INTRODUCTION
• A very short boy wanted so badly to play basketball. He even told his Dad that he wanted to become a pro when he was older. Knowing that his son would never be able to play the game, the Dad asked the local coach if there was anything that he could recommend to make the boy taller. "You might take him down to the museum and put him on that old torture stretch rack," the coach said. Several weeks later the coach asked the father if putting the boy on the stretch rack had helped. "Well, it didn’t make him any taller, but he confessed to several things that I never knew he did," was the Dad’s answer.
• I hope that none of us have to go to those extremes to get a confession out of someone.
• It is easy for people to look at the church and find all that is wrong with it. You can go into every congregation and find a few things or many things wrong with it. We can complain about the music, the preaching, the building, the bulletin or any number of other things.
• For many people church is just not a place they want to go to. People have bad impressions about the church, they badmouth the church and they do not see the church as being important.
• Many professed Christians do not see the church as an important part of their lives.
• We are going to look at another great passage in the gospels today. A passage that has a real impact on our lives.
• John MacArthur Jr. says concerning the passage at hand, “This passage represents the climax of Jesus’ teaching ministry. It was, in effect, the apostles’ final examination, consisting of but one question, the ultimate question that every human being must face: Who is Jesus Christ? A person’s answer is of the most monumental importance, because on it hinges his eternal destiny. It is a question that no one can escape or avoid. Every soul, as it were, will be pinned against the wall of eternity and forced to answer that question.”
• The way we answer the question we affect how we live our lives and how we view our part in the church as well as how we look at the church. We are going to look at the Great Confession and then the Great Church!
SERMON
I. THE GREAT CONFESSION (13-17)
• The disciples had been with Jesus for a couple of years or so up to this point. Now comes another moment of truth for them.
• READ MATTHEW 16:13-14
• The disciples gave some of the views the people had concerning who Jesus was. The people had not been with Jesus close up and personal like the 12 had been throughout His ministry. I wonder how many people thought Jesus was the Son of God only to have the religious leaders to convince them otherwise.
• Jesus refusal to use His power to over throw the Roman government was a stumbling block for many of the people. Jesus was not doing what they thought a Messiah should do.
• I wonder how many people will not confess Jesus because He is not doing what they want Him to do.
• After Jesus listens to the answers given He now turns the tables and takes aim on the 12. READ MATTHEW 16:15
• Who do you say I am? Here is the test, will they pass it? After over two years of being with Jesus, would the 12 be able to answer the question?
• READ VERSES 16-17
• Peter took a stand and answered for the group. He said Jesus was THE son of THE living God.
• What is so great about this statement? This statement has in impact on every area of our lives. This statement is more than just words, it is the truth!
• Confessing who Jesus is part of what we need to do to be saved. Peter conviction was something that was deep within his soul. Jesus said that God Himself revealed this to Peter.
• READ ROMANS 10:8-11
• READ 1 John 4:14-17
• This statement was going to change the world. Because of the truth of this great confession, we have the great church!
• If Jesus were not the Son of God, we would not have the church today. The church is God’s institution. Some of the greatest times in life are tied to my home church in Vandalia, MO. Was that church perfect? NO! Was it great? Yes! Is the Auburn Christian Church perfect? No! Is it great? YES! I want us to take some time now and look at why the church built on the great confession is a great church.
II. THE GREAT CHURCH
1. A GREAT FOUNDATION (The rock v 18)
• Jesus says in verse 18, I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church.
• Peter’s name means a small rock which came from a larger rock. Is Peter the foundation of the church? No, but he is part of it. Ephesians 2:20 says that the church is built upon the foundation of the Apostles and prophets. Revelation 21:14 says the wall of the great city of heaven has twelve foundation stones with the names of the twelve apostles of the lamb written on them.
• In one sense the foundation is built on Peter and in one sense it is built on the confession he made concerning Jesus.
• One of the things that makes the church great is the fact that the foundation for the church is Jesus! READ EPHESIANS 2:18-22 Jesus is the cornerstone.
• The whole building is built off the cornerstone.
• The Auburn Christian church is great when we build our church on the foundation of Jesus Christ! When the foundation of the Church is Jesus, it will be great! We will be on solid ground. If we try to set the Auburn Christian Church on any other foundation than Jesus and who He is, the building will not stand!
2. A GREAT BUILDER (I will build v 18)
• Not only is the foundation of the church great, but the church is great because its’ builder is great.
• Notice in verse 18 Jesus says, “I WILL” build.
• Some will say the church has always existed, but fro what Jesus says here, at this point the church did not exist, He was GOING to build it in the future.
• The church began in the book of Acts in Acts 2 after the plan of redemption or salvation was complete when Jesus ascended to the right hand of the Father.
• Jesus built the church on His blood and by His suffering on the cross.
• It is not faithful believers who build Christ’s church, but Christ who builds His church through faithful believers. Wherever His people are committed to His kingdom and His righteousness the Lord builds His church. If believers in one place become cold or disobedient, Christ does not stop building but simply starts work somewhere else. His true church is always “under construction.”
• Jesus used the apostles to build the church, but Jesus is the builder.
• Auburn Christian Church is a great church when we let the great builder build it!
• The great builder according to the Ephesians 2:20 passage we read needs to use each of us to build the great church.
• Every one of you who claim to belong to Jesus need to be a part of this great church. Do you want this great church to have holes in the wall where you belong?
• We cannot change the message to appeal to people. Jesus said I WILL BUILD! Are we helping Jesus build the great church or are we hindering the great builder by just standing around and doing nothing?
• The church is great when we allow Jesus to build it.
3. A GREAT OWNER (My church v 18)
• Another thing that makes the church a great church is the fact that it has a great owner!
• Notice Jesus says in verse 18, “I will build MY church”!
• For the Auburn Christian Church to be a great church, it can belong to no one other than Jesus! Jesus said the church was HIS! If the church is His, then we must do things the way He wants them done, in a way that brings Him glory and Honor!
• There has been too many times where various people have felt THEY owned the church and they ran in accordingly. I have seen people who thought THEY owned the church put such a choke-hold on the church, that it about killed it off.
• The church is the greatest institution on the earth because Jesus is a great owner!
4. GREAT POWER (Gates of Hades v 18)
• Another thing that makes the church so great is the great power it has!
• In verse 18 Jesus says the gates of Hades will not overpower it!
• In Jesus day, cites were only as strong as its gates. Gates were used to keep people out and keep people in.
• Hades is not the same place as hell; it was the place where the dead resided until the cross. Jesus is saying that death will not hold the church down! Jesus was going to defeat death! In Acts 2:24 we are told that Hades could not hold Jesus down! 1 Corinthians 15:54-57 tells us that we have victory over death because of Jesus!
• The power of death no longer has a grip on us! Jesus is going to come back for the church! If you are not a part of the church, He will not be coming back for you!
• Ephesians 5:25-27 says that Jesus gave Himself up for the church! I would hate to stand before Him with a bad opinion of His bride!
• Jesus died so that we could have salvation and also so we could be added to the church. In Acts 2:47 it tells us the Lord was adding daily to the church those who were being saved! The church and salvation are tied together!
• The church has stood in the midst of opposition for centuries and will continue to stand until He returns!
• The Auburn Christian Church has great power, will we use it or will we waste it?
5. GREAT DOCTRINE (V 19)
• Read verse 19
• Peter was given the keys to the church in the sense that through his preaching of the word, he opened the door to the church in Acts 2 on the day of Pentecost. Later on he opened the door to the gentiles to be a part of the church when he went to the household of Cornelius in Acts 10.
• What opened the door was the great doctrine of the church.
• Romans 10:17 says, So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.
• Part of the reason the Apostles were part of the foundation of the church is they were used by God through the Holy Spirit to preach and teach the great truths of the Word of God!
• 2 TIMOTHY 3:16-17 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.
• Acts 2:42 says the church was studying the Apostles teachings together DAILY!
• Jesus told Peter that whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven and that anything you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.
• The phrase “bind” and “loose” are technical terms that meant “forbid” and “allow”
• Jesus was telling Peter that whatever he taught as being right or wrong on earth would be considered as such in heaven.
• Peter and the others could not just make stuff up; they were led of the Holy Spirit to determine that.
• Christians have such power and authority because they have the truth of God’s authoritative Word by which to judge.
• The source of the church’s authority is not in itself, anymore than the source of the apostles’ authority was in themselves or even in their office, exalted as it was. Christians can authoritatively declare what is acceptable to God or forbidden by Him because they have His Word.
• Christians do not determine what is right or wrong, forgiven or unforgiven. Rather, on the basis of God’s own Word, they recognize and proclaim what God has already determined to be right or wrong, forgiven or unforgiven. When they judge on the basis of God’s Word, they can be certain their judgment corresponds with the judgment of heaven.
• If I preach that something is a sin and I am being true to God’s word, then I am not preaching on my own authority, but on God’s!
• The only place you will learn about God and how to please Him is through the great doctrines of the Bible!
• The church is great because it has great doctrine!
6. GREAT PROMISES (V 19)
• Jesus says that death will not overtake the church! Jesus promises us salvation through Him! We have the promise of eternal life if we accept Him!
• The church is great because of the great promises given to it through Jesus!
• Jesus tells us in Matthew 28:18-20- READ!
• He says He will be with us ALWAYS as we carry out His mission for us. WE have been authorized to go into the world and make disciples of ALL nations by baptizing them and teaching them all Christ and His word commands!
CONCLUSION
• I hope that everyone here recognizes that the Auburn Christian church is a great church in spite of a few things we may not like because the church has a great foundation, a great builder, a great owner, possessing great power based on great doctrine offering great promises!
• Who am I? Was the answer to that question important? Yes!
• It is because of Jesus that we have a great church! When you talk about the church, be proud of it because it is great! The only thing that will keep it from being great is those of us who make up the church! What are you doing to help make this church a great church!
• Do you want to be a part of a great church? We invite you to be a part today!
