Knowing Jesus For Yourself

Matthew 16:13 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?

14 And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.

15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?

16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

20 Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.

21 From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.

22 Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.

23 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.

The Most Important thing you can know in life is WHO JESUS IS....

Not who someone says He is......

....or what others say about Him....

...but TO KNOW Him Personally.....to know Him for YOURSELF....

....because.....Jesus alone is the WAY to the Father...and there is NO OTHER

I know there are some who believe that ALL ROADS Lead to God....

...but God says THAT’S NOT TRUE....

and if He’s the one you’re trying to get to,.....it would be wise to HEAR What He says about the matter.

1 Jn 5:12 says "He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

1 John 2:23 Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.

That’s why I said, There is Nothing More Valuable in our Lives than a Knowledge of Jesus

...And we need to understand that: this is not something that we can come to ON OUR OWN....

.......but It Requires a Revelation from God Himself

1 Cor 12:3 says "Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost."

In our Text in Matt 16 verse 17 ....., Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

Too many folks don’t really understand what a WONDERFUL Thing God is doing FOR US when He Reveals Jesus TO US.

If the people who Reject God ONLY KNEW ......

......what an Opportunity for the GREATEST LIFECHANGE IMAGINABLE was being offered them......

.....I have no doubt they would RUN the Altars EVEN Before the Call was given.....

Because Knowing Jesus is KNOWING REAL LIFE....

....Knowing Jesus is to be Reconciled to God....

..... and to have your sins forgiven and washed away, never to be remembered against you again.........

....to be adopted into His Family........to be His very own Child.....

.....and Have Access into His Kingdom...and His Life....and His Future.....

and to Have Everything You are Lacking ADDED to your life as Your Grow in the Knowledge of Christ Jesus.....

Now, Let’s look at what Begins to happen when you Come to Know who Jesus is For Yourself.

Verse 18 says ....18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Now Peter is referred to in verse 16 as "Simon Peter"....

...but that’s just so we can be Clear on who Matthew is talking about.....

When this was written, most everyone knew him only as PETER.....

but when this Event took place, he was known as SIMON

This is WHERE his CHANGE Began to take place

This is When Simon got a NEW IDENTITY

Knowing, for ourselves, Who Jesus Really is, Gives us too a NEW IDENTITY

From this Point On.......Simon began to Disappear and Peter took his place......