Wow.. yet another year has come and will be gone soon.. I hope your year has been fulfilling.. both outside as well as inside.. It has been a great year for me.. Though I had a rough start, I'm glad it is going to end well. Praise the Lord!
Last week, we talked about meditating on God's Word and the goodness His Word could bring forth in terms of healing, health, wholeness, peace and completeness. I believe by now you have fully understand what meditating God's Word is all about- slowly "chewing" and digesting each and every word until all the "nutrients" are fully absorbed into your body!
Many of us are aware that by drinking the wine, we are believing that that's the blood of Christ was shed for the forgiveness of our sins. Even the bible states that very clearly. However, when partaking the bread, there hasn't been a clear explanation of its purpose. Some believe taking both bread & wine together are mean for the forgiveness of sins. So, are these two elements for different purposes or for the same reason which is the forgiveness of sins??
When Paul wrote to the Corinthians about the conduct of Lord's supper, he was pretty upset about the way they partook the communion. And then he went on to say in 1Cor 11:30 " 30 For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep."
Note the sequence of order - weak , sick & many sleep (which means die at young age). He was talking of physical conditions of these Corinthians. Apparently, they were not looking good. And notice Paul said "For this reason" - in other words, there is only one (singular) reason why they were in such condition. What was it? Let's take a look at the context to understand what he was saying.
1 Cor 11:27-30
27 Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood[d] of the Lord.
28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
29 For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner[e] eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s[f] body. 30 For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep."
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| The Last Supper: Bread & wine representing the body & blood of Christ |
Paul stressed the importance of eating the bread and drinking the wine in a worthy manner. What is considered a worthy manner? Look at verse 29 "not discerning the Lord's body. For this reason......"
In other words, many are weak, sick and die young because they are NOT taking the holy communion in a proper manner! The bread represents the body of Christ. That's why Jesus said He is the bread of life. And in the Lord's prayer, we are taught to say " give us our daily "bread"!
Make no mistake about it .. Partaking the bread has to do with healing our body! The bible says "We are one body of Christ!" By taking the bread, we reckon to be part of Christ's body. If God want us to be part of Christ in a body, would you think that He wants this body to be weak, sick and die young???
Remember, the Law of First mention... The "law of first-mention" is the principle in the interpretation of Scripture which states that the first mention or occurrence of a subject in Scripture establishes an unchangeable pattern, with that subject remaining unchanged in the mind of God throughout Scripture.
Ever wonder when the word "bread" was first mentioned in the bible and what revelation it gives??
It was first mention in Gen 3:19 "In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread "
Interesting, eating bread has something to do with us sweating. Some interpret this verse as "you got to work hard (sweat) in order to earn your meal (bread)."
When you look up the meaning of the word "sweat" ... it also mean worry, anxiety, lose sleep, agonise, fuss, panic, agitation.
I would classify these "worry, anxiety, lose sleep, agonise, fuss, panic, agitation" as "weak". "Weak" always come before "sick". In the modern medical science, it has been proven that the root of major illness & sickness (SICK) has to do with worry, fear and stress (WEAK)! (You've heard the sermon on "The root of your problem is condemnation", you know what I am saying).
Are you seeing the love of God now? Imagine, since the fall of Adam and the curse of sin enter into this world, it is already in His mind to provide a way out for us!
If this is not enough, look at what Jesus did after He rose from the dead... He followed a couple back to Emmaus... (you know the story).. He broke bread for them before He disappeared in front of them. Before He went to the cross, He broke bread for His disciples, after He rose from the dead, the first he did was to break bread for this couple. What does that tell you?
He want to tell us that breaking bread is more than just remembering Him, it is about remembering what He has done for us at the cross! And when we partake the bread with sickness in our body, we can boldly say to this sickness that it does not belong here because Jesus has already paid for it and taken it to the cross. Hallelujah!
Now, when you meditate these verses like John 14:27 & Proverbs 4:22. Do they make sense to you now?
And the word "peace" in Hebrew is "Shalom" which means "peace, wholeness, completeness, prosperity, health!" Praise the Lord!
I hope you're blessed by this sharing. Sorry for being lengthy this week coz this is important. If Jesus can spent almost 3/4 of His ministry in healing, how much more do you think He want us to be in good health as children of God? Amen!
Smith Wigglesworth (a plumber) had raised more than 10 dead people during his ministry and those miracles were recorded. He took holy communion everyday. With this, I urge that you will practise holy communion as and when possible (DO NOT make it a ritual but do it in a worthy manner).
Shalom
Bro
Dated: 11 Dec 2013
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