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His Will Is In The Word
John 17:17 'Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.'
In this prayer, Jesus prayed twice that the Father would keep His disciples from evil. Then He reveals the way that God will accomplish this - through His Word, the holy scriptures. Anyone who desires to live for God, reject the devil, and reject the world's system, must know God's Word.
We must study the scriptures, for they reveal the will of God for our actions and attitudes. To be filled with the knowledge of God's will, we must be filled with God's Word. God's Word is His will! Those who are ignorant of God's Word will be ignorant of God's will.
Knowledge of God's will is foundational in developing Christian conduct and character. There is no way we can fulfill God's will if we don't know what it is. The starting...
His Purpose Revealed
Matthew 16:21, 'From that time forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.'
MATTHEW 16:20-28
Despite the abundant and clear prophecies about His death and resurrection, Jesus' disciples didn't understand or remember Jesus' words until after His resurrection (Lk. 24:5-9). Luke records twice that Jesus' sayings about His resurrection were hidden from the disciples. It is interesting to note, however, that the chief priests and Pharisees remembered Jesus' prophecies about His resurrection (Mt. 27:63) when His disciples didn't.
One of the great truths of...
Recognize The Real Enemy
Mark 8:33, 'But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men.'
MARK 8:30-33
Jesus was not implying that Peter and Satan were one-and-the-same, but was referring to the fact that Satan had inspired Peter's statement. This type of metaphor was used elsewhere in scripture such as when God spoke to the serpent in the garden of Eden (Gen. 3:15) as though addressing Satan. The serpent was merely the vehicle of communication Satan used to tempt Adam and Eve, while Peter was the vehicle Satan used to tempt Jesus. Ephesians 6:12 reveals that our warfare isn't with people, but...
God's Will Above Ours
Luke 9:23, 'And he said to them all, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.'
MATTHEW 16:16-26; MARK 8:30-37; LUKE 9:21-27
Self-denial is an important part of the Christian life. Jesus sacrificed His life for us and He demands that we die to ourselves that we might experience the new life He has provided. We do this first by recognizing that we can't save ourselves by our own effort and, second, by trusting God - not self - for salvation. Then daily, we need to deny our own wisdom and seek God's wisdom and direction for our lives.
Self-denial is only good when we are denying ourselves for the singular purpose of exalting Jesus and His will for us...
Jesus, The Chief Cornerstone
Matthew 16:18, 'And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.'
MATTHEW 16:13-19
Some people have mistakenly interpreted this passage to say that Peter was the foundation on which Christ would build His Church. However, that would violate many scriptures that refer to Jesus as the 'chief cornerstone.'
Ephesians 2:20 does mention the apostles as being part of the foundation stones of Christ's church, but it doesn't single Peter out above any of the other apostles, This same scripture once again mentions Jesus as the 'chief cornerstone.'
There are two different Greek words used for 'Peter' and...