We turn to 1 Corinthians 11:23-26;

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; this is My body which is broken 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.”’

Paul once again reiterated to the Corinthian church the teachings of the Holy Communion and Paul says that he received the Lord what is delivering of us. This teaching is in accordance to the teachings of the other gospels and the Lord personally revealed this. Paul also wants to reemphasise the partaking of the Holy Communion. V24 mentions;

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 v25 after supper;

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.”’

After Jesus gave thanks, He emphasised that this is in remembrance of Him. In the final moments He said, “You take the Holy Communion to proclaim the Lord’s death until the Lord’s death.”

The theme for this SM is the End of the Age. Before the Lord comes, we have to be prepared and cherish every opportunity to partake of the Holy Communion because we have to remember the Lord.

When they remembered their Lord in the Old Testament, they remembered their sins and what they’ve fallen short before God. Every year on the Day of Atonement, the high priest has to represent the people to offer the sacrifice to atone for their sins which will cause them to recall their sins.

In the Old Testament in the salvation grace of the Lord Jesus, when we partake of the Holy Communion, what we partake is not our sins because our sins have been forgiven by the precious blood of Jesus. We recall His salvation grace instead. This is a great difference.

There was a sister who deeply felt the great grace in believing in the Lord. Before she believed in the Lord, she had to prepare many things to offer to her ancestors every year. She could never experience the new year as a free and light festival. For the Chinese, CNY is a very important for praying to their ancestors.

After believing in the Lord, she found freedom. She didn’t have to busy herself with offerings to her ancestors. The salvation grace of God allowed her to stop praying to false gods.

Receiving the Holy Communion is receiving the grace of Jesus in our lives. Receiving His grace is important because we’ve received His salvation grace. Every time we partake of the Holy Communion we have to recall: we have received the baptism in the precious blood of the Lord.

Every time we conduct the Holy Communion is like during baptism. A new believer who has received the grace of the Lord have their sins forgiven and have a new life; this is a great change in their lives and a great grace they receive from the Lord. People who have been recently baptised will remember this grace very strongly. For long-time believers, we also have to recall this experience as well.

The speaker remembers bringing the RE students to the baptismal site to witness one of the baptisms. They must understand how they were baptised. Even though they didn’t make the decision to baptise, when they grow up they have to be responsible in their pursuit of faith. Every believer who has received this baptism that forgives sins must remember this grace in our lives.

How can we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? The grace of God in our lives is great. When we partake of the Holy Communion, it is for us to remember His salvation grace.

V26;

‘For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.’

We have to also proclaim the Lord’s death; it’s to preach and cry out. The Lord instructed the disciples to preach the gospel because all the nations will become His disciples. The Holy Communion is also to proclaim the Lord’s death. Through the Holy Communion that we receive, we have to proclaim the Lord’s death. What does this mean? We turn to 2 Corinthians 4:10;

Paul carries the death of the Lord Jesus because this is the salvation grace Jesus gave us through His death; that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our body. This is what it means to proclaim the Lord’s death so that in our lowly lives we can manifest and proclaim the death of the Lord Jesus.

Some preachers may not take care of their bodies well. There was a preacher had to go for dialysis often because of kidney disease. In the process of dialysis, his sister donated her kidney and it was not rejected by his body. The operation was a success and he didn’t have to receive dialysis anymore. After he recovered, he continued his work of pastoring churches. This kidney was of great help to him and he didn’t need to waste his time going for dialysis anymore. Henceforth he was very careful in his diet and habits so he wouldn’t damage his kidney anymore.

Some people can’t see and hope to see the world God created. If someone were to donate his/her cornea and can receive a cornea transplant, this person will from being blind to be able to see. The person who donated the cornea has already passed but allowed this person to receive sight. This person would have to protect his eyes well because of the donor’s sacrifice.

In the same way, because of the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus, we’re able to receive a new and eternal life. We’ve received a life donated to us by the Lord Jesus. Our lives must be like the life of Jesus and not let His sacrifice be in vain. In our lives, we have to proclaim and manifest His death to allow people to know we have the life of Christ, we have faith, we don’t lie, we know how to love others, we hold fast to the truth and we do not sin against God. This is the death of the Lord in our lives. In the process of partaking of the Holy Communion, we have to remember the Lord and proclaim His death. Just as Paul says to be a new person.

We read Galatians 6:15;

‘For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation.’

Paul emphasises that we have to be a new creation. How can we be a new creation? V14;

‘But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. ‘

This is our glory. Jesus was crucified on the cross for us. Because of the death of the Lord, we receive life. This world wants to crucify Him to the cross and therefore this world is unprofitable to me. We have to change our values; we have to know what to pursue and what is truly valuable because in the future all these will disappear.

We have to crucify ourselves on the cross. What does it mean? In Galatians 5:24;

‘And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ‘

We crucify our passions and desires. As a Christian we have to change ourselves. We cannot lose our temper easily and speak unedifying words; in our lives we’re not changed. How have you proclaim the Lord’s death then?

When we receive the Holy Communion we need to have this pursuit and change. We have to examine ourselves.

The Holy Spirit helps us rebuke ourselves and we see our weaknesses and shortcomings. We must put in the effort to change ourselves. When we do so, we see that no one is perfect and we can only ask God to have mercy on us. When we partake of the Holy Communion, we examine ourselves and when we feel guilty that we’ve fallen short, we must consider if we’re qualified to partake of the Holy Communion.

In 1 Corinthians 11:27;

‘Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. ‘

Let man examine himself because this is a Holy Communion. We have to partake this in a holy manner. This is to remind them that among them are some people who have not examined themselves and have eaten and drank judgement onto themselves. If we examine ourselves, we’ll have the opportunity to improve. Let us not let these bad habits continue to hinder us from progressing and improving.

Let us partake of the Holy Communion and remember the grace of God. Let us proclaim the Lord’s death in our lives and live out His life.