Hey, Look Who's Starting a Church!-Part A

If you were to ask people tell me what you think of church or what it is they would say it's a building stones or would probably cut across on a diversity board has colored windows, etc. to other people. It's an institution, a long-standing institution filled with rounding old men gathered together and banter back and forth about things that have nothing to do with real life. The very reason for the existence of the church is being questioned of inside outside the church walls.

That's why it's so crucial for us to know why we started in the first place.

What today here and connect was your weekend division.

Pastor Skip will go back and examine the motivations of its founder, Jesus Christ.

Stay with us as we do just that into the study.

But before we do these are the last couple of days you could order this much resource and connectwithskip.com you know those times you hear a sermon that really speaks to you. It's almost as if the pastor knows what you personally going through and he teaches a message like you're the only one listening. Well it's not that the pastor knows you personally. It's that God knows you personally hear skip. I think in nearly 40 years of expository teaching. I still love hearing that one of my messages spoke to someone personal that it earned them on to know God better or become more like but that's not because of me that's just the power of the word of God doing the work of God in the hearts of the people get to know the God who knows you. Pastor Skip text a collection of some of Pastor Skip's most memorable teachings, including the rapture. Real and overcoming an anxious mind this for DVD collection is our thanks for your gift of $25 or more to help keep this ministry connecting more people to Jesus.

Call now to request a copy of Pastor Skip's pics 800-922-1888 working online securely connectwithskip.com – offer today will look at some verses in Matthew chapter 16. So open your Bibles was joined Skip Heitzig procedures a startling fact about serving in ministry every month.

1600 ministers quit 1600 ministers leave the ministry for a variety of reasons, discouragement, failure, contention in their churches. Burnout 70% will say they felt like God called them to the ministry before their ministry began but a mere three years afterwards only 50% will say they feel God called them to the ministry of this group same source. 50% of pastors are so discouraged they would leave the ministry, but they can't think of another way to make a living 80% of pastors wives which their husbands would choose another profession, and many will divorce about those statistics shock you because we don't typically think of a pastor saying church who needs it. We typically say it's only attendees of the church are outsiders would say that there's a large group of people in the ministry who are saying church who needs that no wonder Stuart Briscoe a great pastor from Wisconsin said the qualifications of the pastor's he needs the mind of a scholar of the heart of the child and the hide of a rhinoceros.

Not many survive to be honest, I did a story of mom who heard her son's alarm clock go off early Sunday morning, he paid no attention to.

10 minutes later when off again 10 minutes later when off again. He was just pushing the snooze button finally see on the fourth time walked into the room and said, you gotta get up knees that give me three good reasons why she said okay number one because it Sunday and you gotta go to church. Reason number two is your 43 years old and you know better than to just lie around like this, a number three. You're the pastor of the church and everybody's expecting you to come.

You probably heard that before in a variety of different ways. The title of this message is hey look who's starting a church has. I thought this week and I remembered that's what they said of me when we started a little Bible study that became this church many years ago we first started we were called by some occult others said it won't last two years. Others said they'll never make it using the silly boxes they gotta take a formal offering or this thing will never fly, and still others said while he doesn't really look like a minister in one pastor in town. Well-meaning tried to buy me a rope so I would look more presentable to the car. If you imagine me in. I agree with you.

I relate to John Haggai who said one of the reasons I held back from entering the ministry is that I met so many people who look like ministers.

Could I be a minister and not look like it. Well yes that's possible.

But every once in a while I slip and I look ministerial kind of slumped over sad down in the mouth, judge mental you know that look, he writes her to mount a man who was standing in line and the girl said her are you a minister. He said no I just been sick for the last three weeks. The tax that we are looking at tonight is a is a reassuring text to me. Honestly it's one of the great great tax on the church because it is the passage of primary reference when it comes to the church. In other words, the very first occurrence of the word, and thus the concept of the church is found here in Matthew chapter 16 Jesus said I will build my church.

It's a reassuring text. It's not Skip's church and it's not your church either. It's his church.

I know that a pastime of Americans that has been for several years ago church shopping and there's a lot of churches to choose from in every community across our land, their young ones old ones as loud ones is quite ones, fun ones as boring ones. There's one that of long services with lots of litany and lots of movement and others that are very, very short. There are some churches that have a specialty in expository preaching and others that do more of a sermon that I once read that sermon at surfer Christian gnats who can't wait to get outside and smoke their cigarettes that I pass along its is no charge, but in all of this. We left someone out, the founder and the director of his church.

So we look at it tonight in the second message in our series church needs it. We look at Jesus original design and intention just by a very single singular text of Scripture. He says a lot about the church that he starts he names it. He builds it, he owns it and he keeps it, those of the four things we consider tonight. First of all, notice what he does. Name it.

Notice the designation used by the Lord Jesus. He calls it his church, you will find that term throughout the New Testament, 110 different times in a singular or in a plural rendition to hundred and 10 times used word but this is the very first time that achieved not to modern ears church has a very religious sound to it to others.

A very western sound very outdated sound to it.

If you were to ask people tell me what you think of church or what it is they would say it's a building made out of stones or would it probably got across auditor's steeple. It has colored windows, etc. to other people. It's an institution long-standing institution filled with frowning old men who gather together and banter back and forth about things that have nothing to do with real life still to other people. The church is nothing more than a social club, a social gathering where everybody goes a few times in their life. It's the place where your hatched, matched and dispatched and that's about it.

To many people. The original term church carries none of those connotations. In fact, you may not know the original idea of the church. The Greek term is a secular word and has a governmental usage. The Greek word is Clay seah and it simply means an assembly and originally it was an assembly of Greek citizens who would gather regularly many times to adjudicate certain cases in their community. It's even a word used in the book of acts chapter 21 Paul's in Ephesus and the gathering that huge arena and shout for a couple hours.

Great is Diana of the Ephesians and the moderator of that event says this is an accuracy. This is a solemn assembly. This is a gathering of the citizenry of our state. He did not mean that in a spiritual sense, but in a pure secular sense. Let's go just a little bit deeper with that word is that Greek word Clay seah but it comes from two words that are put together act, which means out or out of her out from the word, L which means to call back, let O to call out and so the meaning of the church is it's a group of people called out separately from the rest of the community who meet frequently over a common goal. That was the original intention of the word church Clay seah of the fact that Jesus uses and chooses this term as as the kickoff verse for what he's going to build is to me very very revealing.

If he spoke of it as an assembly of people means he must want us to what sample not rocket science. It's an assembly were to assemble this tells me a couple of things number one. Jesus never ever wanted his followers to be isolated from each other, but always to be integrated together with each other, hence the term to be used church didn't say upon this rock I will build my monastery, or upon this rock I will build my private little gathering place for meditation, but it's an assembly. There is a proverb that I thought of as I was contemplating this word and that's Proverbs 18 verse one. You know it or a lot of you do. A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire. He rages against all wise judgment. The cure for isolation is the gathering together of God's people for the sake of accountability seeks without a network of people around me. I'm easier prey to temptation. I'm easier prey to the value systems that are around me in the world. It's the group gathered together that keeps me on target. More and more follow-up question how often do I have to assemble wrong question. How we sound like the 43-year-old pastor still in bed. How often do I have to assemble the best question is how often do I get to assemble how often can I not do I have to is there's no rules on that were just told to do it frequently, when my wife Lenny was first a believer. It was such a radical departure from her agnostic, atheistic background, she wanted to learn so much so quickly she went every night of the week I could get a date. She had a date with Jesus every night for a period of time. Hebrews 10 tells us very plainly were not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhort one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. Why is it the manner of some, why is it the manner of some to just do church on Christmas and Easter, and a wedding and maybe a funeral.

Why is it the manner of some, that it's you can drag them to church and for others. You can drag Amanda church.

I can give you the full answer to that in this message. But here's a hint, perhaps, listen to what John the apostle writes in first John chapter 3 verse 14.

If we love other Christians. It proves that we passed from death to eternal life person who doesn't love them is still dead. I can understand why an unbeliever would not want to go around church you want to be around people that are sellable-talk about Jesus and 1/2 minutes like you are from Mars, I cannot connect when you're when you're in Dallas it's hard to be around those who are in life, unless you have a desire to move from death and the life. So Jesus wants his followers not to be isolated, but to be integrated together something else because the word means to call out of it means to be separate and distinct from it tells me that this isn't just an assembly. This is a holy assembly were not to aid the world or try to make the church so cool and hip and alchemy attract more worldly people to our spiritual gathering by making it so much like the world and were not supposed to eight that were to be a different group of people bent on loving God were called out from the world so he names that he gets to do that secondly builds it, he builds it a notice that Jesus is very very simple. In this conversation he asked two questions and the first question almost didn't really count as far as the test is concerned with just getting information he knew what they were saying he wanted them to say what others were saying, but the second question was the all-important who you say that I am your the Messiah, said Peter as spokesman for all of your the son of the living God.

Jesus said blessed are you, Simon Peter right on, buddy boy upon this rock I will build my church now honestly we take a lot of pot shots at Peter and he said he's been he's been beat up by a lot of pastors and non-pastors and always there will he's impetuous and he says stupid things when he among all of this group got an a on the test. He got the answer right now want to look carefully at this because some people think mistakenly that Jesus build his church on Peter because of this verse that we read can I just say if the church of Jesus Christ is built upon Peter we have a very weak foundation very weak foundation. I know Peter means rock quickly might not be the kind of rock you're thinking of not some massive boulder but but some nugget so if you're thinking of it in entertainment terms when he said you are Peter rock, man, don't think of Rocky Balboa. I want you to think of pebbles from the Flintstones and you will have a better idea of what the language originally means to let me explain that to you. We paint the picture Jesus with his disciples, travels 25 miles to the north from the hot plains of the Sea of Galilee to Caesarea Philippi. It was a landmark where they went. It was that the base of the huge 10,000 foot mountain in the Middle East mount Herman or Hermann out of a huge rock massive rock slowed water. That was the mouth of the Jordan River. The Jews called the living water. It gushed forth and it said and refreshed the nation in that place also were 14 other religious temples built once it was the worship of bail in that area at another time was the worship of Tom Naess, the Greek god Pan. They said was born in a nearby cave. Even Herod the great built the temple to Caesar Augustus because they deified Caesar and worshiped him as a God. So it's as if, in contrast to those faulty foundational belief systems. Jesus takes into this rock where the water is coming out. This is blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah flesh and blood did reveal is my father in heaven, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and allow me to give it to you in the Greek language listen to the translation you are to cross a pebble, and upon this pet this massive rock I will build my church to see.

It's a play on words in the original language. The church is not built on pebble Peter it's built on Mount Messiah. It was the confession that Peter made. You are the Christ, the son of the living got that's what I'm in the build my church on that confession that I am the Messiah, not on Peter, but what Peter said that's the massive rock of truth. That's why Paul says in first Corinthians 3, for no one can lay any other foundation than the one we already have, which is Jesus Christ is a great truth here, but emerges you want to be able to survive church not ask it in that way because I meet people all the time ago I been so burned by churches been so disappointed by churches might be able to survive. Get your eyes off people. Get your eyes off Peter get your eyes off of Paula's or Cephas get your eyes on Jesus. He is the rock not the people now stick a step further. More than just surviving. Are you thriving are you thriving because what the church is built on is this great confession of truth and Jesus builds his church by giving them truth on a consistent basis, especially truth about him that builds them up so you can go to church and you can sing at church and you can get married in church get Barry to church, but if you can't say with deep conviction like Peter you are the son of the living God and you're not a part of the church. That's what it's built on that solid rock foundation. No wonder Paul said the young Timothy was just starting in the ministry eat talked about people who have a form of godliness but denying the power thereof or as the new living translation puts it will act as if they are religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly people go and saying and do things in our social they never abide by the solid truths that transform that's what he builds upon those great stones of truth for transformation. So once again the church is a group of people that is called out separately from the rest of the community who assemble regularly, who confessed with deep conviction that Jesus Christ is their Lord that's what it is that's what it is. So he names that he builds it because of that he owns it, should notice one single pronoun that's were going to camp on you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church. I just want to zero in on that ownership for just a moment. My church notice to whom it belongs. It is not the property of a pastor is not the property of a board of directors or of a committee, or of a group of bishops or of the pope or of the denomination. Jesus said it is my church, Jesus didn't start a church just so people would have some place to get married or Barry.

He started so the world would know that he is the Christ the son of the living God.

So the question is how are we as the church doing and fulfilling that mission. What were a lot of time for today but before we go. If you'd like a copy of this teaching. Hey, look who's starting a church is available for just six dollars plus shipping.

Or you can get the entire series church who needs it for only $37 plus shipping. When you call us at 1-800-922-1888 or when you visit connectwithskip.com next time we'll talk more about why the church was started to join us as we continue our new series church who needs it right here in Connecticut was gift weekend division presentation of connection so connecting you guys never changing true and ever-changing time