Sermon Title: The Lord's Supper as our Necessary Spiritual Lock-Down
Dearly Beloved,
Greetings in the Name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!
It has been 35 Sundays since I greeted you in the Sanctuary and when we last met in close proximity.
This Pandemic has indelibly marked our generations.
COVID 19 has infected more than 46 million people globally – up, from 35 million 2 weeks ago - with more than 1.2 million deaths as recorded by the World Health Organization, up from 1 million 2 weeks earlier. To put things in perspective, a 2020 census reported 38 million people living in Canada.
COVID-19 is highly infectious and spreads readily through contact via droplets, and longer-range transmission via aerosols, especially in conditions where ventilation is poor.
To compound the asymptomatic and virulent nature of the virus, large swaths of unexposed populations are especially susceptible resulting in conditions for rapid community spread.
Medical sources reveal that the infection fatality rate of COVID-19 is several-fold higher than that of seasonal influenza, with an infection leading to persisting illness (long COVID) in the young, previously healthy people.
Not much is known about the protective immunity for the previously infected; which seriously questions strategies where herd immunity is presumed.
And like other seasonal coronaviruses, COVID-19 is highly capable of re-infecting people who have already had the disease, although the frequency of re-infection is unknown.
At this moment there is no vaccine against COVID-19; and no real timeline when it will be ready, and available for the masses.
Our only strategy is mitigation – through physical distancing, use of face coverings, hand and respiratory hygiene, and by avoiding crowds and poorly ventilated spaces.
For community outbreaks, rapid testing, contact tracing, isolation and symptomatic treatment and care are critical and our only means to controlling transmission and treating the infected.
As the second wave of COVID-19 affects the world, and with winter approaching for those in North America and Europe, we have come to the stark realisation of the radical changes in our lives needed to combat the risks posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the areas of work, school, social gatherings and lifestyles, we have been forced into a compromise; ways and means of work, schooling, socialising and shopping never thought possible have been made to work simply because we had no other choice.
This pandemic is real; getting sick is real; dying is real; therefore change must happen.
As a human race, we have truly been humbled by one of the smallest organisms in the world, and brought down many notches – in the fuller recognition of our frail humanity, fragile economy and our frivolous concepts of what being human is, and what society should look like.
Solomon speaks to our utter fragility in Ecclesiastes 12:7-8:
“7 and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. (Pastor’s Note: Returning to God who gave the spirit is a given; but what remains to be determined is if the spirit that returns to God, remains with God.)
8 “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher.
“Everything is meaningless!”
For indeed, without God and the recognition of His Supremacy and Sovereignty, everything is meaningless.
In the initial phase of the pandemic, many countries instituted lockdowns. For us in British Columbia, our lockdown lasted from the 16th March to the 19th May.
The lockdown – which constituted provincial border closures, general population restrictions with orders to stay, work, and study from home and to keep our outings to purely essential outings. Restaurants, banks and most amenities were shut down, with only the essential services remaining opened with severe restrictions: single traffic flow, physical distancing, and very limited customers allowed on the premises.
The objectives of the lockdown were two-fold:
(1) Cut-off: Mitigate the direct effects of the pandemic through attempts at cutting off transmission chains, slowing the rapid spread of the virus – in order to reduce mortality, and prevent and equip health-care services from being overwhelmed and to buy time to set up pandemic response systems;
(2) Change: Mandate a change in lifestyle – essentially, living from home in isolation from society at large; implementing rigorous personal hygiene vigilance – masks, sanitizers, hand-washing; strategic lifestyle choices that is now compelled upon us to choose between essentials and non-essentials, i.e. how we shop, when we shop, what we shop for, how our children attend school, how we worship, how we spend our time, who we stay with, how we socialize and what we do when together.
This experience of lock down – of cutting off from the old normal, from our old habits, from the former way of doing things, of living our lives – essentially, the cutting off of our old selves; and then compelled to change: changing our lifestyles, our worldview; our priorities, on what we deem to be essential or not (i.e. haircut, sports, social-gatherings etc) is what has brought us to this day and place – our present reality and newfound way of living.
Although lockdowns have been disruptive and demoralizing - substantially affecting mental and physical health, and harming the economy, the effects of the pandemic have often been worse in countries that did not go into lockdown; simply because they did not give themselves the opportunity to use the time during and after lockdown to cut-off the chains of transmission, establish viable pandemic control systems, and change significant aspects of their lives.
This pandemic has no doubt led to widespread detriment on societies, and has diminished trust on a global scale. Never has a singular event proved so devastating on such an epic scale.
So, no matter what we thought, locking down - cutting off in mitigation of the pandemic and changing our lives - is beneficial, possible; because it is necessary.
We were left without any other options – locking down was tough but was necessary for us as a society to overcome this adversity.
The Lord’s Supper as the necessary Spiritual Lockdown for every believer.
Some 2000 years ago, our Lord Jesus introduced this same concept to the disciples when he brought them out of the world into the upper room – to institute a brief respite of cutting off from the world, and changing their lives with regards to not just preserving their own lives, but to participate in a new life in Christ – a life that would not only isolate from or ward off the sicknesses and death of this world, but a life that would last for all eternity in God’s Perfect Kingdom.
This spiritual lockdown is something that we - as Christians – participate in every first of the month at our church – and it is known as the Lord’s Supper.
And of course, the situation with sin is a spiritual pandemic that is more deadly than COVID-19, for it infects every human being the moment we are born; there is simply no earthly cure to this infection because it is spiritual, and existential, in nature.
Our cure is found in the Salvation of God given to us through Christ Jesus our Lord and Saviour – wrought by His death on the Cross and Resurrection from death.
And so, we find ourselves in the depths of this dark and sinful world, constantly exposed and infected by this spiritual contagion known as sin.
But through our deliberate and conscious participation of the Lord’s Supper, God has given us a sacred opportunity to go into spiritual lock-down, to isolate ourselves from the world, to break the chains of sin’s transmission, to cut off the spiritual infection of sin, to change our ways, our mindset, our thinking and our way of living, and to establish a Spirit-empowered life of holiness – in order that we may survive and thrive in this spiritual pandemic and stand firm against the onslaught of the forces of evil.
This concept of entering a spiritual lockdown – of isolation, of cutting off and of the radical and necessary change of life is clearly found in the words of our Lord Jesus Christ in John 6:53-58:
53 “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.
54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.
55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink.
56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them.
57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me.
58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”
Unquestionably, the reality which Christ speaks of far transcends the one that we live in.
In more way than you can imagine, every time we participate in the Lord’s Supper, it must be to us a spiritual lockdown – an isolation and cutting off from the world, a cutting off from our sins, a cutting off from our old selves, and the renewal of our covenant with God that wholly manifests in the resolve to change the areas of our lives that is unacceptable and unfavorable in the sight of our Lord with the help of the Holy Spirit.
This must be for us what the Lord’s Supper is all about; a rude disruption of our carnal lifestyles; a precise moment in our lives to cut off all things that are wicked in the sight of God; a cut-off that must substantially reach and affect our old mental, emotional and spiritual state; a moment of reckoning that must harm our pride, harm our wicked nature, and jolt us out of the deadly cycle of sin and shame that would lead us inevitably to death.
The biblical term for the Spiritual Lockdown is Consecration.
Consecration must be initiated by the deepest desire to be holy – as our God is Holy - and thus, lead to the impulse to cut ourselves off completely from our old ways, and is immediately followed with the impulse to change into the likeness of our Lord Jesus Christ.
To cut off evil, and change into the likeness of Christ.
To cut off a way of life and not change – to not replace the old ways - would lead one to return to that old way of life with greater detriment than before.
That is the nature of the human heart. It is designed to be filled. It is not designed to exist in a vacuum; but was meant by God to be filled with His Presence, Love, Purposes and Power.
Which is why, when the heart is filled with anything other than Christ, it becomes dark, helpless and hopeless – ultimately overwhelmed by the forces of darkness, and consequently brought to the place of death.
Today, we are dealing with the second wave of the pandemic– which really is the continuation of the first wave which was disrupted because of the lockdown.
Without the initial lockdown, infections and transmissions would have been out of control, and so would the rate of mortality. We see this happening all around the world.
But despite the slew of tragic news happening all over again, we cannot lose sight of the evidence and the lessons that we have learnt from the lock-down – which is to cut off non-essential physical contacts and exposures, and to radically change our habits, our lifestyles, our priorities and our daily realities – so as to steer clear away from contracting and spreading the virus.
The words of Christ reveals to us what the outcome of partaking Holy Communion must be for us.
We need to deliberately isolate ourselves from our sinful ways, and urgently cut off our sinful, old selves; the parts of our lives that has ‘no life’, that has not fully embrace the reality of Christ’s Salvation.
“Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.” (John 6:53)
Pay attention to what Christ is saying to us:
“If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away! It is better to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into hell.
If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away! It is better to lose one of your members than to have your whole body go into hell. (Matthew 5:29-30)
We need to cut off the part of our lives that would lead us to death.
The greatest and deadliest lie that is told to us by the devil is that we are generally good people; and that if there are no big sin in our lives, we should be fine.
However, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23); there are simply no exceptions.
Our Lord Jesus Christ came not “to call the righteous but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:32) instructs us precisely to live in repentance – or we “will all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:3); and “bear fruit in keeping with repentance” (Matthew 3:8); for “if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)
Brethren, take a look around; His Kingdom is at hand! (Matthew 3:2)
There is definitely sin in our lives, and there are definitely areas of our lives that remain in sin. Thus, we must go into spiritual lockdown through our participation in the Lord’s Supper to cut off all sin in our lives, repent and resolve – with the help and power of the Holy Spirit – to change our lives, our mindsets, and our world-views in fulfilment of His Call and Will for us.
What must change in my life?
What must I do differently? What adjustments must I make to embrace a divine reality that leads to eternal life, as opposed to a carnal reality that leads to death?
To this, we must embrace four key components of this New Reality in Christ.
1. New Reality of Providence
Our Lord Jesus Christ reveals to us:
“54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.
55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink.”
The change in our lives begins with the reality that our most required and realistic providence is the Person of Jesus Christ; and that our destiny is resurrection unto eternal life by Christ.
It is quintessentially Christian to trust God utterly, in embracing the reality that other than the material and this-worldly nature of our sustenance - food, shelter, and all the things we work to provide for ourselves and our loved ones – there is, indeed, a more complete and a more required spiritual dimension to what we truly need; an utter and radical entering into the life of Jesus Christ – to remain in Christ, as Christ remains in us (Ref: John 15:4).
Participation in the Lord’s Supper represents our manifested resolution to accept and embrace this divine reality; this holy vision for our lives to utterly depend on, and unreservedly follow our Lord Jesus Christ.
Christ commands us, “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33))
Remaining in Christ now and forevermore, seeking His Kingdom and Righteousness –
must now be our foremost appetite, and our most sought-after direction and substance in our lives; and that from now on, we must put our every effort into living for this holy and eternal reality in fulfilling God’s gift for us, which is eternal life through Jesus.
2. New Reality of Personhood –and Relationships
"56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them."
A new reality of providence must be embraced simultaneously with a new reality of our personhood, and by extension, a new reality for what constitutes relationships.
Our relationships must be centred and substantiated with God’s Kingdom and His Righteousness; just as our personhood is now defined and identified only in, and with, Christ.
Our lives must necessarily manifest the Presence, Purpose and Power of Christ.
The world must see Christ in us.
The Apostle Paul elucidates this essential Christian foundation, and mandate: “ I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20) For only by faith in Christ, may we truly and eternally live!
3. New Reality of Life “Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me.” (John 6:57)
Do you live because of Christ?
Do you see yourself – in every conscious way possible – being alive because of Jesus Christ?
Not sure?
Now, try this line of reasoning.
Are you consciously and consistently, extraordinarily grateful to Jesus for the life that you have?
Do you live in the reality that you belong to Jesus?
If you truly believe that you live because of Christ, it must follow that your life belongs to Him – and as such, you must live for Him; and live solely faithful to Him; for anything less makes you a liar, or a hypocrite, or both.
Christ came so that we may have life – “and have it to the full.” (John 10:10)The Apostle Paul tells us “to live is Christ, to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21); that whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters (Colossians 3:23); and that as a Christian, you must “stand firm and let nothing move you; always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”
To live for Jesus is the fundamental foundation and mandate for every Christian.
Who do you live for? If it truly be Christ, separate yourself from sin; intently feed on Him; fervently follow Him; pray as He prays, think as He does, act as He would, live as He lives!
4. New Reality of Longevity “This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” (John 6:58)If left unchecked, sin grows irrepressibly in the human heart.
When the possibility of eternity is considered for a person with sin, it becomes clear that sin will consume and overwhelm the person to the point that no semblance of humanity will be left.
This is why sin has no place in the Kingdom of God.
If even a single spore of sin was allowed to remain in the fertile wickedness of the human heart, eternity would ensure one so consumed in sin that one could not possibly live with oneself; much more live.
Sin has absolutely no place in the Christian’s life.
Take a hard look at your life; at what your priorities are, on what consumes you, on what you value, and work hard for… …
Are you prepared to live forever?
Are you prepared to enter the Kingdom of God and live for all eternity?
What must you do without? What must you gouge out and cast into the fire? What must you cut off and throw away? (Ref: Mark 9:43-48)
What area of life must you destroy and kill; in order that you may prepare today to enter the Kingdom of God and live forever?
And what must you have more of – in order to prepare yourself for eternity? More of the Holy Spirit in your life? To bear more of the Spirit’s Fruit?
In Closing… Every time we participate in the Lord’s Supper, let us enter into spiritual lockdown; and be found in His Holy Presence.
And so, today we gather in the Presence of Jesus Christ – having been led by His Holy Spirit – to enter into His Holy Presence to experience once again, this spiritual lockdown – known as the sacrament of Holy Communion; the Lord’s Supper.
Enter in the upper room; come into His Presence.
Isolate yourself from the world.
Acknowledge and repent of the sins in your life; be healed in Christ’s finished work of atonement.
Cut off the chains of sin’s transmissions from your life.
Change your life that you may grow in the likeness of Christ - who gave His life for you.
Let us together pick up the emblems representing His Body broken for us, and His Blood that was shed for us – and let us remember Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour.
Let us remember that because of Him, we now have the divine privilege and power to cut off sin and death from our lives
“For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.” ((Romans 8:13)
“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” (1 Peter 2:24)
And because of Him, we have the divine privilege and power to change our lives to be more and more like Jesus!
“The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20b) “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians 4:22-24)
Shalom.
Let us pray.
Our Father in Heaven,
Hallowed be Your Name.
Your Kingdom come, Your Will be done; on earth, as it is in heaven.
I acknowledge this day that every time I partake of the Lord’s Supper, I am entering into Spiritual Lockdown – a deeply necessary moment in my life as Your child.
Thank You, O Lord, for granting me this sacred respite of cutting myself off from the spiritual infection of sin and a world in sin; and this sacred opportunity to break the chains of sin’s transmission and to change my life, my mindset, my way of living and my responses to this world - in order to fully participate in my new life in Christ; to live a Spirit-empowered life of holiness.
In partaking of the Lord’s Supper; Lord, I commit to isolate myself from the ways of the world, to cut off sin in my life in absolute acknowledgement, brokenness and utter repentance unto You, and to cut off the chains of sin’s transmissions.
With the help of the Holy Spirit, I resolve to change the areas of my life that is unacceptable and unfavorable in Your sight.
Holy Spirit, disrupt my life; reach in and destroy my sinful mental, emotional and spiritual state; and jolt me out of the deadly cycle of sin, shame and death – in order that I may receive Your gift of eternal life in Your Kingdom.
Consecrate me, O Lord.
Initiate me into Your holiness by granting me the deepest desire to be like Christ; and grant me the impulse to cut myself off completely from my old and sinful ways, followed by the impulse to change in accordance to Your Design and Destiny for me.
In Jesus Name, I cut off the portions of my life that would lead me to death.
I acknowledge that I am a sinner in desperate need of God’s forgiveness through Christ my Saviour.
Forgive my transgressions against You, Lord Jesus!
I confess my sins and believe with all my heart that You are faithful and just to forgive my sins and cleanse me from all unrighteousness.
As you have called me, I repent before You. Help me to bear fruit in keeping with repentance.
Bring me into Your Reality of Providence, Personhood, Holy Relationships, Present Living and Eternal Life!
I acknowledge that to live for You, Lord Jesus, is my fundamental foundation and mandate as Your disciple. In this, help me live utterly for You!
Prepare me to enter Your Kingdom and live for all eternity!
Grant me an eternal paradigm in my present life.
Grant me fresh eyes to see Your Kingdom today!
Thank You, O God, for bestowing upon me the divine privilege and power to cut off sin and death in my life; and change into the likeness of Your Son, Jesus Christ.
May I ever cherish and live daily in Your Holy Presence.
I thank You and pray all these in the Name of our King, Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Dearly Beloved,
Greetings in the Name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!
It has been 35 Sundays since I greeted you in the Sanctuary and when we last met in close proximity.
This Pandemic has indelibly marked our generations.
COVID 19 has infected more than 46 million people globally – up, from 35 million 2 weeks ago - with more than 1.2 million deaths as recorded by the World Health Organization, up from 1 million 2 weeks earlier. To put things in perspective, a 2020 census reported 38 million people living in Canada.
COVID-19 is highly infectious and spreads readily through contact via droplets, and longer-range transmission via aerosols, especially in conditions where ventilation is poor.
To compound the asymptomatic and virulent nature of the virus, large swaths of unexposed populations are especially susceptible resulting in conditions for rapid community spread.
Medical sources reveal that the infection fatality rate of COVID-19 is several-fold higher than that of seasonal influenza, with an infection leading to persisting illness (long COVID) in the young, previously healthy people.
Not much is known about the protective immunity for the previously infected; which seriously questions strategies where herd immunity is presumed.
And like other seasonal coronaviruses, COVID-19 is highly capable of re-infecting people who have already had the disease, although the frequency of re-infection is unknown.
At this moment there is no vaccine against COVID-19; and no real timeline when it will be ready, and available for the masses.
Our only strategy is mitigation – through physical distancing, use of face coverings, hand and respiratory hygiene, and by avoiding crowds and poorly ventilated spaces.
For community outbreaks, rapid testing, contact tracing, isolation and symptomatic treatment and care are critical and our only means to controlling transmission and treating the infected.
As the second wave of COVID-19 affects the world, and with winter approaching for those in North America and Europe, we have come to the stark realisation of the radical changes in our lives needed to combat the risks posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the areas of work, school, social gatherings and lifestyles, we have been forced into a compromise; ways and means of work, schooling, socialising and shopping never thought possible have been made to work simply because we had no other choice.
This pandemic is real; getting sick is real; dying is real; therefore change must happen.
As a human race, we have truly been humbled by one of the smallest organisms in the world, and brought down many notches – in the fuller recognition of our frail humanity, fragile economy and our frivolous concepts of what being human is, and what society should look like.
Solomon speaks to our utter fragility in Ecclesiastes 12:7-8:
“7 and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. (Pastor’s Note: Returning to God who gave the spirit is a given; but what remains to be determined is if the spirit that returns to God, remains with God.)
8 “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher.
“Everything is meaningless!”
For indeed, without God and the recognition of His Supremacy and Sovereignty, everything is meaningless.
In the initial phase of the pandemic, many countries instituted lockdowns. For us in British Columbia, our lockdown lasted from the 16th March to the 19th May.
The lockdown – which constituted provincial border closures, general population restrictions with orders to stay, work, and study from home and to keep our outings to purely essential outings. Restaurants, banks and most amenities were shut down, with only the essential services remaining opened with severe restrictions: single traffic flow, physical distancing, and very limited customers allowed on the premises.
The objectives of the lockdown were two-fold:
(1) Cut-off: Mitigate the direct effects of the pandemic through attempts at cutting off transmission chains, slowing the rapid spread of the virus – in order to reduce mortality, and prevent and equip health-care services from being overwhelmed and to buy time to set up pandemic response systems;
(2) Change: Mandate a change in lifestyle – essentially, living from home in isolation from society at large; implementing rigorous personal hygiene vigilance – masks, sanitizers, hand-washing; strategic lifestyle choices that is now compelled upon us to choose between essentials and non-essentials, i.e. how we shop, when we shop, what we shop for, how our children attend school, how we worship, how we spend our time, who we stay with, how we socialize and what we do when together.
This experience of lock down – of cutting off from the old normal, from our old habits, from the former way of doing things, of living our lives – essentially, the cutting off of our old selves; and then compelled to change: changing our lifestyles, our worldview; our priorities, on what we deem to be essential or not (i.e. haircut, sports, social-gatherings etc) is what has brought us to this day and place – our present reality and newfound way of living.
Although lockdowns have been disruptive and demoralizing - substantially affecting mental and physical health, and harming the economy, the effects of the pandemic have often been worse in countries that did not go into lockdown; simply because they did not give themselves the opportunity to use the time during and after lockdown to cut-off the chains of transmission, establish viable pandemic control systems, and change significant aspects of their lives.
This pandemic has no doubt led to widespread detriment on societies, and has diminished trust on a global scale. Never has a singular event proved so devastating on such an epic scale.
So, no matter what we thought, locking down - cutting off in mitigation of the pandemic and changing our lives - is beneficial, possible; because it is necessary.
We were left without any other options – locking down was tough but was necessary for us as a society to overcome this adversity.
The Lord’s Supper as the necessary Spiritual Lockdown for every believer.
Some 2000 years ago, our Lord Jesus introduced this same concept to the disciples when he brought them out of the world into the upper room – to institute a brief respite of cutting off from the world, and changing their lives with regards to not just preserving their own lives, but to participate in a new life in Christ – a life that would not only isolate from or ward off the sicknesses and death of this world, but a life that would last for all eternity in God’s Perfect Kingdom.
This spiritual lockdown is something that we - as Christians – participate in every first of the month at our church – and it is known as the Lord’s Supper.
And of course, the situation with sin is a spiritual pandemic that is more deadly than COVID-19, for it infects every human being the moment we are born; there is simply no earthly cure to this infection because it is spiritual, and existential, in nature.
Our cure is found in the Salvation of God given to us through Christ Jesus our Lord and Saviour – wrought by His death on the Cross and Resurrection from death.
And so, we find ourselves in the depths of this dark and sinful world, constantly exposed and infected by this spiritual contagion known as sin.
But through our deliberate and conscious participation of the Lord’s Supper, God has given us a sacred opportunity to go into spiritual lock-down, to isolate ourselves from the world, to break the chains of sin’s transmission, to cut off the spiritual infection of sin, to change our ways, our mindset, our thinking and our way of living, and to establish a Spirit-empowered life of holiness – in order that we may survive and thrive in this spiritual pandemic and stand firm against the onslaught of the forces of evil.
This concept of entering a spiritual lockdown – of isolation, of cutting off and of the radical and necessary change of life is clearly found in the words of our Lord Jesus Christ in John 6:53-58:
53 “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.
54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.
55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink.
56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them.
57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me.
58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”
Unquestionably, the reality which Christ speaks of far transcends the one that we live in.
In more way than you can imagine, every time we participate in the Lord’s Supper, it must be to us a spiritual lockdown – an isolation and cutting off from the world, a cutting off from our sins, a cutting off from our old selves, and the renewal of our covenant with God that wholly manifests in the resolve to change the areas of our lives that is unacceptable and unfavorable in the sight of our Lord with the help of the Holy Spirit.
This must be for us what the Lord’s Supper is all about; a rude disruption of our carnal lifestyles; a precise moment in our lives to cut off all things that are wicked in the sight of God; a cut-off that must substantially reach and affect our old mental, emotional and spiritual state; a moment of reckoning that must harm our pride, harm our wicked nature, and jolt us out of the deadly cycle of sin and shame that would lead us inevitably to death.
The biblical term for the Spiritual Lockdown is Consecration.
Consecration must be initiated by the deepest desire to be holy – as our God is Holy - and thus, lead to the impulse to cut ourselves off completely from our old ways, and is immediately followed with the impulse to change into the likeness of our Lord Jesus Christ.
To cut off evil, and change into the likeness of Christ.
To cut off a way of life and not change – to not replace the old ways - would lead one to return to that old way of life with greater detriment than before.
That is the nature of the human heart. It is designed to be filled. It is not designed to exist in a vacuum; but was meant by God to be filled with His Presence, Love, Purposes and Power.
Which is why, when the heart is filled with anything other than Christ, it becomes dark, helpless and hopeless – ultimately overwhelmed by the forces of darkness, and consequently brought to the place of death.
Today, we are dealing with the second wave of the pandemic– which really is the continuation of the first wave which was disrupted because of the lockdown.
Without the initial lockdown, infections and transmissions would have been out of control, and so would the rate of mortality. We see this happening all around the world.
But despite the slew of tragic news happening all over again, we cannot lose sight of the evidence and the lessons that we have learnt from the lock-down – which is to cut off non-essential physical contacts and exposures, and to radically change our habits, our lifestyles, our priorities and our daily realities – so as to steer clear away from contracting and spreading the virus.
The words of Christ reveals to us what the outcome of partaking Holy Communion must be for us.
We need to deliberately isolate ourselves from our sinful ways, and urgently cut off our sinful, old selves; the parts of our lives that has ‘no life’, that has not fully embrace the reality of Christ’s Salvation.
“Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.” (John 6:53)
Pay attention to what Christ is saying to us:
“If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away! It is better to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into hell.
If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away! It is better to lose one of your members than to have your whole body go into hell. (Matthew 5:29-30)
We need to cut off the part of our lives that would lead us to death.
The greatest and deadliest lie that is told to us by the devil is that we are generally good people; and that if there are no big sin in our lives, we should be fine.
However, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23); there are simply no exceptions.
Our Lord Jesus Christ came not “to call the righteous but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:32) instructs us precisely to live in repentance – or we “will all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:3); and “bear fruit in keeping with repentance” (Matthew 3:8); for “if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)
Brethren, take a look around; His Kingdom is at hand! (Matthew 3:2)
There is definitely sin in our lives, and there are definitely areas of our lives that remain in sin. Thus, we must go into spiritual lockdown through our participation in the Lord’s Supper to cut off all sin in our lives, repent and resolve – with the help and power of the Holy Spirit – to change our lives, our mindsets, and our world-views in fulfilment of His Call and Will for us.
What must change in my life?
What must I do differently? What adjustments must I make to embrace a divine reality that leads to eternal life, as opposed to a carnal reality that leads to death?
To this, we must embrace four key components of this New Reality in Christ.
1. New Reality of Providence
Our Lord Jesus Christ reveals to us:
“54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.
55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink.”
The change in our lives begins with the reality that our most required and realistic providence is the Person of Jesus Christ; and that our destiny is resurrection unto eternal life by Christ.
It is quintessentially Christian to trust God utterly, in embracing the reality that other than the material and this-worldly nature of our sustenance - food, shelter, and all the things we work to provide for ourselves and our loved ones – there is, indeed, a more complete and a more required spiritual dimension to what we truly need; an utter and radical entering into the life of Jesus Christ – to remain in Christ, as Christ remains in us (Ref: John 15:4).
Participation in the Lord’s Supper represents our manifested resolution to accept and embrace this divine reality; this holy vision for our lives to utterly depend on, and unreservedly follow our Lord Jesus Christ.
Christ commands us, “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33))
Remaining in Christ now and forevermore, seeking His Kingdom and Righteousness –
must now be our foremost appetite, and our most sought-after direction and substance in our lives; and that from now on, we must put our every effort into living for this holy and eternal reality in fulfilling God’s gift for us, which is eternal life through Jesus.
2. New Reality of Personhood –and Relationships
"56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them."
A new reality of providence must be embraced simultaneously with a new reality of our personhood, and by extension, a new reality for what constitutes relationships.
Our relationships must be centred and substantiated with God’s Kingdom and His Righteousness; just as our personhood is now defined and identified only in, and with, Christ.
Our lives must necessarily manifest the Presence, Purpose and Power of Christ.
The world must see Christ in us.
The Apostle Paul elucidates this essential Christian foundation, and mandate: “ I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20) For only by faith in Christ, may we truly and eternally live!
3. New Reality of Life “Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me.” (John 6:57)
Do you live because of Christ?
Do you see yourself – in every conscious way possible – being alive because of Jesus Christ?
Not sure?
Now, try this line of reasoning.
Are you consciously and consistently, extraordinarily grateful to Jesus for the life that you have?
Do you live in the reality that you belong to Jesus?
If you truly believe that you live because of Christ, it must follow that your life belongs to Him – and as such, you must live for Him; and live solely faithful to Him; for anything less makes you a liar, or a hypocrite, or both.
Christ came so that we may have life – “and have it to the full.” (John 10:10)The Apostle Paul tells us “to live is Christ, to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21); that whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters (Colossians 3:23); and that as a Christian, you must “stand firm and let nothing move you; always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”
To live for Jesus is the fundamental foundation and mandate for every Christian.
Who do you live for? If it truly be Christ, separate yourself from sin; intently feed on Him; fervently follow Him; pray as He prays, think as He does, act as He would, live as He lives!
4. New Reality of Longevity “This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” (John 6:58)If left unchecked, sin grows irrepressibly in the human heart.
When the possibility of eternity is considered for a person with sin, it becomes clear that sin will consume and overwhelm the person to the point that no semblance of humanity will be left.
This is why sin has no place in the Kingdom of God.
If even a single spore of sin was allowed to remain in the fertile wickedness of the human heart, eternity would ensure one so consumed in sin that one could not possibly live with oneself; much more live.
Sin has absolutely no place in the Christian’s life.
Take a hard look at your life; at what your priorities are, on what consumes you, on what you value, and work hard for… …
Are you prepared to live forever?
Are you prepared to enter the Kingdom of God and live for all eternity?
What must you do without? What must you gouge out and cast into the fire? What must you cut off and throw away? (Ref: Mark 9:43-48)
What area of life must you destroy and kill; in order that you may prepare today to enter the Kingdom of God and live forever?
And what must you have more of – in order to prepare yourself for eternity? More of the Holy Spirit in your life? To bear more of the Spirit’s Fruit?
In Closing… Every time we participate in the Lord’s Supper, let us enter into spiritual lockdown; and be found in His Holy Presence.
And so, today we gather in the Presence of Jesus Christ – having been led by His Holy Spirit – to enter into His Holy Presence to experience once again, this spiritual lockdown – known as the sacrament of Holy Communion; the Lord’s Supper.
Enter in the upper room; come into His Presence.
Isolate yourself from the world.
Acknowledge and repent of the sins in your life; be healed in Christ’s finished work of atonement.
Cut off the chains of sin’s transmissions from your life.
Change your life that you may grow in the likeness of Christ - who gave His life for you.
Let us together pick up the emblems representing His Body broken for us, and His Blood that was shed for us – and let us remember Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour.
Let us remember that because of Him, we now have the divine privilege and power to cut off sin and death from our lives
“For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.” ((Romans 8:13)
“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” (1 Peter 2:24)
And because of Him, we have the divine privilege and power to change our lives to be more and more like Jesus!
“The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20b) “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians 4:22-24)
Shalom.
Let us pray.
Our Father in Heaven,
Hallowed be Your Name.
Your Kingdom come, Your Will be done; on earth, as it is in heaven.
I acknowledge this day that every time I partake of the Lord’s Supper, I am entering into Spiritual Lockdown – a deeply necessary moment in my life as Your child.
Thank You, O Lord, for granting me this sacred respite of cutting myself off from the spiritual infection of sin and a world in sin; and this sacred opportunity to break the chains of sin’s transmission and to change my life, my mindset, my way of living and my responses to this world - in order to fully participate in my new life in Christ; to live a Spirit-empowered life of holiness.
In partaking of the Lord’s Supper; Lord, I commit to isolate myself from the ways of the world, to cut off sin in my life in absolute acknowledgement, brokenness and utter repentance unto You, and to cut off the chains of sin’s transmissions.
With the help of the Holy Spirit, I resolve to change the areas of my life that is unacceptable and unfavorable in Your sight.
Holy Spirit, disrupt my life; reach in and destroy my sinful mental, emotional and spiritual state; and jolt me out of the deadly cycle of sin, shame and death – in order that I may receive Your gift of eternal life in Your Kingdom.
Consecrate me, O Lord.
Initiate me into Your holiness by granting me the deepest desire to be like Christ; and grant me the impulse to cut myself off completely from my old and sinful ways, followed by the impulse to change in accordance to Your Design and Destiny for me.
In Jesus Name, I cut off the portions of my life that would lead me to death.
I acknowledge that I am a sinner in desperate need of God’s forgiveness through Christ my Saviour.
Forgive my transgressions against You, Lord Jesus!
I confess my sins and believe with all my heart that You are faithful and just to forgive my sins and cleanse me from all unrighteousness.
As you have called me, I repent before You. Help me to bear fruit in keeping with repentance.
Bring me into Your Reality of Providence, Personhood, Holy Relationships, Present Living and Eternal Life!
I acknowledge that to live for You, Lord Jesus, is my fundamental foundation and mandate as Your disciple. In this, help me live utterly for You!
Prepare me to enter Your Kingdom and live for all eternity!
Grant me an eternal paradigm in my present life.
Grant me fresh eyes to see Your Kingdom today!
Thank You, O God, for bestowing upon me the divine privilege and power to cut off sin and death in my life; and change into the likeness of Your Son, Jesus Christ.
May I ever cherish and live daily in Your Holy Presence.
I thank You and pray all these in the Name of our King, Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.