Gregory Dickow - Unmasking The Real Enemy Through Holy Communion
Well, welcome to "The Power to Change Today". Let me start by saying, I hope you're experiencing a Christmas season filled and overflowing with the love of God. And on Christmas Day, I'll be right here with a beautiful and personal Christmas message, entitled "What to do When Heaven Seems Silent". I hope you'll DVR it, and watch it at your convenience, watch it when you can watch it because it's gonna change your life forever. And as we anticipate the celebration of the coming of our Savior next week, today I want to show you how to put the devil on the run. As we experience the power of God, we're going to "Unmask the Real Enemy Through the Power of Holy Communion". So get some communion elements, yes, you can take communion no matter what's been going on in your life, and prepare for a special moment together during this teaching, and a moment of taking communion during this teaching as well. Check this out.
Well, I'm calling my teaching today, "Get Behind Me, Satan," "Get Behind Me, Satan". Who's ready to get Satan behind you rather than in front of you, behind you rather than around you, right? Matthew chapter 16, verse 23, "But Jesus turned and said to Peter, 'Get behind Me, Satan! For you are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.'"
Now when I hear this Scripture, and when I hear Jesus say, "Get behind Me, Satan," it reminds me of a pastor who was really upset with his wife and he confronted his wife because he found a receipt that she had bought a $500 dress. And he said, "How could you do this without asking me"? She said, "I don't know, honey, I was standing in the store looking at the dress and I found myself trying it on; it was like the devil was whispering in my ear and saying, 'Gee, you look really great in that dress, you should buy it.'" Well, the pastor said, "You know how to deal with him by now, you know how to deal with the devil, just tell him, 'Get behind me, Satan!'" She said, "I did that, but then he said, 'It looks pretty great from back here too.'"
So, but seriously, where are we going with this? "Get behind Me, Satan"! Why would Jesus say this to Peter? Yes, he says "your mind is on the interests of man, not on the interests of God," but there's more to it than that. And I want you to get ready because we're gonna put the devil in our rear-view mirror and we're going to experience the power of God, and we're gonna take communion because we're going to unmask the real enemy through the power of Holy Communion. And in Matthew chapter 16, verse 21, why did Jesus say to Peter, "Get behind Me"?
Notice what Jesus says or what it says is happening here. "From then on Jesus began to tell His disciples plainly that it was necessary for Him to go to Jerusalem, and that He would suffer many terrible things at the hands of the elders, the leading priests and the teachers of religious law". He went on to say he would be killed, he told his disciples very plainly he would be killed and crucified, but on the third day he would be raised from the dead. And that's when it says, verse 22, "Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, 'God forbid it! This shall never happen to you, Lord.'" Notice, Jesus was announcing that he would be killed, he would be crucified, and he would rise from the dead on the third day.
So when Peter says, "God forbid, this shall never happen to you," Jesus calls him Satan, because Peter is trying to interfere with the one thing that matters most, going to the cross. And this is what Satan is trying to do in each of our lives, interfere with the cross and try to tell us that we don't need the cross, try to tell us that the cross isn't powerful. But why is the cross so powerful, and why is somebody interfering with that, why does Jesus call him Satan? Because the cross is the great exchange: at the cross, Jesus exchanges our sin for his righteousness, our sickness for his healing, our curses for his blessings, our poverty for his abundance, our brokenness for his restoration, our foolishness for his wisdom and the mind of Christ.
No wonder Jesus said, "Get behind Me, Satan"! If Jesus didn't go to the cross, we would be doomed and sentenced to eternity separated from God. This is who and what the devil is and what he's after most. He comes to separate us from what Jesus did for us. Satan is the founder and the master of all cross-less religions, cross-less religions, a religion without the cross. Christianity without the cross is just good teaching. Christianity without the cross is just more of man's efforts. Christianity without the cross is just another religion. The devil's agenda is to separate us from the cross. First, he tried to get Jesus to take a deal that didn't include the cross, now he's trying to get us to settle for a powerless Christianity. Oh, when we take communion today, we're gonna experience the power of God, you're gonna experience your breakthrough, your healing, your deliverance. Get ready, get some communion elements ready. But all Christianity is without the cross is it's a religion of good morals without a connection to God.
No wonder Jesus says, "Get behind Me, Satan," "Get behind Me, Satan," because Peter was Satan in that moment. Jesus called Peter "Satan" because Satan tried to get Jesus to avoid the cross, Satan tried to get Jesus to accept the deal, to accept the kingdoms of this world without going to the cross. Satan tried to get Jesus to do anything except go to the cross. Satan hates the cross, and you know why Satan hates the cross? It is his great undoing, it is the devil's most colossal failure. Had he known the power of the cross, he would have never crucified the Lord of Glory, and that's why he hates it so much, and that's why he hates preachers talking about the cross, the cross, and nothing but the cross.
Paul said, "We preach Jesus Christ and him crucified," why? Because look at what it says in 1 Corinthians chapter 2, verse 7 through 9. It says, "No, we speak of the mysteries, the hidden wisdom of God which he destined for our glory before time began". Verse 8, "For none of the rulers of this age," this is the spiritual forces and the rulers that were on earth at the time 2,000 years ago, "None of the rulers of this age understood it, for had they understood it, they would have never crucified the Lord of glory". Had they knew, had they known what the cross meant, had they known that the cross was where Jesus said, "It is finished," tetelestai; that word in Greek is tetelestai. It means the debt of sin is fully paid, it means the sentence for sin has been fully served, and it means the battle over death, over the devil, and over all of darkness, the battle has been fully won; the debt fully paid, the sentence fully served, and the battle fully won.
Imagine a life that you could wake up to every day knowing that your debt is fully paid, you're not guilty; the sentence is fully served, you don't have to be in bondage to anything; and the battle is fully won, you can live in victory all the days of your life. Imagine waking up like that every day. You can wake up like that every day, but Satan doesn't want you to, Satan doesn't want you to remember, he doesn't want you to think of the cross, he doesn't want you to remember the cross. He wants you to think of your problems, he wants you to look around you. He wants you to realize and think that you're doomed or nothing good can really come out of this bad situation, but the cross is the proof, the cross is what turns the bitter life into a sweet life, the cross is what Moses, he took a tree symbolic of the cross and he threw it into the bitter waters.
In the Bible, it says, in Exodus chapter 15, they tried to drink from the waters of the river and it was bitter, all the water was bitter. So God told Moses, "Take that tree and throw it in there," and the bitter waters were turned sweet. Oh, the cross is the most glorious power of God, the cross is the most evidence of the love of God, the cross is the greatest power and the goodness of God, the cross is your deliverance, the cross is the great exchange. Aren't you ready for that exchange? Aren't you ready to experience that? Yes, Jesus did it 2,000 years ago, but when we take communion, when we eat the bread and when we drink the cup, we're proclaiming the cross.
We're proclaiming, as it says in 1 Corinthians chapter 11, we're proclaiming the Lord's death until He comes. We're proclaiming that his death is enough, we're proclaiming that it is finished, we're proclaiming that we're healed, we're proclaiming that by his stripes we're healed, we're proclaiming that he became a curse for us so that we could experience all of the blessing in Christ Jesus, we're proclaiming that we are now the righteousness of God. The Bible says that he took our sin, he was made to be sin for us that we would be made the righteousness of God in Christ. What does it mean to be righteous? It means to stand before God without guilt, without fear, without inferiority, and without shame.
You see, the devil wants to continually accuse you, "You're not enough, you haven't done enough, look at your mistakes, look at your failures," but what God says is, "I don't look at you through your mistakes and through your failures, I don't look at you through the lens of accusation and condemnation, I look at you through the blood of Jesus". Jesus wants you to fully embrace and fully experience all that he paid so dearly, what he paid so dearly for you to have. Salvation is a free gift, righteousness is a free gift, healing is a free gift, deliverance is a free gift, freedom from the curse is a free gift, breaking the generational curses of your families and upbringings, this is all a gift. Jesus broke that curse, Jesus became a curse.
Galatians 3:13 says Jesus Christ, the cross, crucified Christ, delivers us from the curse. "He became a curse for us, for cursed is one that hangs on the tree," so that the blessing would come upon everyone who believes. This is why we take communion, This is why we eat his body, this is why we drink his blood, to celebrate the cross. This is the great exchange, the Bible calls it the Eucharist, the Bible calls communion the Eucharist. You know, 38 times in the original Greek language, the body and blood of Jesus is referred to as the Eucharist. Jesus has recorded a version of the Word of God celebrating the last supper; he says take this, in Luke chapter 22, verse 18-19, he says take this and divide it among yourselves. "And he took the bread, and when he had given thanks," that's the word Eucharistos, "he broke it, and gave it to them".
The word Eucharist, what we're about to do, what we're about to experience, the word Eucharist, the word charis is in there, which is the grace of God, and it literally means to give thanks for God's good grace, to give thanks for God's good grace. This is what the Eucharist is. When we take the bread and when we drink the cup, when we eat his body and drink his blood, we are thanking him for his grace. We're not causing it to happen, because it already happened 2,000 years ago, but what are we doing? We're saying thank you, we're actually activating the greatest faith of all by saying, "We thank God, we thank you, Jesus, for your body and for your blood being given for us".
I know I'm emphasizing this greatly and deeply because I want you to know how powerful the body and blood of Jesus really is, and when we take communion, we are manifesting the presence of God in our lives. In the book of Exodus, when God explains how Moses should set up the tabernacle, he says on the table there should be shewbread, and the bread should be there for the priest as a symbol of the presence of God. The shewbread is actually called the bread of his Presence, the bread of his Presence. I want you to truly lock in your faith right now and believe that when we take communion, we are eating the bread of God's presence, we are drinking the blood of his covenant love. The Bible calls it the bread of his presence and the cup of his blessing, the bread of his presence and the cup of his blessing.
You know, with the presence of God and with the blessing of God, you're unstoppable; with the presence of God and the blessing of God, you can win any battle; with the presence of God and the blessing of God, you can truly have joy and you can truly have peace; with the presence of God and the blessing of God, fear will leave your life, insecurity will leave your life, anxiety will be broken, depression will be broken. You will find your breakthrough through the body and blood of Christ, because the body is the presence of God and the blood is the blessing of God. And the greatest blessing is that we can come into his presence, the greatest blessing is that his presence comes into us, the greatest blessing is that God will never leave us and he will never forsake us.
I wonder if you could believe with me that faith, having faith, is not us saying, "God, will you"? It's not us saying, "God, can you"? It's us saying, "God, thank you". That is what it means when we give thanks for the body and blood of Christ, the Eucharist. It is giving thanks for his good grace. It says in Matthew 26, verse 27, he broke the bread and took the fish, actually, an earlier verse, he took the fish and gave thanks, but in Matthew chapter 26, verse 27, he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, wow. In Mark 14:23, having taken the cup and giving thanks, he gave it to them. What a powerful testimony. You know, in John, we're gonna about take communion together. Are you ready for this?
In John 11:41, the raising of Lazarus from the dead, the Bible says that Jesus prayed and he said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me". How many can say, "Father, thank you"? Today, you can; today, we're saying, "Father, thank you". You know what you're drinking when you drink this cup? His blessing, his covenant, his promises, all yes and amen through his blood. When we eat the bread, we're eating his presence, we're experiencing his presence, we're manifesting his presence into our life in this moment. I know some people think it's merely a symbol, but Holy Communion is so much more powerful than a symbol.
That's why I believe we've seen so many people healed by taking communion, we've seen so many people delivered from addictions by taking communion, we've seen people actually see relationships restored through taking communion, family members protected from death or destruction by taking communion, people that have avoided major accidents in front of them because they were taking communion, survived tragedies by taking communion. The power in his body and the power in his blood. No wonder Jesus called Peter "Satan" when Peter was telling Jesus, "Don't die, don't go to the cross, don't be killed, don't be crucified". That's exactly what the devil wanted, to keep Jesus from going to the cross, because the cross represents "It is finished". Not just represents, it is the proof, an absolute manifestation of God's love towards you.
The cross is love, and love never fails, and love is never accompanied without a gift. Love is always accompanied with a gift. "God so loved the world that he gave," love gives. God's love is giving you a healing today. God's love through his body and blood, that's real love, to lay one's life down for his friends. In 1 Corinthians chapter 11, verse 23, Paul said, "For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the night when He was betrayed, He took the bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and he said, 'This is my body which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.'" In the same way, we're going to take communion in a moment, but I want to read this verse to you.
"In the same way," also, "He took the cup after supper, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in My blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, do it in remembrance of me.' For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes". Notice what he says we're doing, we're proclaiming the Lord's death. That word "Proclaim" is a powerful, positive, beautiful word of the Gospel. Proclaiming is declaring something that's beautiful, proclaiming is declaring something that is positive, and he says we're proclaiming his death. And how is that good, that we're proclaiming his death every time we take communion? We are proclaiming his death because, through his death, we now have life; through his death, we have the great exchange, we exchange our sin for his righteousness, our sickness for his healing, our curse for his blessing, all because of his death, his cross, the body and blood of Jesus, the great exchange.
Now I want you to get ready to experience a manifestation of God's power. Wherever you are watching this, whenever you are watching this, there is going to be a manifestation of your family's salvation, a manifestation of healing in your body, a manifestation of freedom from guilt and shame, inferiority, worry and anxiety, a manifestation of God's power to turn something bitter into something sweet. This is what Jesus paid for. It's already been done, it's already paid for; all we're doing is we are proclaiming his death, we're proclaiming it is finished, we're proclaiming sin and the debt of sin fully paid, sentence fully served, battle fully won. We're proclaiming that we have the blessing, we have the presence, we have the power. We're proclaiming healing in our family, deliverance from addictions, deliverance from bondage, deliverance from anything holding you back, in Jesus's name.
Now, don't let the devil lie to you and say, "You better get everything right first before you take communion". No, Jesus is what gets everything right, his blood being shed is what makes us righteous, not us trying to get all the sin out of our life but accepting the fact that Jesus takes it all away at the cross. And we're reminding ourselves, no condemnation. If you've never accepted Jesus, pray this:
Heavenly Father, I invite Jesus into my life. I invite his death, his burial, and his resurrection into my life. Today, I am your child.
That's all, that's all you have to say, that's all it takes to receive this precious gift. And now let's expect manifestation of your deliverance and your breakthrough today by eating the cup together, eating the bread and drinking the cup together. Let's take communion. I prophesy and I proclaim the power of God in your life, the healing of God in your life, the blessing of God in your life, the presence of God in your life. I proclaim breakthroughs and deliverance and freedom and peace and joy, the joy of the Lord and the love of God in your life to bring peace beyond comprehension, in Jesus's name. Let's drink the cup together. Receive, just receive, just say, "Father, I thank you". I thank you for the great exchange. I am, say this:
I am the righteousness of God, because you became sin. I am healed by your stripes, I am blessed because you became the curse, I am abundant because you were made poor, I have the mind of Christ. In exchange for what I used to believe, I accept Jesus's faith, faith in you, faith from you. In Jesus's name, amen.