This Old House - Part A

Sometimes you don't feel like worshiping you feel like saying God your awesome. I trust you.

I believe you, that's wanted to sacrifice you do it anyway. Sacrifice. Sacrifice of breads, good works is also said Hebrews 13 verse 16 do not forget to do good and to share with such sacrifices God is well. The church is to build it's a body of believers serving and loving one another to glorify the Lord and today on connect with Skip Heitzigs or Skip shares about the vital role you play in the church.

God is building but before we begin, we want to let you know about a resource that shows you how you can live in the peace of Jesus and free from your worries. Questions can be ambushed by surprise struggle. You know how that feels. Listen to skip. I think anxiety is the problem it's a problem all human beings. At some point have to deal with understanding and overcoming anxiety if possible and we want to help you move from feeling paralyzed by anxiety finding lasting peace with three powerful resources, overcoming an anxious mind, a new booklet by Skip HiTec teaching worship any uncertainty on class war is over worship sure we can replace your anxiety.

Thanks for your depth of $35 or more today to help connect more people to the Prince of peace connectwithskip.com/offered to give online securely or call 819 to 1888, first chapter 2 Skip tickets into today's message so the cornerstone was that foundations laid at the corner that not only provided the foundation but provided symmetry measurement or the rest of the structure. It was the cornerstone that maintain the symmetry for the rest of the building and set the direction for all sides of the angle of the cornerstone any of the sides were all the building would be off the building who got it going one direction of the wasn't lined up right and skew in the stones because it would be laid right cornerstone wasn't cut just perfectly the building to collapse outward or inward. So think of the cornerstone as the reference point for the whole building. I read this week about an artist is a landscape artist. You he paints landscapes with oils and he said that by his easel or on his easel. He always keeps three stones for reference in emerald of sapphire to Ruby simply to bring him back to what true blue true green true red is. He said when you're involved in painting oil landscapes like he does.

After a while you start losing color perception and you need to go back in reference to the standard lots with the cornerstone was like. It provided an orientation it unify the structure.

It brought foundation for the entire building. So Peter describes Jesus Christ as the living corner stone. The foundation on which everything is laid. I hope Jesus Christ is the foundation of your faith.

I hope that you are not building on just the sayings of Jesus or the example of Jesus, all in Jesus. A fine example and he said so many cool wonderful things.

I hope you're not building on just those things or on the traditions of people who follow Jesus, but on Jesus himself. The chief cornerstone. Notice he says, coming to him. That's when it all begins for you and I we come to him. We speak about coming to Christ or coming to faith in Christ return. Jesus even use, and to me he said all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

So here's God he's got is building program going. You and I enter into that building program when you come to Christ. That's the basis that's the foundation. Christ second notice the building that's us. Verse five you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ as his profound. It's one thing to, to a living stone. It's quite another thing to become a living stone. That's his whole point. When you come you become when you come to Jesus Christ you be, like Jesus Christ. Did you know that that's the whole point that Peter is making when you come to him what happens is you start following him and you become more and more like you know the very term Christian what it means in its origin right it actually means a miniature Christ, a little Christ. So how are we doing with keeping up with that title is kind of a tall order but the point is this stone is alive and when you come to him. You're not a debtor on animator rock anymore. You are alive yourself you share his life, and you share his strength is your living stone. Great story about the ancient king of Sparta in ancient Greece used to brag about the mighty walls of Sparta how strong they were massive they were. One day a king came to visit Sparta is that I've heard about the mighty walls of Sparta, but I see no walls were the and then the king of Sparta pointed to as well disciplined troops.

His men said there they are. These men are the mighty walls of Sparta. Even so, Jesus Christ would point to you and I think these are the stones of the building that I am building. They are the living stones. It simply means we share his life we share his strength. The life and strength that exists in Christ exists in us, Christianity is the only belief system or if you prefer. The only religion where the life of the one we worship becomes our life. You ever hear of anyone being in Buddha in Confucius in Mohammed yet repeatedly.

The New Testament says you and I are in Christ. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, we will appear with him in glory.

Or as Peter writes in his second letter.

If by God's grace we ever get to it. In second Peter chapter 1 he says he has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us by glory and virtue whereby are given to us. He continues great and precious promises.

Here it is. Listen that by these we may be part takers of the divine nature. We come to him and we become like him. Sharing the nature the life and the strength that is in Jesus himself. Look back at verse five, he continues as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house. I think of everything we purchase. So far were built upon the foundation, Jesus Christ. He sets the angles. He gives the direction and he's all about building people up.

You know God is in all of our property and all about temples. I hope you know that was the right temple. Is this the right place. We can put God in God and care, Stephen said to the Sanhedrin and Paul said to the men and women of Athens, for the most high does not dwell in temples made with hands, but he does know the people in the point that Peter is making is this is a spiritual house in verse nine.

You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood holy nation, his own special people. Verse 10, who once were not a people, but now you are the people of God.

God is far more concerned with building up people than us building properties. That's why in Hebrews chapter 3 verse six Christ as a son over his own house whose house we are first Corinthians chapter 3 verse nine. You are God's building. So God builds up his kingdom by using people and he's not done yet there want to go to an interesting house go to San Jose California and check out the Winchester mystery House. It's called story is is that Sarah Winchester, who is the heiress of the Winchester rifle group in the late 1800s. She inherited $20 million. That's an enormous amount at any time to back then it was huge so she took her money and went west to San Jose, California and she was very superstitious in a medium told her that if she continued building a house that she would never dice you have eternal life. For the next 38 years, 24, seven she hired something like 36 different building crews to build a house that eventually took up 6 acres just the house. It had six kitchens inside of it. 40 stairways, many that lead to nowhere is this key building is built and rooms are added and hallways are added 10,000 Windows 160 rooms and the house was never finished. So think of this house the spiritual house of God is building but with a different motivation than Sarah Winchester as not being done yet.

Every time a person comes to Christ. Another stone is added. God adds another hallway, another staircase, another room's building program continues its spiritual house and notice it has a holy priesthood, see the analogy, offering up spiritual sacrifices.

Okay, so the analogy is that of the temple that was in Jerusalem that Peter had seen with his other buddies and with his Lord and now he says were were spiritual house were holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices.

I want you to understand the point he is making you saying we don't go to the temple. We are the temple.

We don't come to a priest you are.

Those priests and it's a spiritual house.

We have access like a priest but also a responsibility to be holy like those priests, I have a question kind of spiritual sacrifices. Would you and I be offered to think of any. Or one the most important one is you you sacrifice your bodies Romans chapter 12 verse one I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your body a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God which is your reasonable service. So basically said God hear my hands and my feet. My mouth are yours. I sacrifice them for your purpose.

That's a living sacrifice in a living sacrifice is always harder than a dead sacrifice. A living sacrifice has the tendency to want to squirm off the altar, Lord, I give you my life the next day. I'm not sure about the commitment to back on the altar as a living sacrifice, you live it out.

Another sacrifice is praise Hebrews 13 verse 15 let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise, which is the fruit of our lips. The writer said how is praise a sacrifice simply this way.

Sometimes you don't feel like worshiping you don't feel like saying God your awesome.

I trust you. I believe you, that's wanted to sacrifice you do it anyway. Sacrifice. Sacrifice of praise good works sharing with people is also a sacrifice Hebrews 13 verse 16 do not forget to do good and to share for with such sacrifices God is well pleased for another sacrifice would be when we give financially to God's kingdom is work.

Philippians chapter 4 Paul speaks of their giving as an acceptable sacrifice that is well pleasing to God. So were spiritual priesthood in a spiritual house with spiritual living stones being built together solidly on the cornerstone, which is Jesus Christ. And it's a wonderful endeavor, but it's also a messy one because God is in the business of building us all up and you know what you and I don't always agree on everything, duly we don't always get along on every theological issue and yet he builds us up together. You know that you're going to be in heaven with people you disagree with and that God reserves the right to use people who don't agree with you on every issue I the bothersome. I know that's one of the reasons people that live in this church go to church.

That's fine.

Do you find people that are so don't agree with you either one. They were all gonna be in heaven together. If we trust the Lord Jesus Christ is just what the family is all about. Every family has people who are different. There's loud ones in quiet ones in your family there's morning people and there's night people are all part of the same family, even among the apostles. There were arguments between Peter and Paul.

There were disagreements, and so it is in the church. There's premillennialists and there's all millennialist and there's people or disorder confused about the whole thing. There are people believe in a pre-tribulation rapture. There are I call the post host.

These fuzzy fundamentalists and kooky charismatics, and God puts is altogether and builds up his house. I'm glad he's the one building is the basis there's the building there's blueprints and my dad always use a set of blueprints in his buildings and so does God. Peter refers to those verse six. Therefore, it is also contained in the Scriptures, those of the blueprints and he coached three of them in verse six, seven, eight. He goes back to the Old Testament because what this building that were a part of didn't just sort of come up haphazardly and instantaneously. It's built upon the blueprints of what God said in the Old Testament mentions three tax out of the Old Testament that speak of this building or of this stone or of this cornerstone. In other words, what Peter wants us to know is that the building enterprise that God is all about has been passed through the building commission of heaven and come to the architect, God, into the hands of the Old Testament prophets, God spoke about it and here we are enjoying these are the Scriptures the blueprints of Scriptures. Now let's close with with two builders only get a notice.

This year there's two builders that are mentioned false ones and the real one wannabe builder self-appointed builders but then the real builder which is God. Verse four coming to him as to a living stone.

This rejected indeed by men but chosen by God and precious go down to verse six. Therefore, it is also contained in Scripture. Going back to the blueprints.

Behold, I lay in Zion, a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he believes in him will by no means be put to shame. He continues the thought verse seven. Therefore, to you who believe he is precious, but to those who are disobedient, the stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. So first of all there's these wannabe builders what Peter is in mind. No doubt is the Sanhedrin, the Jewish Sanhedrin 2000 years ago, the caretakers of this religious system. Who were the self-imposed builders of God's work on her in the picture that he uses is that they had sort of like a measuring line that you got there there measuring rod the measuring instruments of their own religion. In a survey Jesus Christ and his claims as Messiah. They checked out Jesus as possibly being the cornerstone but they took out the measuring implements of their religion and they assess the suitability of Jesus Christ and they decided rejected.

He's not qualified to be the cornerstone.

He's not qualified to be the Messiah. He didn't pass their calculations.

Nothing was more abhorrent to those Jewish leaders than the idea that Jesus Christ would be the cornerstone, the God would build everything on the rejected and what they did 2000 years ago, people still do today.

They look Jesus over they think about him, and then most people reject him as being the one that they should build their lives upon the builder lies on something or someone else some superstar some rockstar, some ideology, some religion but not Jesus is rejected. Which leads me to this is to surmise, why should I care about what the world out there thinks about me, me.

They didn't get Jesus right. They rejected the most important one, God sent.

They kicked him out. They rejected him. So what do I care what they think about me their opinion holds no value at all. They didn't get the most important one right, but then there's a real builder. That's God.

Verse four, but chosen by God and precious, and do you believe he continued in verse seven he is precious. See what Peter wants us to know is that God also had a measuring line. God also examine Jesus. According to the measurements of his own perfection and God looked over the cornerstone of said I approve. It's perfect. This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. He passed that test were two men who went to the Louvre Museum in Paris and looked at this classic work of art. This beautiful painting as they stood in front of it. One man said to the other. His body Adam get it.

I don't get much out of network of arts curator overheard them and walked up to him and said excuse me, gentlemen, but that painting is not on trial you are this painting is Artie pass the muster of value. The world is Artie assess this as being valuable. All you are doing is showing the adequacy or the inadequacy of what you think of it, but it's not on trial you are. So Jesus came and the leaders and the people rejected him and they want him crucified.

They got rid of it.

That's why Peter would stand up in acts chapter 4 and say to those very people.

These words let it be known to you the Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead. That's why this man whom they healed stands before you whole. Peter continued this is the stone that you builders have rejected has become the chief cornerstone of the word you might've rejected him. You might've rejected that stone, but God did not and he proved his approval by the resurrection. That's what this means there was a young teacher teaching her class and other was a group of very young kids in the class and this young this young schoolteacher. She was an atheist and she felt compelled to let her her students know she said I'm an atheist, she announced that because I'm an atheist and then she said, how many of you are atheists well is located.

They really didn't understand the concept of atheism so they just want to please that he turned like fireworks out there little hands except for one little girl named Lucy she would raise her hand teachers a Lucy what's wrong with you.

I'm not an atheist or you're not order you Lucy Savannah Christian you are, said the teacher what are you a Christian and she said well I was raised to love Jesus and my home, my mom is a Christian. My dad is a Christian so I'm a Christian teacher got angry she is. What if your mommy was an idiot and your daddy was an idiot. What would that make you and she said with a smile and atheist, so just because the world at large looks at Jesus Christ and says not for me.

I'm rejecting him. I will not build my life upon them to us.

He is precious and he sets the angles and he sets the direction and it's the smartest, wisest choice, anyone can make them reps of Scripture text message from his series, voxel to Skip to share how you can keep this broadcast going strong, connecting more people like you to God's word Jesus gives us the ultimate example of how to love and as we read and study the Scriptures, the Lord moves in our hearts to love others like Jesus did. That's why we share these messages. All of God's truth. But did you know that we rely on listeners like you to keep these teachings coming to you and to others.

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