Christ IN Me Cannot Fail!

“He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 16:16-19 NKJ

From the day of our salvation until the day we go to heaven we are being transformed into the person God has called us to be. For all of us we have moments of great revelation and moments of incredible doubt throughout this transforming process. Some days we identify ourselves with the Apostles when they preached the Gospel unashamedly and other days we identify ourselves with the Apostles when they failed. But it is important that we constantly remind ourselves that God always identifies us as the rock on which He will build His church and the ones He has given the keys of the kingdom of heaven to! We may falter and fail in our humanness, but Christ IN us never fails or gets discouraged! (Isaiah
42:4a)

When Jesus asked the disciples who people said He was Peter was the first to proclaim He was the Christ, the Son of God. Instantly Jesus commends Peter and then tells him he is the rock on which He will build His church and tells him He will give him the keys to the Kingdom. Then He gives him authority to bind and loose things on earth with the promise that whatever he binds and looses on earth will be bound and loosed in heaven. Peter must have felt pretty amazing at that point but his feelings didn’t last because right after that encounter is when Jesus told the disciples what He would suffer and Peter countered Him. During this interaction Jesus rebukes Peter! Imagine how he must have felt then?

And we all remember the time Peter had great faith and walked on water when Jesus called to him. He must have felt pretty incredible in that moment but again that moment didn’t last! For as soon as he took his eyes off Jesus and doubted he began to sink and Jesus had to save him. Then at Jesus’ betrayal Peter must have felt incredibly powerful when he drew his sword because he knew Jesus had given him authority, but imagine what he felt like when Jesus healed the soldier’s ear!

Now let’s look at the encounter Peter had with Jesus at the last supper as recorded in Luke 22:28-34. “But you are those who have continued with Me in My trials. And I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one upon Me, that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.” But he said to Him, “Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death.” Then He said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster shall not crow this day before you will deny three times that you know Me.”

And what Jesus said to Peter came true. But can you imagine what must have been going through Peter’s mind during this encounter and directly following it when he did deny Jesus three times? He must have felt like a complete failure! But did that stop him from running into the tomb at the word of Jesus’ resurrection? No! He ran to witness it for himself! And in the years following Jesus’ ascension Peter’s life was a rollercoaster of faith and failure, even to the point of in his death demanding he was crucified upside down because he didn’t feel worthy to die as Jesus died. Yet in all of Peter’s times of fluctuation Jesus NEVER failed in fulfilling His promises for Peter’s life! Why? Because, Christ IN us never fails or gets discouraged, even when we do!

In renewing our minds to the truth of who we are IN Christ we have to remind ourselves of the truth of who Christ is IN us! We will falter, fail, and become discouraged throughout the transforming process but that NEVER changes who Christ IN us is and it never disqualifies us from fulfilling God’s plan for our lives! He NEVER falters or fails! And He is the One who has chosen to build His church on the Rock of Himself IN us! And the gates of hell cannot prevail against it, even when we falter or fail! The keys to the kingdom of heaven belong to Christ and Christ IN us uses them to unlock the Kingdom blessings for us as we renew our minds to who we are IN Him and who He is IN us! And it is Christ who sits at the right hand of God and intercedes and petitions on our behalf; knowing that whatever He binds on earth IN us will be bound in heaven IN Him.

Our lives of transformation have never been and never will be about us and our ability to perform perfectly the plan of God. For this is an impossible feat! It has always been and will always be about Christ IN us who performs His Word to perfect IN us the plan of God in building His church on the Solid Rock of His foundation! It is in understanding this where we will be able to think, speak, and act boldly in the ministry we have been called to while we are still on earth as the disciples did. Remember that Christ IN you is the hope of glory! So when you falter or fail believe by faith that Jesus prays for you the way He prayed for Peter so that your faith will not fail! This will enable you to return to Him in your thoughts and empower you to strengthen your brothers and sisters IN Christ with the Gospel truth after you have returned to Him. It will also empower you to preach the Gospel unashamedly to the unsaved world as the disciples did!

Prayer: In coming to understand who I am IN you renew my mind to who You are IN me so that I can embrace the fullness of the Gospel that You have placed IN me. Help me in areas of unbelief when I falter and fail so I believe by faith that Christ IN me is the hope of glory! Give me wisdom to understand that You never fail or become discouraged even when I do. And help me to renew my mind to the truth that You perfect Your Word IN me to fulfill Your plan for my life! Amen