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- Defeating Hell: Discovering the “Real” Rock of Christianity
Defeating Hell: Discovering the “Real” Rock of Christianity
Last updated on: September 28, 2019 at 3:24 pm by Richard Murray
Defeating Hell: Discovering the “Real” Rock of Christianity 2019-09-28T15:24:09-04:00 Richard Murray
Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Want to know what the REAL “rock” on which Jesus declared He would build His “Hell-defeating” church? It may NOT be what you have been previously taught.
It’s NOT Peter.
It’s NOT Peter’s confession.
It’s not Catholicism, Protestantism, or any other “ism.”
It IS the fact that Peter HEARD direct “unmediated” revelation about Jesus FROM the Heavenly Father.
Jesus rejoiced that Peter recognized and believed in Him APART from any “flesh and blood” opinion of man– any man, every man, even Peter’s own human opinion.
Jesus discerned that Peter had heard His Abba rather than human opinion. And He rejoiced!
You see, what one man can “talk us into,” another man can “talk us out of.” So many today believe in Jesus NOT because they have heard Heaven’s witness, but because they have been persuaded by “flesh and blood” human pressure, human opinion, and human personality.
But this is not “direct faith” in God (fides directa). Rather, it is a “reflected faith” which believes in something other than God (fides reflecta). Our inheritance is to DIRECTLY hear, recognize and follow the very voice of the GOOD shepherd. And when we do, THEN we can effectively bind Satan and loose all blessings on earth.
“And Jesus answered and said to him , Blessed are you , Simon Barjona : for flesh and blood has not revealed this unto you , but my Father who is in heaven. And I say also unto you , That you are Peter , and upon this rock I will build my church ; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven : and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven : and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 16:17-19.
Here is one easy way to see the difference between “flesh and blood” and Heavenly revelation. “Flesh and blood” will TAKE the credit for figuring Spiritual things out. “Heavenly hearing,” by contrast, GIVES the credit to Abba, always to Abba, only to Abba.
Don’t ever be ashamed to cite your revelational source as Heaven. Christ IN you, the indwelling Holy Spirit, IS Heaven’s voice come to take residence within you. THIS is the kingdom of God– abiding relational connection.
In this doubting day, people who do walk in such revelation are often scoffed at and then quickly asked, “How do I know that what you hear is from God? Everyone claims they ‘hear’ from God, but they all disagree on the truths of Christ. Why should I believe you are hearing God?”
Here is the answer. You shouldn’t believe me because I simply say God spoke something to me. Rather, you should believe me ONLY “if” YOUR spirit bears witness that the truth is from Abba’s Heavenly heart to yours. You have to hear Heaven yourself, either as an “original revelation” or as a “confirming embrace” of what’s been shared by another. Me hearing it from Heaven may cinch it for me, but not for you. You have to subjectively verify it with Abba for it to work effectually for you. We may help each other hear, but we can’t hear FOR each other.
The Holy Spirit “bears witness” UPON the earth TO the truth of Heaven. Have more faith in this promise than in the opinion of man.
In terms of the common objection that, “Everybody claims to hear God, so how can I trust what you say?” my response is simply this: I rarely hear anybody say they “heard God” about a Jesus-related revelation. Sure, cultic nuts have claimed revelation from aliens, various pantheons of gods, inter-dimensional beings, and even Jesus. But they are relatively rare and usually pretty easy to sift through as delusional.
As for denominational differences, their divergent views on Jesus are based largely on what earlier opinions of previous generations believed. You rarely if ever hear them claim the Heavenly Father has revealed this to them today. They just preach, teach, and preach TRADITIONAL “flesh and blood” opinions ABOUT Jesus rather than rhema revelation FROM Jesus and His Heavenly Abba.
This is not hard. But it does take intuitive focus. Just consult your indwelling Spirit of Christ. Pray, meditate, and listen– you’ll know of the teaching, whether it be OF Heaven or OF man or devil. Pray daily for Heaven to speak or confirm the truths of God.
Again, what one man can talk you into, another man can talk you out of. But, once you receive something directly from the Lord, it can never be deleted from your heart, covered up for a season perhaps, but not removed. To hear God is your birthright. Don’t be embarrassed or intimidated. Hear YOU Him!
About Richard Murray
Richard K. Murray is a practicing criminal-defense attorney from Dalton, Georgia where he lives with his wife Rita and their seven children: Sloan, Caleb, Micah, Abraham, Sarah, Ben and Annie. Richard has a B.B.A. and J.D. from the University of Georgia and a M.A. from Regent University School of Divinity. He has written several books, including: THE SPIRITUAL EYE OF THE TIGER THE POWER: Discovering the Real "Secret" of Life LIFT UP YOUR JAWBONE: Developing Samson-like Strength by Daily Confession THE JESUS MOOD: Discovering the Treasure of Imperative Faith GOD VERSUS EVIL: Sculpting an Epic Theology of God's Heroic Goodness You can read more about the author here.
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