1 Peter 2 Part 2 (Kyle)

by Opcomm · Published September 21, 2011 · Updated March 17, 2016

Teaching 9.20.11

We’ve been learning about
- As a Christian, you are different
- The Lord is doing something profound in our lives
  - This is the idea of being born again
With this new identity, we have to be on board with God
- We need to embrace it and get excited about it
  - Read your Bible
    - There are some awesome truths in there
    - Being conformed to this world is not a good thing
      - It will tie you down to Satan
      - This world sucks and we know this because we have experienced it
      - Nothing in the world is more important than God
        
        But sometimes we forget this
      - This is not fulfilling and we need to escape this
    - Get ready for action
      - Action is coming your way
      - You have this brand new life inside of you
      - You need to get equipped
        
        It is more than just getting prepared
        
        God has always had a plan
        
        Before He created the universe, He knew everything He was doing
        
        He knew that He would send Jesus to die for us
        
        God knew us and loved us before we were born
        
        What is He doing with His plan right now?
        
        1 Peter 2:4-6
        
        “And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For this is contained in Scripture: ‘BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A CHOICE STONE, A PRECIOUS CORNER stone, AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.’”
        
        He lays this precious corner stone in Zion
        
        In the Old Testament, Zion is Jerusalem
        
        The corner stone is Jesus Christ
        
        This needs to be perfect
        
        Building analogy
        
        Cornerstone is the most expensive part of a building
        
        You had to find a perfect choice cut
        
        Without this the building would fall apart
      - If this is important to God then we need to know what this is
    - Whenever you see all capitals, it is from the Old Testament
      - In Isaiah, the cornerstone is costly
      - Jesus Christ paid with His blood
        
        It was shed on the cross for our sins
      - Now we do not have to pay for this ourselves
        
        We just need to go to God
    - This is an end to disappointment
      - In Jesus Christ lies the end to disappointment
      - Us Christians who are living in Christ should not have this disappointment
        
        Disappointment: emptiness
        
        The source is from the world
      - This is God’s plan
      - 1 Peter 2:7-8
        
        “This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, ‘THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE VERY CORNER stone,’ and, ‘A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE’; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed.”
        
        These people who reject the stone are those who rely on themselves
        
        Those who try to be “good enough”
        
        Those who are all about man-made religions
- Matthew 21:42-45
  - “Jesus said to them, ‘Did you never read in the Scriptures, ‘THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone, THIS CAME ABOUT FROM THE LORD, AND IT IS MARVELOUS IN OUR EYES’? Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it. And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.’ When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they understood that He was speaking about them.”
    - These ideas that the Pharisees had were doing to destroy them
    - Pharisees were all about their man-made religion
      - Jesus came to shatter that idea!
      - Jesus is not all about us trying to prove ourselves or be “good enough”
      - Jesus is against this man-made religion
        
        History of man-made religion:
        
        Holy wars, crusades, Spanish Inquisition, Salem witch trials
- People like man-made religion because it makes them feel good
  - It appeals to their pride
  - “I let God in my own way”
- We cannot do everything on our own
  - We will crumble under all the weight of our sins
  - God gives us Jesus to rely on and to help us with our sins
- 1 Corinthians 1:25-27
  - “Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong,”
    - God has chosen the weak things to shame the strong things
      - Those with a humble attitude
      - God makes people powerful
        
        It is not us acting powerful
        
        You become spiritually alive and work in people’s lives
        
        1 Peter 2:9-10
        
        “But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY.”
        
        The rest of the ability is the holy nation
        
        This is us!
        
        We are united because we have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us
- This is an awesome situation to be in
  - This is unlike anything else
  - The angels do not have God in them
- When you hear the word church
  - It is not a building, it is the people
- We are a royal priesthood
  - In the man-made religions today, there is an elite group called priests
    - Usually there are only a few of these
    - But us Christians are all priests
      - Priesthood was not meant for only a certain view
- Romans 12:3-5
  - “For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.”
    - Do not think too highly of yourself
    - We are still individuals, but we are one body
    - Each one of us has a measure of faith
      - Our gifts
      - Something that he predestines us with
      - A way that we can contribute and have a unique role
      - Every single one of us is important
      - When you have Christians that aren’t engaged in ministry and having successful relationships
        
        It is like having a pile of rocks that do not work and fit together
        
        These churches die off
      - When a stone is missing, it hurts the entire building
        
        When we know one of us is falling, we all hurt from it
      - The church is all about building relationships
        
        These love relationships make this community stronger
        
        John 13:35
        
        People will know that we are God’s people if we are truly loving
        
        These are eternal because there is a life after this
- 1 Peter 1:22
  - “Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart,”
    - Fileo: brotherly love
      - Comes and goes
      - Agape: sacrificial love
        
        Deep, true love
        
        No matter how someone screws you over, you still care about them and love them
        
        This is the kind of love that God has for us
        
        Love is going to conquer everything
- Take your place
  - Embrace your role as a priest
  - Embrace your new life
  - Use your gifts for God’s plan
  - Make this love work among your brothers and sisters