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Firsthand Change (2 of 7)
Series: The Firsthand Experience: Ditching Secondhand Religion for a Faith of Your Own
Pastor Kerry Shook
This sermon includes the sermon outline and the full sermon transcript. Below you will see a preview of the outline and a portion of the full sermon.
• Matthew 26:33-35 (NIV)
• Luke 22:56-62 (NIV)
• Acts 2:38-39, 41 (NIV)
FIRSTHAND CHANGE:
1. BEGINS WITH BROKENNESS
"But Peter said, 'Man, I don't know what you are talking about.' And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. At that moment the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered that the Lord had said, 'Before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know Me.' And Peter left the courtyard, weeping bitterly." Luke 22:60-62 (NLT)
2. BUILDS WITH BELIEF
"And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it." Matthew 16:18 (NIV)
"Now go and tell His disciples, including Peter, that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see Him there, just as He told you before He died." Mark 16:7 (NLT)
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Well, we're in a series on how to have a firsthand faith that's real and deep and life changing, but many times we settle for what I call a façade-kind-of faith. It's a faith that looks real strong on the outside, but it's not deep. It's superficial. It's shallow. It's sort of like this structure behind me. You can drop the curtain, guys. You see the structure that we built to look like a replica of the temple in Jerusalem. It looks like a strong structure, but it's not made of stone; it's made of Styrofoam, and the pillars look weighty but they hardly weigh anything, and that's the way it is with a façade-kind-of faith. It looks really good on the outside, but when the storms of life hit and the earth begins to shake, it crumbles, sort of like this. And that's a good thing, because it's a façade. You know it might get you to heaven because you've received Christ in your life, but you've never developed it, never grown your roots deep in Him and develop that rich and rewarding relationship, and therefore when things get tough and you're tested, you're faith doesn't stand the test, and so we're talking about a firsthand faith that stands the test of time and gets you through the storms of life, and that's while failure is such an essential part of firsthand faith because it's our failures that put us on a pathway to firsthand faith. Now that may sound really strange; but my sons, Ryan and Josh, in their book Firsthand, give C. S. Lewis' definition of firsthand faith.
C. S. Lewis used to say: Think of your life like a house, and when you come to Christ, you invite Him to come into your house and do what He wants in your house.
Series: The Firsthand Experience: Ditching Secondhand Religion for a Faith of Your Own
Pastor Kerry Shook
This sermon includes the sermon outline and the full sermon transcript. Below you will see a preview of the outline and a portion of the full sermon.
• Matthew 26:33-35 (NIV)
• Luke 22:56-62 (NIV)
• Acts 2:38-39, 41 (NIV)
FIRSTHAND CHANGE:
1. BEGINS WITH BROKENNESS
"But Peter said, 'Man, I don't know what you are talking about.' And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. At that moment the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered that the Lord had said, 'Before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know Me.' And Peter left the courtyard, weeping bitterly." Luke 22:60-62 (NLT)
2. BUILDS WITH BELIEF
"And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it." Matthew 16:18 (NIV)
"Now go and tell His disciples, including Peter, that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see Him there, just as He told you before He died." Mark 16:7 (NLT)
----
Well, we're in a series on how to have a firsthand faith that's real and deep and life changing, but many times we settle for what I call a façade-kind-of faith. It's a faith that looks real strong on the outside, but it's not deep. It's superficial. It's shallow. It's sort of like this structure behind me. You can drop the curtain, guys. You see the structure that we built to look like a replica of the temple in Jerusalem. It looks like a strong structure, but it's not made of stone; it's made of Styrofoam, and the pillars look weighty but they hardly weigh anything, and that's the way it is with a façade-kind-of faith. It looks really good on the outside, but when the storms of life hit and the earth begins to shake, it crumbles, sort of like this. And that's a good thing, because it's a façade. You know it might get you to heaven because you've received Christ in your life, but you've never developed it, never grown your roots deep in Him and develop that rich and rewarding relationship, and therefore when things get tough and you're tested, you're faith doesn't stand the test, and so we're talking about a firsthand faith that stands the test of time and gets you through the storms of life, and that's while failure is such an essential part of firsthand faith because it's our failures that put us on a pathway to firsthand faith. Now that may sound really strange; but my sons, Ryan and Josh, in their book Firsthand, give C. S. Lewis' definition of firsthand faith.
C. S. Lewis used to say: Think of your life like a house, and when you come to Christ, you invite Him to come into your house and do what He wants in your house.
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