Transcription
[Music]
Say yes in Memphis, Tennessee, and from auditoriums across America, we present the Bountiful Blessings Broadcast with Bishop G.E. Patterson.
Our mission is to reach the universe of mankind with the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ, admonishing them to receive the gift of His Spirit to lift and nurture the total man as we expectantly await the second coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
I command you to be healed, be delivered, be set free. Jesus paid it all; all to Him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain; He washed it white as snow. What a beautiful thought! We did the bad deeds, but somebody else paid for it. As a result of salvation, you are cleansed through the blood of Jesus. Your whiteness—everything forgiven.
I said that only to bring you in to know that today we are going to have communion. This is the first Sunday of the month. I want you to go and get your elements—get your grape juice, get your cracker—and prepare to commune with the people of God, being mindful of what an honor it is to be able to have communion.
It says that you've gotten your business in order, and if you haven't, this particular tape is one that I'm going to air for the mere purpose of just teaching people why we have communion. I don't always air tapes with you purchasing them for money per se; some of them are ministry, and this is one. Because we live in a time now where many churches don't even serve communion, I want you to be aware of the fact that it is so necessary that you get yourself in order so that you can be able to communicate with the people of God.
Be blessed is my prayer.
Let's go now into the service already in progress. I'm talking about the proper attitude facing communion. This is certainly an observance that we have twice each month here at Temple of Deliverance: the first Sunday in the month at 7:45 a.m. and then on the third Sunday at the 11 a.m. worship.
It is something that, because we do it routinely, I don't know if we really take the time to understand what Holy Communion is all about. Like so many things in the body of Christ, we can get so locked into the routine that the total significance is somehow lost in the fact that it is a routine observance.
Let me say before we begin that in the book of First Corinthians, the Apostle Paul is in the process of setting a number of things in order, but here he deals with how they were even messing up at the communion table. Now, you would think that is the one place where people would seek to be right, but listen to what he says.
First Corinthians chapter 11, beginning with verse 20. Let's read that verse together: "When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's supper." In other words, he said, "What I'm hearing about you all come together—you say you're coming together for Holy Communion, but that's not what y'all are doing."
Verse 21: "For in eating, everyone taketh before other his own supper, and one is hungry, and another is drunken."
Now listen to what he's saying here. The Lord's Supper, which really consists of the bread and the wine, is the observance where we focus upon [Music] the awful debt that was paid for our salvation.
It's true we sing, "I'm glad salvation is free," and salvation is free to you and it is free to me, but salvation cost God. It cost heaven. God paid an awful debt because He took a portion of His own self and emptied Himself into the limited vessel of a human body. Heaven was without a certain presence of God for a period of time. It cost God to bring us salvation.
Even Jesus Christ, after being baptized of John in the River of Jordan and into the wilderness for 40 days, tempted of the devil, returned in the power of the Spirit. This is when He began to work the miracles that He performed. But although He worked miracles, He was still limited in the body of human flesh.
So whenever you sing, "Salvation is free," remember how much that free salvation cost God. After all of the miracles of healing, opening the eyes of the blind, unstopping the deaf ears, even walking upon the water, He could not bring the salvation that we enjoy until He gave His life.
He said, "No man taketh my life from me; I lay it down of myself that I might take it up again." But dying an awful death—crucifixion on a cross—where His body begins an ordeal on the night before being broken with the whip as they beat Him, then as they put a crown of thorns on His head and put an old rugged cross on His shoulder, nails through His hands, nails through His feet, and a spear through His side.
What is He doing? He is paying the penalty of sin. But the irony of it all is that the penalty that He is paying is for sin that He has never committed because the testimony is, "He did no sin; no guile was found in His mouth; no deceit was in Him."
Well, why the thorns? Why the whip? Why the nails? Why the spear? Why is He suffering, wounded for our transgressions? And I hear somebody say, "Wounded for me." I did the sin, and He paid the price.
And that's what we remember when we approach the communion table—that we did the sin, but He paid the price. His body was broken, and His blood was shed—not for any wrong that He had done, but for the sins committed by you and me.
So when you come together facing the Lord's Supper, or Holy Communion, or whatever you would call it, He said, "This is not a time for a man who has plenty to eat to sit down in front of poor folk and have his dinner. Not a time for somebody to drink excessively."
You don't have to worry about that here because the wine that we use is not for a minute. Sorry for somebody who thought they were going to get a kick, but they used the real stuff. Some of the fellas who didn't go to church no other time went when it was time for breaking the bread and communion because they wanted the wine.
He said, "In eating, everyone taketh before other his own supper. One is hungry; here's the person who didn't have the benefit."
See, when Paul writes to the church at Corinth, this is no longer the same church that we read about in Jerusalem. One thing you got to understand is that the church constantly has gone through transition.
At the beginning in Jerusalem, to be a member of that church, they sold their property, they brought all of the money, and they laid it at the apostles' feet. Ananias and Sapphira kept back part of it, lied about it, and fell dead in church.
But the church started off in Jerusalem; it was a commune, you know, a community where the people were together. The Bible said they had all things common, and the way they had all things common was because people who had something sold it and brought all the money, turning it over to the apostles.
So really, everybody in the church basically was poor, and they depended on the apostles every day to distribute the daily necessities. But as the Jewish church began to take in Grecian members, chapter 6 says when the number of disciples were multiplied, then there became a dispute because the Grecian widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of necessities.
That brought in a need for the deacons because the apostles, who were Jewish, sought to it that they took care of the Jewish widows, but they didn't know the Grecian widows as well, and many of them were ignored.
So they looked to the Grecian community and told them, "Look you out among you and find seven men of honest report, full of wisdom and the Holy Ghost, whom we may appoint over this business, and we'll let them do the waiting of tables, and we will give ourselves to the ministry of the word and of prayer."
But in those days, they had all things common. However, there were people that took advantage of that. So later on, when the church grew and matured and Paul became an apostle, Paul said, "Now you've got some folk that's using the church as an out. They come in the church, and they're eating free, but they're not participating in the chores. And if a man don't work, don't let him eat."
Oh, you're not ready for this! [Applause]
So by the time he writes to the church at Corinth, it is no longer that church that Peter and John knew in Jerusalem where they had all things common. Here you've got wealthy folk and poor folk, and he said, "You come talking about communion, and you're sitting around the table, and here is a man who doesn't have anything to eat. You're letting him sit there and starve while another is sitting here with plenty of food, and he's got a spirit of gluttony, and he's gorging himself at the communion table. He ought to be home if he just wants to eat dinner."
Come on, look at verse 22: "What? Have you not houses to eat and drink in? This thing of communion is not about coming to church and sitting around the table and stuffing yourself with food. It's not about drinking the wine and getting drunk. Despise ye the church of God and shame them that have not? What else shall I say unto you? Shall I praise you in this? I praise you not."
He says, "I can't praise you for that kind of conduct."
So he takes them back to what it's all about: "I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus, the same night in which He was betrayed, took bread. And when He had given thanks, He break it."
Can you understand that Jesus knew that the bread that He was about to break was representative of the breaking of His own body? But even though He was about to break that which was a symbol of His own body, He gave God thanks.
How many thank God when you know you're getting ready to suffer? That's not really the time that we thank God, huh? But knowing that His body was going to be broken, He thought about the greater good that would come from it, and He gave God thanks and gave that to them, saying, "Take, eat; this is my body which is broken for you. This do in remembrance of me."
After the same manner also, He took the cup. When He had supped, letting us know that He instituted the Lord's Supper after He had finished eating the Passover because the Lord's Supper was instituted the night of the Passover.
Every time we approach the communion table, eat of the unleavened bread, drink of the cup, we are not only to look back, but we ought to look forward. We are to look back to the awful debt that was paid when Jesus hung, suffered, bled on the cross for your sins and for mine.
But not only do we look back; we understand that when He died on the cross and was buried in Joseph's new tomb, and three days later came out of the grave with all power in His hands, and remained among His disciples, being seen of them for a period of about 40 days, then led them out as far as Bethany, lifted up His hands and blessed them.
All of a sudden, gravitation released Him, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. But the angels said, "Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye here gazing up into the heavens?"
Father, saying, "Jesus, I'm not looking for another." Hallelujah! I don't care how many new religions they come up with; I don't care how many new so-called saviors come upon the scene of time. I'm not looking for some new Messiah; I'm waiting on the return of the same Jesus.
The same one that was born of the Virgin Mary, the same one who was hung on Calvary's cross, the same one that was buried in Joseph's new tomb, the same one that came out declaring, "All power in heaven and in earth is in my hand." That same Jesus, He's coming back!
Oh, I know that the church, the body of Christ today, we are so into the gospel of prosperity. We are so into the mansions that the Lord allows us to purchase on earth. We are so into the comfort of life that we have down here that all we want to do is stay here as long as we can.
But I want you to know that as true as we are sitting here this morning, one day the same Jesus is coming back. And when He comes, we who are alive and remain—glory to God—we're going to be changed in a moment and in the twinkling of an eye.
And while we're being changed, those who have already gone on and are buried somewhere in the grave, the graves are going to burst open, and the dead in Christ shall rise and will be caught up. [Applause]
[Music]
The Word of God tells us that when you get to examining yourself, and if you think you missed something, then you got to join with the psalmist, and he says, "Lord, thou hast searched me, and thou hast known me, and you know whether there be any wicked way in me."
When I was growing up, they used to sing the song, "Search me, Lord; turn the light from heaven on my soul. Maybe I missed something, but if you find anything that shouldn't be, take it out, move it, and strengthen me. I want to be right; I want to be saved; I want to be whole."
Glory to God! I'm getting ready to close this, but let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup.
I just want you to know that it may be routine, but this is not a plaything. Eating and drinking of the Lord's body and blood is real. It's just as real as salvation is itself.
It's not about coming to church on Sunday morning so that people will think you are a good person. It's not about taking communion so that people will think you are all right with God. But you got to know for yourself what your relationship is with Him.
You got to know: Have you been washed in the blood? Have you been filled with His Spirit?
[Music]
Hallelujah!
Now, gracious and loving Heavenly Father, we want to thank You for this privilege that You've granted unto us once again to come together, to assemble around this table of brotherhood, to eat of Your broken body, to drink of Your shed blood, being mindful again of the awful debt that heaven paid for our free salvation.
As we stand here, Lord, we enter into a time of self-examination. Thank You, Lord, because we recognize that without You, we are nothing. Had it not been for You and the shedding of Your precious blood, the breaking of Your body, paying sin's debt, we would be on an irretrievable course heading for our devil's hell.
But You just snatched us out of the fire, and we gotta thank You! Thank You for washing us in Your blood. Thank You, Jesus!
Now, Lord, we ask that as we share in this, Your broken body, and drink of Your shed blood, that our hearts and our minds will focus on Thee as never before. That we'll realize the sincerity and the seriousness of walking the walk of a believer.
And we give You praise, and we give You glory through Christ our Lord. Amen. Amen.
All over the building, if you'd stand now, ushers will lead you out on the right of your row. You'll come and receive your communion, and then you'll go.
And He took back bread, and He did break it, gave it to His disciples, told them to divide this among yourselves. So shall we eat of our Lord's broken body.
[Music]
And He took the cup, and He gave thanks, gave it to His disciples, and said, "Drink ye all of it. This is the new testament in my blood."
So as often as we eat of this bread and drink of this cup, we do show the Lord's death until He comes.
[Music]
That tape number is tape number 1179. Receive the tape and be sure that every so often you view it so you can see how all of us should be so thankful for the debt paid.
Give us the privilege to commune with the saints in Holy Communion. View the screen, and you can see whatever mode you would like to order this particular message in.
I'd like to take this time to say thank you for how you've supported us, and I ask that you continue to do so because without you, this ministry possibly could not be going on as long as it has.
You are helping us bless people as far as our voices are heard, and we appreciate you.
Just a point of information: I would like for those of you who view us now—because some channels or something is going on where some of our viewers are not getting us any longer—so I would like for you to call our toll-free number: 1-800-544-3571, and let us know who your carrier is so we can be sure that we can continue to send these potent messages, these God-fearing messages to you wherever you can hear my voice.
The number again is 1-800-544-3571. Let us know who your carrier is. We're looking to hear from you.
Be blessed in the name of the Lord.
[Music]
[Music]