Upon This Rock: How Peter’s Strong Faith was Built on Praise

God isn’t looking for a perfect person in order to mighty things or to carry out His will on earth. In fact, He is simply seeking those who will worship Him “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23-24) Peter wasn’t perfect, but he was the perfect man for the Lord to build the Kingdom of God through the church, “upon this rock”.

Everything else in life will flow out of your submission to the Lord, and your connection to His Spirit- and those two crucial aspects of faith are found inside of His presence.

Peter wasn’t perfect. He was just the right man for the job. There are many accounts in the New Testament about Peter who was both a disciple of Jesus the Messiah, an apostle of the early church, showing he was a flawed, sinful person, just like everyone else.

Yet, out of all His many followers, Jesus said of Peter: “…Upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:13-19) Why is that?

Upon This Rock: Building a Church, a Body, and a Kingdom

Jesus’ words were a deliberate and profound statement not about Peter as a person, but about what the body of Christ would look like because of Peter and what he would accomplish because of his unique personality, skill set, experiences, and commitment to Christ.

The Lord has an eternal perspective of time and of His Kingdom and of your life as well. The Lord sees you in the scope of eternity, not just contained within a moment in time where you might be struggling.

The Lord sees you in the scope of eternity, not just contained within a moment in time where you might be struggling.

Peter was a real man, with a background and a family and a story and struggles and triumphs like any one of us, but there is something very important that Peter would also want you to know about him: Peter was a worshipper.

How Peter’s Flaws were Reframed Through Faith

Peter was a regular guy with a mother-in-law and a wife and a career, which means he had plenty of opportunities to put his flesh down!

• Peter struggled with his humanity. (Luke 22:61-62)
• Peter grew tired when he was trying to pray. (Mark 14:37-38)
• Peter was strong-willed. (Mark 16:18)
• Peter was fiercely loyal. (Matthew 26:35)
• Peter was passionate. (John 18:10)
• Peter was willing to take risks in his faith. (Matthew 14:28-29)

Yet the close connection Peter had with Christ only grew stronger to the point that Jesus knew “upon this rock” an eternal church would have its foundations because Peter was loyal, submitted, humble, obedient, repentant, bold, and strong in his faith.

Peter still had yet to walk through the beatings, the imprisonments, the rejection, the pressing on, the trials and pain, the loneliness living apart from his family, the pressures of ministry, but Jesus knew the church would be secure “upon this rock” because, even though LIFE was bad, Peter still worshipped a GOOD God!

Peter wrote:

“…greatly rejoice, even though now, if for a little while, you have had to suffer various trials, in order that the genuineness of your faith, which is more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tried by fire, may be found to result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 1:6-7)

Peter’s victories marked out the path to victory for every disciple of Jesus Christ in the Kingdom for the rest of history going forward. What set him apart? WORSHIP

Worship was part of every, single experience Peter had in his journey of faith. There is no way any man could walk through Peter’s experiences as an apostle of Christ without a lifestyle of worship!

Only a worshipper who has walked through the worst of the worst and has used worship as a weapon, who has closed into the presence of God to minister to Him and has seen testimonies of victory through to the other side of the Valley of the Shadow of Death could encourage those in exile to WORSHIP.

There’s is no way you could advise someone to worship (of all things!) in the worst, darkest, most painful seasons of their lives unless you had done the same yourself and had seen God do miracles as a result.

Peter’s example of power and praise would ultimately set the precedents and principles for the operations, the authorities, the spiritual composition and the movements of the church that Jesus knew would form following His death and resurrection.

But remember this: God would not have chosen Peter as the “rock” upon which the church would be built if He had not walked with Peter Himself- and if Peter had not walked with Him.

It was the intimacy of praise and worship and of prayer amid hardships and trials that strengthened Peter in his walk with the Lord. It is the exact same principle for you today. Worship is what draws you into the secret place, where you get to know the Lord, and you open yourself to be known more by Him.

Thought for today: Jesus Can Build Upon Your Faith too

When life is hard- WORSHIP. When life is easy- WORSHIP. Remember, believers do not praise the Lord because LIFE is good, but because GOD is good. In fact, there is no real help to be found in flawed, limited mankind. Only the Lord can help so turn your face to Him- not your back!

Praise, prayer, and the power of God’s Word are the firm foundation of an unshakeable faith. The circumstances don’t really matter – Why? “because you love Jesus…” Peter wrote. That’s it! Not because you feel like it. Not because things are good. Not because you’re in a season of peace or joy or prosperity. But because you love Him.

As Peter was fully aware, worship an action of faith, not a feeling, because, “…though you do not see Him now, you believe and you rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory, receiving as the result of your faith the salvation of your souls.” (1 Peter 1:8-9)

Learn more about the 7 Hebrew Words for Praise and how each one helps create strength, intimacy, and fresh revelation as you understand more about God’s plan for praise in your life!

Peter was a real person and he had his struggles, but “upon this rock” Jesus said He would build the spiritual heritage we walk in today- and the worship of Jesus Christ, the cornerstone, was where Peter started building.

Praise is your high calling. Worship is your lifeline, whether or not you use it.

Worship wins wars in you, through you and around you. How? Worship is ministry to the Lord, not ministry to you, and as you enter His gates with thanksgiving (Psalm 100:4) and minister to Him, He is faithful to minister back to you (Genesis 22:17) and your position in His presence changes you, inspires you, strengthens you, empowers you and makes a way where there seems to be no way. (Psalm 50:23)