Kingdom Faith and Kingdom Formation

So we're going to begin our service of worship by praising God from Psalm 149 in the Scottish Psalter.

! It's on page 450 and the tune is Gainsborough. Psalm 149 at verse number 1.

Praise ye the Lord and to him sing a new song and his praise in the assembly of his saints.

In sweet psalms do ye raise. That this written is maker joy and to him praise his sing.

That all that Zion's children are be joyful in their king.

We'll sing from verse 1 to verse 5 and we'll stand to sing to God's praise.

Praise ye the Lord and to him sing a new song and his praise.

In the assembly of his saints.

In sweet psalms do ye raise.

Let his servant his maker joy and to him praise his sing.

Let all that Zion's children are be joyful in their king.

For let them unto his great name.

He'll praise his singled dance.

Let them with sin will and with heart.

In songs his praise and hands.

For God the pleasure take the rose.

That is only for thee.

Let them with sin will and with heart.

Let them with sin will and with heart.

Almighty and most gracious God.

We rejoice in you and in the worship of your name.

You have called us anew on this morning to draw near to you to hear what you have to say to us.

We worship you as the God who is our Father in heaven.

The God who has a family here on earth.

And we rejoice in heaven.

Father in heaven who looks down upon us as we worship you together this morning.

Your word tells us that you are the God who in building a family for yourself.

God who gave you our son to be our Savior.

And we give thanks to you today for the Lord Jesus Christ.

And we pray that as we worship you we may come to you in his name.

As we worship you may he be at the center of all that we say and all that we hear.

Lord Jesus Christ.

And may you be pleased O Lord God to shine upon us.

And come and be present with us.

That we may truly hear what you have to say to us.

Your word tells us that you speak peace to those who are your people.

And we pray today that you will bless us all in our hearts.

That we may indeed be your people.

And that we may indeed know your blessing.

We do give thanks to you for the families that are part of the family of God here.

Even in our own congregation.

We give thanks to you for parents and for children.

We give thanks to you for their desire to hear what you have to say to them.

And we pray that you will bless them here today with their young hearts and lives.

May the children know your hand upon them.

Your blessing in their hearts.

The light of your word.

Helping them every day to live their lives.

Remembering what you have said to them.

And bringing them to faith in your son as their saviour.

And we pray that you will bless every aspect of the teaching that is brought before them.

Even today in all of the different classes.

May they know your voice speaking to them.

And may you bless their young hearts.

We do ask your thanks to you for those who teach them.

And we pray that you will bless and guide them.

And may they learn as they teach.

And may they teach what they have learned.

And may those who they teach benefit from those who teach them.

As those who walk with you.

And to bring to them the good news of the gospel.

We pray for your blessing to be upon parents as well.

That you will continue to guide and uphold them.

And raising up families.

And that you will bless them not only on the Lord's Day.

But also on the weekday.

In school life.

And in every area of family life.

May you bless them together.

And enrich their lives to the glory of your name.

For their benefit and blessing day by day.

And for their hope of everlasting life.

That they may have that hope of the gospel in their hearts.

So bless them and bless us as we continue before you.

Blessing your word to us.

And guiding us in hearing.

And singing.

And praying.

And reading your word.

May you draw near to us.

And speak clearly to us.

O Lord our God.

We do pray.

Hear us.

And our mercy upon us.

We pray these things for Jesus' sake.

Amen.

Amen.

Well boys and girls.

It's good to see you again at church today.

And it's such an encouragement to see you coming to hear what God has to say to us.

And I think the worship of God is the most important thing that you can do the whole of the week.

So it's great to have you here.

Our Bible story today comes from the Gospel of Matthew.

Which is the first gospel in the New Testament.

And it's about God building a church for himself.

And it's about asking people who do they think Jesus is.

And I want you to think about that.

And I want to say three things to you.

And the three things begin with P.

And the first is project.

There is a building project going on.

And God has promised that he will build a church for himself.

And Jesus in the Bible today promises that on this rock he will build the church.

He will build that church on the rock which he is himself.

And as we come to him and believe in his name.

We become part of that building project that God is building.

And that God is working every day of life.

And so as we do worship God today.

We want to remember that this is God's project.

And that by believing in Jesus.

And not by the things that we do.

By believing in Jesus that we become part of this great project of God.

And the second thing is that there is a promise.

And the promise is to you and to all of us.

Depending on what we do with what Jesus says to us.

And Jesus tells us in that great long sermon.

Perhaps a lot longer than the sermons that we're used to in Matthew chapter 5 to chapter 7.

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

It's a long sermon.

And at the end of that sermon he says to those who are listening to him.

That those who hear his words and do what Jesus says to them.

That they will be like a wise person who builds a house on a rock.

And today that's what God wants you to do.

And he gives you that promise.

That if you hear what he says.

And if you do what he tells you to do.

Then you will be like that wise person who builds a house on a rock.

And Jesus tells him that when the storm comes.

The house that is built on a rock will always stand.

And that's the promise of Jesus to you.

If you believe in his name.

Because he also mentions those who hear his words.

And do not do them.

And they are the foolish people who build a house on the sand.

And we know what happens when the tide comes in.

And when the winds blow and the seas roar.

The house that's built on the sand will fall.

So today there is a promise to you and to all of us.

If you hear.

If you believe.

And if you do.

Then you will build a house for yourself.

You will be safe in life.

As those who believe in Jesus.

And the third thing is.

That there is a problem.

Because if we don't start well.

Then we cannot finish well.

And we visited Italy.

Two or three years back.

And we visited the Tower of Pisa.

It's one of the four towers.

At a cathedral complex.

In Tuscany.

On the northwest coast of Italy.

And it's known as the Leaning Tower.

It was built in the 12th century.

And halfway through the building project.

The tower began to lean over.

It became the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

And it became the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Because those who planned the job.

And the project.

Those who started building.

Forgot that they needed a foundation under the building.

So they built on soft ground.

And the more they built up.

The more the tower began to lean over.

So it became the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

And today it leans over by four degrees.

Which means at the very.

Between the ground and the top of it.

There's about four meters of a difference.

In the way that the tower is leaning over.

And the lesson from that is.

That unless you and I believe in Jesus.

At the very beginning.

And put our trust in him.

Then no matter what else we do.

Our lives will be just.

Like the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Ready to fall over.

So it's important.

To start by believing in Jesus.

And having that foundation.

For your young lives.

And the other thing to do with.

The Tower of Pisa is.

That they started rebuilding again.

To try and finish it off.

And instead of taking the building down.

And starting with a foundation.

They started making adjustments.

Halfway up the building.

So they tried to straighten it.

In the rest of the project.

So the Leaning Tower became the bending tower.

And actually because of what they did.

At last.

It looked worse than it did.

At the very beginning.

And the lesson from that is.

That although your teachers can help you.

And teach you.

And though your parents can do the same.

Unless you start with believing in Jesus.

No one else can help you to.

Have your life the way Jesus wants you to do.

If you put your trust in Jesus.

And believe in him today.

Then you're starting in the right place.

And your parents can help you.

And your Sunday school teachers can help you.

And you learn the teaching of Jesus.

And your house.

Your life will grow strong in Jesus.

As you put your trust in him.

So remember.

The project.

Jesus is building his church.

Made up of people like you and me.

Remember the promise.

If you hear and do what he says.

Then your house will be safe.

You'll be secure.

Like a house on a rock.

But remember the Tower of Pisa.

Those who started building.

Started wrong.

And because of that.

The building was wrong forever.

Make sure today.

You believe in Jesus.

And then everything else.

Will work out for you.

And God himself.

And Jesus himself.

Will teach you how.

To live your life.

And with trust and prayer.

God will help you to do that.

And that God will bless you.

As we go to your teaching classes.

This morning.

Let's now say the Lord's Prayer together.

Our Father.

Which art in heaven.

Hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done on earth.

As it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts.

As we forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation.

But deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom.

The power and the glory.

For ever.

Amen.

Let's turn now to praise God.

This time from Psalm number 145.

The long meter version of the Psalm.

And at verse number 8.

It's on page 444.

Psalm 145.

The long meter version.

At verse number 8.

And the tune is Warrington.

The Lord our God is gracious.

Compassionate is he also.

In mercy he is plenteous.

But not wrath and anger slow.

Psalm 145.

The long meter version.

From verse 8 to the verse mark 14.

To God's praise.

The Lord our God is gracious.

Of έ voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voy voyque voy voy

O man is the Lord, for all His mercy is.

Thy works so great to be afforded.

Thy saints, O Lord, thy name shall bless.

The glory of thy kingdom's show shall thee and love thy power tell.

As soon as I shall shall be its name, O Lord, thy kingdom's grace that God exce.

Life in the man, the name that all, it doth through ages all remain.

The Lord, a fuller, fuller, fuller, fuller, the cast and grace that God exce.

Amen.

Let's turn now to hear the word of God in the New Testament in the Gospel according to Matthew and in chapter 16.

The Gospel of Matthew chapter 16 and beginning a reading at verse number 5.

Matthew 16 · chapter mention

Let us hear the word of God.

When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread.

Jesus said to them, watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.

And they began discussing it among themselves, saying, we brought no bread.

But Jesus, aware of this, said, O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread?

Do you not yet perceive?

Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand and how many baskets you gathered?

Or the seven loaves for the four thousand and how many baskets you gathered?

How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread?

Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of the bread, but the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, who do people say that the Son of Man is?

And they said, some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.

He said to them, but who do you say that I am?

Simon Peter replied, you are the Christ, the Son of the living God.

And Jesus answered him, blessed are you, Simon bar Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.

And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.

From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.

And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, far be it from you, Lord, this shall never happen to you.

But he turned and said to Peter, get behind me, Satan, you are a hindrance to me, for you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.

Amen, this is the word of God, we trust that he will bless to us our reading from it.

Let's once more bow our heads in a word of prayer.

Our gracious God, rejoice in you and in the way you have breathed out your word that gives us a revelation of the great God that you are.

And we are thankful to you for the way in which you sent your Son to give us that great final revelation of your glory, of your beauty, and of your purposes for this world.

We rejoice today in the oppression of your Son that we read off through the pages of the Gospels.

We are thankful to you for this coming into the world and the marvel and the beauty of it.

We are thankful to you for the life that you lived.

We are thankful to you for his teaching, for his example, for every aspect of his ministry.

We are thankful to you for the death that he died in our place.

We are thankful to you that you brought him back from the dead.

And we are thankful to you that today he is at your right hand.

And so we worship you in his name.

We give thanks to you for him.

And as we do consider your word together, may you help us so that we will understand that we are truly in the presence of the only true and living God.

And every word that you speak to us from your word, may it come into our hearts without authority and without power.

And may we sense your claim upon our hearts and lives.

And may we understand something in the depths of our beings.

That your power brings about a change.

That it begins a great transformation.

That it gives direction to us in this world.

That it gives to us the great prospect of your glory.

And help us, O Lord God, to experience that anew this day.

Perhaps experience it for the first time.

And set our feet in that way.

On the rock which is Christ.

And enable us to live our lives as those who stand secure.

Through faith in his name.

So that when we do face the storms of life.

The pains, the sorrows, the afflictions.

All of the sufferings of life.

That we do come face to face with them.

That we know that we are secure in you.

And secure upon that rock.

And know that no one can pluck us out of your hands.

That you will keep us safe.

Bless every heart before you here today.

Bless every desire after you.

And satisfy every need we do ask.

And give us all to know our satisfaction.

In Jesus Christ, your son.

Bless our congregation, our people.

Be merciful to us we do ask on this day.

May you bless your word to all those who gather with the people of God.

May you bless your word to all those who join online.

May you bless your word to those who are confined in their homes.

Who are isolated and who are sorrowful perhaps in life.

May you give to them the comfort of your presence.

May you come and dwell with them in their isolation.

And fill their hearts and their homes or wherever they might be.

With a sense of the reality and the presence of God.

Encourage them wherever they are before you.

Comfort the grieving we do ask.

We pray that you will bind our broken hearts.

That you will be near to all today.

Who have an empty place in their home and in their hearts and lives.

May you give to them a sense of you standing with them.

Of you being with them as the Lord who is their shepherd.

And in that valley of the shadow of death.

May they fear no evil because you are with them.

May you walk with them and bless them during these days.

Bless our wider island communities.

We pray for the blessing of the gospel of the day.

And of your Holy Spirit to come and to accompany your word.

Make your name great through the ministry of the gospel.

Across this whole land today.

Wherever your word is preached may it be blessed.

May lives be changed.

May towns and cities and communities come to take heed to what you have to say.

And to make you through your word and by your power turn us around to yourself.

That you may fear your name in every area and level of society.

In our royal family.

In our governments.

In our parliaments.

In our local authorities.

Wherever there is authority placed by you.

May the fear of your name be in people's hearts.

And may they guide us as people of this nation.

And of our communities.

Guide us in the ways of God.

Bless the wider world.

We pray for your word to be blessed as it goes forth across the world today.

We remember the parts of the world where there are pains and sorrows.

Where lives have been lost here in this past week.

In tragic circumstances.

We pray for your comforting presence for those who have lost.

And we ask that you will sustain and uphold them.

We pray for the places where there is conflict and strife.

And war.

That you will bring all of these things to an end.

That you will cause your peace to descend.

And cause lasting peace to be achieved.

And may the peace of God indeed dwell in all the nations of the earth.

Even on this day.

As we commit our world to you.

And so we pray that you will hear us.

That you will be merciful to us.

That you will continue to guide us as we wait upon you in this time of worship.

Bless your word as we ask.

And hear our prayer.

For we ask all these things for Jesus' sake.

Amen.

Amen.

We are now going to turn to praise God once more this time.

In Psalm number 118.

In Sing Psalms.

It is on page 156.

And we are singing at verse 15.

Psalm 118 at verse 15.

And the tune is Duke Street.

Triumphant shouts of joy resound.

In places where the righteous dwell.

The Lord's right hand is lifted high.

This mighty hand does all things well.

We stand to sing from verse 15 to the verse 24.

To God's praise.

The Lord's right hand is lifted high.

His mighty hand does all things well.

I shall not die.

I shall not die, but I shall bear.

The Lord's weak marks I will proclaim.

The Lord's Orth voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voyque voy voyque voyque voy voyque voyque voy voy voyque voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy

And give thanks to God.

This is the gate of God through which

The righteous come before the Lord.

You answer me, hallelujah, Christ.

Salvation comes from you alone.

The stone that they've heard have refused

Has now begun the glorious hope.

The Lord himself has done all this.

It is a marvel in our sight.

This is the gate the Lord has made.

In it let us take great delight.

Let's turn back now to the Gospel of Matthew and chapter 16.

And we can read at verse 13.

Matthew 16 at verse 13.

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi,

He asked His disciples,

Who do people say that the Son of Man is?

And they said,

Some say John the Baptist,

Others say Elijah,

And others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.

He said to them,

But who do you say that I am?

Simon Peter replied,

You are the Christ,

The Son of the living God.

And so on.

We know that in every area of life,

Identity is important.

Our own personal identity and the identity of others.

And with that identity to establish the relationships

that help to identify our lives even more clearly.

When Jesus was teaching the people,

He knew exactly who He was.

There was no doubt in His mind that He was the Son of God,

That He was the Son of Man.

There was no doubt in His mind why He was here.

But He wanted others to know and to understand

that this is who He truly was.

He wanted others to understand His identity.

And once they did that,

Then they had a new identity for themselves.

And the identity was based and established on their relationship with Him.

And under the ministry of the gospel today and always,

These are central to the ways in which God wants to speak to us.

Who is He?

Who is Jesus?

Who are you?

Who am I?

And there to firm up on our relationships with God,

Whether they exist or not.

And when you read this gospel,

As we read the other gospels,

We do understand that Jesus has a developing profile.

He is the person who heals diseases.

He is the person who casts out demons.

He is the person who forgives sins.

He has a growing profile, a growing reputation.

And because of that,

Many people are gathering around Him.

He is an attractive person

Because of what He says and what He does.

But Jesus wants to highlight that

Finding Jesus attractive is not enough.

And there are times through the gospels

That there are junctions and crossroads

At which Jesus calls upon the people

To declare their relationship with Him.

And today we want to take that crossroads

And place it in our own hearing.

And understand that today

Jesus and the gospel

Is taking us to one of these crossroads

To help us

Answer questions.

And to help us show who we truly are

And what we really think.

And so from these verses

I want to think of kingdom faith

And kingdom formation.

And I want you to notice first of all

The kingdom faith.

And the kingdom faith

Comes to light

In the challenge

That Jesus gives to His disciples.

A challenge which He first of all

Addresses to those

Who are not the disciples.

Who do the people in general terms

Say the Son of Man is?

There He is.

There is His identity.

He is the Son of Man.

He is that end time figure

Prophesied by Daniel

In Daniel 7

That was going to come

To save and to judge the world.

And Jesus identifies him

With the Son of Man.

And in the build up of His ministry

Up until this point

We see at different stages

That He makes Himself known

As the Son of Man.

We see that in the parables

In chapter 13

The Son of Man

Is the one who sows the seed.

The Son of Man

Is the one who

Sends His angels

To gather out of the kingdom

That which is evil

And the lawbreakers.

He has built up

The sense in His ministry

That He is the Son of Man.

And here He is

Asking the question

With regard to the people

In general

Who do the people say

That the Son of Man is?

And when we hear the response

We come to understand

That their faith

And their following of Jesus

Is entirely superficial.

He's an interesting person.

That's great.

He does amazing things.

That's great.

He is attractive

Because of the way

In which He cares for people.

That's great.

He performs great miracles.

He becomes attractive.

They are interested.

The crowds are following Him.

But who do they really think He is?

And their response is

Some say John the Baptist.

Others say Elijah.

And others Jeremiah

Or one of the prophets.

They recognize

That He's a messenger of God.

They recognize

That He could be

One of these key figures

That John the Baptist

Who has come

And perhaps

Who has raised from the dead.

The Elijah

That Malachi promised

Would come

Before the great

And terrible day

Of the Lord.

The Jeremiah

Who spoke to the people

In their distance

From God

And preached repentance

To them

And asked them

To come back to God.

It could be one of these

Or one of the other prophets

Who foretold

About the kingdom of God.

A general interest

In the oppression of Jesus.

And as God asks you

The same question today

Who do you say

That the Son of Man is?

You are here today

I'm guessing because

Of a level of interest.

Of a level of attraction.

Of a level of commitment

To the teaching of Jesus.

To the claims of Jesus

In life and in worship.

And in every area

In which we live life

In the world.

There's a sense

In which you have

An interest

In the gospel.

An interest in Jesus.

And a joy perhaps

In hearing

The message of Jesus

In the gospel.

But today

Is that as far

As your understanding

Of Jesus goes?

You haven't yet reached

The point at which

Genuine faith

Does come to light.

The moment towards

That sense of attraction

And interest

To reach the point

Of personal relationship

With Jesus.

Who do you say

That Jesus is?

Because genuine disciples

Make a clear confession.

And Jesus turns

To the disciples

And who do you say

That I am?

And instantly

Simon Peter

Replies

You are the Christ

The son

Of the living God.

He recognizes

Who the person is

And he recognizes

Why he is here.

He is the son

Of the living God.

God is working

In the world

He is active

In the world

Through the passion

Of the Lord Jesus.

Jesus is God

With us.

He is the son

Of the living God.

And he is also

The Christ.

That is the

Anointed one.

The son of David.

The God's king

That he had promised

To send.

Who was going to

Sit on God's throne.

Who was going to

Establish peace

Between God

And a lost world.

Who was going to be

A priest who would

Sacrifice himself.

The anointed one

Is the Christ of God.

Genuine faith

Captures both

Of these elements.

And it's not that

Genuine faith

Knows everything.

Because as we

Follow the story

We will see that

Peter later on

Can't understand

Why Jesus must die.

Let that be far

From you.

Genuine faith

Makes a confession

Confession

A confession

That needs to be

Understood more

And more

In learning from

Jesus

But today

The key is

For you and for me

In the response

To this challenge

Is do we truly

Recognize

That Jesus

Is God with us

And that he is

God's Messiah

Whom God has sent

To save us

And that today

He is the anointed one

At God's throne

On God's right hand

And that from there

He reigns the world

And from there

He is working

In the lives

Of his people.

Genuine

Faith

Identity

The key elements

That set him apart

Not just as a

Great teacher

Not just as a

Great carer

A great shepherd

Of people

But as someone

Sent

By God

In God's

Design and plan

To save

People like you

And me

To save

Sinners

The challenge

What is your

Response

And don't

In answering

The question

Today

Don't think

That

The inadequacy

Of your knowledge

Of Jesus

Means that

You can't

Have genuine

Faith

Because

When we come

To faith

In the Lord

Jesus

It's then

We begin

The journey

Of learning

From Jesus

He is our

Teacher

And we become

The pupils

We become

The disciples

We are on

A steep

Learning curve

From the time

That we come

To believe

In the Lord

Jesus

So don't

Let the fact

That you don't

Know everything

About Jesus

Make you decide

That you can't

Have genuine

Faith

The question

Is

Who do you

Think

Jesus is

Do you see

Him

In this way

God with us

Do you see

Him

As God's

Anointed

One

Who is

Saviour

Of the world

The kingdom

Faith

And remarkably

As soon

As Peter

Makes that

Confession

Jesus

Comes to

Affirm him

In his

Faith

The very

Thing that

Perhaps you

And I

Are looking

For today

You want

Jesus to

Confirm that

You are

A believer

That you

Are a

Child of

God

And get

Here

The role

Is reversed

The responsibilities

On the disciples

First of all

To say

Who they think

Jesus is

And then

Comes Jesus

To Peter

And says to

Him

In verse

Number 17

Blessed are

You

Simon

Bar

Jonah

For flesh

And blood

Has not revealed

This to you

But my

Father who

Is in

Heaven

Blessed

Are you

Blessed

In the sense

Of being

Deeply happy

Because

God's

End time

Salvation

Has come

To dwell

In your

Heart

And by

The confession

That you

Have made

You have

Confirmed

That you

Are in

Possession

Of that

Very

Salvation

That God

Has promised

For his

People

Blessed

Happy

Joyous

A deep

Seated

Contentment

And in

The affirmation

He reminds

Peter

That it

Was not

Possible

That he

Could have

Discovered

This for

Himself

Throwing

Attention

To the

Fact that

Salvation

Is by

Grace

Alone

What does

Jesus say

To Peter

Flesh

And blood

In other

Words

Not you

Or anyone

Else

Flesh

And blood

Has not

Revealed

This to

You

But my

Father

Who is

In

Heaven

A

Revelation

From God

I

Has not

Seen

Nor

You

Heard

Neither

Has it

Come

Into

The

Heart

Of

Man

Paul

Says

The

Things

That God

Has

Prepared

For

Those

Who

Love

Him

But

God

Has

Revealed

Them

To

Us

By

His

Spirit

It

Is

A

Revelation

You

Are

Happy

Because

God

Has

Revealed

This

To

You

And

Now

Let

Me

Tell

You

You

Have

Said

That

I

Am

The

Christ

The

Son

Of

The

Living

God

And

In

The

End

Of

That

Verse

I

Tell

You

You

Are

Peter

Peter

In

His

Confession

Has

Identified

The

Lord

Jesus

And

Jesus

In

Response

Has

Identified

Simon

Son

Of

Jonah

As

Peter

The

One

Who

Is

Sernoned

Peter

Later

On

In

The

Gospel

Of

Mark

In

The

Bible

He

Identifies

Simon

As

Peter

A

New

Name

A

New

Life

A

New

Beginning

A

New

Name

Given

By

The

Person

Who

Has

Authority

And

The

Person

Who

Has

The

Authority

Which

Demands

The

New

Life

Of

The

Person

Who

Has

The

New

Name

The

Kingdom

Faith

And let

Me

Tell

You

Today

That there

Is

Nothing

More

Powerfully

Life

Transforming

And

Self

Satisfying

Than

To

Hear

Jesus

Christ

Affirming

Our

Discipleship

In

This

Way

Coming

Into

Our

Very

Hearts

And

Saying

I

Tell

You

Who

You

Are

I

Tell

You

That

My

Father

Has

Revealed

This

To

You

And

I

Tell

You

That

You

Are

Blessed

And

That's

Where

Jesus

Wants

To

Take

Us

All

Today

And

Challenging

Us

With

This

Question

Asking

Us

To

Examine

Our

Hearts

And

Our

Lives

And

To

Bring

Us

To

That

Place

Where

We

Will

Put

Our

Trust

In

Him

And

Discover

The

Blessedness

Discover

The

Joy

Discover

The

Relationship

And

Find

Our

Contentment

In

Him

Kingdom

Faith

Do

You

Have

It

Today

And

As

Jesus

Now

Saying

To

You

I

Tell

You

You're

Mine

I

Tell

You're

Mine

To

Follow

Me

To

Be

My

Disciple

I

Tell

You

You're

Precious

To

Me

I

Tell

You

I

Will

Be

With

You

The

Kingdom

Faith

Secondly

We

See

In

The

Passage

Kingdom

Formation

Verse

Number

18

I

Tell

You

You

Are

Peter

And

On

This

Rock

I

Will

Build

My

Church

On

This

Rock

Rock

What

Is

This

Referring

To

Referring

Back

To

What

I

Want

Us

To

Think

Today

That

There

Is

A

Multi

Layered

Foundation

On

On

The

House

That

Jesus

Building

And

The

First

Part

Of

That

Foundation

Is

The

Fact

That

The

Rock

Is

Christ

That

Is

What

We

Saw

From

Matthew

17

In

The

Children's

Address

If

You

Hear

My

Words

And

Do

Them

You

Will

Be

Like

A

Wise

Person

Who

Builds

His

House

On

The

Rock

The

Rock

Which

Is

Christ

The

Rock

That

Peter

Speaks

Of

In

His

First

Epistle

The

Very

Peter

Who

Was

Here

Speaks

About

The

Church

Being

Built

On

The

Foundation

Stone

Which

Is

Christ

Christ

Himself

Is

The

Rock

There

Is

No

Church

Apart

From

The

Rock

Which

Is

Christ

There

Is

No

Leaning

Tower

Of

Pisa

There

Is

No

House

Built

On

Sinking

Sands

Or

On

Soft

Mud

It

Is

Built

On

The

Unshakable

Rock

Which

Is

Christ

As

The

Eternal

Son

Of

God

Unbreakable

Immovable

Who

Stands

Forever

Sure

But

Along

With

That

The

Second

Layer

Is

The

Rock

Of

Peter's

Confession

Where

And

How

Is

Jesus

Going

To

Build

This

Church

He

Is

Going

To

Build

It

With

Those

Who

Make

The

Same

Confession

As

Peter

And

Place

Them

On

The

Rock

Which

Is

Christ

And

We

Have

Multi

Layers

In

The

Super

Structure

That

We

See

The

People

Of

God

Make

The

Same

Confession

And

We

See

The

Sub

Structure

Which

Is

Jesus

Who

Is

The

Rock

Of

Our

Salvation

And

Jesus

Is

Saying

On

This

Rock

On

This

Multi

Double

Layered

Rock

On

This

Rock

I

Will

Build

On

This

Rock

I

Will

Build

My

Church

And

The

Church

The

Are

The

Called

Out

Ones

The

Ecclesia

Called

Out

From

Amongst

Others

And

That

That

Is

What

Jesus

Is

Doing

Always

Through

The

Gospel

Calling

People

Out

Of

The

Darkness

In

Which

They

Live

Calling

Them

Into

His

Kingdom

Coming

With

His

Power

And

Making

Them

Willing

In

A

Day

Of

His

Power

Building

His

Church

With

These

Very

Living

Stones

!

As

Peter

Describes

Them

In

1

1 Peter 2 · chapter mention

Peter

Chapter

2

That

We

Are

Built

!

Up

As

We

Come

To

Him

We

Are

Built

On

The

Corner

Stone

On

The

Foundation

Stone

Which

Is

Christ

Built

Up

As

A

Spiritual

House

And

Today

Jesus

Continues

That

Building

Project

It's

According

To

God's

Design

It's

Forming

His

Family

That's

What

His

Kingdom

Is

Like

It's

Not

A

Building

As

We

Worship

In

A

Building

Today

It's

A

Building

With

Living

Stone

Says

Peter

People

Like

You

And

Me

Who

Have

The

Spirit

Of

God

In

Our

Hearts

The

Spirit

That

Has

Made

Us

The

Living

Children

Of

God

On

This

Rock

I

Will

Build

My

House

I

Wonder

Today

If

You're

Part

Of

This

Great

Building

Project

I

Wonder

Today

If

If

You

Responded

To

The

Powerful

Irresistible

Call

Of

Jesus

In

The

Gospel

Come

To

Me

Believe

In

The

Lord

Jesus

Christ

And

You'll

Be

Saved

The

Powerful

Claim

Of

God

Which

Is

Irresistible

Not

In

The

Sense

That

It's

More

Powerful

Than

You

But

Irresistible

In

The

Sense

That

It's

The

Most

Attractive

Thing

That

You'll

Ever

Hear

!

Together

To

Come

From

Where

You

Were

Without

Christ

As

Your

Saviour

To

Be

In

A

Place

Where

Christ

Is

Your

Saviour

It's

The

Easiest

The

Best

The

Most

Blessed

Step

That

You

Can

Ever

Take

Have

You

Heard

The

Call

Have

You

Come

To

Make

The

Same

Confession

Giving

Expression

To

The

Genuineness

Of

Your

Faith

And

Giving

Expression

To

The

Very

Fact

That

Jesus

Christ

Is

Indeed

Precious

And

That

In

Accord

With

God's

Design

Your

Heart

Has

Been

Changed

Your

Eyes

Have

Been

Opened

Your

Mind

Has

Been

Enlightened

And

You

See

Jesus

As

The

Light

Of

The

World

In

Whom

You

Trust

Wholeheartedly

And

Completely

The

Kingdom

Formation

And

As

We

Move

On

Jesus

Wants

Them

To

Know

That

They

Are

Secure

They

Felt

In

Secure

In

The