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COMMUNION
Scripture:
Matthew 26:26-29
C.I.: “Decisions
and the Lord’s Supper”
This
coming Tuesday we will be making decisions about who will
represent us for the next 2, 4, 6 years.
“Who
can protect us? Who
can take care of our needs?”
Decisions!
Some
people ask the same things about God. – Today we will begin
answering these while looking at the L.S.
I.
Decisions! Decisions!
Decisions!
A.
HEAVEN’S DECISIONS: (Some decisions have already been made!)
1. God has already made the
decision to LOVE US UNCONDITIONALLY!
a.
Unconditional love is hard for us to understand – since it
is foreign to our beliefs & practice.
1) We think if we “Do good”
people/God will then like us – (Isa. 64:6), “All
our R. deeds…”
2) If we “Conform to their
will” they/God will have to love us – (Rom. 3:10-11).
3) If we “make sacrifices”
then they will have to love us – (I Cor. 13:3).
b.
But God did not decide to love us because of who we
are – but who He is (I Jn. 4:8)!
2. UNCONDITIONAL LOVE – Has
No Limits!
a.
(Rom. 5:8), “God demonstrated His own love for us
in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us!”
B.
WORLD’S DECISIONS: (These are the ones people make every day!)
1. So how do people react
to the unconditional love of God? – Pretty much the way they
always have
a.
(Lk. 14:16-20), “A certain man was giving a big
dinner party, and he invited many; at the dinner hour he sent
his servant to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come; for
everything is ready now.’ – But they all alike began to make
excuses. – The 1st one said to him, ‘I have just
bought a piece of land, and I need to go out and look at it;
please consider me excused [Business] – And another
said to him, ‘I have bought 5 team of oxen, and I am going
to try them out, please consider me excused. [Possessions]
– And another one said, ‘I have married a wife, and for
this reason I cannot come.’” [Family]
b.
It is not that people decide against God – its just
that they decide for other things!
2. That is why God has given
to us this time – so that we may reflect upon what is truly
important!
a.
(I Cor. 11:23-24), “…that the Lord Jesus in the
night in which He was betrayed took bread; - and when He had
given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘This is My body, which
is for you; - do this in remembrance of Me.”
1) Everyday
- Xns have the privilege of deciding to recognize the
presence of Jesus in our lives.
2) Every Sunday –
we remember as a family what it cost God to allow us into
His presence – “This is MY body”
3) Therefore, this bread
is a physical reminder for us – of a spiritual truth – JESUS
IS IN US!!!
b.
(I Cor. 11:25), “In the same way He took a cup also
after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My
blood; do this as often as you drink it, in remembrance of
Me.’”
1) A simple reminder between
God and us – of the price He willingly paid so we could live
in His presence!!!
2) (Quote I Pt. 1:19-21;
Acts 20:28; I Cor. 6:20; etc.)
3. CONTRIBUTION:
a.
“Separate and apart…”?! – How could we separate Jesus being
in us from anything we do???!
1) I want us to remember
the meaning of this communion meal throughout the week – and
in saying “Separate & apart” this we are encouraged to
forget it before we even get out the door!
2) No, if Jesus is in us
– then He must take part in every decision that we make!!!
C.
OUR DECISIONS:
1. Will we decide
to LOVE PEOPLE UNCONDITIONALLY?
a.
(Matt. 5:44, 46, 48), “Love those who hate you;
and pray for those who persecute you … For if you only love
those who love you, what reward have you? Even the tax-collectors
do that! … So you are to be perfect in your love even as your
heavenly Father is perfect.”
b.
We don’t love unconditionally because it is easy – we love
this way because we have Jesus within us – and He loves people
unconditionally.
c.
(II Cor. 4:10), “Always carrying about in our bodies
the dying of Jesus – that the life of Jesus may always be
manifest in our bodies.”
2. Will we decide
to DO GOD’S WILL?
a.
Jesus did not close His eyes to the cost when He considered
the sacrifice He was to make…
1) (Matt. 26:39),
“Father, if possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet, not
as I will, but your….”
2) Jesus considered the will
of God as essential to His survival as the air we breathe
or food we eat – (Jn 4:34), “My food is to do the
will of Him who sent Me.”
3. In the Lord’s Supper we
are not only remembering Jesus decision on our behalf – we
are also making a statement to everyone who sees us – about
the decisions we make in regards to this world…
a.
(I Cor. 10:21), “You cannot drink the cup of the
Lord and the cup of demons, you cannot partake of the table
of the Lord and the table of demons.”
1.
If we have taken Jesus into our lives (physically &
spiritually) – then every decision we make must be made
with
Him in mind!
2.
If we only have the physical symbol but not the spiritual
reality – now is the time to remedy that (Gal. 3:26f)!
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