WEBVTT 00:00:02.432 --> 00:00:10.632 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you as though something strange were happening to you. 00:00:10.632 --> 00:00:20.966 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. 00:00:28.365 --> 00:00:31.666 Good morning, Valley View. 00:00:31.865 --> 00:00:35.432 I wasn't planning to do this, but I think we need to just just continue for a minute. 00:00:35.432 --> 00:00:40.966 In this spirit of proclaiming Jesus's name over whatever you're facing. 00:00:41.732 --> 00:00:49.299 I encountered a couple situations this week where I thought, Lord, I can't do this alone. 00:00:49.332 --> 00:00:52.332 And you know, it's not complicated. 00:00:52.799 --> 00:00:54.165 I think in life we tend to. 00:00:54.165 --> 00:00:58.600 The devil tends to convince us you can't have victory here. 00:00:58.600 --> 00:01:02.732 You're never going to make it through this. 00:01:03.165 --> 00:01:04.365 But his name is power. 00:01:05.533 --> 00:01:09.599 Look, all you got to do is stop in that moment and cry out his name. 00:01:11.132 --> 00:01:13.700 It's not complicated. 00:01:13.700 --> 00:01:15.465 Jesus, would you show up right now? 00:01:15.465 --> 00:01:19.900 I'm facing a temptation or a challenge or something like never before. 00:01:19.900 --> 00:01:21.165 Would you show up? 00:01:21.165 --> 00:01:24.165 I declare your name in this moment. 00:01:24.400 --> 00:01:27.433 And it's not because of how powerful we are to say his name. 00:01:27.433 --> 00:01:30.433 It's because his name is powerful. 00:01:30.632 --> 00:01:31.965 And so here's what I want to do right now. 00:01:31.965 --> 00:01:39.233 I want you to just cry out whatever it is where you need him to show up. 00:01:40.033 --> 00:01:41.599 Let me just hear it. 00:01:41.599 --> 00:01:44.599 What is it that you're facing this week? 00:01:47.700 --> 00:01:48.165 Nothing. 00:01:48.165 --> 00:01:50.033 Okay. Well, good. 00:01:50.033 --> 00:01:53.033 I forgot we had a perfect church. 00:01:53.733 --> 00:01:58.000 You probably need a different pastor then. The perfect pastor, too. 00:01:58.200 --> 00:01:58.766 What is it? 00:02:00.465 --> 00:02:02.200 Anxiety. 00:02:02.200 --> 00:02:04.965 Who else is facing anxiety? 00:02:04.965 --> 00:02:07.033 Okay, I heard family. 00:02:07.033 --> 00:02:11.265 Well, we won't quite know how to interpret that one. 00:02:11.265 --> 00:02:14.032 Pride. 00:02:14.032 --> 00:02:17.032 Fear. 00:02:17.500 --> 00:02:20.500 Who else has financial troubles here? 00:02:22.066 --> 00:02:24.633 What else? 00:02:24.633 --> 00:02:27.633 Grief. 00:02:27.733 --> 00:02:30.532 Sickness. 00:02:30.532 --> 00:02:33.532 Sin was another I heard. 00:02:34.633 --> 00:02:35.765 What else? 00:02:35.765 --> 00:02:38.599 What else are you facing? 00:02:38.599 --> 00:02:41.566 Depression. 00:02:41.566 --> 00:02:44.566 Loneliness. 00:02:44.566 --> 00:02:47.566 Sorrow. 00:02:47.733 --> 00:02:50.733 Operations. 00:02:51.366 --> 00:02:52.066 The world. 00:02:52.066 --> 00:02:56.566 The pressures of the world bearing down. 00:02:57.733 --> 00:03:00.733 Uncertainties. 00:03:01.866 --> 00:03:02.432 Man. 00:03:02.432 --> 00:03:06.199 We could go on like this probably for the next hour. 00:03:06.199 --> 00:03:08.966 Here's what we're going to say in response to those things. 00:03:08.966 --> 00:03:11.900 And I'm not minimizing those real challenges. 00:03:11.900 --> 00:03:15.800 But here's what we do in the midst of the overwhelming anxiety. 00:03:15.800 --> 00:03:18.066 What do you say? 00:03:18.066 --> 00:03:20.032 What do you say? 00:03:20.032 --> 00:03:22.366 Jesus, show up. 00:03:22.366 --> 00:03:24.832 Jesus, I'm not going to submit to this. 00:03:24.832 --> 00:03:26.765 Jesus, would you show up? 00:03:26.765 --> 00:03:28.866 Overcome these anxieties? Yes. 00:03:28.866 --> 00:03:31.032 They're here. Yes. They're real. 00:03:31.032 --> 00:03:36.066 Jesus! Show up in the midst of the depression, which is real. 00:03:36.066 --> 00:03:38.932 What do you say? 00:03:38.932 --> 00:03:40.133 What do you say? 00:03:40.133 --> 00:03:41.133 Jesus. 00:03:41.133 --> 00:03:43.566 What do you say? 00:03:43.566 --> 00:03:44.566 Jesus. 00:03:44.566 --> 00:03:45.665 Would you show up? 00:03:45.665 --> 00:03:47.532 I can't handle this on my own. 00:03:47.532 --> 00:03:50.532 In the midst of the sin and temptation. 00:03:50.566 --> 00:03:52.500 Right in the midst of it. 00:03:52.500 --> 00:03:55.466 We don't entertain it. 00:03:55.466 --> 00:03:57.665 We don't let it fester. 00:03:57.665 --> 00:03:59.932 What do we say? 00:03:59.932 --> 00:04:00.300 Come on. 00:04:00.300 --> 00:04:01.566 I thought you'd have it by now. 00:04:01.566 --> 00:04:03.900 What do you say? 00:04:03.900 --> 00:04:06.832 And with that, you say it louder. 00:04:06.832 --> 00:04:10.066 Jesus! Would you show up? 00:04:10.066 --> 00:04:10.665 Jesus. 00:04:10.665 --> 00:04:12.165 Thank you. 00:04:12.165 --> 00:04:23.733 That it's your power that will cast aside temptation and sin that will guide us through anxiety and depression, that will guide us through sickness. 00:04:25.065 --> 00:04:26.500 You are the one we turn to. 00:04:26.500 --> 00:04:29.966 Give us the strength this week as we look at your word. 00:04:29.966 --> 00:04:34.865 As we look at Peter talking about how we find joy in the midst of suffering. 00:04:34.865 --> 00:04:38.632 God, give us the strength and wisdom to turn to you and whatever we face. 00:04:38.632 --> 00:04:40.333 Thank you that your name has power. 00:04:40.333 --> 00:04:41.500 We love you, Jesus. 00:04:42.500 --> 00:04:45.500 Amen. 00:04:45.600 --> 00:04:51.199 Well, we're continuing in our study of First Peter, and we're going to be in chapter two today. 00:04:51.199 --> 00:04:56.565 And we're taking on a larger chunk than we have been looking at, verses four through ten. 00:04:56.565 --> 00:05:04.932 And so if you have a church Bible that will be on page 953, and if you don't have a Bible, you can go out to the connection corner and get one anytime. 00:05:04.932 --> 00:05:05.899 Those are free for you. 00:05:05.899 --> 00:05:07.165 Those are for you to keep. 00:05:07.165 --> 00:05:09.165 And we put the page numbers on the screen. 00:05:09.165 --> 00:05:17.833 If you're not familiar with the Bible, that helps you to be able to follow along as we read, but we'll be in first Peter chapter two, and I'm going to read the verses before we start. 00:05:17.833 --> 00:05:20.932 Like I said, it's a little longer section than what we've been examining. 00:05:23.132 --> 00:05:30.533 We're going to read these and then we're going to unpack them, and it's going to take a little bit of time today with this larger chunk for a couple of reasons. 00:05:30.533 --> 00:05:32.766 And I think you'll see as we get into it. 00:05:32.766 --> 00:05:59.432 First Peter chapter two, verse four, even as you come to him a living stone rejected by men, but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 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. 00:05:59.932 --> 00:06:01.365 For it stands in Scripture. 00:06:01.365 --> 00:06:13.199 Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame. 00:06:13.399 --> 00:06:29.766 So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, the stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone, and a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence. 00:06:29.766 --> 00:06:35.632 They stumble because they disobey the word as they were destined to do. 00:06:36.865 --> 00:06:57.300 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness and into his marvelous light. 00:06:57.300 --> 00:07:02.266 Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people. 00:07:02.266 --> 00:07:11.399 Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 00:07:12.165 --> 00:07:16.966 There's a story from ancient Greece about the Spartans. 00:07:16.966 --> 00:07:18.365 You may have heard of them. 00:07:18.365 --> 00:07:24.432 They're famous for the Battle of Thermopylae, where 300 men stood against an entire army. 00:07:24.800 --> 00:07:34.665 One of the stories that goes along with them is that the king of Sparta was very proud of their walls, of their city walls, and boasted about them broadly. 00:07:35.833 --> 00:07:37.365 Our walls are impenetrable. 00:07:37.365 --> 00:07:38.300 They're so strong. 00:07:38.300 --> 00:07:42.000 There's no other city walls like our walls. 00:07:42.000 --> 00:07:46.632 And so one king heard of this and said, I need to come see their walls. 00:07:46.632 --> 00:07:48.165 What do we need to do different to ours? 00:07:48.165 --> 00:07:51.266 We need to have that kind of strength in our city. 00:07:51.266 --> 00:08:02.266 And so he goes to visit Sparta, and as he rises over the hill and sees the city out ahead of him, he realizes something that is very plain and obvious right away. 00:08:02.266 --> 00:08:08.132 There are no walls around the city of Sparta which led to confusion. 00:08:08.132 --> 00:08:10.000 What does this mean? 00:08:10.000 --> 00:08:10.833 So he gets closer. 00:08:10.833 --> 00:08:14.800 He comes to the king and he asks him, look, I came here to see your amazing walls. 00:08:14.800 --> 00:08:16.132 There clearly aren't any walls. 00:08:16.132 --> 00:08:16.733 What's the deal? 00:08:17.966 --> 00:08:24.565 And the king of Sparta points over towards his strong, battle tested warriors. 00:08:24.565 --> 00:08:29.300 And he said, those are the walls of Sparta. 00:08:30.233 --> 00:08:33.232 Our warriors, our soldiers. 00:08:33.466 --> 00:08:37.399 We don't need physical walls when we have people like that. 00:08:37.399 --> 00:08:40.399 Warriors like that. 00:08:40.966 --> 00:08:54.166 What we're going to see in the book of Peter today is that Peter is making a similar point about the church, and when I talk about the church, I don't talk about concrete, brick walls. 00:08:54.166 --> 00:08:57.033 You know that. 00:08:57.033 --> 00:09:02.899 This is not a church unless living stones are here, unless alive people are here. 00:09:02.899 --> 00:09:06.466 That's where the Holy Spirit resides, is in each of us. 00:09:06.466 --> 00:09:08.332 And if we're not here, it's not a church. 00:09:08.332 --> 00:09:12.500 Just because it's a building shaped like what we think would be a church. 00:09:12.500 --> 00:09:19.566 What we're going to see in First Peter today, he's going to make one big point, one big point. 00:09:19.566 --> 00:09:24.966 And it's that we are memorials of mercy, right? 00:09:24.966 --> 00:09:27.765 We are living stones. We’re memorials of mercy. 00:09:27.765 --> 00:09:30.100 We saw that in verse five as I read it. 00:09:30.100 --> 00:09:31.633 You would have seen it here. 00:09:31.633 --> 00:09:32.500 As you come to him. 00:09:32.500 --> 00:09:40.232 A living stone rejected you yourselves, like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house. 00:09:42.033 --> 00:09:51.133 It's not about the physical structure, but it's about God at work in the lives of everyone here. 00:09:52.932 --> 00:10:05.200 Now, the interesting way he does this and what makes this passage complex, and I don't know what your Bible looks like on the page, but many Bibles will set out Old Testament quotes kind of in indented and taking up more space. 00:10:05.200 --> 00:10:08.633 And if you look at this section, you see there's a lot here. 00:10:08.633 --> 00:10:11.799 There's a whole bunch in quotes from the Old Testament. 00:10:11.799 --> 00:10:26.200 In fact, Peter alone, for the amount of verses he covers or the amount of verses he writes for the length of the letter he covers more Old Testament passages per word per section than any other book of the Bible. 00:10:26.200 --> 00:10:30.600 He loves to quote the Old Testament, but this section in particular, it's just one after the other. 00:10:30.600 --> 00:10:32.932 In fact, I'll I'll put a few of these on the screen. 00:10:32.932 --> 00:10:35.133 This he quotes from. 00:10:35.133 --> 00:10:37.332 You see, he quotes from Isaiah chapter 28. 00:10:37.332 --> 00:10:45.299 He quotes from Psalm 118, from Isaiah eight, Exodus 19, Isaiah 43, quotes from Hosea in multiple places. 00:10:45.299 --> 00:10:49.399 And he's probably hinting at Psalm 34, which he quoted last week. 00:10:49.399 --> 00:10:55.932 It's just one after another, like a machine gun shoot of Bible verses, one boom after another after another. 00:10:55.932 --> 00:10:57.700 That's a... that is a lot. 00:10:59.533 --> 00:11:11.232 And the reason he does this, in fact, by the way, the complexity here is it's not just that he's quoting a bunch of the Old Testament, but some of these same verses-- put up the next list-- are quoted all throughout the New Testament. 00:11:11.232 --> 00:11:14.100 Jesus quotes Psalm 118 to make a similar point. 00:11:14.100 --> 00:11:15.232 I'm the cornerstone reject rejected. 00:11:15.232 --> 00:11:18.133 He does that in each of the three synoptic Gospels. 00:11:18.133 --> 00:11:20.799 Peter quotes these verses as well and acts four. 00:11:20.799 --> 00:11:22.865 Paul quotes them in Romans nine. 00:11:22.865 --> 00:11:25.633 It's-- there's so much happening here. 00:11:25.633 --> 00:11:27.765 There's a lot. 00:11:27.765 --> 00:11:34.299 But his point is to say, do you know why I can say that we are monuments of mercy, that we are living stones? 00:11:34.299 --> 00:11:35.332 Do you know how I can say this? 00:11:35.332 --> 00:11:37.200 Look back at the Old Testament. 00:11:37.200 --> 00:11:39.399 Here's all the proof that I'm going to give you. 00:11:40.700 --> 00:11:43.899 Now, we got to wade through some of what this means. 00:11:43.899 --> 00:11:51.566 And I think the way he's going to do this in this passage is to point out two things about what it means to be a monument of mercy. 00:11:51.566 --> 00:11:52.466 Monuments of mercy. 00:11:52.466 --> 00:11:53.633 There's two things we're going to look at. 00:11:53.633 --> 00:11:56.633 They have an identity and an activity. 00:11:57.200 --> 00:11:59.966 identity and activity. 00:11:59.966 --> 00:12:01.332 Identity. Who we are. 00:12:01.332 --> 00:12:02.966 If you're a monument of mercy, what does that mean? 00:12:02.966 --> 00:12:03.765 Who are you? 00:12:03.765 --> 00:12:07.232 But then second, we have an activity. 00:12:07.232 --> 00:12:09.100 What do we do with that? 00:12:09.100 --> 00:12:11.700 What does it mean to live that out? 00:12:11.700 --> 00:12:13.966 So we're going to look at two sides of that-- who we are. 00:12:13.966 --> 00:12:16.365 What's our identity as a monument of mercy? 00:12:16.365 --> 00:12:21.799 And then secondly, what does that mean in terms of how we live and what do we do? 00:12:21.799 --> 00:12:26.633 So first identity, what does it mean to be a monument of mercy? 00:12:26.633 --> 00:12:38.066 The first one that we'll look at that he says-- and we've already seen these phrases in verse four and five, is that we are called to be living stones, stones that are alive. 00:12:38.066 --> 00:12:40.566 And there's a reason why he uses that phrase in particular. 00:12:40.566 --> 00:12:46.265 Look back, though, at that phrase as you come to him in verse four, a living stone rejected by men. 00:12:46.265 --> 00:12:50.000 Now in verse four, he means Jesus is the living stone. 00:12:50.000 --> 00:12:55.432 Jesus has been rejected by men, but in God's sight chosen and precious. 00:12:55.700 --> 00:12:59.200 You yourselves, like living stones, are being built up. 00:12:59.200 --> 00:13:01.932 Jesus was the original living stone. 00:13:01.932 --> 00:13:07.799 Now you also, because you believe in him and know him, are also a living stone. 00:13:08.299 --> 00:13:11.265 We're called to be living stones because he is alive. 00:13:11.265 --> 00:13:12.799 But look at what else it says. 00:13:12.799 --> 00:13:21.432 You are being built up as a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 00:13:22.500 --> 00:13:25.299 And here's why he quotes verse six, for it stands in Scripture. 00:13:25.299 --> 00:13:32.166 Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame. 00:13:32.166 --> 00:13:37.700 So right here in verse six, he's quoting from Isaiah, Isaiah chapter 28. 00:13:37.700 --> 00:13:40.932 That was the first on that list I put up there. 00:13:40.932 --> 00:13:42.732 And he's quoting from Isaiah. 00:13:42.732 --> 00:13:49.899 And if you think back to that season of Isaiah post exile, the nation was continued to be led by leaders, some good, some bad. 00:13:49.899 --> 00:13:53.732 And they kind of went through this cycle of the leaders leading them astray. 00:13:53.732 --> 00:14:00.966 And then maybe pretending to want to take them back towards God, but then leading them astray again this cycle over and over again. 00:14:00.966 --> 00:14:07.033 And so God sent prophets like Isaiah to say, hey, stop following these bad leaders. 00:14:07.033 --> 00:14:08.633 Follow me. 00:14:08.633 --> 00:14:13.566 Stop going through this cycle of rebellion and quasi repentance. 00:14:13.566 --> 00:14:15.600 Follow me. 00:14:15.600 --> 00:14:20.832 Because and it wasn't just only correction, but it was also persuasion. 00:14:20.832 --> 00:14:23.066 Because he loves you. 00:14:23.066 --> 00:14:25.500 Yeah, you've messed up, but he still loves you. 00:14:25.500 --> 00:14:27.166 He's still there for you. 00:14:27.166 --> 00:14:28.966 He's still calling you back. 00:14:28.966 --> 00:14:32.600 He still wants you to come back sometimes. 00:14:32.600 --> 00:14:35.799 I'm sure you face this sometimes when maybe you've made poor choices. 00:14:35.799 --> 00:14:40.133 When you've gone wrong direction, you feel like God wouldn't want me. 00:14:40.133 --> 00:14:42.466 I can't go back to him now. 00:14:42.466 --> 00:14:44.166 I'm too ashamed. 00:14:44.166 --> 00:14:46.533 I'm too embarrassed. 00:14:46.533 --> 00:14:48.200 And part of that's good. 00:14:48.200 --> 00:14:50.466 We should feel bad about our sin. 00:14:50.466 --> 00:14:52.200 But God's not up there going. 00:14:52.200 --> 00:14:53.932 I don't know if I can take them back. 00:14:53.932 --> 00:14:55.399 I just don't know. 00:14:55.399 --> 00:14:56.500 We'll see. 00:14:56.500 --> 00:14:57.966 I'm not sure. Let me pray about it. 00:14:59.865 --> 00:15:05.700 No, he's longing for you to come back every single time. 00:15:05.700 --> 00:15:08.533 He's longing for you to change as well and not to continue in that pattern. 00:15:08.533 --> 00:15:11.533 But he wants us to return to him. 00:15:11.799 --> 00:15:34.600 And so in Isaiah, in this pattern that we see, he quotes this verse, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone, chosen and precious, Bear with me here, because this can be very confusing, because they already had a stone, they already had a cornerstone, they already had their foundation. 00:15:34.600 --> 00:15:42.899 If you think back to the Jewish nation, where would they have turned to to experience God's presence that had large stones? 00:15:44.100 --> 00:15:46.365 The temple. 00:15:46.365 --> 00:15:55.365 They already had a temple, but the problem with that temple that it wasn't alive, God's presence had left there. 00:15:56.732 --> 00:16:00.966 And so instead it was a dead empty shell, a whitewashed tomb. 00:16:00.966 --> 00:16:02.332 It just looked pretty. 00:16:02.332 --> 00:16:05.332 But God's presence wasn't there. 00:16:06.166 --> 00:16:10.100 If you've been to Europe, you've maybe had a taste of this. 00:16:10.100 --> 00:16:14.865 If you've toured some of these grand, massive cathedrals. 00:16:14.865 --> 00:16:16.500 We were in Germany one year. 00:16:16.500 --> 00:16:20.133 We toured this church or cathedral. 00:16:20.133 --> 00:16:22.533 I don't know which it was, but it was a thousand years old. 00:16:22.533 --> 00:16:24.932 It was built around a thousand A.D. 00:16:24.932 --> 00:16:27.265 It was just unbelievable to walk around in this thing. 00:16:27.265 --> 00:16:31.166 I mean, we tear down billion dollar stadiums after 30 years. 00:16:31.166 --> 00:16:32.732 Like, man, that's way too old. 00:16:32.732 --> 00:16:35.799 We got to build a whole new multibillion dollar stadium. 00:16:35.799 --> 00:16:40.533 These things have been there thousands of years, and it's overwhelming. 00:16:40.533 --> 00:16:43.033 The I mean, probably just a village at the time. 00:16:43.033 --> 00:16:48.466 All these people committed their entire lives to carving a few stones, probably, that go into this whole structure. 00:16:50.666 --> 00:17:01.500 And I remember what I heard from one gentleman who had been on a tour like this, going through these grand cathedrals, and he in the midst of one the tour guide was going on and on about how amazing it is, all the work that was put into it. 00:17:01.500 --> 00:17:05.432 And by the way, it is overwhelmingly beautiful. 00:17:06.266 --> 00:17:13.865 And this gentleman, in the midst of that tour just paused and said, let me just ask, can I ask when was the last time someone was baptized here? 00:17:14.932 --> 00:17:18.633 And the tour guy had no idea. 00:17:19.266 --> 00:17:25.232 And the tragedy of that is we become enamored with a physical structure. 00:17:25.232 --> 00:17:28.232 And it's not about the building. 00:17:28.465 --> 00:17:56.566 As fascinated as you might be with Notre Dame in Paris, way more important is that our lives are living testimonies to what God is doing, to what the Holy Spirit is doing, where he is living and alive. By the way, people should see our lives and go, I don't know what she has, but I want that. 00:17:56.566 --> 00:17:58.000 I saw how he used to be. 00:17:58.000 --> 00:18:00.665 Something has changed, I want that. 00:18:00.665 --> 00:18:03.665 Tell me what it is. I got to have that. 00:18:03.799 --> 00:18:04.432 God has been. 00:18:04.432 --> 00:18:06.266 Something has happened in your life. 00:18:06.266 --> 00:18:09.266 There's no other explanation. 00:18:10.165 --> 00:18:12.665 That's a living stone. 00:18:12.665 --> 00:18:15.633 And in Isaiah he said, we're laying a new foundation. 00:18:15.633 --> 00:18:17.066 There is a new stone to come. 00:18:17.066 --> 00:18:18.766 And Peter's quoting it saying, that was Jesus. 00:18:18.766 --> 00:18:20.465 They're pointing forward to Jesus. 00:18:20.465 --> 00:18:27.099 When Isaiah was saying that he was pointing forward to Jesus, and that's who we're called to point others towards. 00:18:27.099 --> 00:18:31.365 So the first identity we have is we're living stones. 00:18:31.365 --> 00:18:34.365 God's alive in us. 00:18:34.732 --> 00:18:41.099 Second here, is we are to be priests to the world, priests to the world. 00:18:41.099 --> 00:18:43.665 We see that show up two different places in this passage. 00:18:43.665 --> 00:18:52.099 First was in verse five where he says, you yourselves, like living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood. 00:18:52.732 --> 00:18:58.965 But also in verse nine, you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. 00:19:00.000 --> 00:19:03.566 Twice he says, you're called to be a royal priesthood. 00:19:03.566 --> 00:19:08.299 And in fact, in that second quote in verse nine, he's actually quoting from the book of Exodus. 00:19:08.299 --> 00:19:09.700 So flip there real quick. 00:19:09.700 --> 00:19:16.232 Exodus chapter 19, that whole list of phrasing there that occurs. 00:19:16.232 --> 00:19:21.766 You are to be a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession. 00:19:21.766 --> 00:19:24.766 That all comes from Exodus chapter 19. 00:19:25.266 --> 00:19:27.732 Exodus is just the second book in the Bible. 00:19:27.732 --> 00:19:36.299 So it's up near the front. And at this place in the book of Exodus, the people have left Egypt. 00:19:36.500 --> 00:19:41.732 They've been wandering through the Promised Land, but they're about to enter into the Promised Land. 00:19:41.732 --> 00:19:47.133 And so God is kind of through Moses having this conversation of saying, here's what this will mean. 00:19:47.133 --> 00:19:50.833 Here's what I'm asking of you as we go into this land. 00:19:50.833 --> 00:19:52.799 And so in Exodus 19, here's what he says. 00:19:52.799 --> 00:19:55.799 Look, look at verse four. 00:19:57.732 --> 00:20:08.232 And we'll read up through verse six, you yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagle's wings, and brought you to myself. 00:20:08.232 --> 00:20:18.599 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice, and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples. 00:20:18.599 --> 00:20:25.865 For all the earth is mine, and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. 00:20:26.833 --> 00:20:30.965 These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel. 00:20:30.965 --> 00:20:47.365 Now back in first Peter chapter two, verse nine, when he is quoting from this section in Exodus, what does he mean by this, that the Jews and then I think looking forward to us, are meant to be a kingdom of priests, a nation of priests? 00:20:47.365 --> 00:20:49.665 I think a couple I think this points to a couple different things. 00:20:49.665 --> 00:20:53.665 One is this hints at the priesthood of all believers. 00:20:54.232 --> 00:21:00.633 If you know Jesus, you don't have to go through anyone else to talk to him or to God. 00:21:00.865 --> 00:21:06.900 It's not like when you start praying you get some kind of Amber alert on your phone saying, whoa, whoa whoa whoa, hold up. 00:21:06.900 --> 00:21:08.833 This. You got to go through the pastor. 00:21:08.833 --> 00:21:09.732 If you're going to talk to me. 00:21:10.932 --> 00:21:12.266 No, no. 00:21:12.266 --> 00:21:14.465 Look, everyone here, Hebrews four talks about this. 00:21:14.465 --> 00:21:16.365 Everyone here has equal access to God. 00:21:16.365 --> 00:21:20.333 Everyone who knows Christ, you have equal access to God. 00:21:20.333 --> 00:21:22.665 You don't have to go through anyone else. 00:21:22.665 --> 00:21:26.732 There's not some spiritual hierarchy that's required for you to go through to go to God. 00:21:26.732 --> 00:21:33.099 Now, of course, we have pastors and staff and people that the church has in place to help us grow. 00:21:33.099 --> 00:21:39.465 But it's not like I have some more direct line to God than you. No. 00:21:39.700 --> 00:21:40.799 No, he makes that clear. 00:21:40.799 --> 00:21:43.799 There's a priesthood of all believers. 00:21:44.566 --> 00:21:53.032 The other part of this, though, I think, is what he's saying is collectively as a nation, they are his priests to the world. 00:21:53.865 --> 00:22:06.432 Meaning if you go back to his original covenant with Abraham in Genesis chapter 12, he said to him, I'm going to, I'm going to bless you so that you will bless the whole world. 00:22:06.432 --> 00:22:10.133 I'm not just blessing you for your own sake to soak it up and enjoy it. 00:22:10.133 --> 00:22:17.133 Yeah, that's true, but it's so that you will bless the world and the church today. 00:22:17.133 --> 00:22:24.900 Our call. It's not-- we don't come here just so that we can get good, warm feelings and go back home and live off those all week. 00:22:24.900 --> 00:22:26.700 I hope that happens. 00:22:26.700 --> 00:22:29.965 Not good warm feelings, but that you get better connected with Christ. 00:22:29.965 --> 00:22:32.833 I hope that gives you the strength to endure all week long. 00:22:32.833 --> 00:22:34.432 That's not the only reason we come. 00:22:34.432 --> 00:22:36.432 It's not just only about us. 00:22:36.432 --> 00:22:39.333 It's so that we can be a light to the world. 00:22:39.333 --> 00:22:41.865 We want to shine the light through this whole community. 00:22:41.865 --> 00:22:48.665 We want to bring hope and joy and peace to our neighbors, to our family, to our friends, to the community. 00:22:50.200 --> 00:22:55.299 In that way, God calls us to be the priesthood of all believers. 00:22:55.299 --> 00:23:01.865 He calls us all to be active in spreading his name to the world. 00:23:01.865 --> 00:23:07.500 So two parts of who we’re called to be here- living stones. 00:23:07.500 --> 00:23:08.965 God's word is living and active. 00:23:08.965 --> 00:23:17.700 He's alive in our lives, and we're called all to be priests to the world at one level. 00:23:18.066 --> 00:23:21.200 So that's our identity as monuments of mercy. 00:23:21.200 --> 00:23:23.633 Now, what does it mean activity wise? 00:23:23.633 --> 00:23:26.633 How do we live in light of that? 00:23:27.465 --> 00:23:33.732 Well, the first way we live as monuments of mercy is, number one, offer spiritual sacrifices. 00:23:33.732 --> 00:23:36.732 Look at verse five again. 00:23:37.032 --> 00:23:51.200 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. 00:23:52.700 --> 00:24:02.732 We talked about that word spiritual last week, looking at Romans chapter 12 as well, where we're all called to be a living sacrifice, not a dead sacrifice. 00:24:02.732 --> 00:24:07.799 Our lives are meant to be a sacrifice, a spiritual act of worship. 00:24:08.732 --> 00:24:12.465 And if you know Christ, you you know, sacrifice. 00:24:12.465 --> 00:24:21.000 You have experienced sacrifice as an offering of service to him, not so that you get more from him, but out of the joy of all he's done for you. 00:24:21.000 --> 00:24:22.766 And now the joy of knowing him. 00:24:22.766 --> 00:24:25.766 It's a delight to offer a sacrifice. 00:24:26.333 --> 00:24:29.732 Just by being here you've shown that you delight in sacrificing. 00:24:29.732 --> 00:24:33.266 You gave up something else to be here today. 00:24:33.266 --> 00:24:35.766 It could have been more sleep. 00:24:35.766 --> 00:24:38.133 It could have been pursuing a hobby. 00:24:38.133 --> 00:24:39.965 It could have been swimming in your front yard. 00:24:39.965 --> 00:24:44.633 After all this rain, you could have done something else with your time this morning. 00:24:44.633 --> 00:24:46.965 A hundred million other things. 00:24:46.965 --> 00:24:49.532 And you said, nope, nope. 00:24:49.532 --> 00:25:03.165 I'm setting aside this time, and I'm going to worship God with a bunch of other crazy people, and we're going to worship together, and we're going to do all we can to pursue him and watch him work in our lives. 00:25:05.500 --> 00:25:08.165 Following Christ means sacrifice. 00:25:08.165 --> 00:25:10.599 You've sacrificed of your time. 00:25:10.599 --> 00:25:12.766 You've sacrificed of your finances. 00:25:12.766 --> 00:25:16.232 If you're involved here, you've likely given to the church of your own money. 00:25:16.232 --> 00:25:20.932 And maybe being a Christian has cost you money because you can't cut corners. 00:25:20.932 --> 00:25:29.932 You can't do something wrong the boss has asked you to do, and that might have led to less pay, less promotions, less advances. 00:25:29.932 --> 00:25:31.299 Those are sacrifices there. 00:25:31.299 --> 00:25:34.299 There's also sacrifices of your life. 00:25:34.432 --> 00:25:42.232 We've got a whole team of people here called deacons, and that part of a big part of what they do is to serve our widows. 00:25:42.566 --> 00:25:51.732 One of our deacons could be at home rebuilding a 55 Chevy, but instead they're trimming bushes for a widow. 00:25:51.732 --> 00:25:57.965 What other social organization does that? We have a whole team of men who are out serving widows on a regular basis. 00:25:57.965 --> 00:26:00.965 Is it the atheist club that's doing that? 00:26:02.299 --> 00:26:04.633 Or is it any-- pick your favorite political party? 00:26:04.633 --> 00:26:07.266 Are they doing that? 00:26:07.266 --> 00:26:14.465 Now look, you have sacrificed and it's an act of worship and delight. 00:26:14.465 --> 00:26:19.400 We're called to offer those sacrifices, and it's a great joy. 00:26:19.400 --> 00:26:25.165 There's no better way to live because he is sacrificed on our behalf. 00:26:25.165 --> 00:26:26.932 That's the first way. 00:26:26.932 --> 00:26:29.365 Second is to proclaim His Excellencies. 00:26:29.365 --> 00:26:33.066 This is the second activity of what it means to be a monument of mercy. 00:26:33.066 --> 00:26:34.766 I get this directly from verse nine. 00:26:34.766 --> 00:26:36.000 Go back to verse nine. 00:26:36.000 --> 00:26:50.566 You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 00:26:50.566 --> 00:26:57.865 You know the front half of that verse where he lists off chosen race, royal priesthood, holy nation, people for his own possession. 00:26:57.865 --> 00:27:02.200 Many commentators point out how this shows our commonality. 00:27:02.200 --> 00:27:14.299 One of the ways they say this we have a common lineage, a common mission, common culture, pursuing holiness that shapes our culture collectively, and a common destiny his possession. 00:27:14.299 --> 00:27:20.099 This shows how God has brought us together, unity through him in so many ways. 00:27:22.133 --> 00:27:31.965 But those things aren't, again, just for our own blessing, because the word that shows up a people's for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you. 00:27:31.965 --> 00:27:45.299 So that purpose clause being the point, is, he blessed you so that you can tell others, proclaim His Excellencies to the world. 00:27:45.299 --> 00:27:48.299 And look, this is absolutely critical. 00:27:50.365 --> 00:28:02.566 There should be a great urgency to us about proclaiming His Excellencies to the world, and it'll look different for everybody depending on your gifts, your abilities, your spiritual maturity, your spiritual gifts. 00:28:02.566 --> 00:28:04.932 It'll look different on what that means. 00:28:04.932 --> 00:28:09.133 But there should be this hunger to tell others about what Jesus has done in your life. 00:28:09.133 --> 00:28:11.865 To proclaim his excellencies. 00:28:11.865 --> 00:28:16.900 And part of the reason is right here in this, part of the reason is because of what Peter quotes. 00:28:18.266 --> 00:28:25.965 Because when Jesus showed up as the cornerstone, as the cornerstone rejected. 00:28:26.932 --> 00:28:28.299 The whole world has a choice. 00:28:28.299 --> 00:28:29.965 Look at what he says in verse seven and eight. 00:28:29.965 --> 00:28:41.833 The honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, the stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone and the ramifications of that. 00:28:41.833 --> 00:28:47.165 He's a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. 00:28:47.400 --> 00:28:52.000 Jesus is inherently offensive to the world. 00:28:52.566 --> 00:28:53.965 He is. 00:28:53.965 --> 00:28:59.266 I think back to when you first felt him nudge into your life. 00:28:59.266 --> 00:29:01.365 What was your response? 00:29:01.365 --> 00:29:05.732 Okay, for some in its immediate yes, Lord, I need you desperately. 00:29:05.732 --> 00:29:11.932 For many, it's whoa! Back off! Get out of my life. 00:29:11.932 --> 00:29:13.432 That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. 00:29:13.432 --> 00:29:17.266 You believe in some dude written about an old book and a make believe God. 00:29:17.266 --> 00:29:18.333 And what are you talking about? 00:29:19.732 --> 00:29:26.365 Get away! That's how most of us respond when we first are confronted with the gospel. Offended. 00:29:26.365 --> 00:29:27.465 Deeply offended. 00:29:27.465 --> 00:29:29.566 My reason is deeply offended. 00:29:29.566 --> 00:29:32.566 I don’t want any part of that. 00:29:33.465 --> 00:29:41.133 That's why we need to be proclaiming His Excellencies to the world, because the natural reaction is to say, I don't want any part of that. 00:29:41.133 --> 00:29:45.133 But that's where true hope and joy in life is found. 00:29:45.799 --> 00:29:59.900 Now, there's a difficult phrase here related to that after verse eight, he's a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, and we need to spend just a little bit of time unpacking that, because right after that it says they stumble because they disobey the word. 00:29:59.900 --> 00:30:01.599 I get that. That makes sense. 00:30:01.599 --> 00:30:04.599 Of course, if you disobey God's Word, you're going to stumble, you're going to struggle. 00:30:04.599 --> 00:30:06.066 You're going to have challenges in life, of course. 00:30:07.500 --> 00:30:12.000 But the next phrase is difficult. 00:30:12.000 --> 00:30:16.900 Why do they disobey the word they were destined to do so. 00:30:17.732 --> 00:30:20.732 They were destined to. 00:30:21.165 --> 00:30:22.500 That's hard to read. 00:30:22.500 --> 00:30:27.732 You mean to tell me that some people were destined to disobey God's word and had no choice in the matter? 00:30:27.732 --> 00:30:30.400 Is that what you're saying? 00:30:30.400 --> 00:30:33.032 I think there's a couple of ways to understand this. 00:30:33.032 --> 00:30:58.000 One is that notice it says, as they were destined to do, some have read this past tense and understood it to be referring possibly to the Jews who at the time of Jesus's life stood against him, rejected him as the cornerstone, following in the train of the leaders, as we saw in Isaiah who said, no, no, no, no, we don't want any part of him. 00:30:58.000 --> 00:30:59.566 We've got our own path forward. 00:30:59.566 --> 00:31:00.333 He's no good. 00:31:02.665 --> 00:31:08.266 They were destined to that time was appointed where some would reject him so that he would be crucified. 00:31:08.266 --> 00:31:10.266 It was God's plan. He knew it. 00:31:10.266 --> 00:31:11.932 He wasn't surprised by it. 00:31:11.932 --> 00:31:14.700 He was in charge the whole time. 00:31:14.700 --> 00:31:18.566 Some think maybe it's just only pointing back to that one act. 00:31:18.566 --> 00:31:30.732 However, even if and let me say this, even if this is referring to people who were alive at that time, if he's saying there are some who are destined to disobey God's word, and I appreciate reading Wayne Grudem on this, he made this point. 00:31:30.732 --> 00:31:36.432 This isn’t therefore, saying that they will always continue to disobey God's Word. 00:31:36.432 --> 00:31:41.532 This isn't saying that they will continue all the way onto death and eternity and rejection of God's Word. 00:31:43.200 --> 00:31:57.766 Even if some were destined to disobey God's Word and reject him, it's not inherently a given that they will continue that way. This verse Isn't making that point, and therefore they have no choice but to continue down that path forever. 00:31:58.099 --> 00:32:01.965 Part of the reason we know that is Peter is all about the gospel. 00:32:01.965 --> 00:32:05.266 In fact, in Second Peter he says, look, God doesn't want any to perish. 00:32:05.266 --> 00:32:08.266 He wants all to come to repentance. 00:32:08.665 --> 00:32:13.665 Why would he say that if he felt like, well, some just have no choice? 00:32:15.865 --> 00:32:19.865 That is one of the most confusing and difficult and complex parts of Scripture. 00:32:19.865 --> 00:32:22.865 How is it that God is totally in charge? 00:32:23.099 --> 00:32:36.465 And yet we also are called to be responsible for our actions, and that is a challenging reality of Scripture. And it's true, he is completely sovereign, and yet we also are responsible. 00:32:36.465 --> 00:32:39.465 But how does all that work? 00:32:39.665 --> 00:32:46.732 I don't know, but I know our hope is in turn into the gospel and Jesus is the one through the Holy Spirit who works in our lives. 00:32:46.732 --> 00:32:53.200 And our call then, is to proclaim His excellencies to a world that has rejected him. 00:32:53.200 --> 00:33:01.133 I used to go to a gym in little Rock when we first moved there, and I'd get there early and it was just me and 1 or 2 other crazy guys there, and the guy who opened the gym. 00:33:01.133 --> 00:33:03.665 We were often waiting on him to show up and open it. 00:33:03.665 --> 00:33:06.665 He and I got talking one day. 00:33:06.732 --> 00:33:12.665 It turns out he's a Christian, and we're talking about following Christ and talking about the gospel. 00:33:12.665 --> 00:33:13.799 We're talking about the Bible. 00:33:13.799 --> 00:33:15.465 And this was back in the day. 00:33:15.465 --> 00:33:16.500 I don't know if you remember that song. 00:33:16.500 --> 00:33:19.599 “I Can Only Imagine,” it was a real big deal for a while. 00:33:19.599 --> 00:33:22.766 It was even playing on all the secular radio stations all the time. 00:33:24.133 --> 00:33:29.766 And we're in the gym one day, and that comes on because it's on the just the radio station playing there in the gym. 00:33:29.766 --> 00:33:32.766 He goes over and turns it off. 00:33:33.133 --> 00:33:36.799 I was like, what? Do you hate Christian music or something? 00:33:36.799 --> 00:33:39.665 Or he's like, no, no, no, my boss said. 00:33:39.665 --> 00:33:44.465 And his boss hated Christianity, hated it. 00:33:44.465 --> 00:33:49.133 And my boss said, anytime that song comes on, you go turn it off. 00:33:49.133 --> 00:33:51.432 I don't want any part of it. 00:33:51.432 --> 00:33:56.700 I don't even want to be potentially confronted by the name of Jesus in my gym. 00:33:57.066 --> 00:34:03.365 The world says stone of stumbling, a rock of offense. 00:34:03.365 --> 00:34:04.500 I don't want any part of it. 00:34:04.500 --> 00:34:06.032 Keep it away from me. 00:34:06.032 --> 00:34:10.300 But our call is to proclaim His Excellencies. 00:34:11.300 --> 00:34:18.666 Now this chapter ends in an interesting way. It ends with a verse of hope. 00:34:18.666 --> 00:34:25.000 And what I wondered, though, about this whole collection of Old Testament references about a stone. 00:34:25.000 --> 00:34:31.965 Peter is quoting one after another, trying to make the case everything you saw about cornerstones and stones in the Old Testament. 00:34:31.965 --> 00:34:33.432 They're all pointing forward to something. 00:34:33.432 --> 00:34:35.766 They're pointing forward to Christ. 00:34:35.766 --> 00:34:38.266 Why does this such a collection for Peter? 00:34:38.266 --> 00:34:41.266 Why does he spent so much time on this? 00:34:41.965 --> 00:34:49.465 One layer I appreciate it because he's clearly doing theology, which if you want to know about anything in the Bible, go look up every reference to it. 00:34:49.465 --> 00:34:53.532 Look for commonalities, look for themes, look for ways the verses link together. 00:34:53.532 --> 00:34:54.465 It takes a lot of work. 00:34:54.465 --> 00:34:55.333 There's no shortcuts. 00:34:55.333 --> 00:34:58.666 But that's the way to learn what any topic in the Bible addresses. 00:35:00.465 --> 00:35:01.666 But I was talking to Julie about this. 00:35:01.666 --> 00:35:03.199 My wife Julie was sitting down one morning. 00:35:03.199 --> 00:35:07.733 I was like, I wonder why Peter has given so much attention to this right here. 00:35:07.733 --> 00:35:13.132 And she said, you know, maybe, maybe this was kind of his anthem. 00:35:15.266 --> 00:35:22.132 Maybe there was something about this idea of Jesus as the cornerstone that really resonated with him. 00:35:23.032 --> 00:35:27.000 And as I thought about that, I thought about Peter. 00:35:27.166 --> 00:35:30.166 And of course, what does Peter's name mean? 00:35:31.900 --> 00:35:34.699 Rock. 00:35:34.699 --> 00:35:43.666 And Peter, who was called the rock by Jesus, and yet who denied him, and yet who Jesus said. 00:35:44.199 --> 00:35:47.532 In fact, Jesus said to him, stop trying to cause me to stumble. 00:35:47.532 --> 00:35:50.500 Same word stone of stumbling, rock of offense. 00:35:50.500 --> 00:35:53.599 Peter's like, knows that he is not the rock. 00:35:55.132 --> 00:36:00.465 Who would be more motivated to study the word rock in Scripture? 00:36:00.465 --> 00:36:01.465 But the word here is different. 00:36:01.465 --> 00:36:09.132 It's stone, and it's a different Greek word than the word rock for Peter, even Peter understands there is a difference. 00:36:09.132 --> 00:36:19.565 And though if I am going to stand as a rock, I'm standing on some other rock stronger than me, a foundation stronger than me, that's the only hope I have. 00:36:19.565 --> 00:36:25.333 The passage ends with verse ten, and this all sums up the idea of monuments of mercy. 00:36:25.333 --> 00:36:28.333 And here he's quoting from Hosea. 00:36:29.565 --> 00:36:35.333 Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people. 00:36:35.333 --> 00:36:40.800 Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 00:36:43.099 --> 00:36:46.099 We are monuments of mercy. 00:36:47.132 --> 00:36:49.333 God has worked. 00:36:49.333 --> 00:36:52.000 There was a time when you were not his people. 00:36:52.000 --> 00:36:55.900 There was a time when you wanted no part of him and he showed you mercy. 00:36:55.900 --> 00:36:57.065 And he drew you in. 00:36:58.166 --> 00:37:04.666 And what greater joy is there than to proclaim that work in your life to those around you? 00:37:04.666 --> 00:37:07.666 Let's pray. 00:37:08.565 --> 00:37:10.833 Jesus, we thank you for this morning. 00:37:10.833 --> 00:37:17.032 God, we thank you that we can call on your name, which is power. 00:37:17.032 --> 00:37:19.333 We know the world doesn't want to hear your name. 00:37:19.333 --> 00:37:22.333 They can't stand to hear your name. 00:37:24.500 --> 00:37:27.132 Thank you for showing us mercy. 00:37:27.132 --> 00:37:30.132 Thank you for working in our lives. 00:37:31.666 --> 00:37:51.000 Thank you for showing us how you were at work in Exodus, in Isaiah and Psalm 118, that you were at work in Hosea, and you were pointing forward to a day when you would show up in human flesh and die on our behalf, so that we could know your mercy. 00:37:51.465 --> 00:38:05.400 God, would you help us to walk in your power all week long, to not submit to the anxiety, the depression, the loneliness, the sorrow, the grief when it comes and it will come? 00:38:06.166 --> 00:38:19.266 But that we would say your name because your name is power, that we would immediately turn to you and we would proclaim your excellencies to this world. 00:38:19.266 --> 00:38:20.666 Give us the strength to do that. 00:38:20.666 --> 00:38:26.365 Jesus, we love you and it's in your powerful name we pray. Amen.