Pause
FROM WE TO ME
The definition of Pause – A temporary stop or rest, especially in speech or action, due to uncertainty; A short break.
The Bible is full of people who had to pause or wait on God for seasons. There was Noah, who under God’s instruction began a building project that took approximately a hundred years to complete, but he trusted that eventually, the rain God promised would fall from the sky. Noah’s obedience to wait saved his entire family. The writer of most of the psalms, King David, was anointed by God as a boy, but waited in exile for over fifteen years, before taking his rightful place on the throne of Israel. Jesus was dedicated as a young boy at the temple but had to wait thirty years before God released Him into ministry. The disciples were instructed by Jesus, after the resurrection, to pause and wait for the promised gift of the Holy Spirit who came upon them at Pentecost, which empowered these simple men to preach, heal, deliver, and minister with authority.
David said of waiting in:
Psalm 62:5
5 For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. (ESV)
Being forced to pause for a season and wait on God can be challenging and frustrating, but it is never in vain. Waiting is an act of great faith believing that God is working!
A wise man once said – “There is nothing more impactful than a well-placed pause.”
Someone else said – “A pause keeps us from making permanent decisions based on temporary emotions.”
Mark Twain – “Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it’s time to pause and reflect.”
An impatient person said – “If you don’t learn to pause, then nothing worthwhile will ever catch up to you.”
> Sometimes we pause to rest because we are weary from the battle!
> Sometimes we pause to remember just how far we’ve already come!
> Sometimes we pause to remind ourselves why we started the journey!
> Sometimes we pause to readjust a little because we have lost our way!
> Sometimes we pause to reignite our fire that has lost some of its flames!
We need to understand that – there is a Protection In The Pause!
One of the biggest ways God works in us is through waiting!
Waiting is not an interruption in God’s plan, it is God’s plan!
Isaiah 64:4
4 From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him. (ESV)
Matthew 16:13-20
13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” 20 Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ. (ESV)
-In the middle of a crazy preaching schedule, feeding 9,000 people, and healing the blind and demon-possessed, Jesus hit pause to take the pulse of his disciples.
-Jesus wasn’t interested in what the crowds said about him, he wanted to know what his closest 12 said about him.
-Jesus wanted the relationship with his disciples to grow from corporate to personal!
-So he asked his disciples a question, “Who do you say I am?” Peter was the only disciple who boldly answered, “You are the Messiah, the son of the Living God.”
-At this moment, a transition happened between Jesus and Peter. Jesus went from a corporate spiritual leader whom the disciples followed, to Peter’s Savior! Jesus asked his disciples to define their relationship with him and Peter did!
*There are moments in life when relationships that we are in need to be defined!*
It doesn’t matter what anyone else says He is. What matters is who you say he is!
Huge Detail: Another critical detail in this story that we need to see, is that after Simon Peter answers, Jesus changes his name from Simon to Peter. The name Simon meant “One who hears God” but Peter, in Hebrew is “Cephas”, which means Rock!
Whenever there was a name change in the Bible, it was to identify a spiritual transition in a person’s life. Peter went from one who heard God to one who knew him personally!
Jesus declared that the church would not be built on mass corporate opinions, but on each person’s revelation of who Jesus is to them!!!
Jesus said – The church corporately will be built on who I am to you personally!
Some people spend their entire lives around God, but still don’t know Him!
Who do you say that I am?
When Jesus hit the pause button, he changed the conversation from We to Me!
What Peter said that day was a defining moment in his life. Jesus went from someone he hung out with and was impressed by, to someone he now gave authority in his life!
The definition always determines direction, and Peter defined Christ as his Messiah!
The word Christian is used 3 times in the entire Bible. The word disciple, however, is used 278 times in the N.T. alone. The word Christian is used endlessly in the world, while the word disciple is used seldomly. Why? Christian is a title. A disciple is a commitment!
Disciple means a student! Jesus invited his listeners into a relationship in:
Matthew 11:29
29 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. (ESV)
A disciple of Jesus follows Jesus, learns from Jesus and then imitates Jesus!
There are 5 attitudes of a disciple my former Pastor taught, that I want to share with you today from Luke 9:23 “Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.”
(1) Make up your mind!
You and I are the ones who decide what role Jesus is going to play in our lives!
(2) Give up yourself!
Self-denial is not putting yourself down, it is putting Christ and others first!
The apostle Paul in Philippians 1:21 “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”
Paul didn’t say, “For me to live is me” (Our world) He said, “For me to live is Christ”
(3) Take up your Cross!
Jesus’ cross was God’s will for his life, and your cross is God’s will for your life!
Disciples of Jesus live their entire lives with an IF attitude.
IF it is the Lord’s will!
(4) Work at it Daily!
Acts 5:42 (NIV) “Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah.”
(5) Follow Me Only!
Too many people follow Jesus from a distance and wonder why they get disappointed!
Jesus is the only rock we can lean on! Stay close to Me! Lean on Me! Follow Me!
This pause is an opportunity for a spiritual transition.
Who do you say that He is?
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Email: Prayer@realchurchohio.com