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THE REALITY OF COMMUNION – By Jerry Wilson
I have read or heard that several of the people I know, doing Communion this weekend, starting on this past Thursday. I think it is good and appropriate. After Melba Burk, wife of the late Brad Burk, had posted something on Messenger about Communion, it was a confirmation that I was to add my comments to what the Holy Spirit had led me to see what the central focus of Communion is.
Before I share this, I would like to share a testimony of how this was developed in my life. Growing up, even through my early adulthood, when I participated in Communion, I would do a quick clean up. I would ask forgiveness of all my sins before taking of the condiments of Communion. It was more of a ritual for me. Then God did a number on me, just as what he allowed Peter to walk through, when He said, “Simon,, Simon, behold satan has desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not; and when thou are converted, strengthen thy brethren”. Luke 22: 31-32. Like everyone else I went through trials that brought me nearer to the Lord. (For lack of time and space, let me to do a quick jump to Ghana, W. Africa of 1988.) There were three families, including our children that made up the team that had a vision for having a farm operation, a nurse’s station, and ministry team for training Christian workers. We were all turned in as spies. I brought my family back to the U.S., the other two families escaped to Togo, W. Africa and had a fruitful ministry there for years, with the nurse, Audrey Ross, staying there for 18 years. The man in the other family came back to Concord, California, where he has pastored since then. The reason that we were turned in as spies, it was because of money. We had sent $26,000.00 to this Ghanaian leader that I trusted. He believed if we were forced to flee the country, he would have the money and the two shipments from the U.S., one from California and one from Portsmouth, Va. In those shipments there were hospital beds, x-ray machine, and medicine totaling the value of over $60,000.00. There was a tractor, farm trailer, pickup truck, fertilizer, and many other things for the farm. Plus we lost all of our household items as sheets, towels, clothing, our children’s dolls and things that were to last for 3 years, including a lot of can goods.
Then (jump to 1995 when our house burned), but God gave grace again as He did for all of us in Africa. Even as the house was burning, I had this sensation that I wasn’t responsible for these things any longer. The next day after the house burned, Carol and I were to buy our ticket fly to England to England. Two very dear Ghanaian friends, Sam & Sophie Larbie, asked us to come over there to minister. Our children felt that we should go.
When I was there Sam gave me a word. He said I feel when you get home, a group of people will want you to come to be their pastor. That happened just as he felt the Holy Spirit showed him. I drove back and forth 90 miles one way for over a year, ministering to these people, “testing the waters”.
At the end of that year in December we moved to that town in N.C. In January this group let me go. I had confronted a couple Jezebel spirits that were in control of that church behind the scenes, and I wouldn’t submit to that control.
After all the other things that had happened, I was on the verge of a “melt down”. Some friends asked us to come down to Florida that they may love up on us. We drove through an ice storm to get there. While our wives were preparing dinner, he was trying to minister to me. He said, “You know that God will give you grace to walk through this.” I acknowledged that He would. My friend continued, “You, know that God gave us grace when my son died with aids that he had got from a needle”. I retorted, “If you are saying that God will give me grace, even if one of my children dies.” With anger I came back at him. I said, “I don’t even want to know of that grace”. I never even gave him a chance to finish his explanation. I couldn’t get past the thought that God maybe would take one of my children. I told him, “I don’t want to hear any more about this.” When he tried to explain, I thought he was going back to God giving me grace, even losing a child. I threaten to leave. Somehow we got through that, had dinner, and it was not brought up again.
On our trip back to N.C. Carol fell asleep, and I began to cry, even thinking of what God would require of me. While I was weeping, I heard in my inner man, “ARE YOU WILLING TO BE MADE WILLING”. Then I did began to cry. I knew that God had just spoken to me. He just wanted my will. I knew that He often had seen us at points in our life that we couldn’t get past certain things: addictive behaviors, unforgiveness, not trusting Him in everything. I cried out, “Yes, Lord I am willing to be made willing”. Later I saw the scripture when Jesus said, “I have meat that ye know not of. My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me, and to finish His work”. John 4:34
Matthew 7:21 says, “Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” I have given you this long discourse to let you see where I developed a revelation of Communion.
It was not made complete until I was with a group of men in West Virginia, fellowshipping around the Lord. Charles Newbold who had got this meeting together and asked Bob Newell to hold Communion. Bob began to read scripture in John 6:51-58. He said when Jesus told us to eat His flesh and drink His blood, often we will try to change this and say, “He really meant to say, and will give you something else. No, Jesus said what He meant to say”. This was the first time that I heard this by the Spirit. I began to weep, and I could not stop through the whole Communion. When it was over someone asked me, “Jerry, are you alright?” Ever since then, when I have communion I do it by the Spirit. I drink the wine or juice in the natural but in the Spirit I drink His blood. When I eat the wafer or bread, I do it in the natural, but by the Spirit I eat His flesh.
For more understanding of eating and drinking in the Communion and Communion with our Father, you may want to read the book, “IS THIS NOT THE COMMUNION?” It can be purchased through Amazon.com.
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