1 Corinthians 11:23-25
I Remember
We have celebrated the Lord’s Supper together well over 100 times. In
all of the years I have been with you, I have never preached a random
topic and then added this event onto the end. Instead, I have always
done my best to center you attention directly on to this service.
There is a reason for that. I believe that for a Christian, this
service is to be one of the most significant and unique services he
will ever attend. For that reason, I work hard not to make the
service too repetitive—although I know I have repeated some truths
until you can easily quote them in your sleep.
My intent is to be short this evening. My goal is not to teach or to
preach, but to prepare you for the Lord’s Supper. Then I want to get
out of the way and let God come sit beside you and let you fellowship
with Him. I pray that it would be so tonight.
Just a few thoughts tonight:
I. I remember.
A. There are at least five reasons I see from the Scripture that
we are to have the Lord’s Supper, but I could not get past
the first and the most prominent one.
B. Jesus said, "As oft as you do this, do it in remembrance of
Me."
1. Tonight, if we do nothing but remember our Lord, this hour
will have served its purpose.
2. What should we remember? I spend some time this afternoon
remembering. Let me share some of what came to my mind.
C. I remember…
1. He came.
a. Jesus, God’s Son, came.
b. Do not let the simplicity of that statement deprive
you of the richness of it.
c. In order for Jesus to come, He first had to DEBASE
Himself.
Psalm 113:5 Who is like unto the LORD our God,
who dwelleth on high,
6 Who humbleth himself to behold the things that
are in heaven, and in the earth!
(1) If God has to humble Himself to LOOK on the
affairs of mankind, what must He do to BECOME a
man?
(2) You and I cannot comprehend what Jesus had to do
walk among sinful man.
(3) Have you ever smelled something that was just
absolutely repugnant? Something that made you
sick? Perhaps a dirty diaper? Perhaps the
residue of a sick stomach? Perhaps you have
smelled decomposing flesh? burnt flesh?
(4) What must sin do to God? He is holy. He is
pure.
(5) But God did not merely come for a visit. God
came to stay for 33 plus years.
d. Not only did Jesus have to debase Himself, He also
had to DIVEST himself.
(1) He laid His omniscience, omnipresence, omnipresence
aside.
(2) He laid His eternal form aside.
(3) He laid His glory aside.
e. Not only did Jesus have to debase and divest Himself,
He also had to deny Himself.
(1) I do not mean that He denied He was God, but he
certain denied Himself the pleasures that He was
His as God.
(2) No one served Jesus when He was here.
(a) The angels of heaven served Him in eternity.
(b) The unique creatures around the throne
served Him in eternity.
(c) Creation—that is everything God created
except mankind—serviced Him before He
came.
(d) Time and power served Him in eternity.
(e) But on earth, the closest thing to being
served was a mother who swaddled Him, a
set of sisters who fed Him, and a few men
who buried Him.
f. Not only did Jesus have to debase, divest, and deny
Himself, but He also had to deliver Himself up.
(1) Jesus had disciples that would fight for Him.
But Jesus said no.
(2) I believe Jesus had angels who would have rescued
Him. But Jesus said no.
(3) I believe the Father and the Holy Ghost might
have to deliver Him, but Jesus said no.
(4) Jesus made it clear.
(a) No man was taking His life.
(b) Jesus was giving it.
(c) Jesus delivered Himself.
2. Jesus gave.
a. What did Jesus give? Everything.
(1) I have mentioned some of what my small mind can
understand that He gave up.
(2) But He also gave His life.
(3) He gave His blood.
(4) However, I am thinking He gave even more.
b. My thought is that Jesus gave Himself.
(1) In \\#Luke 8:40-46\\, Jesus was walking through a
thick crowd and a women with an issue of blood
came up and touched Him. When she did, she was
immediately healed.
(2) Jesus stopped and looked around, the asked. "Who
touched Me?" The disciples more or less laughed
at Jesus.
(3) "The crowd is all around you and you ask, ‘Who
touched Me’?"
Luke 8:46 And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched
me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me.
(4) It was not just a bump that Jesus was talking
about. It was a healing of faith, and Jesus
knew it because "virtue" had gone out of Him.
(5) What is virtue?
(a) Most define that word as "power."
(b) Scientists are not always right but they
believe and have taught for decades that
energy, power, cannot be created or
destroyed. It can only change forms.
(c) The giant oak tree sits in the forest for
decades, even longer, sucking energy from
the ground, the air, and the sun. We have
no idea how much energy it has consumed
until a fire runs through and the static
energy is turned into heat and light and
we stand it all of it.
(d) If energy is not created, where does it come
from?
i. From God.
ii. God is love. God is Light. God is
Energy and Power.
iii. When that woman touched the hem of
His garment, something more than
just a bit of power left Jesus.
iv. A part of who, of what Jesus is left
Him.
v. And so it was and always has been,
Jesus has not just given us some
things. He has given to us Himself.
vi. I cannot explain it any better, but
Jesus gave.
3. He loved.
4. He taught.
5. He died.
6. He arose.
7. He saves.
8. He is coming again.
II. I examine.
1Cor 11:28 But let a man examine himself, and
so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that
cup.
29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily,
eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not
discerning the Lord’s body.
30 For this cause many are weak and sickly among
you, and many sleep.
31 For if we would judge ourselves, we should
not be judged.
32 But when we are judged, we are chastened of
the Lord, that we should not be condemned with
the world.
A. I cannot say that is the second most obvious or even important
purpose of the Lord’s Supper, but it is right up there with
it.
B. Every Lord’s Supper is an opportunity for personal revival.
1. God wants to come sit down beside you, put His arm around
you, and fellowship with you just as He did with His
disciples 2000 years ago and as He will all of the saved
once He had returned.
2. The question is, "Will you let Him or will you let sin
keep you apart?"
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