July 2015 Spirit Food

This month let’s focus on why it is so important to partake of The Holy Communion.

1 Corinthians 11:29–30 - For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep.

Have you ever wondered why some Christians are weak and sick, and die young? I thank God that the Holy Spirit gives us the reason as well as the solution. In 1 Corinthians 11:29–30, He tells us clearly that the one reason some Christians are weak and sick, and die prematurely, is that they don’t discern the Lord’s body when they partake of the Holy Communion.

Many believers don’t understand that the pierced, beaten bread, which represents the Lord’s body, is for their health and healing. And when they partake without discerning this truth, they partake in an unworthy manner. The reverse is true: If they discern accurately the Lord’s body, then they will be strong and healthy, and live long.

Unfortunately, the church down through the years has misconstrued this teaching and taught that if you have sin in your life, you are unworthy and cannot partake of the Holy Communion, lest you become weak and sick, and even die! Religion has turned what was supposed to be a blessing into instilling a sense of fear or curse. Because of this, many Christians are afraid to come to the Lord’s table and are therefore robbed of the health-giving power of the Holy Communion.

There is no such thing as a worthy person (mankind being of a carnal nature)! The best of us still “miss the mark” and fail occasionally. So unworthy people are the only people who partake of the Lord’s Supper. However, remember, Jesus died for unworthy people, therefore, He has qualified those of us who take Him as our righteousness to partake of every benefit that He died to give us.

So it is not a matter of whether you are worthy or unworthy to partake, but how you partake. Come to the Lord’s table with boldness and partake because Jesus has qualified you with His precious blood. Don’t treat it as a ritual, but release your faith for health and healing as you discern that Jesus’ body was broken, so that yours can be healthy and whole today. When you partake like this, you are partaking in a worthy manner, and you will not be weak or sickly, or die prematurely!

Psalm 105:37 - He also brought them out with silver and gold, and there was none feeble among His tribes.

When the children of Israel were slaves in Egypt, they lived in poverty and faced daily hardships from their cruel taskmasters. Scars and fresh lashes from their masters’ whips covered their bodies. The blistering heat of Egypt caused excruciating sores to fester. Many of them were bent over because of the long hours spent carrying tons of bricks and mortar. Slaving away for long hours under harsh conditions added years to them. And with no proper nourishment, many of them were feeble and emaciated.

But something happened to them on the night of the Passover. (Exodus 12) With the blood of the lamb applied on their doorposts, they came under God’s protection. And inside their homes, as instructed by God, they ate the lamb roasted in fire.

I submit for your consideration that those who were blind ate the eyes of the lamb, believing that the perfect eyes of the lamb would give them perfect vision. If they had heart conditions, they ate the heart of the lamb, believing that their hearts would beat strong again. And if they were lame, they ate the legs of the lamb, believing that they would be enabled to walk uprightly again.

And when morning came, something new and miraculous happened to them. They went forth with God no longer as slaves but free people. They were no longer poor and needy, but possessed silver and gold given to them by the Egyptians. And none of them—there were about 2.5 million of them—were feeble or sickly!

If this was what the children of Israel experienced after partaking of the Passover lamb, which was only a shadow or type of Christ, how much more will we who have come under the covering of the holy blood of Jesus, the true Lamb of God, experience such blessings?

When you put your trust in the Lamb of God who was burnt by God’s fiery judgment meant for us, you will go forth daily, neither poor nor feeble, but abundantly supplied and divinely strengthened in Christ!

People need to understand that Jesus paid the price for mankinds’ redemption; for sins, past, present and future. People need to understand that because of the sin nature of mankind (starting in the garden) which came on mankind as a result of Adam committing high treason (following satan instead of God), a price had to be paid. God is a just God, so someone had to pay for mankinds’ redemption. That someone was Jesus. Glory to God!

At the cross, Jesus accepted/took all of mankinds’ sicknesses and diseases on His originally perfect and healthy body, so that we can walk in divine health. That is why the Bible says by His stripes, we are healed (Isaiah 53:5, 1 Peter 2:24).

His loving instruction is that we are to remember Him as we partake of the Holy Communion. Jesus wanted us to be conscious of how His body was broken for our wholeness, and that His blood was shed for the forgiveness of our sins. And whenever we partake in this consciousness, we “proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes (again)” (1 Corinthians 11:26).

To partake, first, hold the bread in your hand and say:

Thank You, Father, for the gift of Your Son. By the stripes that fell on His back, my body is healed from the crown of my head to the very soles of my feet. Every cell, every organ, every function of my body is healed, restored, and renewed. In Jesus’ name, I believe and I receive. [Eat the bread.]

Next, take the cup in your hand and say:

Lord Jesus, thank You for Your precious blood. Your sin-free, disease-free, poverty-free life is in Your blood. And Your shed blood has removed every sin from my life. Through your blood, I am forgiven of all my sins—past, present and future—and made completely righteous. Today, I celebrate and partake of the inheritance of the righteous, which is preservation, healing, wholeness and provision. Thank You Lord Jesus, for loving me. Amen. [Drink the wine.]

Misconceptions and wrong teaching about the Holy Communion have robbed many Christians of an important God ordained avenue of healing and wholeness. The power of right believing is amazing!