Matthew 16:13-20

13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter,[a] and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades[b] will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be[c] bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be[d] loosed in heaven.” 20 Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

Listening guide

the promise to be an unstoppable force

 “on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys”. (verse 18-19)

Jesus upholds both ________________ and ___________________ responsibility

 We have the key to be a powerful, unstoppable force. 

“this was not revealed to you by men, but by my Father”. He also says, “on this rock I will build my church”. (verses 17-18)

 The key is both revelation and rock. It is both inspiration and foundation.  

Confess and we can conquer. 

Discussion questions

None this week

Sermon

I don’t think it’s a surprise for me to tell you all that I’ve had my share of questions about God. There was my time of, I don’t know if there is God. I don’t think there is a God. Really?  

I’ve also felt afraid of God. There were all the questions of approval, acceptance, and status before God. And sometimes, depended on how I felt about those questions, I was angry. Other times sad or elated. I was all over the place.  

I've felt the whole range of feelings about connection with God and others. Sometimes, I’ve felt so intimate and close to God and others. Other times, life is nothing but loneliness, isolation, and even abandonment or betrayal.  

Extraordinary  

One of the things that has even surprised me at times... 

I’ve seen that confessing faith in Jesus makes a difference, not just in my own life, but in the lives of the people around me. Confessing does something.  

Prayed for baptism, that week people got baptized  

Telling Stephen I feel alone. A week later, we have conflict and go through reconciliation.  

Or worship. Gathered for worship one time. Go through the service. A guy was there. He watches and afterward he comes up and he says, “What do you people believe?” I don’t go to church anymore. That was incredible. I’ve never seen people so engaged. What do you believe?”  

 

Adventure/Discover/Promise 

That’s what Jesus wants to give us today. The confidence to confess because it makes a huge difference in our community. This is a pivotal moment in the life of Jesus. 

Jesus has arrived at Caesarea Philippi. It grows out of the rocks and the water that feeds the Jordan River. People marvel at the temple there. The city is a favorite with kings. Herod, his sons, and the Caesars all enlarged the city.  

Jesus asks what many consider one of the key questions of history: who do you say Jesus is? Peter answers, “you are the Messiah” or if you have an older translation, “the Christ”.  

His name is not Jesus Messiah or Jesus Christ. It’s a title. 

Literally it means, “Anointed One”. Jesus is the one anointed to be king. He is not just a king. Peter says, you are the anointed king. Then comes the twist. “Blessed are you”.  

To know Jesus is king, to believe Jesus is the chosen king, and to say as much is a blessing all by itself. We call it confessing. Confess means you speak with the Christians who have come before you. You speak with the apostles. Ultimately you speak with God. This will do so much.  

The more clearly we confess Jesus, the more we’ll be a powerful force to conquer evil. [the promise to be an unstoppable force to conquer evil] 1) who has this force 2) the power or the force itself  

Development  

The first thing Jesus says is that you, not you individually but you collectively have the key to be an unstoppable force. He says, “on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys”. Then at the end he ordered all his disciples not to tell, showing it belongs to them all. Can you believe that?   

He doesn’t say, if you are good enough people you will have authority and responsibility. It’s not, if you live properly and act properly I will make sure that doors open before you in life.” There is nothing like that.  

He says, “I give you the keys. They’ll work here on earth. And they work in heaven. I'm giving you the responsibility. I'm giving you the authority. “Fix it” Yes, under my power, under my grace. But I give you the keys.   

There is this scene in the movie “Bruce Almighty” with Jim Carrey. He is walking down the street and he snaps his finger at a fire hydrant. All of the sudden it explodes with water. In the background the song, “you’ve got the power” is playing. That is what Jesus is saying. You’ve got the power. You’ve got to the authority. You’ve got the responsibility.  

Don’t hide behind the idea, I hope God can get it done. Look, he has given you the authority to get it done. He has given you the responsibility to get it done. If you are looking at a friend who is hurting and you keep saying to yourself, gee I hope God helps this person. You realize what you are saying? God gave you to help that person. Stop waiting!  

Culturally there is a strong pull to hide. We don’t think we have the authority or the responsibility. Let me give us this famous example from New York in the 1960s.  

There was a woman named Katherine. She was attacked on her way home from work early in the morning. Her neighbors heard her shouts. 38 of them turned on their lights and looked out their windows. The assailant ran away and hid.  

None of the neighbors came down. None of them came to help. None of them even called the police. The attacker waited about 5 minutes. When the police didn’t come and no one came, he realized that no one was coming. He went back. He found the woman crawling around. He killed her and took $49 dollars.  

Sad story. Some of the people probably said, “It’s not my problem. It’s not my responsibility.” They’re all about personal responsibility. I’m sure other people said, “Someone else will call the police. Someone else will take care of it. Those people believe in collective responsibility. Did you notice Jesus believes in both?  

Jesus said, “I will give you the keys” and the you is Peter. So that is personal responsibility. It’s Peter’s job. But at the end he warns all the disciples not to tell. That’s collective responsibility. You all be careful with this responsibility, this authority.  

.Jesus upholds both personal and collective responsibility. 

We have the key to be a powerful, unstoppable force.  

That’s the first thing. The who. Next. What is it? Let me start and give us an example of actually taking responsibility. Using the authority.  

I’ve been reading this book Leadership Pain by Sam Chand. Sam tells how he was born in India, came to the United States, and finally enrolled in Beulah Heights Bible College in the 1970s. He was a poor, barely educated, colored man. He was quickly smitten by a young lady working in the president’s office, but in the 1970s in Georgia, white girls and colored men did not mix.  

The dean told her that if she kept seeing Sam, she would go to hell. One day, Sam gave the young lady flowers. He soon was asked to return to India, and got on a plane. A couple of years later, they returned to the church they had both served at during school. The girl had led the nursing home ministry. Sam had led worship and directed the choir. They asked the pastor to marry them. He said flatly, “No. I don’t think your marriage can work. She’s white and your Indian.”  

10 years later Sam was a pastor in Michigan. His church began sending money to Beaulah Heights Bible College. He began to speak at events at the school. Then he agreed to be a member of the board. He invited board members over and they spoke at his church. A few years later, the board asked him to be president of the college.  

Over the next 15 years, enrollment increased 10 times. They got accredited. The dean was filled inspiration. He kept cheering, saying, “the best is yet to be. We haven’t seen all that God is going to do here.” Sam had started it all.  

When he came to the college, he said to the dean, “Years ago … you threatened to expel me. Now I’m your president. I’m okay with you.” He said that he always though these men just didn’t know how to reconcile their faith in a gracious, welcoming God with the racism in their country.  (Sam Chand, Leadership Pain, 48-50) 

I hope you aren’t distracted by the racism involved. I’m so struck by what happened. I want you to notice two things that made this possible. Jesus tells us them in this lesson.  

First, Sam said reconcile their faith in a gracious, welcoming God  

Jesus said it this way, “on this Rock I will build my church”.  

There is always the question, why should I bring anyone else into my life? Why should I be gracious to people? Why should I be just? Why should I show mercy? Why should I be compassionate? 

People who believe in personal responsibility tend to say, I show mercy because of me. Through my life experiences and education and failures and success, I’ve learned to practice mercy. But what about when you are so wronged? 

People who believe in corporate responsibility tend to say, we show mercy because that is who we are. We were shown mercy by the seas or the heavens or this nation when we formed. We have shown mercy ever since. This is who we are. But what about when the group of people have wronged themselves? What about when the people are a boiling hotbed of wrath and hope?  

People who believe in the keys Jesus give say, I show mercy because Jesus did not receive mercy so that he could show us mercy. People who believe in the keys Jesus give say, I practice justice because Jesus endured divine justice so I can be justified. People who believe in the keys Jesus give say, I practice forgiveness because Jesus was not forgiven, not excused, for all my sins so that we are. 

The key is foundation.  

Second, the dean said, the best is yet to be. We haven’t seen all that God is going to do here.” 

Jesus said it this way. “this was not revealed to you by men, but by my Father”. 

Another what is right? What is wrong? Is there eternity?  

People who believe in personal responsibility have to say, I have to discover all the answers. People who believe in corporate responsibility tend to say, we can figure out the answers. Our collective knowledge.  

People who believe in the keys Jesus give say, I haven’t discovered the way but Jesus is the way. I haven’t figured out the truth, but Jesus is the truth. I can’t give you life, but Jesus is life.  

The key is also inspiration. It’s not what we discover. It’s revealed to us. The key is both foundation and inspiration; revelation and rock.  

Jesus is this for all humanity.  

No one, not death, not  sin, or even hell itself can stop him.  

The gates of Hades will not prevail. Gates are meant to keep people in and out. They are not offensive.  The gates of hell itself have been unlocked from the inside by the resurrection of Jesus. You can charge them. They must break in front of you  

Confess and we can conquer  

Action 

Friends, nothing does more to conquer than to confess.  

I’d love for you to join me to confess Jesus Christ more clearly, more forcefully, more strongly and to watch that confession conquer all evil. I don’t know if any of you have seen the new TV series, “The Chosen”. It’s about Jesus and the disciples he chose to conquer evil. I brought a copy to give away to one of you today. Maybe you want to watch it yourself. Maybe you want to give it to a friend. If you want to put your name in for it, you can text me at 269-694-6104 or  

Let me close with this little illustration. When the Union army pushed the Confederates back into Richmond, one of Lincoln’s generals burst into his office and said, “President Lincoln, I am pleased to tell you we have finally pushed the enemy out of our territory and back into his own.” 

 Lincoln said to the other generals in the room, “When will my generals learn that the whole country is our territory?” 

Jesus is not content to be Lord of us. He died and rose to be Lord of heaven and earth. Confess and we can conquer.