"A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup."
1Cor11:28
God hates thoughtless religion. In Amos chapter 5 in verses 20-24 He says "I hate, I despise your religious feasts...away with the noise of your songs!" God is always looking to see who’s really worshipping. In Act 17:10-11 it says that the Bereans were more noble than the Thessalonions. God makes a distinction of worship. Abel’s sacrifice was acceptable to God, Cain’s was not. Worship is when the invisible part of man meets with God. In 1Cor 11: 28 and in 2Cor 13:5 it says that we should examine ourselves. Before you take the Lord’s supper, here are two areas you can examine.
1. CONFIDENCE
"Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may recieve mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."
Heb 4:16
Most people run from God. Especially when we have guilt. When we feel guilty we run to people that can sympathize with us. We don’t think God can. But the bible says that Jesus was tempted in every way, so he can sympathize with our weakness(Heb 4:15-15). How confident are you? What gives you confidence? Don’t tell me what you know the answer should be, ask yourself: What gives me confidence? Jesus’ suffering gives us confidence to approach God because he has been made a brother to us.
2. STRESS
"For the Lord himself will come down from heaven ...
And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words."
1Thess 4:16-18
I was watching an NBA ESPN Classic match-up from 1989. I remembereed watching the match many years ago. I remebered the excitement, the highs and lows but there was no stress because I knew the outcome of the match. My team won! So even at the lowest moment there was no fear, or anxiety because I knew the joyful outcome of the game. Would you be stressed out if you knew the joyful outcome of your life?
We all hate it when someone says "I’m sorry" but haven’t given any thought to what they are sorry about. God hates it when we "worship" but give no thought to our worship. When you take the Lord’s supper try examining these two areas of your life and give thought to your worship.
