Yesterday, the events of the Normandy invasion – D-Day – were remembered. On that day, the largest amphibious invasion of all time was launched by the allied forces in order to retake Europe. On D-Day, about 160,000 troops landed on the beaches of Normandy. The planning and logistics were absolutely staggering. The Allies planned this battle down to the last detail and took into account things like the tides and whether the moon would be full in order to provide the light needed to spot certain markers on Normandy beach. Without this meticulous planning and complete focus – the effort would have failed because the enemy had the advantage. They had the high ground and they were bunkered down and could pick off the Allied soldiers when they came ashore. But the D-Day invasion was successful.
One day Jesus asked his disciples: “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” (Mat 16.13b) Jesus’ followers replied: “Some say that you are John the Baptist, some Elijah, some Jeremiah and some say that you are one of the prophets.” (Mat 16.14) “But what about you? Who do you say that I am?” Jesus asked his followers. (Mat 16.15) Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” (Mat 16.16)
Jesus praised Peter for his answer. He told Peter that his ability to make that confession was the result of God’s work. But then Jesus said something amazing to Peter. Listen carefully to Jesus’ words: “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.” (Mat 16.18)
In this one single verse, Jesus sets the context for the Church and its work. First, we get a sense for the scale of the enterprise. The Church is huge – its work is huge. The task that Christ has given to the Church is to tear down the gates of hell. This is all out spiritual war. This conflict is world-wide. The job of tearing down the gates of hell is bigger than one local entity in one single place and point in time can accomplish. We – at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church - are part of something huge that God has been doing for centuries. We are part of a continuum. We are part of something that God is doing all over the world. Because of that huge context, we know that ORLC has a task to accomplish in support of that war on the battle front that has been entrusted to us.
Secondly, Jesus says that He is the Cornerstone upon which the Church rests. The Church is built upon the confession that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. This looks like a place that has at its center the Cross of Christ. It is a place where Jesus’ name is lifted up and exalted. It is a place where life – in the name of Jesus – is passed on from generation to generation. It is a place where people come to connect to the living waters of Baptism and to be nourished at God’s Table.
The third thing that we see in Jesus’ words is that the Church has an enemy - hell itself. Hell stands against the confession of the Church. Whenever we find the teachings of the Church challenged – whether in our own lives or as an organized challenge to Jesus, we know that the force behind it is hell itself.
Finally, we see in Jesus’ words that He has sent the Church on a mission. Jesus tells us that gates of hell will not prevail against the Church. It is hell that is is on the defensive. Hell’s gates are under attack by Christ and his Church. In these words, Jesus tells us what that war against hell looks like. When Jesus tells us: “The gates of hell will not prevail against the Church,” – He is telling us that the there is a battle. The Church is on the march. The Church is attacking the gates of hell. The Church is not to take a defensive posture or to sit around just waiting for the end of days. Our task is to take the battle to the enemy. Our assurance from Jesus is that the gates of hell will not prevail over the Church. Christ and his Church will overcome hell.
What do all of these things mean to us at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church? How is the attack against the gates of hell supposed to look? Listen to Jesus’ words:
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Mat 28.18-20)
Here, in Jesus’ own words we have the battle plan - the Church is to go and make disciples. The battle against hell happens one disciple at a time. Whenever a soul is translated from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of Light – we take it to the gates of hell. The battle plan is specific: Make disciples by baptizing them and teaching them. That is the order of battle for the Church as it takes on hell. The Church is to baptize and teach and by doing so, make disciples.
Let’s make sure that we understand the language. The key term here is “make disciples”. A disciple is a person who follows Jesus and who becomes more and more like Jesus as time passes. The 50-cent theological term for this process is, ‘sanctification in the narrow sense’. As the person is connected to the church and the discipleship process, the person becomes more and more Christ-like.
Now, here’s the key question for all of us: How well has the visible church taken it to the gates of hell? More specifically: How well have we – Our Redeemer Lutheran Church – taken it to the gates of hell? After four months and two weeks of being here, let me share with you what I believe to be the case:
• At ORLC we are blessed that Christ has gathered a wonderful group of believers here. There are people here who share long-standing relationships and who care about each other and who care about this congregation.
• We are blessed to have fine leaders. We have people here who are good at organizing and who are good at making sure that the affairs of the congregation are kept in good order.
• We have people who care deeply about the doctrine of the Church and who love God’s Word.
• We have a congregation that is blessed with resources and fine facilities.
For all of these things, dear friends, we need to be thankful. But these things don’t necessarily translate automatically into the task that Christ has given us to do: making disciples. Beloved – if we are to be effective in this task, just like the Allies in preparation for D-Day, we need to prepare and organize ourselves to take on the mission that Jesus gave to us.
Over the next four weeks, my hope is to describe to you a four-part vision of what we can do to take it to the gates of hell. This vision will put a fine edge on our duties and responsibilities as the Church of the Living God. I believe that if we are to be faithful to our call, Our Redeemer Lutheran Church will need to be about:
1. Making Disciples: that is focusing on the task of preparing people to follow Jesus and to be more Christ-like.
2. Assimilation: that is being intentional about being hospitable to guests that God brings to us so that God can connect them to the discipleship process of the Church.
3. Biblical Peacemaking: that is applying the love and forgiveness of Christ to people in conflict so that the evil one may not use those beach-heads of conflict to divide us.
4. Leadership Development: that is we need to be about the process of intentionally preparing the next generation of leaders for ORLC.
Beloved, today we set the context of what Jesus calls the Church to be about. We looked at the mission Christ gave to the Church. Now the question is simple: How do we keep the thing that Jesus gave us to do, the main thing? How do we insure that we don’t begin to invest our resources and energy on things that are not Kingdom issues? I believe that the answer to this is to provide a clear guiding mission for ORLC.
In 1952, Florence Chadwick tried to swim the 26 miles between Catalina Island and the California coastline. She was flanked by small boats that watched for sharks and were prepared to help her if she got hurt or grew tired. After about 15 hours, a thick fog set in. Florence began to doubt her ability to complete the swim and she told her mother, who was in one of the boats, that she didn’t think she could make it. Her mother tried to encourage her. Florence swam for another hour before asking to be pulled out, unable to see the coastline due to the fog. As she sat in the boat, she found out she had stopped swimming just one mile away from her destination. Two months later, Chadwick tried again. This time, things were different. The same thick fog set in, but she was able to persevere. When asked why she was able to complete the swim the second time around, Ms. Chadwick said that she kept a mental image of the shoreline in her mind while she swam. What made the difference? She had the vision! Florence Chadwick had in her mind the vision of the goal that she was to achieve. She could see the shoreline!
Beloved, ORLC is called to be the Church of the Living God – called to do its part in destroying the gates of hell as we make disciples by baptizing and teaching. I believe that if we can clearly see this vision of what Jesus has called us to be, we can also be about that task with greater focus and energy. Over the next weeks, we’ll engage a vision that I pray will empower us to take it to the gates of hell.
As we engage the task Christ has given us to do, I pray, dear friends that we keep in mind two things: 1) The gates of hell will be vanquished. And, 2) Jesus has promised us, “I will be with you, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
