When Jesus Goes Off Script | Communion Worship | Luke 22:19–22

``When you're questioning if your tomorrows will come because of what you've done in your todays, take this cup because I've already paved the way for you. When you say I'm not worthy of what God's gonna do in my life because of all the things I've done wrong, take this cup and remember my blood carried in it your name. The DNA of Jesus' blood that shed and poured out on that cross down on Calvary's Hill had your name written in it. So that whatever you thought would block you when it reads the blood and sees your name in the DNA, it has to pass over. [01:04:25] (48 seconds)  #YourNameInTheBlood

I have to be honest. I don't know how you can do something in remembrance of someone, and they're still there. Yeah. That sounds like somebody who's on their deathbed saying, I gotta do this before I end. They don't know what's getting ready to come, but Jesus says, I do. And before I get to Calvary, I gotta pause and let y'all understand that this is more than just an evil scheme. This is more than just bad actors who've turned on us, but there's an eternal significance in what's going on. [00:47:43] (37 seconds)  #RemembranceMatters

And if we could be honest, and I might get in trouble here, but we gotta say it because it's the truth. The reality is many of us have been in church for a large part of our lives. How many of you know if you did the math, you spent more years in church than out of church? Amen, somebody. And the reality is we are we are like the disciples at this table. We hear Jesus say this, and we really don't know what it means. One of the things I've learned in ministry, especially pastoral ministry, is that most of our congregations do communion because it's on the schedule. [00:49:34] (43 seconds)  #UnderstandCommunion

But the reality is most folk have no clue what the power is in the act. And if we could be honest, one of the most dangerous threats to the church is not just the outside world, but is that we don't even understand what we do. We don't even understand why we come to the table. And Jesus is trying to help them and help us understand, I'm not going to the cross just for you to see it. I'm going so you understand it. It is a terrible thing to do stuff in church that you don't understand. [00:51:04] (38 seconds)  #PraiseForProtection

And every now and then, you have to look back over your life and see what things do I need to pause and give God praise for. Because the reality is we should not be here today but god let some stuff pass over us. There were some weapons formed against you that were designed to prosper but god let them pass over you. There was some sickness that should have been to death but god let it pass over you. There were some lies and rumors that people put out to scandalize your name but they did not have the effect because god let it pass over you. Oh, I need somebody early in this sermon to give god a praise that some stuff has passed over you. They pause to remember. [00:42:09] (43 seconds)  #RememberThePrice

And if we could be honest here, I ain't gonna say it, tell you raise your hand, say amen, because I want the person next to you, the person on the chat to understand. Many of us know that there have been times we prayed, Lord, I hope you ain't see that. You'd had a thought saying, oh, I hope god didn't hear that thought because you will live your life feeling as though that there's no way to get out of your mistakes but the blessing is, Jesus said, I'm gonna shed my blood to pay for it before you do it. Yeah. So that even when you do it, you don't have to worry if it's gonna destroy you. You know Jesus already paid for this. Jesus already died for this. Jesus already covered me for this, so I don't have to worry anymore. [00:55:42] (50 seconds)  #CommunionIsGrace

And many things in church started from the right spot. We just took it too far. But the reality is this is a sacred act. We should come to it with some level of respect. Jesus said, do it in remembrance of me. Remember me when you take that cup. Remember me when you eat that bread. Because I paid a price for it. Jesus says, I'm not asking y'all to pay it. I paid it. Somebody gotta hear that. I'm not asking you to do nothing. I paid it. I did not ask you before I did it. I paid it. All you have to do is accept me as the one who paid it. Let me live in your heart. And every time you get a chance, take this meal and remember what I did for you. [01:02:59] (74 seconds)  #RiseAfterFailure

but there's an eternal significance in what's going on. And every now and then when you look at your life and you see all you're going through, you have to raise your thoughts from just what you see to what God has planned. You cannot allow just what you see to make you think this is the only reason it's happening. You're not going through hell just because somebody didn't like you. You're not going up the rough side of the mountain just because somebody walked out on you. No. God has a bigger plan at work in what you're going through. You just have to open your eyes to see it. [00:48:17] (34 seconds)  #KeepGoingDespiteBetrayal

He has to look at Judas' face every day knowing what he's gonna do, and he has to keep on going. Because even when tomorrow's gonna get hard, it doesn't mean you can abandon your responsibilities of today. And so many people mess up their lives not because they have to go through, because they have to complain before they get there. Jesus said, I'm gonna deal with it then, but until I got there, I got something I got to do. The Bible says on this Thursday, as they're on the way to the to the cross, as he's on his way to Calvary, as he's on his way to sealing a new covenant, he pauses to remember the old one. [00:40:22] (41 seconds)  #WhatMeantForEvilWorksForGood

Have you ever really thought of how much the devil has been mad that the things you've done wrong have not stopped God's plan? Every time he thought he had you, he tried to attack, but that blood had your name in it. Every time he said, I got him this time. He sent armies, but they could not pass because the blood was on you. For a moment, I'm gonna open the doors of the church in a second then we're gonna take of this supper together. Before a moment in this communion ceremony, I want you to just reflect on what it means to you. [01:05:14] (62 seconds)  #InviteJesusIn

You're here today, my brother, my sister, in this room sharing online, and you've never let Jesus into your heart. You heard a preacher today share. You heard a song, song to let you know that Jesus paid a price for you. He didn't ask you to pay anything. He paid it all in advance. Two thousand years before you could do anything back for him. He paid the price for you. And in order to be a recipient of the gift that he's given, you just have to let him into your heart. Let him be lord of your life. [01:10:15] (51 seconds)  #NewCovenantTruth

There's tradition that's been passed down now for hundreds of years to tell them what to do when they're at the table. But Jesus says, okay, you've been following the old tradition, but I did not come just to keep you in the old way. Yes. Come on. Somebody missed that. Jesus said, you've been doing it right to this point, But now, I'm here. I am the second one of the godhead. I am the one who was there in the beginning. I am the one who sat on the throne next to god as he said, let there be and there was. [00:45:22] (36 seconds)  #UnderstandYourFaith

I I I was serving one time at a at a church, and they started passing out gloves, and I said, I don't need them. So you gotta put them on. I said, why? They ain't had no answer. Because there's so much stuff we do without understanding, and I believe that this is the season, this is the time with the craziness in our world where God is saying, I need believers to understand what this is all about. And Jesus said, I'm going to the cross. But before I get there, I'm going off script. And I'm telling you, I'm doing this for you. [00:52:07] (37 seconds)  #AnnualRemembrance

God says you need to come together as often and remember this annually so that you never forget that I brought you out, so that you never allow the blessings of the promised land to make you forget it ain't always been good, That you never allow the doors that are opening today to make you cause and lose in track that some days there were no doors. But I was good to you, and I did this for you, and you come together every year. But when they sit down, Jesus goes off script. There are certain things that are supposed to happen. [00:44:44] (32 seconds)  #YouMustGoThrough

No. Our people should have been destroyed, but god made sure that what was meant for evil worked for our good. And every now and then, you gotta stop and just say, Lord, I thank you because I don't know all of what you've done, but I'm glad that you did it. I don't know all the enemies that you destroyed that were trying to take me down, but I'm glad that none of them got to me, and I'm gonna take every moment, every chance, every opportunity to give you praise because I know you've been so good to me. I know you've done so much for me, and you deserve the glory. [00:42:52] (38 seconds)  #ChangedTheScript

We don't come to the table. We don't take up communion just because it's on a schedule. No. We do this because of what Jesus did for us. There's significance in this act. Growing up in church, they used to have a whole lot of rules with communion. If you weren't ordained, you couldn't touch the table. If you weren't a preacher, you couldn't stand nowhere near. I remember when I was young, the tray would come down the aisle. You know, before the pandemic, you used to pass trays. After the pandemic, people got scared. I don't know what they got. You pass trays, and if you had not been baptized, you better not touch that tray. A lightning bolt was gonna hit you. And when I was younger, didn't quite always understand it. [01:01:53] (66 seconds)  #PressTowardsTheCall

And one of the realities I've learned, my brothers and my sisters, is that no matter how good things may be in a moment, whenever you know that difficult things are coming, your mind seems to drift. Whenever you know that there's some tough things that are laying ahead, it doesn't matter how happy everybody else might be. All you can think about is what is laying ahead. I remember some years ago, about sixteen years ago, almost now, November, the November 2010, sharing in in thanksgiving and having a great day with family, sharing in revival, our annual revival at New Psalm as everyone was excited. [00:37:59] (41 seconds)  #HePaidItAll