2003-02-05
Good Morning Dear Ones,
The Holy Spirit wants us to be convinced that God was capable of giving authority to Christ to overcome the devil, and that Christ is capable of giving authority to us to fight Satan as well. It would hardly make sense for the Father to bring us to where we would battle the forces of evil without equipping us, empowering us, and authorizing us to do it victoriously in the Son’s name. I say that because of my deep belief that the Father’s main aim for us is to bring as many of His children back to Him, through the Son, as will come. One problem is that not enough of God’s children are convinced that they have been thus authorized. So, once again, I’m led to go to the Scriptures where we can find evidence to back up this truth.
The story of Peter fascinates me, because no one can say that he wasn’t an example of the common man. Peter was no high powered college graduate with an MBA or man of royal blood. MT 4: 18-20 gives us insight into his origin. “As Jesus walked along the shore of Lake Galilee, He saw two brothers who were fishermen. Simon (called Peter) and his brother Andrew, catching fish in the lake with a net. Jesus said to them, ‘Come with Me, and I will teach you to be fishers of men.’ At once, they left their nets and went with Him.” This incident seems so deceptively simple, and yet, it was to change the course of history. It shouldn’t be lost on us that Christ’s omniscience is prominent here, because He knew ahead of time that Peter was the kind of man who would indeed drop what he was doing and follow Him. By no means was Peter to be proven a sycophant. This young man was impetuous to the max! But, Christ knew he was teachable. How could anyone not love the story in JN 13 of Jesus washing the feet of His disciples? JN 13: 6-9, “Jesus came to Simon Peter, who said to Him, ‘Are You going to wash my feet, Lord?’ Jesus answered him, ‘You do not understand now what I am doing, but you will understand later.’ Peter declared, ‘Never at any time will You wash my feet!’ ‘If I do not wash your feet,’ Jesus answered, ‘you will no longer be My disciple.’ Simon Peter answered, “Lord, do not wash only my feet, then! Wash my hands and head too!’”
Those of us who know what eventually happened to Peter have to grin at that. Despite all of Peter’s impetuousness, Christ’s superior knowledge allowed Him to see Peter’s remarkable potential to do the task for which he would eventually be called. This brings me to the central story of today’s message found in MT 16: 15-20, where Christ is speaking to His disciples in Caesarea Philippi, and He asks them Who they think He is. Some of the suggestions that were discussed were John the Baptist, Elijah, or Jeremiah. The question finally came to Simon Peter. “Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.’ ‘Good for you, Simon son of John!’ answered Jesus. ‘For this truth did not come to you from any human being, but it was given to you directly by My Father in heaven. And so I tell you, Peter: you are a rock and on this rock foundation I will build My church, and not even death will ever be able to overcome it. I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of heaven; what you prohibit on earth will be prohibited in heaven, and what you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.’ Then Jesus ordered His disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.”
When we look at this passage, we begin to see the huge calling that awaited Peter, an ordinary fisherman with a propensity to impetuousness who was teachable. What it should bring to our attention is our need to examine ourselves to see if we too are teachable, despite our human characteristics. We should ask: How open is my heart to what Christ commands me to do?
There is another aspect to this story that should be mentioned; it is the time and way things are to be done. Christ knew that it wasn’t yet time to reveal to the world that He was the Messiah. There was still a portion of His earthly ministry yet to be done. Another huge revelation in (18) is Satan (death) will not overpower the church! Faith in the truth of this prophecy should be firm. It should urge us on to enduring in our faith, despite the pain, suffering, and loss Satan dishes out in our battles with him and his followers. The keys to the Kingdom are no small matter. Christ knows that by giving them to Peter, He is giving Peter authority on earth and in heaven. Did this mean that Peter would suddenly stop being impetuous or having his human side? No, of course not. But over the years, Peter would gradually fulfill the task to which he was called. He would eventually become the head of the church in Jerusalem, write and teach with wisdom. In cooperation with Paul and the other leaders of the early church, Peter would be instrumental in its flourishing and spreading. Thus, the church would survive and grow against the buffeting of false teaching it would encounter. We must meditate on what part we each can have in obeying Christ’s command in MT 28: 19-20 using the authority we have been given.
PRAYER: O Lord, we are imperfect sinners badly in need of sanctification. We stand before Your throne today to seek You out for this purpose. Inherent in this goal is our acknowledgment that You are the only Being that is capable of sanctifying us, for You alone are Jehovah Mekaddishkem, [Hebrew for] “God Who Sanctifies Us.” By our limited human perspective, few to none of us would have ever selected a man with Peter’s profile to be the eventual head of the early church in Jerusalem. And yet, You knew that he was the right person for that calling. That is why You directed Your Son to ask Peter to follow Him. When we look at our lives, we must bear in mind His teaching in LK 9: 23, “If anyone wants to come with Me, he must forget himself, take up his cross every day, and follow Me.” For worldly sinful mankind, that is no easy task. And yet, it is the only one that will lead to us being a part of Your great aim for us-that as many as possible will be returned to Your side by their faith in Jesus Christ. What should our individual parts in that process be? We must be willing to listen for Your commands and to obey them at the time and in the way You require. We must use the talents You gave us to do Your work. If it means turning from our own plans, then we must do that. If it means putting aside a lifestyle of addiction, feeding the flesh, or any other worldly pursuit, then we must do that. If it means choosing people who share our beliefs or are willing to listen to Your teaching with whom to associate, then we must do that. PR 10: 23, “It is foolish to enjoy doing wrong. Intelligent people take pleasure in wisdom.” You, Dearest Abba, are the Source for wisdom. You have taught us through Solomon in PR 9: 10, “To be wise you must first have reverence for the Lord. If you know the Holy One, you have understanding.” We delight in PR 30: 5, “God keeps every promise He makes. He is like a shield for all who seek His protection.” You have promised us eternal life if we will experience You through obeying Your commands. Words cannot express the gratitude we feel for Your presence, guidance, teaching, correction, encouragement, and willingness to invite us to join You in Your work. We humbly confess our sins and offer You eternal adoration, worship, loyalty, diligence, glory, honor, trust, obedience, thanks and praise. In Christ’s name, we pray. Amen.
Tomorrow, I am led to go on discussing the issue of authority given to us to carry out spiritual warfare under the Lord’s direction. There are other wonderful citations that simply call out to be shared. I can’t help but feel that the Lord is showing all of us the underlying lesson of our need not to be judgmental. By some of the people He has chosen for important tasks, we need to realize that we don’t have the perception or omniscience that our Lord in heaven has. It’s no reason to be afraid and every reason to lean on Him when it’s time to make decisions about other people. God loves us enough to teach us that we should seek Him out first. REV 3: 20, “Listen! I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into his house and eat with him, and he will eat with Me.” Our Father knows that seeking Him out for direction on how to use the authority we have been given is the best way to know His will for us and to insure that our faith remains strong against the opposition to it that we must face. His love for each of us is so deep as to defy complete description. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn