The Movement of Sacrament.

Steve Gentry

[0:00] Psalms tells us to praise Him with the clanging cymbals, to praise Him with loudness and cheer. [0:09] I think that’s what we’re doing. [0:11] The Romans chapter 8 tells us that creation itself groans with anticipation of Jesus bringing [0:18] His kingdom and restoring all things to its original created order. [0:23] Revelation chapter 21 tells us that we will see His face as it really is when we come into our glorified bodies. [0:33] And when I sing like that, I almost have a spell.

[0:38] So I’m pretty excited right now. You better be careful. I may preach this morning.

[0:43] If you have your Bibles, open them up to Romans chapter 6. [0:47] When I get like this, I know I might preach for a while, so I’m praying against that spirit. [0:51] But who knows what’s going to happen? [0:55] Romans chapter 6. Over the past few weeks, we’ve been dealing with this series called Starting Points. [1:01] And really what I was hoping and what Nate did such a great job with last week is to kind of go into a series [1:08] in which we take a look at life as it is just in this world, and then take a look at what life is as God has designed it to be for us to live in faith.

[1:21] And so we started with talking about just what is the gospel? [1:25] How do we go from these people who are seeking satisfaction in everything that this world has to offer, [1:30] and it just doesn’t fill us to a people who truly remember the Creator in the days of our youth, [1:38] but not because there’s anything good in us, but because of everything that’s good in Jesus [1:42] and everything that Jesus has done in redeeming us from the condemnation of the law. [1:47] And then last week we looked at the tensions of the fact that God is sovereign and He will be victorious,

[1:58] and that He’s promised that life in Him would be a life filled with peace, [2:04] but He’s also promised that that road that is so peaceful would be quite hard. [2:11] And that faith gives us this joy that’s something other than happiness, [2:16] because happiness leaves in a minute, but joy is something that takes us through the trials of this life. [2:25] And today what I really want to talk about is the starting point of the sacraments. [2:32] And I really want to flesh out these two things that Jesus told us to do until He returns

[2:39] and why they are so central to us, not only starting at the proper place, [2:46] but also continuing throughout life, growing in the grace of Jesus Christ, [2:52] remaining in a relationship with God, and flourishing and having others around us see it. [2:58] And those sacraments are baptism and communion, the Lord’s Supper that we reflect on every single week. [3:06] And maybe you’re like me and you grew up in a tradition where this is something that you did like quarterly, [3:11] or maybe you went to a church and you’re like, I didn’t even know what communion was,

[3:14] or maybe you went where it was like, you know, the last Sunday of the month or something, you did it that evening, [3:19] but you’ve come to the village and it’s kind of like, you guys do it every week, and that’s weird, so would you stop that? [3:26] But we do it every week for a purpose, and that’s kind of in the second half. [3:30] And you’re like, oh, that’s a while away. I’m going to kind of unpack that for us and just kind of say, [3:35] this is why we do this very odd thing. Every single week, if you’re new here, you see people come forward, [3:41] you see people go to the back, you see them take of bread and some juice, and you’re like, that’s kind of odd.

[3:47] Why do you do that? And I’m going to give some feet to that this morning. [3:52] But if you’re in Romans chapter six, that’s kind of where I want to start, and I want to do some explaining, [3:57] and then I’m going to read that text. But basically, the gist of the text is that you have been bought by Jesus Christ, [4:05] and you’ve been buried with Him in a death like His. And that sounds pretty bad, but then it says, [4:11] and you’ve been risen to walk in newness of life. When we think about baptism and communion, [4:19] we think about tradition. We think about these things that we do, and it’s just something that we do

[4:25] that’s just kind of like these token works that we do as a church. Nobody really gets it. [4:30] It’s this great picture, and I know we have to do it, but I don’t really understand how that corresponds [4:36] with this movement through life that God has us designed to do if we really trust in Jesus [4:42] Christ for the resurrection that He’s given us. And in baptism and communion, though, [4:48] what we really have are movements given to us. They’re not simply practices that you do, [4:58] but rather they are movements towards the gospel of Jesus and then living life in the gospel of Jesus.

[5:05] And baptism is the start, and then communion is us constantly saying, [5:10] this is a continuing ethic in my life where I’m going to stay in the gospel and remain on the gospel.

[5:19] And when we kind of neglect to view these things, to do these things, or to even gather together, [5:25] what we’re doing is actually breaking ourselves off from the continuing ethic of the gospel [5:32] that we so proclaim to believe. And when we minimize the importance of those things in our lives, [5:37] what we’re really doing is just kind of cutting ourselves back and misunderstanding [5:44] what the gospel is about. And so what we do then is we necessarily begin to just kind of make it all [5:50] about ourselves, and we make life and grace all about me, and we become the center of our own universe.

[5:56] But when we really focus in on the gospel and the ways that Jesus described for us to do it, [6:02] what we begin to understand and what we begin to live is that life’s not about me.

[6:10] Life’s not about the system that I set up. Life’s not about my values. [6:16] Life’s not about anything that has to do with me at all. [6:19] Life is actually about something that’s outside of me. [6:22] Life is actually about something that’s greater than me. [6:26] So what baptism and communion first and foremost represent is this proclamation of the gospel in our lives. [6:35] And when we begin there, we can then begin to flesh out why they’re so centrally important.

[6:42] See, because for many of you, and I think in this type of culture, most of us have probably at one point or another [6:49] either been to a baptism or we’ve been baptized, probably when you were very young.

[6:56] And what I want to help you understand today is that when you did that,

[7:03] was it because you knew you were supposed to? [7:07] Or was it because you were truly grasping and proclaiming the life that God has put in you through his son, Jesus? [7:16] Because one is meaningless.

[7:20] And the other is life.

[7:24] Now, sacrament is a very interesting word, and I used to hate that word. [7:28] Because it was just religious and it just kind of represented this thing where people think that doing these motions [7:35] and going through these motions represents God giving more grace and it’s actually a work towards grace. [7:43] But a few years ago, as I grew and I came to more knowledge, I began to embrace it [7:49] because the term sacrament does not mean receiving grace. [7:55] Rather, what it means, and Edmund Cliney puts it best, is that it is a sign of participation in grace.

[8:04] So when we talk about the term sacrament, understand that I’m not talking about you actually going into an activity [8:10] that’s going to give you God, but what I’m going to talk about is activity that actually is you proclaiming [8:16] that you have the life of God.

[8:20] And when we do it in any other scope, we do it kind of in a faulty way.

[8:26] In Matthew chapter 28, verses 19 through 20, and I have to start here because this is really where baptism really started [8:33] for the church to kind of be fleshed out. [8:36] When we read, it says,

[8:51] What we see here in this text is Jesus, he’s leaving the earth. [8:56] He’s literally ascending up into heaven and the scripture describes that he’s doing it in a cloud. [9:00] And he’s going up and he has one last thing to say to his church. [9:04] And what he says is, go make disciples, followers of me, and then baptize them in my name. [9:12] Why is Jesus doing that? [9:14] Why would he choose baptism as this sign of coming into life with him?

[9:20] Well, baptism was started years before Jesus ever initiated this. [9:25] And what it really originally represented was when the Jews would come into the temple, [9:29] what they would do is they would have to cleanse themselves because they were dirty. [9:32] So they would wash themselves and they would enter into the temple. [9:35] But then it started to get a little bit bigger than that. [9:38] And when a Gentile, which is a non-Jew, would convert to Judaism,

[9:44] what would happen is, is they would take that Gentile through the motions of becoming a Jew. [9:49] And one of the last things that they would do is they would take them [9:52] and they would fully immerse them in water as a cleansing exercise or ritual [9:59] so that they would show that I have changed from one thing to another. [10:04] Water has always represented a symbol of purification. [10:10] I hope within the last 24 hours, most of you have cleansed yourselves with water in a shower or a bath.

[10:17] I mean, it’s just the way God made it to work. [10:19] I don’t go and roll in dirt to get clean. [10:23] I go and I wash myself with water in order to get clean. [10:26] So it became this symbol of purification because of its cleansing properties. [10:33] And the term baptism, it’s this term baptizo in the Greek, [10:36] which literally means to immerse yourself fully in.

[10:42] And so baptism became this sign of change from one thing to another. [10:49] And so when Jesus institutes baptism for His followers, [10:53] what He’s instituting for them is this realization and this understanding [10:57] that there is a change that’s literally taking place when you become a disciple of Jesus Christ.

[11:06] If you remember back in Matthew chapter 3, Jesus Himself was baptized. [11:11] Okay, He goes to John the Baptist and He goes and He’s baptized by John the Baptist. [11:15] And John the Baptist was really confused because John the Baptist knows who He is. [11:19] And so Jesus comes to John and He says, baptize me. [11:22] And John looks at Him and says, you’re the one that needs to baptize me. [11:26] Because John the Baptist knows you’re the Son of God.

[11:29] How can I baptize you? [11:31] And so we can get ourselves really messed up on a couple of different roads. [11:33] And I’m not going to tell you the truth of this. [11:35] So you can get yourself on a couple of messed up roads when you think about the fact [11:38] that baptism represents cleansing and repentance and change and Jesus was baptized. [11:43] So is Jesus repenting? Is He changing of something?

[11:45] No, what Jesus is doing in this is He’s coming into His ministry in this world. [11:50] Before that, He really doesn’t have a ministry. [11:52] After that, He actually institutes His ministry on this earth. [11:56] So when Jesus is baptized, God the Father uses this and Jesus is their teaming. [12:01] They use this to show the world His true identity and the people that are gathered. [12:06] Because if you read the text, what happens is Jesus has risen out of the water.

[12:10] And then it says, [12:12] The Holy Spirit came down on him like a dove. [12:15] And this voice came from heaven. [12:16] And God the Father says, [12:17] This is my Son in whom I am well pleased. [12:20] And then the life of the Spirit, there’s this representation that the life of the Spirit

[12:24] kind of just fills Jesus and then He goes and He does miracles. [12:30] He resists temptation of Satan. [12:33] He walks a victorious life. [12:36] And then at the end of His life, we see the opposite happen. [12:41] The baptism of Jesus is centrally important because what we see is a picture [12:46] of why Jesus could be our sacrifice in the first place.

[12:52] Because we see the Father revealing Jesus has no sin to be cleansed of. [12:58] He says, This is my Son in whom I am well pleased. [13:02] Not will be. [13:03] And so we see the perfect Jesus baptized, miracle happens, [13:11] Theophany where God reveals Himself in an amazing way to all those that are gathered. [13:15] The empowering of the Spirit comes into Him.

[13:18] And then we see Him walk through His life victorious. [13:20] And then what does He do at the very end of His life? [13:23] He dies on the cross. [13:25] What do we see on the cross? [13:26] We see the opposite of the favor of the Father placed on the Son. [13:33] On the cross, we actually see the Son say to the Father,

[13:39] My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? [13:43] And so we see these complete opposite spectrums happening in the life of Jesus. [13:48] Where we see His identity as the Son of God, the perfection of His righteousness, [13:53] The deity of Him as God the Son coming into the earth to help us. [13:59] And then at the very end, we see Him exchange that righteousness, [14:05] That favor, that perfection.

[14:07] We see Him make an exchange for our sin.

[14:13] And so He gives us His righteousness through the cross. [14:16] And He takes our sin onto Himself. [14:20] Unless you have an understanding of the sin that consumes you as a person, [14:27] Baptism and the cross and the lot of it will mean absolutely nothing to you. [14:33] Because it’s just a meaningless religious motion that you’re going through [14:37] because the Bible says you’re supposed to do it, so I guess I’m supposed to do it.

[14:41] But when you see the fullness of what Jesus did, of who He is, [14:45] And then what became of Him on the cross when sin is just laid down on Him. [14:51] And then instead of the favor of the Father, the full wrath of the Father is poured onto Him. [14:56] Only then do you understand what baptism brings into your life. [15:00] Because what it represents is you coming into the life of God [15:06] and the favor of the Father coming onto you because of the work of the Son.

[15:12] So baptism is not something that you do to gain righteousness, [15:17] but rather it’s something that you do as a testament to the fact that He is giving you His righteousness. [15:23] So because of that, baptism reveals a transformed life. [15:28] Baptism reveals a true change in your life. [15:31] Look in Romans chapter 6, finally, starting in verse 3. [15:37] Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?

[15:47] We were buried therefore with Him by baptism into death [15:49] in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, [15:55] we too might walk in newness of life.

[16:01] So what would really happen to us if we were baptized into the death and the truth of ourselves [16:08] and come into the life of God, if we still maintained our sinful state, [16:14] it would simply be us coming into the wrath of God. [16:18] But because of Jesus, what baptism truly represents is us coming into the life of God, [16:24] fully cleansed and fully blessed rather than in an unfavorable way. [16:30] Because the truth of the matter is the only one that could come into the life of the Father

[16:35] and come into the life of the Spirit and live through it is Jesus because He’s perfect. [16:40] You are not perfect. [16:43] I promise you, I know a lot of you. You’re not. [16:45] And a lot of you know me, you know I’m not. [16:48] And you’re like, I know that you are less perfect than I am. That’s probably true. [16:52] All right. I’m not going to lie. It’s probably true.

[16:56] So if I was to be baptized in the spiritual sense without what Jesus has done on the cross [17:04] and with no knowledge of what Jesus has done on the cross, [17:07] and if His righteousness had not been laid on top of me, [17:09] then baptism would be me saying, condemn me. [17:13] Because the perfect life of God put into a sinful life would kill you. [17:20] That’s why in Exodus, Moses cannot look at the glory of God.

[17:26] God says, I can’t show it to you. It’ll kill you because of your sin.

[17:32] But when you understand the truth of the gospel [17:35] and when you fully grasp the immense grace that is given to us [17:40] by Jesus Christ through the cross, [17:42] then you can grasp how baptism is you participating in this sign of God’s grace. [17:53] Because what we see it fully representing in this transformed life in Romans chapter 6 there [17:57] is we see you are buried in water. You are immersed into a cleansing water.

[18:03] And it says that represents death. [18:07] That represents what Jesus did for you. [18:11] And then you come up and it says you do that because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. [18:20] And you do it to walk in newness of life. [18:25] So baptism, it represents a transformed life. [18:30] And what it does is, it’s not just kind of some starting point of just kind of static.

[18:38] Where it’s like, have you been baptized? Oh, yeah, it was like years ago. [18:41] And it’s that thing that I did. And it’s the motion that I went through. [18:45] But when Jesus says in Matthew chapter 28, when he says, go therefore and make disciples, [18:50] what he’s actually doing is he’s kind of describing to us this continued ethic [18:54] that is supposed to take place in our lives where redemption or this salvation, [19:00] the saving from sin does not just start with us and end with us,

[19:05] but rather it starts with us. And then we are to live lives of making disciples. [19:11] We’re to live lives of furthering the work of redemption. [19:15] And so what we see in baptism is this is the initial place [19:21] where you proclaim the work of the gospel to other people. [19:28] So you notice in Matthew chapter 28 that Jesus does not say baptize yourself. [19:33] It’s not something that you do in your bathtub or your jacuzzi or your pool.

[19:38] It’s not something that you’re supposed to do by yourself. [19:40] It’s not something that you’re supposed to do in solitude, [19:43] but rather it is a public display of the gospel of Jesus Christ. [19:49] And so it is you beginning a journey in which you proclaim the work of Jesus to other people. [19:56] It’s the starting point of that. [19:58] And then what it leads to is a life of discipleship of you and others.

[20:05] So baptism then reveals the life of redeemed discipleship.

[20:12] Look in Galatians chapter 3. I’m going to start reading in verse 27. [20:15] In Galatians chapter 3 it says, [20:17] For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. [20:24] So that represents something very important. [20:26] Notice when Jesus was being baptized, he raises out of the water [20:29] and this great beautiful symbol of the Holy Spirit,

[20:32] which was represented by a dove in that passage, coming onto his life. [20:36] He’s immersed into the Holy Spirit. [20:40] So what is happening in your life when you come to Jesus Christ [20:44] and what we see throughout the book of Acts [20:46] is this constant outpouring of the Holy Spirit on all those who believe. [20:50] So what you see in baptism is this beautiful symbol

[20:56] of the life of God coming onto your life through the sacrifice of Christ. [21:03] Not because of anything you’ve done or anything you’re going to do, [21:06] but because of his grace he just gives it to you. [21:09] And so Paul here in Galatians he’s saying, [21:11] As many of you as were baptized into Jesus have put him on. [21:16] You have him in your life.

[21:20] And so baptism corresponds with you coming into a life that is not driven by you, [21:27] but rather it is driven by the power of the Holy Spirit. [21:33] And then he finishes and he says, [21:34] There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, [21:39] there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. [21:44] And that is what baptism corresponds to.

[21:48] See, it’s this redeemed discipleship. [21:50] Whose name are you baptized into? [21:52] The name of the Father, the name of the Son, and the Holy Spirit. [21:55] Okay? [21:57] Why is that important where a text like this is concerned? [22:00] Because it is you forsaking the identity of the old man

[22:07] and putting on an identity of God. [22:11] You’re not becoming God, but you’re coming into the life of God.

[22:16] It’s me, when I was baptized, is literally me saying,

[22:22] I’m not Steve.

[22:25] Now you might call me Steve, and I’m still okay. [22:28] But that guy was a sinner. [22:30] That guy was dead in his sin. [22:32] That guy was in rebellion against God. [22:35] That guy did not love him. [22:37] That guy did not worship him.

[22:39] That guy only worshiped that which made him important. [22:42] That guy was self-obsessed. [22:44] But now, because of Jesus, death, immersion into the life of God, [22:51] risen as a disciple of Jesus Christ, [22:54] and I now find my identity in Jesus. [22:57] You see, in Galatians chapter 2,

[23:01] Paul had just finished saying, [23:03] I am crucified with Christ, and I no longer live. [23:09] It is Christ who lives in me. [23:12] And the life I now live, I live by faith in the Son of God, [23:15] who loved me and gave Himself for me.

[23:20] And so what you’re doing is you’re saying, [23:22] I don’t want to just be me, [23:25] because I know me is worthy of condemnation. [23:31] No matter how valuable you think that you are, [23:36] at the end of the day, [23:38] you are just a person who is sinful and deserving of hell.

[23:45] You don’t deserve God, [23:48] but He gives Himself anyway through Jesus. [23:51] And this redeemed discipleship that you’re risen in [23:54] through the resurrection of Jesus, [23:56] which is what baptism really represents, [23:59] is you saying, I want to be a disciple.

[24:04] I want to follow Him, and I can’t, [24:07] but I know because of what He did, [24:10] He will give me His life, [24:12] and He will give me strength, [24:14] and therefore I can, [24:16] but only because of Him.

[24:18] I forsake the old man. [24:20] I want to be a new man, and I know God can do that. [24:24] And you find your identity as a redeemed disciple of Jesus, [24:30] and you lose your identity of you. [24:35] Too many of us are fighting a battle [24:39] in which we attempt so much

[24:42] to have one foot as a disciple of Jesus, [24:46] and another foot still clinging to the values [24:49] and the identities that this world tells me I need to have [24:53] for me to be considered a success in this life.

[24:59] If that were possible, [25:01] then Jesus would say, get halfway in, [25:04] and then immediately get out of the water. [25:07] But baptism, you are immersed fully, [25:10] and that’s why I think full immersion is so important,

[25:15] is because you are not just giving part of yourself [25:19] over to the Gospel. [25:21] You’re giving all of yourself over to the Gospel. [25:25] Not just your intellect, [25:28] not just your spiritual life, [25:30] because everything is spiritual,

[25:33] because everything came from the Spirit.

[25:36] But rather, you fully immerse yourself into the Gospel [25:40] because you fully need to be redeemed, all of you. [25:44] Every aspect. [25:46] And then when you come up out of the water, [25:48] what it’s representing is, [25:49] now I have the life of God inside of my life,

[25:54] and I need to follow Him. [25:57] Then in 1 Corinthians chapter 12, [26:02] we read this in verse 13. [26:05] For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, [26:09] Jews or Greeks, slave or free. [26:10] I love this reality that Paul gives us constantly

[26:13] in the New Testament. [26:14] He’s basically saying, I don’t care what you used to be.

[26:21] It’s insignificant. [26:23] In Jesus, no Jew, no Greek, [26:27] no slave, no free, no nothing.

[26:32] No accountant, no housewife, [26:34] no bank manager, no construction worker, [26:37] no plumber. [26:38] What you were is meaningless.

[26:42] Your value is not found in what you offer this world, [26:47] but rather your value is found in what God offers you. [26:51] And that’s Him. [26:54] Therefore, your identity is no longer found [26:58] in what you think it’s found in. [27:00] Maybe you’ve had a ridiculously hard life

[27:02] and you’re finding your identity in abuse. [27:05] Maybe you’ve been abandoned by someone. [27:09] Maybe you’re finding your identity in that.

[27:13] What baptism represents is that identity died on the cross. [27:18] That identity has been paid for. [27:20] That burden has been paid for. [27:22] It’s gone.

[27:24] Now walk in newness of life. [27:27] Romans 8 says, now you are more than a conqueror. [27:31] What can separate us from the love of God? [27:33] And then he gives a list of everything under the sun [27:35] and he says, I am convinced nothing can separate us [27:37] from the love of God.

[27:38] Why? [27:39] Because God would kill His own Son to have you.

[27:43] That is what baptism represents.

[27:47] It is us coming into the community of believers [27:53] for growth in the faith. [27:58] Back in 1 Corinthians chapter 12, it says, [28:02] at the end of it, it says, [28:04] and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

[28:11] You are not who you need to be. [28:16] Do you know that? [28:18] I think some of you wake up in the morning [28:20] and you think you are who you need to be [28:21] and you’re like, I’m done, I’m good, look at me. [28:24] I know I’m pretty.

[28:27] I’m sexy and I know it.

[28:30] All right? [28:32] Only at the village, man. [28:33] These things just come out, man. [28:35] Nothing can be done to stop it. [28:36] It just is. [28:38] Here is the key.

[28:40] You are not who you need to be.

[28:44] You have been redeemed, but there needs to be more. [28:49] See, and God redeems us and He gives us the identity of His Son [28:53] and then He gives us this life to live in light of that redemption [28:57] and we grow in it. [29:00] So baptism is the starting point [29:02] and then what I would say now is communion

[29:06] is the continuation of that start. [29:08] Communion is this continuing ethic. [29:13] Communion reveals a continuing gospel ethos of redemption. [29:18] You’re like, I don’t know what that word means. [29:20] I think that might be a drug. [29:22] No.

[29:23] Ethos is this cool word and I’m not the one to come up with it. [29:26] Ethos is a very, very interesting word. [29:28] It’s very simple. [29:29] What it means is the character of a culture. [29:32] That’s all that it means. [29:34] It just means basically the identifying points of what a culture is.

[29:39] And that’s what communion represents. [29:42] And what we do when we participate in communion, [29:44] and the reason that I said this gospel ethos of redemption, [29:49] that’s actually very redundant and it’s repetitive [29:51] because gospel and redemption can be kind of in one category, [29:55] but I think sometimes we have a way of defining gospel

[30:00] when that’s not gospel. [30:02] So I wanted to be very sure that you understand what I’m talking about. [30:04] And it’s this idea of redemption. [30:07] And in Luke chapter 22, and you can turn there, [30:10] but it’s also going to be up on the screens. [30:11] Here’s what happens when Jesus institutes communion.

[30:14] And I’m going to tie it into why it goes so well with baptism.

[30:33] Okay, take it off the screen. [30:35] Here’s what I want to do with you right now. [30:38] I want you to understand how this is a continuing gospel ethos of redemption. [30:46] Okay, he’s eating the Passover meal. [30:48] Now, some of you know what the Passover meal is. [30:50] Some of you have no clue what the Passover meal is, all right?

[30:52] It’s this meal that God the Father instituted [30:55] [30:55] [30:55] [30:55] with Israel when they were in captivity and they were slaves in Egypt. [31:00] God is redeeming them out of Egypt.

[31:03] They’re about to go and the Red Sea is going to be parted. [31:05] Moses is going to go up on the Mount Sinai. [31:08] He’s going to get the Ten Commandments. [31:09] Before any of that happened, God goes and he deals with Egypt. [31:13] And he says, let my people go. Let them go. [31:15] And they won’t.

[31:16] And so God brings these plagues on Egypt. [31:18] In the final plague, God is redeeming the people of Israel, [31:23] and the pharaoh is going to relent after it and let them go. [31:26] But what he tells Israel to do while he is doing all of the work is prepare a feast. [31:35] And while he is busy redeeming them, they’re feasting.

[31:44] And so every year after that, Israel would prepare a Passover feast [31:49] to celebrate the work of redemption God did for them, [31:55] not through them, for them. [31:59] And so Jesus here gathers for the Passover meal, [32:02] and he says, I want to share this with you because Jesus knows what is coming. [32:05] He knows he’s about to do the work of redemption.

[32:08] And he says, I will not share it again with you until I enter into my kingdom. [32:13] So Jesus is saying, I’m about to leave, but I want to come back, [32:17] and there will be an eternity of us feasting together. [32:21] But until then, let’s eat this right here. [32:26] So here’s what he does.

[32:28] And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he said, [32:32] take this and divide it among yourselves, for I tell you that from now on, [32:36] I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes. [32:39] And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, [32:43] saying, this is my body which is given for you. [32:46] Do this in remembrance of me.

[32:49] And likewise, the cup after they had eaten, [32:52] saying, this cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. [32:58] So what he’s doing is he’s not getting rid of the Passover meal. [33:02] He’s explaining why it ever existed. [33:06] Because that Passover and the work that God did for Israel represented, [33:11] if you read through the book of Hebrews, you’ll kind of get more of this,

[33:14] it represented the completion of God redeeming his people. [33:21] And Jesus is saying, the Passover meal has always been about what I’m going to do for you. [33:30] And so he takes the bread, and he gives it to them. [33:33] He takes the cup, and he gives it to them. [33:35] And then he says these important words, do this in remembrance of me. [33:42] So he’s saying, this isn’t the last time I want you to do this.

[33:46] I want you to continue it, just as Israel has done it. [33:49] I want you to continue it, but you’re going to have the privilege [33:53] of being able to do it in light of the completed work of God.

[34:00] So week in and week out, we come together and we reflect on that meal. [34:06] Because here is what it represents. [34:08] You know, the life that God gave us in baptism, [34:12] that we kill our old selves, were risen to a new self in him. [34:17] What communion then does is it creates a cultural reality inside of us [34:23] in which we desire to live for faith in the gospel continually.

[34:29] Because here’s what it communicates. [34:31] It communicates three things. [34:32] The first thing that it communicates to us is that this ethos, [34:36] this character of our culture is about a cultural movement.

[34:44] It’s about far more than just you coming up and eating some crackers [34:51] and getting pretty thirsty after the service, so it’s kind of nice to quench it.

[34:57] No, Jesus institutes it because he’s saying, [35:01] I want you to constantly reflect on the work of redemption that I’m doing in your life.

[35:09] And secondly, gospel ethos is built on reflecting on the sacrifice of Jesus. [35:16] Do you realize that the cross is something that you come back to constantly? [35:23] It’s not something that you go to once and then, okay, well, let’s forget about that and move on. [35:28] No, God wants it to be the central theme in your mind for your life. [35:33] This work that Jesus has done for you, [35:35] you are going to be dependent on the rest of your life,

[35:39] or else if you’re not, you’re going to be dependent on yourself. [35:43] And we know how that goes. [35:46] It just leads into sin. [35:48] It leads into you making life all about yourself. [35:51] But when you come to the table, what you are saying is, [35:55] God, there is still growth to happen in my life.

[36:00] And the only way for it to happen is if I am dependent on you.

[36:07] The only way for me to grow is through the cross. [36:14] It’s not about my works. [36:16] It’s about your grace. [36:19] It’s not about me just changing so I’m more accepted in this community. [36:25] It’s about me being absolutely dependent on the grace of God. [36:31] Because that is what God wants from you.

[36:33] He wants you to realize that He is the source of life [36:37] and that He died to reconnect yourself to Him. [36:41] And He rose so that you could continue in a life of growth through His grace.

[36:49] None of you are where you need to be.

[36:54] Neither am I. [36:56] So I must constantly come back as a reminder to myself, [37:04] Oh God, I need you. [37:08] I need you.

[37:13] In Jewish culture and Hebrew culture, their dietary laws were vast. [37:21] And they also had these other laws about eating meals.

[37:27] When you had a meal, it had to be with someone else that was Jewish and followed the law. [37:38] You couldn’t at that time have what they considered as table fellowship. [37:42] Meals were vastly important to them. [37:45] And you couldn’t have table fellowship with someone that was unclean. [37:50] You certainly couldn’t share the Passover meal with someone that was unclean. [37:56] Okay?

[38:00] And communion then, it’s us constantly coming back to the cross. [38:06] But there’s this great picture inside of it as well. [38:09] It’s this picture of God having table fellowship with us.

[38:20] Because He has made us clean through His Son.

[38:27] You ever think about that?

[38:30] I’m dirty. [38:33] I’m broken. [38:35] Ask my wife. I don’t work right.

[38:40] I’m sinful. [38:42] I’m not everything I need to be.

[38:46] But God wants to share a meal with me. [38:51] Not because of anything I’ve done, but because He did all the work to clean me up. [38:58] And He says, Steve, when I look at you, I see my Son.

[39:02] Roman says He adopts me. [39:04] Brings me into His family. [39:07] And then He says, come to my table. [39:11] The world may not want to have table fellowship with you, but I killed my Son so that I could.

[39:20] You see, when you partake of communion, it’s a lot more than just crackers and juice.

[39:31] Do you do it just lightly? [39:32] We’ve got to do this so we can get to lunch.

[39:38] Or do you know that the greatest spiritual reality that any of us will ever know [39:48] is being spelled out for us right here, where God says, come to my table and have a meal.

[39:56] Communion moves us to take inventory of the redemption taking place in our lives.

[40:07] It moves us to ask ourselves very important questions.

[40:16] Am I following Him?

[40:20] Do I love Him? [40:23] Do I trust that He has cleaned me?

[40:32] And then, if you’re like me, you say, not like I should.

[40:39] I know I should be better.

[40:44] And you should be.

[40:48] But then this amazing thing happens when I look at the bread and the cup, [40:53] because Jesus says, do it in remembrance of me. [40:55] Do it because the bread represents my broken body. [41:00] The juice represents my shed blood for you. [41:03] Do it. [41:05] And then I look at it and I say, but I’m not worthy.

[41:09] So much change needs to take place. [41:12] And what this does is it does these two or three things.

[41:18] It lets me know that my sin is great.

[41:23] It lets me know that I must change. [41:27] It also lets me know that I must depend on what Jesus has done for that change. [41:33] And then it lets me know that even though I need to change, God says, come anyway, [41:38] because you’re only going to get it from me. [41:43] Come anyway.

[41:49] Then it also tells me that as I take the cup, as I take the bread,

[41:59] it goes into me and it represents God’s life entering mine. [42:06] So whereas baptism is just this changed identity, communion is the continuing ethic.

[42:15] That when I walk out of that door into my week, I’m not walking as Steve. [42:22] I’m walking as a child of the King.

[42:25] I’m walking as someone that God loves so much that he wants to put his life on top of mine. [42:32] And he wants me to live as him, not as me.

[42:41] We do it every week, mostly because I need to be reminded every week. [42:47] I don’t know if you’re like that. I am. [42:50] I’m so quick to forget. [42:53] I’m so quick to start basing things on my works rather than his finished work. [42:58] But when I live under my works, you realize that the crazy thing that happens is that [43:04] I just find condemnation because I never measure up.

[43:07] But when I live according to his finished work, do you know what happens? [43:11] This amazing thing is that I can live a fruitful life in worship of God where good things happen [43:17] because I’m not condemned by him. I’m loved by him. [43:20] I don’t have to fight to serve him. I want to serve him. [43:23] I don’t have to do it with this, you know, oh, great duty. [43:27] I’ve got to do it.

[43:30] Rather, I find full joy in him.

[43:36] Because communion reveals God’s missional church.

[43:43] Communion reveals who I really am. [43:47] John chapter 6 spells it out so well where Jesus is talking to his disciples [43:52] and he says this very offensive thing. He says, cannibalize me. [43:57] No, just kidding. He says, whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life [44:02] and I will raise him up on the last day. [44:04] This is the point where I would have said, OK, our leader, he’s kind of falling down.

[44:09] We may need to get him help. He’s telling us to eat him.

[44:15] Jesus continues. He says, I’ll raise him up on the last day for my flesh is true food [44:19] and my blood is true drink. [44:21] Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me and I in him. [44:25] And the living father sent me and I live because the father. [44:30] Excuse me. And I live because of the father. [44:32] So whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me.

[44:36] This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread that the fathers ate and died. [44:41] Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever. [44:46] Jesus said these things in the synagogue as he taught at Capernaum. [44:51] When many of his disciples heard it, they said, this is a hard saying. [44:54] Who can listen to it? Basically, that’s Hebrew for this guy’s nuts. [44:59] Who in the world can understand what he’s talking about?

[45:04] But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, [45:07] it’s helpful when you’re God because you know when someone’s complaining about you. [45:13] It’s like Jesus is standing there. He’s like, they think I don’t know what they’re thinking right now.

[45:19] He said to them, do you take offense at this? [45:24] Then what if you were to see the son of man ascending to where he was before? [45:28] It is the spirit who gives life. The flesh is no help at all. [45:33] The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.

[45:41] Then after the cross, he rises from the dead and he literally ascends into heaven on a cloud.

[45:49] See, Jesus is talking about this amazing. [45:51] There’s nothing mystical about these things. [45:54] They don’t turn into the body and blood of Jesus when they go inside of you. [45:58] No. And Jesus spells that out right there. [46:01] He’s saying, guys, I don’t really want you to eat my leg. [46:05] That would hurt.

[46:09] I want you to understand why I have come. [46:13] I have come because you are trying to fill yourselves and find satisfaction in a host of ways. [46:23] You’re seeking identity and satisfaction in careers. [46:27] You’re seeking it in spouses. [46:29] You’re seeking it in sex. [46:31] You’re seeking it in addiction.

[46:33] You’re seeking it through affluence. [46:36] You’re seeking it through all sorts of ways. [46:38] But understand that you are going to die regardless of all those things and they’re never going to fill you.

[46:49] He tells them, he says, I am what you need to feast upon. [46:57] Because I am the only thing that can give you any satisfaction. [47:01] I’m the only one that can give you any hope because you’re not going to find it in all those other things.

[47:08] Because I have life and I want to give it to you.

[47:16] And the only way I can give it to you is if I die, raise again and give my life to you.

[47:26] And then he institutes the bread and the cup. [47:30] And he says, I want you to be baptized to represent what I’ve done for you. [47:36] And then I want you to live in light of what I’ve done for you, what I’ve done to you, and what I’m doing through the work of the Holy Spirit in your life.

[47:50] That is why we do this every week.

[47:57] And every week I say the same thing. [48:00] I say, if you’re a follower of Jesus, do this. [48:04] If you’re not, please don’t.

[48:07] And I know that’s offensive.

[48:11] But I can’t avoid it because that’s the offense of the gospel.

[48:16] Because if you are not one who trusts in Jesus, then this is absolutely meaningless to you. [48:22] It’s not because I don’t like you. [48:24] It’s because I love you.

[48:28] In communion, when it represents God’s missional church, it’s representing this great reality that those of us who come, what we’re doing is we’re continuing to proclaim the work of God, His broken body, His shed blood. [48:43] And we eat this meal with God in front of others because what we’re doing when we do that is we’re continuing to proclaim the gospel, just as we did through baptism. [48:55] And we’re telling those of you that haven’t trusted, that don’t believe, we’re telling you, you can have this. [49:02] You can have the life of God. [49:04] But only if you stop trusting yourself, only if you stop seeking it in all those other things and realize what God has done for you.

[49:16] And I don’t bar you from it. [49:17] I pray that you will come to the table, but I pray that you will come to it in trust of the finished work of Jesus Christ.

[49:27] Because He’s the only one that can save you. [49:31] He’s the only one that can redeem you. [49:34] He’s the only one that can create inside of you a heart that moves, a heart that will get you up and get you moving with Him. [49:44] Because that’s what this culture does. [49:46] It moves with Him. [49:47] It creates in you a mission that Jesus came to live and die for.

[49:53] And it is a mission that creation is returning to God and He desires for you to do it through His Son. [50:03] And if you won’t come, you’re just going to continue into oblivion and you will face His wrath.

[50:12] But if you’ll trust Him, oh, you’ll know His mission.

[50:18] You’ll thrive in it.

[50:21] And you’ll love Him for it.

[50:25] Today, as we close, as the band comes up, I want to ask you a couple of questions.

[50:37] I want to ask you if you know how God is moving.

[50:46] I don’t want to know how you’re moving.

[50:51] I want to know if you’re moving with God.

[50:55] Is redemption happening in your life? [50:58] Are you growing in God?

[51:03] I also want to ask you, have you trusted Him? [51:08] Have you seen the work of Jesus?

[51:11] Have you gloried in it? Do you treasure it? Do you love Him?

[51:19] If not, today is your day.

[51:26] Now is the time. [51:27] Scriptures say now is the day of salvation.

[51:32] You were brought here by God to hear this message because He wants to change your life.

[51:41] I say that in full confidence. [51:43] And you say, no, no, no, not me, not today. No, today.

[51:49] He wants you to come to His table and He wants to have a meal with you. [51:54] But only once He’s changed you.

[51:59] Have you been baptized?

[52:04] Did you do it as a little kid that meant nothing to you and you’ve never really followed Jesus, you just did the motion? [52:10] And you know you need to actually proclaim to the world the work that God has done and is doing in your life through it?

[52:20] Today as we go into our time of communion, [52:24] if you have not trusted in Jesus, [52:27] I want you to do one of two things. [52:30] I want you to come up here. I know I’m asking a lot.

[52:36] But I just want to talk to you. I want to pray with you.

[52:41] If you won’t come up here, there’s people in the back.

[52:46] And they want to talk to you. They want to pray with you. [52:49] Today is the day of salvation where you stop living for you and you start a walk in the journey of God’s beautiful grace.

[53:03] And then we can feast together.

[53:06] We can enjoy the presence of God with each other. [53:10] And then I’ll sign you up to get baptized.

[53:15] If you want to be baptized, every so often I like to ask, [53:20] maybe you’re a follower of Jesus and you just haven’t been baptized or you were baptized and you’re like, it’s just me getting wet.

[53:28] I want to baptize you. I want to do it publicly because that’s the way it’s supposed to be done.

[53:33] Come talk to me or talk to Pastor Nate and let us know because we’re going to do it pretty soon. [53:39] But if you want to follow Jesus today,

[53:45] do it. [53:46] Father, we love you. [53:48] Thank you so much for the sacrifice of your son.

[53:55] Lord, as we reflect on what you’ve done for us [54:01] through your broken body and your shed blood,

[54:06] Lord, I pray that we would just look full on

[54:12] into you and find our life.

[54:19] If you love him, if you trust him,

[54:22] come have a meal with him. [54:24] Move with God.