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e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e good morning everyone welcome back to free Grace Baptist Church special welcome to any visitors that are amongst us we do have a fellowship lunch and after the morning service this morning so if you're visiting feel free we invite you to join us uh for a time of Fellowship uh this is something we try to do on regular basis once a month uh and uh invite you to join us as well the evening service will be at 5:00 p.m. uh no Wednesday night bible study for the summer so don't show up on Wednesday you might be here all by yourself and the only other announcement of course we've announced this for a couple weeks is that Landon vop is being invited and added to the membership and we'll do that now I'll ask Pastor Butler and land come on up you can just stand right there well as we did with Julian Landon's brother we brought him into the membership a couple of weeks ago Landon has also applied for membership we have uh vetted him and he checks out um as well he's been baptized already so typically when we receive members into our church uh typically most of the time we do it through the waters of baptism but when persons come to us having already been baptized we simply receive them in with a right hand of fellowship and prayer and praise to God so I want to read the appropriate section in our confession of Faith chapter 26 paragraphs 5 and six in the execution of this power wherewith he is so entrusted the Lord Jesus cth out of the world unto himself through the ministry of his word by his Spirit those that are given unto him by his father that they may walk before him in all the ways of obedience which he prescribed to them in his word those thus call uh called he commandeth to walk together in particular Societies or churches for their Mutual edification and the due performance of that public worship which he requireth of them in the world the members of these churches are Saints by calling visibly manifesting and evidencing in and by their profession and walking their obedience unto that call of Christ and do willingly consent to walk together according to the appointment of Christ giving up themselves to the Lord and one to another by the will of God in professed subjection to the ordinances of the Gospel so we are officially receiving our dear brother into the membership of free Grace Baptist Church and as I said we'll pray and praise God for his kindness to us our gracious and Holy Father we thank you that the Lord Jesus is stationed at your right hand we thank you for that current session and we look forward again to his returning glory to judge the living and the dead until such time we pray that the head of the church would continue to add to the church and we thank you for our dear brother Landon we just commend him to you and to the word of your grace we pray that you would bless him and use the ministry of this church for his growth in Grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus as well use him in prayer and and and exhortation to all the rest of us in this local church to be a stronger body United in the head and seeking to glorify you in this present evil age and we ask this through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen please open your Bibles with me to Psalm 111 for our call to worship this morning Psalm 111 praise the Lord I will praise the Lord with my whole heart in the Assembly of the upright and in the congregation The Works of the Lord are great studied by all who have pleasure in them his work is Honorable and glorious and his righteousness endures forever he has made his wonderful Works to be remembered the Lord is gracious and full of compassion he has given food to those who fear Him He will will ever be mindful of his Covenant he has declared to his people the power of His Works in giving them the heritage of the Nations The Works of his hands are Verity and Justice all his precepts are sure they stand fast forever and ever and are done in truth and uprightness he has sent Redemption to his people he has commanded his Covenant forever holy and awesome is his name the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom a good understanding have all those who do his Commandments his praise endures forever amen let's open our himels now and turn to Psalm 118 Psalm 118b as in bravo we'll just be singing the first four stanzas stanza 1-4 of Psalm 11 18b to me and I will to myor I will [Music] pray the [Applause] the of God [Music] you may be seated let's go to the Lord in prayer our gracious Heavenly Father we come before you this morning as your people glad to be invited into the house of the Lord to worship you we come out of the world this day and we pray oh God that you would help us to leave the cares and the the issues of the week behind we pray that we would be able to focus on you and you alone Lord we love you but we live in a in a sin cursed world and Lord if it were not enough that we have to meddle in that sin around us every day we have our own heart to deal with and the remaining corruption and Lord we pray that you would help us this day that you would cleanse us that you would purify us that you would make our worship acceptable in your sight and we pray that the presence of your Holy Spirit would be with us as we worship and as we hear the word preached and as you work in our hearts we pray oh God that the Holy Spirit would do his work and that we would leave this place a changed people for your honor and your glory Lord we pray the same for churches all all across this country this day where the gospel is being preached we pray with the prophet Moses Lord if your presence does not go with us then carry us not up hence we pray oh God that the spirit of God would be at work in his people Reviving his church and making us salt and light in this crooked and perverse generation and all over the face of this globe this day where the gospel is preached may you call Sinners to repentance and Saints to Purity and Lord may you prepare us for the great and glorious day when we will stand before your presence and see you face to face Lord we pray for our Brethren that are suffering under persecution in various countries like we have never yet seen in this country we pray oh God for those that are in prison this day for the sake of Christ in the gospel that you'd be merciful to them and that you would encourage their hearts that you would give them much joy as they look forward to the day when they will stand before you Lord we know that this life is very fleeting and we we often get far too wrapped up in the things around us that are temporal Lord help us to have a an eye on eternity and we pray that for our Brethren that are suffering this day Lord we pray for our sister churches and church plants here in Canada bless the brethren in the surri and in Armstrong and in ryen we pray oh God that you would encourage those congregations this day build them up in their Most Holy Faith give them uh unity and and vision for the future we pray oh God that we would see and hear of many more churches being planted we pray for the other churches in our own City here where the gospel is preached this day bless the Pastors in the Pulpit as they bring forth the word of God and cause your people to be edified we pray we ask these things for your honor and glory amen amen we're going to stand again and turn once more to this altar this time to Psalm 18b Psalm 18b and we will be singing the last for stanza stanza five stanas 5-8 of Psalm 18b as in bravo [Music] of all he me my to for my we to for my the of my he has [Music] the you are my my heart to you may be seated please open your Bibles to the New Testament Gospel of Matthew as we continue our consecutive reading we're at the last chapter of Matthew chapter 28 a day of great rejoicing the resurrection Matthew 28 beginning in verse one now after the Sabbath as the first day of the week began to Dawn Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb and behold there was a great earthquake for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the Stone from the door and sat on it his countenance was like lightning and his clothing as white as snow and the guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men but the angel angel answered and said to the women do not be afraid for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified he is is not here for He Is Risen as he said come see the place where the Lord lay and go quickly and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead and indeed he is going before you into Galilee there you will see him behold I have told you so they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy and ran to bring his disciples word and as they went to tell his disciples behold Jesus met them saying Rejoice so they came and help held him by the feet and worshiped him then Jesus said to themo not be afraid go and tell my brethren to go to Galilee and there they will see me now while they were going behold some of the Guard came into the City and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened when they had assembled with the elders and consulted together they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers saying tell them his disciples came at night and stole him away while we slept and if if this comes to the governor's ears we will appease him and make you secure so they took the money and did as they were instructed and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day then the 11 disciples went away into Galilee to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them when they saw him they worshiped him but some doubted and Jesus came and spoke to them saying all authority has been given to me in heaven and on Earth go therefore and make Disciples of all the nations baptizing them in the name of the father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you and lo I Am With You Always even to the End of the Age amen let us pray gracious Heavenly Father we thank you for this glorious uh declaration that Jesus made to his disciples one that Rings true and continues to this very day Jesus declaring that he would be with us till the very end of the age we thank you that the command to go and make disciples of all the nations continues and that your blessing continues to accompany it we pray oh God that even this day you would save a great multitude make a great many people who are currently in Rebellion against you willing in the day of your power we ask this in Jesus name amen amen for our final hymn we'll turn to number 24 three before the preaching of the word 243 and please stand again as we sing [Music] together of the Lord for your his ex to you am you for I am your God and will still give you you you and you to stand my through the deep I call you to go of Sorrow shall over for I will your TR to [Music] and shall be your shall H you my your and your to to all my shall ET change and shall shall in my J Will Will to his [Music] sh you can turn with me in your Bibles to John's gospel John chap 15 John 15 I'll read verses 1 to8 but we're going to focus again only on the first part of verse one so this is part two of a sermon on John 151a so here now the word of God I am the True Vine and my father is the vine dresser every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away way and every branch that bears fruity he prunes that it may bear more fruit you are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you abide in me and I in you as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine neither can you unless you abide in me I am the vine you are the branches he who abides in me and I in him Bears much fruit for without me you can do nothing if anyone does not abide in me he is cast out as a branch and is withered and they gathered and throw them in they gather them and throw them into the fire and they are burned if you abide in me and my words abide in you you will ask what you desire and it shall be done for you by this my father is glorified that you bear much fruit so you will be my disciples amen well let us pray our gracious God and Holy Father we thank you for your your word we thank you that it's the god breathed word and the spirit who inspired the spirit who gave it to us is the spirit who now illumines our minds and hearts and we pray Lord Jesus you promise not to leave us as orphans send the spirit even now in a powerful way that we may see what this passage declares concerning the Son of God who assumed our Humanity who lived for us who died for us and who was raised again for us in fulfillment of all the promises of God which are yay and amen in him do forgive us now for all sin cleanse Us in the Precious Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ extend Mercy to needy Sinners today and save them by your grace and sanctify and edify and build up your people that we may grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and we pray in his Most Blessed name amen well I just wanted to provide A Brief Review as I said this is part two on verse 1A Jesus says I am the True Vine I mentioned last week that when you consider theology there's four primary branches you have exegetical theology you then have historical theology you have Systematic Theology and practical theology so exog Jesus or exotical theology gets at what does the text mean what does the text say what did the spirit intend for us to understand we then move over to historical theology to sort of ask the Church of old what do you believe that the church or rather what the text means Systematic Theology we logically connect the doctrines of the Bible we put it together in a in a confession or in a Creed or in a Systematic Theology and then practical theology flows from that based on what we know this then is how we ought to live well when we look at exegetical theology we notice that there's a subset there's biblical Theology and covenant theology again disciplines that help us get at the meaning of the text in Scripture that the spirit intended for us we focused a lot on exog Jesus and Systematic Theology in the formulation of the Christian doctrine of the Trinity as we moved thus far in our study in the upper room discourse but I want wanted to invoke biblical and covenant theology as we consider the words of our Lord Jesus here in verse 1A I am the True Vine and the argument that I seek to make this morning is very simple Adam was a type of Christ Paul tells us that in Romans 5:14 but so was Israel what Adam failed to do in the garden and Israel failed to do in the old Covenant the Lord Jesus Christ came as the last Adam and true Israel to fulfill what they had failed in and so when Jesus says I am the True Vine he is making a pretty incredible statement when we look back in Redemptive history to this Vine metaphor that Jesus invokes but remember the convention he says I am the True Vine there are several times in John's gospel where Jesus says I am without a predicate just simply I am and when he does that he is stressing his essential nature he is stressing that he's the only begotten son of the father he has the entirety of the Divine Essence and that that that language of I am is reminiscent of Exodus 3:14 where God reveals himself as I am who I am so the Jews understood that the religious leaders at jesus' time understood that the claim that he was making and in two instances they pick up stones to throw at him because he being a man made himself equal with God but then along the way there are several I am statements with a predicate in fact there are seven of them we see I am the bread of life in John 6 I am the light of the world in John 8 and9 I am the door of the sheep in John 10 I am the Good Shepherd John 10 I am the resurrection and the life John 11 I am the way the truth and the life John 14 and then I am the True Vine so Jesus uses metaphor Jesus uses image imy Jesus uses figures to underscore something about him and his work he uses Vines he uses doors he uses uh uh uh uh various conventions to communicate truth to the disciples as clink says the seven formal I am statements are emphatic descriptions of the person and Ministry of Jesus and cumulatively form a detailed picture of Jesus Christ but as I mentioned last week it's not only a metaphor and vote for the instruction of the disciples often times their metaphors drawn from the Old Testament to set forth a parallel or rather a fulfillment for instance when Jesus says I am the Good Shepherd in John 10 we really should remember Psalm 23 verse 1 the Lord is my shepherd I shall not want when Jesus predicates that to himself he is speaking a mouthful of good solid theology and again the argument is is that that's what he's doing here when he saysi am the True Vine so then we looked at the identification as of Jesus as the True Vine we started in Matthew's gospel Matthew makes a link between the Lord Jesus and old Covenant Israel by referring to Jesus as the firstborn remember in Exodus 4 God calls Israel my first born doesn't mean they're the first one on the scene it doesn't mean they're the first nation that had been convened together but it means preeminence it means priority of status we see that language applied to Jesus by Paul in Colossians 1:15 he is the first born from the dead this language of firstborn links old Covenant Israel and Jesus Christ together I used several illustrations last week and I forgot I think one of the most important ones or powerful ones in the language of the first born in Genesis 41 verses 51 and 52 and then again in Genesis 48 at verse 14 we learned that the sons of Joseph manasse and ephra exited the womb in that order it was ma Manasseh that was the first born chronologically and then Ephraim came after him in Jeremiah the prophet specifically in chapter 31 at: 9 God refers to ephra as my first born so it's not a chronological indicator all of the time of course in our families our our firstborn child is our firstborn child chronologically but when God speaks of old Covenant Israel as my first born when he speaks of Jesus who I argue is the New Covenant Israel as my first born he is speaking of preeminence and the priority of status we saw then that Matthew links Jesus with old Covenant Israel in a whole host of ways in the opening of his gospel first the physical and covenantal connection to Abraham and David Matthew 1:1 right out of the Shute Matthew connects Jesus to David and to Abraham secondly the application of Hosea 11 to Jesus in Matthew 2 Hosea 11 God calls his firstborn out of Egypt we know that happens in Redemptive history we know that's a truth that Hosea is commenting on but Hosea is also prophesying concerning the truth that the firstborn son of God will go into Egypt and will be called out of Egypt and Matthew makes that clear from that vantage point after he comes out of Egypt what does Jesus do he passes through the water of baptism after having been called out of Egypt that's exactly the movement and old Covenant Israel they come out of Egypt they cross the Red Sea the Waters of the Red Sea and then the next step corresponds as well Israel finds themselves in a w Wilderness and there they complain about food they complain about a whole host of things they're there for a period of 40 years well after passing through the waters of baptism the spirit leads Jesus out into the Wilderness there he's there for 40 days there he is as well tested and tempted by the devil one of the particular Temptations was food you've got to be hungry change these stones into bread so that you can eat well Jesus repels him by invoking Deuteronomy 8 the lesson that Israel was supposed to learn in that Wilderness context man doesn't live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God so then that brings us then to the Declaration in John's gospel I am the True Vine so first I want to connect it to the Old Testament and then secondly demonstrate the New Testament Revelation as we move through the scriptures to see the Verity of what Jesus says here and the significance when he says I am the True Vine so if you would turn back with me to the Book of Psalms Psalm 80 specifically and the point that I want to make here is the fact that old Covenant Israel was the vine the fact that old Covenant Israel is identified as a Vine by God himself notice in Psalm 80 specifically at verse 8 you have brought a vine out of Egypt you have cast out the Nations and planted it you you prepared room for it and caused it to take deep root and it filled the land the hills were covered with its shadow and the mighty Cedars with its bows she sent out her boughs to the Sea and her River uh branches To The River Why have you broken down her hedges so that all who pass by the way pluck her fruit notice as well in the in the prophet Isaiah Isaiah chapter 5 we're going to be moving through some texts as we do biblical and covenant theology we take sort of a whole orbed of view a whole overarching view of all of scripture this w't be all of scripture so you will get to eat today but notice in chapter 5 specifically in verse one now let me sing to my well beloved a song of my beloved regarding his Vineyard my well beloved has a Vineyard on a very fruitful Hill he dug it up and cleared out its stones and planted it with the choicest vine he built a tower in its midst and also made a wine press in it so he expected it to bring forth good grapes but it brought forth wild grapes and now oh inhabitants of Jerusalem and Men of Judah judge please between me and my Vineyard what more could have been done to my Vineyard that I have not done in it why then when I expected it to bring forth good grapes did it bring forth wild grapes and now please tell me you uh please tell uh please let me tell you what I will do to my Vineyard I will take away its hedge and it shall be burned and break down its wall and it shall be trampled down I will lay it waste it shall not be pruned or dug but there shall come up briers and Thorns I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain on it for the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel and the men of Judah are his Pleasant plan he looked for justice but behold oppression for righteousness but Behold a cry for help you can turn to the prophet Isaiah chapter 27 Isaiah chapter 27 specifically in verses 2 to 7 Isaiah 2 I'm sorry 2-6 Isaiah 27:2 and that day sing to her a Vineyard of red wine I the Lord keep it I water every moment lest any hurt it I keep it night and day Fury is not in me who would set Briars and Thorns against me in battle I would go through them I would burn them together or let him take hold of my strength that he may make peace with me and he shall make peace with me those who come he shall cause to take root in Jacob Israel shall blossom in Bud and fill the face of the world with fruit you can turn to Jeremiah Jeremiah chapter 2 Jeremiah chapter 2 and when it rises up in you to say okay we see the link keep seeing the link what Jesus says in 151a is significant not only for who he is and his temporal Mission but also with reference to his people we need to understand what the scripture says in this new covenant setting who the people of God are and I think when we answer the question is Jesus the True Vine the the the uh the uh answer to the other one necessarily follows notice in Jeremiah 2 specifically in verse 20 1 yet I had planted you a noble Vine a seed of highest quality how then have you turned before me into the degenerate plant of an alien Vine Turn to the prophet Ezekiel Ezekiel chapter 15 Ezekiel chter 15 specifically in verses 2 to8 son of man how is the wood of the vine better than any other wood the vine branch which is among the Trees of the forest is wood taken from it to make any object or can men make a peg from it to hang any vessel on instead it is thrown into the fire for fuel the fire devours both ends of it and its middle is burned is it useful for any work indeed when it was whole No Object could be made from it how much less will it be useful for any when the fire has devoured it and it is burned therefore thus says the Lord God like the wood of the vine among the Trees of the forest which I have given to the fire for fuel so I will give up the inhabitants of Jerusalem and then the prophet Ezekiel in chapter 17 Ezekiel chapter 17 specifically at verses 5 to 10 Ezekiel 17:5 then he took some of the seed of the land and planted it in a fertile field he placed it by Abundant Waters and set it like a Willow Willow Tree and it grew and become a spreading Vine of low stature its branches turned toward him but its roots were under it so it became a Vine brought forth branches and put forth chots there was another great eagle with large wings and many feathers and behold this Vine bent its roots towards him and stretched its Branch uh branches toward him from the Garden Terrace where it had been planted that he might water it was planted in good soil by many Waters to bring forth branches bear fruit and become a majestic Vine you see an emphasis like that in chapter 19 chapter 19 specifically at verse 10 your mother was like a Vine in your bloodline planted By the Waters fruitful and full of branches because of many Waters she had strong branches for scepter of rulers she towered in stature she towered in stature above the thick branches and was seen in her height amid the dense foliage but she was plucked up in Fury she was cast down to the ground and her East Wind dried her fruit her strong branches were broken and withered the fire consumed them and now she is planted in the wilderness in a dry and thirsty land fire has come out from a rod of her branches and devoured her fruit so that she has no strong Branch a scepter for ruling now intriguingly when Jesus says I am the True Vine I'll argue in a few minutes that he's making a contrast he's the True Vine all the passages that I just read you from the Salter and the prophets are passages of judgment this was God's special people old Covenant Israel he tended to them like a Vineyard he tended to them like a Vine he tended them with loving care and compassion and kindness but what were they they were rejectors they were despisers they were encourageable they were sinful and and rejected the terms of the Covenant that God had made with them so those were were passages announcing judgment to befall old Covenant Israel so when Jesus says I am the True Vine he's making a contrast remember the first Adam sinned the vine sinned but Christ as last Adam and True Vine fulfills the Covenant obligations placed upon Him by God the father so that he may save his people from their sins now as we move to the New Testament to further this connection I would say suggest first the Declaration of Jesus here in verse 1 a and then again in verse 5 I am the True Vine verse 5 I am the vine you are the branches secondly we need to give a glance back to Systematic Theology and understand what we're talking about in terms of Jesus as the True Vine this is his temporal Mission as the mediator of the New Covenant the one who assumed our Humanity as one man says there are two Natures in Christ the divine and the human because of this human nature he is like us and is less than the father because of his divine nature he is like God and above us thus he is the True Vine in so far as he is the head of the church the man Christ Jesus thirdly the connection made by Jesus himself again he's not talking to 21st century North America um American Christians who are adults when it comes to their understanding of scripture you don't think that when Jesus says I am the Good Shepherd he knows what that's going to evoke amongst those around him when he says I am you you don't think that he doesn't know the controversial nature of such a claim with his enemies and and uh a time to worship and praise and adore him with reference to his friends when Jesus says I am the True Vine he's not dealing with you know ignorant men he's dealing with men that were conversent in the Old Testament and so when Jesus says I am the Good Shepherd they would have picked up what he was putting down when Jesus says I am the True Vine they would have picked up what Jesus was putting down with reference to this the emphasis or accent falls on true already me mentioned this the Disobedience of Adam the Disobedience of old Covenant Israel they forfeit the promised blessings attached to Covenant Jesus as the last Adam Jesus as the True Vine or true Israel doesn't forfeit he obeys perfectly all that the father had laid upon him and he brings success he brings salvation he brings eternal life for All Those whom the father had given him one man says the the the accent here on I am the true this man says to distinguish himself from the deformed or spoiled V Vine which is the Jewish people that then brings us fourthly to the illustration given by Jesus himself in Matthew 21 you can turn there Matthew chap 21 again just trying to strengthen that connection trying to demonstrate that Jesus is the True Vine in contrast of or rather fulfillment of the vine of old Covenant Israel that was told specifically how they were to function and they disobeyed God so Jesus in Matthew 21 I I I just want to say this by way of a corollary if you you really want to understand Matthew 24 you got to start in Matthew 21 if you're familiar with the scripture you'll know that Matthew 24 Luke 21 and Mark 13 is referred to as the olette discourse there Jesus prophesies the destruction of the temple and if you don't get beginning in chapter 21 all the background you're going to stumble when it comes to Matthew 24 and so in Matthew CH 21 we have the triumphal entry Jesus comes triumphant into the city of Jerusalem remember he curses the Fig Tree so that no fruit will ever grow on it again is he anti- environment is he vicious and cruel and mean is he just roam around and want concrete no the Fig Tree represents old Covenant Israel he he he indicts them and he upbraids them and he visits upon them the Covenant curs is specified in the books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy so then Jesus starts to teach in Parable Parable with reference to his opponents you could see the opponents notice in chapter 21: 23 to 27 they they want to know what by what Authority do you do these things what what givs what what gives you the right to come in here and to do these things who who do you think you are then Jesus tells the parable of the two sons the father had two sons one said I'm not going to do what you tell me to do the other said of course father I'm going to do what you you told me to do what happens the one who said I'm not going to do what you told me to do actually does what he was told to do now the son who said I'll do it father doesn't do it huh kind of an interesting statement what's the application Jesus comes to his own but his own receive him not but harlots and and tax collectors are entering the kingdom of heaven and you are not and then that brings us to Jesus rehearsing the history of old Covenant Israel it really couldn't be clearer I don't know how come so many people mess up here but but notice in verses 33 and following kind of an interesting illustration espe especially in light of Isaiah 5 God has a Vineyard God wants fruit from that Vineyard God sends people to that Vineyard to ensure and make sure that fruit comes from the vineyard sounds just like Yahweh through Isaiah to the nation of Israel in Isaiah 5 again Brethren if we miss that you can bet assuredly that his contemporary didn't and you see that as the passage evolves so first notice the landowner sent his servants to collect the fruit or payment according to verse 34 again similarly to Isaiah 5:2 so he expected it to bring forth good grapes but it brought forth wild grapes verse four in Isaiah 5 why then when I expected it to bring forth good grapes did it bring forth wild grapes and then again in verse seven he looked for justice but behold oppression for righteousness but Behold a cry for help the expectation of fruit from The Vineyard is rampant in the Teaching Ministry of our Lord Jesus in Matthew's gospel he expects fruit from the Covenant people of god notice as well the vine dressers beat kill and stone the servants I wonder who those were they were the prophets this is old Covenant Israel this is what happens notice in verse 35 the vine dressers took his servants beat one killed one and stoned another m is slapped and thrown into prison because Ahab doesn't like what he has to say Jeremiah ends up in Straits we see the killing of prophets by ahab's wife Jezebel the killing of Elijah as well the stoning of Zechariah according to 2 Chronicles 24 but then notice in verse 36 again he sent other servants more than the first and they did likewise to them again the other another Old Testament reference to or other Old Testament references to the rejection of prophets by Israel there's a lot in there but then consider in the New Testament look at Luke 13 leave your finger there and look at Luke 13 actually that's not a command you can do whatever you want you don't have to put your finger there you don't even have to you know put a piece of paper there look at Luke 13:35 and note what Jesus I'm sorry Luke 13:33 and notice what Jesus says Luke 13 well 32 and he said to him said to them go tell that fox he's talking about Herod behold I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow and the third day I shall be perfected nevertheless I must Journey today tomorrow and the day of following for it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem wow it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem it's on the heels of that that Jesus laments then over Jerusalem which we find parallel in Matthew 23 but back to the history of Israel we notice as well the emphasis in this particular context note verse 36 again he sent other servants uh more than the first they did likewise to them that happened with Jesus that happened with the New Testament Apostles that rejection was widespread what does Jesus upgrade the religious leadership with specifically in Matthew 23 when he pronounces woes upon them he calls them Broods of vipers he condemns specifically their hypocrisy their culpability for the sins of their forefathers because they were duplicating them and then he pronounces judgment upon them an un uh unequivocal language in 2337 and3 8 so back to the history notice in 2137 the father then says then last of all he sent his son to them or Jesus says of the father then last of all he sent his son to them saying they will respect my son now you're all following this right you're all getting this who who's the son the son is the one that's inditing them the son is the one sent by the Father the the son is the one to usher in the blessing of God upon people but as I said he came to his own his own received him not now notice what they do so the supposition is and it's spoken in the manner of men God knew precisely what was going to happen in the sending of the son of his love he knew of course that he would be despised he would be rejected he records that for us in the prophet Isaiah Man of Sorrows and and acquainted with grief all that he's writing or he's talking or he's speaking in the manner of men so there's this supposition that of course they'll respect my son of course they may have had a problem with my my hired men they may had a problem with my prophets but but the son they they really must receive with open arms and provide the fruit that is necessary for the vineyard notice in verse 38 but when the V Vine dressers saw the sun they said among themselves this is the air come let us kill him and seize his inheritance so they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him and then note how it then turns verse 40 therefore when the owner of the Vineyard comes what will he do to those Vine dressers this is an instance where they properly understand the interpretation of the parable note 41 they said to him he will destroy those wicked men miserably and Lease his Vineyard to other Vine dressers who will render to him the fruits in their Seasons Jesus said to them have you never read in the scriptures the stone which the builders rejected has become the Chief Cornerstone this was the Lord's doing and it is marvelous in our eyes of course they had read that of course they had sung it of course they had chanted it but when the embodiment of the alter is standing before them the very Son of God sent by the father to bring blessing upon Sinners they seize him they cast him out they ultimately crucify him Jesus says this is according to the prophetic word as found in the book of Psalms now note the very specific application of Our Lord to these people verse 43 therefore I say to you the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it and and whoever falls on this Stone will be broken but on whomever it falls it will grind him to powder did they have a change of heart were they repentant that they say oh we better you know reform our ways no verse 45 no when the chief priests and phes heard his Parables they perceived that he was speaking of them I don't know why we in the church today don't perceive that he was speaking of them but that's one of those quite interesting conundrums in biblical interpretation but when they sought to lay hands on him they feared the multitudes because they took him for a prophet then that brings us fifthly in terms of our broad walk through New Testament Revelation the Judgment pronounced by Jesus again look at verse 43 therefore I say to you the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it huh what's he talking about well just listen to the text he continues to butt heads with the religious leadership in chapter 22 he gives the parable of the wedding feast and then there's direct confrontation in terms of question and answer they hit him with questions he answered he turns it on its head at the end of chapter 22 and says I've got a question for you who is Messiah who is Messiah verse 43 he said to them how then does David and the spirit call him Lord saying the Lord said to my Lord sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your foot stol that brings us into chapter 23 what happens there tea time let have a nice little chat woe to you scribes and Pharisees Hypocrites over and over and over and over again culminating in another Declaration of judgment upon that generation notice in 23:31 Therefore your Witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who measur uh murdered the prophets fill up then the measure of your father's guilt serpents brood of vipers Brethren this is not characteristic of our our Lord according to his Humanity on his temporal Mission when he's walking down the street and he sees a Samaritan woman at the well he doesn't say you brood of a viper you hypocrite you horrible monster you ghoul of ghouls he doesn't do that he doesn't excuse her in her sin go call your husband that's right you've had several and the one you're with is not your husband but he reserves this hard language for the religious leadership that knew the Covenant of God knew the Prophecies of God of the sending of the son of his love and when the son of his love come or came They Crucified the Lord Of Glory Jesus upgrades them notice again verse 33 serpents brood of vipers how can you escape the condemnation of Hell therefore indeed I send you prophets wise men and scribes some of them you will kill and crucify and some of them you will Scourge in your synagogue and persecute from City to City again read the book of Acts it's all you have to do it's right there book of Acts and then notice in verse 35 a pronouncement of judgment specifically upon them that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of bariah whom you murdered between the temple and the altar in English this plays well A to Z Abel to Zechariah it plays well in the Hebrew Canon as well the first book of the Bible Genesis in the old Covenant or Hebrew Cannon Genesis Abel what's the last book in the Hebrew Cannon second chronicles Zechariah Jesus is lowering the boom upon these people notice he then tells us again unequivocally with no room to wle out of it when this is going to happen verse 36 assuredly I say to you all these things what things Jesus the things I I just said huh all these things will come upon this generation from this the Lord Jesus again according to his Humanity here the prophet comes to lament oh Jerusalem Jerusalem the one who kills the prophets and Stones those who are sent to her how often I wanted to gather your CH children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings but you were not willing see your house is left to you desol it for I say to you you shall see me no more till you say blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord now we come to all of it we come to the prophetic statement concerning the absolute destruction of this city and Temple so verse one then Jesus went out and departed from the temple and his disciples came up to show him the buildings of the temple and Jesus said to them do you not see all these things assuredly I say to you not one stone shall be left here upon another that shall not be thrown down it's special pleading Brethren and bad ex of Jesus to read a rebuilt Temple into Matthew 24 Jesus is talking about the then standing Temple and just so we understand what he's talking about after showing them the horror show of what will'll obtain in ad70 when the city is surrounded by the Roman armies and decimated the city and their Temple Jesus again gives us another understanding as to when this will happen look at verse 34 assuredly I say to you this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place he's prophesying the the the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem in ad70 and again if you've got a mind for the Old Testament this ain't new what's God's covenant curses associated with disobedience upon the old Covenant people of God Leviticus 26 in Deuteronomy 28 destruction decimation Exile did God ever do that yes he did it in 722 BC When the Northern tribes went a whoring from God he raised up Assyria to be be the the CH the the chastening hand of God upon them they didn't learn from that because in 587 86 we see them going astray they had been pleaded with by prophets God raises up Nebuchadnezzar whom he calls my servant and the Babylonians to go decimate Jerusalem and her Temple and lo and behold the same sorts of sins are obtained in this particular section and Jesus prophesies the very similar destruction and decimation upon that generation JC riyle said a Time came when the longsuffering of God towards the Jews had an end 40 years after our Lord's death the cup of their iniquity was at length full and they received a heavy chastisement for their many sins their Holy City Jerusalem was destroyed their Temple was burned they themselves were scattered over the face of the Earth the kingdom of God was taken from them and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof this isn't tough Brethren what's tough is when we have a pre-commitment to an eschatological scheme and then we read that into various texts we take our eschatology from the text of scripture we don't place it upon the text of scripture as if it then is the controlling feature that we have to make tax fit in order to sustain our particular eschatological approach Spurgeon makes a similar observation as a class the religious leaders of the Jews were guilty of the blood of a long line of prophets and they were about to Crown their Crown their long career of crime by the murder of the Son of God himself in the destruction of Jerusalem the god of Heaven visited them and dealt out just punishment to them the siege of the city and the massacre of the inhabitants was a terrible avenging of the innocent blood which the people and their rulers had shed for just some bonus points I would like to add that I think that the Book of Revelation corresponds to the all of it discourse what's John's point in the Revelation the destruction of Jerusalem and the theological implications associated with that there's two beasts brethren in Revelation 13 there's a beast from the sea I think that represents the civil government the Roman Empire is the background but the beast from the land it's the Godless reprobate persons that continue to reject the Lord Jesus Christ as Messiah and continued their Rampage against the church all throughout so the Book of Revelation is the expanded version of the ol of it discourse now we can disagree on this I'm not going to say you're a bad person because you don't see it my way but I think it makes the most sense even those from other interpretative schools say that the the the all of it discourse is the little apocalypse that's right it's the little apocalypse you get amplification and Theological implication and and and and and expansion with the the big apocalypse which is the Book of Revelation and then the six thing I want us to direct our attention to is the covenantal union between Jesus and the church explained by the apostles so if Jesus is the true vine I think the argument is simple those in him are participants in the True Vine right so there's a lot that can be said and perhaps will be said but you just need to see this identification I think Westminster larger catechism number 31 asks a good question with whom was this Covenant of Grace made the Covenant of Grace was made with Christ as the second Adam I put parenthetically and true Israel and in him with all the elect as his seed so how do the apostles treat this Doctrine how do the apostles treat this subject you're probably familiar if you've been here at any time for any amount of time you've heard the word dispensationalism dispensationalism is the view that is opposite to what I am preaching here I'm not saying they're Hellbound I'm not saying they're ghoul of ghouls I'm not saying they're the vile Sinners out there and rep not saying that but it is a different interpretation of the biblical data and what drives it is what they they Champion called the literal hermeneutic that's among many other things but they're literal so in other words if there's a promise made to ethnic in Israel in the old Covenant that promise has to be uh uh uh fulfilled to ethnic Israel in the New Covenant or in the millennial Kingdom those promises made to ethnic Israel are fulfilled in Jesus in him all the promises of God are Y and amen well what about the land promise when Abraham is told to look North to look South to look East and to look West this was not just the physical confines of Israel in the hand of the Apostle Paul the land promise pertains to the Seed of Abraham which is Jesus that he would be the heir of the world according to Romans 4:13 what about Romans 2 who's a true Jew according to Paul is he one circumcised externally is he one that went to the mo and had the deed done no he's a true Jew who circumcised inwardly in other words he's born again as well look at the book of Galatians Galatians chapter 6 Galatians chapter 6 and I've seen the attempts to evade the clear meaning of Paul's words here but they are not adequate to do justice to this text interestingly that Paul is writing to predominantly Gentile churches in the region of Southern galatia and in Galatians 6:16 he says ' and as many as walk according to this rule peace and mercy be upon them and upon the Israel of God what's Paul's Point Paul's point is that Jesus is the true vine Jesus fulfills all that old Covenant Israel was supposed to be so here go Jesus is Israel he's the prince with God he is the one he is the seed remember Westminster catechism we in him so I would suggest that the terminology Israel of God is nomenclature or language or jargon that simply means the people of God so Paul says peace be upon the Israel of God but notice what else Paul says in Ephesian I'm sorry Philippians chapter 3 Philippians chapter 3 he's combating Jud izing what's judaizing again look at the book of Acts look at the book of Galatians uh you'll see that judaizers were those who came to the churches that Paul had evangelized Paul had founded Paul had planted and the judaizer says it's good that you believe that Jesus is the Messiah but you need to get circumcised you need to obey the Jewish calendar you need to not only become Christians but you need to become Jews and that's what we had to do we had to be circumcised we had to obey the calendar we still do so so therefore the Gentiles that are being Incorporated they must do that as well again acts 15 rejects that notion acts 15 says no that's not the case acts 15 says no that's that's absolutely contrary to a gospel of free and Sovereign Grace it's by faith alone so notice in Philippians 3 his combatant is the judaizer and notice how he refutes it verse one finally my brethren rejoice in the Lord for me to write the same things to you is not tedious but for you it is safe beware of dogs Paul does not have an aversion to canines except maybe pitbulls beware of dogs if you're familiar at all you'll know that the Jews would wake up in the morning and they would thank God for three things thank you that I'm not a woman thank you that I'm not a slave and thank you that I'm not a gentile thank you that I'm not a dog that's what they would refer to the genti and I'm picking on anybody I'm just giving you the facts somebody's going to go write the federal office and say that was anti iic it's Bible Exposition Brethren it's Bible Exposition people may not like to hear it people may not enjoy it but am I imposing on the text he says beware of dogs beware of evil workers why are the evil workers because they're trying to add something to Faith In Jesus to complete your salvation and then he says Beware of the mutilation that's a take on their practice of circumcision they're just mutilating they're collecting forkins and I know that sounds crass but he says as much in Galatians 5 boasting in forkins collected then notice what he goes on to say in verse three for we are the circumcision who's the we Paul a Jewish believer the Philippians Gentile Believers in other words the people of God they're the Israel of God and so those conventions and those language uh tokens are applied to the New Covenant people of God this is why it's not wrong for us to speak of Zion or Jerusalem because the prophets hold that out but we make the spiritual application as we're led by the apostles to do notice in the book of Hebrews and again I think Paul wrote it Paul wrote this and again notice what he says Hebrews 12 beginning in verse 18 we won't read the whole section but notice in verse 18 for you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that burn with fire into Blackness and darkness and Tempest and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words so that those who heard it begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore that's siai right it's old Covenant it's the thundering and the lightning of Jehovah on Mount Si don't let anybody near this mountain or I will kill them basically now note the contrast in verse 22 but you you Jewish Believers to be sure but Gentile participants as well Paul wrote Hebrews he know knows that CU in Ephesians chapter 2 he takes great pains to make sure that we don't separate the people of God the glory of the coming of Christ is that he made the two into one new man he didn't keep them apart he brought them under his Banner of love and grace he brought them together to fulfill what had been a mystery namely in Ephesians 2 uh Gentile inclusion in the Covenant Promises of God not that it wasn't present in the Old Testament the of Noah japheth finds refuge in the tents of Shem will you read down a little bit further you'll see that japheth is Gentile peoples Psalm 117 the smallest shortest Psalm in all of the this altar what's it about Gentile inclusion in the Covenant Promises of God what do you think the promises to Abraham Isaac and Jacob meant in you all the nations of the Earth shall be blessed all the families of the Earth shall be blessed that didn't ultimately focus on Abraham Isaac and Jacob but on their seed the True Vine the Lord Jesus who did what Israel of old failed and what Adam failed Jesus is successful so you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the Living God the heavenly Jerusalem to an innumerable company of angels to the general assembly and church born of the fir or Church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven that's Church language and Paul includes Jews and Gentiles look at First Peter chapter 2 1 Peter chapter 2 specifically at verse four coming to him as to a living Stone rejected indeed by men but chosen by God and precious you also as living stones are being built up a spiritual house a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ therefore it is also contained in the scripture behold I lay in Zion a Chief Cornerstone elect precious and he who believes on him will by no means be put to shame therefore to you who believe he is precious but to those who are disobedient the stone which the builders rejected has become the Chief Cornerstone and a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense they stumble being disobedient to the word to which they were also appointed or also were appointed now before I read the next verse I'm going to ask you to think about some of the concepts or terms you've heard thus far this is verse 9 is right out of Exodus verse 9 is Exodus 195 and 6 applied the old Covenant Israel but look as well at that particular word there or or let let's just read the text but you are a chosen generation a royal priesthood a holy nation who uh uh his own special people that you may proclaim the Praises of him who called you out of Darkness Into His Marvelous Light who once were not a people but are now the people of God who had not obtained Mercy but now have obtained Mercy what is Peter doing what is Paul doing they're telling us that by virtue of the True Vine which is Jesus he is is the Fulfillment of all that old Covenant Israel failed and that in Jesus the true Israel of God all those who believe by grace are counted as the Israel of God the people of God now that brings us then finally to some concluding thoughts and I'll be quick here and I'll put something that I was going to do this morning we'll put it up to next Sunday morning try to be mindful I know you have little children sometimes they get a bit fidgety and I don't want them to get trouble so let's first look at the identif uh not first but let's just quickly run through the identification of the Israel of God and you remember first the apostasy of old Covenant Israel that's what Jesus is dealing with there in Matthew 21-24 that that's it's un it's anybody could get that I I hope that you you see that as well Brethren and this is kind of where I'm going because I know politically the Middle East is charged right now there's a lot going on in Israel but theologically there are persons who are believers that think it's perfectly appropriate to pray Genesis 123 blessing those who bless you and cursing those who curse you for the modern political state of Israel now I'm not suggesting don't pray for the modern state of Israel but I'm suggesting that you learn your covenant theology the the the system of religion that we call Judaism it's not friendly to Christianity it is antithetical it is a denial of Jesus for instance references to Jesus in the talmud terms of his origin he's the bastard son of a harlot who had relations with carpenters in terms of his uh ability he was a magician not a sage in terms of his followers they are to be rejected and and I'm not saying you know if you think about it these are pretty Brazen declarative statements in terms of their place relative to Jesus he's repugnant according to the Talma so I ask you if we invoke Genesis 123 and play pray it for the modern political state of Israel that's misguided Brethren it's based on an eschatology that I think is incorrect I think it's ba based upon a reading that does precisely what Paul does opposite in Ephesians 2 it separates what Christ has joined together and it goes like this God's dealing with the Gentile Church presently but a time is coming when she's going to be raptured out of the way there's going to be this great travail or tribulation on the nation state of Israel depending on your particular brand or variety Jesus comes after that and establishes an Earthly Kingdom om he rules from Jerusalem and there's a great time of blessing upon the political state of Israel again I ask you is that the Contour of Genesis 12 secondly we need to remember what I would say is the legitimacy of covenant theology now for those of you visiting on the one hand I'm sorry but for those of you who are with us I'm not we're a Reformed Church Brethren reformed means Covenant the ology or should mean it the the the detractors of the view that I am preaching here and again there's a group called dispensationalists I want to make sure I qualify I'm not saying they're going to hell for holding these positions I think they should go back to Sunday school and un learn these positions but that's a different story they call what I'm espousing replacement theology the church has replaced Israel I prefer fulfillment or covenant theology the drift of Redemptive history in the old Covenant lands on Jesus and his church that's not replacement that's fulfillment that's Paul saying all the promises of God are yay and amen in him as well the detractors of the view that I'm preaching based on a literal hermeneutic again they say that promises made made to Old Covenant Israel ethnic Israel must be fulfilled with ethnic Israel that's curious in light of what John the Baptist says when he rebukes those who are coming to him and in Matthew 3:9 he says do not think to say to yourselves we have Abraham as our Father for I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these Stones if he can take stones and make them sons of Abraham he can take a ragtag band of Gentiles and make them sons of Abraham as well the patriarch Abraham would approve our praying I'll argue and I'll maintain this and if in heaven I'm wrong he'll correct me he would see it very appropriately to pray Genesis 12:3 for the church the people of God the Israel of God the Blood Bought Children of the True Vine the one who fulfilled what Adam forfeit the one who fulfills what old Covenant uh Israel forfeit thirdly when you look at the apostolic hermeneutic in the New Testament it yields this view again Romans 4:13 inherits the world the the the application of promises made to Old Covenant Israel taken right out of Exodus 19 and applied to the church in 1 Peter chapter 2 a couple of the churches in Asia Minor according to the Book of Revelation there were churches that were faced with was synagogues of Satan that's curious language not mosques of Islam I I know that would come later I'm not adult not the Roman Catholic temples or Tabernacles or churches but the synagogue of Satan why because that who was was who was trying to extinguish the early Christian Movement as a profess faith in Jesus as the Messiah of Israel as we see in the life and Ministry of Jesus they did not take kindly to his claims of divinity they did not take kindly of his claims in terms of temporal Mission they didn't like him calling the father my father that didn't change in the book of Acts I mean Paul would go to synagogues and what would happen oh we love you and thank you Paul for bringing this light to us NOP no and no I would suggest fourthly there's a challenge presented and I don't want to de too long with this but I just want you to know that I'm conscious of this challenge the challenge of Romans 11 Romans 11 seems to indicate a mass conversion of ethnic Jews I will say that there are two within the realm of the reformed uh reformed history two good approaches to Romans 11 one I would call the Puritan hope view which is espoused by Ian Murray and it basically says that after a lot of gentiles are saved then a lot of Jews will be saved and then there's old Palmer Robertson again within the reformed community that basically argues that Paul is dealing with the present other words at Paul's time and that what Romans 11 is not doing is demanding a specific eschatology relative to what he's teaching now I I just throw that out there to further confuse but I will tell you if there's a challenge of Romans thir 11 I would say fifthly there is the clarity of Romans 11 and the clarity is this that whichever view you happen to adopt the whatever way you read Romans 11 whichever you feel best represents what Paul wrote in Romans 11 neither view espouses a Salvation based on race it does not espouse a geopolitical future for National Israel now if that happens it's under the Providence of God but it's not tied to biblical prophecy why because all the promises of God are yay and Amen in Jesus the true Israel the True Vine the elect in him using that constant biblical language with reference to family of God is the Israel of God if we are Gentiles by race Believing on the Lord Jesus Christ through Grace then scripture says we're the Israel of God conversely ethnic Israel ethnic Jews resisting and rejecting the Lord Of Glory now like they did when he came like they did in the book of Acts they're not the Israel of God so it's a very simple identification and I'll end here what then ought to be our exhortation to ethnic Israel today or to ethnic Jews today well let me turn you to the book of Acts Acts chapter 2 and this is a good place to end Acts chapter 2 Peter preaches on the day of Pentecost Peter is preaching to Jerusalem Sinners Peter is preaching to those ethnic Jews who did not receive Jesus he's preaching to guilty Sinners he's preaching to vile Sinners he's preaching to horrible Sinners and again if we were there we would have participated in it we're wretched to I'm not saying that we're not sinful but notice he brings the sermon to a conclusion in verse 36 therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ doesn't want them to forget their sin doesn't want to forget their transgression so what do we do then that's it you're done it's over your reprobate no that's not what Peter does now when they heard this they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the Apostles men and Brethren what shall we do to be Sav or what shall we do then Peter said to them repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and you shall receive the gift of the holy spirit for the promises to you and to your children and to all who are far off as many as the Lord Our God will call what's the answer to ethnic Jews today what's the answer to those practicing Judaism repent believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and don't think for a moment that because of your old Covenant pedigree you're going to be included in some future promise apart from faith in Jesus Christ we're doing them a disservice when we're just play praying God's blessing upon them as if they are already his people that is disservice Brethren Jews need to hear that Jesus is the Messiah that he is the answer to all of the promises of God and that he is the answer to guilty vile helpless Sinners that whoever looks to him in faith will have everlasting life let us pray Our Father in heaven we thank you for your word we thank you for the the the the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ who is the true vine and that shows us so much metaphorically about our connection to him as the branches but as well theologically his connection to Old Covenant Israel and how he fulfills all that was laid upon them we bless you and we praise you that as a result to that we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the Heavenly places in Christ Jesus be glorified bless the proclamation of your truth as it goes forth throughout this Earth we do pray for ethnic Jews for those practicing Judaism those practicing Islam those practicing a whole host of false religions that you would send forth your gospel conquering and to conquer and call them out of out of Darkness into Marvelous Light and we pray this through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen well we'll close our service now by singing hymn number 570 hymn number 570 we'll stand as we sing together blessing praise all All Creatures here hallelu hallelu praise host praise Father Son and Holy G hallelu Hal hallelu hallelu hallelu hallelu the Lord bless you and keep you the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace amen we'll all pray and we'll ask God's blessing upon the food please transition upstairs and go ahead and and get some food if you've come this morning and you brought nothing uh I would suspect there's going to be plenty so please stick around and get to know the brothers and sisters in our church so let us pray Our Father we thank you for your goodness to us we know that man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God we thank you that we can gather together around the scripture but we also know as physical creatures we do need bread and we thank you for your provision we thank you for your sustaining power we thank you for all the good gifts that you give us today and as we eat and drink may we do so For Your Glory for your honor and for your praise thank you for all of the the the people that participated in putting this together may you bless each one and we pray through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen we'll close with a brief time of meditation then as I said please we'll go upstairs and have some food and fellowship e e e e