- THE SECRET OF THE COMMUNION & TITHE
Genesis 14:17-18 records the first mention of both Holy Communion and the Tithe. These sacraments are essential for a victorious Christian life. Their significance is as follows:
- Communion represents Jesus’ death (1 Cor 1:26), while the Tithe signifies His resurrection (1 Cor 15:23).
- Holy Communion is God’s gift to us; the Tithe is our response to Him.
- Communion primarily concerns health, while the Tithe relates to wealth.
- TWO WEAPONS OF WARFARE
Notably, the same chapter that introduces the tithe and communion also records the first mention of war. This reminds us that both are spiritual weapons against attacks on our health and wealth.
Malachi 3:10-11 describes a devourer attacking our finances. God’s solution is clear: bring the tithes.
1 Corinthians 11:28-31 addresses attacks on our health resulting from judgment on the earth. Since the fall, sickness has affected all humanity. However, believers have a solution in Holy Communion. By partaking, “we shall not be judged with the world.”
When Abraham received bread and wine from Melchizedek and gave a tithe of his spoils, God spoke to him in a vision: “I am your shield” as a result of the Holy Communion, and “your exceeding great reward” as the financial outcome of his tithe.
->In New Zealand, at Pastor Henry Collar’s church, a young man saw a vision during a prayer meeting. He saw Jesus with His hands tied above His head to a pole, while two Roman soldiers stood nearby holding cat-o-nine tails with iron hooks. As they whipped Him, pieces of His flesh fell on those present. Though initially distressed, everyone who received the pieces was instantly healed. The young man exclaimed, “Your flesh pieces are my medicines.”
- FEAST IN THE PRESENCE OF THE ENEMIES
Ps 23:5 – Table in the presence of my enemies – –
Victorious kings often chain defeated enemy commanders and feast before them. In Christ, you are already a conqueror and stand on victory ground. You fight from a position of victory—not as a sick person trying to overcome illness, but as a healthy person resisting sickness.
- FIGHT BY FEEDING
The Hebrew word for “fight,” LACHAM, also means to eat or consume. From this comes LECHEM, meaning bread. Therefore, you can fight by feeding. Each time you feed on Jesus, you resist the enemy. Feed on Jesus’ revelation in the Word and by partaking in Holy Communion.
Consider these examples where eating is used in the context of warfare:
Num 13:32 – The 10 spies claim that the Promised Land is a land that “eats” its inhabitants
Num 14:9 – Caleb silenced the doubters and proclaimed that the giants in the Promised Land are “bread”.
Num 24:8 – God declares that the nation of Israel will consume its enemies
- THE KEY TO BECOME A MIGHTY SOLDIER IN WARFARE
Because communion is spiritual warfare, those who partake in Holy Communion are considered soldiers—an army. In Exodus 12:17 and 41, after the people participated in the Passover feast, which represents the body and blood of Jesus, God refers to them as “armies.” Though they were slaves, God saw them as armies because they partook in this type of Holy Communion.
Bonus Point: When we partake in the Lord’s Table as a church, we become an army—a corporate family of God.
Centuries later, during the time of the judges, the people of Israel were oppressed by Midian. Midian means strife. Strife in the body is sickness. When sickness attacks, take refuge in communion as Gideon did –
Judges 6:11-12 describes Gideon hiding in a wine press while threshing wheat, fearing the Midianites. This scene symbolically presents bread and wine. When Gideon was afraid, he took refuge among the bread and wine, and the angel of the Lord called him “a mighty man of valor.”
Bonus Point: When you partake in Holy Communion, you are a mighty person of valor—a soldier in the Lord’s army.
Judges 7:9-14 recounts how God instructed Gideon and his 300 men to fight the Midianites and their allies. Because Gideon was afraid, God told him to visit the enemy camp and listen. As he arrived, a Midianite soldier described a dream of a barley bread rolling down and overturning army tents. His comrade interpreted the dream, declaring, “That’s the sword of Gideon!”
Notice how the bread became a sword against the enemy. When you partake of the bread from heaven—our Lord Jesus Christ in Holy Communion—the enemy perceives a sword. Your Communion is your sword against sickness.
Bonus Point: Holy Communion is the enemy’s greatest fear.
Beloved, whenever we partake as a church, the spiritual realm sees an army of the Lord. Individually, God sees you as a person of valor, and the enemy sees your bread as a sword. Communion is spiritual warfare. Participate and experience victory in every area of your life, especially in health and wholeness. You are blessed.