Latest / Topeka Bible Church Audio Archive / December 18, 2022 | 1 Corinthians - Fit for the Supper

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December 18, 2022 | 1 Corinthians - Fit for the Supper · Topeka Bible Church Audio Archive

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Good morning, TBC.
• 0:02
  SPEAKER_00: My name is Jeremy McGrath.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: I'm the student ministry pastor here.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: And I know some of you are a little concerned that I'm not Connor.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: And so I want to put your fears to rest.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: Last week, if you were here, Connor shared with us that he wears silicone rings, because he's used to losing his wedding ring.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: And you will be happy to know that I too am irresponsible and have a silicone ring.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, we only hired the best here at TBC for you guys.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so hopefully that'll that'll put your fears to rest.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: So this morning we are continuing in our series in 1 Corinthians.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: But before we get into the material, I thought it would be good to get to know each other a little bit better.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: And my wife reminded me that in a couple days, it will have been four years since I proposed to her.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: So I thought, why don't I share with you guys our proposal story?
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: Because it's embarrassing, and that's the best way to get to know each other, right?
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: So the something you have to know about me is I'm I'm kind of a romantic.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: When it comes to things like proposals, I'm I'm of the mindset either you go big or you go home.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: Am I right, ladies?
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so so with this mindset, I started planning this really intricate and crazy and detailed for months proposal.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: Uh but it didn't work out.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: And Sharon wasn't calling me back.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: And so so we had to we had to go a different direction.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: And so at the last second, I had to come up with something new, and it was around Christmas time, and I had heard that in the city over there was this beautiful garden that the city owned that they would decorate with Christmas lights, and so you could walk through the path and be filled with Christmas joy, and so it was just perfect.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: We both love Christmas.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: I love being flashy, let's do it.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: And so we get there, um, we get there, and what I my plan was was we were supposed to go and lead her off the path to find this board that my mom had made that set in lights, Caroline, will you marry me?
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: Then it had pictures of us from our from our past, and so we were supposed to stumble upon it in some beautiful forested glen.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: And then the music was supposed to rise around us, and the knee was gonna drop, and Caroline's heart was gonna begin to beat, and then she would accidentally say yes, because that's the only way it would work.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: So that was that was the goal.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: This was this was my vision, okay?
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: This is what it was supposed to look like.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: Sorry for the blurry photo, but my vision was good, my execution never really been on point.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: And this was the reality.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: I kid you not, this was the reality, okay?
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: That my my biggest my biggest issue with execution is that I hired my brothers to be my event coordinators.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: Not a good decision.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: You see, I had never been to this location before.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't know what the path was like.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't even go to scout it out.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: I had my brothers do it and set up the whole thing, and I didn't even know where they were.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: And so we're we're going along this path, and I think I know we're supposed to get off here, and we go up this hill, and my brothers aren't there.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: And the board's not there.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_00: And so we spend the next 30 minutes literally going on and off path through bushes, up trees, trying to find these guys.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: At the end of it, I'm sweaty, angry, and uh somehow just like absolutely lost it.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: And then we find ourselves literally in the darkest place in the whole garden.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: There are zero lights.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: And my child brain decided, this, this is the time.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: And so I drop on one knee, I mumble some words, she's like, What, where?
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: And and then I presumably she says yes, but I don't know, because I reach in my phone to chew out my brother and be like, Where are you at?
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: So, anyways, the moral of the story is it doesn't matter how you propose, as long as you don't include your brothers in it, right?
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_00: Amen.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_00: So, uh, but no, that's that's not the moral.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, proposals take a lot of work.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: It matters how you approach them.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_00: There's a lot of elements at play that you have to consider, and the most important thing when you're approaching a proposal is do you understand what it means for you and for your future spouse, right?
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: And there are lots of things like this.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_00: There are lots of things in our life where it matters how we approach them.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: Now, today we're going to be going through 1 Corinthians 11, 30, or 17 through 34.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: And here, Paul answers the question for us: does it matter how one approaches the Lord's Supper?
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: And this is very fortuitous because we are actually going to be celebrating the Lord's Supper or communion today, mostly because Connor planned it.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_00: So good job, Connor.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and the Lord's Supper or communion is a time when as believers we come together and we remember the sacrifice that Jesus made by dying on the cross for our sins.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: And this is one of the oldest institutions that's been around since the inception of Christianity.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: And here Paul addresses it in these verses this morning.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: So we're asking this question does it matter how we approach the Lord's Supper?
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: To answer this question, we're gonna be looking at three points.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_00: Since I'm the student ministry pastor, students like to keep it short, right?
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: We gotta keep it brief, gotta condense it, so we're gonna use some acronyms here for y'all, okay?
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_00: So you guys can feel like students too, too.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_00: You guys can be hipping cool.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: So the very first point, the LS VIP section, the Lord's Supper, VIP, very important person section.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: The Corinthians actually had a VIP section during the Lord's Supper, so we're gonna see what that was all about.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_00: And then number two, we're going to look at how this VIP section was at odds with WWJD.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: What does that mean?
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, okay, you guys are already cool.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: Come on, come on, there we go.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: What would Jesus do?
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: You know what it means.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: So that this VIP section is at odds with Jesus' own motivation and approach.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: And then finally, we're gonna see how Paul restores what would Jesus do in regards to the Lord's Supper.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_00: Y'all with me?
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: Well, let's get into it.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: So, first point, the Lord's Supper VIP section in Corinth.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: So, we're what we're gonna do is we're gonna break down these uh this this chapter into different sections, and first we're gonna read verses 17 through 20.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_00: So go ahead and read along with me on the screen or in your Bibles.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_00: But in giving this instruction, Paul says, I do not praise you, because you come together not for the better, but for the worse.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_00: For in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that divisions exist among you, and in part I believe it, for there must also be factions among you, so that those who are approved may become evident.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: Therefore, when you meet together, it is not to eat the Lord's supper.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so right off the bat, Paul's upset.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_00: He's mad about something, right?
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_00: The Corinthians are doing something so egregious that it would be better if they didn't meet at all, because they're doing more harm than good in verse 17.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_00: But what exactly is this thing?
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_00: Well, there's divisions among them.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: And this isn't new.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_00: You guys who have been tracking through this whole series, we learned in a couple chapters earlier there was they had divisions over which church leaders to follow.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_00: In the next chapter, we're gonna find out they had division over which spiritual gifts were better.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_00: And here, Paul's going to cite another division that again was just so horrible, it was tearing the church apart.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_00: It was doing more harm than good.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_00: And then in verse 19, we get a little bit of uh Paul's sarcasm time.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_00: Paul likes using sarcasm to get his point across.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_00: And he says here, well, of course there must be division, because if there wasn't division, look at this word, then how would we know who is approved?
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_00: He's being sarcastic here.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_00: He's saying, how would we know who among you is honorable, who among you should be highly esteemed?
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_00: Essentially, this division, whatever this division was, was causing some people to be regarded as honored and others to not be.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_00: And so Paul's not condoning this, he's mocking it.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_00: And so then he ends here with this section with saying, Therefore, when you meet together, it is not to eat the Lord's Supper.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: Something about this division is so contrary to Jesus Christ's own approach and meaning behind the Lord's Supper that they cannot call it that.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_00: It's like those of you who wear KU shirts cannot possibly be called good people.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_00: They're just, they're so contrary, they're at odds.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_00: I'm just kidding, I'm from Chicago, I don't know anything about that, that weird stuff between K-State and KU.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_00: Just causing trouble.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so so this is where we're at right now.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_00: We know Paul's mad and we know Paul doesn't like what's going on, but we don't know what's happening yet, right?
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_00: So let's go to the next section to figure out what that is.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_00: So verses 21 through 22 clears it up for us.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_00: For in your eating, each one takes his own supper first, and one is hungry, and another is drunk.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_00: What?
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_00: Do you not have houses in which to eat and drink, or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing?
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_00: What shall I say to you?
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_00: Shall I praise you?
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: In this I will not praise you.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so we actually learn so much about what's going on by reading verse 21, by also having a little historical context.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_00: So the historical context that we need to understand here is that in Corinth at the time, the Lord's Supper would usually be taken at a host home.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: And the only people who owned homes were very wealthy and rich people, right?
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_00: And when they did the Lord's Supper, they would first break the bread, which which resembled or symbolized Christ's body being broken for us on the cross, and then they would eat a common supper or dinner usually.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_00: And then after that, they would pass around the cup representing Christ's blood.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_00: But they would do so in two different rooms.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_00: The two different rooms in these people's houses in Corinth at the time, there was the triclinium, which could seat about nine people, and then there was the atrium, which kind of seated everyone else.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm kind of misinforming you a little bit when I say the triclinium sat nine, because really it laid nine.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_00: This would be all of the host and the wealthy people, they would actually lay on their side or on their stomach to eat food, which is by far the coolest way to eat.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_00: Am I right?
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_00: Not only that, it's probably the best way to communicate to someone that you don't like them.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, just just imagine this.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_00: Someone comes in and he's like, hey guys, you got any room for me?
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_00: And then it's like, no, no, Sam.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_00: I'm sorry, there's there's absolutely no room.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_00: I'm I wish we could squeeze you in, but we we can't.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_00: We absolutely I mean, am I right?
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_00: Sorry, Sam, I love you, but you're not you're not invited to the triclinium.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_00: Um, anyways, so so this would be filled with nine or ten people, that included the host, and then also the people that the host wanted to esteem.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_00: Other wealthy individuals who are of high rapport in the community.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_00: And then the H room was filled, most likely, with all of the poor, working class and slaves.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_00: And so what Paul says is going on here is that the people, most likely in the triclinium, were gorging themselves.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_00: If we go back here, it says that they take their own supper first.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_00: In the Greek, if we if we take this, this is actually one word taken first, if we take this word, it actually communicates that they would consume with priority their own meal.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_00: And so what looks like is happening is the rich and the wealthy are possibly starting before everyone else arrives, eating all of this good food.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_00: And then when everyone arrives, they're not really sharing.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_00: They're consuming all of their food for themselves so that they're drunk in full, while the people in the atrium, the poor and the slaves and the working class, are hungry.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_00: And to really strengthen this and just show how horrible this was to an even further extent, during the time we believed that there was a famine going on.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_00: And so the working class and the slaves and the poor, they wouldn't even eat unless they brought their own food, and some of them possibly couldn't even do it.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so we have this discrepancy here.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_00: And in Paul in 22, he asked them, What, do you not have your own houses in which to eat and drink?
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_00: He says, Look, I understand that you want to fill yourself and gourd yourself and prop yourself up in the eyes of society, but don't you have your other your own houses to do this in?
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_00: Can't you do this another time?
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_00: Or do you have to profane the Lord's Supper when you do it?
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_00: And so ultimately he's accusing the people in the Triclinium of not taking the Lord's Supper, but making it their supper.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_00: Not taking the Lord's Supper, but making it their supper.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_00: Now I want to pause here for a second because I think we can understand, we can say, sure, this is poor form.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_00: This isn't so great.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_00: But can we really say, even though they're doing it poorly, can we really say it's not the Lord's Supper anymore, that it's something completely different?
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, aren't they just kind of enjoying the blessings that God has given them?
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_00: Well, let's go to the next section.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_00: Because here, Paul invites them to take a deeper look into what the original Lord's Supper was all about and compare what they're doing versus what Jesus did.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_00: And so this brings us to our next point here that the VIP section in Corinth is at odds with what would Jesus do.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_00: So let's go to the next verses here, read 23 through 26, where Paul reminds them of what Jesus did.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_00: For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_00: That the Lord Jesus, in the night in which he was betrayed, took the 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.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_00: In the same way he took the 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.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_00: For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_00: So I want to point out a couple things here in verses 23 through 26.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_00: First, notice Jesus is giving himself my body and my blood for you.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_00: Literally, this symbolizes that Jesus came and gave himself entirely for all of us.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_00: And not even just his life, we learn elsewhere in Scripture that Jesus says, I came not to be served, to be glorified, but to serve.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_00: Right?
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_00: And so this is what is Jesus doing.
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_00: He's giving entirely of himself for others.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_00: And the second thing is, now that we know this, and this is what this whole thing represents, Jesus calls us to remember, and then he calls us to proclaim.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_00: In the Greek, this means to reflect, even to worship.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_00: There's a response that must happen.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_00: So we're supposed to remember, worship, and then with how we act and with what we say and with how we think, we're supposed to proclaim this message that Jesus came, was a servant, died, and gave his entire life for everyone equally.
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_00: And when we understand this, we can see why what the Corinthians were doing was so utterly contrary to what Jesus was about.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_00: Because essentially, after saying this, Paul is telling the Corinthians, look, Jesus came with a servant's heart, and he gave all of himself, even for the lowliest among you.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_00: You come with a selfish heart to satiate your appetite and to prop up your status at the expense of the lowliest among you.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_00: And so this results in condemnation.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_00: And we're going to read what this condemnation looks like or this judgment upon the Corinthians who have so profaned the Lord's Supper.
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_00: Verses 27 through 32.
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_00: Paul continues here, Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_00: But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_00: For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself, if he does not judge the body rightly.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_00: For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and in number sleep.
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_00: But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged.
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_00: But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord, so that we will not be condemned along with the world.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_00: So verse 27 is a huge indictment.
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_00: Because of what the Corinthians are doing, Paul says they are sinning against, they are guilty of the very body and blood of Christ.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_00: Essentially he's saying, You are like those who put Christ to death.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_00: Why?
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_00: Because just as the world rejected what Jesus stood for and rejected his sacrifice, so too are the Corinthians with how they act.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_00: They've rejected his gospel of selflessness, of servanthood, in favor of selfishness.
• 17:13
  SPEAKER_00: And they've rejected his gospel of unity that all are equal in the kingdom of God for a gospel of hierarchy.
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_00: And so they've aligned themselves with the world.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_00: And then we get from Paul at two points.
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_00: One, that judgment is imminent.
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_00: And then second, what to do about impending judgment.
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_00: So let's look here at some of these verses first that says that this results in harm towards the church, and then ultimate judgment and discipline for those who are in the VIP section.
• 17:50
  SPEAKER_00: So first in verse 29, we see for he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_00: So this first idea in judgment is not this eternal condemnation that because they're improperly taking the Lord's Supper, God's going to condemn them for all eternity.
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_00: Instead, this word communicates that they have been found guilty of committing a sin and there will be punishment.
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_00: What is that punishment?
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_00: Well, we see here in verse 30.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_00: For this reason, many of you are weak, sick, and a number sleep or have died.
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want you guys to like allegorize this.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_00: This means what it says.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_00: Because of the Corinthian sin, God is divinely orchestrating sickness and even death among them.
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_00: And this isn't even unique.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_00: There are multiple cases in Acts where Christians, true believers, sin so grievously against God and against the church that some are put to death and others are pronounced judgment upon, very severe judgment.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_00: And so that's what's happening here.
• 18:57
  SPEAKER_00: And then finally, he says that we are disciplined.
• 19:01
  SPEAKER_00: And I think this is important to clarify.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_00: Again, these are believers he's speaking to.
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_00: These aren't non-Christians.
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_00: In the Bible, every time it talks about judgment towards the Christian, God's judgment towards the Christian, it defines it as discipline.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_00: In Hebrews 12, it says, when we err, when we go the wrong way, God disciplines us in order for our own good to bring us back and to restore us.
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_00: And that's God's hope here.
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_00: It's not ultimate condemnation, it's discipline that's happening.
• 19:31
  SPEAKER_00: But honestly, it would be better if this discipline wasn't happening, right?
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_00: If they weren't profaning the Lord's table.
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_00: And so Paul tells them what to do in order to avoid this.
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_00: Actually, before we do that, there's one more thing, rather, I want to touch on, one more thing that they're doing or that this impacts.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_00: Not only does it create judgment for the individual, but it harms the church.
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_00: Back in verse 17 and verse 22, Paul says, Man, it would be better if you didn't meet at all.
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_00: It would be better if the church of Christ in this instance didn't meet because you were doing imminent and grave harm to each other and to the glory of Christ.
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_00: And honestly, it's through hypocrisy, right?
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_00: It's through saying we believe this about Jesus, but we're gonna do the opposite.
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_00: I heard a story recently.
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I don't I don't believe it's a true story.
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's just an analogy, but it gets the point home really well.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_00: And I think some of us can relate.
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, there was a man who was driving, and he was driving kind of erratically, he was he was in a hurry, and he swerved around this old grandmother who's trying to cross the street, and he kind of flicks her off, and then he's and then he like swerves around some other high schoolers who try to run in front of him, and he's like shaking his fist and swearing at him, and then and then he comes on some traffic and he's just like hitting the wheel and going berserk because he's so mad that these people are inconveniencing him, and then all of a sudden he sees cop lights turn on behind him.
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_00: The cop comes up, and the cop says, Uh, sir, I uh I saw you were getting kind of heated there.
• 21:00
  SPEAKER_00: And the guy said, Yeah, well, is a road rage a crime?
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_00: And the cop said, Well, no, but I saw on your bumper it said, Jesus loves you and so do I.
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_00: So I assumed this was a stolen vehicle.
• 21:13
  SPEAKER_00: Right?
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_00: And it's funny, but but as I heard that story, I kind of got sad because I don't even think the world responds in the same way to Christian hypocrisy that the cop does anymore.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_00: I don't think the world sees Christian hypocrisy, like, no, no, that can't be right.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_00: That's not how Christians act.
• 21:32
  SPEAKER_00: I think far too often now in our culture, the world sees our hypocrisy and says, yeah, that's exactly what I expect of those Christians.
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_00: And so, because of the rampant hypocrisy that we have within our churches, God's name is profaned among the unbelievers.
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_00: And not because of the cross of Christ, which is what it should be and which is what should offend them, but because of our own sin.
• 22:01
  SPEAKER_00: And so here the Corinthians are engaging in such horrible hypocrisy that it hurts their ability to proclaim Christ, and it's also hurting the very brothers and sisters which they're called to protect and to love.
• 22:15
  SPEAKER_00: And so it's utterly horrible.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_00: It brings judgment upon them, and it destroys the church's witness and unity.
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 22:23
  SPEAKER_00: But Paul then tells us how we can avert the situation, how we can get away from it.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_00: And he calls us to examine ourselves in verse 28 here.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_00: He tells the Corinthians, examine yourself.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_00: Examine yourself.
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_00: And then he says also to judge the body rightly.
• 22:43
  SPEAKER_00: And this these words examine and judge, it has the connotation of examine why you are coming to the Lord's Supper.
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_00: Do you understand what Christ has done?
• 22:55
  SPEAKER_00: And even more importantly, do you understand what that means to you?
• 22:59
  SPEAKER_00: How that affects your life.
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_00: If Christ is supposed to be our model, are you modeling what Christ did?
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_00: Do you get it?
• 23:09
  SPEAKER_00: Do you get what he's done?
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_00: And we don't have time here, I'm gonna have to skip through this to go through all of the ways that we can evaluate according to Paul or that he calls the Corinthians to evaluate themselves, but we're actually gonna kind of substitute this in our conclusion.
• 23:26
  SPEAKER_00: So we'll get to that in a little bit.
• 23:29
  SPEAKER_00: But ultimately, we see that we are called to examine ourselves so that we come before the Lord's Supper with reverence, while also giving glory to God and treating each other as he would want us to, right?
• 23:43
  SPEAKER_00: And so Paul then gives a solution.
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_00: And his solution is this in verse 33 through 34 in our last point, What Would Jesus Do restored?
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_00: He says, So then, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another.
• 23:57
  SPEAKER_00: If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, so that you will not come together for judgment.
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_00: The remaining matters I will arrange when I come.
• 24:05
  SPEAKER_00: First, when you come together to eat, wait for one another.
• 24:09
  SPEAKER_00: This word wait can also be translated receive, receive with hospitality.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_00: When they come together to eat and to have the common supper, don't just wait that for everyone to get there, but receive everyone equally with hospitality, just as Christ would, right?
• 24:26
  SPEAKER_00: And then he says, if you can't do this, in verse 34, if you can't do this and you still want to come to gorge yourself, stay at home.
• 24:34
  SPEAKER_00: We've already talked about this.
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_00: It would be better that you stay at home than partake in the Lord's Supper in such an irreverent and destructive way.
• 24:41
  SPEAKER_00: So that's his final point.
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_00: Wait, be hospital, or stay home.
• 24:46
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 24:49
  SPEAKER_00: So at the end of this, some of you might be thinking, okay, so what I've learned today is that I am much better than the Corinthian church.
• 24:58
  SPEAKER_00: I'm a better Christian, right?
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_00: And honestly, when we read through most of Corinthians, that's kind of how that's how I feel.
• 25:05
  SPEAKER_00: So if you ever if you're ever feeling down about how you are as a Christian, just read Corinthians and you'll feel a lot better.
• 25:10
  SPEAKER_00: But but honestly, like if we think about it, we we don't we don't treat anyone differently during the Lord's Supper.
• 25:15
  SPEAKER_00: We all eat the same thing equally, and we don't have different levels of status.
• 25:20
  SPEAKER_00: We're all equal when we take the Lord's Supper, and so externally we are doing a lot better than the Corinthians.
• 25:29
  SPEAKER_00: However, I'd urge you to hold back for a second.
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_00: Because I wonder if many of us are guilty of violating the principle of the Lord's Supper that Paul draws out here.
• 25:44
  SPEAKER_00: And the principle is this we must approach the table with reverence and honesty.
• 25:49
  SPEAKER_00: Remember that question?
• 25:50
  SPEAKER_00: Does it matter how we approach the Lord's table?
• 25:52
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 25:54
  SPEAKER_00: We must approach with reverence and honesty.
• 25:58
  SPEAKER_00: In regard to reverence, we may not flippantly kind of just disregard the Lord's Supper externally and how we do it, but what about internally?
• 26:10
  SPEAKER_00: We're called to proclaim and to remember what Christ has done, but does our mind wander when we take the elements?
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_00: Do we just robotically go through the motions?
• 26:19
  SPEAKER_00: Or do we seek to connect with Christ and give him praise and thanks?
• 26:23
  SPEAKER_00: In regard to approaching with honesty, guys, we're called to evaluate ourselves.
• 26:30
  SPEAKER_00: And do we actually do that or do we look around at everyone else to make sure that they're taking it seriously?
• 26:37
  SPEAKER_00: And guys, I think this is a time in terms of evaluation.
• 26:42
  SPEAKER_00: If we're seeking to truly understand what Christ has done and what that means for us, this also means we're coming recognizing that we are sinners and in need of Christ.
• 26:51
  SPEAKER_00: And this does two things.
• 26:53
  SPEAKER_00: One, it's a very practical time.
• 26:55
  SPEAKER_00: It's a time for us to reaffirm that we need Christ, and it's a time to repent and to live like the Last Supper matters, like Christ's death matters.
• 27:09
  SPEAKER_00: And then finally, in terms of evaluation, Paul's biggest point here is man, let there be no factions among you.
• 27:17
  SPEAKER_00: And again, I ask, when you evaluate yourself internally, we don't have any factions when we're taking the Lord's Supper, but how many of us are coming from the lobby to take the Lord's Supper having just gossiped about someone else?
• 27:31
  SPEAKER_00: John MacArthur says this when believers come to the table of the Lord sharing the bread of his body and the cup of his blood, it is absolutely necessary that they leave behind all sin, all bitterness, all racial and sexual prejudice, all class pride and all feelings of superiority of all places and occasions, those attitudes are most out of place at the Lord's Supper.
• 27:51
  SPEAKER_00: They grievously profane that holy and beautiful unifying ordinance of God.
• 27:56
  SPEAKER_00: And so check your heart to see if there's division within it and derision towards your brothers and sisters.
• 28:03
  SPEAKER_00: And so finally, guys, we realize that the Lord's Supper is Jesus' supper.
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_00: It's not mine.
• 28:10
  SPEAKER_00: It's not yours.
• 28:12
  SPEAKER_00: This is his time to worship him.
• 28:16
  SPEAKER_00: This is his time to remember him.
• 28:19
  SPEAKER_00: And in our worship, seek to align ourselves with what is holy and what is good in unity as brothers and sisters.
• 28:30
  SPEAKER_00: Let's pray.
• 28:32
  SPEAKER_00: Heavenly Father, Lord, thank you for this institution.
• 28:37
  SPEAKER_00: This institution of the Lord's Supper of Communion, where as very forgetful creatures, we can come and again realize and bask in the knowledge of what you have done.
• 28:50
  SPEAKER_00: And Lord, I pray that we would do so honorably.
• 28:55
  SPEAKER_00: That we would come knowing we are imperfect, but that we would seek to expose that imperfection and not pretend like there is nothing wrong.
• 29:04
  SPEAKER_00: Because, Lord, we know that every day we need you.
• 29:07
  SPEAKER_00: And the Lord's Supper reminds us of this.
• 29:10
  SPEAKER_00: Lord, I pray that this would also be a time where we reaffirm our unity in you.
• 29:15
  SPEAKER_00: Just as you so greatly desired your last wishes in John 17 was that the church would be united.
• 29:21
  SPEAKER_00: Lord, I pray that these would be our waking wishes every day to bring more unity to the church.
• 29:28
  SPEAKER_00: Lord, we love you and we pray this in your name.
• 29:31
  SPEAKER_00: Amen.
• 29:33
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 29:35
  SPEAKER_00: Now we are going to partake in communion together.
• 29:43
  SPEAKER_00: And I want to read very quickly from 1 Corinthians 11, 26.
• 29:49
  SPEAKER_00: We just went through this.
• 29:51
  SPEAKER_00: But I want to remind us of something here.
• 29:53
  SPEAKER_00: Paul says, For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
• 30:01
  SPEAKER_00: And I think this is so beautiful.
• 30:04
  SPEAKER_00: We're called to do this until he comes or until we die.
• 30:07
  SPEAKER_00: And I think he does this because we are forgetful creatures, right?
• 30:11
  SPEAKER_00: We forget just how all-encompassing Christ's death is and what it really means for our life.
• 30:17
  SPEAKER_00: And so we're to do this to take moments throughout the months and the weeks to remind ourselves of who we are, what we are in Christ.
• 30:28
  SPEAKER_00: And the beautiful thing is we do this until he comes because once he comes, his victory is not going to be something we look forward to, but we live in.
• 30:39
  SPEAKER_00: And so today, if you are a Christian, even if you don't call TBC your home, please join with us in taking the body and the blood of Christ as we celebrate our unity in him and our deliverance from sin.
• 30:56
  SPEAKER_00: If you are not a believer, I'd ask that you take this time instead to reflect on who Christ is.
• 31:06
  SPEAKER_00: On if this is something that you wish to believe, if you wish to become part of his body and to give your life to him.
• 31:20
  SPEAKER_00: And so I ask you to consider that today as we take communion.
• 31:25
  SPEAKER_00: As the elements are being passed around, uh I ask you guys to go and examine yourselves as Paul calls us to, worship Christ and see if we align with what he stands for.
• 31:37
  SPEAKER_00: Go ahead and take a moment to do that now, and we'll take the elements after.
• 32:47
  SPEAKER_00: Do this in remembrance of me.
• 32:49
  SPEAKER_00: Take of the bread.
• 32:58
  SPEAKER_00: And in the same way, after supper, he took the cup, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood.
• 33:05
  SPEAKER_00: Do this whenever you drink it in remembrance of me.
• 33:09
  SPEAKER_00: Take of his blood.
• 33:17
  SPEAKER_00: Let's all go in prayer.
• 33:20
  SPEAKER_00: Lord, thank you for this time.
• 33:22
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for your body and blood that was poured out of the cross so that we might have life.
• 33:27
  SPEAKER_00: We might have victory.
• 33:30
  SPEAKER_00: I pray, Lord, that we would live in this victory.
• 33:34
  SPEAKER_00: We would not indulge the flesh as we so often do, but instead, we would live as Christ.
• 33:43
  SPEAKER_00: Live in Christ.
• 33:46
  SPEAKER_00: Lord, we love you.
• 33:47
  SPEAKER_00: We pray this in your name.
• 33:49
  SPEAKER_00: Amen.
• 33:51
  SPEAKER_00: Alright.
• 33:51
  SPEAKER_00: Be blessed.
• 33:52
  SPEAKER_00: Go in peace, in unity.
• 33:54
  SPEAKER_00: Have a good Christmas.