And 12. Yeah, thank you.
So page 1012.
And it's my aim this morning for us to consider from this passage
to think about what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.
And obviously we can't understand what it means to be a disciple
unless we know something of who Jesus is and what he has come to do.
And so that's what we're going to look at, Jesus' identity, his mission,
and then what it is for us to be his disciples.
The Bible has more to say about discipleship than just this passage,
but this is the text we have before us this morning,
so let's read through it together.
Starting in verse 27.
Mark 8, 27.
Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi
and on the way asked them,
Who do people say that I am?
They replied, some say John the Baptist,
others say Elijah, and still others one of the prophets.
But what about you, he asked.
Who do you say that I am?
Peter answered, you are the Christ.
Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.
He then began to teach them
that the Son of Man must suffer many things
and be rejected by the elders,
chief priests,
and teachers of the law,
and that he must be killed
and after three days rise again.
He spoke plainly about this
and Peter took him aside
and began to rebuke him.
But when Jesus turned
and looked at his disciples,
he rebuked Peter.
Get behind me, Satan,
he said.
You do not have in mind
the things of God,
but the things of men.
Then he called the crowd to him
along with his disciples
and said,
If anyone would come after me,
he must deny himself
and take up his cross
and follow me.
For whoever wants to save his life
will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for me
and for the gospel
will save it.
What good is it for a man
to gain the whole world
yet forfeit his soul?
What can a man give
in exchange for his soul?
If anyone is ashamed of me
and my words
in this adulterous
and sinful generation,
the Son of Man
will be ashamed of him
when he comes
in his Father's glory
with the holy angels.
Let's pray.
Father, we declare
that your word is true.
We acknowledge
that your word is true.
And we acknowledge
that one day
your Son,
the Lord Jesus Christ,
will come back
in the glory
that you have given to him.
And Father,
in light of that coming event,
in light of the return
of your Son,
would you help us this morning
before your word
to humble ourselves?
Lord, that you would give me
clarity to speak
and give us all hearts,
hearts, Lord,
that are wide open
to receive your word.
Thank you, Lord,
that we have your word
in our language.
Thank you that you have loved us
with an everlasting love
and called us into fellowship
with you,
the triune God.
Help us, Father,
for your sake,
for our sake, Lord,
that we might serve you
all the better
during this time
of exile on earth.
Through Christ we pray.
Amen.
A few years ago,
Roxy and I were in
holidays in Romania.
I'm not too sure
the last time I was here
if I used an illustration
from when I was on
holidays in Romania,
so forgive me if it was,
but it doesn't really matter.
The point was that
we met up with some
of Roxy's friends,
one of her girlfriends,
and this girl's,
Shusie was her name,
this girl's boyfriend,
he was on tour
in Afghanistan.
I think he was serving
with the UN or something
like that,
I can't remember.
Anyway,
he brought this up
in conversation,
he was very proud of it,
and he rightly should have been,
he served very well.
It's a very difficult place
to be,
obviously,
at the time.
And he said,
would you like to see
some photos of my tour?
And I was like,
I would actually like
to see some photos
of what it looks like
and what it looked like
to serve there.
But he showed us,
I would say,
close to a thousand photos.
And we were there for,
I don't want to exaggerate
because let's face it,
exaggeration is just
another form of lying,
really,
but I think we were there
for over half an hour,
huddled around the PC monitor
and clicking next
and next.
And you know,
I think,
have you ever had
that experience
where someone shows you
photos and,
to be honest,
your attention is strained?
When Roxy and I
got our wedding photos
back on a CD,
all the photos,
there was like 700 of them
and we got bored
halfway through
and we just said,
you know,
we get the picture.
Have you ever had
that experience
where someone sits you down
and says,
I want to show you something
and it's just,
it's overkill.
The Bible is not like that.
God does not waste your time
when you read the Bible.
There are parts of the Bible
that are long,
that are detailed,
that require concentration,
but it's not without a point.
God doesn't just,
God never waffles
when he speaks.
But there's a great variety
in Scripture.
There are long psalms
and short psalms.
There are long books
of history,
poetry,
prophecy,
all variety.
But the Gospel of Mark,
if you read through it,
which doesn't take very long,
is a very small photo album.
It's 16 chapters long.
Obviously,
when Mark wrote it,
he didn't say,
Mark chapter 1,
verse 1.
He wrote one Gospel
and we've broken it down
into different chapters
and verses
just to help us get through it
and to find our way in it.
But it covers Jesus'
earthly ministry,
which is about
three and a half years.
So if you do the math,
every time you read
a chapter of Mark,
it doesn't really divide up
this easily,
but if you just do
the quick math,
every time you read
a chapter,
it's about ten weeks
of his life,
or of his earthly ministry,
rather.
And so you cover
an awful lot of ground
in a very short amount
of time.
And so as I said
at the start,
I want to begin
looking at what
Mark's purpose is,
which is to say
that Jesus is the Christ
or the Messiah,
those words can be used
interchangeably,
and that he is
the Son of God.
And so that's what
I want to look at
this morning,
Jesus' identity,
the identity of Jesus.
Beginning in chapter 1,
verse 1,
it says,
the beginning of the
gospel of Jesus Christ,
the Son of God,
we read about how
Jesus was baptized
by John the Baptist,
the Holy Spirit
descended upon him
like a dove,
and immediately
afterwards,
that same spirit
leads him out
into the wilderness
where he's tempted
by Satan.
And then he begins
his ministry,
which is primarily
a ministry of preaching,
with the clarion call
of saying,
the time is fulfilled,
the kingdom is at hand,
repent,
and believe
in the gospel.
And Mark's gospel
is absolutely
packed full of examples
of Jesus' ministry,
and I think there's
four,
roughly four main
categories
that you can put
these into.
First of all,
as I said,
there's teaching.
Jesus taught in the
synagogue because
he was a Jew.
He taught on the
beaches,
he taught on the
mountainsides,
in houses,
in towns,
he taught in public,
to the crowds,
and he taught
privately to his
disciples.
Secondly,
he healed people.
He healed a woman
with a fever,
people with diseases,
leopards,
the blind,
the paralyzed,
the deaf,
the mute,
people with withered
hands.
You're talking about
a day when there
are no hospitals,
and a man who,
if you make contact
with him,
will heal you.
Thirdly,
he cast out demons.
demons.
Jesus casts out demons
a lot.
Men,
women,
and children.
And you'll notice
when you read these
that the demons
don't wrestle with
Jesus.
They beg him to be
lenient with them.
He has complete
authority over them.
And fourthly,
that general category
of miracles,
Jesus walked on water.
He brought food
from a very small
amount out to
enough to feed
5,000,
and then 4,000.
But no sooner
had Jesus' ministry
had begun,
than he's been
followed around
by crowds of people.
At one point,
Mark said the whole
city was at his door.
In fact,
they almost crush him.
Jesus and his disciples
can't even get time
to eat.
And it's no disrespect
to say it.
It's accurate to say
that Jesus was famous.
He was famous.
People followed him
everywhere.
He was always
being followed
by people.
And a crowd
attracts a crowd.
And the more
Jesus ministers,
the more his fame
seems to snowball.
People seem to be
coming after him
for all kinds
of reasons.
We could say
the same today,
couldn't we?
People come to Jesus
for all kinds
of reasons,
don't they?
Why did you
come to him
initially?
Something to think
about.
But these people
wanted to be healed
of their sicknesses
and diseases.
Some wanted to receive
free bread.
Others wanted to
just see miracles.
Others were just
probably just curious
about who he was
and what he had to say
and they just wanted
to hear more.
Because he
taught with authority.
He spoke with authority
unlike the scribes.
But this
produces a problem
because Jesus
has a crowd
of people
following him
and they all
have different goals.
They all have
different agendas
as it were.
Some of them good,
some of them not so good.
Masses of people.
And so you can
picture them
where our text
picks up this morning.
They're walking
from the Sea of Galilee,
Bethsaida,
and then they're
walking up north
to Caesarea Philippi.
They're walking
along the road.
Jesus is on his mission.
He knows where
he's going.
And you can picture
them as they're
walking along.
Jesus is in front.
The disciples
are next to him
and then shortly
behind there's
just probably,
I would imagine
a throng of people.
Hundreds of people.
And Jesus
asks his disciples
that question.
Who do people
say that I am?
And they chime in
with the different
views that are
going around
about who Jesus is.
Some say you're
John the Baptist
whom Herod had killed.
John the Baptist
back from the dead
as it were.
Elijah.
If you look at
the very last verses
in the Old Testament,
God says that
he's going to send
Elijah to turn
the parts of the people
back to the Father.
Or one of the prophets.
And so there's
all these sorts
of different ideas
of who Christ is.
And then Christ
brings the follow-up
question to the disciples.
Who do you say
that I am?
Peter seems to always
be the first to speak,
doesn't he?
He speaks on behalf
of the disciples
and says,
you are the Christ
or the Messiah.
You're the Messiah,
the promised one,
the anointed one,
the Savior,
the deliverer
who will restore
Israel to glory,
the one who the law
and the prophets
speak about.
You are the Savior
of the world
to all who believe,
the Jew first
and to the Gentile.
And so Jesus affirms
Peter's answer.
He doesn't say,
no, no, you're wrong.
But he affirms it
and he gives him
a warning.
He says,
don't tell anyone
about who I am.
Now that seems
kind of odd,
doesn't it?
Why does Jesus
at different points
in the Gospel
turn people and say,
don't tell anyone
about who I am?
Or he forbids people.
I do not give you
permission to tell
people who I am.
Why does he do that?
It would seem
counterproductive
if he wants to get
his message out there.
But that's exactly
the point.
There were thousands
of different,
as we've already seen,
different ideas
and concepts
and messages
about who Jesus was
and he wants to make sure
the right one
gets out there.
And until the time
is right,
Jesus does not want
to put fuel
on the fire
of misinformation.
Because there are
people out there
who want to use Jesus
for their own agenda.
They want Jesus
to basically be
a political activist
and to get rid
of the Roman rule
and to break off
the shackles of bondage
so that the Jewish people
can be free.
And if they hear
that he is the Christ
and they'll say,
that's wonderful,
that's it.
And he'll do
what we want him to do.
In John chapter 6,
for example,
I'll read it for you,
but right after he's fed
the 5,000,
it says,
Jesus,
knowing that they
intended to come
and make him king
by force,
withdrew again
to a mountain
by himself.
And so Jesus sees
that the people,
having just fed them
5,000 of them,
he sees that they're
so enamored
with his miraculous power
and his usefulness
that they want
to make him king.
Jesus,
you are so useful
and you're so powerful,
you can get so much done.
You tick all the boxes.
You can be our king.
And Jesus wants
nothing to do with it.
The only agenda
that Jesus Christ
is interested in fulfilling
is the agenda
of the Father.
Not my will,
but yours be done.
And so Peter's answer
is correct
in terms of
the words he uses.
But as we go on
to look at Christ's mission,
we'll see that Peter's
understanding
of what the Christ is
is totally off base.
He misses it.
So let's read
verses 31 to 33 again
where Christ goes on
to expand upon
what it means
that he is the Christ.
And he began
to teach them
that the Son of Man
must suffer many things
and be rejected
by the elders,
the chief priests
and the teachers
of the law,
and that he must be
killed and after
three days rise again.
He spoke plainly
about this
and Peter took him aside
and began to rebuke him.
But when Jesus turned
and looked at his disciples,
he rebuked Peter,
get behind me, Satan.
He said,
you do not have in mind
the concerns of God,
but merely human concerns.
So Jesus and his disciples
have been together
for months.
He has taught them
so much,
but at this time
he begins to teach them
about what is going
to happen to him.
They have not heard
this before.
This is the first time
that they have heard
anything about suffering
or dying
or going to the cross
or being rejected
by the leadership
of Israel.
And it says
he taught them.
So he didn't just say it
and throw it out there
and sort of leave
an awkward silence.
He taught them.
He explained it for them.
He said he spoke plainly.
He didn't use parables
to explain it to them.
He just spoke plainly.
This is what is going
to happen.
And no doubt
he would have turned
to the scriptures
and shown how
that is why,
because it is in scripture,
this is why
he must be killed.
As he said later in John,
the Son of Man goes
as it is written of him.
Jesus didn't die
because man got his way.
Jesus died ultimately
because God got his way.
Let me read from you
Isaiah 53.
You can turn there
if you want,
Isaiah 53.
But I'll read it for you.
It speaks
of the suffering servant
who has believed
our message
and to whom
has the arm
of the Lord
been revealed,
speaking of Christ
prophetically
before he arrived.
He grew up
before him
like a tender shoot,
like a root
out of dry ground.
He had no beauty
or majesty
to attract us to him.
nothing in his appearance
that we should desire him.
He was despised
and rejected
by men,
a man of sorrows
and familiar
with suffering,
like one
from whom
men hide
their faces.
He was despised
and we esteemed him not.
Surely he took up
our infirmities
and carried our sorrows.
Yet we considered him
stricken by God,
smitten by him
and afflicted.
But he was pierced
for our transgressions,
he was crushed
for our iniquities.
The punishment
that brought us peace
was upon him
and by his wounds
we are healed.
We all like sheep
have gone astray,
each of us
has turned
to his own way
and the Lord
has laid on him
the iniquity
of us all.
So Jesus is saying
this is
what must take place,
this is why
I am here.
And Peter
takes him aside.
You can almost
picture him
taking him
by the elbow
and saying,
you know,
Jesus,
this is not on.
It doesn't say
Jesus disagreed
with him,
it said he rebuked him.
That's strong language.
He took him aside
and said,
Jesus,
that's not right.
We don't know
exactly what he said
but if it says rebuke
it means he probably
used very forceful
and determined language
towards Christ
that that's not
the way it's going to go.
No one's going to kill you.
You're safe.
Who can touch you?
It says Jesus turns
so Peter's taking him aside
and Jesus turns
and looks at the disciples.
I think that's
indicating that
his response
to what he's about
to say to Peter
is a corrective
for all of them.
Peter has spoken
on behalf of the disciples
and so he's now
responding to Peter
but I think
what he's saying
is true for all.
It's a corrective
for all rather.
It's startling
what he says.
He says,
get behind me,
Satan.
You do not have
in mind
the concerns of God
but merely
human concerns.
That's strong language,
isn't it?
Jesus calling you Satan.
He says,
get behind me.
In other words,
you're in my way.
Insofar, Peter,
as you are getting
in the way
of my true mission,
insofar as you
do not understand
and do not believe
what I have told you
about what I came here
to do,
you are in my way
and you're serving
the purposes
of Satan.
You're an obstruction
to my mission.
You know,
Peter probably,
you know,
took him off
to the side.
Physically and literally
took him aside
from his path
and he's trying now
to put him aside
from his true mission too.
I wonder what Peter's
expression was
in his face.
He's probably very
shocked to hear
Jesus say to him,
get behind me,
Satan.
But unwittingly,
he was
opposing Jesus'
true mission.
And so Jesus responds
in equal force
saying that
that thinking
ultimately,
its source
is satanic.
Can you think
of anything more
that the devil
would have wanted
to have done
than to derail
Christ's mission?
1 John 3, 8,
the reason the Son
of God appeared
was to destroy
the work of the devil.
I recently watched
a documentary
on JFK
and it obviously
dealt with
the Cold War
and the nuclear
standoff.
with Khrushchev
and there was
a point
where the world
really did seem
to be on the brink
of nuclear war.
And in the end,
the final decision,
JFK at times
had advisors
telling him
they've put missiles
in Cuba now,
press the button,
let's get war
on the way,
let's just prove,
let's show them
who's boss.
and the ultimate
decision,
the rest,
the decision rested,
that burden
ultimately rested
on JFK.
No one else,
he was the person,
the commander-in-chief
who had to make
that decision
and he very nearly
came close to doing it
but he waited
and waited
and thankfully
it was avoided.
Friends,
we will never
understand
the weight
of responsibility
that Jesus
had on his shoulders.
The intensity
of the spiritual
warfare that Jesus
endured for you
and for me
is beyond
what we can ever
understand.
No one
was tempted
more
than Jesus
was tempted.
Remember in the
wilderness,
Satan offers him
a shortcut
to glory,
doesn't he?
He says,
I'll give you
all the kingdoms
of the world,
you just bow down
and give me
a little worship.
no one
endured
more spiritual
opposition
than Jesus
did.
And when
Jesus' hour
had eventually
come,
Christ endured
the full burden
of God's wrath
on the cross
for you
and for me.
And as he
prayed before
going to Calvary,
such was the
agony of his
soul that he
prayed,
Father,
if you are
willing,
take this
cup from
me.
Yes,
not my
will,
but yours
be done.
We will
never understand
what Christ
faced on the
cross,
the weight
and the
burden of
it.
There was
no plan
B,
there was
no spare
Messiah,
I don't mean
that disrespectfully,
but there was
one,
and he was
this.
And as
clearly as we
emphasize the
sovereignty of
God and
saying who
can undermine
God's purposes,
no one can,
let us not
say that at
the expense of
also being able
to say that
Christ struggled
and that he
had to,
with all of
his frame,
go to the
cross for you
and me.
I used to
have a bad
understanding of
what it meant
that Jesus was
fully God and
fully man,
I certainly
don't have a
perfect understanding,
but I often
thought that
when Jesus
was tempted
it was sort
of like
it was not
a bother to
him.
It was kind
of like
playing tennis,
it would be
like you and
I playing
tennis or
Roger Federer,
he could just
wipe the floor
with his hands
behind his
back or one
of his hands
behind his
back.
There's no
real effort
involved,
it's just
a show.
But Jesus
was tempted
in his
humanity,
he was
pressured
in his
humanity,
he was being
pulled in
all different
directions,
and in this
instance even
by his own
disciples.
Peter,
you're not
thinking on
the things
of God,
you're thinking
on the things
of man.
And what
follows from
verse 34 to
the end of
the chapter
is an
expansion on
this statement
I believe,
where Jesus
says this is
what it means,
if you're going
to follow me,
this is what
it's going to
look like.
So having
looked at his
identity and
his mission,
finally,
what it means
to be a
disciple of
Jesus.
Verse 34,
then he
called the
crow to
him along
with his
disciples and
said,
whoever wants
to be my
disciple must
deny themselves
and take up
their cross
and follow
me.
I struggled
how to,
in my
preparation,
how to
sort of
express what
Jesus is
getting at
here,
but I
think it's
fairly
straightforward.
I was
getting myself
tied up
on knots.
Jesus is
presenting two
main ways
of life.
Essentially
he's saying,
you can live
for yourself
or you can
live for me.
Thy will be
done or my
will be done.
Following
Jesus Christ
costs you
costs you.
I wonder,
what does it
cost you so
far in your
life?
It costs
different people
different things,
but there is no
one who makes
it to glory,
having followed
the way of
righteousness,
that hasn't
had to pay
some cost.
We're not
saved by denying
ourselves,
we're not
saved by
suffering,
we're not
saved by
denying
anything.
We're saved
solely through
the work of
Christ,
but having been
made his,
we follow
after him
and that
costs us.
It might
cost you
financially,
it might
cost you
in relationships
with other
people who
say, I don't
want to be
with you
anymore,
I don't
want to
know you.
It might
cost you
comfort or
security,
and it
might even
cost you
the ultimate
sacrifice,
which is
your life.
You know,
we get a
prayer letter
of some
friends of
ours who
work in
Jordan,
and one
of their
friends,
I can't
say his
name because
they've asked
we don't
say his
name,
but he's
come to
faith from
Islam,
and he's
gotten text
from people
saying,
we're going
to kill
you,
we're going
to kill
you.
Now,
he's still
alive,
but that
man is
carrying around
with him
that burden
every day.
He is
paying a
cost,
and all
he has
to do
is,
if he
wanted it
to all
go away,
he could
say,
I repent,
I'm not
a Christian,
I go
back to
the Muslim
faith.
But because
he is
following
Christ,
he is
sharing in
Christ's
sufferings.
As Romans
8 says,
having shared
in Christ's
sufferings,
we will
also share
in his
glory to
come.
See,
Jesus says,
I will
suffer,
I will
die,
but I
will
rise
again
in
three
days.
He
will
come
back
in
glory.
And
just as
sure
as
Christ's
resurrection
has
occurred,
so too
is it
sure
that
we
will
be
raised
with
him
in
glory.
And
he
goes
on
in
verse
36,
for
whoever
wants
to save
their
life
will
lose
it,
but
whoever
loses
their
life
for
me
and
for
the
gospel
will
save
it.
In
other
words,
if you
try and
preserve
your
life,
if your
goal is
just to
have as
much as
you can
in this
life,
have
security,
and your
priority is
on you
and what
you want,
in the
end you
lose it
all.
But if
you give
me your
life,
you follow
me,
in the
end,
although you
will have
suffering and
you will
have pain
in this
world,
and trouble
in this
world,
and hassle,
you will
inherit
eternal
life.
In
verse 36,
let me
flick
there.
Verse 36,
where Christ
gives those
two rhetorical
questions.
What good
is it for
a man to
gain the
whole world
and yet
forfeit his
soul,
or what
can a
man give
in exchange
for his
soul?
It hardly
needs
explaining,
does it?
What good
is it if
you get
everything in
this life,
and in
the end
you end
up in
hell?
That's
sobering,
isn't it?
Do you
think there's
anyone in
hell who
takes comfort
from something
they owned
in this
life?
Do you
think there's
anyone who
thinks,
at least in
earth I
had X,
Y,
or Z?
there's
nothing more
important than
the salvation
of your
soul.
What could
possibly be
worth more
to you than
your very
self?
love?
And finally,
verse 38,
Jesus points
out that his
words will be
the dividing
line.
If anyone is
ashamed of me
and my words
in this
adulterous and
sinful generation,
the Son of
Man will be
ashamed of him
when he comes
in his
Father's glory.
There are
lots of
people who
like Jesus,
but let us
as his
people be
those who
listen to
him.
He doesn't
have a
mute button.
We must
listen to
what he
says.
And Jesus
is saying
that there
will be
lots of
people who
hear my
words and
they're ashamed
of them,
they don't
want to have
anything to
do with
them.
No, not
for me.
That's no
thanks.
They might be
even polite
about it,
but they're
just saying
no.
They mightn't
come out and
say that's
shameful, but
they won't
want anything
to do with
them.
And Jesus
is saying
if that's
where you
are at,
then when
I come
back, I
will treat
you the
same.
I won't
want anything
to do with
you.
Now bear
in mind
who Jesus
is speaking
to here.
Jesus is
speaking to
a crowd
of people.
This is
not Jesus
speaking to
his sheep,
saying you
ought to be
ashamed of
yourselves.
Get the
wrong end of
the stick.
But Christ
is giving a
solemn warning
that in order
to follow him,
it involves
denial of
self.
It involves
cost and
sacrifice.
We don't
want to fall
into an
extreme of
saying that
to be a
Christian, you
basically have
to get rid
of everything
you enjoy
in life,
and that
somehow makes
you godly.
I mean,
Jesus was
accused of
being a
drunkard
because he
enjoyed eating
and drinking.
For the
glory of
God.
That's not
what Jesus
is getting
at.
And again,
we don't
earn our
way to
heaven by
denying
ourselves
of things.
But what
Jesus is
getting at
is saying,
when you
come into
conflict with
this world
and you
have a
decision
between
me,
what I
say,
and what
the world
wants you
to do,
you choose
me,
whatever
it costs.
And no,
we don't
always get
it right,
do we?
I was,
yesterday we
were handing
out tracts
in
Valancholy,
we do
that on
Saturday
mornings,
and I
tell you
this because
I feel
it's,
I'm not
happy to
say it,
but we're
handing out
tracts,
and a guy
I used to
go to school
with,
Jack,
I barely
knew the
guy,
and he
was walking
up,
and I
saw him
coming,
and I
started
talking to
somebody
else,
and a
part of
me was
just
embarrassed.
I'm being
honest,
I'm not
proud of
that,
I'm not
saying that's
wrong,
I don't
think in
my mind
I said,
I'm ashamed
of the
gospel of
Jesus
Christ,
I'm going
to turn
away,
but a
part of
me felt
embarrassment.
I'm
sure I'm
not alone
in that,
but friends,
Christ is
gracious,
and he
will give
us
what we
need.
We fail,
I have
failed him,
I failed
him yesterday,
but he
loves you,
and he
will bring
you into
glory,
but let
us stand
by what
he says,
and I
thank God
for the
forgiveness
that we
have in
Christ,
I thank
God that
he bears
with us,
that he
remembers
that we
are with
dust,
he remembers
our frame,
and I
thank him
that he
will help
us to be
faithful unto
the end.
let's
pray.
Let's
pray.
blessed be
the God
and
Father of
our Lord
Jesus Christ,
according to
his great
mercy with
which he
has caused
us to
be born
again to
a living
hope,
through the
resurrection
of Jesus
Christ from
the dead,
to an
inheritance
that is
imperishable,
undefiled,
unfading,
kept in
heaven for
you,
who by
God's
power are
being guarded
through faith
for a
salvation ready
to be revealed
in the last
time.
In this
you rejoice,
though now
for a little
while,
if necessary,
you have been
grieved with
various trials,
so that the
tested
genuineness of
your faith,
more precious
than gold
that perishes
though it is
tested by
fire,
may be found
to result in
praise and
glory and
honor at the
revelation of
Jesus Christ.
Our
Father in
heaven,
we pray,
Lord,
that you
would impress
upon us the
words of
Christ.
Christ,
I pray,
Father,
for your
strength for
us as
your people
in this
adulterous and
wicked
generation
to stand
by your
word,
Lord.
Whatever it
may cost us,
Lord,
help us to
be faithful
to what you
have commanded
us,
what you
have taught
us in
your
scriptures.
And I
thank you,
Lord,
for your
grace,
which covers
our failures,
which covers
our sin.
And I
thank you,
Lord,
that Jesus
Christ,
Lord,
that for the
joy set
before him
endured the
shame of
the cross,
and that he
is now seated
at your
right hand.
Lord,
as we make
our way as
pilgrims in
this world,
as foreigners,
Lord,
I pray,
Lord,
that you
would keep
us from
the love
of this
world.
May we
love those
who are in
the world,
Lord,
and call
them to
you.
Help us,
Lord,
to be
witnesses
to those
who are
not yet
yours.
But,
Father,
help us
never,
Lord,
to be
ashamed
of your
word.
Give us
strength,
we pray,
Lord,
for the
days before
us.
And I
thank you
for your
word,
Lord,
and for
your grace
to us
this morning
in Christ
Jesus.
Amen.
thank you
very much,
Kevin,
for bringing
God's
words to
us for
all your
preparation,
but also
for your
honesty,
and thank
God we
do have
a God
who does
forgive us.
I was
thinking as
you were
speaking just
about Peter,
and isn't it
wonderful that
we can look
back and have
the whole
canon of
scripture here,
for we can
have a
fuller
understanding.
I think of
Peter,
that even
though he
was able
to correctly
identify that
Jesus was
the Christ,
the one they
were waiting
for,
and yet he
didn't have
at that time
a full
understanding
of why
Jesus came,
nor perhaps
the full
idea of
following
Jesus,
but that as
we read
God's word,
we can see
of why
Jesus came,
and that
cost in
following,
and yet the
joy that we
have because
of following.
So thank
you very
much,
Kevin.
We're going
to stand
and sing,
can the
song be
brought up,
the final
song?
Yes,
we're going
to sing,
beneath the
cross of
Jesus,
I find a
place to
stand and
wonder at
such mercy
that calls
me as
I am,
because as
people,
when we
came to
know Jesus,
we recognized
that we
were
the
cross of
Jesus.
We
were
the
cross of
Jesus.
We
were
the
cross of
Jesus.
We
were
the