WORSHIP AND LORD'S SUPPER

Worship and Lord’s Supper

Traditions and Practices

It is a matter of great concern when people make doctrines and spiritual stand on issues in the Bible based on different traditions and practices. The Bible doesn’t give us any clear patterns on how to conduct our gatherings, yet we often stipulate strict written or unwritten code of conduct or order of meetings of the church. We have used a table to place the emblems of the Lord’s Supper in the church, and it has now become ‘Lord’s Table’ and some even come up with expressions like ‘worshiping with the Lord’s Table’. The translation of the Bible that ‘Jesus gave thanks for the bread and the cup’ is often mistaken for ‘blessing the bread and the cup’. We do not realize that any such man-made patterns of the gatherings grieve the Holy Spirit who wants to move the hearts of the believers to take glory through all that they do in a gathering according to His will and pleasure. Church history reveals that at the beginning of each spiritual movement the Scripture is strictly adhered to, but over the years, patterns, traditions, man-made rules and regulations set in to deprive the gatherings of spirit-control.

A good example for such mixing of tradition and practices with the Bible is how some gatherings misunderstand the place of worship in a gathering and limit it to the time of the Lord’s Supper. Some think that worship is the same as observing the Lord’s Supper. They teach that without the observance of the Lord’s Supper, worship cannot be practiced. Thus sadly they confuse people to limit worship for a few minutes a week. So it is spiritually and scripturally expedient to see if there is any distinction between the Lord’s Supper and Worship. It is vital to provide clarity in our adherence to worship so that we would truly worship God. It is also pertinent to examine how far our remembrance meetings will be a time to focus on the Lord and all that He has become for us. It will thus help us to submit ourselves to the leading and control of the Spirit in worshiping and remembering our Lord in the right perspective. 

Worship 

Worship is better experienced than explained. Worship is a spontaneous flow of the wonder and awe of our hearts as we see the Lord in His glory. It is to fall prostrate and to attribute all worthiness, glory, honor and praise to God for all that He is in His person, character and work. The Greek word mostly used in the New Testament for worship (proskuneo) means to bow down, kneel or fall prostrate and kiss the feet of God whom is the object of our worship. We see that worship is a continuous experience in heaven. Angels and the heavenly beings get themselves lost in the wonder and awe of the Lord and worship Him all the time.  

This truth is seen all through the Old Testament and the New Testament. In some cases in the Old Testament, worship was accompanied with sacrifice and an altar. In other places, it is the expression of being wonder struck at the glory and greatness of God. Worship in the New Testament is shown clearly in the gospels whenever God’s people beheld His glory. The shepherds and the magi worshiped baby Jesus (Luke 2:20; Matthew 2:11). We read about the words of worship by Mary, the mother of our Lord (Luke 1:46-55). We also read about how Simeon and Hanna worshiped Jesus when they saw Him at the Temple soon after His birth (Luke 2:25-38). From then on, there were scores of instances when people worshiped the Lord Jesus as they beheld His glory, before and after His crucifixion (Matthew 28:9; Luke 24:52; John 20:28).  The New Testament admonishes all God’s children to offer sacrifice of praise which is the fruit of their lips (Hebrews13:15). Worship in the New Testament is to offer praises to the One for who He really is and what He has done for our souls (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18; Colossians 3:16-17). It is interesting to see how Jesus taught His disciples in the model prayer to start with worship: “Hallowed Be Your Name” (Matthew 6:9; Luke 11:2). All believers are to submit their bodies as living sacrifices of worship (Romans 12:1-2). 

Worship takes different forms, including our words and our songs (Ephesians 5:19-20), our act of falling prostrate before Him and His glory (Matthew 2:11) and submitting all that we are and have to Him (Romans 12:1). It has to be rendered without ceasing (Ephesians 5:20). Thus a believer’s life ought to develop an attitude of worship (Hebrews 13:15). Our worship includes giving to Him all that we have (Hebrews 13:16; Philippians 4:18) in which He will have full freedom to use it all for His glory. 

In summary, it is important that all God’s children must worship God and live in a spirit and attitude of worship as they are filled with the vision of the risen, glorified Lord. Worship should then become our primary occupation throughout our lives. It will continue to be the greatest occupation in heaven as well (Revelation 4:8-11; 5:8-14). Interestingly we do not see worship in the New Testament linked with the Lord’s Supper which is a time of remembrance. 

The Lord’s Supper

The Lord Jesus established what has been known as the Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11:23-30) or Breaking of Bread (Acts of the Apostles 20:7). It has several vital truths embodied in it.

(1) It is a memorial feast of God’s people where they remember the Lord through eating of the broken bread and drinking from the cup (1 Corinthians 11:24-25).

(2) It is a time and an act of proclaiming the death of our Lord Jesus (1 Corinthians 11:26).

(3) It is an opportunity to enjoy communion or fellowship of God’s people with God and among themselves (1 Corinthians 10:16).

(4) It testifies that the partakers are members of the body of Christ and are bound together to function as one body (1 Corinthians 10: 17).  

(5) It declares that our Lord will soon come to take His children to be home with Him forever (1 Corinthians 11:26).

This memorial feast is to be observed as often as we gather (Acts 2:42; 1 Corinthians 11:26) and most especially on the Lord’s Day which is the first day of the week that reminds us of His resurrection (Acts 20:7). It is a time when we gather around the resurrected Lord and enjoy His victory on the cross for us.

Worship and Lord’s Supper

It is true that when we gather together to remember our Lord and proclaim His death on the cross by observing the Lord’s Supper, our hearts are filled with gratitude. We see the risen slain Lamb seated on the Throne in Heaven. We get ourselves enthralled in His radiating glory and love. We meditate on His sufferings all the way from Bethlehem to Calvary, and most especially during the three hours of darkness. Our hearts are filled with thoughts about His imminent return to take us to be with Him forever. As we observe the Supper by remembering our Lord, we might be filled with praise and adoration and we ascribe glory to His holy name. So let us remind ourselves of the fact that the Lord’s Supper primarily is a time of remembrance. But it cannot be denied that as we remember our Lord, we worship Him also. 

But this doesn’t mean that Lord’s Supper and worship are the same. We worship all the time and it becomes our life style. We worship during our time of personal meditation and prayer, at home during the family altar, as we move around in this world during our daily walk, in the various gatherings of the saints, during the time of corporate worship and during the time when we remember our Lord through the observance of the Lord’s Supper. Any one of these occasions is in no way less important or significant than the other. But the Lord’s Supper is a unique time when we remember our Lord and proclaim His death through the eating of the bread and drinking from the cup. If we limit our worship to the time of the Lord’s Supper, we are belittling the importance of worship and limiting it to a short period of a few minutes during the gathering for the Lord’s Supper. 

We must remember that worship started in the Old Testament times. The first instance of worship mentioned was when Cain and Abel worshiped by offering sacrifices to the Lord, even though there was a sacrifice of an animal to cloth Adam and Eve before that. But this act of worship continued all through the Old Testament. Many of the Old Testament saints had visions of the Lord at which they worshiped Him directly (E.g. Abraham, Isaiah, Ezekiel and others). But at other times, they worshiped by faith and often built altars to offer sacrifice which was the shadow of the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross that was to come at the fullness of time (2 Chronicles 29:27-30). They worshiped when they crossed the Red Sea (Exodus 1:1). They worshiped when they heard the Word of God read aloud (Nehemiah 8:6; 9:3, 5-6). They worshiped when the Tabernacle was erected and the Temple in Jerusalem and its walls and gates were rebuilt and commissioned (2 Chronicles 5:13; 7:3; Nehemiah 12:27). 

Worship continues all through the New Testament times. And worship will continue all through eternity. But the Lord’s Supper was established in the Upper Room on the night when Jesus was betrayed (1 Corinthians 11:23-25). It will stop at the rapture (1 Corinthians 11:26), as we would then no longer need to remember our Lord because we will see Him face to face and will be with Him forever. But worship will continue to occupy us throughout eternity. 

The above discussion helps us to see the following truths: 

a.       We do not have an express commandment in the New Testament to worship at a particular gathering or occasion because worship is all pervasive and not limited to time, place or situation.

b.      The Lord’s Supper is a commandment to remember our Lord through the breaking of bread as we gather together on the Lord’s Day.

c.       As we remember the Lord, we endeavor to praise, glorify and adore our Lord for who He is and for all that He has done for us, but our emphasis is remembrance of Him who is the Lover of our souls.

d.      At the memorial feast, our hearts of gratitude may lead us to offer praise to our Lord.

e.      Worship and Lord’s Supper are not synonymous.

f.        Worship is not an external observance of some sort at certain occasions, but a lifestyle, philosophy, motive, attitude and priority, to offer ourselves and all that we have to the One who gave Himself up for us. 

May we continue to live in a spirit of worship! May we also remember our Lord regularly through the observance of the Lord’s Supper! May it all be for the glory of our Lord and for our spiritual upliftment! 

SEARCHING FOR LISTENERS!

Searching for Listeners!

                A battle has been going on for ages for the ears and hearts of man. The first voice man heard was that of God, but later his ears were manipulated by Satan to listen to and believe on his lies. Since that time, the battle for the ears and hearts of man has been continuously fought between God and Satan. Satan uses world and flesh, his faithful associates, also to engage in the battle for human minds. He speaks to people whether they want to listen or not and tries to attract them through crooked and crafty ways and means. He keeps speaking and comes back each time he experiences a rebuff from the listener as he is a shameless creature. On the other hand, God searches after those who are voluntarily willing to listen and obey. He doesn’t write on a screen which has messages that are unacceptable to Him. When the slate is wiped clean and prepared for divine writing, He will write on it and speak through it (Luke 14:35). Such was the life of Samuel, the prophet and priest raised up by God.

The Setting

                Samuel was a person who was willing to listen carefully and obey incessantly. He lived in a generation which failed God (Judges 21:25). The leadership lost spiritual vision (1 Samuel 3:2). Leaders’ children were rebellious, disobedient and abominable. It was a time when repentance and confession were unheard off in the nation of Israel. People competed among themselves to reject God’s commandments. As people’s hearts were not ready and prepared, God stopped speaking to them (1 Samuel 3:1). It was a generation which did what seemed fit in each one’s selfish mind. So God searched for fresh ears and hearts which were willing to listen so that He could speak. He wanted to find an interested, committed, willing and obedient listener. That’s what God found in Samuel whom He made a prophet, priest and kingmaker. He listened attentively and acted upon what he was told without fear or favor.

Why God speaks?

                God is interested in people and in their spiritual well-being. He knows that they do not deserve His mercy. But God was pleased to speak if there was someone willing to take Him seriously. He knows the failures, weaknesses and hopeless condition of man and wants to show grace by giving man another chance. As the potter of life, He wants to make a new vessel out of each and every life ruined by sin. He is the God of the second chance and wants to rebuild people’s broken lives as He did to Jonah and Peter. He is kind, patient and long-suffering and wants to reach out to the hopeless and the useless and make good use of them. He is willing to forgive and forget the confessed and repented past and renew hopeless lives. He doesn’t give up on man on this side of eternity, but searches after those who are willing to forsake their past failures and come to Him with a desire to be rebuilt. 

Who is He that speaks? 

                Man’s primary challenge today is to distinguish between the voice of God and that of God’s enemy and his agents. 

                Satan and his associates do not speak the truth. Their goal is to lure man away from God’s pathway. They want to lead man astray and push him to eternal damnation. Satan’s pathways are broad, attractive and comfortable to start with. But as man moves forward, the journey will become cumbersome, the road crooked, atmosphere tiresome, promises deceptive, and the way forward is without peace and hope. It is a pathway of discouragement and disillusionment. As man goes forward, he will find hopelessness and discontentment. 

                But God’s pathway is through the wilderness of this world with its toil. But the true friend of man, the Lord Jesus Christ, will be with each pilgrim. The weary traveler will be able to lean on to Jesus and find comfort, strength and hope in Him and His presence. It is a sojourn with hope in the horizon of each pilgrim. It is a walk of faith with songs even in the night. The traveler is under the shadow of the Almighty. He enjoys the cool and still waters and green pastures of the Great Shepherd.  

How does God speak?

                God speaks loudly just as He called out Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. His voice is heard often more powerfully than the sounds in nature (Psalms 29:3-9) which gives no excuse for anyone who has physical ears to hear. But still there are people who refuse to recognize His voice as a reality. At other times, He speaks like a friend, as He spoke to Abraham (Genesis 18:17-19). There are times when He speaks in very soft voice (1 Kings 19:12). He also speaks through the elements, circumstances, events, prophets and the written Word depending on the situation and context. The ultimate objective in all these is that man should listen and obey. 

Hindrance to listening

                If only hindrances to listening can be identified and removed will one be able to hear the voice of God. What then are some realistic hindrances in the life of a Youth? 

·         An unrepentant heart will not be in tune with God to listen to His voice. It closes one’s spiritual ears and prevents the voice of God from entering into hearts.

·         Man’s pre-fixed priorities, personal likes and dislikes work to close his mind and make it non-responsive to God’s voice and His demands from human life. God wants man to give up all these and give God a free hand to use his life to like all that God likes and dislike all that God hates. 

·         Man must keep in abeyance all other voices which try to capture human mind, like:

Voice of the world – Vanity Fair / Materialism / Technology

i. Voice of the flesh – Desire for prestige / popularity / prominence / position / possession / pride / competition / superiority complex / jealousy / dominance / appreciation

ii. Satan – Deception / Falsification / Strife / Hatred / Accusation / Confusion / Jealousy

·         Man’s stubborn will which prevents him from listening to and obeying God (Matthew 21:30-31)

·         Man’s fear and apprehension about what God might ask of him blocks the voice of God from entering his heart (Luke 18:20-23)

·         Man’s hypocrisy – Pseudo or false devotion, pseudo-discipleship and pretension in listening blocks God’s voice from entering his heart (Matthew 6:1-33)

·         Life which quenches and grieves the Spirit of God, portrayed by an unrepentant heart prevents him from hearing God’s message (Ephesians 4:30; 1 Thessalonians 5:19)

·         Lack of a servant-attitude which is exhibited through self-serving, serving the flesh, word and Satan  work to block God’s message from entering his heart (John 13:1-5) 

·         Loss of spiritual vision takes away any desire to listen to God (Eli: 1 Samuel 3:2) 

Contrast in listening

                One can see a sleeping Eli on the one side and a serving and listening Samuel on the other. So Eli didn’t hear the voice of God, but a willing, committed and obedient Samuel was able to hear God. Once Samuel obeyed, God kept speaking to him (1 Samuel 3:21). Each time he heard a fresh message. Samuel spoke the whole counsel of God at a time when the high priest had no message to speak. When Samuel gave his ears and hearts to God and used it for His glory, God kept using Samuel. Samuel’s ears became God’s and his heart became God’s, like:

·         Moses’ staff became God’s staff when Moses surrendered himself totally to God.

·         The five loaves and two fish of the boy became Jesus’ object of blessing when the boy surrendered it to Jesus.

·         When Saul surrendered himself to Jesus, his life as a murderously fierce lion was transformed into that of a lamb full of passion for Jesus.

·         Elijah, Elisha and John the Baptizer became the voice of God when they surrendered to God to speak fearlessly. 

                God is interested in identifying and using obedient and committed people to speak His mind to their generation even today. Their heart has to be clean of any per-conceived ideas so that God can write His message on it. Their ears are to be free of any hindrance so that God’s message can enter, create an impact and produce a response. It demands a submissive, surrendered and sensitive heart with the whole purpose of pleasing God and glorifying His name in the lives of people. Today He waits patiently for a response from each Youth so that He can tell him the message. He will call again and again until you are ready and prepared. Then the whole world will hear and experience God’s voice through His choice servants. 

UNIQUE CALLS AT CRITICAL TIMES!

Unique Calls @ Critical Times

                Youth characteristically challenge others with their vigor, vitality, enthusiasm, intellectualism and creativity. They think, assimilate, move and act at unprecedentedly fast pace and beat every imagination. They are innovators with ingenious spirit and adventurers with courage and charisma. So the world is after them through technology and mind manipulations. Flesh is after them through temptations. Satan is after them through popularity, prominence and possessions. Opportunities knock at the doors of their lives with promise of achievement and recognition. Knowledge is after them with elation. So they run the race for all these mirages and become disillusioned about life itself. It is then that they are offered ways to feel ‘high’ with substance that work in their bodies and minds to drain them of purposefulness in life. In the process, they challenge many others to travel their ways, but little do they realize that their followers reach the same destination that they are bound to arrive at – feeling of emptiness in life.

                Youthful years are full of energy and ideas. They have an answer to every puzzle and a way out of every mountain trail. They have a whole life time to work on it all with best prospects. They have plenty of free time, with less responsibilities and very little accountability. They are invariably their own bosses. They don’t like anyone telling them what to do, eat, dress, study or accomplish goals in life. They think they are right and others must learn to become wise like them. They often forget that youthful years are the ripe time to consider the Creator and see what His ultimate plans for their lives might be.

God’s focus on the Youth 

                If one examines the account of creation in the Bible, one would easily see that man was created as a resourceful youth and his wife a beautiful young lady. Considering the present life expectancy, most of those whom the Creator called thereafter to work for him were young. Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Nehemiah and the prophets were all called when they were quite young. When one looks into the gospels, it would be easy to see that the disciples of Jesus were all young men, in their late teens or early twenties. Then we are presented with an array of young people like Timothy, Titus, Silas, Epaphroditus and others in the early church who were young men. 

                Why God especially calls young people for His mission? It is because they have the energy required for special missions. They have the life span to establish and accomplish great things to touch the lives of people through the hands of God. They have the will to make a life-time of commitment. They have the capacity to develop a long term vision and the strength to see that it is implemented. They learn the ways of God in His school of faith as they work for Him. They have the drive to go after their vision relentlessly. 

Look into the history of the church 

                History of the church tells us that God has called scores of young men and women to accomplish His purpose in building up His kingdom here on earth. So God called a young lawyer named Charles Finny to lay the foundation for revivalism. He called a young shoe salesman named Dwight Moody to train young people for world evangelization. He called William Carey, Adoniram Judson and Hudson Taylor as founders of modern missionary movement. He made Martin Luther the founder of Reformation. His call to John Calvin and Zwingli was to interpret the Bible and to establish doctrinal foundation for the church. He called Billy Graham who founded Youth for Christ and to start mass evangelism using multimedia to preach to the entire world. God picked Jim Eliot and four of his friends to reach out to the savage mountain tribes. When they were martyred, God used their lives to call over 5,000 youth to obey His call for world missions. He called George Verwer to establish literature evangelism through Operation Mobilization in unreached shores of the nations. They were all young men who were totally committed to Jesus Christ. 

  

                During the last five centuries, God called scores of His men and women to write hymns, translate the Bible, develop music, write books and tracts, launch magazines, start training centers, establish mission hospitals and orphanages and innumerable other evangelistic and church planting ministries. For evangelizing India, God raised up missionaries like William Carey, Amy Carmichael and Silas Fox, native young men like Sadhu Sunder Sing, Bhakth Singh, K.V. Simon and others. These were all called at their prime youth. 

Critical Times

                If we examine the times at which God called His choice instruments for His mission, it was always during critical times.

·         When human race was utterly perverse, God called a young man named Noah to preach and warn against it and to build an illustrative ark to show God’s salvation.

·         When idolatry was rampant and faith utterly unheard of, God called Abraham to prove his simple and unquestionable faith in God and in His mighty power and faithfulness.

·         When morality and truth were unheard of, God called Joseph to stand for, holiness, faithfulness and hope in Him and to protect His people Israel.

·         When God’s people were experiencing hopelessness, oppression and suppression, God raised up Moses to fearlessly face the Egyptian Emperor and his nation to release God’s people and lead them to worship the only true God.

·         When the enemy destroyed God’s people and their livelihood, God raised up Gideon to fight and demolish the enemy as the leader of the army of God.

·         When monster-like Goliath became a threat to God’s people, He called David to kill him and defeat all His enemies to establish a kingdom with Jerusalem as its capital.

·         When the power of God disappeared from His people, He called Isaiah to preach and to warn people and to give them the good news that Jehovah lives to save them.

·         In the midst of hopelessness, God raised up Jeremiah to cry for His people as the great intercessor.

·         When the enemy tried to wipe the Jews from the face of the earth, God called Esther to intercede for them and to reestablish hope.

·         God called Peter and John with their brethren to follow the way of the cross against the pseudo-religious forces.

·         God called Paul to take gospel to new territories and to complete the writing of the New Testament.

·         God called Timothy to build up the church when commitment was unknown among people. 

These men and women were willing to take risks for God and for faith. They gave up everything they had and sacrificed their lives to stand for God. 

Need of the hour

Our times are critical in many respects. The world and its agents flesh and Satan, are after the minds of young people. We live at a time when many young people faint under the scorching heat of the world and its evil system. We see young people captured by Satan, flesh and world. Their minds are being manipulated to perpetuate the evil that is around them. We see youngsters shattered emotionally and confused spiritually and drifting away from God. Who will deliver them from the clutches of sin and the world? Who will train up young men and women to help them fight spiritual battles to salvage the lost youth around them?

God is still looking and calling

·         God wants somebody to stand in the gap for the youth around us (Ezekiel 22:30). If not, people will perish.

·         The prophet is crying and asking as to whether there is anyone to intercede for the lost (Isaiah 59:16)

·         God is looking for the Nehemiah’s around us to rebuild broken lives, character and families (Nehemiah 1:11)

·         God is looking for youngsters who are willing to listen to Him and obey unconditionally (Haggai 1:1 & 3; Luke 14:35)

·         God wants people to respond willingly and voluntarily to go for Him and capture lives for Him (Isaiah 6:8)

What does it cost?   

                                        

Obeying God’s call involves your time, holidays, weekends and evenings, your money and most of all yourself. God wants you to work hard for Him to reach out to the lost youth. He wants your abilities, talents, intelligence, enthusiasm, energy, education, profession and passion that you might be using for temporal gains and fame of this world. He wants you to pray, talk, cook, serve, walk, climb hills, encourage and counsel the youth around you. He wants you to be available and avail the opportunities around you. Open your eyes and see that there are youth all around you who are drifting away into a Christ-less eternity. Many youth are captured day by day by the world, flesh and Satan. Will you be concerned about them? Will you give God the freedom to call you right now to go after the Youth who are escaping His fold? 

If you don't respond today, it will perhaps be too late because the opportunity may cease to exist. Perhaps you will be lured into some other permanent bonds in life from which you may not be able to detach yourself. It is likely that the people whom God wants to touch may never be available for you. 

Remember: Today is the day of opportunity and dire need.