Reflections on The First Lord’s Supper | Mark 14:22-25 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (Gospel of Mark)

I invite you to come with me to the gospel of Mark chapter 14, and look with me at verse 22 to verse 25. Our time will be brief before we partake of the Lord's table, And you will see quickly how God's providence is at work for this Sunday. As we read verse 22 of Mark 14, and as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it, broke it, and gave it to them and said, take. This is my body. And he took a cup, and we had given thanks.

He gave it to them, and they all drank of it. And he said to them, this is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many. Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God. I thank God that in his perfect providence, he has allowed us to come to this text on the day that we regularly celebrate communion. And as you know, whenever we do observe this ordinance, we do so with meditation, sobriety, and joy.

And that is because we seek to observe this table the way that the scriptures tell us to. And to help us do this, we take the time to remind ourselves of what this is about, of why it's important for us, and how we as believers should approach it. And while this message will will help us indeed prepare to fellowship in this manner, its main focus will be to highlight particular insights about the first ever communion. Observations, reflections from the original Lord's Supper, if you will. And we've just seen in recent times that this this celebration is hated by the world.

It's hated by the enemy of our souls. The world saw that on display a few days ago. Right? But God, again, in his leading has brought us to a time where we are to remember why this is so cherished, precious, important, vital to the life of every believer and the church as a whole. And it will be quite simple because all we're gonna do to grasp this truth is consider one thought from every verse that we read in Mark's gospel.

Shall we do that? So consider this time as a time of reflection through his word, and immediately after, we are going to come to this table together. So look with me with your eyes again at verse 22. And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them and said, take, this is my body. Matthew, Mark, and Luke are in harmony when it comes to defining and describing the initial movements of Christ here.

So wherever you read this, you're gonna find that Jesus took bread, that he blessed it, and that he broke it, and then he gave it to the 12 saying, this is my body. And we previously devoted an entire message on the misinterpretation of Jesus' words here of those who claim that he is speaking about this bread becoming his actual flesh. And you can find that in our archives if you'd like, but I I'm gonna assume that all of us in here hopefully believe that what Jesus is speaking about in these elements are symbolic, and that he instituted them to be instruments of recollection of certain realities. So he takes the bread first, and he blesses it, and then he breaks it, and then he extends it to his own. But what are we to remember about the bread which signifies his body?

What about his body? And I believe Luke's elaboration helps us. So go to Luke 22 with me quickly, and look at verse 19. Luke twenty two nineteen reads, and he took bread and when he had given thanks so we know the nature of the blessing there. He's he's giving thanks.

He broke it and gave it to them saying, this is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me. That's an important phrase which is given for you. And so you believer, as you come and as you receive that bread, in that moment, you are charged to turn your attention and your affection on this truth that God became flesh in the person of Jesus Christ. And his body was given for you.

In what sense is the body of Jesus given for me in a substitutionary sense? The body of Jesus Christ was ordained by the Father to be bruised, beaten, pierced, punctured, slashed, ultimately crushed so that by faith, you, believer, would stand whole and complete before the father. And so as I take this bread, I'm zooming into that reality of his incarnation. And practically speaking then, this bread is an emblem intended to strengthen your humility and your hope. Humility because you are being reminded in dramatic fashion.

It's not about what I have accomplished or failed to perform in my flesh. This is not about me and what I've done with my hands or my feet or my thinking or my words. What I've done privately, what I've done secretly. It is the body of another. It is the life of another that purchased my salvation and that canceled my punishment.

It's the body of another who lived my righteousness and canceled my sinfulness. And that's why hope with that humility is excited at the same time. You're supposed to tangibly realize that. Is it is it accidental that the first expression, the initial response here, so to speak, at the original Lord's Supper is one of gratitude? What did Luke tell us?

Jesus said he gave thanks. That was what sprung up initially. And it sets the theme of this table. It's one of gratitude. This is a celebration.

And I can tell you this, that one of the greatest joys for me when we do this every month is that when I stand there and every one of you approach this table, I don't know if you realize this, but I realize this, most if not all of you come with a smile on your face. And I hope the reason why is not because you're greeting us at the table, but because your heart has been enlarged with thanksgiving as you are rediscovering what this body means for you. And if you need any verse to help generate that sense of delight and glee, I think one helpful verse is Hebrews ten ten. Not just because it's an easy reference to remember, but because of what it says in that one verse that connects to this truth. What does the author of Hebrews say?

He says, and by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Do you understand the implications of this? That when I am to think about the body of Jesus Christ, what's supposed to spring up in my soul is that I have been sanctified once and for all. Once and for all. So in terms of your standing before God, your justification is the theological term.

What this bread is supposed to convey to you, what it is in a sense preaching to you is stop looking at yourself. Stop trusting in yourself. Stop comparing you with others. Instead, savor this promise that you are the recipient of a gift and that gift is the body of the son of God. And so as you come here, what you're realizing again is his broken body has made my soul complete and flawless forever.

Forever. It's not determined by your performance that week or that year or that month. It's dealt with, and that is what this is telling you. It's reminding you Christ instituted this ordinance so that you can face that glorious truth. Yes, your heart is prone to doubt.

It's prone to get calloused. It's prone to forget. And this body in this bread symbolizes meant to say, hey, it's this is not about you. This is about what has been done two thousand years ago on your behalf. So take, this is my body.

Turn your focus not on you anymore, on who Christ is on your behalf. Let's come to the next verse. He said take. This is my body. But look at verse 23.

And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. Now the cup is a separate element, but the detail I wanna draw your attention to is the last part of this verse. And they all drank of it. Why is that significant? Because there's a possible interpretation of this that has great significance.

If they all drank of it, then could it be that Judas himself participated in it? Some might object to this idea. Some, would say we can't be certain, and there is justification for that because it's not explicitly told. But when you go to Luke's account, he seems to be a little bit more specific to imply one possible answer. So go to Luke again in 22 and notice in verse 19 of Luke 22 down to verse 21.

And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them saying, this is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.' So notice, he broke the bread and he gave it. Verse 20. And likewise, the cup after they had eaten. So they already ate.

Saying, this cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood, but behold the hand of him who betrays me is with me on the table. So I understand that this can spark some debate, and again, we can't be certain about this, but let's consider the possibility that if Judas was there, that he did partake of these elements. And if he did, then it has a major truth to tell us. One truth that it does tell us is that it dismantles the erroneous idea that the Eucharist have you heard the term Eucharist? You know what it means?

It simply means Thanksgiving. That the Eucharist is a sacrament unto salvation. There are millions today who believe that when you partake of this, it will earn you more points of righteousness, or that it will better your chance for eternal life. Millions. Millions who will not go to the service unless this is a part of it in thinking that this will, in some way, contain salvivic virtue.

If you are prone to believe that, if you come from a background that adheres to that view, can I ask you a question? Then how do you explain Judas' fate? How do you explain that? Because here you have a man who did what? Who potentially partook, and if he potentially partook, you reconcile that with what?

The fact that Jesus in the same context pronounces a woe concerning him and says that it would be better that if he had not been born. And in John chapter six, Jesus calls the same man a devil. And in John chapter 17, he refers to him as the son of destruction. So if you lean towards the idea that Judas did engage in this exercise, then what a strong lesson demonstrating that it's possible to participate in communion and be completely lost at the same time. This doesn't save you.

This doesn't make you more, favorable in God's eyes. It doesn't. And Judas is a strong illustration of that. So then why did the Lord allow him to partake? If he did partake, we're not explicitly told.

But one thing is for certain that in no way does it suggest that the Lord that the Lord allows unbelievers to participate in this ordinance because scripture tells us otherwise. And I'll tell you why that's important because Paul cautions those who wrongfully approach the table in a very known passage. But let me remind you of it in first Corinthians 11 verse 27. Paul says, as he elaborates the revelation of the Lord's table as an apostle, whoever therefore eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. And there are, because of the strong warnings, many sincere overseers, elders, pastors in the church who in wanting to do everything possible to ensure that the bread and the cup will not be distributed in an unworthy manner, will establish certain ideas, severe screenings, and standards to determine who and who cannot come to the table.

And if Judas is a hint to anything, it is that overseers in the church do not have ultimate knowledge what is in people's hearts. Are there regulations? Yes. Do leaders have the responsibility to instruct and to warn the people about the why, the what, the how, the whens of this ordinance? You better believe it.

But I want you to also see where the Holy Spirit of God places the responsibility, the primary responsibility of examination. It's in the next verse of first Corinthians eleven twenty seven. You read it in 28. Let a person examine himself. Himself.

After all that the church does to ensure that this is treated and handled the way the bible tells us to, examination ultimately falls on the individual. Let a person examine himself then, and so eat the bread and drink of the cup, for anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. So this is a corporate experience. Paul in the same context says when you come together, when you come together, when you come together, There's debate. Can I take communion alone?

That's not the rule. That's not the rule. God intended that this ordinance draws the church to come together, and we experience this meal as a family. So I don't think God had in mind virtual communion when he instituted the supper. He intended for us to be here flesh and blood.

And so though it's a corporate experience, there is an individual responsibility for examining our own hearts. And though publicly known and unrepentant sin helps identify one's spiritual condition and should be lovingly confronted by the church, a person's heart can only reveal so much. Can only reveal so much. You know what I find so interesting about an observation of the original Lord's Supper is that there was self examination taking place. Have you ever considered this?

Look at Mark again in 14 on our main text. It's before verse 22 where we started. Scroll back and look here at verse 18. We touched on this last week. It says here, and as they were reclining at table and eating, Jesus said, truly I say to you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me.

Now look at this in verse 19, they began to be sorrowful and to say to him one after another, is it I? Isn't that fascinating? In the context of the institution of the Lord's Supper, you have self reflection going on. Indirectly reminding us that what this is about is an opportunity for each of us to ruminate, reflect, and assess if our hearts are rightly aligned with the will of the Lord. Because this call to self examination is primarily for the church.

It's primarily for believers. Yes, even the believer can invite a particular discipline in their lives in the way that they treat this. This is very holy. It breaks my heart, and I've been in those services when I was first a believer of how the Lord's table is treated like a drive through thing. It's like, okay.

Open it up. Let's eat, drink. Okay. And then just let's just rush out. That's not what the Lord had in mind.

The Lord had in mind that this would be a sanctifying agent for the people of God. It calls for us to pause and reflect. Yes. Joyfully reflect and remember the positional promise of Jesus Christ being our savior, but it also challenges us and calls us to reflect on our practical allegiance to Jesus as Lord. So it's this paradoxical kind of thing.

We are coming with smiles. We are looking at one another as family. We are rejoicing in that it's not about this body. It's about another body, the holy one, the righteous one who lived and died on my behalf. And yet, this positional promise also asks us to reflect on our practical allegiance.

If I claim that to be true, now is my life aligned to that? Now here's the thing. I have to say this. There are some who take this a little too far. And as they reflect, they realize that there's always leftovers of sin somewhere.

And they come to this point where they feel as though they're never worthy to come to the table. Worthiness is not sinlessness. That's not what the Holy Spirit is trying to convey. The whole point of the table is you confessing that you're not worthy, in a sense. Worthiness is ultimately determined by you and your heart determining that you renounce sin, And that there's nowhere in your life that you are justifying disobedience.

And that you want to fight and war against the things that break your god's heart. That's what worthiness is. Unworthiness would be to come to this table in a callous, cavalier manner without thought, without reflection, without consideration of where you're at today with your walk with Jesus Christ. That's what breaks God's heart. That's what would invoke and invite his discipline in his child's life, when they are absent minded as they come to this table.

Absent minded in how this reminds you that you're not saved by works, and also absent minded in how this also reminds you that you live differently because of what Christ has done for you. And so there is, even in the institution, a model of sorts. Though not directly implied, it's there by inference. Let's come to verse 24. Here's the third observation.

And he said to them in Mark fourteen twenty four, this is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many. This is a very important statement that the Lord Jesus Christ makes. This is my blood of the covenant. Luke records it differently by saying the new covenant in my blood. The new covenant in my blood.

Now this word covenant, it's the first time that Jesus utters it in the gospel of Mark, at least recorded. What is a covenant? Can I give you the simplest definition? It's an agreement that's oath bound between two or more parties. It's a contract.

That's what a covenant is. And Christ now is coming to his own, and he's letting them know that he is establishing a new covenant with fresh terms of agreement for all of humanity, not just the 12. That's why he says here what? That he had did it for many. It was poured out for many, not just you.

Matthew elaborates, for the forgiveness of many. And so here's Jesus now establishing a new covenant with humanity. And it's about his promise of forgiving humanity, those who would apply themselves to faith, repented faith, on the grounds of Christ's sacrifice. But why blood? Why does he say here, this is my blood of the covenant?

Because when you study the bible carefully, you realize that whenever God makes a covenant with man, it's confirmed with blood. It's confirmed with blood being shed. You'll see it in Genesis eight with Noah. You'll see it in Genesis 15 with Abraham. And you'll see it in Exodus when Moses as the mediator of the old covenant is establishing an agreement between the people of Israel and God Almighty.

In fact, it's there. It's particularly there in Exodus twenty four eight. Turn there quickly. It's in Exodus twenty four eight where you have Jesus echoing the words of Moses. I want you to see it.

Exodus 24 verse eight. So what did Jesus say? This is my blood of the covenant. And this is what Moses said. In Exodus 20 four:eight, and Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, behold the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.

If you haven't paid attention to anything, please pay attention now. Here's Moses as a mediator of a covenant under the law, and he takes the blood of animals. And what does he do? The bible is so precise. It says here that he took the the blood and he threw it on the people.

He threw the blood on the people, and now Jesus comes to establish a new covenant with man. And he takes this cup and he says this symbolizes my blood, but he doesn't sprinkle it on people, he tells his people to do what with it? Drink it. Signifying what? Signifying that the covenant under the law provides cleanliness only for the external.

But the new covenant that Jesus establishes purifies the inner man. And that is precisely the feature of the new covenant that was foretold by the prophets while the old covenant was in effect. Jesus didn't just come out of nowhere and say, you know, I think I'm gonna establish a new covenant with mankind. He fulfilled what was foretold ages ago. And ages ago, the prophets, as they were being led by the spirit, couldn't help but highlight that the feature of this new covenant is something happening inside, not outside.

And whatever happens outside under this new covenant is a result of what springs out from the inner man. So if you have any doubt about that, let me remind you of one of the clearest prophecies about the new covenant in Jeremiah thirty one thirty one. A lot of easy references today. Hebrews ten ten. Jeremiah thirty one thirty one.

Here's what the prophet says about this new covenant that you and I are enjoying today. I will wait for the rustling of the leaves to settle. It's a good habit to bring a Bible to church. Jeremiah thirty one thirty one. Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt.

When did that happen? You read it earlier. When Moses was used as the instrument to bring Israel into the wilderness at Mount Sinai to establish that covenant, and he sprinkled the blood on the people. And Jeremiah says there's coming a covenant that's not gonna be like that. My covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord.

For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord, I will put my law within them. The law is not gonna be written on tablets of stone. No, no, no. The tablet of your heart. I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts.

And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. This is this cup signifies my blood, and I'm symbolically showing you that it's not applied externally. No. No. No.

It's applied internally. I deal with the innermost part of your being. When you put your faith in this blood, it changes you. It really changes you. And so when you and I come to this table, what are we doing?

We're remembering, yes, Christ, but we're also remembering other things connected to Christ. And here's this one thing. You are coming to this table, and you're remembering, and you are recollecting, and you are rehearsing this. We have a greater covenant. We have a greater promise.

We have a greater agreement with God. Oh, yeah. I know you want to see the miracles, and I wish I lived in this time to see God move in this way. Do you realize that the people that you envy are the ones who envy you? Do you realize that the prophets of old and the miracle workers were were looking and investigating to see when these things would be when God would do a supernatural work in the human heart?

That's why I believe when a person becomes a Christian, it's a supernatural thing. Because the bible describes it as a supernatural thing. It's not a superficial thing. It's not a surface level thing. It's not just mere words coming out of somebody's mouth.

Something happens in the heart. When this blood is applied, surgery takes place. So I come to this table every time, as often as you do. And I and I realize, God in his perfect wisdom, his sovereignty, has allowed me to be a part of, in this time of history, a greater covenant. A greater covenant.

And with that, you also say and think to yourself, he keeps his promises. He keeps his promises. Because the prophet said there was a new covenant coming. Jesus comes into the world and he inaugurates it. God is faithful.

He keeps his word, which is an important point for the last one in our study of Mark. Look at Mark 14 as we consider the last verse. Jesus says, truly I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God. So you and I, as we celebrate God fulfilling his promise of giving us a new covenant, we are given another promise to embrace and believe in. Do you see the part that says until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom?

Matthew adds two very important words that I'm sure will warm your heart. Matthew says in Matthew twenty six twenty nine, until that day when I drink it new, here are the two words, with you. With you in my father's kingdom. So this for the disciples would have been very reassuring because what they're about to experience in a very few moments, the brutal death of Jesus Christ, would not be the end of the story. They would remember what Christ had said in realizing that he is going to return.

This is not the end of it. There is another thing that he is going to fulfill. And this means that the bread and the cup, as we come and eat and drink, is a foretaste of a banquet in the future. A feast that Christ listen to this. This is astounding to me.

A feast that Christ himself will abstain from until his church is gathered again with him. I will not drink until you and I are gathered together again in the fulfillment of the kingdom. So every time we gather, you know what's taking place here? When you take a piece of that bread and a little bit of that cup, it's a sample. It's an appetizer of a future feast that you and I will enjoy with the very person of Jesus Christ.

Is there any window in the Bible that gives us a little glimpse of what that feast will look like? Yeah. You can find it in Revelation, but my heart was reminded of a text in Isaiah. Even Isaiah gives us not just the promise of a new covenant that we are a part of, but of the promise within that new covenant of something to come. K?

Here's our final text before we actually experience this together in Isaiah 25. And look at verse six. Meditating on these passages in Isaiah made me extra excited for today. Extra excited for today. Notice what the prophet says in Isaiah twenty five six.

On this mountain, the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples. This is a universal thing. For all peoples, not just the nation of Israel, not just the people of Jacob, for all peoples, a feast of rich food, a feast of well aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine, well refined. Who's the one who's setting up this feast by the way? The Lord himself?

The Lord of hosts will make for all peoples. He's saying, really? Yes. Really. And you get a little glimpse of it when Jesus makes breakfast for his the sum of his disciples in John 21.

Right? Oh, it's gonna be far greater than some fish and bread though. Far greater than that. Look at the description of this. A feast of rich food.

This is not gonna be a cheap thing. It's gonna be a lavishing thing, a glorious thing. A wedding that you have never seen before, that no magazine, that nothing could ever put together. But look at verse seven. And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations, he will swallow up death forever.

And the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces. And the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken. So there's something permanent about this feast. See you and I every time we partake of this, we get a little glimpse just just a wafer of what's happening, what's going to happen. And then we go back into this world and what happens?

We're exposed to trials, tribulations, pain, betrayal, sin, satanic forces. But there's something about this feast that as we come to it and as we enjoy it, there's gonna be the removal of tears forever. Forever and ever and ever. And what will we say at that feast? This is how specific the prophet is.

You wanna get an idea of what you're gonna utter and what I'm going to utter in unison? Verse nine. It will be said on that day, behold, this is our God. We have waited for him that he might save us. This is the Lord.

We have waited for him. Let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation. Finally here, the Lord kept his word that we would feast together, that we would come together. We are pilgrims. You're a pilgrim and constantly exposed to all these fractured elements of our universe.

But you know what happens when we come together? What we're about to do in a few minutes? We escape that briefly. Please listen to this. We escape that briefly, and we are almost transported to this truth.

And what is this truth? There is a feast coming, and Jesus Christ purchased my seat at that table. When's the last time you thought about that when you held these elements and ate them? Has that ever run through your mind where you where you thought, there is a banquet coming, and the blood of Jesus has purchased my reservation? I will sit at that table, a table that will commemorate and will celebrate the fact that death has been defeated forever.

I will come to a banquet that toast the arrival of my inheritance of unending joy in a new world. And I will feast not merely on food, but with unhindered, untainted fellowship with God himself and God's people for eternity. Are you ready to partake? I hope your heart is stirred. I I hope that these truths didn't skim over your mind and just kiss the surface of your heart.

I I pray that you would bind these things on your heart and you would realize Jesus, in stewarding this for the church, has so much to say, so much grace to dispense in me. And so here's my call for you and I as we're about to sing and then line up and feast together. Examine yourself. At this time, examine yourself. Examine the truth of his body.

Your humility and your hope should be exploding at this time. And at the same time, that if you're not walking in a manner worthy of the Lord, God wants you to turn. Jesus Christ is inviting you to repent, to be made right with him. And he would find greater pleasure in you taking the time to examine yourself. And if you've made right with that sin, if you repented of that sin, then to come.

If you can't let go of that sin, if you're still trying to justify it or try to debate with God of why you should be doing what you're doing or thinking the way you should be thinking, then just stay and remain, and come when you're ready. At the same time, as you're standing there and as you're following the other person, remember this. It's not about you. It's about him. And this this is a snapshot of a glorious thing that is coming.

And if you believe in Christ, you're going there. And Jesus Christ, listen to this, is excited for that feast. I hope you are. Because he wants you to be. This is not your world.

This is not your permanent residence. This feast reminds you that a kingdom is coming. It will rule everything. And if you're in Christ, you will rule and reign with him. If you're an unbeliever in this place, respectfully, it is my duty and it is our responsibility as leaders to remind you that, yes, you're welcome here.

We're so glad that you're here. But to reserve yourself from participating and instead to participate in this way, by observing a people who believe that they have been bought by the blood of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, and that they have assurance of salvation. And if you do the same as they did, then one day you can partake of these elements for yourself. But until then, watch and realize that we are a people who have been purchased by God, and that invitation is extended to you. As the praise team comes up to prepare us to sing, let us not treat this as a drive through experience.

Take some time to commune with the Lord. Take some time to reflect on what he's done for you. Take some time to realize the treasure that is your inheritance. It's your portion, and it will come together. Can you do that?

If you're going to look at one another, look at each other with joy and realizing this is my family. Not in a distracting way. Let's let's prepare our hearts and come to this table together. I'm gonna join you in that. But we think about our salvation.

And Lord, we choose to trust in the saving work of Christ. We think about our shortcomings, our failures. We think about the things that we would never want anybody else to know. And perhaps even at this moment, we feel the condemnation, the shame, the guilt, the filth. But, Lord, your word says that when our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts and he knows all things.

Thank you that when you see us, you see the spotless record of Jesus. Thank you that when you see us and you look for debt, there's no debt that we owe. Thank you that when you look for all our wrongs, you will not find us. You'll find that record nailed on that cross. Thank you that though we do not deserve it, you've extended it to us, this gift.

So, Lord, we don't reflect in terms of our salvation, how we can earn it, how we might have weakened our security for it, we rest in Jesus. Help us rest in Jesus. And now look, we we Lord, we do look to our lives as professors of Jesus, as confessors of the Christ. Lord, if there's anything in our hearts that grieve the spirit, if there's anything that we're justifying that we excuse, we renounce it. Lord, if we can be perfectly holy at the snap of a finger, we would want it.

We wanna be pure. We wanna be blameless. We wanna be the way you've designed and called us to be. Help us really believe that you're coming back. Help us really believe with all the busyness, the bills, the plans, that this is all gonna come to an end one day.

And we're gonna, with our own eyes, see Jesus establishing his kingdom on the earth. That is that is our destination. Help us really believe that there's a feast being prepared. And the same people that we'll be sitting with in this room will be the same people we'll be sitting with at that table, glorified, perfected in the unfiltered presence of God. Help us believe that.

Help us remember to not plant our feet too strongly on the earth. We sing to you with thanksgiving knowing that we've been purchased, that we're free, that we're secure forever. In Jesus' name, amen. Let's stand. Let's sing.

Let's give thanks.