Al Mohler: Shepherd’s Conference 2018 Message Notes

I’ve been having a hard time taking notes from the Shepherd’s Conference.  Here’s my rough notes from Al Mohler’s sermon.

Matthew 16:13-19

We are told in verse 13 when Jesus entered to Caesarea Philippi Jesus had a question for them.

Some of the answer include John the Baptist

The other answers are a little more difficult for us.

There is a second question “But who will you say that I am?”

Not knowing how to answer a question is very embarrassing to me.

Its one thing to ask what do people say Jesus is but another thing for Jesus to ask who do you say that I am.

In verse 16 it says “Simon Peter answered” and we already know elsewhere that he is the most outspoken of the disciples.

Peter answered Jesus is the Christ.

Often the Messiah has political dimension and expectation.

But this whole conversation about Jesus being the Messiah occur not in Jerusalem but in Caesarea Philippi where the name “Caesarea” is even mentioned here.

Here we see very clearly: Jesus is the Son of the Living God” with no other modifier.

But what is Jesus going to say?

Put Jesus in the context: Simon has committed to acts of blasphemy of acts against the Messiah and God the Father if Peter is wrong.

Where does courage and conviction comes from?  It comes from Christ who is true.

Notice how Jesus responded; He blesses Peter.

Peter is the first of the son of Adam to confess what we all as Christians confess: That Jesus is the Son of Living God.

Second thing we need to know is Jesus clarify that Peter whose lip is not so blessed of where Peter’s confession comes from.

Everything we know about sin, everything about salvation is a gift of divine revelation!

If it was not for revelation we wouldn’t figure this out.

It is deeply humbling to know this.

We often get nervous with this passage is because some think this is because some people think it is about the Pope.

The Papist in the 16^th Century couldn’t be Reformed, it had to be rejected.

There is not a shred of evidence here of Papal infallibility.  Notice 16:23 of how the Rock becomes Satan.  It is astounding it goes from the truth that Peter confesses being stated that it is revealed to Peter and then it goes to this statement by Jesus about Peter being like Satan.

Peter is blessed because of what He says and says by the Holy Spirit and that is the same for every Christian and there’s no special office here.

This text is for us; it is the establishment for the Church.

But Peter is not the Rock.

Jesus is saying what most Christian miss.  He doesn’t say upon this rock and I promise health and wealth, self-sufficiency, etc.  Instead He says “You are going to die.”

How many Christians have been martyred?  How many churches disappeared?  Does that mean hell won?  No.  Instead it means everyone who died in Christ is safe.  That’s the great promise.  We are promised troubled.  But we are promised life after death.

Luther dealing with the passage had to think fast, kind of like Peter: Who got the keys?  Look at nearly Catholic Church are pictures of Peter with the keys.  But if Peter has the Keys, we are doomed.  Here’s the answer: The church has the keys.  How does the keys activate?  It’s the Gospel.  Who have first and foremost responsibilities with the keys?  It’s the preachers.

The Reformers were right that without the keys there will be not be the church.

This is where the church finds its conviction.  We know that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God!

I believe Christ secures the church and He will preserves and He will resurrect His Church and He will glorify His Church.

There are many threats to the Church, external and internal threats, there are false Gospels, false worships, etc.

The greatest external enemy of all is Satan.  If you don’t believe in Satan you don’t believe in the New Testament.

This here is the very Magna Carta of the Church.

The Church shows up when there is confession of Christ as the Son of God.