BE the church.

Today my pastor reminded me of something. Today was one of those days when the pastor was reading my mail but nobody else knew it. Today was one of those days when my pastor was speaking of himself and of his flock, but all I could hear was me me me me me.

Today I was reminded of that point not so long ago, that point when I got the point. I was reminded of the day I became a christian. I was reminded of that day in North Carolina when I got the message. I was reminded of the day the Holy Spirit took up residence in me. I was reminded of the day that God told me that I was one of His, I became a new creation, the old passed away and all was made new again.

Now, please don't misunderstand me, what I did wrong didn't disappear and what I do wrong still matters, but now things are different. I went to this Men's Conference with a question.

Why am I here, what difference would it make if I wasn't here, or never was at all.

My answer then was that I was a Man on a Mission. God clued me in that I had a purpose, His purpose. I may be just an actor in the play, but my roll is one that is needed. God wants me here and He wants me here for a reason, I have a purpose.

I took this question to this conference because I was told by a pastor to "stop playin' church, BE the church"

Today's sermon was from the book of Mathew 16 :13-18

13 And Jesus came into the quarters of Caesarea Philippi: and he asked his disciples, saying: Whom do men say that the Son of man is? 14 But they said: Some John the Baptist, and other some Elias, and others Jeremias, or one of the prophets. 15 Jesus saith to them: But whom do you say that I am?
16 Simon Peter answered and said: Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God. 17 And Jesus answering, said to him: Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona: because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

First we have the question of the day. What does the church look like. Does it look like this?

NO. Does it look like this?

Again, NO. The church that Jesus spoke of looks like this:

We brothers and sisters, we are the church. The passage from Mathew states that He will build His church on this rock. What rock? The rock of Peter, the rock of St. Peter? The rock of the disciples? No, the rock is the rock of Faith that Peter had shown in his statement.

16 Simon Peter answered and said: Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God. 17 And Jesus answering, said to him: Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona: because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in heaven.

Peter had shown tremendous faith in this statement, a faith that was not of flesh and blood but one brought on through revelation. It is upon this Faith that the church is built.

Who builds the church then?

Two answers, we do, but we don't do it alone. We are here for a purpose, that purpose is spelled out for us.

Go forth and make disciples. We are to take the message out from ourselves, out from the church. We are the messengers. God will then do the work of working on there hearts and minds, but its our job to deliver the Good News to their ears.

I have been so wrapped up in my own family and my own little purpose that I had forgotten this. I came to know that one of my greatest purposes, my greatest ability to serve Him was right here in my family. Its my job and purpose to guide my family in Him, its my job and purpose to raise Gracie in Grace. Its my number one priority to return her to Him from whence she came. But today my pastor reminded me that this is not my sole and only purpose.

The world is too big to have such a small assignment. We are not here to save the earth and keep mother earth clean and healthy, for we already know that He will destroy it in His time and bring forth a new Heaven and a new Earth. We are here, we being the church, we are here to spread the message of the gospel.

I have fallen down (again and again) in this duty. I have stumbled again in this call. I am called to go forth and baptize and make disciples. I must get up now and stumble forward.

If you live in this area (southwestern Ohio) and you are not attending a strong bible based Jesus preaching church on Sunday morning, please come join us. Contact me here for the information, service starts at around 10, all are welcome.

Our church has a new name as of today.

We have a renewed mission as of today.

We are looking forward to meeting you and worshipping with you in His Glory.

Amen.