Message from the Pastor

St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church

Sun. May 12, 2024

Matthew 16:13-20

The Choice that will change you forever
Introduction: Life used to be much simpler. Consider the following choices at your typical Grocery Store or Big Box store:

Crest toothpaste: 27 varieties

Campbell's condensed soup: 53 varieties

Tropicana Pure Premium Orange Juice: eight sizes, from 8 to 128 ounces

Breyers ice cream or frozen dairy dessert: Natural, French, Half the Fat, No Sugar Added, Extra Creamy, Homemade, Lactose Free, CarbSmart (and that's just for vanilla ice cream)

Cheerios cereal: Original, Honey Nut, Honey Nut Medley Crunch, Apple Cinnamon, Banana Nut, Frosted, Chocolate, Multi Grain, Multi Grain Peanut Butter, Dulce de Leche, Cinnamon Burst

Tide liquid laundry detergent: Original Scent, Plus Febreze, Plus Febreze Sport, Free & Gentle, Plus Bleach Alternative, Coldwater, Clean Breeze, Mountain Spring, Plus Downy, With Acti-Life

Head & Shoulders shampoo: Active Sport, Old Spice, Deep Clean, Hair Endurance, Refresh, Extra Strength for Men, Citrus Breeze, Ocean Lift, Dry Scalp Care with Almond Oil, Classic Clean, Sensitive Scalp Care, Itchy Scalp with Eucalyptus, Smooth & Silky, Extra Volume, Green Apple, Damage Rescue, Extra Strength, Clinical Strength, plus seven more. It's no wonder we get overwhelmed.

Our world has become a very complex, rather complicated place to live. So many choices! So many things have changed in our lifetime.  I was at a diner for breakfast just last week. The owner brought me a coffee and a menu.  He told me that I could have the classic breakfast on the menu for $10 today so I ordered that.  He then asked me how I wanted my eggs, so I told him easy over. He asked if I wanted the hash browns and I said “yes please.”  I remarked politely, “so many decisions.” To which he said, “Yes.”  He then asked if I wanted some toast and I naturally said, yes to that as well.” He then, you guessed it said, “And this I promise is the last one, do you want brown, white or rye bread?"  A simple meal can become complicated because of all the options that are available. 

   Our gospel text in Matthew 16:13-20 has some good news! The choice concerning Jesus of Nazareth is a simple, uncomplicated one and I happen to believe it is the best option out there. In the apostles creed the next statement zeros in on what a Christian believes about Jesus. I believe in Jesus Christ, His only son our Lord.”
I. Our confession of faith calls for a decision about what Jesus means to us personally.

a) Here are your choices concerning Jesus: He is either the Christ, the Son of the Living God or He is not.  Jesus was asking both his disciples and us for a clear confession. He already knew from Peter’s answer what the crowds were saying about Him.  They were full of praise for Jesus and they seemed to identify Him with some O.T. great, a wonderful teacher at the very least.  While Jesus certainly was a great teacher, a moral philosopher who broke new ground in human relations, and one who had a mysterious relationship with God, none of the apostles ever described Jesus in those terms.  

b) Many today think of Jesus in this manner saying, “Oh, Jesus is all right. He was sure a good Man, and a wonderful Teacher. We’ve got a lot to learn from Jesus all right.  But that’s as far as they go. It is not enough to respect Jesus as a good Person. Even the demons in Hell have that kind of admiration and respect for Jesus.  But God is looking for much more.  He is looking for a clear confession. The apostle Paul tells us in Philippians 2:10, “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”  One day every knee will bow, we might as well do it now while it is day and much work can be done for the cause of the kingdom of God, than later when it will be too late.

c) After Jesus asked the disciples what others were saying about Him He then comes to the heart of the matter and says, and “Who do you say that I am?”  Peter made his choice. We call it his great confession: “You are the Christ.” If we say, with Peter, “you are the Christ, the Son of the Living God, and thus trust ourselves to Him, we experience salvation and pass from death to life.  If we side with the crowd, no matter how much we may approve of Jesus as a moral and spiritual leader, we are still lost in our sins.  So we need to be sure where we stand on this question.  It will make all the difference in the world and in the next life to come.  Our choice is really a simple one. Yes or no! No means death. Yes means life. When we choose Christ we choose life.

  illust.  Two travellers walked past the ropes and guard rails at the railroad station.  They thought they were able to find their train on their own. At last they boarded the train and took their assigned seats. They were lost in conversation when the porter told them to go to the next car.

  “What’s the matter with this car?” one man asked.

  “Nothing,” the porter grinned.  “Only ‘taint coupled on to anything that’ll take you anywhere.”

When it comes to you and God, make sure of the coupling.  If it hasn’t got Jesus’ name, and Jesus’ cross attached than you ain’t going anywhere.  Jesus said of Himself in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth and life, no one comes to the Father, but through Me.”  And the apostle Paul said in Romans 10:13, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

II. Our confession of faith must include a belief in Jesus who is God’s only Son, our Lord.

a) So, when we say, “I believe in Jesus Christ” we are pronouncing our faith in both the historical figure, the carpenter from Nazareth, and in the fact that Jesus is God’s Anointed Divine Son. The amazing thing is that the followers of Jesus, the apostles, believed in this Jesus during and after his death and resurrection. They were eye witnesses to the historical events of his teaching, his miracles, his compassion, his praying, his companionship, and his friendship. They lived with this man, ate with him, and walked dusty roads together with him for three years. For them, he was real.  So, this Jesus was not a figment of their imaginations.  Jesus was real. The disciples of that first century had seen him, and now they were telling the story. But they also recognized him as the Messiah.

b) But, the apostle’s creed, and the gospel story, don’t stop there. John will proclaim that God so loved the world that he sent his only Son, that whosoever believes in him might be saved. Jesus is not just “a” son of God, he is the only Son of God. Peter said Jesus was not only the Messiah, but “the Son of the living God.” Now there is a sense in which all of us are sons and daughters of God. At creation, God breathed into mankind the breath of life, made us in God’s own image, and stood us up in fellowship with Him. But Jesus is different. Jesus is God’s only Son. God has lots of children, but only one Son, and his name is Jesus. But it doesn’t stop there. The Bible says that this only Son of God is also God Himself. Paul in that great hymn to Jesus in Philippians 2 wrote: 5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:  6Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,  7but made himself nothing, taking the very nature[b] of a servant, being made in human likeness.”  The phrase the NIV translates “being in very nature God” is more directly translated, “Who being in the very form of God.” In other words, this Jesus, whose name means “God is our salvation” is God Himself. He is God’s only Son, co-equal with God the Father and God the Spirit. The apostle Paul says, “He (Jesus) who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped.” (Philippians 2:5, NASB).  The Greek word for “equality” is the word “isos.”  An isosceles triangle is a triangle with two equal sides. The word literally means “equal in size, quality, character and number.”  Paul is letting us know, right up front, that in every way you can imagine, Jesus Christ, was and is equal to God. Even though He did not cling to His equality with God, He still claimed it.  What the apostles Paul and John are telling us is that Jesus is the exact representation of God.

c) Now, if that baffles your understanding, don’t worry. You join a long line of folks who have been puzzled by the Trinity — the Three-in-One. The point is — Jesus Christ is God’s unique revelation of himself to all humanity. Jesus is unique in his beginning because He doesn’t have a beginning. Jesus is unique in his end because he doesn’t have one of those either. Jesus is unique in his sovereignty. Psalm 103:19 says, ‘‘The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his sovereignty rules over all.'' (Psalm 103:19, NASB). According to the Bible, God is sovereign over everything from the mightiest galaxy to the smallest atom. He controls the angels in heaven, the inhabitants of earth, kings on thrones and beggars in streets. Sovereignty means that God is king. He calls the shots. He rules and reigns over everyone and everything. He rules over events and circumstances. Nothing happens unless he either causes it or allows it and therefore, nothing happens by chance. The Bible clearly points out that Jesus is unique calling Him the King of kings and Lord of lords. Jesus is unique in his sacrifice — he died so that you and I might live. Jesus is unique in his resurrection from the dead — God raised him first, so that we might follow. Jesus is unique in his place in history — we mark time from before (BC) and after his birth (AD). We could go on to talk about the uniqueness of his love, and of his coming again as the rest of the apostles’ creed points out but the part of the confession of faith that makes all of this so real is the amazing fact that Jesus is our Lord.  Jesus went on to explain that anyone who followed Him must take up his cross, give up his life, and deny himself and follow Jesus. That’s what ‘Lord’ means. A life devoted to serving the Master in whatever ways we can serve him.  I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord. Notice what happens when we choose to follow Jesus and make this bold confession of faith.

III. When we choose Jesus Christ we become part of Christ’s undefeated mission.

a) Matthew 16:17-18 throbs with the conviction of the indestructible nature of Jesus’ church.  Here at Caesarea Philippi, Jesus said, “Blessed are you, Simon...I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. Though Jesus is quite capable of handling divine matters all on His own, He has chosen to build His Church with help from committed Christians working and ministering with an undefeated mission.  Even the gates of Hades, cannot prove stronger.  Jesus goes on to say “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of Heaven.”  That’s awesome!!!  Imagine this, the decisions we make as a church effect and influence eternity. We have the opportunity to inspire and motivate people to be what God wants them to be!!! Just think of it, the keys of the Kingdom are in our hands. It is both a privilege and an awesome responsibility!  What you and I do can effect things both now and forever.  Jesus says to Peter and he is saying to us, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of God and nothing will defeat your mission of spreading this good news message of salvation across our land.”

b) This passage in Matthew reminds us that as children of God we belong to an indestructible church.  For centuries there have been some who have tried to destroy the church, but it still stands.  Because in every generation you will find those who refuse to be moved by the crowds or the pressures of society.  In every generation you will find those God has raised “within the church” to catch the glorious vision of the church’s undefeated mission of “seeking the lost that they may be brought to God. “For when Jesus is sincerely confessed as the Son of the Living God, He becomes our motivation for doing loving deeds of ministry. He’s left the Choice to us.   May God find in you and in me Peter’s rocklike faith so that Jesus might build His church!!!!

Conclusion: That is the God we believe in, the God who loves us, the God who in Jesus saves us, the God who reaches out to us when we are not capable of reaching back.  And so with the apostles we stand on solid ground confessing, “I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord.”  This is truly the choice that will change your life forever!!!

Here is today's lyrical video with the hymns for today's worship for Sunday May 12, 2024 provided by Autumn Gambles. Just click on the link below, once there tap anywhere on the video image and it will take you to the full screen from start to finish

 https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MWU6Sk8BP7mh6JpPWYNKIpTdu-HMiBdm/view?usp=sharing