Insights on Lockdown

During these last few weeks of lockdown, we have been discovering some new things.

Along with many other Christians who are at home unable to go out to work, we have had more time and opportunity to read the Bible, pray, and worship together. During this time our love for Jesus has been reignited as we have uncovered more of God's truth that has always been there, but we have not appreciated before.

Some may be surprised to know that we have also been sharing Communion together every day. This is what we’d like to talk about.

Communion

Up until recently, we took communion once every month on a Sunday morning with our church family. It was an important way of remembering what Jesus had done for us on the cross. 'This do, every time you take it, in remembrance of me' We rarely took communion together as a couple, on our own, at home.

In January, our understanding of the power and relevance of Communion began to change, when we were given a book written by Beni Johnson from Bethel Church called 'The Power of Communion'

In her book, Beni described how over recent years, she has started to enter into a new understanding of Communion. She has seen significant breakthrough in the area of healing when sharing Communion on a regular basis. In fact, if she heard of someone who was sick in her family or fellowship, or she was sick herself, she would start taking Communion on a daily basis and she would see amazing healings and miracles happen. She would always encourage the person who was sick to take communion too, and her book is full of testimony of the healing power of God demonstrated after or during taking Communion!

We started to see that Communion was a tool that could be used when praying for others. We have started to declare divine health over each other, over our family and over our church family, pleading the Blood of Jesus.  Each time we take Communion we are not only reminding ourselves of His wonderful sacrifice but also that the devil has been totally defeated. And not just the devil, but all his devilry!

God was showing us that Jesus' death on the cross paid the price for our sins and has enabled us to enjoy an intimate personal relationship with Him......and there’s more......

A New Covenant

Jesus established a NEW covenant to replace the old. He wants us to lay hold of all the benefits that He won for us through the cross, which includes forgiveness, wholeness, strength, health and sufficiency." Psalm 103 says ‘Bless the Lord O my soul and forget not all His benefits’. The old covenant did not provide for all our needs to be met like the new covenant does. Hebrews 12 v 24 says: ‘His blood speaks a better word...’

When Jesus established this new covenant there were 2 elements, the bread...’This is my Body which is broken for you’ ...and the cup.....’This is my blood of the new covenant....’

Put simply, could it be that Jesus was saying that the Bread, which represents His body, was broken so that ours could be mended, healed and put back together? He allowed Himself to be subjected to that terrible suffering so that our bodies might be healed today. While the cup, which represents His blood, provides for our forgiveness of sins, our FULL redemption.

It was like God was holding a door open for us and saying to us 'Come on. Walk right in. There's so much more I want you to discover!' So we started walking through the door... and there was...

Life and Health

Another friend heard that we were reading 'The Power of Communion' and said to us, "If you’re enjoying that, you should read a book by Joseph Prince called 'Eat your way to life and health'. It brings a deeper insight into the Father’s heart through Communion.

One of the first things that struck us in Joseph Prince’s book was from the first Passover meal that the Israelites took the night before their exodus from Egypt. They were instructed to kill a lamb and put its blood on the doorposts and the lintel of their front door, a clear reference to the blood of Jesus rescuing us from the punishment of sin.

They were also instructed to eat all of the lamb (Exodus 12 vs 9-10) and the following morning, they left Egypt and there was not one feeble amongst them (Psalm 105 v 37). Not one feeble.... possibly up to 1 million people, who had been slaves all their lives, brutally treated and worked relentlessly, not one of them was feeble!

Could it have been that as they ate the body of the lamb that night, God strengthened their bodies and healed them? If the Old Testament shadow of what was to come, brought such healing, how much more does God intend for us when we eat of the body of the Lamb of God, His precious Son?

A Story of Restoration

God’s heart is to restore. From the moment sin entered the world, God set a plan of restoration into motion, which culminated at the cross and resurrection, to restore a broken world and a broken relationship.

In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve chose to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. When they did, the Bible says ‘the eyes of both of them were opened and they knew that they were naked.’ (Genesis 3 v 7) God had also put in the Garden the Tree of Life. If Adam and Eve had eaten of that tree, their eyes would have been opened and they would have seen God for who He is, and lived forever. They made a poor choice, the consequences of which were catastrophic for the whole of mankind!

But notice how Jesus goes out of His way to restore that situation.

Immediately after His resurrection, He chose to appear and walk with two disciples, on the road to Emmaus, Cleopas and probably his wife. When they reached their home, they shared Communion together. ‘Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him’. (Luke 24 v 31) Sound familiar? Notice, one of the first things Jesus did after His resurrection was to share Communion.

Is this another example of God reversing everything? Could God be saying, ‘Ok.... Adam and Eve got it wrong in the Garden and ate from the wrong tree.  I’m now giving you the Tree of Life to eat from, my body.  I am the bread of LIFE. When you eat the bread, you are taking my resurrection life into you’

Joseph Prince puts it this way.... ’Adam and Eve ate their way to the curse, and with it, sickness, stress, disease, pain and death. You and I get to partake of the Tree of Life whenever we partake of the Lord’s Supper and eat our way to health and life.’

Joseph Prince’s book is also full of testimony from people who have been miraculously healed, mostly gradually, through taking Communion more often. As we have taken Communion, our understanding of God’s love for us has grown, and our love for Him has done the same.  We’re excited at what God has been showing us, but we know that there is so much more. We wanted to share this with you because we have been blessed. We hope it blesses you too.

Much love, Steve and Jan