Look @ Encounters With Christ...
Encounters as in Moments that are Meant to Change you into Christ likeness
TODAY – Simon Peter & HIS Struggle of Becoming the Person Called to be...
Scripture
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 the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas” (which is translated, A Stone).
We tend to Be TOO EVENT Focused
Fail to realize that God is PROCESS FOCUSED
Uses Events as part of the Process – Not in Lieu of.
Especially the ASPECT OF STRUGGLE
We pay a lot to Avoid Discomfort...Equate Discomfort as a Bad thing...
Avoid it...Shy away from it...Something is not right if we are Struggling...
YET – Truth is – IF we are not in a Struggle we are failing to Grow as Called upon by Jesus.
Simon Peter (SP) is 1 of my favorite people in the NT
Not because of his endeavors...Exploits for God...
Rather – for this Very thing I’m speaking about today
PROCESS...HOPE!
Has anyone here realized that Becoming More like Jesus is a CONSTANT Challenge? Struggle...Process...
IF Anyone Struggled – it was SP
3 ½ years he Floundered... Trying to Figure it all out...
YET – An Exception to His Story – HE FINISHED WELL.
If I had my Way – It would be "Presto Chango" & I Would be there!
HOWEVER, God’s Way is – PROCESS!
STORY
A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared, he sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and could go no farther.
Then the man decided to help the butterfly, so he took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily, but it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time.
Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of his life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It was never able to fly!!!
What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening, were God’s way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.
Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If God allowed us to go through our life without obstacles, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong or beautiful as what we could have been, and we would never learn to fly as God has intended.
The Christian Journey is 1 of Struggles of
PAST & FUTURE
FLESH & SPIRIT
HEAVEN & HELL
There are Certain Struggles that are Directly Tied to OUR Ultimate Identity in Christ
Decisions that MUST BE Settled
Then the Struggles Are Part of the DECISION
i.e. We Make a Decisions & Then have to Fight for it Over & Over
Follow SP & Look at a Couple Struggles that WE MUST BE ENGAGED IN – In order to BECOME
1. Struggle for Identity
SP – ROCK...
Prophecy over his life...
Yet – an Old Fisherman...Set in his ways...
I Think this is 1 of the Greatest Struggles we go through & Fight for in Our Faith
Who we are to be in Him
Not So much as to the Call from Him
How Much we are going to Put into the effort of that Call.
Identifying
WHO are we going to Be as a Christian?
How Much we are going to Invest into this thing.
This is Difficult Because
We Fight PAST...PERSONALITY...PEER PRESSURE...
WHO Are You In Christ? How far are you willing to let your Christianity go?
What part of you are you willing to Commit to Your faith?
What are you willing to Give up?
Realize You have Probably Already made the decision – Right or Wrong
Now you are walking through that Decision on a Daily Basis
Struggling for IT
OR God is Challenging you to Become MORE
2. Struggle for FAITH
Ability to LIVE BY IT & IN IT
Jn. 6
Feeding of 5000 w/ 2 fish...5 Loaves...
SP – Mentioned the Small Lunch...
YET – Follow SP & You will see him struggle with him faith over & over...
Claim it & Then fail the test
As we Follow God He fully Intends on Our Faith Growing into Greater Ability to Trust God for Bigger things...
The Ability to HAVE FAITH is
Introduced to us BY TESTS
God is In Control of the Tests & He Intends on us Passing Them
A little boy constantly fell out of bed. No matter what his parents did, the boy couldn’t sleep without rolling out of bed. An uncle came to visit and in the middle of the night the usual thump and cry was heard. In the morning the uncle teased the boy and asked him why he fell out so often. The little fellow thought for a moment and then said, “I don’t know, unless its because I stay too close to the place where I get in.”
Too may are Close to where they GOT IN
Faith is Like an Educational Process
God takes us from K-12...Associates...Bachelors...
HOW Great is Your FAITH Factor?
When it is Time for faith – How are you at Operating in it?
How far are you from where you got in this thing?
How much more are you able to trust God for than when you 1st started this Journey?
3. Struggle for TRUTH
The Ability to be BRUTALLY Honest with SELF & GOD
It is Amazing at how well we deceive ourselves!
For SP We see this Struggle Intensify Beginning in the Upper Room
Ending in the Outer Courts of Failure as a Young Kids Asks if he is a Follower of Jesus
(STEPS?)
Upper room – Foot washing...
Is it me?
Determines to Follow Jesus – Yet Jesus "Spirit is willing...Deny 3x..."
Fire – Denies for the 3rd time...WEPT BITTERLY...
All Because He Wouldn’t be honest with SELF
If you & I are going to BE Serious in our Walk with Jesus –
We have to be Honest with our Condition
Allow it to Show up in our spiritual lives & Disciplines...
If we are weak – we must treat it as such...
Struggling – Say so...
Deal with our true condition as it reveals itself in our lives...
A HUGE AREA!
4. Struggle After Failure
Resurrection Sunday Must have been a Mixed bag for SP
Running to the Tomb...
Yet – Probably going to have to face Jesus
FISHING
LOVE ME?
3x...
LORD YOU KNOW!
PROPHECY RESTORED/RENEWED
What do you do after failing?
How do you act?
How long does it go on until you Respond?
How much does it affect you?
What is the Cycle of Failure in your life?
What are the Signs?
Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep. Most assuredly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish.” This He spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, “Follow Me.”
