October 6, 2019 "Do This in Remembrance of Me", Rev. Dr. Howard-John Wesley

this is one of the most diversified practices within the body of Christ but despite our diversity of when we take it and how we take it and whether it's grape juice or wine or whether you dip it or it's placed on your tongue or you drink from the same cup the reality is is of this table always has one message as we prepare ourselves to come to the table where we break bread and share and cup together today on this world communion Sunday I would that you hear the reading in Scripture of where Jesus originates and Institute's and establishes that which we commit ourselves to on today in communion you can find the establishment of the Lord's table in every gospel today I would that you hear the reading of Matthew in chapter 26 beginning in verse number 20 Matthew chapter 26 beginning in verse 20 when you found it in your Bibles or if you're going to read along on the screens if you would stand as you're physically able that together we would reverence the reading the hearing of the word of God in Matthew chapter 26 beginning in verse number 20 I'm reading this morning I have the New International Version of God's Word when evening came Jesus was reclining at the table with the twelve and while they were eating he said truly I tell you one of you will betray me they were very sad and began to say to him one after the other surely you don't mean me Lord jesus replied the one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me the Son of Man will go just as it is written about him but a woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man it would be better for him if he had not been born then Judas the one who would betray him said surely you don't mean me rabbi jesus answered you have said so while they were eating Jesus took bread and 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 when he get 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 for the forgiveness of sins I tell you I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now until that day when I drink it new with you in my father's Kingdom and when they had sung a hymn they went out into the Mount of Olives this do in remembrance of me you may be seated in the presence of the Lord every October we change our regular routine of worship and move our celebration of communion from the second Sunday to the first Sunday the reason we do that is that first Sunday around the world is world communion day is that Sunday when Christians around the globe seek to elevate themselves above our denominational differences and doctrinal divisions and embrace the essence of what makes us Christian through an act of unity as around the world collectively we all take the Lord's Supper it's interesting deacon Easter that the universal church would choose communion as the act of unity when one would realize that how we take communion is probably one of the most divergent and divisive practices within all the body of Christ everybody takes communion differently I was surprised to find this out because as you all know I was raised in an old-school Baptist Church on the south side of Chicago Lilydale progressive Missionary Baptist Church and honestly I don't know why that he called it progressive there was nothing progressive about that church at all it was as old-school as old-school Baptist can be and if you were ever raised in an old-school Baptist Church you know that there were some signs and symbols to cue you into the reality that this is an old-school Baptist Church it was old-school Baptist cuz there was no clock in the sanctuary worship wouldn't go start on time and it was clear once you got in there you wasn't fittin to go anywhere anytime soon there was no hour of power an old-school Baptist Church eleven o'clock service started around 11:30 and if you got out anytime before 2:45 the Holy Ghost says showing up quick was old-school Baptist Church we didn't have praise and worship we had devotions led by the Deacons who would line out hymns every Sunday like father I stretch my hand at either all the help I know and deacons they could sing and pray felt you have to sing in order to be a deacon I wonder how a deacon led devotion would sound at Alfred Street it was old school old school Baptist Church the choir didn't just walk in and sit in the choir loft no they had a choreographed procession they've been working on all week long sometimes they rehearse that more than the songs but you know they look good coming in it took him about 12 minutes but they look good getting in you know his old-school Baptist Church cuz then the announcement clerk would come she knew it was their time but she was all the way in the back of church and took about three to five minutes to walk up to the front she'd open up that bulletin and read every word of every announcement and then in by telling you the menu for dinner after church and all that we used to get irritated when sister Sadie Willis would read all those announcements there was a reason for it because everyone in that church was not privileged with education and they were not literate and rather than embarrassing someone for their lack of literacy someone would get up and read all of the announcements it was old-school Baptists we sang the Lord's Prayer every Sunday and I'm not talking about the quick easy version talk about the 12-minute remix that took forever to get through it was about as old school as old school could be we didn't have lyrics up on the screen you had old wooden tablet on the wall over there with numbers on it and those numbers corresponding to him numbers in that green hymnal and when you opened up that him look at him you're gonna sing all four verses of that him it was an old-school Baptist Church dr. Gunn you know Bobby you couldn't just sit wherever you want that there were reserve seats in that sanctuary mark there were chairs up in front of the pulpit where the Deacons would sit and fall asleep every Sunday two to three rolls on the left-hand side in the back you couldn't just sit there that was reserved for the mothers board some of y'all don't know what the mother's board is that's for the reverence of the older ladies in church and crossed over 80 it could now wear them thick white dresses that were staying proof you know pantyhose so thick you couldn't even see through him Nate they would sit right there with them little doilies on their head and and we had a bench over to the left and that right over there that wasn't for trustees that wasn't for church council that wasn't for leaders that was called the mourners bench you ain't old school you don't know about the mourners bench that's where grandma puts you when she was praying for you to accept Jesus Christ in the pardon of your sins and why you would sit there they'd be praying for you and I know a whole lot of folk who gave their life to Jesus just to get up off that bench we had proper protocol in this old-school Baptist Church you know old-school Baptist cuz you never walk in front of the pulpit when the preacher is talking old-school Baptists you don't just leave Church that's disrespectful you put a finger up now I don't know if the finger meant how long you're gonna be going or what you were leaving to do all I know is I never saw anybody put up to it hey old-school Baptist if if you caught the Holy Ghost cuz that's the language we use you you didn't get happy and you weren't overcome with us you caught the Holy Ghost if you caught the Holy Ghost the sisters would form a circle around you and keep you from bumping in anything and and hitting something and hurtin yourself and if you got slain in the spirit and lay it out they had towels ready for you they pull them out and just throw them over you so all your goodies wouldn't be seen you know and then there go get some smelling salt in ammonia and rub it in front of you to wake you up it it was a old-school Baptist Church Oh squeak we didn't have dress down Sunday's not a little bit of progressive Missionary Baptist Church when you went to church you wore what we called church clothes then with the clothes in your closet that were reserved for Sunday and you wore them to church and when you got home you immediately took them off and put on your play clothes because church clothes were what you were where you came to worship Jesus Christ it was an old school back you know how you know it's old school when your pastor was known by two initials ooh and my pastor was L R Jackson what until I was grown and I found out L R stood for Lawrence Robert Jackson but there was a reason old school pastors went by two initials most of them have been raised in a segregated and racist society where one of the ways white men would disrespect black men was to use nicknames nicknames were almost a disrespect as if to suggest you did not earn the right to carry a full Christian Eurocentric name and so rather than calling somebody Howard they would call them Howie and Howie was disrespectful so old-school pastors went by two initials because in their mind if you don't know my full first name you can never disrespect me go on teach pastor Wesley it was old-school Baptist in a way we knew it was old-school Baptists was first Sundays first Sunday in an old-school Baptist Church was serious business cuz that was communion Sunday if there's anything an old-school Baptist Church took seriously it was communion communion will be at the end of service and that gun we would ask all the guests to leave because the communion was closed and if you weren't a member of Lilydale progressive Missionary Baptist Church you wasn't fitting to get no communion and after the guests left if you looked in the back of church you see the Deaconess forming back there so y'all go new school y'all y'all are dating women to serve you believe in this equality of men and women but in an old-school church there were no female deacons you were the wife of a deacon and that made you a Deaconess and then Deaconess will be in the back of maybe putting all those white gloves and they would drape the communion table in white linen and they would roll the communion tape bow down the aisle because the one thing we took seriously at an old-school Baptist Church was the communion table you didn't play around the communion table you didn't set your purse on the communion table you going to hell if you touch that table they roll that table on down and bring it to the front and with precision they would fold up those linens and lay them off to the side and then communion began by reciting the Baptist covenant now if you didn't know the words that's all right it was written on the wall right over there some of y'all old school you remember this having been led as we believe to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior another profession of our faith we do now in the presence of God angels and those assembled joyfully and willingly entered the covenant was one another as one body in Christ we engaged therefore by the aid of the Holy Spirit to walk circumspectly in the world to be slow to take offense but always ready for reconciliation being my full of the rules of our savior and to apply them without delay we engaged to abstain from the sale and use of intoxicating drink as the beverage whole lot of states got quiet at that partner [Applause] and then the Deacons would come and they would pass out communion there were two trays the first tray was the bread but if you old-school Baptist it wasn't bread it was a little square piece of edible chalk that when you bit down on it it was so dry it was like glue and it just shut your mouth up then they pass that tray with the cups and in the cup was not grape juice no no no in old-school Baptist Church that was Manischewitz leading over some item what's that what's that what's Manischewitz we had a real wine and I know a whole lot of folk gave a life to Jesus just to get some Manischewitz on first Sunday and after we had the bread and the wine we would always sing the same hymn blest be the tie that binds that was how communion went and lead our progressive and I was shocked amazed and even offended to find out that Christians around the world didn't do communion the way we did it Lilydale it messed me up I went to an Episcopal Church and chameleon was in tension everyone say intention intention is when you take the bread and dip it in the cup and the bread gets the wine and you get to for one that messed me up to me I didn't know what to do when I went to a Catholic Church and used from a single-file line and when you get down in front you put your hands behind your back open up your mouth and the priest put it in your mouth I almost lost my mind and I was offended when I went to a Methodist Church and they had one cup and everybody'd rape [Applause] they all put their lips on the same my mama taught me you don't drink after folk no I mean that messed me up when I went to other places and found out they didn't do it on first Sunday olds who Baptist his first Sunday when I came now frustrated I thought something was wrong you had communion on 2nd Sunday that name right went to a Lutheran Church and they take it every Sunday that's too much went to a Coptic Church and they take it once a quarter y'all going to hell people called it different things I knew communion I never heard of the Lord's Supper the lord's table eucharist sacraments ordinances this is one of the most diversified practices was in the body of Christ but despite our diversity of when we take it and how we take it and whether it's grape juice or wine or whether you dip it or it's placed on your tongue or you drink from the same cup the reality is is that this table always has one message no matter how differently we practice it it always says the same thing beloved the Bible is clear that whenever we as Christians gather together that part of our identity is in the breaking of bread and the sharing of cup because in that act we are proclaiming something and we are remembering something Paul says as often as you eat the bread and drink the cup you're proclaiming the Lord's death until he comes again that the reason we take bread and drink cup is because it says something that we need to remember that too often we forget this is not just some empty ritual this is not just some regular first Sunday second Sunday observance that we have this is a reminder of a message that we often forget that we need to hear time and time and time again what is the message of the table go back to when Jesus first instituted it with his disciples it's Thursday of Holy Week it's a few hours before his arrest his trial and his crucifixion it's Thursday and in a few hours Jesus is going to be dead and knowing that his death is imminent knowing that it's right around the corner he tells his disciples go get a reservation at a room cuz we need some time together there's some things I gotta tell you I'm about to leave these are our last moments together imagine how precious this moment is this is the last time they will see Jesus before he dies and Jesus says I got to tell you all something I need to give you your last lesson I need to make certain you understand what my life is all about let's go to the Upper Room and when they get in the upper room Jesus has two conversations with his disciples one is about the Lord's Supper he takes bread and breaks it and blesses it and gives it to him and says this is my body he takes a cup he says drink from this this is my blood this is for your forgiveness of sins but before the bread and before the cup he has another conversation and Marleen that conversation goes little something like this one of you is gonna betray me Jesus has gathered his disciples in an upper room with moments to spare it's a critical time and what he needs them to know is one of y'all will betray me one of you has followed me and you're now gonna fail me one of you has called yourself a disciple and you're about to mess up in a way that history will never forgive you're about to do something that will scar you for the rest of your life you are about to make a life-altering mistake one of you will betray me now you and I know what the Apostles in the room didn't know we know it's Judas we know before they get to the upper room that Judas is going to betray him because we have the benefit of a literary device the biblical writers employed called dramatic irony let the church say dramatic irony dramatic irony is when a writer gives you information as a reader that the characters in the story don't know dramatic irony is when you know something that the people in the story do not know when you have information that they do not have let me give an example it's like if you went to see Avengers in game and when they began telling you who's in the movie Thor and Captain America and Incredible Hulk and they then said an Iron Man who's gonna die at the end now you already know that Iron Man's gonna die even though all the other characters do not yet dramatic irony is at play with Judas because every time Judas is introduced in Scripture it's his name with a comma the one who betrayed Jesus when Jesus first picks the disciples and we get a listing of their names it reads like this pea and Andrew and James and John and Matthew and Thaddeus and Bartholomew and always last is Judas comma who betrayed Jesus so from the very beginning you already know that Judas is going to betray Jesus there's a comma after his name and it's a sad thing when you can do something in life that causes Christians to put a comma after your name and you are eternally identified by a mistake you have made so we know Judas is the betrayer Jesus knows Judas is the betrayer and watch what happens when they go to the Upper Room Jesus invites Judas to come to the table or to make sure you get this Jesus knows what he's up to and the Lord invites him to the table anyway Jesus knows he ain't no good jesus knows he's gonna drop the ball Jesus knows he's not gonna live up to the calling of a disciple and yet he's invited to sit at the table anyway now the reason you haven't even thought a man it's because you were forgotten that in the Bible when you sit at a table with someone that's saying something you sit at a table when you're in fellowship you sit at a table when your friends you sit at a table when you're working stuff out you sit at a table when there's no hostility and Jesus got in trouble with the Pharisees because he always sat at the table with the wrong folk sinners prostitutes thieves and here he is in the upper room knowing full well what Judas is about and yet Judas is invited to sit at the table anyway because the table reminds us that grace creates space for the unworthy to be in relationship with God I want to make certain you catch that that this table proclaims grace creates space for the unworthy to be in relationship with God that when I'm not worthy when I haven't lived right when I'm not what I ought to be this table reminds me that God still invites me to sit at the table and be in relationship with him come here brother Judas come here sister Judas I got some good news for you grace is greater than said love outweighs your mistake God's goodness is better than you deserve grace invites the unworthy to sit at the table and there's somebody here today you can week a man cuz you know that God has brought you to some tables you ain't get no business sitting at God has put you in some offices you ain't get no business working at God has blessed you with some children you ain't get no business watching them grow like this but because Oh grace it ought to be a witness in here right about now that I know where I am is not because I earned it not because I'm so good not cuz I'm so smart not because I'm so connected but grace brought me to a place that I could not get by myself and I thank God oh it's grace the table reminds us the unworthy are invited now can i push this just a little bit because y'all forgive me I'm gonna shot myself on this one watch what happens Jesus brings them to the room and Jesus announces the betrayal but al he never identifies the betrayer really he doesn't say Judas is gonna betray me he simply says one of y'all will he never pointed out Judas in the presence of the other disciples he identifies he's going to be betrayed but he never calls out who's gonna do it huh let me tell you why I love my god I mean I don't know about your relationship with God I go cast judge but let me tell you what I found out about God that makes me shout you will know makes me shout about God that there's some things God knows about me their God cover and never told you there's some things God knows about me that God never exposed to anybody else and I'm so glad we've got a God that covers a god that keeps some stuff from going public is there anybody here who's grateful God did not expose your sins you you wanna let me say let me tell you how I can identify people who know God is covered because every now and then without warning and without any connectivity to what's going on in worship they're gonna stand up and start praising God and you're gonna get nosy and you're gonna ask them why are they praising and their answer to you is none of your business and whenever you praise God in a way that you ain't gonna tell nobody why it's because you know God covered some stuff I thank God every day [Applause] there's some stuff under this robe you don't know nothing about somebody say he covers Jake Jesus says listen one of y'all will betrayed me he never identifies Judas and watch what happens when he says it the Bible says that every disciple asked Jesus the same question is it i watch watch it play down one of you all will betray me could it be me the table that Jesus invites his disciples to when he announces the betrayal it triggers self-examination they all begin to look at themselves the table is an invitation to examine your own life every saint needs a spiritual MRI moments when you're not judging someone else's walk come on preacher stay right there what I'm looking over my own life and let me tell you why that's so critical because it is very easy to slip into a place of sin and not know it it's easy for your life to stray from the center of the will of God and you think all is well so the Lord invites us to the table for self-examination because sometimes we don't understand the sin were actually in let me give an example so watch what happens Jesus says when he also can betray me the Bible says every disciple asked is that I and even Judas looks at Jesus and says you talk about me Judas has already set Jesus up on Wednesday and yet he looks at Jesus and says me I would argue with you that although Judas has sent Jesus up Judas is not fully aware of the damage and the consequence of what he's done in his mind he has not betrayed Jesus and it's very easy for you to sin and not know it in your mind I thought I was doing right here me follow the trail Judas is different than all the other apostles he's from a different region than all the other eleven he's from a region that is known to be rebellious against the Roman oppression of Israel he wants revolution and Judas in my opinion believes that Jesus is capable but Jesus has not done what needs to be done he's been passive he's been loving he's been talking about compassion Jesus is time for the legion of angels to come it's time to set this thing off and so Judas thinks that if he can put Jesus in a place where Jesus has to show his power then it'll go down the right way so let me help turn him over because once the Pharisees get him he has no choice but to show who he really is [Applause] Judas is not fully aware of the damage he's done and we can slide into that place so the Lord says come to the table and examine yourself because it's possible that you've done something and you don't know the depth of the damage you've caused go on professor so the table is an invitation to self-examination that then leads to self conviction because what will change your life quicker than anything is self conviction not external judgment but self conviction and one of the signs that you're growing and the power of the Holy Spirit is not that you can talk in tongues and not that you can lay hands on folk and they fall out and not that you've memorize Scripture but that the Holy Spirit can convict you of your own sinfulness and you become aware of when your life has strayed outside of the will of God the sign of the Holy Spirit in your life ain't your shout it's your awareness you messed up come to the table to examine yourself because not only can you slip in a place where you sin and don't know it you can slip into a place where you think you don't sin come here sister righteous brother brother Bible come in come in watch how it goes down jesus says one of you will betray me the King James Version says the disciples said Lord is that I the new International is a little bit more authentic to the Greek Jesus says one of you betrayed me this what the disciples really say you can't be talking about me I wouldn't do that I'm immune to that kind of said Lord I would never sinned against you it's almost as if they believe it is impossible and incapable for them to have made a mistake beloved how easy it is for us and our spiritual arrogance to think that if I'm not guilty of the big sin then I've committed no sin it's easy to take your name off of the list of the big sin and not be aware that in God watch this there's no big and there's no little sin love it there's no hierarchy of sin there's no I'm glad I don't do what she does and I don't do what he does here it is in God's eyes sin I'm preaching sin is sin so watch what Jesus says this is deep Jesus wants to know all your sin service what he says they said Lord who is it he said I want to tell you who identify whoever put his hand in the bowl right and so in our mind we've always thought that Jesus was holding the bowls and the Sudanese and said that Judas put his hand in the bowl was almost like a family-style meal it's where the food was and it went around the table and everybody pulled out of the bowl which means that anybody who had eaten had already put their hand in the bowl now Judas may have put his hand in at that time but that doesn't mean that Peter hadn't put his hand in and Matthew hadn't put his hand in and John because at some point every disciple has put his hand in the bowl and every disciple is guilty of some kind of sin I came by to tell you today all of us are sinners all of us have strayed all of us have failed all of us have made mistakes all of us have let God down this would be a good place to tell you to touch our neighbor but now I why don't you touch yourself I don't need you calling out my stuff I need to call out my whole stuff touch yourself and repeat after me self you ain't nothin but a sinner oh I want you to know you may be in church but you just a religious center huh you might be dressed up but you're just a well-dressed sinner you may seem to him but you just a hymn singing Center all of us everybody in here is the center now why is that important it's important for you to know your center watch this this is good because when it goes down Jesus says one of you betrayed me Lord is it I said eyes and I Judah says sister died Jesus said it you said it it's now known say it's now known in the room that judas messed up and watch what happened then that doesn't happen today everybody knew Judas was the betrayer and nobody said he's got to go cause it was just everybody knows Judas betrayed and nobody put a motion on the floor to vote him out now you got to remember who's up in the room Peter's in the room and Peter is a gangster no no say with me cuz remember when they left the upper room they went to garden of gethsemane and in the garden of gethsemane people came to arrest Jesus and Peter pulled out a switchblade and cut somebody Peter had the blade on him in the upper room and he doesn't cut Judas [Applause] look at your neighbor's purse just glynnie like Peter who's gonna cut someone else does not cut Judas when he realizes Judas has betrayed Jesus because sinners have to be careful how they treat other sinners when you recognize you are a sinner it will cause you to be careful on how you treat other sinners sinners can't vote other sinners out sinners can't put other sinners in hell sinners can't tell other sinners you're not qualified to worship in this space all sinners can do is love other sinners encourage other sinners pray for other sinners Jesus tells him when y'all gonna betray me and it seems to me that that would have got them all upset but maybe the reason they didn't get upset is because they heard what else Jesus said watch this he says one of you will betray me but don't trip the Son of man Jesus my life goes as it is written now Judas is gonna do what he's gonna do but my life is not ordered by Judas what Judas does does not control my destiny Judas can do what he will my life is ordered by the word and the will of God that's a powerful message that Jesus presses on us at the table it's a reminder that no matter what others do the word is still at work no matter what your doctor says the word is still at work no matter how your coworker treats you the word is still at work no matter what the doctor says the word is still at work no matter what goes down on your job the word is still at work God word is always still Edward as a matter of fact would use not somebody and tell them the word still works he's still working it together for your good joy still comes in the morning he still takes what was meant for evil and uses it to bless you he still prepares a table in the presence of your enemies the word is still at work somebody that's the message you need at the table today because tomorrow you got to face the Judas and I want you to remember the word it's still at work I'm done but dr. gun can I share with you the greatest tragedy in all of Scripture it happens right here the greatest tragedy in Scripture is right here Jesus finishes the conversation about betrayal and then he begins to teach on the Lord's Supper this bread is my body eat it this cup my blood drink it for the forgiveness of sins and watch it and the Bible says that he gave the bread and the cup to all of them the bread and the cup was given to all of them Judas shared in the Lord's Supper and here's the greatest tragedy in Scripture that at that table God was telling Judas you can be forgiven and Judas did not receive it what a shame for God to offer you forgiveness and you refuse to receive it Judas was forgiven and he didn't receive it that this table reminds us that if Jesus would forgive Judas what in the world do you think you could ever have done that God won't forgive you are forgiven you are forgiven you have to accept it the devil will make you feel like you have to earn it that you can't receive it until you've wrestled with guilt for Toulon oh you are forgiven you just have to receive it yeah so here's what the Apostle Paul says I'm done he says that when you break bread and come to the table let a man a woman examine themselves and let them eat of that bread and drink of that Cup self examination reveals your own sin which is then placed in the forgiveness that you receive so you drink of the cup that represents the forgiveness for your own sin do you receive it it's really that simple God offers it you have to say yes you are forgiven

Channel: Alfred Street Baptist Church

Views: 29,900

Rating: 4.6890082 out of 5

Keywords: Do this in remembrance of me, 2019, Rev. Dr. Howard-John Wesley, do, this, in, remembrance, of, me, communion

Id: q_jpslJqAps

Length: 46min 26sec (2786 seconds)

Published: Tue Oct 08 2019