Relief
Sermon
HOLY COMMUNION IS ...
Thirteen Communion Messages
I'm worried about education in America. My concern right now is different from the usual ones about drug abuse, sexual immorality and secularistic ideas. I'm worried about the way some Americans have learned to spell. There are people who cannot spell even the simplest words. Perhaps you've seen that commercial on TV in which a reporter interviews several people by asking them the question: "How do you spell Relief?" Now I thought I knew how to spell relief. But evidently I don't because every single person that reporter questions spells relief, R-O-L-A-I-D-S. I've heard about the New Math - I suppose that's the New English.
I've often thought about what I would say if such a reporter asked me, "How do you spell relief?" I would say "J-E-S-U-S." Perhaps Rolaids can give physical relief but Jesus can give Spiritual relief. Rolaids might comfort a painful stomach but Jesus can comfort a broken heart. Rolaids may have the ability to calm a gaseous tummy, but Jesus has the power to calm a troubled soul. How would I spell Relief? - "J-E-S-U-S."
We Christians believe that Jesus is with us today in a very special way. We believe that he is really present in the Sacrament of the Altar. In the bread and wine of Holy Communion Jesus comes to us, who truly believe, and gives relief for our troubled hearts and spirits. Let me briefly share with you two ways that Jesus gives relief.
First of all, Jesus gives us relief from sin and guilt. In Romans 3:23 we read that "All have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God." There is no doubt about that, is there? Despite the fact that we are Saints because of our faith in Christ, we are still sinners ... Saved sinners to be sure, but sinners none-the-less. We keep on falling short of the expectations God has for us.
We men know painfully well that we aren't the kind of husbands and fathers and sons which Scripture says we should be. You women also know that when you compare your performance as wives and mothers and daughters with the demands of Scripture, you fall short as well. Children you know that you have not always obeyed and honored your parents the way God says you should. Not a one of us can say that we love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength. Gosh, we fall short there, don't we? And we fall equally short in loving our neighbor when we put stipulations on the kinds of neighbors we are willing to love. There is no question in our minds concerning that passage of Scripture. We know that we have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God. But thanks be to God, he has not abandoned us in our sin. Because of the atoning death of Jesus Christ we can be forgiven and reconciled to God. If we simply acknowledge our sins with true repentance and confess them to the Lord, he will forgive us.
Christ is offering forgiveness of sins today. So we must examine ourselves and discover our sins. In 1 Corinthians 11:28 we read "... everyone should examine himself first, and then eat the bread and drink from the cup." Self examination is the necessary preparation for Holy Communion. With the Searchlight of Holy Scripture we must discover the specific sins in our lives. After confessing them at the Lord's altar, we must leave them there knowing that he has forgiven us. As we read in 1 John 1:8-9, "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." If we are truly sorry for our sins and desire to start over in life, God will relieve us of that burden of guilt with forgiveness and grant us new life. The sad thing is that too many of us don't really confess our sins. Too many of us just read through the confession at the beginning of worship without really examining our lives in light of the expectations of Scripture.
Some are like the little girl who went into a store one day to find a birthday present for her mother. She asked the salesgirl to show her some of the nicest cookie jars. At a counter where a large number of them were displayed, the youngster carefully lifted and replaced each lid. She looked rather disappointed as she came to the last one and said, "Maam, don't you have one with a lid that can be lifted and replaced without making any noise?" She was looking for a way to disobey without her mother knowing it! In the same way that youngster was looking for a way of not getting caught, or covering up her sin, so many Christians look for ways to sin more discreetly. But there is no way to sin and escape the all-seeing eye of God. The way to find relief from sin is not to try to fool God by hiding it, but to bring it out in the open! The way to get relief from sin is to come to the Lord's Table with humility and honestly confess your sins to God. Then you will be forgiven. Remember what he said about Holy Communion: "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sin." Remembering that, you can then leave from the altar set free from your past sins ready to start anew! How do you spell relief for a troubled Soul? - J-E-S-U-S. Come to Jesus this morning and receive relief from your sin and guilt.
Second, Jesus can give relief from the burdens of life. There are so many people these days who are loaded down with the burdens and cares of this old world. Suicide rates have reached an all time high. People turn to drugs and alcohol in order to obliterate the pains they feel. Students turn to Transcendental Meditation and false religions in order to seek help to carry their burdens. Perhaps there are tensions between you and your spouse or you and your parents today. Maybe your job is bringing you more frustrations than fulfillment. Perhaps the threat of war and economic devastation are making the future bleak for you. Maybe your heart is breaking because of conflict in your relationship with your parents or your child. If there are burdens on your heart, then remember the invitation of Jesus in Matthew 11:28, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Place those burdens in his hands. He is stronger and wiser than you. Trust him for guidance and help. Psalm 55:22 says "Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you." The Lord doesn't want you to worry. He doesn't want you to be weighed down with a burden of cares. He wants you to turn over all those problems to him and trust him to take care of you. In the same way that parents don't want their children to worry and fret about the necessities of life, God our Loving Parent doesn't want us to be burdened with worry. We are simply to cast our burdens upon the Lord, do the best we can with what he has given us and trust him to provide all we need! And he'll do it. God can be trusted! We need not worry for a moment. The really sad thing is that too many Christians don't trust the Lord enough to genuinely give their burdens over to him.
They are like the old lady who was walking along a dirt road one day. Strapped to the woman's back was a big pile of wood that she was carrying home. It was so heavy that she was bending over as she walked. Pretty soon a farmer and his family came along in a truck. He saw the old woman struggling along. He stopped his truck beside her and asked if she would like a ride. The lady smiled and said, "The sun is hot; the load is heavy, Yes, it would be a big relief to ride on your truck." She climbed into the back of the truck and away they went. After they had gone several miles, the farmer looked into his mirror and noticed that the woman still had the heavy load of wood on her back. He stopped the truck, walked around to the back and said t her, "Maam, why don't you lay down that load. You no longer have to carry it! When I offered you a ride I was willing to carry both you and your burden."
The same is true in our Christian lives. When we responded to Christ's invitation to faith - to get on the Salvation Truck - he not only promised to carry us to Heaven, but he also promised to carry our burdens through life! Christ wants you to lay your burdens at his feet. He said, "Come to me all you that are weak and heavy ladened and I will give you rest." So when you come to the Lord's Table this morning I want you to place all your cares and troubles into the hands of the Lord and leave them there. Don't pick them back up again - leave them in his hands. He'll show you the way. He'll give you the strength. "Cast your burdens upon the Lord and he will sustain you!" How do you spell relief for a troubled heart? J-E-S-U-S! Jesus can give you relief from the burden of life!
The third and final thing I want to mention is this: Jesus can give relief from the fear of death. Psychologists say that the fear of death is the basic anxiety of human life. There are people who hate to go to sleep at night because they are afraid they will not wake up. Some folks won't get onto an airplane or even into an automobile for fear of losing their lives in an accident. There are people who live in constant fear of the dark, unknown curtain of death. But this should not be true for a Christian. We should not fear death for the very purpose of Christ's dying on the cross was to set us free from the power of death. Hebrews 2:14 tells us why Jesus came to this earth. That passage says "He did this so that through his death he might destroy the Devil, who has the power over death, and in this way set free those who were slaves ... of their fear of death." We no longer have to be slaves of the fear of death. Christ has set us free from that basic anxiety. On the cross of Calvary as Jesus willingly poured out his life blood, Satan was defeated. He was conquered by the Victorious Resurrection of Jesus Christ. For us who believe, the fear of death has been overcome by the joy of eternal life.
As we gather around the Lord's Table today, let's remember Christ's sacrifice for us on the Cross of Calvary. As you eat the bread, think about his Body which was torn apart by the nails, the thorns and the spear. When you drink the wine think about his blood that was poured out as the ultimate sacrifice for our Salvation. Remember that he who was sinless and did not deserve death, willingly died so that we who deserve death might have eternal life. We need not fear death because we, who believe in Christ, have been promised eternal life. Jesus made a powerful promise about Holy Communion in John 6:54-55: "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life." If we come to the altar in faith, if we come to eat of the Living Bread from heaven, we receive the assurance of eternal life. Therefore we need not ever fear death because death has been conquered in the victorious Resurrection of Jesus Christ!
Perhaps you remember the story of the police officer who came upon a crying child in the park. When he asked why all the tears, she explained that she was lost. Determined to help her, the officer asked her some questions. The little girl did not know the name of her street or her house number. She didn't even know which direction her home was from there. The kind officer then asked her if there were any large buildings, lakes or landmarks near her home. At first she said no. But then she became excited and said, "Oh, I know, when I get to the cemetery, I'm almost there. My home is just beyond the Graveyard!"
Now that's true for us Christians too. Our eternal home is just beyond the Graveyard. That's why we need not fear death. When we breathe our last the Lord will be there to take us to our Heavenly Home. When you come to the altar today to eat the Bread and drink the Wine of Holy Communion, remember what Jesus said in John 6:54-55, "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood, has eternal life." If you believe in Christ, the Bread of Life, you need not fear death for you have a Home in Heaven. If you trust Christ, if you believe his word, you'll see that Jesus spells relief from the fear of death.
How do you spell relief? Some folks spell it R-O-L-A-I-D-S. Well, Rolaids can help with stomach problems but only Jesus can help with Spiritual problems. In Holy Communion He gives us relief from sin and guilt, from the burdens of life, from the fear of death. How do I spell relief? J-E-S-U-S. He is our Lord and our Savior, and oh, what a relief that is!
I've often thought about what I would say if such a reporter asked me, "How do you spell relief?" I would say "J-E-S-U-S." Perhaps Rolaids can give physical relief but Jesus can give Spiritual relief. Rolaids might comfort a painful stomach but Jesus can comfort a broken heart. Rolaids may have the ability to calm a gaseous tummy, but Jesus has the power to calm a troubled soul. How would I spell Relief? - "J-E-S-U-S."
We Christians believe that Jesus is with us today in a very special way. We believe that he is really present in the Sacrament of the Altar. In the bread and wine of Holy Communion Jesus comes to us, who truly believe, and gives relief for our troubled hearts and spirits. Let me briefly share with you two ways that Jesus gives relief.
First of all, Jesus gives us relief from sin and guilt. In Romans 3:23 we read that "All have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God." There is no doubt about that, is there? Despite the fact that we are Saints because of our faith in Christ, we are still sinners ... Saved sinners to be sure, but sinners none-the-less. We keep on falling short of the expectations God has for us.
We men know painfully well that we aren't the kind of husbands and fathers and sons which Scripture says we should be. You women also know that when you compare your performance as wives and mothers and daughters with the demands of Scripture, you fall short as well. Children you know that you have not always obeyed and honored your parents the way God says you should. Not a one of us can say that we love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength. Gosh, we fall short there, don't we? And we fall equally short in loving our neighbor when we put stipulations on the kinds of neighbors we are willing to love. There is no question in our minds concerning that passage of Scripture. We know that we have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God. But thanks be to God, he has not abandoned us in our sin. Because of the atoning death of Jesus Christ we can be forgiven and reconciled to God. If we simply acknowledge our sins with true repentance and confess them to the Lord, he will forgive us.
Christ is offering forgiveness of sins today. So we must examine ourselves and discover our sins. In 1 Corinthians 11:28 we read "... everyone should examine himself first, and then eat the bread and drink from the cup." Self examination is the necessary preparation for Holy Communion. With the Searchlight of Holy Scripture we must discover the specific sins in our lives. After confessing them at the Lord's altar, we must leave them there knowing that he has forgiven us. As we read in 1 John 1:8-9, "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." If we are truly sorry for our sins and desire to start over in life, God will relieve us of that burden of guilt with forgiveness and grant us new life. The sad thing is that too many of us don't really confess our sins. Too many of us just read through the confession at the beginning of worship without really examining our lives in light of the expectations of Scripture.
Some are like the little girl who went into a store one day to find a birthday present for her mother. She asked the salesgirl to show her some of the nicest cookie jars. At a counter where a large number of them were displayed, the youngster carefully lifted and replaced each lid. She looked rather disappointed as she came to the last one and said, "Maam, don't you have one with a lid that can be lifted and replaced without making any noise?" She was looking for a way to disobey without her mother knowing it! In the same way that youngster was looking for a way of not getting caught, or covering up her sin, so many Christians look for ways to sin more discreetly. But there is no way to sin and escape the all-seeing eye of God. The way to find relief from sin is not to try to fool God by hiding it, but to bring it out in the open! The way to get relief from sin is to come to the Lord's Table with humility and honestly confess your sins to God. Then you will be forgiven. Remember what he said about Holy Communion: "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sin." Remembering that, you can then leave from the altar set free from your past sins ready to start anew! How do you spell relief for a troubled Soul? - J-E-S-U-S. Come to Jesus this morning and receive relief from your sin and guilt.
Second, Jesus can give relief from the burdens of life. There are so many people these days who are loaded down with the burdens and cares of this old world. Suicide rates have reached an all time high. People turn to drugs and alcohol in order to obliterate the pains they feel. Students turn to Transcendental Meditation and false religions in order to seek help to carry their burdens. Perhaps there are tensions between you and your spouse or you and your parents today. Maybe your job is bringing you more frustrations than fulfillment. Perhaps the threat of war and economic devastation are making the future bleak for you. Maybe your heart is breaking because of conflict in your relationship with your parents or your child. If there are burdens on your heart, then remember the invitation of Jesus in Matthew 11:28, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Place those burdens in his hands. He is stronger and wiser than you. Trust him for guidance and help. Psalm 55:22 says "Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you." The Lord doesn't want you to worry. He doesn't want you to be weighed down with a burden of cares. He wants you to turn over all those problems to him and trust him to take care of you. In the same way that parents don't want their children to worry and fret about the necessities of life, God our Loving Parent doesn't want us to be burdened with worry. We are simply to cast our burdens upon the Lord, do the best we can with what he has given us and trust him to provide all we need! And he'll do it. God can be trusted! We need not worry for a moment. The really sad thing is that too many Christians don't trust the Lord enough to genuinely give their burdens over to him.
They are like the old lady who was walking along a dirt road one day. Strapped to the woman's back was a big pile of wood that she was carrying home. It was so heavy that she was bending over as she walked. Pretty soon a farmer and his family came along in a truck. He saw the old woman struggling along. He stopped his truck beside her and asked if she would like a ride. The lady smiled and said, "The sun is hot; the load is heavy, Yes, it would be a big relief to ride on your truck." She climbed into the back of the truck and away they went. After they had gone several miles, the farmer looked into his mirror and noticed that the woman still had the heavy load of wood on her back. He stopped the truck, walked around to the back and said t her, "Maam, why don't you lay down that load. You no longer have to carry it! When I offered you a ride I was willing to carry both you and your burden."
The same is true in our Christian lives. When we responded to Christ's invitation to faith - to get on the Salvation Truck - he not only promised to carry us to Heaven, but he also promised to carry our burdens through life! Christ wants you to lay your burdens at his feet. He said, "Come to me all you that are weak and heavy ladened and I will give you rest." So when you come to the Lord's Table this morning I want you to place all your cares and troubles into the hands of the Lord and leave them there. Don't pick them back up again - leave them in his hands. He'll show you the way. He'll give you the strength. "Cast your burdens upon the Lord and he will sustain you!" How do you spell relief for a troubled heart? J-E-S-U-S! Jesus can give you relief from the burden of life!
The third and final thing I want to mention is this: Jesus can give relief from the fear of death. Psychologists say that the fear of death is the basic anxiety of human life. There are people who hate to go to sleep at night because they are afraid they will not wake up. Some folks won't get onto an airplane or even into an automobile for fear of losing their lives in an accident. There are people who live in constant fear of the dark, unknown curtain of death. But this should not be true for a Christian. We should not fear death for the very purpose of Christ's dying on the cross was to set us free from the power of death. Hebrews 2:14 tells us why Jesus came to this earth. That passage says "He did this so that through his death he might destroy the Devil, who has the power over death, and in this way set free those who were slaves ... of their fear of death." We no longer have to be slaves of the fear of death. Christ has set us free from that basic anxiety. On the cross of Calvary as Jesus willingly poured out his life blood, Satan was defeated. He was conquered by the Victorious Resurrection of Jesus Christ. For us who believe, the fear of death has been overcome by the joy of eternal life.
As we gather around the Lord's Table today, let's remember Christ's sacrifice for us on the Cross of Calvary. As you eat the bread, think about his Body which was torn apart by the nails, the thorns and the spear. When you drink the wine think about his blood that was poured out as the ultimate sacrifice for our Salvation. Remember that he who was sinless and did not deserve death, willingly died so that we who deserve death might have eternal life. We need not fear death because we, who believe in Christ, have been promised eternal life. Jesus made a powerful promise about Holy Communion in John 6:54-55: "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life." If we come to the altar in faith, if we come to eat of the Living Bread from heaven, we receive the assurance of eternal life. Therefore we need not ever fear death because death has been conquered in the victorious Resurrection of Jesus Christ!
Perhaps you remember the story of the police officer who came upon a crying child in the park. When he asked why all the tears, she explained that she was lost. Determined to help her, the officer asked her some questions. The little girl did not know the name of her street or her house number. She didn't even know which direction her home was from there. The kind officer then asked her if there were any large buildings, lakes or landmarks near her home. At first she said no. But then she became excited and said, "Oh, I know, when I get to the cemetery, I'm almost there. My home is just beyond the Graveyard!"
Now that's true for us Christians too. Our eternal home is just beyond the Graveyard. That's why we need not fear death. When we breathe our last the Lord will be there to take us to our Heavenly Home. When you come to the altar today to eat the Bread and drink the Wine of Holy Communion, remember what Jesus said in John 6:54-55, "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood, has eternal life." If you believe in Christ, the Bread of Life, you need not fear death for you have a Home in Heaven. If you trust Christ, if you believe his word, you'll see that Jesus spells relief from the fear of death.
How do you spell relief? Some folks spell it R-O-L-A-I-D-S. Well, Rolaids can help with stomach problems but only Jesus can help with Spiritual problems. In Holy Communion He gives us relief from sin and guilt, from the burdens of life, from the fear of death. How do I spell relief? J-E-S-U-S. He is our Lord and our Savior, and oh, what a relief that is!
