The Power of Communion

Alrighty, you guys, let's get into it. Welcome everyone on Instagram, welcome everyone on Facebook, welcome to Thriving Thursday. As you can see by the title Today we're going to talk about, and I'm going to teach about, the power of communion. Uh, before, um, I get started, I will go into prayer and I'll make a couple of announcements really quickly. Only have about 2 or 3, and then we'll go, go ahead and get into today's word that God has, um, given me to teach today. And so, Father, I just thank you right now for your word. God, thank you, God, for opportunity, God, to be able to share what's on your heart. Holy Spirit, I ask you, God, just to use me. God, God, highlight, God, to me things that you want me to highlight, God, through my words. Holy Spirit, I ask you to just be with your people on today. I thank you for every person who's going to come and, um, on live or even catch the replay later. I pray that, God, it encourages them, it teaches them, it edifies them, and bring them closer to you. So God, I thank you, I praise your holy name. In Christ's name I pray, amen. And so if you have been following me for a while, you know that I have been doing a Christian leadership series. And I had to go back and look because God told me to do 10 different ones, and each week was a different topic that God wanted me to teach about the, um, top 10— not top 10, 10 stumbling blocks that can cause a Christian leader to stumble. And so I've done 10. I didn't really realize I had did— I've done 10 until this past weekend because I just been flowing with God, flowing with the Holy Spirit. And so, um, earlier this week I'm like, okay God, you know, I'm preparing for, you know, me and my sister's women's conference that we're hosting and speaking at. And you know, I'm really busy right now in this period trying to get things finalized, me and her and our team. And you know, should I go live on Thursday is what I asked him, and he didn't give me an answer right away. And so yesterday, in the midst of me, you know, trying to get things done, in the midst of all the little details of just work and business and ministry. I'm like, God, please give me strength. I need you to give me strength, God, so I can continue to do things in excellence, continue to do what you asked me to do. And while I was praying for that, I heard the Holy Spirit just say, daughter, commune with me. So I knew what he meant when he said that. That means take communion, because there is power and strength that you can receive from the Holy Spirit during communion. And so, um, and then he also said, I want you to teach about the power of communion on Thursday. It was like day before yesterday. And I said, okay God, thank you, thank you for giving me the message. I'm like, this should be, um, I won't say easy, but I, I've already been studying and reading and, you know, doing communion for many, many, many years now. Um, communion is something that I love to do, that my family, we do together as a whole. Um, we go through periods where we do it a whole lot, then we do it sometimes, and we do it right here at home in our living room, in our kitchen. Um, I keep communion cups at my desk at work. Um, I actually give, you know, whenever someone purchases an oil from me, I also put one in their oil as well to encourage them to do communion as well, because it is powerful. Um, I can say that because of my own experiences, and after doing research and reading, you know, a lot of people don't fully understand just how powerful communion can be. When people see this, they'll, oh, I don't understand it, or why we have to keep doing that, or, and all that good stuff. So today I want to kind of break, break it down for you, help you to understand and encourage you to partake in communion as much as you can, you know, in your private time, in your ministry, at your church, and things like that. Okay, so before I get into it, you know, like I said before, um, I've ended the Christian Leadership Series. If you want to, I'm here, you know, all 10 topics on my podcast now, Pain, Passion, and Purpose. You can go hear it there, um, in the audio version. I'm posting some of them on YouTube too as well, and I have some on Facebook and Instagram. They're up there too. Also in March, I'm having a Faith and Mental Wellness Summit. Um, it's virtual, anyone can attend, okay? It's on www.faithandmentalwellness.com. Um, as I said before, my sister and I are hosting our, um, our first Inside Out Women's Conference right here in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Um, we have virtual options available and in-person options available. If you're interested in knowing more about that, you can go to Eventbrite and just type in Inside Out Women's Conference in Fayetteville, North Carolina. You guys, I can't even put it into words just how amazing it's going to be. God has given us so much, and I look forward to being obedient and carrying out the assignment. She and I both of what God asked us to do. So be sure to check that out. Uh, if you come back later to watch the replay, put #replay, let me know that you're here. If you have any comments or questions, you can put them in here as well. I'll try my best to kind of pause throughout to, um, answer any questions that you may have. Okay, let me make sure my comments are up here on StreamYard. So let's get into it. So the definition of communion is this: the sharing or exchanging of intimate thoughts and feelings, especially when the exchange is on a mental or spiritual level. It also means the service of Christian worship at which bread and wine are consecrated and shared. Okay, so you know me, I'm a big words person. I love to look up different meanings of words and what they mean. And, um, you know, in different— also in different languages sometimes too. Synonyms of communion is intimacy, rapport, togetherness, accord, association, closeness, contact, converse, fellowship, and harmony. These are only just a few of the words that I looked up. Also intercommunication, participation. Sympathy, unity, close relationship, and communing. Communing. And so I was like, wow, God, these are all like attributes of Christ Jesus and also what he wants us as believers to possess as well. Okay, and so today I'll be coming primarily from 1 Corinthians chapter 11 and 17 through 33, and I'm going to break down 6 major points, um, from this particular passage to help to drive home what it is the Holy Spirit wants to, wants to say. Okay, and so I'm not going to read the whole entire thing. I'm going to read a little bit of it, but I want to kind of set the tone for where we're going. So in some Bibles, you know, they might have like a, a title for certain sections to help you to truly understand what you get ready to read. Okay, so I have several Bibles So I have, um, NIV, I have the KJV, I have like 4 or 5 different ones. Also have my Bible app. You can also go to, um, the— I think the Blue Letter Bible app. You can also look at that as well. And so for this one, I found, um, the title for this one was called Correcting an Abuse of the Lord's Supper. This was titled this online, and then it goes into scripture. And so Paul, the Apostle Paul, is pretty much explaining to the church of, um, the church of the Corinthians of Corinth, letting them know, hey, listen, you guys need to make sure that you have things in order and make sure that, you know, that your heart is pure before you actually engage in communion. Pretty much, if you go back and read, um, 1 Corinthians chapter 11, you will be able to read it more in detail, and hopefully and prayerfully God will give you more revelation as well. So I'm gonna go down to, um, verse 23. So it says here, and so actually, actually, um, it's right here, the primary one that me and my family uses too. What I have received from the Lord will also pass on to you. The Lord Jesus Christ, on the same night he was betrayed, he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, this is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me. And so Christ is saying, do this in remembrance of him, okay? And so, you know, I put here, number one, when you take the Lord's Supper, you are to look around and restore, okay? Verse 17 says this: But in the following instructions, I cannot praise you, for it sounds as if more harm than good is done when you meet together. First, I hear there are divisions among you when you meet at church. And to some extent, I believe it. Okay, so here Paul is again, you know, addressing the church about having conflict, church divisions, and things like that. This is so good, y'all. Ah, so Paul knew that one of the purposes and effects of the Lord's Supper, um, was done— um, if it's done correctly, it should bring restoration to God's people. And so one of the things that communion is supposed to do is to help bring restoration and unity among the body of Christ. This is why it is good to do it at church. It is good to do it amongst other believers because you can do some self-reflection, look at your heart, you know, and see what areas you guys can work on as a body and individually. Okay, so it forces you to reflect. Okay, so whenever you get ready to do communion, you need to ask God, God, is there anyone I have hurt and I need to ask their forgiveness for? Anything that, you know, someone has done to me and I haven't forgiven them for. Okay, and if it is, try to get it right. Try to get it back. Try to get it right. Number 2, when you take the Lord's Supper, you are to look back and remember, because God gives us some instructions about the Lord's Supper. 2 times in verse 24 and verse 25, we are told to do this to remember me. The Lord's Supper about remembering our Lord Jesus Christ and his death. So to remember means to go back into your mind and try to recapture as much of the reality and significance of what Christ did for us, you guys. So when we do it, we should remember what he did, knowing that he's coming back again. Yes, he is raised from the dead, but if you go back and read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, you can see, you know, all the events that led up to Christ's death, right? And we know that was very hard for us to read and to hear that our Lord and Savior endured all of that for us, right? And so that should help you to kind of like humble yourself and remember that, you know, Christ loves you. There's nothing too hard for him— for, for him to not be able to forgive you for either. So keep that in mind. Because, you know, even now I'm realizing that people sometimes don't do communion because number one, um, the lack of teaching, and number two, they don't feel worthy, right? But honestly, none of us are actually worthy. None of us are actually worthy. Number three, it says we are to look without and reach. The Lord's Supper also reminds us to reach out and proclaim Christ and those around us. Look at verse 26. For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord's death. Okay, the message of the cross and the Lord's death is not only for us to remember, but it is for us to proclaim, preach, teach, share, and testify. The Lord's Supper is really an act of proclamation. When you practice it and saying— you are, you are saying that I believe that Christ died for my sins when you partake in communion. I believe he rose again on the third day, and I believe that my sins have been paid for by the death of Christ Jesus on that cross. I believe I have eternal life because of Jesus. And when you take the Lord's Supper, you are making a statement to those sitting around you that you are a follower of Christ Jesus and you are not ashamed of the gospel. Okay, number 4, you are to look ahead and rejoice Okay, verse 26 says this: For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord's death until he comes again. We proclaim the cross of Calvary every time we take the Lord's Supper, but it's always in the shadow of Christ coming back again. If the Lord's Supper is done right in your heart, you should be more excited about the, about the return of Christ. The Lord's Supper is not just about the death of him, but also the reign of Christ. Okay, he died on the cross so that he could resurrect from the grave. He ascended to the Father so that he could come back again for his people. So we are to look ahead and rejoice and get excited as well. Okay, so it's not— yes, kind of like a memorial service in a sense, but also rejoicing and knowing what's to come, right? Number 5, look within and repent. We are to look within um, and repent according to 1 Corinthians chapter 11 and verse 28. Says you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking the cup. Okay, examine your salvation, examine your relationships, examine your attitude, examine your mo— examine yourself. And even though— ask God to highlight areas within you that he wants you to surrender to him, that he wants you to seek him about. Okay, see if anybody up here— hello, hi, hi, hi, Instagram! Yes, Angie! Oh, Angie, my cousin Angie put amen and hallelujah. Yes. And then number 6 is the Lord's Supper is a reminder that we are in covenant with the Lord. Take a close look at 1 Corinthians 11:25. This cup is the new covenant Okay, between God and his people, an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this to remember me as often as you drink it. So notice Christ said, um, Christ, you know, put here covenant, or Paul wrote covenant. This covenant has two sides. One side is forgiveness of your sins by the Lord. When you enter this covenant of salvation, God guarantees your sins have been paid for and forgiven. By the blood of Christ Jesus. This is why we, we pray, or, you know, we praying for somebody else, saying, you know, I plead the blood, I plead the blood of Christ, because his blood has power. His blood is redemptive. His blood can break stronghold. His blood does so much for us. Okay, okay. The other side of the Covenant is obedience. When we accept Christ as the Lord of our, um, of your life, you are saying, I will obey you, Lord. You are my God and I will submit to you. Part of the Lord's Supper is to remind us as believers that when we were saved, we entered a covenant with God saying, I will follow your ways. So as God's people, the Lord's Supper is a time to look up to God in our hearts and rededicate ourselves to the covenant that we have with him, knowing that he will always keep his end of the covenant whenever we sin. It's a time to look up and renew. Okay, so this is like this tone that, you know, I needed to set before we do communion today. So if you have some elements nearby, you can have, you know, bread, crackers, uh, some kind of juice that you can use. I, for one, I used to do that a lot, but I ended up just buying a case of communion crackers, and, um, on Amazon it looks like this. You might have seen this before at churches. So I actually have these at home, right? I actually need to order some more. I have like 5 left. So I think you can do a small case or a big case because I like to have it like, you know, at my desk. I might have some, you know, I have some at my altar. I have at home, um, whenever I used to go to the office to work before, I would have some even at my desk at work. Sometimes, you know, I would give some to my clients when they would come who were believers as well. Like, hey, do communion, commune with the Lord, because it's so, it's so beautiful and it's so powerful and it really does forces you to kind of slow down and really think about what Christ did for you, okay? And to remind you that God is more than enough. And so for me, you know, um, I have these on my altar, but for me, I always pray, okay, God, you know, I have these elements, and which elements is the crackers and the juice, right? Can you please bless it? Can you please consecrate it for your glory? This is how I do it.. And sometimes, you know, I really spend a lot of like deep time and worship before I do it. Sometimes I don't. Sometimes I'm like, God, I just need to get before you. I need a, I need a refill. And I might do it every week. There's times I might do it several days in a row. Sometimes I, you know, I'mma even go weeks upon weeks without doing it, right? But I do it whenever I feel led to. But on Tuesday, the Lord literally put it on my heart to do it at that particular moment, to give me strength. And it did give me strength. Okay, but you can do communion every single day, right? But don't make it a, a habit, or I say a routine. You can make it a habit, but a routine, like, meaning, oh, I have to do it, but you're not really seeing the benefits of it because you're not really able to, like, really meditate on what it is that— no, meditate on the scripture and meditate on what God did for you. Another thing that I realized over the years, I've been a part of different ministries. And, um, I know most churches, like, we have communion, it's, it's a celebration, it's beautiful, it's— I love it, it's amazing, right? But sometimes people think that you have to be dressed a certain way or look a certain way before you do communion. God's not looking on the outside, he's looking at the inside, okay? He looking at your heart, right? And so I know, um, churches that I've been, been to before, some of them require that you had to wear white right before you, you know, do communion. And honestly, that's beautiful. I'm, I'm not disagreeing with that. But I don't feel like it should be a mandate for people who might not have white. Let me explain. So I remember, um, I used to be a part of a dance ministry when I was in Georgia. It was like 8 of us, and it was Easter weekend. And so I think like that Friday before that Sunday, we was told, you know, we had to do communion, we had to wear white, right? And so during that time, like, I just had a baby And so I didn't have my white clothes. I had— did not fit. It did not fit. And so, you know, I was like stressed out because I'm like, God, like, I'm like, I gotta go find white now because like I can't fit my white outfit for communion. And so I spent like that whole day like going from different store. I called, you know, our leader of the dance meet like, hey girl, I can't find white. I can't find it. She said, Shakeeta, we have to wear it. It's no there's no like compromise on that. I'm just like— and so when it comes to things like that, of course, um, I think it should be recommended that you wear white if your church is saying that. But also ministries should be very mindful of the fact that not everybody has that right now, or they might not have it, and they can deter them from even wanting to come and partake because they don't have on all white. And so I've also been before churches too that, you know, well, you can wear what you want to wear, come as you are. And allow— and it's like, you know, examine your heart and prepare for that, right? And so just be mindful that everybody is not in that place. So this is why I do it. I do it at home a lot. When I go to church, I do it at church too. And my kids love it, especially my little one. She loves communion. She loves Jesus. So it's, it's amazing. And so with that being said, whenever I do communion and I pray over it and I take communion, y'all, I feel God. I feel God's spirit on the inside, like, heavily. Okay, is it always that way? No, it just depends on what God wants to do. Okay, but it forces you to remember what he did. And so if you want to, like I said, I'm gonna, I'm gonna actually do communion now. I'm gonna pray, I'm gonna read the scripture. Okay, all right. And so whenever we do it, we usually start at, uh, 1 Corinthians chapter 11, verse, uh, 24. Okay, and so I take off like the little wrapper here, and I also like going to like repentance, asking God to forgive me of anything I've said or done that's not pleasing in his sight. I ask him to, you know, renew my mind, renew my spirit. Um, I forgive those who have offended me. Um, you know, and just like, you know, like release some stuff, release it. Because in scripture, if you go back, it said people have actually died from trying to do communion and they did not partake, or they did not do it correctly, okay? And so my former apostle I had years ago when I was a babe in Christ, she was like, yeah, people— I know people who actually died from trying to partake in communion and their heart was completely wrecked because they was not in the right place, right? And so I'm like, who, child? I'm not— I don't, I don't know about you, but I'm not trying to— I'm not trying to die, okay? So yes, Yes. So, um, it says here, the Lord Jesus Christ, on the night he was betrayed, he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, this is my body which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me. So then I break it like this, and then I just take it. The next part is like layered. It's like the juice here. So I just take it off like this. I already prayed, y'all. I prayed before I came up here. I prayed this morning, all the above. So yeah, all right. Verse 25 says this: In the same way, after supper, Jesus took the cup, the cup, saying, this cup is the New Testament, New Covenant in my blood. Do this whenever you drink it in remembrance of me. Amen. So I take the cup like this. Can you guys see it, Instagram? And take it like that. And so my kids, like I said before, they do it. My husband does it. Sometimes I do it by myself or with them as a family. And I love it when we do it together as a family because there's power in unity, okay? And also we be all just like, uh, it just like— we can just feel like so much peace and just so much, uh, it's just so beautiful, you guys. To do it with your family, okay? Do it with your friends. You can do it, you can do it virtually, you can do it in person. It's just a beautiful, beautiful experience, okay? So with that being said, that is all I have for today. Um, today was definitely short. Um, next Thursday, as I said before, I would not be going live next Thursday because of the Women's Conference. We have to really, um, you know, prepare for that, make sure I'm ready mentally, emotionally, and spiritually for that, because this is going to be it's going to be warfare, to be honest. It's going to be warfare for me and her both, for all of us people who are involved, because like God wants to tear some stuff down. All right, so we gonna make sure that we are consecrated and we are ready for what it is that God wants us to do. So again, if you want to join the event virtually, if you want to join the event in person, you can go to Eventbrite and get your tickets there. Um, $30 for virtual if you want to do virtual, and I think it's $65 for you to do it in person. Um, we're gonna have, you know, some food vendors, um, we're gonna have a photo booth and other stuff too. I can't share everything. You're definitely going to get more than what you're paying for, for sure. Um, and so with that being said, I'm gonna pray us out and then we'll be done. If anybody have any questions, I'll double check up here. So far I don't see any. Um, thank you guys for joining. And so, Father, I just thank you right now for your word. I thank you, God, for just breathing on us, God. I pray, God, that this message today, which was short but also so needed for the body of Christ, God, that it blesses them, it encourages them, it gives them clarity, God. But I actually got to break the spirit of religion, God, off your people, Lord God, and continue to show them, God, that God, you desire to have relationship with them, God. Relationship, relationship, relationship, God. God, maybe just tear away, gotta break down, Lord God. The demands of people, God, my God, and that God, we will focus on what you want us to do and not the demands of religion or checkboxes or trying to please people, God, but only to please you. So Holy Spirit, I pray, God, that in this hour we will surrender to you as the body of Christ, God, to be used for your glory, no matter how small the task may seem, no matter how big the task may seem. God, that you have— Father, you have need of every single one of us, God. God, you Because God, you need the head, the eyes, you need, uh, the neck, you need the hands, the feet. God, we all have a part to play in the body of Christ, God, and a part, Lord God, a part, oh Lord God, to fulfill in the kingdom, God. So God, help us, God, to be kingdom-minded, God, and not earthly-minded, to see you, God, as Father, to see you, God, as glorious, to see your Son and what he did for us, oh God, and how precious and important it is, God, and how how much privilege we have in this new day. So God, I thank you, Lord God, for your word. I ask you, God, to breathe on us. I pray for people's weeks and weekends to be just filled with your glory. In Christ's name I pray, amen and amen. And so yes, Lord. So yes, like, I just keep feeling like this, this religion, like religion, religion, religion, y'all. Like, I know some of you guys battle with these checkboxes. People battle with, okay, well, the church say do it this way, but what does God say? What does the word of God say? Like, it is definitely time out for just doing things as usual, just doing things just because. I know me, I challenge it. I'm like, okay, if we doing XYZ, why, why are we doing it this way? Is it in scripture? Okay, like, I, I don't like that. I get— it's my pet peeve. Like, oh, what, what is God saying? What is the word of God saying? Don't fill people's day with a whole bunch of fluff. You fill it with the word of God, with worship, with worship strategy and instructions. So remember that you do not have to check off a checkbox and you do not have to earn your salvation, okay? It's already been earned and for you, so just walk in it, okay? So again, thank you all so much for joining. I'm looking to see if I have any, um, people up here. People put amen, amen, amen. Alrighty, you guys, so I'm going to get off. And again, um, make sure you check out my podcast Pain, Passion, and Purpose. Um, if you are in need of, uh, life coaching services, I do have that as well. You can, um, send me a DM or comment in the, um, section here and I'll send you the link. There's no pressure, okay? All right, so I'll see you guys not next week but the week after next. All right, bye-bye.