2024-04-21- Sunday School- The Lord's Supper

The speaker reflects on a recent birthday party and the importance of making choices. They then transition to discussing the significance of the Lord's Supper or communion in the church. They mention that the believers in Corinth had changed the emphasis of the service and made it a time of feasting and fellowship instead of a service in remembrance of Christ. The speaker urges listeners to take Paul's teachings seriously, even if they may not agree with everything. They emphasize the importance of knowing and understanding the word of God. The speaker then delves into a discussion of what communion is, how it came about, and who should participate. They mention that communion is one of the main ordinances of the church and that it is often referred to as the Lord's Supper or Holy Communion. They explain that communion is a time of fellowship and thanksgiving and that it should be taken seriously. The speaker then goes on to discuss the preparations for the Passover meal and the signif Good Sunday morning, everybody. I want to be there when the roll is called up yonder. I was thinking the other day, I believe it was Brother Landon's birthday, and we came in, as the Hodges do a lot of times, just right on time, or maybe it's service is starting. There was a promise of a birthday party, and I was invited to it, Brother Ronnie, and we came over here and sat down, and I could smell signs of a party. I could look back and see maybe some banners and different things, and I was preparing to go, and I was invited, but many are called and few are chosen, and I thought I had a choice to make at that point. There was a promise to go to a party, and I was invited. I knew Landon. He's my friend. I've talked to him, so they did invite me, but I could have went left and just went on home after service, or I could have went to that celebration, and I want to be there when the roll is called up yonder. This morning, we're going to be back in the first Corinthians. If you want to turn with me in the holiness heritage to lesson eight, the Lord's Supper, and then we will be, I believe, starting maybe in Luke 22 and 19, if I'm not mistaken in the Bible. But our theme this morning says the Lord's Supper or communion is one of the church's ordinances. It will be more meaningful to us as we understand its significance. Our golden text this morning is out of Luke 22 and 19. It says, And he took bread and gave thanks and break it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you, this doing remembrance of me. The introduction this morning says, The last supper of our Lord Jesus was a somber and moving occasion. He had gathered with his disciples for this last time of fellowship and friendship. He was soon to die for the sins of the world and knew what lay ahead for these disciples. They were going to experience great confusion and turmoil in the days to come and would be tried severely with discouragement. It was in this setting that Jesus instituted the ordinance of the Lord's Supper or communion as it is more commonly known. Clearly it was designed to become a regular practice of the church, his body of believers. It is simple yet profound ceremony that is filled with spiritual meaning. Evidently the believers in Corinth had changed the emphasis of this service and made it a time of feasting and fellowship with one another instead of a service in remembrance of Christ. We will study Paul's instructions and trust that the communion will be more meaningful to us in the future. Paul, as I said, is still writing here in the Corinthians. And if you're keeping up in chapter 1, we know that he gave thanks, Sister Allie, for the Corinthians. And in 1 Corinthians 1 and 4, he says, I thank my God always on your behalf for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ that in everything you're enriched by him in all utterance and in all knowledge. Then he goes on to talk about the division that's among them. In 1 Corinthians 1 and 10, he tells them to be perfectly joined together in the same mind, Brother Austin. He moves on in chapter 2 and he speaks on the wisdom of God. Now this is broke down in chapters and verses. Somebody come along and broke this up. I can't remember who that was. And I need to maybe look that up, but I studied it before. But this is just a letter, but it's broken up, of course, in chapters and verses. In chapter 2, he speaks of the wisdom of God and the divisions again, along with sexual immorality and suing your brother, speaks on that. In chapter 7, he talks about the principles of marriage and the unmarried. We've discussed a lot of this ourselves. Chapter 8, he talks about whether it's okay to eat meat offered to idols. And then he warns them against idol worship. And now we're in chapter 11, and last week in chapter 11, we read where he counseled them on the differences between man and woman, and in particular how it's a shame for a woman to cut her hair, for it is her glory and her covering. And he points out in 1 Corinthians 11 and 14 that does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it's a shame unto him. And on the same chapter 11, he lets them know that they are getting the Lord's Supper and the communion wrong, Brother Joseph. Most Christians today will have no trouble with anything that Paul has written to the Corinthians except for Paul's teaching on that hair length. I think it's kind of funny. It's probably the simplest topic that he taught on in the middle of all this. Have you ever been in church and the preacher is really nailing it to the wall, Brother Austin, and you're backing him, and he's got you on your feet, and you want everyone to know that you believe everything he's saying, and amen to this, amen to that, you've got your hand raised. And then he gets on that one subject that you might not fall exactly in line with, Brother Quentin, and you start putting your hands down real subtle-like, and you kind of get reduced down to just kind of a smile and a nod, and you hope nobody realizes that you're not as enthusiastic as you once was. But everything in this word is important. Let's be careful not to pick and choose out of the gospel what we want and what fits our lifestyle. Let's serve him with a whole heart. Romans 12 and 1 says, I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world, but be you transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. And let us know while we're doing what we're doing. As I said last week, it will mean more to you if you know while you're doing what you're doing. One of Brother Ronnie, I believe probably one of his favorite verses, or at least one that he quotes most often in Proverbs 23 and 23, says, By the truth and sell it not, also wisdom and instruction and understanding. So many Christians today have bought the truth, but they really don't even know what they've bought. I thought there's no fine line or no fine print, Brother Quentin, in this Bible. God is not trying to trick us. He wants us to make it. He's given every provision for us to do so. It's all right here, even and especially to the death of his precious son, Jesus Christ. Let us learn everything we can about it. And I want to endeavor to do that today. I don't want to be ignorant about the Lord's Supper. We will learn that Paul said it can make you sick or even bring death if not observed properly. We must know this word. It makes a difference between eternal life or eternal death. I thought if you were sick, Brother Tim, and you went to the doctor, and the doctor prescribes you with a bottle of pills, and he said this can either help you, cure you, or if you take it wrong, it will kill you. I thought how carefully would you read that pill bottle? We would read it very carefully. We've all been part of a communion service, and Brother Tim has taught and preached on it a couple of times even here at Gospel at Honest Church very well, but it won't hurt to go over it again this morning as it's our topic. The topics that I'll attempt to discuss this morning is what is communion exactly? How did communion come about? What communion is not? And who is supposed to take part in this communion? So first, what is communion? Paul uses the word communion four times in his letter to the Corinthians in his first letter and his second letter, but not while directly talking about the Lord's Supper. But communion comes from the Greek word koinonia, which simply means fellowship. Communion, the Lord's Supper, Holy Communion, the Eucharist, Catholics have the mass where they partake in their version of the Lord's Supper, and we'll talk about that a little bit later. The Eucharist comes from the Greek word eucharistia, which means Thanksgiving. So a lot of people call it that, denominations. These are all interchangeable terms, but by and far in the Holiness movement, we refer to it simply as the communion, sometimes the Lord's Supper. Communion is one of the main ordinances of the church that the scriptures instruct us to partake in. So how did the communion come about? Let's turn back to Luke 22 and 7. The Synoptic Gospels all touch on this, some more briefly than others, but we're going to focus on Luke 22 and 7 this morning. Starting out in Luke 22 and 7, it says, Then came the day of unleavened bread when the Passover must be killed. And he, referring to Jesus, sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare us the Passover that we may eat. And they said unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare? And he said unto them, Behold, when ye are entered into the city, there shall a man meet you bearing a pitcher of water. Follow him into the house where he entereth in. Now we went back a little bit in that holy week that we've just observed just a few weeks ago, but most commentaries point out that this man would be easy to spot because carrying a pitcher of water would normally be considered women's work. I don't know if that's true, but they are to go down and find a man carrying a pitcher of water. And verse 11 says, And ye shall say unto the good man of the house, The master saith unto thee, Where is the gift chamber where I shall eat the Passover with my disciples? And he shall shew you a large upper room furnished there make ready. And they went and found, as he had said unto them, and they made ready the Passover. Now I find this interesting, Brother Ronnie, Josephus, a Roman Jewish historian born around 37, I believe 37 A.D., claims that the population in Jerusalem during the Passover would have swelled from 20,000 to 30,000, maybe up to 2 million. And some people said he exaggerated numbers a little bit. It might have been more like 250,000. But either way, to walk right into Jerusalem during Passover and find a furnished room big enough to feed 13 men would probably be nearly impossible. But Jesus was orchestrating the entire thing, all the way up to his death and resurrection. Remember in Matthew 8 and 18, Now when Jesus saw great multitudes about him, he gave commandment to depart unto the other side. And a certain scribe came and said unto him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have hoes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the son of man hath not where to lay his head. We learn that even as a baby there was no room for Jesus in the end. Luke 2 and 7 says, And she brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the end. But even Satan himself recognized that Jesus had the ability to roll out the red carpet for himself if he chose to do so, Brother Quentin. Matthew 4 and 1 says, Then was Jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward in hunger. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple and saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down, for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee. And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. And Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. So this furnished gift chamber proves to me that, in fact, Jesus could have had great amenities all along if he chose it, if that's what he wanted. He could have done it. As he made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem at the start of this week, Jesus needed a coat to ride in on. Luke 19 and 29 talks about that, if you want to turn with me. Luke 19 and 29 says, And it came to pass, when he was come now to Bethphage and Bethany at the mount called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying, Go ye into the village over against you, and the witch at your entry, and ye shall find a coat tied. Whereon yet never man said, Loose him, and bring him hither. And if any man ask you, Why do you loose him? Thus shall ye say unto him, Because the Lord hath need of him. And they that were sent went their way, and found even, as he had said unto them. And as they were loosing the coat, the owners thereof said unto them, Why loose ye the coat? And they said, The Lord hath need of him. And they brought him to Jesus, and they cast their garments upon the coat, and they set Jesus thereon. So Jesus tells a couple of his disciples, Hey, over yonder there's a donkey over there, brother Ronnie. Untie him and bring him to me, and if the owner has a problem with it, just tell him that the Lord has need of him. And they do it, and it actually works. I mean, he just, you know, who would have ever thought that that would work? But Jesus needed that, and he needed it for a reason. So what is the difference? He didn't roll out the carpet for himself all along. So what's going on at this point in the scriptures? John tells us that the word was made flesh and dwelt among us. And in Hebrews 4 and 14, seeing then that we have a great high priest that is passed into the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession, for we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help him in a time of need. He lived as we did, brother Tim. He suffered for us, facing life's great temptations and everyday struggles so that he can be touched with the feeling of our infirmities. But we find a slight difference in maybe Jesus' behavior here as we get to this point in the scripture. And I think the difference in John 12 and 23 points out, and Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come that the Son of Man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone. But if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it, and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it until life eternal. If any man serve me, let him follow me, and where I am, there shall also my servant be. If any man serve me, he will be, him will my Father honor. His hour has come, Sister Glenda. The very reason that he came to this earth was at hand. He was on that heavenly time clock, and he was working step for step that the scriptures would be fulfilled. He was to die for our sins, that great sacrificial lamb, and nothing would stand in the way of his love for us and what he must do for us, his mission of love. One of his last orders of business was to set an example for us, and a room must be provided for this communion and foot washing, and it was provided. Reading on in Luke 22 and 14, and when the hour was come, and he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him, and he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. So he is having this final Passover meal with his disciples, and everything up to this point must make a lot of sense to the disciples. This is kind of business as usual. They've been here many times, maybe not so much with Jesus, but they've been at this Passover meal. It probably made a lot of sense. Notice he says, Jesus says, With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. The difference is there's a man here that knows what's coming. You can almost feel his longing here, and that word desire, it means in Greek, epithumio, it actually means longing. Can't you almost feel that Jesus wants to soak in this moment? It all came down to this moment. It was a somber occasion. Jesus, in all of his glory and all of his compassion, looking at a bunch of unsuspecting men that he loves so dearly. One will betray him shortly and then hang himself in the field of blood. Another will deny him. A few fishermen, a tax collector, a physician, and just some common men, none of them ready to witness his cruel crucifixion that's going to happen shortly. Jesus knows all along. The Bible reads on in verse 17, And he took the cup and gave thanks, and said, Take this and divide it among yourselves. He took the cup and gave thanks, and this is why it's known to some as the Eucharist. This is the point where the Passover shifts to the Lord's Supper, as we know it, or the communion, Brother Ronnie. Never again will there be a need for a Passover meal. I've mentioned before that I think it would be interesting to have a Passover meal just for educational purposes, and I think it would be, but let it be said, it's no longer required as Jesus is our Passover. First Corinthians 5 and 7 says, Purge out, therefore, that old leaven, that you may be a new lump, as you are unleavened. For even Christ, our Passover, is sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. Many Jewish people still participate in this Passover meal simply because they've rejected Christ as the Passover. He is our Passover. I believe that he is this morning. I believe that his blood has covered my soul. His blood is the remission of all men's sins, Matthew 26 and 28. For this is my blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. Remission meaning pardon, deliverance, freedom from, liberty, forgiveness. Luke did not focus much on the Passover meal. One man said it was because Luke had wrote this epistle about 30 years later on, and the Passover simply was no longer relevant. The focus is now to be on the communion. Verse 18 says, For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God shall come. Let's read in our Holiness Heritage what the commentary says here, 25, this cup in my blood. I'd like to read the first paragraph there, if y'all want to read along. After they had eaten the broken bread, Jesus took the cup, blessed it, and instructed the disciples to drink it. He told them that it was the New Testament in my blood. This was not alcoholic wine. It is described by Jesus himself in Matthew's account as the fruit of the vine. We need not spend much time arguing this point. Those who have studied the Bible in its entirety know that the drinking of strong drink is expressly forbidden throughout the scriptures. Jesus certainly was not drinking fermented wine, but fresh grape juice. He used the juice as a symbol of his blood that was to be shed for mankind's sin. Jesus was instituting the Lord's Supper as a ceremony of commemoration. It was to remind us of, first, the breaking of his body and, secondly, the shedding of his blood. Communion is one of the greatest forms of worship that Christ has given us and that we should participate in. It is an opportunity for us to remember the price that was paid for us. These disciples certainly didn't understand at the time fully what they were commemorating because it was still ahead, Brother Quentin. But as a church, we can look back and see plainly the price that was paid for our sins and what we are commemorating, and we should do it. He laid down his life for us. John 10 and 14 says, I am the good shepherd and know my sheep and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold, them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd. Therefore doeth my Father love me, because I lay down my life that I might take it again. No man takes it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down. I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father. Jesus witnessed every lamb that was ever sacrificed and was still willingly laid his life down for us. He was still willing to do that. Judas Iscariot, Siaphus, Sanhedrin, Pontius Pilate, Herod, all conspired to kill Jesus, but it was his love for you and me that took his life. I thought when my Papaw passed away, I had a voicemail on my phone from him, and I'd often listen to it. He'd messed up and couldn't decide, Brother Tim, what he wanted to say, whether he wanted to say your mom or Rhonda's. So he ended up saying, Michael, this is your Papaw. I'm at your Rhonda's. Give me a call. And I loved it. I still say your Rhonda's all the time. You know, when Christy might call me and ask me what I'm doing, I'll say, I'm at your Rhonda's, you know. It just cracks me up, and I loved it, and I still say it a lot. But AT&T deleted that off of my phone after a time, and I have no way of recovering it. I had no idea that someday it would be gone, that they could just wipe it away, and I wouldn't have it no more. I would have saved it somehow. But I still say it a lot. But if I still had it and I listened to it every day, it really wouldn't matter. Papaw meant a whole lot to me, but he didn't do what Jesus had done for me. Every year on Dad's birthday, my family, on my Dad's birthday, we go to Texas Roadhouse, which was his favorite restaurant. My brother gets roadkill, which was my Dad's favorite dish. But if we stopped that tradition, it wouldn't make any difference. I mean, Dad wouldn't know whether we did it or not. I loved him, you know, but he didn't do for me what Jesus had done for me. Sometimes, you know, a communion is greatly different than that. Often I have families that finalize their arrangements with this, and their deceased loved one at some point in their life had already came in and made their final plans and their will and their wishes. And sometimes those families, for whatever reason, most of the time just to save a few dollars, they do something different. They don't do his wishes or what the deceased person had wanted. And it seems a little distasteful to me, but it really doesn't make much of a difference. But communion is more than a tradition. It's far more than the wishes of someone that had passed away. Luke 22 and 19 says, And he took bread, and gave thanks, and break it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you, this do in remembrance of me. Likewise, also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood which is shed for you. What does it mean that this cup is the new testament? Paul explains it very well in Romans 6 and 8. Romans 6 and 8 says, Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead, death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once, but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in the lust thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin, but yield yourselves unto God as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for ye are not under the law, but under grace. Through Jesus dying on the cross, we are no longer under the law, but saved by grace through faith. Communion is a sign or a symbol of God's covenant with his church. Much like water baptism, another church ordinance, very important, a true communion service is an outward sign to this world that we belong to Christ. We are just strangers and pilgrims down here, Brother Ronnie. We belong somewhere else, and we will soon be going there. I do believe that. First Peter 2 and 9 says, But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people, that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light, which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God, which had not obtained mercy, but now have attained mercy. Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the souls. Signs are important, Brother Ronnie. Signs can tell where we've been, where we are, and some signs can tell where we're headed. I'm thankful that we have a sign out front here that proclaims what kind of people we are, gospel-like, holiness church. And I thought in Matthew 18, 18, barely I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven. This is just a side point. And whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again, I say unto you that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. It might sound crazy to some of y'all, but I think it would be good as a church to go out there and anoint that sign and lay our hands on it and ask God to make it a beacon of light to some of these traveling souls going up through here. I want it to be anointed, Brother Ronnie. I want people to see that. There's traveling souls through here that ... There was a lady the other day that passed away. We all know the family. She was brought up in holiness, but she had gotten away from it, and from what I hear, she died of something that wouldn't be pleasing to the Lord. I don't know how to say it, but I didn't know I was going to say it. There may be souls that come up through here that haven't seen a holiness church sign in many years, and they may be looking for that answer, and it may recall something in them. That sign is important, and I just think that would be good, but I want people to know what I'm going to, that I'm going to a city some day, a city that's not built by human hands, and Christ paid the way for me. I'd like to pledge my allegiance to him by way of a communion. There's a big, tall kid at Central Hardin, and he's from Ukraine, and I don't know his full story, but he's like 6'7", 6'8", I mean, he stands out like a sore thumb, and I hear that he's a really good, respectful kid, but they tell me that he just got out of Ukraine by the skin of his teeth right before everything went down, that they got him over here, him and his family, which is a wonderful story, but he was, we was out cleaning tables, me and all the lunch ladies was out in the commons area wiping down the tables real fast, and every time we're out there, that's when the pledge of allegiance comes on, and that Ukrainian boy was walking through there, and everybody else had stopped, and I took my little hat off and had my hand over my heart, as I always do, and one of the ladies said, hey, you stop, you know, you give, we're saying the pledge, and he looked at her and he said, I don't have to do that, I'm not from here, and they really took offense to that, and I, I guess I, maybe I did too at first, but I got to thinking about it, I mean, he got forced to come here, I don't know that he should have to pledge allegiance to this country just because he had, he should be thankful, and I hear that he is, but I don't know that he would have to pledge allegiance to this country, I mean, he got forced out of there, but it did get me thinking, communion is a form of pledging my allegiance to my homeland, to the price that was paid for me to get there, for the city that I can find refuge from the storm, refuge from the temptations and trials that wore at my soul, and I want people to know that I'm headed for a city someday, that I'm just a pilgrim here, I'm just passing through, that I have a home somewhere in heaven, and I'm going there someday, and I would like to pledge my allegiance to Jesus Christ in that way, communion gives me an opportunity to do that, and I want to do it with the utmost respect, I don't want to get in a hurry to get back to what I was doing, or whatever I was doing, I want to honor my Lord and the price that was paid for me. Isaiah 53 and 3, let's not forget what is said here, he is despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief, and we hid as it were our faces from him, he was despised and we esteemed him not, surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted, but he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed. We've looked at what communion is, so let's take a look at what it's not. I'll be honest, up until this week, Brother Quentin, I really didn't know these views on communion. Every week I learned a lot, but I didn't, and I don't, I'll let it be said that I don't really, and maybe someday I will, I don't really study other religions a whole lot, you know, I've got my hands full with this, I want to know what this is about, I'm not, I'm not crazy about just diving into other religions. But the Roman Catholic Church holds the view of something called transubstantiation. Now, I thought, us Holiness folks, we take the Bible for black and white, I mean, that's what we're known for. If it says it, we want to do it, and we want to do it to the T. If it's in there, we believe it. But let's add some common sense to it. Transubstantiation is the view that the bread and wine actually turn into Jesus' body and his blood once blessed by the priest. For trans, prefix means change, substantiation simply means substance. So the substance of the bread and wine changes to body parts and blood once the priest holds up his wafer and wine and reads the passage of the Lord's Supper. I thought Christy should have married a Catholic priest, she loves bread. So she could eat that all day long and it tastes like bread, but once it goes down, it's just a bunch of protein. So that would be a good, a low-carb diet. But that makes no sense, and to me it's a borderline on disgusting. Let's take that logic and read John 15 and 4. John 15 and 4 says, Abide in me, and I in you, as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine. No more can ye except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit. For without me ye can do nothing. Now many, now how many in here are saved through Christ? I want to see some branches. All right. I see a lot of hands, I don't see any branches. So I don't think anybody in here has turned into a branch. I don't think Jesus is actually a vine. Looks like hands this morning. I don't see any fruit laying around, growing off of Brother Tim or Brother Ronnie. You strode back in here, I didn't see any fruit hanging off of you. So it simply makes no sense. I mean, that would be a good comparison. And apparently the Lutheran church believes in something called consubstantiation. Martin Luther himself didn't coin this phrase, but the meaning was his. In this view, the substance of the bread and the wine does not change, but you are swallowing the essence of Christ along with that bread and wine. The analogy that's often given is a sponge can soak up water, and the water is not the sponge, and neither is the sponge the water, but they are together. So consubstantiation is also called the real presence view. But the view that the Pentecostal wholeness movement most widely holds to is substantiation or real absence. This means that the bread and wine are, and hold on to your seats for a minute, bread and wine. That's exactly what it is, or bread and graveyards, however you want to say it. You know, that's crazy Pentecostals with our crazy views again. Bread and wine is bread and wine. Luke 22 and 19 against it, and he took bread and gave thanks and break it and gave unto them, saying, This is my body, which is given for you. This do in remembrance of me. Likewise, also the cup. So the cup and the bread are both in remembrance of Christ. This is a wonderful act of remembrance of what Christ has done for us. It's symbolic, much like water baptism again is symbolic of down with the old man up with the new. This is a symbol, a remembrance, and that's all that it is. It's a wonderful thing, but we're not. We're not actually eating Jesus's body. We're not actually drinking his blood. It's a symbol of what he done for us in a remembrance. If we turn to first Corinthians 11 17, we'll see that the Corinthians were getting the importance of the Lord's Supper wrong in themselves. First Corinthians 11 and 17. Now on this that I declare unto you, I praise you not that you come together, not for the better, but for the worse. I never want it to be said about us. When you all come together, you come together for the worse and not for the better. Let it never, never be said. Proverbs 27, 17 says, iron sharpeneth iron. So a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend. First Corinthians 11, 18. For first of all, when you come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you. And I partly believe it. Paul loved this church. But by now, when he heard something bad was going on, it was pretty easy for him to believe it, especially when it comes to the division. We remember Chloe had told him that there's divisions in the church. So, you know, we don't want to be a church that has a bad reputation. And we definitely don't want to be a church with a bad reputation because we've actually done something. If something is told on us, let it be a lie. There will be people that lie on us. I know that. But there's there's that we can't really control that. But we don't want a bad reputation. But the Corinthian church here is starting to get a bad reputation. 11 and 19 says, for there must be also hearsays among you that they which are proved may be made manifest among you. When you come together, therefore, into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's supper for an eating. Everyone take it before other his own supper. And one is hungry and another is drunken. Why have you not houses to eat and drink in or despise you? The church of God and shame them that have not. What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I praise you not. Paul was the type of man to try to see the good in his brethren. I think we've learned that by now. But he couldn't give them praise in how they were acting in the circumstance. They were dishonoring the Lord's house and the Lord's supper. Bible Bible scholars believe that these people were used to crazy, ravenous, self-indulgent, pagan types of worship. And as so many new converts, they needed to be taught that this was not how a Christian conducted himself in the worship of that one true God. And with that in mind, this might seem like a small point that I'm trying to make, but I always try to relate the scripture to our circumstances. And I'd like to say that we should respect this entire building, but even more so in this sanctuary, our conduct and our conversations can be a little maybe a little bit more laid back in the fellowship area. It shouldn't be unholy, but it might be a little bit more laid back in there than in the sanctuary. And definitely the only meal we should partake in inside this sanctuary is the Lord's Supper. God understands what we have to work with. He's blessed this. This is amazing for us. I do believe that Lord willing, someday we may have a fellowship hall separate from this building. But for now, we just need to be careful what we bring in here and how we conduct ourselves. We discussed last week how angels attend our worship service. We don't want to offend them by bringing off the wall conversations or just food in here or turn it into something else that it's not. And I'd like to say how much I appreciate the musicians and the mood that is set as we walk in. Sometimes they're here well before I'm here. I don't usually beat a musician here and there. They've already set the mood for worship, and I really appreciate that. I don't know if any of them, Brother Quentin, you're in here, but in reading on in 23, for I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread. And when he had given thanks, he break it and said, Take eat. This is my body which is broken for you. This do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup. And when he had supped, saying, This cup is the New Testament in my blood. This do ye as oft as you drink it in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you do shew the Lord's death till he come. Wherefore, whosoever shall eat this bread and drink this cup of the Lord unworthily shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this cause, many are weak and sickly among you and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world. Wherefore, my brethren, when you come together to eat, tarry one for another. And if any man hunger, let him eat at home, that you come not together unto condemnation, and the rest will I set in order when I come. This is not in your honest heritage, but I'd like to read the commentary on this passage and get towards wrapping up the Sunday school message this morning. It says here, these verses contain very sober information and important instructions. It is dangerous for one to partake of the communion unworthily. We discuss the word unworthily in some detail in the student section. Some have suffered sickness and some have actually died because they profaned the Lord's Supper. We should encourage every individual to have a time of prayer and self-examination before partaking of communion. We are to honestly judge ourselves. It is difficult sometimes to be objective in our self-evaluation, for we consider ourselves to be pretty good for the most part and hate to think or admit that we might actually be wrong in some matter. I believe that's true. I want to be worthy of taking part in the Lord's Supper. That's only possible through the salvation of Jesus Christ. We must be covered by the precious blood that the wine represents. I thought John the Revelator tells of a marriage supper that I want to be a part of someday. If we aren't prepared for communion, we will not be ready for that marriage supper. I thought my mom used to holler out when I was a kid, are you ready for supper? And usually, if I was inside the house, Brother Quentin, I was ready to go. I'd been smelling that supper cooking, and I'd been prepared. It'd been on my mind. I'd strove through the kitchen a few times already, waiting for that invitation to the supper. But other times, I would, as a kid, I'd be outside with other things on my mind. I was distracted and didn't have much of an appetite, Sister Shelly. I'd taken a look at myself, and I was much too dirty to sit at a table. But I'd like to ask you the same question this morning, are you ready for supper? In closing, Revelations 4 and 11 says, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power, for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created.