Day Six: The Law of the Spirit of Life Vs. The Law of Sin & Death

The power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ

"For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death." Romans 8:2

"But now we have been exempted from The Written Law, and we are dead to that which had controlled us, so that we shall serve from now on in the newness of The Spirit and not in the Old Order Scriptures."  Romans 7:2

Perhaps the greatest distraction of Communion is condemnation. Guilt, shame and condemnation are all a part of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Satan's plan for your life is to keep you from the presence of Jesus. He does this by pointing his finger at you and saying, "You are guilty of sin. You should die. You are not worthy. You have no place at Jesus' Table. His presence is not real." He points his gun at you, blank range, and fires off a few rounds of condemnation, fear and unbelief. It makes you crumble. It causes whatever faith you have to put off time with the Lord. Those kinds of attacks will come.

Remember in Psalm 23, "He prepares His Table before you in the presence of your enemies." Here's why: Communion not only opens our eyes to see and recognize Jesus and being in His presence but also exposes the enemy. The Table helps us understand who our enemy is. They are spiritual and can manifest in the natural. Some of their names are: Rejection, Fear, Pride, Rebellion, Shame, Sin, Guilt, Hatred, Anger, Condemnation, Bondages, Selfishness, Self Righteousness, Sickness, Infirmity, Disease and the like. These enemies are constantly taunting you and trying to enslave you to chains that will keep you from 'seeing and hearing' the Lord. Jesus demonstrates His life to us in the presence of our enemies so that we know who they are and what His power is over all of them. He heals and delivers us from their power and control. He exchanged His life so that He could give it to us even when we don't deserve it.

The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you. It quickened His dead and mortal body and raised Him from the dead! Once you receive Jesus and after He baptizes you in the Holy Spirit an interesting thing occurs. We are removed from the "curse of the Law of Moses" and now live under the Bliss and Blessing of the Law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. No where is this reality greater than when you receive the Body and Blood of the Lord at his Table. 

"To this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone 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 freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces behold the Lord’s glory as in a mirror, are transformed into that same image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." 2 Corinthians 3:15-18  

Sin's dominion is broken. You are clean of all guilt, shame and condemnation. When Jesus said, "It is Finished!" it was! The power of sin is the Law. The power of sin leads to death. The power of Jesus blood is the life in the blood - His Spirit. His blood clothes us in His righteousness and God sees you in that robe of "rightness". He looks at you just as though you never sinned. He forgives you and you need to forgive yourself and move on into greater faith, joy, life, love, peace and righteousness. Stop worrying about the former things. Those days are over. When you eat His flesh and drink His blood you are literally consuming God's "DNA and GPS" chip of eternal life. You are set free forever from the Law of sin and death. In Jesus you have life and you have it more abundantly. You know a love that can conquer anything! You eat and digest a peace that passes all understanding. You become intoxicated with the Holy Spirit and His joy unspeakable. The Law of the Spirit of Life is now in charge! 

How the Law of the Spirit is enforced: When you come to the Lord's Table and feast on His presence and He shares something with you, it is specific. When He speaks to you it is specific. When He touches you or invades your presence with His presence - you know it. His love envelopes you and fills you at the same time. His life is His Spirit. He is there to "quicken" you! When you eat and drink a simple piece of bread and sip of wine, the piece of bread never grows stale because it becomes His flesh. It is real food. Jesus flesh is eternal and never changes. His life trumps your life. It is no longer your that lives but His life in you! It keeps increasing until it is like a lunch! Then it becomes a supper. Then is becomes a part of an eternal feast! When you drink, the wine becomes His blood. It is real drink. The reality becomes immortal. The wine becomes His blood and courses through your body to every corpuscle. It flow is like a stream that becomes a river of life. The river rises to feed the sea and the glassy sea of His blessings becomes an ocean of His love. It overflows from inside you. You become a fountain of life to others. 

The Law of Sin and Death is your enemy. It is there to convince the world of its moral decay and helplessness. It cripples, blinds and closes the eyes to recognize His presence and our ears to hear His voice. It turns the Lord's Table into your table. The Law of the Spirit is just the reverse!

The Law of the Spirit of life is Jesus! He leads the way to His Table. He makes our table the Table of the Lord. He is the truth or "the eternal reality" (presence) and the life. He is the bread of life! He is not bread as man would make bread. He is not manna from heaven because He made the manna from heaven. He IS The Bread of Life. He transforms our bread into His flesh. He alone has the pure, holy blood of heaven. He shed every drop as payment for your sin, guilt and shame. He takes our wine and transforms it into His blood so that it transfuses ours with His life. 

The Law feeds us the power of sin and leads us down the road of death. The Spirit feeds us on the the revelation of the truth of Jesus' presence and leads us into eternal life making us partakers of His great and precious promises. 

When having Communion today first, pray and confess in faith: Lord I come to your Table free from the power of the Law of sin and death and I yield to the Law of your Holy Spirit. Thank you that I am free from the debt of sin, all guilt, shame and condemnation for any and all past sin, present sin or sin to come because you paid the ultimate price finishing all the work demanded by your Law to Moses. Thank you for enduring the shame of the Cross, the guilt of my sin, the condemnation of death the Law chained me to and for setting me free from myself that I might live in your eternal freedom of righteousness. Amen. 

This is what we mean about coming empty handed to the Lord's Table. We come not to bring Him anything we think would merit His attention. He is already there waiting for you. We come for one thing - to humbly receive anything He has prepared for us. By doing so we receive His nature and ready to receive from all that He has purchased for us. Like the piece of bread is part of the loaf just as the wine of His blood came from the vine of His body. We are His Body, His Bride and His Church. We are grafted into His vine as His branches. We are a part of  and feeding upon His tree of life! 

What He's done for one He does for any who come to Him! 
He is the same today, yesterday and forever and there is nothing too difficult for Him. 
You are not a problem but the object of His eternal, ongoing, active right now - love! 
His love for you never fades or wanes and actually gets stronger each day you spend time at His Table!
You are the righteousness of God in Jesus! Your life is hid with Christ in God! 
It is Jesus in you the hope of glory! It is no longer you that lives but Jesus alive in you! 
He invites us every moment of every day - Come to me all who hunger - all who thirst - all who are weary!