TEXT: I Corinthians 11:26

SUBJECT: Lord's Supper

The Lord's Supper is a meal of hope. It looks back to the cross where His body was "broken for us" and His blood was "shed for the remission of sins".

But that's not all it does. It also looks forward to His Second Coming. And this--Paul says--is the believer's "Blessed hope".

The Lord's Return may be looked for with certainty. "Till He comes" is the word--not "If He comes". When the Lord ascended to heaven, the disciples were stunned at the sight. Until two angels scolded them: "You men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing into heaven? This Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way that you saw Him go into heaven".

Of course He will. He had said so Himself. "In My Father's house are many mansions, if it were not so, I would have told you. I go there to prepare a place for you, and if I go, I will come again and take you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also".

Paul said He would come again: "The Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout". If you think otherwise, Peter calls you a "scoffer".

The Second Coming is not possible or likely; it is certain. More certain than "death and taxes" even!

The Lord's Return may be looked for with eagerness. John saw it as "the marriage feast of the Lamb". That's why the Early Church prayed so hard for it to come. Why they expected it at any moment.

When believers died in the Early Church, the brethren were heartsick. Not because they missed their old friends! It was because they feared the dead would miss out on the blessing of the Lord's Return. They were wrong about this, of course, but their mistake tells us how they saw the Second Coming--not as a dreadful thing to be postponed as long as possible, but as the happiest of days!

That day is to be "looked for and hasted" Peter tells us. But do we? Or have we so fallen in love with this world that we're reluctant to give it up?

The Second Coming is a happy event. To be looked for eagerly.

The Lord's Return should be looked for soberly. Because "the day of the Lord shall come as a thief in the night... "What manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness?"

We ought to live as though the Lord were coming today! Who knows? Maybe He is. If He is, we ought to be:

"O Lord, haste the day

when the faith will be sight".

In the Lord's Supper, you "proclaim" your belief in the Second Coming. Do you truly believe it? If so, you'll look for it with certainty, with eagerness, and with sobriety. May God enable us to do so, for Christ's sake. Amen.