"I Will Build My Church"
Notes
Transcript
Intro: Expectations can make like hard or they can make life peaceful! When expectations are unrealistic it can make life seem impossible.
1. Jesus said He would build His Church
1. Jesus said He would build His Church
18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
A. This is a personal project of Jesus Himself.
A. This is a personal project of Jesus Himself.
If He was there in creation, He can to this project also. Some projects are hard, some are just time consuming. Neither of these affect God. Nothing is to hard, and He is not at all impacted by time. This gives us patience in His timing as well!
Notice the 3 pronouns for Jesus. So Peter is mentioned 1 time and Jesus is referred to 3. It is not Peter who builds the church but Jesus. It is because of his great confession that he, Peter, is mentioned at all.
This comes all the more evident when we look at Church history and see that it was not Peter who planted the most local churches or wrote the most New Testament. In both of these cases it was the apostle Paul who did that.
However, we know that Paul made the same confession that Jesus is the Christ the son of God . v 16
This does not mean that we have no part in building the church. NO! In fact we are expected to be an active part - not passive - in that process. While we do the physical part, Jesus and the Holy Spirit do the Spiritual part.
We invite - they call
We share - they convict
We show His attributes - He floods them with His goodness, grace, compassion and more.
15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
Andrew Curtis recently reminded me that He used the foundation of the apostles. We will get into that next week.
B. Again we notice that the church belongs to God. Jesus called it “My church.”
B. Again we notice that the church belongs to God. Jesus called it “My church.”
18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
Remember, we started our first sermon with the fact that the church belongs to God. It comes up here again!
So love what He loves and hate what He hates. Remember, Revelation 2-3 gives us a lot of examples.
2. Jesus said that Hell’s defensive gates could not keep people in!
2. Jesus said that Hell’s defensive gates could not keep people in!
18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
A. All Satan has is deception, chaos, and gates.
A. All Satan has is deception, chaos, and gates.
We often hear jokes and stories about the pearly gates of Heaven, but here Jesus tells His disciples that Satan has gates in an effort to keep people in Hell. But notice, They do not work well!
B. This is also another nod to the point in my last sermon that The church will not end.
B. This is also another nod to the point in my last sermon that The church will not end.
Satan has nothing but gates, to try to stop the church that Jesus is building. And we are told those gates will not prevail!
15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.
My notes:
1 Peter 2.5. “Being built up as a spiritual house. “
3. People were added to the Church by God.
3. People were added to the Church by God.
i. As God’s people stood up and told people what was happening, Many believed and were added and at times even multiplied.
i. As God’s people stood up and told people what was happening, Many believed and were added and at times even multiplied.
47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.
14 And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women,
7 Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith.
31 Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied.
ii. It will happen! It will prevail! This could be through or despite us.
ii. It will happen! It will prevail! This could be through or despite us.
More than just the great commission
More than just the great commission
58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
It is not about us, our gifts or abilities. The Church prevails because it is God’s Church.
It is not about us, our gifts or abilities. The Church prevails because it is God’s Church.
The power of the gospel message to convert people to Christ was found not in the preacher’s ingenuity or persuasion (cf. 1 Cor. 2:4; 1 Thess. 1:5) but in the fact that God sovereignly called to Himself a remnant, who would respond in saving faith. MacArthur, J., & Mayhue, R., eds. (2017). Biblical Doctrine: A Systematic Summary of Bible Truth (p. 741). Crossway.
Conclusion: Christ will build His Church. He has in the past and He continues to do it in our time.
Conclusion: Christ will build His Church. He has in the past and He continues to do it in our time.
Don’t listen to people who tell you that the days of the church are gone, that God is not working like He used to, or that we cannot grow in number. Building the Church is God’s work. Everything He does is done very good. We can take the promises and examples from today’s passages and be encouraged to our part as He does His part.
Do we believe and trust Jesus to do what He said He would do?
Do we believe and trust Jesus to do what He said He would do?
How do our prayers reflect the reality that Christ is at work building His Church?
How do our prayers reflect the reality that Christ is at work building His Church?
Are we doing our part?
Are we doing our part?
Inviting - while He is calling
Sharing - while God is convicting
Showing His attributes - While He floods them with His goodness, grace, compassion and more.