September 3, 2023 —
Since we are sinners by nature with worldly desires, the church “we want” according to our weak flesh is one in which there are no demands, where everything goes our way, and where life is easy and prosperous.
But that’s not what Jesus promises us. Nor is that the kind of Church God Wants. When Jesus asked the disciples who they believed He was, Peter gave such a great confession. “You are the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.”
But then Jesus began explaining more fully what it meant to actually be the Christ. He would have to go to Jerusalem to suffer and die for the sins of the world. Then Peter wasn’t so sure. He told Jesus “This will never happen to you.” Peter didn’t get it. He didn’t believe that suffering led to salvation. He wanted an easy church.
Jesus told Peter that not only would He have to suffer, but that even His followers would have to bear crosses on their way to glory. That’s the way it is for true Christians in God’s true church—The Church God Wants.
The Church God Wants:
· A Church for All People
· A Church That Really Knows Jesus
· A Church That Takes Up Its Crosses
· A Church Willing to Say Hard Things
· A Church That’s Quick to Forgive