Who are you listening to?

Matthew 16:13-16
When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Jesus asked two very significant questions to His followers:

1. Who do men say that I the Son of man am?

2. Who do you say that I am?

Jesus was not trying to be noisy nor was He trying to hear the latest gossip about himself. Jesus was no doubt teaching the disciples a very important lesson.

Many times we fail to realize how influential our environments and cultures can be on what we believe. Jesus knew that the disciples had not been listening to Him only. Apparently they had also been listening to what others in their community had been saying about Jesus. We must understand how greatly this can effect what and /or how we hear from God and the way we hear and receive it. Many times God is trying to communicate to us, wanting to impart to us direction, instruction, correction, vital insight into a situation or circumstance in our lives but we are not hearing Him correctly because of the other things we are hearing or have heard.
 Out of 12 disciplines, only one heard the Father say Jesus is the Christ the Son of the living God. If Jesus asked them all the same question, surely it was not a trick question that none of them could get the answer to but one. No, they all could have received the answer, remember God is no respecter of persons.

They all could quickly tell Jesus what other people were saying because that’s who they were listening to. The problem with what they were listening to is that it sounded religious but it wasn’t right. Many people probably would have thought that Jesus should have been flattered that they thought of Him as one of the great prophets. However, Jesus knew that if His disciplines continued to listen to this wrong doctrine of who others thought Him to be it could prove to be very dangerous to their faith in the future.
 How could they receive from Jesus as, The Christ, The Messiah, when they just thought of Him as just a mere man, or one of the prophets? This may have seemed like a very trivial thing but Jesus knew He had to Detoxify their Souls and destroy that poisonous root if the disciplines were to continue on in faith in the Son of God and fulfill their Divine Destinies.

We must never allow deceptive seeds from the enemy to stealthily creep in to eat away at our faith in God. Many concepts and beliefs about Jesus in today’s society seek to water down and nullify who Jesus really is. These deceptive concepts come to weaken and rob you of the knowledge of truth.

He was not just a good man who did good things. He was not just one of many religious authorities that was born and died. He was not just a mere man who tried to bring peace and harmony in His generation. He was not just one of many prophets who obeyed God. He was not just an influential man who we should honor and pay tribute to 3 times a year because of his “contributions to society.” No, No, No, double No! He is, was and will always be The Christ, The True Messiah, and The Son of the living God! This is the rock of revelation that Jesus built the church on and we must continue in this truth no matter what the world is saying.

Purpose in your heart today and every day, to keep the truth of God’s word concerning who Jesus is, fresh and alive in your hearts and minds. Remind yourself daily of who He is, never letting it slip. Begin to talk more about Jesus, not just principles in His word, talk about Jesus. We need to lift up His name more in the work place, at the dinner table, in everyday conversation. Let’s talk about Him more than what’s going on in Washington and what the latest church fad is. We need to hear His name more and more. Flood the airwaves as you talk on your cell phone, with Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. It’s not just what He has for us but who He is to us that gives us the victory! Who do you say that He is? He is the Christ the Son of the Living God! Let’s talk it up, church!