Now I say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. (Mat 16:18 NLT)

Number Three: I [JESUS] will build my Church
Jesus wants to build His Church more than I do. Jesus wants to build His church more than any pastor, preacher, spiritual leader, and Christ-follower that has ever walked the face of the earth. And there have been some amazingly passionate church leaders, but none of them love the church more than Jesus, none of them have sacrificed more than Jesus, and none of them have given as much for the church as Jesus.

Sometimes I get down (boo-hoo) on myself for slower growth or even “reverse growth” (that is when people leave the church:) – and I think man, “What do I HAVE TO DO for this church to grow more?” But the answer is never about what I HAVE TO DO; the answer is in what JESUS HAS ALREADY DONE. Jesus has already laid the foundation for the church, we just need to build on top of that. JESUS HAD ALREADY DIED FOR THE CHURCH; He has already shared His dream for the church (to be an unstoppable force of love and oneness); and He has already given the direction of the church (to reach the entire world with the message of salvation).

So, if Jesus wants to build the church more than we do, then a lack of growth in any church is never Jesus’ fault or Jesus desire (unless that church is so totally screwed up, Jesus may want to shut it down). So, the question we should ask is NOT, “What do I HAVE TO DO TO GROW THE CHURCH?” but rather, “WHAT HAS JESUS ALREADY DONE TO BUILD HIS CHURCH?” And am I willing to do the same, AM I WILLING TO DIE TO SELF FOR THE SAKE OF THE CHURCH? Am I ready to follow the dream Jesus has for the church (to be an unstoppable force of love)? Am I ready to embrace the direction that Jesus has already given to the church (to reach the whole world)?

Seriously, what do you have to die to in order to let the dream of Jesus come alive within you? Are you in the way of Jesus clear vision to reach this world through the local church? Are you helping to push the vision forward or are you content to simply let it pass you by while everyone else does the work? Jesus asked us to die to self in order to promote the gospel, in order to build His Church, nothing else matters!

Now I say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. (Mat 16:18 NLT)

Number two: Jesus will BUILD His Church
Jesus alone can build his church. A love reading church growth books, leadership books, and books by effective pastors; but JESUS ALONE CAN AND WILL BUILD HIS CHURCH. A good pastor friend of mine (joshuagagnon.com) said this to me, “When a church lifts up Jesus, that church must grow”. Why is this true? Because Jesus builds the church. When a church LIFTS UP JESUS, JESUS BUILDS THE CHURCH. I just love this. I feel such a rush of relief when I think about the fact that Jesus is responsible for building His church, which is surely a divine work. Jesus will prepare His bride.

This doesn’t mean that we as humans and members in the Body don’t have any responsibility. We certainly do (Eph.4:11-12). Jesus gives the church pastors in order to equip the Body to do the work of the ministry, to build up the church. It is not the pastor’s responsibility to DO all of the work, but to EQUIP the sains to do the work of the ministry. As the pastor equips the members, the members do ministry, and Jesus builds up the church! That is the formula for an effective church. We must know our role, embrace our role, and engage the work that Jesus gives to us.

When we get caught up in lifting up what is cool, hip, or rad, then we are not lifting up Jesus. Cute and cool may impress some people, but JESUS WILL CHANGE THEM! Cute and cuddly may attract some people, but only Christ can transform them!

Now I say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. (Mat 16:18 NLT)

I love this piece of teaching from Jesus. The part I want to highlight is “I WILL BUILD MY CHURCH”.

Number one: Jesus will build HIS Church
The Church belongs to Jesus, He purchased her with His own blood (Acts 20:28). Jesus is the Senior Pastor of The Dialogue Church and I get to be His under-shepherd.

The Church belongs to Jesus; the Church does not belong to the government, so how could the “laws of the land” keep the church from growing (they couldn’t in the 1st century even when they were persecuting Christ-followers; the early followers of Jesus just spread the gospel all the more during their persecution and consequently the church grew all the more). Some people fear “hate speech” laws being implemented because it seems as if preachers would go to prison for preaching what the bible has to say about certain topics. Even though our “freedom of speech” rights be violated by our own government it CAN’T STOP THE GOSPEL AND THE CHURCH OF JESUS FROM DOING WHAT GOD HAS CALLED HER TO DO. Although, I will vote for “laws” that help protect our freedom of speech (by the way – this includes allowing people to speak freely against the gospel too), it is not the laws of the land that make the CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST UNSTOPPABLE. JESUS MAKES THE CHURCH UNSTOPPABLE. I am praying that Jesus will do the UNSTOPPABLE here in our city and through our church (and network of churches). Honestly, without persecution how do we know when the church is being unstoppable? The government can not contain the work of Jesus, no matter how “anti-human” the laws may be. So, stop fearing and start trusting in the unstoppable Jesus!

The Church does not belong to ME. There is no human personality big enough or strong enough to contain the entire work of Jesus Christ. There is no single human personality (or preacher) so important that Jesus can’t go on without him or her. This doesn’t mean that the role of pastor and preacher isn’t important (it is vitally important – the Holy Spirit appoints pastors for a reason – to lead and feed the flock of God). But when a preacher fails morally or gives up on the mission of the cross; the Church of Jesus still goes on. A black eye may be delivered (and I hate it when a preacher fails) but the church belongs to Jesus, and since He never fails, the church will conquer, the church will win in the end. No preacher (or person for that matter) is irreplaceable.

How terrible it will be for you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest part of your income, but you ignore the important things of the law justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but you should not leave undone the more important things. (Mat 23:23 NLT)

I love the Scripture laid out above where Jesus gives the religious leaders of His day a little hiney whooping (I am not sure if I can say that, but I just did). Let me also add that Jesus is heated right now, and I don’t mean in a polite and modest kind of way – JESUS IS TICKED OFF. Here is why Jesus is angry (by the way it is ok to get angry over the things that God gets angry about – it’s called righteous anger – reference Jesus in the temple in Matt.21.13). So, yes I do get angry about the tithe (by the way, God also got angry over the tithe in Malachi 3:10 – but we’ll talk about that later:).

Let me rewind real quick: a tithe is simply a tenth or 10% (if you are into mathematical terms:) The Bible says that the tithe belongs to the Lord; God gives us all that we have and He only asks us to bring back a portion of it – this is to honor God as the Ultimate Provider and Sustainer in our lives.

A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD. (Lev 27:30 NIV)