Communion Message
(A Spiritual Awakening)
February 10-11, 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.

Throughout this week it's been a time of preparation for our Scripture lesson today, and it has to do with the Samaritan woman who goes back to her village and invites people to come and meet the Savior of the world. It's the story of a great spiritual awakening that takes place in a little village 2000 years ago, and that ignited my heart to search through the pages of church history of moments in history when God sovereignly through one or a few, who gave their witness to their community, to their family, to their nation, and the result great spiritual happenings -- great spiritual ingathering into the kingdom of God. There's the joyous side of history as we learn of the multitudes who have come into the kingdom of God and have placed their faith in Christ in great moments of great spiritual awakening, and yet, there's the other side too. There's the disturbing factor that the church is so fragmented -- the body of Christ. We have denominations and we have all kinds of groups feeling that maybe their theology is more superior than someone else's. So we live in a world that we're told in America alone there are over 2000 different religious groupings. So the world looks on and says whose right and who's wrong?

There is the one factor that brings us all together as one if we're born-again Christians and that is this table. Because this table, the Lord's Table, it brings us to the very heart, the very core, of Christianity. And so down through time the Christian faith has at least been brought together after table. We may celebrate it in different ways, but the table really is the very center because that table says we're sinners. We can't save ourselves and God intervened - sent His Son Jesus Christ who became the one great sacrifice who paid the penalty with His life because the penalty for sin is death. God made that divine decree at the beginning of human history. If you sin, you die. Jesus came, and here's the gospel, Jesus came took our sin. He became sin. Paul says He who knew no sin became sin for us so that we might be made the righteousness of God. So Christ went to the cross -- He took my sin, the sin of all the world, He paid its penalty in death. The glorious truth is He rose again. That's the triumph of our Christian faith, but He did pay the price as our Savior. And if there's one thing that ties us all together it's the fact that we've been made one in Christ through at His death at Calvary.

Now many of us, we come from various religious backgrounds and religious influence, but when we come here you're here to worship Christ and to bow before Him, and to acknowledge Him as your Lord and Savior. We invite you to kneel and share this moment with us. Would you kneel please? But I'd like to talk with you for just a moment before we have communion. Our church has the joy of having many guests and friends visit with us at almost every service, and if this table and the cross of Christ and Jesus as Savior is that the core of our Christian faith, maybe you're here today and you've been searching for God, and maybe someone invited you. Maybe you just felt inside you wanted to be at the church today so you're here and your heart is open. Maybe there's an emptiness you can't explain. Life is difficult and sin's pains and its guilt is heavy, so you came to church today and you're looking for God. Can I suggest to you that if you'll just open your heart in a very simple prayer and say, Jesus, I'm in church today. I'm here because I need You. I need something. My life is all messed up. My heart is empty. My life is without purpose and I need you God. So I open my heart today in faith and I put my trust in Your Son Jesus Christ my Savior, who died there on the cross, who took my sin, who died in my stead and I receive Jesus Christ as my Savior.

If you're here -- every eye is closed now and every head is bowed -- and that's really how you feel. You'd really like this to be the morning when Jesus Christ becomes very real to you as your own personal Savior and Lord. Why don't you do this? Just raise your hand to God and He'll see it, and with an open heart He will start a work inside of you that will, I believe, bring all the answers to your searching heart, and bring peace and it will bring forgiveness. Throughout the services so many folks raise their hand. Yes, yes. You're just raising it to God and what you're simply -- by the hand raised God looks on this scene today and He sees your heart. He wants to meet your personal need. That's His desire. That's why He loved us so much He sent Jesus. Any others, you just like to raise your hand? It's telling God this is the morning. This is the morning you want Him to do something very wonderful in your heart and life. Yes, so many. Just simply say, Jesus, here I am. I want to turn from my sins. I want to turn my life to You, and I want You to come and by Your Holy Spirit live within me now. Come Lord Jesus. I receive you.

Lord Jesus, You left for the church, for Christians, this beautiful moment we call the Lord's Supper. Now we don't understand it in all of its entirety, but You did say that this bread bespeaks of Your body. It represents You who became the sacrifice for our sins because it was in Your body You were nailed to that cross 2000 years ago. You became our sacrifice, and I believe that You're my Savior and the sacrifice for my sins. Let's take the bread together. And Jesus, even though it's so difficult for us to understand, You said that this cup was the new covenant or the new agreement. Now we understand that because in the Old Testament the arrangements were, the agreement was, that animals died and shed their blood for the sins of man. But that all ended when You went to the cross. You God wants for all mankind, and You shed Your blood for the cleansing of our sins, and You told us that Your blood washes away all of our sins. Even though we don't understand it, we believe it and we trust You today dear Jesus. Let's take our cup, shall we? May it be, Lord Jesus, that in this moment Your blessed Holy Spirit will do a work in the hearts of all the folks who raised their hands. They were sincere. They're here. They came to church today. Their hearts are open and they want to receive You and they want You to come and live in their hearts. May that take place now. Thank you Jesus. And everybody said, amen. Let's stand together, shall we, and greet one another.