The Table of Grace Communion

Title: The Table of Grace (Communion Message)
Teacher: Brother Bennett
Date: June 3, 2019
Premise: To understand and appreciate his grace, and the table of grace that is the new covenant.
Attendance: 7
Opening Prayer: Brother Crawford

Good morning, dear brothers. It is my prayer everyone is well-rested today. This is the day the Lord God has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in Him.

Everyone, please turn to Psalm 23. Everyone there says, Amen! Let’s read verses 5-6. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with only my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me, all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

Here is probably one of the most beloved and popular Psalms by David. “The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want…” Everybody knows this Psalm! But despite the popularity of this Psalm, it is not for everyone. This is a song of trust in the Lord. It is an outpouring of David’s confidence in the Lord and trust in His care for him. To say the Lord is my Shepherd requires faith. Yeah, dear Brothers, this Psalm is only for those who are entitled to say, “the Lord is my Shepherd.” The Good Shepherd indeed died for all, but only those who have received Him by faith are His Sheep. His saving grace is sufficient for all but is only effective to those who believe in Him.

There are two different images of the Lord in this Psalm. In verses 1-4: We have the Shepherd, and in verse 5, we have the Host. Let us read Psalm 23:5-6; (read) “You prepare a table before me…” We are going to use verses 5-6 to talk about God’s divine grace, specifically how He has prepared the table of grace for salvation in Christ Jesus.

The grace of God is not so much a timeless attribute as it is the power and activity of God. What do I mean! The grace of God is the redeeming activity of God for the redemption of humankind. This is seen in the unifying covenants God has made with man. Grace forms the basis of all of God’s relationship with a man and His activity on behalf of man. The heart of this relationship is found in the phrase. “I will be their God, and they shall be My people” Genesis 17:7-8; (read); The relationship is defined and established by the covenants God makes. All covenants are on an act of His divine grace.

The first covenant God made is the covenant of redemption. This is the covenant God the Father established with God after the fall. 2 Timothy 1:9-10 (read). In this passage, we learn God has not saved us by works but by grace. “Which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.” We see the same truth in Titus 1:2 (read). We do not see the word “covenant” here, but the concept of an oath-bound promise can be seen. This promise was made to Christ, who came to earth to fulfill the eternal plan to save those the Father gave Him in relationship with the Father. John 6:37-40 17:1-5; (read).

I want to talk a little more about the covenants. There are essentially two types of covenants: the historical outworkings of the more fundamental covenant of redemption. Can anyone tell us what the two kinds of divine covenants are? “The new and the old” is one way to describe them. There are a few ways to define them: Love and Grace or Works and Grace. They have been designated as conditional and unconditional and, as brother Justin stated, the old and the New Covenants.

The first covenant we see in the Bible is the Edenic Covenant. This covenant can be considered the old, conditional covenants of works. This is the covenant God made with Adam in the garden. Genesis 2:15-17; (read). In the book of Hosea 6:7 (read). We learn this arrangement was a covenant. The condition of this covenant was obedience. God promised the man in his state of innocence that He would give him eternal on the condition of his obedience. We all know how that worked out. What is important to see is this covenant of works provided no method of restoration. Since it demanded perfection, this covenant, once broken, left the man and his posterity without hope. It is here we find another covenant, the covenant of grace. “You have prepared a table for me…” After man rebelled and fell, God cursed the serpent and promised the seed of the woman would crush the serpent’s head, the His heel would be bruised. Genesis 3:15 (read). This promise was an unconditional guarantee that God would graciously rescue man from the curse of the covenant of works. This gracious promise, this table the Lord has prepared, this table of grace is the promise of Jesus Christ the Messiah. This is the covenant of grace that God promised to save humankind from the falls curse, by grace alone through the redemptive work of Christ.

We can even see in Genesis 3 His redemptive work for shadowed in the slaying of the animal to provide a covering for Adam and Eve. This is known as the Adamic Covenant. In Galatians 3:19 and 1 John 3:8 (read), that “the seed of the woman” who fulfills the promise, in Christ Jesus. A little gem of knowledge about the word “seed”. This word is used over 280 times in the Bible. It refers to harvest, sowing, offspring, or descendants. There is only one time this word is associated with a woman, and it’s in Genesis 3:15; every other time, it is used in association with a man, plant life, or sowing. I believe that is quite significant.

There are many Covenants in the Bible. Some are conditional, and some are unconditional. For example, the Abrahamic Covenant is unconditional. God put no conditions on Abraham or his descendants. Therefore the promises made to Abraham in Genesis 12, 13, 15, and 17. It will come to pass regardless of how faithful Abraham’s descendants might prove. The Davidic Covenant is also unconditional. The Mosaic Covenant, however, was a conditional Covenant like the Edenic Covenant. Still, God’s revelation of the law to Israel was a supreme act of grace and a unique sign of privilege. Deuteronomy 4:6-8 (read). This compared to the other nations who’s gods were lifeless. Psalm 1 15:4-9 (read).

Jehovah had spoken, revealing to His people, as He did with Adam, what He deemed an acceptable response to Him. Accordingly, for the faithful in Israel, obedience to the law was not a burden but a delight because of their deep gratitude for Gods saving grace, covenant relationship and because they knew God would respond to their obedience with favor. Deuteronomy 6:20-25; Psalm 24:3-6; (read). True obedience to the law was to be the external expression of an inward disposition of fear and faith in God, in Covenant love toward him. Deuteronomy 30:6-10 (read). This is the tale the Lord God prepared for them. Sadly, the Israelites wanted fast food, so the demise predictions in Deuteronomy 4, 29, and 30:1-10; (read) come to pass. Around 586’ Bc. Judah was exiled to Babylon. Habakkuk 1:12 (read); Israel’s story as a people in the Old Testament is largely one of failure. Dear brothers, we must learn from Israel’s mistakes. 1 Corinthians 10:1-12 (read).

Lastly, we have the Old Testament and New Testament calls the New Covenant, that covenant of grace. Jeremiah was the first prophet to speak of this New Covenant of grace Jeremiah 31:31-34 (read). In Israel’s covenant-breaking disobedience, God promised He would one day establish a New Covenant with Israel, unlike the old covenant they broke. Let’s reread Jeremiah 31:33-34. In the book of Ezekiel, we see the same theme. Let’s read Ezekiel 36:26-27.

This New Covenant, the table the Lord has prepared, promises several blessings the Old Covenant did not provide. The New Covenant provides regeneration, the full forgiveness of sins, an intimate knowledge of God, and the confidence that the New Covenant is unbreakable. The New Covenant of grace is the table the Lord has prepared and fulfills all the redemptive purposes that the Lord God established in Genesis 3. Jesus Christ announced the fulfillment of the covenant of grace when He instituted the Lord’s Supper. Luke 22:20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-25 (read). Jesus’ death on the cross of Calvary, which the Lord’s Supper symbolizes, established the covenant of grace, and the covenant of works was done away. Hebrews 8:6-13, 9:11-15 (read).

In the New Covenant of grace, the table the Lord has prepared brings to fulfillment the promises and purposes of the previous covenants. He is the seed; the serpent’s head has been crushed. He is the Seed of Abraham who would bless all the nations. He is the goal of the Mosiac Law. He is the King who sits on the throne of David, and ultimately as he is Immanuel, or “God with us” He brings to its consummation the interwoven theme that God “will be their God, and they shall be His people.” The covenant of grace also fulfills the promises to Israel in the life of the Church. Acts 15:14-17, 1 Peter 2:9-10; (read). Not all the blessings of the New Covenant of Grace have been fully realized. The full consummation of the New Covenant awaits the return of Christ. Revelation 21. The old world will have passed away. The presence of God in heaven will not be interrupted as it is now; we will dwell with Him continually.

Let us reread Psalm 23:5. ‘You have prepared a table for me in the presence of my enemies….” The table of grace dear Brothers is the Lord Jesus Christ John 1:14, 17; Romans 5:1-2 (read)… “into this grace in which we stand…” in the presence of our enemies Eastern hospitality guarantees the security of the guest. All of the hallowed sanctions of hospitality gather around him for his defense. He is taken into the tent, food is placed before him, while his enemies stand frowning at the door. The Lord’s people feast at His table upon the provisions of His grace, by His grace. On the table are spread all the spiritual blessings He purchased for us with His precious blood. The table pictures not only the activity of His grace to salvation but all the blessings that it entails. Ephesians 1:3 (read). Spiritual blessings are the best blessings, and it is these we find sitting at the table the Lord has prepared.

Psalm 23:5. “You have prepared a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You have anointed my head with oil.” “You have anointed my head with oil…” We are going to break this down some. The word “anointed” (1878) means to be fat, satisfied it means abundance. The word “head” (7218) means the person. Genesis 99:26 gives a great example using Joseph; And lastly, the word “oil” (8081) means to grow fat to be strengthened; Nehemiah 9:25 (read). We will talk about God’s grace while keeping the understanding of these three words in mind. Let’s turn to Acts 4:33 (read), “great power and great grace” these two seem to parallel one another. The Apostle Paul, like Luke here, speaks of the grace of God as a power, almost as a person. We will look at all the ways grace covers and strengthens abundantly—Galatians 1:6 (read). Grace calls one to Salvation; Ephesians 2:7-9 (read). Grace reveals Christ, Philippians 1:29 (Read); Grace gives the faith the condition of salvation. Romans 15:15-16 (read) grace calls and equips the Christian for service; 1 Corinthians 15:10 (read). It is the grace of God that is with us each day producing labor; 2 Corinthians 1:12 It is the grace of God that produces humility and godliness; 2 Corinthians 12:7-10; (read). It is the grace of God that sustains us in difficult times. Everything, therefore, from first to last, is of grace. As we discussed early on in the message, grace forms the basis of all God’s relationship with the man and His activity on behalf of man. It was God’s grace that delivered Noah Genesis 6:7-8 (read). It was God’s grace that gave Moses a personal Knowledge of God and His ways. Exodus 33: 12-13 (read). God’s grace assured Moses of Gods’ presence with the people of Israel and forgiveness of Sins. Exodus 33:16-17 34:8-9 (read). It was God’s grace that chose Israel for God’s inheritance Exodus 33:16 (read). God’s grace will cause the people of Israel to one day recognize the Lord Jesus as the Messiah Zechariah 12:10 (read). It was the grace of God that provided salvation through Jesus Christ. Romans 3:24 (read). Dear Brothers, it was the grace of God that prepared this table, for us to join Him, before the foundation of the world 2 Timothy 1:9 (read). Let’s turn to Psalm 78:17-19 (read) “Can God prepare a table in the wilderness? “Yes He can” “No, my dear Brothers, Yes He has!”

Let’s read Psalm 23:5-6 to wrap this up. “My cup runneth over. Surely goodness and loving kindness will follow me all the days of my life. And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever” or continue in the theme of the message “And I will dwell at the table of Grace with the Lord forever.” The word “goodness” here in verse 6 means gracious, joyful, loving, merry, pleasant prosperity, morally pleasing, highly favored. These, my dear brothers, are the delicacies we find at the table He has prepared; these are upon the table of grace that is the New Covenant. Luke 22:20 (read) Let us continue to sit with the Lord at his table of grace.

Right now, we will take a few minutes to reflect on the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus and the forgiveness of sins He gave us. (the bread and wine were shared) Luke 22:19-20 Amen.

Closing prayer: Brother Crawford.