"The Church Jesus Built" by Hiram Kemp

When Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples,

who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? And they gave various

answers. Some people thought that Jesus was John the Baptist,

reminded them of Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.

But then Jesus, he posed the question to the disciples more specifically,

and he said, but who do you say that I am? And that's the reading

that Chuck gave us a moment ago. In verse 16, he says, Peter responds,

you're the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus says,

blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. Flesh and blood has

not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I say

also unto you, you're Peter, and on this rock I'll build my

church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.

And I'll give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on

earth would have already been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth would

have already been loosed in heaven. Jesus is asking a question about his identity,

and I think it's important that in this section dealing with Jesus's

identity that Jesus also has some things to say about the church, because people

have always been confused about the identity of Jesus.

But you could say equally, and maybe even more so, people have been confused

about the identity and really the structure of the church.

A lot of people would be surprised to know and to learn that Jesus actually

built a church, and still more people might be confused

and surprised by the components included in the church that Jesus actually

built. And then in Matthew 16, Jesus gives us both.

The term church, or the Greek word ekklesia, at one time was thought by

religious people to be a special word, a compound word. The first part

of this word, ek, meaning out of, and the last part, klaseia, to call.

And for a long time, people said, you know, this word church, this Greek

word ekklesia, it means we're the called-out people of God, the special

people of God. But you start reading Greek literature around

the time of the New Testament and even in the New Testament itself, and what

you find is this word church, this word ekklesia,

it just means assembly. It means group of people. I mean, that's how it's used

even in the New Testament. In places like Acts 19:32 and

Acts 19:32

Acts 19:40, the word church is just used to talk about an assembly,

Acts 19:40

a congregation, or a group of people. When it's used to talk specifically

about people who believe the same things about Jesus Christ, the word church

throughout the New Testament is meant there to specifically deal with people who congregate

and who represent an assembly based on our shared belief on the person

and work of Jesus Christ. So, when you think about the word church,

don't think about a special word or even a special place, a building.

Instead, think about a special people. People and a special family. Titus chapter 2

Titus 2 · chapter mention

and verse 14. When you read the words that Jesus promised to build

his church, don't think of a building or pews or construction.

Instead, think about believers. Think about people. Think about

a community. Because when Jesus is talking about the church, that's exactly what

he means. And Jesus has some things to say about the kind of church

that he would build. And this makes a difference because if Jesus promises

to build a church, then it means we need to be looking for the things

that Jesus says are going to be true about the church that he builds.

And it also means for whatever else we might say, people that don't

have these components, it's not the church that Jesus built and that Jesus assigned.

Jesus promises to build a church, and this morning I want to talk to you

about several of the things that are true about the church that Jesus built.

And here's the first one: the church that Jesus built is owned

by Christ. Maybe you know of people who have this idea that they

love Jesus, but they're not really that concerned about the church, or they really like

Jesus, but not a fan of organized religion. This perspective

fails to account for the fact that Jesus is actually the one that organized

religion. I mean, read his words again. Look at Matthew 16:18,

Matthew 16:18

on this rock I will build my church. Jesus is the

one saying he's going to establish the church. The passage on the screen in Acts

Acts 20 · chapter mention

chapter 20, Paul calls the elders from Ephesus up to the island of Miletus,

and he starts talking to them about their duties and their responsibilities

as elders. And tucked in that passage, he says, I want you to

take heed to yourselves and over all the flock of God,

over which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to feed or shepherd

the church of God, which he purchased with his own blood. He says there

about the church that the church is ultimately— it's owned by Christ.

The church that Jesus built, in that church and over that

church, he is the owner. Maybe you're familiar with

the idea of someone being a squatter. A squatter is somebody that

goes into somebody's dwelling place that's vacant, that's empty, that's been abandoned.

They don't own it, but if they go through the proper legal channels,

they can take up ownership. I mean, if the people that own it leave it

vacant for a long time, if they occupy it for a certain length of time,

pay the property taxes, and then win a lawsuit, a will-settled

silent lawsuit, they can take ownership of the property even though it wasn't theirs

to begin with. And I think sometimes people view the church this

way. It's this idea that, hey, Jesus promised to build a church, but Jesus

is gone. He's ascended into heaven, and now we're like the spiritual squatters. We can

take control and ownership if we start please and do our own thing,

failing to realize that Jesus is the owner of the church and he's ever-present

in our midst. In Matthew 26 and verse 29, he says,

I will drink the fruit of the vine with you new in the church,

or in the kingdom of God. In Hebrews 2 and verse 12, he says,

in the midst of the church, I will sing God's praise along with you.

Jesus is still present and preeminent and practicing ownership over

the church. No spiritual squatters allowed. Sometimes a person

says, you know, God spoke to me and he told me to build this church.

I know that's not true. Jesus never told anybody to build a church because

that's his job. 1 Corinthians 3:11 says,

1 Corinthians 3:11

other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, which is

Jesus Christ. Appreciate that Jesus doesn't just

introduce the idea of a church, he promised to build one

specifically himself. And so what this means is

the church at its heart doesn't belong to any preacher, any pastors,

any popes, or any people. Jesus is the Chief

Shepherd, 1 Peter 5:4. Anybody that has any authority

1 Peter 5:4

in the church, whether it be elders or deacons or preachers, it's all delegated

authority that ultimately belongs to Jesus. It means the church is not

just another religious organization in the world among the many because its founder

is not just another religious leader in the world among many. Muhammad taught the

5 Pillars and Buddha spoke of enlightenment. Confucius pointed

to the way, but Jesus, he pointed to himself. He says, I'm the way,

the truth, and the life, and no man comes to the Father but by me,

John 14:6. And the church that Jesus built,

John 14:6

he's supremely the owner and the head over the church. Colossians 1:18

Colossians 1:18

says Jesus is the head of the church. He's the firstborn, that in all

things he might be preeminent. And I don't

think it's overstating it to say that at this point, with Jesus being the owner

of the church, literally changes everything about how we should be viewing church,

how we should be viewing this new kind of assembly that Jesus promised to build.

Think about this. Maybe you've had somebody do this for you before. Maybe somebody's house

sat for you before. Maybe you've been a house sitter and you know how this

works. If you house sit for somebody else, it's your responsibility to go into their

home and really to look after it in their absence, look after the

home and any pets that they might have. As a house sitter, you do not

have permission to do any home renovations. You can't

start pulling down family photos that you don't think they smiled just right in.

You don't get to pull up carpet. You can't throw a house party or forbid

anybody entrance into the house that the owners previously said could

come in. It's not your house. In fact, house sitters are not even

chosen for their taste. They're chosen for their trust. And if you were

to do that and then the homeowners were to come back, they would look at

you like you were crazy and say something along the lines of What have you

done to my house? I left you here to look after it and to care

for it, but not to wreck it and to ruin it. And listen,

that's us in the church that belongs to Jesus Christ. We can't just start

practicing spiritual renovations, getting rid of whatever doctrines we don't like,

pulling down practices and teachings that just don't suit us,

just doing our own thing. Jesus does not need our creativity.

He wants our compliance. Luke 6:46,

Luke 6:46

he says, why do you call me Lord, Lord, but then fail to do the

things that I say? If we do our own thing in his church, he'll come

back with disappointment and rebuke and look at us and say, what have you done

to my house? I left you here to build it up and

to do your part to maintain it, but not to renovate it and to ruin

it. Because the church is owned by Christ, and so that means in the church

we should do only that which is authorized by Scripture, so that when

Jesus comes back, the church looks like it's his house and not as

if we've kicked him out and made it our own, because it doesn't belong to

us. The church is owned by Christ. Here's the second thing: the church that

Jesus built is loving. Sometimes a

person visits a church, visits a congregation like this one, and when they leave,

they'll say, oh, those people are so nice, they were so loving. And sometimes

it's said almost in a sense of like surprise or almost

astonishment. Hey, I went to a church and people were actually nice and kind to

me. That should never be the case, because in the church that Jesus built,

love isn't a plus, it's a must. Listen to John 13:34-35.

John 13:34–35

Jesus says, a new commandment I give to you, that you love

one another as I've loved you, that you also practice love toward one another.

By this will all people know you're my disciples, if you have love

one toward another. In the church that Jesus built, he expects his disciples

to be loving. And if Jesus says something one time in Scripture,

that ought to be enough to arrest our attention. But on this point,

Jesus returns to it so often and so regularly that it needs

to be a high priority in the minds of all of those that would be

a part of this new family. This new assembly which Jesus promised to build on

earth. Before he went back to the Father in John 15:12,

John 15:12

he says, I give you a new command to love one another just

like I've loved you. In John 15:17, he says,

John 15:17

I've given you these commands so that you can love one another.

Peter was present when he said that, and evidently he was listening closely

because later on in 1 Peter 2:17, Peter will say, honor all men and

1 Peter 2:17

love the brotherhood. And these words had such an impression on John that in

just about everything that the Apostle John wrote, his response was love

one another. 2 John verse 5, love one another because he loved us first.

1 John 4 and verse 19. The church Jesus built is loving,

but this ultimately springs out of the love that we've received from God.

You see, 1 John 4 and verse 8 says that God is love.

He's modeled it for us, and then we practice it. And it's

at this point that maybe some people, depending on your experience, start pushing

back and start saying things to themselves internally or even

out loud like, no, not— no, not so. I've been to churches, and Hiram,

let me tell you something. Christians, religious people, have been

the most hypocritical, judgmental, harsh, and unloving

toward me. I know you say that Jesus built a loving church, but I'm telling

you, I've been around religious people and that's not the case.

A few years ago, there was this post going around on social media. You could

call it a meme, but it was more like a post where This is how

it was described. I don't know, I believe it was fictional, but it was described

this way. A person went into a church. They were late.

They were a little awkward when they got there, and even their phone went off

during the service. They were a little fidgety, and the summation of it was they

were treated poorly as a result. This same person went

later into a bar, and they were late, and they were fidgety,

and their phone went off. The same, same thing across the board. And the

whole point of this post was they were treated better in the bar than in

the church. Listen, I haven't been to many bars, but I've been to churches,

and I'm telling you, that's a misrepresentation of the facts.

I hate that that's been some people's experience, but I'm telling you,

the Bible says the church that Jesus built is loving. And no,

this isn't a commercial to apologize for all the wrongs that religious

people down through history have done, but it does serve as a corrective

where we get it in our minds that there are no righteous people actually

trying to do the right thing. And doing their best. Acts 2:47 says that

Acts 2:47

in the first century, the early church had the favor of all the people.

And there's a sense in which that can still be true today because the church

that Jesus built, it's loving. It serves to correct our

notions that sometimes think to ourselves the most loving people in the world that will

accept you without judgment and receive you as you are are the people that are

furthest away from God, when the Bible actually says that the church Jesus built will

hold you closest because they're the closest people to God.

Ephesians 5:1-2 says, dearly beloved, follow after

Ephesians 5:1–2

Christ as dear children who loved us and gave himself as a sacrifice

for us. The church that Jesus built is loving. And I know all

about church hurt. I've read the books, the blogs, the articles, and let me

say, church hurt is a real thing. It is.

But so is church help. And we ought to make church help more

popular than church hurt, because the Bible says the church

Jesus built is loving. But in order to do this, in order

to see church help as more powerful and more prominent and more of the

norm than church hurt, you're gonna have to get off social media, and you'll have

to get off the blogs, and you'll have to get off the internet. And when

you want to see church help, you're gonna have to go into some hospital rooms.

You'll have to go into some waiting rooms. You have to go into some living

rooms and some nursing homes to see the church at her actual

best doing the exact things that God says that she should.

I'm sorry for religious people that sometimes claim to do things in the name of

Jesus, but they fall short. But that's no reflection on God, on love,

or the church. Maybe they've fallen short, or maybe they're not the people of God

at all, though they may claim to be. But the church Jesus built, by its

very nature, is loving. In what ways? It's a place where you can confess your

sins and your wrongdoing and be forgiven, James 5:16. It's a

James 5:16

place where other people will sing the truth of God to your heart to encourage

you, to admonish you, and to build you up, Colossians 3:16.

Colossians 3:16

It's where your joys become the joys of others as if it was theirs,

and your sorrow becomes their sorrow, Romans 12:15.

Romans 12:15

It's where people put your needs above their own as we in honor prefer

one another, Romans 12:9-10. And it's where people will lovingly correct

Romans 12:9–10

you even where you're wrong, Hebrews 12:7-11. Because that's

Hebrews 12:7–11

the way Jesus built his church. Somebody says, come on, Hiram, keep it real.

You know the church doesn't always perform like they should. This is as real as

you can keep it. The church is not just loving. So far as the New

Testament is concerned, the church introduced love into the world. In a

society where nobody was concerned with the nobodies, the have-nots,

the losers, and the failures, Jesus taught his disciples,

love your enemies, do good to those who mistreat you,

pray for those who despitefully use you and persecute you. Luke 6:27-28.

Luke 6:27–28

Love covers a multitude of sins. 1 John 4:8.

1 John 4:8

The church Jesus built, the one he built, the assembly of his people is

dominated by love. But here's number 3, the church Jesus built is

spiritual. Turn your Bible to 1 Peter chapter 2.

1 Peter 2 · chapter mention

In 1 Peter 2, Peter says some things about the people of God that I

think are helpful, and it'll shape the way we ultimately view the church. Because if

you want your physical person fed, you should go to a restaurant.

If you want to be amused and entertained, you should go to

an amusement park. If you're interested in knowledge and learning,

you should take a seminar or a class. But if you want the inner person

to be fed and to be motivated in the right way,

the church is interested in the spiritual aspect of who you are.

Notice what Peter says in 1 Peter 2:5. He says that the

1 Peter 2:5

church is to engage in this idea of spiritual sacrifices.

He says we're to offer up spiritual sacrifices because we're the spiritual

people of God. In 1 Peter 2:9, he says you're a holy nation.

1 Peter 2:9

He says you're a holy race, a chosen race, a new priesthood. In verse 9,

it's our responsibility to offer up God's praise and excellencies because

he's called us out of darkness and into his marvelous light. Everything that

Peter says in 1 Peter 2:5-9 says the focus of the church primarily

1 Peter 2:5–9

and above all else is to be engaged in spiritual endeavors.

This means that the church is primarily concerned about building up the

inner person and the inner man. And it's good to be honest about

this up front because some people— sometimes people come to church and

they're disappointed, they're disenchanted, and they say things like, you know, church just

really isn't for me. I went, I didn't have any fun. I wasn't

entertained. And to be sure, the church does physical things.

The church even has fun, but the primary focus of the church

that Jesus built is to build up the inner person,

the glorification of God, to cultivate and develop holiness. That's why

Paul can say in 1 Corinthians 10:31, whether you eat or drink, whatever you

1 Corinthians 10:31

do, do it all to the glory of God, because the church is interested in

the spiritual person, the inner man. And so you should expect

to come to a building like this, an assembly of God's people, and hear about

your sin, the things that you're doing that are not in line with God's Word,

because the Holy Spirit through Scripture is trying to attack our sins

to shape us into the people that we're supposed to be. Romans 3:9-23.

Romans 3:9–23

You should hear about your salvation and what Jesus has provided as

he came into the world to save sinners. 1 Timothy 1:15.

1 Timothy 1:15

You should expect to hear about sanctification and that God expects you to grow

in godliness and have your mind shaped by Scripture and be renewed in the

spirit of your mind. Ephesians 4:23. Because the church that Jesus

Ephesians 4:23

built at its core And at its heart, it's spiritual.

And we need to appreciate this. I mean, people that are members of the church,

we need to realize that we are distinct on purpose. To ask

the church to cave to the age and to the current culture is like asking

the cure to cultivate and to cave into the disease.

We're supposed to be the solution for the world's ills. When you come into the

church, God has structured his family in such a way that you will finally

say to yourself when you enter it, This is the ache that

I could never soothe. This is the itch that I could never scratch because it

was more than skin deep. Everything else in my life is designed to amuse me,

to entertain me, and to distract me. But when I come among the people of

God, hear God's Word preached, sing these songs about

the things that ultimately matter most, it's here that I can finally be

made whole. That's why Paul says to have your mind transformed,

Romans 12:2. Because the church that Jesus built is

Romans 12:2

spiritual. Here's number 4: the church Jesus

built is singular. In Ephesians chapter 1,

Ephesians 1 · chapter mention

Paul describes the body of Christ as the church and the church as

his body, and metaphorically he says that Jesus is the head of the church,

Ephesians 1:22-23. The whole thrust of this is,

Ephesians 1:22–23

is stressing our interconnectedness to Jesus. We're tied to Jesus in

an inseparable way. But then in Ephesians 4:4, Paul says, there is one

Ephesians 4:4

body. According to Paul, there's one church. That means there's one assembly,

one group of people that are pleasing to God in all the world. That's what

Jesus built. That's what he promised to do. And the church that Jesus built,

it's singular in nature. There aren't many. Paul says there's one.

Denominationalism was never a part of God's plan.

Different groups with different practices and different styles and different doctrines,

was never a part of what Jesus wanted. In fact, Jesus prayed against

it. In John 17:20-21, Jesus was praying

John 17:20–21

for the people that would believe in him. That's you and me, based on the

apostles' teaching. And he says, neither do I pray for these alone, but for

those also who will believe in me through their word, that they might all be

united as one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they

also might be one in us, that the world might believe that you sent me.

That's why throughout the New Testament you read these passages of there being one body

and one church. Listen, it wasn't about denominationalism primarily. A lot of

times the New Testament is saying, hey, you guys, Jews and Gentiles,

male and female, slave and free, you've got to get on the same page and

squash your differences because there's nowhere else to go. Denominationalism in

the New Testament wasn't just unauthorized, it was unthinkable.

Nobody would have thought in the first century that they could do church better

than Jesus. They wouldn't dare start their own. And so Paul regularly appeals

in Philippians 2:2, be of one mind, be together.

Philippians 2:2

Ephesians 4:2-3, he says, in all lowliness

Ephesians 4:2–3

and meekness and longsuffering, bear with each other in love.

Keep the unity of the Spirit together in the bond of peace. You know why?

Because the church Jesus built is singular. This doesn't

mean everybody in the world has to be in one building together. It's sort of

like, just think about the US Postal Service. Nationwide entity found

throughout the world. Everywhere you find this though, they're practicing the same thing.

They have the same purpose. They have the same mission, the same goal.

One postal service throughout the nation in various places,

all united in purpose. Singular entity. Think about Waffle

House. Everywhere you go, it's the same. If you get outside of one, you're going

to see the shoebox-type structure building. You go inside,

there's the low-profile counter seating, the open grill

concept, and the jukebox. Everywhere you go, that's Waffle House.

It doesn't matter where you go. They're in different locations, different managers,

different people, same building.

Dollar General. Listen, you could be in the middle of the Sahara Desert, and you

know what you'll find out there? You will find a Dollar General. And guess what's

gonna happen when you go inside? It's gonna be the same everywhere you go.

Listen, when you think about the unity of the church and the singular nature,

we do not mean same building, same pews,

same construction. What we mean is same beliefs,

same doctrine, same practice. 1 Corinthians 15:1-4,

1 Corinthians 15:1–4

Paul says, we believe these things about Jesus's death, his burial,

and his resurrection. The church continued steadfastly

in the apostles' doctrine, the fellowship, the breaking of bread, and the prayers,

Acts 2:42. And wherever you go, if a group of people is of Christ,

Acts 2:42

or belongs to Jesus, it'll be the same thing. The church is singular.

That means wherever you go, if you were to ask a group of people that

claim to be a part of the assembly of Jesus, hey, how do I become

a Christian? In every place, the answer should be the same in its totality.

Believe that Jesus is the Son of God, turn away from your sins,

and be baptized to have your sins washed away. Don't get creative.

Don't say anything different because that's exactly what the New Testament says.

What about how we're going to worship God and what God wants us to do

in moments like this when we're gathering in worship? So many people think we've got

options and there's contemporary and there's traditional. Paul would say,

no, there's just scriptural. Do it in spirit and in truth,

just like the New Testament says. The church is singular, meaning it's going

to hold fast and firm to the gospel and the doctrine as it was given,

2 Timothy 1:13. The church Jesus

2 Timothy 1:13

built is singular. This means Jesus did not ascend

back into heaven and leave 100 different styles of churches, to confuse us and

overwhelm us so we could try to figure out which one is right. Neither did

he give us all of these different flavors of Christianity so that we could just

kind of feed our egos, which was our problem to begin with, and pick

the one that actually suits us the best. No, Jesus says, you're sinners,

I love you enough to save you, and I also love you enough to create

the family of God so it's the same everywhere with every person. And when

you put your faith and trust in me I'll place you in it, and everybody

in the world can be a part of it. The church Jesus built is singular.

Here's number 5: the church Jesus built is eternal.

This goes in 2 different directions. The New Testament says that the church was

in the mind of God before the creation of the world. In Ephesians 3:9-11,

Ephesians 3:9–11

Paul actually says the church is a part of the eternal purpose of God,

which he purposed in Christ Jesus. That means before Genesis chapter

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

1, or before anything was anything, God already had it in

his mind, I'm going to build the church. But this also goes forward because in

Daniel 2:44, there's a prophecy. And in this prophecy,

Daniel 2:44

Daniel talks about a kingdom that was one day going to be built and it

was going to crush and consume all other kingdoms. And that is the kingdom

of Jesus Christ. In Matthew 16, Chuck read that passage in

verse 19, Jesus uses church and kingdom interchangeably.

And the kingdom of Jesus Christ, it's going to stand forever. It's eternal.

It's never going to leave. It's always going to be present because the

church Jesus built is here to stay. Sometimes you go into an

establishment and you'll see on this— on the wall, maybe there's a sign

of some sort that says, we've been in business since, and you'll see the date.

That date is designed to say to people that come in, we've been around a

long time, we know exactly what we're doing, and we're not going anywhere.

Jesus promised to build an assembly, a group of people that would be based on

their belief and faith in him. And when somebody comes in and says, how long

have you guys been at this? Don't think about the Cumberland Trace Church of Christ,

and don't think about 2 years ago. Jesus says, you've got to go back further

than that, and you've got to go back even further than Acts chapter 2,

Acts 2 · chapter mention

and then you've got to go forward into eternity. How long has the church

been at what she's been doing? As far as God's concerned, the church

is eternal. It's always been in his mind. In Acts chapter 2,

Acts 2 · chapter mention

it came into physical realization, and it'll always be here. For eternity,

and it's not going anywhere. And here's the 6th and final thing: the church that

Jesus built is inviting. At the very end of the New Testament in

Revelation 22, John says, the Spirit and

the bride say, come. And let the one who hears come. And let those that

are thirsty come and take of the waters of life and drink freely.

John echoes a passage from Isaiah 55:1, this prophetic

Isaiah 55:1

picture of God offering salvation, which is described as water.

And he's saying that it's free. Really, it costs you nothing because it's by God's

grace through faith, Ephesians 2:8-9, and it's offered to

Ephesians 2:8–9

everybody in the world. The call of the New Testament is whosoever will,

let them come, Acts 2:21. Whosoever calls on the name of

Acts 2:21

the Lord will be saved, Romans 10:13. The church is inviting. The last

Romans 10:13

passage about the church in the New Testament, Revelation 22:17,

Revelation 22:17

has the church and the Holy Spirit singing a duet together

to the whole world saying, everybody in the world is invited.

Jesus wanted to impress this point on people so strongly that in

his earthly ministry he once told a parable and he says, the kingdom of heaven

is like this. It's like a great party and God's the one throwing this

banquet. And he sent people out into the world to call in all the crippled,

the lame, the blind, and the poor to take part in this banquet.

And they go out and do it and they come back and they say,

It's still not full and it hasn't reached capacity. He sends servants

back out and he says, you go into the alleyways, you go into the streets,

and you find the worst and the most broken and beat-down people you can find,

and you bring them into my house because I want it full to its capacity.

And I'm not done yet. Luke 14:22-25.

Luke 14:22–25

The church that Jesus built, it's inviting. What does that mean?

It means you're supposed to be here. It means

everybody in the world is on heaven's most wanted list, and God expects—

he demands your presence here. He wants you to RSVP for the kingdom,

not just for a Sunday worship service, but to literally be

a part of his family. But the church is inviting, and so that

also means scoot over, scooch down, move over,

because more people are coming. It means that we haven't reached

capacity, not this congregation and not the kingdom of God throughout the world, because the

church is still echoing this call from Revelation 22:17.

Revelation 22:17

The Spirit and the bride of Jesus Christ, which is the church,

says, come, and whosoever will— this literally means anybody.

You don't know anybody who's off limits because

the church Jesus built is for everybody. No wonder the sinners and the tax collectors

flocked to him in his earthly ministry, because as far as he's concerned, that's exactly

who he came for. And he came for me. And he came for you.

When we think about Jesus building the church, it would be a misunderstanding

to think about hammers and nails and Jesus pulling permits. That's not what he did.

The word church, it just means assembly. It's a group of people that believe in

Jesus as the Son of God who faithfully responded to the gospel, and now they're

part of this new kind of community that God has in the world. It's owned

by Jesus, but it's open to everybody. Jesus became

owner of the church when he died on the cross and purchased

it with his own blood. It's not ours. We don't get to spruce it up,

make renovations, or change anything, but we do get to be a part of it

and to the best of our ability invite everybody into the world to do

the very same thing. That's what we mean at the end of sermons here at

the Cumberland Trace Church of Christ when we say heaven's invitation is open. It's not

ours. It's God offering anybody and everybody an opportunity

to be a part of the new kind of community that he's placed into the

world to permeate all of creation and change things as they were always

designed to be. If you believe that Jesus is the Son

of God and you want to turn away from your sins, Acts chapter 2 and

Acts 2 · chapter mention

verse 38 says you can be baptized to have your sins washed away,

rise in newness of life, and God will add you to the church and

you'll be a part of his family. And then you go from the invited to

the one doing the inviting. Mike's going to lead us in a song to encourage

us. If you need to accept that invitation, Or if we can pray with you

or pray for you or help you in any way, let us know how we

can do it as together we stand and as we sing.