What we're going to do here, we're going to be taking communion this morning.
And I want to tie it back into something that we have been dealing with.
I'm going to switch mics.
I want to tie it back into covenant.
So if you could bring that slide up, I want to explain this briefly.
You can be seated if you want.
We have been studying on tithing and how that it goes back into covenant, specifically Abraham's covenant.
So whatever that is, if you could deal with that.
That's the wrong one. I want the other one.
Number 14 out of today's PowerPoint.
I want to point something out to you concerning communion.
And what we are actually remembering.
The reason we were able to pray for Sam and believe that he is whole.
Goes back to Abraham's covenant.
Remember Jesus came to make a new covenant.
And it's a continuation of Abraham's covenant.
The law was added on top of Abraham's covenant because the people weren't getting it and they were messing things up.
So I'm going to read some scriptures out of Galatians 3.
Just to show this to you.
Galatians 3. Let's start at verse 13.
I'm in the New King James Version.
And if you could bring these scriptures up on the screen, that would be great.
Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law.
See, that's what was added on top of Abraham's covenant was the law which was the revelation of blessings and curses.
And Jesus came when he died.
He redeemed us from the curses so the blessing of Abraham could come on us.
Watch it here.
Have him become a curse for us.
For it's written, cursed is everyone that hangs on the tree.
Jesus became a curse for us.
That the blessing of Abraham, verse 14, might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus.
God told Abraham, all the nations of the earth will be blessed through you.
That's how we get in.
Through Christ.
It's an extension.
Jesus was, well, let's just read on.
That the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus.
That we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
Do you realize that we would not even have the baptism in the Holy Spirit if it wasn't for Abraham's covenant?
That's what it said right there in verse 14.
The baptism in the Holy Spirit goes back to Abraham's covenant.
Because the baptism in the Holy Spirit is absolutely nothing but a blessing to us.
So verse 15, Brethren, I speak in the manner of man, though it's only a man's covenant confirmed.
He goes on, talks about the law.
Verse 16, now to Abraham and his seed where the promise is made.
He does not say, and to seeds multiple, as of many.
But he said, seed, but as of one, to your seed, who is Christ.
So when God made the promise to Abraham and said, I make the promise to you and your seed,
he was speaking exclusively to Abraham and Jesus.
We were not included.
Exclusively Abraham and Jesus.
And then he goes on and says some things about the law, verse 17, jump to verse 18.
For if the inheritance is of the law, it is no longer a promise.
But God gave it to Abraham by promise.
Verse 19, what is the purpose of the law then?
It was added.
Added to what?
Added to Abraham's covenant.
Why? Because the people were getting so deep into sin because of transgressions.
How long was it added for?
Till the seed should come whom the promise was made.
The seed is Jesus.
So the law had a specific length of time it was added on top of Abraham's covenant
until Jesus would come and change everything with his covenant.
Verse 21 is the law then against the promises of God, certainly not.
Verse 22, but the Scripture has confined all under sin.
Everybody became a sinner.
Why? Why would the law do that?
That the promise given to Abraham by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to us who believe or by faith.
Jump down to verse 26.
For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
Huh?
Verse 28, there is neither Jew nor Greek.
There is neither slave nor free.
There is neither male nor female.
For you are all one in Christ Jesus.
And if you are Christ, if we're in that covenant,
then you are Abraham's seed.
And you are Abraham's heirs according to the promise.
And somebody is going to ask this question anyway, so jump to chapter 4 verse 7.
Well, if we're Abraham's heirs does that mean we're not God's heirs?
Well, verse 7 of chapter 4,
therefore you are no longer a slave but a son,
and if a son then you are an heir of God through Christ.
Well, how can you be Abraham's heirs and God's heirs?
Because what God did through Abraham,
we're able to tie into and it goes back to God.
So we're heirs of Abraham, we're heirs of God,
and the whole purpose was to bring the blessing.
That's the whole purpose.
So when you read the law, it was added because the people weren't seeing it.
They weren't getting it.
So the law was added,
and there is a whole list of blessings,
and there's a whole list of curses.
The law was trying to show us
if you're not in Abraham's blessing,
this is what you're in.
All these curses.
Jesus came and did away with all the curses.
He became a curse.
He did away with all the curses.
Why?
So the blessing promised to Abraham could come on us.
So even in Deuteronomy, you know,
when you read Deuteronomy 28, 29, 30,
and it's got all those lists and so forth,
even back there, listen to what it says in verse 19 and 20,
I call heaven and earth as a witness today against you
that I have set before you life and death,
blessing and cursing.
Therefore choose life.
Choose the blessing.
Choose it.
That's what we're going to do this morning in communion.
For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup,
you are showing the Lord's death till he comes.
That's 1 Corinthians 11.
What are we showing of the Lord's death?
That Jesus fulfilled what God started through Abraham
and the exchange of sons,
and now we have been brought into the position
we don't have to live by a curse.
We can live by blessings because Jesus destroyed
all the curse for those who are Abraham's children
and in the blessing.
If you are not saved, the curse will get on you
because the curse comes from sin.
It's not a blanket thing for all humanity.
It's for Abraham's seed.
And we were included into that through Jesus.
Now we have inherited Abraham's blessing.
Now if we want the curse, we can have it.
Now personally, I don't want it.
Jesus became the curse to stop it,
so we don't have to live under it.
But if you want to live under it, you can.
It's not God's will for you.
It's not what God wants for you.
All you have to do is choose death.
You say, how do you do that?
Well, the wage is a sin is death.
He was not writing that to unsaved.
He was writing that to Christians.
The wages of sin is death.
You want to get back under a curse
and open the door to the demonic realm?
Just go habitually, start getting involved in sin.
You know better. You shouldn't be doing it.
You know you shouldn't be doing it.
And you're going to make the choice to choose death.
The wages of sin is death.
You're choosing the sin. You're choosing death.
You will allow open doors for curse to get on you.
Just that easy.
So even back here he said, choose life.
So that both you and your descendants may live.
That you may love the Lord your God.
That you may obey his voice.
And that you may cling to him.
For he is your life and the length of your days.
Wow.
So the blessing,
as we celebrate what Jesus did for us,
we're actually celebrating the blessing
that was brought to us through Abraham's covenant.
What is blessing?
The empowerment to prosper
and have success down the road in every area of life.
So he says, choose life. Choose blessing.
Well, that's what we're going to do this morning with communion.
And we're going to start by saying, Lord,
if there's any area in us where we are perpetually,
consistently choosing to live in disobedience to you,
bring it up right now to every one of us individually.
Bring it up right now.
And I pray the decision is made right now to choose life.
Not to get obstinate and say, well, I like that.
I want to continue doing that.
I don't want to give that up.
If he's talking to you about something
that needs to change in your life,
because he's not pleased with it,
choose life right now.
Choose blessing right now.
Repent of it.
Ask him to forgive you.
Repent of it.
Get a change of mind, a change of heart and say,
no, that's not any longer going to be part of me
from this day forward.
I am going to move forward and get that out of my life.
See, that's part of choosing blessing.
And that's why the law was added.
Because people were not choosing blessing.
They were choosing death.
And they didn't know it.
So God said, well, let me point it out to you.
Well, for us, we already have it pointed out to us.
The Holy Spirit is faithful to speak to us
and say, you need to deal with this area in your life.
Choose life.
Repent, ask forgiveness.
Now we're ready to go back into Jesus covenant
and say, I am choosing blessing and blessing only.
I am choosing life and life only.
Any demonic thing that has grasped
or trying to get grasped on me or my family.
Remember what it said in Deuteronomy 30,
that you and your descendants may live.
Anything that's trying to get grasped on me or my lineage,
we cut that off today.
Any generational thing, sins of the ancestors,
sins of the fathers, we cut that off today.
We choose life.
We choose against you.
We will have nothing to do with you in Jesus name.
That's what communion is about this morning
and that's what we're going to do.
It's for you.
Amen. Thank you, Lord.
That is what we choose.
The blessing.
That is what we choose.
I'm going to let you go to your seats
and that way you can take communion with us.
Grab your emblems on the way by.
Stand with me.
We're going to honor this as a holy moment.
1 Corinthians 11 says,
the night the Lord was betrayed,
he took bread, he broke it and gave thanks
and said, take and eat.
This is my body, which is broken for you.
Do this in remembrance of me.
After supper, he took the cup in the same manner,
saying, this cup is the new covenant in my blood.
Do this in remembrance of me.
For as often as you eat this bread
and drink this cup,
you show the Lord's death
till he comes.
Lord, through your death,
you established the new covenant
that you announced to the disciples.
You established it.
It was the fulfillment
of what God promised Abraham
as the seed.
When the seed comes,
when Jesus comes,
everything changes.
Everything changes.
And we reach back into
your covenant, Jesus,
which is tied directly
into Abraham's covenant.
And today, we choose life.
We choose blessing
for our finances,
for our relationships,
for our marriages,
for our families,
for our health,
for our future.
We choose life.
Life.
We refuse and want
nothing to do with death.
We forbid it
from being part of our life.
We serve the king of kings,
the great I am,
the alpha, the omega,
the beginning and the end.
There is none like him.
Why would we want
anything other than
I am the way,
the truth,
and the life, Jesus said.
We choose you, Jesus.
And we resist
and come against anything
that is not of you.
And we stand
not on our righteousness.
We stand
not on our ability.
We stand on the covenant
that was cut
between God the Father
and God the Son.
When Abraham was put to sleep
and reestablished
and completed
when you hung on the cross, Jesus.
Unless there is
the death of the testator,
your word says
there cannot be a
new testament or a new covenant.
Jesus, when you died
we honor that death
for as often as you do this
do it in remembrance
the death.
Do it in remembrance of the death
and what happened there
until I come.
So we've made our choices. We stand on covenant.
We receive these emblems
to solidify and bring this
thing into place in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Amen. Receive with me.