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Text: Luke 3:7 & 8
Topic: God Is Able To Raise Up Stones
In this text, John the Baptist is in the wilderness country around the Jordan River preaching the Baptism of Repentance. He is in full rhythm with the Prophecy concerning himself, which was that he would be a voice crying in the wilderness, preparing the way of the Lord, making His paths straight so that every valley would be filled and every mountain and hill would be brought low. He was to make the crooked straight and the rough way smooth so that all flesh could see the Salvation of God. John would remind the people that he indeed baptized you with water, but one mightier than himself was coming, the thongs of whose sandals he was not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire. The crowd that John preached to was a band of self righteous folks who thought that because they were descendants of Abraham, they were going to make it into the Kingdom of Heaven no matter what John said. They heard him tell them to repent, and that they must produce fruit in keeping with repentance. Bearing fruit is the ability to produce that which you are. If you are an apple tree, you bear apples. If you are an orange tree, you bear oranges. If you are a True believer, you are like that tree, planted by the rivers of water, and shall not be moved. This tree also bears fruit after its own kind. Now just because you go to Church, does not mean that the Church is in you. True repentance is what separates the Church from the Church goers. The Churchgoers are not committed to the work of the Church. The true Church is. The Churchgoers view Church as a place to go as an outward show of respectability. The True Church views the Church as a Divine meeting place where when two or three are gathered together in His name He promised to be in the midst of them. The Churchgoers come to Church because they want to be entertained. They want the singing to entertain them. They want the preaching to entertain them. Then if the service isn't over by 12:00 Noon, they'll leave out and go find some other way to entertain themselves. The true Church comes to Church because they want to be sustained. They go about this in their giving. They go about this in their living. They are sustained because they are able to bear fruit. So John continues to remind these self-righteous folks that the worst thing that they can do, is fail to bear good fruit. For each tree that fails to bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. So then if your are so complacent with just being descendants of Abraham, or just being Church goers, the God that I preach about is able to raise up stones..
What does the Bible tell us about Stones?
Throughout the Bible the word stones appear some 171 times. Stones have both literal and figurative meanings. Literally some stones are valuable. These are called precious stones, like the diamond, ruby, the topaz, and the emerald; the chrysolite, the onyx, and the Jasper; the sapphire, the turquoise, and the beryl. They are called precious stones and are important because of their value. Then there were those stones that had little or no value at all. These are the types of stones that you could leave in your front yard, take a long vacation and chances are that they would still be there when you got back. They are just plain old rocks; dessert rocks, mountain rocks. And even though these stones seem to have little or no value somebody has always found a way to make them useful and therefore important. Figuratively the word stones have been used to denote hardness or insensibility. When Moses told Pharaoh that God said, "let my people go". Pharaoh's heart was hardened. Because of his insensitivity to the request of David's messengers, and the thought of what David was about to do to him, Nabal became as a stone. Through the preaching of the Prophet Ezekiel, God promised Judah that if they would sanctify Him before their heathen captors that He take away their stony hearts and give them hearts of flesh. The word has also been used to imply firmness and strength. There is a saying, that in the Old Testament God had a Temple for His people, but in the New Testament He has a people for His Temple. Don't you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost , which is in you, which you have of God? The Old Testament Temple was made out of stones and God lived in that Temple. The New Testament Temple is the believer who are living stones, who are firm, steadfast, and unmovable and the God The Holy Ghost lives in that Temple. Then there was the stone that the builders rejected which is become the head of the corner.
What were some of the uses of Stones?
The ordinary purpose of stones was their use in building. Edifices were built with Stones. Altars where sacrifices were made, were built of stones. Stones were also used for pavements. Large stones were used to close the entrances of caves, tombs, and wells of water. Flintstones also know as the fire rock, Flintstones were occasionally used instead of a knife to perform the ordinance of circumcision. Stones were used as tablets, like the ones used by Moses, on which The Ten Commandments were written. Stones were also used as ammunition. Violators of the Sabbath and others who broke the Law were stoned to death with stones. Deacon Stephen the first martyred in the Church age, meet the same death. David's ammunition was five smooth stones. With a stone and his slingshot he killed the giant Goliath. Stones were used as memorials. When Joshua and the Children of Israel crossed over Jordan River, they carried out of the river's bottom 12 stones, which were set up on the other side as a memorial to commemorate their crossing over on dry land. Then piling up heaps of stones made treaties. When Laban and Jacob made a treaty between them they agreed that the heap of stones would be a witness that neither should pass it to pursue after each other. And that the Lord would watch between them while they were absent one from another. The wise man Solomon said that there was a time to throw stones and a time to gather stones.
Why the need to raise up stones?
This generation that John the Baptist preached to were content in their belief that they did not need anything more than being descendants of Abraham. They were waiting for their Messiah to come and liberate them from the Roman rulers Many did not feel the need to be baptized because baptism was only for those who wanted to become Jews. Therefore they had need to be baptized being the seed of Abraham. And another argument they held to was the way to deal with sin. They knew from tradition that they only needed to bring an offering once a year to the High Priest for a sacrifice for their sins. So many hid behind tradition, making it known that they were children of the seed of Abraham. What John the Baptist was trying to tell them, was that a new day was dawning and a new era was about to be ushered in. Jesus was about to take over as head of a body called the Church. His first order of business was to save His people the Jews from their sins. So He came unto His own, but His own received Him not. Just as the Old Testament Temple had stones for its foundation, so must the New Testament Church have stones for its foundation. And every good building must have a sure foundation. Jesus warns that a house built with out a foundation is a disaster waiting to happen. Everything seems fine until the storm comes. When the storm beats upon that house, that house is going to crumble. But the house that laid the foundation on a rock, on a stone, the storms won't be able to shake it down. Jesus raised up rocks He raised up stones on which to build His Church.
How are stones raised up?
Peter's confession is the foundation of the Church. Jesus called him a rock , which is a stone, and said upon this rock I will build my Church. Peter was the first person to truly grasp who Jesus really was. He was the first to confess with full understanding that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Peter's confession launched and laid the foundation of the Church. But it is Jesus who builds the Church and who is the power behind its structure. The structure is built with living stones. Living stones are believers who like Peter have confessed that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the living God. I am a living stone. I know for myself who Jesus is. He is my Rock in a weary land, He's my shelter in the time of storm. He is able to raise up living stones. These stones have made Jesus their choice. These stones are used to build the structure of the Church.. These stones are raised up a spiritual house. These stones are raised up a peculiar people, a Royal Priesthood Holy and acceptable unto God. These stones are raised up to be used to build the Temple but Jesus is the chief corner stone. I heard Jesus say in the 2nd chapter of John's Gospel, around the 19th verse, "Destroy this Temple and in three day I will raise it up. These folks that John the Baptist preached to, were self-righteous folks, they did not know who Jesus was. They did not know that He was able to raise up stones. So they handed Him over to be crucified. And on Mt. Calvary, He was nailed to a cross. He was pierced in His side until blood and water came streaming down. He died, but on the third day morning rose from the dead with all power in His hands. And because he rose with all power, He's able to raise up stones, and give to them everlasting life if you believe, He's able.