I would like you to begin our time in the scriptures together this morning by turning to Romans
! chapter 6 verse 23 many of you probably know it by heart you know it by memory but if i were to take
! what is the bible focus of our time together this morning and kind of press it together into a single
text this would probably be my choice how many of you know Romans chapter 6 verse 23 by heart you
take a stab at it and you'll get there okay for the wages of sin is death what happens when we sin
the outcome is eventual death but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord
I trust that's a verse that that you know I mean that that if you were to kind of compress your life
down into one central statement about who you are and what counts as supremely important that that
that text would be one of those that you hold on to because at the heart of our life and our existence
is this issue of whether or not we are in relationship with Christ and were it not
for the fact that God sent his son to die on the cross for my sins and for your sins the truth of
the matter is is that we would not have the privilege and the hope of relationship with the
Lord Jesus Christ what we are doing this morning and you see these elements up here you see the the
bread and the cup what we're doing is we call the Lord's table or communion love feast is another
term that the scripture uses and and I as I was praying earlier in the week last week actually thinking
about the particulars of what we're going to look at this morning I thought it'd be appropriate for us
to kind of take some time and and allow the scriptures to inform us remind us again of what we're doing
there's a lot of different opinions about what happens in communion some people have the idea that
taking communion is something that in some senses makes or breaks their relationship with Christ
I remember talking with an individual who said to me boy I I'm I'm feeling a little uncertain about my
spiritual state not well that's a curious thing to say to a pastor and so a natural and logical why is that well I
haven't taken communion I
I want to tell you something taking communion doesn't make you better or make you worse
there's nothing in the act itself necessarily
that has a saving effect
it's not like when you die you get to say to Jesus well I get to come in because I took communion yesterday
on the other hand there are some who believe that that communion is something that is something we
shouldn't celebrate all the time after all when you celebrate something regularly guess what happens
becomes too familiar I I don't buy into that and I'll get that point in a minute but but I want you to
understand when we think about what we do when we come to this table the best way to figure out what's
actually taking place is to do what is to open the Bible everybody said that well that's what we're
expecting pastor we really want to look at scriptures and see what the Bible has to say
so turn in your Bible to first Corinthians chapter 11 and we are going to take a broad look
at verses 23 through 34
as we look at the passage we pick up there in verse 23 and I will read the passage till we come to verse 26 it says for I
received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread
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
in the same way he also took the cup after supper saying this cup is the new covenant in my blood do
this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me for as often as you drink this bread
help me here as you eat this bread and drink this cup you proclaim the Lord's death till he comes
let's take a minute and pray
our father
we are desperate for your help
we don't want to be so presumptuous that we think the matter of understanding the sweetness of the scripture
is something that is left merely to our intellectual apprehension we rely
upon the word that you've given us and we rely upon the indwelling Holy Spirit
we ask that you would do a work in the hearts of your people this morning that would be something that is memorable
affecting
and leaves a a mark
for the days to come
that as a result of our attention to the word and as a result of the enabling of the Holy Spirit that we who know Christ
would grow to be more like him and would be individuals who in this
dark and failing world
stand out as lights joyful in the confidence we have in complete forgiveness for all of our sins and the certainty of our eternal destiny
!
We ask this in Jesus name
Amen!
So as we begin our passage we want to recognize that when we take the Lord's table
one of the things that we do is that we value reminders at the very beginning look there in verse 26
it says this
For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup you proclaim the Lord's death
till he comes
One of the ongoing questions that that floats around in different circles is how often should you practice the Lord's table?
How often should you have communion? How often should a congregation be involved in in taking the bread and the elements?
And there are some
There are some groups of people that take it every Sunday
There are some that take it once a quarter
There are some that even take it less than that and I remember in one case asking a
A group of pastors, so why is it that you celebrate once a quarter?
And the answer was this a very interesting answer to me a curious one
It said well, if you take it too often it becomes familiar
I
I remember being a little befuddled by that
So how is it that taking something less often that you're supposed to do to remind yourself of things?
How is it that that taking it less often becomes more special now?
remember to
God in the old testament gave explicit commands as to how often the passover was to be celebrated
How often did you do that once a year?
There were other specific times in which the nation of israel had particular feast days that had particular
focuses
When jesus gave instruction regarding the matter of the lord's table
It is very interesting that he did not give to his people at that time any express directions as to how often we're to take it
And so when we think about this question recognize that what the text tells us
Informs us of his thought how often should we take it?
The answer is whenever
Whenever you choose in our fellowship. We have broken that down and there's no arbitrary
Kind of mandate necessarily, but the rule of matter is that we generally take it about once a month
Any of you that pay careful attention and I wouldn't give you extra points if you do
But if you pay careful attention you notice that we generally do it about once a month
We don't do it always on the same day. Sometimes we do it sunday morning
Sometimes we do it sunday night sometime we do it wednesday sometime we do it sunday school and the reason for the variety in part
Is to provide a little bit of diversity to kind of make you think in different frames and kind of challenge you
Outside the space of well today is communion. I got turned my brain off. I know what we do pastor's going to go to first corinthians 11 again
You know, it's like we've been there
I want you to understand
that we
value
reminders
And we value the fact that scripture tells us that we can do this whenever so
That being said remembering our lord's death for our sins is an important part of our relationship and that's what we're doing this morning
We're reminding ourselves that jesus died in our place
To those who would say well
Here we are doing the same thing again
And I think probably that uh
Repetition has kind of dulled my sensibility
I would encourage you to recognize that it's not repetition that is at the heart of your spiritual struggle
The fact that you find a lack of affection at the moment is reflective of where your relationship is
Not of the regularity with which you do it
Case in point
I
I tell judith my bride of 44 years
That I love her
All the time
It's not like I tell her once a week or once a quarter or once a month and uh, she should suffice with that
Not only do I tell her every evening when we go to bed the last thing I say is judith
I love you and she if she has not dozed off because I dawdled getting to bed
She will say and then and by the way when I get there and she's dozed off I
There are extra noises that go along with kind of waking her up for it
Say I love you too, you know
There's nothing wrong, right?
Here's the deal
My affection for my bride means that I tell her I love her often
And there's nothing lost
In the regularity and so I want you to understand
That when you come to this table and you remind yourself of the love of the lord jesus for you
Do not think that that here we go doing this again
It's a little bit like saying I love you to the most important person in the world and there's benefit in doing it
The elements certainly make his love clear
And our love is stirred in response and I trust that as you walk away from here this morning
Having taken the bread and taken the cup that one of the things that is very clear in your heart is this
Jesus loves me and that will never never change
Let me tell you something
I cannot think
Of many
Spiritual truths
That are more important than that to the believer
Let me say it slowly
I cannot think
Of hardly any other spiritual truth for the believer that is more important than comprehending the unbelievable love of christ for you
And so when you take that bread and you take that cup one of the things that I want you to say in your heart this morning is
Jesus loves me
I understand being amazed that he does
I'm when I stop and think about me
I just can't get over it
He loves me
And this morning the elements certainly make his love clear
There's another thing that happens when we take communion we value the gospel
We value the gospel
The bread and the cup are
Something to be understood
In relationship to what the gospel actually is
The fact
Is here
In physical
Manifestation and evidence
And so when we take the bread
Jesus died for me
And we take the cup
He made a new
How many of you understand what the word covenant means
It means promise
He made another promise
By the way
What was the first promise God made?
Does anybody know?
How many of you
How many of you know what the old promise or the old covenant was?
The first promise that was made
He made it to Israel
And he said this
You keep my law
And I will do thus and so
How did that go for Israel?
What's the answer?
They did real well didn't they?
It's like when I bump into people and I say
Why are you getting to heaven?
And they say well I've kept the ten commandments
I think really?
I've never met anybody
Anybody
Other than Jesus
That keeps the ten commandments right?
They're just kind of brain dead when they make that statement
The fact is is the old covenant
The old promise wasn't kept
And God says I will make a new covenant
I will make a new promise with you
And that promise in essence in Jeremiah is this
I will be your people and you will be
I will be your God and you will be my people
Can we stop doing this little inversion thing Tim?
Let's get over that one
I will be your God
You will be my people
I will put my law in your heart
God says I'm going to do this work of conversion
And this work of grace
And you're going to be a different person than you used to be
By virtue of my power
And so when we take the elements
We are engaged in reminding ourselves of the truth of the gospel
And I want you to think about that
Now let's understand that the gospel isn't something that is just for unbelievers
Is the gospel needed for unbelievers?
Absolutely
And by the way
Everybody smile so you understand this
You can't have the gospel without first of all bringing people to grips with bad news
What is the bad news?
All men are pretty good
They're going to make it somehow or another
And all the paths just get there anyway
How's that?
If that is the news
There's no need for Jesus
Do you understand that?
The bad news is that all men are sinners
And stand justly condemned before a holy God
And as the scripture says in Romans chapter 3 verse 10
There is none righteous
No not one
There's not a single person who will be able to stand before God
The holy judge and say
Hey aren't you glad I showed up because I'm good?
No
None righteous
No not one
And the gospel is something that is not only for the unbeliever
But is something that the believer should wrap his heart around every single day
When you think about the gospel
I want you to turn over in your Bible
You're in 1 Corinthians chapter 11
Just kind of skip to the back of the book
Go to 1 Corinthians chapter 15
And we find there in verse 3 and 4
That the apostle gets on the roll
About the subject of the resurrection
But the frame in which he starts is the gospel
Now let's look at verse 3
For I delivered to you as of first importance
Do you know what he's saying?
This is the most important thing
So let's try this so we understand the comparison
You can go theoretically about three weeks without food
Three days without water
And three minutes without oxygen
So what we would say is that oxygen is of what?
First importance
Get your hands around this
The gospel remains supremely important for the believer
And it is something that we ought to refresh our heart with
On a regular basis
What is the gospel?
I want you to recognize there in the passage
It says that Jesus died for our sins
What does that mean?
Well for one thing it means that I was a sinner
And Jesus died in my place
I love that fact
Because what it tells me is that
God sent his son the Lord Jesus Christ
To pay the penalty for my sins
And Jesus died to satisfy the debt
And the judgment of God against me
While it is true
That jealousy
Lying
A brutal foreign power
All of these things were really wrapped up
And the issue of what was going on in the world
That Jesus came into
The fact of the matter is
Is that that's not why Jesus came
To deliver the people of Israel
From a foreign invading and occupying force
He came to deliver people from the burden of their sin
And to help them find victory
Over the battle that they had
With what was going on inside
And I want you to understand
When you take the bread
And you take the cup
One of the things that I trust you are saying
Is that Jesus died in my place
He died my death
He has satisfied the judgment of God
Against my sin
And as Romans chapter 8 verse 1 says
There is now therefore
What?
No condemnation to them
Who are in Jesus Christ
Christ Jesus
We look at the passage
And we also understand this
It says that he was
He was buried
That he was raised
On the third day
In accordance with scripture
So what is the significance
Of his death
Burial and resurrection
By the way
Next Sunday morning
We are going to go
Wall to wall
With that truth
That is going to be the center
Of the message
Of the resurrection Sunday
Because next Sunday
We celebrate the fact
That Jesus is not still
In the tomb
You can't go to some city
Over in the Middle East
And find out
Well that's where he's buried
He's not there
And you know what
He's coming back again
I like that
I'd like it to be today
And if it's not going to be today
I'll settle for tomorrow
Right?
But the truth of the matter is
Is that Jesus died for my sins
And he rose again
And the reality of it is
His resurrection
Makes it clear
That my debt
Has been satisfied
Situation came up
Not long ago
At a call
Tim
Have you paid this bill?
Well the truth of the matter is
Is if I paid a bill
It would be a real surprise
My wife takes care of that
And so what I did
Was I called her up
I said
Honey
I just got a call
From somebody in Florida
Have you paid this bill?
She says yes
She says here
Let me pull it up
How many of you like electronics?
Sometimes
She sent me
A text
With a picture of the canceled check
And I thought
Woo!
Ha ha!
Called the guy back up
I said
Well yeah
I've got a canceled check here
In fact
She's got your endorsement
On the back
See when Jesus rose from the dead
It was like
Paid in full
Right?
Done
Settled
How do I know
That there is complete forgiveness
For all of the sin
That I've committed?
It's because Jesus rose from the dead
I get pumped about that
And I want you to understand
This morning
When we take these elements
We take this bread
And we take this cup
We remind ourselves
Of what Jesus has done
And there shouldn't be a day
Pass
There shouldn't be a day
Pass
Without a thought
Of the blessing
Of what Jesus did
Do you follow that?
I won't tell you all
Of what I say to Judith at night
But
I tell her
Thank you for marrying me
You know
It's like
I would live in a cave
I mean
I would live in squalor
Do you know what squalor is?
I would live in just
An abject misery
Were it not for the fact
That God in his kindness
Gave me the bride
That she did
Or he did
She did
Woo!
Let's try
He and he only
Male
Not gender neutral
But anyway
How many
How many mistakes
Am I allowed deacons?
I'm just checking
Because I'm getting up there
Heaven help me
How many of you
Are praying for me anyway?
You're doing that?
You probably ought to start now
Because I'm bumping
Up against the line here
Okay
Well back we go
The truth of the matter is
Is that
I live with a thankful spirit
For what Jesus has done
In giving me the bride
That he gave me
But let me tell you something
That doesn't compare
To the blessing
Of who I have in Christ
And what I have in Christ
And it's not only
When I come to this table
That I should remind myself
Of that
There's something else
That we value
Going back to
1 Corinthians chapter 11
We value public testimony
I want you to put
Your little finger
On the word proclaim
Okay
The word proclaim
I've talked about this before
But it's a word in the Greek
That carries the idea
Of public announcement
And as I was studying
This week
I was struck by
By doing a little bit
Of research
In the Greek itself
To understand
That it's not just
An announcement
Kind of a generic announcement
But it's an announcement
That carries with it
The implicit issue
Of the value
And supremacy
Of the gospel itself
It's an announcement
That by the way
In which the word
Is used in the Greek
It's the idea
Of something being announced
From a higher place
To a lower place
And when we announce
The gospel
We are announcing
The glory of Christ
Down to our fallen
And broken lives
And to the world
Around us
And so there is
A sense
In which
When we take
The Lord's table
We are
We are announcing
The supremacy
Of Christ
And we're announcing
The significance
And the sufficiency
Of the gospel
Do you understand that?
I believe
Jesus died for me
And this is the best news
In the world
Now listen to me
How can you say that
And not believe it?
Do you follow that?
Let me give you
An illustration
Just so you follow along
I have been
To several
Graduations
Of two of my sons
Went into the military
And two of my grandsons
Have been in the military
So far
And so
I kind of like
Military graduations
And one of the things
That goes with
Military graduations
Is a lot of flag business
How many of you
Understand that?
Flag this
Flag that
And you stand
And you sing
The national anthem
And I'm all into singing
I mean how many
Figures that out?
I mean I like to sing
I don't always get
The words right
But I do sing
And I even
A judgmental person
That I am
I'm kind of looking around
And I see people
They're not singing
Well I'm thinking
Maybe they're not citizens
I mean if you're not a citizen
Don't sing the song
Yeah
Yeah just chewing gum
But if you are
A citizen
And particularly
If you're in the military
When you're singing
When everybody else
Is singing the national anthem
What do you think
They expect from you?
I mean as the camera
Is panning through
The audience you know
And your CO
Is going to be
Kind of reading
See who's not involved
Is like
What was the deal with you?
You're not into this?
So let's come back around
When we take communion
What we're doing
Is actually giving
Public testimony
To what we believe
About Jesus
Huh?
You with that?
And by the way
Don't be a hypocrite
Oh I love Jesus
He's really important to me
Go outside and sit in the car
And grumble
About somebody else
Not good
If Jesus
Has got a hold
Of your heart
In here
I guarantee you
He'll have a hold
Of your heart
Out there
If you're playing
A game in here
Then all that happens
Out there
Is just the real thing
And the purpose
Of coming to this table
In part
Is to refresh
Our consciences
With the sweetness
Of the one
Who has become
Our savior
And given us
Complete forgiveness
For all of our sins
And helped us
To stop being
The skunk
We used to be
And so I want you
To bear public testimony
You boldly announce
That he is the savior
To all others
He is your savior
I would not
Be bothered
If when you took
The bread
And took the cup
This morning
Some of you
Had enough nerve
And I know
It's going to be
Unsettling
For some of you
I wouldn't be bothered
If some of you said
Man I love Jesus
I'm glad
He is my savior
And say it
Loud enough
That someone else
Can hear it
That would be
Textually
Probably
Within the circle
Right
Okay
Well
Here we go
Point four
We value
Self-examination
Now you look
At the passage
And verse 27
Says
Whoever therefore
Eats the bread
Or drinks the cup
Of the Lord
In an unworthy manner
Will be guilty
Concerning the body
And blood
Of the Lord
Let a man
Examine himself
By the way
Who should do
The examination
You come and sit
In my office
And I say
Oh what sins
Have you committed
Today
That's not how
It is in the Bible
Who does the examination
How many of you
Understand the language
Here it says
Let a man
Huh
What
Examine himself
By the way
Your heart
Bears testimony
To what it knows
About you
I want you to
Understand there's
Another piece
In this
It's interesting
Also
And let's just
Take a moment
To recognize
This
That actually
Paul
Takes
27
28
29
30
And 31
That's five
Verses
To deal with
This matter
Of self-examination
In comparison
To the brevity
Of some of the
Other parts
Of the Lord's
Table
This business
Of self-examination
Is actually
Pretty important
I think it's easy
For us to become
Insensitive to our
Struggle with
Indwelling sin
We get
Comfortable
The private
Thoughts that we
Would have
That we'd be
Ashamed of
Voice
Publicly
That we live
With from day
To day
And we become
Quite
Accommodating
With those
Things
You know
The unkind
And ungodly
Things that
You say
That you
Would never
Say in front
Of a deacon
Or a pastor
But you do
Say in the
Safety of
Your own
Home
Or you
Say to
Your wife
With a
Surly
And sour
Spirit
Those
Things
Those are
The kind
Of things
That you
Need to
Confess
And forsake
It is in
The white
Hot light
Of the
Cross
And what
The bread
And the
Cup
Tell us
About his
Death
For our
Sins
That our
Sin becomes
Supremely
Offensive
You know
We're too
Comfortable
With sin
Agreed
What kind of
Sins
Did Jesus
Die for
Hello
One bite
Of fruit
His
Sacrifice
For sins
Reminds
Us
It reminds
Us
Of just
How offensive
Sin is
And so
Let me
Say here
That self
Examination
Must also
Be spirit
Enabled
Turn to
John
13
Just for
A moment
John chapter
13
Very interesting
Passage
It actually
Touches
On three
Different
Pieces
John chapter
13
We find
Jesus
Washing
The feet
Of the
Disciples
Plural
And you'll
Remember that
Peter said
You never
Wash in
My feet
And Jesus
Says
You know
What
Yeah
The thing
That I
Want us
To focus
On here
Is that
When Jesus
Washes
The disciples
Feet
One of
The things
That he
Is indicating
Is that
In the
Life of
The believer
There is
A need
For recurring
Attention
To the
Ongoing
Struggle
We have
With indwelling
Sin
How many
Of you
Have sinned
Today
Just a
Couple
Of you
Okay
The way
In which
We take
Care of
Sin
When it
Happens
Is we
Confess it
And forsake
It and we
Ask him
To help
Us grow
In righteousness
Isn't that
Right
And so
When we
Come to
The table
One of
The things
That we
Ought to
Do is
We ought
To call
On the
Spirit
And ask
Him
To help
You be
Objective
And genuinely
Repentant so
That when you
Take these
Elements you
Take them
With the
Right
Heart
Finally
We value
Togetherness
I want you
To look at
This and
We'll close
Have the
Men come
If you
Look at
1st
Corinthians
11
Verse 33
And 34
Paul makes
A very
Interesting
Statement
That
On the
Face of
It
Would be
A little
Confusing
Listen to
What he
Says
Here
Verse 33
So then
My brothers
When you
Come together
To eat
Wait for
One another
How many
Have you
Ever seen
People eating
At a
Military
!
Academy
Have you
Ever seen
That?
They sit
Down
Everything's
You know
It's like
We're
All
Together
And how
Many of
You have
Been in
A home
Where nobody
Eats until
They pray
And then
What happens
It descends
Into bedlam
You know
But until
You pray
What?
Paul is
Not telling
The church
At Corinth
All right
Wait till
Everybody has
A spoon
That's loaded
And then
Do it
That's not
What he's
Saying
What he is
Saying
Is that
We are
One
Body
If you
Were to
Go back
Earlier in
First Corinthians
In verse
21 and
22
You'll see
That the
Problem
The church
Had then
Was not
This matter
Of
Well you
Started five
Minutes
Before I
Did
That wasn't
The problem
They were
Divided
They weren't
Together
And so
This word
That is
Actually
Being used
Here
Is a
Word that
You could
Probably
Better
Translate
So then
My brothers
When you
Come together
To eat
Wait for
One another
Is not
The idea
It is
To receive
One another
To accept
One another
Hey
There is
Nothing
That should
Be more
Unifying
To the
Natural
Struggle
We have
With
Divided
Relationships
Than the
Reminder
Of the
Fact that
Jesus
Is our
Savior
How many
Of you
Understand
That
How many
Of you
Here
Struggle
With your
Attitudes
Towards
Other
People
And some
Of them
Are in
The family
Of god
Taking
The lord's
Table
Should be
Something
That draws
You
Together
Because
Now that
You remind
Yourself
Of what
Jesus
Did for
You
And who
He is
And how
You have
Relationship
With other
People
Because of
The cross
You're drawn
Together
I remember
Saying to my
Bride
Judith
The other
Day
We were
Working
Through a
Family
Dynamic
And I
Have a
Brother and
A sister
That are
Not saved
And as a
Result of
That we
Have some
Interesting
Moments
Hello
And I
Remember
Saying to
Her
Well
Honey
We have
To work
At that
Because we're
Family
I am
Family
With my
Brother and
Sister
Biologically
I am
Family
With some
Of you
By divine
Appointment
And the
Blood of
Christ
Do you
Understand
That
I am
Your
Brother
And you
Are my
Sister
You are
My
Brother
And when
I take
Communion
One of the
Things that
Jesus wants
Me to
Remember
Is the
Fact that
We are
Family
Because of
Jesus
Okay
I'm going to
Ask the
Men to
Come
And
John
One of the
Things that
We have
Enjoyed
In the
Past
Is
Singing
Together
And I'm
Going to
Have John
Lead us
I want
Pastors
All on the
Inside
This time
Thank you
Sing together
Behold
The Lamb
Who bears
Our
Sins
Away
Slam
For
Us
And we
Remember
The promise
Made
That all
Who come
In
Faith
Find
Forgiveness
At
The
Cross
So
We
Share
In
This
Bread
Of
Life
And
We
Drink
Of
His
Sacrifice
As
A
Sign
Of
Our
Bonds
Of
Peace
Around
The
Table
Of
The
King
Amen.
Thank you.
Sing together.
In the body of our Savior, Jesus Christ, torn for you,
And remember the wounds that heal the death that brings us life,
Paid the price to make us one.
And when he'd given thanks, he broke it and said,
This is my body, which is for you.
And I will do this in remembrance of me.
I'm still here with you.
Amen.
for you.
Drink and remember
He
drink as cup
that only enter
in to
receive
the life
of God.
In the same way
also He took the cup after supper,
saying, this cup is
the new covenant in my blood.
Do this as often
as you drink it
in remembrance of me.
Jesus, thank you
for being my Savior.
Let's stand together
as we sing the last verse.
And so with
thankfulness and faith
we rise to respond
and to remember
our soul
to follow
in the steps
of Christ
as His
body
as we share
We proclaim
And will join
In the feast of heaven
Around the table of the King