You Say

Text: Matthew 16:13–17 (LSB) Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, saying, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 And Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.

This is a tremendous, powerful, foundational passage of scripture.

Through it we know the the Founder of the Church.

Jesus is the Rock upon which the Church (big C and hopefully little C) is built.

As the Fire Bible says:

Christ promises to build His church, not on any one individual (other than Himself), but on the truth of Peter’s and the other disciples’ bold confessions that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the living God”

(1) It is Jesus Christ who is the Rock, the steady and sure foundation of the church (1Co 3:11).

Peter states in his first letter (the Bible book of 1 Peter) that Jesus is the “living Stone, … a chosen and precious cornerstone … the stone the builders rejected” (1Pe 2:4, 6–7).

At the same time, Peter and all other Christians are also living stones who become part of the structure of the spiritual house that God is building (1Pe 2:5).

(2) The “rock” does not refer to Peter himself, who simply acknowledges that Christ is the foundation of the church (i.e., the community of all true followers of Jesus).

Nowhere in Scripture is it stated that Peter would be the supreme and infallible (i.e., completely reliable, unable to be wrong) authority above all other disciples (cf. Ac 15; Gal 2:11).

Nor is it stated that Peter should have infallible successors (as some denominations promote today) who would represent Christ and function as the official head of the church.

(3) Just as the church was founded on a bold confession of Jesus’ authority,

the church continues to grow and advance through the bold proclamation of Christ’s message and the display of His power.

Because Jesus is the Rock upon which the Church is built, “the gates of hell will NOT prevail against it.”

Upside-down

Now, I would like to turn this scripture on its head.

What if Jesus were to come to US asking, “Who do people say that YOU are?” 14 Would you say, “Some say a weak failure, a sinner, condemned, unclean?” Maybe! 15 But what if Jesus then asked, “But who do I say you are? I am NOT asking what flesh and blood reveals to you, but what the Word and the Holy Spirit reveals to you.”

This past Monday while Sandra and I were out taking some time off, I turned the radio on and we heard a popular song by Lauren Daigle called, You Say. It speaks to the question I just posed: Who does JESUS say we are. The lyrics of that song say:

Verse 1 I keep fighting voices in my mind That say I'm not enough Ev'ry single lie that tells me I will never measure up

Verse 2 Am I more than just the sum of Ev'ry high and ev'ry low Lord, Remind me once again just who I am Because I need to know

Verse 3 The only thing that matters now Is ev'rything You think of me In You I find my worth In You I find my identity

Chorus You say I am loved when I can't feel a thing You say I am strong when I think I am weak You say I am held when I am falling short And when I don't belong oh You say I am Yours And I believe oh I believe What You say of me I believe

Daigle’s song says:

The only thing that matters now Is ev'rything You think of me In You I find my worth In You I find my identity

In this current day WE MUST KNOW WHO WE ARE IN JESUS

That way when we see disgusting attacks of Jesus and His followers, like at Friday’s opening Olympic ceremony that included

A Drag queen parody of the Last Supper

We will NOT be surprised and we certainly will not bow down in shame.

I really like what Pastor Samuel Rodriguez says about it. He said:

The mockery of our Christian faith will not, cannot and shall not deter us from proclaiming that Jesus is THE way, THE truth and THE LIFE!

For 2000 years, history is filled with multiple, well-publicized attempts to mock, ridicule, discredit and, in every regard, silence Christianity; and yet we are still standing!

Why?

The gates of hell shall not, will not, may not, cannot prevail against the church of Jesus Christ.

The only way we can stand against such attacks is knowing our identity in Jesus.

We MUST know that our faith in Jesus makes us individually children of God.

John 1:12–13 (AMP) But to as many as did receive and welcome Him, He gave the authority (power, privilege, right) to become the children of God, that is, to those who believe in (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) His name— 13 Who owe their birth neither to bloods nor to the will of the flesh [that of physical impulse] nor to the will of man [that of a natural father], but to God. [They are born of God!]

We MUST also know our identity as the church.

That we are what we have looked at many times over the past few months: the Bride of Christ.

We are His Beloved.

We are the one for whom He bled and died.

We MUST stand in that identity.

And We must guard against identity theft.

The devil wants to destroy our God-given identity.

In doing so, he will neutralize our impact for the Kingdom of God, for eternity

Our identity in Christ is of paramount importance.

ONLY as we know who we are in Jesus can we stand against the devil’s onslaught.

Our identity can NEVER be what this world says.

Our identity is MORE, so MUCH more:

Than our name

Than our racial or social background

Than our checkbook balance

Than our physical state of being

Than our looks

Than our occupation.

Than ANYTHING this world may use as a measuring stick.

No!

We are who HE says we are.

And He says we are His child, part of His family.

Children of God

So think again about our individual identity:

John 1:12–13 (NKJV) But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

As we think on this passage that tells us our identity, notice three things:

Those who would receive, welcome or embrace Christ are those who “believe on His name.”

Saving faith is not head knowledge, not just a mental conviction and intellectual assent. It is not just believing the fact that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. It is not just believing history, that Jesus Christ lived upon earth as the Savior

Saving faith is believing in Jesus, who and what He is, that He is the Savior and Lord of life.

Saving faith is commitment—the commitment of our total being and of our lives to Jesus Christ.

It is our commitment of all we are and all we have to Jesus.

That saving faith gives Jesus everything; therefore, it involves all of our worldly affairs.

We trust Jesus to take care of our past (sins), our present (welfare), and our future (destiny).

We entrust our whole life, being, and possessions into Jesus’ hands.

We lay ourselves upon Jesus’ keeping, confiding in Him about our daily necessities and acknowledging Him in all the ways of life.

We follows Jesus in every area and in every detail of life, seeking His instructions and leaving our welfare up to Him.

It is simply commitment of a person’s whole being, all he or she is and has, to Jesus.

Second, once we do that, once we believe on and receive Christ, we are given the power to become a child of God.

When a person receives Christ into his or her life (as Lord), Christ gives that person the power and right to become something he or she is not—a child of God.

Galatians 4:4–7 (NLT) But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. 5 God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. 6 And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.” 7 Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir.

Romans 8:15–16 (NLT) So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” 16 For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.

Our response? 2 Corinthians 6:17–18 (NLT) Therefore, come out from among unbelievers, and separate yourselves from them, says the LORD. Don’t touch their filthy things, and I will welcome you. 18 And I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the LORD Almighty.”

Finally, we are God’s children because we have experienced a new birth.

According to John 1:13 …

1) That new birth is not through human mechanisms.

⇒ It is not by blood.

The idea is that heritage—being born of a particular family, race, nation or people—is of no value in becoming a child of God. Blood is not what causes the new birth.

⇒ It is not by human will.

We are not spiritually born again by wanting and willing to become a child of God

Like a married couple wills to have an earthly child.

⇒ It is not by the will of anyone here on this planet.

There is no ordinary human, born through a man and a woman, who can bring about the spiritual birth of others.

No man, no matter who he is—husband or world leader—can cause or make a person a child of God.

2) The new birth is of God.

So, I encourage us to realize our identity has occured by supernatural means.

So, may the Holy Spirit enable us to see our identity :

As God’s children

Who are a part of God’s family.

Children Who Come to the Table

As God’s children, part of His family we have the right to come to this table.

More than that, we have a responsibility to come to this Table.

To remember the price of our identity.

The beaten and pierced body of Jesus.

The shedding of His precious Blood.

Preparation

Like my mother always told me and my sisters, “Go wash your hands. It’s time to eat.”

We, too, as the children of God, need to wash-up before we come to the table.

1 Corinthians 11:27–31 (LSB) Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. 28 But a man must test himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. 30 For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep. 31 But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged.

But are you a child of God?

Right now, you can repent of your sins and believe on Jesus.

In so doing you will become a child of God with the privilege to come to this table.

If you are already, I encourage you to prepare yourself.

Prayer

All invited:

1 Corinthians 15:3–4 (LSB) For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,

Galatians 1:3–5 (LSB) … the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Jesus encouraged His followers (and us!) to remember Him and to remember His sacrifice:

Jesus said in Luke 22:19b (LSB) … “This is My body [and Blood] which is given for you. Do this [partake of My Supper] in remembrance of Me.”

You do not have to be a member.

When you come:

Take the emblems

Move into this front area so we can all partake together.

Hold the elements until we all partake at the same time — I will prompt you.

Worship team come.

Bread:

Isaiah 53:3–5 (LSB) He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. 4 Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our peace fell upon Him, And by His wounds we are healed.

Matthew 26:26 (LSB) Now while they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it. And giving it to the disciples, He said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”

Prayer - Dave Davenport

End prayer with prayer from Seder:

Blessed are you, O Lord our God, who brings forth bread from the earth.

Cup:

Isaiah 52:13–15 (LSB) Behold, My Servant will prosper; He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted. 14 Just as many were appalled at you, My people, So His appearance was marred more than any man And His form more than the sons of men. 15 Thus He will sprinkle many nations [with His Blood], Kings will shut their mouths on account of Him; For what had not been told them they will see, And what they had not heard they will understand.

Matthew 26:27–28 (LSB) And when [Jesus] had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; 28 for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.

Prayer - Konnie Davenport

End prayer with prayer from Seder:

Blessed are you, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, who creates the fruit of the vine.

Jesus Is Coming!

As we partake we are reminded that Jesus is coming back for His Bride.

1 Corinthians 11:25–26 (MSG) After supper, he did the same thing with the cup: This cup is my blood, my new covenant with you. Each time you drink this cup, remember me. 26 What you must solemnly realize is that every time you eat this bread and every time you drink this cup, you reenact in your words and actions the death of the Master. You will be drawn back to this meal again and again until the Master returns. You must never let familiarity breed contempt.

Inn these Last days let us always remember our identity as Blood-bought Children of God:

I Was Made to Praise You