The Red Line No Curse Can Cross: 7 Aspects of the Lord's Table

Sermon outline

Every time we take the bread and the cup we proclaim, remember, expect, recognise, participate, share and stand separate, because the blood of Jesus has made us His own people whom no curse can touch.

1. Bread and wine from the priest of God Most High

   Melchizedek brought Abram bread and wine and blessed him, and Abram gave him a tenth of everything, centuries before the law, so the tithe did not begin with the law. Abram refused even a thread from the king of Sodom so that no one could say a man had made him rich. Hebrews 7 shows that the lesser is blessed by the greater: priests bless God's people, and believers as kings and priests go out, take the spoils and bring them back to God's house. At the Last Supper Jesus took up the same emblems, reinstating the eternal priesthood and instituting the new covenant.

   “I do not want it to be said that man had made me rich, but I will say God had made me rich.”

   • Genesis 14:17-24
   • Hebrews 7:1-7
   • Revelation 1:6
   • Psalm 34:15
   • Matthew 26:26-30

2. 1. Proclamation

   Whenever we eat the bread and drink the cup we proclaim the Lord's death until He comes, to the seen and the unseen world. We declare that there is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and His name is Jesus, King of kings and Lord of lords. Whoever asks in His name, male or female, young or old, educated or not, He will do it, and demons know you are a child of God.

   Illustration: A preacher in a book secretly watched a coven at a graveyard. Their leader later told him she had thrown every curse she knew at him, but they bounced off a red line around him: the blood of Jesus.

   “So no curse, no hex can affect us because of the blood of Jesus Christ.”

   • 1 Corinthians 11:26
   • Ephesians 4:5
   • Revelation 19:16
   • John 14:13-14

3. 2. Remembrance

   We do it in remembrance: looking back at the death of Jesus and the new covenant, and looking forward, because He is coming again for us. Those who are alive will be caught up and the dead in Christ will rise; that is the glorious hope of the Christian.

   “Not only do we look back, we can look forward that Jesus will come again for us.”

   • 1 Corinthians 11:24-26
   • 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

4. 3. Anticipation

   Anticipation means expectation: we expect God to work on our behalf and do something great, because He has our back and watches over us and our children while we sleep. The devil can point fingers, but our past is washed in the blood.

   “We're always expecting a miracle.”

   • 1 Corinthians 11:26

5. 4. Recognition

   Those who eat without discerning the body bring judgment on themselves, so we look below the surface: the bread is the Lord's body and the people are His living body. We may look ordinary, but angels and evil spirits can see that we carry God's presence and His zoe life. Whatever we have or lack, godliness with contentment and His presence will promote us, like Joseph; the devil tried to kill Jesus as a baby and at the cross and failed both times, because the tomb is empty.

   Illustration: A dentist's wife on reception, who did not know him, later told Pastor Zubeda that when he walked in quietly she burst out singing because 'that man is carrying something'. Years earlier a shop steward asked Pastor Zubeda what muti she used, because what they tried against her at work never worked.

   “We may look ordinary but we are not ordinary people.”

   • 1 Corinthians 11:29
   • 2 Corinthians 4:7
   • 1 Timothy 6:6
   • Matthew 2:13-16
   • Ephesians 2:6
   • 1 Kings 18:24

6. 5. Participation: one loaf, one body

   Because there is one loaf, we who are many are one body, so racism has no place in the church. In Christ God broke through the barriers of gender, culture and race and made us a new nation and a royal priesthood. He laments people who cuddle a black dog yet despise people with dark skin, and those who once kept others standing at church doors.

   Illustration: Gandhi was thrown out of a church and said he would have become a Christian had it not been for a Christian.

   “We should not judge one another by our skin colour or our genealogy.”

   • 1 Corinthians 10:17
   • Galatians 3:28
   • 1 Peter 2:9

7. 6. Sharing

   The cup of thanksgiving is a participation in the blood of Christ and the bread a participation in His body. Sharing communion unites believers of every age, including those who have gone to be with the Lord, the great cloud of witnesses, as one body.

   “Sharing communion unites all believers from all ages.”

   • 1 Corinthians 10:16
   • Hebrews 12:1

8. 7. Separation

   In relation to the world, communion shows that we are set apart: you cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. Believers should be bold enough to say 'I can't eat that' about food offered to idols, just as other faiths are not afraid to tell visitors their rules. Do not bring detestable things into your house, and be careful of charms and amulets sold to travellers, because they can carry a demonic attachment.

   Illustration: Over the years, when he bought properties and the previous owners left idols or charms behind, he never kept them, however expensive: they went to 'a consecrated place called the bin'.

   “We have a no trespass sign on our lives.”

   • 1 Corinthians 10:20-21
   • Deuteronomy 7:26