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To "eat of this bread" and "drink of this cup" may be
the most sacred act a human being can perform today. During the Lord's
supper, each Christian should be seriously engaged in remembering the Lord's
death on Calvary's cruel cross (Luke 22:19). He should see the Lamb of
God sacrificed to take away his sins as well as those of every other
communicant (John 1:29). He should see the shed blood of God's son, which
purchased the church (Acts 20:28).; he should realize he is bought with a
price -- that price being the death of Christ (1 Cor. 6:20; 7:23).
When a brother assumes the post of "waiting on the Lord's table,"
he must realize how grave this responsibility is. His appearance should
be as dignified as it can ever be, his manner should be with as much honor as
he can give, and his speech should reflect his respect for the Lord and his
reverence for holy things. He needs to choose the most appropriate words
he can command concerning the Lord's supper. You see, it is an extremely
high honor to stand where a Christian stands, and a profound privilege to speak
of the greatest sacrifice ever made.
To treat the occasion as something light is an outrageous sin. During
the worship in a congregation where they had plans to eat dinner together under
the trees at the back of the lot, a brother rushed up to the table, uncovered
the bread and the cup of the Lord's supper, and said, "Well, we've had a
long service, I can smell the food, and my stomach's growling, I bet you're
hungry too... So let's get this over with." Question: Did this man
discern the Lord's body and blood in the supper? If not then hear
Paul: "For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh
damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body" (1 Cor. 11:29).
When taking care of the sacred institution, proper passages of scripture,
intended to remind the Christians of the significance of the communion might be
read. He might also make remarks about the meaning of the supper.
He might give appropriate illustrations. But nothing should ever be said
which would tend to keep the communicants from their sacred function of
remembering Jesus' death as they partake.
Don't ever make inappropriate illustrations. We once heard a man
compare Jesus' death on the cross to a fighting soldier who dies on the
battlefield. That was totally out of place. The reason the soldier died
was that he wasn't able to kill his enemy before he was killed or at least to
escape. Jesus could have called ten legions of angels to deliver Him, but
refused to escape. Instead, He did His Father's will. He would not so
much as allow the apostle Peter to attempt to protect Him with a sword, but
stated that no man takes His life from Him, but rather He lays it down in
sacrifice. He would not retaliate against His enemies, but rather prayed
for them saying, "Father forgive them, for they know not what they
do." He acted on the will of His Father while the soldier is
compelled to go into battle by the civil government. Christ's goal was to
die and take away the sins of the world, while the soldier's goal is to stay
alive, annihilate the enemy, and go home.
Brother, please take seriously the task that is before you when called upon
to take care of the Lord's table in worship. Instead of hindering the
worshipers from their duty to "remember Jesus and show forth the Lord's
death," you need to help them, aid them, and encourage them to the best of
your ability.
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