Filled with Joy

Introduction

It is good to see everyone this morning.

If you notice there is a communion cup at your seat

Today is a special day because we are going to observe communion

If you are a born again believer in Jesus Christ then we ask you to join us today

You do not have to be a member of this church

But you must be a member of the kingdom of God

The Bible is a remarkable book

In the OT we find pictures or prophecies of the NT

One of those is the Passover meal that pictured the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus

Today we observe the Lord’s Supper which fulfilled Passover

When the exiles from Babylon finished the temple they celebrated with the Passover

It was very important for their relationship with God

The Lord’s Supper is very important for our relationship with God also.

Jesus said, “Do this in remembrance of Me”

This was not a one time thing Jesus did, but a continuing practice Jesus instituted

We should never think this is some ritual that Christians do

It has great significance and meaning and is one of the most special services we will have

One the greatest take aways from communion is leaving here with great joy

If we do this thing right we will leave here better than we came

If we do what the Word of God shows us today then we will be filled with joy

Four things that were true for the Jews that are still true for us today:

Ezra 6:19-22

The Passover marks New Beginnings

Verse 19 “The exiles observed the Passover on the fourteenth of the first month”

Passover

“Passover” is a sacrifice that was slaughtered on the 14th of the first month

It was then eaten that evening to bring in the 15th day of Nisan

It was held on this specific day because this is what the Word of God commanded (Ex 12:6)

It was a commemoration of the Exodus from Egypt

It was held to remind the Israelites that God delivered them from 400 years of slavery

The first month is not January like in our Gregorian calendar

The first month of the Hebrew calendar was Nisan

The temple was completed in Adar (the last month of the year)

The temple was dedicated and then Passover was held as the new year began

This was the first Passover that they had in over 70 years!

This was the first mention of Passover in Scripture in over 100 years

This Passover was celebrated 900 years after the actual event of Exodus from Egypt

And this Passover marks the new beginning from the second exodus from slavery

It was a celebration of New Beginnings for the people of God

The birth of the Israelite nation happened through passover

The people were freed from slavery

It marked the identity of the people of Israel

For the first time they were God’s chosen people

The Lord’s Supper (or Communion) fulfilled Passover.

We don’t kill a lamb at twilight because the Lamb of God fulfilled that

We don’t eat the body of an animal because it was the body of Jesus that we remember

We don’t follow the ceramonial aspects of Passover because Jesus fulfilled it

We partake of the bread and the wine to remember that Christ defeated death once and for all on the cross.

The Passover was a memorial that it was God who would continually provide for them and would one day completely deliver them from sin

We observe the Lord’s Supper to proclaim the second coming of Jesus Christ

Application:

When we take the Lord’s Supper we are remembering our New Beginning in Christ

2 Corinthians 5:17 NASB95

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

Life does not begin until one has been born again

The life we celebrate today is the brand new life in Jesus Christ

The hope we celebrate today is because Jesus has given us new life

As the Israelites look back at the deliverance from Egypt

And again they look back at their deliverance from Babylon

We look back at our deliverance from death to life

From darkness to light

From hopelessness to eternal life

From dead on our sins to life in Jesus Christ

To life in a God who says,

“My mercies are new every morning”

“When you pass through the waters I will be with you”

This morning we look back at the new life Christ has given us and remember our new beginning

And if God has not changed your life,

Then make today your new beginning

Make today you are rescued from slavery

Make today the day became a new creation

The Passover was a time of Purification

Verse 20 “For the priests and the Levites had purified themselves; all of them were ritually clean. And then they slaughtered the Passover lambs”

There was a spiritual preparation before the Passover could be observed.

The priests would use water and wash themselves before they slaughtered

Ex 29:4 “Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the doorway of the tent of meeting and wash them with water”

Num 8:7 “Thus you shall do to them, for their cleansing: sprinkle purifying water on them, and let them use a razor over their whole body and wash their clothes, and they will be clean”

Why would they wash before they slaughtered? (Verse 20)

What happens after you clean a deer?

Or a Hog?

You need to go take a bath.

This was not physical cleansing with water but a spiritual cleansing

The emphasis here is on the purification before the ceremony

It was symbolizing the cleansing of sin.

They washed themselves so they would be pure in the sight of God.

Application

There is a need for NT believers to be purified before we partake in Holy Communion.

We are not purified with water, but with the blood.

Our purification comes through repentance and forgiveness

That forgiveness comes through Jesus Christ

1 Corinthians 11:27 NASB95

Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord.

Before we partake today, we are going to have an invitation

This is going o be a time when we examine ourselves

Its a time of silent prayer

Its a time when we open our hearts before God and and allow Him to show us things that need to go

Its a time of purification before the Lord

I believe it makes the most difference in our lives

To drink from the cup in an unworthy manner, is to bring guilt upon ourselves

But Jesus did not come to condemn. but to forgive

And if there is sin in your life Jesus will forgive it today

Hebrews 10:22 NASB95

let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

Don’t harden your heart to Him

Don’t worry about what others are doing

You are only responsible for yourself

Be obedient to the voice of God today and let Him cleanse you

The Lord’s Supper brings a Oneness to God’s People

Verse 21 “Then the children of Israel who had returned from the captivity ate together with all who had separated themselves from the filth of the nations of the land in order to seek the Lord God of Israel”

NASB “The sons of Israel who returned from exile and all those who had separated themselves from the impurity of the nations of the land to join them, to seek the Lord God of Israel”

When the exiles come back from Babylon they brought with them something very important: a spiritual zeal.

There were Jews living in the land when they came back from exile

These were the ones who had escaped King Nebuchadnezzar

These were the ones who had forsaken the law of Moses and worshiped foreign gods

But when these exiles came back filled with zeal for God it drew the lost Jews back to obedience in God

Application:

Is your spiritual zeal for the things of God contagious?

Is your life drawing people to Christ?

Is your spiritual fire burning brighten enough for others to see?

Maybe it is you who have been in a spiritual wilderness

Maybe you have been separated from the Lord by sin and today God is reaching out to you to come back to him

This is what they did, they repented and came back.

they forsook what drew them away and gave their hearts to the Lord once again.

When people see you genuinely living for Jesus Christ it is contagious

It was the Passover festival that brought them all together as one people

One of the blessings of communion is the oneness it creates

1 Corinthians 10:16–17 NASB95

Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ? Since there is one bread, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one bread.

When we take the cup we are proclaming our common bond in the blood of Jesus.

When we take the bread, we are sharing in the broken body of Jesus.

Paul said: “We who are many are one body”

As we take communion today, we are brought back to the reality that we are all one

The blood of Jesus strips us down of all our worldly things

It takes away the economic differences

It takes away the color differences of our skin

It takes away all our positions in the world

It helps us to realize that nothing else matters in this life but the blood of Jesus Christ!

No one is any better than the other because we are all in desperate need of the grace of God

Apart from that grace we are all the same…hopeless

In that grace we are all the same: God’s chosen people

The Lord’s Supper brings unspeakable Joy

Verse 22 “And they observed the Feast of the Unleavened Bread seven days with joy, for the Lord had made them joyful”

The Feast of Unleavened Bread took place the very next day and lasted for 7 days.

It was closely connected to the Passover and the two festivals were celebrated together as one

It was a time of great joy for the people who experienced its truths

How did the Lord cause them to rejoice?

He turned the heart of the Assyrian king toward them

He encouraged them to finish the House of God

He provided all the resources they needed to do the will of God

He delivered them once again out of the bondage of slavery

When we take Communion it is a time of remembering what Jesus had done for us

He delivered us from the bondage of sin

He saved us from the hands of the enemy

He placed us in this house of God

He calls us to be a part of His plan

When we leave here today

Be encouraged

Be blessed

Remember the great things God has done for you personally

Whenever I get in a difficult time in my life, I can always find joy in remembering God’s goodness

I can always look back and see the hand of God and it fills me with joy

It reminds me that God is faithful

It reminds me that God has a plan for me

Joy is a byproduct of a real relationship with Jesus Christ.

Joy comes from the deep consciousness of God’s presence by His actions

Psalm 92:4 NASB95

For You, O Lord, have made me glad by what You have done, I will sing for joy at the works of Your hands.

Psalm 16:11 NASB95

You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.

Nehemiah would say later about these same people, “For the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Neh 8:10)

~PRAYER~

Invitation: A time of examining

The Lord’s Supper

Paul said, “For I recieved from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is my body, which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me”

Deacon Pray

Eat the bread

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

Deacon Pray

Drink the cup

Then he said, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes”

Close with singing a hymn “Amazing Grace”