Day 276
Matthew 16:18
"And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."
In response to Jesus' question about who his disciples thought he was, Peter declared that Jesus was the anointed Son of God. Jesus responded by telling him that his answer was revealed to him by God the Father. He went on to say that the revelation Peter received would be the foundation stone for His church. He said, "Upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."
If Jesus is the Anointed One (Christ), the son of God, then His instructions to the church are of utmost importance to its success. As long as we follow Him, we will be invincible. Jesus speaks to us through His Word and by the Holy Spirit. We must follow His instructions carefully, because only He can build His church. He is the Anointed One, the Son of God. The foundation has been laid, and it is up to Him to build the rest.
Throughout history, since the beginning of the church of Jesus Christ, the gates of hell have endeavored to prevail against it. Through persecution, Satan has attempted to destroy the church, but he has not been successful. He has attacked the church with apathy, corruption and unbelief. But God has always had a people who will not compromise or water down their faith, and the church has survived. From time to time, moves of God stir up those who are asleep spiritually and gather in those who would be saved. The church continues to march on. Jesus said he would build His church, and he has never failed.
It is up to us to choose to be on the winning side. The "look alike church" that does its own thing and finds ways to appease the world and compromise with them will not succeed. It will either fade away or lose its identity completely. Only those who will follow Jesus all the way will be a part of the church He talked about in Matthew 16:18. It is important that we flow with our Lord and Master so we can march forward confidently. We must not go about building what we think is good, no matter how full of good works or how spiritual it seems to be. The good things we do are not necessarily the "God" things to do. A great plan is not necessarily the right plan. Jesus promised that only what He builds will be invincible to the gates of hell.
I will stay tuned to my Lord and Master to hear and follow His instructions. As He leads me, I will follow. The gates of hell will not prevail against me.