TITLE: ON CHRIST THE SOLID ROCK I STAND
SCRIPTURE: EXODUS 17:6 / I CORINTHIANS 10:4
Many of the wonders of the world were made of huge rocks, and because of this they have survived in part to this day. We are familiar with -
• The Great Wall of China -- seventh century b.c.
• The Great Pyramid of Egypt -- twenty-sixth century b.c.
• The Parthenon of Greece -- fifth century b.c.
• The Aztec Temple of the Sun -- two hundred a.d.
• The Stonehenge in England -- three thousand to two thousand b.c.
The rock is the symbol of stability, and that is why when men build something to last they use rock, or stone if you prefer. The two terms are used as synonyms in the New Testament.
• I PETER 2:6-8 calls Jesus the STONE, THE CORNERSTONE, THE PRECIOUS STONE, THE STONE THE BUILDERS REJECTED -- THE CAPSTONE, A STONE THAT CAUSES MEN TO STUMBLE -- AND A ROCK THAT MAKES THEM FALL
• Jesus is referred to as the Rock and the Stone
There are endless parallels between men's use of rocks and stones, and who Jesus is. Jesus is the rock, and Jesus is the way. If you study the history of roads, you will discover that those that have lasted are made of rock.
• The old Roman Roads of New Testament days are still being used where they were made of stones
• The old cobblestone roads of early America are still being used in places
• I love the old cobblestone roads around Europe
• The modern superhighways are built with a foundation of various size rocks
• So is the bed for railroad tracks
If you want to make a way to anywhere that will be lasting, you make it with rocks. Jesus is the permanent way to God and eternal life, for He is the Rock of Ages. The songwriter says it like this -- ON CHRIST THE SOLID ROCK I STAND, ALL OTHER GROUND IS SINKING SAND.
• Man knows that anything that lasts has to be built on a solid rock foundation
• That is why there are over three thousand (3,000) commercial crushed rock plants in the United States
• They play a major role in the construction of our nation
If you go to the Capital of our country - Washington D.C., you will discover that it conveys an image of strength and endurance, for all of its major buildings and monuments are made of Quarried Sandstone - Limestone - or Marble.
• The White House
• The Capital
• The Supreme Court
• The Smithsonian Institution
• The Washington Monument
• The Lincoln Monument
• The Jefferson Memorial
• Plus many of the lesser known buildings are all made of this material
Rocks are enduring; they stick around a lot longer than we do: they have been the primary symbol of the enduring and the everlasting for a long time.
• When we build a life on Jesus The Rock, we are building an enduring everlasting life
• Time diminishes our physical bodies and earthly structures but time will not diminish our relationship to Christ, nor our treasures in heaven
• ST. MATTHEW 6:19-21 “LAY NOT UP FOR YOURSELVES TREASURES UPON EARTH, WHERE MOTH AND RUST DOTH CORRUPT, AND WHERE THIEVES BREAK THROUGH AND STEAL: BUT LAY UP FOR YOURSELVES TREASURES IN HEAVEN, WHERE NEITHER MOTH NOR RUST DOTH CORRUPT, AND WHERE THIEVES DO NOT BREAK THROUGH NOR STEAL: FOR WHERE YOUR TREASURE IS, THERE WILL YOUR HEART BE ALSO”
When God reveals the eternal city where we will dwell forever, it is a city of such strength and endurance. The temple is Jesus - the Rock of Ages, and the walls, according to REVELATION 21:17, are around 200 feet thick. There has never been such a city for security. And for beauty its vast walls are all decorated with the most precious stones god has ever created on this planet. The study of precious stones in the Bible is a subject in itself that we can only mention at this time.
Rocks are the source of great riches. Almost all the treasures of this world are hidden in rocks, which are the many jewels of history. Treasures of the Earth metamorphic and igneous rocks are reservoirs of precious stones and metals. Through geological processes involving heat and pressure, rocks give rise to gemstones like Diamonds - Rubies - Emeralds - Sapphires. These gemstones, renowned for their beauty and rarity, have significant cultural - aesthetic - economic value.
Rocks were a part of the everyday environment of Bible people. They were everywhere, and they were used constantly for building – grinding - for weapons.
• Not only did man use rocks to build altars to God, but God used rocks to give His laws to man
• MOSES came down from MT. SINAI with the Ten Commandments on two slabs of rock
• When something was written in stone it was meant to be permanent
• When God chooses a man to build His kingdom He chooses a rock - like man
• The Rabbi's said this of ABRAHAM - "WHEN GOD LOOKED ON ABRAHAM, WHO IS TO ARISE, HE SAID, "LOW, I HAVE FOUND A ROCK ON WHICH I CAN BUILD AND FOUND THE WORLD”
• For this reason he called Abraham a rock
• ISAIAH 51:1 “HEARKEN TO ME, YE THAT FOLLOW AFTER RIGHTEOUSNESS, YE THAT SEEK THE LORD: LOOK UNTO THE ROCK WHENCE YE ARE HEWN, AND TO THE HOLE OF THE PIT WHENCE YE ARE DIGGED” (KING JAMES VERSION)
• (CONTEMPORARY ENGLISH VERSION) “IF YOU WANT TO DO RIGHT AND OBEY THE LORD, FOLLOW ABRAHAM'S EXAMPLE. HE WAS THE ROCK FROM WHICH YOU WERE CHIPPED”
It is of interest that Jesus chose Peter to be the leader of the 12, and they would go on to become the foundation of his church.
• Petra is the Greek word for Rock
• Jesus said, "ON THIS PETRA I WILL BUILD MY CHURCH"
• Peter, who is often more like quicksand, was made a rock that Jesus could build on
Peter is from petros, a masculine form of the greek word for small stone, whereas rock is from petra, a different form of the same basic word, referring to a rocky mountain or peak. Perhaps the most popular interpretation is therefore that Jesus was comparing Peter, a small stone, to the great mountainous rock on which Jesus would build his church.
• The antecedent of rock is taken to be Peter’s divinely inspired confession of Jesus as “the Christ, the Son of the living God”
Isn’t it interesting that the word ‘Petrology’ is the Science of Rocks.
• A specialist is called a Petrologist
• All Christians need to be Petrologists who specialize in the study of the Rock of Ages
Jesus said the foolish man builds on the sand and the wise man builds on the rock, and so Jesus labored with Peter until he was a solid rock on which He could depend.
• We call certain people pillars of the church, because they can be counted on
• They are the rocks on which any church stands
• Without such rocks the foundation of any church will crumble
• All that lasts depends upon rocks
o The rock is Firm and not Fickle
o The rock is Stable and not Sinking
o The rock is Permanent and not Passing
o The rock is Fixed and not Fluctuating
o The rock is Established and not Erratic
o The rock is Constant and not Changing
These are the characteristics of a Christian who is Christlike. They are rock like in their stability - solidarity – strength - security. When somebody says of another that he or she is a rock, you know they are people who are dependable. Most of God's people are like David. They have their solid side and their weak side. That is why David very wisely calls out to God for a greater stability than he has in himself. When I find myself struggling in my moments of weakness, I can call out to the Lord saying --
"Lord lift me up and let me stand
By faith on heaven's table-land.
A higher plain than I have found,
Lord plant my feet on higher ground"
Plant my feet on higher ground. Let’s examine that for a moment. I have never been interested in ‘Rock Climbing.’ I don’t understand those that do, I don’t condemn, just not my passion. There are risks in rock climbing, and the number of people killed trying to scale the mountain heights is staggering.
• Mount Mitchell in North Carolina is considered the highest peak in the United States East of the Rockies
• It is 6,711 feet above sea level
• It is named after Professor Elisha Mitchell of the University of North Carolina
In 1857 on his fourth climb up the mountain, he fell to his death. Later his ashes were taken to the top and buried there. He loved to get to the top of that rock that was higher than he. It was not a goal that most of us would consider worth the risk, but in the spiritual realm this same desire is to be the motivation of our life. We are too long to be led to that Rock that is higher than us and be ever climbing to a higher level of stability in Christ. If we are not so climbing, we will be sliding downward to that sand that is lower.
• You can't stand still in the Christian life
• We are always climbing higher or slipping lower
You don't have to be a rock collector or climber to be a good Christian, but you do have to be a rock lover - that is a lover of the rock of our salvation. The Old Testament saints like Abraham – Isaac - Jacob were always collecting rocks to build an altar to God. The people of God that we read about in the Hebrew Scriptures commemorated the significant events of their lives in a particular way. Scripture records they did so by building an altar, altars were made with rocks and stone.
• NOAH built an altar when he walked onto dry land following the flood
• ABRAHAM built an altar when he arrived in the land to which God has sent him. He built the ultimate altar of sacrifice on which he placed his son Isaac
• ISAAC, too, was an altar-builder
• MOSES raised an alter and called it Jehovah-Nissi (The Lord our Banner) to celebrate a military victory
• When GIDEON was preparing to do battle, he built an altar
• DAVID built an altar on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite
A consistent theme of the Old Testament was altar-building. It celebrated the significant events of the Old Testament.
• At times of Joy - God’s people built altars
• At times of Sorrow – God’s people built altars
• In Victory or in Defeat – God’s people built altars
• When there was a need for Repentance - God’s people built altars
• When there was a celebration of God’s Faithfulness – God’s people built altars
• Even in modern times men of God meet with God around a pile of rocks symbolizing an altar
Our faith is built upon the rock of our salvation. In and of myself, I am anything but a rock. I am -
• Unstable
• Wishy-washy
• Insecure
• Faltering
• Movable
• More like a feather blown around on a windy day!
But when I place my faith on The Rock – Jesus, He Grounds Me - Stabilizes Me - Saves Me From Being Blown Away And Lost Forever. Jesus is also my firm foundation - my solid salvation - and my rock I can stand on in my daily growing faith.
• I feel His strength and security rising up in me
• I feel His strength solid around me, under me, and even inside and through me
• On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand
Jesus Christ, our rock, is our firm foundation when the ground beneath our feet feels shaky. We can run to Him for safety and trust that when the waves crash in around us, He gives us strength to stand strong in faith, filled with a hope the world cannot give us.
• Our hope should be built on Christ
• Our Solid Rock
• The anchor of our soul
• The only security we have in this life because security in Him is eternal
• Our health and finances may be taken from us
• Our relationships may dwindle and fall apart
• No matter what happens, life in Him can never be taken away from us
--In Old Testament times, when altars were whole they were used to connect with God
--Then, life was good
--When altars were broken down, they were unused, neglected and forgotten
--In each of us there is an altar
--Each of us is responsible to maintain the condition of our own altars
My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus' blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
but wholly lean on Jesus' name
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand:
all other ground is sinking sand;
all other ground is sinking sand
His oath, his covenant, his blood,
support me in the whelming flood;
when all around my soul gives way,
he then is all my hope and stay
When he shall come with trumpet sound,
O may I then in him be found:
dressed in his righteousness alone,
faultless to stand before the throne
