All right, well, greetings, and welcome to Heritage Reform Presbyterian Church on this Lord's Day, June 1st, 2025. It's good to be gathered to worship the Lord with you all once again. You'll see there in your bulletins our schedule. This Tuesday, yes, we pushed it. So this Tuesday, we will have group. We ended up postponing it from last Tuesday. Do we know where that's going to be? OK, it'll be at the McKinsey's. And that'll be at 6 for the meal. And seven for the study, continuing in the book of James. So looking forward to meeting with you all for that as well. Also, a couple things. One, I think it's the last Sunday of this month we will not be able to be in here. We have not yet settled what we're going to do for that. possibility we're going to talk to Faith Bible Church and try to have a joint service with them. We'll see. But that is, I think, June 29, I guess it would be, that we will have to do that. And then also, we will either have a elder meeting this Sunday, today, at 7, or next Sunday. We're still trying to figure out some logistics on that as well. If you are interested or concerned about that, just contact me and I'll let you know. But either this Sunday or God willing, next Sunday, we'll have an elder meeting at 7 p.m. also. I believe that is all of the announcements that I can think of. Elders, do you have anything? No, okay. Well, if there are no other announcements, then let us prepare our hearts and minds for worship with a moment of silent prayer and meditation. Brothers and sisters, please stand to receive God's call to worship, taken from Psalm 105. O give thanks to the Lord. Call upon his name. Make known his deeds among the people. Sing to him, sing psalms to him. Talk of all his wondrous works. Glory in his holy name. Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord. Let's now confess our need for God's grace together. Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth. Beloved, now receive God's greeting. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. As God has welcomed us into his presence to worship him, now let's do so remaining standing and singing 1A, that man is blessed. 1A. The man is blessed to fear in God, from sin restrains his feet. Who will not stand with wicked men, who shuns the scorner's seed? Yea, blessed is he who makes God's love his portion and delight And meditates upon that love with gladness day and night That man is nourished like a tree set by the riverside Its leaf is green, its fruit is sure, and thus his works abide. The wicked, like the driven shaft, are swept from off the land. They shall not gather with the just, nor in the judgment stand. Let's come before the Lord now in prayer. Heavenly Father, indeed we, as your people, are blessed to be redeemed through your Son, Indeed, to have the fear of the Lord in our hearts by the power of your spirit, to gather in your name to worship you according to your will. And we thank you that you are indeed pleased with our worship as we come to you through your son and in the power of your spirit. Father, strengthen us in you at this time. Bless us in your holy presence and enable us to render to you the praise that is due your holy and awesome name. We ask all this in Jesus' name, amen. Amen. Please be seated. Let's now hear from God's Law. We'll be looking at 1 Peter 2, verses 1-3 of 1 Peter 2. Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes desire the pure milk of the Word, that you may grow thereby. if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious. Well, again, we looked at the end of 1 Peter, I guess it was last Sunday, and how the word of God is that which abides forever, and we've been born again by the power of God, his word, Christ himself, and as such, as we have received the gospel, we are called then to grow in the Lord, and so it says, to put aside these various things, malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, all evil speaking, And like a newborn babe, like a child feeding from its mother, to desire the word of God in that way, so that we would grow as Christians, so that we would not be infantile in our faith our whole lives. You know, we talk about, oh, this man's 30 years old, he still lives in his mother's basement, that kind of thing. Well, how often are Christians like that? You know, you've been a Christian for a long time, but you still don't know the ABCs of the Bible. You don't know the basics of holiness and godliness, right? That's the exhortation there. Grow in the Lord. Grow in him. If indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious, is God gracious to you? If he is, then feed upon him and grow in him and be mature in Christ rather than an adult child be fully mature in him and he will strengthen you and build you up into all righteousness. So that's the command. That's the exhortation that's here for us. And even as we strive to do that, we know that we do fall short. We still have sin. We are still In many ways, babes in Christ that we need to grow. So let us confess that to the Lord. Let us confess our many shortcomings there, but also praise him for his grace and praise him that he is growing us and sanctifying us in him. You'll see the prayer there as it's been printed in your bulletin. Let us come to the Lord together now in prayer, confessing our sin and praising him for his grace to us. Heavenly Father, your Word is life. Through Christ your Son, we have been born again. May we hunger for the truth of your Word, so that we grow into spiritual maturity. Strengthen our love for one another, for we confess we often grumble against your people, complaining about their words and actions. Cause us to drink deeply from your Word at home and in worship, and remind us of your love that blots out all our sin. Knowing your grace and mercy, may we cover the sins of our brothers and sisters also, bearing with and being gracious with each other. Build us up as your holy people in your Holy Son. Amen. We're hearing now these words of pardon taken from the following three verses, verses four through six. As to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Therefore, it is also contained in the scripture, behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he who believes on him will by no means be put to shame." Well, you have encouragement here that if you're in the Lord, you are being built up a spiritual house, you are growing, you will be presented spotless and complete in Christ on that great day of his return. And so take comfort in this as you're growing in the Lord with all the faults and remaining sins that we have. Truly, He is building us up. Now, this is really being spoken of collectively here as the whole body of Christ. We as a church, the church in general, is being built up into a house of God. But of course, it's also true that each one of us individually is growing in the Lord and knowledge and righteousness and holiness as well. And what the Lord has begun to construct, He will not cease to construct. He will bring it to completion as we are called to count the cost he has counted the cost of his son Jesus Christ paying for our sins he will see to it that we are indeed is forever in glory without sin and so take heart in that and take comfort in that great salvation that's accomplished by Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior Well, knowing that great salvation that he's accomplished and his power to do so, let us appropriately then stand together and sing our song of praise, 374, all hail the power of Jesus' name. 374. 374, and we will sing all six verses together. Everybody ready? All hail the power of Jesus' name. Let angels prostrate fall. Bring forth the royal diadem and crown him Lord of all, bring forth the royal diadem and crown him Lord of all. Crown him ye martyrs of your God, who from his altar call, extol the stem of Jesse's rod, and crowned him Lord of all. He stole the stem of Jesse's rod and crowned him Lord of all. He's seed of Israel's chosen race, he ransomed of the fall. Hail Him who saves you by His grace, and crown Him Lord of all. Hail Him who saves you by His grace, and crown Him Lord of all. Sinners whose love can ne'er forget the wormwood and the gall Go spread your trophies at His feet and crown Him Lord of all God spread your trophies at His feet And crown Him Lord of all Let every kindred, every tribe On this terrestrial ball To Him all majesties cry and crown Him Lord of all. To Him all majesty ascribe and crown Him Lord of all. O that with yonder sacred throne we at His feet may fall, We'll join the everlasting song and crown him Lord of all. We'll join the everlasting song and crown him Lord of all. Amen. Please be seated. Let us go to the Lord now once again in prayer, making our request known to Him with thanksgiving. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, You call us to be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving to make our request known to You. So once again, Sunday by Sunday, week by week, we come to gather and do that, Lord. with a duty and a privilege and a blessing to be able to come into your presence to worship you and indeed to plead with you in prayer and to show our reverence for you in this way and to also receive your blessing and kindness to us in hearing and in answering our prayers, Lord. Father, we do pray for our nation and country and land. You call us to do to pray for all those ruling and leading in high places that we could live a godly and peaceable life, as your word says, and that every ruler, every magistrate is ordained by you to uphold what is righteous and to punish the evildoer. Lord, we pray that the sword of justice that you indeed have given to our government would be used for your glory and your name and for the good of your church and your people in this land. We do desire that we would be a Christian land and a Christian people seeking your will, honoring you. and that you would use every spear of authority that you have ordained to that end and to that purpose, Lord. You've given the sword of justice to government, you've given the rod of correction in the home, and you've given the keys of the kingdom to the church. So Lord, we pray that you would use these for your glory and for your namesake to build up your church and your kingdom. Father, we pray for the church here and elsewhere being persecuted, Lord, that they would stand firm, that we would stand firm, even in our own nation today, Lord, when there's assaults from within or without the church, that we would be faithful to you, that sinners would see the light of Christ in us, that they'd be convicted of sin and see your mercy and grace and be drawn to you as your loving kindness works in their heart to redeem your people. Father, we pray for those also facing or standing against the prevailing wickedness in our nation today that's seen so publicly. We know that this is June. We know the wickedness that is done in this month, and it's not done in a corner. It's not stuffed in the closet. It is out in the open. Lord, we do pray that there would be righteous disgust at this sinful behavior, especially when it's literally flaunted in this way. God, that you would strike down the wicked in that. Strike them down to convict their hearts, to save them from sin, and call them out of that wicked lifestyle. And Lord, if that will not be the case, then indeed we pray that they would be struck down, even and especially with the sword of justice. Lord, this is what you have called our rulers and leaders to do. We pray that they would do so. We pray you'd raise up godly Christian leaders in our land. to that end and for that purpose, and godly churches and ministers and Christians in general that will be citizens of their country and true citizens of your kingdom, shining the light of Christ, proclaiming repentance towards God and faith in Jesus Christ. Lord, we need that so desperately. We pray for that for our land and for our souls and for our church and communities. God, we pray that you provide these things. And here at Heritage that we'd be a faithful witness in these ways to this end also, that we would stand fast in your word and righteousness, that we would love you and love one another, that we would exhibit that in our behavior, in our teaching, our children, and husbands and wives loving each other as you call us to do, picturing Christ in the church. that our children would see that, that others would see that, that we would encourage and exhort one another to press on into righteousness and have joy in you despite the darkness that's in this world and even in much of our church life in our nation today as well. Father, we pray also for the physical strength and well-being of the flock here. We know there's many dealing with chronic illnesses or disease or other things that are afflicting their body. Also, various emotional pain or sadness, bereavement, grief, Lord, uncertainty about the future. All of these things, God, we pray that we would cast our cares and our worries upon you, knowing that you do care for us. That we draw strength from you. knowing that not a hair falls from our head without your will, and that we are more valuable than many sparrows, and you provide for us more abundantly than they do, and yet they do not hunger, they do not go without a home. Lord, give us a true confidence in you, despite unanswered prayer, despite trials and difficulties that you continue to send into our life to strengthen and test our faith. May we pass these tests, may we grow in you, May we shine forth and take up the cross as you would call us to do. Help us to take care of our bodies and nourish our souls with your word as well. Father, we pray for our sister churches in our denomination, for Kings in Florida, for Pastor Potker and his health and the pain that he's had occurring again. We pray that it is indeed a sign of healing, healing pains rather than spread of cancer. and that you would give him and the church their confidence and also the plans they're continuing to make just for other ministers and so on as well. I would pray for Reverend Hammond in South America and the school there and the work of RCM in general and the needs that are there as well. God, we pray that you would provide in each way in every area and that you'd use it for the sake of your kingdom and church to build others up in the gospel and in knowledge of you all around the world. Lord, we pray that you'd use these means mightily. We pray for other local churches here also that we may not be in ecclesiastical denominational unity with, but we are united in Christ together and for the cause of the gospel. So we pray, Lord, for Faith Bible Church and Pastor Smiley and his laborers there and the congregation there. We pray for Reverend Blackman here and Swan Station Baptist also. We pray for others, for Reverend Lynch and others that have worshipped with us and been part of our congregation as well. For Reverend Thompson and these various ones, Lord, that we've had relationships with. And we pray, God, that you would bless them mightily and help them to be faithful and strong in your will and your word. And you'd build up these churches and these latter ones, either here in central North Carolina or in other parts of North Carolina. God, we pray that in our state, even, we would see a real reviving and reformation for your name and your glory. Father, we thank you again for your mercy and your kindness to us. And as we come also now to worship you in the giving of our tithes and offerings, may we know, Lord, that you are a good and gracious God. You provide abundantly for us more than we realize. So, Lord, help us to be diligent to give back to you. What you've given to us may be used for our church, may be used to provide for the needs of the congregation and for the work of the ministry. And again, as we've been asking Lord for a place of our own to worship, and we thank you greatly for the generosity of Swan Station Baptist, but we would be overjoyed to be able to worship in our own building, to use it throughout the week as we need. Lord, again, for office space, for counseling, for prayer, for meetings, for Sunday school classes, homeschooling classes, all these things, Lord, we pray that you provide such for us so that we can further minister to the saints here and reach out to others as well. We pray that you provide these things to us, God. We pray that we would seek your kingdom and righteousness above all else, and we ask all this in Jesus' name, amen. Let us now continue in our worship with the giving of tithes and offerings. Let us now stand together to sing the doxology. You want me to go ahead and do it? Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him all creatures here below. Praise Him above the heavenly host. Amen. Please be seated. If you have your Bibles, please turn to Acts chapter twenty-four. As you turn there, let us turn to the Lord in prayer as well to ask for the blessing upon his word to us. Let us pray. Father, again we ask that you would open our hearts and minds to receive your holy word as truth to be focused now upon it. and to grow in you, indeed, to desire the pure milk of your word, and to be strengthened in you, to be presented mature in you. All this is in Jesus' name, amen. Acts 24, beginning at verse one, hear now the word of the Lord. Now after five days, Ananias the high priest came down with the elders and a certain orator named Tertullus. These gave evidence to the governor against Paul. And when he was called upon, Tertullus began his accusation saying, seeing that through you we enjoy great peace and prosperity as being brought to this nation by your foresight, we accept it always and in all places, most noble Felix, with all thankfulness. Nevertheless, not to be tedious to you any further, I beg you to hear, by your courtesy, a few words from us. For we have found this man a plague, a creator of dissension among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes. He even tried to profane the temple, and we seized him and wanted to judge him according to our law. But the commander Lysias came by and with great violence took him out of our hands, commanding his accusers to come to you. By examining him yourself, you may ascertain all these things of which we accuse him. And the Jews also assented, maintaining that these things were so. Then Paul, after the governor had nodded to him to speak, answered, Inasmuch as I know that you have been for many years a judge of this nation, I do the more cheerfully answer for myself, because you may ascertain that it is no more than twelve days since I went up to Jerusalem to worship, and they neither found me in the temple disputing with anyone, nor inciting the crowd, either in the synagogues or in the city, nor can they prove the things of which they now accuse me. But this I confess to you, that according to the way, which they call a sect, so I worship the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets. I have hope in God, which they themselves also accept, that there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and of the unjust. This being so, I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men, Now for many years I came to bring alms and offerings to my nation, in the midst of which some Jews from Asia found me purified in the temple, neither with a mob nor with tumult. They ought to have been here before you to object if they had anything against me, or else let those who are here themselves say if they found any wrongdoing in me while I stood before the council. unless it is for this one statement, which I cried out, standing among them. Concerning the resurrection of the dead, I am being judged by you this day. But when Felix heard these things, having more accurate knowledge of the way, he adjourned the proceedings and said, when Lysias the commander comes down, I will make a decision on your case. So he commanded the centurion to keep Paul and to let him have liberty. and told him not to forbid any of his friends to provide for or visit him. And after some days, when Felix came with his wife, Drusilla, who was Jewish, he sent for Paul and heard him concerning the faith in Christ. And as he reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and answered, go away for now. When I have a convenient time, I will call for you. Meanwhile, he also hoped that money would be given him by Paul, that he might release him. Therefore, he sent for him more often and conversed with him. But after two years, Porteous Festus succeeded Felix, and Felix, wanting to do the Jews a favor, left Paul bound. Let's start the reading of God's holy word, and may he add his blessing to it. I want to title this sermon, The Way of Christ. This is really another defense that Paul is having to give, of course, before the courts and the Jews that are condemning him. But what's being proclaimed, and really what we're seeing unfold with Paul and those, of course, supporting him, is true for all Christians, that he's following the way of the Lord Jesus Christ, what he has called each and every one of us to, to make that good profession. We looked at that last Sunday as well, some out under the tent there, with the good defense or the apologetic apologia, as the Greek word is, of the faith that Paul had shown. Well, he's doing this again, but in this text, in this chapter really, you see the way of Christ, the way of the Christian life shown to us. It is not an easy life. It's one of struggle, constant struggle, really, against the world, the flesh, the devil, and even false Christians. It is the only way of salvation, by trusting in Christ and then by taking up the cross and following after him in true obedience. This is what Paul is doing, and this is what we must do as Christians as well in the various things that we face in our life. And so our servant theme is simply Christ as the risen Lord and Savior is the only way to salvation. There is no other way. And then we have three points from that, verses 1 through 9. Following Christ faithfully enrages the ungodly because it exposes their sin. So we need to be prepared for that as we walk in the ways of the Lord. And then verses 10 through 21. The way of Christ requires knowing and worshiping God according to the Bible. We must grow and not be babes or infants in Christ, as we even saw earlier in our worship. That's verses 10 through 21. And then finally, verses 22 through 27, Christians pursue godly lives in light of future judgment, meaning The judgment to come should actually be a motivation to us to press on into holiness, because we will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. Yes, even those going to heaven, we will stand before the judgment of Christ, and our works will be laid out for all to see. So we need to look at these three points together. Christ as the risen Lord and Savior is the only way to salvation. That's our theme in our first point. Let's look there now, following, Christ faithfully enrages the ungodly because it exposes their sin. Notice the way that Paul sets things up here. Well, he's not able to speak first, but he's going to set it up here. But he's only been there 12 days or so, and yet these Jews are already coming. Tertullus is coming, hired essentially by the Jews, like a lawyer. this orator to really butter up the governor to stick it to Paul once again. It's the same bogus charges just presented with a slicker tongue this time in Tertullus. And so he's there to kind of vouch and give this lawyer-like accusation. against him, and notice how he kind of warms up the governor there. Verse 2, this flowery, you know, intro, seeing that through you we have enjoyed great peace and prosperity as being brought to this nation by your foresight. We accept it always in all places, most noble Felix, with all thankfulness. Basically just trying to lay out, hey, you've been great for us, now do what we want you to do. It's sort of a subtle bribery being done there. And as we'll see further down, Felix was not noble at all, but we'll talk about that more later on in the sermon. But he jumps through the cuts to the chase here in verse four, trying to be courteous. He's saying not, you know, being long-winded here. And he launches right into it. This man, verse five, is a plague. Talking about Paul, the apostle. He's created dissension everywhere he goes. throughout the world. He's a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes. The Nazarenes is what the Christians were called who lived in in Judea. Outside they weren't called that, but there they were called that from that land. Think about that's a barb, a jab, right? Just like Nathaniel had said, can anything good come out of Nazareth? When he was told we had found the Christ because Jesus is from Nazareth. So this was a shot at them and saying, this is a heretical sect as the word sect means heresy. This is a false teaching among our religion of the Jews. And he is causing all kinds of problems. He's causing these heresies, these divisions to form. and fomenting this issue among our people. Verse six, he even tried to profane the temple. And we seized him and wanted to judge him according to our laws. So this Tertullus is sort of saying, we didn't really bother you with this, most noble Felix, but this Roman commander, Lysias, he greatly took him with great violence out of our hands. Verse seven, as it says there. You see the argument he's trying to make. He's trying to put them in the most favorable light possible. And just like a good progressive liberal, he's accusing Paul of doing the very things that they were doing, right? They were causing riots. They were stirring them up. They were about to rip Paul limb from limb. And yet they say he was the one doing all that, right? The division is Paul's fault, even though Paul was preaching the truth, and they couldn't handle it, and they went crazy and wanted to murder him. You know, the divide is their sinful hearts. That's the issue. That's the problem. That's there. And of course, remember also, the Jews, the unbelieving Jews, they did not have a problem at all. with fomenting rebellion. I'm sure you are somewhat familiar with the intertestamental period between the Old and the New Testament and all the revolts and the Maccabees and others that came during that time. They were constantly trying to throw off the yoke of Roman government and empire, I suppose looking at it like a new Egypt, right? Being in bondage and trying to overcome that. Many of them were expecting the Christ to be a political and militaristic messiah, right? He was going to come. He was going to sit on the earthly throne there. He was going to be there at the temple in Jerusalem. and just throw off this yoke of oppression of foreigners, of Gentiles, and set up the Jewish people in the promised land there once again. They were still looking to that, and not looking to the fulfillment of all these things in Christ and the heavenly throne upon which he sits at the right hand of the Father now. That wasn't so pleasing to them. The actual gospel of Christ and the resurrection and the ascension to the right hand of the Father because it showed one that really they and their temple and their rituals weren't really that special. They were simply there for that time in that place until Christ would come. Fulfill them further as Christ says all authority and heaven on earth has been given to me So go and make disciples of all nations. The gospel is going to go down to the ends of the earth We sing that as well early earlier every kindred every tribe on this terrestrial ball, right? The gospel goes out to all people people got it has an elect people within every tribe tongue and nation the Jews also didn't like that because they were favored in a particular way before Christ came and If you wanted to be part of the people of God, you had to go to Jerusalem for these feasts and festival days. You had to present your sacrifices there, the men at least, three times a year. You couldn't do that anywhere you wanted. And of course, we've talked about this many times before, but you can see how this would be not a demotion per se. They would still be able to worship in their own land, but now people can worship wherever two or three are gathered in my name, as the scriptures say. And they didn't like that, these unbelieving Jews. And so they were persecuting Paul, calling him a blasphemer and a profaner of the temple, even accusing him of bringing a Gentile into it. And you can understand with their complete hardened hearts and darkened minds and misunderstanding completely of the scriptures of the Old Testament that they had been given. why they would regard him as a blasphemer. I mean, if their interpretation was correct, then he would be a blasphemer, and Jesus himself would be a false messiah. But they were wrong, even though they thought they were doing the Lord a favor and serving him truly and rightly. So they have this zeal to defend their religion, which is a false religion, really the religion of Judaism, basically. And so this is what they're trying to do again, to stick this to Paul here, It enrages them, and it enrages them because it does show their sin. It shows that they thought their salvation was having something to do with them. As a Jewish people, they were chosen by God, not because they were the least of all peoples, as the scriptures say, but because there was something you know, some quality within themselves that they thought must have moved God to choose them in particular. Well, there's nothing in any of us, apart from Christ, fallen in Adam, that would move God to choose us. We are all sinners in the sight of God, not deserving salvation, but deserving judgment and damnation. And we can talk about the relative sinfulness of each one of us, but we're all falling short of the glory of God. And so they were not chosen, the Jews of old, or any of us today, because of something good in us, but because of God's sheer grace and mercy. That's the definition, of course, of grace and mercy. It's not deserved, it's not earned, it's not something that God saw deep down inside of us that somehow warmed his heart. No, the only thing he sees in us is Christ in us that warms his heart. And if Christ is not in us, then we are worthy of judgment because of our sin. And so as the scriptures teach us to buy the spirit, put the death, the deeds of the body, we must be doing it all day long to be growing in the Lord. We've been looking at earlier in our worship as well. Whereas the Puritan John Owen said, be killing sin or sin will be killing you. And that's very true. There's no neutrality with our sin. We're either growing in the Lord. We're stagnating, and what stagnates festers and gets dirty with bacteria and everything else. So we're at a constant battle against the wickedness in our hearts, in the world, in the church, everywhere, to pursue holiness. Well, this too is the way of Christ, to fight for righteousness, to pursue godliness, and to serve the Lord. But for the wicked, as we see here in this first point, it just upsets them when we take righteous stands and live for God, because it exposes their sin. It exposes that they're not living this way. You can even upset people just by living a godly life without saying a word. If you just do it, some people may not even like it, especially when you say it. They don't want to hear it. They don't want to hear what Paul's saying because it doesn't reflect well at all upon them. They crucified Jesus. So we see this, these charges once again laid out now to the governor, Felix, the higher up above the Roman commander, Lysias, whom we saw before. And Tertullus even has the gall in verse eight, in verse eight there, to claim that Paul would agree with these charges against him. This is by examining him, by examining Paul yourself, you may ascertain all these things of which we accuse him. Just cross-examine him, just ask him about this. You know, he won't be able to deny it. And then they pal on the Jews that were there. It says, verse nine, they also assented, maintaining that these things were so. They're all coming in together to say, yeah, this is true. This is how it is. Believe us. And it shows us once again that just because everybody's accusing somebody doesn't mean the one accused is guilty, particularly if they're standing against the grain, standing for the cause of Christ. It's easy to bow to the pressures, to believe this person must have done something wrong for this many people to be upset with him. But again, when you see the wickedness in Paul's day, and when you look at the wickedness in our day, we almost should reverse that. If nobody's upset with me as a Christian, then what am I doing wrong? What am I doing wrong? Probably hiding the life of Christ under a basket. We must not do that, beloved. We must shine the light of Christ. Now, that's hard. That's difficult to do, especially when friends and family and others may not like it. But we're called to do that. And if we love them enough, we will do that. If we love God enough, we'll do that. And if we love them enough, we'll do that. Because only the truth can set us free, as Jesus said. We know the fear of man that we can all have. We all struggle with that. Our Christianity, though, nonetheless, must be public for it to be faithful. And by public, I don't just mean saying what all the other people around me can tolerate, but saying the things that are intolerable today that are true of God. That's especially what must be held forth and said. We know, for example, in John 7, 13, that many of the Jewish people in the crowd at that time when Jesus was going about them. They did not speak openly of Jesus, though they believed in him. And it says, for fear of the Jews. They were afraid of the Jews. The Jews were persecuting severely, even when Christ was on earth, ministering. Some believed in him, but they were not faithful enough to own him publicly. We know Nicodemus was like that for a time, and others as well. Well, do not fear. Unbelievers, even those who claim to be Christians, right? These persecuting Jews were the Christians of that time. Do not fear them. Fear God. Be faithful and God will provide. That's what we must do. But you must know that it will enrage and it will upset people, including some in the church. Now, I can make a confession. It can be quite frightening to preach pointedly. Even to you all. Again, it's easy to exposit, relatively, the Scriptures. Nobody gets too offended if it's just explained. And if I only preach about the sins out there, and sort of cater the sermon to, look at all those bad Christians in those other churches, or the wickedness in the world, we can all amen that. But if it gets more particular and we say, congregation, we are struggling with this or you need to consider this or examine your heart or whatever the case may be, well, that's where it's a little bit more difficult. And we ought to be able to say, ouch, sometimes. If I don't preach where you can say, ouch, then I'm not doing my job. And if you can't say, ouch, then you're not listening well. So we need to grow together in the Lord and not only preach against the sins of this age, but the sins of our own heart. And a lot of times, there's an overlap there. We succumb, as well, to the fear of man. Now, of course, a sermon should be preached to the whole congregation. Obviously, that's not the time and place to call out, there's nobody here named Bob, right? You know, Bob, or Sally, or something like that, you know, individualizing in a sermon, right? A sermon is preached to the congregation. The flock is shepherded as a whole. You know, I've never done actual shepherding. I do have a few goats, but those are hard to wrangle sometimes. But, you know, when you watch these videos of sheep or whatever being, you know, corralled, the sheepdogs and the shepherds, they're doing that as a unit. They're bringing them all in together. And yes, if one or two goes astray, you leave the 99 to go to the one and so on. But in general, the public worship is for the whole body of Christ to shepherd us together, to corral us together further and closer into the Lord. And that is what we should be striving to do in our worship. the minister in preaching, the elders in also leading worship and talking to the people in the congregation, collectively coming to grow in the Lord and be fed and edified, exhorted and encouraged. In all these ways, the Lord does strengthen us and bless us in him. And when that happens and when we grow or when there is counseling or private times of discussion or prayer or correction or whatever may be needed, do not become enraged like the undeadly, but examine your hearts and grow in the Lord. We desire as elders, and I'm sure all of us here at Root, as believers in God, I pray and trust, when we do have to confront one another or address one another, we do it because we love each other. It's never pleasant. Discipline is never pleasant. The Word tells us that. But it is for our good, and it is done out of love. And so let's grow together in love in all these ways. And now it becomes like a world that gets upset because, you know, there's a microaggression committed against us or something like that. So let's go on to our second point, then. The way of Christ requires knowing and worshiping God according to the Bible. Obviously, then, if we're to follow the Lord and His way, we must know that way. We must grow in that way. We must see that path clearly. You think of Pilgrim's Progress and the confusion that would come and he goes to the interpreter's house and different things like this. It's like anything in life. If we don't know what we're doing, we're gonna stumble down the path or go astray. That could be a work, a job, a marriage, school, whatever the case may be. Well, the way of Christ, the school of Christ must be known in order to walk in his ways. So then verses 10 and 11, after these charges by Tertullus on behalf of the Jews and with them assenting and palling on as well, Paul is then given permission to make his defense once again. Verse 10. The governor nods to him to speak, and he answers. And he also shows respect. He says, inasmuch as I know that you've been for many years a judge of this nation, I do the more cheerfully answer for myself, because you may ascertain that it is no more than 12 days since I went up to Jerusalem to worship. He's saying, OK. You've been judging here for years. You know what it's been like in this territory. I've been here for 12 days, and at this point, if you go off Galatians 2, it's likely been about 14 years since Paul has been in the capital of his homeland there in Jerusalem and the areas around there because of his ministry, because the Jews kind of had driven him out from preaching and so on. Of course, he was one of them, so they were all the more eager to punish him because he used to persecute the church. He's saying, This is an easy, cheerful defense that I can make. I've only been here 12 days. Before that, I haven't been here for 14 years, and you're gonna accuse me of stirring up a tumult and a revolt? Felix, you know that's not true. You know that's not the case. You know that's ludicrous to make that kind of claim against me, Paul is saying. And he says, for these 12 days, in verse 12, they neither found me in the temple disputing with anyone nor inciting the crowd. either in the synagogues or in the city. He's saying, these 12 days I've done nothing of the sort. Now, again, Paul is putting the proper frame on things, right? This complete bogus frame job was done by these Jews again, the intertulists and so on. He's putting the proper framing on there. And notice that once again, I think that tactically we need to wake up and realize this is Christians today. Paul doesn't say, yeah, to be fair, I often do go to the synagogues, you know, and stir a little stuff up with the truth of God's word. He doesn't do that here. He doesn't need to do that here. Why would he do that? Why would he give a seat of doubt to the reality of his innocence? He doesn't have to do that. And we shouldn't either. Yeah, you know, sometimes I go and preach the truth pretty hard here and there, and people don't like it. He doesn't do that. No, he just says, not been preaching in the synagogues or in the temple or doing anything back here. And he wasn't. Remember, he was spoken to by the believers there, some of the disciples and others, and they urged him to take that Nazirite vow, which possibly for seven days or so, he fulfilled. He did. He was there. bringing and showing homage, paying respect to his people, to his country, to his nation, and the customs and the culture that was there. He's becoming all things to all people that he might, by all means, win some, as he says elsewhere. And for that, they repay him with trying to murder him. But God worked that together in his providence for good, because he can truly make this defense with a clear conscience and all sincerity before Felix saying, hey, I bent over backwards to show respect here. I've not been in the temple disputing about what can or can't be done. I didn't bring in any Gentiles into the temple. I respected all of that, even though that's passing away. And the true temple is in heaven, Jesus Christ. And he just says, verse 13, this is all hogwash. And they can't prove it, nor can they prove the things of which they now accuse me. So that's how he opens his defense. very strongly and very straightforwardly and convincingly. He's also a great, he's got some ability to speak as well, not like Tertullus. We know that Paul wasn't always most acclimated to that, but the board, by his spirit, gave him the words to say here. And he's saying they can't prove these charges of any of this, of insurrection, trying to overthrow the Roman government. Are you kidding me? The gospel will overthrow governments, if you understand it rightly, wicked governments, and establish more righteous governments. But remember what Paul and Christ actually preached and taught, right? Paul's the one who wrote Romans 13 and said to obey the governing authorities, that they're there to promote good and to punish evil. Now, you don't follow an unjust command, of course. But he also speaks about giving honor to whom honor is due, paying taxes to whom taxes is due. Do you know who the reformers wrote their books to? The King of France, I believe, is what, isn't it the King of France that the Calvinist Institutes are dedicated to? And he refers to him as your excellency in all these kind and flattering terms. This is what we're called to do. Christ, said to pay tax and tribute, to render to Caesar what is Caesar's. Jesus himself paid the temple tax. Wasn't that when the fish came up and they had the coin? Christ was following all of that. And even with the Pharisees, the religious leaders, he said to them, in Matthew 23, two through three, he says, to do what they say to do. He says, do not practice how they practice because they don't keep the commands of God, but because they sit in the seat of Moses and have that authority, that office, you should obey them insofar as they command what is right. Because the Pharisees did say many good things that were true. They just mixed it with a lot of error. And so Jesus himself in Matthew 23, that same, the same chapter is there where he's pronouncing woe on them. He also says to respect them and even to listen to them and to obey them. Well, we do the same thing today when you think about it. We ridicule our leadership and our government all the time, and yet we by and large obey them because there's much true good that they still command. And we shouldn't forget that either. If we think it's bad now, anarchy is far worse. Far worse. So that should not stop us from criticizing the compromise in our government and our nation today, but it should put it in a fuller perspective. If we woke up tomorrow and said there's gonna be no more law, no more government, no more constitution, nothing, it would be a bloodbath. It would be insanity. And I think deep down we know that. So we should respect the authority of those who are in authority, even when they are lousy and wicked. Not in their wickedness, but in their office. and when they command what is good and just, insofar as they have that place of authority, we should listen to them and obey them. But we can also rebuke and criticize them, as Paul himself is about to do with Felix, and we'll look at that in our third point as well. But then notice in verse 14 what Paul does want to be noticed. He denounces and condemns all these false charges vociferously, but he wants to make it clear He's not at all denouncing the gospel of Jesus Christ. In fact, he wants it to be known. He's gonna confess it. Verse 14, I confess to you that according to the way, which they call a sect, so I worship the God of my fathers. He's like, yeah, they call that a heresy. It's my heresy. It's the gospel heresy. It's truth. Believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets. He's like, this is the true word of God. They call it a heresy, they call it a division, but it's the truth. And I want everybody to know that. I'll confess that. I'll own that. I worship God precisely that way. The risen Lord and Savior, Jesus of Nazareth, is Jesus the Christ. In verse 15, I have hope in God, which they themselves also accept, that there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust. Now, again, we know the history of that just in the last chapter or two. Technically, that's true insofar as some of them accepted the resurrection of the dead. Not all of them. Now, he may also be saying, they at least tolerate the Pharisees who believe in the resurrection of the dead. They may not all agree with it, but they tolerate it, they accept it to that degree, or in that sense, that there will be a resurrection and a judgment to come of both the just and the unjust. So what's the real issue here? At root, the issue they have with Paul is not even that he believes in the resurrection of the dead, or even the resurrection of the just and the unjust. The issue that unites the Sadducees and the Pharisees, all these Jews, against Jesus Christ and his kingdom and all who call upon his name is just that, that Christ is the King of kings and Lord of lords and heaven above, and that there will be a judgment not only of the Gentiles, but also of the Jews for their sinfulness. That is what they hated. And of course, that's what everybody hates at root that rejects Christ, is that he will judge us Everybody loves to talk about, you know, someone died and they got their wings because apparently we think today that we're angels or something like that in heaven. I don't understand that. We don't get wings in heaven. We get glorified bodies. And maybe it's just an expression. I don't know. But, you know, we should again talk about growing a maturity in the Lord. We should know what it will be like in heaven. In heaven, the highest joy there will not actually be reunion with family and friends. It'll be the Lord. That'll be our highest joy. Now, it doesn't mean we won't be glad to be reconciled with the body of Christ and fellow believers as well, or to be united in heaven with them, but that'll bring us joy also. But the true delight of heaven should have been our true delight on earth, which is God and Jesus Christ. Right? put people above the Lord, we won't be there in heaven to see the people or the Lord, but we'll be under judgment. God must be glorified and he must be magnified in our hearts and our minds above all else as the highest delight. And Paul is proclaiming that highest joy in Christ himself here. And because of the judgment that is to come in verse 16, he says, this being so, I myself always strive to have a good, to have a conscience without offense toward God and men. He's saying, precisely because there's this coming judgment, I'm striving to be faithful day by day, serving and following and walking in the ways of the Lord. Again, they thought Jesus was still dead, the Jews here, the unbelieving Jews, that he was a blasphemer that claimed to be God. But Paul's saying, no, he's risen to glory, and because of that, I shudder, and I try to live with a pure and clean conscience. And so he's saying, yeah, the way I understand the word of God, I have a clear conscience in that. conducted myself these 12 days that have been in here in Jerusalem and being taken around different judgment seats, I have been faithful and righteous to God and to my apostolic calling. That's essentially what Paul is saying here. Now then, verse 17, he says, after many years, again, probably 14 years or so, I came to bring alms and offerings to my nation. Again, he's still following the national identity that he has. And that's proper, we've talked a lot about that. Loving your own nation is good, believe it or not. In the midst of which, some Jews from Asia, Asia Minor that is, found me purified in the temple, neither with a mob nor with tumults. So he's saying, I came, not denying the faith or the gospel, not doing this as a spiritual, religious, salvific thing. But as respect to my nation and its customs and a devotion to God with this vow, I came, and I didn't do it bringing people with me to stir up problems. And he says in verse 19, if they had an issue with what I did there, then they should stand and face me eye to eye once again and bring these charges. Verse 19, vowed to have been here before you to object if they had anything against me. They hired you to do a tool list. unbelieving Jews charging Paul, but the actual eyewitnesses aren't even here. So he's saying, how can I be condemned? My actual eyewitnesses against me, supposed eyewitnesses of my crimes, aren't even here. He says, but, verse 20, else those who are here themselves say if they found any wrongdoing in me while I stood before the council. So some of them that were there had stood before the Sanhedrin council previously that Paul had to face. but the ones that actually solved the smoking gun crime of Paul and the temple, bringing in a Gentile and profaning and all that, apparently they weren't there. So he said, all right, for you who were here, verse 21, he basically mocks them again, unless it's for this one statement, which I cried out, standing among them, concerning the resurrection of the dead, I am being judged by you this day. Remember, he used that, just what, in the previous chapter here, to divide the Pharisees and the Sadducees against one another. So that's a taunt. That is a taunt. They started attacking each other when he said that earlier. So he's saying, yeah, unless that caused a problem, because you guys couldn't even resolve that in your own midst. He, of course, doesn't believe that he did anything wrong by proclaiming the resurrection of the dead. He just said a few verses above, but they already affirmed that. And so it's nothing but a righteous jab at them here. So his defense is solid. It is flawless, of course, because it's done under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. It doesn't mean necessarily that he couldn't have had a bad temper or something here, but his words are faithful. His words are true. And the Lord blessed that and gave them again the words to say as he stood there before them. Well, how did he do that? He did that, again, because he knew the word of God. Right, he says this is how the Old, well, he doesn't use, of course, the language of the Old Testament scriptures, but the law and the prophets, this is what proclaims Christ. So if we want to be able to uphold the faith of Christ against error in our day, that could be dispensationalism, or Zionism, or Messianic Judaism, or Messianic Jews, Seventh-day Adventists, and so many others who corrupt or say, you know, the Andy Stanley's of the world, we need to unhitch from the Old Testament then know the Lord Jesus Christ, and particularly know him from the Old Testament. Paul, what did Christ do? He opened the minds of all the people to know him from the Scriptures. What were the Scriptures written at that time when Christ was on earth, children? Which Scriptures were written? The Old Testament, that's right. There was no New Testament yet. I think Christians today have a hard time understanding that. They think maybe he's prophesied or something, but they don't actually realize that Christ is contained in the Old Testament scriptures. And the Old Testament scriptures are Christian scripture as well, the whole Bible is. So we should strive in the grace of God to be so elephant wise and bold to speak and live faithfully before the Lord, before slanderers and unbelievers. The way of Christ requires this. We looked at that last week's song, too. Always be ready to give a reason for the hope that lies within you. If you want to worship and serve God faithfully, we have to be growing in the Lord, in His Word, in knowledge of Him, and strengthening our abilities in that. And not just hypothetically, not just in a classroom, but living before one another in this way, and talking with one another, neighbors and so on, about Christ and His kingdom. Know the flack that will come as you do that, but also know the Lord is pleased with that, and He will be glorified through that and be with you in it. Well then, finally, our third and final point here, in verses 22 through 27, Christians pursue godly lives in light of future judgment. So, Paul's made his defense strongly here, and we see verse 22, Felix, he heard these things, and he has a more accurate knowledge of the way. the way of Christ now. Having that, he adjourned the proceedings and said, when Lysias the commander comes down, I will make a decision on your case. At this point, he probably wants in his mind sort of an eyewitness to the previous proceedings, right? Lysias was there having to protect Paul from the mob of the Jews and so on. He's like, all right, let's have Lysias come in and testify. Now, I don't believe anywhere in the book of Acts we ever read whether he did come down and testify. It doesn't sound like perhaps it happened. If it did, it's not recorded in Scripture. But that was the plan that Felix had at this point. Let him come down and testify. And then he's saying, I'll have enough witnesses and evidence, and I can render a verdict. I can make a decision on your case. And so then he commands, verse 23, the centurion to keep Paul and let him have and let him have freedom there in the jail cell. He's probably on a chain, but basically is able to roam about in the prison cell. And on top of that, his friends are able to come to him to provide for him food, refreshments, comfort, prayer, visit him, and so on. So he literally puts him on a long leash, as it were, and detains him in the prison. So that's Paul's situation after his defense. Obviously, he should have been set free, but that's not going to happen, at least not yet. It's really not going to happen throughout here. But the Lord is with Paul, even under these circumstances. Well, then you come over to verse 24. In some time, some days later, Felix has his wife, Drusilla, with him, and she is Jewish. Now, the text and the Scriptures don't directly say this, But historians and others tell us that Drusilla, it's mentioned that she's Jewish, but she's also an adulterer, an adulteress. Her husband was still alive, she left him. Felix was enraptured with her beauty and took her as his own wife. And so they've come together and they come to hear him talk about the faith. Christ and so again notice the boldness of Paul what he does in verse 25 he reasons with them about righteousness self-control like John the Baptist before Herod and his sin he tells him this is wrong you need to be righteous you have self-control judgment is coming for how you're living So no wonder it says Felix was afraid. Yeah, he's got personal, it's not just a general message here. Talking about preaching to the congregation in front of you, Paul's preaching to the governor who could cut his head off like John the Baptist was. Felix is afraid. And answered, go away for now. When I have a convenient time, I will call for you. He's like, well, that's enough for me. But God still protects Paul. Felix doesn't become outraged and kill him. though he doesn't render justice either. And so that's taking place. And then verses 26 through 27, you see also that Felix was known to be very greedy for gain, covetous. And you see that verse 26, he hoped that money would be given him by Paul, that he might release him. So he's hoping that he can wear Paul and his companions down. He's letting them have access in the jail cell, But he doesn't want to just let him go. He loves money and he wants Paul to bribe, you know, he's basically offering an unsated bribe to Paul, right? You pay me off, I'll let you go. But they don't do that. They trust the Lord that he would provide in due time. Now, remember the backdrop here. Remember what we read was just last Sunday where God, the Lord himself, Jesus Almighty, appeared to Paul and said, take part. You're going to testify of me in Rome. And so Paul probably thinks, all right, we're gonna get to Rome soon. Well, look at verse 27. After two years, Portius Festus succeeded Felix. And so, evidently, that likely means that Paul was left in that limbo situation for two years. And again, the historical information, trusting that it's accurate, eventually the Jews brought charges against Felix, so much for those flattering words of Tertullus earlier. And the only thing that spared Felix's life was his brother who stepped in, but even still, the emperor, Nero, removed Felix, and Festus was brought in. But Felix, probably under those circumstances of what was going on, wanting to do the Jews a favor since they're coming after him now, he leaves Paul bound, as it says in verse 27. He doesn't want to rock the boat, so he keeps Paul in these sort of compromised circumstances there. And yet, the Lord is with Paul through All of that. Well, again, applying that to us. Our third point, Christians pursue godly lives in the light of future judgment. Paul knows not only the temporal judgment in this life that could and ultimately would await him, martyrdom, but the eternal judgment that could await and will await anybody who denies the faith and doesn't finish the race. All right, Paul talks about that in 1 Corinthians chapter 9, verses 24 through 27. Of himself, he says, Paul says, do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, right? Those competing in the Olympics, ancient games, and so on, just a wreath that would fade. but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus, not with uncertainty. Thus I fight, not as one who beats the air. I am not shadowboxing. I am taking real blows. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified." He is talking about being disqualified, not merely as a minister, but from the kingdom of God. Now brothers and sisters, let's apply this to us as we've been talking about. It would be foolish, it would be foolish for us to think that simply because we believe the right doctrine and we're a small congregation and we talk about baptizing and raising our children in the Lord, that that's gonna mean magically and automatically that there's not gonna be anybody here that falls away and denies the faith. I don't think there's ever been a church that has existed for any length of time of any size that hasn't had that happen. To think that we're gonna be the first church that that will not happen in is foolish. Now, that doesn't mean we should despair. That doesn't mean that we shouldn't think that the Lord will bless our church, but we shouldn't be naive either. Examine your hearts, grow in the Lord, teach your children, and persevere in the faith. If Paul thought he could be disqualified, why don't you think he could be disqualified? We have to press on. And in fact, these are the very means that God has ordained. to examine ourselves, that would cause us to press on in righteousness, in godliness, in holiness. Paul was armed with this mind, and so should you. So should we. It is dangerous to rest on your profession of faith and never to examine the fruit of your faith. Christianity requires constant repentance and struggling forward for godliness, inch by inch and step by step. It is a grind. It is a battle. It is not easy. And it's not, again, to be clear, this is not a matter of revivalists constantly throwing people into a state of uncertainty about their salvation. But it is a call to examine yourself day by day. And hopefully you're examining yourself and saying, I love the Lord, but I don't love the Lord like I need to. And you press on in holiness and godliness and growth all the more. That is what we should be pursuing. That is what we should be after. every day and day by day, because there is a coming judgment that we all have to stand before God on. And it will take into account our good works done in Christ. It doesn't merit our salvation, of course, but it is part of the judgment that is to come. And it will be a sign of God's grace in us when our righteous deeds are revealed. The grounding of our salvation, of course, is in Christ alone. And even the fruit of our faith is a work of grace of God in us and our sanctification. And only those who have lived a life of faith, repentance, and growth in the Lord, right? Some, what is it, 30-fold, some 60-fold, some 100-fold, prove to have Christ as their Lord and Savior. So press on in godliness with the confidence that as you do so, you are forgiven in Christ. And you will grow, as we talked about earlier as well. And God will give you strength to persevere and to follow the way of Christ throughout your life. Set up, that is, now to come to the Lord's table, where we will be nourished in faith as we receive His body and the blood of the risen Christ, who has overcome the world. Let us now come then and dine at His table, upon His life-giving flesh and blood, by sincere faith in Him. Let us pray. Father, again, we thank You for Your Word and its truth. We thank You that the way of Christ, the truth of the Gospel, is presented so clearly in your word and in the testimony and witness of Paul that he defends the faith and as he defends the faith he's defending himself because his ministry was one of proclaiming and defending the truth of Jesus of Nazareth being the risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Lord know we're not all apostles that our lives won't be so poterminous in that way but God help us to so live for you that Whenever anybody accuses us falsely, it would essentially be the same. That we would simply need to defend the truth of God's word to be a defense of ourselves. Because our lives and our words and our actions are in conformity to the truth of your word. It would help us to strive after that, to follow you faithfully, strengthen us in that all the days of our life, until you return or call us on. And we ask all this in Jesus' name, amen. Let us respond to God's holy word and what we've just heard from his word and also prepare to receive nourishment at his table and stand together and sing 404, the church's one foundation. foundation is Jesus Christ her lord she is his new creation by water To be his holy bride With his own blood he bought her And for her life he died He liked from every nation Yet one or all the earth Her charter of salvation, one Lord, one faith, one birth. One holy name she blesses, partakes one holy food. As new on hope she presses, with every grace endures. Though with a scornful wonder Men see her sore oppressed, Thy schisms rent asunder By heresy's distress. Yet since they watch are keeping Their pride goes up, how long? And soon the night of weeping shall be the morn of song. The Church shall never perish, her dear Lord to defend. To guide, sustain, and cherish is with her to the end. Though there be those that hate her, And false sons in her pale, Against the foe and traitor She ever shall prevail. In toil and tribulation, And tumult of her war, She waits the consummation of peace forevermore. Still with the vision glorious, her longing eyes are blessed. And the great church victorious shall be the church at rest. Let sea on earth have union with God, the Three in One, And mystic, sweet communion with those whose rest is won. O happy ones and holy, Lord, give us grace that we, Like them, the meek and lowly, On high may dwell with Thee. Amen. Please be seated. As we prepare to partake together of the Lord's Supper, let's hear these words. Dear congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, let us give full attention to the words of the institution of the Holy Supper of our Lord as they are delivered by the Apostle Paul. For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you. that the Lord Jesus, on the night when he was betrayed, took bread. And when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, this is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me. In the same way, also, he took the cup after supper, saying, this cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. Whoever therefore eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. I don't believe this is the case. However, anyone not a member of a Bible-believing and teaching church, please refrain from taking the bread and wine for it is a meal of communion for those who belong to Christ and His Church. And that we may now celebrate the supper of the Lord to our comfort, reflect upon these words. In John 17, Jesus prays to the Father and declares that His hour has come to be glorified and that His atoning death would glorify the Father. For the Father has given the Son authority over all flesh to give eternal life to all whom the Father has chosen. Christ tells us that eternal life is known to the Father, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the God-man, whom the Father has sent. Our Lord and Savior then prays for His disciples who were with Him. But not only for them. He prays for all His elect who will believe in Him through the Apostles' words. As the Gospels reveal to us in the writings of the Scriptures, we all have believed on Christ through the apostolic ministry. Jesus prays that we would be kept in the Father's name, kept in righteousness, so that we would truly be one with God through Christ. Christ declares that he has given us the Father's word, revealing God to us so that we can know, love, and obey him rightly once again. Because of this, the world, dead in sin and hating God, also hates us. Christ prays that we would be sanctified by the truth, not taken out of the world, but kept from the evil one, from Satan and sin. Jesus prays this particularly for his apostles who must take the gospel to the ends of the earth. But he also prays that all of us Christians would be one with the Lord and a faithful witness as the bride of Christ in this wicked world. Christ is in us and the Father is in the Son. And so the Father's love for us is perfect because his love for the Son is perfect and we are united to him. Christ closes John 17 with His great desire that we would be with Jesus where He is, that is, where He was going into heaven above, to behold the fullness of His glory which the Father gave Him. By revealing all things to us through the Son and uniting us in the Son, we are also glorified in the Son and loved by the Father and united to Him. The Son is one with the Father. This is all accomplished through the cross of Christ. by a sacrificial body and blood for our sin, given for our sin. So let us come to the table of the Lord now, remembering his death, which brings us eternal life, true knowledge of God, and the true love of God, so that we would know, love, and serve him together. Amen. Now that we may obtain the Lord's blessings, let us humble ourselves before God, and with true faith implore him for his grace and prayer. Let us pray. Almighty and everlasting God, by the blood of your only begotten Son, has secured for us a new and living way into the Holy of Holies. Cleanse our minds and hearts by your word and spirit that we, your redeemed people, draw in close to you through this holy sacrament. Enjoy fellowship with the Holy Trinity. through the body and blood of Christ our Savior. We know that our Ascended Savior does not live in temples made by hands, but is in heaven, where he continues to intercede on our behalf. Through this sacrament, by your own word and spirit, may these common elements now be set apart from ordinary use and consecrated by you, so that, just as truly as we eat and drink these elements by which our bodily life is sustained, so truly we receive into our souls, for our spiritual life, the true body and true blood of Christ. Answer us, O God and merciful Father, through Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray together, saying, Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. And now, as we draw nearer to the table of our Lord, let us confess our common Christian faith together by reciting the Apostles' Creed. I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried. He descended into hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From there he shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of Beloved, hear these gracious words of promise spoken by our Lord. This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him There is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all sin. And so, beloved in the Lord Jesus Christ, lift up your hearts unto the Lord. Lift them up to the God of your salvation. So, do this here. The Lord Jesus, on the night when he was betrayed, he took bread, and when he gave him thanks, he broke it and said, this is my body given for you. Do this in remembrance of me. Yeah. Brothers and sisters, take, eat, remember, and believe that the body of Christ was broken for the forgiveness of all of our sins. After this, our Lord took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, Drink of it, all of you. For this is my blood, the cup, and it which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. And the two outer rings of wine, the inner part is grape juice. Yeah, right. Brothers and sisters, take and drink, remember and believe that the precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ was shed for the complete forgiveness of our sins. Let us now thank the Lord for his blessings to us in prayer once again. Father, again, we are so grateful for your love and your care to us, indeed, that you sent your Son, Jesus, to die for us and to pay for our sin, and that you have instituted this holy meal. It's not a mere ritual, Lord, but it's a spiritual blessing that you pour out through your Son upon us. Lord, I pray that, indeed, we would never take this for granted, that you love us and care for us and you've united us to yourself. Strengthen us in this holy meal so that we would love you and serve you all the more, remembering what you've done for us and motivating us to in turn serve and follow you. We ask all this in Jesus' name, amen. Let us continue and close in our worship now of our final song. Let's stand together and sing 275, Arise My Soul, Arise. 275. We'll sing all four verses together. Everybody ready? Arise, my soul, arise. Shake off your guilty fears, the bleeding sacrifice. Then my behalf appears Before the throne my shorty stands Before the throne my shorty stands My name is written on his hands He ever lives above For me to intercede His all-redeeming love, His precious blood to plead, His blood atoned for every race, His blood atoned for every race, And sprinkles now the throne of grace. Thy bleeding wounds He bears, Received on Calvary, they pour effectual prayers. They strongly plead for me. Forgive them, O forgive, they cry. Forgive them, O forgive, they cry. No, let that ransomed sinner die. My God is reconciled, His pardoning voice I hear, He owns me for His child, I can no longer fear. With confidence I now draw nigh, with confidence I now draw nigh, and Father, Abba, Father, cry. Beloved congregation, lift up your hearts unto the Lord and receive his parting word of blessing, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen. Amen. Praise the Lord.