The Lord's Table - Communion with Christ in His Suffering - by Pastor Doug Riggs
by John Mark on 08/18/24
These were originally recorded June 3 & 5,
2016.
My notes:
Recommended
before listening to Doug's message from 6-5-16:
Doug's
(27 minute) reading from excerpts of Day by Day with T. Austin-Sparks:
https://dougriggs.s3.amazonaws.com/Assemblies/6-3-16%2Bsuffering.mp3
Link
to excerpts:
May 22:
https://bookministry.wordpress.com/2024/05/22/may-22/
May 23:
https://bookministry.wordpress.com/2024/05/23/may-23/
May 24:
https://bookministry.wordpress.com/2024/05/24/may-24/
May 25:
https://bookministry.wordpress.com/2024/05/25/may-25/
May 26:
https://bookministry.wordpress.com/2024/05/22/may-26/
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If
you are planning to observe the Lord's Table, this is a wonderful message to
listen to in preparation for it.
What
is it to share in the sufferings of Christ; to share in His cup of suffering?
Jesus told the disciples that they would share in that cup - being baptized in
His baptism. Participating in the Lord's Table (Communion) is "me saying
'yes' to the meaning of what it means to drink the cup." It's not just a
prescribed ritual Christians do every Sunday (or now-and-then) to satisfy some
tradition. Some of us pray that when we arrive at the bema seat that we want
full reward. Doug asks, "Do we know what we're asking? ... Full reward -
that is, the eternal inheritance - involves a cost; and there are varying
degrees and levels of that inheritance." It will cost us our soul-life.
"The cup represents the effect of that which it means to be incorporated and
identified, or baptized into Christ's sufferings... If we're to be filled unto
all the fullness of God, that means there has to be a corresponding emptying in
us."
Speaking
of the cup the body of Christ is called to suffer and endure, Doug shares,
"There is no deeper cup than to come into identification with someone who
is coming out of generational Satanic ritual abuse... That's the deepest that
Satan can penetrate into a human life, and to infect and inject his nature
right into the soul, and even attach to the human spirit in such a way that
there is such a realm of death - layered death - that 99% of preachers and the
body of Christ know nothing of the sufferings of Christ that are represented in
people that are coming out of generational SRA/DID; they know nothing... But,
at the core of this suffering is the sufferings of Christ in His members."
"There
is an allotment of sufferings for every member, and for the body of Christ
corporate before the rapture can occur."
"There's suffering according to the will of God; and there's that which is imposed by
the enemy. We have to know the difference." Doug gives an example of how
to pray when we are experiencing suffering and are unsure why, or where it's
coming from. I've been learning this since I injured my back last year and have
encountered a lot of bodily affliction and pains. I do spiritual warfare - and
if that doesn't change anything, I bless and thank the Lord for allowing me to
suffer. After all, as Jesus learned obedience through sufferings, who am I to
think it isn't going to be the same for me. And with this teaching, I know I
can suffer and not know why, and endure it, knowing I may be taking on the
sufferings of Christ that He is experiencing in His body. Another comfort when
we suffer is that Jesus is experiencing suffering along with us, for "in
all our afflictions, He was afflicted" (Isaiah 63:9). And are our
afflictions and suffering just about the here-and-now? No! "The measure of
glory in eternity will be the measure in which we share in His sufferings on
earth in time."
Our
sufferings are His sufferings; His sufferings are our sufferings. This is
joining with Christ in His afflictions as He is joined with us in ours.
Link
to Audio: https://dougriggs.s3.amazonaws.com/Assemblies/6-5-16%2Bsunday.mp3
Maranatha!
John Mark
...hereby committing this unto the
providential care of the enthroned Head of the Church; whose Name is
blessed forevermore, Yeshua Mashiach - Jesus Christ!