We're on number three of pillars of Eternity. Everything that God is doing and has planned is pertaining to man. Can you imagine how great God is with all He has to do with the trillions and trillions of stars out there and billions of angels, and still his highest work is yours. When we think about the fact with all that God has to do, and think of the expanse of time and how it goes on in every direction, and in spite of all of this we're the most important thing that God has to do. People are God's highest business.
When you look in the mirror you got to quit looking at yourself as some scrub, no good fifth string. You're worth so much to God that everything He's doing is based on how he can help you. We talked about the value of man; we talked about the death of Jesus and the great time of Passover. Today I feel that this message is one of the most important of all of these great pillars. When I think about all that God has to do, one of the most important things is making a way where you can come back in where you can have some fellowship with Him.
One of God's pillars of eternity is the fact that He wants to talk with you and have some fellowship. That's where communion time is, communion means the intermingling of our spirits, our heart, it's a two way street. It's pretty hard for me to have communion with Nate here if Nate's looking around and has a thousand other things on his mind and I keep talking to him and I don't get anything back from him. That's just talking. But in a service I can hear the agreement of recognition of God's truth, I know we're having communion. This is a high priority with God. There are seven pillars of eternity and one of the most important is communion and fellowship with God.
Genesis the third chapter verses 8-10 and 23-24. There was a time when man enjoyed communion with God. It was so rich, so wonderful. In the cool of the day the Father came down and walked with Adam and Eve and there was fellowship. He came again one day and something happened. He came again in the cool of the day and Adam hid himself from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees in the garden and the Lord God called unto Adam and said unto him, "Where art thou?" And Adam said, "I heard your voice in the garden. And I was afraid because I was naked I hid myself." Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the Garden of Eden to till the ground from where he was taken. So he drove out the man and placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubim's and a flaming sword which turned everyway to keep the way of the tree of life.
Man had wonderful fellowship at one time but fellowship was broken and man walked away from God. He walked and got farther and farther away until man became so depraved. But God laid a plan where by man could be restored to fellowship. God wanted people in heaven who wanted to be there because they chose to be there. And before God ever made the world he made a plan whereby fellowship could be restored. Now for a long period of time, God did not lose touch with man but man could not come into His presence. He had to have a representative go in for man to God. God had a great veil hung in the tabernacle. The high priest went in once a year on the Day of Atonement. God kept contact with man, looking forward to a time when the veil would be removed and all mankind could come back into His presence again. Matthew 27:55. In this portion of scripture telling about that great sacrifice where Jesus' blood was shed, you see, Jesus when He died, He not only died one death, he died two deaths. In His physical death, he literally felt the flash of judgment. In that spiritual death He felt the sting of separation forever and He tasted that second death for us. In this death, verse 51, "and behold the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom and the earth did quake and the rocks rent." You notice in verse 50, "Jesus when He had cried again with a loud voice yielded up the ghost, Jesus Himself when He died had cried it is finished." And he died and when he died that veil which was a type of His flesh of the doorway into God's presence ripped from the top to the bottom. It was a thick veil, it was very heavy cloth woven but it wasn't torn as man would tear it. Man could not make a way into God's presence but God Himself reached down those heavy hands and He tore it open. He said, "it's my plan, it's a pillar of all of eternity that I find a way to restore man back, and here it is. And from the top God's side to the bottom the veil was rent. When Jesus died. And all mankind, Gentiles, Jews, Arabs, whoever who would come to Him because of that body that was torn, Jesus in His death, putting their faith in what He has done.
Hebrews 10:19-20. When Paul was in the presence of the Lord, God gave him a beautiful view of this. I think it's so terrific, the clarity and the unfolding of God's big plan here. He's talking about this death of Jesus and verse 10, "by which we are sanctified by the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all." I like it even in verse five where Jesus is speaking and he said, "a body has thou prepared me?" God's planning was so beautiful, that penalty that was due man could be taken care of. And then in verse 19 and 20, now because of what happened. "Having therefore brethren boldness to enter into the holiest, the place where God dwells, by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He has consecrated for us through the veil, that is to say His flesh."
Boldness, how bout it, have you been there lately? Have you had some communion and fellowship with God? Have you just chatted with Him like you can chat with a friend? Do you know that stereotyped prayers just don't get the job done? Stiff, formal worship smells in God's nostrils. His great desire is come, let's talk it over. Come, let's reason together, though your sins are like scarlet, when you come they will be white as snow. Though they are red like crimson they shall be as wool. Can you see how much God loved you? See His plan was to make the way so that you could come back into His heart. Don't you love Him?
Right where you're seated why don't you just look up and give Him a big thanks for what He's done for you. Father we thank you, we love you, we love you this morning, we're glad that you have made the way whereby we can come and have fellowship again. Praise God. Then he tells us since this is the case, since its open, let us draw near, let's come because He's called us and it's what we need. Draw near with a true heart and a full assurance of faith. Then the call that God has told us to issue to people is to come into this fellowship.
1 John 1:1-7. Here is the message that God has for the world today; it's for every one of us. "That which is from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and our hands have handled of the word of life, for the life was manifested and we have seen it and bear witness and show unto you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested unto us. That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you that you might have fellowship with us. And truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ."
He said we're telling you these things, we're writing it; we're declaring it so that you can have fellowship. The result, the purpose of every message that comes with a heartbeat is so that you can have fellowship. It's important to God. It's one of the pillars of eternity. It's that important to Him.
Then he goes on to say not only that you might have fellowship, but when you have fellowship your joy will be full, you can be happy again. "This then is the message that we have heard of him and declare unto you that God is Light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light we have fellowship one with another and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin." As we're walking arm in arm with Jesus in fellowship with Him things may fasten themselves on us but the great heart of God is beating, beating, beating and the blood is flowing, flowing to every part cleaning away our spiritual systems just as your heart keeps your body clean, it's a cleansing agent, it's a life giving agent. The blood of God. As long as God's heart is beating, while your faith is in Him you can be cleansed. There's cleansing every day, every hour.
When you go to sleep at night, you don't have close your eyes with fear hoping that if something happens to you and you die before you wake up, His heart keeps on beating all through the night keeping you cleansed, the blood of Jesus Christ God's Son cleanses us from all sin. Then in Revelation 3:20, Jesus Himself is making a call and He said, "behold I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come into Him and sup with him and he with Me." We'll have some fellowship, we will have some communion. And then he tells us in verse 17 of the last chapter in the Bible, he said, "the Spirit and the Bride say come," the veil is torn. The barrier has been destroyed, you can come now. And the Holy Spirit is so active today and is speaking and ministering to men and women everywhere and His message is this, "come, you can come now, God is inviting you to come and shake hands with Him. Come and have some fellowship." The Spirit says, "Come. The Bride which is the church, the church everywhere in these days is echoing the call come, come. God says, "You can come now."
That's why we read over in first John 1-7, telling you all of these things that you might have fellowship, you might be able to come and have fellowship again with God. Then he went on to say, "let him that thirsts, let him who hears say come." People are hearing the call, they're seeing what God is doing and they're echoing the words. Then those who are a thirst regardless of where they are, the call goes to them, "come and whosoever, let him come and take of the water of life freely." Hallelujah. I can't help in thinking of the restoration of fellowship through Jesus' death, through His body, I can't help but thinking of an incident I heard one time. There was a problem between a husband and wife. And the problem became so critical, it didn't seem as though they could settle it. They lost communication. They lived in the same house for awhile but it was like living with strangers. They got by with yes's and no's that was about it. They had lost communication. Finally the husband moved out, it's pretty hard to live in a place and keep your sanity if you don't have communication.
God feels the same way about you; He wants to communicate with you. But the husband moved out, their little six year old girl became very, very ill after they have been separated for a time. And everything was done that seemingly could be done. The mother had many, many nights that she could not ever sleep because her little daughter was sick. The doctor told the mother one day that it didn't seem like there was anything she responded to. No type of medication and so it's only a matter of time. Where's your husband? Would you call your husband, the desire of this little girl is that she at least gets a chance to see her daddy. The girl didn't know how sick she was but down inside she may have. So after a little search they found the father and he came, and the father and the mother still were not speaking, it was an embarrassment to the two of them to be in the same room. But the little girl told the mother would you kneel down by my bed and she did. She asked the father if he would kneel down at the other side of the cot, the father knelt down there. And then with the last little bit of strength that she had she reached out to her mother and took her hand. She reached over and she took her fathers hand and with what little bit of strength was left in that weakened body she pulled their hands together and held them there. This was the last thing that little girl did.
When I read that, and it has been numerous times that I've thought about it, how God has planned for us in that plan in restoring communication and fellowship. Jesus reached out with His Divine hand and took hold of the Father's hand. For God and man were enemies. The Word tells us this, you read it in Ephesians the 2nd chapter, and "while we were enemies we were reconciled by the death of His Son." Jesus reached up and took hold of God's big hand and with His human hand He reached down and took hold of ours. And there on the cross He pulled ours together. A man whose drifting enmity with God again had an open light of communication. Jesus did it and His death, the most important thing, one of the pillars that supports God's plan for the ages to come is the fact that He wanted you so badly that He took the very best that He had, Jesus, allowed Him to take our place in death that we might take Jesus' place in God's heart. Doesn't that make you love God? That's exactly what He did for us.
Today there's that constant reminder, that communion, communication has been restored. Then I think of the emblems of our communion service. I hear that loud message that because of what these stand for, my sin has been judged on Jesus' body. When God's wrath, God's justice, justice was met when God's wrath struck Jesus. My sins have been judged, yours have been judged. As you hold that piece of bread in your hand God is reminding you that right there your payment was paid in full, your dept was paid in full. Every sin that you could ever commit of all time, those that will ever be committed was placed on Him. Your sin was judged there. God knowing that we would need to be reminded of this gave us and told us to have services just like this. Where we remember when it happened and how it happened and we can be reminded ourselves and we can hurl this message in the face of the enemy.
As we hold the cup in our hands we can say, "My sins, every one, have been atoned. My body, my soul and my spirit can be free because of what Jesus has done." Now as Paul said I can come boldly before the throne of grace, boldly in fellowship with Him. Many, many people are still living, even believers as though the veil was still hanging. And they have no fellowship. They still feel that somehow they have to atone for their own sin. They live as though that veil is hanging. Worship is mechanical, a mechanical action, and a cold formal lifeless thing. Others are living as though this veil has to be torn every few days over and over and over again. In order to have peace with God each time they come there has to be a tearing again of the veil but God says He did it once and for all.
I think we ought to let the heavens echo with a loud hallelujah on that. Will you do it? Hallelujah. Praise God. Jesus did more than knock a homerun for you. He literally opened up a way for man to have fellowship, the most important thing of our lives. So the Spirit is saying, "Come," the Bride is saying, "come," those who hear are saying "come." His church is saying, "come" and then Jesus said, "I am here standing at the door knocking" because not only does God want to have that fellowship and communion but He wants to have it with you. Praise the name of the Lord. Praise God. "Jesus, you opened up a way, oh Jesus because of your love for us." Hallelujah. Praise God. Some of you have come this morning with such uncertainty, such a longing. You're thinking if only I could reach Him and have fellowship but you've held back. There have been some things that have stood in your way. God is telling you now the barriers are down, you can come. I had a young man in my office yesterday whose heart was so warmed. He came in and said he had been a member of another faith but that Jesus hadn't been as real as he desired. And someone allowed him to read the book where he read about what I'm talking to you about this morning. And he came in and we had some prayer. I felt God selected him to hear.
Now we're going to have communion right now. We're going to literally say, "Lord since you opened the door, I am coming." And as we partake, these emblems are given to us by God to remind us of the great plan that He has made. And I want just the breathing of your spirit to go out to Him in a two way communion and fellowship. There's healing in this communion. There's life in this communion, brand new life. There's hope in this communion, the darkness can be moved away. There's liberation from bondage, and from depression in communion with God because He is the Light. There's cleansing in this light. This communion is not only for believers but those of you who have come who have longed for fellowship with Jesus. I want you to come and by holding that cup in your hand, I want you to say, "Jesus my faith is in not in my ability or lack of ability. My faith is in what you have done for me."
As you hold it, I want that to be your prayer as you hold that cup and something is going to happen to you today. A new birth takes place, God becomes real. A whole new day dawns for you. So we encourage every person here, those who may have been following the Lord a far off. Those who may have been like Adam and Eve, hiding themselves from God, I want you to come out into the open. God is restoring fellowship with you today. Praise God.
When the Lord gave Himself, His atonement was for all three areas of your life. He took care of your spiritual sickness through the shedding of His blood. He took care of your emotional and your physical needs by the breaking of His body. So today as you partake you can literally draw from Him of His life. If you're depressed, depression must leave in the presence of Jesus. If there are bodily afflictions, God has your answer. Every communion service there are people who are healed in their seats who observe this communion. Our last communion service there was a man sitting right here in the front row. And as he lifted the glass to his lips the cataracts that were on his eyes that made everything seem like it was in a fog was blown back by the breath of God and it's still off, the fog is still gone. Because Jesus was there proving Himself. He took the very best that heaven had in order to make the plan that you might be brought back. God wanted us so badly. Today we express the same feeling. We want you more than anything in this whole life. We must have you Lord. And Jesus opened up the way.
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