Upon This Rock Matt. 16:16 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO

When Jesus answered Peter’s confession, he said… upon this rock I will build my church. He wasn’t talking about Peter and the Roman Catholic Church here. He was talking about himself, “the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And that’s because there is not another rock in the universe that can compare with him. Notice from scripture that he is:

Selected – Matt 16:18 – “upon this rock” – the Lord made a specific choice to build his church on one rock, the Lord Jesus Christ – any church that is not built on him will crumble and its members will wind up in hell.

Stalwart – 1 Cor 3:11 – “other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ” – the word stalwart comes from two words – stal (stathol – foundation) and worth (wyrthe – firm) – so stalwart is “strong and well built” – a firm foundation – we sing the hymn, “How Firm a Foundation” – God knows that there is not a firmer foundation upon which to build his church than Jesus Christ.

Superlative – Eph 2:20-22 – “Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone” – too much attention has been given to the men in God’s building [1 Cor 3:4-9] – today they talk about the men behind the big churches more than they talk about the Lord – He is the chief corner stone! It is God who gives the increase.

Spotless – Deut 32:4 – “his work is perfect” he is “a God of truth and without iniquity” – he is the perfect person upon which to build the church because he is the only one in the universe who is perfect and spotless – if it weren’t for his righteousness we could not be saved.

The Source – Deut 32:15, 18 – “the Rock that begat thee” – he is our creator and he is our Saviour – he gave us our temporal life and he gave us our eternal life – all of life comes from him – he that hath the Son hath life.

Spiritual – 1 Cor 10:4 – “that spiritual Rock… that Rock was Christ” – the difficulty for us is that Christ is spiritual – you and I can’t see him – God is a Spirit and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth – yet the blessing is that he is spiritual – so he can do things for us that are impossible with men.

Supernatural – Dan 2:34-35 – “a stone was cut out without hands… a great mountain and filled the whole earth” – right now, the Lord is building his “holy temple” [Eph 2:20-22] supernaturally – you cannot see it yet and yet it is real – it is in the kingdom of God, which is a spiritual kingdom – when Jesus returns he is going to set up his kingdom down here and it will fill the whole earth.

The Subduer – Deut 32:30-31 – “sold his enemies” – when Jesus returns to this earth he is going to vanquish his enemies – there will be one ruler – Zech 14:9 says, “the Lord shall be king overall the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one” – all others will be put down.

Steadfast – Dan 2:44-45 – “a kingdom which shall never be destroyed” – and it shall stand forever – why would God build on any other foundation than Jesus Christ – he is the source of all life – he is the spotless redeemer – he is supernatural and above all the kings of the earth – when he returns he will destroy all of his enemies and he will set up his kingdom that not even the devil can destroy – his kingdom is forever!!

Scorned – Matt 21:42-44 – “the stone which the builders rejected” – the trouble comes when men try to build their own kingdom according to their own desires, their own lusts, their own philosophies and their own designs – they reject Jesus and build without him – well, he is going to become the head of the corner without you and then you will be in trouble (forever).

Stumbling Stone – 1 Pet 2:6-8 – “a stone of stumbling” – when you reject him, you fall – when you disobey the word, you stumble – no matter how you try to avoid him, you cannot get past him – you’ll either receive him and live or you will reject him and fall.

Conclusion: When you reject him you stumble and he will grind you to powder [Matt 21:44] and break you to pieces [Dan 2:44] there’s no getting around that outcome because God has already selected his Rock and there will be no other king or kingdom standing when he returns – he knocks them all down – he is king of the mountain – BUT when you receive him you are Secure – Ps 18:2-3 – “the Lord is my rock… my fortress… my deliverer… my God… my strength… my buckler… my salvation… my high tower” – as much as he is against those that oppose him, he is there for those who obey him – I believe that you should make the same selection that God did and establish your life upon this rock!