KEY SCRIPTURE: Matthew 16:18-19 “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. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven”.

We continue with our Lord’s statement to the disciples about the church.

We now look at the third point, which is the warfare and the victory of the church. He said, “and the gates of hell shall not prevail against the church”.

Please note the following about the church. The church presently consists of all believers in our Lord Jesus who are alive and those who are dead and have gone to heaven. (Hebrews 12:23, Ephesians 3:15). All the Christians or saints in heaven are called the church triumphant, and those living on the earth presently are called the church militant. This implies that the church is a militant group warring to establish the purpose of God on the earth. The purpose of God is shown in Acts 26:18: “To open their eyes and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith, that is in me”. This message was given by our Lord Jesus to Paul, yet it applies to us, too. This is God’s purpose for every Christian. We are at war against Satan and his agents for the souls of men. Please, our main warfare is not to secure our comfort, but mainly to set men free. In doing this, God secures our comfort, blessing, and prosperity. Matthew 6:33.

The Lord said the gates of hell shall not prevail against the church. Gates always symbolize the security of anything. Once the gates are possessed, you have no defense.  Gates are therefore secured with the best security. The gates of hell in our context are the forces of darkness that will stand to oppose us in setting their captives free.

Ephesians 6:12 declares, For we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (This kind of conflict is mainly to sway us off our feet, either to minimise our impact or defeat us).

These beings also form the gates of hell. The Lord says they shall never prevail against us.

 Dear child of God, is there any condition defeating you? Please understand that the divine verdict has been established that these beings shall not overcome the church. Don’t let them overcome you.

Maintain your ground and refuse to be defeated.

 CONFESSION

The church of God is engaged in warfare. A warfare for the souls of men. I have enlisted in this army to seek the salvation and deliverance of humanity from this bondage of hell. I will depopulate hell to populate heaven. Amen

FURTHER STUDIES.

Isaiah 54:17 “No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.”

2 Corinthians 4:4 “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them”.

Prayer Point:  I command every power of demons of hell, holding anyone under my sphere of influence to be broken in Jesus’ name.

KEY SCRIPTURE: Matthew 16:18-19” 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. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven”.

The Lord Jesus said in our key scripture that He would build His church. The church is owned by the Lord. It is His very temple and body as well. 1st Corinthians 3:16, 1st Corinthians 12:27)

No one must claim any particular congregation is His. Some general overseers speak and say this church or congregation is mine. Please, no one must claim ownership of any church. Jesus is the sole owner of every Christian organization. All leaders are stewards of His church. Everybody would give an account to Him on that great judgement day. 2nd Corinth. 5:10

Jesus is the builder and the founder of the church. He gave birth to the church after His death and resurrection. (John 20:22-23). He is the teacher of His church. Jesus said in Matthew 4:19 that “…follow me and I will make you fishers of men”. The Lord reveals the task and one main function of the church. It is to be fishers of men. Setting men free from the clutches of sin and satanic bondage. The Lord says we must follow him. The Lord is described as the author and finisher of our faith. (Hebrews 12:2).

The Lord Jesus is the life of the church. (Galatians. 2:20, Col. 3:4). The church or Christians are physical representatives of the Lord Jesus. (Acts 9:4). The Christian is also one with the Spirit of Jesus (1st Corinthians 6:17). The church, in actual fact, is Christ who has built himself into us. The Bible says this is a mystery. Col.1:27 put it this way: “To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory”.

When the Lord declared that he would build His church, He was going to build His very nature, life, power, and glory into the church. The church is a mighty force on the earth. The Lord also shows this building process in Ephesians. 4:11-13. Ephesians. 4:13 shows the Lord’s vision for the church, and it is “Till we all come in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ”.

Jesus has made us like himself and seeks for us to measure up to the full stature of Jesus Christ Himself. No Christian organization must project any other person except our Lord Jesus Christ.

CONFESSION

The Lord Jesus is the builder of His church. He is the life, the author, and finisher of the faith of the church. Jesus holds preeminence in all things.

FURTHER STUDIES:

Ephesians 4:11-12 ” And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:”

Hebrews 12:2 “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God”.

KEY SCRIPTURE: Matthew 16:18-19 ” 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.

And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven”.

Our Lord Jesus Christ makes mention of the word church in our key scripture for the first time in the New Testament. The word “church” is the Greek word ‘Ekklesia’. This word is a joining of two Greek words,’  ‘ek’, which means ‘out of’, or ‘from’, and the other word is ‘kaleo’ and it means to ‘call’. The meaning of the word church is ‘the called-out ones. You have been called out of the world to project the purpose of God on the earth.

From our key scripture, the Lord Jesus made the following points about the church. These thoughts are drawn from our key scriptures. They reveal the church as a supernatural building in which God dwells to be a representative of His presence, power, and works on the earth.

The following are the revelations He made about the church

1. The foundation upon which the church would be built and the materials for the building.

2. Who is the builder of the church?

3. The warfare and victory of the church

4. The authority of the church and application of this authority.

We look at each point in detail:

1. The foundation upon which the church would be built and the materials for the building.

Matthew 16:18a “And I say also unto thee that thou art Peter and upon this rock…”

The Lord said, You are Peter; Peter is the Greek word ‘Petros’, which is a stone’ he continued and said, “upon this rock”. The word rock used in this subject is the Greek word “Petra”. This is a bigger rock or rocky ground. This implies the rock on which he would build the church is not Petros, which means Peter, but Petra, which is a large stone or a rocky ground. Jesus himself is the foundation upon which the church is built. 1st Corinthians 3:11 “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Our Lord Jesus is also the Chief Cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20). As the foundation of the church, it means nothing can ever shake us. ( Some people erroneously claim Peter is the foundation on which the church was built: Well, the above clarification corrects that mistake

The strength of every structure is its foundation. The church is built on an indestructible foundation. The Lord describes this foundational stone in Matthew 21:44 that anything that comes against it shall break up, but if this stone comes against anything, that thing would grind into powder.

 Dear child of God, as a member of God’s church, never consider any condition or situation as impossible to be defeated.

   CONFESSION

The church of God on the earth has the most secure foundation. Nothing can shake it. Nothing can overcome it. Victory is the constant experience of the church.

FURTHER STUDIES:

Matthew 21:44” And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder”.

Ephesians 2:20” And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone;”

 Prayer Point:  In the name of Jesus, I have an indestructible foundation, and nothing can overcome it.

KEY SCRIPTURE: Mark 4:24 “And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given”.

We would look at the last part of our verse of discussion, Mark 4:24, which reads “and unto you that hear shall more be given”.

God acts on His words. Where there is no word of God, there is no substance for the Spirit of God to work with.

 Galatians 3:5 shows us how God works miracles:” He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?”.  The phrase “the hearing of faith”, means “the hearing that produces faith”. The presence of God’s word in you always gives birth to faith.

The scripture said, “and unto you that hear shall more be given”. Every man who hears has the word in him. The word in you would produce your miracle

Now, the real challenge is how to keep the word in you. Satan’s attacks against the Christian are to prevent him from keeping the word in his heart. When the Lord Jesus was explaining the meaning of the parable of the Sower, he said about the seeds that fell on the stony grounds this way, ” And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended”. (Mark 4:17) The affliction came because of the word in him. Now, to be ‘offended’ means to give up on the word. Don’t give up on the word. One major reason for Satan’s attacks is to get you to give up on the word from your heart.

You can’t be denied your miracle so long as you have the word in your heart. Remember, it is the ground with the planted seeds that would germinate and bear fruit.  Stop giving attention to the problem. Focus on the word, and your miracle would not be denied.

 If you have the word in you, then you will surely receive your miracle.

Every pregnant mother rejoices to see her baby because the pregnancy means she will have her baby. You are pregnant with your miracle when the word is in your heart.

  CONFESSION

God’s word in me is the seed for my miracles. I always focus on the word, which gives birth to my miracles.

 FURTHER STUDIES.

Hebrews 4:12, “for the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart”.

Isaiah 55:3” Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David”.

KEY SCRIPTURE: Mark 4:24 ” And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given”.

We continue with our discussion on Mark 4:24 as we consider the statement “…. with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you….”  We learned that this statement means that God responds to us according to our response to what He has said to us.

One way to respond positively to God is to believe what He has said and then to confess what He has said (2nd Corinthians 4:14, Romans 10:9 & 10). According to Hebrews 13:5-6,” Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.  So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me”. God has given us His word so we could speak in agreement with what He has said.

 He has said. In Joshua 1:8, He says we must keep the word of God in our mouth day and night. Confessing God’s word has a way of placing the word in our hearts as well as assisting us to do what the word says. One of the responses God expects us to give his word is to say what the word says and to do as He has said.

Our next response to God’s word that allows God to also meet us is to give praise and glory to Him for what He has said to us. This is seen in the experience of Abraham in Rom 4:19:” He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God”. He did not complain but counted God faithful by glorifying Him for what He had done. No matter what may be going on around, don’t stop praising God for what he has said to you.

The next response to give to God’s word is to be at rest about what God has said. Hebrews 4:9-10 ” There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.

For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his”. Anxiety about any situation shows no confidence in what God has said. We express our confidence in Him when we are at rest about what the Lord has said.

God has assured us that whosoever responds positively to what He has said will always receive a corresponding response from Him. Please do what the word says, as it is shown in our study for today, and you will always have a testimony to the glory of God.

 CONFESSION

God is not a man to lie, He has always done what He has said. I respond positively to His word and, therefore, always have a testimony to His glory.

FURTHER STUDIES

Hebrews 4:2-3 ” For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, as I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world”.

Romans 4:21-22 ” And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness”.

KEY SCRIPTURE: Mark 4:24” And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given”.

In our study for today, we will look at the second aspect of the verse, Mark 4:24. This says, “With what measure you mete, it shall be measured back to you”.

This statement means that you receive from the word according to your response to the word. God’s word is the same for everyone. It is how each person responds to the word that matters.

In the parable of the Sower, various hearts or people gave different responses. Mark 4:14-20. Some did not bear any fruit at all. Others bore some fruit, but in different quantities. Mark 4:20” And these are they which are sown in good ground, such as hear the word and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixtyfold, and some an hundred”.

Why did some bear more fruit than the others? The answer is that they responded differently. The Lord gave us some clues in Matthew 12:35 as to how this happens. He said, “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things; and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things”. He said your products or produce depend on how you treasure the word. Treasuring the word involves giving the word the attention and allowing it to dominate you fully.

 One’s ability to bear fruit depends on how much he keeps the word in his heart. James 1:25 also had this to say. “But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed”. This man continues to look at the word, keeps it in his heart, and acts on what he is looking at. Beloved, getting results from God’s word is not God’s responsibility, it is our effort and commitment.

The book of Proverbs 4:20-22 says the same thing: “My son attend to my words, incline thine ears unto my sayings, let them not depart from thy eyes, keep them in the midst of thine heart for they are life unto those that find them and medicine to all their flesh”.

For the word to give you good results, you must work at it.

CONFESSION

God’s word is an incorruptible seed with every ability to produce whatever it says. I give it all the needed attention and do what it says. In this way, the word always produces in me whatever it says.

FURTHER STUDIES.

Joshua 1:8 “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shall meditate therein day and night, that thou may observe to do according to all that is written therein. Then thou shall make thy way prosperous and have good success”.

Psalm 1:2-3

[2]But his delight and desire are in the law of the Lord, and on His law (the precepts, the instructions, the teachings of God) he habitually meditates (ponders and studies) by day and by night.  [3]And he shall be like a tree firmly planted [and tended] by the streams of water, ready to bring forth its fruit in its season; its leaf also shall not fade or wither; and everything he does shall prosper [and come to maturity].