THIS DO IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME
1 Corinthians 11:23-32
23. For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread;
24. and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, "Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’’
25. In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’’
26. For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.
27. Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.
28. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup.
29. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.
30. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep.
31. For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged.
32. But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.
INTRODUCTION:
There are only two ordinances which we Assembly of God adherents recognize. The word Ordinance means, “A law, or something prescribed.” In other words, we recognize only two rituals as being prescribed by the Word of God. The first is the ordinance of baptism by immersion and the other is the Lord’s Supper, Communion, or Holy Eucharist.
Baptism is a symbolic act that portrays what Jesus has done for the believer in salvation. It is a picture of a person dying out to an old life of sin and raising again to a new life of service to the Lord. It is an outward symbol of the inward work of God in the human spirit.
The Holy Communion Service, on the other hand, is a symbolic act that calls to mind the death, resurrection and promised return of the Lord Jesus Christ. When we take the bread and the cup, we are remembering the day when Jesus Christ died for our sins on the cross, was buried, and rose again from the dead. The Holy Communion is a symbol of the eternal work God did through His Son the Lord Jesus Christ.
This morning, we will do what Christians have been doing for nearly 2,000 years. We will remember Jesus; what He did; why He did it and what it means for us. Since this is our first Holy Communion together; I want to take a few minutes to share with you the truth about what The Holy Eucharist is.
More than anything else, the Holy Communion service is a time of remembrance. That is why Jesus said, “This do in remembrance of Me.” And, that is the thought that I wish to magnify for a few minutes this morning. Allow me to share three facts regarding the nature of the Holy Communion as we think on the thought: This Do In Remembrance Of Me.
I. IT IS A TIME OF COMMEMORATION
(Ill. The word Commemorate means “to honor the memory of somebody or something in a ceremony; to serve as a memorial to something.” If the Lord’s Supper is anything, it is a memorial. It is a time to remember Jesus and what He did for us. The following is what we commemorate today.)
A. We Commemorate His Sufferings – Verses 24 and 25 talk about the “broken body” and the “blood” of Jesus. Both of these vivid phrases bring to mind suffering and pain. When we take the elements of the Lord’s Supper, we are to remember that Jesus Christ suffered horribly for us to save us from our sins. (Ill. Jesus suffered at the hands of man –
Isa. 52:14-
14. Just as many were astonished at you, so His visage was marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men;
Jesus suffered at the hands of God,
Isa. 53:1-12-
1. Who has believed our report? and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2. For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; and when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him.
3. He is despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
4. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
5. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.
6. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
7. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not his mouth.
8. He was taken from prison and from judgment, and who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgressions of My people He was stricken.
9. And they made His grave with the wicked but with the rich at His death, because He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth.
10. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.
11. He shall see the travail of His soul, and be satisfied. by His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities.
12. Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong, because He poured out His soul unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors, and He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
Matt. 27:46-
46. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?’’ that is, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?’’
Ill. The cross and all He suffered.)
B. We Commemorate His Sacrifices – The fact that Jesus Christ was in a human body speaks of the sacrifices He made to redeem us. God became a man, lived and died in this world to redeem the lost,
John 1:1
1. in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
14-
14. and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
Phil. 2:5-8-
5. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
6. who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,
7. but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant, and coming in the likeness of men.
8. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
He suffered shame,
Matt. 27:39-44
39. And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads
40. and saying, "You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.’’
41. Likewise the chief priests, also mocking with the scribes and elders, said,
42. "He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him.
43. "He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, `I am the Son of God.’ ’’
44. Even the robbers who were crucified with Him reviled Him with the same thing.
He suffered rejection,
John 1:11-
11. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.
He suffered Poverty-
2 Cor. 8:9-
9. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.
He suffered pain-
1 Pet. 2:21-
21. who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
and He suffered death-
John 19:30-
30. So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!’’ And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.
. In fact, the goal of giving Himself as our sacrifice was His whole purpose in coming to this world in the first place,
Luke 19:10
10. "for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.’’
Mark 10:45
45. "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.’’
John 18:37.
37. Pilate therefore said to Him, "Are You a king then?’’ Jesus answered, "You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.’’
(Ill. When the bread and the juice are passed around in a little while; stop to remember what Jesus did for you. We are here to commemorate His sufferings and His sacrifices for us!)
II. IT IS A TIME OF CELEBRATION
(Ill. Just as much as the Lord’s Supper service is a commemoration; it is also a celebration! The word Celebrate means, “to mark a special occasion or day by ceremonies or festivities.” It comes from a Latin word that means “To attend a feast.” That is what we are here to do today! We are here to attend a feast celebrating what Jesus did for us! There should be a heart of thankfulness, happiness and joy within every saved person today because of Who Jesus is and what Jesus has done! Here is what we celebrate.)
A. We Celebrate His Compassion – Notice the words “for you” in verse 24. These words remind us that Jesus did what He did and suffered what He did all because He loved us,
John 3:16-
16. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
17. "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
John 15:13
13. "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.
He had no sin of His Own to die for,
2 Corinthians 5:21-
21. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
1 Peter 2:24-
24. who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness by whose stripes you were healed.
but He willingly took our sins upon Himself that we might be delivered from our sins and from the penalty of our sins. What love that Jesus Christ; the sinless Lamb of God would give Himself for you and me! But, He did,
Romans 5:6-8-
6. For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
7. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.
8. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
B. We Celebrate His Conquest – What is not mentioned in these verses, but what is clearly implied, is the fact that Jesus Christ rose from the dead after His death on the cross, v. 26! You see, anyone could have died; but only the God-man could have paid for sins through His death and then guaranteed eternal life by rising again from the dead,
John 11:25-26-
25. Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.
26. "And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?’’
But, that is just what Jesus did,
Matthew. 28:1-6
1. Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.
2. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it.
3. His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow.
4. And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.
5. But the angel answered and said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.
6. "He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
Romans 5:10-
10. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
Thank God, because He lives, all those who believe in Him will live also,
Revelation 1:18-
18. "I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.
1 Corinthians 15:20-
20. But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
C. We Celebrate His Coming – We are clearly told that when we observe the Lord’s Supper, we are telling this world that we believe Jesus is coming again, v. 26. That is His promise to us,
John 14:1-3-
1. "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.
2. "In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
3. "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.
That promise was reaffirmed by Paul in
1 Thessalonians. 4:13-18-
13. But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.
14. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.
15. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.
16. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
17. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
18. Therefore comfort one another with these words.
It was also reaffirmed by Jesus Himself in the closing words of the Bible,
Revelation. 22:20-
20. He who testifies to these things says, "Surely I am coming quickly.’’ Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
He is coming and that is a truth we can celebrate with joy today!
III. IT IS A TIME OF CONTEMPLATION
(Ill. The Lord’s Supper service is a time for commemoration and celebration; but it is also a time for contemplation. That word means, “to think about something seriously and at length.” When I think of what Jesus suffered for me, I want to worship Him. When I think of all the things we are here to celebrate, I want to shout His praises. But, when I understand the message of verses 27-32; I understand that the Lord’s Supper is also a very serious time. It is a time for us to reflect upon the condition of our lives so that we can be sure we are where we need to be with the Lord, before we participate in the service.)
A. We Must Contemplate Our Salvation – In spite of all their sins and failures, Paul is writing to saved people in this chapter. When Paul uses the words “us” and “we”, he is talking about himself and his fellow believers. He is giving details of a celebration, a commemoration that is for believers only!
Some people practice what is called "Closed Communion.” This means that the church only allows those who are members of that church and who are in good standing with that church to participate in the Lord’s Supper. Others practice what is called "Open Communion". In those kinds of churches, everyone who is present is encouraged to participate in the observance of the Lord’s Supper.
What I have always believed and practiced is what is known as "Close Communion". In other words, everyone who is present is invited to participate; but only after they have been warned of the consequences of partaking in the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner. Since neither you nor I know anyone’s heart, each person is urged to practice self-examination and then they can participate if they choose to. In other words, only those who are in close communion with the Lord are encouraged to participate.
So, we are glad you are here today, but if you are lost, then you should let the bread and cup pass you by. Or, you should come to Jesus and be saved right now, so that you can be made worthy to participate in this great time of celebration.
B. We Must Contemplate Our Sanctification – Notice verse 27. There is a word in that verse that bothers me. It is the word “unworthily.” We are told that if we take of this bread and this cup “unworthily”; we bring God’s wrath upon our lives by not reverencing the Lord’s body. In fact, the phrase “not discerning the Lord’s body,” has the idea of treating Jesus like the mocking and jeering crowds did at His crucifixion. It means that we treat His broken body and His shed blood as if they were nothing!
The Lord is telling us to “examine” our own lives. We need to be sure that we are clean, before we come to His table. When we partake of His table with an unclean heart, we need to be aware that there will be a price to pay.
1. Some are sick because of it – verse 30a
2. Some are dead because of it – verse 30b
3. All will be chastened because of it – verse 32
What are we to do? The answer is in verse 31! We are to examine ourselves and bring our sins to His altar in confession and repentance,
1 John 1:9-
9. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
When we do that, we can expect His forgiveness. When we do not, we can expect His chastisement!
Is it that serious? Yes it is! In fact, it is so serious that I would say to you that if you have sin in your life and you do not plan to confess it and deal with in this altar; then you should let the bread and the juice pass you by!
Conclusion:
We are almost ready to come to the Lord’s Supper table. We are almost ready to commemorate and celebrate our wonderful Savior’s life, His death, His resurrection and His return. But, before we do, we need to have a time of contemplation.
I am going to extend a challenge to you today to examine your heart. I want you to look deep within yourself and see just where you stand with the Lord. Here is what I want you to ask yourself:
1. Am I really saved? Is Jesus my Savior? Am I sure?
2. Am I clean before Him today? Have all of my sins been confessed and brought out into the open? Can I take the Lord’s Supper with a worthy heart?
3. Am I ready to partake of the Lord’s Supper with a focused heart? Are my thoughts centered on Jesus, His worship and what He has done in my life? Am I ready to do this in remembrance of Him?
If there are needs, this altar is the place to bring them today! Let’s get ready to meet Him at His table this morning!
