Following along in the Pew Bible, this is found on page 112, Leviticus chapter 3, page 112 in the Pew Bible. I'm going to read the entire chapter and please follow along in your copy of God's Word as I read. This is what Holy Scripture says. When his offering is a sacrifice of a peace offering, If he offers it of the herd, whether male or female, he shall offer it without blemish before the Lord. And he shall lay his hand on the head of his offering and kill it at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. And Aaron's sons, the priests, shall sprinkle the blood all around on the altar. Then he shall offer from the sacrifice of the peace offering an offering made by fire to the Lord, the fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails, two kidneys, and the fat that is on them by the flanks, and the fatty lobe attached to the liver above the kidneys, he shall remove. And Aaron's sons shall burn it on the altar upon the burnt sacrifice, which is on the wood that is on the fire, as an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord. If his offering as a sacrifice of peace offering to the Lord is of the flock, whether male or female, he shall offer it without blemish. If he offers a lamb as his offering, then he shall offer it before the Lord. And he shall lay his hand on the head of his offering and kill it before the tabernacle of meeting. And Aaron's sons shall sprinkle its blood all around on the altar. Then he shall offer from the sacrifice of the peace offering as an offering made by fire to the Lord, its fat and the whole fat tail, which he shall remove close to the backbone. And the fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails, the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them by the flanks, and the fatty lobe attached to the liver above the kidneys, he shall remove. And the priest shall burn them on the altar as food, an offering made by fire to the Lord. And if his offering is a goat, then he shall offer it before the Lord. He shall lay his hand on its head and kill it before the tabernacle of meeting. And the sons of Aaron shall sprinkle its blood all around on the altar. Then he shall offer from it, his offering is an offering made by fire to the Lord, the fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails, the two kidneys and the fat that is on them by the flanks and the fatty lobe attached to the liver above the kidneys, he shall remove. And the priest shall burn them on the altar as food, an aroma made by fire for a sweet aroma, all the fat is the Lord's. This shall be perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwellings you shall eat neither fat nor blood." And this is the word of the Lord. I am fascinated by World War I and I I think part of my fascination goes back to some of those early Remembrance Day ceremonies that I experienced shortly after moving to Canada. I moved to Canada in the fall, well the late summer of 1982, and I experienced my first Remembrance Day. And I remember seeing all of the veterans that had assembled at that Remembrance Day event. around the flagpole, around the cenotaph there in Barrie. And I remember seeing there at that event, and for a few years after, veterans not only of the Second World War, but also of the First World War. Of course, there are no veterans left from the First World War. That First World War ended quite some time ago. But there is, in my memory, the sight of seeing these older men who had been engaged in that conflict, that conflict which people had thought of as the war to end all wars. Well, those guns fell silent at the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918. From that time forward, Armistice Day, as it was originally known, and Remembrance Day, as it is now known, has marked the end of the hostilities of that great war. But it is a celebration that rings hollow in many ways. That war was not, as some had hoped, the war to end all wars. It was, in the words of Margaret MacMillan's great book and famous book, it was in many ways the war that ended peace. Yet every Remembrance Day there is a longing that one day there will be an end to hostilities. Well, friends, the true believer can celebrate a far greater peace. A true peace, a secure peace, not a vain hope, but a certain possession. A certain possession of peace with God. There's one point that I want us to see in various ways this evening, and that is simply this. Peace with God is a blessing worth celebrating. Peace with God is a blessing worth celebrating. We've made our way now to the third of the offerings that are mentioned in the book of Leviticus. Each of them has an important, primary, powerful point. The first offering is the burnt offering. And that offering reminds us that man can only be accepted into fellowship with God on the basis of a bloody substitute sacrifice. The grain offering is the second of the offerings, and that offering reminds us that those who have been graciously accepted by God should be gratefully devoted to God. We come now to the peace offering, which reminds us that peace with God is a blessing worth celebrating. Well, as our chapter unfolded, as I read it, you no doubt noted that the peace offering could be offered with various animals, and it's a sacrifice that in this case could be offered as a male or a female. It could be offered of the herd, cattle. It could be offered of the flocks, sheep, or it could be offered of goats. It could not be offered as a bird. This is a distinction with this offering. I'll talk about that in a moment. The peace offering could be offered on various occasions. For that, we need to look forward a little bit into Leviticus 7. I'm not going to steal my future message from there just yet, but as we compare scripture with scripture, looking at Leviticus chapter 7, we see that the peace offering could be offered as a thanksgiving offering. where people recognized the grace that God had given to them and they recognized the blessing that they had of being at peace with this God who would be so gracious to them. It could also be offered as a payment or at the culmination of the making of vows. It also could be offered simply as a free will offering with no particular vow that was preceding it. It was different from other offerings, as again we'll see in just a moment, in that it was intended as a meal. It was intended as a meal. Well, what does this offering teach us today? Well, I want us to see at least three points underneath that big one. Peace with God, here's our big point. Peace with God is a blessing worth celebrating. Then I want us to see some other points underneath that. First of all, we need to recognize the privilege of peace. We need to recognize the privilege of peace. The peace offering was a celebration of the privilege of peace with God. In its very celebration, the very fact that it was offered, There's a note of contrast as the worshipper recognizes what a privilege this is. I want to talk about their experience of it and apply it to us today. We need to recognize the privilege of peace and we recognize that privilege of peace sometimes by note of contrast. In this offering there was a contrast with their former condition. there was a contrast with their former condition. The very fact, the very existence of the peace offering gave witness to the fact that this was not always the condition of that relationship. It is not the baseline of mankind's relationship with God to be at peace with God. The baseline of man's relationship with God is enmity and hostility. When the offerer brought this sacrifice of peace offering, as it is called repeatedly in chapter three, it is indicating that there had previously been a relationship of enmity, but that a marvelous change of status had taken place. Those who had formerly been adversaries could now celebrate the privilege of peace. How we also would do well to recognize the privilege of peace with God, especially when we remember that we were not always at peace with him. I had a couple of interesting conversations today with people there at the corner of Dufferin and Eglinton, and you always meet people with all kinds of different religious beliefs, but one person that I spoke to seemed to kind of think that we just are all kind of at peace with God already. But then we might do something that disrupts that peace, but you know, God's a God of forgiveness, so you know, it's pretty much back to peace right away. It's hard for us to accept the fact that we are sinners by nature and by choice. That we are naturally not friends of God, but enemies of God. Don't simply trust my word on this. Hear what Paul tells the Colossians. He tells them in Colossians chapter one, verse 21, and you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now he has reconciled." Our present possession of peace with God was not the way things always were. Formerly, those of us who have trusted Christ, formerly we were alienated and we were enemies. We were enemies of God. We were enemies both mentally and, if you will, actually. Both in our mind and in our works. Both in what we thought and in what we did. We were enemies. Yet now He has reconciled us. Hear Paul's word on this again in Romans chapter 8. As we think about who we once were, he says the carnal mind, that is the fleshly mind, that is the mind apart from Christ, the mind apart from the Spirit of God, the carnal mind is enmity against God. For it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. This is who we are apart from God's saving grace. This is who we were. And the fact that we are now reconciled to God through Christ, as we'll talk about in just a moment, the fact that we are now reconciled to God through Christ is a privilege that we have, not because we earned it. Far from it. We deserve God's wrath. We deserve God's punishment. Yet God, in His grace, took enemies, those who were not subject to His law and could not be subject to His law, and He made us His friends. He brought us into a relationship of peace with God. By the way that those in the flesh cannot please God, there is a sense of moral inability and natural ability. What do I mean by that? Well, maybe sometimes you've spoken with someone and they've said, I just can't stand my neighbor. I just can't get along with them. Is that absolutely true? Well, on some level, they probably could get along with their neighbor if they really tried. But on the other side, there's something within them that keeps them from making peace with their neighbor. And that's how we are, apart from the grace of God. There is something on the inside that keeps us from doing what we should. There is a moral inability that keeps us from pleasing God. So recognize the privilege of peace as we think about our former condition. And so Israel could think about, okay, I was at enmity with God, but now I can celebrate the fact that I am at peace with him. But there's another contrast. As we recognize this privilege of peace, and that is the contrast of current possession. I've already talked about this a little bit but let me drill into it a little bit more. We are at peace with God through Jesus Christ and there are millions who are not. You think about the devout Jew that offers this peace offering as he offers this sacrifice celebrating peace with God all around them, in nations all around the world, people were offering sacrifices to demons and to false gods. It was this group offering this sacrifice with a true heart that really were at peace with God. So there's a contrast not only with our former condition, but there's a contrast of our current possession. We have a privilege of peace and so many others don't. I wonder if we realize just how blessed we are to never have had war touch our part of the world. At least in our lifetimes. There are so many places around the world that in people's memories there were wars and battles fought all around them. And there are places right now in the world where battles and wars are currently being fought. We really are blessed in that in none of our memories there has ever been armed conflict in our part of the world. It's a rare privilege. But so is it a rare privilege to be at peace with the true and living God. This contrast, again, was not owing to the worshiper's greatness, but to God's grace. God's sovereign grace. The God who says I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy and whom I will I will harden had chosen Israel not because they were more numerous or more righteous than anybody else. He had chosen them according to his own purposes of grace. How we would do well simply to dwell on the blessing of peace that we have, what a privilege it is As we feast together in fellowship and we know the peace of our Lord, as we are guests at that banquet, there are millions outside the doors who do not know that peace. And there are millions today who pretend or preach as though they do when they don't. reading through the book of Jeremiah right now, which is always a bit of a trip because Jeremiah isn't completely in chronological order. You get to one part of Jeremiah and it's like after things that have happened in later chapters and you're trying to piece it all in your mind. But one thing that you read repeatedly in the book of Jeremiah is that there were prophets who are going around saying, peace, peace. And Jeremiah said they were proclaiming peace when there was no peace. And many are the preachers today who proclaim that God is pleased with everyone and God is at peace with everyone. No, friends. In fact, the book of Romans chapter three tells us that there is none righteous, no, not one. And then in chapter three, verse 17 tells us that the unbelieving world tells us of the unbelieving world, the way of peace they have not known. So there are many who would proclaim a false peace, but it is indeed a false peace. It is the kind of peace that Jeremiah speaks of. Why? Why do we know this? Well, because Isaiah 48, 22 and Isaiah 57, 21, God says there is no peace for the wicked. There's no peace for the wicked. So peace with God is not the possession of everyone. But peace with God is a privilege that we enjoy not because of our own greatness and goodness. It is only for those who have been accepted by His grace. We see shades of that even in this offering. You'll notice that the peace offering, we read the words that it's actually laid on top of the burnt offering. Remember that burnt offering talked about how we are accepted by God through a bloody substitute sacrifice. This peace offering follows that offering. First, acceptance by God through that substitute, and then we can celebrate peace with God. We don't celebrate peace with God unless we have come to God on the basis of that substitute sacrifice. Unless we have come to God through Christ. So peace with God is a blessing worth celebrating. Remember the privilege of peace. But this sacrifice also tells us that peace with God is a blessing worth celebrating and we must remember the price of peace. We must not only remember the privilege of peace, we must remember the price of peace. If we forget what a privilege it is, we will not rejoice in it, we will not celebrate it. If we forget the price, we will not celebrate and be grateful for it. The peace offering was itself a bloody sacrifice. We read three times in this chapter about the killing of that sacrifice, laying the hand on the head of the offering, identifying with it, killing it at the door of the Tabernacle of Meeting, the blood then being sprinkled around. This peace offering was a bloody sacrifice in which God's portion of that sacrifice was offered on top of the burnt offering. It was a bloody sacrifice. And this was a powerful reminder that peace with God came only to those who have been accepted by God through a substitute sacrifice. The peace came at great cost, particularly to that sacrifice. That peace cost that sacrifice its life. And such a reminder is just as vital and even more clear to us on this side of the cross. The price of peace is accomplished through the shedding of the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. It's accomplished through the sacrifice of the Prince of Peace. That's the price of our peace. We can only be reconciled and at peace with God because of Jesus. Romans 5, 1 and 2, therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand and rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. How then is this peace accomplished? We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. How was that accomplished? Well, we go a little further into Romans chapter five, verse six. For when we were yet without strength, Christ died for the ungodly. He did this in due time, exactly on God's timetable, for scarcely for a righteous man will one dare to die. Yet perhaps for a good man, someone would even dare to die, but God demonstrates his own love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more than having now been justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him for if, When we were enemies, we were reconciled to God, notice this, through the death of his son. Much more having been reconciled, we shall be saved through his life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. So what's reconciliation? Well, reconciliation is when you have Two people or two parties that are estranged from one another. They are at odds with one another. And reconciliation brings them face to face again. Brings them back into relationship once again. Maybe you've experienced an estrangement or a lack of fellowship or the breaking of a friendship in the past. And you know perhaps how difficult it was to then be reconciled to that person. A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city, the proverb says. How much more a holy God? How can we who are sinners and deserve the wrath of God, how can we be reconciled to that God who is just and has the just right to condemn us eternally? That justice must be satisfied. And it is satisfied in Christ. He then is that peace. He is our peace. I read earlier from Colossians chapter one, verse 21, but one verse prior to that, Paul tells us that Jesus made peace through the blood of his cross. One verse later, it tells us that he's reconciled us in the body of his flesh through death. Remember, brothers and sisters, the price of our peace. We were not redeemed by corruptible things like silver and gold. We were redeemed with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. What did it cost for us to be reconciled with God? It cost the death of his son. Peace with God is a blessing worth celebrating. It's a privilege. But oh, what a price. Just on the way back from our outreach this afternoon, Brother Andre was talking with a man at the street corner. And he, this man at the street corner, had this view that he didn't want to look at the New Testament, just the Old Testament. And he's like, where is Jesus in the Old Testament? It's like, okay, let me tell you where he is. He's all through it. But He's really obviously seen in Isaiah 52 and 53. That can't refer to Israel. That passage can't refer to Israel. That passage can't refer to anyone else. He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. We esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted, but He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. Notice, the chastisement of our peace was upon Him. And with His stripes we are healed. What did it cost? It cost Christ being stricken, smitten, and afflicted. It cost Christ the stripes, the death. What a cost. But listen, brothers and sisters, if peace with God has been purchased at such a price, dare we think of it lightly? Dare we treat it as something trivial? Peace with God is a blessing worth celebrating. Remember the privilege of peace, but remember the price of peace. And finally, Rejoice in the presence of peace. Rejoice in the presence of peace. This offering was structured both as a sacrifice and a fellowship meal. The best cuts, and we might not think of it that way, but the best cuts were offered to God. The fat and some of the inner parts were offered to God. But the rest of the animal was not just consumed by the fire. That's what happened in the burnt offering. It would just be consumed by the fire. But in this case, those best parts go to God. Just pause for a minute. How is all that fat some of the best parts? Today we want to cut it off and leave it somewhere else. I was watching the show Alone. Some of you might know that show Alone. And the one season there was a contestant named Jordan. Jordan managed to actually kill a moose. Brought down this big moose. So you think, great! He's gonna be set. He's gonna have all the food that he needs. Well, he drains the fat from the moose. As much as he can. Because he needs that fat to survive. Now we, the food that we eat is kind of naturally fatty. We don't even recognize how much fat is in the different food that we eat. But when you're out in the wilderness and you're eating food that you yourself have killed, you need that fat. Jordan, I believe, ended up winning alone, but his victory came in jeopardy when a wolverine snuck in and stole all of his fat. And you think, well, he has so much other meat. He did have all that other meat, but he didn't have the fat that he needed to nourish him. And so even though he had all kinds of the rest of this meat, he was still wasting away. He was lacking that fat. Fat would be very important to people in this cultural context. When you're in the midst of the wilderness, you needed that fat. God received the best part. But then the priest and the worshiper would eat of the rest of the meat. God received the best portion of the sacrifice. The priest received the right shoulder and the right thigh. That's not in our passage. It's in Leviticus 7, 31 to 33. But the worshiper would also partake. I think as well that there is an indication that the congregation ate of this also. I'm not alone in my view on this, but I believe that the congregation would join in this act of fellowship. Now, here's why. Well, let me get to that in a second. I'll come back to that in just a second. But this was a celebration of peace. Just as when we gather together downstairs and eat, or we have our Thanksgiving meal, we eat together and it's a celebration. That's what this is. It's a time to rejoice. So yes, they're remembering that and rejoicing in the privilege of peace. They're remembering the price of the peace, but they're actually rejoicing in the fact that they are at peace with God. Let me run through a few points here really quickly that as we rejoice in the presence of peace that we have with God together, we should rejoice submissively. submissively. The best was given to God, and our best still should go to God. He deserves our best. The best was reserved for God, deserved by God, and it was dedicated by the worshipper. In fact, the relationship between God and the worshipper is present in its full health only when the worshiper joyfully submits to God. And even within this celebration of peace, there's this act of submissive obedience. God said, that part's mine, and it was given to God. Friends, we need to beware lest we go through the motions of religion without a heart of submission. I want to give you a couple of examples. Think about, first of all, the example of the adulterous woman. In Proverbs chapter 7, verses 13 and 14, there's this adulterous woman and she catches this young man. She's trying to lure him. She's trying to seduce him. She kisses him. And guess what she says to him? She says, I have peace offerings with me. Today I've paid my vows. as though somehow, having offered these sacrifices, she can do whatever she wants in the evening. Oh, I spent my morning in church, now it's my time. Well, hang on. Part of the point of this sacrifice was to show, yes, I'm at peace with God, but I am in relationship with God where I submit to Him. I don't just do my own thing. But here's this adulterous woman who's like, ah, I paid my peace vows this morning, so away we go. Here's another example, God's words through Amos. God tells the people through Amos, I hate, I despise your feast days. And I do not savor your sacred assemblies. Though you offer me burnt offerings, sacrifice number one, Leviticus chapter one, and your grain offerings, sacrifice number two, Leviticus number two, I will not accept them, nor will I regard your fattened peace offerings." Interesting. They are going through the motions of what they're supposed to be doing with these sacrifices, but God says, I'm not going to accept them. He says, what many parents have said to children over the years, take away from me the noise of your songs. But then he goes on to say, for I will not hear the melody of your stringed instruments. What's going on? They're going through all of these outward motions of religion, but they're not truly dedicated to God. Amos will go on to say, but let justice run down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream. We could sort of fast forward that to our context. Someone comes to church, they know when to stand, they know when to sit, they know the hymns, they participate in the Lord's table. They go through all those outward motions. but then they go home and they live like the world and the flesh and the devil. We rejoice brothers and sisters, but we rejoice submissively and built into this sacrifice was here you are God, you take the best. I hold nothing back. We rejoice submissively, we rejoice faithfully. That is this sacrifice was offered and the best was given to the true and living God and the true and living God alone. You didn't take your peace offerings and run it over and offer it on the altar to Baal. This was an offering to Jehovah, to Yahweh, the true and living God. He alone was to receive this offering. No other God was to be worshipped. No other God was to be sacrificed to. This offering was an act of faithful obedience. It was not only showing I submit to you, but it was showing I submit to you alone. I worship you alone. If we were to just keep on reading, I read from Amos chapter five just a moment ago, right after he says, let justice run down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream. Okay, they weren't actually living for God. He then says this, Did you offer me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness 40 years, O house of Israel? You also carried Sukkoth, your God, and Chun, your idols, the star of your gods, which you made for yourselves. So here they are, worshiping God, going through the motions. Here's your sacrifice and here's your part, God. But they're also carrying around their idols. Again, brothers and sisters, if we could make application to this in a present, Paul would speak to the Corinthians and he would say, flee from idolatry. And then right after that, he says, I speak as to wise men, judge for yourselves what I say, the cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? He goes on to say, you cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. Don't bring idols in your heart to the Lord's table. Oh, friends, Idolatry is so pervasive. The human heart, as the Puritans used to say, John Owen said, is an idol-making factory. We are constantly turning aside to lesser things and looking in those things for what God alone can provide. We seek to find our hope and our security and our joy and everything else in those things instead of God We trust and rely on those things instead of God. No friends, we rejoice with the peace we have with God, but we rejoice faithfully. We don't bring idols to the table. We don't drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of devils. We don't try to provoke the Lord to jealousy. But then even as we rejoice in the presence of peace, we rejoice corporately. Here's where I'll go into this aspect of the communal meal. We rejoice corporately in the presence of peace. This is a communal meal, I believe. I mentioned already that the priest would eat their portion, the worshiper would eat as well. But we also know as we compare scripture with scripture, that this sacrifice and the eating of the food, eating of this animal, was certainly witnessed by the congregation. others of the nation of Israel, but I think it was also participated in by the congregation. Here's why. You have some pretty big animals here, especially if you have an animal of cattle, animal of the herd. So, big animal, but then you also find that God has instructions that that meat has to be finished by the next day or the third day at the very latest in some rare instances. So, massive animal, a day or two to eat this, I don't think two people or three people are going to be downing an entire beef, right? That would take some doing. I think even the competitive eaters would have a difficult time eating an entire cow, right? So it seems like the congregation then that witnesses this peace offering would also join in together in the eating of this portion, the majority of which was cooked and available for consumption. In the case of the peace offering for Thanksgiving, the animal had to be eaten that very day. So you bring a big cow and you have to eat the whole thing that day. Seems like a pretty enormous task for one worshiper and a couple of priests. In the case of a vow or a voluntary offering, animal could be eaten that day or possibly the next. But again, you would have to have this massive appetite to eat even the smallest of these offerings, a goat or a sheep, a lamb in a single day. even when you take into consideration that what's given to the priest and what is burned to the Lord. We rejoice, brothers and sisters, it's a reminder for us that as we rejoice in the presence of peace, we rejoice. As individuals, we have peace with God and that is worth celebrating. But it's also worth celebrating as we gather in worship that we have peace. We're not a huge church, but we have the blessing of diversity in the midst of how small we are. And we look around this room and we see people from different parts of the world and different backgrounds, all united, not because we have the same favorite sports team or not because we all have the same hobbies, but because we have the same Savior. And with that Savior, we have the same peace with God. And that's something worth celebrating. It's something that we celebrate, I think, every time that we sing together. I think it's something that we celebrate every time that we have a fellowship meal together. And I think it's something that we definitely celebrate every time we have the Lord's table together. Not just that I have peace with God, but we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. This note of not, only individual peace, but corporate peace runs through God's Word, Old and New Testament. Think about Paul's greeting. Well, I mentioned Romans 5 verse 1, therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God. We have peace with God. That kind of language is repeated throughout the New Testament. Let me rush quickly through this but I wanted to read this one to you first Corinthians chapter 1 verses 2 and 3 Paul says to the church of God which is at Corinth to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus called to be saints with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord so the church that the letter to the Corinthians is very much a letter to us as well who call who with all who in every place call in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ or Jesus Christ our Lord both theirs and ours and the next thing he says is what I say so often to all of us grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ or God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ and so we rejoice corporately there's so much more that can be said about this but brothers and sisters Hey, it's awesome that we as individuals have peace with God, but it's amazing that we together have peace with God. That believer that sits beside you from a totally different part of the world is united by faith in Christ to you and to the God with whom you have peace. And if we have peace with God, let us be at peace with one another. And then, very quickly, and this will be our last, we're thinking about rejoicing in the presence of peace. We all have this, but we all can rejoice, not only corporately, but expectantly. In verse 17, as these instructions come to a conclusion, God says this will be a perpetual statute throughout your generations. There's this indication that there will be generations to come and that they also will, by God's grace, be able to celebrate peace with God. But of course, we have a far greater expectation, don't we? We, together, proclaim the Lord's death till he comes. We gather around the communion table and that is what we're doing, 1 Corinthians 11, 26. Because we are at peace with God, we can look forward to the coming of Christ with joy. And the same cannot be said of those who are not at peace with him. You look at how the second coming of our Lord is described, and no matter what your view on the timing of the rapture and all of end time events, there's a definite note of contrast. Jesus Christ admired, glorified, but for those that don't admire and glorify Him, flaming vengeance upon those who do not obey the gospel. And so there is a great contrast between those who are at peace with God and how they can look at the second coming of our Lord, and those of us who are at peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. And even as we celebrate the Lord's table together, it's always great to be reminded that there's another table waiting for us. We can look beyond the Lord's table to that great and glorious marriage supper of the Lamb. That is a meal worth looking forward to. I'll be honest with you, sometimes as we're getting together some of our meals for our times together here, Sometimes we get tired and sometimes we're like, oh man, can I even get this made in time? Are we going to be able to get tables and chairs set up? I don't know if I have enough energy to go through with it. Sometimes we're all kind of maybe worn out by the end of it. Yeah, it was a good experience and some people maybe not, but I think we generally have a good time with it. But sometimes we look forward to it, but at the same time we're like, oh, I don't know if I have enough strength to go through with it. That marriage supper of the Lamb, we don't have to worry about any of that. That's a marriage supper worth looking forward to. Let me read to you some of these words of comfort for all of us. Revelation 19 verses 6 to 9, And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude as a sound of many waters and as a sound of mighty thundering, saying, Alleluia for the Lord God omnipotent reigns. Let us be glad and rejoice and give him glory. For the marriage of the lamb has come and his wife has made herself ready. And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright. For the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he said to me, write. Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he said to me, these are the true sayings of God. Wow, what a day that will be. Yes, we'll be clothed in white linen. We'll be clothed in righteous acts of the saints as the bride of Christ. But it has been granted to us, a gift from God. We haven't earned it. It's His grace that gives us a space at the table. And so, brothers and sisters, all of this, all of this reminds us that peace with God is a blessing worth celebrating. Remembrance Day, yeah, it celebrates peace, but that peace was so brief, it was so transitory. Remembrance Day, just about everyone that I've been to, there's been some note of hope for future peace. Maybe some interfaith chaplain prays that there'll be peace on earth or something. For the believer, that peace with God has come. It is a reality. It has come at great cost. There's a peace that can be celebrated with great joy. Having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. So brothers and sisters, this is a peace worth celebrating. Well friends our final hymn is now