June 2nd, 2019
Transcription:
If you have your Bibles, and I always I mean just challenge all of us to just bring your Bibles, whether it’s on your electronic device or a hard copy but let’s read…
If you have your Bibles I will have a couple verses here but I want to read from first Corinthians chapter 11, which is a very popular or just you know main theme when we talk about can we commune one of the very sources when we go to the Bible for that but the the title is the challenge of communion… because you see the the communion it’s not only partaking of the bread and and the wine or juice, it’s symbolic right, but it’s it’s like you said it’s the heart it’s what in us and how we partake.
So with that they there’s challenges – there’s challenge and I do want to talk about those challenges today. So 1st Corinthians chapter 11 verse 23 we will start there.
For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord Himself on the night when he was betrayed the Lord Jesus took some bread and gave thanks to God for it then he broke it in pieces and said this is what he said this is my body which is given for you do this in remembrance of me in the same way he took the cup of wine after supper saying this cup is the new covenant between God and His people an agreement confirmed with my blood this is what Jesus is saying do this in remembrance of me as often as you drink it for every time you eat this bread and drink this cup you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again so there’s a function every time we do it we do it for a reason and and and that and that reason is that we announce his death until he comes because in his death there is is just so much that has happened and and and he had he had bought us with with his blood so verse verse 27 so anyone who eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily is guilty of sinning against the body and the blood of the Lord so now you have talked about some of this stuff there is this way of like doing this in this unworthy manner will dive into it in in a second and so that is why you should examine yourself therefore before eating the bread and drinking the cup for if you if you eat the bread or drink the cup without honouring the body of Christ you are eating and drinking God’s judgment upon yourself that is why many of you are weak and sick and some have even died but if we would examine ourselves we would not be judged by God I want us to listen to those words here okay so again but if we would examine ourselves we would not be judged by God in this way yet when we are judged by the Lord we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned among along with the world now the spiritual walk of a person that loves Jesus it’s just so important that we recognize some of the very important things it is not just yes I’m giving my life to Jesus and then that that you know that is just the beginning and so what Jesus is talking about here is just some challenges that when you come and you your life to Jesus you embark on this amazing journey on the journey that is just it’s free it is just illuminates your life in a way that you know you see things you you grow into things and in your you know in your experiences and and your just the things that we go through in our lives we begin to see things through the eyes of Jesus like just different just different a person that walks with Jesus sees things differently than a person that doesn’t walk with Jesus in same you know circumstances and so the goal is to be as close to Jesus as possible the goal is to hear what he has to say to us our guest last week so you know the goal our goal is like we need to hear what the Lord is saying to our to the churches it’s just so important it’s just so important that we would not live our lives in sort of a mechanical just way just yeah we do this and we are on schedule to do this I know but just that’s all that isn’t important but to to just know what the Lord is saying to churches to you to your family to just and and to be sensitive to that means to live a deeper and just amazing life because you get the inside scoop on a lot of things being so close to Jesus now the Lord’s Supper is more than just a communion is more than just a quiet this you know rich spiritual experience that we observe every once in a while in that and it’s an ordinance it’s something that we that that we do there is there is some Stern there are some Stern challenges that we need to uncover and so I think that you know it’s all about maturity how many of you want to grow like we do want to grow we want to develop we you know we want to understand things better and the Christian walk is all about that to be more mature as a Christian and I think that talking about some of those challenges when we come and we want to partake in communion we need to understand some of those things and I think only those that are just growing and maturing spiritually will be able to just to know it and to grow in it so when we are strong enough to respond to those challenges okay of communion we will then experience this amazing piece there’s amazing experience this this this this this closeness to God there’s something something amazing in every situation of our life because to walk through life and some of the challenges of life and trials and and things that just you know it just kind of feels that you know life is throwing under our feet to walk with the strength that you know what God is close by the Holy Spirit is leading me and guiding me a totally different life so communion without this proper understanding communion or the Lord’s Supper will be nothing but a a religious ritual if we don’t understand some of those challenges and no one is you know yes we as a church we do want to make sure we want people to understand it because it’s serious but no one is to police anyone and just oh we we think that you can’t do it well if there is some visible I mean just you know sin and things that are going on in someone’s life IIIi understand that because then then we do have an obligation to like not to make sort of you know not to take it lightly not to make a mockery or you know out of it it’s important that we know that it’s that it’s serious because every time we do it jesus said that we we remember his death and there is nothing to be making fun of when it comes to Jesus’s death his resurrection the price that he paid for our sins agreed it’s it’s it’s it’s just it’s common sense I would say so so we don’t want it to be just a mechanical thing that we do you know once a month or like once once in a while we wanted to mean something and so we want to understand the challenges and so I have some of the you know a few challenges here which I think will help us to understand what communion is and challenge us to to partake in there in the worthy manner okay which is super important so the first challenge would be to see the true image of yourself every time we think of communion with everything every time we partake you need to see you need to see I need to see we need to see the true image of ourselves now when we read verses 24 and 25 it does and it can someone read that for me verses again 24 25 like in the next two seconds if not then I will read it okay 24 25 this is what it says and give thanks and gave thanks to God for it then he broke it in pieces and said this is my body which is given for you do this in remembrance of me verse 25 in the same way he took the cup of wine after supper saying this this cup is the new covenant between God and His people an agreement confirmed with my blood do this in remembrance of me as often as you will will drink it now when we read this we realize that we are not so great and I know that this culture and this you know these these times will tell you it’s it’s all about self-confidence you know you aren’t great you can do anything and you know what and and we can pump our tires as much as we want when it comes to our own righteousness I think the Bible is very clear unlike our righteousness we think that we are oh man we are so awesome it’s all our righteousness and when we think that we are so righteous so good so perfect the Bible says listen your righteousness like Dan Dubrowski your righteousness is like filthy rags and I’m like ya know oh gosh look we need to have a good clear picture that really according to the Bible we are a depraved sinner the Bible says that no one is righteous not even one and you might say man I came to church to be encouraged and here he goes he tells me how like nothing I am here’s the thing I think a proper understanding of who we are and just just us we can try to be the best we can but our good works and and our righteousness will never get us to heaven never and so in a second we’re gonna get to what will get us to heaven but you know and our best and our best you know if you can think of the best person in the world right now the greatest the one that gave the most money away that fed thousands of people that have done so much good in the world that person I’m sorry to say that person that person’s righteousness according to the Bible is like filthy rags now let’s keep it in perspective yes this is what we are without Jesus this is what we are without Jesus are we are guilty of the death of Jesus Christ now this is what it says in verse in chapter 15 and verse 3 Jesus died for our sins just as the scripture said so the fact is very very simple okay this is the fact the wages of sin is what in Romans is is that now hold on before like I just we’re getting to like this is good but we’re getting to even a better part okay you will leave this place encouraged I promise you but but but but here’s the thing we need to understand it properly we need to have this proper understanding and so this fact that we with that we are sinners and that we have here’s the thing you know over 2,000 years ago okay the people that have crucified Jesus we’re not the only ones that crucified Jesus because here’s the truth your sins my sins today which is over 2,000 years later our sins have crucified have nailed him to the cross we are as guilty as as guilty of crucifying Christ as those that have actually driven the nails through his hands we need to understand that because the proper understanding of what God has saved us from this is where we were he saved us from that and we are completely and utterly dependent on God’s grace in our lives and here’s a good thing you and are you and I are totally dependent on God’s grace so the challenge of communion is for you and me to see ourselves as we are and we are sinners we are guilty of jesus’s death but we are completely and utterly dependent on His grace now here’s a good thing now I know maybe you’ve been to other you know charge your churches and and you have never heard anything like that but this is this is what the Bible says now but in in that in their understanding there is strength you know I I’m not interested in just you know uh just fluff just you know this and that and just making all of us feel amazing and great pump our tires and then we leave this place and then something happens in our life and we don’t understand why did I sin like why did I do this and then condemnation comes and without proper understanding you know we can’t even comprehend and deal with the things that are going on in our lives second challenge is to live up to the transfer to live up to the transformation we confess and profess now if you have given your life to Jesus you you often say hey god changed my life now here’s the thing when you say those words now your job my job is to walk and go and live and live up to that confession it doesn’t work that easy it’s like you know I come to church and I’m like oh god I love you ah you know the worship is so great I I feel so awesome and we turned around and we leave and and then just kind of we enter into this you know the life between Monday and Saturday it’s not about that it is about living up to what you profess to what you say so if God has changed your life and you and you’re not ashamed to say yeah God has changed me and let’s live up to that confession let’s live up to that what we say and communion reminds us that we must live our lives to give witness to what God has that he has cleansed us that he has changed us that he has washed our sin away now it doesn’t mean that you know you’re gonna leave and you’re gonna be perfect you’re never gonna make a mistake no because then that would be like out of all you know out of your own righteousness it’s not about that hear me out you will go and you will make mistakes yeah III think that just you know only in heaven when we get to heaven we will never make mistakes but here we will there will be times when people will disappoint you you will disappoint people there were times I will disappoint you but now here’s something that you didn’t want to hear today but but just people will disappoint you but we don’t look at people we look at God we look if we would depend on people alone we would be so disappointed than just always always in the rut in our lives we can’t be we’ve been called to greater things and more awesome things and so when we think of communion it reminds us that we need to live our lives as to just give this evidence of having been cleansed by this broken body of Jesus and shed blood of Jesus because that’s what he has done for us another challenge would be to remember this central theme of our Christian faith what is our central theme verse 26 I think gives us the answer for every time you eat this bread and drink this cup you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again this is the central theme of our church of our faith of everything that we are all about that Jesus has died for our sins he paid the price but he’s coming back again like he’s coming back again to to take us with him so the church has no new message for today’s culture cultures change you know people change but the message of the gospel doesn’t change guess what today people still need salvation today people are still lost sinners people are lost in this world and there’s nothing new about that they still need the grace and love of Jesus yes or no it’s the same message that was there 2,000 years ago and today another challenge is to to partake in this and the right attitude now some of you have said that which is awesome verse 27 says so anyone who eats this bread and drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily as guilty of the sinning against the body and the blood of Jesus now so we as God’s children we believe Scripture and we believe that manok it calls us to to participate and partake in the right attitude on the basis of this word unworthily now Paul is not saying that you need to the view the person need to be worthy of partaking that’s not what he’s saying what he’s saying that that that your attitude and your thinking and and just just the way you partake so the manner in which you partake that has to change okay so there’s a huge difference so the this this word modifies not the person that partakes but but in the communion it it modifies the manner that a person is partaking now the right attitude acknowledges the wrong committed now here’s the thing for some of us in general it’s hard to say that I’ve been wrong guess what the right attitude when you come and you want to partake in communion is this I’ve been wrong and I and I see it I see it and and and and I confess it god I have done something wrong so God’s forgiveness of our view – of your sins is dependent on the forgiveness of your forgiveness of others did you know that we sometimes don’t like that or try to fight it the right attitude acknowledges that we have done wrong now the right attitude also forgives those that have done something against us that’s the that’s the right attitude and you know what and and and you may you know we’re gonna partake and you know it’s the it’s the matter of the heart look I need to be right so if if you just had a fight with someone I think would be wise to – to be at peace with people if you just you know I don’t know committed some sin it would be wise to confess it the time of communion is when we come and we confess and we say God look I am not worthy but I want to protect in this worthy manner in this worthy way with this attitude so you see God’s forgiveness is dependent God’s forgiveness of you of me is dependent on our forgiveness of others and and jesus said that this is what what he said in mark 11 but when you are praying when you pray first he says first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against so that your father in heaven will forgive your sins – Wow I think often we make this mistake of coming before God and asking and and and and begging and saying God please change this change this at the same time we hold grudges against other people and we get frustrated well how come God doesn’t answer my prayers how come God doesn’t you know cousin doesn’t intervene some-something and here in Marky it says but when you are praying so this this is like when you wanna pray and you want your prayers to be answered first forgive and then one you are holding a grudge against so that your father in heaven will forgive you your sins – failure to forgive I really want us to understand it probably failure to forgive makes mockery of the Communion if we don’t want to forgive I know those are strong words I’m saying it because I love you here’s the thing if we don’t want to forgive and yet we still come and think oh those are just symbols although just like this is we do it every month or every two months what-whatever yeah I can do this and you know I’ll do this and I think about it and sigh it actually it makes mockery of what God has done on the cross strong words are true though so true another challenge is this that we need to and with this I will finish and so if I can ask you guys to the challenge is to make a self-examination how many of you are good at self-examination do you like to self examine yourself yes and no can’t go wrong with that answer I guess yes no self-examination so first twenty eight says this that is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking the cup examine yourself self-examination will check this out the Bible says this will spare you divine judgment will spare you God’s judgment what I won’t be judged verse 31 this is what it says but if we would examine ourselves we would not be judged by God in this way God is not some you know gray-bearded older gentleman that sits on the throne and just waits for someone to do something wrong and Bom judge judge he doesn’t take pleasure in that I in fact think that that’s his last resort first first he wants to love but he wants us to understand and to see and make the corrections ourselves so here’s the thing this is why we are encouraged to self examine ourselves so when we look at our lives look at ourselves look who we are we can change those things here’s the thing and you thought we would go the whole sermon without mentioning the Raptors and I don’t mean to make light of this moment but here’s the thing basketball and the finals are all about making adjustments and examining everything do you know that those players get out on the court and play for what like 48 minutes and then they go back and whether they win or lose they go and they Matthew tell me what do they do go back to normal life but before they go back to normal life they they watch films they watch tape they watch their situations and whatever and they adjust so the Raptors won the first game I can tell you the Warriors will come out tonight and they will want to adjust to all those things that they have been doing wrong right or wrong right it would only be smart and because they would go they would reexamine they would be a they you know they they they they would be critiquing themselves they would come out and they would have a better game there would be better players that’s what this is all about same in our lives God doesn’t want to judge us we need to judge ourselves well or even others not not much this is not the right to like oh this person to my right that’s like I can judge them because I know what they’ve been through or what they know no self-examination me I look at me I don’t look at you I look at me secondly self-examination will lead to a better understanding of your trials right now of your present trials what you’re going through when you examine yourself you will understand it better I left my phone with like not to mute it when or yet when we are judged by the Lord we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned along with the world even if you’re going through some things in your life let’s be strong be strong that those things would make us better God would discipline us just like a good parent disciplines the children and often the children don’t see it as oh yeah I love the discipline no I wouldn’t expect it and they less stuck oh no I don’t want it this but I would want the children to be like to self-examine themselves right before we partake now I want us to do that I want us to self examine ourselves so no one is judging here and no one is looking around who’s participating who is not but here’s the thing the responsibility of whether we take it or not rest on us no one’s gonna but I don’t know unless it’s something visible and you went and you did something wrong then that would be like hey you know maybe it’s it’s just not right that you would do that but there are sins there’s things hidden in our lives that I don’t know of and so if we depend on other people to police us it doesn’t make sense it’s not about that it’s about self-examination and being right before God.