Kerwin Baptist Church Daily Broadcast

Welcome to the Kerwin Baptist with his disciples saying unto them, whom do men say that I am? See, now whatever men say that he is had nothing to do with who he really was.

But it was kind of in a sense getting a feel, you know, what are people saying? Verse 28, and they answered, John the Baptist. Some say you're John, some say Elias, and others, one of the prophets, just a lot of things going around Jesus, you know. And he saith unto them, but whom say ye that I am? And Peter answered and said unto him, thou art the Christ. That's a good answer. It's amazing how in just a few verses one man can be so brilliant and so dumb.

Good thing none of us are like that. Look at verse 30. And he charged them that they should tell no man of him. Always a lot of confusion. In fact, on our Wednesday nights, we have some question answer cards that as time allows on Wednesday nights and things, I like to answer questions. And this was one of our questions we've not answered yet, at least publicly, is why would Jesus tell them not to go tell people what Jesus or a miracle that Jesus had done? And you say, well, why is the answer to that? Well, be here on a Wednesday night, and maybe you'll find out.

All right. You see, you have to have that fact, that belief that Jesus is Christ, that he is our savior. You've got to start there, and if you believe that, okay, now you're ready to hear some things. If you don't believe that, then we would be wasting our time to try to tell you a whole bunch of other things. So it means this, that if you believe Jesus is Christ, and if you believe he is God, he is the savior, he is the Messiah, through him comes our salvation, then that fact should stay the same whether times are good or times are bad.

Whether it's sunny or whether it's storming in life. You've got to start there. And once you're there, that can't change. So then he began to teach. And you know, I would say this, we have people, church has become so on a whole, church and the culture of church has become so non-offensive and everybody loves everybody and we don't want to do anything to hurt your feelings and all those different things that it's amazing that they never can really get to the truth because if you don't believe this, if you don't believe Jesus, if you don't believe Jesus is the only way to salvation, you really can't get much further in the Bible.

So everything after that's kind of fluff. If we're not willing to stand on that, then really we're not willing to stand on anything. So he began to teach them, look at verse 31, that the son of man must suffer many things and be rejected of the elders and of the chief priests and scribes and be killed Whoa, whoa, whoa.

Do you notice how casually Jesus is teaching these things? You know, I'm gonna say it's one thing to be rejected. You know, that's tough. But you can get beyond that. It's one thing to kind of be rejected of the religious people.

Hey, sometimes we're glad about that. But just casually and be killed. Whoa, whoa, whoa. That's a little different. That's a different type of sacrifice.

There. Rejected of the elders and of the chief priests and scribes and be killed. And after three days, rise again. Now it's there that he was teaching them that, but yet they still seemed shocked when it happened. I think maybe because the disciples and maybe even Peter were already stuck on the first few things he said. That maybe they just were already trying to think of questions and things they wanted to argue and debate about that or find out or question that maybe they just kind of, that little tail end, the most important part of the fact that he would rise again.

They didn't seem to concentrate on that. I mean, they're all the way back about suffering. That he's gonna have to suffer many things and that's what Peter deals with. What about these other things that Jesus said about being killed, about rising again, but Peter couldn't get beyond that first thing that Jesus said. Notice if you would, in verse 33, but when he turned about and looked on the disciples, he rebuked Peter.

Why? Why did he rebuke Peter? Well, because Peter did something that was probably a good motive, but a bad method. Verse 32.

And he spake that openly. Jesus openly taught this and look what happened. And Peter took him and began to rebuke him. Now, why did Peter rebuke Jesus about this?

And we know from comparing scripture with scripture, here's what happened. Peter looked at him and said, Jesus, we're not gonna let you suffer. You're the king. You don't have to go through all this. You're not going to go through all this. We won't let that happen to you.

And immediately you would say, well, that's wonderful, but Peter was missing the whole point. Get thee behind me, Satan. Ouch. That's one thing when people say, you're a little Satan or something. You're a devil. But when Jesus says that to you, ouch.

All God's people today say ouch. I've always wanted to try to do that. I've never ever done that. That's what all the big shots do, so I just wanted to. And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, I don't you like how it just goes on to the next thing? Wasn't much said after that. Get thee behind me, Satan.

That's when you shut your mouth. And he called the people unto him with his disciples also, verse 34, and he said unto them, whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it, but whosoever shall lose his life.

Here we go. For my sake and the gospels, the same shall save it. For what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Whosoever therefore will be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation.

Well, better, haven't they? Notice what he says, if you're ashamed of me, look at the middle, verse 38, of him also shall the son of man be ashamed when he cometh in the glory of his father with the holy angels. For the sake of the gospel. Jesus alluded as he's teaching them in context of, hey, what do people think about me, okay? Well, more importantly, what do you think about me? What do you believe about me? Okay, you believe I'm the Christ. Well, then let me teach you some things. And as soon as he began to teach them truth, Peter stands up and says, no, no, no, that's not what's gonna happen.

That doesn't need to happen. And Jesus rebukes him, and then he makes it very clear, okay, just once you rebuke somebody like Jesus rebuked Peter, and he had all the right in the world to do so, now everybody's really listening. And Jesus says this, if you really are gonna be a follower of me, deny yourself, take up your cross. And follow me. And he says here at the end of verse 38 that if you're ashamed of me in this generation, this adulterous and sinful culture, if you're ashamed of me here, I will be ashamed of you in the presence of my father.

In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Why did Jesus rebuke Peter? Peter missed the point. What was the point?

Now listen to me this morning real quickly. You see, if Jesus did not suffer for the sake of the gospel, you and I would resent the fact that we had to. If Jesus did not care enough about it to suffer, why should we care enough about it to be willing to suffer? If Jesus was not going to be rejected by people for the truth, Jesus needed to suffer so that we would understand that if we follow him, we will too.

Listen to me, we need to know that from the start. Being a follower of Jesus isn't a cakewalk. It is not just walking around smelling the flowers, talking about love and how wonderful life is. Jesus made no such claim. We need to know from the start that it is not a half-hearted commitment to live for the sake of the gospel. We say we're a gospel preaching church.

Are we really? Are we willing even to be ridiculed by the community for the truth of God's word? We need to know if we're going to be a follower of Jesus, then we must be willing to follow his path. That is not a flower-lined, comfort-ridden path. Preacher, this seems kind of heavy.

Listen to me. For Jesus to avoid suffering, it would have cheapened the gospel. It would be a cheap gospel to think that you and I should not have to sacrifice or suffer for it. How valuable would it really be if it cost us nothing?

This is not a game. Can I have an amen there this morning? We have the truth that Jesus is the son of God. And because we believe that truth, we have a hope beyond the grave.

This cost Jesus everything, so why should it not cost us anything? We are following a savior that gave his life. We have been preceded by prophets and disciples and martyrs and hearers. Hearers of the faith that gave their lives for the gospel.

They literally lost their lives for the gospel's sake. So what does it mean to be a follower of Jesus Christ? I don't know if you're wondering that or even thought more about that as the things I mentioned, but I want to dig into that and let you go this morning. Let's talk about self. It's the first subject that God brings up. Okay, you believe that I'm the Christ, so let me teach you some things. Following me, you must deal with the subject of self. The first thing he starts with is this.

Let him deny himself. Whosoever will come after me, which means Jesus says anybody can be a follower of Jesus. Not just the ones that Jesus has chosen. Whosoever can be a believer and whosoever can be a follower of Jesus Christ, but it takes denying yourself. So what does that fully mean?

Well, I could not even come close in 13 minutes to even describe this one thing, let alone the rest of it. He said this, to deny self does not mean to deny things. It means to give yourself holy to Christ. It means to identify with Christ in his rejection, shame, suffering, and death. Listen to me this morning, denying self is where Jesus started on the subject of following him. Everything following depends on this.

We will get no further without this. This mountain must be climbed in order for us to continue on the journey. And there are so often people that are saved, they believe that Jesus is the son of God, but they've never gotten any further in our Christian life because we can't get over the hurdle of denying ourselves.

It is the self that seeks a kingdom and a crown, striving to go its own way, demanding to lead rather than follow. Nobody could have been more sincere than Peter. No more certain that he himself was right when he resisted the cross by rebuking Jesus. You see, one at the root of why Peter said, Jesus, you don't need to suffer because Peter was trying to get out of suffering himself. You see, if he's my leader and I follow him and he suffers, I might have to suffer. So Peter is saying, Jesus, you don't need to do that because Peter didn't wanna have to suffer.

Now hold on, you gotta get this. Self is deceptive. Self is destructive because it leads us into death while we think we are laying hold on life.

We're gonna talk about that in a minute. That's why he says if you seek to save your life, you'll lose it. But if you're willing to lose your life, you'll save it. Self convinces you otherwise. To say no to self is to resist the most powerful force.

Speaking of Warren Wiersbe, I found this and I thought this was interesting. He said this, even if we lock ourselves in a desert cave, totally cut off from any temptation of any kind, we will still do what our self wants. Denying self means that we let go of our natural feelings about ourselves, our right to ourselves, and our right to run our own lives. We are to deny that we own ourselves.

Listen to me, you and I do not have final right to decide what we're going to do or where we're going to go. You and covet to protect above anything else is the right for us to make our own decisions. And God says if you're gonna be a follower of me, you must give up that right.

You and covet to protect above anything or anybody and we reserve the right to make final decision in our lives. That's what self does, but Jesus said if you're gonna follow my path, you've got to give up that right because even Jesus gave up the right to decide for himself. I came, he said, to do the will of my father.

He said I do need to do this because you might need to do this. Number two, living for the sake of the gospel is about sacrifice. He said if you're gonna be a follower of me, deny yourself and take up your cross. Do you know leaders cannot lead without a conscience that is dependent on the cross and what it means? I even wondered why was Jesus so harsh with Peter? Listen to me, this is the point that Jesus made so forcefully with Peter when he called the man that he eventually would use so importantly in the church and at Pentecost. He called him Satan.

That's as bad as it gets. What was the point he was trying to make? At this point in this story, look at me, he couldn't even stand the sight of Peter. He said get away from me. I don't even want to have to look at you Satan.

Why? He couldn't stand the sight because what Peter was doing as good as it sounded reminded him so much of what Satan himself had done in trying to tempt Jesus. And what was that temptation? To do God's things your way. Peter didn't even realize that he didn't mean it. But he had the same mentality that Satan did. Jesus, if I can just tempt you to do something that's not wrong, to do something that's good, but to do it my way. Peter said oh you don't need to do this, you don't need to suffer.

Yes he did. Because that's what God demanded. That's payment for our sin.

It's pretty bad when it's so hard already what you have to do and then your friends try to convince you not to. Your followers convince you not to. Because Satan did that to himself.

Wow, listen to me. Taking up your cross is a total and radical commitment to God's will for your heart and God's power to overcome yourself. Are you willing to take up your cross today? Number three, living for the sake of the gospel is about submission.

Look at verse 34. Deny yourself, take up his cross. And follow me.

That's submission. You set aside everything else and focus totally on following me. In other words, to follow Jesus is to realize that I can expect the same from life that he received. Now may I say that you and I often, we're not gonna see in life what Jesus saw. We're not gonna suffer like he suffered, but to follow him means that I'm willing to go down the same path.

I'm willing to follow him. Society might reject me and society might shame me and there is some degree of persecution that I might have to experience within this world even when commissioning his disciples. Jesus never gave them their starting salary. Jesus never gave them their retirement program.

In fact, he never even mentioned their stock options. If I come my way, I choose to follow Jesus. That's the gospel. Wow.

Almost done. Number four, living for the sake of the gospel is about saving. He brings up the subject of saving. Verse 35, 36, and 37.

Interesting here. He said for whosoever will save his life shall lose it and whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospels the same shall save it. For what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world which we as individuals think is saving our life? If we have a lot of this, if we gain the whole world, he says but lose his own soul. That means if we gain the whole world, we think we've saved our life, but if we lose our soul, we've lost everything. He said what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

Listen to me. Self is deceptive and destructive and it leads us into thinking we're saving our life when we're really losing it. That's what self does.

That's why Jesus says if you ever have the hope of saving your life, you've got to deny yourself. Self will try to save ourselves. Self will fight hard to preserve this present life but fail to prioritize eternal life. Self will be completely overlooking tomorrow in heaven.

If left in control, we will lose everything by trying to save it. Self will put our body first and our will first and our desires first but will be negligent of that which really fulfills our soul. Even the Bible calls an individual a rich fool. The man that built all his barns and he said I've made all this and I've got to build more barns to keep more things and literally that man said you know what, I'm going to sit back, take it easy and say soul, thou has much goods laid up but guess what, his soul didn't have anything laid up.

It was his body that had things laid up but his soul was empty. Number five, last one, living for the sake of the gospel is about shame. God says if you're going to be a follower of me, let's talk about this subject.

He doesn't cut any corners. He makes it very clear in verse 38 that if you're ashamed of me and my words in this generation, then I'll be ashamed of you in the last generation. I'm going to tell you something that's going to increase and increase at a very rapid rate. You're either going to be bold with God's word or you're going to be ashamed of it because culture is going the opposite direction of this word. Following Jesus is not a wandering voyage.

It points a particular direction and it always ends up at crucifixion but it is always victorious and resurrection. So do you want to learn who Jesus really is? Who do men say that I am? Who do you say that I am? Do you really want to find out who Jesus is?

Then follow him. Remember it's open to whosoever. This week I have watched Charles and Nelda deny themselves. I've watched them accept something that they would not choose, that they would not desire, that they do not want, that everything about them would reject. I've watched them deny themselves and taken it. I've watched them this week take up their cross and carry it through the unknown and the unwanted.

I've watched their old precious young lady save her life while others think she lost it. So I'm here to tell you as Paul said, this week above all weeks I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. Lord I love you.

And often comfort brings complacency and apathy. But Lord you said if we're going to follow you then there's just some things that are going to have to take place. If you have any questions, please contact us by phone at 336-993-5192 or via the web at KerwinBaptistChurch.com. Enjoy our services live and all our media on our website and church app. Thank you for listening to the Kerwin broadcast today. God bless you. .