4 And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, 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. 6 For this is contained in Scripture:
“Behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious corner stone,
And he who believes in Him will not be disappointed.”
7 This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve,“The stone which the builders rejected, This became the very corner stone,” 8 and, “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense”; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed. 9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
11 Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul. 12 Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation."
Good Morning my beloved,
Welcome to worship this Lord's day! We're so glad to have all of you here with us today. Please know, that we continue to lift all of you up in our prayers. We respectfully ask that you would do the same for us. We are so grateful for those of you who have been sharing the ministry website with all of your family and friends. Your faithfulness to share God's Word with others has brought about tremendous results. Where will God's Word be heard today? We pray that God's Word will continue to reach those who desperately need to hear it, as we draw nearer to the coming day of our Lord.
Life can be hectic and difficult, under the pressure, its easy to lose our focus, we often tend to focus on the urgent, but not always what is most important. Therefore, I believe that we need to be reminded of our priorities as God's people, we must keep our relationship with God the central focus in our lives. If we don't, then we’re just playing church.
The church of Jesus Christ is made up of believers who have come to Christ and founded their life upon Him. God has called us to the life of building His church, not destroying it. Many people want Christ however, seem not to want anything to do with His church. Yet, Scripture clearly tells us, that if we love Christ, we must love His church, and if we do not love His church, then we do not love Him. I'm sure that you will recall in Revelation chapter 2, the Lord rebuked the church at Ephesus. They were doctrinally sound, they had stood for the truth against some false
teachers in their midst. They had persevered through trials and had
not grown weary. They worked hard for the Lord. And yet the Lord
said, "But I have this against you, that you have left your first love." We must not lose our love and zeal for Christ!
If today, you are feeling far from Christ, longing for the days when you adored Him, He calls you to come back with these
three words; Remember, Repent, Return!
Let us pray.
Heavenly Father,
Father, we thank You for Your Word for us today, we thank You that You have called us together for this great reminder. We confess that we need to be reminded of the calling with which you have called us in this world, to proclaim Christ. Thank You for reminding us of all that He has done for us, things we often take for granted. Lord, refresh our hearts and fill us with Your glorious truth. So that we may rejoice over the day that we came to the living stone. Thank You for the great privilege of our salvation, that we as unworthy sinners could be one with the living God. Help us to live as we ought, living in union with Christ, that His love would reflect from us. Let His life become our life, so that we may be useful to You for Your purposes and plans. In Christ's precious name we ask and pray
Today's Message: Living Stones
As the cornerstone, Jesus is critical to the church’s foundation. W hen we come to Him, we are joined to one another as living stones and built up into God’s holy temple. However, coming to Christ entails being incorporated into the church, and we cannot love Christ without loving His church, which is His body. In fact, one evidence of saving faith, is that we gather together with others, to worship our Lord and be in service to one another. However, the church is not a physical building, it is the living stones being built up into the spiritual house of God. Therefore, in reality, we do not just go to church or attend church; we are the church. I believe however, many Christians look at our Christian life as more of duty than we do as an honor and privilege. Feeling more pressure than joy. We tend to think of life here as duty and in heaven, the privilege. It's true, that when in heaven we will receive the reward of our service to the Lord. But even heaven is not all privilege and no duty. Therefore, we need to understand that in both this life and the life to come, we will experience both spiritual duty and spiritual privilege. Open your Bibles with me to the book of first Peter chapter 2. As we continue in our study of this wonderful epistle of Peter, we come to verses 4 through 12. In this portion of the Word, Peter weaves his way in and out of some very tremendous points. His knowledge of the Old Testament, which seems to so deeply embedded in him, that it just sort of comes, out almost inadvertently. Peter is not that logical, precise, concise, sequential kind of mind, like the Apostle Paul, where everything just seems to to flow perfectly in order. He frequently bounces back and forth from the Old Testament to new revelation. In this wonderful passage, we find a list of our privileges, what is ours because we are Christ's. We know that we have been given all things that pertained in life and godliness. What is a privilege? According to the dictionary it is defined as "a special right or advantage that a particular person or group of people has beyond what is available to others." I would certainly say that is true of Christians. We as Christians have rich spiritual privileges in Christ and enjoy special favor. I am never sure how far we will get today in our study, however, I will read the entire passage and invite you to follow along with me as I read to set the text in our minds, as we prepare our hearts for what the Spirit is saying to each of us. Listen for the Spirit's voice. I Peter 2:4-12. "And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, 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. For this is contained in Scripture: "Behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious corner stone, And he who believes in Him will not be disappointed." This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve,“The stone which the builders rejected, This became the very corner stone,” and, “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense”; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul. Keep
your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in
which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good
deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation." Just a quick reminder, Peter is writing to Christians who are scattered throughout the Gentile world, who were experiencing animosity, hatred. and facing serious persecution. So, Peter gives them a rich understanding of who they are in Christ
that becomes the basis for their testimony to those who hate them. Verse 4, "And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God. Being a Christian is not about joining a community of people who are
attached to some religion. It’s not about accepting some theology. It's about coming to Christ. Of course we come to Him in salvation when we first put our trust in Him. It does not refer to our conversion, that is not what Peter has in mind here. We must come to Christ repeatedly and build our lives on Him through our daily communion with Him. This continual coming to Christ indicates we abide in Jesus Christ. Being a Christian is about our union with Christ. It’s about coming to Him in such a way that you are literally joined to Him in an indivisible union. And coming to Him as to a living stone, which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God. That's the first privilege. When we come to Christ, we take on His life and His character. We become partakers of the divine nature. We are so joined to Christ, that we live; and yet not us, but Christ lives in us. You are the temple of the Spirit of God. To be a Christian is to be in a real union with Christ. No other religion offers this kind of union with the deity! Peter calls Him a "living stone," therefore, we become living stones. To say that Christ is a living stone means that He is a solid foundation on which to build our lives. By definition a stone is dead, but this stone is alive. Alive is the Greek word "lithos." It has life in itself and gives life to others.Christ is a living stone. He is living in that He died for our
sins, but was raised from the dead, triumphant over sin, death, and
hell. He is the author and giver of life, able to impart spiritual life
to all who believe in Him. This is a stone that is further defined in verse 4 as a "precious choice stone." Again repeated in verse 6, "a choice stone." And, as Peter goes on to state in verse 7, He is the cornerstone of the church. Jesus Christ is the only solid foundation for time and eternity. This choice and precious in the sight of God. "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." I believe this is a marvelous definition, an extraordinary foundational definition of what it means to be a Christian. As a footnote, God often places us next to other believers who constantly "rub" against
one another, which may be annoying, yet it
is the process God uses to knock off our rough edges and grind smooth
our imperfections. It takes the church and its ministry to remake us
into greater Christ-likeness. Sometime God puts us right
next to the very people He knows will rub us so that He can shape us
and fit us into a body, a temple polished for His glory. Believe me, God knows exactly what people and what situations will shape us most effectively. And He will use them for our benefit and His glory. The world hates and rejects the one God loves and accepts. By the way, those who reject Christ the cornerstone will be crushed by Him. We are attached to the living Lord Jesus Christ, who pours His life through all the precious stones that are used to build His temple. We are Christ's church. The church is a spiritual house made up of those who bear the image of the corner stone. The church is a dwelling place which is inhabited by the Living God. That is a beautiful picture of what it means to be a true believer! All spiritual life comes from Christ. There is so much more that could be said here, since to be in Christ and to have Christ in us is a dominate theme throughout the New Testament. Foundationally, to be a Christian to be in a living union with the Son of God. And, in that union, we become a temple, in which collectively, He is glorified and worshiped. In verse 5, Peter says that we not only have union with Christ, but we have communion with Christ. We have access to Christ, we have fellowship with Christ. "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." You will recall, in the Old Testament, God was unavailable. At Mount Sinai, God says "Don’t come near. If you touch the mountain you’ll die." And God says, "Don’t come into the Holy of Holies. That is where I meet with the high priest" Once a year, the high priest, could go in there. He had bells on his clothes, and, as long as the bells were ringing, you knew he was still alive. That God hadn’t killed him for his unholy intrusion into the presence of Holy God. It wasn't until the cross, when the veil in the temple was ripped from top to bottom, a symbol indicating that everyone had full and complete access to God through Christ. We are a holy priesthood. When you think about the Old Testament priesthood, there were several things that characterized them. First of all, they belonged to a certain family, they had to be chosen of God. They had to go through some ceremonies, a sign of cleansing, to externally indicate the willingness to abandon sin. They had to be prepared for a lifetime of devoted duty to God, and be anointed for service. They also needed to manifest righteousness, to bring people to God. Allow me to point out here, that all of these things are true of every believer. We are chosen by God; we are cleansed from sin, by the power of the Holy Spirit we are gifted with spiritual gifts, and we are trained and prepared for service through the Word of God. Committed to Scripture, obedient to the Word of God, we bring people to Christ. As Christians, we are to be bridge-builders. We are to reach out to God with one hand and man with the other. Peter says in verse 5 that we offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. I believe that we tend to under estimate how acceptable our humble service to God is. One such spiritual sacrifice Paul says in Romans 12:1, "Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship." In Revelation 8:3, there is the sacrifice of prayer. " Another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a golden censer; and much incense was given to him, so that he might add it to the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar which was before the throne." And in Hebrews chapter 13, there is the fruit of the lips, our praise is an acceptable sacrifice to God. "Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased." In Ephesians 5:1-2, we see that love is a sacrifice offered to God. "Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma." And, in Romans 15:16, leading someone to the knowledge of Christ is a sacrifice acceptable to God. "To be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, ministering as a priest the gospel of God, so that my offering of the Gentiles may become acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit." When you physically attend church, you are literally offering your body as an act of sacrifice to God. And, when you join in singing hymns, you are offering praise to God. In prayer, you are offering to God the response of your heart in that prayer. When you commune in fellowship with one another, you are expressing the sacrifice of your love. When your obedience to God's Word influences the people around you, that too is a sacrifice to God. So, we have this indivisible, everlasting union with Him, we have complete access to God through
Christ, and we come to God boldly to the throne of grace to offer up our
spiritual sacrifices. Anything righteous that you do is a sacrifice to God. Though it never seems good enough, it is never what we know God deserves, through Jesus Christ, it becomes an acceptable sacrifice to God. Because they are offered through Christ. Because Christ is in you, in a sense, it’s Christ offering the sacrifice. As Paul says in Galatians 2:20, "I have been crucified with Christ; and 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 up for me." All of these sacrifices are acceptable to God as we offer them through Jesus Christ for the glory of God. In verse 6, "For this is contained in Scripture:"Behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious corner stone, And he who believes in Him will not be disappointed." Here, Peter is quoting here from Isaiah 28:16, which says "Behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious corner stone, Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, A costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed. He who believes in it will not be disturbed." A cornerstone gives direction to the rest of the foundation. It also is
the support on which the rest of the building relies for strength and
stability. Believers trust in Christ much as a building rests on its
cornerstone. When you put your faith in Christ, the corner stone, the choice stone, the precious stone, you’re secure.
At the end of verse 6, he says "And he who believes in Him will not be disappointed." That's a remarkable statement. You know why? Because I love all of you, I’m going to tell it to you straight. Anyone in any religion outside of Jesus Christ is going to be terribly disappointed. And I'm not just talking about the minor disappointments in this life. I’m actually talking about that ultimate and everlasting disappointment when they awake in hell and realize that they have been deceived. Whether Catholicism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism or the ever popular New Age religion, is going to end up disappointed. Every single person, in every false religion is going to wake up in hell. There will be weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth that they’ve been deceived. In John 14:6, Jesus made it very clear when He said "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me." But if you believe in Christ, place your trust in Him, you will never be disappointed because He brings all His sons to glory. No stones get loose or fall out. To believe in Christ, you must rest completely on Who Christ is and on what He did for you when He died on the cross in your place.
Romans 8:31-39 says "What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.
Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, "For Your sake we are being put to death all day long;
We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.""But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Once you’ve trusted Christ as Lord and Savior, your entire Christian
life is a ongoing process of discovering all that He is to you. I must
tell you, it's often overwhelming! To a true believer, Christ is precious, you can never get enough of Christ. We are marked by our love for Jesus. In John 8:42, Jesus said "If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me." And in I Corinthians 16:22, Paul says "If anyone does not love the Lord, he is to be accursed." He is damned. Verses 7 and 8, "This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve,
"The stone which the builders rejected, This became the very corner stone," and "A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense”; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed." I believe that one of the great privileges we have is that the love of Christ is shed abroad in our hearts. This preciousness is felt only by believers. For those who disbelieve they don't see Him as precious, He is a stone of stumbling, He is a rock of offense. There's nothing precious about Christ for the unbeliever. If you there is anything more precious than Jesus Christ in your life, you can't be a Christian. Our love for Christ is demonstrated through our obedience. Believing means loving, loving means obeying. This is what distinguishes the believers from the unbelievers. Believing or not believing in Jesus Christ is the dividing line that separates people into two distinct categories. Belief or unbelief. Those who believe are joined to God and to His people and will one day be exalted with Christ in heaven. Here, Peter is not saying that there are some spiritual believers who desire Christ and feel His preciousness.If you do not feel His preciousness, if you do not desire Him, if you are content with your present condition with Christ, I strongly encourage you to examine the roots of your faith! Because it is the mark of a true Christian to long for Christ, in fact, the more of His goodness we taste, the hungrier we get. The more we know Him, the more we love Him. It is so intense, in fact, every loss endured to have more of Him can be endured with pure joy. This cornerstone they threw it away and they wound up stumbling over it and being crushed by it. Peter turns from the small stone or "lithos," in the Greek, to a large massive rock, or "petra," against which men who disbelieve are ultimately crushed. Christ becomes a massive crushing rock. Unbelievers who do not repent are headed for God's judgement. Peter changes the metaphor, He is either your corner stone or, He is a stone of stumbling and rock of offense over which a person falls. This rejection should not surprise us because it was promised. In John 15:19, Jesus Himself tells us "If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you
are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this
the world hates you.
I believe this is about as far as we will get today, so we will pick up where we leave off next time.
It is our love for Christ that distinguishes a Christian from a religious person, and even a professing Christian with false faith. That’s why we read this Scripture, because we see Him revealed there, we hunger to know Him more and more. We can’t get enough of His beauty, His glory. That's why we commune with Him in prayer, because we long for that intimacy with Him, knowing He hears our prayers. He is the topic of our conversations, we read book about Him, we study the the Old Testament and we find the anticipation of Christ there. We look everywhere, so that we can see Him revealed. Even nature declares his glory. It is that anticipation that leads us to the incarnation of Christ, found in the gospels. That takes us to the the proclamation of Christ in the book of Acts, the explanation of Christ in the epistles and the glorification of Christ in the book of Revelation. All other religions worship somewhere, they worship someone or worship something. True Christians worship One, that is the Lord Jesus Christ; and through Him, God the Trinity. You either love Christ or you are appointed to damnation. For those who disbelieve, the corner stone becomes the crushing stone of judgement. It would be great to think that everyone who is hearing this message, who doesn’t know Christ as Lord and Savior, would be responsive but the Bible is clear that we can expect some to reject not only the message, but us also. Because of this, there is a temptation among pastors to water down the message, to avoid teaching certain books or passages in the Bible. Jesus is preached as a nice, non-judgmental man who wouldn’t dare upset
anyone, who will meet a person’s every need and desire. Who wants to make them
feel good about themselves. Though Jesus was kind to sinners, He spoke very clearly about sin and judgment. However, I am called to preach the true biblical Christ, Who is going to offend many people. Because Christ is Lord, Who confronts sin and demands obedience! He humbles our human pride. He reveals our weakness. By proclaiming Christ, crucified and as Lord, some will believe and be saved. Others, will reject the truth, they will reject Christ. The time of Christ's return is drawing near. But today, God still offers you His mercy and forgiveness, if you will turn away from your sin to turn to Christ, believing in Him, confessing Him as your Lord and Savior. There is only One eternal Savior, that is the Lord Jesus Christ. God still calls people out of the darkness of following sin, self and Satan into His marvelous light. If you feel a tug on your heart, God is inviting you to come to Chris today. No one has accumulated more sin than God’s mercy can cover. Christ's sacrifice is sufficient for all. Come today and receive God's mercy at the Cross of Christ. And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
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