Matthew 17:14-21 "From Mountain to Valley"

Matthew 17:14-21 "From Mountain to Valley" Marc Transparenti / General The King's Road of Preparation / Matthew 17:14-21 Good Morning Calvary Chapel Lake City! • Parents you may dismiss your kids! • If you don't have a Bible... • As a reminder, we are gathering on Friday's at 7pm for "Campfire Worship"...please join us as we gather for prayer, worship and fellowship. • Today, we are having communion, followed by our Fellowship Lunch! I hope you can join us. • If you are new to Calvary Chapel...I'm Pastor Marc, welcome! • Welcome Card! --------------------------------------------------------------- Please turn in your Bibles to Matthew 17, we are covering verses 14-21 today. The last couple weeks we looked at the Transfiguration and the conversation down the mountain after the Transfiguration. Peter, James, and John saw Jesus, Moses, and Elijah in glory. And the Father spoke from heaven, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!" A marvelous scene that Jesus instructs them to keep to themselves, until after the resurrection. Coming down the mountain, the disciples sought clarity on what they observed (namely Jesus and Elijah) compared to what was written in God's word (Mal 4:5-6 that we discussed last week)...how did it all fit together? • And, I love that Jesus...that God stoops to our level to answer our questions and field our confusion. You can take all your questions and confusion to God because He hears you. Today, we are looking at when they fully come off the mountaintop...Luke 9:37 records this is the "next day, when they had come down from the mountain." It's very difficult to say where the setting is...possibly still in the region of Caesarea Philippi. • Now, if you have ever had a spiritual mountaintop experience, you know that trials often greet you coming down the mountain. And, Jesus and the disciples, here in Matthew 17 are greeted with the remaining nine disciples disputing with scribes and a demon possessed boy that they can't heal because of unbelief. Conflict, unbelief, demon affliction...from mountain high to valley low...and some interesting responses from Jesus...let's take a look... The title of today's message is, "From Mountain To Valley." Let's Pray! Matt 17:14-15 "And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, 15 "Lord, have mercy on my son ["his only son" according to Luke], for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. [Luke also tells us, "...a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out; it convulses him so that he foams at the mouth; and it departs from him with great difficulty, bruising him." So, this is beyond physical affliction...the core issue is demonic possession]. 1. This account appears in all three Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), and all three synoptics place this account immediately following The Transfiguration. 2. So, the following day off the mountain, Jesus comes to His remaining Nine disciples and Mark 9:14-15 tells us "And when He came to the disciples, He saw a great multitude [huge crowd] around them, and scribes disputing with them. 15 Immediately, when they saw Him, all the people were greatly amazed, and running to Him, greeted Him." a. This scene reminds me of a High School fight scene...where everyone is gathered around to watch the two people fighting. I witnessed a few of those fights in high school...I was in 2 of those fights in middle school, but surprisingly never in High School. i. I did have several crowds circling around me in High School, but that was at the High School dances because I was a dancer...and a good dancer I might add......in fact Dan Mattio and I won the Dance Competition for our High School Band Dance Marathon...bet you don't have that on your resume? It's very prestigious. b. So, the disciples are disputing with the scribes and a huge crowd is gathered around them until they see Jesus, to whom the crowd was "greatly amazed" or "overwhelmed with wonder." Very interesting response from the crowd...and we don't have the details as to why they responded this way... i. Was there an afterglow following the Transfiguration? Most likely not since Jesus told the disciples "Tell the vision to no one." An afterglow would be a dead give away. ii. This crowd could have run to Jesus based on His great timing of arriving during this dispute and the desperate need of the father with the demon possessed boy. iii. Or, they could have run to Jesus because of His reputation. Since this crowd is friendly...most likely this is one of those crowds who want to raise Jesus as their political Messiah. At this point in the Gospels, we have seen enough not to trust the motivation of the multitudes. 1. The crowds typically want something from Jesus...healings...multiply loaves and fish...to save them from Roman oppression, but none of these are His primary mission... 2. He is Jesus...the Redeemer of Mankind...come to die so we may live...come to be the sinless sacrifice to propitiate God's wrath on sin...conquering death and rising from the dead as the first fruit of all who believe in Him. 3. And, when Jesus told His inner 3 disciples, "Tell the vision to no one..." He may have been protecting His mission from this very crowd of people who were "greatly amazed, and running to Him, [greeting] Him." c. Now, contrast this crowd with the father of sick child. Luke records he implores or begs Jesus addressing Him as "teacher." Matthew records this father kneels down before Jesus and calls Him "Lord." Only Matthew records this detail, and this is the how the crowds should have greeted Jesus...with a posture of worship and submission to Him as Lord/Master...even to call Jesus teacher is an attitude of honor and submission, but Lord is most appropriate. i. Interesting that Matthew, who writes to the Jews, includes this detail. This should have been the response of the nation as a whole...they should have knelt before Jesus and called Him Lord. ii. I hope that as we read this today, that your heart attitude is one of worship and submission before Jesus...not just "what can you do for me Jesus?" 1. There are still multitudes of people today, who still only view Jesus as the multitude did...heal me, feed me, rescue me...me, me, me... 2. And, requests are fine, but not fine if there is an absent heart attitude of worship and submission to Jesus...presenting one's body as a living sacrifice...our reasonable service... Rom 12:1 ... a. Or, as we sang earlier "Take my life and let it be consecrated to Thee...Take my will and make it Thine, it shall be no longer mine...Here am I, all of me, take my life, it's all for Thee... b. When you live life with an attitude of worship and service to the King, you are living properly. He's not your "what have you done for me lately" God. That's up-side-down theology. c. Too many people come to churches with a check list of I want to get this, this, this and this...church has become commercialized. The correct attitude is I want to give my time, my talents, my tithe, and so forth. d. Remember what Jesus said regarding our needs...Matt 6:33 "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." d. Because Jesus is a loving God, because He is compassionate...Jesus gives the man...this father what he asks for... in V15 he asks for mercy... which by def. could be a legal term meaning "leniency and compassion shown toward offenders by a person or agency of authority." i. In that day and time, to have an affliction was the mark of a curse...seemingly a judgment by God. What had this man been told, in error, by other people? That he was a sinner? That his son's affliction was the result of his sin? Mis-perceptions of man are not the heart of God. ii. Even the disciples had this same flawed thinking as we see in John 9:1-3 "Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. 2 And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" 3 Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him." 1. The blind man's plight was not God's retribution on an offense, but an opportunity to build faith. And, if the most challenging things in your life bring you to faith...going through that bad experience is good from an eternal perspective. 2. Addiction led me to believe in God...Mormonism led to a re-direction where my former Mormon Uncle, now born-again, led me to salvation...alcoholism led me to the Baptism of the Holy Spirit...3 bad things led to 3 great results as I yielded to God. Some of the worst experiences in our lives can bring us closer to God. 3. The blind man in John 9, would ultimately confess, "Lord, I believe!" And he worshiped Jesus. And, the father of this demon possessed boy, will also confess "Lord, I believe, help my unbelief." The bad things in these men's lives led them to a confession of faith. 4. And, if a trial comes your way that brings you closer to God...as difficult as the trial is...the end result is good. 3. The father of this boy is desperate and heartbroken for his son... a. Luke records he begged Jesus saying, "Teacher, I implore You, look on my son, for he is my only child." b. This detail is significant because this was his heir. This is the son who would carry the family name. If this man was married, the son would be the one to care for the mom when the Dad passed...which was a huge deal in that culture. i. Women and children did not have the same rights that they do today...rights influenced by Jesus...with the love and equality He models and teaches in the gospels towards women and children. c. The son's affliction is deeper than Matthew's "epileptic" description...Mark and Luke tell us the root of the issue is a spirit the seizes him and causes him to be mute. The boy is demon possessed. i. Demons are not friends to mankind. They serve satan and they intend to harm mankind and intend to lead mankind to deny God and spend eternity separated from God. ii. To this boy there were many physical symptoms of harm: 1. Epilepsy- the Gk. word by def. means "moon-struck." Thayer's definition notes epilepsy was "supposed to return and increase with the increase of the moon." a. The KJV of the bible substitutes the word "epilepsy" for "lunatick" which is probably the better translation. The word "lunatic" comes from the Latin word "luna" meaning moon; "tic" meaning a "distinctive and habitual feature of a person's behavior." i. In the 1st through 4th centuries, it was thought the full light of the moon effected sleep and with sleep depravity came insanity for individuals susceptible to mental illness. ii. In the late 1300's the word gained ground in the English language as it was believed phases of the moon caused periodic insanity. The gravitational pull of the moon has been linked with high and low tides, and some believe the moon effects the brain...others deny this. And, research seems to be all over the place. But, anecdotally, talk to police officers or mental institution workers and they will tell you there is a increase in wild behaviors during a full moon. So, who knows? 2. But, this moon-struck boy in Matthew suffered from epilepsy...he would seize...foam at the mouth...gnash his teeth...and become rigid. a. Mark records from childhood the demon would often throw the child "into the fire and into the water to destroy him." Destroy by def. means "to utterly destroy or to kill." i. The demon maliciously attempted to harm and even kill the child. The boy was reported to have "bruises." Similarly, the demoniac in Gadara was "cutting himself with stones" and known to be violent. Demons are not your friends...they want to harm you. b. The spirit was also causing the boy to be mute [according to Mark] actually "deaf and mute"...when Jesus rebukes the spirit, Jesus called him a "Deaf and dumb spirit"...the boy could neither hear nor speak.... i. ....which was a particular nuisance for Jewish Exorcist because a key technique they employed was an interview to find out what was motivating the evil spirit and especially to learn the name of the demon. It was thought by getting the name, the exorcist could use the demon's name to overpower it through a series of intense and invasive ceremonies involving threats and rebukes. But, how do you interview and learn the name of a spirit when the host cannot hear nor speak? Quite challenging. 3. Before we go on...just so there is no confusion... I want to emphasize that if you are saved through faith in Jesus Christ, you cannot be demon possessed. If you didn't know that already...it's important to understand because some Christians today live in fear of demon possession. a. The believer can be oppressed by demons...they can bother us, but not in-dwell us...not possess us because God's Holy Spirit in-dwells us. i. And, 1 Jn 4:4 declares, "He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world." Demons are in the world, they are not in you. ii. Eph 1:13 affirms, "having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit..." iii. As does, 2 Cor 1:22 He "...has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee." iv. 1 Cor 3:16 states, "Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?" God is not going to share His temple with demons because... v. 2 Cor 6:14-15 "...what communion has light with darkness? 15 And what accord has Christ with Belial?" NONE! vi. God will have nothing to do with sharing space with demons. As a believer, you are secure from demon possession. b. But, beyond demon oppression and possession...if you are in this world (which I think 100% us are?)...most people, saved or unsaved, have at least been influenced by Satan. i. In the previous chapter, Jesus rebuked Peter, "Get behind Me Satan!" ii. 1 Jn 2:16...Satan's toolbox... "For all that is in the world-the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life-is not of the Father but is of the world." At some point you fell to one of these temptations...well maybe not you, but surely people at other churches... iii. But, while we were once living under that influence, we have been saved out of that lifestyle. And, Eph 2:1-10 declares this...and it such a great passage that I have to read you all 10 verses... (and if you don't say "Amen" when I'm finished...then no dessert for you at our fellowship lunch). 1. Eph 2:1-10 "And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once [not anymore] conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. [That gets me excited for eternity!] 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." Amen? iv. Who you once were before Christ is not who you are anymore now that God dwells in you...therefore consider and live out Eph 5:8 "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light..." 1. You are no longer darkness, so live out who you are... a child of light... 2. 1 Pet 2:9 "...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..." 3. For all that God has done... protects us from... and the promises to become...walk as children of light. 4. Verses 16-18... The father of this boy asks for mercy for his son... And, tells Jesus... Matt 17:16-18 "So I brought him to Your disciples [Luke tells us the father "implored"...he begged...the disciples], but they could not cure him." 17 Then Jesus answered and said, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me." [Luke records, "And as he was still coming, the demon threw him down and convulsed him." The demon was not going without a fight.] 18 And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour." 1. Remember, that in this scene the remaining nine disciples who did not travel to the Mount of Transfiguration were disputing with the scribes, and when Jesus asked the scribes, "What are you discussing with them?" [them being the disciples], the father chimes in that he brought his son to the disciples and they could not cure him. a. In response, Jesus says, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me." i. It seems that Jesus is addressing the disciples primarily, but this rebuke easily could extend to the scribes and whole nation as a whole. ii. This scene reminds me of when Moses came down off the mountain, and found the nation worshipping a golden calf. Now Jesus comes down off the mountain and finds failure in His disciples as well. iii. This saying "faithless and perverse generation" is reminiscent of Moses' song in Deut 32 where he titles the nation "A perverse and crooked generation" in V5 and again in V20 states "For they are a perverse generation, Children in whom is no faith." b. "Faithless and perverse"...by definition... "unbelieving and distorted or twisted." i. The disciples should not have strayed from belief that Jesus could heal. We are not told what causes them to stray, but they lack faith and their thinking becomes twisted... ii. And, this is surprising...seemingly disappointing to Jesus as He rebukes them for this failure. 1. D.A. Carson gives a great insight...he says, "The rhetorical questions-"How long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you?"-express not only personal disappointment but also Jesus' consciousness of his heavenly origin and destiny." Great insight. 2. This failure, which is just one of many for the disciples, is especially surprising because previously, in Matt 10, Jesus sent these very men on their first missionary journey and we read Matt 10:1 "And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease." a. In the Parallel account, we read the result, Mark 6:13 "And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them." iii. So, this wasn't the disciples first rodeo with casting out demons...they cast out many demons in the past. So, what now causes them to be "faithless and perverse?" Unbelieving and twisted? 1. Did they begin to trust in themselves?...and not Jesus? Did they have faith that they had the power to heal by their faith... this is what modern "faith healers" teach... "if you just have enough faith..." That's faith in faith...that's twisted...that's perverse. a. The Sons of Sceva could not exorcise a demon because they had no relationship with Jesus. They went toe to toe with a demon in Acts 19, and in V15 we read, "...the evil spirit answered and said, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?" Then the demon beat them until they were naked and ran out of the house. b. You must have a relationship with Jesus and your faith must be in Jesus and not distorted upon anything else. Were the disciples over confident in their own abilities, and got their eyes off Jesus?...who always must be the object of our faith. 2. Was it something else? Was this demon especially troublesome? Perhaps they had not encountered a demon quite this hideous before? a. In V21 Jesus will say, "this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting." b. This kind...this kind that causes a boy to be mute and deaf...this kind that can only be exorcised by a person who is denying their flesh through fasting and pressing into the spirit through prayer...this kind of demon is seemingly in a different league then the disciples have ever faced. i. And, there does seem to be rank, almost like military rank, amongst angels and demons. ii. So, perhaps a high ranking demon coupled by the nine remaining disciples being in a weak place spiritually and the result is they were ineffective. The father begged them to heal his only son, and they could not. They are fortunate they were not beaten until they were naked. iii. You never know when you are going to encounter the most severe of spiritual challenges...the disciples were not prepared...will you be? iv. Are you denying the flesh fasting from things that draw you into the flesh (food, drink, relationships, technology, pleasure, money...do you fast from these?)...and do you press into the spirit through prayer? 1. If you do not...if this is not your lifestyle... how will you stand when faced with the most severe of spiritual challenges? This failure of the disciples does not need to be our failure. We can learn from their mistakes. 2. This father of this boy... since his childhood has been walking on eggshells...essentially on suicide watch... being that this demon would seize him and throw him in fire and water to destroy him. a. How many times has this father rescued his son from perishing in fire and water? How often has this father held the head of his child as he was seizing and thrashing about? How could the father ever leave his child? Were there ever moments of normalcy? b. This man's hope is crushed...he comes to Jesus not even sure that Jesus can heal... i. Mark 9:22-24 records this dad asking Jesus, "But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us." ["If you can do anything Jesus..." This father is so crushed and weakened... "faithless and perverse." Of course Jesus can help them.] 1. The father of the boy says, "If you can do anything" and Jesus comes right back at him... V23 "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes." 24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!" 2. The father is pierced to the soul, and honestly confesses He believes, but struggles in doubt...help me! a. And, Jesus does...just as in Matt 14:30-31, when Peter walked on water, and we read, "But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!" 31 And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" b. Fear and doubt are the destroyers of faith. Taking your eyes off Jesus... and onto the world and circumstances around you...will twist, distort, perverse your believing to unbelieving. c. Peter doubted on the Sea of Galilee, the father doubted being so shattered from years of demonic abuse, and the nine disciples doubted when faced this demon as well. 3. Yet, Jesus...full of compassion...full of mercy stretches out His hand to all of them. He rebukes their doubt and then builds them up. I love that Jesus breaks them down and then builds them up. a. For the father of this child, this begins with challenging his unbelief and then healing his child. i. As the father surrenders his child to Jesus...Jesus does not heal the epilepsy, but He rebukes the demon...Jesus had authority over the demon and it came out of the boy...the boy was cured. ii. We read in Mark 9:25-27 "When Jesus saw that the people came running together [an opportune moment to build faith for this whole "faithless and perverse generation"], He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, "Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!" 26 Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him. And he became as one dead, so that many said, "He is dead." 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose." iii. Matthew says, "...the child was cured from that very hour." iv. And, I love this detail in Luke... Jesus "healed the child, and gave him back to his father." 1. This family was restored...the son is healed and I imagine the faith of the father was restored. 3. And, now in VSS 19-21, Jesus will break down and build up the defeated disciples... Matt 17:19-21 "Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not cast it out?" 20 So Jesus said to them, "Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. 21 However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting." 1. The failure of the disciples was public...they could not heal the child... a dispute with the scribes ensued... and the crowd gathered around them. a. But, now they come to Jesus privately...and I imagine they are a bit embarrassed. Typically following a spiritual failure and fleshly display, we feel convicted and embarrassed and that is the right time to approach Jesus privately in humble repentance...the disciples do the right thing by going to the Lord. i. 1 John 1:9 instructs, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Go to Jesus when you fail...He will forgive and build you up. b. The disciples seek to understand their failure and ask Jesus, "Why could we not cast it out?" They were "faithless and perverse" ...unbelieving and twisted... and Jesus tells them straight their failure was, "Because of your unbelief." c. Then, Jesus builds them up that even small faith...little faith...so long as it is placed in Jesus, can result in huge miracles. i. The mustard seed was the smallest of known seeds in that society, and even tiny faith like that seed, could result in atypical results. 1. The idea of "faith that moves mountains" has been hijacked and twisted to represent our great faith. Faith in faith is wrong. a. True faith that moves mountains is when even the smallest amount of faith is placed in the biggest source...Jesus...the "Lord of lords and King of kings." b. Faith place is Jesus is not twisted or perverse...it can move mountains. 2. Jesus uses a similar illustration in Luke 17:6 "So the Lord said, "If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,' and it would obey you." a. And in Matt 21:20-22 when Jesus cursed the fig tree, which represented unbelieving Israel, we read, "20 And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, "How did the fig tree wither away so soon?" 21 So Jesus answered and said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' it will be done. 22 And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive."' i. Jesus was able to curse the fig tree because it was in the Father's will. Moving mountains and mulberry trees was not in the Father's will and Jesus never did this...nor has any faith healer historically...despite their great faith. b. There is balance...our prayers must be grounded in faith in God...not fear and doubt, but our prayer must also be according to God's will and we see this balance in James' writings: i. James 1:6 "But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind." Ask in faith. ii. James 4:3 shows motivations of prayer..."You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures." iii. And, in James 4:15, James highlights the importance of being in alignment with God's will... "If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that." 1. Our prayers and our very lives need to be centered and in harmony with the Lord's will. Ask to receive, but do not ask selfishly...that's asking amiss. What would be the purpose of moving a literal mountain? That's a selfish prayer. c. Once the disciples got back into harmony with God...Jesus said "nothing will be impossible for you." i. To the father of the child, who prayed "Lord I believe, help my unbelief." Jesus honored this prayer that was in alignment with the Father's will and encouraged him "...all things are possible to him who believes." ii. In close, Jesus said in V21, "However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting." 1. A reminder for you and I that we must be living a lifestyle of fasting (whereby we are not given over to the flesh...do not feed the flesh)... and prayer (press into and feed the spirit)... a. ...so that when the most severe of life's spiritual challenges surprise you... when "that kind" of trial hits...you do not fear and doubt, but you triumph in faith. "The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much." Amen? Let's Pray! Communion Reading: 1 Cor 11:23-29 "...the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, "Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me." 25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me." 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes. 27 Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body." Please distribute the elements... As the communion elements are being distributed, please take a moment to praise Jesus...remembering His broken body and shed blood for you on the cross. And, examine yourself...take communion in a worthy manner. Is there anything you need to confess privately to God and ask forgiveness for? Once you have prayed, go ahead and take the communion elements, when you are ready. Our worship team will play one worship song, and then close us in prayer. ---------------------------------------------- If you are not saved, if you have never confessed Jesus is your Lord, you have a couple options, either let the cup pass and do not partake in communion -or- the better option... accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior today. Pray to God and tell Him you believe in Jesus and accept Him as your Lord and Savior, and then take communion. If you pray that prayer today, if today is your day of salvation, tell us that great news afterwards. Page . Exported from Logos Bible Software, 5:29 PM July 31, 2021.