Who Do You Say That I Am?

Matthew 16:15-16
¹⁵  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
¹⁶  Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."


Paul expanded Peter's answer.  He wrote these things about Him in  Colossians 1:15-20.  Jesus is:
the image of the invisible God
the firstborn over all creation
the one through whom all things were created
before all things
the one in whom all things consist
the head of the church
the beginning
the firstborn from the dead
the one who has preeminence
the one in whom all the fullness dwells
the one by whom God reconciled all things
the one who made peace through the blood of His cross

One of our worship songs this morning also said it well - "Jesus You're My Everything"

Let's  use this post to personally answer the questions, using Scripture or personal thoughts.  Who do you say Jesus is?

Take Heed and Beware

Matthew 15:7-9 Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying:'These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me.And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.' "

Matthew 16:6 Then Jesus said to them, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees." 

Take heed.  Beware.  Strong words of warning.  We might think at first that we are to take heed/beware of the Phariseees and Sadducees.  True.  But, we should all the more beware of their leaven.  

The effect of their leaven was worship in vain.  I'd call it an unreal or ineffective connection or relationship with the Lord.  

So, for us - anything that keeps us from a "heart" relationship with the Lord is leaven.  As Pastor Dale said, "Leaven spreads unseen until the whole loaf is changed.  It takes very little leaven to do that."

There is much leaven in our world today.  We must take heed of it.  We must beware of it.  Hypocrites concern themselves with the outward impression.  God is interested in the inward.  So, is Satan.  If he can permeate the inward, the outward will reflect that.  Take heed.  Beware.  Leaven was designed to permeate the inside, so as to affect the outside.  Is there leaven in your life that you are viewing as small and not really a threat to your relationship with the Lord?  Take heed.  Jesus' warning came from a heart of love, concern, and an acute awareness of the effectiveness of a "little" leaven.

A little leaven leavens the whole lump.  Galatians 5:9

It Is I

Matthew 14:22-33

This morning's message provoked many thoughts in me.  I'd like to post two of them.

First, the conclusion of the story ends with the concluding thoughts of the disciples.  Their conclusion about Jesus based on watching Jesus walk on water and based on His enabling Peter to walk on water.  The stated or recorded conclusion - Truly, You are the Son of God.

We often arrive at conclusions after seeing God work in a trial, don't we?  I have been thinking about the conclusions I have arrived at based on watching God work in a trial.  I think a lot of my conclusion, or the depth of my conclusion is related to how personally invested I was in the trial.

In this trial, this storm at sea, I think the other disciples would have concluded "Jesus helps people in storms" or "Jesus can help people walk on water".  Peter's conclusion would have been different.  I think Peter's conclusion would have been "Jesus helped me in a storm" or "Jesus helped me walk on water".  There's a vast difference in those statements.  The disciples' conclusion would have been based on observation.  Peter's conclusion would have been based on stepping out in the storm.

Secondly, when Pastor Dale spoke of Jesus and Peter getting into the boat, I was challenged to consider how I viewed that action.  Did Jesus carry Peter?  Did Jesus drag Peter?  Did Jesus again enable Peter to walk on the water?  I found that I had my own opinion.  As I ponder this,  I think that the way we view Jesus and Peter getting into the boat may be directly related to how we view God.  We are only told And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught Him.  I came home and looked up the verb tense of the word caught.  Then I realized I'm probably not going to be able to figure it out.  I don't know how Jesus helped Peter get back to the boat.  But, I do know this, the manner in which Jesus helped Peter is the manner in which Peter needed at that moment.  Our God is Jehovah - the becoming One; the One who becomes what we need.  For each of us, He gets us "back to the boat" differently, but always, just as we need Him to.

What did you get from this morning's message?

Bring Them Here to Me

And they said to Him, "We have here only five loaves and two fish." 

He said, "Bring them here to Me."   Matthew 14:17-18 

They basically said to Jesus, "What we have is not sufficient".  The apostle Paul got it.  He wrote in 

2 Corinthians 2:16 .. and who is sufficient for these things? 

Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, 

2 Corinthians 3:5 

Jesus knew that the disciples (and every believer) did not have what it took to meet Jesus command to meet the needs of the people.  He already knew what He was going to do.  He gives you and me the awesome privilege of being a part of His work by using our loaves and fish.  

The loaves and fish were placed in His hands.  They were given to Him for His use.  That's what He asks of us - to give to Him what we have.  What He does with it is up to Him.  He already knows what He's going to do with what we give to Him. (John 6:6) 

May it be all to His glory.

The Sower, The Seed and The Heart

The hard heart, the shallow heart, the crowded heart - each prevents the seed from burrowing down into a place in the heart where it is protected and it can thrive.  

Psalm 1:1-6 

¹  Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;

²  But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night.

³  He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.

⁴  The ungodly are not so, But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.

⁵  Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

⁶  For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the ungodly shall perish.

My part is to be sure there's nothing blocking and that I allow the words of God's truths to sink deep by meditating on them and by walking in them.  I think that meditation and application make pathways for the seed to go deeper and bear more fruit. Otherwise,  I will walk away personally unaffected and unfruitful for His kingdom.

When we plant by the rivers of water, we will bear fruit, we won't whither and we will prosper.  What a powerful seed It is!

Knowing Your Election

The believers of Thessalonica:

Had a faith that works, a labor that loved, a hope that was patient

They became followers→examples→witnesses

They turned to God, served Him, waited for Him

These actions assured Paul and the believers that they were truly saved.  In what way did this first chapter of Thessalonians minister to you or challenge you?

Trust in Jesus' Name

And in His name Gentles will trust....   Matthew 12:21

For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother  Matthew 12:30

And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day."  John 6:40