C033 8/7/55
© Project Winsome International, 1999
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Teaching
A LOOK IN THE CUP - PART 3
Dr. John Allan Lavender
Matt. 28:18-20; Luke 22:19b; 24:49-53
Two months ago, in the first of these communion meditations, we asked and gave
several answers to the question: "Why celebrate the Lord's supper?" To refresh
your memory, we said we do because He asked us to. There is something special
about the dying wishes of someone we love, and the fact that on the eve of His
crucifixion our Lord made this request is ample reason for us to gather around
this memorial meal "in remembrance of (Him)."
More than that, we learned the communion service is a link to the church of
the past as well as a bridge across time and space enabling us to be one in
spirit with contemporary Christians around the world.
Next, we saw that Jesus asked us to worship "in remembrance of (Him)" because
He knew a symbol can be more than a symbol. Communion not only represents something,
it actually increases that which it represents. More on that in a moment.
Finally, by way of review, last month we focused on the incredible condescension
of Christ who, as the apostle Paul says in II Cor.8-9 --
"Though He was rich, yet for (our) sakes He became poor, that (we) through His
poverty might be rich."
And, you'll remember we talked at length about the incalculable wonder of heaven,
the Home from which He came and to which He returned.
Picking it up at that point, I want us to think for a few minutes about how
A Look In The Cupcan serve to remind us of the reality of Christ's
promised presence. In the four gospels and the book of Acts, we have five complimentary
records of Jesus' last words to His disciples and His subsequent ascension into
heaven. To sum them up, what Jesus said was this:
"Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15)
"teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo,
I am with you always" (Matt. 28:20) "behold, I send the promise of my father
upon you...and He lifted up His hands, and blessed them...while He blessed them,
He was departed from them, and carried up into heaven" (Luke 24:49-50).
Luke expands upon this piece of information when, in Acts 1, He quotes Jesus
as saying:
"Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you: and ye
shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Sumaria,
and unto the utter most part of the earth. And when he had spoken these things,
while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received Him out of their sight"
(Acts 1:8-9).
"Go." I will be with you." "I will send the promise of the Father." "You shall
receive power, after the Holy Ghost has come upon you." "And a cloud received
Him out of their sight."
I don't know about you, but I would guess that, like myself, most of us have
in the past thought of heaven as being up there somewhere. Far removed from
us by time and space. And it very well may be. But in recent years, we have
come to an understanding of the structure of things which sheds possible new
light on the relationship between heaven and earth and therefore new meaning
to Christ's promise...to be with His disciples...and us!
For instance, we now know that the atom which is the basic building-block out
of which everything is made -- the smallest particle of an element which can
exist -- consists of three parts: electron, proton and neutron. And, though
the atom is so small no one has ever seen one with the human eye, the distance,
or open space, between the electron, proton and neutron which make up the atom
is, relatively speaking, as great as the distance, or open space, between the
earth, the moon and the stars.
Which is to say: nothing is really solid. Everything is in motion. And, because
of the vast, open space between the proton, electron and neutron, it is possible
for more than one creation to exist in, and occupy, the "same space" at the
"same time" without any awareness on the part of one of the existence of the
other.
Now I don't know if you followed me through that and got the full force of what
I said, but to put the cookies on the lowest possible shelf, what this means
is that, from the stand point of physics, it is entirely possible, (perhaps
even probable when we tie this insight of science into the insight of scripture),
that heaven is not off there somewhere, but right here. That heaven occupies
what, for want of a better term, we might call "the same space" that earth occupies.
With this great difference, of course, that that marvelous existence, unlike
our own, is completely under the righteous rule of God.
I hold in my hand a paper cutout in the shape of a man. This "Paper Man" has
two dimensions: length and breadth, and a tiny smidgen -- paper thin -- of the
third dimension of depth. If this "Paper Man" were a living being, I could stand
right beside it having, as I do, a greater degree of depth (the third dimension)
and this two dimensional creature would, to all practical purposes, be totally
unaware of my existence. And yet, I could be standing right beside him.
To press the illustration further, we three dimensional beings have a smidgen
-- or a fleeting moment -- of the fourth dimension of time. We understand the
concepts of past and future, but in terms of life itself, we have it one fleeting
moment at a time.
Which leads me to observe that our God who is eternal, who lives outside these
fleeting ticks of the fourth dimension, and who holds the dimensions of length
and breadth and depth within Himself, may be, and I believe He is, as near to
us as hands and feet, as close as the breath of life itself. Therefore, there
are not only scriptural, but substantial scientific reasons to both practice
and experience the presence of God.
Now, I do not claim any inspiration at this point. I find myself in the same
situation as Paul who, on occasion said, "I speak to you as a man" (Rom. 6:19;
Gal.3:15) meaning he was not, at that moment, acting as a spokesman for God.
But I would like to point out one or two of the many links between the world
of science and the world of scripture. Especially as they relate to the life
of our Lord.
Take, for instance, the angelic chorus which accompanied His birth. Did these
very real beings come from some distant place in space with the speed of light?
Or were they evidences of a momentary breakthrough of another world dominated
by righteousness into our world dominated by sin? Another world, not removed
from us by the vast reaches of the stars, but one which is actually as near
to us (spatially speaking) as breath itself?
Or take the ascension of Jesus. When He was lifted up into a cloud, as Like
explains in Acts 1:9 and disappeared from view, was He off on a kind of first
century space flight? Or did He simply slip into another dimension of existence
which, spatially speaking, is in close relationship to our own?
Now, as I said a moment ago, I speak as a man and not as a spokesman for the
Spirit, but what I'm trying to say is that the science of physics has made it
possible for Evangelical Christians -- those of us who love and cherish this
Book -- to really understand and come to grips with the imminence or near end
of God. We are not limited to the ancient idea of His transcendence. Again,
to put the cookies on the lowest shelf, we can sing with equal vigor and wonder
"How Great Thou Art" and "He walks with me and he talks with me and He tells
me I am His own."
It also helps us to understand that this place called heaven -- the home from
which Jesus came and to which He returned -- is just that. A place. A real place.
A place every bit as real as this place. A place, which like our Lord who dwells
there, is near at hand!
Now whether or not this idea is attractive to you is something you must decide.
To me, it brings our Lord and heaven and our loved ones who have gone before
us so much closer. It serves as a satisfying explanation for the multitude of
breakthroughs which are on record, providing a mountain of evidence to the fact
that there is life outside, beyond, and above that which we know here and now.
When Dr. Ralph Schell, your former pastor and my esteemed predecessor, was on
his death bed, his family gathered about him. He had not been given any medication
to control pain. He was simply resting quietly in a semi-comatose state. Suddenly,
he opened his eyes, sat up, and with radiant awe upon his face and a brightness
in his eyes, looked toward heaven and cried, "What fools we mortals be!" And
died. He had seen something in his moment of passing which helps all of us understand
that "Out there beyond this life's horizon is more."
His last words to the disciples, Luke quotes Jesus as saying, "I send the promise
of my father upon you" (Luke 24:49a).
He then goes on, in Acts 1:8, to declare that Jesus was talking about "The Holy
Spirit". Jesus, who was God in human flesh, and thereby limited by time and
space, could only be in one place at one time. Yet He said, "Lo, I am with you
always."
How? Acts 1:8 explains this will be accomplished through the Holy Spirit who,
not limited toone body, could be equally everywhere at all times with everybody
who has a personal relationship with Jesus.
Think of this as you take A Look In The Cup this morning. Think
of heaven as being near at hand. Think of your body as the temple of the Holy
Spirit as the scriptures say (1 Cor.5:19). Think of those things which might
grieve or quench the Holy Spirit. Confess them. Repent of them. Make your heart
a happy home for Him who said, "Lo, I am with you always."