Towards A Memoriable Lord's Supper - [Ephesians 1:7-8a]

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How's your memory? Do you remember things well? Short -term memory?
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Long -term memory? Forget the details? Maybe you're a big picture person?
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Personally, I have forgotten and relearned Greek and Hebrew about four times now. Often we're just too busy, too much information, too careless.
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My mother died on June 3rd, 2005. And I used to think about her every day.
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Just the other day I was mad at myself that I have forgotten to think about my mother as often as I used to.
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I think about what she looked like. I've kind of forgotten what her voice sounds like. I'm kind of mad at myself.
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Well, on November 8th, it would have been my mother's 68th birthday, so I said to the kids the other day, we need to have a
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Grandma Carla celebration. Grandma Carla used to love to let the kids eat ice cream sandwiches for breakfast.
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And all kinds of other crazy things that only you grandparents know about regarding grandparents' license.
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And so on November 8th, this year, next week, we're going to have a Grandma Carla celebration day.
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And we're going to start off the morning with ice cream sandwiches. It is going to be a day of celebrating
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God's goodness to us by giving us a grandmother and we want to remember her. And our loving
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Creator, Jesus Christ, also knew we needed to remind ourselves of things, important things, by celebrations.
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After all, before us this morning, we have communion. The Lord's Table, the Lord's Supper before us, to help us remember something about someone who has done the greatest thing ever.
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Sadly, our memories are affected by the fall. We get busy and God in His faithful care for His people has reminded us with a celebration of what
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Jesus did in the form of the Lord's Table. I did a little research in the
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Bible looking up these two words, remind and remember. Just a sampling,
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Romans 15, 15. For I have written very boldly to you on some points so as to remind you again because of the grace that was given me from God.
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1 Corinthians 4, 17. For this reason I have sent you Timothy who is my beloved and faithful child in the
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Lord and he will remind you of my ways which are in Christ. 2
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Timothy 1 .6. For this reason I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God.
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2 Timothy 2 .14. Remind them, he's telling the pastor regarding the congregation, remind them of these things.
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Titus 3 .1. Remind them to be subject to rulers. 2
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Peter 1 .12. Therefore I shall always be ready to remind you of these things.
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And Jude verse 5. Now I desire to remind you though you know all things once for all.
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You know it but you need to be reminded. The word remember is found often.
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How about this one? Does this shock you? 2 Timothy 2 .8. Remember Jesus Christ.
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How could we forget? How could we forget our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus? And after all Paul is writing to a pastor.
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Pastor I'd like to remind you of something. Remember Jesus. Seems odd on one hand but we know by practice that we forget the most important things too often.
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That's why we have slogans for good temporal things. Remember Pearl Harbor. Remember the
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Alamo. Those are good things to remember. But compared to the work of Christ Jesus they're fleeting and inconsequential.
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Hear these words. For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you.
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That the Lord Jesus on the same night in which he was betrayed took bread. And when he had given thanks he broke it and said take eat.
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This is my body which is broken for you. Do this in what? Remembrance of me. In the same manner he also took the cup after supper saying this cup is the new covenant in my blood.
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This do as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup you proclaim the
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Lord's death till he comes. We need all to be reminded that Jesus Christ is our
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Lord and Savior. That he died in our place. That God validated his great work by raising him from the dead.
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The power of sin and death and hell could not stop Christ and we need to be reminded of that. Now often we'll have the communion before the sermon.
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But today I wanted to take the entire sermon time to remind you and to prepare your hearts. So that you might remember our
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Lord and Savior. At communion time right after the sermon. My Matthew sermon was all done.
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It was ready but I thought we just need to change that this morning. And to remember. To rehearse. To reflect.
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To reminisce. To recollect that Jesus Christ is our Savior, Redeemer and our friend.
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And to celebrate that and to be thankful. I get busy and have bills to pay. I get busy and have health issues.
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I get busy and everything gets reorganized for me. And today is going to be a good way to reprioritize the most important thing in our lives as Christians.
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Is that we deserve hell yet we don't have to go there. We used to be enemies and now we're friends.
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We used to be ungodly and now we're godly. We used to be helpless and the helper came. And we have been adopted into God's family based on Christ's work alone.
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We didn't earn it. We didn't deserve it. We couldn't merit it. We couldn't beg long enough for it. But God in His generosity and goodness said,
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I will grant you salvation. I've been thinking about hell a lot lately in Matthew 5 preaching through it.
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And so the other day I took a bike ride and I thought, for the whole bike ride I want to think about just this one thought. I deserve hell but I'm not going.
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That God has granted me forgiveness of sins. Instead of punishing me, He punished
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His Son in my place. Instead of having the just wrath of God poured out on me forever, it is poured out at Christ and now
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I am His Son. We need to be reminded of that. I thought, if I would have died before God would have saved me, what would have been my lot in eternity?
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Over the summer I went to San Francisco and I signed up for the
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Alcatraz swim. Swimming from Alcatraz Island to the pier there. And I thought
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I was pretty tough and everything. And I swam throughout the week and bike and do other things. And I thought, this would be a piece of cake.
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600 people get up at 5 in the morning and take the little ferry over.
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And I should have known I was in a big heap of worry and trouble is when they couldn't back up the ferry to the island because the waves were so big.
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It should have been my first thought. And I was just sitting there drinking my little energy drink and my little sport beans that they gave me in the little cliff bar thinking hardy -har -har, 1 .5
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miles, I swim 2 miles every week, get a shot, blah, blah, blah, no problem. Well, I jumped in the water at 58 degrees and the waves going up and down and all that to say,
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I started to swim and I began to panic. Now there was lifeboats all around to rescue and you can just give the wave to come and rescue me but you could easily drown.
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And as the 600 people spread out, so too do your lifeguards and rescuers.
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And I had three thoughts that went through my mind when I was in that water. Thought number one, no particular order of importance but this was the order of my mind.
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Number one, Everest is out. I always thought, wouldn't that be neat to climb
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Everest? Everest is out. Thought number two, can you imagine the horror of the men sunk by the
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Japanese torpedoes on the USS Indianapolis and having those men 50 a day eaten by sharks floating in the water.
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And my third thought, which was to me the epiphany of it all, was that in these swells going up and down, current going towards the
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Golden Gate Bridge at four miles an hour, up and down, frightened, scared, heart was just pumping,
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I thought I have a way to get rescued. But in the lake, our sea of fire, the lake of hell, there is no way out forever.
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I think that's been the most scared I've ever been in my life. And there was relief.
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I thought if I wave, at least I'm an alive dad, even though the kids are hoping to see dad swim up to shore, they're all standing waiting, but at least if I get to the shore alive, that's better than dead.
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I had a way out. Did I finish? Yes, I finished, but that's beside the point.
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I just thought there is no way out. There is no rescue for those that have said,
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I hate Jesus Christ on earth. And God grants them what they desire forever in hell.
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Yet we have been purchased with a price. We have been redeemed. We have been saved. We have been ransomed. We have been the object of God's love as He said, here is a way to exalt the glory of the
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Trinity, to show how great the Father, Son and the Spirit are. We will take the corrupt, the depraved and rescue them and turn the rebels into relatives.
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And that's exactly what we want to focus on today before we come to the Lord's table, to be reminded of the fact of who we were and what we deserved, yet how great
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God was in His mercy and love towards us as Christians. That's why communion is not just we want to examine ourselves to make sure there is no sin in our lives.
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I get that and it's good. But it is a celebration. It is a celebration that should trump some kind of Grandma Carla celebration with ice cream sandwiches in the morning.
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They're good as far as they go, but here we have forever the privilege to bow before the
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Lord and ascribe honor and worship and the due that He should have towards His name.
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R .L. Wheeler said, If I had the wisdom of Solomon, the patience of John, the meekness of Moses, the strength of Samson, the obedience of Abraham, the compassion of Joseph, the tears of Jeremiah, the poetic skill of David, the prophetic voice of Elijah, the courage of Daniel, the greatness of John the
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Baptist, and the endurance and love of Paul, I would still need redemption through Christ's blood, the forgiveness of sins.
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Turn your Bibles please to Ephesians chapter 1. It's been about four years since we've been in Ephesians 1. And I want to remind you in verse 7 and in part of 8 that we have a great
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Savior who has granted us a great redemption. This is my deathbed book.
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If I'm on my deathbed sometime, you come and read to me Ephesians 1 and read it over and over and over.
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Matter of fact, you can only just read me one sentence over and over and that is Ephesians 1 verses 3 through 14, one complete sentence in the original language, 202 words of just God exalting grace, a high view of God, deep devotion to God.
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And we come to the book of Ephesians and Paul even though it has been over 20 years since he has seen
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Jesus face to face on the Damascus road where the affolging, blazing glory of God shone forth in Paul's face and in his soul, he has never gotten over his love for Christ.
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Rather, he has never gotten over Christ's love for him. And this is a great reminder for us today to celebrate that we are forgiven in Christ, that we are redeemed.
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We will sing later, redeemed how I what? Hate to proclaim it. No, redeemed how
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I love to proclaim it, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. This is good for us to be reprioritizing.
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It's not the issues of life and relationships and health and money that are the most important.
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They will all be gone. But one day you will stand before God naked and exposed and your only hope will be the work of another, the work of the
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Prince of God, as it were, the Son of God who has granted us full salvation. And even now when
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Satan says, how could that man sin and be called a Christian? We have an advocate. We have a lawyer who represents us and says,
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I have paid for everything that person has done. And furthermore, I have given them my own righteousness and cloaked us with it.
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This is my deathbed book. This is my deathbed sentence. Ephesians chapter 1 verses 3 through 14, an exaltation of the triune
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God. And it says in verse 3, to set up the context a little bit, blessed be the
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God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.
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This word blessed means to speak well of, to extol, to a eulogy at a funeral means to speak good words, to praise.
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That's exactly what this word means. God is to be praised for everything
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He has done. And God doesn't give out piecemeal. He just pours out His love towards His people. And this passage is intended to rouse you to thanksgiving, to praise, to remember who
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Christ is. And if you're not a Christian, I hope it rouses you to say there is no other hope for you.
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Today is the day to look at the only sin bearer. Either you will bear your sins forever in eternity, or Christ will bear them in your stead.
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And that's what this really is, a hymn of praise. And it's Trinitarian. Verses 4 -6, it praises the
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Father who selects or elects. In verses 7 -12, it praises the
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Son who sacrifices. And then in verses 13 -14, it praises the
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Spirit who seals. It's all about what God has done for us. And you say, what about my part?
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Well, your part's in there. In between verse 14 and 15, in those blank spaces.
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It's not in there, in other words. Our part is God has given us this grace. Yes, we have received it.
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But God is the active one. We are the passive ones. If we wanted some praise, we wouldn't be in there.
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But God is the one who has done everything. And all these words are active and show how God has done this for us when we couldn't.
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It's like a hymn, really. Three stanzas. It's almost like praise God from whom all blessings flow.
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Doxology. Praise Father, 4 -6. Son, 7 -12. Spirit, 13 and 14.
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Trinitarian praise for a Trinitarian salvation. And it should make us praise.
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Frankly, my notes say there is no excuse for a praise -less Christian. You are a walking contradiction.
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He has done so much. And what we're going to focus on today is not the Father's selection or the Spirit's sealing, but the
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Son's sacrifice found in verses 7 and 8. Let me just read you those verses first.
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In Him, Christ, we have redemption through His blood and forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of His grace, which
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He lavished on us. This morning, five truths about Christ Jesus that should help you remember
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Him and His glory when we come to the communion table. As you know, we come once a month to the communion table, and if you're not careful, you just go through the what?
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The motions. These are five words that will help you be reminded about how great Christ is so that you might praise
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Him, that you might come to the Lord's table blessed and impressed with what Jesus did.
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It's five salvation truths that you should remember to make communion more meaningful.
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Number one, you should remember Christ's death and saving work as exclusive.
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First words, exclusive. Remember Christ's death and saving work as exclusive. In other words,
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Jesus did what no other person could do. No other so -called God could do or person could do.
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Do you see that in verses 7? It's an implied truth, but still truthful in the Scripture. And in here, in Him, Christ, we have redemption.
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It is exclusive because, number one, no one else is sinless. Who else is sinless? If you're going to redeem someone and you're sinful, you should redeem yourself first.
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But since Jesus is sinless, He can redeem other people. Did you notice the text?
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It does not say in self we have redemption, in Buddha, in Moses, in the
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Pope, in Protestants, in John Calvin, in John MacArthur, in being a good person, in Ellen G.
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White, in Joseph Smith, in society, in education. It doesn't say any of that.
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It is in Christ. Salvation is only in Christ. He is what? The way, the truth, and the life.
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No one comes to Christ, to the Father, except through Christ. He is sinless.
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There's no one else sinless. If you want to find another religious leader to save you from your sins, pick one that has no sins.
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And Hebrews chapter 4 says, Of only Christ, but one who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.
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Jesus is the sinless one, so He can rescue us because we are sinners. And in an age of pluralism, every road makes it.
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In the age that as long as you die, you go straight to heaven. This is different.
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Paul is saying, from God's revelation to him, and now through the Scriptures to us, it is only in Christ.
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So when we come to the communion table, we should be rejoicing because we would have no other hope if Jesus didn't do it.
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There's no plan B. It's exclusive. His death and saving work is only through His Son.
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Secondly, no one else is fully human. It's exclusive, not just because He's the only sinless one, because no one else is fully human.
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How can someone represent you if they're not like you? That is to say, how can someone stand in your place if they're not human?
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I have a dog, and I'm not a dog. I can't stand in place of a dog. And yet God, who is eternal
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God, a Spirit, in time long ago made a plan with the other members of the
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Trinity that one member of the Son would cloak himself with full humanity and come die in our place.
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No one else is fully human. You have to have a human to die for you. Hebrews 2 .17
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says, Therefore Jesus had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.
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You have to have a God who is not just sinless, but you have to have a God who can actually be human as well, therefore the incarnation.
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Not only that, Jesus' death is exclusive because no one else is fully God. Remember the
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Passion movie came out a while ago? And everybody talked about the Passion movie. Well, that's fine.
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I'm glad people were talking. But 30 ,000 other Jews were crucified besides Jesus.
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What made Jesus' crucifixion different than 29 ,999 other Jews who were crucified by the
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Roman imperialists? Only one thing. Jesus didn't die for His own sins.
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He was dying for the sins of all those who would believe. Yes, but Jesus was fully
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God and He bore the weight of God's judgment at Calvary, not just man's judgment on the cross.
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He was fully God. Jesus had to be fully God so that His death could be adequate to give
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His righteousness to everybody who would ever believe. That is to say His divine resources could then apply the blessings of salvation to all those who would ever come to Christ by faith.
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And Jesus is obviously God. Romans 9 .5 says that Christ according to the flesh who is overall God blessed forever.
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He had to be sinless. He had to be fully human and He had to be fully divine and that's what we celebrate during communion.
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No one else could do that. Furthermore, He's exclusive in His salvation because no one else fully pleases the
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Father. Can you imagine always pleasing your dad? Can you imagine that, Luke? Always and forever pleasing your dad.
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Can you imagine that, Haley, Maddie, Grace? Remember the
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Aaronic blessing? May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine upon you.
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You see your son or your daughter doing something well and your face just beams.
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It just smiles. Oh, you make my face shine. And the father and the son relationship always was that way.
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At Jesus' baptism, Matthew 3, and suddenly a voice from heaven said, This is my beloved
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Son in whom I am well pleased. At the transfiguration, while He was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them and suddenly a voice came out of a cloud saying,
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This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.
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And Jesus' life was pleasing and His death was so pleasing that God raised Him from the dead,
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Romans 4 says. Jesus' death alone can pay for our salvation.
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It's exclusive. It's exclusive for another reason and that is no one else can mediate between sinful men and Holy God.
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Who else could do it? Who else could stand before you and God? You know the verse very well, 1
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Timothy 2, For there is one God and one mediator also between God and men, the man
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Messiah Jesus who gave Himself a ransom for all.
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Salvation should be in the forefront of our mind when we come to the communion table and we should remember it was
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Jesus alone exclusively for forgiveness of sins. I love the story about the father in Spain.
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I first heard this story from Paul Avery. His teenage son had a relationship with the father and there was a break of fellowship.
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His father wanted to find his rebellious son but he had moved away, he couldn't find him.
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Finally in Madrid, in his last gasp effort to find his son, he put an ad in the newspaper.
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Here's what the ad read in Spain. Dear Paco, please meet me in front of the newspaper office at noon all is forgiven.
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I love you, your father. The next day at noon in front of the newspaper office, 800
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Pacos showed up seeking forgiveness and love from their fathers. That forgiveness is found exclusively in Christ and when we come to the
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Lord's table we should all be reminded it is Christ plus no one, Christ plus nothing.
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Lots of people selling inclusivism these days, lots of ways to get to heaven but Jesus said enter through the narrow gate for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction and there are many who enter through it.
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Not the labors of my hands could fill the laws demands could my zeal no respite know could my tears forever flow for sin could not atone thou must save and thou alone.
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When you come to the Lord's table just in a little while you will remember that it is an exclusive death.
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Second truth about Jesus Christ that if you remember it will make communion more meaningful is not only
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Christ's death was exclusive Christ's death was effective. It worked. It wasn't just exclusive, it was effective.
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Do you see in your passage in Ephesians 1 .7? In Him we have a possibility of redemption.
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We have potentiality of redemption. We hope with our fingers crossed behind our back we have redemption.
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Maybe God has a good day gets up out of the right side of the bed He will have redemption. In Him, absolutely those are all wrong translations but the right one is we have redemption.
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It is effective. Why? Well, number one, it fully satisfies God's justice. Christ's death fully satisfied
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God's justice and God doesn't get into double jeopardy. I'll make my son pay and I'll make you pay as well.
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If Jesus pays for your sins they are what? Paid in full. Redemption basically means emancipation either of slaves or prisoners with the ransom price.
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Jesus gives us redemption by being the ransom price Himself. Titus 2 .14
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speaks of the same truth who gave Himself for us that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself a people for His own possession.
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Ransom has been paid. We were sinners in a slave market of sin sold out to the world, to ourselves, to the flesh and God up in heaven just winks at our sin kind of like Oh God part 1, 2, and 3.
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Grandpa God. No. God's justice demands payment.
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I love this. Professor Edwin Keedy of the University of Pennsylvania Law School for 20 years wrote two numbers up on the chalkboard.
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He wrote the number 2 and the number 4 and then he would ask his audience what's the solution?
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One might yell 6. Another might yell 2. Somebody else would shout out 8. And Keedy every time for 20 years would shake his head and say gentlemen unless you know what the problem is you can't possibly find the answer.
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The problem is addressed. The problem that is addressed is that God's justice is equal to His love and yes
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He loves sinners but He's also a just God and when God's laws are broken somebody has to pay.
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And Christ's death was so effective that He paid for those laws that were broken and God's then justice said
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I can't double enforce punishment so you have effectively made redemption and ransom.
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It's also effective because Jesus was our kinsman redeemer. Did you know by Jewish law a slave who could not free himself could be freed by a relative?
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And that's exactly what Jesus did. He did not make it possible or potential for us to be saved.
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He obtained release by the payment of His own life. He made propitiation.
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He made redemption. He made reconciliation. Not possible but He actually did it.
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B .B. Warfield said there is no of the titles of Christ which is more precious to Christians than redeemer and I believe that.
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How do we make communion more meaningful? 1. Remember Christ's death was exclusive. 2.
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Effective. 3. Christ's death and saving work was expensive. Look there in verse 7 if you will
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Ephesians 1 .7 It's not just exclusive, Him alone. It's not just effective. It worked.
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God was pleased but also it was expensive. Christ's death in our place was costly.
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The passage in 1 .7 says we have redemption through His what? Through His blood.
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This answers the question what was the price of redemption? What did Jesus have to pay?
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And it was expensive for lots of reasons. Let me give you a few. 1. Knowing where Jesus came from it was expensive.
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That is to say do you remember Christ's prior state before the incarnation? Although He existed in the form of God He did not regard equality with God as a thing to be grasped but He emptied
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Himself. How? By taking the form of a bondservant and being made in the likeness of men.
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Can you imagine how great it was when Christ the second person of the Trinity in divine triune fellowship said
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I'll cloak myself with feeble, frail humanity. It was also expensive because it cost
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Him His life in a vicious way. Brutally. And that's what you should think of when you see the word blood.
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I don't know what you think about when you hear these words if I never lived in America or couldn't speak
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English or didn't know about Christianity and I walked into a church and they sang nothing but the blood of Jesus.
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And they would say things like are you washed in the blood? There's power in the blood. I mean what do you think about?
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They're fine to sing and I'm glad to know what blood represents but what does Paul mean when he says blood?
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Are you washed in the blood? Is this kind of like some Charlton Heston Omega Man movie in the 1960s where he's kind of like faux crucified, still alive and his blood goes into that fountain and anybody who gets that watery blood fountain mixture and gets it doesn't have those really spooky alien eyes anymore.
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Not that I would ever watch such garbage but I have been told. What does the hymn writer mean?
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More importantly what does Paul the Apostle mean when he says blood? It's like the one person said
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I like Christianity except all that blood stuff. Well it's not what's in blood and in my research
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I found the composition of blood contains red blood cells white blood cells and platelets.
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It's not that. Paul surprisingly was thinking like what? A Jew.
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Paul was thinking like a Jew and what would a Jew think? A Jew would think like this and without the shedding of blood there is what?
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No forgiveness. Sin costs. Sin will cost your life.
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The soul that sins will surely die and the way to get forgiveness is through shed blood that includes death.
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You just don't take the lamb and slit the throat and drain a little bit. Be careful not to cut the jugular vein.
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No. It's all the way. It is blood loss to the point of death in a vicious way.
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Several scholars would say this quote Christ's blood represents all that he is. Life, soul and self all being involved.
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But Paul's thoughts go beyond that for the Jewish mind thinks that blood was not merely the fluid that flowed through his veins it was the symbol of a sacrificial death.
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When you see the word blood in these contexts it means, it's a synonym it's shorthand for a vicious, vicarious bloody murder.
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Death. It's an abbreviated expression that is just pregnant with the thought of it cost a lot.
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William Hendrickson the Presbyterian scholar of old said this blood must never be dissociated from the voluntary sacrifice of the entire life.
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Leviticus 17 says for the life of the flesh is in the blood for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement.
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Now when I hear these words it's much better for me. 1 Peter 1 .18 Knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers but you were redeemed with what?
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Precious blood. As of a lamb, unblemished and spotless the blood of Christ.
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People don't like the theology of blood but Christians love that and that should be reminded put to our mind every time we take the cup death, violent death.
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Colossians 1 .20 says having been made peace through the blood of his cross God gave himself not just something nothing could take away sins horror and terror except the blood of Christ.
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But I do want you to remember that even though it was expensive to God it was what to us?
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It's free to us. Costly to God but free to us. Gracious to us. The one song says when
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I stand before the throne dressed in beauty not my own when I see thee as thou are love thee with unsinning heart then
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Lord shall I fully know not till then how much I owe. Communion should remind us that the
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Lord's death was expensive. Well not only that number four Christ's death is exclusive effective, expensive and now number four entire, our encompassing.
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That is to say Christ's death and work at Calvary in our place confirmed by the resurrection was entire all of our sins are gone.
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It took care of all of our sins. And did you know true or false one sin keeps people out of heaven only one only one that's true
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James chapter 2 verse 10 for whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point has become guilty of all because it's not the law per se that is what's so deadly although it is it's the
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King's law that's assaulted. Christ's death at Calvary was entire number one because it was past, present and future sins past, present and future sins and you say sins?
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Yes, it deals with sins. It does not take care of diseases or addictions or syndromes or crimes or blame shifting or as Bob Bowman likes to say he said here last time from the pulpit boo -boos
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I've got a boo -boo no, God's son Christ Jesus' death took care of all past, present and future sins.
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That's why it's so freeing to just go to God and say God, I have a sin I drink too much versus I've got alcoholism and it's just kind of a sickness.
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Jesus forgives sins He doesn't forgive syndromes just call it like you see it in the
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Bible and there's forgiveness past, present and future I grew up in a sacramental kind of church a
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Lutheran church and I would lay there at night trying to remember all my sins asking God to please forgive me because if I left one out
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I knew enough to know that James 2 .10 says when you sin against God's law it's not like a
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BB gun that goes through a window and most of the windows still exist it's like taking some kind of huge sledgehammer and breaking that whole law down and I knew if I had one sin unconfessed and unforgiven
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I was going straight to anywhere except heaven see, that was the wrong view of salvation because if you see in the passage verse 7 of Ephesians 1 the forgiveness of our singular trespass forgiveness of our what?
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trespasses they're all gone He takes them all in time when
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Jesus died at Calvary He knew all your sins that you would ever commit past, present and future last time
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I checked God is omniscient He's all knowing, right? and He knew all the sins that you would ever commit and He laid the punishment of all those sins on Jesus and He bore them all every one of them that is amazing to me the word to forgive here means to send away reminds me of this kind of thinking for the
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Jewish person Leviticus 16 Aaron shall lay both of his hands on the head of the live goat confess over all the iniquities of the sons of Israel and all their transgressions in regard to all their sins and He shall lay them on the head of the goat and send it away that's the word for New Testament forgiveness in Ephesians 1 send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who stands in readiness it's amazing it's gone they're sent away we bear them no more not partial but full not past and present but also future but they're also entire because secondly they take care of our deeds and thoughts it's kind of like the little boy that said to his mother why is it that whenever I do anything bad it's because I'm a bad boy but whenever you do anything bad it's because you're nervous deeds and thoughts it's one thing to say well we have certain physical sins that we've committed our action sins but think about our hearts and our thoughts and our minds especially in light of God's justice
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Nahum 1 says and the Lord will by no means leave the guilty unpunished
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He knows everything you've ever thought and every thought that's not captured by God is great and I want to worship
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Him with my heart, soul, mind and strength and I want to love my neighbor as myself earns disfavor of God because it's a sin
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God does not judge on a bell curve what kind of bell curve can be found with a thrice holy
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God it is not how I stack up to others people my whole life basically is how do
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I stack up to other people in sales we'd have a sales list and for everybody in the nation you'd get the
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Excel spreadsheet who was at the top of the list and who was at the bottom and when I was at the top I thought there's only one way to go one way to go when
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I was at the bottom I thought yikes I'm going to get fired because the bottom five guys are always on the way out when I was in the middle
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I always felt good because there was a few guys that were better and I had a place to go and a few ladies who were better and then a few guys who were worse and I felt really good but when it comes to this whole idea of morality and I'm better than my neighbor and I'm more religious because I'm spiritual it doesn't work because the mind reveals the lack of worshiping
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God with their whole hearts it's also entire forgiveness because number three it's sins of omission and commission it's the full amount paid not partial for things of omission that we didn't do and things of commission that we did do and God just shows how great
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He is by taking care of all the false steps all the transgressions with His magnanimous grace
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Colossians 2 .13 says the same truth having forgiven us all our transgressions all gone how blessed is those whose transgression is covered whose sin is forgiven well lastly number five trying to come to the
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Lord's table so you would be reminded again that you could celebrate and praise God because you are free you're going to heaven if you're a
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Christian is that Christ's death was not just exclusive effective expensive entire it was also exorbitant it was magnanimous I'm just trying to get an e -word
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I mean you know the whole thing always alliterate doesn't really work but we're just going for it today we had a Southern Baptist preacher last
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Sunday if he can alliterate I need to try once in a while exorbitant it was out of bounds it was extravagant exceeded all established limits of the dictionary definitions and you see it in verse 7 how do you preach the text just let the text preach in Him we have redemption through His blood the forgiveness of our trespasses and here's the exorbitant out of bounds extravagant part according to the riches of His grace which
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He lavished upon us and you will be reminded how exorbitant that actually is if you think of a few things if you think of what we used to be if you go ahead to chapter 2 this is what we used to be and God lavished
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His love on us when we were like this chapter 2 verse 1 you were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you formerly walked verse 3 you lived according to the lust of your flesh by nature children of wrath yet God's gracious initiative came to the rescue
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His sovereign action His merciful character demanded it people say well that just shows my self -worth my intrinsic value that God would come and die for someone special like me therefore
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I validate myself and my personality and my self -esteem because I was worthy of God's son's death isn't that just like a holy hug let's just get together and say rah rah let me for once and for all kind of help you with an illustration that is just so timely and devastating because we were worthy certainly but we were not worthy of God's love we were worthy of eternal death is what we were worthy of and I don't know if you ever watch any of those shows where they take somebody and they give them a full makeover they give them plastic surgery listen to what
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Robert Deffenbaugh said quote if a plastic surgeon calls you offering you free cosmetic surgery so that he could use you for advertising you should feel grateful but not proud he did not choose you because you were so attractive but because you were so ugly and could demonstrate the marvelous skills he has as a plastic surgeon we should feel grateful but not proud that Jesus would die for us and Deffenbaugh says and it's so refreshing so it is with God's grace
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God sent Jesus Christ to the world to suffer and to die in the sinner's place he did this because we were in such terrible shape he did this so that he could demonstrate his grace and his power in transforming a dead man or woman into a living sacrifice a living testimony of his grace and power
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God's motivation in saving us should not flatter us but it does glorify him pure, exorbitant, extravagant grace not only that if you take a look at your passage it's exorbitant not just because of who we were but because it was according to not out of his grace did you get that?
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it is according to not out of his grace I've told the story and I don't want to get into it all again but my mom was good friends with Catherine Buffett she was the lady that loaned
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Warren his first $10 ,000 to create Berkshire Hathaway and stock prices that are $100 ,000 a share now
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I believe well, Catherine was very good to our family my mom got sick and needed medicine and money and all this stuff and she gave some money and we needed
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Nebraska football tickets we always sat in the Buffett seats that was good my dad died and my brother needed to go to college
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Buffett sent my son my brother to college when he wanted to go to seminary they didn't pay for that very, very generous but the
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Buffetts gave to the Abendroth family out of their riches kind and generous
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I know God had ordained it all but they did not give according to their riches because if the Buffetts would have been given according to our riches
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I would not need a salary from Bethlehem Bible Church because when you give according to how great the things that are of the
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Buffetts we would have gotten millions God gives according to His greatness not out of His grace but according to the cost of Christ's blood is the plumb line and measure of how
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God spends His riches as it were and Paul loves to say that according to the riches of His grace according to the riches of His kindness according to the riches of His glory according to the riches of the fullness of understanding according to the riches of Christ according to the surpassing riches of Christ he uses it all the time of God's utter, spontaneous, unselfish one man said reckless, prodigal generosity and grace is given by a prince to their subjects that's why
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Wesley could say tis mercy all, immense and free for oh my God it found out me according to not out of Martin Lloyd -Jones said one of the most delicate and sensitive test of our
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Christian profession is the extent to which we are amazed by the riches of God's grace have we appreciated these riches?
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it is because so many of us have not done so that we are constantly grumbling and complaining that we cannot see or understand this it explains why many are so miserable and look miserable and therefore never attract a soul to Christ when you come to the
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Lord's table in just a few moments remember these five truths that Christ's death was exclusive no one else could do it and yet he did it for you it was effective everything has been paid by Christ in your behalf out of love it was expensive it cost the father his son with a vicious bloody death it was entire all sins of all time and it was extravagant it cost a lot but it came out of his grace there's just something about rehearsing things we know whenever I want to kind of think about my wife again
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I just start rolling over the memories I think about how we met our first date our first kiss the first omelet she made me with all those avocados the first time she begged me to marry her oh no wait wait just think about her kindness how she is with other people how she looks how she treats me and the list can go on and on and on and those memories that I have known and have been locked into my mind just began to well up in my heart again a new love and a fresh appreciation for my wife that's the exact same thing that the
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Lord's Supper should do for us we've done it we know it we know the routine but it should be the spirit of God welling up in our hearts again that we are redeemed people even though we never deserved anything except the opposite long my imprisoned spirit lay fast bound in sin and nature's night thine eyes diffused a quickening ray
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I woke the dungeon flame with light my chains fell off my heart was free I rose went forth and followed thee and that's what we want to do now is follow
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Christ in His encouragement to celebrate His life, death and resurrection let's pray
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Father thank you for our time today where we can remember your son's death on our behalf Lord I can't motivate myself we as a congregation just can't somehow stir it up in our hearts again to feel grateful and thankful for what you've done we can't even save people who are at the church today who aren't
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Christians but Lord we can ask you now at this time that you would specially superintend through these elements not in some kind of giving us grace but just would you graciously turn our hearts again to be reminded that we serve a beautiful Savior that Jesus Christ is our all in all that Jesus Christ deserves all the praise and glory due to Him at the church and Father that you'd use this time of communion your ordained way to have us focus upon not just our sins but our
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Savior who forgave us all of our sins and that we would be refreshed and we would be encouraged and that we would be rededicated as it were to live a life to serve you and Father only you could do such a thing and so would you be so pleased in our church to do that now in Jesus name,