commonly known to us as the Sermon on the Mount. And it's interesting how each teaching in the Sermon on the Mount has been progressive. It has flowed from the teaching that has preceded it. Each beatitude logically follows the one before it, Every subsequent teaching is related to the previous teaching verses 3 to 12 depict the character of believers who know Christ as their Savior and the children of God verses 13 to 16 and teach the function of Believers as God's spiritual salt and light in a corrupt and dark world and then the verses we're going to look at tonight verses 17 to 20 teach the foundation of for the inequalities of the Beatitudes and for functioning as God's sultanate. How we function. The foundation is God's word. We saw that a little bit this morning when we talked about drifting. When we start to stay away from God's word, we start to drift. And God's word is the foundation of all that we do as believers. And the Lord Jesus Christ said this in Matthew chapter five and verse 17. He said, think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets. I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass one jot or one tittle, there shall in no wise pass from the law till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven. But whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say unto you that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. Father, we thank you again for this day, for this time together, and for your word. And Father, we just prayed you'd help us today as we recognize the incredible foundation we have in the word of God that enables us to be the salt and the light that we need to be in a dark and desperate world. So Father, we pray that you would help us to recognize Christ's purpose in coming to this earth, and then what our purpose is as a result of our relationship with him. So Father, we pray that you would speak to our hearts, help us, challenge us, encourage us, equip us, and Lord, give us the courage we need to be the believers we need to be in this day and age in which we live. For we pray and ask these things in Christ's name. Amen. Christ explains his purpose is fulfilling the word of God. And when we focus on obeying the word of God in our lives, that's when we find fulfillment. You know, oftentimes we might say as believers, I just don't feel that fulfillment. Well, if we're not living in obedience to the word, spiritually, we can never be fulfilled. So Christ kind of gives us the blueprint that we need in order to find that same level of fulfillment in our lives. We see the purpose of Christ come in and he says that he came not to destroy. That was his purpose. Christ came not to destroy the law, not to destroy the prophets, but to fulfill what they had written back in the Old Testament. The terms law and prophets refer to the divisions of the Old Testament. The third division was the Psalms. The law is that system of legislation given by God to Moses in the book of Exodus, chapters 20 to 31. We see it in Leviticus, we see it in Deuteronomy, and we see the basic essence of those laws embodied in the Ten Commandments. The law was not given as a means to salvation. You cannot be saved by keeping the law. I think it was Dennis Petty the priest one time about the Ten Commandments being like ten chain links. And if that's what you were holding on to to get to heaven, you only need one of those links to break. And you can't get to heaven. We cannot keep the law. We need to understand that. The law was not given as a means of salvation. A person is not saved by keeping the law. Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, Galatians 2.16 says, but by the faith. Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ and not by the works of the law, for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. A couple of years ago we took the youth away and we did like an Outward Bounds kind of themed camp and We did a whole host of things. Lloyd taught them how to light fire just with some sticks and how to filter water. And you know, it was incredible when you saw the water with all that muck and all that dirt in. And then, of course, it was filtered through a sock and then the water was drinkable. But initially, when that water had all that muck inside it, after a while, the muck settled to the bottom, and the top of the glass, it looked like clear water, but all that muck was still in there. But if you took a clean spoon then and put it in the water and stirred it up, you would see all that muck. Can I say that that's what the law is? The law is that spoon. You know, we might look really good on the outside, but Because we've broken the law, there's still that filth of sin within us. But the law then is that spoon that kind of stirs up everything for us to see exactly how murky the water really is. The law tells us how crooked we are. The law tells us how far short we fall of God's glory. The law was given to the nation of Israel, even though it contains moral principles which are valid for people in every age, but that law was given to them not to show them how good they were, but it was to show them how bad they were, that they could not live perfect lives without God. James 2.10 says, for whosoever shall keep the whole law and yet offend in one point is guilty of all. You might have said, well, why would God do that then? Why would he give the nation of Israel all of those laws if they couldn't keep them? For the purpose of them recognizing that they couldn't keep the law. They weren't good enough to keep the law, that they needed something more in order for their relationship with God to be reconciled. We are all guilty of breaking the law. The Bible says, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. There isn't a single person on this planet that is a perfect person. Only one man has ever been a perfect person, and he was the one that was nailed to the cross for our sins. That's the reason Christ came into this world. He came to pay the penalty of mankind's sin, his death upon the cross. He died as a substitute for guilty lawbreakers, even though he himself was sinless. He didn't wave the Lord aside. He didn't say, well, that doesn't matter now because I'm here. He didn't wave the Lord aside. Rather, he met the full demands of the law. The law demanded a sacrifice. Christ was the one who was the perfect sacrifice. Therefore, he fulfilled the demands of the law. The gospel doesn't overthrow the law, it upholds God's law and shows us how God's demands have been satisfied by Christ staying upon the cross. Christ came not to destroy. That word destroy means to overthrow, to tear down or smash to the ground, to obliterate completely. He's saying, look, I didn't come to destroy the commandment. I didn't come to say, look, these are no good anymore now. I've come to, you know, to do something far better. He didn't come to overthrow God's commands. He didn't come to do away with God's commands. That word overthrow, tear down, smash to the ground, to obliterate completely. It literally means to render something useless. Christ didn't come to render the law useless. He came to fulfill. That word fulfill, it doesn't mean to fill out, but to fill up. It does not mean to add to, but to complete something that is already present. Christ fulfilled the law. He completed the law. You know, there was something missing. Every time a sacrifice was made in the Old Testament, it didn't do away with the demand for another sacrifice. But when Christ came, he completed the law. He fulfilled the law. Why? Because his sacrifice was perfect. How did he fulfill the law? Well, the prophecies were fulfilled by the Lord. Christ fulfilled the messianic predictions that he would come. All the way back from Genesis 3.15, we were told that the seed of the woman would come and would crush the head of the serpent. We are told all the way through the scripture, when you come to the Passover lamb in the book of Exodus, when you come to the serpent raised up, that brazen serpent raised up in the wilderness, when you see the captain of the host in the book of Joshua, when you see King David as a type, when you see the great shepherd in Psalm 23, when you see all the way through scriptures, Christ fulfilled prophecy. Micah said that he would be born in Bethlehem. But thou, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth have been from of old. Christ fulfilled our prophecy. Psalm 22 spoke of the Lord's crucifixion. For dogs have come past me, the assembly of the wicked have enclosed me, they pierced my hands and feet. Whether it was an obvious prophecy that there was no doubt whatsoever. Yes, that's what the writer was talking about. Or whether it was a prophecy that was slightly more hidden in meaning. It doesn't matter because what Christ did was he fulfilled every single prophecy that spoke of his coming, that spoke of his birth, that spoke of his life, that spoke of his ministry, that spoke of his death, that spoke of his resurrection. All were fulfilled. But not only were the prophecies fulfilled by the Lord, but the payment was fulfilled by the Lord. Christ fulfilled the law, completed the law by dying upon the cross and therefore satisfied the demands of the law. The price for disobedience was death, the wages of sin. That's the price for disobedience. That's why the Jews offered sacrifices to atone for their sins because blood had to be shed in order for sin to be forgiven. The entire Old Testament sacrificial system pointed to Christ. The tabernacle itself pointed to Christ. Everything pointed to the Lord Jesus Christ. The Old Testament sacrifice prepared the Jewish people for their Messiah's coming. Christ couldn't make the payment for the penalty of sin because he was perfect. Remember the Passover lamb? God said, look, you find out a perfect lamb, a lamb without blemish. And that's the one that you offer as a sacrifice. That's the blood you put upon the lintels of the door. Well, Christ was the spotless lamb, the perfect lamb. John the Baptist cried out and said, behold, he wasn't just a spotless lamb or a perfect lamb, he was the lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world. Christ had to be without sin. He who knew no sin, there was no sin found within him. It was impossible for him to sin. He was sinless. And yet He became sin for us when He died upon the cross for us. Because if He wasn't sinless, He would have had to have made a sacrifice for His own sins first. But He didn't need to do that. He fulfilled the Word. He fulfilled the law by absolute and perfect obedience to it. That's what qualifies Him to be our Redeemer. But not only was their payment fulfilled and the prophecies fulfilled, but the performance was fulfilled by Christ. Christ perfectly kept all the commandments of the law. He was born under the law. Remember what Mary, his mother, did when her days of purification were complete. What did she do? She went to the temple and offered a sacrifice as required by the law. You know, we see Jesus as a young boy going up to Jerusalem to worship during the feast. Why? Because that was a part of the law. God required that the males come to Jerusalem to celebrate those three feasts each time that they were performed during that year. He kept the law perfectly. And Galatians 4.4 says, but when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth his son made of a woman, made under the law. Matthew 3.15 says, and Jesus answered and said, and him suffered it to be so now, for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he suffered him. The purpose of Christ coming to this earth was to fulfill God's word. was to fulfill God's law. He fulfilled it in his conduct. He fulfilled it in every detail. He completed it. Can I say this tonight, that the word of God ought to be the one thing that fulfills our lives? The word of God ought to be the one thing that we give heed to every single day. The word of God ought to be our guide for every decision that we make. The Word of God ought to be our guide for every direction that we head in. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. Christ's purpose wasn't to destroy the law, wasn't to do away with the law, wasn't to make the law null and void. Christ's purpose was to fulfill the law, to complete it in its entirety. So we see the purpose of Christ's ministry, but then we also see the preservation of God's mandate. Verse 18, he says, for verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law till all be fulfilled. There's a story about a student in Cambridge University. He went into the classroom on exam day, and he asked the proctor to bring him cakes and ale. The proctor refused, expressing astonishment at the young student's audacity. At this point, the student read from the 400-year-old laws of Cambridge, which were written in Latin and still nominally in effect. The passage read by the student said, gentlemen sitting for examinations may request and require cakes and ale. The proctor was forced to comply. Pepsi and hamburgers were judged the modern equivalent, so the necessary accommodation was made for the student. After all, the law was on his side. Three weeks later, the student was summoned to the Office of Academic Affairs to face disciplinary action and was assessed a fine of five pounds. He was not fined for demanding cakes and ale, but for blatantly disregarding another obscure Cambridge law, he had failed to wear a sword to the examination. The student lived by the law, and therefore the student was judged by the law to the letter, to the T. The Cambridge laws, good or bad, were still preserved. Christ refers here to the preservation of the law. That's what he's talking about. His language is compelling. He said not one jot or one tittle. The smallest letter is the Hebrew yod. And it looks something like an apostrophe. There are approximately 66,420 yods in the Old Testament. The tittle is the Hebrew serif. or an extended horn. It is a tiny extension on some letters that distinguish it from similar Hebrew letters. If we were to give an example in modern day vernacular then, the little e, the little line on the bottom of an e distinguishes that from an f. If you take that little line away then it becomes an f. the little line poking down from a P can make it look like an R. So that's what the tittle is, or the serif, it's a small line distinguishing it from another letter. To change a small point of one letter, can alter the whole meaning of a word. And it can actually destroy the sense. So the Jews were exceedingly cautious when they copied out God's word. They made sure that not one of the 66,000 plus yards or the innumerable little serifs would pass from the law. They made sure that they were all in the right place when they were transcribing the Old Testament. And if they made one mistake, On one page, they would do away with the whole page. They would do away with the whole scroll. Not one of the 66,000 yards or innumerable serifs would pass from the law until everything is accomplished. Christ is teaching about the inspiration and the immutability of the Old Testament law. He's not saying that the Old Testament law contains the truth or that it becomes the truth. He's saying that the word of God cannot be broken. Nothing will stop the word from being fulfilled. It doesn't matter what people believe about the end time. Whatever God's plan is for those end times will be fulfilled. Regardless of what people think about it, regardless of what people try and do about it, every prophecy in the Bible will come to pass. You know, God prophesied that Jesus would come the first time and he came. God prophesied that Christ would die upon the cross and he died upon the cross. God's word prophesied that Christ would rise again and he rose again. God's word prophesied that Christ would come back. And no matter what man does, maybe to try and stop it or to ignore it, Christ will return. He'll return first for his church. And then he'll return so that he can rule on this earth with his people. Every prophecy and every promise of the word will be fulfilled. Whether you like it or not, whether you like Israel or not, it doesn't matter. There are promises that God has made to Israel that have yet to come to pass. God will not break his promises. So therefore, his word will be fulfilled. And what Jesus is saying is that every minutest detail, even the smallest of promises that might seem insignificant, they will come to pass. Every jot and every tittle will be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my word shall not pass away. Isaiah 40 verse 8 said, the grass withereth, the flower fadeth, but the word of our God shall stand forever. Do you know that no book has been attacked as much as the Bible? People have tried to destroy this book. People have tried to do away with this book. People have tried to alter this book. And yet it's still in doers. It's still here. The French philosopher Voltaire set out to destroy Christianity and the word of God. And in his hatred for Christianity, he said it took 12 men to start Christianity and it would take only one man, Voltaire, to stop it. Voltaire said that inside 100 years, there would be no copies of the Bible left except copies in museums. However, when a century had passed, the word was thriving, but Voltaire was not. God had the last laugh on Voltaire because Voltaire's house was used by the Geneva Bible Society for the storage of copies of the Bible. Christ was right. Voltaire was wrong. God's word cannot and will not be destroyed. We see the preservation of God's mandate and then the performance of God's mandate. Wherefore, verse 19, wherefore, whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments and shall teach men, so he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven. But whosoever shall do and teach them the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. When we are disobedient to God's word, We show a disrespect and a resistance to the Lord. We reveal our rebellion by our attitudes and by our actions. We can appear on the outside to obey the Lord, but our heart may be filled with resistance towards Christ. Isaiah 29, 13 says, wherefore the Lord said, for as much as his people draw near me with their mouth, with their lips to honor me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear towards me is taught by the precept of men. I can't remember which one it was. I think it was, my girls, they have such a hard time. And they say, Dad, sometimes we think some of the stories you tell about us never happened. But I'm sure they did, and I can't remember which one it was. We were asking one of them to do something, and they finally did it. It was Hannah, it was Ursula. They finally did it, and we said, you know, good girl, Hannah, for doing that. She said, Dad, I'm doing it on the outside, but on the inside, it is complete refusal. So she was kind of doing it, but on the inside was like, nah, I'm not doing that at all. And sometimes we're like that. It was you, was it? There we are. And sometimes we're like that with the word of God. We kind of, okay, well I'll obey the word, but inwardly I've got my arms folded and I'm stamping my feet and I'm not really doing it wholeheartedly. But did you know rebels don't like to rebel alone? They like company. I've used this illustration when you're dieting and you want to break your diet, you always want to get the person you're dieting with to eat the chocolate first. Because that just makes you feel so much better. They feel more secure when others rebel with them. So what happens then? They teach others to rebel. You know, you can go to churches and you can have... Some sort of word preached but you know, they'll tell you you can live how you want and you can do what you want and there's no Recompense and you know, it doesn't matter god's not gonna judge you because he's already forgiven you and and that's great people love those type of churches because it means We can live how we want to live and it doesn't matter because the past is going to agree with it Remember when we looked at and the book of malachi and that's exactly what the priests were doing The priests were living their lives in such a way that the people said oh brilliant This is our kind of religion. This is perfect Because if they're doing it and they're getting away with it, then that's how we can live. Those who lead others astray by false teaching, Christ actually says they are the least in the kingdom of heaven. Now that doesn't mean they're not saved. But Christ said they are the least in the kingdom of heaven. It doesn't mean that those who oppose the word of God will be kept out of heaven, because there are many Christians who've accepted Christ as their savior, who oppose God's word by their disobedience, who are still going to heaven. It simply means there'll be no honor. There'll be no reward. So when they stand before the Lord at the beamer seat of Christ, they kind of be forgotten about in terms of rewards, because they'll be the least in the kingdom. Those who encourage others to obey God's words by their actions and by their teachings, they'll be called great in God's kingdom. We are to be doing the word in our lives. We're meant to be living the word. We're meant to be teaching the word. We're meant to be encouraging others to obey the word and to apply it to their lives. If there's no application, Then what is the point of us standing up here preaching? We've got to be able to apply the Word to our lives. Why? So that we can live in accordance with God's will and we can live in a way which is pleasing to the Lord and is a benefit to others in terms of them coming to know Christ as well. Those who live God's Word and teach God's Word, the Bible says, will be honoured. They'll be considered great according to God's standards. And the question we got to ask ourselves is, do we want to pat on the back here on earth? Or do we want to hear those words, well done, good and faithful servant in heaven? The performance of God's mandate, are we being obedient to the word of God? Or do we lead others astray? Sometimes if we can get somebody else involved in the same sin that we're involved in, it kind of lessens the guilt in our lives because then it's like, ah, well they did it, so therefore it's okay. And then finally, we see the precedent. to enter God's mansion. Verse 20, for I say unto you that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. Here Christ states the requirements for heaven. The text reveals that Jesus' standards were not lower, but higher than those who were classed as the best religionists of the day now then let me just clarify a few things here you might be thinking well hang on a minute how are the pharisees righteous because christ said that they are you know they were like outwardly white deceptive but inwardly dead men bones he called them uh hypocrites and um and vipers and so how are they righteous What Christ is saying here is that people viewed the Pharisees and the scribes as the most righteous person that you could absolutely be. Righteousness is always the prime requirement for God's divine blessing. It's not riches. It's not reputation. It is righteousness. God's not looking at our power or our position or our prestige or our popularity. He is looking for righteousness. Christ explains that our righteousness must exceed the righteousness of the scribes and pharisees. And this may have shocked his listeners here on the Mount as he gives this sermon. The scribes were the most renowned teachers of the law, and the pharisees have the reputation of being the most exemplary models of Judaism. For our Lord to have solemnly affirmed that their righteousness was inadequate for entering into the kingdom, that must have seemed like some kind of radical teaching. The Pharisees were looked up to those who attained the very pinnacle of personal piety. The common people supposed that such heights were just unobtainable. There was a proverb among the Jewish people at this time which said, if but two men were to enter heaven, the one would be a scribe and the other a Pharisee. The Pharisees and the scribes were not so righteous as what people thought. They were hypocrites. They were a wicked bunch according to the Lord. And from that standpoint, it wouldn't take much righteousness to surpass them. Christ is not pointing out the evil of the scribes and the pharisees here, but he is treating them as the people viewed them in order to teach people that there is a great requirement for salvation. Without righteousness that was greater than the scribes and pharisees, the best examples of the time, no one could enter the kingdom of heaven. The absoluteness of this requirement is found in two words, where it says, in no case. In no case. These are a translation of two Greek words, O made. It is a double negative in the Greek language. In the English language, the double negative cancels out the negative. It's generally considered poor English when you use a double negative. I'm not going to do that type of thing. It's a double negative, which obviously is a positive. But in the Greek language, It is very different. It's not only acceptable to use a double negative, it's emphatic. And that is an absolute and permanent. So in John 6, 37, it says, all that the Father giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. That there is a double negative. Absolutely no one will cast you out. In our text here in the Sermon on the Mount, the double negative gives emphasis. You shall in no case, no one gets into heaven on their own merits. You cannot get to heaven by being you. There has to be a change. Christ is demanding a kind of righteousness that we simply don't have. Isaiah said that all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. So how can we be righteous enough to get to heaven? How can we be more righteous than the scribes and the pharisees? Who, at this particular time, the crowd viewed as the pinnacle of righteousness. How can we be more righteous than that? Well, who is the most righteous person to have ever lived? That is not a trick question. Hopefully you know. Jesus said, Fred, Christ is the most righteous person to have ever lived. So it's only by his righteousness can we get to heaven. So how do we get his righteousness? By trusting in him. By believing that he died upon the cross for us. Because he became sin for us who knew no sin, that we then might become the righteousness, that his righteousness might be added to our account. So when we stand before God, he doesn't see our unrighteousness. He doesn't see our good deeds, which Isaiah said are as filthy rags. He sees Christ's righteousness. Christ is the only way that we can get to heaven. The word of God is the only foundation that we need in order to live fulfilled lives. Christ didn't come to destroy the law. Christ came to fulfill the law, and by fulfilling the law, came to give us purpose. You know, sometimes we might think, oh, I just don't know what the Lord wants me to do, I just don't have any purpose. Christ has saved you for a reason. You do have a purpose, because you are the perfect person to shine Christ's light. to share Christ's love with a dark world, with a hateful world. You know, your testimony is more powerful than you can ever possibly begin to imagine. You know, I'm sure that there are people who knew you before you became a Christian. You know, they remember all the bad things we did. They remember the type of person that we were. And sometimes they have great pleasure telling us that. But when you come to know Christ, there's a change. There's a difference. Your thought life changes. Your behavior changes. The way in which you act changes. The way in which you speak changes. The way in which you live your life changes. Your priorities change. Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he's a new creature. Old things have passed away, behold, all things have become new. You know, normally we come through the new year, like we said last week, we have a blank piece of paper in front of us and we kind of write. We've got a fresh start, we're glad to get rid of that last year because of all the rubbish that went on and all the nonsense that went on. Clean slate, fresh start, let's make the plans, let's make the resolutions, let's just head into the new year. You're a new creature, old things have passed away, We literally have a clean slate in front of us. But it's up to us whether or not we make a difference in the world in which we live. Christ's purpose was to fulfill the law. He came to give us life, to give us joy and more abundantly. So because we've been given so much, we have a privilege to live our lives in such a way that can affect other people with the gospel of Christ? Do we build it on the right foundation? Do we recognize the importance of this word in our lives? You know, some of the things that Christ said must have just seemed so radical in that day. But when you really look at it, what he said was so simple. And I think the problem with a lot of people is they try and overcomplicate Christianity. And it's quite simple. If you want to grow to be more like Christ, you just need to spend more time with him. Then we can make a real difference. in the world in which we live. Father, we thank you again for this opportunity to come around you. Lord, we just ask that you would help us to recognize that we have a great purpose here on earth to make a difference in the lives of those that we come in contact with every day. So Father, would you just help us? Help us to build upon the foundation of your word in our lives. Help us to use that word to guide us for each decision that we make. Help us, Lord, when it comes to serving you, that we might do it in a way which just causes people to stop in unbelief because you have made such an impact in our lives. You have made such a difference in our lives. You have altered our lives in such a way that we can't contain this message. We can't keep this message to ourselves. We just want to share it with absolutely everybody. Would you help us to do that, Lord? Help us in this coming year for each and every one of us here in this church to reach at least one person with the gospel of Christ. That we might be a witness and a testament to those we come in contact with, and maybe Maybe somebody that we speak to this year would come to know Christ as their Savior. So Father, would you just bless us now as we come around your table. Would you speak to our hearts and continue to encourage us. We pray and ask these things in Christ's name. Amen. And I ask the deacons to come at this time. How incredible that when the Lord brought the children of Israel out of Egypt and into the wilderness, that he commanded them to make a tabernacle. And we know the word tabernacle just means a dwelling place. When Jesus said that the word became flesh and dwelt among us, that word, it just means tabernacle among us. And that God's desire was to dwell among his people. He wanted to build a tabernacle so that he could dwell among his people. And how incredible that that doesn't change, that God has a desire to dwell among his people today. that when we become Christians, God literally takes up residence in our hearts and in our lives so that he dwells within us. And I just think that's, you know, we kind of often think back and think, oh, but it was easier for the people in the Old Testament. It was easier for the disciples because they saw Jesus. It was easier for the people in the Old Testament because, you know, they saw God and it was easier. But they didn't have the complete revelation of God's word. They didn't have, the Holy Spirit indwell in them. There were times where the Holy Spirit would rest upon people. You know, Saul recognized that moment that the Spirit was removed from him. David was panicked that he didn't want God's Spirit to be removed from him. But God indwells us today. And that wouldn't be possible unless Christ had gone to the cross of Calvary for us. That relationship with God could never be reconciled unless Christ went to the cross of Calvary to pay for the sins of the world. You know, the children of Israel, as they brought each and every sacrifice to the tabernacle, it only covered sin till the next time. It only atoned for sin, it just covered it till the next time. But as we said earlier, John the Baptist said that Christ's sacrifice upon the cross would remove sin. once and for all, would pay for sin once and for all. I don't think we can ever begin to comprehend the price that Christ paid upon the cross when he gave his body and he shed his blood for us. You know, when we partake of the bread and we take hold of the bread and we break it, it's incredible that when Our hands break that bread. We're reminded that each and every one of us had a part in Christ's body being placed upon the cross. Because it was our sin that put him there. He knew no sin, but he became sin for us. Our sin was added to him so that his righteousness could be added to us. And his body was broken for us. so that our sins could be forgiven and our relationship with God could be restored. That relationship that was broken in the Garden of Eden was restored upon the cross of Calvary so that man and God could finally be reconciled one to the other. As we come around the table tonight, we remember all that the Lord Jesus Christ did upon the cross when he gave his life for us on that night that he was betrayed, he took the bread, after he'd blessed it, he broke it and said, take it, this is my body, which is broken for you. I wonder if Jamie'd ask a blessing on the bread. Thank you, Jamie. Which is broken for you, this do in remembrance of me. I wonder what Adam and Eve must have thought when, for the first time, an animal was killed in front of them so that their nakedness could be covered. Up until that point, there'd be no death because it was a perfect world. Death came after Adam and Eve's sin. Imagine the horror as they saw the blood shed so that a sacrifice could be made to atone for their sins. When Christ shed his blood upon the cross, that wasn't a small payment for sin. That was a terrible death. That was a horrific death. That was something that we simply can't even begin to comprehend from a physical, mental, or spiritual point of view. Because Christ suffered more than any man had ever suffered before. He was marred more than any man ever was. He was so beaten and battered that he wasn't even recognizable as a human being. And that blood was shed for our sin. The Bible says without the shedding of blood there is no remission. Sin cannot be dealt with unless blood is shed. But this blood was different. The thousands of sacrifices that have been made previous throughout the whole of the Old Testament would only be good until the next time, until the next time, until the next time. But Christ's sacrifice was a one-time event. It was a sacrifice that was once and for all. When Christ's blood was shed for us, it was shed so that our sin could be blotted out. Even though our sins were a scarlet, Christ's blood would make us as white as snow. I wonder if I also ask a blessing upon the Catholic. Amen. We retain the capital and we retain good together. represented a new covenant and that we were to drink this in remembrance of him. Father, we are thankful again for this opportunity to come around your table. We're thankful, Lord, that we come to remember your death upon the cross. But Father, we rejoice in the fact that your body did not stay upon the cross, neither did it stay in the tomb. We're thankful for the fact that on the third day you rose from the grave, that on that third day you rose victoriously, conquering death, hell, and the grave, and that because you live, We can live also. Father, I'm thankful for the fact now because of Christ's death upon the cross, we don't fear death. There is no victory in the grave or there's no sting in death because we are a child of God, because we are new creatures, because we belong to you. Father, I just pray that you'd help us. to remember the fact that we have the victory already in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. So would you help us to live victorious lives? Would you help us to live lives that are pleasing to you? That we would live lives that would make your sacrifice worth it in that regard, that we might be a blessing to you and glorify you and that we would be a witness to others. So Father, we thank you for all that you do for us. We praise you for this opportunity. We can come around this table and remember the price that you paid for us. And I pray that we would never take that sacrifice for granted. So Father, we just ask now, as you continue to speak to our hearts, as we come to the closing part of our service, that we would be mindful once again of all that you do for us. And we just wanna say tonight that we love you and we praise you and we ask these things in Christ's name, amen. Amen, we stand and sing our closing hymn together. 499. you Aum I sing and sing with you. ♪ And in my, my dreams ♪ Thou wilt redeem, with wealth and honor paid. I am. I am. I am. I am. I am. I am. I am. I am. This was a hymn that was used greatly during the Billy Graham crusades, where thousands and thousands of people came to know Christ as their saviour. The hymnist just says, just as I am, You don't need to come any other way. If you are here tonight and you've never trusted Christ as your Savior, there's no new leaf that needs to be turned over. There's nothing you can even do in order to be worthy to come to the Lord. You come as you are, and the Lord does the rest. We can't alter our sinful condition, but he can. So if you've never trusted Christ as your Savior, if you are here in the building tonight and you've never trusted Christ as your Savior, then you need to come. If you are watching online and you've never become a Christian, you need to do that before it's too late. We are not guaranteed tomorrow. Can I say this to you? Hell is just as real as heaven is, and if you die without Christ, then hell will be your eternal home, but God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. So would you come tonight just as you are, and as we sing this last verse, maybe if you've never, become a Christian yourselves, then maybe during this last verse, you'll just pray and ask the Lord to come into your heart, to save you right where you are right now. And the Bible says, for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. We'll sing the last verse together, amen. ♪ Shazia! ♪ Questioner asks a question inaudible Questioner 2.