1 John 5:10-13
10 Anyone who believes in the Son of God has this testimony in his heart. Anyone who does not believe God has made Him out to be a liar, because he has not believed the testimony God has given about His Son. 11 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. 13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.

Hebrews 6:13-20
13 When God made His promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for Him to swear by, He swore by Himself, 14 saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.” 15 And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.
16 Men swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. 17 Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of His purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, He confirmed it with an oath. 18 God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. 19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, 20 where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.

As you read through the Bible it becomes clear that one of God’s greatest desires for us is that we would know with an absolute certainty that our salvation in Jesus Christ is secure. Jesus consistently spoke of this promise, particularly in John’s gospel. The most well known verse in the Bible also emphasises this truth: “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” This is a message that has been preached and taught for centuries, yet one of the things you hear most often in the Church is, “I hope I’m going to heaven when I die.”

There are many Christians who doubt their salvation. Many others doubt their security in Christ. To live with this kind of burden and insecurity leaves people weak and ineffective in their Christian walk. Life, with all of is uncertainties and challenges is hard enough, but if you’re a Christian who doubts the absolute truth of your salvation, then you are building your life and faith on a very unsteady foundation. James 1:8 says, “He who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.”

Are you able to say that no matter what happens, you are 100% certain that at the end of your life you will be with Jesus for all of eternity?

Thankfully, the Bible reassures us that we can know this truth, and we are able to build our lives of faith on the eternal promises of God. Hebrews 6 in particular emphasises the hope of the Christian and the eternal security we have.
We are taught that as Christians we possess a hope that is not just wishful thinking, but a deep-seated confidence based squarely upon the promises and the power of God. But the Bible goes even further by saying that God has sealed His promises with an oath.
We’ve all watched courtroom dramas where witnesses are sworn in with the words, ‘so help me God.’ When they say this, they are calling on God to witness that what they’re about to say is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Of course, as we know, it is hard to believe this promise because as sinners, our word cannot be trusted.

But not so with God. He seals His promises with an oath sworn upon Himself. In court, men swear by God because there is none greater. Therefore, if God is going to make an oath, He must swear by Himself, since there is none greater than Himself. In other words, God stakes His reputation and His name on His ability to do what He has said He will do. He will keep His Word because His credibility and reputation depends upon it.
And having given us His personal assurance that our eternal security is based in Himself, He now reinforces this assurance with three great truths to prove that this hope of eternal security is reliable, steadfast and sure. If you ever have doubts, and want to believe God with all of your heart, then build your faith and hope on these truths. They are able to break the doubts and fears regarding your soul’s salvation.

The first truth is built on the promises you have claimed.
Hebrews 6:18 uses an interesting phrase: “We who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us.” The KJV says “fled for refuge.”
The image here is of the ancient cities of refuge described in Numbers 35 and in Joshua 20. “The Lord said to Joshua, ‘Tell the Israelites to designate the cities of refuge, as I instructed you through Moses, so that anyone who kills a person accidentally and unintentionally may flee there and find protection from the avenger of blood. When he flees to one of these cities, he is to stand in the entrance of the city gate and state his case before the elders of that city. Then they are to admit him into their city and give him a place to live with them. If the avenger of blood pursues him, they must not surrender the one accused, because he killed his neighbour unintentionally and without malice aforethought. He is to stay in that city until he has stood trial before the assembly and until the death of the high priest who is serving at that time. Then he may go back to his own home in the town from which he fled.’ So they set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah. On the east side of the Jordan of Jericho they designated Bezer in the desert on the plateau in the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead in the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan in the tribe of Manasseh. Any of the Israelites or any alien living among them who killed someone accidentally could flee to these designated cities and not be killed by the avenger of blood prior to standing trial before the assembly.” (Joshua 20:1-9)

These 6 cities, 3 on either side of the Jordan River were set up to provide a sanctuary for someone who accidentally killed another person. According to Jewish law, the dead man’s next of kin was required to punish the murderer. However, if a man accidentally killed another, he could flee to one of the cities of refuge and there he would receive a fair trial. If the death was proven to be accidental, the killer could remain in the city of refuge, protected from the anger of the avenger, until the high priest died. Then he was allowed to return to his own home without fear of retribution from the dead man’s family.
Now what has all this to do with the promise of our salvation?

Quite simply, Jesus is our city of refuge today. Whether our sins are intentional or accidental, we’re all guilty. Romans 3:23 says, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” and 6:23 spells out the penalty of our guilt: “the wages of sin is death.” The righteous, holy God is the one we have offended, and He is the avenger of blood. He is hunting us down because we are to be put to death for our sin. But now we flee to Jesus and find protection from the penalty of our sins. He says Himself in John 5:24, “whoever hears my word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.”
In the words of that wonderful hymn Rock of Ages, “Simply to Thy cross I cling; naked, come to Thee for dress, helpless, look to Thee for grace. Foul, I to the fountain fly, wash me, Saviour, or I die.”
We are secure in Him forever. Hebrews 7:25 says of Jesus, “He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them.”

When the accidental murderer fled to a city of refuge in Israel, he was merely claiming the promise of God. It was a matter of faith. In exactly the same way, when we as sinners flee to Jesus, the refuge of the soul, we are merely taking God at His Word, and claiming His promise that He will forgive those who flee to Jesus, and do nothing more than simply cling to the cross.
Every sinner that takes Jesus at His Word and responds to Him on the basis of pure faith can rest assured of God’s eternal protection through Jesus Christ. That is the promise we have claimed.

The second great truth you can build your faith on is whom you are anchored in and to. Hebrews 6:19 says, “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.”
The clear promises of God stand as an anchor for our souls, both firm and secure.
These two words, firm and secure, mean that God’s promises can be relied upon because they are unchanging and unmovable.

It’s important to note where this anchor is placed. It is not in the shifting sands of this ever-changing world. It’s not even based on our obedience and ability to hold on to God (which is just as well.) It is placed in Jesus. In fact, He Himself is the anchor.
That great anchor of the soul is Jesus Himself. The fact that we are in Him right now, and not only once we get to Heaven serves as an anchor to prevent us drifting about on the wild seas of doubt. We are literally anchored in Jesus Himself here and now. He is in Heaven with the Father, and we are eternally tied to Him. He is the firm and secure anchor of your soul. If you are in Jesus, then you have that eternal security. You have a very good reason to celebrate today!
Another important point is that unlike an ocean liner, we are not anchored down, but we are anchored up. We are not tied to this world, but we are tied to Heaven. As Paul says in Philippians 3:20, “Our citizenship is in Heaven.” We’re also not anchored to be at a standstill, but we are constantly moving toward the anchor point. Every minute is another minute closer to glory.
Of course, there will still be challenges in our lives.
We continue to struggle with our own sin and its consequences, plus of course, we face many trials and tribulations on our journey through life. So like a ship we may still drift while we are at anchor, but we can only drift around the anchor point. The anchor will continue to hold and secure you. Jesus will never allow you to drift away from Him.

And the third great truth we can build our foundation of faith on is the one who has gone before us. Verses 19 and 20: “It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf.”
Other translations use the title ‘forerunner,’ a word that literally means a scout, or one who goes in advance to a place where the rest are to follow. We know these words from John 14 so well: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”

Here the difference between Jesus and the Old Testament high priest is clear. The Old Testament priest entered in behind the veil in the Temple once a year and always alone. No one could follow him into the Holy of Holies. Yet, when Jesus entered into the Holy of Holies in Heaven, He promised us that one day, we would join Him there. He went on ahead but will receive us in Heaven later on.
He has gone before us to announce our future arrival. The saints already in glory are expecting you!
He has gone on ahead of you to prepare for your arrival in Heaven. That truth should make us see the inevitability of our own deaths in a completely different light.

The first mountain climber to reach the summit secures a lifeline to the mountain that the rest of the climbers use to climb up. He prepares secure anchoring points for those following him. Jesus has entered Heaven ahead of us, and He has securely anchored our salvation in Himself. Remember – we’re anchored up, not down. And now, by faith in the Word of God and in the finished work of Jesus at Calvary, we have the firm promise that we too will ascend to what Revelation 21 refers to as the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, and we will join Jesus there.

The very fact that Jesus is our refuge, our anchor and our forerunner gives us confidence. Our salvation is firm and secure. It is our blessed assurance. It is irrevocable because as Hebrews 6:18 says, “by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged.” John wrote in his first letter: “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.

I want to ask you the question on the bulletin this morning: Are you sure? Do you know that you are going to Heaven when you die, or are you keeping your fingers crossed and hoping for the best?
The truth is that if you have received Jesus, you are headed home. If you are saved, your destination is as secure as if you are already there. There is no need to doubt, there is no need to be afraid.
There is a great need, however, for us to take God at His word and to believe Him implicitly. We should be rejoicing in the salvation that is already ours. Once that truth is embedded in our hearts, we’re able to live with a joy and a peace that cannot be shaken. Take hope in the fact that God has saved you through Jesus and trust in the fact He will see you safely home to Heaven.
So once again, are you sure? You can be. God can give you that blessed assurance that Jesus is yours, and that you really are the heir of salvation, purchased of God, born of His Spirit and washed in His blood.

Homegroup Study Notes
Read 1 John 5:10-13 and Hebrews 6:13-20
Most of us go through life hoping for things to improve.
We hope for a better job, better weather, better health, etc.
This is what could be described as a ‘hope so hope’ or wishful thinking, and is radically different to the firm hope the Bible teaches about salvation.
What is Biblical hope?

Many people say they hope to go to Heaven when they die, but why do you think so many Christians say the same thing?
Life is hard, and the reality is that the depth of our faith is often determined by the circumstances we face at any particular time.
What can we do to guard against the times when our faith is weak?

How have you experienced the promises of God’s blessed assurance in times of struggle?

On Sunday we considered 3 important foundations on which we are to build our life of faith and hope:
1.     God’s promises
2.     Jesus, our anchor for the soul
3.     Jesus, the one who has gone ahead of us
Discuss each of these truths in your group.
How are we able to use them to dispel the doubts about our salvation?
What other Biblical truths are we able to claim?

Read 1 John 5:13 again, and close by praying that God would remove all doubts, and fill our hearts with the truth of His eternal promises.

 

 

 

Acts 4:13-20, 11:19-26
13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realised that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. 14 But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say. 15 So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together. 16 “What are we going to do with these men?” they asked. “Everybody living in Jerusalem knows they have done an outstanding miracle, and we cannot deny it. 17 But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn these men to speak no longer to anyone in this name.”
18 Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John replied, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God. 20 For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
19 Now those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen travelled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, telling the message only to Jews. 20 Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. 21 The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.
22 News of this reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23 When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. 24 He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord. 25 Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 26 and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the Church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.

The words Christian and Christianity have lost so much of their true meanings in the modern world. The Internet and good old-fashioned encyclopaedias have colour-coded maps that show us which are ‘Christian countries.’ If someone is a nice person they’re sometimes described as a ‘good Christian.’ The name our parents give us at birth is called our Christian name. Even when we look at the Church, there is a lot of confusion and misunderstanding of just what Christianity really is. For some Christianity is a system of rules and rituals, and nothing more than one of the many religious options we have to choose from.
I could go on, but there are many false ideas out there (and unfortunately, even in the Church) about just what it means to be a Christian. So the word Christian needs to be rescued and its original meaning restored. In the midst of the religious turmoil and confusion of our day, we need to search for and find a genuine Christianity once more. Just what is genuine Christianity? In order to try and answer that question, we need to go back to the original sources. We need to look at the story of the Christian Church in the 1st century.
As we examine the lives and actions of the very first Christians, one of the first things we learn is that Christianity is not a religion. Neither is genuine Christianity a creed, and it certainly is not a cult.
Rather, it was a new way of life centred and built around the person and purpose of a crucified but risen and living Lord. God, in and through Jesus Christ, revealed His divine concern for the redemption of lost people from sin. In Christ God expressed His determination to deliver people from the penalty and power of sin. If we look at the lives of the first generation of Christian disciples we find that as they put their faith in Jesus, there were incredible changes in their attitudes, their ambitions and in their very lives. Of course, they, just like 21st century Christians, were accused of turning the world upside down, while in reality they were actually turning the world the right side up.

This brand of Christianity they portrayed and taught 2000 years ago remains the desperate need of the world today. They understood just what it meant to dedicate their lives to Jesus, because it is He alone who can bring authentic change in people’s lives. And our world today desperately needs to rediscover an appreciation of the spiritual and become aware of the presence and power of God. As people try to fill their lives with worldly things, all they discover is a hunger that becomes more intense as time goes by.
And we as the Church – those God has called to be His instrument of grace today – need to get back to the roots and basics of our faith. As those who claim to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, we need to re-examine the Bible and evaluate our own faith and witness. Why was the early Church so effective? What was the source of the spiritual effectiveness of the early disciples? How were they able to accomplish so much?

And is it possible for us to experience the same kind of transformation they did? The answer to that question is an emphatic yes, but it will require a fundamental change in our hearts and minds if we are to be as effective for the Kingdom as our 1st century brothers and sisters in Christ were. These early disciples lived Christ-centred lives. They didn’t turn the world right side up by living self-centred lives. They didn’t change the course of history because of a passion for riches and personal glory. There was a cost of discipleship that they clearly understood, and willingly paid. Because Jesus was at the centre of their thoughts and activities and because they surrendered themselves to His mission of redeeming the lost, God used them and blessed them in the most amazing ways. You can’t help but wonder just how effective they would be in today’s world of modern travel, technology and social media.
So is Jesus at the centre or is He on the circumference of your life? Is He a dear friend to you or a distant stranger that you kind of know, but prefer to keep at an arm’s length?
Do you spend time with Him, and do you listen to Him through the written Word and the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit?
To what extent do you identify with the passion that took Him from the majesty and glory that is rightfully His, that He willingly gave up to come from heaven to earth and eventually to the cross?

This morning we will be looking at three characteristics that define the Christ-centred life. They are three qualities the first generation of Christians had, that we are able to use as we evaluate just how much Jesus is or isn’t at the centre of our own lives.

Firstly, the Christ-centred life is characterised by a glad surrender to the will of God.
In the words of Peter and John, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
The supreme desire of Jesus was to do the will of God. In John 4:34 He said, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish His work.” Jesus defined His mission in terms of the will of God. In John 6:38 He said, “I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of Him who sent me.”
Even while He suffered the agony in Gethsemane, Jesus remained completely surrendered to the will of God, knowing full well that the cross awaited Him. In His prayer in the garden He prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”

Because we’re surrounded by so much pain and suffering caused by human sin, many people have this picture in their minds of God as some kind of sadistic, cruel and vindictive God. God is not the cause of our pain – we are. It is because we live by worldly standards that the vast majority of us have little or no idea that God only wants the best for us. This misunderstanding is precisely what Paul addresses in Romans 12:2. “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then (and only then) you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will.” In other words, move yourself aside, live a Christ-centred life, and then you will begin to see and understand God for who He really is.

God’s will is always good in the long run. In Exodus 34:6 He says of Himself, “the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.” In Romans 8:28 Paul writes “we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”
His purposes for us and for others are defined by His measureless love for us. Of course, doing God’s will sometimes involves suffering and sacrifice. The cross is the perfect example, and the apostle Paul again put suffering for doing the will of God in its right perspective in Romans 8:18. “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” Jesus looked beyond the cross to the joy of bringing the greatest possible glory to God and the greatest possible blessing to people. And if we are ever to find true happiness and joy in this life, we need to learn to surrender to the will of God for us.

The second characteristic of a true Christ-centred life is that our lives become a joyous sacrifice.
There is a joy that can come through sacrifice. If we are to become true followers of Jesus Christ, we must be willing to follow His example. The things that were of supreme value to Him must become of supreme value to us. Jesus said of Himself in Mark 10:45, “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”

He defined His goal and purpose for living in terms of a complete sacrificial giving of Himself to meet the deepest needs of others. And it all points to the cross, which is at the centre of the Christian faith. The cross cannot be removed from Christianity. Yes, we need to be a voice of reason, and we certainly have a role to play in society, speaking out against oppression and all the other social ills in the world. But pointing people to the cross is ultimately what the Church is to do. Jesus bore the cross for us, and as we place Him at the centre of our lives, we soon learn that there is a cross of sacrifice for each of us to bear. Most (if not all) of us are guilty of searching for a costless religion. We would like very much to have a religion of comfort and convenience, and we easily forget the fact that all things of great significance are purchased through suffering and sacrifice. If we want to play our role in the task of saving the world, we must find the cross that God wants us to bear. We must then put our life on the cross and give ourselves completely to bring redemption to those whom God is seeking to reach through us. The apostle Paul was an important and powerful man before God turned his world the right way up, but he willingly sacrificed it all for Jesus. 
In Philippians 3 he writes, “whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ - the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.”

True Christianity is not giving God the leftovers of our lives after we have done the things we want to do first. If we are to learn what it means to live a Christ-centred life, we have to understand just what it means to sacrifice our own lives for Jesus.

And the third characteristic we’re looking at today is that the Christ-centred life is a life of loving service.
Jesus defined true greatness in terms of service. Quoting from Mark 10 again: “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”

Jesus did far more than simply going around doing good. He gave Himself utterly and completely in ministries of mercy to those who were suffering. And He didn’t restrict His love to those in His hometown or to His own group of friends and followers. He crossed racial and religious barriers to minister to the outcast and to the unfortunate.
We can do that too, if we allow God to use us. His Holy Spirit will empower us to give of ourselves unselfishly in service to others, if we would only ask Him to. We were created to love and serve each other. Of course, our sin makes us self-centred and selfish, but that was never God’s original intention for us. As we are given this new birth by the Spirit, His original plan when He created us is reactivated if you like. And what is His plan for us concerning others? Ephesians 2:10 has the answer: “We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” That’s His will for your life, but it’s only possible to do these things if you live a Christ-centred life. The mission statement of our congregation is to communicate the Gospel of Jesus in service of God, each other, and the world.

As the Spirit transforms and changes us from within, He will fill our hearts with compassionate concern for others. If you feel this is not happening for you, then it is nothing more than a warning and a clear sign that you are not living a Christ-centred life.
God created us to love and serve others. We often struggle to understand the specifics of His will for our lives, but undergirding the specifics is the principle that we are to be His servants as we play our role in serving others in the name of Jesus.

What we need to understand is that everything we do in the name of Jesus is out of gratitude for who He is and for what He has done for us. Our gratitude demands that we are to give ourselves gladly in ministries that will touch the lives of others with the love of God. Do you want your non-believing friends and family to turn to Jesus? Of course you do, and I’m sure you’ve realised by now that you’re not going to drag them kicking and screaming into the Kingdom. Nor are you going to convince them of the truth of the Gospel by getting into intellectual debates and arguments. But you can love them into the Kingdom. As we live out our Christ-centred lives, God can and does use us in the most amazing ways.

The need of a world that is lost and without hope demands a radical commitment to obedience and to service on the part of those who know Jesus Christ as Saviour. True fulfillment, the abundant life that Jesus came to offer us comes only to those who give themselves unreservedly to the cause that brought Him from heaven to earth.
He died so that we might live. And He calls us to live so that others may not die eternally.
Allow Him to use you and to help you to really see Him and trust Him.
So what is genuine Christianity? What does it really mean to be a Christian? I pray that God has opened our eyes to the truth today. There are no grey areas here. Jesus Christ is either at the centre of our lives, or He is irrelevant, and of no real consequence to us. He is either Lord of all, or not at all.

Homegroup Study Notes
What are some of the incorrect definitions or understandings of the words ‘Christian’ and ‘Christianity’ we hear in the world today?
Why do you believe there is so much confusion when it comes to defining genuine Christianity?

Read Acts 4:13-20 and 11:19-26
On Sunday we looked at three qualities that characterise the Christ-centred life:
1.     Surrender to the will of God
2.     Joyful sacrifice
3.     Loving service to others

Discuss these characteristics as we see them in the lives of the first Christians in the book of Acts.
How do we see these same characteristics in the Church today?
What other qualities define true, authentic Christianity?
Do you believe it is possible to live a Christ-centred life, and if so, what changes do you need to make in your own life?

It has been said that the non-believing world forms their opinions of who God is and what He is like based on the behaviour of those who profess to believe in Him and follow Him.
What excites you about this statement?
What frightens you?

Close by praying that the Lord would teach us just what it really means to live a Christ-centred life.

Hebrews 10:1-18
1 The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming - not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. 2 If it could, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshippers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. 3 But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, 4 because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. 5 Therefore, when Christ came into the world, He said: “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; 6 with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. 7 Then I said, ‘Here I am - it is written about me in the scroll - I have come to do your will, O God.’”
8 First He said, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them” (although the law required them to be made). 9 Then He said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.” He sets aside the first to establish the second. 10 And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
11 Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God. 13 Since that time He waits for His enemies to be made His footstool, 14 because by one sacrifice He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.
15 The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First He says: 16 “This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.”
17 Then He adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.”
18 And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin.

Matthew 26:26-30
26 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to His disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” 27 Then He took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29 I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father's kingdom.”
30 When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Today we celebrate Holy Communion as a Church family. If you think about it, it does seem a bit strange at first to use the word ‘celebrate’ in this context. At Communion services we are reminded of the horrors of the cross. Crucifixion is generally regarded as one of the cruellest means of execution in human history, but we do indeed have a reason to celebrate. The elements of bread and wine that we share in this Sacrament signify and represent to us the body and blood of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We are reminded of Jesus’ perfect life on earth and His death on the cross. It is a reminder of the forgiveness of sins and everlasting life.
It is in our nature to remember the past. Exactly a hundred years ago millions of people were suffering during the First World War. Just yesterday was the 71st anniversary of the D-Day landings at Normandy. Many of you are members of the MOTHS, and we’re all familiar with the words ‘lest we forget’ whenever we are reminded of military conflicts.

So how much more then do we need to be reminded of an infinitely more important day in human history – the day Jesus died for our sins? We need to be reminded lest we forget as the Egyptians did. They forgot Joseph and what he had done for their nation and enslaved Joseph’s descendants. We need to be reminded lest we forget what Christ has done for us, lest we forget how His body was broken and how His blood was shed. We need to be reminded lest we forget His agony in Gethsemane when His sweat became blood. We need to be reminded lest we forget the cruel beatings, the crown of thorns, the pulling out of His beard, the brutal scourging, the nails driven through His hands and feet, and the spear thrust into His side. We need to be reminded lest we forget that He laid down His life for the sins of all mankind. We need to be reminded lest we forget that our relationship with God is based on a New Covenant in His blood.

If His first disciples, who were actually there and were first hand witnesses, needed to be reminded to observe Communion regularly, then we also need to do so as a reminder of what Jesus endured to pay for our sins. We need to remember because everything we have as Christians is centred in His death. We are a covenant people, and we cannot be reminded of that truth often enough.  
The blood of Jesus Christ is what ushers us into this New Covenant. The basis on which God makes a covenant is always a sacrifice. Without a sacrifice there can be no covenant and wherever there is a sacrifice there must be the shedding of blood.
The Bible has come to us in the form of two covenants or testaments, the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Covenant between God and Israel was dedicated with the blood of sacrificed animals. As a result of this covenant God delivered Israel from bondage in Egypt, and when Israel became a nation God gave them the Law as part of that covenant. The covenant bound God to His Word and Israel to the terms of the covenant.

The New Testament is a new covenant, a new agreement, and a new promise ratified, enacted and sealed in the blood of Jesus Christ. Without the shedding of His blood there was no possible way Jesus could have established a new covenant between God and us. Under the Old Covenant only one man could approach God in the Holy of Holies once a year. This took place on the Day of Atonement. On that day the Jewish high priest, after all kinds of ritual washing and purification and with the blood of sacrificed animals, went into the Holy of Holies where he sprinkled the blood on the mercy seat to make atonement for his sins and the sins of the nation. But this sacrifice only covered the sins of the nation for one year and had to be repeated annually. This is the reason why the High Priest never sat down while performing the ceremony, because complete atonement was never achieved under the old system. It was merely (as we’re told in Hebrews 10) a foreshadow of the things to come.

Once we have a grasp on what happened at Calvary, the endless rituals of Old Testament sacrifices begin to make sense. They all point us to the one, perfect and final sacrifice of Jesus. Hebrews 10:12 says of Jesus, “when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God.” In Mark’s account of the ascension, it says “After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was taken up into heaven and He sat at the right hand of God.” Remember Jesus’ dying words on the cross? “It is finished.” The work of redemption was complete.
After offering His blood He sat down at the Father’s right hand signifying that no sacrifice would ever be needed again. The blood of Christ had accomplished eternal redemption for all mankind.
Had the Old Covenant been perfect and sufficient, there would have been no need for a New Covenant. But the book of Hebrews teaches that as our High Priest, Christ has a much more excellent ministry to God than the high priest under the Old Covenant. Jesus does not offer the blood of bulls and goats as the high priest used to because they cannot take away sin. Instead He offers His own blood and pleads our case to the Father, and He does so on the merit of and in the power of His own blood. The New Covenant is better than the old because it was enacted with the eternal blood of Jesus Christ. Under the New Covenant all believers come into the presence of God at all times. That is why we don’t need a curtain in Christian Churches. The curtain in the temple signified the separation between sinners and a Holy God, but that curtain was torn in two at the moment Jesus died. You’ve heard this before, but there is huge significance in the fact that it was torn from the top to the bottom. This showed that the tearing of the curtain was an act of God and that we have been given unrestricted access to God.

To understand the New Covenant we also need an understanding of the meaning of the Passover meal. Exodus 12:21-27: “Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, ‘Go at once and select the animals for your families and slaughter the Passover lamb. Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood on the top and on both sides of the doorframe. Not one of you shall go out the door of his house until morning. When the Lord goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, He will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway, and He will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down. Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants. When you enter the land that the Lord will give you as He promised, observe this ceremony. And when your children ask you, “What does this ceremony mean to you?” then tell them, “It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when He struck down the Egyptians.”

The disciples were aware of the implications of this meal, as they had often participated in it. They had grown up hearing the story. The annual Passover was the most solemn and important date on the Jewish calendar. For centuries during the meal the youngest child in each family would ask the father certain questions and he would answer by telling them about how God delivered them from slavery in Egypt and led them to the Promised Land. The Passover meal commemorated Israel’s deliverance from bondage in Egypt where they had lived as slaves. Every type of food on the table had a symbolic meaning, especially the roasted lamb. It reminded them of the lambs’ blood that was smeared on the doorposts of their homes so that the angel of death would pass over them and enter only the homes of the Egyptians. The blood was for their redemption as it signified that the coming judgement had already been carried out on the sacrificed lambs. The Israelites also had to eat every part of the roast lamb before they started their journey into freedom. This meal was for healing and strength. The meal reminded them of God’s salvation and deliverance from slavery in Egypt.

The very first Holy Communion meal – the one we celebrate today – was hosted by Jesus. To the disciples that night, this was to be just another Passover, but then Jesus suddenly changed everything by talking about His own body and blood as the sacrifice. The institution of Holy Communion He gave us that night was to remind us of a rescue immeasurably more significant than freedom from slavery in Egypt. Now it is about a reminder of rescue from slavery to sin and its penalty. As the blood of the lamb saved the Israelites, so the blood of Christ saves us. Here we are partaking of the New Covenant. The wine signifies the blood of Christ shed for our redemption and the bread typifies His body to be eaten for healing and strength. Just as with the Jewish Passover meal God strengthened and sustained the people for their pilgrimage to the Promised Land, so in Holy Communion believers are nourished and strengthened for our spiritual journey.

At the Lord’s Table we celebrate the living Christ in our hearts as we live and share in His divine nature. At the Lord’s Table we enter into an intimate fellowship with God and with our fellow brothers and sisters. Here we demonstrate our unity and our mutual loyalty to and love for Jesus Christ. Holy Communion is a means of grace. When we celebrate it, we are reminded of the victory over sin because of Christ and He strengthens us anew to live for Him and not for ourselves.
This is why we celebrate. Of course, we should never forget the reason for the cross. Jesus died because of me, and because of you. His death is our fault. But He demonstrated His victory over death by walking out of that tomb three days later. This is not a place for remorse and regret. This is a place to say thank you Jesus, for who you are and for what you did for me.
The very sight of the bread and wine should fill our hearts with praise and thanksgiving. Remembering what He did and how He has set us free should fill us with a new desire to love Him more, and each other more.  As we take Communion we must be sensitive to our sins, our faults, and our failures, but we should see them in the right perspective. Now we see them in the light of the tremendous price Christ paid for our redemption and this should fill us with a new hope and a new determination to live for Him. In the early Church the congregation shared one loaf that was passed from person to person. Everyone broke off a piece for themselves, and this smaller piece was a reminder that Jesus died for each individual. The larger loaf that was passed on spoke of the truth that they all shared a common salvation and made up one body.

This is where the word ‘Communion’ begins to make sense. Yes, Jesus died for me as an individual sinner, and He died for you as an individual sinner, but as we share in Communion with our brothers and sisters in Christ, we should be conscious of our oneness with those we are sharing this meal with. We all share the wonderful benefits of our Saviour’s atoning work at Calvary. The Communion is a family meal and the Lord of the family wants His children to love one another and care for one another. How can we expect to move closer to God if we refuse to move closer to each other? What right do we have to expect or even demand God’s forgiveness if we refuse to forgive our Christian brothers and sisters? How can we share in this meal and not love one another?
You see, Holy Communion is more than simply remembering what Jesus has done or celebrating our forgiveness. We also have a responsibility here. The Lord’s Table is a place of love, of unity, and of our oneness in the Lord and with our fellow believers.

For the people of the Old Covenant – the Old Testament – the Passover looked back to the past, and the deliverance from Egyptian bondage. It looked at the present and the promise of strength for the journey. And it looked to the future - the Promised Land.
For us, the people of the New Covenant, Holy Communion looks back to God’s deliverance from sin. It looks at the present for strength to lead the Christian life. And it looks to the future by being a foretaste of Christ’s banquet in heaven.

Holy Communion fulfills the prophetic significance of the Passover. Just as the blood of the Passover lamb had to be applied to their doorposts so the blood of Christ has to be applied by truly repenting and asking for forgiveness. When that happens, the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses our hearts by faith and sets us free from the judgment and wrath of God. And just as the Israelites stayed in their houses to be protected from death so we today should spend time in the house of God and stay in fellowship with God and with our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Just as the Israelites ate the lamb to benefit from it so we are to share in the Sacrament of Holy Communion to benefit from it.
Jesus loves His Church. The Church is His bride, and He gave His life for His Church – for us. This is why we celebrate today as His bride, the Church family.
Jesus loves you. He gave His life for you, so you are able to share in this meal today without fear of God, knowing that He has paid the price of your sin. That is why you can celebrate today.
Come to the Table this morning and enjoy fellowship with Him, and with each other.

Homegroup Study Notes
Read Matthew 26:26-30 and Exodus 12:21-27
At the Last Supper, Jesus took the Passover Meal, a tradition which had not changed for thousands of years, and suddenly changed it by giving it a whole new meaning.
Discuss the strong links and similarities between Passover and Holy Communion.

Read Hebrews 10:11-18
What is the significance of the words in verse 12?
Having read this excerpt from Hebrews 10, discuss some of the significant differences between the Passover and Holy Communion.

The crucifixion of Jesus must have been an awful thing to witness, yet when we observe Holy Communion in the Church today, we often use the word ‘celebrate.’
Bearing in mind that the reason for Jesus’ death is our sin, how do you think it is possible to be joyful at the Lord’s Table?

The Sacrament of Holy Communion can mean many different things to different people, as God meets us at our point of need.
There are three main ‘points of focus’ though:
1.      A look back at what Jesus has done for us.
2.      A look inwards at what He is doing right now.
3.      A look ahead to the promises of eternity.
Discuss each of these in your group.