Insights on The Lord’s Supper - Pastor Daniel Batarseh

If you have your Bibles, please meet me in the book of second Timothy chapter one. As we prepare to come, together to receive from the Lord's table today, I think it's appropriate to be reminded again of the significance of this ordinance that we observe regularly. There are some who are hesitant to repeat certain themes of the scriptures because they feel as though people might see him as unlearned or repetitive. And I do believe that leaders should not succumb to the lazy habit of parroting same thoughts over and over because they don't pray and they don't study the word of God. Nonetheless, repetition is a tool to solidify truths in our hearts.

And it has the potential, if done correctly, to awaken our affections from drowsiness and sharpens our understandings of certain realities that we might have maybe had a grasp on at one point or have just become dull towards over time. If we doubt that, if we doubt that repetition is necessary, then we would be critics of the apostles, namely Peter and Paul. And look what Peter says here in verse 12 of chapter one, and realize what he's trying to say. Therefore, I intend always to remind you of these qualities. Though you know them and are established in the truth that you have, I think it right as long as I am in this body to stir you up by way of reminder.

Now notice what he's saying. He's saying, I already know, believers, that you are aware of these qualities, the qualities that he just listed before this verse, the qualities that need to be added to your faith and mine. He goes, I know that you know these things already, but I'm gonna tell you them again. I'm going to repeat them. Why?

For one sole purpose, to stir you up. To stir you up again. That's significant because there is a difference between knowing something and being stirred about what you know. There are many people who can effortlessly explain certain doctrines, but at the same time have a cold heart while explaining it. And what Peter has in mind here is that you would you would receive these truths that you've heard before, but as you read them again and understand them and rehearse them, it would stir your affections.

It would bring you to a place of passionate worship and fervent obedience afresh. And the reason why we're discussing the Lord's Supper today again is for that sole purpose, for every single one of us today to be stirred up. To be stirred up, lest we come and partake and receive mechanically. And that we are absent in thought and absent with affection. And so I want us to come and study this together, and hopefully, prayfully, we will be in a different place in our understanding even though we know these truths already.

Turn your bibles with me to first Corinthians chapter 11. If it helps to look at the Lord's table in this way, because it helps me, I I hope it will help you, I like to see it as a threefold purpose. The first purpose of coming to this table is to be reminded of the past. Secondly, to have a hope for the future. And lastly, to respond in the present.

There's a reminder of the past, there's a hope for the future, and there is a call for the moment right here, right now. And those truths, those subtitles, so to speak, can be found in these verses that we're going to read, beginning in verse 23 of first Corinthians 11. Paul says, 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, also he took the cup after supper saying, this cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. Jesus Christ instituted two ordinances for the church. The first one is baptism in remembrance of me. In the same way, also he took the cup after supper saying, this cup is the new covenant in my blood.

Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. Jesus Christ instituted two ordinances for the church. The apostles thought would be a grand idea in order to come up with some unique way of worshiping Christ. No. It came from the heart of the head of the church.

And that alone should esteem this in in high honor and regard in the in the eyes of those who are members of his body. This is something that means very to ordinances for the church. The for it. In fact, I want you to see the language that he has concerning the first time he performed it with his 12. In Luke twenty two fifteen, he said to them listen to this language.

It's profound. I have earnestly desired. I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. I'm eager. I've been waiting my whole life for this moment.

I've anticipated this scene, this setting, this table with you. There was a stirring in his heart, and I believe the timing of his institution of this ordinance is quite significant because we learn here that the moment that he established it was while they were celebrating the Passover. And the Passover, according to the Old Testament, was a feast that God had planned and commanded the nation of Israel to observe on a yearly basis. It was something in which they would recall their deliverance from Egypt, where they would have to take their time and energy and attention and focus on the redemptive work of Yahweh. And they would realize as they rehearse what happened on that wonderful night where they were rescued from Pharaoh, that it was the blood of this Passover lamb smeared on our doorpost that was the means for our deliverance and the gateway into the promises of God.

And so the people would come and they would recall and they would rehearse and they would even eat and they would celebrate this moment. But why was Christ so eager? Why was he so excited to do it at this time with this Passover specifically? Because he was gonna make a wonderful statement on that night. I'm the fulfillment of it.

It points to me. It describes prophetically that I am the lamb of God. But not only that, it was on this night that Christ would bring forth and birth something new for his people to remember God's ultimate act of love and his ultimate salvation through his own life and death. Imagine the scene with me. There, Jesus is sitting with the 12 and they are eating of the Passover lamb and they have the unleavened bread and it's all set in motion.

And as they are doing what faithful Jews would do, all for a sudden Jesus takes bread. And he takes a cup. And he declares a new covenant showing that he is the fulfillment of every feast, especially this feast. And as he instituted this ordinance, from that moment on, the church of Jesus Christ would look to the true Passover lamb. And they would, in a setting like this, eat together and remember the ultimate sacrifice, the ultimate act of deliverance from sin and bondage and the power of Satan to the power of God.

And so Christ here was anticipating it, but the question is, why rehearse the same thing over and over again? Maybe the first few years we get it. We understand it. But it's for the same reason that Peter shared those same qualities that the disciples in his day knew, to stir us up. Jesus said, I want you to do this in remembrance of me.

That is the object. He is the object of our contemplation. You know what that implies? This is what it implies, regenerate soul, that you and I are capable of forgetting him. That you and I are able to push him to the side, and it's possible that our ever changing lives, the circumstances that develop, the experiences that come and go, that they so crowd our thoughts that Christ becomes hazy in the fog of frivolous activity.

That we can we can actually come to a point where our attraction for Christ is pulled towards other things to such a degree that all Jesus becomes is a belief in the shelf of our minds instead of a person to be adored and cherished. And so he says, I want you to do this in remembrance of me. Because what communion does is it crashes through the clutter of the soul, and it brings Christ to the center of the stage again. And in the wisdom of God, he ordained that there would be physical elements that appeal to the senses to invite sensation to be a part of the experience. So that even when you see and you feel and you taste, you're actually in that physical experiencing realizing a spiritual truth that the Lord is good.

He's wonderful. And it's amazing because the bread and the cup, they excite our memories. And as Spurgeon said, they become wings to lift the mind in contemplation. And so the Lord knew what he was doing when he said bread and cup. Because he even wants the the body, our taste buds, our sight to be a part of that experience of remembering Jesus.

Its purpose is to powerfully, powerfully recapture your soul until you can come to the point with awe to say to yourself, it's all about him. It's all about Christ. See, when you come in here this morning, I don't know how you came in. I don't know what you have plans for the afternoon. I don't know what you did yesterday or the week before.

It doesn't matter. But when we come to the table, Christ crashes through your plans and through all your other desires and all your other eager plans in life. It doesn't matter. And he comes and he recaptures you. And then you realize as you experience this moment, my days are futile without him.

My life is void apart from him. The abundant life that I know now and the eternal life I will now know later is because of his humble life two thousand years ago. And so this is a call to turn your eyes to Jesus again. You know what that means? It means that it is a great crime to take part of the Lord's table and to have a wandering mind.

Participation without meditation is a violation. Participation without meditation is a violation. If you and I think that Jesus is just looking at our hands and looking at our lips as we sing over this, you better believe that he's looking into your heart more than anything else. And what is he looking for? Are you thinking of me?

Are you meditating on me? Because the very design of this whole thing so that you would remember who I am. Who I am to you. Who I am according to the word of God. This idea of rushed communion service is thievery to the glory of God.

It's thievery. There are some pastors in different states, which I won't mention, that have admitted big churches, that when it comes to communion service, they rush because they want the people to reach their living rooms to watch the football game on time. What a crime. Blasphemy. Christ called this moment for a time of meditation upon his beauties and his majesties.

Upon realizing that it's his life dying for your life, and that's the reason why you live. And so Jesus says, remember me. There is no saving power in these elements, brothers and sisters. There's no regenerating force. Forgiveness is not found in bread and in wine.

It's found in the cross and placing your faith in that cross, and this rehearsing that truth and preaching it to your soul. There is a call to remember the past, but there's also a hope for the future every time we come. Look at verse 26 of first Corinthians 11. For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup. Now you have many people that debate.

Should we do it every week? Once a month, four times a year? Paul says, as often as you eat, as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death. You're preaching to your soul. It's a picture lesson.

And just like the feast in the Old Testament to remember where they came from and where they were headed to, so it is with this. But notice the last few words, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. Until he comes. And so as you as you look at this, you see here that, yes, we remember primarily the suffering, the agony, the pain, and we relive those moments as we reflect, we proclaim the saving gospel over ourselves, it also points to something that's gonna happen. Paul clearly says that observing this ordinance has something to do with the reality of a day to come.

Yes, these items help us remember what Jesus did, but it also helps us remember that we'll one day see him. In Luke twenty two eighteen, Jesus says, I read this last night, and it so excited me. It's so it never fails to excite me. It provides a jolt of joy. For I tell you that from now on, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.

I'm just trying to picture it. His disciples trying to catch up with him. And he looks at them, and the Holy Spirit records those words where he says, I'm not gonna partake of this cup. And he says earlier with, he's not gonna eat this bread until my kingdom comes. You know what that means?

It means that Christ is reserving something from himself until we are reunited with him for him to experience it. I want you to think as though there is a cup that is waiting to be reached by the hands of those pierced hands that will not be known until the kingdom of God is established on the earth and we are sitting across from Him physically. What a wonderful thought. I'm not gonna do this again until I see you glorified. And this is an experience among many experiences that we will know when we meet the beloved.

And what should this cause us to do? What should this cause us to think every time we eat this sacred meal, as we are surrounded, as you heard earlier, by a rebellious sin soaked corrupt world, That we are going to feast with him in triumph and glory. That he will come with his kingdom, where righteousness will dwell, and where he will dominate with his holiness in every corner of the earth. And you and I will know a joy and a bliss as we eat with him again in that kind of a reality. This meal declares the suffering of the savior, yes, but it also points to a returning king.

Until he comes, this is something that we practice until what we remember becomes reality. Until what we reflect on becomes flesh and blood before us. In fact, Ezekiel the prophet speaks of what the Lord promised here in a certain vague way when he describes the vision of a new world when Jesus comes. You heard it last week, there's gonna be a thousand year millennial reign where Jesus will establish his kingdom physically on the earth. What's so amazing is that that is much more detailed and complex than we might imagine.

Because when Jesus does come and he establishes his rule and reign, there will be a new temple built. There will be a new temple. It's Ezekiel's temple. There are several chapters dedicated to just describing what that temple will be. Now, if you think that that's a temple that's been built before, all you have to do is realize those measurements don't line up.

It's a glorious temple. It's a unique edifice. It's something that we've never seen before, and it's something that only will be built when Christ comes to rule and reign. Now why is that exciting? Because one of the reasons why it's there is to celebrate certain feasts.

So this might boggle your mind, but in Ezekiel forty five twenty one, we're told that we are going to, in the millennial reign, recognize the Passover. We're actually going to recognize the Passover. Now that might initially disturb us. You know why? Because we know what?

Jesus fulfilled those feasts, so why are we gonna revisit it? Why are we going to to do that? I thought those things were finished, the ceremonial law and the all those things. Are they not put away? Only for Christ to reintroduce them in the millennial reign.

And it shouldn't disturb us too much because if you understand Old Testament purpose, you understand that those feasts do what? They point to Christ. They point to a sacrifice to come. They point to another mission that will actually deal with sin once and for all, and no need for repeated sacrifices. So it's not difficult for us to look forward to it, so why is it so hard to look back at it?

Cause that's exactly the purpose of it in the millennial reign. The Passover will actually be again a picture lesson for us to look back. This is what Christ has done for us. You think it really well, listen to this. In Isaiah two verse three, it says that many people shall come and say, Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways.

So you're gonna have people across the world that are gonna take a trip to the Middle East for one sole purpose, not for the beaches and not for the food. They wanna hear from Christ himself. And I believe one of the lessons that he'll teach is through these sacrifices. Do you know how riveting and exciting that must be especially for the Jew? For all their lives, all they recognize it was just as we see it plainly in Exodus, and they've never pointed and connected to the God man, but in the millennial reign, they'll be studying it much differently.

They look at that sacrifice that their ancestors have held their whole lives, and then they're gonna look up and see the manifestation of the lamb of God on the throne in Jerusalem. What an amazing thought. In fact, let me say this, that the Jews who perform any type of Passover today, any practice of that is actually an expression of a refusal and a rejection of Jesus Christ. Do you realize that? Anybody who holds those sacrifices apart from connecting it to Christ are actually saying your sacrifice meant nothing on Calvary.

But not in the millennial reign. There are only few feasts that are selected that will be practiced during that time, and it will point to Jesus in a very real fashion. And to us, as often as we eat, we also recall, yes, his death, but we also say together, this is not the end of the story. He came out of the tomb, and he will return from the sky. And there is a kingdom that will come that will be defined by heavenly holiness, love, and joy, and that will orbit around the revelation of his sacrifice on the cross.

There is a hope for the future. I'm going to see him again, and we're gonna feast together. I don't know about you, but I wanna get as close as possible to him when that time comes. But we realize not only do we remember the past, not only do we have a hope for the future, but there is also a call, a response for the present. First Corinthians eleven twenty seven.

Whoever therefore eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a 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, you need to highlight that, without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. Now, this is profound because so serious is this observance, so serious is this ordinance that it requires personal preparation before participation.

Paul teaches here that it's possible to eat and drink in an unworthy unworthy manner. And though we know that these symbols do not transform into the physical body and blood as some falsely teach, we should not be unaware of the reality that Christ is fully aware in that moment of how you are partaking of those symbols. Each and every single one of us. This shows that he is in the midst. That he is aware, that he's examining, that he is with us, he is present.

And what he is looking for is why are you doing this? And if he discovers amongst his church, let the believer be warned. I'm not warning non believers that will come. I'm warning the believer now. If the Lord Jesus Christ himself discovers that some in his church approach his table with disrespect, with indifference, with a careless attitude, or with a hypocritical life, then he in his perfect wisdom will know how to implement specific discipline with various degrees of severity.

That's why he says here, some of you are are weak in body, Some of you are even sick. And some of you, Christ determined, you've done this enough where I'm taking you out and removing you from the church altogether. Saying, how can this be so serious? Because to disrespect this ceremony is to dishonor the one whom the ceremony represents. It's as simple as that.

And I'm sure you would agree that you would wanna know what does it mean then to partake in an unworthy manner? And I believe the answer is found in verse 29. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself. Do you know where it all starts? It all begins with a failure to discern correctly.

The failure to recognize what communion signifies and the practical implications that belief in the finished work of Jesus brings is where judgment is invoked on a person's life. Firstly, to not believe in our hearts that what Jesus Christ has done was sufficient for our salvation is a gross violation and a definite unworthy manner of approaching the table of Christ. It's a form of lack of discernment. Because we just read that this proclaims the Lord's death. And if somebody comes to the table and in their heart they believe a skewed or different gospel while they're proclaiming something else, you see the issue there.

There's a clash, and in fact, we declare God to be a liar. And so there's a contradiction with that kind of lack of discernment, and it's a serious matter. We tell us inwardly that Christ wasn't enough, while we together corporately say Christ is enough. This is not something that people can just this isn't snack time for guests to come and enjoy something. If you're not saved, you have no right to partake of this, and I say that respectfully.

This is something just for the believer, and you're proclaiming something you believe in when you do it. And there are some who unfortunately come to this table with different motives and different beliefs that are contrary to the word. And because of that, they are coming in an unworthy manner. For some, they observe it and they think that these elements will actually sanctify them in the sense of forgiving them. That their source of salvation is in reaching over and putting something in your mouth and eating it.

Do you think God looks on this without grievance? Of course, he does. But Paul is speaking to believers here. Paul is speaking to those, assumingly, who believed in the gospel, who actually believed what Jesus Christ had done for them on the basis of faith and grace. So we understand here that when he is warning them, he's warning people who have that secure salvation, meaning that it's possible to still to do so in an unworthy manner.

So if if interpreting this right is is is enough, then why the warning? Well, because he's talking about a cavalier attitude mainly. An offhand kind of approach where you do not think about your practical salvation. Because that's what Paul has in mind here. Listen carefully now.

To be nonchalant about sin in our lives, and to come and think that we are in a place where we don't have to actively fight against sin, and we have no craving to reject what Christ hates, and no longing to become like Jesus Christ, and then come to relish in the bread and cup as we reflect on his finished work is offensive to Christ. I'm not speaking of someone who is aware of their struggle and needs Jesus and longs for Jesus to empower them. I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about someone who is aware and is careless. Careless.

Like they have no there's no prayers into their sanctification, there's no thought about becoming like Jesus, there's no sense of of sorrow when they know they've misrepresented Christ, and then, well, it's time for communion, let's just come and then you're you're in a dangerous place, brother and sister. We have to realize that the Holy Spirit is warning that any person who professes to be a Christian, but has no desire to be like Christ, you're setting yourself up for divine discipline. Because what you're saying is, I'm proclaiming the Lord's death, but his death has no profound impact on my life. And Christ says, you don't know the gospel if you think that. It's amazing because no ambition for holiness means no participation of the table of the Lord.

Lest you open yourself up to be chastised by a loving father. Because to celebrate Christ, but having no issue to celebrate sin with your participation is despicable in the eyes of a holy God. But I believe it's even more specific than that. Paul says, that he who does not discern the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. It's obvious that he is speaking primarily about what we see in verse 27.

What does it say? In the second part, will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. So misinterpretation or an extreme view of either side of what's happening here deemed somebody worthy of discipline. But I believe it's something much more practical than that. Failing to discern the body of Christ.

Yes. His body, his broken body, and his shed blood, but there is a mystical reality to the body of Christ. And the mystical reality of the body of Christ is what? You and I are his body. We are the body of Christ.

And I believe Paul is implying here, if you and I fail to discern that element of the body of Christ, we are in danger of being disciplined by God. Go to first Corinthians chapter 10. Look at me in verse sixteen and seventeen. The cup of blessing that we bless, isn't that a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, isn't that a participation in the body of Christ?

Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of one bread. And that is why we are partaking. We see one loaf here as a symbol to signify what? That we are one. That we are connected.

That yes, when we come, we are celebrating a shared experience in our common salvation. But it's more than just coming to remember the past, and it's more than just being jolted for a hope for the future. No. Every time you and I are about to partake are being reminded of the oneness of the body. See, communion has a powerful effect because it creates a oneness by calling all of us to share in the experience.

We all have to show up and eat together. That's why we have to come to church, and Facebook church ain't gonna cut it, especially with communion. Communion invites the people of God to come and to to partake together, but it also declares the oneness of the body. It's not just experiencing it, we are declaring it as we partake of it. So you know what that means.

In part, as we come, we reflect on him. We realize what he's done. We realize what he's going to do in part. But then at some point, we gotta think that we are telling God and we are telling one another that we are unified and harmonious love. And I wonder today how many churches are lying to God when they partake of the breading cup.

It's a beautiful part of this ordinance, but God is not interested in us proclaiming something that we are not living out practically as a church. Is it no wonder that Paul teaches about communion after condemning this church about their divisions? Look here in verse 18 of chapter 11. I want you to see this. For in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you.

There are clicks. You have people talking about others. You have people siding with different ministers. Oh, you like that minister? No.

We don't we we're with this guy. This is our guy. And people are actually dividing over that kind of stuff. You have people like that today. I'm part of this camp.

I'm part of that camp. I like this, I don't like that. I mean, yes, we have to all agree on doctrine, but it's more specific than that. And he says, and I believe in part, for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. That's one of my favorite verses in dealing with Sky.

This is our guy. Has to be divisions among you eventually. You know why? Because through the division, we're gonna find out who's the real believer. We're gonna see who's the one causing trouble and we're gonna see who's the one that wants to seek reconciliation.

So division is a wonderful way of revealing true character. And this is here in verse 20, when you come together, it is not the Lord's supper that you eat. What is the connection? He's talking about division in the church, and then from that moment on, he begins to teach on communion. You ready for this?

Paul, in the wisdom of the spirit, realizes that communion can correct division. That communion condemns divisiveness in the body of Christ. He introduces the theme of communion to face those who are causing trouble and dividing others against one another. Because that is the power that the Lord's table has. Because the message of the Lord's table is that we are one.

We are one. And this is the point. If there are divisions in the church, then that's evidence that some of us are not discerning the body of Christ. And if we are not discerning the body of Christ, then we are in an unworthy manner partaking of the Lord's table. And if we are in an unworthy manner partaking of the Lord's table, then we will be disciplined by God himself.

So when Paul says, if you fail to discern the body of Christ, you're drinking judgment on yourself. What he's trying to say is, if you fail to see your call to be unified with your brothers and sisters, you're gonna be disciplined. I'm not sure if we've ever thought of communion that way. I think most of us in here can agree that communion has just been a meditative thing for us concerning our personal relationship with Jesus Christ. We've made it so vertical.

Right? We just come into our little silo in our pew and we reflect about how Jesus saved me. Wonderful. But it's one bread. And Christ wants us to think about one another.

Do I dare come and eat with my fellow brothers and sisters proclaiming our oneness in Christ while harboring bitterness and hatred for at least one person in the very same sanctuary that I'm eating with? Isn't that a sad sight in the eyes of God to see some of us eating the same bread while speaking ill of one another and harming each other's reputation outside of that moment? Can we even in this way, while living isolated lives with absolutely no connection to a local body, think that we can lie to God by eating of this meal and saying, I am a part of your body. See, communion demolishes this individualistic Christianity. Because when you partake, you're saying, I'm connected.

I lay my down my life down for others. I share my gifts with the church. I receive from others. So when you have people that come in and and there are people who do this, they realize it's communion service. They come take communion.

They leave. You don't see them until you have communion service again. What are you doing? You are coming to the table in an unworthy manner. Because you're telling God, I am part of one body.

You're telling others, I am part of the same body, but we don't see you except for the quarterly time that we have this, or the once a month time. How can that be? So do you realize the Lord is saying, you are declaring your oneness, and we're we're telling each other we're one, and then but how are we treating each other? We're opening ourselves up to discipline. It's very serious.

There's a sanctifying power that is unleashed from the Lord's table. And Jesus Christ will purify the body of Christ through it in one way or another. No matter what. Listen. No matter what, Jesus Christ will purify his church through this ordinance in one way or another.

And his primary desire, his chief design for the Lord's table is that we would come with such a trembling, such a personal inspection and examination of our lives and our relationship with others that we would even come to the place saying, I can't partake because I'm not right with so and so. I will be lying to God and to others by saying, I'm gonna partake and declare the oneness of the body when I am disconnected to one of the members. And so you see that this now, it pushes it pushes us to face each other and saying, I don't wanna have to meet with God chastisement. We gotta sit and talk about our issues. But even if somebody is refusing to humble themselves, to come to that point of revering what God has established to such a degree where you're actually you have the boldness and the courage and understanding what this means for you to reach somebody else that you know you're not right with and talk with them.

Even if a person refuses that, God will still purify his church. You know why? Because we just read it. Verse 31. But if we judge ourselves truly, we would not be judged.

The one who refuses to discern the body and participates in the unifying message of this practice will be afflicted by Christ. And Christ will come and he will sift and he will reveal himself. And when a person goes on long enough and refuses to participate with God's goal here to say, Lord, I wanna I wanna show that I'm part and this God says that I have to do something with you. And that's why he says if we judge judge ourselves, this is not a time to sit and judge others. This is not a time to sit and think about, oh, I know so and so really needs to hear this.

Let God deal with that. Your job and mine, examine yourself. That's it. Examine yourself. Lord, where am I at?

God would deal with his other children. You meditate upon yourself. And when you do that, God will honor you and you will know the joys of the participation of his body and his blood. You will know the sanctifying strength. You will know the hope.

You will know the the recentering and the realignment of Jesus Christ, remembering him as a focal point of your existence. And you will know communion with the body of Christ as well. So let me remind us as we are about to share in a few moments. There is a message of the past, there is a hope for the future, and there is a call for the present. And I make that call today.

I make that call today. There are many ways that we can approach this in an unworthy manner, and the Holy Spirit will show us. The Holy Spirit will reveal it to us. So my call is for us to reflect now. Are you going to declare the oneness of the body of Christ, but you yourself know that you are not one with one of the members?

There's undealt with sin. There's friction that has not been conversed about. Or perhaps there's personal sin in your own life, where you have come to the point where you thought to yourself, you know, this is not such a big deal when it goes against the word of God, and you think that you can casually come to the table. Come before the Lord, I encourage you, and realize that he is with us right now, and he is eager for us to share in this so that we can fellowship with him. But he is so serious about it that he doesn't want us to come with any clutter in our souls, with any clutter in our souls.

So let's prepare our hearts before we eat. And be reminded that for some, this might be a very serious and solemn moment, and for others, you have every right to be exploding with joy in your hearts. Let these symbols, let these elements be instruments of praise. Remember what he has done on your behalf. Remember that it is not the end of the story.

We will feast with him again. And remember that you are declaring, I am one with Christ's body. My life is not my own. I share it with other people who have been redeemed by the blood of Christ. And my life is laid down for the body.

I wanna serve His body. I wanna glorify him through the body. And as you're sitting there, I must say, again, if you are not a born again follower of Jesus Christ, if you have not repented of your sin and trusted in Christ's finished work as a sole basis for your salvation, if you think that you can attain your own salvation by your good works, by the observance of sacraments, or any other means, I have to tell you that you cannot partake of this. I would not be a faithful communicator of God's word if I allowed you to join, and you're not saved. This is for the church.

This is for those who have been bought by his blood.