Struggle To Become Series

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...