2004-11-07 Communion Dedication - Baldwin Christian Church

Luke 22:14-20

14. And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him.
15. And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer:
16. For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God.
17. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves:
18. For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come.
19. And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.
20. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.

These verses expose flaws in the way my mind thinks.

Whenever I'm reading something or listening to someone speak, it seems that certain words and phrases will inevitably strike a chord in my mind. For some reason, when I hear them, in my "mind's eye" I suddenly see an image created by these "buzzwords" or "catchphrases." Political Science and Marketing professionals capitalize on this fact by carefully crafting words and phrases designed to flash influential and motivational images across the screen in my mind.

I point this out not to say Jesus used this tactic, but as a reminder that as Christians we need to be better listeners and better readers. If I allow myself to focus on a particular word or phrase, I can easily take things out of context, misinterpret them and be misled. It makes my mind lazy.

When you hear people give their reasons for not accepting the Bible as truth, or why they're reading "other books" that are based on the Bible, they will always point out one thing in the Bible that causes them to stumble. They were reading along, everything was hunky-dorey until.... BOOM! They run into a controversial saying, and what do they do? They put the Bible down, and they don't pick it back up. They throw out the whole message because they've focused on one particular point in the message.

Amidst all the controversy about the body and blood at the Lord's table (what they are and what they mean), two things stand out above everything else: First, Jesus gave the command to, "Do this in remembrance of me," and second, He announced a new covenant.

Every time I misrepresent Jesus, or rebel against Him, I've forgotten Him. Every time I look to myself before I look to Jesus, I've forgotten Him.

To do this in remembrance of Jesus, I must examine the difference He's made in my life, I should compare the difference between my life and His, and confessing my failings, I should ask the Lord to cleanse and equip me with a heart worthy of His coming kingdom. His sacrifice is what makes the difference possible. His blood was spilled so that you might apply it to your life.