03-02-2025 Communion and Revival

Text: I Corinthians 11:23-32

                    Here we are at another first Sunday of the month and another opportunity to remember the death of our Lord Jesus Christ.  When we do this we are given the opportunity to look back and to look forward.  Let’s see what that means.  Our text comes from I Corinthians 11:23-32 where Paul writes:  “(23)  For I have received the Lord that which also I deliver unto you, that the Lord Jesus, the same night in which He was betrayed took bread (24) and when He had given thanks, He broke it, and said, Take, eat, this is My Body, which is broken for you; this do in remembrance of Me.  (25) After the same manner also He took the cup, when He had supped, saying, This cup is the New Testament in My Blood; this do you, as often as  you drink it, in remembrance of me.  (26) For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you do show the Lord’s death till He come.  (27) 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.  (28) But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.  (29) For he who eats and drinks unworthily, eats and drinks damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s Body.  (30) For this cause, many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.  (31) For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.  (32) But when we are judged, we are the chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.  (33) Wherefore, my Brethren when you come together to eat, tarry one for another.”

                   Verses 23-25 of our text call for us to look back at the Cross because it reminds us that the Church is one body due to the willingness of Jesus to sacrifice Himself on the Cross for our sin so that we could be reconciled back to God our Holy Father and Creator.  It also gives us an opportunity to look back on the point at which we accepted Him into our hearts and lives so we can reflect on how our lives have been enriched since that point.

                   Verses 26-33 remind us that Communion is also a time for looking upward, inward, and outward.  We look up to Heaven for the return of Jesus.  We can trust that one day it will happen because He told us over and over that He would return.  And at that time there is going to be a wonderful reunion with those loved ones who have gone before us.  It will be the time when our faith will become real, and we will have eternity bathed in the peace and love that God intended for us in the beginning. 

                   At the time Paul wrote this letter, the Corinthian Church had been taking the Communion lightly.  He is reminding all Christians, then and now, that each time we participate in Communion we must look inward to ensure that we participate thoughtfully because we are affirming that Christ died for our sins.  We should participate worthily, ensuring that we give it the proper reverence and respect by reflecting on the meaning of what we are doing.  When Paul wrote ‘Not discerning the Lord’s Body’ in verse 29 he is warning us that if we participate in the Communion without the proper understanding and respect that is needed, we are guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Jesus.  Instead of honoring His sacrifice we will share in the guilt of those who crucified Him. 

                   In reality, no one is worthy to participate but because we are sinners saved by grace we have been given the opportunity to participate but we should do so after taking the time to do an honest examination of our hearts, confession of our sins, and making an effort to resolve any differences we may have with others.  These actions will remove the barriers that negatively affect our relationship with Jesus and other believers.  Awareness of our sin should not keep us away from Communion but instead, it should drive us to take the necessary actions that will allow us to fully participate in it.  We should be considerate of others, waiting until everyone has been served, and eating and drinking in an orderly and unified manner.

                   Communion is an opportunity to look outward because it’s a call for us to share the Gospel, or the Good News, which is found in the symbols of Christ’s death.  It’s a reminder that we are to take the Good News of how He died in our place for our sins and share it with those who are lost and searching for what is missing in their lives.  After the Cross came the commissioning of the Disciples.  All who accept Jesus as Savior are also commissioned to share with others how He can be their Savior and their path to eternal salvation.  Every time we participate in Communion it should encourage us to reach out to others and share the love of Jesus with them.

                   So, as we prepare ourselves to participate in Communion this morning, I encourage all of us to take time to look within and search our hearts to ensure that we are worthy to participate this morning.  We can take comfort that we are participating with fellow Christian believers and to take the time to commit to making any need changes in our lives in order to strengthen our relationship with Jesus, the one who suffered and died to pay for our sins but then rose again so that we could be reconciled to God and have eternal life with Him.

                   Communion is not a path to salvation, and it doesn’t belong only to our little Church.  It’s an opportunity for us to express our thanks to Jesus for what He chose to do for us.  It’s an opportunity to participate with fellow believers in something we hold dear.  And finally, Communion is also an opportunity to bring about a revival in our hearts because it’s a time for us to rededicate ourselves to our Lord Jesus so that we can leave here with a renewed sense of purpose to share what He has done for us.

                    Until we meet again, may God bless and keep you, may He shine His light on you, show you grace, and give you peace in all the days ahead.