Remember Me
Luke 22:19 - Do this in remembrance of Me.
Pastor Paul Hanson once again had a great sermon. He talked in detail about the meaning of communion. Most of what he said I'd heard before but there were a couple things that hit a spot in my spirit that were like no other words I'd heard.
He talked about how when we share communion we are sharing something in common...a common belief...that Jesus died for our sins, that all our needs can be met. When we partake in communion the bread and wine (or juice) are a reminder of what He has done for us. That is shown in Luke above.
He talked about the meaning of bread. It represents Jesus' body. His body took on the stripes, bruises and afflictions of all mankind. He bore our griefs and sorrows and was wounded because of our sins. (Isaiah 53:4-5). And because of that when we come into relationship with Him, those stripes have become our healing. Healing in so many ways. Think about it, as He was offering up communion with His disciples, He broke the bread. His body was broken for us.
Pastor Paul then said something I'd not heard in quite this way: when we are not in relationship with Jesus only part of us is living. The physical and mental parts of our bodies are alive, but our spirit is dead. In Christ it comes alive! The spiritual part is the most important part anyway because when our physical and mental parts die naturally, our spiritual part will continue eternally. It will remain eternally in heaven or hell depending upon the choice we make in this life to choose or not choose Jesus.
He brought up something else: that on the day of final judgment all people will stand before God. The deeds of all people will be judged; no one is exempt. He basically said the deeds, both good and bad, of those who have received Christ as Lord and Savior will be as if they did not exist because they were covered by the blood of Christ. The deeds of those who did not receive Christ will be recognized and judged.
He talked about the meaning of bread. It represents Jesus' body. His body took on the stripes, bruises and afflictions of all mankind. He bore our griefs and sorrows and was wounded because of our sins. (Isaiah 53:4-5). And because of that when we come into relationship with Him, those stripes have become our healing. Healing in so many ways. Think about it, as He was offering up communion with His disciples, He broke the bread. His body was broken for us.
Pastor Paul then said something I'd not heard in quite this way: when we are not in relationship with Jesus only part of us is living. The physical and mental parts of our bodies are alive, but our spirit is dead. In Christ it comes alive! The spiritual part is the most important part anyway because when our physical and mental parts die naturally, our spiritual part will continue eternally. It will remain eternally in heaven or hell depending upon the choice we make in this life to choose or not choose Jesus.
He brought up something else: that on the day of final judgment all people will stand before God. The deeds of all people will be judged; no one is exempt. He basically said the deeds, both good and bad, of those who have received Christ as Lord and Savior will be as if they did not exist because they were covered by the blood of Christ. The deeds of those who did not receive Christ will be recognized and judged.
Imagine...all our sins will not even be recognized. When we come into a truly heartfelt relationship with Christ all our sins are forever forgotten. Unfortunately, satan continues to bring them to our memory to try making us feel guilty for something for which we've been totally forgiven. But...the door has closed on our sins, past, present and future, even if...when is more like it...we fail in our day to day life. It's hard to fathom the great mystery that once we know for a fact that Jesus' blood has covered the doorposts of our hearts we are considered guilt free...for life. (This does not mean, however, we are to carry on in an intentionally sinful life like before.)
So, it's the blood, Pastor Paul went on to explain, that has washed away all our trespasses. The Lamb of God whose blood was shed through His sacrifice on the cross is like the blood of the Passover lamb in the Old Testament which was applied to the doorposts of the Jewish homes. Those people's lives were spared when death came barging into the homes taking all the firstborn sons in Egypt. For us today, that blood, once we have received it by faith, covers the doorposts of our hearts and saves our spirit from death.
Our sins are forgiven as far as the east is from the west, no questions asked. That certainly doesn't sound like captivity, does it? The claim that "religion" is bondage just is not true. There is freedom in Christ. Freedom from sin and death. Freedom. It's all about Him; it's all about His body, His blood.
Jesus told us Himself He did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17). All the laws, works and things we think we must do to receive forgiveness, and fail at doing because it's our nature, are no longer necessary when we have asked Jesus to come into our lives and redeem us. He came so we would not have to work at salvation, only receive it. It's that simple. His body sacrificed, His blood shed for us. Let us remember that.
1Corinthians 11:26 - For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
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