Let's take our Bibles and open
them tonight to 1st Corinthians chapter 11. I always like to bring a message
about the Lord's Supper the night that we observe this ordinance. I haven't always done that, but
I like to do that. And so tonight, I want to bring
this message. I pray that God will bless it
and use it in each of our hearts. I want us to notice in verse
20, the three words, the Lord's Supper. When you come together,
therefore, into one place, this is not to eat, the Lord's Supper. This is the only time in the
New Testament where these three words are given. The Lord's Supper. Now in Matthew, Mark, and Luke,
where we have the institution of the Lord's Supper, we have
our Lord saying in Matthew and Mark, this is my blood of the
New Testament. And in the Gospel of Luke, he
says the same thing, but in these words, this cup is the New Testament
in my blood, which is shed for you. I want you to look with
me at that passage in Luke chapter 22 for just a second. What we are going to do, we're
going to look at all of the passages of Scripture. that refer to the
Lord's Supper. But as I said, that's the only
place where the ordinance is referred to in those three words,
the Lord's Supper. But as we see here in Luke chapter
22 and verse 20, the scripture says, likewise also the cup. In other words, like the bread.
in verse 19. And he took bread, and gave thanks,
and break, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body, which
is given for you, this do in remembrance of me, likewise also
the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the New Testament
in my blood, which is shed for you. Notice that it was after
supper. It was after supper that the
Lord Jesus Christ took the bread and break it, giving thanks and
giving it to his disciples and doing likewise with the cup after
supper. You say, well, this is the Lord's
supper after supper. What supper was that? Well, that
was the Passover supper. The last Passover that should
ever have been observed by any person was that night that the
Lord Jesus Christ with his disciples observed the Passover. The Passover
Supper. What was the Passover Supper?
Well, we know it too was a memorial service. When God delivered the
nation of Israel, and remember they were slaves They were in
bondage, and they were in Egypt, which is a type of the world.
They were under the authority of Pharaoh, which is a type of
Satan. And they were delivered by blood,
by the blood of the Lamb, the Passover Lamb. And they were
commanded for all generations to remember that deliverance
out of Egypt. and to remember it by observing
the Passover supper. And it was to be observed until
it was, as a type, fulfilled. We know that it was a type of
Christ. He is the Passover lamb. The blood of those animals As
the Apostle tells us in the book of Hebrews, it's not possible
that the blood of bulls and goats can take away sin. It doesn't
have that ability. But it did have the power to
represent and to picture the blood of the Lamb of God. And Paul says, for even Christ,
our Passover, is sacrificed for us. So in the Gospels, Matthew,
Mark, and Luke, we have the institution when the Lord, after supper,
after the Passover supper, instituted the Lord's Table. But it's not
called here the Lord's Table. It is the blood of the New Testament. The blood of the New Testament
which was shed for many for the remission of sins. Actually,
the shedding of His blood ratified the New Testament. That's the
reason sometimes it's referred to as the Last Will and Testament. And all the blessings, all the
benefits that He willed to His people, they're all given out
because of His death. because of the shedding of His
blood. Now, look with me in Acts. Go
with me to Acts chapter 2. In Acts chapter 2, I want us
to read verses 41 and 42. Scripture here says, then they
that gladly received his word were baptized. Now that's God's
order. That's God's order. Now man,
man always thinks he can improve on God's order, doesn't he? Man
is so proud and so deceived by Satan, he always thinks that
he can do better than God, so he wants to reverse the order
and say, well first be baptized, which usually means be sprinkled,
and then eventually receive the Word, believe in Jesus Christ. That's the reverse of God's order. God's order is, as we see here
in this passage, they gladly received His Word and then they
were baptized. And they were added, the same
day they were added unto them, that is unto the 120 who had
met in that upper room, it was added unto them about 3,000 souls. That's some increase, isn't it? From the church, 120 to 3,120. But the point I want us to see
is these people who received the word, these people who were
baptized, there are three things told us about them. Number one,
They continued steadfastly in the Apostles' doctrine. Now what
does that mean, the Apostles' doctrine? Well, it's the doctrine
of Christ, isn't it? That's the Apostles' doctrine.
Remember, our Lord prayed for them which would believe on Him
through their word. And the Apostles' doctrine is
contained for us in the Word of God. A believer, a person
who receives Christ, who receives the Word, and is baptized, then
that person should continue steadfastly in the Word of God. They did. And the Word of God is complete.
I was surprised this past week when I read an article quoting
a man I could call his name, and many of you would recognize
his name. who said that God spoke to him
audibly. God spoke to him audibly. Well, you know that man. You say, well, he writes some
good things. Yes, he sure does. But remember, a false prophet
will always say some good things. And for that man to say that
God spoke to him audibly and told him something that's not
in the Word of God identifies him, as far as I'm concerned,
as a false prophet. These believers, they continued
steadfastly in the Apostles' doctrine, the doctrine of Christ,
that is, that which is contained in God's written Word. We're not here to hear about
some vision or some dream or some sign that somebody's had,
but we're here to hear what God says, the Word of God. Number two, notice they continued
steadfastly in the Apostles' doctrine, they continued steadfastly
in fellowship and in breaking of bread. Now what is that? Well,
that includes the Lord's Supper. You say, why do you say that?
Because the word which is here translated fellowship is the
same word that's translated communion in 1 Corinthians chapter 10 when
it is speaking about the Lord's Supper. The scripture there says,
the cup of blessing that we bless, is it not the communion, the
fellowship of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is
it not the communion, the fellowship of the body of Christ? So believers,
they received the word, they were baptized, they continued
steadfastly in the word and in fellowship and in breaking of
bread. Number three, we are told, they
continued steadfastly in prayers. These three things should be
true of all who receive the word of God and are baptized. What a blessing prayer is, and
I cannot emphasize this too often or too much. The truth, what
is prayer? What is prayer? It's an audience
with God Almighty. That someone like you and I may have God's ear. That's amazing, isn't it? And
it's only through the mediation of the Lord Jesus Christ. Only
through Him. And we have the Holy Spirit who
helps us to pray, and we have the Advocate at the Father's
right hand to perfume our prayers and make them acceptable. they
continued steadfastly in prayer. So should each and every one
of us. All right, now let's go to one
other passage. In 1 Corinthians chapter 10 and verse 21. 1 Corinthians chapter 10 and verse
21. I'm sorry, that's not the right
verse that I want. I think it's, let me see if I
can find it. It's 1 Corinthians chapter 10
and verse 21. The apostle says, you cannot
drink. Everyone have it? 1 Corinthians
10 and verse 21. Well, that's what I called out,
isn't it? I was right all the time. I turned to chapter 11. Okay,
1 Corinthians 10 and verse 21. You cannot drink the cup of the
Lord and the cup of devils. You cannot be partakers of the
Lord's table and of the table of devils. Now here, Paul is
speaking of the Lord's table, but he is instructing the Corinthians
that no true believer in Christ, no true believer trusting in
the Lord Jesus Christ and his one sacrifice for sins ought
to be found at two different tables. That is, the table where
a drink offering is poured out to some false god and then at
the table like we are here tonight. A believer, a child of God, should
never be found at these two tables. He should be at one or the other. If he's a believer, he should
be at this table. And if he's at a table where
a false god is drunk to, and bread eaten,
and given thanks to, then that person is not a true believer
in Christ. You cannot serve God and mammon. And some of the Corinthians,
evidently, they were under pressure from other people doing just
that. They would eat at a temple where
an offering had been made to a false deity and a drink offering
had been poured out. And then, when they were in worship
service, they would eat and partake of the Lord's table. And that's
not to be. They're two opposites. Now, tonight,
back to our text, 1 Corinthians 11 and verse 20, I want to mention just four things,
four simple things about this supper that we eat. First, this
is the supper we eat of the Lord. Emphasis on the Lord. When we speak and when we say
Lord, and when the scriptures speak of Him as Lord, we recognize
that this table is the table of the Lord of Lords. I'm reminded of what Peter declared
on that day of Pentecost when those 3,000 were added to the
church. He said, let all the house of
Israel know assuredly that God hath made that same Jesus, that
same Jesus, Jesus of Nazareth, the one that you maligned and
called Beelzebub, that same Jesus, the one that you delivered to
Pilate and denied before him and cried for his blood, that
same Jesus upon whose face you spit, that same Jesus that you
buffeted, smiting him with the palms of your hands, and that
same Jesus that you mocked when he was hanging on the cross,
that same Jesus hath God made both Lord and Christ. He's the Lord of lords and the
King of kings. This is his table. This is his
supper. He who is the Lord. Not some
pretend to be Lord. Not some want to be Lord. But
someone who has all authority and all power. One who's sitting
upon the throne of God. And he got there by way of his
bloody cross. As God, he's always been Lord. But as God-man, He is exalted
to the right hand of God, and all authority and all power is
given unto Him. We don't worship poor little
Jesus. We worship the Lord of Lords. This is His table. Number
two, this is the supper we eat by His command. He's the one
who said, this do in remembrance of me. He said this. He who is the Lord. He's the
one who said, this do in remembrance of me. This is his command. You
know, the Apostle John, in his first letter, he says several
things about our Lord's commandments. One thing he said is, hereby
we do know that we know him if we keep his commandments. Another
is, for this is the love of God that we keep His commandments,
and His commandments are not grievous. This service, it's
not grievous to us, is it? To come together tonight and
observe the Lord's table. It's not grievous to us. We do
this in remembrance of Christ. He commanded this of us. and
His commandments are not grievous to us. Now I know that in this
passage here in 1 Corinthians 11, that that word unworthily has
caused some not to come to the Lord's table. And that is because
for some reason, when we read the Scripture, we see unworthy. It says unworthily. But for some
reason, we see unworthy. And I know some of God's children
have failed to come to the table of the Lord because they say,
well, I'm not worthy. Well, it doesn't say He who is not worthy. There's none
of us worthy. None of us. Who would ever confess
that He's worthy of the death of the Lord Jesus Christ? Unworthy? Yes. Amen. No, it's the manner. It's the unworthy manner in which
it is taken. For to take this supper tonight,
for any other reason, make no mistake about it, to take this
supper tonight, the bread and the wine, for any other reason
than to remember Christ and show forth His death till He comes
is to take it in an unworthily manner. Number three, this is a supper
we eat clothed in His robe. Everyone who's invited and encouraged
and commanded to come to this table tonight, we do so clothed
in the robe which He has provided. You remember one of our Lord's
parables the man who came to the wedding feast. And from what
I've read, and I'm sure this is true from the Scripture, that
wedding garments were prepared for people. You just had a wedding.
I know it's a lot of work. But they would prepare wedding
garments, and the guests, when they would come, they were given
a wedding garment to put on. Well now this king, he came in,
he'd given this feast for his son, And there's one man that
he sees, and boy, he stands out, too. I mean, you can't miss him. Why? Because he does not have
the wedding garment on. Now, why did he not have the
wedding garment on? Well, we're not told, but most
likely he had a garment of his own. I've woven this garment. I've sewed this garment together.
by my works, by my good deeds. It's better than that garment
that this man has prepared for me." So he didn't put it on. And what happened? The king said,
bind him hand and feet and cast him into outer darkness. We're
here tonight, those of us who partake of this table, we are
here dressed in a robe. We've exchanged that filthy robe
that filthy robe of our own righteousnesses, and we are clothed in the robe,
the best robe, that is, the righteousness of Christ. I want to be in this robe, don't
you? I want to be clothed in this
robe, the perfect, absolute righteousness of Christ. obedience unto God
in every way, every thought, every word, and every deed. That's the garment of salvation,
isn't it? Isaiah 61 and 10. We read, I
will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my
God, for he, now listen, for he hath clothed me with the garments
of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride
adorneth herself with jewels. We come tonight to this table
dressed in this robe of righteousness, and it's all the way down to
the floor. It covers us completely. And
number four, this table, this is the supper that we eat what
He has provided. That is his flesh and his blood. Not literally, I understand that,
not literally. But the bread represents his
broken body, his body which was broken for us. And the cup represents
his blood which was poured out for us. This is the Lord's table. And I would emphasize again,
it's his table. It's not my table. It's not this
church's table. It's the Lord's table. And God's
children are welcome to partake of this table because it's His
table. And if you're clothed tonight
with His righteousness, then you are invited to eat the bread
and drink the cup. We're going to ask the men of
our church to come, the ones who'll hand out the