1 00:00:01,960 --> 00:00:06,840 If you were to drive this afternoon to Carthage, IL to the 2 00:00:06,840 --> 00:00:11,200 Dairy Queen and you were to sit in the booth on the southeast 3 00:00:11,200 --> 00:00:15,600 corner of the building, you would be exactly where Jennifer 4 00:00:15,600 --> 00:00:18,560 and I went on our first non date. 5 00:00:19,080 --> 00:00:23,400 Now I call it a non date because on the way there Jennifer asked 6 00:00:23,400 --> 00:00:29,280 me is this a date? To which I replied, no, I 7 00:00:29,280 --> 00:00:32,520 ordered the chicken strip basket with the gravy and the Texas 8 00:00:32,520 --> 00:00:33,560 toast. Raise your hand if you're a 9 00:00:33,560 --> 00:00:35,000 Christian and you know what I'm talking about. 10 00:00:36,200 --> 00:00:38,880 I also got the Cookie Jar Blizzard. 11 00:00:38,880 --> 00:00:40,960 And for those of you who don't know, the Cookie Jar Blizzard is 12 00:00:40,960 --> 00:00:44,120 normally not on the menu. You have to ask for it. 13 00:00:44,120 --> 00:00:46,960 You have to be an insider, You have to be a person of prestige, 14 00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:51,720 prominence, position. And the Cookie Jar Blizzard is 15 00:00:51,720 --> 00:00:54,240 where they take the ice cream and then they combine 2 16 00:00:54,240 --> 00:00:56,920 toppings, the chocolate chip cookie dough and the Oreo. 17 00:00:57,480 --> 00:01:01,720 And then if you are kind, sweet, caring, if they can tell that 18 00:01:01,720 --> 00:01:05,280 you're a good soul, you can look into the eyes of the person at 19 00:01:05,280 --> 00:01:07,320 the register and you could say, would you be willing to? 20 00:01:07,320 --> 00:01:09,760 And I mean, you don't have to do this, but it would just be 21 00:01:09,760 --> 00:01:12,320 wonderful if you did. Would you go back to the freezer 22 00:01:12,320 --> 00:01:15,840 where you guys keep the icing that you use on the cakes? 23 00:01:16,280 --> 00:01:19,320 And after you filled up my Blizzard about 3/4 of the way 24 00:01:19,320 --> 00:01:22,840 full of ice cream, would you fill the remaining 25% with 25 00:01:22,960 --> 00:01:26,960 icing and you will have the most delicious ice cream you have 26 00:01:26,960 --> 00:01:32,000 ever had in your entire life? And to this day, I cannot go buy 27 00:01:32,040 --> 00:01:36,440 a Dairy Queen and not have memories. 28 00:01:37,200 --> 00:01:40,200 I can't look at a Dairy Queen sign, see a Dairy Queen 29 00:01:40,200 --> 00:01:43,800 advertisement, and not think back to that night. 30 00:01:44,080 --> 00:01:47,000 Not because of what those places are, but because of what that 31 00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:50,360 moment and that night represented. 32 00:01:50,680 --> 00:01:52,680 I want to welcome those of you joining in all of our different 33 00:01:52,680 --> 00:01:55,640 locations, those of you watching online, and those of you who are 34 00:01:55,640 --> 00:01:58,560 part of the Crossing inside. I also want to wish a special 35 00:01:58,560 --> 00:02:02,280 welcome to those of you who are new here to the Crossing. 36 00:02:02,280 --> 00:02:05,280 Whether it's your first time or your first time in a long time, 37 00:02:05,280 --> 00:02:08,680 we are so glad that you are here and I want to encourage you to 38 00:02:08,680 --> 00:02:12,120 take advantage of the new here booth in all of our lobbies. 39 00:02:12,480 --> 00:02:16,280 And if you're watching online, you can check the link in the 40 00:02:16,280 --> 00:02:20,400 chat that just got posted. We are in a sermon series called 41 00:02:20,400 --> 00:02:26,440 some assembly required. Not all assembly required like 42 00:02:26,440 --> 00:02:32,080 IKEA furniture and Legos could God no, not not all are not no 43 00:02:32,080 --> 00:02:35,200 assembly required like your cell phone or your car. 44 00:02:35,360 --> 00:02:38,600 But some, some assembly required. 45 00:02:38,600 --> 00:02:43,560 Turn to your neighbor and say some, some assembly required. 46 00:02:43,840 --> 00:02:47,000 You see, God provided all the necessary elements for the 47 00:02:47,000 --> 00:02:49,600 church. We just have to put these pieces 48 00:02:49,600 --> 00:02:54,080 together to experience a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ. 49 00:02:54,320 --> 00:03:00,560 This sermon series is part what we believe as a church, part why 50 00:03:00,560 --> 00:03:05,120 we do what we do as a church, and part how to build a 51 00:03:05,200 --> 00:03:11,280 meaningful encounter with God. And I believe one of the best 52 00:03:11,280 --> 00:03:16,000 ways for you to develop a meaningful encounter with God is 53 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:20,560 through the gift of communion. Now you have to think for just a 54 00:03:20,560 --> 00:03:22,240 second for those of you who are Christian, kind of go on a 55 00:03:22,240 --> 00:03:25,160 journey with me. Communion has got to be one of 56 00:03:25,160 --> 00:03:27,960 the weirdest, strangest things that our church does. 57 00:03:28,280 --> 00:03:31,600 If you are a person who has no church or religious background, 58 00:03:32,320 --> 00:03:35,720 you show up, bunch of worship, then you listen to a sermon and 59 00:03:35,720 --> 00:03:37,920 then there's more exciting worship and everybody's excited. 60 00:03:37,920 --> 00:03:43,160 And then all of a sudden we get super quiet, super somber, and 61 00:03:43,160 --> 00:03:49,440 then we take some stale bread, some room temperature juice and 62 00:03:49,440 --> 00:03:51,640 you're going, what is that? You got to think, to the 63 00:03:51,640 --> 00:03:55,920 outsider looking in, communion is like a really bad snack time 64 00:03:55,920 --> 00:03:58,800 in the midst of a service. But if you were to put that same 65 00:03:58,800 --> 00:04:02,280 lens on, a lot of what we do as a church would make no sense to 66 00:04:02,280 --> 00:04:03,720 somebody who has no religious background. 67 00:04:03,720 --> 00:04:06,040 Think about baptism. We're obviously right now 68 00:04:06,040 --> 00:04:08,320 experiencing all kinds of baptisms at our church. 69 00:04:08,680 --> 00:04:11,320 Imagine being a person who has no religious experience 70 00:04:11,320 --> 00:04:14,960 whatsoever, and you see a baptism take place at our 71 00:04:14,960 --> 00:04:16,920 church. You just get done with the 72 00:04:16,920 --> 00:04:19,680 exciting worship, you get done with this weird communion thing. 73 00:04:19,880 --> 00:04:22,200 And then all of a sudden people walk down into the water and 74 00:04:22,200 --> 00:04:25,520 people start cheering. And then the person talking gets 75 00:04:25,520 --> 00:04:28,400 a little choked up and then they dunk them, put them all the way 76 00:04:28,400 --> 00:04:29,560 under, bring them all the way back up. 77 00:04:29,800 --> 00:04:33,440 And people cheer even louder. Like, why is every I don't I 78 00:04:33,440 --> 00:04:36,440 I've done, I've seen that happen in pools my whole life. 79 00:04:36,440 --> 00:04:39,120 Why is it so special here? Why are they doing it in front 80 00:04:39,120 --> 00:04:41,200 of everybody? And then after that, the person 81 00:04:41,200 --> 00:04:43,440 gets up on stage and they start talking to you to do the 82 00:04:43,440 --> 00:04:45,760 announcements and they're a little teary eyed and they go 83 00:04:45,760 --> 00:04:49,600 that moment right there. That was an answer to 1000 84 00:04:49,600 --> 00:04:53,360 prayers and you're thinking 1000 prayers for somebody get dunked 85 00:04:53,360 --> 00:04:54,640 in front of a whole bunch of people. 86 00:04:55,120 --> 00:04:57,200 This makes no sense. And then somebody else will 87 00:04:57,200 --> 00:04:59,880 maybe say, hey, and for those of you who give thanks for giving 88 00:04:59,880 --> 00:05:02,280 because you give, we're able to have moments like this and 89 00:05:02,280 --> 00:05:03,760 they're going, I don't understand. 90 00:05:03,760 --> 00:05:06,240 A person shows up and gets wet in front of a whole bunch of 91 00:05:06,240 --> 00:05:08,680 people and this is what this church is all about. 92 00:05:08,840 --> 00:05:10,920 You have to think from the outside looking in, there are 93 00:05:10,920 --> 00:05:13,840 things that we do as Christians that make absolutely no sense. 94 00:05:13,840 --> 00:05:18,880 Must be bonkers to somebody who has no experience with Jesus or 95 00:05:18,880 --> 00:05:22,080 with God. That is why this series is so 96 00:05:22,360 --> 00:05:27,720 important because when you know, you know and when you know it 97 00:05:27,720 --> 00:05:32,080 changes everything. So let's get into it. 98 00:05:32,360 --> 00:05:33,440 Now I'm going to be upfront with you. 99 00:05:33,440 --> 00:05:36,320 The 1st 20 minutes of the sermon I called boring. 100 00:05:36,320 --> 00:05:38,360 Turn to your other neighbor and say boring. 101 00:05:39,960 --> 00:05:42,360 Turn to your first neighbor and say it's a bad week to come. 102 00:05:42,360 --> 00:05:47,080 He's boring this week. OK, But if you can stick with 103 00:05:47,080 --> 00:05:51,080 me, OK, The goal is I have to kind of do some assembly in 104 00:05:51,080 --> 00:05:52,360 order to be able to give you a gift. 105 00:05:52,680 --> 00:05:56,400 All right, so let's enter into the 20 minutes of boring in 106 00:05:56,400 --> 00:06:01,680 5432. Some of you might be going. 107 00:06:01,680 --> 00:06:04,280 Why does Communion have all kinds of names? 108 00:06:04,280 --> 00:06:06,080 Like, why can't we just pick on a name? 109 00:06:06,080 --> 00:06:08,000 There's all kinds of names for Communion in Scripture. 110 00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:11,000 For instance, here's one of the names, the Lord's Table. 111 00:06:11,000 --> 00:06:13,240 Here's another one, the breaking of bread. 112 00:06:13,240 --> 00:06:15,360 Here's another one, the Lord's Supper. 113 00:06:15,360 --> 00:06:18,320 There's also the Eucharist. There's also communion. 114 00:06:18,320 --> 00:06:21,400 Why are these all these different names for communion? 115 00:06:21,880 --> 00:06:24,760 Well, I'll tell you because that's what's in the Bible. 116 00:06:25,000 --> 00:06:28,000 Look at what happens in First Corinthians chapter 10 verse 21. 117 00:06:29,000 --> 00:06:31,800 You cannot drink of the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons 118 00:06:31,800 --> 00:06:33,560 too. You cannot have part in both the 119 00:06:33,560 --> 00:06:35,880 Lord's table and the table of demons. 120 00:06:35,880 --> 00:06:38,160 The reason why we sometimes call it the Lord's table is because 121 00:06:38,360 --> 00:06:41,040 the Bible sometimes calls it the Lord's Table. 122 00:06:41,240 --> 00:06:42,640 What about the breaking of bread? 123 00:06:42,640 --> 00:06:43,880 Why is it called the breaking of bread? 124 00:06:43,880 --> 00:06:47,960 Well, because in Acts chapter 2, it says they devoted themselves 125 00:06:47,960 --> 00:06:51,440 to the apostles teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of 126 00:06:51,440 --> 00:06:54,160 bread and to prayer. Sometimes the reason why we call 127 00:06:54,160 --> 00:06:56,240 it the breaking of bread is because sometimes in Scripture 128 00:06:56,240 --> 00:06:58,000 it calls it the breaking of bread. 129 00:06:58,200 --> 00:07:00,320 You wonder why it's sometimes called the Lord's Supper. 130 00:07:00,320 --> 00:07:01,520 You're going to get catch a theme here. 131 00:07:01,520 --> 00:07:04,120 It's because it's in the Bible, which is kind of like how we 132 00:07:04,120 --> 00:07:06,240 want to operate as a church. First Corinthians Chapter 11 133 00:07:06,240 --> 00:07:09,560 verse 20 says this. So when you come together it is 134 00:07:09,560 --> 00:07:15,200 it not the Lord's Supper you eat The reason why it is called the 135 00:07:15,200 --> 00:07:17,760 Eucharist. Some of many of you, you your 136 00:07:18,120 --> 00:07:21,960 background is you called this the Eucharist this Now you have 137 00:07:22,080 --> 00:07:24,440 to do, I have to do a little bit of teaching here, but in Matthew 138 00:07:24,440 --> 00:07:27,360 chapter 26 verses 27 through 28, it says this. 139 00:07:28,200 --> 00:07:32,840 Then when he took a cup and when he had given thanks in the 140 00:07:32,840 --> 00:07:35,960 Greek, which is the original text, the word here is 141 00:07:36,120 --> 00:07:39,600 Eucharisto. So the reason it's called the 142 00:07:39,600 --> 00:07:43,560 Eucharist is because that is the Greek word behind give thanks, 143 00:07:43,720 --> 00:07:47,880 which means communion is a time where we give thanks for what 144 00:07:47,880 --> 00:07:50,680 God has done on our behalf, which I'll unpack that in just a 145 00:07:50,680 --> 00:07:53,120 little bit. Then why is it called communion? 146 00:07:53,320 --> 00:07:56,760 Because in First Corinthians chapter 10, verse 16, we find 147 00:07:56,760 --> 00:08:00,160 this is it not the cup of Thanksgiving for which we give 148 00:08:00,160 --> 00:08:02,360 thanks? This is Eucharist talk again, a 149 00:08:02,360 --> 00:08:04,920 participation in the blood of Christ. 150 00:08:05,880 --> 00:08:09,840 And is it not the bread that we break a participation in the 151 00:08:09,840 --> 00:08:13,880 body of Christ? The Greek word here is Koinonia, 152 00:08:14,520 --> 00:08:18,320 and when the Bible was translated from Greek into 153 00:08:18,360 --> 00:08:23,000 Latin, the word that they used here was communio, from which we 154 00:08:23,000 --> 00:08:26,400 get the word communion. So when you and I gather 155 00:08:26,400 --> 00:08:28,680 together, it is a fellowshipping that takes place. 156 00:08:28,680 --> 00:08:31,240 It is a participation that we have. 157 00:08:31,560 --> 00:08:35,919 Now, why do we as a church take communion every week? 158 00:08:36,080 --> 00:08:40,280 Some of you may be a part of a tradition where you take it once 159 00:08:40,280 --> 00:08:42,640 a year, once a quarter, once a month. 160 00:08:42,640 --> 00:08:45,880 Why do we as a church take it every time we get together? 161 00:08:46,040 --> 00:08:48,800 Well, that's because in Acts chapter 20, verse 7, this is 162 00:08:48,800 --> 00:08:53,360 what it says. On the first day of the week, we 163 00:08:53,360 --> 00:08:58,120 came together to break bread. So when we gather together on 164 00:08:58,120 --> 00:09:00,600 the first day of the week, we are gathering together and one 165 00:09:00,600 --> 00:09:03,320 of the things that we're going to do every single time we 166 00:09:03,320 --> 00:09:06,720 gather as a church is we're going to take communion. 167 00:09:07,600 --> 00:09:11,360 So let me ask this question or this might be a question some of 168 00:09:11,360 --> 00:09:14,680 you have. Does the bread and juice really 169 00:09:14,680 --> 00:09:18,520 become the flesh and blood of Jesus? 170 00:09:20,120 --> 00:09:23,560 Now, I cannot unpack all of this here, but I'm going to at least 171 00:09:23,560 --> 00:09:27,800 kind of give you an answer and some reasons for that answer. 172 00:09:28,600 --> 00:09:34,080 The short answer is no. The main text used to back up 173 00:09:34,080 --> 00:09:38,880 the the communion elements becoming the actual body and 174 00:09:38,880 --> 00:09:44,520 blood of Jesus is found in John chapter 6, verse 53 through 58. 175 00:09:44,520 --> 00:09:45,720 Let's read it and you're going to go. 176 00:09:45,840 --> 00:09:47,440 This is a pretty compelling case. 177 00:09:47,840 --> 00:09:51,760 All right, Jesus said to them, very truly, I tell you, unless 178 00:09:51,760 --> 00:09:57,520 you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you 179 00:09:57,520 --> 00:10:02,760 have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks 180 00:10:02,760 --> 00:10:08,840 my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last 181 00:10:08,840 --> 00:10:17,040 day, For my flesh is real food, and my blood is real drink. 182 00:10:17,960 --> 00:10:22,760 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in 183 00:10:22,760 --> 00:10:26,000 them. Just as the living Father sent 184 00:10:26,000 --> 00:10:30,680 me, and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on 185 00:10:30,680 --> 00:10:36,720 me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down 186 00:10:36,720 --> 00:10:38,760 from heaven. Your ancestors ate mana and 187 00:10:38,760 --> 00:10:43,680 died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever. 188 00:10:43,920 --> 00:10:46,120 All of these words are the words of Jesus. 189 00:10:46,120 --> 00:10:50,480 This is Jesus talking. And out of fairness, when you 190 00:10:50,480 --> 00:10:55,080 read John chapter 6, it actually makes a very compelling case 191 00:10:55,720 --> 00:10:58,760 that when you take the bread and when you take the juice, it 192 00:10:58,760 --> 00:11:02,960 becomes the real body of Jesus and the real blood of Jesus. 193 00:11:03,360 --> 00:11:06,320 But there are a couple of things that I would note to tell you 194 00:11:06,320 --> 00:11:11,600 why my answer to that is no, that is not the case. 1 John 195 00:11:11,600 --> 00:11:14,200 chapter 6 is not about communion. 196 00:11:15,880 --> 00:11:20,200 John chapter 6 happens a full year and more than likely a year 197 00:11:20,200 --> 00:11:24,720 and a half before Jesus ever institutes the practice of 198 00:11:24,720 --> 00:11:26,840 communion. But you might be going by 199 00:11:26,840 --> 00:11:31,640 Clayton when you read that. I thought about communion and 200 00:11:31,640 --> 00:11:34,680 when we talk about communion, that kind of makes sense. 201 00:11:34,680 --> 00:11:37,720 Let me tell you why I think that happens. 202 00:11:39,160 --> 00:11:42,520 Here is John 6. OK, you guys have a wide shot so 203 00:11:42,520 --> 00:11:46,280 I can kind of do this. So OK, this is John 6. 204 00:11:46,640 --> 00:11:51,760 You read John 6, you have Jesus, death on the cross and you have 205 00:11:51,760 --> 00:11:55,600 communion. The reason why Communion and 206 00:11:55,600 --> 00:12:01,080 John chapter 6 looks so familiar is because John 6 is pointing 207 00:12:01,080 --> 00:12:05,000 not to communion. John 6 is pointing towards Jesus 208 00:12:05,320 --> 00:12:09,080 on the cross. The reason why Communion looks 209 00:12:09,080 --> 00:12:13,200 so much like John 6 is because Communion is looking at the 210 00:12:13,200 --> 00:12:15,640 cross. It is showing us something that 211 00:12:15,640 --> 00:12:19,240 is happening at the cross. John 6 is showing us something 212 00:12:19,320 --> 00:12:22,760 that is happening at the cross. John 6 and Communion look like 213 00:12:22,760 --> 00:12:25,400 each other because they're both trying to look like the same 214 00:12:25,400 --> 00:12:28,360 thing. But John 6 is not about 215 00:12:28,360 --> 00:12:30,760 communion, and communion is not about John 6. 216 00:12:30,880 --> 00:12:32,960 John 6 is about Jesus on the cross. 217 00:12:32,960 --> 00:12:35,240 Communion is about Jesus on the cross. 218 00:12:35,240 --> 00:12:38,360 They look similar because they're pointing to the exact 219 00:12:38,360 --> 00:12:43,280 same event, Jesus on the cross becoming everything that we need 220 00:12:43,280 --> 00:12:46,120 for salvation and life in this world. 221 00:12:46,480 --> 00:12:48,680 Now you might be going, but Clayton, when you were reading 222 00:12:48,680 --> 00:12:51,320 that passage, there was a word in there that seemed pretty 223 00:12:51,320 --> 00:12:53,200 strong. The word real. 224 00:12:54,680 --> 00:12:58,200 My blood is real drink, my flesh is real food. 225 00:12:58,640 --> 00:13:00,760 The word real there is a lathace. 226 00:13:01,080 --> 00:13:04,000 It comes from the word meaning are from the word a lathia, 227 00:13:04,160 --> 00:13:08,360 which means true or reliable. Here's what Jesus is saying. 228 00:13:09,240 --> 00:13:12,280 He's saying the same thing to these people in John chapter 6 229 00:13:12,280 --> 00:13:17,600 that he said to the to the woman in John 4, when he says, I will 230 00:13:17,600 --> 00:13:23,360 give you living water, I'm going to give you reliable water. 231 00:13:24,080 --> 00:13:26,520 He's not saying, hey, when you eat from me, you'll never be 232 00:13:26,520 --> 00:13:28,480 hungry again. When you drink from me, you'll 233 00:13:28,480 --> 00:13:30,880 never be thirsty again. Literally. 234 00:13:31,040 --> 00:13:33,480 Because if that was the case, we would all take a cup of holy 235 00:13:33,480 --> 00:13:37,920 water and we would never have to order a Coke, a Pepsi, a beer, a 236 00:13:37,920 --> 00:13:39,760 bourbon. We would never need Gatorade. 237 00:13:39,760 --> 00:13:42,120 We'd never need electrolytes. We would never need anything 238 00:13:42,120 --> 00:13:45,720 else to drink because if we just took One Cup of holy water, we 239 00:13:45,720 --> 00:13:49,560 would all be good. What Jesus is getting at is 240 00:13:49,560 --> 00:13:54,280 Jesus is saying I am real sustenance for your spiritual 241 00:13:54,280 --> 00:13:58,040 life just like food is sustenance for your physical 242 00:13:58,040 --> 00:14:01,520 life. Next thing the words eat and 243 00:14:01,520 --> 00:14:08,120 drink are past tense verbs. These suggest a one time 244 00:14:08,120 --> 00:14:13,640 provision through Christ as the basis for our salvation, which 245 00:14:13,640 --> 00:14:18,080 means salvation is not found in the continual eating and 246 00:14:18,080 --> 00:14:22,840 drinking of the blood. If John six were about 247 00:14:22,840 --> 00:14:26,720 communion, it would mean that salvation is attained through 248 00:14:26,720 --> 00:14:30,880 the taking of communion. But that is how you and I get 249 00:14:30,880 --> 00:14:34,560 salvation through the eating of the bread and the drinking of 250 00:14:34,800 --> 00:14:37,200 the cup. It would mean that if you're not 251 00:14:37,200 --> 00:14:39,080 taking communion, you're not saved. 252 00:14:39,080 --> 00:14:41,080 And if you do take it, you're are. 253 00:14:41,080 --> 00:14:44,120 And we learned this last week, the reason we are saved is 254 00:14:44,120 --> 00:14:47,960 because of Jesus's finished work on the cross. 255 00:14:48,640 --> 00:14:51,640 So what is Jesus doing? Jesus is using figurative 256 00:14:51,640 --> 00:14:54,560 language. He is not asking all Christians 257 00:14:54,560 --> 00:14:57,760 to become cannibals. This would go against everything 258 00:14:57,760 --> 00:15:00,280 that he wrote in the book of Leviticus chapter 3 and 259 00:15:00,280 --> 00:15:04,000 Leviticus chapter 17, where Jews were told don't even eat meat 260 00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:07,920 that still has blood in it. A good Jew never had a medium 261 00:15:07,920 --> 00:15:09,920 rare steak. Well, they didn't have a lot. 262 00:15:09,920 --> 00:15:12,240 Yeah, a lot of other things too, including steak. 263 00:15:12,680 --> 00:15:15,560 The the reason this is happening is because Jesus is wanting to 264 00:15:15,560 --> 00:15:17,960 show them that he is establishing something brand 265 00:15:17,960 --> 00:15:19,720 new, which we're going to get to in just a second. 266 00:15:20,120 --> 00:15:23,920 Here is what Jesus is saying. He's saying just as good food 267 00:15:23,920 --> 00:15:28,040 and good drink are reliable for your physical life, Jesus is the 268 00:15:28,040 --> 00:15:32,640 reliable spiritual food and drink for our spiritual and our 269 00:15:32,640 --> 00:15:35,520 eternal life. Now, some of you who are 270 00:15:35,520 --> 00:15:37,760 bringing me brand new to Jesus and brand new to the church 271 00:15:37,760 --> 00:15:40,440 might be going, Clayton, what is communion? 272 00:15:40,440 --> 00:15:42,600 Because you've done a whole lot of talking and I still don't 273 00:15:42,600 --> 00:15:43,960 even know what we're talking about. 274 00:15:45,160 --> 00:15:47,440 You're like Clayton, if you were like a, you know, a decent 275 00:15:47,440 --> 00:15:49,480 public speaker, you would have started there. 276 00:15:49,520 --> 00:15:51,520 But you know, I like to keep it interesting. 277 00:15:51,520 --> 00:15:54,360 And remember when I said boring? I promised to deliver. 278 00:15:54,480 --> 00:15:58,040 Now, So what is communion? Communion is a time during the 279 00:15:58,040 --> 00:16:00,960 service where we take a little bit of bread and a little bit of 280 00:16:00,960 --> 00:16:04,920 juice, and we remember what Jesus did for us on the cross. 281 00:16:05,240 --> 00:16:08,280 But to really answer what's happening here in communion, we 282 00:16:08,280 --> 00:16:11,360 have to go all the way back to the book of Exodus. 283 00:16:11,560 --> 00:16:14,520 Some of you, you might remember our sermon series, Decisions in 284 00:16:14,520 --> 00:16:17,200 the Desert, but for those of you who weren't around for that, let 285 00:16:17,200 --> 00:16:19,520 me kind of unpack this. The people of God, the Jews, 286 00:16:20,000 --> 00:16:22,960 were living in captivity. They were slaves to the 287 00:16:22,960 --> 00:16:28,680 Egyptians for 400 years. God sends them Moses to be a 288 00:16:28,680 --> 00:16:32,400 deliverer, to be a prophet, to be a leader, to lead the people 289 00:16:32,400 --> 00:16:35,920 out of the hands of the Egyptians and into the Promised 290 00:16:35,920 --> 00:16:38,360 Land. God to get the attention of the 291 00:16:38,360 --> 00:16:44,520 Egyptians, He did 10 plagues, 10 acts of judgement to get the the 292 00:16:44,560 --> 00:16:46,040 Egyptians to go. You know what? 293 00:16:46,240 --> 00:16:49,360 We don't want to have these Israelites in captivity and 294 00:16:49,360 --> 00:16:52,120 slavery anymore. We are going to let them go. 295 00:16:52,400 --> 00:16:54,880 And God did. Plague 1 and they didn't listen. 296 00:16:54,880 --> 00:16:57,360 Plague 2 they didn't listen. Plague 3 they didn't listen. 297 00:16:57,360 --> 00:16:59,600 Plague 4 they didn't listen. Does it sound like your kids 298 00:16:59,600 --> 00:17:01,320 yet? Plague 5 they didn't listen. 299 00:17:01,320 --> 00:17:03,800 Plague 6 How many times do I have to tell you? 300 00:17:04,000 --> 00:17:06,480 Plague 7 they didn't listen. Plague 8 they didn't listen. 301 00:17:06,720 --> 00:17:09,480 Plague 9 they didn't listen. And God said listen, here comes 302 00:17:09,480 --> 00:17:13,280 the 10th plague and what's going to happen is I'm going to send 303 00:17:13,280 --> 00:17:17,079 the Angel of death out and I'm going to kill all the first born 304 00:17:17,079 --> 00:17:22,760 in the land. However, any house that takes 305 00:17:22,760 --> 00:17:27,240 the blood of a lamb and spreads the blood on the blood on the 306 00:17:27,240 --> 00:17:30,840 side of the doorpost and the top of the doorpost and the side of 307 00:17:30,840 --> 00:17:32,840 the doorpost, the entrance to their home. 308 00:17:33,680 --> 00:17:37,040 When I see the blood, the Angel of death, the punishment that is 309 00:17:37,040 --> 00:17:41,520 coming after 9:10 plagues. If I can't get your attention, 310 00:17:41,520 --> 00:17:44,760 I'm going to get it now. Let my people go. 311 00:17:44,760 --> 00:17:50,200 And when I send this Angel out, he is going to kill every house 312 00:17:50,360 --> 00:17:53,120 that is not covered by the blood. 313 00:17:54,200 --> 00:17:57,000 And so the Jews gathered and they covered the door frame of 314 00:17:57,000 --> 00:17:59,760 their house in the blood, and they celebrated a meal called 315 00:17:59,760 --> 00:18:05,080 the Passover meal because the judgement of God was going to 316 00:18:05,120 --> 00:18:10,680 pass over their home. That night. 317 00:18:11,880 --> 00:18:17,200 The Angel of death went out and immediately Pharaoh released all 318 00:18:17,200 --> 00:18:20,320 of the Israelites to go towards freedom. 319 00:18:21,760 --> 00:18:24,960 The Israelites left in such a hurry that when they left, they 320 00:18:24,960 --> 00:18:28,000 took bread that did not yet have the yeast added to it. 321 00:18:28,000 --> 00:18:32,720 It was unleavened bread. This became such a big deal that 322 00:18:32,720 --> 00:18:38,720 every single year Jews would celebrate the Passover meal. 323 00:18:39,400 --> 00:18:44,200 The meal would tell the story of God's deliverance of His people, 324 00:18:44,760 --> 00:18:49,360 and part of that meal included unleavened bread, bread that has 325 00:18:49,360 --> 00:18:53,400 no yeast, and wine. Now, to get a proper 326 00:18:53,400 --> 00:18:56,840 understanding of the significance of Passover, you 327 00:18:56,840 --> 00:18:59,800 would need to, if you're an American, take everything that 328 00:18:59,800 --> 00:19:03,400 the July 4th represents, everything that Thanksgiving 329 00:19:03,400 --> 00:19:07,160 represents, and everything that Christmas represents, and 330 00:19:07,160 --> 00:19:13,000 package it into one meal. This is their Declaration of 331 00:19:13,000 --> 00:19:15,600 Independence. This is their freedom from 332 00:19:15,600 --> 00:19:18,600 captivity. This is a family meal where 333 00:19:18,600 --> 00:19:21,760 everybody gathers around and give thanks for the mighty thing 334 00:19:21,760 --> 00:19:25,600 that is taking place on their behalf and receive the gift of 335 00:19:25,600 --> 00:19:29,040 God's grace into their lives. So imagine when you get ready to 336 00:19:29,040 --> 00:19:32,720 do the Passover, you are celebrating the 4th of July, you 337 00:19:32,720 --> 00:19:35,280 are celebrating Thanksgiving and you are celebrating Christmas. 338 00:19:35,440 --> 00:19:39,520 You cannot underestimate the importance of the Passover for a 339 00:19:39,520 --> 00:19:41,920 Jew. And before they would eat the 340 00:19:41,920 --> 00:19:45,960 roasted lamb, the young boy and the family would walk up and go, 341 00:19:45,960 --> 00:19:48,920 Father, what all does this represent? 342 00:19:49,040 --> 00:19:52,080 This is all scripted, of course. The boy had been practicing his 343 00:19:52,080 --> 00:19:54,920 lines upstairs in his little Jewish mirror, going, OK, when I 344 00:19:54,920 --> 00:19:57,040 go down in front of everybody in the family, I'm supposed to say 345 00:19:57,200 --> 00:19:58,920 now, father, what does this all represent? 346 00:19:58,920 --> 00:20:01,360 So the little boy comes down the stairs, and the father's waiting 347 00:20:01,360 --> 00:20:03,400 there, waiting to see his son step into the moment in the 348 00:20:03,400 --> 00:20:05,240 center stage of the family. Father, what does this 349 00:20:05,240 --> 00:20:06,880 represent? And then the father, who's also 350 00:20:06,880 --> 00:20:09,320 been practicing all of his lines, would step center stage 351 00:20:09,320 --> 00:20:12,360 in front of the whole family, and he would recount the 352 00:20:12,360 --> 00:20:16,200 history. Of the Exodus and the glorious 353 00:20:16,200 --> 00:20:21,440 redemption of God's people. The meal played out in four acts 354 00:20:21,720 --> 00:20:24,680 and each act was represented by a cup. 355 00:20:25,160 --> 00:20:28,760 There were four cups representing 4 acts that took 356 00:20:28,760 --> 00:20:33,720 place and this all comes out of Exodus chapter 6 verses 6 357 00:20:33,720 --> 00:20:37,760 through 7. Each line is 1 cup of the meal. 358 00:20:37,880 --> 00:20:41,000 I promised it would be boring. Exodus chapter 6. 359 00:20:41,680 --> 00:20:45,040 I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of 360 00:20:45,040 --> 00:20:47,840 the Egyptians. I will free you from being 361 00:20:47,840 --> 00:20:50,760 slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched 362 00:20:50,760 --> 00:20:53,400 arm and with mighty acts of judgement. 363 00:20:54,160 --> 00:20:59,320 I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. 364 00:20:59,960 --> 00:21:04,280 Cup 1. I am the Lord, and I will bring 365 00:21:04,280 --> 00:21:07,520 you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. 366 00:21:07,680 --> 00:21:10,720 This cup was taking place, or would take place while they were 367 00:21:10,720 --> 00:21:13,360 serving hors d'oeuvres before the meal ever started. 368 00:21:13,600 --> 00:21:16,200 After they had finished the first cup, they would move to 369 00:21:16,200 --> 00:21:19,120 the place where they were going to actually have the meal. 370 00:21:19,120 --> 00:21:22,880 Cup 2. I will free you from being 371 00:21:22,880 --> 00:21:28,720 slaves to them. Cup 3 I will redeem you with an 372 00:21:28,720 --> 00:21:33,600 outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. 373 00:21:34,160 --> 00:21:37,720 Cup 4. I will take you as my own 374 00:21:37,720 --> 00:21:43,240 people, and I will be your God. This is the first Passover, and 375 00:21:43,240 --> 00:21:47,040 this Passover is still celebrated today by Jews who do 376 00:21:47,040 --> 00:21:50,520 not believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living 377 00:21:50,520 --> 00:21:53,240 God. Now Fast forward 1500 years from 378 00:21:53,240 --> 00:21:57,400 that first Passover and Jesus goes into an upper room with his 379 00:21:57,400 --> 00:22:01,480 disciples during the Feast of Unleavened Bread to celebrate 380 00:22:01,480 --> 00:22:05,920 the Passover and Jesus shows up and he's with his disciples. 381 00:22:05,920 --> 00:22:13,240 Watch this. Cup 1 I am the Lord, I will 382 00:22:13,240 --> 00:22:16,560 bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. 383 00:22:17,240 --> 00:22:20,360 Jesus turns to his disciples. Cup 2. 384 00:22:20,720 --> 00:22:23,800 I will free you from being slaves to them. 385 00:22:24,440 --> 00:22:27,920 Cup three. You cannot help but see what is 386 00:22:27,920 --> 00:22:30,560 happening here. While they are celebrating God 387 00:22:30,560 --> 00:22:35,120 delivering them from slavery, you are recognizing that Jesus 388 00:22:35,120 --> 00:22:40,840 is ours away from rescuing us from the slavery of sin and 389 00:22:40,840 --> 00:22:44,880 death and the power of Satan. The actual Passover meal takes 390 00:22:44,880 --> 00:22:48,320 place between cups 2 and cups three. 391 00:22:48,720 --> 00:22:51,160 That's why if you're reading in the Gospel of Luke, you'll 392 00:22:51,160 --> 00:22:54,160 notice it talks about a cup, then bread, then cup. 393 00:22:54,320 --> 00:22:57,320 It's because it's moving through the Passover, through the four 394 00:22:57,320 --> 00:23:00,760 cups of the Passover. This is where Jesus says in Luke 395 00:23:00,760 --> 00:23:07,400 22 verse 19 and he took bread, gave thanks Eucharist and broke 396 00:23:07,400 --> 00:23:11,720 it and gave it to them, saying this is my body given for you. 397 00:23:12,120 --> 00:23:20,400 Do this in remembrance of me. Cup three, I will redeem you 398 00:23:20,400 --> 00:23:25,280 with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. 399 00:23:27,080 --> 00:23:31,960 You can't help but picture Jesus, arms stretched out on the 400 00:23:31,960 --> 00:23:36,400 cross, redeeming his people with arts with outstretched arms 401 00:23:36,600 --> 00:23:42,640 while he experiences the mighty judgment of God on our behalf. 402 00:23:42,960 --> 00:23:46,120 Jesus hung between heaven and earth, getting the wrath that 403 00:23:46,120 --> 00:23:50,280 you and I deserve. You see what's happening. 404 00:23:52,240 --> 00:23:55,000 God or Jesus is taking over the Passover. 405 00:23:55,000 --> 00:23:58,320 Luke 22 verse 20 says this in the same way. 406 00:23:58,320 --> 00:24:02,040 After the supper he took the cup, saying this cup is the new 407 00:24:02,040 --> 00:24:06,080 covenant in my blood which is poured out for you. 408 00:24:07,120 --> 00:24:10,760 Matthew records Jesus making it clear here that this blood is 409 00:24:10,880 --> 00:24:15,800 the beginning of a new covenant poured out for the forgiveness 410 00:24:16,360 --> 00:24:21,200 of sins. Cup 4 This is Jesus talking, and 411 00:24:21,600 --> 00:24:28,400 I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. 412 00:24:29,520 --> 00:24:32,320 Jesus does at least three things during this Passover. 413 00:24:32,320 --> 00:24:37,400 Meal 1 He takes it over. He says this Passover, it's 414 00:24:37,400 --> 00:24:41,320 about me now I'm the one who's going to take your place. 415 00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:46,040 The judgement of God is going to fall on me and everybody who is 416 00:24:46,040 --> 00:24:49,840 covered in my blood because of what I did on the cross, the 417 00:24:49,840 --> 00:24:52,600 judgement of God will Passover them. 418 00:24:52,600 --> 00:24:56,000 It will fall on me. Second thing he does is he 419 00:24:56,000 --> 00:24:59,360 abolish is the Passover. The celebration of the Passover 420 00:24:59,360 --> 00:25:01,440 was a Jewish custom under the Jewish law. 421 00:25:01,640 --> 00:25:04,360 And Jesus is saying as Jesus followers, those of you who are 422 00:25:04,360 --> 00:25:06,880 covered in my blood, those of you who have taken what I have 423 00:25:06,880 --> 00:25:09,600 done on your behalf and applied it to your life, this is no 424 00:25:09,600 --> 00:25:11,440 longer something that you have to do. 425 00:25:12,880 --> 00:25:15,240 Then #3 He establishes communion. 426 00:25:15,760 --> 00:25:19,680 When you guys get together, I want you to take some bread and 427 00:25:19,680 --> 00:25:23,160 I want you to take some juice, and I want you to remember what 428 00:25:23,160 --> 00:25:27,160 I have done on your behalf. I want you to remember the 429 00:25:27,160 --> 00:25:32,440 sacrifice, the love, the grace, and the mercy. 430 00:25:33,120 --> 00:25:36,520 In light of all of this, it makes complete sense why Paul, 431 00:25:36,520 --> 00:25:39,480 when he is writing to the church in Corinth, says, hey, when you 432 00:25:39,480 --> 00:25:41,320 get together as a church and you're getting ready to take 433 00:25:41,320 --> 00:25:43,720 communion, you better do it in a proper way. 434 00:25:44,280 --> 00:25:46,800 Look what it says in First Corinthians Chapter 11, verse 27 435 00:25:46,800 --> 00:25:50,920 through 29. So then whoever eats the bread 436 00:25:50,920 --> 00:25:55,760 or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be 437 00:25:55,760 --> 00:26:00,600 guilty of sinning against the body and the blood of the Lord. 438 00:26:01,720 --> 00:26:05,680 Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of 439 00:26:05,680 --> 00:26:07,760 the bread and drink from the cup. 440 00:26:08,200 --> 00:26:12,640 For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of 441 00:26:12,640 --> 00:26:17,120 Christ, eat and drink judgement on themselves. 442 00:26:17,640 --> 00:26:20,400 How many of you? You don't need any more 443 00:26:20,400 --> 00:26:22,960 judgement on your life. Like, you're bad enough as it 444 00:26:22,960 --> 00:26:24,640 is. Yeah. 445 00:26:24,640 --> 00:26:27,600 The last thing you want to do is like, yeah, I'll take more 446 00:26:27,600 --> 00:26:29,480 judgement, please. For 300. 447 00:26:29,680 --> 00:26:31,360 That's what I would like. Just more judgement. 448 00:26:32,640 --> 00:26:34,960 What? What Paul's saying is, in light 449 00:26:34,960 --> 00:26:37,160 of everything that Jesus has done on the cross, when you get 450 00:26:37,160 --> 00:26:41,640 together to remember what Jesus did on the cross, don't screw 451 00:26:41,640 --> 00:26:46,320 around with that. Don't mess with this. 452 00:26:46,960 --> 00:26:50,120 If you've ever been to Washington, DC, and you go to 453 00:26:50,120 --> 00:26:53,960 all the war memorials, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, it 454 00:26:53,960 --> 00:26:58,040 becomes abundantly clear instantly that you better act 455 00:26:58,040 --> 00:27:03,560 right. Stop jacking around, make sure 456 00:27:03,560 --> 00:27:06,320 you get your head right and your heart right because you are 457 00:27:06,320 --> 00:27:09,600 standing in the middle of great sacrifice. 458 00:27:11,040 --> 00:27:13,920 That's why as a church, when we take communion, we always put 459 00:27:13,920 --> 00:27:17,480 that verse up on the screen because we want people to take 460 00:27:17,480 --> 00:27:22,520 communion in a worthy manner. So obvious point of the sermon, 461 00:27:22,880 --> 00:27:26,080 how do I take make sure that I take communion in a worthy 462 00:27:26,080 --> 00:27:29,560 manner? How do I make sure that I'm 463 00:27:29,560 --> 00:27:34,720 doing it right? Well, First off, we take 464 00:27:34,720 --> 00:27:37,880 communion in an unworthy manner if we're not a Christian. 465 00:27:39,120 --> 00:27:42,520 How can you honor the death and the sacrifice of Jesus if you 466 00:27:42,520 --> 00:27:46,840 have not accepted the death and life of Jesus into your life and 467 00:27:46,840 --> 00:27:50,640 made him the king of your life? To spend time taking community 468 00:27:50,640 --> 00:27:53,320 and thanking Jesus for dying on the cross for your sins without 469 00:27:53,320 --> 00:27:56,920 allowing what Jesus Christ did for your life to be applied to 470 00:27:56,920 --> 00:27:59,560 your life is doing so in an unworthy manner. 471 00:27:59,560 --> 00:28:02,560 So if you are a person who is not a Christian, you should not 472 00:28:02,560 --> 00:28:07,480 take communion. 2 We make sure that we're taking it in a worthy 473 00:28:07,480 --> 00:28:10,760 manner when we recognize that what we are doing is way more 474 00:28:10,760 --> 00:28:14,160 than taking a piece of bread and drinking a small cup of juice, 475 00:28:14,720 --> 00:28:17,080 but we focus on what they represent. 476 00:28:18,320 --> 00:28:23,680 They represent the love of God being poured out on undeserving 477 00:28:23,720 --> 00:28:32,120 sinners, us at great cost. How do we make sure we take 478 00:28:32,120 --> 00:28:36,840 communion in a worthy manner? We do heart checks to make sure 479 00:28:36,840 --> 00:28:40,440 that we are aware of our identity in Christ and how 480 00:28:40,440 --> 00:28:46,840 helpless we are without Him. We look around at the people 481 00:28:47,880 --> 00:28:51,480 that are close to us and we realize that they are either our 482 00:28:51,480 --> 00:28:56,640 brothers and sisters in Christ or lost without God. 483 00:28:57,840 --> 00:29:01,840 And that means that when we take communion, it changes how we see 484 00:29:01,840 --> 00:29:05,840 people. So what I'd like to do right now 485 00:29:06,840 --> 00:29:10,560 is I would like to take a moment to take communion together as a 486 00:29:10,560 --> 00:29:12,400 church. And for those of you who aren't 487 00:29:12,400 --> 00:29:14,840 a Christian yet, I'm just going to ask you to just kind of watch 488 00:29:14,840 --> 00:29:17,360 and observe what's happening. But for those of you who are a 489 00:29:17,360 --> 00:29:20,760 Christian, they've either put a couple communion things 490 00:29:20,760 --> 00:29:22,480 underneath your chair or close to your chair. 491 00:29:22,600 --> 00:29:23,880 You're going to need two of them. 492 00:29:25,280 --> 00:29:27,320 If you can leave the rest there so that way they don't have to 493 00:29:27,320 --> 00:29:29,560 reset it for the next service, they would be very grateful to 494 00:29:29,560 --> 00:29:31,240 you. At some of our locations, they 495 00:29:31,240 --> 00:29:33,720 might be passing it to you, or there might be a spot where you 496 00:29:33,720 --> 00:29:36,320 can go grab some. It is completely acceptable for 497 00:29:36,320 --> 00:29:38,840 you to move around at this point in the service, but don't start 498 00:29:38,840 --> 00:29:43,440 yet. Since I'm in ministry, I go to 499 00:29:43,440 --> 00:29:46,040 church a lot. Like I think last year I I did 500 00:29:46,040 --> 00:29:49,720 156 services. So you can imagine going to 501 00:29:49,720 --> 00:29:51,120 church 100. And I'm the kind of guy who 502 00:29:51,120 --> 00:29:55,280 needs to go to church 156 times. I mean, I need it and you can 503 00:29:55,280 --> 00:29:58,920 imagine showing up at 156 services for me, there would be 504 00:29:58,920 --> 00:30:01,760 a chance for me to take communion 156 times and there 505 00:30:01,760 --> 00:30:04,240 would also be a chance for me to kind of take it in an unworthy 506 00:30:04,240 --> 00:30:06,400 manner. And so a long time ago, early in 507 00:30:06,400 --> 00:30:09,920 my ministry, I just was kind of like, I need a, a good rhythm 508 00:30:10,240 --> 00:30:12,440 for me to take communion. And, and what I'm about to do 509 00:30:12,440 --> 00:30:16,840 is, if you'll allow me, I want to give you the gift of how I 510 00:30:16,840 --> 00:30:19,120 take communion. Now, logistically, we don't have 511 00:30:19,120 --> 00:30:22,880 the ability for you all to do this all the time, but when I 512 00:30:22,880 --> 00:30:25,440 take communion, I take it one service a weekend. 513 00:30:25,720 --> 00:30:28,560 And I usually try to do it when my wife Jennifer is here because 514 00:30:28,560 --> 00:30:29,720 I like taking communion with her. 515 00:30:30,560 --> 00:30:34,880 And a long time ago, I came up with four prayers that I used 516 00:30:34,880 --> 00:30:37,240 during communion and I take double communion. 517 00:30:37,960 --> 00:30:41,920 And there are four prayers that I pray during my communion time. 518 00:30:42,600 --> 00:30:47,320 And it has helped me grow in my affection for Christ, grow in my 519 00:30:47,320 --> 00:30:49,840 appreciation for the sacrifice of Christ. 520 00:30:50,640 --> 00:30:53,720 It has changed how I view myself, and it has changed how I 521 00:30:53,720 --> 00:30:57,120 view other people. So if you're willing, would you 522 00:30:57,120 --> 00:31:00,080 go on this journey with me? So if you would take one of your 523 00:31:01,280 --> 00:31:03,800 cups, logistically, this is going to be a nightmare. 524 00:31:03,960 --> 00:31:08,280 I just want you to know that. Just just please push through 525 00:31:08,280 --> 00:31:10,560 it. I want you to just get one piece 526 00:31:10,560 --> 00:31:17,720 of bread out. And here's the prayer I pray, 527 00:31:18,600 --> 00:31:20,680 but I'm getting ready to take the first piece of communion. 528 00:31:21,400 --> 00:31:26,760 Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins and paying a price I 529 00:31:26,760 --> 00:31:34,560 could not pay. Jesus was the only way I was 530 00:31:34,560 --> 00:31:39,320 ever going to be saved. I am completely lost without 531 00:31:39,320 --> 00:31:42,000 Him. I could never be good enough. 532 00:31:42,600 --> 00:31:47,080 I could never measure up enough. It is only because of Jesus. 533 00:31:48,280 --> 00:31:54,240 If I were to stand before God on my own record, I stand no chance 534 00:31:54,240 --> 00:31:57,560 of salvation. But because of what Jesus Christ 535 00:31:57,720 --> 00:32:02,000 has done on the cross, I don't stand before my God on my 536 00:32:02,000 --> 00:32:05,440 record. I stand before God on the record 537 00:32:05,680 --> 00:32:09,240 of Jesus Christ. Think about this, The judgement 538 00:32:09,240 --> 00:32:12,080 that I deserve has passed over me. 539 00:32:12,360 --> 00:32:16,320 I am covered in the blood, which means that when God looks at me, 540 00:32:16,320 --> 00:32:19,120 he doesn't see my sin, He sees his Son. 541 00:32:20,120 --> 00:32:29,400 It changes how I view myself because my identity is found in 542 00:32:29,400 --> 00:32:33,800 the fact that God loved me enough to come and die on my 543 00:32:33,800 --> 00:32:37,200 behalf. If my identity is found and how 544 00:32:37,200 --> 00:32:39,840 much money I make, what happens when I lose my money? 545 00:32:40,480 --> 00:32:43,600 If my identity is found and how good of a preacher I am? 546 00:32:43,720 --> 00:32:45,480 What happens if I'm not a good preacher? 547 00:32:45,920 --> 00:32:48,920 If my identity is found and how good I look in the mirror, what 548 00:32:48,920 --> 00:32:51,800 happens when when I look at the mirror, it doesn't look like 549 00:32:51,800 --> 00:32:55,200 what it used to look like? If my identity is wrapped up in 550 00:32:55,200 --> 00:32:58,640 who's married to me or who likes me or who doesn't like me, what 551 00:32:58,640 --> 00:33:02,320 happens when that changes? But now my identity is not found 552 00:33:02,320 --> 00:33:05,760 in any of those things. My identity is found and the 553 00:33:05,760 --> 00:33:10,640 fact that God in His great love and mercy sent His Son to die on 554 00:33:10,640 --> 00:33:14,560 the cross on my behalf, and no one can take that from me. 555 00:33:15,320 --> 00:33:19,280 So would you take a second and pray that prayer as you take the 556 00:33:19,280 --> 00:33:36,520 first bread? Now I would like you to get the 557 00:33:36,560 --> 00:33:39,240 other cup of juice out and get the other bread. 558 00:33:39,240 --> 00:33:42,240 It's going to be risky. This is going to be a shout 559 00:33:42,240 --> 00:33:44,480 weekend. Everybody's going to have grape 560 00:33:44,480 --> 00:33:53,390 juice on them. I get the second piece of bread 561 00:33:54,230 --> 00:33:58,350 and I pray a second prayer. And this is my prayer. 562 00:33:59,430 --> 00:34:03,910 Thank you for not giving up on me even though I deserve it. 563 00:34:06,360 --> 00:34:12,679 I am amazed at my sinfulness. I'm amazed at my propensity to 564 00:34:12,679 --> 00:34:17,840 have a wandering heart. I have made promise after 565 00:34:17,840 --> 00:34:24,320 promise to Him, commitment after commitment to Him, and I have 566 00:34:24,320 --> 00:34:28,679 fallen short again and again and again. 567 00:34:29,440 --> 00:34:35,199 I've asked for forgiveness for the same sins over and over and 568 00:34:35,199 --> 00:34:42,199 over again, and not once has he ever turned away from me. 569 00:34:43,760 --> 00:34:47,639 Not once has he sealed me off so that way He won't listen to my 570 00:34:47,639 --> 00:34:55,639 prayers. So much of the pain we 571 00:34:55,639 --> 00:35:01,960 experience in this world is being afraid of being truly 572 00:35:01,960 --> 00:35:06,280 known. Because if somebody truly knew 573 00:35:06,280 --> 00:35:09,840 us, they would want nothing to do with us. 574 00:35:11,400 --> 00:35:14,720 If they knew every thought, every failure, every 575 00:35:14,720 --> 00:35:20,880 shortcoming, they would run. And here's what I can't get 576 00:35:20,880 --> 00:35:25,880 over. The one who knows me the most, 577 00:35:27,360 --> 00:35:33,440 the one who I have hurt the most, the one who I have let 578 00:35:33,440 --> 00:35:40,320 down the most is the same one who has done the most on my 579 00:35:40,320 --> 00:35:45,000 behalf. If anybody had a right to give 580 00:35:45,000 --> 00:35:49,720 up on me, it would be him. But not once has he ever done 581 00:35:49,720 --> 00:35:51,840 it. Would you pray the second prayer 582 00:35:51,840 --> 00:36:09,520 with me as you take the bread? As you get one of the cups of 583 00:36:09,520 --> 00:36:17,160 juice, my third prayer when I take communion every week is 584 00:36:17,160 --> 00:36:21,120 help me to live a life in response to your love. 585 00:36:22,920 --> 00:36:26,640 I want to be a person who's been changed by him, impacted by him, 586 00:36:26,880 --> 00:36:30,640 altered by him, shaped by him, molded by him. 587 00:36:30,760 --> 00:36:33,920 And when I look back at the mighty work that God has done on 588 00:36:33,920 --> 00:36:36,920 my behalf, I want to be a great steward of that. 589 00:36:37,480 --> 00:36:41,200 How could I be the recipient of such love, such grace, such 590 00:36:41,200 --> 00:36:47,200 mercy, such patience, such long-suffering, and not be moved 591 00:36:47,200 --> 00:36:52,600 by it, not be changed by it? How could we look at the cross 592 00:36:52,600 --> 00:36:57,040 of Jesus Christ and see what He has done on our behalf and walk 593 00:36:57,040 --> 00:37:01,920 away unfazed? How could we go about our lives 594 00:37:02,040 --> 00:37:03,720 like we've always gone about them? 595 00:37:05,120 --> 00:37:10,000 I want to be a person who lives a life of response to God's 596 00:37:10,000 --> 00:37:12,920 great redemptive work on my behalf. 597 00:37:13,640 --> 00:37:16,080 I want to be a great steward of what He has done for me. 598 00:37:16,600 --> 00:37:19,600 So would you pray this prayer as you take one of the juices? 599 00:37:38,700 --> 00:37:43,380 OK, you're getting ready for the second cup. 600 00:37:44,540 --> 00:37:46,260 We're getting ready for the 4th prayer. 601 00:37:47,100 --> 00:37:52,620 And I just want to tell you gently to brace yourself because 602 00:37:52,620 --> 00:37:57,580 the fourth prayer is to help me remember that you did not die 603 00:37:57,580 --> 00:38:02,200 just for me, but for everyone in the world. 604 00:38:04,840 --> 00:38:09,360 This prayer reminds me that the sacrifice of Jesus was not just 605 00:38:09,360 --> 00:38:18,280 for me, it's for my family, for my neighbors, for my Co workers. 606 00:38:21,520 --> 00:38:27,720 Jesus died for people that don't like me. 607 00:38:30,280 --> 00:38:34,280 Jesus died for people that I don't like. 608 00:38:36,120 --> 00:38:42,760 Jesus died for my enemies. Jesus died for people who've 609 00:38:42,760 --> 00:38:50,360 hurt me, said bad things about me, abused me, done me wrong, 610 00:38:50,960 --> 00:38:59,360 taken from me. And God's love for me should 611 00:38:59,360 --> 00:39:04,760 change how I view them, act towards them, love them. 612 00:39:06,280 --> 00:39:09,440 It should and must change how I treat them. 613 00:39:10,240 --> 00:39:13,880 Think about them. Let me be clear. 614 00:39:15,000 --> 00:39:20,960 The Bible states that outside of Christ, we are enemies of God. 615 00:39:22,280 --> 00:39:25,960 Our sin made us hostile to the throne of God. 616 00:39:27,560 --> 00:39:31,200 We were enemies. And how did God treat His 617 00:39:31,200 --> 00:39:36,920 enemies? He sent His one and only Son on 618 00:39:36,920 --> 00:39:41,960 their behalf to redeem and to rescue and to restore. 619 00:39:43,680 --> 00:39:47,360 And if God had not moved on that in that way on behalf of His 620 00:39:47,360 --> 00:39:52,000 enemies, I would not be where I am today, and neither would you. 621 00:39:53,160 --> 00:39:57,440 That's why Jesus says one of the hallmarks of Christianity is 622 00:39:57,520 --> 00:40:00,960 enemy love. Why? 623 00:40:02,240 --> 00:40:04,240 Because when we were enemies, he loved us. 624 00:40:06,280 --> 00:40:10,640 And it is reasonable to expect that people who've been impacted 625 00:40:10,640 --> 00:40:15,480 by enemy love should be capable of enemy love. 626 00:40:17,000 --> 00:40:19,400 It must change the way I view them. 627 00:40:19,920 --> 00:40:22,360 The same rescue mission that saved me. 628 00:40:23,600 --> 00:40:25,560 God is trying to use to save them. 629 00:40:25,920 --> 00:40:29,240 You've heard me say this before, you will never lay eyes on 630 00:40:29,240 --> 00:40:33,480 somebody that God doesn't love and Jesus didn't die for. 631 00:40:36,320 --> 00:40:40,120 So if you're willing, would you pray the 4th prayer and drink 632 00:40:40,120 --> 00:40:55,040 the cup? That night in Carthage led to a 633 00:40:55,040 --> 00:40:59,520 walk around a camp that I grew up at, and Jennifer and I took 634 00:40:59,520 --> 00:41:04,000 this picture. Look at that guy. 635 00:41:05,800 --> 00:41:10,320 Look at him. Yeah, me and the sunset are the 636 00:41:10,320 --> 00:41:12,280 easiest things to look at in that picture. 637 00:41:14,320 --> 00:41:16,200 You might wonder, why do I have a beard? 638 00:41:16,520 --> 00:41:19,520 It's because that double chin was coming in pretty early at a 639 00:41:19,520 --> 00:41:21,720 young age. That was a 26 year old double 640 00:41:21,720 --> 00:41:23,760 chin. Like we Jennifer says, listen, 641 00:41:23,760 --> 00:41:26,000 you, you look better when there's less of your face to 642 00:41:26,000 --> 00:41:28,320 see. And I was like, yes, ma'am, I 643 00:41:28,320 --> 00:41:30,960 appreciate enemy love. That's what that was. 644 00:41:32,400 --> 00:41:36,000 That was not the last picture. Oh man, I took a lot more 645 00:41:36,000 --> 00:41:39,640 pictures. I took this picture and this 646 00:41:39,640 --> 00:41:41,920 one. Oh yeah, I'm romantic. 647 00:41:42,720 --> 00:41:48,680 And this one and this one and this one, I was figuring out 648 00:41:48,680 --> 00:41:54,560 technology like a boomer. That picture led to this picture 649 00:41:56,160 --> 00:41:59,160 in Jamaica, which led to this picture 650 00:42:10,180 --> 00:42:12,220 and all the pictures that have come after that. 651 00:42:14,900 --> 00:42:19,420 You see a Dairy Queen, you see a chicken strip basket. 652 00:42:20,680 --> 00:42:26,280 But I see the rest of my life. Others see bread and juice. 653 00:42:28,880 --> 00:42:32,560 I see my identity. I see my victory. 654 00:42:33,520 --> 00:42:36,680 I see my salvation. I see my hope. 655 00:42:37,560 --> 00:42:40,480 I see my peace. I see the grace I've been 656 00:42:40,480 --> 00:42:44,200 longing for, the mercy I desire. I see my destiny. 657 00:42:44,440 --> 00:42:47,960 I see my eternity. Other people, other people just 658 00:42:47,960 --> 00:42:53,080 see some bread and juice and I see everything that was wrong 659 00:42:53,080 --> 00:42:55,640 with me and everything that was right about him. 660 00:42:57,920 --> 00:43:05,000 Which is why when we gather every week, we take communion to 661 00:43:05,000 --> 00:43:08,880 remind us that this is not all that there is and not all that 662 00:43:08,880 --> 00:43:12,680 is possible through him. We're moving to a time of 663 00:43:12,680 --> 00:43:19,340 decision. I'll be quick. 664 00:43:20,320 --> 00:43:23,160 If you are here today and you don't have an intimate personal 665 00:43:23,160 --> 00:43:26,240 relationship with Jesus Christ, you are not a Christian. 666 00:43:26,240 --> 00:43:29,240 You are a person who has not stepped over the line and said I 667 00:43:29,240 --> 00:43:32,600 want to be identified with Jesus Christ and his sacrifice. 668 00:43:32,600 --> 00:43:36,520 I want to make him my Savior who rescues me from impending hell, 669 00:43:36,720 --> 00:43:39,960 and I want him to be my Lord who directs my path for the rest of 670 00:43:39,960 --> 00:43:42,760 my life. Can I just tell you I am one 671 00:43:42,760 --> 00:43:45,920 satisfied customer of making that decision and I will tell 672 00:43:45,920 --> 00:43:49,080 you I haven't met anybody else who would disagree with me. 673 00:43:49,600 --> 00:43:52,040 Now, when you come into an intimate, personal relationship 674 00:43:52,040 --> 00:43:57,240 with Jesus Christ, it changes absolutely everything and it is 675 00:43:57,240 --> 00:44:01,520 the thing that you were made for, created for, and destined 676 00:44:01,520 --> 00:44:04,280 for. That hole in your heart cannot 677 00:44:04,280 --> 00:44:07,600 be filled with anything other than Him. 678 00:44:07,800 --> 00:44:12,120 You were made for Him. That's why no matter how much 679 00:44:12,120 --> 00:44:14,400 money you keep making, it's never enough. 680 00:44:15,280 --> 00:44:17,680 Remember how many people you become friends with, it's never 681 00:44:17,680 --> 00:44:19,160 enough. No matter how many possessions 682 00:44:19,160 --> 00:44:22,360 you have, it is never enough. There is a hole inside of you 683 00:44:22,560 --> 00:44:26,040 that cannot be satisfied, that cannot be filled because the 684 00:44:26,080 --> 00:44:29,440 only person who can fill the infinite hole is an infinite 685 00:44:29,480 --> 00:44:31,400 God. And if you are outside of a 686 00:44:31,400 --> 00:44:35,040 relationship with Him, I would tell you at least today, start 687 00:44:35,040 --> 00:44:38,360 asking questions of somebody who has a relationship with him. 688 00:44:39,120 --> 00:44:41,000 Because I believe that when you start asking those questions, 689 00:44:41,000 --> 00:44:42,880 you're going to get the answers you've been longing for. 690 00:44:43,520 --> 00:44:46,520 Others of you, you know, you know enough. 691 00:44:46,960 --> 00:44:49,560 You've known enough for a long time, and for some reason you 692 00:44:49,560 --> 00:44:53,160 keep putting it off. Maybe today you take a step in 693 00:44:53,160 --> 00:44:55,440 just a few moments when the people around you stand and sing 694 00:44:55,440 --> 00:44:57,480 and some of them come to the steps and pray. 695 00:44:57,480 --> 00:45:00,040 I want to encourage you to walk right over there next to the 696 00:45:00,040 --> 00:45:02,880 baptistry underneath that screen, and talk to somebody 697 00:45:03,160 --> 00:45:05,920 about what it means to start an intimate, personal relationship 698 00:45:05,920 --> 00:45:09,640 with Jesus Christ. To those of you who do have a 699 00:45:09,640 --> 00:45:17,000 relationship with Jesus Christ, allow Communion to spur you on 700 00:45:18,360 --> 00:45:23,840 in a reckless, radical way as we try to make this region the 701 00:45:23,840 --> 00:45:27,360 hardest place on planet earth to get to hell from. 702 00:45:28,240 --> 00:45:32,240 Communion is a time for us to for us to remember what He has 703 00:45:32,240 --> 00:45:35,760 done on our behalf and what He expects us to do. 704 00:45:36,560 --> 00:45:38,520 And so as you come to the steps and pray for the people in your 705 00:45:38,520 --> 00:45:41,040 life that you care about, the people that are close to you and 706 00:45:41,040 --> 00:45:43,480 far from God, as you get down there and pray about the things 707 00:45:43,480 --> 00:45:45,880 that are going through your life, don't forget the fact that 708 00:45:45,880 --> 00:45:49,720 God is on a rescue mission and is inviting us to participate. 709 00:45:50,040 --> 00:45:53,320 Would you stand with me? God? 710 00:45:53,320 --> 00:45:57,640 I'm asking you to do a work in every heart that's in this room 711 00:45:57,640 --> 00:45:59,400 and every heart that's watching online. 712 00:46:00,360 --> 00:46:03,520 God, I'm asking you to do what only you can do in ways that 713 00:46:03,520 --> 00:46:07,760 only you can do it. We want what happens here to be 714 00:46:07,760 --> 00:46:11,560 by your hand, not by human wisdom or human effort. 715 00:46:12,960 --> 00:46:15,200 God, I ask that you'd help us to surrender the things that are 716 00:46:15,200 --> 00:46:18,160 getting in the way of us becoming who you called and 717 00:46:18,160 --> 00:46:22,520 created us to become. Use this moment to pour concrete 718 00:46:23,120 --> 00:46:25,040 on the emotions and the commitments that we want to 719 00:46:25,040 --> 00:46:27,320 make, and I pray. Amen.