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 of the bread and drink of the cup.
For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks
judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we would not
be judged. But when we are judged, we
are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world. Therefore, my brethren, when you come
together to eat, wait for one another.
But if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, lest you come together for
judgment. And the rest I will set in order when I come. (1 Corinthians 11:23-34
NKJV)
Here is
the perfect summation. Read this passage
carefully. We are weak and sleepy
because we do not receive the Cup of God’s Grace or because we receive it
incorrectly. Worse than any physical
sickness like heart disease or cancer is the spiritual malaise and disease that
brings us to ruin.
Because we
do not judge ourselves and realize how much we need God’s forgiveness we will
have to drink from the Cup of God’s Wrath and be judged! Realize that this call is not for the lost,
but for the FOUND! This is God’s warning
to His Body, His Church!
Receive
God’s gracious judgment and chastisement now and we will no longer have to fear
the judgment to come! We don’t receive
Communion because we are physically hungry, but because spiritually we are
starving to death. Do not eat and drink
for your stomachs sake, but because of your souls need! We must hunger and thirst for righteousness
and then we will be filled with God’s Grace!
“The rest
I will set in order when I come” warn us that until we drink from the Cup and
receive the life giving Blood of Jesus Christ nothing else can be set
right! This is the beginning of all
renewal, the beginning of all revival and the start of all mission and
ministry!
It
is my prayer that you will hear God’s call and drink for the Cup of God’s Grace
and push aside the Cup of God’s Wrath!
May you drink deeply of the Cup of Communion so you can have communion
with God and because of that have communion with God’s people.
Benediction
As
I end this study I remember something my Mother used to say when I was a child.
“We all have to pay for what we have done wrong either in
this life or the next. Pray that you pay
in this life for that is much better!”
In
essence my Mother realized that there are two Cups we must choose from. Which Cup will you choose? The Cup of God’s Wrath with its final and
total judgment for all we have done wrong and for the good we left undone? Or the Cup of God’s Grace so we can receive
the forgiveness of our sins where we are judged and our debt is paid through
the blood of Jesus Christ?
Which
Cup will you drink from? Which Cup will
you choose? Or will you choose the Cup
of God’s Wrath simply by not choosing to drink from the Cup of God’s Grace?
Your response
Please take some time to think about your response to this
study.
Which Cup will you drink from?
How do you “choose” that Cup?
How will that Cup affect your life and how you live it?
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