The Last Supper

Hey everyone, this is Josh from Encounter Church

Henley and thanks so much for tuning into our

podcast. Our prayer is that through this podcast

you can have an encounter with Jesus that will

change your life. And now get ready for an inspiring

message from our preaching team. Hey, if I don't

know you, my name is Jenny and I am one of the

pastors over in Canna, Adelaide. And I've had

the privilege of being here two weeks in a row,

which is a bit of fun. I love it. I love it here

at Henley. It is a beautiful place to be. Before

I get started, we have been a church plant here

for, what are we on, almost two years now? Almost

two years, far out, which is really cool, and

I love that. But I love new church plants starting

as well. And I'm not here to tell you today that

we're starting another church plant just yet.

Don't freak out. But we do have Zoe in the room.

Zoe, can you come up here for a second? Welcome,

Zoe. Zoe is about to plant a church in the Barossa,

which I'm very excited about. I love the Barossa.

It's like one of my favorite places. I will come

visit you when they let me out of here. And so

I'm really excited for that. And I think as a

church plant, we know how hard that can be and

how much time and effort and just love and joy

that it takes to plant a church. And so I wondered,

Zoe, if it's okay with you, we would really like

to pray for you and your team and just encourage

you. Tell everyone. Tell everyone what you're

doing a little bit, for a start. Okay, great.

So we felt, we're from Hope Valley, Hope Valley

Church. And we felt, well, lead pastor Kynan

Brooks, felt maybe like two or three years ago,

the Barossa kind of laid on his heart. And so

we went up as a staff team in 2024, in the middle

of the year. And we went up to Mengles Hill and

we just looked over the area. We read over a

few different scriptures, prayed a lot of prayers

and kind of... Not left it but went okay We'll

see what happens from here and this spirit kind

of kept tugging at us and this brotha kept coming

up and sorry I'm in the middle of last year.

We said yes This is something that we want to

do and so we spent the past Few months going

up getting a big picture of what's happening

in the barossa and we have been Yeah talking

with a lot of pastors and a lot of people and

seeing that there is a big unfortunately like

unchurched environment in the barossa and people

that have maybe grown up there, but yeah, kind

of walked away from church. And for some people,

church is really hard at the moment in the Barossa.

And of course, there are a lot of people who

are just not churched at all. And so we kind

of really felt, hey, the gospel speaks rest and

the gospel speaks freedom and the gospel speaks

an unburdening of all people. And so we want

to be able to... journey with God in how He's

already at work in the Barossa and we want to

participate with that already and we want to

do more of what His Spirit's already doing there

and we see a part of that is a renewing of the

Church and so we're coming up and we are building

through what we're calling the rhythms of grace

which is daily time with God, your weekly worship,

your four nightly life groups and six weekly

service but in the Barossa because we want to

be all about unburdening people we're having

a strong emphasis on discipleship so it's going

to be yes you're time with God, your fortnightly

life group and only a six weekly gathering and

we're doing that because we want it to be this

really awesome thing that people come to and

they get really fed up and they go out into their

week and your journey with Jesus is every single

day not just on a Sunday morning and a Sunday

morning alone and so yeah we're just really excited

to go through the rhythms of grace in the Barossa

and Yeah, I mean, I've learned a lot from Tim

and what you guys have done. So it'd be good

to kind of see what I've learned from him and

extended you guys as a whole and encounter and

be able to also bring that over to the Barossa.

Yeah. Fantastic. Awesome. I don't need to preach

now. That was great. Praise a lot. Hey, so is

there any of the core team here from Henley that

could come up and let's just lay hands on Zoe

and let's pray for them and the team as they

move towards launching this brand new church?

Lord we thank you for the vision that you put

on the hearts of women and men to step out in

faith and follow your spirit and I thank you

for Zoe's willingness and her humility to go

and break new ground for their church in a new

place and I just pray Lord all your blessings

all your spiritual blessings upon her and her

team at Hope Valley Barossa that you would do

infinitely more than they could ask hope or imagine

that women and men and children would come to

faith in you through them that those who have

grown up in church but walked away would find

true life and life to the full in you Jesus that

they would see that it was all true and Lord

I just pray would you strengthen Zoe as she leads

and would you give her spiritual resources to

lead with conviction and strength and joy, a

sense of joy, hold her Lord as she relies on

you and we just pray, yeah God, absolute blessings

upon them in Jesus name, amen. Very exciting,

thanks Zoe. Thought I couldn't miss up an opportunity

to pray over a church plant while she was in

the room so, but now you can start the timer.

Alright. So friends, I have a love -hate relationship

with rules, right? Some would say that I have

a like to break rules. I find that offensive.

I don't mean to break them. I just do. But I

also really like rules because they give me a

boundary to work in. And yes, sometimes I do

break them, but I don't mean to. I like having

rules around me. I like those kind of just...

guidelines I guess that surround me so that I

can work and do whatever God wants me to do.

We have some family rules in our when we play

board games. Some of you are laughing, you get

it. And there is one game that my husband Mike

will not play with me. So he will not play Rummikub

with me or with my daughter Grace. He won't play

with Grace because she wins every time. like

literally every time it is so frustrating but

he won't play with me because I have my original

diamond family rules and he says they're not

rules they're not the rules that are in the rule

book and I said I don't care they're still my

rules they still they're still something that

I like to play with some of you totally get this

right you totally get family rules you're like

yeah there are different rules for different

people it's fine and some of you are like I don't

want to listen to the anything she has to say

anymore I don't trust her that's fine Mike really

likes rules that can be followed that are written

down in a book and I like instructions, boundaries

to play within the lines. How do you guys go

following rules? Are you rule follower or are

you a rule breaker? And I thought it might be

a bit of fun today just to get you moving a little

bit, get your energy up. So I'm gonna play a

little game with you guys. I'm not gonna embarrass

you too much, I hope. So. I'm gonna ask you to

follow some rules, right? Really simple. It's

an easy game. So you have to do exactly what

I say, okay? Ready? All right. Clap once. Clap

twice. Stand up. Point to someone across the

room. Well done, you guys are doing great. You've

got this. You're actually pretty good at this.

Now I'm gonna make it slightly harder, okay?

What I want you to do is that you gotta follow

everything I say, but only if I say please, okay?

That's what I say to my children. Only if I say

please. If I don't say please, you do nothing,

all right? You ready? All right, stand up. Oh,

well done. Stand up, please. All right, clap,

please. Once. Touch your head. Yeah, you're out.

Touch your nose, please. Touch your shoulders,

please. Sit down, please. Hands in the air, please.

Hands on your knees. Oh, there's a few hands

that move there. All right, stand up, please.

Turn around. Oh, come on, you guys are too good.

Touch your knees, please. Tim, you did it before

I said please. Hands on your head, please. Hands

on your nose, please. Hands on your shoulders,

please. Hands on your knees. Oh gosh, you guys

are too good. All right, you guys are great.

All right, sit down. You're very good at following

rules. Yes, yes. You three win. Well, you guys

in the back win. Well done. Well done, well done.

Isn't it funny that even when the rules are simple,

sometimes we get it wrong. Some of you are like,

I love rules, tell me what to do. And other of

you are like, well, I heard the rules, but I

just didn't want to follow them. And that's not

just in this kind of a game. That's actually

how we live our lives. Some of us are rule followers

and some of us are rule breakers. But all of

us are shaped by rules. And here's what I've

realised. It's not just if you follow the rules,

but also how you experience them. Because some

rules feel like you have to follow them. And

sometimes you want to follow rules and then there

are some times when you realise you actually

get to follow them. And where you live in the

have to, want to or get to will shape your whole

life. Today we're looking at the Last Supper.

And I think Jesus is moving us, is actually trying

to invite us to move from the have to, to the

want to, to the get to. And I'm going to unpack

that a little bit today. So maybe you're a rule

follower, maybe you're a rule breaker, but either

way, I feel like we need this shift that I'm

going to suggest today. So in the scripture,

They're talking about the Last Supper. So this

was a really important tradition in the Jewish

life. So there was a thing called the Passover

meal and the Passover meal came about as they

wanted to celebrate and remember what God had

done when they were in Egypt and when the Israelites

were set free through uh not being killed and

being set out from from slavery it was pretty

great it's a pretty huge thing on their calendar

right the Passover was not a small event and

it's still even today in Jewish culture not a

small event it was a tradition that the Jews

and the Jewish people had celebration and it

was continued on as something that they needed

to remember. But I do wonder if it ever got to

a point or gets to a point where it becomes something

that they have to do. This was a meal that was

prepared and advanced. There was a lamb that

was slaughtered on a certain day at a certain

time. The Bible, particularly in the Old Testament,

there was a lot to do when they came into the

temple and when they came to parts of the animals,

how they would smear the blood left or right

or up or down. Like there were a lot of rules

they had to follow. And many of those rules became

traditions and they became things that then they

had to do. There was no way around that until

Jesus came to change things. But friends, when

you have to do something, you're under someone's

control. It builds a mindset of rebellion. You

know, I'll fight against this. I know for some

of you, when you get told, or at least if you've

got children who understand this, or if you are

a child or close to it, you'll understand that

when your parents say you have to do something,

there's a bit that wants to rebel up inside of

you and say, actually, I don't want to do this.

I'll fight against this. And if that is just

my children, then maybe you can speak to them.

How many things do you do because you have to,

not because you want to? Or maybe... you used

to want to but now you feel you have to. Things

that were once good that are now hard. Perhaps

a job that you used to love that now you have

to get up every morning and go to. Maybe a home

project that you put a hole in the wall and now

you have to fix it. Or maybe you started a sport

but you've bought the shoes and you bought the

ball and you bought everything else and you feel

like you have to continually play it. The have

to mentality makes you a bit hard. It can make

you bitter. It can make you self -righteous.

It makes it actually all about you. It creates

a cynical perspective. The reality of it is there

are lots of things that we have to do, but God

doesn't want us to live with a have to mentality.

He wants us to live with something else. He wants

us to move from have to And if we want to go

from have to, we have to go from someone who

is self -centred to someone who is others -centred.

In the act of the Last Supper, he was inviting

us into a new way of living. When we look at

the scriptures, we see the disciples, when he's

talking with the disciples, he gives them really

clear instructions. They're to go out and to

do something for others, right? They were to

go out and they were to prepare the space that

they were gonna come and share the meal with.

And I think in that moment, the disciples would

have wanted to do that. I don't think in that

moment that it was something they had to do.

I think they actually would have wanted to. Why

do I think that? Because... They had walked with

Jesus for three years. And so they had seen miracle

after miracle after miracle. They had seen 5

,000 people fed. They had seen people healed.

And so they had a deep and intimate relationship

with Jesus. And so they would have wanted to

do that. And then Jesus says, go and find this

man who's carrying water. And they're walking

along and they find this guy that's carrying

water. And it's actually quite significant that

it was a man carrying water because women used

to carry water in those days. So it was almost

like they were participating in a miracle that

they were seeing right in front of them, something

unusual, something that wasn't normally seen.

And they go into this home and it is just how

Jesus said it was gonna be. They saw another

miracle, they saw another miracle right in front

of their eyes. And I think they would have been

excited to share the meal that Jesus had for

them. Life's pretty great when you want to do

something, right? When you want to get up and

go to work, it's great. We feel good when we

want to do something. But what we need to understand

is that when we want to do something, really

it's kind of about us. It's about us getting

endorphins that come with doing something that

we like. And those endorphins that want to do

something, that is just a feeling. When we want

to, when we rely on a want to mentality, what

about when we don't want to anymore? What about

when we do something for someone who doesn't

respond nicely to you? You get resentful. Let

me be really clear here, being others centered

is not a bad thing. Please be others centered.

But it does have limits and perhaps even a timeframe.

Eventually we slip back into the have to mentality.

The want to mentality builds a mindset of resentment.

Why should I? It's all about I. In verse 15,

Jesus says to them, I have eagerly desired to

eat this Passover with you before I suffer. Jesus

eagerly desired to share this meal. Jesus didn't

just want to share this meal. He knew that we

and his disciples needed to share this meal.

It was not even good enough to say that he wanted

us. He knew that we needed to do it. We needed

to understand what it means to really share in

His life and sufferings, to go beyond themselves

and what they want and even what others want

into what He wants. Friends, the difference between

wanting to and getting to is it's much less about

us and more about Him. And that is the Last Supper

actually in a nutshell. Jesus was inviting them

into what He was about to do, inviting them and

us to be a part of it. When you want to do something,

it's a lovely place to be. But when you get to

do something, that is where the real joy flows.

Jesus takes a meal that they had to do. and he

turns it into something that we get to receive.

Friends, if you want to go from a want -to mentality,

which is not necessarily a bad mentality, but

if you want to step into the get -to mentality,

then you've got to go from others -centred to

Jesus -centred or Christ -centred. When Jesus

took the bread, it actually wasn't anything like

this bread. would have been flatbread. So there's

no yeast in it, which is maybe good for those

who don't like gluten. I don't know, I can't

remember. Why did he take flatbread? I'm not

gluten intolerant anymore. Praise the Lord. But

he took this, why did he take this flatbread?

I think he took this flatbread because bread

was an essential part of every meal. Jesus knew

that we needed him. He is the essential part

to our lives. Friends, if we know that Jesus,

when we are Jesus -centred, we are Christ -centred,

this communion, this bread, this wine that we

drink, it invites us into creating that throughout

our whole life. as we remember what Jesus did

and remember how important he is. Friends, when

I take communion, it's only really then that

I fully understand this idea of getting to do

something, which is why I wanted to present this

idea around the communion table. When I hold

the communion bread in my hand, I'm thankful

I am so aware of how much he did for me and for

all of us in this world. When he took the bread,

he actually gave thanks and he broke it. And

he gave it to them saying, this is my body given

for you. Do this in remembrance of me. And in

this moment, As I hold the bread, and even as

I hold the cup, I am not thinking about myself

anymore. I'm thinking about how He gave up His

body, His life, His everything for me. When you

live in the get -to life, it's not just a feeling,

it's a life change. When we live in the get -to

life, rules do not constrain us anymore. They

actually free us. When God calls us to follow

his rules of forgiveness, and when we forgive,

it frees us. We don't feel confined by those

rules or controlled by those rules. We feel freedom

as we step into God's rules. That's how we live

fully. When we understand what Jesus was trying

to tell us in the Last Supper, that He was gonna

die so that we could really live, we start to

live in the get -to and not the have -to space.

The get -to space is a major shift. It requires

a total recognition that everything you get is

a gift from God. and that you actually deserve

nothing. And when Jesus took the bread, we see

that his body was going to die. But when he takes

the cup of the blood, we see a new covenant.

We see and understand our forgiveness and our

salvation in this new covenant. Ephesians 1 .7

says, the forgiveness of sins in accordance with

the riches of God's grace. When Jesus is fully

living inside of us, we get to partake in life

with him in a new found freedom and joy. He gives

us a gift and that is the gift of true life.

John 6 says, 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. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood

has eternal life and I will raise them up at

the last day. For my flesh is real food and my

blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and

drinks my blood remains in me and I in them.

Friends, perhaps you've been living in the have

to world. You come to church, you serve on team,

because you have to. And today, you need to actually

come to Jesus and let Him show you that this

meal is turning it from you to Him. And the freedom

that you feel when you move into the getting

to do it space. When your life becomes not about

you anymore, but about Him and what He has done.

Maybe you even need to repent of life being about

you and what you want. And by doing that, freeing

yourself to receive this freedom in Him. Or maybe

you sit in the want to camp. You try to live

out others centered. But in this area of realising

today that when they come, when that comes out

of a place of you, it will never last. Maybe

you as well need to come to Him and actually

ask Him for forgiveness, to live with Him as

your focus, moving from others -centred to Jesus

-centred. And friends, the truth is none of us

live in the get -to place in our relationship

with Jesus or the time. But you can choose to

move into that space today. You can choose to

take your eyes off yourself and even off others

and on to Jesus. In 1 Corinthians 11, Paul tells

us to remember Jesus whenever we take communion

and they used to break bread together daily.

So what he was saying is remember Jesus daily.

Remember what he did because Paul understood

that in our lives it's gonna be busy. Our lives

sometimes we're gonna take our eyes off of Jesus

and put it on ourselves. And we only live in

freedom when we don't live under the rules but

under the freedom that those rules bring as they

lead us towards salvation. which is a life dead

to ourselves and alive in Christ. Not from bad

to good, but from dead to alive, friends. Getting

to be with Jesus is a beautiful place to be.

And I pray that when you take communion, as I

do, you'll not be thinking of yourself, but you'll

be thinking about the fact that you are invited

into a Christ -centred relationship. with Jesus.

Let's live in the get -to understanding of who

Jesus is with our eyes on him because it's then

friends where fear drifts away and joy fills

our lives and we are Christ -centred. Jesus in

the gospel shows his followers how to live with

our eyes on him through the act of communion.

We are encouraged to take communion often but

we can never let it come to a place where we

have to do it. And can I be honest, as a pastor,

sometimes I go, I have to do this. And then when

I come to communion, I'm reminded that actually

I get. to do this with Jesus. I get to participate

in His body. I get to minister to His people.

I get to serve people. What a privilege it is

when I take my eyes off myself and again refocus

back on Jesus. Jesus on the night He was portrayed,

He took bread and broke it and then He lifted

the cup and He said, this cup is a new covenant

in my blood which is poured out for you. And

as we come to a sharing communion today. I want

you to think about the gift that communion is,

the gift it is when we deserve nothing. Jordan

you can come up. The gift of not having to do

something but getting to do something with Jesus.

The gift of it in this moment taking our eyes

off Jesus prepared the table for us to a new

way to actually sharing communion together and

our communion stewards are going to be I assume

down the front. And what I'd really love you

to do is take a moment and choose to step into

that need to re -invite Jesus into or it might

be a whole area of your life. The wonderful thing

about Jesus is he didn't just die He rose again

for us. So as you come and as you take this,

remember that we are partaking in one of the

most holy and one of the most beautiful things

that we have ever been asked to participate in.

would love to hear from you on Instagram at encounterhenley

or if you're interested in how you can support

this ministry please go to our website encounteradelaide

.com .au Thanks again for listening. God bless

you.