Before the Rooster Crowed

The Word never fails.  If God (or Jesus) said it, that settles it.  It WILL come to pass as He said.

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John 18:17; 25-27 – Then saith the damsel that kept the door unto Peter, Art not thou also one of this man’s disciples? He saith, I am not.  –  And Simon Peter stood and warmed himself. They said therefore unto him, Art not thou also one of his disciples? He denied it, and said, I am not.  One of the servants of the high priest, being his kinsman whose ear Peter cut off, saith, Did not I see thee in the garden with him?  Peter then denied again: and immediately the cock crew.

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Three times, Jesus said, Peter would deny Him before the rooster crowed on the morning after His arrest.  And right on schedule, as though planned by God, it happened.  But what one must realize is that it was NOT planned by God that Peter should deny the Christ.  The arrest?  Yes.  The crucifixion?  Yes.  The death, burial, and resurrection?  Yes.  The denial by Peter?  No.  Jesus spoke those words by divine revelation through the gift of the word of wisdom, arising from the foreknowledge of God.

And it is in this grand scenario that we see what is likely the greatest manifestation of love that has ever been manifest.  In all things planned by God, everything pointed toward and ended in the boundless love of God for man.  And even in those things not planned by God, but manifest through the choices of man, things sinful and unthinkable, worthy of death and hell, the love of God was manifest through the radical forgiveness, justification, and redemption by the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now think on this; THREE TIMES Peter denied that he had any relationship with Jesus; first to a damsel that kept the door, second to a servant of the high priest, and third to a party unnamed in our Text for Today.  In Luke we read that upon the third denial, Jesus turned and looked at Peter.  Imagine that.  Peter denied Jesus within His hearing.  How close did Peter have to be at that denial?  And yet, with three consecutive denials, and even being looked upon by the Lord Himself at the third, there was love and forgiveness, even for Peter.  Now travel forward a few days to the meeting of Jesus and Peter on the shore of the Sea of Galilee.  In that encounter, THREE TIMES Jesus asked Peter, “Do you love Me?”  Three denials, three opportunities to repent and turn from the denials.  The conclusion of that is this.  I offer you this truth.  For any transgression, Father’s love offers you opportunity to repent.  The choice is your own; the moment may not be long lived.  Don’t despise the crowing of the rooster.  It may well be your call to awake, repent, and return to fully pleasing your Master. 

Manna for Today – John 18:15-18; John 18:25-27; John 13:38; Luke 22:61

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Binding Required – Part Four

Imagine the outcome if we all ruled our kingdoms under the Lordship of Jesus.

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John 18:12-14 – Then the band and the captain and officers of the Jews took Jesus, and bound him,  And led him away to Annas first; for he was father in law to Caiaphas, which was the high priest that same year.  Now Caiaphas was he, which gave counsel to the Jews, that it was expedient that one man should die for the people.

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The power of God is a power that can be wielded with exponential force if one understands faith, the power of agreement, and the power of binding and loosing.  When these three spiritual paradigms are linked together and applied properly in a spirit of love, all things are truly possible.  Consider my words.  According to the Scriptures, we know that we can do all things through Christ (the Anointed One) which strengthens us.  We know that faith casts trees and mountains into the sea, and makes all things possible to him who believes.  We know that when two or three agree together, speaking the same thing, they shall have whatsoever they say.  And we likewise know that we have a divinely delegated authority and ability to rule over that which the Lord has placed within out kingdom.  Now link them all together, and the power becomes exponential.

The Scriptures speak of multiplicative power in Deuteronomy 32:30, showing us that if one can chase a thousand, two can put ten thousand to flight.  That is exponential in scope.  In that light, consider what is possible when two or more believers come together, not simply in their personal plans or desires, but in that which it pleasing to and desired by Father.  That which is impossible to a single believer become possible through the will of God when done according to His plan, His methods, using His resources.

I hear much talk about how the methods change but the message remains the same.  My friend, make no mistake about it, there are certain methods that Father has set in order through His Word and by His Spirit, and no amount of modification or change of method in those arenas will work.  It’s either Father’s way, or no way.  Yes, today we use audio, video, and high tech when in ages past these did not exist.  Those methods may have changed, but the message and method of faith has not changed.  The message and method of love has not changed.  The message and method of agreement has not changed.  And the message and method of agreement, that is the making of spiritual symphony, has not changed.  In those arenas of life, that which has been shall be.  Learn to use the tools, authority, and ability of binding and loosing personally, and in agreement with other members of the body of Christ.  The world is waiting to see the manifestation of power that will proceed from that. 

Manna for Today – John 18:12-14; Matthew 16:13-20; Matthew 18:18-20; Judges 13-16; Luke 22:29;          2 Corinthians 10:10-18; 1 Corinthians 1:10; Amos 3:3; Genesis 11:1-9; Deuteronomy 32:30

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