In this sermon, the preacher discusses the story of a man who cannot cope with normality and is hiding under a tree and in a cave. God has to come and shake him out of his fear. The preacher then talks about the importance of choosing the right teacher and seeking guidance from God. The sermon also mentions the story of Jesus feeding a multitude with just seven loaves of bread and a few fish, highlighting the Pharisees' lack of faith despite witnessing this miracle.

This tape is part of the Bethel Ministries Pulpit Series recorded at Mountain Ash. This tape and all other Bethel Ministries tapes can be freely copied and distributed. However, for all other electronic transmissions, normal copyright laws apply. For more information, visit us at www.bethelpulpitministries.com or email us at info at bethelpulpitministries.com Matthew chapter 16 beginning verse 13 And Jesus came unto the coast of Caesarea Philippi, and 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 say Elijah, and others Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. And then he said to them, But who do you say that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I also say unto thee that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. May the Lord bless this word for us tonight, in Jesus' name. Amen. We always start every message almost by that one word, the context. What is the context of this teaching, of this passage of scripture? Well, if we go back to chapter 15, you'll see that Christ is having another one of those battles with the Pharisees and the Sadducees. There's always men put in his way to test and to try to confound the Christ. They've always got problems with him. They've always got problems with his church. Now, they've come against him, but Christ has one thing in mind. He sees Calvary up yonder. He sees a nation that is dying, that is falling apart. He sees that Israel is supposed to be the church, but it's not the church. And so he's looking within that system to draw unto himself a people that he can call the people of God. They've come, these people, a multitude has come to him, and they've brought the sick, they've brought the lame, they've brought those who are blind. Dead people, he says, have been laid at his feet, and Christ has healed them. Christ has healed these people, whole multitudes, and then he says that he had compassion upon them because they were hungry. These people hadn't eaten for three days, so they must have been starving. So he calls for food, and all that is given unto him is seven loaves and a few fish. He blesses, and he distributes the bread and the fish, and everyone goes away filled. So much so that there are many baskets that are filled with the leftovers. He's fed, according to the Bible, 7,000 men, plus the women and the children with just these things. He's done that. But then the Pharisees, after seeing all of this, and seeing a huge, monstrous crowd being fed out of nothing, they come and they say, show us a sign. Show us something else. You know, if I'm there at that time, that would be enough for me. To see a man just break apart seven of those little wafers that we use, those little unleavened bread, to break those and feed such a huge crowd, 4,000 men, not counting women and children. But these people, these people that are supposed to be kingdom people, that are supposed to be followers of Jehovah, followers of Christ, they're not satisfied. They want to see something else. It's a signs and wonders ministry that they're looking for. This is what these people are always looking for. Christ is never enough for such people. There are people in the church like that today. There are ministries, there are churches like that, where Christ himself is not enough. You see, the church today is not winning the lost, because the church, for the greater part, is not saved herself. It's not saved. I can remember a preacher inviting me to go and listen to a minister on a Sunday afternoon at a church. And we went there and I sat pretty much bewildered at the message. I couldn't understand where he got it from. It began with the biblical text, but there was nothing there. And as we come out, he said to me, he said, the trouble is, he said, that lot in there, they're not saved. And I said to him, well, why didn't you tell them? Why didn't you tell these Christians, this church, that they're not saved, that they need to repent or they're going to hell. And he gave me one of those looks, you know, those looks that say, well, if I'd said that, they'd not invite me back. If I'd said that, they'd never give me another brown envelope again. You see, this is the trouble. Church is not winning souls, because the church is not one for herself. Christ is not enough for such people. He goes on to say that it is a wicked and an adulterous generation that seeks after sin. Now I'm doing this, bringing us down to the message. The message is called the rock. We know what the rock is. The rock is Christ himself. Everything is going to be boiled down and brought down to him. After their journey to Bethsaida, the disciples, well, they realized that they brought no bread. They didn't have any bread. This is what they said amongst each other. We have no bread. But they did this. They said this in light of the Lord Jesus Christ. Imagine on the west coast of the Sea of Galilee. He's just fed a multitude. They come to the east coast, and then the disciples, the believers are scratching their heads thinking, what are we going to do for bread? Well, the first thing I would ask if I was a great man of faith is, Lord, we have no bread, but our faith is not in the belly. You can make us full if you want. You can produce another miracle. They're asking for something. They don't have an understanding of who this Christ is. They ask for bread, not understanding the meaning of the bread. To those multitude, he's distributing something that is just, according to the economy of God, according to the mind and the thought of God, just a symbol, an illustration of the Lord Jesus Christ himself. Those people could have eaten the bread, tasted of the fish, and still died outside of Christ. It was a distribution of what he is. But the disciples, they're the ones that must learn this lesson. The essence of Christ's message, then, is to warn about the false doctrine and the false application of ministry. He brings it all down. He says it's not the bread. He said the torture, what I'm trying to convey to you, is to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees. Beware of the leaven. Well, they scratch their heads and they're thinking, is it because we've got no bread? But this is not what he's talking about. He explains it to them. He's talking about their doctrine, false doctrine, hypocrisy. The leaven of the Pharisees, the leaven of the Sadducees is false doctrine. Why does Christ speak so negatively constantly? Why does he warn the church? Why does every time we see him, he seems to be warning about something? Surely those Pharisees died almost 2,000 years ago. Surely there's no such thing as a Sadducee. Why did he warn the church? Why is it recorded? Because they're not dead. The spirit of the Pharisee, false doctrine, is still rampant in the church today. False doctrine, he knows, will destroy the church. It can destroy the church. False application, going to destroy a ministry, going to destroy a testimony. Ultimately, it'll destroy a fellowship. Not the broadest sense. Not in that broad context of the destruction of his body, his church. Cannot do that. But a false doctrine can ruin shipwreck, a life, a ministry, and a church. The measure of any spiritual life will be seen in our apprehension of the Lord Jesus Christ. I've said it before, I have great pleasure in saying it again. What you behold, you will become. What is central in your life, that will form and fashion your life. Everything, everyone, whatever they behold, they will become that thought. Christ says this to his disciples. Christ asked them, saying, Whom do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? He asks that question. He's going to ask that question to us tonight. The answer given is enlightening as to what men see in Him. Don't forget, this answer now, it comes from his disciples. Men will see, men will only see in Christ what they want to see. Whatever you want to see in Him, you will see in Him. However you perceive Him, that's what He's going to be to you, to your life, and to the church. Man can do that. Man can look into Christ and see Him as a devil if he really wants to. But Christ has only one thought. He is the Lord. He is the Son of God. This is the whole purpose of Christ. Matthew 16, 14 says, And they said, the disciples, those that believed in Him, They said, some say that thou art John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah. Well, they were three big names of the day. They were three great ministries. But the tragedy of it, the tragedy of comparing Christ to John the Baptist, the tragedy of comparing Him to Elijah, the barrenness of comparing Him to Jeremiah or any of the other prophets. It is just vanity to compare Him to any man. These were great men. But not like Christ. He's simply other. Other is different. He's altogether other than what we are. Most of you have read The School of Christ. The book by T. Austin Sparks. Probably outside of the Bible, my favorite book. Probably one of the greatest spiritual books ever written. And he talks about the otherness of Christ. That no matter how great a man is, no matter how great his ministry is, no matter how full he is, compared to Christ, He's different. Christ is everything that we are not. So there is a vanity, there is a barrenness, and there was a tragedy in comparing the Lord Jesus Christ to these men. Now I want to show tonight how these three men, though great they were, great in their own rights, they fail in themselves. They will fail concerning faith, doctrine, and discernment. They will fail. They will always fail because they are not the rock on which the church is built. These three men, they're going to represent the greatest ministries of the day. The greatest ministries of any age. Think about John the Baptist. What do you think of? You think of a revivalist. He's there on the banks of the Jordan River, preaching that gospel, and multitudes are coming. It is a revival in Israel. Think of Elijah. He's the man. He came and he taught the right word. He brought good food in due season to a nation that was spiritually starved to death. There was death in the camp, but Elijah came as the teacher. Jeremiah, what do you think of? You think of the prophet. The man. The man in whose mouth was the word of God. It seemed like everything that came from the mouth of Jeremiah, came from God himself. When people heard Jeremiah, they said, that's the Lord. The disciples, like many other Christians, they're impressed by these ministries, and so they laud Christ with the comparison of men. What have these disciples been doing? Well, they took an opinion, Paul. You see the little church, do we go in? Have you heard the preacher we got? This rabbi from Nazareth. He's hot stuff. Whatever he goes, preaches a gospel of people saved. If he lays his hands on someone, either a demon's going to come out, or a leg's going to be growed back on. We've seen him raise the dead. This is our pastor. This is the preacher. So what do you think about him? Or someone would scratch his head and say, well, I think he's John the Baptist. Someone said, oh, I've heard him prophesy. He's like Jeremiah. And others, I've sat under his teaching. This man is like Elijah himself. And so they have that opinion, Paul. When men become impressive in ministry, then it is then, and then only, that Christ is betrayed. When men, when people, when a church becomes impressive to the church, Christ is being betrayed. I can say this because I know from the pattern of the scripture. Satan himself, Jesus said that he saw him fall like lightning. A man that had ministry in heaven. A man that had the closest ministry to God. But he fell. He felt there is no impressive ministry upon the earth except that of the Lord Jesus Christ himself. When we make a preacher or a ministry something in itself, he is betrayed. Christ is being betrayed. When men become the benchmark of achievement, that ministry according to God, it is finished. When we, in our hearts, desire to be like so-and-so's ministry, when we want this church to grow and to become like this church or that church, God will finish with the church. He will finish. The Bible says that he, God the Father, will give his glory to no other person. No man, no ministry, no preacher will have the glory at all. It's just Christ. Only Christ. He has just told us, upon this rock will I build my church. It's not on Peter. Joseph Ratzinger is wrong. The rock is not Peter. The rock is Christ. Upon that rock, God will build the church. If we try to build it on a ministry, on a preacher, on a teaching, on a doctrine, God will finish with his church. We cannot build on any other thing. You cannot build, therefore, on any other man's work. You cannot build on the work of man. It must be built on Christ and Christ alone. John the Baptist, he was a great preacher. He was the revivalist of his day. He was the one who preached to thousands, concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. Whatever he went, he said, Behold the Lamb of God. He was of a priestly descent. His pedigree is not up for debate. He came from a priestly line. He was ascetic in his lifestyle, practicing self-discipline. He lived a hard life. He didn't enjoy the pleasures of this world. He lived on the backside of the desert. I've heard his gospel. He preached full redemption through the blood of the Lamb. This was the message of John. He taught the baptisms, both water and the Spirit, to his disciples and everyone that would listen. He preached the law and the keeping of commandments. He ministered both heaven and hell to all that would listen. To the Pharisee, to the Sadducee, to the young, to the old, to the rich, to the poor, to the king and his wife. Preached to them all. There was no more impressive revival, no more impressive ministry than this one. He saw revival. He saw the coming of the kingdom. He saw Christ in the flesh. Listen now, this man, even when he was in his mother's womb, the Bible says, was filled with the Spirit. I don't know if it's true, but I probably see that he'd done a jump in her belly. Probably done a somersault, enjoying the presence of Christ. He's there to proclaim Him. But in the last days of John's life, his faith begins to fail. They've compared him to Christ. Some say that thou art John the Baptist. But the Baptist, his faith will fail. Oh, great ministry, great revivalist, great preacher, great man of God. But he's not the Christ. It says in John, calling unto two of his disciples, sent them to Jesus, and said, Art thou he that should come? Listen, or should we look for another? Should we pass you by Christ and look for someone else? You see, John had doubts concerning the claims of the Lord Jesus Christ. He'd only ever preached Jesus. But now at the very end, he has his doubts. Though he is preaching, his preaching was beguiling to the masses. His faith became flawed as to expectations. Oh, his expectations were too great for this Christ. Christ did not do what John wanted him to do. Christ did come as the Son of God. Christ did come only in the will of the Father. Christ come to only do the will of God, not the will of man. Your faith will fail if you follow after men and their ministries. It's always going to fail. It's going to be like that. Christ didn't do what John wanted him to do. Therefore, his faith will fail. If you seek a revival, you might be disappointed. There is some people, some churches, some Christians, that all of their time, all of their energy, all of their ministry is geared up for revival. Now they might go 30, 40, 50 years and never see revival. But at the end of it, they may be doubtful. They could become bitter. They could become envious because all of their desire was for revival and God didn't bring the revival. John was such a man. Now he's still a great man. I'm not putting him down. He knows that I'm not putting him down. But his faith failed because Christ didn't get him out of jail. Because Christ didn't take away that power and authority over Israel from the Romans. Christ didn't do that. So he becomes a man that is doubtful. A man whose faith begins to fail. You see the revivalist, John the Baptist, he is not the rock. We're not here to build a church upon a coming revival and certainly not upon a past one. John the Baptist, the revivalist, is not the rock. Elijah, he was a teacher of sound doctrine. He again, he has an amazing ministry and a ministry to covet. He was a preacher to preachers. He was a preacher to prophets. He preached to the king. He preached to the king's wife. Correcting, of course, their theology. He taught the nation concerning the true nature of God. He turned about the whole nation where they were off trying to follow Baal. He said to them, if Baal be God, follow him. But if it be the Lord, then follow him. Listen, you know the story of Elijah. He was a man of God. He taught the nation to come back to God. He taught them sound doctrine. But it is not impressed in his calling. Who rather? Who is not impressed in his calling down a fire from heaven? Who would not be impressed if they stood there on Mount Carmel when he stamped his foot and pointed to the sky? Who could not be impressed by that ministry? When he said the fire is going to fall, the fire fell. It fell at the right time and on the right altar. Who would not be impressed? But when we get to the book of Revelation, we find that the Antichrist himself can do the very same things. Who would not be impressed by a man that rode to heaven in a chariot of fire? Oh, I'm certainly going to be impressed by that. Revival history cannot, must not shape our ministry. Why? Because it is the past. It is yesterday's manner, yesterday's news. Good to know about these things. But all that it is, is history. That's all it is. Revival is always and only can be the pursuit of God. That's all we need to know about revival. It is the pursuit of God. Every one of those revivals, every preacher in revival, every person touched of revival, all that it did for them was cause them to have a greater pursuit of Christ. And this, we can enjoy that state. We can enjoy that status in this church if in this heart all of our desire is a pursuit for Christ. We can have that. We don't have to read about the revival of a hundred years ago or of a hundred and fifty years ago, of two hundred years ago or two thousand years ago. I can pursue Christ today and enjoy this state and this status. But even Elijah, he fails and pales into significance in light of Christ. When trouble comes to his door, what is Elijah going to do? He's going to run. He's going to hide himself away. When people come, when the threat comes against his life, the man will rise. The man will run. First we'll see him whimpering under the juniper bush and then in the back of a cold, damp cave. Like so many great ministries, Elijah will be scarred with disillusionment and self-pity. He's going to torment himself. He's going to really feel within himself failing. This is the product of semen failure. You see, such people cannot cope with the norm. It's always the fire falling. It's always those things that are the norm to them. They're not impressed by just natural things. They're not impressed with just the normality of church. You see, whatever he says, it had come to pass. He talked about there being a famine. Famine came about. He talked about there being a drought. A drought came about. He said a young child would come back to life. That would come back to life. He said if fire's going to fall from heaven, fire fell. He said it's going to rain. It rained. He said the queen will die and die she did. Everything he says comes to pass. He cannot cope with normality. He cannot cope with being outside of that conference atmosphere. That lifting up. That atmosphere that he's craved of today. He cannot cope with the norm. So there we find him hiding, running scared under the tree and in the cave. Ministries are great when they prosper but they can be but can they be sustained under a june of a bush or in the back of a cave. You see he's running and hiding but God has to go look for him. God has to come and shake this man. God has to come and shake him in his boots. Who do you today look to as your teacher? Who do you look to for guidance? Who do you go to for direction? I hope to God nobody would say Elijah. It's the rock that we must pursue. It is the rock and nothing but the rock. If your teaching has anything to do with man it will fail you and you will fail others. Jesus says in John 14 when the comforter which is the Holy Ghost whom the Father will send in my name he shall teach you all things. Who's gonna teach? Well it is the spirit of Christ. He says he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance whatsoever I have said unto you. It's not what the minister says not what the revivalist not the preacher but what Christ says. You see the teacher this Elijah he is not the rock. Jeremiah is known as the weeping prophet. He was a great prophet in Israel. No doubts about it. His ministry was to warn the church of judgment to come. Not a popular message not something that he craved but that message was laid upon his shoulders. He was taught of God that the nation it was in bondage because of national sin and that's the reason he was in Babylon. He had a message of repentance and delivers it with tears. He sits there in sackcloth and ashes as a wooden yoke upon his neck and he's pleading with that nation to come back to God to return to your first love. This prophet he genuinely feels the pain of God. You see there's a closeness there. There's a union with God that he's enjoying as the national prophet. He has a relationship with God that when Jeremiah speaks the whole nation his church knows God is speaking. If Jeremiah yawns God has yawned. This was the effect that he had upon the people. But ultimately Jeremiah is a man that concerned the seasons. But he is swayed by popular opinion. He sees the red sky in the morning and knows that it's going to be a bad day. His message again is a message that must not be tampered with. He has a message that must not be interfered with. You see the failure of Jeremiah is again found to be a failure of keeping Christ central in the life. This is the failing. This is always the first thing that goes. I can say tonight to everyone I can prophesy tonight if he doesn't remain central in your life you will backslide and you will fall from the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. I can prophesy that. I know it to be true. If he's not central then he's nothing to you. Absolutely nothing. Because this man because he desperately wants to see a national revival he will be unable to discern the spirit of selfish desire. In chapter 28 another prophet will come upon the scene. This is Ananias. Ananias the prophet. He's going to come and prophesy a word to comfort and promote triumphalism within the nation. He has said this Ananias he says to Jeremiah that the nation is going to be set free from slavery that the king will return that the tide of revival is coming and that the whole of the nation will be set free. Well they leap in they jump in they dance in the joy because all they've had from Jeremiah so far is doom and gloom. All they've had is sackcloth and ashes. All they've heard is the weeping and the wailing. But according to popular opinion Jeremiah is going to be swayed by such a man. And this is not an evil man in himself. He's a man. He's part of the church. He's well respected. He's prophesied probably a few times. Got a few things right. So he has weight behind him. At the word of Ananias Jeremiah gives his consent by saying the amen and having his wooden yoke removed from his neck. Jeremiah in his failure failed because he was impressed by the words of another man. He listened to a ministry that was not for him. He listened. He didn't check it out. Instead of listening to the voice of God and saying Lord have you changed your message to me. He listened to a man that got people whipped up into a frenzy. He listened to them. Not only is triumphal not only is triumphal something to be weary of. Triumphalism is something to be weary of. But it's also if it is self-imposed we need to be careful. We need to be careful of such a condition. Look at any church today and if that church is fashioned and moulded into the likeness of a man's ministry it is not a good church. It cannot be. You can look at some churches and you can know who they're being influenced by at the time. Whether you weep whether you laugh if you needed a man to teach you to do such thing it is not God. It is not God. When we run this school in my house about 4 years ago there was a couple there they sat as dead as doornails for about 4 months. Sat there didn't enter into the prayer don't even know if they looked didn't listen to any of the lessons did nothing except come in and go out. But then someone someone came in there that in their eyes was a big ministry and all of a sudden they began leaping around speaking in tongues prophesying over everything you'd think that God himself had come into the room. Hypocrisy absolutely hypocrisy all that they've been affected by is another man's ministry. You see the prophet he is not the rock he is not the rock. The benchmark for all experience fellowship, ministry and communion must be the Lord Jesus Christ himself. It's not with men it's with him himself. He will ask this question who do men say that I am? He's going to ask it of us tonight. He's going to ask tonight of each and every one of us who do you say that I am? What is Christ to you tonight? What will you do with this Christ? What will you do with the Lord Jesus Christ? Very often we say to the sinner what will you do with Jesus Christ? We tell them that when they get to stand before God that God's going to ask them what did you do with my son? Well he's going to ask the very same thing to the church. What did you do with my son? Who did you build upon? Who shaped and mold you? Whose ministry would you conform to? If Jeremiah is not the rock if Elijah is not the rock if John the Baptist is not the rock then who is it in this life? He has to be Christ. If he is the rock of your salvation you will not be anchored to any earthly ministry just unto him. You must not build the Bible tells us this on another man's foundation upon this rock he says upon this rock I'm going to build my church. What is the rock? That he is the Christ the son of God he is the Lord of all that is what the church is built upon upon that rock the Lord Jesus Christ. Who is it? Peter? James? John? Elijah? Jeremiah? No, it has to be upon the Lord Jesus Christ upon the solid rock I stand all other ground sink in sand always going to be could be a great man like John the Baptist but if you stand upon him you will sink might be a great prophet like Jeremiah if you stand upon him you're going to sink could be a great teacher like Elijah but if you stand and put your weight upon him you're going to sink he's sinking sand the only thing the only rock that can can accomplish full salvation is the Lord Jesus Christ we sing it we know it's my favorite song rock of ages cleft for me let me hide myself in thee the greatest and most effectual ministry is a ministry that is hidden in the Lord Jesus Christ talk to everyone tonight as ministers of the gospel the greatest ministries are those that are hidden in Christ doesn't have to be big doesn't feel no pressure to grow has no desire of a recognition it's always a ministry that is not revealed through flesh and blood it is naturally supernatural naturally is supernatural it is that ministry which comes from God nobody should be able that's appointed us and say that man has made his mark upon us that we're the product of such and such ministry nobody should be able to say that people should come be in this church be amongst us and say these are people that have been with Jesus this is what they should say of all good ministry the ministry of the hour is that which God is doing in us tonight what is he doing what is he doing to us tonight he's conforming us to that Christ he's opening our hearts our ears and our minds to the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ nobody knows who nobody knows where we are nobody knows what we are but we have an anointing from God and if we have that anointing he will have the glory he has to have the glory of Christ this is the question tonight who do you say Jesus Christ is what is he to you what of this Christ ask yourself this question tonight what will you do with the son of God oh this life is a pursuit of glory it's a pursuit of the Lord Jesus Christ you'll never find him you'll never capture him you'll never see all of him but to just see his back part just to see his hands just the ribbing side would be enough for me tonight just to know one thing just to feel the lock of his ear tonight would be enough for me for all eternity it's a pursuit of Christ upon the rock he's going to build the church upon the Christ upon nothing else and according to the works of no man according to the works of no man when the church arrives in heaven might not be in a chariot of fire but when we get there the only fingerprints upon this will be the hands of Christ God help us if there's men's hands upon our ministries here tonight God help us I'm here tonight to tell us to tell us something that we already know the only foundation for ministry the only foundation for the church is Christ there are there is no one else we spoke of the greatest I believe these men I don't believe I've put them down I believe that they're some of the greatest men in the scriptures but they're men he's totally other than what they were these men would be giants to us no doubt if the Baptist was alive today well I'd invite him I think to come and preach maybe get Elijah to come and teach and perhaps and listen Jeremiah would be the only one I'd allow prophesying in this church as well in that sense someone coming in from the outside and I don't think he'd be running around putting his hands on everybody and telling us how great we all are he'd be prophesying this the greatness of the Lord Jesus Christ if the three of them came through that door tonight they'd endorse this message saying Christ is the rock people looked at me, John the Baptist said they loved my preaching Elijah said they'd come far and near to hear me teach Jeremiah said wherever my word went the people believed but him the Christ the Son of God oh he's something different this is another man this is another kind of man this is not an earthly man this is a heavenly man this is the one whom you must pursue this is the one not only cleanses the heart enlarges it this is the one not only brought life to the spirit but he's bringing that spirit to the fullness getting it prepared so we can receive the fullness of the Godhead oh getting us prepared to receive those spiritual bodies upon this rock upon me upon the Christ he says I will build my church no one else not a ministry not a preacher not a tape not a DVD nothing not a tract not a book nothing not even the Bible upon him upon the Lord Jesus Christ the person we preach you the person the man Christ Jesus let us stand tonight