The Lord's Supper. Lord willing, I'm going to speak
tonight about the Lord's Supper, by His grace, if He would enable
me to stand here and be my strength and my stay. The table below me states on
it, this do in remembrance of me. When I was Just a boy, I remember
seeing the table and I thought the table was for funeral services.
When a saint died to go to glory, I thought we would place the
body there and we'd meet in remembrance of that person to hold the memorial
service or the funeral service. I thought that that was the sole
purpose of that table. As time went on, I began to learn
that it was not at all the meaning of the table, of the inscription,
this do in remembrance of me. It was and is about remembering
our Lord Jesus Christ and what He Himself accomplished. I'd like to turn to a few scriptures
this evening. If you will, open with me to
Luke 22. Luke chapter 22. Luke 22, 19. And he took bread and gave thanks
and break it. and gave unto them, saying, This
is my body which is given for you, this do in remembrance of
me." In remembrance of our Lord. Turn
with me over to 1 Corinthians. 1 Corinthians chapter 11. 1 Corinthians 11 verse 27. Wherefore, whosoever shall eat
this bread and drink this cup of the Lord unworthily shall
be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine
himself, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that
cup For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily eateth and drinketh
damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. When I read that, I pause and
think, am I worthy? Am I worthy to take the Lord's
supper? Or will I be guilty of the body
and blood of the Lord as it so plainly states in the word of
God? As a child, I recall being present
for the Lord's Supper, hearing our pastor read from this scripture
in Corinthians, knowing that to take the Lord's Supper unworthily
is to lie on God. I did not want to lie on God,
and I did want to be worthy. And over the years, sitting and
hearing time and time again, I wanted to believe the gospel.
I wanted to be able to partake in the Lord's Supper without
eating and drinking damnation. I wasn't worthy of believing
the gospel. How could the Lord see fit to save a sinful soul
like me? Brother Todd brought two messages
last weekend that many of you are here to hear. Personally,
they brought much joy to my heart and soul. and much rejoicing. They reminded me of very similar
discussions that he and I shared one summer at a camp, the Bible
study for youth that he holds up in Lexington. I remember talking
to him, how can I possibly be saved? How can I have salvation in Christ?
My, I, me, mine, Todd plainly sat down with me,
and we opened the Word of God together. He guided me to a few passages
of Scripture, and in those moments it was made clear I was looking
to self, I was not looking to Christ. I was so terrified up until that
point in time, of the thought of making a false profession
to lie upon God, the sovereign, holy, almighty creator himself.
I feared him. But Proverbs 1.7, the fear of
the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Fools despise wisdom
and instruction. Proverbs 9, verse 10, the fear
of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and the knowledge of
the holy is understanding. So little did I know in my youth
through that time that I wanted to believe, but found myself
incapable, unworthy to believe. Little did I know, when I was
crying in my heart to the Lord to have mercy on me, He was already
working in me. He had had mercy on me. In fact,
He had completed salvation for me before time ever began, before
this world was ever on its foundation. So I say that to say this. Who
is the gospel for? Dede and I were talking yesterday.
She was preparing a meal for us to eat. She came over there
and I don't remember if she stood or sat, but she just plopped
down with a big smile on her face. told me about a message that
Brother Gabe Stoniker brought a couple weeks ago entitled,
Does That Really Mean Me? And how it was such a blessing
to her. And at the time she didn't know that I was preparing this.
But the Lord knew. I went and listened to that message
this morning and it blessed me too. Thank you for showing it
to me. But does that really mean me? Let's all turn together to
1 Timothy 1. 1 Timothy 1, chapter 1, verses
9 through 11. Knowing this, that the law is not made for
a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for
the godly, sorry, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and
profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers. Excuse me, I'm sorry. Murderers of fathers and murderers
of mothers. for manslayers, for whoremongers,
for them that defile themselves with mankind, for men-stealers,
for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing
that is contrary to sound doctrine, anything that is contrary to
the word of the Lord, according to the glorious gospel
of the blessed God which was committed to my trust, The gospel is for sinners. Let's
turn to Romans 7. Romans 7 and 8. I'm not going
to read the full chapters. I've read them before you before. But let's look at Romans 7, verse
21, since we're talking about the law. Begin reading in Romans 7, 21.
I find then a law that when I would do good, evil is present with me. For
I delight in the law of God after the inward man. But I see another
law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, bringing me into captivity to
the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that
I am, who shall deliver me from the
body of this death?" I'm going to pause there. When we read
verse 24, O wretched man that I am, if you are the wretched
man, if I am the wretched man, If we are the sinners, that's
who the gospel is for. Continue reading, I thank God
through Jesus Christ our Lord, so then with the mind I myself
serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin. Continue
reading, chapter 8, this blessed verse. There is therefore now
no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk
not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the
Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law
of sin and death." We sing that hymn, free from the law. We are,
we are free from the law. Verse three, for what the law
could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending
His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned
sin in the flesh, God sent His own Son, His only
begotten Son, not as a sinful man, but in the likeness of sinful
flesh, for sin, condemned sin in the flesh, in
that flesh, in the flesh of His Holy Son. Continuing in verse
4, that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in
us who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh
do mind the things of the flesh, but they that are after the Spirit,
the things of the Spirit, for to be carnally minded is death,
but to be spiritually minded is life and peace, because the
carnal mind enmity against God, and for it is not subject to
the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then, they that are
in the flesh cannot please God. No man in the flesh can please
God. No man that has ever walked this
earth that is of man born of a woman by man No man apart from
the Lord Jesus Christ, born of the Virgin, the perfect God-man. They that are in the flesh cannot
please God, but ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit. If so, be that the Spirit of
God dwell in you. It says, no flesh can please God, but
we're not in the flesh if we're in the Spirit, if we're in Christ. Now, if any man have not the
Spirit of Christ, he is none of His. And if Christ be in you, the
body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because
of righteousness, because of His righteousness. But if the
Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in
you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken
your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors
not to the flesh to live after the flesh. For if you live after
the flesh, you shall die. But if you through the Spirit
do mortify the deeds of the body, you shall live. For as many as
are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For as many as. That's a number we cannot comprehend.
For as many as. For as many as it pleased God. For as many are led by the Spirit
of God. They are the sons of God. For you have not received the
spirit of bondage again to fear, but you have received the spirit
of adoption whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The spirit itself beareth
witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. So
who is the gospel for? The gospel is for as many as
are led by the Spirit of God. They are the sons of God. That's
who the gospel is for. It's for sinners. So the law was made to reveal
to us how sinful we are. It was not made so that we could
keep it. It's to show we could never come
to salvation on our own, of our own, or in any part of ourselves
or by ourselves. I mentioned earlier, how could
I be saved? Our pastor said many times, when I look to myself,
I cannot see any way that I can possibly be saved. But when I
look to Christ, I don't see any way that I cannot be saved. To be worthy of partaking in
the Lord's Supper, we must look to the Lord Jesus Christ, the
Son, the one and only Son of the one and only living God
Almighty, and look to Him alone. So what does it mean to take
the Lord's Supper? It sits before us There's unleavened bread and
wine. We take the bread. In taking the bread, it's taking
the blessed body of our Savior. Not literally, but as a symbol,
in remembrance. for lack of my vocabulary. The bread that sits on the table can save you no more than the
table itself can save you or the floor that it sits on can
save you. Taking the bread will do no miracle. Taking the
bread will not cause us to be better It will not cause us to
be more holy. It will not cause us to be more
righteous before God or anything of the sort. Taking the bread is much like
the baptism of a profession of faith in Christ is. Baptism shows
that we are found one in Him. Baptism does not hold any power. It does not do any deed, it does
not accomplish anything except Acts 10.48, it accomplishes a
commandment. And He commanded them to be baptized
in the name of the Lord. If we confess Christ, we are
commanded to be baptized, just as if we confess Christ, we're
commanded to take the Lord's Supper. Again, the table says,
this do in remembrance of me, as the Scripture says. When we take that unleavened
bread, we take of the perfect broken
body of our Savior. When we do that, let us reflect on the Word of
God, some of which we've already looked at tonight. Let's reflect
on our Savior. the beloved body of our Savior,
who came as a man, born of a virgin, to live a perfect life, served
unto God the Father to do His blessed will, and serve as the
only sacrifice that could ever pay for His elect's sin. Briefly mention holy manna that
fell from heaven. That manna that came down from
heaven was prepared by God, sent by God, to a chosen people that didn't
fall to the whole world. And they didn't have anything
else to eat. They didn't have any other way to survive. That manna
was their only means of substance, and it was provided by God. God
provided the only means of salvation in His Son. In His blessed Son,
which is our Lord, whom this bread is symbolic of, 1 Corinthians 11 24 and 25 say,
And when he had given thanks, he break it and said, Take, eat,
this is my body which is broken for you, this do in remembrance
of me. After the same manner also the
cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the New Testament
in my blood, this do ye as oft as you drink in remembrance of
me. so much as the bread is the body
of Christ. When we drink the cup of wine,
it is to take the blood of Christ, that we may remember His shed
blood. We just sang the hymn a few moments
ago, What Can Wash Away My Sin? Nothing but the Blood of Jesus.
The saints of God are washed whiter than snow in His blood. Revelations 1 verse 5 says, And
from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the first begotten of
the dead, of the prince of the kings of the earth, unto him
that loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood. John 4 verse 10 says, Jesus answered
and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is
that saith to thee, give me to drink, thou wouldst have asked
of him, and he would have given thee the living water." Christ
is the living water. When we drink this wine, we remember
that. He turned the water into wine. He worked miracles that abundantly
fed multitudes. He didn't feed the multitudes. let anyone walk away hungry.
He didn't have almost enough. He didn't have just enough. Abundant. Abundant mercy. Abundant grace. All would perish had He not shed
His precious blood, had He not shown mercy. And we just looked at as many
as, that's a multitude that no man can number. That multitude that no man can
number would perish had not He come to shed His blood. He bled and died for our transgressions
that we would have eternal life. He carried out the will of the Father. perfectly unto death. He followed his father's
will unto death, an undeserving death, and burial and resurrection. The blood of Christ is our blessed
hope. Without the shedding of blood,
there is no remission of sin. Not only the blood shed, the
blood applied. Genesis 22, 8, And Abraham said,
My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering.
So they went both of them together. In Abraham and Isaac's occurrence,
God in that day literally provided a lamb. But from all eternity God had
before the foundation of the world provided His very own Son
to be the Lamb for our sin, the Lamb slain." Exodus 12, 13, "...and
the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where
you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you." Let's
go ahead and turn to Exodus chapter 12. Exodus 12, verse 5. Before I read this, we've established
that sin must be paid for by a blood sacrifice, but not just
any. Verse 5, your lamb shall be without
blemish. A male of the first year, you
shall take it out from the sheep or from the goats, and you shall
keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month, and the
whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the
evening." Keep that in mind. A lamb without blemish. to be killed in the evening. And they shall take of the blood
and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post
of the houses wherein they shall eat it. And they shall eat the
flesh in that night, roast with fire and unleavened bread with
bitter herbs They shall eat it, eat not of it raw, nor sodden
it all with water, but roast with fire his head with his legs
and with the puritans thereof. And ye shall let nothing of it
remain until the morning, and that which remaineth of it until
the morning ye shall burn it with fire. And thus shall ye eat it, your
loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your
hand, and you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord's Passover,
for I will pass through the land of Egypt this night and will
smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast,
and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment. I the
Lord and the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses
where you are. And when I see the blood, I will
pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy
you when I smite the land of Egypt." We have a perfect lamb
slain in the evening. They didn't scratch the lamb
to get a couple drops of blood and let it fall to the ground.
They had to collect the blood. They had to kill the lamb and
collect the blood. and apply it. It had to be applied. Had
they not applied it, they would not have been passed over. This
lamb didn't put away any sin. There's only been one sacrifice
to ever put away sin, and that's the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. It was to be roasted with fire,
eaten with unleavened bread and bitter herbs." This is a very
precise instruction given here, as is the Word of God. It is
very clear and precise. Look to Christ. He did not shed His blood without
accomplishment. His death would be in vain, and
it certainly was not in vain. His blood was applied to our
souls before God. He didn't cover up our sins,
such as paint over a stain, and later see the stain bleed back
through. He didn't bury our sin where
it may be dug up again, uncovered and thrown in front of God to
say, look at this sinful man, look what I dug up on him. The blood of Christ was and is
sufficient so much that it completely washed our sin away that we are
perfect in the sight of God. When He looks at His beloved
sheep, He sees His glorious Son's body and blood. We are the body
of Christ. One with Christ. I can't fathom it. I can't grasp
it. But I can be thankful for it
and I can rejoice in it. This blessed, glorious promise
of salvation is free. It's not free to all. It's not
free to every person on every walk of this earth. But it's
free of all walks of the world. For whosoever, how many times
the scripture says, whosoever. Am I a whosoever? Whosoever,
to those who God elected for His Son to die, for sinners. God has to make us sinners, make
us to know our sin. But free salvation for sinners, free to sinners, but not without
cost. It's with utmost cost. the cost of our Savior's life,
carrying out perfectly His Father's will, His suffering. It cost Him being made to be
sin on the cross. A man who knew no sin was made
sin for us with our own sin. His being forsaken His body being
broken, His blood being shed, His giving up the ghost, His
being buried, and His rising again. That's the cost of salvation. There is no other course, means,
path, stairway, ladder, or any other work you can do to get to glory. Christ is all. He's all in all. If there was
any other way set forth of God, would He have slain His own Son
if you or I could do the work? If there was any other way, He
would not have willed, caused, and allowed His only begotten
Son to die on that cross. Matthew 26, 39, and he went a
little further and fell on his face and prayed, saying, O my
Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will,
but as Thou wilt. Christ did it all. He carried
out His Father's will perfectly. He was the Lamb without blemish.
He shed His own blood and He applied it to our souls. The
salvation is not only the Lamb, the Lamb slain, not only His
death, but His resurrection. Not only the body, not only the
blood, but the body and the blood. The Lord Jesus Christ drank the
bitter cup of a multitude of sin and transgressions against
God that no man can number, begin to fathom. He drank our sin in that cup
and became sin. But what he accomplished is he
put it away. As far as the east is from the west, never to be
found again. So this is the Lord's Supper.
May we take it by faith, bow down before Him knowing what
we are and what we've done to Christ, but what He's done for us. Consider
what it means to have salvation in Christ. When we take the Lord's
Supper, let's remember Him. I often pray that the Lord, Lord
don't forget me. Please don't leave me to myself. But He does remember us. He died for us. He's not going
to forget His sheep. And His faithfulness is perfect.
We're the ones to forget. How many times walk out the doors,
get in the truck, leave from service five or ten minutes before, having such a joyous heart, leave
the service, and not even remember what's been said? We forget. Our Lord does not
forget. May He enable us to remember
Him tonight and always remember Him who died for us paying a
debt that we could not for ourselves in all eternity pay. It's truly my heart's prayer
that the Lord will bless this to all
of our hearts as we take the Lord's Supper. The bread is the broken body,
and the wine to remember the blood. The only means of such a sweet
and blessed salvation. Amen.