Today we are going to have the
opportunity to take Communion together. Our dear sister, Kim, who
is sensitive to God’s Spirit, talked about it to me this week and I
realized that this was from God. It is important to us to do this
and, because we are unable to get to regular church services, most
of us have been unable to do this. And yet, taking
Communion—discerning the Lord’s Body rightly---brings healing.
It’s amazing that, last Sunday, we
got to the place in our study of “purpose” that we talked about the
Israelites preparing for the last plague—the death of the first
born—by putting the blood of the lamb on the doorposts and lintels
of their homes so the Death Angel would pass over them. They were
about to be delivered from death, brought out of their slavery, and
redeemed by God—through the Blood of a lamb.
We have been delivered from
death, brought out of slavery, and redeemed by the Blood of THE
Lamb—Jesus. The Israelites were commanded to celebrate the Feast of
Passover as a memorial of this throughout all generations. And, it
was at a Passover Seder that Jesus instituted Communion to be a
memorial of an even greater Passover until His return.
JESUS
SAID, IN LUKE 22:18-20
15And
he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover
with you before I suffer: 16For I say unto
you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the
kingdom of God.
17And
he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it
among yourselves: 18For I say unto you, I
will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God
shall come.
THERE ARE ACTUALLY FOUR CUPS OF WINE IN A PASSOVER SEDER—ONE FOR
EACH OF THE PROMISES:
Exodus 6:6-7. (1) "I
will take you out of Egypt", (2) "I will deliver you from Egyptian
slavery", (3) "I will redeem you with a demonstration of my power",
and (4) "I will acquire you as a nation".
As believers, we
have these promises spiritually. I will teach about this at a
different time.
The four cups that would have been taken by Jesus and HIS Disciples
were..
1st cup---“Kiddish” cup of sanctification to sanctify
the time.
2nd cup—cup of memory
3rd cup---cup of redemption
4th cup---cup of salvation
19And
he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them,
saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in
remembrance of me.
20Likewise
also the cup after supper), saying, This cup is the new testament in
my blood, which is shed for you.
This cup—after supper—is known
as the Cup of Salvation. Jesus (Yeshua in Hebrew) means salvation.
In 1 Corinthians
11:23-26, Paul says:
1 Corinthians 11:23
For I received from
the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the
night he was betrayed, took bread, 24and
when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body,
which is for you; do this in remembrance of me."
25In 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." 26For
whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the
Lord's death until he comes.
We have the great
privilege of eating the bread and drinking the wine in memorial of
what Jesus did for us. We are also proclaiming His Death—the way He
died willingly for our sins—until the time of the Lord’s return.
But, before we take
Communion, we have to examine ourselves:
Verses 27 to 29
say:
27Therefore,
whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy
manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the
Lord. 28A man ought to examine himself
before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup.
29For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body
of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself.
It is a serious
thing to take the cup and the bread in an unworthy manner. What does
that mean? If we are holding unforgiveness, if we have known sin
that we have not repented of, or if we are not really discerning,
understanding the Body of Christ.
30That
is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have
fallen asleep. 31But if we judged
ourselves, we would not come under judgment. 32When
we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will
not be condemned with the world.
FORGIVING,
DISCERNING THE BODY, JUDGING OURSELVES, COMMUNIONING WITH GOD AND
EACH OTHER AS WE DRINK AND EAT.
1 Corinthians 10:16-17
(AMP) 16The
cup of blessing [of wine at the Lord's Supper] upon which we ask
[God's] blessing, does it not mean [that in drinking it] we
participate in and share a fellowship (a communion) in the blood of
Christ (the Messiah)? The bread which we break, does it not mean
[that in eating it] we participate in and share a fellowship (a
communion) in the body of Christ?
17For we [no matter how] numerous we are, are one body,
because we all partake of the one Bread [the One Whom the communion
bread represents].
The King James version says it
like this in 1 Corinthians 11:27-29:
27Wherefore
whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord,
unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.
28But
let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and
drink of that cup.
29For
he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh
damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.
30For
this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.31For if we would judge
ourselves, we should not be judged.
Taking Communion without self-examination and right judgment will
bring sickness and weakness. That doesn’t mean that everyone who is
sick has taken communion unworthily. Some have and we have no right
to judge one another, but we have a responsibility to judge
ourselves.
EXAMINING YOURSELF:
(AMP) 1 Corinthians
11:28 Let a man [thoroughly]
examine himself, and [only when he has done] so should he eat of the
bread and drink of the cup.
Many Christians
have a Masters Degree in judging; unfortunately, it’s not the
rightkind.We are to judge
ourselves not others. That does not mean we condemn
ourselves, just that we examine ourselves as to deeds, thoughts,
motives, and repent of what is not right. And we ACCEPT forgiveness
and cleansing.
When we can’t
accept that Jesus forgives and cleanses us by His Blood, that is
actually PRIDE!
WHY? Because that is like saying “my sins are too big and important
for the Blood of Jesus.
(AMP) 31For
if we searchingly examined ourselves [detecting our shortcomings and
recognizing our own condition], we should not be judged and penalty
decreed [by the divine judgment].
When I first read
this, I thought “well, maybe I shouldn’t take Communion then and I
won’t have to judge myself.” But that’s not the way out, because the
next verses say:
32But
when we [fall short and] are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined
and chastened, so that we may not [finally] be condemned [to eternal
punishment along] with the world.
I’d rather judge
myself than be judged. I’d also rather be judged and chastened by
God as His child than be condemned like the world. I didn’t write
this—God did.
DISCERNING THE BODY:
(AMP) 29For
anyone who eats and drinks without (discerning KJV) discriminating
and recognizing with due appreciation that [it is Christ's] body,
eats and drinks a sentence (a verdict of judgment) upon himself.
30That [careless and unworthy participation] is the reason
many of you are weak and sickly, and quite enough of you have fallen
into the sleep of death.
Conversely, if we take communion rightly, we can expect healing and
strength. I need that.
Years ago, after seeking God about the meaning of discerning the
Lord’s Body, God gave me this:
What
does it mean to “discern the Lord’s Body”? IT MEANS TO REALLY
UNDERSTAND WHAT HIS BODY IS: JESUS, HIS BODY GIVEN FOR US, DYING ON
THE CROSS, AND BEING BURIED AS A SEED FALLING to the EARTH. THEN,
BEING RESURRECTED, AND BRINGING FORTH THE FRUIT—THE CHURCH, THE BODY
OF CHRIST.
When we take Communion, we are
looking backward--remembering our
Lord’s death and resurrection and how out of that, the church was
born. We are looking forward---for to the church maturing and
growing to full stature and His return in glory. We are looking at
the present—the Body as it is now.
We are also looking
inward to ourselves as part of that Body—at our
hearts—examining and judging if we are walking worthy, abiding in
Him. And, we are looking outward----at our brothers and sisters as
being part of the same body. We are ONE in Christ.
FORGIVING:
Don’t ever take
Communion with unforgiveness in your heart. Don’t pray with
unforgiveness in your heart. In fact, don’t ever let unforgiveness
stay in your heart. There’s too much at stake. Unforgiveness is a
sin and it’s a sin that you can’t ask to be forgiven of unless
you are willing to forgive.
Now, let’s pepare
our hearts to take communion. If you have your wafer and your cup
ready, let’s now get our hearts ready.
Let’s pray. Father
God, look deep into our hearts and bring to our minds the things we
need to confess and repent of show us the things we need to ask
forgiveness for.
Now, Lord, show us
who we need to forgive. Help us to do this from the heart.
And now Lord, let
us think of you and your Body.
Jesus took the bread
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."
We take the bread,
which represents the Body of Christ and bless it. I will bless it
like Jesus would have at the table:
Baruch atah
Adonai Elehoheynu Melech ha Olam, ha motzi lechem min ha oretz
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.
And we take the
cup, which represents the Blood of Christ.
Blessed are you
oh Lord our God, King of the Universe, who has given us the bread of
the earth.
Baruch atah
Adonai Eloheynue Melech ha Olam, boray p’ri haggaffan
Blessed are you
oh Lord our God, King of the Universe, who has given us the fruit of
the vine.
I would like to
close with this poem God gave me years ago—it means so much to me.
COMMUNION
Take and eat,
this is my Body, broken on the Cross for you.
Take this wine,
the Cup of my Covenant;
Drink, and in
remembrance do.
My Life was the
Seed that fell to the earth,
Which, through
regeneration, brought forth new birth.
My Blood
purchased Life for the great multitude,
And my Body was
raised, after brief interlude..
A Body of Glory,
which to Heaven did ascend,
To pray for my
people till this age does end.
And though I gave
up that once limited form,
A flower—a bud—a
new life was born:
The small infant
church, grown from that seed,
So wonderfully
made, was my body indeed.
My Body grows on,
in Love and in might,
In love, edified
to full measure of height.
And now, it is
grown and is almost mature.
By washing and
cleansing, I am making it pure.
So from Calvary’s
Cross, where I gave up the Ghost,
To the day soon
to come, when I’ll lead the great Host,
I am Alpha and
Omega, for I was and I Am,
The Seed of the
Church and the Passover Lamb.
Discern now the
Body for which you all search:
You and I, in
communion, my Body, my church.
Take and eat,
this is my Body, broken on the Cross for you.
