Understanding Divine Service Part 4

All right, grab a Bible something to write with. Let's pray. Heavenly Father almighty and everlasting God we come before you in humble awe. You are the one true God. There is none other like you come.

We pray bless our hearts and our minds as we study your word. Send your Holy Spirit into our lives so that we may grow in love and grace and that we may go forth into all the world. Proclaiming your gospel so that others may learn of your saving grace through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen. All right. We have a short class today short. Last week. We were studying the words of institution taking taking a look at.

Biblical.

Analysis regarding the Lord's Supper and You're gonna note that in our liturgy, which by the way when we have the Lord's Supper here at Kongsbinger. This is the exact liturgy that we follow. For the Lord's Supper it comes out of a divine service setting one or setting two in in the Lutheran service book and so the the words of institution.

We took a look at last week just by way of reminder our Lord Jesus Christ on the night that he was betrayed took bread. And when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to the disciples and said take eat.

This is my body which is given for you this do and remembrance of me in the same way. Also, he took the cup after supper and when he had given thanks He gave it to them saying drink of it all of you. This cup is the New Testament in my blood which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.

This do as often as you drink it in Remembrance of me. So we noted last week and did a little bit of review on the idea that Remembrance talk is covenantal talk biblically. And so the idea here is is that a lot of people?

Misunderstand what remembrance is and they'll put the emphasis on the remembrance but not rightly understand that over and again in scripture when the word Remembrance is used. It is covenantal talk. It is invoking the New Covenant and God remembering his promises in the New Covenant and we remembering his promises in the New Covenant, which really helps us out and so, you know as it's a comfort for us then to be able to go to the Lord's Supper and to hear the pastor say this is the true body of Christ given for you for the forgiveness of your sins the true blood of Christ shed for you.

And again, the emphasis is on the words for the forgiveness of your sins. Which is the very central promise Then of the New Covenant that God will have mercy on us. Give us pardon and peace. And so when we are buffeted by the temptations of the devil and our conscience has gone Bad if you would and we and we're feeling terrible and feeling like how could I possibly call myself a Christian?

Oftentimes people in that situation will be tempted to not come to the Lord's table because there's another bad teaching that goes along the lines with the Lord's Supper and it has to do with a Misunderstanding of what does it mean to take the Lord's Supper in an unworthy manner?

So when I was growing up in the Methodist Church and in the Nazarene Church to take the Lord's Supper in an unworthy manner meant coming to the table with unconfessed sin in my life or Somehow not doing what's necessary to live a holy life.

So I you know so the idea then is in order to come to the Lord's Table the bar is set here as far as holiness is concerned and I kept coming up below the bar, right? And so there were times when I didn't have the Lord's Supper because I Felt had the guilt pangs of a guilty conscience because of sin and so I in order to be worthy to have Lord's Supper, I've got a I got to come to this level and So I restrained myself in other places I would note that there are others who make that decision for you or how.

Yeah, I would even say that's part of the history of this congregation, you know where people were sat down. So no, no, no, no, no, no, no, you're not you're not up to that level. But that's not what it means to take the Lord's Supper in an unworthy manner.

We'll take we'll review the text real quick in just a minute and review what we looked at last week. But if the promises of the New Covenant are the body and blood of Christ given and shed for the forgiveness of your sins if you have a guilty conscience and are Recognizing that you are a sinner and that you need God's mercy in grace.

Then coming to the Lord's Table with the belief that you're receiving the body and blood given and shed for the forgiveness of your sins is Exactly what it means to take the Lord's Supper in a worthy manner.

Because you recognize that you need it. That's the idea. So you're gonna note then when you misunderstand what it means to take the Lord's Supper in a worthy manner you Inadvertently turn the Lord's Supper into law.

So now me coming to the altar to receive the body and blood of Christ is now a public proclamation to everybody in church.

I'm.

Pulling it off. I'm living a holy life I'm doing what's making but makes it makes it so that I'm worthy to take the Lord's Supper and that becomes a form of self-righteousness. And You can note then that if you have that view of the Lord's Supper, are you going to want to have it regularly?

Not really. Not really. In fact the more infrequently you have it the better. In Fact the more infrequently you have it and the more you make it available and maybe just like Christmas and Easter the better.

Because.

Everybody would expect that. Well if there's gonna be a time in the church when you can have the Lord's Supper Christmas and Easter. Those are pretty good times and you can you know. Everyone's expected to come for those and nobody's gonna be barred from coming to the Lord's table.

And so you can kind of sneak up there and have it and it wouldn't be so much of a proud and arrogant. Display of your personal piety and your growth in your holiness. You see what I'm saying, there's a specific reason why churches where the Lord's Supper falls into disuse and becomes a very infrequent thing and That will always be the case when you run the Lord's Supper through the law.

Where it's something I've got to do to make myself worthy so that I can come to the table and by doing so I'm Announcing to everybody me and Jesus. We're tight right now. When you do it that way yeah, the less often the better and The reason why is because each and every one of us when we're honest with ourselves.

From week to week day to day month to month. How tight are you and Jesus? Anyway, you can only sustain that kind of self-righteousness for so long and Then when that becomes part of the culture of the church.

Then sin is no longer discussed and then what ends up happening is that people put up facades. They put up facades and they spend a lot of time working on the paint on the facade and The facade is is that I'm a holy Christian and I'm pulling it off and everybody knows it.

And so.

Sure, well, we're what we're off the record. Table and it says if we have anything against our brother we should go and so but that is still in it is still in practice and Yet we can be have something against our brother the minute before we walk up to that altar.

You you actually have flipped it. The text you're referring to is Matthew 18 and you just reversed the order.

Take a look at the text. Okay?

Let's see, I think it's 18 15 yeah, if your brother sins against you.

Yeah.

The one you're looking for is the one leave your gift at the altar. Yeah. Yeah, let me find it. Matthew 5 Yeah, you've heard of it said of old you shall not murder. Whoever murders will be liable to judgment.

I say to you that everyone who's angry with his brother will be liable to judgment. Whoever insults his brother will be liable to counsel and whoever says you fool or Acha You will be liable to the hell of fire.

So if you're offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against.

You.

If you had said you asked the question you have something against your brother. Yeah, see that's that's the opposite direction. And so you're gonna know this is not actually an explicit text referring to the Lord's Supper.

All right. And the reason why people identify it with the Lord's Supper has to do with the fact that you know We call that piece of furniture over there the altar and so they think it has to do with but notice it has it says Offering your gift at the altar so the context in the Jesus is talking about is in the is in Mosaic Covenant people are required to come and bring Sacrifices for atonement and things like this and they bring offerings with them as well.

And there you are bringing your gift to the altar and it's for the forgiveness of your sins that you're doing these things because all of the Mosaic ceremonial laws have to do with the forgiveness of sins and They're not that you've sinned against somebody or that you have something against another person, but there you recognize.

Oh, no, Fred Fred has something against. You see I'm saying So in a situation like that you got to go and reconcile with your brother and so the gospel the forgiveness of sins. It's a it is not just it never has been merely a vertical thing.

You want to write standing with God? Yes, this is a good thing that right standing with God then has implications regarding everybody else. That's how that works. And so the forgiveness of sins Puts if you would a demand on you.

That that same forgiveness is extended to others. So If you're there you remember that your brother has something against You you see it. You went before God because God has something against you because of your sin and now God says Your brother has something against you, too.

Because you've sinned against him, this is vertical and horizontal. And so the issue then is in a situation like that where you have not reconciled with your brother. Then it is appropriate and this is why then it gets brought into the context of the Lord's Supper could not make sense you come to the rail and You again hear these words.

Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of your sins. That's great that you and Jesus have been reconciled and you have peace with God. But now examine your heart. Who else have you sinned against?

Was it Janet Barb? Well, everybody sins against Mark. That's just a given right. Who have you sinned against you need to go and reconcile with them and it I don't know if you heard it it because I didn't really emphasize it but in the second Thessalonians text second Thessalonians in chapter 1.

We hear in the introduction. Very fascinating thing to this church who's being persecuted we had always to give thanks to God for your brothers as is right because your faith is growing abundantly and listen to this and The love of every one of you for one another is increasing that is the natural outgrowth of the forgiveness of sins in a right standing with God is that it will lead to an outgrowth of your love for other people and if that's not the case.

Then something is wrong. Because you're not taking that next step and that is is that consider does anyone have something against me and the reality of this situation. Is is that I'll be blunt everybody has something against everybody here and There because this whole room is full of sinners.

And the one thing I've learned about sinners is they sin and when they sin, it's not in the abstract. They sin against God they sin against each other. And so the thing is is that we're always gonna be in a situation where somebody is gonna sin against you.

It's just gonna happen or you're gonna sin against another person. It's just gonna happen. And here's the shocking thing very little thought or intention has to go in it. Oftentimes. It just happens.

Because.

It can be it can be but I would say in part the answer is going to be because the devil is always trying to sew Division and discord and disunity within the body of Christ. You want a church to fail? It'll fail on disunity and Disunity is always at its core a failure to forgive and a failure to love.

It's a failure to love and it's a failure to forgive and it's a failure to love.

Period.

Because it's just like a marriage. What is it that causes marriages to fail. Because I'm gonna be blunt I don't know a single person who's ever gotten married and experienced that Honeymoon bliss for 50 years.

It never happens. What is it that makes the difference between a successful marriage and a failed marriage? You want to know what it is ultimately the end of the day? Can you forgive your spouse? Because to love Makes you vulnerable and you're gonna get hurt.

There's no way around it. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, this is fun. We collectively. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And so the thing is is then in church. When there are upsets and they there will always be upsets. Period. In fact, I would be shocked.

The only way that there couldn't be upsets is this everybody was out there. So the idea is you're always gonna have upsets the question is how are you going to handle these upsets and. This is gonna require you to actually internally look at yourself and go.

All right. What have I contributed to this problem and not behave like a three-year-old? He made me do it. It's her fault and go to a person if they have something against you and.

Be.

Reconciled. Be a mature Christian and grow up and say I screwed up.

I'm sorry.

Please forgive me. And As you've received the absolution that person should then absolve you. But the reality situation is it's gonna be all of five seconds before You're gonna need to do the same thing.

And that's how marriages survive. That's how they survive. My grandfather Who I miss terribly gave me one bit of advice before I got married and he always called me son. And the reason why he called me son is because he filled in for my father when my father abandoned me and Literally just up and left the state and fled.

And so my grandfather his almost his last words that he spoke to me he said this son I'm excited that you're getting married. One bit of advice. Don't let the Sun go down on your anger. If you will do that Your marriage will last.

Don't let the Sun go down on your anger. And I'll tell you what happens in families and in churches. There are upsets and the upsets are never resolved. There's never real communication and As a result of that things fester and sunset after sunset after sunset after sunset goes by.

The issues never resolved. Nobody's acting in love or mercy and by that. But that continues. Then you've got a full-blown raging gangrene unforgiveness.

Problem.

It seems customary that churches when they have communion. Yeah.

That's a tradition, but it actually has an interesting. And that's this in Lutheranism. It's actually kind of a big discussion point is that they recognize that it is a beneficial practice and the purpose of it and why it even was brought up in the first place is.

Because and you get it what's what it's called. It's the sharing of the peace. That's what it's called. And so. Some guys don't like to have it. Some churches don't some do and they have long tradition with it.

I personally think it's actually been beneficial. And so I'm one of these guys who I like the practice a lot because here's what it does. We are going to have the Lord's Supper together. This gives you the opportunity to look that person in the eye.

Who maybe you haven't gotten along with and you're supposed to share the peace with them. Shaking hands and saying peace to your brother is a physical way of saying.

We're okay.

But if you can't and here's the thing if there's somebody in the congregation that you couldn't go to and Shake their hand and say peace. Now there's a problem. That what it does is it's a practice that gives you the opportunity to ask the question Is there anybody here who has something against me?

And it does so in a way that makes it so it doesn't single anybody out. You see what I'm saying. So that makes it so that you can say well, you know what? We're not getting along maybe we shouldn't maybe I need to go and get that resolved first.

And that's in keeping with the gospel. Now. Is it mandatory? No, not at all. It's a human tradition for that particular purpose to make sure that there's still peace in the church so but not knowing that makes it so that it just turns into something we all do because it's really cool and Of course little kids love it.

You know, yeah. Yeah go share the peace. But again, it's not it's not a necessary thing. So, let's take a look then re-examine that text as in regards to the words of institutions. First Corinthians 11 we noted last week first Corinthians 11 27.

Here's our here's our emphasis. Whoever therefore eats the bread and drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner. So it is possible To have the Lord's Supper in an unworthy manner and remember the context.

This is a church where the rich in the ruling class had decided that for the Lord's Supper. They're going to keep all the elements to themselves and to make sure that the people in the lower class and the slaves.

We're not going to get the Lord's Supper. They Consumed all of the elements chugged the wine so much. So some of the people in the church were drunk. If that isn't being uncharitable and unkind and unloving I don't know what is we're gonna make sure that.

You guys over there. Don't get the Lord's Supper. That's crazy, it's absolutely nuts but again It's a church. So we say yeah, well that makes everything makes all the sense in the world. So Paul and his corrective then says this what it by the way, what is it?

That's making them do this. They're not recognizing the Lord's Supper for the holy thing that it is. Whoever therefore eats the bread and drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning concerning what the body and the blood of Christ.

To take the Lord's Supper in an unworthy manner is to literally sin Against the body and the blood of Christ. Which begs the question? How are you guilty of sinning against those two things if they're not present.

It doesn't make sense if they're not.

So.

Let a person examine himself and So eat of the bread and drink of the cup. Anyone who eats and drinks without discerning and Antioch Sios there could also mean recognize. That's another legitimate way of understanding that word.

Anyone who eats and drinks without Discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself and That's the core issue. So I'm gonna keep you kids from having the Lord's Supper. I'm chugging the wine and oh wow who the woozy afterwards by doing so I am not Recognizing it for the holy thing that it is.

I am treating it as mere wine and I'm treating the bread as mere bread. Not recognizing the body and blood of Christ that are present in them. Yes. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, the Lord's Supper is for every baptized believer who believes these things.

No, it's not a place for class warfare, it's not a place for identity politics it's not a place for political parties or whatever. Only the Republicans will be allowed to have the Lord's Supper this week and you Democrats if you don't repent we're gonna keep you from having it.

So, you know by Recognizing it for what it is the sacred body and blood of Christ. What if you wouldn't if you recognize it for what it is, you would never have it in an unworthy manner which is what they were doing and.

I.

Would never dare to get drunk on the body and blood of Christ. That is a blasphemy and a sin of a magnitude that I would hate to even consider. But that's what they were doing. And then Paul goes on and he says.

This is why many of you have become weak and ill and some have died. God basically said you're gonna treat my body and blood like this. I Can't kill you. God exercised the death penalty for some of these people.

That's how wicked their sin was. This harkens back to the wilderness wanderings of Israel when God destroyed certain people and their entire families for Defiling the holy vessels of the tabernacle. That same punishment that God inflicted on those evildoers God had inflicted on some of the members of the Church of Corinth.

They had gotten sick. They were put on a sickbed. Some had even died. That's how holy and sacred This is this is why it's not merely a symbol. Because the text says so to take it in an unworthy manner is to not recognize the body and blood of Christ.

Yes.

Yes, yeah, you'll you'll note the ALC being a very very very very tiny Association of Lutheran churches. We don't have the luxury like the LCMS of like saying you have to have membership in our churches In order to be at the Lord's table.

So now it comes back to confess. What do you believe you're receiving and for those of you those of you who would take the Lord's Supper in an unworthy manner? We do have a defibrillator. So Yes, and I'll be blunt the fact that we don't.

There there are people that I know like in the Missouri Synod who are extremely Heretical in their teaching and their practice is just like contrary to anything Christian if they were to come and present Themselves at the you know at the Lord's table I'm have half a mind to say no.

No, because I can't I can't visibly be in unity with you as a particular person because I know of your false doctrine. And your false teaching and practice, you know so I'm looking for I'm looking for reasons to give the body and blood of Christ of people not for reason to keep to keep them from it.

First and foremost, so you come to our church and you are a baptized penitent sinner and You confess that you were receiving the body and blood of Christ in with under how we don't know how it works. With the bread and the wine for the forgiveness of your sins.

You need this. But if you're coming here and you are an impenitent sinner and you're teaching heresy and false doctrine. I don't care what the membership on your church certificate says. What I care is what you believe in what you confess.

So we don't believe in what they call filing cabinet orthodoxy. You know what filing cabinet orthodoxy is over and again. I find this fascinating. I'll tell you a little story because I think it exemplifies it very well.

Is years ago. This is now ten years ago this year I was invited by Rick Warren to go to a purpose-driven conference at Saddleback Church on his dime. I Lived in Southern California. So that wasn't much of a dime, you know, but There was only two people that were given that that actually many people were given only two accepted the offer.

Me and a fellow pastor from Minneapolis by the name of Bob DeWay. While we were there, we actually met with Rick Warren.

And.

Basically, one of the things that Bob DeWay made a point of with Rick Warren was listen, I Know that you can point to your website and say that your church believes. Statements that are orthodox. The problem is not your statement of faith.

The problem is what's preached from the pulpit Doesn't teach any of those statements of faith. So when you have a church or a person who says I subscribe to the Nicene Creed I believe in the Augsburg Confession.

I can quote the Catechism to you. Do you believe any of it? Well, no. Or you have a pastor who says I believe those things those we have a link on our website to that stuff and what comes From the pulpit never mentions any of those tenets of faith.

That's an impossible thing to do by the way, if you're preaching the Word of God if You're actually exegeting biblical texts and teaching the full counsel of the Word of God every single every single tenet of the Nicene Creed every single article of the Apostles Creed every article of The Augsburg Confession and the small catechism are going to be covered with regularity from the pulpit because all of those creeds and confessions are summary statements of the scriptures and I always love it when a text comes up that gives me the opportunity to dig into one of our articles of faith.

So the one thing that somebody can't say is well that Kong's vinger pastor. They say they believe and you know that they that they believe in the stuff laid out in the book of Concord. But I never hear him say that they can't say that about me.

Go through my sermons with an open book of Concord and you'll say well, there's the Trinity. There's the creation. There's redemption. There's the fall. Here's Jesus returning in glory to judge the living and the dead.

Yeah, it's all there and in you want to know why it's not because I'm so smart. It's because I'm just dumb enough to realize that this ain't my church and this is these aren't these aren't my words. It's not my job to preach my things.

My job is to just give a living voice to the Word of God and help you understand What it says and by doing so all of that stuff is covered. So there's no filing cabin orthodoxy so all that being said though that there are people whom I know of.

Who are pastors who are filing cabin orthodoxy guys I wouldn't commune them. In fact, I'd be incensed if they showed up here.

Really.

My association I don't I don't commune associations I can view. I commune Individual people. They individually present themselves at the altar at Kongsvinger. I'll give you another story friend of mine in in ministry in the LCMS one of the mothers in his congregation has a daughter who's decided that she's going to come out of the closet and This daughter not only has come out of the closet.

She's become a very very outspoken activist for LGBTQ, you know XYZ issues and stuff like this. And one time the girl came home for one of the holidays and they went to church and this impenitent Young lady Presented herself at the altar for the Lord's Supper.

He would not commune her. Despite the fact that technically she was a member of that church. He couldn't communer. Because the body and blood of Christ are given and shed for the forgiveness of your sins.

That assumes penitence. That assumes that you recognize that you're in need of the forgiveness of sins. When you become an outspoken advocate for the recognition of sin in society. Now you're working against God.

Yes, I I propose something radical. I think we should start the microchurch. I'll be blunt as the pastor. It is my job to know everybody in the congregation. It really is. I Mean I get all the details right about you know Some of the stuff in your family or your house, but my job is to keep an eye on you spiritually.

That's my job and That requires me to know you and to interact with you and to not put myself up on a pedestal and keep you from talking To me by surrounding myself with my own security entourage. Which by the way, that's what a lot of these mega church pastors do when I met with Rick Warren.

He had a very impressive security entourage and they were Really well armed. I mean really and years ago years and years years ago I was the treasurer for the Republican Central Committee in the 43rd and 44th congressional districts in Southern, California and.

I.

Got to see some of the presidential candidates that were running the year that Dole ran against. Bob Dole ran against Clinton and I can say this without blushing Rick Warren security entourage was more impressive than Bob Dole's.

More in.

Fact when I was talking with him There was a guy who was literally in my line of sight. Never he never once let me out of his sight if I had. Went into my pocket to grab a handkerchief. I'm pretty sure he would have pulled that Glock 17 out.

Which means Rick Warren doesn't know anybody at his church.

The same.

Now last bit here then, okay. So we know what it then means to take the Lord's Supper in an unworthy manner but I wanted to show you one little thing in the liturgy that we follow when we have the Lord's Supper and That is after the words of institution.

Which by the way if you want to know the technical term for that it's called the verba. The verba and so you're going to note when I went when we have the Lord's Supper. When I speak the words of the verba because remember.

Which way I'm facing kind of matters if I'm facing you I'm speaking on behalf of Christ. When my back is towards you I'm speaking with you as part of the congregation. When the words of institution are spoken, which direction am I facing?

Backward. Yeah, that's right. So you notice our altars against the wall. I like free-floating altars that give it make it possible for the guy to stand behind it because it makes it a lot easier. So for me because the verba is Christ speaking to us.

I Need to be facing you for that. And so I am this is why I appreciate the help that we get from the deacons. You know because it's funny as many times as I said the verba. I when I'm put on the spot I'll always choke.

It's kind of fascinating now another piece of this. So as often as we eat this bread and we drink this cup, we proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. Amen. Come Lord Jesus and then listen to this. There's a prayer After that and this is called an anamnetic prayer from the Greek word anamnesis, which means remembrance.

This is a prayer of remembrance and watch my body language next time. We have the Lord's Supper. So consecrated elements are now on the altar. My back is towards you as I'm praying. But you're gonna if you pay close attention, I've been doing this since I got here.

Once the elements are consecrated that prayer isn't in this direction. That prayer is prayed with my body towards the elements. Recognizing the physical presence of Christ. Now it's it's not just against the wall.

We by my body. I'm recognizing Christ is present now among us. And so my prayer always takes place just a little bit askew towards the elements. You ever notice that some of you may have noticed but I've done this since I got here.

Yeah.

Good answer good answer. She closes her eyes and she prays that is the best answer ever and so now listen to these the words of this prayer. This is an anamnetic prayer. Oh Lord Jesus Christ only Son of the Father in giving us your body and your blood to eat and to drink you lead us to remember and Confess your Holy Cross and your passion your blessed death.

Your rest in the tomb your resurrection from the dead your ascension into heaven and you're coming for the final judgment. So you're gonna know all of that is remembering the actual suffering of Christ.

So Remember the remembrance does remember the sufferings of Christ. That's why it's evoked and brought back to mind and it's brought back to mind in the form of a prayer with the pastor just skewed a little bit praying towards the elements which Physically signifies I'm recognizing that Christ is now among us in a way.

That is special. I'm not just praying towards the air or just towards the back wall. I'm now praying where Christ I can say with Absolute certainty is there presently for us and that's why I'm praying just a little bit askew.

All right, any questions? Yes.

Yes.

Yeah, it does. But it's in a situation like this though when somebody is an impenitent There's there's steps to that. So there's like a soft ban at first where the pastor may be aware of somebody's sin that they are impenitent about and then.

What is imposed in that is kind of like a like a you know, it's a it's a it's a it's it's a it's it's Early stage of Matthew 18 so if somebody is an impenitent Then then there's a different paradigm in place.

Because.

This is a gift only for the penitent and so pastoral care does have some oversight on it now for Most people though.

I mean.

I am never aware of the sins that you're going through as Struggling with or fallen into temptation with I and I don't need to know them. You don't need to enumerate them to me. And so then that this last piece is where the majority Time comes in so you have to examine yourself.

You really need to consider all of these things yourself and then ask yourself. Why am I here? Am I here to be forgiven and assured and comforted? Am I presenting myself in defiance? You know, so they're your motivations now become part of it, but that's gonna be the majority of it.

This is gonna be the internal dialogue that you have with yourself and with God and I'm not even aware of it I'm blissfully unaware of it. But you're gonna note then that Scripture does encourage us In fact explicitly say to us that we need to examine ourselves in this manner.

You don't go to the Lord's Supper just because you've done it since you were a kid. Come to receive the body and blood of Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Don first and then Nikki. Did you have your hands up?