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[0:00] If you haven't taken your children to our children's programming, you can do so now.! Father, as we come to your Word now, we want to hear your voice.

[0:51] Thank you for giving us the sacraments so we can see our redemption played out before us. And thank you for allowing us to have the covenantal baptism of this beautiful child, Aster.

[1:06] What a joy. Help us to remember our own baptisms. Help us to think back that, yes, we were baptized, and that means that we are to follow you.

[1:18] It means, especially as adults, if those who have professed faith in your name, that we believe we have been cleansed from our sins by your blood, the blood of your Son.

[1:29] And so, Lord, help us to live like it. Help us to take our stand against the forces of darkness, doing so in the name of Jesus and love with Him. And so we pray, Lord, that you would show us Jesus now as we open your Word, that we would see Him in His glory, and that we would be drawn to Him, and that, Lord, drawn to Him, we'd be drawn to you, Father.

[1:54] And that our lives would count for your kingdom each and every day. That we would give ourselves to the work of the Lord, knowing that our labor in the Lord is not in vain. So speak your Word to us now.

[2:06] Use you, unworthy servants. Speak your Word. Amen. Amen. May we hear and see the heart of Jesus. In His name we pray. Amen.

[2:18] John 17, 1-5, we'll begin looking at these verses today. When Jesus has spoken these words, He lifted up His eyes to heaven and said, Father, the hour has come.

[2:32] Glorify Your Son that Your Son may glorify You. Since You have given Him authority over all flesh to give eternal life to all whom You have given Him. And this is eternal life, that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.

[2:51] I glorified You on earth, having accomplished the work that You gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in Your own presence with the glory that I had with You before the world existed.

[3:08] That is the Word of the Lord. Please, please be seated. Thank you, Praise Team, once again for leading us so beautifully. Most organizations and even churches are afraid of a simple term.

[3:33] It's only two words. Mission creep. Mission creep is defined, and I'm going to give you the technical definition first. It's defined as the gradual expansion of an organization's projects or government's programs.

[3:53] The objectives of government programs. Beyond its original scope. Often leading to resource depletion, reduced effectiveness, and diluted core purpose.

[4:07] Now, you need to reflect on that to understand. But let me give you the Kevin Smith version of it, all right? You keep adding goals or programs that were not part of the original plan.

[4:19] And when you do that, you ended up depleting your financial or whatever resources you have because you're going beyond the scope of what you had originally planned.

[4:33] When mission creep happens, you won't get done the things you originally determined. The things you determined were most important. You will find yourself doing other things that are important, but they're just not the original goal.

[4:51] And the more important or more influential the work you're doing, the more important it is to avoid mission creep. And by the way, that phrase was originally termed for our military.

[5:06] It's a military term originally. Now, the most important work in history is what the Lord Jesus accomplished. But the world and even sometimes Christians are a bit fuzzy on what his mission was.

[5:25] And if we're fuzzy, we'll be guilty of mission creep. Other things, even good things, will take prominence. But it's still a huge disaster.

[5:39] So let's ask the most important question. What was Jesus' mission? Now, keep in mind where we are.

[5:50] Our Lord had just finished instructing his disciples. It begins in chapter 13, goes all the way to chapter 16. It's called the upper room discourse. It's his last teaching moment before his passion, before he goes to the cross.

[6:04] This is the night of his death. We are in that night. It's only maybe a few hours away when Jesus will be crucified. He began by teaching them about humble service as he washed the disciples' feet.

[6:18] And he ends it. He ends this discussion by uttering these words, Take heart, I've overcome the world. And I think they go together. Because in rendering humble service, Jesus overcame the world, including the prince of the world, the devil.

[6:37] And this leads to prayer. He goes, I mean, after he says that, it's like he says, now let's pray. It's the natural thing to do.

[6:50] After this amazing sermon he's just given his disciples, now he's got to pray it into them. This is the greatest prayer that's ever been prayed and is recorded for us.

[7:05] In it we hear the heart of our Lord, and therefore by studying this prayer, we get to know him better. John says, that's how I begin. John says he lifted his eyes towards heaven.

[7:18] This shows reverence and reality. For he knows his help and his home are not from here. Psalm 103 19 tells us, So the Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.

[7:37] So the Son of God, as it were, looks there to a higher throne, to a higher monarch, to a higher president, to a higher czar.

[7:53] He looks there. And the night of his betrayal, on the night of his suffering, when his life will be in the hands of leaders, of the Jews, and one of the leaders of the greatest nation of that time.

[8:07] But his life is not in their hands. He looks higher. They built thrones that would be raised up.

[8:19] Thrones, sometimes of precious metal and precious stones, raised up and exalted. But there's a higher throne. There's someone higher than your boss.

[8:32] There's someone higher than our mayor. There's someone higher than the president of the United States. There's someone higher. And this is what prayer is.

[8:42] It is looking beyond what we see, to him who is invisible, but is very, very powerful and present. He looks up. Is this how you pray?

[8:56] Is this how you pray? You look up to the majesty on high. You look up with reverence and awe. Is this how you pray? You look to someone greater than yourself.

[9:11] Someone who can truly do what needs to be done. Now, the Lord's prayer breaks down into three parts. The Lord prays for himself in verses 1 through 5.

[9:22] Then he prays for his immediate disciples in verses 6 through 19. And lastly, he prays for all his disciples throughout history, verses 20 to 26.

[9:32] So it breaks down into three parts. But most of the prayer, as I just said, is for his disciples, which makes this an intercessory prayer.

[9:46] Jesus, down through the ages, this prayer has been called his high priestly prayer. Here we see the great high priest interceding for his people.

[10:02] But why? But that idea of him being a great high priest is significant here. Very significant. Because you know the story, don't you? The Jewish high priest, this is Leviticus 16, the Jewish high priest was the one who went before God once a year to represent the entire nation.

[10:21] In that time, he would make atonement for his own sins and that of the priests by offering the blood of a bull whose body would then be burned.

[10:35] And he would take some of the blood. He would go into the most holy place, the holy of holies, and he would take the blood of that bull and he would sprinkle that blood upon the mercy seat, which was the cover of the Ark of the Covenant.

[10:52] Many theologians call that the throne of God, as it were, before Christ came. In this place, he was only allowed to go once a year.

[11:05] Because to go more than that would be death. Once a year, God permitted a sinner into his presence to represent the people.

[11:18] But then he would also lead the other priests and they would take two goats, which they would slaughter. One goat would be dedicated to God and his blood would be sprinkled again on the mercy seat as a sin offering for the people.

[11:33] The other goat was called the scapegoat. Amen. What a phrase. We use it all the time, don't we? It comes from that situation. The high priest would confess the sins of the people over this goat.

[11:49] So it was symbolic. He would actually lay his hands on it. And maybe he would read a list. I don't know how he would do it exactly, but he would confess their sins. And then that goat would be taken and led out into the wilderness and lost.

[12:05] There's a story that says they pushed it over a cliff to make sure it didn't come back. We don't know that for sure.

[12:15] That's the story. But they would lose him in the wilderness. The idea here was that God was removing the people's sins from them and even symbolically, and this is only symbolically, from his sight.

[12:33] According to the book of Hebrews, our Lord Jesus is now this great and eternal high priest.

[12:46] In Hebrews 9, 11 through 14, that might not be on your screen, but here's what the writer of Hebrews says. But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent, not made with hands, that is, none of this creation, he entered, the more perfect tent, the more perfect temple, he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves, but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.

[13:23] For if the blood of goats and bulls and the sprinkling of defiled persons with ashes of a heifer sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

[13:52] Here we have a better sacrifice. We have a better high priest. We have a great and eternal high priest who does not go into the sanctuary of the temple of heaven, as it were.

[14:05] No, to offer the blood of animals, he goes to that great temple to offer himself. The eternal son of God will offer his blood that our conscience might be cleansed from works that lead to death.

[14:24] See, this is not just a cleansing of the flesh, it's a cleansing of our soul. soul. It goes down deep so that now before God, we can stand before him with a clear conscience, not because we haven't sinned, but because one has paid the price for our sins and declared us righteous and cleansed us from our sins with his own blood.

[14:51] Hallelujah. I feel like preaching this morning. But in the time of our Lord, there were other customs that had been established and they're relevant too. The high priest had specific preparations.

[15:05] He cleansed himself, now, this is the night before, he cleansed himself by ritual washing and engaged in an all-night vigil. That's a prayer vigil. Now, several men were appointed to help him stay awake all night to pray.

[15:23] They kept nudging him. Gave him some nint. Some chewing gum. He rubbed his feet. I don't know, but they kept him awake.

[15:35] The same thing moms do in church when their kids are trying to go to sleep and their husbands too for that matter. Never mind. I'll keep yelling to keep you awake. I'm trying here. The high priest would pray for himself and his ministry before the Lord that he was about to commit to, that he was about to do.

[15:53] He made intersection for all the other priests and then he prayed for all the people. In our passage, Jesus is consecrating himself.

[16:04] Verse 19, he's consecrated himself and later, you see him in the garden of Gethsemane praying. He takes three men with him. They're supposed to watch with him.

[16:17] They ain't got to keep him awake, but they're supposed to watch with him. And what did they do? They go to sleep. They failed in their duty. They go to sleep.

[16:29] But our Lord, being the great high priest and the final atonement for sin, creating this new covenant, is following the same pattern.

[16:42] So let's be in awe. Let it blow your mind how he begins his prayer to the Father. Because we're stepping into the Holy of Holies as we listen to the heart of the Son of God go to his Father for us.

[17:01] But first of all, for himself. Our Lord, as he looks to the cross, is focused on accomplishing his mission.

[17:14] What was that mission? Our Lord's purpose, our Lord's mission, was a mission of glory. That's how he begins. Verse 1, that's how he begins.

[17:26] And it continues all the way to verse 5, but verse 1. Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you.

[17:37] That, the hour has come. This is the night. He had said before the hour had not come. But beginning this night, this is not the first time he said this, this night. He started in chapter 13 when they brought some Gentiles to him and they said, we would see Jesus.

[17:54] And they brought them to Jesus. And Jesus said, now it's time. This is it. Now, this is really the final, final, final minutes of the hour, as it were.

[18:06] Where he will offer himself to God as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of his people throughout history. the old covenant saints are covered under the sacrifice. The new covenant saints are covered under the sacrifice and so are we.

[18:22] He is the Lamb of God whose blood cleanses for all time. And what is his priority at this moment? What is on his mind? What is most? Isn't that how we pray?

[18:33] We pray what is most important to us. And if it's really something really, really, really important, we start with it.

[18:45] I don't care whatever else we need to pray for, but if something is really, really hurting us or in front of us, we will start with that. That's not wrong.

[18:58] But here's the problem. As human beings, we often think of salvation in terms of what does it do for me? That's not wrong either. What good is a salvation that doesn't save us?

[19:12] But there's a higher purpose. What does salvation do for God? And now keep in mind, God needs nothing.

[19:24] He needs nothing, so we must not think of salvation or anything that we might do as supplying something that God needs. You often hear people at funerals say when someone dies, God needed them more.

[19:41] Poppycock! He needs no one and no thing. If he dies, we're in trouble. No, but according to Jesus' prayer, his mission had an ultimate goal.

[19:59] He prays for the glory of his Father and he prays for his own glory. I know what you're thinking. Jesus came to save us.

[20:09] That's the mission. He said in Luke 19.10, for the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost. John 10.10, the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

[20:23] Yes, Jesus often used this kind of language, but our salvation is not the ultimate goal of God. I said ultimate goal.

[20:35] It's a goal. But it's a goal that serves the ultimate goal. Five times in these five verses, he mentions his glory or the Father's glory.

[20:48] Jesus came to glorify the Father. That is the driving force here of his life. His great purpose and great mission. He would do whatever it took to glorify his Father.

[21:03] Our salvation's purpose is the glory of God. Now, let's be clear about what we mean by glory. One writer said, glory is the outshining of God's holiness.

[21:17] In the Old Testament, you remember the Hebrew word for glory means heavy. You've heard this before. Come on.

[21:29] Heavy. The word kavod, that's the word for glory in the Old Testament. It means heavy. Human beings are said to be heavy or to have weight, which implies wealth and power.

[21:43] We use the word weight in a similar fashion. We say, that argument has weight or carries weight, meaning it's important, it's credible, it's significant, or it's strongly supported by evidence.

[22:00] Something has weight. But the greatest use of the idea is in relation to God. In Isaiah 6, 3, you have the cry of the seraphim, the flame-like beings.

[22:14] That's what that means. Seraphim means flame-like, burning ones. These angels who are flying and hovering around God in Isaiah chapter 6. That's when Isaiah is called to be a prophet.

[22:25] And it's near there. So you can imagine this light show around the glory of God. And they cry out. Remember what they cry out? Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts.

[22:39] Host means armies, by the way. He has the greatest army ever. The whole earth is full of His glory. The whole earth cries out that God is the super heavy weight of the universe.

[22:59] No one or nor thing has more weight than God. That is, nothing is more important. Nothing has, or no one has more power. Nothing is greater.

[23:10] Nothing has more significance. Because God is the ultimate reality. As such, He should weigh heaviest on our minds and thoughts.

[23:22] Our minds and thoughts, brothers and sisters, when you see the glory of God in Christ, your mind and your thoughts get caught up. It drives out other things.

[23:33] It drives out other concerns when you see Jesus. There's something about seeing Jesus that preoccupies you. It's like a, it's like a light show going off in your soul.

[23:45] And you can't concentrate on anything else at that moment. That's why we must go to the Scriptures more often to see His glory. Because we're so easily sidetracked.

[23:57] We're so easily distracted. We're so easily let down. We're so easily frustrated. We're so easily to give up because we don't see the glory. Glory is the visible manifestation of God's holiness.

[24:16] His other, holiness meaning His otherness. He's not like us. He's so far above and beyond us that if He didn't stoop to talk, baby talk to us, we'd never be able to understand anything about Him.

[24:28] He, we're like, think of it this way. Does an ant understand human beings? That's how it would be. We would never be able to comprehend Him if He did not reveal Himself in a way that we could understand.

[24:42] And ultimately, He reveals Himself in Christ. In Jesus, you see the glory of God. You see the glory of the face of God in Christ Jesus.

[24:55] And you understand Him more. John Piper said, glory is the manifestation of God's holiness and greatness. It reflects God's infinite worth and beauty.

[25:08] And emphasizing that glory is both a quality of God and a response from creation. In other words, glory is in God, but when you see the glory, you give glory to God.

[25:23] When you see Him, you begin to realize He deserves everything. He deserves your faith, your ultimate confidence. He deserves your love.

[25:35] He deserves your heart. And all that you possess, He deserves it all. When we rightly see His glory, we glorify Him in obedient worship and fear and trembling.

[25:50] Sometimes His glory is seen as an unapproachable light. Paul talks about that in 1 Timothy 6.16. But God also gives glory by what He does, either in salvation or in judgment.

[26:06] God's acts bring Him glory. But His greatest glory, we're going to stop here, but His greatest glory is seen when He sends this great high priest, this one who looks like us, walks like us, talks like us.

[26:34] When He sends this great high priest to be one of us, and to represent us in His presence, this great high priest turned to seed for us and be our Savior.

[26:48] I love how Hebrews 4 describes Jesus as our high priest, verses 14 and 15. Since then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God.

[27:02] Let us hold fast our confession, a confession of Him. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who is in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

[27:21] So let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

[27:32] our great high priest represents us as He seeks the glory of His Father and that He too might return to His glory. He represents us.

[27:44] He stands in our place. He understands our weakness, our frailty. He understands. He gets us. He really does.

[27:55] No one else does. He does. He gets us. He gets you. He understands why you're weak. He understands why your faith is frail.

[28:06] He understands why you want to give up. He understands why you're angry. He understands why your body hurts. He understands. For He too was given an earthly body.

[28:22] I'm reminded of the story where, well not a story really, it's because it's really true. I had the privilege of watching my, I've told this before, but my wife gave birth to four children and I remember, I think, help me out Jeannie, out of the four, I think you had two male doctors and two female doctors or was it three male doctors?

[28:42] Was it two and two? Yeah, two and two. She had two male doctors and two female doctors out of the four. And I'm convinced that those male doctors, they understood anatomy and physiology and they understood what was supposed to happen, you know, the contractions and the pain that she was in.

[29:01] They understood these things were happening and so they were trained to sympathize with her and to give her medication and to give support as best they could, you know. But I'm convinced that when, but the female doctors though was a different category, especially if they were mothers.

[29:18] You see, they not only understood the physiology and the biology and all the science here, the medicine, but they understood, they understood literally what it meant to have a contraction.

[29:32] They understood when she needed ice chips. They understood when she needed somebody to rub her back. They understood, I mean, because they experienced it. They lived it.

[29:42] But, you know, you have a great high priest who's lived it. He didn't sin, but he's lived your frailty.

[29:58] He gets you and he did it that he might glorify his father and that now he too will return to glory. Your salvation is one big glory, God glorifying moment.

[30:14] And in that glory, listen, in that glory, you will find glory too because you will be glorified in his presence.

[30:26] He will make you what you were supposed to be finally and fully in body and in soul that you may be like him who represents you and who loves you.

[30:38] Father, please help us. Please help us to see the glory of our Savior please help us keep us from mission creep where so many other things pull us away and good things.

[30:57] But, Father, help us to see that as he sought your glory, we must seek your glory. We must seek to declare to the world that you are great and glorious and good and holy and loving and forgiving and that you also are God of justice and you will not allow the guilty to go free.

[31:20] You've said that yourself. Our only hope is that we surrender to Jesus and find his cleansing. Help us to glorify you, oh Father, and telling the world and living for him who glorified you with his last breath and you glorified him by giving him the name above every name that the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and earth and under the earth and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord for your glory, Father, for your glory.

[31:56] In his name we ask your help. Amen. Amen. Elders, will you please come so we can serve the supper?

[32:07] Well, the table is obvious.

[32:25] Can't get more obvious now, I don't think. It's a table of glory. Where is God's glory most visibly seen?

[32:37] The cross. The cross is where God's love and justice, reality, and holiness all come together.

[32:53] There's no better vision of the God of heaven than looking at the Son of God suspended between heaven and earth to satisfy divine justice and to save his people.

[33:10] This table is about the cross. It's a table of glory. So I want to encourage you to come to the table today and ask God to open your eyes to remove our spiritual cataracts so we can see the glory of Jesus.

[33:32] So we can see beyond the elements and see him and the cross and see his love for people who are messed up and we're all messed up.

[33:43] But we don't stay that way. He's perfecting. He's working. And one day, brothers and sisters, you won't be messed up anymore. He's coming.

[33:56] And when he comes, you and I will be set right. I'm looking forward to being not messed up, y'all.

[34:10] I'm looking forward to beholding this glory. That's why when you hear about these near-death experiences, people go to heaven. If they don't see the glory of Jesus, I'm not sure they went to heaven.

[34:27] That's all I got to say. The Lord's Supper is that table where Jesus prepares for us. He's the host of this table. And he invites us to come and feast upon him.

[34:42] Feast upon him spiritually. Not literally upon his body and blood, but spiritually upon his body and blood. Paul, writing about this supper, says, I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you.

[34:56] He's talking about this supper. That the Lord Jesus, on the night when he was betrayed, the night we're studying in John 17, he took bread. We've already seen this part. And when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, this is my body which is for you.

[35:08] Do this in remembrance of me. In the same way, also, he took the cup after supper, saying, this cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me.

[35:20] I believe we're past the supper. After the supper, John 17, we're in that section as he goes to Gethsemane to pray and be arrested.

[35:31] Then he says, Paul says, whoever eats and drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord.

[35:45] Let a person examine himself or herself then. And so, eat of the bread and drink of the cup. Examine yourself. Are you in Christ? That's really the big issue.

[35:57] Do you belong to Jesus? Are you a disciple? That's really the big question. Who are you? For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.

[36:13] That is why many of you are weak and ill and some have died. Can you imagine what this means at that church? They abused the Lord's table and they were weak, ill, and dead.

[36:29] That's physical death, by the way. God disciplined his people. He's not saying we don't have to be perfect. No one's saying you should be perfect, but are you in Christ?

[36:42] And in this context, are you in right relation to his body, his people? Because they were having all kinds of conflict within the church. Are you in right relation with the body of Christ?

[36:55] Christ. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world. So this table is serious.

[37:07] That's why we always ask that children do not be given the supper until they meet with the session and give their testimony of faith. I don't think God's going to strike children.

[37:17] I don't believe that. But I do think he'll discipline their parents. So take this seriously and come confessing your sins and limping to the table.

[37:33] Because Christ isn't after perfect disciples. He will perfect us himself. He's after sincere disciples who trust in him, who love him, and in their brokenness and messed upness adore him.

[37:54] Father, as we come to this table, may we come looking for help. We're looking for your healing. We're looking for your healing in our emotions, in our hearts.

[38:05] We come to this table to feast upon Christ, to eat and be made strong. We need sustenance, Father. We're weak. We need sustenance. Feed us. So that, Lord, we can go out this place strong, standing firm in Christ, even if we have to crawl out these doors.

[38:24] But we're firm in Jesus. So help us now. Meet us at this table even as you have met us in the word and singing and pray and praise. You've met us.

[38:35] Now meet us at this table, we ask. And Father, keep anyone from eating up this table if they don't belong to Jesus. And I pray that tonight, today, would be their day to fully just surrender themselves to Jesus, to come to Jesus, to stop playing around with Jesus and surrender to Him, giving themselves to Him who can cleanse them from their sins and change their lives.

[38:59] Help them to do that. In Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. The body of the Lord for you as people.

[39:13] Amen. Amen. Will the shadows deepen?

[39:36] We do. Do you know that all the dark won't stop the light from getting through? We do.

[39:49] Do you wish that you could see it all made new? We do.

[40:03] Is all creation groaning? Is a new creation dawning?

[40:17] Is the glory of the Lord to be the light within our midst?

[40:28] Is it good that we remind ourselves of this? It is.

[40:42] Is anyone worthy? Is anyone whole? Is anyone able to break the seal and open the scroll?

[40:56] Is the Lion of Judah? Is the author in the grave? Is David's fruit and lamb of the night? Is the rest of the slave?

[41:09] Is he worthy? Is he worthy? Is he worthy? Of all blessing and honor and glory?

[41:22] Is he worthy of his gifts? Does the Father truly love us?

[41:40] Does the Spirit move upon us? He does. And does Jesus our Messiah hold forever those who die?

[41:57] He does. Does our God intend to dwell again with us? He does.

[42:10] Oh, is anyone worthy? Is anyone holy? Is anyone able to break the seal and open the scroll?

[42:25] The Lion of Judah who conquered the grave. He has stayed in truth and the Lamb who died to wrestle the slave.

[42:37] From every people that died. From every nation and tongue. He has made us a kingdom and priests to God.

[42:49] To reign with the Son. Is He worthy? Is He worthy? Is He worthy? Of all blessing and honor and glory?

[43:03] Is He worthy? Is He worthy? Is He worthy? Is He worthy? Is He worthy of this?

[43:17] Is He worthy? Is He worthy? Is He worthy? He is, He is, He is worthy, is He worthy?

[43:36] He is, He is, He is worthy, He is worthy, He is, He is, He is.

[43:58] He is, He is worthy, He is, He is, He is worthy, He is worthy, He is.

[44:28] Whatever you're going through, He is worthy, the body of the Lord for you as people. After supper, the Bible tells us our Lord took the cup.

[45:07] Originally, of course, it was Passover, and this was a Passover symbol. He took the cup and He changed everything. no more bulls and goats can you imagine how bloody that was when they would sacrifice and there were sometimes thousands that would do that for big events can you, I just one sacrifice cleansed forever by the blood of Jesus take those go go Thank you.

[46:19] Thank you.

[46:49] Thank you.

[47:19] Thank you.

[47:49] Thank you.

[48:19] Thank you.

[48:49] Thank you.

[49:19] Thank you.

[49:49] Thank you.

[50:19] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Which makes us even more marveled and be so blessed that Jesus would take upon himself our sins.

[50:36] Let it wash over you. Let the blood of Jesus wash over you as well. For you. Amen. Everyone, please stand.

[50:56] Let's sing this closing song. The love that Jesus shared for me Way back, way back on glory The love that gives me strength From day to day If I'll never lose its heart For it reaches to the highest mountain And it goes to the lowest valley

[51:59] I know the love that gives me strength From day to day If I'll never lose its heart It soothes my doubts And calls my fears And it shines And it shines all my tears The love that gives me strength From day to day And it will never lose its heart

[52:59] I'm so glad It reaches to the highest mountain And it goes to the lowest valley I'll never lose its heart I'll never lose its heart From day to day If I'll never lose its heart And it goes to the lowest valley I'll never lose its heart And it goes to the lowest valley To the lowest valley

[54:04] If I'll never lose its heart And it goes to the lowest valley I'll never lose its heart And it goes to the lowest valley To day to day If I'll never lose its heart It will never rule its power.

[54:36] Amen. Amen. Amen. We will return to our studies in John 17 after Easter, just to give you a little bit of a time frame.

[54:52] Hear now God's blessing upon you. Now may the God of peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep by the blood of the eternal covenant, may he equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in you that which is pleasing in his sight.

[55:17] Through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever and ever and ever. And all God's people said, Amen. Amen. Amen. God be with you until we meet again God be with you

[56:20]  God be with you God be with you until we meet again Peace of Christ to you