Have you ever thought about how everywhere we go, we're surrounded by symbols?
Some of you may have come in this morning and you saw a police car or a police officer,
maybe a star on the side of the car.
Some of you may have had an up-close personal picture when you got stopped for speeding.
That happens sometimes.
Most married people in this room, you look down, you see a symbol, this wedding ring.
Look over here, you see the symbol of that flag.
I hope that when you came in this morning, you saw these trays here
and thought about what they contained, the symbol of bread, the symbol of that cup.
That's what we're going to be looking at this morning.
You know, some of these symbols, we just know.
Maybe we're taught growing up, we know how to treat them,
how to show respect or how not to disrespect them.
For example, that flag.
There's a lot of different ways to show respect in terms of the place it's displayed,
the way that it's folded, the way that it's even disposed of when it's worn out.
Do you know, though, how to treat the symbols of the Lord's Supper with respect?
Do you know how to observe the Lord's Supper in a way that will truly honor the Lord
who has given us this ceremony?
The Apostle Paul explains in great detail for us 1 Corinthians chapter 11,
what the Lord's Supper is all about, how not to disrespect it,
how to prepare ourselves even for observing it.
I want you to look with me this morning in 1 Corinthians chapter 11.
We're not going to look at the whole chapter,
but the section dealing with the Lord's Supper is in verses 17 through 34.
The first section I just want to summarize for you,
that's where Paul condemns the abuse of the Lord's Supper.
17 through 22.
Have you ever thought that the longest section in the New Testament related to the Lord's Supper,
what gives us the actual details of how Jesus instituted it,
the earliest details written in Scripture,
it's in the context of a church that abused it,
that didn't take it seriously.
That's what verses 17 through 22 is actually condemning.
See, the Lord's Supper in the church at Corinth,
took place as a part of a church-wide meal,
what we might call a covered dish supper.
That was fine.
That was not the problem.
The problem in that church was there were some wealthy, affluent members,
and they brought good dishes.
You know, they brought probably pork tenderloin.
No, they wouldn't have brought that.
Some of them were Jewish.
It would have offended them, wouldn't it?
They brought good food.
That's what they had at home.
That's what they were used to.
And they brought their well-filled baskets,
and they spread it out for one another
and absolutely offended the poorer,
less affluent church members
who did not have food like theirs,
or maybe not enough at all.
And so instead of coming together and observing the Lord's Supper
in a way that would honor the Lord
and bring them together as a church family,
focusing on what Jesus had done for them,
the way they observed it,
it divided the church.
It caused hard feelings.
And Paul actually condemns it as dishonoring to the Lord,
and he calls them on the carpet for it.
In fact, he says in verse 20,
we're in 1 Corinthians chapter 11,
that what they were doing was so far from what Jesus intended
that it did not even deserve to be called the Lord's Supper.
Look at it.
When you come together,
it is not the Lord's Supper that you eat.
This is here for us to understand.
There's a way to come here as members of the church
and do it all wrong.
Dishonor the Lord
and not in any way bring us together as a church family
with a singular focus on what Jesus has done for us.
We need to observe this meal.
We need to do what we're doing this morning
in a way that will honor the Lord Jesus for sure,
but also unite us in our common faith,
trust, confidence in who Jesus is
and what He did for us when He died on the cross.
Paul explains the way that we need to go about this
by telling us how Jesus instituted it
in verses 23 through 26.
I want you to pause that for just a moment.
We're going to come back to it and read it
as we actually observe or take in these elements.
Let's look at really the lengthiest section.
Verses 27 through 34,
where we are warned to seriously prepare
to observe the Lord's Supper.
Paul's writing to a church that had all kinds of issues
and he tells them,
you can do it right.
Even you can do it right,
he's telling these people.
But it applies to us today.
We need to observe the Lord's Supper
the way that would most please the Lord
and he tells us, beginning in verse 27,
read it with me.
Whoever therefore eats the bread
or drinks of the cup of the Lord
in an unworthy manner
will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord.
Let a person examine himself then
and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
For anyone who eats and drinks
without discerning the body
eats and drinks judgment on himself.
That is why many of you are weak and ill
and some have died.
You may be reading a translation that says,
and some have fallen asleep.
Paul likes to use that way
of describing death for Christians.
Verse 31,
but if we judged ourselves truly,
we would not be judged.
But when we are judged by the Lord,
we are disciplined
so that we may not be condemned
along with the world.
The Lord's Supper is a serious time.
It's a serious time for us
as Pickens First Baptist Church this morning.
We are warned here
not to do this in an unworthy way.
What's he talking about?
Look at verse 27,
the word unworthy.
In the context,
that refers specifically
to the division
that was taking place
in that church
that I told you about at the beginning.
But I want you to think about
why there was division.
Why did some of those church members
exclude others?
There was pride for sure.
There was selfishness.
There was just plain selfishness and greed.
There was prejudice.
No, it wasn't racial prejudice.
Socioeconomic.
They were class conscious.
Bottom line is,
these church family members,
they didn't love one another.
They didn't treat the whole family
like members of the family.
They just weren't acting like God's children.
They were not loving one another
as brothers and sisters are supposed to.
I know brothers and sisters,
some of y'all got in a fight
before you left home this morning.
Some of you probably got in a fight
in the car.
Come in here.
Some of you,
parents threatened you.
I can remember being,
I'll use the word back in my day,
whipped with a belt with my mother
like this from behind.
Brothers and sisters,
a lot of times,
don't love one another
or don't act like they love one another.
But you know,
deep down,
your brother or your sister,
they are special.
They've got the same blood
flowing through them.
And you may some days fight
and try to kill one another,
but don't let somebody
outside the family do that.
You'll take up for them.
Because the family
is supposed to be tight.
They're supposed to be real love.
And deep down,
you know what I'm talking about.
Well, that is supposed to be
how we feel about one another.
We have a common Father.
We have a common Lord.
We're partaking of a common meal
that focuses on
what our Lord has done for us.
And so we need to examine ourselves.
We need to make sure
that we are not guilty of pride.
Maybe not in relation to one another,
but in any way.
You know, this is a warning
about coming to the Lord's table
in an unworthy way.
That could apply to any unconfessed sin.
Anything that you're refusing
to obey God about,
that is a hindrance
to your coming into His presence
and observing this Lord's Supper
in a way that would please Him.
None of us, we know this,
none of us are worthy truly
to observe the Lord's Supper.
But God has acted in grace
in sending His Son to die for us.
Jesus willingly,
out of mercy and love,
gave up His life
to pay the penalty for our sins.
We can come to the Lord's table
in a worthy way,
trusting in Jesus Christ
for our salvation
and humbly seeking God's help
to love one another
like real brothers and sisters.
It's important,
as we observe this meal this morning,
that we examine ourselves
right now
before we partake of it.
To come to the Lord's table
with unconfessed sin
or listen to this,
a casual, flippant,
I don't give a rip attitude.
It's important,
the attitude that we come this morning,
understanding
that these elements,
this bread and this cup,
that symbolizes
the Lord Jesus' body
and His blood.
It symbolizes Him
and giving His life
for us.
This is one time
when you come to church
that you really and truly
need to be serious,
you need to be focused,
you need to be thinking
about who Jesus is
and what He's done
and desire by your attitude
to honor Him,
to thank Him
as you partake
of this meal.
If you don't,
if you refuse to,
it's like bringing judgment
upon yourself
according to verse 29.
Look at it.
For anyone who eats
and drinks
without discerning the body
eats and drinks
judgment on himself.
That could be referring,
probably is referring
to the body there,
not the body of Christ,
but the church body.
He is writing here
specifically to this church
over the way they're
mistreating one another,
the divisions that are happening.
But the point is,
we've got to judge ourselves,
examine ourselves,
look closely at ourselves.
Is there anything
that would hinder us
from real fellowship
with the Lord
and with one another?
In the Corinthian church,
this judgment included
sickness and even death
according to verse 30.
Now the truth is,
God does not often
discipline His people
this severely.
That's why many of us
are here this morning.
Right?
If God judged
all of our sin
like He did occasionally
in the New Testament,
we wouldn't survive either.
But God takes sin seriously.
So seriously that at times
He made examples.
In Acts 5,
a man by the name of Ananias
and his wife Sapphira,
they were killed
because they lied
to the Holy Spirit.
There were people
who so abused
the Lord's Supper,
so dishonored God
by their attitude
or actions,
the guy either
inflicted them
with sickness
or just killed
them outright
to make a point.
Severe discipline.
But let's not overlook
the fact that today,
right now,
God still
takes sin seriously
and He does discipline
His children,
us,
when we need it.
That's because
He loves us
according to Hebrews
chapter 12.
Look,
for the Lord disciplines
the one He loves
and chastises
every son
whom He receives.
God disciplines us
for our good.
He disciplines us
to correct us,
to bring us back
to Himself.
Sometimes to keep us
from doing worse
to ourselves.
The best way
to avoid God's discipline,
verse 31,
is to judge ourselves.
The word judge
here carries out
the idea
of serious
self-examination.
One way you can avoid
God's discipline
is to examine yourself.
Look at yourself
in light of God's Word.
Right now,
let's just take some time.
Ask God to help you
to seriously
examine yourself
just like we're told
here in verse 28.
If you need to confess
sin to God right now,
do that.
Just tune me out
and just agree
with God
about what He's
convicting you about.
Change your mind
about it.
Turn from it.
If you're a Christian
trust that Jesus
paid the penalty
for that sin,
ask God
to forgive you
right now.
It could be
that your problem
is not between
just you and God.
It could be
your problem
is with someone else.
You see,
that was going on
in the church
at Corinth.
And if you're
out of fellowship
with another Christian,
and let's think about it
as this passage
is talking about it,
in particular,
somebody in this church,
you need to ask God
to show you
what you need to do
in order that you
and that person
can be reconciled.
Now,
it may be
that you already know
it's obvious
something's been said,
something's been done.
there's no doubt.
You know what you need
to say or do
to initiate
the reconciliation process.
But if you know
somebody's got something
against you,
there is a problem,
you don't know
what it is.
Ask God
to give you the wisdom
to know how to approach
that person
to try to find out
what it is
so that you can
be reconciled
with them.
You know,
the Scripture
is real clear.
If we will confess
our sins,
God will forgive us.
Scripture says
in 1 John 1, 9,
if we confess our sins,
He is faithful and just
to forgive us
of our sins
and to cleanse us
from all unrighteousness.
You can be forgiven.
Scripture is also clear
that we have a responsibility
to live at peace
with all people,
at least as far
as we're concerned.
Look at what Paul said
in Romans chapter 12
and verse 18.
If possible,
so far as it depends
on you,
live peaceably
with all.
Sometimes it's not possible.
Sometimes something happens
and you want to make it right
but somebody's written you off.
You so offended them,
you so wronged them
that they don't want
to forgive you.
They don't want to listen
to your apology.
If that's the case,
you can't do anything
about it.
The Scripture is clear
if possible.
So far as it depends
on you,
live peaceably with all.
But you do what you can do.
You make sure
that the problem's not
your unwillingness
to reconcile.
As we observe the Lord's Supper
this morning,
every Christian
is invited to participate.
You do not have to be
a member of this church.
But the Scripture
is clear
that only Christians
who are seeking to live
in fellowship with the Lord
and their fellow Christians
should participate.
So with that in mind,
let's look now
at how Jesus intends
for us to observe
the Lord's Supper
in verses 23
through 26.
In verses 23
and following,
Jesus tells us.
Paul is telling us
what the Lord
revealed to him.
Look at it.
Verse 23.
For I received
from the Lord
what I also delivered
to you,
that the Lord Jesus
on the night
when he was betrayed
took bread
and when he had given thanks
he broke it
and said,
This is my body
which is for you.
Do this
in remembrance of me.
Jesus took the bread
and said that.
He held up the bread
and said something.
He held up the bread
and said,
This is my body.
What he meant was
that the body,
the bread represents
or symbolizes
his body.
Jesus was not saying
that the bread
was literally his body
or actually became
his body.
That's the Roman
Catholic Church's
incorrect teaching.
What they call
the doctrine
of transubstantiation.
That the bread
and the wine
actually turns
into the body
of Jesus.
To be honest with you,
that's just ridiculous.
That's not what
Jesus meant.
It's not what
Jesus means now.
When Jesus
instituted the Lord's Supper,
he was standing
beside them
with them.
And when he took bread
and said,
This is my body.
They all knew
Jesus is standing there.
The bread
symbolizes
his body.
The cup,
the wine
in it
symbolized
his blood.
No one
had any confusion.
It's like Jesus
giving other
analogies.
He talked about
I am the door.
You think
anybody
who actually heard him
thought he would
thought of himself
as a real literal door?
He said,
I am the vine.
Did people think
he was actually
a literal vine
growing somewhere?
No.
We understand
symbols.
That's what
Jesus
was saying.
He's speaking
figuratively.
this is my body,
he says,
which is for you
or given
for you,
it says in Luke 22,
19.
He's describing
giving his life.
He's describing
dying
for us.
The scripture
says it real clearly.
In the presentation
of the gospel
presented in
1 Corinthians 15,
Christ died
for our sins
according to the
scriptures.
He gave his body,
he gave his life
for us.
And then,
do this in remembrance
of me
calls for us
to carefully
reflect,
think deeply
about
what the Lord
has done
for us.
We must never
fail when we come
to the Lord's table
to make much
of
his death
for our sins.
I mean,
this is the basis
for our salvation.
God accepts us
because Jesus
paid the penalty
for your sins.
You think of it
personally.
As you take that bread,
just a few minutes,
you're going to be
holding it in your hand.
You think about the fact,
Jesus gave his life
in order to save you.
Think to yourself
as you hold it.
Jesus gave his life
in order to save me
from the penalty
of my sin,
which is eternal death,
which is eternal
separation from God
in hell.
That's how much
he loves you.
That's how much
our Heavenly Father
loves us
to send Jesus
to do that.
Let's prepare.
Let's pray together now.
Would you join with me?
Amen.
Absolutely.
Amen.
Jesus
is
a
Christ.