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THE UPPER ROOM - June 15, 2008
THE UPPER ROOM Sermon of the Week #200824—June 15, 2008 We read it in all four gospels, “And he will show you a large upper room.” It was in that upper room where the last Passover Supper was observed, and the first Lord’s Supper was instituted; and for us there are many things we can learn as we visit the upper room. When Jesus was born there was no room for Him in the Now on that unforgettable night after the observance of the Passover Feast, the Lord instituted the Lord’s Supper and the following is a list of some of the things we can learn in the upper room. The first thing we learn is the Lord’s Table protects the doctrine of the Church. When we eat the bread and drink the cup we remember that Jesus died on the cross, was buried, and arose from the dead. Now if someone says that Jesus was only a good man, and we are redeemed by living a good life and following His example, the Lord’s Table contradicts that teaching, because Jesus said, “This is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many unto remission of sins.” So the Lord’s Table protects the doctrine of the atonement. Then if someone tells the congregation the Lord is not coming again, the Lord’s Table contradicts that teaching, and says, “As oft as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup ye proclaim the Lord’s death till He come.” There again, the Lord’s Table protects the doctrine of the Church. Then again if someone tells the people there is no scripture that gives any reason for a week-by-week observance of the Lord’s Supper, the message from the Lord’s Table says differently; in Acts 20 verse 7, there is a statement that does provide an inference that it is an every-Sunday occurrence, “And upon the first day of the week when we were gathered together to break bread.” The church had not gathered together primarily to honor the presence of Paul, that prince of preachers, that ace of Apostles, that peerless prophet, that dauntless disciple; they were gathered together to break bread. And there again the Lord’s Table protects the doctrine of the Church. The second thing we learn as we visit the upper room is the proclamation we can make at that time, as we observe the Lord’s Supper. In 1st Corinthians 11 Paul tells us, “As oft as ye eat this bread and drink this cup ye proclaim the Lord’s death.” We proclaim the Lord’s death at least to four individuals. As we partake of the Lord’s Table we proclaim the Lord’s death to ourselves. As we eat the bread and drink the cup we are reminded that Jesus gave His life on the cross for our sins. Then again we proclaim the Lord’s death to anyone in the audience who is not a Christian. We preach a sermon in action to the unsaved telling them that Jesus also gave His life for them. Think also how we proclaim the Lord’s death at that moment to the Heavenly Father. By this action we are telling God the Father that we appreciate the fact that He gave His only begotten Son for our redemption. Then we also proclaim the Lord’s death to the Devil. The Devil is always present, and by this ceremony the Devil is reminded of the promise of the Father in Genesis 3:15, “The seed of the woman shall bruise His head and thou shall bruise His heel.” In the one version the term show forth His death till He come is used, instead of proclaim His death. There is a saying in show business that says, “The show must go on.” This is true also with the Lord’s Supper: The Show must go on. What a marvelous time we have in the upper room when we show forth the gospel in action to those four different audiences. That dreadful night before His death the Lamb for sinners slain Did almost with His dying breath that solemn feast ordain. To keep that feast Lord we have met and to remember Thee Help each redeemed one to repeat, “For Me He died for me.” JOHN THIRTEEN And now here is the third lesson we learn as we visit the upper room. According to John thirteen before the institution of the Lord’s Supper, Jesus washed the feet of the disciples, thereby furnishing them and us a great sermon on humility. According to Luke they had contended with each other which one would be the greatest. So Jesus riseth from supper, and layeth aside His garments. This is amazing, not that He laid aside His garments, but that He had already laid aside His glory and came down to earth. Paul reminds us that Jesus considered not the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped, but empties Himself taking upon Himself the form of a servant, made in the likeness of man, and made in fashion as a man He humbled Himself even unto death, yea the death of the cross. Then Jesus took a towel and girded Himself. That is an amazing statement; not that He took a towel, but when He came to earth He took a cross, when He could have taken a star. And then He poured water into a basin. But pouring water into the basin is not so amazing as the fact that He poured all the oceans and seas into their places and hung the big dipper in the sky, and beyond that, the next day He would pour out His blood for the sins of the world. So when He began to wash their feet, He came to Simon Peter. Peter said, “Lord, Thou shalt never wash my feet.” Jesus told him, “If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with Me.” Peter said, “Well in that case don’t stop with my feet, wash my hands and my head.” Jesus said, “He that is washed needeth not to wash save only his feet.” What a sermon that furnishes to us, “If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.” That reminds us of what Paul said in First Corinthians, when he spoke of the conversion of those Christians, “But ye were washed, but ye were sanctified, but ye were justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.” If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with Me. Paul said also in Titus, “But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love toward men appeared, not by works done in righteousness, which we did, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit. If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.” Then note also what Saul of Tarsus was told at the time of his conversion; he already believed, and had repented by spending three days blind in the dark, in constant prayer without food and water, and then was told, “And now why tarriest thou? Arise and be baptized and wash away thy sins, calling upon the name of the Lord.” If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with Me. Then again in Revelation the first chapter, “Unto Him who loved us and washed us from our sins and made us to be kings and priests unto His God and Father: unto Him be the glory and the dominion forever.” If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with Me. Then just one more: Remember in Revelation seven there is that message of triumphant faith, “These are they who came out of the Great tribulation, and they washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with Me. The gospel song sums it up: Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing power? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Are you freely trusting in His grace this hour Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? If I wash thee not, thou has no part with Me. And now here is the fourth lesson learned in the upper room. There was one at the Lord’s Table that night that had no part with Jesus. Jesus became troubled in spirit and said, “One of you shall betray Me.” Luke records these sad words, “The hand of him that betrayeth Me is with Me on the table.” This was the final warning of Jesus to Judas to turn back from his plan of betrayal. What haunting words they were, “The hand that betrayeth Me is with Me on the Table.” There is a debate as to whether Judas left between the Passover Feast, and the observance of the Lord’s Supper. Forget Judas and examine yourself, not Judas. Paul reminds us in 1st Corinthians 11:28, “But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.” It is true with us also. When you reach out to take the loaf, your hand is with Him on the Table. When you reach out and take the cup and drink the fruit of the vine, your hand is with Him on the Table. At the end of the day you can reflect as you go to sleep, my hand was with Him on the Table today. On Monday and the rest of the week as you go about your job in the work-place, the home-place, the school-place, or any place, remember last Sunday your hand was with Him on the Table. And now for a fifth lesson in our visit to the upper room we turn to John twenty. While it is not specifically stated that it was the upper room, it seems to be the logical choice. In the Lord’s appearance in the upper room the night of the betrayal, He had said to the Apostles, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give unto you.” Jesus appeared to the disciples after the resurrection in the upper room and the first thing He said to the Apostles at that appearance was, “Peace be unto you.” However, at that meeting Thomas was not with them. When the others saw Thomas they told him, “We have seen the Lord.” Thomas told them, “Except I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side I will not believe.” In this event we have a great sermon furnished to us on the being absent on the Lord’s Day. Suppose on that day when the ten were gathered together, someone would have asked, “Where is Thomas? Did he have a heart attack?” One of the others said, “Oh no, he was feeling a little under the weather. He will be able to go to work tomorrow, but felt too bad to be in services.” Think of what Thomas missed. Jesus came! Suppose again someone would have said, “Where is Thomas?” Someone says, “Oh he intended to come, but this is the day when the Then again suppose another would have asked, “Where is Thomas?” Oh he said that he did not want to have anything to do with a hypocrite like Peter. It was common knowledge that he cut a man’s ear off in a knife fight in the Then think of all the people who have a Thomas-complex today when they miss the assembly on the first day of the week. What would it be like if they were absent on that day when it would be said, “Jesus came?” ACTS And now for the last lesson from our visit to the upper room we go to Acts chapter one, where the upper room played a big part in the Acts of the Apostles. Jesus had led the eleven Apostles to the Mount of Olives and after telling them that they would be endowed with power not many days hence, even as He spoke with them He was taken up and a cloud received Him out of their sight. While they stood around trying to catch a glimpse of Him, two men in bright apparel stood by them and promised that He would come again in like manner as they had beheld Him going into Heaven. So they returned to Prayer is mentioned more times in the book of Acts than any other book in the Bible except the book of Psalms. Jesus had said, “The power would come not many days hence.” Jesus had ascended into Heaven on Thursday so they prayed the rest of that day, and the next day was Friday, and they prayed all day. The next day was Saturday, and they thought, “This might be the day when we receive the power for this is the Sabbath Day.” The power did not come so they continued to pray; and then the next day was Sunday and they, no doubt, thought, “The power will come upon us today because the Lord made many of His appearances on Sunday,” but nothing happened, so they prayed on. They prayed Monday, Tuesday and on Wednesday they were sure the power would come today because this is the day when the Churches of Christ will have their midweek prayer meeting. The power did not arrive and if it had, only two or three Apostles would have showed up. The next day was Thursday and surely this will be the day when the power falls upon us because this is the anniversary of the first week the Lord had gone back to Heaven; and still no power. Friday and Saturday came, and then on the second Sunday it happened. “And upon the first day of the week we were all together in one place and suddenly there came a sound from Heaven as the rushing of a mighty wind. Tongues like as of fire sat upon the heads of the Apostles and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.” The power did not come from the east, north, west, or south; it came straight down from Heaven. The Church began on the Day of Pentecost, fifty days after the resurrection of Jesus, after a ten-day prayer meeting in the upper room. Edward Rowland Sills says it well in his poem: The Fools Prayer: The royal feast was done, the King sought some new sport to banish care and to his jester cried, “Sir fool kneel here and make for us a prayer.” The jester doffed his cap and bells and stood the mocking court before They did not see the bitter smile behind the painted grin he wore. He bowed his head and bent his knee upon his monarchs silken stool His pleading voice arose, “Oh Lord, have mercy on me a fool.” These clumsy feet still in the mire go crushing blossoms without end, these hard well-meaning hands we thrust into the heart strings of a friend. Earth has no balsam for mistakes, men crown the knave and scourge the tool that did His will, but thou, Oh Lord, be merciful to me a fool. The room was hushed in silence rose the King and sought his garden cool He walked apart and murmured low, “Be merciful to me a fool.” |
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