How many of you need reminders?
Do you work off of reminders?
! I remember the other day I had something that I wanted to be very sure that I took home with me.
! And so in order to be certain that it went home with me, what I did was I took my keys out of my pocket
and I laid it on top of what I needed to take home.
Does anybody else stoop to things of that fundamental nature to help them kind of remember things?
It was like, okay, I can't.
Well, but then the story is I have on occasion walked out to the parking lot.
The door shuts behind me and my keys are inside and I am stuck.
So there, you know, some things work most of the time but not all things work all the time.
We need reminders.
And we are here together this morning to partake of a reminder that is something that for some of you
have a long history.
You have been a member of the body of Christ.
You've known the Lord Jesus Christ for many years.
And one of the dangers of doing something on a repetitious basis is that it has a tendency to kind of,
without thought, it has a tendency to kind of slip into a place of just functional indifference.
We do it, but we really don't mean anything.
We don't think much about it.
And so what I'm going to do is I'm going to take a minute and I'm going to pray for the Holy Spirit to help me in preaching.
And I'm going to ask that while I am praying for the Holy Spirit to help me in preaching,
that you multitask.
You pray that the Holy Spirit helps me in preaching as well.
But you also pray that the Holy Spirit helps you in listening.
And that as a result of our attention to the Word of God through the enabling of the Spirit of God,
that we walk out of here, we who know the Lord Jesus Christ,
with an increased affection for Christ and also an increased affection for one another
and a passion to see people come to know the Lord that we delight in and we worship.
Let's pray.
This morning, Heavenly Father,
we are thankful for the privilege of prayer,
to be able to come boldly before the throne of grace and to do so in a time of need.
And there is no moment in the believer's life that is not marked by dependence upon your sufficiency
and your power.
And that is certainly true at such a time as this,
as when we come to the Lord's table to take these elements, the bread and the cup,
and to do so according to your instruction, obedient to you,
and also to do so to remind ourselves of your death and your covenant and your return.
And I pray, Lord, that you would help me,
that your Spirit would enable me to preach with clarity and passion for the Lord Jesus,
and that your people would hear your words and have them make a difference in their lives and their conduct.
We ask this in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Well, later this morning, I want you to know that we are going to celebrate the Lord's table,
and we are going to have our deacons come forward,
and they are going to pass the bread and the cup.
And I want to welcome all of you who are here that know Christ to come to this table.
I do want to begin this morning by coming with a couple words of caution, if I may.
And in saying what I will at the very outset, it's not intending or my intention is not to be off-putting,
but to be clear about what we do when we come to the Lord's table and to appeal to your conscience.
This fellowship, and I remember when I candidated here many years ago,
one of the questions that I was actually asked in that pastoral search process was,
all right, do you believe that the Lord's table is to be fenced?
And that is a terminology that has come through church history to refer to the fact that in some churches,
if you are not a member of that particular church,
or you're not a member in good standing of churches of the same flavor,
when they have the Lord's table, you are disinvited.
You're said, don't take the elements.
And I explained that I believe on the basis of what we read in 1 Corinthians chapter 11,
that the Lord's table is not to be fenced other than by the conscience of the individuals that come to this table and are at that service.
And so I want you to take some time and turn in your Bible, if you would, to 1 Corinthians chapter 11,
and we're going to take just a couple moments to speak to a couple words of caution in relationship to these elements.
For one, I want you to understand that celebrating the Lord's table and taking the bread and the cup
is actually meant to be a visible expression of faith,
as well as a testimony to all who see what you are doing,
that you are a believer and you have confidence in the finished work of Christ.
There is a sense in which taking the bread and taking the cup is like saying,
I believe Jesus died for my sins and he is my Lord and Savior.
In fact, actually, if you were to take the Greek and kind of open it up,
and I'm not going to delabor the issue this morning,
but in verse 26, where you see that word proclaim,
it says you do proclaim the Lord's death till he comes.
The Greek word there is communicating the idea that actually when you take the bread and when you take the cup,
you are involved in saying publicly, verbally, with your mouth,
I believe Jesus is my Savior and I trust him for my salvation.
Now, I would not be put off at all.
In fact, I'm wondering if anybody has the nerve to do it,
but I wouldn't be put off at all if, as you take the bread,
you can say softly to yourself,
I believe Jesus is my Savior and I thank you for dying for me, Lord Jesus.
I am blessed.
I don't know that there is anything indicated in Scripture as to exactly what was said,
but we have the idea here that it is a time where people give public testimony to their faith.
And so, if you are here, and you have never come to faith in Christ,
to take that bread and take that cup and to actually, in the process,
make a public announcement of your genuine faith in the Lord Jesus Christ,
it's a little contradictory or it's a little dishonest, isn't it?
It's like saying, yes, I know Christ,
when the truth of the matter is, is you really haven't come to know him.
Now, I want to make a distinction here and clarify something.
There's a difference between knowing Jesus as a historical person
that at one point was here on earth and he did, you know, he was a nice guy,
but that's not the same as coming to personal faith in Christ as your Lord and Savior.
Do you know what's hard about believing in Jesus in that context?
It is that you cannot come to faith in Christ without, first of all,
believing what Christ has to say about you as a broken, ruined, despised sinner
who deserves the judgment of God for the darkness and the blackness of your heart.
Remember what Jesus said when he was dealing with the Pharisees
and they were a little put out that he was celebrating, he was having dinner with sinners.
And remember Jesus said, hey, listen, it's not those who are healthy that need the physician,
it's those who are sick.
And until you come to realize that you're not going to get to heaven on the basis of where you grew up
or how many years you went to Sunday school or the fact that you're a pretty good person,
until you come to realize that you're a sinner justly condemned before a holy God,
you are not going to be led by the grace of God to come and cry out and say,
I need Jesus Christ as my personal Savior and I trust him because he died in my place
and his blood has satisfied the judgment of God and I claim what he has done by faith for myself.
And so when we come and we take the bread and we take the cup,
if you're sitting out there and you've never really come to faith in Christ,
I would encourage you just probably let the bread and the cup go by
because to take the bread, take the cup, and not really believe in the Lord Jesus Christ
is to do something that is fundamentally dishonest.
Now nobody in this congregation is ever going to say, hold it, stop.
But I trust the prompting of the Spirit of God cautions you if you don't know Christ.
And before you take the bread and cup, and by the way,
does anybody know how long it takes to come to faith in Christ?
A heartbeat?
Do you follow that?
I tell you, one of the joys that I have is hearing the various testimonies of people.
By the way, in order to become a member of this congregation,
one of the things you have to do is you have to actually share your testimony.
And so many of God's people have different testimonies.
But at the heart of it is the reality that God, by his grace,
brought you to the point of seeing your sin,
and you cried out and asked Christ to be your Savior,
and he heard you and has given you new life.
And so this morning, if you are here and you do not know Christ,
I would appeal to you, before you take the bread and the cup,
there you sit, convicted of your sin, cry out and ask Christ to save you,
and knowing him as your Savior, you're welcome to the table.
There are others that are cautioned in relationship to the table.
And as we look at the passage, if you would,
it says there in verse 27,
whoever therefore eats the bread and drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner
will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord.
And as we look at that context,
I want you to understand that actually the reason that 1 Corinthians 11 is in the Bible
is because the church at Corinth
was going through the motions of communion,
and they were not actually doing what they thought they were doing.
In fact, Paul, earlier in the chapter, he says,
hey, what you're doing is not the Lord's table.
You see, part of gathering together in this love feast
is having the right attitudes towards one another.
How many of you heard me say that?
Everybody stop.
Look over here.
Over here.
How many of you realize that getting along together
is actually harder than you might think?
I mean, here's the truth.
The longer you're together and the more you know each other,
the more challenging it is
because you get to know what other people are like,
and heaven help you, they get to know you.
And here's what was happening in the church at Corinth.
Instead of allowing this reminder of the love of Christ
to be the magnet that helped people
in their attitudes towards one another,
they were just going ahead
and doing their own selfish, self-centered,
argumentative, little belligerent attitude thing.
And Paul says, what you're doing doesn't cut it.
And then, here in this verse 27 and on,
he says, listen, by the way,
you can be taking communion in an unworthy manner.
And so, if you're here this morning,
and really you are honest with yourself,
and you are sitting there with some really negative,
ungodly, unkind, unforgiving attitudes
towards other believers,
then before you take the elements,
what I would appeal to you
is that you take some time to quietly confess
the hardness and stubbornness of your heart
and ask him to cleanse you of that.
And by the way, after communion,
after you've said, I'm committed to Christ,
I'm going to do what's right,
probably one of the things that you should do
is as you're walking out,
you should say, nobody has a problem with anybody,
but I'm just kind of using this as a reference.
You follow me?
So, you ought to say to someone,
hey, can we talk just a little bit?
Would you forgive me
for having such a bad attitude towards you?
And by the way, if we are together long enough,
we do know when attitudes are out there.
Am I right?
Everybody, we're right?
Deal with it.
So, we find here
that the Lord intends for us to take these elements,
but he also intends for us who are believers
to come to grips with attitudes
and to confess and forsake them
and make things right.
So, as we read on in this passage in 1 Corinthians,
we see that it's really Christ's intention
that the believer is to examine his heart
and attitude and repent
and then take the elements.
As a side note,
I must confess that there was a time in my life
where I thought that I kind of had attained
to this righteous state
where I was in a superior spiritual place,
at least because I didn't take communion.
Do you follow that?
I have a problem with, you know,
Pastor Saul Green,
who is my dear, dear friend,
and he knows I'm just using this as an illustration.
And because I have a problem with Pastor Saul Green,
and it's really all his problem,
instead of confessing and forsaking it,
I'm going to be righteous and not take communion.
How many of you understand that?
Stupid.
No, I'm sorry.
That's not spiritual.
Okay.
Ungodly, Tim.
That's a little better.
Confess and forsake and stop being that way,
full of yourself.
And so, if you're sitting here,
and as you are praying and saying,
all right, Lord,
I need you to be talking to me
about the heart that I have,
and you are convicted
that you have a wrong attitude,
confess and forsake it.
So, you can take the elements.
Well, there's another piece
that I want us to pay attention to this morning,
and you're there in 1 Corinthians 11,
verse 24 through 26.
Let me just kind of touch on it.
It says,
And when he had given thanks,
he broke it and said,
This is my body, which is for you.
And then in 25,
after the same manner,
he also took the cup after supper,
saying,
This cup is the new covenant in my blood.
Do as often as you drink it
in remembrance of me.
In 26,
For as often as you eat this bread
and drink the cup,
you proclaim the Lord's death
until he comes.
I want to say another thing
that I want you to recognize,
that when we take the Lord's table,
we understand this to be true.
The Lord's table declares the gospel.
And as you take these elements,
one of the things that I want to have happen
is that the sweetness of the gospel
just kind of resonates in your heart.
It makes a difference.
By the way,
when you are struck by the wonder
and the undeserved blessing
of Christ loving you unconditionally
as he has and is doing
and will forever,
can that control the way you think
and behave?
And what's the answer?
Yes.
In fact,
if your behavior does not reflect
the sweetness of the gospel,
the truth of the matter is,
is A, follow me,
you're not saved,
or B,
you've taken your eyes off
of the blessing
of what he has done in saving you.
And so when we take the elements,
I want you to understand
that the Lord's table
is a summary
of the essential truths
of the gospel.
Let me touch on a couple of those
as we think about
what we mean
when we say that the Lord's table
declares the gospel.
For one,
as we take the bread and the cup,
one of the things
that we remind ourselves of
is the fact that sin brings death.
Sin brings death.
As we take the bread,
and you look at that passage
in verse 24,
Paul wrote this,
he says he broke it,
talking about the bread,
and he said,
this is my body,
which is for you.
And as we take the elements,
one of the things
that we're doing
is reminding ourselves
that Jesus died,
and we understand
that Jesus did not die
for his own sins.
Why did Jesus die?
Over in Romans 6, verse 23,
it says that the wages of sin
are death.
But then in that same very verse,
it says this,
but the gift of God
is eternal life
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
And we understand
that Jesus died in our place,
he died our death,
and he satisfied God's judgment
against our sins.
And beloved,
for you to consciously
and deliberately ponder that
and not have your heart
affected by that
is to indict yourself
as having become
a little cold
to what Christ
has done for you.
Does that make sense?
I have to confess
that I was out having breakfast
with an individual,
and I happened to look over
in a booth,
and here is a husband
with his wife
eating breakfast.
Now, that's a nice thing,
isn't it?
I mean, husbands and wives
have breakfast together.
But I noticed that
the entire time
that I was sitting there,
guess what he was doing?
He had purchased a newspaper.
And what was he doing
with the newspaper?
He had it up.
I mean, you know,
how many of you understand?
I mean, some of you
are electronically inclined,
and it's a long time
since you actually read
a newspaper,
but a newspaper
is a big honking piece of paper,
and when you open it up,
it covers pretty much
the whole table,
and she couldn't see him,
and he couldn't see her,
and the sweetness
of them having breakfast together
was lost in the news.
You follow that?
And I thought to myself,
a lot of love there.
And so,
for you,
to take that bread
and to take that cup
and not consciously
and deliberately stop
and realize,
Jesus did this for me,
and not have that
make a difference,
tells me there's a disconnect
in your heart.
And what is the cure
for a disconnect?
Does anybody have an idea?
The cure is,
A, go ahead
and thumb your nose
at the Holy Spirit
and tell him
to bring it on.
Or to say,
I have to confess
that my heart
is not where it needs to be.
Would you graciously
and kindly
deal with my heart
to renew
and rekindle
my affections
for you?
Of those two,
which makes better sense?
Help me.
A or B?
Okay?
And I would appeal
to you that this morning,
if you're sitting there
and you say,
well, well,
communion again,
yeah.
I mean,
I thought it was
going to be in John.
You know,
hey,
Lord,
truth of the matter is
there's something wrong
with my first love
and I need you
to do something for me.
The Bible tells me
that he lived
a sinless life
and he died
and he died for me.
The Bible also tells me
that God sent his son
actually to be
our substitute.
As we were singing
this morning
and I don't know
about you,
but I'm always tracking
the words
and kind of
cross-referencing them.
Do you follow
what I'm saying?
I'm thinking about
different Bible passages
that connect
with the songs
that we are singing.
And I thought about
the father
sending his son
down here to the earth
to die in my place.
And it tells us
that Jesus
came to be
our substitute.
The penalty for sin
had to be paid
and God sent his son
to pay it for you.
Well,
there's another thing
that I want you
to recognize
and look if you will
there in verse 25.
I want you to understand
that not only
does he
pay the price
for our sins,
but also he saves
to the uttermost.
There in verse 25
it says,
in the same manner
he took the cup
after supper
saying,
this cup
is the new covenant
in my blood.
Do this as often
as you drink
and in remembrance
of me.
This is a very
interesting reference
because the new covenant
is a promise
about the certainty
of my salvation.
So,
how many of you
sometimes,
you know,
when you really
think about it,
I mean,
are you kind of
overwhelmed with the fact
that you don't deserve
to be loved
by an absolutely
sinless God
who is completely holy?
I mean,
how many of you think,
yeah,
I got it.
I deserve it.
No,
no,
no.
Anytime we think
about the reality
of the holiness
of God,
we are absolutely
humbled
and struck
by His glory
and His supremacy
and we say,
and why would you
love me?
No good reason.
But the new covenant
speaks
to the unchangeable
nature
of the love
of Christ
for us.
In order to think
about the new covenant,
I'm just going to refer
to it in broad terms,
I'll remind you
that when God
made a covenant
with the nation
of Israel
on Mount Sinai,
it was a conditional covenant.
He said,
you do this,
and I'll do that.
It's a little bit
like car payments.
How many of you
understand that
when you sign
a car payment,
it's like,
you can drive this car
so long as you
make the payments,
right?
Or you can live
in that address
so long as you
make your payments.
And what happens
when you stop
making payments
on the car
or the home?
What happens?
You wake up
in the morning
and your car's
not there.
Or your dog
is barking
at three o'clock
and you look
out the window
and somebody
is hooking it up
to take it away.
Why?
Because you didn't
keep your part
of the bargain.
the covenant
on Mount Sinai
was conditional.
You do your part,
I'll do my part,
and God says
that you never succeeded.
And then he made
the unconditional covenant
that was referred to
in Jeremiah
and also in Ezekiel,
and he makes it clear
that he alone
is the only one
engaged in satisfying
the new covenant.
I will love you
freely.
I will love you
independent
of your behavior
and your performance.
One of the things
that I love
about that book,
Gospel,
by Platt,
help me,
Greer,
he says,
you know,
there's nothing
you can do
that will ever
cause Jesus
to love you anymore.
and there's nothing
you can do
that will ever
cause Jesus
to love you
any less.
And as we look
at this little
statement there,
it says that you
remember this is
the cup
of the new covenant.
It reminds me
of the unconditional,
unchangeable love
of Christ for me,
not dependent upon
what I have ever done
or will ever do,
but dependent upon
his promise
and his character.
I want you to recognize
something else
stands out
as we look
at this passage
and it's worthy
of our attention.
As you follow along
in verse 27
through 32,
there is a clear call
to live in the light
of his salvation.
You see,
we who know Christ
have been saved
actually to be
kind of demonstrators
of his unbelievable
ability
to transform
human life.
last week,
I was in a situation
where I was listening
to some people share
kind of in broad terms
their testimony.
And they were talking
about the fact
that the thing
that had led them
to Christ
was seeing what God
had done
in someone else's life.
Do you follow that?
The truth of the matter
is that if you
have been saved,
one of the reasons
you've been saved
is so that
that life-transforming
power would be
manifested to other
people and it
would end up
being something
that is magnetic
to draw people
and say,
you know what,
I'm not sure
what happened
in his life
or in her life,
but I need
that to happen
for me.
How many of you
remember the story
of the demoniac?
I mean,
here was a guy
whose life
was messed up
big time,
remember?
He was in the tombs
cutting himself
with stones
and by the way,
he was not appreciated
by his immediate
context and culture.
Nobody liked him.
Not only that,
but everybody
was terrified of him.
and after he was healed,
the demons cast out
and he was saved,
remember?
He kind of remembered
that nobody liked him
and so he said,
Jesus,
can I come with you?
And Jesus said,
no, no, no,
go back to town
and let them see
what I've done for you.
And as a result
of this ex-demoniac
whose life
was absolutely
previously trashed,
when Jesus came back around,
people were standing
all over the place
saying,
hey,
we need you,
we want to hear
who you are
and what you have to do
because we want you
to do for us,
in essence,
what you have done
for the demoniac.
And so we who have been saved
are called
to live in the light
of his salvation
and I want you
to understand that
this morning.
You see,
it wasn't just
for fire insurance
that he saved Tim Kenoyer
or saved you,
he saved me also
to be an illustration
of his grace.
And so I want
to encourage you
this morning
as you think about
when you take
these elements,
number one,
I remind myself
that Jesus died
for me
and he died
as my substitute
and he died
to help me
be different
and he died
to help me
be an example
to other people
and he's coming back.
He's coming back.
I have a little dog
about this big,
well,
whatever,
12 pounds
and I don't understand
doggies,
I mean,
I'm not into dog
but you know what,
that dog knows
when I drive in,
just the tires
on the driveway
and the dog
races to the door
and then goes ballistic.
You know?
And my wife
opens the door
and that dog
just comes zipping
out there
and you know,
all excited.
So what are you like
at the thought
of Jesus coming back?
Huh?
Does it make a difference
to you or not?
I'm thinking about it.
I'm looking forward
to it
and by the way,
I'm not just looking forward
to it when things
are real bad.
I'm looking forward
to it because it will be
the best that I've ever had.
It will be the joy
of my eternity.
It will be the fulfillment
of my longings.
It will be the thing
that is the capstone
of my ambition
and my affections.
It will be the day
when I see him
face to face
and as the psalmist says
and I will be satisfied.
So beloved,
this morning
and I ask the deacons
to come at this time.
As we come
to this table,
I want you
who know
the Lord Jesus
to think with me
about what you are doing
and to consciously
and deliberately
appeal to the Holy Spirit
to help you take
these elements
in such a fashion
that Christ Jesus
is honored,
that the Holy Spirit
is pleased
with your worship.
and before we actually
come to the elements,
we're going to do two things.
For one,
I'm going to pray
and you join me
asking that the Spirit
of God
would prompt your heart
to think clearly
and humbly
if there's sin
you need to confess
and forsake.
And then number two,
we are going to sing together
as we sing our way
through the elements.
How's that?
Did you hear me say that?
Sing our way
through the elements.
Let's pray.
Our gracious Father,
this morning
we are thankful
that you
in your infinite mercy
and kindness
planned for our salvation
before the foundation
of the world
and you set your affection
upon us
and you willingly
sent your Son
to be the sacrifice
for our sin.
And this morning
as we gather
at this table
and we look forward
to sharing
in the bread
and the cup,
we ask for your Spirit's help
that we may do so
in a manner
that honorably
and affectionately
reflects
favorably
upon the name
and the work
of Christ.
We confess
how easy it is
for our hearts
to be cold
and indifferent,
to become calloused
by the repetitious
nature of our sin.
And we would plead
with you
that this morning
by your grace
you would convict us
and draw us
to a place
of humility
and genuine
brokenness
that sin
would not have
dominion in us
and that we would
take these elements
with a clear conscience
that Christ
would be adored
and worshipped
here among us
as He is in heaven.
And that's our prayer.
Amen.
Sing together.
Amen.
Behold the Lamb
who bears
our sins away
slain for us
Thank you for the reminder.
And we remember
the promised day
that all who come in
Did I forget?
Go ahead.
I see.
So we share
in this bread of life
and we drink
of His sacrifice
as a sign
of our bond
and peace
under the table
of the King.
Amen.
Savior Jesus Christ, torn for you, eat and remember the wounds that heal the death that brings us life, paid the price for like us one.
Amen.
And when he'd given thanks, he broke it and said, this is my body, which is for you.
Do this in remembrance of me.
Amen.
Thank you.
Amen.
A blood that cleanses every stain of sin shed for you.
Drink and remember
He drank that cup that all may enter in to receive the light of God.
The same man also he took the cup after supper, saying,
Amen. This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me.
And so with thankfulness and faith we rise to respond
And to remember our call to follow in the steps of Christ
As his body here on earth
As we share in his suffering
And reclaim Christ will come again
And will join in the feast of heaven
Around the table of the King
Join me as we pray
And then we will sing once more
Gracious God and Father
Our hearts rejoice when we stop and realize
In a small way
The significance of your love and your mercy
We're overwhelmed when we stop and think that
You who are the creator
Sovereign Lord of this universe
Would willingly send your son to die in our place
And to grant us salvation
Not on the basis of our merit or our works
But on the basis of your grace
And the richness of your heart
We are debtors
Justly and righteously
You have reason to expect
Holiness and godliness from us
And as we have taken the bread and the cup
And we've reminded ourselves
Of the sacrifice
Of Christ
We pray that these things would
Stir our resolve to live holy lives
Humble
Generous
Kind
Forgiving
That the unbelieving world
Seeing
Genuine difference in us
Would be drawn to ask us a reason
For the hope we have in Christ
And we glory in you
Amen
ux
Amen
Thank you.