Let's turn tonight, if you will, in our Bibles to Matthew chapter 16. Matthew chapter 16. And I'll begin my reading in verse 13 and read through verse 20. When Jesus came into the coast of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, whom do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? And they said, some say that thou art John the Baptist. Some, Elias, and others, Jeremias, are one of the prophets. He saith unto them, but whom say ye 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 Barjona, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I 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. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ. There's so much in a passage of scripture like this, but I'm going to pass over most of it and speak to us from the words of our Lord in verse 18, this rock, this rock. I say also 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. I want us to think, I have five things I want us to see this evening that speak to us of the Lord Jesus Christ as a rock. As a rock. The rock. He said this rock. This rock means that there are other rocks. This rock. This rock. is the rock upon which the Lord Jesus Christ builds his church. And there are five things that I'm going to mention to us this evening. First, this rock, this rock, different from all the other rocks. This rock is unlike all other rocks. Turn with me, if you will, to Deuteronomy chapter 32. You'll see what I mean. is unlike all other rocks. In Deuteronomy chapter 32 and verse 29, Moses speaking to the nation of Israel, oh, that they were wise, that they understood this. that they would consider their latter end. How should one chase 1,000? Think about that. How does one man put an army of 1,000 to run? How is that possible? One man against 1,000. And two, Two men put 10,000 to flight. How is that possible? The two men go out on the battlefield and they face an army of 10,000 and the two men put the 10,000 to flight. Except, now notice this, how should one chase 1,000 and two put 10,000 to flight? Except their rock, the rock of the 10,000, the rock of the 2,000, except their rock had sold them, and the Lord had shut them up. For their rock, notice, for their rock is not as our rock. Even our enemies, Moses says, even our enemies acknowledge this truth. And we know that was so in Egypt, when plague after plague, finally the Egyptians confessed, this is the hand of God. They had their gods, they had their rocks, the Egyptians did, and they could do some of the signs or the miracles that Moses did at first, but they came to a point when their gods could not compete with the God. This rock, This rock is unlike all other rocks. What I mean is, our God, this rock, is unlike all other gods. That's what he's saying. Unlike all other gods. All other rocks, all other gods, are different from our rock. from this rock upon which Christ builds his church, because all other rocks had a beginning. And this rock is eternal. This rock had no beginning. Remember when he appeared to Moses in the burning bush, he confessed his name, I am. Not I was, not I shall be, but I am. The self-existent Lord God Jehovah who needs nothing, needs no one, because he is self-efficient himself. Our rock is unlike all other rocks. This rock upon which Christ builds his church is unlike all other rocks. We know, as we read through the Old Testament history of the nation of Israel, there were various gods that they encountered. Baal was one god that we read about quite often. Astaroth, that goddess, was another one. But also here in Deuteronomy, God warned the nation of Israel not to worship the sun or the moon or the stars, and we know that those things have served as gods for many different nations who did not have the knowledge of the truth. Their God is not as our God. Their rock is not as our rock. This rock is eternal. This rock is all powerful, and all other rocks are limited to place, this rock is everywhere present. Other rocks have wills. Think about this. Other rocks, other gods have wills, but they have wills that may be resisted. This rock, the scripture says, does according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth, and none can stay his hand or say unto him, what doest thou? None can question this rock. So that's the first thing I'll point out to us tonight about this rock. Our Lord said, upon this rock I will build my church. This rock is unlike all other rocks, all other gods. Second, I want you to turn to Isaiah chapter 28. This rock is a cornerstone. In Isaiah chapter 28 and verse 16, we read, Therefore, thus saith the Lord God, behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation, a stone. Now, you know, I assume all of us here know that many times the church is referred to by that name Zion, Zion. And that's what we read here in the Old Testament, as well as what our Lord said. Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation, a stone. We should know that many times the church is called Zion in the Old Testament, Mount Zion. And the Lord Jesus Christ said upon this rock, this is really our Lord repeating what we have here in this prophecy in Isaiah 28 and verse 16. This rock, which is the Lord Jesus Christ, is the foundation stone upon which his church is built. Of course, the Apostle Paul, writing to the church at Corinth, he said, other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. God said, behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation, a stone, A tried stone, a precious cornerstone. Now, we could say something about each one of those declarations here, but I call our attention especially to that cornerstone. I lay in Zion for a foundation, a stone, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone. How does a cornerstone serve in a building? Well, it unites two sides, doesn't it? It brings two sides together. And this pictures to us that this rock, this rock upon which the Lord Jesus Christ built, builds his church. This pictures to us that this rock unites two sides, that is heaven and earth, that he is God and he is man. He is the God-man. He's the rock who is both God and man. He had to be man for a number of reasons. One reason is it was man who had sinned against God. And it had to be one in the same nature who had sinned against God to reconcile men to God. But another reason, maybe more important, is he had to be man that he might obey, to obey the law of God, to obey God Almighty. He had to be man. He had to be man to suffer. Angels cannot suffer. God cannot suffer. He had to be man that he might obey God Almighty, and he had to be man that he might suffer for the sins of his people, and he had to be man that he might die, that he might die in the place of others. But then he must be God, right? He must be God because if he's just a man, even a perfect man as he was, a sinless man. But if that's all he were, that would not be enough to satisfy infinite justice. He must be also God to give the value, if I can use that word, to give the value, the power, the sufficiency of what he did to be put to the charge of those he came to save and to reconcile them unto God. He might obey, suffer, and die as man and as God that his obedience, his suffering, and his death might satisfy God's Infinite justice. Not just God's justice, but His infinite justice. So this rock is unlike other rocks. This rock, upon which Christ builds His church, that is Himself, is a cornerstone. A third thing about this rock, this rock was disallowed of men and smitten. Disallowed of men and smitten. Look with me in 1 Peter chapter two. 1 Peter chapter two and verse four and verse seven. Two times in these few verses here, the apostle Peter tells us that this rock was disallowed. disallowed. First Peter chapter 2 and verse 4, we read, to whom coming as unto a living stone disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God and precious. And then in verse 7, unto you therefore which believe he is precious, but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed The same is made the head of the corner. The word which is here translated disallowed according to Strong's Concordance means to disapprove. To disapprove and by implication means to repudiate the builders here. The stone which the builders disallowed. Who are the builders here? They were the priest, they were the leaders of the nation of Israel when the Lord Jesus Christ, the scribes and the priests, when he came into this world, they disapproved his person. Remember, he confessed to be God. I and my father are one. And what did the builders do? They took up stones to stone him. They disapproved of him, disapproved of his person. They disapproved of his doctrine. Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven. They disapproved that because that was their hope. That was their boast, their righteousness. their righteousness by their obedience to the law. And he said, no, no, his doctrine, they disapproved of it. If except your righteousness exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees, you're not going to enter into the kingdom of God. And you know, it's so sad, isn't it? That many people even today believe that by their obedience, whatever rules they have come out of the Bible, that they're going to make themselves right with God, that they're going to be saved and enter into the kingdom of heaven. No, no. The Lord Jesus Christ said, you've got to have a righteousness better than that. You've got to have a righteousness that God will accept. It must exceed that man righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees. or you shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven." Not only did they disapprove of his person, they disapproved of his doctrine, and they disapproved of his kingdom. They said, my kingdom's not of this world. Well, that's what they wanted. That's what they desired, a kingdom in this world that would be like the kingdom that David had years before when the nation of Israel conquered just about every nation around him, remember. And he wore the crown of all the various kings of the various nations around them. His army seemed like they could not be defeated. That's what we want. And even the disciples, you remember, they said, well, What we would desire is, one of them said, I want to sit on the right hand, and the other one said, I want to sit on the left hand when you come into your kingdom. They're thinking of an earthly kingdom, aren't they? And our Lord said, my kingdom is not of this world. My kingdom is within you. Within you, in your heart. He comes to rule and reign in the hearts of his people. This rock was disallowed and smitten. I pointed out it was disallowed, but remember, it was also smitten. And this was pictured, wasn't it, in the Old Testament when Israel, the nation of Israel, some people believe there may have been as many as two to three million people, and they come out of Egypt, God delivered them and brought them out and they come into the wilderness and they hadn't gone far before they came to a place and there was no water. Now water's not a luxury, is it? It really isn't. I mean, it is in some ways, but you must have water. That's the reason they call this planet that we live on the blue planet. Why? Because there's water here. And there can be no water or be no life rather, if there is no water. And of course, as their custom was, they began to complain and murmur, murmur against Moses as though it was his fault that there was no water. You remember Moses went to the Lord, let's turn and read that in Exodus chapter 17. This rock is disallowed indeed of man, but smitten, smitten of God. And this was pictured in the Old Testament in Exodus chapter 17 in verses three through six, we'll read. Verse three, we read, and the people thirsted there for water. And the people murmured against Moses and said, wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst? You know, when the Lord first, I believe, began working in my life, I read through these Old Testament passages and I think, What's wrong with those people? What's wrong with those people? I mean, God had just brought them out of Egypt with a high hand, a strong arm. And here they are already. But you know, as I have, I hope, grown and matured, I realized that I'm just reading about myself. That's all I'm doing. I'm just reading about myself. Yes. We trust God today and tomorrow we have a small inconvenience and we're ready to question God's love and God's providence and we lose patience, don't we? Just like these people of old. Why did you bring us out here, Moses, to kill us in the wilderness? And Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, What shall I do unto this people? They be almost ready to stone me.' And the Lord said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel, and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go." That same rod that God told him to smite the river to open up the Red Sea when they came across. Take that rod and go. on before the people, and the elders with thee, and thy rod, take it in thy hand, and go. Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock, and hoar up, and thou shalt smite the rock." Smite the rock. Take that rod and wham! Smite the rock. He didn't say you're to go there and look at the rock. He didn't say you're to go there and admire the rock. What a beautiful rock, what a beautiful boulder that is. Oh no, they could still be there, thirsting until the rock was smitten. Smite the rock and out of the rock then flowed water. There shall come water out of it, and the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. The rock must be smitten. Now, people can admire the Lord Jesus Christ as a good man, as a philosopher, a lot of good teaching. But we've got to have more than a philosopher. We've got to have a savior. This rock had to be smitten. He had to be smitten for us. Paul identified this rock as Christ in 1 Corinthians 10. He said, this rock is Christ, a picture of Christ. Remember in Hebrews, we read without the shedding of blood, there is no remission. No one will ever have our sins put away unless the rock is smitten. We know that picture to us the Lord Jesus Christ as he died for us upon the cross of Calvary, smitten so that water, life, eternal life might flow from him. We sing that hymn sometimes, wounded for me, wounded for me. There on the cross, he was wounded for me. Gone my transgressions, and now I'm free, all because he was wounded for me. Smite the rock. A fourth thing about this rock, and let's go back to I Peter 2. This rock is a living rock. This rock is a living rock, 1 Peter 2 and verse 4, to whom coming as unto a living stone. There's a difference, of course, between the foundation stone in a physical building and the foundation stone in the spiritual temple that is the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. There are many differences. The foundation and cornerstone in this spiritual temple is alive. It's a living stone. Then in a second way, there's a difference. Every stone in this building is laid upon this foundation stone, this cornerstone. There are buildings in Europe You know, years ago, Pat and I got to go to England and London. It just seemed like every building ought to be important because they've been there 300 or 400 years, it seems like. But I'm sure most of those buildings there had a cornerstone, had a foundation stone. It's still there. and they've built up upon it, but all these rocks that have been, these stones rather, that have been built higher upon it, they don't touch the foundation stone. They don't lay upon the foundation stone. There's a stone put on that foundation stone, another stone on it, another stone on it. That's not the way it is in this spiritual temple, this church that the Lord Jesus Christ is building. Every stone in this building is laid upon the foundation stone, every stone. And because He is a living stone, then we become living stones built upon Him. It is being in union with this stone, being laid upon this stone. This living stone, this living rock, that eternal life flows unto us. And there's a fifth thing about this rock I wanted to mention tonight. This rock, and I just want to emphasize that when you leave here tonight. This rock, this rock is different from all other rock. This rock upon which Christ builds his church, And of course it's speaking of himself. But this rock is like a great rock in a weary land. Turn back with me to Isaiah chapter 32. This rock is like a great rock in a weary land. In Isaiah chapter 32, verses 1 and 2, we read about this king. And this king, in verse 1, is no other than the Lord Jesus Christ, the King of kings. Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment, and a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind. and a covert from the tempest, as rivers of water in a dry place, as a shadow of a great rock in a weary land. All of these four things that are mentioned here are true of this rock. He's a hiding place from the wind. You say, what does that mean, temptation? Temptations are represented to us by the wind. He's a hiding place from the wind. The tempest, the trials, he's a covert. The word covert means a covering. When I read that word, I think of the word covert. I met a man years ago. in Wichita Falls, and he told me that one day he was traveling, and he was in his car, and he saw this tornado coming, and it was obvious it was going to come right over where he was. He pulled off to the side of the road, and down in the ditch there, he knew there was a culvert there. He got in that culvert, and that tornado passed over him, and his car was ruined, of course, but he was safe. He was saved, but he did tell me this, he lost his hearing because of the noise in that culvert. But the Lord Jesus Christ, he's a covering. He's a covering from the tempest, from the trials that come your way. And no child of God is exempt. No child of God is going to go through this world and not face trials and temptations. And he, this rock, he is the hiding place. He's the culvert, the shield. And number three, from the dry parched desert of this world, he is as rivers of water. And this world sometimes can become a very dry place for God's children. But in Christ, there's always rivers of water for his people. And then the last thing, in a weary land, he's a shadow of a great rock. Shadow. I always think of a man, you know, it's very hot over there. The temperature's very high in that part of the world. A man that's maybe been walking and he's exhausted He gets behind a rock and there's a shadow, a little cooler there to refresh himself. What a picture that is of the Lord Jesus Christ as we go through this world and we too become tired and sometimes discouraged and sometimes ready even to give up. We go to the rock, don't we? He's a rock, a shadow in a dry, land, a weary land. I'm going to ask you to turn to one other place. I want you to look in Matthew chapter 7. I believe the Sermon on the Mouth, the message the Lord Jesus Christ preached, recorded in our Bibles in chapters 5, 6, and 7 of Matthew. I believe it's the longest recorded message that we have of our Savior, and you know he came down to the end of it and he gave this illustration. And it's such a good illustration, isn't it? Of two men building a house, and one builds his house on the sand, and one builds his house on this rock, this rock. And the winds come, And the floods come. And what happens to the house of the man who built it on the sand? It's washed away. The foundation is gone. But look what he says in these two verses, 24 and 25. Therefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man which built his house upon a rock. And the rain descended, and the floods came. As I said, just because you're built on the rock doesn't mean you're going to escape the rains and the floods, the winds, as you go through this world as a child of God. The rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, and it fell not. For it was founded upon the rock, a rock, this rock. My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name. On Christ the solid rock I stand. All other ground is sinking sand. Amen. Thank God for the rock. The Lord Jesus. David.