Communion: The Last Supper

Have you ever have you ever tried to convey an abstract idea to like a child? It's not easy. You're like, can you guys just imagine, I don't know, like telling them about flying without giving them an airplane to see, you know, like conveying an abstract idea without a concrete. It's about like trying to figure out what I'm talking about right now. You're like, maybe a thought and and one of those things. How many remember algebra? Yeah. You you got it, Peanut? Yeah, she remembers algebra.

Uh there in in algebra, there was something that was the most confusing thing that I believe I came across in all of my school time was it was called imaginary numbers. Anyone else? Yeah. Does that make any sense to y'all? So, I re I I I I looked it up today just to refresh my mind on it, and honestly, it helped a little bit, but not not a lot. Uh, imaginary number is the product of, y'all hang with me.

It's a product of a real number and the imaginary unit I, which is defined by its property I2 equals negative one. Can't we just say negative one? We might could. The square of an imaginary number b i is negative v2. For example, 5 i is an imaginary number and its square is - 255. The number zero is considered to both be real and imaginary. Is anyone else getting me? Even with this chart, it's like maybe why it's, you know, that's more the question. Why? Why?

Why is this what someone sits and thinks on is Listen, Ian, do you got us? Because you knew what Fibonacci sequence was the other day, and I was impressed, buddy. I'm not gonna lie. You got us on this. Oh, yeah. I ain't got it either. the the idea of trying to convey an imaginary what an imaginary number is. Honestly, it makes a little more sense with the chart, but it's just it's it's you gota you got to be able to build the real abstract there.

You got to be able to see things that I I don't know that I can quite see. Uh that is, if I may, that is the the the is the problem that the preachers face with across time to convey what something that happened some 2,000 years ago and to make it real to us today. Uh some people are wordsmiths and you guys y'all can y'all can pull that graph down. Everybody's still trying to figure out what an imaginary number has to do with anything.

Uh, some people are wordsmiths and they can just draw you a picture and some people are just wordy. I I fall in the latter category there just, you know, you're like uh and so from that we develop things. God God was very specific on on how to convey a testimony, how to convey a memorial of what he had done. He was very he was very intentional on this because what are we? We are see it and do it. That's that's about that's about human nature. Um don't believe me.

Erect a statue and people will worship it, right? It's idols. So, there's this weird balance that that God's like, "All right, do this, but don't worship this. This is just a testament to what I've done." We find this in Joshua. Joshua chapter 3, uh, verse 14. If you would, would you, if you have your Bibles or your phones, um, Joshua chapter 3, verse 14, and we'll go through 17 and then we'll jump to Joshua 4. So there's a couple things to look at here.

So when the people had set out from their tents to pass over the Jordan with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people and as soon as those bearing the ark had come as far as the Jordan and the feet of the priest bearing the ark were dipped in the brink of the water. Now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the harvest time. That's an interesting thought. This is the worst time. This is the children of Israel going into the promised land.

It is the worst time for them to do this. This is the time that Jericho is like, "We're good." Because they can't get across the river. But this is the exact time that God says, "This is when you got to do it." The worst time, if I may, the the testament of God went before them. And when it got to the trial or the issue, when it got to the Jordan, what happened? It allowed for their passage. It split the waters.

Verse 16, the waters coming down from above stood and rose in a heat very far away at Adam, the city that is beside beside Zerathan. And those flowing down toward the sea of Araba, the sea, the salt sea, were completely cut off. and the people passed over opposite Jericho. Now the priest bearing the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firmly on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan.

And all Israel was passing over on dry ground until all all the nation until all the nation finished passing over the Jordan. So if I may, not to get too preachery here on a teaching night, but if if if they were to get through the waters, they had to pass. They had to allow the word to go before them and then they had to as the word stood. They walked by it.

As the testament was right there, every one of them knew that this ark, this covenant, if I may, that I have made with Jehovah, this we are the people. We we say the prayer at the end of the at the end of service. We say the prayer in Numbers chapter 6. So that my name they will be a people with my name on them or depending on which version you read so that they will have my name upon them. This this was the covenant prayer that they prayed.

This was the deal they signed with God that I've he's redeemed us and so we are going to serve him. And he says let that testament be right here. It's going to go before you in the bad times to get you where I've promised you to and it's going to sustain you to allow you to get through those things. So, anytime guys, just that is just a concrete example of any time that we are struggling to get through what God is pushing us through and calling us through is to just trust in his word.

Uh there was uh one of one of the probably one of the more powerful examples that I've ever seen of this was and I wasn't even there but it was y'all ever heard of the McGrder. There was there was one of the there was there was a sister McGrder telling of her story of battling cancer. And y'all may have watched video too but I'm telling you that lady was just like straight up. She's over here. you want to know how I got through it?

And she said, "God told me to put his word down and stand on it." And he she's like, "I'm not going to do that out of out of respect." But man, when she did that and her singing, buddy, the whole house because it I mean, even just watching, you're like, "Oh gosh. Oh Lord." She said, "I stood on his word." You know, that's just something that that I hold near and dear. That's something to take into account, guys. A covenant with God is not something that we should take lightly.

It's not something he takes lightly at all. When when we're struggling, when we're losing faith, what are we just God, I know your word. I know the covenant that I have with you. I know I know that I know that I know. And this is what I'm trusting in. I can't I can't physically do it. I can't even imagine this. But what I do know is your word is forever settled. Joshua 4 and 19.

The people came up out of the Jordan on the 10th day of the first month, and they had camp at Gilgal on the east border of Jericho. Now, and those 12 stones which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up at Gilgal. And he said to the people of Israel, when your children asked their fathers in time to come, what do these stones mean? Then you shall let your children know, Israel pressed over the Jordan on on dry ground.

For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up for us until we passed over. And he could say that he was one of the only he was one of two people that had actually went through that that were still alive at that point. And so all the peoples of the earth may know that by the hand of the Lord is mighty that you may fear your God forever.

When we try and convey something generation to generation to generation, we'll find that well after three generations it it starts to lose because I think of it. Do you know your greatgrandfather?

maybe or your greatg grandmother maybe if your family had you know started having kids when they were like 15 probably as we go on right we start getting to 30 then it's like okay well yeah maybe not uh it we see there's about three generations that we can we can at least picture someone at least an idea and we can see what they do and so then it gets really hard to convey one a convey an emotion. Have you ever have you ever tried to do that?

And like I mean Jordan, you you can probably try and tell [name redacted] and convey something to her how important it is. But if you hand something to her now that's like a deep keepsake, she's going to be like, "That's fun. All right." It's going to take a while. It it it it it's not something that is easily done. Conveying generationally an idea, an emotion, a thought, a covenant is not that's a hard just think how hard it is in your family uh to hand down just a wheel.

Just a wheel in testament like it starts getting real convoluted real quick. AG, you ain't getting nothing. He He's not amening me, so he he ain't getting nothing tonight. No. The the the idea of and and many of you probably sat with your grandparents and you have an idea, but I'll just tell you, I don't know what it's like to pick cotton on a farm. Well, my grandparents do. I really hope I don't know what it's like to pick cotton on a farm.

you know, like in in Mississippi, it just that but they grew up doing that. My great-grandparents for sure. And before that, who knows? Who knows? Uh it so Joshua, God instructed Joshua to make a monument. Something I didn't read here, he said, also take 12 stones outside the river and you put them in the center of the river. Interesting thought here.

at Gilgal was far enough away that when the Jordan flooded that they wouldn't get washed away and then in the center because the Jordan would it would it would swell and would go down. They didn't have dams on it just about like the Tennessee River would used to do pre 1916 when the f first dams started be putting on it. It would swell and it would just go down to like a trickle. And so in the summertime or in the drought times, theoretically, you could see the stones that were in the middle.

So in the good times and the bad times, what can I see? I can see the testament of God. I can see what God has done for us. I may not have experienced it myself, but I know that God had a hand in getting me to where I'm at. I know that God I I what what is the saying? If you see a turtle on a post, you know they didn't get there themselves. We're all a bunch of turtles on post, guys. We did not get here ourselves. I know that's showing that Mississippi.

Y'all think I grew up picking cotton on a farm in Mississippi. Y'all have never heard that saying, have y'all? Think about it. Can you get a turtle? Have you ever seen a turtle climb a post? No. See, you better find some of those old saying guys. If we're we're all there, we we we're all at that point in our lives that we've built to a very complex society. All right, that's uh I'm not have I have I have own philosophies about complex societies and how and how intricate everything runs.

And we find we found out real easily during CO how quickly everything stops too. Luckily it started back but you know it was probably a hair's breath that made it start back. I mean that's a that was a real tricky maneuver economically speaking. Um the last time something that drastic happened was the Great Depression. Okay. That's how tricky that is.

Uh that's that's a really uh yeah that's that's just that's about like those imaginary numbers of trying to make sure that we get those intricacies there. Here is something that we find ourselves with the problem religiously. How do we make sure that we are observing something? We write it down. But not everything you read you retain. I mean, pardon me, but have you ever read a set of instructions, an instruction manual, and you just been like, I have no idea what I just read.

Like, well, if you'll do this, and then if y'all are like me, I'm pretty mad. Like, I'm like, come on. All right. If I do this, if I do this, then I do. Why is it not happening now? And then Lauren comes along behind me and she can do it just perfect. It just makes sense to her. I'm just mad. I'm like, I can't even see after that. So if we have the word, we're like, "Yeah, we'll have the word. We'll just read the word." But there's something about us that needs modeling. We need to understand.

We have to connect the abstract to our lives. I've wondered this uh there there is in school school school's kind of backwards sometimes it feels like and and I get it. You've got to learn some things and then you've got to do and then you've got to learn. But it it's almost like we we try to learn everything before we ever try to put our hands to doing. Right? You ever you know how hard it is to gain an absolute understanding of something before you do it? Have you ever done that?

You ever just read something, you're like, "Nah, I know how to do this." Hang on. You ever talked to someone that had read something and was like, "No, I know how to do this." Yeah. You're like, "No, you don't know how to do this." There's something about uh the piano that is it is so cool, right?

You can know, you can you can study and know music theory, but getting your fingers to work independently of one another and your hand to go up and down and across and over and tying your feet into that and somehow or another doing the right thing and your ear to it and all this. You just don't know, right? Do you know? Oh, I I can't either. Like I I I'm like I can hear like um Israel Newton like hit a note. I'm like, man, I Yeah, that was pretty good. And like like ding ding ding ding.

I don't know if that was it or not. And like and and and it comes down to doing it just there's something about getting our getting ourselves in a repetitive step that then that allows if I may that allows everyone from young to old to learn and to do. Uh I I've I've struggled with this on on because we're not we're not like and I'm I'm going to I'm going to say Catholic or we're not Orthodox because we're we're we're apostolic.

And so there's something that I've I've been trying to uh you ever just kind of like throw an idea around and you try and roll it around in your head and you try and figure out why. I've been trying to figure out uh and reconcile. All right.

if why why do the Catholics or why do the Orthodox do something a certain way and then why do we not right I'm I've always been apostolic so I have to go down these routes to to hopefully recreate and understand why we are where today where we are at today and so I I I think about all the sacraments or the the the different things that that religion does and and if we lose a meaning of it we lose an understanding understanding of it.

Those things that may have been lost over time or were just vain repetitions or whatever. Uh those those things become just habit. They can become bad. They can become just vain traditions. Traditions of men. Guess what? We do the same thing, right? I mean that's that's everyone. Doesn't mean all things are bad. Doesn't mean all things are good.

means we have to make sure that we build into our relig into our lives and into our experience uh with with Christ and in our love that that we build personal habits and then we can also build congre congre congregational habits. Our simple format of how we do worship is a congregational habit. Right.

And I know I'm going around the world to get here, but I've been really trying to figure out what's what's a principle, what's a commandment, what's a what's something that that we are commanded to do in the Bible. If if I may, Acts 2:38 says, what does Peter say? Repent and be baptized everyone in the name of Jesus Christ for remission of your sins and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. That's commandment. But communion is a principle, right? And so there's there's different things.

Uh there's different singing a song. He didn't say sing a song every service, but we found out that that's something that's good to do. He didn't say I don't know. Didn't say sit on padded pews or have air conditioning. But guess what? Thank God. I mean, right now it's fine, but in like two weeks it's going to be 800 degrees probably, and we're going to be like, maybe not. The So, so there's things that we we do as our congregation.

There's things we do as a our personal prayer time, our personal things, but our personal Bible studying and things like that that are good for the goose. But then the gander also has to do those things together as well. A goose is a right. Isn't that right? A gander is a big herd of geese. All right, y'all with me? So, if I may, conveying something at the last moment of a life.

Some of you guys and I would not recommend I was trying to figure out how to like get the get the bang for the buck out of this this point here and really pull this this point home was to I was looking for a poem about the last moments with a loved one. And I'm not going to read any of those because that was too much. And I was like, whoa. I was just reading them started getting lumps in my throat and I was but that last moment with a loved one. How etched in your brain is that?

You don't have words for it. Even the poems didn't do it justice. There's a lifetime of memories and emotions and just things to be said, to be felt but not be said. And I have to think about that the last the last supper. I have to think that Jesus is sitting here with these guys and he is like, "Guys, you have no idea what's coming. But let me give you some things. Let me give you some principles. Let me give you some wisdom. Let me give you some commandments." John chapter 13 verse one.

Everybody go clear your throat. I didn't mean us to get too off in that. All right. Now, before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas's Scariot, Simon's son, to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from suff supper, he laid aside his outer garments, and taken a towel, he tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples feet to wipe them with a towel that was wrapped round around him.

He came to Simon Peter who said to him, 'Lord, why do you wash my feet? Jesus answered him, what am I what am I doing? You do not understand now, but afterward you will understand. Peter said to him, you shall never wash my feet. Jesus answered himself, I do not wash you. You have no share with me.

Simon Peter said to him, 'Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.' Jesus said to him, 'The one who has bathed does not need to wash except for his feet, but is completely clean, and you are clean, but not every one of you. For he knew who was to betray him.

That was why he said, "Not all of you are clean." When he had washed their feet, put on he put on his outer garments and resumed his place and said to them, "Do you understand what I've done to you?" Verse 13 says, 'You call me teacher and Lord, and you are right. For so am I. If I then, your Lord and teacher, have washed your feet, you also have washed have you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example that you should do as I have done to you.

Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor a ma messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. I'm not speaking of all of you. I know whom I have chosen, but the scripture will be fulfilled. He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me. I'm telling you this now before it takes place that way. When it does, you may believe that I am he.

Truly, truly I say to you, whoever receives one soul receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one he who sent me. Just comment here, he's he's speaking of the comforter, the Holy Ghost. Verse 21, after saying these things, Jesus was troubled in his spirit and testified, "Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me." The disciples looked at one another uncertain of whom he spoke. One of his disciples whom Jesus loved.

John really I mean I think Peter really paid John to write that just every time was reclining at his table at Jesus side. So Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking. So that disciple leaning back against Jesus said to him, "Lord, who is it?" Jesus answered, "It is to it is to whom I give this morsel bread when I have dipped it." So when he had dipped the morsel of bread, he gave he gave it to Judas the son the son of Simon a scariot. Then he had taken the morsel.

Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, "What are you what are you going to do to do? Do it quickly." You know, just pausing there at verse 27. Verse 26, Satan entered into him. He'd been tempted. He was the money changer. He was He had already made arrangements, but he had not made the choice. That's a good and a bad thing. He was in the presence of God. He was sitting there taking supper and he had not made the choice one way or the other. It made the choice. Now no, no one verse 28.

Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him. Some that some thought that because Judas had the money bag, Jesus was telling him buy what we need for the feast or that he should give something to the poor. After receiving the morsel of bread, he went out and it was night. This next portion, Jesus gives them a new commandment.

And when he had gone out, Jesus said, "Now is the son of man glorified and God is glorified in him." If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and glorify him at once. Little children, yet a little while why I am with you, you see, you will seek me just as I said to the Jews. Now, so now I also to you, where am I? Where where I am going, you cannot come. A new commandment I give to you that you love one another just as I have loved you. You are also to love one another.

By this all people will know that you are my disciples if you have love one for another. I I read that chapter because this is the last this is the last supper. Jesus is very intently, very intentionally choosing his words and his actions. Three and a half years of ministry of pouring into these guys. This is what he's leaving them with. That moment, that last moment, that summation of the teachings, he said, "You got to love one another." He demonstrated that love by washing of the feet.

As as I'm sure most of us, if you if you've been in church any any amount of time, you've heard that that is not that was the that was the least the least of all the jobs was to wash the feet. And I've seen some of you wear flip flops. I agree. That's the least of all the jobs. Seth, where you at? He walks around and flip-flops all like, dude. All right. Now, but the principle was to serve. Sometimes we need to be reminded of that.

Sometimes it's incredibly important wasn't the actual act of washing of the feet. It was the concept. It was the abstract of serving one another. Sometimes the abstract needs to be made into a reality. We need to connect our hands and our feet and our ideas and our thought there to reality. Now that we're not going to do a foot washing tonight, but I do want us to understand that that that's a time and a place. That's a real thing and that needs to happen. Nothing more humbling.

Nothing to take out our pride. Nothing to take out our anger. Nothing to take out our our strife, our little frictions that we may not even talk about because they're based in self in places that we we may not even be aware of. Jesus said, "Love one another. Serve one another. So we did it was a foreign concept to these guys.

uh throughout the whole the Old Testament there there wasn't there wasn't a I'm not I'm not bashing the Old Testament, but throughout that culture in in Jesus's day there there wasn't something that that wasn't common language. It was a hard hard world, hard nature. An eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth. We all just look like rednecks. Caught you off guard there, didn't it? 1 Corinthians chapter 11 verse 17.

Real quickly with me, but in the following instructions, I do not commend you because when you come together is not for the better, but for the worse. For in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear there are divisions among you. And I believe in part for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. When you come together it is not the Lord's supper that you eat. For in eating one goes ahead with his own meal.

One goes hungry and another gets drunk. Corinthians were they were that church. Huh? What do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I command you in this? No, I I will not. Can I this this right here? To me, this is maybe the most poant way of saying that church is not a social gathering. I love you guys. Y'all are cool, but it's not a social gather. That's part of it.

That's not what it's for. Like I said, some people were words smmith, some people are just wordy. Paul was maybe a little of both. For I received from the Lord what I also delivered you that the Lord Jesus Christ on the night when 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. This is the abstract. Have you ever met Jesus personally? just straight up met him face to face through the generations.

Now he's he's moved on us. We have a relationship with him. But from young to old, Jesus said, "Do this in remembrance of me." And the meaning of it, he didn't say the meaning of it will change throughout life. You guys tonight, I know youth class is in here. I get to pick on y'all. That's the best part of having youth class in right there. This will not mean the same to you tonight. But when you're 60, when you're 80, you're going to think on this.

You're doing, if if I'm if I may, I'm I'm not calling you guys ignorant. All right? Like, you're young. You're doing this without without life experience to apply to a concept. And so, you're just doing it. And that's okay. As life goes, you will attach meaning to this more so than I can relay because you will remember the times and the things that God has brought you through.

When he says, "This is my body and this is my blood." You'll remember the covenant that you have with Christ and that brought you through that first breakup or that first loss or that first issue that you see we in life we'll cross more than just a Jordan river. We might cross it multiple times. There's going to be a thousand other things that going are going to affect you and a covenant with Christ will be the only thing that sustains you. Am I wrong?

Elders pulling from just good habits, good traditions. Taking a moment and going through something that has been going on for 2,000 years and knowing that Christ, he commanded me to do this. Take of my body. Take of my blood. Because this this is a covenant moment. This is to remind you. This is to let you know that the grace that you so freely receive was not free. Verse 25. In the same way he also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood.

Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. One of the commandments is, "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord God in vain." That means you're not to lightly enter into covenant with him. You're not to lightly take on the name of Jesus.

You're not to lightly just say, "Oh, well, this is this is a uh a fad or well, everybody else is this is a good time to do it." I know I've seen people do that. It it happens. I'm I'm going to encourage anyone and everyone to come to Christ. But it's more than that. A lot of times I've seen people, they make that hasty decision and it's in vain. They didn't really think of it. They didn't really put some thought. They didn't really put some some practice into it.

They did not think of uh of the cost. Verse 27. Whoever therefore eats the drink eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord is an in unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and the blood of the Lord. Verse 28, let a person examine himself then and so eat of the bread of the cup. For anyone for anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill and some have died.

But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined or discerned or corrected or chastised so that we may not be condemned along with the world. Some of the early church in America, they they they would they would go through uh debates of who could and who could not receive communion. because of these scriptures right here. I get it. I understand. Um, that's something incredibly important.

He says, "Examine, examine himself." So, I'm not going to examine you tonight, but in this sacrament, this holy sacrament, examine yourself. Now, this is this is everyone has their different traditions and different ways, but CHC, we'd like to take some we're going to take about 5 10 minutes here. Okay? And I would like I would ask for each of us to find a place to pray. And if you if you've joined us online, I'm I'm we're going to turn off the mics. We're going if you would just pray with us.

We'll we'll come back. We we'll take about five minutes. If you would stand with me, stretch your legs. Find a pl You can kneel where you're at. You can find a place somewhere in here for anyone. Let a person examine himself. Can we Can we right now can we just find a a moment take a few moments and examine ourselves before God? Jesus, we love you. God, we thank you for your kindness and your goodness and your mercy.

Jesus if you will uh very very orderly as you can you will come and just grab one of these and take it back to your seat and we'll work from there. Okay. Please, please just hold it and we'll we'll all do this together. The top top tab comes off and you can get to the little wafer. Is everyone got some? Everyone that needs one Matthew writes it like this. He says, "While they were eating, Jesus took bread. When he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples saying, "Take and eat.

This is my body." Then he took a cup and he had given thanks. He gave it to them saying, "Drink from it all of you. This is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many forgiveness of sins." Can we take just a moment and can we give thanks? Jesus, we thank you. God, we thank you, Lord, for your mercy and your grace. For your blood. for your blood. Jesus, we thank you. Jesus, we thank you, Lord. Jesus. Take away from me. This is my body. Thank you, Lord.

Then he took a cup and he giving thanks, he gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it all of you. This is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. Thank you, Lord.