... Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.

Jesus called him 'blessed', because he was 'blessed by God' with the revelation knowledge that Jesus Christ was indeed the Messiah, was indeed the son of God Himself.... Matthew 16:17-18 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. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

In saying this Jesus revealed that there is a personal, deeper and hidden source of knowledge, of knowing Who He is, of knowing Him personally, than by the kind of mere intellectual knowledge that one receives by merely reading the Bible about Him, or reading books about Him, or even from hearing others who know Him personally.

This is where - "Upon This Rock!" - the Word of God shows us - Exactly WHO Jesus is - where in turn it is this revelation that makes Him become alive and real to us! It is in our hearing (with eyes to see) or seeing (with ears to hear) this kind of heavenly knowledge of Who Jesus is that carries a knockout punch with it bringing the kind of visible grace that instills the invisible faith to the receiver of it. Whereas the world walks by the things that are seen, we walk by the invisible, the things that cannot be seen (but have been).

Peter was indeed blessed, as only God can bless, by receiving a revelation, one based wholly on the reality of who Jesus was: "God come in the flesh", and his reception of this revelation and all that it entailed was the vision and glue that held together the Power of faith that changed his life completely and forever.

In His being revealed to Peter; Jesus made it clear that WE ALL; without exception, need the same personal revelation that Peter received of Jesus as his Christ and Savior - as his Lord and God. "This is the Saving Knowledge; The Divine Revelation of Jesus Christ, given to him by none other than God Himself."

Christ is building and establishing 'His' church, one that is based and founded soley upon non-other than Himself as the Who: The Lord and Savior - The Rock Of Revelation - and the only way to be put in Him (Spiritually speaking) and become a member of the 'Spiritual Church' He us building (Matthew 16:18) is by receiving the revelation of WHO He is by the Father.

By this He makes it stunningly clear that, and Only Upon This Rock - The Rock founded upon the revelation of Who He is - is He building 'HIS' Church!

Knowing Jesus by this revelation creates a 'whole new way of understanding', and a brand new way of seeing reality, one with the Lord in charge and reigning on His throne. Knowing Jesus causes an 'astonishment' , a great 'reverance' in that person towards God that they never had before, simply because they never had or knew Him before as a living, breathing reality! Now they no longer think the same way as they once did. Peter was a changed man....changed forever by the revelation of Jesus Christ and WHO He was. (Matthew 4:18-20)

In short, "nothing else matters"! Paul says it all very eloquently in Phillipians 3:8, 9...

Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,
And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

It can be no different for any of us! This is the way God designed it, with the Spirit of Christ giving life, and with that life comes a deep search, hunger and love for the truth. The world has no sense of the reality and joy that a sinner receives upon finding Christ (Matthew 13:44-46).

Life, the way God means for it to be, involves having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and through Him with the Father! This Blessing is why we're here...to serve Him, and not ourselves! This Blessing is what life is all about... life IN Christ, not in ourselves! This is what we we're made for...for Him to love us and reveal Himself in power and glory to us, and for us to simply love and cherish Him with our whole heart in return! Anything falling short of this spells rebellion, suicide and death.

Let the revelation of Jesus Christ begin in the reading of the Word of God, seeking and asking to see Jesus come alive in the pages, made so by the Holy Spirit. Hear and Understand Him when He says: "Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down His life for a friend!"

Man is a born sinner... born spiritually blind, unable to see God - spiritually deaf, unable to hear God - spiritually lost, unable to find God - and spiritually crippled, unable to follow God. Pray that He would give us sight to see Him with - ears to hear Him with - grace to be found by Him - power to enable us to follow Him.
Come to Him all you who are blind, and crippled, and deaf, and lost and in need of salvation! He came to heal the sick, and give sight to the blind, and set the captives free! Matthew 15:30

God's love is beyond comprehension, for He sent His only begotten Son who laid down His life for all of us "undeserved sinners". For we all stand guilty and in dire need of salvation before God! Only God is capable of such awesome love.

This is what people need to see and will see when they "realize" the awesome sacrifice He made and the love He made it with, laying down His life as the requirement for saving ours... "IF" we believe, thus trust and obey and come to Him to receive NOT ONLY the forgiveness of our sins but HIM AS WELL and a new life.

Every Sinner needs to know they were and are loved by God in spite of their sins and trespasses!!! Salvation is a wonderful, free and unearned gift from God through His Son Jesus Christ (Romans 6:23)! He requires that we believe, thus repent of our sins and receive this free gift of God's Grace and Love; that are found in His Son. Trusting that through Christ the Father will forgive our sins, our lives will be CHANGED, and we will receive The Power to obey the truth (Luke 13:3; 1 John 1:9; 1 Peter 1:22; John 17:17).

This simple yet powerful message of a full pardon and a free salvation through faith in Jesus Christ and what He has already finished for us (who believe) through the cross, and through it He sends forth the Holy Spirit to those who believe and ask, is simply glorious. This is the Good News of the Gospel that can and does save our souls (1 Peter 1:3,9), if and when we choose to warmly welcome and receive the Truth of this Gospel of Grace into our hearts through faith (Acts 16:31). This is the will of God for us. That's why He sent His Son to save us!

Jesus has made Peace with God for all of us who believe and come to Him FOR life and for LIFE. As the Father draws us to the Son, it is through our having faith in Him whereby He sends forth the Holy Spirit to come and totally convince our hearts that Jesus Christ is indeed glorified and risen from the dead, as we confess Him as our Lord with our mouths (Rom.10:9).

This is the only "Work" that God will recognize (John 6:29), because it is "A WORK of God". It is what "Believing on the Lord Jesus Christ" is all about. We are to go to Him and receive the FREE Gift of Salvation that He offers to all who want it, and all of this is made so by the inner workings of a "God-annointed faith" that has come to recognize and understand the Truth as given through the power of the Holy Spirit! God knows hearts! He knows!

"And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?
Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?
If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?" Luke 11:9-13

So... Today is the day of getting you saved! What are you waiting for??? YOU know that you are the lost sinner He came to seek! So believe on Him and repent of your sins. Seek Him with your whole heart (He knows!) and you will find Him... He will find you! When He has you, then will you have Him! That's "His Promise" to you, to me, and to whosoever will (John 3:16) may chose to seek Him with their whole heart! :)