But What About You?

Who do you say I am?

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When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"

They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."

"But what about you?" He asked. "Who do you say I am?"

Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God."

Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."  - Matthew 16:13-19

These past days I have been re-thinking my life of faith.

It's been forty years since I gave my heart back to Jesus Christ, opened the door for Him to come in... and to sit on the throne of my life as Savior, Redeemer, King.

Last Saturday, I heard a man speak about the many wrong ways we have been taught to get to know God. He spoke for only an hour, and yet, I feel that my faith was somewhat shaken.

His words left me with many questions.

Well, sometimes we need to hear honest words that will stir us from our complacency.

It's not really that my faith has not been tested all these years... but we can become so comfortable in what we believe, and not be aware that our present circumstances require our faith to be upgraded.

God is unfathomable, and therefore it makes sense that my faith in Him must also be growing deeper.

When it comes to faith, we cannot remain stagnant. We need to be moving up higher, constantly.

I think that is where I am at this point.

How I appreciate the way Abba Father comes in so quietly... like the gentle rains that have been falling over the city these past two days. He doesn't come barging in... He knows He is welcome, like an old friend who can come anytime, unannounced. 

I hear His still, small voice asking me the very question He asked Peter a long time ago.

But what about you... who do you say that I am?

He's asked me this very question a few times before. And each time He does, I know it is yet another invitation to go deeper.

Who do you say that I am?

It is a question of authority; the answer to that question determines who I consider to be the true authority in my life.

Forty years ago, I made the crucial faith declaration that Jesus was the Lord of my life.

But that was only the beginning of a life of inner adjustments - some major, some minor... but each one life changing. Each step of decision to obey, and to say "yes" to Him, brought me closer to His heart. Still, there were many more changes required of me.

The initial offer to make Him the Lord of my life is followed by more calls to go up higher.

Always... always... the invitation to follow Him to the next level was never given as a demand or an imposition. Even though He was Lord, and He was King... Father, Son, and Holy Spirit never "lorded" it over me.

I had the freedom to heed the call, or to disregard it. 

The choice was always mine to make.

Having chosen Him as my Lord means I have chosen Him as my authority.

Having Him as my authority simplifies matters, because what we believe about God determines the way we live.

I so want to live right, making the right choices, listening to no other voice but God's... to lead and guide me.

So, I need to recognize His voice above all others.

A moment by moment obedience to Him is a must.

Let's face it. Daily, many important decisions are made in our life, depending on our authority.

The way I regard my time. My money. My relationships.

My ambitions. My attitudes.

Will I hold on to pride and unforgiveness?

Pretend to be who I am not?

Refuse to admit I had been wrong?

Will I cut corners, cheat, take the easy way out, just because no one is looking? 

But the truth is, we never live our lives in a vacuum. There is always One who knows.

Someday, whether we believe in Him fully as Lord, or just as someone we know with our intellects, from a safe distance, there will come a day of reckoning.

Who do people say the Son of Man is?

Jesus begins by asking His apostles a non-threatening question. Who do people say...

And the apostles felt safe. They replied, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets."

Then Jesus zeroes in on His main point.

But what about you, who do you say I am?

Of course it had to be Peter. He had always been the rash one, the one quick with words.

Unabashed, unashamed, he comes to the front with his great confession, a powerful declaration.

You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.

You are HaMashiach... the Anointed One... the Messiah we have been waiting for.

The Messiah is what the Jews have been hoping for. The answer to all their questions.

Peter believes the claims of Jesus without batting an eyelash.  The very claims that made the religious leaders of that time send Jesus to the cross.

Peter remembers the days before Jesus died when Jesus claimed He was the Son of God.

Peter learned this truth the hard way... and he will never forget.

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He went to Nazareth, where He had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day He went into the synagogue as was His custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. Unrolling it, He found the place where it is written:

"The Spirit of the Lord is on me,

because He has anointed me

to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners

and recovery of sight for the blind,

to set the oppressed free,

to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."

Then He rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on Him. He began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."  - Luke 4:16-19

Peter knows that what HaMashiach promises He will deliver.

In his powerful declaration of faith, Peter was saying that he believes everything that Jesus lived... and died for.


Good news to the poor.

Admitting one's poverty, not in any financial sense... but a humble admission of nothingness, helplessness, and worthlessness without Him.

Therefore, no longer being quick to form opinions and conclusions about events and persons... for that is a sure way of making myself a god in my own eyes.

To assume, rather, a position of poverty, a position of trust, saying, Father, I entrust this situation... this person... to You.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart

and lean not on your own understanding.

In all your ways submit to Him,

and He will make your paths straight.

- Proverbs 3:5, 6

Freedom for prisoners.

We may not be literal prisoners... but we could be in bondage to many other things. Like greed. Or fear. Or pride. Self effort. Financial security. A life of pretense, and window dressing.

So Yeshua HaMashiach comes to fill that emptiness in our hearts that we never could, on our own. He alone is able to give us true worth and eternal security.


Recovery of sight.

It has been said that our greatest blindness is blindness to the truth.... the Truth of who God is.

Throughout the ages, the enemy of our soul, satan the deceiver, has side-blinded us... making us believe half truths, distorted truths, about God.

And when we are blind to the whole truth, we are blind to true hope, as well as to lasting joy.

Jesus our Messiah has come to show us the whole truth... that we may have a deep and abiding sense of joy and hope which our life circumstances could never steal from us.


Set the oppressed free.

Oppression comes in many forms. We could go through life oppressed by false guilt, self blame, perfectionism, a fault finding spirit, an intense self-focus.

Or live our days haunted by the seeming consequences of wrong choices we have made in the past.

Many ask, Is there a way out?

The answer is Yes!

Jesus as Messiah is the One who redeems us from our past failures. It is He who promises to restore to us the years that the locusts have eaten.

Looking at the claims of Jesus as Messiah, I would be a fool not to take His word for it.

When Jesus says that He has come to proclaim the year of His favor over me... who am I not to come running to Him with my declaration and confession, just as Peter did?

What about you? Who do you say that I am?

Jesus asks us point blank... Never mind about the others. What about you?

Our response to faith is always personal. 

At the end of the day... at the end of this life... all that really matters is this: What Jesus means to me in the everyday circumstances and daily routines of my life.

Peter asserts, You are the Messiah, the son of the Living God.

It was the very answer Jesus was waiting for.

And Jesus exclaims, Blessed are you Simon Bar-Jonah... for his confession has not come from intellectual reasoning, but from revelation.

Peter's declaration flowed from the spirit of revelation.

We tend to analyze the circumstances of our lives and put them in neat, little categories. In doing that, it is easy to second guess God's purposes, going ahead of Him, hindering Him from revealing fresh truth to us.

God would rather have us flow with His spirit, waiting for Him to reveal His heart to us.

Living that way, our faith is always alert and active. Our heart is open to receive new things from Him.

At the point of faith, Peter is reminded of what his name means. Jesus says, you are no longer Simon ("little stone"), but Peter ("rock").

It is at such crucial moments of our lives, when we refuse to believe what our physical eyes can see but choose instead to hold on to faith, and to see with the eyes of our spiritual understanding, that God reveals to us our real name, and true identity.

Jesus reminds Peter of who he really is in heaven's eyes.

You are a rock.



One of the spiritual lessons that have made a deep impact on me is that we become what we confess.

God is always wanting to reveal to us our true identity.

Our true identity is linked to our true confession of who God is.

The past years, I have learned how important it is not to confess my limitations or to focus on the hindrances and difficulties confronting me.

It is not living in denial of reality, as some would say. I am aware of my physical circumstances.

Nevertheless, for every limitation that I see, there is a corresponding spiritual freedom that God offers.

The land of my wounding is the land of my healing. The place of my limitation is the very place of my anointing.

The choice is up to me.

At the point of genuine faith, Jesus comes to remind us who we really are.

Not what the world says we are. Not the labels that others have put on us. But who God created us to be.

The real issue then is, who do I say that He is?

Lord, I know who You are.

You are my Healer. My Provider. My Righteousness. My Peace. My Life.

Our words have the power to create our reality.

We are defined by what we confess.



With Peter's declaration came the promise that the gates of Hades, the gates of Death, will have no power over him and all others who make this similar confession of faith.

The gates of Death will let in hatred... depression... fear... bitterness... discouragement... unbelief.

But where the Messiah, the ultimate Lifegiver has been confessed, Death has no access point.



To Peter was given the keys of the kingdom... the keys that unlock kingdom authority. What he binds on earth is bound in heaven, what he looses on earth is loosed in heaven.

Those keys are ours as well when we confess Christ as our Messiah.

Heaven honors our declarations.

And today, I am humbled anew as Jesus offers me a fresh invitation to believe in Him as my Messiah... at a higher level.

I hear Him calling me to take the untrodden path.

I heed that invitation... and take Him up on His offer of a higher level of faith.

I would be a fool not to.

Could You Be Messiah To Me?
by Filipino composer and singer, Gary Valenciano




The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord
 (as sung by Andy Park, in his album In the Secret)

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon us
Because He has anointed us to preach good news (repeat)

He has sent us to the poor
To bind up the broken-hearted
To bring freedom to the captives
And to release the ones in darkness

This is the year of the favour of the Lord
This is the day of the vengeance of our God
This is the year of the favour of the Lord
This is the day of the vengeance of our God

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon you
Because He has anointed you to preach good news (repeat)

He will comfort all who mourn
He will provide for those who grieve
He will pour out the oil of gladness
Instead of mourning you will praise

This is the year of the favour of the Lord
This is the day of the vengeance of our God
This is the year of the favour of the Lord
This is the day of the vengeance of our God

Narration: 
Jesus, You drank the cup of God's vengeance.
You took on Yourself the punishment that we deserve that we might receive mercy.
As the Father sent You, You are now sending us to show mercy instead of judgment.
Generosity instead of selfishness.
Kindness instead of prejudice.
To bring hope to the hopeless.
Healing to the wounded.
Love to the outcast...

God show Your favor through us, Lord.
That we would be vessels of Your mercy, 
Your kindness, 
Your goodness
Your love...