Theme: The Lord’s Supper is a memorial service that demands self-examination.
The purpose of the message today is to help prepare our hearts for the Lord’s Supper, which we will be observing immediately after this morning’s service.
Today, I would like to focus our attention on two things clearly stated in the passage before us which will help us to have the right perspective on the observance of the Lord’s Supper.
- The Memorial in the Service (Vs 24-26)
- The Self-Examination in the Lord’s Supper (Vs 27-34)
I. The Memorial in the Lord’s Supper (Vs 24-26)
- The remembrance of the Lord’s death (Vs 24-25)
a. Remember the love of God – He Sent His Son (John 3:16a)
i. We are all sinners in need of salvation. We need to be rescued from our sin and restored to a right relationship with God.
– Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”
ii. We are born into the world with a natural bent toward sin. By the time we learn to talk we have already begun to show our rebellious sin nature, and it is our sin that has separated us from God.
– Hab 1:13a “Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity:”
iii. Unless we find a way to obtain forgiveness of and freedom from sin, we will face the wrath of the God who cannot look upon sin, and we will be separated from his presence for all eternity.
– Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
– Revelation 21:8 “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”
iv. God’s love for the world is so great that it led him to send his only Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, into the world to rescue mankind from sin and the wrath of God.
– John 3:18 “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
– Those who do not believe on the Lord Jesus Christ are already condemned to eternal separation from God in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone.
v. But God is not will that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
– Romans 5:8 “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
– John 3:17 “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”
b. Remember the mercy of God – He Forgave Our Sins (John 3:16b)
i. The mercy of God is show to us in his forgiveness of our sins and our salvation from judgement.
– Ephesians 2:4-5 “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)”
– God is rich in mercy. The mercy of God is shown when God doesn’t give us the punishment that we deserve. We deserve the wages of sin, but God has commended his mercy toward us by provided a way for us to have our sins forgiven through the Lord Jesus Christ.
c. Remember the grace of God – He Gave Us Life (John 3:16c)
i. Grace is when we receive what we don’t deserve.
– Ephesians 2:5-8 “Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:”
– If all God gave us was his mercy in keeping us from suffering eternal punishment we would have to say, “Praise God for His mercy”.
– But God has done so much more than that, because He has given us eternal life, He is preparing a home for us in heaven, he has made us His adopted children, and He has made us joint heirs with Christ so that we can say, “Praise god for His grace.”
d. When a loved one dies, we bury them in the ground and place a stone over the place where they have been laid.
i. Why do we do this? To remember our loved one. Often, the family we return to that place on a yearly basis to remember the life of the one who has died.
ii. In a similar fashion, the Lord’s Supper is a service that is held in memorial of our Loved One who died for us so that one day we might live with Him. - The remembrance of the Lord’s return (Vs 26)
a. The second thing we are told is that we are remember the Lord’s death until he comes again.
i. When we observe the Lord’s Supper, we don’t just remember that He died for us, we remember that He rose again and that He lives in heaven and is preparing to come back again.
ii. John 14:3 “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”
Revelation 22:20 “He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”
This memorial service demands that we examine our life and compare the condition of our heart and the pattern of our life with what our Lord expects of us.
II. The Self-Examination in the Lord’s Supper (Vs 27-34)
- The condition of the heart (Is your heart right with God?)
a. Allow God’s love for you, expressed boldly at Calvary, to draw your heart to God.
i. Following salvation, we have our fellowship with God restored, which means that we can now spend time communing with God through prayer and reading His Word.
– Hebrews 4:14 & 16 “Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”
– Since we know Christ is our High Priest in heaven we should be encouraged and emboldened to go into the presence of God through prayer and maintain a close relationship with Him there.
b. Our hearts desire should be to please God.
i. We have been saved from sin, so we should now desire to live free from sin. Not that we can be perfectly sinless in this life, but we should desire to have the victory over sin that our identification with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection affords us.
– Romans 6:6-7 “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin.”
– 1 Corinthians 6:19 “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” - The pattern of your life
a. Are you serving God in the way He has commanded you to? (Soul-winning?)
i. We have all been given the command to reach the world with the Gospel. This is the first and foremost duty of the Christian. If a local church or local Christians are not actively sharing the gospel in some way, then they are failing in their most basic duty to the One who died for them.
ii. The love of God, His mercy in forgiving our sins, and the power of the indwelling Spirit should keep us from ever coming to the place where we are content to be saved but never feel the need to share that with others.
b. Are you looking for ways to serve God’s people in the local church?
i. This is another way we can serve God, by being a help and a blessing to God’s people and by supporting the work of the ministry.
ii. For example, you may be physically unable to go with the outreach team and letterbox, but you should be supporting the team by prayer and exhortation.
c. Are you faithful in daily prayer and reading of His Word?
i. Meaningful prayer and attentive reading of the Word are essential for spiritual growth and cultivating a deeper relationship with God.
– It must be meaningful. I have found myself at times reading my Bible and my mind suddenly drifts onto something else. When that happens, I don’t just keep reading from where I had passively read up to. I go back and pick up from the point where my mind began to drift so that my reading is meaningful and intentional, not passive.
– Our prayers ought to be the same. If it’s early morning and you find your mind is drifting during your prayers, try standing up and walking around. Keep the blood pumping and keep your mind focused. The effectual “fervent” prayer of a righteous man availeth much, not the passive, repetitive, intellectually disengaged prayer.
d. Are you displaying the love of God to others?
i. Have you noticed that newly saved Christians tend to be much more excited about sharing their Saviour with others than those who have been Christians for many years? That’s because we let ourselves become “used to” the fact that God loves us and we stop being inspired by it.
ii. When the love of God grips your heart, you will want to share that love with others.
Conclusion:
- As we come to the Lord Supper this morning, it is a time to remember what Christ has done for us through his death, burial, and resurrection. And it is a time to remember that He is coming again for us, to take us to our eternal home.
- As you prepare your heart to receive the Lord Supper, is there sin in your life that you need to confess and seek God’s forgiveness for before you partake of the Supper?
- Are you allowing the love of God that changed you to flow out in testimony to others?