Daily Bread 5-2-17
Matthew 16:17-19
17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
ref. - Jn 1:42 - And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.
Is 54:17 - No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.
Jn 20:23 - Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.
What power and what responsibility was given to Peter. Can you imagine the level of faith and dedication that was in this man to be handed these responsibilities? He was not of the flesh but of the chosen men of God. He was given the Holy Ghost and that caused him to have the same Spirit necessary to carry out these heavy tasks. We keep seeking for someone with this faith but what is wrong with ourselves? Don't we believe that one can be chosen from amongst us to lead? Don't we believe in those who God has put in order? Do you feel that you have the power, without the Holy Ghost, to determine who should lead us and who should be our instructors and teachers? If you really look inside yourself, do you really possess the Holy Ghost? Or are you caught up in something that you think you can't get out of? A lie that you think you cannot reveal? Today we must look at the way that things are set in order and be content with them. Not to change them but to have faith in God and let those who have been called and chosen through the Holy Ghost do what they have been called to do. Did Peter admit to faults? Did Paul make mistakes? The answer to both is yes. Did God take away their calling, no, he made them stronger so they would not fall for the same thing again. Why? Because they were honest and repented. When Christ told Peter that he would build the church on him as a rock, he knew that Peter would stand for what was right for the Church beyond all other things. Today, we have that leadership and it is time to stop trying to judge what we haven't been given the authority to judge. It is time that we, instead of trying to step in front of what we have been given, realize that the one that we say we have faith in has got all things under control. The most important thing that we, as Christians need to do is to follow what we are being taught and receive the true Holy Ghost so that we, too, may be useful in the furtherance of the kingdom. Not in trying to create a worldly social club to raise our families in and support them in or a place to have weddings and funerals, but a true Godly Church that is supported by the word of God and the Spirit of God. This is the true Church, it is built upon a rock and the chief cornerstone is Jesus Christ, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Why not crawl up out of the sand, and dwell upon the rock today. All other things shall pass away. Have a great day!!!