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On Thursday of this week we all had one thing
in common: we couldn’t wait to be told: “Come to the table!” This morning,
Jesus has set the table and is inviting us, “Come to My Table.”
John 6:27 Jesus is speaking to a
group which followed Him because He just fed them. He points out the fact
that there are better reasons to follow Him than just for a temporary fill.
Ill.—what do you call a stray dog that you
give a little food to? “Pet!” You own him now! He’ll stay right beside
you. But will he find more in you than that? Will he find love and a place
in the family, or will he be dropped off in a better neighborhood or fall
victim to an unfortunate “accident”?
v. 31 They wanted the Lord to top that
miracle.
v. 32-33 Their mouths are watering, they
cannot wait…oh hurry, they said, licking their chops. Don’t tease us…when
will this bread get here?
v. 35 It is here! You’re looking at
it!
“Oh,” they said sadly. “Really?” What a let
down they felt.
v. 41-42 They aren’t thrilled with His
claim, and they don’t believe. They aren’t getting the picture here, but we
must make sure WE understand:
v. 48-51 Jesus announces the main course,
and it’s Him! It’s a spiritual analogy, but they don’t get it.
v. 52 They’re thinking He’s like
Dracula telling the young couple to come over because He’d like to ‘have
them for dinner.’ Well, it’s not cannibalism Christ is advocating, it’s
true Christianity, realizing His body and His blood are the real spiritual
sustenance that will sustain a Christian life.
v. 53-58 It’s not very physically
appetizing, but spiritually speaking, it’s the best eating you’ll ever
experience.
Psalms 34:8
O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man
that trusteth in him.
Bread sustains life, and His body is the
bread, so we must trust in the sacrifice made by that broken body.
Leviticus 17:11
For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you
upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the
blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.
Blood is life. And when Jesus’
blood was shed, His life was being poured out, and all who kneel at the foot
of that cross receive that life in a sin cleansing, life giving bath. Are
you washed in the blood?
They didn’t get it in Jesus day, but we do
now! It’s not about really eating that flesh and drinking that blood.
Jesus said these elements before us today are SYMBOLIC of His body and
blood. There’s no saving power in these elements, and none will be saved
today by partaking. This is a time of remembrance. This is only for those
who HAVE been saved by that sacrificial body and that redeeming blood, and
want to obey the command to remember and be thankful.
But first, there are several things we
need to bring to the table:
1. Before we sit down to a meal, we need clean hands. You don’t work in the
garden or garage and then come inside, sit down, and eat dinner. You wash up
first. This is why the Bible tells us to examine our lives before receiving
Communion.
Turn to I Cor. 11:28
We may see something that needs to be
confessed and cleaned up. When we were kids, we occasionally had to go to
bed without supper because we did something bad. When we come to Jesus with
remorse and repentance, we find forgiveness, restoration, and an invitation
to His table. Some people get so burdened by their sins, that instead of
asking forgiveness, they figure they’re too unworthy to participate, and
they pass the tray without partaking. None of us are worthy, but if we’ve
trusted Christ, we are eligible. He invites and authorizes us to come to the
table.
Psalms 24:3-4 3 Who shall ascend into the hill
of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place? 4 He that hath clean hands, and a
pure heart…
2. Also before dining, we need a good appetite. What would happen if you
were invited to someone’s house for dinner and an hour before the meal you
ate a bag of chips, a Coke, and a package of Twinkies? After all this junk
food, you’d have little appetite for the good stuff! Paul tells us, “you
can’t drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you can’t have a
part in both the Lord’s Table and the table of demons”
That’s in I Cor. 10:21, look at it: God
offers us a substantive meal—the Bread and Cup won’t fill us up physically,
but they will satisfy our spiritual hunger. When we stuff ourselves with the
junk food of sin we lose our appetite for the banquet God has prepared for
us. We need to “taste and see” the satisfying goodness of the Lord (Psalm
34:8).
Dr. Leroy Creasy of Cornell University has identified a chemical in grapes
that reduces the risk of heart disease. He reports in the Journal of Applied
Cardiology that grape juice lowers cholesterol and cleanses the heart of
life-threatening impurities. At the Lord’s Table grape juice represents the
blood of Christ, which cleanses our spiritual hearts of sin’s deadly
effects.
We are in the world, but we don’t have to be of the world. We
are exposed to sin, but with God’s help we can resist temptation. Do we get
an appetite for what God has for us, when we’ve been dwelling on things
below, rather than things above? When our perspective is fixed on temporal
things, we can get caught up in that which has no lasting value. Jesus
promises, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for
they will be filled.” [Mt. 5]
What does Jesus mean when He says we’ll be “filled”? I think a lot of people
live their lives on EMPTY. They go day-to-day without much purpose or
meaning, and when they reach the end they wonder what the point was in
living. They are starving spiritually. Well Jesus is what we’re truly hungry
for, and good news—He’s inviting us to His table!
3. When we’re dining, we also need patience--time to enjoy the moment. We
live in a fast food world, even at home, where we don’t take time to make
the meal what it used to be.
Ill.—the chairs in places like McD’s and
Burger King are designed so that people won’t get too comfortable, so
they’ll eat, leave, and make room for more customers.
I have to admit, that sometimes I’ve looked
at the clock, and after my sermon, I’ve sprinted through Communion. When we
come to the Lord’s Table, our spiritual meal should be the focus of why
we’re here.
4. We also need harmony at the meal table—it is important. I heard about a
family who got together for a meal, and before long the table conversation
got controversial. They started talking about current events, but the
discussion slipped into political differences. Not everyone shared the same
viewpoint, and the enjoyment of the meal got ruined as they argued. We can’t
expect everyone in our congregation to agree on every issue, but we are
expected to get along.
10:17 Paul makes a point of saying that
“we are one body” and we “partake of the one bread.” Conflict, tension,
disharmony, can all ruin a perfectly good meal. One thing we don’t bring to
the table is divisiveness. We don’t have to agree on absolutely everything,
but rather focus on Christ. What unites us is greater than what divides us.
5. We need gratefulness for this meal. Jesus gave thanks, and so should we!
I saw an apron in a gift catalog that said:
“Kiss the Cook”. Those who prepare meals appreciate being told that people
enjoyed their meal.
When we come as a church to the Lord’s Table,
we need to eat with gratitude, to not take it for granted. God provided
manna, miraculous food, to the Jewish nation in the wilderness, and all they
did was complain. We need to appreciate the cost of this meal. Jesus has
prepared a meal for us that cost Him His life. We should appreciate how our
deacons take the time to prepare and serve our Communion. Even more we
should appreciate the sacrifice of our Savior; otherwise we miss the whole
point of this meal!
6. We also need to come to God’s Table with loyalty. We avoid the
competition. If your family owned a restaurant, you would come frequently,
tell others about it, and you wouldn’t want to eat anywhere else. Paul is
talking about how people try to eat at the devil’s table, yet also come to
God’s. We serve a jealous God (vs 22), Who will not be replaced with
substitutes. He demands our undivided loyalty. The Christians at Corinth
were tempted to revert to the idolatrous practices of their former lives.
Our partaking of Communion indicates that we are undivided in our commitment
to Christ. He is our top priority; He has preeminence in our lives.
7. We need to leave the Lord’s Table with purpose. This is spiritual
nourishment and strength for us…but strength for what? God would have us to
be energized for a purpose, and that is to serve Him with all our strength.
“Take it in, burn it up.” But many Christians are content to sit back and
get spiritually fat. It’s like there’s a spiritual tryptophan in what they
hear from their preacher that lulls them to sleep until they next time the
bell rings and it’s time to eat again!
The best food and drink we could ever partake
of is on the table, and we are invited to come and partake. Let’s make sure
and bring the right stuff with us, the right attitudes, and the right
spirit, and let’s be prepared as we leave to prove and demonstrate the real
spiritual strength and health we have by the way we serve and work for our
Lord!
If you aren’t sure if you have been saved,
or you know you are not, and you’d like to be, we want to give that
opportunity. Unlike the rest of us who will merely be remembering the
body and blood of our Lord and how He saved us, YOU will truly be
receiving the real thing if you come and be saved.
10:16 This verse asks 2 rhetorical
questions to which the answer is yes! Gentlemen, please approach the table
and prepare to serve the people.
11:26-31 Let’s all turn around and
make an altar out of our seats at the table, and as you do, examine
yourself, asking the Lord to examine you and show you any unconfessed sin in
your life. Then give thanks to the Lord for His body and blood, for your
salvation as a result, and ask Him for strength for the journey of service
ahead!
v. 23 Gentlemen, please pass the
bread.
v. 24 Give thanks.
v. 25 Gentlemen, please pass the cup /
Give thanks.
v. 26 Let’s join hands around this
table now as we sing and dismiss.
[Some sermon material courtesy Allen Hern
and Robert Leroe]
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