I invite you to turn in the Word of God to the last book of the Bible. The last book of the Bible, Revelation, in the second chapter. Those who haven't heard, we rejoice in the engagement of Ben Oum and Alicia. one of the young people in our church in Indianapolis. So if you didn't already know that and you haven't rejoiced in that news, you can let Ben know how happy you are that God has answered prayer for him and for them. But we are encouraged and trust the Lord will lead them and guide them. Looking forward to these marriages that will be taking place some in the not too distant future. Revelation 2 is where we are this morning. I was reading Spurgeon earlier this week. And he drew attention to verse 17, and it lodged in my own mind, one of his devotionals. So this is where we are this morning. But we're going to read the entirety of the letter. It's addressed to Pergamos, so from verse 12 through verse 17 of Revelation 2. Let us hear God's word, Revelation 2, verse 12. And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write, these things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges. I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is. And thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith. even in those days where in Antipas was my faithful martyr who was slain among you where Satan dwelleth. But I have a few things against thee because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam who taught Balak to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel. to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. Repent, or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. Him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone the new name written, which no man knoweth, saving he that perceiveth it. Amen. What you have heard is the word of the eternal God, which you are to receive, believe, and where appropriate, obey. And the people of God said, amen. Let's pray. Let's seek the Lord. Father, we pray that thou will continue to encourage us. We've already been blessed today. And we have been brought to consider heavenly things, glorious truths. Oh, we're glad for our great high priest. We're glad for the one who has entered heaven for us and taken our nature there to give confidence to us that one day we too shall enter that place of the no mores. We pray, oh God in heaven, that thou wilt graciously give us a taste for things that are heavenly, to set our affection upon things which are above. We're far too earthly-minded. And God, we pray, please, especially as we think of sitting at this table that our Lord instituted for our good, Thou wilt graciously, oh, mercifully, mercifully meet with every soul. There are so many needs here this morning. We can't begin to articulate all of them. Many of them we know nothing about. But thou knowest. Thou knowest the brokenhearted. Thou knowest the weak. Thou knowest the proud. Thou knowest those who need guidance, need encouragement. who need their hearts drawn closer to Thee. Oh, great Savior of sinners, look upon this gathering and see the need, and by the blessed Spirit, meet that need. God, I pray, help me to get out of the way. Let the word run, have free course and be glorified. Extend Thy kingdom now, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Have you ever wondered or given any thought to the gift of appetite and taste? It's not something that we think about. In fact, for all of our faculties, we tend to take them for granted until, of course, there's a threat that they may be lost. I have within my own family an individual who was in a terrible road traffic accident many years ago. And as a result of that accident, the glass that came into the face, there was damage done to the nose that meant that they were not able to smell ever again. Of course, that affects many things. All of a sudden, you realize that it's not just the things you smell in the air generally, but the very things you put into your mouth. So much of your taste is tied to your sense of smell. And we don't really think about these things, but when God made man in the beginning, forming him of the dust of the ground, breathing into his nostrils the breath of life, He did not create a soul without a body or a body without senses. He gave to man senses, the ability to enjoy the world in which he was placed. Man was made to taste, to eat. and to delight in God's natural provision, placed in a garden that had abundance of fruit and many delightful things to enjoy. Genesis tells us that the trees were not only good for food, but they were pleasant. And so in this, God gave to man a tongue not just to speak but to savor, the gift of enjoying the things that God had provided. I believe it's likely that Adam's expectation was that he would dine with God in the garden. I think there was a sense of that communion and fellowship that would have been revealed in some way in which I can't say exactly how it would have unfolded, but a sense of communion. And I draw that not just by the Lord coming to visit Adam in the cool of the day, but even by the eschatological hope of the people of God. where so much of revelation is bringing to fulfillment that which was lost through the fall, including, of course, and central to all of that, man's experience of dining and communion with God in his very presence. But sin, of course, changed everything. Man took of that forbidden fruit and everything then was corrupted, including his appetite. Revelation 2 verse 17, our Lord Jesus in addressing this particular church, Pergamos, speaks to a church that is dwelling in a city filled with false worship. And that is a threat that has come into the church, some within the church. You see verse 14, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel." Now, I'm not going to get into all the details of this letter. I would say to you that Dr. Sidwell has been addressing this over recent weeks. He addressed this passage, and so if you're not at adult Sunday school, if you haven't got a good excuse, then I would encourage you go and listen to it whether or not you're able to participate in adult Sunday school or not. You'll find it greatly helpful just in terms of understanding some of the context of the language that you find in Revelation and these letters. But the threat of paganism, of eating things sacrificed onto idols and committing fornication, there's some kind of influence that was in the area that was infiltrating into some within the church and affecting them. And the encouragement given in verse 17 is, to him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth, saving he that receiveth it. There's encouragement here to those who overcome, which is the argument over and over again in these letters. Encouraging God's people to overcome, to persist, to remain steadfast against all the challenges. The entire book of Revelation, one might say, is really God's last word in his canon, encouraging the church to keep on keeping on. And so while the context is set in the first century, it has relevance in every generation that the threat to God's people is that something, whatever it is, threatens to derail, to get you off the course, to distract, to divert your attention, to place focus and emphasis on things that are of lesser or perhaps even no importance. The language found in the heart of verse 17, where the Lord is promising that to those who overcome He will give to eat the hidden manna will be our focus here this morning. This language, of course, was not strange to Jewish ears, the language of manna. Of course, it was coming to a people, many of which came from a background in which they had an anticipation. According to the Jewish expectation, before our Lord Jesus came, There was an anticipation that in the coming of the Messiah there would be the giving again of the manna, that that which had been hidden, that which perhaps especially within the ark, which had been preserved within the ark of the covenant would one day again be given to the people and they would enjoy manna again with the coming of the Messiah. What our Lord does, and what He's already done, of course, in His ministry, but when we come to this writing here, He is giving emphasis that the fulfillment is something found in Him. That we're not anticipating the rediscovery of the Ark of the Covenant and that preserved manna within the Ark, but we're looking for and finding satisfaction in that which the Messiah has provided Himself. The manna was a symbol of divine provision. of God's meeting the need of His people and gave to them an expectation, of course, of His mercy to them and meeting all of their needs. And what Christ does is that He shows that He is the fulfillment of those expectations. And there's a promise of a greater experience yet to come. Because this, of course, is written to believers living in this world like you and me. And they're being told to him, to you believer, that will overcome, will I give to eat of the hidden manna. There's yet more blessing to be enjoyed that I will provide to you who believe and remain faithful. So I want us to think about this a little this morning with the Lord's help, the hidden manna. I trust it will be of encouragement to you because it has relevance, of course, as we come to the table. We'll see that more as we progress. Consider first with me the past picture, the past picture. You read this language, the hidden manna, of course it's charged with meaning and of significance that comes from the past. Think first then of the provision in the wilderness. It reminds us of this provision in the wilderness period. There, the children of Israel brought out of Egypt, delivered from their bondage. Prayer has been answered. God has come in mercy. His presence is seen in the pillar in their midst. Their enemies have been washed up on the shore of the Red Sea, and they're entering into this newfound freedom. And as they enter into it, of course, they find themselves in a place where there's no food, there's no provision for them. There's no grain, there are no gardens full of fruit and vegetables. They find themselves in the midst of the eerie silence of the wilderness with nothing to meet their need. You find then in Exodus 16 how God meets that need. In Exodus 16 verse 4, we're told, "'Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you.'" What a thing this is. "'I will rain bread from heaven for you.'" The manna then became an experience for the children of Israel in that wilderness period. This small, white, sweet substance was not just provision for them in their immediate need, but was a picture. And the scripture elevates the experience that they had through that period. Psalm 78 calls it angel's food. You're impressing upon them the specialness of what God provided in that diet for those who were in the wilderness. God gave them what they needed. Daily, He came to their aid. Dependably, the manna was there, not as a reward but as a reminder to them that God meets their need. Our Lord Jesus addresses this in John 6. In John 6, the opening part of that chapter, you've heard me refer to it many times, but it's so significant. The feeding of the 5,000 is of huge theological significance. It's one of the miracles, the few miracles that you have in all four Gospels. And it's given there in John 6 in great detail. There you have, of course, our Lord there. The multitude are in the wilderness, they're hungry, they need provision. He provides for them. Immediately then, the Jewish mind, as I say, is anticipating the manna coming in association with the coming Messiah. Their minds go to their expectation. They see in Jesus the hope. that they've been looking for, and they're ready to make Him king. Of course, our Lord moves away from that, gets Himself away from their presence before they have the time to bring to pass their desire. The next day comes, of course, the multitude are seeking for Jesus, that's the language that's used, and they're looking for Him because they see in Him the One who can meet all their temporal needs. That's so often what their focus was, we want the Messiah for our temporal needs. We want the Messiah to deal with our enemies, our temporal, physical, visible enemies. We want the Messiah also to meet our practical, physical needs. They wanted Him in this way that only pertained to the tangible, to the physical, to the here and now. And our Lord refused to give in to their desire, but He instructed them. there on that occasion pointing back to the wilderness period, that he gave them bread from heaven to eat. He underscores that God provided for them. This wonderful provision in which they were told in Exodus 16 that if they would, not only was it sweet, but it was sufficient. Whatever they would gather, if you gathered what you needed, you had what you needed. If you over gathered, hoarding and unbelief, then that would perish. The miracle of course was on the day before the Sabbath they were to gather twice as much and God, rather than it normally perishing, it would be preserved into the Sabbath. Everything about it was miraculous. Nothing about it was to be seen as just some strange experience in the natural realm. God provided for His people. It was bread, the bread of heaven, given to men. depicting something of the more perfect one who was to come. But it wasn't just provision in the wilderness, it was a test. It was a test, not just provision, but a test. Again, I'm referring back to Exodus 16 where you can read it for yourself more fully, the initial giving and reference of the manna. It tells us that I may prove them whether they will walk in my law or no. Are they going to walk? Are they going to obey in this giving? And you think, well, what relevance has that got? God's providing for them. Well, how is that a test? What was a test in this? He had given specific parameters. I've already mentioned the fact. Just take what you need. Don't over hoard. Don't be storing more. And if they would disobey, they're going to find it was going to rot and be completely useless. And yet God would tell them also that on the Sabbath, don't go and gather. Instead, gather twice as much the day before, and then you'll have the provision you need for two days. It was all miraculous. It was a test then. Would they hoard in fear? Would they show their unbelief, trying to preserve things that God said was going to rot? So again, as I say, it was a test. Would they obey? Would they listen to what He said? And of course later on writing about, looking back on the wilderness experience in Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy 8 verse 3 says, And so part of it was a test teaching them that they weren't just to see the physical. They were to see something that was pointing to and find satisfaction by faith in what it pointed to. Now there's such application there, beloved, in what even we're doing this morning. We come to the Lord's table. There can be, and certainly there are quarters of Christendom in which the emphasis is placed purely upon the emblems themselves. And which participating and taking the bread and taking the cup and participating in that, that the end in and of itself is that. That is not the case. That participation has to be mixed with faith. So as they gathered manna in the wilderness, they were to see this is God's provision for us. He'll meet our spiritual need. He's promised a Deliverer, a Messiah, who will be like bread for our souls. They were to see that. When you take that bread, you're to see beyond the thing itself, and your faith is to latch on to the one promised, is to consider the one who took our flesh. God took your nature in order to redeem your soul. And you're to see that. Your eye of faith is to go beyond and say, thank you, Jesus, not just this bread, but the bread of God. You're to see Him. and the same in the cup, because it was not enough simply that God would take flesh. God in flesh must die and shed His blood in the suffering of the cross. So, again, by faith you reach beyond the emblem itself and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and all that He has accomplished. And so it's a test. It's a test. In some way, the Lord's Table is not set up as a test, but it does test. It's not intended to be a testing in the same way as the provision in the wilderness was, but it does have a testing effect. And so the warning given in 1 Corinthians 11 warns of those who eat and drink unworthily. Again, to underscore, because I think it needs to be said repeatedly, there's hardly ever an occasion in which someone has a wrong idea about that language and they think, well, I'm not worthy. That's not what he's saying. None of us are worthy. When you come to this table, you are an unworthy person in and of yourself. That's not the warning. It's coming in an unworthy way. In some way, you're living, harboring sin, living in rebellion. There's a specific application that was relevant to the Corinthians, but it has broad application to us all. Coming and participating in an unworthy way is harboring that which Christ came to deal with. You're taking the thing that paid for sin with one hand, and with the other hand you're holding the thing, gripping the thing that caused us suffering. That's participating in an unworthy way. And that's what we don't do. We let go of our sin. We abandon it. We confess it. We give it up. And we see in the bread and the cup the provision for us in our sin. There's also a reminder, not just provision and a test, but a reminder. The reminder, of course, was in the fact that the manna was placed in a golden pot and set aside. A single omer was hidden within the ark before the Lord. Again, Exodus 16 verse 33 points this out. Hebrews 9 calls it the golden pot that had manna. It was not for participating in. It was there, locked away, where no one was to touch it or be near it. But it was for remembering, it was a memorial of its significance and of what it pointed to. There it was, along with the law and Aaron's rod that budded, a quiet witness of God's provision. In some way, that perhaps is the real focus that Revelation 2.17 is drawing from, the hidden manna, hidden away in the ark, out of the view of those that were there. Can't fully see all that's there, but you know it's there. That, of course, is the hope of the people of God, isn't it? As we live our lives, that there's a sense in which there's a fullness still awaiting us, which the physical eye can't see, a promise to the believer, to those who overcome, that there's more coming. Christ is going to give that to those who continue on. So there's a past picture. There's also a present participation. When it speaks of hidden manna, of course, the emphasis is in the future, but I don't want us to miss how we presently enjoy something of this as well. The manna was always a picture of something greater. While it's pointing to the future, there's something we enjoy right now. First, we might consider the Savior by faith. We participate in the Savior by faith. You hear who are a Christian this morning. You participate in Jesus Christ. You enjoy what He provides, and you revel in Him. Again, in that occasion, John 6, the language is uttered, our fathers did eat manna in the desert. They have man in the desert. The idea is we should get to enjoy this. This should come again to us. This should be what, because in many ways Moses was looked upon as a prefiguring of the Messiah. And even God's word supports certain aspects of that in terms of his deliverance and the place that he held in type. And the hope was that Messiah would come and the same thing would happen. This was the Jewish expectation and desire. But Christ is there, the Messiah is before them and they're looking for, again, the fulfillment of the physical thing, of the miracle itself. That's what they're hungering for and anticipating. And our Lord Jesus replies to them, Moses gave you not that bread. Don't give emphasis, he was no redeemer. He was no Messiah. It wasn't Moses that provided, but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. And then he goes on with clarity to stun them with the words of verse 35, I am the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall never hunger. I'm what you're looking for. I'm God's provision for sinners. And they would not see it. Of course, the great tragedy of John 6 as he continues to place that focus upon himself is that they forsake, they turn away. What the manna did in shadow, Jesus does in substance. That manna there in the wilderness would sustain for a day, but Christ sustains for eternity. And there's no comparison. Yes, there's an illustration, there's a picture, but there's no comparison. That which was given to men in the wilderness could only in some way give anticipation for something greater. And Jesus Christ is that greater. And beloved, I trust you understand it. Oh, we are so focused upon the material, but we are to be experiencing something of that manna here and now. Think about it. Living your life as a Christian, And yet days pass in which there's no meaningful enjoyment of Jesus Christ. What does that communicate? Our Lord would not compromise on this. He would not allow those thousands who gathered around him, whom he fed freely and graciously, he would not allow them to continue on with this carnal perception and desire. He'd be misleading them. He'd be saying, yes, this is what I'm here for, simply to provide your temporal need. And there's much of Christianity that is framed in that way. That Jesus Christ is sought for, and even at times prayed to, simply for some practical end, some temporal experience. I am not diminishing the right for the believer to bring his daily needs to God and say, Lord, here's the need. But to do so with the absence of enjoyment in the spiritual provision that is already yours. To have a much fuller provision here, and yet constantly looking to the lesser provision over here, It's not unimportant. You have your daily needs. You have practical things that you bring before God. But so you're focused to constantly, this is why I serve you, Lord, that you might meet the need here. When he and all of his glory is over there, you first feed on him. You first find contentment in him. Because for some believers, those things sought for don't come to pass. Those needs are not met. The person in prison for their faith is not always released. The person facing martyrdom does not always escape. The person facing illness and death does not always recover. The person facing loss of all material things does not always avoid it. They may be plunged into poverty. They may lose their home. everything they have ever accumulated may be gone overnight, take wings and fly away. And if all their hope was only in the material, they will be so devastated as to be inconsolable. You are, in your present experience, to participate in the Savior by faith. You're to take his word and look for him. You're to take his word and have an appetite for him. And you're to constantly be looking and gleaning and worshiping and thanking and considering the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, beloved, even as you read God's Word, don't look at it first as some manual to successful living. It's so easy to turn God's Word into some moralistic manual. When it's first, oh, it has implications. We'll see that tonight. But it's first The revelation of good news, the gospel of Christ, the person and work of God's Son. And that's where you go first, and that's where you find true satisfaction. There's also in the present participation, not only participating in the Savior by faith, day by day generally, but the sacrament is a foretaste. The sacrament is a foretaste. when the apostle addresses the matter of the Lord's Table, which he touches on in chapter 10 and proceeds to deal with in 1 Corinthians 11. But he speaks about the Israelites and the wilderness. He goes back there to that scene that we have referred to already. and says that they did all eat the same spiritual meat, and did all drink the same spiritual drink, for they drank of that spiritual rock which followed them, and that rock was Christ. But note the verse 3 of 1 Corinthians 10, they did all eat the same spiritual meat. They were participating in spiritual meat. Now it was there physically, and it was feeding them, and they were taking of it, but Paul refers to it as pointing to something spiritual. that it was reflecting upon, it was pointing them to the Messiah who is the Savior of sinners. And so when we come to the Lord's table, that's the context that we are participating again in Christ. We're not merely carnally feasting. It is something that gives spiritual life, dining on the One who died for us, gave His life for us. As I've already intimated, we take that bread and we consider this glorious, incomprehensible truth. God took man's nature. It necessitated it. To save you, God had to take your nature into union with the divine. two distinct natures in one person forever, without which you perish. Because the Savior must not only live for you, He must die. He must represent those who are guilty. As in Adam, all die. Even so in Christ, all are made alive. That's the standing of men. They stand represented in Adam. And Adam only brings judgment. Adam communicates, I must die, I must die, I must die, I'm guilty. I'm guilty and I can't escape that guilt. That's what Adam communicates. Who's your father? Adam. You die. Seeing that, God provides representation in Himself. The Son of God takes our nature, becomes the mediator. stands between God and men, taking a position where He will take all responsibility to deal with the guilt, to provide the righteousness, and present us complete in Himself, which gloriously we receive not by works of righteousness, but by faith. And that's what you do, you take the bread. What are you reaching forth? You're taking it. It's been given to you, the very action itself. The way it's shared around. You're reaching out to take is showing this is God's provision to you as sinner. It's accessible to you. It has been given to you. It is there for you. And what must you do? Perform some tricks in order to receive it. Give some money in order to obtain it. No, you simply take it. You take it. The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God's eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord, and you take that gift. You take the gift. The sacrament then is a foretaste. It's a foretaste of what's to come, the heavenly, or rather the hidden manna that is going to come to those who overcome. And so we see something of it today. And of course, you know, when you take the Lord's table, when you take the Lord's table, you are doing two things. On one hand, you're looking back to what He accomplished, and you're looking forward to the consummation. You're looking back to see a work complete and you're looking forward to see all of that experienced yet in our future, which brings us into the future fulfillment, which of course is the emphasis of the text. To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna. A couple of things here. First, a reward reserved to those who overcome. It's a reward reserved to those who overcome. To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna. Not everyone in that church was invited to this. Not everyone in that church could anticipate this because they were giving themselves to idol worship and participating in things that were pagan. These idol feasts, these worship occasions of false worship were public. They were celebrated. They were treasured within that city. Satan occupied a throne in that city. I take that to mean that he had great influence there. This was a wicked place to live. But God had saved. God had been merciful. He'd called out a people to Himself. And yet some were still in some syncretism way, they were trying to stand with one foot in the church and one foot in the culture, trying to straddle both experiences. In so doing, they bring the condemnation of our Lord Jesus. Of course, what does He have to offer? He doesn't have something public, something celebrated, something loved by that community. Quite the contrary. What He is offering is something hidden and spiritual and eternal, and you have to wait for it. And to him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna." There is a present enjoyment of it through the gospel, but there's something future that is reserved. Go to Revelation 7. Quickly go to Revelation 7. I'll read from verse 15, Revelation 7 verse 15. This is the covenant blessing, God dwelling among His people. Neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them on to living fountains of waters, and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." See, there's a reward awaiting for those who are in Christ. There's something coming that far exceeds any experience here on earth. They shall hunger no more. They will thirst no more. Think of it. The appetite that we have will not be tinged with the suffering, of feeling the pangs of hunger, of feeling like we are starved. There'll be no experience of hunger or thirst, and none of the experience of the curse, even of the threat of the sun and its heat. But we are going to be there with Him. He will feed, look at what it says, for the lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed, think of it. The lamb will feed them. Oh, what privileged people we are. You read there in John 13 where our Lord got down and washed the feet of his disciples, and you see how they struggled with that, Peter particularly. He was like, no, no, no, no, this is wrong. The rules are wrong here. And you might say the same about this text, the lamb shall feed them. This is what he does, he takes responsibility. He embraces all that is required of him as the mediator of his people. He says, I'm going to reconcile them to God and I'm going to do everything necessary right up to the very eternal state and I will feed them. But I don't know all that's involved there. I can't begin to fully fathom what awaits you and me when we get there. The Lamb will feed them. The Lamb will feed them. And it's going to be glorious. And this is what He is promising to this church, to those who overcome. I'll make them to eat of the hidden manna. It's going to be something, yes, we taste of it a little here, and yet there's yet more coming in the future. Oh, what wonder this is. Yes. But you must overcome. You must overcome. You have to resist the devil that he may flee from you. Whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world. 1 John 5 verse 4. Young people better get that. Older ones too. Overcome the world. You have to overcome the world. Do not dine with devils. Do not compromise in your place of employment. You're trying to make your way up the ladder and be successful and make an impression, and they say to you, come and join us for this night out at some place you know you have no business going to. You start saying to yourself, if I don't turn up, maybe I won't get that promotion. If I don't show my face, maybe I won't be considered for that. I might be seen as an oddity or an outcast. And you start debating it in this pragmatic way, weighing it up, and you compromise. And that's what was happening in this church. These people were doing the same. They weren't expecting or desiring to abandon the Christianity. They were still sitting there. But in some way they were lured in by the community to sit there and be in participation with all their idolaters' worship. And this happens in every generation. Don't you put it back into the first generation and say, that's not a problem I'm going to face. You will. And the world will get its hooks in you and try to pull you in. And you have to be aware of it. The devil will come after you. He will. John warned, love not the world. Because this is the thing, you see, if you have any affection toward it, you're easy pickings. It's like fishing in a barrel. You need to make it easy for him. If you have a love for the world, the devil's already got his hooks in you. And so John says, John who was used to write this very last book, love not the world. James, the Lord's brother, He warned about it too. Ye adulterers and adulteresses, what language is that? You fornicators, you adulterers. Know ye not that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be the friend of the world is the enemy of God. You talk about not mincing your words. I mean James didn't mess around, he says it plainly. You want to be a friend of the world? You make yourself the enemy of God. That's the warning of Revelation 2. You're in there giving yourself to these things, you're trying to justify it, but you're going to be rejected, repent or else I will come on to thee quickly and we'll fight against them. with the sword of my mouth. You want to make Jesus your enemy? Love the world. Love it. Love the things it produces. Love the music that it offers. Love all the movies that it makes. Love all the themes that it pushes. Love all the fashion that it sells you on. Love all of it. Just love it all. Just love it. Say, oh, it's all indifferent. It's all indifferent. No, it's not all indifferent. It's not all indifferent. Some of it is a tool to destroy the soul, and if you don't understand that, you're going to be taken in by it. There's also a feast anticipated for the elect together, not just a reward reserved for those who overcome, it's a feast anticipated for the elect together. There's a coming a day when the hidden manna will be experienced by all those blood-washed Yes, not to be picked up off the ground in the wilderness, but to extend it to you. Extend it to you by Neil Pearce's hands. Hidden manna. Now you don't see it yet, neither do I. But you have a little something of it here. And you're to enjoy it and anticipate that day. That is beyond our comprehension. Blessed are they which are called on to the marriage supper of the Lamb. Yes, there's a feast coming. And nothing will be hidden then. He will be visible. You'll see him whom our souls love, absent from the body, present with the Lord. Oh, to be with Jesus. You know, living in America has untold privileges, like few generations since the beginning of man's existence. It's a very favored place to be. But all those favors can blind us to the anticipation of something greater. What a table will be set then, not sitting simply at 1207 Haywood Road with the believers that are gathered here. You're going to sit in an environment with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. Paul will be there, John will be there. All the prophets. Everyone who is faithful, known and unknown. What a celebration. Hedonmana. Feasting forevermore, never hungering again. Full. Blessed. Are you looking forward to it? It's hard for us when we're younger, I get it. There's so much to look forward to living here. So maybe this is more for some of you older saints, but it's not exclusive to you. Are you particularly, are you looking forward to that day? Are you anticipating it? Sit beside a martyr for the faith. Hear all about the provision of grace through a difficult life. Sharing stories. I don't know. But I know this. He will give us who overcome. And we are going to find ourselves so satisfied, and we may wonder, if we can understand it now, we may wonder, why did I ever have an appetite for anything else? Especially for things sinful. So Christian, You take this every day and you set your heart to read a portion of it. Whether six verses or six chapters or whatever it might be, you take of this. Feast on this and look for Christ in this and anticipate a day where you're no longer having to look for Christ and discover him. He will be evidently set before you manifest and to be enjoyed. It's what marks us out as different. The world looks on and says, why become a Christian? The Christian looks on and says, why would you be anything else? May the Lord bless his word. Let's bow together in prayer. Have you come? You who have yet to believe and rest in Christ, have you come? Have you taken Jesus Christ? He's God's bread for you. If I invited you to my home, and I put down a meal before you, and my wife sat before you, her freshly made sourdough bread, you wouldn't need much encouragement to stretch forth and take it. but there's something even greater, infinitely so, and by faith you are to reach out and take that bread which God provides, even Jesus, just take him by faith. He died for sinners. You are to believe and rest in him. Lord, bless thy word and help us now at the table to think upon Christ to write to have within our hearts a recognition of all that He has done, to consider our sin which made it necessary, and to see what He has done and the success of His work. May it help us to turn away more from the world and more turn onto Him. We all need help with this, to die Unto sin and live unto righteousness. Give us grace now and help us to participate truly by faith. In Jesus name we ask. Amen.