Lord’s Supper: The Place of Grace

Thanks so much for joining us this weekend. I have a heavy, but I also think really hopeful and hope filled sermon to preach this weekend's magic and see about some of my friends here to join me and help me preach it just to clear a few things up before you start send some emails. One yes they are socially distant. These are family units that are together so there good number two as you can see we are going to take the Lord's supper together and I'm gonna go and tell you this is grape juice.

It's not wine okay and then each of these families that have their own piece of bread and so I would touch them.package for you. Let them open it up so everything's fine, so that all cleared up. Radio was doing, listen grown-up you could call me, let's say, a cultural Christian if you will.

What I mean by that is always in church every single Sunday. I believe that God loved me. I believe that Jesus died for me. I believe the Bible was God's inspired word.

I even believe in a God who heard me when I prayed that I could ask for forgiveness and he would give me forgiveness of my sins and the way this kind of religious belief played itself out week to week was that every Monday through Saturday. I kinda spent the week accumulating this list of sins. And so for me it was partying and drinking and pride in sleep around whatever and each night I would come to God. Let fly go to bed and I would ask for forgiveness from these sins, and then I just believe we are kinda good until the next day when I would fill up my proverbial whiteboard sins again that needed to be clear the next day and I was fine and good for kind of this day-to-day spiritual maintenance, but I firmly believed that on Sunday I needed to be in church to remain in God's good favors to remain on his good list you not believe that religion was something you were supposed to do in order to remain on God's good side, and all the good people they go to church every week right and so that's what I thought I needed to be a good person so I have this nightly check-in if you will, with God.

I had my weekly attendance. Check with God at church and the church. We had this occasional event that I would partake in that would make me feel really spiritual for a while and it was called communion. Taking communion of the church I grew up in it. When this big church like the summit church is this small church and we didn't take communion with these little dinky wafers. Now we we we took the real stuff okay we we had missed so-and-so antibiotic Rosie who thought it was her spiritual gift debate got loaves of bread just for communion and let me tell you that junk was legit like it was delicious. I can remember multiple times, going through communion.

We walk down the aisles took it dipped our bread. We came back.

I never look at my dad be like hey can we go get seconds would be on our way out of church I be looking for, the pop-up communion bread stand by some to take back home. You know that's kind of what how I grew up taking communion will fast-forward to 2008 and I for the first time in my life.

I turned 21. Funny enough, and it was the first time I fully understood what it meant for me to be a sinner and to truly be in need of Jesus as a Savior. And so now instead of coming to God each night with my head held low in shame. I met with God each morning with my head held high in gratitude instead of attending church each week out of obligation, I became part of the church out of delight and desire to be connected to the very people of God and then communion instead of communion, being some wrote religious ceremony with tasty bread.

Communion became my regular reminder that Jesus loved me enough to die for that and my sin is what put Jesus on the cross that Jesus was pierced for my transgressions that he was crushed for my iniquities see Communion became my reminder that his body was broken for me that Jesus's blood was shed for me that upon him was the punishment that ultimately brought me peace and that by his wounds I was healed. Communion became my reminder that while I was yet still a sinner. Christ willingly and lovingly chose to die for me to see what makes the church is not a budget or a building. What makes the church is the people of God, united under the son of God who come together to hear and sing the word of God and have the sacraments administered as a reminder of the love of God and so the people of God are here right like I've got some people God with me. Maybe wherever you are in your living rooms, or wherever you want. You know that even if you're by yourself.

Right now there are hundreds if not thousands of other people watching right now with you and so the people of God are here and here at the summit church. I promise you we are certainly united under the son of God. If you hear nothing from me for the next 20 minutes. What you're going to hear is the name Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus because it's all about Jesus. That's it. We sung some praises to our God never opening the word of God and a little bit were to take the Lord's supper as a reminder of the love of God. So welcome to church all just look at someone around you say welcome to church welcome the church and sorting your own if you have a Bible handy. Go ahead pull it out to be in the New Testament flip on over to the book of first Corinthians 1st Corinthians chapter 11 your kid make sure you got your kids notes ready. If you have a master parent they can hop over our website and get your kids kids notes for a real fast right already, listen first Corinthians chapter 11. The title of my message today is the place of grace. The place of grace before we take it together actually get to spend some time looking at the Lord's supper in first Corinthians chapter 11 and were going to see how grace is what the Lord's supper is all about.

It's about the grace we have been given the grace we continue to have access to in the future. Grace, that we will experience one day in eternity, the place of grace. And here's how you break it down. The day the Lord's supper. First, it displays grace from the past to go through the signal given the first time that's fine.

Displays grace from the past. It gives grace in the present and it prepares us for grace in the future to go through that quickly and there were to take the Lord's supper together so hopefully you have a loaf of bread, maybe some juice in your pantry or something like that that you can go ahead and grab those things in a bit for help and going to give some context. First Corinthians as we have been studying that yet.

In first Corinthians. The apostle Paul is the one that writes it, he's writing to a church.

The church, a court that he planted back in acts 18 holes been gone from court for some time, but he started hearing rumors that the church at Corinth is acting crazy like the kind of crazy that only Churchill can be like a you know I'm sand so he's hearing rumors like that so he writes a letter to rebuke them and correct them less intense. Never had to bring home a note from school telling her parents on you did wrong. They need some correcting but that's not fun right. That's what's happening. Paul is the teacher here is write a note home and Corinth is the kid who's about to get in trouble.

I was picked up in verse 17 first 2011 verse 17 Paul says this, he says, but in the following instructions.

I do not commend you.

Because when you come together it's not for the better for the worse. From the first place. When you come together as a church. I hear that there are divisions among you, and I believe in part, there must be factions among you, in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized like the one good thing that does come out of this is that it shows who the true believers are verse 20 he says when you come together. It's not the Lord's supper that you eat things that you think you know what you're doing and you think you're pleasing to God. But I assure you is not even close to what Jesus had in mind when he instituted this verse 21 for in eating each one goes ahead with his own meal. So one goes hungry and another gets drunk. Is the church. The churches get DUIs on the way home from church and in the beginning of verse 22. Might possibly be my favorite response from Paul ever because he just says what like this is insane like what this is really happening is does not have houses to eat and drink it if that's what you want to know you despise the church of God to the point that you want to humiliate those who have nothing what to say to you, try commend you in this system absolutely no I will not find a hilarious really say things like hey if we could just get back to being the New Testament church. Everything would be fine. I know what you mean by that. I understand what you're saying but don't be fooled into thinking that the early church was perfect by any stretch of the imagination to be clear, there is no perfect church. There is no perfect people. There's only a perfect Savior name Jesus that imperfect churches and imperfect people can point other imperfect people because he's the only one that's ever been perfect in the entire universe. Okay.

And so Paul is writing to these church people divided church people. These church people who are divided by preferences on what they are allowed to do and eat divided over whether or not you can drink or smoke or what you're allowed to watch or listen to divided over interpretations of Jesus is teaching a proper applications of the Old Testament law there divided over their understanding of race relations and politics, and governmental structures and divided over levels of intelligence and education and income anything you're supposed to be coming together as the people of God as the ultimate show of unity because, listen, this wasn't just a quick bread and cup meal. This was an entire dinner that the rich and the poor were supposed to come together. The conservatives and the liberal the tax collectors and the zealots were supposed to share this together and what what would happen as it would culminate in the bread and the cup as the ultimate show of unity under the banner of Jesus, but instead what's happening is that the rich folks show up early.

They eat all the good food they drink all the good drink, they end up getting drunk and by the time the poor people show up. The only thing that's left are kind of these offbrand white claws and a bunch of disgusting flavors and the gross store-bought dip in a nobody want in the first place. Okay saying the very thing that's most to be the symbol of unity under Jesus the Lord's supper churches actually become the occasion for which division is produced. Now you can call me crazy. You can call me fundamental traditionalist auto care what you call me but it sure sounds like this 2000-year-old book has some wisdom and practical application for us today does fit, so Paul is about to do is show us that there is a basis for a real authentic, peaceful, loving community, but is going to say the basis of that community is not the same that we are all the same, in and of ourselves is not that role the same race is not that we all vote the same is not that work on the same tax bracket and make the same amount of money but rather the basis is that the fact that we are in the same body of Christ worshiping the same risen Savior who have all received the same spirit. That's why one chapter earlier in chapter 10 when Paul talk about the Lord supper. He says there is one bread, and we who are many, are one body, for we all partake of one bread another way of saying this work, all jacked up. We all need a Savior and communion is supposed to be our physical demonstration of unity that is altogether different than anything else, this world can offer because it's the people of God, united under the banner of the gospel declaring we are all equally sinful, yet equally loved by Jesus the Lord's supper is the place we all come to find grace before go on let me say grace is just simply getting something you do not deserve what we don't deserve church is Jesus but for God so loved the that he sent his only son that's grace that's giving us what we don't deserve suppose about to hit the off ramp here for the first top of our journey and show us the first way that the Lord's supper becomes our place of grace, that it displays the grace from the past, it displays grace from the past, we see that in verse 23 verse 23 he takes us back in time to the time when Jesus is administering the Lord's supper and he says Paul says, for I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said this is my body which is for you is for you and do this in remembrance of who of me Jesus in the same way also. We 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. For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. So how is grace displayed in the past 2000 years ago, Grace took the name of Jesus and died for our sins. Grace was given at the cross and grace is received when you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart, Jesus, grace incarnate, died for you and instead of you the physical taste in sight and smell and touch of the bread and the wine is a reminder of the grace displayed for us on the cross that Jesus's body really was broken for you that his blood really was shed for you and so every time we take the Lord's supper church we are proclaiming a reenactment of the gospel, the good news that Jesus died for us and we should remember Jesus when we take it we should hear the words of Jesus saying remember me.

I'm forever with you, remember me when you take the shedding my blood for you so that you might live because I died. Remember me Jesus is suffering to obtain for you all the blessings of the new covenant, remember me when you break the bread just as I willingly gave my one body, my own body to be broken for you see, when we remember were not simply just recalling historical facts or participating in spiritual realities for in eating the bread and drinking the cup. We are taking Jesus's death and subsequent resurrection into our own body saying I am one with my Savior. I'm not even death could defeat ever thought about this you ever thought about why Jesus instituted this with bread and wine grape juice rust good Southern Baptist right what what why bread and wine seriously what you think about it it's kinda perfect because bread must be broken in order to be received. See what better symbol of suffering can you have the net bread from the beginning of its life until consumption appears to be this massive suffering. He has a seed bread is first thrown into the ground. It's cut up it's buried in cold clay when it sprouted has to endure scorching heat and freezing cold. Once it ripens in its cut down it's gathered it's thrown onto the barn floor and then the grain is threshed out by severe beating. The grain is then taken and cross between large stones until it's been bruised into fine flour, then that flower is needed into dough baked in a fiery oven and then just when you think the suffering for the bread is over. It's laid out on a table only to be broken into individual pieces to eat and then put in the summaries mouth and broken again by teeth and then why not much different wine is pruned and cut and labored over and gathered and thrown into one pressed and crushed beneath trampling feet because it's only then that then the wine, juices flow freely to see it's all a picture of Christ's body and blood as he is being beaten and squeezed and pressed and broken as his precious blood would flow. For your salvation seemed bread and wine are the perfect emblems of this intense suffering.

Jesus would endure any sets them before you yes you he says take eat. This is my body broken for you see were the old covenant cursed us the covenant of works. The covenant we can never live up to.

Jesus came to establish a new covenant, the covenant of grace.

And that covenant was signed and sealed and delivered by Jesus's blood him self.

I mean come on, what a display of grace, the son of God willingly and during all of this to save you and me. What wonderful grace. What a glorious grace. What incredible grace you know I'm going what amazing grace. So when you take communion, you should always remember the display of grace in the past. Listen.

Grace wasn't just kind of this one time event whereby you can't get enough of that to last you the rest your life and so you better budget it well or if you're gonna run out and in the know this is the beauty of the gospel. This is the good news because the next reason the Lord's supper is the place of grace is because it gives grace in the present, gives grace in the present verse 27 Paul says 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.

So let a person examine himself then and so eat of the bread and drink the cup for anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That's why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.

Come on just that sink in, would probably approach is a whole lot differently if we believe that verse 31, but if we judge ourselves.

Truly we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world. In verse 33. So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. If anyone's hungry let me get home starve and have some almonds for you show up that when you come together will be for judgment about the other things I give directions when I come man we could we could seriously unpack that whole section for the next four weeks because this might be one of the biggest indictments on the church today and honestly this is been incredibly convicting for me just to study through this week to think about the so often unworthy manner. We partake of communion and now to be clear, to be clear. Paul did not say that we had to be worthy to partake of the supper.

There's no one who does good. All have fallen short of the glory of God. He only said that we should partake in a worthy manner. See unworthily is an adverb not an adjective. We are always unworthy adjective, but we can eat unworthily when our lives do not align with the Jesus that we claim to follow Tim Keller says it this way, he says. Obviously, the Lord's supper is not for perfect people, but for repentant people.

But that's just the point. He says, because the Lord's supper, forces us to keep our inner experience linked with our outward behavior. It demands that we ask in my truly living a life of gratitude and obeying God as I would be if I really believed he saved me at the infinite cost of his only son and my loving others, sacrificially, as I really would be if I really truly believed I was saved by sacrificial love.

You see, examining ourselves means we should truly ask the question, do what I say in the way. I'm actually living lineup and if they don't, Paul says you should examine yourself and repent one verse 31. He says if we judge ourselves.

Truly we would not be judged because, listen, if you judge yourself. Truly, you'll come to figure out pretty quickly.

Your hypocritical center which we all are, but because of Jesus.

That assessment should lead us to a place of repentance whereby Jesus offers us grace when we prepare it's not condemnation. In fact, write this down river to write this down where sin is confessed fully. Grace is received abundantly or sin is confessed fully.

Grace is received abundantly see to take the Lord's supper in a worthy manner means that we examine our hearts, we judge ourselves accordingly and we confess our sins to the Lord before taking it. Self-examination is not a dormant to shut you out from taking communion, but rather a door at which you pause to see whether you are in a right condition to enter and if you're not then you stop you get right and then you enter about it like this.

Your Linda probably most you you you dressed up for going out on some fancy dinner fancy day in high school you get ready for prom. Whatever it looks like I don't like it, you gotta check yourself out before you leave the house right you make sure you looking good looking fly to get you hair did your God. Maybe iron your shirt you take a look at your shoes. Make sure there's no there's no creases in the shoes you, got a note you do the soul eyebrow thing.

At least that's what Ricky has taught me.

You gotta do is log out thing and then once you know you look good and you go downstairs and you head out on your date right that's kinda what happens. Paul saying that's exactly what we should do before we take the Lord's supper and so right now to stop and do just that. I will put some questions on the screen that that I think might help you do this and listen what all and asking you to do right now is judge yourself rightly hiding anything from God not fooling God. If your inner experience of faith is not linked with your outward behavior and repent and repent, knowing that what awaits you on the other side of repentance is not condemnation its grace and the rent to come back one more point that all go through very quickly and the right to take communion together will will will will by now I hope you're seeing the Lord's supper was never meant for nourishment of the body. Rather, grace for the soul. See the place of grace displays grace from the past gives grace in the present and again this last one really quickly. The Lord's supper prepares us for grace in the future. Back in verse 26. Jesus tells them for as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until I come. See we are to observe the Lord's supper to approach this place of grace until he comes because the return of Jesus.

It's it's the ultimate hope of every Christian.

It's the glorious anticipation that just as Jesus may have died.

He did not stay dead, that one day Jesus is coming back to fix everything that's broken that one day he will wipe every tear from every eye that one day every sad thing will become untrue that one day justice will roll down like waters one day righteousness will flow like mighty streams and all the pain that you are experiencing will cease to exist and it will be replaced with joy see the future grace the Lord's supper prepares us for is the return of Jesus and the subsequent marriage supper of the Lamb where he is going to clothe us, his church, his bride in splendid white array, without spot or blemish, and we are going to dine with him in the presence of grace and love and mercy for ever. And so the very easy question today is where do you need grace applied today you need forgiveness come to the place of grace.

This meal was for you, for it shows that Jesus died to forgive your sins, you would need some type of deliverance come to the place of grace.

This meal is for you because it's rooted inward gumption. You need of approval to say that this meal was for me that's the one this meal for me.

I'm coming to the place of grace because Jesus planned this meal himself, and he personally invited me to the table. You long for community to be truly known and fully loved and you can declare this meal is for me. Come to the place of grace that forms a new community under the identity of one name maybe just desire to know Jesus more than this meal is for you because it points to the greatest moment in human history when God took on flesh and dwelt among us, what the Lord's supper does church is root us time and time again in this needy gritty blood spattered rat absorbing sin saturated cross of Christ bread and cup body and blood execution, and death all in order to extend to you and me, the un-merited on deserved on earned grace of God. And so in just a moment were to take the Lord's supper together if you've repented of your sins and place your faith in Christ that I would invite you and welcome you to partake of this moment as we remember Jesus's sacrifice together. If you're not a believer than I would to simply ask that you not take this because what you need is not the bread and the cup what you need is what they represent everything I've been talking about. They represent Jesus's body broken for you is bloodshed for you if that's you, we would love to talk with you about that working to put a little website on the bottom here summit church.com/guess you can go there fill out a form is a place as I want to talk more about stepping forth in my relationship with Jesus, please, please, please give us the opportunity to walk alongside you and answer any questions you may have.

And lastly, listen, if your kid or a student listening to this if you've repented of your sins may be bent through our gospel and baptism class.

Maybe talk to your mom and dad about Jesus becoming your Savior on invite you to take this.

If you have not repented of your sin and placed your faith in Jesus yet but I just want you to wait and watch your parents do this. Dad mom after the service.

This is your opportunity at your job to take over and talk through the Lord's supper and what it means together and what were to be praying that salvation would come to your house if you need more help in this. Again, you can reach out our campuses. We got kids and student directors who would love to walk alongside you in this in order to give you time just to come to collect some bread and juice and whatever you have at your house to sing together and I'm a come back briefly and meet us in taking these together and in and cuing the Lord and and anyways I and I pray for seeing this again.

You are loved by God, there's no greater love than his, and a is no way a is no a and is known and an and one night Jesus was betrayed, he met with his disciples and took a loaf of bread broken pass around and he said this is my body broken for you.

Take it, in remembrance of me.

Together church. Likewise, so this is my blood poured out for the new covenant for the forgiveness of sins.

Take drink in remembrance of me.

Hallelujah.

What a Savior grace and peace in family