Truths About The LORD's Supper

Truths About The LORD’s Supper

I Corinthians 11.23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night He was betrayed, took bread, 24 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.” 25 In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.

We are not talking about this per se
Transubstantiation
Consubstantiation
Symbols

I have taken the LORD’s Supper in all kind of churches and with all kinds of languages. I recognize it as symbolic of the Body and Blood of our LORD Jesus Christ. It is a sign that we are one Body at one table with the LORD.

We all have sets of standards for taking the LORD’s Supper.
First it is for believers
Second it is for sinners... a place of examining ourselves and confession
Our Asian brothers and sisters require that you be baptized first, Spanish follow this to a degree.
Witnessed this, very sweet
Some churches require you to be a member of that church, although many have moved to “open communion”.

Not really discussing that today.

There are scriptural truths right here. Truths about the LORD’s Supper.
Let’s look at them.


It is to be done with
1. Thanksgiving

eucharisteō Thanksgiving
I Corinthians 11.23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night He was betrayed, took bread, 24 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.”

Our Thanksgiving Day
tied in to our faith
He gave thanks for the bread. Of course He is the Bread of Heaven, the Bread of Life.

God will provide Himself Genesis 22.12 “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”
13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”


What was Jesus giving Thanks for in that prayer?
We know He gave thanks for food before.
John 6.10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). 11 Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks,and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.


Paul writes to the Church at Ephesus, in Ephesians 5.25, “Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her.”
Jesus willingly, lovingly laid down His life for the Church. It could be that in that prayer at the Last Supper He was thanking God the Father that He had provided Himself a sacrifice.
The Passover was a bloody feast. Estimates by Josephus are that in the first century Jerusalem it would take 250,000 lambs to be slaughtered for the pilgrims that would come to celebrate the feast. The Creator could have very well been giving thanks for the fact that in His own words in about 18 hours, “It is finished.”


Back to the words spoken to Abraham on that same spot where Jesus died, the spot where he was willing to sacrifice Isaac, his only son, to the LORD.
14 So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”


Luke calls Adam, “the son of God” Luke 3.38
Genesis 2. 7 Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life,and the man became a living being.


Paul calls Jesus the second Adam   Jesus is everything Adam was supposed to be. Adam did not have a mother. Jesus was born of a virgin without a human father.
So it is written: "The first man Adam became a living being" the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven (1 Corinthians 15:45-48).
Abraham had Ishmael, the son of the flesh, Isaac, the son of the Spirit, supernaturally born.
Abraham could relate completely to God, your son, your only son
God had Adam, a son He created. Jesus was His only Son. He was one with Him. The LORD is one. He was not created. He has been with God, He is God. He became flesh to become a sacrifice for the sins of the world. To those who believe and follow Him they are the church. He loved the church and gave Himself up for the her.
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only, only begotten Son...

This is a meal of Thanksgiving to Almighty God for His Indescribable Gift.
Jesus Christ, the One and Only, the Holy One of God and the salvation He provided.
It is a very simple meal. Bread and Wine

The LORD’s Supper is also a time of
2. Remembrance
A reminder, an admonition
Think about it  thoroughly.

It is a Memorial Feast.
Jesus instructed us to consider deeply His sacrifice on the cross for our sins.
I believe that is why He made it so it would be something we would touch with our Hands and take into our bodies.

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. I John 1.1

John 6.53 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” 59 He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.

His body broken

His blood shed

When we take the LORD’s Supper we focusing totally on His Body broken for us and His blood shed for us. We ought to be thinking about the scourging and and the crown of thrones and the cross as we take.
The cross shows us the horror of sin, our sin, the sin of the whole world.



Jesus spoke about His Father’s Coming Kingdom
3. His Second Coming

Proclaiming His Death
 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
We hold in our Hands the symbols of His suffering.

Until
This is for this present time.

He comes
Revelation 19 speaks of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.
Marriage between the Bride and the Bridegroom.
The church and Christ.
It seems that this will be some transformation of taking the LORD’s Supper as we know it.
Face to face.
I Corinthians 13. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

He will come again.

We do it with Thanksgiving, remembering His Death and looking forward to His coming again.

Listen To The Warnings

Listen To The Warnings!

I Corinthians 10.1 For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers that our ancestors were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. 2 They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 3 They all ate the same spiritual food 4 and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.
6 Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. 7 Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.” 8 We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. 9 We should not test Christ, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes. 10 And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel.
11 These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come. 12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! 13 No temptation  has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted,  He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
Listen to the warnings
My daughter, Theresa, told me that over the summer, she had met with a friend who has 2 children at the beach. There was a rip tide warning. There were yellow flags posted. Still, the lifeguards had to pull 6 people out of the water that day because they didn’t pay attention to the warnings. Paul is urging us in the passage to look out for certain sins, sins that can easily entangle God’s people. Israel is our example. We need to heed the warning.




The  children of Israel
They enjoyed many spiritual blessings.
They also enjoyed many material blessings.
God was present. In the Pillar of Cloud by day and the Pillar of Fire by night. They could see these signs 24-7.
They got to see the evidence of God with them each day. He provided for all their needs. He took care of them. He parted the Sea, worked miracles and did what no one else could do, through the Desert. I have been across that desert in a Mercedes bus. Cannot imagine it on foot with children and animals and possessions. But He brought them across. They celebrate that every spring!
Verses one through four tell of the blessings. Similarities to our faith. Very similar!
Verse 5 Judgment because of sin among the people God blessed.


God had been good to this nation, His people.
6 Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did.
Watch out for these evil things, watch out if your heart is drawn to them.
Be on your guard. Watch over your soul.
I thought that us what Pastors are supposed to do. We are... but read the warning...
Acts 20. 28 Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which He bought with His own blood.


We are to all watch over our own souls.


Mark 13.33 Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. 34 It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with their assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.
35 “Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. 36 If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. 37 What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’”


Watch out for these specific sins of Israel on their journey to the Promised Land, of which they never got to.


1. Idolatry
a worshipper of false gods, a covetous man as a worshipper of Mammon
Houses, cars, money are be idols today.
Even position can be.
The iPhone 11 Pro is an idol. Not saying if you bought it it is an idol to you but it is to many... to those who waited overnight outside the Apple Store in the Walt Whitman Mall on Tuesday night.
I wrestled over a flat screen TV. It was going to be the first time I bought an appliance when the current one was still working fine. I walked away first time when I was ready to purchase it.
Status can be an idol.


Even Christian leaders can be... we are only servants
Anything that comes before the LORD is an idol.






2. Sexual Immorality
Hebrews 12.16 See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son.17 Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. Even though he sought the blessing with tears, he could not change what he had done.


Watch out for wolves in sheep’s clothing!
Warnings against the adulteress. Proverbs 5,6 and 7
A man who commits adultery lacks judgement Proverbs 6.32
Conscience, heart and soul


3. Testing the LORD
Complaining  about His Care for us... not trusting His Promises when He has proved Himself faithful.
Psalm 95.7
Today, if only you would hear His voice,
8
“Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah,
    as you did that day at Massah in the wilderness,
9
where your ancestors tested Me;
    they tried me, though they had seen what I did.
10
For forty years I was angry with that generation;
    I said, ‘They are a people whose hearts go astray,
    and they have not known My ways.’
11
So I declared on oath in My anger,
    ‘They shall never enter My rest.’”

Psalm 78.40-43 How often they rebelled against Him in the wilderness
    and grieved Him in the wasteland!
41
Again and again they put God to the test;
    they vexed the Holy One of Israel.
42
They did not remember His power—
    the day He redeemed them from the oppressor,
43
the day He displayed His signs in Egypt,
    His wonders in the region of Zoan

Testing the LORD. We are not to do this. God does not need to prove Himself. We prove Him as we trust Him. We grow in our faith
as we live by faith.


Another sin that is mentioned here is
4. Grumbling
Our faith will be tested. We will go through difficulties to obtain the promises of God. That is life in the middle. Waiting... and in the midst troubles.
We are going to have trouble. If your goal as a Christian is to have a trouble free life you are going to be frustrated. You are certainly not following Christ. Remember the words of Jesus...  John 16.33 “I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
It is so easy to find faults! We all have them!
Love covers a multitude of sins.


"Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world" (Phil. 2:14-15). "Be hospitable to one another without grumbling" (1 Pet. 4:9). It causes one to perish (1 Cor. 10:10).


5. Be Aware
12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!
We grow in Christ. We become mature in Him. We begin to realize that there are areas where we no longer struggle like we used to.
to stop, stand still, to stand immovable, stand firm, like the foundation of a building


Here is the danger. We are not exempted from falling until we are home. If we look at ourselves as being strong, standing firm we must be careful that we do not fall.


Guard your heart. It is the well spring of life.

People need the LORD

People Need The LORD!

I Corinthians 6.9 Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

With all the sin in the world, in our nation, around us we can become easily withdrawn. It is also possible for the church to become ingrown, not wanting to allow people close who need the Savior. It is hard to watch sin in action. It is hard to see people inflict pain on themselves. It hurts to see souls destroy themselves. Some situations today have no visible solution if people do come.

Jarrid Wilson, assistant pastor of Harvest Fellowship of Riverside, CA took his life this week. He is the second “high profile” pastor to do this in recent days. Please, please, please pray for Pastors! Especially the younger ones. There is a lot emotional pressure as well as spiritual pressure on pastors today. People’s lives are so messed up with sin. It is overwhelming to lead a flock today. Sin has taken a toll on people.

We can feel awkward in the presence of those who do not believe.
We wish we didn’t have to even know about sinful living, no less watch the nation move away from God.
Habakkuk 1.3
Why do you make me look at injustice?
    Why do you tolerate wrongdoing?
Destruction and violence are before me;
    there is strife, and conflict abounds.

This morning we are going to look at truths which we can forget as we contend with sin in this world.

We are in a spiritual battle. Sometimes it with with the enemy. Some of it is over the lost, those without Jesus, living in sin.
To the church at Corinth Paul wrote about those who were living in sin, And that is what some of you were
We need to reach these people listed here. They need Christ! They are our mission field. We need to pray for their salvation more than we are disgusted by their sin.

Jesus reached out to prostitutes and demon possessed people. He changed them. That is what they were. He transformed them. He did not indulge them.

We look at some of these situations today and we wonder how can this be made right? We must not forget we are people of Hope!

It's like in the great stories Mr. Frodo.
The ones that really mattered.
Full of darkness and danger they were,
and sometimes you didn't want to know the end.
Because how could the end be happy.
How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad happened.
But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow.
Even darkness must pass.
A new day will come.
And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer.
Those were the stories that stayed with you.
That meant something.
Even if you were too small to understand why.
But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand.
I know now.
Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back only they didn’t.
Because they were holding on to something.
Frodo : What are we holding on to, Sam?
Sam : That there’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo. And it’s worth fighting for.


The ninety nine and the one lost sheep in Luke 15.1-7
The Prodigal Son in the same chapter.

We are looking at Biblical Truths on how we should view and interact with the lost.

1. Sinners Need The Saviour.
Luke 19.10 “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
Zacchaeus Luke 19
Nicodemus John 3
The Woman at the Well John 4
Sinners are the victims of the enemy, not the enemy.
11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

All teachable moments for the church.

Lost in sin.

Bitten by the serpent.

Bound by the enemy.

Frustration by Fulton J. Sheen
Mark 5.1-20
1. What Sin Did To Him
* It defiled him.
* It divided him.
2. What Society Did To Him
* It banished him
* It bound him
3. What The Saviour Did For Him
* He cleaned him up
* He sent him home

In need of Jesus.
Everyone needs God.
Everyone needs forgiveness.
God has placed eternity in the hearts of men.  Ecclesiastes 3.11


2. We Must Pray For The Lost.

They are lost in sin.

Rescue the perishing... Bring them to Jesus.
Fanny Crosby’s story about this hymn
Prodigals
LORD, Bring back the prodigal sons and daughters!

Ephesians 6.19 Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

Pharisee and Tax collector in the temple
Luke 19.9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fasttwice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

3. Tough Mind Towards Sin/ Tender Heart Toward The Sinner
We cannot compromise with sin.
Romans 6.1What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
We are not helping people when we condone their sinful life styles.
We are hurting the next generation when we excuse sin.

We are not to condemn them either. This is walking a tight rope. It is called Grace. It is amazing!
John 3.17  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.
John 12.47 For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world.

If we judge or we condemn we are missing the mark. Let’s be like Jesus, full of Grace and Truth.

Balance, too much tenderness we will condone sin.
Too much toughness we will condemn the sinner. Both are wrong. Jesus is the Answer

Jesus came from the Father full of grace and truth. He offered hope to everyone. We follow Him when we do the same.

4. Pray
We pray for people to be healed and we should.
We need to pray more for people to come to Christ and be saved.
Matthew 10.28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Pray that the Holy Spirit will draw them.
John 6.44
"No one can come to Me unless the Father Who sent Me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day.”

Pray they will listen to the invitation from Christ.

People need the LORD.A