They're in Matthew 16, and if you look at verse 18,
Jesus Christ says these words,
and I say also unto thee, thou, that thou art Peter,
and upon this rock I will build my church,
and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
So when we look at this verse, who builds the church?
Who's building New Life Baptist Church?
Who builds every single church that has Jesus Christ
as their Lord, as the head of their church,
as the foundation?
If a church is made up of believers,
those that have been saved by the shed blood
of Jesus Christ, who is the one that builds the church?
What Jesus Christ said there.
And upon this rock, I will build my church.
The title for the sermon this morning, brethren,
is Jesus Builds the Church.
Jesus Builds the Church.
And I know you know this already, and I know this.
We all know this.
We all know that Jesus Christ is the one
that builds his church.
And when you think about New Life Baptist Church,
when you think about Blessed Out Baptist Church
down in Sydney, and other churches that are God fearing
and writing the gospel and made up of saved believers,
each one of those churches has been built
by the Lord Jesus Christ.
And I think we need to be reminded of this this morning.
Who builds the church?
Sometimes we think it's the pastor.
The pastor builds the church, or we think it's the members
of the congregation that build the church.
Now, one thing that I will say, we're all,
as we sang before the Bible reading,
we sang that we're vessels, we're channels only,
blessed master.
The Lord God who directs us, the Lord God who uses us,
we are tools in the hands of the master.
We are clay as it is to the hands of the potter.
And the Lord Jesus Christ builds us and utilizes us
to further his kingdom, to further the work,
to help establish a church that is preaching the gospel,
a church that fears God.
But ultimately, brethren, the master builder,
the one who actually does the work is the Lord Jesus Christ.
And we need to be reminded of this,
because many times we think church is dependent upon man.
You know, we've got to come up with our ideas,
and we've got to come up with our solutions,
and we've got to come up with our fancy ways
to grow our church numerically, or what have you.
How do we bring in more visitors?
How do we cause more people to be part of this church?
We start thinking about maybe ideas
that are outside of the box,
maybe even ideas that are contrary to scripture.
And yes, you know,
if you want to have a Hillsong-style church,
if you want to have a church with a rock band,
a church that preaches shallow biblical things,
or even churches that preach things that are false doctrines
or false gospels,
yeah, you can build a church very quickly if you wanted to.
There are many churches here on the Sunshine Coast
that are made up of hundreds of people, thousands of people.
But I'm telling you, they're not a church of Jesus Christ.
It's not a church that Jesus Christ is building.
You know, there's a reason why so many people
have a heart for a church like ours,
is because they know they're going to get preaching
from God's word.
They know that we're going to follow God's word
as best as we know how.
But I want you to remember that New Life Baptist Church
is not built by Pastor Kevin Sapulveda,
but it is built by Jesus Christ.
And what are we?
We're just tools, right, in the hands of the master.
We're just here, Jesus Christ, what do you want me to do?
How can I serve this local body that you've given me?
Can you please keep your finger there in Matthew 16?
We are gonna come back to that.
But now can you turn to Psalm 22 for me, please?
Turn to Psalm 22 and verse number 22.
Psalm 22, and look at verse number 22.
Psalm 22, verse number 22.
The first thing I want to talk about,
if we're talking about Jesus Christ building this church,
the next question is, what is a church?
You know, what is a church?
A lot of people believe a church is a building.
You know, quite often when people will travel overseas,
or they might travel to Europe,
or they'll look at these big cathedrals,
and they are impressive.
They are impressive buildings, you know, large buildings,
and they'll take pictures of themselves,
and they'll say, look, I've taken a picture at the church.
And what are they taking a picture of?
A building.
It is nice, it is impressive.
It is pleasing on the eyes.
But a lot of people believe a church is a building.
All right?
Now, look at Psalm 22, verse number 22.
It reads, I will declare thy name unto my brethren,
in the midst of the congregation
will I praise thee.
Now, I want you to stay there in Psalm 22,
but notice that we have a congregation,
and that congregation is our brethren.
And it's in that congregation
that we declare the name of God.
It's in that congregation
that we declare the name of Jesus Christ,
that we praise God, that we honor God,
that we give him the worship that he deserves.
It's in the congregation, in the midst of the congregation.
Now, I want you to read Psalm 22 again, verse 22.
But as you're looking at that verse,
I'm going to read to you from Hebrews 2, verse 12.
All right?
Hebrews 2, verse 12.
You look at Psalm 22, verse 22,
because it is the same verse.
It is just a little different.
It says in Hebrews 2, 12,
while you're looking at Psalm 22, 22, it says,
saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren
in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.
So notice that.
Hebrews 2, 12, which is the same verse as Psalm 22,
says in the midst of the church
will I sing praise unto thee.
And Psalm 22, 22 says in the midst of the congregation
will I praise thee.
So when we think about, you know,
we look at the Bible.
If we want to define what the Bible defines as church,
what are we talking about?
The congregation.
The congregation of brethren,
of brothers and sisters that are saved
by the shed blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.
That is the church.
You individually, you collectively
coming together this Sunday morning,
we are the church, we've given ourselves that name,
New Life Baptist Church, okay?
That's what the church is.
And so when we talk about Jesus building his church,
we're not talking about a building project,
although that could be part of it,
potentially in the future.
We're not necessarily talking about different ministries
that churches may take on.
You know, what are we talking about?
We're talking about people.
We're talking about the people that make up
New Life Baptist Church.
You are the church.
You are the people that God is building.
And as we come collectively,
we come with different backgrounds.
We come with, you know, different maturity
in our Christian life.
You know, some of us haven't been saved that long.
Some of us are not saved
because they're little children potentially, right?
Some of us have been saved for many years.
Some of you have been saved for decades.
And so we all have a different background.
And yet what brings us together is Jesus Christ,
is knowing that he died on the cross for our sins.
We know that he purchased the church with his blood.
And if we're part of that church of Jesus Christ,
we come together to praise him.
But brethren, it's the Lord Jesus Christ
that does the work.
New Life Baptist Church is being built by Jesus.
And I want you to remember this,
because we've been away.
We've been away for a year and a half.
You know, that wasn't a plan.
You guys know my plan.
You know, my plan was that we would be away for a year.
Okay, we'd be away for 12 months.
You guys know full well that my goal
was to travel every Wednesday and some Sundays.
So that would have been 50, in the whole year,
that would have been 52 trips between the states.
Okay, and I worked it out.
I think I only traveled,
I think it was 16 times in that year.
16 instead of the 52 times because of border closures,
right?
And why did we stay longer than a year?
Border closures.
I mean, things that are outside of our control.
And then the question becomes, well, maybe pastor,
maybe you shouldn't have gone down to Sydney.
You know, if you were here, pastor,
we would still have family so-and-so in the church,
or, you know, we wouldn't have this conflict,
or we wouldn't have this situation if you were just here.
But brethren, don't worry.
You know, what are we?
We're just servants.
We're here to minister.
We're tools in the master's hand.
It's Jesus that builds the church, is what I'm saying.
Okay?
Now look, all we can do, all this pastor can do,
and all each one of you can do
is just to put your best foot forward
and serve Jesus as best as you know how.
Okay?
And are we always going to make the best
and right decisions?
No, because we're human beings.
Sometimes we don't necessarily make
the right decisions all the time.
But as long as your conscience is clear,
as long as your heart is clear,
and you know that ultimately you're being used by Jesus,
you're serving Jesus,
then you leave the church in Jesus's hands.
You know, you step away and say,
Jesus, you do what you want with New Life Baptist Church.
Jesus, you do what you want with Blessed Hope Baptist Church
and just use me to serve this local body as best as I can,
with your Holy Spirit, with your help,
with your strength,
let me serve this church as best as I know how
and leave the rest to Jesus Christ.
Because, you know, that's the situation I often find,
especially as a pastor.
And this always happens when you've got some authority,
when things don't go according to plan,
where it's the pastor's fault.
If things don't go according to plan,
it's the boss at work or whatever, right?
Usually, of course,
the authority has to carry that responsibility.
But church is something far more unique
than any other business, you know,
than any other project.
It's being built by Jesus Christ.
What I'm saying to you, brethren,
is that the people that make up this church
is exactly who Jesus Christ wants
to make up this church at this point in time.
Okay, so what about our visitors?
Yeah, when our visitors come in,
that's exactly the time that Jesus Christ wanted
those visitors to come in.
You know, if those visitors are not saved,
they're gonna be confronted with the gospel.
You know, they're gonna be confronted with that decision
to decide whether they're gonna place their faith
on Jesus Christ for salvation or not,
and that's the purpose.
And if those visitors get offended
and they don't come back,
well, hey, they got what they needed at a church
at that moment, at that point in time.
You know, Jesus Christ brought them into the congregation
at that point in time for that reason,
and we may never see them again.
Well, hey, we serve them.
New Life Baptist Church served them.
Jesus Christ used us in that capacity at that time.
Well, what about family so-and-so?
They used to be part of our church.
Well, yes, Jesus Christ used them during that time, okay?
And now, if they're not here,
then Christ has a work and a place for them
somewhere else, God willing.
Hopefully they're in another good church,
or however you might be concerned about.
Whatever family, whatever individuals, you know,
God is the one, Jesus Christ is the one
that builds the church.
We can't force people to be part
of New Life Baptist Church.
I can't force people.
You know, if we see people leave the church,
yeah, I'll get in contact with them,
you know, I'll contact them a few times,
you know, I'll try to encourage them in church,
but ultimately, brethren,
I'm not trying to build a kingdom here.
You know, I'm not the one that builds this church.
It's Jesus Christ, and I just want to be a blessing.
I just want to be a service to people as best as I can
and leave the rest to Jesus.
Jesus, it's in your hands.
You know, you have who you need to be in this church.
We'll keep going for these verses,
and I'll show that to you.
But, you know, if you can just flick back
to Matthew 16, please.
Matthew 16 and verse 18.
Matthew 16, verse 18.
What I'm saying to you, brethren,
is even though it was my plan to be away for one year,
it was Jesus' plan that I'd be away
for a year and a half with the family.
It was Jesus' plan for Blessed Life Baptist Church
to be blessed with pastor and his family there
for that year and a half.
And, you know, going into Sydney,
I did not know that was the case,
but being there, I realized that church really needed me.
There was a lot to do.
There was a lot that happened during that time.
And Lord willing, next week,
I'll give you guys a report about Blessed Life Baptist Church
and all the things that we were able to do
during that time.
But you're there, again, in Matthew 16, verse 18.
And I say unto thee that thou art Peter,
and upon this rock I will build my church.
Now, the Roman Catholic Church believes the rock
that is being used to build the church upon
is Peter himself.
Okay, they'll say, well, Peter was the first pope.
And so they believe the pope is the rock of the church.
And I suppose in some ways, there is truth to that
in the fact that the Roman Catholic Church
is not built on the rock of Jesus Christ.
It's built on the rock of some man,
whatever man calls himself pope at this point in time,
yeah, they build their church on that man.
But brethren, New Life Baptist Church
is not built upon a man.
It's upon the rock of Jesus Christ.
You see, if you go back to the Greek,
yes, we'll go back to the Greek here.
You know, the name for Peter,
if you don't, you probably already know this,
but the name for Peter in Greek is petros.
Petros, Peter, that's what Peter means, right?
Petros.
And you know, in Spanish, the word for like a rock
or a pebble or a stone is, what is it?
I forgot, what is it in Portuguese, Christina?
Pedre.
Okay, well, there it is in Portuguese, right?
You can see where it comes from.
I can't even remember what it is in Spanish right now.
My mind went blank.
But anyway, okay, so we have petros for Peter,
which can be a rock, as it were,
but most often, it's mostly seen as a stone
or a piece of a rock, okay?
And when Jesus Christ says upon this rock,
I will build my church, the Greek word there,
if you go back to your Greek New Testament,
is the word petra.
Okay, so you got Peter as petros.
You got the rock as petra, okay?
And petra definitely means a rock.
It doesn't just mean a piece or a stone.
It means a rock.
Now, I want you to turn, please, to John chapter one.
Turn to John chapter one in your Bibles,
verse number 40, and say, Pastor Kevin, can you prove this?
You know, did you have to go back to the Greek?
Can't we just go to our English King James Bible?
Yes, we will.
And I'll show you that, you know, the word for Peter,
petros, is a stone.
So if you go to John chapter one, verse 40, please,
John chapter one in verse number 40,
we see here the story of Christ's start in his ministry.
And of course, if you know the story,
Andrew, Peter's brother, was the first one
to actually have followed Jesus Christ before Peter.
And it says here in John chapter one, verse 40.
John chapter one, verse 40.
It says, one of the two which heard John speak,
that's John the Baptist, and followed him
was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.
Okay, so Andrew has heard from John the Baptist
that this is Jesus.
This is the one that we're to follow.
So he goes, yep, we're gonna follow Jesus Christ.
And then he wants to get his brother along.
He wants to get Peter along.
In verse number 41, it says,
he first findeth his own brother Simon,
so you know Peter's name is Simon Peter,
and saith unto him, we have found the messiahs
which is being interpreted the Christ.
So we learn a few things here.
The word messiah or messiahs means the Christ.
Okay, let's keep going there, verse number 42.
And he brought him to Jesus, and when Jesus beheld him,
he said, thou art Simon, the son of Jonah,
thou shalt be called Cephas.
Now what is Cephas?
That's another name for Peter.
Cephas is the same as Petros,
but Cephas is in Aramaic,
because when Jesus Christ walked the earth,
he spoke Aramaic, but when the New Testament Bible
is being put together, it was written in Greek.
Okay, so Petros is Cephas, and then it says here,
thou shalt be called Cephas,
which is by interpretation a stone.
Okay, so is Peter the rock
in which the church is going to be built on?
No, Peter is a stone.
Peter is a stone.
Jesus Christ, of course, is the rock.
Jesus Christ is the rock.
So I just want to show you that.
Simon, well, Peter's got a few names, right?
Peter, Simon Peter, Cephas, what else was that?
That's it, I think that's it.
Have I got anything?
That's it, Simon Peter and Cephas,
but Cephas is Aramaic,
which has been interpreted a stone, all right?
So when you compare the Bible with Matthew 16,
you know that, of course, the stone is not,
sorry, the stone is Peter,
but the rock, of course, is Jesus Christ.
Now, can you please turn to 1 Peter chapter two, verse four.
1 Peter chapter two and verse number four, please.
1 Peter chapter two and verse number four.
So Peter's being told,
hey, Peter, you're Cephas, you're a stone, all right?
Now we're turning to Peter's writings.
What does Peter have to say
about being a stone, as it were, okay?
1 Peter chapter two and verse number four.
It begins here in verse number four
speaking about Jesus Christ.
It says, to whom come in as unto a living stone,
so Jesus Christ, of course,
he'd been referenced as a stone as well,
disallowed indeed of men,
but chosen of God and precious.
So Jesus Christ is a stone as well, as well as a rock.
But it says in verse number five,
ye also, now he's speaking to the people,
he's speaking to the congregation,
ye also as lively stones.
You see, brethren, not only is Peter a stone,
you too are a stone that makes up New Life Baptist Church.
The rock, the foundation is Christ's.
But just as much as Simon Peter, Cephas was a stone,
you're a stone as well, you are a stone as well.
This is what Peter's saying,
hey, I'm not the only stone in the plans of God,
you are a stone as well.
You are a lively stone, you're a living stone,
you've been given everlasting life because of Jesus Christ.
Let's keep going there, in verse number five,
ye also as lively stones are built up a spiritual house
and holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices
acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
And then it says in verse number six,
wherefore also it is contained in the scripture,
behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone,
elect, precious, and he that believeth on him
shall not be confounded.
Of course, this chief cornerstone, elect and precious,
is a stone that we are to believe on.
And if we believe on him, we shall not be confounded.
And of course, who do we get saved by believing on?
Believing on the Lord Jesus Christ,
that precious stone, the cornerstone.
But at the same time, brethren,
you are lively stones that make up what?
A physical house?
No, it said there a spiritual house,
built up a spiritual house.
So what is a church?
A church is a congregation.
Yes, it is.
It's also a house.
It's a spiritual house.
The Bible calls it the house of God.
You know, in the Old Testament,
the house of God was the tabernacle.
It was then the first temple, the second temple.
And in the New Testament days, it is your local church.
We're not talking about the building.
We're not talking about the air conditioning.
We're not even talking about the decorations
as nice and pretty as they are.
It's you.
You make up that stone.
You are a living stone.
You are a Cephas, as it were,
to be used to build up this house, New Life Baptist Church.
But ultimately, brethren, the chief cornerstone,
the rock, is Jesus.
Jesus builds the church.
You know, it's not a coincidence
that you're at New Life Baptist Church today.
You're here because Jesus placed you here.
He wants you here to be a stone
that makes up this spiritual house.
Not only to make up a spiritual house,
but what did it say there in verse number five?
Built up a spiritual house and holy priest.
Look at this, to offer up spiritual sacrifices.
Brethren, why do we come to church?
To offer up our sacrifices.
In the Old Testament, what sacrifices they offer?
Lambs, bulls, goats, right?
The blood of these animals.
To be a picture of the shed blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.
It was there to serve as a foreshadowing, a type.
But you know what, brethren?
We are here to also offer up our sacrifices.
You know, if you wanna get the most out of this church,
it's not just come to church, sit down,
hear the preaching, go home.
Now that's good.
You know, if you're a visitor,
if you're new to church, if you're newly saved, praise God.
That's the best thing you can do right now.
But ultimately, your thought is,
how do I offer up my spiritual sacrifices?
How do I serve this church?
Brethren, you know, I'm the pastor, I have authority.
But you know, the Bible says I'm a minister.
The word minister means a servant.
When I come to preach behind this pulpit,
I'm not here to show you, oh, look how smart I am.
Look how much I know the Bible.
Do everything that I say.
I'm ministering, I'm serving you.
I'm feeding you the word of God, spiritual food,
to feed your souls.
You know, church is not about being served.
Church is about you serving one another
as we serve the Lord Jesus Christ,
offering up our spiritual sacrifices.
You know, it's so important that we remember
to be at church on time.
It's our time to sing praises.
It's our time to sing songs to the Lord.
The Bible says that the praise of our lips
are sacrifices to God.
That's one great way to offer a sacrifice.
That's one great way to serve Jesus Christ
is to just to sing for him.
Oh, I haven't got a good voice, it doesn't matter.
You know, God has given you your voice.
God has given you a mouth.
God has given you a heart that is to praise
and to serve God.
Use it to offer up a spiritual sacrifice to our Lord God.
But brethren, it's Jesus that builds the church.
And now you are a lively sown.
You're a Cephas, as it were,
to be used to build up the spiritual house.
And you know what?
One thing I've learned in church, it makes me sad, right?
It makes me sad as a pastor.
I didn't realize so much when I wasn't a pastor, okay?
But people come and people go.
People come and people go.
You know, and in my heart, you know,
if people come, I want to retain them.
Like, I just want people to stay in church,
to grow together, to serve one another.
But then there are times that Jesus Christ says,
all right, now it's time for you to go to another place.
Jesus Christ is the one that builds the church.
You know, people sometimes leave church for good reasons.
Sometimes people should be leaving church for bad reasons.
You know, I don't always know.
Well, you know, I don't know, I'm not always a judge
whether some things are the right reason
or the wrong reason, but it happens.
People come and people go, and we can get upset about it,
we can get frustrated about it,
or we can blame the pastor,
we can blame this person or blame that person.
But brethren, just remind yourself,
it's Jesus that builds the church, you know?
He has the people here.
You know, today, what's the,
I don't even know what the date is today.
What's the date today?
Anyone have the date?
The 27th, the 27th, okay, of March.
You know, whoever is here in this congregation
is exactly who Jesus Christ wants
in this congregation right now, all right?
You're here, you're a lively stone,
you're here to offer up spiritual sacrifices.
You know, and one of the wonderful things that we can do,
even though we don't see Jesus Christ physically in person,
you know, we have our brethren,
we have our brothers and sisters in the Lord,
as we serve one another, brethren,
we are serving Jesus Christ.
You know, it kind of makes me a bit embarrassed,
a little bit shy to see the decorations,
you know, the nice sign, welcome home.
I know there's been a lot of work put in
because we're here, and I understand that.
It makes me a little bit embarrassed.
You know, but at the same time,
you know, I'm never going to reject that.
I'm never gonna say, hey, that's wrong to do,
because as we serve the brethren, we are serving Jesus.
This is a church that's made up of believers
that love the Lord, that love new life of this church.
You know, we ought to love one another.
We ought to love one another.
You know, as I said earlier, I can feel the love.
Our family feels the love.
We feel the appreciation,
probably more than we ever have, you know?
And maybe we need it to be a way for the year and a half
to really understand, you know,
or to realize how important this church is.
Maybe to learn to appreciate
that we have a full-time pastor here.
Maybe to learn to appreciate
that other churches don't have pastors.
You know, it's very few and far between.
You know, if I wanted to,
if I just looked up all the independent
fundamental Catholic churches in Australia,
there are several churches
that are just looking for a pastor.
You know, just asking other churches,
have you got a man that can be sent here
to do a work for us?
It's very far and few between.
You know, we've been given a great honor
to, you know, have brethren, to have believers,
to have a location to meet, to have the resources,
to have a pastor.
It's a real blessing.
And I'm not talking about myself.
You know, I'm just talking about pastors in general.
Pastors are a blessing.
It's a sacrifice.
You know, it's a service.
It's not really something everybody's willing to do.
You know, a lot of people have the idea,
I'd like to be a pastor one day,
but when they realize the sacrifice,
when they realize the stepping out of faith
and the instability potentially of doing such a job,
most people will back out.
Most people will back out.
You know, we should be thankful to God
that He's built new life out of the church,
that we've been used as lively stones
to serve one another as we serve the Lord Jesus Christ.
Can you please turn to Acts chapter two?
Turn to Acts chapter number two, verse number 46.
Acts chapter two and verse number 46.
Acts chapter two and verse number 46, please.
Now it says here,
and they continuing daily with one accord in the temple
and breaking bread from house to house,
did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,
praising God and having favor with all the people,
and notice the next words,
and the Lord added to the church daily,
such as should be saved.
Now brethren, is the Lord Jesus Christ
walking this earth right now
as we read in Acts chapter two?
No, right?
We've got the apostles.
We've got the people going out preaching the gospel.
We've got the word of God going out.
It's saying people getting saved.
But notice, who is it that's adding to the church?
It says the Lord added to the church daily,
such as should be saved.
And I want you to remember this,
because when I decided to come to the Sunshine Coast
to start a church,
I knew it was going to be challenging.
Like I knew, I kind of expected,
if we get to 50 people, we've done a good job.
I wasn't expecting that this church would be more than 50.
Now there's been times we more than 50.
There's been times like that, okay?
But you know, I always thought
that would be a pretty good mark
based on other independent fundamental Baptist churches
that I've seen in other cities.
You know, knowing that here on the Sunshine Coast,
we don't live on top of each other.
Like coming to church is not just a 10 minute drive.
Some of you travel for hours to come to church.
What a blessing, what a blessing, you know?
And when we started Blessing Out Baptist Church,
even though it wasn't my initial goal,
it was something that opened up.
It was an opportunity that presented itself.
I know full well that church can run 100 people,
200 people one day, if it had a full-time pastor.
Easily, easily, okay?
In comparison to New Life Baptist Church.
But you know what?
And Pastor Stevenson on Wednesday,
he kind of preached about this, didn't he?
He kind of said, you know, when pastors get around,
they start talking to each other.
So how many people have you got in your church?
How much is your church running, right?
What numbers have you got in your church?
You know, for me, praise God,
it's never been about the numbers.
It's never been, how many people can I get?
Or I wanna be the biggest IFB church in Australia,
running thousands of people.
It's never been about that.
I've always known, man, if I get to 50,
or if it's even more than 50, praise God.
It's amazing because I realised this a long time ago.
It's not, it's, you know, numbers are based on Jesus.
Jesus added to the church.
The Lord added to the church.
It's in the Lord's hands.
And brethren, what do we do?
We just have to be faithful to the Lord.
We have to be faithful to his word.
We have to be faithful to the church.
We have to be faithful in our soul winning.
If we're doing the most basic things that God wants from us,
then he'll add to our church when the time is right.
The Lord will add, sometimes he'll take away.
It's in the Lord's hands.
You know, it's not up to one individual person,
or one individual family, it's up to the Lord.
He is the one that adds to the church.
Can you please turn to 1 Corinthians?
1 Corinthians chapter 12.
1 Corinthians chapter 12, please, in verse number 14.
1 Corinthians chapter 12.
And verse number 14.
1 Corinthians 12, 14 reads,
for the body is not one member, but many.
Brethren, this is the body of Christ.
It says here, for the body is not one member.
This body is not pastor Kevin Sepulveda, okay?
It is the body of Christ.
It is not just one person.
It says here, but many.
You see, we all make up this body.
Verse number 15, if the foot shall say,
because I am not the hand, I am not of the body,
is it therefore not of the body?
You see, some of us are feet, some of us are hands.
You know, we can't say to one another,
you're not of the body.
You know, what makes up the body of Christ?
We have all these members, the foot, the hand,
we all play a different role.
We all have different strengths and weaknesses
that can be used as lively stones
to build up this spiritual house.
It says in verse number 16, if the ear shall say,
because I am not the eye, I am not of the body.
Some of you are ears, some of you are eyes.
You know, just because you're the ear, you know,
in this church, and you look at the person who's the eye,
and you say, what does that mean?
I don't really understand myself, okay?
But if you're the ear, you can't say,
well, I'm not the body because I'm not the eye.
Hey, you're important.
If you're in this church, you're important.
You're here because of Jesus.
You're here to make up the body.
It says here, verse number 17,
if the whole body were an eye, where were they hearing?
If the whole were hearing, where were they smelling?
Look at verse number 18.
But now have God, let me read that again.
But now have God set the members,
every one of them in the body, as it have pleased him.
Brethren, who has placed you
in the body of Jesus Christ this morning?
The Lord has.
And why has he done it?
Because it pleases him.
It's not about pleasing pastor Kevin Sepulveda.
Oh man, I wish I had more people in the church
that would please me.
It's not about that.
I wish we had this person or that family or this,
you know, I'm not gonna go to church
because this person's not there.
I'm not gonna go to church.
It's not about that.
Jesus Christ is the one that builds the church.
He places each one of us here as it pleases him.
God knows if we need an ear,
he's gonna send us an ear to this church.
God knows if this body needs a nose,
he'll send someone who can do the smelling.
He'll send an eye, he'll send someone
that can do the seeing.
He'll send a mouth, someone that can do the,
I guess the preaching, right?
The Lord Christ will add people to this church
as it pleases him.
And I want you to know this morning brethren,
that you're here to please Jesus,
to please the Lord, okay?
You are an important part of this church, okay?
You're here for a purpose.
You're here for a reason.
The fact that you're here this morning
is because God wants you to do something today.
He wants you to serve in a certain way today.
And please figure out what that is.
How can God use me to keep building this spiritual house?
But don't forget, you're not the builder.
Christ is the builder.
We're here to serve the master.
Can you please now turn to Matthew 18.
Matthew 18, verse number 17.
Matthew chapter 18, please.
And verse number 17.
Matthew chapter 18.
Now the context of the passage that we're about to read
is in the context of conflict.
Conflict between brethren.
Now I don't wanna touch upon the conflict issue right now.
We'll deal with that at a later time.
But I want you to just take into thought
what Christ is saying here.
In Matthew 18, verse number 17.
It says, and if you neglect to hear them,
tell it unto the church.
But if you neglect to hear the church,
let him be unto thee as a heathen man and a publican.
Now the reason I'm reading from verse number 17
is just to show you the context of what we're reading here
is the church, okay?
Because some people take what we're about to read
completely out of context, okay?
The church is the context.
Let's keep going there.
Verse number 18.
Verily I say unto you,
whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven
and whatsoever you shall loose on earth
shall be loose in heaven.
And I say unto you,
that if two of you shall agree on earth
as touching anything that they shall ask,
it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.
But I want you to notice verse number 20.
For where two or three are gathered together in my name,
there am I in the midst of them.
Brethren, the context of this is church, okay?
What does Jesus Christ say?
You know, I mean,
Christ had thousands of people flocking to him, didn't he?
John the Baptist had thousands of people flocking to him.
Say, Pastor Kevin, where are the thousands?
Come to New Life Baptist Church.
I mean, does Jesus Christ care about that?
What does it say in verse number 20?
For where two or three are gathered together in my name,
there am I in the midst of them.
You know what Christ says?
Even if there's just two or three of you,
you are a body of Christ.
You are the church, okay?
Now again, people take this out of context
and they think, oh, I can just get together with my buddies.
I'll just get together with my family,
my cousins, my uncles.
I'll get together with my friends.
We won't go to church because church is too corrupt.
We won't go to church.
We'll just have a little fellowship at our house
and that's church, you know?
Where two or three are gathered together,
there am I in the midst of them.
That's what Jesus Christ said.
No, in the context of church,
in the context of a body, okay?
Churches start churches.
You know, that's what a body of Christ is.
That's a pattern that we see in the New Testament.
Churches start churches.
If you just wanna get together with your buddies
and talk about Jesus, that's not a church.
Christ is not gonna be in the midst of you.
Christ being in the midst of you
is in the context of a church
and even if that church is two or three people,
Christ says he's there in the midst of them.
You see, we come to church to feel the presence of God.
We come to church to be in the midst there
with Jesus Christ, to have Christ,
to have the Spirit of God, you know,
work in our house and teach us
some great things in the Bible.
And brethren, you know what?
If this church dwindles down to just two people,
to three people, it's still new life at this church.
It's still a spiritual house.
It's still a place that serves Christ.
It's still gonna be a place that honors Christ.
I want you to remember this, okay?
Because Christ is fine with a church
with two or three people.
As long as it's a legitimate church, you know?
Christ is completely fine with that, okay?
Christ is not about these mass numbers, okay?
He just wants to be in the midst of his people.
You know, it's a place where God adds people to please him,
to serve him, to offer up spiritual sacrifices.
We're here to serve in the Lord God.
We're serving Jesus Christ.
Please remember that, please remember that, right?
Because I don't know, we may have a church split one day.
I hope not, right?
We may have some major arguments
and all these families in church leave.
I hope not, but it happens.
It happens in churches, right?
Just people have conflicts.
They don't do things in biblical manner, you know?
And whatever, you know, they've got their own thoughts,
they've got their own selfish desires,
whatever it is, brethren, things happen within churches.
But I want you to remember, even if new life at the church
becomes two or three people, it's still a legitimate church.
It's still a place that honors Christ.
It's still a place that I can come
and be in the presence of the Lord, okay?
The church is all about Jesus Christ.
It is his body.
All right, can you please now turn to the book of Ephesians?
Turn to Ephesians chapter one.
Ephesians chapter one, please.
And while you're turning to Ephesians chapter one,
I'm going to read to you
from 1 Corinthians chapter three, verse five.
Now, the Corinthian church was a messed up church, okay?
It's probably the worst church
that you read about in the New Testament.
You know, I think it's the worst church.
You know, you might argue some of the other churches
in the book of Revelation, for example,
were pretty messed up.
Yeah, there's a lot of messed up churches
in the Bible, by the way, okay?
But you know, this church was so messed up
that they were basically men followers.
Rather than it being a church to honor Christ,
they had different preachers come in at different times
and they would associate themselves with that preacher.
They would associate themselves with that man.
And so some would say, hey, I'm a Paul.
Hey, some would say I'm a Paulist.
Some would say I'm a Cephas.
You know, that's Peter now, okay?
And it says here in 1 Corinthians three, five.
You see, it's the Lord that gave these ministers.
It's the Lord that gave people
to preach the gospel or to preach the word
to the people that made up this church.
It says in verse number six,
Yes, we plant.
Yes, we water.
Yes, we serve the church.
Yes, we go and preach the gospel.
But it's God that gives the increase.
It's God that adds to the church.
So it says in verse number seven,
You see, yes, we've been used by the hands of God,
but really we're not anything special.
We're being used by God.
It's God that increases.
It's God that adds to the church.
Please remember this.
Please remember, it's God's work, okay?
Because I'm saying this because I don't want you
to get discouraged when our church loses people.
I don't want you to get discouraged
if we have visitors that come for a month
and they disappear and we never hear from them again, okay?
I don't want you to be discouraged
if we have faithful families that all of a sudden decide
not to make up this church anymore.
I want you to remember, you know,
the numbers that we have is the numbers
that God wants in our church.
He builds the church.
As long as we're being used by the master,
as long as we're watering, as long as we're planting,
as long as we're giving up our spiritual sacrifices,
as long as we're serving the Lord, brethren,
you know, the rest is in God's hands.
Who comes, who goes?
It's up to Jesus Christ.
It's up to the Lord.
You know, I've never wanted to be a pastor
that begs people to be in church.
You know, brother so-and-so is not here.
You know, have you followed up?
Yeah, I've followed up.
You know, he's not been in church for a month.
Have you followed up?
You know, eventually I stop, you know?
Yeah, I follow up once, I follow up twice.
I encourage people to church,
but you know, I'm not this guy to beg people.
Come back to church, please.
You know, obviously I'm concerned for them.
I'm concerned that they would find a good place.
You know, I just want them to continue serving the Lord.
They don't have to serve the Lord
in the new life of this church.
They don't have to serve the Lord
under this pastor's authority.
You know, they can find some other great church
they can get plugged into.
Praise God if they're serving the Lord.
That's what it's all about, serving Jesus Christ.
But you know, I'm not here to beg people
to be in church because I don't build a church.
I'm watering, I'm planting, I'm doing the best I can.
I'm doing the best I know how, okay?
The rest of it is up to the Lord Jesus Christ.
And if you keep that in mind,
you won't get discouraged when numbers change.
You won't get discouraged when people leave.
You won't get discouraged
if we drop down to two or three people.
You'll keep coming to church
because you know it's in the Lord's hands.
As long as we're doing what is right, okay?
Now we can destroy the church internally.
Don't get me wrong.
This pastor starts preaching false doctrines.
You know, we start idolizing man.
We start lifting up man over Jesus Christ.
You know, we stop doing the work that we stop soloing in.
We stop doing the works that God has given us to do.
Yeah, you know, we can destroy this church within, all right?
But as long as what we're doing is right,
if we're serving the Lord as best as we can,
the rest of it is in Jesus's hands.
Leave it in the hands of Jesus and don't get discouraged.
You know, I appreciate everybody that comes to church
because it pleases God.
He's the one that placed them here for a purpose,
to serve, to serve the brethren, to serve Jesus Christ.
You're there in Ephesians chapter one.
Ephesians chapter one, verse number 22.
Just a reminder here, Ephesians 1 22.
And have put all things under his feet
and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,
which is his body, the fullness of him
that filleth all in all.
So just a reminder there that the body is the church.
This church is the body of Jesus Christ,
but notice he is the head.
He's above all things in this church.
Brethren, if you have some great ideas for the church,
yeah, throw them my way.
But if it's contrary to the will of God,
if it's contrary to Jesus Christ, we're not going to do it.
The pastor, we can get more people.
If we just play the heel song music,
if we play this music that just brings people in,
maybe then, yeah, but you know what?
That music does not honor God.
That music is not spiritual.
It does not praise God.
That music just appeals to flesh.
That music sounds like any club that you can,
you know, I'd rather you just go to the club
where you don't blaspheme God, you know?
And go to some church that blasphemes the name of God,
you know, that says that he loves Christ.
And, you know, the last thing it does is love Christ.
And a church that's preaching a false gospel,
a church that preaches from a false Bible,
a church that has a different spirit,
why would you want to be part of that church?
Oh, because it runs thousands,
but it doesn't please the Lord.
It's not the body of Christ.
They call themselves a church, I know that,
but it's not the body of Christ, okay?
What is the body of Christ?
A body where Christ is the head.
This pastor's not the head, okay?
I'm an under shepherd, you know?
Christ is the chief shepherd.
I'm a pastor, yes, I'm a shepherd.
Yes, I have authority.
But really, I have to just do what God says.
How do you know what God says?
I gotta read my Bible, okay?
Whatever decisions we do, whatever, you know,
we organize as a church, we go to God's word.
God, what will you have us to do?
God, does this fit within your will?
You know, are we going according to your plan, God?
You're the one that builds the church,
and we're just gonna follow as best as we know how.
But listen, brethren, Christ is the head.
Can you please now go to Ephesians chapter five?
Ephesians chapter five, same book, please, chapter five.
So you notice that Ephesians one starts by claiming
that Christ is the head.
I want you to remember that.
And then we get to Ephesians five toward the end,
verse number 23.
It says, for the husband is the head of the wife.
Husbands, you're the head of your wife, by the way.
Okay, that's just a side bonus there, okay?
You're the head of your wife.
Then it says this, even as Christ is the head of the church.
So notice, this is one of the key themes
of the book of Ephesians.
We start chapter one, yes, Christ is the head.
We get toward the end, Christ is the head, okay?
Church is all about Christ.
Church is about making sure that Jesus Christ is the head.
He's the boss.
We do according to God's will.
We do according to the will of Jesus Christ,
head of the church, and he's the saviour of the body.
Therefore, as the church is subject unto Christ,
so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.
By the way, wives, you're gonna be subject
to your husbands in everything.
That's a bonus, okay?
But just as much as a wife ought to be subject
to the husband in everything,
so too should this church be subject
under Jesus Christ, under Christ.
And you know, there's something that I wanted
to show you there.
Oh yeah, verse 124.
Therefore, as the church is subject unto Christ, okay?
What is a church once again?
A congregation, the body of Christ,
but it's a people that are subjected under Christ.
This is why we preach the Bible, okay?
This is why, it doesn't matter if it's contrary
to society, okay?
You know, I've gotta preach about sin, brethren.
I've gotta preach about hell, right?
I've gotta preach against the wickedness of this world.
I've gotta preach against abortion, murder.
I've gotta preach against the homosexuals, the LGBT, right?
These things are contrary to God's word.
So pastor, if you just, you know, just be a little bit,
you know, lessen the preaching a little bit, right?
So we don't wanna offend people.
Listen, we're just subject unto Christ.
If the Bible says, you know,
that we need to preach these things,
if God says these things are sin,
we have to say that's sin, that's wrong, that's wicked.
We have to call out what is wrong
if it's according to God's word.
I know we can grow this church
if I just preach some nice things.
If I just preach God loves you every week,
God loves you every week, you know?
It's all fine, God's gonna bless you, you know?
No, we need to hear the whole counsel of God.
If we're not hearing the whole counsel of God,
I'm not doing you any service,
and really, Christ is not the head, you know?
At the end of the day, if I just choose
and pick and choose what I wanna preach,
I become the head.
That's not what a church is.
Church is not up to one man what he wants to preach.
God's given us a big book.
We're gonna preach the whole thing.
All of it, every verse, every chapter, you know?
Every topic the Bible covers, it's sufficient for our life.
It's what we need to hear, because Christ is the head,
and these are the words of Christ.
This is what he wants us to preach, okay?
So please remember this.
If people get offended by the preaching,
we never see them again.
Well, Jesus builds the church, okay?
And if they got offended by something
they heard in the sermon, they needed to hear that.
They needed to get offended by that, okay?
They needed to be challenged by that
at that point in time, all right?
We've had that, haven't we?
We've had visitors come to our church,
and if you're a visitor, welcome to church, okay?
Welcome to church.
I hope you can hang around for a while, all right?
But you know, we've had visitors come,
and they've been offended by the preaching,
and they've gone.
And it's like, oh man, why did they go?
Well, maybe they just needed to hear
exactly what they needed to hear at that point in time, okay?
They needed to be challenged at that point in time
when God added them to the church
at just that brief moment in time.
They got what they needed to hear, okay?
And that was it, you know?
That's why they came to New Life After Church
to hear that one issue, that one verse
that challenged them in some sense, in some way, okay?
Within Ephesians, can you please turn to Ephesians?
Oh yeah, you say in Ephesians, please, say in Ephesians.
I'm gonna read to you another passage.
And it says in Acts chapter 20, verse 28, Acts 20, 28.
Now, this is Peter, sorry, this is Paul
speaking to pastors, all right?
But in Acts 20, 28, it says here,
take heed therefore unto yourselves,
so take heed is to listen, listen for yourselves,
and to all the flock,
and the flock, of course, is the congregation,
it's the people that make up the church,
over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers.
To feed the church of God,
which he hath purchased with his own blood.
Now, brethren, thank God that this church has an overseer.
I'm not saying thank God that I'm the overseer,
because I know what I, I'm just another man, okay?
Thankfully, I made the qualifications.
Thankfully, I've been ordained to start
and to preach at this church, okay?
Thanks, but look, brethren, you know,
the fact that we have an overseer in this church,
that we have a pastor, a bishop in the church,
I want you to understand, it says,
which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers.
You see, even the pastor is the hand of God,
moving that person into that position.
You know, brethren, if it was just my will,
if I just wanted to do what I really just wanted to do,
I would still be just working a secular job.
I would still be just trying to make
as much money as I can right now, okay?
Attending my church on Sundays,
serving God as best as I could at that point in time.
You know, I'd be thinking about, man, I've got 11 kids,
all right, that's big expenses.
You know, I better try to bring in as much as I can
to make my family comfortable,
to give my family a good future.
That's what I'd be thinking about.
You know what, but the Holy Ghost had other plans.
The Holy Ghost did something in my heart, you know,
brought that desire to be a pastor, you know,
opened my eyes to understand the Sunshine Coast
needed an independent fundamental Baptist church
that's preaching the gospel to the community.
Yes, brethren, we need to be doing more of that.
We need to be doing more of preaching
the gospel to this community.
You know, and that's why I came up here.
That's why, you know, I took the risk to come,
and I'm not this great person.
I'm just another person.
I'm just like you.
You know what, not long ago, five years ago, six years ago,
I was just like you, sitting in a pew, you know,
coming to church, knowing that that's the place
I needed to be, and just wondering, God, what are you gonna,
you know, what's my future gonna be like?
You know, how are you going to use me?
God, you want me to be a pastor?
God, if you want me to be a pastor,
you gotta open the doors.
Lord, where do you want me to go?
I thought Adelaide, Adelaide,
is that where you want me to go, God?
You know, Lord, open up Sunshine Coast.
You know, God revealed certain things to me as time went on.
But I want you to notice,
it's the Holy Ghost that has made you overseers.
Yes, I went through the biblical process,
been ordained by a church, et cetera.
Yes, all that was done correctly.
But really, it's the Holy Ghost that has done the work.
And I want you to be thankful.
I want you to be thankful that this church has a pastor, okay?
And not thankful because I stepped out necessarily,
but thankful that the Holy Ghost saw fit
that new life of this church would have a pastor.
You know, and Blessed Hope Baptist Church should be thankful
that they've got a part-time pastor, at least.
As I said to you, there are so many churches in Australia,
so many independent, fundamental Baptist churches
that do not even have a pastor.
All right, so be thankful.
You know, God is doing a work here on the Sunshine Coast.
We're seeing souls saved.
You know, I believe there were two or three souls
saved last week, praise God for that.
You know, there are souls being saved down in Sydney.
I believe there were two salvations down in Sydney yesterday.
You know, praise God.
Praise God that we're able to do a work for him.
But remember, it's because of Jesus Christ.
Christ has placed us here.
Christ has placed his pastor here, okay?
To serve him, to make up the body of Jesus Christ.
Now, you're there in Ephesians.
Please look at Ephesians 5.25.
Let's go, Ephesians 5.25.
Husbands love your wives.
By the way, husbands love your wives, okay?
Even as Christ also loved the church
and gave himself for it.
Now, when Christ says he gave himself for it,
of course he gave his life, okay?
Salvation is not I give my life to Jesus.
That's not salvation.
Salvation is Jesus gave his life for me.
He went to the cross, okay?
He shed his blood.
He took our sins.
He took my sins.
He took your sins.
He took not just our sins.
He took the punishment for our sins.
He took the consequences for our sins.
He took the pains of our sins upon himself.
And he took on the wrath of God.
He became a curse for us.
He became sin for us.
Then three days later, he rose again from the dead,
victorious over hell,
victorious over death,
victorious over sin, all right?
He's given us that same power
to be resurrected spiritually,
being born again of the spirit.
And one day, this body is gonna receive a new resurrection,
a new resurrected body at the rapture
when Christ comes back, okay?
I mean, Christ has done these things.
He's given himself for us.
And now that Christ has given himself for us,
it says here in verse 126,
that he might sanctify and cleanse it
with the washing of water by the word.
You see, we come to church to hear the word, to be washed.
You know, brethren, the preaching this morning,
it's like a water.
It's meant to clean you.
It's meant to clean me.
It's meant to refine us.
It's meant to make us more holy.
It's meant to cause us to live a life that pleases God,
to offer those sacrifices to God.
That's the purpose of preaching.
You know, God wants us to be cleansed by his word.
Look at verse 127.
That he might present it to himself, a glorious church,
not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing,
but that it should be holy and without blemish.
Reverend, you know what Christ wants to do in this church,
what he wants to do in your life?
He wants to present us.
He wants to present new life at this church to himself.
Christ does a presentation to himself, a glorious church.
Brethren, we are lively stones.
You know, we need to be washed.
Stones get dirty, don't they?
You know, we walk through this world of sin.
We walk through this world of wickedness.
We get our feet dirty as we walk.
We commit sin.
You know, sometimes we go back to our old style of living,
which we know is contrary to God's will.
You know, sometimes we lose the zeal,
the excitement of God and of church.
And you know, we come to church though,
to hear the word, to be washed.
Reverend, the goal is to be a glorious church.
And I'm thankful for you.
I'm so thankful.
I'm so thankful for each one of you.
You know, man, woman, child.
You know, you've been a blessing to me.
You know, I think it's a glorious church.
You know, but I don't know your hearts.
You know, I see your generosity.
I see your love.
I feel it, as I said to you, it's a real blessing.
But then there's weakness in our hearts as well,
aren't there, isn't there?
There's weakness in our minds as well, isn't there?
You know, we think about church sometimes.
We get angry at brother so-and-so.
We get angry at sister so-and-so.
We get frustrated at people
and we forget that we're here to serve one another.
You know, even if someone frustrates you,
you're here to serve them.
You know, we're here to serve one another
as we serve the Lord Jesus Christ.
But God wants us to be a glorious church
without spot, without wrinkle.
You know, one day in your life of this church
is gonna stand before Jesus
and God's going to assess how we did as a church.
He's gonna reward us for the work that we've done.
Yes, one day we're gonna stand before God individually
for what we've done, but also collectively as a church.
And I'm looking forward to that day
that we can stand side by side
and I can say, well, Jesus, here's some of the glory, okay?
Yeah, we mess things up sometimes, Lord,
but you know, ultimately,
our heart's desire was just to serve you.
Our heart's desire was just to make you
the head of this church.
You know, for you to be the rock
in which this church was to be built upon.
Lord, our desire was just to be a lively stone,
to make up the spiritual house,
to be used by the hand of the master,
to be used by the hand of the potter,
to serve you in whatever capacity, Lord,
you have us to meet.
And I want you to be reminded once again of this.
You are the church.
You are gonna be presented one day
before Jesus Christ collectively.
Let's try to get along, right?
I don't wanna be like standing before Jesus
and we're just arguing back and forth
about something that happened five years ago, 10 years ago.
Who cares?
I wanna be a church without sport, without wrinkle.
You know, we're human beings.
We get frustrated at each other.
It happens.
You know, we're not always gonna be best friends,
but brethren, we're gonna be together for all eternity.
All eternity, we're gonna see each other.
You know what?
Even people that came to church and left,
maybe we'll never see them again on this life,
but we're gonna see them in eternity.
And if they were part of that church,
they're gonna be presented as part of that church as well
at some point, okay?
So just remember, we're here to be presented
as a glorious church for Jesus Christ.
We're going to turn to one more passage.
Let's go to Revelation chapter two.
Revelation chapter number two.
You know what, brethren?
I'll change my mind.
Please go to Luke chapter six.
Go to Luke chapter six.
And I'll read to you from Revelation chapter two,
just to make it a little bit quicker.
You go to Luke chapter six.
Now, the book of Revelation was written to seven churches,
seven literal churches at that point in time.
Now, when you think about it historically,
do those churches still exist?
They don't exist anymore.
Now, some people claim, well, this is where they met.
This is the building that they met.
They think that's the church, the building.
I've seen documentaries, right?
This is the Ephesian church,
and they just show you a building.
Where are the people?
Or if it's some other church,
it's some orthodox or Catholic church or something, right?
I don't know.
They'll say, well, this is the church.
But that's not the church,
because they're preaching a false gospel.
That can't be the same church that was being spoken about
in the book of Revelation.
You see, sometimes churches have a lifespan.
You know, it's my goal that this church
will last till Jesus Christ comes back.
But, you know, all I can do is put my best foot forward.
All I can do is try to serve Jesus Christ
for the rest of my life.
I don't know when Jesus Christ is coming back.
He could still be coming back 100 years from now,
1,000 years from now.
We don't know, okay?
You see, new life at the church may not continue forever.
It may not continue forever, okay?
But I'm gonna do the best I can
to make sure it continues as long as it can,
as long as Jesus Christ builds it.
And if Christ is done with that church,
then, you know, he's got other churches
that he's building as well.
Sometimes churches just serve a period of time.
But just because they serve a period of time,
it doesn't mean they were not a church.
It doesn't mean they were not being used by Jesus Christ,
as we can see here in the book of Revelation.
But let me just quickly read to you.
Revelation chapter two, verse one.
Unto the angel the church of Ephesus write,
these things saith he that holdeth the seven stars
in his right hand, who walketh in the midst
of the seven golden candlesticks.
Verse number two.
I know thy works, and thy labor, and thy patience,
and how thou canst not bear them which are evil.
And thou hast tried them which say they are apostles
and are not, and hast found them liars,
and hast borne, and hast patience,
and for my namesake hast labored,
and hast not fainted.
Nevertheless, I have somewhat against thee,
because thou hast left thy first love.
You see, the Ephesian church was doing so well.
They were serving God.
They were doing the works.
And Christ acknowledges those things.
Hey, this part of you is glorious.
But what it says, you've left your first love.
Who's the first love of the church?
Of course, it's the Lord Jesus Christ.
You see, there's a part in this church
that has forgotten to love Christ the way that they should.
It keeps going, verse number five.
Remember, therefore, from whence thou art fallen
and repent and do the first works.
Or else I will come unto thee quickly
and will remove thy candlestick out of his place,
except thou repent.
And then it says this, but this thou hast,
that thou hatest the deeds of Nicolations,
which I also hate.
But then it says this in verse number seven.
He that hath an ear, let him hear
what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
And so even though Christ is speaking
to the Ephesian church, he says,
look, the Holy Spirit is speaking to the churches here.
So what we read about the Ephesian church,
we need to pay attention
and hear what the Spirit of God is saying.
To him that overcometh will I give him
to eat of the tree of life,
which is the midst of the paradise of God.
You see, brethren, we can be busy.
We can be coming to church.
We can be doing works.
But brethren, we can forget the first love.
We can forget Jesus Christ.
Sometimes churches can just be this mechanical thing
that we go through.
We've got our order.
We've got our people.
We do our giving.
We sing praises.
We preach on the Bible.
And things can become quite mechanical
where you forget your love
and your affection toward Jesus.
And when that happens, brethren, what happens?
The first works drop off.
The first works drop.
Say, what are the first works?
I mean, Jesus Christ says,
if you love me, keep my commandments.
The last things that Jesus Christ said
when he went to heaven
was to go ye therefore and teach all nations.
To preach the gospel to every creature.
Brethren, these are the first works.
This is why Christ came, to save souls.
When Christ walked this earth,
when his body was on this earth,
he was saving the lost.
He was saving sinners.
And brethren, we are the body of Christ.
Jesus Christ has left us
to continue doing the work
that he's given us to do.
That's to preach the gospel.
And brethren, if we're not doing the first works,
we don't have the first love, okay?
We're not loving Christ the way that we ought to.
And you know, the warning was
that Christ would remove the candlestick
if this church continued
without doing the first works,
without loving the first love.
And I want us to be aware of this, okay?
I want us to be doing more preaching.
I want us to do more soul winning,
since now that we're here,
and I want to do more events
that we get out there
and preach the gospel to the lost.
Because I don't want Christ
to remove the candlestick earlier
than he needs to, okay?
I want this church to continue
to be in a shining light for Jesus Christ.
All right, let's end there in Luke 6, verse 147.
Luke 6, verse 147.
So Jesus Christ said he's gonna build
his church upon the rock, the rock.
And we've already seen that Jesus Christ is the rock.
All right, I'll quickly read to you
from a quick passage.
It says...
Sorry, brethren, I'm just losing my place there.
All right, let's just read Luke 6, 47.
Jesus Christ says these words.
Whosoever cometh to me,
and heareth my sayings, and doeth them,
I will show you to whom he is like.
He is like a man which built an house,
and digged deep, and laid the foundations on a rock.
And when the flood arose,
the stream beat vehemently upon that house,
and could not shake it,
for it was founded upon a rock.
All right?
But he that heareth, and doeth not,
is like a man that without a foundation
built an house upon the earth,
against which the stream did beat vehemently,
and immediately it fell.
And the ruin of that house was great.
Now, brethren, we already saw
that we are a spiritual house.
We already saw that we're a church.
We already saw that Christ is building this church
upon a rock.
So when we look at this house being built,
a house that is being built that's digging deep,
what is it being built upon?
The foundation on a rock.
What is that rock?
Again, look at verse number 47.
Whosoever cometh to me,
and heareth my sayings, and doeth them,
I will show you to whom he is like.
Brethren, what is this rock?
Of course the rock is Jesus.
Whosoever cometh to me.
All right, that's part one.
We've come to Christ.
We've been saved.
And heareth my sayings.
Yeah, we hear the preaching of God's word.
We read the Bible.
That's part two, okay?
And doeth them.
Brethren, one thing that surprised me
is how little doing we do.
You know, we learn the Bible.
We hear the preaching.
We know what God wants,
but then we don't do it.
We've come to Jesus for salvation.
Praise God.
You've heard the preaching.
Praise God.
Are you doing it or no?
What?
Brethren, if we're gonna build
this church upon a rock,
we have to do what the Bible says.
We have to apply the lessons
the Bible has for us.
It's a long journey.
But you know what?
The more we do,
the greater foundations
that this church has
upon the rock of Jesus Christ,
the more immovable it's going to be,
the more stable, the more strong it's going to be,
that no matter what storms hits this house,
it's not gonna fall over.
We are the church.
Christ is building this church.
But I want you to remember
that as a lively stone,
you have a place,
you have a part to play, okay?
You have a place in this house, okay?
Yes, you're saved.
Praise God.
Yes, you're here in preaching.
Praise God.
Now you've got the rest of your week to live out.
Please live it out in accordance to God's word.
Please do what Christ has asked you to do
because I want this church
and I want your life
to have strong foundations,
foundations upon the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus is the one that builds the church.
All right, brethren, let's pray.