Wherever you’re at in life this week, and this Thanksgiving, I hope you’re able to thank the Lord for some blessings He’s given to you.
God must have thought rocks were important, because when He made the world, He made lots of them! Ask any farmer. There’s even a whole range of mountains, called the Rockies, and they’re made of, guess what…rocks! (Set one in front.)
What things can you do with a rock?
[Throw it. Skip it. Millstone. Slingstone. Manger.]
You can do a lot of things with rocks. While they wandered around in the desert, Israel had plenty of rocks. Most rocks are pretty hard. They’ll take a pretty good beating. So, you can build things with them. You can use them as a weapon or a tool. Jacob used one as a pillow, which never made much sense to me.
While they may be useful for several things, most rocks aren’t much use for water. You can squeeze a lemon or a lime; you can put an apple in the juicer. You can turn kale and carrots and other stuff into a smoothie. Somehow, they can even juice a banana, for babies. But a rock…nope. You’re going to have to squeeze a lot of rocks to get much juice!
Numbers, ch 20. Israel was working their way up through the Negev – the dry region just below the Dead Sea. They’d been wandering in the desert for over 40 years and were finally making their approach to the Promised Land. They had no water.
So, they started complaining …again, and suddenly sounded identical to the grumbling generation before them. They were thirsty, and just like Charlie Brown at Halloween, they had nothing but a rock.
Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before the Lord. God told them to go out, to a certain rock, and to speak to it. Water was going to come gushing out of the rock. So Moses and Aaron go out and say to the Israelites, (v10) "Listen now, you rebels; shall we bring forth water for you out of this rock?" Moses whacked it with his rod, and boom, water came gushing out – enough for the whole nation and their livestock. It saved them once again. Imagine the shouts of joy coming from a whole nation of people, looking like a bunch of kids in front of an opened fire hydrant on a hot summer day in Mississippi.
But there was something about the attitude of Moses and Aaron, some lack of trust in God, some reaction to the peoples’ whining, that caused them both to speak rashly. God was using this scene to prove His holiness to Israel. Moses and Aaron were using it for something else. God was not pleased.
We tend to forget about scenes like that in our lives, where we react rashly and say things we shouldn’t. God didn’t forget. Israel continued traveling to the Promised Land, and on the border of Edom God had them pause. Aaron wouldn’t be going in. In fact, God had Moses, Aaron, and his son Eleazar make a field trip up Mt. Hor. It’s a grim scene. Aaron, old and feeble, climbs up Mt. Hor, still wearing the special uniform of the priests. The whole nation of Israel watches and says goodbye for the last time to Aaron. The 3 make it to the top of the mountain, where Moses strips the priestly robes from his older brother and puts them on Eleazar. There lies Aaron in his underwear, old and shaking in the cool mountain air, and there he dies.
Moses and Eleazar come back down the mountain, without him. It doesn’t sound like a very happy retirement party for someone who served alongside Moses. Aaron wasn’t allowed to enter the Promised Land with Israel – because of an incident with a rock.
Ch 27, God informs Moses he won’t be going in either. He’ll be allowed to climb Mt. Nebo and see across the border.
Num 27:13-14 After you have seen it, you too will be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was, for when the community rebelled at the waters in the Desert of Zin, both of you disobeyed my command to honor me as holy before their eyes.
Israel’s leader for 40+ years, who had patiently stuck with these people, and stood in the gap for them, wouldn’t be allowed to enter the Promised Land – because of an incident with a rock.
Who knew a rock could be so versatile and so volatile?
On one hand, it became a source for lifegiving water that saved the whole nation and their livestock from death. On the other hand, that same rock became the reason that Moses and Aaron wouldn’t enter the Promised Land.
So, one day, 100 years later as a Jewish dad is reading to his kids from their History of Israel Story Scroll for Kids, he tells them about a certain stone in the wilderness of Zin – a stone where God poured out water that saved the nation of Israel, and a stone where Moses and Aaron both blew their chance to enter the Promised Land.
There’s another Bible story, about another Rock that came much later. This Rock was also both a source of life and a point of great failure. For those who accept it, it’s a rock to build your life on – a foundation. But for those who reject it, it’s a rock that makes you stumble and fall.
That Rock, is Jesus Christ.
The fact is, everyone has some “rocks” in their life that they try to build on. It may be faith in Jesus. It may be your confidence in your own intelligence. It may be your heritage or traditions. It may be some current cause or movement.
Somewhere in there, deep down, are the things you really believe. They ultimately shape every decision you make. They show up in your bank account, what you do with your time, your attitudes, your words. They’re the rocks; things in life you’re counting on to be real and true.
Right up to Christmas here on Sunday mornings, we’re going back into the OT and looking at baby pictures of Jesus. He’s all over the OT. Many of those OT images aren’t things we would have figured on – like Jesus is a rock. But Jesus Himself, and several places in the NT, make the connection for us.
Paul is using very metaphorical language when he writes that as Israel was wandering around in the desert, they drank from a spiritual rock that was traveling with them, and that Rock, was Jesus! Jesus was there with them, as they wandered around in the desert. It’s one of those baby pictures.
1 Corinthians 10:3-4 They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.
And just like a rock in the desert was the salvation of some and the stumbling of others, this Rock called Jesus has different effects on people.
1 Peter 2:6-8 For in Scripture it says: "See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame." Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, "The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone,” and, "A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall." They stumble because they disobey the message--which is also what they were destined for.
The message I want to get across today is this:
Jesus is the rock that shelters and saves us when we seek Him, or the rock that trips and crushes us if we reject Him.
That may sound rough, but that’s the nature of rocks, isn’t it? They’re great for building on, but not so great to have falling on you! So, let’s take a few minutes to talk about Jesus being the Rock and then figure out what you’re going to do with those rocks that were handed to you as you came in today.
If you’re needing help, Jesus is solid protection
When a lady says to her guy, “You’re my rock,” that’s a good thing, isn’t it ladies? If you want to make your husband stand an inch taller today, if you want him to go off to work tomorrow with his chin up, tell him “Thanks for being my rock!” It doesn’t take a degree to understand what that means.
The fact is, we all can use something in our lives that’s rock-solid, can’t we? Some are looking for it more than others, because some things in life have let you down when you found out they weren’t solid after all – a spouse let you down; finances failed; health came apart; someone you loved is no longer here. If that’s you, there’s something that may interest you in the book of Psalms.
As I was studying for this message, I did a search through this just this OT book for the times that the Lord is called “the Rock” or “my Rock.” I came up with at least 18…
Psalm 18:2 The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
Psalm 18:31 For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God?
Psalm 18:46
The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God my Savior!
Psalm 19:14
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.
(Etc.)
The point of all these verses is pretty obvious. Rocks are strong. Large Rocks don’t move easily. I’d be willing to bet that, if I were to go walk the same trail in CO where I saw this rock 10 years ago (picture), it would still be there. Rocks can also provide shelter and protection.
It’s not a mistake that Jesus is called a rock. If you’re a person who’s in deep need of some strength and protection in your life, Jesus is what you need. He’s solid protection for those who turn to Him.
Let’s get a little deeper now…
If you’re seeking life, Jesus is the turning point
In the great search for meaning and purpose in life, lots of people have taken a close look at Jesus. I’m convinced that’s the right place to look. There were 12 men in particular who chose to travel with Him and learn from Him up-close and in-person. Still, there was even one of those men who rejected the Jesus way.
Jesus offended some people. He bucked traditions. He challenged the comfortable and self-righteous. He reached out to people who had been cast off by society. He valued simple faith. He called out hypocrites.
And while He claimed to be God in flesh, He also allowed Himself to be captured, abused, and killed. Many people rejected Jesus because of “how He is.”
1 Corinthians 1:22-25 For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
In other words, when you look into Jesus, you have a decision to make.
On a men’s trip to Canada, we came to a sign in Ontario on Highway 11. (The District of Timiskaming, on Highway 11, 15.5 km north of Highway 66) It marks the place where water no longer flows down into the Great Lakes but instead goes to Hudson Bay. At that point, water that falls on one side of the highway will travel to the Great Lakes and on south. On the other side of the highway, it will travel hundreds of miles the other direction, to Hudson Bay. It’s called the Arctic Watershed.
A “watershed moment” is an event that’s decisive. It’s a moment where things will go either one way or the other.
That’s what it’s like when you choose what you’re going to do about Jesus. He’s not going to change, but what you decide to do about Him is certainly going to affect the direction your life is going to go.
What will Jesus be to you – stumbling block, or the source of real life?
Will you be offended at a King Who serves, put off by a Creator Who becomes like His creation, repelled by The God Who becomes a baby, disgusted at a Master Who sacrifices Himself? Or will you embrace Jesus as He is - Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God?
As you think that through, bear this in mind:
If you’re trying to build a life, Jesus is the cornerstone
This idea of Jesus being a cornerstone starts in the OT and is repeated in the NT.
Psalm 118:22-23 The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.
Isaiah 28:16 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, A costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed. He who believes in it will not be disturbed.”
Ephesians 2:20 [you are] built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.
The word gets translated cornerstone or capstone/keystone.
Ancient builders used to fashion a stone that was carefully squared. It would be set first in the corner, and all the angles of the rest of the building would be based on it. That was the cornerstone. If it was sound, the rest of the building could be sound. The building depended on it. Try to build without it, and you have a mess.
There’s another stone, a capstone or keystone, that describes the last stone set at the top of an arch. It’s the stone that bears the other stones, to hold them in place. Just like a cornerstone, the structure depends on it. Take it away, and it collapses.
Get it? It’s not so important if this word should be cornerstone or capstone. If you’re trying to build a life, you need Jesus! Take Him out of the picture – try to build it without Him, or take Him out of it, and you have a mess.
So many people are trying to build their lives around some substitute. Later, once things are a mess, they look back and realize they needed to build life around Jesus. Here’s the good news if that’s you: you can start today to build your life on Jesus.
Jesus is the rock that shelters and saves us when we seek Him, or the rock that trips and crushes us if we reject Him. He’s going to be either one or the other to you. He’s the Rock. You can’t just ignore Him.
Conclusion:
Starting right now, I want for you to think about what Jesus is in your life. If you want Him to be the Cornerstone or if He is, I’d like you to get one of those sharpie markers and write that on the stone you have: “Cornerstone.”
Now, if that’s not where you’re at yet, if you’re stumbling around in your relationship with Jesus, or you’re not ready to jump in to being a follower of Jesus you can write “stumble” on that stone as a way of describing where you’re at, or maybe you’ll want to write the thing in your life that you would say stands between you and God. Hang onto those rocks. We’re going to do something with them.
Go ahead and begin writing, and pass along the marker.
Lord’s Supper
The main part of the Bible that we’re really unpacking today is
Psalm 118:22-23
The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.
That’s an OT picture of Jesus; a stone that was originally rejected, but then that was given the most important place. That’s a really good description of what happened to Him on earth. Jesus came to His own creation, and was generally rejected. He grew up in a human family, and they didn’t believe in Him. He visited His hometown and was run out by a mob. He was God on earth, but the religious authorities hated Him. He was born Jewish, and His people had Him put to death. But it says in
Philippians 2:9-11
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone. The Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.
Is it? Is it marvelous to you? Today, as we share the Lord’s Supper together, let’s marvel at Jesus! Let’s be amazed again at the way God used the humbling and suffering of Jesus to make Him unmistakably great!
This is the time that followers of Jesus gather to remember and honor Him, our Rock, the Cornerstone.
Invitation:
We’re going to have some time this morning to respond to God’s word. Those rocks in your hands are meant to give you something to remember with today’s message.
If you wrote “Cornerstone” on that rock, you can either keep that as a reminder to you, or you can bring it up today and leave it at the foot of the cross as a testimony to the Lord that He’s what you’re building your life on.
Or, if you wrote “Stumble,” or a reason you’re separated from God, as a way to describe where you find yourself today, I want to encourage you to come up and leave that at the foot of the cross as a testimony to the Lord that today marks the start of a different direction in your life. Get rid of it! It has to begin somewhere! It’s time to start building your life on Jesus and to take Him as your solid refuge.
So, we’re going to do this very tangible action today. We’ll be singing a couple of songs to give people time to come up here and walk back.
Now, if you’re ready today to begin a relationship with Jesus, please come talk to me after we dismiss. Good intentions need to be followed with real commitment. Find out what it means to become a follower of Jesus. Or, if you already know, then come start today – let it be known and be baptized into Jesus…today!
