How To Prepare Your Heart For The Lord’s Supper
This is the second article in our series on The Lord’s Supper and in this article, I want to share with you how to prepare your heart for the Lord’s Supper.
In this post, I will be sharing with you 3 suggestions on how you ought to take the Lord’s Supper.
1. We Should Take the Lord’s Supper Willingly
The Lord’s Supper should not be a duty but a delight to do. When we come together to partake of the Lord’s Supper we ought to do it with excitement, with anticipation, with a great willingness about what we’re about to do.
No one should have to beg us to take the Lord’s Supper.
If we are doing it because someone told us we have to do it, then we are not doing it correctly and for the right reason.
2. We should take the Lord’s Supper Worthily.
It is an insult to God to take the Supper Unworthily.
1 Corinthians 11:28 28 Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup.
You may be thinking to yourself then how do I take it worthily. Here are 4 ways to take it worthily.
1. It is for the Redeemed.
It is for the Believer in Christ to take. If you are not a Christian you should not be taking part in this sacred moment.
2. It is for the Reconciled
1 Corinthians 11:18 In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it.
You see, the Lord’s Supper is a symbol of our communion. It is a symbol of our oneness.
Do not endanger your health by taking the Lord’s Supper if you have ought in your heart against anybody.
3. It is for the Reverent
1 Corinthians 11:20 20 So then, when you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat,
Paul was talking about people who were doing it the wrong way.
These people were making a party out of it as that picture shows. When you take these elements you should guard your thoughts and make sure you are not making a mockery out of this.
4. It is for the Repentant
If you know there is something wrong in your life, you should repent of your sins.
You should ask God to forgive you of your wrongdoing. You should have a repentant heart while you partake of the Lord’s Supper.
3. We Should Take the Lord’s Supper Watchfully.
1 Corinthians 11:29 29 For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves.
The word discern means to understand, understand what it’s all about. Don’t take it flippantly. Take it seriously.
Discern the Lord’s body. Don’t just see the piece of bread. Look beyond the shadow to the substance.
Don’t just see the fruit juice. Look beyond that to the blood of Jesus. Discern the Lord’s body. Know what it’s all about. Do it with concentration. Do it watchfully.
I love this Illustration that Adrian Rogers used which describes how important it is to keep our eyes on the Lord and nothing else when partaking of communion.
The Duke of Milan commissioned Leonardo da Vinci to paint that beautiful painting that we call “The Lord’s Supper.” Leonardo da Vinci was in his early 30s.
He took three years to paint that painting. He thought about it. And so he said, “All right. Christ will be the center. I’ll group the disciples in three.
I’ll have three here and three here and I’ll have three here and I’ll have three here. And Jesus will be in the center. And in His hand, in His right hand, there will be that cup.”
And Leonardo da Vinci painted “The Lord’s Supper” with that beautiful, beautiful cup, that challis. When he had finished, after years of labor, he brought a friend, and said, ‘What do you think of the painting?”
The friend said, “The cup is so realistic I cannot take my eyes from it.” And when he said that, Leonardo da Vinci took his brush and drew it across the cup, and said, “Nothing shall take away from my Lord, from my Lord.”
I don’t want you to be so concerned about the cup that you don’t discern the Lord’s body. I don’t want you to be so concerned about the music or the serving or anything else that it takes you from the Lord.
Question: Which one of these things stood out to you and what is your biggest takeaway from this article on how to prepare your heart for the Lord’s Supper. Please let us know in the comments below.
