Matthew 16:13-17(NKJV) Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ
13 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”
14 So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
Knowing God changes everything. All my life, I have known God existed. I could see it in all of creation. Psalm 19 says “the heavens declare the glory of God….” It is hard to look at the universe and not believe there was a Creator though some people do. My default question is what about DNA? Did that develop out of a swamp? Did some big bang cause a helix of chromosomes to come together in this intricate fashion by accident? If one chromosome is slightly off, you get Downs Syndrome. Is that all by chance? I don’t think so!
I knew about Jesus but I did not know Jesus. Knowing about Him is not the same. Legend had it that Jesus was (and is) the Son of God. Intellectually, I knew that. There were stories pro and con about His status. But deep down, I did not yet believe the whole Son of God thing. Virgin birth; yea right. But what if it is true? What if the Holy Spirit visited Mary and became the father of a baby that was sent to redeem the world? Lee Stroebel set out to prove it was impossible and the Son of God was bunk. He, like me, found the information compelling. When you study the Scriptures and the historical materials surrounding that time in history, the pieces start to fit together; they begin to make sense.
I have been going through David Schroeder’s Masterworks Leadership Academy. Part of the training is determining your Spiritual Gift. Mine is encouragement. Something else I learned is about manifestations of the Spirit. Sometimes, your gift will show out in a different way that fits the current situation. Sometimes, I receive a Word of Knowledge. That is where you come to know something that you have no reason to know. It is not one of your gifts, you have no training in this area and there is no logical reason why you should have this knowledge. It is not natural. In fact, I have learned, it is supernatural. You know that you know that you know!
Coming to faith in Jesus can only be supernatural. You receive a Word of Knowledge by the Holy Spirit and you know that you know that you know. You have studied and investigated all the facts but are still not convinced. You can have a debate with a believer and still not be convinced. The thought of virgin birth and the Son of God is absurd until it isn’t. I promise you, even if you are the biggest skeptic, if you investigate with an open mind, you too will find the information compelling. There will be a point where your heart will take in all the information and you will believe. You will know that you know that you know and life will never be the same again! Mine isn’t!
Lord, open our minds to Your message. Help us receive the Good News. Remove the skepticism and doubt planted by our enemy and let us see clearly the love You have for us. Your plans are to prosper us and not to harm us. The accuser plants doubt. Be our shield protecting us from those doubts so we can really see the Truth. Your Son is the way, the Truth and the life. Let the Truth come to us through the supernatural so we know that we know that we know! In Jesus name I pray.