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["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] Hi, good morning. Welcome to sovereignty Baptist Church. ["Pomp and Circumstance"] Page number 115. Page number 115. ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] First dance already, sing. ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] Now let me just say this, that I do know people that are like-minded, that have a different view and interpretation of this verse, and that's okay with me because we have the same doctrine. What I mean by the same doctrine is none of my friends believe that the Catholic Church is this one universal church that rules the world. No one I know believes that there's one person that's the head of Christianity, and I believe, as they do, in basically local leadership in the local church. There is authority given to people in the local church, and we're going to see that in this passage, actually, when the keys are actually given to Peter. However, I would say that in verse 18, my interpretation, and the interpretation Verity Baptist has always had, is the rock is not referring to Peter here. And I'm going to give you four clear reasons in the Bible why we know that in verse 18, the rock is not referring to Peter. Number one is this, because the purpose of this passage, the purpose of this passage actually shows that Peter is not the rock. See, I think sometimes we have problems because we look at a verse and we kind of isolate it, and we're studying out this verse and trying to figure out what does this mean, what is it talking about, but we don't look at the verses before and after to understand the whole context. And of course, you know, I believe in quoting verses. We go so many and quote specific verses. However, people can quote stuff out of context, and if you look at this verse by itself, it can be a bit confusing. Go back to verse number 13, Matthew 16, verse 13. And the Bible reads, 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? So basically, Jesus is talking to his disciples, and there's a lot of confusion about Jesus worldwide. Obviously, he's healing people, he's doing these miracles, he's feeding people, and everybody had an opinion about Jesus Christ. Some people had a good opinion, some people had a bad opinion. But basically, it caused such a reaction that everybody had an opinion. So just imagine that, you know, we had Jesus up here preaching, and, you know, you're his disciples, and he's saying, you know, who do people say that I am? What's being said about me? Because, you know, oftentimes, people won't tell you what they think about you to your face, but when you're gone, so he's like, Hey, what are they saying about me when I'm not around, right? Whom do men say that I the Son of Man am? Then it says in verse 14, and they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist. Now, John the Baptist was a great character in the Bible, right? The Bible says there was none better that was born among women than John the Baptist, stating basically he was the greatest man who had ever been born outside of the Lord Jesus Christ, okay? Now, for people to say that he's John the Baptist, this doesn't make a whole lot of sense because John the Baptist is dead at this point. He died a few chapters earlier, but Jesus and John the Baptist were alive at the same time. So to say that he's John the Baptist, there's a lot of confusion, okay? Perhaps some people meant he's in the same spirit and power as John the Baptist, though perhaps that's what they mean because then they say here, some Elias. Now, Elias is referring to Elijah, and remember, you know, John the Baptist came in the power and spirit of Elijah, not that he literally was Elijah, but it was the same spirits, right? And that's the same spirit that men of God would have today when they preach sermons and do mighty things. But some people are saying you're John the Baptist. Some are saying you're Elijah. Well, Elijah's a pretty great character in the Bible, right? In the Old Testament, you kind of have two guys that you would consider, Moses and Elijah. I mean, those are the two witnesses during the end times, I believe. Those are probably the two greatest characters in the Old Testament. Elijah did many miracles. I mean, if somebody were to compare me to Elijah or you to Elijah, that would be a big compliment. But of course, this is the Lord Jesus Christ. Then he says, and others, Jeremiah, which is Jeremiah. Well, Jeremiah is the second longest book in the Old Testament, or in the Bible, just behind the book of Psalms. I mean, you get to some of those chapters in Jeremiah, you're doing your Bible reading plan, and it's like, oh, man, 75 verses? It's like, wow. It's like the book of Luke for the Old Testament. You know, you got these really long, you know, chapters and everything. So Jeremiah was a great character as well. And then some are saying, or one of the prophets. Obviously, every prophet from the Old Testament that was a true prophet was obviously a great man of God. These are nice comparisons if you're looking at a normal person, right? If you're looking at a human being and somebody said, hey, you know what, you're like John the Baptist, that's quite a compliment. It sounds like quite a bit of flattery, but it's quite a compliment, right? Or you're Elijah, you're Jeremiah. I mean, obviously, you know what, if somebody compares you to somebody else who's great, then obviously, you know, that's a compliment. It's like, wow, it's a nice comparison, right? Then it says, though, in verse 15, he saith unto them, but whom say ye that I am? Now, in verse 15, he says ye, and ye is plural for you. Whenever you see ye in the Bible, when you see the y's there, that's plural. Ye and you are always plural for you, and thee and thou are singular for you. So he says, whom say ye that I am? So he's saying, you know, everyone's saying, I'm John the Baptist, I'm Elijah, I'm Jeremiah, I'm one of the prophets, but you, who do you think that I am? Notice what it says in verse 16. And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. See, what Peter's saying is, there's no comparison between you and John the Baptist, right? I mean, there's no comparison between the Lord Jesus Christ and John the Baptist. One of them was God in the flesh and completely sinless, and another one was just a great man who lived. There's no comparison. I mean, one's just the friend of the bridegroom, right, is the example in John chapter 3, and John the Baptist understood that. I mean, when people are leaving John the Baptist, he's saying, look, I'm not upset about it. I'm not envious. I'm glad they're following the Lord Jesus Christ. I told you that he was going to be here. This is a good thing. Of course they should follow him instead of me. Right? When Jesus came on the scene, people just left John the Baptist and started following Jesus. You don't see John the Baptist getting envious, right? Because he obviously understood, I have authority that God's given me, but if that authority's gone, my influence is gone, that's okay because I'm still serving God, right? John the Baptist was a great character, but Simon Peter's saying, you know what? You're not just John the Baptist. You are the Christ, the son of the living God, the only begotten son, as the Bible says. You're better than Elijah. Elijah, who did all these miracles and went up to heaven in a chariot and everything, he's like, you know what? You're better than Elijah. He's like, you're better than Jeremiah. You're better than all the prophets, whether you want to look at Noah or Abraham or whomever you want to look at in the Old Testament. There's no comparison between the Lord Jesus Christ and anybody else because the Lord Jesus Christ was not just a man. He was God in the flesh. Notice what it says in verse 17. 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. Now, Jesus says, you know what? You said a good thing, Simon. It's like my Father up in heaven revealed it to you. You know, Jesus doesn't try to hide away from who he was. It's not like, you know, people don't worship me, you know, I don't want you to worship me. No, because he wanted people to believe on him because that's God in the flesh. That's our Savior. That's the way to heaven. Right? He didn't shy away from people worshiping him. He didn't hide the fact that he was God in the ring, the guys that never cut their hair and they have the long dreadlocks, the Rastafarians. But their Savior, Haile Selassie, you know, he was directly asked because they believe that he is basically the appointed son of God because only God would be so humble as to say that he's not God. And it's just like, it doesn't even matter, you know, what evidence you have, you just deny it. Right? But see, Jesus didn't shy away from the fact that he was God in the flesh, that he was the Savior and he was the Christ. Why? Because you must believe on the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved. And he didn't hide that fact that he was God in the flesh, that he's the way to get to heaven. So he tells Jesus said that John the Baptist was the greatest born among women, which would make him better than Peter. And look, when you look at John the Baptist in the Bible, I mean, Peter was a great man of God. I wish I would accomplish half of what he did. I doubt I will. But what I'm saying is this, you see Peter making a lot of mistakes. And it's not like that's a shock because when your life is front and center, you're going to see mistakes as time goes by. People make mistakes. I'm not trying to insult them. I'm just saying he wasn't as good as John the Baptist. If I had to compare, I wouldn't think he was as good as Elijah either, right? You know, I don't really know. It's not like I have a list here, like this is the number one man who ever lived, number two, number three. I'm just saying when you look at Elijah in the Bible, I believe he's one of the two witnesses for a reason. I don't think it's a coincidence. And so look, the whole passage is showing nobody compares to the Lord Jesus Christ. Isn't that obvious in verses 13 through 17? It wouldn't make any sense then to give a title of the rock that is given only to him throughout the rest of the Bible and then say, well, you know what, Peter, you're also the rock when he just said nobody else compares to him, right? The purpose of the passage up until this verse is to show that nobody compares to the Lord Jesus Christ, right? So it would not make sense in verse 18 to then call Peter the rock when you just explain how nobody compares to the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 18. 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 be open to you. I'll talk about this more later on, but let us look at verse 19. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Now, I forgot to bring my keys up here. I thought it would be a good illustration. I brought them yesterday in Pampanga. I forgot to bring them here. But in verse 19, he says, and I will give unto thee. Now, thee is singular, okay? At this point, he is specifically talking to Peter, okay? He says, it would be like if I was talking to Ehrman, and I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. I'm specifically talking to him now. I'm not talking to ye, right? I'm not saying I'm giving keys to everybody. I'm saying I'm giving him the keys of the kingdom of heaven. You know, singular, I will give unto thee. There's no denying that in verse 19. Now, I think this is why some people get confused with verse 18, okay? Because in verse 19, there is authority given to Peter. And when it came to the early local church, the head of that local church was Peter. We're seeing that here. Now, later on, Peter's going to branch out because in the book of Acts, you're going to see that James is the head of that church. So obviously, they're getting new churches started. Obviously, Peter's in another location. The Bible doesn't necessarily say 100% for sure. But here, the keys are given to him. You say, why? Because if you have a company, you can't have 50 managers that are on an even level. You have to give authority to one person. This isn't making him the head of Christianity worldwide, though. This is a local church. You say, well, how do you know it's a local church? Well, look at the rest of the verse. And whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Now, look, this is a very famous phrase you often hear quoted when someone's getting kicked out of church, right? But I actually never go to Matthew 16 because this says the exact same thing as Matthew 18. And see, the word church is mentioned first in Matthew 16 and second in Matthew 18, okay, the first instances. And in both of them, it talks about things being bound on earth being bound in heaven, loosed on earth, loosed in heaven. So the context is basically church authority. There's no denying that because this same thing is mentioned in Matthew 18. And what he's saying is, you know what? I have to put one person in charge to make decisions. To make decisions, Peter, you've got the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And in that early local church, he did have authority. That doesn't change the fact, though, in verse 18, he's not the rock. You say, well, why would he mention verses 13 through 18 if he then gives authority to Peter? Here's the reason why. Because he's giving authority to Peter and he's saying, I want to remind you of something. You're not just running this based on your own wishes and desires. You are underneath my authority. What he's saying is I'm going to give you some authority but keep a humble outlook on yourself because you're not the rock, right? I'm giving you this authority, but it's underneath my authority. And when it comes to the head of a local church, it's not me. It's not Pastor Jimenez. It's the Lord Jesus Christ. And doesn't it make sense if you're going to give someone authority? It's just kind of a reminder, hey, but don't get, you know, too prideful because one thing Peter struggled with in the gospels was getting a little bit too prideful. Though all men deny you, he says that in front of all the other disciples, though all of these people deny you, I won't deny you, right? I mean, even if all these people quit reading the Bible, I'm not going to quit reading the Bible. Though all these people quit going soul winning, I'm not going to quit going soul winning. And see, Peter had a bit too elevated of a view of himself and then when he denied Jesus three times, it kind of brought him back down to earth. It humbled him, right? And he had to be strengthened. He had to be converted, as the Bible says, because he was going to be that leader of the early local church. Here's the thing, though. You've got a leader of a local church and then you're getting all these other churches started. Peter wasn't the head of 50 churches worldwide. You say, why? Because you're getting new churches started and if you ordain someone as the pastor or there's an apostle there in person to take charge of it, they are the leader of that church. Now look, we run this church and we operate it underneath the authority of Pastor Jimenez. But you know, one day when I'm ordained as a pastor, I will be the authority underneath the Lord Jesus Christ. And if we get churches started in the future and ordain someone to be the leader, they're the authority in that local church. So if somebody gets ordained as a pastor and then two years later they say something I don't agree with, well, I don't have authority to take over that church because that person's the pastor, right? And see, here's the thing. Peter was the head of this individual local church that didn't make him the head of Christianity worldwide. It didn't make him the head of every single church you see. It's not like he was the head of the Church of Ephesus, the Church of Philippi, the Church of Thessalonica. It's like, no, you have various people that are in charge of these churches. One person's not the head of Christianity worldwide. But the keys are being given to Peter because he needs somebody to have some authority. However, with the context, it's underneath the Lord Jesus Christ who is above him. So he's saying, I'm going to give you some authority. Here's a reminder. Keep a humble outlook on yourself. Go to Deuteronomy 32. Deuteronomy 32. It's not only that, but, you know, what he said is the gates of hell shall not prevail against it because basically, you know, the church is being founded upon a rock. Well, Peter was not exactly, you know, firm and stable and unmoving throughout the Bible, right? I mean, here's the keys of the kingdom of heaven. You know, you're the rock, and then it's like, you know, a little maid asks him, weren't you with Jesus? No, I don't know him, right? Look, I'm not trying to insult Peter. He was a great man of God. I'm just saying he wouldn't actually fit the characteristic that's being mentioned as being firm and unmoving. And even after the resurrection of Jesus, Paul rebuked Peter because he was to be blamed, the Bible says. So it's not like Peter was perfect because the Catholic Church will tell you that the pope is the vicar of Christ on earth. That is their terminology, the vicar of Christ on earth. Basically, anything the pope says is Scripture. No matter what he says, it's Scripture, it's fact, it's 100% correct. Right? Look, that's not the way we view a local church. I preach sermons, and you know what? I'm sure I make mistakes. I preach sermons, and you should double check what I say to make sure it's right. I mean, if I get up here and say that you got to believe on Muhammad to go to heaven, there ought to be a massive red flag. Well, wait a minute. I'm pretty sure the Bible... Well, wait. Well, that's what Brother Sucky said. It's like, all right, I guess it's Muhammad. Right? You know, you don't just blindly believe everything you hear. You got to check with the Bible to see if it's correct. And if you're just trusting in a man, the problem is men are moving sometimes. Men make mistakes. Look, I do believe you should follow good examples, but at the same time, if you have too much trust in one person and they fail, you're going to fail. That's the way it works. Point number one, the purpose of this passage shows that Peter's not the rock, because the purpose is to show that no one compares to the Lord Jesus Christ. So if he was called the rock, it would basically negate what was just talked about with John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, and all of the prophets that are mentioned. Point number two, though, is that the word rock throughout the Bible is referring to the Lord, and nobody denies this. Now, sometimes the word rock refers to a literal rock, but when it's referring to a person or a being, it's always referring to the Lord with one exception. And the exception is when the Bible's saying their rock is not as our rock, basically saying their false God is not as our true God, kind of like another gospel. It's not saying our rock is not as our rock. He's saying, well, the only true rock is the Lord Jesus Christ, is the Lord, right, which we know in the New Testament, you know, the Bible says that rock is Christ in the New Testament, okay? 128 verses in the Bible have the word rock, and usually, usually it's referring to, well, it's either referring to a literal rock or it's referring to the Lord in those 128 verses. The only verse that's up for controversy is Matthew 16, verse 18. But the other verses, everybody agrees, well, that's obviously referring to the Lord. And I don't have time to go through 100 verses to show you, but I'll go to a couple passages. Go to Deuteronomy 32. Deuteronomy 32, verse 4. Deuteronomy 32, verse 4. He is the rock. His work is perfect. For all his ways are judgment. A God of truth and without iniquity. Just and right is he. It's not referring to Moses, right? I mean, there's no one who's 100% just or righteous. There is none righteous, right? It's referring to the Lord. He is the rock. His work is perfect. Go to verse 16. Deuteronomy 32, verse 16. They provoked him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations provoked they him to anger. They sacrificed unto devils, not to gods. They sacrificed unto devils, not to gods, to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up whom your fathers feared not. Of the rock that begat thee, thou art mindful and hast forgotten God that formed thee. Of the rock that begat thee. Think about being born again, for example. You know, it's kind of a New Testament terminology. But the rock there once again is referring to the Lord. Go to verse 30. Verse 30. How should one chase a thousand and two put ten thousand to flight except their rock had sold them and the Lord had shut them up? For their rock is not as our rock. So what he's basically saying is their false rock doesn't compare to the true rock. Basically, a false Lord, a false devil, a false way to heaven doesn't compare to the truth, right? No one compares to the Lord. Their rock is not as our rock. And look, if you compare religions, it's laughable, right? You look at these false religions. Look, Hinduism doesn't compare to the Bible or Christianity. I mean, it's a joke. Buddhism doesn't compare. It's a joke. All of those religions, if you make a comparison, I mean, it's laughable how people would believe something like that because it's obvious that this is the truth. But there's a lot of false religions out there. And what the Bible is saying is, and it's always been that way, in the book of Deuteronomy, their rock is not as our rock, right? Go to 1 Samuel 22. 1 Samuel 22. As you're turning there, let me read you another verse that's before you get there, before 1 Samuel 22. But it also says in 1 Samuel, There is none holy as the Lord, for there is none beside thee, neither is there any rock like our God. There is no rock like our God. And what it's highlighting is the fact that God is holy above any other religion and any false god. And look, that is the truth that the Lord that we worship, look, holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, right? One of the famous hymns, holy, holy, holy, right? God, if you gave one attribute of our Lord, it would be holy, right? I mean, that's the one attribute that you would say. You say, isn't that the truth with other religions? Look, I preached on Hinduism a while ago, and the Hindu gods were all reprobate perverts. I mean, they openly just did all of these, you know, sexual perversion in their scriptures, bestiality, homosexuality, adultery, I mean, everything. I mean, is there any comparison between the Hindu gods that are pedophiles that are committing bestiality versus the God of the Bible? There's no comparison, right? There's none holy as the Lord our God. And look, all religions will focus on one specific thing, but if you want to focus on one thing with Christianity about God, it's that He is holy, and there is none holy as the Lord our God. And look, by the way, that's not something you should shy away from either, right? I mean, the death penalty is given on a lot of sins. It should still be that way in 2021 if the government followed what the Bible said, because God's Word is unchanging, because God is a rock that does not move and does not change no matter what society does, right? And look, we shouldn't shy away from the fact that God is holy. The Lord we worship is holy, and you know what? That ought to put some fear into our hearts. Now, look, you don't have to worry about Him sending you to hell if you're saved, because you have eternal life. But you do have to worry about what He's going to do to you in this life. If you go out and just commit adultery, become a drug dealer and commit all these sins, you're going to pay for it in this life. You say, why? There's none holy as the Lord our God. That's what the Bible says. 1 Samuel 22, verse 2, And he said, The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer. Verse 3, The God of my rock in Him will I trust. Actually, that was 2 Samuel 22. My bad. Go to 2 Samuel 22. 2 Samuel 22. 2 Samuel 22, verse 2. When I hear the pages turning, I'm like, I made a mistake, okay? Usually when I make a mistake, I have what's written wrong, but here it does say 2 Samuel 22. So it should be in 2 Samuel 22. If not, then I guess I made it up. I don't know. 2 Samuel 22, verse 2, And he said, The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer. The God of my rock in Him will I trust. Drop down to verse 32. Verse 32. 2 Samuel 22, verse 32, For who is God save the Lord, and who is a rock save our God? Now, that statement, who is a rock save our God? Who is God save the Lord? Who is a rock save our God? When you're reading that, you know what that implies? That there are no second options. That there's not a second one. It's not like there's the rock and then the lesser rock, right? The Lord's the rock, but then there's all these other rocks. It's like, no, who is God save the Lord, and who is a rock save our God? Verse 47. Verse 47. The Lord liveth, and blessed be my rock, and exalted be the God of the rock of my salvation. Go to Psalm 18 in your Bibles. Psalm 18. And look, I'm not reading to you all the verses. I'm trying to read enough to prove a point, but I'm not going to go through every single verse because, as I said, we try to start at 1130 for the second service. We try. I will say this, though, I heard this a long time ago, and you know what, I think it's a great thing to remember that when you're studying something out in the Bible or you're reading something, and you've got 100 verses saying one thing. Aren't there 100 verses that say that salvation is by faith alone, not of works, a free gift? But what about James 2? You've got 100 verses that say faith alone, but faith without works is dead. Faith without works is dead, right? And they'll try to use one verse to overhaul the entire Bible that says faith alone, faith alone. Maybe you're just misinterpreting one verse. Anyway, the truth is the Bible is infinite in the knowledge that it has. You know what, I'm sure there are a lot of verses. All of us, we read the Bible. Sometimes you look at verses, and you're like, you know what, I'm not quite sure what the Bible's saying. I don't fully understand it. I don't fully get it. Now, look, you do the Bible memorization, and you're going to learn a lot, but you know what, I've done the Bible memorization with these Psalms, and I still look at some verses, and I'll say, I'll just read it and just give no explanation, and hopefully people don't realize, because I don't understand every single verse. Sometimes there's symbolism and stuff, and I'm like, I'm not really sure what God's trying to say. I mean, I know the words, I hear what he's saying, but I don't get the full point of what he's trying to say. And you know what, that's the way it is reading the Bible. You keep reading, and then you start learning more and more as you go. And then all of a sudden you're like, oh, now it makes sense what the Bible says in that verse, right? We're always going to be in a process of learning, but here's the thing. There's a hundred verses that say the Lord's the rock. There's one verse that people dispute about. Maybe people are just misinterpreting one verse, right? Psalm 18, verse 2. Psalm 18, verse 2. The Lord is my rock. The Lord is my rock. Let's drop down to verse 31. Verse 31. Psalm 18. And he says in Psalm 18, verse 31, For who is God save the Lord, or who is a rock save our God? I mean, a lot of these verses are very similar to other verses. It's almost like a re-quote of verses from earlier in the Bible and everything. Verse 46. The Lord liveth, and blessed be my rock, and let the God of my salvation be exalted. Go to Psalm 62. Psalm 62. Psalm chapter 62. Psalm chapter 62. And it says in verse 2, He only is my rock and my salvation. Verse 6. And here's the thing. That word there in Psalm 62, verse 2, He only, that indicates there's not a second option. I believe Matthew 16, verse 18 would be contradicting when it says, He only is my rock and my salvation. I mean, you better only be trusting in the Lord. Not just for salvation, but for your life, that you're trusting in the Lord to be your guide. And what he says is authority, even if somebody you respect says something different. He only is my rock and my salvation. The word only implies there is no second option, right? Verse 6. He only is my rock and my salvation. He is my defense. I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation and my glory. The rock and my strength and my refuge is in God. So it said in verse 6, he said, I shall not be moved. Verse, we have that song in our hymnal, you know, I shall not be moved. Here's the thing though. If you're trusting in a man, you will be moved from time to time because no matter who it is, they are not perfect. If you have too much trust in me, you know what, you're going to be moved from time to time because if I go through a spell of being backslidden, you're going to be backslidden too. If I'm not doing the memorization, you're not going to do the memorization. If I'm not reading the Bible, you're not going to read the Bible. But if your trust is in the Lord, you're going to say, I'm going to serve God no matter what Brother Stuckey says. Even if he makes mistakes, I'm not going to allow God because your trust is in him and he is unmovable. I am the Lord, I change not, the Bible says. But you know what, as much as I would say I'm never going to change and I mean that and I believe that in some ways I'm going to change, right? In some ways I'm going to slide a little bit. I might get backslidden, you know, have a bad season or whatever. If your trust is in the Lord though, he is never going to be moved and you're not going to slide. But if your trust is in a man, you're going to backslide when he does. Let me give you an example. A great church that we pray for, they had a preaching conference last week. Steadfast Baptist Church is a great church. Pastor Shelley is doing a great job. Their church is growing, getting lots of people saved. He's a friend of mine in the ministry. But a couple of years ago, before he was the pastor, there was kind of a major problem that took place because the old pastor got caught with prostitutes and then, you know, doing drugs and gambling and at casinos and everything. And here's the thing, if your trust was in that man, when he backslides, well, I'm just going to quit church. I don't think I can continue anymore, right, if your trust is in that man. And here's the thing, you know, I'm sure at that church there were some people that left the church because their trust was in that man as opposed to in God, right? But if your trust is in God, hey, it's a difficult time, it's a storm you have to battle. But you say, you know what, regardless of what happens, I'm still going to go soul winning. I'm still going to read my Bible, right? I'm just going to trust in God. It's going to work out. And it did work out there, right? They got a great pastor doing a great job. But if your trust was in a man and then he backslides or he does whatever, you know, from a couple of years ago, well, you're going to fade out too because I can't continue anymore. I'm so depressed, right? Your trust better not be in a man because to some level of degree. That's an extreme example, okay? But to some level of degree, you know what, men are going to fail. Men are going to backslide. Don't put too much trust in one man. You ought to be trusting the Lord who is unmovable. And that's why he says, you know what, he is my defense. I shall not be moved because if you're trusting in something that is not movable, you're not going to move. If you're trusting in something that does move, you're going to move as it moves. A great example is with old IFB churches in the United States because I got saved, you know, basically in the old IFB. I started going soul winning and everything. But the old IFB churches, they used to stand for a lot more than they do today. And they basically kind of slid with the times. You say, what are you talking about? Well, I mean, the people want the rock music. They want the golden calf. So let's just bring in the worldly contemporary music. Let's just change our music. And they changed because the people changed. People don't want old fashioned preaching supposedly. Although, you know what, we've got a packed room here today. Right, we've got plenty of people here today. Seems like a lot of people like the old fashioned way. I don't know why the Baptists have failed because of the fact, I mean, people still want this kind of preaching. I mean, it's not hard to look at the world, like what is going on in our world? You know what, I grew up and everybody was normal and now I see a bunch of guys dressed as women. What is going on in this world? Look, people can figure it out even that are unsaved that something is not right in 2021. And sometimes you ask yourself, is it just that because I'm the only one who's, am I crazy? Right, I mean, everything's so insane. Maybe I'm just wrong. But see, that's why it's important to be part of church because it's like, no, you're not crazy. Right, I mean, look at all the people that say, amen, I agree with that. This is a crazy, crazy, crazy world. And see, here's the thing, as the world continues to move, the goal of this church is that we will not move. We will stand by in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2031, 2041, 2051, no matter how crazy this world is. But there's coming a day where pedophilia is gonna be legal. You say, Brother Stuckey, that would never happen. You know what, you don't realize how fast this world is changing. And if you pay any attention, they are trying to justify it as a normal thing in today's world. You know what they say now? They say, well, you know what, pedophiles are no different than you because everybody as an eight-year-old boy was attracted to eight-year-old girls. The only difference is, as you got older, you were attracted to girls that were older as well. But for them, they're telling you, I mean, it's just like, are they insane? That is the world that we're living in. And the world wants to make every, just men and women are the exact same to the world. That's what they're trying to do in 2021. There's a big difference between men and women, right? Jesus said there is none greater that is born among women than John the Baptist. And see, here's the thing. He didn't have to say of men because everybody's born of a woman, right? A mom gives birth. A guy doesn't give birth. And I don't know what science is trying to do in 2021. I mean, I'm sure they're trying to change that, but it's just like, this is a crazy world. There's a big difference between men and women. But the world wants to make everything just the same. The world is the one that's crazy. And I'm sorry. I mean, saying there's a difference between men and women, that is not an insult to women. There's just a difference. Embrace the difference. Don't fight against it. Look, this is ridiculous how they try to say, well, I mean, this is what I was taught in college. One of the theories out there, well, the reason why men are usually taller than women is because they're taught at a young age to be taller and it enters into their mind and they become taller. The reason they taught, the reason why men are usually stronger than women is because at a young age they're taught, well, I mean, men are supposed to be stronger than women, so it has a psychological effect on women and they don't become as strong as men. That's absurd. It's ridiculous. Men and women are different. It's not an insult to women that men and women, and you know what, an insult didn't end to being a man. That's an insult. Trying to turn women and their feminine characteristics that got... That's after Matthew 16. Go to 1 Peter 2. 1 Peter 2. And in 1 Peter 2, you have Peter speaking, obviously, right? This was a book written by Peter and, of course, the Catholic Church says in Matthew 16, they say, well, Peter's the rock. Well, let's see what Peter said in 1 Peter 2, and this is obviously after Matthew 16. This is obviously after the resurrection, after the 40 days of Jesus on earth and everything like that. 1 Peter 2, verse 8. And it says, 1 Peter 2, verse 8, In a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient, whereunto also they were appointed. So when it's referring to a rock of offense, it's referring back to the Lord Jesus Christ, okay? Go to Matthew 7. Let me show you one other thing here, and let me show you a symbolic reference of the rock mentioned in Matthew 7. Matthew 7. Now, you might ask this question, brother Stuckey, because what it said is a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. Therefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them, shall be likened unto a foolish man which built his house upon a rock. Now, there's a symbolic understanding here. One great application is make sure your life is built upon a rock, right? Not upon the sand, okay? Verse 25. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that 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 that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it. See, the Bible's saying that you, in your life, need to build your house upon a rock. The Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Word, okay? Because Jesus went through a lot more than we're ever going to go through. You go through a storm in life, I don't know if I can take this, right? Praise God that purgatory is a lie, right? You don't have to go to hell for a little while to cleanse away your sins or whatever. It's like, no, you have eternal life. It's eternal life, okay? But see, here's the thing. The Bible's saying you better make sure your house is built upon a rock. So you hear all these things being preached in church. Well, make sure you apply what the Word says, because if you build your life upon this book and what the Bible says when you go through a storm, not if, but when you go through a storm, you're going to last through it. But if you're just kind of here because, oh, the preaching's entertaining, you know, Brother Stuckey's yelling and everything like that, but you're not actually founding yourself upon what the Bible says and actually doing what the Bible says, and you're just kind of here because it's entertaining, you know what? When you go through a storm, you are going to fade out very quickly. You say, why? Because you're built upon the sand. And if you build yourself upon some man, you say, Brother Stuckey, I'm just at this church because I love your preaching. I'm just going to follow you, everything you say, but what if I mess up? Then you're going to fail out, too. You're going to fade, right? You better make sure you're founded upon what the Bible says, and you do what the Bible says. Anyway, sometimes that might mean I preach something and you have a bit of a different stance than me. That's okay. You know what you do? You follow what the Bible says. It's okay to disagree with me. We're not here where it says, hey, you know what? You have to believe this, this, this, this, and this. You know what? You're welcome to come here even if you disagree with some things. That's fine. Now, if you try to spread something that we disagree with, well, that's something a bit different. But you're welcome to come here even if you hear things, you say, Brother Stuckey, you know, I thought Brother Stuckey was too extreme on that. Okay, that's fine. You can believe I'm too extreme on something. It doesn't mean you have to quit church. You can still be here. That's okay. Or, you know, some people think, man, Brother Stuckey's not extreme enough, right? Now, I never thought I'd be accused of not being extreme enough, but when this church started, I was like, man, I heard all these false churches or something. It's like we're not going to bomb like these other churches, okay? That's what the heathen do to us. We don't do that to them, right? It's like, calm down here, okay? There's a lot of false prophets. Getting rid of one doesn't get rid of the million, right? But what I'm trying to say is this. You better make sure that your beliefs and what you stand for is founded upon what the Bible says. And here's the thing. At our church, I try to encourage you to memorize the Bible. I try to encourage you to read the Bible. In January, we will have our New Testament Bible reading challenge. You know why? I'm not afraid of you reading the Bible and then being like, oh, Brother Stuckey is a heretic. I never realized it because he had a lot of churches. They don't want you to actually read for yourself because they're afraid you could come to a different conclusion. My philosophy is if you're memorizing the Bible and reading it, you're going to be great church members. You're going to grow spiritually both in knowledge and in grace. And you know what? Even if you do have a different interpretation of something I preached on, you know, that's okay because you're still growing. You're going to be a great church member. Anyway, here's the thing. Reading the Bible makes you hungry. Reading the Bible makes you humble. But don't think that's not about anybody else. I mean, I'm the one. Remember that. You're underneath my authority. That's why you remind me of that. It's very easy to get powerful. Turn around to Matthew 16. Matthew 16. Matthew 16. Well, this is the beginning of the sermon. If you have a different interpretation of verse 19, I'm completely fine with that. If I have a different interpretation, he's fine. Now, if he's not Brother Stuckey, I'm fine with that. If I have a different interpretation because I'm like Pope Francis, he has the best across the earth, what's the problem here? Okay? But, here's the thing. Here's the problem. I trust you, Brother Stuckey. We're lost ahead of the church, and I don't believe in this universal Catholic church, but I'm still in the church where verse 18 is peer-banging lack. I think it's referring to something else or whatever. And I'm not against you because we still have the same doctrine. That's fine. Okay? Now, first of all, what is the most famous rest for Catholics in the entire Bible? So, even if you have a growth back in the Bible, you're going to be in trouble. 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We're together right now. And by the way, listening online is not part of church either because church is a body that's connected together. Now here's the thing. Verity Baptist Church Pampanga, great church. We started that church. Many of the men helped with the preaching there to get things started and everything. It's a different church. We pray for that church. We love the people. But it's a different church. We're a different church than them. They're a different church than us, right? There's other great churches. There are different churches though. There's great churches in the US. You love those pastors. You listen to them and praise the Lord for that. There's nothing wrong with that. It's a different church though. But I was listening to the sermon online so I was part of that church. It's like, no, you have to be there to be part of it. All you did was hear the sermon. You didn't compete in the arm wrestling competition. You weren't there for the table tennis, right? You got to be there for that, right? And here's the truth. You know what? Of course, probably most of us, got into this type of church or this specific, because this sort of preaching is what you're looking for. But then realize that this preaching is less than half of what this church is about. I stand up here for two and a half hours, try to keep you awake, slam the pulpit a little bit, right? But then we got soul winning, we got fellowship, we got games and everything like that. I mean, the preaching is a small part of this. It's a very small part of this. And if you're only here for the preaching, I mean, because people have this idea, well, I can just listen online and it's the same thing. Well, try that method and you're going to fade out in your zeal for God. It's just the way it is. Like I'm not the one who instituted the local church, but there's something about the local church gathering together, singing praises, fellowshipping. One of the big things is the fact that we're out in the world and you talk to people that think you're insane all the time. You come here and you realize, no, they're the ones that are crazy, right? I was thinking I was crazy. It's like, no, I'm not, right? I'm normal, it's just the world is crazy, right? You actually need to be here in church. Here's the thing, the Catholic church though says, well, Peter was the rock because they believe in a universal church. They're like, we had to have a head of a universal church worldwide. So when Peter dies, they elect another Pope. And then they die, you know, another one, right? Now, one thing that's interesting, of course, Peter was married, the Bible says, but actually the Popes used to be able to get married. They were allowed to get married in the early days. Wasn't just Peter, they were allowed to get married. Well, you're really unmovable, right? I mean, I shall not be moved. It's like, you know what? The beliefs and teachings of God have not changed in 2,000 years. The Catholic church, well, you're not allowed to get married. Well, you know, you were allowed to get married. Now you're not allowed to get married, right? It's like they change their teachings all the time. I mean, it used to be no salvation outside the Catholic church. Now, put your salvation in heaven. That's what he said. You can go to YouTube and check it out. You don't have to believe in God to go to heaven. Don't worry, son. If your dad was a good man, he's in heaven, right? And here's the thing. People love Pope Francis because he says things that people like to hear. All these churches, all these people, they say what needs to be said to get people to like them. We have to obey what the Bible says. We have to go soul winning, try to bring people to church. We got to try to obey what God says and follow what he says. But at the end of the day, I believe this church is going to be built because of the Lord Jesus Christ. Not because of my power or your power, but the fact that if we're serving God and he says, this is a church. I mean, if God looks down at us and says, here's a soul winning church. They're doing mighty works for God. You know what? I'm going to send them more people to go soul winning with them. If we got 30 people going soul winning, God's going to say, you know what? Here's a couple other people that will start getting involved in soul winning. Let's just send them your direction, right? I believe the Lord is going to build this church and he is building this church. If it was built upon me or upon a man, then it's going to fail, right? Now, this doesn't negate the fact that in a local church, there's authority. I understand in time, the church is not built upon Peter or built upon a man. Nebuchadnezzar said, look at this kingdom that I have built. And then you become insane for a while because of your attitude. It's like a church is not founded upon one man. There is authority given to pastor run church. We believe that, but that does not negate the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ is the one who builds this church. He's the rock and he's the one who's above us. Ephesians five says this, therefore, as the church is subject unto Christ, Ephesians five verse 24, Ephesians five verse 24, therefore, as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their husbands and everything. So the church is subject unto Christ because he's the head of it, he's the rock, okay? And so let me just say this as a side point that one of the, and I don't really understand, when people are trying to defend things in the Bible, they usually use like the worst arguments because most Baptists have the same interpretation. Most Baptists believe that Peter's the rock that's mentioned here, but what they commonly do is go back to the Greek because the word stone is used for Peter, right? He says, thou art, actually go to John one, let's just look at it, John one, John one. But the way people defend this is they say, well, you know what? Stone comes from the word patrons, which is smart, right? I gotta get soccer in here somehow, right? I always have math, not soccer. But it's just like when it's saying a stone, it does not come to the size, it comes to the material in it, okay? And I'm not an expert, I just looked online, there's like a slight difference in material. You know, a pebble would be something small. A stone is not necessarily small though, at least according to verses in the Bible, you're gonna see a stone can be something that's, here's what I'll say to you, let's look at John one, verse 40. One of the two which heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon, Peter's brother. He first findeth his own brother Simon and saith unto him, we have found the Messiahs which is being interpreted the Christ, and he brought him to Jesus, and when Jesus beheld him, he said, thou art Simon the son of Jonah, thou shall be called Cephas, which is by interpretation a stone. So here's a verse where Peter's referred to as a stone. Now here's what I would say about this. Number one, never go back to the Greek to prove your point. Because none of us speak Greek, and because I believe we can trust our English Bible, and when the Bible says comparing spiritual things with spiritual, I think in our English language, we can compare spiritual things to spiritual. Which is why I looked up the word rock every time it appeared in the Bible. I believe that if it was trying to say that Peter was the rock, then here also in John one, it would say, you know, which is by interpretation, a rock. They're very similar, but they're not the exact same thing, okay? All the verses of the word rock in the Bible, they're referring to the Lord, a literal rock, or a symbolic reference to the Lord. There's this one verse that is up for controversy. I don't really think it's that controversial though, because I believe the context tells you it's referring to the Lord. Throughout the Bible, all the times the Bible says the word rock, it's referring to the Lord, shows you that it's the Lord in Matthew 16. And by the way, not just in the Old Testament, we saw in 1 Corinthians 10, that rock was Christ. It's not like it's hiding it or shying away from it. Number three, the grammar shows you that Peter's not the rock. And then number four, there's no need for a universal leader. I do believe he's giving authority in the local church, but I think he's showing you this example. With every church, I build that church. For this local church, you're given the keys to the kingdom of heaven, Peter. Let's close in a word of prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for allowing us to be here today and getting to see your word in this topic. And help us to know our Bibles, and especially when it comes to having unsaved Catholic relatives, or maybe people that got saved but are coming out of Catholicism. Help us to be able to have answers to the questions they might have, God. We pray this in Jesus' name, amen. Amen. Page number 48. Page number 48. Do nay kang matapat. Great is thy faith in us, for those who are in which part. Do nay kang matapat. Say it again, please. First stanza putaya. Do nay kang matapat. First stanza, ready, sing. Do nay kang matapat. First stanza, ready, sing. Do nay kang matapat. Do nay kang matapat. Say it again, please. Do nay kang matapat. Do nay kang matapat. Hold this again. Do nay kang matapat. Do nay kang matapat. One last. Do nay kang matapat. Do nay kang matapat. Do nay kang matapat. Amen, brother, please. Amen.