Holy Communon

Opening Scripture

1 Corinthians 11:23–26 (NASB 2020):

23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night when He was betrayed, took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same way He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.

Communion Scripture

Luke 5:29–32 (NASB 2020):

29 And Levi gave a big reception for Him in his house; and there was a large crowd of tax collectors and other people who were reclining at the table with them. 30 The Pharisees and their scribes began grumbling to His disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with the tax collectors and sinners?” 31 And Jesus answered and said to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous to repentance, but sinners.”

Sermon

Today, I hope to help us see that God gave us Holy Communion as a wonderful gift to welcome and enjoy the presence of Jesus. As I prepared, I came across a story from a missionary serving on islands in the South Pacific. This island had been cannibals when the missionary arrived, but many were beginning to give their hearts to Jesus. The missionary described their first communion:

For years we had toiled and prayed and taught for this. At the moment when I put the bread and wine into those dark hands, once stained with the blood of cannibalism but now stretched out to receive and partake the emblems and seals of the Redeemer’s love, I had a foretaste of the joy of glory that well-nigh broke my heart to pieces. I shall never taste a deeper bliss till I gaze on the glorified face of Jesus himself. (John G. Paton, Ch. LXXIII)

May we stretch out our hands to receive and enjoy the bread and the cup, thanking Jesus for His wonderful presence among us. We must do three things to fully experience Jesus’ work in communion today:

Obey Jesus

1 Corinthians 11:24–25 (NASB 2020):

“This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same way He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

Acts 5:29 (NASB 2020):

But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.

Communion must first be from our hearts desiring to fellowship with Jesus. Have you ever had a meal with someone because you felt you had to do it? Perhaps you invited a friend or a family member to your home so you wouldn’t hurt their feelings, but your heart wasn’t in it. You would rather be with someone else or eat alone.

2. Prepare our hearts

1 Corinthians 11:27–29 (NASB 2020):

27 Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy way, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. 28 But a person must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For the one who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not properly recognize the body.

Have you ever been excited because someone special was coming to dinner? How did you prepare? Did you work hard to get everything ready?

Luke 10:40 (NASB 2020):

But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do the serving by myself? Then tell her to help me.”

Martha was working hard, for Jesus wasn’t alone; He had many disciples with Him!

Luke 10:41–42 (NASB 2020):

41 But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; 42 but only one thing is necessary; for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”

Who was more prepared in their hearts for the meal with Jesus?

an unworthy way

What does this mean? Aren’t we all unworthy? Does this mean we can only have the meal with Jesus if we are perfect? No!

But a person must examine himself…

Examination Questions:

Am I looking for the presence of Jesus?

Am I open to what He may want to say to me during communion?

Am I willing to change, if He speaks to my heart?

1 Corinthians 11:30–32 (NASB 2020):

30 For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number are asleep. 31 But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world.

The more our hearts are prepared before communion, the more we can enjoy His presence. However, He will still discipline us if necessary because of His great love for us.

3. Celebrate with joyful gratitude.

Luke 5:27–32 (NASB 2020):

27 After that He went out and looked at a tax collector named Levi sitting in the tax office, and He said to him, “Follow Me.” 28 And he left everything behind, and got up and began following Him.

29 And Levi gave a big reception for Him in his house; and there was a large crowd of tax collectors and other people who were reclining at the table with them. 30 The Pharisees and their scribes began grumbling to His disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with the tax collectors and sinners?” 31 And Jesus answered and said to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous to repentance, but sinners.”

I love this story because Levi (Matthew) wasn’t concerned about what people thought. He was an outcast in his city. He grew up Jewish, but the Jews hated him, for he collected taxes for the Roman government. The Romans didn’t care about him because he was Jewish. Jesus love immediately began changing Matthew’s heart. That’s what Jesus’ love does!

So Matthew threw a big party, a banquet in Jesus’ honor. Who did he invite? His tax collector friends, probably some Roman officials, and maybe even a few religious Jews.

Who enjoyed this dinner with Jesus?

Who was ungrateful and failed to enjoy Jesus’ presence?

Which one will you be?

It was discovered at the end of World War II that a number of survivors in the concentration camps died when soldiers gave them things like biscuits or chocolate. Why? Because the prisoners had been starving for months and their bodies weren’t prepared to properly digest food. Doctors had to come who could take charge and gradually help their bodies naturally start taking nourishment.

There is a lesson from this. When we meet with Jesus at Holy Communion, He will give us what we need. He won’t give us more than we can handle. He won’t leave us spiritually starving. We must be careful, allowing Jesus to decide for each person. I can’t decide for you. You can’t decide for me. We can trust Jesus with this!