 Today we're going to be looking at Matthew 16, verses 13 through 20. Matthew 16, verses 13 through 20, and so I'll begin by reading Matthew 16, verse 13, read to verse 17, and then what I'll do is I'll teach from that portion of Scripture and then move into verse 18 through 20 and conclude today's, this morning's study. I have to tell you even as we begin that I believe that the Lord has placed on my heart the desire, the leading, to have an open invitation today to invite people to commit your heart to Jesus Christ. You might want to be preparing your heart because I'm going to ask you at the conclusion of this study to do so. I'm going to ask you to come forward and give your heart to Jesus Christ. I'm letting you know in advance and there's a reason for that. I think that we should do that. I think every person ought to commit their hearts to Christ. This particular portion of Scripture I think really gives to us a very distinct reason to do so. You'll see that as we go through this passage. So beginning in Matthew 16, beginning at verse 13 and reading to verse 17. When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples saying, Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? So they said, some say John the Baptist, some Elijah and others, Jeremiah are one of the prophets. He said to them, but who do you say that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said to him, Blessed are you Simon by Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. When you read your Bible, especially when you read the New Testament, you're going to note something I think very interesting. Jesus in the Gospels basically asks and it's been enumerated. He basically asked somewhere around 307 questions. A lot of times we speak about when I get to heaven, I'm going to ask God a question or I'm going to ask some questions. Well, it's the Lord Jesus Christ who asks the questions. And when you go through the Gospels, you'll discover that he asks somewhere around 307 questions. Now 183 of those questions, well, he supplied the answer for that question. But that leaves for us 124 that he expects us to answer. You're going to see that Jesus Christ in his ministry actually began even before we recognize him as after his being baptized and going out proclaiming. You'll see in the life of Jesus all the way back to the Gospel of Luke chapter 2, verses 46 and 47, how that Jesus was already asking questions because Luke tells us that he was there in the temple. He was speaking to the rabbinic leadership and the Bible tells us that he was answering their questions and asking them questions. So much so that as he was asking and answering, they were amazed at the wisdom of Christ at the age of 12. So Jesus from the beginning as we see him recorded in Scripture asks questions. When we got through Matthew up to this point, there are no less than 19 times we see in Scripture in Matthew alone up to this chapter that Jesus asks questions. I'm not going to read all of those questions, but I do have them all down. I'll read a few of them. He asked in Matthew 8, 26, why are you so fearful? He asked in Matthew chapter 9, verse 4, why do you think evil in your heart? In Matthew 9, 28, he said, do you believe I can do this? In Matthew 11, 8, he said, what did you go out to the desert to see? Matthew 11, 16, to what shall I compare this generation? Matthew 14, 31, why did you doubt? Matthew 15, 3, why do you transgress the commandments of God for the sake of your tradition? And even in chapter 16, verses 8 and 9, he said, oh, you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread? Do you not yet understand? And so Jesus asked a lot of questions in the New Testament. The question that we have here is of the utmost importance because he's asking the question, who do men say that I am? And then he asked the second one, but who do you say that I am? Those are amazing questions that we're going to be looking at because it's very important for us to see that Jesus asks us questions that he expects us to answer. Now, to give you the context and develop a background and then to move into our study, we know that he's been in a city, and I mentioned to you the city of Bethsaida, and the city of Bethsaida was on the northeast area of the Sea of Galilee. And so what he's doing now is he's moving to the north. He's moving from the Sea of Galilee region and he's going to the north into an area called Caesarea Philippi. Caesarea Philippi is located about 25 miles to the north of the Sea of Galilee. And he's going to an area there that is actually one of the three sources of the Jordan River. And this source of the Jordan River comes out of a cave. We'll be looking at that in just a moment. But he's bringing them to this area called Caesarea Philippi in order that he might spend some time with them and in order for them to get some rest. It may be that he is there for safety because there are opponents of his that are growing stronger in their opposition. So he's in an area that was called Banias or Panias. It is an area that the Greeks associated with nature worship. This area that is called Banias was renamed by Herod the Great-Son Philip in order to honor Caesar Tiberius, who was at that time the Caesar and that's why it's called Caesar Philippi. Caesarea Philippi was an area that was almost completely pagan. As mentioned, the Greeks thought that pan their nature gods sprang into existence there. So it was a site of nature worship. Herod the Great built a temple there to honor Caesar Augustus. So it was a site of Caesar worship. And there were ruins of some 14 temples in that area that had been established to worship the nature god Baal. And so what you have is an area that is saturated with nature and man worship. It's a beautiful area. We've been up there many times. I don't even know how many times we've been to this area. Every time we go to Israel, we will go to Caesarea Philippi. And I have taught this passage in Caesarea Philippi many times. And it's just an amazing location for you to be in to know that in this general vicinity, wherever it is that we're at there in Caesarea Philippi, that the Lord Jesus asked this amazing question, this very important question of his disciples. You see, Jesus is busy teaching his disciples and ministering to the people. And we're told in Mark's Gospel that Jesus and his disciples were going from village to village around Caesarea Philippi. And so he is ministering at that time in that general area. And then according to Luke chapter 9 verse 18, Jesus takes some time to pray in private. And so as he's been ministering and as he takes a moment to pray, he now comes to his disciples and he's asking them a very, very important question. The question that he's about to ask is the most important question. Because what he's doing is he's contrasting man's opinion with God's revelation. You might want to remember that as we look at this. He is contrasting man's opinion. Whom do men say that I, the Son of Men, am? Man's opinion with God's revelation. Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God. That's what you're seeing in a nutshell is a contrast. A contrast between what men are saying versus what God is declaring. It doesn't matter what man says, it matters what God declares. And that's what Jesus is going to point out to us in this passage as we go through it this morning. Now as we look at this, notice in verse 13 how it says, he came into the region of Caesarea Philippi and he asked his disciples saying, Whom do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? I want you to notice as he begins that he uses the term Son of Man. Now I want to point something out to you. The term Son of Man is what is called a messianic title. Messiah, messianic. It's a messianic title or the title of Messiah. You see Son of Man used in reference to the Messiah, the anointed one, the Christos. You see that in the Old as well as the New Testament. In the Old Testament, in the book of Daniel chapter 7 verse 13, which is a reference to the Messiah, Daniel wrote, in my vision at night I looked and there was before me one like the Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the ancient of days and was led into his presence. And so Son of Man was recognized by rabbis as a title for Messiah. So that's important to note because notice with me Jesus asked the question, Whom do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? Now it's like an open book question. It's like when you went to school and the teacher said, We're going to have an open book exam. We're going to give to you the usage of your textbook. And if you want to use your textbook to answer our questions, we used to call it open book exams because Jesus supplied that. If you just said, Who do men say that I am? That's a different question than who do men say that I, the Son of Man am? So he's basically prompting their answer by letting them know that he's Messiah. He's already declaring himself in the question. He's declaring the answer. All they need to do is recognize what he's saying. You see in the New Testament as well as the Old Son of Man is a title of Messiah. You see that in John's Gospel in chapter 12 verse 34 where the crowd spoke up. We have heard from the law that Messiah will remain forever. So how can you say the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man? They knew the Son of Man is a title and yet it was contrasting what Jesus is saying about being lifted up and dying on a cross. It was contrasting with their common understanding of that day of what Messiah was to do. So again in the question we have the answer. Jesus' question is really this. What is the popular conception that people have of me? What are the unsaved saying about me? Who do they think that I am? You see the question actually will expose the unbelief of the people. Their answer reveals that they have heard what men are saying about Him. Jesus is asking what are people saying about me because He knows that they have heard what the people are saying. We'll look at that in just a moment. But if you looked at Luke chapter 9 verses 7 and 8 there it says, Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was going on and He was perplexed because some were saying that John had been raised from the dead. Others that Elijah had appeared and still others that one of the prophets of long ago had come back to life. So that was already circulating. Jesus knew that the wave of popular opinion was declaring that He was one of these and thus He's asking them the question. He's concerned about popular opinion and popular opinion's influence on His men. You see the influence of popular opinion is to reject Jesus for who He truly is. The influence of popular opinion is always to reduce Jesus Christ from Messiah. Always to make Him something less than what He actually is. That is the influence of popular opinion and bad teaching. So today some people when they speak about Jesus will say, Oh yeah, I believe in Jesus Christ. He's the first creation of God. Others will say, oh yes, I believe in Jesus. He's the spirit brother of Lucifer. Others will say, oh of course I believe in Jesus. He's an ascended master. Others will say He's a philosopher. He's a teacher. He's a humanitarian. They will say that He is divine, but He is not God in the flesh. There are those who will say, well He's a prophet. He's a wise teacher. But they will specifically say, but He is not the Son of God. Now you see that in Islam from the Koran. Surah 575, the Messiah, Son of Merriam, was no more than a messenger. And so you will find that in common speech related to Jesus Christ. You will find that opinion that He was many things, but the most important thing is who am I? And you'll see that in just a moment. You see, though believers have God's Word to them, very often Christians are more open to man's opinion. And part of the reason for this is because public opinion carries an awful lot of weight. People often get caught up in what is called the tide of popular opinion. Now Jesus is Messiah, the Son of the living God. And that is the central truth concerning Jesus that Satan works tirelessly to contradict. Satan will inspire people to say that Jesus is not uniquely the only begotten Son of God. And he inspires people to speak of Jesus in respectful terms, but to refuse to confess Him as Messiah. But in the refusal to recognize Christ for who He is, in that refusal there will always be consequences, and the consequences of rejecting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior Messiah, the consequence is eternal. The Bible tells us in 1 John chapter 2 verse 22, who is the liar and then supplies the answer. It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the Antichrist. He denies the Father and the Son. Satan inspires people to reject that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh. If you go to the Temple Mount in Israel, and they have there the Dome of the Rock, on the Dome of the Rock is a quotation from the Quran that says that God has no Son, neither did He begot a Son. And so the Muslims will insist that Jesus Christ was just a prophet, but not the Son of God. He isn't God in human flesh. But when you look in the Scriptures, John chapter 1 verse 1, in the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. John chapter 1 verse 14, the Word became flesh and dwelt amongst us. We beheld His glory, the glory of the only begotten Son of God. And so when you look in the Scriptures, the Scripture very specifically says Jesus Christ is God in the flesh. He was the one who was begotten of the Father filled with grace and truth. In Colossians chapter 2 verse 9, it says in Christ the fullness of God lives in a human body. In Titus 2.13, we wait for the blessed hope, the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. And so this question, who do men say that I am, is spoken because Jesus knows that His men have been influenced by what the world believes. There He is, Caesarea Philippi. Beautiful place, a resort area. Around Him are the ruins of 14 Syrophoenician temples, dedicated to Baal. There is the temple for Caesar. And behind Him is a cave that the Greeks believed that Pan, the nature of God, sprang into existence from. Right there. We'll look at that in just a moment. And as Jesus is speaking, He's asking this question. Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? What's the current talk about me? What is being said about me? Guys, you listen to the news. You watch TV, you see movies, you see shows that will present Christ in various lights. You see it, you read things. You have friends who have opinions. You hear this all the time. You will have people speak to you and say, well, I believe that Jesus was a good teacher and I believe that He was a good man if He did exist. But I don't believe that He actually died and was buried and was resurrected. No, I don't believe that. And you know that and I know that. That's a fact and that's the truth. But you see, when believers are taught through the Bible, what's happening for believers is that they're being safeguarded from the deception. They're being safeguarded from the tide of public opinion and that's why Jesus says, who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? So their answer reveals that they have heard what has been said about Him in unbelief. And so notice the response. Verse 14, they said, Well, some say John the Baptist. Some Elijah. Others Jeremiah. One of the prophets. We've heard it. We've heard these things being said about. Some say that you're John the Baptist. Why John the Baptist? A couple of reasons. One is Jesus was a cousin to John the Baptist and there are commentators who say that perhaps Jesus had a physical resemblance to John and thus there could have been people saying that he is John the Baptist because he looks like John. That's possible, but I don't think so. What I lean more towards is the message. When you look in John's message and you begin in the Gospel of Matthew, John went out preaching repentance. He even had a baptism of repentance. When you look at the ministry of Christ, the first message that Matthew records is repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand, which is the same message that John the Baptist had. And so there are those who believed at that time that perhaps he's John the Baptist resurrected. But we need to remember what John said concerning himself and Messiah. He said, I didn't come as Messiah. I came preparing away for Messiah. John himself never recognized himself or declared himself to be Messiah, but people were mistaken because they had forgotten perhaps that which he had said. Then others say, well, Elijah. Now, why would they say Elijah? When you look in 1 Kings, there's a man in the Bible referred to as, his name is Elijah. And Elijah is one in the Old Testament who was used by God to perform many miracles. When you read in 1 Kings chapter 17 all the way through 21 and you see some of the things he did, you'll see that Elijah was used by God to cause the rain to cease for three and a half years. Then he caused it to rain again. Elijah called fire down to consume an offering on an altar. He called fire from heaven to consume enemy soldiers. You see things that he did that were miraculous, but two things in particular stand out. One is that he had raised a widow's son from the dead. And then when you look at Jesus in his ministry, Jesus had raised Jairus' daughter from the dead. He had raised the widow of Nain's son from the dead. So people are saying, well, those are works that Elijah did, raising from the dead, and perhaps they're saying he must be Elijah. And then recently, Jesus had performed the miracle of feeding the 5,000, then he fed the 4,000. And again, when you look into the life of Elijah, you'll see that he was used by the Lord to multiply a food supply of a widow from up in the area of Sidon. And so he multiplied her provisions, and Jesus did the same thing. So there are people at that time saying, you know, even as Elijah raised the dead and supplied food, and Jesus is doing it, perhaps he's Elijah. Some said Jeremiah. Why Jeremiah? Well, Jeremiah is known as, in theology, he's referred to as the weeping prophet. When you look at his book, you'll see that he had a great love for the nation of Israel, and he wept over that city in the book of Lamentations. And so Jeremiah was known as the weeping prophet with compassion for Israel. Jesus had compassion, right? And so they could say, well, he's Jeremiah. And then there's the fourth category, or one of the prophets. When it says one of the prophets, what is a prophet? Well, we very often think of a prophet in this way. We think of a prophet as somebody who foretells future events. But you need to remember that the prophet also was used by the Lord to declare his mind. So it wasn't just that Jesus Christ was going to be declaring future events, which he does, but he also declared the mind of the Lord. And therefore they're saying, well, either he's John, or he's Elijah, or he's Jeremiah, but he's at least one of the prophets. Now, the problem with that is that's all true. He's doing those things, but he's greater than all of those people that are being mentioned. They're all great, but they all fall short of who Jesus actually is. And so he asks, who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? They supply the answer. John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, one of the prophets. Now he says, verse 15, here's your question. Who do you say that I am? It's not enough that you can repeat what somebody else has said about me. What do you say about me? Salvation is not going to happen for me on a personal level when I can simply repeat what others believe about Jesus. I may be able to repeat things I've been taught in the past, but that doesn't mean that I believe those things for myself. I might have a mom or a dad who is a very faithful believer, but that doesn't automatically make me a son of God because God doesn't have any grandchildren. He only has children. And so I don't enter into heaven based on the faith of somebody else. Like John said when he was baptizing, don't think to say within yourselves we have Abraham as our father. Don't be trying to trust in the traditional religious heritage that you have. Just because your mom and dad may be part of the covenant doesn't mean that you are. And so this question is a very personal one. You see, you can answer catechism questions properly if the question is asked and you can supply the answer, that's fine. But is that something that transformed your life? Because true knowledge isn't simply the accumulation of information. True knowledge is the assimilation and transformation that comes to taking in that information. Because we very often think that because we know something that we're educated. That's not the truth at all. I have people in here who have graduated from college who have forgotten almost everything you learned in college. And I'm not saying that to anybody's embarrassment. I went to college for seven years. I've forgotten almost everything. It's just that you study for the class. When you study for the class you take the exam, you supply the answer, class done, get the grade, move on. That's what happens. My life is different than taking a class. I can sit down and I can write who is Jesus? He is the Messiah, Son of God. But has that transformed my behavior? Have I become different because of that? There are many people today who can supply the answer who haven't been transformed by the person. And so Jesus is asking that because one, he knows, of course, that his men are being influenced by the opinions of others. Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? But then it has to become personal. And this is important for us, for all of us in this room. But who do you say? But who do you say that I am? Because when I stand before the Lord and it's time for him to say welcome or no, I can't say mama knew you, daddy knew you, grandma knew you, no, but who do you say is the real question. And that's why Jesus is asking that question of these people. In response, you are the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the living God. You are Messiah. That's who you are. Who do you say that I am? You are Christos. You are the Son of the living God. You are Messiah, the Son of the God who is alive. And so when he gives that answer, when Simon gives that answer, Jesus responds, verse 17, and says to him, blessed are you, Simon, bar Jonah, son of Jonah. Blessed are you, Simon, bar Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. Simon, your declaration with certainty is the root of all joy and blessedness that you can have. So blessed are you, Simon, bar Jonah. Your understanding of who I am can result in salvation as well as a life that is blessed by God. Blessed are you. The word blessed there speaks of many things including the happiness and joy that comes from having a relationship with God. If your professed relationship with God is not producing joy in your life, then it's something to recheck because the fruit of the Spirit contains joy. Joy that my name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life. And I'm just passing through. Joy that God is on my side no matter what the world says or how the world affects me. Joy that God has forgiven me of my sins. I mean just a moment ago you had Fernando up here who was sharing with you how he was addicted and how he was lost and how his marriage was on the rocks. And I am looking at him and I'm thinking, what a great man. He was in the back room, you know, when I came out and he tried to rob me. But anyway, this transformed this man's life. And it didn't come through psychology. It didn't come through sociology. It came through Jesus Christ. Jesus forgives sins. Who do you say that I am? Who do you say that I am? You know, that's the most important question. Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Joan, a flesh and blood has not revealed this to you. This didn't come through your study. This didn't come through your attempts. This didn't come through your self effort. This didn't come through you going through all those classes. This did not come because in my case this did not come, this understanding did not come because I received water baptism, because I received my first communion, because I received my confirmation. It didn't come through any of that. This came through a revelation of the Spirit of God. God himself spoke to your heart and said, this is true. Receive Christ as your Lord and Savior and watch me transform your life. Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Joan. He didn't get this in any natural means. You got this from my father. In Matthew 11, 27, all things have been committed to me by my father. No one knows the Son except the Father. No one knows the Father except the Son. And those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. This has not come through natural efforts. It has come through a supernatural revelation. Somebody once said if ever man is to come to a knowledge of God two bails must be taken away. First, that which hides God's mind. And second, that which clouds our heart. God in his mercy removes both. Thus, our knowledge of God first to the last is his gracious gift. You see, the Bible makes it very clear that we do not naturally seek spiritual truth. Nor do we have the capacity to grasp spiritual truth. That's because by nature we not only resist, but we also reject the things of the Spirit of God. That's a fact. Somebody shares with you the gospel of Jesus Christ and the natural response normally is questions and rejection. Questions and rejection. Why should I believe and how do you know? When I was about 18 or 19, I was at a tasty freeze across the street from Sierra High School in Whittier and a guy walks up to me. I was 19. Guy walks up to me and says to me something about Jesus and tries to witness to me about Christ. They were respectful to people. They were religious people. You should show them respect. So I showed them respect, but I said, let me ask you a question. You say that Jesus is the truth. Yes, he is. You say the Bible is the truth. Yes, it is. How do you know that? He says, what do you mean? I by faith trust the Lord that he would tell me the truth. I said, really? Well, let me tell you what I believe. I was a Christian who were on acid. I said, some of the stuff that they say, you've got to be loaded to believe that. Can you convince me I'm wrong? I wasn't trying to be an argumentative person. I just wanted to know what he knew because I was inquisitive, of course, but I rejected. I rejected because that's what we do. We resist and reject. An interesting little sidelight to that. When I went into the army a year later, the chaplain was having an evening service when I went into basic training and the chaplain's assistant when I walked in there at Fort Ord when I walked into that chapel the chaplain's assistant was the guy who had approached me at the Tasty Freeze. And I walked up to him and I said, you may not remember me, but I remember you. You walked up to me at the Tasty Freeze there in the monastery from Sierra and you witnessed Jesus to me. He looks at me and I said, I just want you to know I gave my heart to Jesus Christ. I've never forgotten that man. They plant seeds. They plant seeds that somebody else may water. God brings the increase. That's how it works. And somebody harvests it. And so in this case here, Jesus is speaking and as he's speaking, who do men say that I am? Some say John, Elijah, etc. Some say you say that I am and that's where it all comes down. And Jesus says, Blessed are you, flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. Because you by nature resist the things of the Spirit. God through His Holy Spirit, John 16 verse 8 convicts the world of sin, righteousness and judgment. It's a work of the Spirit who draws you to faith in Jesus Christ. And so as this is taking place verse 18 and I say to you that you are Peter and on this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven. Whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ. And so after Jesus speaks to Him and actually pronounces this blessing on and blessed are you Simon or I Jonah He goes on in verse 18 to speak to Him in this way by saying you are Peter and on this rock I will build my church. So obviously the question is is He saying that the church is built on the apostle Peter. Now I want you to notice Jesus reveals that He is building what for the first time is referred to as His church. But He's revealing to us the foundation of the church. He says to Simon you are Peter and upon this rock I will build my church. Again is Jesus saying that the church is built on the apostle Peter and the answer quite obviously is no he is not. You see Jesus is the rock that the church is built on in its own writings. In 1 Peter chapter 2 verses 6 through 8 the apostle Peter said this in Scripture it says see I lay a stone in Zion a chosen and precious corner stone and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame. Now to you who believe this stone is precious but to those who do not believe the stone the builders rejected has become the capstone and a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall. They stumble because they disobey the message which is also what they were destined for. The apostle Peter did not claim to be the rock he said Jesus is that rock. He is that stone of stumbling that rock of offense. Now later on the apostle Paul Ephesians 2 20 and 21 said that the church is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Christ Jesus himself as the chief corner stone in him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. So the church is not built on the apostle Peter the church is built on Jesus Christ. When he says and I want you to see this in verse 18 you are Peter and upon this rock the church the word Peter there in the original language in Greek is Petros. The word Petros is a small stone it's like a pebble you are a small stone you are like a pebble you are Petros but upon this rock the word rock is Petros it speaks of a mountain peak you are a small stone and upon this rock this mountain peak this great rock I will build my church so is he saying you are what I'm building my church on no he's saying your confession of faith in me is what the church is built on how do we know that because in verse 16 when he said you are the Christ the son of the living God that is what our life and our faith is built on Jesus Christ and you are giving the confession that is necessary for someone to be saved you see in order for someone to be saved you recognize through God's revelation who Jesus Christ is and in 1 Corinthians 311 it says no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid which is Jesus Christ and notice with me a second thing he said I will build my church so in this we see that Jesus comes to him so we don't build the church regardless of our plans and regardless of our programs because Psalm 1271 says except the Lord build the house they labor in vain that build it in 1 Corinthians 3 6 and 7 Paul said I have planted Apollo's watered but God gave the increase so that neither is he who plants anything neither he who waters but God who gives the increase in his efforts what we do is we lift up the Lord Jesus Christ he draws all men into himself now again he said the church belongs to him he said I will build my church how is it your church it is my church Jesus could say because I paid for it I bought it how do we know that Acts chapter 20 verse 28 keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit the shepherds of the church of God which he bought with his own blood why does the church belong to Jesus he builds his church because he bought it and he paid for it with his blood and so he said I will build my church again the church there in the Greek language is Ecclesia the word Ecclesia speaks literally of the called out ones I will build my community of called out ones what are we called out of sin and darkness we are called out of the world system and we have come to Jesus Christ again the Apostle Peter in 1 Peter 2 verse 9 says you are a chosen people a royal priesthood a holy nation a people belonging to God that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light we were walking in darkness we were stumbling meandering didn't know where we were going stumbling did everything and stumbling did every sin we were just meandering aimless with no purpose in life but God called us out of the darkness he opened our eyes to see the light of Christ and we who at one time had been in darkness now walk in the light of Jesus Christ and we are part of what is called a new community see the Ecclesia is a new community we are speaking of a person's personal relationship with God but it speaks of a community relationship with God it's the church somebody said the church is not a building where people come together for a religious service it is a gathering of people who come together in order to worship God and to build each other up by mutual faith and strength he says I will build my church I will call you out of darkness I am the one who does it and notice what else he says in verse 18 and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it first Jesus is prophesying his victory over death remember with me he is in Caesarea Philippi and right behind him is a cave as I mentioned the Greeks believe that the nature God pans sprang into existence from that cave that cave behind Jesus where they were looking is called the gates of hell the gates of hell will not prevail man's worship man's philosophy man's idea of who God is man's rejection of who God is man's systems that reject Jesus Christ will not prevail there is a bill that's before the assembly here in California right now that is attempting to curtail the right of Christian colleges to determine what their philosophy of school is and how they run their schools a bill has been proposed by a homosexual legislator that is an attempt to undermine the authentic communication of the gospel of Jesus Christ it's going on right now an argument trying to strip colleges like Biola and Cal Baptist and Azusa Pacific and Westmont and these colleges who have biblical guidelines for acceptance of students and things of that nature trying to strip them of the right in the world that we live in right now this happens all the time it's happening right now you watch things in the news and you see some of these horrific things that are taking place these assassinations, these killings, these shootings this anger and you can get this idea that there's no hope but Jesus would and this is how I live by the way let me share this with you because it's a biblical way to live I should say it's not my opinion I can do all things through Scripture I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me I'm more than a conqueror through Jesus Christ the gates of hell shall not prevail against Jesus Christ we stand in victory I read the last chapter of the Bible we win in Jesus Christ so I'm not concerned about that that doesn't mean that we're not in a battle we are in a battle for men's souls and that's why the church is supposed to wake out a slumber so that God can shine upon them because what's happening right now the church is going to sleep and we're allowing the enemy to creep in because we're not speaking the truth we need to live and speak the truth that's a fact and as long as we just oh I don't want to cause people to be upset with me I want people to flow into my church and give money so I can build buildings well the problem with that is is we're not teaching the truth the truth is the enemy is after us but the truth also is that we in Christ are victorious and so we hold fast to that that's a fact and that's what Jesus is teaching not only that he's saying when you think about the gates of hell well hell is translated actually hell from the Greek word Hades and the word Hades spoke of the place of the departed souls and all and it's in reference to the dead and so the point that Jesus is making is death has no power over the people of God in Christ we are victorious Hades gates cannot prevail because the church is victorious because we're alive in Christ Jesus is reminding us that though he will die yet he will be resurrected and live in John 1419 he said it like this he said yet a little while the world sees me no more but you see me because I live you shall live also so death does not have final victory over us either because in Jesus Christ we are alive in Hebrews 2 14 and 15 since the children have flesh and blood he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death that is the devil and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death you are alive the gates of Hades shall not prevail against the church verse 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven whatever you loose on earth will be loose in heaven what is he saying here you will have authority to speak on my behalf on what is allowed or what is forbidden you will have the responsibility of declaring the gospel and all that pertains to it the keys are used both to open as well as to lock so the gospel opens people they enter the kingdom and rejection closes the door of heaven to them now this commission was not to the apostle Peter alone but was also given to the rest of the apostles you see that in Matthew 18 verse 18 where he says I tell you the truth whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven whatever you loose on earth will be loose in heaven he was speaking to all of the men there it's a commission that the church has it wasn't just entrusted to the apostle Peter but to the church itself and it started with the apostles that Jesus commissioned to preach the gospel now what are you speaking about when you say whatever you you bind on earth will be bound in heaven whatever you loose on earth will be loose in heaven what are you speaking about so you're talking to a friend about Jesus and as you're speaking to your friend you start speaking to them and you start telling them what Jesus Christ can do and as you share with them they may be open or may be close to the gospel now we remember that it's the gospel that opens the doors of heaven so you share and one of the things let me encourage you in this this is important for me to remember to share please don't assume that just because somebody comes to church or even this church that that automatically means they're saved because that's not true I was about 23 years older so I was I had gotten out of the military I was going to a church in the local area it wasn't a Calvary Chapel church it was another church and I was going there for their youth group because at that time I was college and career age and so I started going to this youth group they used to have meetings where somebody would host it and it would be time for it was called fun food and fellowship so they would gather there'd be a devotion and we'd have you know we'd just enjoy the fellowship and spend time with each other and I loved these people and I enjoyed being with them and I'd been in the church at this time for probably a few weeks I'm sorry a few months and now I'm hosting this thing at my parents house my parents gave me permission to have this meeting at the house and so the kids were in the den and I was in the front room and I was seated next to a young girl named Gail Gail was 19 at the time and I had met her at this church so we're just seated there talking just visiting it was fun food and fellowship and all we were just sitting with her and so I asked her a question I said Gail when did you give her heart to Christ when were you born again you see Gail was part of the youth group she'd been part of the junior high into the high school now she's into college and career she's been there six years six years so I said her when did you get saved because that was one of the common icebreaker questions that we had at that time when did you get saved when did you give your heart to the Lord I never asked Marie who became my wife after a bible said one of the first questions I asked Marie was when did you get saved that's the question we would ask so I asked Gail when were you saved now again she grew up from her junior high to college she's in the choir she's gone on youth retreats for years and she looks at me and she says I'm not I said you're not you're not saved she goes I'm not born again I said and I have to be honest with you I shook my head how could you be in church for six years I asked her how could you be in church for all these years and you've never given your heart to Christ have your friends not shared with you about Jesus she's not one of them none of your friends I have to be honest with you man I came out of the Jesus movement that was one of the first questions you asked it was a revival everybody needs to get saved so I said nobody's ever asked you if you're saved no I said but you're in the choir yeah they let me in wow I shared the gospel with her I shared the gospel do you know what Jesus said and I shared the gospel and she listened and I said Gail would you like to give your heart to Christ to be born again she said yes don't and I prayed with her she gave her heart to Christ don't don't think that just because somebody came to church that they're saved that they were raised in church they must be saved again God doesn't have any grandchildren only sons and daughters and the bottom line is when you're sharing like with Gail I was able to say to her and notice again in verse 19 whatever you bind on earth is bound in heaven whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven I was able to say to her because you've committed your heart to Christ Gail you're forgiven of your sins now I wasn't a person forgiving her sins Jesus forgives sins I was simply declaring what is already done Jesus forgave you your sins but if she had said I don't need Jesus I just want to sing in the choir she would have remained bound in her sins you see the gospel sets the captive free that's what the gospel does so when you pray for someone to receive Christ you're simply declaring what God has said you are forgiven if we confess our sin he is faithful and just forgive us our sin Jesus forgives us from all unrighteousness if any man be in Christ he's a new creation all things are passed away behold all things are become new God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead you shall be saved that is not man that is God's word and so what we do is we say welcome to the family of God it's God who by his spirit drew you we simply were used as a messenger to communicate his message and Jesus is saying you are Peter upon this rock your confession of faith and who I am I will build my church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it and you have the keys to the kingdom the gospel go and proclaim it and watch what God will do and in the book of Acts that's exactly what the apostle Peter did when the day of Pentecost had fully arrived and they had been baptized in the spirit and all of these people are outside there for the Passover celebration walking and here he comes from that upper room and they start looking at these people who are speaking in tongues and they say they're filled with new wine and the apostle Peter says oh men of Israel this isn't what you think now this is that which was spoken of by the prophet Joel who said in the last days I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh your sons and your daughters will prophesy and he begins to share out of the book of Joel he said this is a fulfillment of God's promise God has poured his Holy Spirit upon us and I can declare to you that you can have a right relationship with God to come into faith in him and many committed their hearts to Christ that day and the church began to explode because that's what Jesus intends to do and he's closing he says don't tell anybody right now but that doesn't mean that they're forever not to say anything the world wasn't ready to hear this message but after his resurrection he said I'm going to empower you basically you will prevail and he said I will build my church the way that we enter into the church is not by walking into the doors of a building is by stepping in faith into a relationship with God and he's being born again and he is the one who builds his church