"On This Rock"
Genesis 3:14-15: So the Lord God said to the serpent: 
        “Because you have done this,
        You are cursed more than all cattle,
        And more than every beast of the field;
       On your belly you shall go,
       And you shall eat dust
        All the days of your life.
       And I will put enmity
       Between you and the woman,
       And between your seed and her Seed;
       He shall bruise your head,
        And you shall bruise His heel.”

Revelation 12:1-6: Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars. Then being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth. And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born. She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and His throne. Then the woman fled into the  wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her
there one thousand two hundred and sixty days.
  • Matthew 16:13-17:2: When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”  So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
  • He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
     
     Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
     
     Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.  And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
     
     Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.

  •  From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.
     
     Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!”
     
     But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”

  • Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works. “Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”
     
    Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.
Point 1: Christ's Central Plan is to Build a Church. As Christ draws us to Himself, we become closer to each other. We are called into fellowship with one another. The world cannot imitate a church.

Point 2: Christ Plans to Build His Church on Enemy Occupied Territory. He refers us back to the 'gates of Hell shall ne'er prevail', pointing out that the gates are the center of strategic operations. We must never be surprised when thing go wrong. [We are sinners living in a fallen world.]

Point 3: Christ Builds His Church through Frail Servants.  He can do this because He is the Sovereign Savior. We are stewards even though, "At the end of the day, we are all basket cases."

Point 4: Christ Builds His Church on the Groundplan of His Own Destiny. In other words, on His death on the Cross.



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