Matthew 16:18 – Jesus’ Church – Bible study

Matthew 16:18 Jesus Church The Church – Has there ever been an entity more misunderstand? By the world this creation has gone from being reverenced and feared to being despised and mocked. Even among those who call themselves Christians, the church is misrepresented, avoided, and scorned. At its very best, Christians seem to dread their church and at its worse, they blaspheme and insult. Why is this so? Well I will tell you upfront, it is not Gods fault. The church God gave us is essential, alive, and vibrant. If a church is no longer so, if it is dead and dried up, it is because of what those who have been entrusted with its care and ministry have done to it. If we are to understand the church, we should go back to the very beginningto the very first time the word is used in our Bible, to the moment when God Himself first revealed it. We need to see the church afresh through the eyes of the One who created it. Then perhaps at least those who are members of it will care enough to want to learn more about it. Just one truth to give you this morning. I. The Church Belongs to Jesus. Matt 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my CHURCH; A. The church belongs to the One who named it. 1. Jesus was the One who called the church "church." 2. Understand that words have meanings, and, in the Bible, we can understand more about the object if we understand the word selected to name it. 3. In the Greek, the word for church means the "called out." 4. If God selected the word for "called out" to represent the church, we need to ask ourselves two questions: a. Who is doing the calling? b. What is He calling us out of? 5. Who is doing the calling? a. That would be Jesus. b. Jesus is the only One with a voice powerful enough to call people from all across the globe and all across time to Himself. (1) In history, we learned about "the shot heard around the world," which was Ralph Waldo Emersons description of the first engagement between British and American soldiers in Americas battle for independence. (2) That shot was nothing compared to Jesus call! Jesus call, though a simple silent phrase which one would have had to strain to hear at the foot of the cross, has reached billions as it echoed through the millenniums; yet, it is as strong and resolute today as it was 2,000 years ago. (3) Forty plus years ago I heard it in the middle of the night and it dropped me to my knees and changed my life. (4) I hope you have heard it too. 6. What is He calling us out of? a. The word means "called out." Called out from what? b. Called out from this world and its sin. (1) Jesus voice is calling us to leave sin, rebellion, selfishness, carnality, worldliness anything and everything that separates us from God. (2) That is one of the things that makes the church different in its behavior. (a) A church that has not left sin behind is no church. (b) It may be a club, an event, a gathering, a concert, a showbut it is no church. (c) When a church takes a stand against sin, it is not trying to be judgmental, condemning, or harsh. (d) It is simply doing what God has called it to do. B. The Church belongs to the One who built it. Matt 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will BUILD my church. 1. Notice that Jesus plainly states in the text that He is the Builder of the church. 2. When you read that, dont let your mind start thinking of he buildings of a church. a. God has blessed our church with a lot of building space. b. This church has gone through four building programs and has not finished yet! c. However, none of that is what Jesus was referring to when He called Himself the churchs Builder. 3. Jesus was referring to the people. a. Jesus does not build His church with stones and wood but with people. 1 Peter 2:5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. b. God puts people where He wants them inside of His church. c. He does that by gifting everyone with different gifts. (1) Every Christian has a gift, a talent, an ability. (a) God gives some gifts of the spirit, some gifts of the hands and some gifts of the head. (b) Some understand spiritual things better. i. By Gods grace, I seem to see things in the Bible that others do not. ii. However, that is a spiritual gift and should not be confused with intelligence because I am not smarter than most. In fact, I tend to go the other direction in intelligence. (c) Some understand intellectual things better, i.e. computers, design, internet (d) Some work better with their hands. (2) And every Christian is called to serve in some capacity. (a) Several Bible passages list the callings God gives to those with spiritual gifts. Ephesians 4:11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; (b) My gifts are spiritual and my calling is that of a pastor and teacher. (c) We have some people whose gifts are less spiritual and more intellectual and hands on who do things like count money, keep records, clean and maintenance thingsand these people are no less convinced that God has called them to do their work than I am that God has called me to do mine. (d) Every Christian needs to find out what the Builder has built them do in His church. C. The Church belongs to the One who claimed it. Matt 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build MY church. 1. Notice the personal pronoun that Jesus used, "MY." 2. "MY" shows possession and ownership. a. This is MY Bible. b. This is MY tablet. c. This is MY suit. d. This is not MY pulpit. e. This is not MY church. f. It is interesting what children think. Several times children have come up to me to ask me if this church was mine. No. It is not. g. In fact as a pastor, I try not to refer to the church or the pulpit as mine. Some pastors do and there is the sense that if we belong to this church, it is ours; but as I do not want people to think that I think that I "run" the church so I try to use that phrase. 3. Yet, there is One who claims ownership of the church, Jesus Christ. a. I am concerned with the liberties that some are taking with Gods church in this age. (1) The type of music has been changed. (2) The style of communcation from the pulpit has been changed. Some churches do not even have a pulpit. (3) Many have changed the atmosphere of their buildings. Some do not want their church to look like a church. (4) I believe the intent of the church service has been changed. Their goal is not to lead souls to Christ or to teach them holy living. (5) In short, the very word "worship" has been redefined. b. I am not the pastor of any other church, but I fear that men are taking liberties with that which is not theirs. c. If someone comes into our home, moves the furniture, throws our music out and brings in theirs, locks our family out and brings in theirs, there is going to be a problem. 4. Jesus is the only Owner of the church. D. The Church belongs to the One who commands it. Matt 16:18 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. 1. This phrase reveals a Commander. a. That is not the statement of a spectator but of a Commander. b. Jesus was commading the church to action. c. Why? 2. Because this phrase also reveals an enemy. a. There are gates out there that we are to be attacking. (1) Thats a war. (2) When there is a war, there is an enemy. b. In that scenario, there are only two possibilities. (1) Either we are an enemy attacking victims or (2) We were the victims now being commanded to attack our enemy. c. The latter is the case. (1) Satan is our enemy, and he has been kicking us to the curb since before we were born. (2) He not only bullies us, but this is all part of a long standing feud that dates back to our great, great, great grandpa, Adam. (3) Those two went at years ago in garden called Eden andI hate to say it butGrandpa Adam got stomped. Before he knew what was going on, Grandpa Adam was broken, brused, and laying on the ground and there standing over him, with his foot on Adams neck, was the devil. (4) Ever since then, the devil has bullied, bruised, and broken us all. (5) But we have a Brother who got fed up with it. a. Hes our adopted brother, Jesus. b. No. Our family didnt adopt Him. His family family adopted us. (6) But our Brother Jesus got tired of what the devil was doing and called him out. a. This time instead of a garden, they met on a hillside called Calvary. b. And what the first fight lacked in intensity, this one more than made up for. c. The fur flew and the dust arose so intesne that nothing could be seen. d. The only evidence of what was behind the cloud of dust was the sounds of fists against face and the utterings of moaning. (7) The fight last three days and nights and it did not look good for our side, but when it all settled down, there Satan lay on the ground with Jesus foot on his head. (8) So Jesus command tells us that the church as an enemy. 3. Because this phrase also reveals a mission. a. Jesus left the church with this command, "Knock down the gates of hell until all his fortresses are demolished." (1) But we need to remember that Jesus is not into the buildings. (2) It was not real gates that Jesus wanted tore down, but the gates that held Satans victims. (3) It may be hard to understand and even harder to remember, but Satans army is not made up of volunteers but victims. b. Then how do we tear down the gates of hell? Two ways. (1) We do it by rescuing lost souls. (a) Satans desire is not to lead his army into a glorious kingdom but to damn them into an eternal fire. (b) Every soul rescued from his army is a victim saved from the devils tyranny and damnation. (c) I am praying some will be rescued today. (2) We do it by convincing those who claim Jesus as their Savior to live for Him completely and openly. (a) We have a major problem here. (b) Too many who claim Christ do not live for Him openly. (c) While the rest of the world has come out of the closet, Christians have moved further back into theirs. (d) But this is what the church is for, i.e. to rally, organize, train, and encourage the believers to stand for Jesus. (e) I am praying some will come out of the closet today. 4. Because this phrase also reveals a power. a. The church uses the same power that Jesus used, Gods power. b. The human race fought Satan without God for millenniums and the outcome was always the same. We lost every battle. c. As long as the church moves under Jesus command, the church cannot be defeated. d. Here is the thing: (1) The church doesnt need the worlds philosophy or entertainment or methods to do the work of God. (2) What do we need? (a) saved soldiers (b) holy vessels (c) bold witnesses (d) determined hearts (3) And do you know what you have when you get that? Jesus Church! Does that sound like the church you are a part of? If not, maybe what you have is not a church at all. I will promise you that there is no way you will get bored at a church that belongs to Jesus.