The Most Critical Question In The Universe

0:04 What if I ask you the most critical question in the universe? That's right. What if I could pose to you the question of all questions? Today, we're going to look at that question, and we're going to discover our different answers to this question. I've been talking about questions recently at Fellowship Church. The Bible is packed with questions, over 3,000. Jesus asked 300 questions. And in Matthew chapter 16, we're going to see that he asks, again, the biggest question in the universe. A question that I've asked myself and a question that I want you to really ponder and think about.

1:02 I want you to be careful the way you respond to this question because, again, this question comes from Jesus himself. Matthew chapter 16. Here's the context of this chapter. The Bible says, when Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, I've taken numerous trips to Israel, and some of you have been with me at Caesarea Philippi. It's that giant, rocky area. I mean, these massive, massive foundational stones. During this day, it was the epicenter of pagan worship. There were temples dedicated to Caesar, and there were all sorts of crazy happenings as far as idolatry in this region. So it was there that Jesus, in vice and disciples, 120 miles outside of Israel, It's there that Jesus begins to engage his disciples, and it's there that he asks the most important question in the universe.

2:16 But I find it fascinating, don't you, that he would use this backdrop to ask the most important question in the universe. When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, who do people say that I am? People, the gin pop, you know. usually when I've asked that question it's a prideful thing hey what did they think about the message what are they saying about me I know you never do that but when we do that it's one thing when Jesus is doing that it's quite another he is wanting these guys to think about what they've seen he is entering the back nine of his ministry Jesus is He knows what's before him. Golgotha, the tomb.

3:11 He understands all of that. The disciples, think about these guys. They'd seen him feed 5,000. They'd seen him raise the dead. They'd seen him heal the sick. They'd seen him walk on water. And they had said before, hey, you are the son of God. You're the Messiah. They'd said that, but notice Jesus is asking, hey, what are people saying about me? And he's teaching them not to follow the crowd. I mean, just because they spill the tea on me, just because that's the buzz, that's what's trending. Jesus was saying, don't worry about that. How about you?

3:57 How about you? and he's asking you and me this question. So question A, you could say, Jesus said, who do people say the son of man is? And of course they replied, they, you know, some say John the Baptist.

4:17 Some say Elijah. Still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets. that's kind of where our culture is today, isn't it? You talk about the person of Jesus. Oh, Jesus was a good teacher. Jesus, I really follow, I like to follow his moral teachings. Jesus, I'm sure, had this special connection with God. We have to remember something, though. is what C.S. Lewis said, the great apologist. When someone says that Jesus was a good guy or a moral person or a prophet, they're advertising their lack of study because he did not give us that option.

5:13 C.S. Lewis said, you must make your choice. Either this man was and is the son of God or else a madman or something worse. I've already said he's either a liar, a lunatic, or Lord. So the good guy thing just doesn't really work.

5:40 Again, the disciples, they've seen all of this, and Jesus is asking him this question, question A, then he uses it to pivot into question B. Now question B is the big one. Here is the most important question in the universe. But what about you? Who do you, you say that I am? Who do you say that I am? Not the gin pop. but who do you say that I am? And quickly Simon Peter said, oh, you are the Messiah, the son of the living God.

6:27 What an answer. I mean, that's the response. I want you to notice this section of scripture. You can write this down in your notes. Matthew 16, you've got a critical question, number one. Number two, you have a crucial response. And number three, you have a certain foundation. And we're going to find out about these things because we're going to understand several aspects about Jesus. Number one, his identity. Say that with me. Identity. Number two, his divinity. Say divinity with me. Divinity. And number three, his affinity and our affinity. Say affinity with me. That's the message. That's it. That's where I'm going. So when I hit the word affinity, you can start going, it's finally over.

7:20 He finally hit number three. Anyway, anyway, anyway. What about you? Who do you say that I am? Simon Peter answered, you're the Messiah, the son of the living God. Identity. See if I can write identity here. Man, I'm so high tech. I did did right is that it there we go is that it identity.

8:09 My wife loves jigsaw puzzles. Anybody like jigsaw puzzles here? I used to like them, but for some reason, I just don't really get into jigsaw puzzles anymore. But Lisa will buy the 5,000-piece jigsaw puzzle and the 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle. Last summer, she goes, Honey, look at this jigsaw puzzle. So I see it, and every piece is perfectly placed, but there was one that was missing. She said, Ed, did you steal that piece so you can be the one? I said, No, I didn't. I didn't. And then we looked at our mean Maltese. She's not mean. Lily is her name. And we discovered as we looked around that she had taken that missing piece, the centerpiece, and had chewed it up under one of our couches.

9:12 We did retrieve it, and we were able to bring it back to life, and we placed it there in the center of this jigsaw puzzle. Jesus, I want to tell you, is the center. He's the missing piece in your jigsaw puzzle. He's it. He's the missing piece. And we'll never understand our identity until we identify with him and realize he has totally, completely identified with us. And that's a powerful thing to think about. I'm not going to know myself until I know him because human beings are the only creatures made in the image of God. Jesus said, who do you say that I am?

10:10 And that's the question that he's lobbing your way out of love, out of compassion. Who do you say that I am? No matter where you find yourself, here, maybe you find yourself in the back row of the balcony, maybe you're in Dallas, maybe you're in Frisco, maybe you're at Fort Worth, maybe you're at Alasso Ranch. Jesus is asking, who do you say that I am? I can't surf in someone else's wake on this one. I can't say, well, hey, Jesus, my grandfather was a great man of God, which he was. Or man, my friend, or Lisa, she's a sold out believer, which she is. It's about me. It's about you. And I like the phrase as I was studying this, I am the name of God. You remember in Exodus chapter 3, verse 14, Moses said, God, who are you?

11:10 When people say, who is this God? And here's what God said, just tell them I am. I am that I am. It's the isness of God. It's the eternal nature of God. It's the fact that God is unchanging, ever-present, omnipotent, omniscient. God. It's like light. Light is. Well, God is. So Jesus said, who do you say that I am?

11:49 Well, did Jesus say he was God? Consider this. Before Abraham was, I am, he said. I am the bread of life. I am the light of the world. I am the door. I am the good shepherd. I am the resurrection and the life. I am the way, the truth, and the life. I am the true vine. And then he said, who do you say that I am? Fellowship Church is built around three chairs, right? The first chair would be those who are non-believers. If you're a non-believer, welcome. This is the perfect place to investigate the claims of Christ.

12:40 Chair two would be the newbie. So the non-believer, many non-believers, every Sunday, in fact, become followers of Christ. And they move from chair one to chair two. Chair three would be the New Testament believers. I like to call them full court followers of Christ. Chair one, Jesus is asking you, who do you say that I am? What's your answer? Chair two, okay, these people know Christ, their faith is fresh, and Jesus is asking, who do you say that I am, okay? You say Jesus is the Lord of your life, but you've heard it said before, if Jesus is not Lord of all, he can't be Lord at all.

13:40 and then if you're in chair three, who do you say that I am? The implications of that answer should affect everything you do. For example, when it comes to your work, you know what Jesus is asking? Who do you say that I am? Really, by the way you talk and act and deal with clients and customers, who do you say that I am? Only you can answer that question. How about your marriage? Jesus is looking at you. Who do you say that I am? Marriage is the only relationship that's analogous to God's relationship with his people. Who do you say that I am? how about as a student a single adult a young person who who do you say that i am that's what jesus is asking we recently embarked on this anchor center project and many of us many of us answer that question who do you say that i am by giving generously many sacrificially to make this 60,000 square foot building happen.

14:52 But. Others were strangely absent. Oh, you answered the question. Oh, yeah. Who do you say that I am? Who do you say that I am? Don't leave this place until you've given a definitive answer.

15:16 The identity, the identity of Jesus. I spent a couple of days in the Bahamas last week. I shared several meals with four entrepreneurs. and some of these guys are starting a company that just kind of blew my mind. They're calling it a self-sovereign digital identity company.

15:51 They said, you know, Google and AOL, they shouldn't own our information, which I agree. we should own it and they said Ed we're marrying your digital footprint along with everyone else's with AI and it will learn about you and it will know you they said better than you know yourself and they'll say even after you die your loved ones will be able to talk to you, you'll be able to make decisions and they said and you'll be able to invest money Thank you. what were they driving at? Identity.

16:37 Identity. When I went to the Bahamas, I had to have a passport. Am I going too fast? Because the passport validates who I am, and it enabled me to go and walk in the Bahamas. Also, I got back Friday night, and they let me back into the U.S. because of my passport.

17:04 I'm here to tell you, Jesus is the only valid passport for true life and eternity. He's it. And your passport and mine has been stamped by his blood. He spilled on the cross for your sins and mine, which is just amazing grace.

17:25 Have you identified with Jesus? Have you said, Lord, I totally surrender my life to you? Have you made that decision? Now let's look at the divinity. Because we have the identity, Jesus is saying, okay, who do you say that I am? Simon Peter answered, all right, you're the Messiah, the Son of God. Now the plot clots. Jesus replied, blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah, for this was not, uh-oh, here we go, revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. I could write here, Thank you.

18:28 divinity. So are you tracking with me? You have the identity of Jesus. Then as I said earlier, you also have his divinity. Jesus was not some extension of God. He is God. I've written what? 25 books. I own the copyright to all of my books. I've had some friends to copy my books. They don't own my books. That's just an extension of my copyright. What I'm trying to tell you is Jesus is the copyright. Jesus is God. And the Trinity, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, works in concert to bring someone to Christ.

19:27 Yeah, Simon Peter used his intellect, but what did Jesus say? This is huge. This was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. what's up with that when i close this service down in five minutes and 20 seconds i'm going to give you an opportunity to respond to the question who do you say that i am that's called the gospel call what's the gospel it's the death burial and resurrection of jesus christ several things are in play whenever i present the gospel a request. I'm requesting you, I can't make you, to respond to Christ. And you're going to respond either yes or no. I mean, you're going to do that. It's a general call and a specific call. A general call means it's out to everybody. I'm presenting the gospel. But the Bible says everyone will not be saved. Only God knows. Yet some will be saved, and that gives preachers confidence. It really does. So that's the request. Then you have the regeneration that's happening.

20:43 The regeneration is the power of the Holy Spirit as he prepares the soils of your life for Jesus. then you have repentance repentance is you turn from your sins you place your faith in christ but then lastly you have the response it is i'll say it again your free will i cannot make this decision for you it's up to you so i want you to know see this is a divine thing. It's not just like, okay, I intellectually understand this. Well, yeah, we have to use our intellect. God, though, is the one that orchestrates our salvation. It's God. It's God. that's cool divinity there's another one so you know i'm about done now don't you you're like i thought you'd never get there affinity man i am putting pressure on myself because i'm such a terrible speller fin i think i spelled everything right that's a miracle and I tell you now here's a here's a here's a big pivot here's a big pivot remember the first time Jesus ever asked his disciples who do you say there I am was right here secondly the first time Jesus ever used the word church is right here that's big I tell you that you're Peter and on this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. This is where our Catholic friends go off the reservation here. It's very important if you understand this. I tell you that you are Peter, okay? Greek word, Petros.

22:46 It's a little stone, a little rock. That's what it means. You're Peter, you're a little stone. And on this rock, here's where the Catholics get it wrong.

23:08 Petra. Petra is not a small rock. It's a big honking foundational rock. Think again about Caesarea Philippi. The church is not built on Simon Peter. He's fallen infallible. Simon Peter dissed Jesus like right after this. And the apostle Paul had to even correct him because doctrinally he kind of got off base. No, no, the church is built on the rock, Jesus Christ. And we are living stones. And the gates of hell will not prevail against it. And yes, we gather together and confess like Jesus wants us to. And like Simon Peter did, we confess, Jesus, you are Lord. You're the Messiah. You are the living God.

24:02 the identity of Jesus in him, the affinity of Jesus through him, affinity with Jesus. I mean, if we're believers, we're going to have affinity for what Jesus had affinity for. Sometimes people ask me this question. Hey, technically, Ed, can you be a Christian and not be involved in church? I'll go, yeah, but a disobedient one.

24:35 I mean, it's an oxymoron in a way. If you're a believer, you're going to have affinity for what Christ had affinity for. That would be like me going, man, I love golf, but I hate golf courses. What? No, I don't like country clubs or golf courses, but I love golf. And see, when we have these things in play, our whole lives will change. everything will change. who do you say? That's what Jesus is asking. Who do you say that I am? Would you pray? many here, God, need to answer that question.

25:35 And you can answer it by saying this. Just pray this prayer with me and talk to the Lord. Jesus, you are the Messiah, that you are the living God. And just keep on praying with me because just say, Lord, I have messed up. I've sinned. I have a lot of wrongdoing. in my life. I believe that you, Jesus, died on the cross for my sins, rose again, and I'm responding, Lord, to your grace. I ask you, Jesus, to come into my life. this is the most critical Q&A in history. Just respond, won't you? And ask Jesus to take control of your life.