Thank you, John. Thank you, Sherry. Turn with
me in your Bibles to Matthew 16, the Gospel of Matthew chapter 16. I actually prepared this message
for Wednesday night, but did not feel led to bring it in time. I read this weeks ago and it
stuck with me. I hope this is from the Lord.
Look at verse 13. Matthew 16. When Jesus came into
the coast of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying,
Whom do men say that I, the Son of Man, I love these stories of our Lord
in the Gospels. I love all of God's Word, but
especially love the actual words and deeds of our Lord that are
recorded stories, especially Him talking to His disciples. He is walking along the seaside.
He spent a lot of time on the the Lake Galilee, Sea of Galilee. He's talking to his disciples. It says there, he asked his disciples. The word disciple means pupil.
It means a learner. Students. And he was their master. He was their
teacher. He taught them everything they
knew. And he called them often little children, didn't he? I
remember he said this, he said, except you receive the Word of
God as a little child, you won't enter the Kingdom. Well, they
did. They did. They hung on his every word. They loved his every word. They learned from his every word. They were in awe of his every
word. They were in wonder. It was everywhere. Amazement. Like little children.
That's the way little children are, aren't they? When they hear
something from one they love and esteem highly, their parent,
they just listen with wonder and amazement. I didn't know
that. They didn't know anything when
he found them, did they? They didn't know anything. Well, they were His disciples,
and the reason they were was He called them. And back in chapter
10, you don't have to turn, but it says, He called unto Him His
disciples, His twelve disciples. He made them His people, His
disciples. And how blessed we are if we
are one of His disciples. How blessed. And the way you
know is if you hear His Word, and you love it, and you hear it
with awe and amazement. And our Lord said this, too,
if you continue in My Word, if you keep hearing it, keep learning
from it, if you stay in awe and amazement of it, then you're
My disciples indeed, He said. We asked His disciples, He said,
Whom do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? Now, Jesus of Nazareth was the
talk of the town back then. It says His fame went abroad,
spread abroad in all the regions. Everybody heard of Him. And everybody had an opinion.
And it's true now, isn't it? Everyone has something to say
about him. Now, he knew what men were saying
about him. He knew everything. He knows
everything. Jesus Christ the same yesterday,
today. He knows the thoughts of men
afar off. He knew what they were saying.
about him, but he asks his disciples, to whom do men say that I the
Son of Man am? I believe he's making them aware
of what is being said about him. Peter later wrote in his epistle,
sanctify the Lord God in your heart. and be ready to give every man
an answer. Sanctify them. Set apart. In other words, in
your own heart and mind, you need to know the difference. There's a vast difference in
what men are saying about Jesus Christ and who Jesus Christ really
is. It's a vast difference. It's daylight and dark. And it's
not a matter of doctrine. Because this is life eternal. That they might know Thee. The
only true God. Know Him. For Him to reveal Himself
to you. Not just coming to a knowledge
of the doctrines of grace. No. It's to know the living and
true God. And Jesus Christ whom thou hast
sent. That's what the Lord said. This
is life. You've been born again when God
comes to you through the preaching of the gospel and reveals who
He is and reveals to you who Christ is, why He came, what
He did, what that means to you. He said this to them. He said
this to them and answered and said, Whom do you say that I
am? Well, whom do men say that I
am? And I'm not going to waste my
breath telling you what people say about the Lord Jesus today. It nauseates me. Back then, they
were saying some flattering things about Him. Today, it's frightening, isn't it? Whom do men say that I, the Son
of Man, am? Now, the Lord took this title
to Himself, Son of Man. Why did He use that? Son of Man. You and I don't use that. We
don't tell people we're the Son of Man. That's obvious. You're
the son of some man, aren't you? That's very obvious. The Lord
has called things like this in the Scripture, the Son of Righteousness,
the Son of David. One time He said, Whose Son is
He? What think ye of Christ? Whose
Son is He? They said, The Son of David. He said, Then why?
If He's David's Son, why did David
call Him Lord? He just turned men upside down,
didn't He? Who do you think He is? Well, thank you, Christ. Whose son is he? He said, I'm
the son of man. What do men say about the son
of man? That's what most people viewed
him as merely, a man. And he was a man. Thank God. Thankfully, God became a man. Thank God. He came to this earth. No man
has seen God at any time. No man can or will or ever see
God who is invisible, God who is the Spirit at any time. But
now, God was manifest in the flesh. Thank God. We need to hear from God. We
need to know God. What is He really like? Say,
what's the truth? What's the truth? How can we
know God? How can we get to God? What's
life? What's eternal life? What's the
meaning of life? Who's going to tell us that?
Only God can tell us. Author of life. Well, God became
a man. Thank God. Great is this mystery
of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh. And this threw men for a loop. They said, you're a man. You
can't be God. They're still saying that today. Still saying that today, going
door to door to witness or testify about the Son of God. But if
you press them and say, do you believe that they'll say He's
the Son of God. And we'll go look into that in
a minute. But the oppressors say, but now is he the eternal
God who made all, the God in whose hands are bread? Is he
Jehovah? Oh no, no, he's not that. He's
a creature. That's what the Jehovah Witnesses
say he's created. They don't know him, and they're
lost. They're lost. They're without
God. The Son of Man. Great is this mystery. He who
being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be
equal with God, listen to this now, this really struck me. I've
quoted it many times, I've read it many times. Says he being
equal with God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God,
took upon himself the form of a servant, and was made in
the likeness of men. That means he was before he came. What was he? I am that I am. Moses heard the Lord God say,
Moses said, Who shall I say sin? He said, I am. And our Lord said
that so many times. if you believe not that I am.
It's not a matter of doctrine, it's a matter of knowing the
Lord. But, well, they said this. Bartholomew
may have spoke up and said, some say you're John the Baptist.
Thomas may have spoke up and said, some say you're Elijah. Thaddeus may have spoke up and
said, some say you're Jeremiah or Samuel or even Moses, some
say that. And those would be compliments
to anyone else, wouldn't it? It would be high compliments
to anybody else, not to this man. You remember when the Lord took
Peter, James, and John up on the mountain to show them His
glory, who He really was? And Moses and Elijah appeared. Bless his heart. Peter said,
let's make three tabernacles. You, Moses, and Elijah. And God
spoke out loud. You don't put any man, you don't
compare my son to any man. This is God. This is God. Our
Lord said this over and over throughout the book, the Old
Testament, especially Isaiah. To whom will you liken me? To
whom will you compare me? He's an incomparable one. There's
none like him. That's what holy means, you know,
other than. Some said you're John the Baptist.
Some said you're like you're Elijah resurrected. Some say you're Jeremiah. A great
thing, but not great enough. And they're saying good things
about him today. Some of them. Jesus, the helper, the healer,
the friend. Alright, look at what he said
now. The Lord, I love the Lord's, how in few words what he said,
in a question, so few words. He said under his disciples in
verse 15, But whom say ye that I am? He doesn't address error
and all that. He doesn't deal with that. It says, Whom say ye that I am?
Now, the first thing is, He's demanding of them, each one of
them. And if we're a disciple of the
Lord Jesus Christ, this is asked of us. Now, He knows. He knows.
But we need to be able to know. We need to be able to say who
He is. Personal. Every one of us. It's
not what do the Catholics think? What do the Methodists think?
What do the Calvinists think? What do the Baptists think? No,
what do you think? What do you think? What think
ye of Christ? That's the question. That's the
issue then and now. It's not what dad and mom think. What do you think? What think
ye of Christ? Whom do you say that I am? And
do you know our heartfelt answer? Heartfelt answer. Will reveal
the state of our hearts or not? Whether or not God has revealed
Himself to us or not? Simon. Simon spoke up. Oh, Simon spoke out a lot, didn't
he? And I'm glad. I'm glad he spoke
up. And he said it out of the abundance
of his heart, the mouth speaking. Whatever you believe in your
heart, it will come out. If you believe it strongly enough. And
Simon blurted out, he said, verse 16, Thou art the Christ, the
Son of the living God. I couldn't help but think of
David in Psalm 39. David said, I'm going to keep
my mouth with a bridle while the wicked is before me. He said,
I was dumb with silence. I held my peace even from good.
My sorrow was stirred. My heart was hot within me. The
fire burned. And he said, I've got to say
something. I've got to say something. Especially when the Lord's honor
and glory is at stake. Simon didn't know much. Here's
the thing. Simon didn't know much. He didn't
know much theology at this time. If you'd asked him what he thought
about eschatology, he'd say, what? What about soteriology? What? The millennial view. What millennium? What are you talking about? Who's
Christ? I know who He is. No doubt about
that in my mind, who He is. And with His honor and His glories
at stake, you've got to speak out for what it's worth. I remember
one time I was working on the railroad. That me and him were around the
lunchroom, sitting around the lunchroom. There's always one
fellow who's a jokester, you know. One fellow who'd do it
all the talking and everybody thinks he's just so clever and
so cute. And he'd do it all with a loud mouth, you know, always
talking, cracking jokes. And everybody thought he was
so cute. And he said something about the Lord Jesus Christ that
pierced my heart. I had never heard such... and
I'm going to tell you what he said. And I couldn't stand silent
for a minute. And I embarrassed that fellow.
I said, you're talking about the
Lord of Glory. You're not talking about anybody
else here. He said, you're talking about the Lord Jesus Christ in
whose hand your breath is. Something to that effect. You better be careful who you're
talking about. Talk about anybody but him. That whole room is deathless
out. Somebody's got to say something
up there. Answer a fool according to his
folly, lest he be wise in his own conceits, the Scripture said. What do men say today? Now more
than ever, our God needs to be declared as He is, doesn't He?
Christ as He is. And not many do. You're the ones. You're His disciples. What do
men say? What do you say? What are you
saying? Don't keep silent. Peter said,
Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. Simon Peter
didn't know much, but he knew that that man was more than a
man. He knew that that wasn't Jesus. He didn't call Him Jesus,
did he? You know, his enemies, always called him Jesus. Not
splitting hairs here. His enemies always called him
Jesus. They said, why aren't you, you're
Jesus, aren't you Joseph's son? They said, you're the son of
Mary. He doesn't say that in the Bible anyway, son of Mary. He's never called that in the
scripture, son of Mary. Mary's son? Not the Son of Mary. It's called
the Son of God. It's a difference. A big difference. And he didn't call Him Jesus. They called Him the Christ. They
called Him the Christ. Our The Christ. Christ means
anointed one. How many fellows do you hear,
how many people do you hear today talk about anointed this, anointed
that? How much do you hear that's done in religion? We have an
anointed ministry. I'm an anointed preacher. This
is anointed preaching. Christ stood up that day in his
hometown and he said, the Spirit of God hath anointed me. He said,
this day is the scripture fulfilled in your ear. I'm the one, the
anointed one. I'm the one whom God approves
of. I'm the one sent by God. I'm
the one. I'm the only one God approves
of. I'm the Christ. When he said,
you're the Christ, what Peter is saying is, you're that prophet. There are no more prophets today.
We don't need another prophet. We've heard that prophet. That's
what the woman at the well said, didn't you? When Christ has come,
He'll tell us all things. She knew that Moses said, the
Lord will raise up a prophet like unto me, that prophet, and
He'll tell you all things. Well, He came, that prophet. He was a fulfillment of all prophecy,
all Scripture. That prophet. We don't need another
prophet. Priests. Christ means prophet,
priest, and king. He's the priest. We don't need
somebody to confess our sins to. Our priest is in heaven.
There's one. There's only one that can put
away sin. I've been reading lately about
Martin Luther and the Reformation and how the Lord raised that
man up, a simple monk. in the midst of dark ages. No
Word of God. And people were in bondage to
these corrupt religious leaders. Roman Catholicism. In absolute
bondage to these corrupt men. Pope, and their Cardinal, and
all these fellows. Nobody had the Word of God. It
was a Bible chained up in the monastery, chained up. They didn't
want people knowing the truth. This sets you free. Free from
them. Well, God, in His wonderful mercy
and providence and grace, in the fullness of time, He had
a light in a dark place. A little monk in a dark cell,
and He had him reading that Bible, "...instance of thy word bringeth
light." The truth shown in that monk's heart. Who God is. Who Christ is. Who? He's that
priest. That fellow's an imposter that
we've been confessing to. He can't put away sins. There's
only one. And he learned that. And it's
only the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, that cleanses us from
all sin. He's the only one that can forgive
sins. That's what the Pharisees said when they heard him forgive
that man his sins. They said, who can forgive sins
but God? That's right. And that's what Peter's saying.
You're the Christ. You're the only one that can
forgive a man or woman's sins. The only one. There is no other. That Christ. The Christ. King. Prophet, priest, and king. You're
the king. Kingdom of heaven is among you.
King of kings and Lord of lords is here. People are looking for
the kingdom, aren't they? They're looking for the kingdom.
It's here. He came. He's gone, but he's
still here. King of kings. That's what Peter
is saying here and so much more. Later on, Thomas, Peter said,
Thou art the Son of God. Now, back then, A lot of people
say that now. He that believeth on the Son
hath life. That's truth. Who's ever confessed that Jesus
is the Christ, is born of God? That's true. But back then, it
was doubly true. Back then, to say that that Jesus
of Nazareth is the Christ would get you hung on a cross, would
get you killed. That's what the Jews knew who
you were talking about. Back then to say Jesus of Nazareth
is the Son of God, they knew that the Christ who was coming,
the Messiah who was coming, the Holy One of Israel who was coming,
who they said they were looking for, of whom the whole Bible
speaks, the Son of God. They knew and they believed that
that One that was coming was actually God. that God was going
to come down. I'll quote it to you. Isaiah
25, 9. He said, It shall be said in
that day, This is our God. We've waited for Him. He'll save
us. God our Savior. That's what the
name Jehovah is. God our Savior. And Thomas later
on, when they really found out who he was, Thomas hit his knees
and what did Thomas say? You're my Lord and you're my
God. Whom do you say that I am? Whom
do you say that I am? This is our God. Well, look at
verse 17. The Lord answered and said unto
him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and
blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is
in heaven. How blessed if we know, if we
believe, if we look to, if we love, if we bow to, if we need,
if we heed, if we rejoice in the Lord Jesus Christ. Flesh and blood didn't reveal
Him to you, but the Father which is in heaven. They shall all
be taught of God. Who? All thy children. You must
be one of God's children. It's a revelation. Our Lord says
it's hidden from the wise and the prudent. You know, nobody's even asking
that question anymore, who Christ is. Everybody thinks they've
got it figured out. You ask people today, what think
ye of Christ? Well, it's Jesus. I mean, are
you crazy? I mean, He came, and that's Jesus
of Nazareth. He came, a Jew. What kind of
question is that? That's the issue. The issue of
all issues. Who He is. Who He really is. Why He came? Why did He come? What did He
do? Did He do it? Where is He now? What does that mean to you? Did
He do it for you? That's what that means. That's
the issue. How blessed we are if we know.
He said in Isaiah 43, He said, you have I chosen. You are my
witnesses whom I have chosen that you may know and believe
me and understand that I am He. How blessed, Simon Bar-Jonah, you
are so blessed. Stanley Bar-Anderson. You know
how few people, many are called, but few are chosen. like His
disciples of old, if He chose them, that they might know Him.
And if you know who He is, you're so blessed. And look at this in verse 17. It says, "'Blessed blood hath
not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.'"
You're blessed. If you didn't find this out from
your dad, from your mom, There comes a time when all of
God's people believe Christ for themselves. You know, I believed the doctor
in my head when I was a boy. I did. I believed, who is he? He's sovereign. He's elected
a people and so on. I believed that in my head. But
there's got to come a time when the Lord comes to you personally
in the gospel. and reveals Himself to you who
He is, what you are. And, buddy, from then on, you're His
disciple. You need Him. From then on, it's
not dad and mom's religion. He's your Lord. From then on,
it's not mere head knowledge. He's your all and your all, in
all. He's your God and your Savior. Well, look at this, verse 18.
The Lord said, I say unto thee, thou art Peter. The word petrous,
petrified, rock. He said, Thou art Peter. The
Lord renamed him, gave him a name, Peter. He said, Upon this rock
I will build my church. The gates of hell shall not prevail
against it. Thou art Peter. The Lord gave
him this name, Peter. But do you know the Lord never
called him that? I looked it up. He never did
say, Peter. What about when they said, tell
his disciples? The angel said that. The Lord
didn't say that. The angel said that he said, go tell my disciples
and Peter. The Lord always called him Simon. Simon, often son of Jonah. The Lord kept Peter in his place. He needed to be, just like us.
Peter needed to be reminded where he came from. Peter needed to
be reminded who he was when the Lord found him. And if he hadn't,
he'd still be where he was. Simon, son of John. No different
than anybody else. Simon. Everything he knew was
by God's grace. Everything he was, by the grace
of God. He was what he was. He never called him Peter, but
Simon. to remind him who he was, keep him humble. But he gave
him this name, Peter, which means rock. And he became one. Peter
became one, didn't he? Yes, he did. Rock solid. As are all of God's people. That
is, their profession of faith is rock solid. Their profession
of faith is founded on Jesus Christ the rock. You know what
solid faith is? If it's on Christ the solid rock.
People brag about their faith today. Lot said about faith.
Lot said about faith. Very little said about Jesus
Christ. People brag about their faith. Oh, he's a man of great
faith. I have faith. I keep the faith.
What is your faith? It's who. I know whom I have
believed. Here's the faith of Paul and
faith of God's elect. I know whom I have believed and
persuaded he's able to keep it. Who? Peter became a rock because
he was standing on the rock. He later wrote this, he said,
you also as living stones are built up a temple under the Lord. When the Lord said this, upon
this rock I will build my church, He's not talking about Peter.
And most of you know how Catholicism especially has taken this and
made a whole false religion out of it. made up popery, made Peter
out to be the first pope, and all of his successors, these
popes, are vicars of Christ, and who sit as Christ in the
temple of God, as God in the temple of God. Does that sound
familiar? Absolving people of sins, binding, loosing, and so
forth. That's not, well, he's not talking
about Peter. He's talking about Peter's profession
of faith. When Peter said, Thou art the
Christ. See, that's the foundation of faith. No other foundation
can no man lay than that which is laid. The foundation of the
prophets and the apostles, which is Christ Jesus the Lord. The chief cornerstone. Huh? He's the rock. Christ is the
rock. He's that rock in the wilderness. That rock is Christ. Peter wasn't smitten. Christ
was. Smitten rock. Peter's not that rock. Christ
is. Peter's confession of Christ is all that the church is built
on. The church, God's people, every one of God's people are
built upon the Lord Jesus Christ. Martin Luther, here's his famous
words. And few words they were. Oh,
what words resounded throughout eternity even. Huh? He's standing
for Christ. against all popes and all anti-Christ
religion. He's standing there, he said,
when talking about and preaching Christ, the only salvation, talking
about Christ, the only one with all authority in heaven and earth,
the only one, he said, here I stand, I can do no other. Standing on
Christ, the solid rock. And our Lord said, the gates
of hell won't prevail against this. The gates of hell open
when this confession is made. Look into Christ. Prisoners are
set free. Verse 19, He said this, I'll
give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatsoever
thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven. Whatsoever
thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Oh, how
ignorant people are. What are these keys? He didn't
give Peter the right to change God's Word, the right to make
up rules, binding rules and laws. No, no, no. He gave no man that
right. The keys of which he's speaking
are, well, he said in Isaiah 22, in prophecy of Christ, it
says, let me read you, it says, the key of the house of David
will I lay on his shoulders. Speaking of the Christ. He's
got the key. Key. I don't have my key on me.
I laid it on the desk down there. But I've got a key to my house. Do you have it, Roberta? Then
you can't get in, can you? I've got it. It's my house. It's my key. God doesn't give
to any man the keys to let people into the kingdom of God or keep
them out of the kingdom of God. Or the keys. There's some idiot
on TV that looks like the devil. He says he has the keys, wisdom
keys. He's got the keys. You send me
your money and I'll open it to you. That's what he said. You've
seen it. Looks like the devil. That man
doesn't have the key. He doesn't even know where he
came from. Jesus Christ has the key. He
said, the keys of hell and death are at my side. What I unlock
is unlocked. What I open will be opened. What
I close will be closed. Nobody can open that. Who I allow
into my heaven gets in. Who I disallow stays out. I've
got the key. What is the key? He is the key.
He's the door, isn't He? What's the key? It's His Word.
I've given unto them thy Word. What did they talk about Peter,
though, having the keys? Everything Peter said was the
Word of God. The key to wisdom. The key to
unlock the mysteries of heaven. The key to bind you to the sacrifice,
to the altar. The key to loose you from the
Godless world. Bound and hidden. Our Lord said
to Peter and to his apostles, whatever you say, I'm saying
it through you. I say up there, it's your Word.
It's my Word. It's not you to speak, but it's
I to speak to you. That's the keys He gave him.
Oh, my, how ignorant people are. Oh, how blessed you are if you
know that. Now, look at this. This is striking.
This is really what struck me. All right, look at this. They
charged the disciples, tell no man. It wasn't time. There would
be a time. Besides, the Lord didn't come
down here to try to get a hearing. The Lord didn't come down here
to try to get people to believe on Him. He didn't then. He's
not now. No, no. He has a people. He said, they're
going to hear my voice. With or without you, they're going
to hear it. But He told them then, don't tell them, because
He had to go to the cross. And verse 21, He had from that
time forth began to show 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. He must. From that time forward, you know
the Lord Jesus Christ is from that time forward is showing
all of his disciples even now This thing, this is what the
Lord continues to show His disciples, what He must do. This is what
the whole Bible is about. Or rather, who? He is showing
His disciples why the world is taken up with this and taken
up with that. And this and that of His disciples from that time
until now are taken up with what Christ must do. What Christ did,
surely. Why He can't? This is the center
of the universe, the sum and the substance of the gospel.
This is what this Bible is written about. These are the things of
God that he talked about a little bit later. How Christ must suffer. And he began to show his disciples
how Christ must suffer and die. How Christ came to die. Messiah,
so-called, came to live and show you how to live. Christ came
for this cause, to die. Christ came, according to the
Scriptures, to die. This is the woman's seed, whose
heel must be bruised. This is the Adam's covering,
who must be killed to cover his sin. This is the Passover lamb, that God must see his blood or
he won't pass over us. This is the brazen serpent, The
only one that we must look to if we're bitten by the serpent,
by Satan. This is the smitten rock. Christ must die. Christ came
to be a substitute. If He didn't die for us, we will.
If He didn't make us holy, we won't be accepted. Most don't know this. Most don't
believe this. Don't care. Most think he was
killed by men. Most think he was a martyr. You and I know who he is, don't
we? You and I know why he came. You and I know what he did. You
and I know, most of you anyway, know why he came, what he did
and why he did it, where he is now, what that means to us. What does it mean? Everything.
Salvation. Christ must come and pour out
His precious blood to cover our sins. He must go into the Holy
of Holy and pour that blood on the mercy seat. He must ever
live to make intercession for us. From that time forth, He
began to show His disciples. And this is what we're taken
up with. And this is what Paul said when he said, I'm determined
to know nothing among you save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. And he said, God forbid that
I should glory saving the cross of my Lord Jesus Christ. That's
what that means. You know what that means, don't
you? The world doesn't care. Well, look at this. Verse 22,
Peter took him. Peter, I think, grabbed a hold
of him and began to rebuke him. and said unto him, Oh, be it
far from thee, Lord, don't let this happen. This can't happen.
Lord, this can't happen. Pity yourself is what the martyr
said then. No, no, no, Lord, we don't want this to happen.
This can't happen to you. And the Lord turned on Peter,
and he had a frown on his face, and he said this with a stern
rebuke. Listen to it. He said, Get thee behind me,
Satan. Thou art an offense unto me. Thou savest not the things that
be of God, but those that be of men." He said this to Peter. Now, do you know how shocked
the disciples must have been? They heard that. Especially Peter. You know, Peter, when he heard
the Lord call him a rock and give him the keys, and maybe
he didn't understand what the Lord was saying then, and maybe
being a man that he was, he began to be lifted up with a little
bit of pride. Boy, he doesn't now. The Lord said, Get behind me,
Satan. Why? What in the world? All right, there's much to learn
here. All right, much to learn. I learned a great deal. I never
really, really... We've looked at this, but you
better learn something or you're not a disciple. The Lord returned
on Peter. and rebuked him and said, Satan
has entered you. And you're an offense to me.
You don't care about the things of God. The things of men. Now here's some things we can
learn from this. Satan is behind all this poor
Jesus talk. You know what? Do you remember,
Mom, when Rex Humbart, do you remember that time? That he just
fell a false prophet that had a bigger hearing than anybody
at that time. Some of you all remember him? He stood up one
day with tears running down his face. Thousands of people listened
to him on TV and in person, millions. And he was talking about Jesus
dying and all this tear. And he said, if I'd have been
there, I'd have stopped it. And you know, emotion is a dangerous
thing. Because what happens is, people
begin to look at you, and they're admiring you. Look at him. He's so touched. And he's such a liar. Such a liar. One time when he
was carrying his cross to Calvary, women were weeping. And he stopped
and said, don't weep for me. Don't feel sorry for me. Weep
for yourselves. Weep for your children. If I
don't do this, you'll die in your sins. If I didn't do this
for you, you're talking about weeping. There will be weeping
and wailing and gnashing of teeth. He's talking about weeping. Don't
weep for me. I'm not a helpless martyr. I'm
not pitiful Jesus, poor Jesus, gentle Jesus, meek and mild. Satan's behind that. Satan's
behind it. It's satanic. This is the King
of Glories come to shake this earth, to bind the God of this
world. Satan is about the things of
men. Don't talk about sin. Don't talk
about a holy God. Don't talk about the justice
of God. Don't talk about Christ dying as a substitute. Don't
talk about God who by no means cleared the guilty. Don't talk
about Him shedding His own Son's blood as a substitute for sinners,
propitiate. Don't talk about that. We don't
need to hear that anymore. God loves you. That's satanic. And buddy, He can enter into
anybody. He can enter into anybody. Peter, Peter, the things of God. What are the things of God? He
said, the things of God, they're His glory and His honor. They're
His law, His justice satisfied, His redemption accomplished.
They call what we're preaching, what we believe, the doctrines
of devils, don't they? That's what they call it, the
doctrines of devils. They're preaching the doctrines of devils. Any gospel other than this is perversion. It's a false gospel.
Satan is behind that. And you know, here's something,
too, in a more practical way. The Lord can allow Satan to use
us to hinder his work, which is Christ to be honored and glorified
and set forth. How's that? Pride. Peter was a little bit proud,
had to have been at this time, like we said, what the Lord called
him. And the things of God, look at this, verse 24, and it all
follows together. The Lord said unto his disciples,
if any man will come after me, if it's my glory, my honor that
you seek, my worship that you seek, let him deny himself. Let him deny himself. You know, even believers are
going to be lifted up with some pride. Even believers will become
somewhat self-righteous when we learn what we learn, when
we know what we know, when we know who we know, and they don't.
And how can that be? But it is, isn't it? I'm guilty.
You're guilty. We look down on people and so
forth and so forth. Deny yourself self-righteousness. Deny everything about yourself.
You didn't learn this, Peter. I revealed it to you. You wouldn't
know it if I hadn't told it to you. And they won't either. Peter, you're nothing. You were
a crescent sailor when I found you. Simon. He didn't call him Peter.
Simon. Remember that around the fire? Simon. I heard all that you were
saying, Simon. You remember when he rebuked
him sternly and he said, Simon, when you're converted, what is conversion? Regeneration is to be born of
God, born again. Conversion is to be brought out
of a bad state. And this conversion is a lifelong
process for us. It's a humbling thing. This thing
of self has to be come down. If self doesn't come down, others
will. And buddy, denial of self, self-love, self-pity,
self-worth, self-righteousness, self-loathing, deny himself.
That's what Christ did. That's what Christ did. Let him
deny himself. Take up his cross. Look at that.
And I quit. Take up his cross. What's that? What's that? Why was Christ crucified on the
cross? Well, of God as our substitute
according to the purpose of God. Why did man put him on the cross?
What he said. The truth. They killed him because they
hated the truth. And our cross is not trials and afflictions.
That's not what he's talking about. He's talking about persecution
for the truth's sake. Christ was hated for the truth's
sake. And they killed him for it. And
he said that about his disciples. He said, you want to be hated
of all men for my name's sake. But blessed are you. Blessed. Take up your cross. Take up the
cross. Somehow or another, if we're
not making some enemies somehow, we must not be telling the truth. Take up the cross, he said. Deny
yourself. And any man who will save his
life, he said, he'll lose it. Or a woman. He'll lose it. Save
your life. For my sake and the gospel, you
gain it. The cross. So Peter learned his lesson.
But I meant to quote the rest of that. When thou art converted,
what did he tell them to do? When thou art converted, what
did he say to do? Strengthen your brethren. Hold them up. Bring yourself down. Hold them
up. That's what Christ did. Ah, boy. Striking words from our Lord,
and the word of the Lord, may it break the cedar." He said. He calls the hinds to calves. Give new birth. May someone have
heard this. Now, I've heard it. You know,
if we hear it for anybody but ourselves, we didn't hear it.
We didn't hear it. Oh, so-and-so needs to hear it.
I hope they heard it. I hope I heard it. Peter heard
it, didn't he? Satan? Can Satan use me to be
an offense? Can Satan use me to bring offense,
schisms and strife in the church? Absolutely. Lord, don't let it be so. Please
help me. Save me. Okay. Brother John,
you come. What was that number?