TITLE: A CHURCH PREVAILING AGAINST ALL ODDS
SCRIPTURE: ST. MATTHEW 16:18 / ROMANS 8:39
We are honored to be here for this day of celebration with the 1st Baptist Church of Purcell. Although this is not my first time here, it is has been about 10 years that I was here while serving as the Pastor of 1st Baptist Church, in Ardmore. We were here some 3 ½ years ago supporting Bishop George Palmer when we had just recently met each other and we travelled here to support him when he delivered the Word. So, I am absolutely thrilled to be here with you this afternoon with our church family where I serve as the Pastor – Perfected Praise Worship Center of OKC. Thank you so much for thinking of us and allowing us to share with you during this 116th Church Anniversary.
This is a challenging theme the Church has presented for this day of Celebration. I feel that if the church has prayed about a theme than I am bound to expound upon such a theme – A Church Prevailing Against All Odds. I must admit that it took much quality time communing with our Heavenly Father as to what He wants to say to us this afternoon. And, I appreciate the challenge it so presented.
I remember when I was a boy, I was fascinated with Magic. Matter of fact, I wanted to grow up to be a Magician. I recall like it was yesterday, on my 13th or perhaps my 14th birthday, Dad was in the military, we were stationed and living in Government Quarters at Ft. Monmouth, NJ. It was there that I received a Magic Kit for my birthday. I had the MAGIC CARDS – MAGIC WAND – MAGIC RINGS - MAGIC HAT – and all the gadgets. It was wonderful and I tried to master all the tricks. Even today, I really enjoy a good Magic Show with such great Magicians like –
• David Copperfield, his talent and great showmanship
• Siegfried and Roy
• Of course the Great Hudini in his day
• Lance Burton, quality magician
Some of the greatest acts that I, as well as many others enjoy when it comes to Magic are making things Disappear. I also like when people are suspended in Air, they bring the rings over the person to show there are no strings. They are just suspended in mid-air. My favorite is when someone gets in a box and they are cut in half, that one is just amazing to me. I know, as we all do, that Magic tricks are nothing more than an OPITCAL ILLUSION.
• An optical illusion is characterized by visually perceived images that differ from objective reality
• The information gathered by the eye is processed in the brain to give a perception that does not tally with a physical measurement of the stimulus source
• There are three main types
• Literal optical illusions that create images that are different from the objects that make them
• Physiological illusions that are the effects on the eyes and brain of excessive stimulation of a specific type
• Cognitive illusions, the result of unconscious inferences
I know, some of you are already thinking, did I come to church this afternoon to hear about the dynamics of Magic, I thought I was coming to help celebrate with this great church and church leaders? Well…when I think about this theme A Church Prevailing Against All Odds – I can’t help but to think about another type of illusion. Not Optical but a SPIRITUAL ILLUSION. Because there really is, there are no odds against God’s Church. The Church has to Prevail! It should not strike us as a surprise. The adversary will throw all kind of stuff against the church in an effort to fool us into believing that the Odd’s are against us, Odd’s are against the Church. We get a glimpse of this reality, or this Illusion if you will, when we read – I PETER 5:8 “BE SOBER, BE VIGILANT; BECAUSE YOUR ADVERSARY THE DEVIL, AS A ROARING LION, WALKETH ABOUT, SEEKING WHOM HE MAY DEVOUR.” We are told that all the devil can do is make a whole bunch of noise. He cannot devour us unless we grow frightened by the Illusion of the Noise he makes. It is a Spiritual Illusion, we grow afraid because of his noise, not because of his bite.
We must understand who we are in the Lord. A Church is not an audience. A sharp distinction ought to be made between a Church and an Audience.
• An audience is a group of unrelated people drawn together by a short-lived attraction
• A church is a group of born again believers drawn together by a Savior
• An audience is a Crowd
• A church is a Family
• An audience is a Gathering
• A church is a Fellowship
• An audience is a Heap of Stones
• A church is a Temple
• Preachers are ordained, not to attract an audience, but to build a church
• Coarse and worldly men, if richly gifted, can draw audiences
• But only a man who is given to the Lord Jesus Christ can build a church
Our text for examination calls to our attention that it was in Caesarea Philippi where Jesus travelled and led his disciples. What happened in that Gentile city changed the course of history. For it was there that he asked the question, “WHO DO MEN SAY THAT I THE SON OF MAN AM?” They answered him with the best wisdom of the day.
• John the Baptist
• Elijah
• Jeremiah
• One of the Prophets
Then Jesus asked them the question: “BUT WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM?” That is the fundamental question. That is the question. And against it, and in comparison with it, there are no other questions. “But who do you say that I am?”
• It is one thing to know the answers that men give
• And that’s a good thing
• You go to school to learn that
• You may go to seminary, perhaps, and read books to learn that
• It is good to know the opinions that people have of our Lord
But there is a question that goes beyond that. It is the personal question — "BUT WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM?” When Jesus asked that question he had come to a crisis point in his ministry. He had come unto his own and his own had not received him. Oh, it was true that the common people heard him gladly and they loved him. But as their answers revealed, they had no idea who he was. It would be fair to say that the common people liked Jesus but did not worship him. If we are not careful, this same thing will begin to creep into the church today. Church full of people who really like Jesus but don’t worship Him. Don’t have time for PRAYER SERVICE – BIBLE STUDY – MEN’S MINISTRY – WOMAN’S MINSTRY – REVIVAL. Don’t have time for all of that, just come out on Sunday morning for their 1 ½ to 2 hours, because they kind of like Jesus. It is then that it appear as though the odd’s are against the Church.
When Jesus asked that question, he asked it in the plural. It’s hard to tell in our translation, but it’s really there. When Peter answered, he was not answering just for himself, but for all 12 apostles.
And he said, “YOU ARE THE CHRIST, THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD.” A simple, concise answer. And from that answer the world shifted its course. When Peter said those words, Jesus looked at Peter and gave him a promise which has become one of the foundation stones of the Christian church that is still in existence today. “AND I TELL YOU THAT YOU ARE PETER, AND ON THIS ROCK I WILL BUILD MY CHURCH.”
For at least 400 years Christians have disagreed over the meaning of these words—you are Peter and upon this rock I will build my church.
• Sincere Christians have disagreed
• Learned scholars have disagreed
• Entire churches have based their existence on a certain interpretation of this passage
To be perfectly frank about it, between the Roman Catholic Church and the various Protestant churches there is a veritable continental divide over this statement of Jesus.
• Roman Catholic Church responded by declaring Peter as the First Bishop of Rome
• They use this verse as the foundation of their authority
• The Protestant Church, we have not done much better
• There are two different Greek words used for “Peter” and “Rock”
• Peter is petros, which can mean a small stone
• Petra which can mean a large rock
• We have been fighting over this for centuries
• Can I tell you that The Rock is his profession of faith
Let me add a sense of clarity here and put it plainly - The church is not built on men alone; nor is it built on a confession alone. The church is built on men confessing together that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. That is the foundation of the church.
I am saying that the church is not built upon an idea alone or a theory alone or upon a confession of faith alone. But the church is built upon men that make a great confession—that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. And that is exactly what EPHESIANS 2:20 says - “FOR YOU ARE BUILT UPON THE FOUNDATION OF THE APOSTLES AND PROPHETS, JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF BEING THE CHIEF CORNER STONE.” I would understand it this way:
• That the cornerstone or the bedrock of the church is Jesus Christ himself
• And upon that bedrock are the apostles
• Those Unlikely men
• Those Uneducated men
• Those Galilean men
• Those Fishermen
• Those Tax Collectors
• Those Political Rabble-Rousers
• Those men who left everything to follow our Lord Jesus Christ
• Those men who are the foundation stones of the church
• But, Jesus is the Chief Cornerstone
So my brothers and sisters, it would then appear as though the odds are against the Church when we reduce the Church to nothing more than her Membership List. This may surprise you. Surely, you say, the church consists of its members. Yes and no. Yes, the church technically consists of its duly recognized membership. But no, the church is not the membership list. Why? Because it is possible to go through all the motions of joining a church without ever putting your personal faith in Jesus Christ. That is, you just nod your head and sign on the dotted line without ever making a personal commitment to Jesus Christ.
• You have Right Hand of Fellowship
• Receiving your Tithing Envelopes
• Have all the rights and privileges of any other member
• In that case you are a member of a Christian church
• But you yourself are not part of Christ Church
MEN CAN BUILD BUILDINGS AND MEN CAN BUILD ORGANIZATIONS, BUT ONLY JESUS CHRIST CAN BUILD THE CHURCH. There are churches built by men, some of them you have attended, no doubt, as I have. But here our Lord says, "I will build My church," the only one approved by God and supernaturally constructed. Therefore, the odds are never against the Church. As the disciples walked along the dusty roads of Caesarea Philippi, they were in a kind of exile. The leaders, the religious and the political powers as well as the people of Israel had rejected them. They had also rejected their message and their leader, the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, it was apparent by now to the disciples that some of the Jews not only weren't interested in Jesus but wanted Him dead. So Jesus uses this time to encourage the disciples and leave a powerful message for us today.
Ever since Jesus had spent time encouraging the disciples and ever since the birth of the First Century Church, it has had some ups and downs.
• The Church through its history has been beleaguered
• The Church has been persecuted
• The Church has been martyred
• The Church has been rejected
• The Church has been maligned
• The Church has been ignored
• The Church has been liberalized and apostatized to the poor
• The true people of God have looked like losers
• But the truth is, we're not
• It is just an Illusion set up by the adversary
• And here in this brief passage the Lord affirms the triumph
• That the Church will Prevail
Yes, the Church is Prevailing Against All Odds because Jesus reminds us that THE GATES OF HELL CANNOT EVEN PREVAIL AGAINST THE CHURCH. There aren't any GATES that can dominate the church. There isn't any FENCE, no WALL, no FORTRESS that can close the church in and keep it captive. Hell or Hades always means death, it's the grave, Sheol. And what He is saying is, "There isn't any gate that's going to lock up the church, not even death." That's the idea. Not even the realm of death. The power of death itself cannot hold the church, because in Christ we have conquered death. That's His point. This is the promise of resurrection. This is all involved in the promise as articulated in ST. JOHN 6, "I WILL RAISE HIM UP AT THE LAST DAY," it doesn't matter what Satan does, though he has the power of death as HEBREWS 2 says, it doesn't matter what he attempts to do in destroying the church and killing the church – the Church will prevail. I am talking about:
• The Certainty of the church
• The Intimacy of the church
• The Identity of the church
• The Foundation of the church
• The Invincibility of the church
• I am talking about the church of the redeemed
We live in a world in which almost everything is "TEMPORARY", and is destined to pass-away. We see this all the time; and it's a reality that we have to live with in everyday life. In fact, it's a reality that we see throughout human history. The great works of mankind; the created things that seemed so important to humanity and civilization at the time—the great KINGDOMS - EMPIRES - GOVERNMENTS - NATIONS - CONSTITUTIONS - LAWS - CITIES - INSTITUTIONS - all of them were subject to CHANGE – CORRUPTION - DECAY - EVENTUAL LOSS. And what was true of the great works of man in the past will prove to be true of what we consider to be so great and important today.
So, my brothers and sisters, this is why I take great comfort in your theme – A Church Prevailing Against All Odds - The church is the only institution that Jesus is coming back for. He won’t be back for:
• Bank of America
• He’s not coming back for OU or OSU
• He’s not coming back for Notre Dame, University of Phoenix
• He’s not coming back for Alpha’s, Delta’s or Zeta’s
• Baptist, Methodist, Apostolic, Pentecostals, Full Gospel, Catholics
• But He’s coming for His bride
• He is coming back for the church, adorned for her husband
• He’ll be looking for that church without a spot or wrinkle
The reason why Jesus could declare, “Upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it”, is because the Church that Jesus is talking about is not built with BRICK and MORTAR, WOOD, or STONE, but it is built with HIS SHED BLOOD. Therefore, the church is SEALED by the blood of Jesus, and the devil cannot penetrate the blood. There’s power in the blood.
--So long as you and I do our part
--And, like Peter did, personally and faithfully proclaim that crucial confession that Jesus is "the Christ, the Son of the living God"
--We can be assured that we are a part of the one institution on the earth that will never perish or fade away
--Jesus has promised that upon that "rock"
--That blessed confession
--He would build His church
--And the gates of Hell itself will not prevail against it
--The Church will Prevail because it has been Programmed to Prevail
--The Church will Prevail because it has the Lord’s Promise to Prevail
--The Church will Prevail because the Lord gives it the Power to Prevail
--The Church will Prevail because we are Part of God’s Plan for it to Prevail
--I’m so Glad the Church will Stand in the midst of these evil days
--I’m so Glad the Church will Stand long after we have left this side of Glory
--I’m so Glad the Church will Stand generation after generation
--I’m so Glad the Church will Stand until Jesus Cracks the Sky
--The Church will Prevail Against All Odds
--Because it’s not our Church, it’s the Lords
