Good evening … Great is His faithfulness …
DAY 15: THE ROCK
TOTAL TIME 20:12: Video goes into further discussion and reflection …
18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not [a]prevail against it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth [b]will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
20 Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.
Jesus Predicts His Death and Resurrection
21 From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.
22 Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, [c]“Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!”
23 But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are [d]an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”
Matthew 16:18-23
- PETER/ROCK in both Aramaic and Greek – (“petros”/ “petra”) … This rock refers not to Peter per se, but to “the faith of his confession” – (JohnChr) … Christ is th true Rock – (1Corinthians 10:4), and the Church is built on the faithful confession of Christ …
πέτρα pétra, pet'-ra; feminine of the same as G4074; a (mass of) rock (literally or figuratively):—rock.
rock, cliff, or ledge
projecting rock, crag, rocky ground a rock, a large stone
metaph. a man like a rock, by reason of his firmness and strength of soul
The pinnacle of the gospel story may be Jesus' dramatic statement, "You are Petros and on this petra I will build my church." The saying seems to contain an obvious Greek wordplay, indicating that Jesus spoke in Greek. However, it is possible that "petros...petra" is a Hebrew wordplay.
- David N. Bivin
GATES OF HADES: powers of death … In the OT, gates also mean a fortified city – (Genesis 22:17; and 24:60; and Isaiah 14:31) … The shattering of its gates, is Christ opening the stronghold of death to set free all the souls of the righteous … None of us including the Church should never be stopped in her and our proclamation of salvation …
Moving Forward:
1: What are your primary weaknesses??? One of my deepest weaknesses to share is sometimes my internal confidence I have of myself … Shocking to hear from a teacher of God’s Word, but that’s just it, there is no faith without struggle and no ministry can be successful without discipline: which is includes obedience, self- denial, and struggle … This is a struggle I’m constantly working on with the Lord, I also have social anxiety … I also feel many people do not understand my struggle with that, and while I sometimes sit all alone at Church it’s a two-way street and so I have called upon my heavenly Father to help me with my social anxiety … Why these two things go together is because its how I'm feeling right now, even though do a lot to help my church and no I’m not boasting, because I only boast in the Cross, but sometimes I feel many people do not recognize my faithful service to them all …
2: In what ways have you seen God transform your heart and mind??? I see it this change every day, but I feel others do not see it especially when some continue to bring my past up like it always needs to be displayed for them … God has transformed me into unprofitable servant that serves only Him and His Will, that He has led me to see this which I’m about to share … “I have noticed since coming to Christ and fully surrendering to His Will, that many of our institutions including churches are no longer in step with God’s Will, they are in step with their own wills …”
3: Write down a weakness you want to turn into a strength and commit to praying for help and working on it … I mentioned this above my own internal feeling of my own self confidence and with my social anxiety which I feel is hand in hand at times … So, this week I have two works on, I usually end with multiple weaknesses to work, God is good at working out our weaknesses, trust me give Him your heart He does the rest, it works if you work it …
Prayer Focus:
Ask God to reveal a sinful part of you that you think is “just the way I am”, and ask Him to make you something you’re not …
Psalm 61 (62) – Part of this evening’s prayer focus …
Close out Prayer …
Numbers 6:24-26:
“The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; 26 The Lord [a]lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.” ’
In Christ love Jared W. Campbell
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