GOD’S WORD FOR  NOVEMBER 1

Our  book excerpt today, and ongoing,  is from “Chiseled by the Master’s Hand”  Lessons from the Life of Peter, by Erwin  Lutzer.  Dr. Lutzer is  Canadian-born and served as Senior Pastor of the Moody Church in Chicago for 36 years, until his retirement in 2016.   He now serves as Pastor Emeritus of Moody Church.  He’s written many books and has radio and internet teaching programs.

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Why could Jesus be so confident that Peter would become a great man?  He was making a promise, not just because He knew the future but because He knew that He had the power to shape the future.  His promise was not based on a whim but on known resources.

CHRIST CAN GUARANTEE THE FUTURE BECAUSE IT IS IN HIS HANDS!!!

The Divine Sculptor doesn’t manufacture saints as one might make statues in a factory.  He delights to take diverse raw material and make the unexpected.  The varied personalities, gifts, desires, and aptitudes of all God’s people remain intact but are brought under His direction.  Then, like the different parts of the body, each of us contributes to the strength and coordination of the whole.

Since Christ is now shaping us just as He did Peter, we need to take a moment to learn some lessons about how the Master Sculptor does His work.  Here are some basic observations.

First, we are struck with the realization that human actions and divine providence converge to accomplish the will of God.  Andrew, no doubt, thought that the decision to bring Peter to Christ was his alone; this was a natural response of someone who wanted his brother to share good news.  Yet, years later Jesus would explain that those who came to Him were drawn by the Holy Spirit.

THE VISIBLE ACTIONS OF MEN ARE OFTEN THE INVISIBLE ACTIONS OF GOD. 

Christ is the One who chooses the stones He desires to fashion.

Second, Christ begins the transformation by forgiving our sins and changing our disposition.  John the Baptist said of Him, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29).

Here was a man who could successfully deal with the most fundamental problem of human existence.  He would begin by removing Peter’s sin so that this humble fisherman might establish a direct relationship with God.

Sin was covered in the Old Testament, but it was never taken away.  Day by day and year by year sacrifices had to be offered with the distinct knowledge that the offenses of tomorrow would need yet another sacrifice.  Even then the sacrifices covered only the sins of Israel.  THIS sacrifice would take away the sins of the WORLD!

Third, Christ can change human nature.  A Christian is not merely a sinner minus his sins, but a new creation.  There is a transformation of heart that is the beginning of the whole new level of human existence.  This does not mean an instant life of spiritual vigor; it means simply that the potential is there for radical transformation.

Jesus used the illustration of human birth: 

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”  (John 3:3). When a baby is born, it has all the parts of its anatomy intact.  The toes, fingers, eyes and ears are all there;  whether or not it grows depends on the nourishment and care it will receive.  When we are born again, the work is complete but it is not finished.  We still have growing to do.

Peter was promised that he would become a rock.  Thirty years later, he wrote that all of us are stones in the living temple which God is building (1 Peter 2:5):

“You also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”   The same Lord who took up the chisel to bring about a new Peter is the One who uses His chisel to shape us too.

Only gradually would Peter understand how much he really needed to be changed.  The gap between what he was and what he would become was much wider than he realized.  He would learn that:

HE MUST BE WILLING TO ADMIT WHO HE WAS BEFORE CHRIST COULD CHANGE HIM INTO WHO HE COULD BECOME.

There is no transformation without pain.  With every bit of change, we die a bit more to ourselves.  The Divine Sculptor wounds us that He might mold us to perfection;  He breaks us that He might straighten us perfectly.

“I am not what I ought to be,

I am not what I want to be,

I am not what I hope to be,

But thank God

I am not what I used to be.”

The first step is to submit to the Man with a loving heart who has a chisel in His hand. 

Is our name “anxiety”?   Christ can name us “peace”

Is our name “rejection”?  Christ can name us “acceptance.”

Is our name “bitter”?   Christ can name us “love”

If our name “fear”?    Christ can name us “courage.”

Is our name “guilty”?   Christ can name us “forgiven.”

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2 Corinthians 5:17

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

Ezekiel 36:26-27

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.  I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.

Galatians 2:20

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

Romans 12:2

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Philippians 1:6

being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;

Romans 8:29

For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.

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