Communion Message
(Here I am)
May 6-7, 2000
Pastor Donald Sheley

For I have 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. And in the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, 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 till He comes. Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 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 among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world. Therefore, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another.

I'm going to ask you to kneel with me today. I want to talk to you come to our knees just for a moment or two. You who join with us Sunday after Sunday realize that this is one of the precious moments in our worship together. It gives us a time on our knees just to quietly contemplate our own spirituality, our own place where we are before God. And sometimes in so many services that opportunity isn't allowed, but we do here. There are a lot of things that take place on our knees. There are a lot of decisions, spiritual decisions, that are transacted in this moment, almost at every service.

It's a wonderful opportunity just for me and you on our knees with our eyes closed asking for Jesus’ forgiveness, and asking for His cleansing. I need that; you need that. We're all sinners, not a one of us here today would in any way try to prove that we're righteous. We've all failed, but maybe you're here today and this is a strange experience for you. You're kneeling in church. Maybe you don't know where you stand with God. You just know He's far, far away. You came to church today searching. You may not know much about God. You may have little knowledge of the Bible, but you know one thing; deep inside you you're really not happy. You don't feel complete. Life has missed you or you’ve missed it so you're here today searching. Why not at this moment just simply say a prayer something like this - dear God, here I am. I don't know much about You. All I know is I'm not complete in life. I'm empty and I'm searching for the real meaning to living. God, here I am. I open my heart and I ask that by Your spirit You come to me today. Help me to understand spiritual things. I really want to turn from my sin, but I need You God. I really do need You. So here I am. Do something for me - and I don't know what that is. I just want You.

If you pray a prayer so simple, heaven is waiting to answer. My father-in-law many years ago was a great, great man of God, a preacher. He pastored over in Richmond during World War II when they were building all those ships there, and the sailor boys just flooded the streets as they came in off their ships. And one Sunday morning one of those sailor boys knowing he was heading for the open seas wanted to make sure he was right with God, and at the close of the service he came running down the aisle and he said: God, You save me right now and I don't mean maybe. That's prayer, isn't it? That's the kind of honesty God really wants. We don't have to be fancy with our words. He knows our hearts, so whatever your spiritual need is today, right now, just say God, here I am. Do something in my life.

Some of us have walked in the pathways of disobedience. We've missed righteousness altogether. We need God's forgiveness. Let's ask for that now. I ask for your forgiveness dear Jesus. I need to You, and I thank you for all these wonderful friends and family and guests today. Out of a roaring, ripping, hurting world just to be able to come to the sanctuary and kneel quietly and sense Your presence, what a blessing. Lord Jesus today we celebrate Your death in the emblems of communion. Simple - yes, bread and a little plastic cup of fruit of the vine, but O there is deep significant. You said the bread is Your body, and the cup is Your blood. In Your body You became a sacrifice. You became my substitute. I should have died for my sins, but You died in my place. You became my substitute. You became the substitute for the whole world, the supreme substitute. You died for me, and You shed your precious blood for my cleansing. Now that's hard for me, Jesus, to try to grapple with that divine truth. How does blood cleanse us from sin? Your word just simply tells us that that's the way it is. Because God laid it down centuries ago that without the shedding of blood there is no covering, there's no forgiveness of sins, and so that's a divine law. And so Jesus, You shed Your blood for my cleansing. I believe that, and with joy I accept Your forgiveness.

Let's take the bread together, shall we? And then the cup. With every head bowed, if today was the day you put your trust in Jesus Christ, why don't you just raise your hand to Him and say; Jesus, thank you for hearing my prayer. Do you want to do that? Sure, a number of folks did today. Amen? Let’s stand together, shall we, and greet one another.