Episode Transcript
[00:00:01] You're listening to a live recording from Westside Church in Bend, Oregon. Thanks for joining us.
[00:00:17] There's. There's lots of questions in life, and we're going to look at one specifically in scripture today.
[00:00:23] But some questions have, well, just more importance than others.
[00:00:29] And as you go through life, you have these different questions that you have to come to an answer in your life for. And they impact your life some more than others. You know, paper or plastic, not a big deal.
[00:00:43] That's a question. Okay. Another question would be, that has a little more impact would be, should we get a puppy?
[00:00:50] That can be a longer term one. If you do decide to get a puppy, make sure you're about to have a baby as well. I found that to be really helpful.
[00:01:00] How about this one?
[00:01:02] This one can have big, big ramifications depending on how you respond. Do you know why I pulled you over?
[00:01:11] Careful on that one.
[00:01:13] Then they grow in importance. Do you take this man? Do you take this woman?
[00:01:19] Now we're talking big questions that lead to other questions like does this dress make me look?
[00:01:26] And fellas, that's a trick question and there's no good answer. Okay, just try to back away.
[00:01:35] But questions can be the kind of open door to discovery.
[00:01:42] And one of the things that our lives are a journey of discovering identity. And that's kind of what we're going to be looking at today. This identity discovery that we're all on.
[00:01:53] Our lives are this journey. We ask questions like, who am I?
[00:01:58] Does my life matter? What? What do you want me to do, Lord?
[00:02:02] And we, we never kind of get past all that. There's always going to be situations where we need to ask that question because we're trying to find out who we are. And, you know, as you're growing up, you try different things to sort of decide, you know, who I am. And you want to be an individual, which is why all teenagers look, dress and have the same hairdo, because they want to be individually identified.
[00:02:28] When I mentioned my wrestling career before, it was not good.
[00:02:35] When I was a freshman in high school, I was very small, and one day the wrestling coach stopped me in the hallway and he said, have you considered signing up for the wrestling team?
[00:02:47] And I thought, wow, you know, he's an important guy. And he's asked me this question. He said, meeks, you could be a great wrestler.
[00:02:57] Turns out he was a big liar. But nevertheless, I went out and got, basically got my butt kicked every day in practice because everyone was bigger than the 98 pound guy that never had to work to make weight.
[00:03:11] I was always under.
[00:03:14] Well, I figured out that I had made a mistake when the first match, they gave us uniforms, and I put the uniform on in the locker room, and I didn't want to go out into the gym with this on because it was. There was not much there.
[00:03:35] I wasn't much, and there was not much there. And it was like, yeesh.
[00:03:39] And I'm sitting on the bench in front of my locker, and my friend said, come on, we gotta go out there. I said, I can't go out like this. And he looked, he goes, you got the top on backwards. It was kind of going around.
[00:03:51] I wasn't walking out there with the headlights on. You know, that would have been bad.
[00:03:57] And then.
[00:04:01] And then I go out there and it's like, okay, this is it. Okay, you could be a great wrestler. You could be a great wrestler.
[00:04:08] And the guy walks out that I'm going to wrestle, and he's shorter than me, but he's got, like, muscles and a hairy chest and a five o' clock shadow.
[00:04:19] And I'm going, what the heck? The Tasmanian Devil.
[00:04:23] I got to wrestle this guy.
[00:04:25] But I'm thinking, you could be a great wrestler. You could be a great wrestler. But I could hear my friends in the stand yelling, you're gonna die.
[00:04:33] Yeah, a lot of support.
[00:04:35] It was great.
[00:04:36] Well, part of the discovery is that when someone tells you you're awesome or someone tells you you're awful, you've got these things in your life. You're less than.
[00:04:52] Then you have a decision to make, because their words can have the power to shape how you see yourselves if you allow them in.
[00:05:01] But to see the choice to allow them in is my choice. It's your choice, or you can let them ring in your memory. For years, we've all had people tell us who we are, and our response either helps us or hurts us. Last week, Ben talked about Adam and Eve and the fact that they were created in the image and likeness of God, as are we.
[00:05:26] We are created in the image and likeness of God. And so part of this identity journey that we're on is rooted in the DNA that we share with our creator.
[00:05:38] So that's a beginning point of identity, who he is.
[00:05:44] In Jewish tradition, asking questions was a way of leading someone to discover the answer rather than just giving answers.
[00:05:53] And Jesus asked over 300 questions in the New Testament. He was drawing people to come to the right conclusion as they process it.
[00:06:05] And how you answered this question, who do you Say I am will help you discover how you see yourself. We're going to look at a section of scripture from Matthew, chapter 16. This story is also found in the book of Luke and the Book of Mark. We'll look at the book of Matthew says this. When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, who do the people say the Son of man is? They replied, some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets. But what about you? He asked, who, who do you say I am? Simon Peter answered, you are the Messiah, the son of the living God.
[00:06:40] Jesus replied, blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. Now this story in Matthew 16 says this happened in Caesarea Philippi, and that is is not a random location.
[00:07:04] Jesus went there to have this discussion on purpose.
[00:07:09] It was a religiously saturated, politically charged environment. A lot of idol worship. It was part of that swing that we see in the Old Testament where they're doing good, they're following God, they fall off a little bit, then they're into idol worship, Things go bad and they come back to God. It's like a story of my life in Jesus.
[00:07:31] I'm in, I'm out. I'm not sure what to do. I'm back in. Okay, I really have some problems here. And you know, that was my story. And you know, I don't think I'm the only one that has had that kind of a struggle.
[00:07:42] Well, Caesarea Philippi was kind of like a year round Burning man festival.
[00:07:49] It was going on and you had all these gods. Here's an artist's rendition of what that area might have looked like with the various temples. There was one of these was to Caesar.
[00:08:00] You could go and worship Caesar. He matter of fact, his own title for himself was Caesar, son of God.
[00:08:06] And so you could worship there. Especially if you had any political ambitions, you'd want to be seen around there. And then the other primary God that was worshiped there was a God called Pan.
[00:08:16] He was sort of this wild fertility God. So there was a lot of alcohol consumption, a lot of sexual activity that happened as a part of the worship of this God. And it was a loud place. It was here's truth. Come over here. We know what freedom looks like.
[00:08:32] And you could just pick and choose your truth.
[00:08:35] You could even do A mashup if you wanted. I'm going to do a little pan, a little Caesar.
[00:08:41] This is going to be a great night. Little hook up here and there.
[00:08:46] Well, here's what it looks like today.
[00:08:49] And that cave, there used to be a spring that flowed out of that. And it was part of the pan worship. And they refer to it as the gates of Hades.
[00:09:00] So when Jesus makes this statement, he's referring specifically to that. And then of course, a bigger Hades.
[00:09:09] But that all of this, we don't have to be afraid of it.
[00:09:15] The gates of Hades won't overcome what God is up to in the world. And in you, my disciples, we don't have to fear this. Oh no. What's the world coming to?
[00:09:26] The world has been coming to what it's coming to for a long time.
[00:09:31] So relax.
[00:09:33] Because God is still God.
[00:09:36] Well, this group of people had some opinions about Jesus. They knew about him. Everybody had heard of him at this point. It's two and a half years into his ministry and the fact is they all had opinions. Same is true today. Most people have heard of him, at least in our culture. And everybody has an opinion about Jesus.
[00:09:56] Not uncommon.
[00:09:58] He asks them, what are the people? What do these folks say about me? Some say you're John the Baptist, others say Elijah and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets. And here's what's interesting. People are comfortable talking about Jesus, forming opinions as long as they don't have to decide about Jesus.
[00:10:16] That's another huge step. And lots of groups try to co op Jesus for their thing.
[00:10:24] I read recently that a current congressional candidate in the US made this statement. Jesus was likely a democratic socialist.
[00:10:35] Well, do you think that that candidate Democratic socialist? You bet. Let's get Jesus on our side.
[00:10:41] You know, if Jesus believes what I believe, then shut up and I do the same thing.
[00:10:49] I want him to buy in to my agenda. What I want when it comes to this relationship or that one. Oh God bless it.
[00:11:00] Jesus never offered himself as a customizable option.
[00:11:05] But we've begun to make Jesus look like a build a bear.
[00:11:08] I'm just going to slap my stuff on Jesus and he'll come alongside because he's my little helper.
[00:11:15] No, he only offered himself as king, as Lord.
[00:11:20] So first of all, public opinion isn't personal faith.
[00:11:24] Public opinion is not personal faith.
[00:11:27] Public opinion cannot become your personal faith because it cannot hold up to the weight of life.
[00:11:33] And it's always shifting and changing and we need something far more solid.
[00:11:41] In verse 15, he pivots to the personal.
[00:11:44] It's a moment where everything sort of shifts. It's no longer public opinion, it's personal. But what about you? He asked, who do you say I am? And before verse 16 happens, I think there was a big silence. There should be like a blank page.
[00:12:00] Because this was the moment.
[00:12:03] They had thought well of him. They believed he was powerful, that God was with him. But now they've seen enough and it's time for the personal decision.
[00:12:15] Boom. It's big seismic shift. They're moving from fans of Jesus to deciding if they're followers, if they're all in.
[00:12:24] It's the same move that we're invited into.
[00:12:28] You see, Jesus didn't come just to improve your life.
[00:12:32] He came to save your life.
[00:12:34] Jesus didn't come to be added to your life goals, to bless your thing, your career, your family.
[00:12:44] He came to radically redefine your life with him as king.
[00:12:50] That makes this question so uncomfortable because once you recognize who he is, you can't pretend it doesn't matter.
[00:13:00] In James 4, he says, humble yourselves before God.
[00:13:05] And that's this step.
[00:13:07] Recognition says, oh my gosh, he's God.
[00:13:14] He's God.
[00:13:16] And we have the question, say, is Jesus the Lord or is he my Lord?
[00:13:22] Does he call the shots?
[00:13:25] Because what I want to do is I want to ask him to bless what I have not surrendered.
[00:13:32] And that's a catch.
[00:13:35] That's a catch.
[00:13:37] Secondly, recognition inspires surrender.
[00:13:41] It gives me the courage. He's God and he's in into me and will I trust? Will I surrender? And Simon Peter answered, you are the Messiah, the son of the living God. It's the ultimate final episode of Undercover Boss where the guy you've been working with all this time, talking to, complaining about the company is the CEO.
[00:14:07] And this is where they're at.
[00:14:10] And it's oh my.
[00:14:12] He's the Christ the king promised Messiah. He's God. He's not a consultant, not an advisor, not a spiritual assistant to help me on my journey.
[00:14:24] Jesus is God.
[00:14:27] Paul clarifies this in Colossians 1. Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation. That pretty much wraps it up when it comes to identity of who he is. And here's the thing.
[00:14:45] If Jesus is God, you don't just consider him or think well of him. You follow him.
[00:14:52] You surrender and it'll cost you something. Following Jesus will cost you something.
[00:14:58] But recognition of Jesus without surrender to Jesus will lead us to self deception because we'll think he's there for our assistance, to help us live the life we choose, rather than a surrender to him.
[00:15:21] I want to co op Jesus to my agenda.
[00:15:24] We have to be careful of that.
[00:15:27] When I was 17, much like you when you were 17 or if you have teenagers in your home, I knew pretty much everything.
[00:15:37] And I felt that most adults were pretty stupid.
[00:15:40] Didn't really get it. This was me at 17.
[00:15:44] I did know hair.
[00:15:46] I knew a lot about hair. I had a lot of hair to know about.
[00:15:50] And, you know, I wanted to be my own self, individual, have my own looks. So I looked like all of my friends. We all had the same hair.
[00:16:02] And shortly after that picture was taken, I was invited to church by a buddy.
[00:16:09] And I was like, what's going on? He goes, I passed him a joint and said, what's going on?
[00:16:16] And he said, I got saved last night. I said, from what?
[00:16:21] I didn't know the language. I had never heard any of this stuff.
[00:16:25] And so I said, I'll go.
[00:16:27] And so I went with him. And I did not get a lot of what went on.
[00:16:33] I really did not.
[00:16:34] I wasn't quite as bright as I thought. I was pretty bright because I had, you know, a good job as a senior in high school, car wash, gas station.
[00:16:47] And so I quit high school because I knew my career was set and had a little, you know, selling some pot to some preferred customers.
[00:16:58] So, you know, everything was going great in my life. And I go to church and, you know, I heard three things that I could remember from that. And it was, Jesus is God.
[00:17:12] He died for my sins and he loves me.
[00:17:17] And. And there was such a want to in my heart to buy into that. That night that I did this, I raised my hand and it was the weakest commitment to Christ ever recorded in human history.
[00:17:37] It's like, I don't know, but I sure want that.
[00:17:41] I sure want that.
[00:17:44] And, man, I was amazing. For two weeks, I was leading people to Christ. And then my friend came by and. You want to smoke? Yeah, I think I do.
[00:17:52] So I was in, I was out. I was in, I was out.
[00:17:56] Why?
[00:17:58] Well, I heard that simple message. I gave my life to Jesus. But I had some surrender issues.
[00:18:05] There were some things that I was being challenged with in my life, and I was like, I don't know.
[00:18:12] Why do we resist surrender?
[00:18:15] Well, sometimes it's the idea that your past disqualifies you, that you've done some things, you've messed up your life enough that you're just not sure that Jesus is really wanting you in the club.
[00:18:35] Or perhaps the idea that some past toxic religious environment that you were in and it was weird and they did weird stuff and Jesus was in that. And separating Jesus from all of that has been hard.
[00:18:56] And so we resist surrender, because I don't want to become like one of the weirdos and go through that stuff.
[00:19:03] But I think most often, at least for me, the struggle with surrender was the loss of control.
[00:19:11] I had very specific opinions, and I wanted Jesus to like my opinions. And so if he was willing to surrender to me and my opinions, that would be great.
[00:19:25] But because Jesus is the Christ, he gets to define right and wrong.
[00:19:33] He gets to define morality and truth.
[00:19:37] And we don't naturally like that.
[00:19:40] I wanted to find those we prefer Jesus who inspires us, not one who interrupts us.
[00:19:48] I prefer Jesus who comforts, not one who confronts.
[00:19:54] Hmm.
[00:19:56] Jesus never presented himself as a build a bear as optional.
[00:20:02] He didn't say consider me. He said, follow me.
[00:20:06] And thirdly, surrender leads to identity, clarity.
[00:20:12] Identity is the door. Surrender is the key. And if Jesus is God in the flesh, then my identity begins to be clarified as well.
[00:20:23] What do I mean?
[00:20:25] Well, that means if Jesus is God forgives sins, he loves you, means you're not an accident of biology.
[00:20:34] It's not random.
[00:20:36] He loves you. Specifically, you're not defined by your past, how you have done wrong, or how you have been wronged.
[00:20:45] That. That's not the definition of who you are.
[00:20:49] And you're not defined by your failures. You're not even defined by your successes.
[00:20:56] The fact is, you are someone deeply loved and intentionally created by God. And for God, you've been created in his image, and that's who you are.
[00:21:10] That's the good news of this Jesus message. It's so freeing.
[00:21:16] And that kind of identity clarity is empowering.
[00:21:20] You're no longer crushed by the disparaging or discouraging things people have said to you because you don't have to let those in anymore because you have an identity that's greater.
[00:21:34] Their opinions are now filtered through that grid of God's love and acceptance and forgiveness. My friend Wayne Cordero likes to illustrate it this way.
[00:21:46] If you would just grab your earlobe unless you're too cool to do that. But you know, I understand. Look down your own, see who's too cool.
[00:22:00] You're already going. I'm never coming back to this church. This is weird.
[00:22:05] Well, imagine then someone saying some things, discouraging, disparaging to you, and you're just holding this not to necessarily fight against it. Just.
[00:22:14] Just flush it.
[00:22:17] Let's try it. One, two, three.
[00:22:20] I'm not receiving that one.
[00:22:22] I'm not letting that one in.
[00:22:24] And so if you're talking to me sometime and I grab my earlobe, just. Just know, You know, One of the big things we face in life is this identity confusion. I love the Jason Bourne series of movies.
[00:22:44] Some of you are looking like, oh, movies. We don't.
[00:22:48] I love them.
[00:22:50] Jason Bourne, he wakes up, doesn't know who he is, spends the rest of the movie trying to figure out who he is.
[00:22:58] And we often are in the same situation, just without all the car chases.
[00:23:03] And we're trying to make this discovery. And unlike Jason Bourne, most of us don't think, well, who I am, who am I?
[00:23:11] Why do I have all these superpowers and I'm so awesome?
[00:23:15] That's usually not how it goes for us.
[00:23:18] But recognizing Jesus means identity stops being something you have to manufacture, and it's something you receive.
[00:23:27] Oh, that's a big weight off, folks.
[00:23:30] Are you receiving what Jesus thinks of you, how he feels about you? That's when we can come to the place of a relaxed surrender.
[00:23:44] Recognizing that is vital. Christian philosopher Dallas Willard said this.
[00:23:51] The most important thing in life is not what you do. It's who you become.
[00:23:56] Are we becoming this image and likeness of our Creator?
[00:24:03] When you settle the question of who Jesus is, you begin to settle the question of who you are.
[00:24:08] Because he's God.
[00:24:10] And if Jesus is not your king, something else will try to be.
[00:24:15] Career, a relationship, your pleasures, your political tribe.
[00:24:21] All those things will try to reign supreme in your life.
[00:24:27] But when you answer you're the Christ, you're not losing freedom. You're actually stepping into real freedom.
[00:24:36] Because your identity is not based on performance.
[00:24:40] It's based on grace. It's anchored in grace.
[00:24:44] Again, Dallas Willard, in his book the Divine Conspiracy. Grace is not opposed to effort, opposed to earning.
[00:24:52] And the 12 disciples didn't earn their way into being a disciple. They accepted an invitation.
[00:25:01] It was that simple.
[00:25:04] When Peter says, you're the Christ, son of the living God, Jesus responds in a surprising way.
[00:25:10] Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.
[00:25:19] God opened Peter's eyes.
[00:25:22] And Jesus isn't just affirming his answer. He's revealing how faith works for us. It's an inside job. You see, it's not about getting enough fact, a moment where the question moves from theoretical to personal. When I say, what Do I believe about Jesus? And then what does that mean?
[00:25:44] Well, I'm not 17. You probably figured that out.
[00:25:48] I am now 70 and I know a lot more stuff now.
[00:25:55] I mentioned that I quit high school, but I did realize I made a mistake and signed up for classes in January. Would have been my senior year.
[00:26:07] And they let me in because I told them I'd bring them some transcripts. And they never checked again. There was no computers.
[00:26:14] So I was in college.
[00:26:16] And then I transferred to the University of Oregon as a JC transfer. No SATs, no high school diploma. So kids, if you're in high school, quit, Bag it.
[00:26:34] All the social tension, whatever.
[00:26:38] You're welcome, parents.
[00:26:40] Oh, there are computers now. You might not get away with it, but I actually ended up quitting college, ended up at a non accredited pastor school at the church in Eugene I was going to and ended up helping to go with a team of people to plant a church in Kirkland, Washington.
[00:27:03] And then they asked me to come on staff and I went. I don't even have a high school diploma and you want me to teach the Bible. So I thought I might need something more.
[00:27:16] So I talked my way into a seminary. So the only thing I have is a master's degree in theology.
[00:27:22] I got nothing else behind it.
[00:27:25] And how sharp are you if you're listening to me, okay, but I'm 70 now and I know more stuff.
[00:27:35] And here's what I am convinced of at this point in my life.
[00:27:42] Jesus is God.
[00:27:44] He died for my sins and he loves me.
[00:27:51] That's powerful.
[00:27:54] So powerful.
[00:27:58] AJ Swoboda, who pastors that church in Eugene today, he wrote this in one of his books. Theologians speak of salvation as an experience marked simultaneously by a period and a comma. We are converted in a moment, but salvation is a work in progress.
[00:28:19] We're all in this work of progressing in understanding and progressing in our surrender.
[00:28:28] If you've not fully achieved it, you probably never will.
[00:28:32] But we continue to move toward him. We continue to say yes to Him.
[00:28:39] Surrender is not a one and done decision.
[00:28:42] It's ongoing.
[00:28:45] But because Jesus is Lord, surrendering to love is reasonable.
[00:28:51] You can trust.
[00:28:53] It's not loss, it's life. At the end of the Book of John as he's wrapping it all up, everything that's been written, the stories of Jesus, the miracles that are recorded, all of it. The death, the resurrection. He says this in John 20. But these are written so that you will put your faith in Jesus as the Messiah and the Son of God if you have faith in him you will have true life.
[00:29:18] There's no ambiguity there.
[00:29:21] This is who he is.
[00:29:23] You've been told, we've told you all that we witnessed firsthand.
[00:29:28] It's real.
[00:29:30] And we're inviting you into wow.
[00:29:36] So for some of you, I would ask the question, have you ever gone from mental ascent, thinking well of Jesus to you're the Christ, the son of the living God, you are God, and I surrender.
[00:29:51] If you've not taken that step, I'm going to give you an opportunity in a moment. But also for those of you who would say, you know what it's more like, that this has been experience that was marked simultaneously by a period and a coma instead of a comma, you know, I made the decision and I haven't done anything about it since.
[00:30:13] Maybe it's time to jump back in. As someone who has jumped in and out of this many times, you can do it.
[00:30:21] And he's just there, ready to receive you.
[00:30:24] One of the things I like to say is that Jesus is just a half turn away.
[00:30:29] You might feel like he's a million miles from you, but if that feeling, flush it because he's right there for you, he's a half turn away.
[00:30:41] So I've asked some questions and now it's an inside job. You have to make your own choices. But what I'd like to ask you to do is stand with me.
[00:30:54] And this is another physical, simple thing. But would you just put your hands in front of you like this? I know some of you are going, I don't like this guy. He's manipulative.
[00:31:09] Yep. Anyway, if you are saying, you know what, I need to make that choice, really surrender for the first time to the God, the creator, Messiah.
[00:31:24] This will be a moment for you to do that, but sort of place that for others of you. There's a point of surrender, you know, a habit, a hurt.
[00:31:38] And if you're wondering, you know, am I having an issue with surrender? Are you worried?
[00:31:43] Worried is a great indicator of trying to maintain control.
[00:31:49] Surrender.
[00:31:51] You can trust him.
[00:31:53] He's God forgives and he loves you.
[00:32:03] I'm going to pray this prayer. You can read it, but if you agree with it, just say yes in your own heart.
[00:32:11] Jesus, I ask you to open my eyes and my heart to the truth of who you are.
[00:32:16] I choose today to turn toward you.
[00:32:19] I don't know or understand it all, but I surrender to you.
[00:32:23] I believe that you're God. I believe my sins are forgiven and I believe you love me.
[00:32:29] Amen.
