Anthony Wade Ministries

Cory was a member of a very progressive Local Church. However, he was having trouble with a portion of his pastors teaching. It wasn’t something that he could dismiss, because it came up every time his church enjoyed communion. Every communion service Cory would get very uncomfortable because he didn’t understand communion from the angle that his pastor was presenting it.

It became such an issue with Cory that he considered looking for another church. He carefully thought about finding a different place of worship, because he felt put on the spot every time he partook of the communion elements. Before he made his final decision he set an appointment with his pastor to converse about what was troubling him.

Cory had been raised in a segment of the church that didn’t really teach what the Word of God taught concerning communion. For the most part, communion was just another church ordinance — with very little meaning. It was usually pushed off to the end of the service, once a month — with inadequate teaching. It was a dead ritual, that had become just another religious thing to do; but not so where Cory was attending now. His pastor put a very strong emphasis on communion. He expressed the importance of taking part and what they were doing each time they received the bread and the grape juice. Communion was put on the front burner — and was the basis of the whole service. The whole service was centered on the “Breaking of Bread.”

Cory was not used to this. His attitude about the Lord’s Supper was that it was just something between him and God. Cory’s way of thinking about communion was that it was private, and no one else had anything to do with that part of his Christian experience.
Cory was partially wrong.

Communion is a private matter between you and God; but God included others – the whole body of Christ — in the equation of the “Communion Table.” Cory’s attitude was wrong.

When we receive communion, there is an exchange, a union, a fellowship, an agreement; a sharing, an association, a togetherness — a synergy. In communion we bring others close to our lives. During “Holy Communion,” others are invited to have union, fellowship, agreement, togetherness and covenant. The communion table is not just between you and God — we are commanded by God to include others during this time.

The “Communion Table” is the greatest expression of Love the Body of Christ has for one another. The greatest level of intimacy in the “Body of Christ,” is the “Cup of Blessing.”

Communion could also be broken down to mean common-union. The Communion Table is an expression of the common-union we have. It’s a time of intimacy — a time of INTO ME SEE — a place of harmony and reciprocal respect. A place where we remind one another why we worship together.

1 Corinthians 10: 16-17, 21-22 NKJV

{16} The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion (unity, spiritual union, close association) of the Body of Christ?

{17} For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread.

{21} You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord’s Table and of the table of demons.

{22} Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He?

The Lord’s Table is an identity of Christ Blood and His Body. Just as the loaf is a whole, the entire Body of Christ joins in on the sharing; the association; the agreement; the togetherness; the caring.

Every time his church had communion Cory was being challenged to answer these questions:

Was he receiving the Cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner?
What did it mean to be guilty of The Body and The Blood of the Lord? Was he really drinking damnation or judgment to himself — if he didn’t judge himself properly? What does it mean to discern the Lord’s Body? Did he open the door to become weak and sickly — even untimely death?

* See 1 Corinthians 11:23-33

Cory was having a difficult time with communion because he was harboring unforgiveness against a member of his church. There was a bitter root of judgment against someone that he worshiped with (James 3:11-18; Colossians 3:19).

Each time his pastor spoke on communion, Cory was convicted. Holy Spirit was giving Cory opportunity to examine where he was in his walk with the Lord. He was being affronted to take a good look at how well he was walking in Love. He wasn’t doing as well as he knew he should. This created great difficulty for him. Instead of being honest with himself and making the proper adjustments—he considered running to another church. “What you run from—you will run into.”

Hebrews 12:15 The Worrell New Testament

{15} Looking carefully, lest there be anyone falling short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness, springing up, trouble you, and through it many be defiled.

Discerning the Lords Body; the Communion Table is not just between you and God. When we partake together every one is saying that we are in agreement with one another. We are saying, there is nothing between me and my brothers and sisters in Christ, anywhere — especially those whom I worship with.

Cory did meet with his pastor; he was totally honest. Everything was resolved and he was able to stay with the church. Everything worked out for the good regarding everyone that was involved. -AWM

Copyright (c) Anthony N. Wade Ministries 2010 -All Rights Reserved

1 John 5:14-15 (NKJV)

{14} Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.

{15} And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.

One of the deceptions that war against the believer is the enemy of our soul is endeavoring to steal our confidence (1 Peter 2:11 * John 10:10). The scriptures are full of illustrations that encourage us to keep our confidence undamaged. Our text is a good starting point. First of all, our confidence should be in none other than Him. Secondly, our confidence is preserved by making sure we are asking or petitioning for something in line with His Will — His Will is His Word. Thirdly, we have confidence that He hears us, if we are asking according to His Word. His Word is His Will. Fourthly, we must have the confidence that we have what we asked Him, if we know that He heard us. Knowing that we have a petition cannot be based on the five physical senses. Many times the senses are the biggest obstacles — the biggest hurdles that we have to get over. Why? Because we are inclined to allow the senses to dominate our lives. To receive God’s best we must lay aside our senses. We must learn to walk by faith in His Word (Hebrews 11:1 * 2 Corinthians 5:7).

The book of Proverbs gives us another look at confidence.

Proverbs 3:19-27 (NKJV)

{19} The LORD by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding He established the heavens;

{20} By His knowledge the depths were broken up, and clouds drop down the dew.

{21} My son, let them not depart from your eyes — keep sound wisdom and discretion;

{22} So they will be life to your soul and grace to your neck.

{23} Then you will walk safely in your way, and your foot will not stumble.

{24} When you lie down, you will not be afraid; yes, you will lie down and your sleep will be sweet. {25} Do not be afraid of sudden terror, nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes; {26} For the LORD will be your confidence, and will keep your foot from being caught.

Wow, the previous passage is loaded with positive affirmations. Verse twenty six says it all for us. Other scriptures that speaks about our confidence are: Psalms 118:8 * Philippians 3:1-3 * Hebrews 3:6. Lastly, I want to leave you with something that must be paramount in your mind.

Philippians 1:6 (NASBU)

{6} For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

What He started in us, He is more than able and willing to finish. However, He can’t do it apart from our cooperation. — AWM

Copyright © 2010 Anthony N. Wade Ministries, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No portion of this publication may be rewritten or reproduced without the written permission of the author.

WEBSITE: www.anthonywadeministires.com
EMAIL: hgflow@gmail.com

Now that I have your attention, let me explain why I make the salutation to keep looking down. The greeting is based on our position “In Christ.” It is a salute to you as someone who is Blood washed, and bought by our “Lord and Savior, The Lord Jesus Christ.”

The salutation is an encouragement for you to maintain your position “In Christ.” When we were “Born Again,” there were benefits that we inherited by virtue of receiving “The Lord Jesus Christ”(Psalm 103). One of the things we inherited is a position far above the beggarly elements of this world. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand safe against all strategies and tricks of satan. For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against persons without bodies-the evil rulers of the unseen world, those mighty satanic beings and great evil princes of darkness who rule this world; and against huge numbers of wicked spirits in the spirit world. So use every piece of God’s armor to resist the enemy whenever he attacks, and when it is all over, you will still be standing up. (Ephesians 6:11-13 The Living Bible).

Our position “In Christ,” gives us the ability to maintain standing up. Even so, before we can stand, we must learn to sit. What could I possibly be talking about? The Bible tells us we are seated with Him.

But God, being rich in mercy, because of His Great Love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and SEATED us with Him in the Heavenly places, in Christ Jesus, in order that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:4-10 New American Standard Bible) See also Ephesians 1:3-4, 17-23

EAGLE CHRISTIANS
Have you ever noticed the mannerisms of an eagle? An eagle doesn’t flap up. The eagle mounts up! Which is indicative of it’s strength. The eagle soars above the turbulence that comes it’s way. Each time it is challenged with negative circumstances that gives it the opportunity to move up higher. The eagle looks down on it’s problems (Isaiah 40:31).

KEEP LOOKING DOWN
I want to encourage you to keep looking down. Why? Because you are seated in Heavenly places. Which means you are already above any and every circumstance that you would ever encounter — you win.

Years ago one writer coined the phrase sit, walk, stand. We must learn to sit, so we can walk, and then stand “In Christ.” In essence we must learn to take our positions. “Keep Looking Down.” – AWM

“He Raised Us Up With HIM, And SEATED Us With HIM InThe Heavenly Places, In Christ Jesus.” — Ephesians 2:6 (NASB)

Copyright © 2010 Anthony N. Wade Ministries — All right reserved.
WEBSITE: www.anthonywadeministries.com

No portion of this teaching may be rewritten, or reproduced for any reason.

Hebrews 11:1, 3 American Standard Version

{1} Now faith is assurance of (things) hoped for, a conviction of things not seen.

{3} By faith we understand that the worlds have been framed by the Word of God, so that what is seen hath not been made out of things which appear.

Faith is the substance – the title deed; the assurance of the things that we do not see in the sense realm. However they do exist. You might be asking where do they exist. They exist in an unseen realm — the realm of faith. That unseen realm, you and I operate in more than we give ourselves credit for, or a better way to say it, we move in the unseen realm more than we realize. For instance: when you sit in a chair, before you sat down, you didn’t look at the chair and wonder if it would hold your weight, no you just put your blessed assurance down in the chair expecting it to hold you. In fact, you would be totally shocked if the chair did not hold you. Why? Because you had an expectation, a hope that the chair could hold you up.

This is what I mean by the ’sense realm.’ The sense realm can be characterized by the five physical senses, which are touching; tasting; hearing; seeing; smelling.

It is obvious that there are some things we can see, but we can smell. There are some things that we can hear, but we cannot see. There are also some things that we can touch, yet cannot taste. Then there are other things we can feel, yet cannot hear, etc. Much of how we operate is, and will be in the sense knowledge realm. However when it comes to the realm of faith, we are commissioned to lay aside the five physical senses, if we are going to be successful in our walk with “God the Father;” “God the Son;” and “God The Holy Ghost.”

Now, there are other things that we must adhere too. For instance: if we are are standing on a street corner wanting to cross the street, and there is a Mack truck barreling down the street, we better pay close attention to our five physical senses, or we will be the victim of a serious mishap.

THE SIXTH SENSE

Much of our success in our walk with God is relegated to how well we lay aside the five physical senses, and operate in the sixth sense. The sixth sense is bound to The Word of God.
The sixth sense is the realm of faith, the realm of The Word. It is none other than being a doer of The Word.

Don’t fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear! Those who hear and don’t act are like those who glance in the mirror, walk away, and two minutes later have no idea who they are, what they look like.

But whoever catches a glimpse of the revealed counsel of God—the free life!—even out of the corner of his eye, and sticks with it, is no distracted scatterbrain but a man or woman of action. That person will find delight and affirmation in the action. James 1:22-25 (The Message).

We have to have the internal courage, the spiritual strength to put aside what we think, how we feel or how we view things that wants to dictate, and many times keep us trapped when it comes to operating in The Word of God. You’ve been framed! -AWM

Copyright © Anthony N.Wade Ministries-All Rights Reserved. No portion of this publication may be rewritten or reproduced without the written approval of the author.

WEB SITE – www.anthonywadeministries.com

EMAIL – hgflow@gmail.com

Proverbs 26:11 American Standard Version

{11} As a dog that returned to his vomit, (So is) a fool that repeateth his folly.

This verse is very strong. It gives us opportunity and take inventory of our lives. It has a way of helping us look deep inside of ourselves and ask these questions. Have I become like a dog? Have I returned to a life of vomit? Am I living the life of a fool? Am I repeating the conduct of foolishness?

As I pondered the beginnings of this article I wondered what is the definition of vomit. This is what I found. (1) An act or instance of disgorging the contents of the stomach through the mouth. (2) To eject violently or abundantly. Now, before I get very far with this school of thought I want you to realize that it is not my intent to offend anyone with this very graphic imagery. However, I do have an eternal purpose in mind for discussing this subject. If you have ever vomited; the contents of that vomit is something that did not agree with your system. It is something that does not harmonize with who you are as a person. Therefore, it becomes vomit. My purpose is to get our readers to see themselves beyond the life of a dog. Sometimes, people become shortsighted, or they think they have no other choice but to reduce themselves to that of a canine— an animal. We must realize that we are the way we think. What determines who we are as a people, is our thinking.

Proverbs 23:7 For as he thinks in his heart, so is he…. (NKJV)
What we think about, we will eventually become. Greater yet what we say is tied to what we think. This is how it works. What we think, we believe, what we believe, we say, what we say becomes a part of our lives; be it positive or negative. I really like the notorious statement that says “The man or woman who thinks he or she can or can’t, are both right.” If you think you can, you will. If you think you can’t, you won’t. We are responsible for what we think. Why? Because what we think, determines whether we are spiritual or carnal (fleshy).

Recently it was brought to my attention that someone, whom I love very dearly, had returned to their vomit. It was very hard to listen to the bad news. I was like a deer that gets blinded by automobile lights — it hurt so badly. It reminded me of a song I heard years ago, that goes like this.

Somebody told me you no longer love Him. I could not believe it, I had to see for myself. Now we sit here together, holding the memories. The sorrow keeps growing, for the love not flowing. Come Back Home, Come Back Home, Come Back Home, Come Back Home.

There’s not one thing you’ve done, that He didn’t already die for. Come Back Home, Come Back Home, He loves you. I want you to know I still love you, I’ll always be there, cause life is so hard for the lonely, the pain isn’t easy to bear. Come Back Home, Come Back Home, Come Back Home, Come Back Home, there’s not one thing you’ve done, that He didn’t already die for, Come Back Home, Come Back Home, I love you. Come on!, Come Back Home, He loves you, loves you. Come on!, Come Back Home, Come Back Home.

You might notice that the composer of that song is pleading with a person who has walked away from a life that is pleasing to the Lord. It really is no different than how God is pleading with us.

Romans 12:1-2 The Living Bible

{1} And so, dear brothers, (and sisters), I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living sacrifice, holy-the kind He can accept. When you think of what He has done for you, is this too much to ask?

{2} Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but be a new and different person with a fresh newness in all you do and think. Then you will learn from your own experience how His ways will really satisfy you.

God is pleading with us, to give our bodies to Him. Our bodies are to be a living contribution. They are to be holy, acceptable, and pleasing to Him. Now, just stop and think about all that He has done for us. Is it too hard for us to give our all to Him? There are a number of things that trip many people up. It is the behavior and customs of everything around them. Some are moved by their family and all of the trappings that go along with their traditions. I learned a long time ago that some family line traditions and customs can keep me from the principles of the Word of God. It took intestinal fortitude — spiritual guts, to walk away from some traditions — to follow what God has for me. I know it may not be popular among some family members, but Who purchased our redemption? It was God The Father, through Jesus Christ The Son. -AWM

Copyright © 2010 Anthony N. Wade Ministries — All Rights Reserved
www.anthonywadeministries.com

Come Back Home words and music by Tim Sheppard.