Revelation Knowledge

Transcript

Rob McFarlane 0:29

Today I'd like to share a message with you on revelation knowledge. If you would turn in your Bible with me, please, to Matthew chapter 16, and I'm going to read from verse 15 through to verse 18. Then Jesus asked them, But who do you say that I am? Simon Peter answered, You are the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Jesus replied, You're blessed, Simon, son of John, because my Father in heaven revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being. Now I say to you that you are Peter, which means rock, and on this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. We see from this verse there's a difference between information and revelation. Information is what we've learned from other human beings. Perhaps reading it in a book, listening to a message, listening to a sermon, going to a course, you get information, you gain knowledge and understanding. But there's a big difference between information and revelation. Revelation is when God reveals something to you, when you hear and recognize his voice. And when we're listening to a sermon like this today, we shouldn't just be listening for the information, but our ears should be open to hear, Lord, what do you want to say to me through this message? In this passage, Matthew chapter 16, verse 15 to verse 18, we see there are three things that God wants us to know by revelation knowledge. The first we see he wants us to know is who Jesus is. In Matthew 16, verse 16, Simon Peter answered, You are the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of the living God. God wants to reveal Jesus to us. He wants us to understand who He is. Jesus revealed Himself to us in John chapter 14. He said in verse 6, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. He's not one of the ways, he's not one of the truths, he's not one of the ways to experience life. He is the only way. And he said, No one can come to the Father except through me. In Acts chapter 4 and verse 12, the Bible says, And salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven by which men can be saved except the name of Jesus. And 1 Timothy chapter 2, verse 5 teaches us there's only one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. Jesus is the way. Jesus continues when he's explaining who he is to his disciples in John chapter 14, verse 9, that he is the expression of the Father. He said, If you've seen me, you've seen the Father. Hebrews chapter 1, verse 3 says, He is the exact imprint of the Father's nature. If you want to see who God is, have a look at Jesus. He said, That's who I am. That's who I am. I'm a perfect expression of the Father. And finally, in verse 10 and 11 of John chapter 14, we see that He reveals Himself to us through His words in verse 10 and His works in verse 11. So the first thing we've seen that God wants us to know by revelation knowledge is who is Jesus? He wants to reveal Himself to us. The second thing we see in Matthew chapter 16 is Jesus wants us to know by revelation knowledge how Jesus sees us. In Matthew 16, verse 18, he said, Now I say to you that you are Peter, which means rock. In the Amplified Bible, he says, and I tell you that you are Peter, you are a piece of rock, but on this huge rock, on this rock like Gibraltar, I will build my church. Now we see that Jesus changed Simon's name to Peter. He gave him a new identity. And God wants us to know by revelation knowledge that we have a new identity in Christ. He wants to reveal to that to us by his spirit. Just think about your new identity in Christ. In 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verse 17, it says, We are new creatures in Christ. The old has gone, the new has come. When you gave your life to Jesus, when you surrendered to his lordship, when he became your Lord, Savior, and friend, you weren't just filled with peace and joy and purpose. You became a brand new person. In fact, he continues in verse 20, 2 Corinthians chapter 5, and verse 20, he says, We are ambassadors for Christ. And then in verse 21, we are the righteousness of God in Christ. So you're a new creature, you are an ambassador for Christ, and you are righteous in his eyes, because he has given you a new identity. One of my favorite verses talking about who we are in Christ is Ephesians 2 and verse 10, which says this that we are God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. I love that. God has made us unique for a unique purpose. He has a purpose and plan for your life. And we need to understand that when we're listening to something, don't just listen for the information, but listen for the voice of God, for him to give you marching orders, for him to reveal to you by his spirit the very plans and purposes he has for your life for this day, for this week, for this season in your life. You've made been made unique by him for a unique purpose and placed wherever God has placed you in the world to serve his plan and purpose for your life. And finally, God wants to us to know by revelation knowledge how Jesus sees his church. So we've seen who Jesus is, we've seen how Jesus sees us, and finally how Jesus sees his church. In Matthew chapter 16, verse 18, Jesus said, Upon this rock, upon this revelation of who I am, I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not conquer it, will not prevail against it, one version says. He says, I will build my church. We have to understand the church belongs to Jesus. Colossians chapter 1 and verse 18 says, He is the head of the body in all things, he needs to have the preeminence. If you look at my driver's license, you'll be able to identify me by my head, by a photograph of my face that's on my driver's license. And it's an easy way to identify someone. We can see who they are. And when people see the church, they should actually see Jesus. We should be an expression of him on the earth, the body of Christ. He said, I will build my church. It belongs to him. It's not my church or your church, it's his church. We are simply stewards of what he has entrusted to us. He continues, and all the powers of hell will not overcome it. I love that. God doesn't want us to be on the back foot, but he wants the church to advance. He wants the church to be sold out for him and to be advancing. As Reynold Bonke, a uh evangelist, said, we should be plundering hell and populating heaven. We should be advancing as the church, not retreating, not defeated, but advancing. In Acts chapter 1, verse 8, at the beginning of the book of Acts, giving the great commission to his disciples, Jesus said, But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, so that you can be my witnesses in Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. Now we need to recognize the church is not a meeting, the church is not a building, and the church is not an organization. The church is people. And he says that we are his church. I love the way John Stott, a noted Christian leader, said this. He said, The church is a people called out of the world to worship God and sent back into the world to witness and serve. My prayer for you today is that you will truly get through the Holy Spirit revelation knowledge of who Jesus is. When we see him for who he really is, how can we not serve him? How can we not lay down our lives for him? How can we not follow him, our great God and Savior? We need to get revelation knowledge of how Jesus sees us. Don't see yourself as less than who God has made you in Christ. You have a new identity, you're a new creation. God has prepared good works in advance for you to do. And finally, how Jesus sees his church. He has a plan and a purpose for you, his people, a group of believers gathering together in the very place that you are to make a difference, to be witnesses for him in the power of his spirit. I pray God bless you in every way and use you powerfully where he has planted you.