Thank you, Carol and Meredith. Would you open
your Bible with me, please, to Ephesians chapter
4. Today we are observing together the Lord's
Supper, and therefore the remainder of our service
is going to be different than usual. Our remarks
in preparation for our observance come from the
fourth verse of Ephesians 4, where it says, There
is one body and one spirit, just as also you
were called in one hope of your calling. So we
are returning today to this statement outlining
the sevenfold uniqueness of the Christian faith.
To focus on one particular clause dealing with
the calling we share together as members of the
family of God. The first occasion of the word
calling in the book of Ephesians is in the first
chapter in the 18th verse. For there it speaks
of the hope of his calling. It's the same calling
that's in view in both locations. However, in
Ephesians 1, the calling is from the perspective
of the originator of the calling. It's his calling.
Whereas here in the fourth chapter, it's from
the perspective of the recipient. It's called
your calling. This calling is our calling to
salvation. It is the summons of God. to partake
of the blessings of salvation. We recognize that
the Bible teaches there is a general external
call which is given to all men, and an invitation
is given to receive the blessings of salvation
through it. But there is also an effective or
effectual internal call of the Spirit of God
to some. whom the Bible calls vessels of mercy.
This call results not only in their hearing the
gospel, but in their believing response to it.
All genuine children of God share in this effectual
calling of the Holy Spirit to the blessings of
salvation. We share together this calling and
its accompanying hope. Consider with me this
morning three aspects of this shared calling
that we have as a people. In the first place,
it is a calling that is personal. You notice
he says, you were called in one hope of your
calling. You and your, it's a personal calling.
God indeed does have purposes for groups. of
people or for entire nations. An example would
be, of course, national Israel in the Old Testament,
or even those Gentile nations at that time to
whom the prophets like Isaiah wrote. God has
a purpose for the church as a whole, as a corporate
body of people. But the point I'm making here
is that the calling to salvation It is an individual
calling of God. God does not save whole groups
of people except that he does it one at a time.
Because, you see, salvation is a personal matter.
It is an individual relationship between the
believing sinner and God. When the Spirit of
God calls, he calls individual peoples. not units
of them or groupings of them. No one can be convicted
for a group or for one other person for that
matter. Each person must be convicted for himself.
And when the sinner responds, he does so as an
individual person. No one can repent for anyone
else. No one can believe for someone else. Salvation
is an individual calling. This truth is suggested,
I think, in the way that God identifies himself
in the Old Testament with this name, the God
of Abraham and others. Is that what it says?
No. It doesn't even say the God of Abraham and
his family. But rather it says, I am the God
of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob. You see,
the emphasis is upon the individual believing.
The promise of God. Now my point is this. Just
because others in your family or in your church
or in your peer group may have trusted Christ
and been saved, that is no reason for you to
presume that you yourself are therefore saved.
One can be raised in a godly, fine, Christian
home. and still go into eternity at death without
Jesus Christ as personal Savior. This calling
that we share together in Christ Jesus is a personal
calling. The gate to life is narrow, my friend.
In fact, it is so narrow that only one person
may enter it at a time. And it may be that this
today is your time. You know, the Bible says,
Today is the accepted time. Today is the day
of salvation. And so it is that while you and
I hear the voice of the Spirit of God within
us speaking, that is the time to respond. At
that moment that we hear Him, that is our day
of salvation. And if today you hear the Spirit
of God speaking within you, calling you to personal
faith in Jesus Christ, if you hear Him rowing
you away from all that you've trusted in before
to place your faith solely and alone in Jesus
Christ for your soul's salvation, then I beg
you today to respond. This is the accepted time
for you. Trust in Him today. That calling of
God is a personal calling between you and Him.
Oh, I plead with you. to respond to the voice
of God's Spirit and trust Jesus Christ today.
This calling that we share together as the children
of God is a personal calling, but secondly, I
want to point out to you that this calling is
eternal. It says this in our clause in verse
4, you were called. Notice that verb. It's in
a tense that indicates that it's a once and for
all calling. It's settled. I'd like to say three
things about that. In the first place, this calling,
which is eternal, was ordained before creation.
That is, before God brought into existence matter
and space and time, before Genesis 1 -1 occurred,
this calling to salvation was ordained. of God.
We see that back in chapter 1 of Ephesians. Do
you remember this? Verse 3 reminds us of our
blessings, and then he begins to enumerate them
in verse 4. He says, Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, verse 4, just as He
chose us in Him, in Christ, before the foundation
of the world. And then he says in verse 5, He
predestined us to adoption as sons. That is God's
work. The calling to salvation that you and I
share is eternal. It was ordained even before
the creation of the worlds. But secondly, it's
a calling which was obtained at the cross. Ordained
before creation, but my friend, obtained at the
cross, for without the cross there would be no
salvation. This is suggested to us in verse 7
of Ephesians 1, where it says, In Him we have
redemption through His blood. The blood of a
Savior had to be shed. His life had to be poured
out so that that calling of God to salvation
could be realized. It was at the cross that that
calling was obtained for us. In the second chapter,
And the 13th verse, it says, but now in Christ
Jesus, you who formerly were far off have been
brought near by the blood of Christ. And then
look down a few more verses to verse 16 where
it says, and that he might reconcile them both
in one body to God through the cross. Never lose
sight of the fact that the cross is central in
the plan of God's salvation. It is at the cross
that salvation, this calling to salvation, was
obtained for us. It was paid for through the
blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, a payment that
you and I could never make on our own. He made
it on our behalf as our vicarious Savior. But
thirdly, I want you to notice regarding this
eternal calling that it's a calling that was
obeyed at conversion. That is, you personally
appropriated this calling at that moment of conversion
when you believed on Christ. Look again in chapter
1 and verse 13 where it says, In him, in Christ,
you also, after listening to the message of truth,
the gospel of your salvation, having also believed,
you were sealed in him with the Holy Spirit of
promise. There's a little process that is suggested
here. The first stage is somebody declaring the
message. That's presumed. The second stage is
listening. You listened, you heard that message
of Christ and Calvary, his resurrection from
the dead. But then he says the third stage is
when you believed. And that is when you responded
to that calling of God within. Someone may do
it this morning. Many of us have done it in past
years and months. That calling to salvation in
Jesus Christ is eternal. In that, before God
created the worlds, He ordained that salvation
and your calling to it personally. And secondly,
it was at the cross that it was obtained for
you through the payment of Christ's blood. Thirdly,
you personally obeyed at the time of your conversion
and appropriated the promise of God for eternal
life. Our calling to salvation that we share
is, in the first place, one that is eternal,
or rather personal, and then it's eternal. This
calling stretches from eternity past into eternity
future. And on its way, it passes through your
life so that at some point that calling comes
to you personally. Now the real thrust that I
want to get to here is this. The calling of God
cannot be changed. It's eternal. It is unchanging.
It is immutable. It is without repentance. In
Romans 11, the Apostle Paul says the gifts and
the calling of God are without repentance. God
does not, He cannot change that. So when you
and I are called of God, we are called with an
eternal calling and we are kept secure for it.
What God has determined in His purposes, He will
fully consummate. He who has begun a good work
in you will complete it, will consummate it in
the day of Jesus Christ. This work of grace,
this calling to salvation cannot be reversed.
You and I cannot be uncalled. There is no such
concept in the Bible. We can only be called to
it. It is a completed act of God. As represented
in that verb, you were called. It is only to
be fully realized in its consequences at the
coming of Christ. But a third aspect that I want
to talk about is this, that your calling to salvation,
this calling that we share together, is purposeful.
That is, there is a goal to it. There is an aim
to it, and that is represented by this word hope.
He says that there is one hope of our calling.
That is the destiny that we are sharing together
in Christ Jesus. We may call it the glory of
God. That is God's purpose, my friend. Your calling
to salvation has that in view for you. It is
Christ's glory that we share. Ruth Paxton wrote
these words, and to be like his Lord. While he
praises God for the progressive sanctification
which goes on day by day on earth, every truly
earnest Christian longs for that day when the
partial will give way to the perfect and redemption
will be consummated in glorification. The one
hope that in these days unifies the Lord's own,
as perhaps no other, is the blessed hope of his
soon return. to take them unto himself. That's
the calling that we share and the hope that's
a part of it. It is the glory of Jesus Christ.
We shall be like him, for we shall see him as
he is. And this is for all of us who share in
this calling, not just for some. It's not just
for the Jew or for the Gentile. It's not just
for the slave or for the free. It's not just
for men or just for women. It's not just for
black or white or yellow or red, but it's for
all who share this calling to salvation so that
today we are an expectant people. For we share
together an eager waiting for Christ's return.
And that waiting is not an idle one. It's an
involved one. We are not to be characterized
by indolence in the light of His soon return,
but rather by encouragement and motivation and
faithfulness in serving Jesus Christ. The table
that we come to today represents the calling
that we share. It represents the fact that this
calling is personal, for we come as individuals
to this table, while as a group. While as a church,
we come individually to partake of this bread
and drink of this cup, reminding us of the calling
that we have in Christ Jesus, a calling which
is eternal. As we come to this table, we are
reminded of the fact that we will not always
come to this table. We come to this table while
we are on the earth. And there will one day be
a great supper, the married supper of the Lamb,
that we will share with Jesus himself as the
host. But we will not share in this table in
heaven in eternity to come. As far as I know,
there's no indication in Scripture that we will
come to the Lord's table then, because we have
but to lift our eyes and look upon him then.
But now we see him not. And therefore we come
to this table of the Lord that we might remind
ourselves of his presence. And remind ourselves
of his sacrifice. And remind ourselves that we
do this till he comes. And he's coming soon.
The fact that is that we have not yet arrived
at our hope. We are today a pilgrim people. We
are waiting to eat and to drink. with Jesus Christ
personally. We are strangers in this world moving
through it, and we come together as often as
we do and partake of this table, reminding ourselves
that we belong to each other as we belong to
the Lord. The Word of God tells us that our calling
is to be, to be holy, 1 Peter 1 .15. Our calling
is to become, to become like Christ, 1 Thessalonians
5, 24 and 25. Our calling is to proclaim, to
proclaim the glories of him who's called us out
of darkness to his marvelous light, 1 Peter 2,
9. Our calling is to inherit, to inherit the
glory and the kingdom of God, 1 Thessalonians
2, 12. And our calling is to belong. to belong
to Christ, for we are His, 1 Corinthians 3 .23.
As we come to this table, it is a reminder that
we are His, and He is ours. If today you know
Jesus Christ as your Savior, and if you are walking
in obedience to His Lordship, we welcome you
to the Lord's table. This is not merely for the
members of our church, but for all who share
together the calling unto salvation. For anyone
who can say, I am his and he is mine. Let's sing
about that in Hymn 70. We will sing the first
and last verses of this hymn by Wade Robinson.
Wade Robinson was... Born in Ireland in 1838,
he died when he was but 39 years of age. Just
a year before he died, this poem of his was published.
Notice the assurance. Notice the hope with which
he speaks. And let's sing in that same way this
morning. And as we sing, I'm going to ask those
who are serving communion to please come to the
front. Let's stand together as we sing verses
1 and 4. And now would you join me, please, for
a prayer of thanks for the body of our Savior.
And our Lord, as we pause before partaking of
this bread, we do so in remembrance. We thank
you for the justification from our sins that
you have provided through the offering up of
yourself to God on our behalf. We bless you that
your body was broken so that we might enter into
that narrow way by faith and come into the very
presence of God. Lord, as we partake, it is with
gratitude, and we pray that you would speak to
us deeply and personally of your sacrifice for
us. Amen. When you come together as a church,
be sure that no divisions exist among you. Let
each examine himself that he eat not the bread
in an unworthy manner and be guilty of the body
of the Lord. So it came about that in the morning
there was a layer of dew around the camp of the
Israelites. And when the layer of dew evaporated,
behold, on the surface of the wilderness there
was a fine flake -like thing, fine as the frost
on the ground. And when the sons of Israel saw
it, they said to one another, What is it? For
they did not know what it was. And Moses said
to them, It is the bread which the Lord has given
you to eat. And the house of Israel named it
manna. And the rabble who were among them had
greedy desires. And also the son of Israel wept
and said, There is nothing at all to eat except
this manna. Jesus said unto the people, Truly,
truly, I say to you, you seek me not because
you saw signs, but because you ate the loaves
and were filled. Do not work for the food which
perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal
life. which the Son of Man shall give to you.
Moses gave your fathers manna from heaven, and
they died. But it is my Father who gives you
the true bread out of heaven. I am the bread
of life, living bread which comes down out of
heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.
Anyone who eats of this bread shall live forever
and never hunger. Moses said to the people, you
shall remember all the ways in which the Lord
your God has led you in the wilderness these
40 years, that he might humble you, testing you
to know what was in your heart, whether you would
keep his commandments or not. And he let you
be hungry and fed you with manna, that he might
make you understand that man does not live by
bread alone. but by everything that proceeds
out of the mouth of the Lord. Otherwise, you
may say in your heart, My power and the strength
of my hand made me this wealth. So the sons of
Israel ate the manna forty years, until they
came to the border of the land of Canaan. And
they entered Canaan and celebrated the Passover
on the plains of Jericho. And Jesus, on the night
in which he was betrayed, took bread. And when
he had given thanks, he broke it and he said,
This is my body, which is broken for you. Do
this in remembrance of me. For as often as you
eat this bread, you proclaim the Lord's death
until he comes. And we celebrate it anew in the
kingdom of God. Blood, blood that was of a lamb,
as of a lamb, without blemish, without spot.
Blood by which we have been redeemed. The purchase
price having been paid so that we might belong
to you. As we partake of this cup, it is with
gratitude. Speak to us deeply of the sacrifice.
which you made for us. now god said to abraham
take your son your only son whom you love and
go to the land of moriah and offer him there
is a burnt offering on one of the mountains which
i will tell you and isaac spoke to abraham his
father and said behold the fire and the wood
but where is the lamb for the burnt offering
and abraham said God will provide for himself
the lamb. And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron,
tell the people to take an unblemished lamb.
and kill it at twilight and put some of the blood
on the two door posts and on the lintel of the
houses in which each household shall eat you
shall eat with your loins girded your sandals
on your feet and your staff in your hands and
you shall eat it in haste for it is the lord's
passover for i will execute judgment against
the land but when i see the blood I will pass
over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy
you. Now this day will be a memorial to you,
and you shall celebrate it as a feast to the
Lord. Throughout your generations, you are to
celebrate it as a permanent ordinance. Surely
our griefs he himself bore, and our sorrows he
carried, yet we ourselves esteemed him stricken.
smitten of God and afflicted. But he was pierced
through for our transgressions. He was crushed
for our iniquities. The chastising for our bond
of peace fell upon him. And by his scourging
we are healed. All of us, like sheep, have gone
astray. Each of us has turned to his own way.
But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all.
to fall on him. He was oppressed and he was afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth. Like a lamb that
is led to slaughter and like a sheep that is
silent before its shearers, so he did not open
his mouth. He poured out himself to death and
was numbered with the sinners. Yet he himself
bore the sin of many and interceded for the transgressors.
Jesus said, You know that the Passover is coming
and the Son of Man is to be delivered up for
crucifixion. Truly, each one of you will betray
me. Then he prayed, Father, if it is possible,
let this cup pass from me, yet not as I will,
but as thou wilt. I ask that all who believe
in me may be one, even as thou, Father, art in
me. and i indeed that they may also may be in
us and that they may be perfected in the unity
that the world may believe that you did send
me therefore if any man is in christ he is a
new creature the old things passed away behold
new things have come and now all these things
are from god who reconciled us to himself through
christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation,
namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the
world to himself, not counting their trespasses
against them, and he has committed to us the
word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are Christ's
ambassadors. As though God were entreating through
us, we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled
to God. He made him, Jesus, who knew no sin,
to be sin on our behalf, that we might become
the righteousness of God in him. And so let each
one examine himself. And in the same way, Jesus
took the cup, and he said, This cup is the new
covenant in my blood, which is poured out for
you. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance
of me. For as often as you drink this cup, you
proclaim the Lord's death until he comes, and
we celebrate it anew in the kingdom of God. Would
you please open your hymnal to reading 624. It
is an affirmation of faith for us as a congregation.
We affirm our faith in the Bible. We affirm our
faith in God. We affirm our faith in Jesus Christ.
We affirm our faith in salvation. We affirm our
faith in the Holy Spirit. We affirm our faith
in the resurrection. We will form our faith in
spiritual unity. And now let's turn together
to Hymn 270. This may be new to some of you,
but it's a delightful tune, a Swedish tune, and
I think you'll pick it up quickly. We will sing
verses 1 and 3. And as you're turning to that,
may I ask you to please take the cup that you've
used and dispose of it in a container in the
hallway that will be provided.