REFORMED CHURCH, BELLVILLE: SUNDAY 1 SEPTEMBER 2002: MORNING SERVICE

REFORMED CHURCH, BELLVILLE: SUNDAY 1 SEPTEMBER 2002: MORNING SERVICE

Our help is in the Name of the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.
Beloved, grace and peace be to you from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ, through the mighty working of God the Holy Spirit.
AMEN.
Psalm of praise: Psalm 89:1.

Nicene Creed (alternatively, the Apostles' Creed, given below)

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all the worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made.
Who, for us men and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the living and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.
And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life; who proceedeth from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spake by the prophets.
And I believe one holy catholic and apostolic Church. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. AMEN

OR

APOSTLES' CREED

I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son, our Lord;
Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary;
Suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hell;
The third day He rose again from the dead;
He ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
From thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit.
I believe a holy catholic Church, the communion of saints;
The forgiveness of sins;
The resurrection of the body;
And the life everlasting. AMEN

The Law : Ex. 20:1-17.
Psalm 43:3.

Prayer.

Psalm 4:4.

Scripture reading: Ezekiel 37.
Scripture text: Ezekiel 37:13

Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves and caused you to come up out of your graves, My people.

The Lord heals pain and miseries and death where nobody would consider it possible.

He heals body and soul in this life, and the effect lasts for all eternity.
And this He affirms to you again this morning by the sacrament of the Last Supper.

The prophet Ezekiel is, in this passage, a messenger bearing the tidings of redemption.

He preaches to the exiles that the Lord will recreate His people.
We read here of dead people being restored to life and resurrected, and in the far-off future distance we see in this passage the resurrection accomplished through the working of the Lord Jesus and His Second Coming.

The Lord took the prophet to the valley.

The valley was familiar to the prophet.
It was the same plain beside the river Chebar to which the Lord instructed Ezekiel to travel so that He could there reveal His glory to Ezekiel (Ezekiel 3:22,23).

This time the Lord took him to the valley to show him his own people, the exiles.

The Lord revealed to him the spiritual condition of his countrymen.
If you remember this, you will appreciate the shock with which Ezekiel realized what it was that he saw.

What Ezekiel saw there struck him deeply. Especially two of the things he saw stand out sharply:

He describes vividly that he saw a multitude of bones in the valley.

These bones were of people!
His countrymen had therefore fallen into decay in great numbers!

He furthermore noticed that the bones were dry, utterly desiccated.

That is to say that these people had been dead for a long time, and that their bones were bleached and lifeless.
They were already far from any state of living.

The Lord then asked him whether he thought it possible for this pile of dry, white bones to be brought to life again.

Ezekiel did not wish to answer "yes" immediately, because he knew his people.
He could see from this image of bones that his people were dead in respect of their faith, so how could he simply answer "yes"?

But, on the other hand, he also knew the Lord, and he knew very well that the Lord was able to do anything, because the Lord is omnipotent.

That, again, prevented him from answering "no".
Consequently he gave a non-committal answer: "O Lord God, You know."
The Lord is not a God who knows no mercy and forgiveness, therefore He revealed His grace and mercy to Ezekiel.
The Lord then instructed him to prophesy over the dead bones.
He had to tell them to hear the word of the Lord!

Note that the Lord did not at first speak of dry or dead bones.

The Lord just told him to prophesy to these bones. Then He said: "O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord."
This mode of address makes the miracle of what happened subsequently stand out even more clearly.

Before Ezekiel's eyes a miraculous event unfolded.

First every bone moved to its place to join with its fellows belonging to the same body.
Then flesh, sinews and skin formed, covering the bones.
Eventually a multitude of bodies lay before Ezekiel.

Outwardly they had the form of people.
But inwardly there was something seriously amiss. They had no life.

In this passage Ezekiel described in his vision very vividly how people respond to the preaching of the Word.

A miracle of life occurred. The dead bones obeyed God's command.
The silence of death was broken by the rustling of skeletons obeying God's command and becoming whole once again.
And in this way the dead and dry bones became people.

The Lord hereby reveals His love through His regenerating power. He imbues the army of dead bodies with the spirit of life. What does the Spirit do? He reanimates these newly re-created bodies.

The prophet had to prophesy for breath to come from the four winds at God's command to revivify those people.
The image employed by the prophet here becomes partly fused with reality.

He does not speak directly of the Holy Spirit, even though the Holy Spirit is ultimately the One referred to.
The prophet speaks of life on various levels, as it is accomplished by the Holy Spirit.

You should note carefully, brothers and sisters, that the final objective of the Lord's actions is not the re-creation of people. The final objective is the revelation of the omnipotence and glory of God's grace.

Verse 6 states very clearly that this entire process of regeneration must serve to let the dead bones know that God is the Lord.
Verse 13 repeats this once again: "Then you will know that I am the Lord."
Verse 14 affirms this once more: "Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken and done it," declares the Lord.

We are now going to sit at the table of the Lord's Supper. Indeed, we will commemorate the occasion when the Lord opened the way back to Him not only for Judah, but also for us, because in this entire vision Judah is also the symbol of ourselves.

The Lord today reminds us again of the deed by which He restored us.

His Son had to be crucified. He had to suffer an accursed death so that God's wrath on account of our deadness in faith and worship could be exercised on Him.
As a result of the crucifixion people who were dead in their sin and iniquity regained life - that includes us.
Through the atoning death of the Lord Jesus the Holy Spirit was poured out to live in us, and to teach us and to guide us in a living faith.

Now what happened to Ezekiel's army of dead people happens to us.

We live not merely in a physical sense, but we also live in a right relationship with the eternal God who in His greatness regenerates people from their spiritual death.
That is why He instructed us to attend the commemoration of His Last Supper as part of his army.
His Spirit also teaches and guides us through this sacrament so that we may see and understand our future in the Lord Jesus.
Through His atoning merit we will exchange our earthly life for an eternal existence in His everlasting kingdom in the afterlife.

In this act the Lord reveals His grace and His glory, so that the people who are here redeemed - the dead bones - may worship the Lord of infinite grace and glory in this redemption.

In this act of redemption every trace of self-glorification is stripped from the person, because in himself a person can only achieve death.
But God renews his life.
These new people can only be regenerated and have life through grace.

That is exactly what the Lord Jesus affirms to you through the sacrament of the Last Supper.

Come, share in the commemoration of the Last Supper, because through it the Lord assures you once again of your perfect redemption in Jesus Christ, and, proceeding from that, of eternal life.
AMEN.

Closing prayer.

Hymn 14:2.

Form for the commemoration of the Last Supper. (NOTE: The Psalms to be sung are listed after the text of the Form for the Last Supper.)

FORM FOR THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE LORD'S SUPPER

Beloved in the Lord Jesus Christ, attend to the words of the institution of the Holy Supper of our Lord Jesus Christ, as they are delivered by the holy apostle Paul in 1 Cor. 11:23-29:

"For I have received from the Lord that which also I delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it, and said, "Take, eat: this is my body, which is for you: do this in remembrance of Me." After the same manner also He took the cup, when He had supped, saying, "This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of Me." For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink the cup, ye do show the Lord's death until He come. Therefore whoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body."

That we may now celebrate the Supper of the Lord to our comfort, it is above all things necessary,
    First. Rightly to examine ourselves.
    Secondly. To direct it to that end for which Christ hath ordained and instituted the same, namely, to His remembrance.

The true examination of ourselves consists of these three parts:

    First. That every one consider by himself his sins and the curse due to him for them, to the end that he may abhor and humble himself before God, considering that the wrath of God against sin is so great, that (rather than it should go unpunished) He hath punished the same in His beloved Son Jesus Christ with the bitter and shameful death of the cross.

    Second. That every one examine his own heart, whether he doth believe this faithful promise of God that all his sins have been forgiven him only for the sake of the passion and death of Jesus Christ, and that the perfect righteousness of Christ is imputed and freely given him as his own, yea, so perfectly as if he had satisfied in his own person for all his sins and fulfilled all righteousness.

    Thirdly. That every one examine his own conscience, whether he purposeth henceforth to show true thankfulness to God in his entire life, to walk uprightly before Him; as also whether he hath laid aside unfeignedly all enmity, hatred, and envy, and doth firmly resolve henceforth to walk in true love and peace with his neighbour.

All those, then, who are thus disposed, God will certainly receive in mercy and count them worthy partakers of the table of His Son Jesus Christ. On the contrary, those who do not feel this testimony in their hearts, eat and drink judgement to themselves.

Therefore, we also, according to the command of Christ and the apostle Paul, admonish all those who are defiled with the following sins to keep themselves from the table of the Lord, and declare to them that they have no part in the kingdom of Christ; such as all idolaters, all those who invoke deceased saints, angels or other creatures; all those who worship images; all enchanters, diviners, charmers and those who confide in such enchantments; all despisers of God, and of His Word, and of the holy sacraments; all blasphemers; all those who are given to raise discord, sects, and mutiny in church or state; all perjured persons; all those who are disobedient to their parents and superiors; all murderers, contentious persons, and those who live in hatred and envy against their neighbours; all adulterers, whoremongers, drunkards, thieves, usurers, robbers, gamesters, covetous, and all who lead offensive lives.

All these, while they continue in such sins, shall abstain from this meat (which Christ hath ordained only for the faithful), lest their judgement and condemnation be made the heavier.

Because those who lead loveless and offensive lives have no share in the Kingdom of Christ.

Yet we do not come to this supper to testify thereby that we are without sin and perfect in ourselves; on the contrary, we come precisely because we seek our life apart from ourselves in Christ. Thereby we confess that we are in our own nature dead through sin. We have indeed, still many shortcomings: lack of true faith, lack of zeal in the service of God, lack of love towards God and our neighbour. Nevertheless, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, we repent heartily of our sins and desire sincerely to live according to all the commandments of God. Therefore we rest assured that God receives us through His grace and makes us worthy partakers of this heavenly food and drink.
(1 Cor. 5:11; Eph. 5:5; Ex. 20:12-17;; Lev. 19:12; Zech. 8:17; Gal. 5:19,21; Eph. 2:1)

The Lord teaches us to what end He instituted the Supper when He says: Do this in remembrance of Me. To do this we must sincerely believe that He was sent by the Father to this world, that He became true man and as sinless Lamb bore throughout His earthly life the wrath of God for our sins. He fulfilled with perfect obedience God's Law for us. He bore the reproaches due to us so that we should never again become an object of divine reproach. Although innocent, He was sentenced to death so that we might be acquitted before the judgement seat of God. He was nailed to the cross so that the certificate of our debt, consisting of decrees against us, could be so nailed to the cross as well. In this way He took from us the curse and assumed it upon Himself that He might fill us with His blessing. He suffered the pains of hell and anguish and the terrible desolation of separation from God when He cried out with a loud voice: My God, My God, why have You forsaken me? that we might be accepted of God, and nevermore be forsaken of Him. He has finally confirmed with His death and the shedding of His blood the eternal covenant of grace with the words: It is finished.
(1 Cor. 11:26; Heb. 4:15; Matt. 27:46; John 19:30; Col. 2:14)

Whenever we so think of Him, the signs of bread and wine gives the assurance that He delivered Himself in our stead and that He as certainly nourishes us with His body and blood as we eat and drink of the bread and wine. So the living Christ wishes to assure us through His Spirit of His love and bring about in us the firm knowledge that we also belong to this covenant of grace. And every time we partake of communion, we proclaim His death until He comes. Therefore the celebration of communion lets us look forward with great yearning to the bridal feast of the Lamb.
(Matt.26:29; Rev. 19:9)

Communion so teaches us to embrace in faith the unique sacrifice on the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ as the only foundation and ground of our salvation. There His body was broken and His blood was shed to the perfect remission of all our sins, and so He became for us the true food and drink of life eternal. Through His death He also won for us the lifegiving Spirit, which binds us to Christ in true communion with Him and lets us partake of all His riches and benefits. The same Spirit binds us also together in sincere love as members of one body. Because we have all partaken of the same bread, we are all one body. Therefore all of us who have been incorporated in Christ through faith, we must manifest this unity in love by word and deed towards one another. May God through His Spirit help us to do so.
(1 Cor. 10:17)
AMEN.

Let us now humble ourselves before God and pray to Him in sincere faith for the blessing of His grace.

Merciful God and Father,
We thank You that we may celebrate the comforting occasion of the bitter death of Your Son, Jesus Christ. We pray You, grant us a sincere confidence in our hearts to surrender ourselves ever more completely to Your Son, so that we may be refreshed by Him, the heavenly Bread, so as not to live any longer in our sins but in Him. Grant us the assurance that You are our merciful Father, and we Your children and heirs. Help us to deny ourselves, to confess our Saviour, and with longing to await His return, when He will take us to be with Him eternally.

Psalm (See below)

Lift up your hearts to Jesus Christ, our Advocate at the right hand of the heavenly Father, and be assured that the Holy Spirit will strengthen you just as certainly with the body and blood of Jesus as you receive the signs of the bread and wine in remembrance of Him.

The bread we break is our communion with the body of Christ. Receive it, eat, remember and believe that the body of our Lord Jesus Christ was broken to the complete remission of all our sins.

The cup of thanksgiving which we bless in gratitude, is our communion with the blood of Christ. Receive it, drink everyone of the cup; remember and believe that the precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ was shed to the complete remission of all our sins.

Beloved, because the Lord has refreshed us with the heavenly bread, let us now together with one accord praise His Name with the words:

(Psalm 103:1-4; 8-13; Rom.8:32)

Merciful God and Father,
We thank You and praise You that You by this communion confirm to us the glorious promises of the gospel. We thank You that You gave Your only-begotten Son as Mediator and sacrificial offering for our sins. We thank You for the true faith, whereby we are enabled to partake of the sacrifice of Your Son. We pray You, let the proclamation of the death of our Lord by the working of the Holy Spirit daily strengthen and enable us to grow in the faith and in glorious communion with Christ, for His Name's sake. AMEN.

To be sung at table: Psalm 23:2,3.
Psalms of praise to be sung during each session of the celebration of the Last Supper:
    145; 146; 147; 148; 149; 150.
Psalm 116 is sung while each table returns to their seats.
Closing Psalm: 18:1.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
Amen.

Rev. Dr. M.J. du Plessis,
Reformed Church,
Bellville. 1 September 2002.
Scripture quoted from NASB.