Communion Message
(Signs along the road)
December 2, 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 brake 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 oft 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.

Along the prophetic Calvary Road that winds through the Old Testament, are bold signs that read 'This way to Calvary'. The fingers of the prophets point toward Christ and the cross, and with God-given detail they spell out coming events; with spirit guided hearts and hands they record the descent of Calvary's King as God reveals for record the positive proof of the messianic line.

A thousand roads of prophecy converge at Calvary. The early prophets speak with an air of certainty of the messiah. They knew that God's message without Calvary was a temple without a roof; a house without a door; a foundation without a superstructure. They knew the sacred significance of that coming hour when God would meet the sinner at Calvary with His arms outstretched to welcome all who would come. So the prophets preached in those days, when there was an erosion of faith, they proclaimed that the road to heaven was not a superhighway; it was a narrow way and Calvary Road would be paved with the blood of Jesus. So they picked up their pens and this is what they wrote.

David said, The stone which the builders refused has become the headstone of the corner. This is the Lord's doing, it is marvelous in our eyes. Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord: we have blessed you out of the house of the Lord.

Isaiah wrote, Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

And then as Isaiah concludes his writing, he says, Surely he hath born our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our inequities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

Jeremiah, an ancient prophet, said, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.

And old Haggai, a prophet we seldom visit, said, I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts.

Then there's old Zechariah, who said, It that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness. And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.

And then Malachi, the last of the prophets, wrote, Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts.

As we have traveled the road of prophecy on our journey to Calvary, we see sin in all of its blackness. We have caught but a glimpse of prophecy, but just a glimpse of the heart of a great God who seems to be bending the clouds, as it were, in loves great determination to save you and me. Every altar we have seen erected along the way speaks to us of the messiah, and all the animals on Jewish altars - slain, speak to us of the coming sacrifice which we celebrate today.

And as we hear the prophets speak to us, we realize that the cross was neither accident nor incident; it was God's event. And the prophets we have met along this road on which we journey have given us the good news: that when man's back us against the wall, his face is toward God, and there's hope.

What we do today, ladies and gentlemen, is something of vast historical background. The ancient prophets told of that day when Calvary would take place, when the sacrifice would be given, when he would be bruised for our inequities - the chastisement of our peace would be upon him. Then that event happened 2000 years ago, Calvary took place and Jesus died. And now, 2000 years later, millions and millions and millions and millions of Christians for the last 2000 years have celebrated exactly what we celebrate today. It's a tremendous historical event, and what makes it so wonderful is you and I share in it today and there's something very personal about it, because that's at the cross where we met Christ.

It was the cross that changed our lives. It was His love and mercy and grace extended to us that makes life what it is. So we're a part of a vast historical moment: God redeeming His own for that eternal day when we children of time shall be men and women of eternity. It's a great event. I want you to kneel with me as we worship our wonderful Christ.

Lord Jesus, on this morning of worship in the year 2001, we by this very act become a part of redemptive history. A history that goes way back into the ancient past where prophets foretold of Calvary, and then Calvary happened. And now we're 2000 years removed, but Calvary still affects us as it excited the prophets. May this moment never become routine. May this moment, with these elements in our hand, always be exceedingly precious, momentous. May we never lose the awe and the wonder of Calvary.

Jesus, we kneel here in Your presence to tell You we love You; we really do. Sometimes we don't act like it. Sometimes we selfishly go on our way and take the bypasses into sin, and for that we're sorry. We're asking You to forgive us now. And these elements we hold make that promise that's exactly what You'll do; You'll forgive us. What a joy it is to be a part of Your eternal redemption, to know that we've been rescued from Satan's grip, and we've been rescued from the kingdom of darkness and we've been made children of Your divine kingdom. Wonder of wonders, O blessed Redeemer. We love You today.

Let's take the bread together, shall we? And then the cup. And everybody said, amen. Let's stand and greet the folks that have come to worship with us today, shall we?