Heart Attack Series# 2, Bob the Builder is Being Built Better

Heart Attack Series# 2, BOB THE BUILDER IS BEING BUILT BETTER
By: Bobby Sullivan

Your name..is being built better

Quotes: “It’s not the beauty of the building you should look at; it’s the construction of the foundation that will stand the test of time.” David Allan Coe

John Wooden “Any structure must have a strong foundation. The cornerstone’s the  anchor of the foundation. For some reason the cornerstones that I have chosen to begin with have never changed.”

1 Peter 2:1 “Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.  2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, ³ now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.⁴ As you come to him, the living Stone rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him ⁵ you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For in scripture it says, See I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame. Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, the stone the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone ⁸ and, “A stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for. ⁹ But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. ¹⁰ Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Introduction: 1 Peter was written to encourage people who were emotionally drained and disorientated by traumatic historical and social events. They were devastated from the destruction of the Jerusalem temple, the dwelling place of God, and they were experiencing alienation and suffering as outsiders of the social and political system.

Peter invited his followers to keep coming to Jesus and to allow themselves to be built up into a spiritual temple or household of God, good news for people experiencing homelessness and wondering where God was in all of this.

**There is a Spiritual homelessness happening all around us!

** 1 Peter empowers us to choose. You do not need to search for a home or God’s presence; you can choose to be the place of God’s presence as well as home and family for the homeless.

Historical Context:     WITHOUT A TEMPLE

In the latter part of the first century, the letter of 1 Peter addressed Jewish and Gentile Christians living in a shattered world held together by the Pax Romana, the peace of Roman military might.

The Romans ruled through coercion and power, intimidating client kings and crushing insurgent opposition. When the client state of Judah thought they could throw off the Roman yoke, the Romans squashed the resistance and destroyed the Jerusalem temple in 70 AD. Without a temple, Jews and Christians were thrown into a state of crisis and disorientation that is almost impossible to overstate.

LET’S DISSECT THE SCRIPT

“Instead of dissecting the scripture, we need to let the scripture dissect us, our thoughts, attitudes,  dreams, desires, hopes and fears” Mark Batterson 

1 Peter 2:1 “Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.”  God is ready for you to receive.

What’s Gods will for me? Vs 1 is !!!

Get rid- to get ready- to receive!!

Vs 1 get rid of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.”

Malice: desire to cause pain, injury, or distress to another an attack motivated by pure evil. 2: intent to commit an unlawful act or cause harm. Synonyms of malice are grudge, ill will, spite.

While all these words mean “the desire to see another experience pain, injury, or distress,” malice implies a deep-seated often unexplainable desire to see another suffer.

Deceit: the action or practice of deceiving someone by concealing or misrepresenting the truth.

Hypocrosy: the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one’s own behavior does not conform. Hypocrisy is not struggling with something, its pretending that you don’t.

Envy: a feeling of discontented or resentful longing aroused by someone else’s possessions, qualities, or luck. To envy is to feel resentful and unhappy because someone else possesses, or has achieved, what one wishes oneself to possess.

Slander: the action or crime of making a false spoken statement damaging to a person’s reputation.

Vs 2-4 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may “grow up” in your salvation, ³ now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.⁴ As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans  (God selects what man rejects) but chosen by God and precious to him-⁵ you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

The phrase “as living stones” identifies us with Christ. He is the “living Stone,” and we are “living stones.” We live because we share his resurrection life. The term living stones in 1 Peter 2:5 is used as a metaphor to illustrate the secure and intimate relationship believers have with Jesus, who is described in the previous verse as the “living Stone” (1 Peter 2:4). Together, these two verses picture how Christ and His followers are joined by God Himself:

“As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to Him—you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood.

The “living stones,” are believers who come to Jesus and place their lives upon this foundation.

The foundation of God’s building is His Son, Jesus Christ, the “living Stone.” The “living stones,” in turn, are believers who come to Jesus and place their lives upon this foundation. The living Stone is “precious” to those who believe (1 Peter 2:7), but some men reject the living Stone in order to build their lives their own way, not God’s way (see Psalm 118:22 and Luke 6:46–49). Unbelievers cast this living Stone aside, not caring that Jesus is the only true foundation upon which they can build securely (1 Corinthians 3:11)

“Built up” is literally to build a house. Peter uses this term in the metaphorical sense of edification. God is in the act of building believers in spiritual growth.

It is an invitation to be God’s household for those without a home, and it is an invitation to be God’s temple for those without a temple. The place of divine presence.

You do not need to wonder where God is in all of this; you can choose to be the place of God’s presence in the world here and now. In this way, you are the people of God.

⁶ For in Scripture it says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” ⁷ Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,

CORNERSTONE PICTURE

“The True Church is not an organization controlled by the rules of men but a holy collection of living stones with Jesus as the chief cornerstone.”

⁸ and, “A stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.

⁹ But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

(This is the “job description” of a living stone: a speaker of praise, a declarer of truth and love. The spiritual house God is building is designed for His glory)

¹⁰ Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

• ⁵ YOU ALSO, like living stones, are being builtinto a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

I’M BUILT BETTER BECAUSE I BELIEVE

Sometimes our purpose in the puzzle of life is built in pieces. Nothing in life just appears as the perfect picture. Your parents can paint the perfect picture for you, and they can pressure you into perfecting it. However, nothing looks like the picture until God puts all the pieces into place.

How many of you know that most people have a time-lapse testimony? What you hear is a synopsis of years. Many are not instant. The picture of what you see took years to perfect. You don’t hear the pitfalls, the valleys, the struggles, the doubts and the questions.  We have been happily married for 32 years out of the 40! LOL A time lapse testimony always includes a mental lapse! LOL We compare our real-life process to someone else’s time lapse testimony we often elevate the person to a platform of perfection.

Bob’s Built Different! My process may be different. Not everyone’s process is picture perfect.    I told Sheryl yesterday, “seems like we are always reading and studying”. I said, man you’re so smart! She said, we are just different.”

If the process of sanctification is so instant, why does Jesus say the kingdom of God is like a mustard seed? You might experience it suddenly, but someone has been sowing your seed of salvation for seasons!

Step Back: How is the kingdom of God built? God’s kingdom is built from a different blueprint. God may never or seldom ever show you the finished product. Unlike the world.

The disciples were not the perfect (A) team to change the world with. This is a perfect picture of the pattern of God who does everything polar opposites of the world’s blueprint of perfection.

Before you get ready for what God is building, you must get rid and make room. You have to clear the brush because you can’t see in the natural what God sees in the supernatural.

Important: ⁴ As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans (God selects what man rejects) but chosen by God.

*When God sent perfection into the world people didn’t recognize it. People rejected Jesus because they didn’t recognize what righteousness looked like.

They read about the reign of righteousness but could not accept the results.

John 1:11 “He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.”

What makes us think they we never would be?

We hear that he was resurrected but before he was, he was rejected. He was despised and rejected by the very same people he came to redeem.

People don’t want to be ignored. They want to be seen, noticed, recognized, acknowledged and rewarded.

Accepting Jesus has benefits. That decision to accept Jesus didn’t take long. What took longer is Me accepting me. Because it is one thing to accept Jesus in my heart, that could be instant. Me accepting me in the process is what can be problematic.

Vs 5  “You Also”   Jesus is the stone that I build on…I’m the stone that HE built on! Peter needed to hear this! On this rock I will build my church! God builds on people like us!

One stone named Peter was rejected, is the one who preached on the day of Pentecost, the one with the big mouth, who lied about his association with Jesus, but God still built on him.

God’s kingdom will not be built on prestige, personas, popularity, professionals,

Perfectionist, prophesies or perfect people. I will build with people like Peter!!

In case you have not seen it yet, Impact Church is being built different than it was. I hope our vision is clearer, our mission more defined, we are committed to our commission with more conviction and we are planted with a purpose. To love God and Love people regardless……

At this stage in my life, my ministry may be different. If I’m honest, I’m building his kingdom not my own. I’m no longer motivated (or trying not to be)  by applause, acceptance and accolades. There is way more at stake than me pleasing people.  When you reach this stage at 60 knowing you got 40 years left, priorities change. Things I used to be driven by don’t mean the same.

I still have a few missing pieces in the puzzle of my life to make this picture complete. (notice I didn’t say perfect)

We can’t build this church on Pastor Thomas’s vision. We can’t do it on the previous leadership either. Those left hanging on knew that if we accepted the role, things would be different. Pastor Karl Thomas gave us permission to plant our seed in the womb of expectancy knowing that in time we would deliver a new baby church to this city.

(EVERYONE SAY I WAS BUILT DIFFERENT)

CLOSING:   Notice if you will the sequence of events  in verse 1 before the cornerstone was laid and before the living stones were connected. Something had to take place in the foundation…..1 Peter 2:1 “Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.”

The people wanted a King not a Carpenter.

When the people crowned a carpenter as a King, they knew things would be different. Your belief is your blueprint and the beginning isn’t always what the finished product will look like.

We must deal with the belief that causes the behavior.

Real transformation will take time! We had to come to grips with this reality in this region. My flesh and my will says, immediate. But then I would be building according to my blueprint not HIS!!

We are being built for transformation both personally and as a church.

How many can honestly say, “I’m different than I was 2 years ago, last year, last month, last week?”

The Kingdom of God is built with incomplete people coming together as one to create a picture of heaven in the minds of those we come in contact with.

This kingdom is enhanced by the imperfections. It enables grace to be the glue to hold us together.

Sometimes I feel like I have been building my life by the wrong picture on the box! I have to be willing to give God an eraser!

What makes a metro city so awesome is everyone abides by the building codes. However, every structure is built different. How many of you know we our unique and wonderfully made?

Impact Church has a specific blueprint for the Maritimes! I know we are different!!! It’s on purpose

Exodus 25:40 “see that you make them according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”

Moses came off  Mount Sinai with specific instructions.Your revelation should help you repair the road before you. See to it that you don’t build according to a worldly blueprint but by the pattern I have shown you in my presence.

You will always get a distraction when God is giving you the details. The purpose of the distractions is to divert you and put you on a detour so you will not reach your destiny.

Don’t be discouraged today when people reject your revelation.

The pattern that I want to live my life by is not found on Mount Sinai where the law was created. It is built from the cross where Grace was birthed.

We are building by the gift of Grace from a hill far away. This is the house that love built.