Sid: You know what I always saw the bumper sticker “The family that prays together stays together.” Well I have Dr. John Miller on the telephone who has studied communion for the past 22 years, and I would like to make a switch on that. “The family that takes communion together stays together.” How do you like that John?
John: That’s wonderful.
Sid: Actually we’re going to take communion together. We’re going to do it with teaching by Dr. John Miller, and I’m going to pray the Hebrew at the end of each prayer that Dr. John Miller prays. This is the same Hebrew words that Yeshua, Jesus, said at the Last Supper. How do I know this? Because it was a Passover Seder and we have been praying these prayers now thousands of years; so get your elements together get your grape juice, or your wine, and your bread, or your matzah, and let’s partake all together. John I would like to have some understanding from you of what you do when you take communion. First of all, do you take communion every day; do you ever take communion more than once a day?
John: Yes quite often I take communion more than once a day. You know communion is the time set aside for us to sit down and remember, recognize what Jesus did for us. Actually He took the place of all of the sacrifices that were demanded by God’s people in the Old Testament.
Sid: You know what’s kind of interesting on Passover which begins tomorrow, the Jewish festival of Passover, that’s why we do it, to remember what God did for us. So that really ties in, go ahead.
John: So in remembering what Jesus did for us we need to take account of ourselves. Remember we talked about the passage in 1st Corinthians 11 where it said “He that eateth and drinketh unworthily” and we discussed what that really means, but it also says “Let a man examine himself.” When you sit down to have communion you need to examine yourself in many areas because you’re going to be identifying with the sacrifice of redemption that Jesus made at Cavalry for you. We discussed 3 areas out of Isaiah 53:5 spiritual, mental, and physical. So let’s start with examining yourself for those; what are your spiritual? What are your mental needs? What are your physical needs? See people don’t sit down and examine themselves to see what do they need to participate with the redemption that Jesus brought. We have financial needs; there’s emotional needs; there’s ethical needs; relationship needs, you talked about that at the end of our last program; families their relationship getting better when they have communion. Social needs, educational needs, vocational needs, so you’re to examine yourself and see what needs you have because Paul said “I care to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ in Him crucified.” Which means any problem that comes against a person will be in the spiritual, mental, or physical area. The only problem that we weren’t redeemed from by what Jesus did at Cavalry was persecution for the gospel sake.
Sid: What about long life?
John: Well you know I’m a nutritionist and there’s a saying in nutrition “You are what you eat.” I like to think I’m on my way back to age 33 physiologically (laughing) when I take communion. Jesus’ body was 33 when it died.
Sid: Well you better be careful if you take it too many times you may get too young looking.
John: (Laughing)
Sid: I’m just teasing, but I know that what you’re saying is truth. I know, and you’re teasing in a sense, but I know that what you are saying… I have to tell you something I have never felt better in my life, and I believe I am getting younger, I really believe it.
John: In the one area that we have fallen so short in in the church is this mental area. I want to read some of the words out of Isaiah 53 that Jesus “The chastisement of our peace was upon Him.” Listen to these words: rejected, “He is despised and rejected of men.” So He suffered rejection for us. He was despised for us. Sorrows, griefs, in verse 7 it says “Oppressed,” He was oppressed. Now secular and religious psychologist and psychiatrist treat people for the depression, the oppression, fear, rejection. Everyone has suffered some rejection, but can you imagine making man and then coming to redeem man and man not accepting you.
Sid: Hmm.
John: Every one of us is met with a certain amount of rejection. None of us has ever met with the rejection that He had. In Isaiah 50 verse 6 says “I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.” Not only did he pay for the sin that you committed, but He took the shame and the guilt that goes with it. Now depending upon what study you’re in people say that… people in the hospital treated for disease, not all, from like 70-90% are there due to a psychosomatic disorder. This is a physical disorder that came from a mental state. That’s why the atonement is spiritual, mental, and physical. You cannot walk in physical health if you don’t walk in mental health; you cannot walk in mental health, the peace that passes all understanding, until you walk in spiritual health. So we need to examine ourselves spiritually, mentally, and physically when we sit down to have communion.
Sid: John our time’s slipping away I think we better take communion now. I’ve got the elements in front of me I have a little piece of matzah, and I have, I don’t know if it’s wine or grape juice personally as a Jew… oh I don’t want to get into that theological bomb shell. John if you would pray over the elements and when you finish praying I’ll chant the Hebrew for the matzah and the wine.
John: Okay. Father as I hold this unleavened bread up to you I thank you for it. I ask that you sanctify it as the body of Christ that redeemed me spiritually, mentally, and physically. As I partake of the body of Christ I receive healing in every organ, every cell, and every function in my body in Jesus name.
Sid: And you know as I look at this matzah, and we’ll be having Passover starting tomorrow, and many of us will be eating matzah, it is unleavened. Meaning its represents the sinless body of the Messiah, but it is also striped representing the 39 stripes that Jesus took for us. We discern that those stripes covered every physical infirmity and sickness and pain, and mental, and emotional trauma; spirit, soul, and body. (Singing) Baruch atah Adonai Elohaynu Mehlehch haolam hamotsee lechem meen ha-arets – amen. You may eat, but discern the body as you are eating. John if you would take the grape juice.
John: Yes Lord we thank you for this wine as representing the blood of Jesus which justified us in Your site. We receive now the blood of Jesus in our life which cleanses us from all unrighteousness. The life of the flesh is in the blood, so Father we receive Your life right now anew in our bodies as we receive this wine in Jesus name.
Sid: Just before you take the wine and recognize the rabbi’s say on Passover the wine can only be red representing, they don’t say this but I say it, the blood of Messiah. Yeshua took the wine and He prayed Baruch atah Adonai Elohaynu Mehlehch haolam boray p’ree hagafen – amen. You may drink the wine. John one last thought on communion.
John: I look at daily communion as going through the bank. If you were in a business that you needed a lot of cash, so you would pull in the bank and write out a withdrawal slip and they would give you the cash to carry on your day’s business. If you never took the time out to write the withdrawal slip and drive thru the bank and get the money, you’re not going to have it. That’s the same way with your spiritual, mental, and physical health. You need to sit down and take the time to make the withdrawal; Jesus already made the deposit and it’s up to us to make the withdrawal.
