Johnson - The power of communion: accessing miracles through the body & blood of Jesus

Copyright 2019Beni and Bill Johnson

All rights reserved. This book is protected by the copyright laws of the United States of America. This book may not be copied or reprinted for commercial gain or profit. The use of short quotations or occasional page copying for personal or group study is permitted and encouraged. Permission will be granted upon request. Unless otherwise identified, Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked AMPC are taken from the Amplified Bible, Classic Edition, Copyright 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Used by permission. Scripture quotations marked AMP are taken from the Amplified Bible, Copyright 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved. Used by permission. Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, Copyright 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971, 1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked TPT are taken from The Passion Translation, Copyright 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, www.thepassiontranslation.com. Used by permission of BroadStreet Publishing Group, LLC, Racine, Wisconsin, USA. All rights reserved. All emphasis within Scripture quotations is the authors own. Please note that Destiny Images publishing style capitalizes certain pronouns in Scripture that refer to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and may differ from some publishers styles. Take note that the name satan and related names are not capitalized. We choose not to acknowledge him, even to the point of violating grammatical rules.

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Acknowledgments

Many thanks to Pam Spinosi for her continued help with editing. Pam, you are always so gracious and quick to help.

Thanks also to our assistant, Abigail McKoy. You are brilliant. It was fun answering your great questions. Thanks for your help in compiling this book. You made the project fun. Thanks for pulling this out of me and for your writing skills.

I also want to thank Larry Sparks, my publisher. You have been so patient and forgiving with this writing journey.

To Michael Van Tinteren, who labors behind the scenes to make things workthank you.

And a special thanks to Elizabeth Gan for your help and encouragement.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

B eni and her husband, Bill Johnson, are the Senior Pastors of Bethel Church. Beni has a call to intercession that is an integral part of the Bethel Church mission. She was pivotal in the development of Bethels Prayer House as well as the intercession team. Beni also carries a call to see the church become healthy and whole in their bodies, souls, and spirits. Her heart is to see the people of God live lives that are healthy and free and see them pave the way to bringing health back to the world as God intended. Her passion for people, health, and intercession have all helped to bring the much-needed breakthrough in Bethels ministry. Benis vision is to see the people of God live lives filled with joyful prayer, intercession, and complete wellness.

I was raised in the church. As the saying goes, I cut my teeth on the wooden pews. My parents were never officially pastors, but they were always leaders in the church. We called them lay pastors. They werent licensed, but they helped in the church, mostly with the youth, and were there all of the time. We definitely spent a lot of time in those wooden pews. For us, though, being at church was just a normal part of life. I never resented how often we were there. I loved it. I dont remember ever complaining about going to church. That was where our community was; it was how we did family.

I also loved getting to be a part of what God was doing. I suppose that, even then, I was a people-watcher. When the minister would give the altar call, inviting people to come up front and give their lives to the Lord, I would walk right down and sit on the ground by the first pew. I remember one time, the pastor invited people to come to the front to encounter more of the Lord. I immediately went right down and sat at the end of the first pew. People began to come up, and right away they started to manifest physically. They were crying and rolling around on the ground, encountering the Holy Spirit in new ways. This was many years before the renewal in the 90s, where this kind of activity became a bit more normal. I had no idea what was going on! But I knew it was the Lord. I dont remember being scared at all. Even as child, I loved seeing how encountering God changed people.

Our church, like most churches, had a monthly tradition of taking Communion as a congregation. All those who knew Christ as their Savior celebrated the death and resurrection by sharing in Communion. As a young girl, I thought the best part of this was that I got to eat a little wafer and drink a doll-sized cup of juice. That was pretty fun! At that time, I was getting to participate in the joy and celebration of Communion, but it would be many years before I began to fully experience and understand the power of this tool that Jesus gave us. In fact, it was really only a few years ago, when my husband became so ill that his life appeared to be in jeopardy, that I began to understand Communion in a whole new way.

In First Corinthians 11:23-26, Paul writes:

For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me. In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lords death till He comes.

In the midst of His betrayal and impending death, Jesus gave us a tool. He gathered His disciples around for the Passover meal, He gave thanks, and then He gave all believers a way to remember the New Covenant that was about to be made on the cross.