The Power of the Lord's Supper

this morning we are going to be talking about the power of the Lord's Supper we're going to be examining some very powerful and life transforming words from the New Testament especially from the book of 1st Corinthians I'd like to call your attention to some words that are rather familiar to anyone who has attended a church on a semi-regular basis where they have celebrated the Lord's Supper because around the world and across denominations labels flavors you name it in the Christian Church people have read these powerful words for the last two thousand years they were words written down by a rabbi who received them directly from the Lord he said what I received from the Lord I also passed on to you and so now we passed those words on to another generation words that have echoed through the centuries and words that breathe power if you'd open your Bibles please to the book of 1st Corinthians in the New Testament 1st Corinthians chapter 11 verse 23 through 26 like to look at these words together this morning I'd invite you to follow along in your own Bibles this is what we read the Apostle Paul rabbi Showell as he was known writes and says for I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you the Lord Jesus on the night 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 in the same way after supper he took the cup saying this cup is the new covenant in my blood do this whenever you drink it in remembrance of me for whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes I see from the Lord what I also passed on to you and what the Apostle passed on was not simply a doctrine it was not merely a ritual it was not merely well this is what we've always done before and now I'm gonna put a new spin on it what he passed on is power life-giving power the power of the Lord's Supper and that is what we're going to explore this morning before we do let's pray would you join with me please Lord our God we thank and praise you that throughout the ages you have spoken to your people audibly through the written word and through things that we can see and smell hear and taste and touch we thank you Lord that you grab our senses we pray that this morning you would grab our senses and shake us to the very core of our being Lord may we understand the power that is in the body and blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ may we experience him who was slain for us who is the Passover lamb that was slain on our behalf may we understand all that your word declares and what can so easily be overlooked Lord deliver us from mere ritual lettuce instead experience a life transforming relationship with you we ask this in Jesus name Amen so it's Memorial Day weekend some of you are following the events that are going on right now online others of you are reading your Bibles online yesterday online I received a picture of my grandson the Labour ham cute picture reminded me of something that was said the day he was born we pulled in late at night midnight their time and the first person we saw was our Annie's mother-in-law she looked at us and said oh he looks like a Dodge Chris he looks just like you and I have to admit after driving for 14 and a half 15 hours that was good to hear and the next day I heard other friends of John and Annie said Chris he looks like you but there's more to it because just a matter of minutes after people said that without fail those same people said have you ever noticed how little babies newborns look like little old men just kind of suck the air out of the sails you know but there are resemblances Abraham just has light-colored fuzz hardly any eyebrows there is a resemblance but what is far more important there's a resemblance that matters and that's what we're going to talk about this morning a resemblance that matters the Apostle Paul writes and he says what I received from the Lord I also passed on to you in the same letter in 1st Corinthians chapter 5 verse 7 the Apostle also writes about Jesus and says this Christ the Messiah our Passover lamb has been sacrificed 1st Corinthians 5 verse 7 he is the Passover lamb who was sacrificed for us when John the Baptist saw Jesus for the first time he said look there is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world when you see Jesus you see the lamb when you see Jesus you see the Messiah when you see Jesus you see the passover lamb who was slain for and that is what just comes bubbling out of these words I passed on to you what I received from the Lord our Lord Jesus on the night he was betrayed on the Passover Eve he took the bread and he broke and he said this is my body and he took the cup after supper and he said this cup is the New Covenant in my blood he was speaking Passover language the Jewish people for centuries had been celebrating the Passover it celebrated their deliverance out of bondage in Egypt God intervened God stepped in God did mighty works God delivered his people God brought them out of darkness into the light God said you take a year old lamb without spot or blemish and tonight you slay it and you smear its blood on the doorposts of your home you eat unleavened bread you eat the flesh of the lamb who died for you and you were to do this in every generation you were to pass this on to your children why did God say that was he trying to keep the lamb population down take a year-old male lamb without spot and blemish and every year every family will slay one and eat its flesh no he was pointing to a greater reality the Passover lamb is a picture of the real Passover lamb the Lamb of God who was slain for us Jesus our Savior Paul says I received from the Lord when I passed on to you but there is so much more that he saw and we're only beginning to scratch the surface friends just a few years ago a brilliant Israeli scholar doing work on the Passover uncovered something that frankly has been buried in the teachings of the rabbis for centuries the scholars name is Joseph Tabor II and what he discovered in reading the ancient rabbis is that during the time of the Second Temple which is the time of our Lord Jesus and the Apostles the Passover was done differently than previously you see when you read about the Passover in the Old Testament Scriptures you read about a celebration that was initially done in families the head of every household was to take a year-old male lamb without spot or blemish to drain its blood into the basin the stuff at the foot of the door and then the head of the household was to take a stock of hyssop dip it in the blood and then smear the blood on the cross beam and on the uprights of the door that's the way it was originally done but after the temple was built and after the rise of the priesthood then things changed and the way the Passover was celebrated at the time of Jesus the Passover was only celebrated in Jerusalem and people would go to the temple where the priests would slay the Passover lambs it must have been an incredibly bloody time I was a butcher many years ago as I was studying to be a pastor I know about animal sacrifices from personal experience working in a butcher shop you would go in and put on your white coat and before the mourning was over the thing was just covered with blood the priests slay the Passover lamb and the people would take their Passover lambs home and roast them as part of the Passover celebration but this is what Joseph Tabor II has discovered he discovered in looking at the writings of the rabbis that at the time of the first century at the the heyday of the Great Temple in Jerusalem the Passover lambs were prepared in a very unique and special way two wooden staves narrow sticks were taken and after the lamb had been slain and skinned those staves were driven through the Passover lamb one stave ran across the shoulders as a cross piece the other stave was driven in from the neck through the body it formed a cross here's what Joseph Tabor II has written he said an examination of the rabbinic evidence seems to show that in Jerusalem the Jewish Paschal Lamb was offered in a manner which resembled a crucifixion and that helps us understand something that a very early Christian author wrote in the early 100's his name was Justin Martyr Justin Martyr was a convert to the Christian faith he came out of paganism a brilliant philosopher who became a follower of Jesus Justin Martyr in one of his famous writings entitled a dialogue with try foe the Jew wrote the following Justin wrote and said for the lamb which is roasted is roasted and dressed up in the form of a cross for once Pitt is transfixed right through the lower parts up to the head and one across the back to which are attached the legs of the Lamb what we now know and have learned within just the last few years is that in Jerusalem at the time of Jesus when the Passover lambs were slaughtered and the blood was shed the Passover lambs were then placed on a cross and taken home do you not realize how God is at work in the world and always has been to help people see the reality of his love the reality of his plan and the power of the Living Jesus when Jesus and the apostles celebrated the Lord's Supper as best we can tell they were eating a roasted crucified lamb and in the midst of that meal Jesus changes the script he takes what they've been doing all along and he applies it to himself taking the unleavened bread he breaks the matzah and he says take and eat this is my body given for you and taking the cup the cup of blessing the third cup he says take and drink this cup is the New Covenant the very thing the Prophet Jeremiah spoke of in Jeremiah chapter 31 you know the Book of Jeremiah is the longest book in the Old Testament longest book in the Bible Jeremiah has more words I know some of you will say well the Book of Psalms has 150 chapters and Jeremiah has only 52 but if you count the words you know trust me give them a count you'll find Jeremiah is the longest book in the Bible Jeremiah is a tragic book it is filled with sorrow but there is one chapter that just stands out gloriously and it's chapter 31 and God speaks through the Prophet Jeremiah one of the most difficult and tragic times and the lives of the people of Israel and he says to him I am going to give a new covenant it will be written on your very souls and hearts no longer will a person need to teach his neighbor know the Lord they will all know me from the least and to the greatest jesus says this cup is the New Covenant in my blood this is what Jeremiah was talking about all along this is what the Heavenly Father has desired to do this is power this is the Lamb who was slain for us and that my dear friends is far more than just a doctrine it is more than just a ritual it is a powerful life changing reality and so God says the lamb has come and the lamb gives life and God fulfills what he had written in his word throughout the centuries God brings to life that which the Jewish people had seen before their eyes for generations the Lamb who was slain is crucified for a song and that is at the heart of the Lord's Supper this is a meal with power because it's all about Jesus this is a meal with power because it is all about God intervening in the lives of people it is a meal with power because it is all about God saying this is for you in fact it is a personal gospel we can boldly declare today God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son but when we receive the Lord's Supper we hear the words of Jesus this is my body given for you this is my blood of the new covenant poured out for you it is personal we can apprehend it and realize he died for me and for you we matter to God there is power there the power of forgiveness the power of life transforming grace the power of the Holy Spirit the power to live a new life it is very personal but it's more it's also plural if you look in your Bibles once again first Corinthians chapter 11 verse 26 verse 26 reads as follows for whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes the word that's translated in you as you in English is plural in the original it's all of you or to use the phraseology of my Texas branch of the family it's all y'all see all y'all all y'all you got it yeah it's all of us this whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes on Thursday morning this past week I'd come into the office early I was alone sat down started to look at my sermon preparation materials and sensed the Holy Spirit speaking these words in my heart and they were how often is the Passover associated with revival I'd never thought of that before and you know there are times when God brings something to mind and you know this must be from the Lord because it is so out of the blue and so unexpected and it takes you in a direction you didn't expect to go but it resonates in your heart and so upon sensing that I started working my way through the Old Testament and I looked at every time the Passover festival is mentioned as being celebrated do you know what I found every time the Passover celebration is mentioned in the Old Testament Scriptures it is mentioned in the context of a great revival of faith of people's lives being transformed of the people of God coming back to God in a way that they had not done for generations the first time the Passover is mentioned as a celebration Exodus chapter 12 the Israelites are in Egypt and God after having brought ten plagues on the land says tonight you celebrate the Passover meal and I will deliver you and he did he took them out of Egypt with the wealth of Egypt he led them through the wilderness he took them through the waters of the Red Sea he brought them to Mount Sinai God kept his word brought a great revival of faith people who for years had been crying out God deliver us get us out of here suddenly saw the mighty arm of God revealed and in the Passover they rejoiced and exalted in him the next time the Passover appears in the Old Testament Numbers chapter 9 it's one year later the Israelites have come to Sinai they have built the tabernacle and God Himself comes down in a cloud over the tabernacle and it's in that context they're told now celebrate the Passover once again it is the 14th of Nisan one year later and they do and there is a great joy among the people of Israel and they praise and worship the Lord their God and then we hear nothing of the Passover for thirty-nine years it's not until we get to Joshua chapter 5 and in Joshua chapter 5 we read that the Israelites have crossed over the Jordan River the river is stopped up and they cross through on dry land they come before the Lord at Gilgal and for the first time they celebrate the Passover because we are told during all their wilderness wanderings when they wandered away from God they did not celebrate the Passover but in Joshua 5 as they come into the land of promise probably in the year 1406 BC they celebrate the Passover once again and it's a time of great revival and renewal and they say everything the Lord has said he has done and we are going to possess the land and they do and then we hear nothing more about the Passover until 2nd Kings chapter 23 during the time of Josiah over 600 years before Christ and about 1,800 years after Joshua and we're told in 2nd Kings that they celebrated the jover we're told in second chronicles chapter 30 that many years earlier during the time of king hezekiah they had celebrated the Passover and had brought about a great revival in the land and then in second chronicles 35 were told they celebrated the Passover during the time of Josiah and people came to the Lord and they worshiped him and there was transformation in the country and it is written in second chronicles chapter 35 verse 18 that they had not celebrated the Passover like this since the time of the prophet Samuel hundreds of years earlier when God had also brought a great revival and the last time the Passover is mentioned is being celebrated in the Old Testament Ezra chapter 6 people come back from bondage in Babylon they rebuild the temple and they celebrate the Passover and God does a mighty thing among them and there is a revival and renewal and that's it those are the only mentions of the Passover actually being celebrated you've got other mentions of when it's to be done and how its to be done but those are the only mentions and all of the scriptures in the Old Testament of the Passover and you know what what the Lord's testified to the heart is absolutely true take a look and how often Passover is associated with revival and the answer is every single time and you know the next time the Passover appears in the Bible Matthew chapter 26 on the night of his betrayal the Lord Jesus speaks to his disciples and says I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover meal with you and God once again breaks in God always breaks in God breaks in by delivering his people out of bondage God breaks in by raising up godly Kings who say we will no longer worship the idols of our day we will worship the Living God God breaks and when he calls faithful people to return to the land and to say we will worship the Lord our God we will not make the mistakes of our ancestors God breaks in when he sends the one the prophets had predicted Jesus the Messiah the Passover lamb who was slain for us he breaks in and God Himself suffers in our place and God Himself takes the abuse of his creation and the Lord Jesus has damned on a cross because God made him to be sin who knew no sin so that in him we might become the very righteousness of God God is the one who changes things and he always does it in connection with the Passover and when we say Christ our Passover lamb has been sacrificed we're saying he not only died for each of us as individuals but he died for us and he rose for us and God is pushing back when the enemy rears his ugly head God pushes through when God pushes through the enemy shoves back but then God breaks through in power and that is what he has always done and what he always desires to do and that's what he offers in this meal break through in our lives what he offers here is a revival of our spirits renewal of our souls transformation of our minds a building of our strength and joy in the worship of His Holy Name because this is all about the Lord Jesus Christ it is all about the Living God and it's not simply about a ritual it is about the power of God to change people's lives and that's what he offers us in this meal and that is why the Apostle Paul said what I receive from the Lord I also passed on to you this is life-changing and this renews the soul that is exactly what God desires to do in your life and mine today to renew our souls in just a little while we're gonna celebrate the Lord's Supper together interestingly enough we're gonna do it sitting around tables there's something very special about that just like Jesus earliest followers but this is more than a ritual dear friends this is renewal this is a revival this is God breaking through into your life and mine because He loves us that much and because Jesus is who he claimed to be the Passover lamb who was slain the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world and even in his day people could see it they took home the crucified lamb and they watched the Lamb who was slain for a saw but he didn't remain dead He is risen he is alive forevermore and he is coming back and he is coming soon oh man it's come before him in prayer then let's take a time for singing and for offering and then we're gonna celebrate the meal together okay Lord our God how we praise your glorious name you the creator of the universe have stepped into our world and we're in awe of your majesty Lord as we see the very details of the scripture unfolding before our eyes as we see visible evidence of the invisible God may each of us be renewed renewed in Christ Jesus renewed in the knowledge that the lamb was slain for us may we shout aloud whenever we eat this bread and drink this cup we proclaim the Lord's death until he comes and we say men come Lord Jesus on that let's worship and praise His Holy Name you

Channel: Awake Us Now

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Keywords: marriage, why marriage, chris dodge, pastor chris dodge, pastor dodge, pastor christopher dodge, godly marriage, the body of christ, jesus the bridegroom, the church is the bride, awake, awakeus, awakeusnow, awake us, awake us now, archangel voice, archangel, st. Michael church, richfield

Id: aKzoOj5A174

Length: 29min 28sec (1768 seconds)

Published: Mon Jun 02 2014