Communion Message
(A Table of Promise)
January 6-7, 2001
Pastor Donald Sheley

For I have received from the Lord that which I also delivered unto 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." 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.

As we have approached our communion time Sunday after Sunday, we have recognized it to be a table of forgiveness, a table of love, a table of mercy, of reconciliation. I want you to think of it today as a table of promise. John writes, for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. And because God sent, and Christ gave, and Calvary took place, there is a promise of an eternal relationship as the result. Old Zechariah wrote, the Lord hath appeared of old unto me saying, yeah, I have loved thee with an everlasting love. Therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee. And one of the brightest jewels in the Savior's diadem of suffering is that of making possible the reconciliation of a sinner to God. One hymn writer said it this way:
I've found a friend oh such a friend
He loved me err I knew Him.
He drew me with the cords of love
and thus He bound me to Him.
And round my heart still closely twine
those ties which not can sever.
For I am His and He is mine
forever and forever.
This table reminds us of that promise that we have a friend that will never leave us or forsake us, and He will stick by us even unto the end. There's also a promise of an eternal home. Paul writes to the Corinthians and says: we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. Now if this be thought of as referring only to the incorruptible and immortal body of the individual believer, it still offers an infinite amount of hope and expectation. However, our Lord Jesus Christ addressed the despondent disciples and He said to them, let not your heart be troubled, neither be afraid. I go, He says, to prepare a place for you. So whether this verse has reference either to the body or to the home, it fills our hearts with this promise. And Paul says in our instructions towards communion, he says, we will do this till He comes. And one day He will come and call us, and this table is a reminder that one of these days we'll eat with Him in heaven.

I must be honest with you and tell you that down in my heart I sometimes ponder this thought, and that is, this just could be the last communion we have together here on earth. Because the next communion we have will be with the saints of the ages and with our wonderful Christ. That's the hope that we have. And Peter speaks of it as an eternal inheritance. He says that He hath begotten us again unto a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance that is incorruptible, undefiled and that fadeth not away reserved for us in heaven. So if the journey has been difficult and the burdens have been heavy, let this table today remind you that you have friend who will never leave you. He loved you so much that He gave His life for you. And we have a destiny and that is to be forever with our Lord, and we had an inheritance that nothing will ever change nor diminish. This is a table of promise, a table of hope. Let's kneel together, shall we?

Lord Jesus, Sunday after Sunday we seek to understand this moment with greater clarity and of our deeper spirituality. There are so many aspects to this table. Today we've thought of it as a time when we come face-to-face with promises that never change -- the promise of Your friendship for all of eternity. A promise that the day will come when we will eat with You at that great marriage supper in heaven. And that great inheritance that is ours, nothing, absolutely nothing, can defile it -- can change it nor alter it. It's ours. Because of what You did at Calvary, we share in these wonderful promises. On this beautiful Sunday morning in the quietness of this moment we want to tell You, dear Jesus, we love You. And for some of us this has been a difficult week, but this is the moment that You refresh us; You strengthen us; You increase our faith. It's a blessed moment and we thank You for it dear Jesus. Let's take the bread together, shall we? And then the cup.

Lord Jesus, sometimes the pressures of life and with all of the tensions, and with all the pressures we live with, we forget to tell You that we love You. We want to take this moment now to tell You that from the very depths of our hearts, dear Jesus, we really do love You. Sometimes we don't act like it. Sometimes we become very defiant to Your ways, and sometimes in rebellion we wander off in pathways of disobedience. Please forgive us. Please cleanse us today. Please help us dear Jesus, and everybody said, amen. Let's stand and greet one another, shall we?