The Unlocked Life: Finding Joy in the Confession of Christ

• The Climax of the Gospels [00:35:48 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor identifies Matthew 16 as the 'climax' or 'turning point' in the narrative structure of the Gospels, where the story shifts direction.
• The Power of Words [00:37:52 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor argues that the passage highlights the power of words over miracles or locations, noting that Peter's words, not Jesus' miracles, are the central focus of this 'low-budget' moment.
• Humility and Consent [00:33:42 ▶️ 📄]
  > Using a wedding analogy, the pastor illustrates that just as 'I do' is the linchpin of a wedding, the confession of faith is the essential element that gives value to all other religious activities.
• The Identity of Jesus [00:39:52 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor analyzes why crowds identified Jesus as John the Baptist, Elijah, or Jeremiah, contrasting these with Peter's correct confession that Jesus is the Christ.
• Faith vs. Works/Morality [00:46:34 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor argues that the foundation of Christianity is belief in Jesus' identity (the 'cheat code') rather than moral behavior or religious rituals, using the thief on the cross as an example.
• Divine Blessing [00:52:08 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor explains the Greek word 'makarios' (blessed/happiness) and how it is granted to Peter not for his holiness, but for correctly identifying Jesus, contrasting this with the natural 'happiness curve' of human life.
• Happiness and Makarios [00:53:43 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor contrasts statistical happiness curves with the biblical concept of 'makarios' (blessing/happiness), arguing that true joy is impervious to age, income, or status and is found in trusting Jesus.
• The Church and the Rock [00:56:40 ▶️ 📄]
  > An analysis of Matthew 16:18, discussing the 'IPO' of the church and debating the identity of the 'rock' (Peter vs. Peter's confession vs. Jesus), concluding that the church is built on fidelity to the gospel confession.
• Communal Faith [01:03:40 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor argues against isolated faith, using 1 Timothy 6:12 to illustrate that believers are called to fight for their faith corporately, supported by the community of believers.
• Spiritual Warfare and Defense [01:06:06 ▶️ 📄]
  > An examination of 'gates of hell,' interpreting the gates as defensive fortifications rather than offensive weapons, implying the church's role is to build, expand, and endure until Christ's return.

• Sermon Illustration [00:31:32 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor shares a personal anecdote about officiating a wedding to illustrate that while many elements (cake, DJ, venue) are nice, the only essential element is consent ('I do'). He uses this to explain how Peter's confession is the 'linchpin' of the Gospel narrative.
• Sermon Illustration [00:38:32 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor references the Harry Potter film series, quoting Professor Dumbledore: 'words are, in my not-so-humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic, capable of both inflicting injury and remedying it,' to support the theological point about the power of words.
• Sermon Illustration [00:38:39 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor quotes Professor Dumbledore from Harry Potter, stating that words are our most inexhaustible source of magic, capable of both inflicting injury and remedying it.
• Sermon Illustration [00:40:20 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor recounts the historical context of King Herod believing Jesus was John the Baptist raised from the dead, and the Old Testament prophecy in Malachi regarding Elijah's return.
• Sermon Illustration [00:45:18 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses the Konami Code from the video game Contra as an analogy for the 'cheat code' of believing in Jesus' identity, which unlocks all levels of Christianity.
• Sermon Illustration [00:48:12 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor tells the story of the repentant thief on the cross who, despite having no religious background or moral record, entered paradise because he recognized Jesus' kingdom.
• Sermon Illustration [00:49:34 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor references a sermon by Alistair Begg, imagining the thief asking the angel at the gates of heaven how he got in, with the answer being that Jesus said he could come.
• Sermon Illustration [00:54:07 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor cites a Dartmouth University professor's study on the 'happiness curve,' noting that happiness generally decreases from age 18 to 47.2, contrasting this with the divine blessing found in faith.
• Sermon Illustration [00:54:07 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor references a Dartmouth University professor's study on the 'happiness curve' across 132 countries, noting that happiness statistically decreases from age 18 to 47.2 before rising again, using this to contrast with the 'cheat code' of Jesus' blessing.
• Sermon Illustration [00:57:33 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses the analogy of an Initial Public Offering (IPO) and the bell-ringing ceremony on the New York Stock Exchange to describe Matthew 16:18 as the moment the church publicly began.
• Sermon Illustration [00:59:24 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor mentions the 80s Christian rock band Petra and their song 'I Am the Rock' as a humorous aside regarding the Greek word 'Petra' (rock).
• Sermon Illustration [01:01:06 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor references the disciples' argument in Matthew 18 about who is the greatest to demonstrate that they did not view Peter as having preeminent power after Matthew 16.
• Sermon Illustration [01:08:05 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor references a quote famously attributed to George Washington (though noting other coaches use it) regarding building and expanding, to illustrate the church's purpose in spiritual battle.

• Pastoral Charge [01:05:56 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor implicitly calls the congregation to embrace their communal identity and rely on the church body rather than fighting their faith battles in isolation.

[00:06:05] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:06:05] Good morning, church. I love the chaos this morning as the kids are gathering in the back and all over the place as we're getting ready to get started with worship.
[00:06:15] So as they are celebrating with their voices and we're getting started, a couple things I'd like to point out.
[00:06:21] Later on in the service as we collect the offering, I'm going to mention a connection card.
[00:06:26] This is what I'm talking about when you hear connection card.
[00:06:29] So if you are new here, if this is your first time or you don't have your information, feel free to take this card, fill it out, place this in the offering plate later.
[00:06:39] That way we'll be able to get in touch with you if you'd like anyone here on staff or one of our pastors to reach out.
[00:06:44] As we get ready to do the call to worship, I saw a movie last night.
[00:06:49] My wife and I went out. It was Project Hail Mary. It was about a book that I had already read.
[00:06:54] it was really hard not to give spoilers. But I'm actually going to start this morning with spoilers, not for the movie, but for the sermon. We're going to hear a lot about the power of words
[00:07:04] later. And as we go through this call to worship in Psalm 19, I want you to be paying attention to the things that address the power of words or speech or voices, because that will be a theme
[00:07:15] that you'll get throughout our service today. So if those who are able, please stand and read with me the call to worship. I will read the leader portion and we can all together read the bolded
[00:07:25] all. So let's begin. The heavens declare the glory of God. The skies proclaim the work of his hands.
[00:07:35] Day after day, they pour forth speech. Night after night, they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth. Their words to
[00:07:50] the ends of the world. In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun. The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.
[00:08:06] The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. May the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts
[00:08:19] be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, our rock and redeemer.
[00:08:24] Let's worship this morning and celebrate this Palm Sunday with the children as they walk forward as well.

[00:08:30] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:08:30] O children, say Jesus, who hath those four children saying their brothers I call shall never flow should endeavor to shake or know never forsake.

[00:14:14] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:14:14] As we move to our corporate confession of sin, I've felt a little bit awkward sometimes right before the assurance of pardon how typically someone up in my position will say look up and receive your assurance of pardon
[00:14:35] but the words are like right here so I feel like I have to look down so I'm going to try something new after the assurance of pardon but before you're called to respond thanks be to God
[00:14:43] I will say in the church said so it gives you a chance to look up and receive at that part so we'll try it out see how it goes but if you would recite with me
[00:14:51] this confession of sin that all portion at the start.
[00:14:56] Father, even though we have received salvation through Christ, we still work as though there is something left for us to accomplish.
[00:15:06] Forgive us of our evil pride, which leads us away from you.
[00:15:10] We have traded the truths of your word for confidence in our own ability.
[00:15:16] We confess that we are clay in need of molding.
[00:15:20] Sanctify us as we rely on you each day and help us better understand the depths of your love we ask in the name of Jesus, amen.
[00:15:31] So church, look up and receive this assurance of pardon from Proverbs 28 and Romans 10.
[00:15:38] Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.
[00:15:45] For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
[00:15:52] And the church said, thanks be to God.
[00:15:55] As we get ready to continue our worship, I'll also call the ushers forward to receive our tithes and offerings.
[00:16:01] If you're a guest, please don't feel any compulsion to give.
[00:16:04] This is a chance for us as a church body to give back to the Lord as he has given to us.

[00:16:08] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:16:08] I can my redeem, greatest treasure of my longing soul.
[00:16:36] My God, like you there is no other Who delight is found in you alone Your grace, oh well too deep to fathom Your love exceeds the heavens' reach Your truth, mount of perfect wisdom Amen. Worship team, thank you for leading us in worship.

[00:20:51] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:20:51] Real quick, before we meet somebody new around you, Vukes, can y'all raise your hand real quick?
[00:20:58] The Vukes are having a worship team gathering today.
[00:21:01] But also, if you are interested in any way of joining the worship team or using maybe your voice or your skills in music, you should go to their house for lunch today.
[00:21:15] And so this is a great time, as we are saying hi to people around us, to come, get the information from the Vukes, ask them questions, and then everybody else will do their own thing too.
[00:21:26] All right, go ahead.
[00:21:27] Kids, y'all are staying with us today.
[00:21:29] Meet somebody new around you.
[00:21:30] If you'd like to find your way back to your seats, welcome to Midtown Community Church.
[00:23:55] My name is Anderson Shore. I'm one of the pastors here. Really glad that you're here worshiping with us today. Thank you for waking up this Sunday morning.
[00:24:03] Not only are we glad that you're here, but God truly is glad that you are here to be able to give and also to receive and worship. And so I just have a couple of announcements for you.
[00:24:16] You can find these in your bulletin on pages 11 and 12.
[00:24:19] You may have noticed, you may have sat on it.
[00:24:22] These are inviter cards in your pews.
[00:24:26] This is to hand out to friends or family or neighbors, co-workers, whoever it may be.
[00:24:33] And if anything, I invited you all to maybe write someone's name down on one of them and begin praying for them.
[00:24:39] But you know, when we were singing the last song, see if I can find it.
[00:24:44] This is this is what struck me. It was, I think, in verse two, maybe verse three.
[00:24:49] I don't know how to read music. It says my song when enemies surround me, my hope when tides of sorrow rise, my joy when trials are abounding, your faithfulness, my refuge in the night.
[00:25:02] The good news for us that believe and hold tightly to Jesus is that we have a source of joy, of hope when trials surround us.
[00:25:16] And when you think about your neighbor or your friend or your coworker, they have trials in their lives.
[00:25:23] And so this is an opportunity every year.
[00:25:26] Christmas and Easter is one of the most people are the most willing to say yes to coming to church.
[00:25:31] And so, yes, it requires boldness, but I would encourage you, pray today maybe of somebody that the Lord would put in front of you to invite them to church on Sunday or simply just to come to the Easter egg hunt this Saturday.
[00:25:47] So you can find that information in your bulletin.
[00:25:50] You can find it on the back of these cards of the things to invite them to.
[00:25:54] Just a note on the sunrise service and breakfast.
[00:25:57] I don't believe those are.
[00:25:58] Yeah, they're not on the card.
[00:25:59] We're going to team up with some of the surrounding PCA churches to have a sunrise service on Easter Sunday.
[00:26:08] It's at 630 at the Art Museum at the Ellipsis.
[00:26:12] If you have any questions and if you are planning on attending or you're planning on attending, please text me or email me.
[00:26:20] My information is in the bulletin.
[00:26:22] That will help me to know who's coming because we may indeed do breakfast afterwards in the fellowship hall.
[00:26:28] it will also give me the opportunity to let you know if you do plan on coming whether or not it's on or off depending upon weather there are other things that are going on in the life of our church
[00:26:38] we'll be able to announce those next week we get the opportunity now to receive from God from his word it's so great that we have his word Joseph is going to come pray for us
[00:26:50] and then we get to return our attention to the gospel of Matthew

[00:26:53] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:26:53] let's pray together Awesome God, we're gathering here on this Palm Sunday, remembering your entrance and celebration surrounding it.
[00:27:11] You're still our king today, just as you were the king of Jerusalem 2,000 years ago.
[00:27:16] And we pray that our hearts and minds echo the excitement that this occasion deserves.
[00:27:21] This morning, we look back on the prophecy that you fulfilled on this day, found in Zechariah 9.9, which says, Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion.
[00:27:30] Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem.
[00:27:32] Behold, your king is coming to you.
[00:27:35] Righteous and having salvation is he.
[00:27:37] Humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
[00:27:43] We see here first that you have called us to rejoice and to shout.
[00:27:47] We repent of our subdued Presbyterian hesitations that at times make us more likely to feel bored than to shout and dance and sing with the joy of our salvation.
[00:27:57] Work in our hearts to restore to us the joy of our salvation.
[00:28:02] We thank you for the example that our children set this morning with the palm branches.
[00:28:06] We thank you for the celebration this weekend of a wedding in our congregation with Coleman's new marriage.
[00:28:12] We also thank you that you have come to us.
[00:28:15] When we were unable to move or to come to you, you sent your son, our king, as our salvation.
[00:28:22] Your righteousness and your salvation are our only hope.
[00:28:25] May we never be distracted by the false promises of the idols of our day.
[00:28:30] Wealth, politics, relationships, and anything else that we come up with will never compare to you and will never come to us in righteousness and salvation as you have.
[00:28:40] And as you came in your moment of triumphal entry, you chose humility.
[00:28:45] You didn't descend as a conquering spiritual being.
[00:28:48] You came as a helpless baby to an unmarried mom.
[00:28:52] At the height of your ministry on earth, you didn't approach Jerusalem with an army mounted on war horses.
[00:28:57] You came seated on a donkey.
[00:28:59] And at the moment of your triumph, you didn't set a new golden throne in the temple, but you tore the curtain of separation between us.
[00:29:08] Teach us, Lord, to be like you.
[00:29:10] Show us ways to be marked by humility in our lives.
[00:29:14] While we likely don't have an opportunity to roll into our offices on donkeys tomorrow morning, we have interactions with coworkers, bosses, and employees that give us the opportunity to either make more of ourselves or make more of you.
[00:29:27] Show us the ways to make more of you.
[00:29:30] May we decrease that you will increase.
[00:29:33] Change our community, our workplaces, our neighborhoods, and our city through our diligent and yet humble work.
[00:29:40] We pray now as we turn our attention to the reading and preaching of your word that you would bless Lindsay, the preparation he has made, and you bless us through the gathering this morning.
[00:29:49] It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

[00:30:05] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:30:05] Good morning.
[00:30:07] Today's scripture reading comes from Matthew 16, 13 through 20.
[00:30:11] Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, who do people say that the Son of Man is? And they said, some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets. He said to them,
[00:30:29] but who do you say that I am? Simon Peter replied, you are the Christ, the Son of the living God.
[00:30:37] And Jesus answered him, Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will
[00:30:50] build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on this earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever
[00:31:03] you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell

[00:31:09] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:31:09] no one that he was the Christ. This is the word of the Lord. All right, so Joseph mentioned this in his prayer, but yesterday I had the privilege of officiating the wedding for one of our deacons
[00:31:32] here at Midtown Community Church. Great event. If you've ever been to a wedding, right, you know that there's a lot that goes into planning a wedding service, a wedding weekend. This one is no exception. So, right, for a wedding to pull it off, you need caters, right, to provide food for
[00:31:52] the guests. They need to do the wedding cake. You typically have a band or a DJ to play music.
[00:32:00] You need a wedding venue. You need some sort of clothing store that provides wedding dresses, tuxes, bridesmaid dresses. You need florists to provide flowers. You need a wedding coordinator.
[00:32:14] You need a pastor to officiate the wedding. You need a bride and a groom. But there's one element in a wedding service that is a must, right? If you don't have this one element, The wedding will not happen.
[00:32:38] Conversely, as long as you have this one element, it actually doesn't matter if you have a DJ or not.
[00:32:45] It doesn't matter whether you get married in jeans.
[00:32:49] Your wedding venue could be the parking lot of McDonald's.
[00:32:54] I mean, actually, I shouldn't be telling you this, but you don't even have to be a legit pastor in order to pull off a wedding.
[00:33:02] You can go to ministernow.org.
[00:33:05] And for $35, you can get an online ordination certificate.
[00:33:11] That's depressing when I think of how much money I've paid on my seminary career.
[00:33:16] I'm not encouraging you to do that, but it is possible.
[00:33:19] All right, so what's the linchpin then?
[00:33:21] What is the linchpin, the key, the must-have for a wedding to actually take place?
[00:33:29] So the proper term is called consent, but it takes the form of two very simple words.
[00:33:42] I do or I will.
[00:33:47] Without those two words, without consent, the wedding does not happen.
[00:33:54] On the flip side, with these two words, all of a sudden, all the other elements that I've mentioned that go into a wedding service, all of a sudden they spring to life, right?
[00:34:06] They have value and they bring value to that weekend, right?
[00:34:10] I do, it represents the turning point in the entire wedding weekend.
[00:34:17] Everything hinges on those two words, I do.
[00:34:23] We're doing a big picture overview of the gospel of Matthew this year.
[00:34:28] The literary structure of the gospels, I don't know if y'all realize this, but it actually follows the same literary framework that you were likely taught in your high school English classes.
[00:34:43] You know what I'm talking about?
[00:34:45] In English, you were taught the basic plot diagram of a narrative, fiction or nonfiction.
[00:34:54] And so if you recall, the plot diagram, it starts with exposition.
[00:34:59] right? The exposition, this is where you're introduced to all of the main players. Then, right, it goes up. You've got the rising action. You start to see the conflict come up in that story. And then at the very top of the diagram, you've got what? Does anybody know? It's the
[00:35:21] climax. Another word for it is the turning point. And this is where everything in the story changes.
[00:35:31] It sets the stage for a complete turn, hence the turning point, where you move towards what?
[00:35:39] The resolution.
[00:35:41] The story, any story, hinges on this moment.
[00:35:48] Literary scholars and theologians alike agree that the passage before us this morning, Matthew 16, this is the climax.
[00:36:03] This is the turning point.
[00:36:06] It is the hinge in all four gospel accounts.
[00:36:11] But here's what I think makes this turning point so surprising.
[00:36:17] This passage in Matthew 16 is without a doubt, it is the most low-budget moment in all of the gospel accounts if this was made into a movie or if you watched the Chosen TV series, right?
[00:36:31] There's no miracles here.
[00:36:34] There's no healings, right?
[00:36:36] There are no crowds to be found.
[00:36:39] The location itself is also very underwhelming.
[00:36:45] We're told that this whole conversation takes place in Caesarea Philippi, which held absolutely zero significance for the Jewish people.
[00:36:56] It was a predominantly Gentile region.
[00:37:00] Last week, if you were with us, We focused on the words of Jesus, particularly his love for parabolic teaching, teaching parables.
[00:37:10] But the turning point right here, it isn't actually even the words of Jesus himself.
[00:37:17] It's the words of Peter.
[00:37:24] And so Jesus, if you think about it, is intentionally taking away all his miracles.
[00:37:30] all of the religiously loaded locations that they visited so that we can simply appreciate the weight of Peter's words right here in this passage.
[00:37:42] So every Sunday that we gather together as a church, we gather together on the basis of the power of words, right?
[00:37:52] The power of words is what brought this world into existence.
[00:37:56] We believe it's the power of the Word of God that brings us here every morning and every time that Anderson and I get up and preach that the power is connected to whether or not
[00:38:09] we are leaning on the power of God's Word.
[00:38:11] But what we see here in this, the turning point, the climax, the hinge of all of the gospel accounts is that if you are a follower of Jesus, all of a sudden, your words have power.
[00:38:28] It reminds me of one of my favorite lines from the Harry Potter film series.
[00:38:32] My daughter was a big fan of this a number of years ago.
[00:38:36] Professor Dumbledore, he said this to Harry.
[00:38:39] It's on the front of your bulletin.
[00:38:40] He says, words are, in my not-so-humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic, capable of both inflicting injury and remedying it.
[00:38:53] And so what I want to do with our remaining time this morning is I want us to, first, I want us to look at the substance of Peter's words here to figure out what makes them so
[00:39:04] uniquely powerful and a turning point in the gospel accounts.
[00:39:09] And then secondly, I want us to consider the promises that Jesus gives in response to Peter's words.
[00:39:19] All right, so let's jump in.
[00:39:20] First, let's consider the substance of Peter's words.
[00:39:25] So, all right, Jesus, he loves parables.
[00:39:27] We talked about that last week.
[00:39:29] But one of his other favorite teaching devices is something known as the Socratic method, meaning that he loves to teach simply by asking questions in the context of conversation.
[00:39:44] And so in this instance, Jesus asks the disciples, Who do the crowds say that I am?
[00:39:52] They respond, well, some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others still Jeremiah or one of the prophets.
[00:40:00] All right, so why do these names come into view here?
[00:40:05] John the Baptist, this is an interesting example because John the Baptist actually died at the hands of King Herod probably somewhere about six months before this event in Matthew 16.
[00:40:20] It was actually King Herod himself who upon seeing Jesus' ministry in action, he suggested to his servants, and presumably this sort of spread throughout the empire, that Jesus was John the Baptist raised from the dead.
[00:40:37] We don't know exactly why King Herod thought this.
[00:40:40] Maybe they looked a little bit alike, but nonetheless, perhaps because of similar ministries, prophetically speaking, but there was this idea that Jesus might have been John the Baptist raised from the dead.
[00:40:53] One of the reasons people likely mentioned Elijah, who was an Old Testament prophet, is actually because of the very last sentence in the Old Testament.
[00:41:04] So if you were to flip to the last book of the Old Testament, the book of Malachi, chapter 4, verses 5 and 6, these are the last sentences in the entire Old Testament until 400 years later when Jesus came.
[00:41:18] And in Malachi 4.5, the prophet actually suggests that there would come a day when God would send Elijah, or somebody like him, back out in anticipation before the day of the Lord.
[00:41:37] Those were the very last words that were spoken before Jesus actually entered the scene.
[00:41:43] Now, another thing about Elijah is Elijah is famously the only Old Testament prophet who actually never died.
[00:41:52] He was transported up to heaven by God.
[00:41:55] And so this sort of adds to the mystique around this guy, Elijah.
[00:42:00] Now, there are a number of other extra-biblical texts that were floating around in Jesus' day that suggested that perhaps there were other prophets who, similar to Elijah, might actually return to earth preaching again.
[00:42:15] So that's why Jeremiah was mentioned there.
[00:42:18] But then Jesus follows up using the Socratic method.
[00:42:25] He says, all right, but who do you say that I am?
[00:42:29] And then Peter, he answers on behalf of the apostles because when it says, but who do you say that I am, that you was mentioned to the, that question was asked to the group of apostles.
[00:42:40] And then here it is.
[00:42:41] Peter says, you are the Christ, the Son of the living God.
[00:42:46] And then Jesus immediately lets us know the significance of what has just taken place.
[00:42:54] And he immediately responds with these words.
[00:42:56] He says, blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.
[00:43:03] And so Jesus immediately attaches blessing to Peter's ability to get Jesus' identity right.
[00:43:13] And that is what secures the blessing of God in our lives.
[00:43:20] It isn't Peter's personal holiness that secures this, which, by the way, that's a really good thing, because in the very next passage, what does Jesus end up saying to Peter?
[00:43:31] Get behind me, Satan.
[00:43:37] Blessing isn't secured by agreeing that Jesus was a miracle worker or that he was one of the best teachers that we had ever seen.
[00:43:45] I mean, if you look at it, Jesus, when he hears that he was being placed among or associated with some of the greatest teachers and preachers of all time, Jesus isn't content with that.
[00:43:58] He's not content to be associated with John the Baptist or Elijah or Jeremiah.
[00:44:05] What gets blessing in our lives is our capacity to see Jesus as God's anointed one who has the power to fulfill the collective hopes and dreams not only for the Jewish people, but for the entire world.
[00:44:21] To see Jesus as anything less than the divine Messiah results in us losing out on God's blessing.
[00:44:31] And yet, on the flip side, if you have Jesus' identity down, that is sufficient, even if you haven't even figured out all of the implications of what that means. So I've got a sort of a trivia question for you. Does anybody know what this does? Up, up,
[00:44:56] down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, start. Yeah, what does that do? Yeah, all right, A Gen X-er.
[00:45:07] So in order to get this right, you probably have to be a Gen X-er.
[00:45:12] But if you are a Gen X male, you know that this is famously called the Konami Code.
[00:45:18] The Konami Code is the most famous video game cheat code of all time.
[00:45:25] And it goes all the way back, Todd mentioned it, to this video game called Contra that I used to love playing when I was in high school.
[00:45:34] All you had to do as soon as the game turned on is press up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, start.
[00:45:42] And then all of a sudden, it enabled you to defeat any level of the game because you had an unlimited amount of lives.
[00:45:53] Why do I mention this?
[00:45:54] Because what we see here in Matthew 16, 16, here's the title of your sermon, this is the ultimate video game cheat code.
[00:46:06] religion. Peter unlocked it. If you get the identity of Jesus right, all the things that we're going to talk about are yours. Now, does the Bible have moral commands? Absolutely. But the foundation of Christianity has never been about what you do. It has everything to do with
[00:46:34] what you believe, right? This is why if you look at the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, there's nothing in there about what we're supposed to do. It's all basically giving us the Konami cheat code when it comes to religion. It's about what you believe and clinging to that, and that is what
[00:46:54] unlocks every level of Christianity. I mean, if you think about it, right, the reason the Pharisees were at odds with Jesus and his kingdom.
[00:47:04] It wasn't because of their lack of morality, right?
[00:47:08] Their morality surpassed the morality of many, if not all, of the early followers of Jesus.
[00:47:14] It was their inability to do what?
[00:47:17] To get the identity of Jesus right.
[00:47:21] They didn't have or believe or trust in the cheat code.
[00:47:27] And this is why Jesus would eventually say to the religious leaders, He says, truly I say to you, the tax collectors, the prostitutes, they are getting into the kingdom ahead of you guys because you refuse to accept my identity.
[00:47:46] You know, one of the best examples of the power of this cheat code, the ultimate cheat code, is that the last person who ever spoke to Jesus before his death.
[00:48:01] You know who I'm talking about?
[00:48:03] The very last person.
[00:48:06] Timing's great with Passion Week, but think of the criminal.
[00:48:12] You hung on the cross next to Jesus, right?
[00:48:14] There was a criminal on his left and a criminal on his right.
[00:48:18] One of the criminals on the cross was railing against Jesus, just making fun of him.
[00:48:23] But then another criminal on the cross, he chastised him and he said, do you not fear God?
[00:48:30] Right, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.
[00:48:43] And then he turned to Jesus, and he said, Jesus, just this one sentence, Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.
[00:48:56] And what does Jesus say in response?
[00:48:59] Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.
[00:49:08] I love this.
[00:49:10] It reminds us that being a Christian really is about accessing this incredible cheat code.
[00:49:17] There's another pastor, a guy named Alistair Begg, who in a sermon one time, he talked about how when he gets to heaven, the first person that he actually wants to run up to and talk to is this guy, the thief.
[00:49:34] He says, I would love to just kind of go right up to the thief who was on the cross.
[00:49:38] and I just want to ask them, how did you do it?
[00:49:43] Like, how were you able to pull this off?
[00:49:45] Because think about it.
[00:49:46] You were a literal criminal.
[00:49:48] You were actually worthy of being crucified.
[00:49:52] You never went to a Bible study, right?
[00:49:55] You never got baptized, right?
[00:49:58] You never joined a church, and yet you made it, right?
[00:50:06] I mean, he couldn't even articulate the doctrine of justification by faith, and yet somehow he made it.
[00:50:16] You know, Alistair Begg, he tried to picture what it would have been like when the thief died and went to the gates of heaven, and the angel that was there is like, well, why should we let you into heaven?
[00:50:32] I mean, you're a criminal, right?
[00:50:35] You haven't done any study of theology.
[00:50:38] And the only response that he possibly could have given is, well, I'm here because the man on the middle cross said I could come.
[00:50:49] And that's the powerful simplicity of the gospel.
[00:50:54] The turning point in any person's spiritual journey begins with doing the Jesus version of up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, start.
[00:51:04] It's believing that Jesus is the Christ.
[00:51:09] He's the Son of God.
[00:51:11] And this, like, this is the kind of gospel that we need to preach to ourselves every single day.
[00:51:19] Like, this is the simplicity of what it looks like for us to unlock all the good things that are found in Jesus, right?
[00:51:26] This is the kind of gospel that we should preach to others no matter how bad their lives have been up until this point.
[00:51:35] This is what we pray for other people.
[00:51:38] This is what enables us to believe the gospel on behalf of other people until they come to the point of believing that gospel for themselves.
[00:51:45] So, all right, what I want to do in our remaining time is just to consider what are the promises that Jesus offers us when we believe this simple gospel message, when we lean in to this ultimate gospel cheat code.
[00:52:02] Three B words for those of y'all who like to write in your bulletin.
[00:52:07] The first is blessing.
[00:52:08] So I referenced this earlier, but I feel like this deserves more than just a passing glance.
[00:52:16] This is the first level that is unlocked for Peter.
[00:52:22] Jesus says, blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah.
[00:52:26] First of all, he asks the question, what is this Bar-Jonah that he's speaking of?
[00:52:32] Well, it literally means son of Jonah, which for all intents and purposes was likely a reference to his surname.
[00:52:41] It's a reference to his earthly lineage that he was the son of a man named Jonah.
[00:52:49] And so what's being communicated here is that what Jesus is offering to Peter, he is offering in full knowledge of Peter's history.
[00:53:00] I know exactly who you are, Peter.
[00:53:03] I know where you've come from, and yet blessing is found because you've got my identity right.
[00:53:10] Now, we don't know anything further about Peter's family. We don't know anything about his father Jonah. He could have been a really well-respected member of the community, or he could have been a career criminal. Like, we just don't know. But that's sort of the point, right? Right? Jesus
[00:53:26] knows Peter's background, and he also knows that Peter is about to put his foot into his mouth in the very next passage, and yet Jesus is giving him blessing. So the word here that's translated
[00:53:43] as blessing, it's this Greek word known as makarios. This word is essentially Jesus's preferred word for what we commonly call happiness. It's like the beatitudes, that's the word Makarios, where it's speaking of happiness that comes. There's a professor at Dartmouth University
[00:54:07] a number of years ago. He started studying happiness, and he developed this concept called the happiness curve, and it was based on researching happiness in 132 different countries in the world. And what he discovered looking at happiness across 132 different countries is that
[00:54:30] regardless of income bracket or where you live in the world, generally speaking, after the age of 18, your happiness quotient will slowly decrease. And so it's sort of the inverse of the plot diagram we looked at earlier. Beginning at 18, your happiness quotient will decrease and it will
[00:54:56] bottom out at the age of 47.2. Then it'll start to slowly creep back up. So what this means practically, because we're a pretty young church, is that statistically speaking, you're going to be more and more miserable every Sunday you come back to Midtown Community Church. It also means,
[00:55:21] because I'm 50 years old, I'm going to be happier and happier every time I preach.
[00:55:26] And that may make you more miserable.
[00:55:27] I don't know.
[00:55:27] But what we see here from Jesus is that He is offering the possibility of a cheat code that cuts through those statistics.
[00:55:45] That makarios, the kind of makarios that Jesus offers, it's not connected or defined by your age bracket.
[00:55:53] by your income bracket, your marital bracket.
[00:55:58] It isn't even really about your religious affiliation, Presbyterian, Baptist, Episcopalian, whatever it may be.
[00:56:08] It has to do with your religious affections.
[00:56:14] Your happiness is about whether or not you are able to see and trust in who Jesus has claimed to be.
[00:56:24] Jesus provides access to a holy joy, the kind of happiness that is impervious to age, relationship status, job status, income status.
[00:56:37] All right, second blessing.
[00:56:40] Another B word, belonging.
[00:56:42] So look with me at verse 18, where Jesus then says, and I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my church.
[00:56:52] So, oddly enough, this is the first time that the word church or the Greek word ekklesia appears in the New Testament.
[00:57:02] The very first time.
[00:57:04] Right here.
[00:57:05] This passage.
[00:57:06] Now, obviously the seeds of the church have already been planted and in the works ever since Jesus began choosing disciples back in Matthew 4.
[00:57:17] But those seeds of the church Bloom, right here, Matthew 16.
[00:57:24] Another reason why this is considered to be the turning point of the entire Gospel of Matthew.
[00:57:33] Y'all know what an IPO is?
[00:57:37] Most people do, but IPO is Initial Public Offering.
[00:57:43] The IPO for a company on the New York Stock Exchange, right, this represents the moment when a company makes their stock publicly available for the public to invest in.
[00:57:59] It's often associated with a bell-ringing ceremony to start the New York Stock Exchange on the day that that IPO hits for a company.
[00:58:11] Matthew 16, 18.
[00:58:14] This is Jesus ringing the bell.
[00:58:18] This is the IPO.
[00:58:21] The church has begun.
[00:58:24] And he's offering it to anybody who gets the identity of Jesus right.
[00:58:31] All right, let me say that this one verse, Matthew 16, 18, this is typically considered to be the most controversial and debated Bible verse in at least the entire New Testament, if not the whole Bible.
[00:58:48] Certainly this has been the case for the past 500 years.
[00:58:51] So one of the questions that is raised is when he says, and I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my church.
[00:58:59] The big question that everybody debates across all denominations is what is the rock that Jesus is speaking of here on which he will build the church?
[00:59:12] If you go to the original Greek, the word rock is Petra, which, by the way, is the source of a great Christian rock band from the 80s entitled Petra.
[00:59:24] So if you want to listen to some music on the way home with your kids, Kids, ask your parents to look on Spotify, find Petra.
[00:59:30] They've got a song called I Am the Rock on their famous album Beyond Belief, which is really good.
[00:59:38] All right, when Jesus begins this sentence, he says, I tell you that you are Peter.
[00:59:45] Peter is the Greek word Petros.
[00:59:52] So there's this inescapable play on words here because he's effectively saying, you are Petros and on this Petra I will build a church. Some have suggested the identity of the rock on which he's going to build his church is Peter himself and so Catholics generally speaking
[01:00:16] see the rock specifically as the person Peter and therefore this is the start of what they contend to be apostolic succession. So Peter is authorized to be the foundation, the leader, and therefore the first pope of the church beginning in this very moment. All right,
[01:00:39] we've got Catholics in and around our church community, so great respect for their faith.
[01:00:44] I'll just sort of give you my sort of argument for a different view. I think there's a couple of problems to consider with that interpretation. First of all, none of the disciples seemed to think that Jesus was saying that Peter was the preeminent apostle. They did not see this as an
[01:01:06] event that was suddenly giving him power over everybody else. And part of the reason we know this is because two chapters later in Matthew 18, the disciples get into an argument. And what do they get into an argument about? Who's the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? So none of
[01:01:27] the first eyewitnesses of this conversation understood Peter to be given more power within the church than other people, even though he was clearly operating as a representative of them in many ways. Now, some have suggested that the Petra here, the rock of which he's going to build the
[01:01:45] church that has nothing to do with Peter, that it's actually Jesus, that he's the rock. Personally, I think this is driven more by an over-desire to distance or reject or counter the Catholic position. The reality is that Jesus is making this statement in response to something that Peter
[01:02:08] himself has said. But when Peter spoke, he was speaking on behalf of the disciples.
[01:02:16] He was representing them. He was speaking on their behalf collectively. And so the rock here is not merely Peter, but it's Peter insofar as he's clinging to his confession of faith in Jesus.
[01:02:32] So the reason that Jesus rebukes Peter in the very next passage is not because he suddenly ceased to be Peter.
[01:02:40] It's because he was betraying the very confession of faith that he had given here in Matthew 16, 18.
[01:02:48] Now, tons of books have been written on this one Bible verse.
[01:02:52] So I'm always scratching the surface here.
[01:02:56] But I will say that the point is that what makes the church the church is not your connection to a particular human being and whether or not he goes all the way back to Peter.
[01:03:11] What makes the church the church is your fidelity to the faith of Peter as expressed here.
[01:03:20] It's your fidelity to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
[01:03:25] And similarly, what makes your faith powerful, and sustainable is not merely that your faith is your faith singularly, but it's that your faith is communal.
[01:03:40] It's corporate.
[01:03:42] It's a faith that other people are holding on your behalf as well.
[01:03:51] And this is where I'll make a point that the idea of having a faith in Christ and yet being disconnected from Christian community.
[01:04:01] You will not find a support for that in the Scriptures.
[01:04:05] Insofar as you are called to fight for your faith, you're never called to fight for your faith alone.
[01:04:13] Your faith is precisely a you plural faith.
[01:04:20] I think of 1 Timothy 6.12.
[01:04:24] This is a passage where the apostle Paul is actually writing to a singular individual, a guy named Timothy.
[01:04:33] But he says this to him, fight the good fight of the faith, take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
[01:04:46] So what you see the Apostle Paul doing here is he's taking this turning point in Matthew 16 and he's applying that turning point to another individual, in this case, a guy named Timothy.
[01:05:02] And he's saying that if you hold on to your faith, what you're going to quickly discover is that you actually belong to a broader body of people that you're called to be committed to.
[01:05:13] And this is why I know a number of our kids recently went through the communicants class.
[01:05:20] And this is really, the communicants class is really designed to be an opportunity for kids to explore the claims of Jesus afresh, to do it for themselves, so that they can explore taking that Matthew 16 reality
[01:05:37] and making it true in their lives.
[01:05:43] It's to set their faith in the context of people who we hope will be cheering them on this day forward as they explore and live out their faith in the Gospel.
[01:05:56] You are not fighting alone.
[01:05:58] you not only have blessing, but part of that blessing is that you also have belonging.
[01:06:03] All right, third and final promise is building.
[01:06:06] Jesus says, and I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
[01:06:15] When you grab hold of the gospel cheat code, you belong to something bigger than yourself so that you have the opportunity to build.
[01:06:27] So, all right, the imagery of this verse, I just read provided here by Jesus is that we understand that there's a greater spiritual battle, presumably, right? Even the gates of hell cannot overcome it, right? We're talking about the
[01:06:41] spiritual battle against devil and against death itself. Now, I've looked at this passage a number of times, but it wasn't until this week that I realized something new about this passage that I hadn't noticed before. When we think about not even the gates of hell can overcome the gospel
[01:07:04] and the work of the church, I often pictured it as the church is sort of here together and the devil's trying to attack us and the promise of the gospel is that he will not win as he tries to
[01:07:19] attack us. But if you notice, that's not actually how this metaphor plays out, because he's saying not that the arrows of the devil or the spears of the devil will not prevail. He says the gates.
[01:07:35] If you're fighting in a battle, are gates an offensive weapon? No, they're a defensive weapon, It's a fortification to protect you against the attack of the opposing side and to ride out the storm until Jesus comes back.
[01:07:59] Our purpose is to build and to expand.
[01:08:05] I think this was famously attributed to George Washington, but a ton of other coaches have used this in a variety of sports.