The Power of the Lord's Supper [Part 1]

Pastor, author and Bible teacher Alan Wright.

If this text remains the way we parted the interpretive. It means you better watch out when you take communion because God is sitting there ready to strike calamity upon you for taking this very holy thing and not not examining yourself well enough to get all your sent out for you to serve if that's what it means that I would contend there's not one shred of good news in this for a whole new light excited for you to hear the teaching today. In the series that we called the top 10 per pastor out is presented with the church in North Carolina in the first 10 years of Pascarella and radio broadcast.

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I hear that you come together as a church, but there are divisions among you, and to some extent, I believe it. Imagine that divisions in the church. What a shock.

No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God's approval when you come together. It is not the Lord's supper you need for as you see each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else.

One remains hungry. Another gets drunk that you have homes to eat and drink in our you did do you despise the Church of God and humiliate those who have nothing watch Sadie a shot praise you for this. Certainly not for I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you. The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed took bread, and we had given thanks, he broke it and said this is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me. In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, this cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me, for whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes in. Normally, over the last 20 years, I stop reading at this point and they are not, read on. But today I dare to do so. Verse 27 therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.

A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup for anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many among you are weak and sick in a number of you have fallen asleep. Now the way we have normally and her normally heard of this text interpreted through all the sermons I've heard for most my life is essentially this when you get ready to take communion, you better take a detailed, thorough, painful look inside yourself and make sure that you painstakingly confess every sin that you could possibly think of.

You do not want take communion.

An unworthy condition. If you have not repented of every sin, even one little sand that you left out, especially if there's any unforgiveness that's left in your heart. Then you'll violate the holiness of communion and in so doing you will bring judgment upon yourself and God will perhaps make you weak or make you sick, or for some it would even kill you, and that's basically it may not have input quite that directly, but that is basically what has been interpreted which goes far to explain why most evangelical and charismatic churches only celebrate communion four times a year. Why take a chance. I mean after all, the word doesn't tell us how many times a year we have to celebrate communion if you got a go through all that and run the risk of weakness, sickness or death. Why not do it less often.

It also goes far to explain why most evangelical and charismatic churches will sing and dance and shout. Clap and sing shout to the Lord and let God arise.

His enemies be scattered in way manners and income to communion and sing. Let all mortal flesh keep silent are tone turns very somber when we come to communion, which conveys something about what we think about what is taking place. I I don't believe that the interpretation that if you take communion and unworthy way means that God will make you weak, sick or tell you could be true because quite honestly, if that were actually the case would have to hire extra paramedics on Sunday morning all across the county, the emergency room would be full and those poor liturgical churches that have communion every week that have nobody left by this time if this text means the way it we've heard it to be interpretive. It means you better watch out when you take communion because God is sitting there ready to strike calamity upon you for taking this very holy thing and not not examining yourself well enough to get all your sin out before you do so if that's what it means, then I would contend there's not one shred of good news in this text, but if there's one thing I know about the word of God and the new covenant is in every single page, and every word is goodness.

Let's find out what this means. Lord absolutely capture our thoughts and awaken our spirits to a revelation of your power, your goodness your grace and your longing to heal and restore and let there be an anointing that is here in this room and this place today to heal, transform and quicken life and these are mortal frames. In Jesus name I pray, amen. This is do a Bible study here together the way that I would go in a text like this is the first thing is I make sure that I'm not going to take it out of its context. Most people read their Bible more like a proof texting take a little verse here. Are there and is like taking an idea that you have and then you give it a verse in the Bible to back up what your idea is. And that's what we call proof texting is your your take in the text and you're trying to prove something that you already believe about the tax and is not a very good way to read the Bible because it in the first place. You can make the Bible say anything you want to, you could be like a preacher who was afraid of flying in a sitting there trembling on the planes can read take off and out one of his parishioners turns and says, but Pastor said that in the Bible say that God is with you always, and he said no, that's not exactly what the Bible says about us is low time with you always say that is proof texting.

That's not that's not what it means and and we can take Bible verses you give me an idea and I've studied this book long enough I could probably pull out a verse and backup your idea.

No matter what it is, the devil himself used texts from the Bible to tempt Jesus and so you can pull out a verse out of its context, and wind up having churches that are handling snakes and drinking poison you could do some of the stupidest things imaginable. If you read the Bible is a series of proof text that you can pluck out of its context. Anytime that you like that is not the way to read this book so you have to*who was Paul writing to and why was he writing this and in this case is very easy understand the Paul writing to the Corinthian church, and if you read throughout the two letters to the church at Corinth, you realize that Paul was having to correct basically access in their worship life and the excess in their worship life was stemming from the fact that they had interpreted their freedom in the spirit and their giftedness in the spirit as a means of personal sailfish expression and what Paul is having to always correct the Corinthians about is the selfishness with which they have embraced the work of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is in come into your life just to make you be a star prophet. In fact, he said you guys are all prophesied at the same time a nearby's prophesy is in hearing anything in the vine being edified. Just let two or three. Give The Encouraging Word decently in order to bring some kind of order. This because the blessing that the Holy Spirit wants to release is not being released because of the way that you are so disorderly and you're just in the and you're just being salvation about right will have more teaching moment. Today's important series finale might ministries for quite some time. Every one of his messages. Cass hadn't really hit home, and special rates in gratitude of more than a symbol of the most powerful messages each year.

The first time I put into gathering. One special album when you make a gift to Alan might ministries. This night we went to Alan Wright's top 10 CD album digital down there. You ready for some good news your gifting to discover God's grace afresh with Alan Wright's top 10. The first decade the gospel is shared when you get to Alan might ministries. This broadcast is only possible because of listener financial support. When you get today. We will send you a special offer. We are happy to send this to you as I thanks from Alan might ministries, seven 877-544-4860 877-544-4861 come to our website Pastor out and lick today's teaching now continues you once again is Alan running and what Paul is having to always correct the Corinthians about is the selfishness with which they have embraced the work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is in come into your life just to make you be a star prophet. In fact, he said you guys are all prophesied at the same time a nearby's prophesy is in hearing anything in the vine being edified. Just let two or three. Give The Encouraging Word decently in order to bring some kind of order.

This because the blessing the Holy Spirit wants to release is not being released because of the way that you are so disorderly and you're just in the end you're just being selfish about it is self Leslie said you got. I have love because what love does is it thinks about the needs in the interests of others, not just your own. He's always having to say that he said I don't care if you speak with the tongues of angels. If you don't have a lot. You're just a clanging symbol is the kind of thing at say to the church in car, they, they, they, and they were missing something being about what the work of Jesus does in you work in Jesus is meant to unify you and bring you into a corporate sense of faith, and well-being, where each looks after not only his own interest, but the interest of others and carers deeply about the one who is hurting, and about the stranger that's in your minutes and it's is not about just you what they they were celebrating the Lord's supper in the context of an agape feast of love feast and they were using that as an opportunity and their characteristic way to just common be all about me and my desires and and and become a very fleshly thing and so people were coming and some would uses opportunity to their filled filled her belly full of food and and others were coming to get drunk and and and nobody is is aware that with all of these divisions and the way you're doing this and you're missing the whole anointing power of the Lord's supper. So that's the context he sees it will be very foolish. Of course for us to take this verse and ends and pluck this outing here. Whoever eats the Bradleys a cop and unworthy man is guilty of sinning is about a blood clot that out of the context without understanding what Paul is trying to convey is a deeper message about the work of grace that is perceived when people dwell together in unity and in love now that part of the message applies directly to us and we experience don't wait a sweetness and a power where there is unity and there's a lot and that we can relate to, but we we we would be foolish in our reading of the Scripture. If we tried to relate to the other part of the context in which he was addressing because I hate to disappoint him. But if you have come here today hungry to get your belly filled your mom be terribly dissatisfied with the little crackers.

They are little crackers.

Any and if you took the entire amount of crackers out of the tray that comes your way, you will still be hungry. You will have to get you some lunch at Golden corral because this is not wrong for you to pin your belly and I hate to disappoint you. If you have, hoping to get a buzz off of the juice. It comes around. It's just great Jews and you only get one and 1/2 ounces so it's not our problem that people are running up here trying to to to come to the buffet and get their belly filled is not our problem that some I think it is an opportunity to get drunk and that make any sense to us understand the context in which the passage is, and then after I make sure I'm not proof texting the thing and understand its immediate context, take your text into the larger story that is the Bible. If you view your Bible primarily as a series of proof texts or principles that are one after the other and their disjointed from each other.

You miss the primary significance of the word of God because the word of God is an amazing compilation of the writings of different authors who were all equally inspired of the Holy Spirit then compiled under obviously sovereign grace somehow of the Lord such that when you get this book is an amazing story.

This one big story. It's a thousand different little stories but it all points to the same and in it are all interwoven to me that would be one of the most fascinating and intriguing things I could ever investigate about Christianity.

If I would just investigate is how could this book be so well woven together, but it is it is one story and it is all pointing in one direction toward one person, Jesus Christ. So the New Testament said of the Old Testament that in the old. There were examples and types and shadows of what was to come, and what came was the reality that is in Jesus Christ, so I'll understand that I carry this basic understanding about the Bible. That is one big story. And so I can find on each page. What part of the big story is this.

This is a little story about something that was going on, incarnate but where does it fit in with the great big story about what God was doing to redeem the world and and so then I started getting excited say I will try to figure that out. Well, this one's pretty easy because what happens here is that you know that the Lord's supper is the New Testament.

The New Testament version and a sense of what the Old Testament shadow of the Passover was and so as soon as you have that basic information that this Lord's supper was instituted by Jesus on the night of Passover, then it makes you go okay let me remember the Passover and so you go back to Exodus turn there with me. The second book in your Bible and you remember the Passover. The Passover is the last accompanies the last of the plagues against Egypt, God had been sending plagues against Egypt in order to convince Pharaoh to let God's people go, but Pharaoh's heart was hardened. He was stubborn and he did not let the people go. And so now it is come to the last plague, which is the plague on the firstborn, the plague on the firstborn would be to strike down all the firstborn in Egypt but God had made a provision for his own people that would come to be known as the Passover. This is Exodus chapter 11 verse six. There will be loud wailing throughout Egypt. Worse, there's ever been, ever will be again. But among the Israelites, not a dog will bark at any man or animal then you will know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel. In other words, there is going to be loud wailing and destruction against evil, but amongst my people. There's going to be a strange piece and verse 12.

Describe chapter 12 describes it. Verse three. Tell the whole community of Israel that on the 10th day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household verse five the animals you choose must be a year-year-old males without defect. You may take them from the sheep or the goat take care of them until the 14th day of the month when all the people of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. Then there to take some of the blind and put on the sides and the tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the land. Verse 12. On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn, both men and animals, and I will bring judgment. All the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord pause here to say that is you read Passover, which again is a shadow that will point towards Christ who is commemorated in the Lord's supper in the new covenant that, in the shadow of all that is fulfilled in Christ. What you can't miss. In reading the story of the Passover is that there is no emphasis on the worthiness of the Hebrew people. There's no mention of their righteousness. There is no mention of them having any merit of their own in order to receive this salvation and this protection but instead the entire emphasis of the story is on. I the Lord. I am the Lord.

I will pass through Egypt. I will bring judgment on the God I am the Lord. I will do this thing and what you read. That is so astounding in the story of the Passover is that the righteousness of the people had nothing to do with it. It was only the sovereign grace of the Lord and one sign right. Today's teaching of the power of the Lord's supper changing message of the radio finale might ministries for quite some time now used every one of his messages broadcast hadn't really hit home, and special rates in gratitude of more than we have assembled the most powerful messages each year. The first time I put into gathering. One special album when you make a gift to Alan might ministries this night we went to Alan Wright's top 10 CD album digital download. Are you ready for some good news your gifting to discover God's grace afresh with Alan Wright's top 10. The first decade the gospel is shared when you get to Alan might ministries, seven 877-544-4860 877-544-4861 come to our website past Rowan.like I wanted to bookmark your of the power of the Lord's supper.

I'm reminded a couple of messages back. We were talk about mercy, not sacrifice if you found in your time as a pastor that is so many sometimes to see the Lord's supper is almost like a sacrifice.

It's almost like something that they do to earn favor with God.

I do Dana, I recognize that for a lot of our listeners. Today's message may seem very radical and it might even seem like it's violating something you hold very dear to speak of. This way, but I would really looking at is a deep dig into the Scriptures. Sometimes I think we did have to go and say wait a minute. If the Scripture is really saying that you gotta watch out how you take communion because we don't do it just right. Then you have somehow brought punishment upon yourself then you know much of this. Why risk it right and in fact of the matter, what were showing is that being in the Lord's supper is the ultimate expression of grace and so I know that it if it's changing your if you're really wrestling with a good think through this deeply.

I know a lot of people for whom communion may become something altogether more beautiful and powerful things for listening today.

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