Sermon – “The Communion Covenant”

23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat;[b] this is My body which is broken[c] for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 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.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes. 27 Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood[d] of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner[e] eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s[f] body.

11 In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins[c] of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. 13 And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, 14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

16 For where there is a testament, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. 17 For a testament is in force after men are dead, since it has no power at all while the testator lives. 18 Therefore not even the first covenant was dedicated without blood. 19 For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, 20 saying, “This is the blood of the covenant which God has commanded you.”[b] 21 Then likewise he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry. 22 And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.

20 Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21 And the Lord smelled a soothing aroma. Then the Lord said in His heart, “I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done. 22 “While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, Cold and heat, Winter and summer, And day and night Shall not cease.”

8 And he said, “Lord God, how shall I know that I will inherit it?” 9 So He said to him, “Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” 10 Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, down the middle, and placed each piece opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds in two. — 17 And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces. 18 On the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying: “To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates—

47 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me[a] has everlasting life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. 50 This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.” 52 The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?” 53 Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For My flesh is food indeed,[b] and My blood is drink in-deed. 56 He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.

As we saying that second course we’re saying Jesus light the flame Jesus light the flame give us passion for your name. How many would say that yes Jesus light the flame. But do we realize when Jesus lights the flame. We talked about this in subscale where there’s a flame there’s a purification. So if we say yes Jesus light the flame he might have to purify the impurities out of our lives. So are we still willing to say Yes Lord light the flame. Yes Lord light the flame under me set me on fire for you. Cleanse me Lord. Let your cleansing power work in my life. Are we willing to say that today. It’s a man of a man. This morning a message the title of the communion covenant. My first scripture comes from First Corinthians Chapter eleven versus twenty three through twenty nine hear the word of the Lord for I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to 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 the bread and drink of the cup for he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself. Not this earning the Lord’s body. Let us pray. Father we do thank you and praise you we thank you father that you allowed your son to come to give of himself gave of his body and blood that we might be reconciled that we might be sanctified and and glorified and cleanse we give you the praise and the glory and honor and father just pray that your truth your word will be spoken today Lord let it speak to our hearts or lead to penetrate deep into our hearts and be a seed let it ruin or God and root and grow and produce much fruit. Well I just pray that you would receive the glory any honor for all things in Jesus name Amen. That last verse said for he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself not discerning the Lord’s body. What would be an unworthy manner in which we could take partake of communion. Well for one the first thing that pops into my mind is that we would have unforgiveness against someone else that whenever we come before the lower before we partake of communion. If we have bitterness and anger in our heart towards our brother towards someone else. We need to go and forgive that person because how can we say that we are a born again believer that we trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and expect Him to forgive us if we haven’t forgiven our brother. We need to go and make amends before we partake of that communion. So that just be one man or what a scripture the council my mom when I think of that I think of the servant who bowed his master a great amount of money and I’m just going to use some of our terms let’s just say he owed his master and they in dollars and he goes to his master’s master’s going to having thrown in prison till we can pay back the dead but he begs for mercy and the master gives mercy he says operative this debt of yours. So he was forgiven a great debt forgiven much. So he goes out and likewise finds a lower servant than him. Who owes him one hundred dollars a small amount and he says pay me what you owe me and he said Have mercy on me and he did not have mercy he having thrown into jail he would not forgive his master forgave him but he was on willing to forgive. So that be an unworthy or Ari be an unworthy man or that we would be unwilling to forgive. Are we willing to forgive others or do we harbor bitterness in our hearts we need to forgive others. Now before I get focused on the communion part of this communion covenant. I want to look at what is the basic purpose and meaning of what a covenant is a covenant the Hebrew word is birth. The Greek word is dying. It is a legal agreement between two parties. So if you will you can say it’s a legal contract a binding agreement between two parties the word covenant or covenants occurs two hundred eighty four times in the Old Testament and thirty seven times in the New Testament three hundred twenty one times in total and that’s according to The New American Standard Version. The use of covenants is and was often the means by which God communicates with us with mankind. It is how He redeemed us how he guarantees us eternal life. Through Jesus Christ. It is through a covenant promise he does this because a covenant is a promise and God promises cannot be broken. Since they rest on his infinite pure character because God cannot lie. It’s because of his character he just cannot. So when God speaks it is a promise it is a covenant the Bible is a covenant document they promise the Old Testament the Old and the New Testament are really the old and new covenant because the word Testament is. Latin for covenant. So the old is the Old Covenant and the new is the new covenant. So the new to New Covenant supersedes the Old Covenant the new covenant is greater than the old the new covenant is in Jesus Christ as with most of the covenants found in the Bible you will usually find that they follow a pattern the initiating party of course being God normally not always but normally describes himself and what he has done. Followed by a list of obligations between the two parties. So from the scripture It’s between God and man. So it has his list of obligations and generally these obligations will deal with the rewards if the obligations are followed faithfully or the punishment that will occur. If the obligations are not followed the Ten Commandments and some of the Ten Commandments fit this this pattern but the example of him describing himself in Exodus twenty verse two he says I am the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt out of the house of slavery. So he identifies himself to the nation of Israel. I am the LORD your God I am the one that by mighty hand I delivered you from slavery out of bondage. Then there is a list of obligations between the two parties and this being the case between God and the nation of Israel. He says You shall have no other God before me in Exodus twenty verse three You shall not make for yourselves an idol Exodus twenty verse four. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain verse seven. There is a section that deals with rewards and punishments that govern the keeping and. Breaking of his covenants in verse seven A says for the Lord will not leave him on punished who takes his name in vain. There will be punishment for those who takes God’s name in vain. But then there’s also a reward shared many places in the Bible. I’ve just picked these few he says to honor your father and mother that your days may be prolonged and in the land which the LORD your God gives you. So there is a reward if you follow this covenant promise that if you honor your father and mother respect them that your days may be long. You may live long on this earth a coven it can be conditional. But there is also some covenant promises that are non conditional. A conditional covenant like the ones I just mention like the Ten Commandments and many other depend on the faithfulness of the people to whom it was given and a covenant is invalid should want to both parties break the conditions and we know that God’s not going to break his part is. So who always broke the part of the Covenant Mand in an example of a non conditional covenant could be the covenant God made with Noah in Genesis nine verses eight to eleven said then God spoke to know and to a sons with him saying. And as for may be hold. I establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you and with every living creature that is with you. The birds the cattle and every beast of the earth with you of all that go out of the Ark every beast of the earth. Thus I establish my covenant with you. Never again shall all flesh be caught off by the waters of a flood never again shall there be a flood to destroy the whole earth. So you see that is a non-conditional covenant because God didn’t say that if I will not destroy the. Birth. Unless you sin against me that wasn’t in there. He just said never again. So I destroy the earth by flood. All the covenants found in the Bible between God and man originate by God and they are an act of His grace every covenant is an act of God’s grace an act of His mercy the new covenant is between Christ and His Church and it consists of obtaining eternal salvation the covenant sign is baptism and Colossians two eleven through fourteen. It says in him you were also circumcised with the circus and circumcision made without hands by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ buried with him and baptism in which you also were raised with him through faith in the working of God who raised him from the dead and you being dead in your trespasses and the circumcision of your flesh. He has made a live together with him having forgiven you all trust passes having wiped out the hand writing of requirements that was against us which was contrary to us and he has taken it out of the way having nailed it to the cross. You know there is a very important element that you’ll find in the covenant agreement that God made with man and that is blood that is important. The most important element is the blood in Hebrews nine sixteen through twenty two. It says For where there is a testament. There must also in the Ceci be the death of the testator’s for a testament is in force after men are dead since it has no power at all while the testator’s lives there for not even the first covenant was dedicated without blood for one. Roses had spoken every precept to all the peoples according to the law all he took the blood of the calves and goats with water scarlet warn his soap and sprinkle both the book itself and all the people saying this is the blood of the covenant which God has commanded you then. Likewise he sprinkled the blood both the sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry. And according to the law in almost all things are purified with blood and without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin. There is no remission without the shedding of blood. And you know some people might look at that and look at the Bible and say Oh it is such a bloody book it is so bloody it is so horrible. How could a loving and merciful God require such blood. Instead of looking at it the way that they should that God is so merciful so merciful that he did not account our sins to ourselves but applied him to Jesus. So merciful that he allowed there to be a way that man could be reconciled into him by blood. How merciful was that that God made a way that God allowed this to happen. You know God’s covenant promised to know and all mankind that he would never destroy the earth again with a flood was preceded with a sacrifice in Genesis eight twenty twenty one A says the Noah built an altar to the Lord and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird and offered a burnt offering on the altar and the Lord smelled a soothing aroma Then the Lord said in his heart. I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake. Although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his use. Nor will I get destroyed ever leave a living thing as I have done. Even there there was blood no a sacrifice the animal. Yes and it was pleasing on to God with Abraham in Genesis fifteen eight through ten seventeen and eighteen and he said Lord God how shall I know that I will inherit it. So he said to him bring me a three year old half or a three year old female goat and three year old ram a turtle dove and a young pigeon. Then he brought all these to him and cut them into down the middle and placed each piece opposite the other and then seventeen and it came to pass when the sun went down and it was dark that behold there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces on the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abraham saying to your descendants I have given this land from the River of Egypt to the great river of the river you for your phrase there again was the shedding of blood to make a covenant God made a covenant with Abraham and we know what that covenant was of the I will make the a great nation. He was without child and God say I’m going to make a great nation of you. And it was through the nation of Abraham that the Redeemer came. But again there was a setting of blood that important element without blood. There is no binding covenant in one thousand nine hundred five a man named H. clay Trumbull. Wrote a fascinating book titled The Blood Covenant and a blurb on the back of the book explaining the Blood Covenant is the most solemn binding agreement possible between two parties. Perhaps one of the least understood and yet the most important and relevant factors and the covenant relationship that God has chosen to employ in his dealings with men is the Blood Covenant. This coven of life and death spanned the entire sacrificial system of the Old Testament and it is the basis an act of communion in a. Church today. But how sad that is the least understood troubled in his book seem to prove beyond a doubt that the Blood Covenant is one of the most ancient and universal institutions this idea is found on the representation familiar to all Testament scholars that the blood stands for life whenever you was a kid did you ever have a blood brother blood sister not hope this is something the kids are doing today. I really hope they are not. With of the diseases and stuff that comes with blood. So how many here ever had a blood brother a blood sister anybody. I think so. Doubts of that was my response as I was asking myself this question I think I remember doing that. For those that aren’t old enough to know what that is if whenever you’re a young kid and you had somebody that you considered to be your best friend in the whole world and you know used knew that you were going to be buddies or going to be friends for the rest of your lives or at least that was your hope. You may have made a decision and were going to become a blood brother or a blood sister. So what they would do is they would take a little knife and they would cut their finger or thumb or they would prick it to make it bleed and your best friend in the whole wide world would do the same thing and then they would put their thumbs or fingers together in a tent to do what. Mix the blood to mingle the blood not don’t know if that actually worked but that was the idea behind it. It gave you and your friend this special block special bond that could never be broken. Well if I did it. I don’t even know who it was but somehow I think I did but this is a practices that has been happening for centuries five centuries before Jesus’ birth. The Greek historian her odious wrote. Now the sin thing is make covenant in the following manner. With whoever they make them having poured out wine into a great earthen drinking ball. They mingle with it. The blood of those cutting covenant. Striking the body with a small my for cutting it slightly with a sword there after they dip into the bowl sword arrow axe and javelin But while they are doing this they utter many invoking soon afterwards. Not only those who make the covenant but those of their followers who are of the highest rank drank of the wine mangled with blood. They understood the importance of blood the significance of blood in a covenant. So they were doing it long before they did a lot different than we did as kids. I’m not too fond on the drinking the blood to Karen’s a second her head is gross. And there was a great missionary named David Livingston. And as he made his way through Africa. He was asked again and again and again to make a Blood Covenant with the chiefs and leaders of various tribes think about that many many many many years ago. He was asked to make a Blood Covenant with these leaders and once he did this the people welcomed him as brothers and were anxious to hear what he had to say about the Lord. Because they knew that anyone who was willing to become a blood brother they would listen to him. You wonder how did these chiefs know about because it’s been known for centuries and centuries. Again found in troubles writings. There are some that believe that the Blood Covenant is an Enter commingling of the very lives of the persons or parties making the covenant more than just pass. It’s in the blood they think it is the very lives it is a it forms a tire a union it cannot be dissolved or broken. You know in marriage marriage is a covenant. But today it’s possible to give divorce and break that covenant. But the idea behind his Blood Covenant is that it cannot be broken. The belief behind this is that the blood is the life of the living being. Not merely merely that blood is essential to life but in a pick your sense it is life that it actually vivifies by its presence and by passing from one organism to another it carries imparts life. They believe they believe that the inner commingling of the blood of the two organism is therefore equivalent to the inner commingling of the lives of the personalities and the nature of those making covenant those cutting covenant the two bodies becoming one. Nom not sold or not idea I’m not saying that I believe in ADD and saying and that is so. But I am sold on the idea of friends that the blood covenant that God made through Jesus Christ can have that code intermingling of the person. Him in us in us in Him His Spirit in us. I believe that with all my heart because he will change us he can make us a new creation in him so on that side of that there is a spiritual thing a spiritual thing that happens that I believe that it’s by faith it is by faith we believe in the blood of Jesus Christ shed all neck crawls when his hands and feet were Piers and that spear was pushed into his side when he shed his blood that is the new covenant. But we don’t have to cut our fingers and cut ourselves and do all those crazy things. All we have to do is believe it by faith except and say Yes Lord I believe that you shed your blood. Forgive me. My sins allow that blood to wash me and cleanse me and make me whole. There I believe that can happen in a spiritual sense John six verses forty seven through fifty six says Most assuredly I say to you. He who believes in me has everlasting life. Do you believe God’s word is a promise. Shake your heads if you believe God’s word is a promise. OK Man I’ll get some response. Most assuredly I say to you. Jesus say it is he who believes in me has everlasting life. It doesn’t say you might have everlasting life but has everlasting life. It is a promise stand on it. Forty eight says I am the bread of life your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness and their dead. This is the bread which comes down from heaven that one may eat of it and not die. And the living bread which came down from heaven if any one eats of this bread. He will live forever and the bread that I shall give is my flesh which also shall give for the life of the world. The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves saying how can this man give us his flesh to eat then Jesus said to them. Most assuredly I say to you unless you eat the flesh of the son of the Son of Man and drink his blood. You have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and I will raise him up at the last day for my flesh is food indeed in my body my blood is drink indeed he eats my flesh and drinks my blood. Abides in me and I in him. So there that brings back that what I was saying if we eat His flesh and drink his blood that he has he abides in us He abides within us His Spirit in us inside of us. You know these elements that we bring to day Rizana bake the bread and we had the juice to. There you know the juice was purchased at a store. You know there are some that will say that these are actually the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. Whichever way you think you know there is a symbolic meaning that this bread and this wine and this jews they represent the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. No matter which way a person thinks of it is actually or if it’s just symbolic we can agree on one thing that it does represent the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ that He paid the ultimate price for our sins. Imagine that the sins of the entire world placed upon him. It is by faith and believing that he truly died on that cross. You know when you think back to the old sacrificial system and why the new covenant is greater than the old Because in the old. I mean I read it this priest what did he do. He sprinkled the people with the blood didn’t. He sprinkled with them but every year they would come every year year after year they would come on the day of atonement and he would sprinkle them with blood and he put some on the altar. But what did that do. Did that completely forgive them of their sins for eternity. No they had to come back next year year after year. It just push their sins forward to the next year but it’s like that debt diskette Palin up Palin up powering up year after year but it was to remind them that there was a penalty for their sins that there was a debt to pay for their sins but think of this that all those before. And today in all those to come all of the sins past present and future were applied to Jesus Christ one sinned at once and for all. All have been forgiven. No more year after year. Do we have to come with our sacrifices because Christ did it in Hebrews they was not going to have this because I added. Hebrews Chapter ten. Begin with first nine. Then he said Behold I have come to do your will of God He takes away the first that he may establish the second he speaking of the Covenant by that Will we have. By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all one time for all Christ did not don’t have to go back many times one time for all for all the sins of the world and every priest stands ministering daily in offering repeatedly the same sacrifices which can never take away sins but this man after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever sat down at the right hand of God From that time waiting to his enemies are made His footstool for one offering He has perfected forever. Those who are being sanctified How you that we are part perfected for ever. By the blood of Jesus Christ. It’s not by our blood it’s not by our power not by our might but it is by his blood his power and his might his redeeming qualities how I love you you know why did people come year after year. They came year after year to remind them to remind him of the consequences. So of Jesus’ sacrifice is once and for all for all the sins past present and future. Why do we have communion Why do we do it often. Why do we do it whether we do it monthly quarterly Why do we do it. I think to remind us to remind us of the penalty that he paid three Mind us so that cruel cross. He said and my first reading in First Corinthians. Do this in remembrance of me my body which is broken for you do this remembrance of me and he took the the blood. He says this do as often as you drink it in remembrance of me I think he knows that just like Israelites they became forgetful we might become forgetful and forget the awesome sacrifice that Jesus paid for us. So don’t take communion lightly. Don’t take it as just a thing we do but when we partake of communion truly ponder and reflect on the amazing sacrifice that Jesus made for us that he did shed his blood and his blood is sprinkled applied to us applied to our sins for our forgiveness.