Our Church Has a Great Future (Matthew 16:13-20)
- please open your Bibles to Matthew 16 this morning
- the title of today's message is, "Our Church Has a Great Future"
- you often hear people prophesying great things ahead, but you could say that they're at the very least wearing rose-colored glasses
- sometimes they're trying to sell you something
- this morning I'm not wearing rose-colored glasses, and I'm not trying to sell you anything
- but I believe that our church has a great future
- this is a rather audacious statement, so I want to tell you why I believe it's true
- my reasons are all taken from this passage in Matthew 16:13-20, a pivotal passage in the New Testament
- I want to present three reasons for believing that our church has a great future
- MY FIRST REASON FOR BELIEVING THAT OUR CHURCH HAS A GREAT FUTURE IS BECAUSE GOD DELIGHTS IN USING IMPERFECT PEOPLE
- when God builds a church, God always uses weak people
- people that we probably wouldn't have chosen for the job
- the apostle Peter was a weak person
- he had what we call "foot in mouth disease"
- he was always saying the wrong thing
- and God chose to use him
- let’s read Matthew 16:13:
- (Matthew 16:13) When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"
- (Matthew 16:14) They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
- (Matthew 16:15) "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"
- (Matthew 16:16) Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
- and listen to what Jesus said in verses 17 to 18:
- (Matthew 16:17) Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.
- (Matthew 16:18) And 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.
- Jesus renames him Peter, which means rock
- we say, "yeah, what a rock!"
- I don't know your interpretation of this passage, but I'll tell you what I believe to be the best one
- some people believe that the rock upon which Jesus is building the church in this passage is Christ, or Peter's confession of Christ
- I believe the best interpretation is this:
- Jesus says, in essence, "Simon, I'm renaming you Peter, that is, Rock, and upon this rock, that is, on you, Peter, I will build my church"
- Jesus, I believe, is promising Peter that he is going to build his church on him!
- what an incredible statement!
- the Bible tells us that the church is:
- (Ephesians 2:20) built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.
- God chose to use Peter in his redeemed state, weak as he was, to build his church
- in the first twelve chapters of Acts, the story of the establishment of the early church , Peter's name occurs more than 50 times
- it is found everywhere except in chapters 6 and 7, which contain the story of Stephen
- during that early period, before Paul comes to the fore, Peter was the most powerful and effective link between Jesus and the church
- when God builds his church, he uses weak people
- take a look at the person on your left
- now take a look at the person on your right
- now look up at me
- would you choose these people to build this church?
- God did
- when God saved you, he gave you spiritual gifts and called you into the ministry
- you are a minister serving Jesus Christ in this church
- but God only wants weak, imperfect people
- (2 Corinthians 4:7) But we have this treasure [the Gospel] in jars of clay [our frailty and unworthiness] to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us
- in Paul's day it was customary to hide treasures in clay jars, which had little value or beauty in and of themselves
- they did not attract attention to themselves
- Hudson Taylor said, "All God's giants have been weak men"
- the good news is, we don't have to be adequate in order to be used by God
- in fact, God uses our strengths, but often God chooses to use us at the greatest area of our weakness
- listen: while the church is a divine creation, it is made up of imperfect human beings
- the church won't be perfect until the Lord's return
- the good news is that the Lord chooses to work in our weaknesses to show his glory so that he gets the glory and we don't
- that's why I'm confident that our church has a great future
- we don't have to depend on our own strengths to build the church
- we don't need a collection of superstars
- we don't need unusual talent
- we need normal, weak people AND the empowerment of the Holy Spirit
- because God uses weak people
- the second reason I'm confident that our church has a great future is this:
- CHRIST IS BUILDING THE CHURCH
- (Matthew 16:18) And 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.
- when Jesus said that he will build the church, this is not simply a prediction and a promise
- it was a constitutive declaration
- it was the act by which Christ established the church
- Jesus said, "I will build my church"
- Jesus would handle the building process
- Jesus is ensuring its rise
- God chooses to use us as his instruments, but ultimately it is Jesus who is building his church
- and it is HIS church, not our church
- and our prospects are as bright as the prospects of Christ himself
- Christ builds his church in challenging settings
- the place Jesus chose for this retreat was interesting
- Jesus took his disciples to Gentile territory, in the region of Caesarea Philippi
- they were about two hundred kilometers from Jerusalem in the northern part of Palestine
- he chose a place known for its pagan religions
- it had been a center for Baal worship; one scholar counts 14 temples of Baal worship in the area
- there was a hill with a cavern that contained a spring, which was the legendary birthplace of Pan, the Greek god of fertility and nature
- as you approached the city, you would have seen a glistening white temple -- Caesar’s temple
- you would have been struck by the might and declared divinity of Rome
- it was under the shadow of rival religions and Caesar's own temple that Jesus said, "I will build my church"
- it takes a lot of pressure of us, doesn't it?
- we don't build the church
- we wouldn't know how to build a church if our lives depended on it
- (Psalms 127:1) Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain.
- Jesus Christ builds the church
- unless Jesus builds the church, we’re all in trouble
- and it's not our church, it's HIS church
- I remember talking to an overzealous person once
- I made the mistake of asking, "Where is your church?"
- and he pompously replied, "It's not my church; it's Christ's church"
- which made me really ticked
- I knew the church didn't belong to him; it belongs to Christ
- but don't we sometimes forget?
- it's Jesus Christ's church and he is going to build it!
- I'll never forget when Wayne Gretzky, John Candy, and Bruce McNall bought the Toronto Argonauts
- at that point the Argos were pathetic
- I thought to myself, "Things are going to happen now, because it's McNall's team, and he's going to build it"
- one of the first things they did was they asked Adam Rita, "In your dreams, who would you like to play for you?"
- he responded with the name Raghib (Rocket) Ismail, and they went out and hired Rocket
- that year Charlene and I went to many games
- they had promotions so that if the Argos lost they would compensate by giving you groceries
- they had celebrities attending the games
- they had the Blues Brothers and (someone who grew up in our Sunday School) Jeff Healey perform at the home opener
- Gretzky and McNall and Candy were building their team, and I was a satisfied customer
- Argos!
- today, John Candy has passed on
- Wayne Gretzky is deciding whether or not he should have gone to the hospital with his wife or not
- and Bruce McNall is in jail
- they are no longer building the Argos
- but Christ is still building his church!
- Candy, Gretzky, and McNall let us down
- Jesus Christ will never let us down
- Candy, Gretzky, and McNall won a Grey Cup but ultimately failed
- Jesus Christ will never fail
- Candy, Gretzky, and McNall did not prevail
- but Jesus Christ is building his church and he will prevail!
- and since the beginning of the church, he's been building it in tough places like Etobicoke, Ontario
- the third reason I'm confident that our church has a great future is this:
- THE GATES OF HELL WILL NOT PREVAIL AGAINST IT
- (Matthew 16:18) And 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.
- Jesus promised that he would always cause his people to triumph over Satan and his army
- Satan leads a doomed army
- you and I have no idea how much Satan fears a church that is empowered by the Spirit
- you remember those game shows where the results were rigged
- it looked like a game, but in reality the winner had been decided before the game even began
- to the outside observer, the battle between the church and Satan might look like a close one
- but listen: the winner has already been decided
- the church will prevail
- the victory has already been won!
- I used to think this verse meant that the church was taking a defensive position, and that Jesus was promising that the gates of Hell will never defeat the church
- I remember how shocked I was to realize one day that this verse was saying that in our attack against the gates of Hell, the church would be victorious
- the church is not on the defensive, it's on the offensive, and the church is guaranteed victory!
- Crowns and thorns may perish,
- Kingdoms rise and wane,
- But the Church of Jesus
- Constant will remain;
- Gates of hell can never
- 'Gainst that Church prevail;
- We have Christ's own promise,
- And that cannot fail.
- Christ is building a prevailing church
- and he's invited you and I to be part of it
- what an exciting time to be alive
- we've been talking for eight weeks about the church we've always longed for
- my energy has been renewed; my excitement has been rekindled
- I can't think of anything I would rather be doing
- our teams are working; our strategy is in place
- and to top it off, Christ is building his church and has guaranteed success
- I'm going to lead us in a prayer of commitment
- I love this church
- I’m so grateful that God has placed me here in 1997 in this community and this place
- I’m so glad that Christ is building his church
- and Park Lawn Baptist Church is a church with a great future
- would you close with me in prayer?