Jesus is Here

With the historic Church through the ages, we believe in the real presence of Jesus at this table. We believe that when we gather in the Name of Jesus, the Holy Spirit lifts us up into the heavenly places. This is what we mean when we say: Lift up Your Hearts!/We lift them up to the Lord! We mean we’re going into the presence of God; we’re going into heaven. And therefore, the real presence of Jesus extends to the whole worship service, but there are particular warnings and promises tied particularly to this table. Jesus promises that those who eat His flesh and blood will live forever, and at the same time there are warnings. Some in the Corinthian church had died and were sick because they were coming to this table and being poisoned. Some of you may have physical ailments or troubles in your lives because you are harboring sin. You are Achans in the camp with sin buried in your tent, and you have to know that it really is not private. It really isn’t personal. You’re not only inviting the judgment of God on yourself; you’re inviting the judgment of God on everyone here. You cannot say the body of Christ/the blood of Christ to your wife or children or husband or roommate and then go home and snap at them, ignore them, mistreat them, manipulate them. Jesus sees. Jesus is here. He is watching.

But if you know your sin, if you hate your sin, if you are starving for the goodness of God, starving for his grace and forgiveness, then this is life for you, this is eternal life for you. His body was broken for you. His blood was shed for you.