Healthy Living in a Sick World | Part 16 | Dr. Michael Youssef

[Music] hello friends welcome to the Church of the Apostles thank you for joining us today wherever you are around the world we pray that God would use this time to bless you and that the Holy Spirit will speak to you in a personal way today [Music] remember the crossing of the Red Sea remember the crossing of the River Jordan remember remember remember it is the theme of the scripture remember the past faithfulness of God in your life remember the past grace of God has brought in your life remember past mercies that God had brought you through remember the hand of God that supernaturally worked in you and through you in the past remember where you were and where you are today remember question why do you think the God who created us the God who made us the God who knows our very DNA every one of us the God who knows every cell in our each of our bodies as our maker and creator he knew what a forgetful creatures we are but not only that the reason God says remember remember remember is because the act of remembering fills us with gratitude and with thankfulness but there is nothing can be more disheartening than dealing with an ungrateful person I I mean someone for whom you have done so much and the person just takes it for granted or or there's nothing more heartbreaking than that then then dealing with someone for whom you have made a huge and great sacrifices and all they say to you is yeah but what have you done for me lately remembering the past graciousness of God always leads us to being thankful and grateful people that's why God wants us to remember that is why because remembering brings about gratitude a while back I rather story in the newspapers is of well-known story of a person who was a memory expert he specialized in helping people to remember names and events particularly in sales conventions and in different business executives he will be the favorite speaker and he would common he have fact earned a doctorate on the subject of remembering he wrote books on the subject of remembering he had fashioned a very popular course study on systematic memory development in in one's life and he would charge a small fortune to come and speak to groups of people and one day he was invited to be a keynote speaker to a convention in Cleveland Ohio of scientists these scientists were skeptical but they said well you know we want to hear what he has to say so they all signed up and the many scientists gathered in Cleveland Ohio at this convention and they came at that night and everybody was there looking forward to hearing this great expert and he didn't show up so they called him in California where he lived and he simply said I just forgot all about it I forgot all about it and our Lord Jesus Christ knew all about this proclivity to forgetfulness and that is why he instituted the Lord's Supper as means of not forgetting not forgetting that colossal sacrifice that he made on that cross not forgetting the enormous price that he paid for your salvation and for mine not forgetting his gracious act of self giving so that we may be forgiven now of course the danger of constantly having these services as rich a ritual just as a habit the danger is it becomes a regular ritual and you forget the meaning in fact the danger of keeping keeping the symbolism and losing the meaning is the very problem of the church in Corinth even today this great remembrance of that colossal sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross is miss used and abused in some traditions some have turned it into a somber event others have turned it into an institutional requirement that actually people believe that they are saved when they take communion what I'm going to explain to you in a minute that communion is for the believers communion cannot save you Jesus save you and you remember his death and resurrection when his participated communion others still practice it in a very few occasions here in 1st Corinthians 11 tend to it with me if you haven't already Paul correct so many of the misunderstandings misunderstandings that nipi could need be corrected today what the Lord's table is all about it is a loving celebration a true spiritual enrichment and not a time for selfish indulgences in the case of the Corinthians they turn it into a time for shaming the poor Christians as a matter of fact it turned out to be a time of scandalizing the Church of Jesus Christ in front of an unbelieving world and in correcting them the Apostle Paul gives them three things first of all Paul is saying stop perverting the Lord's table secondly he said understand the purpose of this table understand what is what is really all about and thirdly he is saying there is a right and a wrong way to celebrate the lord's table let's look at them very quickly first of all he said stop perverting it how these corinthians were perverting the lord's table if you look at verse 18 and one thing about these folks some of you remember they were cantankerous they could not agree on anything I mean they absolutely disagreed on every issue it's like a friend of mine was talking about a certain group of people who shall remain nameless to whom he belongs and he said I'll tell you something about my people whenever you get four of them in a meeting together you get five opinions he's right now these Corinthians could not agree on anything they loved divisiveness in the church they these Corinthians loved creating division and and fights and arguments these Corinthians each of them were in love with their own opinion and they were not listening to anybody else instead of seeking to serve one another they looked for opportunities to stir dissension and the Apostle Paul said I believe this about you Corinthians and sadly instead of looking out for the welfare of one another instead of loving one another they were looking for number one out for number one instead of seeking the kingdom of God first and his righteousness first they were promoting themselves first instead of honoring the Lord they sought the honor for themselves instead of being servants of one another they set themselves as masters instead of being subject to spiritual authority they absolutely despised spiritual authority and the reason for all of this dissension is carnality some are going to see verse 19 to be a very disturbing verse look at it with me what Paul is saying here is that God uses these cantankerous Christians God uses these carnal and divisive Christians to purify the righteous Christians even this divisive cantankerous contentious people God uses them to purify us and to sanctify us if you see these people as a problem you won't grow through it but if you see them as God's Way of sanctifying you purifying you it's like the fire the fire when the gold is put on fire the fire basically helps separate the gold from the dross and that's what they do remember give thanks to God for them I know I know this is a hard sell listen trust me I know it experientially is a hard sell but there can be no doubt that Apostle Paul is saying that this these fractious people not merely disruptive but they can be destructive and that is why we should not really put up with them for too long the Bible gives us with clarity what to do with such people in Titus chapter 3 verse 10 the Bible said reject a fractious person after a first and a second warning knowing that such a person is perverted and sinning and is being self condemned in the Corinthian church these fractious people they were operating even at the Lord's table look at verse 20 Paul said it could no longer be called the Lord's table may God forbid ever that happens here they had the ceremony but not the celebration they had the form but not the substance and Christ had no part of these services why because in their hearts they had no love for one another Lord forbid it them I have talked about love all they probably sang about love and they they read about love but their hearts were hard as rocks Paul is going to say more about love and chapter 13 when we get to it they had so much pride and selfishness in their hearts that their walk did not match their talk and that is why secondly they needed to comprehend the fresh what the Lord's table is all about look at verses 23 all the way to 26 for I received from the Lord what I've passed on to you and Paul is saying here this is not Paul's opinion this is not Paul's ideas this is not Paul's thoughts Paul is merely reinstating God's truth he is merely reinstating God's revelation and that's what we all about what is that that in the midst of betrayal God did a magnificent thing that in the midst of the world's malignant evil God established his good that in the midst of Satan's wickedness God planted holiness that in the midst of ingratitude and greed God established generosity and self-sacrifice that in the midst of grabbing and taking God established giving of his one and only begotten Son even in the midst of the Corinthians factionalism and division and jealousy and self-centeredness the lord's table stood as a symbol of forgiveness and renewal let me give you a quick background minute-and-a-half in order to fully comprehend what the Lord's Supper is all about you have to understand the Passover you see the Passover was celebrated by God's people to remember the gracious act of God for delivering them from the slavery of Egypt and that is why you must understand that that Passover meal found its ultimate fulfillment in the Lamb of God who has delivered us from the slavery of sin and Satan can I get an amen the Passover was an indicator what's the value of an indicator indicator says go this way that's what an indicator is and beloved that's what the word sacrament means the word sacraments is a sign go this way there is nothing sacred about the sacrament of baptism there's nothing sacred about the sacrament of the law sir it says go this way it takes you beyond itself that's what the sacrament is and the Passover meal found its ultimate fulfillment in the cross of Jesus Christ the Passover was an indicator it was pointing to the cross the Passover was the shadow that reflected the cross of Jesus Christ the Passover found its true meaning in the cross of Jesus can I get an amen and the Old Testament Saints who were saved they were saved by looking forward to the cross even as the Bible said that Abraham saw the days of Jesus and he rejoiced two thousand years before Christ he looked forward to it just as we in New Testament times we look back to the cross and we become saved the cross is the focus the cross is the center we have gone away from the shadow we run away from the picture now we have the cross it is only the cross of Jesus Christ that anyone anyone anyone anywhere in the world anyone regardless of background or ethnic background or wherever they come from in the world it is only through the cross of Jesus Christ can you escape the condemnation of hell and that is why Jesus said that is why Jesus said do this in remembrance of me it's not a church table as it's Jesus table do this in remembrance of me remember what I have done for you remember the sacrifice and don't just goes through the motions remember and relive the moment of agony on that cross when he carried your sin and my sin on his sinless body remember to relive that moment of indescribable pain of separation from the father which was for the first time since before eternity because of your sin that carried on his shoulders remember to experience what it is like for him the pure sinless holy son of God carries your sin your sin your sin your sin my sin I want to illustrate something about the Lord's table that hopefully it's gonna explain what Paul is saying here the very first time almost 40 years ago now that we ever visited London the City of London we were given three maps we've got a map of the city we got a map of the underground the tube and then we had a map of the motorways they have m1 m2 and so forth there's three maps and all these three maps are true in themselves each one of them does not give you a complete picture to get a complete picture you have to put all those three maps on top of each other but that's very confusing it would be a bunch of jungles in you jumbles and you and you want to understand it's very confusing and that is why and you believer must understand those three maps in the same way these three words describe the death of Christ on the cross first Redemption can you say that with me then reconciliation and justification each of those three words is like the three maps of London they're accurate and correct by themselves but for a person to comprehend especially those who may coming to the Lord a new current in their knowledge of Christ to comprehend this you have to understand if you try to put all the three maps together three words together can be confusing and that is why the Lord's table helps us separate each of those three words each of those three concepts either these three truths helps us separate them in verse 26 the Lord's table when you come to it you proclaim the death of Christ in the past so you remember the past you proclaim that death remembering his death on the cross but secondly you remember the present the present promise of empowerment Jesus promised to empower us to live this life whatever your problems might be and we all have them whatever difficulties he going through whatever pain you're experiencing remember his promise of strength and power to live for him today that's the present but also a remembering of the future those are the three things you remember the future that day is coming and maybe even quicker than we think and maybe even sooner than any of us think the day is coming when the Lord will preside over his table at the marriage supper of the lamb where all the believers are going to be gathered together don't pervert the lord's table secondly he said understand it's real meaning and thirdly and most importantly is verses 27 to 34 he tells us how to approach the lord's table why do i say more importantly because the vast majority of you here or even those who are watching around the world right now live are in the category the third category here approaching the lord's table and how you do that it is very important beloved it is very important to know the right way to approach the table of the Lord and I'm going to tell you never never never never approach it casually whoever participates in the lord's table coming out of these verses in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body in the blood Lord what is that unworthy manner what does that mean what's unworthy manner now there are several ways in which you can come to the Lord's table in an unworthy manner listen carefully several ways of coming to the Lord's table in an unworthy manner coming to the table out of a habit participating in the Lord star just out of a habit without engaging your mind without engaging your heart in the process of that participation secondly unworthy manner is when you treat the elements as sacred in themselves not what they point to what they represent the third way which is I believe relevant for not 99% of us or 100 percent of us including your pastor the third way participating at the Lord's table in an unworthy manner is coming with an unconfessed sin with unconfessed sin when you come and participate at the lord's table in any church carrying bitterness and hatred and anger and living in deliberate disobedience and they come to the lord's table without confession and without repentance that's unworthy manner when we come to the lord's table with anything less than love for God and love for one another we're sinning against God when I see someone burning the American flag to me that person is burning more than just a piece of cloth they are trampling on the country that this flag represents and it grieves me if I'm an authority our outlaw it but thank God I'm not and so when I go to the Lord's table with an unconfessed sin in my heart I am NOT dishonouring the bread and the wine I'm dishonouring the Lord Jesus Christ himself I'm dishonouring the Lord whose sacrifice is represented in these elements of bread and wine he Murat please receiving in an unworthy manner does not necessarily dishonor the ceremony or the ritual it dis honors the sacrifice of Christ on the cross so what is the right way to participate at the Lord's table well I'm glad you asked because the Word of God has the answer not mating verse 24 examine yourself before you eat and drink sift out the wrong desires sift out the wrong attitudes sift out the wrong motives sister any sin of thought word or actions ask yourself the question have i wronged anyone have i deliberately cheated anyone have I cheated God of his tithes and offerings have our carried an unforgiveness toward anyone in my heart do I have bitterness in my heart toward anyone am i faithful to my spouse or am i filled with pride and seeking honor for myself examine yourself the Apostle Paul said confess repent before you participate on the confession and repentance qualifies us to coming to the lord's table in a worthy manner not unworthy manner and that is why the lord's table is only for believers verse 30 look at it carefully underline it in your Bible imprinted imprinted in the cortex of your hair and your brain and your heart if a person persistently comes to the lord's table without confession and repentance it has not only spiritual reprecussions it can have physical replication some people actually died as a result of approaching the lost table in an unworthy manner that's what he said here Ananias and Sapphira book of Acts chapter 5 there were believers but somehow in their hearts it chose to lie to the Holy Spirit lie to the Church of Jesus Christ and there were snuffed out immediately and died both of them that's what I call being slain ODIs in the spirit if we don't judge ourselves if we don't examine ourselves if we don't confess our sins if we don't seek His forgiveness we open ourselves up to be judged by God and by others God is not looking for perfection can you say that with me God is not looking for perfection he knows that's only going to happen when we are there with him in heaven David the Bible said of David that he was a man whose heart after gods you know David was not perfect right but he knew how to repent whenever he came under conviction he repented of his sin he didn't try to explain it away didn't try to rationalize it he just wept tears I want to tell you a true story as I conclude and I prayed that the image will stay with you dr. George Sweeting he was the Chancellor of Moody Bible Institute in Chicago one year in the springtime he took his family and they went to Niagara Falls and dr. Sweden was talking about being springtime all the ice was melting and coming down the fall into the river and he was watching as a great observer that he is and he looked at these blocks of ice floating down fast as they go over the cliff over the falls Niagara Falls inside those ice blocks there the cork caucus of the fish that froze inside the ice and there was au thousands upon thousands of seagulls who come in and start picking in that ice trying to get the fish out of the inside of the ice and they keep doing this and they keep doing this with a real large or small pieces and until they see themselves coming close to the brink coming close to that Nagre fall and then they mound their wings and they fly away and save themselves dr. Sweden tells of a specific seagull that he was watching who delayed his flight until it came to a very dangerous point this particular seagull was so engrossed in picking on that ice trying to get the fish out and so engrossed and he finally sees that that this ice is about to go over the cliff and and and he's gonna fall in the blink brink as it were and mounted his powerful wings and he began to flap and flap and flap even lifted the ice on which his claws were fixed on it was hooked on it but was too late I was too late alas that seagull has delayed as flight too long so that the claws had become frozen into the ice the weight of the ice was too great for the powerful this poor seagull and he plunged into the abyss my beloved friends are plead with you today I plead with you today that you comprehend what the Lord's table is all about when you come to the Lord's table without self-examination and judging of yourself and repentance when you come to the Lord's table out of habit and as a ritual just this is just the way things we've done it and it's the right thing to do you are heading for the danger of a believers judgement and I don't know what form that takes [Music] thank you for being part of our worship today we would love to hear from you please contact us and tell us about what God is doing in your life if you are in the Atlanta area we hope that you can visit us in person I love to shake your hands may God bless you today and throughout the week [Music] you

Channel: The Church Of The Apostles

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Keywords: Sermons by great preachers, testimonies of christians, jesus christ, leading the way, Dr Michael Youssef, The Church of the Apostles

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Length: 30min 26sec (1826 seconds)

Published: Tue May 14 2019