God And Rocks

Mt.4:3 “And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.” Notice something: He didn’t say, do a magic trick and turn these stones into bread, but he said, “command them.” That’s an implication that an inanimate object, such as a stone, is subject to the word of the Lord. That’s like saying, “Let the earth bring forth,” and then it happens?

Mt.3:9 “And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.” The Lord is not impressed with one’s family tree. He can get others just as good, or better, than we are out of rocks!

Lk.19:40 Jesus said, “If these become silent, the stones will cry out!” People were praising Jesus, and Jesus was saying that it was indeed a day of praise. He must be praised, and He will be praised. Why should we not praise the Lord? Is everyday not a day of praise to us? Just look what the Lord has done! I don’t think stones are going to have praise in our place. He has given us life, the degree of health, prosperity that we have, and our families. He has touched our hearts with His presence and showed us our need for Him, then He has met that need by bringing us to Himself. He has given us eternal salvation. We have His presence now, and we are assured heaven later.

Jesus was entering Jerusalem, on His way to the cross, and the people were lining the street and shouting their praises to Him. Why were they praising? For most of them, it was because they had heard of the mighty works that He had done. They had heard about the blind receiving sight, the deaf being able to hear, the lame beginning to walk, and even the raising of the dead. They had indeed heard of the mighty works that He had been doing. We’ve not only heard, but we’ve had first hand experience. He has touched and changed our life, and we have been invaded with the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. In John 14:12, Jesus said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.” If that means what it says, how can this possibly be? After all, He did some big stuff! I know of no way to explain this verse, other than just what it says.

Everything that Jesus did, and everything in the creation that God has done, for that matter, He has done by His word. He has given us His word, and He has given us the authority to speak it. Our words are very powerful, far more powerful than most people ever realize, but when our words are His words, they bring about results like they did when He spoke them! Now, of course, that has to be qualified. In order for mighty works to come about when we speak His word, we must be in covenant relationship with Him, we must have our heart clear of any known sin, we must be clear of any unforgiveness, we must have a motive that is aimed at honoring God, and we must believe what we say. In Colossians 3:3, we are told that “...our life is hid with Christ in God.” In John 20:21, Jesus said, “...As my Father has sent Me, evenso send I you.” Now, if our life is absorbed in Him, and if we are sent in the same way that Jesus was sent, doesn’t it just stand to reason that we have some authority about us? Philippians 2:12 tells us that the Holy Spirit is at work in us, causing us to want to do, and to be able to do, His good pleasure. According to Hebrews 13:8, His good pleasure is the same now, as it was during His earthly ministry. He hasn’t changed, and He is not going to change. When Jesus went into situations where everybody else seemed to be talking sickness and death, He spoke life, and life happened! God give us some people of God, who will stand on the word of God, and speak life to people who aren’t hearing anything but death. God give us some people who will rise up and praise the Lord on those days when it looks like the sun is never going to shine again. When Paul and Silas did their midnight praise service, the prison doors opened, their chains fell off, and people got saved! Jesus said, “I could get the rocks to cry out in praise.”