Ntes by Pastr Tny McCall The Pentecstals f Lake City Cmmunin Service Luke 22:14-22 (King James Versin) 14 And when the hur was cme, he sat dwn, and the twelve apstles with him. 15 And he said unt them, With desire I have desired t eat this passver with yu befre I suffer: 16 Fr I say unt yu, I will nt any mre eat theref, until it be fulfilled in the kingdm f Gd. 17 And he tk the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it amng yurselves: 18 Fr I say unt yu, I will nt drink f the fruit f the vine, until the kingdm f Gd shall cme. 19 And he tk bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unt them, saying, This is my bdy which is given fr yu: this d in remembrance f me. 20 Likewise als the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my bld, which is shed fr yu. 21 But, behld, the hand f him that betrayeth me is with me n the table. 22 And truly the Sn f man geth, as it was determined: but we unt that man by whm he is betrayed! 1 Crinthians 11:23-30 (King James Versin) 23 Fr I have received f the Lrd that which als I delivered unt yu, that the Lrd Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed tk bread: 24 And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my bdy, which is brken fr yu: this d in remembrance f me. 25 After the same manner als he tk the cup, when he had supped, saying, this cup is the new testament in my bld: this d ye, as ft as ye drink it, in remembrance f me. 26 Fr as ften as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye d shew the Lrd's death till he cme. 27 Wherefre whsever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup f the Lrd, unwrthily, shall be guilty f the bdy and bld f the Lrd. 28 But let a man examine himself, and s let him eat f that bread, and drink f that cup. 29 Fr he that eateth and drinketh unwrthily, eateth and drinketh damnatin t himself, nt discerning the Lrd's bdy. 30 Fr this cause many are weak and sickly amng yu, and many sleep. Cmmunin is a very special thing. When Christians gather fr a Cmmunin Service, they are remembering, in a special manner, the atning death f Christ that has made us free frm sins. The key wrd is memrial. This d in remembrance f me, Christ said in Luke 22:19. That remembrance is the heart f the matter. By definitin, cmmunin is the distinctive rite f Christian wrship that was instituted by the Lrd Jesus n the eve f his atning death. It cnsists f a Christian partaking Cmmunin Service 2015 1

Ntes by Pastr Tny McCall The Pentecstals f Lake City f bread and drink, bth f which are presented in memrial f Christ s inexhaustible sacrifice. As such it becmes a vehicle f grace that inspires us t increased faith and faithfulness twards Gd. By remembering the sacrifice that was made and applying that sacrifice t ur lives, thrugh the rdinance f cmmunin, we are challenged t walk wrthy f such a great price that was paid. In rder t understand cmmunin, hwever, ne must first understand the Passver. The cmmunin service that was instituted by Christ, finds its rts in the celebratin f the Passver. Fr a few mments tnight we need t revisit the events f the bk f Exdus in rder t understand the significance f cmmunin. The Cliff Ntes versin ges like this: Israel had been in Egyptian bndage fr 430 years. Gd heard their cries fr deliverance, s He sent Mses t Egypt and empwered him t lead the Israelites ut f slavery. Gd wrked many ntable miracles thrugh Mses, plaguing the Egyptians and defeating the Egyptian gds. Egypt suffered the wrath f Gd in the first nine plagues. Hwever, the mst significant f the plagues was the final ne, where a death angel wuld g thrugh Egypt killing the firstbrn f every family. As Gd prepared t unleash the last plague n Egypt, He cmmanded the Israelites t apply the bld f a lamb t the lintel and drpsts f their hmes t escape the plague. When the death angel saw the bld, he wuld pass ver that hme. Gd instituted the first feast f Passver in rder t keep Israel safe frm the plague but he cmmanded the t cntinue the annual practice f that feast as a memrial f Gd s deliverance. Let me share with yu a few details frm the riginal Passver celebratin: A lamb had t be selected t becme the sacrifice whse bld wuld cver the drpsts and prtect the family. That lamb had t be a male, Cmmunin Service 2015 2

Ntes by Pastr Tny McCall The Pentecstals f Lake City in the first year and had t be withut spt r blemish. After the lamb was slain and his bld was cllected, it was t be rasted whle. It was imprtant that it was kept whle, nt a bne f it was allwed t be brken. The husehld was required t eat the whle lamb, nne f it was t be wasted. If a husehld was t small t eat an entire lamb, they were t invite their neighbrs t help them eat all the lamb. They were t apply the bld frm the lamb t the lintel (abve the dr) and n the tw side psts f the dr. The Israelites were t be dressed fr travel when they ate the Passver lamb. They were t eat it in haste with their lins girded, shes n, and staff in hand. They were t put ut all leaven frm their huses; they were t eat unleavened bread fr seven days after the Passver. In the years that fllwed, even t this day, Israelites have celebrated the Passver n an annual basis. Once a year they gather tgether t partake f this feast and remember hw the Lrd delivered them frm Egyptian bndage. It is a serius celebratin t the Jews and it is cnsidered a sin t fail t bserve the Passver. These things are f great imprtance t us because the riginal Passver was a type, r a symbl, that was fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the substance f the symblizatin f the Passver. He was heaven s sptless lamb, the nly ne wh was ever withut spt r blemish. He was slain at Calvary and his bld became the vehicle f ur deliverance. In keeping with the riginal instructin f Gd and in fulfillment f prphecy, nt a bne in his bdy was brken. Althugh it was custmary t break the legs f a man wh was crucified, Cmmunin Service 2015 3

Ntes by Pastr Tny McCall The Pentecstals f Lake City with Jesus they instead pierced his side, yet anther fulfillment f prphecy. Jesus Christ was the fulfillment f the Passver. And s it was that, n the eve f his crucifixin, as he gathered with his disciples t partake f the ceremnial Passver feast, that he put int place a new rdinance that was t becme a part f the new cvenant! That new rdinance is the Cmmunin r The Lrd s Supper and it is dne, in keeping with the riginal feast, in remembrance. Jesus, in the new memrial, changed the bject f the memrial. Instead f remembering deliverance frm Egyptian bndage, the Christian partakes f Cmmunin in remembrance f the sacrifice f Jesus Christ and deliverance frm the bndage f sin. The Lrd s Supper is a sacred bject lessn setting frth the tw fundamentals f the gspel. First, the bread, which represents the incarnatin. As we partake f the bread we are reminded f the wrds f Jhn the apstle in Jhn 1:14, And the Wrd was made flesh and dwelt amng us. The bread is a reminder f the bdy that was brken fr ur transgressins. It was that bdy that was bruised fr ur iniquities, he bre, in his bdy, the punishment fr ur sins. When yu take the bread, yu are t be reminded that deliverance frm sin didn t cme cheaply. A bdy was brken. S, at his last supper, Jesus tk the bread and brke it just as his bdy was abut t be brken. It is ntable that the bread that Jesus tk frm the Passver table was unleavened bread. Leaven is yeast, it is what makes bread rise r t becme puffed up. During the Passver and fr 7 days after the Israelites were t remve all leaven frm their huses. Leaven is a type f sin, false dctrine, r errr, representing things that puff us up, exalt us, and bring pride t ur flesh. Leaven is mentined several times in the New Testament by bth Jesus and Paul and is likened t sin. Gd knew, frm the first Passver, that the bdy that wuld be brken t purchase freedm frm sin Cmmunin Service 2015 4

Ntes by Pastr Tny McCall The Pentecstals f Lake City wuld have t be withut sin. S it was instituted frm the beginning that the feast f Passver was linked t unleavened bread. When Jesus tk that Bread frm that table and brke it, he was representing the Bread f Life, the bdy f Christ that was withut sin. His sinlessness is ur hpe f salvatin. Everything abut redemptin is based n his sinless sacrifice. This is the significance f that flat, hard, bland, tasteless little piece f unleavened bread. It represents the bdy that was brken. Secndly, the cmmunin sets frth the atnement. The grace and mercy that sets us free frm sin s grip is based in the death f Christ. The Juice that is taken in cmmunin is taken in remembrance f the bld that was shed fr ur sins. In ancient times the mst slemn frm f agreement was the bld-cvenant, which was sealed r signed with sacrificial bld. The cvenant that Gd made with Israel at Munt Sinai was a bld-cvenant. After Gd laid dwn his cnditins and the peple accepted them, Mses tk a basin filled with bld and sprinkled half f it upn the altar f sacrifice, he then sprinkled the rest f it upn the peple. It was the bld that bund them t the cntract. The New Testament is a new cvenant that was instituted by Christ and it is a bld cvenant. By that bld, Gd is bund t pardn and save all wh cme under the cvenant f that bld. The bld f Jesus is the Divine guarantee that Gd will be merciful and gracius t thse wh truly repent. In cmmunin we take that bld and symblically apply it t ur lives. We d s in awe and reverence f the price that was paid fr sin and in recgnitin f the fact that, by that bld, we have entered int a cvenant with Gd. Cmmunin Service 2015 5

Ntes by Pastr Tny McCall The Pentecstals f Lake City It is ntable here, as well, that we use juice as the element that represents the bld f Jesus. Like his bdy, his bld is als pure and undefiled, withut the leaven f sin. Alchl is fermented which means that yeast, r leaven, has been allwed t alter it. Juice is pure and undefiled, just like the bld that was shed fr ur sins. I wuld be remiss, this evening, if I did nt stress that cmmunin is a serius matter. It is nt smething t be partaken f lightly. I Crinthians 11:27 warns us against taking the Lrd s Supper unwrthily. We shuld nte that it des nt say unwrthy. Unwrthy is an adjective, meaning withut merit r value, wrthless, and nt deserving. Unwrthily is an adverb, meaning irreverently, unfit, r in an unwrthy manner. Unwrthy is a cnditin; unwrthily is a manner, an attitude. They are tw entirely different wrds. Nne f us is wrthy t partake f His bdy and bld, but He has made us wrthy thrugh salvatin. Unwrthily has t d with the manner, spirit, cnduct, and attitude in which we take cmmunin. An unwrthy persn may take f cmmunin wrthily by examining their lives and placing themselves under the bld. Hwever, t partake f it unwrthily is t flippantly partake f it withut recgnizing the gravity and seriusness f it. T take the bld and bdy f Christ while harbring unrepented sin in yur life is ne way that yu can take the cmmunin unwrthily. But let a man examine himself, Paul said in 1 Crinthians 11:28. The Passver lamb was required t be separated fr up fur days t examine it fr spts and blemishes, and during this time the individual made himself ready fr the Passver by ridding his huse f leaven. Similarly, self-examinatin is a must Cmmunin Service 2015 6

Ntes by Pastr Tny McCall The Pentecstals f Lake City befre we engage in cmmunin. Our hearts shuld be free f cndemnatin, guilt, and sin when we take cmmunin. Des this mean yu have t be perfect? N, else nne f us culd partake. What it means thugh is that yu spend time in prayer and repentance, insuring that the bld f Jesus has been applied t yur life. What yu dn t want t d is partake f the Cmmunin Service with unrepented sin in yur life. Understand this, as well, it desn t take Gd all night t frgive sin, it desn t take weeks f prayer and fasting t put things under the bld. Tnight, each f us needs t g befre the thrne f Gd and make sure that we have a fresh cvering f the bld f Jesus. Repentance is a valuable thing and it is smething that each f us shuld d tnight. Fr the next few mments I am asking ach individual t find a place f prayer and simply t repent. Plead the bld f Jesus ver yur life. Rid yur huse f leaven, put away anything that might cme between yu and Gd. (Prayer f Repentance) (Cme t Frnt) Israel was t bserve the Passver as a memrial thrughut all generatins and t keep it as an rdinance frever. Paul referred t rdinances and admnished the church t keep them in I Crinthians 11:2. I Crinthians 11 deals with tw specific rdinances, namely, hair and the cmmunin service. Thrugh the rdinance f the Cmmunin Service, Gd s rdinance f the Passver cntinues in the New Testament era f grace. The church is t bserve this service until the Lrd returns. Tnight we gather in this place t remember the sacrifice that was made fr ur sins. By partaking f cmmunin we take that sacrifice and symblically make it a part f ur lives. Cmmunin Service 2015 7

Ntes by Pastr Tny McCall The Pentecstals f Lake City The final element f cmmunin is unity. Paul says in 1 Crinthians 10:16-17 The cup f blessing which we bless, is it nt the cmmunin f the bld f Christ? The bread which we break, is it nt the cmmunin f the bdy f Christ? Fr we being many are ne bread, and ne bdy: fr we are all partakers f that ne bread. Tgether we have becme the bdy f Christ in this wrld. And the Cmmunin Supper is act f unity in which each f us acknwledges ur place in that bdy as, cllectively, we partake f the incredible sacrifice that was made fr ur sins. (Usher s Distribute Cmmunin) Bread and juice are a picture f death. They represent the separatin f the bdy frm life. As bld drains frm the bdy, life ends. S, in cmmunin we take the flesh in ne hand and the bld in the ther. The bread tells us that the Bread f Life must be brken in death in rder t be given t thse that are spiritually hungry. The pured juice tells us that His bld, which is His life, must be pured ut in death in rder fr its cleansing, quickening pwer t be supplied t the needy sul. Bth elements remind us that by faith we becme partakers f Christ and have cmmunin with him. As we partake f the bread and drink the juice, we are t be reminded and assured by faith that we may truly receive his sacrifice and his spirit int ur lives. We partake f him and take him int us. This is mre than an utward religin, it is an inward change. By eating the bread and drinking the juice we take the bdy and bld f Christ int ur wn lives they becme a part f us. Let us Pray Cmmunin Service 2015 8

Ntes by Pastr Tny McCall The Pentecstals f Lake City (Partake f Cmmunin) Cmmunin Service 2015 9