Lords Supper 20230610

Welcome to the Lord’s Supper on this Winter’s morning. Today I am going to read primarily from Deuteronomy verse 7:9. This is in line with what I have been reading in the Old Testament.

Deut 7:9

6 “For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth. 7 The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; 8 but because the LORD loves you, and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers, the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.9 “Therefore know that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments;

Holy means set apart and He does not wish for us to go after the World or the things they represent. He is faithful to fulfill His promises. His redemption saves us from our sins and takes us out of bondage. He really showed the Israelites what He was capable after using Pharoah and passing over the Red Sea. He will provide mercy and to those that obey’s His word.

Ex 19:5-6 “Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.””

This is a conditional commandment. If they would obey, He would bless. Part of obedience includes what we are doing today - the Lord’s Supper. In this moment, we obey Him by taking the emblems, reminding ourselves why He came and to celebrate what He has done for us on the cross.

1 Pet 2:9 “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;”

No longer did God make His promises to Jews, only - he now offered Himself to us gentiles as well. We are God’s special people now. But again, we need to be faithful and obey Him. The new dispensation of God’s grace is available now to all who believe. We are His own special people. Jesus made this possible on the cross in that all who would believe in Him, repent and be baptised will be saved. The Jews forfeited its place as God’s people as they did not acknowledge Him as their Saviour in the form of a suffering servant. They did not recognise Him and are guilty of sending God to be cricified in the most gruesome attrocity in all history, reserved for wretched criminals. But even after Jesus rose in the resurrection, they did not believe Him to be God.

Deut 10:22 “Your fathers went down to Egypt with seventy persons, and now the Lord your God has made you as the stars of heaven in multitude.”

Jehovah’s desire for His people was summed up in the words “to fear … to walk … to love … to serve … to keep” (vv. 12, 13). All of God’s commandments were designed for their good

Luk 1:55 “As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and to his seed forever.””

THey magnified the Lord for His faithfulness to Israel in keeping the promises He had made to Abraham and to his seed.

Through the cross, this seed made through Abraham now applied to us and He is faithful to do this to all who believe. We are His possession and we remember Him through the Lord’s Supper because we are no longer of the darkness or the principalities of powers and wickedness that operates as Satan, the prince and ruler of this World. Because of the cross, we enter into His grace and no longer does Satan and His Kingdom rule over us. We are able to reconcile ourselves with Christ and move on in the life He has for us, partaking of the light and a New Kingdom with renewed purpose.

1 Cor 1:9 “God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Paul’s optimism concerning the Corinthians is based on the faithfulness of God who called them into the fellowship of His Son. He knows that since God had gone to such tremendous cost to make them sharers of the life of our Lord, He would never let them slip out of His hands. Indeed, God went to this tremendous cost by going to the cross. That is what we do in remembrance and celebration that Christ fulfilled all, won the victory over the Kingdom of darkness and set our hearts on true purpose with a faithful calling to pursue God for all eternity.

2 Thes 3:3 “But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one.”

Part of our protection is to be in remembrance of Jesus in the Lords Supper. That is why we take it - to remember we are in one accord with Jesus Christ our Lord, putting Him first before our lesson, to point our service to God almighty in the form of Jesus Christ.

2 Tim 2:13 “If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.”

God will carry us as CHristians if we are faithless. God has a plan for everyone and He will give people an opportunity to repent, be baptised and turn to Him in repentence when the timing is right.

Dan. 9:4 “And I prayed to the Lord my God, and made confession, and said, “O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments,”