1 Peter (2)

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The architect Frank Gehry, well-known for designing the Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, believes that constraints are the building blocks of great work. The strict standards for acoustics at Disney Hall led to a unique design of the interior space. And that, in turn, led to the soaring, graceful steel exterior that surrounds it. Gehry spoke of how lost he once felt when he was asked to design a house with zero constraints. "I had a horrible time with it," he said. "I had to look in the mirror a lot. Who am I? Why am I doing this? What is this all about?" It's better to have some problem to work on, Gehry explained. "I think we turn those constraints into action."

Gehry is saying, that constraints actually give us some building blocks to work with, a starting point. And without that, nothing happens. If you're ever tempted to feel limited by the constraints of your life, remember how few elements it takes to make something great. Every color in nature comes from just red, yellow, and blue together in millions of combinations. Every pop song, symphony, jingle, ditty, and aria in the Western World started with just twelve notes in the chromatic scale. Everything on the planet, including us, is made up of just 118 known chemical elements. And six regular eight-stud Lego bricks can be put together in (listen to this) 900,000,000 different ways. Let me say that again, 6 Lego blocks, the ones that you step on in the middle of the night that seem to quickly work at building your character… can be put together in 900,000,000 ways. Crazy right? (Different intro?)

We hear this story this morning, and I don’t imagine many of us have been to the Disney concert hall in LA. But I found it interesting, that the lead architect behind this building, would actually look at imperfections, as a starting point to begin the building. And that by taking an honest assessment of where you’re at, you can begin to calculate, you can begin to build, what’s next.

If you have your bibles, turn with me to 1 Peter 3. And as you’re turning there, we’re going to continue in our study of 1 and 2 peter throughout the summer. But for the next few weeks, we’re going to tackle this idea of building.

But as we discuss this idea, just by a show of hands… does anyone enjoy building things this morning? (some of us???) I know with me, that I can build certain things well. Maybe a mouth-watering burger, or a piled high pulled pork sandwich… there’s certain things in life I can build out..

But here’s the key, with anything in life… you really get out what you put in…

Gal 6:7 puts it this way: “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.”

None of us are here this morning because we have it all together…

And over the next few weeks, we’re going to look at this concept with our relationship with God, our relationship with our spouse, and this morning, our relationship with others.

You see, for some of us this morning… we’ve literally built, in the last several days, weeks, or years… Walls of isolation, between ourselves and others. Some of us this morning, our pride has gotten in the way, there is tension between us and other believers, maybe between us and a family member… For some of us, we’ve had relationships, perhaps that started well, that over time, have gone astray… and this morning… God is calling us the church, to be reconciled to Him, and to each other.

If you have your bibles, turn with me to 1 peter 2. As we see there are 3 steps towards building healthy relationships. 1. Stop: Tearing others down. 2. Start… Building others up 3. Start… Seeing Good Days

Beginning with Point 1. Stop: Tearing down.

1 peter 2:1-3 tells us 1 Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. 2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.

Now we’ll see in a few moments that Peter will soon transition to this idea of building up. But before discussing building up… we see in these verses the need to tear down, or get rid of the things within ourselves, that don’t line up with Christ.

Now, Peter opened verse 1, with the word. “Therefore” which, anytime is scripture, you see the word therefore… it refers back to the previous section, and we have to look into what the therefore, is there for… and in this instance. It refers back to the previous verse 1 peter 1:23-25

23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. 24 For, “All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, 25 but the word of the Lord endures forever.” And this is the word that was preached to you.

And here’s the point this morning, is that for these believers, to whom peter writes, and for us this morning. We’ve been born again, Christ took us, emptied us, tore away the old us… and then gave us a new life in Christ…

But here’s the key… This new life that was given to us, though the Word of God… shouldn’t stop at salvation, no it should continue on to our interaction with others.

You see it’s interesting, if you were here last week, you recall that the audience to which Peter addresses. Is a group of Christians, or exiles, who have been scattered in what would now be modern day turkey. These Christians have experienced persecution, and difficulty… and they’ve actually been commended by obeying the word of God and having a sense of love for each other. It says in 1 peter 1:22

22 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart.

But here in verse 1, there’s a sense of work still to be accomplished. There’s a sense of tearing down of one’s previous life that is still left unchecked.

And so, Peter would address these Christian in verse 1 with 5 things. 1Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. These 5 characteristics by the way are all things that a believer would by in large, do towards other believers… Malice, which in English has the idea of desire to harm someone else, deception towards others being hypocritical towards others, having envy of others, and slandering others in anyway. And again, we see there’s a sense of love there from these Christians, yet there’s still a sense of doing wrong to one another. and peter calls them out.. Peter doesn’t mince words; he tells them to rid themselves of that junk.

He tells them 2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, (some of your translations will say pure milk of the word) so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.

And we won’t go too far into the discussion of spiritual milk, but here’s the point… now that these Christians had came to a saving point of salvation… and had tasted and seen the Lord was good… they were being called to continue to grow in their salvation and Do Away with tearing down others.

I came across a story this week which explains: When Apple Incorporated. set off a frenzy of activity on September 19th with the debut of its iPhone 6 and 6 Plus (a few years back), workers from Teardown.com lined up at 5 A.M. at stores across Austin to buy three devices. Then they returned to the company's offices, where engineers began disassembling the new products.

"We took a screwdriver and tore them apart," said one of Teardown. Om’s analysts. "We wanted to know every detail of everything that's inside: who the supplier was for every component, wire and screw, and how much it cost to make." Over the next 12 hours, the battery, cameras, display, materials, and electronics were analyzed and priced, and the information was rolled into a spreadsheet.

The "quick-turn" report was shared with Teardown.com's clients, who include tech manufacturers, financial investors looking for market trends, and resellers who want to know how much individual parts cost. Attorneys use the reports for patent-infringement cases, and engineering teams study them for design ideas. Over the past 15 years, Teardown.com has broken down more than 2,000 products, including tablets, digital cameras and camcorders, notebook PCs, and gaming consoles. Every product the company has dismantled, dating back to the first digital music players and GPS devices, is stored away in the company's morgue

Truth is, this company is in the business of tearing down. And I don’t know about you…but my iPhone works a lot better when my screen is intact, when all the pieces are in place. See some of us, have been hurt…. And so, in response, if we’re not careful... we can go out of our way to tear others down. It’s like a game of ping pong, going back and forth… But at some point, this crazy game of ping pong… this crazy back in forth has to stop.

John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

Friends, the enemy would love nothing more than for you to tear down others… because in the process… you’re hurting not only the other person… you’re also hurting yourself. And destroying your witness and testimony in the process.

Friend whether it’s in person with what we say, online on social media, through gossip or anything else… we are called to be Holy, because he is Holy. We’re called to be loving… are we doing that this morning?

2. Start… Building others up

And as we continue with this sermon point. We summarize and say… first we stop tearing down … Ephesians 4:29 29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, (and then it goes on to say) but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

So, we consider this idea of building, not tearing down, but instead, building up. And what we need to understand is that in our lives, what we’re being built into should be a reflection of him. The sure foundation.

1 peter 2:4-6 4 As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For in Scripture it says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”

And so, we see that as Christ followers, as Christians, that our lives are being built and engrafted into this spiritual house.

This concept of building, as we’ll look at through this sermon series carries into every area of our lives. Whether it’s our marriage, our relationship with family members, or anything else… There’s this concept of what’s being built…

But understand one thing, as Christians, the foundation of any interaction that we have with others, must should stem from the love of Christ, as the foundation of our lives.

6 For in Scripture it says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone. We look at this concept of the precious cornerstone, and the cornerstone in any building, was the most important stone. Because the cornerstone stone set the proper alignment for the rest of the building. This cornerstone made sure the rest of the structure was sound, and level, and resting properly. Leaning tower of Piza

And at the time, a skilled builder in the first century Palestinian culture. Would start with this precious cornerstone… the word precious meaning in Greek “unequaled in value,” or “irreplaceable.” and from there they would begin to build this building oftentimes using limestone as it was widely available.

But here’s the key… the building would start with a foundation, it would start with the cornerstone, and from there the other stones, would be dressed (or finished off) and with iron tools, the builders would chisel away at different elements so that it was suitable square stone for the house. And as each stone was dressed or finished, it could then be useful for its intended purpose.

Here’s the point this morning… As Christians not only are we built into Gods design and blueprint for his house… but he looks at areas in our lives, that don’t line up with his design and he begins to chisel away… he begins to form us into his image. And by the way, sometimes, this is a painful process, sometimes, we learn lessons the hard way sometimes, (by the way, it’s probably not you, it’s probably the person next to you…) but oftentimes, through our mistakes, God will actually use these as opportunities to chisel away at things that need correcting.

(Not about trying harder…) about coming to the corner and saying Lord… make me like you…

So, we start with Christ and because of him, it’s possible to build in a healthy manner. We’re told in 1 Peter 3:8-9: 8 Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. 9 Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.

On want us to focus in on verse 9 for a second. We’re told 9 Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.

Here’s a question. Why does peter have to tell these Christians to not repay evil with evil? or insult with insult? The reality is because, that’s what comes naturally. Just by a show of hands this morning, has anyone ever been insulted before? And when someone says something offensive to you… is it easy to respond in love?

No, when someone is nasty to us… man, it can be so easy to be hurtful back. I mean, you hurt me… so what? I’m gonna hurt you…and that’s what’s normal. That’s in our flesh what we want to do. But the problem is, as we go back in forth, not only do we end up hurting the other person, we actually hurt ourselves.

Proverbs 13:3 Those who guard their lips preserve their lives, but those who speak rashly will come to ruin.

What’s that saying. if you don’t watch what you say… maybe not right away… maybe not overnight… but in time… you’ll come to ruin.

The problem with verse 9 is this… you get paid with an insult… you respond with an insult… and what happens next? You insult someone else, what are they going to do… insult you right back… it’s this crazy cycle of sin… it goes on and on…

You might have to be the bigger person… Pride.

On the contrarythe bible says repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called (as Christians, right? And what do we get in return?) so that you may inherit a blessing. Good will come your way.

I came across an article this week that explains After 125 years, the infamous feud between the Hatfields and McCoys is finally history. Sixty descendants of the original clans gathered on Saturday, June 14, 2003, in Pikefield, Kentucky, to sign a document declaring an official end to more than a century of hatred and bloodshed.

Most think the feuding between the McCoys of Kentucky and Hatfields of West Virginia began in 1878 when Randolph McCoy accused one of the Hatfields of stealing a hog. The Hatfields won the "hog war'' when a McCoy cousin sided with the opposing clan.

But Feelings festered and other incidents occurred that finally resulted in the shooting death of Ellison Hatfield in 1882. Retaliation begat retaliation until the feud claimed 11 more family members over the next ten years. Subsequent conflicts between the two clans have involved court battles over timber rights and cemetery plots.

You know what’s crazy about this feud? Is in looking, there were at least a handful of family members that we’re Christians. Christians… and yet, this wasn’t just some made up story. This was a real life, back and forth feud that resulted In 12 people losing their lives.

Church at some point. The feuding has to stop. Think about it this way… you can take time to go out of your way and be hurtful. And tear down. Or you can spend the same amount of time being helpful and building up. But I don’t know about you, but I don’t want any part of my life… including gossip, betrayal, jabs… to line up with evil.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

Friend, are we doing that this morning? Are we turning the other cheek, or do we have to get even? Friend, would I encourage you to build each other up.

3. Start: Noticing the changes.

10 For, “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech. 11 They must turn from evil and do good; they must seek peace and pursue it. 12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

As we finish up this morning, we see a promise followed by a prerequisite. The promise is Good days. The promise is you’ll love life. All of us have a life, but not all of us love life. In general, not ever Christian has what the bible would call “good days.” And so, the promise is Good days. And here peter is quoting David, someone familiar with Both good days… and bad days…

And the prerequisite is this. This person must 1. keep their tongues from evil and 2. their lips from deceitful speech. 3. 11 They must turn from evil and do good; 4. they must seek peace and pursue it.

It doesn’t mean that at every moment of life, you’ll never experience any sort of pain. Or difficulty. It doesn’t mean that you could be loving to someone, and they still might not be loving back… but the promise is… keep your tongue from evil and deceit. Turn from evil and do good and pursue peace and the promise is good days and the love of life.

Friend, what sort of life are you living? Are you enjoying life? Are things going well with you? Are you tearing down, or are you building others up?

I’m going to call ______ back up as we prepare to close. And as they come forward, just want to end with one final verse.

Psalm 139:23-24 23 Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Turmoil

What are you building?

Sometimes, taking an inner reflection can be difficult. This idea of chiseling doesn’t always feel good.

- Words hurtful

- Maybe you need to ask forgiveness this morning

- Maybe pride has gotten in the way. You have to be right.

Names wrote in the lambs book of life.

Pray