The Blood Of The Covenant

John 6:47–48 NKJV

47 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life. 48 I am the bread of life.

Confession of Faith

I am not moved by what I see or by what I feel. I am moved by what I believe. I believe the WORD of God! The victory is mine! I have it now! I can see it through the eyes of my faith!

Intro:

In Luke 22 verses 15-20 Jesus instituted what is known as the Lord’s Supper.

Luke 22:15–20 NLT

15 Jesus said, “I have been very eager to eat this Passover meal with you before my suffering begins. 16 For I tell you now that I won’t eat this meal again until its meaning is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God.” 17 Then he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. Then he said, “Take this and share it among yourselves. 18 For I will not drink wine again until the Kingdom of God has come.” 19 He took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 20 After supper he took another cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you.

Luke 22:15–20

We refer to it as Communion!

This took place during the Passover, which observed the time when God had freed the Israelites from their bondage in Egypt.

On the night before they were to be freed, God instructed the Israelites to smear blood on the doorposts of their homes so that death angel would pass over their homes.

In this supper with His disciples, Jesus explained the power and purpose of the New Covenant.

His blood would cause “spiritual death” to pass over the lives of His followers.

Through His blood, they would gain eternal life.

What Jesus Christ was explaining to His disciples was that the success of the blood promise was to be found in this New Covenant.

In it, the blood of Jesus was to be the atonement for our sins and the sins of the world.

The blood of innocent animals in the Old Testament, beginning with the tunic God made for Adam and Eve and the Old Testament animal sacrifices, including the blood on the doorposts during the Passover, simply pointed the way to the blood of Jesus Christ.

For it was through Christ’s blood on the Cross that mankind would be redeemed from sin.

The bondage of sin that Adam and Eve had unleashed upon the human race in the Garden of Eden because they had disobeyed the Word of God would be undone by the power of the Blood of Jesus Christ!

Luke 22:20 NKJV

20 Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.

When Jesus said, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you”,

He was explaining that, through the shedding of His blood, they would experience release from their sins and freedom from their captivity to Satan’s dominion.

The power of the blood, released in the New Covenant by the shedding of Christ’s blood, broke the power of sin and death forever.

The dominion that Satan gained, through Adam and Eve’s disobedience to the Word, would be overturned by the power of the blood of Jesus.

The Lord’s Supper, or communion, is not merely a religious ritual.

It is communion in the literal sense of the word.

We experience supernatural spiritual union with the living God because of the blood of Jesus.

There is an awesome power, wonder, and majesty that is released when we, as ordinary people, can be lifted into the presence of God through the blood of Jesus.

There is so much confusion around the gospel of Jesus Christ and the message of the blood of Christ because Satan understands that, if people ever got it or understood the New Covenant of the blood of Jesus and accepted it, they would be set free from his power.

It is no accident that in our world the message of the Cross is mocked and ridiculed.

The demons of hell have a vested interest in blinding people to the truth and reality of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

A gospel, a good news that is based on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and His shed blood is greater than the sins of any man or woman alive, including those who have fallen in public disgrace.

The blood of Jesus has destroyed the power of sin,

The blood of Jesus has destroyed the power of death,

The blood of Jesus has destroyed the authority of Satan over man.

The blood of Jesus is the most powerful force on this earth.

The blood of Jesus is the Word of God energized and active in redeeming man from the mistake that Adam and Eve passed on through the generations.

The blood of Jesus literally removes the power of sin

The blood of Jesus literally removes the death force

The blood of Jesus literally infuses us with God’s very eternal nature.

The blood of Jesus Christ acts like a heavenly transfusion, where the contaminated blood, infected with the death force, is removed.

The very life of God Himself is reintroduced into the human system through the blood of Jesus.

The results of the blood of Jesus being transfused into man through the Cross of Christ is a complete reworking of what happened in Eden. Adam, Eve, and their children are no longer naked before God.

Those who have accepted Jesus Christ into their lives are covered and walk in supernatural fellowship or communion with their Heavenly Father.

Through the blood of Jesus a doorway is created for each of us to enter the kingdom of God and live with God eternally

Is it any wonder that the devil has organized all of hell’s forces in attempting to keep man from this truth?

The power of the blood brings about complete restoration between God and man that was lost through disobedience in Eden.

This is precisely what Jesus meant when He said, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.”

THE FIVE PRINCIPLES OF COMMUNION

1. Communion Is a Celebration of Victory

Revelation 12:10–11 NLT

10 Then I heard a loud voice shouting across the heavens, “It has come at last— salvation and power and the Kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown down to earth— the one who accuses them before our God day and night. 11 And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony. And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die.

Communion is a celebration of the New Covenant.

Christ won the victory over the Devil for us.

The spirit of communion is a triumphant and victorious one, where we are to be reminded that Jesus conquered the power of the enemy!

Jesus told us to drink of the cup of the blood of the New Covenant and to “do this in remembrance of Me.”

We are to remember that Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God whose blood redeemed us from the power of sin, death, and Satan.

The Lord’s Supper—communion or “eucharist”—comes from the Greek word which means to give thanks.

The purpose of communion, or the Lord’s Supper, is to “give thanks.”

Communion is to be a celebration of victory

The second principle:

2. Communion Is a Declaration of Redemption

1 Corinthians 11:26 NKJV

26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.

When we take communion, we are to take it as a “declaration of redemption.”

The only way God could redeem man was through the blood of Jesus.

Mankind was in need of a Redeemer and “redeeming costs something.”

Every time we come to the Lord’s Table, we are saying,

“Jesus died for us;

Every time we come to the Lord’s Table, we are saying Jesus is my victory,

Every time we come to the Lord’s Table, we are saying a price was paid.”

When we come to the Lord’s Supper, we are to be reminded of specific things that God has done for us through His redemption.

Communion means a “sharing in common.”

Together, as the body of Christ, we share what Jesus has done for us.

The Third principle. Communion Is a

3. Declaration of Dependence

John 6:53 NKJV

53 Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.

When we take communion, we are declaring our total dependence upon Jesus and His power.

As we surrender to His lordship and depend upon Him for our strength, an energy of the Holy Spirit is released in us when we partake of His body and blood.

The New Covenant releases supernatural energy into our lives through the blood of Jesus Christ

The fourth principle.

4. Communion Is an Examination of Self

Communion is not to be a depressed ritual

Communion is a time when we need to search our own hearts in the presence of God and ask to be cleansed from our sins through the blood of Jesus.

1 Corinthians 11:28–29 NKJV

28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.

This scripture is often misunderstood and used as a means of condemnation.

But, the purpose of this scripture is to teach us to become true disciples who accept the discipline that discipleship brings.

So we examine ourselves in the light of the Holy Spirit,

We examine ourselves allowing God’s Spirit to point out in our lives areas in which we are “missing the mark.”

That’s when we take advantage of the blessing that the New Covenant brings.

It’s the complete forgiveness of our sins through the blood of Jesus.

We must realize that all of us will, have, and do sin as we walk with Christ in this life.

Things like wrong attitudes, living in fear instead of faith, anger, jealousy, and deliberate sins must all be confessed before the Lord,

Then we can receive healing, cleansing, and deliverance.

Bad attitudes and sins, like fear, can bring bondage into our lives and can actually prevent the full release of God’s promises in our lives.

The power of the blood is that Jesus sets us free to be all that we are created to be.

Self-examination, although momentarily difficult, should always lead to personal resurrection and a greater infilling of the Spirit of God.

The fifth principle:

5. Communion Is a Welcome of Provision

To partake of the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner means we minimize the full worth of the price Jesus paid for our complete healing and deliverance.

In other words, The purpose of the blood of the New Covenant is that Jesus paid not only for our sins, but for the full provision for every need in our lives.

To take the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner is to limit, by our unbelief, the full provision of what God has done.

This New Covenant was made available to us by the price of Jesus’s blood and His death on the Cross.

This New Covenant provides healing,

This New Covenant provides financial provision,

This New Covenant provides peace of mind,

This New Covenant provides deliverance,

This New Covenant provides freedom from fear,

This New Covenant provides spiritual power and purpose.

When we take communion, we believe that Jesus Christ’s blood made it possible for us to receive the full worth of God’s unlimited provision in every area of our lives!

The reality of this total provision, made possible by the blood of the covenant, should change our understanding of how good God is and how this goodness can be manifest in every area of our life.

As we prepare for communion start now by praising Him,

As we prepare for communion start now by worshiping Him,

As we prepare for communion start now by thanking Him in a celebration of victory.

As we prepare for communion Thank Him for all of the blessings in your life.

As we prepare for communion start now by Go to God in a proclamation of redemption.

As we prepare for communion start now by Thank Him for His death upon the Cross.

As we prepare for communion start now by Declare your dependence on God

As we prepare for communion start now by examining yourself in relationship to Holy Spirit and allow God to deal with your heart about specific issues.

1. Allow God to deal with Wrong attitudes that need to be confessed.

2. Allow God to deal with Living in fear, instead of faith in God’s provisions, in some area of your life.

3. Allow God to deal with Anger toward God, or some person, instead of faith, trust, and forgiveness.

4. Allow God to deal with some specific sin or indulgence in your life.

5.Allow God to deal with Other issues in your life that the Lord brings to mind.

In each of these areas, declare receipt of forgiveness and cleansing properties of the blood of the Lamb.

Allow yourself to be cleansed, refreshed, and delivered by the blood of the New Covenant.

Praise the Lord, and thank Him for His forgiveness.

Build your confidence in what God is going to do for you, now and in the future, by recounting what He has done for you in the past.

Next Steps: Week 10 - Reading Thru The Bible Sunday - 1Cor 3-4

Monday - Gen 36-39

Tuesday - Book Of Ruth

Wednesday - Ps. 27-29

Thursday - Job 19-20

Friday - Isa 41-55

Saturday - Matt 26-28