Compiled by: Herman Abrahams (Pastor), Cornerstone Faith Ministries, P.O. Box 740, Westridge 7802, Rep. of South Africa.
E-Mail: Mentorship2003@yahoo.co.uk
Note to the reader:
If you have been blessed with this sermon compilation, I would be honoured to receive an e-mail from you simply stating where in the world you are based; I do not need any other information. This is merely so that I can have the pleasure of giving thanks to Almighty God that all over the globe, the ministry which he has entrusted to me, is blessing the body of Christ and helping to extend the Kingdom of God.
Thank you.
Herman Abrahams,
Cape Town, South Africa.
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COMMUNION MEDITATION 5_THE FOURFOLD LOOK
(1 Cor 11:23-32; 1 Cor 10:16-17)
1 Cor 11:23-32
23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
27 Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28 A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. 31 But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment. 32 When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world. (NIV)
1 Cor 10:16-17
16 Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf.
When we come to the Lord’s table, we need to take a fourfold look.
1. WE LOOK BACK - “you proclaim the Lord’s death” (1 COR 11:26)
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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" (Romans 5:8). It has been said, "It is easy to love the lovable, but so hard to love the unlovely." Our Lord did what he did for all mankind without exception.
2. WE LOOK WITHIN - “A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup.” (1 COR 11:28)
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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 toHim. Let us truly examine ourselves, look deep into our hearts (1 Corinthians 11:28, 29). God wants us to acknowledge our sins and humbly ask for forgiveness.
ILLUSTRATION - Self Evaluation
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State employment officials in Tucson, Arizona, posted an interesting sign over a full-length mirror. Directed to all job hunters, it read, “Would you hire this person?” In another office a mirror and sign posed this question: “Are you ready for a job?”
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. In the Corinthian church, the “appearance problem” was especially serious. Those Christians “looked” awful. They were actually getting drunk and quarreling among themselves while going through the motions of celebrating the Lord’s Supper. 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.” Then the apostle added the sobering fact that God had already begun to cleanse the church by sending some of them to an early grave. This is a hard truth, but one the church still needs to hear today.
Our Daily Bread, January 9, 1994
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.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
9 Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: 10 If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! 11 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? 12 Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
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? (Matthew 26:29; 1 Corinthians 11:26). Are we looking forward to His coming with joy or with fear?
ILLUSTRATION
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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." (As quoted by Chlo Lillie in AT HIS TABLE – Standard Publishing Company)
How wonderful if we all could say that! Then we could, with confidence, pray, "Come, Lord Jesus!" (Revelation 22:20). ***
