We usually translate communion as remembering the sacrifice of Jesus’ blood in the context of our personal forgiveness. We think of the drinking unworthily as coming to communion carrying unforgiveness against other people. We check this box by extending forgiveness other people before we take communion. We think of the bread in terms of participating in His Body – we check that box by going to church or being part of a small group. Not so fast – “bread” implies something much deeper.
Bread is shared purpose – Repentance at salvation is the turn we make to receive Jesus forgiveness and cleansing through His blood. Then we turn toward something new. We change directions. The new direction can be the discipleship and equipping we receive in church, but in the end, “the bread” of His covenant is something much deeper. It’s our consent to engage in His purpose; specifically, the one He wrote in the desire of our heart. The solid food (meat or bread) is sharing in the Father’s purpose – because the same thing He wrote in our heart’s desire is already in the desire of His heart.
Heb 5:11-14 – We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. 12 In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! 13 Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. NIV
Righteousness is shared purpose – Jesus instructed us to put the Kingdom and His righteousness first (Mt. 6:33). We usually think in terms of being good boys and girls and being forgiven; just-as-though-I-never sinned. Righteousness (G1342, dikaiosune) means equity of character or act. It conveys that Jesus is the King of kings and Lord of lords and I’m a king and a lord with a shared Father (Jesus is the firstborn of many brothers, Rom. 8;29, and he is not ashamed to call us brothers and sisters, Heb. 2:11). We have a common purpose, and the authority to do nearly anything (in Jesus’ name) within the bounds of the Father’s purpose and my metron. I can see what the Father is doing and do the same, just like Jesus.
What is communion? – When I take communion, I’m celebrating forgiveness through Jesus’ blood and access to heaven as a son to share the responsibility to bring the Father’s purpose (Kingdom) to earth. That is the new covenant Jesus came to bring, and we can be the sons all creation has been waiting for. There is a door standing open in heaven for sons. Jesus opened it and our job is to walk through it and experience the real communion.
Rev. 3:21-4:1 – To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. …After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” NIV
Where to Find Purpose? – I’m being invited to Ecclesia – the group of sons who have the keys (Mt. 16:16-18) to the Kingdom of “heaven” (access to the courts and council). And, I’m being empowered with the ability to bind and loose on earth what has already been bound and loosed in heaven. As a son, I’m part of a council that knows and sees and does the father’s business in heaven first and then on earth second. I share Jesus’ character and His actions or assignments. My meat is doing the will of the Father too. (More in Seers and Doers)
The Gospel – Purpose in your heart – Barnabus encouraged believers to engage with the purpose of their heart (Acts 11:22-24) – that’s our covenant with Jesus that is celebrated in communion. David was a man after God’s own heart who could be trusted to implement his purpose (Acts 13:22). David served God’s purpose in his generation (Acts 13:36). So should we!
Acts 11:22-24 – Barnabas . . . Encouraged them all that with purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord. NKJV
Acts 13:22 – He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will. NKJV
Acts 13:36 – For when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation NIV
Rom. 8:28-30 – And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
The Showbread – “Purpose” in the Greek is the same word for showbread. Remember David and his men eating the showbread that was lawful only for the priests to eat? As a son, you’re being invited to eat the same bread – the body of Jesus; the meat of the Father’s purpose! Co-laboring with Father isn’t just for priests. Sons are both priest and kings who eat the showbread and do the works.
Purpose – G4286 prothesis (proth’-es-is); a setting forth, i.e. (figuratively) proposal (intention); specifically, the show-bread
What’s your purpose? – Purpose isn’t just a theological truth we get reminded of at communion. It’s a lifestyle of accessing heaven to see the Father’s purpose and bringing it to earth. As a nation, the United States is not just another country, it’s an idea that is spreading all over the world: that dreams can come true; that we are the land of the free and the home of the brave. The USA has a Kingdom purpose! Every other nation has an equally profound role in the Kingdom.
Similarly, you are not just one more person among seven billion populating a planet. You have a book with a unique script in which you are the hero and the rest of us depend on your success. We’re rooting for you to find your purpose and bring it to earth. We use www.OnlineHeartPlan.com to help. The place to start is with the desires God wrote in your heart. This outline will help you make the roadmap from your purpose to the mission that implements it. Here’s an example for our tribe of Seers and Doers.
Purpose Statement: What’s your “Why” that’s written in the desire of your heart? the value?
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- What is worth sacrificing for and gives redemptive perspective to suffering and triumph
- What gives meaning, context, and direction to overcoming pain and problems
- What is also in the Father’s purpose that is inevitable; that empowers you
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What does it Feels Like? The experience of tasting your why
Who: Who are the people that benefit?
Vision: What’s the dream? The aspirational transformation your value brings?
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- For you;
- For the people you serve
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Mission – How? What’s the strategy to implement?
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- What are the metrics used to measure progress? What’s the end state?
- How does cash flow work?
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You’re Invited (to the dance) – We’ve developed two online courses to bring prophetic and practical clarity to your purpose, vocation or business and a success path to seeking the Father in the courts of heaven and the council. It’s an experience with the Father and a relational tribe that works.
Stories from this tribe are here.
- The Heart Plan ($997) – (OnlineHeartPlan.com) will help you fish your purpose out of the deep waters of your heart and get it in writing. Watch the free videos. You can take this class anytime or wait for the next round, and we’ll go through it again as a group with weekly zoom calls (Started September 13). The Heart Plan is based on the ideas in Releasing Kings.
Prov. 20:5 – The purposes of a man’s heart are deep waters, but a man of understanding draws them out.
- Seers and Doers ($997) – (Seers-and-Doers.com) will help you navigate the courts and council of Heaven with your Father and the Spirit of Wisdom in a practical way. Start with Seers and Doers via Amazon.com.
Ps. 84:7 – They go from strength to strength, every one of them appears before God in Zion. NASU
- Scaling up to a Wealth Mentality ($97) – is our newest self-help course. We think you’ll enjoy it. Great lead up to the Heart Plan.
Bonus – Verses that go with the table
Matt 26:26-29 – Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
John 4:34-35 – “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. NIV
John 6:32 – I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” NIV
John 6:33 – For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. NIV
John 6:35 – And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. KJV
John 6:41 – “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” NIV
John 6:48-51 – I am the bread of life. 49 Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. 50 But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” NIV
John 6:53-58 – Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever.” NIV
Matt 4:4 – Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'” NIV (Deut. 8:3)
Rev 12:11 – They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. NIV