Solid - Aligned With Christ

1 Peter 2:4-6

So as you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but chosen and precious in God’s sight, you yourselves, as living stones, are built up as a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood and to offer spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it says in scripture, “Look, I lay in Zion a stone, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and whoever believes in (has faith in, puts faith in, is faithful to) him will never be put to shame. (dishonor, disgraced, burned to the ground)” (quoting Isaiah 28:16)

Isa 28:16

Therefore, this is what the Sovereign LORD, says:

    “Look, I am laying a stone in Zion,

    an approved (tested and approved) stone,

    set in place as a precious cornerstone for the foundation.

    The one who maintains his faith (faithfulness) will not panic.

What is a Cornerstone? Why is it so significant?

Everything had to be aligned with the cornerstone

Level

Square

Water Level – Egyptians would dig trenches and fill them with water

Plumb Bob

Chalk Line

Just measurements –

Leviticus 19:35-36; Deuteronomy 25:13-16; Proverbs 11:1; Proverbs 16:11; Proverbs 20:10

I used to work in a metrology lab. Tangent Labs – any device that measures anything, we calibrated it, repaired it, or sold it. Gauge blocks, measuring rods, scales, thermometers, gas station pumps – Any device that measured anything – we tested it, calibrated it, repaired it or sold a replacement.

What is calibration? – How gallons of gas is in a gallon of gas? How long is a yardstick? How hot is an oven that is supposed to run at 100°, and how can you tell? How many pounds does a 1-lb weight weigh?

Calibration/Traceability

Even back in 2900 BC precise measurements were important enough for the royal Egyptian cubit to be established (black granite). The length of the current Pharaoh’s forearm (from the tip of his elbow to the tip of the middle finger). One cubit was divided into seven palms, and each palm was divided into 4 fingers. Measured between 523.5 mm to 529.2 mm [5.7 mm] (20-5/8” to 20-27/32” [0.21875”]) If I was Pharaoh, a cubit would be about 17-3/4”. If Cheryl was Pharaoh, a cubit would be about 16-3/4”.

The side lengths of the bases of the pyramids differed by no more than 0.05 % (0.26175 mm to 0.2646 mm per cubit or 1/100thof an inch). 1.75” difference for a 756’ base side.

During the Dark Ages (400s to 1400s) much of the knowledge and standardization was lost. In 1875 International Bureau of Weights and Measures was established – In a suburb of Paris, France

2019 Kilogram Crisis – The standard Kilogram was not constant – it had been regularly changing for over one-hundred years (Since 1875). Only three verifications occurred 1889, 1948, 1989.

Where can you find an unchanging standard? In Christianity the unchanging standard is Christ the Cornerstone. Every disciple of Christ needs to align their life with the Cornerstone.

[Build the Jenga Tower]

The religious leaders of the first century rejected Christ as the Messiah. They rejected the Cornerstone. And some people today do the same thing. They reject Christ, and don’t build their lives on the Cornerstone. But Christians frequently have a different, more subtle but equally disastrous problem.

Foundations are important. You need to build your life on the foundation of Christ.

Many Christians, many people who grow up in church, accept Christ as the Foundation to build their lives on, but they don’t build in Alignment with Christ. You must build your life on the Foundation of Christ – He is the ONLY foundation for a Christian to build on. However, if you build on the Foundation, but are not aligned with the Cornerstone there WILL be a collapse. You WILL find yourselves living among the rubble of a life that is not aligned with Christ.

Old Man’s Rubble - Amy Grant 1977 (The Imperials 1979)

Are you walking' with unnecessary burdens

Are you trying to take them upon yourself

If you are then you're living in bondage

And you know that's bad for your spiritual health

And are you trying to live by your emotions

Are you puttin' your faith in what you feel and see

Then you're living just to satisfy your passions

And you better be careful, 'cause you're being deceived

Are you living in an old man's rubble

Are you listenin' to the father of lies

If you are then you're headed for trouble

If you listen too long, you'll eventually die

Are you puzzled by the way that you're behavin'

Do you wonder why you do the things you do

And are you troubled by your lack of resistance

Do you feel that something's got a hold on you

Well, deep within' you there's a spiritual battle

There's a voice of the darkness and the voice of the light

And just by listening you've made a decision

'Cause the voice you hear is gonna' win the fight

Are you living in an old man's rubble

Are you listenin' to the father of lies

If you are then you're headed for trouble

If you listen too long, you'll eventually die

Lives that are not fully aligned with Christ will eventually collapse. You may be living in the rubble of a life that was not aligned with Christ. Your friends may be living in the rubble of lives that were not aligned with Christ. I work in the Indiana Department of Correction and see the rubble every day. Indiana has a prison population of about 25,000 in 18 adult prisons and three juvenile facilities – and they are in prison because of the rubble that comes from living lives that are not aligned with Christ.

In his letters to the church in Galatia and Corinth, Paul uses a different image. He says we need to move from guardians and teachers, to a life of imitation - a life of Discipleship. In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul says, “You’ve had countless guides in Christ, but you do not have many fathers. I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel of the Kingdom. Imitate me. Be imitators of me as I imitate Christ.” That’s discipleship. That’s aligning ourselves with the Cornerstone.

(Pedagogue-guardian/teacher; Mimetai-imitate/meme)

Galatians 3:23-26; 1 Corinthians 4:15-17; 1 Corinthians 11:1

It does you little good to build your life on the Foundation of Christ, if you never align your life with the Cornerstone of Christ.

Spiritual tools - Spiritual disciplines

Solitude, Silence, Fasting, Simplicity, Secrecy, Meditation, Prayer, Study, Worship, Service, Journaling, Fellowship, Confession, Submission, Sabbath, Celebration.

My encouragement to you, is to move from having guides and teachers to being discipled by other, more mature disciples. Imitate their lives as they imitate Christ.  Aligning your life with the Cornerstone.

It does you no good to build your life on the Cornerstone, if you never align your life with the Cornerstone.

Follow Christ as I follow Christ. Invest in a discipling relationship. Grow in what you know and how you think. Grow in your passions and values. Love the things that God loves, and hate the things that God hates (and PEOPLE are never in that second category!). Grow in your actions and HOW you do what you do.

And as you grow, disciple others as you follow Christ. Make disciples, who make disciples, who make disciples.

[Have them come and take a Jenga block]