Welcome to this edition of PowerPoint with Jack Graham. A little later in the program, we'll tell you how you can get a copy of Dr. Graham's book, Diamonds in the Dark. But first, here's the message, The Rock, Part 2. Take your Bibles and turn with me to John's Gospel chapter 1.
Verse 40. One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew. Simon Peter's brother. And he first found his own brother Simon and said to him, We have found the Messiah. which means Christ.
And he brought him to Jesus. And Jesus looked. At him. And the words looked at him there means that he looked not only just at him, but right through him. Can you imagine seeing the eyes of Christ piercing you through?
He looked right at him, and he looked on the inside. He saw his heart. And he said, so you are Simon, the son of John. You shall be called Cephas. Which means Peter.
So now he had two names. Simon Peter.
Now he was a follower of Christ. He could never have imagined where this call would take him. But God did some incredible things in this big fisherman's. Life. And I want to remind you that whoever you are, and whatever you do.
You will find Satisfaction and fulfillment. If you will simply do what this man, Simon Peter, did. when he began to follow Christ.
Now you gotta love Simon Peter. He must be the patron saint of so many of us because he was a kind of larger-than-life personality. A leader? He's always mentioned among the leadership of the band of believers known as the disciples. He was an extrovert.
He was bold, confident. courageous But he was also a classically human personality. Because you see, his boldness sometimes became... Brashness. and arrogance.
There were times when he was willing to take on the world for Christ. He was so courageous and so committed, and yet. There was a time when he denied the Lord three times and failed the Lord so miserably as a coward. He often spoke up. When others were silent, he was the one willing to go online.
What he believed about Jesus, and yet at other times, he said some of the dumbest things. There were times he over-promised and under-delivered, but Jesus saw something in this man. He saw his potential. He saw him not for what he was, but for what he could become. He saw the promise.
This man's life. Because Jesus looked beyond the surface. All the roughness and the rawness of this man's life. And he saw a heart. that could be shaped.
as a follower of Christ. And when we come to faith in Jesus Christ, he assures us that he is beginning to do a brand new work in us and he will complete it unto the day of Jesus Christ. Jesus looks at you, sir. Jesus looks at you, lady. And he sees you as you are, but he also sees you for what you can become.
One of the things that I want to mention in this message is That Jesus is so majestic and so powerful and so great. That he has compelled men. through the centuries to follow him. And yet I think we've come through a time and a season in the church. At large, I'm talking about now, in which we have so often feminized the Christian faith.
We're told that 60% of church attenders in America today are women, so the men are falling behind. And there are a lot of guys They seem to think, well, this following Jesus, this church thing, that's for women and kids, and that's great for the little lady. That's great for mom. But I'm a man's man. I don't have time.
for this church stuff.
Well, Simon Peter was a man's man. But he became God's man. And you will never be more of a man than when you lay down your life as a man and begin to follow Jesus Christ. And you can be strong like Simon Peter. You could be a man who Is given and prone to some mistakes in life, and yet be powerfully used of God.
Simon Peter was a man's man, the big fisherman, but he followed Christ and he became God's man. He was destined For greatness and destined for glory. You see, it's not how the world sees you, it's how Jesus sees you that matters. The world may look at you and say, you aren't good enough. You're not strong enough.
You're not big enough. and maybe you feel obscure and insignificant. But God sees you in a different way. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians chapter 1 that We are to consider our calling: that not many of you were wise according to worldly standards. Not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth, but God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise.
God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong.
Now, of course, Simon Peter knew that there was something so strong, but something so supernatural about Jesus. The Holy Spirit taught him this. In John 6, 68, When many were leaving Christ, Christ, because it was becoming demanding and difficult to follow him. Jesus looked at His men and said will you also go away? Simon Peter spoke up and said, Lord, to whom should we go?
You had the words of eternal life. And on another occasion, Jesus said, Who do men say that the Son of Man is? And it was Simon Peter. Who spoke up and said, you are the Christ. The Son of the Living God.
On another occasion, after a miracle, They caught so many fish at the command of Christ. that the boat couldn't contain them. Simon had been arguing with Jesus a bit about how to catch fish. They weren't catching anything, so Jesus said, Throw the nets on the other side of the boat. Simon Peter says, Something like this.
Look, you're a preacher, you do the preaching, I'll do the fishing. But then he said, Nevertheless, Lord, at your will. And so he did it anyway, even though he didn't believe. And when he did, they caught so many fish. That the net was breaking.
Jesus told him to throw the nets on the other side of the boat. He threw one net. and as a result nearly sunk the whole ship. Had just obeyed Jesus and set out many nets, as Jesus said, they would have had the problem that they had.
So when Simon Peter saw this miracle, when he saw his own failure in the presence of Christ, he says in Luke chapter 5 and verse 8 that he fell down at Jesus' knees and said, Depart from me, oh God, for I am a sinful man. He saw the greatness of Jesus. In seeing the greatness and the glory of Jesus, he was so humble and he was so broken by his own sinful behavior and bad attitude. Ultimately, he saw the risen Christ. And even though he had failed the Lord and denied him three times, Jesus went to him and personally restored him.
And he found after he met the risen Savior, he found a great purpose and passion for his life. You know, every person on earth, including you and me, especially you and me, we need to discover why God put us on earth. Why are you here? And that is to live a life of significance. And a life of significance is to know and to do.
the will of God. That's significance. And that's why Simon Peter, who could have spent the rest of his days in a lucrative fishing business along the Sea of Galilee. made some money, fed his family. and then die.
and no one would have ever heard of him. But when he began to follow Christ, everything changed. when he began to do the will of God for his life. The ordinary was transformed. to the extraordinary.
There are more recorded conversations. between Jesus and Simon Peter than any individual in all the gospel accounts. Jesus spent a lot of time. And Not only was he compelling him and calling him as he does us, but he was constructing him in this call. He was making him like the master sculptor.
Knocking off an edge here. and rounding out A hard attitude over there. You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message, The Rock. Part 2. If you're walking through a tough season, Diamonds in the Dark is a message you need to hear.
In this honest and hope-filled book, Dr. Graham shows you how God uses grief, Loss and hardship to reveal spiritual treasures you'd never discover otherwise. We want to send you Diamonds in the Dark as a thanks for your gift of $10 or more. Call now to request your copy. Call 1-800-795-4627.
That's 1-800-895-557-575. 795. 4627 or text the word DIAMOND to 59789. Don't let stress rob you of peace. It is possible to break the destructive grip of stress on your life and enjoy the peace and abundance God desires for you.
That's what Dr. Graham helps you do in his booklet, Breaking Free from Stress. We'll send you a digital download of Breaking Free from Stress when you sign up for email updates from PowerPoint today. Just go to PowerPoint.org slash stress and sign up today.
Now let's get back to today's message, The Rock, Part 2. Did a little reading on one of the legendary coaches by the name of John Wooten, UCLA legendary coach. He began coaching the Bruins at age 37, which was 1948. If you're a basketball fan, you know about John Wood and how many. national championships, record wins.
But what you may not know that It took him until age 53 to win a national championship.
So that's 16 years. He lost in the first round of the playoffs in 1950, 52, 56. And it was a big struggle for him to find success. Yet he was motivated by a saying that he heard and he put it as a sign in his office that was there, which says, It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. What John Wooden did is he was trying to be the best basketball coach for his team that he could be.
He began taking extra classes in psychology and people management. He decided that he would get some new assistants that weren't just yes men who said yes, yes, yes to everything he said, but men who knew the game and who would be willing to even argue with him in order to get the best result. He even, it is said, courted conflict among the players at times. If they didn't like something, he wanted them to speak up. He asked other coaches outside his own team, other coaches from other universities and colleges to scout his team.
He meticulously began to study practice records. He re-evaluated everything. Including how f. to run practice, how he would evaluate his players. And his signal thing was play to your potential.
That's what Jesus Did with Simon Peter, and that's what he's calling us to do: to play to our potential. In order for us to do that, we have to know that We don't know it all. Even if we're a adept at what we think we know like Simon Peter. The great fisherman We get to the point where we say, Lord, I don't know anything. You know everything.
That's when God can begin to use us. You know, in the Bible, there are. Many Call stories. When people were called to do something great for God. Most often, the people that God called and used were people that were unknown, living in obscurity.
That were overwhelmed by the sense of call and destiny that God. placed upon their lines. For example, Moses. Living on the back side of the desert. God called him.
Moses figured God was finished with him. He had failed as a prince in Egypt. He'd been on the backside of this desert for 40 years, and God called him out of obscurity to save a nation. Or David. A shepherd boy.
Passed over by his own father in the prophets when looking for a king. And yet God saw his heart, or Gideon. The least of the least. of his family. A real nobody.
who became a general. and God's army had won a great victory. For the Lord or Nehemiah. who was a cupbearer to the king and God raised him up. To rebuild the walls, or Esther.
A Jewish woman in the harem of a Persian king. And yet God called her and said, through his prophet. And her friend Mordecai, her... Uncle Mordecai. Who knows but that thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?
Or Mary. A young teenage girl in Nazareth. Who became the mother of the Messiah or Simon Peter? A fisherman from Galilee. Or me.
Are you? Any of us. You see, there are people that Are too big for God to use in their own minds. But there's no person too small or too obscure. or too insignificant.
for God to use. The most improbable people are called of God.
So, this call is the call to a person, it's the call to a passion, it's the call to a purpose, it's a call to fulfill. your potential. It begins when we humble ourselves before God. You say, Lord, I will follow you. Billy Graham was asked When you stand before God after Your lifetime of preaching to millions of people and seeing all of these conversions.
What are you going to say to God? What's the first thing you're going to say to God? And Billy Graham said, Why me? Why me? A tall, lakey.
Country boy from North Carolina. God used to shake the world with the gospel. We stand before God, that's what all of us should say. Lord, Why me? Thank you, Lord, for using me.
Every person is unique. Why owe you, Meek? Created and made and constructed by God. to do something great. For him.
Here's the key. to God's call in your life as we wrap this up. Never say no to God's call. Always say yes to what he's calling you to do. There's never been a time in my life Since I said Yes, Lord, to his call that I have not felt called to do what I do.
Not a time. It hasn't always been easy. It's mostly enjoyable. There have been a few days when it hasn't been enjoyable, but it has always been fulfilling and satisfying for me.
So, when you say yes to the will of God, when Christ calls you and compels you to come and follow Him, to do whatever you do, I'm not saying leave your business behind as Simon Peter did.
Some of you need to stay in your business and follow the call of God there. Most of you need to do that. We don't need necessarily more preachers. We need more reachers. People in the business community who are called of God to stay there and to stand strong for Christ.
Who no longer live for self or their own pleasure, but live for the smile of God. The story of Eric Lettel. the great runner, the Olympian champion of yesteryear. He was a strong Christian. He later died on the mission field, but he was an Olympic hero.
And his sister once asked him, Eric, why do you run? And he said, because when I run, I feel God's pleasure.
So whatever you do. Are you listening to me? Whatever you do in life as a career, You should do it. for God's smile. to feel God's power.
Pleasure. in your life. Otherwise, it's just a job. Otherwise, it's just a bore. Many people live without meaning.
I read this week that unhappiness on the job affects one-fourth of the American workforce. That one-fourth of employees view their jobs as the number one stressor in their lives. Fully 70% of us go to work without much enthusiasm or much passion. Just going through the motion, living in Bloysville, Dullesville. Dreading Monday and dreaming of Fridays.
Life is boring, life is the same, life is gray. people who are working to live rather than living to work. You see, when you begin to follow Jesus and you get a higher purpose, a bigger calling in your life, and your calling becomes. To do whatever you do for the glory of God. When you say yes to God's will and start obeying Him in your life, then you will sense destiny.
that you are here for a purpose, that God has a plan for your life. And if you will open up your heart and say, God, what do you want me to do? Ask Him, Lord, what do you want me to do? If you will build your life on the wisdom of the Word rather than the wisdom of the world. Then you will discover your reason for being and your motivation and meaning for life.
Ephesians 1:11, and the message says this: It is in Christ that we find out who we are and what we're living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, He had His eye on us, had designs on us for His glorious life. Part of his overall purpose, he is working out in everything and everyone. You know what that means? That means that life is not a series of coincidence and accidents.
That means that your life is not. fate or luck. Or chance that God made you for a purpose. He planned your birth, He planned your life, He planned who your parents would be, He planned who you would marry, He knew where you would live, He gave you your race, your nationality, your language, right down to the smallest minutia of your DNA. There are no mistakes with God, there are no accidents with His plan and His purpose, there are no random coincidences.
God has a purpose for every human life.
So you need to get on with Following that plan and that purpose for your life. George Bernard Shaw said this, this is the true joy of life. That It is the being used up for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one. Being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clot of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. He was saying what God has said to us.
And if you want to find out, figure out what your life is about and what you're supposed to be doing. You do what Simon Peter did. Can you be willing to leave the past behind? You may have a difficult past. And wonder is that the mm-hmm.
Does God finish with me? Answer. is no, God is not finished with you. He just started making you. He's just started shaping you.
So he's looking at you tonight.
So Jesus is looking at you right now. And he's saying. Come and follow me. Leave your old life behind. Man, woman, boy, girl, teenager.
And I'll take that old life. And I'll make you. Like a rock. For me. Because you see Jesus is the rock.
And the way to become a rock is to build your life. On Jesus. You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message, The Rock, Part 2. Life doesn't always unfold the way we hope. There are setbacks, losses, and seasons that leave us asking: where is God in all of this?
In his honest and encouraging book, Diamonds in the Dark, Dr. Graham shares how God is not absent in our pain, He is present. And he is at work. This powerful resource walks you through some of life's hardest places to reveal spiritual treasures God plants along the way. If you or someone you love is facing grief, Fear or uncertainty, this message will help you find strength, clarity, and hope right where you are.
And when you give a gift of ten dollars or more, we'll send you a copy of Diamonds in the Dark as our thanks. Call 1-800-795-4627. That's 1-800-795-4627. 4627 or just text Diamond to 59789. And don't forget to visit jackgraham.org.
Where you can shop our e-store, give a gift online, or sign up for Dr. Graham's free daily email devotional. Our website again is jackgraham.org. Pastor, what is your PowerPoint for today? Coming to the end of ourselves and finding our beginning in Christ is really.
the essence of life. We all like to be in control. We like to control what we're going to wear, what we're going to eat, how successful we're going to be in our careers, where we're going to live, how much money we're going to make, and on and on. And so often we think that we have all this stuff under control. Yet, this kind of attitude can really obstruct what God wants to do in your life.
As much as we want to control everything, there are some things that are really out of our control. things like sickness, even death, Disasters of all kinds, car accidents, tragedies, so many things that are outside of our control. And it's when we come to that place when we realize how limited we really are in our control that we start to depend upon God. When we come to the end of ourselves. we find our beginning in God.
The wonderful thing about our Lord is that he sees the big picture.
Now, don't. Miss that. God promises in Romans 8:28 that He is working all things together for good to those who love the Lord and who are called or fitting into His purpose for their lives.
Sometimes the Lord reveals why certain things happen to you, trials and so on, but other times there's no explanation. But one thing is certain: God is in control, and you can trust Him and rest in Him when everything seems to be out of control. When you really give the reins of your life to To God, you will experience an amazing liberty. No longer will you try to live according to the world's expectations or even your own expectations. You will live according to God's plan, God's purpose, God's best in your life.
The world tells you all kinds of lies that what you have is never good enough. But I tell you this: God is good enough, and He will provide every good thing you need in life.
So let God be in control of your life and true happiness, genuine joy, and lasting contentment will be yours. And that is today's PowerPoint. Remember, when you give a gift of $10 or more to PowerPoint, we'll send you Dr. Graham's book, Diamonds in the Dark, as our thanks. Call 1-800-795-4627.
That's 1-800-795-4627. You can also text the word, DIAMOND, to 59-789. And join us again next time as Dr. Graham brings a message about how to run the race of faith with strength so you can finish well. That's next time on PowerPoint with Jack Graham.
PowerPoint with Jack Graham is sponsored by PowerPoint Ministries.
