Table of the Lord II
The Original Covenant of the Table, Part 2
We've talked about our granddaughter, Jessica, (now seven years old) many times throughout the past few years and the rather spectacular things she's come out with, her experiences with the Lord, her boldness to lay hands on others and command healing, and the revelations she's had. We have another young one in our midst who is apparently coming up the same way. Rich and DeAngela Warren have been an integral part of River Worship Center for more than two years, and are worship leaders in our fellowship.
They have a grandson, Christopher, who has been living in their home for more than a year. Christopher is three years old. Periodically he talks about the angels he sees here, and sometimes asks either Rich or DeAngela to bring him over during the week because of it. (They live only two doors away from us, by the way.) Sunday a week ago, while we were in the midst of worship, he suddenly broke down and began to weep. A spirit of intercession came over him on behalf of his aunt Jessica (DeAngela's daughter). He comes over to DeAngela and asks, "Is Jessica dead?"
DeAngela's reaction was -- of course -- complete shock. "No, Christopher, she's not dead." Then it suddenly dawned that Christopher was seeing some event with impending death for his aunt and the Spirit of the Lord was moving through his being with intercession on her behalf. We stopped what we were doing and gathered around Christopher and prayed with him for Jessica. There was an immediate release in the Spirit and things settled down.
Because of our focus during the past months on the Table of the Lord and the constant revelation the Holy Spirit has been bringing, we have made it a practice each Sunday to gather around a large table as a fellowship -- both to break the Word together, and to break bread and drink of the cup. Because our fellowship is relatively small (in actual numbers) we grab a cup of coffee or tea or chocolate (or whatever), and sometimes other refreshments and bring them to the table with us as we begin to share out of the Word. We have a real family atmosphere and a bond of love and fellowship that is hard to put into words, and the smaller numbers of people make it easy to fellowship like this.
Christopher was with Della in the kitchen to get his usual cup of chocolate before heading into another room with Sandra (who teaches the children). All of a sudden he began to cry and laugh at the same time. Tears were streaming down his face as he was laughing; and this was a laughter that literally was shaking his whole being with the joy of the Lord. Again, bear in mind that Christopher is only three years old.
Della began to laugh with him and said to him, "Christopher, what's happening?" She took his hand and patted her own cheek saying, "I want some of that. Will you give me some of that?" Christopher continued laughing and crying and drew back his hand. "No, it's mine. It's mine, and I'm keeping it." Everyone laughed, but honestly it was one of those Wow! experiences. It isn't often that you see a three-year-old so under the power of the Holy Spirit. The presence of the Lord so gripped him that he decided he didn't want any cookies, and he didn't want his cup of chocolate. He decided he was just going to eat and drink of the presence of the Lord. (That's my interpretation of what was happening with him. He simply lost his normal desire to eat or drink anything of this natural realm.)
And, speaking of angels, we are seeing them more and more frequently in our midst during our times of praise and worship. It is apparent that they revel in the worship and just want to join in with us. Hallelujah!
OK, we got started again without the usual greetings. So, GOOD MORNING already!
This is the best day of your life! And yes, the coffee is poured. Got both Espresso and the French Press working so there's plenty to go around.
Let's begin today with Jesus' statement that caused such consternation among the people who heard him.
"This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. ..... Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
"Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever." (John 6:50-51, 53-58)
Then we have John's observation of Jesus:
"And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." (John 1:14)
Ever wonder how "the Word was made flesh" as John declares? Consider the picture that unfolds in Luke 1:26-38. The angel Gabriel appears to Mary and tells her that she is blessed and highly favored of God, and that she will conceive and bear a son who in fact will be the long-promised and prophesied Messiah. Mary does not doubt the word that she is hearing but asks, "How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?" The angel Gabriel responds, "The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God."
Bear in mind that the angel is simply a messenger of God sent with God's Word to her. Here is how -- and when -- the Word is made flesh. "And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word." (Luke 1:38) Get it?
Mary agrees with the Word of the Lord and speaks that agreement by saying "Be it unto me according to thy Word:" the Word of the Lord. She is effectively speaking the same creative Word that God spoke when He decreed in Genesis 1:3, "Light be" (or as the KJV reads, "Let there be light!") Thus the Word came into being instantly within her womb. Sure, she had to carry Jesus for the normal nine-month term before He was actually born but He was instantly conceived when she spoke the Word herself.
Are you beginning to get the picture? The Word, spoken by Mary in agreement with the Word of the Lord which had been delivered to her, became flesh in her womb. It was living. It was eternity, invading time and space with the reality of God Himself! Thus, the Word -- Jesus -- became flesh. And John witnesses, "and dwelt among us (and we beheld His Glory, the Glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth."
Jesus walked and talked with His disciples. He preached to the multitudes. He broke bread with them, and He did it in a manner that would testify to them (and they would also be witness to) that He was the Word!
Consider the event that had unfolded (see John 6) just prior to Jesus' statement "Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you."
"After these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias. And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased. And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples. And the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh." (This is an important point in view of what Jesus is about to do.)
"When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread (Note: this is roughly equivalent to seven months' wages in those days) is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.
"One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, saith unto him, There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many? And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand." (Note: By Hebrew tradition this number represents the married men only, not counting the unmarried men, all the wives, the women and children. The actual number of those gathered on the hillsides would have been more on the order of 20,000 - 30,000.)
"And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would. When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten. Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world."
Before we continue with the rest of this picture, let's consider some of the issues that have already been presented.
First, John makes note of the fact that the Passover was "eggus": "ready to begin, at hand." Folks were ready for the seven day period in which they would eat of the unleavened bread. They would break this bread and eat of it only -- no leavened bread at all. (Both Orthodox and Messianic Jews keep this ordinance yet today. They often refer to it as a "Seder" meal.) With the Passover meal, they would drink water -- not wine. The practice of wine with the Table of the Lord did not really commence until after Jesus turned the water into wine at the marriage of Cana in Galilee, although we see this covenant practice long before the days of Moses.
The point I'm making is that the Jews were ready to begin Passover with its unleavened flatbread (matstsah) -- symbolic of the fact that there was no leaven of Egypt in what they were eating. In a parable that Jesus later shared, He likened the Kingdom of God to leaven and said, "The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened." (Matthew 13:33) In so doing, Jesus was clarifying the fact that the picture of leaven is that of a spiritual force -- whether for evil or for good.
In the miracle that unfolded in John 6 where Jesus fed the 5,000, as noted in the last Coffee Break, the loaves that Jesus broke and distributed were artos: raised bread, whole bread -- leavened bread. There was an impartation of His life that took place which He was demonstrating. There is a multiplying factor in His life (and we will be discussing this at length throughout this series) -- the leaven of the Kingdom of God which multiplies and causes the Word to grow and expand within us until we reach the place of being fully "raised" in Him.
Thus as the miracle of the loaves unfolded, Jesus was demonstrating what He would say to the people shortly thereafter, "I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world."
On many occasions, Jesus made statements such as the following:
"As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me." (John 6:57)
"I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?" (John 11:25-26)
"I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6)
In his first general epistle, John writes, "For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us." (I John 1:2)
The Table of the Lord -- which took the place of Passover -- provides us with a daily (or as often as we eat and drink of it) impartation of the life, the multiplication that comes in that divine life, and we receive for ourselves healing, health, wholeness, deliverance from bondage and oppression, and the abundant provision of all that Heaven has for us. Consider the event that took place when the Syrophenician woman came to Jesus.
"And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour." (Matthew 15:21-28)
See the picture? Are you understanding just how powerful the bread of life really is? This woman was not even of the house of Israel. Yet she understood the significance of the Table of the Lord. She understood the picture of the Bread of Life, and she realized that just a dried-out crumb of that bread that had fallen under the Table would bring healing and deliverance to her daughter.
Brother! I sometimes marvel that the body of Christ -- who is supposed to have a grip on what it means to be seated at the Table of the Lord -- has yet to understand what it means to eat of the Bread of Life. David certainly had the picture.
Remember the 23rd Psalm?
"Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies." Who is preparing this table? Hello!?! The Lord Jesus Christ, of course. And what are the enemies in whose presence this Table is spread? Hmmmm ........ Let's see, now ....... Sickness, disease, infirmity, death, poverty, bondage of every kind, demonic oppression, fear, doubt, unbelief ..... shall we go on?
Yet, for the most part, the body of Christ today still treats the Table of the Lord as anaxios: to treat irreverently, to treat as commonplace and ordinary. There is nothing, and I do mean NOTHING about the Table of the Lord that is commonplace or ordinary. This is not a ritual. This is not some duty to keep. The Table of the Lord is a way of life, a manner of living. Eating of the Table of the Lord takes a person out of this time-space, sin-and-sickness-based, death-imposed realm and transports them into the eternity of eternities -- the Kingdom of God!
When we eat of the Bread of Life, we are eating of the Word Himself. But we have to do it with revelation and understanding. Otherwise it becomes just another "thing to do" as a Christian. Personally, I dislike -- no, I'll make it even stronger than that -- I detest the form and ritual that has turned our sacred Communion at the Table of the Lord into crackers or wafers and dinky little "communion cups" (so that folks don't transmit or catch some disease by drinking from a common cup).
When I was still at Long Beach Christian Center back in the 1970's, we stopped the "crackers-and-grape juice-in-communion cups" ritual and went to breaking a whole loaf of bread and drinking from a common cup or chalice. It began the transformation of my understanding of what it means to partake of the Lord's Table.
That was more than 35 years ago, and you couldn't pay me to go back to the old ritual! I've yet to see someone "catch something" by drinking of a common cup at the Table of the Lord. It just doesn't happen! That would make the Table of the Lord a lie -- and there is nothing but truth that emanates and is imparted when we eat and drink with revelation!
Wheww!!! We've just begun to scratch the surface. There's a whole lot more to go just dealing with the covenant picture of the Table. See you again in a few days.
The Lord has set a table before us that is fit for kings and priests -- and we are both in Him! We have a feast set before us designed to help us function as kings who rule and reign, and priests who worship and come before God's presence in boldness and joy.
Be blessed!
Regner A. Capener
CAPENER MINISTRIES
RIVER WORSHIP CENTER
455 North River Road
Prosser, Washington 99350-6554
(509) 781-6099
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Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Monday, August 17, 2009
ANOTHER COFFEE BREAK: THE TABLE OF THE LORD I
THE TABLE OF THE LORD I
Neville Johnson is a former pastor of one of the largest churches in Australia and currently travels the world sharing foundational teaching with the body of Christ. He has a strong prophetic anointing and has a real sense of what God is doing and saying to His people now.
A couple weeks ago or so, Neville's wife had a vision of the American flag dripping in blood and puzzled over its meaning. The Lord spoke to Neville and warned of an assassination planned on Barack Obama, saying that this would result in such race riots and chaos across the country as to result in unprecedented bloodshed. He counseled believers to pray for Obama and to pray that the wind of the Spirit would sweep through the White House bringing change and agreement with God's purposes for this nation.
I agree. And that's exactly how Della and I have been praying every morning. No Spirit-filled believers whom I know feel any sense of agreement with the direction and agenda Barack Obama has been pursuing since he became President. All of us grieve over his abortion and homosexual agendas. The active pursuit of efforts to silence Christians in literally every branch of government and in the public arena flies in the face of more than 230 years of American history.
The creation of more new debt upon this nation in the first six months of the Obama administration than George W. Bush saw in all eight of his years in office has created deep concern in our financial markets. Let's face it folks. Obama was elected and put in office because of great division among Christians in this nation. Had believers been unified and listening to the Holy Spirit it could never have happened. We have no one to blame but ourselves.
You may not be familiar with a man who is becoming more and more prominent in the prophetic community by the name of Sadhu Sundar Selvaraj but he had an experience recently that is very telling. Because of the strong anti-Christian bias that has existed in India for decades, Christians all over the nation began to fast and pray over this year's elections. The body of Christ in India -- regardless of church affiliation, denomination or doctrinal bent -- began to come together to pray with one mind and one focus: that God would place in office a new Prime Minister and a government that would be pro-Christian.
Despite the fact that polls showed overwhelmingly that the party in power would be reelected, a pro-Christian government and leadership was elected for India. Sadhu began to ask the Lord if India could see such a turnaround in its elections why America couldn't have done the same and elected the McCain-Palin ticket (who, despite obvious faults and shortcomings, were decidedly in support of traditional Christian values).
God spoke to Sadhu and said, "The Christians in America were divided. Too many of them were looking at the man and the party instead of asking me what My Will was for the nation. Because of their division, I gave them Barack Obama."
Got the picture, folks? God gave us Obama -- like it or lump it! The situation is not irreversible, and America is not beyond redemption despite the chaos that reigns. There are a number of folks to whom God has given a picture of Obama having a real awakening to the Lord Jesus Christ and reversing course.
Unless Christians begin to lay down their political and partisan differences and agendas and begin to pray in agreement for the moving of God's Spirit across this nation -- and particularly throughout every branch of government -- we are dooming this nation to such chaos as cannot be imagined.
We have both the authority AND the power to effect change -- righteous change -- but unless we stop praying against Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reed, et al, and begin praying for a true awakening to the Lord Jesus Christ throughout every branch of government, along with the cities and towns that dot this nation, we're just participating in the same witchcraft that plagues America now. Whenever we engage in negative prayers against individuals, we are seeking to manipulate their minds and wills -- and that's witchcraft, pure and simple.
As the apostle Paul wrote, "I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth." (I Timothy 2:1-4 -- emphasis mine)
Understand? Our prayers must be for Barack Obama, NOT against him -- and our prayers must be for his having a genuine visitation from the Lord Jesus Christ. The same applies to the Vice-President, the Cabinet, and both houses of Congress. Nothing else will bring the change this nation must have in order to avert a monumental catastrophe. There MUST be agreement in the body of Christ!
Sorry to be so windy on this instruction for prayer before we start this series, but it is something I can't get away from.
Isaiah prophesied, "So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him." (Isaiah 59:19 KJV)
We are that standard God is raising up! God is raising up an army of prayer warriors who know Him and His heart's desire; and they are praying in His will for this nation and other nations of the earth.
Had to start that way today. Didn't mean to spend so much time on it but it's been burning in me; and I just needed to encourage you to join this army.
Anyway, GOOD, GOOD MORNING and the Blessings of the Lord to you! Coffee's on! I made coffee today using the Espresso machine. Got a triple shot of very dark-roasted French Roast in my 16-ounce cup. Mmmmm.....Hmmmm!!
Today's Coffee Break may run a bit long because of the introduction, so bear with me. For the better part of this past year, we have been sharing Sunday after Sunday after Sunday after Sunday on the Table of the Lord. Just when I think we've about gotten the full revelation of what is taking place, the Holy Spirit downloads a whole new picture. Hence, for some 40 weeks or so in succession, the Lord has peeled layer after layer after layer away so that we are seeing and hearing an entirely new (for us) and expanded dimension of this covenant act.
If you've grown up in and around the church, you've likely had pretty much the same routine I've had where we would take Communion the first Sunday of every month. Frequently you will hear the pastor or church leader say something like the following -- particularly after reading the passage of Scripture from I Corinthians 11 that reads like this:
"Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep." (I Corinthians 11:27-30)
You've likely heard something like this: "Now be careful! Examine yourself! If you have sin in your life, don't partake of Communion -- not until you repent and make things right with God. If you do, you could be eating sickness and death to yourself."
What gets missed in the translation is the last phrase of Paul's admonition, "not discerning the Lord's body."
Now if you were part of the Charismatic Renewal, you likely did something like I did. I would try to discipline my thoughts and imagination and try to imagine Jesus' body hanging on the Cross; and I would say, "Oh, Lord, I see you. I see you hanging on the Cross. I see your body. I see what you did for me."
Nice.......but stupid! That was NOT the body Paul was speaking of! He didn't expect us to screw up our willpower and try to imagine Jesus hanging on the Cross. That word "discerning" in the Greek text is diakrino, which means: to make a distinction, to discriminate, to separate thoroughly.
But Paul uses an interesting Greek word in the statement, "Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord." That word "unworthily" is translated from the Greek anaxios, which literally means: to treat irreverently, to treat as commonplace.
The use of those two words greatly affects how we understand this command. Let me explain.
When we treat the Table of the Lord as a ritual, a once-a-month event we are required to keep (and we do it as a religious duty), we've totally lost sight of what Jesus commanded, and we are treating this as "commonplace," as "ordinary." Once the Table of the Lord, or partaking of Communion becomes a religious duty and not a covenant act with revelation and understanding of what is taking place, it simply becomes "another thing to do" for us as Christians. We waste our time, we waste God's time, and....worse....our treating this Table so cavalierly results in our opening a door of opportunity to Satan to afflict us with disease, steal from us and even take our lives prematurely (more on this in a later Coffee Break).
The "discernment" Paul is speaking of refers to discerning -- understanding with true revelation -- all that Jesus' body represents at the Table. This is not eating of a wafer and drinking an ounce of grape juice. This is not crackers and juice, or a piece of bread and wine. This is the body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, it is!
That said; let me take you to a few foundation scriptures that will unfold the covenant nature of the Table of the Lord.
Before I do, however, let me say something that might surprise you. Literally everything that Jesus said, every miracle He performed (that we have recorded in the Gospels), everything He demonstrated to the disciples was rooted and founded in His Table. In the coming weeks, my objective is to help you see this unfold and radically change your understanding of what takes place each time you break bread and drink of the cup.
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made." (John 1:1-3)
"But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." (John 1:12-14)
"This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. .....
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever." (John 6:50-51, 53-58)
You may not see the foundational aspect of these Scriptures, yet, but stand by. It will become clear as we progress.
Jesus' statement caused a great stir -- both in the Jews generally, and amongst those that considered themselves His disciples (not the twelve) and followed Him. It was a statement that was designed to separate those who could only see and hear in the natural realm from those who understood the spiritual significance of what He was revealing. For those whose reference point was the Law of Moses, it created consternation and even nausea. John tells us (see John 6:66), "From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him." It was simply more than they could handle.
They were only seeing things through legalistic eyes. God had made some very specific and direct commands concerning the drinking of blood as we see in the following references.
"Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things. But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat." (Genesis 9:3-4)
"Moreover ye shall eat no manner of blood, whether it be of fowl or of beast, in any of your dwellings. Whatsoever soul it be that eateth any manner of blood, even that soul shall be cut off from his people." (Leviticus 7:26-27)
"And whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, that eateth any manner of blood; I will even set my face against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from among his people. For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul. Therefore I said unto the children of Israel, No soul of you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger that sojourneth among you eat blood." (Leviticus 17:10-12)
And that's just a drop in the bucket. There are a host of Scriptures which emphasize the fact that one does not eat (or drink) blood because all life is in the blood. But Jesus wasn't talking about eating His literal flesh or drinking His literal blood. He was referring back to the prophecy all Jews should have been well aware of -- the prophecy of Passover.
I won't recount the entire portion of Scripture here that relates to the Passover (you can read it in Exodus 12), but to summarize, God was preparing to bring Israel out of centuries of bondage in Egypt and take them to the Land of Promise He had covenanted to give to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The Egyptian Pharaoh wouldn't release the Israelites, despite the fact that God had given him sign after sign after sign, so God was going to send the Angel of Death across the land.
For Israel (living in Goshen) to be free from the death angel's power enabling him to "pass over" them, they needed to eat from a Table that God was going to prepare especially for this event. They were commanded to take a yearling lamb from their flocks, kill it, collect its blood and apply it to the lintels and doorposts of their dwelling places, roast the lamb and eat it along with cakes of unleavened bread. Once again, they were not to drink of the blood; they were to apply it to the lintels and doorposts of their homes.
God's promise to Israel was, "And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt." (Exodus 12:13) But it didn't stop there.
"And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever. Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel.
“And in the first day there shall be an holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be an holy convocation to you; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done of you. And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever." (Exodus 12:14-17)
I can see the wheels turning for some of you. OK, so where is there a prophecy in this? you ask. Glad you asked. I can't take the time in this series to deal with all of the feasts Israel was commanded to keep, but each of these feasts -- beginning with Passover -- was a prophecy, a picture of a future event in time -- to be fulfilled by and for the coming Messiah.
Notice that this very first feast (as was every feast Israel kept) began with the eating of a specific meal. They didn't have a drink specified at this meal/table (that came later as God spelled out the various offerings to Moses) because of the specific application of the blood. However, wine was later specified in the place of blood as an offering to the Lord (Exodus 29:40) and whenever the covenant Table was kept in Israel, wine became the substitute for, and symbol of, blood.
Israel would have the picture of the Table of the Lord continually before them once the Tabernacle of Moses was established. What we know as the "Table of Shewbread" was established as a permanent part of the furnishings of Moses' Tabernacle, and God's promised provision was constantly on display as twelve prophetic loaves.
Passover was the promise of what was to come. Jesus fulfilled that promise. And just as Jesus ate of the Passover meal with the disciples on the night He was betrayed -- becoming the once-and-for-all sacrificial "Lamb that was slain before the foundations of the world" (and forever completing the prophecy and picture of Passover) -- He also became the bread of provision displayed on the Table of Shewbread.
Take a quick look at Matthew 26 where we have a picture of the Last Supper. In verses 17-20 we see them eating of the unleavened bread. The Greek word which describes unleavened bread is azumos. But following the final celebration of Passover, Jesus again takes bread, and as He did when feeding the 5000 (and the 4000), he breaks it and begins to serve the disciples. (See verse 26.)
The Greek word in this instance is not azumos, but artos: raised bread. These two Greek words exactly parallel the two Hebrew words which describe both the unleavened bread (matstsah) of Passover, and the raised bread that was on display on the Table of Shewbread (lechem). Jesus became the bread of Passover, fulfilling its purpose, and the bread of provision -- the Table of Shewbread -- that He promised in Matthew 6:33 and Philippians 4:19.
Yet the Table of the Lord was actually manifested centuries before with Abraham. Remember when Melchizedek came out to greet Abraham after the slaughter of the kings' armies when he went to retrieve Lot following his capture? He came out with bread (lechem) and wine, and declared the Blessing upon Abraham.
This may seem a bit heavy, but I wanted to get these foundations laid in your understanding before we really begin to see and understand just how significant was the Table of the Lord. We should be able to resume this discussion again within a very few days.
The only way true change will come to us, then to the body of Christ and finally to the world, is when we stop setting our own agendas and begin to agree with everything God says. We must respond to what He desires to do in us -- no matter whether it crosses our doctrinal understanding or not.
Be blessed!
Regner A. Capener
CAPENER MINISTRIES
RIVER WORSHIP CENTER
455 North River Road
Prosser, Washington 99350-6554
(509) 781-6099
All Coffee Break articles are copyright by Regner A. Capener, but authorization for reprinting, reposting, copying or re-use, in whole or in part, is granted – provided proper attribution and this notice are included intact. Older Coffee Break archives are now available at http://regnersrangers.multiply.com/journal/ and are being slowly added at http://www.AnotherCoffeeBreak.com. Coffee Break articles are normally published weekly.
If you would like to have these articles arrive each morning in your email, please send a blank email to: Subscribe@AnotherCoffeeBreak.com. To unsubscribe, send a blank email to Unsubscribe@AnotherCoffeeBreak.com.
CAPENER MINISTRIES is a tax-exempt church ministry. Should you desire to participate and covenant with us as partners in this ministry, please contact us at either of the above email or physical addresses, or visit http://www.CapenerMinistries.com.
Neville Johnson is a former pastor of one of the largest churches in Australia and currently travels the world sharing foundational teaching with the body of Christ. He has a strong prophetic anointing and has a real sense of what God is doing and saying to His people now.
A couple weeks ago or so, Neville's wife had a vision of the American flag dripping in blood and puzzled over its meaning. The Lord spoke to Neville and warned of an assassination planned on Barack Obama, saying that this would result in such race riots and chaos across the country as to result in unprecedented bloodshed. He counseled believers to pray for Obama and to pray that the wind of the Spirit would sweep through the White House bringing change and agreement with God's purposes for this nation.
I agree. And that's exactly how Della and I have been praying every morning. No Spirit-filled believers whom I know feel any sense of agreement with the direction and agenda Barack Obama has been pursuing since he became President. All of us grieve over his abortion and homosexual agendas. The active pursuit of efforts to silence Christians in literally every branch of government and in the public arena flies in the face of more than 230 years of American history.
The creation of more new debt upon this nation in the first six months of the Obama administration than George W. Bush saw in all eight of his years in office has created deep concern in our financial markets. Let's face it folks. Obama was elected and put in office because of great division among Christians in this nation. Had believers been unified and listening to the Holy Spirit it could never have happened. We have no one to blame but ourselves.
You may not be familiar with a man who is becoming more and more prominent in the prophetic community by the name of Sadhu Sundar Selvaraj but he had an experience recently that is very telling. Because of the strong anti-Christian bias that has existed in India for decades, Christians all over the nation began to fast and pray over this year's elections. The body of Christ in India -- regardless of church affiliation, denomination or doctrinal bent -- began to come together to pray with one mind and one focus: that God would place in office a new Prime Minister and a government that would be pro-Christian.
Despite the fact that polls showed overwhelmingly that the party in power would be reelected, a pro-Christian government and leadership was elected for India. Sadhu began to ask the Lord if India could see such a turnaround in its elections why America couldn't have done the same and elected the McCain-Palin ticket (who, despite obvious faults and shortcomings, were decidedly in support of traditional Christian values).
God spoke to Sadhu and said, "The Christians in America were divided. Too many of them were looking at the man and the party instead of asking me what My Will was for the nation. Because of their division, I gave them Barack Obama."
Got the picture, folks? God gave us Obama -- like it or lump it! The situation is not irreversible, and America is not beyond redemption despite the chaos that reigns. There are a number of folks to whom God has given a picture of Obama having a real awakening to the Lord Jesus Christ and reversing course.
Unless Christians begin to lay down their political and partisan differences and agendas and begin to pray in agreement for the moving of God's Spirit across this nation -- and particularly throughout every branch of government -- we are dooming this nation to such chaos as cannot be imagined.
We have both the authority AND the power to effect change -- righteous change -- but unless we stop praying against Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reed, et al, and begin praying for a true awakening to the Lord Jesus Christ throughout every branch of government, along with the cities and towns that dot this nation, we're just participating in the same witchcraft that plagues America now. Whenever we engage in negative prayers against individuals, we are seeking to manipulate their minds and wills -- and that's witchcraft, pure and simple.
As the apostle Paul wrote, "I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth." (I Timothy 2:1-4 -- emphasis mine)
Understand? Our prayers must be for Barack Obama, NOT against him -- and our prayers must be for his having a genuine visitation from the Lord Jesus Christ. The same applies to the Vice-President, the Cabinet, and both houses of Congress. Nothing else will bring the change this nation must have in order to avert a monumental catastrophe. There MUST be agreement in the body of Christ!
Sorry to be so windy on this instruction for prayer before we start this series, but it is something I can't get away from.
Isaiah prophesied, "So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him." (Isaiah 59:19 KJV)
We are that standard God is raising up! God is raising up an army of prayer warriors who know Him and His heart's desire; and they are praying in His will for this nation and other nations of the earth.
Had to start that way today. Didn't mean to spend so much time on it but it's been burning in me; and I just needed to encourage you to join this army.
Anyway, GOOD, GOOD MORNING and the Blessings of the Lord to you! Coffee's on! I made coffee today using the Espresso machine. Got a triple shot of very dark-roasted French Roast in my 16-ounce cup. Mmmmm.....Hmmmm!!
Today's Coffee Break may run a bit long because of the introduction, so bear with me. For the better part of this past year, we have been sharing Sunday after Sunday after Sunday after Sunday on the Table of the Lord. Just when I think we've about gotten the full revelation of what is taking place, the Holy Spirit downloads a whole new picture. Hence, for some 40 weeks or so in succession, the Lord has peeled layer after layer after layer away so that we are seeing and hearing an entirely new (for us) and expanded dimension of this covenant act.
If you've grown up in and around the church, you've likely had pretty much the same routine I've had where we would take Communion the first Sunday of every month. Frequently you will hear the pastor or church leader say something like the following -- particularly after reading the passage of Scripture from I Corinthians 11 that reads like this:
"Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep." (I Corinthians 11:27-30)
You've likely heard something like this: "Now be careful! Examine yourself! If you have sin in your life, don't partake of Communion -- not until you repent and make things right with God. If you do, you could be eating sickness and death to yourself."
What gets missed in the translation is the last phrase of Paul's admonition, "not discerning the Lord's body."
Now if you were part of the Charismatic Renewal, you likely did something like I did. I would try to discipline my thoughts and imagination and try to imagine Jesus' body hanging on the Cross; and I would say, "Oh, Lord, I see you. I see you hanging on the Cross. I see your body. I see what you did for me."
Nice.......but stupid! That was NOT the body Paul was speaking of! He didn't expect us to screw up our willpower and try to imagine Jesus hanging on the Cross. That word "discerning" in the Greek text is diakrino, which means: to make a distinction, to discriminate, to separate thoroughly.
But Paul uses an interesting Greek word in the statement, "Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord." That word "unworthily" is translated from the Greek anaxios, which literally means: to treat irreverently, to treat as commonplace.
The use of those two words greatly affects how we understand this command. Let me explain.
When we treat the Table of the Lord as a ritual, a once-a-month event we are required to keep (and we do it as a religious duty), we've totally lost sight of what Jesus commanded, and we are treating this as "commonplace," as "ordinary." Once the Table of the Lord, or partaking of Communion becomes a religious duty and not a covenant act with revelation and understanding of what is taking place, it simply becomes "another thing to do" for us as Christians. We waste our time, we waste God's time, and....worse....our treating this Table so cavalierly results in our opening a door of opportunity to Satan to afflict us with disease, steal from us and even take our lives prematurely (more on this in a later Coffee Break).
The "discernment" Paul is speaking of refers to discerning -- understanding with true revelation -- all that Jesus' body represents at the Table. This is not eating of a wafer and drinking an ounce of grape juice. This is not crackers and juice, or a piece of bread and wine. This is the body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, it is!
That said; let me take you to a few foundation scriptures that will unfold the covenant nature of the Table of the Lord.
Before I do, however, let me say something that might surprise you. Literally everything that Jesus said, every miracle He performed (that we have recorded in the Gospels), everything He demonstrated to the disciples was rooted and founded in His Table. In the coming weeks, my objective is to help you see this unfold and radically change your understanding of what takes place each time you break bread and drink of the cup.
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made." (John 1:1-3)
"But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." (John 1:12-14)
"This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. .....
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever." (John 6:50-51, 53-58)
You may not see the foundational aspect of these Scriptures, yet, but stand by. It will become clear as we progress.
Jesus' statement caused a great stir -- both in the Jews generally, and amongst those that considered themselves His disciples (not the twelve) and followed Him. It was a statement that was designed to separate those who could only see and hear in the natural realm from those who understood the spiritual significance of what He was revealing. For those whose reference point was the Law of Moses, it created consternation and even nausea. John tells us (see John 6:66), "From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him." It was simply more than they could handle.
They were only seeing things through legalistic eyes. God had made some very specific and direct commands concerning the drinking of blood as we see in the following references.
"Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things. But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat." (Genesis 9:3-4)
"Moreover ye shall eat no manner of blood, whether it be of fowl or of beast, in any of your dwellings. Whatsoever soul it be that eateth any manner of blood, even that soul shall be cut off from his people." (Leviticus 7:26-27)
"And whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, that eateth any manner of blood; I will even set my face against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from among his people. For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul. Therefore I said unto the children of Israel, No soul of you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger that sojourneth among you eat blood." (Leviticus 17:10-12)
And that's just a drop in the bucket. There are a host of Scriptures which emphasize the fact that one does not eat (or drink) blood because all life is in the blood. But Jesus wasn't talking about eating His literal flesh or drinking His literal blood. He was referring back to the prophecy all Jews should have been well aware of -- the prophecy of Passover.
I won't recount the entire portion of Scripture here that relates to the Passover (you can read it in Exodus 12), but to summarize, God was preparing to bring Israel out of centuries of bondage in Egypt and take them to the Land of Promise He had covenanted to give to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The Egyptian Pharaoh wouldn't release the Israelites, despite the fact that God had given him sign after sign after sign, so God was going to send the Angel of Death across the land.
For Israel (living in Goshen) to be free from the death angel's power enabling him to "pass over" them, they needed to eat from a Table that God was going to prepare especially for this event. They were commanded to take a yearling lamb from their flocks, kill it, collect its blood and apply it to the lintels and doorposts of their dwelling places, roast the lamb and eat it along with cakes of unleavened bread. Once again, they were not to drink of the blood; they were to apply it to the lintels and doorposts of their homes.
God's promise to Israel was, "And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt." (Exodus 12:13) But it didn't stop there.
"And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever. Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel.
“And in the first day there shall be an holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be an holy convocation to you; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done of you. And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever." (Exodus 12:14-17)
I can see the wheels turning for some of you. OK, so where is there a prophecy in this? you ask. Glad you asked. I can't take the time in this series to deal with all of the feasts Israel was commanded to keep, but each of these feasts -- beginning with Passover -- was a prophecy, a picture of a future event in time -- to be fulfilled by and for the coming Messiah.
Notice that this very first feast (as was every feast Israel kept) began with the eating of a specific meal. They didn't have a drink specified at this meal/table (that came later as God spelled out the various offerings to Moses) because of the specific application of the blood. However, wine was later specified in the place of blood as an offering to the Lord (Exodus 29:40) and whenever the covenant Table was kept in Israel, wine became the substitute for, and symbol of, blood.
Israel would have the picture of the Table of the Lord continually before them once the Tabernacle of Moses was established. What we know as the "Table of Shewbread" was established as a permanent part of the furnishings of Moses' Tabernacle, and God's promised provision was constantly on display as twelve prophetic loaves.
Passover was the promise of what was to come. Jesus fulfilled that promise. And just as Jesus ate of the Passover meal with the disciples on the night He was betrayed -- becoming the once-and-for-all sacrificial "Lamb that was slain before the foundations of the world" (and forever completing the prophecy and picture of Passover) -- He also became the bread of provision displayed on the Table of Shewbread.
Take a quick look at Matthew 26 where we have a picture of the Last Supper. In verses 17-20 we see them eating of the unleavened bread. The Greek word which describes unleavened bread is azumos. But following the final celebration of Passover, Jesus again takes bread, and as He did when feeding the 5000 (and the 4000), he breaks it and begins to serve the disciples. (See verse 26.)
The Greek word in this instance is not azumos, but artos: raised bread. These two Greek words exactly parallel the two Hebrew words which describe both the unleavened bread (matstsah) of Passover, and the raised bread that was on display on the Table of Shewbread (lechem). Jesus became the bread of Passover, fulfilling its purpose, and the bread of provision -- the Table of Shewbread -- that He promised in Matthew 6:33 and Philippians 4:19.
Yet the Table of the Lord was actually manifested centuries before with Abraham. Remember when Melchizedek came out to greet Abraham after the slaughter of the kings' armies when he went to retrieve Lot following his capture? He came out with bread (lechem) and wine, and declared the Blessing upon Abraham.
This may seem a bit heavy, but I wanted to get these foundations laid in your understanding before we really begin to see and understand just how significant was the Table of the Lord. We should be able to resume this discussion again within a very few days.
The only way true change will come to us, then to the body of Christ and finally to the world, is when we stop setting our own agendas and begin to agree with everything God says. We must respond to what He desires to do in us -- no matter whether it crosses our doctrinal understanding or not.
Be blessed!
Regner A. Capener
CAPENER MINISTRIES
RIVER WORSHIP CENTER
455 North River Road
Prosser, Washington 99350-6554
(509) 781-6099
All Coffee Break articles are copyright by Regner A. Capener, but authorization for reprinting, reposting, copying or re-use, in whole or in part, is granted – provided proper attribution and this notice are included intact. Older Coffee Break archives are now available at http://regnersrangers.multiply.com/journal/ and are being slowly added at http://www.AnotherCoffeeBreak.com. Coffee Break articles are normally published weekly.
If you would like to have these articles arrive each morning in your email, please send a blank email to: Subscribe@AnotherCoffeeBreak.com. To unsubscribe, send a blank email to Unsubscribe@AnotherCoffeeBreak.com.
CAPENER MINISTRIES is a tax-exempt church ministry. Should you desire to participate and covenant with us as partners in this ministry, please contact us at either of the above email or physical addresses, or visit http://www.CapenerMinistries.com.
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