An Encounter with Jesus: In the Process

Well, good morning, venture church. How are we doing today? Oh,

y'all reliably listen. It may be gross outside, but the sun is

in here. I feel it. Come on, you guys, look good.

We got a cute church. Y'all know that. Just tell yourself real

quick, some self information. Say I'm cute, the mainly man of the

better is like, I'm not gonna say that I'm handsome. I'm Grown's kidding.

If we haven't met yet, my name is Johnny White. Have the

honor and privilege of being the youth pastor here. It's funny because this past

Thursday was my second year marker as being on staff, and so thank you,

thank you. I appreciate it. It's busy, second year on staff,

my second time preaching on a Sunday. This Tuesday is my birthday.

I'm going on a trip on Thursday. Lord, thank you see just a

good time. Well, listen, I want to give honor where honor is

due to Pastor Brennan and Pastor die Bills. They're on sabbatical. Don't you

guys love our lead pastors? She chokes us to love. Come on,

come on. I also want to say what's up to our online family pastor

Kelsey. I know she's talking to you guys and everything, but know that

from me, I see you and you also are cute. You can tell

yourself at your seat. Well, listen, I just want to go straight

in. Is that okay? That's amazing. The title of my message today

is called in Process. Somebody say in process, in process. I'm believing

that this is a message that I was going to talk about. As we

reflect on our own lives, look at our own faith, we want to

acknowledge that we are never a finished product. Raise your hand if you think

you're a finished product. Oh great, I'm god. I want to say,

fage. I'm not a fish prout to either. I'm not like I

am. No. But we right now are in the middle of a sermon

series entitled Encounters with Jesus. We're sharing examples, contexts of Jesus crossing paths

with somebody and just everything is never the same, everything is transformed. And

so I want you to open up your Bibles to Matthew chapter sixteen. And

as you guys are turning there, we're gonna open up with a little something.

As I was preparing for this, I chose this scripture about three four

months ago loose, and as we were getting closer, something miraculous was happening.

Everybody in their mama was talking about the scripture. And let me let

you guys kind of aware what happens on the speaker's side when Pastor Brandon is

speaking about something, and Pastor Die and Pastor Virgil and Pastor Jeremy and Pastor

Morgan, and it's just like being mentioned a lot eternally as a communicator.

It's like, oh, do I need to change my verse because I'm not

trying to go like I'm not trying to go like verse for verse with Pastor

Brandon. That's not gonna win that way. And I remember having a conversation

with Pastor Morgan. I'm like, man, should I like switch it up?

And he's like, listen, man, like you've been talking about this

for months, you've prayed over this, you sent it to just pray about

it again and let me know. And so, of course, go to

my metaphorical prayer closet and I'm like, God, what are we going to

do? And he said, listen, one person cannot encapsulate my word,

one person cannot encapsulate my presence. This is the verse I put on your

heart. This is a verse that you're gonna share. And so I'm believing

that this is an investment only for you, but for myself, that as

I communicate, I'm preaching, and so I'm ready and excited. Would you

guys just pray with me. Dear Lord, thank you so much for today,

Thank you for who you are, and thank you for what you do.

God, change our lives and transform us from the inside out. It

is in your name we pray. Somebody say amen, Hey men, Matthew

sixteen, here's what's happening. We are ancessory of Philippi. Jesus is talking

to his disciples. It's like that's northern Israel, like base in Mount Herman

for those who care about that stuff. And Jesus is asking the question,

who do you say that I am? And the disciples are going back and

forth and they begin to share. They're saying that you're Elijah, some are

saying John, the Baptists, some are saying that you're a prophet, some

say you're Jeremiah. And as we lean into verse fifteen, Jesus cuts to

the chase. Verse fifteen says, but you, He asked them, who

do you say that I am Simon. Peter answered, you are the Messiah,

the son of the Living God. Jesus responded, blessed are you,

Simon, son of Joonah. Because flesh and blood did not reveal this to

you, but my father in Heaven, I also say to you that you

are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church and the gates

of Hades will not overpower it. When I read this, something was just

screaming at me that there is something powerful about proximity, something that when you

know God from the source, it establishes a faith that he can build with.

And in this certain text and scripture of what we see, there's just

so much to unpack in verse seventeen. It's important to highlight that. As

we go back to verse seventeen, it's important to highlight this word blessed is

not specific just to Simon. This is not an anointing. This is not

a calling card moment where like Peter, you are the one. He's acknowledging

what the quality of faith that he has. And I want to show us,

as we can see you at deeper, that this is is about building.

The scripture specifically is talking about building up his Church. That word revealed.

Also in verse seventeen is this word apocauluto, which means to lay open

what has been veiled or covered up. And there is something about when you

have proximity to Jesus that you begin to see him in everything you see Jesus

about Jesus. Peter and the disciples weren't paying attention to what people had to

say about who Jesus was. It was because they knew Jesus that they could

say, I know who you are. There is something about when we have

the resolve and the time and the pursuit to get closer, his glory is

revealed. There is a sense of maturity in our faith when we can look

at the herd, the good, the bad, and the ugly and say,

Jesus, you are in all of it because I know who you are.

There's something powerful with the acknowledgment of not only do I know who you

are, I know whose I am. And there's a process in that.

It's it's this acknowledgment that this is something that I can build on the Church

of today. I'm so grateful. Is not just cement and would, in

fact, it's heart and soul. We are the church not reduced down to

an led wall, not reduced down to a building. We, Bigxie,

are the church of what we see. And I'm grateful that we have a

church that is built on the source, not opinion, the source and not

agenda. It is the source that transforms everything in our life. And it's

this, this personal testament, this personal acknowledgment. And I know this is

for you and I. As we turn to First Peter chapter two, it

says, as you come to him a living stone, rejected by people,

but chosen and honored by God. You yourselves, as living stones, a

spiritual house are being built to be a royal priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices

acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Now I want to go back to verse

eighteen. There's a lot of back and forth. Shout out to our media

team because Hank clap, come on, everybody, that's right. That's right.

Also, I like to I like to pace and walk around. So

they're getting the workout in today. I'm come here, I come here,

I'm getting my steps in. That's that's the big Oh sorry, yeah,

you know what I mean. Anyways, Verse eighteen something cool. I want

to show you guys. Is that when it says that you are Peter,

Peter's name in Hebrew means what the rock. See, you got some some

some Christians in the house. Peters. Peter's name in Hebrew, it's just

kidding. Is petros. That is the masculine form of the rock, as

we see in the following and on this rock is also the rock. But

it's patriots. This is the masculine and the feminine version of the same word.

And it's this acknowledgment that goes from personal to physical. And it's this

acknowledgment of I'm talking to you, Peter, but what I'm talking about building

with is your faith. And it's this indicator in quality of this is a

faith I can build with. As we go to one Peter. Back to

first Peter about living stones. That word stones in the Hebrew is this word

called lithos. It's not the same word I just said, But I want

to highlight to you it wouldn't make sense for the Bible to encapsulate every single

person's name that would ever exist and ever be all. It's the catch all

of it's all of us. We are all living stones. And what this

highlights to me is this. Peter was never intended to be the one and

only. He was intended to be the first of many. It was always

the plan and the picture that you and I would be a part of the

house that God would build. It was never a question about the foundation.

It was about the materials. And Jesus is highlighting in a moment like this,

your faith needs to be sturdy, and a faith that is sturdy is

a faith that acknowledges and knows this is who I am. This is the

line of where we need to build. This is the line of where where.

And Peter extends this questioning something that you'll see in that first Peter verse,

uh. In verse five, it talks about being built up, being

built, being developed. This this is something that we are in process,

always and forever. Uh. And about being in process. Being a process

requires a few things. We are, we are not the finished product.

And the first thing that I want to tell you is that being in process

requires persistence. Being in process requires persistence. I can't imagine put yourself in

Peter's shoes. Jesus the Messiah himself gives you like the ultimate compliment, Like

Peter, you are the rock I can build, I can build with that.

I can build with your kind of faith. I don't know about y'all,

but I would be looking at Jonah belove. Did you hear that,

James? Did you? Did you hear that? I don't. I didn't

hear him saying that you were the rock and so uh as as in this

very next moment, we see a little bit of humble pie come out,

because what happens next is as Jesus begins to share with the disciples, I'm

going to Jerusalem. I'm about to I'm about to suffer for endure all these

different things. And Peter the Rock Dwayne to Peter Johnson pulls Jesus to the

side. Some of you guys would cash down the parking lot. He says,

my Lord, let it not be so you don't have to suffer.

Oh, and I love Jesus. I love his response, it's good,

it's good verse twenty six. Put that up. Oh. Jesus turned him

and told him, Peter, get behind me. Satan, you are a

hindrance to me because you are not thinking about God's concerns, but humans concerns.

Listen, if you're married in the room, turn to your spouse and

say get behind me. I'm just kidding. Listen, s way, you

gotta be paying attention. Don't don't go into auto response. I'm gonna get

you in trouble. Okay. Now he gives this rebuke. And what I

love about Peter he doesn't run away. I don't know about y'all, but

if somebody called me saying, I'd be like, okay, just say you

don't want to hang out anymore? All right, I get it, I

get it. Peter leans in, he said, get behind me, Satan.

Your concerns are not in God's time. It's you. You're You're worried

about the human concern. And there's a lesson in this that how many of

us have ever made a mistake? That should that should be all of us.

How many times do we make these crazy strides in our faith, this

crazy sense of development we feel, we feel like we hit breakthrough, we

hit liberty, we hit the next level of our faith, and then we

make we make a mistake, We missed the mark. We backslide, we

we we we we we become a shell of ourselves. The things that we

thought we had conquered we're still stuck in. We fall back into and it's

this level of Peter saying I'm not giving up. In fact, I'm leaning

in. And this is this is what it highlighted to me. Peter is

is a disciple who pulled the coin from the fish's mouth. Peter's the one

who walked on water. Peter filled with the Holy spirit, listed the man

the layman at the gate called beautiful. Peter is one of the fathers of

the early Church. Peter is also the person who denied Jesus three times.

Peter's also the person who gets called get behind me, Satan. Peter is

the one who also fell into the water after he got scared. What I'm

saying is this, our mistakes do not dictate our destiny. That our God

is bigger. The foundation is bigger in everything that we're doing. There is

no mess our God can't cover and can't clean up. He is working because

he has an acknowledgment. They're not finished, We're just in. That's right,

catch on, And this is this line. First of all, I

want every time I read this, I'm like, get behind me, Satan.

I was like, gott to be so extreme, Oh my gosh,

crazy, I love it. What I know is this that being in process,

not only it requires persistence. It also requires patience and something else,

because that's not your strong suit. I'm also I'm also like that it's not

my strong So I'm a very impatient person. But can I tell you,

when we operate our life with the framework of eternity in mind, everything begins

to shrink the problems and concern of what is eternal and what is everlasting and

what is actually true and life yielding begins to take worry and concern away.

Now that doesn't mean that everything is just gonna be golly awesome, amazing.

Hardship happens. We can acknowledge sometimes life has to suck in it. It's

terrible, but there's life. It's birth through Jesus life. That's birth through

proximity of I know who the victor is, and I follow the victor,

and so by association I'll be victorious. But the victory is not my credit.

It's who I lean on. Are y'all with me? Just know what

this morning? Come on, let's keep going. Uh. I don't believe

that it's coincidence that the very next teaching Peter or Jesus gives the disciples is

a picture of picking up your cross in fact, I believe that it's important

that we have to acknowledge in the process. It requires self denial. This

is important that being in the process requires self denial. Matthew sixteen twenty four

says this. Then Jesus says that his disciples, if anyone wants to follow

after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.

For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, But whoever loses

his life because of me will find it. For what will it benefit someone

if he gains the whole world yet loses his life, Or what will anyone

give an exchange for his life. When I was in elementary school, my

mom would play these two albums on repeat. Is his artist named Sublime and

his artist name Toby Mac. We got any Tobe Mac fans in the house,

shout out okay, okay okay, I said in a thirty and they're

like, you could just tell like this back crowd. It was like the

retired people and they were like, yeah, we have some young people over

here and they're like, what anyways do you guys recognize this album Portable Sounds.

Portable Sounds is a classic. I'm adding to your next steps after you

get out of here, you're gonna play Portable Sounds declared over your household.

It's amazing, just kidding, but there is this song in Portable Sounds and

I didn't really know and understand. I mean I was like seven or eight

at the time, but there was this song that Toby Mack would go and

maybe you guys know the words. I'm not a singer, so get ready

brace it. I'm glad this is recorded. O don on wait on a

game? No? Well, oh it lose min And I was like,

hey, I like this. I like this, And she said, you

don't even know what it's talking about, and I was like, I don't,

but I get it sounds good. But it was this lesson what does

it mean to get everything that doesn't matter in the long run? What does

it mean to be thriving and everything that will fall away that you can't take

with you? Self denial is important, it's key. The Book of Luke

will even talk about picking up your cross not only once but daily every day,

This process of self denial of what it looks like and do you want

to know if you're picking up your cross in the right way and the right

viewpoint. You have to ask the question, am I picking up my cross

out of self seeking? Or am I picking up my cross to honor the

sacrifice? Is it done out of what I gain? This is a hard

question. This is like rhetorical. We don't have to say it out loud,

or you can. I don't care. Whenever, if I told you

that Jesus would never do another thing for you ever again in your life,

would you still operate out of discipline? Would you still operate out of practicing

and saying no? Using no? It is hard in a culture that promotes

pleasure and advancement to put your needs secondary. I acknowledge that, and it's

a good thing that we don't operate within our own power. This teaching that

Jesus is giving us and extending us. He's talking and referencing a power that's

about to become complete, an authority that's about to be extended, and access

that couldn't be replicated. It's how you live your life based on self gratification

or the crucifixion. Because I asked the question, how can God clear the

ashes of a fire? You continue to stoke. How can God do a

new thing on the thing? You continue to feed. I love Pastor Brandon's

always picture of holding on to Jesus like this and everything else to the wayside.

It's this picture. We are in process. There are things it was

easy, God saved, let it go, just Kobe shot it away.

But there are these things that it's like I'm holding on to. This is

the aspect of being in process. It won't happen overnight. This is the

pattern of relationship. Some of you guys can attest in your marriage. You

thought you knew what marriage was when you got into it. Forty years down

the line, you can say it's turned a little bit different. It looks

different. It's a process of how we get to know each other the proximity

of what we have. And here's the thing. The transformation that takes place

in our relationship is due to our connectivity. It's due to their proximity.

It is innately to see someone so holy, so blameless, so loving,

so much bigger than ourselves. When we begin to graft towards it, we

realize the actual, like, oh, where we're at. We acknowledge I

got some stuff to work on. When I see someone who's perfect, I

can see in my reflection what's imperfect. Are y'all with me this morning?

And so as we continue to look and deny, we always have to ask

a question, is it for me? Is it for you? This is

a picture of the cross when Jesus is suffering and going through everything that he's

about to go through. It's just acknowledge me that as I cares, as

Jesus carries his cross, he's looking at us. It's not for me,

it's for you, Peter. It's not for me. It's for you.

It's for you to have access. It's for you to have a choice.

It's for you to wave away shame. It's for you to have an authority

that you could never have access to otherwise. We need to match that same

energy where when we pick up our cross, when we practice self denial,

it's not for me. It's not to look how good of a Christian I

am, Jesus, it's for you. It's your character, it's who you

are, it's who it's who I want to be like You're it. And

so Lord, I'm not doing this for a blessing. I'm not doing this

for the job promotion. I'm not doing this so excep for my family.

I'm doing this selfishly for you. This process of I want to know you,

I want to be with you, I want proximity. And it always

goes into this line, even back to when Peter is able to confess the

Messiah. When you know who you are and you know who he is,

everything begins to change, everything begins to transform. You can't just operate the

same. It's different. What people will call counterproductive, you get to mark

as obedience. The biggest line of the world will try to sell you is

that being others focused or other are the others centered will be the end of

you instead of fulfilling you, because that concept and process is embodying the love

of Christ. This ownership incense because here's the process we talked about, this

individual call this individual moment going corporate. It's not just one stone. We

are the stones like a band, but like a bajillion people band. And

in the band, there has to be ownership because I don't know about you,

but I care what the house looks like. I care what the house

is made of. What does it mean if the living room looks good but

the roof is leaking. What does it mean if we have a house that

is built up of iron and then the back walls made out of marshmallows.

We are in process, but in community of believers, in community of people

who are longing and chasing Jesus, there has to be this sense of how

are you doing? Because when you focus on yourself on the race, and

you don't check in on your teammate, you don't check it on a band

member, you don't check in on your brother and sister. That's why this

is not in my notes. But if you're in this house and you've been

a part of venture but not a part of venture, like you slide out,

you slide in like that just says bow your heads and you're like,

gotta go be traffic. Third song comes in and like there's not an opportunity

for you to connect. This is why we push groups so hard for you

to get connected connected, not in the way just for community's sake, but

for holiness sake. When you get to do life with like minded people,

it changes everything because you have people who are on mission and on target.

I was reading this book and I think it's actually a book that we were

going through, but it was talking about why Navy seals or whoever has to

dive in the water I'm messing that up. Who dives in the water?

Navy seals? Yes, yeah, no, that come on anyways. Navy

seals that their training starts at four am every single day. And they interviewed

a Navy seal and they're like, how do you do it? How do

you do it? And it's like, it's really easy when I got seventy

other people who are doing the exact same thing with me that if I don't

show up, if I don't execute, I got sixty nine other people that

are willing to say, you need to get up and go. You got

something to do. There is ownership and accountability in the house. A faith

worth building with looks like someone knowing the source, reflecting the source, and

everything that we do, and a cruel of everything that doesn't matter will always

leave you empty. So what do we do? We need to chase?

Who is eternal and who fulfills is the biggest thing one Peter Chapter one,

first twenty four through twenty five says, for all, there's always two.

For all fleshes like grass and all it's glory like a flower of the grass.

The grass withers and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord

endures. Forever. And this word is the gospel that was proclaimed to you.

Peter's quoting this prophetic literature out of Isaiah chapter forty, And it's just

this line that to become a living stone, to be in process looks like

us looking at ourselves, taking the aspects of ourselves that are temporary and intertwining.

Who is eternal faith in our life? Are never intended to be separate.

They're meant to be intertwined. That's how you maximize efficiency, That's how

you strengthen yourself. Things that decay, things that fall away, will always

rots. But someone who is outside of time and space, someone who knows

no bounds, someone who is all powerful, almighty. That's someone that you

can you can do life with. That's someone that will build something that will

stand. The last thing about being in process that we need to know rikat

Being in process requires persistence, Being in process requires self denial. And lastly,

being in process requires application. What I love about how God operates and

moves in our life is that it's not just a one and done. Would

you believe that revelation today is just as powerful tomorrow. Would you believe that

a promise that was extended seventy years ago is just as powerful impotent today.

I want to ask you two rhetorical questions. Keep in your head. What

lessons has God shown you taught you that you apply in your life every day,

in every moment? What promise? What lessons have you maybe forgotten that

could actually be the key to what you're going through right now. What I

know about my God is that he turns our stumbling blocks into stepping stones.

He's someone who works all things for his glory. He's someone who continues to

push the needle forward despite our mistakes, despite our hardship and our wins and

in our losses. He is someone who pushes the needle forward because that's who

he is. That's what it looks like. And he has our best interests

at heart, and best interests looks like not your selfish interests. And sometimes

that could be hard, and it resonates. But there is this line of

calling and gratifying and walking out, this principle of faith that continues to transform

our lives. And the last thing at first Peter chapter two says this,

therefore, rig yourselves of all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy,

and all slander like newborn infants desire the pure milk of the Word, so

that by it you may grow up into your salvation. If you have tasted

that, the Lord is good, as you come to him a living stone,

rejected by people, but chosen and honored by God. This letter happens

almost thirty years later before the first encounter that we just talked about. Jesus

Ministry is between thirty to thirty three AD. Peter one is written around sixty

two sixty three. Second Peter is written in sixty four after the Roman Great

Fire, where Emperor Nero comes into it starts persecuting Christians physically. He would

literally put Christians on pikes, set them on fire to light up his garden.

Just this physical persecution and the themes that we see in First Peter in

comparison to Second Peter is in Firs Peter, it's all about social pressure.

It's all about the pressure that you will be faced. Is all verbal,

societal, and what it looks like. Second Peter is all physical in these

hard times, and what I love through the writing and narrative of it all,

it's still the same shades as the Savior. Thirty years later, Peter

is talking about shades of self denial, picking up your cross, embodying these

things. Can I tell you when you leave this space, people should see

shades of the Creator in your life. The teachings that Peter is extending are

not his own. This is not my wisdom when I'm sharing today, this

is not my wisdom. I just got close. People should be able to

tell that person's close, that person knows who Jesus is. That line of

why do you look so different? Why would you handle it that way?

It's because I know whose I am and I operate that way. I know

whose I am and I know who he is is the biggest line. That

word desire in verse two of a first Peter is. It's the same word

that's used in song forty three. Uh. When Pastor chokodejis Sus was here,

he talked about the deer and he had the giant water bowl. I'm

not gonna do that where he like splash it up and threw it up.

Yeah. I like my shirt, But it's this, it's this, this,

this longing, expanded longing, dramatic, it's extreme, it's deeper than

just I need. It's I can't function properly without it, and it's this

true desire for the word of God, this true desire for his life changing

properties in my life. And in verse four, as you come to me,

as you come to him. It's this line, just as Peter was

able to go to the Messiah and say who he is? That's for you

and I. Daily devotion, daily application, daily picking up our cross.

How often do you draw near to the source? Peter has an acknowledgment that

the faith I have is what will help build God's house. It's never a

question of the foundation, the cornerstone of who we separate. I don't about

you, guys, to just bow your heads and this space. Maybe you're

in this room and you don't know who Jesus is you're talking about. We're

talking about self denial, picking up your cross, growing process, what it

looks like, all these different things, and you just feel like on the

outside. I want to let you in on the truth that two thousand something

years ago God sent his son in the form of man to die on the

cross, beaten, mocked, spit on so that you and I would have

a choice, a choice to say that my life is not my own,

a choice to say I need a savior, I need someone eternal. I

need someone who can bring actual fulfillment and world change into my life. And

so, if you're in this space and you have never acknowledged Jesus as your

Lord and savior, I want to give you the opportunity. It's one of

the hardest decisions you can make. It's one of the biggest decisions that you

can make. And I'm gonna let I'll be very transparent. This doesn't make

your life easy. In fact, in a lot of ways, it makes

it harder. But know that you're not in this alone. That when you

run, you're not running by yourself. And so if you're in this space,

I'm gonna count down from three and I just want you to stick up

your hand. You want to know him? Three, two, one.

If that's you, would you just stick your hand up. Come on,

see the hand, see the hand, see the hand. I see you,

I see you, I see you Jesus. Would you, guys just

pray with me. Jesus. I acknowledge you as the Lord of my life.

Lord, I accept you as my savior. God. As I make

this decision, would you transform my life? God, I open myself up

to you, and it's in your name. I pray. It's in your

name. I worship it's in your name. Amen. Amen, there's a

second group. People want to talk to you. Maybe you're in this room

and you're in the process. You acknowledge your in the process, but in

the process things fall apart. Listen, my adhd is so good. I

always didn't break attention until right now. But you're in the process, and

you would acknowledge it's been a little frustrated. There's things that you thought you

could just conquer easily, and you're just on the treadmill. You're running.

You're running as hard as you can, but you feel like you're running in

space. If that's you this room, would you just stick your hand up,

not even account, but this is the house. Come on, we

can be honest in the space. Come on, I see you, I

see you, I see you. Would you guys just bow your heads with

me. Dear Lord, I thank you. I thank you for every single

individual. I thank you for every brother and sister in the room. Lord,

that in the process, in the moment, that you would continue to

work with us, that you would bring comfort to us to affirm we are

here and here for a purpose. Where we're at is specific and God we

yield to the lesson. God that we would train our ear to know you

and to see you in anything and everything in our life. God, that

you continue to meet us in the process. It's in your name we pray, and everybody's