Words To Hang On To

LUKE 19:45-48 (NIV) 45 Then he entered the temple area and began driving out those who were selling. 46 “It is written,” he said to them, ” ’My house will be a house of prayer’; but you have made it ’a den of robbers.’”
47 Every day he was teaching at the temple. But the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the leaders among the people were trying to kill him. 48 Yet they could not find any way to do it, because all the people hung on his words.

1 COR 11:23-25  23 … The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

Title:  WORDS TO HANG ONTO
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There is an old saying, “That when EF Hutton talks, people listen”

But better yet, when Jesus talks…people listen intently…

It says “all the people hung on his words”

Our text tells us how Jesus drove out merchants who were selling goods in the temple area. Verse 47 tells us about Jesus’ teaching in the temple every day and the desire of the Jewish leaders to kill Him. However they could not find a way to do it “because all the people hung on his words (vs 48).”

What an amazing statement, “because all the people hung on His words (vs 48)”.

Jesus words are indeed words to hang on to because they are life-giving.

They are not empty words; John 6:63 says they are words of spirit and life (John 6:63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.) … His are words that give us hope.

The people were following Jesus, listening to His teaching and preaching and seeing them confirmed with a holy lifestyle and signs and wonders. They were clinging to his words!

LUKE 21:38 (NIV) “and all the people came early in the morning to hear him at the temple.”

MARK 1:22 (NIV)
“The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law.”

And Today we hear these words of life, directly from Jesus’ mouth; as they have been recorded for us in the Word of God, the Holy Bible through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

They are there for His people, for you and I, and all His followers today.

They have been preserved for us throughout the ages for us to hang onto.

2. Not only to hang onto…But His WORDS TO SHARE WITH OTHERS
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Jesus Gave us wonderful words of life we have to share with others:

a) He said He is the Bread of Life

JOHN 6:48-51 (NIV) 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. 50 But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”

b) He said without His Blood, we have no life in us (John 6:53)

John 6:53-58 (NIV) ’53 Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever.”’

c) He said He is The Way, The Truth and The Life (John 14:6)

John 14:6 ‘Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life.”’ Nobody gets to God, but by Him

d) He said He is The Vine and we are the branches (John 15:5) “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
Come, drink of the vine, quench your thirst and be fulfilled!

e) He said…You Must be born again!

John 3:3 In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”  4 “How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!”  5 Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.

We Must Be born again, We must be changed and transformed by the power and Spirit of God.

Transition to a close…
Jesus said that the man who hears his words and puts them into practice is like the man who built his house by laying the foundation on rock – a strong house that’s able to withstand all kinds of inclement weather (LUKE 6:46-49).   We need to Take heed of His words today!

His words are words of Spirit and life; they are words to hang onto!!
They are words to be cherished, heeded, and taken to heart and obeyed.

In partaking of Communion…(The Lords Supper)

There are some things we need to do…

1.     WE LOOK BACK – “you proclaim the Lord’s death” CALVARY…(1 COR 11:26)

2.     WE LOOK WITHIN – “A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup.” (1 COR 11:28)

ILLUSTRATION – Self Evaluation
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State employment officials in Tucson, Arizona, posted an interesting sign over a full-length mirror. Directed to all job hunters, it read, “Would you hire this person?” In another office a mirror and sign posed this question: “Are you ready for the job?”
Self-evaluation was what the apostle Paul called for in 1 Corinthians 11. Believers in Christ need to judge themselves, he said, to avoid being judged by the Lord as unfit for His service. In the Corinthian church, the “appearance problem” was especially serious. Those Christians “looked” awful. They were actually getting drunk and quarreling among themselves while going through the motions of celebrating the Lord’s Supper. So Paul said, in effect, “Look at yourselves. What a mess! If you don’t get your lives straightened out, the Lord will have to do it for you.” Then the apostle added the sobering fact that God had already begun to cleanse the church by sending some of them to an early grave. This is a hard truth, but one the church still needs to hear today.

3.     We LOOK OUTWARD-To the Lost and also our brothers and sisters…We need one another.

The last look is to the brothers and sisters around us – we give thanks to God for our Christian family. No man is an island, we need one another.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
9 Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: 10 If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! 11 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? 12 Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Lastly

4.     WE LOOK AHEAD – “until he comes” (1 COR 11:26) ———————
The fourth look is to the future. Are we looking forward to the time when He will come again and we will have Communion with our Lord in His kingdom? (Matthew 26:29; 1 Corinthians 11:26).

5.

Are we looking forward to His coming with joy or with fear?

ILLUSTRATION————-
Someone once asked the Great Preacher…Dwight L. Moody, “If you knew the Lord would return tonight, how would you spend the rest of the day?” Mr. Moody replied without hesitation, “I wouldn’t do anything different than I do every day.”

How wonderful if we all could say that!

Then we could, with confidence, pray, “Come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20).

Slide Show: Carmen: This Blood.

Communion Scripture: 1 COR 11:23-25  23 … The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.”