The Rock - Part 2

Welcome to this edition of Power Point with Jack Graham. A little later in the program we'll tell you how you can get a copy of Dr. Graham's evangelism bundle. 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. 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've got to 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 of 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, made 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 that 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 can 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 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 have 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 them to throw the nets on the other side of the boat.

He threw one net and as a result nearly sunk the whole ship. He had just obeyed Jesus and sent 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 O 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 died 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 today's message, The Rock Part 2. You have a God-given calling to take the Gospel to the world. That's why we've put together a special bundle of resources to help you grow in your love of the Gospel and share it with others. This evangelism bundle includes three of Pastor Jack Graham's books, The Hope of Easter, Life Book and God's Promises for Doubt-Filled Days. This evangelism bundle is our thanks for your gift today.

And thanks to a generous matching grant, your gift today will be doubled. So call now to request your evangelism bundle when you give. Call 1-800-795-4627. That's 1-800-795-4627.

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Now let's get back to today's message, The Rock Part 2. I 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 Wooten, 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, 1952, 1956. And it was a big struggle for him to find success. And 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 Wooten 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 reevaluated everything including how 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 is 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 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 lives. For example Moses living on the backside of the desert, God called him.

Moses figured God was finished with him. He had failed as a prince in Egypt. He had 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 in God's army and won a great victory for the Lord. Or Nehemiah who was a cup bearer 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 or 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 the call to fulfill your potential.

It begins when we humble ourselves before God and 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? Billy Graham said, why me?

Why me? A tall, lanky 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.

All unique. 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 Lettl, 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 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 Blasville, Dulsville, 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 are 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. If you want to figure out what your life is about and what you are supposed to be doing you do what Simon Peter did. You be willing to leave the past behind. You may have a difficult past and wonder is God finished with me?

And the 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 today's message, The Rock, Part 2. 3.2 billion people in our world still have no access to the good news of Jesus and we must do whatever it takes to reach the lost with the hope of Christ. That's why we're excited to tell you about a matching grant that will double whatever you give today to help reach more people through PowerPoint. Your support will help broadcast the gospel into some of the most spiritually dark corners of the earth. We'll say thanks for your gift by sending you three of Pastor Graham's books to help you share the gospel right where you are.

This evangelism bundle includes The Hope of Easter, Lifebook, and God's promises for doubt-filled days. So call now to have your gift doubled by the match and request your evangelism bundle. Call 1-800-795-4627. That's 1-800-795-4627. You can also text the word PowerPoint to 59789. That's PowerPoint 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, tragedy, 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 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 to PowerPoint, your gift will be doubled by a matching grant. Call 1-800-795-4627.

That's 1-800-795-4627. You can also text the word PowerPoint to 59789. On the next PowerPoint, Dr. Graham brings a message about how to run the race of faith with strength so you can finish well. Join us next time on PowerPoint with Jack Graham. PowerPoint with Jack Graham is supported by PowerPoint Ministries.