In Enemy Territory!

A couple of months ago president George W. Bush came here to Milwaukee. He was going to make major speech about a new national energy policy, and he chose a factory in Milwaukee to do the unveiling. The factory is a multi-million dollar facility designed to research, design and produce the next generation of batteries for the electric cars of the future.

Leaders generally like to choose an appropriate location to give new direction or to cast a new vision of the future. Politicians will often choose sights like the Grand Canyon to talk about pollution problems, or a college setting to discuss education. A business leader whose company is in a financial tail spin would probably NOT choose to hold a meeting about trimming costs and controlling expenses at some expensive resort in Hawaii.

Jesus had an important announcement to make to His followers. It was going to set the tone for their work long after He was gone, and the setting needed to fit the occasion. So Jesus took the disciples out of the familiar world of Galilee and Judea and into an unsettling world just across the border - into pagan territory.

He took them to the capital of the Roman province in Judea, the seat of the governors or procurators that ruled their land, and the headquarters of the Roman troops. He took them from Israel, the land of God’s chosen people, and away from Jerusalem, the Holy City of David, to Caesarea Philippi, which was the heart of the kind of pagan worship God had always condemned.

As Jesus stood there, He was surrounded by numerous idols and pagans that populated the region (there were 14 temples to Baal, one to Caesar and a nearby cave was rumored to have been the birth place of the Greek God of Fear: Pan – from whom we get our modern word “panic.”)

This is was unsettling atmosphere for “good” religious Jews, for this was indeed the gateway to Hell, the center in their region, of evil. Embodied in all those idols and temples was the power of paganism, the wickedness of ungodliness, the dominion of Satan himself. It was a scary place for good Jewish men to be. And it’s here that Jesus takes His disciples to prepare them mentally for the fight that will lay ahead of them. It was here, in Caesarea Philippi, that Jesus first announced His plan for the future – the great unveiling of His plan for the salvation of the world, the establishing and advancing of His Kingdom – the church.

The Scripture that we are going to focus on today is found in the biography of Jesus written by Matthew, in chapter 16, and verse 19. For some of you it might be a familiar verse – but let’s read the context together, starting with verse 13.

13When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" 14They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets." 15"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" 16Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

17Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. 18And 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. 19I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."

Now there’s a lot here we could talk about – we could focus on Jesus question – “Who do YOU say that I am?” We could talk about Jesus statement that the truth is revealed by the Father in heaven, we don’t come up with it ourselves. We could talk about the rock that the church is built upon. But today I want us to look at the big picture – the whole reason Jesus led his disciples to this foreign city in enemy territory in the first place. He brought them there to introduce a new initiative – to launch a brand new concept on the earth - the church.

He said, “I will build my church, and the gates of Hell will not overcome it.”

This statement represents the first time the word “church” is used in the entire Bible. The Greek word is ekklasia, a compound word from ek, which means “out of,” or “from the source,” and kaleo, which means “to call.” This new word to the ears of the disciples literally means “those called out.” It refers to an assembly of citizens, summoned together.[i] “Church,” as used in the Bible, never refers to a building – it refers to people – it refers to a group of people, an assembly of citizens of the Kingdom of God, gathered together in community.

Jesus tells us two fundamental truths in this sentence that we need to understand and cling to.

Notice that Jesus did not say, “When I’m gone, I’m leaving this task with you – you must build a community of believers who will worship me, support one another, spread the good news, and serve as light in a dark world.” I, for one, am glad He did not say that! Instead, He said, “I am going to build my church…” Far too often, we as church members, church leaders and pastors forget that who it is that is building the church.

I’ve been the pastor at Gateway Community Church in Mayville for nearly 11 years. In those 130 months we have seen some amazing things happen, as I’m sure you have. God has done wonderful things – miraculous things – over the years. But you know what? I have to confess something to you – it wasn’t until about 18 months ago that I honestly and completely believed that it was Christ who was building His church, and not me. I know how arrogant that sounds, and it shames me to say it, but I used to say to myself, and others used to confirm it, “Brother, if you leave, this place will be gone in 6 months!”

Now that’s just plain wrong in a number of ways – first of all it’s completely unfair to me and my family – I don’t need that kind of weight on my shoulders, and they don’t need to see me carrying that kind of weight. But when I tell myself that it’s all about me – or when I believe it when others say it – the weight of the success or failure sits squarely on me. That’s not only unfair; it’s arrogant and foolish!

It’s also a setup for failure – because I am human and I am going to fail – and if the church is being built by me – then it’s going to fail right along with me. That’s true of every human – including the one to whom Jesus said these words. Think about it for a minute – if Jesus was going to pick a human being to be responsible for building His church – who would it have been – even from the disciples?

Ø Maybe Matthew – after all, as a former tax collector, he had a business background, and knew how to get money from people.

Ø Maybe John – he was known as “the disciple Jesus loved,” and he was always talking about loving one another. He would have been great for building fellowship in the church.

Ø Or Judas – after all, he was a real go-getter – a zealot for the faith, ready to take on the enemy full force with enthusiasm – if you’re going to build a kingdom, you need guys like Judas at the lead.

Peter! He was perhaps the LEAST likely one of the 12 to lead the church! He was always stepping in it, and then putting his foot in his mouth! Saying the wrong thing at the wrong time – just look at the next paragraph in your Bibles – Matthew 16:21-23. Jesus begins to share with the 12 that He is going to Jerusalem to suffer and die at the hands of the Jewish leaders. Peter pulled Him aside and said, “Never, Lord! This shall never happen to you!” And Jesus said, “Out of my sight, Satan!”

And later, after the crucifixion and resurrection, He made it clear that this same Peter was to lead the way.

My point is this: even the best church leader – Peter, Paul, Barnabus, Timothy, and every pastor to follow them - is human, and is going to mess it up – that’s why it is paramount that we remember that those leaders are NOT the ones building the church – Jesus is building His church – we are all just here to do our part - to be faithful.

In the past 18 months I have learned to know my place – I’m just along for the ride. I have my responsibilities – I have been called, gifted and positioned to fill a role in the church – but so has everyone other person in the church – and Paul makes it clear that the church succeeds when “each one does their part.” Gateway Community Church is not about Bob. This church is not about Pastor Lamar and Denise. It’s about Christ! It’s about Him building His church according to His design and according to His will.

Now here’s where that setting comes into play. Why did Jesus take His disciples to Caesarea Philippi for this unveiling? If He’s was going to lay out His plan for expanding His kingdom, wouldn’t Jerusalem have been the ideal place for that teaching? Why choose a pagan, Roman, enemy city? Because building the church is all about warfare!

Jesus brought the disciples to this great walled city, to the center of the evil empire in their region, to make the point that He was going to build His church, and He was going to do so right in the face of the enemy! It meant war, conflict, struggle, and pain. Right there at the place where the Greeks paid homage to the god of fear, Jesus said, “I am declaring war on the kingdom of Hell!”

I remember when Ronald Regan went to Berlin in the late 1980’s. He had been challenging the Soviet Union for years – His entire political career had been spent fighting against the communist system, that oppressed the week and restricted liberty. He went to Berlin, the city that most physically demonstrated the oppression of Eastern Europe under communism. The city was divided in half – a wall had been built to imprison the people of East Berlin. Ronald Regan went to that wall. He stood at the Brandenburg Gate where the divide was shown by a white line across the road. He stood there, looking across to the people on the other side – he waved to some of the guards who had loaded rifles in their hands. Then he raise his left leg, and defiantly stamped his foot on the other side of the line.

When Jesus took His disciples to Caesarea Philippi, He was defiantly stepping across the line – laying down the challenge to the enemy – “I am going to build my church, I’m going to build it in enemy territory, and the kingdom of Hell will not overcome it!”

But He also chose that site because His disciples needed to know what they were getting into. This is a battle – it is war.

Jesus did not take His disciples to Jerusalem where they would feel safe and protected in the shadow of the temple – He took them to the stronghold of the enemy, where they could not ignore the presence and power of the enemy they faced.

Jesus’ statement “the gateway of hell will not overcome it” implies that there would be conflict and struggle along the way – wrapped up in that statement is an assumption that the kingdom of hell will be “confronting and assaulting” the church every step of the way.[ii]

In any war, there are casualties, struggles, confusion and fear. Sometimes there are deep wounds along the way – but we must trust in our leader – the one who is building the church – you remember who that is, right? It’s not me. It’s not Pastor Lamar. It’s Jesus. This week, in my personal reading, I was in the Gospel of Mark, the tenth chapter. I read this verse,

[The disciples] were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and [they] were astonished, while those who followed were afraid. (Mark 10:32)

Jesus had been telling them that He was going to Jerusalem, and that He was going to be accused, arrested, beaten and crucified – and the disciples were terrified. Sometimes following Jesus is like that. We are headed into known enemy territory, we know it’s going to get ugly, but we must keep following.

Jesus never said building a church was easy – or even pleasant. In fact, He warned His disciples, “In this world you will have trouble, but do not be discouraged, for I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) If we forget that life is supposed to be hard, we do ourselves a great disservice. We set ourselves up for disappointment with God, assuming that He owes us good times, easy paths and prosperity. The truth is quite the opposite – in this world we will have trouble, but this world is not the end.

The last few months have been troublesome for some of us – some here today are wounded, confused struggling or afraid. Sometimes it’s not hard to believe that we are in a war zone. Record murder rates, corruption in government, unrest in every corner of the world, churches split by schism and false doctrine. Welcome to the war! Welcome to the battle! When the disciples were feeling afraid, they followed all the closer to Jesus. We must do the same.

When I was last here, I challenged the men of the church to rise up and be the warrior leaders that God has created and called us to be. Today I issue a call to the entire church – to rise to the challenge of the war that rages all around us. This challenge is not new to our generation – the church was birthed in enemy territory, and has been in a constant state of war from the day of that birth. Our challenge is to be faithful in doing our duty, and to remember that struggle is the norm, not the exception. When we are in battle, we are where we are supposed to be!

Winston Churchill is one of my favorites historical figures because he embodied what it means to be resilient. His career was filled with reverses and failures, both professional and personal. He led the British in a seemingly hopeless stand against the German war machine in World War II. He was one who knew what it meant to stand firm against overwhelming odds. Late in life, He was invited to give a commencement speech at his Alma Mater. Here are the words he closed it with:

Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never--in nothing, great or small, large or petty--never give in, except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.

When we are tempted to yield to the seemingly overwhelming might of our enemy, remember that Jesus chose an enemy stronghold for the unveiling of the church for a reason – it is, and will be until He returns, a battle to be waged, a war to be won.

Lord Jesus, from the midst of the battle we call out to You. The war rages around us - there have been casualties, there are deep wounds. Some are tempted to give up and run, others are simply battle weary.

Yet from the shadow of the fortress of the enemy we hear your words of promise, “I will build my church, and the gates of Hell will not overcome it.” We embrace that promise; we cling to Your leadership. Guide your church, lead these people, bind up their wounds, and accomplish Your purposes in their midst. Advance your kingdom in Milwaukee, in Mayville, throughout Wisconsin, the United States and around the world. May Your kingdom come, and Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. We pray this in the name of our Leader, our Lord, and our Savior, Jesus Christ. AMEN.

[i] Marvin Vincent. Word Studies in the New Testament. Eerdman’s Publishing, 1973. Pg 93.

[ii] Ibid.