05/03/2020
Long Live the King...Do you Know Him?
Sunday Sermon Notes
Long Live the King
1 Corinthians 11:26-32
For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes. Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.
The Apostle Paul founded a church in Corinth; an ancient city about 50 miles west of modern day Athens. Paul spent at least a year and a half growing a congregation, while preaching and teaching the Gospel. After establishing the church on solid ground, he left to start other churches; but in his absence, Corinth began to forget the lessons he taught them.
Corinth was a big, important city with all the usual distractions that come with a metropolis. We certainly are familiar with that, aren’t we? They had several of the usual failings to temptation…sexual immorality, idol worship, classism, religious infighting, etc. But they had one thing that stands out even until this very day. They were harshly judged for the manner they conducted themselves during communion. And that’s what we want to look at this morning.
Our Christ is loving, considerate, gracious and kind; but he is still King. His blood sacrifice covers us and his Spirit fills us, but we are not entitled children. We are indebted servants. We owe him homage, honor and respect. At the very least we owe him our attention. Our ear. To be present in his presence; because sometimes we’re missing; and that’s when we get in trouble…just like the Corinthians did.
You see, it is a natural human inclination to want to control EVERYTHING. We don’t feel conformable unless we can figure things out. Control stuff. And we discount what we can’t see, touch, smell, hear or taste. Even when presented with such a powerful and all-encompassing Gospel, we are tempted to want to make it more…human. The problem is that we serve a God that is supernatural. And we can only come to him in Spirit and Truth.
Communion is not simply a celebration for those of us that call ourselves Christians to come together and enjoy one another. The Spirit of the Living Christ resides in the midst of our gathering. And it’s totally disrespectful not to acknowledge the host of the festivities. Jesus the Christ, the Son of God is actually in our presence. The same Jesus that comes to our rescue when we are in trouble, is the same Jesus that is present when we commune at his table.
The dilemma of the Corinthians was not recognizing him (not discerning the Lord’s body). Sure they had a ceremony, just like we have a ceremony. And I’m sure they had a great time, just like we often have a great time. But the chief thing is to ensure we include the Spirit of the Risen Lord; not just his story. You can read and study all you want but, there’s context to the content that you will never understand until you get to know him better.
The invitation to communion is not to a supper or mid-morning snack. The invitation is to spend corporate time with Jesus. To literally, actually and completely allow the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ to reveal himself to us. He is real and will not be ignored. He loves you too much for that.
The church is often the place where we first receive Jesus, but is not the place where we intimately get to know him. This happens on our knees, in our homes, in private personal places. Matthew 6:6 Instructs those seeking to hear from the Lord to retreat to their “secret closet”. Every guidance on spiritual growth and sustainability has us alone with Jesus. But when we do come together, we must do so in utter reverence and respect to the Christ we each know; and that’s what makes communion so special.
Dear Servants of the Most High, the beauty of salvation is that the Living Word is desiring to live within us. Religion would rather that the Word live somewhere outside of us so we are comfortable saying we are only human. Therefore, the word may influence us, but not have total control. But when he lives in us, we are under his control and have no more excuses because we know him.
I refuse to promote communion because it’s communion time; I’m convening communion to commune with our Risen Lord and King. I’m glad I know him. Long Live the King!
Be Blessed
Please listen to this: That’s My King: Do You Know Him?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PQ-tfnAguE
