“NOW YOU ARE GOD’S
PEOPLE…”
Where can you go to find the presence of God?
In an
average week of work and ritual, you perform your duties and go home. You face
trials and difficult situations both at work and at home. On the one hand, you
struggle through the politics and drama of work and co-workers. On the other
hand, you come home and find more difficulty and more drama with your spouse or
family. Or you find an empty apartment and the loneliness thereof. If this is
you, you’re normal. But where is God in
this daily grind?
If you
are a follower of Christ, your quest to find God entails attending church on
Sunday. At the very least, you hope to be reminded of God’s presence in your
life. But you come to church and find that the song choices don’t speak to you,
the message is biblical and true but it doesn’t grab you, and no one really
asks – not really – how you are doing. In fact, you might spend a couple of
hours in church and never really connect with anyone. Yes, you need to put
yourself out there, serve someone else, think of others – but some Sundays you
don’t feel like doing that. Then there’s the drama and politics of church; you
are already sick of drama and politics from your week and then you get it at
church.
And you go home wondering, “Was
God there today?” If this is you, you’re not alone, you’re normal.
I want you to know that God is
here. But he is not in this wood and plaster building. He is not in the
preaching and the music per se. He is not in the political garbage that seems
to dog us wherever we go. He is not in the programs. Where is he? God is in
you!
You are living stones. Where can
God be found today? You know that God does not live in brick and mortar
temples, yet we gather in these places as if they hold the key to divine presence.
But let me assure of this: The True Church is a people saved by faith in Christ
for the purpose of proclaiming God’s goodness to others.
1. We are Living Stones
The early Christians were sometimes accused of being
atheists by their pagan neighbors. Because early Christians did not have
temples to worship in, or priests or sacrifices, people thought that Christians
were godless. They did not have any visible iconography to represent their
faith or anything that folks associate with religion, thus the accusation of
atheism.
For Jews
and Gentiles (pagan converts to Christ), there is a good chance that each felt
there was something missing in their new faith. The Jewish Christian no longer
went to the Temple. Formerly the Temple was everything. The Jew would look at
the Temple and be assured of God’s presence. That’s where God could be found
and worshiped. Now, as Christians, the Temple was just an empty building.
Peter
addresses this loss and speaks a better word to the Jews and Gentile
Christians: You are living stones. What does this mean?
Peter
begins with THE Living Stone. “As you
come to him, a living stone rejected by men…” (4a). The verb here is a
present participle, meaning that it should read “as you are coming to him.” So
it does not refer to conversion (“came”) but to a steady advancement towards
Christ through worship and prayer. As we learn to place greater worth on our
Lord Jesus we come closer to knowing him; it’s an ongoing journey.
Peter
continues: as you are coming to him, the living stone, “you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual
house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God
through Jesus Christ,” (5).
We learn
two very important truths about the nature of the church in this verse. The
first is this: The individual Christian is likened to a living stone, a brick
in the true temple of the living God. The church is not found on Woodhaven and
Giesbrecht; the church is a living edifice made up of spiritual bricks. A brick
by itself is useless unless it is incorporated into a building. So it is with
you; you become the dwelling place of God, the place where he is worshiped when
you come together in a home, at the park, or wherever.
The
second truth is that we are a holy priesthood in this spiritual temple. The
priest in the old Jewish Temple system had access to God that others did not
have and so represented others to God. He would bring them before God. Through
Jesus Christ, a way has been made to God and is the privilege of every
believer. The Latin word for priest is “pontifex” which means “bridge builder.”
As priests we are the bridge for others to come to God.
That’s what ought to be
happening Sunday morning and throughout the week – we ought to be the bridge to
God for our fellow priests and for the seeker of God. We cannot go to a
physical location and expect to find God; we find the presence of God in the
midst of people who love Jesus. We all have that God-shaped void in our hearts
and long to be filled with the Spirit. But often we are disappointed by cheap
substitutes. People, you are the place where God is found.
2. We become Living Stones by Faith
Let’s return to the Living Stone (you may have noticed I
skipped over v. 4 slightly). Jesus Christ is the living stone. He “was rejected by men but in the sight of God
chosen and precious…” (4b).
Peter
now repeats this phrase “chosen and precious” and supports this endearment with
OT prophecy. The LORD said to Isaiah, “Behold,
I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever
believes in him will not be put to shame,” (6; Is. 28:16).
The
“living stone” precious in the sight of the Father, is the cornerstone of the
spiritual house of which we become a part. This new Temple is built on a solid
foundation, one which we can build our lives on. Everything we hold to be true
and just and right and good rests on Jesus Christ.
Now you
know that a cornerstone is a foundation stone against which everything is
measured. It has perfect 90 degree angles so that walls going in either
direction will be straight. The congregation of people who forget the person
and nature of Jesus Christ, who he is as Savior and Lord, who he was in coming
to serve, not to be served, ultimately forget who they are and cannot possibly
represent Jesus. They are a temple in disrepair.
We
become living stones in the dwelling of God when we believe in Jesus Christ. To
believe in Christ we must let go of our own works as a method of gaining
significance or standing or importance or even salvation. I must not trust in
myself or my abilities or gifts. I must completely rely on who Christ is and on
what he did for me on the cross.
That may
make you stumble. This is why the “men” of v. 4 rejected him. The world sees
Jesus as worthless. They did not value him as God did. People see Jesus as
weak, letting himself be killed on a cross, a pathetic figure. “Loving your
enemies” and showing compassion and mercy is weak.
Peter
quotes the OT again in this matter of unbelief: “…but for those who do not believe, ‘The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone,’ and ‘A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense,’”
(Ps. 118:22; Is. 8:14).
C.S.
Lewis in “Mere Christianity” said of Jesus, “He is the Sovereign Lord of the
Universe. We either believe Him and make Him the foundation of our lives, or we
reject Him and spend the rest of our lives falling over Him. There is no other
alternative.”
That’s
the choice. To the common person, Jesus is weak and died in weakness. But to
the person of faith, the weakness of Jesus is our salvation; it is the most
amazing demonstration of power and love the world has ever witnessed. The cross
and the resurrection bring these living stones together and hold us in a
communion of fellowship unlike anything else humans can experience. That is the
church of Jesus Christ.
3. Let these rocks cry out!!!
We are living stones; we are the temple of God; we are
the place where people find the presence of God.
Here’s
why God built us into a spiritual house: “But
you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own
possession…” (9a). It is interesting to note that Peter uses Jewish
terminology to speak of the church. These are Israelite labels (“a chosen race”
Is. 43:19-21) (read Ex. 19:5-7).
Peter’s
words show us a continuity between the OT and the NT. The privileged position
of NT saints is spoken of in the same terms as in the OT. So the church of
Christ is described in terms that are applied to Israel. Our calling then is by
his grace and mercy. We have been brought into a relationship with him so that
we may worship him and praise him.
We are
meant to grasp the grace in this chosenness, that we are what the Jews could
have been if they had accepted the Messiah. But they failed to be what we are
in Christ. What once applied to Israel applies to us.
As Jesus
was rejected, we feel along with him and he with us. At Home Depot, building
supplies are carefully checked. A 2x4 that is warped is removed and thrown into
a discard pile or room. Any imperfection or flaw makes a building product
unsellable. We are warped 2x4s, and yet God chose us in Christ to build his
dwelling place. To do what?
“…that you may proclaim the excellencies of
him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not
a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but
now you have received mercy,” (9b-10).
Here is
the function of the Church:
To proclaim the excellencies of God
To BE the people of God
To represent the mercy of God
Let’s
focus on one aspect for now. That focus is being God’s possession. It is
inherent in the Israelite applications: being a chosen race, being a “royal”
priesthood (note the belonging of “royal”), a holy nation (Peter challenged his
readers to be holy because God is holy, separate unto him alone), and a people
for God’s own possession.
Christians
are a people for God to especially possess. It is a unique and wonderful
privilege to belong to God. You know that the value of a thing lies in the fact
that someone important has possessed it. Sharon and I visited the Buffalo Bill
Cody Center of the West this May and viewed some common items. We saw a
moth-eaten jacket, a few weathered household items, a piece of furniture – all
of which would have been rejected by MCC Thrift Store had they been donated as
is. BUT they belonged to Buffalo Bill, so they were worth something.
This is
how it is with us. The Christian may be a very ordinary person, but she
requires a new value because she belongs to God. A young man may be rejected by
others as of no account, not worth knowing, not worth dating. But if he belongs
to God, his value soars – he is God’s possession.
In that
light, once we grasp how chosen and precious we are in the sight of God, we
fulfill the other two functions of the church. We proclaim the excellencies of
God and bear witness to the mercy of God in choosing us in the first place.
How does this sit with you?
Do you think that the presence of God has been found here
this morning?
In the summer of 1805, a number
of Indian chiefs and warriors met in council at Buffalo Creek, NY, to hear a
presentation of the Christian message by Mr. Cram from the Boston Missionary
Society. After the sermon, a response was given by Red Jacket, one of the
leading chiefs. Among other things, the chief said, “Brother, we are told that
you have been preaching to the white people in this place. These people are our
neighbors. We are acquainted with them. We will wait a little while and see
what effect your preaching has upon them. If we find it does them good, make
them honest and less disposed to cheat Indians, we will then consider again of what
you have said.” That seems reasonable.
The difference ought to be
evident.
A while ago I had a conversation with a couple
who were just a few years younger than myself. They don’t worship at any
fellowship hall or “church” if you will. They were tired of the attitudes of
believers. They were tired of the politics in church. I could see the pain in
their eyes, could hear it in their voice. They felt disappointed by the
institutional church. But they loved Jesus and that was evident.
What was I to say? I was honest.
I said, “A few years ago I would have argued with you to find a fellowship and
stick with it…now I just want to encourage you to find others who love Jesus
and build each other up.” I stunned him, but he thanked me.
I am not saying we should give
up Sunday morning worship times. I know what it is to be hurt by the organized
church as well, and I know what it is to be disappointed. I know the
frustration of discontent in the church, and I am fed up with it.
What I am saying is this: We are God’s people.
And we ought to be mindful of that 24/7 and in every place we find ourselves.
The church of Christ is more than buildings and policies and doctrines; the
church is made up of living stones – people who love Jesus – and the world
needs to find God in the midst of those people. Let us be that place where God
dwells.
AMEN
1Peter 1:13-23
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