It's a beautiful day, it's a good day to be in the house of
the Lord. I'm glad to see you today.
My name is Kyle. Service lead, Pastor here.
If you're visiting with us, I want to say thank you.
I'm glad that you're here today and I pray that you enjoy your
time. But anyway, we are here to now
in this moment to hear from God's words to hear it preached
and taught, and we're going to seek the Lord and aligning
ourselves to it. And so, here in a moment, I'll
pray and ask him to help us with that.
But before I do, I wanted to just kind of catch you up
briefly on where we're at. We're in the middle of a series
that had an extended break back in the fall.
And we picked it back up early spring now.
And but the series is called what happens when we worship.
And what we're looking at is what takes place when we come
together for the worship of God. What is what's going on in the
service? And so, when we say worship,
we're not talking about like the modern kind of cultural
understanding of what worship is, which is typically just the
music. Portion of a service.
We're talking about the entire service.
What's taking place from beginning to end in this worship
service, we've touched on so many of the theological truths,
the Deep truths of what's taking place, like things where we
said, you know, we were created to worship.
And so we're always worshipping, no matter what we're doing,
we're worshiping. Something were either worshiping
God or worshipping an idol. Now, you might not be bowing to
a, some carved image that you've created.
By your life, you are submitting to ultimately, either God or
Satan. And so you are always
worshipping in that way. Another things we talked about
in this series is that, when we come together, we are meeting
with God, we're truly coming to meet with God.
Hebrews 12 teaches us, that we've not come to Mount Sinai,
we're not come to something that can be touched.
We've not come to, you know, it's not about, it's not only
about the physical elements. That are in play here, it's not
about an instrument, it's not about, it's not only about, I
should say instruments or holding God's word in our hand,
or those kinds of things. Those, those aren't what make
worship worship their tools for our worship.
Their and God's word certainly is the most effective tool for
our worship. That's why we want to sing songs
that are about as word want to pray prayers, that are from his
word. We want to or that are informed
by his word. And we want to preach from his
word, right? So that our hearts and our minds
and our souls are alive Mind with the word of God and all
that we're doing in a worship service.
But the most important fact going on in or ship service is
that God has truly come to meet with us.
And we are meeting with him when we worship.
And so, that's a really amazing thing.
So you can step back and you can look through our archives and
our sermons and listen to some of those, those lessons, if you
haven't. But what we've been doing for
the last several weeks now, is looking at each element of
worship. And so we've talked about
Reaching we've talked, we're going to talk about singing.
We're talking today about the Lord's Supper.
We've talked about our call to worship.
And so today, again, we're talking about the Lord's supper
and essentially, well, the title we've picked for this is the
Feast of fellowship with God. So the Feast of the Lord's
Supper is meant to be Fellowship, a reminder of our
fellowship with God, and a reminder of our fellowship with
one another, I want to put this big idea before you Through the
Lord's supper and you can write this down.
If you're taking notes through the Lord's, Supper the Holy
Spirit, strengthens our faith, hope and love in the finished
work of Jesus Christ. As Believers, really, and truly
Feast on him. So through the Lord's, Supper
the Holy Spirit, strengthens our faith, hope and love in the
finished work of Jesus Christ. As Believers, really, and truly
Feast on him. I'm going to explain that as as
we go along today. But for now, I'd like for you to
stand. If you're able, as we read the
word of the Lord, when I finished reading, I'll say this
is the word of the Lord. I ask that you respond.
Thanks, be to God. First Corinthians chapter 11,
maybe didn't tell you that yet. So I'll give you a second.
First Corinthians chapter 11, we're going to start reading in
verse 23 and will read through verse 29.
All right. I'll start now for I received
from the Lord, what I also delivered to you that the Lord
Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread.
And when he had given thanks, he broke it.
And said, this is my body, which is for you.
Do this in remembrance of me 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 eat this
bread and drink the cup you proclaim, the Lord's death,
until he comes. 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 Lord, let a person
examine himself then. And so eat of the bread and
drink of the cup for anyone who eats and drinks without
Discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.
This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Let me pray for us. Heavenly Father, we praise you
and we thank you for your word, Lord.
We humble ourselves. Now, as we come to it, we ask
Lord that you would instruct our hearts and our minds that we
would that our faith would be strengthened.
That our faith would go down deep Lord, that it would bear,
great fruits. And so Lord, would you give us
Hearts today? That are good soil as Christ
taught hearts that Are receptive to your word that are eager to
learn from you and from your Council, to seek your face and
to be instructed by you. And so Lord, I am merely an
instrument in your hands. As we talked about last week
that the sermon is not about me, it's about your word.
And so I ask Lord that you would speak through me.
So your people that you would edify their hearts that you
would and struck them correct where we need correcting Lord
and so that we might be mature followers of Your son Christ,
Jesus we are powerless without the holy spirit for this work.
And so we ask father that your spirit, dwell richly and us.
Now, as we study your word is in Christ's name, I pray, amen.
Amen. May be seated.
So from the beginning of creation, the pattern of worship
culminates in feasting before the fall, you have Adam and Eve,
the man in the woman in the garden and they were supposed to
be able to eat from a tree called the tree of life and live
forever. This is part of the reason they
were kicked out of the garden after they disobeyed God by
eating from the Tree of knowledge of Good and Evil.
God says is Not good for man to be this way.
Let's remove him from the guard unless they eat of the tree of
life and live forever. The problem would be that they
would live forever in this condemned State, and so God
removes them from the garden. And, and so what we see later in
scripture is that the gift of feasting, feasting doesn't come
to an end that worship involves eating worship.
Involves feasting with God. In fact, when Christ returns,
And his people, dwell with him and the new heavens and new
earth. The crowning joy of the
Redemption of all things. In that moment will be a feast
with Christ. It's called the marriage supper
of the lamb. And even the Book of Revelation
tells us that the tree of life will give life to God's people.
Once again, in revelation, 22 verse 2.
And so the emphasis is on eating, but why is there an
emphasis on eating well, because our God is a god of Of
communion. Our God is a god of Fellowship.
We might say he Delights to commune with his people and a
shared meal is one of the most powerful ways to enjoy communion
with someone, right? You know, this to be true.
After all, most First Dates, take place at restaurants right?
You invite someone to go eat to enjoy a meal together and you
talk over this Mill. You get to know one another over
the mill. We enjoy things like dinner
parties where Your friends will come together and enjoy a meal
with one another. Oftentimes, one of the
highlights of my week is enjoying a meal in our home
group where we get together with other brothers and sisters in
the Lord. And we Feast with one another as
we also study the word of God seeing and pray with each other.
So the shared meal is wired into US.
Its intrinsic to who we are. Why is it so natural to share a
meal with the people you love? Because God Created you this
way? God has made you to enjoy
feasting he created you to commune with others and to do it
around a meal. Jonathan Cruz says that feasting
is a primary means of fellowship and in worship we Feast to
fellowship with God. However, there's an innate
desire to Feast with others in us and that innate.
Desire alone is not enough to reconcile us with God.
So in other words, just because you want to eat with other
people, just because you want to be able to share a meal, is not
enough to allow you to share a meal with God and Men, throw
your, you have a craving for food and that craving for food,
Bears, witness that you were meant to Feast with God,
ultimately the problem is that your sinful desires and just
your outright sinfulness Bear witness that you cannot Feast
with an utterly holy God, as you currently sit since sin entered
the world, our only hope for fellowship and communion with
God is through the finished work of Jesus Christ communion with
God, must go through the Cross of Christ.
He is the way he is the truth. He is the life.
No one comes to the father Christ says, except through me
right in John 14:6. And so we rightly All this
communion meal, the Lord's Supper because it is truly made
possible by our Lord and Savior. Jesus Christ.
Jesus both the host of The Mill and the mill itself, he is the
source, the substance and the celebration of the bread and the
wine. We cannot understand the Lord's
Supper apart from the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
It's impossible. And so it's important to note
that the Lord's Supper is not primarily about what we are
doing, right? It's primarily about what God
has done for. For us through Jesus Christ.
However, this doesn't mean that you were merely passive in it
either. It's not as though, you were
being force-fed, a cup and the bread today and you're just
passive in receiving that you are actively participating and
the body and blood of Christ your active.
But our activity. As we've seen throughout this
worship series, our activity, and worship our activity in
singing or activity and preaching, or activity, and a
call to worship our activity in all of this as.
But especially The Lord's supper or baptism is owing truly, and
only to the salvific work of God, through his son, who died
was buried and rose again on the third day.
That is how we participate is because God has initiated our
participation. Amen.
And so we are active, but we're only active because God was
active first. He's initiated this wonderful
relationship. So there's a couple of
long-standing truths that I wanted to read to you about the
Lord's. Supper these Help provide a
foundation, a helpful foundation for us as we think about the
Lord's Supper. So first is this one?
These come from the London. Baptist confession of faith that
says this, the supper of the Lord Jesus was instituted by him
the same night he was betrayed. It is to be observed, in his
churches, to the end of the age as a Perpetual remembrance and
display of the sacrifice of himself in his death.
It is given for the confirmation of the faith of Believers and
all the benefits of Christ's death, their spiritual
nourishment, and growth and him. And their Her engagement in, in
to all the duties, they owe him. The supper is to be a bond and
pledge of their communion with Christ and each other.
And then goes on to say, just a few paragraphs later, worthy,
recipients, who outwardly, partake of the visible elements,
that is the bread and the cup in this ordinance.
Also, by faith inwardly receive and feed on Christ crucified and
all the benefits of his death. They do so really, and truly,
yet not physically and bodily, but spiritually, the body, and
blood of Christ are not present bodily or physically in the
ordinance, but spiritually to the faith of Believers just as
the elements themselves are present to their outward senses.
And so we want to make it plain. That we are not saying that the
bread and the cup are the true body and blood of Christ.
This is a long-standing teaching and Catholicism it's called
transubstantiation. They believe that when the
Minister President, Praise for the, the bread and the wine that
it truly becomes the body and the blood of Christ.
But this is not what we're saying.
We are saying, however, that though, there are physical
elements. What's true spiritually is that
you are truly participating in the body, which was broken on
your behalf and the blood which was spilled on your behalf.
You are participating spiritually in those things.
And so you are therefore present with Christ Christ as present
with you, as you receive the Lord's supper, and these are
really Downing truth. It helps it honestly, it
prevents us from observing the Lord's Supper in a Anna wrote
religious manner, right? That would be Unworthy of
receiving the summer. We it helps us acknowledge.
What is truly going on in the Lord's supper?
And so again, I say through the Lord's, Supper the Holy Spirit,
strengthens our faith, hope and love in the finished work of
Jesus Christ, as Believers, really, and truly Feast on him,
though. The truth.
The feasting is Spiritual we will now explore three aspects
of the Lord's Supper. Those this faith, hope and love.
I want to talk to you about what these means.
And as we do, I think that the truth, we must Delight in that
is that God grants us. The gift of feasting with him
through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
We're going to see that as we go through this and I hope that as
the old hymn what wondrous love is this says, I hope that it
causes you to dwell on this and him, we read this.
What wondrous love is this old? A soul.
What wondrous love is this? That caused the Lord of bliss to
Bear? The Dreadful curse for my soul.
When I was sinking down beneath God's righteous.
Frown Christ laid aside, his crown for my soul to God.
And to the lamb, I will sing to God.
And to the lamb who is The Great?
I Am while Millions join In theme, I will sing.
And when from Death, I'm free, I'll sing on.
And when from Death, I'm free, I'll sing.
His love for me and through eternity.
I'll sing on. Amen.
So first, it is a feast of Faith.
First, the Lord's Supper is a feast of Faith, so if you're
taking notes, you can write that down.
It is a feast of Faith because it strengthens our faith in
Christ. It's strengthening our faith in
Christ. As we look back in faith to what
Jesus has done for us on the cross.
So let me, let's look at these verses again, First Corinthians
11:23 to 26 for I received from the Lord.
When I also delivered to you that the Lord Jesus on the
night, when he was betrayed took bread.
And when he had given thanks, he broke it.
And said, this is my body, which is for you.
Do this in remembrance. Of May in the same way, he also
took the cup. He said this 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 eat this bread and drink
the cup you proclaim, the Lord's death until he comes.
And so from the mouth of Christ, we have him saying, we see this
in the gospels as well. Not just in this letter to the
Corinthians, but Christ says do this in remembrance of me take
this bread and remembrance of me.
This is my body which is broken for you.
Remember it take this cup, this wine drink it in remembrance of
my blood which is spilt for you and a New Covenant of Grace,
right? This is for you but do it in
remembrance of me and then at the very end Paul's just telling
the Saints there at Corinth. He says as often as you partake
of the supper, You proclaim the Lord's death until he comes your
proclaiming the death of the Lord in this.
And so the Lord suffers meant to remind us of the work of Christ
on the cross and strengthen our faith in him.
That's why it's right to view the Lords of the Lord's.
Supper, as a covenants confirmation, right?
This cup is the New Covenant in my blood Christ says, it's a
direct reference to the New Covenant that we have in Christ
which God makes with his people. Ruth about broken body and the
spilled blood of his only son. It's a covenant that has come to
us from God through his son, which is the second member of
the Trinity. He is the god man, Jesus Christ.
And this Covenant has come to us because of God's grace toward
us. It's the sign of God's covenant
with us. And the same way the rainbow was
for Noah and the same way the stars were for Abraham in the
same way the throne was for David, these things were meant
to remind these men n that God had made a covenant with them
and the fellowship meal. We see that our fellowship is
with God through Jesus Christ by his gracious salvation.
Jonathan Cruz says this, he says, Jesus gives us Bread and
Wine as a means of Awakening or faith to the mighty work of
Salvation that he accomplished with his body and blood on the
cross. That's what we're meant to think
back. That's what we're meant to
think. Back on as we protect of this
Mill, that's what it means. Means to do this in remembrance
of me. The memorial aspect of the
Lord's Supper helps us understand.
One reason why we must regularly partake of the Lord's Supper we
are spiritually weak people who are prone to.
Forget God's Mighty works of Salvation on our behalf.
And so a regular participation of the Lord's Supper helps us to
see these wonderful truths. However, through the regular
ordinary seemingly mundane participation in the Lord's
Supper God has graciously, strengthening our faith in his
salvation, it seems mundane. It seems ordinary.
It seems like it's just merely a cup, and a little piece of bread
and that nothing more could be taking place.
But what we see in the word of God, and what we see throughout
church history is that it is a participation in the body.
And blood of Christ Jesus spiritually.
And so we're reminded of our covenant with God as we
participate in it. And so in the supper, we see
that God promises to graciously save, Sinners.
Even the worst of them through the sacrifice of his son, he
gives us a way to deepen, our faith, in the work of Christ
that that we hear when the word is preached.
And so now we respond by receiving the Lord's supper
together. So we can never be told to
remember, too often. Right, we're so prone to forget,
we're so prone to think that somehow after my, my salvation,
which is a work of God by his grace, that I am now meant to
buy my own Works work for righteousness.
Now, so we go from a work of Grace to Works righteousness,
and let us buy my own works. That I'm going to stay in good
standing with God. But what the supper reminds us
of, is that as we confess sins, as we repent of those sins as we
believe in and Trust, Christ for the Forgiveness of these sins
that it's his work of Grace, from the beginning of Salvation,
to the end of Salvation in us, that allows us to participate in
such a wonderful meal. Amen.
It's his work in us and so we can never be told to remember
too often because we're always forgetting, but when you see the
broken bread in the moments, remember Christ body broken for
you. When you see the cup poured out,
remember the blood of Christ poured out for the Forgiveness
of your sins. When you smell the substance of
the copper, you remember the pleasing Aroma of Christ blood,
sacrifice on your behalf when you taste the bread, remember
that Christ is the bread from Heaven, that feels every
spiritual need and strengthens your so Journey.
He's with you at all times. And so through the Lord's,
Supper the Holy Spirit, strengthens our faith.
Strengthens our home, strengthens our love in the
finished work of Jesus Christ, as Believers, really, and truly
Feast on him. The second thing we see about
the Lord's Supper is, that is filled with hope, it's a feast
of faith, and it's filled with hope the Lord's Supper is filled
with hope as we look forward in Hope For What Christ will do one
day. And so, in First Corinthians 11
26, Paul just says explicitly for as often.
As you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the
Lord's, It's death until he comes.
It's a looking forward to, right?
The mill is meant not only to look back at the cross.
Not only look back at what Christ has done for you, but
it's a looking forward to that. Wonderful day.
Were Christ, will split the heavens and the Earth.
He'll split wide. The skies riding, he'll descend,
he'll return and he'll establish the new Heaven, and the new
Earth. And that all his redeemed,
people will dwell with him in eternity.
In this place, the Lord's Supper is, mirror is more than
Memorial, right? It's not simply just a memorial,
it's not simply that we're eating and drinking and memory
of Christ is that we're eating and drinking as we look forward
and hope to what Christ will do. It's about looking forward to
his coming again and the prophecy of Isaiah in the Old
Testament. The Israelites Are encouraged to
look forward to a feast that will come in the new Heaven, and
the new Earth. And God extends an invitation to
all those who are thirsty and hungry to eat freely from the
Bounty of Yahweh, which is the Lord in Isaiah, 55 a feature, a
future, Feast will come on yahweh's Mountain, which is a
reference to the new heavens and new earth and Isaiah Prophecies
about this explicitly and in chapter, 25 verses 6 through 9
says, on this mountain, the Lord of hosts on this mountain,
Yahweh will make for All Peoples, a feast of rich food a
feast of well, aged wine of rich food, full of marrow of aged
wine. Well, refined and he will
swallow up on this mountain. The covering that is cast Over
All Peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations.
He will swallow up death forever and the Lord God will wipe away
tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people, he will
take away from all the Earth for the Lord has spoken.
It will be said on that day. Isaiah continues.
Behold. This Is Our God.
We have waited for him that he might save us, this is the Lord.
This is Yahweh. We have waited for him.
Let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.
Praise the Lord. And here we see the blessings of
God given to his people, as they share a meal in his presence, in
the new Heaven and the new Earth here it is that God will wipe
away every tear here. It is that God will conquer his
enemies here. It is that God will vindicate.
His people here it is and most importantly that we see the
defeat of death once and for all the swallowing of death, is the
real Mill for God. On that day, death will be eaten
alive. To speak, it will exist no more
and therefore fellowshipping with God should not just be the
Pinnacle of a worship service. It's not just the Pinnacle of
what we're trying to do in here to create a feast and to create
a meal that we have with the Lord.
And we walk away, realizing we are truly those because of the
work of God through Christ. We were truly those who are now
feasting or fellowshiping with God.
That is the Pinnacle of what we're trying to do here but
we're doing that because it's the Pinnacle of a life.
Of worship. You understand?
It's the Pinnacle of what you're hoping for.
It's the Pinnacle of what you're working toward as you trust
Christ, as you repent of your sins and you exercise faith in
him. As you grow in your faith, as
you grow in your love, for others.
What we're hoping for, what we're looking forward, to is a
Christ who redeems us all from the fall of this world.
Amen. And he places us with him in his
presence just as he took Adam and placed him into the garden,
Right. I can't help.
But every time I do that to act like I'm like barely picking up
these little people and moving them, right?
Don't think that's how it happens.
But anyway, you get the point. And so we see the blessings of
God here in Isaiah 25. We see what we're looking
forward to. And so when Jesus instituted the
Lord's supper and Matthew 26 verse 29, he said this to his
disciples listen to this. He says, I tell you, I will not
drink again of this fruit of the vine until the day, when I drink
it new with you in my father's Kingdom.
Wow. So you and I are told Feast
enjoy the Lord's Supper partake of the Lord's Supper.
As often as you eat it, as often as you drink it, do this in
remembrance of me. So we are to continue doing it.
But we need to recognize that as we continue doing it.
Christ, is waiting for that day where he'll return and we'll eat
it Anew with him in his father's Kingdom, incredible.
He's referring to the new heavens and the new Earth that
new kingdom that he's going to usher in upon his return on that
last day whenever it is and he promises disciples.
He promises you and me. That he will Feast with us.
There will be present with him. Revelation 19, verse 9, John
writes. This of the Angel, the angel
says to him, right? This blessed are those who are
invited to the marriage supper of the lamb and the angel said
to me, these are the true words of God.
Amen. Therefore would Old Testament.
Israel Only Knows in Shadow. We know now in substance but
they could only see mere Shadows of it didn't yet have Christ we
know because we can see Christ and him crucified.
We know that the hope of eating with God can be attained only
through Jesus Christ. Now having been sprinkled clean
by the blood of Christ. As Hebrews tells us we can enjoy
this Feast of fellowship with God.
Jonathan Cruz says this in his book on worship.
He says, if we think the Lord's Supper is only about looking
back and Remembrance on the death of Christ, the sacrament
will become more of a funeral than a feast.
Let that sink in. If we think it's only about
looking back, it becomes more of a funeral than a feast.
But if we see that God is pointing us forward in faith to
what is to come in the next stage, we will be unable to
participate with anything but joy and gladness but as we look
forward to the feast that's to come as you walk in this life
where you are a Sojourner, right?
You recognize every single day that this world is not your
home. Your beliefs and Christ do not
line up with the world that your beliefs in Christ, your trust,
in him, your fear of him, your all of him, your reverence, for
him, your desire to glorify his name is contrary to everything
that this world stands for. And so you recognize as you go
through painful moments as you go through difficult
relationships, as you struggle in your work, as you get
frustrated by life, you recognize that this cannot be
all that there is to life. I'm a Sojourner.
I'm a soldier. You're a Sojourner, you're on
your way to what? Hebrews 11 calls a Heavenly
Homeland? And by Faith by faith, you will
join the Lord there. And by faith right now you will
walk as a Sojourner to that day by faith.
In Christ you will you two will come into the presence of the
Lord. Jesus Christ and participate in
this. And so when you, when you take
the Lord's Supper, when it's offered to you and your partake
of the Lord's Supper, you need to remember, You need to
remember that. This is a foreshadowing of that
great meal to come. John frame old Pastor, not alive
anymore. He said this about the little
bit of bread and the little thimble of wine that you partake
of. He said that that it's good that
we use such small representations of that middle
to come, because it helps us to understand that it's only small
representations of the glories of Heaven that we can experience
on this earth, right? It's just A little bit.
Now, a little bit here, a little bit there.
We see the glory of the Lord at work in this world.
And it's those things that remind us that there's great
glory to come unhindered on adulterate Glory, that awaits
Us. In heaven, one day, you met him
and so it helps us in our soul Journey, it helps us get there.
And so, through the Lord's, Supper the Holy Spirit,
strengthens our faith. He strengthens our hope.
He strengthens our love in the finished work of Jesus Christ as
his Believers, really and truly Feast on him.
The third we see that we are joined in love with Christ and
his body. We were joined in love during
the supper during the Lord's Supper that we protect over
joined in love. In other words, we're United
together in the bonds of Christian love with Christ as
our head and the body as our brothers and sisters.
Paul's repeated use of the word hear you, write as often as you
drink this whenever you come together.
It's plural. He's writing to a church body.
That's really got this thing mixed up, but he's given
instructions to the body of Christ and To Us by way of
proxy, the Lord's Supper is communal.
It's always been meant to be communal.
It's not for you to partake of in the privacy of your home.
It's not for you to gather your family around and partake of
when you have a normal Lord's Day worship service where the
Lord's supper will be partaking of, I'm not saying if you're a
missionary in a distant country, blah, blah, blah.
All right. There's all these outliers you
can bring up and we can talk about those later.
But normally it's for you to enjoy within the body, just, as
baptism is meant to be enjoyed among the body of Believers not
in privacy and a bathtub with no one around, right?
It's meant to be proclamation of your union with Christ and your
you With one another, if I partake of the Lord's Supper
apart from the body, how in the world can I be partaking of
something? That's declaring my union with
the body when they have no idea that I even took it with them
that day or they didn't take it all either, right?
And so it can't be that and he actually gets onto them for this
and First Corinthians 11:20 through 22, it says, when you
come together, it is not the Lord's.
Supper that you eat for an eating, each one goes ahead with
his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets.
Drunk, what do you not have houses to eat and drink in?
Or do you despise the Church of God and humiliate those who have
nothing? What?
Shall I say to you? So I commend you in this?
No, I will not. Wow.
It's meant to be enjoyed together.
First and foremost. What I want you to know about
the Lord's Supper is that we are united to our head.
Jesus Christ. He's the head of the body.
And without the head, there can be no Union of the body.
So we must first acknowledge Christ, and this is what Paul
writes a chapter earlier in First Corinthians 10 as he
starts to introduce this, talk about the Lord's Supper.
He says, in verse 16 and 17 of First Corinthians 10, the cup of
blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood
of Christ, the bread that we break, is it not a participation
in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread we
who are many are one body for. We all partake of the one, On
bread, he's looking to the head, right?
He's looking to the one who founded the church Christ.
Jesus is the Cornerstone and the whole structure is held together
in him. And so as we communally here
partake of the bread and the cup, we spiritually partake of
the Lord's body and blood, we recognize together, as we take
together, that it is him and his work that unites us.
We're not United by our common Maybe Do you know cultural
conviction that we should go to church on Sunday morning?
We're not United by some common cultural conviction that we
should be moral people. We're not United by some common
cultural. Conviction that we should vote
Republican or that we should vote conservative or any of the
like we are united only through Christ Jesus, our lord, that's
where our Union rest. That's where it rest.
It's on him only. And so there might be a
participation in all these other things, right?
Some of those things I mentioned might be part of what we're
doing, but we do those because Christ is the head of the body.
The body doesn't move the head. The body doesn't tell the head
where to go the head directs, the body follows, and that's
what we're doing in Cross. Were following him spiritually.
We are truly United with Christ because of his salvation Paul in
Ephesians tells us that we are co-heirs with Christ Jesus that
we've been seated with him in Heavenly places.
Now, he writes that his past tense.
You are already seated with Christ in Heavenly places
though, you are now physically. Klee seated in a seat at New
Life Community Church. Incredible.
What's taking place in your life?
Spiritually and so spiritually, you can be present with Christ
yet physically here, and that's what's happening in the Lord's
Supper spiritually. You were being brought up to
dwell with Christ to Feast with him at his table because he's
the one that draws us it's by faith.
In him his broken body, his spilt blood that counts, as
ours, his victory over sin and death is yours.
Payment is credited to your account in him.
You are saved because Christ died and rose again and he's
called you to himself. And so in the Lord's Supper we
are spiritually United with Christ as we partake of the
physical bread and the Cup by spiritual.
I mean there's one author puts it that the Holy Spirit lifts us
up. As I said a moment ago to the
Heavenly places to nourish our souls upon the living Christ.
We're not bringing Christ down and Lord's Supper.
He brings us up to himself. As Paul said this, he said you
are setting your mind on things above, not on things on the
earth for you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in
God. Colossians 3, 2 3, 3, the truth
that he's teaching there is not that they had physically died,
but that they had spiritually died and been resurrected with
Christ in there now hidden with him in God, Amen.
And so if we're going to rightly Value taking the Lord's supper
together. That is if we if we're going to
rightly Value fellowshipping with God and with one another
through this ordained mill, then we must know what is going on.
When we celebrate the Lord's Supper, we are communing with
Christ, the bread and the cup or not, simply Memorial tokens when
we receive them in faith. We are not receiving a memory of
Christ. We are receiving Christ himself,
He is our all and all he is everything that we need and in
the Lord's Supper we have him. Amen.
John 6 verse 51. Jesus says this to those who
came seeking more bread after he fed the 5000, he tells them that
the physical bread will never satisfy you and he says this, he
says, I am the living bread that came down from heaven.
If anyone eats this bread he will live forever and the bread
that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.
A few verses later who go on to say if anyone eats my flesh and
drinks, my blood he will have life.
So again, he's not teaching that you be cannibals and then he's
not teaching that when he ordains later, just a few
chapters later. When he had ordains the Lord's
Supper on the night he was betrayed.
He's not teaching that that bread and that wine truly become
his body and his blood he's teaching that in those things
you were going to be feasting on the body and the blood of Christ
spiritually speaking and then and you do that by faith.
So they were drawn more deeply into our Union with Christ.
We are also strengthening our Union with one another, so that
was a lot on our strengthening our Union with Christ.
Let me talk to you for just a second about how we strengthen
our Union with one another and First Corinthians 10 17.
Again that chapter preceding, the one we're currently in he
says, because there is one bread we who are many are one body
for. We all partake of the one bread,
the Lord's Supper is the great uniting work in Church men.
That's what he's saying. That that as we partake of this,
we become one body. It is our bond of love.
The spirit is at work in all of us bonding us together in love
as we participate in the Lord's Supper again, Jonathan Cruz is
helpful. He says we who are many become
one in Christ for we have the one Spirit any and all dividing
differences are set aside and we come together in solidarity
under the head of the body who is Christ.
We partake together as a sign of Conditional and Selfless.
Love that has been poured into our hearts by Christ and now
pours forth into each other's lives and the Lord's.
Supper. We learn that we cannot love
Christ without loving him in the Brethren.
Yeah. And so, is were partaking of
him. We're learning to love him.
Well, we're learning to love him more Faithfully.
Our love for him is being strengthened our Union with him
as being deep. And we're coming to a deeper
understanding of how we're United with Christ.
Jesus. But we cannot do that apart from
the body. That's why the Apostle John says
in his Epistles. He says that if you do not love
your brother, then the love of the father is not in you,
because you cannot say that you love your father and hate your
brother at the same time. And so it's untrue of us.
If we have, if there's divisions in the body of Christ and we're
saying that we hate our brother, we hate those who are truly his
and we say, but I love the Lord, I'm submitted to him.
John is saying you're a liar. Amen, you're a liar, if you did
that. And so if we were /, take, if we
are to partake of the mill in a selfish way, which would be to
disregard the body altogether to say that this meal is for my
nourishment. This meal is for me, and for me
alone, this is, this is my moment with the Lord here if
we're to do it in a selfish way. Just as the Corinthians were
doing and we haven't really partaking of the Lord's Supper,
you're forgetting one of the most important elements and that
is that it is a communal meal. Amen.
Through the Lord's, Supper the Holy Spirit, strengthens our
faith, hope and love in the finished work of Jesus Christ.
As Believers, truly, and really Feast on him.
Let me talk to you about this final Point, feasting in the
wilderness. Feasting in the wilderness.
Finally, the Lord's Supper reminds us that God is capable
of providing for all of our needs, as we feast in the
wilderness. Again, this is a note on your
sojourning, right? You, you are like those
Israelites who wondered As they left Egypt, who wandered in the
wilderness? You recognize this world is not
your home, right? And so this Mill is offered to
you as a feast in the wilderness.
Just as Manna fell from heaven for them.
As Christ reminds us to take the bread and the cup, and
remembrance of him. We not only remember his
spiritual work for us and his gracious salvation, we must
remember that he is with us, always he's with us and so as we
feast Don him spiritually. We recognize were preaching the
truth to ourselves. We're remembering Christ and him
crucified and were recalling that hope we have that.
He's going to come again that we have another home that were
destined for and he's going to collect his people on that day.
And all who are not his people will be sent to Hell, Eternal,
and all, who are his people? All, who are hiding themselves
in Christ by faith. In the finished work of the Son
of God on the cross will be called to dwell with the Lord
eternally in life. Amen.
Cruz says this about this, feasting and the wondering he
says, this is what we get in the Lord's.
Supper God sustaining our weak Faith, through our Wilderness
wandering, sustaining us on our journey from here, to the true
Promised Land. The point is this in the
community aspect of worship God, strengthens our faith by giving
us a taste of that future promise of Eternal fellowship
with him. And again, it's like the frame
quote, right? Why do we take just a small
amount of the cup. Why do we take just a little
bitty bit? Bit of bread.
It's to remind us that this anything in this life is brought
a is, but a breadcrumb so to speak for what's coming in
glory? Amen.
Anything we get here is just a shadow of the substance that
will see there. So because the Lord suffered
such a tremendous reminder of God's gracious work of
Salvation. It's a tremendous reminder of
the future coming of Christ and the marriage, supper of the Lamb
that that's still to be had. It's a tremendous reminder of
our Union with Christ. And with his People.
And so we must partake is those who are sojourning.
We must partake in a worthy manner.
This is the final point that Paul makes here in 1st
Corinthians 11, 27 through 29, he says, whoever therefore eats
the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord.
In an unworthy manner, will be guilty concerning the body and
the blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself
then. And so eat of the bread and
drink of the cup for anyone who eats and drinks without
Discerning the body. Body eats and drinks judgment on
himself and so you have to examine your life.
Am I living in step with the commands of God as one who
proclaims to have faith in Christ Jesus and my and obedient
Christian. Again this doesn't mean
perfection. you know, there are many who will say that if Well,
maybe they don't say it explicitly, but implicitly it
Supply. Implied at times.
That if your life isn't all together today, you should not
partake of the Lord's Supper. But I'm here to tell you that
that's not good news in the supper is meant to be good news
for you. It's meant to be good news for
Christians. That it is Christ and him
crucified. That is your only hope.
Amen. Is Christ and him crucified that
your only hope of the Forgiveness of sins.
Your only hope of living presently in Holiness is to
trust in him as you repent of your sins.
I'm not saying we just ignore sin, not at all.
Alan, read the verse earlier, right?
We Grace doesn't abound so that we can go on sinning Grace
abounds, so that we can know. We can always come to Christ in
our sins and be forgiven Grace abounds, so that we will have
the strength to overcome sins Grace abounds so that we too can
walk into Glory one day and hear from the Lord himself.
Well done. No.
Well, it's not because you were amazing in some way.
It's not because you figured out some way to hold yourself up by
your own minds. It's not because you figured out
some way to clean yourself up before the Lord It will only be
because you have hidden yourself in Christ Jesus that's it.
And so when you partake of the Lord's Supper it's you
acknowledging on my own. I am destined for hell.
And so, I eat and I drink today in faith in Christ and his
finished work. But that's my only hope of
Salvation. This is my only hope of seeing
Christ in glory one day, it's not the supper itself.
It's the faith in Christ at the supper signifies.
Amen. The Lord's Supper is for truly
repentant. Sinners examine yourselves.
Less you take in an unworthy manner.
It's for truly repentant, Sinners, who are clinging to the
grace of God by faith in Jesus Christ, and his cross.
And so before we prepare to protect today, I encourage you
to repent of any sins that are on your mind.
Anything that you think of when I say that we should be a
repenting people. Anything that the Lord brings by
the power of His Spirit to your memory from this week.
Or from this morning, or from the last year that you Harvard
and that you've tried to hide and that you're trying to keep
away from everyone else, confess it to the Lord.
Present yourself to him as unworthy and receive the
righteousness of Christ, as your very own today, and then you can
eat and drink in a worthy manner, just as a supper was
intended. Repent, believe and enjoy the
Lord's Supper today. Again, I'll tell you the Lord's
Supper. Through the Lord's, Supper the
Holy Spirit, strengthens our faith, hope and love in the
finished work of Jesus Christ, as Believers, really, and truly
Feast on him. I'm going to invite you to stand
to your feet about the worship team to come this morning.
As they're coming, I have just a couple of instructions as
they're preparing everything. I want you to know this about
the Lord's Supper here at New Life.
We practice what we call close communion, right?
And what this means is, as long as you are, a baptized believer
in Jesus Christ, and you are in good standing with your local
church elders. Then we invite you to
participate today. So if you're not a member here,
what we're saying is we invite you to participate today.
If you meet those two qualifications of eating and
drinking in a worthy manner, the ushers are going to pass out the
elements as the team plays here in just a second.
As you take those though, I want you to spend time in prayer I
want you to prepare your heart through confession.
Repentance Faith, Thanksgiving even Thank you.
Maybe you say today. I don't have much to can't think
of anything necessarily to repent of Give thanks to the
Lord today for the broken body, and blood of Christ.
Amen. Amen.
Let's, let's sing together as they're singing again, pray.
Prepare your heart, and I'll be back up with further
instructions in just a moment. Give thanks to the Lord today
for the broken body, and blood of Christ.
Amen. Amen.
Let's, let's sing together as they're singing again, pray.
Prepare your heart, and I'll be back up with further
instructions in just a moment.