I want to begin this morning by having you turn to
Isaiah 28
Isaiah begins this chapter by giving a picture of the wickedness of man, the judgment of God, and the deliverance of the righteous.
You can see God is pronouncing judgment against the “drunkards of Ephraim”
In verse 2-4, He begins speaking of their judgment
Verses 5-6 outlines how good it will in that day for the righteous.
But as is commonly the case, God had a purpose for revealing the judgment on the drunkards of Ephraim.
Israel’s priests and prophets were equally treacherous.
Isaiah 28:7-8
“And these also reel with wine and stagger from strong drink: The priest and the prophet reel with strong drink, They are confused by wine, they stagger from strong drink; They reel while having visions, They totter when rendering judgment. For all the tables are full of filthy vomit, without a single clean place.”
Isaiah said, “these also”.
Ephraim wasn’t God’s main target, the priests and the prophets of Israel were. They were rejecting the truth of God for wickedness.
They were living in and loving sin. They were going after the joys of the world full throttle, and because they love the world so much it altered their ability to rule with righteousness. “They totter when rendering judgment.”
God eventually says everything they offer you is useless. “For all the tables are full of filthy vomit, without a single clean place.”
The idea was that even those who were supposed to be the righteous leaders in Israel had forsaken the commandments of the Lord and gone after wickedness.
However, you will see that those Isaiah was speaking to did not like his indictment of their sin.
VERSES 9-10
They simply say, “Who does he think he is talking to?”
He can’t talk to us like that, and then they begin to mock him.
So God responds.
VERSES 11-13
Since they mocked God, He will give them exactly what they said.
He offered them salvation, but they did not want it.
So God will send the word after them.
Verse 13b, “that they may go and stumble backward, be broken, snared and taken captive.”
God is about to destroy their arrogant evil.
VERSES 14-15
God reveals exactly why they will be judged.
They scoffed at God’s judgment.
They didn’t really think they were in danger.
So what if they rejected God’s purposes for their life. So what if they weren’t doing what God wanted. They were not afraid. They had made a covenant with death.
At this point, Isaiah interjects a verse to encourage those in Israel who do not share their sentiments. An encouragement to the righteous who had no doubt been recipients of the same scorn that Isaiah had received.
Isaiah 28:16
“Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, A costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed. He who believes in it will not be disturbed.”
His message to the righteous, was do not worry if you are ostracized because of their wickedness, the way of God will be worth it.
Then Isaiah returns to the message to the wicked.
VERSES 17-22
The message is simple and clear. God will judge you, and all your notions of safety in judgment will not last.
When you reject God’s purpose, the only alternative is judgment.
So stop scoffing at God, and submit to Him.
The reason we look at this passage, is because this is the passage Peter is preaching in our text in 1 Peter this morning.
Peter is drawing from this very passage in his letter to the rejected selected.
He is not focusing primarily on the judgment of the wicked as Isaiah does, rather Peter is focusing on that one verse that gives hope to those who have determined to be righteous.
Peter zones in on Isaiah 28:16
“Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, A costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed. He who believes in it will not be disturbed.”
TURN TO 1 PETER 2:4-6
We know that Peter is writing this letter to the rejected selected. They were the ones who determined to go against the grain. They left the false religious system of the Jews and determined to submit to God’s plan through Jesus.
However when they did, they were ostracized. They were rejected, no doubt they were maligned and scorned just as Isaiah was in his day.
Now as Peter seeks to offer encouragement to these suffering saints, he draws from this passage to give us some added encouragement.
And the encouragement is simple.
Many times all we focus on in the Christian life is what we have to lose if we do what God is asking us to do.
The Christian life can be easily seen as only that of sacrifice, and mourning. A life without pleasure, an endless toil through hardship, that can only be achieved by an overwhelming commitment to perseverance, and a willingness to always receive the short end of the stick.
And while sacrifice is a part of the Christian life, Peter desires to remind us that as Christians we aren’t the ones missing out. There are also extreme benefits of being redeemed.
God has been teaching me this lesson, and I have been slowly, but surely learning it.
Before we went to Africa, I had certainly counted the cost.
I can say with all sincerity that I was willing to lay down my life in Zimbabwe. I had prepared myself to do that.
The dilemma was, I was having a lot of difficulty seeing the upside. I saw the wife I was leaving, I saw the children I would orphan, the grief to my parents, etc.
Then one night while preaching here, God opened my eyes.
Mark 10:29-30
“Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel’s sake, but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life.”
In an instant, God said, “Rory, you are too focused on what you can lose, and not focused enough on what you can gain.”
From that moment I began to look at Africa as an opportunity for tremendous blessing, not just a calling of enormous sacrifice.
But many times we do that don’t we.
We too easily see the bad, and not the good.
I remember on Wednesday nights, during September we talked about this as it related to the disciples.
Matthew 16 is the first time Jesus reveals His death and resurrection, and Peter responds terribly wrong.
Matthew 16:21-22
“From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day. Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You.”
Shortly there after, Jesus is transfigured, and takes the opportunity to tell them again. This time they simply ignore the news.
Matthew 17:11-13
“And He answered and said, “Elijah is coming and will restore all things; but I say to you that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished. So also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” Then the disciples understood that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist.”
Then again, while the crowd is enamored with Jesus and His power, Jesus doesn’t want them to lose focus, so He tells them again.
Matthew 17:22-23
“And while they were gathering together in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men; and they will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day.” And they were deeply grieved.”
It is obvious they understood Jesus, but did you see their response?
“they were deeply grieved.”
WHY, DIDN’T JESUS SAY, “and He will be raised”?
They suffered from the same problem I often suffer from. They believed the bad news faster than they would believe the good news.
So do we.
We often times understand the suffering, but forget that those who sell out for Jesus are really the ones who have it the best.
People who live in the world ought not feel sorry for Christians, it is Christians who ought to feel sorry for those in the world. We aren’t the ones who are missing out, they are.
And it isn’t just because we get to go to heaven, and they don’t.
It is because a life lived for Jesus today is better than a life lived without Jesus.
DO YOU BELIEVE THAT?
DO YOU BELIEVE THAT A PERSON WHO FORSAKES THE WORLD, TO LIVE FOR JESUS HAS A BETTER LIFE THAN A PERSON WHO HOLDS ON TO THE WORLD WITHOUT JESUS?
I’m not talking about after death, I’m talking about today.
IS IT BETTER TODAY TO HAVE JESUS OR THE WORLD?
This is where we often miss it, and this is what Peter wants to remind us of. We have true benefits in Christ, if we will take them.
Ephesians 1:3
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,”
Do we really believe that?
In this text this morning, I want you to see what Peter is showing us.
Namely he begins talking about the benefits of a believer.
Now again, as he has done already before, Peter begins this text with an assumption.
Before he shows you what your benefits are, he assumes you have already taken care of one thing. If you haven’t, these benefits aren’t yours.
He assumes something.
VERSE 4
“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,”
Before we talk about His assumption lets examine this verse a little.
He calls Jesus the “living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God.”
He is talking about a foundation. He is talking about the foundation upon which men will base their hope.
Since his creation, mankind has constantly looked for something on which they could base their hope for eternity. They constantly look for a foundation on which they can smile at the future.
Even those in Isaiah’s day placed their hope in deception.
Peter here points out that the only foundation stone is Jesus and namely because He is living. Hope is not found in a dead god. We see Jesus as the sure foundation because He lives.
But Peter pointed out something about this “living stone”
It “has been rejected by men”
The word “rejected” there means exactly what it says. It means that after examination, it was cast aside as unacceptable.
IS THAT NOT EXACLTY WHAT MEN DID WITH JESUS?
Isaiah 53:1-3
“Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.”
When the Jews looked at Jesus, they did not see a King.
He wasn’t agreeable enough to lead in their Synagogue.
He wasn’t focused enough to overthrow Rome.
He wasn’t even able to stop His own death.
They examined Him and rejected Him. He did not fit the criteria.
“but is choice and precious in the sight of God.”
But when God went looking for a foundation stone on which to base the hope of men, He searched high and low, and only found One that was acceptable. Ironically enough it was the same that men cast aside.
The word for “precious” denotes “costly”.
Meaning God found the best, most desirable. And it was Jesus.
Matthew 3:16-17
“After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”
And Peter assumes that you have come to Him.
He assumes that you have already run to Jesus because you can see that no matter what the world thought of Him, He was the One God wanted.
Peter assumes you have already done that.
Because indeed, if you have not yet come to Jesus, the benefits of a life lived with Jesus cannot be yours.
We must come to Him like we really believe He is God’s chosen.
Matthew 13:44-46
“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.”
Until we are willing to completely sell out and deny ourselves and come to Jesus, we cannot receive the blessings of salvation.
And perhaps this is our biggest problem.
We fight and kick and scratch every time God asks us to give something up that is of the world.
Maybe if we had ever truly experienced the full blessings of God we would stop seeing those things as the source of joy, and begin to rightly see them as inhibitors to joy.
Maybe if we every truly came to Jesus, just wanting Jesus, things like losing television wouldn’t be seen as a sacrifice, but as a barrier that had to go.
The simple truth is, until we run to Jesus like He is what God was looking for, and forsaking all else, we cannot experience the fullest blessings of salvation.
Luke 9:57-62
“As they were going along the road, someone said to Him, “I will follow You wherever You go.” And Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” And He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.” But He said to him, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.” Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home.” But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
John 15:9-11
“Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. “These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.”
Before you can receive the fullest blessings of the Christian life, you must first completely come to Christ. As Peter is explaining the blessings that are yours, he assumes you have already done that.
Now, lets look at these blessings.
They are found in verse 5
1) “you also, as living stones”
WHAT COULD THIS MEAN?
The same eternal nature that is Jesus, is now ours. He is the living stone, and once we come to Him, we become living stones also.
We identify with Him.
We share in His nature.
John MacArthur writes, “To be living stones means that believers have the eternal life of Christ. They are united with Him, which is their first spiritual privilege. They do not just worship Him, obey Him, and pray to Him; they are united with Him as stones in a spiritual building of which He is the cornerstone. Christians become partakers of the divine nature: “For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory” (Colossians 3:3-4)
[MacArthur, John; The MacArthur New Testament Commentary; 1 Peter, Moody Press, Chicago, Ill; 2004, pg. 106]
In short, our lives are now united with God.
We share in His nature.
This is indeed a privilege that the lost world cannot experience.
They do not know what it is like to be like God.
1 Corinthians 2:14-16
“But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE WILL INSTRUCT HIM? But we have the mind of Christ.”
Ephesians 4:17-24
“So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. But you did not learn Christ in this way, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.”
I want you to know this is a privilege that a person who has come to Jesus has.
And you cannot have this privilege apart from Jesus.
You could stay in the world, you could love the world, you could enjoy the world, but a Christian has a privilege that you do not have.
A Christian has the divine privilege of being a “living stone” just like Jesus.
A Christian has the divine privilege of holding in themselves eternal life.
And that doesn’t just refer to life after death, but Christians live a resurrected life on earth.
Romans 6:4-7
“Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin.”
A Christian has the benefit of being like God, and this is a privilege the world cannot know.
2) “are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood”
Think here in terms of the Jews.
They marveled about what they thought were privileges.
They gloried in the fact that they were God’s chosen people.
They gloried in the fact that they had the temple of God, and His presence.
They gloried in the fact that they were God’s ministers.
As we have already seen, it is true believers that are truly God’s chosen. They are the ones who are “living stones..choice and precious in the sight of God” just like Jesus is.
It is not the lost world who has this privilege, it is believers.
But not only that. These Jews who has crucified Christ, still thought the privilege of God’s presence was theirs. WRONG AGAIN.
Ever since Christ died, God has been building a new house.
I’m that new house.
You’re that new house.
1 Timothy 3:15
“but in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.”
1 Corinthians 3:16
“Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”
1 Corinthians 6:19
“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?”
2 Corinthians 6:16b
“…For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, “I WILL DWELL IN THEM AND WALK AMONG THEM; AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE.”
I want you to let this sink in for just a second.
This is a privilege indeed.
All throughout the Old Testament, you see men in a vain attempt to get close to God. And no matter how righteous, no matter how dedicated, the closest anyone could get was just outside the veil.
And I think we all agree, it would have been neat if God had allowed us to be able to go to Him, wouldn’t it?
But the Christian privilege is much greater than that.
The Christian privilege is not just us with God, but God in us.
Colossians 1:26-27
“that is, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints, to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
John 14:16-17
“I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.”
We actually have the living God, who created the Universe dwelling inside of us.
We actually have the same God who made Jericho fall…IN US
We have the same God who toppled Goliath…IN US
We have the same God who calmed the waves…IN US
We have the same God who healed the sick…IN US
We have the same God who raised the dead…IN US
Tell me that is not a divine privilege.
Ephesians 3:20
“Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us,”
Galatians 2:20
“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”
Colossians 1:29
“For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.”
Imagine if you were coaching a football team.
Now all your kids have the same uniform, but you as a coach, for one game were granted the privilege of having one of your uniforms filled with Troy Aikman.
Would you not feel privileged as a coach?
Well, look Christians, we have the immortal God dwelling in us.
That is a privilege that the lost world cannot have.
In fact a lost world is anything but God in them.
The Bible says they are “far off”.
We have a privilege.
3) “to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ”
In short we have the privilege of ministering to God.
This again is something a lost world cannot do.
Hebrews 11:6
“And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”
Romans 8:6-8
“For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”
In short, having come to Jesus you have the ability to please God. You have the divine privilege to be in divine favor.
This is a privilege not available to a world that has rejected Jesus because all acceptable sacrifices must come “through Jesus Christ.”
This at first may not seem like a privilege.
But take a look at false religions for a second.
Look at the futile work a Mormon will put himself through in order to please God, but they can’t.
Look at the futile sacrifice a Muslim will put himself through in order to please God, but they can’t.
Look at the futile works a Buddhist, or a Hindu will put himself through in order to please God, but they can’t.
It is a privilege to be able to please and minister to our heavenly Father.
And there are many sacrifices we make to Him.
Our bodies
Romans 12:1
“Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.”
Our Praise
Hebrews 13:5
“Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, ” I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU,”
Our Good works and Our Possession
Hebrews 13:16
“And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”
Our Converts
Romans 15:15-16
“But I have written very boldly to you on some points so as to remind you again, because of the grace that was given me from God, to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, ministering as a priest the gospel of God, so that my offering of the Gentiles may become acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.”
Our Love
Ephesians 5:1-2
“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.”
Our Prayers
Revelation 8:3-4
“Another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a golden censer; and much incense was given to him, so that he might add it to the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up before God out of the angel’s hand.”
We have been given the divine privilege of being like God, having God dwell in us, and being able to minister to God. That is something a lost world simply cannot do.
And so Pete rightly closes with the following verse. Which is the same word of encouragement Isaiah gave to the righteous.
VERSE 6
“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.”
Peter closes by confirming the benefits through the promise of Scripture.
I don’t care what the sacrifice for Christ is.
I don’t care what the cost.
I don’t care what the humiliation.
It is worth it, and you will not be disappointed, not in this life, or the next.
Now the only question is, are you walking in this privileged life of Christianity?
Have you come to Jesus like He is the foundation for life and hope?
Or are you still hanging on to the world trying to please one more drop of pleasure out of it until your time on earth is done?
The privileged life is your choice.
But it is only available to those who will come to Jesus.
Matthew 11:28-30
“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
