You are the True Caesar
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· 2 viewsA message about identity and as Christians we have an identity fixed on Jesus.
Notes
Transcript
Scripture Reading
Scripture Reading
27 And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?”
Opening Hymn 245: More About Jesus
Closing Hymn 468: A Child of the King
Introduction
Introduction
We live in an age, not only of economic, political and environmental turmoil, but we are going through an age of identity politics: a war against “woke culture”. Teachers in the UK are complaining that young boys are far more influenced by the controversial Andrew Tate, a self-confessed misogynist (woman hating) social media personality, than by them. We live in an age where gender is no longer male and female instead we have gender fluidity. Identity is no longer an issue to be left to the politicians or Youtube influencers, but even we must take pride and rejoice in our identity of being Seventh-day Adventist Christians.
Why Does Identity Matter?
Why Does Identity Matter?
The moment sin entered into this world we've had to pick a side. On planet earth the concept of neutral ground in this battle between good and evil is a myth.
30 Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.
Identity matters because, whether you want to or not, you are an example:
15 For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.
Identity Determines Your Destiny?
Identity Determines Your Destiny?
27 And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?”
Historical Context
Caesarea was a very fertile land, and thus attracted many temples to Roman and Greek gods, especially to the Greek God, Pan the God of fear
The city was named by Herod the Great in honour of the Roman emperor, Augustus Caesar
After which Herod’s, adopted son, Philip expanded the city and named it in honour of the Roman emperor Tiberius Caesar as well as including his own name.
Who is the True Caesar?
Caesar is a family name
It became a title with divine connotations, promoted by his adopted son, Octavia (Augustus Caesar), that his father, after his death, was taken up to heaven to live with the gods.
It is with this backdrop that Jesus asks the question: “Who do people say I am?”
Not only did, Jesus have the label prophet, rabbi or Messiah; He was also labelled a drunkard, a man associated with the worst in society.
Of the disciples, Peter speaks on their behalf, with a swift answer:
29 And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.”
Another way that that question could be answered is to say “You are the true Caesar.”
Who Do People Say You Are?
Who Do People Say You Are?
We might think that having the label Seventh-day Adventist is enough, but that is all it is—it’s a label. Our true identity in the Bible doesn’t name a religious group. Instead, it gives a description of the type of people whose identity is accepted by God:
They Have God’s Seal (Belief)
3 saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.”
They Are Clean (Character)
14 I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Absolute Loyalty to God
4 It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb,
They Have a Distinct Message
6 Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. 7 And he said with a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.”
8 Another angel, a second, followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who made all nations drink the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality.”
9 And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he also will drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.”
12 Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.
They Have the Two Ingredients Necessary for Salvation
12 Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.
Two Caesar’s
Two Caesar’s
In the last days, there will be two Caesars one who rises up from the bottomless pit (Rev 17:8)
And the true Caesar, who comes from above (Rev 19:11-16)
The storm is coming, the storm that will try every man's faith of what sort it is. Believers must now be firmly rooted in Christ or else they will be led astray by some phase of error.—Evangelism, 361, 362 (1905). LDE 64.3
Is your identity “rooted in Christ?”