A Strong Church - Part 1

Welcome to the intact podcast with tile for Monday, September 5 the Bible say about building a strong search you'll hear the answer in today's opening session of the theory simply titled strong the hundreds and thousands of buildings all across Wisconsin around the world called churches and some of them a large sum of a small, some of them a week. Some of them strong. The truth is that these church buildings are not the church. The church building houses the church and so the minimum the church is amenable to different kinds and some of them are not all Christian churches. Some of them belong to other religions. They call them churches. Some of them have other names for their churches. But that's what they call and so when you think about that and you think about millions of people belong to a church. Some people are saved and they don't belong to a church. What is a church in that way. And so when you think about that you think about what what concerts do. I want to belong to Donna belong to a week church other than a belong to a strong church and so the title of this message is a strong church when Jesus said I will build my church, anything that he bills I have to be interested in. I would want to be in us, and I must be interested in someone is to read a passage of Scripture that I want to gable explanation for in order that you will be thinking about it when I moved from it. That sounds a lot turn if you was the 16th chapter of Matthew and I want us to begin reading in the 13th verse read through the 20th versus and then I want talk about this whole issue of the characteristics of a strong church in the 13th verse of Matthew 16 now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he was asking his disciples who do people say that the Son of Man is an they said, some say John the Baptist others. Elijah was still up is Jeremiah 1 of the prophets, he said to them, but who do you say that I am Simon Peter answered.

You are the Christ, the son of the living God and Jesus said to him, Blessed are you, Simon bar Jonah because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my father is in heaven also said to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will bill my church and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven that he wanted disciples that they should tell no one that he was the Christ now want to explain what it means. So you won't be wondering about this when I come to the 11 characteristics of a strong church. So let's go back up.

When Jesus said to him who do people say that I am he said your Christ, the son of the living God. And so when Jesus said to him your Peter and you didn't think this up.

God revealed this to you and he said to him, I say to you, you, Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church now listen carefully.

Jesus was not saying that he was going to build his church upon the apostle Peter the apostle Peter was far from being perfect.

In fact, he was one of the most honorary of the disciples. In fact, Jesus said to him one time you you just like the devil and said get behind me when he was in the church and later on Paul had to bring them to a realization and he said to him, Peter you compromising your conviction because you don't these folks that think that you are fraternizing with the Gentiles.

And so Jesus would never have found his church on an imperfect apostle. So what did you mean he said hit. This is the foundation of the church.

This that Jesus Christ is the son of the living God.

That's what the church is all about. That's what the church is founded upon. Listen, if you take into building Cathedral, whatever it may be in whatever's going on in there. If you remove that truth that Jesus Christ is the son of the living God.

It is no longer a church. It may be an institution it may be a beautiful building a cathedral, but is not a church. The church is built on the truth. The fact that Jesus Christ is the son of God and that's how it is to be built. Then he says the gates of Hades will not overpower it and what is simply saying is this all the forces of evil will not be able to withstand the onslaught of the church.

The work of the church. The movement of the church. Likewise, it means that death no matter what Satan may do death cannot destroy the church.

Jesus said if you recall, in this 11th chapter of John when he was talking to Mary and Martha. He said I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never do you believe this, and so he simply saying is this Hades that is all the works of darkness, and the devil will never overcome the body of Christ.

The church and if you think about it, all kinds of people have done their best to destroy the church and all kind of things going on but you know what, this is the body of Christ, the son of the living God established his church.

It will not be overcome by anything or anybody. Rome tried their best to destroy Christianity.

Everything they could possibly do it only made him stronger and that is the blood of the martyrs strengthens the body of the church and so the church is very important to people stable. I can be a Christian. I don't have to belong to the church.

You don't have to but I can tell you this if you don't belong to a Bible believing church that teaches the word of God you missing out on something in your Christian life and I don't believe that you are obeying Almighty God.

If you deliberately making that decision. Understand that there people who live in places is very difficult to get the church understand that this is why we have in touch so that anybody and everybody who wants to hear the truth of the gospel can hear it and see it if they choose to do so. The church is very important in the eyes of God, and he said I will build my church, and nothing is going to destroy it. There may be times of persecution when they shut him down and the destroyed, but only for a season of time because it is God's church and God is absolutely omnipotent. Then when he speaks down here. Later on he says I'll give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth what's this, whatever you bind on earth shall have been already past tense, bound in heaven, whatever you loose on earth shall have been already passed since loosed in heaven. That is is is your authority is going to be those things that God says that I've Artie decided Jesus is the decisions of Ottoman maidens. He was simply saying that the apostles that they will be making decisions for them making decisions under what under the authority of the living God whose Artie made those decisions in heaven.

Nobody can lock anybody else out of the kingdom.

People choose to be lost die without Christ at of choice, not because they have to their people. For example, who never heard yet will come to that in just a moment. So with that in mind, and I want to clarify all of that. So you and be wondering what's all that about what I'm talking about something else. So let's talk about one of the characteristics that make for a strong church where ever you may go and whatever you church may be in the first thing is this spirit filled leadership. If you have a leadership in a church that is not there. With the spirit of God, you're starting out already with weakness because if you recall Jesus enters disciples you not ready to do what I called you to do. He gave them the great commission.

But he says I want you to stay in the city of Jerusalem until you be filled with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit comes upon you, because he knew that they could not do what he called them to do. Unless the spirit of God was in them, empowering them, enabling them, energizing them, giving them direction and guidance to do what he called them to do because think about this.

He gave 12 men, one of the headlight be laid aside Judas and then another 1 Took His Pl. Matthias and then the hundred and 20 he gave them the challenge to get his truth to the entire world. Can you imagine how absolutely ridiculous that may have sounded in his day today we can say we have radio we have TV we have iPhones we got everything in that day it was word-of-mouth and he said that you not ready. You are not ready until you feel the spirit and the truth is same today. No staff of the church is adequate to do the work that God caused him to do, unless they be filled with the Holy Spirit. That is not all of the pastors, but the members of the staff and so if you going to have a strong church than the leadership of the staff must be filled with the Holy Spirit listening to him and depending upon him for direction and for guidance and for the power of the energy and the know-how to carry out the work of the church. Churches and what we attempt to do does not just happen is a lot that goes on in the midst of it all. So first of all, you have to have spirit filled leadership and in their lives out of their life.

That should be the evidence that the up there with the spirit which Paul gives his relationship to five of love and joy and peace and all the rest he mentions so that's number one.

That's the beginning that's first strong church pastor leadership all the staff of people who feel this. Secondly, that doctrinally sound message that they have that meets the needs of the people now I think about how many people go to church week after week after week. Never carry a Bible. So think about this. They go to church and then they give him go home or they carry with them what Osama says what you can remember. How much do you remember listen also to drive it every send it to some degree because I want you to remember and yet you don't remember a lot of that. That's why you should carry a Bible to church and somebody said to me if I cared my Bible to some churches and I guess had he been in those cartridges. They wonder what I was doing that I intended to preach and you you you think about churches you go to know but nobody has a Bible open inoculum of this and God knows Unum taken a credit. I'm simply saying to my knowledge, and as I looked and watched earlier in the ministry and I watch the TV and I never saw a single church on television for the people held at a bottle in her hand.

I didn't even hear of it and so one Sunday I was thinking and I said there are folks I said you know you going to come listen to me preach for 50 or 55 minutes or whatever was then and you not you remember much, and I said you need to start bringing your Bible and a pad and taken notes while you sit and waste your time listening to somebody's neck remember anything he said so little by little problem. A couple of months. I disabled how many of you have your Bible raise survival. This is God's handbook and if you don't listen if you don't have the handbook, then all you have a somebody's opinion now one of the reasons I don't seem to get a lot of joy out of listening to the Bible on CD or something is because first of all, if I'm listening my mind in my eyes it's conflict to keep my on the road or whatever it might be and so I'm sure part of its because I grew up reading the word of God, seeing the words and as a pastor checking out the tense verbs in these things and and being sure I understand how this verse relates to the next, but I think about people who just go to church and don't carry a Bible, how do you know if what he said is true for not and you have a right it's your privilege is your responsibility to question have I heard the truth. I have not. So to be doctrinally sound means that we have beliefs that are fastened to the word of God. They are born from the word of God there taught in the word of God and with the teach others the same answer to be Dr. the sound means that we believe the truth. The truth is told by God's word. Samosas will know what about people who don't agree with us when not always always going to agree with each other about some particular verse of Scripture. This is why I say you need to read and you need to compare this verse with other verses. For example, if I read some past descriptions or contradiction.

The something that's an issue with the truth is there no contradictions in the word of God. The Old Testament is the Old Testament, the New Testament is the New Testament a greater and longer revelation in the New Testament than we had in the Old Testament, and so that we will always agree exactly about some things but most things we ought to agree on because most of it is clearly given to us in the word and so you should have a personal doctor is what I believe about Jesus Christ is that I believe about heaven is what I believe about sanctification, justification is what I believe about the church, which is what I believe about the devil guess when I believe that all of these things should have your own personal doctrine based on the word of God.

If you don't somebody come along and teach you something that is absolutely false and so and summarizes what you believe will ask them what they believe it. If they pull out some pamphlet or some somebody's written is soliciting.

What does the word of God say and so you should know what you believe and why you believe it, and not only that you have a responsibility to teach your children what you believe about the word of God when they grow up they should grow up believing as you believe. If you believe the word of God, there doctrine should become a part of their life.

Early in life because it's what you believe now is gonna come a time when they got a test that they are safe. I know that's what you believe that I'm not sure it's what I believe you know what that's okay they contested. If you have taught them the truth. The truth will not only survive but it will conquer.

And then of course uncompromising in their convictions. If the church is a strong church is because people have convictions they don't lay aside and they stand by them. For example, if you have a conviction that you should not drink alcoholic beverage and somebody comes along and says will mean a little bit is not going to hurt you in the Bible on and on the go and you say well you know I believe that but I don't I don't guess it'll hurt me too much or I don't want to be an oddball civil know you just compromise your conviction when you compromise your conviction. What you do is you lay aside what you believe in order to please somebody else or please yourself, knowing that you're doing the wrong thing compromise of the truth is a sin against Almighty God. If you have convictions about who you associate with.

Who your friends are the places you go things that you do how you spend your money, you should have convictions about all these things that you absolutely will not compromise a church in which the pastor compromises the word of God is a weak church where the people compromise their convictions. It's a weak church. God wants a strong church based and built on the solid unwavering truth of the word of the living God. Then of course there is a strong emphasis on faith and prayer.

If the church is going to be strong you gotta be strong about prayer and about faith.

If you don't free.

You know you live a godly life and you've heard me say it week after week after week. Your to begin the day on your knees if you can get on your knees sit in the chair, whatever, but talking to God not just talking them in reading his word. Listen if you don't read the word of God you can drift off and all kind of things.

If you will read the word of God daily and useless and start the day for is what you say using godlike knowledge that I need you this day Lord help you to speak to my heart. I want to give me guidance and direction for this day all day long of a walk and you will when you start the day like that you think God's not going to answer that prayer. Yes, he will and his will happen. You will find there be times when you read a passage if you think what is that mean what is that mean that some have struck your heart before the day is over. Something will happen. You will think, oh God. You gave me a warning and I ignored it. God is a personal God. He's intimate he wants to work in your life in such a fashion that the two of you have an intimate relationship that intimate relationship is only going to come through the reading of the word of God and absolving it in your mind and heart you sick or something's about. I don't understand you know what you just can't read you understand. You just keep reading the word of God and God will show you the truth, he will show you the truth, listen he's going to show you the truth, especially things that you need in your life. He's going to show you had to accomplish that is going to show you where to go when the go, who to avoid what to avoid what how to spend your money.

That is, God is an awesome listen he's the best friend you can possibly have. And you can't lose being obedient Almighty God. No way, so faith and prayer absolutely essential if you think about this.

My faith will determine my life because it probably what he says his will happen, but only what he says these things won't happen with to live by faith. He says the just shall live by faith. We accepted Jesus Christ by faith, we accept the truth of the word of God by faith. When you got married.

You made a promise to your husband or your wife and by faith you've lived together, believing that they meant what they said when they stated that all of the promised 11 faith and prayer absolutely essential in a strong church. Thank you for listening to strong turns he like to know more about Charles Stanley more intense ministries.in tax tantalizing after the presentation of intense ministry in Atlanta, Georgia