Pastor Bryan Stewart

Give them a hand.

They did an outstanding job.

Man it's hard for me to watch them up here and keep my composure.

I was here yesterday when they were practicing.

They showed up at 12 o'clock and were here for almost three hours preparing.

And as the pastor said up on the mountain this past week, man not just our kids but

like he said 571 kids, high school kids, pressing in hungry and eager to get everything that

that God has for them.

I mean there's nothing that touched my heart more.

And to see that.

And no I didn't take a lot of pictures.

Because I was in there with them.

I was experiencing what they were experiencing.

And I just want you to give them another great hand.

And give God praise for what he did up on the mountain.

You guys can be seated.

So as like I said it was a great week.

Savannah thank you so much.

It was an outstanding week.

We had a lot of fun.

I believe all of these guys were in my cabin.

There's some that aren't here that were in my cabin.

I was a counselor.

We had a lot of fun.

God did a lot of great things but we had a lot of fun.

We learned a lot.

Played a lot of games.

There won't be much jumping that goes on with me today up here on this stage.

And a story I'll share with you that happened at camp.

So I decided that all the kids signed up to play dodgeball right.

So I decided I'm going to go over there and play with you all.

I didn't sign up.

And I got over there and one of the counselors looked at me and he said you ain't playing

are you?

I said well yeah.

He goes well don't be so hard on these kids.

I said I'll take it easy.

And I did.

I took it easy.

But then at the end of the tournament it was the winning team versus the counselors.

Okay.

Now I had to turn up for the counselors all right.

So I had to go hard.

You all are laughing because you all know what I'm about to say.

So I go pushing for this ball.

I mean I'm sprinting for this ball.

How many of you play dodgeball?

You know what I'm talking about.

They line the balls up in the middle and you got to run and get them.

I run and I realize one of them kids on the other side is about to beat me.

So I took a dive and man I pulled my hamstrings.

I didn't even get to throw a ball and I was on the sidelines seeking medical treatment.

I was like Lord help me.

I looked at them.

I said y'all there was an old song Country song that says I ain't as good as I once

was.

Most of them boys looked at me like what is that?

I'm like y'all telling me my age now.

I'm getting old.

I don't even know what I'm talking about.

But we had a great time.

I enjoyed every single one of the kids.

Praying for Brady and Matt.

They kind of ended up sick as we come back from camp.

So keep them in your prayers.

I have been praying for them.

But as I got back from camp and Friday came and that was a busy time.

A lot of rest that was happening on me.

I was exhausted.

But after I got through that Saturday I spent some time really seeking God for which he

had already kind of laid on my heart some things that he wanted me to preach about tonight

because I've known for a couple weeks Pastor Waters and thank you so very much for giving

me this opportunity.

I know that who you get to stand behind this podium matters and it's very important so

that's an honor for me.

But as I began to really think about what God would have me preach on today there was

a couple thoughts that kind of stuck out to me and I want to dive into those.

My scriptures tonight will be Luke chapter 5 and I'll hit verses 1 through 11.

Luke 5 · chapter mention

Want to talk about the story of Peter.

And then I'm going to jump over to Matthew chapter 16 but I'll let you guys know when

Matthew 16 · chapter mention

we get there.

So today we're going to be looking like I said at the story at the life of Peter.

Peter was a disciple of Jesus but before he became a part of the story that we all know

today first he was a fisherman's who's as we all know mouth and choices got him in trouble.

He was known as emotional unstable and impulsive yet Jesus invited Peter to be a part of history

and it changed his life.

So if you would all stand Luke chapter 5 verse 1.

Luke 5:1

And it came to pass as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God he stood

by the lake of Gennesaret and saw two ships standing by the lake but the fishermen were

gone out of them and they were washing their nets and he entered into one of the ships

which was Simon's and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land and he sat

down and taught the people out on the ship.

Now when he had left speaking he said unto Simon.

He said unto Simon launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.

Simon answered saying unto him master we have toiled all night and have taken nothing nevertheless

at thy word I will let down the net.

And when they had done this they enclosed a great multitude of fishes in their net and

their net break and they beckoned unto their partners which were in the other ship that

they would come and help them and they came and filled both the ships so that they began

to sink.

When Simon Peter saw it he fell down at Jesus's knees saying depart from me for I am a sinful

man oh Lord for he was astonished at all that was astonished and all that were with him

at the catch of fishes which they had taken.

And so was also James and John and the sons of Zebedee which were partners with Simon

and Jesus said unto Simon fear not from henceforth thou shall catch men.

And when they had brought their ships to land they forsook all and followed him.

Father I thank you today for the opportunity to share your word as I have broken your word

tonight Lord I pray that you would help me and give me a fresh anointing Lord to preach

your word under the conviction and the unction of the Holy Ghost.

Lord I ask that you would touch us today and let us have ears to hear what your spirit

is saying in this present time and in this hour.

God that you would be glorified and edified through it all in Christ's name amen.

You can be seated.

In this story of Peter it gives us a power is a powerful example of how Jesus wants to

invite us to be a part of his story.

Here in Luke 5 we see that Peter and some others were washing their nets and they were

going about their usual business.

The first disciples Jesus calls Peter, Andrew, James and John were all fishermen.

Washing was hard work in this time but a common trade around the Sea of Galilee because of

this there were lots of competition and each day was kind of do or die situation.

For the most part they were just ordinary guys doing regular work.

This was their livelihood.

This was their source of income and their security.

Keep in mind that they weren't the most influential people.

They weren't clean and they probably had a smell about them and in terms of characteristics

the fishermen were gruff and rugged and were not regarded as having a high social status.

They would have been probably seen as the last people chosen to share the gospel but

Jesus invites them to be a part of something much bigger than their fishing career.

He could have used anyone but starts his kingdom work with four fishermen.

Did Jesus need Peter's boat to be able to preach to the crowd that gathered on the shore

to hear him?

Did he need Peter to row him out on the Sea of Galilee so he could address the crowd on

the shore?

Of course not.

If Jesus wanted to he could have walked from the shore directly out onto the water, stood

there and preached to them from there and address the crowd.

Furthermore, did Jesus need them to haul in all those fish on the boat?

Did he need their hard work and effort and straining to bring up the nets that were full

of fish?

No.

Jesus could have simply pointed at the boat and commanded the fish to get in.

God doesn't need us but by his grace he allows us to partner with him.

He invites us in and wants to use us but it starts with surrender.

It starts with us giving up the things we think will bring us fulfillment and starts

with surrendering our will for his.

Our will for his above all is what we deem as the best thing.

How many here know what's best for themselves?

I know what's best for me, right?

We each know what's best for us.

I say that's wrong.

What it tells me here is there's a surrendering that has to take place in order for you to

submit yourself under the will of God.

Surrendering what you might ask.

Surrendering anything that would prevent you from seeking closer relationship with him.

Maybe it's your relationships in life, maybe it's discouragement, doubt, fear, anxiety,

anything that would discourage you from seeking to be in a better relationship with God.

You have to surrender those things.

What is it that I'm spending my time on?

Am I spending my time wasting it?

Am I doing frivolous things?

Am I on my phone too much?

On the internet?

What am I doing with my time other than seeking his will for my life?

Notice that the disciples were exhausted from trying to make things work in their own strength.

They had worked tirelessly but had come up empty handed.

However, when the disciples responded to Jesus, Jesus' command with obedience, they caught

such a large number of fish that their nets broke.

When we look at Peter's response, he was sorrowful and asked Jesus to leave him.

Why?

In the light of the presence of Christ, he saw all of his sinfulness.

However, Jesus doesn't turn Peter away.

Not only does Jesus demonstrate his power in Luke 5, his grace, he turns their focus

from the thing they thought that could bring them fulfillment and directs it to the purpose

that he has for their life.

As a result, the disciples leave everything and follow him.

Here again, we have a perfect picture of what he's asking them to do.

It draws also an example of what's going to happen when we decide that God's will above

ours.

What is something that could happen?

They toiled all day, caught nothing, but the minute they fell under the obedience of God,

the minute they decided, I'm going to obey this man named Jesus, what happened?

Their boats and became to overflow with fish.

They were blessed and it poured out upon them because they ended up finding out that their

will was not greater than the master's will.

Peter, along with the others, through this significant event that Jesus was enough to

that Jesus found out through this significant event that Jesus was enough.

Too often our focus becomes everything else around us.

We focus on our own financial situation, our own career, our own social status.

It's how many likes we got on Facebook, how many followers we have on Instagram, how many

views we got on TikTok.

But we're wondering the whole time why our lives are in turmoil.

Why can't we seem to get over or through our situation or why there's discouragement, doubt,

anxiety, and fear in our minds.

We get overwhelmed with suicidal and destructive thoughts.

The enemy just keeps coming and coming.

But I've come to tell someone today that Jesus is enough.

He is my savior.

He is my redeemer.

He is my provider.

He is my bread of life.

He is the very present help in time of trouble.

He's the son of the living God, the king of kings and the Lord of lords.

He is the way, the truth, and the life.

Give him praise in this house.

The Bible says in Matthew 11, 28, come unto me all ye that are labor, that labor and are

heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

But we take our eyes off Jesus so many times.

We get right where we need to be, but our focus changes and we turn our eyes back.

When Peter even did this after the resurrection, when Jesus started appearing to the disciples,

it says that Jesus and a multitude of others went back to fishing.

They went back to their old way of life.

Jesus, they had these encounters with Jesus, had walked with him through his ministry,

saw him down across and went back to what they were doing before.

We can't take our eyes off Jesus.

Too often we get so focused on doing church that we forget and what God established the

church to be and to do.

As the church, we have forgotten that Christ is enough.

I'm flipping over to Matthew chapter 16 and I'm going to read 13 through 18 if you want

Matthew 16 · chapter mention

to follow along.

Verse 13 says when Jesus came into the coast of Caesarea Philippi, he asked the disciples

saying, whom do men say that the son of man am?

And they said, some say thou art John the Baptist, some Elias, and others Jeremiah or

one of the prophets.

Nothing to them but whom say ye that I am?

Simon Peter answered and said, thou art the Christ, the son of the living God.

And Jesus answered and said to him, blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood

hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

And I say also unto thee that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church

and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Here Peter is confessing Jesus as the son of God.

And this is important why, because how you see Jesus matters.

How you see Jesus determines how you come to him.

If you see him as good, faithful, and true, he will be your source.

If you identify him as the one who you can turn to, there are a few important things

that we can point to from this story.

Firstly, Peter recognizes Jesus as the Messiah.

Jesus asks him, who do you say that I am?

Peter is saying that Jesus is the promised deliverer.

He is saying you are not just any man or any person, you are my Savior and Lord.

Peter is making a powerful statement here.

It's one thing to recognize Jesus as our Savior, but do we recognize him as Lord?

There's a difference there, Savior and Lord.

There's a significant difference.

It's like if you and your family went on a vacation and you decided to drive down to

a beach and you're there all week at the beach and it rains every day throughout the week.

But finally, one day the rain breaks and it's sunny and your whole family, the last day,

you guys can go swimming.

You're out there swimming, having a wonderful time, and all of a sudden your hammy starts

acting up.

And you begin to drown.

Luckily, the lifeguard who's very attentive at that time sees you and jumps in and saves

your life.

And then you thank him for saving your life, and the next day you pack up and you're headed

home.

A lot of times, too many times, people will treat Jesus like they treat this lifeguard.

We greatly appreciate Jesus because we asked him.

We greatly appreciate Jesus for saving us because we asked him at vacation Bible school

or youth camp or some conference.

The problem is we simply say thank you and move on with our lives.

Jesus is more than a lifeguard.

He is our life, Lord.

Of our life, we no longer live in who we once were.

It is no longer we who live, but Christ who lives in us.

Verse 17-28 says it is in him that we live and move and have our being.

Secondly, Jesus identifies Peter for who he is, not who he was.

Notice that Jesus says in verse 17, blessed are you, Simon Barjona, for this was not revealed

to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.

And I tell you that you are Peter.

What happened?

Jesus changed his name.

Before we see that Peter was referred to as Simon, even the disciples couldn't get on

board with this and would refer to him often as Simon Peter, but Jesus changed his name.

Why is this significant?

Because Peter's name in the Greek literally means rock.

Before Jesus, Simon was impulsive, emotional, and quick to react.

We're talking about the same guy who chopped a guy's ear off.

Did Jesus just call an unstable person a rock?

Because he's the only one who can identify you for who you truly are, not who you were.

In a world we live in today, facing identity, Christ is all around us.

And God is the only one that can identify us for who we are, not who we were, not who

we want to be, because we are not the ones that are identifying ourselves.

God identifies us for who we are.

In this generation, we don't know who we are.

Men think we're women.

Women think we're men.

There's transphobia things going around all over the place.

People even think they're cats or dogs or infants and hire nannies to come stay with

them in their house.

You could even go as far to say that the church has lost their identity.

How can we witness, testify, and minister to people when we don't know who we are in

Christ?

We have to get back to the foundation upon which the church was built and that Jesus,

you are the Christ, you are the Son of the living God.

It is Jesus who is the rock, the first and great foundation of the church.

First Corinthians 3, 11, for other foundations can no man lay than that is laid, which is

Jesus Christ.

Because he is the only one who can identify you for who you truly are, not who you were,

and then turn around and use you for his purpose.

God wants to use each and every one of us for his purpose.

We have to find who we are in Christ.

It's not up to us to determine what we become or our future.

We don't know our future, but God's already there.

He's already been there.

He already sees what we become.

Who will we become?

I want to be a man who seeks after Jesus.

I want to be a man who follows in his will and denies myself.

I want to be a man who surrenders everything that's unrighteous and ungodly and follows

Jesus Christ.

I want to be the man that follows my savior.

Jesus not only wants to, thirdly, Jesus not only wants to change you, he wants to use

you.

The kingdom work has to go forth and he needs people willing to be the vessels to use.

So we see that Jesus identifies in this text, but goes a step further in verse 18.

And I tell you that you are Peter and upon this rock I will build my church and the gates

of hell will not overcome it.

Jesus is saying, I will build my church on that confession, Peter.

When we confess Jesus as the son of God, we are not just going to heaven, but when we

die, Jesus invites us to help build his church.

What does this mean for us today?

When we realize that we are part of something so much greater, it's scary, right?

It's scary, it's intimidating.

It's also exciting.

It's also to know what God wants to use us, but here's sometimes our dilemma.

We know the real us, don't we?

We start listing our shortcomings, our flaws, and we start questioning his purpose for our

life.

And this hit really home for me.

When I was typing this out and studying it, it hit really home for me.

Some of the most discouraged I've ever been in my entire life is the minute I decided

to seek God and the minute I decided to fulfill his call and his purpose for my life.

That's the most discouraged and most beaten up and how the enemy has battled me in my

mind over and over again so many times.

And that's the hardest, strongest battle I've ever faced.

As you pursue that will and that call that God has for your life, it does not get easier.

We act like, and sometimes we manipulate it, not intentionally, but you give your heart

to God and everything's fixed, everything's better.

He is the deliverer, he is the provider.

He is the one who is everything you need all in one.

However, the enemy will not just sit idly by and let that happen.

He will not just sit idly by.

The Bible tells us he's as a rowing lion seeking whom he may devour.

He will not stop.

He will not stop.

The minute you decide to forsake yourself and follow Jesus, he's going to be attacking

you more than ever.

When my brother finally turned his life back over from the drug addiction and gave his

heart back to God, the first thing I told him was now it gets hard.

Now you think, well, how is that 12 years of drug addiction, 12 years of torment, physical

ailments, how does it get harder from then?

Because the enemy had him then, life was easy for the enemy.

But now he's a child of the living God.

Now he has turned his life, forsaken himself and following Jesus.

And now the attack really begins.

It's an encouragement though.

If the enemy is not attacking, that's when you should be concerned.

When life is good, life is good, by the way.

The enemy is going to do his job, but life is good because as long as I have a breath

every morning, life is good.

God has been faithful to me.

He has blessed me.

And I do that just as simple as waking up in the morning, do not take for granted.

I had an employee one time, he was 38 years old, Christmas Eve.

I work for FedEx, Christmas is a, it's a, it's a busy time for us.

It's a special time for families.

It's a time where we spend time together, loving one another, enjoying the atmosphere

of Christmas and what that represents for the Christian.

And he was a Christian man, but I remember Christmas Eve, freight was late, we were running

behind.

He wasn't there.

He didn't show up for work.

Not uncommon.

I didn't sweat it because we were, we were waiting anyway.

So I tried to call him, no answer.

I had an employee running my office, holding his phone.

Brian, you got to take this.

A 38 year old man had a massive heart attack in his sleep and didn't wake up.

He left behind three children, one with autism.

I had the, I look back at it now and I'm fortunate that I had this opportunity to meet with his

wife and his kids and, and, and talk with him and be with them during that difficult

time.

But I can't imagine going to bed and you don't know.

We all know the Bible says we're not promised tomorrow.

So we need to be ready now.

While we have breath in our lungs, we need to be pursuing his will for our life.

We need to understand that Jesus is enough and we need to understand that I want to look

and pursue everything that he has for me.

What does he have for me to do while I'm here on this earth and pursue it with everything

we have forsake the things that's going to deter us and distract us from pursuing everything

and turning our full undivided attention onto his will for our life.

We must surrender and make Jesus the Lord of our life.

Second Timothy two and 21.

If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel onto honor sanctified

and useful for the master's use and prepared onto every good work.

The reality is Jesus will build his church with or without us, but he invites us to be

a part of it.

And while faith without works is dead, many of us think that it's our job to immediately

pick up a hammer and get to work building the kingdom of heaven.

Yes, we are part of the kingdom work, but first we must stop worrying so much about

building and start focusing on who are we becoming.

We must become what God's called us to be.

We must step into the calling that he has for every one of us.

I look forward to the day that I get to get back home and to Jesus and see my lost loved

ones, my family that that are not here anymore.

But I got to get there first.

And my job while I'm here on this earth is to take as many people as I can with me.

I tell the kids and the youth that all the time that's our that's our job.

Get there and take as many people as we can with us.

You can stand.

I'm closing Savannah.

If you don't mind, I come.

So the question that I have for you today is who are you becoming?

Have you surrendered everything?

Are you surrendering everything?

And following God's will and his plan for your life or seeking and searching what that

is a lot of my my youth have have come to me because they felt the call in their life

and the ministry.

But they don't know what that means.

They're finding their way through that.

And that's OK.

God will help them.

So I encourage them along the way to take the steps necessary to continue that search,

to continue that look, to find out what here's the steps that you should take to get into

that relationship with God when he'll start to reveal to you things that you need to do

and things you don't need to do.

So maybe we need to ask ourselves that question this morning.

What are we becoming?

What are we surrendering?

Are we surrendering?

Are we really laying down the things that that are distracting us for really coming

into the fullness of what God has for us and has for our lives?

Maybe it's not.

Maybe there are some things we're holding on to that we can't let go of.

God can answer and provide everything we need.

But we have to seek him.

We have to crave him.

And that comes from love.

Do you love him today?

The love that I have for Jesus is what drives me to dive deeper, to learn more.

It allows me the mind to turn away from those things that I shouldn't focus on.

There was one kid at youth camp.

They did what's called cardboard testimonies.

Have you ever heard that scene what those are?

The front of it is something that you're tormented by and then the result is on the back what

God delivered you from.

They did that up there on the mountain.

And there was one kid in particular that stood out to me.

He was a young kid and they had all kinds of things, abusive families, addicted to drugs,

suicidal thoughts, destructive thoughts.

They had all kinds of things that these kids, these are high school kids are dealing with

these things.

It's not just the adults that are susceptible to these things.

It's the kids too.

And a lot of times fear is a constant thing with them of I'm afraid of what somebody's

going to think of me.

I'm afraid of what my elders might say.

But this one kid came across the front and he held up a sign that said addicted to pornography.

And he was weeping in his face because God had delivered him from that.

And when he turned it over, the sign said called into ministry.

That is the extreme impact that we think God is not capable of.

But if God is capable of taking a kid and turning that addiction around into a calling

into ministry, how much is that kid pressing in?

How much is he saying I'm tired of this?

Nothing in this world I have found is the answer.

How much is he crying out to God and saying I need deliverance?

So then I asked myself that and I was in tears in the back.

What are you Brian?

What are you becoming?

Because no, none of us are perfect.

We're all on our journey.

But I want to be on a journey with God by my side and with Jesus walking with me every

step of the way, not my will, but yours be done.

Jesus even said it on the cross or in the Garden of Gethsemane rather, not my will,

but yours.

No, I don't want the hard times, but hard times come.

And that's okay because Jesus will get me through.

Every head bowed, every eye closed.

If there's a need in this house, if there's a need, maybe you're sitting there thinking,

Lord, I can do more.

I'm not giving my all to you.

I need to surrender some things.

I need to find out my identity, who I am in Christ.

I want to pray with you this morning.

I want to pray with you that God would just reveal himself to you in new and mighty ways

and that God would grip your heart and lead you towards the things of righteousness and

keep you away from the things that would keep you away from him.

So if you're one of those or you just need a touch from the Lord or you just saying,

man, I'm going, Brian, I'm going, Pastor Brian, I'm going through some things.

I just need some help with.

I want to pray with you.

So if you could make your way forward, I do want to pray with you.

Because I believe that God changes lives when we truly seek him, when we truly ask him with

all sincerity in our hearts and we are hungry or we finally get to a point of desperation

where there's nowhere else to turn.

It does not matter.

God's there for you.

Jesus down on the cross so that you can have all these things.