YAHSHUA  BEHOLD, HE COMETH WITH CLOUDS; AND EVERY EYE SHALL SEE HIM, AND THEY ALSO WHICH PIERCED HIM: AND ALL KINDREDS OF THE EARTH SHALL WAIL BECAUSE OF HIM.  EVEN SO, AMEN. REVELATION 1:7.

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THE ROCK

 

JESUS CHRIST, THE FOUNDATION OF OUR LIVES

 

Carlos Padilla, March 2010

 

 

I had been praying and meditating with the Lord, asking Him for wisdom to give my elder son some words of advice, urging him to build his life, the "project of life" as he calls it, so that he would build it on the Rock, Jesus Christ, for everything he may want to accomplish in life, so it does not fall down, since although he is already a man of God, youth is an age that takes us through paths of hopes and projects from our heart, and our heart is lead by winds that many times turn into storms. Speaking to him about it, as the Lord was teaching me, my concern for him in this sense has lead me to write about the Rock, Jesus Christ, as a base and foundation of our lives. The Lord was, also, teaching me that through His omnipresence and omnipotence He is living our lives inside us, the individual life of each and every one of us, hence He asks us to love our neighbour and by doing so we love Him who knows well what we feel and what we think, because He is the Rock who created us, as we can read in Deuteronomy 32:18. And loving our neighbour we love Him, as we can read in His Word in Matthew 25:31-46: ... For I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me...
 

Many believers think that once they have believed in Jesus Christ, the Rock of our salvation, they do not have to make any effort to keep themselves on the Way and they forget to build their lives, in each and every aspect, on the Advice from the Rock, the Word of God, and then, of course, their lives fall apart down to the base which is Christ - if they keep the faith - but they suffer the fall of what they had built wrongly. ...If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple... ...So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.

 

As if it were a parable, we can see that, just like in the field of medicine prevention is the key to avoid many illnesses, in the spiritual field the guarantee to have a life of blessing is that it is built on the Rock that is Jesus Christ, the faith in Him and His Word, that provides an endless medicine, the love of God. The problem that human medicine finds when it faces a hereditary genetic illness is the equivalent that we find in the man who does not know Christ, who has inherited a selfish heart, that is spiritually dead and ill with sin, and that does not emanate such love, the agape love of 1Corinthians 13, which also Martin Luther King Jr preaches in his sermons, that I remembered again reading "Leading with Love" from "The Leadership Secrets of Billy Graham". It is only with this love of God that flows from the Rock that we can fulfill the request the Lord made to Peter: ...Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Feed My lambs.” John 21:15.
 

Although medicine cannot do much with these hereditary illnesses which, in addition to old age and other illnesses, lead man to death, that death is only physical and temporary, and it is the death of the soul that we are interested on, spiritual death, which Jesus Christ heals us from completely cleansing us from sin through faith in His work on the Cross of Calvary. That illness, sin, brings death, and Christ through His work in us, through faith, gives us the present of resurrection for eternal life. Jesus Christ is, therefore, the Rock of our salvation, the base to build or lives on. If we have never built on the Rock, if we have built on sand, our lives will fall sooner or later. This is what we find around us in the lives of our neighbours, and what we experienced ourselves before we knew the Gospel and we received Christ.

 

As we can see, man without God is terminally ill because of sin, and through that sin or error - from the Greek word "hamartia" (to miss the target, to move away from the correct path) - we find throughout history a world and a society that, from the beginning, emanates selfishness, wickedness and mercilessness. The world learns from a mistaken source of information, a data base with a virus, the world has been deceived by the "deceiver". The solution is found in another word whose meaning is also unknown, like the one of the word "sin", I refer to the famous "repent!" that comes from the Greek word "metanoia", change of mind or way of thinking; that is: change of source of information and the determination to use the correct information, without virus, without deceit.

 

This announcement was made to the people of Niniveh when Jonas was told by the Lord to announce the end. We, Christians, announce sin and its consequence to the world and the good news of Salvation for eternal life. The majority say that they do not believe in order to avoid assuming their responsibility, or rather to escape from it, because we all have inside us the instruction to look for God, but the majority, if and when they realize, think that they will find the remedy in a religion that makes it easy for them, or that adapts to their way of thinking, so that they can continue doing what they feel like or they think that there is no way out for them, a solution for their lives. Likewise, the majority deny sin and the serious problem of living a life without God...the fear of God is not in this place...Abraham said. God is good and He loves us, but He is also sovereign and He punishes us. His judgments and His wrath have fallen on the wicked ones throughout the history of humanity that does not love Him: Matthew 3:7, Colossians 3:6 or Revelation 11:18 are just a few examples of the wrath of the Lord.

 

They are all excuses which man uses to cover himself before others, but we all know that during our lives we go through hard times when we look for God. The world we live in is built on the sand of the deceit of the devil since Eden and it is the result of not listening and not obeying God, who loves us. Wars, famine, genocide and all types of tragedies caused by man without God.

 

A few days ago, I was also telling the Lord in my prayer: Broken lives everywhere is what I find, Lord, in those who listen when I speak to them about You. It seems that people do not want to know anything about You until they find themselves in Intensive Care for their lives, financially, physically, emotionally and spiritually. It is then when they start to listen to the Word of God attentively!. This is an experience shared by all brethren in faith worldwide.

 

The result of a life without God is obvious, but man's foolishness blinds him in his pride, that leads him to death - eternal death. It leads him to the suffering of his spiritual illness, which is the cause and origin of all other illnesses, not only in this life but also throughout eternity, to suffer the pains of sin eternally when they look for the things of this world, after they resurrect in the world to come, where they will not be. Their lives here and there fall because they are not built upon the Rock of Life that is Christ, because they do not drink from the living waters of the Spirit and because Jesus Christ is not the centre of their lives.

 

...Because you have forgotten the God of your salvation, and have not been mindful of the Rock of your stronghold... Isaiah 17:10.

 

But those who, building their lives on the Rock and having enjoyed the Light of God throughout their stay on Earth, come to the end of this life, they are called to enjoy the Paradise of the Lord in His Kingdom. You are still on time...Repent!

 

 

THE SEVEN PILLARS OF LIFE ON THE ROCK

 

By identifying the 7 most relevant aspects of our life we can build it starting by the beginning, through the foundation placed on the Rock. The foundation is the faith on that Rock that is Jesus Christ, and from Him flow the blueprints to build our life. The first thing is Salvation, that leads us to the second one, our life from the moment when we receive the Lord, our plans and projects. The third one is marriage; the fourth, children; the fifth, family; the sixth one is work and finances and the seventh one, our church and the Christian ministry.

 

 

 

1.- THE SPIRITUAL ROCK OF OUR SALVATION; JESUS CHRIST

 

The personal relationship with the Lord is built through His Son Jesus Christ. By entering through the narrow Door, we access the heart of the Lord and we have a true friendship in His presence. In worship and praise, in preaching the Gospel, in doing good works, in loving our neighbour, in Holy Supper.

...Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, 5 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture,“ Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.”7 Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, “The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone,” 8 and “ A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.” They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed. 1Peter 2.
 

The key for those who want to enter Zion is to place Jesus Christ as the cornerstone of their lives to build a life of blessing in Christ Jesus, because he who believes on Him will not be put to shame, because although we suffer persecution while we are on earth and in this dimension of time, this is nothing compared to the glory that is to come for the whole of eternity, which we will enter hand in hand with our Lord Yahweh and His Son Yahshua.

 

 ...As it is written: “ Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense, and whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” Romans 9:33.

 

Once we receive Salvation through faith, we have to build the rest of our lives on the Rock in the different aspects outlined below:

 

 

 

2.- LIFE ON THE ROCK. PLANS AND PROJECTS IN OUR LIFE

 

Our life must be built on the Rock, Christ, and although this is obvious for any Christian, we must remember where we come from, where our life stood before we knew God. Any man without God builds on sand (tradition, man's knowledge and science), therefore his life falls to the ground through any of the pillars when the storm comes.

 

All projects in our lives must be based, built, founded on Christ, The Rock, The Rock of our Salvation (Psalm 89:26) that provides water without the need of striking it (Exodus 17:6). That Rock where water comes from is open to us in the Word. Any project in our life must have God's measurements, times, motivations and targets. Not ours. Planning without Christ is building on the sand of the arguments of the world, the advice from worldly friends, from our families, ....Get out of your country, from your family... Genesis 12:1, this is what the Lord said to Abraham, and come out of all sources of human information, experience and tradition that are contrary to the Word of God; if they come from Christ they are blessing and Rock for edifying, and for this we have the Word of God and our personal relationship with God in Christ, just like Abraham had, and whom the Lord called: Abraham My friend.

 

...And Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of the land are many now, and you make them rest from their labor!” 6 So the same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people and their officers, saying, 7 “You shall no longer give the people straw to make brick as before. Let them go and gather straw for themselves. 8 And you shall lay on them the quota of bricks which they made before. You shall not reduce it. For they are idle; therefore they cry out, saying, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ 9 Let more work be laid on the men, that they may labor in it, and let them not regard false words.” Exodus 5.

 

Isn't it true that people in the western world today live under tremendous stress and they don't have time for anything?, well, the above is the reason for it. Let them make the same bricks but do not provide them the straw: with bricks of morter that are our sins and the straw that is the fragility of our worldly arguments - this is how man builds his house, his life, society and the whole world. God's proposal is that we build His temple with a foundation that is The Word and build on the Rock that is Christ. His Temple is not built with bricks of morter, but with stone hewn outside the sacred place, that is, carved and polished, with people who have gone through hardships during their lives with Christ, those who have the Gospel in their heart and they do not try to change it to suit their own interests.

 

The world has been built on the sand of the serpent of Genesis that deceived man snatching away his freedom and making him a slave of the code of knowledge of good and evil, that caused man to lose his relationship with God; we see this relationship with Him recovered in Abraham, amongst others, and is full under the Grace in Jesus Christ when we see the Apostles. The devastating effect is still alive today when we see how humankind and governments are incapable of solving the major problems of famine, wars, inequality, lack of education and the long list of blights that burdens everyday the conscience of all those who can do but do not do anything about it. And let us also do, let us pray to know what is in our hands, even though...For you have the poor with you always...Matthew 26:11.

 

Under the love of God and with love of God flowing from us, we will see a new scenario amongst those who are true friends in Christ, we will look after our health, we will try our best in our studies and work, we will place in the Lord's hands all trips we need to make, the companies or businesses which we should be part of or lead, and every plan that comes to our heart, so that He reveals to us where His will and blessing for us are, and so that our life is also of blessing for those around us whom we love and those whom we can help.

 

Let us live our life to the full, fulfilling our Christian duties, which we can read in Romans 12.

 

 

3.- MARRIAGE ON THE ROCK

 

Many people write to Yahshua.net and Jesucristo.net (Spanish site) telling us that their lives have fallen to pieces; either their marriages, or their children, or work, or any other part or supporting pillar of their heart or their faith, for seeing their church, leader or pastor fall.

 

Marriage is the source and foundation of the family, and this is the enemy's target for destruction. If husband and wife do not pray for each other, their flesh, selfishness, lack of respect, etc and the cooling down of the first love combined together, cause them to fall. When a married couple pray in Christ, the fire keeps burning, and I am not referring to the fiery passion, but to the spiritual one because that is what lights love, and not only the "eros" love but the major one: the "agape" love.

 

When a man and a woman get married, they must understand that love is the base for being together for the rest of their lives and to enjoy one another. It is also the base that will allow them to overcome difficult situations. But I would like to ask all married couples to pray to God that, in the name of Jesus Christ, their marriage is blessed, so that He is the Rock upon which their life together is built, that they pray together, that they ask God, that they study the Bible and do everything that is in their hands in order to polish their character and have self-control, the fruit of virtue.

 

Every single person has their own defects and virtues, that they will discover throughout their lives. Aspects that we don't even know of ourselves, because we have not faced certain situations before in our lives. It is a shame and very painful to see couples getting divorced, and how they - and their children - suffer; I must recommend them to take refuge in the faith in Jesus Christ, because He has the power to deliver us in time of trouble and give us His triumph; for example when another person comes along and the other member of the couple feels attracted to that man or woman. God provides strength, do not allow difficulties to overcome you, trust the Lord, He will give you the strength that we don't have ourselves. The devil's fight is to death, so take note of the Lord's armour: Ephesians 6:10.

 

Here are some supporting verses from the Bible about the right attitude of a married couple who believe in God and love each other:

 

...You shall not commit adultery. 7th Commandment. Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5.

 

...Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. Genesis 2:24.

 

...Marriage is honorable among all. Hebrews 13:4.

 

...Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies. The heart of her husband safely trusts her; so he will have no lack of gain.  Proverbs 31:10.

 

...For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband; otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy. 1Corinthians 7:14.

 

 

4.- OUR CHILDREN ON THE ROCK
 

Our children need to see that their parents lean on the Rock and that even in times of  thunder and tempest, the house does not fall apart. Discipline, order and a project for life are all essential, but the Rock will provide us with the necessary love to help them and enjoy their lives along their side, so that we are their best friends, with respect and honour.

 
...Woe to the rebellious children, said the Lord, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin: 2That walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt! 3Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the trust in the shadow of Egypt your confusion. Isaiah 30.


This is precisely what Eve did: not ask the Lord for advice from His mouth, neither from her husband, but from another prophet, and shelter under the cover of the knowledge of good and evil, her own moral, and not share her life any longer with God the Father. But the moral of Egypt, society, changes according to the ages, therefore the mind of the man who does this does not feel safe any more. God does not change, He is the Rock of our salvation. Let us see Eve as our mind hungry for knowledge and independence that reveals against God, and we can submit our mind with the power of the Holy Spirit in us. Jesus Christ has to reign in our soul for our mind to be dominated. The steering wheel of our lives must be our spirit under the Lord's Spirit, not our mind.

 

...“ Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you. Exodus 20. 5th Commandment.

 

... Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise: 3 “that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.” 4 and you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord. Ephesians 6:1-4.

 

Children are a blessing from the Lord, whether they may be your own or adopted by those couples who cannot conceive them physically. The Lord knows the circumstances of each and every one of us. Being parents is difficult, but a precious experience. There are no training courses to learn. Each child is unique and different to another one and each family and parent are different. Once again we must turn to the Master, our Father. He knows how to be a good Father.

 

His Word says: he who does not discipline his son considers him illegitimate. Hebrews 12:8. God Himself disciplines us so that we come to Him and become humble.

 

It is important to pray for them, listen to them, be their true friends. Although they will always - just like we did and so did our parents before us - come with their fashions and belonging to certain groups that are the trendy ones and their parents are not considered "in".

 

Recommendation: do not dismay, continue to guide them in admonition of the Lord even if you think it does not bear fruit. You will see the result in the long run and it will be a blessing. Parents must bring their children to the knowledge of the Lord as the most important and major teaching to receive, the best science, the biggest blessing and the best friend they can ever be introduced to. The rest of the things come from our own background depending on the age we live in, but let them be based on the Rock.

 

 

5.- FAMILY ON THE ROCK

 

A family must be built as a home on the Rock and not on the sand, so that household will survive when difficult times come. That Rock once again, is faith on Christ and His word, the Bible. This is where, under the grace of the New Covenant in the Holy Spirit, we find the instructions for the life of every man and also every family. The sand of traditions, interferences from relatives, bad advise and worldly arguments lead to divorce and to children on drugs or alcohol and homosexuality. This society accepts anything.

 

This is where we must be in communion with one another. Fathers should lead families and be an example to their loved ones. If the wife is alone in the faith, she should look for other sisters or groups of brethren in order to share the matters of the Lord and to take Holy Supper, and she should teach her children in the Lord. If you are a son or daughter, speak to your parents about the Lord and is they reject you, honour them in your child-parent relationship, because this is what the commandment says, that bears the promise of the Lord to receive blessings.

 

All of you who do not have all the members of your family in Christ, pray and He will do. Sometimes it may take years, but if you ask the Lord for patience, the time will be reduced. Those of us who know God only want everybody else to know Him, but we must not forget that each relationship with Him is an individual issue, it only belongs to the individual and the Lord and we must respect the privacy of that relationship and wait for the person to fall in love with God's heart. Then, He will give him/her the faith.

 

 

 

6.- WORK AND FINANCE ON THE ROCK

 

...But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. 1Timothy 5:8

 

Joseph in Egypt was the wealthiest man on earth and he served God. We must first look for God and the rest of the things will be added, says the Scripture.

 

In our working relationships, we must identify ourselves as followers of Christ and when those around us see us having a straight-forward and serious attitude in our business or job, they will see that it is possible to walk straight and have the Lord's blessing. A disciple must have a good knowledge of the laws of his age and fulfill them (those that are not contrary to the Lord's Commandments), he should help his colleagues, if he is a boss he should help his staff and not be a dictator, be a good friend. He who calls himself a disciple of Christ must be seen to be like Jesus Himself in action. And when you are asked about how can you have such an attitude, reveal your faith in the Lord.
 

Man is not willing to accept that things are given for free and he says to himself: ...oh, come on! I have the intellectual capacity and I can manage a company, have my own projects and succeed...! but he doesn't realize that he is a slave in Egypt - the world - where we will have to fight to survive, but until we realize that, when we succeed we feel very important and it makes us feel above the rest and smarter than the others; so the personal ego of a successful entrepreneur or the employee who stands out for his efforts, feel proud and they start looking at their neighbour over the shoulder. This circumstance makes man become arrogant and does not allow him to be humble before the Lord, therefore he is blinded by his own light and does not see the Lord's wisdom and advice. Likewise, envy produces a wrong behaviour, far from the Lord's blessing: ... You shall not covet anything that is your neighbour's...says the tenth commandment. Exodus 20:17.

 

Without the Lord and in the world, and looking for wealth and success, one falls into the devil's arms. But you can be successful and very wealthy and acknowledge that the Lord is who provides them for us, and we can share and give opportunities to those in need. We have to see the circumstances of those who die from famine, those who do not have hope, work, or health, or have fallen in a spirit of drug or depression and are in jails or hospitals, and we can do something for this society. We can eradicate poverty, we can provide jobs, a decent life for the whole of human kind, but we don't do it due to the world's selfishness.

 

The Gospel teaches man to know his Lord, and to await with hope and expectation the Great Coming of our Great Lord and saviour Jesus Christ, who will give us a new order, where we will no longer have to worry about anything. Why is it that nobody speaks about this at work, instead of football, the stock exchange or the internet?

 

Whoever honours God will be pleased to set aside the tithe of his income and use it for the Lord, for preaching and for humanitarian aid,  and the Lord will open the windows of heaven and pour out such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it. Tithing is not originally part of the Law of God - it was added afterwards - but from Abraham's faith; it is not an obligation, it is honouring and being thankful to the Lord His financial blessings, it is a covenant between an individual and the Lord. Read Malachi 3:8 to 12 and Genesis 14:18 to 20.

 

The Lord is just in claiming the tithe of our income as His own, because all blessings come from Him. Abraham and Jacob, out of their own heart, made a covenant with the Lord to bless them and they out away the tithe for Him. Watch out for those organizations who claim this money. One must feel free to use that 10% of his income in whatever he feels the Lord is telling him to use it best. We must only hand over this money if we feel that it is going to be used towards the work of the Lord, otherwise it is better to wait for confirmation from the Lord. Invest in the poor, it is the best investment: ...He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord, and He will pay back what he has given.  Proverbs 19:17.

Malachi 3:6 to 11 says: For I am the Lord, I do not change; therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob. 7 Yet from the days of your fathers you have gone away from My ordinances and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” Says the Lord of hosts. “ But you said, ‘ In what way shall we return?’ 8 “ Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘ In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. 9 You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed Me, even this whole nation. 10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “ If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it. 11 “ And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,” Says the Lord of hosts.
 

Work and finances are tools we cannot live without because we need to cover our needs. Society catches us with a consumers' system strengthened by the marketing campaigns of profit-targeted manufacturing companies, looking for their profit to get rich and win over their competitors. ...For the love of money is the root of all evil. 1Timothy 6:10.

 

The Kingdom of the Lord is not a place where we will have to work in order to obtain our daily bread for us and for our loved ones, as we can see with Adam and Eve in paradise. God does not offer us eternal working life, but eternal life in paradise, with Him, without the need to look for our daily bread, because He is the daily bread for our spirit. Praise and thank Him, who has given us resurrection for that eternal life through His death in Christ on the Cross to deliver us from sin.

 

Therefore the Lord says: But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Matthew 6:33.

 

 

 

7.- CHURCH ON THE ROCK

 

 

And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. Ephesians 4:11.

 

As part of this love for God, living anchored to the Rock we find the following revelation:

 

... Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” ... ... And I also say to you that you are Peter "Petrus", and on this rock "petra" I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give you (My Church) the keys of the kingdom of heaven... Matthew 16.

 

St. Augustine, bishop of Hippo, in his commentary to the first epistle of John, explains Peter's confession: ...What do these words mean "I will build My Church on this rock"? They mean: I will build My Church on this faith, on this that you are saying: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. And in one of his famous sermons, Augustine would preach the following: You are Peter (Petrus), and on this rock (petra) that you have confessed, on this rock that you have recognized confession: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God, I will build My Church; on Myself, because I am the Son of God, I will build; and not on Peter. With this affirmation of St Augustine we can start explaining what was the common faith amongst the Church of the first fathers, like St Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, 98 b.C., St. Saint Jerome, Saint Hilary of Poitiers, Saint Cyril, Saint Ambrose of Milan, Saint John Chrysostom and the others showed in the Council of Chalcedon one and only faith on Peter’s confession and the bishop of Rome did not have any supremacy over the rest; there was no pope, because such a figure is not biblical, it is created by man adopting a figure of pagan Rome.

 

Peter himself explains it in chapter 2 of his first letter. If Peter, and his successor, was the leader of the true Church, how can it be that the church of Rome has deviated so much from the Bible's sound doctrine, from the teachings of our Lord Jesus of Nazareth? It would have not happened that way if that roman-catholic argument was the correct one, don't you think?

 

I would like to take a text from 1Peter 2, because I think he must have surely had some knowledge about the meaning of the Rock, so that we see his proposal to build the Church on Jesus Christ:

4 Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, 5 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, “ Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.” 7 Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, the stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone,” 8 and “a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.” They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed.
 

Does it not sound like the behaviour we see in some churches?

 

As far as behaviour is concerned, Peter also gives us a master class about the relationship between the brethren who form the Body of Christ, in his first universal letter, chapter 5:

 

...The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: 2 Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; 3 nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; 4 and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away. 5 Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “ God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

 

Regarding building the ministry, in this case the ministry of Messianic Jews, we also find in the prophecy that the Temple of Jerusalem was also built on rock, the rock of Mount Moriah on the hills of Zion, the name used for centuries to refer to the whole of Jerusalem, and which archeology has just confirmed, for those who doubted it and for those who have an interest to discredit the true history of the place, that the large stones raised on the rock of the mountain have been there for 3000 years, and that coincides with the date of the construction of the first Temple, Solomon's. The prophecy of Jesus Christ in Matthew 24 announced the destruction of the Temple, that was destroyed in year 70 a.D. for the last time. But it is now when Israel has returned to their land, and if this is not a sign of the end of times, what is? according to the Bible prophecy, Daniel 12:7 and Romans 11, when the riots and battles started again for the reconstruction on that rock, and Jerusalem is the Rock of the Mount of Zion. It was and is an established mount and foundation of the Jewish religion that now needs - and will do so at the end of times - its foundation on the true spiritual Rock, Yahshua, the resurrected Son of God, as foundation of the salvation of His People.

 

 

LOOKING FOR GOD'S WILL TO BUILD ON THE ROCK

 

Once our life is founded on the Rock, that is Christ, they key to build us up is knowing His will. Gedeon asked the Lord for a sign before the battle, Judges 6:36-40. We must also ask the Lord for signs to take decisions in the light of the Spirit. In order to do so, we have prayer and holiness looking for the heart of God in everything we have to live. Let us always look for our time alone with the Lord to listen to His voice, because our Lord speaks to the heart!

 

We would not see so many problems and broken lives if people read and obeyed the Bible under the Light of the New Covenant, God's instruction book for our life ! Nations as a whole are falling because they have not taken God into account. Churches are falling to pieces - and I don't mean congregations only but also denominations - because they are not building their ministry on The Rock, the pure milk of the word, but on the sand of traditions that are contrary to the Word of God.

 

If these large constructions fall when they are not built on The Rock, how can we expect companies, families and lives not to fall?. The prodigal son fell, but there is hope if there is a return to the Way where he who repents in his heart finds God's arms wide open to receive him. Once what was badly built is demolished, one must start building again on The Rock. This is the new birth from the Spirit, when one believes in Christ, The Rock of our lives, in His work of Salvation and in Him as source of permanent and eternal life.

 

When we live under the Lord's will, our lives are lived by Christ when He is the Rock of foundation, it is then when we cry out by the Spirit "Abba, Father".

 

Psalm 95: Oh come, let us sing to the Lord! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.
 


BIBLE TEXTS

 

...He is the Rock, His work is perfect... Deuteronomy 32:4.

...Of the Rock who begot you, you are unmindful... Deuteronomy 32:18.

...Then David spoke to the Lord the words of this song, on the day when the Lord had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. 2 And he said: The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer3 The God of my strength, in whom I will trust; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge; my Savior, You save me from violence.  4 I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies... 2Samuel 22 and Psalm 18:2.

...From the end of the earth I will cry to You, when my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. 3 For You have been a shelter for me, a strong tower from the enemy. 4 I will abide in Your tabernacle forever; I will trust in the shelter of Your wings...Psalm 61:2

...My flesh and my heart fail; but God is the rock of my heart and my portion forever. Psalm 73:26.

...“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. 26 “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.” 28 And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, 29 for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Matthew 7.

...For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 1Corinthians 3:11.

1 Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, 2 all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ. 5 But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. 6 Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. 7 And do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.” Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell; 9 nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents; 10 nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer. 11 Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. 1Corinthians 10.


CONCLUSION

Christ is the Rock upon which we must build our life if we listen to the Word of Jesus Christ and we are, like He says, wise. In order to have rivers of living water flowing out of our heart, they must emanate from the Rock. It is from Him that water came out for the people when Moses struck Him twice, in the symbolism of the rock in Numbers 20:11, because they did not have faith on the Lord; but we should have faith, because it was written for us. Likewise, Christ was struck by the Law, by the rod of Moses, when He took our sin, which crucified Him instead of us.

Let us receive forgiveness humbly, and let us not justify ourselves through the Law gaining recognition by trying to fulfill the 613 commandments and rules in the Law of God or those of church tradition. This is the ego, the mind of the antichrist, the sin that produces spiritual death, being away from the presence of the Lord. He who does not have Christ, does not have the life.

He is the chief cornerstone of the Temple of the soul and our deliverer from sin and Saviour. That Rock is the cornerstone to complete the construction - ourselves - our soul and the Church as a whole.

Anchored to the Rock, we must build our lives, once we receive Him as Saviour. We must build our lives, our marriages, our children and families, our work and finances, and we must build the Church on the agape love that the Lord loves us with.

Jesus Christ is the Rock and the source of water of life and allows for that living water to flow from us, the essence of His Spirit: He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” John 7:38. Amen.

 

 
  • For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Prophecy of Isaiah 9:6.


  • I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. John 14:6. Words of Yahshua - Jesus Christ.
  • You want to know God, but you know the way is not through organized religion, nor by sects, nor by society. The world has failed. ...I pray for them;  I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours... John 17:9. Prayer of Yahshua - Jesus Christ.


  • If you really seek God, begin today the new life though the true hand of God. The Gospel is the message for all nations, no matter their race, their origins or culture. God is the saviour of those from humanity who open their hearts to Him.


  • ...Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.  1Corinthians 15:58.

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