His Place: Matthew 16:16-19
“16) Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17) And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18) I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. 19) 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.” Matthew 16:16-19
The full story is very insightful. The ministry was very busy, so Jesus decided to pull His disciples aside for a much needed break. It was then that He began asking His disciples; “who do people say that I am?” They shared three opinions. Every seems to have an opinion about Jesus.
Then He asked them; “But who do you say that I am?” Peter quickly responded; “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God!” He got it right!
Upon this statement Jesus promised to build “His Church.” This is the first time in the New Testament the word “church” is used. Noticed that Jesus promised to build “His Church.”
He did not promise to build “my church”, “your church”, or a certain “denominations church!” He promised to build “His Church.”
When we take ownership of our church Jesus stands back. He let’s us struggle, experience conflict and even fail. Why? He only promised to build His church, His way, and for His glory.
All over the world churches are struggling and failing. Why? It’s an ownership problem. Human depravity builds pathetic churches. Satan doesn’t have to work very hard against them because they quickly self destruct.
I shared this message this week with pastors in Haiti. It was a turning point in the conference. This was a new concept to many of them. I then invited them to surrender their churches to Jesus.
I once ministered in a church called “His Place.” They got it right! When I asked the pastor how his church was doing, he looked at me in bewilderment and replied; “It’s not my church, it’s “His Place!”
Daily Bible Commentary By Terry Baxter: Cofounder of GoServ Global
