> 00:44:22,120 That's the kind of reading that I'm describing because how can you not see the Lord? 510 00:44:22,120 --> 00:44:25,320 How can you not see yourself in that place? 511 00:44:25,320 --> 00:44:36,360 And where he says, I've seen you and you've committed yourself to me and so I tell you, 512 00:44:36,360 --> 00:44:38,880 do not leave me. 513 00:44:38,880 --> 00:44:42,040 Stay close. 514 00:44:42,040 --> 00:44:45,640 I need to perfect your salvation. 515 00:44:45,640 --> 00:44:49,000 I know what has to be done. 516 00:44:49,000 --> 00:44:52,040 I know what I have to sacrifice. 517 00:44:52,040 --> 00:45:08,440 I know what I have to give to pay and I will do it until it is completed. 518 00:45:08,440 --> 00:45:15,720 Maybe you're sitting there and you're going, Ron, you're really emotional and I'm just 519 00:45:15,720 --> 00:45:16,720 not that way. 520 00:45:16,720 --> 00:45:19,960 I'm just not built that way. 521 00:45:19,960 --> 00:45:26,360 And you know, I can only say this to you, is that when I get emotional about seeing 522 00:45:26,360 --> 00:45:30,160 God in the Bible, that comes unbidden. 523 00:45:30,160 --> 00:45:32,800 I am not looking to be that way. 524 00:45:32,800 --> 00:45:36,680 It's downright embarrassing to do that, right? 525 00:45:36,680 --> 00:45:37,680 I want to be strong. 526 00:45:37,680 --> 00:45:45,360 I want to be seen as strong and all that, but it's simply a response to the revelation 527 00:45:45,360 --> 00:45:51,120 of God's greatness and His goodness towards me. 528 00:45:51,120 --> 00:46:00,280 Me, a sinful and undeserving worm who doesn't have to die now. 529 00:46:00,280 --> 00:46:07,280 Again, it's not just the head knowledge of knowing the fact of it all, but knowing it, 530 00:46:07,280 --> 00:46:14,600 truly knowing it and feeling it through every fiber of my being, my heart, my soul, and 531 00:46:14,600 --> 00:46:15,600 my mind. 532 00:46:15,600 --> 00:46:22,080 You know, I think about the angels in heaven and in Revelation, Revelation 4 verse 8, and 533 00:46:22,080 --> 00:46:31,000 you've read this before with me before, and it says, day and night they never stop saying, 534 00:46:31,000 --> 00:46:43,400 holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was, who is, and who is to come. 535 00:46:43,400 --> 00:46:49,040 Such is the power and the outcome of seeing the glory of God, even the smallest glimpse 536 00:46:49,040 --> 00:46:55,320 of it, and I think these angels know more about it than we currently do. 537 00:46:55,320 --> 00:47:02,720 And I hope that someday we're all right there in the same place, but until then, the only 538 00:47:02,720 --> 00:47:10,320 thing I can tell you is practice, practice, practice. 539 00:47:10,320 --> 00:47:15,720 Just be on our guard not to fall into the place of the church in Ephesus in Revelation 540 00:47:15,720 --> 00:47:21,240 2, who had forgotten their first love. 541 00:47:21,240 --> 00:47:28,120 And if you're still not convinced or don't believe that the memory of Jesus is contained 542 00:47:28,120 --> 00:47:34,480 in the very life manual God has given us, the Bible, His Word, I'd like to read something 543 00:47:34,480 --> 00:47:41,520 for you that was recited many years ago by a young man named Josiah Willis from Bent 544 00:47:41,520 --> 00:47:44,600 Tree Fellowship in Texas. 545 00:47:44,600 --> 00:47:50,880 And perhaps you've heard this before, you watched the video and saw it, but let me tell 546 00:47:50,880 --> 00:47:55,120 you, this bears remembrance. 547 00:47:55,120 --> 00:47:56,120 Okay? 548 00:47:56,120 --> 00:47:59,760 You ready? 549 00:47:59,760 --> 00:48:06,320 We're going to see how far I can get, how far I can get. 550 00:48:06,320 --> 00:48:12,160 And this is what it says, it's called Jesus Throughout the Bible. 551 00:48:12,160 --> 00:48:19,840 In Genesis, Jesus Christ is the breath of life. 552 00:48:19,840 --> 00:48:22,920 In Exodus, He is the Passover lamb. 553 00:48:22,920 --> 00:48:26,000 In Leviticus, He is our high priest. 554 00:48:26,000 --> 00:48:30,720 In Numbers, He is the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. 555 00:48:30,720 --> 00:48:34,320 In Deuteronomy, He is the prophet like unto Moses. 556 00:48:34,320 --> 00:48:37,880 In Joshua, He is the captain of our salvation. 557 00:48:37,880 --> 00:48:41,280 In Judges, He is the judge and lawgiver. 558 00:48:41,280 --> 00:48:55,040 In Ruth, He is our kinsman, Redeemer. 559 00:48:55,040 --> 00:49:01,160 In 1 and 2 Samuel, He is our trusted prophet. 560 00:49:01,160 --> 00:49:04,440 In Kings and Chronicles, He is the reigning king. 561 00:49:04,440 --> 00:49:09,600 In Ezra and Nehemiah, He is the rebuilder of the broken down walls of human life. 562 00:49:09,600 --> 00:49:12,400 In Esther, He is our Mordecai. 563 00:49:12,400 --> 00:49:20,440 In Job, He is our ever living Redeemer. 564 00:49:20,440 --> 00:49:23,040 In Psalms, He is our shepherd. 565 00:49:23,040 --> 00:49:27,200 In Proverbs and Ecclesiastics, He is our wisdom. 566 00:49:27,200 --> 00:49:30,880 In the Song of Solomon, He is the loving bridegroom. 567 00:49:30,880 --> 00:49:33,280 In Isaiah, He is the prince of peace. 568 00:49:33,280 --> 00:49:35,960 In Jeremiah, He is the righteous branch. 569 00:49:35,960 --> 00:49:38,960 In Lamentations, He is our weeping prophet. 570 00:49:38,960 --> 00:49:43,080 In Ezekiel, He is the wonderful four-faced man. 571 00:49:43,080 --> 00:49:48,120 In Daniel, He is the fourth man in life's fiery furnace. 572 00:49:48,120 --> 00:49:53,100 In Hosea, He is the faithful husband, forever married to the backslider. 573 00:49:53,100 --> 00:49:57,120 In Joel, He is the baptizer, the Holy Ghost in fire. 574 00:49:57,120 --> 00:49:59,240 In Amos, He is our burden bearer. 575 00:49:59,240 --> 00:50:02,440 In Obadiah, He is mighty to save. 576 00:50:02,440 --> 00:50:05,620 In Jonah, He is our great foreign missionary. 577 00:50:05,620 --> 00:50:08,800 In Micah, He is the messenger of beautiful feet. 578 00:50:08,800 --> 00:50:11,440 In Nahum, He is our strength and shield. 579 00:50:11,440 --> 00:50:17,800 In Habakkuk, He is God's evangelist crying, Revive thy works in the midst of the years. 580 00:50:17,800 --> 00:50:20,320 In Zephaniah, He is our Savior. 581 00:50:20,320 --> 00:50:24,240 In Haggai, He is the restorer of God's lost heritage. 582 00:50:24,240 --> 00:50:29,600 In Zechariah, He is the fountain opened up in the house of David for sin and uncleanliness. 583 00:50:29,600 --> 00:50:34,860 And in Malachi, He is the son of righteousness, rising with healing in His wings. 584 00:50:34,860 --> 00:50:37,640 In Matthew, He is the King of the Jews. 585 00:50:37,640 --> 00:50:40,620 In Mark, He is the servant. 586 00:50:40,620 --> 00:50:44,600 In Luke, He is the son of man, feeling what you feel. 587 00:50:44,600 --> 00:50:47,000 In John, He is the son of God. 588 00:50:47,000 --> 00:50:49,440 In Acts, He is the Savior of the world. 589 00:50:49,440 --> 00:50:52,080 In Romans, He is the righteousness of God. 590 00:50:52,080 --> 00:50:55,640 In 1 Corinthians, He is the rock and father of Israel. 591 00:50:55,640 --> 00:50:59,320 In 2 Corinthians, He is the triumphant one given victory. 592 00:50:59,320 --> 00:51:01,480 In Galatians, He is your liberty. 593 00:51:01,480 --> 00:51:03,240 He has set you free. 594 00:51:03,240 --> 00:51:07,880 In Ephesians, He is the head of the church. 595 00:51:07,880 --> 00:51:10,840 In Philippians, He is your joy. 596 00:51:10,840 --> 00:51:13,720 In Colossians, He is your completeness. 597 00:51:13,720 --> 00:51:16,880 In 1 and 2 Thessalonians, He is your hope. 598 00:51:16,880 --> 00:51:19,440 In 1 Timothy, He is your faith. 599 00:51:19,440 --> 00:51:22,160 In 2 Timothy, He is your stability. 600 00:51:22,160 --> 00:51:24,000 In Titus, He is truth. 601 00:51:24,000 --> 00:51:26,400 In Philemon, He is your benefactor. 602 00:51:26,400 --> 00:51:29,600 In Hebrews, He is your perfection. 603 00:51:29,600 --> 00:51:32,900 In James, He is the power behind your faith. 604 00:51:32,900 --> 00:51:35,480 In 1 Peter, He is your example. 605 00:51:35,480 --> 00:51:38,380 In 2 Peter, He is your purity. 606 00:51:38,380 --> 00:51:40,960 In 1 John, He is your life. 607 00:51:40,960 --> 00:51:43,440 In 2 John, He is your pattern. 608 00:51:43,440 --> 00:51:46,460 In 3 John, He is your motivation. 609 00:51:46,460 --> 00:51:49,560 In Jude, He is the foundation of your faith. 610 00:51:49,560 --> 00:52:04,640 And in Revelation, He is your coming king. 611 00:52:04,640 --> 00:52:08,940 He is the first and the last, the beginning and the end. 612 00:52:08,940 --> 00:52:12,160 He is the keeper of creation and the creator of all. 613 00:52:12,160 --> 00:52:16,120 He is the architect of the universe and the manager of all times. 614 00:52:16,120 --> 00:52:20,520 He always was, He always is, and He always will be. 615 00:52:20,520 --> 00:52:25,480 Unmoved, unchanged, undefeated, and never undone. 616 00:52:25,480 --> 00:52:27,480 He was bruised and brought healing. 617 00:52:27,480 --> 00:52:29,360 He was pierced in His pain. 618 00:52:29,360 --> 00:52:31,720 He was persecuted and brought freedom. 619 00:52:31,720 --> 00:52:33,720 He was dead and brought life. 620 00:52:33,720 --> 00:52:35,440 He is risen and brings power. 621 00:52:35,440 --> 00:52:37,180 He reigns and brings peace. 622 00:52:37,180 --> 00:52:38,920 The world can't understand Him. 623 00:52:38,920 --> 00:52:40,680 The armies can't defeat Him. 624 00:52:40,680 --> 00:52:42,720 The schools can't explain Him. 625 00:52:42,720 --> 00:52:44,640 And the leaders can't ignore Him. 626 00:52:44,640 --> 00:52:46,080 Herod couldn't kill Him. 627 00:52:46,080 --> 00:52:48,560 The Pharisees couldn't confuse Him. 628 00:52:48,560 --> 00:52:49,960 People couldn't hold Him. 629 00:52:49,960 --> 00:52:51,640 Nero couldn't crush Him. 630 00:52:51,640 --> 00:52:53,600 Hitler couldn't silence Him. 631 00:52:53,600 --> 00:52:57,720 This age can't replace Him, and science can't explain Him away. 632 00:52:57,720 --> 00:53:01,440 He is life, love, longevity, and more. 633 00:53:01,440 --> 00:53:05,300 He is goodness, kindness, gentleness, and God. 634 00:53:05,300 --> 00:53:10,920 He is holy, righteous, mighty, powerful, and pure. 635 00:53:10,920 --> 00:53:14,420 His ways are right, and the Word is eternal. 636 00:53:14,420 --> 00:53:18,420 He is unchanging, and His mind is on me. 637 00:53:18,420 --> 00:53:20,520 He is my Redeemer. 638 00:53:20,520 --> 00:53:22,280 He is my Savior. 639 00:53:22,280 --> 00:53:24,040 He is my guide. 640 00:53:24,040 --> 00:53:25,780 He is my peace. 641 00:53:25,780 --> 00:53:27,560 He is my joy. 642 00:53:27,560 --> 00:53:29,420 He is my comfort. 643 00:53:29,420 --> 00:53:42,200 He is my Lord, and He rules my life. 644 00:53:42,200 --> 00:53:44,640 Let's pray. 645 00:53:44,640 --> 00:53:48,640 God, thank You. 646 00:53:48,640 --> 00:53:53,800 Thank You for reminding us of who You are. 647 00:53:53,800 --> 00:53:59,520 Thank You for reminding us of what You have done, what You are doing, and what You will 648 00:53:59,520 --> 00:54:01,460 do. 649 00:54:01,460 --> 00:54:04,520 Thank You that You have saved us and You have redeemed us. 650 00:54:04,520 --> 00:54:07,960 Thank You that You gave Your life for us as a sacrifice. 651 00:54:07,960 --> 00:54:12,920 God, we want to remember all of this about You and more. 652 00:54:12,920 --> 00:54:17,520 So Lord, thank You for Your Word that You've given us to always look back to. 653 00:54:17,520 --> 00:54:22,880 Thank You for the testimonies of those in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. 654 00:54:22,880 --> 00:54:24,160 Thank You for the teachings. 655 00:54:24,160 --> 00:54:30,480 Thank You for the letters and the encouragements within the words of the apostles and the letters 656 00:54:30,480 --> 00:54:31,860 to the church. 657 00:54:31,860 --> 00:54:37,500 Thank You, God, for the people that You surround us with today as we hear their testimonies 658 00:54:37,500 --> 00:54:44,400 of the wonderful works of God alive and in motion in the lives of Your people today. 659 00:54:44,400 --> 00:54:49,360 Thank You for what You have done in our lives and You continue to do in changing us and 660 00:54:49,360 --> 00:54:51,520 molding us and shaping us. 661 00:54:51,520 --> 00:54:58,480 Thank You, God, that You don't leave us where we begin, but You carry us forward until the 662 00:54:58,480 --> 00:55:02,600 work that You started is completed. 663 00:55:02,600 --> 00:55:12,040 Thank You, God, that You have given us the means and the tools to remember You that as 664 00:55:12,040 --> 00:55:21,040 we enter into a time of communion, that as You have commanded us and as we do this, we 665 00:55:21,040 --> 00:55:27,920 remember and do it in remembrance of You. 666 00:55:27,920 --> 00:55:28,920 Thank You. 667 00:55:28,920 --> 00:55:34,840 And it's in Jesus' name we pray, Amen. 668 00:55:34,840 --> 00:55:42,960 So with all of this now in mind, I'm going to ask the men of the communion board to go 669 00:55:42,960 --> 00:55:49,920 ahead and please come forward at this time as we gather together as the body of Christ, 670 00:55:49,920 --> 00:55:54,320 His bride at the Lord's table. 671 00:55:54,320 --> 00:56:04,220 And let us enter in through the totality of remembrance of who He is, what He has done, 672 00:56:04,220 --> 00:56:25,120 and what He is doing and what He will continue to do until all things are complete.