Our Church Has a Great Future (Matthew 16:13-20)
Big Idea: Our church has a great future because Christ builds his church through weak people and ensures its victory.
People often predict wonderful things in the future, but it seems they may be overly optimistic. Sometimes they are 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 is true. My reasons are all taken from this passage in Matthew 16:13-20, a pivotal passage in the New Testament.
Three Reasons Our Church Has a Great Future
I want to present three reasons for believing that our church has a great future. Here's the first:
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.
Read Matthew 16:13-18:
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 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.
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 believe the rock Jesus builds the church on is either Christ or Peter's confession of Him. I believe that's not what happens in this passage. Here's what happens: Jesus renames Simon as Peter, meaning "Rock," stating that he (Jesus) will build his church upon him. Jesus, I believe, is promising Peter that he is going to build his church on him!
What an incredible statement! The Bible states that the church is built on the foundation of apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20).
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. Before Paul emerged, Peter was the key connection 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.
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. (2 Corinthians 4:7)
In Paul's time, people commonly hid treasures in plain clay jars, which were not valuable or attractive. 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 in the greatest area of our weakness. 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 require extraordinary talent. We need normal, weak people and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit.
God delights in using imperfect people. Here's the second reason I'm confident that our church has a great future:
Christ is building the church.
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. (Matthew 16:18)
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 oversee the construction process. Jesus is in charge of 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 difficult environments. The location Jesus selected for this retreat was quite intriguing. 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. A hill with a cavern housed a spring, believed to be 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 off 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. Psalm 127:1 says, "Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain."
Jesus 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. Celebrities attended the games. They had the Blues Brothers and Jeff Healey—someone who grew up in our Sunday School—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. Bruce McNall is in prison. 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.
God delights in using imperfect people, and Christ is building the church. Here's the third reason I'm confident that our church has a great future:
The gates of hell will not prevail against it.
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. (Matthew 16:18)
Jesus promised that he would always cause his people to triumph over Satan and his army. Satan commands 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 triumph. The victory has already been won!
I used to believe this verse meant the church was on the defense, with Jesus assuring that hell's gates won't overpower it. I was shocked to realize that this verse says the church will succeed in its fight against the gates of hell. 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 strong 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.
