14. COMMUNION
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For as often as ye eat this bread, & drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till He come (1Cor.11:26).
1. Communion is a thanksgiving, witness & a remembrance.
2. You can make communion a lesson on salvation, a lesson on thanksgiving, a lesson on healing, a lesson on unity and a lesson on witnessing.
3. Communion is celebrating the salvation of the entire man.--Not only the salvation of your spirit through Jesus' blood, but the salvation of your body through Jesus' body!
4. There's power in the blood!--Blood power!
5. Communion is the only real religious ceremony or ordinance that Jesus Himself instituted, the one He first practiced & showed how to do!--And the one that He commanded us to continue to observe until He Himself comes again!
6. Communion is a show--it's "showing" the Lord's death till He come!
7. Communion is communication.
8. We've already been saved by the power of His blood, we're just commemorating it. We're already healed by the bread, we just need to remind ourselves & take it by faith.
9. Communion is a sample, it's a picture. The bread is a picture of His body & the wine is a picture of His blood.
10. Every Communion is a skit. We're illustrating how we eat Jesus' body & we drink His blood.--Eat His body for our health & drink His blood for our salvation.
11. Even teach the children how to serve Communion. It's a very childlike thing which is a simple illustration even they can understand.
12. The Lord intended Communion to be a witness to remind you & others of what the Lord has done for us.--That He suffered for our bodies & He died for our souls.
13. "Except ye eat of My flesh & drink of My blood, ye have no part in Me." May this taste of You, Lord, give them supernatural strength & a touch of Thy healing, a sample of resurrection power. It's really a foretaste of Heaven, Thy healing power, a foretaste of eternal life for the body as well as for the spirit.
14. "Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, & drink this cup of the Lord unworthily shall be guilty of the body & blood of the Lord." What does it mean, unworthily? If the unsaved dare partake of these elements pretending that they have partaken of the spiritual salvation, they are lying! Therefore they're partaking unworthily! Why are they guilty? Because they're not saved!
15. Even as all of these pieces which are broken come from one loaf, we will all be made part of that one loaf! And thereby, may we too, even as eating of this one loaf, become one.
16. The Lord has saved the whole man, not just half-a-man, not only the spirit nor just the body, but both body & spirit, which make a whole saved soul!
17. In a way it's the thought, it's not necessarily the exactness of the emblems. You've heard stories about how during the war & various places in concentration camps & prisons Christians still gathered together & still had Communion even if they only had one cup of coffee & a cracker.
18. The Lord doesn't like to be left out or forgotten, even in one of His little observances which He enjoined us to have & obviously intended for us to observe as a witness, testimony & act of obedience until He comes again. "As oft as ye do this ye do it in remembrance of Me & ye do show the Lord's death till He come."
19. Maybe for neglecting Communion & forgetting it & being careless about it the Lord can easily remind you by colds & sickness that you forgot to observe the Lord's Supper.
20. The idea of the Bread was that it was one loaf, His Body that was broken, & now part of it is going to become a part of each of us. In other words, we're all becoming part of the one. It's a little picture or illustration the Lord wanted to try to impress on us, a childish little skit of this bread which is just one piece & how it's going to be many pieces & each piece a part of each one of you.
21. The bread doesn't heal your body any more than the wine saves your soul, but it's manifesting your faith, it's a witness. What is Communion? Like baptism or anything else, it's a witness to others, that you believe what His Word says.
22. If you've been sick & you need healing, take it by faith & it's there for you! "Take, eat, this is My body which is broken for you. This do in remembrance of Me."
23. One of the things we're doing by Communion is to constantly remind ourselves what Jesus has done for us & to constantly be a witness of it to others who watch such a ceremony, to remind them of what Jesus has done for us. "For as often as ye eat this bread & drink this cup ye do show the Lord's death till He come." You are testifying that He died for you & showing His death till He come.
24. Don't drink the wine unless you know you're saved, don't eat the bread unless you believe in the Lord's healing, that He is able to heal the body as well as save the soul, or you may drink to yourself damnation or judging chastisement & even eat to yourself death, believe it or not!
25. In other words, it's showing you love Him, you appreciate what He's done for you, you're doing it in remembrance & thanks for what He has done for your body & your spirit, & you're also witnessing to others what He has done for you at the same time.
26. Don't ever forget the resurrection when we're speaking of the death. The death was for a resurrection, & if it hadn't been for the resurrection, all the rest of it would have meant nothing. "For if Christ be not risen, then we are of all men most miserable." But thank God He is risen!
27. I believe in only one large cup of wine from which we all partake. I believe in one whole loaf, don't tear it up. Bring me the whole cup & the whole loaf. Whatever it is, if it's one cracker or a small loaf of bread, whatever it is I want it whole, because that's a very important lesson on the matter of communion.
28. His body was broken for us in a number of ways.--The crown of thorns, the beatings, the stripes, the injuries He suffered, the pain He suffered etc,. & through this, we receive healing. The bread is for the healing of our body. "His body was broken for you", "by His stripes we are healed."
29. "For as often as ye eat this bread, & drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death till He come." Why do we do this? Not only in remembrance of Him, to remember ourselves what He did for us, but also to show the Lord's death to others!--A witness!
30. It is a testimony, it is a witness to others of what Jesus did for us. It is both to help us & remind us of what He did for us, & also our personal testimony of what He did for us, & a witness to others. So communion is important.
31. What does drinking this cup of the Lord unworthily mean? In one sense we are all unworthy & nobody can possibly partake of Communion! So you can be worthy only through His worthiness, His salvation!
32. If the unsaved dare partake of these elements, pretending that they have partaken of spiritual salvation, they are lying! Therefore they're partaking of it unworthily & shall be guilty of the body & the blood of the Lord!
33. "But let a man examine himself, & so let him eat of that bread, & drink of that cup." How? He knows he's doing it worthily through Christ's worth because he knows he's saved, he knows he has spiritually drunk of the blood of Jesus & eaten of the body of Christ for salvation & healing.
34. The bread is particularly symbolic of healing. He didn't have to suffer for our sins, He only had to shed His blood & die for our sins. But His body suffered stripes, wounds, beatings, pain & agony so that through this He could also atone for our sicknesses: "By His stripes we are healed"!
35. God can judge both the Christian & the unchristian for observing communion in a way that is not right. If any unsaved partakes of it & is lying thereby, he's a false witness & the Lord is going to judge him accordingly. And if the Christian has not discerned the Lord's body, in other words, they don't understand what the body means & do not claim their healing as a result, therefore, it doesn't give them any faith for healing & "for this cause many are sick & many are weak & sickly & many sleep (die)."
36. If you have any absentees or sick folks who can't be in your meeting, maybe they're sick in bed upstairs or something, be sure you send them the elements so they can partake too.
37. This is our message all wrapped up in two little elements--bread & wine, body & spirit.--Christ for the body, Christ for the spirit.--Christ for our healing, Christ for our salvation.
38. He said we were going to do this until Jesus comes. Now that's a wonderful promise because that shows that some of us are going to be here still doing this no matter what happens--Antichrist, Antichrist kingdom, the Devil, Hell on Earth--some of us are going to still be here doing this till Jesus comes! Isn't that wonderful?
39. We thank You Lord that Your blood cleanses us from all sin. Past sin, present sin & future sin--all sin, by faith!
40. I hope you're having Communion frequently! He said, "As oft as ye do it, ye do it in remembrance of Me." (1Co.11:25) So the oftener you do it, the oftener you're being a testimony & doing it as a remembrance of Him.
41. Jesus wanted to give His disciples an illustrated message! He saw it was a marvellous opportunity to illustrate the significance of His body & His blood. You notice He broke the bread first, representing His body, because our physical needs are really almost the first need.
42. Thank You Lord for this good Communion, constantly being a witness, a symbol, Lord, of Thy life that was given for us--for both our bodies & our spirits, for healing & Salvation. May we each really truly appreciate it & discern Thy body, discern these elements, understand them, that we may be truly thankful & truly fathom the depth of meaning to all of these things, especially Thy Love, Lord, which made it all possible.
43. Whether you remember it every day, once a week, once a month, once a year or once a lifetime, you're to do it in remembrance of Him!
44. I like to partake of the Bread together because it's symbolic of our oneness.
45. I believe the Lord intended for you to eat it, & don't be afraid to chew it! For the Lord said, "Take, eat!" (1Co.11:24) He didn't say leave it lying on your tongue until it dissolved, like some saint!
46. Sometimes Communion can be a good time to make things right, if you have anything against your brother or sister. You can have some wonderful prayer meetings on an occasion like this, in which if you have not gotten along with each other, you can make amends & weep on each other's shoulders, say you're sorry & forgive & get things all straightened out: Have a real lovin' "Love-in"!--All the way!--Get it straight between you! That's real love, both physical & spiritual. Maybe that's why Jesus put the bread first, because sometimes they can't understand spiritual love until you first give them physical love. Neither can stand alone: You can't have the one without the other.
47. As you are absorbing the bread, you are all becoming part of the one loaf, & so you are also one in the Lord & becoming part of His body. You now have in you the life of a young Man, the life of Christ manifest in your mortal body!
48. I like to use wine in Communion & not grape juice because even the spirit of the wine is symbolic of the Spirit of God, the stimulating Spirit of the Lord.
49. Communion is a good time to renew fellowship, confess sins, make things right, thank Him for His Salvation, obtain healing, bring unity & witness to all His goodness to us all! God will bless you as you do what He commanded. "If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them!" (Jn.13:17)
50. Christ's body can cure you of any disease & is payment for your sicknesses & diseases & illnesses & heals you. And His blood cleanseth you from all sin & always has & always does & always will, forever & ever & ever!
51. Communion doesn't have to be something long & drawn-out & very ceremonial & very pious & sanctimonious. You know what it all means, you don't need a sermon every time, you just need to do it, that's all!
52. We partake of this bread as wholly representing Thy very flesh--knowing that this taste of You, Lord, will give us supernatural strength & a touch of Thy healing, a sample of Resurrection power, a foretaste of eternal life for the body as well as for the Spirit!
53. Through this symbolism we claim Thy salvation through faith until the day when You come, when our bodies will be restored & perfect & our spirits will be made perfect.
54. We thank Thee that Thou hast given that wonderful promise & prophecy that there will still be some of us around here, Lord, to celebrate Thy death until You come. The Devil won't be able to stamp us out completely, we'll be showing Thy death till You come.
55. From one end of the World to the other 'round the World millions & millions of Christians celebrate this, Thy Holy Eucharist, Thy Communion, Thy Supper of the bread & the wine, Thy body & blood on this very day, Sunday, the Christian Sabbath. So we are one great family, Lord. Many of them don't know You very well but at least they're trying to manifest their faith.
56. I like you to be happy & we're a happy people, but you should also remember sometimes to be sober. In some ways Communion is a sober occasion. In some ways it's a very happy occasion, so I guess whatever you feel personally is fine. If you feel like laughing, OK, if you fell like crying, OK.--Amen? God bless you with Communion!
(See also No. 337B, 781, 986, 1386, 1473, 1533, 1544, Love Songs songbook.)
57. PSA.116:13 I will take the cup of Salvation, and call upon the Name of the Lord.
58. MAT.26:26-28 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is My body. And He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is My blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
59. MAR.14:22-24 And as they did eat, Jesus took the bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is My body. And He took the cup, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them: and they all drank of it. And He said unto them, This is My blood of the new testament, which is shed for many.
60. LUK.22:19,20 And 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. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in My blood, which is shed for you.
61. JOH.6:51 I am the living bread which came down from Heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the World.
62. JOH.6:53-56 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is meat indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He that eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, dwelleth in Me, and I in Him.
63. 1C0.10:16,17 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread.
64. 1Co.11:23-30 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which He was betrayed took bread: And when He had given thanks, He brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is My body, which is broken for you: this do 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 this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till He come. Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and 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. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.
65. EPH.2:13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
66. HEB.9:14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, Who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
67. HEB.9:22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.
68. REV.5:9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation.
(See also ISA.53.)
Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family