Building God’s church God’s way.

Questions

How can sinners like me be used to build God’s Church?

Imperative

Here are the blueprints for building God’s Church.

Outline.

1) Intro

Our passage today is going to be 1 Peter 2:1-12. Let me give you some background to what we are going to talk about tonight and then we will dive into the passage and listen to what God has to say.

Let’s First open in a word of prayer.

Farther in Heaven. That you so much for getting us to this point in the day. Lord, I ask that you would be with me and use me, a broken tool, to Glorify you. Father use this time to shape all of us. please father open out hearts to receive your Word. Thank you In Jesus name Amen.

The title of this message is Building God’s Church God’s Way.

The question the I have to keep asking is how can God use a broken stone like me to build His church?

a) In this Book of 1 Peter. Peter is talking to the Jews that were dispersed throughout the Roman empire. Peter talks about Christ as the living Hope in 1:3, he then talks about Christ as the Living Word in 1:23, and then Christ as the Living Stone in 2:24. This living stone is what we are mainly going to focus on and How Christ being our corner stone becomes our benchmark for everything in life. Everything for the building of the church.

b) Building a church takes work.

i) Building a church takes a lot of work. The last church that we did took about a month per 1000 square feet. And there was a lot that went into that work. There was a lot of sweat poured out there. People worked hard to get that building done.

c) Building a church takes dedication

i) To start building a church takes a lot of dedication. This is the case whether it is a church building or a church body. Both of these two-take dedication to accomplish the task that God has given. God has given each of us a task to do, but many times we are not doing that task. It takes a lot of dedication for us to stay on task and get done what God has planned for us.

d) Building a church takes time.

i) The building of a church from the ground up does not happen overnight. The church that does you might wonder how many corners were cut to get it done. Church bodies are the same way. A church that has sprouted overnight may only have people that has shallow roots in rocky soil. And this church will not last long, and the people of that church are going to be so insecure because they are not rooted and grounded in the Word of God.

e) Building a church takes precision.

i) In this passage peter talks about Christ being our corner stone. The corner stone sets the tone of the would building. If it is out of place the slightest fraction of an inch the whole building will be off. This could lead to a catastrophic failure of the building.

(1) All four of these things must happen whether it is a church body or the building. the church the body of Christ has all of these is the building of people. pushing people to be more like Christ takes a lot of work.

1. The groundwork of a church. 1-3

a) Let’s look at the first 3 verses. These are going to be the Groundwork of our Church Building.

Read 1-3

i) Verses 1-3 talk about the church laying aside all malice, all deceit, Hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking. As the church of God, we are to be laying aside all of these things. These are not things that we should be striving after. They are things that we should be fighting against.

(1) Malice definition. Malice is the desire to cause pain, injury or distress to another. Intent to commit an unlawful act or cause harm without legal justification or excuse

(2) Deceit definition. Deceit is the act of causing someone to accept as true or valid what is false or invalid.

(3) Hypocrisy definition. Hypocrisy is a feigning to be what one is not or to believe what one does not: behavior that contradicts what one claims to believe or feel

(4) Feigning definition. Feigning is to give a false appearance of: to induce as a false impression.

(5) Envy definition. Envy is the Painful or Resentful awareness of an advantage enjoyed be another joined with a desire to possess the same advantage.

These are all taken out of Webster’s Dictionary.

(6) Evil speaking definition. Evil-Speaking: expressly forbidden (Tts 3:2; Jam 4:11), and severe punishments are denounced against it (1Cr 5:11; 6:10). It is spoken of also with abhorrence (Psa 15:3; Pro 18:6,7), and is foreign to the whole Christian character and the example of Christ.

Taken from Easton’s bible dictionary.

ii) These are the things that we are to avoid as Believers in Christ. Peter tells us to lay these things aside. To put them off from you. to not pick them back up and put them on. This follows the same line of thinking that Paul has in Ephesians of putting on and putting off. Putting on the new man and putting off the old man with the old man’s ways. To learn new ways from Christ and have a new man from Christ. peter is trying to help his hears to understand this just like Paul was trying to do. After Peter tells us what to take off he tells us what we need to put on in its place. And that is the pure milk of the Word. This word that peter is referring to is the Word of God. Jesus himself said that God’s Word is Truth, in John 17:17 saying that “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.”

God’s Word God’s Truth should be to us as milk is to a newborn baby.

(1) Illustration

I have to admit I have a hard time with this part of the passage. Paul is a wonderful little baby, and I love him so very much. And there are times in the last three months that he has almost blown my ear drums with his screams. Why was he screaming? He wanted his food and he wanted it now. This fits into our passage. As newborn babies desire the pure milk of the word. The question that I ask myself all that time now is, am I desiring the pure milk of the word, the way that Paul wants his milk? And I have asked myself when was the last time that I was mad for not intaking the word of God. What does that mean to you? Have you ever been mad over not getting you spiritual milk?

iii) Let’s look at the end of verse two. “That you may grow thereby.” We are to desire the milk of the word why? So that we can grow. But what are we growing in, Peter tells us that we are to grow by the word? It is by the word that we can grow and by the pure milk of the word. As a newborn baby grows from his mother’s milk so we are to grow by the l milk of God’s word. This takes studying God’s Word and learning about Him for you personally.

iv) Verse 3 Peter throws in this little phrase if you have tasted that the lord is gracious. Peter kind of says this as a rhetorical statement. Because peter knew that those, he was talking to have a little taste of the milk that he was talking about and they knew that God was gracious. Peter is still using this same principle of milk here. Helping them to see that the word of God is to be desired as milk.

v) How is this the groundwork of the church? Why do I think that this is the groundwork of the church? It is really simple actually. If we are believers, then we are to be desiring the milk of the word that Peter talks about here in 1-3. There is not a one of us that has grown to full maturity yet. This ties in the process of sanctification. Sanctification being the process of continued gradual grow of the believer to be more like Christ every day. Each day we are to be growing a little more and a little more. As newborn Babies we are to long for the pure, meaning uncorrupt and flawless, milk of the Word of God. All of this growing personally needs to take place in order for the church to be built.

2. The materials of the church. 4-8

After talking about the groundwork for the church peter then moves on to the building material for the church. peter here is going to tell us what materials we need to use to Build God’s Church God’s way.

a) Christ the corner stone

The first material that peter talks about here is Christ. he describes Christ as a living stone. Living meaning that He is not dead. That He is living today. Our savior Lives today. This living Stone has some other things told about Him. Peter uses some old testament passages to explain His point and to give more emphasis. First peter talks about Christ being rejected by Men. We see this if we look back at the cross and see how the people rejected Him and put him to death. Three days later Christ rose up from the grave alive, and He is still living today. Even though he was rejected by men, He is Chosen and Precious in the sight of God. God Himself laid the foundation that we are being built up on. In verse 6 Peter quotes the old testament. This reminds me that the old testament connects with the new testament.

Turn with me to Isaiah 28:16 and 17.

Christ is the first of the building blocks that we need for the church. Christ is our Cornerstone. He is the one that the rest of the Building relies on to be Square, Plumb, and True. When setting a cornerstone, you need to pick out one of the biggest rocks that you have and the one that is the most square. If it not the rest of the building will be off. The corner stone takes the most time to get set into place, because everything comes off of it.

b) Illustration

i) When we start a building, we have to start in the corner and get the corner established first. One we do the first corner everything else gets measured off of the corner. This is the case if we are setting wood walls or getting the footer ready to pure. One of the first tools that we use on the jobsite is a laser level. This helps us to keep everything one the plane that we need it to. But there is one thing that we have to make sure of so that we do not get off on out set up. I am talking about a benchmark. A benchmark is the one thing that you always go back and check. If is set up the laser and do not have a benchmark than I might not have the right elevation. And that can make everything off. if the laser gets bumped then I have to go back to the benchmark and check to make sure that it is good. The corner stone is the benchmark. I our lives we are trying to stay in line with what God wants us to we have to always check our Benchmark, our Cornerstone.

c) This Cornerstone that we are to base our lives off of is the same one that is a stone of stumbling to the rest of the world around us.

d) Peter the rock

i) In Matthew 16:18 Christ tells peter that on this rock I will build my Church. Peter is next stone that we need to build the church. Peter was the one the Christ used in the beginning of the church to establish the church and used to lead it in the way that God wanted it to go. Peter is the second material.

e) Us the living stones

i) Next, we let’s talk about the last material that is needed for the church. this material was needed in Peters time when he wrote this book, and it is desperately needed today. Look at verse 5 with me. We are the living stones. Peter tells us that we are being built up as a spiritual house. The we are to be a royal Priesthood. That we are to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God. We are the ones that are being built up. We are the ones that are being used for the rest of the church. God is still building His church and we are the ones that He is using.

ii) How Is God using You to Build the church? Who is the next building block that you can reach to be the next stone in the structure of the church?

3. The blueprints/or code book 9-12

i) The Blueprints are what peter talks about next in the church. Blueprints are how we know what we are building, without blueprints all we would be doing is putting concrete in holes and nailing boards together and calling it a building. I think this is how some churches try to grow. They have lost sight of the blueprints and now they have no idea of what they are building. However, this is not what God has called us to.

b) We are His chosen possession

i) First in the blueprints is that we are the chosen possession of God. Look with me in verse 9 and following.

ii) Peter explains that we are the people of God. That He views us as HIS. We are the people that He possesses. We are chosen. God has chosen us and made us His. Picked out of all creation to be His special people. We are royal priest hood. This idea of being a priesthood is that we have direct access to God through Jesus Christ. That we can have a relationship with God who has chosen us. We are being made holy. And we are the people for His own possession.

iii) There is a reason attached to being God’s people. And this kind of implies a task to us as his people. Look at the end of verse 9. God does all of this so that we can proclaim Him to the world. Because He is the one that has called us out of darkness and has called us into His marvelous light.

iv) This whole passage is spoken to the Jews abroad, but they also apply to us. Once we had not received mercy but now, we receive mercy.

c) Urged as sojourners and exiles how to live.

i) Verses 11-12 is where the rubber meets the road so to speak. Peter urges the people that he is speaking to, to live their lives in such a way that it is pleasing and honoring to God. And that by our lives the people around us might be able to praise God. This is a big responsibility for us to live honorable live that God may be glorified and not us.

5) Conclusion

a) So, laying aside the old man that is corrupt, we are to desire the milk of the word. As our little Paul desires his mama’s milk so should we desire the word of God. There have been so many times in my life that I have said that I need the word. This is after I figured out that I am starving and running on empty. Every time I eat a little bite of the word but never really a full meal. And I stop there. And I can tell myself that I am ok and that I will survive with what I have. This is when I fail again. God is continuing to work in my life, but how is He working in yours. How are you desiring the word, How are you resting on your foundation Christ our corner stone? How are you living? Are you living in a way that God is glorified?