Introduction:
We greet you all in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it”. (Psalm 118:24) Let us rejoice and thank the Lord for His institution of the Holy Communion and His revelations on the importance of becoming a believer and “persisting to the end”. Many people today believe that going to Church, becoming a member of a Church, paying of tithes and giving offerings makes one a believer. They believe that these are some of the many ways to God. They try to apply physical things to spiritual ones and because the world says there are many roads to Rome, they believe there must also be many ways to God. They would rather believe what the world teaches than what Christ teaches and Christ clearly declares “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) There may be many ways to Jesus Christ but there is only one way to the Father and that is through Jesus Christ who became a man and paid the price for our redemption.
Step One: The believer is a new creation
a) All have sinned
Jesus Christ died to make the believer a new creation by giving them a new spirit. God created man a spirit. We are spiritual beings, we possess a soul, and we live in a body. When Adam yielded to sin, his spirit died and all of us have inherited Adams dead spirit for in Adam “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23).
b) Christ paid the penalty for sin
Christ died in our place to pay the penalty for sin “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord”. (Rom 6:23) Christ died to give us a new spirit for “God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”. (John 3:17)
c) We are saved by grace
Sin led to death but “God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life”. (John 3:16) God gives us a new spirit to become a new creation not because of anything we have done but because of what Christ has done for “By grace are we saved through faith, and that not of ourselves, it is the gift of God”. (Eph. 2:8)
Illustration:
The sacrifice of Christ has made it possible for God to create a new spirit in us for “As in Adam all die, even so in Christ all will be made alive”. (1Co 15:22) We are made alive with a new spirit that is holy and blameless. Our new spirit needs to be holy and blameless for the Holy Spirit to come and live in. As a new creation we are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. Spiritually we are made whole but our soul, our thinking, our emotions and our will remains the same and it is up to us to renew our minds with the Word of God so that our soul and body can be aligned with our spirit.
Application:
Jesus Christ has fully paid the price for us to be made righteous and become children of God. He took our place and bore the full judgement of God on sin so that we could take His place and live His life.
Step Two: The believer has a new life
a) It must conform to a new mindset
The believer as a new creation cannot continue with his/her old life. He has received a new spirit and must renew his/her mind to lead a new life. The mind is renewed by continually hearing the Word of God until one’s actions are in accordance with what the Word of God declares.
b) A renewed mind overcomes fleshly desires
A person’s fleshly desires can only be overcome with a renewed mind. The flesh is a way of thinking that is contrary to the Word of God and leads to an ungodly way of life.
c) A renewed mind is the mind of Christ
The renewed mind is a way of thinking that conforms with the Word of God and leads to a godly way of life. It is having the same mind with Christ and submitting to His authority. It leads to a life of humility, love, selflessness, and concern for those in need.
Illustration:
Repentance is to change the course of his life, from acting contrary to the will of God to conforming to the will of God. The parable of the two sons reveals that both of them needed repentance. The first son, initially refused to obey his father but later repented and carried out his father’s will. The second son, agreed to do the will of his father but failed to do so. The first son represents the wicked and rebellious who repent and carry out the Fathers will. The second son represents the self-righteous who are interested in impressing others and see no need for repentance. The second son is a picture of the religious leaders who publicly give the impression of obeying God but do not carry out his commands. A self-righteous person may convince many people that they are righteous and close to God but they cannot deceive God. If this parable is making you feel uneasy today, it is because you are making the same mistake the second son made. Are you behaving like him? Are you self-righteous and giving the impression that you are close to Christ? Do you attend Church regularly, take part in bible study, pay your tithes and give offerings just to make a good impression and impress others and yet refuse to obey God?
Application:
Let us be honest with ourselves and discover the truth about ourselves. Are you like the first son who repented and carried out the Fathers will? Or are you like the second son who is self-righteous and sees no need for repentance or for the grace of God?
Step Three: The believer persists to the end
a) We must keep our focus on Christ
The believer is immediately targeted by the enemy but can persist to the end by keeping his/her focus on Christ. The moment we take our focus off Christ our focus will be directed to someone else or something else. When Peter took his focus off Christ while walking on the water his focus was directed to the waves and he began to sink.
b) We must keep our focus on His promises
To persist to the end, we must keep our focus on the promises of Christ. He has promised to “never leave or forsake us” (Heb. 15:5) no matter the situation we find ourselves in. We should not allow fear to dominate our lives but believe His promise “that even though we walk through the valley of death He is with us”. (Psalm 23:4)
c) We must keep our focus on His provisions
We must keep our focus on His provisions if we are to persist to the end. We must focus on the truth that God has met all our needs in Christ Jesus. Just as Christ focused on the provisions of His Father so also are we to focus on His provisions. “Has He not set a table before us in the presence of our enemies?” (Psalm 23:5)
Illustration:
The moment we lose our focus on Christ and on His promises and provisions we will find ourselves depending on self to meet our needs. The believer can only persist to the end by “looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith”. We must follow His example “who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God”. Heb. 12:2) The Holy Communion keeps our focus on Christ and on His provisions. It reminds us of the high price Christ paid for our salvation. It reminds us that Christ’s body was broken that we might be made whole and that because of His shed blood we have a righteous standing with God because our past, present and future sins have been forgiven.
Application:
Let us take hold of the provisions of the New Covenant as we partake of the Holy Communion on this special day. The body of Christ was broken that our bodies might be healed.
Conclusion:
We can presume to have a relationship with God that we do not have and deceive our friends but it is impossible to deceive God. Just as the Jewish religious leaders presumed they had a relationship with God because of their position, so many Church members today are presuming on a relationship with Him on the basis of Church membership. Church membership cannot guarantee our entrance into heaven. Only our relationship with Christ can do that. It is only a relationship with Christ that can enable us live a righteous and holy life. Do you have a relationship with God or are you presuming you have a relationship with Him? Are you so engrossed with the world that you have no time for the things of God?
Personal Response:
God is a loving Father who will accept and welcome all those who truly repent and come to Him. Let us value the sacrifice of Christ and take hold of His provisions and so fulfil the words of John in 1 John 4:17 that “as he is so also are we in this world”. We are like Him because He lives in us so let us persist to the end to the praise and glory of Almighty God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen!
