The Proper Observance of the Lord's Supper

What a wonderful occasion the Lord's Supper is for believers to celebrate and remember the work of Christ on the cross. If there is one thing we learned yesterday is that one of the key aspects of the Lord's Supper- is that it is a time to remember. Memorials are important in our life so we never forget life changing and important events in our life and society. As a nation we celebrate the 4th of July as Independence Day, remembering what it took to gain independence as a nation. On Sept. 11 of every year, we take time to remember the tragic loss of lives on 911 when so many people died in the worst attack on our nation. The names are read from Ground Zero every year as a memorial so that the reality of what took place there may remain fresh in people's memory. As married couples we celebrate our wedding anniversary every year usually by going to a special dinner and play, or maybe a vacation  to spend time as a couple reflecting on the genesis of love in one's relationship. In the same way the Lord instituted the Lord's Supper so that the message of the gospel would remain fresh in our minds on a frequent basis. The Lord's Supper brings us back to Calvary and back to where the greatest act of God for mankind ever took place. It was monumental and was a life changing event for all who believe. The Lord's Supper brings us back to the foot of the cross, to see how our sins hung our Lord on that cross to be our vicarious substitute in atoning for our sins. When you begin to consider the importance of the meaning behind the Lord' Supper, we begin to value it as more than just a ritual but a celebration of eternal life.

In a recent article written by CJ Mahaney he writes this, "It is frighteningly easy to lose sight of Calvary. We drift away from the cross, not toward it." What CJ writes demonstrates that our natural tendency is to drift from the cross. What an amazing display of God's grace and wisdom to institute the Lord's Supper to keep the cross fresh in our minds! May we always live our lives close to the cross, and never let go. May we live in the grace of God knowing our sins have been forgiven and humbled by the great price paid for our redemption. Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Robbing God

This past Sunday, Pastor Paul Frey delivered a very challenging sermon on the topic of robbing God. His passage was selected from Malachi Chapter 3 and was a thorough examination of what it means to rob God. I have been a Christian now for fifteen years and have heard sermons preached on Mal. 3:8 numerous times. It is a favorite among the prosperity preachers and is commonly used when churches need to raise funds. After hearing so many sermons on the subject it is easy to become desensitized and not really hear any more. Why is this? Because of the sensitive topic of money. Because the church has so abused this passage and so many preachers have conned people out of their money by using such a passage, we tend to have a resistance to such words because of the abuse of many so called Christina.

But can we discount the inspired words of scripture because of those who have misused it? God forbid. That is like saying, lets cease to be moral because so many legalistic people have misused the scriptures to impose their beliefs. Or that is like saying, let's abandon any kind of eschatology because so many teachers have made such outrageous interpretations. No. We cannot and must not take such an approach. The words of Malachi 3 are as strong and as relevant today as they were when Malachi prophesied several centuries before Christ. Listen to the word:

"Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. 9 You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. 10 Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need."

The attitude of Malachi's immediate audience is not different today. the attitude they has was that they believed whatever wealth they had was theirs. What they didn't realize is that everything they owned was God's. The same today- when you look at your checking account, do we see it as our money, or the Lord's money? Depending on your perspective and attitude, will determine whether or not the charge of robbing God sticks or not. If indeed our resources are God's, than we are indeed robbing him, by failing to obey him and give back to him a portion of what has been given us. If it is ours, God has no claim.Recently my daughter has learned the word "mine". In our daily learning lessons, Rachel will sometimes defy me and grab something in the house and say "mine!" To which I usually respond, "No honey, everything is mine. You are just borrowing this from me." Sadly many of us act like 2 year old children when it come to money and scream "Mine!"

In 1 Chron. 29:12-14 David prays a prayer of blessing upon the plans to build a temple in God's honor. in light of the contributions the Israelites made to the Temple fund, David prays like this:

"Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. 13 And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name. 14 “But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you."

David clearly knew that anything he had to give to God was from God to begin with. We have nothing to offer God. We are bankrupt sinners who deserve nothing but God's judgment. Only by His grace we have anything good to offer him. And only by His grace are we able to work and earn a living. Therefore if God has been so gracious (generous) to us, how can we be cheap with him and rob him? The tithe was an OT principle for maintaining the priesthood. We no longer are under the OT jurisdiction, but that does not lessen our responsibility but rather it heightens our responsibility. The entire sermon on the Mount was preached by Christ, not to lessen the teachings of the Law, but to demonstrate the greater meaning and how much more is required to be "righteousness". God showed his grace towards us in the ultimate way by "Not sparing his only Son..And graciously gives us all things" Rom. 8:33, then we, out of humble gratitude, ought to give God our very best. Robbing God is not just about money, but we rob can rob God in our time, our gifts, our worship, our love, our honor and obedience. The eighth commandment forbids stealing from our fellow man. How much worse of a crime is it when we rob from God! The lesson is clear- After God has shown so much grace, we should be constrained with great love to honor God with the first fruits of our wealth. Then the windows of heaven will pour out a blessing, till there is not need. You cannot out give God, he has abundantly more than you or I can ever offer him!

All Things to the Glory of God

After ending a long season on the topic of "eating meat sacrificed to idols", the scripture left us on a high note, instructing us on the importance of doing all things to the glory of God. I find that in life our attitudes and action are either going to glorify God or not. If our attitudes and actions do not glorify God they are either bringing glory to self, or they bringing glory to satan. Immediately one would protest, "But isn't that too dogmatic? Aren't there some things that are just neutral?" On the surface it appears that some actions in life can be purely neutral, like watching a movie, or playing golf. But what is a neutral action? Is there such a thing? Every decision we make in life is driven by some particular inward disposition. For example if I do choose to watch a movie, I am going to choose a genre that I like. If my wife brings home a chic-flic with Julia Roberts, more than likely I will cozy up to a good book instead. The point here is that we do what we like, and we don't do what we don't like. Therefore nothing is done from a neutral disposition. That is why Paul used such insignificant and mundane examples like food and drink. Even what we eat and drink- as unimportant as it appears, has a motivating force behind it.

The question we must begin to ask our selves is "What is motivating us when we make certain decision, or take certain attitudes?" Are we motivated by a love for God and a strong desire to bring him glory? And if not, why? Perhaps we are seeking the glory of another? Perhaps ourselves? If scripture commands us to premeditate on what we eat and drink so as to bring glory to God, what parts of our life are outside the realm of being lived to His glory? Nothing. Every part of our life should be lived with a single minded purpose to glorify God, to honor Him, and make Him look great! The only way this is possible is if we are born again. We must be regenerated and given a new heart with new desires if we are going to live a life that is motivated by giving glory to God. Because only a regenerate heart can have such a radical approach to life. That is because when God give us a new heart, we now delight in bringing glory to God and desire to make much of Him. Therefore eating, drinking, and doing whatever to the glory of God is not a burden but a delight.

So many Christians ,I believe, deceive themselves into thinking that there are areas of life that are neutral, and neither bring glory to God nor bring reproach to the Lord. In my own life recently I have had a startling revelation. I was obsessed with politics and was for all intents and purposes a "news junky". However one day the Holy Spirit brought great conviction upon me. I asked myself, "How is my obsession with politics bringing glory to God?"What I realized is that politics was just another seductive distraction the world has produced to make me lose focus on my main purpose in life. By God's grace, I rarely watch the news anymore, and take no pleasure in it. The longer I am a Christian, I find myself takign no pleasure in doing vain things, and finding great passion and joy in doing those thigns that are most glorifying to God!  The point here is we may need to do a personal inventory and begin to question our motives in our favorite hobbies and activities. We may need to get on our knees and ask God to reveal to us if there is anything in our lives that is NOT gloriying to him, and we may be surprised what the Holy Spirt may reveal. When praying lke this mediate on Ps. 139:23-24

Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me,and lead me in the way everlasting!" 

If we are honest with ourselves, and open to the Spirits leading, we may find out that our lives may need some rearranging or at the very least a new attitude about the activities we engage in. In the end, our main goal- To God be the Glory!