Do This
In
Remembrance
Jesus
Christ instituted Christians remembering His sacrifice for our
salvation in a manner that we know take, almost, for granted. The
painful crucifixion suffered by our Savior as He underwent excruciating
pain and rejection was known to Him even as He gave us His instruction
at the Last Supper.
The
death of Jesus Christ by crucifixion was no accident. This was God’s
plan for the redemption of us from the wages of sin. Even the Old
Testament has some 2,000 plus verses that foretold of this event and its
purpose.
Isaiah 53: 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.
The
love exhibited by our Savior is absolutely astounding. How He could
have calmly, and with a great deal of loving concern, appear and grant
us a way to show our love is wondrous indeed.
1 Corinthians 11: 23For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me." 25In
the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the
new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance
of me." 26For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
It
is sad that some religious denominations skew even the basest act of
total love that was shown to all mankind at the Last Supper. He gave
explicit meaning as He broke the bread and then, after sharing it with
His apostles, also instructed that the wine He had blessed was
representative of His Blood and asked that it be drunk “In remembrance
of Me.” I say “sad” as some supposed Christian denominations withhold
the wine from their congregations only having everyone partake in the
bread.
As Jesus spoke He did not say, or even intimate, that His body and blood would undergo metamorphoses
and become the actual body and blood as His explicit Words are, “In
remembrance,” which is saying ‘this is done to remember Me.’
We
must be ever aware of all the things, events that occurred during the
actual crucifixion of Jesus Christ. As He hung from the cross He
exhibited ‘forgiveness,’ He exhibited loneliness, and extreme power.
Luke 22: 34Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
That is forgiveness!
Matthew 27: 46About
the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi lama
sabachthani?"—which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
That is loneliness!
Matthew 27: 50And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. 51At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split.
That is power!
All of these events are to be
remembered as we partake of the rite of celebrating our deliverance and
when we take part in this remembrance we must do so in a most
worshipful manner. We must put all thoughts other than those of Him, out
of our minds and center only on Him and what He did for us on that most
memorable day.
1 Corinthians 11: 27Therefore,
whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy
manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.
28A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. 29For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself.
If the partaking of this
memorial act is not, or cannot, be performed with a pure and worshipful
heart then it is best to abstain from the partaking thereof. In
partaking in other than a most worshipful manner the risk is eternal
damnation.
Now, I have often prayed and
asked God to show me, as a Pastor and one who edifies His Word, how to
partake of doing this rite absent a crowd of worshipers. His answer to
me, deep in my heart was:
Matthew 18: 20For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."
So, as the 2 or 3 ask Him to be with them and enter into worship; break bread, eat it, then pour wine, and drink it.
The bread should be unleavened and the wine derived from grapes of the vine.
To properly remember Christ
is to offer thanks to God the Father for the bread and wine to be
consumed in remembrance of Jesus Christ.
As you
partake you must remember just who you are in worship of, the wondrous
gift He gave you and all that was gone through to give you this gift.
This is a most serious matter, one not to be taken lightly and performed
with reverence, adoration, and love for Him.
When God authored the Bible,
His Word, He was aware that there would be times when His children would
not be able to fellowship in groups of many. He is all knowing and
tells us that 2 gathered in His name, was enough to constitute a
‘church.’ In conducting a ‘church service,’ all you need to is to
reverently invite Him into your gathering and know that He is there with
you and act accordingly. The purpose of meeting is to offer praise and
worship of Him and supplicate after offering praise and worship.
Now, on another note I would
like to tell you something I neglected to in my sermons on worship. In
my exuberance I often miss points I would like to touch on that God has
told me to edify on.
I told you of my worship as I walk nightly. First I ask forgiveness after confessing my sins of the day.
I then worship and at the end of my walk I say prayers of supplication.
Then, after doing all that I do to prepare for and get into bed, I lie
there and enter into worship again.
I have spoken to many other
Pastors as I had thought this questionable as I often fell asleep as I worshiped. To my happiness I learned that they too were doing the same
thing and their happiness was proof enough to tell me, God hears my
worship and grants me rest with Him on my mind and in my heart.
If you are in His presence,
in praise and worship, and are true in your Christianity, I am certain,
with no shadow of a doubt; He hears you and will smile at your love and
thoughtfulness in allowing Him to share your day.
(Closing prayer)
Almighty God, Father and
Creator of us all, please hear us as we praise You and worship You. You
are our God and we wish to do Your will in a manner most pleasing to
You.
Father, You sent Your Son to
earth, allowed Him to be sacrificed to take the sins of true believers
away as evidence of Your love for Your children. You allowed man to be
able to be saved by believing in Him and obeying Your Word. Lord, our
gratitude for this overwhelms us and brings sadness, for His
crucifixion, as well as rejoicing to our hearts. You are a most wondrous
God and it is to You we bow and to no other.
We remember our Lord, Jesus
Christ, as we partake of the bread and wine just as He bade us to do at
the Last Supper. Father, thank You for this opportunity to come before
You and show our love.
Lord we ask that You bless
and protect our military, our elected officials, our judges, police
officers and any charged with the protection of our country. We also ask
that You show mercy to those oppressed by people that strive to satisfy
their own earthly needs and turn a blind eye to You and Your ways.
We pray these things in the
name of Your Son, our Lord and Savior, who is One with You and the Holy
Spirit, One God forever and ever,
Amen, amen and amen.
--
Pastor Lee S Gliddon Jr
God's Word Christian Ministry
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