1 00:00:00,360 --> 00:00:03,160 I want to start with some statistics about a product that 2 00:00:03,160 --> 00:00:07,000 you're all familiar with. That is the famous Lego block. 3 00:00:07,000 --> 00:00:10,280 If you can throw that photo up there, you've all seen these, 4 00:00:10,280 --> 00:00:14,520 certainly. Lego was founded in 1932 in 5 00:00:14,520 --> 00:00:16,920 Denmark by a Danish furniture maker. 6 00:00:17,880 --> 00:00:22,480 Lego manufacturers somewhere around 60 billion bricks every 7 00:00:22,480 --> 00:00:24,720 single year. There are currently 8 00:00:24,720 --> 00:00:29,840 approximately 1 trillion Lego blocks in circulation in 60 9 00:00:29,840 --> 00:00:34,200 official colors. Each brick is manufactured with 10 00:00:34,200 --> 00:00:38,160 a precision of five micrometers. And to give you a little bit of 11 00:00:38,160 --> 00:00:42,960 scale, a human hair is 70 micrometers, so extremely 12 00:00:42,960 --> 00:00:46,640 precise. There are less than 18 defective 13 00:00:46,640 --> 00:00:50,240 Lego bricks in every million that are produced. 14 00:00:52,520 --> 00:00:55,560 And you can actually still interlock bricks from the 50s 15 00:00:55,560 --> 00:00:58,720 with bricks today. They still fit together due to 16 00:00:58,720 --> 00:01:02,920 the extreme precision needed. The steel mold for one brick 17 00:01:02,920 --> 00:01:08,280 costs somewhere between 2:00 and $400,000 to produce just the 18 00:01:08,280 --> 00:01:12,400 mold for one little brick. So pretty impressive, right? 19 00:01:12,400 --> 00:01:15,360 Lego. If one Lego block is impressive, 20 00:01:15,360 --> 00:01:17,640 you know what is vastly more impressive? 21 00:01:18,720 --> 00:01:22,840 What you can build, right. That's the sky is the limit. 22 00:01:22,840 --> 00:01:26,360 You can do all kinds of things. Couple photos, I mean, amazing 23 00:01:26,360 --> 00:01:29,360 if you've, if you've ever watched Lego Masters on TV. 24 00:01:29,360 --> 00:01:30,960 My it's one of my family favorites. 25 00:01:30,960 --> 00:01:33,240 It's just astounding the things that you can build. 26 00:01:33,400 --> 00:01:34,840 Is there another one with the cityscape? 27 00:01:35,520 --> 00:01:39,200 I mean, who has the time? I just want to know, you know, 28 00:01:41,760 --> 00:01:44,120 actually the largest Lego structure ever. 29 00:01:44,120 --> 00:01:49,040 This is the final picture as a promo by Land Rover and you can 30 00:01:49,040 --> 00:01:51,600 see the size. It's it's a replica of the the 31 00:01:51,600 --> 00:01:55,960 towers in London. There's two cars that are parked 32 00:01:55,960 --> 00:01:59,080 on the bridge. So that was built with 5 million 33 00:01:59,480 --> 00:02:02,080 Legos. So just amazing what you can 34 00:02:02,080 --> 00:02:05,920 build with Lego bricks. Now keep all that in mind. 35 00:02:05,960 --> 00:02:08,280 OK, You're like, is this a lecture on Lego? 36 00:02:08,280 --> 00:02:09,840 No, we're going to get into the Bible now. 37 00:02:10,600 --> 00:02:14,160 We're teaching through a series called Church anatomy one O 1. 38 00:02:14,160 --> 00:02:17,080 We're talking about this image that the Bible comes back to 39 00:02:17,080 --> 00:02:19,280 over and over again when it's talking about the church, that 40 00:02:19,280 --> 00:02:23,040 the church is the body and the body is composed of many 41 00:02:23,040 --> 00:02:25,520 different parts. Today we're going to be looking 42 00:02:25,520 --> 00:02:30,880 at a little bit different image. Today's image is that the church 43 00:02:30,880 --> 00:02:36,000 is like a spiritual house that is composed of living Legos, 44 00:02:36,560 --> 00:02:39,760 right? Living bricks, living stones. 45 00:02:40,240 --> 00:02:44,480 It is important that every brick in this structure that God is 46 00:02:44,480 --> 00:02:47,160 building is strong and it's connected. 47 00:02:47,160 --> 00:02:49,520 Otherwise, the structure is compromised. 48 00:02:50,280 --> 00:02:52,640 And so today in first Peter chapter 2, we're going to see 49 00:02:52,640 --> 00:02:59,160 Peter the apostle calling Christians to put away sin that 50 00:02:59,160 --> 00:03:04,080 harms us and harms our unity with one another and calls us to 51 00:03:04,080 --> 00:03:09,520 realize that God is building us into something beautiful that is 52 00:03:09,520 --> 00:03:13,400 meant to proclaim to the world how excellent not we are, but 53 00:03:13,560 --> 00:03:17,000 how excellent God is. So that's where we're going this 54 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:19,840 morning. I want to give us a moment of 55 00:03:19,840 --> 00:03:24,400 quiet as we do every week. We recognize that we all come 56 00:03:24,400 --> 00:03:26,320 into church are gathering together. 57 00:03:26,320 --> 00:03:28,920 We've had some of us have had very difficult weeks or very 58 00:03:28,920 --> 00:03:31,240 difficult weekends. Some of us are very distracted 59 00:03:31,240 --> 00:03:34,480 by things that are going on in our life or in the world around 60 00:03:34,480 --> 00:03:36,440 us. And but this really is one of 61 00:03:36,440 --> 00:03:39,040 the most important times of the week where we are here together 62 00:03:39,040 --> 00:03:41,280 to hear from God. And so we want to give you a 63 00:03:41,280 --> 00:03:45,640 moment just to to center your thoughts on him, to open up your 64 00:03:45,640 --> 00:03:48,160 heart to him, to humble yourself. 65 00:03:48,440 --> 00:03:51,440 You may pray a quick prayer like God, meet me right now, God, 66 00:03:51,440 --> 00:03:53,880 speak to me right now. God, I give myself to you 67 00:03:54,160 --> 00:03:56,120 something like that. So I'll give you just a few 68 00:03:56,120 --> 00:04:00,080 moments and then I will read the text for us and pray for us. 69 00:04:25,520 --> 00:04:30,480 First Peter chapter 2 starting in verse one Apostle Peter 70 00:04:30,480 --> 00:04:37,320 writes he says so put away all malice and deceit and hypocrisy 71 00:04:37,720 --> 00:04:44,000 and envy and all slander like newborn infants long for the 72 00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:48,720 pure spiritual milk that buy it. You may grow up into salvation 73 00:04:49,200 --> 00:04:53,960 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good as you come to 74 00:04:53,960 --> 00:04:58,560 him, a living stone rejected by men, But in the sight of God, 75 00:04:58,840 --> 00:05:02,600 chosen and precious. You yourselves, like living 76 00:05:02,600 --> 00:05:07,480 stones, are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy 77 00:05:07,480 --> 00:05:12,200 priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God 78 00:05:12,200 --> 00:05:15,680 through Jesus Christ. For it stands in scripture. 79 00:05:15,680 --> 00:05:20,600 Behold, I am laying in Zion, a stone, a cornerstone, chosen and 80 00:05:20,600 --> 00:05:24,520 precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame. 81 00:05:25,320 --> 00:05:27,680 So the honor is for you who believe. 82 00:05:27,680 --> 00:05:30,640 But for those who do not believe, the stone that the 83 00:05:30,640 --> 00:05:34,720 Builders rejected has become the cornerstone and a stone of 84 00:05:34,720 --> 00:05:38,840 stumbling and a rock of offense. They stumble because they 85 00:05:38,840 --> 00:05:41,200 disobey the word, as they were destined to do. 86 00:05:41,960 --> 00:05:48,160 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, 87 00:05:48,520 --> 00:05:53,400 a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the 88 00:05:53,560 --> 00:05:58,760 excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his 89 00:05:58,760 --> 00:06:03,560 marvelous light. Once you are not a people, but 90 00:06:03,560 --> 00:06:08,480 now you are God's people. Once you had not received mercy, 91 00:06:08,800 --> 00:06:14,320 but now you have received mercy. God help us today. 92 00:06:14,840 --> 00:06:17,640 We thank you that as we gather together, you're with us here by 93 00:06:17,640 --> 00:06:23,760 your spirit filling this place. And we pray, Lord, for we pray 94 00:06:23,760 --> 00:06:27,160 for our own purity and strength as individuals. 95 00:06:27,440 --> 00:06:32,000 Help us, Lord, that we would be living stones that are, that are 96 00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:35,960 undefiled, that are strong, that are connected to you, the 97 00:06:35,960 --> 00:06:37,840 cornerstone, and connected to each other. 98 00:06:38,240 --> 00:06:40,480 We pray for our unity, Lord, where there are so many things 99 00:06:40,480 --> 00:06:42,880 in the world and even in the church that try to divide us. 100 00:06:42,880 --> 00:06:45,120 God, protect our unity as a body. 101 00:06:46,360 --> 00:06:50,160 We pray for our witness as a church that we would together 102 00:06:50,160 --> 00:06:52,880 proclaim Your excellencies that people would come in and they 103 00:06:52,880 --> 00:06:55,320 would hear about how amazing you are and they would see how 104 00:06:55,320 --> 00:06:57,120 amazing you are through your church body. 105 00:06:57,880 --> 00:07:00,280 It's a tall task, but I thank you God that you're with us and 106 00:07:00,280 --> 00:07:02,120 you help us to accomplish these things. 107 00:07:02,760 --> 00:07:05,640 And so now teach us, encourage us, bless us this morning. 108 00:07:05,640 --> 00:07:09,160 Help me give me a clear mind and A and a clear heart to be able 109 00:07:09,160 --> 00:07:11,680 to preach to your people. We give you this time and we 110 00:07:11,680 --> 00:07:14,080 pray this all in your name, Amen. 111 00:07:17,600 --> 00:07:21,920 So before the apostle Peter encourages these disciples here 112 00:07:21,920 --> 00:07:24,520 in holiness and unity, as obviously the the chapter is 113 00:07:24,520 --> 00:07:31,680 about, he calls their minds back in chapter 1 to the cross. 114 00:07:32,200 --> 00:07:33,240 OK. And that's very important. 115 00:07:33,240 --> 00:07:36,520 I want to start there because before we talk about holiness, 116 00:07:36,880 --> 00:07:40,040 being holy as God is holy, we need to talk about the cross. 117 00:07:40,360 --> 00:07:43,720 Otherwise you get legalistic and it's all about just our 118 00:07:43,720 --> 00:07:46,880 behaviors. And so just look briefly with me 119 00:07:46,880 --> 00:07:52,000 in first Peter chapter 1, starting in verse 14, Peter says 120 00:07:52,000 --> 00:07:54,920 as obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of 121 00:07:54,920 --> 00:07:58,160 your former ignorance. But as he who called you is 122 00:07:58,160 --> 00:08:02,840 holy, he's talking about God. Obviously you also be holy in 123 00:08:02,960 --> 00:08:07,200 all your conduct, since it is written you shall be holy, for I 124 00:08:07,200 --> 00:08:09,240 am holy. He's calling them to a life of 125 00:08:09,560 --> 00:08:13,040 godliness, of Christlikeness of holiness. 126 00:08:13,480 --> 00:08:16,360 And he goes on in verse 18 and he says, and really this is the 127 00:08:16,360 --> 00:08:19,640 why he calls us the holiness. He's because you were ransomed 128 00:08:20,040 --> 00:08:24,560 from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with 129 00:08:24,560 --> 00:08:27,400 perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious 130 00:08:27,400 --> 00:08:32,360 blood of Christ. So holiness is not what makes 131 00:08:32,360 --> 00:08:35,320 you right with God, good behavior. 132 00:08:36,640 --> 00:08:40,320 It is the proper response. Holiness is the proper response 133 00:08:40,320 --> 00:08:44,280 for those who have received all the benefits of the cross, 134 00:08:44,760 --> 00:08:46,360 right? Says you've been ransomed, 135 00:08:46,640 --> 00:08:48,800 right? It's like we were kidnapped by 136 00:08:48,960 --> 00:08:51,240 sin. We were made for relationship 137 00:08:51,240 --> 00:08:54,800 with God, kidnapped by sin, separated from God. 138 00:08:54,960 --> 00:08:57,160 But he says you were ransomed with the precious blood of 139 00:08:57,160 --> 00:09:00,800 Christ, right? Jesus bought us back not with 140 00:09:00,800 --> 00:09:05,400 silver or gold that perishes, but with his eternal precious 141 00:09:05,400 --> 00:09:09,920 blood spilled on the cross so that we could be reconciled to 142 00:09:09,920 --> 00:09:13,160 our heavenly Father so that we could become holy as he is holy. 143 00:09:13,960 --> 00:09:17,400 And so that's the kind of framework that Peter has before 144 00:09:17,400 --> 00:09:20,800 we jump into chapter 2. And what he says in chapter 2 is 145 00:09:20,800 --> 00:09:23,560 now just, it's just not just kind of logical, right? 146 00:09:23,560 --> 00:09:27,520 It's like sin separated you, sin kidnapped you, sin was killing 147 00:09:27,520 --> 00:09:29,280 you. You've been rescued from all of 148 00:09:29,280 --> 00:09:30,560 that. OK. 149 00:09:30,560 --> 00:09:33,920 And so chapter 2, verse 1, So right. 150 00:09:33,920 --> 00:09:38,440 Therefore, in light of what Jesus has done for you on the 151 00:09:38,440 --> 00:09:42,960 cross, he says put away. And then he lists all of these 152 00:09:42,960 --> 00:09:46,080 sins and that phrase put away as a, a word that you would have 153 00:09:46,080 --> 00:09:49,400 used in that day to take off an old garment, right? 154 00:09:49,400 --> 00:09:52,640 It's like take off these dirty old tattered clothes that you 155 00:09:52,640 --> 00:09:55,480 used to be wearing, these filthy clothes that used to be clothed 156 00:09:55,480 --> 00:09:59,360 and take these things off. And then he gives us this list 157 00:09:59,960 --> 00:10:05,000 of sins that he is highlighting. He says put off malice. 158 00:10:05,640 --> 00:10:10,240 Malice is anger or wrath, whether it's in your thoughts or 159 00:10:10,240 --> 00:10:13,080 in your actions. It's ill will towards one 160 00:10:13,080 --> 00:10:17,640 another where you desire someone else's harm or you actually 161 00:10:17,640 --> 00:10:20,520 somehow cause them harm, emotional or physical, whatever 162 00:10:20,520 --> 00:10:23,840 it might be. You know, I noticed yesterday 163 00:10:23,840 --> 00:10:25,880 when I was watching the game, there was one point I said out 164 00:10:25,880 --> 00:10:29,680 loud, you dummy, and I thought about this verse. 165 00:10:30,400 --> 00:10:32,960 I thought, Oh no, there it is in my heart, right? 166 00:10:32,960 --> 00:10:36,000 It's me wishing I'll to someone because they didn't do what I 167 00:10:36,000 --> 00:10:38,960 thought they should do. There's all different kinds of 168 00:10:38,960 --> 00:10:40,240 way that we can, we can express that. 169 00:10:40,240 --> 00:10:41,920 But he says that's not for you anymore. 170 00:10:41,920 --> 00:10:46,440 You put that away now he says put away deceit, right? 171 00:10:46,440 --> 00:10:48,640 Deceit is lying. It's misleading. 172 00:10:48,640 --> 00:10:53,640 It's missing misrepresenting the truth to harm another or to 173 00:10:53,640 --> 00:10:57,640 protect yourself or to promote yourself and deceitfulness. 174 00:10:57,640 --> 00:11:01,040 Lying destroys unity among God's people. 175 00:11:01,040 --> 00:11:04,280 If we can't trust each other, right, this is not going to go 176 00:11:04,280 --> 00:11:05,920 very well. We're not going to do a good job 177 00:11:05,920 --> 00:11:08,080 staying together. He tells them to put off 178 00:11:08,080 --> 00:11:11,320 hypocrisy. That word literally means play 179 00:11:11,320 --> 00:11:13,600 acting. OK, play acting. 180 00:11:13,600 --> 00:11:18,040 Or it's it's a false front where your actions do not align with 181 00:11:18,040 --> 00:11:21,000 your stated beliefs. And how many of you know, 182 00:11:21,000 --> 00:11:24,240 hypocrisy turns a whole lot of people off from Christianity, 183 00:11:24,880 --> 00:11:26,280 right? They hear our message, they hear 184 00:11:26,280 --> 00:11:28,480 what we say with our mouth, and then they watch our lives and 185 00:11:28,480 --> 00:11:31,080 they say, oh, that doesn't seem to be working very well for you, 186 00:11:31,840 --> 00:11:33,280 right? You, you're a hypocrite. 187 00:11:34,320 --> 00:11:37,480 There are different kinds of hypocrites, by the way, because 188 00:11:37,480 --> 00:11:41,240 everybody is a hypocrite, right? The most, the most righteous 189 00:11:41,240 --> 00:11:43,160 among us is still hypocrite. We all fall short. 190 00:11:43,160 --> 00:11:47,320 But there are humble hypocrites who say, I know that I am and I 191 00:11:47,320 --> 00:11:50,280 hate it and I want to change. And then there are proud 192 00:11:50,280 --> 00:11:52,280 hypocrites that say, I don't care. 193 00:11:52,600 --> 00:11:54,000 I'm a hypocrite and I don't care. 194 00:11:54,760 --> 00:11:57,840 And I think God can work with humble hypocrites, right? 195 00:11:57,840 --> 00:11:59,960 All of us, I hope, are humble hypocrites. 196 00:12:00,680 --> 00:12:04,800 Proud hypocrites can destroy a church and need to be brought 197 00:12:04,800 --> 00:12:07,480 under church discipline, which is what we will actually talk 198 00:12:07,480 --> 00:12:10,960 about in a few weeks. So he says put off hypocrisy. 199 00:12:10,960 --> 00:12:15,000 He says put off envy. Envy is resentment or discontent 200 00:12:15,000 --> 00:12:17,440 over another person's blessings, right? 201 00:12:17,440 --> 00:12:19,720 Social media stirs this up like crazy. 202 00:12:20,000 --> 00:12:22,200 We're always looking at other people's lives and we're saying, 203 00:12:22,200 --> 00:12:25,120 oh, look at how good they have it, which they always put the 204 00:12:25,200 --> 00:12:28,280 best, same, most sanitized, happiest version of themself 205 00:12:28,280 --> 00:12:29,600 online. You have to remember that, 206 00:12:29,600 --> 00:12:31,560 right? But we see what they have and we 207 00:12:31,560 --> 00:12:34,880 say, oh man, I wish I had that. You know what the proverb says? 208 00:12:35,280 --> 00:12:40,760 Envy rots the bones, right? It's like a cancer inside. 209 00:12:42,040 --> 00:12:46,080 He tells him to put off slander. Slander is speaking evil of 210 00:12:46,080 --> 00:12:50,360 another person, defamation, trash talking, tearing down with 211 00:12:50,360 --> 00:12:53,280 your words. Whether it's behind their back, 212 00:12:54,280 --> 00:12:57,120 if it's maybe in front of their face, or even online. 213 00:12:57,120 --> 00:12:59,520 You can slander online. A lot of people do. 214 00:13:00,480 --> 00:13:03,880 But notice something about the this list of sins that Peter 215 00:13:03,880 --> 00:13:07,120 highlights here. These are all sins that very 216 00:13:07,120 --> 00:13:09,720 clearly destroy unity in the church. 217 00:13:10,360 --> 00:13:12,480 They become a wedge between people. 218 00:13:12,480 --> 00:13:16,200 They separate people from one another that cause hostility. 219 00:13:16,200 --> 00:13:20,800 They spoil relationships. They cause the Legos to not fit 220 00:13:20,800 --> 00:13:25,200 with one another well. And so Peter is urging them to 221 00:13:25,200 --> 00:13:29,480 recognize these attitudes and behaviors in themselves. 222 00:13:29,480 --> 00:13:33,800 And as we read this, God is calling us, read this like 223 00:13:33,800 --> 00:13:39,280 Peter's writing this to you. We recognize, Lord, where have I 224 00:13:39,280 --> 00:13:43,040 sinned against you? Where have I had malice, deceit? 225 00:13:43,040 --> 00:13:45,160 Where have I been a hypocrite? Where have I been envious? 226 00:13:45,160 --> 00:13:46,800 Where have I been slanderous of others? 227 00:13:47,600 --> 00:13:50,600 Recognize them and then repent, right? 228 00:13:50,600 --> 00:13:53,400 Repentance just means to turn your mind to to change your 229 00:13:53,400 --> 00:13:56,240 mind, and then to turn away, right, to do something 230 00:13:56,240 --> 00:13:58,360 different. Turn away from these sins. 231 00:13:58,360 --> 00:14:02,240 Turn back to God. Put these things off because not 232 00:14:02,240 --> 00:14:05,200 only do they harm you personally, but they harm the 233 00:14:05,200 --> 00:14:10,200 unity of the body of Christ. So what do we do instead? 234 00:14:11,760 --> 00:14:13,880 And I think that's where Peter goes in Chapter 2. 235 00:14:13,880 --> 00:14:15,200 Now he brings some encouragement. 236 00:14:15,200 --> 00:14:17,280 He starts with a kind of a rebuke, a warning. 237 00:14:17,400 --> 00:14:19,480 And now he brings some encouragement. 238 00:14:19,480 --> 00:14:23,280 He says, like newborn infants. Because by the way, that's what 239 00:14:23,280 --> 00:14:27,400 you are when you're saved, you're just a spiritual baby. 240 00:14:27,520 --> 00:14:30,880 No one is born again, and they're mature right away. 241 00:14:31,320 --> 00:14:33,800 OK? You're born a spiritual infant, 242 00:14:33,800 --> 00:14:38,480 a newborn infant. Long for the pure spiritual milk 243 00:14:39,000 --> 00:14:44,280 that by it you may grow up into salvation, if indeed you've 244 00:14:44,280 --> 00:14:49,160 tasted that the Lord is good. So long for this pure, 245 00:14:49,160 --> 00:14:54,560 nutritious spiritual milk that you might grow up into maturity, 246 00:14:54,800 --> 00:14:57,080 if in fact you've tasted and seen that the Lord is good. 247 00:14:57,080 --> 00:15:02,120 If in fact you are a Christian, You can either drink the poison 248 00:15:02,120 --> 00:15:07,040 of sin that kills you and kills your relationships, sometimes 249 00:15:07,040 --> 00:15:10,320 little by little by little, sometimes boom. 250 00:15:11,040 --> 00:15:14,040 You know, it just takes one sin against another person to 251 00:15:14,040 --> 00:15:20,800 destroy a relationship. So you can either have that or 252 00:15:20,800 --> 00:15:25,160 you can drink this pure spiritual milk and grow up. 253 00:15:26,360 --> 00:15:28,640 So now the question is, what is the milk, right? 254 00:15:28,640 --> 00:15:31,040 What is the milk? And we have to look at the 255 00:15:31,040 --> 00:15:35,040 verses just before chapter 2. Look at verse chapter one, verse 256 00:15:35,200 --> 00:15:36,920 22. He says having purified your 257 00:15:36,920 --> 00:15:41,760 souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly 258 00:15:41,760 --> 00:15:45,120 love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you've 259 00:15:45,120 --> 00:15:47,080 been born again, not of perishable sea, but of 260 00:15:47,080 --> 00:15:51,760 imperishable through the living and abiding Word of God. 261 00:15:52,240 --> 00:15:55,120 For all flesh is like grass, it's glory like the flowers of 262 00:15:55,120 --> 00:15:57,520 grass. The grass Withers, the flowers 263 00:15:57,520 --> 00:15:59,560 fail. He says it's all temporal, but 264 00:15:59,560 --> 00:16:02,520 the Word of the Lord remains forever. 265 00:16:02,520 --> 00:16:07,080 And this word is the good news that was preached to you, says 266 00:16:07,080 --> 00:16:10,160 you want to grow up spiritually, you need spiritual nourishment. 267 00:16:10,160 --> 00:16:12,800 You know where you get that spiritual nourishment from The 268 00:16:12,800 --> 00:16:18,200 Word of God, the Bible, God's holy scriptures. 269 00:16:20,480 --> 00:16:23,160 The Bible teaches us that the world is under the power of the 270 00:16:23,160 --> 00:16:26,000 devil. And one of the names for the 271 00:16:26,000 --> 00:16:28,800 devil is he is the deceiver, right? 272 00:16:28,800 --> 00:16:31,360 He lies. That's how he takes people 273 00:16:31,360 --> 00:16:33,000 captive. That's how he destroys 274 00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:35,120 relationships, that's how he destroys nations. 275 00:16:35,320 --> 00:16:37,720 He is a liar. It's all he can do. 276 00:16:37,720 --> 00:16:42,640 He constantly breathes out lies. His goal, the enemy's goal, is 277 00:16:42,640 --> 00:16:47,720 to destroy you individually and to destroy collectively God's 278 00:16:47,720 --> 00:16:50,680 people. He hates the church. 279 00:16:51,680 --> 00:16:56,040 He is doing everything he can in His power to destroy the church. 280 00:16:57,320 --> 00:17:03,360 The main way that we combat the effects of Satan in our life and 281 00:17:03,360 --> 00:17:09,760 in our church community is by longing for and eating, drinking 282 00:17:09,880 --> 00:17:15,760 God's spiritual milk. His truth, His truth combats 283 00:17:15,960 --> 00:17:22,240 lies as you feed on the truth of who God is, of what He has done 284 00:17:22,240 --> 00:17:28,079 in Jesus for us, in the Gospel, His commands, you will be 285 00:17:28,079 --> 00:17:32,160 transformed. You will be transformed and it's 286 00:17:32,160 --> 00:17:35,680 just like eating right. You don't eat one meal and then 287 00:17:35,760 --> 00:17:39,640 whoop, you grow up. It's meal after meal after meal 288 00:17:39,640 --> 00:17:43,720 after meal. Over time, as you feed on God's 289 00:17:43,720 --> 00:17:48,200 word over time, you grow up. It's true that you are what you 290 00:17:48,200 --> 00:17:51,240 eat. First Corinthians chapter 3 291 00:17:51,240 --> 00:17:55,360 verse 18 says it like this. He says and we all with unveiled 292 00:17:55,360 --> 00:17:59,160 face, right, We can see now Jesus, the deception has been 293 00:17:59,160 --> 00:18:04,480 broken off of our eyes and we all with unveiled face beholding 294 00:18:04,480 --> 00:18:10,200 the glory of the Lord are being transformed into the same image 295 00:18:10,560 --> 00:18:15,000 from 1° of glory to another. Or you realize every time you 296 00:18:15,000 --> 00:18:20,160 open this book up and you read the Bible and you see God in the 297 00:18:20,160 --> 00:18:23,920 pages of Scripture, you are beholding the glory of the Lord. 298 00:18:24,760 --> 00:18:29,680 And as you do so, He is changing you 1° by another degree by 299 00:18:29,680 --> 00:18:32,960 another degree. Overtime you are what you eat. 300 00:18:32,960 --> 00:18:35,560 Or another way to say it is you become what you behold. 301 00:18:37,760 --> 00:18:43,080 I love it when people say things to me like I was reading my 302 00:18:43,080 --> 00:18:47,520 Bible the other day and God convicted me over fill in the 303 00:18:47,520 --> 00:18:51,000 blank. I'm like, yeah that's good. 304 00:18:51,000 --> 00:18:53,640 This thing is a sword. This will cut you up if you let 305 00:18:53,640 --> 00:18:56,120 it, right? If you read it with an open mind 306 00:18:56,120 --> 00:18:57,640 and open heart, this thing will cut you up. 307 00:18:57,640 --> 00:19:00,720 It'll convict you, it'll it'll show you your sin, it'll call 308 00:19:00,720 --> 00:19:03,200 you to repentance. And that's how we grow. 309 00:19:04,680 --> 00:19:10,040 So Peter's calling them to feed on this, to grow up. 310 00:19:10,880 --> 00:19:16,720 If we're going to be a strong, healthy, unified church body or 311 00:19:16,720 --> 00:19:21,160 church structure, we need strong, healthy, unified, 312 00:19:21,200 --> 00:19:25,480 growing bricks, right? Every one of us has a 313 00:19:25,480 --> 00:19:29,800 responsibility in this. We need bricks who know and love 314 00:19:29,800 --> 00:19:34,880 our Bibles, that we let God's Word cut our heart when we read 315 00:19:34,880 --> 00:19:36,760 it. We let it convict us. 316 00:19:36,760 --> 00:19:40,440 We let it lead us to repentance. We let it feed us and nourish 317 00:19:40,440 --> 00:19:45,160 us, and we grow. Americans spend 4 to 6 hours a 318 00:19:45,160 --> 00:19:48,920 day on their phones, 4 to 6 hours a day. 319 00:19:49,920 --> 00:19:52,040 What you are consuming what, what? 320 00:19:52,040 --> 00:19:53,680 That's, that's what, that's what's feeding you. 321 00:19:53,680 --> 00:19:58,000 That's what's shaping your attitudes and your perspectives 322 00:19:58,000 --> 00:20:02,240 and your beliefs. Romans 12/2 says do not be 323 00:20:02,240 --> 00:20:07,320 conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of 324 00:20:07,320 --> 00:20:10,080 your mind. And it's God's scriptures, the 325 00:20:10,080 --> 00:20:15,960 Bible, that renew our minds. So I have a challenge for us as 326 00:20:15,960 --> 00:20:17,560 a church. Are you ready? 327 00:20:18,920 --> 00:20:21,000 This is something that I've been doing for the past two or three 328 00:20:21,000 --> 00:20:21,960 years. It's been wonderful. 329 00:20:22,840 --> 00:20:27,760 I want to challenge you to commit every single day to not 330 00:20:27,760 --> 00:20:32,720 look at your phone until you have looked at your Bible. 331 00:20:36,000 --> 00:20:38,000 OK, some of you are like, I already do that. 332 00:20:38,120 --> 00:20:39,280 Good. Keep doing it. 333 00:20:40,000 --> 00:20:44,320 Do not look at your phone until you've looked at your Bible. 334 00:20:44,320 --> 00:20:48,280 And I don't mean like, you know what I mean, right? 335 00:20:48,760 --> 00:20:53,320 Like read some of it, you know, like slow down, turn to a 336 00:20:53,320 --> 00:20:56,640 chapter, read it, digest it, think about it. 337 00:20:56,960 --> 00:20:58,960 Don't look at your phone and what it some of you are like, 338 00:20:58,960 --> 00:21:02,920 well, my Bible is on my phone and I'm you know what I say to 339 00:21:02,920 --> 00:21:08,240 you, get a paper Bible. Go old tech, right? 340 00:21:08,240 --> 00:21:10,520 Just make that commitment, figure it out. 341 00:21:11,160 --> 00:21:12,880 We need this. This is how we grow. 342 00:21:12,880 --> 00:21:15,200 This is our fuel. This is our nourishment. 343 00:21:16,640 --> 00:21:19,800 Do it every day this week. Do it every day this week. 344 00:21:19,800 --> 00:21:22,200 Don't look at your phone till you've looked at your Bible. 345 00:21:22,200 --> 00:21:25,440 It will transform your mourning. And not only will that nourish 346 00:21:25,440 --> 00:21:28,760 and help you and help you grow, but it will actually transform 347 00:21:28,760 --> 00:21:30,960 the church. We will grow collectively. 348 00:21:30,960 --> 00:21:33,120 We will grow in strength. We will grow together. 349 00:21:34,880 --> 00:21:38,520 So Peter here is telling these living stones, these living 350 00:21:38,520 --> 00:21:44,320 Legos, to put away the sin that harms unity and to practice the 351 00:21:44,320 --> 00:21:47,320 things that are actually going to help us grow individually but 352 00:21:47,320 --> 00:21:50,000 also collectively. Why? 353 00:21:50,200 --> 00:21:53,480 Because God is building us into something beautiful. 354 00:21:54,080 --> 00:21:57,240 He's building his people into something beautiful. 355 00:21:57,240 --> 00:22:01,080 Look at verse 4 as you come to him. 356 00:22:02,960 --> 00:22:06,880 He's talking about Jesus, of course, a living stone rejected 357 00:22:06,880 --> 00:22:11,640 by men, but in the sight of God, chosen and precious, you 358 00:22:11,640 --> 00:22:16,680 yourselves, like living stones, are being built up as a 359 00:22:16,720 --> 00:22:21,280 spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual 360 00:22:21,280 --> 00:22:24,760 sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 361 00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:28,800 For it stands in scripture. Behold, I am laying in Zion, a 362 00:22:28,800 --> 00:22:31,920 stone, a cornerstone, chosen and precious. 363 00:22:32,040 --> 00:22:34,360 And whoever believes in him will not be put to shame. 364 00:22:35,360 --> 00:22:40,480 So he's saying Jesus the Master builder is building his people 365 00:22:41,200 --> 00:22:45,560 into a spiritual house. And we saw this image last week. 366 00:22:45,560 --> 00:22:48,680 If you were here in Ephesians 2, he just called us a holy temple. 367 00:22:48,680 --> 00:22:50,880 But it's really the same kind of an image, right? 368 00:22:50,880 --> 00:22:53,240 It's the place where God is worshipped, where God is 369 00:22:53,240 --> 00:22:56,680 glorified. So he says as you come to him, 370 00:22:57,080 --> 00:23:00,880 and this is key, you have to repent of your sin and living 371 00:23:00,880 --> 00:23:04,240 for all of these other things, living for yourself first. 372 00:23:04,600 --> 00:23:06,880 We repent of that. We come to him. 373 00:23:07,040 --> 00:23:09,960 We trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior. 374 00:23:09,960 --> 00:23:12,880 And if you've not done that yet, I would urge you to start there 375 00:23:12,880 --> 00:23:15,440 and do that today. Come to him right now and just 376 00:23:15,440 --> 00:23:18,480 pray to him and say, got it. I, I repent of the old things I 377 00:23:18,480 --> 00:23:19,840 was living for. I don't want to live for that 378 00:23:19,840 --> 00:23:22,120 stuff anymore. I believe Jesus that you are the 379 00:23:22,120 --> 00:23:24,040 Son of God. I'm going to and you and you 380 00:23:24,040 --> 00:23:26,840 live for me and you died for me and you rose again. 381 00:23:26,840 --> 00:23:29,960 I put my trust in you. That's how you become a 382 00:23:29,960 --> 00:23:31,800 Christian, putting your trust in Jesus. 383 00:23:31,800 --> 00:23:35,120 You come to him. He was the living stone, 384 00:23:35,800 --> 00:23:39,640 rejected by men, right? He died on a cross because he 385 00:23:39,640 --> 00:23:42,800 was rejected for telling them the truth that he was the 386 00:23:42,800 --> 00:23:45,440 Messiah. And he was dead and in the 387 00:23:45,440 --> 00:23:49,240 ground and it looked like he was going to be a dead stone, but he 388 00:23:49,240 --> 00:23:52,400 came back alive again and he is a living stone. 389 00:23:53,160 --> 00:23:56,680 And then he says, you like living stones, right? 390 00:23:56,680 --> 00:23:58,360 We're just, we're following Jesus. 391 00:23:58,600 --> 00:24:00,840 We were dead in our sin and our trespasses. 392 00:24:00,840 --> 00:24:04,040 Our hearts were dead. They were stone, Ezekiel tells 393 00:24:04,040 --> 00:24:06,960 us. But now they've been made alive 394 00:24:06,960 --> 00:24:09,520 through faith in Jesus. And so just like he is a living 395 00:24:09,520 --> 00:24:13,120 stone resurrected, we ourselves are living stones. 396 00:24:13,680 --> 00:24:17,280 We are being built up, right? He's assembling us. 397 00:24:17,280 --> 00:24:20,280 He's putting us together. He's taking each individual 398 00:24:20,280 --> 00:24:24,440 person made in his image. He's taking each individual life 399 00:24:25,120 --> 00:24:28,160 and he's crafting something. He's making something that is 400 00:24:28,360 --> 00:24:30,680 wonderful, that is going to be eternal. 401 00:24:31,240 --> 00:24:35,720 He's building a spiritual house, right The the, the imagery in 402 00:24:35,720 --> 00:24:38,160 the Bible of the temple is magnificent. 403 00:24:38,160 --> 00:24:43,040 These amazing, astounding structures, so intricate, the 404 00:24:43,040 --> 00:24:46,000 way they were commanded to to design them and decorate them. 405 00:24:46,000 --> 00:24:47,840 Why? Because they want to magnify the 406 00:24:47,840 --> 00:24:49,840 glory of God. This is who God is. 407 00:24:50,000 --> 00:24:54,000 He's magnificent, and this is where he dwells with his people. 408 00:24:54,320 --> 00:24:57,960 This is where you experience his goodness, the manifest presence 409 00:24:57,960 --> 00:25:01,080 of God in the temple, in the spiritual house. 410 00:25:01,600 --> 00:25:05,960 He says that's what we are now, that's what you are now. 411 00:25:07,040 --> 00:25:11,640 By his Spirit, he dwells with us, among us. 412 00:25:11,640 --> 00:25:18,640 That's where God is worshipped, Your holy priesthood, right? 413 00:25:19,440 --> 00:25:21,280 Just like in the Old Testament, the priests are the ones that 414 00:25:21,280 --> 00:25:24,000 had access to God. He says now all of you have 415 00:25:24,000 --> 00:25:26,120 access to God. The priests were the ones who 416 00:25:26,120 --> 00:25:27,120 served God. He says. 417 00:25:27,120 --> 00:25:29,960 Now all of you serve God. The priests are the one to 418 00:25:29,960 --> 00:25:33,120 minister to others. He says now all of you minister 419 00:25:33,120 --> 00:25:35,600 to one another. The priests are the one who 420 00:25:35,600 --> 00:25:38,920 experienced God's presence. He's saying now all of us can 421 00:25:38,920 --> 00:25:42,960 experience God's presence. And Jesus, of course, is the 422 00:25:42,960 --> 00:25:48,520 cornerstone, the most important brick in the entire structure. 423 00:25:48,520 --> 00:25:52,560 The first one laid, the first one who died and the first one 424 00:25:52,560 --> 00:25:56,000 who rose again. He anchors the whole thing. 425 00:25:57,440 --> 00:26:01,480 My father laid tile for a living, 40 years plus on his 426 00:26:01,480 --> 00:26:04,280 hands and knees laying tile, very, very hard labor. 427 00:26:04,560 --> 00:26:07,240 And I used to go with him on the job site to help him when I was 428 00:26:07,440 --> 00:26:11,680 a kid, young boy, before they had labor laws for that kind of 429 00:26:11,680 --> 00:26:15,160 thing. And, and I remember the first 430 00:26:15,160 --> 00:26:19,640 day of the job was my least favorite because he took forever 431 00:26:19,880 --> 00:26:23,520 to lay the first tile. He would measure and measure and 432 00:26:23,520 --> 00:26:25,360 then he would measure again and measure again. 433 00:26:25,360 --> 00:26:27,640 And then he would measure and then lay it down and measure 434 00:26:27,640 --> 00:26:29,480 again. Like, why do you have to measure 435 00:26:29,480 --> 00:26:33,400 that thing 47 times? Well, now I understand because 436 00:26:33,560 --> 00:26:37,320 when you cement that puppy down, that sets the course for the 437 00:26:37,320 --> 00:26:39,760 whole project. So you want to make sure it's 438 00:26:39,760 --> 00:26:43,320 right, the angle is right. And that's what that's what he's 439 00:26:43,320 --> 00:26:44,320 saying. That's what Jesus is. 440 00:26:44,320 --> 00:26:47,720 Jesus is that first tile that was laid down very, very 441 00:26:47,720 --> 00:26:52,080 carefully, very precisely. He got cemented in, and now 442 00:26:52,080 --> 00:26:54,680 we're all the tiles coming in around him, filling it out, 443 00:26:54,680 --> 00:27:04,480 fleshing it out. The church is not a human social 444 00:27:04,480 --> 00:27:09,840 service agency like the United Way or like the Peace Corps that 445 00:27:09,840 --> 00:27:12,280 offers people temporary earthly support. 446 00:27:12,280 --> 00:27:13,880 Those are fine organizations, right? 447 00:27:14,040 --> 00:27:17,200 That's good that we have them, but the Church is not that. 448 00:27:18,320 --> 00:27:25,520 The Church is Christ's body, His physical manifestation on earth. 449 00:27:27,200 --> 00:27:30,680 He is the master Builder. He is the cornerstone. 450 00:27:31,520 --> 00:27:33,240 The Bible tells us He is our head. 451 00:27:34,080 --> 00:27:41,120 He dwells with us, through us. He speaks, He loves, He serves, 452 00:27:41,240 --> 00:27:44,520 and he saves. That's a big deal. 453 00:27:45,240 --> 00:27:49,280 I hope you are realizing and feeling that the church is a big 454 00:27:49,280 --> 00:27:52,240 deal. A very, very big deal. 455 00:27:53,520 --> 00:28:00,600 The church does the most important work in the world by 456 00:28:00,600 --> 00:28:05,800 far, by far. And that is not an 457 00:28:05,800 --> 00:28:07,280 overstatement. I'm not just trying to be 458 00:28:07,280 --> 00:28:10,440 dramatic. It's true, the work that God has 459 00:28:10,440 --> 00:28:13,920 given us to do, proclaim his gospel, to make disciples of all 460 00:28:13,920 --> 00:28:17,520 nations, to glorify him is the most important work in the world 461 00:28:19,880 --> 00:28:23,080 and it's going to last forever. It's eternal. 462 00:28:25,280 --> 00:28:30,640 Now the apostle Peter wrote this and he's using this image and it 463 00:28:30,640 --> 00:28:32,720 dawned on me this week as I was reading this. 464 00:28:33,680 --> 00:28:38,320 I, I wonder if while Peter's writing this, he is remembering 465 00:28:38,320 --> 00:28:43,120 the conversation that he had with Jesus in Matthew chapter 466 00:28:43,120 --> 00:28:48,000 16, where Peter, Jesus says to his Son, says, who do you say 467 00:28:48,000 --> 00:28:51,440 that I am? And Peter is the one who 468 00:28:51,440 --> 00:28:54,080 confesses that you are the Christ. 469 00:28:54,280 --> 00:28:56,720 This is a monumental moment, right? 470 00:28:56,720 --> 00:28:59,160 It's like boom, the light bulbs went on for Peter. 471 00:28:59,160 --> 00:29:03,640 He sees it and Jesus replies to him in in chapter 16 of the 472 00:29:03,640 --> 00:29:06,680 Gospel of Matthew, verses 17 and 18, he says, blessed are you 473 00:29:06,680 --> 00:29:10,600 Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to 474 00:29:10,600 --> 00:29:13,640 you, but my Father who is in heaven, or in other words, this 475 00:29:13,640 --> 00:29:16,280 is supernaturally attained knowledge that you have. 476 00:29:16,560 --> 00:29:20,360 God has opened your eyes to see this and he says, and I tell 477 00:29:20,360 --> 00:29:25,000 you, you are Peter. And on this rock I will build my 478 00:29:25,000 --> 00:29:30,320 church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it 479 00:29:32,760 --> 00:29:34,360 because I'm building something eternal. 480 00:29:36,880 --> 00:29:38,880 I'm going to change the, the world. 481 00:29:39,000 --> 00:29:43,160 I'm, I'm going to change people's eternal life through 482 00:29:43,160 --> 00:29:44,800 the church and I'm going to build it. 483 00:29:45,120 --> 00:29:47,040 And hell is not going to prevail against it. 484 00:29:47,560 --> 00:29:53,000 It's going to last. I've helped plant 2 churches in 485 00:29:53,000 --> 00:29:57,840 my life. Back in 2006, planted a church 486 00:29:57,840 --> 00:30:00,200 with my wife and some friends in Lafayette, IN. 487 00:30:00,200 --> 00:30:03,080 We were there for 10 years, got that church established and then 488 00:30:03,080 --> 00:30:08,320 we started to sense God calling us to plant another church, 489 00:30:08,320 --> 00:30:12,360 which was not on my radar. I can't say that I really wanted 490 00:30:12,360 --> 00:30:15,640 to do that and I certainly had no plans for it. 491 00:30:15,640 --> 00:30:17,560 We were very established in Indiana. 492 00:30:17,560 --> 00:30:22,200 The church was doing quite well and I and over the course of 493 00:30:22,200 --> 00:30:26,600 about a year, my wife and I, we, we felt like God was calling us 494 00:30:26,600 --> 00:30:28,120 to it again. We were talking about it. 495 00:30:28,120 --> 00:30:30,520 We're seeking counsel about it and just spend a lot of time 496 00:30:30,520 --> 00:30:33,760 praying and asking God, is this you right? 497 00:30:33,760 --> 00:30:36,240 Is this we because we only want to do this if this is really 498 00:30:36,240 --> 00:30:38,720 you. And I remember very distinctly 499 00:30:39,320 --> 00:30:42,040 one time in prayer when I was having this kind of conversation 500 00:30:42,040 --> 00:30:43,800 with God, like, oh, I don't know, is this you? 501 00:30:43,840 --> 00:30:48,840 Is this you? And I felt like he asked me, at 502 00:30:48,840 --> 00:30:54,240 the end of your life, will you regret having planted 2 503 00:30:54,240 --> 00:30:58,960 churches? And I just thought, well, of 504 00:30:58,960 --> 00:31:05,200 course not, of course not. To have two congregations 505 00:31:05,200 --> 00:31:08,040 established in two different cities and the Gospels being 506 00:31:08,040 --> 00:31:10,400 preached in two different places and disciples are being made in 507 00:31:10,400 --> 00:31:13,480 two different places. Of course, it's, it's a worthy, 508 00:31:13,720 --> 00:31:15,800 it's a worthy use of my life. I'll do it again. 509 00:31:16,120 --> 00:31:17,840 For me, that was a bit of a turning point where I was like, 510 00:31:17,840 --> 00:31:24,720 OK, let's go, let's do this. The work we do is so important. 511 00:31:27,000 --> 00:31:30,640 Other organizations and agencies, hospitals, 512 00:31:30,640 --> 00:31:34,440 universities, not for profits. They're good, they're necessary, 513 00:31:34,440 --> 00:31:40,040 they do good work. But that is not God's chosen 514 00:31:40,360 --> 00:31:43,440 group for reconciling the world unto himself. 515 00:31:43,440 --> 00:31:47,640 That is the church. The church is God's plan A for 516 00:31:47,640 --> 00:31:53,720 reconciliation, and so we have an important work to do. 517 00:31:54,160 --> 00:31:56,240 Please don't forget that it's easy to Pooh Pooh the church. 518 00:31:56,240 --> 00:31:59,240 The church has lots of warts and flaws, and I understand that 519 00:31:59,240 --> 00:32:01,280 completely, right. I see the whole thing from the 520 00:32:01,280 --> 00:32:04,480 inside. But nevertheless, we are God's 521 00:32:04,480 --> 00:32:08,640 chosen instrument for redeeming, reconciling broken, sinful 522 00:32:08,640 --> 00:32:11,920 humanity unto Himself. What a privilege, what a 523 00:32:11,920 --> 00:32:14,560 calling, what a thing to give yourself to. 524 00:32:19,040 --> 00:32:25,200 He goes on in verses 7 and 8 and he says, so the honor is for you 525 00:32:25,200 --> 00:32:30,040 who believe, but for those who do not believe, the stone that 526 00:32:30,040 --> 00:32:34,200 the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. 527 00:32:35,160 --> 00:32:38,200 He's talking about Jesus here, rejected by the Jews. 528 00:32:38,200 --> 00:32:40,680 They crucified him. He's become the cornerstone and 529 00:32:40,680 --> 00:32:43,240 he's become a stone of stumbling in a rock of offense. 530 00:32:43,600 --> 00:32:45,800 They stumble because they disobey the Word, as they were 531 00:32:45,800 --> 00:32:49,440 destined to do. He's saying here, if you believe 532 00:32:49,440 --> 00:32:52,160 that Jesus is the Christ and you've built your life on him, 533 00:32:52,160 --> 00:32:55,640 you will not be disappointed. You will never be put to shame 534 00:32:55,680 --> 00:32:58,000 in this life or in the next. Never. 535 00:32:59,560 --> 00:33:02,680 But if you reject Him, if you disobey Him, and if you're 536 00:33:02,680 --> 00:33:05,880 offended by his claims that he is God, that he is Messiah, he 537 00:33:05,880 --> 00:33:10,360 says you will stumble over him now and forever. 538 00:33:11,760 --> 00:33:16,880 This is the hard, scary reality of eternity apart from God. 539 00:33:17,000 --> 00:33:21,640 The Bible calls that hell. You are separated from good, 540 00:33:21,640 --> 00:33:25,680 almighty life giving God. You're in outer darkness where 541 00:33:25,680 --> 00:33:27,480 there's weeping, where there's sorrow. 542 00:33:30,280 --> 00:33:35,440 At that point it's too late. And so God is mercifully calling 543 00:33:35,440 --> 00:33:40,080 you now to not let Jesus be a stumbling block for you, but to 544 00:33:40,120 --> 00:33:43,040 put your trust in Him. And church, by the way, this is 545 00:33:43,040 --> 00:33:44,960 just a call to evangelism for us, man. 546 00:33:44,960 --> 00:33:48,600 We find so many reasons and excuses to delay telling other 547 00:33:48,600 --> 00:33:51,400 people about who Jesus is. And we just get so scared and we 548 00:33:51,400 --> 00:33:54,120 just kind of get into our little shells and, you know, circle 549 00:33:54,120 --> 00:33:56,320 around with other people who just think exactly what we 550 00:33:56,320 --> 00:33:57,640 think. And let's just be happy 551 00:33:57,640 --> 00:33:59,640 together. And, and I just think you, we, 552 00:33:59,800 --> 00:34:01,440 that is, that is the way it goes, right? 553 00:34:01,440 --> 00:34:04,320 Because it feels safe that way. And the world is getting more 554 00:34:04,320 --> 00:34:09,040 hostile toward Christianity, but we have to resist that urge to 555 00:34:09,040 --> 00:34:12,719 just hunker down and just hang out with one another, right? 556 00:34:12,719 --> 00:34:15,120 We have this message. We are called to be salt and 557 00:34:15,120 --> 00:34:17,239 light in a world that desperately needs Jesus. 558 00:34:17,960 --> 00:34:20,159 There are people who are stumbling over this message. 559 00:34:20,159 --> 00:34:22,760 We're going to end up separated from God forever. 560 00:34:22,760 --> 00:34:27,120 And that can't be OK with us. We've got we've got a message to 561 00:34:27,120 --> 00:34:33,679 share with them that leads to life and goes on in verse 9. 562 00:34:34,480 --> 00:34:41,040 But you, but you Christian, but you who are now part of Jesus, 563 00:34:41,040 --> 00:34:46,679 Church says but you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy 564 00:34:46,679 --> 00:34:50,600 nation, a people for his own possession. 565 00:34:51,480 --> 00:34:57,320 He's stacking these terms, these images to show us what our new 566 00:34:57,320 --> 00:35:01,880 identity is in Christ, Right? We're a chosen race. 567 00:35:01,880 --> 00:35:06,240 We are now the people of God and it's not based on skin color, 568 00:35:06,240 --> 00:35:09,120 it's not based on your culture, but it's a people based on a 569 00:35:09,120 --> 00:35:11,040 common faith and a common savior. 570 00:35:11,600 --> 00:35:13,840 This is very important to us at Vita Springs Church that we are 571 00:35:13,840 --> 00:35:17,320 a multi ethnic, multiracial church because that diversity 572 00:35:17,320 --> 00:35:20,200 that comes together in unity does a wonderful job of 573 00:35:20,200 --> 00:35:23,480 proclaiming to the world the unifying power of the gospel, 574 00:35:23,600 --> 00:35:27,640 the healing power of the gospel. Your chosen race, your royal 575 00:35:27,640 --> 00:35:31,080 priesthood, right? All Christians are priests. 576 00:35:31,080 --> 00:35:36,200 We are all called to be active participants in worshipping and 577 00:35:36,200 --> 00:35:40,520 in serving. Everybody plays in this game. 578 00:35:40,960 --> 00:35:43,040 No bench warmers in Christianity. 579 00:35:43,040 --> 00:35:45,400 Everybody's on the field all the time. 580 00:35:46,280 --> 00:35:47,880 He says. We're a holy nation. 581 00:35:47,880 --> 00:35:51,400 We're this new community set apart. 582 00:35:51,400 --> 00:35:53,280 We're holy. That means set apart. 583 00:35:53,400 --> 00:35:58,000 We're being made holy by the Holy Spirit and we're a nation 584 00:35:58,000 --> 00:36:01,680 under the kingship of our Lord Jesus Christ who rules and 585 00:36:01,680 --> 00:36:07,560 reigns over us perfectly and we are a people of his possession. 586 00:36:08,200 --> 00:36:11,440 And I just I love that that phrase jumped out to me this 587 00:36:11,440 --> 00:36:13,400 week. A people for his own possession. 588 00:36:14,080 --> 00:36:17,360 He wants you. He claimed you. 589 00:36:18,240 --> 00:36:22,440 He gave himself on a cross because he desired that you 590 00:36:22,440 --> 00:36:25,800 would be his. And there's a picture on in the 591 00:36:25,800 --> 00:36:28,480 Book of Revelation in the last times where our names are on his 592 00:36:28,480 --> 00:36:31,360 forehead. It's like he's labeled you as 593 00:36:31,480 --> 00:36:36,400 his own Bible tells us that you were bought with a price. 594 00:36:37,160 --> 00:36:39,640 You belong to him now, thank God. 595 00:36:40,720 --> 00:36:44,400 But notice these are all corporate images, right? 596 00:36:44,400 --> 00:36:48,000 That were corporate corpus or corpse, right body. 597 00:36:49,360 --> 00:36:52,360 These are these are body images. These are plural. 598 00:36:53,200 --> 00:36:57,080 The Christian life is meant to be lived in the body, with the 599 00:36:57,080 --> 00:37:01,200 body part of the body. We're not just dismembered 600 00:37:01,200 --> 00:37:03,200 individuals kind of drifting around on our own. 601 00:37:03,200 --> 00:37:07,440 We are in a body. Your Christian life is not just 602 00:37:07,440 --> 00:37:10,600 about you and Jesus. It is about you and Jesus. 603 00:37:10,600 --> 00:37:12,560 But it's about more than just you and Jesus. 604 00:37:12,800 --> 00:37:16,800 It's about you and Jesus and us and Jesus, right? 605 00:37:16,800 --> 00:37:19,840 Because he's put us in a body, in a family. 606 00:37:20,360 --> 00:37:24,080 And this is where COVID was so hard for some people, right? 607 00:37:24,080 --> 00:37:25,960 Because it's like, oh, I can't be with my body. 608 00:37:25,960 --> 00:37:27,760 And I feel what? I feel like I'm missing an arm. 609 00:37:27,760 --> 00:37:29,360 I feel like I'm missing a leg right now. 610 00:37:29,360 --> 00:37:33,600 And some people didn't care. And it's like, oh, church in my 611 00:37:33,600 --> 00:37:34,720 pajamas. Yeah. 612 00:37:34,880 --> 00:37:37,520 You know, taking the virtual Lord's Supper with my friends. 613 00:37:37,520 --> 00:37:40,800 And I'm like, that I understand in the time of emergency in 614 00:37:40,800 --> 00:37:42,600 crisis, you got to do what you got to do. 615 00:37:42,920 --> 00:37:45,320 But you can't stay at church in your pajamas. 616 00:37:45,320 --> 00:37:47,320 You can't be at church. I mean, you can come here in 617 00:37:47,320 --> 00:37:49,160 your pajamas. You'll get some funny looks, but 618 00:37:49,320 --> 00:37:52,640 you can't do church in your bed alone in your pajamas with a 619 00:37:52,640 --> 00:37:54,080 scream. That's not church. 620 00:37:54,080 --> 00:37:55,760 That's not the body, that's you and Jesus. 621 00:37:55,760 --> 00:37:58,640 It's fine. Read your Bible in your pajamas, 622 00:37:58,640 --> 00:38:02,560 worship in your pajamas and you know, but come to church with 623 00:38:02,560 --> 00:38:05,040 the body and worship God together with the body. 624 00:38:05,320 --> 00:38:07,600 I talked to a guy once. He said, I said, where do you go 625 00:38:07,600 --> 00:38:09,680 to church? He said my church is my tree 626 00:38:09,680 --> 00:38:13,360 stand. I go hunting and I didn't have 627 00:38:13,360 --> 00:38:15,880 the heart to say in the moment, but I thought that's not church. 628 00:38:15,880 --> 00:38:18,680 You can't go to church in a tree stand by yourself. 629 00:38:20,280 --> 00:38:23,400 This is a team sport. We do this together. 630 00:38:23,400 --> 00:38:25,200 We're playing soccer, not tennis. 631 00:38:26,680 --> 00:38:32,880 God's mission is to save a people, and God himself is our 632 00:38:32,880 --> 00:38:37,680 triune God, three in one, Godfather, Son, spirit. 633 00:38:38,120 --> 00:38:42,560 God in a sense, is a community within himself, and so he's 634 00:38:42,560 --> 00:38:48,120 saving a people for the church to thrive, for the church to be 635 00:38:48,120 --> 00:38:50,000 what the church is supposed to be. 636 00:38:50,720 --> 00:38:55,480 Every member, every one of us has to reject the kind of 637 00:38:55,520 --> 00:38:59,400 consumer, individualist mentality that is so common in 638 00:38:59,400 --> 00:39:03,040 our culture. We have to reject that when it 639 00:39:03,040 --> 00:39:08,320 comes to the church, and we have to adopt A community mentality. 640 00:39:12,800 --> 00:39:14,880 Thank you. Becca agrees with me. 641 00:39:17,800 --> 00:39:22,160 You know, when you come on Sundays, here's what I would 642 00:39:22,160 --> 00:39:24,360 just advise you, coach you, I want to kind of plant some 643 00:39:24,360 --> 00:39:26,920 thoughts in your mind for how to come to church. 644 00:39:27,000 --> 00:39:34,880 OK, Come to church early. I know that's a tall ask for 645 00:39:34,880 --> 00:39:37,520 some of you. Like I barely make it late. 646 00:39:37,760 --> 00:39:40,880 OK, go to sleep 30 minutes earlier on Saturday night. 647 00:39:41,680 --> 00:39:47,200 Even if the Gators are playing, sacrifice that for Jesus and 648 00:39:47,200 --> 00:39:50,120 come to church and get here early. 649 00:39:50,520 --> 00:39:56,080 And when you come, think I am here to serve, OK? 650 00:39:56,200 --> 00:39:58,600 It's tricky because we call it a Sunday service. 651 00:39:59,400 --> 00:40:03,800 And so it might feel like you're coming to be served, and in a 652 00:40:03,800 --> 00:40:08,080 sense you are. But you're also here to serve 653 00:40:08,480 --> 00:40:12,160 God first and then one another, OK? 654 00:40:12,160 --> 00:40:15,920 So when you think of the Sunday service, you're thinking I am 655 00:40:15,920 --> 00:40:20,360 coming to serve God. And my fellow brothers and 656 00:40:20,360 --> 00:40:24,560 sisters in Christ, I think if you just did that mental work, 657 00:40:24,960 --> 00:40:27,840 that would completely change your church experience. 658 00:40:27,840 --> 00:40:29,720 And I think that would transform this church. 659 00:40:30,720 --> 00:40:34,720 Now we have A250300 disciples who are looking out. 660 00:40:34,920 --> 00:40:35,920 All right, Lord, what are you doing? 661 00:40:35,920 --> 00:40:37,800 How can I help? How do you want to use me? 662 00:40:37,800 --> 00:40:39,280 Who do you want me to pray for today? 663 00:40:39,600 --> 00:40:42,000 Not just here I am. What do you got for me? 664 00:40:44,160 --> 00:40:46,800 Big difference, right? Big difference. 665 00:40:50,360 --> 00:40:54,400 We're a body, not just a bunch of individuals sitting in a room 666 00:40:54,400 --> 00:40:56,400 together. This is why church membership is 667 00:40:56,400 --> 00:40:58,080 so important. We're going to talk a lot about 668 00:40:58,080 --> 00:40:59,280 church membership in the coming weeks. 669 00:40:59,280 --> 00:41:02,240 We're going to launch our membership series in October. 670 00:41:02,240 --> 00:41:04,400 So if you want to become a member, you can become a member. 671 00:41:04,520 --> 00:41:06,560 We're going to try really hard to convince you why that's 672 00:41:06,560 --> 00:41:08,600 biblical and important over the next 5 weeks. 673 00:41:08,640 --> 00:41:10,360 OK? And I hope a lot of you show up 674 00:41:10,360 --> 00:41:12,400 for the membership series in October. 675 00:41:12,400 --> 00:41:14,960 We're also going to have Intro to Vita in a couple weeks. 676 00:41:14,960 --> 00:41:17,320 If membership feels like that's too much too fast, we 677 00:41:17,320 --> 00:41:19,560 understand. Come to the Intro to Vita lunch, 678 00:41:19,720 --> 00:41:21,160 one hour. We'll tell you about what we're 679 00:41:21,160 --> 00:41:23,800 about how you get connected. We want you to be a part of the 680 00:41:23,800 --> 00:41:25,680 body. You have a new identity. 681 00:41:25,680 --> 00:41:32,480 You are part of God's community. And then he goes on and he says, 682 00:41:33,440 --> 00:41:40,120 what our purpose is, that you may proclaim the excellencies of 683 00:41:40,120 --> 00:41:45,320 him who called you out of darkness and into his marvelous 684 00:41:45,600 --> 00:41:49,480 light. You have a purpose, your 685 00:41:49,480 --> 00:41:53,880 purpose. And our purpose collectively is 686 00:41:53,880 --> 00:41:58,520 to proclaim Jesus's excellencies. 687 00:42:00,240 --> 00:42:06,000 Now what are his excellencies? And the easy cop out answer is 688 00:42:06,280 --> 00:42:10,440 more than we can list, more than you can think of. 689 00:42:11,360 --> 00:42:14,720 And His excellencies are more excellent than you have ever 690 00:42:14,720 --> 00:42:18,760 imagined them to be. He is infinitely good. 691 00:42:18,760 --> 00:42:22,000 He is infinitely wise. He is infinitely holy. 692 00:42:22,480 --> 00:42:25,920 He is infinitely excellent. So we can sit here for a long 693 00:42:25,920 --> 00:42:27,720 time lifting out His excellencies. 694 00:42:28,880 --> 00:42:31,200 We're here to proclaim His excellencies. 695 00:42:31,200 --> 00:42:35,080 He gives us a few of them in the following phrases. 696 00:42:35,400 --> 00:42:37,080 Here's one thing he did that's excellent. 697 00:42:37,080 --> 00:42:40,280 He called you out of darkness and into His marvelous light. 698 00:42:40,880 --> 00:42:44,280 You were dead in your sin. You were blind and he Bam made 699 00:42:44,280 --> 00:42:47,720 you alive and he called you out of darkness. 700 00:42:47,720 --> 00:42:49,560 He planted you in His Kingdom of light. 701 00:42:50,120 --> 00:42:53,560 He says in verse 10 once you are not a people, you are orphaned. 702 00:42:53,960 --> 00:42:56,400 You were just individuals floating around living for 703 00:42:56,400 --> 00:42:59,600 yourselves, but now you are God's people. 704 00:42:59,600 --> 00:43:02,000 Praise God that we are His people. 705 00:43:02,320 --> 00:43:05,760 What a gift. Once you had not received mercy. 706 00:43:06,200 --> 00:43:08,400 You are under wrath for your sin. 707 00:43:08,680 --> 00:43:14,920 Now you have received mercy. That is excellent good news. 708 00:43:19,240 --> 00:43:26,120 It is our purpose, and it is our privilege as redeemed sinners to 709 00:43:26,160 --> 00:43:32,440 proclaim His Excellencies and to display His Excellencies. 710 00:43:32,920 --> 00:43:35,160 This is why our mission statement is written very 711 00:43:35,160 --> 00:43:39,360 carefully. Vita Vita Springs Church exists 712 00:43:39,720 --> 00:43:42,640 to glorify God. There's a reason why that is 713 00:43:42,640 --> 00:43:44,840 first and foremost in our mission statement. 714 00:43:45,240 --> 00:43:50,160 We exist to glorify God. We want people to see Him and 715 00:43:50,160 --> 00:43:54,600 how excellent and amazing he is. And here's how we do that. 716 00:43:55,200 --> 00:43:59,240 Loving God. He is utterly lovely. 717 00:43:59,880 --> 00:44:03,920 Loving other people who are made in His image, right the the 718 00:44:03,920 --> 00:44:07,200 bricks, the living stones that he has redeemed and making 719 00:44:07,200 --> 00:44:10,760 disciples of all nations. It's our purpose. 720 00:44:10,760 --> 00:44:16,240 It's our privilege. The church community is to be a 721 00:44:16,240 --> 00:44:21,040 living witness, proclaiming and displaying the power of God to 722 00:44:21,040 --> 00:44:25,920 restore people first to Himself and to one another. 723 00:44:27,240 --> 00:44:30,760 He's restored us to Himself. So we worship Him, we love Him, 724 00:44:31,200 --> 00:44:35,760 we serve Him, we live for Him, we devote ourselves to Him, we 725 00:44:35,760 --> 00:44:39,480 tell others about Him, and He's restored us to one another. 726 00:44:40,080 --> 00:44:42,960 So we forgive each other. We're going to sin against each 727 00:44:42,960 --> 00:44:45,440 other. We got to forgive each other. 728 00:44:46,720 --> 00:44:50,880 We love each other. We serve one another as we have 729 00:44:50,880 --> 00:44:54,640 been forgiven, as we have been loved, as we have been served. 730 00:44:58,400 --> 00:45:02,840 It's supposed to be that a Sinner walks into a church and 731 00:45:03,600 --> 00:45:06,200 #1 they feel like they're on another planet. 732 00:45:06,760 --> 00:45:08,960 That's what it's supposed to feel like for somebody who's not 733 00:45:08,960 --> 00:45:10,960 a Christian. They're supposed to walk into 734 00:45:10,960 --> 00:45:13,960 church and feel like, did I just go through some kind of a 735 00:45:13,960 --> 00:45:16,640 portal? Like how did I where, what is 736 00:45:16,640 --> 00:45:18,680 going? This feels like another planet 737 00:45:18,680 --> 00:45:21,560 to me. This is so unlike the world that 738 00:45:21,560 --> 00:45:24,960 I come from. That's what's supposed to feel 739 00:45:24,960 --> 00:45:31,720 like in God's church. And then secondly, that person 740 00:45:31,800 --> 00:45:37,520 hears how excellent God is. They see in our love, in our 741 00:45:37,520 --> 00:45:41,680 worship, in our service, in our relationships, how excellent God 742 00:45:41,680 --> 00:45:44,520 is. They understand that He's the 743 00:45:44,520 --> 00:45:47,320 reason for the joy, He's the reason for the life. 744 00:45:47,320 --> 00:45:49,520 He's the reason for the hope and the forgiveness. 745 00:45:49,880 --> 00:45:51,840 It's Him. It's not that we're that 746 00:45:51,840 --> 00:45:54,600 impressive. We're not that impressive, but 747 00:45:54,600 --> 00:45:59,160 He is the excellent one. You and I are called to be a 748 00:45:59,160 --> 00:46:03,360 part of that kind of community, living stones in that structure 749 00:46:03,360 --> 00:46:07,760 that God is building. Some very practical steps. 750 00:46:07,760 --> 00:46:09,160 And then we're going to sing together. 751 00:46:09,400 --> 00:46:15,640 OK. I would encourage you to come to 752 00:46:15,640 --> 00:46:22,080 church on Sundays regularly. Like if you can be here, be here 753 00:46:23,040 --> 00:46:25,880 because for the structure to work, the bricks got to be here, 754 00:46:27,240 --> 00:46:28,720 right? And so just make that a 755 00:46:28,720 --> 00:46:30,560 priority. I know that people have work 756 00:46:30,560 --> 00:46:33,480 schedules and you know, there are difficulties in sick kids. 757 00:46:33,480 --> 00:46:35,160 And so I understand all of that, right? 758 00:46:35,160 --> 00:46:38,040 I've, I've got 5 kids. Like I, I get stuff happens and 759 00:46:38,040 --> 00:46:39,480 vacation, you need to go on vacation. 760 00:46:39,960 --> 00:46:44,240 So live a life kind of a, you know, live your life, but also 761 00:46:44,720 --> 00:46:49,520 make sure that it is a priority for you to gather with God's 762 00:46:49,520 --> 00:46:51,600 church. So if you're in town and if 763 00:46:51,600 --> 00:46:55,160 you're alive and if you're available, you should be at 764 00:46:55,160 --> 00:46:59,120 church to worship God and to serve God's people. 765 00:47:00,200 --> 00:47:03,760 Secondly, take a step deeper and get into a small group. 766 00:47:04,560 --> 00:47:06,320 There's nothing magic about small groups. 767 00:47:06,320 --> 00:47:09,120 You're not like a super disciple if you're in a small group, but 768 00:47:09,120 --> 00:47:12,360 they're very, very helpful for building relationships with 769 00:47:12,360 --> 00:47:16,120 other Christians to have that time in a smaller, more intimate 770 00:47:16,120 --> 00:47:19,160 setting where you can actually get to know each other, right? 771 00:47:19,160 --> 00:47:25,200 Share stories, share meals, share life #3 come to the series 772 00:47:25,200 --> 00:47:28,120 when we do our membership series and learn what it means in more 773 00:47:28,120 --> 00:47:31,040 depth to be a part of a local body of believers. 774 00:47:32,120 --> 00:47:34,920 Those three things, Sundays, small groups, and series, you 775 00:47:34,920 --> 00:47:37,360 see how they all start with us, so you can never forget them. 776 00:47:40,680 --> 00:47:45,920 God is building something beautiful in His church, His 777 00:47:45,920 --> 00:47:52,600 people, to show the world how excellent He is, and you and I 778 00:47:52,600 --> 00:47:54,400 are living stones in that structure. 779 00:47:54,400 --> 00:47:57,560 What an honor. We're going to worship Him now 780 00:47:57,560 --> 00:48:00,480 together with song. And so if you would stand with 781 00:48:00,480 --> 00:48:02,200 me and worship band, you can come forward. 782 00:48:16,670 --> 00:48:18,870 We pray for us as we prepare to sing to Him. 783 00:48:26,700 --> 00:48:31,420 Father, we are here for you. We're here for you first and 784 00:48:31,420 --> 00:48:33,140 foremost. We're here because you're the 785 00:48:33,140 --> 00:48:35,460 Savior, You're the King, You're the sovereign Lord. 786 00:48:36,040 --> 00:48:40,240 You're worthy of all honor and devotion and praise and glory. 787 00:48:40,520 --> 00:48:42,320 You're the excellent one. We're here for you. 788 00:48:44,760 --> 00:48:48,400 And as living stones, we're also here for one another to 789 00:48:48,400 --> 00:48:51,320 encourage each other, to pray for each other, to remind each 790 00:48:51,320 --> 00:48:54,920 other of your goodness and your power, your promises. 791 00:48:56,240 --> 00:48:59,120 And I pray that you would help us, God, that we would, we would 792 00:48:59,120 --> 00:49:02,440 have the right kind of mindset and the right kind of attitude 793 00:49:02,440 --> 00:49:05,880 and heart when we think about your precious church. 794 00:49:08,000 --> 00:49:11,480 And so help us to be faithful, strong, living stones in this 795 00:49:11,480 --> 00:49:14,200 structure, this spiritual house that you're building. 796 00:49:15,400 --> 00:49:19,040 And I pray that you now would be pleased with our singing, with 797 00:49:19,040 --> 00:49:21,800 our worship. These songs are for you, Lord, 798 00:49:22,480 --> 00:49:25,520 And so we sing them to you. Help us to sing them with 799 00:49:25,720 --> 00:49:28,160 sincerity and with faith and with joy. 800 00:49:29,240 --> 00:49:31,600 We thank you, Jesus, for all that you've done and all that 801 00:49:31,600 --> 00:49:35,200 you are, and we worship you. We pray all these things in your 802 00:49:35,200 --> 00:49:36,520 name, Amen.