I WILL BUILD MY CHURCH. Text: Matthew 16:13-20

Transcription

1 I WILL BUILD MY CHURCH Text: Matthew 16:13-20 Key Word: Build Key Thought: God Is the True Builder of His This account of the life of Jesus and His disciples is recorded in all three of the Synoptic gospels (Mark 8:27-30; Luke 9:18-21). According to the writings of Luke, we know that Jesus was praying in private before He asked His disciples two very important questions. 1. Who do the people think I am? 2. Who do you think I am? These questions were probably sparked by His location - Caesarea Phillipi. This is not to be confused with Caesarea which is located along the Mediterranean coast. Caesarea Phillipi was located on an area of land that was located north of the Sea of Galilee on the south-west base of Mount Hermon. This land was given as a gift from Herod the Great to his son Philip around 20 BC. A temple of white marble was erected in honour of the emperor. Its name was arrived by combining the names of Caesar Augustus and Philip. It was the centre of worship for the Greek god "Pan." Pan was recognized as their god who watched over flocks, forests, mountains and wild things. Its former name was Paneas. This is the same area that scholars believe the transformation of Jesus took place. It was therefore, in the midst of pagan substitutes that Jesus asked what effect His life had made on both the peoples and specifically His disciples who stood before Him. Was He recognized as their Messiah in the midst of pagan deities? What foundation had He laid that His disciples would feel confident enough to build upon? A good way to measure that knowledge would be to evaluate Peter's response. Peter recognized that Jesus was their Messiah. This understanding came from a revelation by God Himself. The response of Jesus, as recorded by Matthew, is very important. "I tell you that you are Peter and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it." Matthew 16:18 Therefore, the will be built upon the understanding and confession that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Page 1 of 8

2 "It is he (the branch) who will build the temple of the Lord, and he will be clothed with majesty and will sit and rule on his throne. Zechariah 6:13 God is going to build His. I want to consider the statement that Jesus made. "I will build my church." I believe that what we are beginning to experience will continue to escalate. The is at a point of great advancement. The opportunities are almost endless. Great outpourings are just around the corner. Lets Look at this Statement of Jesus in a Closer Way. I. "I" WILL BUILD MY CHURCH II. I "WILL" BUILD MY CHURCH III. I WILL "BUILD" MY CHURCH IV. I WILL BUILD "MY" CHURCH V. I WILL BUILD MY "CHURCH" I. "I" WILL BUILD MY CHURCH It will not be the pagan god named "pan" or Elijah or Jeremiah or John the Baptist or Peter. It is Jesus Christ who began and will continue to build His. He not only died for it but also He rose for it to give it new life. People throughout the ages of time, as well as today, mocked at the thought of Jesus building His church. 1. Was He not just a man, born to a poor carpenter and his espoused wife? 2. Did He not grow up in Nazareth under the submission of His parents? 3. How could He dare proclaim that He was the Messiah? 4. Where was His kingdom? Could He show the people His throne? 5. Compare His weak and unarmed followers to the might of Rome! Today the mockery still goes on: 1. Sun Myung moon says he has been given the task of fulfilling what Jesus failed to do - to build His church. 2. Herbert W. Armstrong felt that he was to re-establish the preaching of the gospel in He believed that the gospel had not been preached since AD. 69. Page 2 of 8

3 I. "I" WILL BUILD MY CHURCH (Contd.) 3. Anton Levay is convinced that his " of Satan" and sister churches will eventually overcome the " of God." 4. David Berg, (Moses) the founder of the "Children of God" calls God's church today, "The Whore of Babylon." 5. Shirley MacLaine introduced "harmonic convergence, "channelling, "crystals, "astrological counselling, "shamanism, "cosmic consciousness." People are beginning to wonder. Has Jesus already Built His? If Jesus is in charge, why has it taken almost 2,000 years for His to be built? Why did He ever get us involved in doing something that He could do much better? When Jesus said "I" will build my church, He was also saying that He would decide how He would it. Interestingly enough, He chose to involve us! "all this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. 19. that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he had committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though Christ were making his appeal through us." II Corinthians 5:18-20 What a privilege we have to be used of God. Ambassadors represent another country but do not take up citizenship in the country they are serving in. Their citizenship remains with the country they're sent from. Some of their rights are transferred while others are not. We've all heard of cases where ambassadors have been imprisoned for breaking the law of the country they live in. As Christians, we do our upmost to serve the country of our citizenship - that is heaven. Since God wishes to build His church on earth, so we become His ambassadors. You and I have been given authority to serve God while we await for God to call us to our heavenly home. So the "I" in this statement shows us that it is God who is the head of His. He will determine what will happen. Page 3 of 8

4 II. I "WILL" BUILD MY CHURCH The word "will" is an active word that focuses upon the future. This should give us a great assurance that this act will take place. It is not a "hope so," "guess so," or "maybe so." It is not only that God will do it; it is His will to do it. Since the early 1500's remarkable alterations have swept through the bringing about tremendous changes. These changes are now intensifying. I believe that things are going to happen very shortly that will convince us that God is on the throne. Word. God's past promises encourage us that He will continue to be faithful to carry out His "I will destroy this temple and in three days will build another." Mark 14:58 "I will pour out my spirit on all people." Acts 2:17 "To know the will of God is the greatest knowledge. To do the will of God is the greatest achievement." We can expect es to grow. It is God's will. es that are existing in "closed countries" are seeing a tremendous move of God. National workers are being raised up throughout these countries. It s like tens of thousands of ambassadors like the apostle Paul are now proclaiming the message without fear of losing their lives or being tortured for their faith. When God says He will do something, we can be assured that it will happen. Page 4 of 8

5 III. I WILL "BUILD" MY CHURCH The word "build" is only used 4 x's in the NT. It means "house builder." It means "to edify." This word is not telling us that God's is going to be made up of massive structures and cathedrals to honour His name. Jesus was telling His that He would "build up" His. He will edify His. He will "embolden" or "give courage to" His. There is an increasing courage, boldness, strength, and vision being birthed into the true of God. We are witnessing many people who have received the consuming fire of the Holy Spirit. There is a new spiritual life that is sweeping across our nation. While Satan is trying to destroy, God is building up His. Jesus will continue to build His in: 1. Righteousness and holiness 2. Doctrine - Ephesians 2:20 "built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets. 3. Unity - Ephesians 4:3 "make every effort to keep the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace" 4. Faith and Knowledge - Ephesians 4:13 - "until we all reach unity in the faith and knowledge of the Son of Man." 5. Humility, gentleness, patience, love - Ephesians 4:2 6. Power - Acts 1:8 7. Victory - Romans 8:37 - We are more than conquerors through him who love us." "From time to time we get the erroneous impression that God wants us to be builders of the rather than custodians of what God builds." "What's Right with the William Willimon Page 5 of 8

6 IV. I WILL BUILD "MY" CHURCH This word "MY" speaks volumes to me about our relationship to God. He has decided to place His name upon us. We belong to Him. We are "Christ-ians" or "belonging to Christ. We are His Offspring - Acts 17:29 2. His Flock - I Peter 5:2 3. His Family - Ephesians 3:15 4. His Body - Ephesians 1:22,23 5. His Temple - I Corinthians 6:19 6. His Bride - Revelation 19:7 Paul Minear lists 96 different ways of describing the. He calls the a "gallery of pictures." The Augsburg Confession (Article VII) defines the church as: "the assembly of all believers, in which the gospel is purely preached and the sacraments rightly administered to the body." "The work of the is to produce Christian fruit - not religious nuts." One member was overheard saying, At our we've got everything from soup to nuts, and frankly, there is little soup. Many times because there are problems in the people think that they had better leave instead of working out the problems. I do know of cases though, when people have tried and are unsuccessful in bringing about a change. Then they need to quietly leave with no bitterness. They must also find another church to identify with. Beware of the trend recently to become a church to ourselves. Some are being called house churches. "When liberation is defined as freedom from others, it becomes slavery to oneself." "What's Right with the William Willimon (p.18) I don't believe that a Christian can grow properly without identifying with a local church. Page 6 of 8

7 IV. I WILL BUILD "MY" CHURCH (Contd.) It is like a student who will not attend school A soldier who will not join the army A tuba player without an orchestra A parent without a family A bee without a hive V. I WILL BUILD MY "CHURCH" Notice that God did not say that He would build everyone who attends a church service. The people whom God will build up are truly those who are His. The true consists of every believer who has made a choice to separate themselves from the world. We have been called out of this world not to become identical with it. We're not suppose to see how close we can live to the world without getting burnt. We are supposed to get as far from its influences as we possible can. Don't puff on a cigarette and expect God to take care of your lungs. Don't take that drink of alcohol and expect your liver to be in good order. Don't overeat and not expect to gain weight. The in Canada is preparing for a great move of the Holy Spirit. There is no time to waste. If we want to be built up, we must be sure that we are the of God and regularly attending a church of God. My desire more than anything is that we become what God intended His to be. I love God and you too much to deceive you. Lets pray that God's will shall be done in and through our lives. C:\My Documents\WPWin(11.0)\Sermons.2007\\Matthew 16_13.20.wpd Date: Aug 26/07 Place: FCA Time: 10:30 Am Song: Build Your - F Page 7 of 8

8 I WILL BUILD MY CHURCH Text: Matthew 16:13-20 Key Word: Build Key Thought: God Is the True Builder of His INTRODUCTION: Mark 8:27-30; Luke 9:18-21; Matthew 16:18; Zechariah 6:13 Lets Look at this Statement of Jesus in a Closer Way. I. "I" WILL BUILD MY CHURCH - II Corinthians 5:18-20 II. I "WILL" BUILD MY CHURCH - Mark 14:58; Acts 2:17 III. I WILL "BUILD" MY CHURCH Jesus will continue to build His in: 1. Righteousness and holiness 2. Doctrine - Ephesians 2:20 "built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets. 3. Unity - Ephesians 4:3 "make every effort to keep the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace" 4. Faith and Knowledge - Ephesians 4:13 - "until we all reach unity in the faith and knowledge of the Son of Man." 5. Humility, gentleness, patience, love - Ephesians 4:2 6. Power - Acts 1:8 7. Victory - Romans 8:37 - We are more than conquerors through him who love us." IV. I WILL BUILD "MY" CHURCH We are His Offspring - Acts 17:29 2. His Flock - I Peter 5:2 3. His Family - Ephesians 3:15 4. His Body - Ephesians 1:22,23 5. His Temple - I Corinthians 6:19 6. His Bride - Revelation 19:7 V. I WILL BUILD MY "CHURCH"