Upon This Rock I Will Buld My Church

In Matthew 16 Jesus was discussing a very important matter with His apostles.  Let's read this passage:

13When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

14They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

15“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

16Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

17Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18And I tell you that you are Peter,^b and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades^c will not overcome it. 19I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be^d bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be^e loosed in heaven.”

The question that is asked here is a very significant one, not only to Peter, but to us as well.  Jesus could be asking each of us as Christians who we say that He is.  And we read here that the correct answer is "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  The key here is to believe this, to allow this fact to be dominant in our lives, and to be willing to declare it to others.  

Jesus answers to Peter using a word play.  Peter means "rock."  But when Jesus says "upon this rock I will build My church,"  He is using a different form of the word rock.  It isn't Peter that is the foundation of the church; it is the statement that Peter has made.  It is the fact that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.  It reminds me of the final words of Jesus in the sermon on the mount, Matthew 7:

²⁴ “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practise is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. ²⁶ But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practise is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

Jesus is the rock, the foundation, the chief cornerstone of our faith.  By following Him we have life eternal. 

Thanks for reading.  Have a great week!

Seek the Lord

One of my favorite verses in all the Bible is Hebrews 11:6,

"But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him."

It isn't enough to just coast through life, be a good person, and show some commitment to the Lord.  He wants us to seek Him...and to do so diligently.  That means to take an aggressive attitude toward God, to want to know Him, and to actually try to be like Him.

In Matthew chapter 6, Jesus was talking about how we as typical people tend to worry about life, what we shall eat or drink or wear.  He then says in verse 33,

"But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you."

It is all about priorities.  But it also is about seeking.  We have to seek the Lord to be successful as a Christian.  And we are familiar with the passage in Matthew 7:7, where Jesus says,

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek and you will find, knock, and it will be opened to you."

When He says "seek" here, He means it.  We must be people who are truly seeking the Lord.

We might wonder, just what does it mean to seek the Lord; how do we do that.  I would suggest that first it means to study our Bible.  This is the actual Word of the Lord, given to us to help us to know Him better.  And we can pray.  Prayer is more powerful than we know or can conceive.  This surely is a part of seeking the Lord.

Let us be people who "seek the Lord."    Thanks for reading.  Have a great week!

Late Words of Jesus

This lesson comes from John 16 in the New Testament where Jesus is relating some important teaching to His apostles.  The first thing He says is that they will have people trying to kill them.

16 These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended.

² They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.
³ And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me.

The people persecuted and killed Jesus; He lets them know that they will face this as well.

But this chapter in the book of John goes on to talk about the Holy Spirit. 

John 16:7-14 King James Version (KJV)
⁷ Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.
⁸ And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and.... of judgment:
⁹ Of sin, because they believe not on me;
¹⁰ Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;
¹¹ Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.
¹² I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
¹³ Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
¹⁴ He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

Jesus is teaching here that there are 3 things that the Holy Spirit will do for the apostles.  These are Convict the world, Guide them into all truth, and Glorify Jesus.  We know that this is exactly what happened.  Jesus left the earth by ascending into heaven (read in Acts 1.)  Then the Lord sent back the Holy Spirit (read in Acts 2.)  And the Spirit continued to assist the apostles, giving them the power to do miracles, and even to pass that power on to other Christians.

We are the benefactors of the work of the Spirit in that He saw to it that we have the Bible today...to read...to study...to follow.  Praise be to God, and to His Son, and to His Spirit!

Thanks for reading.  Have a great week!