Sermon Central
-
Worldwide Communion: Persisting To The End
Contributed by William Baeta on Nov 28, 2017 (message contributor)
Summary: “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for his good pleasure.” (Phil. 2:12-
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?
