Communion

You can find this sermon at ChurchAges.net

1 Thank you, Brother Orman. We are happy tonight to be here to hear this wonderful message from--from the lips of our brother, that we believe to be anointed of the Holy Spirit to bring us these great tidings of, as is said, of exhortation: how we should live in this present day in holiness before God and before one another. We--we--we want just holiness among us that no filthy communications be heard among us at all as we profess this great calling of God. We must walk worthy of this thing that God has brought us to. And we're way down towards the end of the journey now, where we're expecting the exceeding abundantly above all that we could do or think.
And remember, we want to constantly be in prayer. And above all things, watch your life: if your life don't tally up with God's holiness, then go back and start praying again; there's something wrong. See? We must live in that kind of a state that the fruits of the Spirit will make Itself known through us. That's what we want to live.
You know, sometime we hear great preachers who can preach mighty, but we'd rather see a sermon lived than we would heard one preached (See?) ' cause that's the evidence that God is on the inside.

2 Now, we are having--coming to the communion table. And now, a yet, there's some that doesn't take communion, and maybe you just take it in their own churches, but we'd be happy tonight if you could, would want to, fellowship with us around these things. We never draw any lines of who, just long as you're walking worthy of--of the Gospel that you're--you're listening to and confessing to be part of.
You know you're part of this Gospel. You are--you are written epistles of what we're talking about. And as long as we do something that's reproachful, then we are an indebtiment to what we are listening to. See? We must live what we believe, and live it in such a way that it will never reproach, but reflect Jesus Christ in all things that we do and say. That's way it is. We just love Him for this.

3 And now, tonight, we're going to read the order of the Lord's table that's found over in II Corinthians, about the 11th chapter. And we read this and just let each individual... How, we do this, if there's newcomers among us, we call the people around the altar in--in succession as they come in, take the communion. And every Christian is worthy.
Now, if you live a life that proves what you are... You want to search your heart. Well, let me be sure to mention this, that the Scripture reads here if we take it unworthily. Now, we know that we are not worthy in ourselves; none of us are. But that we are not trusting in our own worthiness, we're trusting in Him Who has... We're--we're trusting in His worthiness, that we have died to our own thinking, and just think His thoughts, and live to everything that we believe He commands us to, and look back and see what we're living, and look our life over, and if we're doing things that's not worthy of the Gospel, then we shouldn't take the communion.

4 But if we're doing things that we thinks that it--that our lives could be read of all men, that if anybody could not point a finger and say, "I seen this man in a barroom the other day," "I--I heard this man stand and telling filthy jokes." "This woman doing wrong." Then, if you know that that's the Holy Spirit pointing to you, then--then don't take the communion. But if you--if you feel that--that you're living, that you'd look back and see that all your sins are confessed and under the Blood, then you--you're supposed to take it. You--you're--you're part of it.

5 Now, let us read the Scripture just as Saint Paul exhorts us here in the book of Saint John the... I beg your pardon, in book of I Corinthians, the a--the 11th chapter, beginning with the 23rd verse.
For I have received of the Lord... which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night... which he was betrayed took bread:
Wished I had time to--to speak that a little bit.
The same night that He was betrayed (You see?), He took bread.
And when he had give thanks, he brake it, ... said, Take and eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.
After the same manner also he took the cup, and when he'd supped, saying, This cup is of the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.
For as oft as you--as you eat this bread, and drink this cup, you do shew forth the Lord's death till he come.
Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord.
But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread, and drink of the cup.
For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.
For this cause many are weak and sickly among you,... many sleep.
For if we should judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
But when we are judged, we're chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.

6 May I bring that a point: when we are judged by the Word, which is Christ, we're chastened. If we're doing wrong, we're not living up to this Word, we're chastened of the Lord. And when the Lord chastens us, that means corrects us, that we should not be condemned with the world.
We are not of the world. We are different from the world, live a different life, a separated life. We're never to live the life of the world and be a Christian. We're to live a--a outstanding life, a different life. Not I don't mean in such social ranks, but I mean we're to live a life of genuine holiness that the fruits of the Spirit might be seen in us: of meekness, and gentleness, and patience, long-suffering, faith: the fruit of the Spirit.
But where--when we are--hear these things, then we know we're chastened of the Lord that we don't do them, then we're condemned. And if we have no condemnation within us that we're living above that thing, by the grace of God, then we're not condemned of the world, but we're living above the things of world. See?
Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for the other.
And if any man hunger, let him eat at home; that ye be not come together unto condemnation. And the rest I will set in order when I come.

7 We've always--make great exhortations on this, that when we come together, even though that we can see nothing, there might be something in somebody else that we noticed that wasn't right. When you come together to eat this communion, wait on one another, pray for one another. Pray that... We always make of this: I'll pray for you that if you--if there's some sin in you that, some unrighteous deed or something you've done as a believer, I--I pray that God will take it out of you, that He'll forgive you for it. And you pray for me that if there's some--something that I've done, that I don't know just about... If I done it, and--and knowed it's wrong, I'd--I'll confess it right now. I'm fixing to, because he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eat and drinks damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.

8 The discernment of knowing that you are the Lord's body, you can't discern it in--in wickedness and sin; we've got to be above that. That we discern that the Lord is righteous, and we discern that He's our Propitiation; that all of our sins we've confessed, and we believe in Him of waiting upon His atonement to cleanse us from all of our iniquity; then we're discerning the Lord's body to what it--discernment of what it's for.
And then discerning again, that in among us, as the Lord's Bride body, let's discern if there's anything wrong with us in here that would hinder the Gospel from growing, or the Lord from presenting us before God as a chaste virgin; let's discern that out right now and find if it's wrong. Let's confess it if it's wrong. Let--let's say, "Lord, I--I'm sorry about that."

9 So therefore, it might be something that we've done, you've done, something I've done. It might not be consciously, right now, let's ask God to forgive us for it. We used to sing a song here: "Forgive, the--the sins I have confessed to Thee," Forgive the secret sins you see? That they don't even know nothing about, an unknown sin. We--we--we pray, God, forgive them.
Now, it said, "When you come together, tarry one for the other one," and that really would be like this; tarry one with the other. "Tarry" means "to wait," wait on each other. And let's do that now. I'll pray for you. If you know anything that you've done wrong, say, "God, forgive me. I didn't mean that. And if You'll help me from this night on, I won't do it again. I--I mean it, Lord, I won't do it again if You'll just forgive me. And upon my confession 'I believe You have forgive me,' I go to take the body of Christ, feeling in my heart that You forgive me for all my sin." I pray then for your secret sin; you pray for mine, that maybe something we don't know about, that we won't come together condemned with the world.

10 We don't want the world in here. This little spot of people that God has give us to worship with here, we want to keep ourselves clean from selfishness; keep our thing, our sin--our lives clean from all the things of the world, that we be not spotted with that. We want to be ready for the rapture. So let us pray now, silently, for one another, just a moment. You pray for me as I pray for you. [There is silence for half a minute, followed by Brother Branham praying]
Lord Jesus, let it be, Lord, that all of our sins be now in the Blood of the Lord Jesus, in the forgetfulness of God's recollections, that we come together now as beloved believers and children in Christ. For we ask it in His Name. Amen.

11 Now, at this time while the--the elders, I think they come to the front. Is that still the procedure, here? Brother Tony Zabel, and he will direct it. And if there's any has to go now and don't want to stay for the communion, we're happy to have you in tonight. Remember on Wednesday meet--Wednesday night's prayer meeting. And you slip out quietly while the rest of them's come to the altar. And Brother Zabel, here, will direct the--the people to the altar while we make ready the communion. [There is another moment of silence]

12 This represents the body of the Lord Jesus, the Bread. And as the song was just sang, "My Faith Looks up to Thee." There's only three orders that the Lord had give us, and that was baptism, taking of the bread and wine, and feet washing; is the orders.
And this represents the broken body of Christ. My prayer is that every person that partakes of this tonight, that will receive the blessing of the Holy Spirit to come upon them. And that they are sick, may the God of heaven, Who instituted this in the first form down in Egypt by taking the--the--the--the bitter herbs and wine... I trust that God will heal you, and in your entire journey there'll be no sickness among you. May the God of heaven look to us now as we offer this to Him.

13 Lord God, Creator of heavens and earth, Author of Everlasting Life, and Giver of every good gift, we thank Thee for this order, that we could do this in remembrance of You as we fellowship, as it was, in Your Presence, around the communing of God's grace. As we think within our own hearts, that one day we were unworthy, and now the Blood of Jesus Christ has cleansed us from that sin, that we stand together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
This kosher bread, Father, that's been baked and brought here for this purpose, we ask You to sanctify it, Lord, that in the representation of the broken body... [Gap in the audio] as the sacredness and the pain and suffering that He did at Calvary when this body was broken. That He was wounded for our transgression, He was bruised for our iniquity. The chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we were healed. That's why we take this broken bread tonight. God bless the believers and sanctify this--this kosher bread to be the representation of the body of Jesus Christ. Amen.

14 The Bible said, "In like manner He took the cup. And when He had supped, He took--said, "Take and drink; this is the cup of the New Testament. As oft as you do this, you show forth the Lord's death till He come." As I hold in my hand tonight this wine, made from the--from the life of grapes that's been brought together here to represent the Blood of Jesus Christ. There's never a time yet, that I've ever picked up the communion tray, but I didn't look in there and see my sin's gone. I see if it hadn't been for that what--what--well, where would we be?
I think of in there where a sick man lay dying, yonder in the hospital: me. It's through His stripes I was healed. May the God of heaven bless this wine for its intended use.
Lord Jesus, we present to You this grape juice, wine taken from the blood of the grapes to represent the Blood of Jesus Christ. May, as we receive it, Father, may sickness depart from us. May sin, desire, be taken from us. May we live such holy, consecrated life after this, that men will see the reflection of Jesus Christ in us, and that our--our walk in life would be worthy of the Gospel that we believe. Grant it, Father. And sanctify the--this wine now for it's intended use. In Jesus Christ's Name. Amen.