Living Hope #3

Northside Church

1 Peter #3 Living HOPE

Jamey Mills

10/23/22

Good morning… my name is Jamey Mills, I’m the lead pastor her at Northside…

It's so good to be with you all today…

Just like that… Here’s November.

It’s crazy just how fast 2022 is flying by…

We are in our third week of a sermon series that we are calling Living Hope, where we are walking through the letter that the Apostle Peter wrote to a group of struggling and displaced Christians… that were facing growing oppression because of their faith in Jesus.

And the heart of his letter to them… is helping them to understand the value of their faith… and how to stay strong in their faith… in this growing oppression… pressure… and hardship that they were facing because of it…

Last week we talked about how some of Peter’s fear seems to be that they’d sink back into the passions and desires that drove them before they came to know christ… and you can clearly see Peter’s heart to encourage them…

Reminding them that the biggest danger in all of this is not their cultures growing opposition to Christ or Christianity… but that they’d forget about how they are in Christ and what they’ve been given in Him.

ILL…

1 Peter 2:4–12 (NLT)

1 Peter 2:4 NLT

You are coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple. He was rejected by people, but he was chosen by God for great honor.

4 You are coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple. He was rejected by people, but he was chosen by God for great honor.

Peter refers to Jesus as the chosen and precious CORNERSTONE of God’s temple…

That is rejected by humanity… but chosen by God… and that should sound familiar.

It is almost exactly how Peter addressed these Christians that were trying to follow Jesus in a culture that is growing more and more oppositional to Christ and Christianity…

And for some reason that feels important… In a sense reminding them that Jesus gets it… understands… faced it… He can empathize like no other… when it comes to being an outcast to worldly culture, feeling left out and alone… and even facing hardship and suffering for the sake of the truth… in deeper ways than I think we can understand.

Peter affirming what Isaiah wrote in some 700+ before Jesus was ever born… Identifying Jesus as the CORNERSTONE (Picture)… In ancient architecture, the cornerstone was huge…

The builders would spend more time choosing and setting it than the rest of the building project combined…

It had to be perfect… Because the rest of the building would completely be defined by it. it would determine the shape and the size, the strength in the integrity. Every other Stone was placed with it in mind. And so the Builder would get incredible intention making sure that there is no flaw, no crack but it was the right size.

Cutting corners, or choosing the wrong Stone would have been disastrous and embarrassing. Potentially career-ending. As the structure came down around you… or even in on top of you…

And Peter reminds us with this powerful illustration… of the role that Jesus is to play in our individual lives… but also within the Church.

1 Peter 2:5–12 NLT

And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God. As the Scriptures say, “I am placing a cornerstone in Jerusalem, chosen for great honor, and anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.” Yes, you who trust him recognize the honor God has given him. But for those who reject him, “The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.” And, “He is the stone that makes people stumble, the rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they do not obey God’s word, and so they meet the fate that was planned for them. But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. “Once you had no identity as a people; now you are God’s people. Once you received no mercy; now you have received God’s mercy.” Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls. Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world.

5 And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God. 6 As the Scriptures say,

“I am placing a cornerstone in Jerusalem, chosen for great honor,

and anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.”

7 Yes, you who trust him recognize the honor God has given him. But for those who reject him, “The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.” 8 And, “He is the stone that makes people stumble, the rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they do not obey God’s word, and so they meet the fate that was planned for them. 9 But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.

10 “Once you had no identity as a people;

now you are God’s people.

Once you received no mercy;

now you have received God’s mercy.”

11 Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls. 12 Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world.

Peter talks about the two ways that we can respond

1. Accept it or

2. Reject it

Peter doesn't really seem to leave any room for Middle Ground. And I think it's important for us to understand what he's talking about is not acknowledging that Jesus is a good person, or even a good teacher. In fact, I don't even know that he is talking about acknowledging the reality of who Jesus is as God's one and only son, savior of the world. I think Peter is talking specifically about those who allow Jesus to play the God chosen role… that He’s intended to play…

Will we accept it or reject it?

And so you can see the sort of intentionality that Peter is calling us toward… its not some sort of ambivalent acknowledgement of Jesus.

And Peter is not saying that Jesus is a Cornerstone, That he is something that you can build your life on. He's saying that Jesus is the Cornerstone!

When Peter talks about the stone that the builders rejected, he's talking about those who have rejected the reality of who Jesus is in the role that he is intended to play.

Who in that process have decided… whether intentionally or without intention… to build their lives… and align their lives with other things… Things that could never hold… could never deliver… that were never intended to play that role in our life…

And the result is… the very stone that they rejected… the one that they tossed out… became the one that they tripped over… and that eventually destroyed them.

Rejecting Jesus, it's connected to disobeying his word. They rejected him end his life giving truth, life changing word. And that is profound. The missing Jesus, and rejecting Jesus, they also reject the life they were created for… what it is that God desires for us.

And it says, so they met the fate that was planned for them.

And this idea of obeying God is something that we’ve deconstructed…

1 John 2:3–6 NLT

And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.

(NLT)

3 And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. 4 If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. 5 But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. 6 Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.

It’s not in the doing… obeying… those things come from aligning… and hearing… and responding… it's the fruit of it.

I'm not going to dive into that a lot, but I'm going to say that this is one of the passages that people look at and ask the question is it all about God's sovereignty meaning he created some people to go to heaven and some people to go to hell, Or is it all about the choice of humanity.

That is an ongoing conversation among the smartest scholars in the world, and I am not one of them… but this is what I would say, based on this passage and scripture holistically... I think it's both. And the reason why it's debated so hard is because our minds really can't exist in that space … But I do think that this passage makes it clear, did the reason why they meet the Fate that was set aside for them is because they rejected Jesus. See you on the end, it wasn't because they didn't have a chance.

Peter is saying they missed it… and because the rejected Jesus… they’d miss out on what God desired from them and for them… And the consequences are severe.

One author said… that Jesus is the great fault line… or fulcrum that all of this rests on.

And what you decide to do with Him… is like a builder who carefully and painstakingly searches and finds the only perfect and flawless stone that will bring it all together.

And to those who accept Him…

Peter says you won't be disappointed…

Peter says that there is great honor for those who accept Him.

We talked early on about how one of the major things that Peter is addressing is Identity. living out the realization of who we really are in him. And Peter sort of tee’s off on that.

And just a few short verses he refers to those who accept him as living stones, God's holy Temple, chosen for great honor, chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, stepping out of darkness and into his wonderful light.

He says that those who accept him become living stones and which God is building into his spiritual Temple.

and with that, we realize that as living stones that are making up God's Temple and with Jesus as the Cornerstone, what he's saying is that our lives align perfectly with his. Summit intentionality was given to choosing the Cornerstone that we dictate exactly how the rest of this building would come together and so our lives align with his. Everything.

I am His own possession. This means everything about me is surrendered to Him.

I am his. It says that we are a people in his own possession.

everything about me... My physical and mental emotional, my relationships by identity my sexual identity is surrender to the will and to the the way of Christ. Peter's already talked at great length about surrendering our own desires and Passions…

And this is the ideology that so many reject… and find offensive. And it screams in the face as to what it means for Jesus to be the cornerstone of your life. But I want, or I feel, or I desire… we lay those things at His feet and align our lives with His… with the perfect… flawless… plumbline that is Jesus.

Matthew 16:24–26 NLT

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?

(NLT)

24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. 25 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. 26 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?

They're actually two terms that Peter uses that have incredible Old Testament significance he's using those things on purpose for us to realize some of the privilege that is ours in Christ.

Two terms of incredible significance and privilege:

We are the Temple of God

We are His Royal Priesthood

Temple of God

What does it mean to be part of the temple of God?

The temple of God would have huge significance. It was the place that they believe the very presence of God dwelled. It’s location they went to seek and worship Him…

That we as living stones make up the very temple of God. The God dwells in you… and somehow even more powerfully among us when we are together. One of the Privileges of accepting the Flawless and perfect Cornerstone that God chose, which is Jesus, is the very presence of God himself in you.

And with that, one author said it's a commitment to this ongoing fellowship and ongoing connection with God. When we align ourselves with him, become part of his Temple, become part of this family… we are committing to that connection

Royal Priesthood

What does it mean to be His royal priesthood?

In the OT, Case were chosen by God and set apart for God. They played an incredibly important Rule and had responsibilities that no one else had…

The priest had access to God no one else did… regular, everyday people were only allowed so close… and even the priest was only allowed in once a year…

So what Peter is sharing here is mind bending…

When Jeus died on the cross the veil at the holy of holies was torn from top to bottom… it was the ultimate invitation in… God’s symbolic gesture that in what Christ had just done… we are invited in… given access… reconciled with God.

Almost every scholar that I read believes what Peter is saying, is that in Jesus we have the privilege of approaching God... Something they believe could only be done by the priest…

Hebrews 4:14–16 NLT

So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

(NLT)

14 So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. 15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. 16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

And part of what we do is offer spiritual sacrifices to God…

Its what we do…

One author said there are six biblical spiritual sacrifices mentioned in scripture…

We offer our bodies, praise, good works, possessions, love and prayer…

I particularly like what Paul Tripp said…

That we offer spiritual sacrifices in our daily life… Marriage, parenting, relationships, workplace, and in our neighborhoods…

Tripp reminds us that everything…

EVERYTHING God calls you to comes with spiritual sacrifice

… and it is at the heart of what Peter is saying… being a godly husband, father/mother, child, worker, friend, neighbor… all of those things require sacrifice and surrender…

That's what aligning ourselves with Jesus looks like… His will, His way, His values, His plan, His purpose… winning in us.

And there will be times that it means stepping out or away from what we want… or form our comfort zone

The first time I read this passage… was angry.

Colossians 1:24 NLT

I am glad when I suffer for you in my body, for I am participating in the sufferings of Christ that continue for his body, the church.

(ESV)

24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church,

What possibly could be lacking in the sufferings of Christ… and then it hit me…

Colossians 1:24 (NLT)

24 I am glad when I suffer for you in my body, for I am participating in the sufferings of Christ that continue for his body, the church.

The gospel moving forward and bringing the fruit it brings… in us and through us… involves sacrifice.

Lastly… Peter says that as we live this out… this alignment and privilege… Because God has called out of Darkness and into His light… because He has allowed us to see Him more clearly…

We can show others and lead others to the goodness of God…

I continually talk about having Jesus in the right place in our life… and this week is sort of dawned on me… Jesus isn't the one that moves… are we in the right place with Him is really the question.