We're going to need our Bibles
tonight, folks. There's a couple of spots where we'll be turning
to some different scriptures. So we'll begin tonight after
a few opening statements, opening comments. On page one of your
handout, we'll look into Matthew chapter 16. I believe we're going to go to
a psalm, and we'll also be looking at 1 Peter, so you might want
to have your Bibles available this evening. But we'll begin
with our handout if you'd like, page 1. I once had a conversation
with a very religious relative about blessings. When speaking
about the love of God that he had for Jacob, and his utter
hatred for Esau, she brought up how God named some mountains
after Esau, therefore God had blessed Esau. And I referred
her to Mark chapter 8 verse 36 and 37 where we read, for what
shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose
his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange
for his soul? Folks, the Lord said, cursed
is the ground for thy sake in Genesis 3.17 when he spoke to
Adam after he had eaten of the forbidden tree. Nothing of this
world is eternal. Nothing of this carnal flesh
can enter into heaven. All must be burned up. All is
cursed by sin. Please do not misunderstand me.
There are many good things of this earth that the Lord brings
about that are a blessing to mankind. Children, for one. Well, for the most part, children.
Until they become teenagers. The harvest for food. These are
good things that the Lord is blessing mankind with. Rain. The heat of the sun? Our Lord
tells us this. He says, for he maketh his sun
to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the
just and on the unjust. That's Matthew 5, verse 45. But
all that is temporal. And upon His return, all that
we see will be burned up. Listen to these words from 2
Peter 3.10. But the day of the Lord will
come as a thief in the night, in the which the heavens shall
pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with
fervent heat, and the earth also and the works that are therein
shall be burned up. The true blessings of God are
the eternal, heavenly blessings. The Apostle Paul puts it this
way, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who
hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places
in Christ. Ephesians 1 verse 3. Notice the
word says, in Christ. All eternal heavenly blessings
are in Christ. anything man can do will be nothing
but a pollutant to God's blessings. Page 2. On Wednesday night, our
brother Norm Wells brought a message from the book of Judges, chapter
11, where we read in verse 29, the Spirit of the Lord came upon
Jephthah. Throughout the study, I kept
thinking how this relates to our study here in Matthew. In
fact, I mentioned a verse at the end of And Brother Norm expounded
on it a little bit. It was from 1 Corinthians 12
verse 3. No man can say that Jesus is
the Lord but by the Holy Ghost. And Norm expounded this to mean
that no natural man truly speaks from the heart of Christ as Lord
except he be filled or blessed of the Holy Spirit. Many, mentioned
Norm, profess Christ as Lord, yet they deny his authority by
raising their will, their decision, above God's. They make themselves
to be God. And I wrote that with a small
g, because there's only one God, and that is God Almighty himself,
our creator. This blessing, a matter of the
heart, is what our text is all about. Whosoever shall confess
that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in
God. I had a conversation with a dear
brother once who was struggling with his faith, struggling with
understanding his salvation. And I mentioned to him, I said,
well, who is your Lord? It's Jesus Christ. Well, is it
the Jesus Christ who has all power, is sovereign in all things?
Oh, yeah, yeah. Is it the Jesus Christ who created
everything that is? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, what
is your trouble with your salvation then? You believe God, that's
what God tells us in his word. And only the Spirit of God dwelling
in a man can cause a man as what the Word of God says right here
in 1 John 4, verse 15. Whosoever shall confess that
Jesus is the Son of God. That means confession with your
heart, not with your lips, not giving lip service, but confession
with your heart. Do you know who He is in your
heart? God dwelleth in Him and He in God. That's the Lord's
Word, that's not mine. Now, look with me, if you would,
at our text in Matthew 16. And we'll begin reading at verse
13. Matthew chapter 16, beginning at verse 13, we read these words. When Jesus 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, well, some
say that thou art John the Baptist, some Elias, and others Jeremiah,
or maybe one of the prophets. And he saith 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 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. 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. And I will
give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever
thou shalt bind on earth and shall be bound in heaven, and
whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man
that he was Jesus the Christ. Now tonight we're only going
to look at a small portion of what we just read. And I've titled
tonight's message, Blessed Art Thou. We're going to focus on
that, how we are blessed, why we are blessed, and who it is
that's blessing us. Now, back in our handout, mid-page
two, we read, mid-page there, Peter's confession here is truly
remarkable. The more I study it, and I mean
this, the more I study it, the more remarkable and blessed it
appears to me. Consider it carefully, if you
would. This confession put Peter at odds with the rest of the
world, just like it does today. You've heard me profess who my
Lord is to my aunt, who believes in free will, who turned on me,
one of the nicest, sweetest ladies I've ever met in my life, got
angry, mean, ugly faced, and poked me in the chest and told
me I will not take her free will away from her. Well, that's the
type of people Peter was talking about. Few were with Christ in
those days as it is today. Many were against him, again,
as it is today. But Peter confessed him anyway.
When the ruler of his own nation and all the religious people
he knew, the scribes, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the priests,
and the people, when they were all opposed to Christ, Peter
confessed him. Many would gladly acknowledge
him to be a prophet as they admitted in the beginning of our reading
there in verse 13. Even a great prophet, even a
resurrected prophet possibly, but Peter confessed him to be
what? The Christ. That's important for us to understand
that. He confessed him as the Messiah. The one that was promised of
God in the Old Testament. the one who was promised to redeem
his people, to save his people from their sins, to wash away
their iniquities. Peter calls him the Christ. And then he says this, the Christ
is the very son of the living God. Why is this so important? Folks, only by God's grace does
one confess with their heart the Lord Jesus is the Christ,
the Son of the Living God. That's what we just read up there
in 1 John 4.15. Whosoever shall confess that
Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. The Lord Jesus is the Son of
the Christ, the Son of the Living God. And as we read in 1 John
and in 1 Corinthians, and then also this as we read, it says,
bottom paragraph, page two, for I will make you from among, I
will take you from among the heathen and gather you out of
all countries, and will bring you into your own land, then
will I sprinkle clean water." Notice who it is that he's talking
about here, who's doing the work. He says, then will I sprinkle
clean water upon you. That's the Word of God. Sprinkling
the Word of God. That's the preacher preaching
the Gospel of Christ and Him crucified. I will sprinkle clean
water upon you, and you shall be clean. He's talking about
his people here, those that he will gather out of all countries
and will bring us into our own lawn. He says you'll be clean
from all of your filthiness and from all your idols. will I cleanse
you. A new heart also will I give
you, and a new spirit will I put within you, and I will take away
the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of
flesh, and I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to
walk in my statues. And ye shall keep my judgments
and do them." Page three. And ye shall dwell in the land
that I gave to your fathers, And ye shall be my people, and
I will be your God. Notice, there's no maybes there. There's no if you, if you do
this, if you do that. No, the Lord says, I will, I
will, I will. And guess what? When the Lord
says, I will, He does. That's in Ezekiel 36, 24, what
we just read. This confession of faith came
from a man of tremendous faith, tremendous character, a commitment
and zeal. Say what you will about Peter.
He had his faults, as we all do, but do not underrate him.
His heart was under the rule of Christ. Grace is evident in
him. Peter was a true-hearted, faithful
servant of our God. Let's consider a moment Peter's
confession, shall we? Looking in the face of the Son
of Man, Peter said this, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the
living God. Peter confessed as all who have
been called out of darkness that the man Christ Jesus is God in
the flesh, the eternal Son, the promised Messiah, the one of
whom all the prophets spoke of. In a word, he confessed that
the man Jesus is God come to save his people from their sins.
The very one we read about in Matthew 121. And she shall bring
forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall
save his people from their sins. I do not know what all Peter
knew or did not know, but he knew Christ. And he confessed
him. Do you? And the Creator of all that is,
as we read in John chapter 1 verse 1, He declares this, 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. That's verse 17. Now Peter was
truly a blessed man. His blessedness was manifest
not in his lifestyle or his freedom from trouble and sorrow, but
in grace, in the grace of God that he had experienced, as was
evident in his confession. Like all who are born of God,
he was blessed with spiritual understanding. It is written
in the prophets, and they shall all be taught of God. If every
man, therefore, that hath heard and hath learned of the Father
cometh unto me. Not that any man hath seen the
Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father. That's
in John 6, 44 and 45. In 1 Corinthians 2, 11 through
16, we read these words. For what man knoweth the things
of a man, save the spirit of a man which is in him. Even so,
the things of God knoweth no man but the Spirit of God. Now
we have received not the Spirit of the world, but the Spirit
which is of God, that we might know the things that are freely
given to us of God. Do you see how this goes along
with Brother Norm's message? Oh, I wish we could have done
it back to back. It would have been so much fun to see the two
of these messages go together about being filled with the Holy
Spirit, being blessed, being blessed with the Holy Spirit
of God, to know His Son. Let's go on here in page 4. Which
things also we speak not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth,
but which the Holy Ghost teacheth, comparing spiritual things with
spiritual. But the natural man receiveth
not the things of the Spirit of God. Folks, we see that. We see that now. Once we were
blind, but we see that as true. We didn't receive the natural
things of God before. For they were foolishness unto
him, it says. Neither can he know them, because
they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth
all things. Yet he himself is judged of no
man, for who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct
him? But we have the mind of Christ. And then in 1 John 2 verse 20
we read this, but ye have an unction, that means a given speech,
given the ability to speak from the Holy One, and ye know all
things. Peter was blessed by divine decree. Look over at Ephesians chapter
1 with me if you would. Turn in your Bibles over to Ephesians. Ephesians chapter 1. This is
the decree. This is the decree that Peter
and all of God's people can relate to, because this is about us.
Look at verse three. Blessed be the God. First off,
Paul gives a doxology by blessing God for what he has done, and
then he gives a list of what he's done. He said, blessed be
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed
us. Blessed are you. Blessed art
thou, Peter, is what the Lord said to him, who have blessed
us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. according as He hath chosen us
in Him, in Christ, before the foundation of the world, before
anything was ever created. I love to say this. Do you realize
what that means? This is how blessed we are, folks.
God, everything that is happening in creation right now is for
God's people. Everything. Not one single thing
is outside of God's purpose. And He has purposed all things
for the good of His people, has He not? He started it before
the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without
blame before Him. In love, having predestinated
us unto the adoption of the children by Jesus Christ to Himself, because
we were good people? Because we made a decision? No,
but according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of
the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the
Beloved, in whom we have redemption through His blood and the forgiveness
of sins according to the riches of His grace, wherein He hath
abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known
unto us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure
which he hath purposed in himself, that in the dispensation of the
fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in
Christ, both which are in heaven in which on earth even in him,
in whom also we have obtained an inheritance being predestinated
according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after
the counsel of his own will, that we should be to the praise
of his glory who first trusted in Christ, in whom ye also trusted
after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your
salvation, in whom also after that ye believed, Ye were sealed
with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance,
until the redemption of the person's possession, unto the praise of
His glory. Back in our handout now, if you
would, mid-page again, third paragraph. And Peter was distinctively
blessed by distinguishing grace. Listen to these words from 1
Corinthians 4-7, For who maketh thee to differ? from one another,
and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? Now if thou
didst receive it, why dost thou glory as thou hast not received
it? Who can describe the blessedness of knowing the Lord, whom to
know according to scriptures is eternal life? How can you
explain how blessed we are? I'll tell you how. I'll tell
you. When we compare what we have
received from God to what we deserve, to our just reward,
how blessed we truly, truly are. As it was in Peter's day, so
it is today. And so it is in every age. The
people of this world, religious and non-religious, have many
and varied opinions about Christ, but only one opinion is right. And that opinion, formed in the
heart by divine teaching and divine revelation, if we know
Him, our Savior, says this, flesh and blood hath not revealed it
unto thee. That is to say that we did not
come to know Him. That is to say that we did not
come to know him on our own, and no mere man revealed him
to you. We do not know Christ after the
flesh or by human learning. Listen to these words from 2
Corinthians 5, verse 16 through 17. Wherefore, henceforth, know
we no man after the flesh. Yea, though we have known Christ
after the flesh, yet now henceforth know him no more. Therefore,
if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. All things are
passed away. Behold, all things are become
new. He says, but my Father which
is in heaven. Flesh and blood hath not revealed
it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. Folks, we're speaking
about God Himself. by His Holy Spirit. He must reveal
Him to our hearts by the preaching of His Gospel, and I've listed
several scriptures to show this. We begin with Matthew 11, verse
25 through 27, where it says, And at that time Jesus answered
and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, page
5, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent,
and hast revealed Jesus Christ is thanking His Father for revealing
these things, revealed them unto babes, babes in Christ. Even so, Father, for it seem
good in thy sight. All things are delivered unto
me of my Father, and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father neither
knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever
the Son will reveal him. Listen to John 6, verse 45 through
46. It is written in the prophets,
and they shall be all taught of God. Every man, therefore,
that hath heard and hath learned of the Father cometh unto me,
not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God,
he hath seen the Father. Galatians 1, verse 15 through
16. But when it pleased God, who
separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by His grace
to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the
heathen. Ephesians 1, 17 through 18, that
the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give
unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge
of Him. How do we know of the Lord Jesus
Christ? The only way you can know, folks,
is by the Spirit of God revealing who the Son of God is. By the
God the Father in His revelation to us of who the Son is. This
is what this is talking about right here. The eyes of your
understanding being enlightened, that you may know what is the
hope of his calling and what the riches of the glory of his
inheritance in the saints. Ephesians 3 verses 7 through
8, Wherefore I was made a minister according to the gift of the
grace of God, given unto me by the effectual working of his
power unto me, whom am less of the least of the saints in this
grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable."
Why are they unsearchable? Because man can't figure them
out, that's why. You know, I've got to stop here
for just a moment. I've got to share something that
just came to my mind. One of the most profound statements,
one of those statements you hear a pastor say and you sit back
and you say, I don't think I've ever heard anything that made
more sense than that. The Lord Jesus Christ walked
this earth, and when he walked this earth, very, very few people
saw him for who he was. When somebody says, I just want
the world to see Christ in me, I can't help but think of what
many pastors I have heard say over the years say this, if they
couldn't see Christ who stood before them, who fed 5,000 of
them on one mountain one day and from just a couple of fishes
and a couple of loaves of bread, how are they going to see Christ
in you? Let me tell you what the world will see in me and
John Reeves. A sinner. A sinner. I don't know
that they'll even see the depth of that. I hope they don't. I'm
so ashamed of it, I don't want anybody to see it. But they're
not going to see Christ in me. They don't see Christ in His
Word. This is what Paul is talking about here in Ephesians 3. He
was sent to preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches
of Christ, but only to those whom Christ would reveal them
to. 1 Corinthians 12.3, Wherefore I give you to understand that
no man speaking of the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed,
and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the
Holy Ghost. And we've already read that once,
but it was worth reading again. Romans 10, verse 14, bottom of
page 5, How then shall we call on him in whom they have not
believed? And how shall they believe in Him in whom they have
not heard? And how shall they hear without
a preacher? And how shall they preach except
they be sent? As it is written, how beautiful are the feet of
them that preach the gospel of peace and bring glad tidings
and good things. Page 6, we continue on in that
very subject there in Romans 10 verses 14-17. But they have
not all obeyed the gospel. Isaiah saith, Lord who hath believed
our report, so then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the
word of God, preaching Christ. Blessed is the man whom God will
reveal His Son in them. 2 Corinthians 4, 6, For God,
who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined
in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of glory of
God in the face of Jesus Christ. I hope to preach on that very
title, that very subject on Sunday in San Diego. that great light. Our Lord goes on to say this
revelation is the very foundation that He will build His church
upon. And a blessed foundation it is. The foundation upon which
God's church is built, the foundation on which our souls are built,
the foundation on which our faith and hope is built is the Rock
Christ Jesus. He is the foundation laid by
God's decree. Listen to Isaiah 28, 16. Therefore,
thus saith the Lord God, behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation,
a stone, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation. He is the sure foundation. a
precious foundation, an indestructible foundation. Therefore, whosoever
heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken
unto him a wise man which built his house upon a rock. And the
rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew and
beat upon the house, and it fell not. For it was founded upon
a rock, And everyone that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth
them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man which built his
house upon the sand. And the rain descended, and the
floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon the house, and
it fell. And great was the fall of it." Matthew 7, verse 24 through
27. Our Lord is a foundation, a sure
one, a precious one, an indestructible one, and He is also a tried foundation. Christ is the rock upon which
we must be built. For other foundation can no man
lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ, 1 Corinthians
3.11. He is the precious cornerstone
the Lord God has laid in Zion. Those who believe on him shall
never perish but have everlasting life. Page 7. Those who build
on the sand of their own works shall be buried in the everlasting
ruins of their own confusion in hell. Faith in Christ is compared
to the building of a house, a house of refuge, read in Matthew 7
verse 24, and I'll leave that, you can, you know what, let's
just turn over there, turn over to Matthew 7 verse 24, a couple
verses I want to read over there. Originally I thought we would,
I would just refer to it and let you go in your own time,
but with the, over in Matthew, this house of refuse, look here
at Matthew 7 verse 24. Therefore, whosoever heareth
these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a
wise man, which builds--" oh, I just read that. Wait a minute.
That's why I did that. I was referring to what we just
read. Sooner or later, when you folks get to be my age, you'll
understand the confusion. Sooner or later, your house will
be tested with earthly trials, spiritual trials, rains of trouble,
floods of sorrow, and winds of adversity, as we read in Matthew
7, verse 25. Now, if your house is built on
Christ the rock, it will endure the trial. It'll stand the tests
of time. If your house is built on the
sand or anything other than Christ, sooner or later, the rains of
floods will bring it to a crumbling down around you. Everything built
upon the sand will crumble. Have you ever built something
on sand? I remember building, as I was
thinking, as I was writing this, I remember building sand castles.
And if you don't pack it just right, it'll crumble down around
you fairly easy. In fact, it doesn't take but
a couple minutes for the water to wash it away very quickly.
Christ is the foundation of our house. This is why it's so important,
folks, for all of us to be sure that the one who stands in the
pulpit, the one who stands or sits in the seat of a teacher,
is one who preaches Christ. One who brings Christ forth. That's the rock. That's the foundation
of this house. It's the foundation of God's
elect and the building reared upon that foundation. He alone
is the rock of our salvation. Turn over to 1 Peter chapter
2 with me and we'll read a couple of verses over there. 1 Peter
chapter 2. Wherefore, laying aside all malice
and all guile and hypocrisies and envies and all evil speakings.
Why? Because that's good for us. Why
do we strive to do that? For our salvation? No! Our salvation
is assured in that rock. But that rock is wise, beyond
wise, beyond anything that we can comprehend as wisdom. His
ways are not our ways. And He says to us, lay aside
all malice and all guile and hypocrisy and all evil speaking. And He's telling us this for
our good. He says that newborn babes desire the sincere milk
of the Word. that ye may grow thereby." Listen
to these loving instructions that God is giving his people.
I know we can't do this to perfection. I know that we struggle with
these things of instruction that God gives us. Folks, I struggle
with them as well. If any man says he doesn't, he's
a liar. But we strive to do them anyway,
don't we? We try. Because He who first
loved us, we love Him, that's why. If so be that ye have tasted
the Lord as gracious, verse 3, to whom coming as unto a living
stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God and precious,
ye also as lively stones are built up a spiritual house and
a holy priesthood. Folks, as a lively stone, I don't
want to offend my Lord. Even though I do, I don't want
to. To offer up spiritual sacrifice is acceptable to God by Jesus
Christ. Verse six, wherefore also it
is contained in the scriptures. Behold, I lay in Zion a chief
cornerstone, elect, precious, and he that believeth on him
shall not be confounded. Unto you, therefore, which believe
he is precious, but unto them which be disobedient, the stone
which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of
the corner, and a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense, even to
them which stumble at the word, being disobedient, whereunto
also they were appointed. But ye, you who are blessed. blessed of God, to be taught
of God, who his son, and ye are a chosen generation, a royal
priesthood, and holy nation, a peculiar people that ye should
show forth the praises of him who has called you out of darkness
and into his marvelous light, which in times past were not
a people, but are now the people of God, which hath not obtained
mercy, but now have obtained mercy. Dearly beloved, I beseech
you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from or against the soul,
having your conversation honest among the Gentiles, that whereas
they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works
which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation. Blessed art thou who stand on
Christ, the solid rock." This is the last part of our handout.
The sun. of the living God. Oh, folks,
I tell you, how blessed are we who call Jesus Christ our Lord. Not just the Lord, but our Lord. He is my Lord. I wonder, I ask
of you, is He yours tonight? If He is, it's because He has
made Himself so. Amen?