Wagram Community Church

09/06/2026

08/31/2026

No Cross, No Crown. The Cost and Glory of True Discipleship. Tony Batts, 8/30/26

So let me get through the word, let me take care of our spiritual appetite first, then we can move on accordingly. The title of today's sermon is one I've struggled with for a while, and if you're honest with yourself in your daily walk with Christ, you may have found a struggle or two as well. It's called, No Cross, No Crown. If you have your Bibles, I want you to walk with me through Matthew chapter 16, and we're going to walk through verses 21 through 28. That's Matthew chapter 16, verses 21 through 28. If you look at today's world, it doesn't take long to realize that our culture is obsessed with shortcuts. We want the prize, but we don't want the training. We want the paycheck, but we don't want the 40-hour work week. I want physical fitness, but I don't want to go to the gym. Notice how I shifted that to me? Because if you look at me from the side, you can tell I haven't missed any meals. We want instant wealth without the discipline of saving. We live in a society that loves the finish line, but absolutely hates the race. We want the glory, but we want to bypass the grit. Brothers and sisters, this shortcut mentality has not just stayed in the world quietly and subtly. It has sneaked its way into the church. If we're honest with ourselves this morning, we often want a Christianity that's comfortable. We want a Savior who solves all our problems and fixes all our relationships and secures our ticket to heaven, but we want a Savior who never challenges the way we live. We want a consumer-driven faith that caters to our preferences rather than a Christ-driven faith that demands our allegiance. We want the crown of eternal glory, but we want absolutely nothing to do with the cross of personal sacrifice. In Matthew chapter 16, the disciples find themselves at this exact spiritual crossroads. Just a few verses earlier, they were riding a wave of spiritual high. Jesus had asked them, who do you say that I am? And Peter, standing tall, gave the ultimate confession. You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God. Now, if I'm the disciple standing here, standing in that presence of Jesus listening to this, I would be thrilled. I'd almost high-five the next one. In their minds, Messiah meant a triumphant military king. We talked about this last week. They had an expectation of Jesus that was more military than spiritual. They expected him to march into Jerusalem, overthrow the Roman Empire with just a snap of his fingers, set up an earthly kingdom, and hand them crowns of glory. They thought that they had just joined the winning team, the right team, and they were ready to rule. But immediately, after Peter makes this confession, Jesus does something shocking. He shatters their expectations into a million pieces. He introduces a radical, challenging, and uncomfortable truth that remains the very heartbeat of Christianity today. He looks at them and essentially says, there is no crown without a cross. To share in the glory of Christ's kingdom, we must first share in the sacrifice of his cross. No crown, no cross, no crown. So, if I had to give you three points, and I'm going to hurry to my close, but the first point would be, the cross has a necessity. The cross has a necessity. Look with me at verse 21. The Bible says, from that time on, Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Notice the word must. In the original Greek text, it is the tiny word, D-E-I. Now, this word is not a suggestion. It doesn't mean Jesus might go or Jesus is thinking about going. It indicates a divine necessity. The cross was not an accident. It was not a tragic backup plan because things went wrong or when Judas betrayed him. The cross was the deliberate, sovereign, predetermined plan of God for the salvation of humanity. In other words, Jesus had to die so that we could live. But look at how Peter reacts in verse 22. This is one of the most astonishing moments in the New Testament. Verse 22 says, Peter took him aside. Stop right there. I want to remind you, Peter was the bold one in the group. Peter was the impulsive one of the group. Watch what happens next. And began to rebuke him. Peter begins to rebuke Jesus. Peter begins to chastise the man he had just finished calling the Messiah. Never, Lord, he said, this shall never happen to you. Can you imagine this scene, brothers and sisters? Peter's just a Galilean fisherman and he puts his arms around Jesus who was there at the beginning of creation and pulls him to the side and he begins to correct God. He says, in other words, he's kind of... Now, I'm going to parenthetically say this. He says, Jesus, you got your theology wrong. Messiahs don't die. Messiahs when? You're talking about suffering. Well, I'm talking about success. Now, I got to pump my brakes for a minute and I got to remember that Peter loves Jesus. He really does. Now, his motives might have been good. He wanted to protect Jesus, but Peter hated the idea of suffering. Does that sound familiar? That sounds like... Does that sound like what's going on in the church today? He wanted a theology of glory without a theology of pain. He wanted a kingdom without a casualty. Now, look at how Jesus responds to Peter in verse 23. He doesn't pull Peter to the side gently. He turns on his heel, looks Peter in the eye in front of everyone and delivers this rebuke. It's in verse 23. Jesus turned and said to Peter, get behind me. What's the next word? Say, ouch. He goes on to say, you are a stumbling block. You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns. Think about the contrast here. Six verses ago, Jesus called Peter rock. And he also went on to say that upon this rock, the confession of what Peter said about Jesus, that the church would be built. Now, Jesus calls him Satan. He calls him the accuser. He calls him a hindrance. He calls him a stumbling block. Why such harsh words? I'm glad you asked. Because anyone who tells you that they can achieve God's purposes while bypassing sacrifice is speaking the language of the enemy. If you remember Matthew chapter six, verse nine, when Jesus is in the wilderness being tempted by Satan, Satan has a line and the line goes like this. All this I will give to you if you will bow down and worship me. Peter was thinking with human logic. Human logic says protect yourself at all costs. Maximize your comfort, avoid pain, build your own empire. But divine logic says, and even I have trouble with this S word. Surrender. We've been singing I surrender all as far back as I can remember. I was knee high to a fly when I first heard that song growing up in church. We sing it. But do we really? Divine logic says surrender yourself and die to yourself for the glory of God. Now it's incredibly easy for us to sit here in 2026 and look back at Peter and be a little judgmental. I started to wonder how could Peter be so blind? But before we point our fingers at Peter, we have to realize that Jesus didn't just demand a cross for himself in the very next verse. He turns to the crowd and demands a cross for anyone who dares to call themselves his disciple. If the master must walk the path of suffering, the servants cannot expect a path paved with roses. Let's look at verse 24, which brings us to point number two. The cost of true discipleship is a cross. Let me give you point two again. The cost of true discipleship is a cross. Let's look at what the text says. Then Jesus says to his disciples, whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. Jesus has summoned the crowd together. He wants to make sure that there's no fine print, that there's no misunderstanding. He wants to make sure that nobody signs up for his kingdom under false pretenses. In verse 24, there are three conditions that Jesus himself lays down for anyone who wants to follow him. First, he says we must deny ourselves. Now, let's be clear about what this means. This doesn't mean just giving up chocolate or social media during Lent. Denying yourself is not just practicing a little bit of self-control. In the Greek language, to deny yourself means a total abdication of the throne of your life. It means looking at your own ego, your own selfish ambitions, your own comfort and saying, I am no longer the boss of me. God is. It means putting Christ on the throne of your heart and letting him call the shots. Here's the uncomfortable part. Even when what Jesus commands you to do contradicts what you want to do. So he says, first, we must deny ourselves. The second thing we got to do is to take up our cross. Now, in the modern world, the cross gets a little romanticized sometimes. What do I mean by that? It means that there are opportunities that you can buy a shirt with a cross on it. I got one in my closet right now. It means that you can put the cross on your jewelry. Our daughter, Kayla, went out last night with one of her friends, and she brought home a charm bracelet. And the charm bracelet had three particular things on it that's very near and dear to her. It's a strange charm bracelet, but I get it. So there's one part of the charm bracelet that Kayla has, there is a little bear on there. The bear is symbolic of a nickname. Stephanie's nickname for Kayla is Kayla Bear. And Kayla's nickname for her mom is Mama Bear. But it gets a little weird because this bear has bat wings on it. A little strange. Let me break this down for you. The bear with the bat wings. The bat wings are sort of short and a play on our last name, bat and Batts. The other part of the charm bracelet has a cross on it, which if you look at it long enough, it could either look like a cross or the star of David. So these are symbols that we have worn, symbols that we have put on our neck, symbols that we have put on our t-shirts. We even have a cross hanging on the wall right behind me. But to the first century listener, under the brutal fists of the Roman Empire, the cross was a terrifying symbol of torture and ex*****on. When a man walked down the street in the first century wearing a cross, it meant one thing, that he was about to die. He wasn't coming back. He had no rights, no future, no say in his destiny. By using this radical imagery, Jesus is telling us that true discipleship is daily ex*****on of our selfish nature. It means being willing to suffer ridicule, rejection, and discomfort for the sake of his name. The third thing that Jesus says in this verse is to follow me. The Greek word for follow is a present tense imperative. What that means, present tense imperative, by the way, is just to let you know that I've been to seminary, just to let you know. But in the present tense imperative of the Greek, it means continuous. It means that we don't get to follow Jesus when it's convenient. We sang a song recently, and I believe some of the words go, I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back. It means when you follow Jesus, you wake up every single day and you walk in his footsteps. You live the way he lived. You love the way he loved. You obey what he commanded. And where's the cameras right there? That means you too. Then Jesus gives us this great paradox in verses 25 and 26. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? This is a profound, yet piercing truth. If you spend your entire life trying to hoard your time, protect your safety, chase worldly status, collect material possessions, you will end spiritually bankrupt. Now, you might save your earthly life, but you'll end up losing your eternal one. Now, on the flip side, if you break your life open, take up your cross, and pour it out for the sake of Jesus Christ, you will find true, abundant, lasting life. There's a song that's out there. I can't remember the name of the artist, but he basically says, I give myself away so that you can use me. Now, let's break this down for an application purpose. When we wake up tomorrow morning, here's a question for you to ponder. What does it look like for you and me to take up our cross in everyday life? It means choosing absolute honesty on your job, when even just a little lie, I'd have to research where the little lie thing came from, would protect your reputation and make you more money. It means, now here we start metal. It means choosing to radically forgive someone who deeply hurt you, even when your flesh is screaming for vengeance and retaliation. It means looking at your bank account and choosing to make a sacrifice to bless someone who's in need or support the work of the gospel rather than hoarding it. We used to say down south, and I don't know if there's a saying, you've heard this thing up here, every funeral I've ever been to, I've never seen you all behind a hearse. In other words, you can't take it with you. I'm here to go to meddling again. It means that when your personal opinions, your political views, and your lifestyle choices collide with this, the word of God, it means you surrender. Bishop Jeff Greenwood once preached, anytime I do something or say something and there's something in my life that contradicts the word of God, guess what that means? I'm wrong. I am wrong. I'm wrong.
Considered unrighteousness. There's a word for that. We don't say it a lot. It's called sin. It's called sin. Jesus came to restore our life back to the original factory settings. We needed a reboot. Taking up your cross means Christ has the final say over your relationships, your career, your time. Now this verse or this sermon have ended right there. This message would be downright depressing. It means that the Christian life would be grueling, would be hard, would be disturbing, depressing. It means if it stopped right there, that our life would be nothing but pain. But praise be to God. This is the part where I feel like preaching hard. The cross was not the end of the story. Amen. The weight of the cross is heavy, brothers and sisters. Make no mistake about it. But Jesus promises glory, that the crown is heavier. Which takes us to verses 27 and 28. And this is my last point. The reward of the crown. The reward of the crown. Look at verse 27. For the son of man is going to come in his father's glory with his angels. And then he will reward each person according to what they have done. Church, hear this clearly. The cross is temporary, but the crown is eternal. Jesus Christ did not endure the agony of Calvary because he loved pain. Oh no. The author of Hebrews tells us that it was for the joy set before him that he endured the cross, despising his shame. He knew, Jesus knew, that the suffering of Friday would give way to the resurrection of Sunday. Side note. Thank you, Holy Spirit. I'll say it. If you're going through a season of trouble right now, I stop by to let you know, brothers and sisters, that trouble don't always last. It doesn't. It can't. Because out of this trouble, out of your test, God can turn your test into a testimony. God can turn your mess into a message. God can get victory out of your suffering. Can I get a witness? Jesus knew that after the humiliation of the cross will come the exaltation of the crown. Folks, we don't suffer aimlessly. There's a purpose behind it. We do not deny ourselves for no reason. I don't know who this is for right now, but for every time you've cried, for every time you woke up in the middle of the night with tears in your eyes, God sees you. He sees you, and he rewards faithfulness. Every time you got made fun of at work, every time you got made fun of at school, because you stood up for the Word of God, every sacrifice that you have ever made, God sees you. The world looks at our Christian life and the way we sacrifice for each other and sacrifice for Jesus and sacrifice for the gospel, and they call it foolishness. The world will tell you, live for yourself. I got mine. You got to get yours. But heaven looks at a life that bears your own cross and has a reward for you. Eyes haven't seen, ears haven't heard, neither has it entered into the heart of man. I feel like preaching right quick. What God has prepared for those that love him. In verse 28, Jesus makes this promise. Truly, I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom. In Matthew chapter 17, just six days later, and you've probably heard the story, Peter, James, and John are taken up to a high mountain where Jesus is transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun. His clothes became white as light, and for a brief, breathtaking moment, the Almighty God pulled back the curtain of history and showed them the crown. In other words, I love this part. God gave them a spoiler alert. I love spoiler alerts, especially in the Bible. Don't have a witness. He showed them that this man that was standing not even a few feet from them, the suffering servant, the Messiah, Jesus Christ, would also reign in glory. Brothers and sisters, when you get tired, and you will, when life keeps on liking you, as the young folks like to say, remember there's a crown. When your faith makes you lonely, because your faith, because of who you are and whose you are, will cause you to be ostracized. It'll cause you to be cast out. It'll cause you to have just a few friends. Remember the crown. Shift your gaze away from the temporary, fleeting hardships of life, and fix your eyes on the reality of eternity. The Apostle Paul, and that man knew a thing or two about suffering and carried his own cross. He wrote in Romans chapter 8, verse 18, For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed in us. The pain you experience for following Jesus right now cannot even be compared to the weight of glory that awaits you. As we wrap this up today, we have to realize something else. We cannot negotiate with Jesus. We cannot cheapen the grace of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We can't buy a discounted ticket to heaven. We can't accept him as our savior from hell, if we refuse to bow to him as the lord of our daily lives. Notice what I said there. Daily lives. The terms of discipleship were set in stone 2,000 years ago on a hill called Calvary, and they will not be marked down just because we want to be comfortable. As we prepare to leave here shortly, and hopefully some of you will head downstairs, I want to challenge you. And when I wrote these two questions down, I was convicted. Here's the first question. Am I, slash we, trying to bypass the cross? Am I following what the culture says? This sanitized, comfortable version of Jesus that never cost me anything? If your Christianity has never changed your budget, never inconvenienced your schedule, never restricted your desires, never caused you to lose a single relationship, you have to ask yourself, am I following the Jesus of the Bible or Jesus in my own imagination? Am I trying to bypass the cross? The second question is this, and it has to do with what Jesus said, if any man wants to be my disciple, he must first deny himself. That means asking yourself this, what is Jesus asking me to lay down on the altar today? Is there an area in your life that's pulling you away from Jesus? Is there, get ready to start messing again, but that's what I do. Is there a relationship that you may have that's pulling you away from God? Is there a secret habit or addiction that you're hiding in the dark? This next one is tough. Is there a grudge or bitterness that you've held against somebody? Is it your demand for total control of your own future, your career, or your family? Whatever it is, brothers and sisters, Jesus is looking at us today with eyes of infinite love, and he's saying, let it go, die to it, pick up your cross, step into my footsteps, and follow me. In ministry, there is a call for a select few to be set apart for ministry. There is a call for a select few to answer the call to preach and teach the gospel. Just because God has not called you to preach and teach the gospel doesn't mean he hasn't called you. What do I mean by that? It means from the beginning of time, Jesus was plan A. There's no plan B. Jesus was God's go-between between himself and creation. God, who, sorry about that. Downstairs is probably making all kinds of noise right now. Jesus is God's go-between. It means before the beginning of time, God, who is all-powerful, allknowing, and all-wise, knew that his creation was going to mess this up, his creation, us. He knew we were going to mess it up. Wouldn't be God if he didn't, right? So he sets Jesus, and if you read every book in the Bible from the Old Testament to the New, it's about one character, one person. It's about Christ. Christ is in every book in the Bible. It's pointing us towards him. Jesus never had a car. He never had a jet airplane. He walked everywhere he went. He went preaching and teaching, and we were called to live this out. Now, this sermon, this message is one of those messages that can get our attention. Notice what Jesus doesn't say in that verse, if anyone wants to be my disciple. He doesn't say if anybody wants to be a church member. He says, if anyone wants to be my disciple. A disciple also means an apprentice. It also means that the person looks like the person they're training after or training under. No cross, no crime. Let's pray together. Almighty God, as I pray for every person under the sound of my voice today, we thank you for the hard words of Scripture that shake us out of our complacency. Almighty God, in the name of Jesus Christ, forgive us for the times we have pursued comfort over Christ. Forgive us for wanting the cross without—wanting the crown without the cross. And we ask under the empowerment of the Holy Spirit that you give us the supernatural courage to deny ourselves, take up our daily crosses, and follow after you faithfully, no matter what it looks like and what it costs. Fix our eyes on the eternal way of glory that awaits us. God, thank you for loving us. We love you, we praise you, and we pray these things in the mighty and matchless name of Jesus Christ. And the church said, amen. No cross, no crime.

08/30/2026

Live worship

08/30/2026

Good morning everyone! Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow!

It's a great day to be in worship. I would like to invite you to worship with us this morning at 10:30. Today's message will be:

No Cross, No Crown.
Matthew 16:21-28

Hope to see you there!

Blessings,

Pastor Tony Batts
Wagram Community Church
9535 Mink St SW
Reynoldsburg, OH 43068

08/25/2026

Who Do YOU Say I Am?
Tony Batts, 8/23/26

I'm going to go ahead and warn you now. As my wife has said on previous occasions, I have what's called the glad glad. Let me explain. There are certain songs and certain conversations that you get into that make you think about the goodness of Jesus, regardless of what your circumstances are. When I think about the goodness of God, the goodness of Jesus and all he's done for me, my soul cries out, hallelujah, thank God for saving me. One of those conversations was about my dad. And no matter where I am, I'm always going to say something about my mom and my dad. My dad was part of a male chorus, and there are certain songs that they would sing. And there are certain songs that I still play to kind of remind me of the goodness of God. And these songs remind me of my dad. So there's this one song, it's called, I Know It Was Jesus. And the songwriter, you have to Google the song, I Know It Was Jesus. It's by Luther Barnes and the Sunset Jubilaires. If you get a chance, check that out later, or you can text me and I'll text you that song. Some of y'all were smiling because you've probably heard this song before. But the chorus is sort of interwoven in the song, I Know It Was Jesus, I Know It Was The Lord. There's a part in that song where the songwriter talks about Jesus and what he did on the cross. They laid him down in a cold grave, but he rose again. That is Christianity. If you don't know a single Bible verse, that's okay. That's the answer to why we have the faith that we have. That's the answer to why we have the glad glad that we have. I know it was Jesus. I know it was the Lord. Which brings me to this point. Who do you say that I am? And I hope you brought your Bibles. We're going to turn to Matthew chapter 16. And we're going to walk through verses 13 through 20. But before I preach, there are some birthdays in the house. Let's see. I know there's a birthday coming. I believe it's Brother Roger. His birthday is coming. I don't have a calendar. Tuesday? Saturday. His birthday is coming Saturday. And if I'm not mistaken, somebody's birthday is today. Is that right? It's not today. This is why I need a calendar.

We're going to walk through verses 13 through 20. Let's pray together first. Gracious God, our heavenly father, I got the glad glad this morning. And it's because you are God and besides you, there's no other. You woke us up this morning. You started us on our way. And regardless of how things are in the country, in Ohio, a lot of circumstances, people are still trying to dry out, so to speak, from the rain and the flood. You're still on the throne. And I'm thankful. I'm thankful to you, Lord Jesus, for doing what nobody else could do. And that's dying for a wretch like me. Thank you, Jesus. Holy Spirit, it's preaching time. This is not my sermon. This is yours. The words that I put on these pages. Please give me your preaching power. Control my mind and my speech. In Jesus' name, we pray. Oh, by the way, anoint the ears of the congregation, as well as their hearts. Those that are in the room and watching online. In Jesus' name, we pray. In the redeeming of the Lord said, amen. Who do you say that I am? Every one of us lives with, and here's a metaphor, an identity card. Not the driver's license that you get, or the ID card that you may have in your wallet or your purse. And here's some old school. In your pocketbook. How many still have pocketbooks? Who knows what a pocketbook is? My lovely ladies here, they know what pocketbooks are. For you young folks, talk to your dad when you get home. We'll tell you what a pocketbook is. We have a tendency to define ourselves by what we do, by who we love, and sometimes even what people say about us. But in my 52 and a half years, I've learned some things. The most critical question you will ever face in your life is not necessarily, who am I? It's the question that Jesus asked his followers in the dust of a pagan city. Who do you say that I am? To understand why this question matters, we have to look at the scenery. Matthew tells us Jesus took his disciples to this region of Caesarea Philippi. Now this was not a random stop. It was a place crowded with competing gods. Side note, I wish I could pull over and park right there because there is a question after that. Are there any gods, little G, competing for the primary place of importance in your heart even now? I tell you what, that'll be another sermon for another day. But in this region of Caesarea Philippi, there were shrines to veil. There was this massive, scary cave dedicated to Pan, the Greek god of nature. There was this beautiful temple that was built out of white marble by Herod the Great to worship Caesar Augustus as God, little G. Standing in the literal shadow of these massive monuments to power, ancient myths, and cultural religion, Jesus looks at his ragtag group of disciples and he asks a question that changes history. But I want you to notice something when we get ready to read this text. He doesn't start by putting them on the spot immediately. Instead, he eases into the conversation by testing the waters of public opinion. And in doing so, he exposes a trap that many of us still fall into today. Verse 13 says, when Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, who do people say the Son of Man is? And they're quick to answer this and they're treating this sort of like an opinion poll. And you see the answer that they have in verse 14. Verse 14 says, they replied, some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets. To be called these names or to mention these names or to be mentioned in the same breath as these names is similar to a compliment. To say that he was John the Baptist meant that they saw him as a fearless truth teller. To say that he was Elijah, they saw him as a miracle worker or someone who had God's immense power. To say that he was Jeremiah meant that they saw him as a compassionate, weeping prophet who broke for the sins of the nation. Isn't that what our culture does today? If you took public polls, if you took an opinion poll, there are people who are perfectly comfortable with Jesus as long as he stays in a box. You've heard this before. Some people say Jesus was a wonderful moral teacher. Some people say Jesus was a peaceful, social revolutionary. There are some who even say Jesus was a good man who showed us how to love. Some years back, and we still see it today, there's a commercial that's been put out there. And at the end of that commercial, there's this statement, Jesus gets us. Interesting. Watch this for a minute. Being good or moral or revolutionary is a safe way to keep Jesus at arm's length. If Jesus is just a good teacher, you can take his advice when you like it and ignore it when you don't. Good teachers don't have authority in your life. Now watch what Jesus does in verse 15. But what about you? He asked. Who do you say that I am? Mic drop. He turns his back to the crowd and he's looking at the disciples eye to eye. If I was there, it would be eye to eye to eye because I got classes. He's pivoting in this conversation. He says, but what about you? Who do you say that I am? In the Greek text, the word you is intensely emphasized. It reads, but you, who do you say that I am? He's not concerned about what the crowds are saying. He doesn't even ask them what their parents believe. He doesn't even ask them what their spouses believe because most people, most theologians, propose that some of the disciples, a few of them, had wives at the time. He doesn't ask them that. He doesn't even ask them about what society thinks. He demands a personal verdict. From you, which leads me to my first point. And my first point is this. Be careful to not get in the trap of public opinion. Let me give you that one more again. Be careful to not get in the trap of public opinion. As you're out and about this week, when you get an opportunity, take an honest inventory of your life. Now this next question, when I thought about it, it messed me up. And here's the question. Are some of us living on borrowed secondhand faith that our parents had, that our spouse might have, or what culture says about Jesus? Do you know Jesus for yourself? In other words, let me meddle a little bit because that's what we pastors do. Do you know Jesus for yourself? When you get a chance this week, regardless of your answers that you've come down with, write down your own definition of who Jesus is to you and look for areas in your life that you're still treating him like a good teacher instead of the Lord of your life. In other words, is Jesus your everything? We sing the song down in Shiloh Baptist Church. Not gonna sing it, take me too long. And the song goes, God is my everything. I feel like preaching for a second. God is my everything. He's my joy in sorrow, my hope for tomorrow. He's a rock in a weary land, a shelter in a time of storm. God is, God is my everything. Is he your everything, brothers and sisters? While the crowds were guessing and safeguarding their own opinions, guess who speaks up first? Just take a guess. Somebody said it, Peter. Peter was always the one that was always saying stuff and doing stuff. But watch what Peter says and his answer changes everything. In verse 16, Simon Peter answered, you are the Messiah, the son of the living God. This answer just shattered everything based on where they were, especially in Caesarea Philippi. Remember I told you there were so many little gods in the area? First he says, you are the Messiah. The Greek word for Messiah means the anointed one. Peter is saying, you are the one we have been waiting for across thousands of years of history. You're the king who fulfills every promise. The second thing he says is, you are the son of the living God. Now think about where they're standing. They are surrounded by these dead stone statues of Caesar and all these mythical carvings of Pan. Peter points at Jesus, a man who's covered in the dust of the road and he says, these gods, these little G gods are dead stone. You are the son of the living God. This reaction is absolutely beautiful, brothers and sisters. But notice what Jesus says. He doesn't say, wow, Peter, you're a genius. No, he doesn't say that. Watch what he says in verse 17. Jesus replied, blessed are you, Simon, son of John, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my father in heaven. Talk about a massive relief. You know what I've learned about saving faith? Saving faith is not something you can manufacture. It doesn't matter how many Bible colleges you've gone to, even though that's important. It doesn't matter how many seminaries you've been to, even though that's important. In other words, it doesn't come from your own faith. It doesn't come from your intelligence. It doesn't come from your willpower. It comes from the power of the living God. For those of us that like to argue, I put my hand up. I have learned that you cannot argue somebody into the kingdom of God. True recognition of Jesus, watch this, requires a divine spark. If I be lifted up, Jesus says, from the earth, I will draw all men unto me. It requires a divine spark. It requires the almighty God opening people's eyes to see the beauty and reality of Jesus Christ, which leads me into my second point. The second point is, have you confessed like Peter who Jesus is to you? Have you confessed? A little while ago, I asked you to do a homework assignment about who Jesus is to you, and we talked about the psalm. For Jesus, for me, Jesus is my big brother. Jesus is my savior. Jesus is my Lord. Jesus is my prince of peace. Jesus is the center of my joy. Anybody know who Jesus is? Does anybody have a testimony in your heart just as to who Jesus is to you? We see a cross here. Luke calls him a suffering servant. At least that's what theologians have proposed. He's a suffering servant. Isaiah calls him wonderful, counselor, mighty God, everlasting father. I wish I had somebody to help me here. Prince of peace. How many could use some peace? I know I could use some. Who is Jesus to you? When you pray for your friends and family members who don't have a relationship with Jesus, I want you to do something different. I don't want you to rely on your wisdom as to how you think you could witness to them to kind of get them to cross over, so to speak. This is what I want you to do. I want you to kneel down and ask God the Father for a divine revelation, and remember that true faith is a gift he delights to reveal to those who are seeking him. Without faith, it is impossible to please God. Now, this great confession, once Peter says this, he recognizes who Jesus truly is, but Jesus is prone to flipping the script a little bit, and he reveals to Peter and the entire body of believers who they are destined to become on the earth. If I had to tag verse 18 with a point, I would call it the unshakable church. Watch this, because once I studied this for a bit, it changed everything I thought I believed about this verse. Let me read this verse. And 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. I think the King James Version says gates of hell. If I'm not mistaken. If you read this passage a little too quickly in the English, you might miss a brilliant piece of wordplay from Jesus. He looks right at Simon and says, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church. Now, in English, it sounds like he's repeating the same word, but in the original Greek language of the New Testament, Jesus actually uses two completely different words, and that shift changes everything. Watch this. He looks at Simon and he calls him, I'm gonna use the original Greek word, Petros, P-E-T-R-O-S. Petros is a stone. It's a pebble. It's a little rock that you can pick up. You can hold it in your hand. It's a fragment of a stone. In other words, Jesus is telling him, Simon, in your own strength, you are just a single stone. But then immediately Jesus changes the word, and he says, upon this rock, upon this Petra, P-ET-R-A, I will build my church. Petra does not mean a loose stone. It means this massive, immovable, bedrock mountain of a stone. Foundation. Foundation. There it is. Think about where they're standing. They're at the base of Mount Hermon in Caesarea Philippi. Jesus is looking right behind them at this massive wall. He's pointing, or he's painting a picture. Here's the picture Jesus is painting. He looks at Peter, and he says, Peter, you are Petros. You are just a small stone. Oh, I'm feeling this cut up now. But when Jesus tells him this, Peter, that truth you just uttered, the confession that you just made, that I am the Messiah, the son of the living God, that is Petra, P-E-T-R-A. That is an unmistakable mountain of a foundation of absolute truth on which I will build my... Somebody say amen. Make no mistake about this, brothers and sisters. The global, historyshaking, making church of Jesus Christ. Watch this. This is where I used to mess this up. It's not built on the flawed, fragile shoulders of Peter. You know why? Because if it were, the church would have crumbled later when Peter denied Jesus three times. No, the church is built on Petra, the absolute, unchanging, bedrock truth that Jesus Christ is Lord. Somebody say amen. Flesh and blood didn't dream that up. Heaven revealed it to Peter. And because the church is anchored to that immovable bedrock, that solid rock on which I stand, on which we should all stand, all of the ground is sinking. Can I get a witness? There is nothing on this planet that can tear that down. So, here's the warning shot. And I used to do this. I'm preaching to myself just as well as us. I used to treat... Church as my safe space. Do you know what this place really is? This place is not only a place, the building, this building is not only a place where we come to worship and worship the Lord in the spirit and beauty of holiness. This is the training ground. This is where we learn the word. This is where we learn how to live the word. This is where we talk about accountable discipleship. This is where we have to hold one another accountable in the spirit of love. And at the end of it, before we walk out those doors, you need to walk out those doors understanding one of the most powerful truths there is, in the name of Jesus Christ, I am forgiven. Can I get a witness? We're part of an army, but when you're part of an army, that means we're soldiers. And that also means we have an enemy that is after us because of who we are in Christ. If you've been around your neighborhood, in your school, in your workplace, have you noticed anything? For those of us that are not retired, what's that like? I keep asking that. But for those of us that have workplaces to go to, have you noticed the overall mood of people that are there? People are more in a hurry to get to their jobs than they are to get to church. Ooh, oh, oh, I said it, I said it. Sorry, not sorry, I'll say it again. People are more in a hurry to get to their jobs than they are to get to church. And they will literally run you off the road. Here's the funniest thing. If you're not careful, you'll see them pull into the same parking space as you when you get to church. Ooh, you need Jesus for that one. You need Jesus for that one. Because there's a certain part of us that makes you go, if I didn't know Jesus, ooh, thank God that I do. Lord have mercy. I mentioned that we're a part of an army. And because the church is built on this invincible bedrock, he doesn't just leave us at that point. He gives us his backing. He hands us some things to act on his behalf. Verse 19, I wanna talk about the authority of the kingdom. Verse 19 says, I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven. And whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Let me see if I got some here. Yep, I do. I got a bunch of keys in my pocket. Let's see. I have a little fob that starts our vehicle. Let's see. I have a key to the building of the church and a key to our apartment, a mailbox key. This key, I have no idea what it's for. That happens sometimes. You put a key, you're like, what is this thing for? I got a key to Caleb's car. Let's see. Thank you, Miss Deb. I got keys to the parsonage. Pass on to my family. These are yours. And I have all these keys. And these things can be powerful. They represent ownership. But here's the thing. If I give you the keys to my parsonage or our parsonage, I'm giving you authority over the front door. I'm going somewhere with this. Stay with me. You have the power to lock people out. You have the power to welcome them. Jesus says, I'm giving you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Do you know what Jesus is saying? He's saying he is handing the keys of his eternal kingdom over to us. We're just ordinary people. He's assigning the church the ultimate task. Here's a big word for us, stewardship. All of this is his. But he's handing these keys to you and I. And he's saying the same authority that I have for these keys, you have it too. When we stand up and preach the true gospel, when we look at a broken world and say, if you repent of your sin and trust in Jesus, you will be saved, we're turning the key. We're unlocking the gates of heaven and allowing people to walk in or inviting people to walk in. Allow is a too strong a word. We're inviting people to walk in. But folks, the flip side of that is heartbreaking because not everyone will accept the gospel of Jesus Christ. It's heartbreaking. We are here to tell people, dying people, men and women, of how to be saved. If you want more love, try Jesus. If you want more joy, try Jesus. If you want more peace, try Jesus. Not the things of the world because they are temporary. When somebody rejects the gospel, the door remains shut. And it's not shut because God is cruel. Oh no, the door is shut because they refuse the key that fits the lock. You and I carry spiritual authority every time we share the word of God. Brother Steve, you carry spiritual authority when you share the word of God. Brother Mike, you carry spiritual authority. Miss Joyce, Miss Joan, Stephanie, Maria, Smith family, y'all carry the authority of God when you talk about his word, when you talk about Jesus. Like I said before, if you don't know, now my country is getting ready to come out, not in their scripture, ask me what that means later. If all you know is for God, so love the world. That's enough. And you can testify as to the goodness of Jesus and what he means to you, what he's done for you. I'm about to go off script, so give me about 60 seconds. Every single one of us here has a story. And every single one of us has had a thing that we've wrestled with. And we've had a cross that we've had to bear. And we've had struggles. Can I get a witness? But God, every one of us is sitting in here on the other side of those two words, but God. I remember when I was out in the world and I'm talking about, I was born and reared and raised in church. And there came a point where I went out in the world and lost my mind, but my mama and daddy prayed for me. And on post-resurrected ground, right here, right now, I can look back at all of my blessings and say, if it had not been, can I get a witness, for the Lord on my side, where would I be? Let me finish up verse 20. Let me hurry to my close. So the point of verse 19 was the authority of the kingdom. The point of verse 20 is divine time. Let me hurry to my close. I want you to watch this real quick. They just got exposed and were told all this. Then Jesus ordered his disciples, and in verse 20, not to tell anyone he was the Messiah. Wait a minute, pump breaks. We just heard all of this information. We just heard that Jesus was the Messiah. Imagine you were the disciples in that moment. There are certain words in the Jewish community that trigger you. Messiah is one of them. You know why? Because in that community, in Jewish culture, they were taught that the Messiah was a conquering king. They were waiting on the one who would redeem Israel, Judah, from Rome, because they were under Roman authority at that time. So they were waiting on a Messiah, a conquering king, to rescue them from Rome. But when Jesus hits the scene, he tells them, do not tell anyone. You see, if Jesus knows, or says Jesus knows, they went preaching Messiah, the culture would hear military generals. The crowds, still in that I want a king mindset, ooh, there's another sermon coming. The crowds are still expecting a king. But watch this. Jesus came as the king who would die for his people and his enemies. That cold chill that just ran over you is an absolute truth of who Jesus is. He came for all. The crowds wanted political freedom. Jesus came to give us eternal freedom. Here's something else that the disciples could not preach and could not proclaim. Jesus was protecting the mission. His mission was to come down and die. Man, that's sad, but that's why he came. Every book in the Old Testament points to this point that changed human history. The full picture of Jesus's identity couldn't be packed in the preaching of a Messiah, not the way they thought. But it could only be understood through that, the cross. It could only be proven from the empty tomb. In Matthew 16, it's their time to be quiet. But we are living on the other side of the resurrection. The veil was torn, the grave was empty, and the secret's out. What Jesus told them to hide in whispers, he has commanded us to shout from the rooftops. We say it every first Sunday when we do communion. Let that be our battle cry for those of us that have been in the military. And we say this, Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again. Y'all say that with me. Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again. So in closing, we saw the trap of public opinion. We heard this great confession from Peter. Jesus tells us about this unshakable church. Next, we discovered there's kingdom authority. And finally, we recognize or need to recognize that we don't operate, we operate in God's timing and not our own. Brothers and sisters, do not get ahead of God's schedule. If you ever know where you need to go from point A to point B, point B to point C in life, ask the Father, ask him, ask him. Don't pull a Tony Bass and try to do stuff and then ask God to bless it behind the fact. He will not absolutely, positively, no way bless that. Oh, you wanna do this without me? You go right ahead, Mr. Big Bridges, you go right ahead. I'll wait. That's a whole nother message. The number of times that I did things and didn't consult God, the number of people that I let in my circle and didn't consult God, there are some people who are supposed to be in your life for a season. There are some people who are supposed to be there for a reason, can I get a witness? C.S. Lewis, it may have been C.S. Lewis that said this. He said, if we don't allow Jesus to be the Lord of all, he won't be Lord at all. Revelation 3.20, behold, I stand at the door and knock. In some pictures and paintings of that verse, Jesus is at the door, there's no doorknob on the outside. It's reasonable to assume that the doorknob is on the inside. In other words, Jesus is standing at the door knocking, and if you want love and joy and peace and patience and everything that comes with that, I invite you to open the door and let him in. Who is Jesus to you? Who do you say that I am? Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you that you reveal your truth, your word to our hearts, and I'm asking in the name of Jesus that you forgive us for the times where we tried to sink him down or shrink him down to just a good moral teacher, because Jesus is so much more than that. For some of us, Jesus has been a doctor, Lord have mercy. For some of us, he's been a lawyer. For some of us, he's been a way maker, a company keeper, a light in the darkness. Holy Spirit, will you give us the same courage that you gave Peter to declare boldly in word and deed that Jesus is our king? We ask that you fill us with the strength of your unshakable church, that we don't hide from the brokenness of the world, but we march straight toward it like soldiers on a battlefield with the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Have your way in our lives, Lord. In the mighty, matchless name of Jesus we pray. In the church today, amen.