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Grace Emmanuel Church
Pastor Sam Chess
Are you a reed or a rock?
A big rough man sat next to
a huge pile of fish nets. The sun was just rising in the east and
glancing off the waters of the Sea of Galilee. All night long the
man and his helpers had been out on the Sea holding their torches
out over the water looking for the flicking of fish tails that
marked the presence of bait fish. Time and again the men had pitched
huge nets over the side of the boat. Their net was 160 feet long and
one side was lined with lead sinkers. Many times they had circled
with their net closer and closer and in anticipation pulled up the
net only to find a few small useless fish. Then they had snagged
that crazy shoal and now the man was wasting good fishing time
mending a long tear in the net.
The big man was tired and
dirty…the smell of fish was all over him….sometimes he despised this
tiresome existence. He sat for several hours among the nets waiting for
his partner…his brother… to return with some bread and cheese for
breakfast.
“Simon!”…it was his brother
returning in the distance. “Come here! I want you to meet a man I just
met. Simon didn’t jump and run….Simon Peter didn’t jump and run for
anybody…ever! He was one of 330 boat owners on the Sea of Galilee…
uneducated in schools, but thoroughly educated by life experiences.
He worked in partnership with
his brother Andrew and two other tough guys…James and John… the Sons of
Thunder! Nobody messed with their fishing spots. Jesus the man he was
about to meet would one day say of him:
(John 21:18) "Most assuredly,
I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked
where you wished… (NKJV)
That probably could be said of
some of us here today. But for Simon that was another day, but on this
day:
(John 1:40-42) One of the two
who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's
brother. He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, "We
have found the Messiah" (which is translated, the Christ). And he
brought him to Jesus. Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, "You are
Simon (a reed) the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas/Petros"
(which is translated, A Stone). (NKJV)
Peter is a perfect example in
Scripture of God taking a virtually useless, wishy washy,
self-centered, big mouth, arrogant sinner who had little about him that
would affect the world and turning into a rock, a pillar of society, a
pillar of faith.
I’ve been talking to all of us
this year so far about “Developing your Faith”
Not making 2005 an encore of
2004, or any other year. Last week I ask you questions like these:
What if, at the end of the
year, you looked back and discovered that instead of just making
through another one.. Your life actually contributed to the
transformation of dozens of others lives toward God and godliness.
What if your words were packed
with a potency that was beyond your own intellect.
What if your actions, instead
of producing negative reactions, would cause people to long to have
whatever it is that you have?
Peter’s encounter with Jesus
that day eventually changed everything about him.
1) Jesus said Peter would move
from reed to rock
2) Eventually he would be
listed as one of the pillars of the early church
The apostle Paul would say of
him:
(Galatians 2:9) James, Peter
and John, those reputed to be pillars, gave me and Barnabas the
right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me… (NIV)
(How would you like someone to describe you like that?)
3) One day Peter would write 1
Peter 2:5 about each of us:
(1 Peter 2:5) you also, like
living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy
priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through
Jesus Christ. (NIV)
Peter failed over and over
like we do, but kept forging ahead through it all until he
actually began to look like the name Jesus had
given him.
But this sermon is not for
Peter’s sake…he’s dead… This sermon is for you and about you… So let me
ask you directly the question we are exploring about Peter:
Are you a reed or a rock?
Are you a Pillar?
If people were to describe you
what words would they use?
We all spend time trying to
position ourselves in the minds of people around us. Most people slowly
form an opinion about our spiritual potency, or lack thereof, based on
what they actually see.
I. Anatomy of a Pillar
A) Spiritual Pillars ( I want
to show you one of my favorite passages)
(Revelation 3:12-13) "He who
overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he
shall go out no more. And I will write on him the name of My God and
the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out
of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name. "He who has
an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."' (NKJV)
B) Pillar characteristics (Why
would God use a term like “pillar” to describe Peter, James, and John?)
Let me give you some
suggestions: A pillar:
1) Supports the weight of what
it is holding up (does that describe you?)
2) Permanent.. remains where
it is placed
3) disconnected pillars have
no strength in themselves (showrooom)
3) multiple pillars multiply
strength
4) a dislodged or crumbling
pillar multiples weakness
II. Ingredients for Spiritual
Pillar-hood
A) Ingredient#1- Foundational
Faith
1) Embracing all Christ is,
trusting in Jesus
2) Faith in who He is, what He
has done, and what He’s going to do in you!
3) Overcoming Faith
(1 John 5:4-5) For whatever is
born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has
overcome the world--our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but
he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? (NKJV)
If you have not embraced the
source of change you have no
So, who is a candidate to
become a pillar like Jesus described?
The New Birth forms within us
the Holy DNA to turn us into pillars.
The seed of eternal life which
brings new birth, makes you a new creation in Christ Jesus, fills you
with the fruit of the Spirit in embryo form, holds within it the holy
DNA needed to grow us into Christ-likness and pillars.
B) Ingredient #2 Christ’s
Creative Creation
1) I will make him a
pillar
a) It requires an obedient
response on our part
b) The Power and Process of
pillar making belong to God
(Philippians 2:13) for it is
God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. (NKJV)
2) I will
make
A) God is not shaping
something that is already present
B) God is bringing into
existence what is non-existent!
3) I will make…. and
keep on making… ( Until the project is done…)
I will take the raw material
of your life and shape it. If you fear something is lacking that will
keep me from finishing …don’t worry… I can create things that are
non-existent.
I have the power if you have
the availability!!!
C) Ingredient #3 Supernatural
Strength
1) Pillars provide strong
support- other things lean on them to find strength
a) father/mother
b) wife/husband
c) spiritual leader
d) Godly friend
2) Pillars ain’t ugly…..
Strong is Beautiful
Did you ever wonder why people
don’t just let a pillar do it’s job? Something about the integrity of a
pillar speaks to us….
We respond by beautifying the
pillar.
That’s just what God does to
us:
(Isaiah 61:3) ….to bestow on
them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of
mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They
will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the
display of his splendor.
God can take your rubble and
make you a beautiful strong support
D) Ingredient #4 Settled
Stability
I will make him a pillar
in the sanctuary of my God.
The Central chamber where
God’s presence dwells….
He shall go outside no more!
End of unpredictable behavior
End of vacillation and
undependability
End of foot dragging
stubborness
Won’t wonder in and out of my
will
III. Personal Pillar Promises
A) I will write on him God’s
name-
Property of God
B) I will write on him God’s
city
Heavenly destination
C) I will write on him my new
Name-
Godly character
Power train by King of Kings
Transformed by the Redeemer of
the whole Earth New creation by the original Creator of the Universe
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