John Hagee - The Miracle Meal
Everyone wants a miracle but no one wants to be in a problem that demands the miracle. You have a big problem: you need a big miracle. But the good news is the God that we serve is a God of miracles. The Jesus that we worship and adore had a ministry based on miracles. This book, from Genesis to revelation, is one endless miracle after the other. And I want to show you in these Bible teachings how you could walk in the supernatural and receive miracles from God on a regular basis. Many people don't know how to recognize a miracle if it ran over them. Read with me, please, 1 Corinthians 11:23 through 26, and then 29. Ready?
For I received from the Lord that which I delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread: and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, 'take, eat. This is my body, which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me.' In the same manner, he also took the cup after supper, saying, 'this cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.' For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner, eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this reason, many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep in death.
Paul was saying to the 1 Corinthians church, because some of you are partaking of the Communion in a state of open sin, God is taking your life. The Communion is a very serious matter with God. And I want you to understand the supernatural power that it has and let it bless you for the rest of your life.
Father God, let the anointing of the Holy Spirit fill this place. Let us recognize that we are bowing in the presence of the God of whom nothing is impossible to those that are believe and are called according to the purposes of God. Let your glory fill this place. Let your kingdom be built. Let your children be encouraged. In Jesus' name, we pray. And all of God's children said, praise the Lord.
You may be seated. The process of this teaching is to help you understand how to make your impossible dreams, your hopes, your visions for tomorrow, come true, making your impossibilities possible. The place of God's purpose is the place of God's power. My question to you is, "Do you know God's purpose for your life"? Because when you know God's purpose, you'll know if you're in God's place. And in God's place is where the miracles will happen.
Let me illustrate the life of Elijah. There was a great famine in Israel. People were starving to death. Dead animals were in the field. God said to Elijah, go to the house of the widow and I will feed you there. Not somewhere, you go there. Had he gone to the house next door, he would have starved. He went to the house of the widow woman. He identified himself as a hungry preacher. It was not an unusual thing. You got it. And she agreed to feed him. And the moment she agreed to give him the last thing she had in the house, a miracle of mega proportions began to happen. The mill barrel filled up and the cruse of oil filled up. It was a double-barreled miracle instantaneously that lasted for the duration of the famine. Why? Because Elijah was in the place God told him to be. And in the place God puts you is where God will turn out miracle power for you.
Let me go a second illustration, New Testament, the disciples. Jesus is getting ready to leave the earth. He said, I'm going to leave you. But I want you to go to Jerusalem, and I want you to go back to the upper room, and I will meet you there. The Holy Spirit, on the 10th day, came to the upper room. And cloven tongues of fire sat upon their heads, and they spoke with other tongues, as the church, the New Testament church, was born. They walked out into the streets and were speaking in 120 languages the message of salvation to the hundreds of thousands, millions of people. Actually history said almost two million people were in Jerusalem for the passover. And they were speaking in the heavenly language that came out in an earthly speech, which was the major league miracle. And those nations heard the Gospel. There was the first evangelistic explosion. Global evangelism happened right there, because they heard what heaven had for them by being in the place where God told them to be.
Had they been in the building next door, they would have missed it all. My question to you is, "Are you in the place God has put you"? And when you get into the place God's put you, you will receive his power. I think if I was preaching in any other city other than this one, I would be a total failure, because I am not in the place where God put me. Find out where God wants you to be. And when you get there, dig in!
Now let's talk about the miracle meal. The Holy Communion is the meal that heals. The Holy Communion was God's direct revelation to Paul for the church. 1 Corinthians 11:23, "For I have received from the Lord that which I delivered to you". Paul was saying, I didn't make this up. I'm telling you to do what heaven told me to tell you to do. The Holy Communion is an illustrated sermon in two parts. First, it looks back to the death of Christ on the cross. Believe me. Everything of significance in the Bible begins and ends with the cross. Paul said, "Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin".
There's a sermon there, but I'll pass it by. But understand that the blood covenant is the thing that makes it possible for us to be here today. The devil is not afraid of you. He's not afraid of your church. He's not afraid of every one of us. But when we start talking about the blood and singing about the blood, he is terrified. The Communion now looks forward to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ as King of kings and Lord of lords when he will establish his kingdom on the earth that shall never pass away.
Matthew 26:29 says, "I will not drink of this, (the wine of the Communion) until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom".
Very soon the trump of God is going to sound. The dead in Christ are going to rise. And we, which are alive and remain, shall be caught up to be with the Lord in the air. And we're going to sit around the marriage supper of the Lamb of God. And for seven years, we're going rejoice and be exceedingly glad as we receive the rewards of the righteous. We will cast our crowns at his feet. At the end of seven years, king Jesus and us, mounted on white horses are going to descend to the city of Jerusalem. And he's going to set up a kingdom there. That kingdom will be a kingdom that is eternal. And of his kingdom, there shall be no end. He will sit on the throne of his father David. The lion will lay down by the lamb. Men will beat their swords into plow shears and study war no more. We are going to have peace, absolute peace, from now on! We have a mad house right now! But God's coming down with a kingdom of total peace, total love, total joy! Give the Lord praise in the house!
How long are we to celebrate the Holy Communion? The Bible says, "Until he comes". Say that with me. "Until he comes". This morning, we're going to celebrate the Holy Communion, and we may never do it again. Why? Because Jesus could come this afternoon, and tonight, we're having supper in heaven. Whew! You better get ready, brother, because there's nothing that needs to be biblically fulfilled to prevent that from happening.
The King is coming in power and glory. The trump of God is going to sound. The dead are going to rise. We're going to see the King face to face. We're going heaven to do what? To celebrate the Holy Communion around the marriage supper. We'll cast our crowns at his feet. The Communion declares that he's the living Savior. His name is Jesus, the Lamb of God, the Lord of glory, the Light of the World, the Fairest of 10.000, the Rose of Sharon, the Lilly of the Valley, the Bread of Life, the Living Water! He is the one who gives us life! He is Emmanuel, God with us, the hope of glory, the Great Shepherd of the church, the Great Physician who heals the sick. He is the King of glory and he's coming back! Hallelujah to his glorious name!
The Communion says all of this and more. It said, "Do this in remembrance of Me". Say that with Me. "In remembrance of Me". Remember the night in Gethsemane that we spent together. Remember when the Roman soldiers came to the Mount of Olives to arrest Me, and Judas betrayed Me with a kiss. Remember the Roman whip that cut me 39 times for your healing. "By his stripes, we are healed". Remember My blood that was shed at Calvary. "For without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin". Remember the promise that I made to you that I will never leave you nor forsake you even to the ends of the world. When two or three of you gather together in My name, I'm going to be there.
I assure you, based on the authority of this Book, the Greatest Physician who ever lived is in this room right now. The Healer is in the house. Nothing is impossible to Him. He will make your impossibilities possible. "Ask and you shall receive. Seek and you shall find. Knock and it shall be opened unto you". "You have not because you ask not". "If God be for you, who can be against you"? Remember he is the way maker. He is the burden bearer. He is the first and the last. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. And he's here to help you! Give him praise in the house!
In the theatre of your mind, put yourself in the upper room 2.000 years ago. You're at the table with the twelve. Actually don't think of a table where 12 guys are looking at each other. They were reclining on couches. And Jesus served them from a common cup. It was a goblet that had a mouth about that, a top about that big. You have a Communion cup like this. They had a Communion cup that was huge and filled with wine. Jesus comes to you and extends the goblet to you. What do you see in the reflection? Immediately you see the face of Jesus.
Hear me. When you're close enough to see Jesus, impossibilities become possible, and miracles are just one question away. Ask and it's yours. When you look into the Communion cup, you not only see the face of the Lord, but you see the reflection of other faces. The Lord's supper in the upper room describes the unity of the church. We are one body. We have one Savior. We have one baptism. We have one faith. We are one church, the church of Jesus Christ.
Listen. That means when you lift the Holy Communion this morning, it conquers racism. It conquers nationalism. It conquers materialism. It conquers denominationalism. And the church is having a lot of trouble with that right now. What does that mean? It means whether you're Jew or gentile, whether you're Greek or Barbarian, whether you're master or slave, whether you are a prince or pauper: whether you are white, black, or brown: whether you are American or European, whether you're Baptist or Catholic, whether you're Presbyterian or Pentecostal, whether you are male or female: we are brothers and sisters in Christ unified in the blood of Jesus Christ and the Holy Communion. We are one!
The Communion promises the presence of Christ. When you're at his table, when you receive bread from his hand, when you hear his voice, saying, "Lo, I am with you always even to the ends of the earth," when we feel his touch that can comfort the broken heart standing beside the yawning mouth of the brave, the touch that can turn darkness into glorious light, his touch can lift the heaviest burden, his touch can transform fear into victorious faith. His touch can bring joy that's unspeakable and full of glory. When you take the Holy Communion, you can feel the brush of angel's wings, the touch of the master's hand, the touch that says, nothing is impossible to you. When we take the Holy Communion, he is here. He is here. He is here. Reach out and touch him as he goes by. Ask and you shall receive. And you will have it, because God has promised it. Give the Lord praise in the house.
In closing, the contents of the cup brings the threefold healing. Isaiah 53:4, "Surely he is borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows". The first healing of Communion is emotional healing, our griefs and our sorrows. Say that with me: Our griefs and our sorrows. Here are seven deadly emotions satan sends to destroy you. Ready? Resentment, bitterness, unforgiveness, fear of the future, guilt of the past, grief over the loss of a loved one that lingers endlessly, insecurity and lack of confidence in yourself as a person.
You go from one prayer line to another, from one personal prophecy to another, seeking God's will, but always falling back into deep despair and depression about your life and your future. Stop it. You are a child of the King. You are royalty. You are loved of God. You are unique. When God manufactured you, he didn't copy something: you are a divine original. Do not die trying to be like somebody else or be a cheap copy. Angels are going before you. They're going behind you. The Word of God is in your mouth. Nothing is impossible to you. Live like it. Think like it. Talk like it. Act like it. God is in your life! Give him praise in the house!
The second healing of the Communion, "He was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities". When you confess your sin, receiving the Holy Communion, you're as pure as the blood of Jesus Christ can make you: "For by grace are you saved". Don't you ever let the devil torment you about your past. Your sins are buried in the deepest sea, God says, "Never to be remembered anymore". Now your relatives may try to dredge it up, but God won't. God won't. When you confess your sins, you're as pure as the blood of Jesus can make you, whiter than snow.
Third healing of the Communion is a physical healing. When you drink the cup of the Holy Communion, you eat the bread, you are drinking and eating, to yourself, divine health, your emotional healing, and the forgiveness of your sin. This is the meal that heals. Listen closely. In the history of the Holy Communion, it begins in the passover. Always in the Bible, the past predicts the future, and the future confirms the past. "And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the doorposts and on the lintel of the house where they eat it. And they shall eat the flesh on that night, roast it in fire... With unleaven bread and with bitter herbs shall they eat it". Listen to that. First, the lamb's blood brought supernatural protection against the death angel that was sweeping through Egypt and every house that did not have the blood over the doorposts, the firstborn in that family died.
There's a sermon there, another week. Second, the slain lamb was to be eaten, including the main organs of the lamb's body. Think about that. That's something we never think about. Just as the lamb's blood brought protection from death, eating the lamb's body brought to the children of Israel, supernatural health. I can prove that. The next morning the entire nation of Israel, almost two million slaves, came out of Egypt saved and healed. Psalm 105:37, "He (God) brought them out of Egypt with silver and gold. And there was not one feeble person among all their tribes". That's better than Government Health Care.
Fact: what God ate in the passover brought healing and divine health in one night to their bodies, and it lasted for 40 years. Think about the supernatural power found in the Communion. The meal that heals. Fast forward to the New Testament, John 6. Jesus said, "I am the Bread of Life". Pointing to himself, he said, "This is a bread that comes 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 forever". Think about that.
Go with me now to the upper room. Jesus and the 12 have gathered to celebrate passover, as the Jewish people had done for 1500 years. Listen to his words in Luke 22. "And he took the bread, and he gave thanks. And he broke it, and he gave it to them, saying, 'this is My body, which is given for you. This do in remembrance of Me.'" "Likewise: also the cup after the supper, saying, 'this cup is the New Testament in My blood, which is shed for you.'" Communion holds the key to walking in supernatural health and deliverance for your body, your mind, and your spirit.
I asked my mother in her early 90's, "What do you attribute to your good health"? She said, "The Holy Communion". Years after she couldn't drive, she would call a friend or hire a taxi, but always be at church to receive the Holy Communion. She said, "There's healing power in that Communion".
Lastly, the Communion taken unworthily will kill you. Saint Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 11:26, "Wherefore whoever shall eat this bread, and drink of the cup of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of Jesus Christ. But let a man examine himself. 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 sick among you, and many sleep in death".
What we do in receiving the Holy Communion, in the eyes of God, is very serious stuff. As you take the Holy Communion today and every Lord's day, remember this threefold purpose. Examine your life to see if you're of the faith. Am I obeying the word and the will of God? Two, make sure there is no hidden sin in your life. Make sure, thirdly, that you're in proper relationship with the body of Christ. Now let me ask you the question, how many of you in this today need a healing in your emotions, in your body, or a spiritual healing? I want you to stand to your feet if that describes you. I want you to repeat this prayer after me.
Heavenly Father, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I ask you to forgive me of all of my sin. Cleanse me from all unrighteousness: for I want to be worthy of receiving the Holy Communion, which is the symbol of the body of Christ, and the symbol of his shed blood that has forgiven me of all of my sin. Heavenly Father, the supernatural thing I need for you to do in my life... (Now you fill in the blank exactly what it happens to be). My health, my job, my family, the problems I'm going through. And now Lord Jesus, as I receive this Holy Communion, I receive the divine healing of my mind and spirit, in Jesus' name. Amen.