The Mystery of Communion | Dr. Mark Rutland Well, go on and praise the Lord in the house. Hallelujah to the lamb. Praise God. Praise God. Praise ((applause)) God. One of the reasons that we praise him is that when we behold his glory and his splendor and his grace and his goodness, not to praise him seems unthinkable. Go on and magnify the Lord in the house one more time. Hallelujah. Praise God. But before you're seated, turn to someone near you there. Look them right straight in the eye and say, "Cheer up. You're probably not as bad as your in-laws ((music playing)) think. Would you join me please in welcoming all of the other campuses and those that are watching in the various prisons? Let's just welcome them right into the house. Thank God. We're so glad you're here. It's always great to be back at Free Chapel and to see the wonder of God's presence among us. Got a few announcements I'd like to give you. First of all, let me just say a word about tomorrow, Memorial Day. Uh, have the barbecue, have the fun, uh, beat your brother-in-law at croquet, whatever it takes, cheat, anything. Put him in his place. But in the midst of all the fun, through all the day, take a moment and pause and thank God to remember those who gave everything that we might have the liberty that we have. ((applause)) Every year on Memorial Day, I always think about my late dad, Captain Don Rutland. He was a combat veteran in both World War II. He was in the Philippines and in Korea. Tough guy and a great warrior for the kingdom and for the for the United States of America. I thank God for my dad. ((applause)) You will be proud to know that this church hosted the graduation ceremonies of seven high schools in the county. 21,000 people came through our auditorium. Isn't that wonderful? Let me remind you also of the Forward Conference for 2025 for middle school, high school, and young adults. They are, they told me this morning they are very close to selling out and the ticket prices will be going up. So, please go quickly and get your ticket or buy tickets for those uh for whom you care. This next announcement, they always give me this announcement and they don't realize how embarrassing it is when everybody applauds real big, but next week Jensen Franklin will be ((applause)) back. Of course, I'm as excited as you are. It's great to be here. Great to be Always great to be into the house. This is going to be very different today. When uh when one comes to preach a free chapel, any any guest, and I'm here frequently, but one always wants to have some uh great big evangelistic message, something kind of flex your muscles or something. But this is going to be very different. I'm going to be teaching. It's a very much a teaching message largely about holy communion and communion is going to be central to it. So I want you to make sure that you have your communion elements in your hand while I teach. I want to make sure nobody has to find them at the last minute. So if you did not receive this uh element package on the way in, would you raise your hand so that our ushers can get them to you just as quickly as possible? Anyone that didn't, here's some down front over here, the ushers, just hold your hand up and they'll be to you as quickly as possible. I'm going to begin praying the Lord's Prayer. Um, if you um don't pray the Lord's Prayer regularly, I want to urge you to cultivate the habit. I urge you to pray it every day, multiple times a day. It takes 21 seconds to pray the Lord's Prayer. And uh and I am a big believer in its power and the efficacy of it. It is after all the only prayer that Jesus taught us. years ago when I first became the president at or Roberts University, I wanted to introduce the Lord's Prayer as a practice to the chapel. So, the first time we prayed the Lord's Prayer afterward, uh I was in the hallway behind Christ Chapel and uh one of the college girls came with her phone in her hand thrusting her phone toward me and she was weeping hysterically and I I thought somebody in her family had died. So, I took the phone and it turned out to be her mother. And her mother was furious. I mean, she was fit to be tied. She was yelling at me and it took me a few minutes to find out what was even wrong. And finally, she said, "I can't believe that you're trying to turn or Roberts University into a Catholic college." I said, "Ma'am, I don't have any idea what you're talking about. What do you mean a Catholic college? It's a spiritfilled Christian Protestant university. What are you talking about? But she had grown up as a Roman Catholic. And when I had the people in the church in the chapel pray the Lord's Prayer, she identified it as the Our Father. If you grew up saying the Our Father, it's a perfectly reasonable way. But she had reacted so against her upbringing as a Catholic that she considered the fact that we were using the Lord's prayer as an attempt to turn the college Catholic. The fact that I explained to her that Jesus himself had taught the prayer really didn't affect her much or calm her down. and she actually did withdraw her daughter from the university because we were praying the Lord's Prayer. So, we're going to pray the Lord's Prayer this morning. This is the prayer that Jesus taught us. It touches every aspect of the human experience and we'll pray it together now because different people earn learned it out of different versions of the Bible. Then we're going to put it up on the screen right now and we'll pray it together as we have it written here. So if you will instead of reading it, we're going to read it. But instead of just reading it, let us pray the Lord's Prayer as Jesus taught us to pray by saying, "Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Now before you say amen, if you'll bow your head and close your eyes. Heavenly Father, I thank you so for your goodness and mercy usward generation after generation. Now I pray that you will open and enliven our hearts and minds. Give us a heart sensitive to all that you want to say to us. And that when we leave here today, we will say, "Surely the Lord has visited us in Jesus name." Amen. If you have your Bibles, if you'll take those and turn to the book of Matthew, chapter 26. I want to begin reading at verse 26. Chapter 26, verse 26. This is of course um that event which we identify as the last supper. So Jesus has gathered with his uh apostles, the 12 in an upper room to celebrate the night before Passover, a seder meal. And then this is in the context of that. And as they were eating, Jesus took bread and blessed it and break it and gave it to his disciples and said, "Take, eat. This is my body." And he took the cup and gave thanks and gave it to them, saying, "Drink ye all of it." Now pause just a moment. Drink ye all of it could mean drink every bit of it or all of you drink of it. It is that one. It means no one of them is to be left out. All of you drink. For this is my blood of the new testament or new covenant which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it with you a new in my father's kingdom. And when they had sung a hymn, look at that verse. Many people miss that. And when they had sung a hymn, they went out into the Mount of Olives. Now, the question is, what hymn did they sing? I've often wondered about that, as many probably have. I dare say it wasn't Someday I'll fly away. It wasn't any hymn that we sing, and it wasn't any hymn that we sing in English. They were certainly singing in Hebrew almost certainly from the halal the verses of Psalms 113 to18 right in there some or all of it whatever but possibly from Psalm 136 that is called the great halal it's not in those verses not in those psalms from 13 to 113 to 118 but it stands alone as as the great halal It was used responsively in Hebrew worship. So you'll often hear people talk about um I want to have Davidic worship. I want to worship as the Jews worshiped in ancient Israel. Some touch with our Hebrew roots. So there isn't no clearer or better way to sort of get in touch for a moment with our not trying to get back under the law or anything wonky. It's just a way to just a way to experience for a moment some of our Hebrew roots. So I'm going to guide you in this psalm responsively. So I'll read and you will answer. Let's practice whether you're going to answer. For his mercy endureth forever. So say it with me out loud. For his mercy endureth forever. So if you'll stand please again. So I'll read the first part and you answer every time. I'll try to guide you. So we do it together. You say right out loud, for his mercy endureth forever. Oh, give thanks unto the Lord for he is good. Oh, give thanks unto the God of gods. Oh, give thanks to the Lord of hosts. To him who alone doeth great wonders. mercy. To him that by wisdom made the heavens to him that stretched out the earth above the waters. To him that made great lights, the sun to rule by day, the moon and the stars by night. to him that smoked Egypt in their firstborn, and brought out Israel from among them, with a strong hand, and with a stretched out arm, to him which divided the Red Sea into parts, and made Israel to pass through in the midst of it, but overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea. To him which led his people through the wilderness. to him which smokeote great kings and slew famous kings, Son, the king of the Amorites and Og the king of Bashan and gave their land for an inheritance, even inheritage unto Israel his servant. Mercy forever. Who remembered us in our low estate forever and hath redeemed us from our enemies. Who giveth food to all flesh. And on this last one, kind of give it a a little shout of praise. Oh, give thanks unto the God of heaven. Well, praise his holy name. And you can be ((applause)) seated. What what can happen when there is um a ceremonial aspect to the church community, a a ritual if you will, it can lose its meaning. It can lose its impact and sometimes it becomes um mindless. uh almost thoughtless. We just do it and we don't really think about what we're doing. Today I just want to teach through communion. Communion, as we have said, it was established by Christ in the last supper as a unique new ceremony of a new covenant. It was instituted or ordained by Christ himself. That's the reason that a great part of the Protestant church calls it an ordinance of the church. They're being generally accepted two ordinances, communion and water baptism. It's from the word ordained that it's an ordinance because it was ordained by Jesus. Others call it a sacrament because it's from the Latin word for mystery. So, is it a is it a mystery or is it was it ordained by Jesus? The answer is yes. It is a mystery, a mystery ordained by Jesus. So I say it is a sacramental ordinance. It is both mysterious and ordained by Christ. It's hinted at way before the life of Jesus of Nazareth in the encounter between Abraham and Melkisedc, the prince, the priest of Salem, the king of Salem, where Melkisedc serves Abraham what might be called communion. It is the most like it. It is also hinted at in the Passover meal. There are similarities to it. faith in the delivering power of God and certainly faith in the blood of a lamb. However, communion is not to be understood as a re-imagining of the seder meal. It is it's not the Passover meal. It is a new ordinance instituted by Jesus for the church. Jesus in sharing the blood and bread, the wine and bread that day. This is what we we must get our minds on. We say it almost casually. This is the body of Jesus Christ. This is the blood of Jesus. But back up. Put your mind if if you can at all into the mind of Christ that night. It's the night before he's going to be arrested, endure unspeakable torture, be nailed to a cross, endure the imposition of the sins of humanity, and then experience physical death and the grave. So when he takes that bread, probably of Peta or something like that, and breaks it and he says, "This is my flesh." They're receiving it at one level. That is to say, they're receiving it almost as a as a sign act. This is my flesh. But put your mind on Jesus side. He knows what's coming next. So when he tears that bread, he is already seeing ahead to his own flesh, being ripped by the stripes on his back, by the nails through his hands and feet. He is He is not just simply tearing open a piece of bread. He is actually thinking ahead to the to the rendering the horror of the the separation of his own flesh. And then after supper when he takes the cup and he says, "I I want every one of you to drink some of this because this is my blood of a whole new covenant." You have to understand that he is actually thinking ahead. He may already be feeling both emotionally, psychologically, and even physically the draining of his own blood. The blood that will be ripped from his flesh or the the whips on his back. The crown of thorns that will be pressed on his word. The blood that will run into his eyes. When the nails are driven through his hands and feet, the blood that will and then when that centurion stabs him in under his ribs, the blood that will pour out with the water. So he's not speaking in some theoretical or theatrical way. He's talking about his flesh and blood. Therefore, the the holy communion is the revisitation of the church here on this Memorial Day weekend. It is the memorial of what Jesus endured and and died for us to have. However, it's more than that. There is the invasion, if you will excuse the word, the invasion of the Holy Spirit. The the wine, the juice that you will drink remains juice in your body. It doesn't transform into the physical blood of Jesus. That is a repugnant idea. The the bread which you will eat doesn't become the flesh of Christ. There is no transubstantiation that happens inside your body. That's a a disgusting thought. But there is something other than simply a wafer. When you pull the plastic away from the top of this and pull out this absolutely delicious little wafer and when you peel away the rest and drink the juice that's there, it is simply bread and juice. But the act into into the act of it, God insinuates himself supernaturally. It is true in many of the things of the church that we tend to take too much for granted. The other predominant ordinance is baptism. Yes, the water of baptism is water. It's just water. I know a lot of people I've baptized hundreds and hundreds of people in the Jordan River. I've been to Israel 48 times and baptized hundreds of people in the Jordan River. But there is nothing mysterious about the water in the Jordan. It's river water and you have cleaner water in the United States, trust me. But but it's it's water whether it's here but in the act of baptism something happens. Yes, it is a symbolic moment that when the pastor whoever baptizes takes a person in the name of the father and the son and the holy spirit and holds them under water in that sense it is symbolic of death. If you hold them under long enough, they will die. I have baptized several teenagers with whom I struggled with the moment of temptation. I did pull them up, but it it wasn't quick. So, there is the the sort of the obvious symbolic meaning of it, but there is something else. The Holy Spirit comes in to that ordinance. He invades it with his presence. How many people have you ever seen come up out of the waters of baptism with a a joy on their face with some sense something has happened to me? Yes, it speaks of of a scriptural truth. What shall we say? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid. Romans says, "Know ye not that as many of you as were baptized into Christ were baptized into his death that you may be raised up to newness of life." So yes, there is a a reenactment of a biblical promise. But it's more than a mere reenactment. There is this spiritual invasion of it. This is fundamental to our understanding of the ordinances as Pentecostals. And it goes beyond those two ordinances. What about what about the ministry of healing? When we pray with someone for healing, we anoint them with oil. It's usually olive oil. But some of you, I know you're past, we need to use 10W40 for some of you, but usually it's olive oil. That olive oil, just because it goes on your forehead, it it isn't transformed. It's olive oil. It stays olive oil. When we lay hands on you for healing, according to the book of James, when we do what the Bible tells us to do, anoint you with oil and pray for you and lay hands on you, it's not anybody else's hands. It's our hands. It's human hands. It's hands. But God invades those physical realities of oil and hands. He invades the physical reality of water. He invades the physical reality of bread and wine in the communion. So it is ordinance. Yes, it is ordinance and we obey and we do it as a memorial of Christ. But it is more. There is the presence of the Holy Spirit. ((applause)) So when we consider all that is happening in the in communion, the blood of Jesus speaks to us of this sacrificial lamb. The the torture of his flesh is spoken speaks to us of the in the bread. There is then the spiritual witness of Christ is in it. The spiritual presence of Christ. What what is being accomplished in communion? Let's take that last one. His presence. That first communion, the last supper was the first communion. In that first communion, he was there with them physically. Later on, after his crucifixion and death and resurrection and his ascension, don't you know that every time those 12 11 men that were left, the 11 of them served communion anywhere, that they sensed again his presence. We are called to do that as well. This is not simply a church ritual. This is not just oh it's communion Sunday I forgot my cup. It is to say that we we are to experience his presence among us. Wherever two or three of you are gathered together in my name there I am in the midst of you. That is the mystery of the of this worship experience. It's true in worship. Just worship itself. Beyond the beauty of this great music team that we have and your own beautiful voices and everything. What do we quote all the time? That God inhabits the praises of his people. That there is something else that happens beyond music and voices. That God himself invades it. There is a supernatural aspect to worship beyond what we do. The same thing is true in holy communion. If we will say, "Oh Lord, make me sensitive to your presence." The second thing is it is a means of grace that when we receive holy communion, grace comes through the act of communion to us at the point of human need. I believe that there is emotional psychological healing that can and does take place in holy communion. I don't I don't know who all here. I don't know all of you. Some of you I know, but I don't know all of you. Some people here have showed up today filled with thanksgiving and rejoicing and delighted. Maybe just this week you had the birth of a of your first grandchild. Proof that God is rewarding you for not choking your children to death. But somebody else may have come from a funeral last week, the passing of someone that they love and care about, and they're dealing with grief. So God ministers grace in holy communion to each of us where we are his healing love and our emotions. He heals grief and shares in the rejoicing at the same time in the same meal. There is also physical healing. I I believe that those of you who are here today with physical issues when you receive holy communion today, I believe that the grace of almighty God through our Lord Jesus Christ flows out through the communion elements and that you can expect by faith that there becomes some new level of healing that begins to happen in your body. Beyond that, it is a means of grace for the community. We we it's the reason really I mean I'm not saying it's terrible or something but really taking communion alone is not really what we do. We take communion in the community of faith. Jesus didn't take St. John into another room and say this is just for you. Peter's not going to get this. He he shared it with all of them where they are. Now that's important because we are at various places on the continuum of God's operation in our lives. Look who was in that room. Judas the Scariot took that communion. St. Peter took that communion. And within a matter of hours, both of them would deny Christ. One for money and one for craven gutless cowardice. And Jesus served on them both communion. God knows who we are. He knows every person in this room and he calls us into the community of faith. That's the reason that there is no exclusive element to communion. Not at this church. It's not you don't have to be a member of free chapel. You don't have to be a a Protestant. You don't have to believe everything that we believe. You don't have to sign some kind of loyalty oath. All that you have to say is I enter into this act of communion in the same spirit as those who are members. Now what is that spirit? First of all it is repentance. Communion is above all things for sin. Therefore, when we come to the act of communion, the first thing, the very first thing we need to do, and too many church-going Christians week after week or month after month or year after year of taking communion, don't pause and actually repent. God, forgive me of my sins. Forgive me of the things this week, the thoughts this week, the attitudes this week. I'm not talking about some egregious monstrous thing. I'm a murderer. Just the stuff of life. That's the reason we need to take communion frequently is because life just causes us to Let's be honest. You're driving around 285 and some Yankee with Michigan license plates cuts you off. The Lord is my shepherd. Life doesn't need to get back into his presence. Say, "Oh, God, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I repent. I confess and I repent." So the first element of approaching the table of grace is to admit our need for grace. The second is to forgive. Not only to be forgiven, but to forgive. As you approach this table of communion today, take a moment, pause, and actually think, not in some general way, God, I forgive everybody that ever sinned against me. Let that name, that face, that broken relationship come into your mind. Name them by name. God, I forgive. I set them free. I forgive. Because Jesus, the only line in the Lord's prayer, which we've already prayed upon which he editorialized was, "Father, forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." For if you will forgive those who have trespassed against you, your father which is in heaven will forgive you. So we confess our sins. We act in conf in confessional faith to forgive those who have sinned against us. And the third thing is this. As you receive holy communion, open yourself up to the mystery of the presence of the Holy Spirit. Beyond this physical thing, as Jesus invades baptism, beyond the physicality of the water, as he now invades holy communion, beyond the physical elements of of bread and juice is a means of grace. It is the presence of the Lord. It is community and it is our communion with him. Life breaks us off from Jesus, doesn't it? It can just be those moments when you feel, I lost touch with him for a moment, for an hour, for a week, some maybe for years and years. This is your chance to renew and refresh and receive unity with the Lord Jesus Christ in the means of grace, the spiritual presence of the Holy Spirit, forgiveness and healing. Well, let me conclude with this. I came across a survey some years ago. I don't know who thought this survey up, but it was fascinating. They mailed out this survey to thousands and thousands of people and they asked them, "What is your favorite thing for somebody else to say to you?" In other words, when somebody else says something, what's the best thing that you could hear someone else say to you? They took all the thousands of answers and collated them and came up with the top three. I guess number one, the number one thing another person that you want to hear another person say to you, I guessed it. You know what it was? I love you. Sure it was. I love you. We all hear somebody say I love you. If that's not true, the Hallmark movie people are going out of business. I love you. I I predicted that. The second one surprised me. You know what the second thing that people wanted to hear someone else say to you? I forgive you. And I realize people are walking around with a load of guilt and condemnation. I believe you could stand on a street corner in downtown Manhattan and as people walk by, you could just say, "I forgive you. I forgive you. I forgive you." And I think people would stop and say, "Oh, thanks, man. I'll never do it again." People walk around, they don't know where to put that. This is the place. That's what this is for. This is not simply some kind of a a ritual that we go through occasionally. This is the means of grace for just exactly that. You know what the third thing was? This this amazed me. I love you. I forgive you. The third one, supper's ready. Isn't that funny? Supper's ready. I guess it hearkened back to a day when women actually cooked supper. I talked to a guy the other day said he was buying five of my books for his wife. Five different books for his wife for her birthday. I said, "When's her birthday?" He said, "Oocctober." I said, "Well, where are you going to hide them till October?" He said, "Oh, in the oven. No, the third one. Supper's ready. I laughed just like you when I read that. I laughed just like you did. And then all of a sudden it hit me. I said, "Oh my, that's the law and the prophets. That's MelkiseDC serving to Abraham in the plain. That's Jesus at the last supper. That's here. That's it. That's that's all I have to say to you. That's all any preacher's got to say. As we invite anybody to the table of grace, we can say with authority in the name of Jesus, thus sayith the Lord, I love you. I forgive you. Supper's ((applause)) ready. Come and dine, the master calleth. Come and dine. You can feast at Jesus table all the time. Now, if you will take the cup in your hand and then if you'll bow your heads and close your eyes as I pray these words out loud, let your spirit pray something like this inside of you. Heavenly Father, holy and righteous King of the universe, we bow before you. Have mercy upon us, most merciful God, for thy son, our Lord Jesus Christ's sake. Forgive us of our many sins, wickednesses, that the very memory of them is grievous unto us. We do earnestly repent of these our sins. We ask you to forgive us. Wash us in the blood. Renew us in covenant with you in every way that it's been broken as we receive this your means of grace and this table of love. After supper, Jesus took the bread and when he broke it, he gave it to his disciples and he said, "Take, eat. Now take this, eat it, and feed on him in your heart by faith. ((music playing)) Receive. Now peel away the second label if you will and the juice will be revealed to you in there. Likewise, after supper, Jesus took the cup. And when he had given thanks, he said to his disciples, "All of you, no exceptions, drink this. For this is my blood of a new covenant for the forgiveness of sins, and not for yours only, but for the sins of the whole world. Drink, friend, and rejoice. Your sins are forgiven. Now begin to praise him just a moment. Just take a moment and begin to thank him. Praise you, God. Praise you, God. We worship you. We praise you. We praise ((applause)) you. Now, will you look right up here? I'm going to make an announcement. This is very important. And I have the authority to make this announcement. Not in myself. Who am I? Not even in the name of free chapel or of any denomination or church. In the authority of the New Testament, your sins which were many are all washed away. Your sins are forgiven. Your sins are forgiven. Rejoice. And I say again, rejoice. Now stand up and sing with the team. So what can wash away my sin? And nothing but the blood of Jesus and what can make me whole again. Nothing but the blood. Come on, we sing. Oh precious is the flow and sing. Oh, precious is the flow that makes me ((music playing)) white. How I know nothing but the blood. One last time with lifted hands. Oh precious. We sing and sing. Oh, precious is the throne that makes me white as your own. I know nothing but the blood of Jesus. ((music playing)) Come on. If you're thankful for the blood of Jesus, come on. If you're thankful for the blood of Jesus, clap your hands all you people. And it's all right to shout unto God with the voice of adoration and praise. We bless you, God. Thank you so much, Lord. Thank you for that revelation. God loves you. He forgives you. And supper is ready. There's a seat at the table for you. And our response is very clear in two ways. How we live and how we give. So I just want to thank you for your worship with how you've been living. And thank you for your worship, church, with how you've been giving and your tithes and your offering. Thank you for sewing into the church as we become the hands and feet of Jesus to continue building his kingdom. So thank you for that response. And as we leave, can we lift up our hands one last time? Thank you, Dr. to rutland for the word. I'll never look at will never look at communion the same. Just want to remind you online and those in this room. Jesus loves you. Jesus forgiven you. And there's a seat at the table because supper is ready. And I love the words that Jesus says as we speak this over you today. The Lord bless you and keep you. Make his face shine upon you. Be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen and amen. Love you so much, church. Have a great week. Pastors here next week. Bring somebody. Show the love of Christ everywhere you go in Jesus name. We love you. We love you. Have a great Sunday. What an incredible Sunday we've had this morning at Free Chapel. Both services. incredible, inspirational, amazing, such a rich teaching on communion by uh Dr. Ratland there. And I said this in the first service, I'm going to say it again. It's something that we all need. Whether you're new to the faith or you've been in the Lord for a number of years, it's just always good to just remind ourselves of these uh rich teachings and rich truths of our faith. Absolutely. And so, Camila is going to just uh guide us in some ways that we can respond to the message today. Yes. I'm never going to see communion the same. I'm really appreciative of that message. And so, if you've recently accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, we want you to text the word yes to 510510. Or if you need prayer, you can also text the word prayer to 510510. And we have a team of people that would love to pray for you, love on you, and just, you know, just continue to encourage you in the That's right. We have a whole team, a whole alter team that's praying with you and for you throughout the week beyond the Sunday experience. And so, thank you so much for joining us for service today. Uh you can join us again next Sunday and just remain connected with us throughout the week through our social media platforms on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube as well and all the other amazing resources that we shared with you today. So from myself and Camila and the entire production team here at Free Childplace, God bless you and have an amazing week. Amen. ((music playing)) Heat. ((music playing)) Heat. Hey, hey, ((music playing)) hey. Tell me. ((music playing))