Sermon for Sunday January 04th, 2009

What is the Church? by Stephen Sheane

Matthew 16:13-16:19

WHAT IS THE CHURCH?

One Sunday morning a stranger wandered into a small country church in the middle of the sermon. The man was unkempt and dirty. The usher tried his best to seat him off in a far corner but instead the man walked to the very first pew and sat directly in front of the pastor. Then to the congregation’s horror in the middle of the message the man began to shout, "Amen. That’s right! Preach it brother." The minister frowned at the man, but that didn’t work. The stranger just continued, "Praise Jesus, Hallelujah!" Finally an usher went to the man and whispered in his ear, "Sir, we don’t act like this in church." "But you don’t understand, I’ve just got Jesus," said the stranger. "Yes sir," said the usher, "but you didn’t get him from here." This story is unfortunately far too often true. We have seen the church as an institution or a building or denomination. This is not what the church was born to be.

In the early 60’s Vince Lombardi was rebuilding the Green Bay Packers. Just after losing a Super Bowl and on the eve of a new season, he rallied his team in the locker room one day and mounted the bench for a speech. He reviewed last year’s loss, then began to talk about the plans for a return trip to the great game and how they would accomplish it. “We’re going back to basics,” he said. And with that he held up the familiar oblong, leather ball, and said slowly and deliberately, “Gentlemen, this is a football.” As we start a new year I want us to go back to the basics.

What is the church? One definition says that the church is “A group of people who find themselves in a new relationship with one another because of their new relationship with Jesus Christ.” We do not go to Church. We are the Church!

The Church is God’s creation and design; it is His method of providing spiritual nurture for believers and a community of faith through which the gospel is proclaimed and His will advanced in every generation.

Matt 16:13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" 14 They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets." 15 "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" 16 Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." 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. 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. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."

This is the first mention of the church in the Bible. Jesus spoke of it here before it had even come into existence on the day of Pentecost. The word church is the word EKKLESIA which comes from the verb KALEO which means to call. The church are the CALLED OUT ones. This Greek term originally referred to an assembly of people who were called out from among the population to meet and make decisions and to be instructed. This is what we are. We have been called out of the world into a community of faith.

This passage describes the church in 4 ways:

1. IT’S FOUNDATION – upon this rock I will build my church

Jesus said to Simon Peter “on this rock I will build my church”. Jesus did not say that He would build the church on Peter – “on your rock I will build the church”. It was not Peter’s church. There are lots of jokes about Peter standing at the pearly gates deciding who goes in and out. This is not the case. The church does not belong to the pastor, or the elders, or the deacons. He did not say he would establish the Baptist church or the Methodist church or the Catholic church. He said, “I will build MY church.”

The rock upon which the church is built is Christ himself. It is built on Peter’s confession that Jesus is the Christ – the son of God. Upon this confession everything is built.

Luke 6:48 He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. 49 But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation . The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete."

Faith is only good if that which you believe is faithful. The issue is not just believing but what the faithfulness of what you believe in. The church is based upon the truth that Jesus is Lord.

Years ago at Niagara Falls two men were in a boat and found themselves caught in the current. The men jumped from their boat and swam for the shore. At last minute ropes from the shore were thrown out to them. The one man grabbed the rope and was pulled to shore. The other man grabbed a rope, but at the same instant the rope came into his hand, a log floated by him. The thoughtless and confused man, instead of seizing the rope, laid hold on the log. It was a fatal mistake. They were both in imminent peril, but the one was drawn to shore because he had a connection to the land. The other, clinging to the log, was carried over the falls and was killed.

Jesus said he would BUILD his church which implies a process. Building are constructed over time – they do not just appear one day.

2. IT’S FUNCTION – I give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven

Jesus gave to the church the keys of the kingdom. A key provides access. You cannot get into your house or car without a key. A keys represent authority. E.g. Longneckers coming over to feed the cat when we were away. Jesus gave His church the authority to go into all the world to offer salvation and discipleship to all people. That is the function of the church.

Rom 1:16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 17 For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."

Millard Erickson wrote, “The church is the repository of grace … it possesses the gospel, the good news of salvation”

During World War II, some American soldiers took the body of their buddy to a local cemetery. The priest stopped them saying, “You can’t bury your friend here if he is not a Catholic.” Discouraged but not defeated, the boys buried their fellow soldier just outside the cemetery fence. After the war they came back to pay their respects but they could not find the grave. They questioned the priest about it, and he said, “The first part of the night I stayed awake disturbed by what I had told you. The second part of the night I spent moving the fence.”

This is the mission that comes again to the church in every generation. We are the hands and feet of Jesus, going out into all the world with the Good News and seeing people enter into a saving relationship with Jesus, passing from death to life. The church in every generation has the responsibility to preach the gospel and win the lost and train the disciples and heal the broken-hearted and lift up those who are fallen. To keep moving the fence to include others.

Too often we as a church forget this function. We get distracted by all the programs we forget the purpose. In the Berlin art gallery there is a painting by the famous artist Mengel that is only partially finished. It is supposed to be a painting of King Frederick of Germany talking to his generals. Mengel painstakingly painted the generals first around the outside of the painting. The King was left until last, leaving a bare patch in the middle of the painting with the background of generals. But Mengel died before he could finish the painting. So there is a painting full of generals but no king. Christians sometimes spend so much time putting all the generals in place - but leave the King of Kings until last!

3. IT’S FRUIT - whatever you bind … whatever you loose

Jesus has not only given us the keys to the kingdom but he has also given us the Holy Spirit to empower us to victorious Christian living. In Him we have not only eternal life but life abundant. In the name of Christ we have been given the authority to take the spiritual resources of heaven and apply them to the problems of earth. We are to bind the powers that enslave people and loose them to live as Christ intended them too.

Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control.

Through the Holy Spirit we are transformed. Old habits and addictions are changed as our characters are aligned to Christ. We are transformed and become different people.

We have been set free in Christ and empowered to do the work that Jesus has given us to do. It is always amazing to see the power that is in the name of Jesus, especially when dealing with the demonic. Through the church the fruit of the Spirit is released on earth bring healing and change and transformation as the kingdom of God breaks out.

On May 28 1914 a ship called the Express of Ireland hit another ship and began to sink quickly. As the ship began to sink in the cold Atlantic Ocean it was discovered that there were not enough life belts on board for all the passengers. On that ship were 130 Salvation Army officers—109 were drowned and not one body that was picked up had on a life belt. The few survivors told how the Salvation Army Christians took off their own belts and strapped them even upon strong men, saying, “I can die better than you can”. From the deck of that ship was demonstrated what it means to live with a new priority, passion and power.

4. IT’S FUTURE - the gates of Hades will not overcome it

The church is not a fortress but a moving army. The gospel is going out every day and more and more people are responding to it. Many people in Europe and North America are saddened but what they see as the shrinking church but that is not true of the global church. The kingdom of God is moving forward and there is nothing in the world that can stop it. Nothing;

Matt 11:12 From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.

The word here for forceful in Greek is the word BIAZO which comes from the word BIOS or life. Living things grow. The picture here is of a tree growing out through a crack in the concrete – it is forcing it’s way out. Some day the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdom of our Lord and Christ.

Hab 2:14 For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea .

We know from the end of the book what the outcome will be. We see that in the end we win!

Prior to leading the attack on Pearl Harbor, Admiral Yamamoto met with the military leaders of his country to plead with them not to attack the United States. He had studied in America and had witnessed first hand the industrial might and the will of the American people. He told his superiors that they could not hope to defeat the United States. The best they could do would be to outrun us for about 18 months.

The devil hates the church and is doing everything he can to stand against it. All around the world the church continues to grow and the word and power of God continues to bring light into darkness. Even here in this nation of Kuwait we see the Gospel making a difference. This church is having an impact on this nation. Perhaps the greatest thing we can take from this place today out to the peoples of this nation is the glorious hope that only Jesus can give.

Dr. W. A Criswell, Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Dallas Texas, said on one occasion on an airplane flight he found himself seated beside a well-known theologian. He desperately wanted to start a conversation and they did get to talk. The man told Dr. Criswell about how he had recently lost his little boy through death. Dr. Criswell listened as he told his story: He said he had come home from school with a fever and we thought it was just one of those childhood things, but it was a very virulent form of meningitis. The doctor said we cannot save your little boy. He’ll die.

And so this seminary professor, loving his son as he did, sat by the bedside to watch this death vigil. It was the middle of the day and the little boy whose strength was going from him and whose vision and brain was getting clouded said, "Daddy, it’s getting dark isn’t it?" The professor said to his son, "Yes son it is getting dark, very dark." Of course it was very dark for him. He said, "Daddy, I guess it’s time for me to go to sleep isn’t it?" He said, "Yes, son, it’s time for you to go to sleep." The professor said the little fellow had a way of fixing his pillow just so, and putting his head on his hands when he slept and he fixed his pillow like that and laid his head on his hands and said, "Good night Daddy. I will see you in the morning." He then closed his eyes and stepped over into heaven.

Dr. Criswell said the professor didn’t say anymore after that. He just looked out the window of that airplane for a long time. Then he turned back and he looked at Dr Criswell with the scalding tears coming down his cheeks and he said, "Dr. Criswell, I can hardly wait till the morning." You see the morning is coming. And we will see our loved ones. That’s what Jesus is saying, "The gates of hell, the gates of DEATH, shall not prevail against the church!"