Communion Meditation

The Lord’s Supper is a foretaste of the wedding feast of the Lamb.  It is an invitation to the heavenly banquet. To participate in the sacrament is to receive the blessings of the eternal kingdom of Christ.

Every blessing of the Covenant are received, embraced, and enjoyed, by faith.  Faith is essential.  If you have faith, even weak faith, faith as small as a mustard seed, come to the table.

If you have no faith, if you do not believe, or if you are living in defiance of God’s commands; coming to this table will only bring judgment.  Don’t come.

What are these blessings that are received by faith at the table?

First, it is pardon for sin, all of them. 

Second, it is sanctification for sinner-saints.

Here, in this means of grace, the Holy Spirit sanctifies our nature, 

subdues our sins, and implants in our heart gospel grace. 

Here we have access to the favor of God.

Third, it is communion with God.

What is that sweet communion with God; what does it entail?

According to Samuel Davies, in the Supper, there are “reviving communications of divine love, to sweeten the affections of life; and the constant assistance of divine grace to bear us up under every burden, and to enable us to persevere in the midst of many temptations.”

Fourth, it is rededication. At the Lord’s Supper, we receive Christ as Savior and accept the gospel. Here, we commit ourselves to Christ; here we renew our vows of the covenant and and recommit to the covenant community.

When we receive the Supper, we are brought into the presence of our Great King and we celebrate the reality that we, who were outsiders, have now been brought into the family of God.

As you come, remember Jesus. Remember his willing sacrifice. Remember the spotless lamb of God whose blood cleanses you.

“Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” James 1:27

The closer we draw near to God the more we become like him. The nearer we come to the heart and mind of God, the more that we reflect His heart and mind. We begin to think what God thinks and feel what God feels.  

So, true religion, or genuine sanctification, can be described like this: you visit orphans and widows and do not roll in the mud with the rest of the world.

The grace of God changes us into his image and we begin to bear his likeness. If God the Holy Spirit dwells in you, it will show. There will be some evidence of His presence, some inkling of His likeness in your life.

You come to the Lord’s Table with the Lord’s Spirit within you. 

How are you bearing God’s likeness in your life? 

Are you visiting widows and orphans? 

Are you saying “no” to the shallow thinking and empty pleasures of the world? 

Does the gift of faith and the strength that you derive from this communion with God making inroads in your life in a practical way? 

We come to the table with faith, plus nothing.  But true faith is never alone. Faith breaks the surface in some evident way. What is the evidence that your faith is real, and that it is working?

If you have no evidence, you may not have faith.  You must have faith in Christ crucified, risen, and reigning to come to this table.  But even if you have weak faith or small faith – you are to come and commune with the Savior.

Romans 4:20-25 No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.”  But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

Abraham had faith in God. He believed that God could do what He had promised. Nothing can stand in the way of God’s power and promise. To that faith, that trust and rest in the person and promise of God, to that faith, righteousness is given.

That is the faith that opens this table to you – a personal trust and commitment to God, His Word, His Promise, His Son. If you have that faith, come.  If not, don’t come; but hear the words of our text” “The words … were not written for (Abraham’s) sake alone, but for ours also. (Righteousness) will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

That is the gospel. Receive it, believe it, commit to it; and this table will be opened for you.

We come to this table is faith; trusting in what God has promised to us in Jesus Christ.  We come remembering him, his life and death; his obedience and suffering for our salvation.

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

The unrighteous will not inherit the Kingdom of God. A list of disqualifying unrighteous actions follows. If you are living in sin and content, you are disqualified. If you are still a rebel from God, not trusting in him do not come to this table.

If you have committed some of the sins listed here can you come to the table?

“Such were some of you.”

We share this table with great sinners.  We all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We share this table with those who were unrighteous. Rebels – just like us. We are now the redeemed. We have all been purchased back from sin. We are not better than others, but we are blessed by God.

Such were some of you.

That phrase, that truth, kills pride. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We are saved by grace. We come to this table in humble faith, rejoicing. We are forgiven, cleansed, accepted in Jesus Christ.

The life and death of Jesus are our salvation. The body and blood of Jesus save. That is what we come to remember, together, with former rebels who are now redeemed.

Romans 1:7 To all those … who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

God has loved his people from before the foundation of the world. The Bible is the historical record of the love of God for his people.

God’s love is fully and finally demonstrated in the person and work of Jesus Christ – His coming, death, resurrection, and ascension.

And now, in love, God invites his people to his table. He invites you so that you can experience his love again. 

It is one of the great struggles in the Christian life, to fully rest in, and rejoice in, the one-sided, unconditional love of God in Christ. That is what this table calls you to.

It seems too good to be true. Free grace; one-sided love. We wrestle to believe that God can love us as we are.  Because we know ourselves. 

Other people can think highly of us, but we know ourselves.  We know our weaknesses and the sins that still cling to us. We hate the sins that we commit; we don’t love those remaining sins. But they remain in us. So how can God love those who still sin?

“For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly…. But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:6, 8.

God’s love is a self-generated love. God finds reasons in himself to love you – to lavish his love upon you. The reason he loves you is not found in you, but in him.

So, What qualifies us to come to this table? We must hate our sin, and accept our savior’s love.

If that is you, come; for you are greatly loved.

If that is not you; if you have not learned to hate your sin, but still love, cherish and defend your – don’t come. If you do not rest in the love of Christ, don’t come.

If you love God, because he first loved you; come to this table.

December 26, 2021

Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, (1 Peter 1:8).

Knowing God is not a means to a higher-end; He is the end, the goal, the true satisfaction.  But. We all have a notion of the good life.

If only I had: 

a better job

a better marriage

better kids

More money

Bigger house

More friends

Then I would be happy. If God gives these things, great.

That is the goal, isn’t it; my personal happiness.  All the people that I know, those that love me, they all want me to be happy. So whatever makes me happy, is good.

The role and function of God are to give me what I think will make me happy.  If he does, I will walk with him.  If he doesn’t, what good is he?  If God doesn’t give me happiness, then He is hindering me, keeping me from the good life, and from human flourishing.

This is a major reason why so many do not follow God. God doesn’t give them what they want.  God is a lousy friend – he doesn’t make me happy.

But, God is not a means to a higher, more fulfilling end – he is the most fulfilling end.  To know God is to know life; true joy, and yes, happiness – rightly understood. There is nothing higher, or better than God!

God’s goal for us is not temporary happiness, but eternal bliss.  God’s plan is not to make us happy, but holy. And being holy, we will know joy, and yes, happiness.

That is why He invites us to know him, trust him, follow him. He knows what we need, and he offers what is best.  

There is no greater joy than walking with God, by His wisdom, and through His Son, through that veil of tears.  He is the guide through this waste howling wilderness of a fallen, sinful world. His paths lead to ultimate joy and peace.

He offers joy unspeakable and full of Glory. He offers grace and peace. He offers light and life.

It is all found in Christ; in knowing him and following him.

If you are a member of a bible-believing, evangelical church

If you see Christ as the end, the goal, the guide to true human life, and ultimate fulfillment – then come to this table.

If you are seeking to use Jesus as a means to another, higher-end – you don’t know Christ, and you don’t belong at this table.

Dear Child of God, come, in faith, to commune with Christ, to receive his grace, and to rest in his presence and provision.

Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, (1 Peter 1:8).

Communion Meditation

“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” Romans 8:18

The sufferings of this present time are real.

Evil is real. Sin has devastated God’s original design.  Sin has wounded you.  Evil has been visited upon you. Your sin and evil have spilled unto others as well.  Pain, suffering, injustice are real and they are weighty.

They are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed in us. I have done a quick review of my own life.  I have experienced more of the evil than I have of the glory.  The present suffering is tangible, I can touch and feel it.  The glory to come is distant; I do not fully experience nor understand it.  When I compare them, the evil seems larger, more substantial – it is real.  

Why is that? Because I do not rightly value the glory. It is a future glory; a glory that is yet to be revealed.  It is a promised glory. But I begin to see that glory is Jesus Christ. In the suffering and the victory of Jesus Christ. I see it at the cross.  He swallowed death, and sin and evil. He has overcome it.  That is the glory. 

The glory of God is the answer to the problem of evil; but many do not see it, because we do not see him.

In the cross, we see evil overcome.  In the cross, we see the love of God and the painful victory of the weeping savior.  We see the glory that is to be revealed to us.

Paul considered that the sufferings of this present age are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.  How did he do that? By faith.  Faith in the promises of God.  Faith in the victorious Christ. Faith in the glory that will be revealed to us.

That is the faith that we come to the table with.  If you have no faith, you have not seen the glory and none of this makes sense.  Don’t come to this table. 

If you have faith, even weak faith, you can see something of God, and something of the glory of Christ; you must come to this table for more.

Evil is real; God has overcome it. And God is dismantling it even now.  Glory is coming.

Matthew 11:28  Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

1) Here we have an invitation from the ruler of the heavens and the earth.

Come to me. Approach me. Trust in me. Believe in me. Follow me. Come to me. Draw on my strength. Live in my wisdom. Come to me. 

He is offering rest to the weary and burdened.

2) We have the description of those invited to come to Jesus.

All who labor and are heavy laden. ESV

All you who are weary and burdened. NIV

Weary and burdened with what? Sin, self, life in a fallen world, heartbreak, sadness, pain, confusion.  I don’t think we can limit it to one or two things.  

Jesus invites all who are weary and burdened, but he invites only those.  Those who are proud, self-sufficient, content with their own power and resources, those who are not weary and burdened with sin and shame, are not invited to Jesus, and they are not welcomed to this table.

Only those who know they need Jesus and trust him can come to this table.

3) We have a promise from the great shepherd of the sheep, Jesus.

I will give you rest.  Rest, from your weariness, rest from your burden. 

He is not promising a vacation by the beach. 

He is promising to remove your weariness and your burden; 

he will take it from you are bare it himself, it will bear it away. 

Leaving you nothing but rest. 

He will refresh you, by taking away the burden of sin.

That is what Jesus is offering at this table. Rest. Come to me. Rest in me. 

I have completed the work, I have paid for sin, I have borne your burden. I have the strength to exchange for your weariness. 

I have died; and yet I live.  I offer you life; my life, my blood, my body, my strength, my victory.  I offer you rest.  The work is finished. I have earned your salvation and it has already been accepted. You can enter into rest; now. Today.

O Christian, are you weary, seeking rest? Come to the Savior now.

 

God, in speaking to the serpent in the Garden of Eden, gave fallen mankind their first promise of grace.

In Genesis 3:15, He said this, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall strike his heel.”

God speaks of the perpetual warfare, the division, and the enmity that will exist between the people of God and the children of the serpent.  We see the world in vastly different ways – the children of God wish to follow the Lord, and the children of the serpent want to be gods themselves. We have vastly divergent perceptions of the world; different world-views.  There is no common or middle ground, no possible compromise between the two warring humanities and their competing visions for life.  So, they are at odds, over everything.

And God wanted it this way.  He put the enmity, the division, between them.  There is a great difference between the Children of God and the Children of the Serpent, a chasm separates them – and we see that division in the Lord’s Supper.

This Supper is given only to the Children of God, to believers, to those who call Jesus Savior and Lord and really mean it.  If you don’t follow Jesus as Lord, you are a Child of the Serpent and you have no place at this table. Don’t come.

But when the Children of God partake of this table we remember two things: the crushed head and the bruised heel.  

Jesus has crushed the head of the serpent. Sin has been paid for, death has been defeated, rebellion has been put down.  Jesus lived and died to defeat the serpent and his influence on the Children of God. His head is crushed.

We also remember the bruised heel.  Jesus suffered.  He became sin. He absorbed the full penalty for sin. He bled and died that we might have life.

Jesus speaks life to us at this table.  Real life, spiritual life, and eternal life in fellowship with Him.  We come to the table to enjoy that fellowship of life.