17 January 2010
I Will Build My Church (Part VII)
January/18/2010 01:09 PM
Matthew 16:18-19 “Jesus replied, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by My Father in Heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the Gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in Heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in Heaven.’”
It's like Jesus was saying, “You've got the right idea bro! Because you know who I am, you can do anything and nothing will defeat you!” Glory to God! Now that stirs me up! When we have revelation from the Father of who Jesus is, we are strengthened like the steel and concrete foundation of a building! With the foundation of the revelation of Christ, we can build our lives and the kingdom of God. The revelation is that Jesus is the Son of God, born of a virgin. He is all God and all man. He is the eternal Word of God. He was in Heaven with God, but came down to earth in the form of man to take the punishment for the sins of the whole world. He was sinless and the epitome of love, mercy, and compassion. He bore our sickness and disease and healed us (I Peter 2:24). He was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our sins. He carried our sorrows. The chastisement of our peace was put on Him (read Isaiah 53:5). He took all of our mental and emotional grief and unrest on Himself so we could be whole.
He died in our place; the place of punishment we deserved. He suffered and died, but He didn't stay in the grave! He rose on the third day victorious over death, hell and the grave! Jesus took back what the devil had stolen!
Because He accomplished all these things, the Father gave Him all authority. His mighty name was given highest rank, prominence, and power. There is no other name higher than the name of Jesus and He gave this name to us!
As the church, we can expect revelation like Peter received. We can expect a "knowing" and a "witnessing" in our hearts from the Father of Lights. We can expect that with every step of trusting obedience, that He will reveal the following step. We can expect God to speak to our hearts. Having a strong prayer life keeps our hearts sensitive and in tune to hear His voice. A prayer-less church will be a confused, wandering church. A prayer-less church will make wrong decisions and miss the plan of the Lord. A prayer-less church is weak, defeated, and void of the leading of the Spirit.
Romans 8:14 "...those who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God."
We can also expect revelation as we read the Word of God. The Holy Spirit is always faithful to give us understanding in the scriptures when we ask Him and rely on Him to do so. The Bible says that the things of the Spirit are not understood and rather foolishness to the natural man.
I Cor. 2:14 "The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them because they are spiritually discerned."
When we are communing with God, spirit to Spirit, He brings light and understanding to our hearts and minds. The Holy Spirit is a gentleman and will never be pushy or speak of Himself. He will also never, never leave us alone or hide Himself from us. He is always speaking, guiding and protecting. He always has a download of good to deposit in us!
Revelation belongs to us. When the church lives and breathes in the revelation of Jesus, the mighty Word of God, and what He has done and is doing through us, we are a powerhouse for God on the earth. The Gates of Hell cannot prevail against us. We are being built up and will prevail in Christ!
kimconnor@whwc.org
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