As He is, so are we in this world........

A few weeks ago I was at a Revival Alliance conference in Birmingham and one of the speakers, Beni Johnson, spoke on the power of communion.  Something struck a chord in my spirit that day and I knew that this was a journey that Jesus was inviting me to join him in, a journey of discovering the power of communion.

So, over the last month I have taken communion almost every day, sometimes on my own, sometimes with friends and sometimes more than once in a day.  I feel like I am only beginning to get the slightest revelation of the power of communion but the little I have discovered leaves me undone by his kindness and blown away by his complete and abundant provision for us.

How I have taken it has varied but each time I have stood in the gap for whatever I felt Holy Spirit impressing upon me and this has included healing and family reconciliation.  Almost every time I take it though the phrase, ‘as he is, so are we’ comes to mind and I have been pursuing revelation on what exactly this has to do with communion but my thoughts on that a little later.

One exciting thing to happen during this time is that I took communion with a friend and we chose to stand in the gap for some issues that were happening in her family.  One of these things involved a situation that she had been unable to talk about with one of her siblings for a number of years.  We stood in the gap and declared that this thing that had been kept hidden would be brought into the light and healing could begin for everyone concerned.  It felt like a really significant time that we had but my friend left and I thought nothing more of it.

Exactly one week later my friend was round again and she was so excited because during her regular monthly get together with her sibling they had discussed the issue that had been like the elephant in the room for years.  This truly was an amazing breakthrough and though they have a long way to go for wholeness in the family, this small step has opened the gates wide for that healing to begin.  Thank you Jesus!

I was blown away by how Jesus worked when we took him at his word and took communion choosing to stand in the gap for the needs of someone else.  This leaves me even more excited to pursue the more of this journey with Jesus. 

Sadly, I think for most believers it has become something that happens once a month at church and maybe occasionally at a home group but I believe Jesus intended for it to be much more than that, He intended it to be very much a part of our daily lives.  This is the example that was set by the early church where it says, ‘They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.’  This suggests that it was a fundamental part of the believers’ lives then.  I wonder what it would mean to us, to our neighbourhoods, to our cities and nations if it became a fundamental part of believers lives again?

So back to the phrase, ‘as He is, so also are we in this world’ which is found in 1 John 4:17.  What amazes me about this verse is that it is in present tense, that is, as Jesus is now (He is the risen, ascended and glorified Son) is who it says we are and not who we are becoming.  Wow!  I know that my experience of myself is not that I am like Jesus is now and, to be honest, lots of the time I feel like I am a very long way off being like him at all!  However, this is a truth that is stated in God’s word and I know it to be truth so I need to pursue to discover more until my experience more clearly matches God's truth that I know.

This is where communion is bringing me at the moment, every time I take communion I think about what Jesus did for me and for my community, my family, my friends (whoever He has placed on my heart at that time) and I also think on the fact that he rose again and ascended into heaven and now sits at the right hand of the Father.  This is how He is now. 

This then reminds me again of who I am now and what I look like now in the Father’s eyes. 

It reminds me again that Jesus did it once for all and that He does not need to do it again.

It reminds me that all sin was dealt with.

It reminds me that all sickness was dealt with.

It reminds me that Jesus has won the victory and that I am on the winning side and I fight or stand in my circumstances from that place of victory.

This for me is the power of communion because it reminds me of all of this but the key is that it also takes my eyes up to a higher perspective, to see from heaven’s perspective, to look from heaven down and that changes everything!  

From this perspective, there is nothing I face that it is not vastly overshadowed by my Jesus, He is so much bigger than any Goliath I may be confronted with. 

From this perspective, I have everything I need and all the resources of heaven are freely available to me, I just need to learn to partner with heaven for this to become my reality. 

From this perspective, I am as Jesus is and I can do all that He calls me to do and the supernatural becomes the natural because it is all natural to Him.

This is the journey I am on and communion is becoming a daily part of it and I know there is so much more for me to discover.  If you don’t already, I would love to challenge you (if you believe in Jesus) to try it for yourself and see what happens.  I’m excited to hear your stories!

Happy heart!  Blessed indeed!