Sermon Tone Analysis

Announcements:

We will have a Finance Team meeting Sept 18, 2022.

Please continue praying about First Baptist oak Grove.

Also pray for us this afternoon as we go out to share our faith

Pastoral Prayer

Matt 16:13-20 “Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”

And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.”

He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.

“I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.

“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.”

INTRODUCTION

We are coming to a turning point in this gospel.

Up until this point Jesus has taught publically, been followed by crowds everywhere, fed multitudes, healed sicknesses and cast out demons, BUT from this point on His focus becomes on the cross.

This passage is the climax of the whole gospel.

Peter confesses Jesus as the Christ, and Jesus introduces us to the church.

And that is what our message will be about this morning.

The very word church means “someone who has been called out.”

The Greek word that is translated as "church" in the Bible is ekklesia.

This word is made up of the prefix: ek, which means "out of " or "from."

The root of the word is kaleo, which means "to call."

Thus, ekklesia means "those who are the called-out ones."

The true church, the invisible church, is made up of those who are called by God not only outwardly but inwardly by the Holy Spirit.

When Jesus calls someone to discipleship, He is calling that person to Himself, to belong to Him, to follow Him, to learn from Him, to become like Him, and to carry on His mission the He began.

What comes to mind when you think About the church?

Most of us think about a gathering and we think about many gatherings all over the world making up many churches.

But church is not a place, or a building, or a specific name but a group of people who have been separated from the world because they have been redeemed by Jesus Christ.

And there is but ONE church in this world.

And we are all serving the same Lord, and we have all been called to the same mission.

We are headed to the same place.

And Jesus introduces us to the church today, and we are going to learn some important things that we need to know.

The conviction of the church is that Jesus is the Messiah

Explanation

In this passage Jesus asked the disciples who people outside His inner circle thought He was.

But Jesus wasn’t really trying to solicit information about his reputation on earth.

Jesus asked the question to lead to a greater question and that was because what Jesus really wanted from them was a confession of who He is.

“But who do YOU say that I am?”

The “you” is plural so Jesus is asking the entire group who they really think He is

Now we have got to remember these men have been with him for over 2 years.

They have seen Jesus do things that only God can do

And what Jesus is doing is bringing them to a point of decision to settle this matter and begin to live by this conviction!

And as we know Peter becomes the spokesman for the crowd and confesses that Jesus is the Messiah.

What is Confession?

To confess literally means: “to speak or say the same thing”

So when Peter confesses Christ, he is declaring openly what God says about Jesus!

So, a confession is an outward expression of faith in the heart!

We often call this a profession of faith today, which is just another way of saying we confess our faith publically.

Application: Who do you say that Jesus is?

This is the question that Jesus presented the disciples and this is the question that Jesus is presenting to us today.

And notice that Jesus doesn’t ask them who they think He is

He says, “who do you say that I am?”

And Peter responds, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Peter’s confession was also His conviction

He confessed Jesus on Pentecost

He confessed Jesus to the Jewish leaders

He confessed Jesus to the Samaritans

He confessed Jesus to the Gentiles

My question to you is, “does your confession match your convictions?”

There are two things Peter says about Jesus that should make all the difference in our lives:

Jesus is the Son of God

Peter says, “You are the Son of God!”

This means that Peter believes He is divine.

He is not just a man but He is the God in the flesh.

He is God who walked upon the face of his earth

He is the Creator who walked among His creation.

And He invites us to know Him personally!

Just like Peter knew Him and talked with Him , and walked with Him, and died for Him!

Peter says, "You are the Christ”

The word means “anointed one”

It means Messiah, the One promised that would be sent by God to save His people!

All throughout the OT, a Deliver is mentioned who will come to save!

This began all the way back in Gen 3:15 “And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.””

And it continued through the prophets such as Is 9:6 “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.”

And even prophecy naming where this Messiah would be born Micah 5:2 ““But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel.””

So when Peter confesses Jesus as the Messiah and the Son of God, he is saying that God Himself came down in the flesh and has come to save his people and that the hope now for humanity is found in this Deliverer!

And I think that is the place Jesus was leading the disciples

He wanted them to come to a settled conclusion of who He so that they could live out their lives based upon that conviction!

What is a conviction: the word means “to be convinced”

We live by convictions.

I have a conviction that in will never touch another drop of alcohol

I have a conviction that I will study the Word of God regularly

I have a conviction that I will love my wife as Christ loved the church

I have a conviction that i will share my faith regularly!

I have a conviction that I will spend my life living for Christ and that is why I am still here!

Convictions change the way that we live

We must be fully convinced in our hearts before our lives will change!

And convictions arise from our confession!

What we truly confess from the heart leads to convictions that dictate our lives!

What are your convictions about Christ?

If you truly believe he is the Messiah, if you confess that with your mouth, does your life reflect that?

If you truly believe he is the Son of God, it will be evident from your convictions that you live by

Everything the church is can be summed up by saying we believe and confess that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, the Son of God and EVERYTHING that we do will stem from that conviction.

Jesus will build his church upon the confession of Christ

Explanation

Jesus looks at Peter and says yes Peter that is correct!

Your confession is exactly who I am!

In fact, only God could have revealed that to you!

And I want you to know something else, upon this rock I will build my church

And here is where things get complicated.

The question becomes what is Jesus referring to as “the rock”?