Samuel Rodriguez - You Want Terrific? There Will Be Tension!
We began this series last week called, "Terrific tension". If you were here last week, raise your hand. If you got that message, raise both hands. "Terrific tension" it's and I need you to look at your neighbor and tell 'em: "It's gonna get tense, but the outcome will be terrific". Terrific: it's of great size and matter intensity. Tension: the state of being stretched tight. "Terrific Tension" speaks to a relational dynamic where you and God engage in authentic transparent tense exchanges with terrific outcomes. And how do we undergird this? With biblical narratives that reveal to us through the Spirit of God. Tense moments that Jesus had not with the enemies.
This entire series is not about Jesus versus the pharisees, and Jesus versus... No, it's Jesus having tense moments with his disciples and the people around him. And how these tense moments led to amazing, terrific outcomes. Here's a tense moment. Last week we did Jesus and his mama. Now we have Jesus and one of his disciples: one a the most prominent ones, Peter. Matthew 16, tense moment. Watch this, Matthew 16:13: "When Jesus came to the region, he asked his disciples, 'what do people say to the Son of Man is'"? "Who do they say I am? I wanna know what the world thinks about me," that's what he's asking. "'well,' they replied, 'some say your John the Baptist, some say you're Elijah, the others say your Jeremiah or one a the other prophets.' then he asked them, 'alright, more importantly who do you say I am? I just asked you what does the world think or who does the world think I am? But I wanna know who you think I am?'"
I wanna know whether or not there's a difference? You missed that I wanna know if there's a difference between who the world thinks I am and who my followers think I am. Because if there is no difference, we have a problem. That was the entire conversation. Who do you say I am? "And then Simon Peter answered", verse 16, classic verse, "You are," first person to ever declare this, "You are the Messiah". The son not of the dead God, not of the sleeping God, not of the absent God, not of the comatose God. You are the son of the? Son of the living God that's why we have a living church because we serve a living God. Jesus replied, "You are blessed," watch the order.
So, you just told me who I am, you confirmed it. I know who I am. The fact that you know it now I'mma tell you who you are. You missed that. You think you know who you are, but you don't know who you are until you first discover who I am. "You think your name is Simon Peter blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, oh you don't even know who you are. You know who you are until you discover me. Now that you know who I am, and you confessed it. Let me tell you who you are, you are blessed. Simon son of John because my father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being. Now I say to you, let me tell you who you really are. 'you are Peter,'" which means the rock. No longer just Simon says, Simons says. It's Peter, "Which means rock, 'and upon this rock,'" the declaration that came outta your mouth, the revelation you just uttered, "I will build my church".
The church that worshipped in Ukraine today in the middle of missiles and bombs, I will build my church. The church that's still alive in China. The church alive in Russia. The church alive in California. The church alive in Latin America. The church alive in Africa. The church alive in Australia. The church that survived COVID. The church that survives missiles. The church that survived Genghis Khan and survived communism, that survived Lenin, that survived Hitler. The church that survives everything. Why? Because Jesus said, "The gates of hell shall never prevail against," wooh! Here it is, "And all the powers of hell will not conquer it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven and whatever you forbid on earth, whatever you make illegal on earth will be illegal in heaven. And whatever you make legal on earth will be legal in heaven".
He gave us the authority, the church! We are the legislative body. That's what we, for us to permit, ah, boy! This is, we have spiritual authority. Oh, man. "From then on Jesus began to tell his disciples plainly that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem. He would suffer many terrible things. And the teachers will betray him, that he would be killed, on the third day he would be raised from the dead. But then Peter took him," this is the wild part. Peter and him just had a great... Right? You're? Who? You are the... Aha! Then you are... It was like a mutual love fest. "You are," and Jesus went, "No, you are". Cute moment, right? And then the same Peter, the same, yeah, the same Peter when Jesus said, "And guys, now that you all know who I am. I'm gonna die".
And then this is where the funniest and yet strangest scriptures you can read. "But Peter took Jesus aside," watch this I'm not making this up I'm reading it verbatim, "And he began to reprimand him". What's wrong with that picture? Peter took Jesus and began to what? That's the problem. "Jesus, let me put you right: let me correct you". Reprimanding Jesus never works. "'heaven forbid, Lord, this will never happen to you'. Jesus turned to Peter and said, 'get away, get behind me Satan'". But you guys were almost holding hands, and now you look at the guy and you call him, you just called him, "The rock, the blessed, you're the blessed, you're the rock, you're the mack daddy mack. You're the who-ha-ha-huh".
And then just a couple a scriptures down you called him who? "Satan, you are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view". This right here, real quick. We're gonna go to this real quick. Number one, if you want terrific answer the hard question, who is Jesus to you? If you want terrific you have to answer the hard question, who is Jesus to you? Jesus, he said, "Who does the world say I am? Who do you say I am"? He wasn't asking for an update on his influence metric. He was not inquiring on how many followers he had on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or YouTube.
Jesus was not interested in acquiring a metrics confirmation as it pertains to influence and marketability status. Jesus with great intentionality submitted two questions for the purpose of his disciples becoming fully aware and immersed in the revelation of Christ. In other words, I want you to publicly and collectively tell me for the purpose of informing yourself. In order for us to make a distinction. I wanna know whether or not the world sees me the way you see me. "Who does the world say I am"? And after you give me that answer I will proceed to ask you the most important question. Who do you?
There must be a difference between the way the world sees Jesus. Because if the people that don't follow Jesus see Jesus the same identical way that the church sees Jesus, we have a problem. How do you my followers who spend time with me? How do you who pray with me? How do you who walk with me? How do you who perform miracles with me? You who experience the glory with me. Who saw the impossible with me? You healed the sick with me. You cast out devils with me, you shifted atmosphere with me. Who do you say I am? The world will never discover the true meaning of Christ until the church embraces the fullness of Christ.
Let me repeat that. The world will never discover what the followers of Christ have until, the world will never discover, oh, until the church of God truly has a clear definition of who Jesus is. It's time for us in our trials and testimonies, our postings and our prayers, our actions and our reactions are living in our forgiving. We have to answer the question that Jesus asked his disciples 2.000 years ago. Who do you say Jesus is? Because when we know they will know. When we get the revelation, they will experience redemption and the world may very well describe Jesus as and I know this this is not like hype. Anecdotally, all you gotta do is Wikipedia Google who is Jesus?
Here are some of the answers. Jesus is a revolutionary, a Philosopher. This is Google's response to who is Jesus. What does the world think? Who does the world think Jesus is? Because we need to get it right for the world to get it right. That's the order and there has to be a difference. The world may very well describe Jesus as a revolutionary, a Philosopher, a social justice advocate, an ideologue, a cultural reformer, a societal architect, a spiritual innovator. I have seen university scholars, theologians, Philosophers, and influencers, with no ill intention by the way, no ill intention, place Jesus amongst the list of historical figures as to say they all somehow occupy the same space.
I have seen Jesus placed right next to Gandhi. I have seen Jesus placed next to Buddha. I have seen Jesus placed next Muhammad and I don't mean Muhammad Ali. I have seen Jesus placed next to George Washington, Google it, and even Martin Luther King Jr. But with great due difference and biblically substantiating humility I must with clarity and conviction declare this morning the following: Jesus is on a list all by himself. I said Jesus is on a list all by himself because only Jesus was born to a virgin, only Jesus lived a sinless life, only Jesus died on the cross, shed his blood, forgave our sins, gave us eternal life. Only Jesus resurrected on the third day and only Jesus is coming back for us. Somebody praise if you serve that Jesus: if you serve that God.
Who is Jesus? So, ask your neighbor: who is Jesus? Ask the other neighbor the one that doesn't wanna answer. Who is Jesus? Let me tell you who is Jesus. I sense the Lord here. Jesus is the Almighty one. Somebody say: amen. Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega. Jesus is the advocate. Jesus is the Author and the Finisher of our faith. Jesus is the Authority, the Bread of Life, the beloved Son of God. He is the Bridegroom. The Chief Cornerstone, the Deliverer. The Bible says he's faithful and true. He is the Good Shepherd. He is the Great High Priest, the Head of the Church, the Holy Servant. He is the I am. He is Emmanuel. The Bible says he is the indescribable gift.
That's my favorite right there. He is the Judge. He is the King of kings, the Lamb of God, the Light of the World. The Lion of the tribe of Judah. The Lord of all. The mediator, the Messiah, the mighty one. The one who sets us free. He is our hope, our peace. The Prophet, the Redeemer, the Risen Lord, the Rock, the Savior, the Son of Man, Son of the Most High. Supreme Creator, the Resurrection, the Door, the Way, the Word, the Vine, the truth, the Victorious one. Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. He is the Son of the Living God.
Somebody shout. If that's the Jesus you serve raise your hands. That's who we serve, y'all. You missed it, that's our God. No, no that's our God. He's on a list all... I said he's on a list... He's on a list... He's on a list. I feel the glory of God he's on a list. He's on a list! You want terrific? Let God define you. Number two, here. The moment, so let me tell, who's Jesus? That's who Jesus is. Alright, so you say I'm the son of the... Yeah, you're right. Boom, you win family feud. You got this. "So, let me tell you who you are. You are blessed Simon son of John. From this moment on you are Peter which means rock".
Jesus in essence is stating the following, "You told me who I am so let me tell you who you are". The moment you discover who I am you will discover who you truly are. You will never know who you are unless you first discover who God is. Always understand that you will never know who you are unless you know who Jesus is. The moment you discover Jesus is the moment you discover your destiny. The moment you discover Jesus you unpack your dream. The moment you discover Jesus you discover your assignment, you discover your calling, your purpose. "You are the rock," in other words, your declaration is solid. You missed that.
Jesus says, "You're the rock, your declaration is solid. Your declaration is permanent. Your declaration cannot be moved. Your declaration is not fluid: it is eternal. It is a constant. The words that came outta your mouth unleashed a permanent designation. The words that came out of your mouth just defined you forever. The words that come outta your mouth provoke me to give you even a new name. The words that came outta your mouth activated your future. What you just said, Peter, changed everything".
In other words, starting today and from this moment on because you know who I am, this is for you, for me for all of us streaming. We, you, are not the byproduct of what others did to you. You are not the byproduct of what you did to others or what you did to yourself. You! The moment you know who Jesus is, you are not the heir to a multi-generational curse. You are not abandoned, you are not broke, busted, or disgusted. You are not hopeless, and you are not fatherless. You are who Jesus is for you. Jesus is saying, "I am, you are who I am for you. You are what I did for you. You are what I paid for you. You are what I died for. You are what I will resurrect for you are who I'm coming back for. You are a child of God", raise your hand, "That's who you are Peter".
John 1:12: "You are a friend of God". John 15:14: "You are the temple of God's spirit". 1 Corinthians 3:16 I love that, and upon this rock and the powers of hell will not conquer it. Final point, point three. You want terrific? Put hell behind you. Let me show you the moment. "Let me put you aside, Jesus. I wanna talk to you". First of all, don't ever kick off your conversation like this, "Jesus you're wrong". Just, I don't know why but I think this conversation is not gonna be. The problem is, what did Jesus just declare about Peter? What did he call him? He called him what? Peter you are the what? The rock. Maybe Peter became a little bit too presumptuous. Maybe Peter took the title a little bit too personal.
"Oh, I'm the rock? Well, because I'm the rock let me put you to the side and correct you". "Hey you, I said you're the rock but I'm still the living stone". Y'all missed that. "You may be the rock, but I'm the Creator of the rock: I forged the rock. I make the rock. I construct the rock. I can take that rock and make it into a bunch a pebbles. So, even though I called you a rock, the church is still the church, but I'm the head of the church. I'm the chief Cornerstone". Ephesians 2:20 are you with me right now? So, and then he tells him and this is real controversial 'cause a lot of people go, "How can Jesus one time, one moment call him the rock and the next moment call him Satan"?
It sounds like some of our relationships. No? Too soon? Is that too much? Should I wait? Should I go back on that? You never had somebody in your life for one moment you're going, "You're the best". The next moment, "You're the devil"! No? That never happened? No, no? Not that kinda church? Alright, I'm just saying. Anybody here married? Yeah, alright, so he's not saying, I wanna be clear here. He tells him, "Satan". I wanna clarify this. He's not saying Peter became Satan. Jesus is not saying, "Peter, from now on you are Satan incarnate". He's not even calling him he's not even saying, "Peter, you are the devil". No, that's why you gotta go deep in the weeds. That's why exegetical, expository preaching is critical. Full context. He's not saying, "Peter is forevermore and a devil". This is what he's saying verbatim. Jesus is saying, "What you just said is humanistic". Read it. "What you just said came from a human point of view".
Pastor Elijah, he didn't even say what you just said came from hell. It came from your humanity. Read it. But your humanity when it's out of alignment with divinity may very well come from hell. Y'all didn't get that. You gon' get that tomorrow morning. You gon' get that tomorrow morning. Some a the stuff we do we go, "Oh, that's not really, really, really bad". But God says, "Oh, it may not be on the super hell scale, but if it's not glorifying me, if it's not magnifying me, if it's not advancing my kingdom it might as well come from the pit of hell. Because it's still holding back your destiny". I gotta lay it right now.
So, then Jesus looked and said, "I interpret your humanistic declaration as one coming from the pit of hell. Therefore," he says, "Therefore what you just said, 'get behind me'". You missed that. Three words: get behind me. I need you to repeat after and say: get behind me. I need every person here and every person streaming to absorb these words. Once you know who Jesus is, once you know who you are in Christ then you have the power out of your mouth to use those three words in every circumstance. Get behind me. What does that mean? Jesus looks at Peter after a humanistic declaration that read counter to the Messiah's purpose. And without hesitation he utter these words, "Satan, get behind me".
In other words, those words will not define me. Those words will not deter me. Those words will not defeat me. Get behind me. Do not permit anything that runs counter to your God-ordained purpose to go in front of you. Hey! Do not permit anything that runs counter to God's purpose in your life to occupy your future. I dare you to lift up your hands and I need you to look at the lie before you and shout those words. Get behind me! I need you to look at that sickness and say: get behind me. I need you to speak to the depressing thoughts that are trying to occupy your mind and say get behind me.
Lift up your hands. I need you to speak to every single lie of the enemy. Everything that's come against you, your faith, your family, your future, your health, your destiny, your calling, your purpose. And open up your mouth this Sunday morning and those three words come out right now. When I count to three I want you to say them with the authority of Jesus in you. I want you to use the same identical words and say wait a second you're not gonna occupy my future. You're not gonna be in front of me. I'm not gonna wake up tomorrow morning and have you as my first thought. I'm not gonna look on my phone and see you as my first thing I read. You're not my first swipe. You're not my first look at. No, no, no. You're going behind me. You're always gon' be behind me never in front of me. I don't care...
I sense the Lord. I don't care what report what the enemy's lies, even things that you create yourself at the count of three I want you to shout: get behind me. Ready? One, two, three. Somebody praise like it's already behind you. Somebody worship like that, somebody act like that thing is no longer in front of you. Somebody say get behind me! Get behind me! The shame is behind you the brokenness is behind you. The hell you went through in your past is behind you. That failed relationship is not in front of you that failed relationship is where? It's behind you.
Stand with me. Those that are not standing. Get behind me. That terrific moment of tension and then the very next thing is Peter and Jesus are back with his disciples walking together changing the world. Because without that rebuke Peter would've been unhinged. Peter was always a little bit unhinged. Everything changed, true story. Everything changed in Peter's life in acts chapter two when he was, Holy Spirit, boom! Woah. It's like, awe, everything changed. But I love this. Even the concept of "Get behind me". Jesus looks at him and says, "What you just said about me will not be in front of me".
Sometimes we wake up in the morning and the first thought is the negative thing we're going through and what we're fighting. So, it's not behind you it's in front of you. Stuff from the past, it's in front of you not behind you. No, no, no. I love the words. What you just said, I'm not gonna let it occupy my future. Behind me.
Heavenly Father, today, you gave me this word of terrific tension. You gave me this word for this amazing church, by the power of Your Spirit, to do one thing you asked a question "Do you want terrific?" that's what your Holy Spirit is asking now.
Everyone streaming, everyone here, everyone watching around the world, you want terrific? You really want terrific? Answer the hard question. Who is Jesus to you? You want terrific? Let God define you. You want terrific? Put everything that runs counter to the word, the will of God in your life, behind you. God will make sure it never gets in front of you again. If you know who he is and who you are in him. So father right...