Who We Are, Part 1

I come from, and my perspective when you know I'm absolutely thrilled to be living in this generation. At this particular point in time. What a great opportunity for us isn't so much the opposition to the gospel that excites me is the opportunity for the gospel that excites me. What a great time to be a lighthouse of truth me just say the obvious.

We are going to stand on the clear word of God. Society is trying to develop moral standards apart from God. Many in our culture are quick to declare things to be right that God declares to be wrong. How does the church respond. Welcome to wisdom for the heart with Steve and David with today's lesson. Stephen begins a series called upon this rock working to spend the next few weeks looking at what it means for the church to be the church in the way that God intended Stevens calling the lesson that you're about to hear who we are.

Stay with us the governance of the forest. It for young people, little people. Time crawls. It just doesn't happen quick enough you can wait till you know turned 13 I can't wait to get your drivers permit just can't wait until they get your license and he graduated just crawls along in for those of us who are older. Those of us who are over 29 years of age time flies, doesn't it just just flies. I can't believe I got it and the it seems like just in the last year year's worth of things have changed in there have been some seismic shifts. This past year and our culture and in the consciousness of this nation effect will between the last time I preached in an today seismic tectonic shifts have been codified. June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court ruled by a 5 to 4 vote that marriage between a man and a man was as fundamentally a right as marriage of a man to a woman to me.

The tragedy of this decision is really not so much in the decision.

This world will do with this world wants to do, or even the issue or even redefining marriage.

The tragedy is that we have arrived at a point where the argument before that court. If you listen to or read about it. Any kind of moral judgment any kind of moral standing was considered inadmissible and irrelevant.

Certainly, the tragedy of our culture is along with one another court is decided as it openly, intentionally defied the created order of God for marriage that Jesus will pick it up as the son of God over repeated what God created in Genesis 1 and two. He will say in his sermon in Matthew 19 God created them male and female, and then he goes on to say, and for this cause a man will leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife and the two shall become one flesh. That was really interesting. Now I always happen as he goes on, he adds a little disclaimer. You probably heard a wedding is as is and what therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder.

Don't divide would God intended to unite when any nation, any generation which is out of you living in one of them abandons the intuitive knowledge of the creator God and sets aside God breathed instructions called Scripture that generation effectively opens Pandora's box and in the meantime it throws away its orders and throws away in Toronto throws with compass and throws away the lifejacket. The danger is it will be unable to navigate the rough water rough water that it is created confusion like we have perhaps never seen before is going to now grow exponentially.

Even now there are bathrooms in California elementary schools where children can choose whichever one they want if they can't figure out they are a boy or a girl.

The marginalization and hostility of Christianity is just going to be a residual effect. It's going to follow as we remind our world of a creator God as we remind our world of the created order of things affect a Supreme Court justice who dissented, wrote and I quote this will be used, to vilify Americans who are unwilling to assent to the new orthodoxy.

The implications of this analogy to human rights will now be exploited by those who are determined to stamp out every vestige of dissent. Dissent will become criminal retirement hazard talk to the summer residency in the blog sphere of the journals in pulpits and everybody I talked to fact is I did a little tour this summer to the ABF's was able to get about 12 or 13 of them. They all asked the same question as well affected maybe on your mind as well is mine.

What do we do now what we do now we begin our worship services in the evenings here in the chapel at 6 PM which is over in the corner of the campus and I want to begin another series through the Psalms of David and the song that I have prayerfully selected for tonight has within it that classic question. What do the righteous do.

When the foundations are destroyed as I do question what you do when the foundations run away on what you do that word by the way for foundations is where I do not begin to preach my Sunday night sermon this morning will never get through this morning but it is about 1/3 out as long as we want to go right but I will say this much is a rare word only occurs twice in the Old Testament. It means the settled order of things. The rightly ordered thing. What you do when the rightly ordered things are done away with the righteous will begin to explore that answer tonight one of my projects this summer was to finish editing my commentary on the book of Titus for those of you who write and I know of a number of authors in our congregation. It's tedious.

It's editing is no fun at all sure this is the fifth commentary in the series. By far the largest over 300 pages.

I was actually wanting to go back in and take one more look review it anyway because it occurred to me what didn't occur to me when I preached to the couple years ago here at in this assembly, it was the repeated qualification of Paul through Titus to the elders and the requirement that if the elder is married.

He must be married to one wife that typically and this is where the debate is been for several centuries. Is he talking about divorce, is he talking about polygamy really is difficult to tell which it is in every church as a sort of the site where they land on that subject, but but it it it occurred to me at this stage that many more mirror Paul's day, which gives a different nuance to that qualification. When Paul was living in the first century homosexuality was was rampant. We know from history that bisexuality was the norm. In fact, in the first century if you told somebody you were a heterosexual, they would've considered you prudish, somewhat dogmatic your experiment. How do you know this was Paul's day and yet Paul makes this declaration inspired by the Holy Spirit that an elder must be literally the Greek text reads anyone woman man selling a country gospel sort of Western song. One woman man is the twang and hours if he is married. He must demonstrate openly and faithfully his commitment to his woman for 73 and Titus one that has new meaning for us today than we don't really know that that may very well a bit in the mind of Paul when he said he has to be a one woman man and as elders they would then effectively become the last people on the planet to put asunder what God had decided and created to join together.

By the way that qualification which is really been ignored in this entire discussion in churches that are now sort of opening the doors and we heard one in South Carolina that we used to be pastored by the president of the suburbs convention years ago. Now they're going to ordain openly non-celibate homosexuals gives new meaning to those pastors who are also now openly defying God intended order for marriage is clear qualification for those who will shepherd his flock. Some of you are old enough to remember the ministry of Francis Schaeffer, Francis Schaeffer was a philosopher and apologist who was a Presbyterian pastor. The states eventually moved to Switzerland in the open retreat for apologetics and discipleship and for the think tank when we come back to visit the states and Great Britain he would most often criticize the church and attempt to challenge and awaken the church back in the 60s and 70s. I remember as a little boy.

I don't know if I was five or six, but Francis Schaeffer actually came to my home church I was raised nondenominational rather traditional church in Virginia McKenna wore robes and the he came. I remember enough about that event to know that that church was packed 70,000 people. And remember, I can still feel it. There was an air of excitement and then I saw him I can still see him in my memory.

Standing on the stage and he was wearing his traditional gray woolen knickers and white socks.

I remember reading a set adjustment of the knickers which means I missed that moment, church history, but it is right. He was fond of saying this he was fond of saying that someday the church in America will wake up and find out that the America we once knew was gone.

I agree with Earl. Luther's recent assessment, where he wrote that day is here is any question with the highest court of the land codifies that which defies the creation of God that day is here and I want you to know if you're wondering where I come from, and my perspective when you know absolutely thrilled to be living in this generation. At this particular point in time when a great opportunity for us, looking for trouble to find me but am I looking for it isn't so much the opposition to the gospel that excites me is the opportunity of the gospel that excites me. What a great time to be a lighthouse of truth and only just say the obvious were not to change our view of marriage were not in a form a committee to explore the changing sexual ethics in light of an evolving culture. We are going to stand on the clear word of God. Time for us to clarify our role doctrine or character or mission than today because that day is here with an elder team at spend months talking about this and decided with the coming back of this fallen my return to the pulpit that we would interrupt our normal study were in the book of Philippians. If you're new around here will be in it for decades. Maybe before this relation will get back to them and I don't see but to just preach on a different subject and this is going to be more personal and I'm aware. When I preach that it is primarily for this congregation.

God has before you, but we are even aware listen to streamed. We estimate because a radio probably 2 to 300,000 you listen any sermon that really is not in my mind. I really don't care. This is us is time to cover issues that are important to us as a local New Testament church about six years ago. The elder team began working on refining and and adapting our Constitution, which was the original Constitution became 29 years ago in my hip pocket clarifying the documentation to match who we are what we do is we clarify the role of deacons and the role of elders especially over the last 10 years. We originally six years ago began to write this these bylaws, primarily in really the only thing her mind was to deal with it in the nature of church discipline in our need to clarify those documents and how we did it and why it is being perfect timing because over the last couple of years we we sort of seen the tsunami coming will enable now a clarify in these documents where we stand on moral and sexual issues as well as clarify the role of elder and deacon. Over the next several weeks were to roll out to you. Those documents are still being proved and fine tuned we've handed out to deacons and ABF leaders and we best and further thoughts on how to say things as clearly as possible. Our Constitution is effectively a doctrinal statement we we have a change we just try to clarify that but I bylaws which are related to how we function over the last 10 years, especially as shifted to leadership by a plurality of elders so they seem to be the perfect time that only role that Allison Q&A discussion. You'll have plenty of opportunity to see them and to ask questions about them will gathers the church on a couple of Sunday evenings. Later on in the fall I finish this series and then together ratify and take our stand together. So what do at the request of the entire elder team.

We decided to just sort of stop the series in Philippians and preach on the church who we are all believe why we belong, how he operates. Why were accountable and what what we don't believe why and how we discipline and disciple two words.

By the way, from the same Greek word finally, if we get to it. Were looking forward to.

I want you to know the love that I met absolutely thrilled to be living in this day and time to be with you. A lighthouse demonstrating to our darkening culture, the light, the freeing forgiving, gracious, liberating gospel of Jesus Christ. For we are all sinners, we all entirely need the atoning work of Christ we are babe does it word daily by the blood of Christ. This is our gospel message and I'm excited to be here at this point in praying you pray with us that God will purify us, cause us to refocus our side to what really matters as we demonstrate and deliver the gospel to our wondering world is basing everything that he believes and does on man's opinion in the confusion. Now there were already beginning to see as result must begin with who we are, turning your Bibles to the gospel by Matthew and specifically chapter 1682 point side planned and majolica before rain at a time so will you be to first it's it's this we are mastered by an unrivaled master.

We as a church are mastered by an unrivaled master. We are slaves to our creator God. We are his servants, he is not ours. And in this classic text in chapter 16 Jesus is going to start asking his disciples about opinions related to who years is more significant now than ever. Who is who is Jesus Christ and in Jesus comes into this. This district were told in verse 13 of Caesarea Philippi.

Now I want to get bogged down here but merely set the stage he he's asking this in an area where there are 14 Temple. Some of them dating back to the worship of bail rollaround nearby Caesarea Philippi is a hill that held a deep cavern from which the Romans believed the God Pan PAN was born and he was viewed as the God of nature.

In addition, in this city was a magnificent white marble temple by Herod the great, for the deity that the glorification of Caesar. So I find it very interesting and no doubt not a coincidence that Jesus is going to ask the question to his disciples about who he is against the backdrop of every evidence you can imagine that he is nothing that the gospel is nothing that there is no such thing as one God with that is the backdrop he asked them. Here in verse 13. Who do people say that the Son of Man is that the title given to him and so they begin to give them all the opinions they leave out the mean stuff they give them you know some of the nicer rumors. Some say John the Baptist verse 14. Others, Elijah still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets interesting to me that to consider Jeremiah the Jews of Jesus. They were holding to the legend that that Israel would be restored to great glory. After Jeremiah rises from the dead, and they allegedly believe the rise from the dead, that he had hidden the art and the coverings for the tabernacle and the altar in a cave that he would rise from the dead, reveal the location bring these elements out and the glory of Israel would return. Maybe he's the band's gonna bring back the glory of his or they go on one of the prophets in. In other words, just just one of many prophets in line numbers 15. Here's the crucial question every one of us need to know the answer.

This, by the way, who do you say that I see really didn't care about the earlier stuff you knew the rumors he's focusing on is not known who do you say you caught it yet. Do you know who I am.

My just another profit in line.

My just a good man in my own little miracle worker, my motivational speaker delivering the golden rule never judging anybody there is no more important question for you to ask and answer then this one.

Who do you say Jesus is Peter responds in verse 16 thou art the Christ, the son of the living God's response declares two things. First that Jesus was the Christoph the Messiah. And secondly, that Jesus Christ was nothing short of less than deity, God the son on the original languages phrase is only 10 words long. But there are four times this definite article appears for emphasis you get it like a renter for you.

Rather, Woodley would say this is you are the Christ, the son of the God, the living in others there is the other your God the son God incarnate the Messiah, you are on rival really like to stop and expelled all this means that I'm really trying to get the verse 18. Learning really say this on this declaration, Jesus is not just another profit.

He is the subject of he is the glorious consummation of prophecy isn't just the teacher. He is the eternal word. He is the law gospel said to us, and to the Colossians he spoke, he was the word that spoke the universe into existence rolling again. But I say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, I say to you that you are Peter, the English really miss this pond. He says you are a small stone but upon this in movable Boulder. I'm going to build my church and hear the stone fits into this effect.

Peter got it because later, already one of his letters that we are all stone built together to form the house of God were built upon the foundation of Christ himself.

And when Jesus said this, by the way, because his disciples a grown up hearing the Torah, they would have missed it in the Old Testament. This is an attribute belongs to God. He is the rock in his work is perfect. Deuteronomy 32 verse four the Lord is my rock and my fortress second Samuel 22 verse two for who is God, but Yahweh, the Lord, and who is a bride our God.

Psalm 1831 Jesus is basically calling himself God is upon me that rock, I will.

You will be Jesus delivers this wonderful prophecy you can imagine. It's one of my all-time favorites. I don't know many texts that I have often gone to my mind over these very fast 29 years and is given the wonderful piece of Jesus said on this bedrock. I will build my church's church's church. That's the promise that we are as we seek to serve God faithfully. Today's lesson is not quite done. But our time is working a pause right here for now and will bring you the conclusion to this lesson on tomorrow's broadcast youth tuned into wisdom for the hearts wisdom for the heart is the Bible teaching ministry of pastor and author Stephen Davey Stephen is the pastor of colonial Baptist Church in Cary, North Carolina.

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Thanks for joining us today be back at the same time tomorrow for more wisdom