[0:00] This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfred, Georgia. It is our prayer that you'll be blessed by the preaching of God's Word. Well, we are going to talk about that lamb today. Turn with me, if you would, to Matthew chapter 16 and verse 13.
[0:12] Matthew chapter 16 and verse 13. And we're going to answer the question, who is Jesus? Actually, the Bible's going to answer that question. And Peter's going to answer that question.
[0:22] And Jesus is going to say that his answer is a good answer. And so I hope you have your Bible open. I hope you'll mark the scriptures. And I hope that you will ask yourself that question and make sure you have answered correctly.
[0:36] Read with me, if you would. Well, don't read yet. I'll read with you in a second. Let me tell you where we are. He is in a place, in verse 13, of Caesarea Philippi. He is out among the Gentiles.
[0:47] And actually, they're surrounded by all these temples and all these false gods. And it's kind of an unusual setting because they're not in Israel. They're not among the Jewish people.
[0:58] They're not among the things that might talk about God. And he says, do you know that I am God? That's basically what's going to happen in the passage of scripture. He's going to say, do you know I'm God?
[1:09] Here's a false god over here. And there's a false god over here. And a temple over here. And a temple over there. It's all around them. And out amongst all of that, he says, do you know who I am? So look, if you would, at verse 13.
[1:20] And that's the first question Jesus asked in this passage. He says, when Jesus came to the coast of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, whom do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?
[1:33] So he says to them, I want to know, what do you all tell me? What are people saying about me? What are people saying about me? Now, he refers to himself in there as the Son of Man.
[1:43] Maybe you could put a circle around that or underline that or mark that in some way. That term is used like 80 times in the New Testament. It's a term reserved for the Messiah.
[1:54] It emphasizes that he's human, that God is come in flesh. It focuses on his humiliation, his submission, his sacrifice, his substitutionary atonement.
[2:06] So let me just stop there and make sure you've got those terms. You realize that Jesus being on earth was a humiliation because he is God and we are his created beings.
[2:17] And he, God, took on the form of us, humans, his creation. That's like the gingerbread maker becoming a piece of gingerbread. That's like cookie makers becoming one of his cookies.
[2:30] He became one of what he had created. So he's humiliated. He's submitting. He is coming down to obey the Father, to do God's will. That's his will, Father's will, the Holy Spirit's will. And he's going to be a substitution.
[2:43] You should write that word down. If you don't have that anywhere, we believe in the substitutionary atonement. We believe in the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ. He became our substitute.
[2:55] And that's who he is. That's what he's here for. Somebody had to die for your sin. If you understand that, say amen. The Bible said for the wages of sin is death. But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
[3:11] So it's Jesus who died. And so what's happening when he comes down here is he is becoming man and he is going to die on the cross. He is going to take our place. He refers to himself as the Messiah, but did not come to reign, but to die.
[3:27] So the Jews are waiting on this king. They're waiting on the Messiah to come and rescue them politically. Rescue them governmentally from Rome and everywhere else. And set up David's kingdom again.
[3:38] And they would reign over the earth again. At one time, David and Solomon were like the greatest kings of the day and time. And all of a sudden, they've lost that. The kingdom has been scattered.
[3:49] And now they're serving. They're subjects to another crown. And so all the Jews are waiting on this Messiah who will come and rescue them. But Jesus came the first time not to reign, but to die.
[4:02] He came not as a reigning king, but as a suffering servant. And so in this story, he's asking who they are. Who do people say that he is? That's a kind of an arrogant question.
[4:13] If it comes from anybody else. Anybody would say to you, who does everybody say I am? Can you imagine me having a meeting out there with you and saying, hey guys, kind of tell me what everybody thinks of me. I'd just like to hear what everybody thinks of me.
[4:24] Well, if I, you know, that could be arrogant. I could get really, I could get really humbled by it. But Jesus can answer that question because he is God in human flesh.
[4:35] It's different now because it's Jesus asking the question. We also must realize that to truly be saved, you're going to make a confession very similar to Peter.
[4:46] And when he makes it as a passage, or you're not really born again. Because as Christians, we confess him as Lord. As Christians, we confess him as Lord.
[4:58] Look in the Bible with me at Romans chapter 10 and verse 9. In the passage, Peter's going to make a confession and he is going to recognize him as Lord. And so why won't you look at Romans chapter 10 and verse 9.
[5:10] Let's talk about salvation. Now salvation is not a good feeling. It's not being baptized. It's not being a member of the church. Not getting your name on a church roll. It is God doing a work in your life.
[5:22] And when God does work in your life, you acknowledge him to be who he is. You acknowledge him to be who he is and have that position. So look at Romans chapter 10 and verse 9.
[5:34] That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
[5:49] I want you to take these two verses. I want you to look at something real quick. Watch this. Look up this way a second. It starts here. Inside, I understand. Inside, I believe that Jesus is God in here.
[6:03] Not outside. It's not about what comes out of my mouth. Yet, it will be. But it's about what's going on inside of me. I believe that Jesus is Lord God.
[6:14] Jehovah. He is God. I believe that he is the Son of God. I believe that he died for my sins. I believe that he was buried. I believe that he rose again inside.
[6:26] I believe it. It's not about what you say outside with your mouth. It's about what goes on in your heart. Look at verse 10 and underline this. With the heart man believes unto righteousness.
[6:38] With the heart man believes unto righteousness. Do you remember way back when you were dating and you would say anything to a girl to get a kiss? Do you remember you would say to her, I love you. I really love you.
[6:50] All you really wanted was a kiss. You didn't love her. You were trying to say it from your mouth out so you could get you a kiss. Well, this is, I mean it from the way down deep inside of my being.
[7:00] I believe it from the most inside parts of me. I believe with the depths of my soul. I believe in the Lord Jesus. And then look at verse 10. With the mouth, confession is made.
[7:12] I speak out of truth. I speak out of reality. I speak out of what I believe way down deep inside of me. And what do I say when I speak out?
[7:22] Look at Romans chapter 10 and verse 9. We confess with the mouth, the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus. That word Lord's a big word. That word Lord's a big word.
[7:33] That word Lord, it's got, I mean there's so much in it. There's so much in it that when you read it, you could easily look at it and say, I've confessed on my mouth, Mr. Jesus.
[7:45] You might think like that. You might think, well, I'm just showing respect. I'm just saying nice things about him. But in the Bible, this word Lord refers two major things I want you to get in your head.
[7:56] It refers one to God. Whenever they use that word, it was the Lord God. It was omnipotent, all-powerful, all-knowing, all-seeing, God of the creation, God of everything, Lord.
[8:10] That's who he is, Lord. He is God. So when I say Lord Jesus, in a way I'm saying, I confess on my mouth, God Jesus. In a way I'm saying God Jesus.
[8:22] That's kind of a weird saying, isn't it? You're like, what's that mean? That means just that God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, Jesus is God. If you could say that, say amen.
[8:33] He is not just a son of God. He is God. He is not just a son of God in the sense that many people want to think that he's some kind of sub-God. He is God. They're all three the same and they're not the same.
[8:45] They're equal, but they're not the same person. They're one person, but they're not the same person. What's all that mean? I don't know. It just means that God is a lot bigger than I can understand. Can you say amen?
[8:56] So he is God, Jesus. I confess that he is Lord Jesus. Now listen, you've got to understand something. When I say that, I'm acknowledging that Jesus is God. Do you realize how big that is?
[9:09] You're talking to a human being, especially when Peter's sitting there and they're looking at Jesus and he's going to call him in a minute, the son of God, he's saying you are in the same essence. You are one with the father.
[9:19] That's a wild thing to say about anybody, but he's looking at saying that you got to understand if he's Lord Jesus, that means there's no other Lord. See, there's only one Lord.
[9:30] That means you can't be Lord. Another God. You can't be Lord Mohammed. You can't be Lord Confucius. You can't be Lord anybody. There's only one. There's Lord Jesus. If you understand that, say amen. Not only does that word Lord mean God Jesus, but it also means King, ruler Jesus.
[9:46] Okay, so when I confess him, I'm not saying, Jesus, I come to you. I'm going to join your church. I just want some fire insurance. I don't want you to let me go to hell. You're saying, I believe you're God and I give my life to you.
[9:58] I believe you're God and I surrender to you. I believe you're God and I bow to you. And that's what he's saying. Go back to read Romans 10, 9, and 10 with me. These are powerful verses. Read Romans 10, 9, and 10.
[10:08] That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thy heart that God hath raised him from the dead. Now that's even crazier.
[10:19] I mean, this is getting really crazy. We got this man Jesus who's not a man. He's God. We got this man Jesus who's not just God, but he's King Jesus, Lord Jesus, Ruler Jesus.
[10:30] And then he died. Now why did he die? He died for man's sin. He died as our substitute. Can you say amen right there? You see, you deserve to die. I deserve to die. We sinned against the Holy God.
[10:42] Our sins brought about death. And instead of God saying, all of a sudden you die, he said, I'll put a substitute there. Now stop. If you studied your Bible, see you're starting to read your Bible through, and I'm so happy about that.
[10:53] Don't you dare stop in Exodus. And don't you stop in Leviticus. Read it all. Get all the way through Nehemiah like John was talking about. Read it all the way to the book of Revelation. It's the word of God. But if you've been reading that, you know all through the Bible, there's always a substitute.
[11:07] There's always a substitute. Man always messes up, and God always provides a substitute. Adam and Eve in the garden messed up, and a lamb dies, and that's how they get covered by the skins.
[11:18] In the Passover, lambs die. And the blood is put on the doorpost and on the column above the door. It is always somebody dying. And when Jesus is going to be baptized, John the Baptist will look up and see him coming and say, Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world.
[11:37] So it said he got raised from the dead. Here's the wild one. He died. He was dead. But he got raised from the dead. He said, We do not serve a dead God or a dead Savior.
[11:51] Amen. You might say, Austin, why are there no crucifixes around our church? Because he's not fixed on any cross. The fact is, if we were to put up a crucifix, he'd put up an empty grave.
[12:04] That's what we'd put up, not a crucifix. We'd say he is alive, and he is not dead. God hath raised him from the dead. Now read these two verses with me again. The Bible says, That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
[12:21] For in the heart, with the heart, man believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Now, we confess that he is Lord.
[12:33] That's the first thing. We confess that he is Lord. We also confess that he is Christ. Look, if you would, in 1 John 2, 22. 1 John 2, 22. Who is a liar but he that denied that Jesus is the Christ?
[12:49] You want to know who the liars are? They're the ones that say Jesus is not the Christ. We're going to find out who the Christ is a little bit later. Just remember that. He is the Antichrist that denies the Father and the Son.
[13:00] If you deny the Father and you deny the Son, you're an Antichrist. That means you're against Christ. Verse 23. Whosoever denies the Son, the same hath not the Father. But he that acknowledges the Son hath the Father.
[13:13] So stop here in a second. Let me show you something. Jesus is the Christ. Listen to me. Any group you ever hear talking and they're bashing Jesus or acting like Jesus isn't all God.
[13:23] Or they're kind of acting like, you know, that God was everything and Jesus is a God. That means they're liars. Listen to that. If they say Jesus is a God, they're liars.
[13:34] If they think that Jesus was a little bit less than God. If Jesus was 99.99% God, the person who said that's a liar. He is not a prophet.
[13:45] He is not almost God. He was and is and always will be God in the flesh. He is the Christ. And if you don't recognize the Son, you don't recognize the Father.
[13:57] If you don't recognize the Son, you don't recognize the Father. But a lot of times people say to me, we all serve the same God. I say, okay, I'll give you that. But there's only one way to the real God. Through the Son, Jesus.
[14:08] Can you say amen right there? Is that true? All right. So he is the Christ. Not only that, he is God coming to flesh. Look at 1 John chapter 4 and verse 1. 1 John chapter 4 and verse 1.
[14:20] Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits to find out if they are of God. Because many false prophets are going out into the world. Hereby, I know you the Spirit of God.
[14:30] Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God. Those who believe Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is God.
[14:42] Now, hold on. You're like, well, what? Of course he came in the flesh. Jesus was a human. But see, it's Jesus Christ. Jesus Messiah. Jesus anointed one.
[14:54] Jesus sent from God. God in human flesh come down. Make a note just for yourself. John 1.14. In John 1.1, in the beginning was the Word.
[15:04] The Word was with God. And the Word was God. And in John 1.14, the Word became flesh. That God who had always lived, the one who was in the beginning with God, became flesh and dwelt among us.
[15:17] These are like core doctrines you'll have to understand and believe. In verse 3, and every spirit that confesses not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of Antichrist wherein you have heard that it should come even now is already in the world.
[15:32] So when people don't believe that Jesus was God, we got a problem. They're not saved. They don't trust God. They don't respect the Father. They don't respect Jesus.
[15:43] They're not saved. So this first question was, who do people say that I am? And if you'll notice in verse 14, here's their answer. These are wonderful answers.
[15:53] They're all wrong, but they're wonderful. They're all wrong, but they're wonderful answers. In verse 14, he said, Jesus said, well, who do men say that I am? And they said, well, some people say you're John the Baptist.
[16:05] And some other people say you're Elias or Elijah. And others say you're Jeremiah or Jeremiah or one of the prophets. Well, those are great answers. I mean, for a guy who doesn't know any better, for a lost guy, they'd be great answers.
[16:17] They're not the right answer, but they sound really good. They said John the Baptist. Well, John the Baptist is the most popular preacher of his day. The people flocked out to hear him when he was preaching.
[16:28] God used him in a way nobody else was being used in his day and time. At a time when there had been 400 years of silence. Since Malachi, the last book of the Old Testament, it's been like 400 years since they've really heard from God.
[16:39] And all of a sudden, this guy appears on the scene, John the Baptist. Listen, he's thundering and he's preaching. And everybody's like, wow, God's moving again. So that's a pretty high compliment. And he wasn't afraid of anybody. He would do whatever was right.
[16:50] So they wondered, was Jesus John the Baptist raised from the dead? After all, how could he do all the miracles? How could he do things that were impossible? He had to be somebody special. That's not a good enough answer.
[17:01] He's not somebody special. He's God. Amen? He's not just somebody special. He's not just John the Baptist. He's somebody more than that. Others thought he could be Elijah reincarnated.
[17:12] He was thought to be the greatest Old Testament prophet. Old man, Elijah. He was going to be sent by God to come before the end. Malachi chapter 4 and verse 5, the last book of the Old Testament.
[17:24] The Bible said, behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. So before God's coming, Elijah was going to come. So they said, maybe that's who he is.
[17:36] And many of the Jewish Passover celebrations, they say that they left an empty chair hoping Elijah would come and sit there in the chair and announce the Messiah is coming. Jesus had that fire.
[17:47] He had that intensity. You remember Elijah. What a compliment. Anybody call you Elijah. If I were sitting around with you and I said, hey, guys, who do men say that I am? And one of you looked at me and said, they'd say you're John the Baptist. Glory to God.
[17:57] That's a pretty good compliment. John the Baptist. That means I may be dressed weird, eat some weird food, but I'm a man of God. If they said, hey, you're Elijah, I'd say I have the guy who can stare down 450 prophets of Baal and stand for God and call down Friday.
[18:11] That's a pretty good compliment if you're talking about me. Not a very good compliment when you're talking about God, but it's pretty good when you're talking about a man. That's pretty good. And then the others said that he was Jeremiah. Oh, Jeremiah was the weeping prophet.
[18:22] He wrote a book called Lamentations. If you go to the prophets, you've got Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations. Those are the cries of Jeremiah. He was the weeping prophet. He loved people and he hurt.
[18:34] And he was thought to have taken the Ark of the Covenant and the altar of incense and hidden them when the Babylonians attacked, according to the legends that they had. He wept over people. They thought, oh, Jeremiah is a great guy.
[18:45] So when they called him Jeremiah, they were really lifting him high. Not high enough, but they were lifting him high. You call me Jeremiah. Hey, I like that. That's pretty good. That's a big compliment.
[18:56] They said he was one of the prophets. That's really great to think you're one of the prophets. But that's though you think highly, you're not recognizing him as God.
[19:09] God, the Messiah. Many people have had this attitude about Jesus. They respect him, but they don't believe him. Pilate said, I find no fault in him.
[19:22] That's pretty good respect. I mean, if I got taken in for something, I believe they could find something to arrest me for. I believe they could for you. They said, I find no fault in Jesus. Napoleon said, I know men. And Jesus was a no mere man.
[19:34] That's nice. Great compliment. When I was a kid, they had a whole musical called Jesus Christ Superstar. I mean, they's highly respected. But the real question in the passage is not going to be what do other men think about Jesus, but what do you think about Jesus?
[19:52] Who do the people say that Jesus is today? I did a little internet research. I went to Wikipedia, such a great and thought out encyclopedia. And Jesus is the central figure to many of Christianity.
[20:07] Most denominations hold him to be the son of God. Most Christians regard him as the awaited Messiah. But to all modern scholars of antiquity, they say this.
[20:19] Well, we think he existed. We're pretty sure he did really exist. But we don't really agree that the gospels are very historical and very reliable. They're not sure that the Jesus of the Bible closely resembles the historical Jesus.
[20:32] They do believe he was a Jewish rabbi from Galilee. He was a great leader, a social reformer. In Islam, Jesus was one of God's most important prophets.
[20:45] He brought scripture. He was born of a virgin, but he was not the son of God. And he was not crucified. And they say he did not fulfill the messianic promises or prophecies.
[20:58] To millions, however, today he is still unknown. They have never even heard his name. You do realize that across your world, only 35% of the world even claims to be Christian.
[21:11] 65% of the world doesn't claim to be Christian. And many, maybe 30 or 40%, don't really know who Jesus was, is, and always will be.
[21:22] They don't know Jesus. So the first question was, who does everybody say I am? They gave a great answer. If they were talking about a human. John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, one of the prophets.
[21:37] Even Wikipedia, pretty good. You know, he really did exist. He was a rabbi. I mean, it's pretty good, but it's not the answer. It's not the answer. So go to verse 15. And so Jesus said, okay, good.
[21:49] I'm glad we took that poll. Gallup poll, finished. He said, now let's get to the real question. He said unto them, but whom say ye that I am? I want to know who you say I am.
[22:01] I don't need to know what everybody else says. I want to know who you say that I am. Others had confessed their faith before. There's about to be, in this passage of Scripture, this great confession.
[22:14] And Jesus is going to be very pleased with the confession. He's going to tell Peter, that is great. Blessed. You are a blessed man. And he's going to say to him, it's obvious you didn't learn that from a human being.
[22:27] So it's going to be a great confession. But it wasn't the first time he was confessed. He'd been confessed other times. In John 1, 49, when Nathanael finds out about him, he said, Nathanael answered, said to him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God.
[22:39] Thou art the King of Israel. In Matthew 14, 13, the disciples had confessed him. When he stilled the storm, they were in the boat. They were scared to death. And they said, then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, of a truth, thou art the Son of God.
[22:54] Peter had confessed him after he heard his sermon on the bread of life. In John 6, 68, Peter said, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. But this confession they're about to give is very different.
[23:07] It's not emotional. It's not after being rescued. It's not after seeing a miracle. It's after they have studied. After they've been taught of God. And it came from a sincere heart.
[23:19] I believe. This is no flippant TV contestant answer. It was a man who had seen, heard, listened, believed, and was making a profession of faith.
[23:30] If anybody's going to know Jesus, they've been walking with Jesus. They're pushing three and a half years now. They're months away from when he dies. They know him. And they confess, you are the Lord, the Son of God.
[23:45] And Jesus accepted their confession. The really wild thing about the verse is this. It was a personal question. Who do you say Jesus is?
[23:56] Not who do they say Jesus is, but who do you? Austin, who do you say Jesus is? I'm not asking, he says, what other people think. I'm not asking what you've heard.
[24:07] I want to know what you believe in your heart. Christianity is not knowing about Jesus. Christianity is not about knowing about Jesus. It's about knowing Jesus.
[24:20] It's about knowing him. So go to verse 16. Let's get Peter's answer. In verse 16, the Bible says, and Simon Peter answered and said, thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
[24:33] Now, if you got your place and you're going to note some things down, I suggest you do that. Peter recognized Jesus as the Christ. And you know him as the Lord Jesus Christ.
[24:44] You do know that his only name in that section is Jesus. Lord's a title and Christ is a title. You need to know that. So that's like saying, when you go to your doctor and you say, hey, Dr. George Jones or whatever his name is.
[24:59] Doctor's not a part of his name. You call him doctor. I doubt his mama does. I doubt when he's home and she says, hey, George, come to the table. She might even have another name. She probably doesn't say, Dr. George Jones to the table, please.
[25:12] That's probably not how she talks to him. That's only at the hospital when he's got his titles on. Jesus is Lord Jesus Christ. But titles are important. You best not be called yourself doctor if you're not.
[25:23] Amen. So Peter recognized that Jesus was the Christ. Won't you write this down? Christ is a Greek word for Messiah, a Hebrew word. So it's the same word.
[25:34] The Messiah, Christ. Same word. They both mean the same thing. Christ or Messiah speaks of the deliverer of Israel. Somebody was going to come and rescue Israel.
[25:46] That's a great word. So when he said, you're the Christ, I know who you are. You're the one God sent to deliver us. You're the one. That's a great statement.
[25:57] That's not John the Baptist. That's not Jeremiah. That's not Elijah. That's not one of the prophets. This is the one. The man sent from God to deliver them. The one sent from God.
[26:09] You should write that down. The Messiah sent from God. The anointed one. The coming high priest. King, prophet, and savior. He was the Messiah.
[26:20] So when they say Messiah, listen to me. When you say Christ, you are saying a mouthful. When you say Christ, you are saying a mouthful. When you say president, I have been a president of a lot of things.
[26:37] But it's a lot different to be the president of a club in high school and to be the president of the United States of America. And so they never played any music when I walked in.
[26:49] Nobody ever got up and stood up and said, oh, the president of the club is here. That never happened. But the president of the United States gets a whole lot more on it. Here's the deal. When they said Christ, they were saying 39 books talked about this guy.
[27:02] 39 books talked about this guy. Starting in Genesis chapter 3 and verse 15 when Adam and Eve messed up. They were promised us the seed was coming to deliver them.
[27:14] That's him. That's him. Every time they sacrifice a lamb, that's him. That's a representative of him coming. He's the Christ. And Peter looks at him and says, you are.
[27:26] You are the Christ. Then he said, the son of the living God. That means creator of the universe. You don't say this to a man.
[27:39] You don't look at a man and say, you created. You're the son of God. You're the creator of the universe. You're the true and the real God. You are God come in human flesh. To say the word son indicates the idea of oneness.
[27:53] In essence. The very nature of the father. That's who he was. Peter had seen and learned that Jesus was God in human flesh.
[28:05] I need you to understand something. This is what ought to cause awe and respect in your heart. We're not here to talk about a Baptist church. We're not here to talk about a preacher.
[28:18] We're not here to talk about what we Protestants believe. We're not here to talk about what we Christians believe. We're here to talk about the great God of heaven. Who came from heaven.
[28:29] Came to earth. Was born among us. Lived among us. Died on a cross and rose again and went to heaven. This is the God. Created everything and the judge God come to earth.
[28:39] He is God. He was more than just a man. More than a prophet. More than John the Baptist. More than Elijah. More than Jeremiah. Peter had learned the truth.
[28:52] Peter had believed the truth. Peter had committed his life to that truth. Thou art the Christ. The son of the living God.
[29:07] Can you understand that? Jesus walked in there on two legs. He was a human. He was breathing. Eating. Sweating. He was a human being.
[29:18] But Peter had learned something. You're not a man. You're a man. You are a man. You're all man. But there's much more to you than that. You are God.
[29:29] In human flesh. And Jesus said about his answer. Look at verse 17. Jesus said. Blessed art thou Simon Barjona. For flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto you.
[29:41] But my father. Which is in heaven. Peter was blessed. Because he knew. Understood. And believed. Jesus to be. Who he is.
[29:52] He had figured it out. He had learned. He was confessing that Jesus was his Lord. And Savior. Look at first John. 414 with me if you would. First John 414.
[30:04] And we have seen. And do testify. That the father sent the son. To be the savior. Of the world. John. The apostle. The lady's head on Jesus.
[30:15] She said. We know the father. Sent the son. To be the savior of the Lord. Whosoever shall confess it. Jesus is the son of God. God dwells in him.
[30:27] And he in God. So when he. Confessed. Jesus as Lord and Savior. He's. That's salvation. That's salvation. Look at first John. Chapter 4.
[30:37] Verse 15. If you know. And you confess. And you believe in your heart. Confess in your mouth. That Jesus is the son of God. God dwells in you. God moves in. And takes up presence. You become the temple.
[30:47] Of the Holy Spirit. Not only that. You. Are in God. God in me. And me in God. Because I have believed. We are blessed. With every spiritual blessing.
[31:00] Ephesians chapter 1. In verse 3. The Bible said. Blessed be the God and father. Of our Lord Jesus Christ. Who has blessed us. With all spiritual blessings. In heavenly places. In.
[31:10] That key word. Christ. The Messiah. The sent one. The anointed one. God. Come in flesh. Who chose us. In verse 4. In him.
[31:21] In Christ. We were chosen. To be holy. Without blame. Before him. In love. He adopted us. As his children. In verse 5. By the good pleasure. Of his will. To the praise.
[31:32] Of his glory. Of his grace. He made us accepted. In the beloved. In Jesus. In Christ. All these wonderful truths. Are all by. And through. And in. The Lord.
[31:44] Jesus. Christ. Everything we believe. Is summed up in one person. The Lord. Jesus. Christ. Christ. There was no way. That Peter learned that.
[31:56] From a human being. There was no way. That's what the verse said. Flesh and blood. Hadn't taught you that. Just like to quickly show you though. God.
[32:08] Had shown Peter this. It was the work of the Holy Spirit. That convicts us of our sin. And shows us the need of a savior. It's God that shows Jesus lifted up. It's God who loves us. Before we ever loved him.
[32:19] It's God that saved us. Or saves us. Would you remember. It was Jesus who taught him all of that. It is God who taught him that. But on a day to day basis.
[32:30] We don't find any reference in heaven. Where God opened the heavens and said. Hey I'm talking to you Peter. Jesus was walking with him. Jesus is God. And old Peter was walking with Jesus. And you know.
[32:41] I just saw you walk on water. I don't think regular people do that. I just saw you calm down the whole ocean. And the sea and the wind and the storm. I don't think. I've seen you raise people from the dead.
[32:53] I've heard what you teach. And I've heard what you preach. And I've watched you for three and a half years. And in my heart I know. You are the Christ. The son of the living God.
[33:06] That is God in human flesh. Showing Peter what to believe. Jesus came to fulfill the law and the prophets. And Jesus saw that.
[33:17] Or Peter saw that. He watched Jesus. He heard him teach. He heard him preach. He knew him. Jesus said that people would one day address him as Lord. You know in Matthew 7. Lord, Lord. Have we not?
[33:27] And he said you can call me Lord. But if you don't mean it. Peter had heard him teach that. Peter had heard him teach that Jesus was the living bread. Peter had heard Jesus say I'm the door.
[33:37] If you come to the Father. You're going to have to come through me. He had learned. That Jesus. Was. Is. And always will be. The Christ.
[33:49] The Messiah. The sent one. God in human flesh. The son of God. The son of God. God. Here on earth. He had learned that.
[34:00] And so he makes a great confession. I'm going to ask you a couple of questions to sum up. But I want to. I want to say this to you. Understand. Baptist church couldn't save anybody. They can't save themselves.
[34:12] Hell is going to be full of Baptists. So you know. Hell is going to be full of Baptists in every other denomination you've ever heard of. Hell is going to be full of Christians. Quote unquote Christians.
[34:23] Because what gets you saved. Is when you realize. In your heart. Way down deep inside. That Jesus. Is.
[34:34] God. God. And that everything we study. And everything we preach about. We find out that Jesus is God. The son of God. God. Lord.
[34:44] Christ. Savior. Savior. And you're trusting him. Don't trust the church. Don't trust the preacher. Trust him. The facts are in your heart. You've already figured out.
[34:55] The Holy Spirit's shown you. You have sinned against the Holy God. You know. At night. Alone. When nobody's there. That something inside of you. Reminds you. If you're not saved. About your condition.
[35:07] You know you're not all you ought to be. You know you've sinned against the Holy God. You know you're not. What you're supposed to be. It's God that shows us that. Through his word. Through his word.
[35:19] And so. As we realize who we are. As we realize. That we've sinned. As we realize that we have failed God. As we realize that we're in trouble without him. We realize this.
[35:29] The God of heaven. Loves us. Let me give you this last little story about the Messiah. And I quit. From the first mention of the first sin. In the Garden of Eden.
[35:40] God said. I'm sending somebody to rescue. You guys. Adam and Eve. You have major messed up. But lady. That you should be dying today.
[35:50] But I'll let you be the mother of all living. And I will send a son to you. Who will crush the head of that snake. The head of this devil. The head of the serpent. I'm sending him. And all through the Bible.
[36:02] Every story is about. You messed up. You messed up. You messed up. But I'm sending a substitute. They get. They get over to the. The book of Exodus.
[36:13] And Leviticus. And Numbers. And Deuteronomy. And they're learning all about the sacrifices. And every sacrifice says. You messed up. That's why there's got to be a sacrifice. And Isaiah said. Hey. One day a virgin will conceive a child.
[36:25] Another place said. And his name will be Emmanuel. God with us. Every one of them were saying. God's sending somebody. Who's going to right all this wrong. And it will be Jesus.
[36:37] God in the flesh. The Messiah. The Christ. That day. Peter said. I figured out who you are. All my life. I heard.
[36:47] That God had somebody coming. I was always looking for him. Didn't know who to look for. But now I know who he is. And you. Are the Christ. The son of the living God.
[36:59] That's how you get saved. When you realize. Nothing in you. Could ever get things right with God. Nothing you could do. No place you could go. No good works you could do. No money you could pay.
[37:09] No prayers you could offer. Whatever fix you. But God. In his mercy. And in his grace. Came and died. In your place.
[37:19] And took your sin. And it was your substitute. And you trust him. And believe what he did for you. If you haven't done that. Today's the day. And if you have. Worship him.
[37:31] If you have. Worship him. Say thank you. You know why we take the Lord's Supper? Just remember and go. Thank you. You know why we baptize? To remember. He died.
[37:42] Was buried. And rose. Everything we do is to say. Thank you Jesus. Thank you. For what you've done on the cross. If you're not saved. Today's your day. Trust Jesus. Trust Jesus.
[37:53] And if you are saved. I beg you. Worship him. Father in heaven. I love you. And I thank you so very much. For all that you do. I thank you for your power.
[38:04] I thank you Jesus. For being God in the flesh. And dying on the cross for us. And I pray today. That you'd save somebody. That doesn't know you. And I pray dear God. That you would work a great work.
[38:14] In the midst of our people. God help us to worship you. Help us like Peter to say. Thou art the Christ. The son of the living God. And I will give you praise.
[38:27] And honor. And glory. For who you are. And what you do. This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church. In Alfredo, Georgia. For more information. Log on to www.visionbaptist.com Where you can find our service times.
[38:43] Location. Contact information. And more audio and video recordings. Thanks.