Welcome to Walk in the Truth podcast. Have you ever looked back in time and considered
how certain defining moments have shaped your life in future? Today, John Metter, lead
pastor of Cross City Church, looks at the importance of defining moments and how we
can recognize what God is saying through them. The title of the message today is the most
defining moment in your life and if you have your Bibles, please take them and turn to
Matthew chapter 16 beginning in verse 13. Matthew 16 beginning in verse 13. By the way,
as you've just heard by our video announcement, we'll be starting a new message series next
week called the Origin series. That means that we'll be walking through the book of
Genesis from chapter one through chapter 12 over the course of the next number of months.
It's a great journey through Genesis one through 12. It deals not only with a God who created
heavens and earth and it talks about the creation, but it also answers what I consider the most
important questions in life. Questions like who is God and what is truth and who was I
created to be and why am I on the planet? What is my purpose? All those kinds of questions
that our culture is missing the answers to badly, but we have answers in the word of
God that change everything about how we view life. And so that begins the Origin series
next week. So stand together with me if you would as we open up Matthew chapter 16 today.
You know, you're going to have a million experiences in life, but only a few defining moments.
I call these defining moments God moments because they're unforgettable. You have these
moments and in these moments you find out something about God. You find out something
about yourself. Sometimes you learn something about the situation that you're facing, but
they're God moments and those God moments define you for the rest of your life. Now
my goal today is very simple. I want you to see the spiritual characteristics of a God
moment in your life. I want you to be able to recognize when God's speaking to you and
recognize when God's pointing you in some direction or another. I don't want you to
confuse that with all the other experiences that you have in life because I want you to
see when God is really at work in your life. I think over the last few weeks we've made
it very plain that these moments, these defining moments affect the way we practice our faith,
the way we see ourselves, our identity, the way we face challenges, the way we know and
have assurance that God loves us and forgives us, the way we practice generosity, all kinds
of things are affecting us when we have these God moments and it's really important that
we have them. But this one is, I think, the most important because this one is a God moment
that happened to the apostle Peter and it is the most defining moment that every person
should have and must have to truly know God. That's pretty important.
So here we are, Matthew chapter 16 beginning in verse 13 with the apostle Peter in a conversation
with Jesus. The Bible says, now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi,
he was asking his disciples, who do people say that the son of man is? And they say,
some say John the Baptist and others Elijah, but still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.
And he said to them, but who do you say that I am? Simon Peter answered, you are the Christ,
the son of the living God. And Jesus said to him, blessed are you Simon Bar-Jonah because
flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my father who is in heaven. I also say
to you that you are Peter and upon this rock, I will build my church and the gates of Hades,
the gates of hell will not overpower it. Join me in prayer. Father today, thank you for
this account of this moment between Peter and the Lord Jesus and the heavenly father.
Father, my prayer today is what I've stated that each of us will know how to recognize
those spiritual moments where you're talking to us and we would respond well to it. And
Lord, we ask that you do that for each one of us individually by the power of your Holy
Spirit. In Jesus name we pray. And everybody said, amen. Please be seated.
Now this is an often talked about text. Sometimes people read this passage and they want to
focus on the victorious church because it is an encouraging thing to know that the gates
of hell will not prevail against the church. And then sometimes people want to focus on
the leadership role of the apostle Peter from that moment forward. Who would he be to the
historical church? And I can spend hours with you talking about those two subjects when
it comes to this passage, but not today. And here's why, because the most important part
of this passage, the primary meaning of what we've just read is that Peter has a moment
with God that changes his life forever. And this is the defining moment for his life and
his faith and everything he does from that point forward. It's a really important text,
but it's a pre-church text. The church has not been formed yet. In fact, this is the
first time Jesus mentions the word church in the Bible. The first time it's found in
the Bible. And of course, church means to call out ones. And that's who Peter is going
to be. God is going to call him out of the world and calling out from everyone else.
He's going to call every disciple out from the world and form the church after he gives
the Holy spirit to them. But what's happening here is pre-church. This text is about how
God reveals himself to people. This text is about how God shows you who he is. I can't
think of anything more important than that in my whole life than to know who God really,
really is. It also demonstrates how Peter and the disciples of Jesus, after having walked
alongside him for three years, next to him for three years, sometimes behind him for
three years, a few times in front of him for three years, still don't know him well enough.
They know all about Jesus. They can describe him in a hundred different ways, but they
have yet to have that moment where Jesus reveals himself fully. They have yet to have that
moment where they fully realize who he is and are able to embrace him forever. And that
moment changes their lives from that day onward. By the way, your life will change when you
have this moment with God as well. It'll be personal. It'll be real. It'll be powerful.
It'll be transformational, but it'll be something that God reveals to you that helps you know
something about him that is different from where you can learn anything else about Jesus.
It'll change your life. So let's look at these characteristics that happen in the life of
Peter and how they can happen in your life. First of all, it's a personal moment, a personal
moment. Look at the questions that we opened up this text with in verse 13. Jesus was asking
his disciples, this group, this small group of disciples, who do people say that the Son
of Man is? Now in the timeline of Jesus' earthly ministry, this is towards the end. In fact,
he's on his way to the cross and they know all the great things that Jesus has done.
They know him as a miracle worker. They know him as a teacher, as an amazing leader and
as a mentor, but they don't know him well enough yet. They're not ready to lay down
their lives for him yet because they don't see him exactly as who he is. He's setting
them up for what he's about to show them. And so they know a great deal about Jesus,
just like many of you in this room know a great deal about Jesus. You've read books
about Jesus, heard messages about Jesus. You've read passages of scripture about Jesus. You
have all kinds of ideas about Jesus, but you must have this understanding about Jesus that
Peter is about to have. So first the question is general. Jesus is asking the question.
It's a big question. Who do people say that I am? Now there's a huge question that you
need to ask yourself as well. And the answer in general ways. Some say John the Baptist
and some say Elijah. Some say Jeremiah or one of the prophets. So they're answering
with a variety of questions and people do have various views of Jesus, don't they? If
we were to go out on a street today somewhere in a crowded place, say a park, and I were
to hold up a microphone to a random group of a hundred people and say to them, who do
you say Jesus is? I would get 100 different answers. Wouldn't you agree with that? I mean,
some would say something about his teacher. He's a moral leader. He's a great example.
He's compassionate. He's loving. And all of us have these different ideas about Jesus.
The crazy thing is I could stand at the back of a church building after church one day
with a microphone and ask the same question and still get a variety of answers about who
Jesus Christ is. But what Jesus wants Peter to know is something that is far more clear
than all these other things. And of course the point of the text is Jesus is not John
the Baptist and Jesus is not Elijah and Jesus is not just another one of the prophets. He's
something far, far more. He answers, he asks a very general question, then he moves to
a very specific question. I put both of them on the screen because I want you to see how
these questions contrast with each other. He says, first of all, who do people say that
the son of man is? And they answer with that general answer. And then he gets more personal.
He says, but who do you say that I am? The you is emphatic in the original language,
meaning that Jesus is zeroing in on these disciples, basically saying it doesn't matter
what everybody else says. Who do you guys think he is? Now you is plural, so he's asking
his whole group of disciples, who do you say that I am? But notice that he's moving from
the crowd to the small group and when Peter answers as an individual, Peter's taking it
personal so Jesus is always moving in that direction and that's what's happening right
there. By the way, I love how God always moves from the crowd moment to the small group moment
to the personal moment. And he does that because he's a personal God. He doesn't just relate
to you as a member of the crowd or as a member of the population on the planet. He relates
to you as an individual. One of my favorite scenes in scripture is where Jesus feeds the
multitudes and at the feeding of the multitudes, you know, he breaks the bread and passes it
and the fish and passes it. Five loaves, two fish feed 5,000 men along with a host of women
and children and it's really amazing and at the end of this feeding of the multitudes,
they gather up what's left and there are 12 baskets of food and Jesus gives each of the
12 disciples a basket of food and tells them to go down to the boat and get in the boat
and cross the Sea of Galilee. And then the storm begins to blow and there they are in
the boat terrified but with the evidence of a supernatural God in their hands, he multiplied
this bread and yet they're still worried for their lives and that's when Jesus comes walking
on the water past the boat. Remember this story, are you with me there? I want you to
notice that Jesus shows the crowd something about himself and then he shows the small
group something about himself in that boat. And it's Peter again that stands up and says,
Lord, if that's you, bid me come to you. Ask me to walk on the water towards you. So Jesus
gives him a one word command, you know what it is? Come. And Peter hops out of the boat
and starts walking on the water. Pretty amazing until he sinks, right? One of those amazing
moments. But from the crowd to the small group to the individual, that's what he's doing
here. That's what God's always about. And you know why he's doing that? Because you
can't just know him from the crowd. How do you can't fully know him just in the small
group? You have to fully know him when it's a one on one. You have to know him personally.
Now some people have trouble believing that, but if they read the Bible, they would find
from Genesis to Revelation, God's a personal God who has conversations with people one
on one. And he actually arranges these conversations in very unusual places and very unusual way.
Go to Genesis chapter three, where Adam and Eve have sinned and God comes and finds them
in the garden of Eden. And he says, where are you? And he begins to interact with them
and talk to them. He covers their nakedness with the skin of an innocent animal. And they
began to walk together again. Or read the life of Abraham where God told him to get
up and leave where he was for his whole life. They go to a place he would later reveal to
him. That takes faith. That's not for Jacob who rustled with the angel, but met God or
Joseph. The Bible says about Joseph, the Lord was with him even in the darkest of times
in prison, but God would reveal himself to Joseph over and over sometimes through interpreting
dreams and sometimes just with his presence or Moses. God spoke with Moses and the man
would speak with his friend. The Bible says, and God interacted with him. David who loved
the presence of the Lord and interacted with him, the prophets who heard from God and spoke
powerfully all the way through the Bible. God is a personal God. And I want you to get
this in your mind because if you don't think this is true, then you may not realize that
he wants a personal moment with you. But who am I? Well, you're part of his creation. That's
who you are. But who am I? Well, you're someone that he wants to reveal himself to because
he's a personal God. Consider this, that all these names I've named in the Old Testament,
he knows them, he knows where they are, he knows what they need, but he really wants
them to know him. That he wants you to know him. Recently, I came across a great video
and I enjoyed watching technology kind of unfold as we look at a person on the planet
and then zoom out before zooming back in. I want to show you that video today. I want
you to think about the reality of who God is. And this is really where we all began,
where this lady is, this close up view, where it's just us. But then we began to realize
how small we are and how big our world is. The first is because we see all the people
around us from all over our city or our state or our country. But then one day we look up
and realize, wow, there's a whole other world. We can't even fathom. After a while, we might
begin to realize just how big our world is and how small our planet is. And if the Earth
that we felt was so big at first is actually very, very small in the light of our solar
system. And if we keep looking after a while, we'll realize how small our solar system is
and what a big universe it is that we're in. And hopefully it'll dawn on us how big God
is who created all of this. He's huge and he holds all this together. He's the only
one who can. He created it. God is incredible and big. But then we think this, we think,
well, he's big. His creation is massive, but I'm small and I'm insignificant and I'm
invisible to this God. In fact, some of us stop right there, but we'd be wrong because
someday it may dawn on us that he's so great that he can see us at the same time he can
see his whole creation. And it's not the rest of creation he's focused on. It's us. No,
it's me. It's you. He's focused on speaking to you, leading you, loving you. He knows
you, but he wants you to know him. I wonder, when does God really zoom in on people like
that? He absolutely does. How many of you have experienced that where you realize this
massive huge awesome God knows who you are, where you are, and has spoken to you? Would
you raise your hand? Man, I think the evidence speaks for itself. This incredible God knows
us and wants us to know him personally. It's such a big deal. Our creator, the God of the
universe wants us to know him in a personal way. And that's what's happening, it says
the reaphilipi. That's what's happening to Peter and the rest of the disciples. Who do
you say that I am? And of course, Peter being Peter opens his mouth before any of the other
disciples and he says what the rest of the disciples have been discussing among themselves.
He opens his mouth with a personal answer and he says, you are the Christ, the son of
the living God. I mean, this is massive. This is a huge statement. This is the statement
that Peter makes that says, I know who you are. It's what I call Peter's confession of
faith. It's the moment of realizing that Jesus is fully everything he says he was and knowing
it so confidently, he was ready to say it out loud and not just thinking in his mind.
It's a big confession and it has so much meaning behind it because Peter was searching for
the things that Jesus brought. His confession means that in you, Jesus, all the prophecies
of the Messiah have been fulfilled. And in you, Jesus, all the sacrifices of the old
Testament system find completion. And in you, all the hopes of God fearing people are fulfilled.
And in you, all the promises of scripture will come to pass or have come to pass in
you. And in you, the full expression of the heavenly father has come to pass that we can
see you. And in you, Jesus, God has become flesh and we are face to face. And in you,
we find our salvation and forgiveness and life. Peter's basically saying our search
is over. The answer to everything is you, Jesus. That's what's happening. That's the
personal moment that he has. And perhaps he expresses that for all the other disciples
at that moment, but it's really, really Peter who gets that. Jesus later on makes a statement.
He says, this is eternal life that they may know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ
whom you have sent. And Peter has his moment right here in this text. I've been around
a while in ministry and every defining moment that I've had in life has been personal and
individual and intimate. And when I hear stories of people that have encounters with God, they
are the same. You have to be alone with God for a while to have some of these experiences.
Don't be afraid to be alone with God because he will reveal things to you that will surprise
you about himself. But God will help you have these defining moments. I've had defining
moments with God in a crowd where he singled me out and a moment that I felt no one else
saw or was aware of or even in the room, but God and myself or reading the Bible. And all
of a sudden something jumps off the page and I see God getting all personal with me and
directing me and speaking to me. This is how God consistently reveals himself and his will
go for our lives. And I have to ask you a question at this point, has this happened
to you where God became personal and real and face to face with you where, where you
realized something was going on. There wasn't just information in your head and that God
was showing you something about himself. It will be a personal moment. But in this text,
you also learn it's a revelation moment. Verse 17 after Peter makes this huge confession
of faith, Jesus said to him, blessed are you Simon Barjona because flesh and blood did
not reveal this to you. But my father who is in heaven, this is where Jesus pauses and
explains to Peter exactly what happened. I explained it to him, not in a condescending
way, not in the belittling way, but he wants it to be crystal clear for all those disciples
there at that moment. He wants it to be crystal clear for us right here and now. This moment
is not about information. It's about revelation. This is where God shows you something that's
been revealed that you've never seen before, never known before, maybe hidden from you
before because you weren't ready and you weren't looking, but this is a moment where God reveals
himself. A revelation moment where God breaks through his mind and heart and spirit. But
even more than that, it tells us that Peter didn't learn this in a synagogue or from a
common conversation. The church hadn't been established yet. He didn't hear it in church.
No rabbi or prophet taught him that. This is the father revealed and the word reveal
again means to remove the veil. It's where God reveals a thing to us not known before.
All of a sudden, Peter gets it. Now I've got my own theory about Jesus' response to Peter
when Peter comes up with this huge confession, thou art the Christ, the son of the living
God. I mean, it's like a slam dunk in terms of knowing who Christ is. It's huge, but I
can imagine what Jesus must have been doing when Peter said this. Now Peter's one of my
favorite characters of the scripture, probably because Peter messes up more than anybody
else in the Bible. How many of you have seen that and noticed that? It's the first one
to talk. Sometimes he puts his foot in his mouth. I say sometimes he puts both feet in
his mouth. If I were to talk to you about how I believe Jesus probably speculatively
interacted with Peter, I would say sometimes Jesus probably as patient and long-suffering
as he was probably rolled his eyes a few times with what Peter said and did. How many of
you think that might be true? I mean, it's not a vote or anything like that, but there
are a few times where Jesus might have tried to pull some of his own hair out because he
was frustrated with Peter. I think it's a demonstration of God's patience that he left
Peter on the planet that long. I think this is the moment where Jesus smiled and said
he gets it. He understands who I am. He's seen all these miracles. He's heard all this
teaching. He's watched me as I have done ministry, but I think he gets it, Father. Thank you,
Father, for opening his eyes and letting him see who I really am. Jesus was smiling, I
believe, at that moment. It's this kind of moment that precedes our salvation. It's not
only the mental awareness of who Christ is, because this moment is so much more personal
than just a bunch of information in our minds. It's so intimate, so clear, so undeniable.
It's also the heart awareness. It's this kind of moment that lets people lay down their
lives for Christ. If you've ever wondered why someone is willing to die for Christ,
this is why, because they've seen who Christ really is that he's worth living for, he's
worth dying for, because they've seen him. They know who he is. It's a moment that brings
incredible revelation to our lives. The apostle John has had this moment. Here's how he words
it in 1 John 1. What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with
our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands concerning the word of life,
and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testified to you the eternal life which
was with the Father and was manifested to us. John's saying the same thing. God revealed
all these things to me. What we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that
you too may have fellowship with us, and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with
his Son Jesus Christ. That's what John says about the same kind of encounter that he had.
Even Mr. Doubter, Thomas, has this moment as well. Thomas is not a willful doubter. He's
just a guy that doesn't have enough evidence. Like a lot of us, we're looking for more evidence.
We want to know is God real? Is Jesus real? He didn't see Jesus in his resurrection body
as early as the other disciples. He said, unless I see those wounds in his side, in
his hands, I won't believe. Eight days later, Jesus shows up in the meeting room and shows
all these things to Thomas. You know what Thomas did at that moment? The Bible says
in John chapter 20 verse 28, Thomas answered and said to him, my Lord and my God, his confession
of faith. Very similar to what Peter said in Matthew chapter 16. If you're a doubter
out there today, let me just tell you, God will give you the evidence you need to no
longer be a doubter. Amen. That you can believe him. I've been in ministry for 40 years as
I've said, and I've seen this happen over and over, where God reveals himself to people
who want to know him. Sometimes those who are stubborn about it, God will reveal himself
to them. I frequently hear how he gets close to them and they're close to him. He becomes
intimate and personal and manifests himself in very real ways. And they go on in life,
never again doubting their salvation, never again doubting their identity in Christ. And
here's what I want to say to you today. I want to say to you, if you want to know him,
he will reveal himself to you. I believe that with all my heart. But if you look at the
rest of the verse, there's a piece that I haven't covered yet. It's just three words,
but man, they're important. It's what I call a transformational moment. In verse 17, those
first three words are these words, blessed are you. Now this is Jesus, who is Christ,
the son of the living God, pronouncing this upon Peter. And this is an incredible statement.
It's a blessing bestowed. It's a gift given by the only one able to give it. And that's
Jesus. Now notice that this is a present tense statement. This does not say blessed will
you be one day. It's present tense. You are now and will be blessed. It's an immediate
possession. I'm giving you something as a gift. This is God's pouring of grace and favor
and blessing into the life of Peter. And at this moment where God declares his favor and
grace on Peter is not a church moment. It's not a reward moment for anything Peter has
done. It's a moment of awareness and faith where Peter has stood up and said, you're
the Christ, the son of the living God. Blessed are you. Simon Barjona immediately follows
in that conversation. That's pretty powerful because it's this realization of who Jesus
is and this confession that is the moment of salvation and the entrance into eternal
life for Peter and us, all of us. The word blessed means possessing God's favor being
marked by his fullness. It's the gift of eternal life and forgiveness and favor that comes
from acknowledging Christ as Lord. I love Ephesians 2, 8 and 9. I share it all the time.
He says, for my grace you have been saved through faith and that's not of yourselves.
And then most of us know the next line. It is a gift from God and not a result of works.
That's really important for you today because most of us think we have to do something or
several somethings in order to get God's favor or God's grace or be blessed. But really God
gives this on the basis of recognizing who Jesus is. It's really, really a big deal.
And Peter later on explained this in 2 Peter chapter 1. Let me read a verse or two to you
of this. He says, grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus
our Lord, seeing that his divine power has granted to us or given us everything pertaining
to life and godliness. That's everything. Everything you could ever need or have, he's
given it to you at that moment. Through the true knowledge of him who called us by his
own glory and excellence. I believe that's Peter's commentary on Matthew chapter 16.
I gained the true knowledge of who Jesus is and I had from that moment on everything pertaining
to life and godliness. Now that does not say that Peter has arrived yet. In Matthew 16
he's not arrived. He believes and he's confessed his faith and certainly he's saved in the
sense of forgiveness of sin and he'll walk with Jesus later on being full of the Holy
Spirit. But he's not arrived. He's not perfect. The reason I know that is because I keep reading
my Bible. Even though God's going to use Peter in a significant way, that big confession
is where we started off, that Peter is going to do some things that don't make it out of
sense. Six verses later he rebukes Jesus for saying he's going to the cross and Jesus says
get thee behind me Satan. Kind of uncomfortable isn't it? A few chapters later he denies Jesus
three times and then still later in John 21 he decides to go back to fishing for fish
instead of fishing for men. Jesus is going to continue to walk with him and continue
to forgive him and later on fill him with the Holy Spirit. But this is not a moment
of arrival but it is a moment of salvation where he begins the journey and Jesus will
walk with him all of the way. It's big. But here's the thing that you need to carry away.
This big confession, you are the Christ, the son of the living God, it's where we stand
as a foundation of faith and foundation for the church. This confession of Christ is what
makes a true Christian stand apart from every other religious movement on the planet. Think
about it. Every departure from the faith, every false religion, every cult is built
on an erroneous view of Jesus because Jesus is not just an angel the way some say, not
just a teacher the way others say, not just a moral example as still others say. He's
not just a miracle worker, he's the Christ, the son of the living God. He's God in the
flesh. He's savior and Lord or he's not at all. He's all or nothing to you. And the truth
is the whole church of Jesus Christ is built on this confession of faith that this is who
Jesus is. Paul said in Romans chapter 10 verse nine, but if you confess with your mouth,
Jesus said, Lord, and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you
will be saved. I want to end with two questions today. First, has he shown you this? And secondly,
have you confessed this as truth? How did he show you this? And have you confessed this
as truth? I can't think of a more important moment for you in your life than right here
right now, because if this passage is true and it is, then really eternity stands in
the, in the gap there. It stands to be gained or not. Watch you come to the place of confessing
Jesus said, Lord, you're the Christ, the son of the living God. The scripture says in Romans
10, you'll be saved when you confess with your mouth, believe in your heart. That's
when Christ opens the windows of revelation and lets you know him personally. As I've
said today, if you want to know him, he wants to reveal himself to you. Personally, I want
you to bow your heads today across the room, close your eyes for a moment. I prayed a prayer
earlier in the service and that prayer was that we could be free from the distractions
in our minds and willing to zero in on a moment with, with God. And I pray that that prayer
has been answered for you. I pray that you would be willing to do that. I pray that you
would want to do that. We'd love to talk to you about that. I'm going to pray a prayer
in just a moment after asking you to stand in just a moment. And while it'd be our closing
prayer, it's also a very important prayer for you to pray. Should you want to know him
and then I'm going to ask you to do this. I'm going to ask you to go to the decision
stations that we have that are set up to have these kinds of conversations, conversations
about has this ever happened to me? And if I want to make this decision, have this moment,
can I get somebody to help me with that? And the answer to both of those is yes, we can
help you with those. Just a few moments as I pray, you'll have that opportunity. I want
you to stand with me at this moment. Father in Jesus name, I'm so thankful for the privilege
of having the opportunity to open the word and see how you became so personal, so real
to Peter. Father, my prayer today is that you will become personal to each of us in
the room, that there would not be one man or woman or child who would walk away believing
that you're impersonal, that you don't want to know them, that there's no way that they
can have a relationship with you. Father, I pray that you would dispel all of that and
help them to know you have come near and you are there and you do care and love them. And
father, my prayer today is that they would come to know you as Lord and savior. Father,
help them to have the boldness and the courage to make this decision, the step of faith.
And I thank you father for this opportunity today. We ask this in Jesus name. Amen.