2005-05-08 Communion Dedication - Baldwin Christian Church
1 Corinthians 11:23-34
23. For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread:
24. And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.
25. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.
26. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.
Galatians 6:3 For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.
When we sit at the Lord's Supper, we do this in remembrance of Jesus. God is not mocked. If we drink and eat to be seen of men, we're planting weeds. If we drink and eat without preferring one another, God will give us reward meet for our selfishness. If there are divisions among us, then we're not sitting at His table. He is not divided.
27. Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.
28. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.
29. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.
30. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.
31. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
When the prophet Jonah proclaimed the coming judgment of God in the city of Nineveh, they believed God (Jonah 3). They fasted and put on sackcloth. The rulers ordered this, and also that the whole city should cry mightily unto God, every one turning from their evil ways in hopes that God would not destroy them. They judged themselves, God saw their works, and His wrath was not poured out on them.
32. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.
33. Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another.
34. And if any man hunger, let him eat at home; that ye come not together unto condemnation. And the rest will I set in order when I come.
In fellowship at this table, all our pride should be wearing sackcloth and covered in ashes. As Job finally confessed to the LORD (Job 42), "I know that You can do everything, and no thought can be withheld from You. I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear: but now my eye sees You. That's why I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes."
As we remember Him together, let's renew our relationship with Him, and let's renew our relationship with each other. As we "shew the Lord's death till He come", let it not be with outward discomfort, as with sackcloth and ashes, but let it be with the discomfort of inward examination. Let it be without hypocrisy, but with a broken and contrite hearts: hearts covered in sackcloth and ashes, mourning for our part in the crucifixion. If we're seeking Him, He has promised that we will find Him, and if we find Him, we have found grace. His grace changes our ashes into beauty.