(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

Amen. Okay, so 1 Corinthians 11. We'll just look at from verse 27 to 29 quickly there. 1 Corinthians 11 verses 27 to 29 which reads, Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread and drink this cup of the Lord unworthily shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. And the title of my sermon today is, Preparing for the Lord's Supper. Preparing for the Lord's Supper. Let's go to the Lord in a word of prayer before we get going. Father, I thank you for your ordinances in the Bible and help me now just to preach this particular one clearly, accurately. Help me to explain it and help me to explain how people can prepare for this and please just fill me with your spirit. Please help everyone to have attentive ears and hearts today and just for all of this to be done in your name. Amen. So along with baptism, the Lord's Supper is one of the two main ordinances in the New Testament and like baptism it's been changed and abused by the many false churches around. The same dress wearing weirdos sprinkle water on babies or draw water crosses on them. They also do crazy things when it comes to the Lord's Supper. But even amongst what we consider legitimate churches full of saved people that love the Lord, there's also a lot of variation as to how the Lord's Supper is done, how it's observed. I want to preach today about how our church, that's our church, Shaw Foundation Baptist Church believes that the Lord's Supper is to be observed. And just to make it clear, this is Shaw Foundation Baptist Church. So many people have come from other churches or come from other kind of teachings on the Lord's Supper, but this is how our church does it. I'm going to explain to you why our church does it this way and hopefully you'll have open ears to that and not any preconceived ideas and just listen to what I believe. I believe it's fairly clear as to how we should be doing this. I also want to preach here especially on how everyone I believe can prepare for next week. Okay, so how you can prepare for next week. Now, in 1 Corinthians, Paul is writing to a church that has a lot of problems, doesn't it? We went through this as a Bible study, our first Bible study from the beginning of last year, we went through this. And they're doing many things wrong, aren't they? And in chapter 11, he tells them how wrong they're getting the Lord's Supper. Verse 17, it says, Now in this that I declare unto you, I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse. So whatever they're doing is having a negative effect and we want to make sure that we don't do the same, don't we? Okay, we want to make sure we don't do the same here. Verse 18, For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you, and I partly believe it. For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you. So Paul is saying that there are divisions, that there must be also other heresies considering that some are out in the open. And that's quite an obvious thing there, isn't it? You see that when you go to church, then there's just open heresies that people are just talking heretical things. There's usually a lot more, aren't there? There's usually a lot more heresies in the background, a lot of other things going on. Now look at verse 20. When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's Supper. For in eating, everyone taketh before other his own supper, and one is hungry, and another is drunken. What, have ye not houses to eat and drink, in or despise ye the church? God has shamed them that have not. What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I praise you not. Now some could look at verse 20 and say it shouldn't be done as a whole church. Now we don't believe that in our church, because if you look at verse 33 to 34, he's corrected them and he's telling them to come together, but to wait for everyone. Right? It says, Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another. If any man hunger, let him eat at home, that ye come not together unto condemnation and restful, I say in order when I come. So in verse 20 he's saying, Your potluck feasts aren't the Lord's Supper. Okay? That's what he's saying there. Your potluck feasts are not the Lord's Supper. Verse 21, where it says, For in eating, everyone taketh before other his own supper, and one is hungry, another is drunken. The drunken is referring to being stuffed with food. So remember in chapter 5, he's just told them to kick out anyone who's a drunkard. So he's not saying, Oh, by the way, you know, some of you are getting drunk because he's just said to them that that person should be kicked out of the church. Okay? So here it's talking about being stuffed. I don't know if any of you who do get a bit gluttonous sometimes, you can feel a little bit drunk when you eat too much, can't you? Basically saying here that they're having a potluck where some aren't getting anything because others are piling their plates high. Yeah? Verse 22, What have ye not had to eat and drink and not despise you? The church of God has shamed them that have not. What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I praise you not. He's saying to have your feast at home instead of at church where you're basically lording it over those that don't either have the food or the homes to eat it in. Right? Basically saying that their church feasts aren't the Lord's supper. He now reminds them how it should be done. Okay? So in the following verses, verse 23, For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you. So obviously he's already shown them this before. Yeah. This is a past tense which also I delivered unto you. But the Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread and when he had given thanks, he break it and said, Take, eat. This is my body which is broken for you. This do in remembrance of me. Of the same manner also he took the cup when he had supped, saying, This cup is a new testament in my blood. This do ye as oft as ye drink it in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death till he come. Now turn to Luke 22 because Paul is referring here to the Last Supper. Paul is referring to the Last Supper, which we see, well, it's in three of the gospels, I think clearly, Matthew, Mark and Luke. And in Luke 22 here, it says from verse 14, And when the hour was come, he sat down and the twelve apostles with him. And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. So what was the Last Supper? The Passover, right? Yeah, it was the Passover. I've desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. Now keep a finger there and turn to Exodus chapter 12. So when God freed the children of Israel from captivity in Egypt, he instituted the Passover, which was to be a yearly event. Here in Exodus 12 is just after the previous nine plagues, where God through Moses is telling Pharaoh to free his people. So we're in Exodus chapter 12 and from verse 3, he says, Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers the Lamb from the house. If the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next unto his house, take it according to the number of the souls, every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year, ye shall take it out from the sheep or from the goats, ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month, and a whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. Now, as well as being a reminder of their freedom from Egypt, the Passover is a very clear picture of salvation, yeah? Probably one of the clearest ones from the Old Testament, isn't it? The unblemished lamb here obviously represents the sinless Jesus Christ. You don't have to turn it, but 1 Peter 1.19 says that we were redeemed with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. It's not one lamb for everyone in terms of we all need to partake in the lamb, don't we? Okay? Everyone needs to partake. Every household it's talked about there, it's an individual thing partaking Jesus Christ, isn't it? Verse 6 pictures a whole multitude I believe calling for and being responsible for the death of Christ. Then verse 7 it says, and they shall take of the blood and strike it on a two side post on the upper door post of the house wherein they shall eat it. And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire and unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. Eat not of it raw nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire, his head with his legs and with the pertinence thereof. And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire. Burning with fire seems to be pretty important here, doesn't it? Notice that? Pretty important, the burning with fire. For me that picture is Jesus Christ ascending into hell. And again, we know that many people seem to have a problem with this teaching. I think it's clear as day in the Bible. If you think about it, so many of the offerings of sacrifice, it's all about being a burnt sacrifice, isn't it? Even if you think about Isaac, he's being laid on wood, isn't he? Why is he being laid on wood? He's about to be offered up as a burnt sacrifice as well, isn't he? Now, you don't have to turn him, but Matthew 12, 12.40, famous verse says, for as Jonas was three days and three nights in the world's belly, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. And that's clearly where hell is. If you think about when the earth opened up and swallowed, you know, Korah, Dathan, the barroom and the rest of that company, clearly they're swallowed up, the earth opens up and they go directly down into hell. The heart of the earth is where hell is, I believe. I think that's quite clear in scripture. Acts 2.31 says, he seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. So for his soul not to be left in hell, it had to have been in hell, but again, people seem to buck and fight this teaching. I don't really know why. And then they start shouting things like, it's heretical. It's heretical. Why? Why is that heretical? The Bible teaches that. So burnt sacrifice, we see that here. It's talking, it's really important there, isn't it, about the burning, being burnt with fire, anything left burnt with fire, burnt with fire. We see that time and time again. Okay, again, I'm not going to preach on that right now, so let's carry on. Verse 11, and thus shall ye eat it with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand, and ye shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord's Passover. So obviously it's something to be taken seriously, eating it in haste. You could say, no, tarrying with salvation. You could give a picture of that. Because look, when you're given the opportunity, and sometimes that's when we're pleading with people on the doors, aren't we? We're just saying, well, I'll go away and think about it. You're thinking, look, now is the time, you know? And sadly, will people have that time again? Not necessarily, but some do. Some do. And many people, fortunately do, third, fourth time. It's not always the case. But again here, I don't know, I see this as, well, this gives me the impression of someone ready to preach the Gospel. And you have to turn there, but in Mark 6, when he's sending his disciples out soul-willing, it says, and he called, in verse 7, he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two, and gave them power over unclean spirits, and commanded them that they should take nothing for their journey, save a staff only, no script, no bread, no money in their purse, and be shod with sandals, and not put on two coats. Verse 11 there gives me that image of that. I think it's someone, for me, who's, when you're saved, is, there's that encouragement, isn't there, that we should be getting saved and going out and getting other people saved. Yeah, we should be sharing that, we should be preaching the Gospel, not just taking the Gospel and that's it, not just taking that free gift of salvation. We should go out and share that, shouldn't we? Verse 11, where we are, says, and thus shall ye eat it with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand, and ye shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord's Passover, for I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast, and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment. I am the Lord, and the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where you are, and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you when I smite the land of Egypt. So they were saved by the unblemished Lamb's blood, yeah, like we're saved by the blood of Christ. So a clear picture of salvation there, I think even for probably newly saved people you can see that quite clearly, and look, although they did this before the Exodus, it was to be done yearly as a memorial, right? Okay, yearly as a memorial. Verse 14 says, and this day shall be unto you for a memorial, and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout your generations, ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance forever. Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread, even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses, for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel. So after the initial Passover meal they're to only eat unleavened bread, that's bread with no yeast. Verse 16, and in the first day there shall be an holy convocation, that's an assembly, and in the seventh day there shall be an holy convocation to you, no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done of you. So they're all to come together as a holy assembly. Now with all of that in mind, go back to Luke 22, which as far as the disciples were concerned was them about to observe the yearly Passover, wasn't it? They were told to go and prepare a room for them to observe the Passover, they think they're about to do that. Luke chapter 22 verse 15, and he said unto them with desire, I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer, for I say unto you I will not any more eat thereof until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. And he took the cup and gave thanks and said take this and divide it among yourselves, for I say unto you I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God shall come. And he took bread and gave thanks and bread and gave unto them, saying this is my body which is given for you, this doing remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying this cup is a New Testament in my blood which is shed for you. So we don't observe the Passover any more, because Jesus Christ is our Passover. That lamb has been eternally sacrificed. But we at this church believe that the Lord's Supper basically is a continuation or you could say replaces the Passover, and for this reason we observe it once a year. That's why we observe the Lord's Supper once a year here. Not every week like the Holy Communion at some sort of Church of England Church, not twice a day like in some Catholic churches, they'll go up to twice a day with partaking in mass and all the bizarre stuff that goes around the weird way that these false churches do it, but also not once a month like many what seem to be saved Baptist churches around, okay? And I've been at church so I do once a month, some do once a quarter. We also believe that it has more significance when it's done once a year. I don't know about you, but actually when I was young I went to, you know, and again it was obviously not what we would even call the Lord's Supper, in fact it was done in the morning, but I went to this Church of England Church where they did it every week and was anyone even, it was just a routine, didn't even think about it, like all these, in fact the same sort of church which chants the Lord's Prayer and no one actually has any idea what they're saying and even thinks about it. Well in the same way we believe that when you're doing it once a year as well that it has some real significance, doesn't it? Something you prepare for, something that you think about when it comes to it. Verse 17 says, and he took the cup where we just were and gave thanks and said take this and divide it amongst yourself. Okay, what was in the cup? Had Jesus just cracked open the strong stuff? Well verse 18 says, for I say unto you I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God shall come. Well that's grape juice, isn't it? Yeah? Also referred to as both the cup and the fruit of the vine in the other Gospel accounts so that there can be no confusion because in the Bible wine isn't always, well we don't know whether it's alcoholic or non-alcoholic because there's not necessarily a clear indication of that and it depends on the context but here with every single account it doesn't say there is no confusion, it's the fruit of the vine. It's clearly, and we see why as well because we at this church believe that the Lord's Supper is with unfermented grape juice and I think everyone here probably has an idea of that but if you're unsure, you've been at these churches, so what's it all about, why are they drinking wine? Well it's absolutely ridiculous considering that leaven in the Bible represents sin and we're drinking, we're drinking what's meant to be a representation of the pure blood of Jesus Christ. How on earth would you be drinking alcoholic wine which has basically yeast, what's representing sin in it? I mean it's completely heretical isn't it? Absolutely ridiculous on top of the fact that Jesus clearly said, because Jesus is a worm, he said in Proverbs 23, look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth its colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. That's fermented wine, fermented alcohol. We shouldn't even look at it. So how on earth are you going to partake in communion, the Lord's Supper, whatever you want to call it without looking at it? Well it's going to be pretty messy isn't it? Because there's going to be spillages everywhere, this sort of thing and people trying to take it, it's going to be a nightmare. But obviously it's completely heretical anyway, it's ridiculous. Okay, verse 19 says, and he took bread and gave thanks and break it and gave unto them saying this is my body which is given for you, this too in remembrance of me. So we at this church also believe that the bread continues to be unleavened bread like here, because it represents his sinless body. And again like we said, leaven is a picture of sin, Jesus Christ was completely sinless, he who knew no sin. So of course that's one of the reasons why it's unleavened bread. And by the way there's also no hocus pocus in the back room there where we're somehow transubstantiating the bread and the wine into the actual physical blood and body of Christ. Now you might be sitting there, some of you with blank faces going what's he talking about? Others who have been in Catholic churches and know about the heretical teachings of Roman Catholicism probably have an idea of what I'm talking about. So the Roman Catholic Church believe that they do some sort of special magic while they're wearing a dress and waving incense around and doing all that stuff and chanting and they somehow turn it into the actual physical blood and flesh of Jesus Christ. Wouldn't taste that nice would it? But of course that's not, that's again completely ridiculous isn't it? Now we don't believe that there either, he said this too in remembrance of me. Verse 20, likewise also the cup after supper saying this cup is the New Testament in my blood which is shed for you. So go back to 1 Corinthians 11 23. So obviously we don't believe that it's alcoholic, we don't believe that it's changing into the blood or the body of Christ. 1 Corinthians 11 verse 23 says for I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you that the Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread. When he had given thanks he break it and said take eat this is my body which is broken for you this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup when he had supped saying this cup is the New Testament in my blood this do ye as oft as you drink it in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup you do show the Lord's death till he come. So I don't believe that he's saying every time you eat unleavened bread and drink grape juice that you're showing the Lord's death. He's saying this ordinance as often as you drink this symbol of my blood yeah as often as you do this ordinance it's saying here you're showing the Lord's death and that's what we believe here that's what Shaw Foundation Baptist Church believes that it's to be done yearly like the Passover. To be done with grape juice and unleavened bread like the Passover. To be done together like the Passover. The lamb was a personal thing per household the unleavened bread was all together. That it's a representation of his pure blood and sinless flesh yeah but we believe as well there are some other prerequisites for partaking the Lord's Supper. The title of my sermon is preparing for the Lord's Supper hopefully you understand what we believe there about what the Lord's Supper is and why it's like that but let's continue reading first Corinthians 11 to see how we can do that so verse 27 says wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread and drink this cup of the Lord unworthily shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord but let a man examine himself and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup for he that eateth and drinketh unworthily eateth and drinketh damnation to himself not discerning the Lord's body for this cause many are weak and sickly among you and many sleep for if we would judge ourselves we should not be judged but when we are judged we are chastened of the Lord that we should not be condemned with the world wherefore my brethren when you come together to eat tarry one for another and if any man hunger let him eat at home that you come not together under condemnation and arrest will I set in order when I come that's a pretty strong warning there isn't it that's pretty strong warning something to be taken seriously partaking the Lord's Supper is serious business isn't it according to this it's serious business and before you say well well how come millions of Catholics and Protestants aren't all dropping dead and everything else well it's not the Lord's Supper okay first things first most the time it's done in the morning that's not supper okay but secondly it's not the Lord's Supper when it's just done by some heretical unsaved false prophets in in what isn't even a church okay that's not the Lord's Supper look if they started eating bread and drinking wine whether it was leavened or unleavened in in the mosque yeah it wouldn't make it the Lord's Supper okay so I don't look at the Catholic Church look look just because they call themselves a church and they claim to have some teachings based loosely on some version of the Bible that you know whatever the latest thing is but mainly on what the Pope says it's not a church it's not a church it's not Christianity and that goes for the Orthodox churches that goes for for you name it for all these versions that just completely throw the Bible away and do their own thing yeah look if they haven't got the Gospel they're in a church okay and none of those places have the Gospel so whatever they do there look let them do their pagan rituals okay whatever however they want to you know dress it up and make it look like it's something to do with with the Lord look I'm not interested in any of that okay so here I'm interested in what we do at a real church okay what we do at a real church so it's here in verse 27 wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread and drink this cup of the Lord unworthily shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord well how do you do this unworthily then is it talking about salvation is it just talking about whether you're saved or not no I don't think it is although I believe that being saved goes without saying doesn't it okay because how can you discern the Lord's body if you're not saved yeah you can't so obviously you need to be saved but verse 30 is talking about chastisement it says for this cause many are weak and sickly among you and many sleep and the term sleep instead of die a term often used in the Bible for believers physically dying yeah verse 32 is talking about the chastening of the Lord when we are judged we are chastened of the Lord that we should not be condemned with the world verse 33 he's calling them brethren okay we don't call the unbelievers brethren so there are believers that are doing this unworthily right yeah you can see that clearly from that text there that's that I mean look there's the obvious point here the obvious point in this passage is don't treat the Lord supper like and eat as much as you can buffet okay obviously and Paul says in verse 33 wherefore my brother my brethren when you come together to eat tarry one for another Paul saying it's not some rush to get food on board verse 34 and if any man hunger let him eat at home that you come not together unto condemnation and the rest will I set in order when I come and most churches over over the years have safeguarded this I'm talking about real churches with small pieces of unleavened bread and little thimbles of grape juice okay so it's a bit hard to treat it like and eat as much as you can and and we've kind of got things in place really to stop that happening because I don't think that was always the case at the beginning maybe there was just unleavened bread and juice and some people just stuffing themselves others weren't I don't know exactly how they do it but if you've been here and you've been involved with how we do it basically you get past a little cup of juice and you get given a little piece of unleavened bread okay so that's not really going to happen Jesus did only sit well he supped didn't he so didn't say after he glugged and guzzled and everything else so we we believe it doesn't it's not that you need to get a pint of grape juice on board and half a loaf of unleavened bread now how else this supplies about being unworthy is interpreted in many ways amongst what seemed to be saved men of God and I've been in many churches that have said said you know differently with this you've got the you've got one side of it which which are literally saying it's only referring to salvation okay that's what they're saying if you're not saved then you can't partake and then the other end of the scale anyone been in the church which has said if you have any sin in your life this is not for you anyone heard this yeah yeah okay I've been at a church which was saying I seem to have the gospel as well if you have sin in your life then this is not for you if you have if you're in sin and you're looking at the guy thinking man you sinned this morning what are you talking about while he's very you know puffed up going if you've got any sin in your life because basically saying I'm partaking I don't have any sin in my life yeah it's thinking yeah whatever yeah first John 1 8 says if we have no sin we deceive ourselves the truth is not in us if he really believes that then well is he really saved but you've got the and I've heard many versions of this if you have any unconfessed sin anyone heard that before yeah a couple yeah any unconfessed sin in your life but again is everyone here confessing every single bit of sin in your life yeah I mean if you're not even reading your bible and many Christians sadly aren't do you even know what all you're saying look even if you read it regularly every single one of us here is regularly going through the day not confessing every single one of our sins yeah okay so that's ridiculous as well any unconfessed sin if you're in sin so if you're in any sort of sin they try and say well what does it mean to be in sin how can you be in sin or not in sin and again it's very ambiguous isn't it and do we want to leave it ambiguous when you've got some pretty serious warnings from the Lord here haven't you pretty do we want to just well because then you're sitting there going well I know I'm meant to partake in it but on the other hand well I you know I think I might have said a slight lie this week so I don't know if I should or oh well well I kind of quite fancy that that sports car that went past me the other day you know well okay so it's ridiculous isn't it so well you know I've even heard right well if you haven't been at church you know regularly what's regularly what did I miss a midweek service did I was I ill a couple of weeks so it just makes makes no sense what what do we believe here well we believe here that first off you should be baptized okay first off if you're to partake in the Lord's Supper you need to be baptized 1st Corinthians 14 you don't have to learn that says let all things be done decently and in order and throughout the New Testament believers get saved and then get baptized very soon after don't they okay throughout the New Testament the Lord's Supper comes further down the line doesn't it okay so look if you're saved and not baptized you're out of God's will okay you're out of God's will and by the way I'll include into that and I'll say it just because I want to regularly say this because look it needs preaching it needs reminding I'll include into this if you got if if you got baptized when you were unsaved you know look whether or not you kind of had it half right or whatever else you got baptized when you're unsaved you're not baptized baptism comes after salvation but before the Lord's Supper because if you're not baptized well how are you following God how are you in his will at all okay so you need to get baptized to be to partake in the Lord's Supper now before I go through this as well um in this church I'm not here to police it okay so I'm not going to go when we do the Lord's Supper next week I'm not here to police the Lord's Supper but I'm going to give you the warnings this week and then it's up to you what you want to do with that okay and show you what we believe so what else do we believe so this passage is in the middle of a letter where one of the main subjects is kicking some pervert out of the church yeah okay first Corinthians five we've gone through this before as a church if you haven't well turn to first Corinthians five anyway because in fact when addressing it he uses a comparison to the Passover and you could say the Lord's Supper in first Corinthians five in the first few verses of it Paul is saying that there's this pervert fornicating with his father's wife now whether or not it's his late father's wife or maybe his father's divorced wife we're not sure but it's fornication and and for me that means that they're no longer the father's not they're still married he then tells them to kick him out and says in verse six your glorying is not good know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump leaven here representing sin how eventually it affects the whole church okay and and the reason the reason and you've got to understand this as I go through this okay it's not because we're just so mean and we just want any excuse to kick people out sin affects the whole church and there are certain sins which the bible is clear we kick people out of church for because it will affect the whole church it's not that we're on a hair trigger to do that sadly the vast majority of what of saved churches left in this world are not willing to kick people out of church okay but we are because we just want to follow what God says okay and he makes it clear and he gives us a list of things here and a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump a little sin will affect the church it will affect not just the kids it affects adults okay everyone is is easily desensitized to sin everyone is easily just influenced by what other people do that's we're like that as strong as you think you are as much as you like to act like you can't be influenced by anyone and everything else we all get influenced okay okay that's one of the reasons why it's so important verse seven he says purge out therefore the old leaven that ye may be a new lump as ye are unleavened for even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us therefore let us keep the feast not with old leaven neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth so he said to get rid of this pervert and that sin in the same way that the Passover was observed by getting rid of leaven yeah we saw that that they get got the leaven out of the house he then says to keep the feast not with the old sin or by replacing it with malice and wickedness so that malice and wickedness could be either after kicking them out look ultimately it's done in love really isn't it's done in love not just for them because we're hoping that they're going to be able to be restored but also for the other people in the church but but also you know there can be a malice and wickedness you could say on the other hand a malice and wickedness by not kicking them out as well but whichever way you want to look at it but it's look here it says sincerity and truth that's by doing things properly so yes it's a comparison but we believe that the following list of sins to be in would make you unworthy of the Lord's Supper that's what we believe in this church why why because he didn't say this the first Corinthians 11 because you should be getting kicked out of church you shouldn't even be in the church in fact it says no not to eat with them so you shouldn't be partaking in any sort of food you shouldn't be in and that basically you shouldn't be in church yeah it's clear that we shouldn't be fellowshipping with people in these sins and but we're not going to necessary I don't necessarily know so I don't know if people here are partaking in any of these sins okay if I did know and if I'm sure I'm going to kick you out of church with the backing of our pastor but I don't know so but if you are you shouldn't be partaking the Lord's Supper should you okay now you could also say that if we as a church if myself our pastor would just willingly turn your blind eye for this stuff then we would be unworthy too wouldn't we yeah wouldn't we be unworthy as well why should we be getting involved in the Lord's Supper if we're just ignoring clear commands like that and not kicking people out so look at verse nine I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators yet not all together with the fornicators of this world or with the covetous or extortioners or with idolaters for them must he needs go out of the world so he's not talking about people who are unsaved here but now I have written unto you not to keep company if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator or covetous or an idolater or a railer or a drunkard or an extortioner with such a one know not to eat for what have I to do to judge them also that are without do not you judge them that are within but them that are without God judgeth therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person something not preached very often in most churches is it not the most popular message but it's a needed message isn't it it's an important message for a church to be healthy and to thrive yeah verse 11 but now I have written unto you not to keep company if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator or covetous or an idolater or a railer or a drunkard or an extortioner with such a one know not to eat so we're preparing for the Lord's Supper and that includes not being on this list and also not aiding and abetting someone that is on this list yeah wouldn't that go without saying so not only not on this list but not oh well I don't want to say anything but well you're aiding and abetting and then you're basically you're one of the reasons as well as that person that we're then partaking the Lord's Supper with someone that's on this list and should in fact have been kicked out of our church yeah look if you don't agree that it's referring to these sins in this letter and where we've got to in in chapter 11 if you're partaking these sins and not removing yourself from church and then partaking things like the Lord's Supper which is a reverend and an important ordinance in in the New Testament then look God's going to whip you yeah God's going to whip you take yourself out of church yeah because if you end up eventually it's going to come to life yeah and when you're kicked out it's going to be bad for you and even before that a lot of the time that's what you know that's why I believe it's saying you know some are sickly some sleep yeah people can be you do understand as a as a as a saved believer you God can just take you home early okay he can just and that's the end of any any more awards you could have been earning that's you know that's eternity that's eternity that that you could have done a lot more for the Lord okay so and I'm guessing by being in this church everyone here wants to work for the Lord don't they yeah you're here because you want to do things for the Lord okay so let's have a look at this list in a second because if you're on this list yeah and you think that you're worthy of the Lord's Supper because at least you're not going to treat it like and eat as much as you can buffet then you're deluded okay if you think well yeah well I'm on this list you have things that should have had me kicked out the church but no one knows about it but as long as I don't treat the Lord's Supper as an eat as much as you can buffet then I'm not one of the ones he's talking about being unworthy you're deluded yeah because clearly you're unworthy aren't you because you shouldn't even be in church let alone partaking the Lord's Supper doesn't that just go without saying so number one on this list was a fornicator and look this stuff needs preaching about often what's a fornicator a fornicator is someone basically having a physical relationship outside of marriage okay someone who's not married having a physical relationship like married people do and if you're a fornicator then please remove yourself from our church get right with God because once it's discovered you're going to get kicked out of church and that's going to be hard for you to come back from we would like to restore people look people should get restored but fornication is wicked it's not okay right out come back next week okay well we'll kick you out someone point out in the service kick them out see you next week you know and you can come back and say it's done look we're going to want to be sure that you are definitely not in that wicked sin anymore okay and that is a wicked sin and it doesn't matter what our world says that is a wicked sin isn't it okay the bible's clear about that as look and all of us have been brainwashed for life most of our lives most people here probably the vast majority of their life hasn't been in the word of God and getting their mind lined up with how God sees things but now hopefully you're doing some catch up on that and hopefully when you read your bible you see how serious God takes it yeah our world does it by the way our world did take it seriously not that long ago our society did take it seriously not very long ago in this nation okay and it was an embarrassment it was something that wasn't joked about it wasn't something that now we see is just just completely encouraged okay but it is wicked and if you're in and you want to be making sure it's not no one's even going to think you're in it yeah don't don't be oh well as long as they can't prove it just make it clear make it clear i talked about this the other week didn't i talked about this with with when i was talking about finding the right spouse yeah you should be making it clear to the whole church that you're not in fornication because if you're not why why do you want why do you want people in this church and kids in this church to be wondering okay look fornication is a bad sin it's a grievous sin okay covetousness so what is covetousness and here's a dictionary definition inordinately desirous excessively eager to obtain and possess directed to money or goods and avaricious which is greedy of gain so it's not just desire look if you want to work well you want to you know i'm sure a lot of people here would would like to have a fairly comfortable life that doesn't mean you're covetous it's inordinately desirous excessively eager to obtain and possess and by the way it's not just money it's goods as well because there are people that are just covetous of other people's things other people's stuff other people's possessions okay if you're if if you are covetous again remove yourself if you're someone who just can't stop thinking about money and goods and people's things and gaining and how to earn more money if you're sitting in this sermon right now and you're switching off and planning how you could earn some extra cash or what get rich quick scheme you can do next just get out yeah because we don't want that here because it's going to rub off on other people because yeah well you're thinking well how's it going to rub off we're just sitting here listening to you preach brother here yeah but look you you're going to be conversing you're going to be chatting you're chatting with people when you're out soul winning and people that are covetous in the end they end up having to talk about it because it's on their mind so much and they end up talking about it it rubs off on other people and they'll be out and they'll be sitting and they'll be standing there drinking coffee and telling you about you know the way they can earn this and the way they can do that and telling you about how how you could earn more money or how they've planned this or that and it just starts to come out and then it starts to rub off and a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump and then next thing you know you've got a church for the people that think it's okay to just go on about how to earn extra cash and how to get richer and everything else okay so again covetousness idolater what's an idolater a worshipper of idols one who pays divine honors to images statues or representations of anything made by hands one who worships as a deity that which is not god so worshipping as a deity that which is not god is probably something that would be more common in our society than necessarily the statues and images although there might be some that come from catholic backgrounds and others that are worshipping you know weird crucifixes with with images of jesus on it and everything else but a lot of the time it's worshipping as a deity that's basically making a god something that's not god that could be a celebrity that can be some sort of you know someone in society something something in your life that you're lifting up above god and again look and i can't i'm not always going to know that but eventually if that's something that's that that if you're on this list that we're that we're reading out here it's going to come to light eventually and you shouldn't be partaking the lord's supper okay and you shouldn't be partaking our church i mean i'll go further and just say look just remove yourself yeah that's idolatry what about a railer now the dictionary definition of a railer misses something out where it says one who scoffs insults sentences or approaches with a probious language but sorry one who scoffs insults sexual approaches with the probious language but railing in the bible and and again the dictionary i don't think does it justice and it's something i've missed before when i've gone through it is that it always involves some dishonesty it always involves some form of lying or deceit as well okay so it's not that because it's a bit hard to then classify if it's someone scoffing insulting well jesus insulted people didn't he and jesus didn't sin yeah jesus censured jesus reproached but he's not a sinner but it's when it's with a falsehood okay so when you're if if basically if you're a railer in this church you're basically lying about people you're and it can be subtle it can just be just a little bit of a little untruth that you're saying about people in this church it doesn't have to be people in this church okay but that's but it's called railing and again if you're a railer if you're someone that's basically bad mouthing with lies about people look it shouldn't be bad mouthing people anyway but railing is is one step worse isn't it because you're bad mouthing but you're doing it with lies yeah you're making stuff up you're changing the truth of things to insult people then again you're going to get kicked out of the church and you shouldn't be partaking the lord's supper because how why should you partake in the lord's supper if you shouldn't even be in church what about a drunkard and a drunkard is something that again there's people would debate this well what's a drunkard is that someone that's physically addicted well i don't think so what about someone that has to habitually drink well what about someone that gets drunk what about someone that's been drunk recently look for me the bible's clear that we shouldn't even look at alcohol so if you're trying to follow the if you're trying to follow god yeah you want to live for god you're you're here so you made the journey to church which tells me and you made the journey to a proper church as well you haven't gone well i'll just go to the one that's two minutes away on on the corner of the street because it's got church written outside that tells me that you you're probably quite keen on doing things for god yeah you're trying to live right you're trying to do his will and actually go to a proper church well if that's the case why would you be drinking why would you drink if you're not a drunkard why do you need to drink at all i don't understand when when the bible clearly says not to even look upon alcoholic wine when it says that wine is a mock a strong drink is raging whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise why would you even drink unless you can't resist but drink and if you can't resist but drink then for me i would like to i would probably classify you as a drunkard now again i would i would have to be sure that someone is to be kicking them out but again if you're someone here that's like yeah i don't care i still i think it's like look you'll justify it yeah you'll make your reasons why it's okay why that special occasion which just happens to be quite regular those special occasions you know or why it's okay you know just you know well i only drink on you know when we have these certain family members around but they just start to come around more and more and it ends up being a weekly affair or not even look for me you're a drunkard yeah and if you well it's only when i'm with unsafe people it's only you know with them with my mates after i just have one i don't get drunk but why are you having one so why are you having one because i you know what when you when you stop drinking when you hardly drink at all and you have one it makes you a tiny little bit incy wit drunk yeah yeah when you drink a lot one doesn't make you drunk so if you think that one doesn't make you drunk you're just telling me that you actually drink a lot of a lot of booze because basically you adapt don't you and if and if and if it is getting you a little bit drunk then you're getting drunk and in my mind you're a drunkard so look we we give a bit of grace to new believers and stuff it's all right next week that's it cut it out but look we'll preach it regularly at this church we'll keep preaching it it's wicked okay drinking drinking i look and i come from a life where yeah i used to drink a lot okay and drinking i i can remember so many bad things so many bad things happen in my life so many embarrassing things i still cringe about now because of alcohol okay alcohol just wrecks lives i know many people who actually has wrecked their lives it's ended people's lives it's been the reason they died in car crashes it's the reason they died in fights the reason they've spent years in prison it for many many reasons it's the reason they've done horrific things it's the reason they they've cheated on on on spouses the rest of it alcohol is wicked okay alcohol will ruin your life and if you and if you can't if you can't read the bible just take it for what it says about that and you still insist on drinking alcohol and and especially if you're then gonna gonna be someone that's gonna show that to other christians as well well it's okay to have one try and justify you're wicked you're wicked as hell get out yeah get out of our church if you like that because it because if you don't eventually you're gonna get kicked out yeah that's alcohol okay it's extortioner what's an extortioner then well again you might think well in our society do we really have that well i talked about this before and and i'm gonna repeat this one because i still i still believe this as well there are certain jobs where i consider you to be an extortioner if you're a car clapper if you're some private wheel clapper you are an extortioner seriously if you're going around and you're putting clamps on people's wheels and telling them they've got to pay your your firm whether it's your firm or the one you you work for based on a commission by the way most of these guys as well hundreds of pounds because you parked somewhere then you're unsure because a lot of the time it is in error isn't it you're an extortioner you're extorting people that doesn't justify it does it at all and and another one with that and i said this before tv license men yeah tv license bbc yeah that criminal organization forcing people to pay money if you're collecting money for them and going around trying to threaten people with court case and everything else to pay some sort of license fee you're an extortioner you're not welcome in our church yeah either get a new job or get out yeah but here's another one that i heard preached a little while ago which i hadn't thought about when i first preached this is um extorting people by using sob stories yeah basically getting sympathy from people to give you money so there are people that go to churches and then they're constantly telling people quietly how well they can't work because of this and they couldn't do and they've lost money because of this and they basically are tugging on their heartstrings to extort money out of them that's extortion you're extorting people because you're forcing them to give you money because based on making them feel sorry for you okay a lot of the time they're lies half the stories anyway so again extortioners people try to extort money out of people and that can be for through just bizarre schemes of you know again it could be like get rich quick schemes so really you're just trying to extort money out of people that's gone around churches many times the sort of pyramid type schemes and everything else it's extortion isn't it because you're just ripping people off to make yourself an extra few quid on them okay so there's some obvious things there but go back to first corinthians 11 because there's another church discipline cause that's actually i think covered in first corinthians 11 as well where it says first corinthians 11 uh first corinthians 11 verse 17 now in this that i declare unto you i praise you not that you come together not for the better but for the worse okay so what what is it well he says he gives them a first of all here for first of all excuse me when you come together in the church i hear that there be divisions among you and i partly believe it for there must be also heresies among you that they which are approved may be made manifest among you so there are divisions in the church caused by heresies yeah yeah turn over to roman 16 because we're told to get rid of these people too so he mentions those there must he says um there be divisions among you there must be also heresies among you that they which are approved may be made manifest unto you look at roman 16 and from verse 17 it says now i beseech you brethren mark them which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which you have learned and avoid them for they that are such serve not our lord jesus christ but their own belly and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple so it's not necessarily damnable heresy because a lot of people look at this stuff and they think oh well that's someone that's whispering you know you know oneness pentecostalism or someone whispering you know well you can lose your salvation or something else well it's just here it says contrary to the doctrine which you have learned because it could just be whispering against the church couldn't it isn't that isn't that isn't that causing divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine because one of those doctrines you don't have to turn to is in that letter to the romans in roman 13 one where it says let every soul be subject unto the higher powers for there is no power but of god the powers that be are ordained of god and there's there's a there's a hierarchy in the church isn't there that's ordained of god so if you're causing divisions and offenses contrary to that doctrine well we're told to mark and avoid those people aren't we because look and it could be a number of doctrines can't it but that's an obvious one so if there's people in the church whispering quietly and it's not necessarily me it could be about our pastor couldn't it could be about our pastor little mess little messages to each other little little whispers about something whispers about myself whispers about anyone in the church that's contrary to the doctrine isn't it okay because what part of the clear doctrine is part of the teachings of the church is to have unity isn't it as well so people that are causing divisions and offenses the bible says to mark them and avoid them and if you're aware and i've said this and i'm going to preach this regularly because this is what happens in churches this what's what happens in real churches in proper churches you might be sitting and go well i didn't see this you know old you know the church of england church where where there was like five old people everyone seemed to get on fine yeah because it's not a real church okay the devil you know it's like it's one of his gang okay but here this is going to happen okay and i'm sure it already has happened okay and and the bible says here that if they people that cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which you have learned we're to mark and avoid so if you're party to that if someone's doing that and you're not coming i've said this before if you're not coming and telling us you're a problem as well you're a problem you have to come and tell us because if they're whispering to you who else are they whispering to yeah if they're causing division amongst you and whoever it is it doesn't necessarily have to be just me it could be anyone else in the church and it could be subtle these people are subtle okay it's not always as blatant and because it's hard to have the goods on them a lot of the time but a lot of the time it's just a little thing here just a little comment just a little question just just so a little seed so a little seed of doubt in you and that could be from the outside by the way as well because you go oh no he's preaching us again it look it could be from the outside it could be from the inside okay people do that and they could be clever they could get to the point where then it's you's kind of causing the division but you're thinking well how did i end up feeling so annoyed at this but because people are clever how they do it it's very subtle the devil's clever okay we're told to avoid those people that means that they can't be sitting there eating the lord's supper with us can they that means that they're not to be in church how can we mark them and avoid them and then welcome them in on a sunday morning okay but you have you're responsible for this everyone's because again i'm not going to hear of it they're not going to be coming to me going do you hear about pastor thompson you know did you you know go to my wife going oh brother Ian i don't know about you know the way he does this or the way they're the way they're keeping the church or something else yeah they'll do it subtly they'll do it to each other you need to come and say that or you're part of the problem as well because yeah you're part of the one who who's part of that division aren't you and then you're not welcome either yeah if you're if you're part of the division causing you're not welcome either now it could be a number of doctrines like i says we're told to mark and avoid them but also he said in first corinthians 11 18 that they're coming together for the worse because of the division so it's not just a divider it's a simple that are deceived that are being affected aren't they so they're coming together for the worse because of the divisions so we're preparing for the lord's supper and part of that is getting rid of the divisions isn't it so again if i if if you're thinking look actually i don't know how but i have become a bit just feel like yeah i've kind of got a thing there's kind of a bit of a r group and this group or you know just starting to get more irritated or by new the new people or maybe it's the other way around maybe there's newer people here kind of i don't know about these ones or there's people here that are starting to to feel a bit kind of grieved and and angry at the leadership or at certain people in church whatever it is if you've been encouraged into that this is a good week to get that out of your system okay in preparation but part of that if you know that someone's actually causing that you need to come and tell me okay please you need to come and tell me about that because that is you know there's no smoke without fire yeah okay and say if there's people outside doing that as well because i know this look i was talking to someone only yesterday it's telling me about you know past is all the way up in scotland that are aware of what we're doing here and trying to slag us off yeah there's people all over the place because why because because we're getting people saved because we're doing stuff for god because we're growing because we're out doing a work for god and half these people aren't even saved anyway and they hate the lord really but look people people want to attack us people are going to tax from the inside from the outside everyone has a responsibility in guarding against that now we've got basically a week to prepare and on that you know if you're harboring resentment you're harboring animosity towards people in the church okay get that out of your system yeah unless if it's justified then you should be coming and seeing me if there's a justified animosity towards someone and come and see me and tell me why that is if and and if you don't have a reason to come and see me it's just irritated by this or that look it's not always that someone is one now that can just be look that can the devil can use people without them being children of the devil by the way okay we can all be used by the devil to cause issues to cause grief to you know and things can just be magnified and and you can start thinking on things which weren't even maybe really said in in a way at all so i'm not saying like you need to be paranoid about everything everyone says but you can get make sure at least you get that out of your system but if there's clear case of people trying to stir things up then you need to come and tell me now we've got a week to prepare so number one is by being baptized we've got two baptisms this evening anyone else here that that that isn't baptized look i'm not going to force you but i'm going to encourage you okay get baptized by not being involved in fornication covetousness idolatry railing drinking extortion division yeah not being involved in any way in any of that by not coming on an empty stomach to save a few quid on dinner that night yeah obviously that's the obvious one there because god gives us clear warnings doesn't he so what the clear warnings here let's just go over it one last time verse 28 says but let a man examine himself and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup for he that eateth and drinketh unworthily eateth and drinketh damnation to himself not discerning the lord's body for this cause many are weak and sickly among you and many sleep for if we would judge ourselves we should not be judged but when we are judged we are chastened of the lord that we should not be condemned with the world wherefore my brethren when you come together to eat tarry one for another and if any man hunger let him eat at home that you come not together unto condemnation and the rest will are set in order when i come right now having gone through all of that if you're sitting here and you're thinking yeah well i i don't agree okay i don't agree i agree with how whatever church teaches sort of how you know i i don't you don't have to partake okay you don't have to partake in the lord's supper okay no one's forcing you and and i'm not going to be right anyone here who's not here next week must be on the list of those things look maybe they just don't agree maybe they're ill maybe they can't make it maybe they don't want to make it okay look you you can have that choice and i'm not you know i'm not going to bring it up to you i'm not going to start questioning you why you weren't here for the lord's supper it's a once a year thing and look what would be best would be to make sure you're right with god and to partake in what is clearly an important ordinance yeah that would be the best thing but if you decide no no i don't agree oh look cool okay don't partake in the lord's supper and look and you don't have to and being part of this church that's that's not a requirement being a member of this church as pastor thompson teaches it he wouldn't consider you a member if you're not baptized okay so if you're not baptized in faith baptized properly by by full immersion in faith yeah by someone that you considered at the time at least is justified in baptizing you yeah okay so look if you look back and you're like oh man that guy was some false prophet i've decided 10 years down the line i'm not saying that you're you're unbaptized you have to go and get re-baptized if it bugs you go and get baptized yeah but if it doesn't it doesn't but if you were saved and you believe that you were getting baptized properly by someone that you felt should be baptizing as well well then then look i consider you baptized but if you're not well look get baptized because if you're not you're not really considered a member and it's something i'm going to be a bit stricter on jobs at the church at the beginning that it was a bit of a build up to that okay and again look something might not work you might be going phew i don't really want to do anything anyway okay that's up to you okay but now that look now that i'm able to baptize here okay i'm an evangelist i'm ordained to baptize people i'm an ordained man of god i have been baptizing people i'll continue to baptize people if you're still not getting baptized then now that look it's been a little while of that now since pastor thompson was here where we did get a load done we've had a few more then for me look you're not what we would consider a member look you come to our church as much as you like okay but if you're saved you're clearly saved look for kids it's slightly different obviously that we could look and we love everyone here it's not that there's a different oh i treat this person differently but for you to be part of the team to be doing jobs in the church you need to be a member of the church okay and that enclosed and being a member basically the qualifying criteria is to be saved and baptized okay after that the lord's supper you don't have to do it okay you don't have to partake but you should partake shouldn't you okay we should all want to partake in it it's something that's clearly set out there you know jesus christ clearly said do this in remembrance of me okay we're told to do it i think none of that's a far stretch you might oh well i don't think he was talking about all those things well if you shouldn't even be in the church shouldn't be partaking the lord's supper should you okay so it's pretty pretty obvious isn't it and and like i said if if you're on that list well for me go remove yourself for a while because if you how embarrassing if you have to get caught kicked out and then that's going to be a hard road back isn't it yeah okay uh on that let's pray father thank you um thank you for your word thank you for well for for giving us that opportunity to remember you and what is a you know an important and reverent time the lord's supper help us to all um to to all prepare for that um in the way that you'd want us to um i hope that i've preached that accurately i hope that i've preached that how you'd want me to preach that and help people now to just just dwell on your word dwell on on what we i feel you're saying to us in these in those passages in the bible and and to want to be right with you to want to want to be right with you not to be against you and being against the church being being a problem being someone that shouldn't even be in the church is basically being against you so please please just help people to get right with you help people to make sure that that they are right with you help us to just analyze examine ourselves this week going forward and make sure that we just just feel like we're doing doing what we can for you and and just just doing what we can to be right with you and right right whilst in this church as well and um help us to to now go out and and continue to serve you by getting many people saved this afternoon and to return back for this evening's service in jesus name we pray all of this amen