amen so you're there in matthew chapter 16 if this is your first time joining us on a wednesday night
we're going through the book of matthew where we've reached the 16th chapter we're going to go
through this deal here verse by verse and explain what's going on look down at your bible at verse
number one the bible reads there the pharisees also with the satchese came and tempting desired
him that he would show them a sign from heaven he answered and said unto them when it is evening
you say it will be fair weather for the sky is red and in the morning it will be foul weather today
for the sky is red and lowering oh ye hypocrites you can discern the face of the sky but can you
not discern the signs of the time so the pharisees and the satchese they're tempting jesus they're
asking for a sign from heaven now what's unique about the satchese is they don't believe in the
resurrection which is ridiculous but they totally deny the resurrect the resurrection and what jesus
is saying here is that the pharisees and the satchese they can discern the weather they can
look up into the sky and they can see what tropics are coming they can see what the weather is going
to look like but they can't discern the signs of the times they're looking at the messiah god in
the flesh jesus christ and they can't discern that he's god they can't discern that he is
who he said he is the messiah the christ jesus rebukes them he calls them hypocrites and he
does it to their face we're going to get to it a few weeks from now matthew chapter 23
where he just rails on him where he just preaches hard against them and rightfully so straight to
their face without holding back that's the type of preaching jesus did that's what we try and
replicate in this church and that's what other churches like ours try and replicate as well
jesus was a bold speaker he was a bold preacher we should be too look at verse number four the
bible reads there a wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign and there
no sign be given unto it but the sign of the prophet jonas and he let them and departed so
jesus you have to remember he healed the sick he healed the blind he healed the maimed he cast out
devils aren't those enough signs for you how about that how about all the miracles he did out in the
open but apparently for the pharisees for the sadducees for the christ rejecting jews it just
wasn't enough for them they wanted more they wanted more signs they wanted more quote proof
that the messiah was really staring them in the face jesus christ himself but jesus says you're
not going to get your sign you're not going to get it except for the sign of the prophet jonas
now i'll get to what that is in just a few moments but i want to make an application to today
a lot of people today especially atheists they'll look at god they'll look at the concept of god
and the bible and they'll say well you know what i would believe that if there was just a little bit
more tangible proof but the only proof i'll speak for myself and i'm sure you guys might agree with
this the only proof we need is the bible itself every page every chapter every verse every word
it's a miracle it's perfect it's without error and if you want the proof that you're so desperately
looking for that god exists open up a king james bible because that is the word of god it's
perfect it doesn't have error now people will blaspheme the word of god people will rail on
the bible and claim that it has quote unquote contradictions but when you actually study those
so-called contradictions they all turn out to be hogwash they all turn out to be garbage go to jonah
chapter one let's look at the sign of the prophet jonas let's see this old testament type of jesus
christ the old testament is full of symbolic references and representations of the death
burial and resurrection of jesus the old testament every book points to christ every book points to
what he would later establish what he would later accomplish i should say at calvary and those who
would reject jesus but still supposedly uphold the old testament they don't understand a single word
of it they don't understand genesis they don't understand exodus they don't understand any of it
they don't understand the feast days what are the true meanings behind that they don't understand
the symbolic meaning of the animal sacrifices they don't understand the old covenant yeah those were
carnal ordinances but there were spiritual ramifications there was a true deeper spiritual
meaning behind that and we accept both the carnal truth and the spiritual truth jesus
says in john chapter three if i have told you earthly things and you believe not how shall you
believe if i tell you of heavenly things so it's important to understand both and believe both the
physical and the spiritual so you're there in jonah chapter one let's look at the sign of the
prophet jonah's look at verse number one where the bible says there now the word of the lord
came unto jonah the son of amitai saying arise go to Nineveh that great city and cry against it
for their wickedness has come up before me but jonah rose up to flee unto tarshish from the
presence of the lord and went down to japa and he found a ship going to tarshish so he paid the fair
thereof and went down into it to go with them unto tarshish from the presence of the lord
but the lord sent out a great wind into the sea and there was a mighty tempest in the sea so that
the ship was like to be broken god wants jonah to preach against the sins of Nineveh with the hope
that they would repent but jonah tries to flee he's acting like a coward here he wants to run away
he doesn't have the courage to step up step into the gap and do what god asked him to do
preach hard against sin that's our responsibility at this church brother joe this past sunday
he got fired up when he was preaching against abortion because he's normal that's how a normal
person would react to that wickedness and it just it doesn't just end with abortion we preach
against all the sins here at steadfast baptist church and that's what god wanted jonah to do
again with the hope that Nineveh would repent that they would turn away from their wicked ways
now if you would skip down to verse number 14 the context here the men on the boat with jonah they
conclude that the storm they're going through is caused by god's anger at jonah they realize this
man that was on the boat with them was trying to run away from god look at verse 14 the bible says
wherefore they talking about the mariners who were on their way to tarshish with jonah
they cried unto the lord and said we beseech thee oh lord we beseech thee let us not perish
for this man's life and lay not upon us innocent blood for thou oh lord has done as it pleased thee
so they took up jonah and cast him forth into the sea and the sea ceased from her raging then the
men feared the lord exceedingly and offered a sacrifice unto the lord and made bows now the lord
had prepared a great fish to swallow up jonah and jonah was in the belly of the fish three days
and three nights jonah cast overboard of this boat he ends up in the belly of a great fish
and notice what the bible says there in verse number 17 three days three nights doesn't that
sound familiar jesus christ after he died on the cross was buried three days three nights later he
rose again physically from the grave what we're reading about here in the book of jonah is a
picture of what would the of what would come at calvary look at jonah chapter 2 verse 6 it's just
one page over in your bible jonah chapter 2 verse 6 the bible reads there talking about jonah it
says i went down to the bottoms of the mountains the earth with her bars was about me forever
by the way this proves that the earth is a spherical shape if you believe the earth is flat
there's something wrong with you that's stupid i just had to go down that rabbit trail for a few
seconds there okay forgive me for that look at jonah 2 6 let's read it one more time i went down
to the bottoms of the mountains the earth with her bars was about me forever yet hast thou brought
up my life from corruption oh lord my god so this can be applied to jesus in the sense that
he suffered it says that the earth with her bars was about me forever jesus christ the spiritual
application here is that when he went to hell the bible says in acts chapter 2 that he went to hell
his soul went to hell his soul was not left in hell neither did his flesh see corruption
but when he was in hell for those three days and three nights i don't care if this makes sense to
the carnal mind or not it's what the bible says he experienced an eternity of punishment over three
days yes we can't comprehend that as mortal human beings we can't understand that but i believe
that's what we can take out of this that jesus christ suffered an eternity of punishment over
that three-day period look at verse number seven when my soul fainted within me i remembered the
lord and my prayer came in unto thee into thine holy temple they that observe lying vanities
forsake their own mercy but i will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving i will pay
that that i have owed salvation is of the lord and the lord spake unto the fish and it vomited out
jonah upon the dry land so jonah he's in the fish for three days and three nights and eventually
he's vomited out jesus christ was in the heart of the earth his soul was in the heart of the
earth for three days and three nights and after that time period his body physically rose again
from the grave of course we've got liars today who would say that jesus christ only rose again
spiritually but that's not true his physical body came out of the grave
now go to matthew chapter 12 matthew chapter 12 while you go there i'm gonna read something out
of leviticus chapter one matthew chapter 12 is where i'd like you to go while i read leviticus
one where the bible says there speak unto the children of israel and say unto them if any man
of you bring an offering unto the lord ye shall bring your offering of the cattle even of the herd
cattle even of the herd and of the flock if his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd
let him offer a male without blemish he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door
of the tabernacle of the congregation before the lord so jonah and the great fish is a picture of
jesus in hell and yes the burnt sacrifice that was instituted in the old testament was also a
picture of what jesus what happened to jesus when he was in hell for that three-day period
he suffered an eternity of punishment he went to hell for us and it was not just i like to say this
all the time it wasn't just physical anguish but it was also spiritual anguish he suffered
spiritual anguish in hell so that we wouldn't have to go there and that's an incredible gift
there's nobody in your life who will love you as much as jesus there's nobody in your life
who's capable of accomplishing that there's nobody in your life who can commit such an
amazing act of sacrifice for you don't ever forget that if you find yourself slipping into living
a carnal lifestyle remember what jesus did for you remember the death burial and resurrection
remember how he purchased your salvation i say we owe it to him to live right of course you
don't have to in order to be saved you could live a wicked life from now to the day that you
die as long as you believe on christ you'll go to heaven that's the free gift of salvation but we
should live right just assure as a son or a daughter should be a good son or a daughter
we should be good sons and daughters of god the father now what's amazing is you look at these
pictures you look at the burnt sacrifice you look at what they did with these animal sacrifices in
the old testament you look at all these different pictures of what christ accomplished we're going
to read about what he directly said very clearly in matthew chapter 12 and yet people still deny
that he went to hell for three days you don't have to believe that to be saved but i found it i find
it astounding not only how many people deny that but how many people are triggered by that fact
i'll remember i can't remember uh i messed that up let me start again i'll always remember
when pastor anderson sat down and he taught he had a conversation with james white and then when
pastor anderson brought up acts chapter 2 verse 31 he's seeing this before spake of the resurrection
of christ that his soul was not left in hell neither his flesh did see corruption and james
white you want to talk about getting triggered i mean i thought he was going to start crying like
a baby he ended the interview he didn't want to talk anymore he ended the discussion that was it
for him he wasn't interested the bible teaches this clear as day but people get upset they get
offended well it makes perfect sense he died a physical death and a spiritual death on our behalf
and we deserve because of our sins a physical and spiritual death look at matthew 12 verse 38
let's look at another passage here that would trigger james white even more
potentially than acts chapter 2 look at matthew 12 verse 38 the bible says there then certain
of the scribes and of the pharisees answered saying master we would see a sign from thee
but he answered and sent unto them an evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign and
there shall no sign be given to it but the sign of the prophet jonas he's going to define that
in moments but i don't blame jesus for getting so angry about this again the miracles healing
the blind healing the lame healing the sick wasn't that enough how's that for a sign look at verse 40
for as jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly so shall the son of man be
three days and three nights in the heart of the earth what's he talking about you know what's at
the heart of the earth hell even scientists who don't believe the bible will admit to you that
at the heart of the earth there's molten lava and real hot stuff okay sorry for the rudimentary
description there but it's very hot at the center of the planet that's where hell is located and
again it wasn't just a spiritual anguish that jesus went through it was also i should say it
wasn't just physical anguish that he went through it was also spiritual anguish go back to matthew
chapter 16 and let's continue through with this chapter so what was the sign of the prophet jonas
the sign of the prophet jonas was that just as sure as jonas was in the whale's belly for three
days and three nights jesus christ would be at the heart of the earth for three days and three nights
everything in the old testament points to christ the whole bible points to christ the old testament
looks forward to him and us here as new testament christians we look back to what he did look at
verse number five in matthew chapter 16 and when his disciples were come to the other side they had
forgotten to take bread then jesus said unto them take heed and beware of the leaven of the
pharisees and of the sadducees and they reasoned among themselves saying it is because we have
taken no bread which when jesus perceived he said unto them oh ye of little faith why reason ye among
yourselves because he have brought no bread so the carnal mind has some issues understanding
spiritual truth sometimes jesus isn't talking about physical bread he's not talking about
literal food here he's talking about a spiritual truth he's talking about spiritual bread and the
disciples are thinking they you know wrongly that jesus is upset with them because they didn't bring
enough bread with them for this trip they don't understand the spiritual meaning jesus was talking
about figurative leaven here but the disciples in their error are thinking oh he's upset with us
because we didn't bring enough bread with us well that's false and jesus even says you know in in the
following verses i'm going to read it here in just a few seconds hey i'm the one that fed the
five thousand with five loaves of bread why would i be upset with you for not bringing enough that's
nonsense look at verse nine do not do ye not yet understand neither remember the five loaves of the
five thousand and how many baskets ye took up neither the seven loaves of the four thousand and
how many baskets he took up how is it that you do not understand that i spake it not to you
concerning bread he's getting frustrated here that you should beware of the leaven of the
pharisees and the sadducees so he says i fed the five thousand with five loaves of bread i'm not
upset because you didn't bring any bread i'm talking about a spiritual truth here i'm talking
about the doctrine of the pharisees and the sadducees the quote leaven of the pharisees
and the sadducees and he rebukes them out of frustration and it's not the first time that
jesus does this to his disciples it doesn't mean he's not loving he's rebuking them because he made
it patently obvious about what he's talking about and they still wouldn't understand verse 12
then understood they how that he bet he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread so it's not the
carnal truth but of the doctrine of the pharisees and of the sadducees our mind wants to think only
of that which is physical not that which is spiritual we have to work to understand spiritual
truths jesus is warning here again not about physical leaven spiritual leaven what's he
talking about false doctrine he's warning them about the false doctrine of the pharisees and the
sadducees and if jesus warned about false doctrine we should too our goal as christians should be
to be like jesus to act like jesus to talk like jesus and if this was the jesus who was walking
the earth today many people who don't know jesus would plaster him with these buzzwords they would
call him hateful they would call him perhaps even a bigot they would say he wasn't quote loving
enough and there are certain fake christians out there who want to be even more loving than the god
of the bible but jesus when he had to he laid it down he rebuked them he said how can he not
understand and he warned against false doctrine he says beware of the leaven of the pharisees
and the sadducees because they were leading people to hell and they rejected the messiah they
rejected the truth of the word of god who was walking the earth at that time think about that
think about that looking at jesus seeing him do these miracles in front of your eyes and
still rejecting him no wonder god gave up some of them to a reprobate mind how could you blame him
and so today we should be aware of the false doctrine we should be aware of the leaven
of guys like tyler baker we should be aware of the leaven of james white who i referenced moments
ago that calvinist sissy we should be aware of false prophets like ray comfort we should be aware
of false prophets and false doctrine emanating from wicked men who serve an anti-christ agenda
just like the pharisees and the sadducees did they served and they were trying to perpetuate
an anti-christ agenda because they rejected jesus christ they rejected the true messiah
they rejected the truth and there are people today there's nothing new under the sun
who've also rejected the truth of god's word they've rejected the clear scriptures on salvation
that in order to get to heaven it's by faith alone and once you're saved you're always saved it's not
by works of righteousness which we have done but it's according to his mercy he saved us by the
washing of regeneration and renewing of the holy ghost and there are those out there who would add
works to salvation beware of their leaven folks go to galatians chapter 5 let's see what leaven
represents we'll see throughout the bible it represents sin as you're turning to galatians
chapter 5 leaven represents sin it represents uncleanness it could also represent hypocrisy
and as i talked about it could represent false doctrine
now once you get to galatians chapter 5 take a look at verse number 4 where the bible says
there christ has become of no effect unto you whosoever of you are justified by the law
ye are fallen from grace now that's powerful right there
grace is of no effect unto them who are trying to work their way to heaven grace is of no effect
unto them who are trying to earn their salvation through their own works if you want god's grace
rely on his grace look at verse number five for we through the spirit wait for the hope
of righteousness by faith for in christ jesus neither circumcision availeth anything
nor uncircumcision but faith which worketh by love ye did run well listen to this who
did hinder you that you should not obey the truth so paul is asking the galatians here
who hindered you from accepting the truth who hindered you from understanding the clear truth
of the bible that salvation is by grace through faith alone plus or minus nothing it's easy to
be saved someone confused them someone muddied the waters someone spread lies and heresy
and that's dangerous look at verse eight this persuasion cometh not of them that calleth you
and here we go verse nine a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump you put a little bit of leaven
it'll mess up the whole lump and that's why we need to take it seriously when somebody walks in
here and tries to spread some leaven some false doctrine privately unawares try and sneak it in
a little bit there sneak in a little work salvation sneak in a little oneness we had a
guy here who told someone that he couldn't tell us what he really believed about the trinity
because if he did he might get kicked out of church now that should be a red flag
if somebody says well you know what i'd like to tell you what i believe about salvation but i'm
afraid i'll get kicked out i'd like to be able to tell you what i believe about the nature of god
but i'm afraid i'll get kicked out red flag your alarm should be going off that's a red flag right
there and this same guy would say well you know jesus uh he became the son jesus wasn't always the
sum he he became the son wrong oh well you know you can't just live however you want
wrong anybody who would say that they're not saved and anybody who would try and sneak that
leaven in our church needs to be called out we need to take false doctrine seriously heresies
can infect the new testament church infiltrators can draw disciples after themselves so we must be
vigilant we must pay attention now that doesn't mean being paranoid about everybody who walks in
here and walking up to them with a lie detector machine hooking them up to it and asking them a
whole bunch of really intimidating questions and making them really nervous and making them feel
like they're being interrogated that's not we should be loving and welcoming to the visitors
here we need to love the people that walk through the doors give everyone the benefit of the doubt
don't be paranoid don't be weird okay let's not be socially awkward but there's a line all right
however when somebody says well jesus became the son or jesus didn't exist before bethlehem's
manger wrong you call that out lies core doctrines of the faith they're non-negotiable
they are non-negotiable and if you don't like that call pastor shelly and talk to him
i'm not in charge here okay go to matthew chapter 16 go back to matthew chapter 16 let's keep going
here matthew chapter 16 jesus christ has always been the son of god that's a very important
doctrine look at verse number 13 when you get back to matthew 16 look at verse number 13 the
bible says when jesus came into the coasts 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's or one of the prophets now jeremiah's is the new testament
rendering of jeremiah we see there's some confusion here some people are surmising that
jesus is john the baptist some people are saying that he's jeremiah or some of the other old
testament prophets a little bit of confusion there it hasn't been fully revealed to everyone
but to some people they knew that jesus was the son of god it was clear to the disciples look at
verse number 15 he saith unto them but whom say ye that i am and simon peter answered and said
thou art the christ the son of god the son of the living god now notice christ son of the living god
mentioned right after each other because they're closely related look at verse 17 and jesus
answered and said unto him blessed out thou simon barjona for flesh and blood hath not revealed it
unto thee but my father which is in heaven so peter says thou art the christ the son of the
living god christ messiah sonship you'll see these things are closely related in the bible
oftentimes they're used interchangeably and the reality is this i know i've hit it already in this
sermon but i'm going to do it again because it's so important those who would reject the sonship
of christ they're rejecting the deity of christ again those who would reject the sonship of christ
are rejecting the deity of christ why because when the bible says jesus is the son of god that means
he is god that's why the bible says in first john chapter five and we know that the son of god is
come and hath given us an understanding that we may know him that is true and we are in him that
is true even in his son jesus christ this is the true god and eternal life go to first go to john
chapter five john chapter five the bible says that god the father's son jesus christ is the
true god anything else is false anything else is an idol anything else is man-made corruption
wicked satanic unbiblical i want nothing to do with it if it's not the god of the bible
keep it away from me
the son of god is god and we see that in hebrews chapter one verse eight as you're turning to
john five where the bible says but unto the son he saith thy throne oh god is forever and ever
a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of thy kingdom and this is true because the bible teaches
that god is three distinct persons yeah i'm going to hit the trinity again three distinct persons
three distinct wills three distinct seats of consciousness one essence three persons which
is a biblical word by the way one essence three persons one god now the context of john chapter
five jesus is being rebuked by the jews for healing on the sabbath day which is hilarious
because the sabbath day obviously points to christ but they didn't understand that i mean
jesus is the reason for the sabbath day the sabbath is a picture of new testament christians
resting on christ for salvation just assures in the old testament they were commanded to rest
on that sabbath day the blinded jews don't understand the spiritual application of this
ordinance look at verse 10 in john chapter five look what the jews say the jews therefore said
unto him that was cured it is the sabbath day it's not lawful for thee to carry thy bed
he answered them he that made me whole the same said unto me take up thy bed and walk
then asked they him what man is that which sent unto thee take up thy bed and walk
and he that was healed was not who it was for jesus had conveyed himself away a multitude being
in that place afterward jesus findeth him in the temple and said unto him behold thou art made
whole sin no more lest a worse thing come unto thee the man departed and told the jews that it
was jesus which had made him whole and therefore did the jews persecute jesus and sought to slay
him because he had done these things on the sabbath day but jesus answered them my father
worketh hitherto and i work notice the perfect unity between the father and the son jesus says
my father works i work that's because these three agree in one they're in perfect unity try unity
the father the son the holy spirit you'll never see one of those three persons contradict the
other verse 18 therefore the jews sought the more to kill him because he not only had broken the
sabbath but said also that god was his father now pay attention to this making himself equal with
god so the jews understand that when jesus was walking around calling himself the son of god
he made himself equal with god jesus made himself equal with god because he claimed to be god and
he claimed to be god because he claimed to be the son of god and we know that god is father
son holy spirit these three are one now there's a wicked false doctrine out there called oneness
pentecostals believe this and the oneness doctrine teaches that god is just one person
and they would say that the son of god the sonship of the messiah refers only to his humanity
now that's the dumbest thing i've probably ever heard the sonship of christ refers to the fact
that he's the eternal second person of the trinity and he's always existed as the son
let's go back to matthew chapter 16 so when jesus calls himself the son of god he's calling himself
god peter and the disciples understood this obviously they believed on him now you say why
do you keep talking about oneness why do you keep talking about throughout your sermon the
wrong ideas regarding the nature of god well that's because the god of the bible is being
blasphemed today and we need to get fired up about defending core doctrines taught in the
bible through clear scriptures we have to get fired up about that we have to fight the good
fight of faith and understand that we should never take anything for granted look at verse number 18
in matthew chapter 16 the bible says and i say also unto thee 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 thou she
and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven and whatsoever thou shalt loose on
earth shall be loosed in heaven then charged to his disciples that they should tell no man that
he was jesus the christ so knows it notice that jesus says there upon this rock will i build my
church and that rock is christ go to numbers 20 numbers chapter 20 in your bible genesis exodus
leviticus numbers chapter 20 moses was commanded to smite the rock in hora called maribah while
you're turning to numbers 20 i'm going to read out of exodus 17 where the bible says and the lord said
unto moses go on before the people and take with thee of the elders of israel and thy rod where
with thou smotest the river take in thine hand and go behold i will stand before thee there upon the
rock in hora and thou shalt smite the rock and there shall come water out of it that the people
may drink and moses did so in the sight of the elders of israel this time god asks moses to smite
the rock so water could come out of it and that symbolizes the fact that jesus christ was smitten
on our behalf for our salvation for the living waters of salvation he was beaten he was brutalized
and then after all that nailed to a cross every sin you've ever committed in your life as jesus
was nailed to that cross it was as if he did it zachariah 13 says as you're turning to numbers 20
awake oh sword against my shepherd and against the man that is my fellow sayeth the lord of hosts
smite the shepherd and the sheep shall be scattered and i will turn mine hand upon the little ones just
as sure as that rock moses come or god commanded moses to smite the rock is just as sure as the
shepherd was smitten according to zachariah chapter 13 and that's a reference to the lamb
of god himself now in numbers 20 moses gets a different commanded commandment here he gets a
different request from god look at verse number two and there was no water in the congregation
and they gathered themselves together unto moses and against erin and the people showed with moses
and spake saying would god that we had died when our brethren died before the lord they're whining
and they're complaining because they don't have any water they're really thirsty and i'm really
thirsty too so if you don't mind i just need a second to drink here the israelites they're in
the desert of zin they get i call this fangry so hangry is when you're hungry and it makes you
angry they were fangry they were thirsty and it made them really angry but the reality is this
the israelites they should have trusted in moses they should have trusted in god that god would
provide resources for them food water everything else they didn't in the wilderness it led to their
downfall look at verse number four the bible says there and why have you brought up the congregation
of the lord into this wilderness that we and our cattle should die there and wherefore have you
made us to come up out of egypt to bring us in under this evil place it's no place of seed or
of figs or of vines or pomegranates neither is there any water to drink and moses and aaron went
from the presence of the assembly under the door of the tabernacle of the congregation and they
fell upon their faces and the glory of the lord appeared under them so i think moses and aaron
they're real stressed out here the congregation is giving them a hard time they want water
they're whining they're complaining in the wilderness look at verse seven and the lord
spake unto moses saying take the rod and gather thou the assembly together thou and aaron thy
brother and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes and it shall give forth his water and thou
shall bring forth to them water out of the rock so thou shalt give the congregation their beasts
drink and moses took the rod from before the lord as he commanded him so in exodus chapter 17 god
commands moses to smite the rock in numbers chapter 20 god commands moses to speak unto the
rock why because the rock had already been smitten so now moses was commissioned to speak
to it just as sure as jesus christ was already smitten at calvary jesus christ was already beaten
and brutalized and tortured and nailed to a cross and now since that has happened as new testament
christians we have called on him we have spoken to him for salvation the bible says in john in
john chapter four you don't have to turn there jesus said if thou knewest the gift of god and
who it is that say it to thee give me to drink thou wouldest have asked of him and he would have
given thee living water ask jesus the bible says and you'll get living water that's what you guys
have done that's why you're here at steadfast you're saved you want to learn the bible you've
asked jesus for that living water well moses is told speak unto the rock in numbers chapter 20
and it will bring forth water look at verse 10 let's see is that what moses does and moses and
aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock and he said unto them here now ye rebels
must we fetch you water out of his out of this rock and moses lifted up his hand and with his
rod he smote the rock twice and the water came out abundantly and the congregation drank and
their beasts also and the lord spake unto moses and aaron because he believed me not to sanctify
me in the eyes of the children of israel therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land
which i've given them this is the water of maribah because the children of israel strove with the
lord and he was sanctified in them moses smites the rock twice god reacts to that and says no
promised land for you god already asked moses to smite the rock this time he wanted him to speak
to the rock he was tasked with speaking to it now here's the spiritual significance this is
why god got so angry with him because this is representative of the fact it symbolizes the fact
that jesus had to be crucified smitten once that's it in hebrews chapter 6 you don't have to turn
there the bible says for it's impossible for those who were once enlightened and have tasted
of the heavenly gift and were made partakers of the holy ghost and have tasted the good word of
god and the powers of the world to come if they shall fall away to renew them again unto
repentance seeing they crucify to themselves the son of god afresh and put him to an open shame
once you're saved you're always safe once you've received salvation if you backslide into carnality
and you allow the flesh to take over your life jesus isn't going to get crucified again for you
instead you'll incur a physical punishment in this life on this earth god will chastise his
children but if hypothetically salvation could be lost the moment you mess up then jesus would have
to be crucified over and over and over and over and over again but he was crucified once he was
smitten once he was killed once that's what it says in hebrews 9 so christ was once offered to
bear the sins of many and unto them that looked for him shall he appear the second time without
sin unto salvation and so he was already smitten now we can ask him for salvation we can ask him
for that living water and of course they could have done that as well in the old testament it's
always been by faith if they had asked god to save them from genesis all the way through revelation
he would do exactly that now we know the name to call on is jesus christ
the rock had to be smitten once so just as jesus died once now if you would go back to
matthew chapter 16 you say what's the point of that sounds like something we heard a few months
ago what's the point of talking about the rock well we should never take for granted what the
rock accomplished on our behalf we should never take for granted what the rock
of our salvation did for us so we can escape hell the bible says in first corinthians 10
moreover brethren i would not that you should be ignorant how that all our fathers were under
the cloud and all passed through the sea and were all baptized unto moses in the cloud and in the
sea and did all eat the same spiritual meat and it all drank the same spiritual drink for they
drank of that spiritual rock that followed them and that rock was christ jesus christ the bible
says in first corinthians chapter 10 was that rock it's the bible that makes that parallel
the physical truth in the old testament that god got angry with moses for smiting the rock twice
when he asked him to speak unto the rock symbolizes that jesus christ was crucified and
smitten once and if you ask him for salvation if you speak to that rock of your salvation
you will be saved now going back to matthew chapter 16 jesus talks about a rock here he says
that the gates of hell will not prevail against it here's how we can apply that today if the rock
of our church is christ nothing can stop us the rock of our church it's not me it's not you
it's not any mortal man the rock of our church is jesus christ himself it was the rock that was
smitten it was the rock that died it was the rock that went to hell it was the rock that rose again
after three days and jesus makes a promise that if we keep this church firmly planted on that rock
the gates of hell will not prevail against it he is the rock of our salvation and that's what
this church is based on we come here to exalt jesus christ look at verse number 19 and i will
give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth 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 so jesus tells peter
what you bound on earth will be bound in heaven what's he saying what you do on earth has eternal
ramifications what you do on earth will dictate what heaven will be like for you it'll dictate
the rewards you get in heaven that's why we do what we do in the christian life
with the hope that not only will god bless us in this life but with the hope that when we get to
heaven we could be called the greatest in the kingdom of heaven but that's your choice will you
be the greatest or will you be the least you got to make that choice you have the free will now
that you're saved what are you going to do about it do you want to earn those rewards those
incorruptible eternal rewards or do you want to be a loser christian do you want to be the
christian that gets saved and accomplishes nothing else that sits at home and eats oreos all day
and watches the television set which christian are you going to be look at verse 21 from that
time forth began jesus 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
then peter took him and began to rebuke him saying be it far from the lord this shall not
be unto thee but he turned and said unto peter get thee behind me satan thou art an offense unto me
for thou savourest not the things that be of god but those that be of men peter ignorantly
contradicts christ here and jesus in response accosts him he calls him satan he's angry now
it's important to understand this peter was saved okay he was just confused the apostles were just
a little bit confused about what jesus would do at calvary the bible says in john chapter 2 this
beginning of miracles did jesus and cana of galilee and manifested forth his glory and his
disciples believed on him so the disciples believed on christ jesus didn't pick 12 unsaved
apostles one of them was unsaved but that was for a specific person of course i'm referencing
judas judas iscariot he's the exception but he had a purpose there was a meaning behind that
the rest of them were saved i mean what else were they doing when they went out to reach the
lost they were preaching the gospel obviously they were saved now notice in matthew 16 there
jesus uses the word satan as a pejorative okay he reproves peter why because he savored the things
of men rather than the things of god he didn't understand fully the purpose of the messiah
what he came to this world to do what his earthly ministry was all about and he said jesus you're
not going to get smitten you're not going to die on the cross that's not going to happen and jesus
responds angrily he's frustrated and the world today they still don't understand why jesus died
on the cross and was buried and rose again a lot of people think jesus died to teach us to love
everyone now that's not true obviously we should love certain people should hate pedophiles and
reprobates but and yes jesus did teach loving the brethren and plenty of positive things as well
but he didn't die on the cross to teach us to love every single solitary soul no jesus died on the
cross he sacrificed himself to save us from our sins so we can escape hell but men have twisted
the gospel because they savor the things of man over the things of god and peter gets rebuked
sharply he's called satan he says get thee behind me satan frustrated here jesus says to his face
you're wrong look at verse 24 then said jesus unto his disciples if any man will come after
me let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me for whosoever will save his life
shall lose it and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it now this is an incredibly
profound statement here if you lose your life for christ jesus is teaching that you've actually found
it that you found your life because you found the true meaning of your life and if you're sitting
here today and you're listening to the preaching and you've realized you're not exactly fully
plugged in you're not exactly fully involved in the spiritual fight you're not exactly fully
involved in fighting the good fight of faith you're not exactly fully involved in the spiritual
warfare then the bible teaches here that you will not find your life until you go to war with the
brethren you will not find your life until you put jesus first until you decide to take up your cross
and follow him now you don't have to do that for salvation but you won't find the true meaning of
life some people struggle with this for their entire lives why are we here on earth what what's
the meaning of life why did god put us here god put us here to serve him to get other people saved
to learn his word to fellowship with the brethren god put us here for those purposes look at verse 26
for what is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul or what
shall a man give in exchange for his soul there's no gain whatsoever from selling your soul for fame
and for glory and for materialism if you do so jesus teaches here you'll lose your soul you'll
lose your life you're totally missing the point of us being here on this earth worldly christians
today are missing out on the true meaning of life serving christ instead they're living a life
totally indistinguishable from those who've rejected christ
this is our lives right here look around you see bibles you see hymnals you see children listening
to the preaching attentively by the way what a miracle right worldly kids can barely sit for
five minutes but look at these kids listening and enjoying the preaching this is our life
we love jesus our life is following jesus our life is living for jesus our life is loving christ and
loving each other the bible says in luke chapter 9 and he said to them all if any man will come
after me let him deny himself take up his cross daily and follow me for whosoever will save his
life shall lose it but whosoever will lose his life for my sake the same shall save it so we
should take up our cross and follow jesus we should keep his commandments if you love god
keep his commandments that's how you show gratitude for what he did to you on the cross
love christ follow him keep his commandments we should devote our lives to knowing christ better
and the only way we can know christ better is by reading the bible we should obtain incorruptible
rewards lest we be a castaway a castaway doesn't mean lose your salvation but castaway means just
a worthless christian who's not accomplishing anything look at verse 27 in matthew chapter 16
as we finish up here the bible says for the son of man shall come in the glory of his father with
his angels and then he shall reward every man according to his works every man saved or unsaved
will one day be rewarded according to their works if you're saved today you will be rewarded
according to your works at the judgment seat of christ those who are unsaved are going to wake
up resurrected at from hell at the great white throne judgment now when we face christ at the
judgment seat of christ that will be to determine what our rewards will be during the millennium and
for all eternity what our responsibilities will be during the kingdom of jesus but those who would
wake up those who are unsaved and they are resurrected for the great white throne judgment
they will be judged not to determine rewards they're going to be judged to determine whether
or not they're worthy of entering heaven and god's going to open up the book he's going to open up
the bible he's going to open up the law of god and he's going to judge those people who've rejected
christ other than those who died during the millennium i do think they'll be part of this
resurrection as well different topic for a different time mostly unsafe people they will face
the judgment of god as he judges them based on the law of the lord and they will fall short
every one of them every one of them is going to fall short because they're not perfect
they won't measure up to god's perfection the reason why you are going to end up in heaven
one day if you believed on christ it's because it's because god when he looks at you he'll see
the imputed righteousness of jesus not your own righteousness because if it was based on your
own righteousness you'd be going straight to hell because nobody can be righteous enough nobody can
be good enough we've all fallen short and those at the great white throne judgment who've rejected
jesus they will fall short of god's perfection they'll be cast into the lake of fire they wanted
to strive for that perfection in the flesh they so badly wanted to be judged by their works well
that's going to happen one day but i'm telling you what folks they're going to wish that they
chose a different route look at verse 28 verily i saying to you there be some standing here which
shall not taste of death till they see the son of man coming in his kingdom this will be the last
thing i talk about before ending the sermon what is this referring to what's jesus talking about
here when he says that there will be some standing here which won't taste of death they're not going
to die till they see the son of man coming in this kingdom now there are certain there's a lot
of theories about what this could be talking about i'm not going to be pedantic about it i'm just
going to tell you what i believe and show you a few scriptures on it a possible theory on what
jesus means by this now on the onset it seems like he's talking about the rapture but he says
that there be some standing here some who aren't going to die till they see the son of man coming
in his kingdom and if we're going to take this literally obviously the rapture doesn't happen
until after the tribulation the end times these people are all dead so here's what i think he's
talking about go to second peter chapter one what does it mean the son of man coming in his kingdom
each time this is mentioned you'll notice if you study the phrase if you study
what this is all about in mark and luke you'll notice that this is talked about right before
the mount of transfiguration as you're turning to second peter one the bible says in mark nine
and he said unto them verily i say unto you that there be some of them that stand here which shall
not taste of death till they have seen the kingdom of god come with power and after six
days jesus taketh him taketh with him peter and james and john and leadeth them up into a high
mountain apart by themselves and he was transfigured before them so in mark chapter nine
he said he utters that line then we have the mount of transfiguration luke chapter nine same deal
but i tell you of a truth there be some standing here which shall not taste of death till they see
the kingdom of god and it came to pass about and eight days after these sayings he took peter and
john and james and went up into a mountain to pray so each account takes place at the exact
same time and directly after it you have the mount of transfiguration matthew chapter 16 is
not an anomaly it's the same deal matthew 16 20 and i'm going to read it one more time there be
some standing here which shall not taste of death till they see the son of man coming in his kingdom
and what do we get in matthew chapter 17 the mount of transfiguration so here's how we know
the son of man coming in his kingdom could be referring to the transfiguration when jesus
and moses and elijah stood on that mount glorified really an incredible scene i would
love to see it second peter chapter one you're there look at verse 16 for we have not followed
cunningly devised fables when we made known unto you the power and coming of our lord jesus christ
again it says the power and coming of our lord jesus christ but were eyewitnesses of his majesty
for he received from god the father honor and glory when there came such a voice to him from
the excellent glory this is my beloved son in whom i am well pleased and this voice which came
from heaven we heard listen to this when we were with him in the holy mount it was peter who was
there with him it was peter who witnessed the mount of transfiguration so it's pretty clear
what they're talking about here when it talks about the son of man coming in his kingdom
i think we could see now how that could refer to the mount of transfiguration so there's no
contradictions or any issues there with mark 16 verse 28 i think it's talking about the mount of
transfiguration that's my theory now i think that event with moses and with with elijah and jesus
you can think of it as a microcosm of what's to come it's a microcosm of when we get to heaven
and we see a multitude a great multitude no man can number and that multitude that great multitude
will be dwelling with god forever they'll be glorified forever they'll be glorified for an
eternity and what an amazing day that's going to be when we get to be in the presence of god in
heaven after our time on this earth is up and that mount of transfiguration like i said a
microcosm a picture of what's to come so that's matthew chapter 16 and we'll be back next week
for matthew chapter 17 let's let's pray father god thank you so much for your word thank you so
much for matthew 16 and all the amazing truths contained in this chapter and lord i pray that
you would help us to come away from this having learned something new about this chapter and lord
if there's anything i missed any truth i didn't cover in this sermon i pray that the hearers
would seek out that truth for themselves and find out every aspect every jot every tittle of exactly
what this chapter is all about and i pray lord that you would continue to bless this matthew
series and help us to learn more and more each and every week no matter who it is that's standing
behind this pulpit to teach in jesus name i pray amen