Life in The Land of False Idols

We're gonna read God's word now, and we're gonna turn to 2 kings, chapter 2, and verse 1 to 18. And this is the last in our series looking at the profit Elijah. And it's been a fantastic series. I've really enjoyed it. And next year we're gonna pick up with Elijah, and in fact the reason for doing Elijah is because I wanted to do a series on Elijah.

But we thought we ought to do a Elijah before we get to Elijah. Makes sense. Now of course if I make a mistake between those 2 prophets, in reading, it's completely deliberate. And so it's just to keep your attention. So we're gonna read 2 kings at chapter 2 and verse 1.

When the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elijah were on their way from Gilgau, Elijah said to Elijah, stay here. The Lord has sent me to Bethel. But Elijah said, as surely as the Lord lives, as you live, I will not leave you. So they went down to Bethel. The company of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elijah and asked, do you know that the Lord is going to take your master from you today?

Yes, I know. Elijah replied. So be quiet. Then Elijah said to him, stay here, Elijah. The Lord has sent me to Gerico.

And he replied, As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you, so they went to Gerico. The company of the prophets at Gerico went up to Elijah and asked him, do you know that the Lord is going to take your master from you today? Yes, I know he replied. So be quiet. Then Elijah said to him, stay here.

The Lord has sent me to the Jordan. And he replied, as surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you, so the 2 of them walked on. 50 men from the company of the prophets went and stood at a distance facing the place where Elijah and Elijah had stopped at the Jordan. Elijah looked up sorry, took a took his cloak rolled it up and struck the water with it. The water divided to the right and to the left, and the 2 of them crossed over on dry ground.

When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elijah, tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you? Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit Elijah replied. You have asked a difficult thing. Elijah said. Yet, if you see me when I'm taken from you, it'll be yours.

Otherwise, it will not. As they were walking along and talking together suddenly a chariot of fire and the horses of fire appeared and separated the 2 of An Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. Elijah saw this and cried out, my father, my father the chariots and the horsemen of Israel, and Elijah saw him no more. Then he took hold of his garment and tore it in 2. Elijah then picked up Elijah's cloak that had fallen from him and went back and stood at the bank of the Jordan.

He took the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and struck the water with it, Where now is the Lord, the God of Elijah, he asked. When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left. He crossed over. The company of the prophets from Gerico who were watching said, the spirit of Elijah is resting on Elijah and they went to meet him and bowed to the ground before him. Look, they said, we, your servants, have 50 able men, Let them go and look for your master.

Perhaps the spirit of the lord has picked him up and set him down on some mountain or in some valley. No. Elijah replied, do not send them. But they persisted until he was too embarrassed to refuse. So he said, send them.

And they sent 50 men who searched for 3 days but did not find him. When they returned to Elijah, who was staying in Jericho, he said to them, didn't I tell you not to go? So read God's word. Good morning, and welcome from me. My name is Ben.

I'm a trainee pastor here at the church. Good morning as well if you're tuning in online. Thanks for joining us. As Pete said, we're coming to the end of Elijah's story, but only really to get to a Elijah's story. But we have enjoyed a larger story, I think.

And there's been so many things that we've been able to dwell on. And I think God's really helped us a lot over lockdown in this time, through the words you've spoken to us through the prophet Elijah. So I'm going to pray, and then we'll sort of jump into this last passage this morning. Further, we do thank you that you are the same God that spoke through Elijah all those years ago. And you have the same message of deliverance and salvation today that you did then.

Thank you for the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you that he has parted the way through death to everlasting life with you. And as we see, elijah, we pray that we'd also see Jesus. In his in your name, we pray, amen. Okay.

So if you're a musical person, you might know that we seem to be in an age at the moment of farewell tours of musicians and bands and things that started last century. Just a couple of people who've announced farewell tours in the last few years. Sarah Elton John, Paul Simon, Ozzy Ozbourn, Neil Diamond, Slayer, Linard Skynard, Many more, I'm sure, have all announced farewell tours, where they play their last -- sorry, their greatest hits for the last time. And you pay a lot of money and you go and see them. And it seems to be fashionable in this world anyway for people to then come back a few years later with another tool.

So it turns out their farewell tour was not actually their farewell tour. Oziosbourne played a tour after his farewell tour, which was called Retirement sucks. Which I which is, you know, fair enough. Well, in this passage tonight, we're gonna see Elijah's farewell tour. He's gonna play his greatest hits 1 last time before he gets to be with the lord.

But actually, like all great farewell tours, he even has a comeback at the transfiguration, doesn't he? So This is not his actual farewell tour, but we'll ignore that for now. So on this farewell tour, he's going to visit Bethel, Gerico, and the Jordan Those are the venues that are lucky enough to have him for his final visit. The poster, if you imagine every good tour has to have a poster, The poster for this farewell tour is a really good 1, because in bold headlines, it says Elijah, which we know means, my God is Yahweh. And then underneath it says, with supporting act, Elijah.

And Elijah means, my God, is salvation. So before they've even said anything, before they've even opened their mouth and proclaimed any of the greatest hits, just this poster, just these 2 men being together, proclaims my God is Yahweh, and he is salvation. It's a great poster, isn't it? You'd want that up in your bedroom today. So the supporting act, Elijah.

We first came across this guy back in 1 1 King's chapter in terms of one:nine, when Elijah was on the mountain of God, if you remember that, and he hears the still small voice of the Lord. And God speaks to him. And he gives him some business to do. God says to Elijah, I want you to appoint a king over Aram, a king over Israel, but also I want you to appoint a successor to you. He says anoint Elijah son of Shafat from Abel Mehola to succeed you as profit.

So this supporting artist, Elijah, is not just like an up and coming, exciting profit, or an up and coming, just random artist plucked from the pool of available prophets, this is God's chosen successor for Elijah. So in verse 19 of chapter 19 of 1 kings, we read Elijah finding him. So Elijah went from there and found Elijah's son of Shafat, He was plowing with 12 yoke of oxen and he himself was driving the twelfth pair. Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak around him. And then you get an interaction where Elijah follows him.

So this sort of action it's a bit weird, isn't it? Imagine someone just came up to you and chucked their coat on you. You're like, what what are you doing, especially in these times? But I guess him throwing his cloak around him was a way of saying you, Elijah, are gonna be my disciple. You are gonna be my successor, follow me, that kind of thing.

And so Even though since then, Elijah has been with Elijah the whole time, we haven't actually heard about him again until today's passage. Chapter two:one. When the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elijah were on their way from Gil Gal. So here they are, these 2 men, the prophet, and the prophet successor, and they're about to start this farewell tour. They're on their way.

But Elijah seems to know that this is his farewell tour. I actually went to a gig, which turned out to be the farewell tour of the band, except that they only announced it at the gig itself. So there you probably have thousands of fans who wanted See, the artist knows when it's the last 1 in here, Elijah knows. And he he's he's he's I feel like he's he's dissuading Elijah to come with him. Because he doesn't want that sort of the human honor and the human glory.

He sort of knows where he's going. So in verse 2, Have we got it there. Yes. Elijah said to Elijah, stay here. The Lord has sent me to Bethel, but Elisha said, oh, worry.

Elijah said, as surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you. So as surely as the Lord lives, and as surely as you live, as long as you're still alive, Elijah, I'm going to go with you. I'm going to follow you. I'm going to come with you. I'm sticking with you on this tour.

The first thing I want to look at on this farewell tour is the venues chosen. Because these aren't like the successor, just a randomly chosen collection of places. These are very strategic venues chosen to enhance the message of this farewell tour. My God is Yairwe, and he is salvation. So that's what the poster says.

My God is Yahway here, salvation. And then underneath, it's got the names of the 3 venues, Bethel, Jerico, and the Jordan. So why are they special? Well, Bethel is the place where Jacob encountered God, in a tent, if you remember that, and he wrestled with him earning the name Israel. So Bethil is tied up with where the nation of Israel is born.

Bethel is where the nation of Israel is born. Gerico was the first city to fall when the Israelites entered the promised land to sort of claim it from the people who were there. So jericho is where God is delivering his promises to Israel. God has promised that the promised land will be theirs, And here at Gerico, God is delivering on that promise. So that's Gerico.

And then the Jordan is where Joshua led the Israelites into the promised land for the first time. And it was via a miracle. So the Jordan is flowing. It was even flood season when they crossed. But the river dried up and stopped flowing to let the people cross.

And as that happened, God was demonstrating to his people that look, even though Moses has died, I am still going with you. Joshua, who is your new leader has the same spirit as Moses did, my spirit, and so God still goes with them. So If you take a step back and look at this poster 1 last time, header, my God is Yawain here, salvation. And then underneath, he gave birth to Israel, He keeps his promises to Israel. He remains with Israel.

That's the theme of this tour, this final Fair well tour. Those are the greatest hits that are going to be on display again. And so these 2 men head off to the First venue Bethel. Now the same thing seems to happen at the first 2 venues. In fact, it's almost identical.

So in verse 3, the company of the profit at Bethel came out to Elijah and asked, do you know that Lord is gonna take your master from you today? In verse 5, the company Ejericho, also go up to Elijah and ask him, do you know that the Lord is gonna take your master from you today? So it's not just actually, it's not just clear to Elijah that this is his last call. Profits seem to know it as well. And so they're asking him, do you know that this is the last gig?

If you got tickets to the last gig, this is the last time he's going to speak. This is the last 1. And it's not just Elijah and the prophets who know this, Elijah, also everyone seems to know this. Everyone seems to know this, because in verse 3 and verse 5, Elijah replies in the same way. Yes, I know Elijah replied.

So be quiet. It's a bit of a strange conversation to have actually each places because the the prophets don't go up to Elijah and say to him, so this is your last this is your last 1. What are you gonna say to us? We really wanna hear you. There's kind of an you get the sense of people are uneasy about this.

This is the profit through whom God has been speaking to the nation for so many years. What's gonna happen when he goes? And so they don't go to Elijah, but they go to Elijah, and they say, Do you know what's going to happen? Do you know that this is it? And Elijah doesn't seem to be Disney didn't seem to want to talk about it very loudly or for very long either, because he says, yes, I know.

So be quiet. Just stop talking about it. Let's not talk about it There's that kind of uneasiness that's going on. So they continue from Bethel to Gerico, and this interaction happens, and then from Gerico to the Jordan. Once they get to the Jordan though, this is sort of the main event.

This is the sort of where the big stuff happens. And so this is my second point We see a tribute here to Moses and Joshua. So 50 men from the company of the prophets went and stood at a distance, facing the place where Elijah and Elijah had stopped at the Jordan. Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up and struck the water with it, dividing – sorry, the water divided to the right and to the left and the 2 of them crossed over on dry ground. So this is this is sort of the first act in the gig, so to speak.

This is a tribute to Israel's greatest hits for 2 reasons. 1, because he's gone back to the exact river where Joshua crossed over with the Israelites into the promised land, But he's doing that, but whilst also covering Emosis classic, he's sort of like writing a medley of songs here. There's 2 things going on, because he's crossing the Jordan like Joshua did, but he's doing it in the way that Moses did when he crossed the Red Sea. So in Joshua chapter 3, this is what happened. We're told that when Israel crossed the Jordan, the water from upstream stopped flowing.

It piled up in a heap a great distance away at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zaratham. So when Joshua and the usualites crossed into the promised land, wasn't this parting going on. It's sort of the river dribbled sort of to a dryness. The water just stopped flowing. But in Exodus 14, we read then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea and all that night, the Lord drove the sea back with strong east wind and turned into dry land.

The waters were divided and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground with a wall of water on their right and on their left. So do you see that? With Moses, the water was divided to the right and the left. So elijah here, by doing this, in front of the prophets, and in front of Elijah, in front of us, he's mixing these 2 great stories of Israel's history. First of all, their salvation from slavery, where Moses led them out of slavery, and then also their deliverance into the promised land.

So my God is Yahweh and he is salvation are displaying acting out God's salvation. To everyone who can see it. And so he and Elijah walk across the Drive River bed and they're on to the other side. The other side, interestingly, is the same place where Moses was taken by the Lord when he died, and it's the same place from which Joshua emerged as the new leader of Israel. So you can see what's going on here, can't you?

So my next point, the bridge, when they had crossed, Elijah said to Elijah, tell me, What can I do for you before I am taken from you? Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit, Elijah replied. You've asked a difficult thing, Elijah said, yet, if you see me when I'm taken from you, it will be yours. Otherwise, It will not. So this is interesting.

The profits haven't joined them now. This is a private moment between Elijah and Elijah on the other side of the Jordan. And there's kind of an unspoken knowledge that it's gonna happen, now we've reached it. This is the moment. But there's no time for tiers, there's just business.

They get down to business. There's the small matter of inheritance. So Elijah turns to Elijah and says, so what before I go, what would you like me to do for you? What can I do for you? And to our ears, I think Elisha's request sounds a bit grandiose, doesn't it?

It sounds a bit greedy even. He's like, well, what you had, I want double it. You had like a massive flamethrower burning people as they came, burning people as they came to to you. Executing God's judgment. So it kind of sounds like Elijah's just asking for a bigger gun.

Give me 2 of those bad boys. That's what I want. But actually, that's not what he's asking when he's asking for a double portion of your spirit. It was actually the Jewish custom for the eldest son to inherit a double portion of the estate, of the inheritance. That was his birthright as the first born.

So what Elijah is asking here, inadvertently, not straight away is saying, can you be my daddy? You're like my father. I'm like your son. I want to inherit your estate, your ministry, your work, I want to bear your name and carry on doing your work. In other words, he's saying I want to serve God with the same spirit that you have done.

That's what he's asking here. So Elijah in verse 10 replies, you've asked a difficult thing. If you see me when I'm taken from you, it'll be yours. Otherwise, it will not. Now, it's difficult because Elijah can't control God, Why just can't hand out the Holy Spirit as and when he likes.

And so he says, look, if God permits you to see me as I'm taking from you, then take that as a sign that you'll favor it. But if you if if you don't see that, then I, you know, I can't do anything about it. I can't control God. Although I do wonder, as he replied to this, I reckon he replied with a sparkle in his eye, a twinkle, because you know, do you remember God has has told him to choose Elijah to succeed him. So he sort of knows, but he's like, well, maybe, maybe not.

We'll see. And so we get to verse 11. As they were walking along and talking together suddenly, a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared, and separated the 2 of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. Elijah saw this and cried out my father my father, the chariots and horsemen of Israel, And Elijah saw him no more than he took hold of his garment and tore it in 2. So now the 1 who would cool down fire in judgment, on God's enemies, has this fire coming down on him, but it's not a fire that consumes him or judges him, but it's a fire that refines him.

And it's an honorable sort of military parade up to heaven. There's this sort of, like, escort taking him there. Chariots on either side of him as he goes up in this whirlwind, sort of, well done, good and faithful servant, well done. You've been faithful to the lord and to his word. I want us to notice, I want us to take a step back here at this point.

We see Elijah go up in this honor and this sort of glory. And do you remember that just a few chapters before, Elijah was in the wilderness slumped on the floor, praying that he would die. Do I have this? Yes. In 1 Kings, chapter 19 verse 4, he'd said I've had enough lord, take my life.

I am no better than my ancestors. He was rock bottom, He didn't wanna go on, but it was God's kindness not to answer that prayer at that time, wasn't it? And it's made me think, how many of our prayers does God not answer for our own good? Because in the wilderness, that would have been dishonorable and pathetic. But actually, the Lord had something much, much better in mind for him.

So no, Elijah, you're not going to die there, you're going to die in the middle of your work, passionate about what you do, and I'm going to honor that and glorify you. And so we're told that the chariots came down while he and Elijah were talking. So he's not slumped by himself in the wilderness given up on Israel, I'm no better than my ancestors. They're no better there, they're our sisters. Just might us all Lord.

He's now talking with a leisha, and he's probably saying, look, when I'm gone, you're gonna have to keep pointing the nation to Israel. You're gonna have to work on these things. You're gonna have to remind them to turn to the lord. And so there's no retirement for this man. He's working hard.

He's working hard. And before, if we had a strong hint that Elijah saw himself as the first born, do I have this? Yes. Then now there's he just comes out with it. He can't help himself.

Elijah is like his father. He says, my father my father, he tears his garments in sorrow and grief. He's truly torn because he loved him like his father. But my fourth point, the Encore. Elijah then picks up Elijah's cloak that had fallen from him versus 'thirteen, and we went and went back and stood on the Bank of the Jordan.

He took the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and struck the water with it. Where now is the Lord, the God of Elijah, he asked. When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over. So remember what Elijah did when God told him to find Elijah to succeed him, He found him plowing a field, and he chucked his cloak around him. Well, now we see that that was just a foreshadow of this moment.

When Elijah picks up his cloak for himself and puts it on. But it it's just a symbol really, because more importantly, he's not just clothed with the same cloak that Elijah has but now we see that it's clothed with the same spirit that Elijah had. Elijah had. There you go. I've done what Pete said.

He's clothed with the same spirit that Elijah had. And so he stands at this water's edge, which has now started running again. And he says out loud, where now is the Lord the God of Elijah? So Elijah's gone. Has his God gone as well?

Has he abandoned his people? Has he has he favored another nation? Where now is the lord? Now remember, again, this farewell tour has featured Israel's greatest hits. And another greatest hit was this sort of transfer of power in a sense, from Moses to Joshua.

And so Elijah's been a true tribute act to Moses. He's parted the waters, he's gone across and he's been taken up in the same place that Moses has gone. And now, all I turn to Elijah, who is a true tribute act of Joshua. And he, just like Joshua before him, repeat this miracle of parting the water and coming back through into the promised land. So in Joshua chapter 3, The Lord said to Joshua, today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel, so that they may know that I am with you, as I was with Moses, So how the question is how do we know that God is still with us now that Moses has gone?

Well, he's going to exalt Joshua, by performing the same miracle of stopping the water and crossing the Jordan. There was nothing special about Moses. Moses wasn't the 1 who had the power to part the waters. It was God, and he's still with his people through Joshua. And so here is Elijah, and he strikes the water with his cloak, as Elijah did, and the water parts in exactly the same way as it did for Elijah, we see the great chorus of God's message to the world again.

And salvation from slavery, deliverance to the promised land. And then the question, where now is the Lord the God of Elijah? He's right here. He's right here with Elijah, as he was with Elijah, as he was with Joshua, as he was with Moses, as he was with Jacob, Isaac, Abraham, Abraham, as he is with all his people, from age to age to age, and he's right here among us today, as he was with Elijah. So the prophets who didn't go across with them, they see the waters parting, and they see this man coming through again.

And what do they see? Well, they see salvation, they see deliverance, and they see this beautiful everlasting truth. That as from Joshua from Moses, now Elijah from Elijah, God remains with his people. The spirit of God is still with his people. So in verse 15, they see this.

The company of the prophets from Gerico were watching, who were watching said, the spirit of Elijah is resting on Elijah, and they went to meet him and bowed down to the ground before him. Great gig, I've got some applications for us, not just a speculative thing to enjoy, but I think there are some some challenges here for us today. Particularly the next 3 verses, which come after this, are a real challenge to us, if I have them. Yes. Because the prophets bow down to Elijah.

They acknowledge, they say the spirit of God is on this man, and they honor him by bowing down before him, But they immediately undermine his prophethood by not listening to him. Look at this, look, they said, we, your servants, have 50 able men, let them go and look for your master, Perhaps the spirit of the Lord has picked him up and set him down on some mountain or in some valley. No, Elijah replied, do not send them then we get verse 17. But they persisted until he was too embarrassed to refuse. So look, the first words that the spirit field Elijah speaks is no.

And they don't want to hear that. They persist until he says, yes. Now I wanna challenge us with this because last week we heard Tom Sermon, where we were looking at King Aziah, who was on his deathbed, remember, and he wanted to hear a prophecy. What's gonna happen to me? And the prophecy from Yairway was you're going to dymate, so cry out for salvation, hidden nudge, nudge.

But he didn't want to hear that. He wanted to hear something else. And that was King Aziah, who was sort of an enemy of God, but actually here with the prophets, we see that even as God's own people, we have an instinct in 1 moment to see the glories of God on display, his salvation, his deliverance, And then, in the next breath, to deny and disregard the very words that he's speaking to us. And we seek out an alternative message. Wow, God.

You're so impressive. Look what you've done for me, but I'm not really happy with this bit, so can you say something else, please? Do we come to church, and do we honor god, maybe even with our presence here in this building? Do we give him some money to the church? Do we serve on a few rotors?

Do we even compliment the preacher in the sermon and then not accept the word that God has spoken to us through them. And the question is, and who are we listening to, if not God? Who spoke the idea into the ears of the prophets to go and look for Elijah? Whose idea was that? It's not God's idea.

God knew that he wasn't on a mountain. God knew that he'd taken him up. Whose idea was it to disregard what Elijah said even though they knew he was the prophet. Why did they think, oh, Elijah's clearly got this wrong? That's not God giving them that idea.

So I wanna ask who's speaking into our ears? Who's shaping our thinking and our patterns of behavior? Who's interpreting the events in our own lives for us? Who's giving us suggestions about our lives that are different to the suggestions you might hear here. Everyone out there wants to preach to you, everyone out there has an opinion on how you should live your life, And it just means that in the end so often, we deny the very words that we hear from God.

We honor God with our lips, we sing songs to him here, we turn out that door, and we start listening to other people instead of him. The good news for us though is that though Moses introduced the law, and Elijah turned the nation's heart back to the law. Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the law. Jesus said, do not think I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have not come to abolish them.

I have come to fulfill them. So all the works of Moses and Elijah are all pointing to and have their fulfillment in Jesus. In Romans 10, Paul explains, Christ is the culmination of the law, so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes, There may be righteousness for us sinners who are in this room, who here, honor with our lips, go out there and do something completely different. There is righteousness even for those like us who do that in Christ Jesus. Because Jesus parted the waters of our sin and our death on the cross.

And in his resurrection, he's made dry ground for us to go across. We don't have to swim across this gulf of hypocrisy and sin. Christ has made a path for us. And then when Jesus ascended to heaven, more gloriously than Elijah did, because Elijah got to ascend to Heaven, that's pretty cool. But Christ did it on the clouds of heaven, and then when he got there, he went and sat down at God's right hand, and he sent his spirit.

The same spirit that rested on Elijah, Christ sends to rest on us, Hippocrits, sinners, but saved, justified. 1 Corinthians 3 16, do you not know that you're a God's temple. Yes. You filthy, broken sinner. You are God's temple God's spirit dwells in you, the same spirit of God that rested on Elijah.

So I want to say, look, let's listen to this farewell tour. Let's learn the lesson from these prophets who bow before the spirit of God but disregard what God is saying. Let's not be like that. Revelation chapter 2, Jesus says whoever has ears let them hear what the spirit says to the churches. What is the spirit saying to Cornerstone Church?

Do you have ears to hear it? Have you been listening over lockdown to what the spirit has been gently speaking to us? Over this time. Every day, God's given us a handful of flour from the jar of grace. Have we been listening to that?

Or have we pestered God to change his mind, listened to someone else? So look, we need help with this, don't we? I mean, we need help with this. But let's be honest with ourselves, Are we honoring him just with bowing down before him, or are we honoring him by listening to him? Let me pray.

Let me pray for god's help with these things. Father in heaven, we thank you for sending prophets into this world to speak your words to us that we so desperately need to hear. We thank you for Elijah and Elijah and for the display, the magnificent display of your salvation and deliverance. We thank you for Jesus Christ. Who has parted the waters of death and sin that we can go through on dry ground to eternal life.

Help us not to be like those prophets who bowed down before your word, but didn't listen to it or acknowledge it. Help us to be people who listen to what the spirit is saying to us. And then, to be faithful and honor and obey that word. We need help with this Lord. Forgive us all and we don't thank you for your salvation in Jesus' name, amen.

Thanks. Thanks, Ben. And thanks for reminding us that we see these themes and shadows and types constantly in the bible and all in the end pointing to the lord Jesus Christ in manual God's with us. Jesus at the last supper with his disciples before his crucifixion and resurrection said it says while they were eating Jesus took bread, And when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples saying take and eat. This is my body.

Then he took a cup and when he given thanks, he gave it to them saying drink from it, all of you. This is my blood the blood of the new covenant which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. And what an amazing thing, Emmanuel God with us. Who's come to go through that Jordan as it were through death to die on the cross for us. For the forgiveness of our sins so we can enter the new promised land.

We're gonna take the lord's supper together. It's a very simple thing. It's just ordinary bread. Fact, gluten free bread, so it's not even ordinary bread, and wine together, and you're welcome to do that at home. If you're watching on the internet.

And it's very simple that this is the body of Christ and the blood of Christ shed for us to bring us into a body, to bring us into a family. It's not just an individual thing here. It's to bring us into the family. And we're gonna pray for some people of the family after after we've taken this. But he is our redeemer and our emmanuel and our savior.

And all of the things that we've been learning. So if you want to just take the bread when it comes around and and the juice, the the the service here, live here. Just take both. It's just the simplest way of doing it. And then take the bread yourself reminding you of the broken body of Christ, broken for you.

And then we'll keep the juice and we'll drink that together to reminding that we drink from 1 cup. So that'll come around now. Thank you. Okay. Pray.

Father we thank you that you you've come in the Lord Jesus Christ. Emmanuel God with us. We thank you that there isn't just gifts. You don't just give us gifts. But you give us yourself.

We thank you that Christ said eat this in remembrance of me that we we become part of him, the son of the living God. We thank you that we respond by having that amazing union with Christ. We eat his flesh as it were. We thank you for this. And we thank you for this juice that reminds us of the blood shed for us.

That it covers our sins, brings us into the family of God. And so far that we thank you for these things and we drink this now in that great and full assurance that sins are forgiven by the lord Jesus Christ himself, Emmanuel God with us. We thank you in his name, our Ma'am, string this together. Now we are 1 body and we need to remember our brothers and sisters and some of them that are suffering. It's good to have Steve Duvein with us He buried his mother on Friday, and and it was quite a good service.

Steve was saying the gospel was preached which bought joy to his heart. So we can remember our brother there. And Mandy, we need to remember Mandy, her niece died several weeks ago, and the funeral is this Wednesday. Amanda is quite cut up about this understandably so. And she's our sister in Christ, and it's been quite difficult family situation.

So let me pray for them. Father, we thank you for Steve, And we thank you for bringing him to Christ many years ago and to opening his eyes to the love of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we thank you for this. And we thank you that even though his mother and these are big occasions when someone like a mother or a father dies. Someone who's always been around ever since we've been on this on this planet.

And then goes. And it's another another chain if you like that's broken. And yet we thank you for the hope that Steve has in the lord Jesus Christ. We thank you that he is the 1 that went through death and rose again. What a great message.

And pray that your comfort, Steve, and the family bless them help them to remember the lord Jesus. And we pray for Mandy as well who's grieving her niece and this difficult occasion and the funeral on Wednesday. And these funerals are are can be quite hard. During these COVID times quite difficult as not so many are allowed to go. And so we do pray for Mandy.

Help her to know that she's in the family of the living God and reminder of the Lord Jesus Christ we pray. We pray that whoever's taking that service would open the bible up and show the hope in Christ. And so we commit these dear brother and sister to you in Jesus' name, amen. Well, our last song actually takes up that theme and it's a very, very beautiful song. Because it shows us that Jesus has broken through death and has risen again.

And so let's stand and sing this song together as the band leaders. Through all life sorrows and despair. I will not be room. I need not pay. I have this whole secure.

Because Christ died account. She has on me. Because he overcame the grave with him, I will be where o death is your state, eternity. Is 1 for me. My hands, it turn okay.

To read where all get visual steam. Is 1 for me by before his throne, we'll see. Must we flag eternity is 1 for me by hands eternal key. Wonderful words. I forgot to say that where is he?

Their Zachary is here for the first time. Let's Can you hold him up or something? Can you hold him up so high that they can see it on the Can you see it on the camera? No. Hold him up.

Hold him up. The lion king. The lion king. Yeah. We yay.

There he is. Beautiful. Thank you. Sorry. I forgot that.

Do remember if you want to take some of these booklets, please take a whole load of them, give them to neighbors and so forth. If you've got 1 on your seat, you have to take it. And if you want to book in for those Christmas things and if you would like a missionary calendar 2 pound 50, they're at the door. Fantastic. Father God, we thank you for the things that we've learned.

We pray by your spirit. We would listen to them. We thank you for the Lord Jesus, yet again. We thank you for the gift of salvation in him. And we go now in the name of the father and the son and the holy spirit.

ARM. Please join us tonight at 6 30. We have a guest speaker, and we're really looking forward to that. Thank you.