The Apostle Peter reminds us that Jesus Christ is the cornerstone, the foundation of our faith. And secure in that knowledge, we are called to offer up spiritual sacrifices which are acceptable to God.
Church is all about people. The church is the people. I want to talk about the fact that the foundation of the church is Jesus Christ, and the foundation of your life is Jesus Christ, if you’re a Christian. Maybe somebody here is rediscovering the orientation of what their lives should be.
1 Peter was written at a time of severe persecution. Peter wrote the letter to a variety of people in different towns around Turkey, and the letter was read out to different groups of believers.
Just like a young baby, we are to desire the sincere milk of the word. Everything else in life apart from Jesus Christ is transient. In v4, Peter talks about who Jesus is in the context of the church.
There isn’t one prayer He hasn’t heard. And He doesn’t just hear prayers, but He answers them too.
1 Peter 2:4-6
I want to look at what is a spiritual sacrifice, because if that’s acceptable to God, I want to be involved in it. We aren’t looking at Old Testament sacrifices. But there’s a spiritual house now.
1 Peter 2:6-11
There’s a total difference between being part of the people of God, and not being a part. There are people again this week who have heard news about employment problems, losing jobs, and so on. One common denominator is that as a Christian, there is no doubt whatsoever that God is more involved with your life than you realise. The circumstances of your life are there because He loves you.
You may say that there are things going in your life which don’t seem to stack up against that. But God is proving Himself as your provider in your life. I can react either by throwing in the towel and ask what this life is about. Or I can face the circumstances of life head on and accept the fact that Jesus Christ as the chief cornerstone, loves me and gave Himself for me, and the relationship I now have by God’s Holy Spirit is real. It’s not a haphazard hope.
Peter was keen to encourage people not to forget what it said in the Old Testament – Jesus was chosen before the foundation of the world, and provided as the solution to your life. Even before this world was made, He knew you’d be here in your situation this morning. And the words you are hearing this morning by His Holy Spirit are a direct result of Him wanting to communicate with you. He loves you.
He makes Himself known to us through different routes. He’ll make Himself known.
Isaiah 28:16-18
“He that believeth shall not make haste” has nothing to do with speed. It’s communicating that he who believes is not anxious, not in a panic. I am not going to be anxious. There’s a sure foundation, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation.
When the same information comes to me in my work place, the impact of that information on me as a believer in God is received in a totally different way from someone who does not know God. He is your loving heavenly father, and knows what He’s doing.
The progression of your life involves you knowing God inside as your provider, and the one bang in the centre of your life.
There have been quite a few times in my own life where the only solution could be God because I’d run out of ideas. And every time that has happened in my life, He’s done something.
And if you think about the answers you’ve received, and work things back, you realise that God must have set things in motion years ago, and they’ve come to fruition at exactly the right time. Many of you could stand up and give a testimony like that.
Peter was very keen that these new believers should realise their foundation.
Jesus referred to the same idea Himself. At the end of the parable of the vineyard, we have the following:
Mark 12:10-13
Jesus knew what He was about. He knew He was talking about Himself here. And when He hung on the cross, taking into Himself your sin, He knew about you. He was there to break the power of sin in your life. He knows all about you. And even if you think He hasn’t heard, He has heard, and the answer is coming, because He is not deaf to His children.
We see the concept of Jesus as the cornerstone repeated in Acts 4. This is Peter soon after Jesus had died and risen from the dead.
Acts 4:8-15
The Jewish people rejected Him, and in time the Gospel went out from Jerusalem to the uttermost parts of the earth. That’s why you’re here this morning.
Peter was concerned that these people should be aware of their situation and their relationship to Jesus Christ.
We have Paul talking about the concept of the cornerstone as well:
Ephesians 2:19-23
This church building is not where it’s at. The church is you and me – a group of people. The bride of Christ is the church – the group of people. And over this year and onwards, more and more will be added to the church as God’s Holy Spirit speaks to them. There will be a different foundation – Jesus Christ and what He wants to do in their life.
So when I am a Christian, I want to please my Father who is in heaven. I want to fulfil His purposes for my life. You knew that once, but you’ve let it go and drifted. And this morning God is pulling you back lovingly, saying that He is your foundation. You know that without Him you can do nothing.
I’d love to be able to talk to each of you individually, to ask after your circumstances and what impossibilities you are facing. Because I know that the impossibility people recount – that impossibility is a possibility in God. The foundation of your life is Jesus Christ. In no way will He let you down. He loves you. And your reaction to your circumstances will either be one of bitterness, or it will give you pause to consider who is the foundation of your life. Can He change things in your life? Of course! What do I want to do? The answer is that I want to do what is pleasing to Him. I want those spiritual sacrifices to which Peter refers in my own life.
Hebrews 13:15
That is a spiritual sacrifice. What does that mean in practical terms? My mindset needs to be that I am totally aware of what God has done in my life. At a moment’s notice, I could make a list of what I can thank God for. It wouldn’t be difficult, because the spiritual sacrifice of each of us is that we’re aware all the time of what we can be thankful for. That tends to cut across any moaning, any “poor me”. Everyone here can thank God for something.
There are things you have to deal with, I know. But what is your overriding frame of mind when you go about the day? Do you rejoice when you hear what God does for other people, or do you just wish it could happen to you?
Hebrews 13:16
“Communicate” is often in terms of giving and helping financially.
2 Corinthians 9:7-12
Giving thanks, giving to help others, being liberal – a cheerful giver, not tight-fisted, not “me and mine”, not working things out so that it destroys a heart of liberality. Be careful that you don’t work things out the wrong way.
Romans 12:1-3
There’s a spiritual sacrifice of continually giving thanks, of giving, and putting one’s whole life in line, proving what is that acceptable will of God.
Romans 12:2-4
As you think about practical things, what are spiritual sacrifices? What are those things which are pleasing to God? We’ve looked at some. Your prayers are a sacrifice to God.
Revelation 5:8
Revelation 8:3-4
It matters that you pray. God delights for you to become a co-worker with Him in prayer. You get alongside Him and become a co-worker. When you pray, He hears your prayer. He delights to hear. You’re praying because you know you need the answer from God. And those prayers which you pray are like sacrifices in that in the end time, the prayers of all the saints will be there.
Philippians 2:14-17
In the face of impossibilities, hold forth the word of life. And that’s a theme running through today. Peter said Jesus was the cornerstone. Take away the central stone, and the arch won’t be there any more. But with Jesus Christ immovable in the centre of the arch, He is building His church. And bang in the middle of your thinking, your aims and ambitions ... “I want to please you. What do you want me to do?” He’ll make it clear. If you’re trying to sort things out, try different doors. He will guide you. But be on the move – God can’t guide someone who stays put. And there is no way that God will let you down. He loves you. He’s a wonderful heavenly father.
The main message for you today is to live right, offering up spiritual sacrifice, holding forth the word of life, knowing what is the foundation of your life, going forward this week.
Sunday, 22 March 2009
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