I'd invite you to turn in your Bibles to the book of 1 Corinthians. The book of 1 Corinthians. And in the mornings, we're typically, if you're a visitor, working through the book of Exodus. But since we land on this section in 1 Corinthians, we're working through this book at night on the Lord's Supper. I thought I would switch them and tonight we'll come back and look at back-talking Moses. So that will be an exciting text to look at tonight. But I wanted to look at the particular section here of warning that we land on in our study of 1 Corinthians. This is on page 1218 in your pew Bible. And I'm going to begin reading this morning at verse 23 to the end of the chapter. 1 Corinthians 11, verse 23. This is the word of the Lord. for i received from the lord what i also delivered to you that the lord jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread and when he had given thanks he broke it and said this is my body which is for you do this in remembrance of me in the same way also he took the cup after supper saying this cup is the new covenant in my blood do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me for as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup you proclaim the lord's death until he comes whoever therefore eats the bread or drinks the cup of the lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the lord let a person examine himself then and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup for anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself that that is why many of you are weak and ill and some have died but if we are judged ourselves truly we would not be judged but when we are judged by the lord we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world so then my brothers when you come together to eat wait for one another if anyone is hungry let him eat at home so that when you come together it will not be for judgment about the other things I will give directions when I come there ends the reading of God's word this morning I want to consider with you as we anticipate coming to the table of our Lord I want to consider with you the warning that is here given and this call that the apostle gives us under the inspiration of the spirit to examine ourselves and discern the body and the blood of Christ so that we would enjoy in true faith Christ and all of his benefits given to us in the supper. One of the things that I have noticed in my time as a pastor and something that I will confess that I've struggled with myself is that when people approach church today, the thing that they are looking for, the thing that they think when they come they have a right to is that everything should be positive. Everything should be upbeat. I have this need to feel good and right when I come. Worship needs to be that. It needs to be this upbeat, positive, happy experience. That's something that people generally think when they come to worship, that's exactly what they need and that's exactly what they're looking for And so they're going to determine best what kind of church suits that. And if they're in a church that doesn't really give that, they might say, well, I'm not really happy. I'll stay there, but I'm not really happy. I'm looking for something that's much more upbeat, positive, and happy. There's a danger in that that most people don't realize and recognize. A very great danger. The danger is this. The seriousness, and I have to emphasize that today, The seriousness of what we do and the weight of who we are coming before often gets clouded and we lose that as we go on and it's easy for us to come together and forget what this is all about and who this is all about. There were moments in history when God's people forgot this and it always came, it's interesting, in the moments of really wow worship services, really big worship services where everyone was pumped up. And what did God do in the midst of some of the greatest worship services that we have recorded in Scripture? I'm thinking of Nadab and Abihu. He struck them. Who can forget Uzzah just reaching out and they were dancing. They had the ark back. They're dancing. They're excited. And they're carrying the ark back. Everyone's happy. The music is flowing. And the oxen just happened to stumble and Uzzah stops it with his hand. Who wouldn't do that? And God strikes him dead and David is overwhelmed with absolute grief. What in the world? He was angry at the Lord. Who can forget in the New Testament? Ananias and Sapphira who were holding back in their giving and God struck them dead. That doesn't make sense. I mean, that just does not make sense. The church is booming. The church is growing. can't have that kind of thing happen in the life of the church because, well, if that happens, who's going to want to join them? And the strange thing that happened in Acts was that was the very thing that happened. Great fear fell on everyone so that, and I quote, no one dared join them. Oh, you guys would be so nervous about that, wouldn't you? Everyone thought about daring, just didn't dare to join us because they knew, man, that's serious stuff if I go over to the church over there and join them. That makes us so uncomfortable, so uncomfortable. Have you ever had a sense where you're going along and you've forgotten how things really are and all of a sudden you've had a sense of fear and awe and wonder and trembling over this God? I did years ago when I heard someone who was excommunicated the dirty word that all of us get very nervous about it troubled me as i sat there and listened to the leaders read it i was i was so disturbed and i was young and i remember the wording that really got a hold of me as they were doing that here's what they read you have seen dear brothers and sisters in what manner this our excommunicated brother has begun to fall and gradually come to ruin learn then from how subtle satan is to bring man to destruction and to draw him away from all salutary means of salvation guard yourselves then against the least beginnings of evil but this is what got me it was the prayer this is in our form by the way the prayer said this O righteous God merciful Father we blame ourselves for our sin and acknowledge that we have justly deserved the sorrow and pain caused us by the excommunication of this our late fellow member yes if you should enter into judgment with us we all deserve to be excluded and banished from your presence on account of our great transgression Do you know what the effect was I had when I heard that for the first time in my life? I'd never heard that. I trembled. I trembled. I had never had something come over me like that. I had never felt like that. And I had the sense of, wow, this is really serious business. That effect. Well, this morning, we have a passage that's meant to do that. That's why I rehearse all of that. We have a passage that's meant to do that. I struggled with this because here's a passage on the Lord's Supper and I want it to be upbeat. It's a gospel ordinance. I want it to be upbeat and everyone's happy and everyone comes and no one's feeling anything, I mean, you know, threatened. That's the sense of the sinful desire I want often. Well, it's an ordinance that's meant to strengthen, an ordinance that as you hear it, the Lord wants to assure. But then as I read the text that we're working through, I came to verse 29 and I thought, there it is. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself. Not discerning the Lord's body. For this reason, many are weak and sick and many of you have died. Okay. Pastor, what are you going to do with that? Right? What are you going to do with that? I have a choice. Brush it off. Then I have to answer the Lord or preach it in the intention of the Lord. And so as I sat in my study this week, I thought the Lord knows what he's doing. That really does knock away a casual, nonchalant, undiscerning, going through the motions approach to this, doesn't it? It just kicks it right out of the park. And then I thought, well, God knows what he's doing. Maybe that's exactly what I need right now. Maybe that's exactly what this church needs right now. A sense of godly fear and awe, maybe it's been lacking. The Lord's Supper is a blessing. The Lord's Supper is a blessing when received by faith, but it's nothing to trifle with. You don't want to trifle with this. Its purpose is to help struggling sinners in the wilderness who are really struggling and feeling the burden of the struggle. Its intention, its design, is so that the participant would be strengthened in true faith and know Christ's saving, living power is available to them and be assured of that. The body and the blood of Christ being offered to you by faith as your souls are nourished. When it's not appreciated or received in faith, the consequences can be, well, the word doesn't seem to do it justice in light of our text, severe. And that's what we learned from Corinth. Corinth, look at the state of this church. They were doing no discipline because I guess it seemed mean. No discipline of its members. Remember back in chapter 5. And because of that, the result was there was no more fear of God in this church. This church was just a club. This church was coming together and it was a social club where everyone got together and it was the thing you did over and over and over and they had the cookies and they had everything, but it all was. There was no fear happening. Everything had been torn down. The intention and design of truly worshiping the Lord had been lost in this church. No sense of the presence of God among them. Awe and wonder that really happened. We're in the presence of God when we come. And because of that, nothing happened to prepare their hearts or drive their hearts to prepare them to be in the presence of God. And then the carelessness and the abuse transferred right to this supper and so what paul does here in this particular text in to help this church is that paul begins to explain the meaning of the supper we looked at that last time in verse 23 what we found is that there were terrible abuses happening in corinth with regard to the supper along with a host of other problems if you look back to verse 17 he says when you guys are coming together for worship it's for the worse and we know now it's for judgment divisions were happening and he said something shocking you're not coming when you come you're not eating the lord's supper did you see that there it's not the lord's supper that you're eating to which you say well what are they eating paul had already made a contrast between the table of the lord and the table of demons back in the previous chapter it's not the lord's supper and then he highlights what was going on in this when you eat some people are going ahead of others and one person sits there one gets drunk and another one doesn't and i said last time it proves they had wine in the supper they had a feast of wine in the supper but the abuses went something like this paul says don't you have houses to do to eat in what happened in corinth was on a given sunday it was a whole day together in the lord's house uh they spent that together and you had worship and then you had what was characterized as love feasts the the dinners that would occur after we have a dinner today and the supper became conflated into the love feast it was it was joined together with the love feasts and the problem was those love feasts as they were characterized jude talks about that at least how people called them this they look nothing like the kind of things that went on at the trade guilds when people came together and they ate together well what happened at the trade guilds all the rich got the best wine you remember the king said that in john 2 when jesus served the good wine last you bring out the best wine all the rich drank the best wine at these great feasts and what happened was the poor were being pushed out just like what would go on all of those of low socioeconomic status whatever it might be there was a whole chain a whole ladder and so you could imagine it the best wine just kept coming to those who were the the high-end rollers if you will and then you had the low who didn't get any some didn't even get to take this was going on in the supper so that they were getting drunk and paul has had it well what you have in front of you this morning is a call to examine yourselves look at verse 27 he says in verse 27 therefore Now, the way that Paul got there to make any kind of case for the importance of this is that he explained last time, and we looked at this, somewhat what the supper is. And in verse 23, he began to do that, for he said, I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which he was betrayed took bread. And when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, take, eat, this is my body, which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me. This is my body. in the night in which he was betrayed. Paul wanted them to think about that. Paul wanted them to really think about the institution of the supper, why Jesus gave it, and the heart, the time in which that was instituted. Do you remember that scene in Matthew 26? Evening had come. They had all sat down. Jesus had sat down with the twelve. And as they were all eating, he begins to say something to them that caused ultimate alarm and distress. Remember what he said? One of you will betray me. Can you imagine that? I thought to myself, here were these 21 Coptic Christians who were beheaded. Do you ever think that could have been you? No, no, I don't really think that. Do you ever think that could have been you? What if Jesus looked at us and said tonight, One of you will be beheaded by ISIS tonight. That's far less than betraying the Son of God. When he said that, we read they all had sorrow come over them. Besides one, of course. And each of them began to say, Lord, is it I? Lord, I'm not the one, am I? That's how it reads. Could I do that? Would I do that to you? Am I going to be the one to do that to you? What came over the disciples at that moment was a recognition that they had no power to hold themselves. They had no strength in themselves to keep themselves from something like that. It was a despairing moment. And one of you will betray me. And then we hear this deep, heart-wrenching, heart-searching concern that they are questioning their loyalty to Jesus. They are really struggling with their loyalty to the King. Lord, I'm not the one, am I? And then Jesus seems to amplify it, the problem. I mean, this gets worse if you look at the text. He says, he who dipped his hand with me in this dish will betray me. The Son of Man indeed goes, just as it is written of him, But woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would have been good for that man if he would have never been born. Woe. It would have been better if he never existed. Is it me? You feel that? And then, right there, he institutes this. Right in the midst of that. He institutes the supper. and the message was clear in the midst of one of the most distressing moments of fear and doubt and discouragement and what in the world i might do that in the midst of all of that he does something that would declare to them very clearly that he would give his body and his blood for them and as they were sitting there eating the passover jesus takes the bread right in front of them and then we know that he institutes the supper and he gives it to his disciples and he says take eat this is my body that's what he picks up on that's what paul picks up on right there paul takes the spotlight and he drops it right there this is my body and then he took the cup and gave it to them saying drink of it this is the blood of the new covenant which is shed for many for the remissions of sins this is my body this is my blood for you given for you lord it's not i is it jesus holds up the bread and the wine and they are seeing visibly right there that what jesus is about to undergo he is doing for them so that they can have confidence. He holds it up, commanding them to eat and to drink when they partook in true faith. They were being given life right then from Him. Strength. Help. That's what the supper is. It's spiritually the life of Christ flowing into them as the vine and the branches. And they were able to taste and see that He was for them, that He's good, that He's not against them, that none of their failures could pluck them out of His hand, as He would say. This is my blood of the new covenant. The covenant of grace ratified as the body of Christ is broken open and His blood spilled for us. They saw by faith the Lamb of God stepping vicariously and sacrificially into their place and paying the debt, securing eternity, securing their happiness, telling them they're forgiven. That's what it declares. Now, do you understand the offense of Corinth? Do you understand why the Lord would be worked up over this? Can you imagine the offense in heaven when God gave His Son and God puts Him through that and pours out His wrath on His body, on His soul for them and they come casually. They come opening it up for anyone. It's a big feast. they eat and drink without any kind of care in the world that God put His Son through that. Takes on a little bit more meaning now, doesn't it? And it's in that context that Paul says, if you eat and you drink in an unworthy manner, do you know what you're doing? You're guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. There's no discernment. You're not discerning that body. The very body should be taken in two ways here. It's used in two ways in this whole section. The body being His body that was offered up on the altar, on the cross for you. You're not discerning it. You're not thinking. You're not even recognizing what it costs for you to even be here. And you're not realizing that your separations that you're promoting when you come and you eat and you drink, separations of class and racial divisions, And all these kind of things that you do in aligning with those who are most comfortable with you, who are like you, all those kinds of separations are assaulting the very thing that the cross tore down. It made us one. And you're doing it all separately. And you're getting drunk. No one's ever given you so rich a gift. And it's just like you're stepping all over it. The Gospel is united. The Gospel has done something so beautiful. When we maintain divisions and we support them and we refuse to talk to people and we get angry and say, I have a hard time forgiving. You know, I'm going to separate out or I'm going to refuse to forget. What in the world do you think you're celebrating today? You're celebrating something that's remedied all that. It would be the height of hypocrisy to maintain division and distinction when the Gospel ordinances you're celebrating has united every tribe, tongue, people, and nation in Christ, those who believe. It's broken down barriers. It's the one thing the world can never achieve. Christ has achieved it. But most of all, you're stepping on the blood of the Son. So you understand now why Paul says you should partake in a manner worthy of examining your life. How do we do that? How do we partake in a manner that's worthy of examining our life? That's the question. That's what I want to explore here for a minute. I've noticed that weaker Christians will think after a sermon like this, well, I knew a dear believer who would hear a sermon like this, and this is what scares me about a sermon like this, is they'll hear a sermon like this and say, well, I should probably stay away today because I haven't really been worthy enough. That goes on a lot. That goes on a lot. And if you think that, you're not listening to what I'm saying today. Here's what the Lord is after. Partaking of the supper this morning, partaking of the supper in a worthy manner is a recognition of my unworthiness to do it. That I believe and trust that God remedied the unworthiness of my life and the worthy life of His Son and gave Him for me so that I can come. That's the basis of my coming. That's the reason I come. That's the way I'm able to come. And the Lord wants that kind of heart that comes. That's the exact thing that was not happening in Corinth. They didn't even know why they needed the supper. Wouldn't that be tragic? For all these years you could celebrate the supper and never know why you need it? and i think that's actually way more common that's why i said we have read that form over and over and over and over and over and over and it has not promoted understanding and that's the fact so what's our danger well we may not look like this ragtag group in corinth this is a ragtag group in corinth but don't we face the danger of coming here week after week after week imagine someone whose attitude is terrible and doesn't really want to be here and they attend this church for this reason or for that reason and merely maybe out of the tradition of the elders or merely maybe out of the tradition of the family and all this gospel preaching just continues to come and the very thing that should be taken seriously is not taken seriously no faith Jesus was constantly dealing in his ministry with people who were drawing near to him with their mouths, but their hearts were on another planet. He said that. Their hearts are far. In fact, in Matthew 9, remember what happened. Jesus was reclining at the table and behold, it says that there were all these tax collectors and sinners who were reclining with him at the table. I mean, this must have been an amazing scene. Thugs you never thought would sit with this king. Thugs. and Matthew has this feast, and he went together, and Matthew was one of those thugs. Remember, he was a publican. He was a publicani. He was a tax collector and the chief tax collector, and he gathers all of his buddies. And they come, and they sit at the table with Jesus. These are the outcasts, and they meet Jesus who is forgiving their sins and dining with them. I mean, when Jesus gave the call to Matthew, come follow me, He couldn't do that quickly enough. He was free at that moment. The banquet hall was full of bad sinners. Messes. And then comes the religious. The Pharisees. Why does your teacher eat with them? How in the world could the religious people have missed the single great straightforward teaching in the Bible that there is not a just man on earth who does good and does not sin. They just couldn't get it. I mean, it was like blinders were right over their eyes, totally convinced of their own righteousness. They had their own achievements, their model lives. These guys weren't down at the bus stop begging. they could see nothing inherently, and this is what I'm getting at, they could see nothing inherently wrong with their lives. And Jesus gives a severe blow. When Jesus heard that, He said to them, those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick, this must have just infuriated them. Can you imagine saying that to them? Jesus said something like this. You're so healthy. You guys don't need any help from me, the physician. What kind of doctor would make house calls to the healthy? I don't need to come to you. But as the great physician, I come to people like this because you know what? They're really burdened about their lives. They're really burdened about their sickness. They're feeling the burden of that. And I've come to bring compassionate mercies on people like this. So in other words, you think your life is so together and you're so righteous in keeping God's law and you don't need me. You're doing so great. I've come for people who know their need. I've come for people who are burdened. I've come for people whose hearts are really troubled over their sin. Who need release from bondage. And daily strength to go forward. And they know how weak they are. They know what they'll do. The Pharisees would have been so happy if Jesus would have patted them on the back and said, man, you guys, good job. Good job. You guys are really living it. Let me encourage you a little bit. I want to build up your very moral lives. I want to help you with your self-esteem. I want you to feel really good about yourselves so that when you leave, you feel happy and encouraged in your life. Pharisees would have embraced him like you never saw anyone else embrace anyone. He didn't do any of that. And it caused rage when he peeled back the heart and showed what was in there. That they wouldn't see and they wouldn't confess. In the midst of that, Jesus says, go learn what I'm after. I desire mercy and not sacrifice. And he gives the most jolting statement in the Bible. I've always thought this is one of the most jolting statements in the Bible. For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. That's who I came for. What kind of discernment, coming back to the text this morning, is Jesus after? The kind of discernment like the disciples, like all of these people who kept coming to Jesus, the woman with the flow of blood, the blind man Bartimaeus, the lepers, the sick, the outcasts, which were telling us something about the heart. Those are the kinds of people He wants at His table because they're asking the question, Lord, is it I? I can't do it without you. I need you. Broken and contrite hearts that look like this. Simon, you see this woman? I entered your house and you gave me no water for my feet, but she has washed my feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. You gave me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss my feet since the time I came in. You did not anoint my head with oil, but this woman has anointed my feet with fragrant oil. Therefore, I say to you, her sins, oh man, they are so many. Let me tell you, they're forgiven. For she loved much, but to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little. Then he said to her, your sins are forgiven. I wonder if the hand was up. Your sins are forgiven. Here's the test. Discerning people would get mad at a sermon like this. Who don't discern the body and blood. To those who are discerning, they have something far different on their hearts and minds. Right now, God be merciful to me, a sinner. That's the discernment. Now, God has made a table, a place for prodigals to come to His table. Prodigal sons. Do you understand why I have to give a warning? Do people fight believing when they come in here that they're good or bad? Do most people come in here thinking that in general that if they just do in their life the good and it outweighs the bad, they'll make it? Most people do, if any visitor came in here. Do people fear and tremble over their sins? When's the last time you wept over a sin? It probably doesn't happen much. Here's what we all feel really uncomfortable with. I know this. I understand this. It's that we read this. We welcome you to the Escondido United Reformed Church. We trust that you will be blessed by the preaching of the gospel and the worship of God. Today we're celebrating the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. If you desire to partake, we ask that you honor our practice for visitor participation. Visitor participation. Oh, makes me feel nervous. Participation. I mean, listen, I go to the ballgame, I'll pay the ticket. If you're able to affirm the following three statements, then you can take from the pew rack in front of you, and there's some directions there. But here's what we want you to be able to affirm. Three things. I've been baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit as an infant or as an adult. Jesus commanded it. Jesus said we should be baptized and that signifies what? Entrance into his family. Pretty serious thing. We're not the Lions Club. I publicly profess my faith in Christ alone for salvation. I have taken an active, visible stand for Christ. I've met with those who can testify to my profession that it's sincere. They've heard me say it. They heard me give a testimony that I'm a sinner and that I need a savior. In agreement with what Christians have believed, we have standards. I'm presently a member in good standing of a Protestant congregation that bears the mark of a true church. That is, congregation wherein governing elders assure that the pure doctrine of the gospels preached, the pure administration of the sacraments instituted by Christ are maintained and church disciplines exercised. Throughout history, there have been three marks of a church that is really honoring to the Lord. They preach the gospel, they give the sacraments, and they're willing enough to love you and discipline you if you run. False churches don't preach the gospel. The sacraments can take place anywhere. They're not meaningful. And they'll let you come in and live any way you want. That's easy. That's easy. If you believe in Jesus but are not connected to His church in the above ways, if you're not sure whether you've been saved by God's grace through faith in Christ alone, then please let the elements, oh, here's the rough one. Please let the elements pass by. And you're all very nervous right now. That seems so cruel. Everyone's nervous when that's read. A visitor can get mad, and I've seen it. A visitor can get mad. That church is so strict, they're judging my soul. They are judging me. And I say, no, no, no. No, no, we're not judging you. We care about you. We love you. That's exactly why, and I'll show you in a minute. And then the members struggle. Well, here we are again with our old strict reform tradition. Here we are again. And every other church opens it up to everyone else. Why are we being the fuddy-duddies and the killjoys? It's tough. I totally agree. It is hard. But then I read this. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this reason, many are weak and sick and many of you have died. And there's the moment where fear and trembling comes. Right there. Did you hear that? If you don't give the warning, which is what Paul did under the inspiration of the Spirit, and we don't take this seriously, and we say it's open for everyone, do you know what might happen? God's displeasure may move him so that we come together for judgment. For this reason, many are weak and sick, and many of you have died. For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, and that's what all we're trying to do is provide some avenue so that people will think about what they're doing and discern the body and blood of Christ for us as believers and for visitors but when we are judged we are chastened by the Lord that we may not be condemned with the world God had to take some of them out so that they'd stop sinning so hard sermon to preach today I understand it and I I trust the Lord did something great in his message for you I was nervous about this sermon not because i have to give the warning but how will you receive it and then i can't worry about that because the lord's in charge of your hearts right but i want to say this in closing this is for sinners you see what he's saying this is not for the righteous this is not because pastor gordon has a good looking suit on it's kind of old but it's for those who know their problems bad. And God remedied it for you guys by putting his son on the altar. And he said, it's finished. And he paid for your sins. And he wants you to take that seriously because it wasn't a joke. He really poured out his wrath on him in body and soul. And this isn't for everyone. It's for believers. You have to believe. You have to trust Christ. You bring, as Calvin said, repentance and faith to the table that's it his goal is to help you and so that you would know his love that's his goal with this but it's not for the unbelieving and those who refuse to bow their lives to him may we never trample him underfoot by taking lightly what he had to go through for us to even be here today you are peter i am peter and at some point in your lives and we say this constantly if we're at all sensitive to our sin depart from me lord i am a wretched man and the lord returns to us in response come to me all of you who are weary and heavy laden and i will give you rest and i'm going to assure you and strengthen you with my body and blood that it's not you who will betray me i'll keep you i'll hold you i love you so come then with believing hearts taste and see that the lord is good let's pray dear lord bless us now as we come to the table give us confidence and may anyone who here is troubled by a warning realize that it's the most loving thing a church could do today. It's not love to let people jump off a cliff. It's love to tell them you shouldn't go near that cliff. And we want people to believe in you. And so we pray that your Spirit would work powerfully here as we commune now to assure us and we all confess we're great sinners in need of a Savior. We're no better than anyone else. We need Jesus. Wash us and cleanse our hearts and minds. In Christ's name we pray, amen.