Well, if you have your Bibles, turn over to Matthew. You may be seated. Turn over to Matthew chapter 16 this evening. Matthew chapter 16. What a good song that we sang tonight. I'd rather have Jesus. As you're turning over to Matthew chapter 16, it kind of has somewhat to go along with the message I'm going to preach tonight. And I'm going to ask this question. I guess the title of the message is a question, who is Jesus to you? And who is Jesus? And I believe probably the majority of individuals here could give a very, maybe a very good idea of who Jesus is theologically and what the Bible has to say, but what is he to you personally? And who is Jesus to you? And I hope that he's someone special to you. I hope he's not someone you just think about on Sunday morning, Sunday night, and on occasional Wednesday evening. I hope that he's special. And we believe that this individual that once walked on the face of this earth was like no other man that ever lived. And he did things that no other man ever did. He said things that no other man ever said. When you think about this, he made claims for himself, which if they were not true, would brand him as history's greatest fraud. He gathered around himself a group of men who believed his claims. He predicted his own death, and by the way, he predicted his own resurrection. Not only did he make claims, you know this, he made good in all his claims. That's the wonderful thing. You know, a lot of people have said a lot of things in history, but he's made every one of his claims true. He left his followers, including us, with the message to spread the good news of what he has done for a lost and dying world. And you think about this for some 2,000 years, countless numbers of Christians, men and women, boys and girls, have lived for Christ, and many, many have died for Him. So the question I have for you tonight is this, who is Jesus to you? I think it's a good question that we as individuals, really, if you think about it, we need to think about a lot. Does anybody here ever get busy? Anybody here have a busy Monday tomorrow? Your hands are going up a little bit here and there. I hope you don't raise your hand, I got absolutely nothing going on tomorrow. I'm gonna sleep till 11 o'clock. No, I hope nobody's like that. But we get busy. We have a lot that's going on in our life. We got family life, we got work life, and we got all these things that are going on. And in the process of that, oftentimes we forget. We forget about the most important thing, and that's the Lord Jesus Christ. And oftentimes, the only time we ever think about Jesus is really on Sunday and maybe Wednesday, maybe an occasion here and there we think about him. But the question I have for you is this. Who is Jesus to you? Look, if you will, at Matthew chapter 16. And of course, we come to Matthew chapter 16. It's clear that Jesus now has been or is being rejected by his own people. In fact, his fate has been sealed and the shadow of the cross looms overhead. Before this point in time, in his ministry, people have liked him. People have followed him. And think about it. I mean, who wouldn't? I mean, think about this. There's free health care involved. Right? It's free healthcare. Follow Jesus. He's healing the sick. He's causing the lame to walk, the blind to see, the deaf to hear. I mean, who wouldn't want to follow someone like that? Free healthcare. If free healthcare is not good enough, how about free meals? I don't know about you, but you put food involved in anything, I'll raise my hand. I'll be there. Amen. Free food. I'll take it. And think about what he's done, the feeding of the great multitude of people. I often think this is a wonderful thing. I believe that it's the only miracle that's mentioned in all four of the Gospels. One person once asked why you think that is. The only reason I can come up with is this. God's people love to eat. And so why not mention one of his greatest miracles, the feeding of the 5,000? So who would not want to follow him up to this point? People liked him. But people did not want to worship him. I believe individuals thought that he was a great teacher. And by the way, I believe he was a great teacher, a great preacher. I oftentimes think, what will it be like to be able to sit at the feet of Jesus and to hear Him teach and to hear Him preach? I'll tell you, that's going to be a wonderful thing. And just to hear that. He was a great teacher. He was a great preacher. He was a great miracle worker, but to many individuals that followed Him, He was nothing more than that. Here we come to Matthew chapter 16. Again, his ministry is starting to change. It's clear that he is being rejected and we see in verse 13 of Matthew chapter 16 that maybe he gives his disciples that final exam. And in that exam, we see two questions that are raised. The first question that we see that is raised is in verse 13, where he asks what men say he is. But then he gets even a little more personal in verse 15, where he says, who do you say that I am? And so two questions are brought up in these few verses here, and it says, when Jesus, in verse 13, came into the coast 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 Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. And He said 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. And so the question I have for you tonight is this, who is Jesus to you? Not who Jesus is to the pastor, not who Jesus is to your spouse, not who Jesus is to your children or to some family member, but can I ask you personally this question, who is Jesus to you? What does he mean to you? Let's ask the Lord to bless. Father, we're so thankful again for this evening you've given us. so thankful for your blessings and, of course, the opportunity that we have to open your word tonight. I pray as we do, I pray that you would speak to our heart. I do pray that I wouldn't say anything I shouldn't. I pray that I would be led by you. And again, we'll thank you so much for it. In Jesus' name, amen. Life is full of questions, is it not? In fact, questions abound everywhere. Young people are asking questions like, what am I going to do with my life? What will I become? What will tomorrow bring? Parents also ask questions, many questions. One question may be something like this. Will my children turn out okay? And what will life be like for them? There are questions that are spiritual in nature. Why does God allow such tragedy to exist on this earth that we live? And of course, there's other questions as well. There are philosophical questions like, what comes first, the chicken or the egg? How many angels can fit on the head of a pin? Maybe you have a question tonight while I'm preaching. If a tree falls in the woods and there's no one around to hear it, does it make a sound? Or if a man is by himself in the forest and he speaks, is he still wrong? We certainly could go on and on and there are certainly many, many questions that are asked and I'm reminded of a college student one time that was a sophomore and he tried to prove how smart he was one day by asking his professor, this following question, he said this, is the bird that I'm holding in my hand dead or alive? Of course, the professor knew if he said that the bird was dead, then the boy was obviously going to free the bird and let it fly away. If the professor said that the bird was alive, then the boy was going to crush the bird and to kill it, and so the professor looked at this sophomore, this young man, and he said this, he said, my boy, the answer is in your hand. And so the question I have tonight for you is this. It's not philosophical, it's not deep, it's not where we have to search the finite points of prophecy or whatever you want to say, but the question I have tonight is very, very personal and it is very, very simple. Who is Jesus to you? What does he mean to you? Again, not to, as you're thinking about that question, I don't want you to be thinking, well the pastor says that Jesus is this and The commentary says that Jesus is this, and some famous preacher says that Jesus is this, but the question again is personal in nature. I think we all need to ask ourselves this question. Who is Jesus to you personally? What does Jesus, who does, what does Jesus mean to you? Now as we come to this past description here, we see that it takes us to the coast of Caesarea Philippi. Of course, the individuals that we read about tonight are that of the Lord Jesus Christ and his disciples. And as you read this past description, as you begin to study the area that they were at, it was predominantly a Gentile area. It was north of the area where Jesus had healed the blind man. It was geographically a very beautiful area. But this area that they were in was also steeped in pagan religion. In fact, if you were to do some research, you would find out that in ancient times, this area was called Balinus. Because at one point in time, it was the center of Baal worship. But later on, toward the time of the Lord Jesus Christ, it was called Panias because the Greeks believed that their Greek god Pan was born in this area that Jesus and his disciples were in. Also in this location, There was gleaming a place, a gleaming building, a marble temple that was built by Herod Philip, and it was built in honor of Caesar. Caesar himself wanted the people to think of him as a god, that he was a god. Not a man, but that he was a god. And so, every citizen in this area here had to enter this temple once a year, and they had to proclaim that Caesar was Lord. And so this location that the disciples and the Lord Jesus Christ were in was an area that was devoted to the worship of idols. It was an area that was devoted to man-made gods. It was in this place that Jesus chose to make a revelation of who He was. Jesus was God. And may I say tonight, Jesus is God. Doesn't matter what some professor may say, doesn't matter what some religion or cult may say, can I say tonight that Jesus is the Son of God. He is God. And there's no doubt in our mind. I believe it's in this pastor's scripture here that Peter, for the first time, sees that Jesus was truly the Son of God. And there's a question that is posed to the disciples, posed to Peter as to who Jesus was. And may I say tonight there's even a more important question that could be asked of each and every one of us if someone were to come to you and to ask this question, who is Jesus to you? What would you say? How would you answer him? What would you say about who Jesus is? And by the way, this question that is posed to us tonight about who Jesus is, is a question that determines our destiny. It determines our eternity. This question that is posed to us tonight is a question that determines whether or not we will spend eternity in heaven, or spend eternity in a place called hell. It is a question that determines whether an individual is saved. It is also a question that determines whether a person is lost. And by the way, to the Christian, it is a question that determines how we will live our life. Maybe even more pertaining to us tonight. Who Jesus is to you will determine your faithfulness. It will determine your obedience. It will determine your walk with the Lord. It will determine your fellowship with Him. And so, the question that needs to be asked is this, who is Jesus to us? And can we say, like Peter, that Christ is the Son of the living God? And so tonight we're going to look at just three groups of individuals or people, maybe I should say it this way, groups of people that tell us who Christ is. The first thing that we see is this, we see what humanity says Christ is. Now to be absolutely right, excuse me, to not be absolutely right about Christ is to be totally wrong. If we're messed up on who Christ is, then we are wrong. To come close to who Christ is, is not enough. The truth about Jesus must be personally understood. The truth about Jesus must be personally grasped. It must be personally experienced. It must be personally possessed. Close enough to who Jesus is, is not close enough. But we come tonight and the question is asked, who do men say that I am? We see Humanity says who Christ is. Look at verse 14. They said, some say that thou art John the Baptist. Some say, hey, Jesus, you're like John the Baptist. In fact, over in Matthew chapter 14, we get a little idea over in verses 1 and 2. It says, at the time of Herod the Tetrarch that heard of the fame of Jesus and sent him to his servants, This is John the Baptist. He's risen from the dead. I don't know why some individual said that he was John the Baptist. Maybe it was his preaching. His preaching on repentance. Again, I can only imagine what it must have been like to hear the Lord Jesus Christ speak. To hear the Lord Jesus Christ proclaim the truth. To hear the Lord Jesus Christ to express in words the glory of the Father, can I tell you, it must have been a wonderful thing. But can I tell you something, the Lord Jesus Christ was far greater than John. It's interesting, the Bible says there was none born greater of woman than that of John the Baptist, but I'll tell you something, Jesus was much superior to John the Baptist. When the Lord Jesus Christ spoke, he spoke with authority. And it must have been astonishing. He not only spoke the Word of God, but can I tell you something, Jesus is the Word of God. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John only pointed to the Lamb of God, but Jesus was the Lamb of God. Jesus personified the Lamb. And so some individuals of the past said, some say that thou art John the Baptist. We see the same passage of scripture, others said that thou art Elias or Elijah. Again, they're speaking of prophecy that you can find over in the book of Malachi chapter 4 and verse number 5. And some said, hey, you must be Elias, you must be Elijah. When I think of Elijah, you know what I think of? The first thing that comes, maybe it's just because of growing up in Sunday school class. One of my favorite stories in the Bible is of Elijah, Elijah praying on Mount Carmel. I always call it the sweetest story in the Bible. It's one of my favorite stories in the Bible. Often time as I read that passage of scripture, I put myself there as Elijah is standing there against the prophets of Baal. And by the way, Jezebel had 400 prophetess. I don't know for certain if they were there, but I would have guessed they were because all of Israel was there, or many of Israel was there. And so here was Elijah, 850 against one. And there Elijah, as he begins to speak with the prophets of Baal, we remember the water that was thrown onto the sacrifice over and over again. We remember the prophets of Baal as they tried to get this fire started, as they were standing in front of that sacrifice, and Elijah, in his sarcasm, was saying, maybe you need to pray a little bit louder. Maybe he's sleeping. Maybe he's out hunting. Maybe he's doing something else. Maybe he's somewhere else. Why don't you pray to Baal a little bit louder? And by the way, you know what? It doesn't matter how loud they could have prayed. It doesn't matter how long they could have prayed. Baal was going to do them no good. Then Elijah, very simple prayer. By the way, I'm always encouraged with that. I'm always encouraged with this. You don't have to be a profound scholar to pray. You don't have to be this wonderful and this experienced Christian to get a hold of God. Can I tell you something? Every one of us here tonight can go boldly to the throne of grace. Every one of us here can go to the Lord Jesus Christ and to give our petitions. Every one of us here could ask for forgiveness for our sins that we commit on a regular basis. Every one of us here can ask for wisdom. Every one of us here can go to the Father. And there Elijah stands on Mount Carmel and he prays that simple prayer and fire comes down from heaven. You know, sometimes it amazes me, we reread these incredible stories and we think nothing of them. Could you imagine if you had the power to call down fire from heaven? Pulling out, someone pulls out in front of you, fire, right there. No, I would never do that. Well, no, I would never do that. But could you imagine Elijah calling down fire from heaven? And some said, hey, he's like Elias, he's like Elijah. No doubt Jesus had a powerful prayer life. By the way, as you go through the Word of God, never one time do the disciples ask, Lord, teach us to preach. Not one time does the disciples ask the Lord Jesus Christ, Lord, teach us to teach. But they do say this, Lord, teach us to pray. Teach us to pray. No doubt the disciples were blown away with the ability of the Lord Jesus Christ to get a hold of the Father and how happy they would have been to learn to be able to do the same. had to be part of the disciples to see the Lord Jesus Christ in faith requesting a prayer to be answered, to see that prayer answered, to see the Lord Jesus Christ in the garden of Gethsemane, to see as He sweats great drops of blood. Some say that you're Elijah, a man of prayer. Some say that, not only are you Elijah, some say not only are you John the Baptist, but we see here, some people say that you're Jeremiah. When I think of Jeremiah, I think of an individual that had compassion. In fact, as you look at Jeremiah's life, and if you were to read commentaries or read things about Jeremiah, oftentimes the heading under Jeremiah would be this, Jeremiah, the weeping prophet. Jeremiah was known for his tears. Jeremiah was known for being an individual that was moved with compassion. I believe some people have that gift. Some people have the ability to be moved with compassion. There's a preacher out there, I love to read some of his messages. And I'm trying to think of his name now. I think his last name was Hanks, if I remember right. And you read his books, and it was said that as he preached, that he would preach with great tears. And people would be moved with compassion as he preached to individuals. to get right with God and to get saved and often times in tears he would beg people to get right with God. But that was Jeremiah, he was an individual that was moved to tears. But you know Jesus was moved to tears. The Bible speaks about the great compassion that he had for the multitude. It was like a crowd of sheep that had no shepherd. You can go to the tomb and one of the shortest verses in the Bible says this, "...and Jesus wept." And by the way, can I say this today? Even today as you are hurting, Jesus knows about it. Jesus hurts right along with you. His heart breaks for us, and our tears are a language that God understands. Can I tell you, if you have a trial, a problem, a trouble tonight, you can take it to the Lord Jesus Christ, and He doesn't say, come on, quit being a sissy. He says, hey, I care about you. And so some said, hey, you're like John the Baptist, an individual that was known for his preaching. Some say, hey, you are like Elijah, a man known for his prayer. And some said, hey, you're like Jeremiah, a man that was known for his passion. And then they said this, and some said that thou art one of the prophets. Of course, we know what a prophet was. He was a man of God that was sent with a message for his time. In fact, by the way, a man of God, a prophet of God, do you know how often he had to be right when he gave his prophecy? A prophet of God that was a true prophet of God had to be right a hundred percent of the time. You say, wow. No, it's not wow because God's right all the time. Everything that God says we can take to the bank. If God says it, we can believe it. Every promise in the book is true. Every word, every jot, every tittle of the Word of God is true. And so some said, hey, you're like one of the prophets. It's no doubt that the Jews elevated the status of Jesus above an ordinary man. They believed Him to be a great man. They believed Him to be a holy man. But can I tell you tonight, their view fell short of what is required for salvation. Their view fell short of who the Lord Jesus Christ is. It's interesting tonight that there are some thoughts of Jesus as being no more than a nobody. Some in the Bible believe that he was a nothing, he was even evil. Over in Matthew 12, they said the Lord Jesus Christ was a devil. In Mark chapter 6, all he was was a lowly carpenter. In John chapter 6, they said he was nothing more than the son of Joseph. In John chapter 8, they said the Lord Jesus Christ was a illegitimate child. In John chapter 9, he was a sinner. Even in the next chapter, they said Jesus was nothing more than a madman. But let me ask you a question, Knight. Who is Jesus to you? We see what men of the past said, but what do men of the present say? There are groups that believe, that say that Michael the archangel is actually the Lord Jesus Christ. That's blasphemy there. There are groups out there that say that Lucifer and Jesus are brothers. That's blasphemy there. Islam says that Jesus is no more than a mortal whom Allah favored and made an example of. That's blasphemy there. The atheist will say that Jesus is a figment of a man's imagination. Liberal scholars will get up and say that Jesus is not really who he says he is, but rather all he is is a liar and he cannot be believed. But may I say tonight it is they that lie. I recall the story of a little boy that went to school and he would go to school and he would tell whoppers about what he did during the weekend. The teacher would ask, what did you do? And he'd say something like this, I went fishing, I caught 36 fish that were this long. She knew he was lying, and the next week he came back from his weekend break, and she said, what'd you do? He said, well, I went deer hunting, and I killed eight 10-point bucks. She knew he was lying there, too. Next week, and he came back, she said, what did you do this week? He said, I played baseball. I hit 16 home runs in one inning. She got tired of hearing him lie over and over and over again, so she took him to the principal's office, and she said, what shall I do? And the principal looked at her and said, I know what to do here. I'm going to deal with him in this fancy psychology that I've learned in school. And so he said, send him into my office, and I'll tell him even a bigger lie, and show him what he looks like when he tells these type of lies. The little boy walked into the principal's office and the principal looked at this little boy standing there and he said, tell me, what did you do this weekend? As he was getting ready to speak, the little boy, the principal cut him off and said, no, tell you what, let me tell you what I did this weekend. I was walking through the woods and I saw a huge black bear and it started chasing me. But just then a little Chihuahua dog came out from behind a tree and he killed the black bear and he ate it whole. Do you believe that? A little boy looked at the principal and said, sure, I sure do. That's my dog. That's the third bear he's killed this week. You know, humanity at best may say that he was a good man, that he was a good teacher. But can I ask you a question tonight? Who do you say that Jesus is to you? Can you say, like Peter, that He is the Christ, the Son of the living God? We see what humanity says who Christ is, but not only do we see what humanity says, but look over it very quickly, we see if humanity can't get it right, what does heaven say who Christ is? God the Father has said some things about the Lord Jesus Christ. He says over in Matthew chapter 3 in verse 17, he says, And lo, a voice from heaven sang, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Over in Matthew chapter 17, again, God the Father says, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear ye Him. So God the Father tells us who the Lord Jesus Christ is, and for sake of time, we won't read countless other verses of what the Heavenly Father says, but we also have a count of what the heavenly angels said about the Lord Jesus Christ. Over in Matthew chapter 1, in verse 20, they said, But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, Fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth the Son and shall call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins. So we have a count of what the Heavenly Father says, we have a count of what the heavenly angels say. Say, well, of course, they're going to say that. They're on one side. Let's see what the hellish demons have to say. Over in Matthew chapter 8, they said, And behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee? Jesus, thou Son of God, art thou come hither to torment us as before? Over in James chapter 2, they also said, Thou believest that there is one God. Thou doest well. The devils also believe. And they tremble. So we have a count of the Heavenly Father, we have a count of the heavenly angels and the hellish demons, but we also have what the Holy Word of God says over in John chapter 1 and verse 1, where it says, John chapter 1, that same chapter in verse 14, it says, And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and of mercy. In Acts chapter 2, it says, The house of Israel knew assuredly that God hath made the same Jesus whom you have crucified, both Lord and Christ. The Bible says that He is Lord. Lord implies that He is in control of things. And by the way, can I tell you tonight, He is in control of things. It implies deity. And can I tell you something? He is not just man, He is God. And one of these days the Lord Jesus Christ is going to set Himself down on the throne of David and He's going to be pronounced King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And every knee and every tongue is going to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. To the glory of God the Father. The Bible says not only that He is Lord, but that He is Christ. That implies that Jehovah is salvation, for there is no salvation given unto man whereby you must be saved. It's only through Jesus Christ. The Bible says that He is Lord, that He is Jesus, that He is Christ. That means that He is the Anointed One. So the Bible tells us very clear who Jesus is. He is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Even Jesus tells us who He is. Over in John chapter 14, He says, He that hath seen Me, hath seen the Father. In John chapter 10, He says, Me and the Father, I and the Father, we are one. In John chapter 8, he looks at the individuals and he said this, Verily, verily, I say unto you, before Abraham was, I am. Wow. That's profound. He tells us He is the Bread of Life, that He is the Light of the World, that He is the Door, He is the Good Shepherd, He is the Son of God, He is the Resurrection and the Life, He is the Way, the Truth and the Life, He is the True Vine. For an ordinary man to say this would not make him a good moral teacher, it would make him a lunatic. It would make him a liar. But Jesus is no ordinary man. Jesus was not just a good moral teacher. Jesus is the Son of God. He is the Christ, the Son of the living God. And so we see what humanity says that He is. We see what heaven says that He is. But the question that I want to bring it all together tonight is this. What does your heart say that Jesus is? We can look around and there's a lot of scholars, there's a lot of professors, there's a lot of preachers, there's a lot of religions that like to come out and they like to give points on who Jesus is and what he should be. Some of them are good points and some of them are good opinions, some are bad. But that's not what we're going to ask tonight. Not what somebody else says that Christ is. Not what some commentary says Christ is. Not what some famous preacher may say Christ is. But the question that I have for you tonight, who is Jesus to you? What does your heart say that Jesus is? Is He more than someone we think about just on Sundays and Wednesday nights? Is He more than someone we think about when things are not going well in our life? Is He more to us than just a good luck charm that we bring out once in a while? To make ourselves feel good and to make ourselves feel as if we are a good Christian. Who is Jesus to you tonight? I love what the Bible says over in Philippians chapter 2 and verse 9. Wherefore God hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth. And every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Let me ask you a question tonight. Who is Jesus to you? Now just think about this for a second. When the names of Earth's benefactors are no more remembered, when the achievements of science are no longer of value, when politicians and leaders are lost in the pages of history, When the guesses of philosophers are seen to being in vain. When the Caesars and the Charlemagnes and the Napoleons and their so-called victories are forgotten. When time shall be no more. We will for all of eternity enjoy the endless fruits. of Christ's blood-bought victory on the cross. I don't know about you, but, you know, there's a lot of conspiracy theories out there, and I think I have the answer for most of them. And every once in a while, I like a good conspiracy theory, and we'll go back and forth, and man, I'm thinking about this and thinking about that. And I think to myself, you know, one of these days when I get to heaven, I'm going to figure out the answer. And then reality sets in, I'm not going to really care what the answer is. I'm not going to care. I'm really not going to care. Do you think I really care about some conspiracy? I'm not going to name it, because you might be, I don't know. when I'm walking on the streets of gold? You think I'm really going to care about that? When I'm sitting at the feet of Jesus, you think I'm going to be thinking about my problems here on earth? When my ears are hearing the wonderful words of the Lord Jesus Christ, do you think I'm going to be thinking about the time that someone did me wrong in church? For all of eternity we'll be singing the praises of the Lord Jesus Christ. We'll be singing the praises of His peerless, precious, and preserving name. There's never, ever, ever going to be a name like the name of Jesus. So let me ask you this. When people come to you and say to you, Who is Jesus? Or maybe they get a little more personal and they say something like this, who is Jesus to you? I hope we have a better answer than, well, we sing about him on Sunday. I think about him when I have a problem. His name pops up. when someone says His name in vain? Maybe our answer will be a little more sweet. Maybe our answer will be a little more tender. Maybe you won't be able to say much at all. But as Peter said, He is the Christ. He is the Son of the living God. So the question I have for you tonight is this, who is Jesus to you? This is not a time for us to think, well, I hope he's somebody special, that person over there. No, who is Jesus to you? Who is he to you? Let's bow for a word of prayer. Father, we're so thankful again for this wonderful thought. Oh, we could only imagine the thoughts that went through the disciples' mind as Jesus began to speak to them. They had heard the multitude speak about what Jesus had done. They had heard the great adjectives that were mentioned about who Jesus was. But Lord, this was a piercing question. This was not a mind question, this was a heart question. We know who men say you are, but Lord, this is who you are to me. I pray tonight that Jesus is more to us than just Sunday morning or Wednesday night. I pray that we could, maybe just this week, just pause and take some time and think about how special how wonderful you really are. I pray now again you'd work this invitation and we'll thank you so much for it. In Jesus' name, amen. Let's all stand with our heads.