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[0:00] Well, we continue our study on the good life. I thought I would start this lesson just sharing a little something in way of introduction.

[0:10] ! Every Friday in the Wall Street Journal, there's a section in the Wall Street Journal that has private properties listed. And it's not usually like properties like what you and I live in.

[0:25] But it's high-end properties. And there's one that caught my attention this past Friday. Not that I'm looking to make a purchase of one of these properties or thinking about moving, but it's almost entertaining to see what's out there.

[0:40] Well, there was one place for sale out in Colorado, a Colorado ranch. A few more acres than what we have. This place has 4,600 acres.

[0:52] And the house is just a little bit bigger as well. Roughly 19,000 square feet in this house. There are big, bent log rafters, large fireplaces, some of which have mantles imported from European castles.

[1:10] The upper level has five bedrooms. I'm thinking only five? Five bedrooms, including a master suite, as well as a library, a great room, and a dining room.

[1:22] The lower level includes a wine cellar, a game room, a theater, a hot tub, a sauna, steam rooms, and a wet bar. And that's not all. The grounds have a swimming pool, two large guest cabins, a carriage house, and outbuildings for staff, horses, and ranch support facilities.

[1:42] There's a four-hole golf course. Over five miles of White River set aside for trout fishing. Tennis court, a helipad, helicopter hanger.

[1:55] All these things you need, right? And on and on it goes. And a few pictures. If you want to see some of the pictures, those are just as entertaining.

[2:07] But it doesn't come at a buy one, get the second one at half price. It comes at a price of $46 million. And so if you've got some extra cash laying aside that amounts to about $46 million, originally it was $55 million, so don't wait any longer.

[2:31] It's a buy at $46 million. But all of those amenities still come at a great price.

[2:42] So as we look at our topic this morning, the pleasures of the good life, we're going to consider and see just a portion, like I read here.

[2:55] It's just a portion of the bounty that was there on that estate. Well, so it is with the good life. You know, for us to rehearse in a 45-minute time the summation of all the bounty that we have in the good life that was restored to us through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross, it's impossible for us to do.

[3:23] And so Jonathan Edwards, in his messages to his congregants, numerous times tried to communicate to them some of that bounty, compared it to a feast that was set before them, that they had in the good life in knowing God.

[3:43] But any time that he rehearsed that for them, he was careful to let them understand that the bounty that you have, this great feast that is set before you, came at great price.

[4:00] And it's like this house, or even more than a house like this, the great price that was paid. And so the first quote I have to share with you is somewhat lengthy, but does share from Jonathan Edwards, the great, great price that was paid for the believer's bounty.

[4:23] As feasts are expensive and are provided at the expense of the host, so the provision which God has in the gospel made for our souls be exceeding expensive unto him.

[4:37] We have it for nothing, but it costs God a great deal. Fallen men can't be feasted, but at vast expense.

[4:48] We are by sin sunk infinitely low into the lowest depths of misery and want. And our famishing souls could not be provided for, but under infinite expense.

[5:01] All that we have from God for the salvation and support and nourishment of our souls cost exceeding dear. God purchased it at no less a rate than with the blood of his only and infinitely dear son.

[5:19] That holiness and that favor, that peace and joy, he's starting to rehearse some of the bounty that we have.

[5:31] Which they have, it was bought with the heart's blood of the Son of God. His precious life, he made his soul an offering. Christ Jesus obtained this provision by victory.

[5:44] He was obliged to fight for it as it were up to his knees in blood that he might obtain it. Yes, he waded through a sea of blood to get it for us.

[5:58] I mean, what a tremendous quote. I mean, I couldn't have said it, so the value of being able to read it. And what the way that God has gifted him to put that forward to us to consider.

[6:12] Yeah, we do have a bounty, but as we enjoy that bounty, let us never forget the price that was paid for our enjoyment of this rich feast that really is set before us.

[6:25] And when we think of God paying such a great price, well, of course, it wouldn't come without a plan of including the blessing of great bounty for those who are redeemed by such a great price.

[6:42] I mean, it's like going back to this article. You know, if you're going to spend $46 million, you're not expecting to get a shack.

[6:54] You're expecting that at that price, you are going to get a helipad and et cetera and et cetera. And so it is when we truly, again, understand the value of the price that was paid, well, it would be no surprise to us that the bounty that is set before us in our blessings, this goes beyond what I ever could have even imagined.

[7:28] But that's what that kind of price purchases for us. And so that's what Edwards tried to really help his people understand. So the vastness of the bounty that we have as Christians through Jesus Christ really goes beyond our comprehension, really.

[7:49] Not just in the number of things that we have, but the value in the blessings, really. Because it's only as I come to faith in Jesus Christ and have the Spirit of God dwelling within me that now I have a real understanding of what is valuable.

[8:10] Prior to that, you know, I could have considered some of these things that we'll talk about this morning and look upon them as, well, what's the big deal? You know, you're saying that this is what life is all about?

[8:25] And, you know, I would not sense the value in those things. But as a result of the work of God within my heart and renewing me unto a life toward God, my mind is able to comprehend things in a brand new way.

[8:45] And the things that were not precious and valuable to me, now I'm seeing, okay, now I know what you were talking about. This is a great feast.

[8:56] This is a wonderful blessing, a valuable treasure that I can have in Jesus Christ. And so Edwards writes again about this to his people.

[9:09] And you can see in this quote of how he's trying to communicate in a variety of ways this treasure that they have. He probably felt somewhat incapable of communicating to them the vastness of it.

[9:26] So he says, there is every kind of thing dispensed in Christ that tends to make us excellent and amiable, and every kind of thing that tends to make us happy.

[9:39] There is that which shall fill every faculty of the soul and in a great variety. You know, you won't be left with a vacuum, a need within your soul that God will not provide and that he does not provide for life now and throughout all eternity.

[10:03] What a glorious variety is there for the entertainment of understanding. You want to be entertained in your thinking, what you meditate on?

[10:14] Well, it's far better than what you might get in a video game or something like that. The things of God lift us to a higher plane of things to meditate that goes beyond our imagination of even what could be offered in this world that we are entertained with at times and sometimes nicely entertained.

[10:37] But nothing coming close to what can entertain the mind when it's contemplating the things of God and God himself and Jesus Christ.

[10:50] Let's see. How many glorious objects set forth, most worthy to be meditated upon and understood. There are all the glorious attributes of God, and here he goes again trying to rehearse some of these wonderful things.

[11:06] The beauties of Jesus Christ, manifold wonders to be seen in the way of salvation, the glories of heaven, the excellency of Christian graces, and there is a glorious variety for satisfying the will.

[11:20] There are pleasures, riches, and honors. There are all kinds of things, desirable or lovely. There is various entertainment for the affections, for love, for joy, for desire and hope.

[11:33] The blessings are innumerable. And so, again, for us to try and comprehend, it goes beyond our comprehension. And yet God still opens our understanding to some of these things, even now, while we're here in this world, that can entertain and please us, even while we're still in a fallen world.

[12:01] And so, we have in God's word, kind of like that treasure chest that we can open and begin to see some of this bounty.

[12:11] You know what it's like in these movies. You see them looking for the treasure, and they finally get to the treasure, and they flip the box open, and it drops back.

[12:22] And this treasure, just all kinds of jewels and golden doubloons and all kinds of stuff. And they dig their hands in it and just raise it up, and it falls all over the place.

[12:34] And there's smiles on their faces and shouts of joy. And that's the way it is. You know, within God's word, we open the word of God.

[12:45] And these treasures almost flow over the pages into our laps that we can pick up and put in our minds and relish in the beauty of Jesus Christ and the bounty that is ours in Jesus Christ.

[13:03] So, we can't go through that whole treasure chest this morning, but I can pick out a few things. And that's my prayer that, even as I read the book and prepared the lesson and was reminded of some of these things, that as we go from the Sunday school class and even the morning service, our minds would be just overloaded with and impressed with the bounty that is ours in Jesus Christ.

[13:32] Well, let's go over some of these at least, and the riches of the restoration that we have. The first is eternal life toward God.

[13:44] Remember, that's what was lost in the good life, in sin as it entered the world, this life toward God that enabled us, this wonders and the beauties of fellowshipping with the Creator.

[14:02] Well, by faith in Jesus Christ, how could we lift anything up above that? But that being one of the greatest parts of the bounty that is now ours, by faith in Jesus Christ, we remember without spiritual life toward God, the individual was darkened in their understanding.

[14:27] They don't have the bounty. They don't have the riches that come in knowing Jesus Christ. Ephesians 4.8, the verse, that we were separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.

[14:47] And so at that time, we didn't have life toward God. Ephesians 2.4-5 are some verses that we shared, I think, last week as well. But because of his great love for us, God who is rich, there's one of those bounties that are found in God, rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ.

[15:09] Even when we were dead in transgressions, it's by grace you've been saved. So that life that we have now toward God, coming by faith in Jesus Christ, that which was lost, now restored.

[15:23] Colossians 2.13, when you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ.

[15:34] He forgave us all our sins. Romans 6.11, in the same way, count yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Over and over again, we see this valuable part of our bounty, that now we who were dead to God without life, now are alive unto him, who is the greatest treasure that anybody could have and be exposed to.

[16:04] God the creator, the eternal, holy, good. I mean, it almost seems like too small of a term. To use in reference to God, good.

[16:16] But he is. He's good. And as we learned in our first lesson, the foundation for the good life, it's all tied up in him. And so for us to be able to enjoy the good life, we have to have life toward him who is good.

[16:34] And that is that great bounty that we have. That which was lost in Adam is regained through faith in Jesus Christ. It's having this life toward God that the redeemed individual is now able and now desires to know God and see his glory and see what's wonderful about him.

[16:56] You know, it's, again, we see that contrast of when we were unbelievers. What's the big deal? You know, you're talking about and this God that you know and saying that his ways are so good and glorious and bring so much meaning to your life, your family, your work, etc.

[17:16] I don't see it. Yeah, that's true. They don't see it. And that's the way of the unbeliever and the way in which we were prior.

[17:29] But now we have life toward God. Something is different. And now I desire to know him. And since God is the most excellent of anything that is, and I hate to say anything, but since he is the most excellent of anything that is, then the best thing a person could desire and experience is being alive toward him, seeing and enjoying his excellencies, who he is in his very nature as God.

[18:04] I mean, sure, there are many other things, blessings that we have in life, but he is the chief of all there is. And we see that even in our memory verse this morning.

[18:21] Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you. Your name, your renown are the desires of our heart. I read that, I think, no, verse 9 afterwards says, My soul yearns for you in the night.

[18:39] In the morning, my spirit longs for you. I can't read my own writing. He's alive toward God, but the wicked aren't.

[18:53] And so, you see that change, that which is true about Isaiah. He's alive toward God, and this life that he has toward God has opened his understanding, his heart, to see the excellencies of God.

[19:14] And that's what his heart yearns for. Even in a land where there are good things, but there are many things that are difficult and hard.

[19:28] And so, his heart is not set on the lesser things, but the thing that is supreme. And that's what he desires.

[19:38] That's what he longs for day and night. Even Moses was another Old Testament example of how God's presence among them was the most important thing. In my reading this past week, I came across this passage.

[19:52] You remember the golden calf, and they made the golden calf and knelt down and worshiped that. And afterward, God came upon them and brought some judgment.

[20:06] And then God said, he'd send them on to the promised land, but his presence wouldn't go with him. I think, okay, we'll live with that. You know, promised land is a wonderful place.

[20:18] Everything that we need will be provided for. Some of us might think, okay, I can live with that. Not Moses. Moses said, if your presence will not go with me, don't bring us up from here.

[20:33] Wow. You know, what a challenge that was for me. And I think, would I be satisfied in life if I had all the blessings of life, but had them without God?

[20:50] Man. I have to think then, well, what really is the treasure of my heart then? Can I say, God, even if I'm called into a life by your design, that I would not have any of these treasures, as long as your presence is with me, that's enough.

[21:14] Moses was alive toward God. He knew God, the value of knowing God, and that to go forward in life without the presence of God would not be worth it.

[21:28] The presence of God was his chief desire. Asaph was another example.

[21:39] We've referred to him in the past. after he returned from envying the wicked and saw the real destitute condition, his heart was turned back to God, and he said, Whom have I in heaven but you?

[21:55] And earth has nothing I desire besides you. He came back to his right thinking. We know we're in our right thinking when we're drawing those kind of conclusions.

[22:07] And I'm not saying we're not going to go through those times like Asaph went through. We heard that last week, Pastor John talking about the flesh, lessening against the spirit, the spirit against the flesh.

[22:18] Things will be challenged in our thinking. But how we long for and praise the spirit of God. Keep me drawn back to that place where my heart really recognizes the reality of where the bounty is.

[22:34] And the bounty is in the God himself, the person of Jesus Christ, earth has nothing I desire beside you. Well, this is the bounty that Edwards wanted his congregation to see that was set before them.

[22:54] Part of that quote that I read before says, How many glorious objects set forth most worthy to be meditated upon and understood.

[23:04] There are all the glorious attributes of God and the beauties of Jesus Christ. And of course, you remember, he went on and on and on just dispensing and having them sit at the table.

[23:15] Look, look, look what's set before you. It's a bounty. Well, even the Apostle Paul was an example of this as well.

[23:27] There were certain things in his life that he considered of great value and of great profit prior to coming to Jesus Christ. even that held the esteem of other people, the culture in which he lived in.

[23:39] He had, as far as they were concerned, the good life. But once he came to faith in Jesus Christ, had this new life, this new understanding, this new sight toward God and the person of Jesus Christ.

[23:54] Well, all that changed. You recognize the verses here, Philippians 3, 7, 3, 8. But whatever was to my profit, I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.

[24:05] What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. See how I build these words?

[24:17] Surpassing greatness of Jesus Christ my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. And I consider them rubbish.

[24:29] that I may gain Christ. You see these people setting before us this example of bounty, treasure, that can be satisfying to the soul.

[24:41] You know, when I see those kind of things, you know, I see myself, what a puny satisfaction that I have. You know, that I'm so satisfied with other things and when I consider, well, what if the cost of knowing God in a richer, fuller way might be the loss of certain things?

[25:05] You know, I find myself hesitant to pray, God help me to, now wait a minute, you know, help me to know you in your fullness, but please don't do it through this way, in this means.

[25:19] Do it in a comfortable way. Boy, you know, I'm brought up short, and I can give thanks that God has revealed to me the need within my own heart to know him and to treasure him above all.

[25:38] That's probably true of you as well, I would think. So, that's one of the great treasures we have, the greatest treasure and bounty we have, well, another one we have, certainly related to that, is our union with Jesus Christ.

[25:51] We don't stand at a distance from him to behold the beauty, you know how it is, well, you got to get back further, really to see and enjoy the beauty of that object.

[26:04] No, part of the beauty, the bounty that we have as Christians is that we are united, one, with Jesus Christ.

[26:16] This is also of ultimate importance. Without this, we really wouldn't have any of the riches and the bounty. All we have in this bounty is because of our union with Jesus Christ.

[26:32] Ephesians 1, 3, Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

[26:46] God didn't withhold the bounty.

[26:57] I'll give you everything but this. Every spiritual blessing in Christ is ours. Ephesians 1, 7 through 8, in Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins in accordance with the riches of God's grace that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding all because of in Him united with Christ.

[27:25] 2 Corinthians 5, 17, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he's a new creation. We're brand new. It's not like a fixer-upper. You know, I enjoy watching the show and they do great things but I'm not a fixer-upper.

[27:42] You know, I'm a new creation in Christ Jesus. The old is gone, the new has come. So without that union with Christ, the individual really does stand on his or her own, separated from the life of God, destitute of any spiritual blessings.

[28:01] But in Christ, united to Him, we have truly a bounty. And really, one of the beauties of my union with Jesus Christ is that I'm not just united to Him on my own, but I'm one of many members.

[28:22] Being united to Christ brings the additional bounty of extended spiritual family life. Others who are united to Christ are part of the same body, part of the same household.

[28:33] I mean, there's a little way in which we can understand that if you've ever just watched a movie on your own. And it turned out to be a fantastic movie.

[28:45] And at the end of the movie, you're kind of like, I wish so-and-so would have seen that and experienced that with me. Or a few years ago, three whatever years ago, we went to Utah.

[29:01] And we just enjoyed thoroughly the national parks out there. And I was glad that I could do it with Carol, you know, and we could just enjoy that.

[29:12] But then we came back and everybody asked us, where'd you go? You've got to go there. You know, we just can't explain to you the beauties of that. And, well, Jody and Dan went this past year.

[29:24] They came back, oh, it's fantastic. So we're all shouting and enjoying the remembrance, the rehearsal of the bounty of the beauty that was there. Well, that's what makes the beauty of experiencing the beauty, that you can share it with others.

[29:45] I mean, that's what makes it even so much more joyful. And that's a privilege of being able to participate in this bounty with other believers.

[29:58] I mean, that's kind of why we get together like this. I mean, how much joy would you have in coming if you were the only one sitting in the pew over there? Nobody else.

[30:10] It wouldn't be as great. You know, but we look forward to coming to a service this morning and I can tell people of the glories of God as I sing these songs.

[30:21] I mean, you're not just, you're indeed singing it to the Lord and worshiping Him, but it's a shared glory, a shared joy that you're giving out and you're telling somebody else as you're singing that song.

[30:35] And they're singing it to somebody else. We're singing it to each other. And that's what makes it a joyful experience as we share these joys together, as we sing and as we hear the Word of God.

[30:49] that's the blessing of union with Christ when we're united with other believers. God has done that certainly for His glory but for our joy as well in knowing Him.

[31:07] Oh, there's so many verses on that. Romans 12, 5, So in Christ we who are many form one body and each member belongs to all the others. Colossians 1, 18, He is the head of the body of the church.

[31:20] Ephesians 2, 19, Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens but fellow citizens with God's people, members of God's household. You see how He's trying to communicate that.

[31:32] You've been brought near, brought into the very household of God. You, you, you, you, you're all brought in as a family, as a unit. All accomplished in Jesus Christ.

[31:46] We're a brotherhood of believers. You know, bigger and better than the electrical union, the brotherhood of iron workers, steel workers, auto workers, whatever it is.

[32:01] You want to think of yourself as a union, maybe we should get together for the next Labor Day parade and walk down the street. You know, what union do you belong to? The union of the brotherhood of Jesus Christ.

[32:14] What? You know, the fanatic. But that is the glory, that is the joy, that is the reality of the bounty. Well, we've got to keep going.

[32:27] Well, this bounty we can enjoy, certainly, together. And we don't have to be afraid that it's going to be ripped away from us because of the work that God has done in this bounty of the work of his indwelling Holy Spirit.

[32:48] Seals, the ongoing security of our union with Jesus Christ. Ephesians 1.13, and you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation.

[33:00] Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who was the deposit, guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession to the praise of his glory.

[33:14] We enjoy the blessings, really, of security in Jesus Christ. I mean, that's part of this bounty that really brings an assurance to my soul.

[33:27] You know, I don't have to be over there, you know, grabbing onto it, hanging onto it, thinking it's going to be torn away from me. No, God has made the provisions for me to enjoy this bounty throughout all eternity by the coming of his Holy Spirit who dwells within me and is that deposit that guarantees that which is to come.

[33:51] The fullness of the final redemption. There's more to come. If we think we're pulling out all the jewels that there are of the treasure box, we're wrong.

[34:05] there's more to come that we'll be diving into throughout all eternity. I mean, that's a pretty good bounty that is ours through the work of the Holy Spirit, but he also empowers the believer to resist the sinful desires of the flesh and produces his fruit in our lives.

[34:26] That's a bounty that we have. For me to enjoy the bounty, I'd never be able to do it if I was just trying to do it in my flesh, my own will.

[34:38] For we know yet, even as believers, how the will strays off. That principle of sin that still exists within us is, how does the song go?

[34:49] Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love. That tendency, why is that still there? You know, it's still troubling as we hear, wretched man that I am.

[35:02] Still there. But we also have, as we heard last week in the morning message, that spirit of God who also lusts against the flesh and gives that desire to move in the direction of Jesus Christ and partake of him, the bounty.

[35:23] Why would you go back? I mean, that's part of our deceptive thinking, thinking that we can enjoy the bounty by going back to the old way of thinking, the old way of acting, and when we do, we realize that was stupid.

[35:38] Why did I do that? I'm sure not partaking of the bounty now, but when we resist and pursue righteousness and holiness and godliness, what a blessing.

[35:53] What a refreshing thing. peace with me, peace with others. It's there. And we can give thanks that part of the bounty is the presence of the spirit of God within our hearts to move us in that direction.

[36:10] Galatians 5, 16, 22, and 23, I've got to keep rolling here. We're familiar with those verses, the spirit of God being our protector and the producer of all that's good for us.

[36:22] Well, Edwards moved on from some of these things, the indwelling Holy Spirit and what some of the spirit produces. Certainly joy. His quote here on joy, Christians in the participation and communion of gospel benefits have joy unspeakable, full of glory, a sweeter delight than any this world affords.

[36:44] And again, not that you're going to be hopping and skipping through life and when the problems of life come, but there's a deep settledness of soul that reminds you that there is still something that I have to be rejoicing in, even in the midst of these troubles and it helps you continue to move on.

[37:05] Truly, the joy of the Lord is your strength in those times. We give thanks that the spirit of God is there. That was part of Jesus' prayer that the people, his people, would have the full measure of my joy.

[37:28] We can have that measure now. The fullness of it certainly will come in eternity. But we can know that joy now.

[37:40] What about love? Edward said, divine love is an unfailing fruit of the spirit. Every one of the true members of Christ's invisible church are possessed of this fruit of the spirit in their hearts.

[37:51] Love is implanted there and dwells there, reigns there. It's an everlasting fruit of the spirit. It never fails, but remains through all trials and opposition.

[38:04] Certainly, the love of God. Nothing can separate us from the love of God that we have in Christ Jesus our Lord. What about peace?

[38:15] He said, in Christ, he, Christ, has procured for them peace and reconciliation with God and his favor and friendship in that he satisfied for their sins and laid a foundation for the perfect removal of the guilt of sin and the forgiveness of all their trespasses and wrought out for them a perfect and glorious righteousness most acceptable to God and sufficient to recommend them to God's full acceptance and to the adoption of children to the eternal fruits of his heavenly fatherly kindness.

[38:51] It's a good thing to be at peace with God therefore being justified by faith we have the word almost is an expression there's an expresses what it is peace peace I don't know there's got to be some sort of English grammar thing for that rule I don't know what it is but peace peace with God we also have wisdom from God part of the boundary we have is having God's word counsel to grow and knowing Jesus Christ the counsel we need for life and it's recorded certainly the gospel the good news necessary for salvation seen 2 Timothy 3 15 how from infancy you've known the holy scriptures which are able to make you wise for salvation through Jesus Christ through faith in Jesus Christ the word of God a bountiful treasure that we need to know Christ the wisdom in God's word is what we need for ongoing renewal of our thinking we can't live the new life the good life according to the old pattern of thinking it won't work it won't lead us in those paths of righteousness and joy in the

[40:11] Lord but the wisdom of God is part of that bounty that is ours in Jesus Christ Proverbs 3 13 through 18 says blessed is the man who finds wisdom the man who gains understanding she's more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold she's more precious than rubies nothing you desire can compare with her long life is in her right hand in her left hand are riches and honor her ways are pleasant ways and all her paths are peace she's a tree of life to those who embrace her those who lay hold of her will be blessed you see the building up and the repetition that the writer is using here to try and bring us anywhere near close to understanding of the riches that there are and the wisdom of God for life in a world in which we're living in it's a treasure chest for us well let me finish so what do we do with this bounty

[41:14] I mean what do you do when you sat down at the bounty of the Thanksgiving table you just look at it no that would be absurd for us to sit down there when someone has prepared a meal for us to feast upon to praise her with for us to sit there and just look at it I mean that would be an insult to the highest degree it's meant to be enjoyed to be entered into to partake of so we have a rich bounty set before us what are we going to do with it well we have to partake of it and that's a whole new series of lessons that we go through and that we've had in the past growing in godliness together partake of it and this is what Edwards talked about feasts are made upon joyful occasions and for the manifestations of joy ecclesiastes 10 19 a feast is made for laughter christians in the participation and communion of gospel benefits have joy unspeakable full of glory a sweeter delight than any this world affords we are invited in that foresighted place to come that our souls may delight themselves in fatness the other quote because the savior has submitted himself substituted himself for sinners has returned triumphant from the grave so too many sinners return to life and taste for all their lives joy unspeakable full of glory that which is sweeter delight than any this world affords this does not deny real pain and real suffering of course but it reflects that the goodness of god so pervades the christian life that nothing not anything can rob a christian of the delights of the gospel for all our lives we eat at a full table and eat a rich feast with christ the head of all the good life is a feast i have to stop i have another point of how do we enjoy it well we enjoy it personally but again it would be lost if i didn't help somebody else enjoy it as well an unbeliever edward had a section about how the good life is just a tremendous powerful influence of evangelism we declare the goodness of god and the gospel of jesus christ but we are living it as well so in our witness but also in our lives with each other what am i doing to help a brother and sister in christ enter into the fullness of the good life can i go on and on and on as a member of a church and not help somebody know the bounty and enter the bounty what am i doing on a weekly basis even as i come here this morning to encourage someone see the bounty how are you partaking of the bounty can i pray for you that you would participate and enjoy this bounty more and more would you pray!

[44:32]  I'm going to get together with that brother this week and encourage him in the things of the bounty of God that is there the strength of the body of Christ for the coming year let's pray wonderful God you deserve all the glory and honor for the bounty that you've set before us many times father we're still seen through clouded eyes our hearts affections aren't full for you and for Jesus Christ and the bounty that is there so humbly we come before you praying help us oh God to see your glory to long for it to enter into it and help one another do the same in Jesus name Amen thank you