Dwelling Place

Al Pittman: They were appointed for greatness, but they stumble because of disobedience to the word. It's like a lot of believers were appointed for greatness, but we stumble because of our disobedience. We constrict ourselves whereby we cannot live out our destiny in Christ.

Show Intro Announcer: Thank you for tuning in to the Dwelling Place, a radio ministry for Pastor Al Pittman and Calvary Worship Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. We hope today's message is a blessing to you. If you'd like to partner with us financially, you can go to cwccs.org/give or text GIVE to 719-354-2778. You can also give directly on the OnePlace app or mail in a check to 501 Castle Road, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 80904. We appreciate your generosity and your prayers as we spread the gospel. Today we continue our new series, Strategic Living: A Believer's Journey in a Strange Land, in 1 Peter. Today we hear the conclusion of Pastor Al's message from 1 Peter chapter 2, verses 1 through 10, titled Obstacles to Our Destiny. Now, here's Pastor Al.

Al Pittman: Laying aside of our carnal propensities again is a daily endeavor. Amen. I don't know about you, but I find some things I've laid aside, and the next thing I know, a couple of days later, I'm picking them back up. That's why Paul the apostle said, "I die daily." That temper you had, that attitude you had, you thought it was dead, but it tends to rekindle. We need to keep it in its proper place. How do we do that? By dying to ourselves daily. Sometimes it's been hourly some days, to be honest with you. But we need to die to ourselves.

Having dealt with our inward propensities, we can now walk in our destiny. Peter reminds us that our destiny changed when we came to Christ. We came to Jesus. So here in verses 4 to 6, read along with me. It says, "Coming to Him, that is to Jesus, as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious. You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood—here's our destiny—to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Therefore, it is also contained in the Scriptures," he's quoting here, "Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he who believes on him will by no means be put to shame."

By coming to Jesus, by coming to Christ, to the living stone, rejected by the world, but chosen by God and precious. The Bible says that indeed Christ has not been accepted by the world. In 1 Corinthians chapter 1, verses 22 to 24, it says, "For Jews request a sign, and Greeks or Gentiles seek after wisdom." The Greeks were known for just gathering information about different cults and gods. They thought through gnosticism that they would somehow be better people or get closer to God, but it's not true. But the Jews look for a sign, the Greeks seek after wisdom.

But we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness. But to those who are called, those who have been saved, both Jews and Greeks or Gentiles, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Amen. Christ is a living stone, not some religious relic, not some dead stone of religion. Peter quotes here, of course, Isaiah 28 verse 16 in verse 6, to further assure that we have a destiny apart from shame. A destiny apart from shame. Those who put their trust in Him will not be put to shame.

Revelation chapter 16 verse 15 says, "Behold, the Lord says, 'I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.'" Aren't you glad that Christ died on the cross and through faith in Him our shame has been covered? Our shame is covered. Somebody said that mankind is the only creature that blushes and needs to. Amen. We need to for the things that we've done. People say there's no shame, but every time I see someone arrested for a crime, they're trying to hide their face. What is that? It's shame.

We feel shame because instinctively we know we need a savior. We know we need a savior. We don't know what to do with ourselves, so we're shamed. But in Christ there is no shame. Peter reminds the saints there is an everlasting rock upon which our salvation rests. That rock is Jesus. Therefore, in verse 6, he says, "It is also contained in the Scriptures, 'Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect and precious, and who believes in him will by no means be put to shame.'" Reminding the church that you have a destiny without shame in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This is what God has called you to.

Peter further reminds us that our destiny, which our carnal flesh seeks to constrict, is to be a living stone. In other words, we're to be like Jesus, to be like a chip off the old block. We're to be like Christ. He calls us living stones as believers. A fellowship of saints, born again, resurrected from the dead through faith in Jesus Christ. A fellowship of believers delivered from darkness and death to be a spiritual house, he calls us. What is our destiny as a church? It's to be a spiritual house and also a holy priesthood. A holy priesthood doing what? Offering acceptable sacrifices through faith in Jesus Christ. This is the destiny that we have as believers and the destiny of the church.

To be a place of refuge and sacrifice to the glory of God. Unfortunately, rather than being a spiritual house, many times the church looks like the animal house. A frat house of rebellious and self-centered spiritual juveniles, rather than a house of faith, fighting among ourselves and devouring one another. It's because we have neglected our destiny as a spiritual priesthood to offer acceptable sacrifices to the Lord. This was the primary ministry of the priest in the Old Testament temple and the New Testament temple before it was destroyed in 70 AD. What was their job? To make sure the offerings that are brought to the Lord were acceptable. They met the standard.

God calls you, "Well, Pastor Al, I'm glad you're in the priesthood." No, you're in the priesthood too. You're a living stone. God didn't send Jesus to build buildings, but to build people. We're all connected to one another as living stones. We form a spiritual house whereby people can come in and find refuge. That's what the church is meant to be, a spiritual house, but also a holy priesthood. We are to present to the Lord acceptable sacrifices. What is a sacrifice that God desires that is acceptable in His sight? That acceptable sacrifice is you. Did you know that? When He says acceptable sacrifice, He's not talking about God wanting us to be perfect. No.

He wants your life. He wants you to present yourself to Him as a living sacrifice. That's what Paul tells us in Romans chapter 12. "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies, your life, a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." Amen. Your reasonable service. Of course, do not be conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, Paul goes on to say there in Romans chapter 12. But that's the sacrifice God wants. We spend a lot of time looking at other people's lives and making sure they're straight. God says, what about you? I want to make sure my wife's reading the Bible. Make sure my husband... God said, you present yourself.

Your priesthood, what is it? It's to present yourself as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable. You can't be an acceptable sacrifice with all the things that Peter talked about earlier with malice in your heart and all those things. We have to turn from those things in order to be an acceptable sacrifice, otherwise we're offering to God that which is defiled. It's time to come to Jesus. Peter said, come to Jesus. It's time to walk in our destiny in Christ. James chapter 4 talks about the promise of God. He says if you draw near to God, God will draw near to you. But he says you've got to be acceptable in that you need to cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up. Amen.

A lot of times it sounds like God doesn't want us to be happy. No, he's not saying that. He's saying he's talking to people who are just taking the things of God lightly, who are not taking God serious. He says stop laughing about it. Get real. Humble yourself in the mighty hand of God because God is no plaything. When you humble yourself, God doesn't beat you up. He doesn't say, come see me when you're perfect. When you humble yourself and say, God, it's me, it's what's coming out of me, God will lift you up. Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God. Amen. If you draw near, look at that promise. Draw near to God, He will draw near to you, but you've got to cleanse your hands. You can't hold on to your sins. You can bring your sins and confess them, but you can't hold on to your sins and expect to keep them and still draw near to Jesus.

In coming to Jesus, it is our destiny to experience His invaluable worth, I call it. Invaluable worth. Verses 7 and 8, verse 7 says, "Therefore to you who believe, He is precious." Amen. He is precious. But to those who are disobedient, the stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. That cornerstone that completes the building project. That one stone that completed the building project has become the chief cornerstone, Jesus Christ. The builders rejected—there's a whole tradition that when they were building Solomon's Temple, that the chief cornerstone, they brought it up too soon, and they cast it aside and didn't want to use it. It wasn't time. It was too early. So as they got the job completed, they were like, where's the chief cornerstone? Nobody knew where it was. It was the stone that we rejected. They found that stone and they completed the temple, Solomon's Temple.

That's according to Jewish tradition, but Peter makes the point here that Jesus is the stone that the builders rejected. A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. They stumble, being disobedient in the word, in which they also were appointed. They were appointed for greatness, but they stumble because of disobedience to the word. It's like a lot of believers were appointed for greatness, but we stumble because of our disobedience. We constrict ourselves whereby we cannot live out our destiny in Christ. And here Peter is referring to when he says they were appointed, he's talking particularly about the Jews. They had rejected Christ. They were appointed for a destiny of greatness in the Lord, but they had rejected the Lord.

Disobedience will cause you to miss your appointed destiny. The invaluable worth of Christ can only be realized when we obey His word. Isn't it amazing how much more worth Jesus has when we walk in obedience? Think about it. When we walk in obedience, it's like we just have this understanding, this comprehension of how great and how awesome God is. We just sing about it. He's our provider, He's our victor, He's our peace. The reason you experience that is because you're walking in obedience. Doesn't say that you were perfect in your life. God never calls us to be perfect. He calls us to be obedient. Sometimes we don't get it right, and that's okay because His grace is sufficient for us. But as we learn to obey the Lord, and it's a learning process.

Amen, just like a child. Don't touch the stove, it's hot. Don't touch the stove. Don't touch the stove. I told you not to touch the stove. Now, next time you see it, that little beautiful red shining glowing eye on the stove, you won't touch it. So we have to learn. The Bible says Jesus learned obedience to the Father through the things He suffered. Did you know that? He was perfect. He was fully God, fully man. But He had to go through sufferings, and He learned obedience to the Father through the things that He suffered. How are we going to learn obedience to the Father? Probably through the things we suffer as well. So He's not saying be perfect here for us as believers, but we need to obey Him that we might experience and understand more fully the invaluable worth of Jesus Christ. If you're walking in disobedience, Christ means little, and no one can convince you that He's worth more until you begin to obey Him, until you walk in obedience.

Obeying the Lord. But those who are in the world, Jesus is an offense. The world will never embrace Christ. He's an offense to the world. God has destined us to experience His worth that we might proclaim it to the world. When we tell people that Jesus is good, that's experience. I know He's good. Let me tell you how good my God is. We can tell people that why? Because we've walked in obedience. We've experienced His worth, and He says, tell it to the world. Proclaim it to the world. Verses 9 and 10, Peter further elaborates on our destiny in Christ as he says in verse 9, "But you are a chosen generation. That's your destiny. A royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light."

In verse 10, "Who once," speaking of us, "were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy." Praise the Lord. We are chosen. Do you see that? That's our destiny. We are chosen, not a mistake. We are royalty, not ruined. We are holy and not hopeless. His own special people. That's your destiny tonight in the Lord. We've been called out of darkness into a destiny of marvelous light. That phrase "marvelous light" is interesting. It literally means admirable, excellent, beyond human comprehension. It's beyond human comprehension what God has ordained and planned for you, the destiny that He has for you. Don't believe the lie of the enemy that says that you're done. God's not finished with you yet. Amen.

There's no expiration date tattooed somewhere on your body. He's still working on you, and He's called you to His marvelous light to do above and beyond what you could ask or even think. But we must walk in obedience to experience that destiny whereby He's able to change us beyond our own comprehension. 1 Corinthians chapter 2 verse 9 says, "But as it is written, 'Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.'" Are you walking in your destiny tonight? Are you walking in the destiny that God has for you? Are you still holding on to those carnal propensities, that grudge or whatever it is? And you're wondering why God's not maybe blessing you or answering your prayers. Could it be that we've laid down some but not all? He's worthy. His worth is what we witness to in the world, talking about how good God is.

Show Outro Announcer: You've been listening to Pastor Al Pittman. The Dwelling Place is a radio ministry of Calvary Worship Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Our mission is to produce and maintain a fellowship of people dedicated to the purpose of reaching and teaching for the sake of the Gospel. We invite you to join our Sunday service at 8:30 a.m., 10:15 a.m., and noon, or our mid-week service on Wednesdays at 7:00 p.m. To find out more about what we do, go to cwccs.org. You can also download the Calvary Worship Center app for access to all our latest teaching. May the Lord bless and keep you as you walk with Him.