"What You Say Matters!"
Matthew 16:13-20
August 24, 2008
St. Paul United Methodist Church
Rev. John A. Fleming
Most of us have done this at one time or another in our lives. Some of us have stood right down there, on the front step of the church. A few of us have stood alone. Others of us have stood with members of a confirmation class. Then and there we have professed our faith in Jesus Christ. If we did that as a part of the class, then most likely we were twelve or thirteen years old. If we did it alone, then our profession probably came a little later in life. For some of us, the day we professed our faith, we also joined the church and were baptized.
The Arkansas Annual Conference, of which our church is a member, asks us to keep all kinds of membership records. They want to know how many of our members are men and how many are women. The women, by the way, outnumber the men some two to one. Fellas, we've got some recruiting to do! The church also wants to know how people came to call themselves Christians. They want to know if we convinced a Baptist or a Presbyterian to see it our way. They also want to know if one United Methodist is moving from one congregation to another. The church is interested in that, but in my opinion, they're more interested in knowing how many people are joining a church for the very first time, how many are claiming Jesus to be the Lord of their life.
And when people come to join by professing their faith, we begin by asking them questions like if they will renounce evil and accept freedom to flee from it. Next comes the most important question. In our church we ask it this way, "Do you confess Jesus Christ as your Savior, put your whole trust in his grace, and promise to serve him as your Lord?"
One of our members answered that question with an exclamation point. She said, "Absolutely I do!" I like her answer.
We do not ask this. I wish we did. I wish we asked, "Will your life reflect that?" Maybe our church makes it too easy on those who come to profess their faith. All they have to say is, "I do."
The great preacher and teacher of preachers, Fred Craddock, tells how he joined the Disciples of Christ Church. He tells that he was fourteen years old or so when he started listening to his preacher. He stopped chewing gum in church and fidgeting in his pew. He stopped writing notes during to sermon and started taking notes from the sermon. He knew God was claiming his life. He hadn't been baptized and wanted to be, so he went and talked with his pastor about it. The pastor was proud, of course, of Fred's decision. He told him that he would need to come to the front of the church and give a testimony to what God was doing in his life.
Fred had decided that on the next Sunday he would do just that. He sat among his friends. When the invitation was issued, he looked at everyone in church that day and he looked at the aisle leading to the altar. He tells that the aisle appeared to be two miles long. He did not walk the aisle that day. When he and his mother were eating lunch together, she turned to him and said, "I thought you were joining the church today." He said, "I was." Then he said, "Mama, can't I just go to the preacher's office and tell him how Jesus is in my heart. Isn't that enough?" She said, "No" and then quoted a scripture lesson. Jesus said, "If you confess me before others, I will confess you before my Father." The next Sunday Fred walked the long aisle, professed his faith, was baptized, and joined the church.
I don't mind telling you that I stood in front of my home congregation that spring Pentecost Sunday lo these many years ago. I said that I believed in Jesus. I said Jesus had a claim on my life. I have to tell you that I had no idea what I was saying!
Another preacher I know remembers his fourth grade Sunday school teacher. She asked everyone to call her Ms. Bertie, though Bertha washer real name. This pastor remembers the first day in her class. When they came to the door, she greeted each of them with a hug. She called each child by name and invited them to come inside the classroom. He tells that they sat on those hard wooden Sunday school chairs. When everyone was there, she asked this question, "Who is Jesus to you?"
That's a tough question for a fourth grader. That's a tough question for a twelve or thirteen year old. That's a tough question for a forty year old. It is tough because it makes you look deep inside your soul and to speak of your relationship with Jesus. Friends, who is Jesus to you?
That is the question that is at the heart of our scripture lesson for this morning. We catch up with Jesus and the disciples in the resort town of Caesarea Philippi. The last two sermons I have preached from Matthew's gospel, I told you of Jesus' need to get away to pray and think. In this sermon Jesus believes all thirteen of them need to get away, so they head north to the hill country. He was sure the crowd wouldn't follow them all the way to Caesarea Philippi. Jesus was right about that.
The town was at the foot of Mount Hermon. Because of its elevation, Mount Hermon had snow on its peaks most of the year. The town was like Lake Tahoe. There was a beautiful mountain town, surrounded by casinos and all kinds of temptations. In Caesarea there were fourteen different temples to the god Baal. It was said to be the home of the Greek god, Pan. It was named for an emperor, Caesar, and a governor, Philip. There were statues and marble columns everywhere. The world and worldly things were everywhere. In fact worldly things shouted out to you at Caesarea Philippi.
It is in that setting, with all those things around, that Jesus turned to his disciples. He asked them two things. First, he wanted to know what other people were saying about him. This was his question, "Who do people say I am?"
They give Jesus four answers, you will remember. Some think of him as John, others as Elijah, others like Jeremiah, and still others like one of the other prophets. Each answer makes sense. John was a startling and controversial preacher. Jesus was too. Elijah was supposed to return before the end of the age. Some thought that Jesus was Elijah. Some thought of Jesus the way a generation had thought of Jeremiah. Jeremiah tangled with the authorities. Still others thought of Jesus as a prophet. Prophets spoke with authority and announced that it was a new day. Jesus did that, too. Giving one of those answers made perfect sense.
Jesus listened and then turned back with another question. And what about you, "Who do you say I am?" Beloved, it is always easier to say what others are thinking. It is much harder to own up to what we really believe.
Jesus' question to the disciples and Ms. Bertie's question to the fourth graders is the same question. It's also one that I want us to think about in the time we have left in our sermon for this morning, "Who is Jesus to you?"
I have stood in front of people before and said important things. I stood in front of a congregation some fifteen years ago. Three pastors were in front of me and Susie. There were bridesmaids beside her and groomsmen beside me. One of the three, my brother, asked if I would take Susie as my wife. He asked if I would have and hold her until death parted us. I said that I would. I still do. There is something about saying something like that out loud, in front of others that makes the commitment real.
The best thing I have said in front of anyone is this, "I believe Jesus is the Lord of my life. I put my trust in His grace. I promise to serve Him as my Lord." When I was twelve, I doubt I understood the magnitude and the power of saying I would do that. Now that I am forty, I now understand this is a question I must answer everyday. Do I believe in Jesus? Will I put my trust in His grace? Will I live my life so there's no doubt he's my Lord?
Now if we were a testimonial kind of church, I'd invite you up here and I'd ask you to tell your story. I'd ask you to tell all of us who Jesus is to you. But we're not really a testimonial kind of church. If we were a contemporary church, I would ask you to move your chairs around and form small groups of no more than five or six and I'd ask you to share with those sitting with you who Jesus is to you. We're not a contemporary kind of church either. So let me say one thing and issue one challenge.
Here is the one thing. I want you to listen to my answer of who Jesus is to me. To me Jesus is the greatest friend and confidant I could ask for. I don't have to worry about confidentiality with Jesus and when it comes to my shortcomings, Jesus is quick to forgive me. To me Jesus is my shepherd and guide. He leads me down the paths I should take and warns of the ones I should avoid. He uses his shepherd's crook to pull me from dangerous places. To me Jesus isn't a warm and fuzzy feeling in my heart. To me Jesus is real. He stands by me and loves me. To me Jesus is a Lord who answers my prayers and says things through the Bible, words like, "My grace is enough" and " "Let not your heart be troubled." To me Jesus is a God with skin on him and when I see Jesus I know what God is like.
Do you remember the time a leper came to Jesus and said, "Please help me!" Jesus did. That is what God is like. Do you remember when he took an old cross and climbed a hill? That is what God is like.
When you come to join our church, we don't ask a lot of questions. We don't ask you where you work or what your salary is, but we do insist on asking you this, "Do you believe in Jesus?"
Here's the challenge, go home with the question on your heart. Who is Jesus to you? Answer that with someone you love and trust, but do answer it. It is an important question. What you say does matter. Let us pray.