5th lesson about Peter, one of the twelve disciples.

Great lessons that Peter and the disciples learned. What do you ground yourself on?

 

Good morning, grace and peace in the name of the Lord Jesus to all who seek him and love his presence. Great are the lessons in the Word of our God and today once again we want to meditate on the life of Peter and what he learned in his journey following Jesus Christ.

I like to study the Bible Handbook of Halley it teaches us many things that give us a clearer picture. If you have this manual, you will find on page 478 more information on this subject. We will just mention a few here to help you better understand the issue here. Peter's confession is also described in Mark 8 and Luke 9. This manual explains that it was already around three years that when Peter had accepted Jesus as the Messiah; according to Jo. 1: 41,42. A year later, he he called him "Lord" according to  Luke 5: 8. Approximately six months after this he called him "the Holy One of God" = Jo. 6: 68.69. Now after spending two and a half years traveling with Jesus, he expressed the conviction that Jesus is the Son of the living God.

Take some time to meditate a little, how long is it that you follow Jesus, after having accepted him in your heart? What do You declare  about Jesus in the sight of the people? Or, are you one of those who only believe in it, and live how you think it's right; although you do not believe it to be necessary to always preach about God? We have to be very cautious in this, because one thing is to preach, quite another to let Jesus shine through our lives. And, sure Peter left his light shine, he was not ashamed to confess what he believed about Jesus; the master now he followed. In the verse of Mt. 16:18 Jesus answers about this statement of Peter the following: "For I tell you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it;"

Upon this rock (v. 18) The rock on which Jesus would build his church is not Peter; but about the fact that he confessed that as a human being, that Jesus is the Son of God. The divinity of Jesus is the foundation on which the church is based, This is the fundamental creed of Christianity. This is the unmistakable meaning of this language.

The keys of the kingdom of heaven . (v.19) The common interpretation of this verse is that Peter opened the door of salvation to the Jews at Pentecost (Acts 2); and then to the Gentiles Acts 9-10. He was not given the power to forgive sins, but to proclaim the conditions of forgiveness. Whatever authority was granted to Peter, also was granted to the other apostles as Matthew 18:18. and Jo. 20:23. - And that only in the sense of being able to declare forgiveness through Christ. All this happened in Caesarea Philippi located in the far north of Israel, one of the initial tributaries of the Jordan River to Mount Hermon foothills, 80 km southwest of Damascus was the city that in NT times was called Caesarea Philippi. (Halley's Biblical handbook pg. 478).

We have much to learn from the life of Peter and the other disciples that learned as they walked with Jesus; just like you and I do aswell. We learn in our daily journey. We note that Peter had a very natural reaction as a human being to what Jesus said to them in verse 21 .

In Matthew 16: 21-23[1] Jesus Predicts His Death: “21 From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. 22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!” 23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

We see clearly that at this ocasion Peter reacted as a person who thinks with the mind of man. The revelation he declared before was given by the Holy Spirit; But at this time he acted as Peter only. We see the love and respect he had for Jesus and as a friend and teacher who Jesus was, Peter just wanted to protect him from such suffering and all that he had said he would pass. We do not always think with the mind of Christ which is given us to us; and this is what happened with Peter at this ocasion. This is natural, and at a situation like this we need that Jesus shows us once  again  the purpose that God has in all this. Peter learned a profound lesson that day. And you and I learn what from the experience of Peter?

Why you believe that Jesus said to Peter, "Get thee behind me, Satan, who serves me scandal; because you do not understand the things that are of God, but those that are of men. "I think it was because Peter allowed Satan to put those thoughts in his mind, that that do not proceeded from God. Each of us who are followers of Jesus Christ, we must always ask for discernment if what came into our hearts to speak was inspired by the Holy Spirit or if it came from another source. Great lesson to be learned. Glory to God. Jesus has patience in teaching us, hallelujahs. Glory to God for this.

 

Antonina.

Missionary

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[1] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2016:%2021-23&version=NIV

4th lesson about Peter. = Tremendous lessons about Peter.

 

Living and Learning with Jesus our Lord and Master.

Greetings to all dear friends and visitors of our blog in the name of our dear Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. God is with us and we have this wonderful promise in the Bible. Mathew 28:20 = “and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

I love this passage for three important reasons. 1^st reason = because of who said it. 2^nd reason: “and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you”. 3^rd reason = “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

This was one of the lessons that Peter and the other disciples all had the opportunity to learn in theory and practice. They heard Jesus teaching it, in person. And they experienced it that Jesus never left them. Peter tells us about many things he learned with Jesus in his letters, and we are going to study them later on.

If we take a look at the chapters 16-18 we can notice how many experiences they had on a daily bases. In the 16^th chapter we read about the fact that people watched Jesus, they were aware of his reputation. Pharisees and Sadducees always were watching him to see if they could find anything to hold against him. Jesus was for them a nuisance, for he was beginning to be very famous, and they feared he would take over their leadership. They all remembered the fact that when Jesus was born the three wise men came from the East: “and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him. Mateus 2:2”. In their mind probably was a questioning going on: ‘might he be the one the three wise men referred to?’

In chapter 16[1] we have several lessons what Peter learned about. In verses 6-13 Jesus calls their attention to be cautious about the pharisees and sadducees saying in verse 6:  “Be careful,” Jesus said to them. “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” And shortly after this we read in verse:

Peter Declares That Jesus Is the Messiah

13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.”

In this passage we see how much Peter learned walking alongside of Jesus. Walking with him, working with him and he came so close in his relationship with the Lord that he heard the Father in Heaven reveal the truth about Jesus to him. Because we read that Jesus says: ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven’.

Peter shortly before this was merely a fisherman who was earning his life fishing. All the twelve were on a daily bases transformed into fisher of men. They were taught that they could hear the voice of the Father if they followed Jesus. These are tremendous lessons to be learned. You and I can learn how to listen to our heavenly Father as well.

Are you willing to come close to the Lord so that you will be able to listen to the Father in heaven? May God bless us in our daily walk with him, in such a way that you can learn how to communicate with him, and listen to him; learning as the 12 disciples did. Peter was one of them, and we are disciples too. May God find in us followers whom He can trust.

 

God bless each one of us.

In His Service,

Antonina Penner.

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[1] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mathew+16&version=NIV

3rd lesson =Importante lesson about Peter

Jesus the Master of all masters. The best school in the world.

 

Grace and peace to all beloved guests of our website and our Bible School.  One more time we will see what the Bible teaches us about Peter and the other disciples as they followed Jesus. Every day, they learned more and more lessons; being taught by the master of all masters. I love watching Peter’s reactions and try to analyze whether if it would be this way that I would react or if I would be more observant as the other disciples.

There are people who like to be observing,  to be analyzing and gradually apply the lesson in their life. But Peter liked to question, understand and discuss the issue at hand. I think maybe some of the other disciples might have suggested him, ask him if ....  Probably all of them wanted to learn but some were shy and were intimidated to ask. Let’s open our Bible in Matthew 15 and we will read verses 7-20 to get an idea what was going on at the time when Peter asked the Jesus the question.

We see in this passage that the scribes and pharisees inquired Jesus about his teaching and because of the fact that his disciples did not keep the laws as they were told. These scribes and pharisees behaved as if they were those who ruled the kingdom of God, as per say, for they were the leaders of the temple and the synagogue. They acted as if they were the owners of the truth. And actually when they confronted Jesus, they confronted the truth; because Jesus is the truth. (J0 14: 6). Jesus answered to this question showing them that they actually were  the wrong ones, and he explained this through a parable. Let's read verses 7-20 here.
Matthew 15: 7-20[i]

7 “You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you:

8 ‘THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS,  BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME.

9 ‘BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.’”

10 After Jesus called the crowd to Him, He said to them, “Hear and understand.

11 “It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man.”

12 Then the disciples came and said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this statement?”

13 But He answered and said, “Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant shall be uprooted.

14 “Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”

The Heart of Man

15 Peter said to Him, “Explain the parable to us.”

16 Jesus said, “Are you still lacking in understanding also?

17 “Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is eliminated?

18 “But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man.

19 “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders.

20 “These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man.”

Both Peter and the other disciples were used to being trained and taught by the teachers of the time; who where criticizing Jesus. But Jesus takes his time to open their eyes to the true teaching that they should learn. Jesus showed them all, that if we serve our ego and teach as our carnal mind wants to operate; in this case we are in deception. The scribes and pharisees taught perfection according to their own theology such as being perfect in sight of everyone..

Jesus however, shows them in fact that if the heart is not pure and submitted to God in this case we are living in deception. Peter approaches Jesus and said: “Explain the parable to us”. Jesus said, “Are you still lacking in understanding also? Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is eliminated?  But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man.”

Jesus was teaching them in theory and in practice. And Jesus goes on to explain. "Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is eliminated?  But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. "

Evil thoughts and plans are in the heart (flesh). Our heart is our soul, and if we follow Jesus, in it’s great majority the teaching of Jesus will achieve its leadership in our thinking. Now if we have Jesus as Lord and Savior then we will reason within our mind as Jesus did. The disciples were with him learning to think as Jesus thought. Many times there were tough lessons to understand. But Jesus was patient to teach to them as he has with you and me.

Jesus goes on to say: "Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornication, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man. "Let's think and meditate a little about this response of Jesus. Should a follower of Jesus have this in his heart? NO! Jesus came to free us from it, and this was exactly the lesson for them on that day. Jesus also wants to disciple you and me, he wants to make us his followers. To follow means copying the way of thinking, conduct and of lifestyle in every detail. Jesus does not teach us to host evil thoughts in our hearts, nor deaths, tamper both in thinking as in action. Jesus does not teach to steal, take anything that does not belong to us; being possessions, or whatever it is that others own. Scripps or messages we should not steal, that is plagiarism. We must be correct before God. God is righteous and his children carry the same trustworthiness as HE has. We are made righteous through Jesus as he died for us on that cross. We have to be disciplined and trained and taught however to live as Jesus did. The Bible tells us that Jesus learned obedience unto death.

Let us quote some verses about obedience here:

Jesus learned obedience. Hebrews 5: 8 "Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which He suffered."

2 Corinthians 7:15 "And his inward affection is more abundant toward you, whilst he remembereth the obedience of you all, how with fear and trembling ye received him."  (KJV)

2 Corinthians 10: 5 "Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;" (KJV)

Peter as well as the other disciples learned to be obedient unto Jesus. Every disciple must learn to listen and practice what Jesus teaches. Me and you too, amen?

God bless us.

Miss. Antonina Penner.

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[i] http://biblehub.com/context/matthew/15-7.htm

2nd Lesson about Peter

Learning how to follow Jesus by Faith and not by sight only.

 

Today we are bringing you another study about the life of Peter. He was one of the disciples that Jesus called to follow him and became a fisher of men. Much has been talked about Peter, and today we are here to talk about this man aswell. Jesus called him to be one of the twelve apostles; which would start the church of Jesus here on earth. The twelve received their call, just as you and I did aswell. I believe there are many lessons we can learn from  Peter's life.
As far as  I know  about temperaments that humans have;  Peter was a coleric leader by nature. Having a coleric temperament for a leader is great, because then leading will be easier, the hard part is to subject to another person to lead at the same time.

 

In the Church of Christ, we are ambassadors of His Kingdom; But just as Jesus subjected himself to the Father, so we must to submit to Him.
Mt. 4:18 - "And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers;"
Mt. 8:14 - "And Jesus was come into Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother in bed, and a fever."

Jo. 1: 40.42 - "was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, one of the two who heard John speak, and followed him. And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon, son of Jonas; thou shalt be called Cephas (which means Peter). "

In Mt. 10: 2 we read as follows: - "Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: The first, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; ". Mark 3:13 and Luke 6: 12-16 also describes the same. Jesus made sure to choose the men he would train as apostles. as Jesus called Peter to follow him. Peter left everything and followed him.
I do not know how many of us today, at this point if God appeared in our workplace and said: Follow me! How many would have left our employment, and everything; than rise and follow him? Well, actually Jesus says this to all of us as well. Because Jesus said in another passage that if we keep his Word, we are his disciples. Do you keep the Word of God? To keep here means to live according to the Word of God; and not as you believe it to be right.
John 8:31 "Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples." Jesus makes an emphasis of teaching to stay in the Word of God; and if we do this we will be his disciples. It is easy to criticize Peter as he denied Jesus three times. It is easy to point the finger at others finding errors in them. But what about us? Is it easy for others to find errors when we do not act right before God?
Peter was a human being like you and I, prone to failure and also a courageous man who was facing life without fear. But we see that he had a need to be transformed, just like you and me too.  Let's look at Peter's life a little more.

Peter was:
A fisherman man - before he met Jesus Peter was a fisherman.

A disciple maker - after Jesus call him, he was transformed into a disciple.
A transformed man - Peter needed to be changed, he was a human being - with a sinful nature.
An anointed Man - Peter was anointed by Jesus. Jesus called him, transformed and anointed him for his calling.

Na obedient man and a servant - Peter was obedient to his master Jesus, and served Him until the end of his life.
A man transformed into an apostle - Jesus made Peter one of the 12 apostles.
Equal to every human being, Peter began his journey as someone who had problems, had good talents and was a brave man; however, he needed to be transformed by Jesus. After Jesus called him, Peter started walking by faith. He watched Jesus and he saw that Jesus was not just a prophet; Jesus was different. Peter reached the understanding, given to him by the Almighty that Jesus was the Messiah for whom Israel was waiting.
On another occasion the disciples went with the boat to the other side of the sea, as Jesus commanded them. Jesus came walking upon the water. When Peter saw that he took courage to act upon faith. Please note, he learned that he should act by faith; Jesus had taught this to them. It was for this reason that Peter did so. We read in Matthew 14:28 that Peter decided to walk by faith; let's read the verse: - "And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water."
Let me ask you something, and be sincere. Would you have done what Peter did? Or you would have been on the boat, watching someone who dared to act by faith and walk by faith; without knowing the result of his action, believing that Jesus would take responsibility of the outcome?
And today are we prepared to act by faith and walk by faith, or do we prefer to see and then have faith? Well, I have good news for you if you expect to see first and then act; in this case you are not walking by faith and yes, walking by sight.

 

2 Corinthians 5: 7 ". (For we walk by faith, not by sight)" God wants to disciple us as he did the twelve, including Peter; to learn to walk by faith; and not by sight. We must learn to listen to God and follow his command by Faith. How is faith applied in practicle life? We have two verses in Hebrews 11 that teach us this, we will check.

Hebrews 11: 1,6 "1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen. 6 But without faith it is impossible to please him; . because it is necessary that he who comes to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him ". In verse one it tells us what faith is; and in verse 6 tells us to approach God we need faith. If you put the description of the first verse in the sentence of verse 6 we have the following:
"But without 'the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen' is impossible to please him; because it is necessary that he who comes to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. "Can you see yourself acting like that? Let us learn from Peter to be transformed into a true disciple of Jesus. Amen?

 

 

May the Lord bless us to learn every  step of the way to walk by Faith.

Antonina Penner.

1st lesson =WALK UPON THE WATERS, KEEP YOUR EYES ON JESUS

WALK UPON THE WATERS, KEEP YOUR EYES ON JESUS. WALKING  BY FAITH AND NOT BY SIGHT IS A CHALLENGE THAT ALL OF US NEED TO LEARN.

I want to share a thought with you, that came to my heart while meditating on this passage a few days ago. Read with me: "Immediately He made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowds away. After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray ; and when it was evening, He was there alone.  But the boat was already a long distance from the land, battered by the waves ; for the wind was contrary.  And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea. When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, "It is a ghost !" And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid."Peter said to Him, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." And He said, "Come !" And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!" Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?" When they got into the boat, the wind stopped."Matthew 14:22-32.

The fact that I want to share with you is: Jesus had told them to take the boat and go before him unto the other side. The fishermen know the sea, and are acquainted with the waves and it was their work environment, and in verse 24 says: "But the boat was already a long distance from the land, battered by the waves ; for the wind was contrary," and it does not say here that they were afraid. You see it was a normal and natural scene of which they were accustomed, they all knew the safety that a boat gives them in full fury of the waves. The disciples were in the boat, but says they were not afraid in verse 24. Later when Peter was walking on the waters, the waves were the same as before, but why suddenly did he fear? Jesus gives a reply to him as he stretches his hand to Peter and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? Jesus called him a men of little faith and I believe that the heart of the matter is as follows. The faith and confidence that we have while we are in a situation that is familiar to us is small compared to what we need to walk by faith in something that is known to us. Let´s compare this with the spiritual real where we are required to fully trust in Jesus. It is necessary to have a faith that projects our confidence on the fact that Jesus is in control and we can walk based on this fact in our lives.

Peter did not feel safe because he had never walked on water. He had been on the boat many times and he knew what he could expect while he was on the boat, but if it would tumble over he had to swim. Now Peter was forced to walk by faith and not by sight. Peter had to learn to trust that Jesus had the situation under control, because it was exactly what Peter said at the beginning: If it is you call me to walk upon the waters. While we are on safe ground, it is easy to have faith that we walk well. But, when God challenges us to move up to the step of faith, just walking by faith and not by sight, we fail. This just goes to prove that we are human beings. Peter asked Jesus to take him to a higher level in his walk with him. Jesus actually wanted to teach this to them. To trust when we are safe is not really trusting, in that case we see which is in front of us. Peter had observed Jesus perform miracles, and he understood that when Jesus said I will make you fishers of men, Peter knew that Jesus wanted to train them in the spiritual field.

I believe this was an excellent target to be achieved. What Peter wasn´t aware of the fact that there was something else included which he did not know yet. His faith was still too small for such an adventure. We see later in his life, after Pentecost that Peter learned his lesson well.

The most beautiful part of this passage is the fact that as Jesus took Peter by the han he was safe again. Walking beside Jesus in the same water in which he sank before. It says in verse 32: And when they climbed into the boat, the wind ceased. The wind calmed down only after they entered the boat. Jesus is Lord over the wind as we walk toward him, when we remove our from Him, when we cry out for help to Him, as well as when we return our eyes back to Him. Jesus is Lord always, but sometimes we don´t allow Him to rule in our walk. In Peter´s case, as he returned to the boat with Jesus he realized that we need to allow Jesus to be in control and not our fear. While Peter looked at Jesus and walked in faith that Jesus was in control, he did not sink anymore. This principle also rules your life and mine. Hallelujah. In our walk with the Lord, let´s submit to His Lordship, amen?

In the love of the Lord Jesus:

Miss. Antonina