Jesus Ministry Prepared Us For Seeing & Recognizing Him In CommunionFire! Part One

CommunionFire is the glory of God. The light of Christ is there as we experience the presence of the Lord. It is the fire of God that purifies what is eternal and burns away what is not.

The power of the Holy Spirit reveals eternal life and ignites us with God's passion. From Him we encounter and experience God's love, joy, peace and warmth. The glory and brightness of His presence is a gentle light and divine expression of Jesus and a gentle whisper of His voice. In His glory we see His eyes. We see His face. We meet with Him wherever He chooses. 

How do we see Him and recognize Him? Consider what Jesus did in the Gospels and book of Acts to prepare us. Jesus is visible in the Law, the Prophets, the Psalms and of course throughout the New Covenant. Here we take a look at how Jesus was preparing the disciples to recognize Him after He ascended and sent the Holy Spirit.  

Consider: Christ in You The Hope of Glory 

When you eat the bread of His Body and drink the wine of His Blood = Christ in You! Knowing He is there because your eyes and ears encounter Him. When we have Communion we should expect to meet with Jesus. He has so much to share with you and to tell you. 

But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart; 
but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 
But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, 
are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, 
just as from the Lord who is the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:17-18

Our eyes are opening wider and wider every day in CommunionFire. When we first stated this commitment to the Lord's Table 2 years ago we started seeing more and more in the Scriptures and in Church history. We started with the basic "Lord's Supper" Scriptures in the Gospels and in 1 Corinthians 11. Then the Lord opened up Luke 24 and our eyes were opened and we recognized Jesus right along with Mary and Cleopas! That was a huge moment and a piece of bread we have been feeding on ever since. It now ignites other fires in the Scriptures and our dialog every day.

In Luke 24 until Jesus gave thanks and blessed the bread at Cleopas and Mary's house they did not see or recognize Him. Why? The story continues to unfold by the brilliance of the Holy Spirit! When He gave them the bread their "eyes were opened and they recognized Him." When they did, He vanished right in front of them. What does this sound like? The Holy Spirit is like the wind. Until Jesus ascended He was the Spirit as it says in the verse from Corinthians.

During His ministry He shares and reveals His glory over and over and over again. He was doing a 'show and tell' so that when He left and sent the Holy Spirit they would recognize Him. When He appears in CommunionFire we 'see' Him and 'hear' Him. Jesus told the disciples that when He left the world would "No longer see him but they would see Him!" John 16:16-29 

Everything Jesus said and did had to do with helping the world make a transition into the New Covenant. Grace would do what the Law could not do. The Holy Spirit would reveal what could not be revealed by the study of the Law. When Jesus died, He made it possible for all who believe to have fellowship with Him personally, intimately and in the bliss of His presence. Real bread, real wine become real flesh and real blood and opens the eyes of our spirit to see Him and hear Him. When we do, the Miracle of transformation happens at the same time. It is from one degree of glory to another.  

At Baptism: From the sky dove like appearance of the Holy Spirit descending on Jesus and voice of the Father speaking from the clouds, "This is My Son, In whom I am well pleased." Matthew 3

Wedding Feast at Cana: 120 gallons of Water turned to Wine when Jesus "reveals His glory" Luke 2

Feeding 5,000 Men: from 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread demonstrating the power of Jesus to demonstrate the reality of the Kingdom of God. Mark 6, John 6

Walking on Water: At 3am Jesus appears walking on the Sea of Galilee passed the disciples boat after feeding the 5,000 and He looked like a 'spirit'. John 6

Transfiguration: On Mt. Tabor Jesus radiated, transfigured with the glory of God with Moses and Elijah. After Moses and Elijah were gone, the Father said from a bright cloud, "This is My Son in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!" Matthew 17

In Resurrection: Supposing Jesus a gardener, Jesus said, "Mary." She recognized His voice and she recognized Him and said, "Rabboni!" He said, "Don't cling to me for I have not yet ascended to My Father, but go to my brethren." John 20

At Emmaus: They did not recognize Jesus after 7 miles of sharing the Scriptures about Himself and then Jesus blessed the bread and gave it to them - Their eyes were opened and they recognized Him and He vanished!" Luke 24

In Jerusalem: Cleopas and Mary went 7 miles back to Jerusalem and shared with the disciples that they saw Jesus in the breaking of the bread - and He suddenly appeared in their midst! Luke 24

On the Beach: They did not know it was Jesus. They did as He said and they immediately caught 153 fish after fishing all night catching nothing. John said, "It is Jesus!" Jesus said to Peter, "Feed my sheep, Feed my sheep, Feed my lambs. by the fire Jesus made" It was the final revelation of recognizing Jesus in the resurrection before the Ascension.

in the Ascension: Jesus rises in front of 500 witnesses into the clouds. This parousia is how He said He would return! As He ascended there were angels who spoke to those who were gathered. Mark 16

In the Upper Room on Pentecost: A mighty wind filled the house and there appeared cloven tongues of fire. A supernatural manifestation that gave birth to all that Jesus spoke about and prepared them for. Acts 2

Paul Knocked off of his Horse: by the light of Christ and heard the voice of the Lord. It was so bright it blinded Him to this world! for three days all He could see was Jesus and then Ananias healed his blindness and Paul was baptized in the Holy Spirit. Acts 9