Faith Free Will Baptist Church

Posts Tagged ‘The Precious Cornerstone’

*THE PRECIOUS STONE*
(I Pet 2:4-12)

*Is anyone here wearing jewelry? Any diamonds, rubies, pearls?  Many of us have probably heard the words “precious stones”.
*Three times in the scripture Peter uses the word “precious” (vs 4,6,7) to describe our Lord Jesus.
*The apostle Peter portrays the Lord Jesus as “The Precious Cornerstone”
Cornerstone means:  A stone laid that marks the beginning of a building.  The most important part of a foundation.
(Four thoughts on the Precious Stone:)
(1)    When we come to Christ , He becomes our cornerstone.  (vs 6  Read)
*In (vs 4) Peter says “to whom coming”
*The word “come” is a word of obedience.  This in one of the first words taught in dog obedience school.
*This word appears over 1700 time in the scriptures.  It is not only an invitation but a command.
*The Lord Jesus has been saying “come” to people of every generation and He calls to this generation to “come”.
*You and I have two choices when He says “come”
1) We can come to Him and trust Him as our Savior
2) We can turn away from Him and go our own sinful ways
*Minister John David Michaels tells a story of a temple being built.  The workers used no hammers but instead the workers went to a rock quarry and shaped stones and each fit together perfectly.  The stones were sent to the building site but as they began to put the stones together there was a huge stone that didn’t seem to fit anywhere so they pushed it to the side.  Finally after they had laid a foundation it came time to place the cornerstone.  They contacted the quarry and said they were ready for the cornerstone.  The quarry workers told them it had already been delivered.  It was the stone they had rejected.  They went and got it and it slid perfectly in place.
(Eccl 3:11  Read)
*You can try to build your life on good works on good deeds but there is that place in your heart that only Christ will fit and fill up.  You will not be complete without Jesus.
(2)  If He is our cornerstone, we are His construction project    (vs 4,5   Read)
*Song we all know “He’s Still Working on Me”.  We are under construction.
*The Lord is building “a spiritual house”.  As a child of God we are the molding into His workmanship: living stones, a holy priesthood, a chosen people, a holy nation, a people that belong to God.
*There is a museum in Florence Italy which  houses Michelangelo’s famous statue of King David.
It is an enormous work of art carved from a block of marble 18 feet high.  But maybe you didn’t know he was not the first one to attempt to carve this statue.  A man named Du-c-cio first began working on this piece of marble.  But it was so difficult, so thin in places and misshaped he quit.  In 1501 Michelangelo undertook the work and for over 500 years the world has been thrilled by it’s beauty.
*You and I are difficult, misshaped blocks of marble but Jesus Christ is a master sculptor  who  is chipping away, polishing and making us into His own image.
(3) If we are His construction project, we have a divine purpose.
*We are not an accident, a mistake but what does God intend for us?  (vs 9  Read)
*Are you praising Him or are you proclaiming Him?  Notice three people who knew their diving purpose:
1)  The woman at the well  (John 4)
2)  Man who was possessed (Mark 5)
3)  Philippian jailer  (Act 16)
(4)  If we have divine purpose we should live accordingly  (vs 11,12  Read)
*The word “abstain” means to refrain from doing certain thing, going certain place, indulging in certain habits.
*If you are a Christian, you are God’s representative  on Earth.  Should we not be careful what we do, what we say and where we go?
(I Cor 4-9)  “we are made a spectacle (on open arena) unto the world”
Is Jesus your precious stone?