Rocky - Preparing For The Fight Series

But then, Peter (perhaps frustrated by their silence or ignorance) jumps right in: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Matthew 16:16

Jesus pats Peter on the back –"Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.” Matthew 16:17

And you almost find yourself thinking…

Alright Peter

At least you know what’s going on

At least you understand who Jesus is

You are plugged in

You’re mentally focused –

You’re ready for the fight that lies ahead

BUT THEN, as Jesus proceeds to tell His disciples that “…he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Matthew 16:21

Peter shows that he doesn’t really get it. He doesn’t really understand.

He jumps right in again and objects: Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him. "Never, Lord!" he said. "This shall never happen to you!" Matthew 16:22

Just a few moments before Jesus had complimented Peter… but now He rebukes him:

"Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men." Matthew 16:23

III. What’s Jesus saying?

Jesus is telling Peter that unless he changes his thinking, Satan will have the edge

He’s telling Peter, that right now he’s not prepared for the real fight that lies ahead

Now I’ve said all this to introduce you to something we don’t often think about. I’ve retold this story of Peter’s confession and rebuke to introduce you to the fact that you and I are ALSO called into the very same fight Jesus was preparing His disciples for.

Paul writes Timothy and tells him: "Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 1 Timothy 6:12

Again Paul writes and tells Timothy "Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs— he wants to please his commanding officer. Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor’s crown unless he competes according to the rules." 2 Timothy 2:3-5

God is telling us… there is a fight shaping up, and you need to be ready for it.

Paul understood that, because when he found himself in prison, facing imminent execution, he wrote: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith" 2 Timothy 4:7

In other words… I did my job… I was successful. I competed and I’ve won my battle.

IV. Now many of you are “physically” ready for the battle…

Some of you have gone to church for years. Attended Bible Studies and Sunday School. Some of you may have “perfect attendance” pins from your youth. Some of you can recite all the Bible books in their order or find any passage you want in a matter of moments.

Physically, you may be in shape… But the question you need to ask yourselves now is this: are you mentally ready. Do you know what you need to know to give you the edge when you enter the ring?