What Are They Saying About Me?

MATT 16:13-28

SBS: Back from Chicago Prayer: For the unborn

Intro: Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something. There are times to speak up and times to be quiet. In today’s passage we see both of those. More than that we see that this depends upon what we know.

EVERY PERSON SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THE MESSIAH

WE SHOULD KNOW WHO THE MESSIAH IS. Vv.13-20

Note where they are-Ces. Phillipi Named by Philip after himself and Caesar. This had been originally know as Panias, it was a place where Pan had been worshiped. V. 13
Note what is asked-what do others say? What do you say? V. 14-15
Note who Jesus is-the Christ- what the Christ means v. 16-20 Peter speaks up at the right time with the right message. We should be ready to speak up at the right time. Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves.
Note what Jesus promises-the Church is the ultimate weapon against evil in the world. It will never be defeated. V. 18-19

WE SHOULD KNOW WHY THE MESSIAH CAME. Vv. 21-23

Messiah came to suffer v. 21a
Messiah came to die. Vv. 21b
Messiah came to be resurrected vv 21c vv.22-23 Show that Peter should have known when to be Quiet. One of the great skills in Godliness is learning to be quiet. Just stop when you are tempted to say something that you ought not to say.

Alex Kershaw in Escape from the Deep One of the greatest injuries to the United States Submarine warfare during World War II came not from Japan or Germany, but from a politician. In 1943, sixty eight year old Congressman Andrew Jackson May, a member of the house Military Affairs Committee, held a press conference and mentioned the unmentionable-Japanese claims of submarine sinkings were way too high because they set off their depth charges to go off at too shallow a depth.

The Japanese learned of the statement and quickly adjusted the depth charges, costing an estimated ten submarines and eight hundred officers and men. All because one man didn’t know when to be quiet.

WE SHOULD KNOW WHAT THE MESSIAH EXPECTS. Vv. 24-28

Jesus expects self-denial. V. 24- money does not solve problems

Well, consider this: In 1988 William Post won a $16.7 million Pennsylvania jackpot, but it ruined his life. His brother went to jail, charged with hiring a hit man to kill him. His girlfriend sued him for a share of the winnings. He went through the money like water, and within eight years he was flat broke, with the court system trying to figure out how he could pay his debts.

Phyllis Klingebiel and her son Michael pooled their money to purchase lottery tickets, and they won a $4.2 million jackpot. Now mother and son are at each other’s throats, suing each other in a bitter dispute over how much the other should have of the winnings.

Jesus expects martyrdom v.25-26 This causes us to focus on what is really important.
Jesus expects victory v.27-28 The kingdom is here now and is growing like a mustard seed. It cannot be stopped. Our faith is in the Kingdom.

Christopher Winans, in his book, Malcolm Forbes: The Man Who Had Everything, tells of a motorcycle tour that Forbes took through Egypt in 1984 with his Capitalist Tool motorcycle team. After viewing the staggering burial tomb of King Tut, Forbes seemed to be in a reflective mood. As they were returning to the hotel in a shuttle bus, Forbes turned to one of his associates and asked with all sincerity: “Do you think I’ll be remembered after I die?”

Forbes is remembered. He is remembered as the man who coined the phrase, “He who dies with the most toys wins.” That was the wisdom of Malcolm Forbes. In fact, that was his ambition. That’s why he collected scores of motorcycles. That’s why he would pay over a million dollars for a Faberge egg. That’s why he owned castles, hot air balloons and countless other toys that he can no longer access.

The Lord Jesus Christ gave us words of superior wisdom when he said, “What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?” (Matthew 16:26). It is a fatally deficient wisdom that declares “He who dies with the most toys wins.”

OZYMANDIAS- Shelly

I met a traveler from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand,
Half sunk, a shatter'd visage lies, whose frown
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamp'd on these lifeless things,
The hand that mock'd them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear:
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains: round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away.