Lord, we do come to Thee this morning. We are so grateful that we have had this opportunity to share, Lord, in the breaking of bread this morning. Lord, we are thankful that You have not left anything to chance in our lives. You have made this special provision in our lives that we might be fulfilled, that we might, Lord, have true fellowship with You and with one another.
Lord, we thank You this morning. My prayer is, Lord, that as we share on this matter of the table, of the breaking of bread, You will open our eyes to see the One Who is the Head of the table; that You will open our eyes to see the significance of what You have done, Lord, in this simple presentation that You make available to us—Lord, our real food, our real drink.
Lord, just open our eyes this morning. I believe if You could open our eyes, Lord, to really see, this matter of participation would not be an issue at all. Lord, just come, anoint as we share and as we fellowship on this subject this morning. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Well, saints, last month we started sharing on this matter of the breaking of bread. We had ministry on the basic principle of the breaking of bread and why it is given by the Lord. We also had ministry on preparation for the Lord’s table: that it is not something we come to casually, but we really need to have our spirits and hearts prepared. Even our bodies, if you think about it—it is always good to be rested before you get here, if possible.
The Lord has been very gracious to us, and we started this last month as the theme of the month: the Lord’s table. Now we feel that this matter of the table is so basic and fundamental to our Christian life, health, and strength that we should continue again this month with the same theme.
I will be speaking this morning on participation in the Lord’s table, or the breaking of bread.
The breaking of bread is both inclusive and exclusive. It includes all the Lord’s saints. He invites all who have been purchased by the blood of Christ and have made Him Lord of their lives. He invites you to His table all over the world.
There is no division. There is no requirement that you have a certain creed, that you be part of a certain denomination, or that you even meet with us here. The basis of being eligible, so to speak, to meet at the breaking of bread at the Lord’s table is that you be a Christian. By a Christian, I mean those who have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
It is exclusive in the fact that, of course, if you are not a Christian—if you really have not accepted Christ—the table has little value, and it is best not to take it. However, it does not mean that if you are here during the breaking of bread and you are not a Christian, the Lord cannot speak to your heart. We pray that He does.
That is the matter of coming to the breaking of bread and its being inclusive and exclusive.
I know this morning I am speaking on participation, and I guess y’all are saying, “Okay, here comes the lawgiver.” Because I think most people who have been here for a while realize that there is rarely a Sunday that I personally do not verbally enter into it.
I just have this personal feeling that I always have something for which I can give the Lord thanksgiving—not only on Sunday morning, but every day. But our brother Stephen shared on this matter of getting prepared, and I really think that is the key. If we are really prepared, then participation is not really an issue.
But this morning we did want to share some on it because there is some significance in the matter of participating in the table that we need to know.
A key thing that will help us remember is this: in the breaking of bread, there are two aspects and two movements. Two aspects, two movements—those key thoughts will help us keep on track with where we are going this morning.
Let us begin by reading Acts 2:42 and 46. This is speaking of the early church right after Pentecost:
And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and the prayers.
And day by day, continuing stedfastly with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread at home, they took their food with gladness and singleness of heart.
Now let us turn to 1 Corinthians 11:20, 23–26:
When therefore ye assemble yourselves together, it is not possible to eat the Lord’s supper.
For I received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread;
and when He had given thanks, He brake it, and said, This is My body, which is for you: this do in remembrance of Me.
In like manner also the cup, after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in My blood: this do, as often as ye drink it, in remembrance of Me.
For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink the cup, ye proclaim the Lord’s death till He come.
Now, 1 Corinthians 10:16–17 and 21:
The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a communion of the body of Christ?
Seeing that we, who are many, are one bread, one body: for we all partake of the one bread.
Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of demons: ye cannot partake of the table of the Lord, and of the table of demons.
Paul speaks of the Lord’s table in 1 Corinthians 10:21. But in 1 Corinthians 11:20, Paul speaks of the Lord’s supper. They are the same event, but there are two different aspects involved.
Before we go any further into these two aspects, I think we need to consider legalism versus life, and formality versus reality.
In the early church, as we have seen from Acts 2:42, it was obvious that the breaking of bread was taken in life and reality. They were so excited about the Lord, so enthused about the Lord, and in first love, that they met daily and broke bread. It was simply an expression of love back to the Lord. It was their way of expressing this first love they had for the Lord.
From Acts 20, we realize that, as a minimum, they broke bread on the Lord’s Day once a week. Now, it was not legalistic to them, was it? It was in life and reality. It was not a formality, something you do out of duty. They loved to do it.
Some might say, “Well, it is legal because the Lord commanded it,” and He did. The Lord instituted the table Himself with His twelve disciples. So it is something that the Lord requires. But is it legal? Is it to be taken as a legal duty?
If it, brothers and sisters, comes to that, then we have missed what the table is all about. Yes, it was a command of the Lord. The Lord said to the disciples, “I will not eat again of this until the kingdom.” There is a marriage supper of the Lamb coming, and He will physically be there, eating and drinking and sharing in this table.
But He told them, “As often as you do this, do it in remembrance of Me.” In other words, they were to continue to do it. They were not supposed to wait until the kingdom to continue in the Lord’s table. They were to take of it spiritually. It was a spiritual act, not merely a physical act. It is both spiritual and physical.
The importance of it was reinforced once the Lord Jesus reached the throne. At some point—we do not know exactly when—He spoke to our brother Paul and emphasized the need for taking the table and His concern about His table. Paul relayed that to the Corinthian church and, in turn, to all of Christianity.
So, to the Lord, it is very important. Not only did He institute it before He left, but once He returned to the throne, reigning as King of kings and Lord of lords, He reemphasized it through the apostle Paul.
But my point is this: if it has become a duty and a legal thing, then the problem is not that the Lord has commanded it. The problem is that our hearts have not rightly received what the Lord has given to us.
We know that we are under grace and not under law, but even the law is grace, brothers. The law was given in grace because, as our brother said this morning, it is through the law that we became knowledgeable of sin and our need for a Savior. So even that is grace.
The things I share this morning are not a matter of formality or legality. I hope that what is shared will strengthen the body of Jesus Christ and not become some legal formality, or turn into a form that we follow. It should always be taken in life and reality.
There are probably three categories of people who come. One is those who do not prepare and do not participate. If you have not prepared your heart before the Lord and there is no participation, what real value is there in being here?
There can still be value because God is so merciful and gracious. He can still touch our hearts, so I would still encourage you to come. But the Lord wants us to prepare, and He wants us to participate. In fact, we prepare, frankly, that we might participate.
Have you ever prepared for anything that you had no thought of participating in? If you are taking up a sport, in your desire to participate—not just prepare—you go to all those training camps. You go to practice and practice, but ultimately, you want to participate. So participation is very important.
There are those who may prepare but, for some reason, do not participate. Is the breaking of bread really complete in your own heart if you are prepared but do not participate? Is it really complete?
Or you may participate and never really have prepared your heart, but something just comes out when you are here. That can be the Lord. The Holy Spirit can touch you, and though you have not prepared, He mercifully still touches you. But there is a little danger in the fact that it could just be a purely soulish response to the Lord instead of one arising from your spirit.
Real worship comes first from your spirit, which is deep inside and has groanings that we cannot even understand. From that spirit, He touches our heart, and then it comes out of the heart. Basically, worship is a heart response. Worship is a heart response; it comes from the spirit.
Preparation is critical, but participation is required to bring fullness and completeness to the breaking of bread.
In 1 Corinthians 10, Paul says, “Is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? Is it not the communion of the body of Christ?” That word communion is koinonia, meaning fellowship. Interestingly enough, if you look it up in the Greek, it means participation. It also means social intercourse and fellowship.
In 1 Corinthians 10, which Paul calls the Lord’s table, the emphasis is on participation—on fellowship with one another. This participation is needed for the table to be complete. Passivity and lack of participation bring weakness to our time together at the table.
The Lord’s table is one aspect of the breaking of bread. It is communion, fellowship, and participation. The body is gathering together. We are family.
I remember going to my grandmother’s house. That was back in the days when, if you wanted fried chicken, he was in the backyard running around. Anyway, we used to meet, and you know where we were most of the time: in the kitchen around the table.
We did not have a television to look at. They did have a radio; I am not sure where the radio was. But when we went to visit my grandmother, the family was usually there—not just our family, but most of the other family. There were eight brothers and sisters, so there were quite a few of us there.
We were always sitting around the table, talking, fellowshipping, catching up on things, and relating to one another. That is the table. We did not necessarily always have something to eat when we were sitting around the table. When we got there, that was just where we gathered.
Of course, she had a living room, but we were not in there too often, except when she played music on the piano by ear. She was the only one in the family who seemed musically inclined, and we would sing songs. But mainly, it was around the table. We gathered around the table for fellowship, not even necessarily to eat anything.
That is the aspect of the table. When we come to it, it is this matter of sharing with one another. What are we sharing with one another? It is the Lord. It is our love of the Lord. Our response to the Lord is being shared with one another. He is really the focus, but the fellowship is in the Lord and with one another.
The other aspect of the breaking of bread is called the Lord’s supper, and that is 1 Corinthians 11. In 1 Corinthians 11, the emphasis the Lord gave was, “Remember Me.” That is the emphasis in 1 Corinthians 11.
Basically, He is our food and He is our drink. We are coming to feast on Him and all that He has done on Calvary’s cross on our behalf. That is our feast. That is what we spiritually partake of, and it strengthens us spiritually in the inner man.
We consider His death on the cross, His sacrifice on our behalf, His obedience, His great love, His great concern for us, and His willingness to put up with us, so to speak. We consider a lot about the Lord. We come and feast and drink of Him. That is the Lord’s supper.
Down South, we never called it dinner; we called it supper. I do not know why, but when I got up here to Virginia and people started talking about dinner, I was not quite sure whether that was lunch or what. But I found out it was really supper. It is the Lord’s supper.
The body of our Lord Jesus Christ helps clarify these two aspects. The body is mentioned in both 1 Corinthians 10 and 1 Corinthians 11.
In 1 Corinthians 11, we have the Lord’s physical body—His body broken for you. That is what we see; that is what is presented, brothers and sisters. His blood was given for us, that our sins might be forgiven. His blood was poured out, that there might be an acceptable sacrifice before God, that we might be forgiven.
His body was broken that we might receive the life of our Lord Jesus Christ. That is the Lord’s supper. That is what we feast on. The emphasis there is on the physical body.
But when you come to 1 Corinthians 10, the Lord’s table, remember that we are fellowshipping around the table. The emphasis is on His spiritual body, the church, where it goes on to say, “For we, being many, are one loaf, one body.” So the body mentioned in 1 Corinthians 11 is physical—that is the supper. First Corinthians 10 is the table, which is the spiritual body: the church, the members one of another.
The emphasis there is on fellowship. When we are talking about His physical body, the emphasis is more on remembering Him. I hope that helps clarify somewhat the difference between the table and the Lord’s supper.
They are both part of the breaking of bread. There are two aspects of the breaking of bread, and both are important. For the breaking of bread to be complete, and as the Lord would have it, we need to partake of both the table and the supper when we come.
It is a heart response to the Lord Jesus that we are talking about.
When we come to the Lord’s supper, when we gather around for the breaking of bread and are considering the Lord, considering His death, considering the Lord Himself, we need to be actively participating.
What does that mean? It means that we cannot be thinking about, as in my case, the remodeling project that is going on at home, which occupies a lot of my time, or thinking about other things in our business life or home life. We need to be actively participating in the spirit.
That can be in silence before the Lord. You are before the Lord, but in the spirit you are active, and you are listening to what is happening. You are listening to what brothers and sisters are sharing, and you are actively before the Lord. It is a matter of being in the presence of the Lord Jesus Himself. It is a spiritual exercise.
We should be engaged the whole time before the Lord—in our hearts, in our minds, and in our spirits. We may or may not say something outwardly or verbally, but we need to be actively engaged before the Lord the whole time.
We gather for the Lord’s supper, and we are feasting on the Lord. We can commune with Him, and He strengthens us inwardly. But, brothers and sisters, we gather for the Lord’s table as well. That is a time for fellowship, a time for strengthening the body of Christ, strengthening one another, and encouraging one another as well.
When we are at the table, it is not just us at the table. The Lord Himself is at the table. He is at the Head of the table. He is at the Head of the supper. We are not the only ones there.
The Lord has a body, the church. We are His body. How is this body strengthened? Is it not in fellowship with one another? As we are able to share Christ with one another, are we not strengthened?
When we come to the breaking of bread, we have a responsibility to the Lord Himself: to minister to the Lord. It is His time. We are not really coming for our own personal gain as much as we are coming to minister to the Lord. We benefit, no doubt about it, but the focus is ministering to the Lord.
It is like that one leper who came back and ministered to the Lord in worship. Obviously, he had been touched by the Lord, and he came back. He had some sense, I believe, that this was God, because it says he glorified God. The other nine, I think, saw a miracle work. Once they were healed, they were satisfied, with no further desire to know the One Who had touched them.
We do have a responsibility to minister to the Lord. But the body also needs nourishment, and we need to minister to one another. That is why there is a need for some verbal intercourse during the time of worship.
Spiritually, if we are all in spirit before the Lord, we do strengthen each other without even a word being said. But how greatly helped we are when we hear the worship, prayer, and thanksgiving of one another. It really does touch our hearts.
In silence, we can commune with the Lord and be helped. But, brothers and sisters, when through the direction of the Holy Spirit—and I emphasize that—we simply share our hearts to the Lord, it strengthens one another. We need that. We need that, brothers and sisters.
Sometimes we just cannot break through. You come, you try to prepare before the Lord, and somehow you still feel cold. Yet a brother or sister gives a prayer of thanksgiving or worship, and it breaks the ice. Then you are in the flow. That is the way it is at the Lord’s table.
When we come to the breaking of bread, we come to the table, and we come to fellowship with one another. But we also come to our supper, a great supper provided by our Lord Jesus Christ, to feast on Him and to drink of Him. These are the two aspects.
I mentioned that there are two fundamental movements in the breaking of bread. Now, before I go any further, you need to know this: if you read 1 Corinthians 10 and 1 Corinthians 11, you do not see anything about two movements or two parts in this breaking of bread.
What I am about to share comes, I believe, from an understanding of the ways of the Lord, and also from understanding the way of salvation and what is necessary in the salvation process. The Lord said that the people of Israel knew His acts, but Moses knew His ways.
If we begin to see the way of God—the way of the Holy Spirit, the work of the Holy Spirit, the work of Christ—they are one work, but there are different emphases in the work of the Holy Spirit and the work of Christ. We know that. There is also the work of the Father and how He is involved in this matter of the table. The Holy Spirit, the Son, and the Father are all involved in the table, but there are different aspects to it.
Brother Kenny, when he shared on this matter of worship some months ago, mentioned the illustration of an orchestra. I think that is a great illustration.
In an orchestra, it is necessary to prepare, is it not? If you are going to play in an orchestra, you have to prepare. You have to be able to play your instrument a little bit, be able to read the music, and understand something about the way the music is going and what is happening with the notes—which I never understood. I guess that is obvious from the way I sing.
But it is a good illustration. Not only do you prepare if you are in an orchestra, but you also participate. I went to the Ashland Orchestra—or I guess it was a Hanover one—around Christmastime. I watched what was going on, and some people seemed to be playing maybe fifty or sixty percent of the time.
But there was this one guy in the back with a little triangle, and every once in a while he would go, “Ding,” with his triangle. It was not very often, but it added significance to the music. At other times, of course, he had other little gizmos he was dealing with—musical instruments, pardon me, you musicians.
It added a lot to the music, even though it was not very often. Occasionally, right at the end, hitting a crescendo, he would grab up the cymbals. I think it is a wonderful illustration.
If our hearts are prepared before the Lord and we come to worship, we have things on our hearts. We are there, actively engaged in the spirit, and the Holy Spirit says, “Now is the time.” What you have had on your heart, you share. He may go to another one, and say, “Now is the time to share.”
You may only share once. You may not share at all openly or verbally on a Sunday. But, brothers and sisters, to go years without any verbal response is not normal. It is not right.
We all have our instrument. I need to say something at this point to clarify an issue that some may struggle with: worship is not a gift. Worship is not a gift. It is a heart response to the Lord, and we all should have a heart response to the Lord. It is just that simple.
The Holy Spirit does not go around the room trying to find the gifted ones in worship and get them to worship openly. Nor does He necessarily look for those who have deep knowledge of the Lord to share. You know what He is looking for, I think? I think the Holy Spirit goes around the room, looking in our hearts, looking for first love.
He is saying, “I want an expression of first love.” Two Sundays in the past, we shared on this matter of the woman coming and pouring out her ointment upon the Lord because she saw His worth. When we really see the Lord’s worth, can our hearts and mouths really hold back?
In the breaking of bread, there is the table and there is the supper. But the issue is not gift or gifting, brothers and sisters. I cannot find the gift of worship in the Bible. But I do believe that we all need to worship the Lord and give Him thanks. That is a matter of heart.
I really think the Lord is looking for somebody who says, “Lord, I love You.” Is it that simple?
Most of us older ones have children here or grandchildren. Is it not marvelous when one of them comes up to you—particularly teenagers? It is very difficult for teenagers to say, “I love you.” It was difficult for me as a teen, anyway.
For no reason, sometimes they will come up and say, “Mom or Dad, I want you to know I really love you.” Does that not mean more than all the money you have ever made in your life, all the good times you have ever had? It just means so much.
I think it is that way with the Lord and His own children. He is willing to pour out everything He has. He gave His only Son for us. Without reservation, He gave His Son as a sacrifice for us. He loves us so much. Just a simple, “Lord, I really do thank You,” means so much to the Lord—to hear the voice of His children.
My grandchildren came out the other day, and I heard the little one before he hit the door: “Peepaw, Peepaw, Peepaw!” What kind of name is that? I do not know how he ever came up with that name. But that is what he calls me, and it is the best name I have ever had.
The Lord is looking for that first response, that first love.
In the two movements I am talking about—in the ways of God, the ministry of the Holy Spirit, and the ministry of Christ—think about your salvation for a minute. What was critical to your salvation?
When you are saved, there are two important, critical matters. One is forgiveness. We are sinners. When we come before the Lord, the Holy Spirit is the One Who convicts us. That is His ministry. He finally convicts us and gets us to the point where we come on our knees, or however, and say, “Lord, I am a sinner, and I need Your forgiveness.”
That is essential. That is critical. I think there have been many people who say they have come to the Lord or accepted Christ, but where is that seeing that they were truly sinners? They just wanted that ticket to heaven.
But when the Holy Spirit has really worked, there has to be conviction. That is His job. You come to the Lord for forgiveness. But there is something else very critical to that process: we also need acceptance.
We not only need forgiveness because the Lord has given His life to us, but we need to come to God Himself, and we need to see acceptance. For those who have shared the gospel with others, people do not usually struggle too much with the concept of forgiveness. Most people, at some point in their life, have been forgiven by others, and they understand it.
But there is something else that we need when we come to somebody for forgiveness: we need to know that they accept us, do we not? Have you ever been in a situation where a person has said to you, “Yes, I forgive you,” but your relationship is never the same after that?
It is like they can never accept you again because you have offended them. They just cannot accept you, and that rips your heart out. I am not sure how valid forgiveness is without acceptance, but brothers and sisters, acceptance is very important.
I have had people, when we talk about the Lord, who have been struggling with whether they are the Lord’s or not. On a number of occasions, they have said, “I just do not believe He can accept me.” Those were the words I remember so much from a dear, precious sister in the Lord. She had accepted Christ but was really struggling. It was a matter of acceptance.
“I know He can forgive me,” she said, “but how can He accept me?” Well, of course, it is by the blood of Christ. But it is so important. There is that aspect, brothers and sisters, of not only being forgiven because of the blood of Christ, but coming to the Father and knowing you are accepted by Him—that you are right with God Himself.
The ministry of the Holy Spirit is really to bring us to Christ. We have heard this before. What is the ministry of Christ? Not only did He lay Himself down as the Lamb of God, but He said very pointedly, “No one cometh unto the Father, but by Me.”
There are many religions out there that have other ways, but the Lord said, “No one can come to the Father, but by Me.” In Ephesians 1:6, it says that we are accepted by the Father in the Beloved.
The delight of our Lord Jesus Christ is to bring us to the Father. The Holy Spirit brings us to Christ—that is His ministry. He wants us to see Christ, accept Christ, and follow Christ. He continues to work in our lives even today, that we might be transformed into the image of Christ.
But the ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ is to bring us to the Father. When the Holy Spirit shows you the Son and you accept Him as your Lord and Savior, He brings you to the Father.
Galatians 4:7 says that the Father accepts you as a son in Christ. He accepts you as a son. Brothers and sisters, not only have you been forgiven, but you have been accepted. You are not accepted as a slave. You are not accepted as some foreigner who has no rights with God. You are accepted as a son of God.
You become a son because of Christ’s great work on Calvary. God Himself accepts you as His son and makes you a co-heir with Christ. In other words, all that Christ is going to inherit, you are going to inherit with Him.
How important it is that Christ brings us to the Father. When the Father accepts us, we are finally able to say, “Abba, Father.”
And because ye are sons, God sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
So that thou art no longer a bondservant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.
—Galatians 4:6–7
That means He is your Father. That Spirit is in you. The Spirit of the Son is in you. What a tremendous work that Christ has done—not only in saving you from your sins, but making it possible for you to be accepted by the Father and become co-heirs as sons of God.
The first movement, as we come to the breaking of bread, brothers and sisters, is that the Holy Spirit brings us to the Lord Himself. He brings us to Him, to His sacrifice, to see Who He is, to see His worth.
As the worship reaches a peak—I can say it that way, or a crescendo—then the whole assembly is brought before the Lord Jesus Himself as one man. We are now one man. We are representing one man before God, and we are all brought before Him.
In a lot of places, that is the end of the table. Everybody takes the bread and the cup, and it is over. But I have to believe that if we are really considering the death of our Lord Jesus Christ and the purpose for which He died—not only to forgive us our sins, but to make us acceptable before the Father—there is a second movement.
When we consider the work and ministry of the Holy Spirit to bring us to Christ, and then Christ’s ministry to bring us to the Father, I believe there is a continuation of the breaking of bread beyond taking the elements.
I think Hebrews 2 will help us here. In Hebrews, the Lord is presented as the Apostle and High Priest. He was the Apostle: He was sent on a mission. He completed that mission at Calvary’s cross. But He is also, brothers and sisters, the High Priest.
We know from Scripture that we are a royal priesthood. We are to be priests before our Lord and Savior, and the Lord Jesus Christ is the High Priest. In Hebrews, we see Him as the High Priest.
Hebrews 2:10–12 says:
For it became Him, for Whom are all things, and through Whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the author of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
For both He that sanctifieth and they that are sanctified are all of one: for which cause He is not ashamed to call them brethren,
saying, I will declare Thy name unto My brethren,
In the midst of the congregation will I sing Thy praise.
That is the Lord Jesus Christ: “I will declare Thy name unto My brethren. In the midst of the church, I will sing praise unto Thee.” Is this not the ministry of the Lord?
Brothers and sisters, it appears to me that once we partake of the table physically, there is another movement. That movement is for the Lord Jesus to bring us to the Father. In fact, it appears to me that He is leading us in worship of the Father.
What a privilege: to have the High Priest leading us in worship, bringing us before the Father, bringing us to the One Who has accepted us and made us sons—sons of God.
Is that not a full table? Is that not a full supper? Is that not what the breaking of bread is all about?
The Father is waiting. In Scripture, the Lord is the Good Shepherd. The Lord Himself said, “I am the Good Shepherd.” What about the ministry of the Father? Remember the prodigal son. He had gone off. What did the father do? What was the ministry of the father? He waited at home, did he not? He waited at home for his son to return.
I am sure he was praying for his son. That is the ministry of the Father. We have the ministry of the Holy Spirit to bring us to Christ. We have the ministry of Christ to bring us to the Father. Then we have the Father’s ministry: waiting for His son to come, to gather around the table that His Son has provided.
The Father is waiting. It is the heart of the Son that we recognize and honor His Father, Who has made us all sons. I think the table, the breaking of bread, is a marvelous, marvelous thing.
I am sorry that it has been reduced to legalism and formalism when it is so living and so real.
My only concern at this point is that we not make it legal and formal: that as soon as we take the bread, we must immediately go to the Father. But you know what? I believe if we just follow the Spirit, He will take us where He wants us to go.
He will take us to the Son. I believe that if we really look to the Son, He will take us to the Father. But it is not something mechanical. God forbid that it ever becomes mechanical. I want it to be living and real.
But this is the way of the Spirit. This is the way of Christ. This is the way of the Father. When we see Their ways, then we begin to understand what all is involved in the breaking of bread. Brothers and sisters, it incorporates our entire life.
May the Lord be merciful. May He show us the breaking of bread. May He show us His worth.
Lord, we do come to Thee today. We thank You for the preciousness of this table, Lord—how important it was to Thee. We are beginning to have our eyes opened to see how precious and important it is.
Lord, deliver us from formality, from duty, from carelessness. But, Lord, bring us into the preciousness of what this table is. Lord, show us Yourself every Sunday as we come together. Lord, bring us to be a people who have prepared hearts before Thee daily, that we might at any time be able to enter into Your table—I mean, Your breaking of bread, Lord.
Lord, I thank You that You have this table that we can come and gather and fellowship around. I thank You that we have this great supper, this great feast that has been provided for us.
And I thank the Father for making me a son, making us all sons and daughters. We worship Thee, Lord. In Jesus’ name, amen.