The Church Built on the Rock (Mt. 16:13-20)
Let us bless one another, “Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God.” Today is a holiday but regardless of that, I hope you will receive God’s unprecedented and never-repeated grace. The title of today’s message is, “The Church Built on the Rock.” The church that is built on the rock. If today we realize what is the church and what is the rock, then our lives will change. Even if we’ve gone to church for a long time, we don’t know what the church is. People know Christ but they don’t know the church. There’s no way this happens. I hope that through today’s worship, the hidden blessing of God will be within your heart.
1. Jesus’s question (Mt. 16:13)
1) Region of Caesarea Philippi (Mt. 16:13)
In today’s scripture, Jesus Christ asks a question He is curious about within the region of Caesarea Philippi. This is a region that is far away from the Jerusalem temple that was ripe with the laws and traditions of the Jewish people, and now they are in a region that is more strongly ruled by the Gentiles, and Jesus asks them, “Who do the people say that I am?”
The word, “Philippi” in Caesarea Philippi means that it is a region ruled over by the Tetrarch Philip, and the “Caesarea” refers to the Roman Emperor Caesar, so, “Caesarea Philippi.” Aside from this area of Caesarea Philippi, there is another region north of Joppa that is also called Caesarea. Just like when you go to Oregon, there is a city called Portland, but there is a Portland on the East Coast as well, so we say, “This is Portland, Oregon.” Same thing.
This is a combination of two names, the first being the Roman Emperor Caesar and the second the Tetrarch Phillip. There is Olympic Boulevard in LA, and that was where the Olympics took place back in history, and there is another street called Obama, so these street names represent something. Philip the Tetrarch always wanted one thing in his heart, and that was to become the king. In order to be the king, he needed to look good to the Emperor Caesar, and you can see how much Philip wanted to look good to Caesar by the way he named this region.
(1) Temple of Emperor Caesar
Back in those days, the Emperor of Rome was known to be the son or descendant of the god of the sun, and this was the god that everyone served, and his temple was in the region of Caesarea Philippi.
(2) Idol temples
(3) Influence of the emperor’s power and authority
Even before Roman colonization, this region was filled with so many idolatrous temples from the time of Canaan. So in other words, they were going outside of the boundaries of the law of the Old Testament that were studied in the Jerusalem temple, and now they are in this region that is strongly influenced by the god of the world, and this is where Jesus asked, “Who do the people say that I am?”
2) Who do people say the Son of Man is? (Mt. 16:13)
He is asking us today in this region of America where people think, “If you have money, success, and power, you have everything in the world,” who do people say that Jesus is?
(1) John the Baptist (Mt. 16:14)
The disciples replied, “Some say John the Baptist.” John the Baptist was the last prophet who was actually killed by King Herod because John the Baptist was saying the correct words by rebuking the incorrect marriage with the laws of Leviticus that King Herod had with his younger brother’s wife. Yes, the church must say words that are correct, but they must say words that save. The church is not the place that says the words that are correct; it is the place that says the Word of God. The standard of the church is not morals and ethics; the standard of the church is the Word of God. When Jesus Christ tells the Pharisees, “You brood of vipers, you whitewashed tombs,” it seemed to them that He was like John the Baptist.
(2) Elijah (Mt. 16:14)
Others say that Jesus is like Elijah because the book of Malachi promised to send another prophet like Elijah, and he was an incredibly powerful prophet, so the Israelites are seeing Jesus Christ healing diseases and feeding thousands with the five loaves of bread and two fish, and doing all of these miracles, and Elijah never died, he was taken up to heaven in a chariot of fire, so they think that Jesus Christ is like that.
There are still many Christians who are seeking the power of Elijah through Jesus Christ. A lot of people think, “If Jesus Christ is so powerful, then why are my family problems not being solved?” I received a message from someone who was not a member of our church, “I’m suffering so much because my husband has Parkinson’s disease. When will this be solved?” Whether the disease is healed or not is not the sign. I said, “The one who has finished all problems on the cross and is inside of you, deaconess, that is the true sign.”
Christ is the wisdom of God, He is the power of God. Inside of Christ is the wisdom and power. But people get rid of that and they only seek the power of Elijah.
(3) Jeremiah or one of the prophets (Mt. 16:14)
There are other people who thought that Jesus Christ might be like the prophet Jeremiah, who had a heart full of compassion for the less fortunate, and they are seeing Jesus having compassion on the poor and the prostitutes; they think He is like Jeremiah. That is not the reason Jesus came to earth. Yes, the church must help and serve those who are poor, but that is not the goal of the church. The goal of the church is to proclaim the Christ. His death and resurrection on the cross, that content must be relayed.
They also say that Jesus is like one of the prophets, a prophet that God has given to us to relay the Word of God. No, Jesus Christ came to earth to die on the cross and resurrect for us.
3) Who do you say I am? (Mt. 16:15)
Then, Jesus asked the disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” So right now, Jesus is not focused on the people of the world; He is interested in His disciples. He asked those who believed and followed Jesus Christ, “Who do you say that I am?”
(1) Jesus is the Christ (Mt. 16:16, Ac. 2:36, Ac. 15:25-26,28:31)
Then, “Jesus, You are the Christ, the son of the living God.” Those words are not just ordinary words. Whenever we greet each other, “Lord, You are the Christ, the son of the living God,” those are no ordinary words. Right now, the world is serving the Roman Emperor Caesar as their Lord. People think that money is everything; people think that power and authority is everything. Some people think, “If I just have a good enough personality, I can meet many people,” So it’s not just Jesus.
“Lord, You are the Christ,” he is confessing that “You are our Lord.” Those words are not ordinary words. It means, “Even my physical body is not my own. My time, my material possessions, they do not belong to me; they all belong to you, Lord. My business, my everything, You are the Lord,” so that confession is no ordinary confession. When this confession truly begins in you, what happens?
“Lord, You are the Christ,” Christ means, “The Messiah” or “The Anointed One.” If someone is anointed with oil, it means that this is the position that God’s Holy Spirit will work through. In the Old Testament, God anointed three positions, the prophet, priest, and king, and the Holy Spirit worked through those three roles. Humans cannot be anything unless God works through these roles for them. Through the priest, the problems of the curses of sin must be resolved. Through the king, we must be reigned over, and the authority of Satan and the darkness must be broken down. Through the prophet, God’s Word must come upon us.
(2) Son of the Living God (Mt. 16:16)
This confession is saying, “You are our Lord, You are our Christ,” and then he says, “The son of the living God.” He is saying, “the god of this world, the Roman Emperor, is a fake, dead god. But you are the son of the God Who is living and alive,” meaning, “You are the son,” meaning, “You are Him in human form.” This confession did not come from out of nowhere. When you come to church, you can just mimic these words, but it’s not enough to just mimic.
2. Jesus’s response
1) Blessed are you (Mt. 16:17)
(1) Revealed by God (Mt. 16:17)
Then Jesus responded, “Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah,” so where did this blessing come from? It comes from this confession of faith. If you are able to correctly and truly confess that Jesus is the Christ, that itself is the blessing. But there are churches that are flowing in the direction of prosperity faith that are outside of the gospel. True Christians’ blessings follow this confession of faith. “For this was not revealed to you by man, by flesh and blood, but by My Father in heaven,” what does this mean? This means that this is a mystery that has been hidden for long ages past and is impossible for us to know unless God Himself reveals it to us. So, Peter is not making his confession out of knowledge. He is not making this confession out of studying the Bible so much and then realizing it himself. Jesus Christ says, “My Father in heaven, God, has revealed this mystery, so that you may know it.”
(2) Those to whom the Son chooses (Mt. 11:27)
Mt. 11:27 says, “No one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.” If God does not reveal this to them, then they are bound by the laws and traditions and their beliefs, and they cannot go to God. You and I may have gone to church for a long time, but is Jesus really the Lord of your whole life? Does your life belong to Jesus? Is Jesus the Lord of your time? Is it true that your material possessions and even your children are not yours, they are Jesus’? And is that Jesus the Christ?
Is it true that the Jesus Christ Who finished all problems on the cross is alive right now? This is not something that anybody can just imitate, and it’s not enough just to memorize and study the Bible. Only the people to whom God reveals this may make this confession of faith. Then, you will be set free from all the things that are binding you, and you will receive strength.
(3) Weary burden of the law – Rest (Mt. 11:28)
Why is life so difficult? It’s so difficult and hard because instead of the gospel, we are the master of our own life, and we are oppressed by the burdens of life and the law. I hope you will always have the true confession of Christ.
2) Peter’s confession – Blessing
(1) Rock (Mt. 16:18) – Christ (1 Cor. 10:4)
Then Jesus Christ says, “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church.” His name was actually originally Simon, but once he makes this confession of faith, Jesus changes his name to Peter which means, “Rock.” Peter means, “Rock,” so Peter is the masculine form of “rock,” and “rock” is the feminine form of “rock,” it’s the same Greek language, but in different forms. 1 Cor. 10:4 says that the Rock was Christ. It says here in the Old Testament that God gave water to the Israelites through the rock, and that rock was Christ. So, even in the Old Testament, Jesus Christ was following the Israelites around, giving them water.
This verse actually became the reason why the Catholic Church and the Christian Church split. In Catholicism, they believe the Church is built on Peter himself, so Peter is the pope and the pope has the keys to the kingdom of heaven and decides who goes to heaven or hell. So, the way the Catholics interpret the Bible is by saying, “Peter is the first pope, and we are now at pope 200-something now, and according to the word of the pope decides which people go to heaven and hell, and the church is raised on the words of the pope.” So, during the middle ages, no one could budge against the words of the pope. If the pope said you’re going to hell, then you’re going to hell. More so than the words of the Bible, the words of the pope are their truth, because it says here that Jesus will build the church on Peter, the People, so even right now, the words of the Pope are higher than the words of the Bible. The directive of the Catholic Church is that, “If you come to the church you’re saved, but if you’re outside of the Catholic Church, then you are not saved,” so they emphasized the physical location. They create these grand buildings and say, “If you come into this building, you are saved, and if you are not in this building, you are not saved,” so a lot of these idolatrous temples or shrines emphasize the locations a lot. They are so seized by that, and it’s possible for Christians to be like that as well. “If you come into this building, it is worship, and if you’re outside of this building, it is not worship,” because they’re seized by this ideology.
(2) Build my church (Mt. 16:18) – Body of Christ (Eph. 4:12, Ac. 9:4, 1 Cor. 15:9, Mt. 7:24)
But this rock is actually talking about our confession of faith that Jesus is the Christ, and Jesus says, “On this rock, I will build My Church.” The Church is raised by the Lord. Through whom will Jesus raise His church? Through the ones who make this confession of faith. Then what is the church? This building we are in is not the church; this is just the church building. When we say we are going to church, we actually mean the church building, but when we say the word, “Church,” what does it actually mean? Eph. 4:12 says that the church is the body of Christ and Christ is the head of the church.
So when we say we’re going to church, it simply means that we are going to the gathering of people who are the Church of Christ, but we don’t call, “Going to church” coming to this building of the church. If you think that way, then you think your business or your company location is not the church. But that ideology is the same as the Catholics or the Jewish people of the Old Testament who emphasized a physical location. Because we have an incorrect idea of the church, we are receiving this incorrect understanding.
In Acts 9:4, Jesus comes to Saul and says, “Why do you persecute Me?” even though Saul had never met Jesus. Who is the “Me” here? How can Saul persecute Jesus if he has never met Jesus? It means if you are persecuting the body of Christ, so you’re persecuting Jesus. It means that the church is Christ. So, if the members of the church continue to criticize each other, it means you are criticizing Jesus Christ, and there is nobody who can survive after criticizing Christ. If somebody’s walk of faith doesn’t work out, there is usually a reason why. Their characteristic is they don’t know Christ and they don’t know the church well. So, when they look at somebody else, Christ is inside of that person and Christ is their Lord, but they say whatever they want to that person.
In Gen. 12:1-3, God says, “I will curse those who curse you, and those who bless you, I will bless,” so the church is actually a great cluster of blessings and we can bless each other, but we only criticize each other, and thus, we are cursed. 1 Cor. 15:9, Paul says, “I persecuted the church of God,” and Jesus Christ said, “You are persecuting Me.” The Church is Jesus, but we are not Jesus. It means that Jesus is our head and we are united with Him in His body. So, you need to understand the church well in order to receive the blessing of the church. But the characteristic of people who don’t know the church is that they honestly don’t know Christ, they only know the text of Christ but they don’t really know Christ.
Mt. 7:24 says, “Whoever hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who builds his house on a rock.” Your life must be raised up on the confession of Christ and He must be my Lord. Then, what happens? The gates of Hades will not overcome you.
(3) Strongholds, arguments, pretension that sets itself up, thoughts – Obedient to Christ (2 Cor. 10:4,5,8)
We confess that Jesus is Lord, however, before we confess that Jesus is Lord, there are other things inside of me. We have these fortified strongholds inside of us. There is a fortified stronghold inside of us that doesn’t listen to anybody else. Everybody has it. “My dad is too stubborn,” but you’re stubborn as well. Even if one person was not stubborn or strong, it would work. “My mother is too stubborn”? You’re stubborn too, everyone has their own stronghold inside of them, and nobody can break that down. There is a stronghold.
We all have our ideologies, the way that we live our lives. But all of that did not come from God’s Word, it comes from the world, or the things taught in our family line. Our thoughts. All the things we see and we read in school and in the world, those determine our thoughts. So, the people who think thoughts of failure are bound to fail. Instead of thinking thoughts that bless, like, “Oh, that person is a child of God, and Christ is inside of them, I should do intercessory prayer for them,” they think, “Oh, I need to fight this person, I need to get rid of them and kick them out of the church.” That person will fail. Your thoughts determine your life, even right now, you are thinking. What are you thinking? Your thoughts go against Christ. Christ must be my Lord and reign over my thoughts and my heart, but instead, something else is my Lord. Whatever has set itself up by opposing Christ, there are things inside of us that oppose Christ and have taken a higher seat.
Christ has come as our Rock, but I am higher than that. Our longstanding experiences are higher for us than the Word of God. The longstanding logic of America is higher for us than the Word of God. Then, what we say is, “Well, I’ve lived my life like this or that,” or we impress others with our knowledge, “This is what I’ve studied,” or we oppress others by saying, “I know the language better than you,” and people who live not according to God’s Word apply those things.
(4) Gates of heavens – Will not overcome it (Mt. 16:18)
How can we overcome that? We must make all of these things obedient to Christ. The Bible says this is our weapon of faith. The way to win over the darkness is to make all of these things obedient to Christ. Without a doubt, the gates of Hades will not overcome. A lot of the church members think, “The darkness is too strong,” they continue to say words that do not have the answer. They just look at the form but there is no answer. People say, “The world is so difficult,” they only look at the form, they don’t have the answer. They say, “My children are so difficult,” they are only looking at the illusion, there’s no answer there. Upon the true confession of faith that the Lord is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, it says here that the gates of Hades can never overcome.
“I hear demons, I see demons, I can’t sleep every night,” your words may be correct, but it says here that the darkness cannot overcome you. What does it mean that the darkness cannot overcome you? Yes, the darkness may come to you, but it can never overtake you. You are bound to overcome. Some people say, “Pastor, this person hears things or sees things,” so what? They say, “It’s so severe,” but what’s the answer? They don’t have the answer, it means they are not making this confession. No matter what happens, they cannot overcome you. You need to have this faith in this answer and give them that answer. Don’t just talk about the reality; give them this answer. When I’m truly on top of this confession of faith, I’m bound to give the answer.
3) Keys of the kingdom of heaven (Mt. 16:19)
(1) Whatever you bind and loose on earth – Will be bound and loose in heaven (Mt. 16:19)
Jesus says, “I have given you the keys to the kingdom of heaven.” Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven, so the condition here is that whatever you do on earth is what is going to happen in heaven.
(2) Answer to Prayer
When you pray in the name of Jesus Christ on earth, the answers are released in heaven. If you forgive someone with the gospel, they are set loose. On the other hand, if you have the gospel but instead of forgiving other people, you are continuously bound by your resentment and your anger, that will be tied up in heaven as well. You need to bind Satan but set people free.
(3) Door of the kingdom of heaven – Open (Gospel), Close (Law) (Mt. 23:13)
Mt. 23 tells what a wicked thing the Jewish people did, they had been entrusted with the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Mt. 23:13, Jesus says, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces, and you yourselves do not enter.” With the law, you will never be able to save people, and you yourselves cannot believe the gospel, but today’s churches are becoming like the Pharisees. They say the church building is the church. They say, “If I just go into the church building, then I worship,” and “When I go out into the world, that’s not worship, that’s just working hard”; that’s the Pharisees. They just create their own traditions and forms and think that’s the walk of faith, and when this person and I don’t get along, we become enemies.
Then you are binding, then God is saying, “I’m going to bind that in heaven as well.” You bind people with the law, you bind people with other knowledge, you bind people up with the standard of how long you’ve lived in America, you bind people up with the knowledge you’ve gained in the world that’s not from the Bible, you bind and tie people up with the knowledge you have in the world. But we must loosen people. We must set free the people bound by the law; we must set free the people bound by Satan. With the gospel, we must set free people who are bound by religion, tradition, and forms, but if you don’t have the gospel, you can never liberate people. If they come to church, you will try to hold onto them and bind them even tighter, you cannot set them free. We ourselves are the church, and us gathering together is the church. You just tell people to come to the church building, but this is the church that gathers, but I am the church by myself at home, I am the church at my job.
3. Gospel proclamation
1) Before the cross
(1) Told them not to tell anyone He is the Christ (Mt. 16:20)
(2) Before experiencing the death and resurrection of Christ
(3) Cannot be a witness of Christ
Then in Mt. 16:20, Jesus tells His disciples, “Do not tell anyone that I am the Christ.” When Jesus orders His disciples not to tell anyone, that is the command of God. If God says, “Don’t do it,” you’ll never be able to evangelize, and if you remain in this state, you’ll never be able to evangelize. They confessed Jesus is the Christ, but even so, God blocked them from evangelizing. When did evangelism take place, and what is the content of evangelism? That’s important.
2) After the cross
(1) Witness of the death, resurrection of the cross (Ac. 2:32)
In Acts 2:32, they confessed that God has raised or resurrected Jesus to life, and we are witnesses to that fact. This means that as a witness of the fact that Jesus Christ died on the cross to finish all the problems of our curses and sin, He died to overcome the curses of Satan and hell, and He is resurrected and is alive now to testify of this fact as a witness. Before that point, you are not a witness of Jesus’ death and resurrection. You know it by God’s grace but you are not a witness.
(2) Me (Temple) (1 Cor. 3:16, Gal. 2:20)
Only the ones who have the evidence that, “I have died on the cross with Christ and now Christ lives within me,” can testify of the gospel of Christ. That’s 1 Cor. 3:16, the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ lives within me and has made me His temple. Even after Peter confessed that Jesus is the Christ, he fell down again. Even though Jesus Christ Who is the Rock is with him, he continues to fall. He must resurrect and He must come within us, we must stand as a witness with that evidence. We do not evangelize only with the training of evangelism. Yes, we need evangelism training, but that’s not the standard. Through the evangelism trainings, we must be truly trained that the Lord is with us. I do not become a disciple by going into so many different discipleship trainings. What’s important is that I become a disciple when Jesus Christ is with my life as the answer, and I have that evidence to stand as a witness.
Why is it that the churches are not able to evangelize? It’s not that they can; it’s that they’re in a state that prevents them from doing so. They study the Bible, they have discipleship training programs, and they do everything they can, but there’s a reason why they cannot evangelize. It means that Jesus is not the Lord of their lives. They don’t have the evidence that, “I have died on the cross with Christ, and Christ lives within me.” It’s not enough to just speak well, there are some people who say, “I believe in half of the Bible and I don’t believe in the other half,” I’m sure they heard that from somewhere, but that person really doesn’t know the Bible. John 5:39 says that the entire Bible from the Old Testament testifies of Jesus Christ. Then, are you saying, you’re going to believe in half of Jesus and not the other half? They’ve heard of something that doesn’t even make sense, those are the words of the devil. The entire Bible testifies of Jesus Christ, then if you half believe in Jesus and you half don’t believe, what does that mean?
Luke 24 says all the Old Testament, the Pentateuch, the laws, and the prophets all testify of Jesus Christ. I understand why those people would say what they did. They are saying, “There are things in the world that we need to learn. The Bible isn’t everything, there are things of the world we need,” I think this is just how they express those words, but I’m telling you again, that person can never have victory in the spiritual world. If you say, “50% Jesus and 50% the world,” that person will never have victory; Jesus must be your Lord. Jesus must be the Lord of my business, the Lord of my studies, the Lord of my life, and Jesus must be the Lord of the church, then what happens? The blessings will follow, Satan’s forces are broken down. That’s the blessing.
(3) Church (Construction) – 237 nations (Mt. 28:19), healing (Mk. 16:15-18), summit (Ac. 1:8)
Then, the Lord will personally raise His church. In the Church of Corinth, there were many different groups, some would follow Paul or Apollo or Christ, and they were all fighting amongst one another, but the Lord was using them as messengers to deliver the Lord’s message. The One Who allows us to understand that message is the Lord. There is a part of the Bible that says, “Paul planted, Apollo watered it, but God made it grow.” They say these arguments, because they don’t understand. Do you think if you listen to some amazing message, your faith will get better? You’re only arguing with the logic of the world, but in the world, you have to follow the best professors, that is how you’ll get the best knowledge, but the Bible says, “You have to speak of Jesus Christ correctly,” and that is something God personally does. The bible says, “Without the Holy Spirit, you cannot confess that Jesus is the Lord.” Is this person within the work of the Holy Spirit? The church is not something you understand by studying diligently. Only the one to whom God reveals this will understand amazingly; that is the church.
We have been made as the Temple. In the Old Testament, they had a visible Temple, so the Catholics emphasize the temple a lot. “You have to come here to receive salvation,” and for them, it’s not finished yet, and that’s why they build their cathedrals so amazingly big, and that’s why you can only get rid of your sins if you confess to a priest, but Jesus came and finished it all. You go to the Lord personally and directly, because the Holy Spirit of God lives within me, I am now the Temple. This building is simply the Church building, but the age of the Temple is gone. The Temple was only the Temple of Jerusalem, but now, the Temple of God is scattered all over the world and creates the Church.
It seems these words and terms do not mean a lot, but these terms actually control your thoughts and change your life. If you don’t understand that Jesus is your Lord, you’ll just think of Him as a secretary or church officer-worker. You just think of Him as somebody who will save you, but that’s why the Word is so important. He is the Lord. Have you ever seen somebody fall when Christ is their Lord? “No matter how difficult my life may be, the Creator of the universe, Christ Himself, is my Lord.” The world will come to life through the confession of the one who has that faith and has that answer.
If I’m the Temple, it means I give worship, because the Temple is the place where we give worship. Then what is worship? It is the place where we serve and give service. People who don’t understand that will say, “I gave worship and then I left,” that person can never win the world because the Bible doesn’t just talk about that. Why do you think the Holy Spirit comes within us and calls us His Temple? In the Old Testament, the Temple was where God resided, broke down all the curses and disasters, and gave them His Word. That is worship. Making Christ my Lord, that itself is worship.
3) Field – Business, job
(1) Living sacrifice (Rom. 12:1-2)
Then, today, after this gathering church, we’re going to scatter as the church and worship there. We must serve Him, we must serve Him as our Lord. That is worship. But if you think this is worship, and out in the world you do whatever you want, that is not worship; that is not the Temple; that is why you lose to the people of the world. You’ll never be able to win. When do you overcome the gates of Hades? When you truly confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and you serve Him as such. All of us individual temples, all of us churches, have gathered together in this gathered church, laying down all of our work, and we serve God. The Lord resurrected and He gave His command to the church, “Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations,” He was commanding the church, “Go to all peoples, proclaim the gospel, and heal those who are diseased. “ Only when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, will you receive power and be witnesses until the ends of the earth. That was the promise the Lord gave the Early Church. What does the Church do? We have Christ be our head and our Lord. The members of the church create the body of Christ. We create the body of Christ. There is the one who gives the Word, there is the choir, there is the translator, and all of us bring the body of Christ together to make disciples of all 237 nations and heal people. Christ is our head and He is doing this work, and the ones who serve Christ as their Lord and follow after Him will receive these answers and evidence.
“I am with you always, until the very end of the age,” meaning the Lord will personally do this work through you. “Testify of this gospel to all peoples,” testifying the gospel itself casts out demons and heals diseases, this was given to the church. “I will be with you as the Holy Spirit; therefore, be a witness until the ends of the earth.” That is what the church that gathers, does, and what do you do once you are the church that scatters? Same thing, and Jesus will be with you for eternity with all authority in heaven and on earth.
(2) Only the Holy Spirit (Ac. 1:8, 2:1-4)
Then, we talk about the Temple Construction. Why do we make the church building? For that work. If you raise a building that doesn’t have that content, it’s useless. We are talking about the location where we build, holding onto the covenant the Lord will do through us. Then, you’ll be able to worship in your business field. When you serve the Lord as your Lord through your job, nonbelievers will see that, how will they know? Because if Christ is your Lord, then the curses of sin are broken down. The forces of Satan are bound to break down at your job, and God’s Kingdom is bound to be established in your business field. Anybody can recognize that, that is a normal Christian. That is the one who knows what worship really is.
I hope you will escape from the laws and traditions of the Pharisees. “I went to worship today, and I had victory in worship today,” but even after you leave, you’ll be in worship. The Pharisees went into the Temple of Jerusalem and thought that was worship, but the Lord is with us, so 24 hours is worship for us, and that is how we come to life. First of all, I come to life, I come to life when Jesus is my Lord, and serving Jesus as my Lord is actually for me. But the devil tells us, “You need to be your lord for yourself,” but that is the message of the devil in Gen. 3:5, “You can be like god, you need to be the god at your job.” Not only will you come to life, but your job, your field itself, will come to life and change.
Joseph was one person who went into Egypt, but the entire spiritual atmosphere changed. He didn’t play piano there and listen to praise songs there; that’s not what it takes. If Christ becomes your Lord, He does the work of the kingdom of God there, and the work that the Lord does is setting people free from what binds them. When this one person goes into your job, then the entire spiritual atmosphere of your job will change, and one day, that boss that has a spiritual problem cannot exert their strength. They torment people because of their mental illness, so everybody at the company feels like they want to die; they can’t even leave, but if the person who knows Christ and worship goes into that company, then Satan will be broken down.
(3) Witness – Save people, work, change spiritual state of the field, solve problems, save the world
If something could be resolved by man’s power, then people could solve it, that can be solved by a Harvard graduate, but there’s something that cannot be solved, even by that Harvard graduate, and that is the problem that you can solve, and the Lord must solve that Himself. I don’t compete with people, but I’m able to have success without competing. The success you and I have learned in the world is by competing, tooth and nail in the world, and having success from that, but Joseph never competed. With the wisdom of God, Joseph was able to resolve the problem that none of the wise men of the world could solve. When David stood before Goliath, all the Israelite people could not solve that problem, but one person, David, could. Your job is your mission field, your school is your mission field. You are a witness to change the spiritual atmosphere there and to solve the unsolvable problems. That’s how you save the world. There are over 200 nations that have gathered at your job. If you save that person, then the world will be saved.
Conclusion
1. Confess Christ – Raise the church
2. Name of Christ – Key to heaven
3. Working of the Holy Spirit – Witness of saving lives
Let us come to the conclusion. Upon your true and genuine confession that Jesus is the Lord, the Christ, the son of the living God, God will build His church personally. Why is it that people go to church but they continuously fall over? Yes, you may occasionally fall over as part of the process, but if you are continuously falling down, that is not God’s will; it means you’ve heard this confession but you don’t have the faith.
God has given you the keys of the kingdom of heaven to open and close, by Christ, why? So that you can proclaim the gospel that sets people free from whatever is binding them. If you have been given this gospel in the name of Jesus Christ but you’re not utilizing it, then the price of their blood will be on your hands. This means that you are not enjoying the gospel of Jesus Christ but you are bound by the law, so that’s how you will die. Proclaiming the gospel is not by force; it takes place naturally. The standard of that is whether you’re raised on the confession of faith in Jesus Christ.
Message Prayer
May you continue to receive these blessings. Let us pray.
Offering prayer
God, we thank You. Thank You for allowing us to confess that Jesus is the Lord, the Christ, the son of the Living God. God, we pray that You will raise up Your church and break down the gates of Hades upon the confession of faith and do your work. We desire to proclaim the gospel that sets people free from the things they are bound by, with the name of Jesus Christ which is the key of the kingdom of heaven. We pray that You will bless the offering and all of the hands that have given the offering so that it may be used for the temple construction to save the 237 nations, the future generations, and the church. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray, amen.
We pray You will bless the newcomer, Shin Soonim, and You will fulfill the Word of God just as You have given it. We pray that You will bless her to raise up the church of Jesus Christ with the confession of faith and save the people of the world. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray, amen.
Announcements
1. Online zoom early morning prayer (Mon.-Fri. 5:30, Sat. 6AM) – Raise the bartizan of prayer.
2. Sunday 3PM Bartizan camp around church.
3. West Coast Children’s Retreat: 7/7(Fri.)-8(Sat.). Registration fee: $85.
4. West Coast Youth Retreat: 7/13(Thurs.)-15(Sat.).
1st Registration Period (6/11-6/30): $200
2nd Registration Period (7/1-7/9): $230
On-site Registration: $250.
5. Yakima, Portland camp: 7/17-19, 7/19-21.
6. Offering can be given to the church venmo: @antiochmissionchurch
Benediction
Now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the unending love of God, and the indwelling, working, guidance, and communion of the Holy Spirit, be upon all the heads of all the people of God, the people of all nations, and the remnants who desire to make the true confession that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God, and the Lord, and use that key of heaven to save many people, be with them from now until forevermore always, amen.