Kim Clement: "A Season of Multiplication"

March 13, 2012 - From The Matrix:

I see God really doing something on behalf of Israel. I don't know if you know this, so I'll just mention this quickly: It's historical that in the month of March God favored Israel – and when God favored Israel, Israel's enemies would rise up and they'd literally put themselves in a very difficult position. This is what's happening right now. God is favoring Israel. Everybody watching me, say that word out loud – "Favor." Today we have a word from the Lord; that word is favor. I decree favor for you. I proclaim favor for you, not because I feel like doing it, but because we just heard from God, that He has decreed favor over Israel, favor over His Church, favor over His people.

I want to read to you what I read this morning: "I have commanded those I've prepared for battle. I have summoned My warriors to carry out My wrath, those who rejoice in My triumph." In other words, God said to me this morning when I was praying, "I have commanded those that I have prepared for battle." We're not only talking about a physical battle, we're talking about a spiritual battle right now – what's happening in Syria, Iran, and many parts of the world. You're going to see something erupt. God has summoned His warriors (that's you and I) to go out and pray so that you can carry out His judgment against those nations. Think about it. People are prophesying judgment against America, and there are people in America praying for judgment to take place to those who are coming against Israel and against America. Turn your finger somewhere else; point it somewhere else. Stop pointing it to the nation that is blessing the world, even though there is evil also in this nation.

I want to read what else He said to me this morning. I have the Scripture where I saw this: "Listen, a noise in the mountains like that of a great multitude. Listen, an uproar among the kingdoms like nations massing together. The Lord Almighty is mustering an army for war." I have a feeling that Israel is going to be going to war, and I have a feeling that God's going to fight for them very, very quickly. It's going to be suddenly.

He says this: "Terror will seize them." This is speaking about your enemies. "Pain and anguish will grip them. They will writhe like a woman in labor. They will look aghast at each other, their faces aflame. I will punish that part of the world for its evil, for the wicked and their sins, and I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty and will humble the pride of the ruthless."

Elijah Brought the Rain to Israel After 3 1/2 Years of Drought

Do you realize that this "crisis" that we've been in has been approximately 3 1/2 years? It's coming to an end. I'm not contradicting anybody; I'm telling you what I hear. God has plans for America. God has plans for the West; He has plans for the nations of the earth, that His great Gospel would be seen, would be heard, would be tasted of throughout the earth, that His glory would cover the earth as the waters cover the sea, that the knowledge of the glory of God would cover the earth as the waters cover the sea.

I want you to hear what I have to say. I'm hearing many of your internal dialogues: "But, God, I'm hearing it's the end." If you're hearing that, then go with it, but what I'm telling you right now, He has one huge massive outpouring that is about to take place and you'd better be prepared for it! Just like when they came to Elisha and he said, "Even though you're in a valley." They came to Elisha and said, "We've run out of water; our livestock is dying, our soldiers are going to die." And Elisha said, "Go and prepare yourself and begin to dig ditches so that you can contain the water that is going to be coming to you." There wasn't even a trace of rain; there wasn't a cloud in the sky when they went to Elisha saying, "We are stuck. We are about to go into a battle. It's the end for us." Elisha said, "No, you must prepare yourself for an outpouring." So they began to dig big holes and ditches in the ground because the water was going to come, but it wasn't going to come from the sky. It was going to come from Edom. It was going to come from a region of Syria. Listen to what I'm saying to you right now.

God has spoken this before, that our enemies will yield to us what we need. This is a word from God. Please listen to me. Many of you are concerned. You say, "What's happening with Syria? Look at the mothers and the children dying." You know it's wicked. God is bringing it to an end, but there's a word I got years ago that America's enemies will yield to them and they will be prosperous. Their prosperity will not only come from their own soil in America but from their enemies. This is about to happen.

Elijah Went Into Depression After His Greatest Victory

Be strong; hear what I'm saying. We are entering into a whole dimension of multiplication. Say it! Multiplication. Just because you're not experiencing it now doesn't mean that you're not going to multiply. I give you that word. The womb – multiplication in the womb. Do you realize that there are more twins being born now than in the known history of mankind? I prophesied that when that happens, it is a sign of a double portion and it's a sign that God is paying back for the abortions, for the children that were taken. He said, "I'll multiply in the womb." Even in this building, even in this very building, my own staff – they'll see multiplication; they'll see twins in their wombs as well. Why? Because we have seen the enemy steal and kill and destroy, and God said, "We're entering into a season of multiplication." Therefore, if we are, the prophet himself and other prophetic voices have to battle the spirit of depression. In other words, the enemy will attack the voice – the voices – that speak of the future.

"Israel Is Forever": Making Declarations To Israel

March 17, 2012 - From The Den:

"My Kingdom is forever. What I created is forever. Israel is forever. My people are forever. There is eternity in your homes right now. There is eternity in your hearts. The words that I speak," says the Lord, "they are eternal, they are life. Today I will break the power of death; today I will break the power of death. Today I will come into your homes and your lives and I will give you My forever, My power, My light, My life, My peace, My love," says the Lord. Lift your voice and give Him praise!

"By a prophet I protected Israel. By My prophetic word, Israel was preserved. It has not changed. I sent My Word; My Word became flesh and dwelt amongst them. That Word is now being spoken out. The prophetic Word shall preserve Israel. For they shall laugh; there will be joy as I bring resources. There will be shouts from the warriors, and they will say, 'Our bloody boots and our bloody garments shall be used as fuel for the fire that shall consume our enemies.'" This is the word of the Lord to you, people of the Living God.

"You will have protection, supernatural intervention from the Lord Most High.

"For a moment," the Lord says, "I covered My face. For a moment I covered My face. For a moment I covered My face and turned. I was watching a lonely, rugged soul on a mountain – Calvary. I had turned away from My Son, from Israel, and then I received the sacrifice. Now, I watch over My people, the redeemed of the Lord, never to cover My face again. The veil has been torn; the veil has been rent. The veil has been torn. The veil is torn so that you could come in."

Kim Clement
Prophetic Image Expressions
Email: hope@kimclement.com

The Self-Refuting Expert Witness The Orlando Sentinel Is Touting

Back on the Trayvon Martin killing audio expert Tom Owen is getting good press with his claim (broken by the Orlando Sentinel) that it is not George Zimmerman heard screaming for help on a 911 call.  Here are CBS, CNN, MSNBC, Mediaite and the Boston Herald.
I squawked that other experts would question that conclusion - a good forensic audio match requires examples of speech similar to the sounds being compared.  So using George Zimmerman's spoken voice on his 911 call and comparing that to the screams heard in the background of a second 911 call would be a no-no.
Interestingly, in describing his techniques at his website, we see that Tom Owen agrees (my emphasis):

JustOneMinute: The Self-Refuting Expert Witness The Orlando Sentinel Is Touting

God has a Biblical Mandate for Skill Development

If you needed life-saving surgery, which would you prefer – a skillful pagan with an evil eye for profit or an incompetent Christian with integrity of heart for service?

Do you think the Lord accepts this either/or dilemma? Absolutely not! I believe the Lord wants His servants to have skillful hands that are controlled by hearts of integrity.

I believe He wants His representatives to be the best in their respective fields. I believe He wants His people to be the most skilled at whatever He has called them to do for Him. I believe He sees the quality of our workmanship as a reflection on Him.

This word translated skilled means extraordinary expertise in an area.

Does this surprise anyone that the Lord wants us to be extraordinarily skilled in whatever He has called us to do? We understand that 2 Timothy 3:16-17 asserts that the Bible has all the truth that the man of God needs to accomplish his work for God. But we also all the facts or instruction that the man of God needs to accomplish his work for God. The “craftsmanship,” the “skills” required for your line of work will no doubt require additional education, training, instruction, and practice. The Christian does not ignore or avoid secular training (read Proverbs 14:33), but he does evaluate it and apply it in accordance with biblical principles.

The definition of wisdom is skillful living in accordance with Biblical truth. Wise Christians should seek to become exceptionally skilled in their profession, but they must discipline themselves to apply these skills in accordance with God’s Word. In a sense, the skills are amoral – neither moral nor immoral. It is the application that determines the morality. For example, the skills that the Lord gave the craftsmen to work with gold for the building of the tabernacle were the same skills used to make the golden calf idol.

The skills themselves are amoral; it is the application that determines their morality. God and the world looks for and honors those with SKILL...not knowledge alone.

King David had Skills
Psalm 78:72
72 So he shepherded them according
to the integrity of his heart, And
guided them with his skillful hands.

People with Skills receive honor
Proverbs 22:29
29 Do you see a man skilled in his
work? He will stand before kings; he
will not stand before obscure men.

People with Skills are Critical to the Kingdom
Exodus 35:30-35, 36:2
30 Then Moses said to the sons of
Israel, “See the Lord has called by
name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son
of Hur, of the tribe of Judah,
31 and He has filled him with the
Spirit of God, in wisdom, in
understanding and in knowledge and
in all craftsmanship;
32 to make designs for working in
gold and in silver and in bronze …
34 He has also put in his heart to
teach …
35 He has filled them with skill to
perform every work of an engraver
and of a designer …
36:2 Then Moses called Bezalel and
Oholiab and every skillful person in
whom the Lord put skill, everyone
whose heart stirred him, to come to
the work to perform it.

Skill is a Biblical mandate for Excellence

The Lesson here is Don't seek Education, seek Skills; Don't seek Certification, Seek Skills; Don't Seek a diploma, Seek Skills. Sure you need those other things, but if you go to school get a diploma and still have no skill to sell you will remain on the sidelines and remain as unemployed as everyone else.

Garris Elkins: The Leadership Pendulum

I remember the first time I heard a concept that I knew was a leadership principle. At the time I was in my 20s and studying for the ministry. A wise leader said the Church is like a pendulum – it is constantly swinging back and forth to find a place of balance. As the years have gone by I've come to realize that this pendulum never stops, but continues to swing from side to side as the Church enters and departs different seasons of life and development.

I have lived long enough to see the Church change and transition over time. I have seen the pendulum swing widely through areas of understanding in gender roles, the ministry of the Spirit, interpretations of God's sovereignty and a host of other issues.

This continuous motion of the pendulum is not because God is unsettled, or even that the Church is neurotic; it is because from our viewpoint we only see things in part, not the whole, and all of us are on a constant search for balance.

This is how the Church moves forward – we advance by reconciling imbalance. Someone once told me that the very act of walking is linked to a series of movements that have us seeking balance with each new step. To walk forward we need to let go of our last foothold and pass through a swinging gait of imbalance to gain a new balanced foothold.

The pendulum of the Church continues to swing because in any given moment we are out of balance in our current understanding about what God is doing upon the earth. I am not saying what we currently understand is wrong – it is simply not yet fully developed, no matter how mature we think we are. There is always more than we are seeing in any given moment.

Our tendency is to park our comprehension of God and His Kingdom somewhere along the timeline of certain events or revelations that we have experienced. When this happens we begin to build our concept of ministry around that stationary observation. The outcome of this way of thinking is that we actually stop growing and learning. Narrow vision sets in and we begin to view life and ministry with the blinders on. From this stationary posture we can begin to construct a defensive compound from which to protect our limited understanding against any perceived change from outside our position.

Motion Means You Are Alive

The pendulum has been swinging throughout the entire history of the Church. I think this is actually God's plan. Growing things are never static. Motion means you are alive.

Just when I think I fully understand a point of theology, or how the Church should be led, or what the best model is for doing church on Sunday morning, God will lovingly take me to a wider and more expanded view of what He is accomplishing in His people. He does this by showing me the smallness of what I have chosen to see. Realizing the smallness of my own vision allows me to repent and begin live in greater humility and see the value of differing opinions than the one I hold.

Realizing we don't know all things keeps us open to expanding our circle of fellowship to include others who may not process life like us. A willingness to admit my limited understanding deconstructs the pride that comes when I think I fully see and understand all that is happening along the swinging arc of the pendulum.

I have learned a few things as I have watched this swinging pendulum of understanding within the Church.

I have learned that I need to be careful to not capture and define what I think God is doing mid-swing in the pendulum arc and build a definition around that limited understanding. The leaders I observe, who lead from a place of peace, are not trying to get the pendulum to stop so they can define something. These leaders step back and watch the pendulum from a distance and try to anticipate in what direction God is taking His Church and then begin to move their lives and ministries in that direction.

I have learned that it is wise to resist the urge to park our understanding anywhere along the arc of a developing principle. At the point where we park we become irrelevant in our ability to engage developing realities and emerging generations of leadership. To finish well means that we must remain mobile in the way we think about our lives and ministries so that past seasons don't define us.

I have learned that the older a person gets the more the desire surfaces to return to "the good old days." This desire must be seen as a warning that we are not engaging the moment. We all have preferences and life-experiences that warm our hearts. They were never intended to lead us, rather, they are to be stones of remembrance left behind along the trail of our developing journey. The destination is always out in front.

Finally, I have learned that the pendulum is a teacher. Too many times I have felt I had some current issue all figured out and then God had me sit in front of the swinging pendulum and simply watch. As I watched, I realized that some of what I thought ten years ago I no longer processed the same way today. Those people and ministries I disapproved of years ago are now closer in thought and fellowship to me than ever before. The swinging pendulum has taught me to let go of snap judgments and it has freed me to wait a while until the pendulum swings back my way with a new and clearer understanding of what is taking place in the Church.

Garris Elkins, Senior Leader
Living Waters Church - Medford, Oregon
Email: prophetichorizons@gmail.com

Spiritual Contracts by Os Hillman

"In the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the Lord given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years." - Daniel 9:2

When you enter a legal contract, it binds the two parties to fulfill the terms of that contract. In Heaven there are legal contracts that, when fulfilled, allow the spiritual to impact the physical.

Israel had been in captivity to Babylon for 70 years. Daniel, when he investigated the history of his nation, found the prophecy of Jeremiah, which revealed there would be 70 years of captivity. He recognized that in order to release his nation from this captivity, there had to be a confession of sin on the part of the nation. Daniel took that responsibility. Although he could not personally repent for his nation, he could acknowledge their sin and repent himself. When Daniel acknowledged this sin before God, something took place in Heaven. God heard this prayer and responded by sending His angel Gabriel to Daniel's side.

We know from history that this was the time when Judah's return from exile began. Daniel's prayer of confession was the spiritual key to the physical manifestation of releasing the nation from captivity to Babylon.

Whenever you want to confront spiritual forces that have dominion over a situation, you must find the source of the problem. Once you find the source of the problem, you must take the necessary steps in the spiritual realm to release God's power into that situation. For Daniel, it meant taking responsibility for the sin of the nation by confessing its sins and asking forgiveness on behalf of the entire nation. This allowed God to begin the process of releasing the nation.

Ask God to show you the source of the problems that may exist in your city, your work, or people you want to see freed to fulfill God's purposes for their lives.

Today God Is First (TGIF) devotional message, Copyright by Os Hillman, Marketplace Leaders.

We are Missing the Signs of the TIMES

This is not a word on Escatology, it is a word on what things will look like as our times, our age comes to a close. As we approach the great time of troubles. Not the Tribulation, Jacobs Trouble. Out of this painful transition will come the most powerful move of God by His Spirit ever manifested on the earth. False religions will fade away. Even hardened unbelievers will be faced with undeniable truth. God will be glorified...every knee will bow, even if they don't want to. It will be painful to every man, woman and child on the earth...but there is a reason:

"Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof. . . . They have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.

Friday night when I was preaching I said this truth, when you hear or read a prophecy, it is future history. There is no timeline...there is no clock. It just is out there. Like a time bomb with a stopped clock. One day the clock begins to count down. And then the prophetic bomb goes off when the Kairos moment clicks down to Zero.

There are signs that we are seeing the clock begin to move toward the great reset.

They are all scriptural. YET --- None of them have to do with the nation of Israel. None have to do with Russia, Syria, Ethiopia or Libya. None have to do with signs in the heavens. None have to do with the mark of the beast. In fact, even if the book of Revelation and Daniel were not in the canon, we have enough information from the other 64 books of the Bible about the indicators of this coming transformation to proclaim, it is at the door. The end of the age is upon us.

Much of the information about the end of this age, the time of the Gentiles, is related to the church. The Church is a canary in the mine-shaft. Ask yourself this, are these signs evident?

Are people offended at Jesus and one another in the Church?

And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.

Are there a lot of strange myths and old wives tales in the Church?

¹ The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. ² Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. ³ They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. ⁴ For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, ⁵ because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.

⁶ If you point these things out to the brothers and sisters,^[a] you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, nourished on the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed. ⁷ Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly.

Are Churches pretty much powerless... a form sure, but without any impact on the culture?

They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that! 2 Timothy 3:5

Are there false prophets, evangelists, teachers, pastors and apostles?

And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.

Are people who claim to know Jesus being led astray by winds of false reports and doctrines?

many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

Have many "Church" services deteriorated into entertainment called worship and preaching that is for the most part a pretty good motivational or comedy routine? Little real demonstration of the power of signs and wonders of Christ and Him Crucified.

1 Corinthians 2

¹ And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.^{[c] 2} For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. ³ I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. ⁴ My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, ⁵ so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.

God’s Wisdom Revealed by the Spirit

⁶ We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. ⁷ No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. ⁸ None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

Are Churches substantially void of the Holy Spirit's leading, influence and manifestation other than tongues?

1 Corinthians 14

Have many Church Leaders become little Kings? They live like royalty, expect honor? Expect a fall.

"Thus saith the Lord God; Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: . . . exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high. I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until He come whose right it is; and I will give it Him." Ezekiel 21:26, 27.

IS there a fearful spirit in most churches or Faith? Are people really ready for this change?

"And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken." Luke 21:25-26

Are so called churches embracing sin, homosexuality, same sex marriage and winking at all kind of sinful behavior because they don't want to run off a good tithe or server?

"This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away." 2 Timothy 3:1-5

Are Christians hated, despised and ridiculed because of their faith in Jesus. In some countries are they put to death for their faith?

Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.

Are some teachers of the Bible denying that he will ever come back? That the world is going to just go on and on and on and on without change?

"Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as [they were] from the beginning of the creation.

For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:

Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:

But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men." 2 Peter 3:3-7

Have Christians become foul mouthed, is there a constant barrage of obscenity on TV, Movies and other places? Have Christians become immune to this verbal insult and become hardened? Is entertainment, even sports destroying some Christian's conversation, testimony and heart?

Foul Speech is a Sign of the Last Days
"as it was in the days of Lot" Luke 17:28

The Bible indicates that one of the sins of Sodom was that of impure speech.

"And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned [them] with an overthrow, making [them] an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly; And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked:" 2 Peter 2:7-8

For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. 2 Timothy 3:2

Has Christian love been strained...even lately? Are we really ready to put aside our need to be understood and to try to understand?

And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

Have we hit TILT on Christian TV and Radio in the USA? Instead of spending all the money and energy on US TV, we need to use the tools we have including the internet to spread the Word.

"And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. " Matthew 24:14

Almost all of these signs are happening in the CHURCH. It's a sign of the end of this current age. The CHURCH that has the Name of Jesus on the door but with these manifestations are over. There are many more sign; if you are a Bible Student, you can find a hundred more. Since that is the case, God in his mercy must shut down these churches that are so far from the core purposes of God. You see it happening everywhere. The altars of BAAL are being torn down in many churches. When it is, the church collapses because it needed that BAAL altar to survive. There are two altars in many churches. One that allegedly is in worship to the Living God. The other that is in worship to BAAL. They way you know is how they treat money, how they preach prosperity, how they honor the wealthy, how they use the money that comes to them. The church where the leader is living more than 50% above his congregations aggregate lifestyle is one that is in line for judgement from God. The way God will do this is to bankrupt ministry after ministry to demonstrate that His provision is suffiecient IF the Church will grasp the truth of the Matter.

The other sign of the end is the emphasis that exists in many Churches. How they manifest who they really are. We, you and I are the body of Christ on the earth right now. We live for our brief time doing the work of the Kingdom. We have assignments. Some are offices, Some are callings, some are services, some are mercies. It's only by the Power of the Holy Spirit that these things take place. The Holy Spirit is the presence of God among us. When well meaning pastors speak of how the presence of God was manifest in a service, they really mean the saints were all in one accord, and the Holy Spirit was expressed. The problem is, that isn't enough. If we go to church, jump and shout, holler and hoot and then walk out to live our lives without the recognition that we are the only voice God has on earth right now by the Spirit of God. We are the only hands, the only feet, the only ears, the only heart. When we believe God to do something sovereignly that He wants us to do by His power invested in us by Holy Spirit, we are violating the system Father put in place when Jesus said, "It is good for you that I go away". IF we pray but do nothing we have taken the gift God has placed in us and neutered it. It's akin to taking the name of the Lord in Vain.

If you are a senior leader in a church or fellowship, consider carefully, is your church a manifestation of the Kingdom of God, or is it a sign of the end of the age?

"The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

[Seeing] then [that] all these things shall be dissolved, what manner [of persons] ought ye to be in [all] holy conversation and godliness, 2 Peter 3:9-10

John Belt: Crossing Through the Threshold of Destiny

Through the Eyes of Eternity
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations. Jeremiah 1:5 NKJV
Before Peter was anything in the eyes of man, God saw him through the eyes of eternity. He saw Peter through the finished work of Christ. Peter stepped into a realm of who he truly was when he received the revelation that Jesus was the Christ. Peter tasted of some of that reality in this moment. Yet there was still quite a work to be done in his heart. There was a breaking of the soul that had to occur to bring him into a place where he could cross over into another place of divine entrustment.

A Hard Place

Then Jesus said to them, "All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: 'I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.' But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee." Peter answered and said to Him, "Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble." Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times." Matthew 26:31-34 NKJV
As we know, Peter did deny Christ three times. Jesus told him that it would happen. Peter denied it would happen. The crushing came when it did happen. After it happened, I'm sure he thought everything was over. He had just denied the Person he most believed in, the Person he had left everything to follow. In his own mind, even if Jesus were to rise from the dead, Peter felt he had blown it beyond repair.
After his personal disappointment he went back to fishing. This is where Jesus found him. Yet, Peter was not the same man as he was before he met Jesus. He could not fish like he used to, his heart was heavy. Great sorrow and regret overwhelmed Peter in such a way that he came to the realization that if he was to be the person that God had called him to be, it was not going to happen but for the grace of God. He had finally lost trust in his own strength.
We have the account in the Book of John where Jesus asks Peter "Do you love Me?" three times. The word love in the Greek – the first two times he is asked is the word "agape," the deepest from of love. The last time Jesus used the word "phileo." This is a downgraded version of love that would be the equivalent of friendship.

You Got It

Then Jesus tells Peter that when he was young he could go and do whatever he wanted, but not so any longer. Peter had now crossed through a threshold of destiny. In a sense, Jesus graduated him into a new place of responsibility and entrustment. Something was sealed that day. Jesus was saying to Peter, "Your response is good enough," from now on things will be different. We see God's grace at work here. God was not waiting for Peter to be perfect. Jesus sees that Peter finally got it.
Peter had come to a place in his heart of no return. Peter had previously been given authority over demons, to go and heal the sick, and demonstrate the Kingdom. This was now a new level of life in God that had been prepared for Him. True sons are not those who just demonstrate the Kingdom of God with signs, wonders and miracles, but also allow the work of God in their hearts to deliver them from spiritual superficiality.
And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 2 Corinthians 12:9 NKJV
It was the honesty, transparency and utter dependence that God was looking for. Jesus brought him back to a place of restoration and graduation. Peter had to realize his own weakness. He had to know that apart from Jesus he could not do a thing. Now he had a revelation that was just as needed as knowing that Jesus was the Messiah. It is only when we find that we are completely in need of the Lord that we are able to be His vessel. Peter came into such a revelation.

A Common Theme

It is very comparable to the life of Jacob – Jacob, the supplanter and deceiver. His encounter also involved a rock. It also involved revelation. It also involved the wrestling with God to where he became weak to lean on God's strength. Jacob had to face his own personal issues with the help of God. It was then that he began to walk as "Israel." Jacob crossed over the threshold of destiny, moving into the place of God's promise. He graduated with a new name, a new nature, with a new authority with God. For he wrestled with God and prevailed.
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10 NKJV
Our lives are the same. We come to the Lord in a place of believing and following. Then there is a deeper work that God must do in us to be mature, prepared vessels that are suitable for His work. When He finds the virtues of life that make a heart ready for His use within us, then we are in a ripe place for His purposes.
Overflowing blessings,
John Belt
Live In His Presence Ministries
Email: admin@liveinhispresence.com