======================================================================== COMMUNION MEDITATION： THE CLEAR WAY TO ETERNAL LIFE by Sandeep Poonen ======================================================================== Summary: This sermon delves into the provocative words of Jesus in John chapter 6, where He speaks about eating His flesh and drinking His blood, emphasizing the importance of abiding in Him and doing the will of God to have eternal life. The speaker reflects on the significance of communion and the deeper spiritual meaning behind partaking in the body and blood of Christ, urging listeners to internalize God's word and commit to doing His will wholeheartedly for a transformed life. Topics: "Communion", "Abiding in Christ" Scripture References: John 6:52, John 6:54, 1 John 2:17, John 6:56, John 6:58 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ DESCRIPTION ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This sermon delves into the provocative words of Jesus in John chapter 6, where He speaks about eating His flesh and drinking His blood, emphasizing the importance of abiding in Him and doing the will of God to have eternal life. The speaker reflects on the significance of communion and the deeper spiritual meaning behind partaking in the body and blood of Christ, urging listeners to internalize God's word and commit to doing His will wholeheartedly for a transformed life. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CONTENT ------------------------------------------------------------------------ I just want to share a quick verse from John chapter 6. John chapter 6, Jesus says some very provocative words to the Pharisees, and that really got them to stumble, and I'm sure they were convinced that Jesus was speaking heresy, when Jesus said that they have to eat his bread, eat his flesh. John chapter 6, verse 52, then the Jews therefore began to argue with him one another, saying, how can this man give us his flesh to eat? Jesus therefore said to them, truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in yourselves. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is the true food, and my blood is the true drink. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me. We want God to abide in us. If we eat his flesh and drink his blood, he'll abide with us, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me, he also shall live because of me. This is the bread which came down from heaven. Not as our fathers ate the manna. He who eats this bread shall live forever. And this passage has troubled me for many years, I'm sure it has for some of you in my early years. And the Catholics take this verse and say that is why we have communion, and we take the bread and we drink the juice, and as we take the bread in, we're taking in the actual body of Jesus Christ. And as we drink the juice, we're actually taking in the blood of Jesus Christ. Because look, it's said right here. And we don't believe that, but here are these words. So we must obey this verse. And I think it disappeals to us in the act of communion. The communion is just a picture as a symbol, but I want to tell you that the words of Jesus written here is available for everybody, including the children. That Jesus tells you children, you must take in the body and blood of Jesus. And here's a very simple way that John explained it to me, later in 1 John 2, verse 17. So this is what it means to eat the bread and drink the cup, 1 John 2, verse 17. He was so simple in explaining it, because he also tells me this is what it will take to live forever. Jesus said you eat my bread and drink my blood, you'll live forever. John says, here's what it means to eat his bread and drink his blood. The one who does the will of God. Very simple. So children, communion, the physical act of communion is not for you, but you can obey the words of Jesus, which means to take God's word all the way in to us. And Christ, who is the word, take it all the way in, and what's the proof of it? We start doing his will. That's it. And then we can have eternal life today. And many adults who are baptized, maybe we will allow them to take communion, but they may not have eternal life because they don't do what really is behind that word, which is to do the will of God. And so I want to invite every single person here who can understand what I'm saying to obey John chapter 6 and to do the will of God. Starting today, if not before, we can have a good week. We can, as Jeremy said, we keep seeing Jesus, abide with me so that I can keep seeing you, Jesus. I saw you on the road of Emmaus. Now I want to see you as you break the bread. I want to see a greater revelation of you. Abide with me, Lord. Fast falls the evening. It's getting dark. You're going to come soon, Lord, abide with me. I'm not satisfied with a burning heart. I'm not satisfied with the revelation that Jesus is the son of God. I want more. I don't want lukewarmness to creep in. And so, as you know, we restrict the physical act of communion to those who have been baptized first and are walking with God. So if you've been baptized and you don't, are not walking with God, if you have a grudge against somebody, it makes, it disqualifies us from taking communion. We can set it right. And so let's take a few moments as the bread and the cup are being passed, sisters, you can pass the bread and the cup to us. Let's think about what our hearts are like. Your hearts may be burning within you. That's good. It's very good. But don't stop at the burning heart that happens on the road to Emmaus. Say, Lord, abide with me. You showed me you're the Messiah, the son of the living God. Lord, show me that you're the beloved son in whom I should listen to you and you alone, that I might do your will more seriously than I've ever done your will before. Children, even though you don't take the cup, make that same prayer. Lord Jesus, today I want to do your will. You were a 10 year old. You were an eight year old. You were a six year old. You were a 25 year old. I want to do your will exactly as you did it. You don't need to take the bread. You don't need to take the cup to do that. But for those of us who are baptized and do take the bread in the cup, I sure hope that we definitely do that, that we have a strong, as if for the first time commitment, as if on the day of baptism, that same commitment, Lord, I want to do your will perfectly. Not one angry word, not one judgmental, negative thought, not one less lustful thought, Lord, I want zero today. Even though it's been a bad week for many times, it's going to be a good day today because I take your flesh and I drink your blood in a brand new way today to do your will. That is the way we can secure our eternity. He who does the will of God will live forever. That means taking the life of Jesus all the way so that it becomes part of us, much more than memorizing scripture, much more than even meditating and speaking on scripture, but lives being changed, molded into his image. For those of us who are Christians, I hope that this will mark a good reminder for us to do the will of God forever, that the Lord may abide with us so that our life with him can become richer and sweeter and that we may make haste. If indeed the Lord is coming soon, we must forgive everybody and we must make haste to tell the world that God is light and God is love and that we'll give of ourselves, of our families, of our wealth, spread that message as the Lord leads. We may say, Lord, what can I do? Send me, you've forgiven me of so much, you've touched my lips with the coals. I'm ready, Lord, I'll go wherever you want me to go. And it's almost always to China who lives next door to me because she's Chinese or the Brazilian, the Brazil who lives next door to me because he's Brazilian. I don't need to go to the country. The countries are coming to us in this part of the world. We can reach many countries just in our own neighborhoods. Let's pray that the Lord will give us a burden for ourselves, our families and others as well. ======================================================================== Video: https://sermonindex2.b-cdn.net/7mhf1CqicN8.mp4 Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/sandeep-poonen/communion-meditation-the-clear-way-to-eternal-life/ ========================================================================