What Does Jesus Envision for His Church?

When Jesus spoke about the church, what did He have in mind? If we asked twenty different churches about their mission, we'd likely get twenty different answers. This lack of clarity shouldn't surprise us, but when it comes to God's church, we must be all pointing in the same direction.

The Foundation: Built on the Rock

In Matthew 16:13-18, Jesus asks His disciples a pivotal question: "Who do you say I am?" Peter's response - "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God" - becomes the foundation for everything that follows. Jesus declares that on "this rock" He will build His church.

What Is the Rock?

There's been debate about what Jesus meant by "this rock." Some suggest it's Peter himself, but the Greek text tells a different story. Peter's name (Petros) means "pebble," while the word Jesus uses for rock (Petra) means "boulder." Jesus isn't building His church on a pebble - He's building it on the boulder of Peter's declaration that Jesus is God in the flesh, the Messiah and Savior of the world.

The church is built on the person and work of Jesus Christ. That's the only requirement, the only necessary ingredient for the church to exist and thrive.

The Mission: Storming the Gates of Hell

Jesus paints a vivid picture of His church's purpose: "The gates of Hades will not overcome it." This isn't a defensive posture - it's an offensive one. Gates don't attack; they get attacked. Gates are defensive structures, which means the church is meant to be on the offensive, storming the gates of hell itself.

Why We're Not Playing Defense

Too often, we think of church as playing defense - just trying to make it to heaven, hanging on one more day, keeping our families safe from spiritual attack. But God designed the church to play offense. We follow Jesus as He leads us in a charge to attack and overwhelm the forces of evil, rescuing people from behind the gates of hell.

The Location: Why Caesarea Philippi Matters

Jesus didn't choose the location for this conversation randomly. Caesarea Philippi was a place of pagan worship, located 30 miles north of the Sea of Galilee. It housed temples to Caesar, Pan (a half-goat, half-human Greek god), and Zeus. Horrible things happened there, including child sacrifice.

Jesus traveled all that way just to make His statement about the church in this specific location. He wanted His disciples to see the wickedness, evil, and deception that the enemy uses on lost people. Then He said, "This is where I want you to build my church."

Going to the Darkest Places

The message is clear: we're called to go to the worst places, to the most deceived and lost people, to the very gates of hell. These are the people Jesus wants us to reach. When we make disciples, it should be everywhere - especially where there's darkness, lost people, messed-up theology, and broken lives.

The Reality Check: How Are We Doing?

The statistics are sobering. In Georgia, no county has more than 20% of its population in church. That means 80% or more of every county is likely lost. Even in the Bible Belt, most people don't truly know Jesus.

The question we must ask ourselves is: How are we doing at storming the gates of hell? Are we making disciples in such a way that it results in what Jesus envisioned for His church?

The Heart of Jesus: What's Not Okay?

Jesus had a heart for those others avoided. He went through Samaria when everyone else went around it. He touched lepers, associated with tax collectors, and reached out to the "unclean" people that religious folks avoided.

In John 20:21, Jesus makes it simple: "As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." Everything Jesus did - the people He went to, the places He visited, the love He showed - we're called to do the same.

Finding Your "Not Okay"

What person is the enemy having free reign over in their life that makes you say, "Not okay anymore"? What group of people needs someone to show up for them, love them, serve them, and share the gospel with them?

The Cost and the Promise

There's a big difference between coming to church and being the church. Coming to church is easy; being the church is hard and will cost us. But the cost of obedience is always far less than the cost of disobedience.

We can't save everyone, but we can save one. Like the boy throwing starfish back into the ocean after a storm, we can make a difference one person at a time.

Life Application

This week, identify one person or group of people in your life where you can say, "It's not okay anymore." Maybe it's a coworker who's struggling, a neighbor who seems isolated, or a group in your community that's been overlooked. Commit to being the answer to their problem through love, service, and sharing the gospel.

Ask yourself these questions:

• Who in my life is the enemy having free reign over that I could reach out to?
• What group of people has God placed on my heart that I've been avoiding?
• How can I move from playing defense in my faith to playing offense?
• What would it look like for me to follow Jesus into uncomfortable places to reach uncomfortable people?

Remember, Jesus has already won the victory. The gates of hell at Caesarea Philippi are now just a pile of rubble, while that small band of followers has taken over the world. We win - so let's act like it by storming the gates of hell together, one person at a time.