Messages from Malachi

SERMON NOTES

Sunday, October 10, 2004

THE ROCK!
Matthew 7:24-27

Name Above All Names, 3 of an 8-Part Series

Rev. Jimmy Painter

Cresthill Baptist Church

“Rock”: (1) a large mass of stone forming a hill (or) cliff. (2) mineral matter of variable composition … assembled in masses … in nature, as by the action of heat or water. (3) stone in the mass (as in) ‘built on rock’ (4) a firm foundation or support. (8) slang: (a.) a diamond … (b.) crack or a pellet or lump of crack (cocaine) … (c.) alcohol served straight over ice (as in ‘on the rocks’). (9) to move or sway from side to side … (10) to affect deeply; to stun (11) to shake or disturb violently, (and one of my favorites) (12) a musical style derived in part from blues … marked by an accented beat.” (Webster)

One word, so many meanings – some good, some bad, some we’re still trying to figure out. Today I want to take you to Matthew Chapter 7 and introduce some, re-introduce others, and point all of us to not just “A rock,” but to “THE Rock” -- none other than His Royal “Rock-ness”, Jesus the Christ!

Matthew 7:24-27 (Let us stand in honor of the reading of God’s Word, reading in unison Matthew Chapter 7, verses 24 through 27:

²⁴"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. ²⁶But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."

¹Remember our history, friends, and be warned. All our ancestors were led by the providential Cloud and taken miraculously through the Sea. ²They went through the waters, in a baptism like ours, as Moses led them from enslaving death to salvation life. ³They all ate ⁴and drank identical food and drink, meals provided daily by God. They drank from the Rock, God's fountain for them that stayed with them wherever they were. And the Rock was Christ. ⁵But just experiencing God's wonder and grace didn't seem to mean much - most of them were defeated by temptation during the hard times in the desert, and God was not pleased. ⁶The same thing could happen to us. We must be on guard so that we never get caught up in wanting our own way as they did. (The Message)

Did you see what was said in verse 4? It says “They drank from the Rock, God’s fountain for them that stayed with them wherever they were. And The Rock was Christ.” What does that mean? Albert Barnes in his classic entitled Notes On the New Testament writes, “The rock from which the water flowed was evidently an ordinary rock, a part of Mount Horeb; and all that this can mean is that a rock with the stream of water gushing from it, was a representation of the Messiah (Jesus) … and the blessings which result from Him … The Jews did partake of the mercies that flow from Him; and that even in the desert they were under His care. … This representation was understood by Paul to consist of the following things:

(1) Christians, like the children of Israel, are passing through the world as pilgrims and to them that world is a wilderness …

(2) They need continued supplies … in their journey. The world, like that wilderness, does not meet their necessities or supply their wants.

(3) That rock was a striking representation of the fullness of the Messiah, of the abundant grace which He imparts to His people.

(4) It was an illustration of their continued and constant dependence on Him for the daily supply of their wants.” (Barnes on The New Testament: 1st Corinthians, pp. 182, 183)

The people of God experienced the presence and the provision of Christ the Rock. The Christians in Corinth experienced both the presence and the provision of Christ. When we build our lives upon that very same “Rock”, we, too, will experience His presence and provision. “Rock of Ages, cleft for me.” “Rock of Ages, Jesus is the Rock”. “On Christ the Solid Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.” What do all of these songs say? They say that Jesus is that one and only foundation upon which to build your life. For when you build your life on That Rock, nothing can defeat you, and nothing can destroy you! Jesus is the ROCK.

⁶It is just as God says in the Scriptures, "Look! I am placing in Zion a choice and precious Cornerstone. No one who has faith in that One will be disappointed." ⁷You are followers of the Lord, and that Stone is precious to you. But it isn't precious to those who refuse to follow Him. They are the builders who tossed aside the Stone that turned out to be the most important One of all. (CEV)

Jesus is not just any “stone”, He is the “LIVING STONE”, rock-solid, “rejected by [most] men, but [He is] chosen and precious to God the Father in Heaven. Jesus is not just a “living stone”, but He is God’s carefully selected “CORNERSTONE”. God has called us to a life of “building” not “destroying”. God has called us to accept Christ as Savior, and then to grow in our Spirit-Life, building up the Body of Christ, His Church. Peter is writing primarily to Jewish Christians dispersed throughout the world because of the persecution they are suffering just because they claim the name of Christ. Therefore, when Peter talks about building a “house” [2:5], he is talking about more than just “A HOUSE”. Peter is talking about building a “Spiritual House.” Peter is talking to his Jewish brothers and sisters in Christ about THE TEMPLE!

The Bible tells us that under the First Covenant with God, the original temple was built by King Solomon. The Bible also tells us that under the New Covenant, the “Spiritual Temple” is being built by none other than the Lord Jesus Christ Himself! It is being built with “living stones” [v.5]. And what exactly are “living stones”? They are the very lives of the likes of you and me, who have become spiritually alive, born-again, saved through our faith in Jesus Christ. And the foundation of that Temple is none other than Christ, “the Cornerstone”. And what is a “Cornerstone”? Webster defines a “cornerstone” as “a stone which lies at the corner of 2 walls and serves to unite them; specifically a stone built into a corner of the foundation of an important edifice as the actual … starting point in the building.” That is who Jesus is! He is “The Cornerstone”! He is our “Rock”! Church, Jesus is that Chief Cornerstone who seeks to be the master-builder of our lives. Jesus is that master-builder who wants to build us together into His Holy Temple – His Church!

Ephesians 2:20 drives this truth home when it says that, 20He used the apostles and prophets for the foundation. Now He's using you, fitting you in brick by brick, stone by stone, with Christ Jesus as the Cornerstone. (MSG)

Jesus is building His church, stone-by-stone, brick-by-brick. Jesus is that “Rock”, that “Cornerstone” that Foundation upon which to build your life.

Listen to how the Amplified Bible communicates Isaiah Chapter 28, verse 16:Therefore thus says the Lord God, Behold, I am laying in Zion for a foundation a Stone, a tested Stone, a precious Cornerstone of sure foundation; he who believes (trusts in, relies on, and adheres to that Stone) will not be ashamed or give way or hasten away [in sudden panic]. (AMP)

The Message translates Isaiah 28:16 this way: But the Master, GOD, has something to say to this: "Watch closely. I'm laying a foundation in Zion, a solid granite foundation, squared and true. And this is the meaning of the stone: A TRUSTING LIFE WON'T TOPPLE. (MSG)

That is why we say that Jesus is a “Precious Cornerstone.” He is to be treasured above all! He is to be worshipped above all! He is to be praised above all! Operating out of an “Attitude of Gratitude”, we seek to expand and build up the kingdom of Christ by reaching out to our family, friends, co-workers and classmates, sharing with them the “great news” that Jesus is that foundation upon which to build your life. And our “sales-pitch” is quite convincing, for we are not just salesmen, but satisfied customers, having built our live upon “The Rock”!

Jesus is The Rock. Jesus is the Cornerstone. Jesus is A Precious Cornerstone. Jesus is also …

First Peter 2:7 tells us this: To you then who believe (who adhere to, trust in, and rely on Him) is the preciousness; but for those who disbelieve [it is true], the [very] Stone which the builders rejected has become the main Cornerstone. (Reference Psalm 118:22) (AMP)

Not only did the Jews reject Jesus when He came. Not only did the Romans reject Jesus when He came. Many others, religious leaders and common folk like you and me, heard Him, met Him, and rejected Him. So it is today that, statistically speaking, most of the people we meet have not been born again. Statistically speaking, most of the people we meet possess at least a cursory knowledge of our God and Savior Jesus Christ. And the operative word here is the word “cursory”, for that is how they refer to Jesus.

The Rock upon which we who believe have built our lives is rejected by them. What we see as precious, they see as putrid. What we worship, they see as worthless. That is why Christ is relegated to the role of cursory – by that I mean not only a superficial understanding of His identity, but rejecting Him to the lowest level of human expression. That is why un-churched unbelievers often speak His name even more than we do! They call out His name when they curse, or if you will, cuss. Don’t you find it strange that nobody ever seems to say, “Oh, Buddha” when they’re angry? Or when someone cuts them off in traffic, you never hear coming from their car window, “Mohammed dangit”? No, it is always “God *expletive deletive*” this” and “Christ *expletive deletive* that”.

The very rock upon which to build their lives, the very cornerstone upon which to erect their existence, the very stone upon which to experience forgiveness, salvation, and life eternal is REJECTED. Oh, that they would repent! Oh, that they would turn around! Oh, that they would cry out those words recorded in Mark 11:10, declaring: 10Praised and blessed in the name of the Lord is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna (O save us) in the highest [heaven]! (AMP) BUT – they never will unless Christians like you and me, invest our lives in them in intentional friendships. They never will come to Christ unless Christians like you and me invite them to our church and to our Christ. They never will, unless we include them in our lives, our church’s life, and the life of our Lord.

Jesus is THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED. Let’s make sure more come to know Him as the Foundation for their lives.

Rock; Precious Cornerstone; Rejected Building Block; Jesus, that Name Above All Names, is also …

Listen to the Word of God, recorded in 1st Peter, Chapter 2, the 4th verse. The King James Version declares: 4To whom coming, as unto a living Stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious. (KJV)

The New Living Translation of 1st Peter 2:4 says, 4Come to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God's temple. He was rejected by the people, but he is precious to God who chose him. (NLT) Jesus is a “living stone.” The Greek word for “living” is the word ZÁO. It is the same word used by Jesus when He told the Samaritan woman at the well about living water in John 4:10.

It is the same word used by Jesus when He told the Jews in John 6:51, “I am the living bread come down from Heaven. If anyone eats this bread, he will live forever.” The Bible tells us that you and I need to come to Christ, the “Living Stone,” that we might have life everlasting.

Jesus is that steady as a rock, solid as a Rock, but unlike any other Rock, a living Rock upon which to find life, and upon which to build your life.

Today we’ve looked at, listened and learned five names given to Jesus, “The Rock”. He is that FOUNDATION upon which to build your life. Some here today know that, and their lives, and the lives of their loved ones are steady as a rock. Some here, no doubt, live and lead rocky lives, but today they’ve heard the voice of their Heavenly Father say, “Son, daughter, child of mine – I’m not only in the “building” business – I’m also in the “repair” business. Let me help you to rebuild your life: Some here today have heard about this “Rock”, and may have even known of Him through the gyrations of “Religion”. Today, Christ “the Rock” invites you to come to Him, not through “religion”, but through a personal relationship.

To all here today, to all people anywhere and everywhere, Christ the Rock, Name Above All Names, offers every one of us, “More sky than we can see, More seas than we can sail, More sun than we can bear to watch, More stars than we can scale. More breath than we can breathe, More yield than we can sow. More grace than we can comprehend. More love than we can know! (Ralph W. Seager quoted in The Treasure Chest, Charles L. Walis, compiler [New York: Harper and Row, 1965], p.26. Note: “He” was exchanged for “we” to make this text more congregationally inclusive.)