Open Book Open Road

Communion Meditation

September 1, 1991

I Corinthians 15:3-11 "I delivered ... what I also received."

Introduction

At Falmouth this summer Ben, my 5-year-old grandson, began going to check the mailbox all by himself. It is 150 yards down the street, just out of sight around some bushes, and I confess I peek around them to make sure he is all right down near the main street.

Ben was fascinated by the fact that there is a metal flag on the box that tells the mailman to pick up outgoing mail. So one day he decided to put the flag up and send some mail on his own. And so he did. But the mailman didn't take Ben's picture post card.

When he brought it back, disappointed, we discovered why. Ben hadn't addressed his message to anyone in particular, or in fact to anyone at all. And he hadn't put a stamp on the card. And as a matter of fact, there wasn't any message on the card at all; just a post card with a pretty picture of Falmouth.

It certainly isn't wrong for a 5-year-old to want to send mail, and he'll soon learn how. But somehow it made me think about some of my own efforts to communicate the good news about Jesus.

I'm not a communications expert, but there must be some elementary facts about ANY kind of communication. Surely you must have (1) Something to say; and (2) an effective way to say it; as well as (3) someone to say it to.

Paul says: "I am sending on to you a message that I know, because I have first received it myself!

I. CHRISTIANS HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY

"I delivered . . . WHAT I FIRST RECEIVED"

  1. When Paul became a Christian, he definitely received something! There was no question but that he had had an encounter with the divine, with God Almighty!
    1. Not many conversions are that dramatic. But every true conversion must have that touch of God, that element of the divine.
    2. Do you recall when you met with God in a confrontational way? Conviction? Conversion? [Testimony: My own personal dealing with a sense of being "wrong" or "away from God" on January 17, 1948.]
  2. YOU may have this personal encounter with God! It is the most important knowledge that you will ever know! You dare not stop short of the personal certitude.

    But once we KNOW, we will want, somehow, to TELL:

II. CHRISTIANS NEED TO SAY WHAT THEY KNOW

"I DELIVERED ... what I received!"

  1. THE JOY OF KNOWING DEMANDS THE JOY OF SHARING

    In another passage Paul tells King Agrippa "I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision." From the first day Paul wanted to tell others about his newfound life in Christ.

    1. On the Road to Emmaus the sad, discouraged disciples met Jesus. He changed their gloom and doubt to faith and joy: and they immediately walked the seven-plus miles back to Jerusalem. WHY? To deliver what they had also received!

  2. EVERY CHRISTIAN IS CALLED TO REPRESENT HER/HIS LORD

    We are AMBASSADORS. Ambassadors do not invent their own messages; they do not set policy. They say what they have been told to say; they represent the home office. There is plenty of room for creativity and individualism in this world. But when it comes to the true faith, we do not invent or develop or even discover our own salvation: it must be handed to us directly from God Himself!

  3. WE MUST STICK TO WHAT WE KNOW FOR OURSELVES

    What WE have received we may be fairly sure is what our brothers and sisters could use. They don't need ADVICE; they need LIFE WITH A CAPITAL "L."

    When we begin to preach second-hand sermons— when we tell others what we are not sure of ourselves— our witness is hollow! It is really impossible to share a Christ who we do not personally know for ourselves. Can you see the importance of that 'inner assurance' that we do, in fact, know Jesus, and that our lives are hid in Him?

  4. In the scripture that we most often use before communion, from I Corinthians 11, Paul uses this same phrase: "I give to you what first of all I received myself."

III. GOD'S LOVE GIVES US PEOPLE WE WANT TO TELL! LOVE MAKES US CARE ENOUGH TO SHARE

  1. The desire to share is GOOD! It speaks of the genuine-ness of faith. And the way to say it is simply to keep at it: talk of God's goodness to God's people; there will be opportunity to talk of God's goodness to others who need to know it. We MAY deliver to others what we have ourselves received!
  2. God's Word is OPEN before us: it is a never-ending source of life, and of promises that meet us at the point of need. We freely receive; we take, and partake, and rightly so.
  3. But so is God's WILL open before us! In the same measure we RECEIVE of God's promises, we are willing to SHARE. With Paul we say, "That which I received . . . I also delivered!" And it is the highest joy and privilege there is, to realize that we are ambassadors for Jesus Christ.

Conclusion

I think it was commendable that Ben wanted to tell someone else about Falmouth; that he went to the mailbox. But as Christians, we can do better than a general, commendable desire to tell "someone;" we can obey Jesus Christ, and be sent; we can remember the elementary facts of communication: Something to say; an effective way to say it; someone to say it to - -

And we can receive and deliver the Good News of the Gospel: We can say to the world: "Jesus loves ME, this I know! And because I know it myself, I can say to YOU: Jesus loves YOU, too !"

Preparation for Communion:

I Corinthians 11:23 - 30

The table of the Lord is for all who will come; It is an observance of God's grace.

Wherever you are, if you want to draw near to God, you are invited: Celebrate prevenient grace - God is seeking your salvation Celebrate saving grace - God has received you unto Himself in forgiveness Celebrate sanctifying grace - God is making you in the image of His Son, by His Spirit

It is an celebration of God's Presence Not only DID Jesus die for you Not only WILL Jesus come again and receive you to Himself- But Jesus IS PRESENT with those who meet in His name; He is Present in Communion is a special way, and it truly is a means of grace to those who xome expectantly.

PRAYER OF DEDICATION OF ELEMENTS PRAYER OF HEART-SEARCHING, OF DEDICATION OF SELF INVITATION TO PARTAKE

#53 (EH) Sent Forth by God's Blessing