The Last Supper

The last few years being on a Saturday, I just somehow I feel like my assignment is always one last rescue mission towards somebody that perhaps God is still reaching. And today is no different. I wanna be a prophet of hope this morning. I wanna be a madman of mercy and I wanna try to communicate what the Lord has put on my heart. So would you go with me to the book of Acts chapter 20, the book of Acts chapter 20 and verse seven, you can keep playing for just a few more moments. I like being on the stage with you. Acts chapter 20, Acts chapter 20 and verse seven, if you're there say amen. If you're not there say amen. If you're just saying amen to say amen, say amen. I appreciate your honesty. Acts chapter 20, Acts chapter 20 and verse seven. And upon the first day of the week when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow. And he continued his speech until midnight. And there were many lights in the upper chamber where they were gathered together. And there sat in a window, a certain young man named Eudacus being fallen into a deep sleep. And as Paul was long preaching, he sunk down with sleep and he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead. And Paul went down and fell on him and embraced him. And he said these words, trouble not yourselves, for there is life in him. And when he therefore was come up again and had broken bread and eaten and talked a long while even until the break of day. So he departed and they brought the young man and they brought the young man alive and were not a little comforted. That means they were greatly comforted. The Bible says it was the first day of the week and the disciples came together to break bread. Another translation says they came to share the Lord's Supper. They came to partake in communion. So this morning I wanna preach to you on just this simple subject, the Last Supper. The Last Supper. Would you say those words, the Last Supper? Would you turn to your neighbor and would you say the Last Supper? Would you turn to your other neighbor, the one you just rejected? Would you awkwardly apologize? Reconcile as quick as you can. And would you tell them those words, the Last Supper? Now would you scream it to somebody across the auditoriums? Scream it, somebody tell them the Last Supper. Now one more time with the faith that only a Saturday morning women's conference can bring. Would you just put down your iPad? Would you put down your phone? Would you put down your Bible? And I believe in your prayers. I value your faith. So would you lift up your voice just one more time? Would you lift up your faith one more time in this house? Come on, if you have the Holy Ghost, would you just let it overflow out of you for just a moment? Come on, I feel a witness of the spirit in this house. Come on, I feel that umpteen still permeating this atmosphere. God, I give you glory for every healing. I give you glory for every revelation. I give you glory for everything that you will accomplish. Let it be so. Let it be done. For yours is the kingdom and the glory and the honor and the power forever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever. Come on, would you let there be a crescendo of praise? Would you clap your hands as loud as you have? Oh, come on, I'm begging you just to do it. Ten more seconds. I feel a witness in the spirit in this house. Come on, clap out of gratefulness. Clap out of thanksgiving. God bless you and you may be seated this morning.

The Last Supper is a mural painting by the Italian high Renaissance artist Leonardo Da Vinci. It dates back to the circa of 1495 through 1498, and it is housed in Milan, Italy. The painting represents the scene of the Last Supper, Jesus with the 12 apostles as told in the Gospel of John. Specifically, the moment after Jesus announces that one of them will betray him. It is a masterful piece of art. There are subtleties within this painting that cannot be readily observed until you begin to peer and gaze and focus. You'll realize that the disciple depicting Thomas is holding up a finger symbolizing doubt. You'll realize that Judas Ascariot is in the shadows and he is clutching the money purse. It is one of renown. It is a painting unlike any other in its handling of space. It's mastery of perspective. It's treatment of motion and its complex display of humanity. It is one of the Western world's most recognizable paintings, and it is one of Leonardo Da Vinci's most celebrated works. It is pivotal in his transitioning from one realm of art into another realm called the high Renaissance. However, due to Leonardo Da Vinci's inconsistent painting schedule, the great renowned artists began to experiment with new ingredients. It would be tempura and other ingredients that would, he thought, allow for a fast drying paint that would still result in a permanent picture. But due to his experimentation and due to new methods and ingredients that he had not formally tested, it would in fact not stand the test of time as this great painting would not hold within the environment that it was placed upon. As year upon year there would have to be a new renovation after a new renovation, attempting to bring it back to its organic original state.

However, this morning I am not so much up here to preach about a picture and a frame, but I do want to preach about a frame of mind because there is something that arrests my attention about this piece of artwork. It is deemed by Leonardo Da Vinci as the last supper. However, whenever I go to the Bible and I look through holy writ, I cannot find the words the last supper even one time. All I can find is these simple words, the Lord's supper. So in this sendoff Saturday I have come with a simple message to the body of Christ known as Wins Conference Family, and that simple message is this. The last supper is not the last supper. I have not come to preach to somebody that has already ran the aisles. I have not come to preach to somebody that is already intrinsically convinced. I have come to preach to that mother. I have come to preach to that daughter. I have come to preach to that single parent. I have come to preach to that believer that was just about to ooze out of Wins Conference and you are going to fade into oblivion, not having hope, but God has sent one person to remind you that if it is the Lord's supper, it is not the last supper. I want to defy and debunk copycat artists that would like to paint a picture in your mind telling you that your greatest miracles are behind you, that your ministry is in the past, and that miracles, signs, and wonders are for everybody else but you. I came to tell you the last supper is a painting. It's a picture. It's not real, for if the Lord is at your table, if the Lord is in your life, it cannot be the last supper. I didn't make the connection. I'm sorry, Sister Richie. I should have read the email sooner. Somehow I didn't realize the theme of this conference was apostolic atmosphere, and so I don't know if it was the Spirit of God or ADD, but I begin to read this story again and I was there. Leonardo was experimenting with new ingredients that he thought would result in fast drying paint that would still result in a permanent rendering. However, when the painting was displayed, it could not withstand the atmosphere. I am not worried about a picture that a copycat artist is painting. What I am worried about is an atmosphere on a Saturday that will bring every lie. Some of you don't realize, but the lies of the enemy have been flaking. They've been fading because they cannot withstand this atmosphere. I'm going to say it right now. Condemnation is fading. Suicidal thinking is fading. Regret is fading. Fear that has torn me. I wish I could preach it like I feel it right now. Some of you have been cutting yourself this week and you were convinced that when this conference was for everybody but you, but I speak under the angst of the Spirit. This is not where you die. This is where you become deadly. You're going to make it. The picture's not. You're going to make it. The lie's not. You're going to make it, but every falsehood of the adversary will not.

I got to take you to First Kings 19. First Kings 19. First Kings 19 and 2. First Kings 19 and 2. I need you to understand what is happening. The Bible says that Jezebel sends a messenger unto the prophet. Says, so let the gods do unto me and more also if I'm making off thy life. That's the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time. You know what the adversary was saying? In 24 hours you're going to die, but the devil's a liar. The only way the devil tells the truth is if you live out the lie. So I refuse to let the liar tell the truth. He said you would give up. He's only telling the truth if you do give up. He said you wouldn't make it. He's only telling the truth. If you die, I will not die. I will live. I will be alive in 24 hours. I will be alive in two weeks. And I will, 24 hours you're going to be dead. Next verse, here's the problem. And when he saw that, he doesn't say when he heard it. The Bible says when he saw that, the man that could see unto the Spirit, that could see things that nobody else saw, was leveraged and manipulated by a demonic force. And now he saw a hypothetical. Now he saw something that was not even real. And when he saw that, oh, can you tell me how the prophet died? He didn't die. A chariot, a fire, took him into heaven. God said, Jezebel was a liar, and she will be a liar. She said you would die, but I'm going to prove she's a liar. You're not going to die. I won't take you up. I won't carry you. I wish somebody would stand to their feet for 10 seconds, and you would rip every picture. You would rip every painting. You would rip every lie. There's another picture. There's another prophecy. There's another promise. I got to hurry. I got to hurry. Hey, prodigal, this is going to be your last meal. You're never going to get back to daddy's house. You're never going to get back to favor. This is your last supper. The Bible said that he would have eaten the pig's food, but it never says that he did partake of the pig's food. The Bible says he came to a point there was an inflection point in his life where he almost ate the pig's food, but he didn't eat the pig's food. No, no, you didn't hear me. I could have decided about little stuff. I could have decided about silly stuff. I could have decided about stupid stuff. I'm just going to pause and in the face of the devil, I'm just going to remind him there's some stuff I almost did I didn't do. If you're here today, that means you did not commit suicide. If you are here today, you did not become atheistic. If you're here today, you may be frail. You may be bloody, but through grace and grit, you are steep. The last supper is nothing I supper. I'm about to taste and see. That's the Lord. He is good. You don't understand. Somebody dropped me. Without my control, the king's calling for you. He said, is there anybody? Is there anybody? Is there anybody I can bless? No, no, you don't understand. I'm lame. I'm disfigured. I'm handicapped. A famous chef. He said I am as a dead dog. Somebody was painting a picture. He was lame. He wasn't dead. You didn't hear me. He was lame, but he saw himself as a dead dog. So if doubt can escalate the situation, why can't faith escalate the situation? If your doubt and your fears can imagine a worst case scenario, why can't your faith come alive and believe? Come on, Don. I believe it. There's more coming. There's more coming.

You go with me to Genesis 21 and 14. Genesis 21 and 14. I'm hurry. Can I preach you a few more minutes? Genesis 21. Genesis 21. Genesis 21. And let's begin at verse, yeah, let's begin at verse 14. Watch. Watch what happens. Abraham, can we put it on the screen? I want them to see it. Abraham rose up early in the morning and he took bread, had a bottle of water, and he gave it into Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child and sent her away. And when she departed and wondered in the wilderness of Bershiba, the water was spent, the bread was gone. And now she cast her child under one of the shrubs. Next verse. Watch. And she went, she sat down a good way off as it were a bow shot. Someone say a bow shot. She said, I don't want to see the death of my child. We partake in the last supper, the bread is gone. She said, I don't want to see the death of the child. I think she's already saw it because somebody's been painting the picture. Fast drying lies that don't have the authority to be permanent. That's why the devil's got to get you to believe it quickly. She sat over against him and she lifted up her voice and she wept. And he is as a bow shot away. Next verse. And God heard the voice of the lad and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven and said, what a let the Hagar fear not for God has heard the voice of the lad where he. When's conference is about to be done. God won't be done. The schedule's about to be over, but the spirit will not. God, mama is going to hear you where you piece of admissionary, pastor's kid, first generation apostolic. God, it's going to hear you right where you are. Hear you when you want to relapse. I'm going to hear you when you are faithless but still trying to be faithful. Next verse. Lift up the lad. Hold him in your hand. Take the hand of somebody. Take the hand of somebody. I will make him a great nation. If you're dying, you got to get a hold of somebody else that's still living. Next verse. And God hoping to rise. Had the last supper. Really wasn't the last supper. And so she went and she filled the bottle. She had no water. She still held the container because emptiness with you is still emptiness, but emptiness with God is capacity. Emptiness with you is emptiness, but emptiness with God is potential. So I want to sit at the table with my fork and my plane and my cup, even when I don't see water, even when I don't see supper. What you doing? You about to die. No, it's the Lord's table. It's the Lord's supper. I don't see any food yet. I don't see any water yet, but just because I don't see it, God never, it does not say God put the well there. It said God opened her eyes. It was already there, but some of you just need to wait until every picture and painting and lie of the enemy begins to fade. Next verse. And God was with the lad and he grew in the wilderness. He grew where he was supposed to die and he became an archer. So distance used to be where he was left. Now distance is where he launches. You used to shoot up, but now you go back and you teach a Bible study and you pray them through. You used to be suicidal, but now everywhere you go, there's life shed a bride by the Holy Ghost. You're going to live where you were supposed to die. This is where dad died. This is where mom didn't make it. This is where my uncle lost their faith. This is where my sister, he prepares a table before me in the presence of my enemy. He prepares a table even in the desert, even in the wilderness, because if it's the Lord's supper, it is never the last supper. Clap your hands so I can catch my breath. Thank you for being the body of Christ.

Too much jikvelay, not enough keto, but we saw him. He died before our eyes. We saw the nails. We saw the spear. We saw the blood shed. So why is he now breaking bread with us? He's opening our understanding and our hearts are burning. He opened our understanding and then he opened up. That was him. That was him. What are you trying to say? No, our supper is not the last supper. He broke bread with us. He walked with us. I thought it was just me and you on the road to Emmaus. No, that was, that was him. That was him. I thought that he was going to stay where they laid him. But when it is the Lord's supper, they are fleeing upon this rock. I will build my church has become a faint dismal memory now haunting them. But now there is a glow upon the shore and there's kindling and nail scarred hands are saying come and die. I know you've been running. I know you're confused. I know you don't have it all together, but come and die. Come and die. Come and die. Come and die. There's always another meal. If the Lord is at your table.

John 12 and one, John 12 and one, I'm almost done. I'm almost done. John 12 and one, you don't really know who you're sitting by. I said, some of you don't even really know who you're sitting by. John 12 and one, Jesus six days before the Passover came to Bethany or Lazarus, which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead. Next verse, there they made him a supper and Martha served. But Lazarus was one of them that sat. You're sitting next to people who used to be dead. If you don't believe in miracles, you are going to have to walk past every miracle on your row. Every miracle on the second row. Every miracle on the last row. I wish you tell the devil, I will have dinner after I die. I will have dinner after cancer. I want to have dinner after backsliding. I want to have dinner after false doctrine. The last supper is never the last supper. There is more. While you're being unrealistic, what if you do die? Okay. If leukemia takes my life, if cancer takes my life, if a stray bullet takes my life, let's run a Voo. Where should we go? Let's make dinner plans at the marriage supper of the lamb because even if I die in this life, you will find me at the table in the next life because if the Lord, if the Lord, it's the Lord of your life. He's the Lord of your table. Y'all be seated. Physicians come. I'm not done. I just want you to think I'm done. But I'm almost done.

The Bible says the apostle Paul is coming to commune. He is coming together with the body of Christ. He is headed towards his earthly death. He is on his final missionary travel journey saga. And the Bible says it was the first day of the week. For somebody else, it was about to be the first day of their new life. And you get to choose how tomorrow will be. It will merely just be the first day of another week. It will be the first words of the first sentence, of the first chapter of a brand new, robust and vibrant life. The Bible says that they come to break bread, to share in communion, to partake in the Lord's supper.

Jameson, come help me. Run up here. Run in the Hebrew means run. Run in the Greek, Jameson also means run. Y'all give it up for Jameson. Y'all don't know, but Jameson and the crew, y'all wave your hands in the back. They've been here every year. They won't, am I right? They've been here every year. Love this crew. You love me? You gonna love me after this illustration? I hope so too.

The Bible says that Euduchus was there and Paul has been preaching a long time. I almost titled this message in defense of long-winded preaching, but the Bible says that Paul is preaching a long time. He's preaching all the way into midnight. Why are we judging Euduchus when there's other people that probably slipped out and left, but Euduchus stayed? The Bible says there were many lights in that chamber, that light, that fire, that illumination was produced by oil. And if someone doesn't change the oil, then the atmosphere that should be full of revelation is now full of agitation and smoke. And Paul is only one man, and it doesn't matter how much he is imparting in one of his last services to these fellow believers. Paul can't preach and place oil in every lamp at the same time. And it doesn't matter who is preaching Sunday morning. If you do not bring oil, I submit to you you do not need a winds conference lineup Sunday morning. I submit to you you just need to bring some oil. And if you bring oil, then the prophet and the pastor and the teacher can bring forth revelation. Know what calls them to go from the core to the corner. I don't know what calls them to go from the middle to the periphery. But somehow the Bible says that Euduchus is in the window and the Bible says that while the words of the great amazing, prolific apostle Paul is going forward. Euduchus is slumping downward. And while the word is going forth, Euduchus is sinking down. And the Bible says that he falls. This is the controversial part. Jameson, Jameson, Jameson, Jameson. For the Collins is here, we need to be hermeneutically correct. Euduchus did not skip down. He didn't waltz down. The Bible says he fell down. I just need you to follow, bro. We got to get it together. It's games on the line. They're watching. The Bible says Euduchus fell. That is way too much affirmation for Jameson. Listen to me. You're dead, Jameson. You are dead and you are failing. But I still love you. The Bible says that he fell. Paul is preaching and Euduchus is sleeping. And the Bible says there was two others. Zach, I need you to come help me. Zach, come help me. Jared, come help me. Y'all run up here. Run up here. Hurry. Run. Run. Remember what run means in the Hebrew and the Greek? Come up by the arm. You're still dead, Jameson. Can you pick him up by one arm? Can you pick him up by the other arm? Can you put his arm around your shoulders? Can you hold him up? Can you hold him up? We got to go to the Bible one more time because I need you to see this for yourself. I need you to go to Acts chapter 20, Acts chapter 20, Acts chapter 20 and verse 9. Jameson, you're still dead, my dude. Paul was long preaching and he sunk down with sleep and he fell down and he was taken up dead. You got to beware spirits, human and hellish that pick you up but do not revive you. He wasn't alive. There's coping mechanisms and there's trauma responses and there's things that you run to and there's influences and there's entertainment, there's friends, human and hellish that pick you up. But they do not resuscitate you. The Bible says he was taken up. Problem is he is still dead. There's certain preaching that'll lift you up but it won't revive you. There's podcasts and Facebook mess videos that'll courage you. He won't revive you. What the Bible says, Pastor Joe, could I use you? I just always on my bucket list to use you in one of my illustrations. So if you could just make my day, I'll write about it in my diary tonight.

The Bible says, watch, the Bible says that the man of God who has been preaching collectively is now about to preach individually. The Bible says that he runs down. The translation says he literally gives him a hug. He literally hugs him tight and you know what he says? He says don't trouble yourself, don't trouble yourself. There's life in him. Watch, he's broken. He's bruised. There's life. I don't see it but I hear it. He's got some broken bones and there's some blood. He doesn't remember the last message. What he's about to wake up to a second message. Hey, tell us about when those guys picked you up. Yeah. What guys? Tell us about when those guys picked you up. What guys? They ran down before Paul did. They picked you up. I wasn't alive. Well, tell us, tell us what you remember. The only message I remember is the man of God saying, there's life. There's life. You fell down by yourself but you're about to get up with your brothers and sisters. You relapsed by yourself but you're about to get up in community. You're about to get up with the arms of the body of Christ. Someone said Paul preached so long that someone died. I think he would say Paul preached so long that I got back up. You want to know? The word is eternal. Your mistake is not. The word was before your failure. The word will be after. There is nothing more long-winded than the eternal Word of God. I'm sorry, you got to read it for yourself. Verse 10, verse 10, Paul went down and fell on him. Embrace him and said trouble, not yourselves for there's life in him. Next verse, next verse.

So when he was come up again, can you just put your arm around the passage hole? I just, I just know Paul, you read different translations. This is just how I won't preach it. So if you don't preach it this way then you're not preaching right now. I'm preaching. I don't think Paul left him. I think they went back up together. That's right. The Bible says they went up again and they broke bread. They had communion. Because Paul said your brokenness is not going to end the night. We're going to cast our gaze and our attention and our focus on the brokenness, not of Utica's, but the brokenness of Christ. Because if we share in his brokenness, we share in his life. And if we share in his death, we share in his victory. So when they had shared communion and eating and talked a long while until the break of day, a word will get you from one day to the other day. A word will get you from death to life. So I prophesy to someone in this house, your breaking will not be the final breaking because there's a word coming forth and that word is going to bring you to the breaking of a brand new day. Paul departed next verse and they brought the young man alive and we're not a little comforted. Brian, it doesn't say everyone was comforted. Only those that brought the young man alive.

Jamerson, how do you get back up to where you fell from? Not letting the devil pain complexity where there is simplicity. You know how you get back up to where you fell from? One step at a time. One service at a time. One midweek fast day at a time. One small group at a time. One prayer partner phone call at a time. I'm sorry I said you'll never fall but it's a whole lot harder to fall from the table than the window and it's a whole lot harder to fall from covenant and communion than it is the edge. See everybody falls but it matters where you fall. We still fall but when you fall at the table not everybody was comforted. Only those that helped him. So I just happen to believe that you put your arm around somebody. There would be a comfort that only comes to those that help carry somebody else.

So would you put your arm around somebody right now? Would you lift up a bloody hand? Would you lift up a bruised heart? Would you raise someone's faith in this room right now? Come on that's it I'm done. Come on would you lift up your hands? Would you lift up your voice? Come on it's not the last supper. Come on it's not the last supper. It's not the last supper. It's never the last supper.