Matthew 16:13-17
When Jesus came into the coasts of caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.
He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, Son of the living God.
And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
When Jesus asked His disciples the all-important question: "Who do you say that I am?" Peter immediately spoke up, declaring, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!" Notice how Jesus responded to Peter's bold statement: "Flesh and blood -- human intellect -- didn't reveal that to you, Peter. My Father in Heaven revealed the truth of who I really am to you."
Human intellect can't reveal the truth of God's Word to a person's heart. Yet, in many churches today, people are having God's Word "revealed" to them through the mind. Week after week, they listen to little sermonettes about Jesus, but the Spirit of God has never really revealed to their hearts who Jesus really is. They simply know about Him in their heads.
If you were to walk down the street today asking people who Jesus is, some of them might say, "Jesus was a prophet." Other might say, "He was a man who died on a cross." As people began to talk, you would be able to tell which ones really knew who Jesus is. Every Christian you asked would answer, "Jesus is my Lord and Savior."
You see, when we get a revelation of who Jesus really is, He becomes more to us than "a man who died on a cross." He becomes the risen Savior who is also ministering today on our behalf (Rom 8:34; Heb. 7:25)
Jesus Is All You Need!
When we begin to really understand who Jesus is, we realize that He is everything we need in any situation. Through His death, burial, and resurrection, Jesus became a Father to the orphan and a Husband to the widow. He became a Friend to the lonely and friendless, a Physician to the sick, a Counselor to the confused, a Banker to the poor, and a Compass to the traveler trying to find his way in life. Jesus became the Bright and Morning Star who lights the path of those walking in darkness. He became the Healer of every sickness, the Deliverer from every bad habit, and the Savior from every sin!
Many people accept Jesus as Savior, but that's as far as they ever go. That's the only revelation knowledge of Jesus they ever receive -- that He saved them.
We need to continually thank God for salvation! Without it, we would never live in Heaven or have life more abundantly (John 10:10). But in order to enjoy the abundant life that Jesus has provided for us, we need a fuller revelation of who Jesus really is.
Jesus is so much more than just the One who saved us from our sins. He's the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. He is the One who was, is, and is coming again!
Jesus is the One whom Herod couldn't destroy. He's the One the devil couldn't entice to sin and the grave couldn't hold. Jesus is the One who rose from the grave as our Victor. And He's the One whom God highly exalted and gave a Name above every name!
When Jesus spoke, the blind could see, the lame could walk, the deaf could hear, and the dumb could speak. Why? Because Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God! When you begin to get the revelation of all that Jesus is, you will realize that He is everything you will ever need.
The best way for us to get to know Jesus is through reading the Bible. The Word of God was written to reveal Jesus to us. The Old Testament prophets spoke of the Messiah's coming; the Gospels give the account of Jesus's life, death, burial, and resurrection; and the Epistles tell us how to live in His victory.
The Bible is clear, yet because of religious tradition, many believers have a confused idea about who Jesus is. So if they're ever going to really know and understand who Jesus is, the truth will have to revealed to them by the Holy Spirit, just as it was to Peter.
Matthew 16:17
17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but MY FATHER which is in heaven.
Notice in this verse that Jesus said the truth of who He is was revealed to Peter by God the Father. You see, at that particular time, the Holy Spirit hadn't been sent from Heaven yet (John 16:7). He came to earth after Jesus ascended to Heaven and took His place at the Father's right hand. Now the Holy Spirit, who is called the Spirit of Truth, reveals to us the truth of who Jesus really is.
You can read books or listen to ministers preach about all the things Jesus can be to you (just as I am doing in this article). But the knowledge of who Jesus is must be made real on the inside of you -- in your spirit. So if you're simply trying to know Jesus with your mind, you will never know Him in the fullness of all that He is.
Once the full impact of who Jesus is has been revealed to your spirit by the Holy Spirit, the first thing you'll think of when you face an obstacle is what Jesus is to you. The Holy Spirit will bring to your remembrance the different scriptures that talk about who Jesus is and what He has done for you.
There are so many scriptures that reveal who Jesus is and what He accomplished while clothed in humanity. But what we read in the Word of God isn't even a drop in the bucket compared to all the things Jesus did while on this earth. John said that Jesus performed so many miracles "... if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written..." (John 21:25). That's a lot of books!
Think about this for a moment. Most libraries house thousands of books, yet all those book don't even fill up the buildings. But John said if everything Jesus did was written about, the entire world wouldn't be big enough to contain the books! And Jesus didn't have sixty or seventy years to accomplish all those wonderful miracles. He only ministered on the earth for approximately three and a half years!
Some people live to be a hundred years old, but if you were to write down everything they accomplished in their lives, it wouldn't even take up thirty-two pages, much less volume after volume. Jesus Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords, is definitely Someone who is worth getting to know!
Almost everyone would like to get to know at least one famous person. People crowd around celebrities trying to get their autographs. Some people even decorate the walls of their homes with autographed pictures of celebrities. But do they have the "image" and "autograph" of Jesus, not just hanging on a wall in their homes, but eternally engraved on their hearts?
It's fine to show respect and admiration for a person, but there's only one autograph that I want to make sure I have: I have the Name of Jesus autographed across my spirit! And I want to make sure that the image of Jesus is seen in my life!
Not only must you come to know in your heart who Jesus is, but you must also know who you are in Christ. The Word of God says you are more than a conqueror because you have a mighty Deliverer (Rom. 8:37).
I thank God for the knowledge of who we are in Christ. But I think some people have taken that knowledge too far and have gotten over into pride. They say, "Look at what I've done" or "Look at what I've accomplished" -- but the truth is , "I" didn't do one thing!
Jesus Is Worthy of Praise
All you have achieved and all you possess in life is because of Jesus Christ. So never lose sight of that face, and always remain humble. Don't get "puffed up" and start thinking of yourself more highly than you ought.
It's time we realized that God, and only God, is responsible and deserves all the praise for the great blessings we enjoy. We must also remember that there's a world that is lost, dying, and going to hell. Now that we've found out who Jesus is and what He can and will do for us, let's go tell the world!
My heart's desire is to see people all over the world delivered and set free by the power of Jesus. I believe it an happen because Mark 9:23 says, "... If thou canst believe, ALL things are possible to him that believeth."
A man once asked me, "Are you simple enough to believe that all things are possible to him that believes?" So I told him, "Yes, I am simple enough to believe exactly that!" This man was showing his ignorance, because smart people know who Jesus is and believe what the Word of God says about Him. If this man had any thoughts of changing my mind, he came too late, because I know who Jesus is! I know what Jesus can and will do for me. I know HIm as my Comforter, Healer, and Deliverer.
I also came to know Jesus as my Protector while ministering in Africa several years ago. Another minister and I arrived in Kenya late one night when a rainstorm forced us to land short of our destination. We tried to call the pastor in Soweto., South Africa, with whom we were working to arrange other transportation, but we couldn't reach him. Since we had to be at his church by morning, we loaded our luggage, got into a taxicab, and took off.
What my friend and I didn't know was that during this period of time, tourists in that area had been known to get into taxicabs, never to be seen again!
When the pastor found out that we had taken a taxi, he called his congregation together, and they began to pray for our safety. But my friend and I had already agreed in prayer before we left on the trip. We prayed Psalm 91 and claimed in the Name of Jesus that no harm would overtake us and that no plague would come nigh us while we were in Africa -- and God answered our prayer and protected us!
Victory In Jesus
May be you've never been in a position in which you had to find out whether or not you really believed God. When you're in a situation like that, you'll find out if you really believe the Word of God is true. If you really know that Jesus is your Deliverer, He will deliver you -- and He will take care of everything that belongs to you too!
For example, on the same trip to Africa, my friend had brought along a very expensive camera. Unfortunately, he lift it in the taxicab that we took, but he didn't realize it until the next day. When we told the pastor about it, he sent one of his staff members to hopefully recover it, and the minister he sent came back with that camera! Anyone who rides in taxicabs anywhere these days will tell you, that in itself -- was a miracle of God.
When you know Jesus as your Protector, that's what He will be for you. He will protect you and your property; but you have to believe it.
When the minister left to go find my friend's camera, someone said, "Oh, you'll probably never get it back." So I boldly said, "We'll get it!" Then the pastor and I agreed in prayer == and we got it back!
To let you know just how much of a miracle this really was, you need to know that there are hundreds of taxis in Africa, and many of them are painted the same color. They all look the same. We didn't know our taxi driver's name, the number of the taxi, or the name of the taxicab company. But somehow, that minister found him! And when he did, the driver told him, "I've been protecting this camera because I knew someone would come looking for it."
Now all of this was unusual. But do you know why it happened? The Spirit and the power of God took care of me, my friend, and our belongings. As I said earlier, my friend and I had prayed for protection in the Name of Jesus. And God granted our prayer request just as Jesus said He would.
John 16:23,24
23 And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it to you.
24 Hitherto [until now] have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be [made] full.
There's no joy when you lose your property. There's no joy when you're sick. There's no joy when adverse circumstances come upon you. That's why Jesus said when you ask God for something in His Name that He would give it to you so your joy would be full! Hallelujah!
Many people have no joy because they always go around talking about what the devil is doing: "The devil is doing this. The devil is doing that. The devil had been after me." Well, what's so surprising about that? The Bible says the devil goes around as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8)
But I'm not interested in talking about what the devil is doing. I'm only interested in talking about Jesus Christ. I know who Jesus is, and I'll tell everyone I can about what He's done for them.
As long as you talk about what the devil is doing, he will hang around you like a little dog, wagging his tail, because you're feeding his ego. But just start talking about God and what Jesus has done to the devil, and the devil will leave in a hurry (James 4:7)! Why? Because Satan will realize that you really do know who Jesus is. And when you get a revelation of all that Jesus is, the devil can't defeat you.
Because of who Jesus is, we can experience victory over everything that would try to hinder us from living a full, abundant life. Look at what Paul said in Romans 8:38 and 39:
Romans 8:38,39
38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
According to his passage of Scripture, there is nothing that can keep us from receiving the good things of God as long as we know who Jesus is and call upon His Name.
That's so important to understand, because sometimes when we need help, we don't have time to pray. We may only have time to cry our, "Jesus!" But the moment we call on His Name, He moves on our behalf.
Power in Jesus' Name
By way of illustration, when I was in thy United States Army, I was stationed in Taiwan. One day, my buddies and I took a motorcycle trip through the mountains. My motorcycle was smaller than the ones the rest of my friends were riding.
That evening, we came down through a mountain pass where a strong wind was blowing, riding at a speed of sixty to sixty-five miles per hour. We probably shouldn't have been going that fast, but we were. And because I sat so tall on that little motorcycle, my center of gravity at such a fast speed was way off balance.
Well, when I came around a corner, the wind hit me and I felt myself sliding toward the edge of the mountain. I started kicking gears and stomping my feet, trying to push the motorcycle back, but nothing helped. Then when my back tire skidded off the edge, I didn't have time to pray -- all I had time to say was "Jesus!" And when I did, the next thing I knew, I was shooting back up over the edge of the mountain and across the road. Then I safely came to a stop.
My friends had all stopped their motorcycles and turned around. They rode over to where I was and aimed their headlights at the section of road where I nearly lost control. We could see where the skid marks from my back tire ran off the edge of the mountain. I don't know exactly what happened, but I believe that when I called on the Name of Jesus, God reached down with His mighty hand. And when that wheel slid off the edge, He just gave it a nudge, pushing me back onto the road. You see, there's power in the Name of Jesus.
All you have to do is call on the Name of Jesus, and your situation will change. The devil can't stand against the Name of Jesus. So speak Jesus' Name in faith. You never have to be defeated by the devil again because Jesus defeated the devil and set you free!
Jesus Christ of Nazareth is the Son of the living God! If you don't know Jesus the way you should -- if you don't know the fullness of who He really is == it's time to change that. Make it your highest priority to get acquainted with Jesus. Let Him become everything you could ever need!
extract from Kenneth Hargin Ministry's Word of Faith Monthly Free Magazine.
