Fear No Fear

(All scripture from the NET, netbible.org, all rights reserved)

For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night in which he was betrayed took bread, and after he had given thanks he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, he also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, every time you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For every time you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
1 Corinthians 11:23–26 (emphasis added)

Jesus broke His body in order that the blood would flow out. This was the payment of sin and in it is our atonement. “for the life of every living thing is in the blood. So I myself have assigned it to you on the altar to make atonement for your lives, for the blood makes atonement by means of the life” (Leviticus 17:11). It’s a pretty important thing. It is the foundation of our identity in Messiah Jesus. It is the foundation of our new life in Him (2 Corinthians 5:17). It is a pretty important thing to remember. The best way for the human mind to remember is through repetition.

Every time we learn something, synapses in our brain fire up and create pathways for us between nerve cells to access the new information. We have approximately one hundred billion nerve cells. They each can make approximately ten thousand connections to other nerve cells (approximately one quadrillion connections in total). That’s a lot of places to have information. The more we are exposed to a piece of information, the stronger the connections. Remembrance of something enforces that thing. If we want to remember important things, we need to work to continue to expose ourselves to it. Hence Jesus’ statement: Do this, every time you drink it, in remembrance of me.

We are to remember what His sacrifice entailed. What does it mean that He broke His body? What does it mean that He spilt His blood? The action of eating bread and drinking fluid combined with the active remembrance of what it means enforces the connections in our minds to really solidify this information so that we are UNABLE to forget it. But what exactly are we remembering?

When we look at the Blood that was spilt, we can have a LONG list. Here’s a short one. Jesus’ blood purchased us from the kingdom of darkness and its power, translating us into God’s Kingdom (Colossians 1:13–14). It is the ONLY thing that justifies us before the Father (Romans 5:9). We were sanctified by it (Hebrews 13:12). It redeemed us (Ephesians 1:7; Revelation 5:9). It purged our consciousness — or it will if we let it — from the dead works that accomplished nothing (Hebrews 9:14). We were brought close to Elohim (Ephesians 2:13). It IS the remission of our sins (Hebrews 9:22). It provides the boldness we need to enter into the Holy presence of Elohim (Hebrews 10:19). It is the ONLY thing that washes us and cleanses us from sin (1 John 1:7; Revelation 1:5). It is one of the two things that overcomes the devil (Revelation 12:11) — the other being the word of our testimony.

Jesus shed His blood SEVEN times. In Hebrew, the number seven has the same consonants as the word for completeness or wholeness. Jesus sweat blood in the garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:40–44) giving us back our willpower. Adam lost our Kingdom Ambassadorship in Eden, Jesus won it back in Gethsemane. We are once again FREE to choose to submit to Adonai. Jesus shed blood when He was scourged at the whipping post (John 19:1; Isaiah 53:5). He released healing through those stripes/wounds/bruises. They WERE what made us whole spiritually (1 Peter 2:24) AND physically (Matthew 8:16–17). We have the LEGAL RIGHT to be healthy in ALL WAYS.

During His beatings, He was bruised and suffered internal bleeding (John 19:1; Isaiah 53:5). He cleansed us of INIQUITY. This re-established right standing with Yahweh. Jesus shed blood when the crown of thorns was forced onto His head (John 19:2). Jesus won back our peace of MIND. We don’t have to be anxious, depressed, confused, or fearful. We can reject mental torments from the devil and his cohorts. Jesus shed blood when they pierced His hands at the wrist (Matthew 27:35). He won back our ability to prosper at the work we set our hands to. We are FREE from poverty. They also pierced Jesus’ feet. Dominion (Genesis 1:26) and Authority (Luke 10:19) are directly connected to feet in the symbology of the Word. Feet are a symbol of power and authority. Jesus won ours back for us.

Jesus shed blood when they pierced His side (John 19:34). He won back our Joy when He at that moment birthed the church (blood and water like what flows at birth). As His heart was pierced, He restored broken hearts. He has reversed the derailing of our destiny in Him.

As you can see, to get at this Blood they needed to break His body. His body broken for us gave us access to all that the Blood delivers. In addition, the very offering of His body sanctified us (Hebrews 10:10). All of this was accomplished ONCE (Hebrews 10:14). The perfect sacrifice was made ONCE for ALL of Creation for ALL of time. When it was completed, it was declared FINISHED (John 19:30). His body underwent death and burial. His body was resurrected to life by the Father through Ruach HaKodesh. We are able to connect to the Power of Jesus’ Blood when we too undergo (symbolically) this death and resurrection into Jesus’ life (His covenant with the Father). “Moreover if the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will also make your mortal bodies alive through his Spirit who lives in you” (Romans 8:11). “Or do you not know that as many as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him through baptism into death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too may live a new life” (Romans 6:3–4). “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live even if he dies, and the one who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”” (John 11:25–26).

If we believe it, we had better treasure it and profess it (Romans 10:9–10). Part of our profession is our baptism, walking through as a physical reminder what we are declaring spiritually, entering symbolically into His death and coming up raised into His New Life (Matthew 28:19–20). In the same way, we need to remember these truths. We need to remember what Jesus won for us. Just as those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it (Santayana G. The Life of Reason Vol. 1: Reason in Common Sense. London Constable, London 1905); believers who cannot remember what Jesus did can find themselves giving up in areas where He won our victory. We can find ourselves giving in to sickness instead of refusing it. After all, we are healed and whole from two thousand plus years ago. Why accept sickness? Disease? Infirmity? Slough them off your shoulders like a worn out shawl and refuse to be burdened with them. Can’t do that if you don’t remember what Jesus did.

We need to proclaim these things we are to remember. We can do that alone at home. We can do that together at church. We can do it both times. Once a month. Once a week. Or even daily. No limits or stricture was put on communion frequency. The only thing we were told was do it in order to remember and proclaim what Jesus did. The word for proclaim is the Greek word kataggelló (kat-ang-gel’-lo). It comes from two root words. One (aggelló) means to announce or report but as an angel giving pronouncement from Yahweh. The other (kata) means to bring down from a higher to a lower plane, with special reference to the terminus (end-point). This proclaiming then is our declaration which was issued from the Throne of Yahweh, brought down by us — who are in Jesus again just a little lower than He is (Hebrews 2:7–9) — and spoken out with firmness and boldness just as angels proclaimed Jesus’ birth (Luke 2:8–10). This is the Gospel Message. Because of what Jesus did, freedom is possible in Him.

That is something worth remembering. Soberly. Humbly. Submitting to Him even as we receive from Him all the Blessing, redemption, salvation, wholeness, health, productivity, prosperity, and destiny that He is offering in His Mercy by Grace through our Trusting Him. This is what communion is. This is what remembering is. This is what proclaiming is. They need to be regular, thoughtful, and never by rote. This is not formula. This is not our will. This is Jesus. This is the Father’s will. This is not something we deserve or can force. It only comes by Grace. It only comes through Jesus. It is the ONLY way to the Father, to Adonai Elohim, to He Who Is. It’s WORTH remembering. It is too easy in today’s world to forget all that He did. All that is available. It is also too easy to let religious thinking reign. To let it rob from us what He wants us to have. Instead, remember what He did and take it. Freely offered, freely accepted, and meant to be freely shared. Remember Him and receive it all.

Daily Affirmation Jesus IS Messiah: Isaiah 22:21-25

“I will put your robe on him, tie your belt around him, and transfer your authority to him. He will become a protector of the residents of Jerusalem and of the people of Judah. I will place the key to the house of David on his shoulder. When he opens the door, no one can close it; when he closes the door, no one can open it. I will fasten him like a peg into a solid place; he will bring honor and respect to his father’s family. His father’s family will gain increasing prominence because of him, including the offspring and the offshoots. All the small containers, including the bowls and all the jars, will hang from this peg.’ “At that time,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “the peg fastened into a solid place will come loose. It will be cut off and fall, and the load hanging on it will be cut off.” Indeed, the Lord has spoken.” Messiah would be a peg in a sure place. He would not be ill-fitting to His role (square peg in a round hole). He would not be in a precarious place or a place unable to hold a peg (like loose gravel, for example). Messiah would be in a SURE place. A SECURE place. His PROPER place. “To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write the following: “This is the solemn pronouncement of the Holy One, the True One, who holds the key of David, who opens doors no one can shut, and shuts doors no one can open:” (Revelation 3:7). Jesus IS the Way, Truth, and Life (John 14:6). Jesus has authority vested in no one else (Matthew 28:18-20). Jesus makes a way where none exists (Isaiah 43:19-21). Jesus can open doors no one else can. Jesus can shut doors no one else can. It is His role. It is His place. It is secure because it is the place where He MAKES security. Jesus IS the Messiah!

Your Daily Confession of Jesus/Yeshua’s Identity:

Yeshua is the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Matthew 16:16b