In this sermon, the preacher begins by expressing gratitude for the truth found in the Bible and prays for the congregation to remain humble and receptive to God's message. The preacher then discusses the parable of the sower and emphasizes the importance of understanding the word of God. He warns that there are people in the church who may not truly be saved and are only professing their love for God with their lips. The sermon concludes by highlighting Jesus as the ultimate king and the importance of preaching the gospel of grace to all people.

714, please. 714. 714. O aching heart with sorrow torn, thy Lord is near and knows. He knows it all, the feet well worn, the weary cares and woes. The Lord of grief and anguish borne, thy Lord is near. He knows. 714, you'll pick up the tune quite easily. And we've had two nights already with this great, lovable character, the big fisherman. And I don't need to go into this part, his introduction to Jesus, because we touched on that the other week when Andrew, who was a disciple of John the Baptist, and as John the Baptist looked at the Lord Jesus and said, behold the Lamb of God, then Andrew followed the Lord Jesus, fell in love with him, and went and found his own brother Peter. It was Andrew who brought Peter to the Lord Jesus. And it was he, a Spurgeon, who first said, if we had more Andrews in the church, we might well have more Peters. Andrew didn't do very much, yet it was Andrew who brought Peter to the Lord Jesus. So we're not going over his introduction to Jesus. And we're not going to linger with his invitation from Jesus. Jesus came along the shores of Galilee one day while Peter and Andrew were both watching the nets long after the introduction. And he called them. They were called into full-time service there. Jesus said, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they left their nets and followed him. But that's quite a different day from the introduction. Now, I want to have a look at the indisputable love of Peter for the Lord Jesus. And mind you, this has been disputed in some quarters. Some people bring up the mistakes that Peter made and the blunders that can be laid to his charge. And they try to question the love that Peter had for the Lord Jesus, and I am not allowing you to do that. Let's have a look at John's Gospel, chapter 21. It's the last chapter of John's Gospel. And the theme is Galilee, like on the very shores of Galilee. And you remember that Peter got fed up waiting here for the Lord Jesus to come after the resurrection, remember? And in one of those moods of his, he said, I go fishing. And the others followed him. And that night they caught nothing. Oh, they were going back to the thing that he had called them from. And no wonder they caught nothing. And as they came in, in the morning, in the mist, downcast and defeated and depressed and all the rest of it, Jesus was on the shore. And you'll always find him somewhere on the shore of your depression and of your defeat. He'll be there somewhere in the shadows, you'll find him. And he had a fire going for them, he had kindled a fire. It says, there was a fire of coals. Don't ask me how he got the coals, because I wouldn't know. But I would think that he who put all the coal mines in their place at the beginning would know where to find them. Yes, he has treasures buried in the earth. He found the coals. And he found the fish too, and they couldn't find that fish that night. It is not only the fire going, he has the breakfast ready. And he said to them, come and dine. Now look at verse 15. We're at John 21 and verse 15. And when they have dined, I think they're all sitting in a sort of circle around him. Jesus says to Simon Peter, he uses the word Simon here. Simon, son of Jonas, loveth thou me more than these. They just had their breakfast and everything's going fine now. He just looks into Peter's eyes and he says, loveth thou me more than these. And I think we must get the more right, and we must get the these right. What did the Lord mean when he said, loveth thou me more than these? It can only be one of three things. It's our Lord looking at the disciples, the others who were in the boats, and is he saying to Peter, loveth thou me more than you love these disciples? I don't think he ever asked a question like that. He doesn't try to balance or love one against another. Or was he asking Peter, do you love me more than these disciples love me? And he wasn't asking that either. I think you see, the sea had always been an attraction for Peter. And the old boats meant something, and the fishing meant a lot. And he got fed up and said, I go fishing. And he's back to the thing he was called from. And there are the boats on the sea shore. And a hundred and fifty-three big fish laid out on the sand. And the nets are there. And the Lord is looking at the whole thing, this fishing business. Loveth thou me more than these. You know the thing that attracts you away from the Lord. That's the thing he's talking about. Now I want you to get the answer. Verse fifteen. So when they had dined, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, loveth thou me more than these. He saith unto him, that's Peter saith unto the Lord, Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. I don't know how anyone can question Peter's love. Peter's sitting on the sand, cross-legged I think. He's looking into the Lord's face. And he's looking into the eyes of the Lord who knows everything. And he says, Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. I may have made one or two blunders, but you know. You wouldn't question it after that, would you? And then the Lord said to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, loveth thou me. Putting the emphasis on the me. And he saith unto him, Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. Saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, loveth thou me. Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Loveth thou me. And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things inalrightly. You would never challenge it after that, should you? I think when you see this tree, tall, open, honest, frank, sincere, heart-confessing, how could you question Peter's love? Peter loved the Lord. There is no question about it. Let's go back to Luke's Gospel, chapter 22 for a moment. And I don't want to hold on to this very long. There's a whole lot of lines you can take here. Luke's Gospel 22. And we're in Gethsemane in a part of this chapter. Verse 54 says, Then they took him, that is, they arrested him. That's what the word took means here. And led him and brought him into the high priest's house. And Peter followed the fire off. Don't bother with that just now. And when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the hall and were set down together, Peter sat down among them. And don't bother with that either. Certainly they held him as he sat by the fire. And then they looked upon him and said, This man was also with him. And he denied him, saying, Woman, I know him not. And after a little while another saw him and said, Thou art also of them. And Peter said, Man, I am not. And about the space of one hour after, another confidently affirmed, saying, Oh, for truth, this fellow also was with them, for he is a Galilean. And Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest. And immediately, while he yet spake the cock crew, and the Lord, who was being questioned in the high priest's house, his hands were tied behind him, he was numbered with the transgressors. Now the Lord turned. He turned slowly at the psychological moment and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him before the cock crew, Thou shalt deny me Christ. And Peter went out and wept. I want you to get this word, bitterly. You know, this is the proof that he loved the Lord. I know that in human weakness he had denied the Lord. There is no covering it up in any shape or form. He had denied the Lord. He actually denied him with oaths and curses. We'll come to the blunders in a moment or two. But you know, the moment the Lord turned just slowly and looked at him, you know, he wasn't just ashamed. He just didn't hide his face, you know. No, he turned and went out, out into the night. And if you've fallen here, maybe you can't see him in the dark, but I guarantee you can hear him. He sobbed bitterly. Let's get the word bitterly into this. Not just an old, fanatical tear, you know. His heart was rent in two. Why? Because he loved the Lord. You know, when two who are in love fall out sometimes, it does happen, you know. And they have a bit of a bond, and he says something to her, and she says something back, and you know how it goes on. I'll tell you, sometimes she just puts down her head and she weeps bitterly. And he gets the message. She loves him. Don't question Peter's love. Please don't question it. Why? His threefold confession proves his love, and his weeping bitterly proves his love. You remember when they arrested the Lord in the garden, you know, just like a flash, it was Peter that drew the sword and cut off the high priest's serpent's ear. And you know why, don't you? Love the Lord. Sometimes, you know, when you love the Lord, you do the right thing the wrong way. We're all guilty of that. Don't just look at one another, you know. You do the right thing the wrong way sometimes. Nevertheless, the very drawing of the sword proved that he loved the Lord. And we could go on with this, you know. I've got a whole lot of notes here. His threefold confession proves he loves the Lord. His weeping bitterly proves he loves the Lord. The drawing of the sword. His boldness as he stood before the Sanhedrin 71 members of the Old Jewish Council and they're all itching to take his life. And if he stands up for Christ, they'll do it. And like a man, he said, this man was delivered through the name of the Lord Jesus. Why? Because he loved the Lord. I don't think we should ever allow people to question this at all. So we'll bypass that now. I think that his indisputable love can be proved all right. And then there were some incredible mistakes that he made before Jesus. You remember I showed you about him letting down the nets. And I don't think we should go back to that tonight. But let's have a look at this. This is Matthew's Gospel. And we're at chapter 16. And a very mighty chapter it is. Chapter 16. I don't want to read the first part of the chapter now because it's going to come into the message tonight in a very mighty way. And it's going to take a lot of time to get through it. But we're beginning at verse 21. From that time forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples how that they 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. I want you to get that word, you know. That's the same word as we had in Gethsemane when they came with swords and spears in the middle of the night. They took him. That's what I was trying to underline for you. Inham. Now this day Peter took him and began to rebuke him. Did you see that, you know? He just turned like a flash and got the hold of the Lord and slaughtered him. And began to rebuke him. And that is a great mistake, you know. He should never have just handled the Lord like that. Yes, it's a sort of incredible mistake. You're not allowed to do that. Just Peter, isn't it? And though there's so many wonderful things and thrilling things and lovely things about him there were other things that make him just like us, you know. He made blunders. You remember when the Lord was going to wash his feet, that he looked at the Lord and said, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Oh, it's a blunder to talk to the Lord like that when he's about to do something. You're not allowed to do that. It's a very shame when he says, I will lay down my life. You know where we were reading there? In Luke's Gospel 22. Just let's go back to that again. You know, that's a following of far off. Verse 54. When this crowd with their swords and their staffs came to take him prisoner in Gethsemane, they took him, led him, and brought him into the high priest's house and Peter followed the far off. You know, that's a blunder. If you find that you're getting away from the Lord, you know there's other things going to happen to you if you don't watch. Terrible that Peter, the great Peter, should be found strolling away back there. He's sort of afraid of the crowd now. Following a far off. Did you notice what happened after that? And when they, this sinful crowd, when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the hall and were sat down, Peter sat down among them. Oh, don't be caught at the world's fire. Fancy Peter warming his hands at the world's fire. Something will happen to you if you go on like that. And you'll cry, mind you. And you'll maybe cry bitterly. If you find yourself following a far off, give yourself a bit of a shake to might. And if you find that you're sitting at the world's fire, sometimes I think there are things on the TV that's just like the world's fire. Don't be warming your hands too much there now. It was very denying. But I don't think we should go on with these mistakes. Let's go back to Matthew's Gospel, chapter 16, because it's this inspired knowledge that I want to get down to this evening. And what inspired knowledge it was. Matthew's Gospel, and we're at chapter 16, commencing to read at verse 13. When Jesus came into the courts of Caesarea Philippi, and I was down there one day, you know, and there were just two of us, James Irvine and I, yes, sitting down on the rocks there, on the coast of the Mediterranean. And I said to him, this is where the Lord Jesus was when he asked the disciples, whom say ye that I am the Son of Man. And I'm going to ask you for your answer to that now. Who do you really think he was? He says, I know even better than Peter did, that he was the Messiah, and he was the eternal Son of the eternal God. We shall always remember him. All the fun and jokes were gone. We were both sitting together, and he was answering as well as any man ever answered. Now this is where this took place. Verse 13. When Jesus came into the courts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, whom do men say that I am the Son of Man? And they said, some say that thou art John the Baptist. Well, it was Herod who said that, because he said that because he was sort of frightened. He had put John the Baptist to death just to please the woman he was running about with. And you know, he was sort of haunted ever afterwards. And then our Lord Jesus began to do many mighty miracles. He said on one occasion, this is John the Baptist arisen from the dead. Well, everybody who knew John the Baptist and everybody who knew Jesus knew that they were two distinct persons. But some said he was John the Baptist. Some said he was Elias, because the Old Testament talked about Elijah coming just before the Lord. And others said, thou art Jeremiah, because there is a verse in the book of Jeremiah that almost makes it look as if he is the man of Isaiah 53. And some of the Jews preach this. Oh no, he's not the man of Isaiah 53. When Philip was in the wilderness and in the desert with the Ethiopian eunuch, he began at the theme of Scripture and preached unto him Jesus. But this is the answer. They're saying, some say thou art John the Baptist, some Elias and others Jeremiah, for one of the prophets. And then he really looked at them and he said unto them, but whom say ye that I am? Now they all stand quiet, don't they? There's just one man big enough, Simon Peter. And Simon Peter answered and said, thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. I want you to get the hold of this, you know. You know, Simon Peter had got this thing absolutely clear. You see, the Lord Jesus is standing with them on yon old shore. And as far as I know, he's got on a Nazarene robe. He's got a beard. I know he has a beard because they did pluck the hairs from his cheeks. And you know, he looks every bit like an ordinary Palestinian Jew. The woman at the well said, thou being a Jew, she knew he was a Jew. Yet, Peter is convinced about this. You're the King. You're the Christ. The Word is Messiah to all people. And in that moment, on yon shore, Peter could see his royalty. No doubts about it at all. He had no doubts in his mind. He could see the royalty. Thou art the Christ. Oh, but he could see a bit more. He says, you're not only the King, you know. Thou art the Son of the living God. He could see his beauty. And you know, when we come to the sonships of the Lord Jesus, my, what a subject that is. Remember the sonships, and there is an S there when I'm saying it. You see, there's a verse at the back of this book that says, that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. So that that means He was the Son before He was sent. Oh, yes. You know, when He's talking to the Father in prayer, He says, Father, give me the glory which I had with Thee before the world was. And when the Father is talking to Him, it says, unto the Son, He says. And in the beginning Thou hast made the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of Thine hands. And Peter conceiveth that the eternal Son. Thou art the Son of the living God. And remember, the eternal Son stepped out of the glory, made Himself of no reputation, and was born of the Virgin, and came into this world of faith sinners. And there were times when God had to tear the heavens open. He couldn't contain Himself between. And said, this is My beloved Son. Oh, but that's done in another sense. He never had a Son like that before. That's a Son down on earth, clad in human flesh, a real person, no sin, absolutely harmless and crimeless and sinless. What a Son. You see, when you look back before the hills and all who stood in shame in the bosom of the Father, God never had a Son like that before. That's God's eternal Son. Then when you see Him walking the broad acres of earth without sin or spot or blemish or any such thing, God never had a Son like that before. And then He died. The Son of God loves Me. Loves Himself for Me. And the third day He rose again and the Father spoke. And the Father said, Thou art My Son this day have I begotten Thee. And He never had a Son like that before. That's Him alive in the power of an endless life. I don't want to take up the time in these sonships. But what Peter sees is the eternal Son. He saw the royalty and he saw the deity. And it's a pity of these miserable Presbyterian modernists who cannot see He's the Messiah and who cannot see His eternality. It's a great pity of them. Yes, Peter spoke out that day, didn't he? Very wonderful, you know. Now listen to the Lord talking to him now. Verse 16, Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. We're at Matthew 16 and at verse 16, never forget it. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou. Oh, you know, he's moved. The Lord's really pleased with him. I think, you know, he might have even touched him. Blessed art thou. Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jonah, Son of Jonah. Isn't it nice to hear the Lord talking to him like that? He says, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee. He didn't learn that in school. Nor college. Nor university. And I'm not saying anything about any of them. You don't learn like that. He says, flesh and blood didn't reveal that to you, you know. Not a bit of it. Here's what he said. He says, flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. You know, Peter, all blundering creature that he was, fisherman that he may have been, ignorant as they called him, he was in touch at time with heaven. That's what the critics didn't know. Oh, get alone with God. Get alone with God. I'll tell you. He'll tell you things that the world doesn't even know about. It's my Father. Yes. Then he went on a bit, you see. Flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say unto thee, and he is talking to Peter, you know, that thou art Peter. And this is the old Greek word that's used here. Petros. It's the word for Peter. Thou art Peter. And then he said, upon this rock, and he used a different word. The word that he uses for rock there is the word Petros. Let me tell you for your information, it's a feminine word. It wouldn't do for Peter at all. He said, you know, I'm pleased with thee, thou art of wealth. Thou art Peter, you know. Petros. It means rock. And upon this, Petra, which is feminine, which means upon this something that's really lovely and beautiful. What was lovely and beautiful, Petra? I'm afraid not. No, the thing that he's just said is lovely and beautiful. Upon this rock, the rock of thy confession, upon this beautiful table, that I am the Messiah and the eternal Son of God. Not on, Petra, if the Roman Catholic Church thinks that they can get off of this, I shall prove right now they can't. See this phrase, upon this rock, would you like to tackle me now that this is Peter? Because I wouldn't need to leave the chapter to fix you. Let's go down the chapter a little bit. You see where he took Peter here, where Peter took him and began to rebuke him. Verse 22. Then Peter took him and began to rebuke him, saying, Get far from me, Lord. This shall not be unto thee. And he turned, that is, the Lord turned and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Peter. That would be a funny rock. You could build nothing on a boy like that. Look, let me do this for you. You see Peter, do you? Well, just watch me. See his lips? You know, in this inspired moment, his lips move and he says, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. You know who's talking through him? It's the Father. See him down here? You know who's talking through him now, don't you? The Lord could be talking through me and a boy like that, you can't build on him at all. See, that morning, he had said to the Lord, he says, You know, though all men forsake me and deny me, yet I will not deny thee. You know who's talking? It's himself. The old man that's talking. I'll see you through, Lord. And the Lord says, Shut up before the clock tolls three times. Christ, you have denied me Christ. Sometimes it's yourself that does the talking. Sometimes it's the devil that does the talking. Sometimes it's the Lord. Just attend to it now. Oh no, that wasn't the rock. Oh no, the rock was something that was feminine. You know, ladies, women are the most beautiful things that God ever made. Don't let's forget. Don't forget. And there is nothing, nothing made more beautiful. And this saying of Peter was something that was delightful and beautiful. And upon this rock of thine, beautiful saying, I will build my church. I'll build it. Everybody will know that I was the Messiah, but I was rejected. And they put me on a cross and I made the atonement and I rose again and the blood was shed and I built the church. You see, no use talking to me about the church being in the Old Testament when the Lord is talking necessarily a fellow pie about building it. It's still future, you know. Oh yes. We've got to go on with this here. We're not in a hurry. No. Say no. That's it, good for you. Praise the Lord, my leg's getting better. If I thought this leg would get better, you wouldn't be over twelve. All right. All right, but I think we've got to do this for fairness to all the people. Look, it says here, and I say unto thee, we're at verse eighteen, that thou art, keep rock, and upon this, keep thou, I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Now, I want you to get that, you know. The gates of hell shall not prevail against it. You know, we're not being surrounded by it when we're attacking it. The devil shall not stand in it. I think the way people, the Brits these days, and the pilgrims, they don't have a name. And I'll tell you this, the gates of hell will not prevail. And they live as if they're winning the battles for the ministers. Not on their life. They that be for us are more than they that be for them. They're on the winning side. Don't worry about it. It says, I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Now, I want to be fair here, and I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Who's he talking to? Peter. Did he give Peter the keys of the kingdom of heaven? Yes. Some of the Protestants deny this. I can't see how you could deny that when he's talking to Peter and he's saying, I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Now, you would need to know what that meant by it. Because you might read the wrong thing into it, and that would be terrible. Now, first of all, we've got to know what he means when he's talking about the kingdom of heaven, wouldn't we? You know what the kingdom of heaven means in this particular 16th chapter. That's what we want to know. Now, you do know this, don't you? That Matthew's gospel is the gospel of the king. This is all about the king, this gospel. 28 chapters about the king. Let me just run through it with you just quickly. You try to get this into your mind, and especially you young preachers, get a few things into your mind and it'll help you. Go to the first chapter. You don't need to be a theologian to do this, you know. You can simply do it by just listening and marking the little things I will say to you. This book begins like this in the first chapter, in the first verse, the book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Now, why is David before Abraham? Well, this is the book about the king, you see. And, of course, David was the king. Abraham was never the king. He was the father of the Jewish race, all right, and the father of the faithful and the friend of God. Ah, but when we're going to talk about the king, we will have to go back to the great king. And so, this is the book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David comes first. That's most important here because, you see, he's related to David. He's an heir to the throne. He was the king. See, the second chapter, this is what it says in the second chapter, verse one, Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east of Jerusalem, saying, Where is he that is born king of the Jews? There's no problem about that, is there? Because this book's all about the king, and you can find this out quite easily. So, you see, here he is, he's born king of the Jews. Now, if you watch the next two chapters, it's called the Sermon on the Mount, and, of course, it's all kingdom truth. Things that are there will all be worked out in the kingdom when he comes. You see, he is going to come back to this earth one day and set up the kingdom, and you'll find that the Sermon on the Mount will work in all right. Don't use the time to work it in now, because you'll not be able to do it if you get it in its proper place. Now, when you come to Matthew chapter ten, just going through this, you'll get the hold of this, you know. Matthew chapter ten, And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against strong, clean spirits, and so on. The names are there. Verse five, These twelve Jesus sent forth and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles. He didn't want them to preach to the Gentiles at all. And then to any city of the Samaritans, enter ye not. Don't go to any Gentiles or the Samaritans. Go rather to the lord chief of the house of Israel, and ask him, Go preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. That's what we were thinking about. You see, this is the gospel of the kingdom. They're going out with the good news. The word gospel always means good news. And they're going out with the good news that the king has come. Ah, well, whose king was he now? He's the king of the Jews. Well, you don't need to go to the Gentiles, because it doesn't concern them just yet. No, you don't need to go to the Samaritans, because he's not the king of the Samaritans. You go only to the lord chief of the house of Israel, and you go preaching, the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Ah, this was a genuine bona fide offer to the Jewish nation that the king had come. And he was prepared to set up the kingdom. Without this time to stall, the kingdom to Israel was the cry all the time. And he was prepared to set up the kingdom on earth, and it would be called the kingdom of heaven on earth, and it would radiate from the Jewish nation. But they didn't like the king. They cried one day, we will not have this man to reign over us. They rejected him, you know. In fact, he was despised. They cast him outside the city. They stood by while he was cried to the cross. And above the cross were the words, this is Jesus of Nazareth the king. That's where he is now. And in the darkness of Golgotha's hill, the king worked out the mighty work of redemption for the whole world. Christ died for the ungodly dead. He gave himself a ransom for all, and rose again the third day, and gathered his disciples around him, and he says, now I want you to go into all the world this time. I want you to preach the gospel of grace to every creature. You don't limit it now. They've rejected me. I'm going to build my church. Different idea, isn't it? But this is very important, you know, because the kingdom of heaven was the kingdom in a national sense, once for all. And they rejected it and lost it. Yes? Now, I want you to get this now, that Peter's getting the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Well, that's a strange thing, and that's a puzzled fact. What's he going to do with the kingdom of heaven if the king has rejected and it's put back until after the tribulation and all the rest of it? Well, I'll tell you. You see, when you come to the 13th chapter of Matthew, let's have a look at the 13th chapter. The same day went Jesus out of the house and sat by the seaside, and great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that they went into a ship and sat, and the whole multitude stood on the shore, and they took many things unto them, and parables. And this is the chapter where we have all these parables, and it says here, and the disciples came, verse 10, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. Want you to get that? Mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. Because, you see, the kingdom of heaven was first of all in its national form, and they rejected it. And now it's in its mystical form. Want you to get that? Because that's what a whole lot of boys that preach and don't even know. You see, how do you get into the church? How do you become a real believer? How do you become a member of the church? And I'm talking about Christ's church, I'm not talking about the Baptist church. Well, it's with the heart that man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. If we confess with our mouth that Jesus is our Lord, and at the same moment believe in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead, you'll be saved. See, I could get almost everybody in this class just now to stand up and say, Well, there was a day, or a moment, or a night, or a place where I believed with all my heart that He not only died but rose again to be my Savior, and I honestly, openly confess Him as my Lord just now. I don't bother getting that. I don't bother at all. But wait till then. I can also get thousands in this town, and maybe some in this meeting, and you've drawn my eye unto Him with your lips, with your hearts as far from Him, and you're like the prayers in the wrong of a week, and that's the mystery of the kingdom now. It's all mixed up, isn't it? Are you still at chapter 13? All right. The Lord says we're to go on, so we're going on. See this? What's verse 18? He, therefore, the parable of the sword, when anyone hears the word of the kingdom and understands it not, then comes the wicked one and takes away that which was sown in his heart. Go on down the chapter. Do you see the next parable? Verse 24. Another parable said before, the kingdom of heaven, that's it, is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field, while the man slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. You see what's happening all around us. Sure, the churches are full of folk who are not saved at all, and they're professing the love of Him. They're drawing nigh unto Him with their lips and their hearts in spite of Him. That's the whole mystery now, isn't it? And that's the kingdom of heaven in its mystical sense, and it was the keys of that kingdom that people received. You see, on the day of Pentecost, He opened the door to the Jews to come into the kingdom in its mystical sense. Oh, but they were really saved ones. In the house of Camellius, He opened the door for the Gentiles to come into the kingdom in its mystical sense. There is no bother with that. You got the hold of that now. Let's go back to Matthew 16. We're still here. Yeah. I want you to get the hold of this. Now, what's the whole thing? The Lord's talking to Peter. I say also unto thee that thou art Peter. Upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee, Peter, the keys of the mystical kingdom of heaven. I want you to get this bit. And whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loosen on earth shall be loosed in heaven. What does this mean? It just means what it means to all the evangelists today. You see, I sit down beside somebody in that little room, and they're weeping. We'll say they're weeping. Let me make the picture of Beth like that. And it's the lady, and she says, look at me as we say it. And I say what Paul said, and what Peter would have said, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. And when this woman gets down on her knees and weeps, and I can feel her body trembling, Sidney's mother there, Sidney's mother-in-law, knelt beside me not long ago, trembling. And she said, I hardly know what to say. I said, talk to the Lord. She said, Lord Jesus, I've been praying for all my life, and coming to you now, I just trust you with my faith. I said, dear, that'll do. That's bound in heaven, and I'm binding it on earth. But supposing she says to me, I'm not going to go to heaven that way. I'll pay money in, and I'll do everything I can. I'm not binding it on earth, and she'll not be bound in heaven either. Oh, there is no potpourri about it. It's God's truth. And God's servants have done it all their life. Some people say, you see, that Peter had the power to forgive sins. I shall prove he hadn't. Let's go to Acts chapter 8 for a moment. The Acts of the Apostles. And we're at the 8th chapter. And you know, this is the place where Philip went down to Samaria and preached Christ unto them. Preaching the gospel, you know. And it's the gospel of grace this time. And you know, there was great joy in that city. Verse 8 says there was great joy in that city. But there was a certain man in that city called Simon, which before time in the same city used sorcery, also black magic it was, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one, to whom they all gave heed from the least to the greatest, to saying, this man is the great power of God. They were sort of afraid of him. And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them. That's the mighty word, the sorcery. But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized both men and women. Then Simon himself believed also. At least he professed to believe. I shall prove that in a moment. And when he was baptized, you see here he is. He's like these tears coming into the church. He's not right at all. But he's professing to be right. This is the mystery of the king. Now when Philip, when Simon himself believed also, when he was baptized, he continued with Philip and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done. This was really taking his heart off, wasn't it? When the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent on to them Peter and John, two apostles. When they were come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Ghost, called these the Marathons. For as yet he was fallen upon none of them. For they hadn't received the Holy Ghost when they believed. Why? Because before this, you see, there were two temples in the land. There was a temple at Jerusalem and a temple up on the hills of Samaria. And God wasn't going to have two temples anymore. There was just going to be one church. And for a moment, God withheld the Holy Ghost until Peter and John, two Jews, would go down from Jerusalem and touch these Samaritans. And the Jews had no dealings with the Samaritans before this. But God is enforcing it now. So he's going to make one church. And when you're talking about getting somebody to lay their hands on your head and you go back to this for support, I shall have to ask you, are you a Samaritan? And I shall have to ask you, does the man that lays his hand on your head are an apostle sent from God? I think you try to work things at times. I want you to get the hold of this. Then laid they their hands on them, verse 17, and they received the Holy Ghost. Now then Simon, that's this bewitching sorcerer, saw that through the laying on of the apostles' hands, the Holy Ghost was given to him. He offered the money. He thinks this is a great thing. Saying, give me this power. I'll buy this. That whosoever I lay hands on, they may receive the Holy Ghost. Now watch Peter. Peter said unto him, thy money perish with thee. Now the popes didn't talk like that these days. Oh, they take all the money they get to hold on. Oh no, they never turn away money now. Neither do Baptist pastors either. Watch this now. Peter said unto him, thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. Thou hast need a partner lot in this matter, for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. You see, you can profess, you can get baptized, you can creep in on the wares, and you're only cared among the weak. You're all right, that's all. Hell goes to hell like that. It's somebody like Peter to talk to you. Now watch this very carefully. Verse 21. Thou hast need a partner lot in this matter, for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this, thy wickedness, and pray God, start praying, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee. Sure as he could have forgiven them what he'd tell them to go and pray about. Oh no, you don't get it like that. You get it when you repent and go and ask forgiveness. Through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins, is what Paul said. Have we got the hold of this now? I think that's great. Oh, I don't think we'll go any further tonight. I'm sure God has said enough to you. Let's bow together before the Lord. Lord, we bow at thy feet. We adore thee for this book. We thank thee for the truth and how it speaks. Oh God, just keep us low at thy feet where we might learn, where the Father might speak to our hearts, where Lord Jesus we can receive the truth and pass it on to others that it might be a blessing. Lord bless the class. Bring us back next week to hear about thy great servant Paul. Lord, it seems he was the most successful Christian this world has ever seen. Our Lord, part of him I fear. Take us to our home to test him. Let thy blessing be upon us for thy name's sake.