Communion Message
(Join with me in joy)
January 20-21, 2001
Pastor Donald Sheley

For I 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 blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.

The writer to the Hebrews writes these words; Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. It's a fascinating phrase. He says, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame. Outside of the New Testament, Jesus Christ is frequently referenced as the man of sorrows, but when you read through the Scriptures you'll find that it presents Christ as one who was filled with joy. And it's interesting that when you follow His journey, even to the cross, moments before leaving on that last journey to Gethsemane He told his disciples that may that joy fill their hearts. He talked about joy as he faced Calvary. And I've often thought in terms of, what was the source of the joy that so filled the heart of Christ that even in the face of Calvary He talked about joy?

And when you study the Scriptures there are many suggestions for that source of joy. One would be His sinless life. To be able to face the most crisis moment, death, but to do it with a heart so pure and a life so holy -- no sin to mar and no sin to be counted against Him. And I think of that joy as it becomes part of our joy; the joy of coming to know Christ and the knowledge that our sins have been forgiven, and we today have joyously voiced the expressions of our faith because it expresses a joy that is ours because of Christ. But it's really interesting to me as a pastor as we face, as we journey along through life, and the ages, I mean, the day, years and days to accumulate and we come to the moment when we face death, how that joy still stays with us.

Many of you standing here with me today remember the great pastor that we enjoyed many years ago, Dr. Weston. Dr. Weston in his later years, in his 80s, his body was enfeebled. He had no capacity so he spent his last few years in bed writing the notes to his Bible. And then as years closed in, I went out to visit him in his Millbrae home one day and he had broken his left arm. Because he couldn't use the bottom portion of his body so he would lift himself with his hands on this harness across the bed, and that day he had broken his left arm, and now he only has one hand left. He can't move his body any other way. So he journeys on for another couple weeks and I go out again and now he's broken his right arm. His body is feeble. His arms are broken and he said to me, Don, I think my journey is over. And I remember we had a wonderful prayer, and I watched that aged saint as he began to breathe his last, and there was a joy so radiant in his countenance. I stood there amazed that one could meet life's deepest crisis with a joy. What a glorious benefit that's ours at being Christians; that wonderful joy that carries with us right into the throne room of the eternal.

I'm sure there are other things that the writer to the Hebrews had in mind when he spoke of joy. Jesus talks about that joy when something is found, when the sheep is found, when the coin is found; He says that there is joy in heaven over one sinner that repents. And you today have brought, years in the past as you have witnessed that change in your life, you filled the halls of heaven with joy. And I'm sure in heaven today that joy is still there because He sees this scene: we've been redeemed, we've been forgiven, and one of these days we'll have supper with Him in heaven, and there is a joy that passes all understanding that's a part of our Christian faith. And I want you to join with me in joy at the table this morning. Let's kneel together, shall we?

Lord Jesus we seek to understand the great dimensions of eternal truth that surround the cross. Today we've talked about that joy that so abundantly flowed from You as You made your way to Calvary. And because of that joy You endured the cross, despising its shame, so that we on this beautiful Sunday morning could rejoice in Your saving grace because of Calvary. Thank you for the joy of knowing You dear Jesus. The joy of realizing that when our journey here is finished we'll join all the joy of heaven for all of eternity. Now we've sinned this week. I've sinned. All of us have. None of us would be so arrogant as to kneel this morning and imply that we're without sin, that we've been perfect. We're not. We're sinners. We ask You Lord Jesus to forgive us and cleanse us. We repent of our sins. We turn from them. We ask You to give us grace and strength in the time of temptation. Let's take the bread together, shall we? And then the cup.

Lord Jesus we want to take this moment to thank you for a prayer that we prayed some weeks ago in desperation. A prayer that You might grant to this nation one more opportunity for righteousness. That You would give to us a godly man to be our national leader. Today we kneel in Thanksgiving because we believe with all of our heart You've answered that prayer, and our president has asked that we pray for him as he excepts this enormous challenge of leading this nation. Make him to be a godly man filled with wisdom, filled with Your strength, and with divine courage to lead us to righteousness. This we pray in Jesus' name, and everybody said, amen. Let's stand and greet one another, shall we?