Dr. E. K. Anim’s Blog
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE LORD’S SUPPER
Beyond being something, we take every communion Sunday. What is the Lord’s Supper, and why is it even necessary?
In Matthew 26: 17-30, Jesus celebrated the Passover with His disciples. While they ate, He took bread, gave thanks, broke it and gave it to His disciples, saying, ’Take and eat; this is my body’. He took the cup, gave thanks and gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins’. This experience, recorded and known as the Lord’s Supper, Holy Communion or Eucharist, is interpreted in 1st Corinthians 11:23-34.
The celebration of the Lord’s Supper is an affirmation and confirmation of an agreement. That which has been established and that which that we are committing ourselves to do. ‘For whenever you eat this bread and eat this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes’ (1 Corinthians 11:26). Celebrating the Lord’s Supper is a reminder to proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes. The mission of the Lord is at the heart of the Lord’s Supper.
In Matthew 28:19, Jesus commanded His disciples, which includes us, to go and make disciples of all nations. This is often understood as ‘go and make disciples from the nations’. But what Jesus said and meant was to ‘go and make the nations My disciples’, as the original Greek translation of the text communicates. To make disciples from the nations, at best will produce a church. But to make the nations His disciples is about building the Kingdom of God. The message is not about the church but about the Kingdom. The mission of God is for the Kingdom of God. Taking of the nations is at the heart of the great commission. It is the whole point of the gospel.
The church is an agent in the Kingdom and serves the purposes of the Kingdom. The church itself is a messenger. Therefore, the church must be missionary. A church without a missionary focus becomes abnormal.
There are more Christians in Africa than any other continent. A century ago, it was the least evangelized continent. It means we, Christians in Ghana and in Africa, have a lot of work to do. We need to get back to the original intent and purpose of the Lord’s Supper.
The bread and the wine that is taken during communion represent the body and blood of Jesus, the Passover Lamb. Jesus is the bread of life. He is the Word. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us in the community. We have a mission to incarnate Christ in our communities so that when people see us they see Christ. The blood of the covenant is a life-giving experience. The life of any living being is in the blood. Jesus shed His blood by sharing His life. We take the blood in appreciation of what He has done.
The celebration of the Lord’s Supper comes with responsibility to proclaim. It is not a tradition but a living experience. We proclaim the gospel. The gospel is about deliverance, reconciliation and restoration. Proclaiming the gospel includes upholding the values of the kingdom of God – justice, humility and righteousness, which are what the Lord requires of us (Micah 6:8).
We are to teach the disciples to obey (Matthew 28:19). What are we to teach the disciples what Jesus did in Matthew 5 -7. The church is a teaching community, so we must know God and His Word.
Salvation, which comes through Jesus, is not just spiritual. The gospel message of Christ speaks to everything we are as a people. It changes our thinking patterns and transforms us (Romans 12:1-2). Our transformation affects our mindset and understanding about politics, society, culture, technology and art. So, our Christianity affects all aspects of our lives.
We must understand the message committed to us and fulfil the responsibility given to us. We have been given much and so much is expected of us. We have come this far by faith and the same grace will take us home.
Synopsis of PIWC-Atomic Sunday Celebration Sermon
Apostle Dr Emmanuel Anim
3rd June, 2018
FORGIVENESS
Would you still hold on to an offence committed against you at the expense of your breakthrough? Even after suffering the highest form of pain and humiliation at the hands of those he came to save, Jesus uttered the words ‘Father, forgive them’ (Luke 23:34).
Who are we, then, not to forgive?
Jesus taught His disciples to pray, ‘Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors’ (Matthew 6:12). We are to forgive others so that our heavenly Father will also forgive us (Matthew 6:14-15).
We celebrate the Lord’s Supper because Jesus sacrificed Himself for us and prayed for forgiveness for those that hurt him (Luke23:34). Jesus knew all about forgiveness and practiced it Himself. He reconciled us to God. We have been called to the same ministry of reconciliation, that as we have received God’s forgiveness, we extend it to the world (2 Corinthians 5:17-21).
One of the key contents of love that give it meaning is forgiveness. ‘For God so loved us that He gave’ is linked to the fact the He had already prepared a way for our forgiveness (John 3:16).
Our prayers are often not answered because the principles are wrong (Matthew 6:5-15). We are often the stumbling blocks to God using us the way He wants to. Our actions stop the blessings He has already prepared for us. An unforgiving spirit and attitude blocks the blessings of God and answers to our prayers.
Jonah had good reasons for not wanting the people of Nineveh to be forgiven. For years the Israelites suffered at the hands of the Assyrians. It was their time to face God’s judgement after their wickedness had come up before God. He run way when God told Him to go and preach to them. He knew God was a forgiving God. Jonah, even though he knew God to be forgiving, did not know God was omnipresent and he cannot escape His presence. He eventually went to preach to the people of Nineveh. He was angry when the people repented.
It is better you do whatever God calls you to do. Obedience is not you doing God a favour. It is you doing yourself a favour. Obedience is always better than sacrifice and excuses. It opens doors for you.
You cannot pay God for your sin. You are better off letting it go.
When Abraham and Lot had to take their separate ways, Abraham made Lot make his choice first. Traditionally, the elder one should decide first, more so because Abraham raised Lot. Abraham had learned from experience that when God was on his side, nothing was impossible. It is the presence of God with him that mattered. He knew the God who brought back his wife when he passed her off as his sister could provide and supply. Our experiences should draw us closer to God. Abraham was a man after God’s heart because when God asked him to move and go to the land He would show him, he obeyed.
Despite Lot’s ungratefulness to Abraham, Abraham still interceded for Lot when his part of the land was to be destroyed. Abraham went after Lot’s attackers at the expense of his life. He chose to forgive.
No matter how grave the offence committed against you, you should always forgive. If Jesus can say ‘forgive them’, we can also forgive. He has given us the same spirit.
Synopsis of PIWC-Atomic Sunday Celebration Sermon
Apostle Dr Emmanuel Anim
7th January, 2018
DISCOVERING LOVE IN THE MIDST OF CRISIS
Recent happenings in Texas and other parts of the world go to support the truth that life does not consist in the abundance of possessions. What then is the point of life?
In Luke 10:25-34, an expert in the Law asked Jesus, ‘What I must do to inherit eternal life?’ (Luke 10:25). In other words, what is the ultimate life that I must seek for? What is the point of life? He threw the question back to him and he answered correctly, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’: and ‘Love your neighbour as yourself’ (Luke 10:27). Jesus told him to do that and he will live. It is not about knowing the right answer but doing it.
The expert in the law proceeded to ask the question, ’And who is my neighbour?’ (Luke 10:29). In reply, Jesus narrated the story of the good Samaritan to explain who a neighbour is. The story leads to a point of crisis where a man had been beaten to the point of death. A priest and a Levite passed by but did not help the man. They did not help not because they were wicked but because they were protecting their jobs. They were bound to regulations. Touching a dead body would make them ceremoniously unclean and they would be suspended. They did not want to risk touching the man. He looked dead. The Samaritan, however, took the risk to attend to the injured man because he was not bound by rules and regulations.
Showing love comes with taking risks and making sacrifices. In the midst of crisis people learn that it is life that matters and not anything else that brings about divisions and distinctions. But do we have to wait till crisis before showing love?
1 Corinthians 11:17-27, Paul addressed the issue of the abuse of the Lord’s supper in the church. The eating of the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner (1 Cor.11:27) had to do with the abuse of the Lord’s Supper where the poor were despised and embarrassed. Class distinctions and social divisions must not exist in the church. They must be dissolved in Christ. Anyone who insists on bringing distinctions and divisions is not worthy of coming to the Lord’s Table. The Lord’s Table is the highest point of fellowship among believers, where we come as a body bonded by love. When we are united there is nothing we cannot do for the Lord.
The real meaning of love has to do with how your life impacts other people’s lives. If you are not improving anybody’s life in any way, then the value of your life is in question. The value of your life goes up when you sacrifice for others. Jesus gave His life for us.
We must not be self-centred or self-seeking as people of God. True love sacrifices.
We do not live for ourselves. The church exists for those outside of it and not for itself. Only love will remain (1 Corinthians 13:13). Love gives meaning to both faith and hope.
Synopsis of PIWC-Atomic Sunday Celebration Sermon
Apostle Dr Emmanuel Anim
3rd September, 2017