When we come to the Lord’s table, we need to take a fourfold look.
1. WE LOOK BACK – Paul mentions in 1 Cor. 11:26 that by partaking of the Lord’s Supper “you proclaim the Lord’s death”.
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First, we look back to the cross. We are reminded of our Lord’s sacrifice; how He gave himself unselfishly and completely, for the atonement of our sins. The marvelous thing about this is that He did this "while we were still sinners". Our Lord did what he did for all mankind without exception.
2. WE LOOK WITHIN - Paul says in 1 Cor. 11:28 “A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup.”
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So the second look is to the present or within — here and now. We look at ourselves: what do we see? What are we doing with our lives? How are we living? Are we striving for holiness? Do we put Jesus first in our lives – are we totally committed to Him. Let us truly examine ourselves, look deep into our hearts. God wants us to acknowledge our sins and humbly ask for forgiveness.
Self-evaluation was what the apostle Paul called for in 1 Corinthians 11. Believers in Christ need to judge themselves, he said, to avoid being judged by the Lord as unfit for His service. So Paul said, in effect, “Look at yourselves. What a mess! If you don’t get your lives straightened out, the Lord will have to do it for you.”
3. WE LOOK AROUND - “Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf.” (1 COR 10:17)
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The third look is to the brothers and sisters around us – we give thanks to God for our Christian family. No man is an island, we need one another.
Proverbs 27:17:
“As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.”
4. WE LOOK AHEAD - “until he comes” (1 COR 11:26)
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The fourth look is to the future. Are we looking forward to the time when He will come again and we will have Communion with our Lord in His kingdom? Are we looking forward to His coming with joy or with fear?
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Someone once asked Dwight L. Moody, "If you knew the Lord would return tonight, how would you spend the rest of the day?" Mr. Moody replied without hesitation, "I wouldn’t do anything different than I do every day."
How wonderful if we all could say that! Then we could, with confidence, pray, "Come, Lord Jesus!" (Revelation 22:20). ***
SERVE BREAD AND CUP
TAKE BREAD
I read from Matthew 26: 26 - 26 “And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”
TAKE CUP
“Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you.”
Jesus finished by saying, “ For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. 29 But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”
