Well, this being the first Sunday
of March, as is our pattern, we will be holding communion,
the Lord's Table, the Lord's Supper. We'll be sharing bread
and wine, and I'll later on be reading the words that I'm going
to read now. You know them well. It's the form of the communion
service. Chapter 11 verse 29 says this,
wherefore, having Paul, having spelled out how he received the
instruction of communion from the Lord, he then sets a warning
at the end of it. 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. Now, that sounds
like all of a sudden out of the blue comes this warning of damnation. You know, you're going through
life perfectly okay and you come along to a church service and
there's communion and you're alright and you go and eat that
bread and you drink that wine unworthily. And therefore, you
are damned. You've drunk, you've eaten and
drunk damnation to yourself. No, it's not something that suddenly
happens. It's the state that you're all
in, we are all in, outside of Christ. To be outside, it's nothing
new, to be outside of Christ in eternity is to be in a state
of damnation. You clear about that? It's so
important to be clear about that. Who says that? What a shocking
thing to go and say to people. What a terror, you want people
to come to your church, you're not gonna get them to come if
you tell them things like that, what a shocking thing to say.
It's not me that's saying it, it's the word of God that's saying
it. To be outside of Christ in eternity is to be in a state
of eternal damnation, according to the scriptures. Eateth and
drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.
It's to be in a state of hell. The scripture is clear. We read
earlier with Cliff in John 3 verse 18. He that believeth not is
condemned already. He that believeth not is condemned
already because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten
Son of God. he that believeth not is condemned
already because believe, why? What is it? Is believing a good
work that you do that gets you off? No! Believing is proof of
your redemption by Christ. Believing is proof that you discern
that Christ the God-man has satisfied divine justice for you and made
you righteous. That's what believing is. It's
proof of redemption, proof that you're discerning the Lord's
body. Outside of that, outside of believing on Christ, outside
of trusting Him, when it comes to eternity, which it surely
must, People die all around us all the time. Where we live,
there's a funeral parlor just up the road from us. There are
funeral cars coming and going every day. People die. It's a common thing. It happens
all the time. And outside of Christ, the Scriptures
tell us, you're on your own. You're responsible for your own
sin debt. You're in what the Scriptures
call a state of condemnation, a state of damnation. So what
is this believing? What is it to believe in the
Son of God? It's not just head knowledge. It isn't just head knowledge.
I can go like an accountant to the books and I can say, well,
you know, I owe this much money and somebody came along and put
that much money to my account and therefore that debt is cleared
and yeah, that all seems logically true to me. No, it's not just
that, it's feeling and knowing and experiencing, heartfelt experience. You know the true believer says
this, like the hymn writer, I know whom I have believed and I'm
persuaded that he is able to keep that which I've committed.
It's one of the epistles, isn't it? I know whom, not I know what,
I know whom I have believed. And to you who believe, says
Peter, to you who believe, he is, oh yes, academically correct,
no, he is precious to your heart, he is precious. Discerning the
body of the Lord, discerning Christ's body is knowing and
feeling that everything I am in the reckoning of God is in
my precious Lord Jesus Christ. That's what it is to discern
the body of the Lord. That's what it is to come to
this table in a worthy manner. It's nothing to do with how holy
you are. That's irrelevant. You're not holy at all in your
flesh. All of us are vile in the sight of God in our flesh.
No. It's coming knowing that everything
that you are in terms of your reckoning with God. How does
God judge you? That's what matters. We're all
the time thinking, what will people think of me if I dress
like this? No, what does God think of you? It's all in my
precious Lord Jesus Christ for the believer. In the communion
service We share unleavened bread. It speaks. Unleavened. No corruption
of yeast in it. No corruption of sin in the Lord
Jesus Christ. He was sinless. It speaks of
his sinless, perfect body. He was a lamb without blemish
and without spot. Our Passover lamb is sacrificed
for us. He was perfect. He was examined. He was examined for those years
before he went to the cross of Calvary and he was found perfect
just as they used to examine the Passover lamb for those days
that they set it aside. We share unleavened bread which
speaks of that body and we break it. to remind us that that spotless
body was broken for his people. And we share wine, which is that
sterile liquid. You know, the alcohol has done
its work. It's a sterile liquid, and it
speaks of the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. the
precious blood of Christ. We share the wine to remember
that it was his blood. In the life, in the blood is
the life. In the blood of the Son of God
was the life of the Son of God. And the penalty for sin was the
soul that sins, it shall die. And the Son of God poured out
his life blood unto death on the behalf of his people. And
if you don't truly discern the basis of salvation, I don't care
how theologically strong you are in terms of who you can argue
with, I don't care any of that, I don't care that one wit at
all. All you need is the faith, I've
just remembered him, do you remember Happy Jack? I've told you this
so many times, do you remember Happy Jack? You know the church
elders quizzed him to see was he fit to be a member of their
church and what things had he done and what books had he read
and what did Happy Jack keep saying? What do you know, Jack?
I'm a poor sinner and nothing at all, but Jesus Christ is my
all in all. That's what it is. But if you
don't truly discern the basis of salvation like that, that
Jesus Christ is my all in all, if you don't truly discern that
it's on the basis of Christ's broken body and his shed blood
applied to my conscience, applied to my sins, then don't take the
bread and wine. Let a man examine himself, says
that verse in 1 Corinthians 11. Let a man examine himself, and
so we won't be having any Spanish Inquisition here about who can
and cannot take the bread and the wine. But don't participate
just to be seen of one another. Consider your relationship with
the living God, with the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you discern
the Lord's body? Do you discern it? If you do,
if you know something of that salvation, like Happy Jack, I'm
a poor sinner and nothing at all, but Jesus Christ is my all
in all, then take that bread. It's communion between you and
your soul and God and nothing else. Do you discern the Lord's
body? The Psalms get close to revealing
the heart of a true believer. And that's why I want to look
at Psalm 27, just the first verse of it this morning. We might
go on to look at more of it in coming weeks, but for this morning,
the first verse will be enough. Psalm 27, the Lord is my light
and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is
the strength of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid? Just
that. The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? Who is it
that is writing? Who is it about? you know, when
Philip found the Ethiopian eunuch in his chariot reading the prophecy
of Isaiah, and he came to that place where he was reading about
a lamb before his shearers he's done, the lamb going to the slaughter,
and he asks Philip, who is he writing about? Is it the prophet
himself or is it somebody else? Who is this writing about? Who
is writing here? Who is it about? The Lord is
my light. Whose light? And my salvation.
Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my
life. Of whom shall I be afraid? Well, I would suggest there are
three possibilities. There are three certainties,
because they're all true. Clearly, it's David. It tells
us at the start, it's a psalm of David. Clearly, it's David,
the shepherd king. The shepherd who was chosen out
and anointed to be king in place of Saul. The man who the scripture
says is the man after God's own heart. The man who at this time
when he wrote this psalm was facing enemies who sought his
destruction. Saul, the king, was seeking to
destroy him, because the people favored David. He wanted to get
rid of him. The Amalekites were seeking to
destroy him. He was, at this time, exiled
from the worship of God in Israel. You can tell that from verse
four, where he says, one thing have I desired of the Lord, that
will I seek, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all
the days of my life. He's clearly banished from that
situation. These are the words of David,
And it's clearly his experience facing enemies. But of course,
although David wrote it, who wrote the scriptures? Holy men,
as they were born along, inspired of the Spirit of God. It was
the Spirit of God that inspired these words. These words are
words of the Holy Spirit by the pen of David with the experiences
of David nevertheless used for the purposes of God to reveal
the truth of God. Because although it's the words
of David and the experience of David, if you stop there, you
see nothing other than something that happened over 3,000 years
ago. No, secondly, it's also the Lord Jesus Christ. It's our
Lord Jesus Christ, the man. who went out for the salvation
of his people, who came down from his infinite glory to this
realm of flesh and blood and of time and of space in order
to redeem his people. He came out as Abraham went out
to rescue Lot when he heard that Lot had been captured in those
wars of the kings. Abraham gathered his troop and
went out and with military skill and cunning He went out and he
rescued his brother, it says, and Christ came to rescue his
brethren. There my friends and brethren
dwell, he says. He went out to rescue his brethren. Christ Jesus the man, who for
a little while, for thirty-three years, was made, as Hebrews 2
says, a little lower than the angels. He was made for a little
while lower than the angels. And we know it's about him, and
all scripture can apply to him he himself said it didn't he
these are they which speak of me these old testament scriptures
what's it about he said to the pharisees these are they which
speak of me in verse two Look what it says there, when the
wicked, even mine enemies and my foes came upon me to eat up
my flesh, they stumbled and fell. Do you know it's never once recorded
that the enemies of David stumbled and fell when they came to eat
him up, to eat up his flesh. But if you read John 18 and verse
six, when those soldiers and those Pharisees and Judas the
traitor came to arrest the Lord Jesus Christ in the garden of
Gethsemane, And he said, who are you seeking? And they said,
Jesus of Nazareth. And he said, I am. And in those
words, we don't know, but they fell back and they staggered.
This is the Lord Jesus Christ. In the revelation of the spirit
of God, this is the Lord Jesus Christ. It says in Isaiah 11
and verse 4 of him that he smites the earth with the words of his
mouth. He speaks and the power of God comes in those words.
In John chapter 2 he cleared the temple with a word. Just
a man who had no comeliness that we should desire him. Just a
man cleared the temple with the words of his mouth fulfilling
scripture. When he came out to save his
people. He faced enemies. The man, Christ
Jesus, though he was God, yet as a man, he faced enemies. He faced those who would devour
him. He faced those... Satan put all of his resources
into seeking to destroy the Son of God. When he was born, Satan
had all of the boys below two years old in the whole of Judea
killed at the command of Herod, trying to kill this one. You
read about it in Revelation chapter 12. The woman's giving birth
and the dragon is there seeking to devour the child that comes
from her. That Satan tried to do all of
that. Satan comes to try and destroy the purposes of Christ
in saving his people from his sins. But Jesus, the man, our
Lord Jesus Christ, God in human flesh, but nevertheless true
human flesh, as a man, he walked this earth and he had faith in
God. He, the man, had faith in God. His faith in God was strong in
the face of his enemies. Our salvation is by the faith
of Jesus Christ. His faith in God in what he was
doing. His faith as a man as he walked
this earth and did the will of God. His faith in God as he went
to the cross. His faithful fulfillment of everything
that was prophesied and required of him to be the savior of his
people. He had enemies, all these enemies
seeking to destroy him, the Pharisees, the scribes, everyone all around.
He went into the garden and there he faced the greatest enemy of
all, which was to bear the sins of his people. When he sweat
drops of blood in the garden for dread of being made sin and
separated from his father. In those situations, these are
the words of Christ. The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is
the strength of my life. He's going to save his people.
His faith is strong in God. So firstly, it's David. Secondly,
it's the Lord Jesus Christ. But also, thirdly, it's the experience
of his people. Every one of his people in him.
We experience enemies all around us. I'm not talking about the
trials of this life that come along. Everybody has trials of
life. Everybody, believer or unbeliever,
they all have trials of difficult economics, of health, of situation,
of employment, they all... I'm not talking about those things. I'm talking particularly about
the enemies of the people of God which are spiritual enemies.
Those enemies that seek your eternal destruction, to keep
you from heaven. In the parable of the sower,
Mark chapter 4, 15 to 19, we read about some of the things
that would come and take away the believer's peace. Satan comes
and as the Word of God is sown, he snatches it away before it
ever takes root. Trouble and persecution come
along and strangle that newly sprouted, as it would appear,
new faith in God. They're enemies that come along.
Riches and covetousness and the world come along and try and
strangle spiritual life out of the believer. We were reading
in Romans chapter 7 last week about the struggle between the
flesh and the Spirit, how the Spirit of God, the new man, delights
in the law of God after the inward man, but the flesh, when I would
do that which is good, I don't, and when I would not do that
which is not good, that thing I do," says Paul. This is his
experience. He's bound up by all of these
things, attacking and seeking to destroy him. In his weakness,
he says, a wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from
this body of death? I thank God, through Jesus Christ,
my Lord. We have enemies, and this is
the believer's experience, too. In 1 John, chapter 2, verses
15 to 17, we read of something of the enemies of the people
of God. These enemies that come upon us, and in the face of which,
the experience of the believer is, the Lord is my light and
my salvation, whom shall I fear? But these enemies of the world,
the lust of the flesh, the pride of life, the pride of the eyes,
What James says about the world, friendship with the world is
enmity with God, these are enemies that come along and try to take
away that joy. But the believer is confident
in salvation because the believer discerns the Lord's body. The
Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is
the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid? This is knowing
the Lord, the Lord. Who is that? Who is the Lord? Saul of Tarsus became the Apostle
Paul, but on the road to Damascus when the light shone and he was
blinded in that moment and he asked, who are you Lord? Who
are you? Who is he? Who is the Lord that
is being spoken of here? Are we talking about a general
purpose God that will do for everybody? are we talking about
uh... well the muslims call him Allah
and uh... and the catholics well they're
all sincere with let's let's let's get down to the lowest
common denominator we all believe in God in religion let's you
know the the church leaders of the world the religious leaders
of the world are always looking to find common ground on which
we can exploring they talk about let's explore how we can have
common ground No, the scriptures don't talk about exploring, the
scriptures talk about declaring the one true God. The one true
God. There's only one true God, and
that's the God who is revealed in the Lord Jesus Christ. He's
not the God of false religion, whatever they might say. He's
not the God of the reformed legalists who call themselves so orthodox
in the Christian religion. No. It's all false. They're all
false teachers. They all deny the true gospel. They all add in Greek philosophy
to scripture, and they stir it all around, and they make this
mixture, which they then go and foist on us as the orthodox gospel
of God. And it isn't. It's a lie. No,
not that at all. This Lord here is the true God,
the only true God, the God of Scripture, the God who is manifest,
who is made known only in his Son. If you don't know him in
the Son of God, you don't know the true God at all. That's right. These who say, these who say,
oh, they know God in this way and that way, but outside of
the one true Christ of grace, they don't know him at all. John
chapter 1, verses 17 and 18. The law was given by Moses, but
grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. No man has seen God at
any time, the true God. No man in his flesh has ever
seen God. the only begotten Son, which
is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him." If you
would know the true God, the Lord, these first two words of
this psalm, if you would know this God, it must be in the One
who alone has declared Him, in His Son. God is not revealed
in law, A step back in horror. Did you hear what he just said?
He must be an antinomian. He's just said that God is not
revealed in law, but God is revealed in grace and truth in Christ. That's where he's revealed. In
grace and truth in Christ is where the sinner knows God in
the Lord Jesus Christ. The names of God. You know, We
delight in the names of God, Jehovah Jireh, Jehovah Rapha,
Jehovah Nisa, all these names of God, they're the names of
Christ. The names of Christ. Jehovah Jireh, the provider of
the needed sacrifice. Do you know where that came from?
Abraham with Isaac, go and sacrifice your son. Go and sacrifice your
son. And what did they call the place?
Isaac says to Abraham, I see the wood, I see the fire, but
where is the sacrifice? Where is the lamb for the burnt
offering? God will provide himself a sacrifice. And they found the
ram caught in the thicket, and that was sacrificed in the place
of Isaac, the son. And they called that place Jehovah-Jireh. God will provide. He's provided.
He's provided the needed sacrifice. Is there a sacrifice needed for
your sins and for mine? Yes, there is. Jehovah-Jireh,
God has provided. Where? At the cross of Calvary.
In the Lord Jesus Christ, he's provided that needed sacrifice.
Jehovah-Rapha, the healer of his people. We saw a couple of
weeks ago, the leper being healed. The leper, such a picture of
sin and our sin. And Christ came and in a word,
he healed him. And he's the only one that can
heal you. The God of law cannot heal you of your sin. The law
comes from God, the law is good but you do not know the true
God, you do not discern the Lord's body through the law. This is
what they say, this is how you discern, no it's not. He's the
banner. Jehovah Nisai, the banner of
his people. That banner of salvation where
his people gather. He's the God of peace to his
people in the Lord Jesus Christ. Jehovah Shalom, the God of peace.
Peace with God. How often in the epistles do
you read the introduction that is the God of peace and the peace
of God. He is the shepherd of his people.
Jehovah Rahar, the shepherd. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall
not want. This is how we discern the body
of the Lord. Ah, what do you need? What are
you told to pursue? Without which no man shall see
the Lord. Holiness. Righteousness. The
righteousness of God you must have. Not your own filthy rags
righteousness that you try to sew onto yourself seeking sanctification. No. Jehovah Tzidkenu. The Lord our righteousness, this
is the name of Christ, this is how we know righteousness, this
is how we obtain the righteousness of God, it's in Him. Jehovah
Shammah, the one who is present. Who said that? Jesus said, I
will never leave you nor forsake you. He's with his people. These are the names of grace. These are the names of God who
are only known and only discerned in Christ. This is the promised
Messiah. This is the Christ. John 4, verses
25 and 26, the woman at the well in Samaria. She says, I know
that Messiah is coming. When he comes, he will tell us
all things. Jesus said unto her, I that speak
to you am he. I am the Messiah. 1 John chapter
5 verse 20. And we know that the Son of God
is come, discerning the body of the Lord. We know that the
Son of God is come and has given us an understanding that we may
know him that is true and we are in him that is true even
in his son Jesus Christ. This is the true God. Jesus Christ
is the true God and eternal life is in Him alone. This is what
it is to discern the Lord's body. This is what it is. Don't, if
that's not your experience, don't eat this bread and drink this
cup, because that's not discerning the Lord's body, and that's to
eat and drink unworthily. 1 John chapter 4 verse 2, Hereby
know ye the Spirit of God. Every spirit that confesses that
Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God. Jesus Christ has come
in the flesh for the particular redemption of his particular
people. This is what it is to know him.
John 8 verse 24. Jesus said this, I said therefore
to you, that you shall die in your sins, for if you believe
not that I am he, you shall die in your sins. If you believe
not that I am he, i.e., if you don't discern the Lord's body,
you're in that state of damnation. You shall die in your sins. This
is God who is speaking to us. This is God who is a consuming
fire. The New Testament says that.
God is a consuming fire. At Sinai, God was a consuming
fire. If any, even if an animal went
near to that mountain when God was speaking that law, it was
to be shot through with an arrow. It was to be consumed with fire.
The people were terrified. They couldn't look at Moses when
he'd been speaking to God because his face shone. There had to
be a veil put over his face because they couldn't, it was a terrifying
place. But this is also God who in the
Lord Jesus Christ says, I am meek and lowly of heart. I am
gracious to sinners. Come unto me and I will give
you rest. What does it tell us about him
here? We have just three things. He is my light and my salvation
and the strength of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid? He
is my light. my light. The scriptures often
talk about light in terms of spiritual revelation and spiritual
enlightenment. It talks about the people who
are without that light as walking in darkness. Isaiah 9 verse 2,
the people that walked in darkness, which is all of us as we are
by nature, have seen a great light Great light has shined
upon them. They were walking in darkness,
oppressed by powerful enemies that were seeking the destruction
of their souls, but they've seen a great light. John chapter one
and verse four, speaking of Christ. In him was life. In him was life. And the life was the light of
men, the Lord Jesus Christ. John eight verse 12. Then Jesus
spoke again to them saying, I am the light of the world. He that
follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the
light of life. 2 Corinthians chapter 4 and verse
6, you know this so well, that God, who commanded the light
to shine out of darkness at creation when God said, let there be light,
has shined in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge
of the glory of God, where? In the face of Jesus Christ.
Christ reveals Him. The only begotten Son, no man
has seen God at any time, the only begotten Son who is in the
bosom of the Father, He has revealed Him. Psalm 119 verse 105, your
word in the beginning was the word and the word was with God
and the word was God and the word became flesh and dwelt among
us. This is Christ. Your word is
a lamp to my feet. The Lord is my light. The Lord
is my light and a light to my path. This is discerning God
in Christ by his grace. This isn't just the light of
earthly wisdom. Yes, there's earthly wisdom that
will lead you to right living and being kind to your neighbors
and avoiding criminal records and all sorts of other things,
that you'll dwell in safety and prosperity. It's not talking
about that, it's talking about the light of grace, showing us
true salvation in Christ Jesus alone. He's the light. The Lord is my light. Whom shall
I fear? And the Lord is my salvation.
Salvation. You know the people that talk
about salvation are the people that know they're in utter lost
danger. Did you hear about the man in
Florida who in his bed suddenly in the middle of the night went
down a big hole in the ground that opened up? Can you imagine
what a dreadful experience that must be? He's gone, he's dead
as far as we know. They didn't go and rescue him
in case other people fall down the same hole. Just suddenly,
a hole opened up underneath his bed. It's just absolutely remarkable. I imagine in the moment he was
going down the hole with no way of getting back up it, he was
screaming out for somebody to come and save him from that situation. Salvation. What is salvation
in terms of eternity? It's my sins that will drag me
down to hell unless someone come and save me. I cannot save myself. I'm lost and drowning in a stormy
sea of the judgment of God against my sin. I don't just need to
know about salvation, I need somebody to throw me the life
belt and drag me out of that water and get me onto that boat. Salvation from the consequences
of sin. Titus, chapter 3, verses 4 and
5. But when, now listen to these
words of grace, when the kindness and the love of God our Savior
toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness that you might
do, but according to his mercy, he saved us. He saved us. He reached down. God became man
to come and reach down and save us. The Lord is my light and
my salvation. Whom shall I fear? What is there
to fear? You know, you fear those that
can kill the body. Well, don't fear them. The scriptures
tell us, fear Him who when He's killed the body can condemn in
hell. But in Christ, He saves His people. And He is the strength of my
life. The strength of my life, of whom
shall I be afraid? He is the strength of my life.
Where do you get your life from? From Him. In Him was life, and
that life was the light of men. John 10 verse 28, Jesus says
about His sheep, about those that are the sheep of his fold,
he says, I give unto them eternal life. He is the strength of my
life. He is the one that we read is
able to keep that which I've committed unto him against that
day. He is the strength of my life.
Do I fear what's to come? No. He is able. He is the strength
of my life. He is able to keep that which
I've committed unto him against that day. What about me in all
my weakness? Paul had a thorn in the flesh.
Please take it from me. He prayed three times, he says.
But God came to him with the answer that his strength was
made perfect in Paul's weakness, and his strength is made perfect
in my weakness. He is the strength of my life. He is my light. He is my salvation. He is the strength of my life.
So have you experienced knowing God in Christ? And I ask this
of myself too. Do you know anything of the cleansing
and forgiveness in his broken body and his shed blood? Do you
know anything of the light that is in the Lord Jesus Christ,
of the salvation and the strength of life, the confidence of salvation
that is in him? Then you can say, as the psalmist
says, of whom shall I be afraid? Any of my enemies, they can't
do anything to me. He is the strength of my life.
The circumstances of life that crop up, we all face very uncertain
times. What's gonna happen? I know this,
the Lord keeps his people. The Lord keeps his children.
The Lord doesn't allow any of his children to go begging bread.
This is the promise of scripture. God will do it. Trust him, rest
in him. The circumstances of life, no.
If God before us, Who can be against us, as Paul says in Romans
chapter 8? This, I believe, I know I've
only scratched the surface, but this is something of discerning
the Lord's body. And if it's your experience,
and if it's my experience, in some measure, as I say, I'm not
talking about being a first-rate theologian who can argue with
others about the truth, I'm talking about that simple faith of Happy
Jack. I'm a poor sinner, and nothing
at all, but Jesus Christ is my all in all. If that's your experience,
then you discern the body of the Lord, and you can eat this
bread. And you can drink this cup in a worthy manner, not because
your flesh is worthy, not because you're less sinful than others,
but because you know wherein salvation lies.