Communion

"And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it and broke it and gave it to the disciples and said, Take, eat; this is My body. And He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink you all of it; For this is My blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say to you, I will not drink hereafter of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom." Matthew 26:26-29 There is something here that is more than our simply partaking of "communion," and then we are finished. Rather, we are to do something as we partake, that will be projected by the Holy Spirit into eternity. Jesus took the bread and gave thanks. He was not giving thanks only for the "bread" that He had in His hand. Rather, He was giving thanks for the privilege of "being" that bread. As He gave thanks at this communion table, He again surrendered to go to Calvary to "become" broken bread, and to give Himself to be meat for us, so that we could eat of Him and live. When He took the cup, He did not drink of it, but He gave it to them saying, "Drink you all of it." There is reason for Him placing an emphasis on "all of it." If we also will drink all that is in "our cup," we will never be sorry. When Jesus offers this "cup" to us, and we are then asked by Him to go through some hard thing, or to endure some suffering or trial, and we push this cup from us, we will later regret that we did so. We will be pushing from us the very thing that He has sent into our life to cause us to "become" that which will satisfy His heart in eternity. "But I say to you, I will not drink hereafter of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom." Some months ago, the Lord kept saying to me, "Give me to drink, give me to drink." I did not understand what this meant, and I could not get any understanding in my spirit, as to what the Lord was asking for. Then one day, the Lord asked me to have communion. I slipped out and bought a bottle of grape juice and some crackers, and then became quiet before the Lord. I said, "Lord, I do not know what You desire or mean by 'Give Me to drink.' I cannot give You the communion that You desire, until You tell me what You mean." The Spirit began to quote this passage to me. "But I say to you, I will not drink hereafter of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom." I asked, "What do you mean Lord?" I have wondered all my life just exactly what this verse meant, and I have never been satisfied with any interpretation that I have ever had. While I was kneeling there beside my bed, the Lord said, "I will not drink the fruit of the vine." He let me see that He is the vine and we are the branches. Then He said, "In us, the fruit is produced and then must be crushed to produce the wine." Together, we are to become this new wine, fully refined, of which He will drink in the Father's kingdom. He is not going to take up a cup and drink grape juice, the fruit of a vine. This is a spiritual thing. The vine out here has its roots in the earth. The Father had told Him a long time ago that a Nazarite was never to taste any part of the vine. Even here, at the last supper, Jesus does not drink of the cup. The Father has promised Jesus another wine, fully refined. He asks us to come with Him, and become broken bread and poured out wine. To accomplish this, He takes us through crushings, millings, and hard places. He puts us in the crucible, together, just exactly like wine is made. The grapes are all put in the same vat together. This is the hardest thing for us, as here we are all pressed together, in order to loose our identity and become "one" with Him. If we will respond and go through this as He intends, then we can offer to Him our "crushed" life, which is now one in identity with His. We may have said, "I felt like the very life was being crushed out of me." This is His desire and intention, that our crushed out and poured out life will become an offering to the Lord. Let it be presented to Him, as He desires. Bring it to Him and offer it to Him, in response to what He says, "I will not drink of the fruit of the vine.