WEBVTT 00:00:04.080 --> 00:00:07.280 Welcome to the Awakening Church podcast. 00:00:07.599 --> 00:00:11.599 We exist to awaken this generation to new life in Christ. 00:00:11.839 --> 00:00:13.039 Thanks for tuning in. 00:00:13.199 --> 00:00:16.399 To find out more, go to awakeningchurch.com. 00:00:18.000 --> 00:00:21.679 Today we're starting a brand new series and it's called Sacraments. 00:00:21.839 --> 00:00:29.039 I want to talk about that, but I just want to pray for us before we head into God's word and look at what He has in store for us. 00:00:29.120 --> 00:00:31.600 So would you join me just in a brief prayer? 00:00:32.000 --> 00:00:36.560 Heavenly Father, we desire that you would speak to us now. 00:00:36.799 --> 00:00:56.479 And in these unique circumstances where I'm preaching to a camera and my friends are listening to me on a screen, that you, the transcendent and good God, would meet me and meet them where they are, and that you would unite us as your church through the bond of Jesus Christ. 00:00:56.880 --> 00:01:00.159 Right now, would you do that work in Jesus' name? 00:01:00.399 --> 00:01:01.039 Amen. 00:01:02.399 --> 00:01:12.079 Well, you know, as I talk with a lot of people through this crazy pandemic, one of the words I hear, you know, I ask people, how are you doing? 00:01:12.319 --> 00:01:15.920 And one of the words I've heard over and over again is the word scattered. 00:01:16.000 --> 00:01:17.439 Like I feel all over the place. 00:01:17.599 --> 00:01:18.560 I feel scattered. 00:01:18.640 --> 00:01:20.159 I don't feel centered. 00:01:20.319 --> 00:01:21.760 I have no rhythm. 00:01:22.000 --> 00:01:27.439 And I know I felt that way as my wife and I have had kind of ups and downs with childcare. 00:01:27.599 --> 00:01:31.359 My wife works in a hospital, and so there's tons of complications with that. 00:01:31.599 --> 00:01:39.359 On top of that, trying to lead a church with a great team amidst a pandemic has been, well, frankly, difficult. 00:01:39.439 --> 00:01:42.079 And it's left us a lot scattered. 00:01:42.239 --> 00:01:44.560 And maybe you have felt that way too. 00:01:44.799 --> 00:01:45.680 There's no rhythm. 00:01:45.760 --> 00:01:47.920 You know, you think about all of the things in your life. 00:01:48.079 --> 00:01:53.359 There's no commute, there's no workplace to go to, there's no school to take your kids to. 00:01:53.760 --> 00:01:58.640 Some of you college students, you still have finals and have finished that up and you have that stress. 00:01:58.719 --> 00:01:59.760 So that's still there. 00:01:59.840 --> 00:02:08.000 But man, a lot of the normal rhythms that center our life are gone and we're left trying to find time for all of the things. 00:02:08.479 --> 00:02:12.400 It means it's hard to place our life, to locate our life. 00:02:12.479 --> 00:02:15.199 I'm sure you've had that issue where you're like, what day is it today? 00:02:15.439 --> 00:02:20.960 Every day seems the same, and every day seems difficult and managing a ton of different stress. 00:02:21.280 --> 00:02:26.639 Believe it or not, that's actually one of the main reasons we need to talk about the sacraments. 00:02:26.719 --> 00:02:32.000 And that's why we are in this series that we're starting this week and just gonna continue next week. 00:02:32.159 --> 00:02:34.240 So two weeks on the sacraments. 00:02:34.479 --> 00:02:37.199 And you might think, why do we need this right now? 00:02:37.360 --> 00:02:43.039 Well, I think we need it because we need to center our lives, to settle our lives, to place our lives. 00:02:43.199 --> 00:02:44.879 And the sacraments do that. 00:02:45.120 --> 00:02:48.000 Now, you might be new to church and think, what is a sacrament? 00:02:48.080 --> 00:02:49.199 Like what does that mean? 00:02:49.439 --> 00:02:57.680 This is a word that's etymology is in the Latin, like a lot of English words, and it literally just comes from the Latin word sacre, which means holy. 00:02:57.759 --> 00:03:02.560 And the word sacrament just means things that are holy or things that have been made holy. 00:03:02.800 --> 00:03:10.639 And holiness, we talk about this a lot at um awakening, you know, holiness is not some strange ethereal religious word. 00:03:10.719 --> 00:03:13.199 It actually just means to separate and to set apart. 00:03:13.360 --> 00:03:17.439 And so if a sacrament is a thing to make holy, it is a thing we set aside. 00:03:17.599 --> 00:03:21.439 It's a thing that we set aside and we experience in a unique way. 00:03:21.680 --> 00:03:34.159 The two sacraments across church history that now this is crazy to say, but really all churches, all Orthodox churches hold on to these two sacraments, which is crazy to say because a lot of churches disagree on a lot of things. 00:03:34.400 --> 00:03:43.039 But we agree many universally on these two sacraments, these two practices we've set aside, communion and baptism. 00:03:43.520 --> 00:03:50.639 Communion is the bread and the wine that we eat to remember and drink to remember the work of Jesus. 00:03:50.879 --> 00:03:58.960 Baptism is where we place people under the water and bring them back up as a physical symbol of their conversion in Jesus. 00:03:59.280 --> 00:04:07.599 These two practices have been practiced across centuries, thousands of years of church history, and are still practiced to this day. 00:04:07.840 --> 00:04:16.000 And yet, in this pandemic, we're struggling with how do we practice these things because they're very intimate practices. 00:04:16.160 --> 00:04:17.279 They're very close. 00:04:17.439 --> 00:04:20.720 There's no social distancing involved in baptism. 00:04:20.800 --> 00:04:24.160 There's very little social distancing involved at the communion table. 00:04:24.399 --> 00:04:44.079 And so we got to think through these things and in many ways bring the sacraments back to the church and back to the center of life together and think through why is it important, number one, and two, how are we going to practice these things during this really unique time? 00:04:44.399 --> 00:04:48.879 In a scattered time, we need to center our lives through the sacraments. 00:04:49.120 --> 00:04:54.720 In a scattered time, we need to bring and collect and place our lives by looking at communion and looking at baptism. 00:04:54.879 --> 00:04:59.040 Because these two things remind us of Jesus in a very unique way. 00:04:59.279 --> 00:05:01.680 Today I want to talk to you about communion. 00:05:01.839 --> 00:05:04.000 I want to talk about the bread and the cup. 00:05:04.079 --> 00:05:11.759 Now, over our email newsletter and through our social media channels, we've tried to tell you guys to prepare for communion today. 00:05:11.839 --> 00:05:21.279 And so, whatever you have today, we would love for you to participate in communion if that's bread and juice, or if that's tortilla and water, or whatever you might have. 00:05:21.600 --> 00:05:30.879 Man, in your house, whatever you have, we'd love for you to prepare those elements so that at the end of this sermon, as we worship together, we could partake in communion together. 00:05:31.040 --> 00:05:36.720 Again, communion is simply the elements of bread and wine or juice. 00:05:36.879 --> 00:05:44.319 The bread symbolizing the broken body of Jesus and the cup, the juice of the wine, symbolizing the blood of Jesus. 00:05:44.480 --> 00:05:49.360 These two things remind us of God's work on the cross and remind us of the gospel. 00:05:49.519 --> 00:05:52.399 And historically, the church all takes this together. 00:05:52.639 --> 00:05:57.680 We eat bread, we drink juice or wine, and we remember what Christ has done. 00:05:57.920 --> 00:06:03.920 It symbolizes what Jesus did many, many years ago for us, and it reminds us of his work. 00:06:04.079 --> 00:06:08.639 And I've noticed as a pastor, experience with communion really does vary. 00:06:08.800 --> 00:06:12.800 For some of you, uh through this pandemic, you've actually forgot about communion. 00:06:13.120 --> 00:06:16.480 You're like, oh yeah, right, we should maybe be doing that, right? 00:06:16.720 --> 00:06:21.439 Maybe for some of you, you've been really missing it because it's it was a central part of your upbringing. 00:06:21.600 --> 00:06:29.839 Maybe you grew up Catholic or Lutheran, and through one of those denominations, perchance you you were really focused on communion, so you've been wondering what we've been doing. 00:06:30.319 --> 00:06:36.319 Maybe though you're new to faith, and this is the first time you've ever really heard about sacraments and communion and all that stuff. 00:06:36.560 --> 00:06:46.399 Man, wherever you are, again, I my hope today is that you leave understanding why this is important and how we can practice these important practices. 00:06:46.480 --> 00:06:52.000 Um, communion's so central, so important to what we do at awakening and through the church. 00:06:52.079 --> 00:06:57.839 And what I love about it is it's so non-performative. 00:06:58.000 --> 00:06:58.800 Do you know what I mean? 00:06:59.040 --> 00:07:06.800 I think one thing I struggle with as a pastor in like modern times is um how much performance is connected to worship, you know? 00:07:06.879 --> 00:07:13.279 Um, what I mean by worship is like worship services, everything from like the music to the preaching to the announcements to the videos we produce. 00:07:13.360 --> 00:07:16.720 It's like everything has this pressure on it to be great. 00:07:16.879 --> 00:07:22.639 And in this pandemic, it's almost heightened my anxiety about that because I'm seeing all these other churches that are doing all these other things. 00:07:22.800 --> 00:07:25.360 And I can get lost in the comparison game. 00:07:25.600 --> 00:07:37.279 And what communion does is it reminds me that the center of our faith has one performance, the performance of what Jesus Christ has done for us. 00:07:37.519 --> 00:07:43.199 And that communion reminds me it's not all about the other stuff. 00:07:43.439 --> 00:07:46.079 The other stuff helps us get to that. 00:07:46.240 --> 00:07:49.040 You know, it helps us push to the work of Jesus. 00:07:49.120 --> 00:07:54.480 That's why we worship, that's why we have cameras, that's why we have live streams, that's why I'm preaching, is to try to point you to Jesus. 00:07:54.639 --> 00:07:58.560 Well, communion is so beautiful because it's so simple. 00:07:58.800 --> 00:08:00.879 You can't really make it cool. 00:08:01.040 --> 00:08:03.600 You can't really make it, you can't really class it up. 00:08:03.680 --> 00:08:17.199 I mean, you can find nicer bread or cheaper bread or something like that, but at the end of the day, it's bread and it's juice or wine, and it really reminds you of what Jesus has done in a very simple way. 00:08:17.360 --> 00:08:18.879 And I think we need that right now. 00:08:19.120 --> 00:08:29.680 I've I'll put it this way: communion is a consistent, non-performative, universal way in which all Christians can settle their life in Jesus. 00:08:29.920 --> 00:08:37.840 Communion is a consistent, non-performative way in which all Christians can settle their life in Jesus. 00:08:38.080 --> 00:08:46.639 And I want to look at the first communion to help us understand this of why we need it, why it's important, and how we can practice it. 00:08:46.960 --> 00:08:52.399 Going back to the Last Supper, the final time Jesus had a meal with his friends. 00:08:52.559 --> 00:08:58.799 In fact, this is moments before he would be arrested, and really moments before he would be led to die. 00:08:59.120 --> 00:09:04.399 And this passage we're going to jump in on is a kind of dramatic moment. 00:09:04.879 --> 00:09:14.080 Much art has been made of this moment, and you might have kind of a picture of this in your brain of the disciples gathered around a table with Jesus. 00:09:14.159 --> 00:09:16.240 And they're gathering around a particular meal. 00:09:16.399 --> 00:09:20.000 These were Jewish men who were celebrating a particular religious feast. 00:09:20.080 --> 00:09:21.679 I'll talk about it in a little bit. 00:09:21.919 --> 00:09:26.399 But this is right before Jesus dies, and he gathers with his friends, and they're eating. 00:09:26.559 --> 00:09:28.240 Matthew 26 is where it's at. 00:09:28.399 --> 00:09:31.440 If you have a Bible, you can go there or you could click on the Bible tab. 00:09:31.519 --> 00:09:35.120 It will be in Matthew 26, verse 26. 00:09:35.679 --> 00:09:37.919 Matthew 26, 26, it says this. 00:09:38.159 --> 00:09:48.559 Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread and after blessing it, broke it and gave it to the disciples, and he said, This, take, eat, this is my body. 00:09:48.879 --> 00:10:02.240 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 00:10:02.399 --> 00:10:11.279 I tell you, I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father's kingdom. 00:10:12.000 --> 00:10:13.360 There's a lot in here. 00:10:13.600 --> 00:10:23.600 There's a lot of drama, uh, there's a lot of biblical words, covenant, and then there's also a lot of alarming words like Jesus' blood and Jesus' body. 00:10:24.159 --> 00:10:39.360 But understanding this passage, this Last Supper passage of Jesus instituting communion or the Lord's Supper, the Lord's table, the many words we have for it, this is the key to help us understand this meal that we take every week. 00:10:39.600 --> 00:10:43.679 Very simply put, communion centers us on Jesus. 00:10:44.080 --> 00:10:46.559 It centers us on who Jesus is. 00:10:46.720 --> 00:10:48.159 I like to say it this way too. 00:10:48.399 --> 00:10:50.960 It locates us in Jesus. 00:10:51.440 --> 00:11:01.759 You ever been lost before and you pull out your phone and you click that blue arrow that locates you on the Google map so you can see your surroundings and see where you are. 00:11:01.840 --> 00:11:04.000 You're in a new city or a new area. 00:11:04.320 --> 00:11:05.679 Communion is kind of like that. 00:11:05.840 --> 00:11:13.679 When you take communion, it's like pushing that blue arrow that switches your frame and views you in the context of your environment. 00:11:13.919 --> 00:11:17.919 When you take communion, you are locating yourself in Jesus. 00:11:18.159 --> 00:11:22.799 Right now, you're you might be looking around a lot, going, man, I don't know if I'm close to God. 00:11:22.960 --> 00:11:24.639 I don't know where I'm at with God right now. 00:11:24.799 --> 00:11:25.600 Where am I with God? 00:11:25.759 --> 00:11:27.440 You're looking around for Him. 00:11:27.600 --> 00:11:39.840 When you take communion, it's like pushing that button on your phone, locating you on the map of grace, locating you on the map of your life in Christ, figuring out where you are with Jesus. 00:11:40.080 --> 00:11:44.960 And as you do that, it's like being in an environment where you need to be located. 00:11:45.120 --> 00:11:47.200 You start looking in all these different directions. 00:11:47.360 --> 00:11:55.120 And communion, as you take it, as you look in these different directions, you figure out you're actually surrounded by the presence of Jesus Christ. 00:11:55.360 --> 00:12:05.120 And so communion becomes important because it locates us and centers us in a space and a way where we can be certain of where we stand with God. 00:12:05.360 --> 00:12:13.840 Because a lot of us, we stress about where we stand with God, but communion settles us in where we stand with God by looking in all these different directions. 00:12:13.919 --> 00:12:20.639 I want to show you this passage by looking in all these different directions to try to locate you and locate me in Jesus. 00:12:20.879 --> 00:12:24.960 Backwards, forwards, inwards, upwards, and outwards. 00:12:25.120 --> 00:12:27.519 We're looking all these directions to center us in Jesus. 00:12:27.679 --> 00:12:29.759 First, for looking backwards. 00:12:30.000 --> 00:12:33.840 The way we look backward and remembering Jesus, remembering his work. 00:12:34.000 --> 00:12:38.799 In fact, this passage is filled with a ton of context, okay? 00:12:38.879 --> 00:12:45.200 I'm gonna do my best to figure it to help you understand as much as I possibly can, but there's so much here. 00:12:45.360 --> 00:12:47.039 Why is Jesus eating with his friends? 00:12:47.200 --> 00:12:51.120 You see, when you and I take communion, we look back on the work of Jesus. 00:12:51.279 --> 00:12:56.399 But when Jesus was instituting this Last Supper, they were also looking back as well. 00:12:56.559 --> 00:13:03.200 So when we take communion, it's like we look back and back again at the work God has done across history. 00:13:03.519 --> 00:13:12.080 Just nine verses before the verses you and I just read, Matthew is saying that they were on the first day of unleavened bread. 00:13:12.159 --> 00:13:14.799 So he's locating it in the week that they were in. 00:13:14.960 --> 00:13:16.320 Um, what does that mean? 00:13:16.480 --> 00:13:18.159 They were preparing for Passover. 00:13:18.320 --> 00:13:26.000 Since chapter 24 or 25 of Matthew, Matthew's been obsessed with this thing, Passover, saying, Passover is coming, Passover is coming. 00:13:26.159 --> 00:13:27.600 Jesus was preparing for Passover. 00:13:27.679 --> 00:13:28.000 Why? 00:13:28.159 --> 00:13:31.440 Well, it was almost like Christmas for these Jewish men. 00:13:31.519 --> 00:13:33.279 It was this big day they looked forward to. 00:13:33.360 --> 00:13:35.440 They prepared a big meal for this. 00:13:35.759 --> 00:13:40.320 And this was important to Matthew because he was writing to a Jewish audience. 00:13:40.480 --> 00:13:45.600 So the first readers of this book weren't Americans or anything of Western mindsets. 00:13:45.759 --> 00:13:48.799 These were particularly Jewish people reading about Jesus. 00:13:49.039 --> 00:13:51.440 When Matthew's trying to tell them this, they would know. 00:13:51.600 --> 00:13:55.360 They would hear that and exactly know the meal that Jesus was having. 00:13:55.600 --> 00:14:04.399 It's very important, the Passover meal is what they were sharing, where Jewish people they retold the story of the Exodus through food. 00:14:04.639 --> 00:14:05.600 Sounds great, right? 00:14:05.679 --> 00:14:09.120 I'd love every story I heard to be communicated to me through food. 00:14:09.279 --> 00:14:16.639 It's this big meal that goes back to Exodus 12, 13, 14, and 15, telling the story of the freedom of Israel. 00:14:16.879 --> 00:14:23.120 And this was to try to remind the Jewish people of who God is and what he has done. 00:14:23.360 --> 00:14:30.080 And over the first two nights of this week-long meal, seven total nights, it was called a seder. 00:14:30.240 --> 00:14:31.919 And it that literally just means order. 00:14:32.080 --> 00:14:36.240 They would kind of order their lives around this story. 00:14:36.399 --> 00:14:44.080 There'd be unleavened bread, there'd be bitter herbs, and there'd be a Passover offering, a lamb, there'd be a piece of meat. 00:14:44.240 --> 00:14:50.639 All of these pieces of food would remind the Jewish people of particular moments in the story so that they could memorize it. 00:14:50.799 --> 00:14:54.000 You have to think this was during a time where literacy rate was like 1%. 00:14:54.320 --> 00:14:58.240 So it's not like they could hand a book to a kid and say, hey, read the story of your ancestors. 00:14:58.480 --> 00:15:07.279 They had to create spaces, environments, meals, sensory memories so that children could understand where they'd come from and what God had done in their family's life. 00:15:07.519 --> 00:15:12.960 And there was, yeah, unleavened bread and herbs and wine and this lamb. 00:15:13.120 --> 00:15:15.919 And that's the meal Jesus is having right now. 00:15:16.159 --> 00:15:22.399 And as he's eating this meal, he takes the bread and he says, This is my body. 00:15:22.639 --> 00:15:29.919 Now, the bread, though, in the original Passover meal was actually connected to the lamb. 00:15:30.080 --> 00:15:36.960 The lamb was given to remind the people of Israel of the lambs that were slaughtered to paint blood on the doorpost. 00:15:37.039 --> 00:15:44.799 If you've heard this story, they would paint blood on the doorposts at this moment because God asked them to from lambs that they had slaughtered. 00:15:45.039 --> 00:15:51.759 And that that was an outward sign of this inward trust they had that God would liberate them from slavery. 00:15:52.080 --> 00:15:56.960 And as they painted the blood on the doorpost, there wasn't anything magical about the blood. 00:15:57.120 --> 00:16:00.000 It was simply just a symbol that they trusted God. 00:16:00.159 --> 00:16:04.240 They heard what God said and they did what God asked them to do. 00:16:04.399 --> 00:16:09.759 But in this scene, Jesus doesn't take the lamb, he takes the bread. 00:16:09.919 --> 00:16:17.840 And it's this strange moment if you're a Jewish audience member reading this story, because you would wonder, where's the lamb? 00:16:18.720 --> 00:16:22.639 Why is he taking this bread and saying, This is my body given for you? 00:16:22.879 --> 00:16:26.080 The sacrifice to Jewish people was always a lamb. 00:16:26.240 --> 00:16:28.480 The sacrifice was always an animal. 00:16:28.720 --> 00:16:30.399 And there's no animal. 00:16:30.639 --> 00:16:31.679 There's no lamb. 00:16:32.080 --> 00:16:38.879 This is because if you're an early Jewish audience member reading or hearing this story, Matthew's clueing you into something. 00:16:39.279 --> 00:16:40.879 There is a lamb at the table. 00:16:41.360 --> 00:16:42.639 It's Jesus. 00:16:42.960 --> 00:16:52.480 You see, there is no lamb because Jesus is going to substitute himself for our sacrifice to where there will be no need for lambs moving forward in this meal. 00:16:52.639 --> 00:16:59.279 We don't need meat every week at communion because the body has been sacrificed and the body is Jesus. 00:16:59.600 --> 00:17:11.599 So we don't need to do anything or perform anything or offer some kind of sacrifice to appease God, because Jesus takes the bread and says, Remember, in this bread there is no lamb. 00:17:11.920 --> 00:17:16.480 Remember, in this bread, there is no need for religious performance. 00:17:16.720 --> 00:17:21.039 In this bread, remember that I have performed on your behalf. 00:17:21.359 --> 00:17:22.720 He will be the lamb. 00:17:22.960 --> 00:17:24.319 There is no need for that. 00:17:24.400 --> 00:17:34.079 And so when you and I eat that bread, it uh it unlocks for us the idea that no sacrifice is needed because all the sacrifice has been given. 00:17:34.319 --> 00:17:39.440 And that's when he breaks it, he gives it to his disciples, and then he takes a cup of wine. 00:17:39.599 --> 00:17:43.599 And in the Passover meal, there's actually four cups of wine. 00:17:43.759 --> 00:17:47.599 And a lot of scholars believe that at this moment Jesus took the third cup of wine. 00:17:47.680 --> 00:17:51.599 And that third cup would be called the cup of redemption. 00:17:51.680 --> 00:18:01.440 It corresponds to a promise in Exodus 6, verse 6 that says this, I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty axe. 00:18:01.680 --> 00:18:06.400 This is this idea that God will come and he will act on behalf of the people. 00:18:06.559 --> 00:18:10.319 It won't be by Israel's might that they get out of slavery. 00:18:10.400 --> 00:18:12.720 It will be on God's might. 00:18:12.960 --> 00:18:20.960 And so Jesus takes this idea of redemption and he says, This is my blood, my new covenant for you. 00:18:21.200 --> 00:18:28.559 And the blood during the Passover meal, again, which was painted on the doorposts, was the outward sign that they trusted God. 00:18:28.880 --> 00:18:36.319 And so, likewise, when we take the wine, we are saying, we are not the agent of our own redemption. 00:18:36.559 --> 00:18:46.240 We're taking the glass and the cup, and we're saying, at this point in my life, I confess I'm not the person that I will save for myself. 00:18:46.319 --> 00:18:48.000 I will not be the person who saves myself. 00:18:48.160 --> 00:18:51.680 I will not be the person who acts by myself to save myself. 00:18:51.839 --> 00:18:54.319 I'm trusting in another agent. 00:18:54.480 --> 00:18:59.039 I'm trusting in another action on my behalf, which is Jesus Christ. 00:18:59.279 --> 00:19:07.200 And so the whole meal should help us understand this very simple, maybe very overlooked fact. 00:19:07.759 --> 00:19:10.000 Communion is not about you. 00:19:10.640 --> 00:19:13.039 And that's the best news you can hear. 00:19:13.440 --> 00:19:22.160 When I preach or when I hear preaching, I'm constantly uh, you know, critiquing myself or thinking, what do I think about what this person says? 00:19:22.319 --> 00:19:25.279 When I'm worshiping, I'm thinking, I don't have a very good voice, you know. 00:19:25.440 --> 00:19:27.440 All these people on stage have a better voice than me. 00:19:27.519 --> 00:19:31.519 I'm kind of caught up in my, I struggle to be caught in my own mind. 00:19:32.000 --> 00:19:36.799 Communion has nothing to do with your action or your performance. 00:19:36.960 --> 00:19:51.680 And when you come to the table, you should come with the attitude of Hebrews chapter 10, verse 19, which says, and so, dear brothers and sisters, we can go boldly and enter heaven's most holy place because of the blood of Jesus. 00:19:51.920 --> 00:20:04.480 Look down on verse 22, it says, Let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts, fully trusting him, for our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ's blood to make us clean. 00:20:05.359 --> 00:20:13.359 The writer of Hebrews is saying, when you go to communion, the reason you can go boldly is because it's not about what you bring to the table. 00:20:13.599 --> 00:20:16.720 It's about what has been brought to the table in Christ. 00:20:16.960 --> 00:20:22.400 And we can rest in that securely, knowing when I take communion, I think first of Jesus. 00:20:22.559 --> 00:20:24.559 I think first, I go backwards. 00:20:24.720 --> 00:20:26.880 I think about God's action across history. 00:20:27.039 --> 00:20:27.759 Who is God? 00:20:28.000 --> 00:20:33.279 God is the one who freed Israel from Egypt and slavery and has freed me from my sin. 00:20:33.440 --> 00:20:38.160 That's who God is, and that power overshadows the rest of the meal. 00:20:38.400 --> 00:20:43.440 We not only look backwards in communion, we look forward in anticipation. 00:20:43.680 --> 00:20:45.279 We are anticipating something. 00:20:45.440 --> 00:20:47.599 Jesus says this actually at the end of the meal. 00:20:47.680 --> 00:20:57.200 He says that I tell you the truth, I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom. 00:20:57.519 --> 00:21:05.519 He's holding up this glass of wine, he's saying, I'm not gonna drink this with you until we meet each other in heaven. 00:21:06.000 --> 00:21:07.039 What does he mean by this? 00:21:07.200 --> 00:21:13.279 Well, again, scholars kind of think he was at the third cup when he was raising it and saying, This is my body. 00:21:13.359 --> 00:21:15.839 And many scholars think he then took the fourth cup. 00:21:16.000 --> 00:21:23.759 So think about them drinking the third cup, the cup of redemption, realizing that it's not gonna be any lamb that's sacrificed, it's gonna be Jesus. 00:21:24.000 --> 00:21:28.720 Then he takes the fourth and he actually withholds the fourth glass. 00:21:28.880 --> 00:21:30.960 Maybe this is what scholars surmise, right? 00:21:31.039 --> 00:21:36.960 They think maybe Jesus was raising the fourth glass and saying, You will not drink this until you and I meet. 00:21:37.279 --> 00:21:47.039 The fourth glass was one that correlated to the promise of God that God would make for himself a people. 00:21:47.680 --> 00:21:53.440 It was Israel's hope that Israel would be a nation that is open to the nations. 00:21:53.680 --> 00:21:59.759 And in fact, there would be a multi ethnic gathering of God's people across everyone from the world that would come together. 00:22:00.400 --> 00:22:10.400 And Jesus tells his disciples, I'm not going to drink this last glass, the one that's about all people coming to God and being God's people, until you see me again. 00:22:10.720 --> 00:22:14.000 It points to the anticipation of the mission we're on right now. 00:22:14.480 --> 00:22:19.200 It points us to the purposes, plans, and will of God that is coming. 00:22:19.440 --> 00:22:26.559 The day is coming when, as Revelation 21 says, the dwelling place of God will be with mankind. 00:22:26.880 --> 00:22:45.680 And the glory of the nations, this is language from Revelation 21, an image of the end of everything as God comes and makes all things right, the glory of all nations, of all cultures, of all colors and creeds will come together in the place of Christ, with Christ, and be with his people together. 00:22:45.920 --> 00:22:56.720 And so I wonder, just as communion isn't about you, as I said, when we look back, when we look forward, communion reminds us that the future is not in your hands. 00:22:57.200 --> 00:23:06.640 And so when you take communion, you look forward, maybe it's time for you to consider I don't have to make my future for me. 00:23:07.279 --> 00:23:09.519 There's a lot of things that are uncertain right now. 00:23:09.680 --> 00:23:14.559 And I wonder if taking communion could remind you of one thing that is very certain. 00:23:14.880 --> 00:23:22.240 God will gather his people, his kids will come to him, and his dwelling place will be with his people. 00:23:22.640 --> 00:23:28.640 And our faith will no longer be faith by our own belief. 00:23:28.799 --> 00:23:30.480 It'll actually be what we see. 00:23:30.640 --> 00:23:32.319 Our faith will be sight. 00:23:32.480 --> 00:23:34.880 We will see God with his people. 00:23:35.839 --> 00:23:43.119 And then communion pushes us back, it pushes us forward to look forward, but it also does take us inward. 00:23:43.680 --> 00:23:48.240 Because you notice in this meal, there's some reflection we should have. 00:23:48.400 --> 00:23:53.599 The context of this meal is not just theological and biblical history as I've outlined. 00:23:53.759 --> 00:23:55.359 It's actually kind of relational. 00:23:55.680 --> 00:24:09.599 You know, if you just are looking at a physical Bible right now and you're looking at verse 26, which we're looking at right now, the very verses before it are Jesus confronting those who would betray him at the table. 00:24:09.839 --> 00:24:18.720 It's kind of awkward, but the context of the meal of communion is not purity and righteousness. 00:24:18.960 --> 00:24:24.000 The context of the meal of communion is wickedness, betrayal, and sin. 00:24:24.640 --> 00:24:27.440 There is a tension at this table. 00:24:27.759 --> 00:24:28.960 Who should be here? 00:24:29.119 --> 00:24:31.200 Who's good enough to be with Jesus? 00:24:31.359 --> 00:24:34.160 Who's good enough to eat this bread and drink this wine? 00:24:34.400 --> 00:24:39.920 And right before this, Jesus looks at Judas in the eye and he says, You're gonna betray me. 00:24:40.160 --> 00:24:43.359 And then he offers the meal to all of his disciples. 00:24:43.599 --> 00:24:48.240 Now, that should cause us to inwardly reflect on our own lives. 00:24:48.480 --> 00:24:53.680 Not only that, but after this, his disciples will betray him, Judas. 00:24:53.839 --> 00:24:56.960 They'll deny him, Peter, denies Jesus. 00:24:57.119 --> 00:24:59.519 They run up to Peter, they say, Did you know this man? 00:24:59.599 --> 00:25:00.480 He says, No. 00:25:00.880 --> 00:25:04.240 And they'll also be forced towards apathy. 00:25:04.400 --> 00:25:09.039 There's this scene where Jesus is praying right before his arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane. 00:25:09.119 --> 00:25:12.559 This is coming up in the very next verses, right after the verses you and I read. 00:25:12.720 --> 00:25:14.880 He tells his disciples, Pray for me. 00:25:15.200 --> 00:25:16.480 You know what his disciples do? 00:25:16.559 --> 00:25:17.839 They fall asleep. 00:25:18.640 --> 00:25:27.759 So at the communion table, at the first Lord's Supper, we are surrounded with betrayal, denial, and apathy. 00:25:28.880 --> 00:25:31.039 So what are you bringing to the table? 00:25:31.759 --> 00:25:33.440 Are you bringing one of those things? 00:25:33.599 --> 00:25:38.319 Because the good news is it's actually welcome at the table. 00:25:39.039 --> 00:25:50.960 If Jesus could welcome his disciples who betrayed him, who denied him, who were apathetic towards him, what are you gonna bring to the table that Jesus is not prepared for? 00:25:51.279 --> 00:25:58.079 He, in the midst of sin, is able to initiate this meal and be fully comfortable. 00:25:58.319 --> 00:25:58.960 Why? 00:25:59.759 --> 00:26:09.200 Because he knows his presence and work at the table outweighs your presence and your work or lack of work at the table. 00:26:09.440 --> 00:26:19.519 That the grace and work of Jesus Christ at the communion table always will surpass and overwhelm the sin that you bring to it. 00:26:19.920 --> 00:26:24.720 Every single time you come to communion, you might think, I'm not worthy of this meal. 00:26:24.880 --> 00:26:26.400 And do you know what I say to you? 00:26:26.640 --> 00:26:28.000 Welcome to the club. 00:26:28.240 --> 00:26:29.599 Welcome to the table. 00:26:29.839 --> 00:26:32.720 What do you think we would bring to this table, anyways? 00:26:32.880 --> 00:26:34.240 In light of Jesus, right? 00:26:34.400 --> 00:26:36.240 What do we have to bring? 00:26:36.640 --> 00:26:42.480 Betrayal is disloyalty that hurts somebody else and benefits you. 00:26:42.640 --> 00:26:44.000 That's what Judas did. 00:26:44.240 --> 00:26:46.559 He hurt Jesus just for some silver. 00:26:46.799 --> 00:26:49.200 And we do this to God all the time. 00:26:49.759 --> 00:26:54.480 We betray him by hurting him and trying to elevate ourselves in pride. 00:26:54.880 --> 00:26:56.880 We also often are filled with denial. 00:26:56.960 --> 00:27:02.400 You know, denial is declaring something to be untrue or failing to acknowledge another person. 00:27:03.359 --> 00:27:05.519 We very often deny God. 00:27:05.759 --> 00:27:14.079 We leave our faith at the door, walk into a relationship without God, or walk into a workplace and kind of leave the God thing aside. 00:27:14.640 --> 00:27:15.839 Or what about apathy? 00:27:16.000 --> 00:27:20.319 Apathy is just being actively unwilling to work. 00:27:20.880 --> 00:27:25.519 And maybe you're there right now, like in quarantine, you're just like, I can't find the energy for my faith. 00:27:25.759 --> 00:27:35.119 And so you might approach the communion table thinking, Chris, I've denied God, I've betrayed God, I'm apathetic towards God, I don't feel worthy of this table. 00:27:36.160 --> 00:27:40.880 You are perfectly situated, though, for the table when you're in that space. 00:27:41.119 --> 00:27:46.799 Communion forces us to reflect on our position towards Jesus Christ. 00:27:47.039 --> 00:27:55.920 Communion is time where you and I should reflect inwardly on what we actually think of ourselves and where we're at with God. 00:27:56.079 --> 00:28:06.400 You know, there's this passage in 1 Corinthians where Paul is talking to a church there, and he's actually talking about early practices of communion. 00:28:06.480 --> 00:28:08.559 And man, this church was a mess. 00:28:08.960 --> 00:28:11.759 They were bringing all kinds of sin to the table. 00:28:12.000 --> 00:28:18.480 And, you know, Paul gives this really interesting and strong warning in 1 Corinthians 11, 27. 00:28:18.559 --> 00:28:28.880 He says this, so then look, whoever eats the bread and drinks the cup takes communion in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 00:28:29.039 --> 00:28:30.240 So look at 28. 00:28:30.400 --> 00:28:35.039 Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat the bread and drink the cup. 00:28:35.200 --> 00:28:36.960 So I want you to notice the language there. 00:28:37.039 --> 00:28:38.079 It's very important. 00:28:38.480 --> 00:28:42.880 He's not saying, if you have sin, don't show up to the table. 00:28:43.119 --> 00:28:48.880 He's saying, if you have sin, examine yourself and then approach the table. 00:28:49.200 --> 00:28:54.559 You see, what we can do going into the table is confess our sins. 00:28:54.720 --> 00:28:57.359 You know, 1 John 1.9 is a beautiful verse. 00:28:57.440 --> 00:29:00.160 I would push you to memorize, to read. 00:29:00.400 --> 00:29:07.519 It says that if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us of all sins and cleanse us of our unrighteousness. 00:29:07.759 --> 00:29:10.640 If you confess, you are cleansed. 00:29:10.880 --> 00:29:16.720 I would say with communion, when you examine, you're perfectly ready for the table. 00:29:16.960 --> 00:29:19.920 You're perfectly ready for the table to examine yourself. 00:29:20.160 --> 00:29:29.680 Now, sometimes we examine our hearts and our lives, and actually the Spirit of God reveals very deep, important things in our life. 00:29:30.000 --> 00:29:34.880 And I would say, um, you know, sometimes we really feel like we shouldn't take communion. 00:29:35.119 --> 00:29:45.200 And this verse is important for us to kind of weigh, because while sin is perfectly, like I said, welcome at the table, none of us come to the table without any sin. 00:29:45.359 --> 00:29:55.599 I would say there are times where the Spirit of God impresses on us to not take sin until we've made a relationship right or repented in some particular way of the sin that we're committing. 00:29:55.839 --> 00:30:04.400 I wouldn't say that that's something I would suggest all of us do, because I think we get in our heads a lot, you know, and we like become super self-critical where God wants to actually just offer us the grace. 00:30:04.559 --> 00:30:16.480 But I want you to be aware that for those of you who have been walking with Jesus for a long time, the Spirit of God may sometimes say, Before you take this meal, go make this right. 00:30:16.880 --> 00:30:20.240 And I actually think that there's something really beautiful about that. 00:30:20.480 --> 00:30:25.279 And there's something that allows us kind of an urgency for repentance that's needed. 00:30:25.440 --> 00:30:30.640 And the table confronts us with our sin, you see, but it doesn't leave us in our sin. 00:30:30.880 --> 00:30:36.160 You see, it shouldn't make us feel comfortable in our apathy, denial, and betrayal. 00:30:36.400 --> 00:30:38.400 It should move us to repent. 00:30:38.640 --> 00:30:42.880 And so when you go to the Lord's table, ask some questions, right? 00:30:43.039 --> 00:30:46.799 Ask yourself, like, where am I trying to hide from God? 00:30:47.759 --> 00:30:56.640 What thing in my life am I not bringing to the light because I think I can kind of shoe it away from God so that he would never know? 00:30:57.119 --> 00:31:01.759 What in my life has my heart just not aligned to the things of God? 00:31:01.839 --> 00:31:04.559 Like my heart is just not in line with the things of God? 00:31:04.640 --> 00:31:09.839 Or where have I maybe failed to trust God and I've really been just trusting myself? 00:31:10.160 --> 00:31:16.720 As you ask these questions, maybe the Lord would tell you, hey, do this before you partake. 00:31:16.799 --> 00:31:19.839 But I think, I think more often than not, you know what God says? 00:31:20.079 --> 00:31:26.720 Take my body and my blood in place of your sin, and then look upward and look outward. 00:31:26.960 --> 00:31:28.720 These are the final two points. 00:31:29.200 --> 00:31:43.759 That not only do we look back to locate ourselves, not only do we look forward in anticipation, not only do we look inward to understand what God's doing in our life, but we look upward, which is in worship. 00:31:44.000 --> 00:31:47.279 You might notice at awakening, we tie worship and communion together. 00:31:47.440 --> 00:31:55.680 In fact, after I'm done speaking here and the team leads you in worship, um, we want you to partake in communion during worship. 00:31:55.839 --> 00:31:56.319 Why? 00:31:56.640 --> 00:31:58.880 Because these things are interrelated. 00:31:59.200 --> 00:32:03.359 The communion experience and the worship experience should be one and the same. 00:32:03.440 --> 00:32:08.640 We should, at the communion table, place our eyes on what is above. 00:32:09.039 --> 00:32:11.200 We know the greater context of this story. 00:32:11.440 --> 00:32:20.640 Jesus, after this meal, he dies, but he raises in glory and ascends to heaven at the right hand of the Father and where he's currently reigning. 00:32:20.880 --> 00:32:27.440 We know when we eat the bread and drink the wine, we're not eating it of a dead religious figure. 00:32:27.680 --> 00:32:32.480 We're eating it of a resurrected king who is the true triune God. 00:32:32.640 --> 00:32:36.319 And we get to eat that and look up and start to worship Jesus. 00:32:36.480 --> 00:32:44.880 So my hope is that when we take this meal, we start to, as Paul says in Colossians chapter three, set our minds on things above. 00:32:45.039 --> 00:32:45.680 Look at this verse. 00:32:45.759 --> 00:32:51.839 It says, if then you've been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above where Christ is. 00:32:52.079 --> 00:32:54.240 Christ isn't down below, he's up above. 00:32:54.319 --> 00:32:55.200 That's why we worship. 00:32:55.279 --> 00:33:01.279 Verse 2 set your mind on the things that are above, not on the things of earth. 00:33:01.440 --> 00:33:08.720 You see, communion locates us by placing our minds off of ourselves and on to God. 00:33:09.039 --> 00:33:17.119 And so it it's it's kind of why I love, you know, I wish we were at Del Mar because I love how the communion table is actually up towards the stage. 00:33:17.279 --> 00:33:28.880 Because, you know, when I when I take communion, I like to take it and then look at the words of worship and just take that moment to remind myself, I don't live on earth. 00:33:29.039 --> 00:33:30.000 I live with Christ. 00:33:30.160 --> 00:33:33.119 I'm unified with Christ in heaven. 00:33:33.359 --> 00:33:35.279 And that leads me to look out. 00:33:35.519 --> 00:33:38.799 Not only do I look up, but I actually start looking out. 00:33:39.039 --> 00:33:40.960 And we start practicing obedience. 00:33:41.119 --> 00:33:46.160 You see, the communion table, like I said, it's it's not meant to be sat at forever. 00:33:46.319 --> 00:33:48.799 It's not meant to sit there the entire time. 00:33:49.039 --> 00:33:51.920 Communion is to be taken as a meal is taken. 00:33:52.079 --> 00:33:58.160 There's a current kind of time slot for it where you take it, you eat it, and you move on and leave. 00:33:58.319 --> 00:34:06.319 You only sit at the table momentarily because you respond to what Jesus is doing and we respond to it together. 00:34:06.640 --> 00:34:10.719 Typically and ideally, we take communion together. 00:34:10.960 --> 00:34:20.159 And in a non-pandemic, uh, you know, normal time of living, we would definitely take communion together, all together. 00:34:20.320 --> 00:34:37.679 In fact, I always try to kind of have rare moments where you take it alone because communion is not just about your personal relationship with Jesus, it's about our corporate relationship with Jesus, and it's about how God has done for you what He's done for all. 00:34:37.840 --> 00:34:40.239 And it connects us to the outward sign, right? 00:34:40.320 --> 00:34:42.480 We start to look out at the church. 00:34:42.800 --> 00:34:46.719 And right now, we don't have that central element of communion. 00:34:46.800 --> 00:34:50.079 We don't have the collected body, the gathering of people. 00:34:50.239 --> 00:34:53.840 And so, in many ways, we're we're kind of making a compromise right now. 00:34:54.079 --> 00:35:05.920 We're making a compromise for this season where we're saying, while we cannot meet together, we will partake in communion and practice it as a church in separate locations. 00:35:06.559 --> 00:35:16.400 You know, also though, through scripture and throughout church history, the church has always met unique situations with unique graceful action. 00:35:16.639 --> 00:35:37.360 What I mean is when people have been in prison, when people are too poor to afford bread and wine, when people are in a remote village where they cannot access certain items, when we are unable to fully immerse someone in water, for example, in baptism, there's always grace for these moments. 00:35:37.519 --> 00:35:47.280 And God shows time and time again through scripture, by the way, you could look at all these moments, Old Testament and New Testament, where God has grace that abounds across these moments. 00:35:47.360 --> 00:35:48.960 And we're in one of those moments right now. 00:35:49.599 --> 00:35:56.079 One of the moments where we should be together taking communion, but we can't be together and take communion. 00:35:56.239 --> 00:36:02.800 And so we will take communion separately and we will experience it together, looking outward, knowing this. 00:36:02.960 --> 00:36:07.360 As you take communion in your living room, I'm taking communion in my living room. 00:36:07.519 --> 00:36:07.920 Right? 00:36:08.159 --> 00:36:19.519 As you're taking it, wherever you are, someone else in awakening, and get this millions of people across the world are taking communion this weekend. 00:36:19.760 --> 00:36:22.719 It should help you look out to the community of Jesus. 00:36:23.039 --> 00:36:31.440 There's one other time in my pastoral life where this was a reality where what we wanted could not happen. 00:36:31.679 --> 00:36:34.559 And it was when I was pastoring in Oregon for a number of years. 00:36:34.719 --> 00:36:39.599 There was this woman at our church who had this intense aversion to light. 00:36:39.760 --> 00:36:49.039 She suffered this terrible, terrible way where she couldn't be out in the light and in the day for much of her life. 00:36:49.280 --> 00:36:50.000 It was terrible. 00:36:50.079 --> 00:36:58.639 She had to stay inside, black out curtains, adjusted light so that she wouldn't have paralyzing headaches and pain throughout her whole body. 00:36:58.719 --> 00:36:59.840 It was awful. 00:37:00.079 --> 00:37:08.880 We had this ministry where we would take communion to elderly and to sick people, and sometimes we would bring like a worship leader to lead worship for that person. 00:37:09.119 --> 00:37:14.079 And uh this woman definitely fit that ministry's uh profile. 00:37:14.719 --> 00:37:18.079 And we would take her communion, and she was this godly incredible woman. 00:37:18.159 --> 00:37:23.840 And every week her husband and her kids would take communion at church, but she would take it alone in her house. 00:37:24.239 --> 00:37:28.800 And she had such an incredible way of understanding what this was. 00:37:28.960 --> 00:37:35.440 And I remember I wasn't there, but I remember somebody telling me the story when they visited her and gave her communion a part of this ministry. 00:37:35.920 --> 00:37:44.800 She said, It reminds me when I take communion, she says, it reminds me I'm not alone even when I feel alone. 00:37:45.199 --> 00:37:48.800 Here's this woman, she can't go outside. 00:37:49.039 --> 00:37:51.199 She's alone in her home. 00:37:51.440 --> 00:38:00.159 But to her, communion was not a personal experience, even though she was having quite literally a personal isolated experience. 00:38:00.400 --> 00:38:11.280 To her, it was a communal experience, not just with the believers outside of those walls in our church, but believers all across the world and all across history. 00:38:11.440 --> 00:38:23.679 When you take communion, you pull your purview back of what your life is about, that your life is not just about you and you are not alone, even though you might feel alone. 00:38:23.840 --> 00:38:33.760 And awakening, the biggest blessing right now is as you partake in communion, just know for a fact your church is taking it with you right now. 00:38:34.639 --> 00:38:40.960 And so I want you to now prepare the elements if you can, as we go into worship. 00:38:41.119 --> 00:38:43.280 And I just want you to think about these directions. 00:38:43.440 --> 00:38:47.519 I want you to think about the remembering Jesus, looking backwards. 00:38:47.679 --> 00:38:51.840 I want you to think about looking forwards in anticipation for what he might bring. 00:38:52.159 --> 00:38:58.639 I want you to look inward and think about the sin that might be harming your life. 00:38:58.960 --> 00:39:05.360 I want you to look upward in worship, knowing, man, my sin is canceled through the grace of Jesus. 00:39:05.760 --> 00:39:07.519 And then I want you to look outward. 00:39:07.679 --> 00:39:11.920 And remember, even if you feel alone, you are not alone right now. 00:39:12.159 --> 00:39:13.599 I don't know what you're facing. 00:39:13.760 --> 00:39:25.360 I don't know how this pandemic is particularly affecting you, but I know that communion will center you and that communion will bring you and locate you in Jesus. 00:39:25.599 --> 00:39:37.119 And friends, as you look in these different directions, backwards, forwards, as you look in these directions, I can guarantee you you will find yourself surrounded by Jesus. 00:39:37.519 --> 00:39:38.639 Let me pray. 00:39:39.920 --> 00:39:50.719 God, we ask you now to direct our minds and direct our hearts towards you. 00:39:51.119 --> 00:40:00.719 This meal, this communion meal that we are about to partake in, as we eat bread and drink of the cup, Father, we are centering our life on you. 00:40:01.280 --> 00:40:10.159 And I pray for my brothers and sisters as they do this, they would sense your presence and sense the security they have in you, Jesus. 00:40:10.320 --> 00:40:12.239 We pray this in your mighty name. 00:40:12.639 --> 00:40:13.199 Amen.