The Gift of Christmas Presence sermon

The Gift of Christmas Presence

If we continue to eat of only our resources we will be malnourished

The dollar a day diet two teachers

Oatmeal

Tortillas and beans tang

Lost fourteen lbs.

Experiencing him on the inside and not just on the outside

It is the great gift

Our search for him is the conclusion of a search he started for us before we were born

2 chronicles 4:19

And Solomon made all the vessels that were for the house of God, the golden altar also, and the tables whereon the shewbread was set;

Or the bread of the presence

The bread with a face lehem  pawneem

niv19 Solomon also made all the furnishings that were in God's temple: the golden altar; the tables on which was the bread of the Presence;

nasb

19 Solomon also made all the things that were in the house of God: even the golden altar, the tables with the bread of the Presence on them

We have a need for him just like bread

Not only knowing about him but knowing who he is personally

Born in the house of bread…beth lehem house of bread

Joh 6:48  I am that bread of life.

Business hinders our pursuit of God’s presence

Mar 3:20  And the multitude cometh together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread.

Joh 6:7  Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.

Self centeredness is robbing us of powerful blessings

Mar 8:17  And when Jesus knew it, he saith unto them, Why reason ye, because ye have no bread? perceive ye not yet, neither understand? have ye your heart yet hardened?

My self centeredness is going to suck every last drop of goodness from me

Jesus has resources that are not apparent to the world

Joh 4:32  But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of.

Joh 4:33  Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat?

Joh 4:34  Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.

Joh 4:35  Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.

Joh 4:36  And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.

Joh 4:37  And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth.

Joh 4:38  I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.

The word of God should never be in short supply in this country!

Mat 4:3  And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.

Mat 4:4  But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

Our needs are important to God

Mar 2:23  And it came to pass, that he went through the corn fields on the sabbath day; and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of corn.

Mar 2:24  And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful?

Mar 2:25  And he said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungred, he, and they that were with him?

Mar 2:26  How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him?

Mar 2:27  And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:

Knowing that this time is for us we are not for this time

This is a great principle in respect to the Sabbath Day and its meaning. The Law was really made for man and not man for the Sabbath. Another great principle is that the Lord Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath.

Mar 2:28  Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.

shewbread

lechem

pânîym

paw-neem'

Plural (but always used as a singular) of an unused noun (פּנה pâneh, paw-neh'; from 6437); the face (as the part that turns); used in a great variety of applications (literally and figuratively); also (with prepositional prefix) as a preposition (before, etc.): -  + accept, a (be-) fore (-time), against, anger, X as (long as), at, + battle, + because (of), + beseech, countenance, edge, + employ, endure, + enquire, face, favour, fear of, for, forefront (-part), form (-er time, -ward), from, front, heaviness, X him (-self), + honourable, + impudent, + in, it, look [-eth] (-s), X me, + meet, X more than, mouth, of, off, (of) old (time), X on, open, + out of, over against, the partial, person, + please, presence, prospect, was purposed, by reason, of, + regard, right forth, + serve, X shewbread, sight, state, straight, + street, X thee, X them (-selves), through (+ -out), till, time (-s) past, (un-) to (-ward), + upon, upside (+ down), with (-in, + stand), X ye, X you.

The bread with a face was born in the house of bread

The bread of presence

A symbol of the Christ who was to be

The bread of life

Mark 2:26

The shewbread (τοὺς ἄρτους τῆς προθέσεως)

Lit., the loaves of proposition, i.e., the loaves which were set forth before the Lord. The Jews called them the loaves of the face, i.e., of the presence of God. The bread was made of the finest wheaten flour that had been passed through eleven sieves. There were twelve loaves, or cakes, according to the number of tribes, ranged in two piles of six each. Each cake was made of about five pints of wheat. They were anointed in the middle with oil, in the form of a cross. According to tradition, each cake was five hand-breadths broad and ten long, but turned up at either end, two hand-breadths on each side, to resemble in outline the ark of the covenant. The shewbread was prepared on Friday, unless that day happened to be a feast-day that required sabbatical rest; in which case it was prepared on Thursday afternoon. The renewal of the shewbread was the first of the priestly functions on the commencement of the Sabbath. The bread which was taken off was deposited on the golden table in the porch of the sanctuary, and distributed among the outgoing and incoming courses of priests (compare save for the priests). It was eaten during the Sabbath, and in the temple itself, but only by such priests as were Levitically pure. This old bread, removed on the Sabbath morning, was that which David ate.

—Vincent's Word Studies in the New TestamentWhen Abiathar was high priest (epi Abiathar archiereōs). Neat Greek idiom, in the time of Abiathar as high priest. There was confusion in the Massoretic text and in the LXX about the difference between Ahimelech (Abimelech) and Abiathar (2 Samuel 8:17), Ahimelech's son and successor (1 Samuel 21:2; 1 Samuel 22:20). Apparently Ahimelech, not Abiathar was high priest at this time. It is possible that both father and son bore both names (1 Samuel 22:20; 2 Samuel 8:17; 1 Chron. 18:16), Abiathar mentioned though both involved. Epi may so mean in the passage about Abiathar. Or we may leave it unexplained. They had the most elaborate rules for the preparation of the shewbread (tous artous tēs protheseōs), the loaves of presentation, the loaves of the face or presence of God. It was renewed on the commencement of the sabbath and the old bread deposited on the golden table in the porch of the Sanctuary. This old bread was eaten by the priests as they came and went. This is what David ate. For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings [Hos. 6:6].

The people were merely going through a form. My friend, you can go to church on Sunday and be as fundamental as you can be. You may criticize the preacher, criticize the choir, criticize everybody -- maybe they deserve it, I don't know -- but God's desire is that you put His Word into shoe leather, that you allow it to get down where the rubber meets the road, and that there be an evidence of mercy in your own heart and life. Don't think that going to a church banquet is somehow a substitute for truly eating the Bread of Life or of enjoying a big porterhouse steak from the Word of God. No church function is a substitute for really studying the Word of God.

—J. Vernon McGee's Thru The BibleWas prepared (kateskeuasthē). First aorist passive of kataskeuazō. See Hebrews 3:3. For the furniture see Exodus 25; Exodus 26. Three items are named here: the candlestick (hē luchnia, late word for luchnion) or lampstand, necessary since there were no windows (Exodus 25:31-39); the table (hē trapeza, old word, Matthew 15:27) for the bread (Exodus 25:23-30; Leviticus 24:6 of pure gold); the shewbread (hē prothesis tōn artōn) as in Exodus 25:30; Exodus 40:23; Leviticus 24:5-9. Probably a hendiadys for the table with the loaves of God's Presence.—Word Pictures in the New Testament

—Word Pictures in the New Testament

1Sa 21:1  Then came David to Nob to Ahimelech the priest: and Ahimelech was afraid at the meeting of David, and said unto him, Why art thou alone, and no man with thee?

1Sa 21:2  And David said unto Ahimelech the priest, The king hath commanded me a business, and hath said unto me, Let no man know any thing of the business whereabout I send thee, and what I have commanded thee: and I have appointed my servants to such and such a place.

1Sa 21:3  Now therefore what is under thine hand? give me five loaves of bread in mine hand, or what there is present.

1Sa 21:4  And the priest answered David, and said, There is no common bread under mine hand, but there is hallowed bread; if the young men have kept themselves at least from women.

1Sa 21:5  And David answered the priest, and said unto him, Of a truth women have been kept from us about these three days, since I came out, and the vessels of the young men are holy, and the bread is in a manner common, yea, though it were sanctified this day in the vessel.

1Sa 21:6  So the priest gave him hallowed bread: for there was no bread there but the shewbread, that was taken from before the LORD, to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away.

And David answered the priest, and said unto him, Of a truth women have been kept from us about these three days, since I came out, and the vessels of the young men are holy, and the bread is in a manner common, yea, though it were sanctified this day in the vessel.

So the priest gave him hallowed bread: for there was no bread there but the shewbread, that was taken from before the LORD, to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away [1Sam. 21:5-6].

Although Israel had a God-given religion, and this bread was dedicated for religious purposes, there were some hungry men present who needed food. That bread would have become commonplace if it could not have been used to feed hungry mouths. That is what David was saying.

In giving David and his men the bread, the priest was breaking the letter of the Law but not the spirit of the Law. You will recall that the Pharisees challenged the Lord Jesus Christ about breaking the Law (which He did not do). The Lord refuted their accusations by referring to this incident in the life of David. Mark 2:23-28 tells us, "And it came to pass, that he went through the corn fields on the sabbath day; and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of corn. And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful? And he said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungered, he, and they that were with him? How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him? And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath."

What the Lord was saying in His day was, "If David could do it, and it was all right, there is One here greater than David, and He can do it also." David ate the showbread because he had need. Christ is saying that human need supersedes all ritual and ceremonial laws.

—J. Vernon McGee's Thru The Bible

Mat 15:20  These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.

Mat 15:21  Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon.

Mat 15:22  And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.

Mat 15:23  But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.

Mat 15:24  But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

Mat 15:25  Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.

Mat 15:26  But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs.

Mat 15:27  And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table.

Mat 15:28  Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.

Matthew 12

Christ reproves the blindness of the Pharisees concerning the breach of the sabbath

1 At that time Jesus went on the sabbath through the cornfields; and his disciples were hungry, and began to pluck the ears and to eat. 2 But the Pharisees, seeing [it], said to him, Behold, thy disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on sabbath. 3 But he said to them, Have ye not read what David did when he was hungry, and they that were with him? 4 How he entered into the house of God, and ate the shewbread, which it was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those with him, but for the priests only? 5 Or have ye not read in the law that on the sabbaths the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless? 6 But I say unto you, that there is here what is greater than the temple. 7 But if ye had known what is: I will have mercy and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless. 8 For the Son of man is Lord of the sabbath. 9 And, going away from thence, he came into their synagogue.

How he went into the house of God, and did take and eat the shewbread, and gave also to them that were with him; which it is not lawful to eat but for the priests alone?

And he said unto them, That the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath [Luke 6:1-5].

As the disciples plucked the grain and rubbed it in their hands, the Pharisees accused them of threshing the grain on the Sabbath day. Of course they were not breaking the Mosaic Law, as it permitted people to pull the grain (see Deut. 23:24-25). If they had been cutting it with a sickle, they would have been harvesting. But the Pharisees had their own interpretation, and therefore they interpret the action as breaking the Law.

Our Lord did not insist that they had not broken the Sabbath; He refused to argue the issue with them. He cited an incident in the life of David where he had definitely broken the Mosaic Law and was justified. His point was that the letter of the Law was not to be imposed when it wrought hardship upon one of God's servants. Obviously the disciples were hungry. It cost them something to follow Jesus.

—J. Vernon McGee's Thru The Bible

How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him?

And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:

Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath [Mark 2:26-28].

This is a great principle in respect to the Sabbath Day and its meaning. The Law was really made for man and not man for the Sabbath. Another great principle is that the Lord Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath. Both those things are very important. By the way, I have a little booklet entitled, The Sabbath Day or the Lord's Day, Which? This is a very important question today. Remember that we are not under the old Mosaic system concerning the Sabbath Day because it was a part of the covenant between the nation Israel and God (Exod. 31:12-17).

This Sabbath incident in the field and the Sabbath incident which we find at the beginning of chapter 3 should go together; so even though there is a chapter break in the Bible, let us go right on in our study of the incidents that relate to the Sabbath Day.

—J. Vernon McGee's Thru The BibleHow he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests?

Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless? [Matt. 12:4-5].

The priests worked on the Sabbath day.

But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple [Matt. 12:6].

The Lord Jesus here claimed superiority over the most holy center of their religious life, which was the temple. As far as the Pharisees were concerned, He had blasphemed. Not only had He broken the Sabbath, but He had blasphemed.

—J. Vernon McGee's Thru The Bible