Drunkards, Scoffers & Tough Nuts – Part 3
Isaiah 28:1-29 (14-16)
October 8, 2023
We began this chapter last Sunday morning
And we understand it to be a chapter in which
Isaiah is confronting the stubbornness of Jerusalem.
We saw in the previous chapter
How God will do WHATEVER IT TAKES to save His own.
And this “whatever” includes things like
Suffering and discipline and even a time of great tribulation.
And so the obvious question from Isaiah is:
Just how hard are you going to make God hit you?
It is not wise to stubbornly resist what God has to say.
But that is precisely what the people of Jerusalem are doing.
• They are not rightly valuing the word of God.
• They are not listening correctly.
• And thus they were setting themselves up for a tremendous time of discipline.
Isaiah will even say in verse 22:
“And now do not carry on as scoffers, Or your fetters will be made stronger; For I have heard from the Lord GOD of hosts Of decisive destruction on all the earth.”
You are pushing God to act in a way that you aren’t going to enjoy.
So Isaiah is CONFRONTING THEIR STUBBORNNESS.
And, as we said last week, he is doing so through 3 ANALOGIES.
He is talking about drunkards, scoffers, and tough nuts.
In reality, the people of Jerusalem were all 3.
We saw the first one last week.
#1 DRUNKARDS
Isaiah 28:1-8
Isaiah began by denouncing the actual drunks of the northern kingdom.
• They were worldly.
• They were drunkards.
• They valued and took pride in the wrong thing.
While they should have considered the LORD to be their crown and joy
They celebrated sin and a life of drunken immorality.
But in their chosen drunkenness they wobbled and reeled and staggered
And God determined to judge them.
He promised to wipe them out with a tidal wave of destruction (Assyria)
Such a sermon would have been
Pleasing to the ears of the southern kingdom.
After all, the two nations were not allies.
• It wasn’t that long ago that Pekah the son of Remaliah and Rezin the king of Aram had conspired to invade Judah and overthrow it.
• The citizens of Jerusalem would have certainly agreed that God was just in judging those drunkards up north.
But Israel wasn’t really the focus of Isaiah’s sermon.
THEY WERE JUST A SET-UP.
They were actual drunkards who obviously deserved judgment,
But the people Isaiah wanted to talk to were
The spiritual drunkards of Jerusalem who also deserved it.
(7-8) “And these also reel with wine and stagger from strong drink: The priest and the prophet reel with strong drink, They are confused by wine, they stagger from strong drink; They reel while having visions, They totter when rendering judgment. For all the tables are full of filthy vomit, without a single clean place.”
God compared the priest and prophets of Jerusalem
To the drunkards up north.
IN WHAT WAY?
• The drunks up north wobbled when they walked the preachers down south wobbled when they preached.
• The drunks up north teetered and tottered and the preachers down south reeled in their visions and tottered in their judgments.
• The drunks up north vomited in their drunken stupor and from God’s perspective the preaching of the priests and prophets in the south was just as detestable.
Where the drunks up north VALUED THE WRONG THING
So did the prophets down south.
Instead of revering, loving, honoring, and preaching God’s word
They preached their own logic and wisdom.
Jeremiah asked:
Jeremiah 23:28-29 “The prophet who has a dream may relate his dream, but let him who has My word speak My word in truth. What does straw have in common with grain?” declares the LORD. “Is not My word like fire?” declares the LORD, “and like a hammer which shatters a rock?”
Isaiah will say later:
Isaiah 55:8-9 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.”
THERE’S JUST NO COMPARISON.
And here God says that compared to His word,
The word of the prophets is nothing but a table full of vomit.
They are stubborn people who do not rightly value the word of God.
And we said that this is WHERE STUBBORNNESS BEGINS.
If you won’t rightly value God’s word
You are setting yourself up for a life of stubborn disobedience.
Those were the drunkards Isaiah compared them to.
Last Sunday night we started looking at the second analogy.
#2 SCOFFERS
Isaiah 28:9-22
We looked at verses 9-13
Where the priests and the prophets fired back at Isaiah.
They didn’t appreciate his analogy regarding their preaching and so they accused him of speaking gibberish suitable only for a babbling baby.
(9-10 “To whom would He teach knowledge, And to whom would He interpret the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just taken from the breast? “For He says, ‘Order on order, order on order, Line on line, line on line, A little here, a little there.’”
And of course you remember that the Hebrew here
Sounds very mocking and disrespectful.
So when God speaks, not only do they fail to value it,
But when He speaks they actually mock it.
And God’s response to their scorn is absolutely terrifying.
(11) “Indeed, He will speak to this people Through stammering lips and a foreign tongue,”
God’s answer to their mocking was, “Fine, the next time I speak to you it will be in a language you can’t understand.”
Just as Jesus did with the parables.
Just as Paul explained regarding tongues.
• It is a terrible judgment when God conceals His word from a person.
• It is a terrible judgment when God speaks but does not permit the hearer to understand what He is saying.
Why would God do this?
(13b) “That they may go and stumble backward, be broken, snared and taken captive.”
In short, God will conceal His word
So that they won’t repent and will be judged.
He does not respond kindly to those who scoff at His word.
There are so many warnings for us in those passages.
BUT ISAIAH ISN’T FINISHED.
He is still talking to the scoffers
And we pick back up in our text in verses 14-15.
(14-15) “Therefore, hear the word of the LORD, O scoffers, Who rule this people who are in Jerusalem, Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death, And with Sheol we have made a pact. The overwhelming scourge will not reach us when it passes by, For we have made falsehood our refuge and we have concealed ourselves with deception.”
Isaiah is still speaking primarily to the leaders among the people.
• He references those “who rule this people who are in Jerusalem”
• And it is them primarily who refuse to “hear the word of the LORD”
• It is them primarily who are the “scoffers”
And here Isaiah identifies why they are so bold
So as to scoff at God’s warnings and God’s word.
AND THE REASON IS
Because they think they have a plan that will work just fine.
• Isaiah calls it “a covenant with death”
• He calls it “a pact” “with Sheol”
What was actually happening is
The rulers of the day weren’t worried about trusting in God
Because they had a plan to deal with Assyria…EGYPT.
• They had already made an agreement with Egypt.
• They had already made a pact with Egypt.
• They weren’t worried about seeking God because Egypt would deliver them.
But Isaiah more accurately describes that treaty as
“a covenant with death”
It’s Isaiah’s way of pointing out how foolish their alliance really is.
• Who takes on death as an ally?
• Who runs to death to ask for help?
According to Isaiah that is what they are doing when they run to Egypt.
They say, “The overwhelming scourge will not reach us when it passes by”
• That “overwhelming scourge” is what God said was coming to the northern kingdom.
Remember back up in verse 2?
“Behold the Lord has a strong and mighty agent; As a storm of hail, a tempest of destruction, Like a storm of mighty overflowing waters…”
Well the leaders of Jerusalem heard that and said, “We don’t have to worry about that judgment reaching us because we have a treaty with Egypt. We’ll be fine.”
Isaiah says on the contrary, you “have made falsehood [your] refuge and [you] have concealed [yourselves] with deception.”
But hopefully now you understand the reason behind their arrogance.
Instead of valuing God’s word they valued man’s ideas.
• And those ideas were to trust in Egypt.
And when Isaiah warned them against it they scoffed at him.
• So Isaiah says, “I hate to tell you, but your plan isn’t going to work.”
And that is precisely the revelation Isaiah gives them starting in verse 16.
I told you last Sunday night that I wasn’t going to break down this section any more because it flowed so nicely, but I changed my mind.
I do want us to take a more detailed look at verses 16-22.
For they explain to us WHAT EVERY SCOFFER NEEDS TO KNOW.
So if you are one who makes notes in your Bible
• Then just make a note for verses 16-22
• That this is “What every scoffer needs to know”
• And there are 4 things here.
1. If you are one who has disdain for the word of God…
2. If you are one who values man’s wisdom over God’s…
3. If you are one who has his own plan for facing judgment and don’t feel the need to listen to God…
4. If you are one who mocks when someone calls you to repentance…
5. If you are one who scoffs when someone calls you to humble yourself…
Then God has a message here for you.
There are 4 things here you need to know.
1) THERE IS ONLY ONE AVAILABLE SAVIOR (16)
(16) “Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, A costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed. He who believes in it will not be disturbed.”
I hope you recognize this verse
For it is a favorite of the apostles in their preaching.
It is God’s rebuttal to those who think
They can survive the coming scourge on their own.
AND IT IS A PICTURE OF A BUILDING.
It is a picture of A REFUGE where one will go and hide when the storm comes through.
The most obvious illustration you have seen along these lines came in Matthew 7 when Jesus said:
Matthew 7:24-27 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. “And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. “Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. “The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.”
Jesus references two men who are preparing for the coming judgment.
• The foolish man builds on the sand.
• The wise man builds on the rock.
This story is NOT ABOUT their works.
• Both men work, both men build.
This story IS ABOUT their faith.
• One man has faith that anything he builds can withstand the coming judgment.
• The wise man knows that he can’t build anything that will survive the judgment.
So while the foolish man builds without a foundation
The wise man ties everything he’s got to the rock.
That rock is of course Jesus and the wise man puts everything on Him.
The wise man says, “The only way anything I’ve built will survive the judgment is if it is founded on Jesus.”
• He has to be my foundation.
• He has to be my refuge.
• He has to be my fortress through the coming judgment.
Well, that reality is the SAME REALITY THAT ISAIAH is talking about here.
God has already announced that the JUDGMENT IS COMING.
There is an “overwhelming scourge” on the way.
But God has MADE PROVISION for His people to survive the judgment.
God has provided a place where His people can weather the storm.
• For Noah God provided an ark to safely carry him through.
• For these people God has provided a building to protect them from judgment.
But the entire focus of God ISN’T on the walls or the roof.
THE FOCUS OF GOD IS ON THE FOUNDATION STONE.
God is focused on what this whole thing rests on.
And let’s examine it a little more closely.
First off God says, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone”
• God is NOT laying a pile of sand.
• God is NOT laying a stick.
• God is NOT laying sod.
For the foundation of God’s building He is placing “a stone”
And at this point we simply recognize two things.
1. God is providing the foundation.
2. The foundation He is providing is strong.
God DOESN’T tell the people to make provision.
God DOESN’T tell the people to figure it out.
God reveals the coming judgment and then reveals that
He is making provision for them to survive it.
That provision is “a stone”.
• It is a picture of strength
• It is a picture of endurance
• It can weather the storm
• It will be there afterward
Anything you tie to this stone
Is going to be here when the judgment is complete.
But that is not all we learn.
God says it is, “a tested stone”
The Hebrew word is (BO-KHAN)
And this is the ONLY PLACE it is used in the Old Testament.
But we learn a little more about the INTENT
• When we go to the New Testament.
• For Peter quotes this very passage.
1 Peter 2:6 “For this is contained in Scripture: “BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A CHOICE STONE, A PRECIOUS CORNER stone, AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.”
When Peter quotes this verse it is not translated “tested stone”.
Rather it is translated “choice stone”.
The Greek word for “choice” is ek-lek-TOS
(It’s were we get our word for “elect” or “chosen”)
And this FILLS IN THE GAPS for us here in Isaiah.
This stone which was chosen by God was not haphazardly chosen.
• God didn’t just pick up the first rock He could find.
• God didn’t just casually throw the first volunteer at it.
He chose One on purpose.
Psalms 2:6-9 “But as for Me, I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain.” “I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. ‘Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, And the very ends of the earth as Your possession. ‘You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.’”
It was not random, it was intentional.
God specifically chose the stone that would serve
As the foundation which would save His people.
And you already know who this stone is.
It is THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.
He is “a choice stone”
He is “a tested stone”
We think to the first 30 years of His life.
• We don’t have much record of anything in those first years of His life
• But we don’t need it because what we do have is the evaluation of His Father upon the completion of those years.
And God Himself from heaven gave us His evaluation of Christ.
Matthew 3:16-17 “After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”
We are not concerned with every story from Jesus’ childhood
But we are greatly interested in what God thought of His life.
Jesus passed with flying colors.
• He was perfect.
• He was sinless.
• He had pleased the Father.
He was born under the Law and for 30 years in relative seclusion
But before God Jesus faithfully obeyed every command
And never messed up once.
He had been tested.
He is the One.
Of course from there we know that
Satan didn’t buy God’s evaluation and wanted His own crack at Jesus.
Much like Satan demanded with Job,
Satan would now seek to cull out Jesus and topple Him in sin.
So we read in Matthew 4 of the great temptation of Jesus.
• Satan daring Him to turn stones into bread.
• Satan daring Him to throw Himself off the temple.
• Satan offering Jesus the world if He would bow to Satan.
And again Jesus, having been tested, passed with flying colors.
THEN MEN BEGAN TO TEST HIM.
WE SAW HIM IN DAY TO DAY MINISTRY.
• We saw Him when He was tired.
• We saw Him when He was under attack.
• We saw Him in danger.
• We saw Him when He was abandoned.
• We saw Him arrested, on trial, wrongfully condemned, beaten and mocked.
And not once did Jesus ever sin even under such heavy scrutiny.
Even the criminal crucified next to Him
Testified that “this Man has done nothing wrong”.
He is the chosen and tested stone.
Hebrews 4:15-16 “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
No one was ever more tested or more tempted than Jesus
And yet He never sinned.
You can rest assured that this foundation stone
Has gone through the testing. He is qualified.
And yet Isaiah is still not finished.
God also calls Him “a costly cornerstone”
“costly” there is the Hebrew word (YAW-KAR) and it is used a lot in Scripture.
Translated “valuable” – “rare” – “precious” – “glorious” – “costly” – “influential”
AND THEY ALL FIT HIM.
But the point to be made that any stone
That is capable of holding up this building;
You know it’s not going to be cheap.
When Solomon built the temple.
1 Kings 5:17 “Then the king commanded, and they quarried great stones, costly stones, to lay the foundation of the house with cut stones.”
We are talking about a foundation that will survive the coming judgment.
If you’re going to purchase a stone like that
You know it’s going to cost you.
When Peter spoke of Jesus’ work he said:
1 Peter 1:18-19 “knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.”
Peter compares His blood to “silver and gold”
And considers them of no value at all in comparison.
Jesus asked His followers:
Matthew 16:26 “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”
• And we wonder how much would you pay for something that can rescue you from hell and send you to heaven?
When Jesus gave parables about the value of His salvation:
Matthew 13:44-46 “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.”
• In both of those cases we have greedy men who are only seeking to get ahead.
• But when both of them were able to gaze upon the value of Christ
• They willingly gave all that they had to acquire Him.
IS HE COSTLY? Absolutely!
• He will cost you relationships.
• He will cost you jobs.
• He will cost you riches.
• He may even cost you this earthly life.
BUT HE IS SO VALUABLE!
Matthew 10:37-38 “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. “And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.”
Luke 14:25-27 “Now large crowds were going along with Him; and He turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.”
He is costly.
He is valuable and rare and precious and glorious!
We are talking about One who has the ability
To save you from the coming judgment,
Are you surprised that acquiring Him comes at great cost?
I know we often talk about salvation being free.
AND THAT’S TRUE.
• It is free in the sense that it is by grace
• You can’t buy it, and you can’t earn it.
But make no mistake, there is great cost associated with following Jesus
And Jesus continually points that out.
(you lose reputation and relationships and comforts and even life)
BECAUSE OF THIS COST MANY REJECT HIM.
BUT HOW FOOLISH!
• Would Noah have sold the ark for 1 million dollars the night before the flood?
• What if building the ark wore out Noah’s body and caused him to limp in his old age; was it still worth building?
HOW VALUABLE IS THIS STONE TO YOU?
GOD SAYS HE IS VALUABLE!
And then God says that:
This stone is “for the foundation firmly placed.”
He has been strategically placed by God
To be the rock that saves men from judgment.
Everything is designed to rest on Him.
Everything is designed to trust in Him.
When Paul spoke of the church, he described it like this.
Ephesians 2:19-20 “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone,”
• We know the church is made up of strangers and aliens.
• We know the church is made up of Jews and Gentiles.
• We know the church is made up of rich and poor.
• We know that the church rests on the gospel which was preached to us by the apostles and prophets.
We stand on this gospel as our foundation.
But we know that “Christ Jesus Himself [is] the corner stone.”
• It all rests on Him.
• It all clings to Him.
• He is the only reason any of it works.
AND OF COURSE YOU KNOW WHY.
1. We have a Holy God who created man in His image.
2. But man sinned against God brought upon himself the curse of death and judgment.
3. That was Adam in the garden and because we are his children we are all born with his sinful and rebellious nature.
4. God then gave the Law to explain to men what righteous living looked like.
5. The Law was a pattern to show us how to live righteous.
6. And no one could live up to it.
Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”
• We had failed to be righteous as God demanded.
• We had sinned as God had forbidden.
• And there was no hope of us ever being reconciled to Him on our own.
BUT GOD INTERVENED.
“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, a costly cornerstone for the foundation firmly placed…”
He sent His Son Jesus Christ into the world.
• This Jesus lived a perfectly sinless life and earned a righteous standing before God.
• He was tested and tried and He passed every test.
• The ultimate statement of approval for Him came 3 days after He died when God raised Him from the dead.
But this Jesus DIDN’T COME ONLY to live a righteous life
As though He were just some moral example for us all to follow.
If that were the case He would be no different than the Law.
• He would be a clear expression of holiness,
• But an expression that we could not live up to no matter how hard we tried.
No Jesus did not come to make us righteous,
He came to be our righteousness.
This Jesus, who had never sinned then did the unthinkable
And offered sinful man forgiveness of their sins.
Have you read those stories in the gospels?
Matthew 9:2 “And they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, “Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven.”
Luke 7:47-48 “For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.” Then He said to her, “Your sins have been forgiven.”
Do you understand what He was doing there?
HE WAS ASSUMING THEIR DEBT.
You can’t forgive someone of their sin against God
Unless you agree to pay off their penalty.
That is precisely what Jesus was doing for them
AND FOR ALL WHO WOULD COME TO HIM.
HE OFFERED SINNERS ETERNAL LIFE.
How?
• Because He would pay the debt against them.
• Throughout the gospels Jesus walked around offering sinners forgiveness in His name.
And as He offered them forgiveness and eternal life,
He would call them to forsake this world and follow Him.
BUT WAIT JUST A SECOND…
For that to work then not only would Jesus have to be sinless (otherwise He would die for His own sin),
But God would also have to be willing to accept Jesus’ on my behalf.
Preacher are you sure that will work?
• We’re talking about my eternity here?
• We’re talking about whether or not I go to heaven or hell?
ARE YOU SURE THAT JESUS DID ENOUGH?
• Are you sure that God will accept me based on what He did?
And there you have the very question of faith don’t you.
What do you think?
What do you believe?
Are you going to keep building on sand,
And trust your building skills?
Or are you going to believe Jesus and go put it all on Him?
• Are you going to believe that His righteousness is acceptable to God?
• Are you going to believe that God accepted His death on your behalf?
• Are you going to believe that when you stand before God you can look at Jesus and He will have arranged everything for you to enter heaven?
That’s what we’re talking about.
And you say, “I don’t know preacher, that’s an awfully big gamble.”
• I like to do things myself.
• If you want something done right you have to do it yourself.
• What if I put it all on Jesus and then get there and find out He failed?
• What if I find out that God didn’t accept Him?
CAN I SET YOUR MIND AT EASE?
God already announced that He would accept Jesus.
God already announced that His work was sufficient.
• He did?
• Where?
• When?
Look at the last line of verse 16.
(This is God speaking.)
“Thus says the LORD God”
“He who believes in it will not be disturbed.”
“disturbed” in the Hebrew is (KOOSH) and it means “to show haste”
In Job 20 it referred to “inward agitation”
In other words, if you believe in God’s stone
Then on the day when the storm hits
You aren’t going to be upset that it didn’t work.
In the New Testament Paul quotes this verse and it reads like this:
Romans 10:11 “For the Scripture says, “WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.”
YOU WANT TO KNOW
If putting it all on the work of Jesus is an effective and wise strategy?
GOD SAYS,
“Absolutely! If you trust in Him you will not be disappointed.”
AND FRIEND THAT IS WHAT THE CHURCH RESTS ON.
That is our foundation.
He is our cornerstone.
That Jesus lived a righteous life and satisfied God’s holy requirement.
That Jesus died a sacrificial death and satisfied my penalty.
And when I believe in Him and trust in Him
God saves me based on what He did.
Only a fool would reject this
Because He is the only One God ever said that about.
THERE IS ONLY ONE AVAILABLE SALVATION.
But if you are a scoffer…
• If you don’t want to believe God…
• If you want to make your own covenant with death…
• You are bound to be disappointed when that overwhelming scourge comes passing through.
For God has only made one way for man to be saved.
John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”
Acts 4:12 “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”
Don’t be a scoffer like Israel was.
Romans 9:30-33 “What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith; but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as though it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone, just as it is written, “BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE, AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.”
• They insisted on doing it themselves.
• They insisted on taking care of their own salvation.
• That thought it foolish to put their eternal state on the back of Jesus.
• And instead of building upon this precious corner stone they tripped over it.
HOW ABOUT YOU?
Are you going to secure your own eternity or are you going to entrust it to Jesus?
This morning we conclude our service by taking the Lord’s Supper.
It is an ordinance where we declare our faith in His atoning work.
• We eat this cracker as a symbol of His body and the sinless life He lived.
• We drink this grape juice as a symbol of the blood He shed to pay for our sin.
He lived sinless and imputed that righteousness to us.
He died sacrificially with our sin imputed to Him.
2 Corinthians 5:21 “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
This morning we partake as an expression of our faith in His work.
• If you don’t believe in Him, don’t partake.
• If you’d prefer to do it yourself, don’t partake.
• But this table is open to all those who want to put it all on the back of Jesus.
As always we’ll have a time of preparation
And then we’ll partake of the table of the Lord.
LORD’S SUPPER
• Deacons come forward
Romans 9:8-11 “That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendants. For this is the word of promise: “AT THIS TIME I WILL COME, AND SARAH SHALL HAVE A SON.” And not only this, but there was Rebekah also, when she had conceived twins by one man, our father Isaac; for though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that God’s purpose according to His choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls,”
• Give bread to deacons
• Deacon prayer
• Deacons pass out bread
Matthew 26:26 “While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”
• Take bread
1 Peter 2:4-10 “And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For this is contained in Scripture: “BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A CHOICE STONE, A PRECIOUS CORNER stone, AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.” This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, “THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE VERY CORNER stone,” and, “A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE”; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed. But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY.”
• Give juice to deacons
• Deacon prayer
• Deacons pass out juice
Matthew 26:27-28 “And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.”
• Take juice
• Deacon prayer
