Bill Johnson - Communion, The Meal of Absolute Victory
The resurrection of Jesus was for you; it was for you. Had there been only one human being on the planet who sinned, and that one person was you, everything Jesus went through, He would have gone through for you, for me. Every one of us is going to share in communion, which is becoming more important to me all the time. So if you could grab the elements, please. I know that in various traditions the elements are to be passed out by certain qualified leaders, but join with us anyway. This time we’ll ask Jesus to bless this in your hands.
Jesus, on that Passover night, took bread, broke it, and made this statement: I don’t understand this, but I love the stuff I don’t understand. I don’t want to explain it away too quickly because I know I’ll get it wrong. He said He broke the bread, gave it to His disciples, and said, «Take, eat; this is my body.» He didn’t say, «This represents my body.» Now, a lot of people are trying to figure out what that looks like. I don’t know what it looks like; all I know is He said, «Take this; it’s my body.» Later, He says that some get sick and die, have all kinds of weakness and struggles because they don’t discern the body correctly. So what if we did this? If we took that bread and held it, some of you, your own tradition has taught you well in this, and you already approach the bread and the cup as the body and blood of Jesus. But many of us have come out of a tradition that says it represents. I’ll let the theologians figure it out; I just want to go with what Jesus said. He said, «Take, eat; this is my body.»
So what does it mean to judge the body correctly? Well, it can mean one of two things. I personally think it means both. One is that I come to this moment with the same respect as though this were the body of Jesus that I hold in my hand. Number two, I come to you as members of the body of Christ with the same respect as I would the bread that is the broken body of Jesus. There’s divine health in that equation. Now, when I take the bread—and Benny and I do it often, many times throughout the week—when I take this little wafer, I like to break it because I remind myself that His flesh was torn, His body was broken. We sang it today: His body was broken. I like to take the bread, break it, and make this confession over my life, over Benny, over my immediate family, and over people that I know and care for who are really struggling.
This is what I do: the torn flesh of Jesus represents the stripes that He bore. The Scripture says that by His stripes we were healed; by His stripes, the payment was made then for what I get to experience now. In the same way, my sin was atoned for 2,000 years ago; today I get to experience the liberty and freedom of forgiveness. So when I take this cup, this bread, I encourage you to do so. Just make this confession with me: by the stripes of Jesus, I was healed. Then I want you just to take a moment to declare divine health. Some of you are struggling with this pandemic; you’ve been hit with this disease. I’ve got a couple of friends who almost lost their lives, but the Lord had mercy on them, and there they are thriving today. I’m so thankful, and I just announce that over you. This is a divine moment. Take the bread and declare over your own body, over your own flesh, «By the stripes of Jesus, I was healed.»
Then just put on your lips the name of a friend, someone that you know and care for. For me, Kathy, Valentin, Allen, Ray—divine healing into their bodies, restoration of what the enemy has stolen. Mark Cooper, by the stripes of Jesus, you are healed. I take this bread and make that proclamation. Do it yourself; just for a moment, take the bread and say, «Jesus, I know that the price you paid was more than enough. I declare healing right now in Jesus' name,» and then mention their name. Now, let’s receive this bread with the same majesty, honor, and respect that we would if we were holding in our hands the body of Jesus. Another cup, the blood. I know that earlier I encouraged people to write in the chat that they want to receive Christ.
If there’s anyone in this moment who has never surrendered your life to Jesus, do it right now; do it now. This moment is for you. Today is the beginning of eternity for you—a life of forgiveness, a life of freedom, a life of learning to walk with Jesus for His honor, for His glory. You hold in your hand a cup that Jesus looked at and said, «This is my blood.» Here’s the deal: without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin, no forgiveness. It required this; this covers sin. So I like to make several confessions as I pray over my household, my family. I like to just make the decree, «The blood of Jesus sets me free.» I like to make that throughout the day, at any given time, just walking around my property.
«The blood of Jesus sets me free.» It’s important that we say these truths; it’s important that we hear ourselves say them. But it’s also important that we speak it into the cities and neighborhoods that we live in: «The blood of Jesus sets me free.» But here’s what I also like to do: I like to plead the blood of Jesus, see the blood of Jesus poured out over every single family member of mine. I pray for my children, their amazing spouses, their children, my grandchildren. I bring them all before the Lord by name and pray that God would protect them inside and out: spirit, soul, and body. They would be safe, that they would have deep encounters with Him, and that God would give them a hunger to know Him. That gift would be given. It’s mentioned in Jeremiah 24 that God would give them a heart to know Him.
I pray for every single family member that way. I want to ask you to do that right now. Just take the cup, hold it before the Lord, and just declare over your family, «The blood of Jesus sets us free.» Bring their names before the Lord. I plead the blood of Jesus over my life. Some of you have children who have wandered away from the Lord. Some of you have parents who have never walked with the Lord. But today is your day. Today is the day I want you to make the decree. I just join the name of John with the Lord Jesus Christ, and I say, «Father, bring him home. Bring him to faith.» Hold that cup before the Lord. I’ll give you just a few seconds; mention the names of your family members and make that decree: «I plead the blood of Jesus over them, the blood of Jesus over them.» Thank you, Father.
So this is my big confession that I make when I hold the cup before the Lord: «As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.» That’s my decree. I prophesy. I prophesy in my house, in my bedroom, in my kitchen, wherever I am. I prophesy; if I’m out on the property, sometimes I’ll take communion as I walk on our land, and I just prophesy, declare it: «As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.» Every single family member has been set aside by the grace of God to serve Him well. I want you to do that right now: «As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.» Amen.
Let’s receive the blood of Jesus now. Wow, it’s the meal of absolute victory. It’s the meal of absolute triumph. I pray that today would be a day where God initiates a series of encounters. Some of you have been tormented by stuff; you’ve given place to fear, and that fear has been robbing you. I believe Jesus wants to set you free from that fear. It was talked about in Romans 8—all these things that are trying to separate us from the love of God. They don’t have the authority to unless you and I agree with them in fear. We just say no to that right now. There are some of you watching who have hidden addictions, and you have this heart’s desire to be free. Listen, just take it, bring it before the Lord, and say, «I want liberty. I want to be free from this.» Bring it before the Lord.
I believe there’s going to be a mighty, mighty deliverance for you. As just a note, Chris Valentin has made his book, Spirit Wars—he and the publisher have made his book, Spirit Wars, which is about spiritual warfare, describing this climate that we are in right now. They’ve made it freely available as an e-book. I want to encourage you; we have tens of thousands of believers all over the world who watch this service. I want to encourage you to take advantage of this moment because there is such insight there about your own freedom, your own deliverance, your own liberty. Let me pray for you, and then we’ll end this. All right, Father, I thank You for the power of deliverance, the power of salvation. I thank You for the blood of Jesus, the broken body of Jesus. We just give You thanks, and I ask right now that liberty and freedom would be the testimony of the day. We celebrate together the resurrection of Jesus. Amen. Amen.