24-0225p Transcript

Preacher: Mike Mathis

(0:28) Good evening, church. (0:31) Those that are here at the building and those that are on the phone, (0:37) we welcome you and we pray that this lesson is edifying.

(0:45) This is a lesson that we’re going to deal with what many of us here in this building are familiar with, (0:53) but we’re going to go over because it’s something that drew my attention (1:03) and it was thinking of this radio call-in show (1:13) that callers with biblical questions or comments would ask or make a comment. (1:20) It was at a radio station that came from Mansfield, Ohio, (1:34) and callers would call in a biblical question or make a comment (1:40) on some subject that they wished to approach. (1:49) One such caller one morning during the exchange between this caller and the host of the program (2:02) said, we ought to do what is appropriate.

(2:10) My first thought and reaction to that was appropriate to whom? (2:23) And as I was thinking of that and considering the answer the program’s host made, (2:34) and we’ll get into that in a little bit, (2:37) I went to the dictionary to look at the definition for appropriate, (2:46) and I had to be careful when I was looking at that one. (2:51) I had to look, when I looked, I left out one of the R’s, the second R in this, (3:00) so I had to go back and insert the R, put the R in there. (3:05) But anyway, when I looked at the definition, (3:14) there are three parts of defining appropriate I want to consider.

(3:21) We’re going to be surprised, maybe, to find out that appropriate may not be exactly what we think it means, (3:36) but the first part of this, or the definition, the dictionary, (3:48) and I looked at the, I had them in mind. (3:58) It was a dictionary that I have at home. (4:03) I looked at what the definition for appropriate was in there, (4:09) and then I looked online at Webster’s online dictionary, (4:15) and they pretty well come to the same definition, (4:24) and I’m going to look at these individually as I go along.

(4:30) The first definition, to take for one’s own use. (4:39) Now that, in and of itself, may not be too bad. (4:48) We can, for instance, go to the store, pick out what we want, (4:58) go to the checkout, stop at the checkout, and pay for it, buy it, (5:06) and we’re allowed to go out the door with that article.

(5:16) So that would be okay. (5:20) We know that Jesus died upon the cross for us, (5:27) shed his blood for us, (5:32) and it is that blood that the Lord fought with his blood. (5:48) The Lord purchased the church with his blood, (5:53) and when he died, when he was upon the cross, he was under the Mosaic Law, (6:02) but he put that law out of the way when he died upon the cross, (6:08) and took it out of the way, mailing it to the cross.

(6:13) And so when he shed his blood in his dying, (6:19) he bought the church, and he bought it for his own, (6:24) and the purpose for the church is to present praise to God, (6:36) as 1 Peter 2, 1 Peter chapter 2 and verse 9 says, (6:45) But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, (6:54) his own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of him (7:00) who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light, (7:08) who once were not a people, but are now the people of God, (7:12) who had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. (7:19) One has to look at that you may proclaim the praises of him (7:31) who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. (7:38) That would be God.

That would be Jesus. (7:45) And so we find then that for that the church was bought, (7:53) and it is then taken for Christ’s own use. (8:02) For Christ is the head, and the church is the body, (8:07) and we’re going to delve into that in a little bit.

(8:12) But then there’s another side to this. (8:15) It says to take for one’s own use. (8:20) But you know there are those that will walk in a store, (8:27) they will pick something up, go out with it without paying for it, (8:34) shoplift, steal.

People will steal things. (8:40) Got your car sitting out in your driveway or parked somewhere. (8:49) Somebody wants it, will see it, and they want it.

(8:54) They don’t ask for permission from the owner to take it, (9:01) but they take it anyway. They steal it. (9:05) But that’s not good.

(9:08) So you see when we use the word appropriate, what do we mean? (9:16) Do we mean that we have taken something rightly for our own use, (9:24) or have we just taken something that’s not rightfully ours and taken it? (9:33) That would be stealing. (9:37) Now I do not at this time recall just what prompted this caller. (9:47) I don’t know what topic the host of this radio program was on at that moment (9:59) that prompted this caller to call.

(10:06) But it came to the Lord’s Supper. (10:18) And the host, because the man said, (10:23) well we’ve got to do what is appropriate. (10:29) And he said, he brought up the elements of the Lord’s Supper.

(10:36) He said, you know, he said, we on the Lord’s table, we have unleavened bread. (10:50) And he said, we have the fruit of the vine. (10:54) He said, the unleavened bread, he said, that doesn’t taste very good.

(11:00) He said, so there are other things that would taste better, (11:08) that would be appropriate for our taste buds, but it’s not appropriate to God. (11:19) It is unleavened bread that is supposed to be on the Lord’s table. (11:28) Because if we recall that when they observed the Passover, (11:37) the bread that they were to have was to be unleavened.

(11:45) And that’s what they had. (11:47) When Jesus was observing the Passover, they had unleavened bread. (11:56) That was the bread that was used in instituting the Lord’s Supper.

(12:06) The elements then that are required then is the unleavened bread and the fruit of the vine. (12:19) I would love to have had more here that would see this. (12:25) But we have in this communion pack that we’ve been taking because of COVID outbreak, (12:37) we’ve got the bread on top there, it’s unleavened.

(12:41) And we’ve got the fruit of the vine. (12:45) And if we look at the fruit of the vine, it looks similar to looking at blood. (12:54) But it’s not blood, and it’s not really blood that we have in there.

(13:00) And it does not turn into actual blood when we partake of it. (13:07) But it is the fitting and proper elements to have on the Lord’s Supper, on the Lord’s table. (13:21) And it is the Lord’s Supper, and He has a say on what goes on the table.

(13:31) So we can take this, and I forgot to give that definition, second definition, (13:41) to take improperly without permission. (13:48) That is one of the definitions for appropriate, so we need to be careful. (13:58) Because we may put something on the Lord’s table that is not permitted to be on the Lord’s table.

(14:09) Then those who will take the Lord’s Supper, maybe once a month or quarterly, (14:21) or on any day of the week, through the week, and not on the first day of the week. (14:31) Acts 20 and verse 7, we have the example of the disciples, the believers, coming together. (14:48) And Paul at Troas was there, and he waited, he stayed seven days.

(15:04) Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, (15:14) that has to be the Lord’s Supper. (15:18) First day of the week. (15:21) Why wait until the first day of the week to eat just a common meal? (15:27) Common meal can be eaten at any time.

(15:32) But it is to be on the first day of the week. (15:39) And someone may ask, for what first day of the week? (15:48) That’s like asking, would be the children of Israel, (15:54) when they were told to remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. (16:00) What Sabbath? (16:03) Sabbath day was on the seventh day of the week.

(16:07) And every time the seventh day of the week came along, they were to keep it holy. (16:15) Now we are to keep the first day of the week. (16:22) That’s the day Christ arose.

(16:24) He arose on the first day of the week. (16:26) That’s the day the church began in Acts 2, on the day of Pentecost. (16:36) It was seven Sabbaths they counted from the Passover.

(16:43) Seven Sabbaths plus one more day. (16:47) And that one more day fell on the first day of the week. (16:51) And that made it Pentecost.

(16:56) Pentecost meaning 50. (17:00) Also the offering is to be taken on the first day of the week, (17:09) according to 1 Corinthians 16, 1 and 2. (17:16) And Paul is telling these Corinthians in chapter 16, (17:26) he’s telling them the same thing that he was telling the churches of Galatia. (17:35) Those in Galatia.

(17:41) And that they were to lay by and store upon the first day of the week. (17:50) He said, now concerning the collection for the saints, (17:53) as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, (17:58) so you must do also on the first day of the week (18:04) that each one of you lays something aside, (18:10) storing up as he may prosper, (18:14) that there be no collections when I come. (18:19) Now, those that would take up a collection that they were holding, (18:26) what they would call in the Bible, (18:30) that was Monday through Saturday, (18:35) every meeting that they had through that week, (18:41) they would be taking up a collection.

(18:46) No wonder when the collection is passed around, (18:51) we see people digging in their pockets. (18:58) Well, if those are dollar bills, okay, (19:02) but whatever is in the hand, drop it in there. (19:08) But we learned that the collection was to be taken on the first day of the week.

(19:16) And then to take the Lord’s supper in an unworthy manner. (19:26) That is what Paul was getting on to the Corinthians about in chapter 11. (19:37) Now, chapter 10, verse 16, (19:45) the type of blessing which we bless, (19:48) is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? (19:52) The blood which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? (20:00) You know, we get the impression here that there is a sharing here, (20:06) a communion between Christ and the church.

(20:14) And also between the members sharing with each other the communion. (20:26) You know, Christ, when he instituted the Lord’s supper, (20:33) and when he took the cup and blessed it, (20:37) and gave it to the disciples, (20:41) he told them to take and drink you all from it. (20:51) And he said, I will not drink any more of this (20:56) until I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.

(21:03) So, we are taking the Lord’s supper, (21:08) we’re communing with Christ, we’re communing with each other. (21:13) That is just what Paul was getting on to the Corinthians. (21:21) Because what they did, they mixed the Lord’s supper with the love feast.

(21:30) They treated it as if it was a common meal. (21:34) And that’s the reason that he said, if you are hungry, eat at home. (21:42) They were taken before others.

(21:46) Some would be drunk, some would be satisfied, (21:53) others would not be because of the ones that were taken before them. (22:00) He said, this isn’t the Lord’s supper that you are to take. (22:05) And so he instructed them to how they were to take the Lord’s supper.

(22:14) And it can be taken in a manner that is worthy. (22:20) And he tells them that in this chapter, (22:24) first of all, to wait for one another. (22:28) When you come together, wait for each other, wait.

(22:32) And take it together. (22:35) And they would know, you know, who’s there, how many they have. (22:42) So, it is a sharing.

(22:47) Now, we come to the third definition of appropriate. (22:57) And it is to set aside for a specific use, fitting proper. (23:09) Now, I didn’t put fitting and proper here on my outline, (23:16) but that’s included in the definition.

(23:21) To set aside for a specific use. (23:26) You know, the Lord’s supper was instituted for a specific use. (23:33) Communion with the Lord, as we have seen.

(23:37) As we have seen from 1 Corinthians 10 and verse 16 in particular. (23:49) And communion with one another. (23:54) He’s telling them that when they come together to wait on one another.

(24:01) For, you know, he said, I received from the Lord that which I delivered to you. (24:08) That which the Lord on the same night in which he was betrayed took bread. (24:13) And when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, (24:18) Take eat, this is my body which is broken for you.

(24:23) Do this in remembrance of me. (24:26) In the same manner, he also took the cup after supper, saying, (24:33) This cup is the new covenant in my blood. (24:37) This do, as often as you drink it in remembrance of me.

(24:43) For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, (24:48) you proclaim the Lord’s death, here he comes. (24:52) Now, when we are, the manner in which we think of it then, (24:59) Therefore, whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner (25:08) will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. (25:14) But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink the cup.

(25:24) It is a time at the communion to examine ourselves. (25:34) We are to share with each other. (25:38) That’s what communion is.

(25:41) That is what it is to do things together. (25:48) We share in it. (25:50) That’s the reason that he got on to them, (25:56) that they would wait for the rest of the people to come together.

(26:05) And it is also to remember the Lord. (26:11) You are in front of this table, it says, (26:15) Do this in remembrance of me. (26:19) Well, that’s what we need to do when we partake of the Lord’s supper.

(26:31) You see, we need to be careful when we use certain words. (26:43) And in this case, doing what is appropriate (26:51) might be we’re doing things just for self. (27:00) What I think is appropriate may not be what God wants.

(27:09) It may be what I want, but it may not be what He wants. (27:16) And we can see from this appropriate has some meanings (27:23) that we need to really know what are we talking about (27:28) when we’re using that word appropriate. (27:31) That’s how we’re going to use that.

(27:34) Now, if we’re meaning to use these things for the purpose (27:49) that the Lord has designed these things to be, (27:55) okay, I will agree with that. (27:59) I will back that up. (28:01) I concentrated on the Lord’s supper.

(28:05) But you know, all of worship should be done in decency and in order (28:12) according to 1 Corinthians 14. (28:16) It is fitting and proper to worship in spirit and in truth. (28:27) So when we partake of the Lord’s supper, we sing songs, we pray to God, (28:36) we hear a lesson from God’s word.

(28:41) It is fitting and proper that it’s done in spirit and in truth. (28:48) And I see here that those in our members have already become Christians (28:58) and are already of the household of faith. (29:07) But I would say that if anyone that is listening (29:12) that could be on the phone and desires to obey Christ (29:24) and be willing to do what is right in His sight, (29:36) we would urge you to come and believe and to be baptized to be saved.

(29:44) That’s what Mark 16, 15, 16 says. (29:49) The gospel was to be preached, (29:52) He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. (29:56) And live faithfully after doing so.

(30:02) But if anyone has strayed away, (30:08) let them step forward. (30:11) We would urge you to come forward and let the church pray for you (30:18) that you be restored in God’s sight. (30:22) Or if there is any other thing that is on your mind, (30:29) let it be known and let the church pray to God for you (30:36) that He would help and be of assistance to us in any way.

(30:44) Let us know that if we are going to do what is appropriate, (30:50) let’s do what is fitting and proper in the sight of God. (30:56) Why not come while we stand and sing? (30:59)