The Lord's Table

How many of you need reminders?

Do you work off of reminders?

! I remember the other day I had something that I wanted to be very sure that I took home with me.

! And so in order to be certain that it went home with me, what I did was I took my keys out of my pocket

and I laid it on top of what I needed to take home.

Does anybody else stoop to things of that fundamental nature to help them kind of remember things?

It was like, okay, I can't.

Well, but then the story is I have on occasion walked out to the parking lot.

The door shuts behind me and my keys are inside and I am stuck.

So there, you know, some things work most of the time but not all things work all the time.

We need reminders.

And we are here together this morning to partake of a reminder that is something that for some of you

have a long history.

You have been a member of the body of Christ.

You've known the Lord Jesus Christ for many years.

And one of the dangers of doing something on a repetitious basis is that it has a tendency to kind of,

without thought, it has a tendency to kind of slip into a place of just functional indifference.

We do it, but we really don't mean anything.

We don't think much about it.

And so what I'm going to do is I'm going to take a minute and I'm going to pray for the Holy Spirit to help me in preaching.

And I'm going to ask that while I am praying for the Holy Spirit to help me in preaching,

that you multitask.

You pray that the Holy Spirit helps me in preaching as well.

But you also pray that the Holy Spirit helps you in listening.

And that as a result of our attention to the Word of God through the enabling of the Spirit of God,

that we walk out of here, we who know the Lord Jesus Christ,

with an increased affection for Christ and also an increased affection for one another

and a passion to see people come to know the Lord that we delight in and we worship.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.

This morning, Heavenly Father,

we are thankful for the privilege of prayer,

to be able to come boldly before the throne of grace and to do so in a time of need.

And there is no moment in the believer's life that is not marked by dependence upon your sufficiency

and your power.

And that is certainly true at such a time as this,

as when we come to the Lord's table to take these elements, the bread and the cup,

and to do so according to your instruction, obedient to you,

and also to do so to remind ourselves of your death and your covenant and your return.

And I pray, Lord, that you would help me,

that your Spirit would enable me to preach with clarity and passion for the Lord Jesus,

and that your people would hear your words and have them make a difference in their lives and their conduct.

We ask this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Well, later this morning, I want you to know that we are going to celebrate the Lord's table,

and we are going to have our deacons come forward,

and they are going to pass the bread and the cup.

And I want to welcome all of you who are here that know Christ to come to this table.

I do want to begin this morning by coming with a couple words of caution, if I may.

And in saying what I will at the very outset, it's not intending or my intention is not to be off-putting,

but to be clear about what we do when we come to the Lord's table and to appeal to your conscience.

This fellowship, and I remember when I candidated here many years ago,

one of the questions that I was actually asked in that pastoral search process was,

all right, do you believe that the Lord's table is to be fenced?

And that is a terminology that has come through church history to refer to the fact that in some churches,

if you are not a member of that particular church,

or you're not a member in good standing of churches of the same flavor,

when they have the Lord's table, you are disinvited.

You're said, don't take the elements.

And I explained that I believe on the basis of what we read in 1 Corinthians chapter 11,

1 Corinthians 11 · chapter mention

that the Lord's table is not to be fenced other than by the conscience of the individuals that come to this table and are at that service.

And so I want you to take some time and turn in your Bible, if you would, to 1 Corinthians chapter 11,

1 Corinthians 11 · chapter mention

and we're going to take just a couple moments to speak to a couple words of caution in relationship to these elements.

For one, I want you to understand that celebrating the Lord's table and taking the bread and the cup

is actually meant to be a visible expression of faith,

as well as a testimony to all who see what you are doing,

that you are a believer and you have confidence in the finished work of Christ.

There is a sense in which taking the bread and taking the cup is like saying,

I believe Jesus died for my sins and he is my Lord and Savior.

In fact, actually, if you were to take the Greek and kind of open it up,

and I'm not going to delabor the issue this morning,

but in verse 26, where you see that word proclaim,

it says you do proclaim the Lord's death till he comes.

The Greek word there is communicating the idea that actually when you take the bread and when you take the cup,

you are involved in saying publicly, verbally, with your mouth,

I believe Jesus is my Savior and I trust him for my salvation.

Now, I would not be put off at all.

In fact, I'm wondering if anybody has the nerve to do it,

but I wouldn't be put off at all if, as you take the bread,

you can say softly to yourself,

I believe Jesus is my Savior and I thank you for dying for me, Lord Jesus.

I am blessed.

I don't know that there is anything indicated in Scripture as to exactly what was said,

but we have the idea here that it is a time where people give public testimony to their faith.

And so, if you are here, and you have never come to faith in Christ,

to take that bread and take that cup and to actually, in the process,

make a public announcement of your genuine faith in the Lord Jesus Christ,

it's a little contradictory or it's a little dishonest, isn't it?

It's like saying, yes, I know Christ,

when the truth of the matter is, is you really haven't come to know him.

Now, I want to make a distinction here and clarify something.

There's a difference between knowing Jesus as a historical person

that at one point was here on earth and he did, you know, he was a nice guy,

but that's not the same as coming to personal faith in Christ as your Lord and Savior.

Do you know what's hard about believing in Jesus in that context?

It is that you cannot come to faith in Christ without, first of all,

believing what Christ has to say about you as a broken, ruined, despised sinner

who deserves the judgment of God for the darkness and the blackness of your heart.

Remember what Jesus said when he was dealing with the Pharisees

and they were a little put out that he was celebrating, he was having dinner with sinners.

And remember Jesus said, hey, listen, it's not those who are healthy that need the physician,

it's those who are sick.

And until you come to realize that you're not going to get to heaven on the basis of where you grew up

or how many years you went to Sunday school or the fact that you're a pretty good person,

until you come to realize that you're a sinner justly condemned before a holy God,

you are not going to be led by the grace of God to come and cry out and say,

I need Jesus Christ as my personal Savior and I trust him because he died in my place

and his blood has satisfied the judgment of God and I claim what he has done by faith for myself.

And so when we come and we take the bread and we take the cup,

if you're sitting out there and you've never really come to faith in Christ,

I would encourage you just probably let the bread and the cup go by

because to take the bread, take the cup, and not really believe in the Lord Jesus Christ

is to do something that is fundamentally dishonest.

Now nobody in this congregation is ever going to say, hold it, stop.

But I trust the prompting of the Spirit of God cautions you if you don't know Christ.

And before you take the bread and cup, and by the way,

does anybody know how long it takes to come to faith in Christ?

A heartbeat?

Do you follow that?

I tell you, one of the joys that I have is hearing the various testimonies of people.

By the way, in order to become a member of this congregation,

one of the things you have to do is you have to actually share your testimony.

And so many of God's people have different testimonies.

But at the heart of it is the reality that God, by his grace,

brought you to the point of seeing your sin,

and you cried out and asked Christ to be your Savior,

and he heard you and has given you new life.

And so this morning, if you are here and you do not know Christ,

I would appeal to you, before you take the bread and the cup,

there you sit, convicted of your sin, cry out and ask Christ to save you,

and knowing him as your Savior, you're welcome to the table.

There are others that are cautioned in relationship to the table.

And as we look at the passage, if you would,

it says there in verse 27,

whoever therefore eats the bread and drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner

will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord.

And as we look at that context,

I want you to understand that actually the reason that 1 Corinthians 11 is in the Bible

is because the church at Corinth

was going through the motions of communion,

and they were not actually doing what they thought they were doing.

In fact, Paul, earlier in the chapter, he says,

hey, what you're doing is not the Lord's table.

You see, part of gathering together in this love feast

is having the right attitudes towards one another.

How many of you heard me say that?

Everybody stop.

Look over here.

Over here.

How many of you realize that getting along together

is actually harder than you might think?

I mean, here's the truth.

The longer you're together and the more you know each other,

the more challenging it is

because you get to know what other people are like,

and heaven help you, they get to know you.

And here's what was happening in the church at Corinth.

Instead of allowing this reminder of the love of Christ

to be the magnet that helped people

in their attitudes towards one another,

they were just going ahead

and doing their own selfish, self-centered,

argumentative, little belligerent attitude thing.

And Paul says, what you're doing doesn't cut it.

And then, here in this verse 27 and on,

he says, listen, by the way,

you can be taking communion in an unworthy manner.

And so, if you're here this morning,

and really you are honest with yourself,

and you are sitting there with some really negative,

ungodly, unkind, unforgiving attitudes

towards other believers,

then before you take the elements,

what I would appeal to you

is that you take some time to quietly confess

the hardness and stubbornness of your heart

and ask him to cleanse you of that.

And by the way, after communion,

after you've said, I'm committed to Christ,

I'm going to do what's right,

probably one of the things that you should do

is as you're walking out,

you should say, nobody has a problem with anybody,

but I'm just kind of using this as a reference.

You follow me?

So, you ought to say to someone,

hey, can we talk just a little bit?

Would you forgive me

for having such a bad attitude towards you?

And by the way, if we are together long enough,

we do know when attitudes are out there.

Am I right?

Everybody, we're right?

Deal with it.

So, we find here

that the Lord intends for us to take these elements,

but he also intends for us who are believers

to come to grips with attitudes

and to confess and forsake them

and make things right.

So, as we read on in this passage in 1 Corinthians,

we see that it's really Christ's intention

that the believer is to examine his heart

and attitude and repent

and then take the elements.

As a side note,

I must confess that there was a time in my life

where I thought that I kind of had attained

to this righteous state

where I was in a superior spiritual place,

at least because I didn't take communion.

Do you follow that?

I have a problem with, you know,

Pastor Saul Green,

who is my dear, dear friend,

and he knows I'm just using this as an illustration.

And because I have a problem with Pastor Saul Green,

and it's really all his problem,

instead of confessing and forsaking it,

I'm going to be righteous and not take communion.

How many of you understand that?

Stupid.

No, I'm sorry.

That's not spiritual.

Okay.

Ungodly, Tim.

That's a little better.

Confess and forsake and stop being that way,

full of yourself.

And so, if you're sitting here,

and as you are praying and saying,

all right, Lord,

I need you to be talking to me

about the heart that I have,

and you are convicted

that you have a wrong attitude,

confess and forsake it.

So, you can take the elements.

Well, there's another piece

that I want us to pay attention to this morning,

and you're there in 1 Corinthians 11,

1 Corinthians 11:24–26

verse 24 through 26.

Let me just kind of touch on it.

It says,

And when he had given thanks,

he broke it and said,

This is my body, which is for you.

And then in 25,

after the same manner,

he also took the cup after supper,

saying,

This cup is the new covenant in my blood.

Do as often as you drink it

in remembrance of me.

In 26,

For as often as you eat this bread

and drink the cup,

you proclaim the Lord's death

until he comes.

I want to say another thing

that I want you to recognize,

that when we take the Lord's table,

we understand this to be true.

The Lord's table declares the gospel.

The Lord's table declares the gospel.

And as you take these elements,

one of the things that I want to have happen

is that the sweetness of the gospel

just kind of resonates in your heart.

It makes a difference.

By the way,

when you are struck by the wonder

and the undeserved blessing

of Christ loving you unconditionally

as he has and is doing

and will forever,

can that control the way you think

and behave?

And what's the answer?

Yes.

In fact,

if your behavior does not reflect

the sweetness of the gospel,

the truth of the matter is,

is A, follow me,

you're not saved,

or B,

you've taken your eyes off

of the blessing

of what he has done in saving you.

And so when we take the elements,

I want you to understand

that the Lord's table

is a summary

of the essential truths

of the gospel.

Let me touch on a couple of those

as we think about

what we mean

when we say that the Lord's table

declares the gospel.

For one,

as we take the bread and the cup,

one of the things

that we remind ourselves of

is the fact that sin brings death.

Sin brings death.

As we take the bread,

and you look at that passage

in verse 24,

Paul wrote this,

he says he broke it,

talking about the bread,

and he said,

this is my body,

which is for you.

And as we take the elements,

one of the things

that we're doing

is reminding ourselves

that Jesus died,

and we understand

that Jesus did not die

for his own sins.

Why did Jesus die?

Why did Jesus die?

Over in Romans 6, verse 23,

Romans 6:23

it says that the wages of sin

are death.

But then in that same very verse,

it says this,

but the gift of God

is eternal life

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

And we understand

that Jesus died in our place,

he died our death,

and he satisfied God's judgment

against our sins.

And beloved,

for you to consciously

and deliberately ponder that

and not have your heart

affected by that

is to indict yourself

as having become

a little cold

to what Christ

has done for you.

Does that make sense?

I have to confess

that I was out having breakfast

with an individual,

and I happened to look over

in a booth,

and here is a husband

with his wife

eating breakfast.

Now, that's a nice thing,

isn't it?

I mean, husbands and wives

have breakfast together.

But I noticed that

the entire time

that I was sitting there,

guess what he was doing?

He had purchased a newspaper.

And what was he doing

with the newspaper?

He had it up.

I mean, you know,

how many of you understand?

I mean, some of you

are electronically inclined,

and it's a long time

since you actually read

a newspaper,

but a newspaper

is a big honking piece of paper,

and when you open it up,

it covers pretty much

the whole table,

and she couldn't see him,

and he couldn't see her,

and the sweetness

of them having breakfast together

was lost in the news.

You follow that?

And I thought to myself,

a lot of love there.

And so,

for you,

to take that bread

and to take that cup

and not consciously

and deliberately stop

and realize,

Jesus did this for me,

and not have that

make a difference,

tells me there's a disconnect

in your heart.

And what is the cure

for a disconnect?

Does anybody have an idea?

The cure is,

A, go ahead

and thumb your nose

at the Holy Spirit

and tell him

to bring it on.

Or to say,

I have to confess

that my heart

is not where it needs to be.

Would you graciously

and kindly

deal with my heart

to renew

and rekindle

my affections

for you?

Of those two,

which makes better sense?

Help me.

A or B?

Okay?

And I would appeal

to you that this morning,

if you're sitting there

and you say,

well, well,

communion again,

yeah.

I mean,

I thought it was

going to be in John.

You know,

hey,

Lord,

truth of the matter is

there's something wrong

with my first love

and I need you

to do something for me.

The Bible tells me

that he lived

a sinless life

and he died

and he died for me.

The Bible also tells me

that God sent his son

actually to be

our substitute.

As we were singing

this morning

and I don't know

about you,

but I'm always tracking

the words

and kind of

cross-referencing them.

Do you follow

what I'm saying?

I'm thinking about

different Bible passages

that connect

with the songs

that we are singing.

And I thought about

the father

sending his son

down here to the earth

to die in my place.

And it tells us

that Jesus

came to be

our substitute.

The penalty for sin

had to be paid

and God sent his son

to pay it for you.

Well,

there's another thing

that I want you

to recognize

and look if you will

there in verse 25.

I want you to understand

that not only

does he

pay the price

for our sins,

but also he saves

to the uttermost.

There in verse 25

it says,

in the same manner

he took the cup

after supper

saying,

this cup

is the new covenant

in my blood.

Do this as often

as you drink

and in remembrance

of me.

This is a very

interesting reference

because the new covenant

is a promise

about the certainty

of my salvation.

So,

how many of you

sometimes,

you know,

when you really

think about it,

I mean,

are you kind of

overwhelmed with the fact

that you don't deserve

to be loved

by an absolutely

sinless God

who is completely holy?

I mean,

how many of you think,

yeah,

I got it.

I deserve it.

No,

no,

no.

Anytime we think

about the reality

of the holiness

of God,

we are absolutely

humbled

and struck

by His glory

and His supremacy

and we say,

and why would you

love me?

No good reason.

But the new covenant

speaks

to the unchangeable

nature

of the love

of Christ

for us.

In order to think

about the new covenant,

I'm just going to refer

to it in broad terms,

I'll remind you

that when God

made a covenant

with the nation

of Israel

on Mount Sinai,

it was a conditional covenant.

He said,

you do this,

you do this,

you do this,

you do this,

and I'll do that.

It's a little bit

like car payments.

How many of you

understand that

when you sign

a car payment,

it's like,

you can drive this car

so long as you

make the payments,

right?

Or you can live

in that address

so long as you

make your payments.

And what happens

when you stop

making payments

on the car

or the home?

What happens?

You wake up

in the morning

and your car's

not there.

Or your dog

is barking

at three o'clock

and you look

out the window

and somebody

is hooking it up

to take it away.

Why?

Because you didn't

keep your part

of the bargain.

the covenant

on Mount Sinai

was conditional.

You do your part,

I'll do my part,

and God says

that you never succeeded.

And then he made

the unconditional covenant

that was referred to

in Jeremiah

and also in Ezekiel,

and he makes it clear

that he alone

is the only one

engaged in satisfying

the new covenant.

I will love you

freely.

I will love you

independent

of your behavior

and your performance.

One of the things

that I love

about that book,

Gospel,

by Platt,

help me,

Greer,

he says,

you know,

there's nothing

you can do

that will ever

cause Jesus

to love you anymore.

and there's nothing

you can do

that will ever

cause Jesus

to love you

any less.

And as we look

at this little

statement there,

it says that you

remember this is

the cup

of the new covenant.

It reminds me

of the unconditional,

unchangeable love

of Christ for me,

not dependent upon

what I have ever done

or will ever do,

but dependent upon

his promise

and his character.

I want you to recognize

something else

stands out

as we look

at this passage

and it's worthy

of our attention.

As you follow along

in verse 27

through 32,

there is a clear call

to live in the light

of his salvation.

You see,

we who know Christ

have been saved

actually to be

kind of demonstrators

of his unbelievable

ability

to transform

human life.

last week,

I was in a situation

where I was listening

to some people share

kind of in broad terms

their testimony.

And they were talking

about the fact

that the thing

that had led them

to Christ

was seeing what God

had done

in someone else's life.

Do you follow that?

The truth of the matter

is that if you

have been saved,

one of the reasons

you've been saved

is so that

that life-transforming

power would be

manifested to other

people and it

would end up

being something

that is magnetic

to draw people

and say,

you know what,

I'm not sure

what happened

in his life

or in her life,

but I need

that to happen

for me.

How many of you

remember the story

of the demoniac?

I mean,

here was a guy

whose life

was messed up

big time,

remember?

He was in the tombs

cutting himself

with stones

and by the way,

he was not appreciated

by his immediate

context and culture.

Nobody liked him.

Not only that,

but everybody

was terrified of him.

and after he was healed,

the demons cast out

and he was saved,

remember?

He kind of remembered

that nobody liked him

and so he said,

Jesus,

can I come with you?

And Jesus said,

no, no, no,

go back to town

and let them see

what I've done for you.

And as a result

of this ex-demoniac

whose life

was absolutely

previously trashed,

when Jesus came back around,

people were standing

all over the place

saying,

hey,

we need you,

we want to hear

who you are

and what you have to do

because we want you

to do for us,

in essence,

what you have done

for the demoniac.

And so we who have been saved

are called

to live in the light

of his salvation

and I want you

to understand that

this morning.

You see,

it wasn't just

for fire insurance

that he saved Tim Kenoyer

or saved you,

he saved me also

to be an illustration

of his grace.

And so I want

to encourage you

this morning

as you think about

when you take

these elements,

number one,

I remind myself

that Jesus died

for me

and he died

as my substitute

and he died

to help me

be different

and he died

to help me

be an example

to other people

and he's coming back.

He's coming back.

I have a little dog

about this big,

well,

whatever,

12 pounds

and I don't understand

doggies,

I mean,

I'm not into dog

but you know what,

that dog knows

when I drive in,

just the tires

on the driveway

and the dog

races to the door

and then goes ballistic.

You know?

And my wife

opens the door

and that dog

just comes zipping

out there

and you know,

all excited.

So what are you like

at the thought

of Jesus coming back?

Huh?

Does it make a difference

to you or not?

I'm thinking about it.

I'm looking forward

to it

and by the way,

I'm not just looking forward

to it when things

are real bad.

I'm looking forward

to it because it will be

the best that I've ever had.

It will be the joy

of my eternity.

It will be the fulfillment

of my longings.

It will be the thing

that is the capstone

of my ambition

and my affections.

It will be the day

when I see him

face to face

and as the psalmist says

and I will be satisfied.

So beloved,

this morning

and I ask the deacons

to come at this time.

As we come

to this table,

I want you

who know

the Lord Jesus

to think with me

about what you are doing

and to consciously

and deliberately

appeal to the Holy Spirit

to help you take

these elements

in such a fashion

that Christ Jesus

is honored,

that the Holy Spirit

is pleased

with your worship.

and before we actually

come to the elements,

we're going to do two things.

For one,

I'm going to pray

and you join me

asking that the Spirit

of God

would prompt your heart

to think clearly

and humbly

if there's sin

you need to confess

and forsake.

And then number two,

we are going to sing together

as we sing our way

through the elements.

How's that?

Did you hear me say that?

Sing our way

through the elements.

Let's pray.

Our gracious Father,

this morning

we are thankful

that you

in your infinite mercy

and kindness

planned for our salvation

before the foundation

of the world

and you set your affection

upon us

and you willingly

sent your Son

to be the sacrifice

for our sin.

And this morning

as we gather

at this table

and we look forward

to sharing

in the bread

and the cup,

we ask for your Spirit's help

that we may do so

in a manner

that honorably

and affectionately

reflects

favorably

upon the name

and the work

of Christ.

We confess

how easy it is

for our hearts

to be cold

and indifferent,

to become calloused

by the repetitious

nature of our sin.

And we would plead

with you

that this morning

by your grace

you would convict us

and draw us

to a place

of humility

and genuine

brokenness

that sin

would not have

dominion in us

and that we would

take these elements

with a clear conscience

that Christ

would be adored

and worshipped

here among us

as He is in heaven.

And that's our prayer.

Amen.

Amen.

Sing together.

Amen.

Behold the Lamb

who bears

our sins away

slain for us

Thank you for the reminder.

And we remember

the promised day

that all who come in

Did I forget?

Go ahead.

I see.

So we share

in this bread of life

and we drink

of His sacrifice

as a sign

of our bond

and peace

under the table

of the King.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Savior Jesus Christ, torn for you, eat and remember the wounds that heal the death that brings us life, paid the price for like us one.

Amen.

Amen.

And when he'd given thanks, he broke it and said, this is my body, which is for you.

Do this in remembrance of me.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Thank you.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

A blood that cleanses every stain of sin shed for you.

Drink and remember

He drank that cup that all may enter in to receive the light of God.

The same man also he took the cup after supper, saying,

Amen. This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me.

And so with thankfulness and faith we rise to respond

And to remember our call to follow in the steps of Christ

As his body here on earth

As we share in his suffering

And reclaim Christ will come again

And will join in the feast of heaven

Around the table of the King

Join me as we pray

And then we will sing once more

Gracious God and Father

Our hearts rejoice when we stop and realize

In a small way

The significance of your love and your mercy

We're overwhelmed when we stop and think that

You who are the creator

Sovereign Lord of this universe

Would willingly send your son to die in our place

And to grant us salvation

Not on the basis of our merit or our works

But on the basis of your grace

And the richness of your heart

We are debtors

Justly and righteously

You have reason to expect

Holiness and godliness from us

And as we have taken the bread and the cup

And we've reminded ourselves

Of the sacrifice

Of Christ

We pray that these things would

Stir our resolve to live holy lives

Humble

Generous

Kind

Forgiving

That the unbelieving world

Seeing

Genuine difference in us

Would be drawn to ask us a reason

For the hope we have in Christ

And we glory in you

Amen

Amen

ux

Amen

Thank you.