Who Do You Say That I Am?
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July 28, 2013 |
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 "[Jesus] said to them, 'But who do you say that I am?' Simon Peter answered, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God'" (Matthew 16:15-16).
Senior Pastor Dr. Jaerock Lee
In Matthew chapter 16, Jesus asked His beloved disciples, "But who do you say that I am?" Then, Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
This was not just the words from his lips. It was a profession coming out from the depth of his heart. Seeing Jesus' great and amazing power and hearing His messages, Peter believed in God who was with Jesus and in His authority. If you believe and accept Jesus Christ from your heart, you will live a life that will prove your faith with your actions. If you trust God as your Father, you will live a life of obeying the words of God.
Then, let's look at three aspects of how we can also make true professions of faith that God can recognize like Peter did.
1. We should have deeds of faith
If we really believe that our duties are precious, our faith will never change, and we will store up the deeds of faith that we were showing the Father in the beginning. Also, as the time passed, we have been storing up deeds that are in greater depth.
Let's think about what kind of prayer of thanksgiving we have offered to God when we were inaugurated or when we received our duties. At that time you must have had firm determination to ardently fulfill your duties. You also diligently did charitable works and did the work of evangelism. Even though nobody may have recognized you for the works, you did difficult or dirty jobs that other people didn't want to do. You did it thinking of the Father God who was watching you. Your first thoughts were about how to accomplish the kingdom of God.
If we have true faith, that faith will be revealed in deeds expressed outwardly in our everyday lives. It will be the same even after many years. We will continually offer up prayers and participate in worship services with all our hearts.
Also, many people profess that their shepherd is the shepherd who is used greatly by God, that he is a shepherd who loves them and is leading them to New Jerusalem. If their profession of faith is true, this will also be revealed in deeds. Namely, their profession saying, "I will be strength to the shepherd, and I will be faithful with all my life..." will be revealed in equivalent action.
If they have true faith they will try to keep each message they heard in their minds and try to follow in obedience. When the church is having a hard time, they will also fast and pray and keep the church with the same heart of the shepherd. When I pray for those souls who committed sins, they will also mourn and pray for those souls who committed sins.
Those who truly loved Jesus did not leave Him even when He was receiving the sufferings of crucifixion. They knew they could be in harm's way, but they had no fear of it. They stayed close to Jesus and together they shed tears of sorrow.
Romans 8:17 says, "...and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him." As written, if we are really workers for the church and the workers of the Lord who is the head of the church, we should be able to receive the sufferings together. That is, your profession of faith can be a true one only when you are able to show the deeds of faith in everything.
2. We have to be faithful
1 Corinthians 4:2 says, "...it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy." Faithfulness is not just doing what you are able to do. True faithfulness is to try to produce fruits in any work entrusted to you by God, even if you could not do it at all with your own ability. Of course you should do the things that you should do and you can do. But, you should also try to do even more than that.
Some of the workers might think, "I am fulfilling my duty. It is all I have to do," or "As a worker, isn't it enough to be where I'm supposed be and when I'm supposed to be there?" Others may not try to improve their skills and tend to neglect even the prayers which are most basic.
The most important thing in faithfulness is to be faithful spiritually. The kind of faithfulness that God the Father accepts and is pleased with is the faithfulness accompanied with casting off evil and keeping the commandments of God.
We have learned many times that we must not commit the works of the flesh, that we should demolish fleshly thoughts, we should cast away evil from our hearts, and we should remove self-righteousness and self-framework. I hope you will check how deeply you have imprinted these words in your mind and how hard you have tried to follow them.
When realizing their shortcomings, many just repented for that moment and went back to their old way of life as time went. They just have conflicts with a number of people and have ill-feelings towards them, so peace has been broken.
Even if they toil and sweat without rest, if they still have an adulterous mind, selfish desires, greed, and hatred in their hearts, their hard-work is only fleshly faithfulness. Unless they get rid of such evil in their hearts, that evil can surface in thoughts and actions under the right circumstances.
Some say they work hard for the Lord, but they show insubordination and try to solve the problems in fleshly ways when they reach their limitations. Others say they did not do anything so evidently evil. Such thoughts can lead them to a stoppage in the growth of faith. Therefore, we have to cast away even little sins and iniquities and replace them with goodness and love.
3. We must have love
If you really love God, you should be able to give your body to the flames if it is for God's kingdom. Also, if you love the Lord just as the Lord gave His life for the souls, you should also be able to dedicate yourself for many souls.
Now, what kind of hearts and attitudes should the church leaders have when they interact with the members of the church? First, they should not give instructions or orders to the church members with the excuse that they are just doing it within 'the rules and orders' of the church. They must not immediately refuse the requests of the church members and justify their actions saying, "I'm sorry but of my responsibilities I cannot help you now, for I have work that has to be done. In order to seek the benefit of the whole church this is the way things should be done."
It might have been that in principle they could not accept their requests. But if they treat the church members with love, they can comfort their minds and explain to them so they can understand. They should not treat the souls as they like according to their mood. They should consider each person as a precious member of the flock of the shepherd sent by God the Father and serve them as they would serve the Lord. Furthermore, they should show love to their co-workers as well.
If a mistake was made or one of their subordinates was at fault for something, they should ultimately accept the blame and responsibility. They should not try to avoid the responsibility saying it is the worker who made the mistake. Philippians 2:4 says, "...do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others." I hope you will have broad hearts, help each other and cooperate with each other to accomplish the kingdom of God with goodness and love.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, God will work when you have deeds of true faith, faithfulness in hard-work, and love. The self-righteousness and frameworks that have not been destroyed for a long time can now be demolished, and the walls of sins can also be torn down.
In doing so, I pray in the name of the Lord that, all of you will be able to make true professions of faith saying, "Father, Lord, I love You," and "I truly believe."
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