A pebble becomes a rock

Matthew 16:18
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.

Peter = “a rock or a stone”

1. one of the twelve disciples of Jesus

Rock = Petra
Definition

1. a rock, cliff or ledge
1. a projecting rock, crag, rocky ground
2. a rock, a large stone
3. metaph. a man like a rock, by reason of his firmness and strength of soul

In the days that are coming, the church is undergoing the same transformation that Peter himself underwent. Peter’s very name means “a rock” but not (at least initially) the “rock” upon which Jesus would build his church, and not the rock against which the gates of hell would not prevail. The rock that Peter’s name referred to was a small stone. An insignificant pebble, an outcast. For that is the very thing that Peter was at the time when he was called. Not an influential pillar of society but a mere fisherman.

Likewise, God is calling those who are insignificant, overlooked, “pebbles”, small stones whose purpose may be little more than to cause irritation inside the boots of others. But God, who calls the things that are not as though they were, God who knows the end from the beginning, God who calls us to the faith of Abraham, will cause us to change into the rock against which the gates of hell will not prevail, as we learn to trust in him.

We have nothing to fear in the days that are coming, and much to be excited about, for these are the very days when the promises of God about the church, about us, about our lives and most importantly about the true gospel, about Jesus, about the power of God, these promises are about to come to fruition, as we learn to trust. As we are transformed from a very small pebble into a rock—”a man like a rock, by reason of his firmness and strength of soul”

And let us not forget it was a very small pebble that slayed Goliath.

God says the gates of hell will not prevail against the church. That implies a proactive response from the church. We will stop being reactive, analyzing everything from a merely human perspective, and start being proactive, seeing the power of God so much greater than the power of he who is in the world, and so becoming conquerors and a kingdom of priests in the coming age.

Conquerors and Kings both now and in the age to come, as we are transformed from glory to glory. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

Bruised not Broken

Isaiah 42 (New International Version)

The Servant of the Lord
“Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen one in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him
and he will bring justice to the nations.

He will not shout or cry out,
or raise his voice in the streets.

A bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.
In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;

he will not falter or be discouraged
till he establishes justice on earth.
In his law the islands will put their hope.”

Isaiah 54 (New American Standard)

the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake,
But My lovingkindness will not be removed from you,
And My covenant of peace will not be shaken,”
Says the LORD who has compassion on you.
“O afflicted one, storm-tossed, and not comforted,
Behold, I will set your stones in antimony,
And your foundations I will lay in sapphires.
“Moreover, I will make your battlements of rubies,
And your gates of crystal,
And your entire wall of precious stones.
“All your sons will be taught of the LORD;
And the well-being of your sons will be great.
“In righteousness you will be established;
You will be far from oppression, for you will not fear;
And from terror, for it will not come near you.

Hebrews 13:5 (Amplified Bible)

be satisfied with your present circumstances and with what you have; for He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. I will not, I will not, I will not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let you down (relax My hold on you)! Assuredly not!

Oceans will Part (Part Two)… Hope Will Rise

Hope will Rise

Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed. Paul prayed that the eyes of our heart would be opened, that we might know the hope of our calling… to the Romans (and to us) Paul writes:

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

The thing about hope—true hope—the hope that we wear as a helmet, the helmet of salvation; this hope, which gives us strength to believe (against all hope), can not be crushed by circumstances.  This hope, which overflows by the power of the Holy Spirit, will not stop flowing. This hope will rise, against all odds, against all opposition.  Greater is He that is in you, the power that gives you hope, than He who is in the world. There truly is no devil in hell that can stop the power of hope.

It’s coming: a tsunami of reality, a tsunami of joy, a tsunami of peace, a tsunami of glory…

Glory Shown

“Show me Your glory”, Abraham prayed

Paul prayed “That you may know the glory of his inheritance in the saints”

The last prayer of David “Let the whole earth be filled with your glory.”

As you open my eyes to the work of your hand

It’s not up to us.  We pray; He hears.  We cry out; He answers. We ask; He freely gives.

Call upon the Name of the Lord, and be saved.

Call upon Him in trouble, Call upon Him when things are going well, Call upon him when things are going bad.  Call upon the Mighty Name of Jesus.

Call upon the Lord, and He will answer you and show you great and marvellous things that you do not know (Jer 33:3).

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously and without reproach (James 1), without favour, without preference.  He gives to all.  To as many as receive him, He gives the right to become children of God (John 1)

It is not the healthy who need a Doctor, but the sick.

O Lord heal! O Lord forgive! cries the Psalmist.

Jesus came to give sight to the blind.  Lord, open my eyes to the work of your hand.

Oceans will part at the whisper of Your call

Not the shout, the whisper.  God came to Elijah in the cave… not in the fire, not in the wind but as a still small voice.  God spoke into the darkness, and there was light.  God spoke to Moses, and the Red Sea parted.

God whispers and the Nations tremble.  God whispers through our prayers, and the demons flee.

Only, keep on believing.

A mustard seed of faith, and the mountains fall into the sea.

In my life, Your will be done.

That means my will takes a back seat.  That means seeking God until he shows us the way.  That means asking, seeking, knocking, believing, receiving.  The mustard seed of faith, the word, is the key.

Ask, and keep on asking…

Seek, and keep on seeking…

Knock and keep on knocking…

Have faith in God!  Only believe…

Let it be done, according to your faith.

The just shall live by faith.   Persevere!

Your will be done, O Lord, on earth, as it is in heaven…

Jesus, open my eyes to the work of your hands…

Strength in Weakness

Isaiah 40: “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak”.

Consider Hannah: Almost everyone has heard of Hannah, but whoever heard of Penninah? Yet in Hannah’s day, it was the other way round.

Hannah’s fame was such that when God through the prophet Isaiah, that “more are the children of the desolate woman” (referring to God’s blessing to the barren woman), God’s people would have immediately thought of the story of Hannah.

Hannah was a barren woman, without children. More than that, she was persecuted by her husband’s other (we’ll save discussion of polygamy for another day) wife, the not-so-barren, childbearing (and don’t you forget it) Penninah. She was not only barren, she was desolate, hurting and pained. Constantly reminded of her failure, aggravated by the success of her peer, she bore the reproach of her barrenness and it was killing her. Her sadness showed on her face.

Hannah, however, sought the face of God. She went to the tabernacle to make her sacrifice. She would not let go until God blessed her. She did not give in when the clueless High Priest of the day, Eli, mistook her grieving and crying out to the Lord for drunkenness, and rebuked her. Almost to get rid of her, Eli announces to her “Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition which you have asked of Him.”

Immediately, Hannah’s countenance changed. God imparted strength to her, in her weakness, and with the strength came miraculous grace to change the situation and to change the world.

Incredibly, especially given the apostacy of the priesthood of the day, God does indeed grant Hannah’s petition. It wouldn’t be the last Eli would hear from Hannah either.

Hannah’s pain and weakness became her strength. Her song celebrates this:

I smile at my enemies,
Because I rejoice in Your salvation.

“The bows of the mighty men are broken,
And those who stumbled are girded with strength.

Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread,
And the hungry have ceased to hunger.
Even the barren has borne seven,
And she who has many children has become feeble.

The barren has borne seven, God’s number for completeness. The barren’s faithfulness results in the birth of Samuel, a true prophet after God’s own heart… and she who has many children? Penninah? Panini? Pa… who?

Not that there should be a cause for gloating. No, there is never cause for that. There is, however, always cause to celebrate God’s faithfulness.

Today is the day of God’s favour. Today is the day of salvation.

Receive the strength of God, recall Hannah’s words today, even as you stumble:

“Those who stumbled are girded with strength”

The God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ,
after you have suffered a little while,
will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.

So you’ve failed? So you’re weak? So those mountains keep looking bigger? So what?

Have faith in God. Only keep on believing.

God himself will restore you.

Have a look at the video: