[0:00] This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfred, Georgia. It is our prayer that you will be blessed by the preaching of God's Word. Matthew chapter 16 verses 21 through 23. We could all take out a notebook right now and start writing all the truth and wisdom we know.
[0:14] And at the end of our lives it wouldn't compare to what we would find in these three verses from our God. There is so much loaded in these three verses. It starts off from this time forth which is saying that Jesus is transitioning to more private teaching with his disciples.
[0:28] He will be leaving soon and he knows this and so he has to prepare the disciples, their heart, as we see in John chapter 17 as he prays for them in their unity. He also has to prepare their mind because he needs to teach them some things.
[0:41] He needs to show them some things. He sets them down and says, man, I have something to tell you. And then Peter has some objection to it. But I have good news for you today and I'm so excited to get to share it with you.
[0:52] This is truly, truly good news what we find here about the gospel. So as we already read in verse 21 it says, From that time forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples how that he must go unto Jerusalem.
[1:08] And that's where we have our problem here is that must go unto Jerusalem. So Peter is one of the students who said that Jesus was to show unto his disciples. And in that place there Peter was one of those disciples.
[1:20] And he was going to show them the things that are about the suffer of the elders and of the chief priests and the scribes. And that he will be killed and risen the third day. And that he must go to Jerusalem.
[1:31] And this was the part that Peter had a problem with. That's where Peter pulls out his note card and he says, it says that he pulls him beside, he rebukes him. So here's Jesus and he's teaching the disciples.
[1:42] And here's Peter. And he grabs the Lord and he says, come over here. He says, I don't have this on my note card. This isn't really my plan for you and me and for the team here. I don't know what you're doing.
[1:54] And it says he rebukes him. And he says, he doesn't understand. You must go to Jerusalem. Do you understand Jerusalem? You must be killed. You'll be risen the third day.
[2:06] And Peter has a problem with it. And it's unbelievable. But how gracious God is to Peter. Peter is saying, my plan for us that I have involves no pain.
[2:17] It involves no suffering. It involves no shame. It involves no cross. It is so much better. So Jesus, everything you like, you stay in charge. You become king.
[2:27] But we don't need to go the way of the cross to make that happen. And we've all, before we put our foot on Peter's neck and we judge him, we've all been there before. We have a way that we think is better.
[2:38] And that we would prefer. And that we would pull God aside. And that we would want to correct him. And we know this. Because that's why when times are good, we don't really need to pray.
[2:49] Because there's no reason to pull God aside and to correct his way of thinking. And that's why when things don't work out for us, we're often just like Peter, where we pull the Heavenly Father aside and say, did you not see the note card I had going on here?
[3:02] Did you not see my five and ten year plan for my life? And you kind of went off the plan. And let's see if we can adjust some things here. And we find ourselves in negotiations with our God trying to persuade him to our way.
[3:16] It also shows the humanity of our Savior here. Could you imagine being pulled aside? Even think about it, parents. You're talking and you're here and Thatcher comes out of the kids and kids class upstairs and he pulls me aside and said, hey, Dad, I know what you planned to do today, but I got a better plan.
[3:32] Let's talk about this. I would have a hard time with that. But we have the creator of the universe being pulled aside by somebody he created and that is trying to set him straight. But we see how gracious our Heavenly Father is to us in Jesus where he doesn't just zap Peter right there on the spot.
[3:49] He doesn't make Peter vanish. But he listens to him and he felt what Peter felt and he gives him an answer. In our Connect class and Adult Bible Fellowship, our memory verse we've been working on is Romans 12.
[4:01] It says, Be not conformed to this world, but be you transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is good and acceptable and the perfect will of God. And that's what Jesus is going to teach on the Peter here.
[4:11] He says, You need to correct your way of thinking, that you have a faulty view of the kingdom, that you have a wrong view of it. And I want to set it straight here. So he had a desire to go to Jerusalem.
[4:22] He says, I must go to Jerusalem. When you first read that, you may think, What's the problem with that? Jerusalem seems to be a good place to go. I'd like to go there now.
[4:33] I'd like to see it. Jesus, why wouldn't you want to go to Jerusalem? As we look through the Bible, the first mention of it we see in Genesis 14, when Melchizedek comes, a type of Christ comes from Jerusalem, when we first hear about it, and a wonderful thing happens.
[4:45] Later on in Genesis 22, Abraham's going to take his son near there in Isaac, and he goes to sacrifice his son, but he's going to find a sacrifice there provided for him.
[4:56] David makes it the capital of Israel. Second Samuel, when Solomon is going to, it becomes the city of God when the Ark Covenant comes there. And then Solomon says that this city is the standard of perfection, and he's going to build the temple there.
[5:12] It was loved so much that in the book of Psalms that the Jewish people, they would pray this, they say, If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. It says, If we forget about Jerusalem and how wonderful it is, let me forget how to even use my right hand, because it had been such a wonderful place, and that Jesus deserves to go there, and he deserves to be the king, but he said to Peter, and the disciples, I must go to Jerusalem.
[5:38] And when he said, I must go to Jerusalem, Peter, probably speaking on behalf of the other disciples, because even though Peter's always putting his foot in his mouth, he often says what would be said by the other men in the story there, he said, No, no, you can't do this.
[5:53] And why is that the case? It's because from the time that I told you all those things about Jerusalem, things have changed. It's not Kansas anymore. Things have changed there in Jerusalem. Jerusalem was the city that tried to kill Jesus when he was first born.
[6:08] When Jesus goes there in John chapter number 2, the first Passover trip that we read about, he has to cleanse the temple with whips and a broken heart, because what was there to glorify God had been changed in some kind of market there.
[6:21] In John chapter number 5, Jesus violates the man-made rules of the Sabbath, and they try to kill him there on a second Passover trip. On the third Passover, he doesn't even go there because he avoids their hatred.
[6:33] In John 7, he attends there for the Feast of the Tabernacles, and once again they try to capture him, they execute him. In John 8, Jesus teaches in the temple, and he offers forgiveness.
[6:44] That's the story where the woman is taken in adultery, and when she comes to him, he provides forgiveness to him, and they hate him for that, that he would offer forgiveness to this woman there.
[6:55] And it said in verse 23 of John 8, it says, You are from beneath, and I am from above, and you are of this world, and I am not of this world. That's how he speaks to the Pharisees, that they had a different view of this woman than he had, because he says, You're from down here, and I'm from up there, and so my ways are above your ways.
[7:12] And here, the idea that Jesus did not say that he is God is not found in the New Testament. That's why they hated him, is because it was evident that he says, I am not from here, I'm from above.
[7:23] Your ways are not my way, and they hated that about him. And when they arrive in John 11, when they do come to Jerusalem, because Lazarus has died, his friend, and Jesus had compassion upon him, in verse 14 of John 11, it says, Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead, and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there to the intent that you may believe.
[7:46] Nevertheless, let us go unto him. So Lazarus died, and he said, I'm glad that I wasn't here when he died, because I'm going to show you who I am in my power by bringing him back. The death does not even keep him from doing a wonderful work.
[7:58] And this is what Thomas said, which we always, Thomas gets a bad rap because of what he did, and after the resurrection, and how he doubted. But listen to what Thomas says here. He said, Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellow disciples, let us also go, that we may die with him.
[8:14] So when Jesus said, Lazarus died, and I've got to go to Jerusalem, Thomas just says, Hey, we all know what that means. We're on board with you. Let's go. Because if you go to Jerusalem, you die, and I'm on board there.
[8:26] So must go to Jerusalem means a lot, doesn't it? Those phrases are pretty loaded. It was not, let's go to town, let's go stop, pick up something we can't find in this part of the city.
[8:37] He was saying, Let us go to my cross. Let us go so that I could die. And the accusers that we read about, those arch enemies of Christ, those religious leaders that come into conflict so many times.
[8:49] Matthew 15, 1-3 says, Then came Jesus' scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying, Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of elders? For they wash not their hands when they eat bread.
[9:02] But he answered unto them, Why do you transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? He's always in conflict with this group of religious leaders from Jerusalem. So when he told the disciples, It's time for me to go to Jerusalem, they knew what it meant.
[9:16] You and I might read it and not think much about it, but if we had been in that room, or outside underneath the tree, and Jesus said, I must go to Jerusalem, before he even finished his sentence, we knew what he was saying there.
[9:29] It was the place where the crucifixion would occur. That he had been there for so many more Passover trips, that this time he was the Passover lamb, and that he would be going there, because he must go to Jerusalem.
[9:42] And so how does he feel about it? What does our Savior feel about it when he says, I must go to Jerusalem? Well, Hebrews 12, 2 tells us that, Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, and perfecter of our faith, who from the joy that was set before us, he endured the cross, for the joy set before him.
[10:00] So in Matthew 16, when he said, I must go to Jerusalem, it says that that must go to Jerusalem, and that cross was something that, with joy, he looked forward to. Knowing the cross was coming, knowing he was dying, because he loved those disciples, and he loves every one of us in this room, to that point, that he would look forward to that.
[10:22] How does God feel about it? Now, oftentimes you hear this idea, that God's a cranky old man, and he's really against us, but Jesus is for us, and they're always fighting against each other.
[10:33] You might get that idea at times, but that's not the case. Isaiah 53, 11 says, He shall, God shall see the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied by the knowledge, shall my righteous servant justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities.
[10:47] He was satisfied, when he knew that Jesus was going to go to Jerusalem, that his pain and agony, would bring many of us justification here.
[10:58] So all the roads led away from Jerusalem. There's a million different ways, that Jesus did not have to go to Jerusalem. There was no reason, he had to go to Jerusalem, and nothing appeared, to make him go there, except his love for me, and for you, and his father's glory.
[11:14] That's something that Peter didn't understand. It is something that maybe you don't understand, and a lot of people don't understand today, is that a savior that has to go to the cross. Peter loved Jesus, and he should have.
[11:26] He didn't want to see his king die. He didn't fit into Peter's note card. That wasn't his game plan for him. Jesus had been meeting all their needs. Even though Jesus wasn't wealthy, going around and having lots of money, when Jesus needed money to pay the tax collectors, he said, go fishing.
[11:42] And they catch a fish, and they get the money for there. Jesus didn't own a boat, but when they got a boat, and a storm came, he could calm the sea. He could prepare a meal in minutes, for a lot of people.
[11:53] Some of you might appreciate that. A large crowd of people could come. He didn't have an army, but centurions would obey him. He was not a doctor, but when he would leave town, lame men and blind men would rejoice, because he had been there.
[12:09] Why would you want a friend like that to leave? Why would you want a king like that? I understand Peter's heart. Why would we want that person to be taken from us? He did not want his friend to die.
[12:20] But there's also another aspect of it. He loved Jesus. He was his friend. He was his king. But also Peter did not want his position in this world to diminish.
[12:32] If Jesus comes now and sets up a throne, Peter's life looks like a ruler. It looks like at the worst, he's a valid, he's somebody that takes care of a king, he's in a nice kingdom, and he takes care of everything.
[12:46] That's Peter's life. But if Jesus is going to a cross, and he is dying now, if a cross comes before the crown, then that changes Peter's life, doesn't it?
[12:57] In that moment, Peter is coming to grasp with the fact that it is not now for him to set up the earthly kingdom, but that Peter will also die upon a cross. That Peter will live his life not having a place to lay his head.
[13:10] That Peter will live his life going from city to city, making much of God. And that's kind of hard. I don't know if you've ever been there before. Have you ever had one of those conversations? Maybe it was an employer, maybe it was with a doctor, maybe it was somebody else, and you sat down and you said, my whole world view is changing.
[13:28] This is not what I think is going to happen with my life. And Peter's dealing with that, and I can understand it. And I can also see how people can like Jesus, but not understand why he needs to go to the cross.
[13:41] This is a very common idea today, where we live. We can satisfy our religious needs with lots of sentimental thoughts about Jesus. Christianity becomes a nice, warm, fuzzy religion that makes us feel good because we've identified with something that is wholesome and good.
[13:57] That's why we all celebrate Christmas, but we don't all celebrate Easter. It's because we love the parts that make us whole and complete, that seem good, but the message of Christmas is that I'm coming down there to die for you.
[14:11] I'm coming down there because you are sinners in need of a Savior. And it should be offensive to those who do not think themselves to be a sinner. I must go to the cross.
[14:23] When God says must, it's a terrible rebellion to oppose it. When he told Nicodemus in John chapter number 3, he says, you must be born again, that says this is an absolute. There's no other variation.
[14:34] Either you're born again, or you don't ever see the kingdom of heaven. There's not another option. I must go to Jerusalem. What will happen at the cross? What is it at Jerusalem and at the cross that's going to happen?
[14:45] Verse number 22, he tells us, he says he's going to be killed. He doesn't tell all that's going to happen as he'll reveal this more to the disciples, but we know because we've read the whole story. We learn that he will be executed there, that he will be brought shame, the shame that you and I deserve, that he will die the death of a criminal, the death that we deserve, that not only before they kill him, but they will go forward and say, we can let somebody go.
[15:10] We have Barabbas, a known criminal, and Jesus over here that has done nothing. Who do you want? And they say, we will take Barabbas. We also know that Peter, his friend in this story, is going to deny him on the way to the cross.
[15:25] We know that he will be beaten beyond description. We know that the nails that will be put upon his hands to the point that when he pulls himself up to breathe will bring incredible pain, that a word excruciationary will be created to talk about the pain that comes from the cross.
[15:42] And we know all of this awaits him, that he says, I must go to Jerusalem. All these things are going to be accomplished because he must go to Jerusalem, and some things that are impossible.
[15:52] Follow with me as I show you some scripture here. In Colossians chapter number 2 and verse number 14, what's going to happen is, our sin debt will be satisfied, and he canceled our debt, and he nailed it to the cross, blotting out the handwritten of ordinances that were against us, but which was contrary to us, that took away nailing it to the cross.
[16:13] He must go to Jerusalem because it's there that your sin debt and my sin debt will be satisfied. Peace will be made for us in Colossians 1.19-22 because he made peace and he reconciled us, and he will present us holy and unblameable before God.
[16:27] He made peace through the blood of the cross because we were once, in verse 21, we were alienated and we were enemies in our minds by our wicked works, but in the body of flesh through death to present you holy and unblameable and unprovable in sight.
[16:43] That's why he must go to Jerusalem. God will display his love. 1 John 4.10 Herein is love, not that we love God, but he loved us and he sent his son to be the propitiation of our sins.
[16:54] It's where our sin is canceled. It's where we're justified. It's where the greatest demonstration of love and all of mankind and all of history is going to be put on display. Romans 8.3, Through the death of Christ, sin has lost its power.
[17:08] For what the law could not do, it was weak to the flesh. And God sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh, for sin condemned sin in the flesh. The Ten Commandments and all the law of the Old Testament could not give us power over sin.
[17:21] All it did was remind us, you're sinners. The must go to Jerusalem is going to provide that for us. The cross is going to provide that for us. Jesus will bear our sins.
[17:32] 1 Peter 2.24, who our own self bear our own sins in his own body on the tree, on the cross, that all the sins will be taken there and on that day.
[17:43] So when he says, I must go to Jerusalem, Peter should have said, please do. I will miss you and I love you, but please for my sake, please for all the people that will come after me, please go to the cross.
[17:57] Please do that. And hope will be provided. Verse 21 to Matthew 16, it says, and be raised again the third day. The resurrection of Christ assures us that God has accepted Christ's sacrifice for our sins.
[18:12] Romans 4.25, who was delivered for our offenses and was raised again for our justification. He goes to the cross and on the third day he raised again and it shows us that he was God and that he had power over death, hell, and the grave and that the heavenly father received his sacrifice for us.
[18:33] The gospel is the power of God and the salvation and there is no hope without it. 1 Corinthians 1.18, for the preaching of the cross is them that perish foolishness, but unto us, but unto us which are saved, it is the power of God.
[18:47] It doesn't go with our note card and it doesn't make sense. But then he showed us from his word why he must go to Jerusalem. The resurrection of Christ assures us that there is life after death.
[19:00] John 11.25 and 26, Jesus said unto him, I am the resurrection and the life and he that believeth in me through her dead shall he live and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.
[19:11] Believest thou this? Because of that we know that there is hope after death for all eternity. We want him to go to the cross for us.
[19:21] We must have him go to Jerusalem and because of that we must spend our lives rejoicing that he did. It's at the center of everything in every part of your life. I have a hard time overcoming this sin but I can because he went to the cross.
[19:36] Things aren't working out the way that I thought they should but I will make it because he went to the cross. I have this debt of sin and I have this shame but I can overcome it because he went to the cross. And all through our lives and all through our days we go back to he went to the cross.
[19:50] He went to the cross. It is not only central in all of history, it is not only in the center of the gospel but it should be in the center of our lives. Every day our mind will be come back to things are different now because he went to the cross.
[20:04] John Knox was visiting his dad's church and it had been some time since his dad was passed and there wasn't very few markers inside of the church. His dad's name wasn't on the church sign anymore.
[20:16] There was a different pastor that had been there and on one of the places there on one of the pews there was a plaque that said his dad's name. And this is what John Knox said about this.
[20:27] Here is perhaps the supreme pathos. And after a little bit of googling I found out what that means. Here is the supreme evoked sadness. Here is the extreme tragedy of life, of human life.
[20:39] It is not that we die only but that any real and living memory must die too. And unless God has raised us from death it is the end as though we had never lived.
[20:52] It is not only sad in life that we are going to die but without him going to Jerusalem without the cross not only do we die but it is like we never even existed.
[21:04] If we just vanish if there is no eternity if there is no heaven we live our lives and we make whatever mark we can but then it just passes. You know I have had a trial version of the ancestry.com make up your own Kentucky jokes there if you would like to.
[21:19] It did take me quite as long to get to the tree as maybe some of you. And so at ancestry.com I am looking and there is these people I don't have any idea who they are and they are not that far removed from me.
[21:33] I mean it doesn't take but a few generations where a great great grandson I have no idea. No matter what he did we didn't win any Nobel Peace Prize that is why I told you I put my name on Wikipedia and I am one of the top ten most famous Cornwells.
[21:46] Alright. We haven't done anything. We don't have any heroes there and as we look at it there they just vanished. And I don't think it's unique to me I think it's all of us I think we're built with eternity in our hearts that you're not comfortable with that.
[22:01] That it bothers you it evokes sadness to you that not only will you live and die but if it wasn't for the cross it's like you never even existed. It means nothing. That your name's upon a plaque upon a pew but give that a few generations and they don't even have that there anymore.
[22:16] You just cease as if you never were but I must go to Jerusalem and that means so much to us that understand what happens at the cross. The resurrection assures us that we now have an advocate with the Father because he went to Jerusalem and he went to the cross Romans 8.34 it says Who is he that condemneth?
[22:34] It is Christ that died yea rather that is risen again that who is even at the right hand of God has made intercession. He makes intercession because he went to the cross Trent Cornwell now has an advocate with the Father which says that my life matters my sin has been forgiven I don't have to carry the shame and that I will live for all eternity celebrating what he has done.
[22:58] I don't know about you but that is good news. I know of nothing any greater that I could tell you today. And so what's these problems with Peter's protest? It's all that I just mentioned there and it cannot be accomplished in any other way.
[23:12] All that I mentioned to you already but what if he didn't go to the cross? Galatians 3.13 tells us that we would remain cursed in the law. Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law being made a curse for us for it is written cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree.
[23:30] If Jesus that day if he would have said you know what Peter yeah good point I won't go to the cross. Peter would have died in that curse. You and I would have died in that curse without any hope.
[23:42] No matter how good you are you would have died cursed if he didn't. This would all be vain. It provides meaning and power. If Christ be not risen then our preaching is vain and your faith is also in vain which just means emptiness.
[23:56] If he didn't go to the cross it's all just empty. This is all pretend and I'm a criminal charlatan by selling a false hope and my life has meant nothing and your life has meant nothing if he didn't.
[24:09] And so how does this happen? How does Peter do that? Don't you wonder that? Like it's so easy to see. I am so judgmental these disciples. I'm like come on guys don't you see what's happening?
[24:21] But they're in the middle of it looking at it. They don't get to see the next chapter until they're living in it. But we find out here as the Bible tells us in Matthew 12 that all matters of life are matters of the heart.
[24:32] Verse number 34 says But he turned and he said unto Peter Get thee behind me Satan thou art an offense unto me for thou savorest not the things that be of God but those that be of men.
[24:46] How could Peter get to a point where he didn't understand or appreciate the necessity of the cross and how do you get to a point where you do not appreciate and understand the necessity of the cross you do that by not savoring the things of God but savoring the things of this world.
[25:06] We can taste and see that the Lord is good. We think Christianity is all about do and don't and trying to keep a checklist. It's about a new affection that now that we've seen him nothing else compares to him.
[25:18] That's as Daniel and all those other people would bow shatter at me shake at me and go they would all bow those men saw something greater. They saw a beauty that was greater. All through the Bible we have people Peter is filled with pride he thought he knew better than the Lord but God says there's something better.
[25:34] Taste and see that the Lord is good. Have you ever been on a diet where there was a certain thing you couldn't eat? I'm currently on a green gummy bear diet. I can eat any other kind of gummy bear but I can't eat the green ones.
[25:46] I'm going to try that out for a while. Just making up. I wanted to relate. I don't have any form of diet. You know? Seafood. Whatever I see I'm eating there. Seafood diet. But whatever it is you're not having that's what you have that taste for.
[25:59] That's what you want. You know nobody gets real excited about pork rinds but if somebody's on a no carb diet pork rinds look pretty good because there's something there some of you know what I'm talking about I don't some of you do there but you savor that and you want it.
[26:13] What was happening was that Peter had lost his taste. He had been the things of the world that when they were walking with Jesus Peter was playing in his mind how great it would be to worship a king that was upon earth.
[26:24] How great it would be to have palaces. How great it would be to stop walking from city to city. How great it would be not to be ostracized from the religious delict. How great it would be and he got this taste for the things of the world and he lost his taste for the things of God.
[26:38] That's you and I. Because we get a taste for the things of the world we don't celebrate what it is that he did on the cross. We're not just consumed about thinking about all that he has done for us.
[26:50] And so what's the problem with it? It's a matter of the heart. It's insubordinate. He's filled with pride and he's not alone in this action. Today people refuse the will of God for their lives and they will go their own way.
[27:01] They have simply indicated by their choice and conduct that they believe that they know better than God. Peter was insubordinate to God. And he even calls him Lord in that sentence.
[27:13] But Lord, I know better. And so it's inconsistent, isn't it? He says Lord and he argued with him in verse number 22 but then he says he contradicts him. If Christ is Lord that he is to be followed and not rebuked.
[27:27] You can start your prayer out with Lord but if you do not want to submit to his way of thinking then it's inconsistent, it's insubordinate and it's insulting. The word that we have here is rebuking.
[27:38] He did not submit to the Lord but he insults him. He says I find this to be an offense to me. We minimize the importance of something he gave his life for and it's an insult to his worth.
[27:50] So if you have a form of Christianity where you like Jesus but you don't understand the importance of the cross because you don't know that you're a sinner that deserved hell, that deserved separation from God and you don't embrace and love that old rugged cross then it's insubordinate.
[28:05] It's insulting. It's inconsistent and it's offensive to the God of heaven that makes you say that he did it as a sideshow. He did it just as a demonstration of love which is crazy.
[28:18] A man runs into a burning building for no reason there's nobody into it just to demonstrate his love. It's crazy. But a man runs into a building to save you who is dying and he pulls you out then it is incredible.
[28:31] That's what he did upon the cross. He didn't do it just to make an example of love. He did it to save you. He did it because you had no other way. So that's why he must go to Jerusalem and Peter introduces what is known as a crossless creed in verse number 22.
[28:47] But as far from thee Lord that thou shall not be unto thee. A crossless theology is a great problem for the soul of man. To take the cross out of Christianity it may give you some solutions today but it damns you for all eternity.
[29:01] Without the cross we are most men miserable. Leave out the cross and you do not have any means of salvation. There's no doctrine in the scripture that's any more important or more simple to understand but can only be accepted by those that see him as king and savior.
[29:16] Not only should we love him and worship him because he's great but we love him and worship him as savior because we were not great and we were deserving of sin. We were deserving of hell and the wrath to come because we're sinners.
[29:29] That's what makes it good news. My little four year old daughter she tells me about the resurrection it's the gospel and I say why is it the gospel? She says it's good news. And I say why is it good news?
[29:42] And that's the problem she deals with. She hasn't yet grasped why this is good news. Have you gathered why it's good news? Because any other news leaves you to yourself.
[29:53] Any other news where he doesn't go and die for you leaves you having to earn your salvation. And if any part of it was left to you you would mess it up. Would you get honest with yourself?
[30:04] If anything's left to you in your own way we'd mess it up. If he comes halfway if he comes 90% of the way if he comes 99% of the way and says finish it that's all you have to do.
[30:16] Have you ever been there before men where I put the food in the oven I put the timer on all you have to do is when the timer goes off take it out of the oven and how many good meals have been ruined because we were left with only one thing to do.
[30:33] Don't give me my salvation. Please Lord don't give me my salvation. Please go to Jerusalem. Please die for me because I've tried to live my life before and it did not measure up and it could not.
[30:45] I don't have the ability. I can't create what's needed. I can't produce that type of righteousness because there was men that were better than me there were men that were better husbands and dads than me and we see them in the Bible and they did everything and when they come to Jesus he says you've got to be born again Nicodemus and Nicodemus says give me another thing and put it on there I can handle it.
[31:04] He says you must be born again and Christ condemned Peter's protesting so soundly here. To ignore his instruction is to choose the way of death and destruction.
[31:15] On Thursday night Robert said it is as clear and as powerful as he can to us men. There is a way here that leads to life and there is a way in ourselves that leads to destruction and you are a fool if you choose your own way there.
[31:29] We will see Peter's life and he receives the instruction but Peter gets it. Jesus remains loving Peter in verse number 28 Verily I send you there be some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.
[31:43] In the next chapter Peter is going to take Jesus is going to take Peter on the Mount of Transfiguration and there are Moses and Elijah and Jesus are there and Peter is going to get to see him in his glory and he still doesn't fully get it.
[31:55] He says how about we build you guys some tents let's not go any farther let's stay here but in 2 Peter 1.16 Peter will say he finally learns he says we have not followed cunningly devised fables for I have made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ that we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
[32:14] He says we don't follow a fable he says the God of our imaginations is not the God we want. I tried to make up a story one time about how this thing should end I don't follow that story anymore I have seen God and his power so maybe you came in here today with the note card and you have a God of your imagination and there's some things that he checks off that you like but there's also some things about the God of your Bible and you don't think he measures up so you're trying to make him adjust can I tell you that you do not want the God of your Bible you do not want a Christianity without a cross you do not want Jesus not to go to Jerusalem for you because the God of your imagination is a Christianity without a cross which means that you are a soul without any hope that will spend eternity separated from him it was unholy what he did here it's satanic it goes back to earlier in Matthew when Satan took Jesus up and he says I'll give you all of this stuff all you have to do is bow to me and Jesus says get thee behind me Satan same thing he said to Peter because it wasn't a bad idea it wasn't a deviation to Christianity it was satanic an idea that you could come to God without the cross is absolutely satanic and we hear that in Matthew 4 and it's unhelpful and a ministry without preaching the cross is unhelpful it is an offense so in closing here
[33:35] I want to speak to two different groups in here that I have no idea which group you fall into but according to the Bible there's only two divisions in this world it's not man and woman it's not America the rest of the world it's not rich it's not poor it's simply believer believer and unbeliever so does the believer in here do you savor the things of God or of men don't say of course I do I'm a believer I made the supreme proclamation the supreme profession well so did Peter and he got caught up in the snare he got caught up in tasting the things of this world and didn't savor the things of God here and enjoys it have you ever had that friend out of high school and every time you get with him all he wants to do is tell the same stories again he never moves on to it maybe he played high school football and every time you talk he talks about that one play and he never moves on past that one event in his life maybe you have a family member and there's bitterness there because there's that one event and because of that one event everything now centers around it
[34:36] Christian that's the cross for us everything now centers around that one event we can't get over it if there's a lull in the conversation we go back to it it's what we think about all the time how did you respond to the scripture reading about what was secured to you by the death of Christ you may not like me my manner of speech my accent my outline etc but for the sake of your eternal soul I pray that you cherish the old rugged cross I pray when you hear about what happened at the cross something inside of you screams thank you for going to Jerusalem thank you for the cross what is it that's preoccupying your mind are you living your life caught up in the dreams of building yourself a little kingdom do you think about how the king will be glorified are you caught up in your own thought life and it's all about you apparently from the last place Peter was at until now we know what was preoccupying his mind because he had a savor for the things of this world you can tell what your heart desires by how you respond to an interruption in your life and plans
[35:43] Peter flew off the handle when he realized that his life wasn't going the way that he had it planned he flew off the handle because he was not living for the king's glory but he was living for his own how torn up do you get when things don't go your way have you become your own king when things don't go according to plan do you realize do you think it's a rebellion against you and your kingdom here and are you ready to take up a cross and follow after him the understanding of the doctrine of the cross the teaching of the cross which is what Jesus is giving is going to proceed the demand that it has when Jesus says you have to deny yourself and take up your cross and follow after me if you understand the cross as he just told it then it makes sense to you and you're ready for it but if you don't value it then you don't want to do that are you so preoccupied with saving your own life verse number 25 of that chapter for whosover will save his life shall lose it and whosover will lose his life by sake will find it hours trying to save your life is all of your energy spent on saving your standard of living your status in life your own goals or your own legacy and you see a connection between suffering and bringing him glory not asking you to seek suffering but would you stop giving your whole life from running from it and just living a small life we were in
[37:05] Gatlinburg with our teenagers this winter retreat and I call Gatlinburg the Mecca of Christianity Islam has Mecca different religions have their place and us Christians we have Gatlinburg it's like Christian Las Vegas isn't it there's this Christian stuff all over the place and we went to a Chick-fil-A and I said how more spiritual can you get we're eating at a Chick-fil-A beside a Hobby Lobby in Gatlinburg you know I mean there's something there that's what you ought to do laying before the Packers play go say your prayers there but did you know if you worked at a Chick-fil-A in Gatlinburg Tennessee that 2nd Timothy 312 would still be true all of those that live godly will suffer persecution it's going to remain true that no matter where you go on Monday if you live for God and godly you're going to suffer some persecution for it don't run from it that's the cross it's what you've been looking for it's part of the life as a Christian and how do you find joy in spoiling your goods for your life Hebrews 10 34 for he had compassion of me and my bonds and you took joyfully the spoiling of your goods knowing in yourself that you have in heaven a better and enduring substance can you just say I can enjoy spoiling my life and just living for him because I know that they're setting up something for me that is better that the only thing that really matters to me the only thing
[38:25] I can ever really want was purchased on the cross and everything else falls a far far far second to us and we must submit our thinking to the authority of the word it is Christ if we are to be Jesus' disciples so Peter messed up royally here there but when Jesus set him in line he fell into place because he says your mind will be my mind your word will be my way of thinking and believe here fall on the line conform your way of thinking to his and unbeliever in here what you need to do you should do as every believer has done and will do for all eternity revelations 5 9 and they sung a new song saying thou art worthy to take the book and to open the seals therewith for thou was slain and has redeemed us the God by the blood of every kindred tongue and people and nation in revelation we look all the way to the future and when you read about those people I'm in there okay you didn't know that about me but I'm in the bible and the book of revelations those people that are around him
[39:27] I'm one of them and so can you be as well and you know what we're doing we're saying thou art worthy lord you're worthy of our worship because you were slain upon the cross because when you were here on earth you said I must go to Jerusalem so John the Baptist said behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the whole world behold the Lamb of God that takes away your sin and guilt and maybe you came in here with shame maybe you came in here with the God of your imagination maybe you came in here and ignored the cross because you never saw yourself as a sinner but the day you say I'm going to rip up my note card I came in here with a definition of God that didn't include a cross but right now I'm just done with it that I don't want my definition of God that I'm going to submit to what the Bible says about me and Jesus the Bible says that all of us are dead in our sins and trespasses that all of us fall short of the glory of God that the wages of sin is death but he went to Jerusalem and he died in my place and he died in your place and so that's what makes what could potentially be the worst news ever the greatest news possible celebrate it he went to
[40:36] Jerusalem Heavenly Father thank you for going to Jerusalem thank you for coming to earth thank you for not leaving us dead in our sins and thank you for not conforming to us but having our minds conform to you and not giving us the God of our imagination this message was recorded at vision baptist church in alfred georgia for more information log on to www.visionbaptist.com where you can find our service times location contact information and more audio and video recordings