Victorious Church

Introduction

Turn to Matthew chapter 16, would you, please, and look up here.

The scripture that I’m going to read to you is really an examination. The disciples had been with the Lord Jesus Christ in the greatest seminary of all. He had been teaching them for almost three years. And now he comes to the conclusion of His ministry with them, and He’s going to give them a final examination. And I want you to notice how it goes here in Matthew chapter 16, and we begin in verse 13: “When Jesus came into the coasts 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: and some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them,”—and here’s the major question on the exam—“But whom say ye that I am …”—and, by the way, is that not the greatest question of the ages?—“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:”—that is, “You aced it; you got 100; you got A-plus”—“for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And 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. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16:13–19)

I’ve already said that the greatest organization and the greatest organism on the face of this earth is the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is absolutely totally foolish to talk about loving Jesus without loving what Jesus loves; and Jesus loves the Church.

Now there are several things I want you to learn about the Church, and I want you to pay attention, because God’s plan for every person listening to me is this: number one, that you be saved; and, number two, that you be an active participant in a local New Testament church. And if you’re not that way, you’re not right with God, okay? So, pay attention. I want you to listen.

I. The Saving Confession of the Church

All right, first of all, I want you to think with me about what I’m going to call the saving confession of the Church. Write that down: the saving confession of the Church. What must you confess? What must you believe in order to be saved? Here’s what you must believe in order to be saved. You must believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. That’s where you put your faith. You must be a true believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Simon Peter is asked a question: “Peter, who do people say that I am?” “Well,” they said, “some say that you’re John the Baptist. Others say that you’re Elijah. Others say that you’re one of the prophets.” “All right now, Peter, who do you say that I am?”—“who do you say that I am?” Peter says, “You’re the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Do you believe that? Do you believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God?

I want you to think about this saving confession, and listen to me very carefully.

A. A Personal Conviction About Christ

It was a personal conviction about Christ. Put it down: a personal conviction. Now he said, “What are other people saying?” “Well, some say this, and some say that, and some say the other.” “Now, Peter, what do you say personally? What is your conviction?” Peter says, “I believe—I personally believe—that you are the Christ;”—that means the Anointed One, the Messiah—“I believe that you are the Son of God.”

Now, how did Peter come to this conclusion? Well, not by taking a poll. Not by going out and saying, “What do others say?” Nor did he come to this conclusion because he had figured it out. Not by intellectual investigation. Now, remember he had been almost three years with Jesus Christ, and yet Jesus said, “Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 16:17) Now, how can you know who Jesus Christ is? Not by taking a poll, not by asking what others think. Very frankly, it makes no difference what others think. Number two: not by bringing your mind and your intellect to the Bible to try to dig truth out of the Bible with your flesh and your blood, your mind, your intellect, your emotions. You’ll never know God except by divine revelation.

Now, listen. Jesus said, “Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona. You’re blessed, but remember this: It doesn’t matter what others say; it doesn’t matter what you think. What matters is what God reveals to you.” Now I hope you get this, because if you don’t get this, you’re going to miss the whole thing. Stop looking around and studying world religions. Stop, my friend, bringing your carnal mind to the Word of God. Lay your pride in the dust, and ask God to reveal to you who Jesus Christ is. And I tell you, He will. I promise you on the authority of the Word of God, if you want to know who Jesus Christ is, you can know, but not by taking a poll, not by intellectual prowess, but by humbling yourself and opening yourself to the Word of God. The Bible says, “God hath hidden these things from the wise and the prudent, and hath revealed them unto babes.” (Matthew 11:25; Luke 10:21) Are you willing to come with a childlike faith? You say, “Oh, no, I want to strut into the presence of God.” Well, you’re not going to strut into the presence of God. “Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona.” His was a personal conviction about the Lord Jesus Christ.

B. A Personal Confession of Christ

But, secondly, I want you to see not only was it a personal conviction of Christ; it was a personal conviction about Christ, but it also was a personal confession of Christ. Now Simon Peter was not ashamed, not afraid, to confess what he knew about the Lord Jesus Christ. Are you ashamed to confess Christ? Then you’re not going to heaven. Even if you have the conviction, and yet you don’t make the confession, you are not going to heaven.

Listen to Romans 10, verses 9 and 10: “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth”—listen—“confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:9–10) Now you’re in Matthew 16. You could go backward to Matthew 10, but let me just read it to you. Matthew 10, verses 32 and 33—Jesus said, “Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 10:32–33)

Now, suppose Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon Peter, who do you say that I am?” And suppose Simon Peter said, “Well,” to himself, “in my heart, I know who He is, but there are too many people standing around here. I don’t want to be identified with Him openly and publicly, so I’m not going to make this great confession that He is the Christ, the Son of the living God.” There are some of you sitting in this building this morning, you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, but you’re ashamed to confess Him before men. I want to tell you something. Walking down a church aisle doesn’t save anybody. Shaking a pastor’s hand doesn’t save anybody. But what it indicates is what saves you: that you’re not ashamed of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus said frankly, clearly, plainly, “If you’re ashamed of me, I’ll be ashamed of you.” The faith that will not lead to confession will not lead to heaven.

Now you may be somewhere out in a desert where there’s nobody to confess to. That’s one matter. But when you sit in a congregation like this, and an opportunity is given to you to make an acknowledgment of your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, then you ought to gladly say, “I want to do it.” How could you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and be ashamed of Him? It’s impossible. It’s impossible, if you truly believed it that He is the very Son of God.

C. A Personal Conversion to Christ

We’re talking, friend, about the saving confession of the Church. It was a personal conviction. It was a personal confession. And it was a personal conversion. Notice what Jesus said. Jesus said, “And I say … unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church.” (Matthew 16:18) Now Jesus is making a play on words. We’re going to see later that Jesus is the foundation of the Church, that Jesus is the bedrock upon which the Church is built. But Jesus says to him, “And I say that you are Peter.” Now his name, prior to this, has been Simon. Jesus gives him another name: Peter—petros. It means “rock.” It means “boulder.” He says, “That’s all right, Peter. Now I’m going to change your name. No longer are you Simon Johnson Barjona.” That’s what it means—Simon Johnson, son of John. “Now your name is Peter.” Maybe his nickname was Rocky. “Now you’re Peter. You are a rock.”

Now Jesus is the foundation rock. We’re going to see that later on. But now Peter has the same nature as Jesus. Peter doesn’t just have a piece of the rock; he is a piece of the rock. He has become a partaker of the divine nature.

Now, let me tell you this about Christians. A Christian is not just a nicer person. A Christian is somebody who’s had a miracle. He has become a partaker of the divine nature. Have you become a partaker of the divine nature? Have you? I mean, does God live in you? Has there been a change in your nature? The Bible says, clearly and plainly, “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature” (2 Corinthians 5:17)—“a new creation.”

Christians are not a tadpole who finally turns into a frog; Christians are a frog turned into a prince by the kiss of grace. There is a divine, supernatural change.

You have a change in your life. Has there been a change in your life? Or have you just joined a church?

Now, what is the saving confession of the church? It is a personal conviction about Christ: “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” It is a public confession of that Christ: “I believe that you’re the Christ, the Son of the living God. This is what I say.” And it is a powerful conversion. Now you have become a piece of the rock. Now I say to you that that’s what a New Testament church is built upon. Nobody is qualified for membership in this church, or any church—your church out there—who does not believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God; who’s not willing to confess openly and publicly and unashamedly that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and has had a transformation by receiving Jesus Christ into their heart and into their life.

Do you know what has happened to so many churches today? Churches have become sort of social clubs. But, obviously, it’s easier to get into some churches than some social clubs. At least they have some standards. Many churches today, rather than a sheepfold, have become a zoo, where everybody gets in and nobody gets out. The Church of the Lord Jesus Christ is built upon a saving confession.

“Who do you say that I am?” Peter said, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Have you said that? Have you confessed that? Has there been a change in your life? Has there? I say, has there?

II. The Sovereign Construction of the Church

All right, let’s go on. The second thing I want you to see: not only the saving confession of the Church, but I want you to see the sovereign construction of the Church. Notice what Jesus says. Just keep your Bibles open: “I say … unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock …”—I’m reading now verse 18—“and upon this rock I will build my church.” (Matthew 16:18) Now the Church is sovereignly constructed. Jesus did not say, “You will build my Church.” He didn’t say, “I will build your church.” Jesus said, “Upon this rock I will build my church.” Flesh and blood cannot build a church of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is Jesus’ Church, and He is the One that builds it.

Now we’re not talking about the building. We’re not talking about this building here. This building is just a sheep shed. This is not the Church. This is where the Church meets. You are the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ.

I heard one day about a man who was filling out a form, and on that form it said, “church preference.” He put “red brick.”

We’re not talking about a building. We’re talking about a group of people that Jesus Christ has redeemed by His shed blood.

Now Jesus is the architect of the Church, Jesus is the builder of the Church, and Jesus Christ is the foundation of the Church. Jesus says, “Upon this rock I will build my church.” Now some people say that the Church is built upon Simon Peter. That’s absurd. The Church is built upon Jesus Christ. The Bible says, clearly and plainly, in 1 Corinthians 3, verse 11, “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 3:11) Jesus is the foundation of the Church. Jesus is making a play on words. Jesus said, “I say unto you that you are Peter,”—the Greek word there is petros—if we were to anglicize it—“and upon this rock I will build my Church.” But He doesn’t use the word petros again. He uses another word. “Thou art Petros, and upon this petra I will build my Church.”

What’s the difference between petros and petra? One word means “a rock, like a boulder.” Another word means “a rock like a rock stratum; a ledge; a foundation; a massive rock.” Now Jesus says, “Peter, you’re a piece of the rock. You’re a boulder, but I am the foundation, and upon this foundation stone I will build my Church.” What is the foundation stone upon which the Church is built? What Peter’s just said: “You’re the Christ, the Son of the living God.” “That’s right. And upon that rock I will build my Church.”

On Christ the solid rock I stand,

All other ground is sinking sand.

—Edward Mote

The church’s one foundation Is Jesus Christ her Lord.

—Samuel J. Stone

I’m not looking back to some ancestral priest. I’m so grateful the Church is not built upon Simon Peter. If you continue to read this chapter, in a few verses later Jesus had to rebuke Simon Peter and say, “Get thee behind me, Satan. You’re an offense unto me.” (Matthew 16:23) The Church is built upon the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the solid rock. He is the One who is building the Church. And, therefore, I want to tell you something, folks. The Church will be built. The Church will be completed. Philippians 1:6: “He who hath begun a good work in you will perform it.” What God starts God will complete. He will present it to Himself a glorious Church without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, (Ephesians 5:27) and don’t you feel beleaguered. You are on the winning side. And we have beneath us the foundation of the Lord Jesus Christ.

I heard of a woman one day who was dying, and she seemed to be comatose. Others standing around the bedside thought she could not hear what was being said. But, many times, people who are dying, who cannot articulate, cannot speak, they can hear, they can understand. And so they were talking about her. She was a great Christian, had a glorious experience with the Lord Jesus Christ, and somebody said, “Well, she’s sinking.” She opened her eyes and said, “Sinking? How can one sink through a rock?” She was resting on the Lord Jesus Christ, and so am I.

III. The Spiritual Composition of the Church

So there’s the sovereign construction of the Church. Here’s the third thing I want you to see. I want you to see the spiritual composition of the Church. Now Jesus said, “Upon this rock I will build my church.” (Matthew 16:18) Well, what is the composition of the Church? What does He build the Church out of? Out of stone, living stone. Now Simon Peter knew he was not the foundation. Put in your margin 1 Peter 2, verse 5. Now here’s what Peter thought about that. Here’s what Peter himself wrote about that. He said, “Ye also, as lively stones,”—that is, living stones—“are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood” (1 Peter 2:5)—“an holy priesthood.” Now what Peter is saying is that, “Jesus taught me one day that He was the foundation and I am a stone.” But he says, “You also are living stones.” We’re not dead stones; we’re living stones. And we are built upon the foundation of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now the very word church, He says, “I will build my church”—it’s the Greek word ekklesia, and it means “a called out assembly.” What the Lord Jesus Christ is doing in Peebles, He’s calling out some people. In Toledo, He’s calling out some people. In Spain, He’s calling out some people. In Japan, He’s calling out some people. In Jakarta, He’s calling out some people. In Australia, He’s calling out some people. And He’s calling them by the Holy Spirit and by the preaching of the Word of God: a stone here, a stone here, a stone here, a stone here. And all of these stones are built upon the foundation, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is a living stone. He is a living stone. He is a living stone. You are a living stone if you confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. And the Master Builder, the Lord Jesus Christ, is putting stone upon stone upon stone. Here’s a stone, here’s a stone, here’s a stone. And what our Lord Jesus Christ is doing is building a spiritual house.

Now, let’s think about that for a little bit. Let’s think a little bit about the composition of the Church.

A. We Are Built Together

Friend, first of all, I want you to know that we are built together. That’s the reason we must have the church. We are a building. You ever hear of a one-stone building? Do you ever hear of a one-brick building? No! Friend, you can take a stone and push it around. You could take a brick and shove it around. It’s hard to shove a building around. Besides that, one stone, one brick, doesn’t make a house. Therefore, you, apart from me, and I, apart from you, I’m not what I ought to be, what I could be. We are standing together.

B. We Are Bonded Together

Listen to me. We are built together, and because we are built together, we are bonded together. Now you don’t just take stones and stack them up. Stones have to be bonded together. Jesus Christ is the foundation. We are living stones like Peter. “Peter, you’re a rock; you’re a boulder.”

Now our Lord is taking these stones, these living stones, and He’s putting them in place. What keeps them from falling apart? They’re bound together. What is the mortar that holds us together? What is the mortar that holds Peebles PHC? It is love. We are bound together by love.

“We are one in the bond of love We are one in the bond of love We have joined our spirit with the Spirit of God We are one in the bond of love”

It’s that love that holds us together. I’ll tell you, without the love of Jesus Christ this Church would fly apart. People look at this church. They can’t understand this church. They say, “Who are those people? What brings them all together? What is the commonality that they have? They come from different backgrounds, different educational achievements, different tastes, different proclivities. Now, what is it? What is it that holds us together? What is the mortar? Friend, it is l-o-v-e—love—that holds these stones together.

Besides that, not only does the love hold us together; love holds us apart. You know, every stone is not perfect. Some stones have bulges and bumps, and other stones have cavities and chips. But where there’s a bulge, the mortar gives; and where there’s a cavity, the mortar fills. Isn’t that what love does?

C. We Are Blessed Together

Now, let me tell you something, folks. What keeps us together? What binds us together? We are built together. We are bonded together. Now, listen. And because we are built together and bonded together, we are blessed together. People say, “Well, you can be just as good a Christian outside the church as you can be inside the church.” Just one thing wrong with that: it’s not so. It’s just not so. Friend, I’m telling you that when we come to worship on Sunday morning, when we come, Peter says, “Ye … are built up a spiritual house.” (1 Peter 2:5) What does that mean? A place for the Spirit to live. God’s Spirit comes. Why did Jesus say a little later, in Matthew chapter 18, “For where two or three [of you] are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:20) I’m telling you, folks, that Jesus Christ is in this place this morning in a way that He’s not out there—in a way He’s not out there.

Now He’s omnipresent. There’s no place where He is not, but there is His manifested presence. When God’s people come together, God comes to dwell with them and to meet with them, and we are blessed together. How good it is when God’s people get together! That’s the reason the Bible says we are not to forsake “the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more.” (Hebrews 10:25)

Jesus Christ said, “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” Can you be a Christian without being a church member? Well, yes, I guess you could be a bee without a hive, and a sailor without a ship, and a parent without a family. In my estimation, if you’re truly saved, you’re going to want to be a member of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. You say, “Well, it looks like church on the losing end.” Well, friend, I want to tell you something. When Jesus said this in Matthew chapter 16, “Upon this rock I will build my church,” His ministry was at its lowest ebb. The crowds had all forsaken Him, and Calvary was right around the corner. And yet Jesus said, “I will build my church.”

Woodrow Wilson said, “I had rather temporarily fail with a cause that must ultimately succeed than to temporarily succeed with a cause that must ultimately fail.” I’ll tell you, the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ is His Church, and He said, “I will build my church.”

IV. The Singular Commission of the Church

Now here’s the next thing I want you to see. It’s what I want to call the singular commission of the Church—the singular commission of the Church. What is it? We talked about the construction, the composition, the confession. What is the commission of the church? Well, listen to it in verse 19. Jesus said, “And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16:19) Now, away with these jokes about St. Peter holding the keys to let you in and out of heaven at the pearly gates. That’s just all superstition. He’s not talking about that at all. What’s He talking about when He says, “I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven?”

What are the keys of the kingdom of heaven? The truth, gospel truth: salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. The word key here stands for knowledge. Back in Jesus’ day there were scribes. These were people who were teachers of the Word of God, and the scribe would wear a key on his belt: not to unlock doors with; it was a symbol to symbolize the truth that he held. For example, the Bible says, in Luke 11, verse 52, “Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge.” (Luke 11:52) He’s speaking of knowledge. Here’s the key—Matthew 13, verse 52: “Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.” (Matthew 13:52) What He is saying is this: “I’m going to give to you some truth, some keys that you can use to get people into the kingdom of heaven.” What a blessing and what a responsibility!

What is my responsibility and what is your responsibility? Now you say—listen to me—that you have made the confession, “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.” You believe that you are part of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, what the Lord said to Peter, He’s also saying to you that He is placing in your hands—listen—the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Now here He tells Peter, “Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” He says the same thing to all of them over here in Matthew chapter 18. It’s not simply to Peter. It’s not that Peter only is the keeper of the keys. We all are keeper of the keys. We’re all custodians of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

What is the singular commission of the Church? Let me tell you what it is. The single commission of the Church is to bring souls bound in the chains of the gospel and lay them at Jesus’ feet. Our job is to win souls to Jesus Christ.

Now our job is not to fight communism. Our job is not to fight pornography. Our job is not to fight gambling. Our job is not to fight abortion. Our job is not to fight racism or sexual perversion. The gospel of Jesus Christ applies to all of these things. But, friend, listen to me. You can make a man an anti-communist, you can make a man an anti-bigot, you can make a man an anti-pervert without making him a Christian, but you can’t make him a Christian without making him an anti-these other things. You see, the change is in the heart, and if we forget our singular commission, our singular commission is winning souls.

Somebody says, “Well, we need to clothe the naked.” Yes, we do. Somebody says, “We need to house the homeless.” Yes, we do. Somebody says, “We need to feed the hungry.” Yes, we do. But that is not our singular commission. And if we’re not careful, all we’re doing is making the world a better place to go to hell from. Our singular commission is to bring souls to Jesus Christ. Do you believe that? I hope you believe that. You know, it’s so easy to get sidetracked. The devil doesn’t care whatever else we may do as long as we’re not bringing souls bound in the golden chains of the gospel and lay them at Jesus’ feet.

Now, what does this mean: “Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven”? The Greek scholars tell us—and it’s absolutely true—that the construction of this verse says this: that whatever you bind on earth shall have already been bound in heaven. Now, listen. Whatever you loose on earth shall have already been loosed in heaven. Now what Jesus is saying is not that earth’s will is going to be done in heaven, but what Jesus is saying is that heaven’s will be done on earth when you use the keys of the kingdom. Now He is saying, “Look, I have bound Satan. I have loosed the Holy Spirit. I have come to set the captives free. You have the keys. Whatever you bind, I’ve already bound. Whatever you loose, I’ve already loosed.” What a privilege is ours! That is the singular commission of the Church: evangelism.

Jesus takes this Book of Matthew, and He ends it, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost … and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” (Matthew 28:19–20) Question: Are you a soul winner? You say, “Well, no, but I’m a Christian.” To be a Christian without being a soul winner is like being a bus driver who won’t drive a bus. It’s a contradiction in terms. You say, “Well, I’m not gifted to do it.” If you cannot preach like Peter, if you cannot pray like Paul, you can tell the love of Jesus, and say, “He died for all.” Don’t let me hear you idly say, “There’s nothing I can do,” while the sons of men are dying and the Master calls for you.

Now I don’t want to hurt your feelings, but I want you to listen to me today, and it’s not a fun sermon. But if you’re not endeavoring to bring souls to Jesus Christ, you’re not right with God. You may be a church member. You may be heaven-bound, but you’re going to heaven second class, and you’re going to be ashamed when you meet the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the singular commission of the Church.

V. The Settled Consummation of the Church

I must hurry. I want you to see the settled consummation of the Church—the settled consummation of the Church. Now, notice this—Matthew 16, verse 18: “And I say unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church;”—now, listen to this—“and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18) The word that is translated “hell” there is the word hades. It means “the abode of the dead.” What’s He talking about? It’s not, “Here’s the church behind walls with massive gates, and hell is banging on those gates, but hell cannot break through.” No, that’s not what He’s talking about. Gates don’t prevail. Nobody takes gates off to war with them. The idea is not here that hell is on the offense and the Church is on the defense. No, that’s not what He’s saying at all. Nor is He saying that the Church is going to invade hell and take over hell and possess hell. What do we want with hell? No. What He is saying is this: “Because of your faith in Me, Simon Peter, the very domain of the dead cannot hold the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Conclusion

Folks, we’re breaking out—we’re breaking out. The very gates of hell, the very domain of the dead, cannot stop the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Centuries have come and gone, the saints have died, but one of these days the trumpet will sound. One of these days our Lord will come, and the dead in Christ shall rise first, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against the Church. Friend, we’re going up. Some people say, “Well, the Church is on its way out.” You know, they are absolutely correct. Jesus has called the Church out. Jesus has sent the Church out. And, one day, He’s coming to take the Church out.

Let me tell you something, friend. If you say that you’re saved, you’re going to love the Church of Jesus Christ. You’re going to attend the Church, you’re going to defend the Church, you’re going to commend the Church, and you’re going to extend the Church, if you love Jesus Christ. I love the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ.