“and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.” – When Jesus builds the church HE MAKES IT HELL PROOF – THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST IS UNSTOPPABLE! The church of Jesus Christ is eternal, she is the Bride of Christ, the reason He shed His blood (he wanted to redeem mankind and gather them together into God’s eternal family).

When you are a part of the church of Jesus – you are part of the greatest thing going on planet earth, the family of God!

The best thing we can do as parents is to REVOLVE OUR FAMILIES AROUND THE LOCAL CHURCH because the local church is UNSTOPPABLE, THE LOCAL CHURCH IS HELL PROOF! IF YOU AND I WANT TO HELL PROOF OUR HOMES THEN WE MUST MAKE A COMMITMENT TO REVOLVE OUR LIVES AROUND THE LOCAL CHURCH!

If you say you are passionate about following Jesus but you aren’t passionate about what Jesus is passionate about, then you aren’t passionate about following Jesus.

Jesus is passionate about His Church.

Jesus is passionate about the mission of His Church – to seek and to save the lost. If you don’t get passionate about sharing Christ’s love with others, inviting them to experience Him in the community of the local church, then you aren’t passionate about Jesus!

Make a decision today to REVOLVE YOUR FAMILY AROUND JESUS & THE LOCAL CHURCH!

This passage is packed with so much meaning for us today.  Jesus says,

“I will build my church…” – Jesus Builds the church because the Church belongs to Jesus. Jesus is the Senior Pastor of this church; we will follow Him and do His will!

MY JOB AS THE PASTOR, IS TO LISTEN TO JESUS AND THEN LEAD HIS CHURCH ACCORDINGLY – ACCORDING TO HIS WORD!  There are always going to be a lot of opinions on how to best DO CHURCH and BE THE CHURCH, but ultimately I am committed to listening to Jesus and then doing exactly what He says, no matter how painful, how humiliating, how foolish it might sound to onlookers, or how unpopular it makes me.  Ultimately, when Jesus builds the church, THE CHURCH IS UNSTOPPABLE.  That is the kind of church we want to be a part of here at The Dialogue Church – an UNSTOPPABLE FORCE.

Knowing that Jesus is the Great Shepherd, or the Senior Pastor of the Church should cause each and every one of us to grow in our respect, loyalty, love, and honor towards the Church.  Here are a couple of thoughts on that:

• If you like to go for long walks by yourself, climb trees, build forts, and use a walking stick for no reason at all and that is your time with God – GREAT.  Sometimes I hear people say, WELL, I JUST LIKE TO WORSHIP GOD ALL BY MYSELF.  Maybe you can worship God all by yourself, BUT YOU CAN’T BE THE BODY OF CHRIST ALL BY YOURSELF, YOU CAN’T ENGAGE THE MISSION OF GOD ALL BY YOURSELF.  So, while you are walking around in the woods all by yourself, there is a lost world dying and going to hell and you can’t hear the Words of Jesus telling you to GO INTO ALL THE WORLD AND PREACH THE GOSPELBECAUSE YOU ARE CHOOSING TO BE ALL BY YOURSELF:-)
• Don’t be fooled, you can’t worship God and fail to witness.  To receive God’s love and then not reflect His love would be a shame.  Our witness and our worship go hand in hand.
• Our wealth and our worship go hand in hand.  You can either worship your wealth or worship God with your wealth.
• If you have given up on church because you’ve been hurt – I’M SORRY, REALLY I AM SORRY.  I have been hurt too, so I know what it feels like.  BUT I HAVE ALSO HURT OTHERS & I AM SURE YOU HAVE TOO.  Don’t throw away what Jesus gave His life for and what you are called to give your life to because someone acted like a sinner and sinned against you.  Jesus has forgiven them, maybe you can too.  In fact, that is called spiritual growth:-)  Its when we get hurt, turn the other cheek and start to forgive that the Holy Spirit of God begins to change us from the inside out.
• Some people say they don’t like church because there are HYPOCRITES IN THE CHURCH.  Well, yeah, Jesus called them SINNERS AND HE DIED FOR THEM ALL.  Thank God there are hypocrites allowed in the church or ELSE NONE OF US COULD BELONG TO ONE.  All of us have said one thing and then turned around and did something completely contrary; that’s called hypocrisy.  And no, God doesn’t like it, but that’s what He sent His Son to die on the cross for – sinners.  To say, “I love Jesus but I don’t love the church is hypocritical”.  OUCH!!

WHEN YOU HONOR UP, YOU HONOR ALL THE WAY UP. WHEN YOU HONOR YOUR PASTOR YOU HONOR THE GREAT SHEPHERD, JESUS CHRIST. WHEN YOU HONOR THE CHURCH YOU HONOR HER GROOM, JESUS CHRIST.  WHEN YOU HONOR ONE ANOTHER IN THE BODY, YOU HONOR THE HEAD, JESUS CHRIST.  SOME OF YOU DON’T HAVE A PASTOR, BECAUSE YOU AREN’T A PART OF A CHURCH, YOU HAVEN’T COMMITED TO A MISSION AND A VISION. YOU ARE JUST SHOPPING, AND YOU WILL KEEP SHOPPING UNTIL ITS TOO LATE and don’t be fooled, our kids already see what’s really in our hearts – they can’t be fooled!

“you are Peter…” – Peter (Petros) means little rock. Jesus is saying, “You are a little rock, but I AM THE BIG ROCK.”  You and I are so little in comparison to Jesus Christ. He is God, and I am not.

IF YOU WANT TO STAY HUMBLE AND HAVE A RIGHT PERSPECTIVE OF YOURSELF, SURROUND YOURSELF WITH OTHER PASSIONATE FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST YOU CAN RELY ON – revolve your family around the local church!

“and upon THIS rock…” – this ROCK refers to Jesus Christ, or Peter’s confession that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God. He is THE rock! There is no other foundation to build your life upon or to build your family upon than Jesus Christ!

YOU CAN’T SAY YOU ARE BUILDING YOUR LIFE UPON THE ROCK OF JESUS CHRIST IF YOU AREN’T REVOLVING YOUR LIFE AROUND THE LOCAL CHURCH!

IF YOUR BEST FRIEND IS NOT A BELIEVER, THEN YOU AREN’T REVOLVING YOUR LIFE AROUND THE LOCAL CHURCH. IF YOUR GIRLFRIEND OR BOYFRIEND IS NOT A PASSIONATE FOLLOWER OF CHRIST THEN YOU AREN’T REVOLVING YOUR LIFE AROUND THE LOCAL CHURCH! IF YOU AREN’T BRINGING THE TITHE TO YOUR LOCAL CHURCH, THEN YOU AREN’T HONORING GOD WITH YOUR WEALTH. IF YOU AREN’T IN A LIFE GROUP SHARING YOUR LIFE IN COMMUNITY WITH OTHER CHRIST-FOLLOWERS WHO ARE ATTACHED TO THE SAME LOCAL CHURCH, SHARING IN THE SAME MISSION, THE SAME VISION, SWEATING OVER THE SAME MINISTRIES, CRYING OVER THE SAME COMMUNITY, THE SAME CITY, GIVING TO THE SAME VISION, AND RALLYING AROUND THE SAME PASTOR AND HIS VISION THEN YOU AREN’T REVOLVING YOUR LIFE AROUND THE LOCAL CHURCH!

Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because My Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being. Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build My church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.  (Mat 16:16-18)

Let me continue to break down this powerful statement of Jesus…

“because My Father in heaven…” – Jesus is the Son of God, His Father is in heaven. Jesus never shirked from calling God His Father, claiming equality with God. I realize some people believe the Discovery Channel more than the Bible, but we can’t ever say that Jesus didn’t claim to be God.  He did over and over again.  And once again as Jesus calls God His Father, He is claiming equality with Him.

When I decided to follow Jesus I was in a bad place, but that wasn’t ultimately why I gave my life to Jesus Christ! Some people today think, “every person I know that has become a Christ-follower has been in some kind of trouble or tragic crisis, well that just isn’t me.”

First of all, don’t wait until you are in the middle of trouble or a tragedy to turn to Jesus.

Second, I didn’t turn to follow Jesus because I was in trouble but because HE IS THE TRUTH. I decided to follow Jesus because He is TRUE! JESUS IS THE ONLY WAY TO EXPERIENCE REAL & LASTING TRANSFORMATION!

“has revealed this to you.” – you and I don’t know anything about the truth of Jesus Christ unless God reveals it. What an awesome reality. We have a God who loves us so much that He chose to reveal Himself to us. He is not silent, He is not distant, He is not unloving or uninvolved. He is very much involved, so much so that He sent His Son, Jesus Christ to die on a cross to save us from our sins. The Word of God is the written revelation of God’s Love to Mankind.

If you want to know Jesus, know His Word! The more you get into the Word of God, the more the God of the Word will get into you. If you have the Son, you have life!

Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because My Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being. Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build My church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.  (Mat 16:16-18)

Amidst all the other options and opinions, Peter believed in WHO Jesus was and is. There are many opinions out there, but Jesus wants to know WHO YOU SAY HE IS. Don’t worry about the guy next to you, FOCUS ON WHO YOU SAY JESUS IS! Sometimes we get so caught up in pointing out everyone else’s faults or flaws that we don’t take the time to address the emptiness and pain within our own lives.  Jesus, doesn’t let his students get away with that.  He cuts right to the chase and asks them, BUT WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM.

It’s also important to note here that Jesus says, “my Father in heaven has revealed this to you.”  So, Jesus is not saying that I value your opinion more than others – HE SAYING THAT YOU WOULDN’T EVEN KNOW THE TRUTH ABOUT ME HAD GOD THE FATHER NOT REVEALED IT TO YOU.  We know the revelation of God by reading His word, the Bible.  The Bible reveals the truth about who Jesus is.  If you and I want to know Jesus, we must get to know God’s Word, the Bible.  The more we get into the Word of God, the more the God of the Word will get into us!  Then He can begin to morph us from the inside out.

Let me explain a couple of words in this passage of Scripture:

“Messiah” – this is the Christ, the Annointed One (the Chosen One who would take away the sins of the world); like the kings of the OT. If you believe there is any other way to God, then you don’t believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God.  Until, you and I humbly agree with God (that is what confession means “to agree”) that Jesus is the ONE, THE MESSIAH, THE CHRIST, then we can’t tap into His soul-saving power!  Faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God sent to take away the sins of the world is the ONLY WAY TO GOD – that is what Peter just confessed.

“You are blessed…” – we are blessed simply to know God. Some people think blessing is all about how much money you have, or how much fame, prestige, power, or pleasure you have. But Jesus says, “You are blessed, because My Father in heaven has revealed this to you.” Knowing that Jesus is THE ONE is the greatest BLESSING OF ALL TIME.

WHEN YOU RECEIVE JESUS, YOU RECEIVE ALL THAT GOD HAS FOR YOU!

After I got off the ride, I was sick for like 3 days – seriously.  It was an amusement ride from hades.  For three days I felt like my entire world was revolving around the Turkish Twist, my insides were revolving around my outside.  Not fun!

IN LIFE WE WILL ALL END UP REVOLVING OUR LIVES AROUND SOMETHING…

IT’S SO EASY TO GET CAUGHT UP IN REVOLVING OUR LIVES AROUND THE WRONG THINGS – SELFISH PLEASURE, DRUG ADDICTION, SEX WITH WHOMEVER, WHENEVER & WHYEVER, GETTING BOYS TO LOOK AT YOUR SOFT PORN PICS ON FACEBOOK, SPORTS, MONEY, HOBBIES, OUR KIDS’ HOBBIES, OUR WORK, OUR BIKES, OUR PETS, ETC…

AS A FAMILY WE HAVE CHOSEN TO REVOLVE OUR LIVES AROUND JESUS & THE LOCAL CHURCH!

Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because My Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being. Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build My church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.  (Mat 16:16-18)

In the next post I will break down this passage from Scripture to see what it is saying to you and me today…

The previous has been an excerpt from The Dialogue Church’s current sermon series, HELL PROOF MY HOME.  Here is a short description of the series:

Hell has a wanted poster with your family portrait on it. These dark forces have waged war on Heaven’s plan for a happy and successful family. Thus, the biblical model for home-life is under attack and people are suffering the tragic consequences in their relationships, sex-life, parenting, and finances. In this series, Pastor Steve unpacks some heavy artillery from the Bible to help families fight back and become homes of healing instead of houses of hurting.

You can listen online to any of these messages at www.theDC.tv/listen.

Hell has a wanted poster with your family portrait on it. These dark forces have waged war on Heaven’s plan for a happy and successful family. Thus, the biblical model for home-life is under attack and people are suffering the tragic consequences in their relationships, sex-life, parenting, and finances. In this series, Pastor Steve unpacks some heavy artillery from the Bible to help families fight back and become homes of healing instead of houses of hurting.

You can listen online to any of these messages at www.theDC.tv/listen.

IT IS IN FAMILIES WE ARE BROKEN AND IT IS IN FAMILIES THAT WE ARE HEALED.

Most people can trace their baggage (emotional, relational, and spiritual) all the way back to their childhood and their upbringing.  Now, this doesn’t mean we should blame our decisions on our upbringing, we have to own our own decisions.  With any mistakes in life, WE MUST OWN IT BEFORE WE CAN OVERCOME IT!  But, it does demonstrate the amazing impact HOME-LIFE has on our entire existence.  Those few formative years really to form who we are.  But just as we are broken in FAMILY, we can also be healed in FAMILY!  This series is all about turning our houses of hurting into homes of healing.

Too many of us are living defeated lives because of “something in our past”.  We must begin to deal with the “junk in our trunk” if we want to live a life of real freedom, which is only found in the Person of Jesus Christ!

I believe this series can change the course of our culture. As the family goes, so goes the church, as the church goes so goes the community, as the community goes so goes the culture!

GOD CHOOSES NOT TO REMEMBER MY SINS . CAN I DO THE SAME WITH OTHERS?

God chooses not to remember your sins.  Can you do the same with others?

I have a hard time with the part “NEVER THINK OF THEM AGAIN”. I want to hold onto them; that’s a grudge.  A grudge is when we harness our hurt to hurt others.  Hurt people, hurt people.  Resentment means to re-think. We are thinking of this hurt over and over again. When GOD FORGIVES HE TRULY FREES US AND HE DOESN’T THINK OF IT AGAIN – INSTEAD HE GIVES US GRACE, or ROOM TO CHANGE.

GOD DOESN’T ACCIDENTALLY FORGET – HE CHOOSES NOT TO REMEMBER – THAT’S INTENTIONAL; that’s a CHOICE!

Forgiveness is a choice, not a feeling.  If you wait till you feel like forgiving it will never happen.  Nobody wakes up one morning thinking, “GEE, I JUST CAN’T WAIT UNTIL SOMEBODY BACK-STABS ME, SO I CAN TURN AROUND AND JUST RELEASE THEM.”  Nobody feels like forgiving.

The MIRACLE is not FORGETTING THE OFFENSE – the miracle is OPTING TO FORGIVE!  When we opt to forgive, healing starts to happen!  We want God to heal us in order to forgive, but God says healing happens when we choose to forgive!

FORGIVENESS IS A GIFT. When we offer somebody forgiveness we are offering them room to change; we are giving people some margin to change.  Isn’t that what we all need?  Don’t we all need a little more room to change, a little more space for transformation?

God is challenging us to ALLOW ROOM FOR ONE ANOTHER TO CHANGE.  FORGIVENESS OFFERS SPACE TO CHANGE – IT SAYS “YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE PERFECT TO BE LOVED BY ME”.

Forgiveness says, “You can be imperfect and I will still love you and accept you.”  Wow, what relationship wouldn’t thrive in that kind of environment!

The same is true with forgiveness. FORGIVENESS IS FUTURISTIC.

FOR OUR FUTURE TO FLOURISH WE MUST MAKE PEACE WITH OUR PAST!

YOU CAN’T STRIVE FOR THE FUTURE IF YOU ARE STUCK IN THE PAST.

YOU CAN’T CHANGE YOUR PAST, BUT CHRIST CAN CHANGE YOUR FUTURE!

UNWRAPPING UNFORGIVENESS IS UNENDING.

FORGIVENESS IS A LIFESTYLE, NOT A ONE TIME CHOICE!

THERE WILL NEVER BE A TIME OR A RELATIONSHIP WHERE WE DON’T NEED TO UNWRAP UNFORGIVENESS!