The document discusses identifying the church that Jesus built. It notes that Jesus said he would build his church, but that people were not satisfied and made their own changes, resulting in many different churches today. To identify the true church, one must find it where the Bible says it began - in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost after Jesus' death and resurrection, when the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles and 3000 souls were added to the church. Any church that began elsewhere or differently cannot be the church Jesus actually built.

1. Jesus said,
(Matt. 16: 18)."Upon this rock I will build My church" The
subject of the church is as old as the teaching of the Lord
Jesus and His apostles. But, as was true when God gave
laws and rules to Israel, they were not satisfied. Israel
wanted change, and they got it -- to their own loss. The
same thing happened with the church which Jesus built.
People were not satisfied with the simplicity of His plan, so
they "improved" on it. Again, their "improvements" didn't
help. The result is untold numbers of "churches" in this
country alone, and all of them claiming to follow Christ.

2. With so many churches, how can we
identify the church that Jesus built? Or,
does it even exist? If one believes the Bible
at all, he must recognize that "the seed" of
the kingdom (Lk. 8:11) is the Word of God.
And, where that seed is planted in good
and honest hearts, the result is always
going to be the same. "The church of the
Lord which He purchased with His own
blood" (Acts 20:28).

3.  David wrote of Jerusalem, (Psa. 48:12,13) "Walk
about Zion, and go around about her; Number the
towers thereof; Mark ye well her bulwarks; Consider
her palaces: That ye may tell it to the generation
following". And when God gave the plans to
Moses for the tabernacle, He intended that those
plans be followed: (Heb. 8:5) "Even as Moses is
warned of God when he is about to make the
tabernacle: for, See, saith He, that thou make all
things according to the pattern that was showed
thee in the mount". Let's find, then, those
identifying marks of the Lord's church.

4. The Authority In The Church
 Jesus said it plainly, "All authority hath been given unto Me
in heaven and on earth" (Matt. 28:18)
 Jesus is Lord, only He has the right to command and make
plans for His church.
 He is the Foundation of the church, as Paul wrote, (1 Cor.
3:11). "Other foundation can no man lay than that which is
laid, which is Jesus Christ"
 According to prophecy, that church was to begin in
Jerusalem, "in the last days" (Isa. 2:2,3), during the
days of the Roman kings (Dan. 2:44).

5. Just before His departure to go back
to the Father in heaven
 Jesus told the apostles, (Lk. 24:46-49)"Thus it is written,
that the Christ should suffer, and rise again from the dead
the third day; and that repentance and remission of sins
should be preached in His name unto all the nations,
beginning from Jerusalem. Ye are witnesses of these
things. And behold, I send forth the promise of My Father
upon you; but tarry ye in the city, until ye be clothed with
power form on high".
 Christ had promised the Holy Spirit to the apostles, (Jno.
14;26)"He will bring to your remembrance all things that I
said unto you", "He will guide you into all the truth" (Jno.
16:13).

6.  He further said, (Acts 1:8"Ye shall receive power when
the Holy Spirit comes upon you").
 The Scriptures are "inspired of God" (2 Tim. 3:16), and
thus, as Paul writes: (1 Thes. 2:13)"When ye received
from us the Word of the message, even the Word of
God, ye accepted it not as the word of men, but, as it is
in truth, the Word of God, which also worketh in you
that believe".
 That Word given to the apostles by the Holy Spirit is
"the Word of God." The church of the Lord accepts
that Word as God's Word, and thus it is THE authority
in all things religious.

7. The Beginning Of The Church
 As Jesus had told them, the apostles were in Jerusalem, waiting
for "the power" to come upon them. It came: "And when the day
of Pentecost was now come, they were all together in one
place...And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to
speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance" (Acts
2:1-4)
 They preached the death and resurrection of Jesus, and that He
is the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies (Acts 2:22-35).
Then Peter said, "Let all the house of Israel know assuredly that
God hath made Him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus Whom ye
have crucified" (Acts 2:36). The Scripture then says, "Now when
they heard (this) they were pricked in their heart, and said unto
Peter and the rest of the apostles, Brethren, what shall we do?
And Peter said unto them, Repent ye, and be baptized every one
of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your
sins" (Acts 2:37,38).

8.  The result: "They then that received his word
were baptized; and there were added (unto
them) in that day about three thousand souls"
(vs. 41).
 Added to what? "The Lord added to the
church daily such as were being saved"(vs.
47). That church which Jesus had promised
to build had now become a reality, as people
were saved and added to it by the Lord
Himself.

9. WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?
 It is really simple:
 Any church that began in some other place, in some
other time or in some other way, by someone other
than Christ Himself, cannot be the church which Jesus
built. The church of the Lord began in Jerusalem on
the first Pentecost after the death and resurrection of
Jesus. If it didn't begin in Jerusalem "in the last days"
the last dispensation of time, (Acts 2:16), on that
particular day of Pentecost, it isn't the right church.

10. Understanding
 To have a worship acceptable to God, that worship
must be “authorized.” Matthew 15:8-9. Any group
claiming to be a “church” without His approval render
their worship useless (vain). He said “I” will build “my”
“church”. Acts 2:47 those who believed and were
baptized were “added to His church, His Body. Eph
1:22-23; Eph 5:23. Scriptures are clear, not every one
who says Lord Lord will enter into the kingdom of
heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father which
is in heaven. Matthew 7:21