← ArchiveLuke (That you may know)Sunday, March 6, 2016DateMarch 6, 2016Speaker—TextLuke 9Passages in this sermonLuke 90:07Luke 3:2115:48Luke 515:58Luke 6:1216:04TranscriptMachine transcribed. Click any line to jump there.0:00Take me to the King. If you have your copy of God's Word this morning, please join me in Luke chapter 9. Luke chapter 9. We are continuing to walk through the Gospel of Luke with this question at the forefront of our hearts and our minds that you may know. So today the question that God's Word puts in front of us is this, who do you say I am?0:26Who do you say I am? That's a question that Jesus Christ asked His disciples thousands of years ago, and that's a question that Jesus continues to ask of us today. Who do you say that Jesus is? And I began to ask myself, well, where do we find the answer to this? So let's read0:53God's Word first, and then we will look together at what the crowds say, and that will give us some perspective here. Luke 9 verse 18, "And it happened as He," that's Jesus, "was alone praying, that His disciples joined Him. And He asked them saying, 'Who do the crowds say that I am?"1:17Who do the crowds say that I am?" So let's pause there. If God were to ask us today, "Who do the crowds say that I am?" Where would we find that answer? You could go to your neighbor, you could go to churches. And I began to think about this and ask myself, well, Lord, I know who you are, but who do the crowds say? And I think, really, in our lives,1:44the best place for us to understand what our culture says and thinks about God is to look at the music we listen to. Some of you are thinking, this is not going to go well. So in 2004, I want to read you these lyrics from a song, very popular on the radio. This is not an indictment against any of these songs. This is answering the question, "Lord, who do the crowds say that you are?"2:07Jesus, take the wheel, take it from my hands, because I don't do this on my own. I'm letting go, so give me one more chance. Save me from this road I'm on. Jesus, take the wheel. I'm sorry for the way I have been living my life. I know I have to change.2:33I've seen some of you drive. And I wish the Lord would take the wheel from you. But what does this popular song teach us about what our world and our crowds believe about our Savior? Well, if you read the rest of the song, it's really, there's this lady that's on a road and she's in a,3:00I think the road's iced over in this dangerous situation. So she prays, "Lord, take the wheel." And what this song is insinuating for us is, "Lord, I'm sorry. I'm in danger. I need to pray. Save me." Now, often the crowd doesn't teach us the wrong thing. They just teach us the incomplete thing about Jesus. We're gonna see that in Scripture. Who does the crowd say, "I am?"3:30The disciples say, "Well, some say you're John the Baptist. Some say you're Elijah. Some say you're a prophet." That's not necessarily a wrong picture of Jesus. It's an incomplete picture. And if we're worshiping an incomplete picture of Jesus, we're not worshiping Jesus Christ. We're worshiping another God. And so from this song teaches us, well, Jesus is someone when we're in trouble, we can just pray, "Lord, help me now." And when we're in trouble, Jesus Christ will meet us at our knees. That is true.4:00But that's not all. That's not all. 2004. Do not go home and Google the rest of this song. I'm serious. "God, show me the way because the devil's trying to break me down. Jesus walks with me. The only thing that I pray is that my feet don't fail me now. I want Jesus. Jesus walks.4:19I don't think there is nothing I can do to right my wrongs. Jesus walks with me. I want to talk to God, but I'm afraid because we ain't spoke in so long. I want Jesus. 2004, very popular song on the rap stations. Teaches us, Lord, I need help. I can't do this. The devil is trying to stop whatever I want to do. So Lord, help me.4:47This is by the same artist though that in one of his CD covers has a picture of himself with the crown of thorns and blood coming down his face. Teaches us, "Lord, help me because I'm trying to make my life." That is a very wrong picture of Jesus. The crowds get it wrong.5:072011. Again, these are not necessarily indictments on these songs. "All the crazy in my dreams, both my broken wings, every single piece of everything I am. She knows the man I ain't. She forgives me when I can't. The devil man, he don't stand a chance, because she loves me like Jesus does."5:25I just want to say this. There is no person that will love you like Jesus does. I love my kids unconditionally, but my love is a poor shadow of what Jesus, the way he loves them.5:52What does the crowd say? There you go. Jesus loves us unconditionally. He does, but we cannot love in that way. For some of you who don't know any of those songs, here's yours. Jesus is just alright with me. Jesus is just alright with me. Jesus is just alright. Oh yeah. Jesus is just alright with me. Jesus is just alright.6:21I don't care what they may say. I don't care what they may do. I don't care what they may say. Jesus is just alright. Oh yeah. Jesus is just alright. That actually was a song by a gospel group, who was later covered by the birds, who was later covered by the Doobie Brothers. That's interesting in itself. But the theme of that song is, well, if Jesus is cool with me, then I'm cool with him and we'll all be cool together.6:42That is not righteousness. And you say, well, why do you bring those lyrics up? Because that is what the crowd says about God. And I would even venture to guess. I love that song that we just heard.7:09Lord, no religion. Just take me to the throne. Leave me there alone. Lord, take me there to the king. And if we're not careful, we believe as church people what we hear on the radio. And so if we're not careful, sometimes what we hear and think about Jesus is actually what the crowds think. And I just want to leave you with this. If you are a part of the crowd today, the crowd at best will only give you an incomplete picture of Jesus.7:32She loves me like Jesus. She can try. I'm in trouble. So let me pray and he will hear you. But there is so much more to our savior. Be wary of the crowd. So let's pick back up in God's word, verse 19. What does the crowd say?8:00This is what they said. Some answered and they said, well, John the Baptist. Some say Elijah and others say this, that you are the prophets of old that has risen again. And Wednesday night I had people ask me, well, did someone come back to life? Well, rumor was John the Baptist is dead at this point. And rumor was that Jesus was so powerful in his preaching that John the Baptist had raised again and was terrorizing the sin of the emperor, of the leaders.8:29Of the leaders. No, that was the Holy Spirit. Because that's what the Holy Spirit does in our life. He terrorizes our sin. And then verse 20. But he said to them, who do you say that I am? And thank God for this man. Peter answered and said, you are the Christ of God.8:59Let's pray. Father, the crowd say many things about you. Lord, and what should strike terror in our heart right now is that we are here gathered today as a crowd to worship your name. But Father, may we not think ever that because we're part of the church crowd that we know you.9:24Because Lord, I still have to answer the question personally. Who do I say that you are? Father, may we be able to answer that question with boldness and with truth that you are the Son of God. You are the only way. You are the only name under heaven by which we can be saved.9:50You are the only one that gives us hope. You are the long expected Messiah. You are the one we have been waiting for. Lord, you are the one that gives us life and life more abundant. Father, I pray that if there is someone here this morning that is part of the crowd, that you will show them that you want a deeper, intimate, personal relationship.10:08Lord, I pray that today they will step out of the crowd and step into the loving arms of their Savior who died for them. Father, mold us, conform us to your will. Lord, bring us to the throne. Leave us there. And I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen and amen.10:36Amen. Well, I have three questions for you this morning. Jesus asked two, who do the crowd say that I am? Second question is, who do you say that I am? But the first question I want to begin with is, are you drawing near to Christ? Are you drawing near to him? And you say, well, pastor, I don't see that question anywhere. Well, I kind of made it up, but it's there. Look at verse 18. And it happened as he was alone praying.11:01So who is Jesus alone from? Well, he was alone, he was away from the crowds. And if you go home later this afternoon and read the preceding section of Scripture, this is where Jesus feeds the 5,000, this large crowd. And now Jesus is worn out and he withdraws and has time alone to pray. And while Jesus is alone praying, look what happens here in verse 18.11:29He's alone praying and his disciples did what? His disciples joined him. Now, we don't know if they were invited into that. We don't know if they just showed up unannounced. But there's no rebuke here by Jesus. So the implication is that Jesus is spending time away with his heavenly Father. And yet, even in that moment, in that personal, intimate moment, Jesus welcomes us to draw near.11:57For those that have been here the last several weeks, you will not forget, hopefully, that what does Jesus welcome us and call us to do? He takes fishers of fish and calls us to do what? Fish for men. And what is the champion call in the disciples' life? Come, follow me. And that is a call that still is addressed in our life.12:26So are you drawing near to Jesus Christ? Do you know that in every major event in Christ's life that he is caught praying before that event? Think about that. Every major significant event in the life of our Savior, he is praying. Now, that raises a question. Does Jesus only pray before major events?12:54Because here's something that Jesus has that we don't. Jesus knows. So you and I, we don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. I go in hospitals often. People don't know if there's going to be a wreck that's going to lead them to a hospital. People don't know if there's going to be a fall that leads to a diagnosis of cancer. People don't know that they're going to pass out at work tomorrow and have issues with their neck, and they go in and have to have open heart surgery.13:18We don't know major events in our life. So what should we do? We should live a life of prayer. Because if you and I, as the Bible say, if we are praying without ceasing, if I am living that attitude of prayer in my life, then no matter what happens tomorrow, I'm prayed up. And we struggle with that because we tend to be 911 prayers, don't we?13:46We tend to be people that say, Lord, take the wheel because I am spinning. Instead of saying, Lord, I know I kind of have it on cruise control right now. Things are going good, but I still want to seek your will. I want to seek you. I want to have the attitude of prayer. And we see that modeled by Jesus Christ. Jesus is, He's fed all these people. And there's so much left over, by the way, verse 17, that there are 12 baskets of leftovers.14:15Now think about that. How many disciples do we have? 12. There are enough left over for even those disciples. And Jesus is praying in that. So I ask you, do you have an attitude of prayer? Is your first reaction to everything in your life, Lord, thank you. Because if we're not careful, we take this for granted that God has given us.14:42I have the privilege of being around a lot of people that are a lot older than I am. 70s, 80s, some 90s. And they remind me constantly that when they wake up, it's a blessing. And I used to think, you know what, man, these old people. I take it for granted that I wake up every day.15:08And then I realized, you know, yesterday it was warm. It was beautiful weather. I said, Lord, I'm just going to put on a sermon. I'm going to run. And I woke up today with a little soreness in my leg. And you know what God reminded me of? Josh, your health is not, it is not of you. It is not of your might. It is a gift from your creator. Thank me for it. That's not an old person prayer.15:35That is a everyday prayer. Are we living in attitudes of prayer? Our savior models this. Luke 3:21. When Jesus was getting baptized, it came to pass that he prayed and the heavens were opened. During his baptism. Luke 5. So he himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed. Luke 6:12.16:04Luke 6:12. Now it came to pass in those days, he went out to the mountain to pray and continued all night in prayer to God. This is right before he chose the 12 disciples. Jesus lived in an attitude of prayer and he invites us, he draws us into that relationship with him. How? Through prayer. Lord, teach us how to pray. And Jesus didn't say, you foolish disciples. You should know. You've watched me pray.16:32When we ask Lord, how do we pray? He teaches us our father who is in heaven, Lord, blessed be your name. That sounds familiar. We sing that song. Your kingdom come, your will be done, Lord, on earth as it is in heaven. Are you living a life of prayer? And do your prayers draw you to the throne of God? Because if we're not careful, we become 911 prayers.16:58Lord, it's me again, I need this. I'm in trouble. My legs are sore. Lord, my car's spinning. Father, I'm in difficulty. Instead of saying, Lord, blessed be your name. Lord, thank you that I get to come to your throne. And I find this, the closer I get to the throne of God, the more I forget about my little life. And the closer I get to the throne of God, the more my life looks like my Savior.17:27Are you drawing close in prayer? You say, well, pastor, no one prays like they should. That's right. Work at it. Prayer is work. Prayer is work. You say, I have all these degrees from seminary and that doesn't give me, they didn't give me a degree that said this is, you know, you're a professional prayer now. They don't. So I'll be praying and you hear babies crying in our house and you hear dogs doing crazy things and you hear cars go by.17:54And if you're like me, then the first thing that our heart and minds want to do, they want to deflect to something else. And God says, Josh, come back in, focus in, pray, live your life in a way that draws you to me. He invites you in. Are you drawing in prayer? But not only are you drawing close to prayer, are you drawing close in private?18:20Are you drawing close in private? Look at verse 18. And it happened as he was alone in prayer. Now, don't you think that Jesus could pray in a group? If anyone can pray in a group, it would be Jesus. So what is Jesus showing us about alone time with our heavenly father? That we need it, that we can only grow so much in this group.18:49We'll say, well, pastor, you tell me I don't need to come to church. You don't need to come to worship. No. But if the only growth that you get in your life as a Christian is here, you're missing out. You have an incomplete picture. You say, well, I don't know about that. Look at verse 18. Jesus shows us he was alone praying.19:15Quick illustration to make this point. Those of you who are married, you'll get this. My wife and I dated long distance for two years-ish. And then we got married and we had to figure out how to live, like do life together. Because we were more comfortable on the phone talking than doing life. And we used to group date. And if you are in a dating relationship, if you're courting, group dates are a blessing.19:43Protect yourself. Set boundaries. But there came a day, thank God, that a husband, a man should leave his father's house. And a wife should leave her father's house. And we got married. And we said, we don't have to do this group thing anymore. Because I want to spend alone time with my wife. I want to get to know her. I want to grow with her personally. And for Valentine's, we got to drop our kids off here.20:12Because we kind of live life group dating again. They're called children. And so we had this nice romantic dinner plans. We're going to go to Cheesecake Factory. And we spend 30 minutes in traffic. We're like, Lord, we're in love. We don't care. And so we get to the Cheesecake Factory. We see the line. And you know what we do?20:40The line is about 20 deep to get into the restaurant. This is at 6 o'clock. We look at each other and say, oh, no. Oh, no. This ain't happening. And we start listing restaurants. We're like, we don't care at this point. McDonald's. We're alone. Chick-fil-A. Really. Because we get to spend time together alone. We get to grow. And that's the same way as it is with our Savior. That alone time is to be treasured.21:08Fight for alone time with your Savior. You grow greatly in private. You grow faster in your closet when no one is watching you with your Savior than you ever will here in these views. And this is a church I love dearly. But you will grow more in God's Word around your dinner table than you will where you sit right now. Spend time with the Savior. Why?21:37Why? Because He welcomes you in. And look at this, verse 18. It was during this alone time where He was praying, where they were in private, that Jesus asked the question, "Who do you say that I am?" And it's in these times of alone that Jesus can press on your heart. If you're like me, it's been in those moments where I've been one-on-one with God, where Jesus pokes my heart and says, "Look, I need you to address this, Pastor."22:03Spend time alone with God that He can press on you, that He can mold you in His will. Because if you're not willing to spend alone time with God, maybe there's a reason. Maybe you don't know Him and you're scared. Because you don't want to address Him face to face. Maybe you don't want to answer that question, "Who do you say that I am?" He welcomes you in.22:33Are you drawing near to the Savior? Second question is this, "Who do the crowd say that I am?" Who do the crowd say? We've already addressed that in our culture, but why is this important? It's important for verse 17's reason. Verse 17 says this, "They all ate and they were filled." That means these are the first Baptists in the history of the world. They ate and they were filled. "And 12 of them, 12 baskets were left over, fragments were taken up."23:05Now look at verse 18 again. "And it happened as He was already alone praying." Now you say, "Well, why are you going back and forth to that verse?" Back and forth. Let me ask you this question. Where were the crowds in verse 18? Because how much time has passed in one verse? The crowds that had their stomachs filled, where are they now? Here's what we find out about the crowds.23:34Once the crowd has their belly full, they go home. They go home. Be careful what the crowd tells you. "Lord, help me. I'm in trouble." Okay, I'm glad that's over with. That's a crowd's response to the Savior. "Lord, fill me. I'm hungry. Lord, I'm hungry. Lord, I'm hungry. Lord, I'm hungry." And when their stomach's full, where are they?24:02And before we point fingers and say, "I can't believe those people." Something I hear in churches often. "Well, pastor, I'm just not being fed." As if it's only about my appetite. Now, there are times where you are not getting fed like you should. And that is because there is false teaching that is tickling your ears but leaves your stomach empty.24:30But there are times, and my wife will tell you this. We have two little ones. There are times they're not hungry, or that they are hungry, not because they have food on their plate, but because when we try to feed them, they close their mouth. And there are times in our life, if we're not careful and in the crowd, we say, "Lord, feed me. Lord, feed me. Lord, feed me."24:59And he does. And we keep our mouth closed and we say, "Lord, I'm still hungry." Be careful about your appetite because your appetite will only leave you empty. And we live in a world that creates for you and for me appetites. It does. It creates in us, in our advertisement, you need this. You need to go get a Coke, which I love, because that quenches your thirst.25:26You need a new car. I know you bought one last year, but you know what? That one's last year. You need a new one. You need a bigger house. Or like our house right now. Your neighbors don't have weeds. Do something about your lawn. Where are those appetites coming from? They're not necessarily God-given, are they?25:54They are from the crowd. Hopefully, on the next mission trip, we'll go on this airline. There's an airline that allows you at any point in your flight to yell, "Towel me." And an attendant will come throw a rose-infused towel around your neck that is freshly steamed. But that's not all. This same airliner gives you your first-class ticket, and it is an edible, delicious cookie that when you scan it, you can eat on that as you fly.26:21But that's not all. Same airline. I hope we get this to Africa when we go on our next mission trip. They will give you a special design, and that when they cook your steak on your flight, they will brand your steak with your specified design that they've created for you.26:39Same airline gives you a hologram of your net worth above your forehead that, like, comes down from the lights. And the one that has the highest net worth gets to fly the plane for 15 minutes. There's more.27:10There's more. Same airline. Appetites, right? They will put an engine in your boat, your yacht, and they will fly your boat. Not put your boat in a plane and fly it. They will fly your boat to your destination for $250,000. Now, do not hear me say this. I am not saying wealth is evil. Wealth is a tool to be used for the glory of God. Our Savior owns cattle on 1,000 hills plus.27:39But we have to be careful not to buy into this where our appetites grow and grow and grow and grow. Be careful of the crowd because in verse 17, they're full. Verse 18, they're gone. Are you part of the crowd? Because the crowd never gets their belly full. Never gets their belly full. The crowd also, though, teaches us this.28:08The crowd respects Jesus, but does not worship him as Lord and Savior. The crowd respects Jesus, but they do not confess him as Lord and Savior. You say, well, how do you know that? Look at verse 19. They answered and said, some of the crowd says John the Baptist. Some say Elijah. And others say some of these old prophets that have risen again. Now, why is this important? Why is this important? Because the crowd we now live in tells you and I that Jesus is a good teacher.28:37He's a good moral person to follow. Even if you don't believe in him, you know, just kind of follow the Ten Commandments and your life will be better. He's a good thing. He's a good thing. Jesus is just all right with me. And if we're not careful, we begin to believe that and we put Jesus on a Hall of Fame religious wall with Buddha and Gandhi and other people that we endear.28:57Why is that dangerous? Because that is now tolerance. Well, let's just add Jesus to our life of other people that we respect. That is an incomplete picture of Jesus Christ. That is not the Jesus of the one that is here in God's Word.29:25An incomplete picture of Jesus is the wrong picture. Was he a prophet? Absolutely. Was he just a prophet? Absolutely not. Be careful for the picture of Jesus that you only get from the church crowds. Because we need Christ to press in on our hearts deeper and deeper in private.29:51Because if you only want to grow with the crowd, you will only go so far. And we will find you in verse 18, nowhere. The crowd says Jesus is not unique. The Bible said that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. What does that word only mean?30:20One. He is unique. He is not an addition to. He is the only one. And lastly, with the crowd, we see this, that respect does not equal worship. Respect of Jesus does not equal worship. So if you've come in here today, you say, well, I respect Jesus. I mean, we're cool.30:50He's my homeboy. If you had that shirt, I'm sorry. It just leaves. It's so incomplete. You might want to ask yourself, who do you say that he is? Because respecting Jesus is not the same as worshiping Jesus. Worshiping is a profession of faith and a posture. When we come to the throne of God, we don't just come and say, here I am, Lord. I'm glad that I showed up. It is, Lord, I've been crawling on my knees because I am not worthy.31:19That is worship. And the crowd does not get it. Are you drawing near to Christ? Are you part of the crowd? You say, well, maybe I am. I don't know. Pastor, how do I know if I'm saved? How do I know if I'm part of the crowd or not? Verse 20 gives us that answer.31:47Jesus said to them, but who do you say that I am? Why would Jesus put a but in there? Why wouldn't Jesus just ask, who do you say? Because the but reminds us of a previous question. The but reminds us of a previous question that's inadequate. So the response of the crowd is, John the Baptist, prophet, Elijah,32:16Elijah, we don't know who he is, but we respect him. And Jesus is saying, if that's you, that is not enough. This is the question that we need to answer. Verse 20, who do you say that I am? So I'm going to ask you, who do you say that he is? He's a good teacher. He is, but he loves me unconditionally.32:42But he takes the wheel when the car is spinning out of control. But he walks with us when the devil's in our face. But Jesus is just all right with me. But who do you say that I am? Because this is a question we have to answer for ourselves. And Peter leads the charge. When he speaks up here, he is speaking not just for himself,33:12but for all the disciples. Peter answered and he said, you are the Christ of God. Peter gets it. He doesn't fully get it. Because if you look at the next verses, Jesus tells him, do not say, be quiet, tell no one, because Peter is looking for someone who will save him from his present day difficulties. Lord, give us someone who's going to deliver us from our enemies, Rome.33:40And Jesus is saying, Peter, I've done so much more for you. I'm saving you from your sins, from your chains now. But why confess him as Christ? Because Christ says that he is the one we have been waiting for. Christos, Messiah in Hebrew, is the one that is anointed. The one that we have been waiting for.34:08So who do you say Jesus is? If you cannot say he is the only one that died for me, you are in the crowd. But I'm thankful for a savior that even when we are in the crowd, he looks at us and says, but who do you? Jesus can look past the crowd and look into your heart and ask, who do you say I am right now?34:37I'm thankful for the day that Jesus looked past the crowd in my life. I was hiding. I was back there. Not in this church and another church. I was back against the wall as far as I could get. And do you know what? Jesus can see that far. And I'm thankful for the day that he saw me. And he looked at me and he didn't say, Josh, who does the crowd say? Because I was in church, I knew the answer. He looked at me and said, Josh, you got the crowd thing.35:07But who do you say I am? If you cannot answer that question this morning, you will leave here empty without hope. A life that is living in a broken relationship with the Lord. The Bible says this, that we are all created in his image. He said, let us create man and woman in our image. In our image, he created them.35:36What does that mean? We don't just look like God. There's something deeper. God breathed life into us. And the word is actually not just life, but spirit. That you and I are created uniquely in God's image to have a relationship with him. But the sad reality of the world that we live in, we live in a broken world. Not because your neighbor is broken, they are, but because of your sin and my sin. And there is nothing that we can do to restore that relationship.36:05And yet, while you and I were still sinners, Christ died for us. That God looked down at me and said, Josh, there is nothing you can do to restore that relationship. You will one day pay the penalty for your sin. And it's called death. Not just now, but eternal separation. And God looked down and said, Josh, but because you cannot restore that relationship, my son died for you.36:32That if you have faith, if you believe, not just believe what the crowd believes, but if you put your trust in him. Trust is saying this, Lord, I know Jesus already died for me, but now I'm going to trust in that for my sacrifice, for my restoration. That is what true life is found. That is where our life begins again. It is in this confession, Lord, you are Christ.36:59You are my savior. You are my Messiah. So if you have never put your trust in Jesus Christ, I'm going to ask you just where you sit to do that today. If Lord is moving your heart. You say, well, I've grown up in church. I'm a member here, pastor. You don't know who I am. I don't, but he does. And if you only have the crowds answer, you don't have the right answer. Once you put your trust in Jesus today, he is inviting you to do that.37:29And you can deal with Christ right where you sit. Maybe you're here today and you have put your faith in Christ. But you say this, pastor, I'm just not growing like I should. And maybe the reason is because the only time you grow in the Lord is when you're in the crowd. And you are not spending time with the Savior like you should. He invites us in into a personal relationship. He invites us when he's praying alone.37:58Jesus invites the disciples to learn from me, grow from me. Spend time with me around your dinner table, in your closet. Spend time when no one's looking because that is where Christ can press on your heart. Are you growing like you should? May we be people who spend time with our Savior. Who look at the crowd and say that is an incomplete picture and I'm not buying it. Because I want to answer this question.38:27Who do you say I am? You are the Christ. You are my redeemer. You're the only one I need. You're the only name under heaven by which I can be saved. saved. Let's pray together. Father.← Previous in Luke (That you may know)Sunday, February 28, 2016Next in Luke (That you may know) →Sunday, March 13, 2016More sermons on Luke →
