Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Jesus Calling Us

We see in Matthew 16:13-19 where Peter declares that Jesus is the Messiah. 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 Messiah, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, 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.”

The correct teaching of this passage is that it is not about Peter! It's about the confession itself, those making the confession, and the Christ of the confession Himself are all ingredients of a church that will be so potent that the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. The church is described as "prevailing"!

Most churches tend to be precautious – lifeless, powerless, visionless, defeated. This term describes a church that is free from failure only because of its unwillingness to attempt great accomplishments for the sake of God and His kingdom. They believe that they have:  Everything to lose and nothing to gain.

Prevailing means – gaining the advantage or mastery, being victorious, effective, lasting, stronger. This is term Jesus used to describe the character of His church. Their mission believes that they have:  Everything to gain and nothing to lose.

Come on church let's be the prevailing entity (in Jesus' Name)) that we're called to be! Amen?