Come to the Table
Notes
Transcript
A little girl asked her mother, “Mommy, why do you cut the ends off the meat before you cook it?”
The girl’s mother told her that she thought it added to the flavor by allowing the meat to better absorb the spices, but perhaps she should ask her grandmother since she always did it that way.
So, the little girl found her grandmother and asked, “Grandma, why do you and Mommy cut the ends of the meat off before you cook it?”
Her grandmother thought a moment and answered, “I think it allows the meat to stay tender because it soaks up the juices better, but why don’t you ask your Nana? After all, I learned from her, and she always did it that way.”
The little girl was getting a little frustrated, but climbed up in her great-grandmother’s lap and asked, “Nana, why do you cut the ends off the meat before you cook it?” Nana answered, “I had to; my cooking pot wasn’t big enough.”
We do a lot of things in life, and seldom stop to ask why. We develop habits and traditions, and if we’re not careful, we can forget why we do certain things...
Often, we lose the real significance of why we do certain things such as partaking of the Lord’s Supper.
The Apostle Paul was writing to the church in Corinth. The church would hold a “love feast” or fellowship meal in conjunction with the Lord’s Supper. The rich would come with food and wine and would eat and drink while the poor would have very little.
Jesus is calling us to His table, but it needs to be done in a certain way, and the people of Corinth, were misusing it and here we have Paul setting them straight.
1 Corinthians 11:23-34,
23 For I received from the Lord what 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 also he 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.
27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. 31 But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.
33 So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another— 34 if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home—so that when you come together it will not be for judgment. About the other things I will give directions when I come.
This morning, I want to talk about what this table is, that Jesus is calling us to. First, it is a table of obedience.
Verses 24 and 25 both state, “Do this in remembrance of me.”
Jesus links obedience to His commands as a sign or proof of the genuine love of His followers.
All of us as parents know that our children will obey us for many different reasons.
Whether they have obeyed to get something they really wanted, because they were afraid of the punishment, or simply out of love.
Let me ask you a question: Why Do You Obey Jesus?
• Do you obey Jesus because you are looking forward to the reward of heaven?
• Do you obey Jesus because you are afraid of being punished?
• Do you obey Christ’s commands because you have no other choice; is it a self-imposed self-righteousness like the Pharisees?
• Do you obey Jesus simply because you love Him?
We should be here because we want to be-- but we are also here because Jesus has commanded us to come!
This is a table of remembrance.
Verses 24 and 25 state, “Do this in remembrance of me.” This means much more than just recalling the death of Christ.
It means to actively stir up one’s mind and to actively meditate upon the person of Jesus Christ.
What should we truly reflect on and remember?
1. He wants us to remember the cross as the ultimate demonstration of His love for undeserving, self-centered sinners. Remember how He suffered and died for every person in this world. How He paid the price for you and me!
2. He wants us to remember that following him means being identified with him.
It means taking up a cross,
suffering as he suffered,
forgiving as he forgave,
loving as he loved,
and dying to self as he died.
3. He wants us to remember His life..
a perfect life in every way,
a perfect example in every way.
We are to be like Him and imitate His life.
4. He wants us to remember the words that He taught.
His teachings were against the sinful philosophy of an unregenerate world.
He taught us to be holy.
He taught us how to love your enemies.
He taught us how to forgive.
5. He wants us to remember His promise that He was to come again.
Table of Thanksgiving.
Still with verse 24, “He gave thanks.”
When growing up, I was taught that when given something, you don’t act like you were entitled to it, or take it and just walk away. I was taught to say “Thank-you.”
There are believers that wake up every morning, and don’t say a word.
God puts clothes on your back, and we don’t say a word.
God puts food on your table, and we don’t say a word.
God puts a roof over our head, and we don’t say a word.
And on and on it goes.
Thanks to Calvary. All that I am, all that I have or ever will have, or all that I will ever be I owe to Him.
Thanks to Calvary: I'm Not The Man I Used To Be.
I’m thankful for my salvation, our church family, and the blessings that God showers upon us each and every day.
With Jesus we have so much for which to be thankful for!
His Love, His Mercy & Grace, His Death & Resurrection
Table of Expectation.
Verse 26 says, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”
The expression “the Lord’s death” represents the whole of Christ’s saving ministry on behalf of the church: his life, death, resurrection, and ascension.
And Jesus is setting the expectation, until he comes. Jesus is promising that He will return.
We are waiting on the risen Savior and each time we take communion, we are affirming the fact that we serve a risen savior, and He will return.
Table of Self-examination.
verse 28 says, “Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup.”
There are events in our lives that cause us to take a good look at ourselves.
The death of a close friend or loved one, especially if death comes in an accident or at a young age, tends to make us stop and recall life and look deep inside our souls.
Who has had to do self evaluations for work. Take the time to give yourself a rating on how you did over the past year, and then justify it. I have a co-worker that said, “Well, if I am going to give myself an evaluation, of course I’m going to give myself the highest rating.” Me on the other hand, have always evaluated myself lower than my manager. I really dislike self-evals.
The word of God say’s that you are to judge yourself!
That is precisely what the Bible teaches us to do every time that we participate in the Lord’s Supper.
We are to examine our relationship with God!
We are to examine ourselves to be sure we are not living in sin or carrying some known and un-confessed sin in our hearts. Who better than you for this. You Know What’s Inside!
Table of Confession
1 John 1:8-10,
8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
We are certainly not to participate in the Lord's Supper if we are living in known sin.
Very frankly, having sin within one's heart and life is what is meant by partaking unworthily.
Look at what John is saying in verse 9!
If we confess our sins. . . not if we hide our sins.
If we confess our sins. . . not if we pretend we have none.
If we confess our sins. . . not if we insist that no one can tell us what to do.
If we confess our sins. . . not if we are blind to them.
If we confess our sins. . . that is when we find forgiveness, and not until.
Certainly, if we eat the bread and drink the cup with un-confessed sin in our hearts and lives, how can we be counted worthy?
We have no righteousness of our own, so the only conceivable time we could be counted worthy would be when we are walking in constant fellowship with Him.
Table of Unity
Paul saw division which was wrong.
Participation in the Lord's Supper identifies us as a worshipper of the Lord (1 Cor. 10:16-17).
16 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.
In Christ we are one.
When we partake of the cup and the bread, we declare that we worship the Lord...
Jesus, the night before the cross, prayed to the Father... John 17:20-23,
20 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.
Jesus knew that the church could never make an impact upon the world that He wanted unless the world could see a oneness, a unity in the church. Without that oneness it would be hopeless.
Consequences for taking communion in an unworthy manner.
They were judged instead of blessed.
Verse 29, For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgement on himself.
The way the church in Corinth handled their feasts and communion were for the worse, not for the better (v17). If our hearts are not right, whatever should be a blessing becomes a curse.
2. They were chastened.
Verse 30, “That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.” God allowed sickness and death to come to the Corinthian church because it was partaking of the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner. Paul never said we must be worthy to eat at the Lord’s Table, because nobody would be able to participate. But, even though we are not worthy, it does not mean we cannot participate in a worthy manner by understanding what the Supper means: having a hear free from sin; being filled with love for Christ and His people; being willing to obey His Word. If our hearts are not right, God has to chasten or correct us to bring us to the place of blessing.
Verses 33-34 basically gives us a time of renouncing our selfishness
Having remembered the death of the Lord, and examined themselves, Paul told the Corinthians to begin behaving like Christians should. This is diametrically opposed to the behaviors described in verses 17-22. Caring for one another. Focusing not on what you get out of it, but about the body and its health.
One of my favorite songs by Zach Williams is To the Table and I want to share some of the lyrics with you.
Hear the voice of love that's calling
There's a chair that waits for you
And a Friend who understands
Everything you're going through
But you keep standing at a distance
In the shadow of your shame
There's a light of hope that's shining
Won't you come and take your place?
And bring it all to the table
There's nothing He ain't seen before
For all your sin, all your sorrow, and your sadness
There's a Savior and He calls
Bring it all to the table
He can see the weight you carry
The fears that hold your heart
But through the cross you've been forgiven
You're accepted as you are
So bring it all to the table
There's nothing He ain't seen before
For all your trials, all your worries, and your burdens
There's a Savior and He calls
Bring it all to the table
As the Deacons are coming forward this morning, just remember, Christ is calling you to the table. If you have accepted Christ as your savior, and confessed your sins, you have been forgiven. He is calling to you. We need to take this time, as a reflection on what Jesus did for us on that cross. He committed no sin, but suffered on that cross, taking our punishment to the grave. Jesus conquered death and rose from the grave and sits at the right hand of God.