Suffering…And Leave the Results to God

n tell you from their own experience that they met Jesus at some point it’s not everyone but it’s many but the question sometimes we run into in the midst of life is so God what are you doing with me how are you working out the details of my life the author and finisher of our faith is a real statement to that effect he began it and he will complete it amen I mean it’s it’s like this the work you have in me begun will buy your

grace be fully done it’s a great statement and it’s a true statement from the New Testament the Bible speaks extensively about the God that doesn’t give up the god that doesn’t go away the god that doesn’t plug his nose and turn his back on his people and discuss though he has plenty of opportunity to do that he stays he works through the mess we take him by the hand and we say God do something that I don’t know how it can come about but I’m counting

on you to pull it off I’m describing real lives this week when I shared what I just did people who have lost loved ones in our church real hurt real suffering and you don’t have to wait for an illustration of that in the world we live in today it’s kind of our day isn’t it it’s true of the world we live in but I do want to start this morning first of all by saying welcome in everyone welcome you who are joining us from other places

and I get a regular report from folks and nearby in some cases far away as well where they are very glad for the truth and the the powerful worship that is part of our Sunday Gathering so we’re glad you’re part of that we hope that you’ll become part of this today there’s a few more seats because it’s a holiday weekend and we’re in Oregon in case you didn’t know and in Oregon everybody goes and plays all summer long and so the church has competition it’s people

that go out and wreck creation all summer long okay just saying just saying just laying on a pile of guilt when I can so there you go but no I’m teasing you by the way I declared today just to lighten the mood a little bit variant name day so you can call me Stevie boo if you want and it’s okay so I tried Abby where is Abby she went with the youth her name’s Abigail thank you very much she made sure I understood that but you

know we’re we’re working on different people’s name Johnny Johnny baby John Jonathan John okay we’ll stick with John anyway have some fun with your friends and family today and blame me okay so let’s go back you have to go back a ways most of you have to read about this person Dietrich Bonhoeffer he is a person who was a like myself a pastor but his times were even more treacherous than ours he was a pastor a German Pastor who stood up and spoke out against the

Nazi regime spearheaded by the the evil Adolf Hitler’s reign of terror and he did so under the threat of torture which he received danger to his family which was constant and death itself which was his fate just before the concentration camp where he was placed at flossenburg just days before it was liberated in July or in April of 1945 he was hung and he was hung not because he took a shot at Hitler but because he spoke out in the name of Jesus Christ and said

this is not right we must not be okay with this and he and he spoke in a way that got noticed in the end he gave his life for it so as you might expect he had a profoundly personal view of the subject we’re going to talk about today I realize it’s kind of a risky subject on a vacation weekend right A lot of people are away playing their thought is not on suffering but on the opposite pleasure and I don’t know having fun and that’s

okay but it’s it’s it’s an important thing our series is Summer and leave the results to God suffering is no exception to that it will visit us invited or not and we have a choice to make along the way now at risk of some of you taking a good nap when we open God’s word right now because I’m going to give you something that is actually the takeaway for the day there’s no greater place of suffering then The Garden of Gethsemane and the cross that followed

that’s why today is so important and appropriate that we share communion no no greater place there’s no argument there but in that Garden Jesus had two prayers one really and the follow-up was his declaration his decision the prayer was if it’s possible remove this cup from me not once but three times the follow-up is I believe not just his words but what his will is for my life and yours yet not my will but thine there it is if you really have a busy day you

can fold your Bible right now and and get on with the day but that’s the truth that we’re going to unpackage here this morning back to Bon Bonhoeffer I think not only did he have an acquaintance with suffering that was pretty much unparalleled with notable exceptions he as a result had much to say not a little a lot to say about the subject that I I’m going to just say it’s a downer it’s a bummer why not just talk about happiness and joy and you know

God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life and you know I came to give life and abundance I don’t know all that the word abundance means and neither do you but I’ll take two scoops right I like that it works with the holiday weekend but here’s Bonhoeffer suffering is the badge of True Discipleship the disciple is not above his or her master we know that from Jesus words the cross is laid on every Christian yikes in other words the Cross isn’t just about

Jesus he paid for our sins on that cross but then he went on to say you want to come after me you got to do something that’s terribly uncomfortable and it’s not just words you must deny yourself I don’t do that easily take up your cross daily I might be in for that once in a lifetime but Jesus said daily and follow me so Bonhoeffer finishes his words when Christ calls someone he bids him or her come and die Jesus said plainly I quoted the words

from Luke 9 verse 23 deny yourself take up your cross daily and follow me the Apostle Paul actually actually said predictably he was advancing the truth of that day and saying it’s going to apply to me and you in 21st century when he said indeed all not most but all who desire to live Godly in Christ Jesus will suffer the word he uses persecuted I’ve never talked to somebody that’s been persecuted in any way that didn’t agree that the word suffering also describes their Journey okay

even so lots of time and thought has been spent on the subject of suffering lots of people write about it in fact in my study I have an entire shelf of books by titles like this glorious Intruders by Johnny Erickson tada great book all of these I’ve read Shattered Dreams by Larry Crabb we have big plans Big Dreams and our legs are taken out from under us still other books when when God doesn’t make sense by James Dobson have you ever gone through something and you

scratched your head bald this doesn’t make I don’t get this what’s going on here the problem of pain a classic by C.S Lewis if you’ve got the capacity to read it yacht because it’ll take you into deep places and you would expect one of my favorite it’s one of the earlier books written on this subject in modern times where is God when it hurts asks Philippians great book and then I have another one that I’ve talked to people who’ve benefited from by Ron Lee Davis called

simply mistreated and there’s people among us that have been mistreated or we know those that have but I’m going to just go out on a limb and say one of my favorite probably my favorite book because it’s most profound book I’ve ever read aside from the Bible on suffering comes from a philosophy Professor Peter krieft k-r-e-e-f-t from Boston University he has I think more doctorates than I have letters in my last name so really good really smart guy and he says making his book titled making

sense out of suffering it grabs me he writes for everyone who’s ever wept and wondered why why is this happening to me he does so with gutsy honesty so brace yourself these are his words and I’m just going to be honest and say they’re my words as well quote I believe in God the god of the Bible let me stop how many believe that hold your Bible up if you got one that’s it okay and I’m sure you’re doing that at home that I believe in

the god in God the god of the Bible the all-powerful and all-loving father amen time that’s a good thing all of those things are true however writes grief that does not solve my problem of suffering it is my problem of suffering and not just suffering but unjust suffering in a God made god-controlled universe end quote that’s a big sentence but if you’re honest there are moments when you say in the midst of why God it’s like God I know something about your power I know a

few things about your Authority and you could shut this puppy down right now you could stop this suffering I realize I’m I’m pushing things out of ways but it’s important or else this is just academic so for those among us today who are here or elsewhere and are among those who have wept and wondered why my message isn’t likely to wipe away every tear or the trauma that you’re you’re thinking about or know about however I believe I really believe that it will provide the hope

that you need and that those that you know who are hurting need as well all right so with that in mind Matthew’s gospel is a good stop at the beginning here chapter 16 if you want to turn there we’re just going to be in the end of chapter 16 and the beginning of chapter 17. So Matthew 16 and 17. It takes us to a scene where Jesus had a conversation with his disciples and they’re having this discussion in a place far north the border between Israel

and further north in Syria it’s caesarea Philippi it’s a mountainous area and they gather together in fact some of us were on a trip to Israel and we went there and we sat and imagined this scene in Matthew 16. We actually went there and it was a conversation Jesus had with his disciples kind of pulled him up close and said guys there’s a lot out there about me folks are there’s I used to call it the scuttlebutt but people went what did he say butt in

church yeah it’s the scoop on the street Jesus says what’s the scoop on the street about me because I know you’re getting a lot people are coming at you with hey who is this guy you guys are hanging out with and you’re giving them answers so what are people saying and they come up with a lot of different answers and then the discussion in there that goes from who who he was the discussion shifts by Jesus choosing to why he came and verse 21 takes us

into this from that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem they’re significantly north of Jerusalem so they got to go south and he must suffer many things at the hands of the elders the chief priests and the teachers of the law and that he must be killed and on the third day raised to life Peter couldn’t take it any longer that’s my editorial introduction to verse 22. Not willing to sit there any longer he takes Jesus aside and

begins to rebuke him never Lord he said this shall never happen to you and Jesus turned and said to Peter get behind me this is not a misprint Satan he knew his name but he also knew what he was doing was a Temptation from the enemy himself for Jesus to find a shortcut or a way around get behind me Satan you were not you are a stumbling block to me you do not have your mind on the concerns of God but mere human concerns and then

with an audience obviously Jesus says to his disciple whoever wants to be my disciples Luke 9 quotes this here it is in verse 24 of Matthew 16. Whoever wants to be my disciples must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me for whoever wants to save their life I know a lot of people like that you see my hand I’m thumping my chest I like the idea of saving my life whoever wants to save his life will lose it and whoever loses their life

for me will find it what good will it be for someone to gain the whole world yet forfeit their soul or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul for the son of man is going to come with his father father’s Glory with the angels and then he will reward each person according to what they have done truly I say to you some of you standing here and that Gathering will not taste death before they see the son of man coming in his kingdom so

Jesus reveals here in this section of Matthew 16. His reason for coming for the first time and I’m going to say it like it is in haunting detail he drops a bomb on them and it has the jolt of a bomb he had given some hint back in Matthew 12 you could look that up but it was nowhere near as this explicit statement I’m going to go to Jerusalem and I’m going to lay it all on the line I will die I will suffer first and

then I will give my life on a cross and there was no me missing the meaning of verse 21. It’s a long verse here in the text no missing it whatsoever Peter’s resistance reveals that refusing to accept his troubling words this this was both bad and very disappointing news if you were Peter because you know Peter up to this point is kind of edging in along with two others we’ll see in a moment in chapter 17. And and he had plans and I’m not calling out

his plans I don’t think they’re bad plans I just think man I’ve I’ve realized that you’re The Giver of Life in fact he says it earlier in chapter 16 you’re the you’re the answer you’re the Lord the Christ the Messiah you’re the one that was sent from God all of the above was accurate Peter got it and and Peter along with that insight which by the way Jesus told him you didn’t come up with that by going to a good Seminary you you got that straight

from God himself the Holy Spirit told you that Pete Peter today’s member changed the wording change the name day so Peter you’ve got a handle on this but he also had a very strong sense along with James and John that they were special that they were members of the Inner Circle if you could call it that that’s a man-made label there were 12 disciples but just simply playing playing back the videotape you would even a casual you’d say you know what those three seem to hang

with Jesus a little more tightly they seem to have more Inner Circle knowledge maybe they knew some jokes others didn’t know or maybe they knew something deeper and more personal than the others knew and as members of that Circle to hear then Jesus their Heroes speak of suffering and dying verse 21 was well unspeakable that messes up our plan at least Peter would say so not surprising look again at verse 22 Peter insists two times two times never never it’s emphatic that’s a way of saying

it like I just did with a finger pointed and saying this will not happen here this is Peter talking to Jesus no way I’m gonna let that happen they’ve got to come through me if they’re going to get you it’s that tone okay now you’re with it for lots of reasons but that’s what’s in the text here Over My Dead Body Jesus and Peter’s reaction drew a scathing rebuke in verse 23. By Jesus who in sharing this news was trying to help his men prepare for

a really really hard patch ahead and Jesus then adds in verse 28 some of you here are are going to see something in fact you won’t die without seeing my glory as it turns out the sum to which he was referring is this Peter James and John I want to go back just for in your memory maybe because other passages Mark chapter 5 tells about how there was this official whose whose daughter died and and when Jesus came and actually rose raised her to life again

he he picked three and he says you come with me you get to watch this I I don’t know the effect it had on them exactly but I’ve tried to imagine it for myself and I would I would struggle with the being humbled by that I can’t believe what I just saw shocked by it and then maybe a little proud about it I mean after all I’m one of the three that got to watch I don’t know but I’m just guessing so they they were there

when this deceased daughter in Mark chapter 5 is raised up and these three would be the only ones that Jesus Takes with him the night that he was just before he was arrested he went to Gethsemane it’s the garden across the Kidron Valley from Jerusalem there’s this Garden Mount of Olives think of it that way and and these three would become three that were invited by Jesus to come be with me stand with me hold me up I need you guys however you want to put

it and next up in chapter 17 we’ll see right now these are the three that Jesus brings to this high mountain some have speculated it’s Mount Hermon there’s a great camp in California called Mount Hermon but it wasn’t that one so so tallest peak in Israel so that would fit with the high mountain idea about 9 000 feet and this is the northern boundary of Israel and so he’s there and he says hey come with me guys and this rather strenuous Trek is described for us

well let’s read on in chapter 17. All right look back at your your Bible after six days so a week later Jesus Takes with him Peter James and John the brother of James and led them up a high mountain by themselves there he was transfigured before them his face Shone like the sun reading it slow to take it in his clothes became as white as the light and just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah talking with Jesus I would be passed out so fast

I mean and so were they they were so close to being I’m sure the Holy Spirit was just feeding them oxygen or something but verse 4 Peter said to Jesus lord it’s good for us to be here if you wish I’ll make three shelters one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah and while he was still mid-sentence speaking a bright Cloud covered them and a voice from the cloud said this is my son whom I love with him I am well pleased listen

to him when the disciples heard this they fell face down to the ground terrified Circle that word but Jesus came and touched them get up he said most frequent command in the New Testament do not fear get up don’t be afraid and when they looked up they saw no one except Jesus and they were coming down the mountain we’re not given anything between verse eight and nine there had to be all kinds of what this is crazy what is that oh my goodness simply they were

coming down the mountain Jesus instructed them don’t tell anyone these are like impossible words wouldn’t you say I’m pretty sure that they talked a lot about this and I’m pretty sure Jesus was okay with it but the command I mean I’m not saying Jesus didn’t mean it when he said hush but I’m not sure how you could humanly hush at this moment don’t tell anyone what you’ve seen until the son of man has been raised from the dead let’s slow down for a sec tried to

capture it in fresh ways how many have heard this story okay so I did that for you because you’re like me if you hear if you hear it ten times it kind of loses its impact sometimes and I want it to be fresh for you as well so let’s let’s understand where they were they had climbed a big tall mountain so that means they’re winded okay they didn’t get up there and rest for a week it was a week after Matthew 16 in Philippi caesarea Philippi

and then they went up the mountain and bang verse two it all happened in front of them which means they’re chugging they’re trekking up a mountain they’re winded and I’m going to guess because Jesus was pressed from all sides all the time that they were sort of wonderfully away from the crowd and let’s not forget the numbers there’s only three of them Peter James and John and Jesus so you got to be kind of winded but you got to be going the crowds are not tugging

at us and pressing in trying to get a look or a touch at Jesus all of that’s going on here I’m pretty sure and just the four of them are there it’s only verse one so it I’m not sure how long it lasted but then let’s talk about Jesus while we’re slowed down a little bit because I think what we have here is is Jesus with something inside that’s let’s call it a a quickened pulse Isaiah says in chapter 50 verse 7. That that and and

Jesus these words are actually used in Luke chapter 5 verse 51 of Jesus that at a certain point prior to this he set his sights Like Flint for Jerusalem I had to look up the word it’s like flint and steel it means determined it means it’s a very hardened I’m set for what’s about to take place for me in Jerusalem so Jesus is can I say it this way lugging that with him he’s carrying that purpose in him he had it before but the Bible makes

a point of calling attention to that setting of his Focus for what he described don’t forget back in chapter 16 when he described you know what it’s gonna it’s gonna be tough verse 21 and he covers all that details it’s as though his plan which is was a plan all along had been set in motion and the weight of what he must have felt I I’m just guessing he remember he’s God man that means there’s a part of him that would feel the heaviness would experience

the weight that he must have felt and I’m guessing the burden was constant so what did Jesus do well he did what he did a lot which was when he was pressed he prayed he he just took some time and sought strength in this case to endure the suffering that’s ahead and we described in verse 21. He he spent some time praying for peace to persevere the great grief that was to come he prayed for help knowing that he would be pressed to the edge and

and hit hard and as you know if you’ve been there Heaven sometimes not always C.S Lewis in the book I told you about earlier he talks about those terrible times of suffering and you cry out and cry out and cry out and there’s silence I won’t ask for a show of hands but it might be Redemptive have you ever been there I I’ve I’ve been there I know people that have been there and when I walk in a room in a hospital and and they’re there

I know something in my soul that’s like that father that was desperate and they tried everything and there was no help coming and he cried out God I do believe but help my unbelief I’m getting weak and and so sometimes they’re silence but verse 2 is just the opposite sometimes Heaven answers boldly and that’s exactly how the word I would use to describe verse two that we just read Jesus is transfigured what’s the word mean is a great question well I’m here to tell you no

it’s a Greek word metamorpho we get the transliterated word metamorphosis getting a little closer what animal do you think of when it yeah butterflies caterpillars the whole deal and they’re changed the actual definition is change on the outside that comes from the inside this was in a small way I believe a glimpse at his glory and he said well didn’t he always have Glory oh he did but it was concealed in his Humanity if you and I lived in that day most of the time we’d

go there’s Jesus man he’s cut he he swings a pretty serious ax or whatever chopping wood he worked with wood he’s well we would have seen a human as my point we wouldn’t have seen this human with a glow around him as he walked from place to place he was a man but his glory was concealed he was truly God but it was concealed in his flesh it’s the idea here and because of that you are watching here I think the curtain pulled back to see

what he really is God in the flesh concealed up to this point most of the time but in this moment it’s happening a glimpse of his glory until that day Jesus identity as the Glorious God had actually been mostly concealed by his Humanity so as the three verse 2 struggle to see and to focus Their Eyes On Jesus two others were told show up and it’s two people that I admire and so did Peter James and John and they lived respectively centuries before this moment they

were they lived did amazing things that our Bible tells us about and then they left the scene so you can imagine put yourself in Peter James and John’s shoes not only are they blown away by this view of Jesus that suddenly in plain view but but they’re seeing these two that they too have either read about or heard about they never knew him absolutely no conversation with them until this moment and this is a mind-blowing moment for these disciples Moses and Elijah Jesus must have wanted

I think in this moment to hold on to this scene they show up and of course Jesus knew who they were and maybe maybe for a moment he thought you know I know where they just came from my father and man I want to go home I want to I want to return home with them and see my father and share again with the unconcealed glory that’s mine along with my father wouldn’t that be a normal natural moment but here Jesus stood with these two who

had he knew he watched he was present when they had suffered and been rejected two who had in fact also been delivered Moses and Elijah remember Exodus 14 is a is a must read today it’s in your text it’s in your notes look at it and see this glorious like like Deliverance that Moses got to be a part of as the the sea parted and he was he was rescued he was delivered by the advancing Egyptians and then comes Elijah centuries later and he’s delivered from

this nasty Queen Jezebel and and she was gun informed fact made a declaration you’re dead by sunset or I’ll die in other words I’m gunning for You full bore and he ran for his life interestingly right after his greatest Victory when he stood tall against the prophets of Baal and ashtera so that happens it’s another sermon some other time that’s in First Kings 19. So would you add that to your reading list today in Exodus 14 First Kings 19 okay now I’m just going to guess

something but I’ll ask it as a question are you curious even a little bit what they talked about do you see verse three let me look at it again I’m not making this up they appeared to them and they were this is Moses and Elijah talking with Jesus so you want to know what they were talking about so do I no one knows I hope you’ll do this and I mean this in a Sanctified way don’t get crazy with it but in moments like this spend

time there and let your imagination ask the Holy Spirit just to tell you hey give me a little hint I’m not going to preach it like it’s fact but I want to be present in it because you and I could blow by that and just go ah they were chatting about what I wrote down a couple of things I I don’t know these may not be but perhaps words of encouragement they knew what he was carrying around with them they had been sent by the father

to come back and maybe they were saying you can do it your father and the Holy Spirit will sustain you don’t give up don’t falter in that moment he didn’t have any risk of faltering but that was coming maybe that’s what they said or perhaps they were words of Hope imagine in this moment what it would have felt like to Jesus to hear hey we’re we’re pulling for you we can’t wait for you in just a few days from now to come home in fact the

place isn’t the same without you Jesus right I mean whatever it was it was worth recording they were talking with Jesus one thing’s for sure the appearance of both of these greats Moses and Elijah was just what Jesus needed to infuse him with the strength that would be required to walk a road us a suffering that stretched before him still there was one more voice that would mean everything to him and it’s beautifully captured it came as Peter was awkwardly planning to build some Tabernacles of

some kind or small buildings on the mountain maybe maybe in fact we’re told while Peter was still saying hey I can do this verse 5. Suddenly This Cloud rolls in it’s a bright cloud and covers them and from the cloud comes a voice in mid-sentence a voice Peter’s dies out and the father had spoken this is my son whom I love with him I’m well pleased listen to him I’m just going to guess that wasn’t intended for Moses or Elijah right it was meant for me

and Moses or and Peter and James and John listen to him his father had spoken the mountain shook and the three not surprisingly verse 6 fall face down to the ground terrified and Jesus was filled with fresh strength that he needed verse 7. It was that voice those words exactly what Jesus needed three years earlier remember Mark Matthew and Luke chapter 3 at the end he’s baptized and about to be led by the spirit Into the Wilderness to do what check out the cactus no to

go toe-to-toe with the Devil Himself in an epic fight and just before he left his baptism spiritual High just before he leaves to go out and 40 days and 40 nights with no food and then the fight was on you talk about extreme and what does he need at that moment is almost identical what he receives at this moment there’s this beautiful scene where Jesus comes up out of the water and and the thunderous voice again appears and says this is my this is my son

I’m proud of him listen to him and at that moment a visual the Holy Spirit descends like a dove this is all it’s all right there Matthew 4 Luke 4. Same Passage so here it is again same thing is happening here let me ask you the question and we’ll finish with this when facing horrific suffering hardship where do you turn where you you have choices so do I in moments like that where do you turn in these moments says a lot about what you get in

these moments what voice do you listen to or listen for what gives you what you need to endure and I’m going to use the word unjust suffering Jesus answered that question was his father’s voice this was a defining day for all on the mountain when the three look up I just can’t even believe that moment they don’t see any of the above the voice ended Moses and Elijah are gone and it’s just those three and Jesus and Jesus his face his eyes the sound of his

voice can I not guess at something and tell you this actually changed their lives and I get that from if we had time go to John chapter one and you will see that John actually talked about seeing his glory he wrote that later but it was such an impactful moment this scene we’re taking time that he talked about it and and not just him Peter did the same thing he called he called himself an eyewitness of his glory as he wrote in second Peter chapter one

his glory his glory changed them who he was changed who they were so a couple of takeaways this morning you can write these down I think they’re tested with the truth that we’ve unpackaged here this morning the road to glory passes through the valley of suffering it’s not a smooth road is what I’m trying to say I like paved roads when I’m pulling a trailer but this one’s not well paved there’s potholes it’s uncomfortable it’s painful at times but the pathway to Glory is the Glo

is suffering it would be true of Jesus days later it would be true of every one of the disciples and I’m going to say it’s true of disciples today still Jesus said as much to his disciples the very last night he was with them before he emerged from the garden or from The Upper Room actually and and he said it this way if the world hates you keep in mind that it hated me first if you belong to the world it would love you as its

own no big deal no problem as it is you do not belong to the world but you’ve chosen me and I’ve chosen you out of the world that’s why the world hates you remember the words I spoke to you no servant is greater than his master if they persecuted me they will persecute you as well so when suffering comes don’t be surprised that’s what he’s saying in John 15. Those words came out of there don’t be surprised it was part of the father’s plan and his

plan was a good one for his son on the mountain that day there was one who had been slow to understand who this Jesus was but Peter was not just moved to say I saw his glory I want to quote you his very words from First Peter chapter four by the way if you’re looking for a single book of the Bible that helps you in more practical and kind of personal ways when you’re suffering anybody need that kind of resource first Peter the whole book five

chapters it’s the suffering book of the New Testament it would be on par in my estimation with job in the old first Peter 4 the same Peter that was with Jesus Jesus James and John on the mountain dear friends do not be surprised at the painful trial that you are suffering he writes verse 12 as though something strange were happening to you you know why people think it’s strange because we’ve been sold a gospel that’s not completely accurate we’re sold this story that says come to

Jesus and every problem will be solved you’re never told come to Jesus and die like we started this talk with it’s true and it’s hard and and the fact is suffering will will come and some people’s response is that’s that’s freaking me out I did not have a place for that that’s the blue some strange ordeal were happening to you quoting again but Rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ so that you may be overjoyed when his glory when he returns someday amen that’s

got to help us through the hard times there is no better medicine for any of us than than Jesus we’re going to share communion and this morning I want you to with me take in something that is so common that’s easily missed but remember the simple truth that the bread and the cup represent they’re actually we’re told to remember that they they describe Jesus these are just a picture Jesus called attention to parts of a meal last night he was with his disciples the upper room

and he shared this time with them and he says hey guys this is a picture of me and my life crucified to pay the penalty for your sins there’s movement up here and it’s easy to forget what was just said this was given my body my life to pay the penalty for that was due for your sins for my sins moments before Jesus was arrested he passed through a garden that night it was not a peaceful ga

Transcript machine-generated from the sermon audio, so it may contain errors. 6,651 words.