Followed By Mercy

The Lord’s Supper Explained From Performance to Union at the Covenant Table

W. Austin Gardner

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For many believers, the Lord’s Supper has become a quiet, heavy ritual. We bow our heads, think about how bad we are, and focus on how much Jesus suffered for us. But is that really what the table was meant to be?

In this episode, I invite you to revisit the Lord’s Supper through the lens of covenant, not performance. We walk from Abraham’s one-sided promise, through the Passover, and into the New Covenant table Jesus so deeply desired to share with His disciples. This is not about earning forgiveness. It is about sharing life.

Jesus said, “He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.” The table is about union. Christ in us. Us in Christ. Not reaching for God, but resting in the God who already reached for us.

I share honestly from my own journey out of performance-based religion and into grace. We look closely at what it really means to take the Lord’s Supper “unworthily,” and why Paul said, “examine yourself, and so let him eat.” The table is not a place of exclusion. It is a place of healing, renewal, and rest.

The Lord’s Supper is not about trying harder to be holy. It is about receiving the life of Jesus, like a spiritual IV, flowing through us as we abide in Him. It is a celebration, not a sentence. A covenant reminder, not a condemnation.

If you have ever felt unworthy, exhausted, or hesitant to come to the table, this episode is for you. The table is set. You are welcome. And you can finally stop performing and start resting in what Christ has already finished.

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Austin Gardner:

I'm excited to be with you as I always am. We're talking about the Lord's Supper and uh how much I enjoyed doing that this past Sunday at Libreth, at least Maltisa Librethai, or Liberty Baptist Church. And I want to go a little bit deeper into the covenant table, the table of the covenant, or the New Testament. This too, in remembrance of me. You see that in front of you all the time. So I want to challenge you to go back with me to the Lord's Supper. For many of us, it's a solemn kind of watch the word, sad ritual. We think about how bad we are and how much Jesus had to hurt for us. But is that what it really is? Now let me remind you, we looked at how God made a one-sided promise to Abraham. We looked at how God made a sacrifice, having them sacrifice a lamb that represents Jesus and has put the blood on the door and he passed over them. And that's the Passover, which is what Jesus so desires to celebrate with the with the guys. It says in John 653 and 56, then said Jesus unto them, Verily, verily I send you, except you eat the flesh of the Son of Man, eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood. You have no life in you. He that eats my flesh and drinks my blood dwells in me and I in him. It's a beautiful thing. The day you realize it, and I'm still working on it, I'm just honest with you. My whole life has been based on performance-based religion. I've always thought I had to reach out to God when God was already reaching out to me. I've always thought I had to prove my love to get him to love me when he was already loving me, and we love him because he first loved us. You know it, and I knew it up here. This is annoying in my heart. We're talking about sharing life with Jesus. We're talking about relationship and fellowship. We're talking about Christ living in us. We're talking about us living in Christ. It's I'm in him, he's in me, he's the hope of glory. God is in Christ, Christ is in me. I'm in Christ who's in God. And God just brought us in. He just brought us in. And you don't have to do anything. It's all grace, it's all God doing it. Think of it like a medical IV. When you're in the hospital and they hook you up to that drip, I get them all the time. You don't pump it, you don't help it, you just yield. You just lay there and wait till it's taken care of. So when we take the cup, we take the Lord's Supper, take the cup, we're saying, Lord, let your life throw through my veins today. I surrender my self-effort. I receive your life. It's like getting a spiritual IV. It's not about your effort to be like Jesus. It's about you allowing Jesus to live his life through you. It's about Jesus being the source. You aren't a servant trying to please a master. You're a branch receiving sap from the vine. You know, there's a tree and the branches. But branches don't do anything, they just stay connected. Abide in John chapter 15. Stay. That's what's going on. Now, I know what you're thinking, but doesn't the Bible say we shouldn't take the Lord's Supper unworthily? And I've had a terrible week. And I can't touch that, but I can't. I'm not holy enough. And I didn't know this. I'm still learning. 71 years old, still learning. In 1 Corinthians 11, 23 through 28, Jesus said, or Paul, the Holy Spirit said it, I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you. Let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup. Now, I want to stop here just a second. I never paid attention to this. I was in study and prayer, and uh Holy Spirit seems to be working in my life like he never has before, and I'm so grateful I love him. He's the best friend I ever had, and he's loved me when no one else would. And he loved me because he's good, not nothing else. Did you notice what it said? It said, examine himself and then eat. I think in church we've said examine yourself and don't eat. Or examine yourself and get your rear up here and get right with God. But he said, examine himself and then eat and drink. Listen closely to unworthy. That doesn't mean you sinned. Don't eat of it unworthily. Sin makes us unworthy. If that's the case, then no one would ever take the Lord's Supper. It's not just the list of sins that the pastor made up or that you feel good about. It's even the ones that the pastor's dealing with. To take it unworthily means to treat it like it's common, a common reality. It's ignoring the reality of the covenant. You are to examine yourself, but you're not searching for your flaws. You're not searching for your flaws. You're checking your faith. Are you trusting in your worthiness or are you trusting in Christ? Are you taking it unworthily? Are you looking at it and saying, I'm a mess, but Christ is my righteousness? That's exactly where you need to be. The table's a place of healing, not exclusion. It's like renewing your marriage vows. You aren't getting remarried. You're just pulling that original promise into the present day and saying, I still belong to him. Now, I'd like to stop. Maybe I want you to understand, I've been married 52 years, and my marriage isn't because I'm a great guy or a great husband. I'd say it's the grace of God, it's the goodness of my wife, but I want you to realize that I just stay in fellowship. And when we take the Lord's Supper, we're doing what you do when you renew your vows. When you say, I'm going back in time to when it happened and I'm living it again, I'm reliving it. I want that to be it. God wants us to celebrate being with him, spending time with him. It's kind of like when you have Christmas dinner, Thanksgiving dinner, if you're American. We want to come into the dinner and say, I don't deserve to be here, maybe. I ain't the best son, I'm not the best husband, I'm not the best of anything, but I am welcome here. And I think this is great. And I am going to, I just love my family. That's what you do when you're taking the supper. You're coming to take the supper to say, I love you, Jesus. Thank you. And you're taking time to think back about what he's been through for us. Not to be a sad thing about how bad you are. It's a celebration of how good he is. You know, Jesus said, I want to take this supper, and I can't so desired it, but I'll never do it again till I do it with you in the future. And you realize we're waiting on a very special time. The Bible says he heard a voice of a great multitude saying, Hallelujah. The Lord God omnipotent reigns. Let us be glad and rejoice and give honor. For the marriage of the supper, for the marriage of the Lamb has come. Blessed are which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. That's what we're celebrating. We're waiting, we're announcing his death till he comes. We're looking forward to when we'll be together. So every time you take that little piece of bread, you're practicing for the marriage supper. You're announcing to the world, I know who I am, I know who he is, and I know where I'm going, and I know where I am. You're affirming your identity and the spirit. You're declaring that you agree with everything God says about his word. You are loved, you are chosen, you are seated at the table. You can stop performing, stop trying to accomplish it, and start resting. Jesus is coming soon, and we're in love with him, and that's the whole key. I have allowed myself to make the Lord's Supper legalistic and performance based instead of a celebration of what Jesus did for us. I hope you'll at least think about it. I'd be glad to have you talk with me about it. God bless you.