The Table and the Lampstand

[0:00] Please open your Bibles to the book of Exodus, chapter 25, and today we'll be looking at verses 23 through the end of the chapter, verse 40, 23 through 40.

[0:30] You shall make a table of acacia wood.

[0:46] Two cubits shall be its length, a cubit its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height. You shall overlay it with pure gold and make a molding of gold around it.

[0:58] And you shall make a rim around it, a hands breadth wide, and a molding of gold around the rim. And you shall make for it four rings of gold and fasten the rings to the four corners at its four leads.

[1:18] Close to the frame, the ring shall lie as holders for the pole to carry the table. You shall make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold.

[1:29] And the table shall be carried with these. And you shall make its plates and dishes for incense and its flagons and bowls with which to pour drink offerings.

[1:41] You shall make them of pure gold. And you shall set the bread of the presence on the table before me regularly. You shall make a lampstand of pure gold. The lampstand shall be made of hammered work.

[1:54] Its base, its stem, its cups, its calluses, and its flowers shall be of one piece with it. And there shall be six branches going out of its sides.

[2:09] Three branches of the lampstand out on one side of it. And three branches of the lampstand out on the other side of it. Three cups made like almond blossoms, each with callets and flower on one branch.

[2:24] And three cups made like almond blossoms, each with callets and flower on the other branch. So the six branches going out of the lampstand. And on the lampstand itself, there shall be four cups made like almond blossoms, with their callets and flowers.

[2:44] And a callets of one piece with it under each pair of the six branches going out from the lampstand. Their callets and their branches shall be of one piece with it.

[2:56] The whole of it, a single piece of hammered work of pure gold. You shall make seven lamps for it. And the lamp shall be set up so as to give light on the space in front of it.

[3:08] Its tongs and their trays shall be of pure gold. It shall be made with all these utensils out of a talent of pure gold. And see that you make them after the pattern for them which is being shown to you on the mountain.

[3:23] Let's pray together. Dear Heavenly Fathers, we continue to look at the tabernacle and this part of Exodus.

[3:34] Lord, we pray that we would see the importance of these pieces of furniture. That we would consider the pattern that they are made after. That you would be glorified in the preaching. That your people would be, Lord, edified and encouraged in the worship of you.

[3:49] We pray in Christ's name. Amen. Amen. All right. So last week we looked at the Holy of Holies. And we talked about there was one piece of furniture in the Holy of Holies.

[4:00] The Ark of the Covenant. And so we talked about what that looked like and how it was described. Now we're moving out of the Holy of Holies into what's called the Holy Place. So almost as it were one degree of holy versus the Holy of Holies.

[4:13] But the Holy Place, which is the next most sacred area. So we're kind of working. It's kind of situated in squares, triangles, cubes.

[4:24] But if you can think of concentric circles, we're moving from the holiest place to the next holy place and working our way outward. And we talked about how God had designed it that way in the book of Exodus.

[4:36] Probably not the way we would have thought of it. We might have started with here's what the tabernacle is like. And as you go inside, it looks like this. And as you go further inside. But God started with the holiest part and is working his way outward from there.

[4:49] And so today I want us to consider two items of furniture. The lamp stand and the table. Or the table and the lamp stand. They faced each other in the holy place.

[5:00] One was on the northern wall. The table was on the northern wall. And the lamp stand was on the southern wall. The tabernacle was always situated the same direction. Facing the same direction.

[5:12] And so it's always that the table was on the northern wall. And the lamp stand on the southern wall. And they would face one another. And the lamp stand would shed light upon the table. There's one other piece of furniture in the holy place that has not been covered yet in our reading.

[5:29] And that's the altar of incense. And that was more directly in front of the holy of holies. If that helps you get a picture of what we're looking at. So let's look at these two pieces of furniture.

[5:40] The table and the bread of the presence first. Maybe you notice that the instructions for the table of the bread of presence is very similar to the Ark of the Covenant.

[5:54] Made of the same wood. Even the dimensions are very similar. But this is an open table instead of being a chest to hold something. And on the top there was a rim that went around it.

[6:06] And what sat on it was the bread of the presence along with other utensils. And the bread of the presence is really described in greater detail in Leviticus 24, 5-9.

[6:16] But we see there that there were five, I'm sorry, there were 12 loaves of bread. And we can already begin to think what does 12 remind us of, the 12 tribes of Israel. And they were situated a certain way.

[6:27] But let's read there Leviticus 24, 5-9. Verse 12, 5-9.

[7:00] Aaron shall arrange it before the Lord regularly. It is from the people of Israel as a covenant forever. And it shall be for Aaron and his sons.

[7:10] They shall eat it in a holy place since it is for him a most holy portion out of the Lord's food offerings, a perpetual due. So that gives us a much greater detail.

[7:24] Much greater detail of what's going on there. And why this table was there. It held something that was always there. The bread of the presence. And this was holy bread.

[7:34] It was consecrated to God. And it would sit there on the table for a week. And then every Sabbath day, Aaron and the priest would eat the bread.

[7:46] And there would be new bread that they would bake. And they would replace the bread with new bread. And again, it would sit there a week before God. And then they'd eat it. You also saw that there was frankincense that they put on it.

[8:01] I've never tasted frankincense. I'm not sure how that went over in terms of the taste of it. My wife will sometimes make a Jamaican dish festival. And it has rose water in it.

[8:13] And it gives a certain kind of taste to it. And I imagine it was something similar to that. But frankincense would be placed on top. But this holy bread was bread that was consecrated unto God.

[8:24] And then ultimately to the priest that could partake of it after a week of it being there before the presence of God. 1 Samuel 21.4. You may remember this account of the bread of presence.

[8:38] It's probably the most familiar one to most of us. And the priest answered David. This is when David's fleeing Saul. You remember? He goes to the priest and he asks for food. And the priest answered David.

[8:49] I have no common bread on hand. But there is holy bread. If the young men have kept themselves from women. So Himalek gives the bread to David to eat when he's fleeing from Saul.

[9:00] And we know here it's holy bread. It's been set apart. It's to be for the priest. And yet in this one instance we know that God allowed that it be given to David. Matthew 12.3-4.

[9:14] Jesus addresses this specific example. He said to them. Have you not read what David did when he was hungry? And those who were with him. How he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the presence.

[9:25] Which it was not lawful for him to eat. Nor for those who were with him. But only for the priest. So I bring that up just to help us understand what this bread is. I'm in no way attempting to explain how David entered and was able to eat it.

[9:39] Especially Jesus makes the point that it's for the priest. And so this is a holy bread consecrated to God as a food offering that ultimately was eaten by the priest.

[9:51] So what's the meaning of the bread? What's the importance of it? In some ways the table is not the important thing. It's what's on the table that's important. So one we see that it's tied to the covenant.

[10:03] We read that earlier in Leviticus 24 verse 8. Every Sabbath day Aaron shall arrange it before the Lord regularly. It is from the people of Israel as a covenant forever.

[10:14] And so what's being symbolized of the bread of the presence in some way is the faithfulness of God and his people to the covenant. Now remember we just had the covenant.

[10:26] The covenant was just given. Moses is given the instructions to build a tabernacle. When he comes down off the mountain he's going to come with the tables of the law. The Ten Commandments. Really the basis of God's covenant with his people.

[10:39] And they're going to pledge as we've seen already they've pledged. That they will keep the law. Well the bread of the presence is a reminder of God's presence and the covenant. Faithfulness by God's people.

[10:51] Faithfulness by God to the covenant. Now one reason it may be called the bread of presence is because what is God's covenant promise? We saw some of it in Abraham earlier.

[11:06] But what's God's covenant promise? He will be our God and we will be his people. He will dwell among us. Remember everything we saw at the very beginning of the restoration of the Garden of Eden and then some.

[11:21] An improvement upon the Garden of Eden. God's going to dwell with his people. So the bread there is meant to remind them of God's presence which is his faithfulness to the covenant. It also speaks of communion that God has with his people and the people have with God.

[11:38] Ian Campbell says the table speaks of the substance of that fellowship. And the effects of Christ's atonement. Communion and fellowship with God through our feeding upon life giving bread.

[11:50] And so already he's getting some to where I will go with application. But this bread represents Christ. And the communion that we have with God through Christ. So we think about when we eat with someone it's usually a sign of fellowship.

[12:10] Communion. Right? You invite someone over to your house. You have dinner with them. You're building relationship. You're building a communion with them. And so this idea of having this table of bread set before God's people is meant to represent that.

[12:25] In 1 Corinthians 10, we'll look there in just a moment. But it's speaking of Israel in the wilderness as an example. And in some ways a negative example. Not to follow their sin, their disobedience.

[12:37] And then we come to 1 Corinthians 10, 20-21 and we read this. Now again, this is difficult to understand.

[13:02] But what's being communicated in 1 Corinthians 10 is this. That food sacrificed to idols when we know it sacrificed to idols. It's been sacrificed not ultimately to the idol. But to the demon represented by the idol.

[13:14] And partaking of the food or the drink is our participation in the demon. Much as our taking of the Lord's table is a participation in Christ.

[13:26] And so the idea of communion is here with the bread. If we're going to eat this bread, we become partakers of that relationship with God.

[13:41] Also in 1 Corinthians 10, just before what we saw, we have this about the Lord's Supper. The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ?

[13:53] The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.

[14:04] And so a participation in the body of Christ. So this bread is symbolizing the presence of God with them. Their participation in God by covenant with him.

[14:15] That ultimately would be more fulfilled in Christ. Through union with Christ. Through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. And ultimately looking to our being in heaven with him. It also served the purpose of provision since it fed the priests weekly.

[14:31] It pointed to God's provision for his people. Through the manna, each and every day. How God continued to sustain his people. It showed their dependence upon God.

[14:44] I think especially to the priests. Where they waited each week to be able to eat the bread. And know that they're depending upon God to supply all that they need. It's also a reminder that God himself is all that we really need.

[15:01] Maybe we can think of this bread of the presence as an Old Testament example of the Lord's prayer. Give us this day our daily bread. And of course it points to Jesus Christ who is the true bread.

[15:17] Right? This is what Jesus said in his ministry. John 6, 32-35. Jesus then said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you.

[15:30] It was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven. But my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven. And gives life to the world.

[15:42] Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me shall not hunger. And whoever believes in me shall never thirst. And so this bread here that's meant to symbolize God's presence, his covenant faithfulness, pointed forward to Christ who is the true bread.

[16:01] In this instance, specifically the true manna. Moses gave you manna. But it's God the Father who ultimately gave the manna. And he gives you a greater bread which is the Lord. So that we come to him hungry and know that we'll never hunger again.

[16:16] He is, again, what we need. A.W. Pink explains it this way. He says, And so it's a reminder.

[16:36] It points to the fact that Christ is the one who sustains that fellowship. Who keeps that covenant for us. Who allows us to be in the presence of God.

[16:48] And then directly across from it we have the lampstand. The lampstand was hammered out of one piece of gold.

[16:59] Had a central shaft and then three branches on each side which made for seven branches. God's number of completeness. And the branches were all identical.

[17:13] You may have caught there that they resembled the fruit of a tree. Specifically almond blossom. Look at verse 33 of our text. Three cups made like almond blossoms each with callets and flower.

[17:29] And one branch. And three cups made like almond blossoms each with callets and flower on the other branch. And so both sides were identical. And they both resembled an almond flower.

[17:41] Or almond blossom. With the fruit and the callets which is the leaves that would surround it. So it really had all stages. It had the leaves. It had the blossom. The flower. It had the bud.

[17:52] It had the bud. And it had the almond. All being represented here in this lampstand. John Curid says that this is the picture we have here.

[18:04] This one dimensional as it were. Seven branch lampstand is a typical stylized tree in Near Eastern art. This is how you might draw a tree.

[18:16] Not getting overly complicated. If you were to make a stick figure type tree. You have these branches going up. And so without question. The lampstand is representative of a tree.

[18:29] Right? We have the leaves. We have the flowers. We have the blossom. The bud. We have the almonds. And on each branch. There was a lamp that was placed there.

[18:41] So this is a lampstand. It is not a candle stand. It held lamps. And these lamps contained pure olive oil. We know that from Leviticus 24 verse 2.

[18:52] And they would have had a wick. Much like we would think of that type of lamp. And the lampstand was to be made of one pure talent of gold.

[19:06] Now talent would have weighed roughly around 75 pounds in our measurement. So it was to be made of 75 pounds of pure gold. Which in our day and age would be worth around today.

[19:19] Two and a quarter million dollars for one lampstand. 75 pound lampstand. So this is no small little lampstand like we might think of. It's not like our little electric lampstands over here on the wall.

[19:33] 75 pound large lampstand made of gold. Pure gold. And the purpose we're told is at least partly or primarily even to shed light upon the table of presents.

[19:48] It's to burn continually. You think about the fact that there were four layers to the covering of the tabernacle. It would have been dark in there.

[20:00] And so this lampstand provided light within the holy place. Specifically upon the table of the presents. What's the meaning of this? Why have this lampstand?

[20:10] Well we know that there's a need for light. They could have carried light inside. Why have this permanent lampstand there? Well again don't forget verse 40. We looked at last week.

[20:22] And see that you make them after the pattern for them which is being shown you on the mountain. So somehow this lampstand is relevant to the original as it were in heaven.

[20:37] It's representative of something there. Hebrews 8.5 says they serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to rent the tent. He was instructed by God saying.

[20:49] See that you make everything according to the pattern. That was shown you on the mountain. So this lampstand is a copy and a shadow of a heavenly reality. Well we know there's probably some truth to the fact that it's God's light shining in the covenant community.

[21:10] Number 6.25. The Lord make his face to shine upon you. And be gracious to you. There's some reality of the fact that God it is who sheds light upon them. But think in light of the tree.

[21:22] And think again of what I argued before of the Garden of Eden. What's being represented to us in the tabernacle is really a new garden.

[21:35] Or a new temple. And we think of the Garden of Eden as itself being a temple where man would meet with God. A holy place. And so that's been lost. God's now recreating that he's going to dwell in their presence.

[21:47] So in terms of redemptive history this is a huge moment in time. God is making a copy of the heavenly temple. The throne room of God here on earth.

[21:59] And so something about this lampstand corresponds probably to what preceded and what will come later. And I think as we think about that we have to be mindful of the tree of life don't we?

[22:14] That tree of life that supplied fruit. Which by the way we always portray as an apple. It's interesting the one place we have a direct reference to that. Well I guess there are two places we think also of the description of heaven.

[22:28] It says it bears its 12 fruits in its season. Almost implying one a month. But here we have almonds. So just as you think about that. The apple. It could have been an almond.

[22:38] That's still a fruit being produced by a tree. I know it's a nut. The fruit. Okay. The tree in Revelation 22 too. Listen to this. Through the middle of the street of the city.

[22:51] Also on either side of the river. The tree of life with its 12 kinds of fruit. Yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And so we see there.

[23:04] The tree of life reappears in heaven. And arguably it reappears here. With light shining upon God's people.

[23:14] Revelation 22. Matthew 14 says. Blessed are those who wash their robes. And that would be in the blood of the lamb. So that they may have the right to the tree of life.

[23:26] And that they may enter the city by the gates. And so it's pointing us. Backwards to Eden. But also forward to the tree of life. And the present.

[23:37] Our presence in heaven. It also reminds us. Or points to. Jesus being the light of the world. John 8. 12.

[23:48] Again Jesus spoke to them saying. I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness. But will have the light of life. And so. As we think about that. In light of the bread of the.

[24:00] Of the table. Of the bread of presence. Directly across from each other. Where we have. Two examples. Of the I am statements of Jesus. I am the bread of life.

[24:11] I am the light of the world. There in the temple. Shining. Its presence always there. Both the light. The bread. Always before the Lord. Always before the people. Jesus has spoken of light in several ways.

[24:25] Isaiah 9. 2. Prophetically said. The people who walked in darkness. Have seen a great light. Those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness. On them. Has light shown. And then in John 1.

[24:36] 4. It says. In him was life. And the life was the light of men. Both bread and light. A representative of life. That is found in Jesus Christ. And then Hebrews 1.

[24:47] 3. He is the radiance of the glory of God. And the exact imprint of his nature. And he upholds the universe. By the word of his power. After making purifications for sin. He sat down at the right hand.

[24:58] Of the majesty on high. So. What we find. The right hand of the father. The father in the throne room of heaven. Is Jesus there. As we think about that.

[25:11] We have this. Lamp stand. Shining light upon. The inner workings of the tabernacle. Well. Revelation 21. 23 says. The city has no need for sun or moon to shine on it.

[25:23] For the glory of God gives it light. And its lamp is the land. Sorry. Its lamp is the lamb. And so. In case you think I'm going too far.

[25:33] And trying to point this to Jesus. Here's that same word. The lamp for heaven. The reason why there's no need. Need for the sun. Is because. The lamb is the lamp.

[25:44] And the glory of God shines upon it. And so. It points us to. The tree of life. But also points us to the means of that life in Jesus Christ.

[25:55] It points us to the light. That will come upon us. Which will one day. Outshine the sun. So the sun won't be needed. So it points us to Jesus Christ.

[26:07] It's interesting. Salvation is also spoken of as light. We talked about those who walked in darkness. Have seen a great light. 2 Corinthians 4 says. For God. Who said.

[26:18] Let light shine out of darkness. Has shown in our hearts. To give the light. Of the knowledge. Of the glory of God. In the face of Jesus Christ. So here again.

[26:29] We see that same concept. That he has shown light. In our hearts. To give the light. Of the knowledge. Of the glory of God. The light is the knowledge.

[26:39] Of the glory of God. In the face. Of Jesus Christ. So I've tried to. As we've looked at these two elements. Go ahead and look at why.

[26:50] Or how they point us to. Jesus Christ. And the heavenly realities. Now I want to just. Briefly. Just two quick points. How do these things. Really apply to us.

[27:01] How should we think about them. Number one. Again. We're reminded of the. Lamp stand in heaven. We've seen already. The tree in heaven. But. There's also.

[27:12] The revelation. Also speaks of the lamp stands. In heaven. Revelation 120. As for the mystery. Of the seven stars. That you saw. In my right hand. And the seven golden lamp stands. The seven stars.

[27:24] Are the angels. Of the seven churches. And the seven lamp stands. Are the seven churches. And so. Again. We see. The reappearance. Of seven lamp stands. This time.

[27:35] In a heavenly vision. And it's. Portraying something. It's not meant to be. Literal lamp stands. It's portraying. The churches. Maybe more broadly. We could understand it.

[27:46] It's portraying. The church universal. God's people. It's portraying. The churches. In Revelation. Four or five. From the throne.

[27:58] Came flashes. Of lightnings. And rumblings. And peals. Of thunder. And before the throne. Were burning. Seven torches. Of fire. Which are the seven spirits. Of God. And here we have.

[28:09] These seven torches. Representing the seven spirits. Of God. Now. I'm praying. That the Lord. Will enable me. To be able to preach. Through Revelation. At some point. So I'm not there yet. I'm not trying to explain all that.

[28:19] But what I want you to see. Is. The reappearance. Of the lampstand. In heaven. Representative. The church. Representative. Of. The spirit. Of God. Or the spirits. Of God. Well. Let me say.

[28:31] It may well be. Referring to. The messengers. Or the angelic. Representatives. Of the seven churches. We talked a little bit. I think. Was it in Daniel. Of. Angels. Being assigned.

[28:42] To different areas. A hierarchy. Of angels. So it may well be. Speaking of that. But either way. We see these lampstands. Are representative of the church. But also. The points. To the light. That is Jesus Christ. I said.

[28:57] Two points. I know. There are actually four. I looked at it wrong. Number two. Christians. Christians. In the holy place. Think about.

[29:07] What we saw already. The only people. Who could enter the holy place. Were the priest. Those who were. Made holy. Those who were. Set apart.

[29:17] For the service. Of the Lord. Listen to. First Peter. Two five. You yourself. Like living stones. Are being built up. As a spiritual house.

[29:28] To be a holy priesthood. To offer spiritual sacrifices. Acceptable to God. Through Jesus Christ. And then a little further down. Verse nine. Says. But you are chosen race.

[29:38] A royal priesthood. A holy nation. A people of his own possession. That you may proclaim. The excellencies. Of him who called you. Out of darkness. Into his marvelous light. God. So this language being used.

[29:52] In first Peter. Is representative. If you can imagine now. The tabernacle. Being outside in darkness. Being brought into the light. As priests.

[30:03] To be there. In God's presence. The bread of the presence there. The light shining upon it. What first Peter is saying. Is that. Christian. If you are a Christian today.

[30:14] In this room. Christian. God has worked in you. He has regenerated you. He's taken you from. That dead. Soul spirit.

[30:24] That heart of stone. And giving you life spiritually. He's given you a heart of flesh. To beat for him. And he's also. Made us into. A holy priesthood. I think it may have been.

[30:36] A couple weeks ago. I talked about. The description. Revelation of. God's name. Being on their forehead. The language. Over and over again. Is that of. The priesthood. That we.

[30:46] One day. Will appear. In the holy place. As it were. We will appear. In the holy of holies. Before the throne. Of God himself. How is that even possible? That Christian.

[30:58] You have been. Made into a priesthood. You've been. Set apart for God. You've been sanctified. One day. We will be glorified. And we will stand. In God's presence. And so. This special. Privilege.

[31:08] Of the priest. Becomes. Extended. To all God's people. One day. In the new earth. In the new heavens. Where we will dwell. With God. In his presence. There will be no barrier. Or walls. That will keep us out.

[31:20] We will be right there. With God. What a blessing. That is. Thirdly. I think it's a good reminder. To understand. That we walk. In a dark world.

[31:30] We walk. In a dark world. Ephesians 4. 18. Says. They are darkened. In their understanding. Alienated. From the life of God. Because of the ignorance. That is in them.

[31:41] Due to their hardness. Of heart. So. As we think about. The world around us. We ought not be surprised. That the world.

[31:51] Is walking in darkness. And what is the cause. For that. Well Ephesians says. Due to their hardness. Of heart. Why is their heart. Hard. It's a heart of stone.

[32:03] It hasn't been regenerated. It. I think it's the same truth. That Paul presents. In Romans 1. Where he talks about. That they suppress.

[32:14] The truth. Because of their sin. Because they love sin. More than they love God. They don't want to. Bow the knee to God.

[32:25] And so we walk. In a world. Of darkness. Darkened. In their understanding. Alienated. From the life of God. Because of the ignorance. That is in them. Again. That's not to go around. And call everyone around us.

[32:37] Ignorant. If we think of the actual meaning. Of the word. Ignorant. They are without knowledge. Of God. And his salvation. That ought to. Work in us. Pity.

[32:48] For the world around them. A desire for them to. Come into the light. Out of the darkness. Even when I think of. The darkened understanding. For the life of me. I cannot. Understand.

[32:59] Some of the. Moral dilemmas. Of our age. How do we not. Understand. Abortion. To be murder. In our society. There's a life. It's taken.

[33:09] In every other instance. We would understand that way. Or even. We're at a point now. That we're. As a culture. Can't understand that. What a boy is. Or what a girl is.

[33:21] Or what the difference is. Between the two. It seems pretty obvious to me. What I want to. Argue is that. This isn't some kind of.

[33:32] Intellectual problem. We're having in our day and age. Is it? There's a moral. Problem going on. There's a hardness of heart. We live in a dark world. And so understand that. As we go through this world.

[33:42] That it's a world of darkness. That this ultimately. Is not the Christian's home. That God's called us to a place. That is a place of light. But as we think about. This being a world of darkness.

[33:53] Really my fourth point. Is to understand that. Christians we are to. Walk in light. And we are to be light. To the world. First walk in light. John 12.

[34:03] 35 through 36. So Jesus said to them. The light is among you. For a little while longer. Walk while you have the light. Lest darkness overtake you.

[34:16] The one who walks in the darkness. Does not know where he is going. While you have the light. Believe in the light. That you may become sons of light. When Jesus has said these things. He departed. And he hid himself from them.

[34:28] Almost as it were. He becomes darkness to them. He hid himself from them. But the light is among you. For a little while longer. Walk while you have the light. Lest darkness overtake you. So God is calling Christians. To walk in light.

[34:40] In a dark world. Not to stumble over. The moral issues. Of our world. But to walk in light. To walk in the light of God. What he has revealed in his word.

[34:51] What he teaches us. To walk in light. Think also with that. We would understand holiness. Purity. In a dark world. But he also says in verse 36.

[35:02] While you have the light. Believe in the light. That you may become sons of light. So God here. Or Jesus here. Is proclaiming. Really a evangelistic message.

[35:13] Isn't he? To those of you. And I'll say it here too. For those of you who are here today. Who are in darkness. What does Jesus call you to? Believe in the light.

[35:24] That you may become sons of light. Believe in the light. Put your faith in Jesus Christ. And you become sons of light. Even in this dark world. 1 John 1.7 says.

[35:35] But if we walk in the light. As he is in the light. We have fellowship with one another. And the blood of Jesus. His son. Cleanses us from all sin. Now I thought I could really.

[35:46] Spend some time. Meshing all this together. Because. Did you catch here? If we walk in the light. He is the light. And we have fellowship with one another.

[35:57] Remember what I argued with. The bread of the presence. That the light shined upon. Represented. That communion. That fellowship. That we have. With God. And I would argue.

[36:09] With each other. But also it says. In the blood of Jesus. His son cleanses us from all our sin. If we are to partake. Of the light. If we are to eat.

[36:19] Of the fruit. From the tree of life. In heaven. What did it say we had to do? All those who had. Had their robes washed. I said before. Revelation says. In the blood of the lamb.

[36:30] And those robes. Represent our righteousness. So. If we are going to appear. Before God. We need the blood of Jesus Christ. To cleanse us.

[36:40] From all our righteousness. All our good deeds. And all our bad deeds. We need to appear. Clothed. In the. White. Pure robes.

[36:51] Of the righteousness. Of Jesus Christ. And so. Christian. We are called to walk in light. We are to be holy. We are to spread. God's light. To the world. But also.

[37:03] We are to understand. That. Ultimately. Our holiness. Is. In Christ. And then finally. I said. We are to be light. Matthew 5. 14 through 16. Jesus says.

[37:14] You are the light. Of the world. A city. Set on a hill. Cannot be hidden. Nor do people. Light a lamp. And put it under a basket. But on a stand. And it gives light. To all in the house. In the same way.

[37:25] Let your light. Shine before others. So that. They may see your good works. And give glory. To your father. Who is in heaven. God. So we are walking. The dark world.

[37:36] We are to walk. In the light. That we have from God. And we are to be light. To the world around us. How are we doing with that? Maybe I can ask that.

[37:47] More specifically. How are you. Individually doing with that? Think about that. Are you being light. To the world? Are you spreading light. To those around you? Are people seeing your good works. In such a way.

[37:57] That. Their life. Leads them to ask. How they can become a Christian? I even think about our walking in darkness. I think.

[38:08] More and more. There's become a divide in our country. Where. Both sides. Seem to be looking toward. Our government. To solve our problems. In this world.

[38:22] You will have trouble. But take heart. Christ has overcome the world. We have a king. That is reigning in heaven. That is above. All earthly power. Our hope. Our hope.

[38:33] Isn't in. Whoever the next president will be. Or any of our. Governmental leaders. It's not ultimately. In our policies. What is our hope in? It's in the light of the world.

[38:44] It's in Jesus Christ. And we're called. To be that light. To the world. To spread that light. To the ends of the earth. That others may come. That they may believe in the light. And that they may become sons of God. Let's pray toward that end.

[38:57] Dear Heavenly Father. We thank you for your word. And how it instructs us. And we pray that. Lord. We would be. That light. That you've called us to. Not because we are. So good in ourselves.

[39:08] But because we are sons of light. We have trusted. In Christ. Who is the light of the world. We ask. Also. That you would give us. A heart of.

[39:19] Love. Love. And pity. For a world around us. That's perishing. Apart from the light. Apart from Christ. And that we would be light. To the world around us.

[39:30] That we would. Lord. Let our light. So shine. That there be those. Who would believe. In you. And in Christ. Because of. Our lives.

[39:42] But Lord. We know. That it's not enough. Just to. Let them see our words. You've called us. Also to speak. And so we pray. You'd give us a word. To say. That we would. Rescue those. Who are perishing. That we would point them.

[39:53] To the light. And Lord. Give us a heart. That longs. To be in your presence. As we look at the tabernacle. As we think about these elements. Lord. Direct our thoughts.

[40:04] Our hearts. Toward heaven. Cause us. To set our sights. On heaven. Give us a desire. To long for your presence. And we pray. Lord. As we will take.

[40:14] Of the table today. The closest. Representative. We have. Of this. Reality. As we take. Of the table. And we drink. Of the cup. That we would think upon.

[40:25] The bread of presence. That we would think upon. Our communion. With one another. But also. Our union with Christ. And our communion with you.

[40:36] Through Christ. And the blood of Jesus. That washes us. That cleanses us. Of all our sins. We pray this in his name. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[40:46] Amen. Amen.