Matthew 2024

If you'd like to take a seat and, turn in your bibles to Matthew 16, And before Rory comes to preach, Myra is gonna come and read Matthew 16 verse 13 to 20.

When Jesus came to the region of Caesar of Filipi, he asked his disciples, who do people say the son of mine? They replied, some say John the Baptist. Others say Elijah and still others Jeremiah are 1 of the prophets. But what about you, he asked? Who do you say I am?

Simon Peter answered. You are the Messiah, the son of the living God. Jesus replied, blessed are you Simon son of Jonah For this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter. And on this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.

I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you lose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah. Thank you, Myra. Well, good evening.

How are we doing alright? Good. If you don't know me, I'm Rory, 1 of the members of staff here, and let's pray for our time as we look into this passage. Now, father, we thank you again for your word. We thank you, that it speaks words of life to us.

And we pray, that tonight as we look at this passage, you will show us who Christ is and who we are. And so we pray these things in his name, amen. Well, let me begin by asking you what do you think about the state of the church? What do you think about the state of the church? What do you think about church?

Maybe this is your first time? You haven't been for a long time. What do you think about Jesus and his church? Maybe maybe you're 1 of those people that just despair at the state of the church? Or maybe you think that the church, like many people, it would seem and would often be grow increasingly as I grew up.

It is a bit of an irrelevant establishment, that's not worth the time of day. You know, if you if when I was a teenager, and I told people that I was going to church, there was usually some sort of sniggering mocking sort of face or Church. Why do you go to church? And I'd have to say my dad's a pastor. Like, I have to go.

I loved going there. Apparently, since World War 2, there's been a 1 percent decline every year in church going in the Anglo church. And so is is it right that actually the church has become an irrelevant thing that is dying out. I mean, Nietzsche, that great philosopher, apparently. You know, he said that god is dead, and, and he actually said that belief in the Christian god has become unbelievable.

Everything that was built upon this faith propped up by it, grown into it, including the whole European morality is bound to collapse. It's bound to collapse. Wasnietzsche right? Maybe as you think about churches up and down this country, you think it just seems so little and so insignificant, you know, even in this room, what a tiny percentage of Kingston in this room. What are we meant to do?

Are we are we significant at all? Gosh. This is an existential crisis here, isn't it? We're not very impressed. I mean, you look around you and look at some of you, not very impressive at all.

Yeah. Particularly these young people, I mean, what are they? The state of the church, is it something that is to be despaired at? Well, I and is Jesus something to be despaired at? Is he now become irrelevant.

Well, I think this passage shows us that both Jesus and the church are not something to despair about, but something to rejoice in. And so look with me firstly, then my first point confusion about Christ. So we're picking up this story, as we've been going through Matthew. And as many of you are aware who come to the evening services, we've we've been following Jesus and and he has been doing some pretty incredible things. And his disciples have been watching all of this.

They've seen and heard. They've heard 1 of the greatest sermons that was ever preached. Well, it was the greatest sermon ever preached, not just 1 it was. Yeah. Matthew 5 to 7.

They've seen some just incredible miracles. They've seen Jesus feed 5000. They've seen Jesus feed 4000. They've seen Jesus calmer storm. They've seen Jesus even though they didn't like the canaanite woman, says, hail a canaanite woman's daughter.

They've seen how he's dealt with opposition. And here, they've they've been traveling and they've experienced all these things, and they come to this place in verse 13 called Caesaria Philip. And so Jesus is kinda saying, let me let me draw you in with a question. I love Jesus's questions. So you've you've seen, you've heard, and look what he asked them in verse 13.

Who do people say the son of man is? Who do people say the son of man is? In other words, who do people say I am? A son of man was Jesus' favorite title for himself. He uses it around 81 times in the in in the gospels.

And he's saying, who do people say I am? See, disciples. You've been with me. You've heard all the things that I've said. You've seen all the miracles Who do people say I am?

Who do people say I am? And there's many ideas, isn't there? I mean, it's quite it's quite I think the disciples are are are sort of worried that they might bruise Jesus' egos because they don't give him the nasty ones, do they? Like, oh, well, don't give him the nasty ones because they're like, crush him. So you remember that, you know, wayward's in Nazareth, his own hometown, they rejected him.

They didn't think he was anyone special. He was just Mary's son. I mean, and the the pharisees in chapter, I think chapter 12 had had called him beelvesable. They they basically called lord of the flies or lord of death or satan himself. So they don't maybe go down that route, but they give they give a load of ideas that are are battered around.

And, look what they say verse 14. Some say John the Baptist You know? You're like, that's what Harriet thought. Anyway, Everett thought, oh, maybe John the Baptist is raised from the dead. You know, the guy that I chopped his head off, how's he got his head back?

Yeah? I mean, and maybe they think John the Baptist is because he's preaching a similar similar message of repentance. Or they say, Elijah. He does some great miracles. Elijah did some pretty amazing miracles.

Maybe he's Elijah, says some pretty amazing stuff. Or they say Jeremiah. Why Jeremiah? Well, Jeremiah was the the lamentable, sorrowful, sad prophet, and Jesus seems to be this man of sorrows. Is it Jeremiah back from the dead again, or or just 1 of the other the prophets?

And look, today's similar. Right? You know, you you ask someone who they think the lord Jesus is. They'll give you a whole host of ideas. Some not very nice.

I mean, I remember standing up in a classroom in in Chesington and and talking about Jesus and then 1 girl said, I don't like Jesus. He's a creep. And I thought, what dickens? That was that's 1 girl's idea about Jesus. He's a creep.

But, you know, you you ask them to go, oh, he was a he was a good bloke, wasn't he? I've I've got a friend, actually, and I I and I talked to him often, and he often says to me, I'm a Christian, I always have to say to him, no, you're not. I'm pretty blunt with my friends. And he said, yeah, I am a Christian. I said, well, okay.

What do you think about Jesus? He said, well, I don't believe he's the sort of god. I said, well, then you're not a Christian. Are you? Yes?

You're wally? Who do people say? The son of man is? Maybe your answer would be, well, I know my parents or my family members or my friends think that he is he is this person that he said he was, but that's them. There's confusion, isn't there?

And I think that the confusion about who Jesus is is actually a reflection of the confusion that we see in society and the confusion in people's hearts and the confusion in people's lives that that that says that if I had to admit that Jesus is who he really is, then I have to come to terms with who I really am. There's confusion and there's loneliness, and and and I don't know who Jesus is. And I don't really want to know because it might it might mean that I have to come to some reality about myself. So who do people say the son of man is? There's confusion about Christ.

But secondly, confession about Christ. And I love this next thing because Jesus has drawn them in, right? He's given them this question, a little general knowledge, yeah, general knowledge question. Who do people say this sort of manners? And then he says, and look with me verse 15.

But what about you? Who do you say I am? I love that. There's a general question. Now let me turn the question upon you Who do you say, so you've experienced me disciples.

You've seen it all. Who do you say? Are you are you gonna be like all the rest and and give confused answers and just come up with all the different answers apart from the truth? Are you gonna try and dodge this? Or you're just gonna try and settle for for, he was a nice man, who did some nice miracles, who tried to help some people who said some nice stuff.

Who do you say I am? Who do you who do you say Jesus is? And so Simon Peter becomes spokesman for all the rest of the disciples. I love. I I know many of you know.

I love Peter, because Peter is brash. He puts his foot in it most of the time, and he reminds me a lot of myself. No. He just he he says something without thinking and then realizes there are consequences for the words that you say. But at this point, he gets it right.

And look what he says in verse 16, you are the Messiah, the son of the living god. Wow. See, his understanding, and as he speaks on behalf of all the disciples, his understanding has grown from do you remember when he calms the storm? And they're like, who is this man? Even the wind and the waves obey him?

It's gone from that, going, oh, my goodness. He must be something special, too. This is the Messiah, the son of the living god. This is this I mean, can you imagine being a disciples? Right.

You know, they're just these weird, like not I don't know if they're weird, but they're, like, this sort of 12 ordinary blokes that somehow this man has just decided to take on and and teach show them so many things. And as as he's done all of these things, they're they're they've realized that the 1 that the whole Jewish nation has been anticipating and longing for since since the full creation since David in 2 samuel 7 where he says I'm gonna give you a son that will bring a kingdom of eternal peace and they've been waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting. And then there are 12 men that are so ordinary suddenly realized that dawns upon them that the that the messiah that they've been waiting for has decided to take them to be his 12. The anointed 1, the king that is to come and to save and redeem his people. He is here.

The descendant of David, but not just the descendant of David. You are the Messiah, the Christ, the promised 1, the anointed 1, but you're also the son of the living god. Who is this man that even the wind and the waves obey, they must be god. And do you know what's even more amazing about I I think the the situation, the context, which they find themselves make this makes this even more, like, an amazing statement because they're in caesarea philippi. If you know anything about caesarea philippi, this was the place when the Greeks owned it, basically, that they worship the god pan.

What a name, by the way, worship the pan. Yeah. He was a Greek god of forestry, I think. Anyway, there you go. So here is a place of of of of pagan worship, but then, herod Phillips has decided to turn that into a place and call it Caesar of Philip.

In other words, named after Caesar and named after Philip himself, as if to say, look how great we are, these rules of this age, and remember that Caesar at some point will be will be worship as a as a sort of deity himself. And so look, Here you have a place of pagan worship, a place of worship of rulers, and Peter stands up and says, Jesus, you are the Messiah, the son of a living god. In the place of pagan worship, he's saying, you are so much greater than all other gods. You are so much greater than all other rulers. And so it emits all the confusion Here was Jesus.

He could be this. He could be that. He could be this. Let's watch him pan. Peter stands up with crystal clear clarity.

And says, you're not just another prophet. You are the king. And so what does Jesus do in response to that or what does he say in response verse 17? Jesus replied, blessed are you, Simon, son of owner, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but my father in heaven. So you don't come to this conclusion on your own.

I'm particularly Peter Right? I think Peter, you know, is as enthusiastic and as passionate and as gung ho is Peter is. I don't know if he's the most intellectually smart person. Maybe he is. I don't know.

Maybe I do maybe do him a disservice. He's a fisherman. He's he he's not getting this, like, from his own intellect, and none of us do. It can't be flesh and blood. Jesus is the same.

This must be divine revelation. This must be divine intervention. See, you didn't get this from your father, Jonah, Peter, Simon, sorry, sir, Simon. You know, you got this from my father in heaven, says Jesus. The lord must reveal by his spirit, his identity as king and as god So what about you?

Who do you say Jesus is? Who do you say he is? Are you with Peter? You are the Messiah, the Christ the son of the living god. And if you're not, well, why not pray that god will reveal Christ's identity to you because if you want to be part of Jesus' great building project, you must first confess that Jesus is king and that he is the son of god.

And if you do that, you will be part of the greatest building ever. I don't know what you think of the greatest building is. I just looked at you, James, and I thought you're a carpenter. You probably build stuff, well, it's rubbish compared to what Jesus does. Sorry.

Just rubbish all this work. Know, you think about the great buildings in this in this in this world, the Burge Khalifa. Wow. Yeah. Rubbish compared to Jesus' building project.

The shard, what a road of rubbish that is. Yeah. St. Paul's even, you know, all the all the time to protect that thing. But Jesus has the greatest building project ever.

What is the bit the greatest building project ever? Me? Yeah. Well, I know I'm pretty great. Oh, yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Good point. Church of Christ. Third point.

Church of Christ. Yeah. Thank you, brother. Yes. Verse 18 to 20.

Look with me. And I tell you that you are Peter. And on this rock, I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not overcome it I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loose in heaven. Then he ordered that society was not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

See, this is 1 of the first instances. I think it might be the first where Jesus uses the word, eclosia, which is the Greek word for church, and it's the gathered assembly of god's people. And god's, and Jesus, sorry, building the church must have a solid foundation. You don't have a solid foundation, then it's gonna be a disaster. You know, apparently, the leading tariff pizza has very poor foundations, you know?

In fact, they knew it as they started to build it as it it was rubbish as it started to lean, but they just carried on because they knew that people, you know, a few hundred years later, will be taking this picture. But there's catastrophic consequences if you build on a poor foundation, and and can have many lead to many debtors as as has been demonstrated in history. So you need a and Jesus knows you need a good foundation. Right? Matthew 7, he says, look, don't it doesn't say this because I was about to say it.

Don't build your house on the Sandy land. Don't build it too near the shore. Well, it might be kinda nice, but you have to build it twice or you have to build your house once more. That was Jesus' words, and he sang that. No.

You have to build your house up on the rock. On a rock? I can't remember the next slide. Sorry. Jesus knew that to build a house to have a house that stands, it must be built on a solid foundation.

And so what is that foundation? We saw it in verse 18, yet that verse is so often misinterpreted. In fact, it's the very verse that we just read there is the verse that has caused the whole church to go wrong. You know, I I'm I'm sure many of you have been watching the news in the last sort of couple of weeks, and we all looked at that chimney, didn't we? And, oh, what will the smoke do?

It's black. It's white. Yeah. I'd I wasn't doing that. I don't know why.

It's like a football. A football thing. They've taken this verse. They've taken and they they said that if you wanna know what they do, the Roman Catholics, they take the the name Peter, which means rock, and they see Jesus's word on this rock. I will build my church And so they created a whole system in which there is a pope who has authority on earth and is is is is higher up than all other people has the has the ability to forgive sins.

And if you know about the the symbol of the the pope. Does anyone know what the symbol of the pope is or the Vatican City? Yeah. It's keys. 1 gold, 1 silver.

Verse 19. I'll give you the keys of the kingdom, Peter. This is a whole system. But I I think it's quite easy to sort of show why this can't be the case. He's not a spec Peter's not a special person.

And remember he's like me. He's not that special. I mean, Eve, just in these verses alone, the next verses, when Jesus starts talking about how he's gonna suffer and die, Peter thinks, well, I'm on the rock now, and I've got the keys to Kingdom. Let me just take Jesus aside and go, That's very naughty geyser. We don't talk like that.

And as you say, dip behind me, satan, you're a stumbling block. You're a rock. You're actually a stumbling block to my ministry and my mission to go to the cross. You know, you know, there you'd take him, you'd go a little bit further on. And, you you get him around a campfire.

And, there, his his his law, the 1 that he apparently loves, is on a on on on trial by a kangaroo court. And then a little slave girl comes up to him 3 times and says, you were with him, weren't you? And he's like, I thought, who? Who? Who?

With who? Jesus? No. I'd never heard of him. He denies Jesus 3 times for goodness sake.

Oh, this is the man that you think is is more special than everybody else. You know, and then even after Jesus' ascension, you go to Galatians, and and Paul had to challenge Peter himself because he was actually acting like a like he was having favoritism toward Jewish people. So Peter is nothing special. But even if you just look at this verse, what does it mean then? And does it does it help us?

Well, look, and I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my church. Peter. Peter's word is little pebble. That's what his name means, basically. The word for Peter is like, little rock, little stone, little puny little stone.

That's what you Peter, a tiny little pebble. So there you are Peter Little Stone, and on this rock, I will build my church. What does he mean by that? What is this rock? Well, I think this rock It's just that Jesus Christ is Messiah, the son of the living god.

The rock is the confession about Jesus' identity. It's that Jesus is the foundation for the church is the fact that g the message of Jesus that the apostles will take is the foundation of the church. Not Peter, that foundation would would would cause the leading tower of peace, brothers and sisters us. Now this is Jesus is the is the foundation. 1 Corinthians 3 verse 11 helps us with this.

It says for no 1 can lay any foundation other than the 1 already laid, which is Peter? No. It's Jesus Christ. And, and, yes, the apostles are part of the foundation, but it's the fact that the, the teaching about the lord Jesus Christ and his Messiah And that the fact that he is the 1 who has found the foundation, so ephesians 2 verse 19 to 22 says this. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers.

But fellow citizens with god's people and also members of his household built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. Oh, it is built on the apostles, you might say. No. With Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone Jesus is the foundation by which the church is built on. And the apostles take the confession that Jesus is Messiah, and they preach that Jesus is Messiah, and Christ builds his church like this.

They go out and they preach Jesus as the foundation. They preach that Jesus by his death and resurrection will build his church. That Jesus I mean, this is an incredible doctrine that Jesus goes to a cross, and so valuable does he find you that he sheds his blood to make you part of his great building project that you can be the stones in his building project, the greatest building project that has ever been imagined or created. And so we know that it's by his suffering because in verse 21, after this, he says I'm going to suffer. I'm going to be killed but on the third day, I'm going to be raised to life.

Christ, the foundation of which the church is built is at Christ, is Messiah, and his Messiah is achieved by him going to a cross where he's enthroned on a cross. And he dies a death of agony yet 3 days later he's risen from the dead, and that is why we are here. An old song called the church as 1 foundation says this. The church as 1 foundation is Jesus Christ, her lord. She, the church, is his new creation by water and the words.

From heaven, he came and sought her to be his holy bride with his own blood he bought her. And for her life, he died. That is the foundation of this great building project that Jesus has. And Peter's confession just shows that he's he's coming from the same rock that Jesus is. He's hewn.

He's a stone that's that's part of that great conf that that great foundation that is Jesus Christ. And this is the great building project of Jesus. So it has a great foundation. What is the foundation? It's Jesus.

It has a great builder. Who's the builder? It's jesus. Okay. I'll do it for you.

It's Jesus. See? I don't wanna lie. Yeah? It's Jesus, isn't it?

Did look what look what he says. It's not Peter, go and build my church. It's I will build my church. That's what Jesus is in the business of doing. He will build his church.

Take confidence. Do not despair. He will build his church and he will build his church into something glorious. That was the promise to David. David, 2 samuel chapter 7, and you will have a descendant who will build a house in my name.

And Jesus, the Messiah comes, and he I'm gonna build my church. And by his spirit, we know that he gives gifts to all of us so that we may edify 1 another, edify, build each other up. And so Jesus is in this this business of of building the most glorious thing. It's a great thing that is called the church. And not only is he the builder, but he is the owner.

So he's gonna take care of it. It's not like it's not like, you know, you hire someone in, a cowboy builder. Oh, that should remind me of that thing. You've tried the cowboys, and I've tried the Indians. Anyway, don't worry about that.

You call them in and they just, you know, wrap it all and just use the cheapest material possible. No. He is he's intimately involved in his church. And he's he's building it carefully, and he and he and he has all sorts of different and beautiful and lovely things because this is his house that he wants to live in. And so you look at our church and you think, wow, you are stunning.

I looked at you Thomas you met eyes. You are stunning. Isn't it stunning the church? I love the church. I love the the and I was saying I was I was preaching this morning, and and I was reflecting that I love Cornerstone because of the many different nations and the many different personalities and the many different ages, and I was gonna say the many different genders, but there are only 2, and all of these different types of people And it's and it's so lovely to see because that is a reflection of who god is.

It's just a a little glimpse of what is gonna happen. This beautiful, multi colored mosaic of the church, and so you get a revelation and it's a multitude that you can't count of every tribe and tongue and nation. And that's his bright. He owns it, and so therefore, he goes on to say the gates of Hades will not overcome it. The gates of Hades's death itself, hell itself cannot stop the church.

It will never stamp out the church. And so if you are a a believer in the fact that Jesus is Messiah, the son of the living god, you cannot be stopped You'll never be stamped out. Death cannot stop you. Death cannot stop you getting to glory. If I all that death does becomes a gateway to glory.

I was listening to Pete, on online, and he says this, the church is the only society that never ever loses a member at death. Isn't that great? The church is the only society that never ever loses a member at death. But I think it's even more than this because it's the gates of Hades. Now what are gates for?

Well, the gates are used to try and keep people out and to defend, aren't they? You shut the gates, stop them getting in. Well, they can't stop because Jesus is the authority of his church. Look at verse 19 again. I will give you the keys at the kingdom of heaven whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven and whatever you lose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

I'm giving you the keys. What the keys show? It shows that you own, that you have the authority. And so he says to his people whatever you bind will be bound. Whatever you loose will be loose, and and and the idea is that as you go apostles, as you go followers of the lord, Jesus Christ, who have this great confession that Jesus is lord, Jesus is Christ, and he is god himself as you go into a world, you can proclaim the gospel to areas of death.

You can you can offer life to dead people. You can offer freedom from the chains of this world and the chains of death, and you can bind them into heaven. This is the great isn't it? I mean, just listen, you know, wouldn't it be great if in beside that that woman who went to Romania as you've offered her this this hope. And as this, as she goes back to Romania, that she realizes that they had a message of life and that she would trust in the lord Jesus Christ, and those tracks that went out in Romania, that they will come to know Jesus.

There is offer of life to dead people. There is an offer to get out of prison and get into the kingdom of god. And so Jesus says to Peter and to the apostles, go and preach life to death. And so you get to acts chapter 2. And Peter no longer the coward that he was at the end of Jesus's life.

But now invigorated with the Holy Spirit stands up on the day of Pentecost and preaches an absolute belter of a sermon, I think you would agree. And what does he preach? He preaches at the end Therefore, let all Israel be assured of this god has made this Jesus whom you crucified both lord and Messiah. That is his confession, and 3000 are saved that day. And the gospel of life, and the gospel of the kingdom of heaven comes to fruition in people's lives.

And then you follow acts and the gospel goes out to the nations. The church brothers and sisters is not 1 to be despaired at. The church is unstoppable. The church is glorious and gorgeous. The church is still growing today.

Despite all opposition, despite all persecution, the church will always remain as much as they try and stamp it out. It will always be here. We were talking about it today and rooted. We're looking at revelation chapters 10 to 11. People trying to stamp out the church.

Soviet communism tried to stamp out the church. They kicked the the kick missionaries out of China, and they thought, what's gonna happen to the church? They got back in. The church had grown. You might have heard me tell this story before.

1 of my favorites, I was telling the router lot they're gonna be bored of me. Oh, well, I'm lucky. You might remember, a few years back when they used to have house churches. And, when they, when the the house church got too big, the the persecution of the Christian was that they, they would then have to break up the house, the house church. But all they succeeded in doing was break up 1 house church and create 2 house churches.

And then those 2 house churches would get big enough, and you'd split those 2 house churches into 2, and you've got 4 house churches and so on and so forth. In Ethiopia, between 19 75 to 78, there was a president called mengistu. And he and he had this thing called the red tearaway would shut down the churches, and people think, oh, what's gonna happen to the church? I'm not really sure if my it was probably gonna die, but it didn't die. Went underground, they went into homes, and they grew.

They don't just survive. They grew. This is glorious, and it is unstoppable, and it is invincible, and it is invincible. And it will go marching on until glory. And in this country, the gospel will be preached that Jesus' Messiah, the son of the living god, and people will come to know him.

The church will march on. Apparently, and I I I don't know fully whether this is this is fully true, but there's meant to be a quiet revival in the UK right now. Don't know if you heard this? That numbers of people are definitely getting rid of atheism and they're wanting bibles and they're wanting to go to church. Nam, what churches they're going to?

I'm not sure. I don't know if it's actually that they're coming to know Jesus right now, but surely it shows us that there is a thirst and a hunger for something that is so much better than this world. So much better than the confusion. Young people are wanting to know something better. There's confusion in this world.

There's loneliness in this world. There is, anxiety that I can be canceled and judged and there is anxiety that this life is is meaningless, and yet the church has something to offer. And so if this is true, brothers and sisters, then we must go out and hold this great message out, shouldn't we? Jesus Christ is Messiah. He's the son of the living god.

You wanna get rid of your confusion, come and find sense to your life in Christ. You wanna get rid of your loneliness coming to the greatest building project of the world and find belonging and security. This is the church Christ's great building project. It is glorious. It is gorgeous.

It is beautiful. And so here's the question. Will you be a part of it? I don't know. Maybe you haven't trusted in Jesus and confessed that he is Messiah.

But maybe you're you you recognize that confusion, and you recognize that loneliness in this world. Or stop. Come to Christ. Recognise him as Messiah, recognize him as the son of the living gods, and come and be part of the most gorgeous greatest, glorious building project that has ever been and ever will be. Common no belonging, common no hope, common no safety, common no security, common no Jesus.

A savior. And brothers and sisters, will you be a part? Will you do your part? Let us build 1 another up. Let us encourage 1 another let us grow 1 another, and let us take this gospel of hope, and our forgiveness, and our death defeated, and let us of Christ exalted and offer out to this world that so desperately needs it.

And trust that Jesus will build his church through our efforts. As I finished, let me read these words from 1 Peter after he he must have had this this, maybe, this message in his in his heart and in his mind as he penned these words. He says this in 1 Peter 2, verse 4 to 6. As you come to him, the living stone rejected by humans, but chosen by god and precious to him. You also, like living stones are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to god through Jesus Christ.

For in scripture, it says, see, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious Warnerstone, and the 1 who trusts in him will never be put to shame. So we pray. Father, we we thank you, for your word, and we thank you for revealing to us tonight, your precious son, the lord Jesus Christ, our our foundation, our cornerstone, our Messiah. And we pray father that you will help us to know him more by your spirit, that we will be more and more in love with him, and that we'll be more and more in love with his building project, the church. We thank you that Jesus is the foundation, that Jesus is the builder, that Jesus is the owner, and that he will build his church.

And so we pray father that you will help us to get such a great vision of your church that we will encourage 1 another and that we will hold out the hope of the gospel message to those who are lost, and we pray these things in Jesus' name.