Revival in the Church

Senior Pastor, Lisa Kai, Inspire Church

Scripture

Matthew 16:18 (NLT)

Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.

Observation

The Greek word used to describe church in Matthew 16:18 is ecclesia, which literally means a “calling out” and originally referred to a civil assembly. Jesus' use of the phrase “my church” referred to an assembly “called” by Him.

Jesus is saying that though He was rejected by the people, arrested, tried and found innocent and then crucified anyway, it would not stop him from building His church. The Jews rejected Christ and crucified Him, but He arose and built His church.

The name “Peter” is of Greek origin and means "stone" or "rock." Peter was also the name of one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ. After Jesus' death, he served as the head of the Apostles and was the first to perform a miracle after Pentecost (Acts 3:1–11).

Application

I was reading one of my devotionals and it said, “A vision without work is just a hallucination.” God had a vision for the Church and in order for this vision to be accomplished, it has to come through HIS people. We all want a revival, and God is calling us to a civil assembly. We cannot STOP meeting together. Revival starts with each one of us making a decision to keep assembling because we are “called” by Jesus.  

We are living out the vision here at Inspire Church, and we will continue to do so as we plant more churches, build more leaders, and help our community through our resources and time. I was called to co-lead with my husband, Mike, and we made a promise to God that we would not stop building HIS church. That’s why we have 4 locations called Inspire Church.

God has called us to build HIS Church, and nothing will stop us from assembling together as a Church.  

Prayer 

Jesus, you have called each of us to build Your Church, and we ask that You remind us to always assemble together to worship, praise, hear Your Word and pray for one another. Help us to be the Church everywhere we go. Let us not forsake assembling together. I pray that You help us to lead by example as Peter did. You called Peter and now You are calling us to build Your Church. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Reflection

Peter had an assignment to build His church, and this same assignment has been given to us. Will you build HIS church?