1
00:00:01,200 --> 00:00:03,560
Turn in your Bibles to Matthew 
chapter 16. 

2
00:00:06,760 --> 00:00:08,840
It was the Alex show while I was
gone. 

3
00:00:10,720 --> 00:00:17,720
Alex one and Alex 2. 
Those are faithful brothers. 

4
00:00:17,720 --> 00:00:19,240
I love them both. 
I'm thankful for them. 

5
00:00:29,800 --> 00:00:32,360
Matthew 16. 
We're going to be in verses 13 

6
00:00:32,360 --> 00:00:47,280
through 20. 
Quick reminder, we are almost 

7
00:00:47,280 --> 00:00:50,360
certainly in the last six months
of Jesus's life at this point. 

8
00:00:50,800 --> 00:00:52,800
So you look at all the chapters 
that are left in Matthew, but 

9
00:00:52,800 --> 00:00:56,560
remember things really start to 
slow down around verse 20 when 

10
00:00:56,560 --> 00:00:59,120
we get into Jerusalem and we're 
spending the whole verse 

11
00:00:59,480 --> 00:01:03,160
chapters 21 and 22 and we're 
really spending that whole last 

12
00:01:03,160 --> 00:01:07,040
week, just very slowly, that 
whole last week of Jesus life in

13
00:01:07,040 --> 00:01:10,000
Jerusalem. 
So we're very, very close to the

14
00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:14,560
end of his time on earth before 
his death and burial and then 

15
00:01:14,560 --> 00:01:16,400
resurrection. 
Then of course, his 40 days of 

16
00:01:16,400 --> 00:01:19,600
walking on the earth before he 
ascends into heaven. 

17
00:01:20,640 --> 00:01:24,160
So that's the context of where 
we're at now, chapter 16, verse 

18
00:01:24,240 --> 00:01:27,240
13. 
Now when Jesus came into the 

19
00:01:27,240 --> 00:01:31,760
district of Caesarea Philippi, 
he asked his disciples, who do 

20
00:01:31,760 --> 00:01:34,280
people say that the Son of Man 
is? 

21
00:01:35,040 --> 00:01:40,520
And they said some say John the 
Baptist, others say Elijah and 

22
00:01:40,520 --> 00:01:43,280
others Jeremiah or one of the 
prophets. 

23
00:01:44,200 --> 00:01:47,720
He said to them, but who do you 
say that I am? 

24
00:01:48,640 --> 00:01:52,920
Simon Peter answered, You're the
Christ, the Son of the living 

25
00:01:52,920 --> 00:01:58,040
God, And Jesus answered him, 
Blessed are you Simon Barjona, 

26
00:01:58,440 --> 00:02:01,200
for flesh and blood has not 
revealed this to you, but my 

27
00:02:01,200 --> 00:02:05,760
Father, who is in heaven, and I 
tell you, you are Peter. 

28
00:02:06,280 --> 00:02:09,919
And on this rock I will build my
church, and the gates of hell 

29
00:02:09,919 --> 00:02:13,200
shall not prevail against it. 
I will give you the keys of the 

30
00:02:13,200 --> 00:02:16,040
Kingdom of heaven, and whatever 
you bind on earth shall be bound

31
00:02:16,040 --> 00:02:18,880
in heaven, and whatever you 
loose on earth shall be loosed 

32
00:02:18,880 --> 00:02:21,440
in heaven. 
Then he strictly charged the 

33
00:02:21,440 --> 00:02:24,840
disciples to tell no one that he
was the Christ. 

34
00:02:26,160 --> 00:02:29,080
God, we thank you for your 
powerful word. 

35
00:02:29,480 --> 00:02:31,760
We thank you for the anointing 
that's on your word, the 

36
00:02:31,760 --> 00:02:35,480
anointing that comes to destroy 
the yoke, the bondages, the 

37
00:02:35,480 --> 00:02:39,960
slaveries, the lies, the 
oppressions, and also God. 

38
00:02:39,960 --> 00:02:41,960
Not only do you destroy the 
works of the devil, but you 

39
00:02:41,960 --> 00:02:45,440
establish the works of your 
Kingdom, continue to build your 

40
00:02:45,440 --> 00:02:48,760
Kingdom in our hearts and in 
your church, your collective 

41
00:02:48,760 --> 00:02:50,720
church. 
We're not the church on our own.

42
00:02:50,720 --> 00:02:53,720
We are the church as a body. 
So we ask that you would 

43
00:02:53,720 --> 00:02:56,320
strengthen us as a family, and 
we also ask that you would 

44
00:02:56,320 --> 00:02:59,200
strengthen us as individuals to 
bring us light and revelation 

45
00:02:59,200 --> 00:03:01,360
that would fill us with boldness
and Holy Spirit. 

46
00:03:01,360 --> 00:03:03,440
I pray that even as the Word of 
God has preached this morning, 

47
00:03:03,440 --> 00:03:05,800
that you would fill us with 
yourself. 

48
00:03:06,440 --> 00:03:09,200
We need to be filled over and 
over and over with you God. 

49
00:03:11,680 --> 00:03:14,440
You're the vine and we're the 
branches Jesus apart from you we

50
00:03:14,440 --> 00:03:17,880
can do nothing. 
We need your life in US and 

51
00:03:17,880 --> 00:03:23,040
flowing through us. 
So fill your people, open our 

52
00:03:23,040 --> 00:03:28,120
eyes, grant us revelation 
conviction that will lead to 

53
00:03:28,120 --> 00:03:31,840
obedience in Jesus name we thank
you Amen. 

54
00:03:34,280 --> 00:03:39,400
A famous, famous passage of 
Scripture where the most 

55
00:03:39,400 --> 00:03:43,080
important question is asked and 
the most important answer is 

56
00:03:43,080 --> 00:03:44,840
given. 
We're going to get into all of 

57
00:03:44,840 --> 00:03:47,200
it. 
There's this passage is pregnant

58
00:03:47,200 --> 00:03:49,360
with a lot. 
There's a lot here that Jesus 

59
00:03:49,360 --> 00:03:51,640
mentions. 
There's a lot here that we're 

60
00:03:51,640 --> 00:03:56,440
going to be able to touch on. 
It's interesting how it starts. 

61
00:03:57,040 --> 00:04:00,480
Jesus is asking his disciples, 
who do people say that the Son 

62
00:04:00,480 --> 00:04:02,440
of Man is? 
And to clarify really quickly, 

63
00:04:02,440 --> 00:04:05,120
he's talking about himself. 
He's not talking about who do 

64
00:04:05,120 --> 00:04:07,520
people say that the Son of Man 
out there is. 

65
00:04:07,520 --> 00:04:11,800
He's saying, hey guys, who do 
people say that the Son of Man 

66
00:04:11,800 --> 00:04:12,840
is? 
Remember, the Son of Man is a 

67
00:04:12,840 --> 00:04:17,240
term, It's Jesus's favorite term
for himself that he uses 

68
00:04:17,240 --> 00:04:19,000
throughout the Gospels when he 
describes himself. 

69
00:04:19,440 --> 00:04:23,480
And he gets that from Daniel, 
Daniel Chapter 7, the prophecy 

70
00:04:23,480 --> 00:04:26,520
about the Messiah. 
So every time Jesus said Son of 

71
00:04:26,520 --> 00:04:30,480
Man, Jesus is saying Messiah, 
Messiah, Messiah. 

72
00:04:30,600 --> 00:04:34,280
It wasn't as veiled as people 
may think at a surface level 

73
00:04:34,280 --> 00:04:38,280
reading. 
And also it's also not driving 

74
00:04:38,280 --> 00:04:40,240
the point home. 
It's a reference, it's a title. 

75
00:04:40,640 --> 00:04:43,440
But it was enough that people 
could still dismiss it. 

76
00:04:43,440 --> 00:04:45,240
They go, oh, maybe he meant 
something else. 

77
00:04:45,720 --> 00:04:47,400
Why? 
We'll remember in the Psalm we 

78
00:04:47,400 --> 00:04:49,920
read this morning, a son of man 
was mentioned. 

79
00:04:49,920 --> 00:04:52,280
Don't put your trusts in the 
sons of man. 

80
00:04:52,960 --> 00:04:54,720
Oh, is that talking about the 
Messiah? 

81
00:04:54,720 --> 00:04:56,960
No, that's talking about Donald 
Trump. 

82
00:04:57,040 --> 00:04:59,240
Yeah, that's talking about our 
political leaders. 

83
00:04:59,240 --> 00:05:01,760
That's talking about all the 
people we could be tempted to 

84
00:05:01,760 --> 00:05:04,400
put our trust in. 
We want them to rule well, but 

85
00:05:04,400 --> 00:05:06,080
our ultimate hope and trust 
doesn't go in them. 

86
00:05:06,080 --> 00:05:08,680
So Jesus is talking about 
himself to his disciples. 

87
00:05:08,680 --> 00:05:12,200
Hey, guys, who do people say 
that the Son of Man is? 

88
00:05:12,200 --> 00:05:16,000
And then the disciples begin to 
speak, and they leave out the 

89
00:05:16,000 --> 00:05:18,280
negative things. 
You know, some people say that 

90
00:05:18,440 --> 00:05:21,560
he's a demon, so they understood
Jesus's question of saying, hey,

91
00:05:21,560 --> 00:05:24,120
who do who do people think that 
I might be on the good side of 

92
00:05:24,120 --> 00:05:26,280
things? 
And we hear some things that 

93
00:05:26,280 --> 00:05:29,520
we've already heard before. 
Some say John the Baptist, or 

94
00:05:29,800 --> 00:05:30,960
remember, that's what Herod 
thought. 

95
00:05:31,600 --> 00:05:33,680
He said, Oh no, I killed John 
the Baptist. 

96
00:05:33,800 --> 00:05:37,120
He's come back from the dead and
he's going to torment me and 

97
00:05:37,120 --> 00:05:38,840
haunt me. 
Now that was something that 

98
00:05:38,840 --> 00:05:41,200
Herod thought. 
Others still say Elijah and some

99
00:05:41,200 --> 00:05:43,600
others Jeremiah or one of the 
prophets. 

100
00:05:43,760 --> 00:05:46,880
So there were all kinds of 
historical Jewish reasons that 

101
00:05:46,880 --> 00:05:49,000
they might have thought that 
this was taking place. 

102
00:05:49,000 --> 00:05:51,560
There was some legend around. 
Maybe the prophets would be 

103
00:05:51,560 --> 00:05:53,680
resurrected. 
So they were thinking, or maybe 

104
00:05:53,680 --> 00:05:56,400
it's just the mantle of Elijah, 
or maybe it's the mantle and 

105
00:05:56,400 --> 00:05:58,280
ministry of Jeremiah coming 
back. 

106
00:05:58,280 --> 00:06:00,880
So in that sense, they're saying
they say you're them and they 

107
00:06:00,880 --> 00:06:03,440
say you're them and they say 
that you're them. 

108
00:06:04,720 --> 00:06:08,120
It's interesting though that all
the answers they come up with 

109
00:06:08,120 --> 00:06:13,480
for for who he is because he has
been revealing who he is and his

110
00:06:13,480 --> 00:06:16,760
closest disciples. 
They were saying who he was very

111
00:06:16,760 --> 00:06:20,480
early on. 
If you'll remember, Andrew goes 

112
00:06:20,480 --> 00:06:25,040
and gets his brother Peter and 
Andrew says, hey, we found the 

113
00:06:25,040 --> 00:06:28,360
Messiah. 
That was day one for Andrew. 

114
00:06:29,240 --> 00:06:31,840
So Andrew hears John the Baptist
preaching. 

115
00:06:32,120 --> 00:06:35,000
He sees John the Baptist when 
John the Baptist is baptizing. 

116
00:06:35,320 --> 00:06:37,800
Remember John the Baptist second
cousins with Jesus. 

117
00:06:38,000 --> 00:06:40,880
They spent time together, they 
were raised together. 

118
00:06:40,880 --> 00:06:42,600
They both heard these stories of
their births. 

119
00:06:42,600 --> 00:06:45,240
Very likely that their parents 
would have been putting all 

120
00:06:45,240 --> 00:06:48,560
these important information into
them to build up their faith and

121
00:06:48,560 --> 00:06:50,240
the truth of what God had done 
in their lives. 

122
00:06:50,520 --> 00:06:53,480
But one day Jesus comes down to 
the water and John says, behold 

123
00:06:53,480 --> 00:06:57,080
the Lamb of God. 
And Andrew said, then I'm after 

124
00:06:57,080 --> 00:06:59,880
him and he said I found the 
Messiah. 

125
00:07:00,240 --> 00:07:05,040
So for he who has ears to hear, 
it's been very easy to hear. 

126
00:07:05,160 --> 00:07:08,480
For he who has eyes to see, it's
been very easy to see. 

127
00:07:08,920 --> 00:07:11,160
But for those who won't, they 
won't. 

128
00:07:11,160 --> 00:07:14,320
For those who can't, they can't.
But we should emphasize and 

129
00:07:14,320 --> 00:07:16,480
clarify. 
It's not that people have the 

130
00:07:16,720 --> 00:07:19,400
inability, it's that they lack 
the desire. 

131
00:07:20,280 --> 00:07:22,520
It's not that God doesn't want 
to reveal himself. 

132
00:07:22,520 --> 00:07:25,600
It's not that God isn't actively
revealing himself through Jesus 

133
00:07:25,600 --> 00:07:28,480
at all times and all places. 
But as we've said many times 

134
00:07:28,480 --> 00:07:33,480
before, pride is the very thing 
that keeps people from receiving

135
00:07:33,480 --> 00:07:36,640
what they should be receiving, 
and it works exactly as the Lord

136
00:07:36,640 --> 00:07:39,960
intended for it to You cannot 
have Jesus unless you know that 

137
00:07:39,960 --> 00:07:43,200
you need Jesus. 
You can't have him unless you 

138
00:07:43,200 --> 00:07:45,920
desperately know that you need 
him, and if you see him as an 

139
00:07:45,920 --> 00:07:48,440
option or as another 
opportunity, then that's all 

140
00:07:48,440 --> 00:07:50,600
he'll ever be to you. 
Until the day of judgement when 

141
00:07:50,600 --> 00:07:52,760
he's fully revealed for who he's
always been. 

142
00:07:53,240 --> 00:07:54,960
Look at all the answers people 
come up with. 

143
00:07:55,200 --> 00:07:58,040
He's been revealing who he is. 
He's been calling himself who he

144
00:07:58,040 --> 00:08:00,840
is. 
But most people were still 

145
00:08:00,840 --> 00:08:04,560
calling him something and 
someone other than who he said 

146
00:08:04,680 --> 00:08:08,000
he was. 
And what people did with Jesus 

147
00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:10,320
then, people still do with Jesus
now. 

148
00:08:11,280 --> 00:08:14,840
He tells people who he is. 
And people still insist to their

149
00:08:14,840 --> 00:08:19,200
own demise that he's anything 
and everything other than who he

150
00:08:19,200 --> 00:08:22,680
said he is. 
CS Lewis gave the the famous 

151
00:08:22,920 --> 00:08:28,400
trilemma, as it's been called. 
He is Lord, He is a liar or he 

152
00:08:28,400 --> 00:08:31,400
is a lunatic. 
If I call myself a scrambled 

153
00:08:31,400 --> 00:08:35,120
egg, you have some decisions to 
make #1 John Michael is a 

154
00:08:35,120 --> 00:08:38,799
scrambled egg. 
That's one option #2 Joe 

155
00:08:38,799 --> 00:08:40,960
Michaels not a scrambled egg. 
He's a liar. 

156
00:08:41,120 --> 00:08:42,440
He knows he's not a scrambled 
egg. 

157
00:08:42,440 --> 00:08:46,000
He shouldn't be saying that he's
a scrambled egg or #3 Bless his 

158
00:08:46,000 --> 00:08:48,680
heart. 
Joe Michael thinks he's a 

159
00:08:48,680 --> 00:08:53,520
scrambled egg. 
I am a scrambled egg. 

160
00:08:53,560 --> 00:08:55,240
I'm lying about it being a 
scrambled egg. 

161
00:08:55,400 --> 00:08:59,120
Or I'm just crazy and I think I 
am the Lord. 

162
00:08:59,120 --> 00:09:02,640
Jesus is Lord, or he's a liar, 
or he's a crazy person. 

163
00:09:03,160 --> 00:09:06,360
You have to pick one and you've 
got to plant your flag on it. 

164
00:09:08,440 --> 00:09:12,280
But you can't just meander 
around like all world religions 

165
00:09:12,280 --> 00:09:15,880
and all worldly perspectives do.
The Jewish perspective, he's a 

166
00:09:15,880 --> 00:09:19,520
teacher or a rabbi who gained a 
following, but he was not the 

167
00:09:19,520 --> 00:09:23,680
Messiah, wrong. 
The Muslim perspective, he was a

168
00:09:23,680 --> 00:09:27,320
prophet of God, born of a 
virgin, but not divine, and not 

169
00:09:27,320 --> 00:09:28,880
the Son of God. 
Wrong. 

170
00:09:29,440 --> 00:09:32,400
The Hindu perspective. 
He was a wise teacher, possibly 

171
00:09:32,400 --> 00:09:35,680
an avatar of the divine, similar
to other enlightened beings. 

172
00:09:35,840 --> 00:09:38,360
Wrong. 
The Buddhist perspective, he was

173
00:09:38,360 --> 00:09:42,400
a moral teacher who taught 
compassion but not the exclusive

174
00:09:42,400 --> 00:09:44,520
path to enlightenment. 
Wrong. 

175
00:09:45,080 --> 00:09:48,200
The atheist perspective, he was 
a historical figure, possibly a 

176
00:09:48,200 --> 00:09:50,160
moral philosopher, but not 
divine. 

177
00:09:50,240 --> 00:09:54,320
Wrong the agnostic perspective. 
A man whose claims and miracles 

178
00:09:54,320 --> 00:09:56,760
are uncertain or unknowable. 
Wrong. 

179
00:09:57,520 --> 00:09:59,280
The secular historian 
perspective. 

180
00:09:59,280 --> 00:10:02,920
He was a 1st century Jewish 
preacher crucified by the Romans

181
00:10:03,080 --> 00:10:04,920
with later legends built around 
him. 

182
00:10:05,160 --> 00:10:08,360
Wrong. 
In the New Age perspective, he's

183
00:10:08,360 --> 00:10:12,200
a spiritual guide, an ascended 
master, or an enlightened being 

184
00:10:12,280 --> 00:10:17,880
with universal wisdom. 
Wrong again, Jesus tells them, 

185
00:10:18,080 --> 00:10:22,320
and he tells us who he is when 
he says I am the Son of Man. 

186
00:10:22,320 --> 00:10:26,160
So who is Jesus of Nazareth? 
Daniel Chapter 7 reveals who 

187
00:10:26,160 --> 00:10:28,760
Jesus is calling himself to be 
all the time. 

188
00:10:28,920 --> 00:10:32,600
And even in this passage Daniel 
says, and behold, with the 

189
00:10:32,600 --> 00:10:36,880
clouds of heaven there came one 
like a Son of man, and he came 

190
00:10:36,880 --> 00:10:40,360
to the Ancient of Days. 
That's the Father God, and was 

191
00:10:40,360 --> 00:10:45,560
presented before him, and to him
was given dominion and glory and

192
00:10:45,560 --> 00:10:50,280
a Kingdom that all peoples, 
nations and languages should 

193
00:10:50,280 --> 00:10:54,000
serve him. 
His dominion is an everlasting 

194
00:10:54,000 --> 00:10:57,840
dominion which shall not pass 
away, and his Kingdom one that 

195
00:10:57,840 --> 00:11:01,560
shall not be destroyed. 
Jesus is the Son of man, Jesus 

196
00:11:01,560 --> 00:11:04,040
is Lord. 
This is how Jesus goes around 

197
00:11:04,040 --> 00:11:07,680
introducing himself, the Son of 
man, the Son of man, the Son of 

198
00:11:07,680 --> 00:11:09,880
man, the Son of man. 
Jesus is Lord. 

199
00:11:10,040 --> 00:11:13,040
Lord, this is awesome, awesome 
news. 

200
00:11:14,080 --> 00:11:20,480
Keep going here in verse 15. 
And he said to them, but who do 

201
00:11:20,480 --> 00:11:23,600
you say that I am? 
So some say this and some say 

202
00:11:23,600 --> 00:11:25,320
that, some say this and some say
that. 

203
00:11:25,800 --> 00:11:29,160
All right, but who do you? 
So the first question wasn't 

204
00:11:29,160 --> 00:11:31,960
much of a test. 
The second question is the test.

205
00:11:32,160 --> 00:11:35,960
It's pass or fail. 
The same is true for you or I. 

206
00:11:36,760 --> 00:11:38,680
And He's setting them up. 
He's drawing them out. 

207
00:11:38,920 --> 00:11:40,480
Remember how we've talked about 
that before? 

208
00:11:41,040 --> 00:11:44,600
Jesus often will say and ask 
questions why He wants to draw 

209
00:11:44,600 --> 00:11:48,040
you nearer. 
Well, so and so was repelled by 

210
00:11:48,040 --> 00:11:50,360
what Jesus did. 
That wasn't Jesus's intention. 

211
00:11:51,120 --> 00:11:52,760
But he is always going to 
clarify. 

212
00:11:52,880 --> 00:11:55,680
He is always going to separate. 
He always removes the mud from 

213
00:11:55,680 --> 00:11:59,640
the water and clarifies this is 
mud, this is water, this is oil,

214
00:11:59,760 --> 00:12:02,360
this is water. 
These are sheep and these are 

215
00:12:02,360 --> 00:12:05,360
goats. 
This is light and this is 

216
00:12:05,360 --> 00:12:07,480
darkness. 
This is my Kingdom. 

217
00:12:07,720 --> 00:12:11,560
This is the world's Kingdom. 
And he's doing that for his 

218
00:12:11,560 --> 00:12:12,840
disciples. 
Who do they say? 

219
00:12:14,240 --> 00:12:19,800
What do you say? 
Who do you say that I am? 

220
00:12:19,800 --> 00:12:23,320
It's the most important question
ever asked, and it will be asked

221
00:12:23,560 --> 00:12:26,960
of each of us. 
Who do you say that Jesus is? 

222
00:12:28,400 --> 00:12:31,680
And who does your life say that 
Jesus is? 

223
00:12:37,040 --> 00:12:41,840
Simon Peter replied you were the
Christ, the Son of the living 

224
00:12:41,840 --> 00:12:46,480
God. 
So this is something that Peter 

225
00:12:46,480 --> 00:12:50,040
has been believing for a while, 
but something has shifted today 

226
00:12:50,520 --> 00:12:53,520
and Jesus is acknowledging that 
difference in that distinction. 

227
00:12:53,640 --> 00:12:56,800
Have you known anybody or maybe 
you've even been that person who

228
00:12:56,800 --> 00:13:00,640
you gave mental acknowledgement 
to, who Christ was, but you 

229
00:13:00,640 --> 00:13:04,800
still hadn't had not yet 
experienced a heart change from 

230
00:13:04,800 --> 00:13:06,360
it? 
I know people like that. 

231
00:13:06,360 --> 00:13:09,440
I know I have friends who I love
and I'm praying for that the 

232
00:13:09,440 --> 00:13:11,680
light of the Kingdom would fully
break into their heart and that 

233
00:13:11,680 --> 00:13:14,240
the blinders would fully come 
down because they will even say 

234
00:13:14,640 --> 00:13:17,240
I believe the Bible. 
I know Jesus is who he says he 

235
00:13:17,240 --> 00:13:19,160
is. 
Like they believe all of the 

236
00:13:19,160 --> 00:13:22,400
facts of history. 
Congratulations, so does the 

237
00:13:22,400 --> 00:13:26,120
devil. 
Everybody knows these things to 

238
00:13:26,120 --> 00:13:27,840
be true in their heart of 
hearts. 

239
00:13:27,840 --> 00:13:29,080
Why? 
Because God already reveals 

240
00:13:29,080 --> 00:13:30,360
that. 
And yet that's something 

241
00:13:30,360 --> 00:13:33,080
different from the confession 
that Peter is making on this 

242
00:13:33,080 --> 00:13:34,480
day. 
How do we know that? 

243
00:13:34,480 --> 00:13:37,040
Well, because of the way Jesus 
responds to him. 

244
00:13:38,520 --> 00:13:41,440
Jesus answers him and says, 
blessed are you Simon bar Jonah.

245
00:13:41,440 --> 00:13:45,200
That just means Simon, son of 
Jonah for flesh and blood has 

246
00:13:45,200 --> 00:13:48,080
not revealed this to you, but my
Father who is in heaven. 

247
00:13:48,120 --> 00:13:50,960
So Jesus knows that something 
spiritual has happened for 

248
00:13:50,960 --> 00:13:53,080
Peter. 
When Peter was first invited to 

249
00:13:53,080 --> 00:13:55,760
follow Jesus by his brother 
Andrew, Andrew told Peter, we 

250
00:13:55,760 --> 00:13:58,240
have found the Messiah. 
So this isn't the first moment 

251
00:13:58,240 --> 00:14:00,040
that anyone has considered this 
idea. 

252
00:14:00,240 --> 00:14:03,880
But Jesus is emphasizing that 
God the Father, not Peter's 

253
00:14:03,880 --> 00:14:06,960
brother Andrew, brought this 
revelation to him in a deeper 

254
00:14:06,960 --> 00:14:09,120
way. 
Now, I heard this from them. 

255
00:14:09,120 --> 00:14:10,720
I heard this from them. 
I heard this from them. 

256
00:14:11,880 --> 00:14:13,000
Hey, we heard the woman at the 
well. 

257
00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:14,560
She told us this thing that 
about you. 

258
00:14:14,680 --> 00:14:16,720
But now we've seen for 
ourselves. 

259
00:14:17,080 --> 00:14:19,280
Now we have a different level of
understanding. 

260
00:14:20,040 --> 00:14:22,320
So Jesus saying you've heard 
things and you've even been with

261
00:14:22,320 --> 00:14:24,280
me. 
I mean, these guys have healed 

262
00:14:24,280 --> 00:14:27,000
people, remember, the disciples 
have healed the sick. 

263
00:14:27,160 --> 00:14:29,040
The disciples have been sent out
on missions. 

264
00:14:29,200 --> 00:14:32,240
They have driven out demons. 
They've seen a thing or two. 

265
00:14:32,240 --> 00:14:35,720
They've done a thing or two. 
They're not novices at this 

266
00:14:35,720 --> 00:14:39,520
point, but still something 
different has happened now. 

267
00:14:39,520 --> 00:14:42,400
And Jesus is emphasizing that 
God the Father has brought this 

268
00:14:42,400 --> 00:14:46,800
revelation to Peter. 
He continues in verse 18. 

269
00:14:46,800 --> 00:14:52,160
And I tell you, you're Peter. 
And on this rock I will build my

270
00:14:52,160 --> 00:14:56,200
church, and the gates of hell 
shall not prevail against it. 

271
00:14:57,160 --> 00:14:58,680
There's some interesting things 
happening here. 

272
00:14:58,680 --> 00:15:01,720
In this passage, Jesus is using 
a play on words. 

273
00:15:02,080 --> 00:15:05,800
So Peter, the name Peter is a 
name that Jesus gave to Peter 

274
00:15:05,800 --> 00:15:08,160
when he met him. 
So if you remember, his name was

275
00:15:08,160 --> 00:15:11,400
Simon and he came to Jesus and 
Jesus said, I'm going to call 

276
00:15:11,400 --> 00:15:13,680
you Peter, which actually means 
rock. 

277
00:15:13,840 --> 00:15:16,280
It's a stone, something you 
would hold in your hand. 

278
00:15:16,440 --> 00:15:19,160
It could be a small thing like a
piece of gravel. 

279
00:15:19,160 --> 00:15:21,720
It could be, you know, something
larger in your hand. 

280
00:15:22,640 --> 00:15:25,640
But there's a play on words that
Jesus is using here. 

281
00:15:26,960 --> 00:15:33,320
So he's saying you're, you're 
the, the Greek word, the Greek 

282
00:15:33,320 --> 00:15:37,280
word is petros. 
So he's saying you are Petros, 

283
00:15:37,280 --> 00:15:40,520
you are Peter the rock, but on 
this, and he doesn't use the 

284
00:15:40,520 --> 00:15:43,480
same word here, so he doesn't 
say you're a rock. 

285
00:15:44,280 --> 00:15:46,640
And on this rock, I'll build my 
church. 

286
00:15:46,640 --> 00:15:51,240
He actually says you're Petros. 
And on this, Petra, I will build

287
00:15:51,240 --> 00:15:52,960
my church. 
It's two different words. 

288
00:15:52,960 --> 00:15:54,600
So in English, I don't pick that
up. 

289
00:15:54,600 --> 00:15:56,000
I don't recognize what's going 
on there. 

290
00:15:56,680 --> 00:15:59,680
You don't have to be a Greek 
scholar to dig into any of this.

291
00:15:59,680 --> 00:16:01,800
You just have to know how to 
read, which is my claim to fame,

292
00:16:01,800 --> 00:16:05,960
of course. 
So Peter, you're the small rock,

293
00:16:06,320 --> 00:16:09,280
but the Petra that Jesus is 
referring to is a massive rock. 

294
00:16:09,520 --> 00:16:13,280
It's a massive rock formation, 
even potentially a Cliff, like a

295
00:16:13,280 --> 00:16:15,640
massive Cliff side. 
Not just a boulder the size of 

296
00:16:15,640 --> 00:16:19,440
your truck, but an entire rock 
formation. 

297
00:16:19,560 --> 00:16:24,080
He's saying well done, good job.
You answered correctly, Peter, 

298
00:16:24,520 --> 00:16:28,720
and upon this, not this Little 
Rock, upon this Petra, I will 

299
00:16:28,720 --> 00:16:30,840
build my church. 
So then that of course leaves 

300
00:16:30,840 --> 00:16:34,160
the question, what is the Petra 
he's referring to if Peter is 

301
00:16:34,160 --> 00:16:36,680
the Petros? 
Peter, I named you rock. 

302
00:16:37,000 --> 00:16:38,520
Well done. 
You got. 

303
00:16:38,520 --> 00:16:40,480
You have revelation from my 
father. 

304
00:16:40,480 --> 00:16:44,040
I know he revealed it to you and
I'm pleased with you for that. 

305
00:16:44,640 --> 00:16:46,560
But I'm going to build my 
church. 

306
00:16:46,560 --> 00:16:48,520
So what is the Petra he's 
referring to? 

307
00:16:48,520 --> 00:16:51,480
What is this massive rock 
formation that he's referring 

308
00:16:51,480 --> 00:16:54,240
to? 
Some have said that the math 

309
00:16:54,280 --> 00:16:57,200
that the the Petra he's 
referring to is actually Peter. 

310
00:16:57,640 --> 00:17:00,480
And this is for any of you have 
a Catholic Church background. 

311
00:17:00,480 --> 00:17:03,360
This is what the Catholic Church
teaches and believes. 

312
00:17:03,360 --> 00:17:07,200
They, they believe that at this 
moment Jesus was initiating the 

313
00:17:07,200 --> 00:17:09,440
first Pope as the head of the 
church. 

314
00:17:09,760 --> 00:17:13,280
They believe that Peter is in 
this moment Pope number one and 

315
00:17:13,280 --> 00:17:15,160
every other Pope is going to 
come out of the out of the 

316
00:17:15,160 --> 00:17:18,040
lineage of Peter. 
This can't be the case though, 

317
00:17:18,440 --> 00:17:20,440
and I'll explain it to you 
really briefly for a couple of 

318
00:17:20,440 --> 00:17:22,880
reasons. 
This cannot be the case because 

319
00:17:22,880 --> 00:17:26,920
literally 5 verses from now, 
Jesus is going to call Peter 

320
00:17:26,920 --> 00:17:32,000
Satan. 
So Peter, the massive pillar of 

321
00:17:32,000 --> 00:17:34,280
the entire church, I'm going to 
build the whole thing on you. 

322
00:17:34,280 --> 00:17:36,480
And five verses from now he 
goes, get behind me, Satan. 

323
00:17:36,480 --> 00:17:39,000
Like there'd be a big loss for 
the first Pope, right? 

324
00:17:40,200 --> 00:17:42,200
So is Peter a pillar in the 
early church? 

325
00:17:42,440 --> 00:17:45,200
Undoubtedly, yes. 
He preaches the sermon on the 

326
00:17:45,200 --> 00:17:46,800
day of Pentecost. 
We're not going to minimize 

327
00:17:46,800 --> 00:17:49,600
Peter's role in the early church
or the role of the apostles or 

328
00:17:49,600 --> 00:17:52,560
the foundation that the apostles
laid that we should obey and 

329
00:17:52,560 --> 00:17:54,360
walk out. 
We're thankful for it. 

330
00:17:54,360 --> 00:17:56,200
We're not going to belittle it. 
We're not going to go from 1 

331
00:17:56,200 --> 00:17:59,080
extreme to another. 
But that's one reason we also 

332
00:17:59,080 --> 00:18:01,640
see in the book of Acts that 
James is clearly the leader of 

333
00:18:01,640 --> 00:18:03,080
the church in Jerusalem, not 
Peter. 

334
00:18:03,680 --> 00:18:05,960
So Peter actually submits to 
James. 

335
00:18:06,560 --> 00:18:09,560
In addition to that, we see in 
the book of Acts where Paul 

336
00:18:09,560 --> 00:18:11,960
comes and publicly rebukes Peter
in front of everyone. 

337
00:18:12,360 --> 00:18:15,920
So Peter was in sin. 
He was it was some racial stuff 

338
00:18:15,920 --> 00:18:20,760
going on some preferences with 
groups or like prideful not want

339
00:18:20,760 --> 00:18:23,200
to be seen with one group and 
Peter sniffs and out of us or 

340
00:18:23,200 --> 00:18:24,760
Paul sniffs and I was like, what
are you doing? 

341
00:18:24,920 --> 00:18:27,920
This isn't and he rebukes him in
front of everybody didn't pull 

342
00:18:27,920 --> 00:18:30,280
him aside like, hey, man, let's 
talk about this puts him on 

343
00:18:30,280 --> 00:18:33,440
blast in front of everybody. 
So those are just a couple of 

344
00:18:33,440 --> 00:18:36,440
reasons why we know that. 
But again, Jesus didn't build 

345
00:18:36,440 --> 00:18:39,320
everything on Peter. 
He's building on something else,

346
00:18:39,480 --> 00:18:41,280
I think. 
What do you think, what do you 

347
00:18:41,280 --> 00:18:42,560
think, Pastor, that he's 
building on? 

348
00:18:42,560 --> 00:18:46,160
What is this Petra, this rock, 
this awesome and strong 

349
00:18:46,160 --> 00:18:47,200
foundation that he's building 
on? 

350
00:18:47,200 --> 00:18:48,200
What do you think he's referring
to? 

351
00:18:48,440 --> 00:18:52,080
I think, like many do, that 
Jesus is referring to the very 

352
00:18:52,080 --> 00:18:57,600
confession about who Jesus is. 
That is the thing that Jesus 

353
00:18:57,600 --> 00:19:01,040
builds his church on. 
It is the revelation and the 

354
00:19:01,040 --> 00:19:03,520
confession. 
That's the firm foundation that 

355
00:19:03,520 --> 00:19:06,640
Jesus is building on. 
That is the firm foundation that

356
00:19:06,640 --> 00:19:08,320
he built. 
That's what you were built on. 

357
00:19:08,520 --> 00:19:11,280
That's what I was built on. 
How do you come into the body of

358
00:19:11,280 --> 00:19:12,960
Christ? 
It is the revelation of who 

359
00:19:13,040 --> 00:19:17,160
Jesus is and then the confession
of who Jesus is upon this rock 

360
00:19:17,320 --> 00:19:21,720
of revelation and upon this rock
of confession of who Christ is. 

361
00:19:22,200 --> 00:19:25,240
That is how the church is built.
That is how Jesus build the 

362
00:19:25,240 --> 00:19:26,880
church. 
In that very moment. 

363
00:19:26,880 --> 00:19:30,560
Peter got revelation and made 
confession and Jesus said this 

364
00:19:30,560 --> 00:19:33,280
is how I build the church 
through revelation and 

365
00:19:33,280 --> 00:19:36,440
confession, through revelation 
and confession church. 

366
00:19:36,440 --> 00:19:39,360
We need revelation and we need 
confession. 

367
00:19:40,160 --> 00:19:42,480
We need revelation and we need 
confession. 

368
00:19:42,840 --> 00:19:46,760
All these things tie in together
and I won't be able to do it 

369
00:19:46,760 --> 00:19:48,960
justice. 
The Master did it and he even 

370
00:19:48,960 --> 00:19:51,560
did it in a condensed way as he 
always does. 

371
00:19:51,560 --> 00:19:53,640
It takes me a lot longer to say 
the stuff that Jesus said. 

372
00:19:53,640 --> 00:19:55,720
That's why I have to preach for 
45 minutes and he could do it in

373
00:19:55,720 --> 00:19:59,280
like 5. 
But this is all the more reason 

374
00:19:59,280 --> 00:20:01,760
why we need one another, is all 
the more reason why we need to 

375
00:20:01,760 --> 00:20:04,360
hear the word of God preached, 
because the Word of God brings 

376
00:20:04,360 --> 00:20:07,040
light and brings revelation. 
All the more reason why we need 

377
00:20:07,040 --> 00:20:09,720
to confess to one another the 
goodness of God. 

378
00:20:10,120 --> 00:20:12,120
A lot of times we think 
confession, we think exclusively

379
00:20:12,120 --> 00:20:14,520
of confessing sin. 
That most certainly would be 

380
00:20:14,520 --> 00:20:16,680
included. 
We should confess our sins to 

381
00:20:16,680 --> 00:20:18,400
one another. 
We should confess our joys to 

382
00:20:18,400 --> 00:20:21,000
one another. 
We should confess the gospel to 

383
00:20:21,000 --> 00:20:23,240
one another. 
We should confess the truths of 

384
00:20:23,240 --> 00:20:25,960
Scripture to one another. 
We should sing psalms and hymns 

385
00:20:25,960 --> 00:20:27,800
and spiritual songs making 
melody. 

386
00:20:27,880 --> 00:20:31,640
In our hearts to one another, we
should exercise and operate in 

387
00:20:31,640 --> 00:20:33,240
the gifts of the Spirit with one
another. 

388
00:20:33,720 --> 00:20:36,200
We need revelation and we need 
confession. 

389
00:20:36,360 --> 00:20:39,760
And this is how Jesus builds his
church and builds up his church 

390
00:20:41,040 --> 00:20:43,640
together as a body and even 
individually. 

391
00:20:43,640 --> 00:20:46,400
This is how the Lord builds us 
up through revelation and 

392
00:20:46,400 --> 00:20:49,320
through confession. 
That is the Petra that I believe

393
00:20:49,360 --> 00:20:52,440
Jesus is referring to. 
Gee, Peter, you're a rock. 

394
00:20:53,640 --> 00:20:57,920
But upon this massive, massive 
thing of the the revelation and 

395
00:20:57,920 --> 00:21:00,240
the confession, I'm going to 
build my church on that. 

396
00:21:00,360 --> 00:21:03,240
So it's a just a plain words, 
the rock and the rock. 

397
00:21:05,440 --> 00:21:08,280
Let's keep going. 
We're in verse 18. 

398
00:21:08,280 --> 00:21:10,400
I tell you that you're Peter on 
this rock. 

399
00:21:10,400 --> 00:21:14,880
I will build my church and the 
gates of hell shall not prevail 

400
00:21:14,880 --> 00:21:17,720
against it. 
I will build my church. 

401
00:21:18,800 --> 00:21:22,080
So what is this word church? 
It's interesting to note that 

402
00:21:22,120 --> 00:21:24,880
Jesus didn't just invent a new 
word right here for for us. 

403
00:21:24,880 --> 00:21:28,760
The word church there again, 
giving you Greek again, the the 

404
00:21:28,760 --> 00:21:32,840
word is called ecclesia. 
So this was already a word in 

405
00:21:32,840 --> 00:21:35,400
their language. 
They already had use for this. 

406
00:21:35,640 --> 00:21:38,080
This word, ecclesia just simply 
means an assembly or a 

407
00:21:38,080 --> 00:21:40,360
gathering. 
That's what Jesus was referring 

408
00:21:40,360 --> 00:21:42,520
to. 
He's saying I'm going to have my

409
00:21:42,520 --> 00:21:44,960
gathering. 
I'm going to build my gathering 

410
00:21:45,160 --> 00:21:47,000
of people. 
It's a word already in use. 

411
00:21:47,160 --> 00:21:48,880
It means an assembly or a 
gathering of people. 

412
00:21:48,880 --> 00:21:51,560
Interestingly, in the New 
Testament, it's never referring 

413
00:21:51,560 --> 00:21:53,600
to a building. 
It's never referring to a 

414
00:21:53,600 --> 00:21:57,720
meeting place. 
It's always referring to God's 

415
00:21:57,720 --> 00:21:59,680
people. 
There's nothing wrong with 

416
00:21:59,680 --> 00:22:00,720
buildings. 
There's nothing wrong with 

417
00:22:00,720 --> 00:22:03,160
meeting places. 
But This is why it's been 

418
00:22:03,160 --> 00:22:05,800
something I've been, I've worked
hard to be deliberate with over 

419
00:22:05,800 --> 00:22:07,080
the years. 
I don't think I've been flawless

420
00:22:07,080 --> 00:22:10,640
with it, but I've been 
deliberate to not reference to 

421
00:22:10,640 --> 00:22:12,760
my family or to you as going to 
church. 

422
00:22:13,000 --> 00:22:14,640
I'll say, hey, well, we see you 
at service. 

423
00:22:14,640 --> 00:22:15,800
Hey, we have service in the 
morning. 

424
00:22:15,800 --> 00:22:17,360
Hey, we're going to go worship 
with the Saints. 

425
00:22:17,800 --> 00:22:19,120
Why? 
Is it because I want to be 

426
00:22:19,120 --> 00:22:21,800
annoying and a stickler? 
I don't mean to be annoying. 

427
00:22:22,680 --> 00:22:25,760
I just mean to be accurate and I
want to keep shaping people's 

428
00:22:25,760 --> 00:22:27,520
view and understanding what the 
church is. 

429
00:22:28,280 --> 00:22:30,880
If this building fell down 
tomorrow, Salt Church would 

430
00:22:30,880 --> 00:22:34,480
still be thriving. 
So in one day, make no mistake, 

431
00:22:34,480 --> 00:22:38,440
I want us to have a beautiful 
facility that we meet in, but 

432
00:22:38,440 --> 00:22:42,000
we're the church and it's our 
gathering that matters. 

433
00:22:42,320 --> 00:22:45,760
And so we're thankful for 
beautiful cathedrals all 

434
00:22:45,760 --> 00:22:48,600
throughout the world. 
And, and eventually I would love

435
00:22:48,600 --> 00:22:51,840
for us to have our own as well. 
And anybody a big pipe organ 

436
00:22:51,840 --> 00:22:55,560
fan, I would love to just have a
massive wall of a pipe organ. 

437
00:22:55,960 --> 00:22:59,320
I think they cost millions, but 
whatever, we'll do it. 

438
00:22:59,360 --> 00:23:03,240
You'll play it, I'll play it, 
I'll take organ lessons. 

439
00:23:03,240 --> 00:23:05,880
Just warmth all the air. 
Just put have to open the 

440
00:23:05,880 --> 00:23:08,280
windows to let the thing really 
fly. 

441
00:23:09,560 --> 00:23:12,120
So all those things are good. 
But Jesus isn't referring to a 

442
00:23:12,120 --> 00:23:14,760
building. 
So he's not saying I'm going to 

443
00:23:14,760 --> 00:23:17,000
lay a firm foundation so I can 
erect a building. 

444
00:23:17,000 --> 00:23:21,000
He's saying the foundation of 
revelation and confession is how

445
00:23:21,000 --> 00:23:22,560
I'll build up the gathering of 
my people. 

446
00:23:23,040 --> 00:23:26,560
This is how Jesus multiplies the
body of Christ, and this is how 

447
00:23:26,560 --> 00:23:28,160
Jesus strengthens the body of 
Christ. 

448
00:23:28,280 --> 00:23:30,000
This is how someone gets born 
again. 

449
00:23:30,120 --> 00:23:32,760
It's through the revelation of 
God and in the confession unto 

450
00:23:32,760 --> 00:23:35,400
salvation. 
But it's also how the Saint 

451
00:23:35,400 --> 00:23:38,040
who's already born again 
continues to get strength and 

452
00:23:38,040 --> 00:23:40,600
help. 
God brings me revelation and I 

453
00:23:40,600 --> 00:23:45,680
continually confess with my 
mouth, I love you, Lord, you're 

454
00:23:45,680 --> 00:23:47,360
good. 
This is who you are. 

455
00:23:47,440 --> 00:23:49,640
This is what you've done. 
This is what you said. 

456
00:23:50,200 --> 00:23:53,320
Confession and revelation is how
he builds his eklesia. 

457
00:23:54,240 --> 00:23:57,440
So the Eklesia is also where we 
get our word. 

458
00:23:58,560 --> 00:24:03,080
We talked about ecclesiology and
that's just simply means our 

459
00:24:03,080 --> 00:24:07,160
understanding of the church or 
the the God's design or the 

460
00:24:07,160 --> 00:24:09,600
study of the church. 
If we're fancy pants, we could 

461
00:24:09,600 --> 00:24:12,760
say it that way, but most of the
time we just talk about the 

462
00:24:12,760 --> 00:24:17,800
church in practical terms. 
So Jesus is building his church.

463
00:24:17,800 --> 00:24:20,080
He's establishing his Kingdom. 
How does he do it? 

464
00:24:20,200 --> 00:24:23,280
He does it first through his 
church, and he is the builder, 

465
00:24:23,280 --> 00:24:26,320
thank God. 
So the gathering of God's people

466
00:24:26,480 --> 00:24:30,080
is an obvious and expected 
desire for God's people to have.

467
00:24:31,680 --> 00:24:34,960
People should want to gather 
with the church if they are a 

468
00:24:34,960 --> 00:24:39,360
part of the church, there is a 
malfunction or an injury or a 

469
00:24:39,360 --> 00:24:43,080
rebellion or a disobedience. 
Something is wrong with the 

470
00:24:43,080 --> 00:24:46,240
Saint who says, I know and love 
the Lord and I say, praise the 

471
00:24:46,240 --> 00:24:48,480
Lord. 
Where do you worship? 

472
00:24:48,480 --> 00:24:51,560
What body are you connected to? 
And they say, well, I don't do 

473
00:24:51,560 --> 00:24:53,840
any of that stuff. 
There's a malfunction there. 

474
00:24:54,040 --> 00:24:55,960
Do you always know what it is? 
No, not right off the bat. 

475
00:24:56,600 --> 00:24:58,680
Maybe after a few minutes I can 
surface it. 

476
00:24:59,440 --> 00:25:02,160
You know, there's, there's, 
there's a short list of things 

477
00:25:02,160 --> 00:25:04,880
that are pretty typical. 
I was hurt by the church. 

478
00:25:05,040 --> 00:25:07,360
Join the club. 
Anybody here not hurt by the 

479
00:25:07,360 --> 00:25:10,160
church ever. 
Go on, everybody, raise your 

480
00:25:10,160 --> 00:25:11,960
hands. 
I'd like to know all the people 

481
00:25:12,200 --> 00:25:13,720
you know. 
So that's a common 1 though, you

482
00:25:13,720 --> 00:25:16,520
know, we, we suffer church hurt.
OK. 

483
00:25:18,720 --> 00:25:20,840
I've suffered all kinds of hurt.
I suffered school hurt. 

484
00:25:20,960 --> 00:25:23,240
I kept going to school. 
I suffered. 

485
00:25:23,240 --> 00:25:26,760
You know, you ever suffer hurt 
in public, you know, by the very

486
00:25:26,760 --> 00:25:28,240
people you pay money to at the 
restaurant? 

487
00:25:28,720 --> 00:25:30,440
You ever suffer offense or 
injury there, Do you? 

488
00:25:30,480 --> 00:25:31,760
Do you still eat out at 
restaurants? 

489
00:25:32,360 --> 00:25:35,240
Yeah, me too. 
You ever suffered church hurt 

490
00:25:35,880 --> 00:25:39,320
what you say, right. 
I don't go to that one anymore. 

491
00:25:39,520 --> 00:25:42,200
Well, that's a great point. 
That is actually a great point. 

492
00:25:42,480 --> 00:25:45,560
So to suffer torture doesn't 
mean you subject yourself to 

493
00:25:45,560 --> 00:25:48,520
abuse or injury. 
It doesn't mean that there there

494
00:25:48,520 --> 00:25:51,800
has to be a it doesn't mean that
someone has trust. 

495
00:25:52,600 --> 00:25:55,640
But so if if I've been in a 
place, if I've been in a local 

496
00:25:55,640 --> 00:26:00,000
body that was unhealthy and and 
injuring people, of course I 

497
00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:01,960
would counsel you to leave that 
place and get out of that 

498
00:26:01,960 --> 00:26:04,520
circumstance. 
But not to leave the church, not

499
00:26:04,520 --> 00:26:05,680
to go. 
We're going to hold up. 

500
00:26:05,720 --> 00:26:08,360
You don't know how many people I
talk to and I ask questions to 

501
00:26:08,360 --> 00:26:09,160
and check on them. 
They got. 

502
00:26:09,160 --> 00:26:11,080
Yeah. 
Ever since COVID, we haven't 

503
00:26:11,080 --> 00:26:14,360
really been back. 
And I'm going, I try and like 

504
00:26:14,360 --> 00:26:18,960
not let my face reveal like the 
crazy and just like, and just 

505
00:26:18,960 --> 00:26:21,200
trying to act like right, right.
Totally normal thing to say, 

506
00:26:21,520 --> 00:26:25,080
totally normal thing to do. 
It's not it's not normal and I 

507
00:26:25,080 --> 00:26:27,760
wouldn't be loving to play along
forever and go of course, of 

508
00:26:27,760 --> 00:26:30,120
course you do your own way, your
own time, whatever you think. 

509
00:26:30,320 --> 00:26:33,880
No, not whatever you think that 
Glacia is the gathered body of 

510
00:26:33,880 --> 00:26:36,920
Jesus people. 
So if you love Jesus, you're 

511
00:26:36,920 --> 00:26:39,400
going to love to obey Jesus 
while I do obey Jesus. 

512
00:26:39,840 --> 00:26:42,680
And then they insert one command
that they obey while 

513
00:26:42,680 --> 00:26:45,720
disregarding others. 
Pastor, why you telling us this?

514
00:26:45,720 --> 00:26:47,840
We gathered this morning. 
I know, but I want you to know 

515
00:26:47,840 --> 00:26:51,040
why you gathered. 
This is not a tradition of man. 

516
00:26:51,200 --> 00:26:54,800
This is a command of your Lord. 
It's good and necessary and 

517
00:26:54,800 --> 00:26:58,240
healthy and wholesome to bring 
revelation, confession, and 

518
00:26:58,240 --> 00:27:00,720
obedience to the Lord. 
This is how He's building His 

519
00:27:00,720 --> 00:27:02,800
church. 
In addition to that, there are a

520
00:27:02,800 --> 00:27:04,760
lot of one another's in the New 
Testament. 

521
00:27:05,400 --> 00:27:07,640
There are many one another 
commands. 

522
00:27:07,720 --> 00:27:11,480
Love one another. 
Can you do that by yourself? 

523
00:27:13,120 --> 00:27:15,800
Honor one another, Can't do that
one alone. 

524
00:27:16,080 --> 00:27:18,840
Build up one another can't do 
that one alone. 

525
00:27:19,400 --> 00:27:23,640
Bear one another's burdens. 
Do that at home with YouTube. 

526
00:27:23,680 --> 00:27:26,120
We've been doing we've been 
doing Internet church. 

527
00:27:26,440 --> 00:27:28,520
No, you haven't. 
You've been listening to a 

528
00:27:28,520 --> 00:27:31,400
sermon online. 
I'm glad you listened to a 

529
00:27:31,400 --> 00:27:34,800
sermon online. 
Listen to more sermons online. 

530
00:27:34,800 --> 00:27:37,080
Listen to all the sermons online
you want, but you haven't been 

531
00:27:37,080 --> 00:27:40,080
doing church online because 
that's an oxymoron. 

532
00:27:40,600 --> 00:27:41,920
It's like I've been I've been 
eating. 

533
00:27:42,080 --> 00:27:43,640
I'm a vegetarian, but I love 
bacon. 

534
00:27:43,840 --> 00:27:46,960
You can't. 
That isn't so. 

535
00:27:46,960 --> 00:27:49,360
Listen to sermons online, listen
to podcasts, all that. 

536
00:27:49,360 --> 00:27:52,200
But you're not doing church 
online because you don't do 

537
00:27:52,200 --> 00:27:54,000
church. 
Church is the gathering of 

538
00:27:54,000 --> 00:27:57,880
Jesus. 
People bear one another's 

539
00:27:57,880 --> 00:28:02,760
burdens, admonish one another, 
confess your faults to one 

540
00:28:02,760 --> 00:28:06,200
another, all the one another's 
in the New Testament. 

541
00:28:06,200 --> 00:28:08,800
I can't do this by myself. 
I have to do this with you. 

542
00:28:08,800 --> 00:28:11,320
I have to be in your presence to
love you. 

543
00:28:11,320 --> 00:28:13,560
I have to be with you to honor 
you, have to be with you to 

544
00:28:13,560 --> 00:28:15,920
build you up. 
I have to be with you to bear 

545
00:28:15,920 --> 00:28:17,320
your burdens. 
I have to be with you to 

546
00:28:17,320 --> 00:28:19,680
admonish you. 
I have to be with you to confess

547
00:28:19,680 --> 00:28:22,840
my faults to you, and you have 
to do the same. 

548
00:28:23,960 --> 00:28:26,000
What else do we know about the 
church? 

549
00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:28,640
What else is Jesus revealed 
through His word about the 

550
00:28:28,640 --> 00:28:31,400
church? 
First Timothy 315 tells us that 

551
00:28:31,400 --> 00:28:35,280
the Church of the living God is 
the household of God and it is a

552
00:28:35,280 --> 00:28:37,680
pillar and foundation of the 
truth. 

553
00:28:37,920 --> 00:28:40,160
We talk often about the 
different spheres of authority 

554
00:28:40,160 --> 00:28:43,360
that the Lord has established in
the earth, the church, the 

555
00:28:43,360 --> 00:28:47,760
government, and the household. 
There's overlap Sometimes, you 

556
00:28:47,760 --> 00:28:50,560
know, there could be overlap. 
You know, if I stole a bunch of 

557
00:28:50,560 --> 00:28:51,960
money, police could walk in here
right now. 

558
00:28:51,960 --> 00:28:53,560
That's the government. 
They could come in and they 

559
00:28:53,560 --> 00:28:54,920
could arrest John Michael. 
What are you doing in the 

560
00:28:54,920 --> 00:28:56,840
church? 
Like we have that we are 

561
00:28:56,840 --> 00:28:59,920
fulfilling our jurisdiction. 
They're within their right to do

562
00:28:59,920 --> 00:29:02,080
that thing. 
I would have preferred they 

563
00:29:02,080 --> 00:29:03,640
picked a different time. 
Those have been embarrassing for

564
00:29:03,640 --> 00:29:06,480
me. 
Frankly, I thought you would 

565
00:29:06,480 --> 00:29:07,680
laugh at that. 
It's just a joke. 

566
00:29:07,680 --> 00:29:11,640
I'm not stealing money. 
Everybody's nervous now, but 

567
00:29:11,640 --> 00:29:13,320
they were there within their 
right to do that. 

568
00:29:13,320 --> 00:29:14,360
Why? 
Because that's what the Lord has

569
00:29:14,360 --> 00:29:17,080
established the government for, 
to punish the evil doer and to 

570
00:29:17,080 --> 00:29:19,640
reward the righteous. 
So that's in their jurisdiction.

571
00:29:19,800 --> 00:29:22,200
And the father and the husband 
in the household has an 

572
00:29:22,200 --> 00:29:25,160
authority that the church 
doesn't have over over it and 

573
00:29:25,560 --> 00:29:27,000
that the government doesn't have
over that. 

574
00:29:27,000 --> 00:29:29,520
And yet there's still overlap. 
What is the church's role and 

575
00:29:29,520 --> 00:29:34,360
responsibility? 
The church is the pillar and the

576
00:29:34,360 --> 00:29:36,480
foundation of the truth for the 
earth. 

577
00:29:37,000 --> 00:29:39,880
The church is the interpreter of
truth for the earth. 

578
00:29:40,160 --> 00:29:42,680
The government is not the 
interpreter of truth for the 

579
00:29:42,720 --> 00:29:45,400
earth. 
The household and the husband 

580
00:29:45,400 --> 00:29:47,840
and father is not the 
interpreter of truth for the 

581
00:29:47,880 --> 00:29:51,960
earth. 
That authority has been given to

582
00:29:51,960 --> 00:29:55,080
the Church of Jesus Christ. 
And there's overlap, though, 

583
00:29:55,080 --> 00:29:57,160
right? 
Because you could function in 

584
00:29:57,160 --> 00:30:00,320
all three of those fears. 
You could be a police officer 

585
00:30:00,960 --> 00:30:02,760
and you're involved. 
You're literally the sword of 

586
00:30:02,760 --> 00:30:04,520
the Lord. 
You bear not the sword in vain. 

587
00:30:04,840 --> 00:30:06,400
You don't draw that weapon for 
nothing. 

588
00:30:07,120 --> 00:30:11,040
God has given the authority to 
kill, to take human life. 

589
00:30:11,040 --> 00:30:12,960
He's given that to the to the 
government. 

590
00:30:13,080 --> 00:30:15,840
So you might be a police officer
who loves the Lord. 

591
00:30:16,600 --> 00:30:18,840
So you're a Christian and you're
also a husband and father. 

592
00:30:18,840 --> 00:30:20,440
So you're involved in all three 
spheres, aren't you? 

593
00:30:20,880 --> 00:30:23,000
So there's overlap and there's 
ways to walk in wisdom with 

594
00:30:23,000 --> 00:30:25,960
these things. 
But the Church specifically has 

595
00:30:25,960 --> 00:30:31,080
the authority to be the pillar 
and the foundation of the truth.

596
00:30:31,560 --> 00:30:35,920
The Church of Jesus, the 
gathered Saints who have the 

597
00:30:35,920 --> 00:30:39,520
revelation of who He is and 
confess Him as Lord, are the 

598
00:30:39,520 --> 00:30:41,880
pillar and the foundation of 
truth in the earth. 

599
00:30:44,680 --> 00:30:48,840
This is the role of the Church. 
To be the truth definer and the 

600
00:30:48,840 --> 00:30:52,280
truth interpreter, we have to 
interpret the Scriptures. 

601
00:30:53,320 --> 00:30:56,080
The Scriptures are open to 
interpretation. 

602
00:30:56,680 --> 00:30:59,240
Clearly there's some things 
where it's going, OK, that's a 

603
00:30:59,240 --> 00:31:01,320
bit on the nose. 
And then there are a couple 

604
00:31:01,320 --> 00:31:03,520
other things we're going. 
Seems like there's some 

605
00:31:03,720 --> 00:31:06,400
opportunity here. 
The government does not lecture 

606
00:31:06,400 --> 00:31:07,920
the church on what the Scripture
means. 

607
00:31:08,120 --> 00:31:11,640
Like they attempted to during 
COVID when they tried to tell us

608
00:31:11,840 --> 00:31:13,040
here's what you're supposed to 
do. 

609
00:31:13,040 --> 00:31:15,440
Dear Christians, you go, ha, ha,
ha, nice try. 

610
00:31:16,360 --> 00:31:17,800
You're allowed to punish the 
evil doer. 

611
00:31:18,080 --> 00:31:21,120
Well, says who says us. 
We clarify your role for you. 

612
00:31:21,400 --> 00:31:23,440
That's our job. 
We don't have authority over the

613
00:31:23,440 --> 00:31:27,720
government, but Jesus sure does.
And Jesus sure has authority 

614
00:31:27,720 --> 00:31:29,920
over the church and Jesus sure 
has authority over the 

615
00:31:29,920 --> 00:31:31,880
household. 
So the church has a unique role 

616
00:31:31,880 --> 00:31:33,760
in that. 
It speaks to all three with an 

617
00:31:33,760 --> 00:31:36,680
authority, but the government 
has a unique role, like I said, 

618
00:31:36,680 --> 00:31:39,440
like the church can't do 
whatever it wants and without 

619
00:31:39,440 --> 00:31:42,640
the government, say hang on a 
second, that was evil and now we

620
00:31:42,640 --> 00:31:45,880
have jurisdiction or households 
would make decisions in all 

621
00:31:45,880 --> 00:31:51,040
those environments as well. 
So the church has authority. 

622
00:31:51,600 --> 00:31:54,800
The church. 
Jesus goes on to say, I will 

623
00:31:54,800 --> 00:31:57,720
give you the keys of the Kingdom
of heaven. 

624
00:32:00,000 --> 00:32:02,800
Keys always refer to power. 
Keys always refer to authority. 

625
00:32:02,800 --> 00:32:06,200
So here, now Jesus is referring 
to, again, not Peter, not hey 

626
00:32:06,200 --> 00:32:08,120
Peter, everything's built on 
you. 

627
00:32:08,320 --> 00:32:10,760
The one who I'm going to call 
Satan in just a few verses from 

628
00:32:10,760 --> 00:32:14,240
now, the one who's going to 
submit to James in the early 

629
00:32:14,240 --> 00:32:16,680
church, the one who's going to 
be rebuked by Paul for his sin 

630
00:32:16,680 --> 00:32:18,560
in front of everyone, That's not
what he's building. 

631
00:32:18,560 --> 00:32:20,560
He's not saying, Peter, all 
authority has been given to you.

632
00:32:20,560 --> 00:32:22,680
He's saying, so I give all 
authority to the church. 

633
00:32:24,320 --> 00:32:27,320
That means the church has the 
stewardship of God's truth. 

634
00:32:27,520 --> 00:32:31,000
The church does not create the 
truth, but we do interpret the 

635
00:32:31,000 --> 00:32:34,760
truth for everyone else. 
That is our responsibility. 

636
00:32:35,600 --> 00:32:39,880
The church speaks for God and 
declares and interprets His word

637
00:32:40,040 --> 00:32:42,680
and His will. 
The government does not do that.

638
00:32:42,840 --> 00:32:45,520
The household does not do that. 
So again, like that's what 

639
00:32:45,560 --> 00:32:48,040
whenever the government wants to
manipulate Christians who don't 

640
00:32:48,040 --> 00:32:50,560
know their Bibles, that's not 
going to be you. 

641
00:32:50,560 --> 00:32:52,960
But when the government wants to
manipulate Christians who don't 

642
00:32:52,960 --> 00:32:56,440
know their Bibles or or former 
Christians or non Christians 

643
00:32:56,440 --> 00:32:59,600
want to manipulate Christians, 
they can always grab a verse. 

644
00:32:59,760 --> 00:33:01,800
And if you don't know your Bible
and you don't understand 

645
00:33:01,800 --> 00:33:05,120
authority and who speaks to what
and what applies to where and 

646
00:33:05,120 --> 00:33:07,880
you don't know what's going on, 
you can be deceived, you can be 

647
00:33:07,880 --> 00:33:09,840
manipulated, you can be 
confused. 

648
00:33:09,840 --> 00:33:12,040
The same thing's happening again
right now with the immigration 

649
00:33:12,040 --> 00:33:16,880
conversation. 
So it's, I don't want to confuse

650
00:33:16,880 --> 00:33:23,680
you, but it's hysterically 
hypocritical and ironic, the 

651
00:33:23,680 --> 00:33:25,840
complexity of what's going on in
that whole conversation. 

652
00:33:25,840 --> 00:33:27,920
First of all, the state has the 
authority to do with the state 

653
00:33:27,920 --> 00:33:30,400
believes is best for the nation.
That's real simple. 

654
00:33:30,960 --> 00:33:34,320
So the state should enforce, and
I don't just mean Virginia, I 

655
00:33:34,320 --> 00:33:37,320
mean the the US government. 
Let's do, let's do a little 

656
00:33:37,320 --> 00:33:41,680
lesson here. the US government 
has authority from King Jesus to

657
00:33:41,680 --> 00:33:45,880
uphold the laws of this nation. 
And as long as those laws are 

658
00:33:45,880 --> 00:33:48,280
wholesome and right, then they 
can and should be kept. 

659
00:33:48,800 --> 00:33:51,160
Ancient Israel had all kinds of 
immigration laws. 

660
00:33:51,560 --> 00:33:53,920
People were allowed to 
immigrate, but you would also 

661
00:33:53,920 --> 00:33:56,320
assimilate. 
There was a process, and it was 

662
00:33:56,320 --> 00:33:58,360
appropriate. 
Basic stuff here, folks. 

663
00:33:58,600 --> 00:34:00,000
I know we're talking common 
sense. 

664
00:34:00,360 --> 00:34:02,720
So do we allow for immigration? 
Absolutely. 

665
00:34:02,960 --> 00:34:05,160
Of course. 
We want people to escape godless

666
00:34:05,160 --> 00:34:08,000
nations and come into a 
wholesome place, and we want you

667
00:34:08,000 --> 00:34:11,400
to assimilate properly. 
No, no, we don't want your 

668
00:34:11,400 --> 00:34:13,320
Islam. 
No, we don't want any of the 

669
00:34:13,320 --> 00:34:15,040
craziness that people would want
to bring in. 

670
00:34:15,239 --> 00:34:17,360
We don't want any of the drugs. 
We don't want any of the crime. 

671
00:34:17,600 --> 00:34:19,280
We want you to come. 
You want to come to this blessed

672
00:34:19,280 --> 00:34:21,199
nation. 
Let us tell you why this nation 

673
00:34:21,199 --> 00:34:23,920
is blessed. 
If anything good is here, it's 

674
00:34:23,920 --> 00:34:25,920
because of what Christendom has 
done. 

675
00:34:26,480 --> 00:34:30,000
Everywhere the church goes, 
cultures thrive. 

676
00:34:30,600 --> 00:34:33,280
Everywhere, the culture, 
everywhere Christianity goes 

677
00:34:33,280 --> 00:34:36,400
throughout human history, the 
culture begins to thrive. 

678
00:34:36,639 --> 00:34:39,600
Women are freed from oppression,
slaves are released from 

679
00:34:39,600 --> 00:34:42,880
bondages, laws become better and
more wholesome, and people 

680
00:34:42,880 --> 00:34:45,199
actually, you legislate 
morality. 

681
00:34:46,320 --> 00:34:48,360
Remember, people say you can't 
legislate morality. 

682
00:34:48,639 --> 00:34:51,000
That's false. 
That's literally all that you 

683
00:34:51,000 --> 00:34:53,679
legislate is morality. 
You say this is right and this 

684
00:34:53,679 --> 00:34:56,480
is wrong, and now we put a law 
on it and we will punish you. 

685
00:34:56,679 --> 00:34:58,080
That's the government's 
responsibility. 

686
00:34:58,840 --> 00:35:04,440
Now what's happening, non 
Christians or ignorant 

687
00:35:04,440 --> 00:35:07,400
Christians or government 
officials who want to manipulate

688
00:35:07,400 --> 00:35:10,800
Christians are saying that the 
the same thing that they've said

689
00:35:10,800 --> 00:35:13,040
for like 60 years now. 
Jesus just love people. 

690
00:35:13,280 --> 00:35:15,880
You know, like just the blanket 
statement with no clarification,

691
00:35:15,880 --> 00:35:17,400
with no context, with no 
definition. 

692
00:35:17,560 --> 00:35:22,680
And they want to imply that you 
hate immigrants if you want, if 

693
00:35:22,680 --> 00:35:25,320
you want lawbreakers to be 
punished for law breaking, 

694
00:35:25,600 --> 00:35:26,680
That's what they want you to 
imply. 

695
00:35:26,680 --> 00:35:27,840
And that's what they want you to
feel. 

696
00:35:28,000 --> 00:35:30,200
They want the tender conscience 
Christian, which you and I 

697
00:35:30,200 --> 00:35:32,560
should always be. 
They want the tender conscience 

698
00:35:32,560 --> 00:35:35,360
Christian to go, Oh my goodness,
you're right. 

699
00:35:35,520 --> 00:35:38,920
Jesus did love, I suppose that 
hey, slow down, slow down, 

700
00:35:38,920 --> 00:35:41,720
Christian. 
Or the reference to the parable,

701
00:35:41,720 --> 00:35:44,440
the Good Samaritan. 
And they'll say, therefore this 

702
00:35:44,440 --> 00:35:46,880
is your neighbor and you're to 
love your neighbor. 

703
00:35:47,520 --> 00:35:50,800
Jesus in the parable, the Good 
Samaritan Saints was not laying 

704
00:35:50,800 --> 00:35:52,680
down immigration policy for 
nations. 

705
00:35:53,320 --> 00:35:55,400
That was not the purpose of the 
passage. 

706
00:35:55,400 --> 00:35:58,120
The purpose of the passage was 
to show you and I that whoever's

707
00:35:58,120 --> 00:36:00,760
in our closest proximity is the 
person that I should love and 

708
00:36:00,760 --> 00:36:03,400
care for. 
Because the man said, who's my 

709
00:36:03,400 --> 00:36:06,200
neighbor? 
And Jesus said, let me tell you 

710
00:36:06,200 --> 00:36:08,560
a story. 
And the point was, if you come 

711
00:36:08,560 --> 00:36:11,320
across somebody beat up and half
dead on the side of the road, 

712
00:36:11,560 --> 00:36:16,280
they become your responsibility.
Notice he didn't say every 

713
00:36:16,280 --> 00:36:19,440
person who suffers anything on 
the other side of the planet 

714
00:36:19,720 --> 00:36:22,240
deserves deeper devotion than 
the than your family and your 

715
00:36:22,240 --> 00:36:25,480
loved ones. 
There is a right order of loves 

716
00:36:25,760 --> 00:36:27,960
and we hold these truths to be 
self-evident. 

717
00:36:28,920 --> 00:36:32,160
I love madly more than I love 
anybody else on the earth. 

718
00:36:32,760 --> 00:36:36,560
Does that mean I hate you? 
No, no one would be foolish 

719
00:36:36,560 --> 00:36:38,480
enough to say that. 
But in these in these other 

720
00:36:38,480 --> 00:36:40,360
conversations regarding 
immigration, that's what's 

721
00:36:40,360 --> 00:36:42,720
implied against you. 
I don't want you to be naive. 

722
00:36:42,880 --> 00:36:44,200
I don't want you to be 
manipulated. 

723
00:36:44,200 --> 00:36:46,560
I want you to have a tender 
conscience and our hearts can 

724
00:36:46,560 --> 00:36:49,600
break for all kinds of 
complicated situations, but just

725
00:36:49,600 --> 00:36:52,920
know that in the news cycle, all
you are going to see is 

726
00:36:52,920 --> 00:36:56,560
heartbreaking news stories that 
are intended to cause you to 

727
00:36:57,160 --> 00:37:00,160
wish that the state did not have
the authority that who gave it 

728
00:37:00,160 --> 00:37:05,480
to it, Jesus to establish laws. 
Sin creates problems. 

729
00:37:05,480 --> 00:37:08,800
Sin creates heartbreak. 
It is a tragedy. 

730
00:37:08,840 --> 00:37:12,320
Many things that will happen, 
but that's the result of sin. 

731
00:37:12,960 --> 00:37:16,120
Justice is the right thing and 
that is the state's jurisdiction

732
00:37:16,120 --> 00:37:19,920
and the state's responsibility. 
Oh, that was for free. 

733
00:37:21,320 --> 00:37:23,480
It's important that you have 
understanding on these things. 

734
00:37:23,480 --> 00:37:25,360
I don't want you to be 
manipulated or misled. 

735
00:37:25,520 --> 00:37:28,000
We can, we can unpack further 
anything you want to talk about.

736
00:37:28,000 --> 00:37:30,080
I can withstand any amount of 
pushback or feedback. 

737
00:37:30,360 --> 00:37:32,800
I welcome all of it. 
But I wanted to throw that in 

738
00:37:32,800 --> 00:37:36,320
there for you. 
So the church clarifies, the 

739
00:37:36,320 --> 00:37:39,360
church has authority. 
The church has the stewardship 

740
00:37:39,360 --> 00:37:42,200
of God's truth. 
The government doesn't have 

741
00:37:42,200 --> 00:37:44,040
that. 
The household doesn't have that,

742
00:37:44,040 --> 00:37:46,040
The church does. 
The church has no power to make 

743
00:37:46,040 --> 00:37:48,120
laws. 
The church has no power to 

744
00:37:48,120 --> 00:37:50,160
punish evil doers. 
That's the government's job. 

745
00:37:50,600 --> 00:37:52,200
The church doesn't raise your 
kids. 

746
00:37:52,200 --> 00:37:53,760
The church doesn't manage your 
family. 

747
00:37:53,920 --> 00:37:58,280
That's the household's job. 
So we understand the church has 

748
00:37:58,280 --> 00:38:01,800
a power and authority to say 
this is true, this is false, 

749
00:38:01,960 --> 00:38:05,800
this is clear, this we've got a 
lot of opportunity for freedom 

750
00:38:05,800 --> 00:38:08,240
here, but that's the church's 
jurisdiction. 

751
00:38:10,920 --> 00:38:12,960
So many people have a low view 
of the church. 

752
00:38:14,360 --> 00:38:15,880
The church has a hospital for 
the hurting. 

753
00:38:15,880 --> 00:38:19,040
Well, that's true, but don't 
stop there because that wouldn't

754
00:38:19,200 --> 00:38:21,520
give it any authority. 
It would just be like, I'm here 

755
00:38:21,520 --> 00:38:23,600
to help bandage. 
Well, we are here to help 

756
00:38:23,600 --> 00:38:26,160
bandage, but the church has 
authority. 

757
00:38:26,480 --> 00:38:28,960
Authority means power. 
Everybody say power. 

758
00:38:29,560 --> 00:38:32,120
These aren't scary words, folks.
These are services. 

759
00:38:32,720 --> 00:38:35,000
I'm thankful for the police 
officer when he's protecting me,

760
00:38:35,000 --> 00:38:37,480
aren't you? 
I'm thankful he bears the sword 

761
00:38:37,720 --> 00:38:40,920
and he doesn't bear it in vain. 
I'm thankful that he has actual 

762
00:38:40,920 --> 00:38:43,720
power to do something, not just 
well wishes. 

763
00:38:44,840 --> 00:38:47,280
And I'm also thankful for the 
medic who comes to bandage up 

764
00:38:47,280 --> 00:38:49,560
the wounds. 
But the medic is not the same as

765
00:38:49,560 --> 00:38:52,400
the police officer. 
One has power and authority to 

766
00:38:52,400 --> 00:38:56,200
stop something and the church 
has power and authority as well.

767
00:38:56,920 --> 00:38:59,840
I don't have time when I can 
unpack all the the the roles of 

768
00:38:59,840 --> 00:39:01,320
the church. 
But the church has power to 

769
00:39:01,320 --> 00:39:04,080
what? 
To excommunicate members if we 

770
00:39:04,080 --> 00:39:06,360
were to walk through a church 
membership process. 

771
00:39:06,520 --> 00:39:09,000
If Chris comes to me and he has 
sin again and I've sinned 

772
00:39:09,000 --> 00:39:11,000
against him, he says, hey to 
Michael, I got to talk to you 

773
00:39:11,000 --> 00:39:13,080
about this brother. 
I want to be restored to you. 

774
00:39:13,080 --> 00:39:15,880
Could you, you know, make this 
right with me and I go, forget 

775
00:39:15,880 --> 00:39:18,360
you, Chris. 
No, Chris now comes to me with 

776
00:39:18,360 --> 00:39:20,840
two or three others and they 
say, hey to Michael, we want to 

777
00:39:20,840 --> 00:39:22,560
walk through this with you. 
We want to see restored and 

778
00:39:22,560 --> 00:39:24,160
repentant. 
And I say no. 

779
00:39:25,040 --> 00:39:29,560
Well, there's an escalation 
process where eventually to save

780
00:39:29,560 --> 00:39:34,080
my soul, not not exclusively to 
shame me, but there is a healthy

781
00:39:34,080 --> 00:39:36,160
shame there. 
But to save my soul, you would 

782
00:39:36,160 --> 00:39:39,880
excommunicate me from this very 
body in hopes that I would be 

783
00:39:39,880 --> 00:39:42,120
restored. 
And you would, you would even 

784
00:39:42,120 --> 00:39:45,720
forbid to eat with me. 
And the reason for that is not 

785
00:39:45,720 --> 00:39:46,960
to go. 
We're going to be mean to John 

786
00:39:46,960 --> 00:39:49,680
Michael because we hate him. 
Now, the reason for that is we 

787
00:39:49,680 --> 00:39:52,040
love John Michael. 
He needs to feel the severance 

788
00:39:52,040 --> 00:39:54,040
of fellowship. 
He needs to know that he is now 

789
00:39:54,280 --> 00:39:56,360
other. 
He needs to know he is not 

790
00:39:56,520 --> 00:39:58,920
Ecclesia. 
He needs to know he's not of the

791
00:39:58,920 --> 00:40:01,800
gathered body. 
And this separation, we pray 

792
00:40:01,960 --> 00:40:04,520
will draw him so that he will 
not be destroyed by the enemy 

793
00:40:04,720 --> 00:40:07,520
and that he will not go and and 
forever be lost. 

794
00:40:08,160 --> 00:40:09,240
He said, I've never heard of 
that before. 

795
00:40:09,240 --> 00:40:10,400
I've never seen that. 
Well, that's because in the 

796
00:40:10,400 --> 00:40:12,000
American church, everybody 
leaves at the very first 

797
00:40:12,000 --> 00:40:14,240
conversation. 
So as soon as Chris comes to me,

798
00:40:14,240 --> 00:40:15,120
goes to Michael, I got a 
problem. 

799
00:40:15,120 --> 00:40:18,760
Go, this is a judgmental church 
and I'm gone up the road because

800
00:40:18,760 --> 00:40:19,920
they would never do anything 
like that. 

801
00:40:19,920 --> 00:40:22,280
So it's a very unfamiliar thing 
in the American church. 

802
00:40:22,280 --> 00:40:25,520
And anytime I've ever begun that
gentle process, which you do 

803
00:40:25,520 --> 00:40:27,520
very slowly and very graciously,
I can. 

804
00:40:27,520 --> 00:40:29,600
People just leave because 
they're like, who do you think 

805
00:40:29,600 --> 00:40:30,920
you are? 
Which reveals they have a love 

806
00:40:30,920 --> 00:40:32,680
you, a church, and they think 
the church has no authority. 

807
00:40:33,520 --> 00:40:37,800
So big biblical ignorance and 
lack of devotion to Jesus leads 

808
00:40:37,800 --> 00:40:40,240
to all kinds of problems. 
So I just, I just keep hopping 

809
00:40:40,240 --> 00:40:41,800
around every time I'm confronted
anywhere. 

810
00:40:41,920 --> 00:40:44,680
Jim Michael, every time, every 
time Jim Michael goes to some 

811
00:40:44,680 --> 00:40:46,560
new church, I keep running into 
problems. 

812
00:40:46,920 --> 00:40:51,760
And this church stinks and this 
church stinks and this church 

813
00:40:51,760 --> 00:40:55,560
stinks like, hey, Joe Michael, 
there's a common denominator in 

814
00:40:55,560 --> 00:41:00,160
all these churches. 
It's you stink, John, Good news.

815
00:41:00,160 --> 00:41:01,600
You can be washed. 
It's OK. 

816
00:41:02,440 --> 00:41:04,040
So the church has an authority 
there as well. 

817
00:41:05,120 --> 00:41:08,240
Didn't intend to go in all this,
but it's helping you. 

818
00:41:10,440 --> 00:41:12,600
Jesus said I will build my 
church. 

819
00:41:13,920 --> 00:41:17,040
Who's who? 
Does the church belong to Jesus?

820
00:41:17,440 --> 00:41:19,720
That's comforting. 
Everything belongs to Jesus. 

821
00:41:19,880 --> 00:41:22,400
But the church in particular, it
doesn't belong to Caesar. 

822
00:41:22,640 --> 00:41:23,840
It doesn't belong to the 
household. 

823
00:41:25,240 --> 00:41:28,160
And he will build his church. 
What a relief. 

824
00:41:29,120 --> 00:41:30,440
I don't have to build his 
church. 

825
00:41:30,800 --> 00:41:33,800
I have to shepherd his church. 
But he is the builder. 

826
00:41:33,880 --> 00:41:36,520
He brings the revelation that 
leads to confession. 

827
00:41:37,440 --> 00:41:38,720
You don't have to build his 
church. 

828
00:41:38,720 --> 00:41:42,600
He's building it. 
You minister faithfully. 

829
00:41:43,120 --> 00:41:45,240
You be a witness to what the 
Lord has done. 

830
00:41:45,840 --> 00:41:51,240
That is all that's asked of you.
And now we keep going. 

831
00:41:51,400 --> 00:41:53,960
It just builds. 
This thing builds and builds and

832
00:41:53,960 --> 00:41:55,520
builds like a wave that just 
won't stop. 

833
00:41:56,160 --> 00:41:58,680
I gave you the keys of the 
Kingdom of heaven, and whatever 

834
00:41:58,680 --> 00:42:00,400
you bind on earth shall be bound
in heaven. 

835
00:42:00,600 --> 00:42:03,640
Whatever you loose on earth 
shall be loosed in heaven. 

836
00:42:05,840 --> 00:42:09,600
Oh, sorry, I go back to 18 and 
the gates of hell I will build 

837
00:42:09,600 --> 00:42:11,600
my church. 
And the gates of hell will not 

838
00:42:11,600 --> 00:42:14,480
prevail against it. 
Hell will not prevail against 

839
00:42:14,480 --> 00:42:18,600
the Church of Jesus. 
It cannot defend itself against 

840
00:42:18,600 --> 00:42:21,680
the Church of Jesus and anything
that its gates may open and 

841
00:42:21,680 --> 00:42:25,320
release against us, all of those
offensive measures will be 

842
00:42:25,400 --> 00:42:28,360
defeated. 
The gathered people of God who 

843
00:42:28,360 --> 00:42:32,240
have the revelation of who he is
and confess that the church, 

844
00:42:33,320 --> 00:42:35,040
they have outlived the Roman 
Empire. 

845
00:42:37,160 --> 00:42:40,160
The church has and will prevail 
over persecution. 

846
00:42:40,680 --> 00:42:43,040
The church has and will 
prevailed over lukewarmness. 

847
00:42:43,240 --> 00:42:46,000
The church has and will prevail 
over COVID lockdowns. 

848
00:42:46,240 --> 00:42:49,280
The church has and will prevail 
over liberal theology. 

849
00:42:49,440 --> 00:42:52,800
The church has and will prevail 
over anything and everything 

850
00:42:52,800 --> 00:42:54,960
that comes against her. 
The gates of hell will not 

851
00:42:54,960 --> 00:42:57,680
prevail against her. 
Caesarea Philippi was an 

852
00:42:57,680 --> 00:42:59,640
interesting place. 
They were Greek and Roman 

853
00:42:59,640 --> 00:43:03,480
culture dominated false Pagan 
worship everywhere. 

854
00:43:03,800 --> 00:43:06,200
So it's very interesting that 
Jesus took his disciples here 

855
00:43:06,400 --> 00:43:10,040
for this particular lesson. 
We don't really know of any 

856
00:43:10,040 --> 00:43:12,480
other reason why he would have 
taken them here other than for 

857
00:43:12,480 --> 00:43:15,360
this thing to happen. 
So there are Pagan temples all 

858
00:43:15,360 --> 00:43:17,320
over the place. 
They're idols all over the 

859
00:43:17,320 --> 00:43:19,000
place. 
Historians tell us that there 

860
00:43:19,000 --> 00:43:22,200
was this cave entrance. 
That legend locally said that 

861
00:43:22,200 --> 00:43:23,760
these were actually the gates of
hell. 

862
00:43:23,920 --> 00:43:25,960
We don't know for sure if Jesus 
was standing there. 

863
00:43:26,360 --> 00:43:28,440
Seems like it would have been a 
perfect object lesson for him to

864
00:43:28,440 --> 00:43:30,640
be like boys. 
And they're like, our parents 

865
00:43:30,640 --> 00:43:33,160
would be really upset if they 
knew we came to Caesarea 

866
00:43:33,160 --> 00:43:34,920
Philippi on a field trip with 
Jesus. 

867
00:43:35,440 --> 00:43:39,600
Pagan idols, filth, perversion, 
wickedness all over the place. 

868
00:43:39,600 --> 00:43:42,080
And he's like walking them 
towards the gates of hell thing.

869
00:43:42,320 --> 00:43:50,800
And then he goes, hey, boys, all
this I'm building my church and 

870
00:43:50,800 --> 00:43:53,280
the gates of hell won't prevail 
against it. 

871
00:43:53,960 --> 00:43:56,560
He wanted to make it plain he 
will go anywhere he wants to 

872
00:43:56,560 --> 00:43:58,080
because everything belongs to 
him. 

873
00:43:58,400 --> 00:44:00,160
There's nothing off limits to 
him and there's nothing 

874
00:44:00,160 --> 00:44:03,760
intimidating to him. 
So I teach my boys, you know, 

875
00:44:03,760 --> 00:44:07,240
around Halloween horror movies 
and, you know, commercials for 

876
00:44:07,480 --> 00:44:10,440
all kinds of demented and 
deranged things show up and it's

877
00:44:10,440 --> 00:44:14,480
all supposed to be super scary, 
super scary, the demonic. 

878
00:44:15,280 --> 00:44:18,160
And we just laugh. 
We go, demons are losers. 

879
00:44:18,840 --> 00:44:22,960
Jesus eats demons for breakfast.
Demons beg Jesus for mercy. 

880
00:44:23,040 --> 00:44:26,080
In the Bible, all the horror 
movies get it wrong. 

881
00:44:26,160 --> 00:44:29,480
You always know in the movie The
the Christian, the priest shows 

882
00:44:29,480 --> 00:44:31,240
up and this guy's got to get 
wrecked. 

883
00:44:31,800 --> 00:44:32,680
Like he's going to go in the 
house. 

884
00:44:32,680 --> 00:44:33,720
He's gonna like sprinkle some 
more. 

885
00:44:33,720 --> 00:44:35,080
Like stuff's going to fly at 
him. 

886
00:44:35,080 --> 00:44:37,240
Like peanut butter jar is going 
to come out of the cabinet and 

887
00:44:37,240 --> 00:44:39,920
hit him in the head. 
Like, Oh my goodness, who could?

888
00:44:40,080 --> 00:44:42,920
Who could conquer the evil 
spirit in this haunted house? 

889
00:44:43,600 --> 00:44:46,040
The lightweight stuff, easy 
work. 

890
00:44:46,680 --> 00:44:49,760
The disciples said, Jesus, even 
the demons obey us in your name.

891
00:44:50,480 --> 00:44:53,080
It's incredible. 
And Jesus goes, calm down. 

892
00:44:53,880 --> 00:44:56,080
It's not a big deal to step on 
an Ant and kill it. 

893
00:44:57,160 --> 00:44:58,880
Don't rejoice because the demons
obey. 

894
00:44:59,400 --> 00:45:01,160
Rejoice, because your name is 
written in heaven. 

895
00:45:02,640 --> 00:45:06,280
Of course you have authority. 
I've given you the keys of the 

896
00:45:06,280 --> 00:45:09,240
Kingdom, boys, You have the keys
over all of this. 

897
00:45:09,760 --> 00:45:14,640
You have power over all of this.
What I'm building, none of this 

898
00:45:14,640 --> 00:45:17,000
can stand. 
I'm giving you the keys and all 

899
00:45:17,000 --> 00:45:18,560
the authority. 
And later, before his 

900
00:45:18,560 --> 00:45:21,480
dissension, he'll go on to tell 
them, behold, I have given you 

901
00:45:21,480 --> 00:45:24,800
authority to tread on serpents 
and scorpions and over all the 

902
00:45:24,800 --> 00:45:27,120
power of the enemy, and nothing 
shall hurt you. 

903
00:45:28,520 --> 00:45:32,120
There is power in our God, and 
He delegates his power to His 

904
00:45:32,120 --> 00:45:34,640
church. 
Not just power to execute 

905
00:45:34,760 --> 00:45:39,920
disciplines, power to live free 
from sin, power to live with 

906
00:45:40,000 --> 00:45:43,840
freedom from the bondage of the 
devil, power to cast out demons,

907
00:45:44,120 --> 00:45:47,320
power to heal the sick, and 
power to raise the dead. 

908
00:45:48,440 --> 00:45:50,360
Verse 20. 
And we're closing and we're 

909
00:45:50,360 --> 00:45:51,560
going to take communion 
together. 

910
00:45:52,080 --> 00:45:59,280
Could you begin to get the 
elements for us, Chris, verse 

911
00:45:59,280 --> 00:46:05,600
20, this one does not apply to 
you and I then he strictly 

912
00:46:05,600 --> 00:46:09,160
charged the disciples to tell no
one that he was the Christ. 

913
00:46:10,680 --> 00:46:13,960
Why is he doing this? 
Well, the more the closer he 

914
00:46:13,960 --> 00:46:16,640
comes to the end, the more he 
gets strict with everybody. 

915
00:46:16,640 --> 00:46:18,520
He says don't tell anybody, 
don't tell anybody. 

916
00:46:18,520 --> 00:46:20,160
Why? 
Because he's he is controlling 

917
00:46:20,160 --> 00:46:22,040
his timing. 
Remember he said nobody takes my

918
00:46:22,040 --> 00:46:23,920
life from me. 
I lay it down. 

919
00:46:26,400 --> 00:46:29,640
Nobody takes my life from me. 
I have the power to lay it down.

920
00:46:29,840 --> 00:46:32,000
I have the power to take it back
up again. 

921
00:46:33,040 --> 00:46:34,760
So now you and I, we're not 
silent. 

922
00:46:35,160 --> 00:46:37,440
This was a temporary message to 
the disciples to say, hey, 

923
00:46:37,440 --> 00:46:40,360
don't, don't spread this news. 
Don't be bold with it yet. 

924
00:46:40,400 --> 00:46:43,440
That day is coming. 
He told them first they need to 

925
00:46:43,440 --> 00:46:46,920
be filled with the Holy Spirit. 
These guys who walked with 

926
00:46:47,000 --> 00:46:52,240
Jesus, cast out demons, healed 
the sick, saw him die, saw him 

927
00:46:52,240 --> 00:46:54,920
raised from the dead, spent 40 
days with him. 

928
00:46:55,480 --> 00:47:00,200
His last instruction to them 
before he flies into the sky was

929
00:47:00,760 --> 00:47:03,520
don't go out and preach it. 
Why? 

930
00:47:03,520 --> 00:47:06,200
We're ready. 
I've never felt more ready. 

931
00:47:06,200 --> 00:47:08,360
Jesus flies up in the sky and 
says, go, take over the world. 

932
00:47:08,360 --> 00:47:09,720
I'm ready. 
He goes, no, you're not. 

933
00:47:10,520 --> 00:47:13,400
Ten days from now I'm going to 
send the Holy Spirit. 

934
00:47:13,520 --> 00:47:16,560
You need power to be my 
witnesses. 

935
00:47:17,240 --> 00:47:19,720
Are you sure? 
Like I feel equipped. 

936
00:47:21,920 --> 00:47:24,080
It wasn't enough. 
All of their experiences were 

937
00:47:24,080 --> 00:47:26,240
not enough. 
They needed the power of the 

938
00:47:26,240 --> 00:47:28,880
Holy Spirit. 
You and I had some glorious 

939
00:47:28,880 --> 00:47:30,880
experiences. 
I'm sure you got some beautiful 

940
00:47:30,880 --> 00:47:31,920
testimonies. 
Me too. 

941
00:47:32,320 --> 00:47:35,200
And I still need a fresh power 
from the Holy Spirit all the 

942
00:47:35,200 --> 00:47:37,360
time. 
I cannot live off of yesterday's

943
00:47:37,360 --> 00:47:39,440
food. 
You ate food last week. 

944
00:47:39,440 --> 00:47:41,560
Is that still helping you today?
No. 

945
00:47:41,880 --> 00:47:42,920
You had breakfast. 
Right now. 

946
00:47:42,920 --> 00:47:44,360
You're like, Pastor, I'm looking
forward for lunch. 

947
00:47:44,360 --> 00:47:47,440
Wrap this thing up. 
We need fresh manna from the 

948
00:47:47,440 --> 00:47:51,560
Lord. 
We need to be filled with His 

949
00:47:51,560 --> 00:47:52,840
Spirit. 
Guys, could you go ahead and 

950
00:47:52,840 --> 00:48:00,160
service the elements? 
So what message do we share now?

951
00:48:00,160 --> 00:48:03,440
We carry the message boldly and 
joyfully about Him. 

952
00:48:03,440 --> 00:48:06,480
But I want to clarify, it's not 
only the message that He's the 

953
00:48:06,480 --> 00:48:10,920
substitute for sin, but it's 
also acknowledging His 

954
00:48:10,920 --> 00:48:15,560
sovereignty and His right to 
reign over all. 

955
00:48:16,440 --> 00:48:19,160
Because He really is the Son of 
Man that Daniel prophesied. 

956
00:48:19,680 --> 00:48:23,960
And he is coming on the clouds, 
and of him and of and to him is 

957
00:48:23,960 --> 00:48:28,360
given dominion and glory and a 
Kingdom that all peoples, all 

958
00:48:28,360 --> 00:48:31,160
nations, all languages should 
serve Him. 

959
00:48:31,280 --> 00:48:34,760
And his dominion is an 
everlasting dominion which shall

960
00:48:34,760 --> 00:48:37,280
not pass away. 
And His Kingdom is one that 

961
00:48:37,280 --> 00:48:39,840
shall not be destroyed. 
That is who I say He is. 

962
00:48:40,040 --> 00:48:41,600
Is that who you say He is? 
Church? 

963
00:48:42,720 --> 00:48:47,000
Amen. 
As we receive the elements this 

964
00:48:47,000 --> 00:48:51,280
morning, we're going to pray for
more revelation of who He is, 

965
00:48:51,280 --> 00:48:53,480
and we're going to pray to be 
filled with the Holy Spirit 

966
00:48:53,480 --> 00:48:57,800
again, to be bold witnesses who 
carry His truth and power. 

967
00:48:59,240 --> 00:49:02,800
Then we would tell the whole 
truth about Christ, the whole 

968
00:49:02,800 --> 00:49:04,360
truth, because the whole thing's
beautiful. 

969
00:49:06,920 --> 00:49:09,320
He is the diamond that you can 
keep turning and the light hits 

970
00:49:09,320 --> 00:49:11,400
in a new way and you see 
something new.