Build Church

Pastors are called to many things, but are they ever called to build a church?

In John 21, Jesus fully reconciles Peter to Himself. Jesus forgives him for denying His name three times. He restores Peter with a question, and then asks that question three times. After each answer, Peter is given a very important responsibility.

· Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?
Yes, Lord, You know that I love You.
Feed My lambs.

· Simon, son of John, do you love Me?
Yes, Lord, You know that I love You.
Shepherd My sheep.

· Simon, son of John, do you love Me?
You know everything! You know that I love You.
Feed My sheep.

Jesus calls Peter to shepherd the church, His sheep. He was to care for those who belonged to Jesus. He was to feed and shepherd or tend those who loved Jesus.

Peter was to love the church, just as Jesus loved her. Peter had Jesus’ example to follow, “I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep…I am the Good Shepherd. I know My own sheep and they know me, just as I know the Father and the Father knows Me. I lay down My life for the sheep” (John 10:11, 14-15).

After Jesus commanded Peter to care for the sheep, He told him, “I assure you: When you were young you would tie your belt and walk wherever you wanted. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will tie you and carry you where you do not want to go” (John 21:18). Peter would be martyred for his faith, but not until after he feed the church on Pentecost.

On the day of Pentecost, 3,000 people came to faith. Did Peter build the church that day by preaching an amazing sermon that won the hearts and minds of the people around him? Were all those who were in Jerusalem that day awed by his style, his imagery or his ability to entertain them with his gifted speaking ability? No, he simply was obedient. He fed the sheep by speaking the Words that God put into His heart and mouth.

On that day, Jesus built His church. The Holy Spirit moved in and through Peter that day. The Spirit of God moved the people who became believers in Jesus. Their hearts and minds were changed but not because they were convinced of anything by human strength nor their own strength. They were transformed because God transformed them.

In Matthew 16, Jesus says, “Upon this rock, I will build MY church, and the gates of Hades will not stand against it” (Matt. 16:18). The rock He spoke of was what Peter proclaimed before Jesus said this. When Jesus asked the disciples who they believed He was, Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” Jesus built His church upon Himself. He was and is the Christ, the Son of God, and the gates of hell cannot stand against Him, nor will they stand against His church.

Peter was not called to build the church. He was told to feed and tend for the sheep. The building was left up to Jesus, He sent the very Spirit of God into the world to draw men to Him, and through Him, He built and continues to build His church.

No pastor, no matter how eloquent nor persuasive, can build the true church of God. They might be able to build a multimillion-dollar campus or a mega-member congregation, but they can NEVER build the church. Only Jesus Himself can do that. If they try to build a church, they fail their call, because they can’t build what is not their's to build and if they try, they stop tending their sheep.

Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Psalm 127:1