Participants: Steve Wohlberg
Series Code: 17SCM
Program Code: 17SCM000013A
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00:14 Welcome to 3ABN Spring Camp Meeting 2017,
00:19 Exposing The Counterfeit. 00:25 Hello, and welcome to Spring Camp Meeting 2017. 00:29 Thank you so much for joining us 00:31 via the television, 00:33 can't forget radio, maybe even the internet. 00:35 But thank you for joining us. 00:36 Have you been blessed? I know I have. 00:39 Boy, do you hear the audience here? 00:40 I didn't even ask them yet. 00:41 Have you guys been blessed? 00:43 Yes. Wow. 00:45 I have too. 00:46 And, you know, the days are long in a good way. 00:50 And the nights are short in a good way, I guess, 00:53 I don't know. 00:54 I end up being tired in the day but that's okay 00:56 because it's a great thing. 00:57 And, you know, we just appreciate each one of you 00:59 being here and our live audience here at 3ABN. 01:02 But thank you for joining us. 01:03 I know, I wish that each one of you could join us 01:05 but I know sometimes you can't. 01:07 But thank you for joining us via the air waves. 01:08 It's always a blessing. 01:10 You know, my dad and I like to backpack. 01:13 And when we're backpacking in Kentucky a few weeks ago, 01:17 and we ate our lunch on the log of cedar, 01:22 you know, sandwiches and stuff on the log. 01:24 We took our packs off because we were tired. 01:26 And after we had packed up all of our stuff, 01:29 I noticed on the log this little thing 01:32 just crawling along, you know what it was? 01:34 There's a little ant. I heard somebody say that. 01:36 There's a little ant. 01:37 And do you know what he was carrying? 01:39 Part of my lunch. 01:42 It was just a little crumb that I left from a granola bar 01:44 or something. 01:45 But do you know the lesson I'd learnt from that? 01:47 The little ant wasn't just sitting there eating the crumb. 01:51 You know what he was doing? 01:54 He was carrying along. 01:55 So I can just imagine 01:56 he's carrying it to his little ant family. 01:59 And they were all going to share this together. 02:01 And I think the thing with camping is, you know, 02:03 we get spiritually fed here. 02:04 But the key is we take back those morsels, right? 02:08 Amen. 02:09 And share them with our families wherever they are, 02:11 whether they are Seventh-day Adventist, 02:13 Christian or even just someone you've never met before 02:15 or seen before but maybe in Walmart 02:17 or something, that's the key. 02:19 And as we share, we'll grow, right, spiritually. 02:23 And so with camping imparts a spiritual high, isn't it? 02:25 But we have to make sure that we go and share 02:28 what Jesus says, give into us 02:29 through all these wonderful speakers. 02:31 And this morning we have 02:33 evangelist, speaker, director, Steven Wohlberg. 02:36 How many of you are familiar with Steven Wohlberg? 02:38 Oh, yeah, me too. 02:40 And they have a little studio up toward the Canadian border 02:44 in the state of Idaho. 02:46 I've never been there, but he tells me it's beautiful. 02:49 He has two children, Seth who is 12, Abbey 9, 02:53 and of course, his wife, Kristin. 02:55 And I ask Pastor Steve, I said, 02:57 "So what's the purpose of White Horse Media?" 02:59 Which is what he's speaker, director of. 03:01 And I like this. 03:02 He said, "Its purpose is to prepare others 03:05 for Christ's soon return." 03:08 Well, isn't that great? 03:09 Hopefully all of us... 03:10 That's our mission to hasten Christ's soon return. 03:12 Before he comes and speaks 03:14 we have some music by Celestine Barry 03:17 and her daughter Farrah. 03:19 And the song that they are going to be sharing with us is, 03:21 "Lift up your hands". 03:22 We appreciate both of them very much. 03:24 Farrah and her mother, they are members of our 03:26 local Thompsonville Seventh-day Adventist Church, 03:28 our local family here. 03:29 But thank you so much for sharing. 03:31 After the music, the next voice you'll hear 03:33 will be Pastor Steve Wohlberg. 04:00 Life is not all that bad 04:06 My friend 04:09 Hmmm 04:12 If you believe in yourself 04:15 If you believe there's Someone 04:19 Who walks through life with you 04:23 You'll never be alone 04:28 Just learn to reach out 04:31 And open your heart 04:35 Lift up your hands to God 04:40 And He'll show you the way 04:47 And He said, "Cast your burdens upon Me 04:54 Those who are heavily laden 05:00 Come to Me, all of you who are tired 05:05 Of carrying heavy load 05:11 For the yoke I will give you is easy 05:17 And my burden is light 05:23 Come to Me 05:27 And I will give you rest 05:36 When you feel the world 05:40 Is tumblin' down on you 05:47 And you have no one 05:49 No one that you can hold on to 05:57 Just face the rising sun 06:02 And you'll see hope 06:04 And there's no need to run 06:09 Lift up your hands to God 06:13 And He'll make you feel all right 06:20 And He said, "Cast your burdens upon Me 06:27 Those who are heavily laden 06:33 Come to Me, all of you who are tired 06:38 Of carrying heavy load 06:44 For the yoke I will give you is easy 06:49 And my burden is light 06:56 Come to Me 06:59 And I will give you rest 07:07 And He said, Cast your burdens upon Me 07:13 Those who are heavily laden 07:19 Come to Me 07:21 All of you who are tired 07:24 Of carrying heavy load 07:30 For the yoke I will give you is easy 07:36 And my burden is light 07:42 Come to Me 07:46 And I will give you 07:52 Rest 07:58 I'll give you rest 08:17 Thank you. 08:23 All right. Hello, 3ABN. 08:25 Hello. 08:27 3ABN family. It's great to be here. 08:29 What a blessing and an honor and a privilege. 08:32 Greg mentioned the little ant who took his food 08:35 when he was backpacking and brought it to his family. 08:38 And as he mentioned, I'm a family man. 08:40 And maybe I'll look at the camera, 08:43 and hello, Seth, hello, Abbey, 08:45 hello, Kristin, if you're watching. 08:47 From North Idaho, hello from dad. 08:50 God is good. Yeah. 08:53 I want to thank James Rafferty 08:54 for filling in for me this morning. 08:57 I had some travel woes yesterday. 08:59 I was supposed to speak at 9:30 today. 09:01 But we had some delayed flights, 09:05 and anyway, it wasn't my doing 09:09 but it was weather and the airlines 09:10 and got into St. Louis last night 09:15 at around midnight, 09:16 the car rental place was closed. 09:20 But we knew that in advance and so somebody from... 09:22 Bob from 3ABN came and pick me up 09:24 and got me to the hotel somewhere around two. 09:29 And I just needed a little more time 09:31 to just get myself organized. 09:33 And my good friend, James Rafferty 09:36 decided to switch with me. 09:37 So that was a blessing. 09:40 A big blessing. 09:42 So again, it's great to be here. 09:43 If you have a Bible, 09:45 I invite you to open up to the Book of Matthew 16. 09:52 And you can see my talk behind me. 09:55 It's Peter the rock upon which the church was built. 09:58 I'll make a confession. 10:00 This is the first time I've spoken on this subject. 10:03 So I'm definitely gonna be relying heavily on the Lord. 10:06 I've written a little pocketbook on this topic 10:09 that's just coming out. 10:10 It's called "Is God's Church Built on Peter?" 10:13 I'll talk more about this as we go along. 10:17 This is a big subject, bigger than appears on the surface. 10:22 And so we need to pray. 10:25 I know that the devil doesn't want me 10:27 to give me this presentation 10:28 but praise Jesus Christ that the Lord 10:31 is stronger than the devil. 10:33 Amen. 10:34 We always need to remember that, don't we? 10:35 Amen. 10:37 In the middle of the trials and the struggles of life. 10:39 And as we get closer to the Lord's coming, 10:41 I tell you things are going to get even more intense. 10:44 But Jesus is very powerful. 10:46 All power is given to Him in heaven and on earth. 10:49 And what a wonderful day it will be 10:52 when He finally returns 10:53 and His face is shining like the sun. 10:56 Hallelujah. 10:57 So I like to kneel before we start. 11:00 We've got a lot to do. 11:01 So just bow your heads and let's pray. 11:06 Dear Father in heaven, this is Your time. 11:08 Thank You for bringing me here safely, 11:10 in spite of my delayed flights. 11:12 Here I am. 11:13 And we pray for Your blessing, for the Holy Spirit, 11:16 for Your power to anoint this message 11:19 and to open all of our hearts 11:21 that we will see Jesus as our savior. 11:25 Please help me. 11:28 I'm just flesh and blood. 11:30 In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 11:32 Amen. 11:34 Amen. Okay. 11:37 Is Peter the rock upon which the church is built? 11:42 The Roman Catholic Church is the oldest, 11:46 it is the largest, it is the wealthiest, 11:50 and it is the most politically active, 11:52 and the most powerful church on planet earth right now 11:56 with approximately 1.29 billion members. 12:01 This moment as we all know, 12:03 the leader of the Roman church is Pope Francis. 12:07 In 2013, Time Magazine selected Pope Francis 12:10 as its person of the year. 12:13 In June of 2015, 12:15 the Vatican released his encyclical on climate change 12:18 which is now guiding government leaders, 12:21 politicians, environment, environmentalists, 12:24 and scientists around the globe. 12:27 In September of 2015, 12:28 Pope Francis addressed the United States Congress, 12:32 a joint session of Congress. 12:34 He also spoke before the United Nations 12:36 and in Philadelphia. 12:38 He is often referred to even by media 12:41 as the "Holy Father" and as "His holiness." 12:44 I'm sure you've heard those phrases that are often used. 12:48 It's amazing to discover that Pope Francis 12:52 has now become the most popular person 12:58 on planet earth 13:00 above any other politician, 13:02 talk show host, musician or sports hero. 13:06 Wow. 13:07 Can you imagine being the most popular human on the planet? 13:12 That's a lot of... 13:15 That's just a lot to deal with for anybody. 13:18 On May 24, President Trump met with Pope Francis 13:22 during his overseas tour to Saudi Arabia, 13:27 he met with the Palestinians, 13:29 he met with the Israelis, he met with Muslim leadership, 13:31 and then he went to the Vatican. 13:33 And he met with the pope 13:35 in his apostolic palace in Rome. 13:38 One news commentator describing that meeting 13:43 said that it was between possibly 13:46 the two most powerful men 13:50 in the world. 13:54 Shortly thereafter, President Trump's wife Melania 13:58 after meeting with the Trump, 14:00 she decided to go public with the fact 14:02 that she is a Roman Catholic. 14:04 And this was reported by news agencies 14:07 around the world. 14:09 It's very interesting 14:10 that President Trump is a Presbyterian, 14:13 his wife is Catholic, 14:14 his daughter Ivanka is Jewish. 14:17 She keeps the Sabbath. 14:19 And in his circle of advisers, 14:21 he also has Dr. Ben Carson who is a Seventh-day Adventist. 14:25 So that's quite a group. 14:28 And it's just going to be very interesting to see 14:30 how all of this plays out in the days ahead. 14:34 I don't think any of us know which decisions, 14:37 you know, individuals are going to make 14:38 during the final events. 14:40 None of us know. 14:41 And for the record, I want to make it very clear 14:44 that nothing that I say in this talk 14:46 is designed to be any kind of an attack 14:50 upon individual Catholic people. 14:52 That's for sure. 14:54 There are many, many, many, many 14:57 sincere godly Roman Catholics 15:00 who are gonna be in the Kingdom of God. 15:01 I believe that with all my heart. 15:03 God loves us all. 15:06 And personally, I believe He loves the pope too. 15:09 Now I know some people would question that 15:11 but I don't. 15:12 I believe that He loves him and He loves everybody. 15:15 He loves everybody. 15:17 The big issue that we're gonna explore today 15:19 has to do with the issue of truth 15:21 and the issue of counterfeit 15:24 which is what this whole Spring Camp Meeting 15:25 is all about, right? 15:27 Have you been enjoying this camp meeting? 15:28 Yeah. It's pretty exciting. 15:30 Yeah. Pretty exciting. 15:31 A Fox News article that was published May 24, 2017 15:37 referring to President Trump's meeting with Pope Francis 15:42 referred and I'll quote to Francis's quote, 15:45 "2013 elevation 15:49 to the throne of Peter." 15:53 That was right in Fox News. 15:56 His elevation to the throne of Peter 16:00 when he became pope. 16:03 It's amazing to realize that Pope Francis's global influence 16:10 and his global authority 16:14 as the most popular person on planet earth 16:18 who meets with the president of the United States. 16:20 Vatican has diplomatic relations 16:22 with approximately 180 countries 16:25 around the world 16:27 that his influence and his mystique 16:33 as the quote, 16:34 "Holy Father and as His Holiness" 16:38 is rooted in the Roman Catholic churches 16:42 interpretation of primarily 16:46 one Bible verse. 16:50 One Bible text which is Matthew 16:18. 16:56 Matthew 16:18 17:00 where Jesus Christ said these words. 17:03 He said, "I also say to you that you are Peter." 17:07 He was talking to Peter. 17:10 "You are Peter and on this rock I will build my church 17:14 and the gates of Hades or hell shall not prevail against it." 17:20 These are the words of Jesus. 17:22 Now the Roman Catholic Church interprets this verse 17:27 to mean that Peter is the rock 17:31 upon which the church is built, 17:33 God's church is built. 17:35 And this comes from official Catholic sources 17:37 from their 1994 Catholic Catechism, 17:41 so this is no secret that they believe that 17:44 when Jesus was here on earth with His 12 disciples 17:47 that He made Peter the rock and the head of His church. 17:54 He made Peter the first pope. 17:58 And He gave Peter tremendous spiritual authority. 18:02 He gave him the keys of the kingdom of heaven. 18:05 And that this authority 18:08 according to the Roman Church's interpretation of this text 18:11 and the verse after it, 18:12 this authority is transferable from Peter to the bishops 18:19 and the leaders of Rome 18:20 to the popes of Rome down throughout Christian history, 18:25 all the way down to the current Pope Francis. 18:29 That's why Fox News said that Pope Francis 18:32 was elevated in 2013 to the throne of Peter. 18:39 So that's the idea. 18:41 That's the concept. 18:42 Now the question that we are going to ask today, 18:45 and we're going to look at from our Bible 18:47 is this interpretation of this passage correct. 18:51 Is the Roman Catholic view 18:54 which is shared by over a billion people on this planet, 18:58 sincere people, godly people, 19:00 is this really right 19:02 or is it possible that this is a counterfeit? 19:09 That's what this camp meeting is all about, right? 19:11 Truth or counterfeit. 19:12 Exposing the counterfeit. 19:14 If it is true, then when Pope Francis speaks, 19:19 we should all listen. 19:21 If it's not true, 19:24 then somebody needs to enlighten him 19:31 and others as to the facts. 19:33 So that's the issue. 19:35 So let's go to Matthew 16 19:36 and let's take a look at our Bibles. 19:38 Matthew 16. 19:41 The whole context is in verses 13 to 20. 19:46 So let's take a look at the Word of God. 19:50 See what the Bible says. Sound good? 19:52 Yes. 19:54 See how big this issue is. 19:56 It's very big. 19:59 Verse 13. 20:01 The Bible says, then, I'm sorry, it says, 20:04 "When Jesus came into the region 20:06 of Caesarea Philippi," 20:09 which was a region northwest of Jerusalem, 20:14 He was with His disciples and He said to them, He said, 20:17 "He asked his disciples," and He said, 20:20 he asked them a question. 20:22 He said, "Who do men say that I the son of man am?" 20:28 That was the question that Jesus asked His disciple. 20:30 Now point number one. 20:32 Notice carefully that this question reveals 20:36 that the issue that Jesus is raising 20:40 is His own identity, right? 20:43 He's asking His disciples, "Who do men... 20:46 What are you hearing from others? 20:49 Who do they think that I am? 20:53 And we don't know exactly which disciple said what. 20:56 But in verse 14, so they said, "Some say, John the Baptist, 21:02 some Elijah, and others Jeremiah 21:05 or one of the prophets. 21:07 That's what men are saying about you, Jesus." 21:10 That's what the disciple said. 21:12 Now in the next verse, Jesus gets a little more pointed 21:15 and then He said to them, 21:18 "But who do you say that I am?" 21:24 And that's a big question 21:26 and once again I want you to realize 21:28 that the focus of Jesus at this point 21:31 is on his own identity. 21:33 It's who is He? 21:35 Who do the disciples think that He is? 21:38 And let me ask you who do you think that Jesus is. 21:44 This question has eternal consequences 21:48 for each one of us. 21:49 What do we believe about Jesus Christ Himself? 21:54 Big, big, big question for the whole world 21:57 to contemplate. 21:58 Who really is Jesus? 22:02 Well, in verse 16, 22:06 Peter gives an answer. 22:10 Simon Peter answered and he said, 22:13 and this is a wonderful answer. 22:16 It's the truth not a counterfeit. 22:20 Simon Peter answered and he said, "You are" who? 22:27 "You are the Christ, 22:29 the Son of the living God." 22:34 Wow. 22:36 That's a marvelous answer. 22:38 And Peter was telling the truth. 22:40 And in fact, when you read the next verse, 22:43 we discover that Peter really couldn't take credit 22:47 for giving Jesus the right answer. 22:50 That this was not anything 22:52 that he should boast about that he should, 22:54 you know, pat himself on the back about 22:57 and think that he was special about 22:59 because in the very next verse, 23:01 Jesus answered and said to him, He said, "Blessed are you, 23:06 Simon Barjona, son of Jonah, 23:09 for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you 23:14 but My Father who is in heaven." 23:19 Isn't that tremendous? 23:21 Jesus said, Peter, you've given me an answer 23:24 that is an answer that comes from God. 23:29 It's a revelation that comes from my father 23:34 in heaven through you. 23:36 It's not just your flesh, 23:38 your weak sinful human mortal flesh 23:45 that has taught you this. 23:47 It's my Father, it's God Himself. 23:52 And these are revelations that we need, wouldn't you agree? 23:55 We cannot afford to trust human flesh. 24:00 Flesh and blood. 24:03 Flesh and blood is weak. 24:07 Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God 24:11 and we get that knowledge through revelation. 24:16 Through revelation from the Holy Spirit and from God. 24:20 Now in the next verse, verse 18, 24:23 here we get to the key controversial text. 24:27 Verse 18, Jesus said, 24:29 "And I also say to you and now with you as Peter," 24:33 He is talking to Peter, 24:35 "That you are Peter 24:39 and on this rock I will build My church 24:45 and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it." 24:52 Now here is the issue. 24:55 Here is the core issue upon which the authority, 24:59 the spiritual authority of Pope Francis rises or falls. 25:05 It's either upheld or it collapses. 25:10 And it's based on the core issue 25:13 of who really is the rock. 25:17 Is the rock Peter? 25:19 Did Jesus Christ build His church on Peter? 25:21 Is the authority that Jesus gave to Peter 25:24 transferred down throughout history 25:27 through Roman popes to the present Pope Francis? 25:30 Or is the rock, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself? 25:37 Who is the rock? 25:39 Well, let's start out by just looking a little closer 25:43 at the sentence structure. 25:47 Verse 18, Jesus said, 25:50 "I say to you that you are Peter 25:53 and on this rock..." 25:55 Now notice, Jesus did not say, I say to you that you are Peter 26:00 and on you I will build My church. 26:04 Jesus did not say that. 26:07 He did not say on you I will build My church. 26:10 He said on, "On this rock I will build My church." 26:16 And as we look at this more carefully, 26:19 His statement on this rock 26:21 implies something separate from Peter. 26:25 He said, you are Peter and on this rock, 26:28 I will build my church. 26:30 Now the Greek word for Peter, 26:33 the New Testament was originally written in Greek. 26:36 The original Greek word for Peter is Petros. 26:42 And the word for rock is a different Greek word 26:44 and it's Petra, Petros, Peter, Petra, rock. 26:50 And if you look at Strong's Concordance, 26:52 this is how these Greek words are defined. 26:56 Petros is defined for Peter is defined as a stone or pebble 27:02 such as a small rock found along a pathway. 27:06 Petra means "A huge mass of rock, 27:11 a bolder such as a projecting cliff." 27:16 And you can see that 27:18 in the name of the city of Petra. 27:21 Ever heard of the city of Petra? 27:22 It's a city in the Middle East 27:24 that comes out of a massive outcrop of rock. 27:29 The city of Petra, Petra means massive, 27:33 immovable outcrop of rock. 27:37 So we have Jesus saying, you are Peter, 27:40 Petros meaning a pebble, and on this rock Petra, 27:46 I will built My church. 27:48 Now Roman Catholic theologians have definite answers 27:54 to that line of reasoning. 27:57 Roman Catholic theologians 27:58 and this is right on many websites, 28:00 many statements. 28:01 What their response to this, 28:03 this distinction between Peter and the rock is this. 28:07 They'll say, "Yes, it's true that the Greek words 28:12 Petros and Petra are different." 28:15 They'll acknowledge that but then they will say, 28:20 "But Jesus, when He was here, 28:25 He spoke Aramaic, 28:30 and in Aramaic 28:34 the word for Peter is Kepha. 28:38 And the word for rock is Kepha. 28:42 And so Catholics would interpret this to mean, 28:45 since Jesus spoke Aramaic 28:47 what He really spoke was you are Kepha 28:51 and on this Kepha, I will build My church. 28:56 And their conclusion is that Peter is the rock 29:00 based on the Aramaic argument. 29:04 Now here is my response to the Aramaic argument. 29:09 My response is yes, Jesus probably did speak Aramaic 29:14 when He was here. 29:17 We know that He also spoke Hebrew. 29:19 We know that from Acts 26:14, where He spoke to Paul, 29:23 the Bible says in the Hebrew language. 29:27 He probably spoke Latin 29:29 which was the main Roman language 29:31 and when Jesus was alone with Pontius Pilate 29:33 and they had a conversation. 29:35 Jesus probably spoke Latin to him. 29:37 He probably spoke Greek as well 29:40 which was a very common language 29:41 in the Roman Empire. 29:43 When Jesus at that time... 29:44 When Jesus died, if you remember, 29:46 there was a sign that was placed over His head. 29:49 Do you remember that? 29:50 Pilate had that sign put up there. 29:53 This is from John 19:19 and 20. 29:56 And it says that this was written in the Hebrew, 30:01 and the Greek, and the Latin that this is Jesus of Nazareth, 30:06 the King of the Jews. 30:09 So you've got Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. 30:11 It's interesting that Pilate didn't put Aramaic 30:14 on there as well. 30:16 I don't know why but he didn't. 30:18 So the question is 30:20 what language was Jesus speaking 30:23 when He spoke to the disciples when He said, you are Peter. 30:28 What language? 30:31 Do you want to know the truth? 30:33 Yes. I'll tell you the truth. 30:36 The truth is that we don't know 30:39 because we weren't there. 30:45 Nobody really knows 30:49 because nobody now living was there. 30:53 But here is something that we do know 30:56 that we know for sure. 30:58 And that is that the New Testament text 31:04 was originally written in Greek. 31:08 We know that and we also know from 2 Timothy 3:16 31:14 that it is the text, 31:16 it is the scripture that is inspired by God. 31:22 2 Timothy 3:16 says, 31:23 "All scripture is given by inspiration of God 31:28 and is profitable for doctrine, reproof or correction, 31:30 and for instruction and righteousness." 31:32 So we shouldn't build our case 31:35 on what language Jesus may or may not have spoken 31:40 because we don't know. 31:42 We should build our case 31:46 on the Word of the Lord, 31:50 the Word of God. 31:51 Jesus Christ always followed the scripture. 31:56 And we do know that the scripture 31:59 makes a distinction between Petros, 32:03 pebble and Petra, boulder. 32:07 We know that the text makes that distinction. 32:09 And Jesus always followed scripture. 32:12 He was very, very careful 32:14 in everything He did to follow the Word. 32:16 In the same book of Matthew, 32:18 if we go back 12 chapters earlier, 32:21 when Jesus was in the wilderness, 32:24 fighting with the devil, not with fists, 32:27 but He was in a conflict, 32:29 a fierce conflict with the enemy of souls. 32:34 And Jesus resisted Satan's infernal temptations. 32:39 And He resisted it how? What did He say? 32:42 He said, it is written, Matthew 4:4, 32:48 "It is written: Man shall not live by bread alone 32:51 but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." 32:55 Jesus upheld, it is written, He upheld the text, 32:59 He upheld the scripture as inspired by God. 33:03 Now what does the scripture outside of Matthew 16:18, 33:08 what does the scripture say about the rock? 33:12 Who is the rock according to the Bible? 33:17 Psalms 18:2. 33:21 Psalms 18:2. 33:25 David tells us 33:30 who the rock is in Psalms 18:2. 33:37 He said, "The Lord is my rock 33:43 and my fortress, 33:44 and my deliverer, my God, my strength 33:48 in whom I will trust." 33:50 We can trust the Lord, the rock. 33:54 Now turn to Isaiah 44. 33:56 This is a very powerful text. 34:00 Isaiah 44:18. 34:06 No, verse 8. 34:12 Isaiah 44:8. 34:14 This is God talking here. 34:18 He says, the Lord says, "Do not fear nor be afraid. 34:21 Have I not told you from that time and declared it, 34:26 you are My witnesses." 34:30 His people are to witness to Him 34:33 and notice what He says about Himself. 34:35 "You are My witnesses. 34:37 Is there a God besides Me?" 34:41 Indeed, there is no other what? 34:47 There is no other rock, no other. 34:53 I know not one. 34:56 So here the Lord is talking about Himself. 34:59 He says you're My witnesses to this fact. 35:01 He says there is no other rock but Me. 35:05 And God says, I don't know of any other. 35:09 It's just Me. It's Me alone. 35:12 Now think about this. 35:14 If Jesus when He spoke to Peter in Matthew 16:18 and said, 35:19 "I say to you that you are Peter and on this rock, 35:23 I will build My church." 35:25 If Jesus meant that Peter was now the rock, 35:31 then Jesus Christ would be denying the Word of God. 35:37 He'd be denying the scripture. 35:39 He'd be denying what is written. 35:43 And if He denies the scripture and denies the Word of God, 35:48 then He would be committing a sin. 35:51 And if Jesus committed a sin, 35:53 then His perfect life is marred. 35:58 And then guess what? 36:00 Guess what the ramifications 36:03 and the consequences of that would be to you, 36:07 to me, to every Roman Catholic, 36:10 to every Protestant, to every Baptist, 36:14 to every Jew, 36:18 to everybody all over the world, 36:22 the consequence whether people believe in Jesus or not? 36:26 The consequences would mean 36:28 that the entire plan of salvation 36:32 has fallen apart. 36:35 And that nobody has any hope 36:39 even if people don't believe in Jesus, 36:41 hopefully, they can become believers in Jesus. 36:44 But if that was true, if Jesus was denying the Word, 36:47 then there would be no hope for anybody 36:50 according to the scripture. 36:53 But we know that according to the scripture, 36:56 that's not the case. 36:58 Let's go back to Matthew 16. 37:00 According to the scripture, there is only one rock. 37:04 And according to the scripture, 37:06 Jesus Christ lived a perfect life. 37:10 He never said anything contrary to God's Word. 37:14 He was never wrong. He never made a mistake. 37:17 And at the end of His life, 37:19 He gave His life on a cruel cross 37:21 for the sins of the whole world. 37:24 So as the Bible says, 37:26 He is the sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. 37:31 And as James mentioned earlier, we have life, 37:35 all of us have life because of the sacrifice of Christ. 37:41 Now when you go back to Matthew 16, 37:43 it's very clear that the entire context 37:48 of these verses and of verse 18 and 19, 37:52 the whole context is the identity of who? 37:58 It's Jesus, right. 37:59 Jesus said, who do men say that I am? 38:02 Who do you say that I am? 38:04 Peter gave the right answer. 38:06 And Jesus said, Peter, you are blessed. 38:09 You're blessed. 38:11 You didn't get that right answer 38:12 from your own weak flesh and blood. 38:15 This answer has come from God. 38:18 It's come from My Father, it's a revelation through you 38:23 and it is the truth. 38:26 Think about it. 38:29 Why would Jesus Christ, 38:32 the Son of the living God 38:36 shift gears in Matthew 16:18 38:40 and decide that He's gonna build 38:43 His entire church 38:46 on a man that's not Him, 38:50 on a weak, frail, 38:52 erring, sinful, fallen, mortal man. 38:59 Why would Jesus do that? 39:02 It doesn't make any sense that Jesus would do that. 39:07 And if you look back at the text, Jesus said, 39:10 "On this rock, I will build My church 39:12 and the gates of Hades 39:14 or hell shall not prevail against it." 39:19 Shall not prevail against My church. 39:23 Isn't that a great text? 39:26 Is our church under fire? 39:28 Yes. 39:30 Is God's church under attack today? 39:32 Yes. 39:34 Is God's church going down? 39:36 No. 39:38 Does God's church have a foundation? 39:40 Yes. 39:43 Are the gates of hell waging war 39:46 against the people of God today? 39:48 Yes. No doubt. 39:51 And where is our trust? 39:53 Is it in flesh and blood? 39:55 No. Are we trusting in man? 39:58 No. 40:00 You know, there is a bigger issue here, isn't there? 40:03 There is the Peter issue, there is the Catholic issue, 40:06 and then there is your issue, and then there is my issue, 40:10 and there is the church issue. 40:12 This is a huge, huge issue. 40:15 And Jesus said that the gates of hell would not prevail 40:20 against His church that is built on the rock. 40:24 Amen. That is built on the rock. 40:26 Now, the gates of hell did prevail sometimes, 40:31 numerous times against Peter. 40:35 Did, in fact if you go down, we don't have really time 40:38 to read this whole thing right now. 40:39 But in verses 21 to 23, 40:42 Jesus right after this told His disciples, 40:45 He was going to Jerusalem to die. 40:47 And then Peter who may have been 40:49 feeling a little self-exalted 40:51 because he gave the right answer, 40:54 then told Jesus in verse 22, he said no, 40:59 he began to rebuke the Lord. 41:01 Lord, you're not going to Jerusalem to die. 41:04 We're gonna defend you. 41:05 What if Jesus wouldn't have gone to Jerusalem to die, 41:08 the whole plan of salvation would have collapsed. 41:13 And what did Jesus say? 41:14 He turned and He said to who? 41:16 Peter. He said to Peter. 41:21 He said, get behind Me, Satan, 41:27 you're an offense to Me, 41:30 for you are not mindful of the things of God 41:34 but of the things of men. 41:37 So Peter at this point was not acting very rock-like. 41:42 That's for sure. 41:44 He actually became a mouthpiece for the devil 41:49 because he was following his own selfish ways 41:54 and he couldn't imagine 41:55 that his master would end up on a cross outside Jerusalem. 42:00 So he tried to prevent Jesus from doing this 42:04 and he became a mouthpiece for the devil. 42:08 In Matthew 26:74, we know that Peter ended up 42:13 denying the Lord three times 42:15 before the rooster crowed three times. 42:17 He denied Him three times. Right? 42:22 And then he went out and he wept bitterly 42:25 because the Holy Spirit convicted him 42:27 of what he had done. 42:28 He had denied the Lord. 42:33 But thankfully, Jesus is very good and very patient, 42:40 and very forgiving 42:42 and very kind, and very merciful. 42:45 And the Lord forgave Peter for his sin. 42:50 And he continued to work in his life 42:52 and to change his life. 42:54 And on the day of Pentecost, 42:55 the Holy Spirit came down with power 42:58 and used Peter to lift up the cross, 43:01 to lift up the cross. 43:03 Peter had learnt his lesson. 43:07 The Bible is very clear 43:13 and from Isaiah 44:8, 43:17 and there are other verses that there is only one rock. 43:22 There is only one rock. 43:24 And that is the rock of ages. 43:26 And the rock of ages 43:28 is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. 43:34 He is the Christ. 43:36 He is the Son of the living God. 43:40 Nobody else is like Him. 43:44 Nobody else is like Him. 43:45 And as we move into stormy times 43:49 and into struggles 43:51 where the devil is turning everything loose 43:54 against God's church, 43:57 we need to know where the rock is 43:59 upon which we stand. 44:01 Amen. Amen. Are you with me? 44:03 We cannot afford to trust in flesh and blood. 44:08 In 1 Corinthians 10:4, 44:11 Paul talks about the rock. 44:15 And if you recall who he says the rock is. 44:20 1 Corinthians 10:4, 44:22 he talked about the Israelites traveling in the wilderness 44:26 and about the rock that they drank from. 44:32 And in 1 Corinthians 10:4, 44:35 Paul looking back through the enlightenment 44:38 of the Holy Spirit. 44:40 He said, "They drank from that spiritual drink," 44:43 the same spiritual drink. 44:45 "They drank of that spiritual rock 44:47 that followed them." 44:48 And that rock was who? 44:50 Christ. It was Christ. That's right. 44:52 And guess what Greek word Paul used for rock 44:57 in 1 Corinthians 10:4. 45:01 It was Petra. 45:03 Same Greek word that Matthew used in Matthew 16:18. 45:09 Petra, an immovable, 45:12 massive boulder that cannot be shaken. 45:17 In 1 Peter 2:8, 45:20 Peter also himself talked about the rock. 45:26 1 Peter 2:8 45:31 and I'll show you what he said. 45:33 He is quoting the Old Testament. 45:42 And he talks about a stone of stumbling 45:45 and a rock of offence. 45:49 And who is that rock? 45:51 It's very clear from the scripture. 45:54 Verse 4 says, "Coming to Him, 45:55 to Jesus as to a living stone indeed rejected by man 46:00 but chosen by God as precious." 46:03 And it is the Lord Jesus Christ. 46:04 And guess what word Peter used in verse 8 for rock? 46:09 Guess what Greek word? 46:12 Petra, meaning a massive outcrop of rock, a boulder. 46:19 Now let's go back to Matthew 16. 46:21 I can see my time is moving. 46:22 I've got about 11 minutes left until I am done. 46:27 So I've got a lot of things to share with you 46:29 and I don't really have time to go into all the details. 46:34 This little book, "Is God's church built on Peter" 46:37 has scriptures, background, history, quotations. 46:41 And it is loaded with information. 46:44 So I'm just gonna give you just a few of the highlights. 46:48 In verse 19 Jesus said, 46:52 "I will give to you" referring to Peter, 46:55 "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven 46:59 and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven 47:01 and whatever you lose on earth will be loosed in heaven." 47:07 Now, the Catholic Church believes 47:10 that Peter exclusively 47:12 was given the keys of the kingdom 47:14 and that those keys have been transferred 47:19 from Peter to the bishops of Rome, 47:21 to the popes of Rome down throughout history 47:24 and that Pope Francis himself has the keys. 47:27 When you compare this verse with Matthew 18:18, 47:32 Jesus is talking to all the disciples 47:35 and He uses the same language to all of them. 47:39 He says, "Assuredly, I say to you, 47:41 whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven 47:44 and whatever you lose on earth will be loosed in heaven." 47:47 Same words in Matthew 16:19, He addressed Peter. 47:54 In Matthew 18:18, He used the same words 47:58 not just for Peter but for all of the disciples. 48:03 What are the keys of the kingdom of heaven? 48:07 What are those keys? 48:10 Again, I don't have time to go into a lot of text 48:12 but if you look at John 6:63, 48:19 Jesus said, "The words that I speak to you, 48:26 these words are spirit and they are life." 48:30 In this little book, "Is God's church built on Peter", 48:32 I have other scriptures in here 48:34 that builds a case solidly that the keys of the kingdom 48:38 are none other than the words 48:40 of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. 48:43 Jesus' words open and close heaven. 48:46 Jesus' words can raise the dead to life. 48:49 Jesus' words can change our hearts. 48:53 Jesus' words are powerful. 48:55 And I have learnt through a lot of trials, 48:59 and ups and downs, 49:00 and ins and outs of being a Christian 49:02 and being a Seventh-day Adventist minister, 49:04 I have learned, 49:05 the Lord has taught me a big lesson. 49:09 And that lesson is that I cannot afford 49:11 to trust in flesh and blood. 49:14 I cannot afford to trust in the things of men. 49:17 I cannot afford to trust in the sayings of men, 49:20 the ways of men, the opinions of men, 49:22 the theories of men, 49:24 the teachings of men, the interpretations of men, 49:27 ultimately, my hope must be built on Jesus Christ 49:32 and on His own Words, His words. 49:36 It was Jesus who said, I give to you the keys, 49:39 those were His own words that He was speaking. 49:42 His words are powerful. 49:44 His words open the gates of paradise. 49:50 I'm hoping that this little book, 49:52 "Is God's church built on Peter", 49:53 that this will be a missionary book 49:56 to reach some 49:59 of the 1.29 billion Roman Catholics 50:05 in this world who are very sincere, 50:08 who are very honest, who are, many of them are very godly, 50:12 and who need a closer relationship with Jesus Christ. 50:16 For the 3ABN audience, 50:17 this book is available from 3ABN. 50:20 It just came out. 50:21 It is now actually in the process 50:23 of being translated into Italian. 50:26 So that it can be given out freely in Rome. 50:33 And I'm hoping that somebody 50:35 will give this to Melania Trump. 50:38 And maybe even give it to Pope Francis. 50:42 You know, there's a lot of people out there 50:44 that are very sincere, 50:45 that are searching, that need more light. 50:49 In fact, we all need the Lord Jesus Christ. 50:53 I need Him. You need Him. 50:55 Everyone needs Him. 50:57 If you go back to Matthew 16... 51:06 after verse 19, verse 20 says, 51:09 right after He finished His words, Jesus says, 51:13 "Then He commanded His disciples 51:15 that they should tell no one that He 51:21 was Jesus the Christ." 51:24 So it starts with the question of who He is, what men say, 51:28 what the disciple say, then it goes to the rock, 51:31 and then it concludes with the statement 51:34 that He is Jesus the Christ. 51:36 He is the Christ, the Son of the living God. 51:38 Now Jesus told His disciples at that time 51:40 not to spread it around because at that time, 51:43 He didn't want to create a lot of opposition 51:45 from Pharisees unnecessarily. 51:49 By that time, where people should keep it quiet is over. 51:55 Now we need to know. 51:58 We all need to know. 52:00 You need to know. I need to know. 52:02 The world needs to know that Jesus is the Christ, 52:05 the Son of the living God. 52:07 And He is the rock of our salvation. 52:09 He is the only hope that we have. 52:12 And He is a solid rock. 52:14 And His words, His own words 52:17 and the text what is written is a power 52:22 that opens the doors of eternity. 52:26 We all need Jesus. 52:30 I need Him so much. 52:31 Let me just share with you a quick quote 52:33 from the 1994 Roman Catholic Catechism... 52:41 referring to Peter, this is what it says. 52:46 This is 1994 official Roman Catholic Catechism section 8, 52:51 82, says The Pope, 52:54 the Bishop of Rome and Peter successor, 52:59 Peter successor as pastor of the entire church 53:03 has full supreme and universal power 53:09 over the whole church. 53:12 A power which he can always exercise unhindered. 53:18 Wow. 53:21 Does the pope have universal power 53:24 over the whole church? 53:25 A power which he can exercise unhindered 53:27 which is full and supreme? 53:30 Is that true or is that a counterfeit? 53:32 Counterfeit. 53:34 I'll tell you, based on the Word of God, 53:36 Jesus Christ alone 53:38 has full supreme authority over His church. 53:42 Amen. 53:43 It's only Jesus Christ and His word, the Word of God. 53:48 And He wants to have that authority over your life. 53:53 He wants to have that authority over my life. 53:57 Giving Jesus full and total authority over our lives, 54:01 this is the key to gaining the kingdom of heaven. 54:07 This is the key to standing in the storm. 54:12 This is the key to going through 54:15 the closing hours of human history. 54:19 This is the key that we need. 54:21 Peter, every Roman Catholic, every Protestant, 54:24 every Presbyterian, every Jew, every Seventh-day Adventist, 54:29 all republicans, all democrats, atheists, witches, agnostics, 54:34 everybody in this world 54:37 has the same basic human nature. 54:41 We all have basic flesh and blood. 54:47 And the only way to get the victory 54:49 over the basic human nature 54:53 that we all have which really, you know, 54:55 goes back to Lucifer is self-exalting, exalting self, 55:00 making individual men 55:03 to be more important than God. 55:08 The only way to get the victory over this 55:12 is through full surrender to the Lord Jesus Christ. 55:18 We all need that. 55:19 I need that every day. 55:22 The entire Roman Catholic structure 55:26 that says that Peter was the first pope, 55:28 and that Pope Francis now sits upon the throne of Peter 55:34 based on the Word of God. 55:37 It is a counterfeit. 55:40 It is not the truth. 55:42 And don't miss this point. 55:44 When any one of our human natures 55:46 following the example of Peter 55:48 when he told Jesus not to go to Jerusalem 55:50 and die and when he became a mouthpiece for the devil, 55:54 when any one of our natures chooses to follow self 55:58 above Jesus Christ and His word, 56:04 then we have become counterfeit Christians. 56:09 Wow. It can happen to anyone of us. 56:12 It can happen to all of us. 56:16 Jesus is the rock of ages. 56:20 I'd like to close. 56:21 I see I've got one minute left on my clock here. 56:25 I want to close with a poem. 56:28 It's actually a hymn. 56:29 Many of us know this hymn. 56:30 It's called "My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' 56:33 blood and righteousness", written by Edward Mote in 1834. 56:40 "My hope is built on nothing less 56:43 than Jesus' blood and righteousness. 56:45 I dare not trust the sweetest frame, 56:47 but wholly lean on Jesus' name. 56:50 On Christ, the solid rock, I stand. 56:53 All other ground is sinking sand. 56:55 All other ground is sinking sand. 56:59 When darkness veils His lovely face, 57:01 I rest on His unchanging grace. 57:03 In every high and stormy gale, 57:05 my anchor holds within the veil. 57:07 On Christ, the solid rock, I stand. 57:09 All other ground is sinking sand. 57:11 All other ground is sinking sand. 57:16 When he shall come with trumpet sound 57:18 oh, may I then in him be found. 57:20 Dressed in his righteousness alone, 57:22 faultless to stand before his throne. 57:25 On Christ, the solid rock, I stand. 57:27 All other ground is sinking sand. 57:29 All other ground is sinking sand. |
Revised 2023-05-01