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Pastor
Mike Mounts |
SUPPER IS
READY Introduction: It's I wouldn't trade those moments at the supper table
with my parents for anything in the world. If you've experienced such moments
with your family, I'm sure you could say the same thing. It's too bad when
today's families seldom, if ever, gather around the supper table. It has lost
its importance and significance. For the most part, because of our busy and
conflicting schedules (so we say), today's families actually eat in shifts! It's six-thirty, Sunday evening, But this is not just another meal. It's the Lord's
Supper instituted by Christ Himself intended for all Hiss family to attend.
In fact, attendance is not optional for the family. The family should
attend out of love, loyalty, and obedience to their Host - their Lord and
Savior, Jesus Christ. The early church saw its importance. The early
church viewed it with such a holy view that the Lord's Supper was regarded as
a time of renewed accountability, purity, and unity - so to eat in a worthy
manner. We quickly quote Hebrews 13:8, "Jesus Christ
is the same yesterday, today, and forever," but feel as if the
ordinances Christ instituted (Baptism, the Lord's Supper, the Washing of the
Saints' Feet), are now somewhat optional and less important for the church
today than in the early church. It appears that the Lord's Supper has become
less and less valued among believers. And what are some of the consequences? ·
There
is little or no accountability among believers ·
The
church's purity is jeopardized. ·
Her
unity is risked. But
as your pastor, it remains my joy and responsibility to teach and preach on
the ordinances of the gospel, their importance, and the need for every
believer to faithfully observe them. So, how does Jesus teach us to view His Supper?
Let's read 1 Corinthians 11:23-24. ******************************************* BEFORE SUPPER REPENT OF ANY KNOWN SIN Paul wrote in verse 28, "But let a man examine
himself." Before we partake of the Lord's Supper we should reach deep
into our hearts to recognize and repent of any know sin. Truth is, when there
is sin of any sort in our hearts, there cannot be genuine worship, especially
around the Lord's Table. RECONCILE WITH OTHERS In the Sermon On The Mount, Jesus mae it perfectly clear that before we seek to offer any
gift to the Lord we should first be reconciled to our brother, then we can
come and offer our gift to the Lord (Matthew 5:23-24). Worshiping the Lord by
partaking of His Supper is certainly a gift to Him. REALIGN OUR LIVES TO THE Before we can ever come to the Lord's Table, we
should make every effort to realign and readjust our lives to God's Word. DURING SUPPER REMEMBERING THE LORD (VV. 24-25) John MacArthur writes,
"The concept of remembering to the Hebrew mind meant more than simply
recalling something that happened in the past. It meat recapturing as much of
the reality and significance of a person or situation as possible in one's
conscious mind. Jesus was requesting that Christians ponder the meaning of
His life and death on their behalf. A person can participate in Communion,
but if his mind is a million miles away, he hasn't truly remembered the
Lord." RECOMMIT OURSELVES TO THE LORD ( REFOCUS ON THE Get things in proper perspective; the temporary
versus the eternal (Matt. REMEMBER HIS RETURN (1 Cor. When we partake of the Lord's Supper we should be
reminded of His return. And on that day we will partake with the Lord
Himself! Anticipating His return is also incentive for holy living (1John
3:1-3). RESPONSIBILITY OF EACH BELIEVER Each of us is responsible to the Lord and to one
another as we meet Him and one another at His table. Ron Owens writes,
"There is no other moment in the life of the church where members of the
family ought to feel closer to one another than when they are at the Lord's
Table, remembering his death." AFTER SUPPER REJOICING Matthew writes, "And when they had sung a hymn
(probably Psalms 113-118), they went out to the REVIVAL In his book, Return
To Worship, Ron Owens share the following story: "It was on "Many of them ha found refuge on the estate of
a wealthy Christian, Count Zinzendorf. They had come from many
different walks of life, with differing opinions and
ways of thinking. During the early years, 'harmony' would not have been the
most descriptive word for this gathering of believers. But then something
happened, and it began around the Lord's Table that Wednesday in 1727. "God had been dealing with them about their
self-will, self-love, judgmental spirits, and disobedience. As they gathered
around the table that day, they were overwhelmed with a sense of their own
unworthiness in light of all God had done for them. For what seemed to be the
first time, they saw the wounds their Lord had endured and the blood He had
shed for them. Count Zinzendorf went on to say that there was 'a sense of the
nearness of Christ' that came in a single moment to all assembled. "It is said that two of the member at work
approximately twenty miles away, though unaware that the meeting was being held,
became conscious of the same presence at the same moment. "In later years, Count Zinzendorf described it
as a time when they did not know whether they belonged to earth or had
already gone to heaven. Just as the early church had done, these believers
were soon to touch their world in a way that could be explained only in terms
of a revived people in the hands of their Lord. It would not be long before
they would begin a twenty-four hour prayer chain that would last for one
hundred years. These Moravian Brethren would reach out to continent after
continent, people after people, with the glorious news of the saving life of
Christ. "As you trace the hand of God during the
1700's into the 1800's, you see the lives of this simple, dedicated band of believers right in the middle of His activity. They were
insignificant in the eyes of the world, but mighty in the eyes of their Lord.
At one point, this Hernhut church that had been transformed around the Lord's
Table that day in August would have more missionaries on the fields of the
world than all other missions groups combined. "It is presumptuous to think a church that
faithfully and regularly examines itself and walks in obedience to God's Word
will experience God's blessing? Not at all, for such a church will be in a
position to be blessed. Such a church will minister in the power and boldness
of the same Spirit who filled and empowered the early church!" *************************************************************** Pastor Mike Mounts preached this sermon on |
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