From Accurate to Adequate: Confessing Christ with Humility

And I think that we can agree that there is a difference between being a citizen of something or a member of something and an active citizen or an active member or a law abiding citizen of a community or of our country. Take United States, for example. You can live here. No doubt about it. You can live here and be a citizen and not obey the laws. You can totally do that. [00:29:31] (34 seconds)

And I think that we can agree that there is a difference between being a citizen of something or a member of something and an active citizen or an active member or a law abiding citizen of a community or of our country. Take United States, for example. You can live here. No doubt about it. You can live here and be a citizen and not obey the laws. You can totally do that. [00:29:31] (34 seconds)  #LiveOutYourFaith

But you have to remember that in this time, the disciples had this preconceived idea of who the Messiah would be. The Messiah, for them, would be the one to come and release them from captivity of Rome. The Messiah would be someone who would come and release them, and then they would rise up and reign with the Messiah over everyone. They would be the elite group of people. [00:40:29] (28 seconds)

But you have to remember that in this time, the disciples had this preconceived idea of who the Messiah would be. The Messiah, for them, would be the one to come and release them from captivity of Rome. The Messiah would be someone who would come and release them, and then they would rise up and reign with the Messiah over everyone. They would be the elite group of people. [00:40:29] (28 seconds)  #FocusOnJesusNotPower

Jesus speaking about this because there's a purpose to it. Hey, the Messiah is here. I am the Messiah. Good job, Peter. You you that's a great confession. But do you know what it really means? Here's what it means to be the Messiah. I'm the one who's come to suffer many things. I'm the one who's come to be rejected by the elders and the chief priests. I'm the one who has come to to die, to be killed. [00:42:08] (30 seconds)  #MessiahWillSuffer

I think a lot of times we we've taken out of context what take up your cross actually means. I've heard it before that I've heard a wife say it before about a husband who loves football and hangs out in his garage all the time, and she says, oh, he's just my cross to bear. I'm pretty sure you've probably heard someone say that before, and if you're looking at each other right now at home, stop doing that. [00:43:19] (26 seconds)

I think a lot of times we we've taken out of context what take up your cross actually means. I've heard it before that I've heard a wife say it before about a husband who loves football and hangs out in his garage all the time, and she says, oh, he's just my cross to bear. I'm pretty sure you've probably heard someone say that before, and if you're looking at each other right now at home, stop doing that. [00:43:19] (26 seconds)

We have to realize what the cross really is. It's an execution device. It's a means of punishment and death. And what Jesus is saying here is if you want to be my disciple, number one, deny yourself. Deny yourself of your agenda, your wants, your desires, and pick up your cross daily. [00:44:02] (31 seconds)

We have to realize what the cross really is. It's an execution device. It's a means of punishment and death. And what Jesus is saying here is if you want to be my disciple, number one, deny yourself. Deny yourself of your agenda, your wants, your desires, and pick up your cross daily. [00:44:02] (31 seconds)  #PickUpYourCrossDaily

The Romans would have prisoners. They'd have people that they're about to crucify carry their own cross. We know our savior did that and carried it all the way up to Golgotha. And what Jesus is saying is, pick up your cross and follow me to Golgotha and die with me. Not in the sense that you should be a martyr, but in a sense that your agenda and your wants and your desires will now be second to following Christ. [00:44:33] (32 seconds)  #FollowingMeansSacrifice

Follow me. What's it mean to follow? It means to deny yourself. It means to take up the cross. It means to daily pick up this cross and follow him. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. Our adequate confession that you and I are able to make now because because we have all the details. [00:45:06] (30 seconds)  #ExpectationsOfTheMessiah

Follow me. What's it mean to follow? It means to deny yourself. It means to take up the cross. It means to daily pick up this cross and follow him. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. Our adequate confession that you and I are able to make now because because we have all the details. [00:45:06] (30 seconds)

But our adequate confession should, will, absolutely must produce radical change in our life. And what does radical change look like? Well, it looks like living unlike the world. It looks like being in the world, but not of the world. Radical change means that you're second, and he's first. Radical change is in your marriage, you out serve one another. [00:46:41] (31 seconds)  #RadicalLifeChange

But our adequate confession should, will, absolutely must produce radical change in our life. And what does radical change look like? Well, it looks like living unlike the world. It looks like being in the world, but not of the world. Radical change means that you're second, and he's first. Radical change is in your marriage, you out serve one another. [00:46:41] (31 seconds)

But it should also, must also, will also, you can believe it will as a guarantee that when you confess it and you believe it, you know, when we baptize someone, it's absolutely convinced. When you're convinced, it's not just I spoke it and okay, cool. I think it's real. No. It's you're absolutely convinced. That means every bit of your life now changes because of that revelation that you've had, and it has to lead to radical change in our life. [00:47:52] (31 seconds)  #FulfillLawAndProphets

And what Jesus is is showing those three, Peter, James, and John in this moment, is that he is about to fulfill the law and the prophets. They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment. Jesus is showing something to those three that is undeniable. Listen. You made a confession about me. Yes. You're accurate. But it needs to be an appropriate enough confession of who I am, an adequate confession, and you need to know what it really means that I am God's Messiah. [00:50:16] (47 seconds)  #BindUpTheBrokenhearted

And what Jesus is is showing those three, Peter, James, and John in this moment, is that he is about to fulfill the law and the prophets. They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment. Jesus is showing something to those three that is undeniable. Listen. You made a confession about me. Yes. You're accurate. But it needs to be an appropriate enough confession of who I am, an adequate confession, and you need to know what it really means that I am God's Messiah. [00:50:16] (47 seconds)

Our adequate confession of Christ is grounded in what we just saw right there. The certainty of who Jesus is. The certainty of who he is. He is the Christ. He is the Messiah, and we watch that scene play out as if and if we were there, I wonder what we would think. And I I know that now I can read that, and I can think, I would believe with every bit of who I am that he's not just God's messiah. He is God himself. [00:54:32] (38 seconds)  #ChristIsLord

This isn't this isn't like like the world would say, if you're not first, you're last. Right? This is whoever is least among you, whoever serves the most, whoever gives the most, whoever whoever lifts up and exalts and encourages the most, that's the person who's gonna be greatest. We all know someone in our life that's just like that, that they just spend every moment of their life serving and serving and serving. And I would encourage you to model your life after that, that the least among you will be the greatest. [01:06:15] (34 seconds)  #LeastBecomesGreatest

He tells us he came to give life and life more abundant, life to the most. What does life to the most, life more abundant look like? Deny yourself. Humble yourself. Clothe yourself in humility. Shoulder your cross daily and follow him and experience the life that Christ has for you, that radical experience of life. [01:09:29] (29 seconds)  #LifeMoreAbundant