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We're glad to study God's word together. And I do hope that everybody's having a great week and is having a great weekend and finding ways to stay cool out there. Right. And finding ways to soak up whatever's left of summer. Right. We're making that transition from finding some rest. to establishing some new rhythms as we head back into the fall and I hope you're finding ways to soak up what's left and make that transition.
I'm grateful for the opportunity to have had a few weeks to soak up summer with friends and with family over the past couple of months and one of the things I had the opportunity to do was a brother's trip and we went backpacking up in the Humboldt County, a trail called the Lost Coast. And this last summer, while we were on our way to the Lost Coast, we met one of our brothers in the Bay Area. And we happened to be driving through San Francisco.
And if you've been to San Francisco, you know some of the highlights and some of the destinations. You've got the Golden Gate Bridge. You've got Fisherman's Wharf. You've got Lombard Street. You've got some of these popular, iconic things that represent the city. And as we're driving through, you can also peer into the skyline and you see a few skyscrapers in particular, some that are quite recognizable.
You might recognize when you see the Transamerica Pyramid, right, in the San Francisco skyline. You might recognize or maybe you've heard of the Millennium Tower. And if you've never seen the Millennium Tower or heard of the Millennium Tower, let me tell you about it. It towers 645 feet above the city of San Francisco. It's 58 stories tall. It's a mixed-use residential high-rise. And so there's offices, there's businesses, but there's also apartments and penthouses.
And you can live and rent space in this high-rise. It's become a little bit of a famous or infamous building in the news lately because the Millennium Tower actually is sinking, right? If you were to walk into the lobby of the Millennium Tower and take a marble, let's say, and place that marble on the floor of the Millennium Tower, in one corner of the building, it will slowly roll all the way to the other corner of the Millennium Tower because since they built it, funny story, I I almost lost my marbles this morning. I asked my dad to bring in a bag and he said they were sitting on the front seat and I walk in and they were nowhere to be found. But I'm glad I found my marbles for you this morning. And you can roll that through the lobby of the Millennium Tower because since it was built in 2009, it has sunk 29 inches, right? This thing is tilting from its center a fair number of degrees because the city of San Francisco was built on layers of mud and clay and sand, right?
And there's different ways to stabilize a building and they decided not to go all the way down into bedrock, right? The more familiar example of this is the Leaning Tower of Pisa, which until this week I thought was called the Leaning Tower of Pizza. I mean pizza, you know, P-I-Z-Z-A, right? It's Italy after all. I looked it up. It's Pisa, P-I-S-A. Is anybody out there with me this morning? Does anybody think it was the Leaning Tower of Pizza?
I think I need to go to Italy and get cultured as you can see. If you go to the city of Pisa, there's the Leaning Tower of Pisa. That is leaning 12 feet 10 inches. from its center. And they think that it'll last maybe 200 more years. So you think of the Millennium Tower, you think of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and you are reminded of these engineering mistakes and just how important it is For a building to have a firm foundation, for a building to have a rock-solid slab, whether it's concrete or steel, so that it doesn't tilt, it doesn't lean, it doesn't sink, or worse, it doesn't collapse.
And as we look to God's Word together this morning, we're going to be in Matthew chapter 16, and we're going to be talking about what it looks like to have a rock-solid faith. And how God wants you to have a rock solid foundation. He wants you to be connected to concrete. He wants you to be connected to steel. He does not want your life to be built on clay or mud or sand. God wants you to have a firm foundation that is solid as a rock, that it can endure the storms of this life.
So that you will not sink into the ground, but you will stand strong on the firm foundation whose scripture says is Christ alone. And if you're with me this morning and maybe you feel like you're sinking a little bit. Maybe you're not drifting 12 feet 10 inches from your center, but maybe you're tilting a little. Maybe you've drifted a little. Maybe you're feeling like you're sinking a little. Maybe the storms of this life are impacting you more than they used to.
Maybe you're in a place where you've never identified what is my firm foundation for. What is that solid rock beneath my feet? And how do I endure the storms and the sinking sands of this life? This morning's message is for you. I want to remind you what it means, what it looks like to have a rock solid faith and for your faith to be as solid as a rock. And we're going to see that in Matthew chapter 10.
So if you have your Bibles, turn with me to Matthew chapter 16. In a couple of moments, I'm going to read verses 13 to 20, which are Peter's confession at Caesarea Philippi. We're going to consider Peter's life and Peter's story. We're going to consider Peter's faith and Peter's confession. And what we're going to do is we're going to help you have a foundation that is as firm as And solid as a rock.
So that when you go through the storms of this life, which you have and which you will, that you would be firm. And that you would not be moved. And that you would not be shaken. But that you would be solid as a rock. So we're going to see in this passage in Matthew chapter 16, Peter's encounter with Jesus. I love Peter. Does anybody else love Peter in the audience today? We're going to talk about how relatable Peter is, how relatable his life is, how relatable his story is.
And we're going to be looking at Peter's encounter with Jesus. And I want you to have an encounter with Jesus today. I want you to hear what he has to say about you. I want you to hear what Peter has to say about Jesus. I want you to know that actually there are three keys to having a faith that is solid as a rock. Maybe we should say three pillars to having a faith that is solid as a rock. And we're going to see in our passage, through Peter's encounter with Jesus, those three keys, those three pillars are this.
Number one, know who Jesus is. If you're here with us today, I just want you to know our church is all about Jesus. He is who we proclaim Jesus. He is who we preach. He is who we love. He is who we're all about. Our story, our church, our life is all about Jesus. And our foundation begins with knowing who Jesus is. Our foundation as a church, our foundation as a Christian, your foundation in this life and the foundation of your faith is knowing who Jesus is.
And I want to invite you to consider that with me today. Second, we're going to realize that the key to having a firm foundation in this life is knowing who you are. So much of our lives is just bound up in identity. Knowing who we are and why we're here and where we're going and what God says is true of us. And so I want to remind you of your identity today. I want to remind you who Jesus says you are today.
And then finally, I just want to remind you what it is that we stand on. Some of the promises that Jesus gives Peter and some of the promises that Jesus gives us as his church. So let's read Matthew chapter 16, verses 13 to 20. I'll pray and we'll get started. This is what is recorded for us in Matthew's gospel about Peter's confession of Jesus. It says, now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, Who do people say that the Son of Man is? And they said, some say John the Baptist, and others say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the prophets. But then in verse 15, look what he does. He said to them, but who do you say that I am? Okay, so Simon Peter replied, you are the Christ, the Son of the living God. And look what Jesus says. Jesus answered, He says to him, blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my father who is in heaven.
I tell you, you are Peter. And on this rock, I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Or I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven. And whatever you loose on earth. shall be loosed in heaven. Look what Jesus says. Then he strictly charges the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ. All right, let's pray about this together.
Father, we just ask that you would open up your word to us today, that you would open up our eyes today to understand what we're supposed to learn from you today and from this text today. Lord, help us to think about what it would look like for each of our lives. To be solid as a rock and be built on the foundation of who Jesus is, who he says we are, and what it is that we stand on. Lord, help us not to be shaken by the shifting sands of this world.
Things going on in the culture and current events. Lord, help us to be fixed. Help us to be planted. Help us to be rooted. Help us to have a firm foundation in Jesus and his word. Lord, we thank you for this time. We ask you to bless it as we study it. And we just commit this time to you. And we pray all these things in Jesus' name and all God's people said. Amen. Well, welcome again to our church.
I want to just share that if you're with us this morning, we are wrapping up our summer series in... The book of Acts, and we're preparing to step into our series in the letter of 1 Peter next Sunday. And what I wanted to do is take this morning, take this week to consider what connects these studies and what connects these stories. What connects us from where we left off with Peter in Acts chapter 12, his escape from prison, and what connects us now to studying his letter today. in 1 Peter next Sunday. And so what I wanted to do is take our time to consider the life of Peter and the confession of Peter here in Matthew chapter 16. Now, in all four Gospels, but especially in Matthew's Gospel, Peter is identified as the first disciple, like the first follower of Jesus. But I also think that Peter is identified as the most relatable disciple follower of jesus remember how i asked anybody here to love peter um i think peter is the most relatable disciple right because if you study peter's life you realize that that he he he's got ups right and he's got downs right there's peter there's moments where peter crushes it in a good way and then there's moments where peter crushes it like in a bad way if you've studied his life. There's moments where Peter actually walks on water, and then there's moments where Peter, what? Sinks into that water, right? There's moments where he confesses Jesus is the Christ, this passage. But then there's moments where Peter denies Jesus is even his friend, right? There's moments where Peter argues that Jesus is the greatest, and then there's moments where Peter argues which disciple is is going to be the greatest, right? I just think Peter is so relatable because he has these moments of up and these moments of down. He's got successes and he's got failures. And that is actually, I think, a model for us of what the journey of following Jesus looks like, right? Moments when we get it and moments when we don't get it. Moments when we succeed and moments when we fail. Like, is anybody with me so far this morning?
There are moments of the Christian life that are up and that are down. There's mountaintop moments when we succeed, and there's valley-low moments when we fail, and Peter's life is full of them, and he reminds us that following Jesus is about progress, not perfection. Following Jesus is about progress, not perfection. Can I get an amen just to that? Okay, so you're with me today. Following Jesus and following Peter now in Matthew's gospel, we find all these big moments so far.
In Matthew chapter 4, Peter's called to be the first disciple. In Matthew chapter 8, Peter invites Jesus over to his home and shows him hospitality. In Matthew chapter 14, Peter actually walks on water. And so we have these big moments in Peter's life, and this morning is no different. Matthew chapter 16. We have another big moment in Peter's life. We see that from the moment when Jesus calls Peter in Matthew 4 to the moment where Peter confesses Jesus in Matthew 16.
That's actually the span of about two and a half years. Two to two and a half years. So Peter's been walking with Jesus. Peter's been learning from Jesus. Peter's been given a front row seat, right, to seeing who Jesus is and what Jesus is all about. And he's witnessed Jesus heal the many and teach the masses. And so Peter's been given this front row seat to who Jesus is. And Jesus has been teaching him and many what it looks like. to follow him and what it looks like to have a relationship with God and what you need to know and what you need to do to be members of the kingdom of God. And so here's what happens. The disciples are in a particularly busy season. So Jesus decides to give them a little bit of a rest and he takes them on a field trip. And if you look at Matthew 16, verse 13, where are we going on this field trip today?
The text says that they went to a place called Caesarea Philippi. Now this is about 25 miles from the Galilean Sea. to Caesarea Philippi in northern Israel. It's in the foothills of Mount Hermon, and it's bordering right on Jewish territory and at that time Gentile territory. So it's right on the edge of the nation of Israel. And so Jesus takes them on this journey, and he takes them on this field trip, and he asks them a question in verse 13.
Jesus says, who do people say that I am? Who do people say that I am? Now, that's an interesting question in an interesting location, right? It's one thing to just be aware of what people think about Jesus and the different perspectives there are about Jesus in our world and in our culture. But think about how interesting of a location this is for Jesus to be asking that question. In fact, let me just ask you, who's been to Caesarea Philippi?
You might know some of the history there. You might know some of the story there and how that was truly a Gentile city and how Herod the Great's son, Philip the Tetrarch, built temples of worship to pagan gods. And Philip the Tetrarch actually named Caesarea Philippi conveniently after himself, right, and after Caesar Augustus. To honor the emperor and to honor himself as rulers in this region and built temples to their gods.
And so this is kind of a melting pot of cultures. This is a melting pot of worldviews. There's competing worldviews and competing worships. Going on here in Caesarea Philippi, off in the distance are visible temples to pagan gods. And so Jesus wants to know, who do people say that I am? It wouldn't be all that different from going to maybe a cultural center or a philosophical center of our world or our country or our state.
Maybe a field trip into Hollywood, right? Maybe a field trip up to Berkeley, right? And not too long ago, I'm having coffee in Hollywood, and I'm standing in line for ice cream in Berkeley. And I'm just, I'm people-watching. Does anybody like people-watching? Love people-watching. I'm just observing that the people in the coffee shop, the people standing in line for ice cream, I'm observing just things about them, like how they're talking to each other, what they're talking about, what I can observe about what they believe and about what they value.
And I just began wondering, I wonder what these people think about Jesus. There's so many perspectives about Jesus in our world today, and I just wonder what would these people have to say about Jesus? What would their perspective be about who he is? Maybe that he's a moral teacher. Maybe that he's a wise philosopher. Maybe that he was a good person. Maybe he was a spiritual leader. What would they say about who Jesus is?
And I actually think there's a point to be made here. It's subtle, but I think it's helpful. And that's number one, just to be aware about what other people think about Jesus. If you're a follower of Christ and you want to have a firm foundation, you want to think well about what you believe and about what others believe. And I think in one sense, we need to be aware of what other people think about Jesus.
And notice the text in verse 14. The disciples knew what people thought. They say, they answer Jesus' question and they say, some say you're what? John the Baptist. It was actually Herod who was saying that. He had actually sentenced John the Baptist to death and he thought maybe Jesus was John the Baptist, come back, right? And then others say that you are who? Elijah. And Elijah never died, he went to heaven.
And so there's speculation that maybe Elijah came back to earth, he would be the forerunner of the Messiah. Then others thought that Jesus might be another prophet by the name of Jeremiah because maybe he represented Jeremiah's ministry. And then finally they just shrug their shoulders or say, or another one of the what? The prophets. And so the disciples, they were keenly aware of what other people thought about Jesus.
And I think in one sense... As Christian ambassadors and followers of Jesus, if we're going to have a firm foundation and not be shaken about other worldviews and other perspectives, we need to know what people believe and why they believe it. But I want you to notice what Jesus does in verse 15. I think there's so much more to this story than just taking a poll of what the world thinks about Jesus, which will give us a very big, diverse number of answers.
We want to be convinced ourselves that Of what we think about Jesus. And look at what Jesus is doing. He's heard the rumors. He's read the tabloids. He knows what people think. And so actually Jesus is not asking the question to learn what people think about him. He knows what people think about him. Why is Jesus asking the question? It's the spin that he puts on it in verse 15. When Jesus says what?
But who do you say that I am? Ah, here's what Jesus is doing. He's cutting through the noise of the culture. He's cutting through the perspective of the crowds. He's making this intentionally personal, guys. In fact, could I just have a conversation with you right now? I want to ask what Jesus asked. I want to give you space to think about what Jesus asked his disciples to think about. Let me just talk to you.
Who do you say that Jesus is? We might know what our friends would answer. We might know what our family would answer. We might know what the culture would answer. We might know what the world would answer. But who do you say that Jesus is? Okay, maybe you've been in the church for a long time. Maybe you've had a long time to think about that question. Maybe you've thought a lot about that question and you probably have some wonderful answers to that question.
Maybe you're new to church today. Maybe you just checked us out this morning. And maybe you've not thought a lot about Jesus, but you've thought a little about him. And you're open to this idea of who might he be? And is he the answer for my life? And I just want to pause. Because Jesus gave his disciples space to pause. They're on a field trip, guys. They're up in Caesarea Philippi. To break from the hustle and the bustle and the busy season of ministry down in Galilee.
And they're on a field trip. And Jesus wants to make this personal. And he says, but who do you say that I am? Could I just ask you? Who do you say that Jesus is? In fact, I want to give you space to answer that question. In just a moment, I want everybody just to pick one word. That they would use to answer that question. Who is Jesus? Well, it's one word that you think captures who he is. One title maybe that scripture uses to talk about him.
Maybe what you call him. What would be that one word, that one title that you would use to answer the question, who do you say that Jesus is? And on three, I'd like all of you to say that title out loud together. I'm sure we'll hear different replies and different responses, but I just want to make this so real and so personal. Who do you say that Jesus is? On the count of three. One, two, three. Savior.
And that was beautiful. Because you heard God. You heard Savior, you heard Christ, you heard Messiah. And those are the words on the lips of Peter in Matthew chapter 16, verse 16. And one of those titles Peter uses to answer Jesus' questions. And what does Peter say? You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Now I know that that title Christ might feel far removed from you. And let me just explain what it means.
The word Christ is actually the Greek word for a Hebrew word Messiah. And the word Messiah was used in the Old Testament to describe the coming one, the anointed one, and how God promised. The people of Israel, that there would be somebody who would come and he would be born and he would deliver them from their sin and he would deliver them from their oppression and he would be anointed and he would come and he would deliver.
And so Peter, observing Jesus' life and ministry and power and authority, Peter says, and Peter gets it, and he says, Jesus, you're the Christ, you're the Messiah, you're the anointed one. You're the coming one. You are the son of God. And I want to remind you that there's nothing more interesting about you and there is nothing more important about you than what you think about Jesus. Because it determines everything.
It determines everything. What you say and what you believe to be true about Jesus determines everything. Everything about you and Peter's response and your response this morning is the Christ, the Messiah, the son of the living God. He is fully God and fully man. And he's the mediator between God and men. And he came to live a perfect life. And die a perfect death. And triumphantly rise from the grave.
Three days later. And scripture says that there is coming a day. When he is going to return. And make all things new. He is the Messiah. He is the mediator. He is the anointed one. And he is the coming one. And there is redemption. And there is salvation. And no one else. And in no other name under heaven. But Jesus the Messiah. And that's. The most important thing about you, your solid rock is found on what you know and what you believe to be true about Jesus.
Now, okay, if I lost you, would you just tune back in for just a moment? Like, I understand that some of you fall asleep on me. That's all right. I've gotten over that. It's okay. But if you checked out, just check back in real quick. Because I got one thing that you need to hear. Why is what you know or believe about Jesus the most important thing about you and that which gives you a solid rock foundation?
Because it's not the strength of your faith that saves you. It's the strength of the object of your faith that saves you. It's not about being a good person. It's not about mustering up enough faith. It's not about doing enough good things for God. It's not even about the strength of your own faith that saves you. It is the strength of the object of your faith which saves you. And the object of our faith is Jesus.
And he is the firm foundation upon which we build our lives. And when our lives are built on the firm foundation of Jesus Christ, Then we will not be shaken. And we will not be moved. Because it's not our faith that saves us. But it's the object of our faith that saves us. And that is Jesus. If you want to check back out again. Check back out again. That's really what I needed you to hear today. We're going to learn to have a rock-solid foundation.
And the key to having a rock-solid faith is knowing who Jesus is. And that he is the object of our faith and he's the only one who can save us. And that's what we need to be convinced of in this life. So if you need time and space to research who he is and what he's done and evidence for the resurrection, I've done that and I encourage you to do that because we must be convinced of who Jesus is. You know, as C.S. Lewis, that introduced the trilemma, that Jesus is either a liar or a lunatic or he's Lord. And I challenge you, discover which one Jesus is. Because it is the most important thing about you. And I've come to acknowledge that Jesus is Lord of all. And so I've made him the Lord of my life. And my life will never be the same again. And I hope that that's true for you because the key to having a rock-solid foundation in this life is knowing exactly who Jesus is.
Second, it's knowing who you are and who Jesus says you are. And I want to look at now Jesus' response to Peter. He says in verses 17 to 18, he tells Peter that he's blessed. So Peter affirms Jesus' identity and then Jesus turns around and affirms Peter's identity. Jesus acknowledges, yes, he is the son of God. And then he says, and Peter, because of this, you also are a son of God. Let's check it out.
Let's see what he says. I actually like how one author put it. He said, Peter has taken his stand for Jesus. Now Jesus takes his stand for Peter. And he takes his stand for you. And I want you to see this response. He essentially calls Peter blessed. and a beloved child of God in verse 17, right? Jesus says, blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah. Okay, let's unpack this, all right? What is Jesus using? Peter's birth name, right?
Peter's birth name is Simon. And then he uses Peter's surname, which is Bar-Jonah. Now the word bar means son in Aramaic. So Simon Bar-Jonah means Simon Bar-Jonah. Son of Jonah. Is everybody with me? I just want to make sure I don't lose anybody. I think this is important. We've got Simon bar Jonah. Jesus is using his birth name, his surname. He's acknowledging who Peter is naturally. And the fact that he came from a biological family.
And then Peter says... Or Jesus says, blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, Simon, son of Jonah. Blessed are you. Why is he blessed? Jesus says, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. Right? Okay, so flesh and blood, that's what we use to describe what? The composition of a human being. Like when we talk about flesh and blood, we talk about the fact that we're a human.
And so Jesus is saying flesh and blood is Human nature, even your family of origin or your family on earth has not revealed this to you, Peter. But my father who is in heaven has revealed this to you, Peter. Blessed are you, son of Jonah, because truly, in light of your confession, you are a son of God. You're a child of God. And Jesus is our elder brother because his father has become our father. Because when we believe in Jesus and confess him for who he is, that is a gift that we have received from heaven.
And that is a gift that we have received from Jesus, his father in heaven. You need to know who you are today. You need to know where you came from. You need to know your identity. You need to know your value, your purpose and your worth today. In order for you not to be shaken by what this world says about you or what this world tries to say about you. So let me remind you what Jesus says about you.
If you believe that he is the Messiah, he is the Christ, he is the son of the living God, then you are his brother or sister. And you are a member of his family. And his household. And you are a son or daughter. Of the God of this universe. And you are being invited into. And brought into. A new family. A perfect family. A forever family. In which God is your father. And the church are your brothers and sisters.
And you are welcomed. And you are wanted. And you belong. And you're called beloved. By Jesus Christ. And his father. Let me just remind you who you are today. You are a child of God. He loves you. And you are his son. And you are his daughter. Jesus says to Peter. If you believe that I am the Christ. That's because my father has revealed that to you, and my father is now your father. Simon Bar-Jonah, son of Jonah, you have a new family of origin.
You have a new family that you belong to. That is a heavenly family, and God is now your father. And let me just remind you, you are a child of God, and your heavenly father loves you. He wants you, and he welcomes you into his family. By giving you the knowledge of his sons. And not just a new family, but a new identity. Which is why Jesus uses Peter's birth name in verse 17. And then Jesus' new name in verse 18.
Look at this. Jesus didn't give Peter a new name on this occasion. But Jesus gave Peter a new name on a different occasion. And that's in John chapter 1 verse 42. If you remember when Peter and Jesus first meet. They have this exchange. Jesus looked at him and said, you are Simon, son of John. Another word for Jonah, John. Same translation of the same name. Different translation of the same name. You are Simon, son of John.
And then Jesus says, you shall be called what? Cephas, which means Peter. If you have a little footnote in your Bible, it probably explains that Cephas is translated rock in Aramaic. And Peter is translated rock in Greek. Okay, so Jesus, the first meeting Peter, gives him a new name, gives him a new identity, calls him Peter, calls him Cephas, which means rock. And I think this is interesting because oftentimes we give people names and we give people nicknames.
And those are attached with meaning. And those have an association with With something. I actually have two middle names. One of my middle names is in honor of my maternal grandfather. And one of my middle names is in honor of my paternal grandfather. We give names and we have names that have meaning and significance attached to them. And maybe associated with them. The name Adam means from the ground.
Which is how God named him. The name Abraham means father of a multitude, which is God's promise to him. The name Benjamin means son of the right hand. And the name Barnabas means son of encouragement. Names have meaning attached to them. Names have associations with them. My wife and I actually... We had the opportunity to pick out a new name in the last few months. And we're excited to welcome this little girl into our home and into our hearts just in a few weeks.
You know, we went through that process like many parents do, trying to pick out a name. And, you know, we thought, ah, we want a name that describes how good God is. Okay, we want a name that describes how kind God is. We want a name that reminds us and reminds our friends and our family that God always hears us. And that God always answers us. And through that journey of trying to pick out a name for our third child, I was reminded of a conversation I had about a year ago with someone.
And he was describing to me about how they had been praying for a third child. And then God answered that prayer for a third child. And it struck me, we had been praying for a third child. And then God answered our prayer for a third child. And so we decided to give her the name that they gave to their daughter. And that name is Eliana, which means my God answered. El means God, E means my, Ana means answered.
Right? My God answered. answered it's supposed to be a reminder to us a reminder to others that god hears us god answers us god is kind and gracious to us he he shows up in his perfect way and he shows up in his perfect time eliana my god answered and and peter he's given a name That has an association attached to it. A meaning attached to it. And we see that wordplay on the pages of this passage. When Jesus says, you are what?
Peter. Which means rock. And then Jesus says, on this what? Rock, I will build my church. And there's an intentional meaning there. An intentional wordplay there from Jesus. You are Peter. Petros and on this rock Petra, I will build my church. Jesus is telling Peter he's giving meaning to his new identity, his new purpose, his new name. And he's saying, Peter, you're going to be a foundational member.
You're going to be a foundational leader of my church. And so Jesus gives him this new identity and gives him this new name. But I want to remind you that this isn't necessarily unique to Peter. Yes, Peter's given a new name. He's given a new identity. But we also are given a new name. And we also are given a new identity. And it's in 1 Peter chapter 2. We're going to study that this fall. It's in 1 Peter chapter 2 that Peter calls us living stones.
So Peter the rock calls you and I living stones. I kind of prefer the name rock than stone, but hey, Jesus chose not me. Living stones you are, being built up into this incredible house called the church. And then Peter reminds you of your identity and your purpose in 1 Peter 2, verse 9. He says, but you are a chosen race. Did anybody check out? Could you check back in? Hi. We're in Matthew 16, but I'm quoting 1 Peter.
Listen to this. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood. What does it say next? A holy nation. A people for his own possession that you may proclaim the excellencies. Of him who called you out of darkness into what? His marvelous light. Like if you profess the name of Jesus, you're given a new family and you're given a new identity. You are a chosen race, a holy nation, a royal priesthood, a people for his own possession.
And your purpose? Oh, to proclaim Jesus. The excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into marvelous light. You have a new identity. You have a new purpose. And you are loved. And you are chosen. And you are God's people. And you are God's possession. And we cannot let what this world says about us define us. We have to let what Jesus says about us define us. We have to let the words of Jesus define us, not the words of this world define us.
And I'm here to remind you that you are a child of God and you've been brought into a new family and you are a chosen people and you have been given a new identity and your purpose and your value is not in what people say about you and not in what this world says about you. But what God says about you and what Jesus says about you and you are dearly beloved and you are dearly chosen and he welcomes you and wants you in his family and he gives you a new identity.
You are his child and he loves you. And that is the rock solid foundation. Upon which we stand knowing who Jesus is and knowing who we are and finally knowing what we stand on. Let me just remind you of the hope that we have as followers of Jesus built on the rock that is Christ. You realize Peter was a rock that was used in building God's church, but Jesus is the cornerstone of God's church and he is the rock on which we stand.
And let me remind you of his promise in verse 18. This is what we stand on. Jesus is building an indestructible church. He says the gates of hell will not prevail against it. Can you think of things that are practically indestructible in your life? Maybe your coffee thermos, right? You can toss that thing just about anywhere. It's going to bounce back, right? It's going to [unclear] a hit and not be dented.
Maybe that cast iron skillet you've been holding on for a few decades? Right? Like that thing? Nobody can dent it. Or maybe your granite countertop? I mean, how many times have you cut on that and struck on that and it just can't be dented? Maybe that cockroach in your garage you can't seem to kill or get rid of? Okay, reality is we could destroy all of those things if we tried hard enough, right? Especially the cockroach in the garage.
There is something, there is one thing in this world that is indestructible. And it's you. It's God's church. It's God's people. It's the promise that he's made to those who have faith in Jesus that even the gates of hell will not prevail against it. You know what gates do? They either let things out or keep things in, right? And there is nothing that hell can let out that will destroy God's church or destroy God's people.
And hell's gates certainly will never keep us in. Because it's Jesus that has crushed the ultimate enemy. And there are no tricks up hell's sleeve, death or the devil himself, that will ever jeopardize your status as a child of God and your hope of an eternal future in heaven with Jesus. And it was Jesus... who crushed the enemy and it was Jesus who crushed hell and death itself and it was C.S. Lewis who said Jesus has forced open a door that has been locked since the death of the first man he has met and fought and beaten the king of death and everything is different because he has done so Jesus has defeated death Jesus has defeated hell
And he has swung wide open the gates of heaven. And we are his church. And he is building us. And we have an eternal future. And Romans chapter 8 says that if God is for us, who can be against us? We are more than conquerors through him who loved us. And then the conclusion of Romans chapter 8 is nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Nothing will separate you.
No pain. No trial. No difficulty. No depression. No loss. No fear. No fear. No situation, no circumstance can separate you from God's love for you and from your indestructible future that you have in heaven. Jesus is building an indestructible church and he gives us an indestructible future. And I want to close. We don't have really proper time to consider these final verses, but I want to just consider what Jesus says to Peter. He says that he literally has the keys of the kingdom of heaven in his pocket. There's a lot of different interpretations about what that means. But Jesus says that with those keys, you can bind things on earth that will be bound in heaven, and you can loose things on earth that will be loosed in heaven. And I think the best way to understand these final verses is that as the church, as God's people, with this indestructible church and future in heaven. Our goal is to bring the principles of heaven down to earth and the things that we do and accomplish and to, by God's grace, help the people of earth be represented in heaven as we remind them of how to have a rock-solid faith in Jesus, who Jesus is, who Jesus says they are, and what it is that we stand on and what it is that they believe. And stand on. So here's what I want you to do with this this week.
I want you to go home and I want you to think about your foundation. I want you to just think about your foundation. I want you to think if you were to take your marble, you can find it. Take your marble and would it sit still on your foundation? Or would it roll? across the floor would your foundation stand strong in the storm or would it collapse in the sand i just want you to think about your foundation this week think about the foundation upon which you're building be reminded of who your foundation is and what your foundation says about you
Because the key to having a rock-solid faith and the key to having a rock-solid foundation is to know who Jesus is, to know who Jesus says you are, and to know what it is that you stand on. Amen? Let's pray together. Father, we thank you for this morning and for allowing us to consider together.