Communion (Series) : Episode 1

Challenge your assumptions and broaden your perspective on 'Perspective with Pastor Aaron' as we explore the big questions of Life and Faith.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. When you are filled with the word of God, faith comes up strong. Are you looking to grow in your faith? Then welcome to the Perspective with Pastor Aaron podcast. I am your host, Aaron Babachandra. The results of your faith correspond to the level of the word of God that is working in you. Let's dive in.

SPEAKER_01 0:33

Turn with me to 1 Corinthians 11, verses 26. The Bible says, for as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim, proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. You know, today is communion Sunday, and history tells us that the earliest Christians, they took communion every single day. Acts chapter 2, verses 42, 43, 44, 45, and 46 talks about how the early church they broke bread daily. It was not a once-in-a-month event. It was not a calendar event. It was the center of their worship. And so they practiced communion daily. There's a famous historian, you might know his name, Justin Mathea. He wrote around 150 A.D. where he described what the Sunday gathering during the early church really looked like. And he said, when the early church gathered in the book of Acts, they had reading of scripture, they had a sermon, they had some prayer, and then they had communion. So the Lord's Supper was not this brief ceremony with small wafers and tiny cups. In those days, when the early church first started practicing communion, it was a full-blown meal. And it was called the Agape Feast. What many centuries later became known as the Love Feast, which many churches and denominations practice as a form of self-giving love. So the early chish uh Christians, beg your pardon, gathered in someone's home, and they would share a complete, like I said, a full-blown communal meal together, and everybody brought food, everybody ate together, and within that meal, at the conclusion of it, they would take the bread, and then they would take the cup, and then something called the Lord's Supper was shared. But what the Lord wanted the church to learn in this season is why this very important part of our Christian worship, why this very important spiritual reality is overlooked by today's postmodern church. Now imagine you go to the doctor with a serious illness, then he examines you thoroughly, and then he diagnoses the condition precisely, and the next thing he does is he writes you a prescription. And then he hands you the prescription and he says, You take this, it will heal you. In other words, if you take it the way I direct you, and he says day one zero one, you'll be healed. And then you go home, and what do you do? You put your prescription on the refrigerator. Every morning you come to the kitchen and you look at it, you go to work, you tell your friends about it. Maybe some of you would frame it on the wall so you don't forget it. And then you just admire the doctor's handwriting, but you never take the medicine. Then months pass, things start getting worse, and then you call the doctor and say, Doc, your prescription isn't working. The doctor will probably tell you, well, the prescription was never the medicine, the medicine was the medicine. The prescription was an instruction to receive the medicine which would bring you healing. There are so many believers today that have been coming on the first of every month for communion service for decades, for donkeys' years, they go through the same motions, they'll eat the same bread, they'll drink the cup without even receiving what this table has to offer. And the reason many of them are still struggling in shame and guilt and condemnation, and the reason why many of them are still stuck in sickness is because they have not come to the table with faith, they have not come to the table with discernment, they have not come to the table with a genuine participation in the body and the blood of Christ. Now we are going to learn through this communion series that when we come to this table, what are some of the things that the Spirit of God, through His Word, through the finished work of His Son, wants us to receive. You know, his broken body, we always say when we take the bread, was given for your broken places. Many of us don't know that. You know, his shed blood, we drink this juice every first of every month, we don't even realize, was given to cover your sin. Now, I don't know how many of you know this, but if there is one sermon in the universe that the devil cannot preach against, is a sermon against communion. The devil cannot argue with communion, the devil cannot philosophically dismantle the truth of communion, the devil cannot culturally silence the truth of communion, you know, he can argue against the resurrection and he's tried it for 2,000 years, you know, he can also try to attack the reliability of scripture, and he has marshaled armies of skeptics over these past 2,000 years, he can even try to undermine the character of the church, and he has found plenty of books and materials to work with. But if there is one thing that the devil cannot preach against, cannot argue against, cannot go against, it is the blood of Jesus. And the Bible says they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony. There is something that he cannot wield it against us because it was shed for us. He cannot argue against the blood because it is the verdict of God, he cannot minimize it because Jesus purchased your salvation with his own blood, and that is complete redemption in the eyes of God. Why does the enemy work so hard to make this communion meal so boring, so routine, so humdrum? Lords, just another thing that we do the first of every month. Why does the devil attack this table? Why does the devil attack this meal? Why is he against the finished work of Christ? He has tried for so many centuries to make communion feel routine, he has tried for so many centuries to make communion feel mechanical, he has tried for so many centuries to make communion feel like a ritual. I have to go on the first of every month, I have to drink that juice, eat that bread, and then I think I'll be fine for the entire month. But a church that knows the power of this table is an unstoppable church. Let me show you something from the Bible. Turn with me to Revelation 12:10. The Bible says in Revelation 12 10, the enemy is called the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night. You know, one of the primary weapons of the enemy is accusation. He'll always take your sin, he'll always take your failure, he'll always take your history, he'll always take your inconsistency. And what does he do? He presents it before the throne of God as evidence to disqualify you. He goes before God and says he's unworthy to receive this blessing. He goes before God and says, This person, because of his sin and because of his shortcomings, he's unredeemable. That is technically correct because that's what you probably did. But you know what? He's completely wrong because Jesus has a different verdict for you. And that's why the Bible says in Psalm 103, verses 12, as far as the East is from the West, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. Hebrews 10, 17 says, I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more. So when the accuser, the Bible says, brings your sin before God's throne, the blood of Jesus begins to apply over your history, your failures, your past, and your inconsistencies. So the judge will look at the record of your sin, the record of your failures, the record of your shortcomings, the record of all you've done, and he will say, Case closed, because the blood of my son has covered and dismissed this case. And how many of you know that every time you come to the communion table is a verdict that you make to the enemy? And many of us, we just come, we hold it in our hands, and we just eat the bread and we bring the juice. We don't even realize that you're standing on his righteousness, you don't even realize that you're standing on his promises, you don't even realize that that broken body for you by his wounds and stripes can bring you healing. You don't even realize that that blood that was shed for you, that blood that covers you, is something that speaks a better word than all the accusations that you hear from the world, the flesh, and the devil. Now there are different positions for this particular doctrine of the Lord's Supper, but I don't have time for that. But I want to show you something about the word table. Everybody say table. The word table is a very important word in the Bible. Why? Because when you go to the Old Testament, there is something called a table in the wilderness. There was a table in the wilderness. Why? There was manna that fell every morning, and Israel ate bread that they had never baked from a hand they could not see. Then in the Psalms it says, You prepare a what? Table before my enemies, not outside the presence of my enemies, in the presence of my enemies. And then in Proverbs 9 it says, Wisdom has built a house, set a table, and sent out an invitation. Come and eat the bread and wine that I have mixed. Then also in the upper room there was a table where Jesus took the bread, he broke it, he said words that would echo throughout twenty centuries of church history. Then also in the marriage supper of the Lamb in Revelation, and we know that when we all finally sit down with Jesus, we will sit around that table and eat and live in his presence forever. Now, this word table is not incidental in the Bible. Why? Because the word table is woven through the entire story of the Bible. So when we come to the communion table, on the first of every month, we hold the bread and we hold the juice. We need to understand something profound. We are talking about something that is woven throughout the entire Bible. We're talking about something that has a common thread throughout the entire Bible. So there is one thing that I can teach you on this Sunday morning about communion is this the table is a proclamation. Turn to 1 Corinthians 11 26, one more time. For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he come. And understand with me this morning, every communion service is a proclamation. Every time the church gathers at the table is a proclamation. What do we proclaim? Number one, we proclaim the past, what Jesus did when he died. Because the cross is not ancient history, it's the hinge of all human history. Every time we take communion, we are driving a stake in the ground and saying this happened, there was a real man, there was a real cross, there was real nails, there was real blood, there was real death, real resurrection. This is not a myth, this is not a metaphor, this is an event that split history in two. When you come to the communion table, you're proclaiming the past. Number two, you are proclaiming the present. What do I mean when I say you're proclaiming the present? Because you cannot proclaim the death of someone who is still dead. The fact that the church gathers at this table for 20 centuries is a proclamation that he rose. Why? The tomb is empty, the savior is alive. The table is not a memorial to a dead teacher, it's a celebration of a living king. Whenever you come to this table and you see the communion bread and the juice, it's not a memorial to a dead teacher, it's a celebration of a living king. So you proclaim the past, you proclaim the present. Number three, you proclaim the future. What is the future until he comes? Look at that in the verse. He says, For as often as you eat this bread and drink this, you proclaim until he. So every communion service is looking forward. Every communion service is an expectation. Every communion service is an anticipation of Jesus returning. And when he comes, he will sit down, we will sit down with him, the redeemed people, at the marriage supper of the Lamb. You know, on August 15th, 1945, Japan surrendered in World War II. But you know that deep in the Philippine jungle, there was a Japanese soldier named Hiru Onoda. And Hiru Onoda kept fighting, even though the war had ended. And for 29 years, he continued guerrilla warfare, refusing to believe that the war was over. He would reject leaflets that were dropped from planes that the war was over. He was convinced that this was all enemy propaganda. And history tells us that he finally died in 1974. And this was three decades after the victory had been won. I read that story and I thought about so many believers today, like Hiru Onoda. They are still fighting battles that have already been won. They are still carrying guilt that has already been forgiven. They are still striving for acceptance that has already been granted. And they are still living as though the war is still not over. You know what that means? You have not realized the power of this table. You have not realized the power of communion. When you come to this table and you hold the elements in your hands, I want you from this Sunday onwards to believe that sin is defeated, death is conquered, the price is paid, the victory is won. You are not fighting for victory, you're fighting from victory. So every time you come to this table, you hold the bread and the cup, you know what you're doing? You are appropriating what Jesus did for you on the cross of Calvary. You're appropriating what Jesus did for you when he rose again from the dead. Now, one of my favorite stories, and I know many of you would have loved reading this story, is the story of the prodigal son. When the son comes home, how does he come? He comes in rags, he comes rehearsing his speech, he comes prepared for servant status. You know what the father does when he sees him? He runs, he embraces him, he gives him a robe, he gives him a ring, he throws a feast, he restores his son to sit again at the table. The beauty of that story is the father never lectures him. The beauty of that story is the father never puts him on probation. The beauty of that story is he never makes him earn his way back. The beauty of that story is he feeds him, he feasts with him, and he celebrates with him. I don't know what may look like for you, how you felt like you fell short, made some mistakes, committed sin, you know, fell short of the glory of God. But how many of you know that when you come to the communion table, the same way the father came to the son, no probation, no lecture, no trying to make his earn his way back, just fed him, feasted with him, and even celebrated him. It's the same way the father comes to you every time you come around the communion table and embraces you. Now, you may have come battered this morning, you may have come ashamed this morning, you may have come like I failed God again this morning. But understand, when the father sees you, he comes running to you, not with a lecture, but with a robe. He comes running to you, not with terms and conditions, but with a feast. Because this table is not for people who have it together. This table is for people who are willing to come home to their father. So this is not a table of religion, this is not a table of performance, this is not a table where you have to earn your way into something. This is a table where the host has already paid for everything. All you have to do is accept the invitation and come. So if there is something that you need this morning, and I was praying this week and I was asking the Lord, if there is anybody with sin that needs covering, his blood is here. If there is anybody with a body condition that needs healing, his broken body is here. If there's anybody with a soul that needs rest this morning, the Prince of Peace is here. If there's anybody with a heart that needs assurance is here, the covenant is here. If there's anybody with a mind that needs hope, if you're here, the proclamation of his return is here. You know, what you brought through the door today, this table has the power to answer. The table has already welcomed you this morning. The bread has already given you healing in your broken places, and the blood has already covered your sin. You know, in a world that moves at digital speed, where yesterday's news is ancient history, today's attention spans have collapsed. I think this table forces us to remember that what we are doing every first of every month is not a concept, it's not a doctrine, it is a specific death on a specific day, on a specific hill, on a specific city, with specific nails, with specific blood, and specific last words. The problem with the church is that we have forgotten the cross. Any church that forgets the cross is a motivational seminar. Any preacher who does not preach the cross is a life coach. And every communion table that is a ritual has lost its power. I want to share two powerful stories. In 1949, when the Communist Party took power in China, there were approximately one million Christians. The missionaries were expelled, the churches were closed, the pastors were imprisoned, and Bibles were burnt. And for decades these Chinese believers gathered in secret, in apartments, in fields and forests to pray, and they read smuggled scripture, and they also broke bread together, and they drank the juice. Now there are documented accounts of Chinese Christians celebrating communion with steamed bread and water, because that was all they had. So with corn cakes and grape juice they squeezed from wild berries, they would find whatever they could to break bread and have the juice. But they understood what Paul taught us and is teaching us to proclaim his death until he comes. You know what they said statistically? By 2023, there were estimated a hundred million Christians in China, and that is the largest Christian population in the history of that nation. And the writer says the Communist Party tried to silence the proclamation. But the more he tried to silence the proclamation, the proclamation multiplied because he said the truth is you cannot silence the Lord's death. The table will keep proclaiming it. And I also found another story. On July 20th, 1969, the day of the first moon landing, there was a man named Buzz Aldrin who quietly celebrated communion on the surface of the moon. And nobody, not many people know that. So before Neil Armstrong took that first step on the moon, Buzz Aldrin quickly radioed Houston and asked for a moment of silence. You know what he did at that moment? He pulled out a small piece of bread. He pulled out a tiny vial of wine that he had very secretly brought from his Presbyterian church back in Texas. And then he poured the wine into a small chalice, and then he watched it curl slowly in one-sixth gravity on that moon's surface. And then he read silently from John 15, 15, I am the wine, you are the branches, whoever abides in me and I in him, to him he will bear much fruit. Apart from me, you can do nothing. And then Baz Alrin very quietly ate the bread, he drank the wine, and he said, The first liquid ever poured on the moon was communion wine. The first food ever eaten on the moon was bread, communion bread. And he says, 280,000 miles from earth, on the surface of another world, there was a man that went and proclaimed the Lord's death. You see, communion has no geographic boundary. Do we have the reverence that this communion table deserves to come and proclaim his death? Look at that verse one more time, everybody, before we close. For as often as you eat this bread and you drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. So before you receive the elements this Sunday morning, you are about to declare the Lord's death. You are about to proclaim the Lord's death. And what does it mean to declare and proclaim the Lord's death? You see, the Bible says, For I received of the Lord that which also I passed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night that he was betrayed, he took the bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, Take eed, this is my body, do this in remembrance of me. In like manner he took the cup and said, This cup is the new covenant in my blood, for as often as you drink this, you proclaim my death until I come. When you hold the bread, you're actually making a proclamation. You're not just eating it. You're proclaiming that his body was broken for you. When you drink the juice and you take the cup, you're not just drinking it. You're proclaiming that his body, his blood was shed for you. And when you lift your eyes, you're looking at the one that is coming very soon. And that's why Revelation 22, 20 says, even so, come, Lord Jesus, come. So we are here on this Sunday morning to understand that the table is a proclamation. Every time we come to the table, we are proclaiming his death. We are in anticipation and expectation of what is going to happen in the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.

SPEAKER_00 21:58

Thank you so much for listening to this week's episode of the Perspective with Pastor Aaron Podcast. If you like what you've heard, visit our website at www.amazingluffchurch.im. Or follow us on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram at AmazingLoveChurch. See you next week.