Get It Right, Part 2

People were saying on my Instagram, Jesus never claimed to be God.

Read it again. Pastor Jonathan Evans directs us to the Word that never changes, not the posts that always do. This is our faith.

He is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, period. This is the alternative broadcast featuring the timeless biblical teachings from the archives of Dr. Tony Evans. Simon Peter declared Jesus to be the Christ, the Son of the Living God, a statement that stands at the very foundation of the Church. Today Jonathan Evans unpacks the power of that truth and challenges us to move beyond shallow belief to authentic discipleship. Let's join him in Matthew 16 as he shows us how understanding who Jesus is shapes who we were meant to be. There was an important question that was asked by Jesus. Jesus looked at his disciples. He looked at the people who he was in relationship with. He looked at the people who were in church today. And he said, what is the word around town about me?

What are they saying about me? Because you got to understand, Jesus was doing a lot of things that would spark the question. I mean, he was healing and giving sight and healing paralytics. And they were bringing people from far away to get to Jesus so that they can experience the power of Jesus.

And when people were seeing this, they were saying, man, who is this guy? John the Baptist knew who Jesus was. Because in John chapter 129, he says, Look, behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. John the Baptist knew who he was.

He said, Look, there's one who surpasses me because he existed before me. John the Baptist was clear on who he was. I baptize you with water, but here comes one that baptizes you in the Spirit. John the Baptist was clear, but the community was confused. The sad reality today is that people in the church are just as confused as people who aren't in it. They don't really know who Jesus is. They know that he's, you know, spectacular. They give him credit. They give him honor. But at the same time, if someone were to ask you who Jesus is, you wouldn't be able to tell them about your own faith.

What is the word around telling about me? Now, you got to understand, the belief back then that was wrong is still a common belief today. That's why we need to know who he is. That's why we need to be disciples who can stand on the rock of our understanding of Jesus Christ in our faith because the world outside is wrong. Somebody asked me about Jesus being God, so I just made a little statement on Instagram. And I must have got 5,000 comments on Instagram about this statement of people laughing and saying how wrong I am about Jesus. We live in a society today who knows about Jesus but doesn't know Jesus.

Unfortunately, we live in churches today that know about Jesus and have respect and even will give him credit, but they don't know who he is. There should be a difference between the world and the church. There should be a difference between what they say and what we say.

There should be a difference between how they live and how we live. We should not be going for sameness with the people who don't even know who he is. He says, so what do you say about me? Now, if there's anybody in here who's still on the edge or you're still a little confused, I'm going to take a moment just to tell you who he is. He is the way, the truth, and the life. No one gets to the Father except through him.

He is the first and he is the last. Colossians 1 says he is the creator of all things. Colossians 2 says full deity and bodily form.

Philippians 2 says God emptied himself, taking on the form of a bondservant, being made in the likeness of man. I'm telling you, he was at the beginning from the beginning before the beginning. He is the mediator between God and man.

He is the one. Even in John chapter 14, Philipp, one of his disciples, was still trying to figure it out. And he said, Jesus, when are you going to show us the Father? And Jesus looked back at Philipp and said, you ain't been with me long enough.

When you have seen me, you have seen the Father. The Pharisees were confused. In John 8, Jesus said, Abraham is glad to see my day. And the Pharisees said, what are you talking about?

You're but 50 years old. How are you going to talk about Abraham? And Jesus looked back at them and said, before Abraham, I am. He is saying two things. He's letting you know I pre-existed Abraham and I also, I am.

That is the name for God used in Exodus 3 when he was talking to Moses and he told Moses, tell them the I am that I am sent you. And then they picked up stones to stone him. Why do you think they were trying to kill him? They were trying to kill him because they viewed it as blasphemy. And people were saying on my Instagram, Jesus never claimed to be God.

Read it again. Even in the prophets, Isaiah 9, 6 says a child will be born and a son given and the government will rest on his shoulders and you will call him Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. That's who he is and that was 700 years before his birth.

Micah 5, 2, 500 years before his birth says he will be born in Bethlehem and he comes from ancient times. He is your savior. He is your deliverer. He is your redeemer.

He is all in all. When you're praying, he's the one who's listening. When you're lost, he's the one who finds you. When you're divisive, he's the one who brings unity. When you stumble, he's the one who stands you up. He is everything. He is the every in everything. Peter stepped up because when he said, But who do you say that I am to you?

There is plural. He was talking to the group. He basically said, Who do y'all say that I am?

Peter said, Let me handle this one. You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Forget about what everybody else is saying.

I know exactly who you are. So let me just make this clear. What we believe about Jesus is exactly what Peter said about Jesus. That he is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, period. We're not still thinking about it. We're not still trying to figure it out. We're not still guessing about it.

We're not still unsure about it. We know exactly who he is and we're not ashamed of the gospel. We're not ashamed of Jesus Christ. This is our faith. He is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, period.

See, Peter covers the gamut in a few words. As Christ, he's the Messiah, the Deliverer, the Savior, the Anointed One. And many people understand why that's important. Well, it's important because as Christ, he delivers you. As God, he owns you. Some people want to get in on the Christ part and leave out the God part. No. If you're a disciple of Jesus Christ, you're going to be unleashed.

You've got to have that whole thing. I'm saved and ready to be unleashed at your beck and will at whatever you say. I am your servant and you are my God. But he's God the Son. God the Son is the second member of the Trinity. God is one God who is simultaneously three persons. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. So you've got to understand that when Genesis 1 26 says, let us make man in our image, who's us in our?

If Matthew 28 says, baptize them in the name singular of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, that's bad grammar, unless it's a singular plural. That is who he is. If I was holding up a pretzel, you'd only see one pretzel, but you would at the same time see three individual holes. One hole's not that hole, this hole's not that hole, that hole's not that.

There are three individual holes, but you're only looking at one pretzel because they're all connected by the same dough. So yes, Jesus Christ was born of a woman, but he created his mother. He's the Son of God, God the Son.

The second member of the Trinity, mediator between God and man, God who emptied himself, taking on the form of a bondservant by choice to give you grace and mercy that you do not deserve at all. This is who he is, and if you don't know who he is, you can't participate in his future paradise or his current program. But I'm only saying it because the Bible says it. I'm only saying it because in the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

He was with God and he was God and became flesh. I'm just saying that's who he is. And if you don't believe in who he is, well, this is really angering me, I know. The reality of Jesus is offensive. Well, Jonathan, you're preaching like you don't care.

Well, actually I do. That's why I'm preaching it. Well, this doesn't sound loving, Jonathan, saying that there's only one way through Jesus Christ. That doesn't sound loving at all. Why wouldn't he give multiple ways? Actually, why would he give sinners any way? You ought to be glad there's one way. It's loving because it's the truth.

That's why it's loving. I want to make sure that you hear it and hear it correctly so that you can go back to your family members and tell them who he is. Peter got it right. He said, you're the Christ, the son of the living God. You're my salvation, you're my deliverer, and you are my owner. You are God himself in the flesh. Coming up, Jonathan Evans exposes a fatal error that hinders the church's impact.

Stay tuned. What if you could unlock the mysteries of life, the universe, and everything in between? Genesis 1 to 11 is the foundation for everything. Tony Evans Training Center presents a transformative course from special guest lecturer Ken Ham, founder CEO of Answers in Genesis. If you want to understand anything about the universe and anything about life and this earth, we have to jump into God's Word. This course dives deep into the origins of life, the harmony of science and Scripture, and how to build a solid biblical worldview. Does science conflict with the Bible?

No, not at all. Observational science confirms the Bible over and over and over again. Equip yourself to face today's toughest cultural challenges with clarity and confidence. If we're going to deal with issues in our culture, we need to start from our foundation, first of all, to understand what we should believe. Discover faith-strengthening truths from Genesis, and explore more courses to deepen your understanding of God's Word at TonyEvansTraining.org. Explore the kingdom anytime, anywhere. We're excited to bring you today's message from special guest Pastor Jonathan Evans. It's part of a six-message series called Discipleship for Every Day, offering practical insights on moving beyond routine religion and living out a bold, authentic faith. It's about becoming the kind of disciple who influences every area of life, from your home and community to the world around you. To help you on your journey of following Jesus more fully, we're offering the complete series on CD or digital download as our way of saying thanks for your gift in support of this ministry. And for a limited time, we're also including Jonathan's powerful book, Your Time is Now. In it, he encourages you to stop standing on the sidelines and step confidently into God's purpose for your life. These resources together will inspire you to live courageously, pursue your calling, and make an impact that lasts. To request your copy of this double-resource package, just visit TonyEvans.org or call 1-800-800-3222.

But don't wait, this special offer won't be around long. Again, that's TonyEvans.org or call 1-800-800-3222. Well, let's get back to more now from Jonathan Evans. Sad reality is in church, people are still thinking with the culture.

So the reason why we get such little movement is because we're moving with them. There were many ways that Jesus talked about himself. He would let some people just be right about him and say, you're right. And here, Simon is right.

He got it correct. He said, flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father who was in heaven, I'm so glad that God will skip our depravity to give us destiny. He looks at him in verse 18, and he says, I also say that you are Peter, and upon this rock, I will build my church. The word Peter there is used in the Greek as petros.

Petros means stone or rock. Jesus said, upon this rock, I will build my church. He goes from petros, and then he says, on this rock, petra. So he changes it.

So he goes from individual stone, and petra means a massive formation of stones coming together to form a bigger cleft or rock than any stone alone can be by itself. So he says, what I'm going to build my church on is a massive formation of Peters who can stand on the Christ, the Son of the living God, and who are not confused on who I am. When I can get all of y'all to be like Peter was and to step forward and say, this is who we are, we ain't putting up with no mess. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Like, this is what it's going to be. This is how we're going to do it, because this is where this word says.

I want to build on that. I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. That means, ladies and gentlemen, the opponent of hell is the church. We trying to make the opponent of hell everything else.

I'm just saying the opponent of what you're worried about is you, and you're like a teenager putting the responsibility on everybody else. And we spend so much time as the church disagreeing that we can't agree on attacking the culture with godliness. If we came together and got serious about this Jesus stuff, everybody in the government would be like, what y'all want?

It's a lot of y'all, I need your votes. But we're too busy proving how smart we are and disagreeing on stuff that we can't even come to the one agreement our whole faith is built on, because when he uses the word church, church there is ekklesia, which means legislative body that makes decisions in the culture. And I'm not hating on singing and preaching, but if it stops there and the disciples aren't unleashed, linking arms as a massive formation of rocks on disbelief, we still have missed it. When I was in seminary, I came to my dad. I said, Dad, eschatology, which is the study of the end times, eschatology teaches us that the world going to get bad anyway, that's how you know Jesus coming back.

So I tried to stump him. I said, it's going to get bad anyway, the world going to get bad anyway, because it says that it's going to be bad in the last days and all of that kind of stuff. So why we got to do this church stuff when we already know how this ends?

Church don't fix it, Jesus fixes it when he comes back. My dad said, do you work out? I said, yeah, what's the point? You know you're going to die. How I lose in 10 seconds?

I mean, 10 seconds went by and I lost. He said, eschatology is not a reason for lack of responsibility in ecclesiology. Don't make your eschatology make you a buffoon of the faith. Well, it's going to be bad anyway. That's what people say in their individual situations, in their marriages.

Well, it's going to be bad anyway, so I'm just going to stop trying. No, you got to go to the judgment seat of Christ and he's going to judge you. Peter got it right and Jesus said, the gates of hell will not prevail against this understanding of a massive formation of believers who get this right. Not only will the gates of hell not prevail against it, but understand this. Here it is, verse 19 says, I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven and whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Y'all looking at me like, if you get this Peter thing right, God gives you the keys to the kingdom. That's called access.

Camden, my younger son, came up to me and said, hey dad, can I have the keys to the car? I want to start it. No. I'm not going to give someone irresponsible that much power. And many of us are wondering why we don't have the backing of the kingdom. It's because the kingdom only sees your back.

I'm not giving that much power to somebody irresponsible, but those disciples who are ready to be unleashed and have concluded that he is the Christ, the son of the living God, I will have your back. You'll have the backing of the kingdom and you'll have access. He says, I will give you the keys to the kingdom.

Why are keys plural? Because hell has gates. And for every hellish gate, there is a corresponding kingdom key. You will bind, which means restrict, or you will loose, which means set free. And I believe there are some believers in the house today that some things need to be bound and some things need to be set free.

And we give our commitment to Jesus Christ. He gives you the key to the kingdom so that you can bind things and you can lose things. You can bind your addiction and you can lose self-control. You can bind disunity and you can lose unity. You can bind fear and you can lose faith. You can bind instability and you can lose standing on his word.

There are some things that need to be bound in your life, some things that need to be loosed in your life, and you're waiting on God and God is looking at you holding the key. Twelve years ago, I made an offer on my house with full confidence. The reason why I made an offer on my house with full confidence is because I had the backing of the bank. Because I had the backing of the bank, I ain't had no money. The bank had the money. I just had a little down payment, you know what I'm saying? FHA, you all know what that is? The bank had the money, but because I had the backing of the bank, I could get something that's much bigger than what I had in my bank account. I could go much further than what I had because the bank gave me backing.

You know what really set me free? Is they gave me a pre-approval letter. They say, you're pre-approved, go shop.

You're pre-approved, go do what you do. What am I trying to say to you? I'm saying that you have the backing of the kingdom and this scripture is your pre-approval letter. They say, I have given you the keys to the kingdom. Whatever you bind has been bound.

Whatever you lose has been loosed. So go ahead and make your offer for the change. Go ahead and make your offer for a better home. Go ahead and make your offer for a better community. Go ahead and make your offer for a better government.

Go ahead and make your offer for a better society because you have the backing of the kingdom and just because you ain't got it, don't worry about it. The kingdom got it and it's not even alone. He gives it for free to those who are willing to stand on his word because when God is for you, I said when God is for you, when the Messiah, the Son of God is for you, you are more than a conqueror who can be against you. No one can stand against what Jesus is building. So when we start building what he's building, it's over. When we start building what he's building, things change. When we start building what he's building, we can stop whining about it and be a part of the change we're whining about because we have the backing of the kingdom.

Do I have a witness in this place? Because he is who he says he is and we believe it. We're not still thinking. We're not still trying to figure it out. He's the Christ, the Son of the living God.

We believe it. Pastor Jonathan Evans, talking about the power available to believers through Christ as he wraps up day two of his message, Get It Right, taken from his impactful sermon series, Discipleship for Every Day. This six-part collection guides you through living out your faith with purpose and influence every single day. If you'd like to own your own copy of these messages to review on CD or digital download, just make a request and thanks for your donation toward the ministry. We'll send the collection to you along with a copy of Jonathan's inspiring book, Your Time is Now, a powerful resource that challenges you to quit hesitating and fully embrace God's calling on your life. Simply visit tonyevans.org to get started. You'll find all the details right on the homepage. Or if you prefer, give us a phone call at 1-800-800-3222, where our team is ready to help you 24-7. That's 1-800-800-3222 or online at tonyevans.org. We've all made wishes on birthday candles, shooting stars, or even in quiet moments of longing. But tomorrow, Pastor Evans will talk about a different kind of wish, a wish that leads to a more fulfilling life than we could ever imagine. Be sure to join us for that.