Cornerstone or Stumbling Block

If you'll turn to 1st Peter chapter 2 1st Peter chapter 2 I'll start right at the first of the chapter so we can read into our context 1st Peter chapter 2 verse 1 therefore laying aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander like newborn babes Long for the pure milk of the word so that by it you may grow up in respect to salvation If you've tasted the kindness of the Lord and coming to him as a living stone, which has been rejected by men But his choice and precious in the sight of God you also Like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ For this is contained in Scripture. And this is what's contained in Scripture is right before Something that we know in common This is the day the Lord has made and I will be I will rejoice and be glad in it But right before that it says this Behold I lay in Zion a choice stone a precious cornerstone and he who believes Will not be put to shame this Stone is precious to them that believe but for those who disbelieve the stone which the builders rejected this became the very cornerstone and The stone is stumbling in a rock of offense and they stumble Because they are disobedient to the word Now what is a cornerstone to understand the scripture? You'd have to be a mason to fully get it The cornerstone is the very first stone that you set in Building a a building that's going to be made of stone. It sets the entire direction It orients the direction of the building which way it faces and it must be perfectly square because if it's off Every other stone that's laid next to it is going to be off to the same way the cornerstone is so God has chosen the way life will be is a Stone precious to him his very own son Jesus Christ made in the image of God and he sent him to his people to heal them and restore them and bless them and the Expert builders the priest of his day looked at Jesus Christ God's perfect cornerstone and they said No They rejected it. They took their own carnal measurements of him and Didn't think he fit their program but the very stone they rejected God made the Absolute cornerstone of the church and of life and that's us now if you believe to those who believe Jesus Christ is precious There's nothing sweeter. There's nothing more valuable, but if you don't believe You've got problems Because if you don't believe that he is who God says he is If you don't believe that he is the Cornerstone of life that everything must relate to him be in line with him be in direction with him You're gonna have issues Because you're not moving the stone and if you don't move the stone and you don't like the way it's set What's it going to cause you to do? to stumble To those who believe the stone is precious but to those who are not believing The Stone is a stone of stumbling and it's a rock of offense. And then he says this they stumble being Disobedient. I don't like to care for the translation disobedient The actual Greek word is they stumble Refusing to have been persuaded. I I've studied this word in the original language and scholars and it means it's an intentional Rejection of the evidence that has been presented They stumble at the word because they refuse to be persuaded by it and that's the way it is When you're not persuaded that God has said something is good That you good for you to do and you don't want to do it It's just going to make you stumble and if God has said this is harmful for you This is not good for you, but you enjoy it you're gonna stumble at that It only those who are persuaded by what God said Find it life and peace and joy and counsel to go in that direction This word this refusing to be persuaded was used in John chapter 3 and we know the most famous verse in John Chapter 3 don't we John 3 16 for God so loved the world That he gave his only begotten Son you could all finish quoting that we know that but at the end of this same chapter John chapter 3 verse 36 I'm gonna start with verse 33 and we're gonna get down to verse 36. Oh, follow me John 3 33 to 36 He who has received His witness in other words the witness of the father has set his seal to this that God is true For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God for he gives the spirit without measure The father loves the son and has given all things into into his hand He who believes in the son has eternal life There's eternal life for everyone who believes in the son But look what it says then but he who does not obey the son. There's a word obey again. They choose obey It's the same Greek word, but those who refuse to be persuaded Those who reject the evidence that God gave Those who refuse to be persuaded will never see life the wrath of God abides on them Presently have you ever wondered why? Jesus seemed to have such a conflict with the Jewish rulers. They've ever wondered wondered why he never seemed to treat them The same way he treated the poor people who were who are responding and coming to him When he spoke to them, it seemed to be pretty direct. It didn't seem to be full of hope It didn't didn't seem to cut them any slack He called the proud he called them Conceit Envious, he said he said many strong things about them but remember what what this what the passage of Scripture said here that the father loves the son and in in the son was the perfect Representation of the father because Jesus said of himself. I only say what the father tells me to say. I only do what the father shows me to do and You know what Jesus knew Jesus knew that before him there was another witness named John the Baptist and John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother's womb and John the Baptist was sent to the people of Israel to proclaim a message It's time to repent. It's time to change your mind and Follow the way of the Lord get ready for the Lord change your mind and get ready for the day of the Lord and Remember, this was John the Baptist filled with the Holy Spirit speaking and how did the Jewish leaders react to that message? they rejected it and Jesus knew that the message of John the Baptist was exactly the words of his father and If the Jewish leaders would not accept the word of the father through John the Baptist Are they going to accept the word of the father through him? No, he's not going to change the word of the father. So he never had a relationship with them they were the experts and they rejected the person that God sent and Jesus said for every person who Refuses to be persuaded They're not they're not going to see life the wrath of God abides upon them presently and let I want us to see this in If you will go with me to second Thessalonians if you want if you're turning with me and follow following me I'll show you this that this idea of of Following the Lord Jesus and in him being precious to you is based upon your believing If you don't believe if you refuse to be persuaded God cannot have the relationship with you. He longs for second Thessalonians chapter 2. I'm going to start in verse 10 And I'm going to start with the description of those who are perishing and listen carefully to the reason they are Perishing remember what Jesus had said Jesus said that those who are who are not persuaded They will not see life the wrath of God abides upon them presently See how that agrees with what Paul said here in second Thessalonians chapter 2 those who perished because they did not Receive the love of the truth and the word for receive here Me has its root is in to think to think about something and agree with it There's two words for receiving the original language. There's Lombano, which means to take in the hand and There's deco my which is means to think about it Agree with it and and embrace it and this is what this is the word here deco mine It says they perish because having thought about the truth They did not welcome it. They did not agree with it And it goes on to say therefore God sends them a strong delusion Now what let me ask you what else is God going to do? You don't want to believe what God says What's he gonna do cram it down your throat? Come sit on you Beat you on the head until you just give in and cry uncle No What's very fair for him to do is okay, you don't want to think about and agree with what I say Have your own thoughts Have it your way. Have it your Burger King. Hold the pickle. Hold the lettuce special orders. Don't upset us All we care is that you let have it your way that that's what God does and what we don't realize is how judgment that is When God wants to judge someone he stops correcting them He stops dealing with them He stops spanking them and he says, okay, you don't agree with me. You're not persuaded. But what I say Do what you want Say what you want to say do what you want to do and they don't realize that's judgment Because the Lord whom the Lord loves he disciplines them He corrects them that's mercy and grace, but when he wants to judge someone he just gives them over to their own mind and lets their own choices Bring about the consequences for their actions So that's what's happening here. These people are perishing because they thought about the truth did not agree with it So as to be saved and what God did all right I'll just let you have think what you want and it says so that all will be condemned Who did not believe the truth, but they took pleasure in unrighteousness Took pleasure comes from the Greek word well and to think they thought well of unrighteousness You know God is righteous and God can only Say something is good if it's good for you God it cannot say something is good if it has a bad effect on you Alcohol kills people if it's consumed too much drunkenness destroys people's lives God cannot call drunkenness good Drug addiction God cannot call drug addiction good no matter how high it makes a person No matter how much pleasure or interest they feel God cannot call something good That is not good. He's righteous, but these people They thought well of what God saw was harmful They thought well of what God thought is harmful Pornography do men enjoy pornography Yeah, they do God says it's harmful. It's polluting. It's corrupt. It'll destroy you If you think well of what God it says it's not right that that's the condition of perishing and it's because you thought about it and You disagreed with it and you refused to accept it and let's see if Jesus used that same word as a Reason that men are going to find trouble you if you're following me I'm going to turn to Matthew now Matthew chapter 10 when Jesus sends out the Seventh his disciples when he sends him out and he's giving them instructions So follow me in Matthew chapter 10 And Let's start in verse 11 Matthew 10 verse 11 and Whatever city or village you enter Inquire who is worthy in it and stay there until you leave and now as you enter Give the house your greeting and if this house is worthy of your greeting let your peace Come upon it, but if it's not worthy Let your peace return to you that's interesting in it You know, it's like I come visit you. I need to check out. Am I really welcome here? Peace to you. Shalom atah. Mashallah at the common Jewish greeting peace to you now If you welcome me and you welcome what I'm about and you welcome my purpose my peace can be here But if you say I'm not interested in what you're peddling Oh Can my peace is gonna return to me? That's what Jesus is saying. Okay, I'm not I'm not gonna let my peace rest upon I'll go I'll look for another place. That's what Jesus is saying in the verse 14 and whoever does not Receive you there's the word Jechemiah whoever thinks about you and what your purpose is and What you're saying if they think about you and what you're saying and they do not agree with you they do not embrace it Or listen to your words leave that house or city if it's the whole city just leave the city and Then shake the dust off your feet You're done you're done there and he goes on to say this Truly I say to you it will be more tolerable For the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city You mean in the day of judgment Because Sodom and Gomorrah was already condemned to burn to ashes by God for for the things that were going on in it But it's going to be worse For the for the house or the city that says I don't want to listen to you. I Don't agree with you, and I don't want to hear it for that For that it will be worse on the day of judgment than what happened to Sodom and Gomorrah He says this again in verse 40 you're still there in Chapter 10 Matthew 10 40 He who receives you Receives me So if if I'm coming to you if the Lord Jesus has been with me and If I'm faithfully sharing with you What he has shared with me You know, if you were if you don't listen to me, you're really telling Jesus bug off. I Don't want here. And If you take if you're saying that to Jesus, then you're really saying that to the father You're saying I don't want you. I don't want to hear what you have to say the God who created the universe Who light and air and all the things that make life possible and you're saying to the God of the universe You don't want to listen to what he has to say If you don't listen to his to Jesus you don't listen to the father And if you don't listen to Jesus and you don't listen to the father It's going to be worse for you than it was for Sodom and Gomorrah what happened to them That's what he's saying. I Don't think we understand this very much. We don't we don't focus on this. You know what what this is called when you Talk about this subject It's kind of been vilified by this thing you'll hellfire and damnation preaching Bible-thumping Fundamentalists who love to yell and spit from the pulpit you better sit back the first couple of rows because you might get a drop Or two and they really get worked up Well, you can characterize it in that way, but that does not nullify What Jesus said if men have miss appropriately Represented these facts and judgment about God's judgment The facts about God's judgment are still there and I want to take you to a place where the Lord Jesus himself gives a picture of the day when he returns and What's going to happen? So if you have your Bible, you're still following me now, let's turn to Luke chapter 19 Luke chapter 19 and This is a parable about the the talents You know there there's a parable about the talent in Matthew and there's also parable in about the talent in Luke There they're a little bit different because Luke remember Luke was not one of the twelve disciples Luke met the Apostle Paul on the Apostle Paul's second missionary journey and so Luke became a follower and traveled with Paul and Luke gets most of the information in his gospel by Personally interviewing the disciples he wasn't there when it happened So Luke talked to Matthew Luke talked to Mark Luke talked to John Luke talked with Mary That's how come Luke has details about the birth of Jesus that no one else said he interviewed Mary He found out things that only Mary could have known and that's why he put that little phrase in there She pondered these things in her heart She remembered him. She was telling him to Luke so Luke Luke's version is a little bit different from Matthew But someone he interviewed remember this part of the parable of the of the talents that Matthew didn't include So let's look at it together Luke chapter 19 verse 12 and remember Jesus is using a parable Para ballo para is alongside and ballo is to throw so you know what Jesus is doing and what about the news? He's throwing him a curveball Can you keep your eye on the ball? Here's a curve be ready. Hope you're alert. That's what he's doing He's throwing him a curveball, but you can hit a curveball You just have to pay attention. You have to be awake. So here comes so he said a noble one Went to a distant country to receive a kingdom for himself and then return And he called ten of his slaves and he gave them ten minus and said to them Engage in business until I come back and then Luke inserts this next statement that you don't find in Matthew But his citizens hated him Evidently, it was like a landlord estate He owned an estate and the people that lived on his estate were considered his citizens, but he didn't yet He wasn't actually made a king He had a large estate and the people that lived on his state were considered his citizens But they hated him and they sent a delegation after him saying we are not willing for this man to be over us Wherever he wherever he was going to be made a king they followed to make sure their group protested him we do not we are not willing for this man to be our king and Then the rest of the parable is very similar to what Matthew has About he when he returns the first thing the nobleman does he does eventually return and he was made a king And when he returns the first thing he does is he settles the account with his servants What did you do with my money and the ones that did? Well heard well done thou good and faithful servant and remember the one who didn't do well Who took it and hid hid it in the ground you remember didn't go well for that servant He was a wicked and lazy servant, but after The nobleman the king who's now King After he deals with the servants in verse 27 He says but those enemies of mine Now that's not how they were introduced in the story The pitch started right here and now it's over here what happened how did those Citizens become enemies When they decided to oppose him They're the ones who sent the delegation and said We are not willing for this man to be made Lord over us That decision made them his enemies and Then what did he do? Look at what he says. This is the Lord Jesus. This is his parable about his own second coming But those enemies of mine who did not want me to reign over them bring them here and do what? Force them to change their mind You know too late for that They had the opportunity to change their mind now Now they are not going to live now Why would he do that? Because is he suddenly an ugly and overbearing and mean King? Is that what he is suddenly or is he wise and knows this how could there ever be peace and Harmony in unity in my kingdom While there are those there who hate me and don't want me to be in charge Because the Bible says that a wise King when he sits upon his throne drives the wicked out of his kingdom Not because in it. They are wicked for opposing his authority And a wise King Does not allow active Rebellion to exist in his kingdom The Lord is allowing Active rebellion in the earth right now men can rebel men can give the finger to God men can say Ugly blasphemous things about God think it cursed the church Then could you ride preachers men could talk about the Bible men could say Ah, oh, that's a bunch of religious junk and garbage. The earth has been here It's billions and billions and billions and billions of years old and all of this came from nothing Nothing came something came from nothing and it turned into something by nothing It's all that they can say that and And say we're the ones that are dumb for believing that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth It's much smarter in their minds to believe that all of this came from nothing Something made nothing happen and turned into something That's that's literally what they're saying and they have still trying to figure out how it happened without Any direction at all? That's refusing evidence Because the Bible says that the heavens declare the glory of God and the skies Proclaim the work of his hands day after day. They pour for speech night after night. They display knowledge There's not a speech or nor language where that kind of voice is not heard Those kind of words the evidence of his power and his divine wisdom and his ability are seen Being clearly understood in the things that are made That's what Paul says. So that so that Paul says all men who refuse to believe it are without excuse God has given enough evidence and Those who refuse to be persuaded by the evidence Those who make themselves an enemy of the Lord Jesus Because they refuse to be persuaded by what he says They will experience what Jesus said they will experience the judgment of God Not because God did not send his son to save them Because God is good enough that he does not force himself upon anyone If you he give he gives you the ability to think about his word To think about his word and to then on your own Believe it be persuaded embrace it and follow it or Make yourself his enemy By thinking about it and say no, I don't like it because I I like this more This turns me on and God says that's wrong No, I'm gonna do this because I like it. You know what you're saying and doing that My pleasure is more important than his word What's he what's he gonna do now, you know what I'll tell you what he is doing right now at first he's gonna be patient His first response is not to say I'll take your breath away I'll put you in your place I will appear and terrorize you could think God could God could suddenly manifest himself and Every single one of us here would be trembling for our lives and he chooses not to do that You know what he chooses to do He chooses to give you time Okay I'll wait and He holds back but remember God is good and perfect and wise He cannot allow rebellion to exist forever. Can you? Or else heaven will be as corrupt as this You know, it is interesting what I'm what I have rarely ever heard Spoken at a funeral is the main reason everyone should rejoice about heaven being a better place because if if sin and corruption and rebellion and people doing their own thing is allowed in heaven It's there's going to be the same sorrow and pain and misery and crime That there is now But the reason that heaven is a place Where there's no more sorrow and there's no more pain and there's no more Corruption and there's no suffering is because on that day the Lord Jesus Christ the Son of Righteousness will take his throne and begin to reign and He will not allow any Rebellion He won't even allow anyone who did not follow him to enter heaven You should see how quiet it gets in the funeral homes when I say the only People who will be in heaven or the followers of the Lord Jesus Christ It is a family reunion and no one else is there and you should see the looks like it Because they know whether they're following the Lord Jesus or not and that's not it, you know what that word becomes to them in that moment a Rock of offense and a stone of stumbling But it's precious to me Because there I have seen the results of suffering and misery and pain and death What sin has done in this world and I am glad that God in his goodness? Has chosen to give the world time to come to know him He's long-suffering. He does not desire men to destroy He he does not act in his anger. He's able to hold his anger back and Store it up, but you know what's happening in his heart right now towards all the world Remember those who refuse to be persuaded what Jesus said he who has the Son has life But he who does not receive the Son Has not like on him the wrath of God abides now What does he mean if the wrath of God abides now? the God's anger and hatred of rebellion Boils in his heart He simply chooses to hold it back to give the world time to change their mind and He is willing to forgive To those who humble themselves and receive the word that he sent and Allow themselves to be persuaded by the word he said He'll show mercy and all they've done all the rebellion he forgiving and he won't hold them to account and he'll allow us to become his sons and daughters and Enter into a beautiful and wonderful relationship with him And that's his heart's desire But he will come The day will come When the Lord has said, okay For the good of all I must act now Then Jesus will return and on that day It's judgment, you know, we we sing that song to battle him of the Republic Remember do you remember the first line we sing it not too long ago. I Hate mine eyes have seen the glory really of the coming of the Lord. What's the next phrase? He's trampling out the grapes of wrath Where the judgments store That's what and that song is taken straight from the book of Revelation Because there one day the pent-up anger and the Righteous hatred of evil that is boiling in God's heart is going to be released and Woe to those who have made themselves the enemy of the Lord By refusing to be persuaded And if you reject his mercy don't be pointing a finger at him when all that's left is wrath And if you've spurned his every single attempt to get you to change your mind And his willingness to forgive you and make you a brand new person What will happen will happen and then this terrible place We don't you we don't even hear it much how many of you have even heard the word hell in a while It's but you know what it's kind of the it's kind of like you don't say that We don't talk about that That's not popular That's not the way to win people it's not it's not a popular message But it but it's wise for us to consider what hell is Here's what the Bible says it is and remember if you've listened this morning if you've heard this morning God desires everyone to be saved So he sends the his son the very image of man To show the world what he's like and he's given the word his word and spirit through the Sun So that all men might believe and be saved But for those who refuse to believe the message What else can he give? they don't want the Sun to be their Lord and So they don't want the fog. They don't they don't agree with the father's choice of the Sun So what's he to do? They don't want God like he is Is he supposed to welcome him to heaven? Anyway, what is he gonna do? Come on you tell me I I Doesn't matter you live your whole life Rejecting the Sun and rejecting the word and then God is just supposed to take you to heaven and you're gonna be the same as All the Saints you served him Does it make sense? It's illogical But you know what does make sense that God would create a place where there's a vacuum of everything he is a God vacuum and God is good. So hell is a place where there's no goodness none Nothing good not a single good feeling God is light But in hell, there's a void of God. So there's no light So there's no no light in hell. There's total darkness and With it takes light to be able to see so you can't see in hell Nothing to see there's no light there's no goodness and Though God loves to give rest Jesus said take my yoke upon you learn of me and what do you find? Rest for yourself, but there's no rest in hell because rest is something that God gives and the person that doesn't want God It's not going to get God's rest So you can't see there's no goodness and you can never rest But the one thing you can't that you are is your present your you exist Now tell me how many of you would want to exist in a place where there's absolutely no goodness Can't see you cannot rest and you cannot die You Exist forever without God because that's what you asked for That's what you chose You said you didn't want God. You didn't want him to rule over you And he gave you what you asked for Would that be torment You see how tormenting that would be especially when You do get a chance to glimpse it at the judgment you see the glory of God You see the glory of heaven Suddenly you're aware. It was all real. It's all there all of it Magnificently displayed before me and then you hear depart from me you workers of iniquity and your cast into the Outer darkness where what did Jesus say will be your cast into the outer darkness with where they will be Weeping and what? Gnashing of teeth. What is that all about? It's not talking about there being tormented by literal fire necessarily It may be I don't think it's necessary. You know what they're tormented by They're tormented by the fact that they now realize how stupid and rebellious and wicked they were to reject such a good and perfect and powerful God and Now they have missed out on what he wanted for them And he's given them what they chose a place where there's a vacuum. There's no fellowship in hell You won't have friendship is a good thing. You won't there won't be friendship in hell There won't be consciousness of other people you will be it's isolate isolation No rest No goodness nothing, but Eternal Torment torment because you've seen what you rejected and you can never get back there again And you can never die So let me tell you something today if you hear his voice Don't harden your heart You don't know how much danger you're in the heart in your heart against the voice of God It's mercy for God to speak to us It's mercy for God to attempt to correct us. It's mercy for God to speak to us To discipline us And we are we would be wise to fear him trust him agree with him So that when he returns, what's he gonna find us? Waiting for him Looking for him. You remember the other parable that Jesus gave and I'll finish with this Jesus gave another parable of and and I think this applies more to us Than the people out there in the world because Jesus used in this parable a wise servant a faithful servant It says that a man had to go away on a long journey a rich man had to go away on a long journey But before he left he put a faithful and a wise servant in charge to run things while he was away and So the servant had the responsibility to making thing everything in the estate would work well while the While the master was away But the trip was a long trip and the master stayed away a long time and so for a while The faithful servant did his job but he I mean, but the master kept not coming back and it's like Maybe he's maybe he's not coming back I'm kind of the next one. I think he kind of moved into the house. Oh Man the master lives in a pretty nice room. It's a pretty nice bed. Let's see what he has in the fridge Man the cabinets are full and he began to help himself and And to indulge a little bit and and and of course, maybe you could do it in secret at first But but if there's other people around other servants around they're gonna start noticing. Hey, hey, man I don't know. I don't know if I'd be doing that. I mean You're in the master's house. I Mean you're sleeping in his bed dude That's not And of course, you know, they get concerned and of course He don't want to hear it. Does he? It once he started enjoying these things they come to him and what does he do? What do you think he does? Shut up. Leave me alone. I don't want to hear it and they but But they don't stop and so he eventually here's what Jesus says He begins to beat his fellow servants and I know why he begins to beat him because he didn't want to hear what they had to say and Then suddenly what what Jesus says, you know what happens? The master returns and he finds the guy living in his house Using his things sleeping in his bed beating his other servants And you know what Jesus said the master did he called the other servants said take him cut him in two And so, you know what Jesus Jesus turns to his own disciples his twelve And he says it'll be good for you if you if you when the master comes he finds you dressed and ready for service So, let me tell y'all University Park Baptist Church It'll be good when Jesus returns to find you serving him not out there in the world Living it up Because I'll tell you if he finds you out there in the world Living it up with the rest of the wicked. It is not gonna go well with you I Since our Lord Jesus, these are just things I Don't even have to be a prophet. I Just read the Bible You're just right there and it's such good counsel, but it's my responsibility And it really it's all our responsibility, but I take this responsibility for me that we we encourage one another Right. That's what the writer of Hebrews says Make sure that there is none of you and none of you this Evil unbelieving heart that turns away from the Living God and suddenly starts partying out there and then the Lord returns And you are not expecting him. You're not looking for him. And if you are not ready, oh I'm telling you I'm telling you it will not go well with you But you know what? That's good news. You know why it's good news because you're alive today and you can hear it Today you can do something about it Today you can think about it and make a decision and be ready That's why it's good news Warnings are good things. They're all along our roads, right? There's a yellow light. Oh, there's a there's a sign stop light ahead There's a curve sound curve slow down Warnings are good things. They give you time to make Adjustments, don't they? All right Be warned Be warned the Lord is good and he is so good That he's restraining his goodness that that part of him that hates evil. He's restraining it to give all of us time To be right with him To be ready for him To be reconciled with him serve him and be and wait for him That'll be good for us, okay