WHO AM I
Matthew 16:13-20
Have you ever watched that TV programme Pointless and they put up some names or whatever and you have to guess which one had the lowest number of people saying it?
I was talking to some people just the other day about who Jesus is and the replies were much as I would imagine.
One wanted to tell me about other religions and philosophies but on asking a few questions they knew nothing about other religions anyway.
A good man is a popular answer, probably the highest scorer and then a prophet.
But I wonder where the Son of God would come on the chart I think it could be a winning answer.
As Christians this should be our answer Jesus said the only way to the Father is through me so our answer is key.
Here we have the disciples wandering about with Jesus they have seen Him do all sorts of amazing things and speaking with great authority.
However, Jesus asks them the question "Who do people say that I am” and they avoid the question.
John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah or one of the prophets, as they would say on Pointless, all good answers in many way complimentary answers but all were wrong.
Jesus though pins them down, "Who do you say that I am"
And it is Peter who answers,
"You are the Christ, the son of the living God"
And Jesus replies that,“could not have been revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.”
My question to you this morning is this, can you declare that with certainty, because it is key to your faith.
We are being bombarded on all sides by people trying to undermine that statement because it is seen as exclusive but as my Old Testament lecturer used to say truth is often exclusive.
2+2=4 not 5 or 6.
We were talking at the Bible study Wednesday night about how the people of Israel had been assimilated into Egyptian culture.
They arrive there as shepherds but quickly become people who make bricks and very quickly their culture disappears.
Moses quickly becomes someone who looks like an Egyptian rather than a Jew.
We cannot compromise on the central points of the Christian faith to please other people.
It is so easy to take on the values of the world and apply them to our faith.
But also we have to really know it for ourselves, I was at a church leaders meeting and people were sharing where they were up to.
One pastor said I think at times they even want me to believe for them.
In the same way Jesus directed the question to His disciples, He directs it to us, who do you say that I am.
Do you have that personal assurance, you cannot have a faith on what others believe.
It is on this faith that Jesus tells Peter He will build His church.
We are all like bricks in the wall and we are only as strong as the weakest part in that wall.
The good news is Jesus tells us that the gates of hades, the kingdom of darkness can never overcome it.
A funny thing happened the other day I was filling in a form for the chapel and it said date your organisation was formed and so I put in 1860.
Up on the screen came a message date not recognised you could not go before 1900.
Now obviously Gods story goes right back to Genesis but this chapel is about 150 years old there are not many organisations that can claim that.
There will have been good times and bad but when God is in the equation nothing can stand against it.
I was preaching a couple of years back in St Laurence, Church Stretton near Shrewsbury and Bishop Alastair was in the congregation.
The church leaders including him prayed for Carol and I and he gave me a word from God.
"As I was with Moses so I am with you"
If God is not with us we can achieve very little but that verse is true for all believers, quite simply God is with us.
Nobody or nothing can stand against us as we step out to further the kingdom of God in this generation.
But we have to grasp and hold on to the true revelation of who Jesus is "there is no other name under heaven by whom people can be saved" said probably one of the world’s best preachers, Martyn LLoyd Jones
Who am I to disagree with such a great Welsh preacher