Hitting the Reset Button on God's Church / Message #3

October 21, 2012

Series: Hitting the Reset Button on God's Church

Message #3: The Non-Negotiables For a Christ-Centered Life

Matthew 16:13-28; Acts 2:42-47

Scott Howard

"When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"  They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."  "But what about you?" he asked, "Who do you say I am?"  Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.  And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it."   --Matthew 16:13-18

Ø  Four Non-Negotiables for the Christian

1.  We must Know Jesus intimately.

· Who we say Jesus is will determine everything about How we follow Him. 

Would you say He was just a good man, or that He is the Saviour of the world

Our goal is not great faith; our goal is a little bit of faith in a Great God!  We only need a little bit of faith because our God is Great already---it isn't our faith that makes God great.

2.  We must Trust Him Completely.

"And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved." ---Acts 2:47b

· The church's Arhitect is Jesus

· Christ builds the church by His Grace (the one who gives the grace always gets the Glory)

· Christ builds the church through His people, because...

· We belong to Him!

He build's the church by His grace, through His people, because we are His.  Jesus identifies us has his own, and that's how we can trust Him.  The following passage shows how even though Saul was persecuting the people of the new church, Jesus is saying that to persecute His people is to persecute Him.

"Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples.  He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way (the Church), whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.  As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.  He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, 'Saul, Saul, why to you persecute me?'  'Who are you, Lord?' Saul asked.  'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,' he replied."   ---Acts 9:1-5

3.  We must Proclaim Him Boldly.

· The Rock of the church are the people of God (like Peter) Proclaiming the person of Christ.  In the first passage above, Jesus told Peter that it was God the Father revealing the knowledge that He was the Christ.  This bold step of faith to Proclaim Jesus as Christ is what Jesus builds His church upon. 

4.  We must Obey Him sacrificially.

· Our sacrifice leads to His Glory

· His Glory leads to our satisfaction

· so ultimately, our sacrifice leads to our satisfaction

*Bottom line:  It's not about YOU--- It's about Christ & His Kingdom---His Glory should be our aim in every aspect of our lives.

"...All things were created by Him and for Him."  --Colossians 1:16b