I have to admit that I have been mild in the first two segments of this teaching. Now, I’m going to kick into third and then fourth gear and get really, really bold. Ready?
Let me state emphatically, communion isn’t a meaningless tradition or powerless ritual. No. A million, billion times no. I will go so far as to state that, for the believer, the taking of the Lord’s Supper can be and should be one of the most powerful connections with God. The acknowledgement of the great sacrifice and the appropriation of the benefits of the broken body and shed blood releases God’s 100% supernatural, miracle-producing, healing-generating, deliverance-rendering power.
Here comes the boldness. Communion is THE perfect time to whole-heartedly expect the supernatural power of God to be seen and experienced. I stated last week that communion provides the believer the opportunity to look at the paid-in-full receipt of redemption and declare, “It’s mine, I’ll take it here and now”. I’ll take the boldness up another notch. Healings and deliverances ought to be common place during communion! When the wafer touches our lips, we are provided the opportunity to boldly declare that the “by His stripes we were healed” (1 Peter 2:24) is ours right here, right now. The price has been paid for the full and total healing for cancer, blindness, arthritis, deafness, or any illness or malady. It should be the norm to see instantaneous miracles transpiring throughout the congregation. The same can be said as we partake of the juice. When the juice touches our lips, we are provided the perfect opportunity to boldly declare that the “blood of Jesus cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). This acknowledgement of the shed blood declares that the price has been paid for our full and total freedom from sin and its bondages. We can expect tormenting strongholds to be annihilated at that very moment. Hallelujah!
I’ll kick into a higher gear with the boldness. (I know that this will go cross-grain against religiosity.) Communion can’t be quiet and somber. One more time … no! A million, billion times no. As God’s power is released and the “already paid for” is realized and experienced, if anything, it is a time for shouting and dancing and rejoicing. It is a time of unrestrained, exuberant rejoicing all around the congregation because, to use the words from the first verse of an old hymn of the church, “Hallelujah, what a thought! Jesus full salvation brought, victory, victory …” As people capture the significance of what is being accomplished in this “full salvation brought” communion, I guarantee that pastors will have trouble regaining control of the service. Hallelujah!
Next week, I’ll share one final, powerful thought about communion.
