Let the godly sing for joy to the Lord; it is fitting for the pure to praise him. Praise the Lord with melodies on the lyre; make music for him on the ten-stringed harp. Sing a new song of praise to him; play skillfully on the harp, and sing with joy. For the word of the Lord holds true, and we can trust everything he does. He loves whatever is just and good; the unfailing love of the Lord fills the earth. Psalm 33:1-5
Then I saw in heaven another marvelous event of great significance. Seven angels were holding the seven last plagues, which would bring God’s wrath to completion. I saw before me what seemed to be a glass sea mixed with fire. And on it stood all the people who had been victorious over the beast and his statue and the number representing his name. They were all holding harps that God had given them. And they were singing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb: “Great and marvelous are your works, O Lord God, the Almighty. Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations. Who will not fear you, Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous deeds have been revealed.” Revelation 15:1-4
The song of Moses begins with instruction to the
godly to sing for joy to the Lord, because it is “fitting”
for the pure to praise God. Who are the pure? They are those who have been forgiven.
When we come to the table we first give thanks. Before we receive the supper we participate
in the Great Thanksgiving, which includes our
confession. Do you recall the words of
pardon after we join in confessing our sins?
Hear the good news; Christ died for us while we were yet sinners;
that proves God’s love toward us. In the
name of Jesus Christ you are forgiven.
So, at this table there are no perfect people, no better-than-other-people-people;
there are only forgiven people,
people forgiven because they trust in the forgiving, cleansing power of the
blood of Jesus Christ. They don’t earn
this; it is God’s gift![1]
By and large forgiven people live their lives differently than people who
are not forgiven. For instance, a woman
of questionable character rushed up to Jesus and poured-out on his head a very
costly, perfumed ointment. It was an anointing,
an expression of her love. She did this
because she knew her sins had been forgiven.
Jesus turned to the disapproving religious people watching and told them:
“I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.” Then Jesus said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.” Luke 7:47-48
So, the gift we participate in at this table today is our chance to be
that woman. We come to have our sins
forgiven by the Giver of the gift. And
this gift changes us in so many ways. Let’s
look at a few of those changes:
#1. God invites changed (forgiven) people into His presence
Scripture declares that God will have nothing in His presence that is
sinful. As much as God’s Word declares
his unconditional love for all the world[2] it is balanced by His commitment to justice and righteousness. God was willing to have His Son, Jesus take
our stripes on the cross so we could be forgiven and gain entrance into God’s
presence.
But, for those who reject the cross, they also reject the forgiveness of
God.
It’s often asked why a loving God would send innocent people to Hell. The fact is, there are NO innocent
people; we have ALL sinned![3] And God doesn’t send anyone
to Hell; when we reject His forgiveness, we choose to go there!
What this table represents is the gift of Christ’s forgiveness that
changes us from enemies of God to those precious ones invited to be in His
presence.
#2. Changed (forgiven) people forgive other people
To be a Christian means to forgive the
inexcusable in others because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.
When we come to this table it is just as open to a former axe murderer as
it was to Mother Teresa. I read an
account of a church in the 1960’s that was a prominent fellowship in a large
city. During one service a hippie-type
walked in, long hair, beard, scruffy jeans, reeking of alcohol and pot. The church was full; all the seats were
occupied, so the young rebel walked up the middle aisle right to the front and
sat on the floor. One of the ushers, a
very dignified older man in a white suit followed the young man to his
perch. Several thought, thank
goodness, Dr. Henry will get rid of that hippie…or at least show him to the
back room. When Dr. Henry
reached the young man, he paused, grabbed the side of a pew and sat down right
next to him. He put his arm around the
guy and sat with him through the whole service.
Dr. Henry was a forgiven child of God who welcomed another to the table.
The gift changes us from enemy to friend of God, and fogivers of others,
and…
#3. Changed (forgiven) people see worship differently
A. Truth
The Psalmist says the word of the Lord
holds true, and we can trust everything he does. In a world in which you and I find so little
to trust, so little that is dependable and lasting, the God who kept his
promise of redeeming sinners like us, even at the price of his innocent son’s
blood, is worthy of worship.
B. A means of joining the blessing of God.
The Revelation text shows two great themes:
There is JUSTICE
The
bowls of wrath are being poured-out on the earth, God’s judgment for sin, and
those who refuse to repent. That is the
next great event coming in history…the Day of the Lord…His judgment on sin.
There is THANKFUL
WORSHIP
For those who stand straight in their faith in Christ, the covenant-love
of God, His unfailing kindness and mercy have drawn them close to the
throne.
God’s people respond by lifting voices and hands
on bowed knees singing Great and marvelous are your works, O Lord God,
the Almighty. Just and true are your
ways, O King of the nations. Who will
not fear you, Lord, and glorify your name?
In this great worship scene the redeemed church is praising God for being
redeemed, saved forever.
The song of Moses in the Old Testament and the song of the Lamb in the New
Covenant celebrate the same gift, changing us from enemy to friend,
helping us participate in forgiveness of each other, and
proclaiming His truth in worship.
This is our opportunity to offer a genuine sacrifice of praise for what He
has done.
So, let us break bread together on our knees…
…let
us drink wine together on our knees…
…let
us praise God together on our knees!
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[1]
Ephesians 2:8-9
[2] See John
3:16…for God so-loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son….
[3] Romans
3:23
[i] Title Images: Courtesy of Pixabay.com.
All Scripture quoted is from The New Living Translation (unless otherwise stated)
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