Joseph Prince - The Way Of Escape In Every Trial

TOPICS: Trials, Freedom, Temptation, Communion

Hallelujah. Every heart drawn to Jesus, amen. Every heart drawn to Jesus. When Paul wrote to Timothy, or rather to the church of Thessalonians he says, "I rejoice to see your work of faith, your labor of love, your patience of hope". So, they have work, labor, and patience but they don't have work of faith, labor of love, patience of hope. Faith, hope, and love is missing. And it's when we encounter the wonderful person of our Lord Jesus, faith, hope for the future, and love reigns supreme in our hearts. Can I have a good amen? When Jesus appeared to his disciples in his resurrected form in the upper room and they were afraid, the first word he said was, "peace". And then the Bible says, "He showed them his hands and his side".

There is a solid foundation for peace. His wounds, the finished work, God's divine receipt that all our sins he has borne away. His blood has efficaciously remitted all our sins and all the penalties for sins. And then he showed them his hands, his side, when he rose from the dead and he says in Hebrew, "shalom. You have every reason to be at peace. Here are the divine receipt," amen? In Romans 4, the very last verse says Christ was delivered to the cross for our sins and was raised again from the dead for our justification. The word "for" is very interesting. It's a very interesting word in the Greek. It means on account of.

Now, if you put the first part, he was delivered to the cross on account of our sins. How many can say amen? That's the only reason he went to the cross. He had no sins of his own to die for. He went to the cross on account of our sins. Then the following statement is also true. He was raised from the dead on account of our justification. Your King James says, he was raised from the dead for our justification, all right? But it must be consistent with the for our sins, our offenses. He was delivered for our offenses on account of our offenses. He was delivered.

Now on account of the fact that God has acquitted you, Jesus is raised from the dead. So, when Jesus rose from the dead, all hell shuddered. It was a reason for every believer to rejoice and yet they were afraid, but the Lord came to them and says, "Hey, shalom, guys. Be at peace. Let your conscience rest. These are the divine tokens. Look at my hands, the nail-pierced hands, the driven side. These are the divine receipts that all your sins have been paid for in full". Now a thrice holy God cannot punish you twice. He cannot punish your surety, your substitute, and then punish you. That will make a thrice holy God unholy and unjust. Good news. Praise God, amen. Good morning, church. Y'all blessed? Praise God.

All right, let's dive right into the Word. I got lots to share with you. And I believe it's gonna bless you. It's one of those messages that I feel that the Lord has for us that he wants us to listen to again and again, especially when you're going through some specific trial which I'll be mentioning afterwards. But let's look at 1 Corinthians 10 right up here. At this well-known verse, one of the first things that we learn, you know, we get saved in the Navigators memory verse pack. One of the first things they do is that they give you this verse to memorize, all right? "There has no temptation overtaken you".

See, I'm quoting from the Old King James. This is the New King James. I still remember that little 3 by 5 card they want you to memorize and it is for you to remember that when you're tempted. So, the idea, the idea there is when you are tempted to sin, you remember this verse. But actually the word for temptation, peirasmos, all right, peirasmos, temptation is not just temptation to sin. It's also trial. I said it's also trial. Peirasmos is also trial. When the doctors give you a bad diagnosis, that's a trial in your life, amen. When your hear that your business, all right, is not doing so well, you just received news report, all right, that's a trial of your faith, amen. You hear bad news that one of your child has been found doing this and doing that or whatever, that's a trial of your faith, amen.

So, all that is under that one Greek word peirasmos, okay? It can be a temptation or a solicitation to sin, to evil, or it's just a trial. Same word. I kind of wish there were more than one word but it's the same word. So, you have to see from the context, is it talking about temptation to sin or is it talking about trial, the vastitudes of life that one goes through? So, let's look at this and you decide. No temptation. I'm gonna use the interchangeably. No trial has overtaken you except such as is common to man. But God is faithful, hallelujah. Those three words is more than enough, man. I'll tell you, you can rest... you see, church, it's not so much the faith of a believer. Your faith is important. Without faith, it's impossible to please God. It's not so much the faith of the believer. It's the faithfulness of the promiser. By faith Sarah received strength to conceive seed for she judged him faithful. She didn't judge herself full of faith. She judged him faithful. But God is faithful who will not allow you to be tested or tempted.

Now, remember I'm using the words interchangeably. "Tempted or tested beyond what you are able, but with the testing will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it". Now, there seems to be a contradiction. Number one, with the testing, there is a way of escape that you may be able to bear it. Now, usually the idea of bearing something with endurance, all right, with long suffering, perseverance or whatever means you stay in that problem. You don't escape. If you escape, the testing is no more a testing. You found your way out. So, it's like a contradiction. How can you bear something if there's a way out, right?

So, I'm gonna submit to you something. We're gonna learn here and we're gonna bless you. It says here with the temptation... how many are glad that with the testing that comes, every testing God promises that with the testing that comes, God will provide a way out? And notice, the way out, the way of escape. It's call the way of escape is actually one Greek word ekbasis, ekbasis. I know it sounds Japanese but it's Greek. Ekbasis, okay? Ekbasis. Ek means out of. Basis is walk. It's literally walk out, exit. All right, one Greek word put it in English as exit, the way out, the escape, the exit. You walk out. Ekbasis, amen. So, it's one word. The way of escape is one word, okay? And if you look at the Old King James, which many of us read from and I memorize from Navigators. It's Old King James. It says, "Make a way to escape". With a temptation or a testing, God makes a way to escape.

So, the idea that I always have in my mind is this, that with every trial that comes, whatever the trial is, God's faithfulness is that he will always make a way to escape, all right, make a way to escape. But in the Greek I found out that it is not a way to escape because this idea a way, we do not know what that way is. Now, right now some of you are going through a trial. It's not funny. It hurts, involves a loved one. Probably you are in semi depression right now. Perhaps your problem is depression. You are thinking of ending your life. Don't do it, all right? Today's message will set you free. His name is Jesus, amen. You are going through something right now and I'm here to tell you, God has the answer for you.

In fact, you know when I got a revival? My latest revival was while I was preparing this message. I kept from jumping in my study because I know that if I jump with that revelation, my head will be sticking out in the roof. It was so, I tell you, it was such a wonderful thing. And I'm gonna prove everything from the Greek from the context. So, those of you who are scholars and my wonderful critics, hallelujah, you can follow along in your Greek, okay? So, pardon the Greek for those majority of you, you know, it's sort of like a hinder the flow. But we are preaching to millions and there are scholars down there that I welcome, amen. Because a good message will stick up to scholarly evaluation, amen?

But first and foremost, let me just tell you this, it's not a way to escape. In the Greek, it is definite article. The escape. The exit. The way out. The way out. The way out. The ekbasis, the way out. And I challenge any scholar to look it up, all right? That's why Old King James is not very accurate. The New King James says, "The way of escape". It's accurate. Now, when you say, "a," that means with every testing, you have to find a way. A way can be a new way. I said, a way can be a new way. All right, you understand or not? There's always a way. There's always a way of escape. There's always a door there for you. That means it's general. You do not know what it is. But when you say, "the," you are pointing to something very definite. Are you listening, people?

You are pointing to something very definite. What is this way out? What is the way out? A man was dying one time, a great man of God, Sir Walter Scott. As he knew he was going to heaven and he smiled at his son-in-law and he has thousands and thousands of books in his library. He told his son, "Go get the book". His son say, "Which book"? He says, "The book. There is only the book," amen. He was referring to the Bible, amen? So, when you say, "the," there is only one way, no other way. Jesus is not a way. Jesus himself says, "I am the way, the truth, and the life". If your name is Derek means way in Hebrew. The truth. The life.

The, C.S. Lewis says either Jesus is the world's greatest liar or he's who he says he is. You cannot say he's a good man. You cannot stay in between and say, "No, he's not God in human flesh. He's not a, you know, a bad man. You know, he's a good man. He was deluded". No, you cannot say that. It's either he meant what he said or he didn't mean what he said. He lied because he says he is the only way. "I am the way, the truth, the life. No man comes to the Father but by me". Are you listening? So, when it comes to "the," it is a definite article. By the way, I've decided a long time ago, he meant what he said, and we have seen the result of those who believe him, amen?

So, the way of escape, there must be something that the writer has in mind and it's found in the context, okay? It's all found in the context. Before that you look at that you may be able to bear it. All right, what is this word" "bear it"? "It" down there we left it untranslated because we're going to see there it's in the italics, which means it's not in the original Greek, all right? So, we look at the word "bear". The word "bear" is hupophero. Are y'all doing fine so far? Can follow, right? Okay, hupophero. What is hupophero? What is hupophero? Hupo, hupo means under. When something comes under, it's hupo. Phero is to be borne along like on a river, like a sheep being borne along.

Now, I have many, many word studies in my library. One of the word studies says it like this. This is not from me, these words, okay? Hupophero means like this, "An under-current of a river carrying someone away, carried safely away from danger". It's not this idea of bearing it. Sit down there, you know, bear it. You know, it's the idea of the way out is actually... hey, God released more of his Spirit to carry you out, out of the danger. Can I have a good amen? Oh man, I'm telling you, carried safely. All these words is not from Pastor Prince, okay? These words are from word studies, one of the word studies books, one of the word studies materials that I have. So, I'm putting it down word for word for you, amen? Under-current of a river because the word hupo is under, all right? Carrying is the word "phero". All right, carried safely away from danger. Praise the Lord!

Now, we come to the revelation. Go back to 1 Corinthians 10:13, all right? God makes the way of escape that you may be borne, carried safely, away from danger. So, what is the context? Look at this. Now, I'm gonna show my Bible and I'm gonna show you my finger and thumb. Okay, now you see the context. I made sure that I cut my fingernails first so. Verse 13 to 16. Can you see this? Now, this is from the Old king James. I use the Old King James a lot. Now, look at the context. Just two verses after that, it talks about the cup of blessing, verse 16, which we bless. Is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? I'm like, uh, all of a sudden taking about trial, the way out, God will give you the way out.

All right, you'll be borne safely away from danger. And then two verses after that it tells you, and it tells you like I can only speak this verse 15 to wise men, judge you what I say. In other words, it's gonna take a revelation here. I'm gonna tell you something, it will take a revelation. You understand? It will take the wisdom of God. It will take spiritual intelligence. Are you ready for that? Amen. So, when God first showed this to me, you know, of course I felt complimented. You know, it's only by the grace of God we can receive from him. Remember the disciples in the upper room? The Bible says Jesus appeared to them. Then opened he their understanding that they might understand the Scriptures. Until then, they didn't understand that he will die and rise again. Then opened he the understanding.

We are so dependent on you, Lord Jesus, to open our understanding. None of us should think that we are wise men. The wise one is the one that depends on him to open their understanding every time they approach the Scriptures. Can I have a good amen? So, and then he says here, the cup, this is communion. Verse 16 is communion. What about the cup of blessing? What has that got to do, and the bread, what does that have to do with the way of escape, the way out, the ekbasis to walk out from your trial? What has that got to do with it? But before that it says, "Wherefore," verse 14, "my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry".

Now, the verses before verse 13 talks about idolatry. You know how he talks about idolatry? Same chapter, all right. Let's go to verse 7. "Do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, 'The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.'" He's quoting from the incident after they built a golden calf. You know what they did after they built a golden half, the children of Israel? After they built a golden calf, they sat down, ate and drank offerings to the golden calf. That is idolatry and they rose up. The word "play" there is the idea of orgies. That had wild parties. That's the word we'll use today, all right? Not just party, wild parties. They sat down, eat, they ate.

So, the idea of drinking before a foreign god, which is no God, is an idol. Can you see the context? I'm showing you the context. It's talking about communion. Can you see that? In fact, you go behind in the same chapter it says, "And all the people of Israel, they ate the same spiritual food and they drank the same spiritual drink, and they drank from the rock that followed them who was Christ". So, eating and drinking again. Church, do you know that everything that happened to man is because man ate his way into all this mess? Ah, did you hear what I said? Adam opened his big mouth, number one, all right, and he ate the very thing God said not to eat.

So you can say any curse you mentioned, any evil in this world, anything that the governments of the nations are worried about, are concerned for, economic shortage, earthquakes, trials, and God never made this earth to be like that. God even counts death as an enemy. God hates death. God hates sin. You know what God did with sin? He put it on Jesus. God loves sinners. How much does God hate sin? As much as God loves the sinner.

Ah, let me explain. You got somebody you love very much who has cancer; do you love the cancer? No, of course, not. But the cancer is in your loved one. Now, question, how much do you hate the cancer? Must be answered with another question. How much do you love your loved one? Because to the degree you love your loved one, to the degree you hate the cancer. So, God loves you, but God hates sin. And the reason God hates sin is because God loves you and sin is destroying everything that God has for that's good, that's blessing, that is harmonious, that is peaceful, that is health, that is life for you and for your families. God is not a joy killer. In his presence, it's fullness of joy, amen. Pleasures forevermore.

When Jesus in the upper room in a few hours he knew he'll be betrayed. In fact, he just sent Judas out and it was night when Judas went out. What a poetic way of saying it was night. Jesus looked at his disciples and say, "These things I have spoken to you that my joy might remain in you". Can you imagine a man looking like he is baptized in lemonade juice looking at you? "These things I speak to you that my joy might remain in you". Peter will say, "Lord, I think you need more than us, all right, you need every little joy you need. All right, I think we have our own problems".

So, the thing is this, it must not be a picture like that. It must be a person who is strong, smiling even though in a few hours' time he will lay down his life for our sins. Looking at them, "Hey guys, these things I tell you, don't be afraid. Peace I leave with you. My peace I give unto you. Let not your heart be troubled and don't let it be afraid," amen. "These things I speak to you that my joy might remain in you and that your joy might be full". "Pastor Prince, the Bible says he was a man of sorrows". Brother Doo Dad since you brought that up, can you tell me where is the verse taken from"? "I don't know". "I'll tell you, it's taken in Isaiah 53".

All right, he became a man of sorrows because of his suffering. The only time he was a man of sorrows was when he went through the cross, the scourging, the beating. Because it was a transaction. He took our sins, we take his righteousness. He took our sorrows, and we take his joy. He became a curse that we might be blessed. That curse part I've still not recovered from it. A few weeks ago I told you guys that reading Galatians 3:13, Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law having become a curse for us. The Son of God became a curse for us to redeem us from the... it's not just, you know, he took some curse. He became a curse that the blessing of Abraham might come on all of us. Don't let it go to waste, people. Come on. You listening, people?

So, he wants a joyful church so they... wow, so much just from that side. All right, I want to show you the background of the same chapter to show you it's about eating and drinking. And by the way, if you look at the rest of the remaining chapter of chapter 10, it talks about eating. "Whatever you eat, do all to the glory of God". But eating and drinking and that's why the very next chapter, okay, talks about the Apostle Paul saying, now it's 1 Corinthians 11, "Guys, I receive from the Lord Jesus what I deliver to you that the same night Jesus was betrayed, he took bread". The Apostle Paul in the next chapter, 1 Corinthians 11, said, "I receive from the Lord that which I also delivered to you". The same night he was betrayed, he took bread and said, he broke it and said, "This is my body broken for you". In the same manner he took the cup, he gave thanks and he says, "This is my blood shed for the remission of sins".

Now church, let me ask you a question, why was it that in chapter 11, Paul had to say, "I receive from the Lord that which I also delivered to you"? He could have gone to Peter. He could have gone to Matthew. Matthew, Mark, and Luke recorded in the synoptic gospels that Jesus instituted the Communion, the Lord's supper, yet the Lord Jesus, the present-day glorified ascended Christ, thought that Communion is so important that he will give a personal revelation to the Apostle Paul. And Paul himself said, "I receive from the Lord that which I delivered to you," the same night he was betrayed. In other words, he didn't get it from Matthew, he didn't get it from Mark, Luke, or John. He got it from the Lord.

Do you think the present-day Lord in heaven at the father's right hand deemed it is important that you have a revelation of it? I know all depending, there are churches, there are denominations today that don't even have Communion anymore. There are those who have it once in two months. There are those who have it once a month. There are those who only have the bread, but let me tell you this, I believe the devil is trying to minimize the way out. He's trying to negate. He's trying to cover your eyes from the way out. Are you listening, people, hmm?

So, let's go back to 1 Corinthians 10, the context, all right, verse 13, okay, now the cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the Communion of the blood of Christ, the bread which we break, is it not the Communion of the body of Christ? So, the context is very, very clear, people. All right, it's talking because all of a sudden, it talks about Communion. Doesn't make sense and knowing the Apostle Paul, he's a very systematic teacher. Okay, he's very intelligent but when it comes to the Bible, God orchestrates everything. No verse is taken out of context. I've shown you the verses before, they sat down to eat and drink and they rose up to play.

Now, let's go to verse 16 on the screen. "The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ"? This word "communion" is the word koinonia which is the word for fellowship, all right, association. It's not just fellowship. You can have fellowship with me but I just met you yesterday, all right? In other words, it's a fellowship but it's a fellowship over tea, all right, kind of association. But the word down there is actually intimate. It's intimate participation, intimate participation. Are you listening? This word would be used also in the idea of a husband and a wife being intimate. They say things to each other, all right? There are things that they say and do that no one else is privy to. They're intimately participating, the thought, spirit, soul and body, okay? That's the idea of communion. Are you with me so far? Are you blessed, amen?

Now, keep that in mind, okay? What is that? Communion. "Then the bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread". Now, it's not saying that we are all partaking of each other. There are those who teach when you take the bread, remember that it's the body of Christ. No, no, no, no. Jesus never said this is the mystical body of Christ. We are the body of Christ. When he took the bread, when the bread is with the cup of wine, it's always his physical body. "This is my body". He's not referring to the mystical body that was to come. Are you listening?

And here it's very precise. "We, though many, are one bread, one body; for all we partake of that one bread". In other words, we are one bread, one body now because we all partake of Jesus's body. You got it? Okay, "Observe Israel after the flesh". We go back to ancient Israel. Look at Israel after the flesh when they offer an offering. "Are not those who eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar"? I want to tell you something, it is in your interest today if your body is suffering, if there has been a prognosis, whatever it is, whatever the doctors have told you, let me just tell you this, it is in your interest to partake of the benefits of the cross. Your question is, "How can I do it"? Observe Israel after the flesh. "Are not those who eat of sacrifices partakers of the altar"?

The altar is the cross. The altar back then in Israel's temples, they're four corners. It's a picture of the cross. That's where the lambs are placed. That's where the body of the bullock is placed. That's where the sacrifice is laid. The burnt offering is laid there. It's four corners because one day this antitype will be Jesus on the cross with the four corners to the north, south, east, and west. For God so loved the world, the benefits is efficacious to the four corners of the earth. Can I have a good amen, all right?

So, don't forget, the altar is the place of the cross. Now, how do we partake? The million dollar question that the church of Jesus Christ have is that, "I know he bore my diseases, not just my sins, but how do I partake that? How do I have access to it? How do I become a koinonia, an intimate participator, a sharer of what happened? How can I be a sharer of the benefits of the blood and the benefits of the bread? How"? Observe Israel. "Are not those who eat partakers"? In other words, when you eat the bread and drink the cup, you become a partaker of what Jesus did at the cross. Are you listening, people? I'm gonna read to you some testimonies, if I have time, maybe just one testimony, but it's gonna bless you. This guy's Joshua from United Kingdom.

I was saved when I was nine, however my experience of church was more about living a good Christian life, rather than receiving the grace of Christ. I felt like a hypocrite trying to deal unsuccessfully with my feelings of guilt and shame. As a result, I spent my teen and much of my adult years away from God. Four years ago, I began to attend church once again. I met someone in a life group who introduced me to Joseph Prince Ministries. I began watching Pastor Prince's messages whatever I could. Slowly, the message of grace and Christ began as healing in my heart. The more I listened, the more my wrong beliefs were replaced with the gospel.

For six months, I would tear up uncontrollably every time I heard of the grace and truth that Jesus died to give us. Even though I was saved as a child, I would rarely ever share my beliefs with anyone because I felt like a hypocrite. Now I share the grace of Christ with anyone who is willing to listen. One Sunday, I even shared a testimony with my church. For 26 years, I suffered from having painful warts on the soles of my feet. I tried every medical means, including painful laser surgery, to get rid of them, but nothing helped.

When I was invited to a barbecue a while ago, I asked if we could partake of the Holy Communion together. As I had watched Pastor Prince's messages on the healing power of the Holy Communion and read his book on the Holy Communion, I shared my newfound beliefs about the significance of discerning the Lord's body and the Communion elements with the group. After taking the Communion together, we prayed and sang hymns about our Lord's sacrifice and his love. In my prayer, I cursed the warts on my feet that had also spread to my hands. Weeks later, the warts on my hands were gone. In the weeks that followed, my feet were also healed and are now completely free from warts.

All glory to Jesus, hallelujah. Now, it doesn't come because you say that, "Oh, I'm gonna try the Communion," all right? It's not a matter of trying, it's faith. Are you listening? It's not a matter of that, "Okay, I go to it". The whole thing is empty, empty of meaning, and if you don't watch it, you are partaking unworthily. Now, go to 1 Corinthians 11, "For this reason," singular reason, singular reason. I know people in the body of Christ says that, you know, we need to lay hands on each other and command this, command that and all that, there's a place for that, there's a place for that, okay? But the norm for a believer, usually they command devils to come out and people to be healed for sinners out there, not for believers. Believers seems, in the 1st century church, seems to be walking in divine health.

It's better to have health than healing. I said, it's better to have health than healing, but if you're sick, go for healing but don't stay there, don't leap from healing to healing, start to walk in health. So, the believers would break bread from house to house daily. I repeat, you didn't get that. They'll break bread from house to house daily, and we think we are, you know, some people think we're extreme. We have it once a week. Well, the early church in the Book of Acts, upon the first day of the week, they came together to break bread. Who was the guest speaker for that one? The Apostle Paul.

Remember, Paul was a speaker. Doesn't say upon the first day of the week they came together to hear Paul. They came together to break bread, Acts 20. You have time, you read it. And while Paul was long preaching, while Paul was long preaching, a young man was sitting on her window, all right, there were three floors. Everything is symbolic as well, three floors the third heaven. All believers are seated with Christ in the third heaven. So, the young boy's name is given, why? There is a meaning for the church. His name is Eutychus, any E-U means good in Greek. Eutychus means good fortune. He fell asleep, he didn't listen to Paul's preaching, and he fell three floors and died.

Now, how come the church has been robbed of good fortune, Eutychus? We're not listening to Paul's preaching. Just like another story in Acts, the sheep of Christendom had Paul on it but they refused to listen to Paul. They faced shipwreck, Paul said, "You should have listened to me". We need to listen to Pauline revelation, especially of grace. God gave it to Paul. All Scriptures are inspired, all Scriptures are important, but not everything is written to us for the church. Some are written to the Jew, and some are written to us. And Paul is the one that say, "I receive from the Lord" about the communion. Come on, are you listening, people, all right?

So, here we go, all right, after he fell by the way, it's good news. They came together to what? Break bread, not to hear Paul preach. So, the guy fell and Paul went down and Paul hugged him. You know, we gotta embrace this young generation with the Pauline revelation of grace, the gospel of grace. Are you listening? We need to embrace them, amen. Even they're dead, we gotta embrace them. We gotta make them feel warm with the gospel of grace. And guess what. Paul says, don't be troubled, his life is in him. He raised him from the dead.

Now, if something like this happened in church, we'll say, "Hallelujah, praise God," amen? Have a time of praise and then send everybody back, but not Paul. Paul went back up, brought everybody plus the guy he raised from the dead, brought good fortune back to the third heavens, say amen, where the church is, and guess what. They broke bread, priorities, first thing's first. Even though someone raised from the dead, still go back, break bread. Don't forget where the power comes from. That's the early church.

All right, "For this reason," singular reason, only one reason in the church, "many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep," sleep there is die. Behold, I speak plainly. In those days, it says sleep. For a believer, death holds no more terror, there's no more sting. Jesus conquered death so for a believer, they say they fall asleep. A sinner dies, a believer sleeps until Jesus raised his body from the dead, all right? But look at this, one reason, for one reason, not reasons. I check it out in the Greek, the word "reason" is singular. Many, kind of wish he said few. "Many are weak, sick, among you, and many sleep".

What's the reason? What's the reason? Look at the verse before that. "He who eats and drinks is an unworthy manner," the key is unworthy manner, "eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body". So, if I tell you and you are suffering from malaria and I say, "I got Quinine tablets, take these Quinine tablets". You say, "I refuse to". "I'll put it in the water, all right, okay, now drink it, drink it".

And you say, "Ah, I don't need Quinine business and all that". You are drinking damnation to yourself by not drinking the solution. The world as it is is dying. It's not as if oh, you have sin, you take the Lord's supper, then you die. No, no, the world is dying, that's why the chapter says that God doesn't want us to be condemned with the world. There's a condemnation in this world that was released, a divine sentence that was released ever since Adam sinned, and the divine sentence includes sickness. Communion is the way out. It's the ekbasis. Are you listening, people, amen?

So, not discerning the Lord's body. So, the problem is that they knew the cup. Majority of denominations that practice church denomination, and I speak this with a heavy heart, they have Communion but many a times they lump the bread and the cup as one. "Thank you, Lord, for forgiving us of our sins. You died for our sins". Hardly mentioned disease. They're not discerning the Lord's body. The word discerning, "diakrino" to make a separation between the bread and the cup. Why was he scourged? God arranged everything, why didn't God just send him straight to the cross? Why didn't Pilate just send him to the cross? Why must he go via the scourging and then the cross? Because by his stripes, we are healed. Are you listening? God loves you. God wants you well. Said, God wants you well.

"Pastor Prince, I took Communion before". I tell, take again. The disciples took it from house to house in one day. You know how many times that is? You know how many houses there were, amen? Every time they come to a new house, there's somebody sick so they take again and they got the benefit. They broke bread daily, not only daily, from house to house and knowing these disciples, they can cross miles like Jesus did. Jesus would walk without any transportation, walk with feet across rough terrains. That's his exercise. Running is an animal that's invented later on. Walking is Jesus's style of exercise, long distance, amen? Don't write to me again.

All right, for this reason, many. So, if you reverse the thing, if you discern the Lord's body, yes, his body was broken that my body might be put together, amen. I see my high blood pressure carried away by Jesus's body. I see his body judged. His healthy body was judged that my body might be healed. You are discerning, now you are eating worthily. God is not saying an unworthy person cannot eat. It's not an unworthy man, it's an unworthy manner. The adverb, okay? An adverb means an action that modifies. It's a way, modifies the verb. It's how you eat. You're not eating with discernments. In fact, those people were partying. In the 1 Corinthian church they were drinking and they were gluttons, there's gluttonning going on at the Lord's supper.

Now, in our church, it's very hard for gluttony to happen and drunkenness because this is our elements. It's hard to partake unworthily so our problem is we partake without revelation and that's why I'm preaching this so that people who are going through something, they can listen to this again and again and again and again. And those of you who are well off, you might not think, all right "There's no need for me," and all that. Trust me, you will need this, amen? So, for this reason. We can reverse it. If you discern the Lord's body, for this reason, many are strong, many a healthy, and many live long, amen? Praise God.

Let's go to Isaiah 53 real quick. Isaiah 53 is the Magna Carta of the entire Old Testament. It's the culmination, this is the greatest chapter of the Book of Isaiah. It talks about our Lord Jesus's sufferings on our behalf. Aren't you glad he loves you? Look up here. I want to address this because this is very important. Jesus wasn't murdered. Jesus says, "I have power to lay down my life. I have power to take it up again. No man takes this power from me". And that's why more than one time they tried to stone him, they could not. He walked right in their midst. More than one time they tried to kill Jesus, they could not. "My hour is not yet come".

He has power. When they came to arrest him in the Garden of Gethsemane, soldiers, brandishing staves and swords, strong soldiers, they came. A legion of them came to arrest him and he asked, "Who do you seek"? And they say, "We seek Jesus of Nazareth". The Bible says he stepped forward and spoke the awesome, the awesome name of God that God revealed to Moses. "I am". When they said, "We seek Jesus of Nazareth," he stepped forward, "I am". Moses asked God, "Who shall I say sent me"? God says, "I am that I am". And now the I am said, "I am".

You know what happened to all those soldiers? They fell backwards. That's power, okay? He was not arrested because he can't help it. He allowed himself. Then he says, "You have found me. Let these disciples go". Are you listening, people, amen? He laid down. I believe he laid down on the cross. That's one of the things that convinced one of the thieves that this is a different man. That's what caused even the hardcore, hardened centurion, Roman centurion at the cross said when he died, "Certainly this is the Son of God".

I'm telling you, church, he didn't have to die. He loved you. I said, he loved you. You know, he cares for your pain right now. It's not just for the, you know, for the eternal and while the sweet and by, you know it's like, one day, you know, all the sufferings will stop, you know? No, he wants you to be healed. He wants you healthy. He wants you strong.

"Are you there, Pastor Prince? I don't see Christians there and all that". Let me explain to you, okay, about something about God. We have received so many testimonies of people who begin to discover, one of the biggest testimonies we receive is that people are delivered from drug addictions, pornography, depression, all right, by confessing, "I am the righteousness of God in Christ". Now, it became a revelation that Jesus took their sin and they take Jesus as their righteousness, the divine exchange. The more they confess that, how many know that many a times your feelings says, "No, you're a porn addict". But who you are before God, you are the righteousness of God in Christ. Your thoughts will say, "No, you need this drink. You need this drink, all right? You can never break it, all right"? But God looks at you and God says, "You are my righteousness in Christ".

Now, what happened is that even though while we have so many testimonies: go to JosephPrince.com and go to the testimonial section. You can read for yourself. The number of people that confess, "I am the righteousness of God in Christ," even while they're in their sin and how one day, the desire for porn, the desire for drinking, the desire for drugs just fell off. Depression just leaves. Are you listening? So, what I'm saying is that even though you still have symptoms of sin in your life, do not identify yourself with sin. That's not who you are. If you are born again, you are the righteousness of God in Christ.

So, the more you identity with who you are, it does not mean you don't sin anymore. You may sin, all right, but you will sin less and less. Are you listening, people, all right? The more you identify yourself with the truth, and this is the truth. We're not trying, pretend you are, "Pastor Prince, you know, I feel dirty. I feel unclean. I feel I want this wrong thing. How can you say I'm the righteousness of God"? "Are you born again"? "Yes". "You are the righteousness of God in Christ". Like one guy told the pastor just after he got married, the pastor pronounced them husband and wife and he brought the pastor one side says, "Pastor, I don't feel married". The pastor shook him, "You are married"! If I am that pastor, I won't be shaking him. I'll be shaking him, explanation point! Amen?

So, same thing as in sin, even though there's sin in you, the more you identify the fact that you are the righteousness of God in Christ doesn't mean you don't sin. You sin less and less and less. Now, watch this. The more you identify with the fact that Jesus took your diseases and start to do that, it's the truth, the more you do that, the more you take Communion doesn't mean you won't fall sick but you'll fall sick less and less and less. My advice, start now. Start to identify with the truth.

The Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of truth, truth, why? If you believe a lie like, for example, the devil say, "You are dirty, you are unclean". And you go to God, "Oh God, I just sinned again when I promised you last time I will not. I'm so unclean. I'm useless and all that". The Holy Spirit is just in abeyance. It's like he folds his hands. There's nothing for him to bear witness. You are telling lies. "Telling lie, you're telling lies, nothing but lies. You're just telling lies, Nacho". It's all lies. And you know who's the father of lies, right?

So, the more you utter lies, "But I feel it". Go ahead. Say what you feel and don't speak what God said. Don't you know the viewpoint, the paradigm for all of us to look through is the eyes of the one who is the truth? You gotta go by God's Word. A famous man, very famous, a few years ago, famous family but all the family sort of experienced one tragedy after another, many of the people in the family. And finally, he was with his wife and a friend on his one of his first flights independently but because he was went through a storm, it was dark.

And I watched this on Nat Geo. They were trying to find the root cause for the crash. His plane crashed. Very handsome man, he died. And they said that the conclusion was this, all right, that because he didn't have much experience when you fly in the dark, you can't tell you're going up, you're going down. You feel like you're going straight when actually you're going down. In other words, the feeling, they call it fly by the seat of your pants. You go by your feeling instead of trusting your instrument but your instrument is saying you are going down but your feeling is saying you're going straight.

Friend, this is God's instrument. This is God's instrument. God says, he bore our diseases. With his stripes, we are healed! But your body says, "No, I don't feel it". Start taking. It didn't say the more you identify, all right, you will have no more sickness from now on but start somewhere and you'll find as you sin less and less when you identify with your new identity in Christ, the more you identify yourself with the fact that you are healed by his stripes, you will be sick but less and less, okay? All right, so I Isaiah says, "Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows". Now, this is very unfortunate, very unfortunate. Grief and sorrows are the Hebrew word and kholee and makob, all right? Kholee is diseases, makob is pains.

I remember sharing with one of the messianic Jewish men who was a pastor in Jerusalem, a very dignified man. Today, he's with the Lord. Many years ago, I sat down with him and I shared with him. And, you know, he's from the persuasion he don't believe that healing is for today, all right? And I shared with him Isaiah 53 and I said, "Is this kholee and makob"? And he read it. "Yeah, mmm, mmm, mmm". Very dignified elderly man. And I said, "Is kholee diseases or is it spiritual diseases like some scholars try to tell us"? He said, "No, it's always physical diseases". "And what about pains, physical pains"? Then he look at the whole thing, "hmm," he said, "hmm". He was very interested.

All right, look at Young's who is Young's translation of the Bible or Young is an amazing scholar, Young's concordance, Strong and Young's. You must have three concordance in your life, Strong concordance, Young's concordance, and Cruden's so you become young, strong, and crude, all right? So, look at Young's translation. "Surely our sicknesses he has borne and our pains he has carried them". Is there another quotation of this? Yes. Thank God for Jesus's ministry. Matthew 8, this New Testament, "That it might be fulfilled which are spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: 'He himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses.'" And here refers to physical infirmities, and weaknesses, and infirmities, and diseases, and pains. Very, very clear.

"Pastor Prince, are you sure"? Okay, since you're not convinced, huh, you little boys of unbelief, let me show you verse 16, the context. Don't take the verse out of context. The context, verse 16. "When evening had come, they brought to Jesus many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word", so, there's deliverance from demons, "And healed all". I'm so glad he healed all. I wonder if people read their Bibles. I say, I wonder if people read their Bibles. He didn't heal everybody in Israel. He healed all who came to him. Keep that in mind. "Healed all who were sick, that he might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet. Himself took our infirmities and".

So, it's very clear the context referred to physical diseases, physical healing. Bible interpret Bible, amen? Okay, go back to Isaiah 53. Go to verse 5 now, "But he was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by his stripes we are healed". Look at this in the Amplified Bible, Amplified Bible. "He was wounded for our transgressions. He was crushed". By the way, crushed is the correct word, not bruised. It's not as if you got a bruise blue and black, all right? He was crushed for our wickedness. Jesus was crushed for our wickedness.

Now watch this, watch this, "The punishment (required) for our well-being fell on Him, and by his stripes we are healed". The punishment required in the Hebrew, the well-being is the word "shalom". The chastisement of our peace was upon him. The punishment with a view to your well-being. When Jesus took the punishment, he got up again and again. I believe he fell then he got up again. So, that all those of you with leg troubles, you will stand. Hallelujah, amen. So, those of you who cannot walk, he fell down as he carried the cross so that you will walk, amen. The lacerations cut off all the important nerves for you to walk and yet he walked again. No wonder he fell and fell until they had to call Simon to help him because he bore all this for you and I.

And by his stripe... and by the way, the word "stripe" in the Greek 1 Peter 2:24, by his stripe we are healed. It's singular, singular stripe. T.J. McCrossan, a Greek scholar, said this many years ago... T.J. McCrossan is an amazing Greek scholar and T.J. McCrossan says, "If Jesus was beaten, the stripes on his back left slivers of flesh, the word in the Greek should be plural, stripes. But if it beat Jesus until there's no more skin left", which the Bible says in Psalms, "I look and I can see my bones", which is actually what happened to Jesus. There's no more skin left then the singular should be used by his entire stripe, we are healed. I told you he loves you. He didn't have to go through that. He loved you. With the first stripe, pow, your cancer died. Kapow! Your blood pressure is gone. Kapow!

Your disease in your heart cleared out. Every, every artery softened and cleared out. Thank God for science. Thank God for medicine but they cannot do what the stripes can. Sometimes they give you this medicine but then they tell you you will have another problem because of this medicine so you must take this medicine to counter this problem that this medicine does. Now you gotta have this medicine to counter this problem and then they tell about all the contraindications. Are you listening, people? The punishment for our well-being fell on him. The punishment for our well-being fell on him. And by his stripes, we are healed.

Now, go back to our New King James. By his stripes we are healed. Let me just tell you this, the word "stripes" is chavurah, chavurah. Say, "chavurah". Chavurah, okay? Now, chavurah means stripe and wound. When I was studying Hebrew, I found out that the word "stripes," chavurah, not only mean the stripes on his back, but also it's the word for fellowship, association. Which chavurah are you from? So, I checked it out with those in Israel. Until today, they will tell you, "Which chavurah are you from? Which association, which fellowship are you from"?

Unto today, chavurah. Chavurah has two meaning. Why did God who created Hebrew, all right, why did God put chavurah as stripe as well as fellowship? Go back to 1 Corinthians 10. The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the intimate participation? This is the Greek, koinonia. In Hebrew chavurah. Since I know by his stripes we are healed, please understand his stripes were real, the stripes on his back. By his stripes we are healed, yes. That's the primary interpretation but hidden in it God tells us how to partake of it. God says it's by fellowship with those stripes.

For years, my part is I went home from Israel, scratched my head and say, chavurah by his association. What do I do? I worship and just fellowship with him. Can God just give me a verse in the Bible that says this is fellowship with him? Guess what. I found it in 1 Corinthians, all right, where it says taking the cup of blessing is Communion with the blood of Christ. You take the bread, it is Communion to the body of Christ. Wow, this is how I fellowship with the body of Christ that was striped for my healing, mmm. I tell you if you're sick, you should have a big piece of bread at home. You should have a glass of... I don't recommend wine if you take a lot in a day.

"You know, darling, I'm sorry but Pastor Prince says, you know, I gotta take a lot in one day, so I bought this wine. You must understand it's all for the Lord. It's all for the Lord". Don't give me that nonsense, okay? It's a bad testimony to be drunk, okay? It's a bad testimony. So, let me just tell you this, have a piece of bread. You don't need our cups, okay? You don't need your cups. "But Pastor Prince, why you all design it that way? It must be that way". Forget the cups. It's for convenience purpose but even a crumb can drive the devil out of that woman's daughter. So, it's not how big, how small, okay? It is your revelation of it.

So, it's not a matter of like, and by the way, if you're not saved, do not partake of the Lord's supper. In a while's time, we'll have the Lord's supper. I thought that today we'll have it at the end because your faith, your revelation, when you take it with revelation, something happens. It's not an empty heart, an empty mind partaking. The whole thing become empty. It's just a ritual, okay? I'm bringing this to a close. Are you blessed? We're coming to a close right now but before that I wanna read to you another testimony. Margaret from United Kingdom said:

I suffered severe postnatal depression after giving birth to a wonderful baby. I felt as if the whole world was upon my shoulders and the depression got so bad that I wanted to end my life.

How many know there are people with depression who want to end their life?

However, the glorious smile of my baby kept me going. One day my brother introduced me to Pastor Joseph Prince's television program. Even though I was a Christian, I had never heard anyone preach the gospel like Pastor Prince. His messages helped me understand my wonderful identity in Christ and how much God loves me. Wow, this turned my life around. I started to watch his programs daily and recorded all of them. I also began confessing my righteousness in Christ and partaking of the Holy Communion remembering whose I am. Since then, my life has never been the same. I no longer suffer from postnatal depression. There is light in my marriage, my children's lives, and in my family. My household is now blessed daily with God's presence.

"Well, Pastor Prince, what about for those loved ones in the hospital, can you take Communion for them"? The next one I'm gonna read to you, all right, listen to the story because one day you will find this might really help with some relative or whatever, okay? This is Colin from India.

In October 2015, Rama, the mother-in-law of my wife's sister was admitted to the hospital after suffering a stroke that paralyzed the right side of her body. She also had an extremely high blood sugar level which can aggravate strokes. Her attending doctor also found that her esophagus was twisted and inserted a feeding human being to prevent her from choking on her food or drink. My wife and I had shared Pastor Prince's DVD sermons on the Holy Communion and anointing oil with Depresh, Rama's son. When he arrived at the hospital, he prayed for Rama with the anointing oil. Within five minutes, she moved her right hand. The family also partook of the holy communion. Despite being in another city, we partook in faith with them.

You can do that, all right? The Lord can heal from a distance, no problem. Amen.

That night, Rama regained full mobility in her right arm, that night, and leg but could not stand as her balance was off. The next day she walked around the ward twice on her own without any loss of balance. However, she started coughing out the milk given to her. The doctor wanted to reinsert the feeding tube which was a painful procedure but Rama managed to avoid it as she was able to eat normally after the tube was removed. Her esophagus was also no longer twisted. On the fourth day, Rama was discharged. Another patient with the same condition as Rama and admitted on the same day and had not even opened his eyes.

So, same condition, admitted the same day, the person on the fourth day, the eyes are still closed.

My wife's brother who is a doctor told us that Rama's recovery was medically impossible. Her blood sugar level was unstable for the week that followed. We shared with her what he had learned from Pastor Prince about letting go and letting God take care of her. That night, Rama and her daughter partook.

Now Rama herself partook, all right? When your loved one is unconscious or in the hospital, you can partake on behalf of your loved one. But once the person's awake, now she's participating.

That night Rama and her daughter partook of the Holy Communion and told the Lord that they cannot but he can. Her blood sugar level stabilized after that. Rama is now a committed believer.

The final part is something that I think will be very interesting for those of you who feel like your age is advancing, all right? When I was 12 years old, I thought 30 was very old and then I hit 30. Then I thought being 40 was very, very old. I remember when my mom was 40, when my mom was 30s, you know, I thought she was very old, you know? And y'all look at me like, "I don't know what you're talking about," all right? But whatever age you put down there as the age of growing old, I just wanna let you know something, okay?

The Bible says this in Psalms 92, "The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon". The cedars of Lebanon is a very famous cedar. By the way, let me show you cedar, a picture of a cedar. It's a majestic tree, beautiful tree. And the cedars of Lebanon is the cedars that's used for the temple of Solomon, the most expensive building ever built as a house of God. It's majestic, all right? Now, Psalms 92 says, "The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree".

A palm tree, even hundred years old can still produce oil. Isn't it amazing? A palm tree is so fruitful you see all kinds of seeds everywhere. Yow, come on, come on, come on. Old age still fruitful. He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon, amen? The cedar wood, by the way, I learned this when I was in the Rockies many years ago with Wendy for a holiday. We passed by cedars and I stopped, you know it's interesting the Bible, you know, I wanna learn as much as I can. And all the cedars that were there, there's a writeup and they say that the cedar wood is practically incorruptible. No insect can successfully destroy it. In fact, the beautiful perfume smell of the cedar drives away all these parasites. That's why they have cedar blocks that you can put among your clothes, amen?

"Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God". Don't just come to church, be planted. Don't just come to church. Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish, you know where? Outside in your workplace, outside in your family, amen? Those who are planted here will flourish in the courts. The courts is outside, okay? Next verse. "They shall still bear fruit in old age". Old age, the age is old but the person is not because the person is still bearing fruit! Grandpa, grandma, this is for you! Your age can be an old age. You tell people your age and they say, "What"? All right, but you are still bearing fruit! They say that when you come to a certain age, they use the word "dried up" already.

Abraham considered not his own body now dead, dried up, neither he had the deadness of Sarah's womb, but was strong in faith giving glory to God. We don't consider the natural things, consider God's Word. So, so far has Pastor Prince taken pains to show you Scripture? Have I? Yup. Okay, they shall still bear fruit in old age; They shall be fresh and flourishing". Wow, fresh and flourishing. I wish I can show you the Hebrew. Fresh there is the word dashen, which is the word for store, what? Vigorous. This man in his old age is vigorous.

You know what's vigorous or not? You know the Bible it says in Isaiah 40, it says that even the youths shall faint. Even the youths shall faint and the young men shall utterly fall, but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint. What's the secret? They that wait upon the Lord. Write this down somewhere. Listen, the word for they that wait upon the Lord is the word join together, fellowship. Kavah, the word is kavah in Hebrew. Kavah means like a rope intertwined becomes strong. You and the Lord intertwine and you will run and not be weary. You will mount up with wings as eagles. God will renew your youth like Caleb.

At the age of 85, he told Joshua, "Give me this mountain". Like Moses at the age of 120 when he died, the Bible says his eyesight was not dim, neither his natural force abated. God did it for them and Moses was under law. Caleb was under law. How much more we have a better covenant? Their covenant was based on the blood of bulls and goats. Our covenant's based on the imperishable, beautiful, precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, amen? Are you listening, people?

"So, what's the key, Pastor Prince? What's the key"? They shall be fresh is vigorous. Flourishing is raanan in Hebrew which means green. Literally today when they say green they use this word raanan. You will be vigorous and evergreen. How you like that? When you look at the tree, the tree is hundred over years old, but it's all green! And the rest, 30, 40, already brown. Evergreen. You can be evergreen. Why does God want this? Why does God want this in his people, all right? It's not just for you, you know, to declare, to testify that the Lord is upright, he is my rock and there's no unrighteousness in him. So, people around will see God is being declared. God is a good God. He's an upright God. When they look at God's people and they see this, whoa, amen. But it doesn't tell you how, right?

Go back again to the first part. "He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon". So, a key there is cedar in Lebanon, okay? So, these people, in their old age, they still bear fruit. They are still green. They are still vigorous. Doesn't tell you what they did, right? Yeah, for that you must come back next week. Would you like to know now? But it's not time. Huh, you want it now? Only one verse, okay? Look at this. Say, "Cedar in Lebanon". When God gave me this, I know this passage for a long time already. When God gave me this in my room, I nearly went to the rooftop 'cause for years I salivated over this... did a breath stroke in my saliva. It was like man, bring fruit in old age, evergreen, vigorous, bearing fruit, flourishing out there in the courts. Man, like the cedar of Lebanon, like a palm tree, I salivate. Doesn't tell you how.

And then bang, in one of my studies, God says, "See the key"? He will grow like, not just a palm tree, but a cedar in Lebanon. Bible interpret Bible. Let me show you this verse in Psalms 104, "The trees of the Lord are full of sap". When you are... just now that passage also full of sap, right? Evergreen, full of sap. Bring forth fruit in old age, full of sap. The cedars of Lebanon which he planted. Uh-huh. That's our key, right? If you think he's referring just to trees, think again. Like God says, "Thou shall not muzzle the ox that treads out the corn". And then he says, do you think God cares for oxen?

Of course, God cares for animals but do you think when God says don't muzzle the ox when it treads out the wheat, let him eat. Don't cover his mouth. Don't be like a Singaporean, you know? Yeah, you know what I'm talking about, all right? And so God says, "Let him eat. Let him eat". And then he says, "Do you think God cares for the oxen"? No. Paul says God is caring for the minister who thresh out the Word of God. Let him be blessed. Let him be blessed. It is his job. Let him get paid. It's his job, all right?

Paul talked about that in Corinthians. You can read about it. That's not my message today, okay? What I'm trying to say? When God gives illustration about not muzzling the ox, God is thinking of full-time ministers, ministers that depend on the people's freewill giving, all right? God says, "Don't forget. Allow him to eat". Watch this. When God talk about the trees of the Lord are full of sap, the cedars of Lebanon, he's talking about cedars of Lebanon, it's people. They shall still bring forth fruit, it's people, right? It's illustration. How you can be incorruptible, how you can be full of sap, how you can be green, how you can be strong. Would you like that?

Context. Bible interpret Bible and context is important. Look at the verse before this. "God gives wine that makes glad the heart of man. God gives oil, the Holy Spirit, to make his face shine. And God gives bread which strengthen man's heart". And I'm telling you, the only bread that can strengthen man's physical heart is the bread of Communion because by his stripes, we are healed. I'm here to tell you, church, the wine, the bread, is the Communion that makes you like the cedars of Lebanon, full of sap. And when I saw this, I tell you, I said, whoa! It was like wow.

Do you know why I'm preaching this? I'm preaching this so that when your loved one or someone has been given a bad diagnosis, don't just run and take Communion with an empty heart, an empty revelation, empty mind. Wait, listen to the sermon. At the end, partake. Something, something will happen because everything about God's things, all right, must work with faith. Faith comes by hearing, hearing, hearing by the Word of Christ. Are you listening, people, amen?

You know, everything happened because of man's sin. I'm bringing this to a close. Everything happened because of man's sin. Man ate from the tree he shouldn't. Guess what. God says, "Eat your way back into the blessings. Eat your way back into the blessings". Are you listening? But it's the body of Jesus. It must be the body of Jesus. The disciples in Luke 24, I told you, right? Did I give you Luke 24? I didn't? I didn't give you Luke 24? Real fast, okay, Luke 24 when Jesus rose from the dead, same day real fast, okay? I cannot afford to give you this and then you give it another service, all right, y'all will come back.

Luke 24, real quick, "Now it came to pass, Jesus sat at the table with them, He took bread". Now, this is after the rose from the dead. The same evening, the same evening after he rose from the dead, he's at the place called Emmaus with the two disciples, I believe husband and wife, all right? And he took the place of the divine hosts. He played host. He took the bread. He blessed, broke it, gave it to them. Their eyes were opened and they knew him, and he vanished from their sight. Their eyes open? When did they know him? When he broke the bread. The whole seven miles they didn't see him until he broke bread.

There's something here, people. There's something here. I have a whole message on Emmaus Road. I have a whole message on it where God showed me it is actually a replica, or rather, a picture of what happened in the Garden of Eden when man fell, man ate. It's a picture. There are two man and woman. There's a couple there. So here, there's a couple walking back to Emmaus, Cleophas and Mrs. Cleophas. And then you have the Lord walking with them in the cool of the day. Then you have the Lord Jesus coming here. It's a restoration, understand or not? What was lost here was restored here.

And then the Bible says... now, because of time, their eyes were closed to see Jesus. They didn't know it was Jesus. Their eyes were restrained. He wanted them to see him in the Word, not physically. But then right at the end over here, what happened? The devil seduced the woman who seduced the husband to eat the fruit, right? And their eyes were opened, but to the wrong place, not to God, to themself. How sinful, how dirty, how naked you are. But over here the restoration, their eyes were opened. They didn't see themself. They saw him.

So, can I submit to you looking at the types, the two stories, can I submit to you Adam and Eve partook from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, right? What they didn't partake is the tree of life. Can I submit to you Communion is the tree of life? He is your righteousness. He is your righteousness. He is your holiness. Are you blessed? Are you blessed? You know, this is the restoration part. And then you know what happened? He disappeared. By the way, he disappeared doesn't mean he left them. He vanished out of their sight. He was still there. He'll never leave them. They walked back seven miles. They just walked seven miles but after Communion, they can walk seven miles again.

They went back to find the other disciples and say, "Hey, hey, we saw the Lord! We saw the Lord"! Let's follow the story there. "And they told about the things that had happened on the road, and how he was known to them, how he was known to them in the breaking of bread". He told the rest. Now, watch this. "Now, as they said these things about the breaking of bread, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them and said to them, 'Shalom,'" when they were talking about the breaking of bread. The Lord loves it, that's why he's showing up even now, amen. As they spoke about the breaking of bread, Jesus appeared.

Do you think he just came from heaven at that time? No, he was there all the time. He never left them. In other words, from bread to bread, he disappeared, he reappeared. Take this to proclaim the Lord's death till he comes. Primarily till he comes means when he come in the clouds to get all of us in the Rapture. But till he comes, keep on taking till he comes can also mean till he come to manifest himself to you. I don't know about you, I'm blessed. I think you are really ready right now to take the Communion. Are you ready? All right, pass the Communion elements. Y'all have it, right, in your hands? Are you ready, people?

Now remember, it's not about being conscious of your own disease. It's being conscious of Jesus, amen, being conscious of him. I'm gonna say this again, when you come to church, I want to tell the pastors also, it's as if the pastors must lead you word for word. I think we gotta stop doing that. You are big enough, all right, and old enough. It's your own prayer to God. Once in a while we'll lead you, okay? But make it your own prayer. Don't let Pastor Lawrence kiss the girl for you, amen? You know, the word "worship" is kiss, to kiss the Lord. You gotta kiss the Lord yourself, amen?

You know what to say but the principle says this, be conscious of the Lord. He says, "Do this in remembrance of me not yourself, not your problems, not your disease". Stop thinking about yourself. It's about him. Look at him, how beautiful he is like the cedars of Lebanon, amen. Look at how majestic he is, how full of mercy, kindness, tender mercy, goodness, how loving he is, how compassionate. He didn't have to but he chose to come down, to die on that cross for our sins. But before he hung on the cross, he chose to go to the whipping post, the scourging. And they beat him, and they beat him again, and they beat him again. And by his stripes, we are healed. By his wound, by his stripe the back was so lacerated.

See that right now in the Spirit, see that. When that stripe fell on his back, your cancer died, your tumor disappeared. When that stripe fell on his back, your blood pressure was normalized. When that stripe fell on his back, your sleeplessness and insomnia disappeared. By that stripe, whatever your condition is say, "Lord Jesus, I thank you by your stripe I am healed of", tell him right now, "By your stripe I'm healed of", might be more than one thing but just him, "By your stripe, I thank you, Lord". It's a time of thanksgiving, not pleading. "Thank you, Lord, by your stripe, it has been done".

You're not gonna ask him to do it again. You are thanking him. It's a time of eulogia, thanksgiving. "Thank you, Lord, by your stripe I am healed. In my heart, by your stripe, I am healed from forgetfulness. By your stripe, I am healed in my brain. By your stripe, I'm healed in my memory faculties. By your stripe, I am healed in my ankle joints. By your stripe, I am healed in my knees," whatever it is. But see it. Don't just repeat like a parrot. See it, see it. See him bearing the stripes. When you're ready, partake.

Now, lift up the cup. In the blood of Jesus is the forgiveness of all your sins. You are not partaking, remember this, to be forgiven, you are drinking because you are forgiven. If you're not saved, you haven't believed in Christ yet, this is not for you. Put down the elements. It's only for believers. And you are forgiven of all your sins because his blood was shed. Now, when you drink, drink in the consciousness that all your sins have been forgiven. There's no unforgiven sin in your life because of the blood of Jesus. And know that through the blood of Jesus, there is no curse in your life, no curse in your family. Christ has redeemed you through his blood from every curse. You may drink, amen.

If you are here, friend, and you have never put your trust in Christ, God will not force salvation into your life. He waits to be invited. Will you say yes to him? Will you say, "Yes, I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior," because he loved you and gave himself for you? If that is you, pray this prayer with me right now. Say this from your heart:

Heavenly Father, I believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He died on the cross for my sins and rose from the dead as my shepherd, as my Savior, as my high priest. All my sins are forgiven. I'm a child of God. I'm the righteousness of God in Christ and I'm blessed, blessed, blessed. Jesus Christ is my Lord. In Jesus's name, amen.

Praise the Lord. Stand to your feet. If you prayed that prayer, you're now a child of God. From this day forth, you can partake of the Lord's supper, amen. Praise the Lord. Aren't you glad you came? Look at you. I don't know about you but there's a glory cloud like all over this place, you know? Throughout the entire preaching there's been like a glory cloud. He shows up. He shows up. Lift your hands.

The Lord bless you this coming week. The Lord bless you with the blessings of Abraham, the blessings of Deuteronomy 28. And the Lord keep you and your loved ones throughout this week from all infection, from all terror, from all fear, from dangers, accidents, from tragedies, the Lord keep you and your loved ones and your families from all the harmful effects of the haze. The Lord keep you and your loved ones from all danger, from all evil. The Lord favors you. He smiles on you. This coming week, see the favor of God all over you. See God smiling on you, amen. He's pleased with you because of what Jesus had done. He's pleased with you. You are in Jesus' place, amen. He treats you like Jesus, amen. The Lord lift up his countenance on you and grant you great well-being, shalom because the punishment for that shalom has been paid. Take it! In Jesus's name, amen. Yeah! God bless you! See you soon.