Communion May 14

Your buddy, where did they go? Look at them? Are you going to go down?

That's all he said.

He's off. not sure where Moses he's got this little chunk of glucagon. Will Black Betty says it's been saying it for about a month now. Look up look up.

I forgot my glasses so it's okay though.

Mother's Day happy Mother's Day. How many mothers do we have here today? That's a beautiful thing is an You know it was you know, if we're getting something see. Yeah, that be great. Thank you. That's Father's Day. Who is this Mother's Day?

And I will get you next month. Yeah.

Yeah, we'll get her stuff from Home Depot for Father's Day. Is there anything I like? Thank you Sean. Thank you.

yeah, I mean it's a It's Canadian Tire boy. If you can't find something to buy in Canadian Tire your brain dead, like especially did you see what they have that little I'll going Oak now is you're going to the cash register. They got all kinds of stuff there right while you're waiting and you're just saying well, maybe maybe want to send you come up with a screwdriver. You never wanted and But they're hoping we're going to do communion today. It is really good to be in the house of the Lord. I wish you and I could comprehend the blessing that it is to be here. If we only knew what was happening in the spiritual realm coming to church is so important and it is this is the engine of the Gospel that Jesus decided to create on the earth so that we could have an effect. There's some people that can our call to be alone. And that's that's something else but for the most part God is expected to church to work in a group so we can help each other and encourage each other. But we're going to talk about communion today and piece of scripture that were starting with 1st Corinthians, 11:24. And I was thinking about you most to read the Bible know the last supper and they are in the upper room when I was in neutral. They had a they took it to this place if they said was the upper room and it was no more the upper room that but I mean, it's where tradition says the upper room was. It was in that vicinity anyway, and it was just interesting to think. They had been three years with Jesus by this time. And we have that wonderful picture where John is laying his head against Jesus's chest.

Which is a wonderful example of how close they had become and I think it's almost a picture of how God wants you and I to be with him. That is the goal that you and you know, some of the group were still off like when they wanted to know something from Jesus. They task download Line strange how that worked. He definitely had an inner circle. And John was in that inner circle and I believe God wants you and I to be in that inner circle. I don't think Jesus died so that you could be out somewhere wondering whether or not you could speak to God or that he would speak to you. He wants you to have that relationship where you can come in and just lay your head on his chest and know that you are loved and you are accepted. I know those are hard things because we go through life and we're still so much Flash and we still have so much guilt at times and we have so much condemnation coming out us and we get all messed up in a relationship with God sometimes marriages have to have a time where you just go back and find a what did we get married for you know, because it becomes about the mortgage in the kids in the car in the career in the garden and whatever else and you lose. Why why do we get married? Like what was that and they actually have to go to weekends and and you go and you're right letters when those marriage encounter weekends, what they do is they go and get you to write letters to each other and talk about things that you haven't talked about and then come together and read them to each other and stuff. It's it's really a wonderful thing because it ground you back into what brought you together and I think communion is one of those opportunities where we can be grounded again to what this is all about really what it is all about. And Corinthians says that Jesus that he gave thanks to God for it meaning the meal then he broke it in pieces and said this is my body, which is given for you. Do this to remember me? Sometimes we have to go back and remember we have to remember the Simplicity of our faith and really our faith is quite simple. You and I are sinners.

And we'll actually were Saints still struggling with sin. There's a completely different mentality. I am not a sinner. Trying to find Grace. I am a saint still struggling with sin. The other is a profound difference in how we perceive ourselves the devil and our flash would want us to think that we are sinners somehow hoping that we're okay with God.

We say that we know that we're okay with God because of race but very often we don't act like it and we don't come to God like we believe that we come to God. I had a bad week and you're feeling bad about everything you did and all this stuff comes up and all the sudden you have all this garbage between you and God when God has taken all that garbage and put it on the cross. I said I don't want to see that I knew when I saved you 30 years ago that you were going to do that. That's why Jesus died for it so that you could still come to me. That doesn't mean that we are Cavalier and we are disrespecting but it does mean that all he wants is repentance. That's all he wants. He just wants us to come to him with a repentant heart and contrite spirit say father. I understand that I'm walking with this flash your walking with it. I'm walking with it. We're going to walk with it until we die. So you just put that where it belongs at the foot of the cross. And Paul said you crucify the flesh daily. Well, it doesn't mean you stab yourself and that's what we do. Wait, like we punish ourselves and we we try to do Penance and we try to do something that makes us feel like we're making up for the wrongs that we have thought or done or said but the way we crucify the flesh is you put it on the cross. And the thing is you can't put yourself on the cross. You'd run out of your be able to do your feet you'll be able to do one hand, but you got one hand still a boil inner right? And I need to give the flesh a chance. I don't flail like you'll do something Jesus. We were in Christ when he was crucified. So everything is paid for And so we can come freely in front of God, but says do this to remember me. Jesus wanted you to remember him not your sin.

Why aren't you to remember him? And what we often do especially at this time with communion, we start remembering our sin. Like you mean it, what do you mean? No, he said to remember Jesus.

The devil and our flash will make us come to this ceremony because that's what it is. Joey one that Jesus left us with outside of baptism baptism is a commandment but it was done purely to remember what God did not what we failed at over the last week or since we've done communion last and that's a missed. That's a that's a strange thing we have with communion in evengelical circles that we think it's a time to come and remember how sinful we are and to somehow feel bad about that or something as if God wasn't expecting it. No, it's time to come and remember that Jesus died for our sin. And to celebrate that it's actually a celebration. It's not a sorrowful thing. It's a celebration. So do this to remember me and it's possible that we do forget that we forget Jesus. We got so busy. I think we forgot why he came and we forget what he did for so many things we can't be we cannot be full through so many things through your week in my week that is trying to get us to look away from our faith to get concerned about this to get concerned about that to feel busy about to get us away from thinking about Jesus. We say that some people say well I'm under attack by the enemy The Enemy being the devil. We know he's real the Bible talks about a Jesus talk about it. He's demonstrated himself and many of us in this room have seen him manifest in people. We know that that entity is real but just say that we are under attack all this in really feel I'm under attack by the enemy will actually you're under attack every single living moment of your life. Like there's no particular day. That's any worse than any other. It's just that we're a little bit more aware of it. That's the only difference. We know it manifests itself in a way that we can actually identify and really we only identify with really crew things like an illness or a sudden loss in her life or something happening like that. We don't notice the subtle things that the enemy. We don't notice those saddle things. Like yeah, you know what they said about you and now you're here. Yeah, you know what they said about those little things that creep in while you're leaving church. Yeah. Well, they didn't say hi to me today and damn that's the stuff. That's the stuff. It's the little things it's the little things that you don't see it's in the in the second world war end in the Vietnam War. I knew a man who used to fly and they dropped from helicopters at night and they would they were trained to know to open their parachute just at the last moment so they wouldn't be seen so they would just Plum it in darkness and they would have to guess. The right time to open the parachute and then they would come in and they would secret. I talked to him. He's he did this. He would come into the camp of the Vietnamese. And go in and quietly just kill somebody in their sleep back out and they wake up in the morning. So what happened like and it would freak them out another time. He came in and they dug holes down into the Earth and just covered themselves over cuz they knew that they would be coming through there and then they would Ambush while they came through and they can't read on top of them. And he said he had to stand sit in that in that dirt hole for a day and a half and you couldn't cough. You couldn't sneeze you couldn't do anything. There's bugs biting you there's things crawling all and they have to stay like that. And that's the enemy comes in quietly and all the sudden you're feeling angry and you're feeling well that person doesn't like me or that I'm not going to get that thing, which I have dream for and it all slows us down and it pulls us away very slowly so that by the time Sunday rolls around We're glad to come to church because you're starting to hear no. No, no. No, that's not the story. The story is a God is Sovereign over your life any Sovereign over my life and I'm here to tell you today. And if I've seen it, I've seen it more dramatically in the last 2 weeks and I think I've seen it in the last 10 years God is Sovereign and it doesn't matter what kind of a mess you've made or I've made in our life and in our Christianity God is able to take and make Beauty out of Ashes. He guarantees he'll do that and I've given them enough ashes that I've seen him do amazing things with my ashes with my mistakes and with stop and it's just so that is a message this morning that God is Sovereign over your life. It doesn't matter that you may not see how he is Sovereign. It doesn't matter that you may not have the faith to feel about your life because the Bible says when you are faithless he is faithful because he cannot deny Himself, he Scott sees you as Christ. We need to see ourselves in Christ and then walk with the authority that gives that gives us but we forget about what Jesus actually did any came to forgive our sin. He came to reconstruct that relationship with God that had been broken by Adam. Adam was told to do one thing. One thing said you can do anything else you want. I'll give you the whole world, but just don't touch this tree. It could have been a rock. It could have been anything but God just chose this tree. You said don't touch that tree. And it's not like the tree had any special ability. It said they will give you the knowledge of Good and Evil while the act of taking from that tree gave them the knowledge of Good and Evil but one thing and Adam said

You know that don't walk on the grass, right? What's the first thing you're going to do? I remember as a kid you just on the way home you just

And the devil knew he knew how to hit at him. He said let's go talk to Bone up to him about this one thing. And you and I probably have a one thing. Some of us have 10 things. Yeah, some of them are on an ongoing list of things and you can be darn sure that because the enemy doesn't have any new tricks in his in his toolbox. He will do the same thing with us that he did with Adam and he will come and try to get us to dote over that one thing. And get us involved in that one thing whatever it is. But like Jesus said he said Peter Satan has a 1 translation. It says demanded. Demanded that you all be sifted. But I have prayed for you and when you are restored. Feed your brothers feed my sheep. beautiful What is Jesus doing at the right hand of the father right now for you? And I he's interceding. But how can you fam? How can we say that Jesus is interceding for us Jesus God Lord Almighty of the universe is interceding for you and I as individuals not as the corporate group and just sees a massive heads and hats that's not it right. He sees us individually and he's interested in for me on Item B C D E F G H I J K and for you and all your individual thinks he is up there interceding for you. Thank God somebody is. Because there's times we can't we just don't have the strength and it's to remember that not only did Jesus pay for our sin when he died. You said listen, I know that Willie is worthy to die. I know everything you did and Jesus said Put it on me. Put it on me. I'll take the punishment for I know you know, what Heather did we know what you did?

Princess and up, but I know. And what we don't know about Bill God does know.

There's a whole level of disclosure that only God is aware of thank God for that. But God's Jesus said he even on put it on put it on and with every whip that he was hit with he was paying for my sin with every punch in the face that he took he was paying for my sin with every drop of blood that came out of them. He was paying for my sin so that we could stand here today and he could intercede for us and we could expect tremendous things in our life tremendous things in our life. You know Jesus did something for the father in coming to it wasn't just for us. He did something for the father because he could have refused. You could have said I'm not giving up having to go down there. If you can meet us hot down there. I'm not going down there Israel Israel Israel. He could have

and I have to allow for 33 years God Almighty Sovereign of the universe and creator of all things gave all that up came down and allowed himself to be tempted like you and I so he actually allow the devil to come and tempt him. Like I'm going to give the devil 33 years to give me his best shot. And you got the devil. Did you think you're tempted you think you're going through struggle? You think you're having times in The Flash in times of doubt and discouragement and in trouble Jesus? And he only had the same thing to work with that you and I have to work with the presence of almighty. God Moses said if I don't have your presents, I'm not going up. I'm not going up to the promised land and that's the truth. If we don't have the presence of God in our life, then we are foolish to even try to do anything bill and I were talking about it before service was having the presence of the Lord me. Is it some kind of a feeling? No, it is a knowledge and a faith that God is with us that when we use what God has given us, which is Grace forgiveness. And repentance that automatically he says I'll be with you. I will be with you until the end of the age and if we ever dope that and act like it's not real. Then we're going to have problems. So Jesus came and he did this for the father. He said I want my kids back. I want my kids back up until that time. God can only communicate through one person at it while he had different profits at different times, but it was through a specific individual said he could speak it's the only way it could have relationship. And he said finally at the times that were right and we don't know why Jesus came when you did but at the time Tepper, right Jesus came and God said I want my kids back now. I want it back now. I want to be able to be in every one of their hearts and I want them to be in mine got it made a rule. You won't allow sin in his presence. Yep, you'll have to take it up with them. If it if you have a problem with it, the world has a problem with it, but you're just going to take it up with God because he said I will not allow sin in my presence. He had to get rid of sin and somehow so he could have a relationship with you. And the only way that that could be done was to have a perfect sacrifice one that didn't have sinned because of Jesus had send that's what I held him. He wouldn't have been able to raise from the grave. The devil would have had them send guarantees death separation from God Eternal separation from God. So he had to have a perfect sacrifice. Jesus couldn't have been born of a human being in the sense genetically because he would have had said that came down from Adam. So he didn't come from the Flesh of Mary you didn't marry was just a vehicle through whom God delivered Jesus. That's all that that little embryo came from God. That came from God. So Jesus came as have perfect sacrifice, so that God could do what he's doing right now sitting beside everyone of you his Spirit within you listening to your thoughts you listening to his having a relationship. It is divine. It is miraculous, and it's divine and I think sometimes we forget how miraculous it is and how to bind it actually is that we can have this incredible relationship with God where people before used to have to travel hundreds of miles to do crazy things in order to just maybe hopefully Appease this angry God we have such a blessing in the Christian faith. Honestly, when you see what other people do to try to connect with their God, oh my Heavens the things they go through in the things that they do and we can't get up and go to church. Like It's just sometimes it just makes me crazy but he did that for the father and then of course he did for us what we needed to be to have done for us which was open up that door so we could come back and what's amazing is that you know, not everybody wants to It's an amazing thing that many many people don't want to. They don't want anything to do with God. But there is the remnant there's always the remnant and there are people out there that you're meant to talk to that. I meant to talk to that are the remnant and there are people trying the devil is doing his best to try to convince you and I that the church is dead and useless and that it's shrinking and it's just going to go away. I don't buy it. We don't buy it. Jesus said the Gates of Hell will not Prevail against the Church of Jesus Christ. So there is a remnant of people out there that are just waiting for you and I to say God loves you to spark a conversation and a guy came tried to sell me some printing stuff and I said, yeah you want to come over come on over and he comes over and he's sitting there and I just got to get 15 minutes of the Gospel anyway and told him the whole testimony. He said he loved it told about speaking he want to know about speaking in tongues and everything and it was an amazing time, but that was a Divine appointment. He came to sell me some printing and he got God and hopefully it goes he goes away with something but there are those appointments for you. And I that's really why were here. So God has taken away. The sin of the world. Jesus was the Lamb of God. So when we celebrate communion, that's what we're remembering and if you've not had the opportunity to accept Christ to join in and to be part of what we're going to celebrate today. Today is a perfect day to do it. There's no day because tomorrow is not guaranteed. So I can't eat like we're living on borrowed time. We really are. It's we don't know how many years or days or minutes we have left. So today is the day and if you're here today because God wants you to know something. I want you to understand something and to see something and for those that know Christ it's a time to go in deeper and they're going to a deeper place of commitment with God so will have them there. They are here. We just need some people to come and

Beautiful you guys win the prize. Do you go Sean? You can play that song while they're

how to set

snake

This Whole Foods hostess.

Lay down.

It is joyful morning sorrow that heaven can't eat.

Love you down.

And that's really what we need to do.

Father help us lay down our hurts. Lay down our hearts in front of the cross. And know that father God. Though Lord, there are many trespasses and failings and weaknesses the Jesus paid for the mall. And that we are now called Sons and Daughters of the almighty God. And father, it is a humbling fact today, and we thank you. We thank you for in Father God as we take this bread this token of the broken body of Christ. We take it today understanding that father God you took our punishment. That you chased after us. Even when they were beating you and rejecting you Jesus you continued because you knew that in 2,000 years. We all would be standing here. Receiving the grace in the mercy that you died to give us so we say this with thanks we take this with reverence. We take this knowing that this was a great price paid. A price that we could not pay for a debt that we owed and we take this remembering you Jesus what you did for each of us because you love us and you brought us back to our dad.

amen

and Lord this cop that represents the blood father for some reason father God it is blood that is always brought the atonement. Because the life is in the blood. And in some mysterious way as Jesus said eat my flesh and drink my blood. Father we understand what he was talking about that today is we drink this we are drinking your forgiveness. We are drinking your grace. We are drinking everything that the blood was spilled to give us. the wholeness and completeness It's not deserved father God, but you chose to give it to us. And if your word says it while we were yet sinners. But you died for us. So father it is a gift nothing of her own work and we take this now remembering that.

amen God is good. I wish there was some way. That God would open up our minds so that we can perceive how as he says hi deep wide. Large the love of God is in our life. I wish we could clearly see all that God has in store for us and all he's willing to do those who need something from the Lord today just stand I believe the presence of God is here to do something today Father, you know, the people that are standing right now and you know why they're standing father we speak in the name of Jesus and we command illnesses to go. We commands father God Financial blessings to be released so that they can be a blessing I pray for the restoration of relationships father God. I pray this morning for the the ability to let go of unforgiveness father God to let go of anger to let go of Father God divisions. I speak this morning Father God to the new thing you're doing and there are people here this morning that the Lord says there's new things coming. I know that's an easy thing to say, but I really feel that there are significant people in the Holy Spirit is speaking to you now and you was confirming that with you that you thought it wouldn't happen, but it's going to happen. It's going to happen. You've waited a long long long time, but it's being released this morning. There are answers to prayer going out this morning. I just really feel that the Lord is losing things up this morning. So father we stand in faith and say yes Father God we welcome what it is that you were doing. We say yes to you Holy Spirit and father. We were least your angels to do Warfare to go forth and prepare the good works father God that we may walk in them to your glory and your grace father God. Lord we just lay everything at the altar today and we give it to you in Jesus. Mighty name. Amen. Amen. amen