KEEP YOUR EYES FOCUSED ON THE ROCK!
Adapted from a sermon by Richard L Thetford
•Isa 43:1-3a 1 But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. 2 When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. 3 For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour …
•1 Cor 10:1-4 Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.
•SONG: "On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand"
•The story is told of two men crossing a rugged mountain range on horseback. •As they came to a large and swift-flowing river, the older and more experienced man said to the younger,-- "As we get to the deepest and swiftest part, be sure not to look down and from side to side at the swirling water around you, it will only make you dizzy." •"Listen to me," the older man continued sternly, "see that big rock on the other side? Keep your eyes focused on that rock!" •"OK" said the younger man.
•As the men then crossed, they quickly approached the swift and turbulent midstream waters. •The horses began to panic, the spray of the icy waters splashed against the men’s faces. •The young man Got Nervous and began to Look on the waters swirling angrily around horse and rider. •Becoming dizzy-headed, he began to struggle to remain on the saddle. • The older man looked back, and noticing the young man Struggling, hollered out,è"Keep your eyes focused on the rock! Keep your eyes focused on the rock!" •The young man, barely able to hear, desperately and with great difficulty Focused His Eyes On The Rock. • Soon his head began to clear, and in a Few Moments they were on the Other Side Safe And Sound.
1. Life Is Filled With Daily Struggles In All Shapes And Sizes. • We all Experience Difficulties and Problems in Life. Sometimes our Problems are as Nagging Irritations and Aggravations, sometimes they are much Bigger and seek to overwhelm us. We Experience Sickness or Disease, Hardship, Financial Problems, Legal Problems, Family Problems.
My body felt horrible Friday morning, after playing football with the kids on Thanksgiving. My 53 year old body just cannot take the running, jumping, and getting knocked around like it used to take.
My son Justin hydroplaned on a wet street Wednesday night and slid into a curb … a $400 repair bill hit us square in the face.
•There are many Storms of Life that come against us that seem like they are About To Sink Our Boat. • And Sometimes people do Sink Under the Storms of Life.
•As Christians, we Recognize that Satan is Against Us and is Trying to Destroy us. • We know that Everything that Steals, Kills, and Destroys is the Work of the Thief, the Devil. •He is our Adversary. • He hates God but cannot hurt God, so he Strikes out against that which God loves, People.
Peter says: •1 Pet 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Then he says to Resist him with your Faith.
James 5 tells us to Submit to God, then Resist the Devil, and he will Flee from us.
God is not our enemy, the Devil is!!! Christians Must yield and submit to God and stand against the Devil, the Adversary, in order to overcome him and win in life.
2. The Devil Desires That We Focus Our Attention On Our Problems. • But if we do that, it will Cause us to Fail. • We will Lose in the Game of Life. • We will Fail because when we are Focused on Our Problems and Troubles, we Lose Sight of Christ, His Grace and Power. • We Limit God because we Do Not Trust in Him.
3. He knows that If We Focus Solely On The Swirling Waters Around Us, We Will Lose Our Proper Perspective In Life and become Out of Balance. • Then we will Fail in Fulfilling God’s Purpose for our Lives. Some Christians fall into Despair and Depression, and they blame God for those things that the Devil is doing to hurt and destroy, and sometimes get bitter toward God. They are not Focused on the Rock.
4. While We Must Not Ignore Our Problems, We Must Always Keep In Mind Where Our Strength Comes From and Seek to Find The Solutions To Those Problems in God.
•Our Strength is in Christ Jesus - the SOLID ROCK.
• And So, We Must have Faith in God and Actively Believe His Word and Appropriate His Promises for Help and Deliverance. Just because you are a “Good Christian” does not immunize you against trouble and problems. You must be a “Doer of the Word” and not just a “hearer,” in order to build your house on the strong foundation that will withstand the storms of life.
1) Jesus is the ROCK of Our Salvation. • The Rock is a Metaphor that Pictures Strength, and Stability. • The Rock is Unshakable.
• The writer of Hebrews says: •Heb 13:5-6 Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." So we may boldly say: "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?"
2) If we are Going to Survive the Storms of Life, We must have that Kind of Faith in Christ.
• Never Lose Sight of Him. •Remain Faithful to Him ---- Especially during Times of Trouble!!!
I. We Should Keep Our Eyes Focused on the Rock of Jesus Christ Because CHRIST, in His Wonderful Love, Carries Our Burdens and Cares.
•Ps 55:22 Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.
• 1 Peter 5:7 KJV Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
• 1 Peter 5:7 TLB Let him have all your worries and cares, for he is always thinking about you and watching everything that concerns you.
•Jesus Cares That Man Is Burdened With Sin! • He Provides His Amazing Grace and Awesome Power to Deliver Us and Set us Free.
• Sinful Living Wrecks Havoc in the lives of People. • People Always Lose when they Play with Sin.
• You may Think you are Having Fun, but the Bible says •Gal 6:7-8 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.
What kind of Seed are you planting???
• Many of the Heavy Burdens that People Bear are the Result of Sinful Living. • Sometimes even Christians are Stubborn in Refusing to Deal with Sin.
• At times People Experience Storms because the Devil is Harassing them.
•Sometimes the Storms come because we Open the Door through Rebellion and Disobedience.
• Christ Jesus left Heaven’s Glory to Die for us, So That Our Burdens Could Be Removed.
•Matt 11:28-30 "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. "For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."
• Do you Need Rest in your Soul??? • The Lord Can Give you Such Wonderful Peace in the Depth of your Heart and Soul that will Amaze you.
• One Day in a Storm on the Galilee, The disciples Cried Out:
•Mark 4:38-40 "Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?" Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace, be still!" And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. • Jesus Can Stop the Raging Storm and bring Forth Peace and Calm in your Life.
•God Loves You!!! • The Lord Jesus Cares that we Do Not Perish, Not in the Storms of this Life Nor in the Storms of God’s Final Judgment. • That is why He died for us.
• 2 Pet 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
Are you Focused on the Rock? Are you Standing on the Promises? Are you a Doer of the Word?
II. We Should Keep Our Eyes Focused on the Rock of Jesus Christ because IT IS ONLY IN HIM THAT WE FIND PEACE IN THE MIDST OF THE STORM.
• John 16:33 KJV These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
• John 16:33 NIV 33 "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
• As long as we are in this world, there will be Trouble.
•You are in one of three areas right now. • You’ve just got out of Trouble, or you’re in Trouble right now, or you’re headed for Trouble.
• Trouble is a part of life. • But How do you Deal with it??? We Must Deal with Trouble by Keeping our Eyes Focused on the Rock of our Salvation, Christ Jesus!
•Christ said He is Our Deliverer. • In Him we have Peace. He has Overcome the World. • He Implies that He will Give us Victory. • That can mean He Delivers us FROM the Storm or it can Mean that He Delivers us THROUGH the Storm.
God Wants you to Remember:
• Rom 8:31 KJV What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
•1 Cor 15:57-58 KJV 57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
•1 Cor 15:58 NIV 58 Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
Invitation
