(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

And we're in Matthew chapter 16 and we start off here in the first few verses dealing with an actually very interesting thing that's being said here dealing with the signs of the face of the sky and I always found this very interesting that it's a phrase and something that I've known growing up but it's actually in the Bible and so it kind of it's a little different the terminology I'll get to that as far as what I remember but in verse one there it says the Pharisees also with the Sadducees 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 mowery and ye oh ye hypocrites ye can discern the face of the sky but but can you not discern the signs of the times a wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign and there shall no sign be given unto it but the sign of the Prophet Jonas and he left them and departed so this is a phrase now I don't know if you guys have heard it this way but red sky night sailors delight red sky in the morning sailors warning no one else heard that phrase that terminology but that's the phrase I remember because if it's a red sky at night you know at the sunset sailors and light the next day is gonna be a nice day and then if it's red in the morning sailors warning and you know storms coming so it works out and it's actually a bit you know the Bible backs that too but but go to Luke chapter 12 because actually in Luke chapter 12 and the same thing he mentions a different type of thing that you can notice from the sky and so I remember actually that that that portion of scripture there in the Matthew chapter 16 a friend of mine I said you know that phrase I said not the phrase but the the concept of red sky at night sailors delight red in the morning sailors warning I said that's actually a concept Jesus taught that in the Bible when my my friend he was just like no it isn't you're lying I'm like I'm like why would I make that up first of all and I just happened to just read it or it was like on my mind this is years ago and I was just like I was like it's in Matthew 16 and he looked there and she's like oh you know I love that there when people call you out on something and they think that you're lying about it you're just like there it is such satisfaction anyway all that to say is that that is a concept in the Bible but notice in Luke 12 and verse 54 Luke 12 verse 54 it says and he said also to the people when you see a cloud rise out of the West straightway you say there cometh a shower and so it is and when you see the south wind blow you say there will be heat and it cometh the past ye hypocrites you can discern the face of the sky and of the earth but how is it that you do not discern this time so he gives kind of two examples there he's dealing with the redness of the sky you know at night it's good it means a good thing if it's red in the morning it's not it's a bad thing but then also with this you know we kind of think of this right the wet where's worse you know when you think about all the clouds what typically are where they come from from West East right that's the way the wind blows right typically now obviously if you have a storm coming in from the East Coast you know you're gonna have you know like a hurricane or something like that and it's coming from the east but typically you look to the west as far as where the storms coming from so we're you know 79 is running this way right so that's north to south so that's the east this is the west and so if you're gonna look at if you saw clouds over there and it's really bad you're like wow it looks good over here so we're good to go but if it's on the west that's where it's coming it's coming to hit you right and so that's what you're saying is like you see a cloud in the West okay a shower is coming okay so you can kind of just see the sky and see what's coming but then also when the south wind blows meaning if the if the winds coming up from the south it's warm in the south right it's it's really kind of simple right it's it's if this north winds blowing down what are you gonna get you're gonna get the Arctic winds if it's south winds blowing up you're gonna get the hot so the heat so it's very simple stuff but the Bible obviously is talking about this how you can tell these type of things but I always just thought that was very interesting on on the red in the morning and night and the sailors delight sailors warning and I'm like it's in the Bible you know obviously not that phrase but the concept is there and so but he's stating to them basically they're saying you know show us a sign he's like and he's saying to them you can discern all this stuff right you know if there's rain coming you know if it's gonna be hot you know whether it's gonna be a nice day tomorrow whether it's gonna be a bad day and you know just based off whether this guy's red or not but they're staring the Son of God in the face and they can't understand what's going on does that make you see how like ridiculous it is and that's what he's saying to him is I mean they're talking to the Son of God face to face and they can't discern that but they can tell the weather right they're meteorologists right not quite but what I'm saying is that you know they're doing they're checking the signs of the skies and all this stuff and they know that but they can't you know they're looking the the Son of God straight in the face and they don't see it and so just the blindness of it and just obviously the the hypocrisy you know of them but but also just the fact of a generation that seek it after a sign and this there's no there's nothing new under the Sun meaning that we still have a generation that says you know if God's real then he I need to see it well wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign you know that's still true today is it was back then and so we have a wicked generation that's seeking after a sign and even people that claim to be Christians right they're like well I need to see it's like the Pentecostal movement I need to see all this stuff I need to see the Holy Ghost working and all this stuff why don't you just believe it by faith read the Bible that's that should be your foundation not some experience or some kind of weird thing that you saw you know and the Catholics are guilty of this or they see Mary and everything right you know we saw the Blessed Virgin and mashed potatoes the other day you know or this peanut looks like her you know a little bit and so I mean like just stuff like that though but people eat that up fork and spoon they want to see some kind of tangible evidence of you know of the Bible and listen I'm not against when you know looking for the art or like if they found these locations they found the arc or they found you know chariot wheels in the Red Sea or something like that but listen I don't need that listen all that stuff can completely be gone I mean you think about it thousands years old what are the chances that you know if it was wood wheels anyway that the woods gonna be staying there that long and I think even the Titanic this is completely outside but the Titanic is in the bottom of the Atlantic right it's completely deterring away and it's about a hundred it's just over a hundred years that's been down there right so think about that when you think about the fact of you know thousands of years of something being underwater or whatever so all that to say is that you shouldn't be looking at tangible things to be the proof or some kind of sign because actually Jesus says a wicked and adulterous generation see that they're assigned and as we saw from Sunday night you know Jesus said blessed is he that hath not seen but yet has believed and so we need to be living by faith and not by sight obviously now going on to verse 5 there Jesus is giving them a warning dealing with the Pharisees and Sadducees and if you want to know what the main rate the difference is between the Pharisees and Sadducees is the fact that the Sadducees and we haven't got to that yet but the Sadducees don't confess that there's a resurrection and they don't believe there's any kind of spirit basically they just believe that when we die we die you know and that's it kind of almost a little bit like well I don't I don't know it's just annihilation of like you don't have anything that goes on from that and so they don't believe in an angel you know any angel spirit or resurrection whereas the Pharisees confess all those okay so the way that I you know I've always been taught to remember it is you know the Sadducees don't believe in the resurrection that's why they're sad you see so it's a silly way but it is a way to remember it as far as why you know which one is the one that doesn't believe in the resurrection so anyway so in verse 5 there it says 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 so they take this completely the wrong way so they didn't bring bread with them and and Jesus is saying beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees and notice what they say in verse 7 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 you brought no bread do you not yet understand neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets he took up neither the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many baskets you took up how is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread that ye should be aware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees and it says then understood they how that he bathed them not not beware of the leaven of bread but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees and so he's rebuking him saying basically they're saying well we didn't bring bread that's he's rebuking us you know kind of and he's that's why he's talking about leaven and so that but he's basically saying listen don't you remember that I fed the five thousand and the four thousand and in another you know in Mark I believe they answer him and say how many baskets he took up so they know exactly how many baskets they took up twelve baskets with the five thousand and seven baskets with the four thousand and so they they remember that so he's basically he's rebuking him saying why are you worried about bread you know because I just fed all these people so obviously he could do it again but obviously he's talking about the spiritual and so he's saying you know beware of the leaven of the Pharisees which is the doctrine of the Pharisees and this is very key as far as dealing with false doctrine false doctrine is likened unto leaven okay it spreads okay one false doctrine and you can see this with dispensationalism for example once you start saying that there's different dispensations it's a snowball effect and a little leaveneth leaveneth the whole lump before you know it all your doctrines leaven and that's the true case you think about it obviously with salvation I mean if you if you leaven salvation and put in works in there then all your doctrines gonna be messed up right because now everything you know you're gonna look at the parables and talking about work salvation you're even completely off base on everything so that should be given right you need to be saved you know looking at Bible doctrine but even people that are saved you know that believe that salvation by grace through faith if they go into a little leaven when let's say for example they say well the the sons of God in the Old Testament are angels well now you get into Abraham's bosom you know say people didn't go to heaven you know back in the Old Testament they went to some holding chamber and then that turns into dispensationalism as far as while they were saved under the Old Testament but they had to be saved under the New Testament and it was a covenant thing and the blood wasn't shed yet therefore they couldn't go to heaven and all this weird stuff okay and so it all starts with the little leaven a little false doctrine and so that's why you need to really have your your your main core doctrines just nailed down okay and listen even the best preachers out there aren't gonna say everything right you know what I mean but what it comes down to is you better have salvation down pat you better have the Word of God down pat and you better have you know and when I say salvation I'm talking about the everlasting gospel you need to have that down pat and understand that people were saved the same way from Genesis to Revelation and when you have that that really throws away a lot of the other garbage right and you in you know you think about the sons of God being angels and you're like well that doesn't make any sense because there were sons of God in the Old Testament why wouldn't it just be saved people and it so it just kind of washes away all this other false doctrine but you can see why he likens their doctrine to leaven because it just spreads like a cancer okay it's a bacteria right and so but he also likens this this leaven to hypocrisy so go to Luke chapter 12 I'm sorry yeah Luke chapter 12 yeah Luke chapter 12 verse 1 so bear with me I am struggling with allergies and all that stuff so I'll try to get through this but the Luke chapter 12 verse 1 it says in the meantime when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people in so much that they trode one upon another he began to say unto his disciples first of all beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees which is hypocrisy okay so he's using leaven as an example for a lot of different things right leaven is an example for sin right so you when we saw the one example in the New Testament where leaven is a good thing dealing with it talks about the kingdom of heaven is liken up to a woman that took three measures of meal and put leaven in it and it kind of just picturing the fact you got to wait you know you got to wait for that to grow just as much as you put the seed into the ground you got to wait for that to grow before you get your reward and so that's like the one example but in all those cases what's the example it spreads right it expands it's puffed up right and that's a word that the Bible uses a lot when it talking about pride so the Pharisees had a lot of pride but it was it was predicated on hypocrisy right so they were very they were hypocrites say what they said they didn't do so it talks about the lawyers also and the fact that they would they would request people to do all this stuff but they wouldn't do it with their little finger they wouldn't even lift it with their little finger meaning that they're just commanding people to do things but they're not doing anything themselves okay so what you know what's the definition of a hypocrite saying that you're something and you're not you know like you're basically saying you know I'm a Christian or I you know I follow Christ but then you don't keep his commandments right that's a hypocrite or you say I follow the Bible but you don't believe the Bible right that's a hypocrite and so you can say this in any in any case when it comes to just and you know in life or whatever when you're dealing with people that say one thing and do another okay and so he's saying beware of that in other places he's saying listen do what they say because a lot of times they're just reading the law of God right so it's like if they say that's not murder yeah you should do what they say but don't do what they do and you ever hear hear this phrase do what I say not what I do that's hypocrite right now obviously none of us are perfect and you know we get these people they're like oh I don't want to go to church because it's filled with hypocrites well that person should never go to church then because she's that person is just gonna add to the hypocrisy right because because everybody makes mistakes everybody's gonna say well I'm trying to follow Christ but everybody falters right no one's perfect and so if you're looking for someone that's that's not hypocritical in any facet then you need to just look at Jesus because he's the only one that's not a hypocrite right and so about what we're dealing with is is a large mass you know dealing with someone that's a hypocrite on a large scale so these Pharisees you know they were on a large scale meaning that they walked around as if they were like the most holy people out there and they were they were why did sepulchre is filled with dead men's but they weren't even saved right they weren't even saved but yet they're preaching like they're the leaders and they know what they're talking about and even Nicodemus who you know I believe got saved but Jesus rebuked him and said art thou master of Israel and though it's not these things talking about being born again so Nicodemus obviously wasn't saved but yet he was a master and a ruler in Israel and so Jesus obviously rebuked him for that but you know I believe he ended up getting saved later on talks about Nicodemus being there at the end and all that stuff so but but by and large the rulers they were all rejected and reprobate and all that stuff so but but anyway so we see that Jesus is warning him about that they were thinking they were talking about actual bread and so you can definitely see where the disciples will get confused on whether he's being metaphorical or whether he's being literal right because obviously he's not talking about actual leaven does that make sense he's using leaven as an example okay and so but when you say the leaven of the Pharisees you should be saying you should be realizing they're not talking about bread right so or the Pharisees bread or something like that beware of their bread don't eat that you know it's like it's bad so but obviously you know he's rebuking them saying you know how do you not understand what I'm talking about here so but going back to Matthew chapter 16 verse 13 this is where Peter confesses that Jesus is the Christ son of God and if you remember when they were on the ship remember when the ship was a you know they Jesus was sleeping in the bottom of the ship and they said this is the Son of God okay so this isn't the first time this is being said but it is a time where Jesus test he's asking him you know he's basically wanting him to say it does that make sense so I don't believe this is where Peter got saved I believe they got saved a long time before this okay but he's basically getting them to say it you know just confess what you already believe right so in verse 13 there it says and when Jesus came into the coast of Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples saying whom do men say that I the Son of Man am and they said some say that thou art John the Baptist some Elias and others Jeremiah's or one of the prophets so we saw this even with Herod remember Herod was saying this is John the Baptist risen from the dead so that one's always strange to me because it wasn't that long ago that you know John the Baptist baptized Jesus so it's kind of strange but at the same time not everybody was there right this wasn't like the whole of all of Jerusalem was seeing him get baptized by John but all I'd say is that there's definitely other people that they are saying that Jesus is verse 15 it says he saith unto them but whom say ye that I am okay so he's based saying who do all these people say that I am and they're basically naming off different prophets that people are saying and but he's saying but who you say that I am and so he's basically he's wanting his disciples to say it okay and verse 16 it says in Simon Peter answered and said thou art the Christ the Son of the living God so that's a profound statement and that's a statement that's made throughout the Bible after this meaning that throughout the Bible it talks about you know when she went and when he talks to Martha and says but whosoever liveth and believeth me shall never die believe is how this what does she say I believe thou art the Christ is you know that are the Son of God the Christ that should come into the world and I'm paraphrasing that but pretty much that's what she's saying and we always see that that Christ and Son of God are being linked together as far as you know what does hinder me to be baptized if thou believeth with all my heart thou mayest I believe that thou art the Christ the Son the Son of God right and so it's always being said like that whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God God dwelleth in him and he in God who is he that ever cometh the world but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God so we see that over and over again it's about him being the Christ and the Son of God and so I go to Psalm 2 because what does that mean you know what does that mean when he says thou art the Christ the Son of God okay so Christ and for sake of time I'm not gonna go to all the different places but this is the main place when you see the fact of talking about the Christ so Christ is is a pretty much a Greek word that that means anointed okay so basically what you're gonna find in the Bible is anointed Messiah and and Christ are all the same thing okay it's just basically different languages saying the same thing does that make sense so you kind of think of our word spirit and ghost they're the same word spirit comes from Latin ghost comes from German we're bringing it to our language same thing right so if you say Holy Spirit Holy Ghost same exact thing that makes sense and so when you're saying anointed Christ and you can think of christen like if you christen something what are you doing you're anointing it right my Catholic brethren background they know what I'm talking about with the christening and all this other stuff but but all that that that's a good way to remember it but Messiah is the same thing so and actually Messiah is only mentioned in the Old Testament in Daniel chapter 9 and then it's mentioned in the New Testament saying we've out found the Messiahs which is being interpreted the Christ okay so there's no mistaking that every time they say Messiah in the New Testament it's saying you know we found the Messiahs which is being interpreted to Christ we you know we know that Messiahs comets which is called Christ hey you know those are like the two places in John where it's saying that it's always saying it's the Christ okay so but I want to show you this in Psalm 2 verse 1 there it says why do the why do the heathen rage and people imagine a vain thing the kings of the earth set themselves and rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed saying let us break their bands asunder and cast away their cords from us and so when this is quoted in the New Testament and you could turn there just keep keep your thumb or finger or whatever in Psalm 2 but in Acts chapter 4 it's quoting Psalm 2 but in Acts chapter 4 and verse 26 I just want you to really see this is very clear that anointed means Christ and Acts 4 verse 26 it says the kings of the earth stood up and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against his Christ so when it quotes it in the New Testament it says Christ and not anointed because the same thing now there's there's kind of two things dealing with what Christ means it means anointed and you can see that being associated with being a prophet but also being a king right and so we're anointed the anointing which you have received with him abideth in you and you need not that any man teach you right but the same anointing teaching you of all things and so what's the anointing the Holy Ghost obviously and so that's why you see oil being likened unto the Holy Ghost in a lot of places but but also when you go back to Psalm 2 what's it go into when it's talking about the Lord and his anointed in verse 4 it says he that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh the Lord shall have them in derision then shall he speak unto them in his wrath and vex them in his sore displeasure notice in verse 6 yet have I set my what King upon my holy hill of Zion so we're talking about his anointed being King you think about this what they anointed saw they anointed David with what oil and so what they anoint them for it to be king or to be ruler over Israel and they would anoint Aaron when he was the high priest right so you can think of prophet priest and king and they're all anointed with oil because the anointing basically is representing the Holy Ghost obviously but it's representing the fact that God appointed them right and so that's why it's saying do that prophets no harm or touch not mine anointed and do my prophets no harm right and it's talking about the fact that God has appointed them so what are we dealing with Christ means that it's God's appointed one so to speak it's who God is appointed to be king to be the high priest and we see that obviously in other places were talked about he is the the high priest after God or after your milk is a deck high priest forever after your milk is a deck he's also you know that prophet which should come and he's obviously the king of kings and Lord of Lords so when it's talking about him being the Christ obviously there was anointed kings back in the day and there was anointed prophets back in the day and there anointed priests but he is the prophet he is the king right he is the high priest and so when it says Christ that's what it's entailing right and so when he says thou art the Christ he's saying you are the king of Israel and isn't that what Nathaniel said thou art the king of Israel right the Son of God and so kind of the same thing if you said thou art the Christ the Son of God thou art the king the Son of God it'd be kind of like saying the same thing but also you know him saying he's the Son of God this is where the modalist will fall out the window because when you say Son of God thou art the Son of the Living God they are saying you are God right go to John chapter 10 John chapter 10 and in Psalm 2 this is where this phrase comes from it says in verse 7 of Psalm 2 while you're turning in John 10 there but in Psalm 2 7 it says I will declare the decree the Lord hath said unto me thou art my son this day have I begotten thee and that's referring to the resurrection so unto which of the angels said he at any time thou art my son this day have begotten thee and again when he bringeth the first begotten into the world he saith and let all the angels God worship him he bringeth what the first begotten and what is the first begotten talking about the first begotten of the dead the first fruits of them that slept right the church of the firstborn why because he's the first one to raise from the dead and so and then it says kiss the son lest he be angry so you can see how Psalm 2 is really when when when Peter says this and when the Ethiopian said this you're really going back to Psalm 2 saying hey you're the Christ you're the anointed you're the king and you are the Son of God and they're confessing that this is who he is right and I'm just showing you Psalm 2 as an example because obviously there's tons of other scriptures that would point to that same thing but in John 10 verse 33 John 10 verse 33 says the Jews answered him saying for a good work we stone thee not but for blasphemy and because that thou being a man makest thyself God okay so they're saying you're blaspheming because you're saying you're God right notice Jesus answer in verse 36 to this and he kind of gives him a hard saying in between there but really in verse 36 is where he's answering what they said there it says say ye of him whom the Father hath sanctified and senteth the world thou blasphemest right because that's what they're saying you blaspheme because you said you're the son of because you said you're your God and it says thou thou you're saying thou blasphemest because I said I am the Son of God right and in other places he says you know I'm you know when it talks about being the Son of God it says you're making yourself equal with God because you said God is your father okay so even the blind Pharisees realized that when he's saying he's the Son of God he's saying he's God he's making himself equal to God and playing out just saying that thou being a man makest thyself God why because you know let this mind be in you which was also Christ Jesus who being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be equal with God right so that if you think it not robbery that means that it wouldn't be wrong to beat to say he's equal with God that's what that's saying sometimes the Bible uses kind of a negative to prove a positive right you know like borrow not a few what does that mean borrow a lot right or you know many believed on him not a few yeah it says like many you know many honorable men and women not a few right it'll use a negative to prove a positive and so when it's saying that he thought it not robbery to be equal with God it means that he was equal with God hey does that make sense he's basically saying it's not robbery therefore it's it's a right thing it's truth to say he's equal with God okay and he's the son of God and obviously that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the father and obviously he's the son now also you know what we see here in this passage is that he says thou art the Christ the Son of the Living God knows in verse 17 of Matthew chapter 16 verse 17 of Matthew chapter 16 so I just want you to see that when he says that it's not just words and when we say who's our believeth on the Christ you know who serve believe that Jesus is the Christ is born of God that entails something right because that's not just words right people can say that all day long and say I believe that Jesus is the Christ the Church of Christ down here will say that I believe that Jesus is the Christ but they don't really believe that right because what does that entail that he's the Savior that he actually saved you from your sin you have to believe that Jesus is the Christ what does Jesus mean his name shall be Jesus we shall save his people from their sins and that he is the Christ he is the anointed and he is the Son of God so you see how all that's entailed into what you're believing and so it's not just mere words as far as what you're saying there because tons of people have said that but they're there they're on they're in hell and people are on their way to hell that say that but in in Matthew chapter 16 and verse 17 it says and Jesus answered and said unto him blessed art thou Simon bar Jonah for flesh and blood hath not revealed this it unto thee but my father which is in heaven and I say and also unto thee that thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my church in the gates of hell shall not prevail against it now this is the Catholics motto verse for why Peter's the first Pope now there's a lot of problems with that you know and I won't get into all of it but I mean but obviously Peter had a wife right you know he and he was an elder according to first Peter chapter 15 so that means that he had children and actually at in the end that chapter it says Marcus my son so I personally take that literally that that's actually his son in the flesh but all that to say is that that doesn't work out with the Pope but what they try to say is that they're saying that Peter is the rock okay so what he's doing here is he's basically saying listen your Peter your name is Peter and upon this rock but see if it was if he's saying if he was saying that it was upon Peter it would it would say thou art Peter and upon you I will build this church right it wouldn't make sense to say this rock because he's talking about like this is applying to like something like an object that makes sense and not a person now sometimes the Bible use that or which right and sometimes that can be used as a personal pronoun right for a person right I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me but doesn't say this doesn't make sense so what it's saying here is that it's not talking about Peter when it says upon this rock I'll build my church you know it actually makes more sense if we're talking about Christ so go to 1st Corinthians chapter 10 and you know you think about the verse in 1st Corinthians I believe 3 where it says and other foundation can no man lay than that is laid which is Jesus Christ right so Jesus is the foundation but also you just think about the fact that in 1st Corinthians chapter 10 verse 4 it says and and did all drink that the same spiritual drink for they drank of that spiritual rock that followed them and that rock was Christ so when he says upon this rock I will build my church what is he talking about thou art the Christ the Son of the living God that's the foundation of the church why because salvation is a foundation Christ is a foundation right salvation is the foundation to everything and that's why there's no other foundation that a man can lay than that is late which is Jesus Christ because you can't build the house right until you have the foundation which is Jesus Christ and the same thing with the Church of God Jesus Christ needs to be that foundation right if you don't have that foundation you're not a legitimate church okay and so it's actually very simple when you're dealing with this is that he's just saying upon this rock that statement what you just confessed that's the foundation of the church thou art the Christ the Son of the living God that's the foundation of the church but then he goes on to say in verse 19 there and people will misconstrue this too because they're like well Peter's the Pope and he can exonerate people from their sins and all this stuff and this is where they kind of pull this out of here okay so in Matthew chapter 16 verse 19 it says 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 chart then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ now we've kind of already went into why he was telling people not to say this yet and stuff like that it had to do with the fact that he couldn't go into a lot of places because if he was making this known abroad then basically you have to go into desert places and stuff like that so but also to say here this is where it's people would say well it says to thee and thou so it's talking to Peter personally but this happens all the time in the Bible when it's talking about when it uses these and vows but it's also would apply to any believer that make sense fairly barely I say unto thee you know ye must be worn again so he's saying it to him but he's also saying you know everybody's gonna do this so he's talking to Peter because Peter's the one that said it right and he's saying to Peter I'm gonna give you the keys of heaven right and what is this talking about where it says whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven and whatsoever that thou shalt loose on earth shall be loose in heaven well go to Matthew chapter 18 so go up go forward a few chapters there are a couple chapters and chapter 18 verse 15 we're talking about the church okay so this phrase or this terminology is gonna be used in this chapter here but before it says that it's it's it's gonna explain you a situation where this is actually being applied so in verse 15 so Matthew 18 verse 15 says moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone if he shall hear thee thou has gained thy brother but if he will not hear thee then take with thee one or two two more that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established and if he shall neglect to hear them tell it unto the church but if he neglect to hear the church let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican verily I say unto you whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven and whatsoever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven again I say unto you that if two of you shall agree on on earth as touching anything that that they shall ask it shall be done for them of my father which is in heaven and where two or three are gathered together in my name there am I in the midst of the them so what are we dealing with we're dealing with a dispute within the church right so we have the the church discipline as far as first Corinthians five which is dealing with sin in the church right and oftentimes what people do is they mix these two right this is a totally different situation this isn't dealing with someone committing fornication or extortion or anything like that we're dealing with someone just wronging someone in the church and what it's saying is that you in the church have the power okay to basically bind or lose someone from the church does that make sense meaning that the church has the authority to cast that person out if they don't repent okay and that's what it's saying here is that they don't hear they won't hear the church then let him be unto thee as a heathen man and a publican okay go to John chapter 20 because because basically what it's saying here is that what you do down here what you decide down here as a church he's gonna recognize it up in heaven that's the keys of heaven okay meaning that if we as a church decide okay there's someone in the church is being belligerent they won't repent they did this or that and we took it you know before the whole church and they're just like no you know I didn't do anything wrong and that's to you guys then if we cast them out then God sees them as being cast out of the church that's the authority of the church and people today don't believe in the authority of the church meaning like they basically think that that they're God's gift and you know if they're cast out of a church it's just all that is just a man that cast me out yeah you know if I cast someone out of the church it's yeah I'm just a man but I have the authority of God and God sees them as being cast out does that make sense and it's talking about two or three witnesses there and all that stuff so what that's what it's talking about because it's saying basically what you bind here and on the earth shall be bound also in heaven meaning that to God it's bound in heaven and if you lose it meaning you let them go and you cast them out they're loosed now obviously we're not talking about salvation here we're talking about church discipline we're talking about you know this is a brother right a brother came and they did this and they trespassed against you okay so we're not talking about an unsaved person but this goes into you know you think about first Corinthians 5 you know cast them out and talking about to the destruction of the flesh and so we're talking about physically the repercussions that go with that so if you're kicked out of a church listen it's bad enough if people don't go to church because that's going against the commandment of God they're forsaking the assemblies right there's another thing if you're kicked out of a church okay and so to God you're you're seen as being an outcast of the church and you don't want to be in that situation I don't want to be in that situation where God is viewing me as being kicked out of the assembly right and so that's what he's saying now in John chapter 20 kind of says something similar to that in verse 21 it says then said Jesus to them again peace be unto you as my father has sent me even so send I you and when he had said this he breathed on them and saith unto them receive ye the Holy Ghost whosoever sins you remit they are remitted unto them and whosoever sins you retain they are retained so that's the power that he gives us as far as we're talking physically speaking here right it's just like in the Old Testament when they would sacrifice the animals it was for the purifying of the flesh that still exists today not with animals right but you still have the purifying of the flesh okay and that's where the church can have the authority to cast you out and you are now out for the destruction of the flesh and you're just gonna have the chasing of God upon you that's a big deal okay and obviously I don't take it lightly meaning that I'm not gonna whimsically just kick people out of the church okay because that's a big deal because if we kick someone out of the church God is seeing them as being kicked out of the church and if we bring them back in God is seeing them as being brought back in does that make sense and so he's giving us that power and that authority to where he's recognizing it okay so that's what's being said there with the keys of heaven and loosing and binding it's talking about the church right because what did he say upon this rock shall build my what Church and therefore he's talking about binding and loosing within the church okay so hopefully that makes sense but it really is that simple obviously we're not talking about that we're actually remitting people from their sins so they go to heaven okay that's where the Catholic Church is the off base okay we're talking about physically and dealing with people in the church so this doesn't apply to people that go to church does that make sense like I can't we don't have a thought I don't have authority over people don't go to our church so I'm not out there like remitting people sins that don't go to our church right or you know or retaining the sins you know like I'm spiting those people and I don't have that authority and but notice that it's not just it's not just the pastor it's the people in the church right so you as church members if we were to kick someone out you know it's it's kind of a joint thing where we're saying listen you've heard all of us we're all saying you needed you need to get this right and if you don't do it then you got to go and so but but here's another interesting thing that said here and so in Matthew chapter 16 verse 21 you probably always wondered why Jesus calls Peter Satan you know in this passage and the reason I yeah I'm focusing on that because we've kind of already discussed the fact that he started telling his disciples hey I'm gonna die I'm gonna be crucified I kind of already covered this on Sunday dealing with the resurrection but in Matthew chapter 16 verse 21 it says from that time forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples how that he must go on to 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 thee Lord this shall not be unto thee now first of all you should think about this should you ever say no to what God says that he's going to do right that obviously is not the right thing to do okay it's a rebuke Jesus he's rebuking the Lord Jesus Christ okay now now then he says this it says but he turned and said unto Peter get thee behind me Satan thou art an offense unto me for thou savors not the things that be of God but those that be of men so you know people are gonna say different things about this I don't believe he's saying he is Satan okay meaning like he's the devil that old dragon the serpent okay and the reason I believe he's saying and one of the big reasons why I don't think he's and some people say well he's talking to Satan right like Satan's kind of like influencing Peter kind of thing I've heard people say that and and he's he's talking he's turning about and says to Peter but he's like looking past Peter and looking to Satan I've heard people say that and so he's talking about but here's the thing it says that he savors the things that be of men well Satan hates man you know he doesn't savor the things of men you know I mean as far as like what it's basically saying is that you're thinking of the flesh and not of the things of God right you're thinking of the physical and not the spiritual right but Satan that word if you just look up the etymology of it just means adversary okay so basically what he's saying is that you are an adversary get be get thee behind me adversary right and Satan's just a word that means that okay now obviously Satan is an adversary go to first Peter chapter 5 and verse 8 so the devil is an adversary and so I believe that's what he's saying when he's saying get thee behind me Satan is he's basically he's calling Peter an adversary why because thou art an offense unto me right that's what he follows up with get thee behind me Satan thou art an offense unto me and Satan literally means to oppose somebody right so to be against somebody or oppose somebody and what's he doing he's opposing him he said that he's gonna die and rising in a third day and Peter saying no that's not gonna happen to you okay so he's obviously opposing what he's saying obviously Peter doesn't know what he's saying you know I mean like it's like we're gonna see that next chapter not knowing what he said you know we like you for fear and so there's a lot of things that Peter says out of zeal but not knowledge so you can't really knock Peter a whole bunch because obviously he loves Jesus and doesn't want him to die but you know he's obviously rebuking him hardcore because of what he said now in first Peter chapter 5 verse 8 it says be sober be vigilant because your adversary the devil as a roaring lion walketh about seeking whom he may devour whom resist steadfast in the faith knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world so what do we see here your adversary the devil right so we see that use now go to first Timothy chapter 5 so I'm going to show you where I believe personally it's kind of using it interchangeably as far as the term adversary and Satan and first Timothy chapter 5 verse 14 you can just look it up okay in a dictionary but what I'm saying is that sometimes the Bible will kind of define it for you in verse 14 it says I will therefore that I will therefore that the younger women marry their children guide the house give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully for some are already turned aside after Satan okay so notice how he's repeating they say do this so that the adversary doesn't speak reproachfully but there's some of that are already turned aside after Satan so you see how it's kind of using a synonym there and obviously you're talking I believe they're talking about Satan in both those cases so that adversary would speak reproachfully you're talking about Satan speaking reproachfully right because he's the accuser of the brethren right it says in Revelation chapter 12 so he's an adversary he's the accuser right and he's got a lot of names okay but so it's just a word that means something if that makes sense it has it has a meaning and that's why he's called Satan because he's an adversary and so I hope that makes sense and when you're saying get thee behind me Satan I don't believe he's talking to Satan the person and I don't believe he's saying that that Peter is the devil right now if he was talking to Judas that would make more sense right but he's not he's talking to Peter who saved he just said thou art the Christ the Son of the Living God okay so obviously Peter saved and he just said I'm giving you the keys of heaven right so it's obvious that Peter saved but I believe he's saying you're an adversary because you're opposing me right now you're you're an offense unto me as it says after that so and then at the end of the chapter here this last portion is dealing with basically having rewards in heaven if we live for him and verse 24 of Matthew 16 it says 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 for what is a man profit if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul for the Son of Man shall come in the glory of his father with his angels and then shall then he shall reward every man according to his works and so as as we see here what is it's talking about following Christ and following is not there's been following Christ and being saved okay so we're talking to save people saying hey listen if you take up your cross and you know deny yourself and follow me okay and then it's talking about this this this idea of losing your life to save it okay this is not talking about what you got to understand is that when it's saying lose your life it's talking about losing this life to gain an abundant life in heaven okay and I just kind of want to park it there a little bit but in Luke chapter 9 go to Luke chapter 9 verse 23 Luke chapter 9 verse 23 the last verse of Matthew 16 I'm really gonna get into next week because it really ties into the next chapter talking about that some of you are not gonna taste death they see the Son of Man coming in in his kingdom I'm really gonna answer that without a shadow of a doubt next week so that really kind of ties in so that last verse we'll get to next week but in Luke chapter 9 verse 23 it says and he said said to them all if any man will come after me and let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me for whosoever will save his life shall lose it but whosoever will lose his life for my sake that the same shall save it for what is a man advantaged if he gained the whole world and lose himself or be a castaway so this phrase of you know which I'm a prophet began the whole world and lose his own soul you think of people like selling their soul to the devil right and people use that phrase this is not talking about losing your soul and going to hell okay you're talking to believers and what you have to realize is that soul you know it talks about you shall save a soul from death talks about him James it's not always talking about like your spiritual being so to speak right soul is used in the fact of just talking about yourself right or your person okay and so a lot of times you know it's used in that that aspect but in context I mean if you look at if you cross reference when it says lose your own soul was talking about losing yourself okay why you're losing yourself in this world okay and go to 1st Corinthians chapter 9 because I just want to give you some passages on on what to talk about because notice it says or be a castaway that phrase is used in the Bible Paul talked about himself being a castaway okay so we're not talking about losing salvation here just because it talks about falling or being a castaway listen you know saved can mean different things like can be applying it doesn't always apply to eternal salvation right and so you know sometimes it talks about people being saved from death and it's a bad thing like I can show you passages in the Bible where God is angry because they saved someone alive right and so you got to look at context and seeing what's being said and so when it's talking about falling or being a castaway we're actually talking about believers that are that are falling out of it you know and the same thing with the sower we talked about that with the parable of the sower where they'll fall away it's talking about believers getting out getting out of the out of following Jesus but in 1st Corinthians chapter 9 verse 22 it says to the weak became I as weak that I might gain the weak I made all things to all men that I might by all means save some and this I do for the gospel's sake that I might be partaker thereof with you know ye not that they which run in a race run all but one receiveth the prize so run that you may obtain and every man that striveth from the mastery is temperate in all things now they that do it are they now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown but we an incorruptible I therefore so run not as uncertainly so fight I not as one that beat at the air but I keep under my body and bring it into subjection lest that by any means when I have preached to others I myself should be a castaway so how do you not be a castaway keep under your body bring into subjection so what is it talking about tonight yourself taking up the cross right you're denying your flesh you're denying your body right and if you don't what you gonna do you're gonna lose yourself you're gonna be a castaway okay because you're you're basically losing yourself to this life okay you're being choked by the pleasures of this life there's all kinds of different ways that the Bible talks about this so when we're talking about losing your soul you know if you gain the whole world what riches pleasures like the things of this life right you can gain the whole world but if you lose your own soul meaning like you've lost yourself you've lost everything you could have done for Christ because you didn't deny yourself and take up your cross and follow him okay so the contrast of taking up your cross and dying yourself is not denying yourself and not taking up the cross right and basically giving yourself to all the things of the world and gaining the whole world but you know what does that profit there is no profit in that okay and go to second Peter chapter 1 second Peter chapter 1 because yeah I mean salvation is the foundation that's the rock but is that where you want to stop well Jesus is calling us to follow him and and first our second Peter chapter 1 in verse 5 there notice it tells us hey we should add up add on to that faith right and it says in verse 5 it says and beside this giving all diligence add to your faith virtue and the virtue knowledge and the knowledge temperance and the temperance patience and the patience godliness and the godliness brotherly kindness and the brotherly kindness charity so you can kind of think of James chapter 2 right you know it says have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ the Lord of glory with respect to persons but have faith with works right why because it's profitable right that's a profitable faith what does the profit my brother no man say yes faith and have not works right so it's profitable and it's saying here in second Peter chapter 1 that hey you need to give all diligence to add to your faith and it gives this list of different things to add to it right it's not saying it's a part of faith it's not saying it's not faith if you don't have that does that make sense you're just adding on to it right and notice in verse 8 there says for if these things be in you in a bound they make you that you shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ so it's talking about being fruitful right so just like the parable of the sower they became unfruitful why because they were choked by the cares of this life but if you deny yourself if you do all these things and add to your faith virtue and virtue knowledge and all that then you won't be unfruitful now going on there it says in verse 9 it says but he that lacketh these things is blind and cannot see afar off and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sin so you're dealing with someone that has been purged with them old sins but it deals with the fact that they're dwelling in the old man right they're not dwelling in the new man it's like they forgot that they have a new man does that make sense they forgot that they have this new creature that who sores born of God doth not commit sin for a seed remain within him he cannot sin because he's born of God they forgot about the fact that they have this new man has been purged from their sins there because they're not walking in it and notice in verse 10 it says wherefore the rather brethren give diligence to make your calling and election sure for if you do these things you shall never fall that makes sense you won't be a castaway you won't fall if you do all these things notice in verse 11 for so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ this is where every word of God is important okay it doesn't say for so an entrance shall be ministered unto you into the everlasting kingdom right it says abundantly okay so we're talking about saving your life what are you talking about having a more abundant life oh I think Jesus actually said that in John chapter 10 go to John chapter 10 because he not only wants to give us life but the Bible says that he wants to give us life more abundantly and you may have wondered what does that mean right does someone have more eternal life than the next person this is talking about the fact of you know what did it say at the end of Matthew chapter 16 that when when the Son of Man shall come in his glory and his father and his holy angels then he shall reward every man according to his works so it's talking about reward it's talking about having abundant entrance and in John chapter 10 verse 10 it says the thief cometh not for but for to steal and to kill and to destroy I I am come that or I am come I'm sorry that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly right because there's a lot of people that get saved that we win people to Christ and they have life they have eternal life they don't have it more abundantly it's only gonna be a few it's gonna be the few of the same it's few people that get saved but then there's the few the remnant of the remnant of that that are gonna have life more abundantly because they actually picked up the cross they actually denied themselves and followed him okay so when it's talking about this it's talking about having rewards that's how the chapter ends right is the fact that hey we're talking about when Jesus comes he's gonna give to every man according to his works what are you talking about judgment see to Christ where all the things that were temporal are gonna be burned up and all those things that are eternal are gonna remain there's your abundant entrance into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and so I hope that makes sense you know people take this stuff way out of context they don't look at the rest of Bible with what it's being said but when you look at it actually makes a lot of sense that hey you know you don't want to be a cast away you don't want to fall away why it's not because you're you know you'd go to hell because you're gonna lose all the rewards you're gonna lose that abundant entrance that you could have had that's why it's saying constantly lay hold on eternal life why because you need to hold on to it so you don't lose your salvation no you need to lay hold on it let go of this life that makes sense so if you're let going of this life what do you do on this end right and if you let go of this what are you doing over here you're taking a hold of that life so lose this life gain this one as far as the abundance that you're dealing with you never have abundance in this life or you have abundance in this life and the smart person would be like all those parables that Jesus said that once he realizes that Pearl of great price as far as heaven as far as its eternal only a fool would want the stuff here in this life right because we're all gonna die and it's not gonna last forever that will but that takes faith maybe you can't see that and if everybody can see it guess what more people will be doing it so but we live by faith not by sight and you know that's where we're gonna be rewarded for that faith because you know we can't see any types of rewards that we've earned but listen you just gotta have faith that God is rewarding us and listen he won't he won't add that to the account of your salvation because your salvation is free anything that you do for the Lord he has to pay you because he's righteous and he's true and all that so hopefully all that stuff makes sense there's definitely some hard sayings you know in there where people have twisted that type of stuff and tried to make it say things that doesn't mean but when you cross-reference the rest of the Bible it really does make perfect sense as far as what it's talking about so let's end with the word prayer daily father we thank you for this evening and pray to you to be with us as we go back to work throughout the week and just pray to heal us from any sicknesses I know a lot of people are out and just dealing with sinuses dealing with headaches dealing with a lot of different things Lord just pray to heal us and Lord just help us to be back at the point of time and Lord just pray that you would lead us to people that need to get saved and Lord just help us to let go of this life and take hold on the life to come and Lord to have that abundant entrance into your kingdom Lord we love you and pray all this in Jesus Christ's name amen