7 min read old-sermon

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?
Darryl Dash

Darryl Dash

I'm a grateful husband, father, oupa, and pastor of Grace Fellowship Church East Toronto. I love learning, writing, and encouraging. I'm on a lifelong quest to become a humble, gracious old man.
Toronto, Canada