[0:00] If you want to turn to 1 Corinthians chapter number 11, there's a big emphasis on us being together. And it's so nice that we are all together in here for this time, 1 Corinthians chapter 11.
[0:12] We're just going to walk through a few verses that give us some guidelines because we want to make sure that we fully appreciate, for the best that we can, what is happening as people who were ransomed, the chosen of God, as we just sung about, whose sins have been paid for, and as we observe the Lord's Supper together.
[0:32] I want to pray for us as we get started. Heavenly Father, I am so extremely grateful that you would give your commandment to your church to observe the Lord's Supper, that we could set a time aside, Lord, to focus our mind and our hearts upon the cross.
[0:49] I'm so thankful that I know this message, where I thank you for all the remembrances of the Lord's Supper through the years and what it did in my heart and bringing me back to realizing that the message of the cross is above all else in this world.
[1:05] It is the event that trumps all events, Lord, the resurrection, the death, burial, and the gospel news, Lord. We are so grateful for it. Lord, I thank you for this time. As a church, Lord, as we come, we want to be reverent, and we want to honor you, Lord, in the way that you have commanded us to do through the observing of your Supper, of the Lord's Supper.
[1:26] In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. I want to walk through some things here in 1 Corinthians chapter number 11, looking at the fact that the Lord's Supper is such an important service to our church because it was commanded of the Lord to us.
[1:41] It was not just tradition, which is seen in Acts chapter 2, verse 42, that from the time of Christ they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship and breaking of bread and prayers.
[1:53] And so it's good to know that, that that's continued through the church for 2,000 years. But what was most important is that it was ordained from Jesus Christ to us and has a unique purpose in our lives.
[2:05] It's also important because today believers focus our heart. It helps us focus our heart on the gospel. 1 Corinthians 2, verse 2 says, For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
[2:20] It's very easy to know about many different things. There's many things to talk about, but the cross is something that ought to be at above and beyond anything else that we would give our heart and our attention to, is save Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
[2:35] Hebrews 9, 22, And almost all things are by the law purged with blood, and without the shedding of blood is no remission. We celebrate the day that without the death of Jesus Christ, there would be no hope for us.
[2:48] We celebrate the day that we know that message and that there was a remission for sin. We celebrate the day that there was an atonement for all of our sins, and it's observed here. And it's important because the Lord's Supper is designed as a teachable moment when our whole mind, soul, and body can be involved.
[3:07] Luke chapter number 24, after the resurrection of Christ, before He sends up into heaven, He said, Behold my hands and my feet, that it is myself. Handle me and see, for a spirit has not flesh and bones, as you see me have.
[3:22] That He stood there before the disciples, and He showed them His hands and the prince upon them, and that was an opportunity for them to worship and to see and to be reminded of His bodily death and resurrection.
[3:35] And so this is exciting and important for us as a church. It's great to see the kids that are in here, as they always would be on Sunday night, but they already know by now something's different, right?
[3:46] They know something different is happening. As we go through the order of service, they're going to realize something different is happening, that there's an emphasis tonight that will be very clear to them, that my church family, my mom and dad, are talking about the cross of Jesus and His death for them.
[4:02] They will see the cup, they will see the bread, and they'll wonder what this is about, and they're going to know what it symbolizes for us. And it's so important to us as a people who not only want to preach the gospel now, but we want the next generation and generations to come to understand the gospel.
[4:18] A church that doesn't handle baptism, and a church that doesn't understand the Lord's Supper properly, and teach it to the next generation, is a church that will not have the gospel being preached at it for generations to come.
[4:30] So we come tonight with an excitement, but we're also very sober-minded in realizing that there's a way in which God has told us that we are to observe this, and we want to do it for His honor and glory.
[4:40] So we're going to pick up at verse number 17 in 1 Corinthians chapter 11. It says, Now in this that I declare unto you, I praise you not, that you come together not for the better, but for the worse.
[4:55] For first of all, when you come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you, and I partly believe it. Apostle Paul is talking to the church at Corinth, and he's going to give them an excerpt of teaching where Jesus had delivered unto him, and now He delivers unto them how to do the Lord's Supper.
[5:12] But when he comes to them, and he emphasizes when you come together, when you come together in the church, that's mentioned multiple times in these verses, that we are to come together, that there should be no separation, there should be no division, and we're going to look at the division and what made the division in here.
[5:30] But there could be a problem in the Lord's Supper, and it says that you come together not for better, but for the worse. That there's a way in which that this church did the Lord's Supper that caused harm. There's a way in which they did it which was not good, but it was bad.
[5:42] It was a way there was a creating of division that they had been divided over economic class. What ought to be a representation of the most selfless act in all of mankind, the death of God in our place, had become something where people were looking out for themselves and not one another.
[6:02] Not a picture of the gospel, but the opposite. So they didn't come together for good, but they had come together for bad. In verse 19 it says, For there must also be heresies among you that which are approved may be made manifest among you.
[6:15] Typically when we hear the word heresies, we think of false or bad teaching. Here it's being used just to mean a sect or division. There's a division that is among you, and even though it seemed to be something that's expected, it's something that's not appreciated, that it shouldn't be true among us.
[6:32] When you come together, therefore, into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's Supper. What it says here is that you can do this in such a wrong way that what you did was not the Lord's Supper.
[6:44] I announced this morning that we were going to have the Lord's Supper, but there is a way in which that we could come here today and be divided that would not be the Lord's Supper. There could be a way in which I would say, I'm going to invite one group of people or not invite another group of people, or that there could be fighting where there would not be the Lord's Supper, that it would not represent the gospel.
[7:02] And we're going to see this church, and you just say, how did they ever get to this position where this was happening? Verse 21, For in eating, everyone taketh before his own supper, and one is hungry, and another is drunken.
[7:16] What? Have you not houses to eat and to drink, or despise you, the church of God, and shame them that have not? What shall I say unto you? Shall I praise you in this? I praise you not.
[7:28] For I have received of the Lord, which also I delivered unto you. So it says there's people that came in, and by the misdistribution of it, there's some people that were hungry, and there's some people that received so much that they were drunk, and that there's a partiality that was given here.
[7:44] And so as we look here today, and kids, as you'll notice, as this will be given out in a little bit by the men, it will be handed to you. Everybody in this room will receive the same thing. They will receive it in the same size, and we will take it all together at the same time together.
[7:59] That there's no false distribution. There's no group that's going to have so much that would leave the drunkenness, and another poor that would be hunger, and that this isn't a meal for us, but this is an opportunity to be reminded of the bodily death of Christ, and the shedding of His blood for our sins.
[8:16] And it says, if you're hungry, do that at home. David and Mia and the Burkharts, we had lunch today, and we said, we have taken care of the fact that we will not be hungry when we came here today. That we did not come here today to satisfy our own hunger, but we came here to honor the Lord through the Lord's Supper.
[8:33] And you'd say, well, that seems crazy, because how would our Lord's Supper ever be? It's such a lean meal. It's such so few things. Well, that's done on purpose. That we are here equally receiving, equally taking at the same time, because we would want no division among us of economic class or any other reason to be dividing us.
[8:52] So there's some important truths that are related. First, the source of the Lord's Supper, as I said, is not tradition or opinion, but rather the revelation given Paul directly from the Lord. I have received of the Lord, that which also I delivered unto you, that Jesus Christ had taught how the Lord's Supper should be administered, and we continue.
[9:13] Then I remind you on that night, the setting, the backdrop. There's the betrayal of Judas, but our Father sets His beautiful supper against this backdrop. What would be the supreme ugliness, the worst that anybody could ever do to somebody, towards the creator of the universe, and it heightens the contrast between His gracious provision and the freeing man from bondage of sin.
[9:36] And then we think about the perfect sacrifice in Jesus Christ. Then we continue here, that the Lord Jesus, that same night in which He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He break it, and He saith, Take, eat, this is My body, which is broken for you.
[9:52] This do in remembrance of Me. After the same manner also He took the cup, which He had supped, saying, this cup, the New Testament, My blood, this do as often as you drink it in remembrance of Me.
[10:06] the primary purpose in our service tonight has to do with the remembrance of the cross. And so when we come here tonight, I tell you that you need to be saved, that you need to be baptized, and I invite you to join us here tonight if you are living in accordance to God's Word.
[10:24] But I bring you here tonight to remember, which means that if you're a child in here or an adult, and you have not put your faith and trust in Jesus, that I would invite you to remember or to learn about the cross, and that you can fully be involved in that.
[10:39] And that parents, as you've spoken with your children, helping them understand, as I know, as being the parent of small kids, when you come out of here, there's many questions, and those questions coming into this night and coming out of this night are so wonderful, aren't they?
[10:53] Because it's an opportunity for them to remind them what it is that we as a church are all about. For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you do show the Lord's death until He come.
[11:06] And there's this expectation that, Lord, we take this today, but we pray that the next time that we take it, we will take it in Your presence. That we may meet again, and I told Juan in a couple months he'll help lead us in Lord's Supper and we'll help him get ready as he'll lead us in that.
[11:21] But Juan, I told you that, but I really hope it never happens. All right? I hope that we have the opportunity to be in the presence of the Lord, and that reminds us of this. Wherefore, whosoever shall eat of this bread and drink his cup, the Lord unworthily shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord.
[11:36] But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup. But let a man examine himself. In a moment, I'm going to ask Charlotte to play the piano, and we're just going to take a few moments in here and allow you a time of prayer and a time of examination.
[11:55] It's the reason that we announce the Lord's Supper in advance. We should live our whole lives ready to take the Lord's Supper, right? We should be like that, but we need to take these opportunities. And so this self-examination, look at what the disciples did at their last supper as they were concerned about their personal commitment.
[12:11] At that time, the Lord's Supper with him, Matthew 26, 22, and it says, And they were exceeding sorrowful and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I?
[12:24] That personal examination. Jesus said, one of you would betray me and the humility, contrite spirit of those disciples, and they would say, Lord, is it me? You know, God, would you search my heart?
[12:36] Lord, if that's where I'm at, if I'm somebody who's going to deny Christ, would you let me know? That personal example that they gave, that examination. Believers today are called for a time of personal examination.
[12:48] Galatians 6, 4, But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing himself alone and not in another. Every one of you personally should take time and ask God to reveal what is upon your heart and come to the Lord's Supper with clean hands and say, Lord, I came today to honor you.
[13:09] A time of personal concentration, Psalms 139, 23, and 24, says, Search me, O God, and know my heart. Try me and know my thoughts, and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
[13:21] Now we continue, 1 Corinthians 11, verse 29, For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this cause, many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.
[13:36] You know, distinguishing between the holy and the mundane appears to be far more serious in the Bible than we often appreciate today. The things that belong to God ought to be kept sacred and be kept holy.
[13:50] And so when we come to these times, we don't take them irreverently. And so how would we go about doing it in an unworthy manner? By ignoring or saying that it's unimportant to not prepare our hearts for this moment, by failing to observe it in a meaningful way, to treat it as if it is nothing.
[14:08] The Bible says as often as you do, do it in remembrance. If you were to do this and not do it in remembrance, you would be doing it in an unworthy way. By assuming that it's sufficient, itself is sufficient to save an individual, if you came today believing that this was a means or a sacrament, believing that you were earning your salvation by going through this, then that would be taking it in an unworthy way.
[14:30] By refusing to confess and to repent of sins and coming to the table would be an unworthy manner. Or by having a lack of respect and love for God or His children would be coming to this table in an unworthy way.
[14:44] Verse 31, For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. So we come today and say, God, examine my heart and show me. See if there's any wicked way in me, Lord, and lead me into repentance.
[14:58] But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, for we should not be condemned with the world. God, you protect us from ourselves. Verse 33, Wherefore, my brethren, when you come together to eat, tarry one for another.
[15:12] That tarry one for another once again reminds us, come together as a church, come together, come together, come together. Then at the end, it says wait and tarry one for another. That when you get to the place, we have clocks and we have the ability and we have cars and we can set our watches and usually we'll arrive here about five o'clock.
[15:30] Some of you a little bit earlier, some of you a little bit later, but because of the modern things that we have the day we arrive about the same time and it's easy to keep it. But in a time in which they would live, they could get ahead of themselves or they would be, they would suggest the prince who are not waiting for everyone to arrive before they begin their meal.
[15:50] It's a contrast to this, we'll be sitting down to the meal together and sharing the food each person brought to the table, that we should be mindful of one another. Tarry one for another means that we are mindful of one another when we come to this.
[16:02] We come together as a church family. You know, I can't do this on my own. I can't take my family and we can't be on vacation and I can say, my heart is so filled with love for Jesus.
[16:13] I want to take the Lord's Supper. I don't have any right to do this. I only have the opportunity to experience this and take this time with you and together. And it brings a closeness and a unity.
[16:25] So Paul here, it says, was setting something in order. And if any man hunger, let him eat at home, that he come not together unto condemnation and the rest will I set in order when I come.
[16:39] Which is to say that he set one thing in order and when he comes again, there are some things in the Corinthian church that he was going to set in order, some other things. But what was the thing that Paul helped set in order as they get ready for the Lord's Supper?
[16:51] It wasn't just setting the table which is important, but what he set in order was a heart. He says, guys, I really want you to get this. I really want you to understand that this is about remembering the cross.
[17:02] I really want you to know that this is not about you. I really want you to know that there should be no divisions among you, no separations among you over any reason. And when you come to the table, wait for one another and all come together because this was given to me from the Lord and it is so wonderful.
[17:20] So Paul was helping set people's hearts in order for this time. And that's what I would ask of you to do. When I ask Charlotte to play and take some time and pray but say, God, would you set my heart in order so that I can take this in a way that is worthy, that I can examine my heart, that I can come, that my heart can be filled with remembrances of the cross.
[17:41] Heavenly Father, I ask that you would be with us now as we want our hearts to be set together for such an important time as we come to this table together, waiting for one another with no division, examining our hearts.
[17:55] Lord, not for selfish gain or not to be fed but to come here to remember the cross. Lord, I ask that you would do that right now in the heart of every brother and sister that is in this room or those that have not put their faith and trust in you.
[18:10] Lord, I pray you make that evidently clear and that, Lord, they would not participate with us in this but they would take this time to focus upon you and your death and their place.
[18:22] In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.