Leading The Way

Dr. Michael Youssef: Believers are to be connected with other believers, in caring, in responsibility, in ministry, in love, and in witnessing. Peter said, you are being built as living stones on top of the foundation, which is the living stone. You're the spiritual house.

Some may say, well, I gave myself to Jesus, but not to the church. Why? Oh, because I can be a Christian without it. All right, let me ask you this. How can you be a fulfilled Christian when you are in disobedience?

Host (Male): Christians are saved from an eternity in hell, promised an eternal home in heaven, and indwelt by the Holy Spirit, who provides grace and strength for today and tomorrow. Welcome to Leading The Way with international Bible teacher Dr. Michael Youssef.

Today on Leading The Way, Dr. Youssef reminds you that one key ingredient in you having a growing relationship with God is being an active and connected part of a local church. So listen with me now as Dr. Youssef continues his series called I Belong, looking at why the church must be built on the rock.

Dr. Michael Youssef: I remember distinctly when the parking deck was being built, and I noticed something that I really did not understand as a layman. I noticed that they were digging in some of those columns. And they would dig in some spot up to eight feet, and then they stopped. And then somewhere else they are digging 10, 15, 20 feet.

And I remember asking, why in the world do you have to dig deeper than eight since you're already digging eight feet here? Why don't you just dig eight feet everywhere? And he kind of quietly smiled and said to me, if I do that, you'll have a collapsed building in a very short period of time. We will keep on digging until we find a rock, and then we stop.

You see, the builder's concern was not how deep they have to go. Their concern is not how long it's going to take. Their concern is not how much it's going to cost. Their concern is not how nice it's going to look. The one and only concern in laying a foundation is finding a rock, and then stop.

Why? Because any building that is not built on a rock is not secure, and it's not safe. And I have never forgotten this several years ago, and I thought how spiritual and how biblical this is. For the Bible tells us the same thing about the church of Jesus Christ. It is built on Jesus the Rock.

That the church of Jesus Christ has to be founded on Jesus the Rock. That the church of Jesus Christ has to be anchored in Jesus the Rock. Once the foundation is secure, the building is safe. And that is why the apostle Peter calls Jesus the living stone.

God appointed his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to be the only foundation stone for his church. The only rock on which the church is built. The only living stone on which people can place their faith and their hope. The only sure and secure way for salvation.

And that is why 700 years before Jesus was born, the prophet Isaiah in 28:16 said, "See, I lay in Zion a tested stone, a precious stone for sure foundation. The one who trusts in that stone, in that rock, will never be dismayed." In some translations it said, "never be ashamed." And by Zion, of course, the Lord means the church, the church of Jesus Christ.

The reason Jesus is called the cornerstone is because in biblical times, when they built a building, what we would call the foundation, they called the cornerstone. And the cornerstone upon which the entire building hinges. The power of the building, the strength of the building, the shape of the building, the size of the building, the design of the building, the cohesion of the building, the unity of the building, the symmetry of the building, everything is dependent on that cornerstone.

If that cornerstone is right, the building is magnificent. If that cornerstone is wrong, sooner or later, and it may take time, sooner or later, the building will collapse. Not only that, but the stones that go into making that building after the foundation has been laid, they are placed in relationship to the cornerstone.

Every stone or every brick that goes into the building is placed in relationship to where the cornerstone is. And that's how the builders were taught. And that is where you and you and you come in. Now I want you to turn with me to 1 Peter chapter 2.

Here's the most marvelous thing about this passage. Look at verse four. He talks about the living stone, the Lord Jesus Christ. And then he goes into verse five and says, "You who have come to Christ, you who have submitted to Christ's authority, you who have received him as Savior and Lord, you too are living stones."

Some of you are saying, "Wait a minute, Michael, wait a minute. He just called Jesus the living stone, right? How can he call us living stones?" Here, let me read it again. "You also, like living stones, are being built into the spiritual house to be a holy priesthood."

When you become a member in the body of Christ, when you come to Jesus Christ, here's what you are saying. You're saying, "Lord, I surrender my rights and my privileges to be what I want to be, and now I want to be what you want me to be." That's what you have done when you joined the body of Christ.

And that is why in the last message, I talked to you about the church as the bride of Christ, which Scripture talks about in several places. Just as the bride delights herself in the bridegroom, and just as the bride's joy comes from her surrendering to the bridegroom, her fulfillment comes from being one with the bridegroom. Here Peter says you became living stones like Jesus.

I want you to hear me right. This is of vital importance. One of the most important messages that you will hear about your place if you know Jesus. Listen carefully. God in his wisdom chose to build the spiritual house we call the church. He could have just laid the foundation, Jesus Christ, and left it there. But he didn't. You know why? You know why?

How else would the world come to know the foundation? How can the world be invited to come to the foundation? How can the world see and understand the importance and the impact of the foundation? How can the world be reminded of the vital necessity of the foundation, not only for this life, but for eternity?

So God in his wisdom decided that on the foundation, Jesus Christ, that he established, that he will build a building, a spiritual building. Why? So that the world may be attracted to the foundation, so that the world may come to know about the foundation.

So that the building may be a witness to the power of the foundation, so that the building may stand as a testimony to the power of the foundation. And here's what Peter is saying. He said each member, each member is a living stone built into a spiritual house. Jesus Christ himself is the foundation of the building.

Each member is a living stone. Not as isolated believers scattered everywhere doing their things, lone rangers, no. Not as scattered stones all over the place, no. Not even as a group of individual stones just piled up willy-nilly and so close in proximity, no.

Peter is not saying that. He is saying that for the believer, it is not enough to just go around and say, you know, I am saved and sanctified, isn't God good. I'm not saying you shouldn't say that, but I'm saying it's not enough. Listen to me. Believers are to be connected with each other. They are to be connected with other believers in caring, in responsibility, in ministry, in love, and in witnessing.

Peter said, you are being built as living stones on top of the foundation which is the living stone. You're the spiritual house. Some may say, "Well, I gave myself to Jesus, but not to the church." But why? Why? "Oh, because I can be a Christian without it." All right, let me ask you this. How can you be a fulfilled Christian when you are in disobedience?

What is a brick made for? What is a stone made for? The purpose for which it's made is to be in a building. And that's what Peter's saying here. Imagine a brick that can speak and every time the builder tried to grab that brick and the brick says, "Don't touch me! Don't touch me!" Well, you know there are Christians like that.

Now hear me right, please. If you are a rolling stone Christian, you are not fulfilling God's purpose in your life. Did you hear that? I want to repeat that. I like that. If you are a rolling stone Christian, you are not fulfilling God's purpose for your life.

It is by being built in the church that you become effective in service, that you become effective in witnessing, that you become effective in ministering, that you become effective in doing God's work. I love it when somebody comes and says, "I want to go across the world to tell people about Jesus Christ." I say, "Have you gone across the street yet?"

In fact, I want to tell you something. The apostle Paul tells the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians, particularly in chapter 14. He said the unbelievers would experience genuine conversion to Christ. How? Not when they go attending a Christian entertainment center, not when they are treated like celebrities, not when they are told to feel as comfortable as they want just the way they are, no.

He said they're going to walk into the church and they will be overwhelmed by the presence of God in the way God's children are worshiping God, and honoring God, and praising God, and surrendering to God. And at that moment, they will fall on their faces and they will come to Jesus and they will say Jesus is Lord. That's what he said.

Please hear me right. When the church is made up of living stones connected together, when the church is made up of people who are living the gospel, living the gospel, people who are living as distinct people, who are living as a holy community, who are living as loving and caring people, only then would an unbeliever come and fall on his or her face and recognize and turn to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Look at verse five again, 1 Peter 2, verse five. "You, you, you, you also, like stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be what? Prickly individuals? To be what? Independent individuals? To be what? Separated individuals? No, no, no, no, no, no. To be a holy priesthood." Did you get that? A holy priesthood offering spiritual sacrifice acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Did you know that the New Testament teaches that every believer in Jesus Christ is a priest? Did you know that? Oh, maybe news to some of you, but that's all right. That's okay. That's what the Bible teaches. Every person who comes to Jesus Christ, receives him as the only Savior of their life and the Lord of their life becomes a priest immediately, becomes a priest.

What is the priest supposed to do in the Old Testament? The priests in the Old Testament were supposed to reflect the holiness of God. The priest represented God before people. The priest constantly offered sacrifice of prayer and praise and thanksgiving.

And I want to make you a promise today. If you are able to grasp the importance and the seriousness of your priesthood to God, you will never, never, never see yourself as an average Christian. Ever. Ever. You'll never see yourself as an average Christian. I hate the word average anyway. You'll never be an average Christian.

Let me explain this to you. In the Old Testament, priests were chosen by God. To do what? To represent the people before God, and God to the people. But not only that. The priests were invited to come to God and to have access to God. Not everybody had that. Not only that, but the priests were set apart for the service of God. Not only that, but the priests were anointed with oil, which is the symbol of the fullness of the Holy Spirit.

They, in other words, were a very, very, very privileged group of people. They were just not the humdrum. They were not the hoi polloi. They were privileged people. And Peter is telling us here, that's who you are in Christ in the New Testament.

You're a very privileged person. Listen to me. The reason we don't take our calling seriously, the reason we don't understand our priesthood in relationship to God seriously, either we forget or we refuse to focus on the fact that we are called by God to be the priests in the New Testament.

You take everything that was said about priests in the Old Testament and you apply it to yourself as a believer, and that's who you are in Christ. Every one of us who know Jesus. Every one of us. Listen, if you just focus on that privilege of priesthood, if you just take few moments every day, start your day focusing, I'm a priest. I'm a privileged.

Yeah, the Levites who were priests in the Old Testament, they never forgot. Of course, there were periods of time when there was backsliding, whole nation was backsliding and the priests were terrible. And that's why Ezekiel condemns them feeding themselves and not the flock of God. But generally speaking, the priests in the Old Testament were people who were so conscious of the fact that they were chosen by God, that they were called by God, that they were given special privileges by God.

And if you focus on that privilege, you would be totally focused on holiness and righteous living. I promise you that. You would not be struggling in all this area and that area. You would be totally focused on serving without counting the cost. You would be totally focused on committing yourself totally, wholly, completely without reservation.

If you just understand that you are a priest, you belong to a priesthood, a special group of people that Jesus have privileged. You see, in the Old Testament, the priests took their calling and their privilege very, very, very seriously. And Peter's saying you need to do exactly the same. You need to do exactly the same with your call to the priesthood of all believers.

You are a priest. You're a priest whether you're a boy or a girl, man or woman, you're a priest if you know Jesus. Living stones, linked together, linked with each other and to the living stone. But he said more than that. And this is why I'm telling you this is one of the most delightful passages you can spend your life just memorizing it, reading it, and you'll never get the depth of it.

Verse nine. Look at verse nine. He said more than that. He said priest. Oh man, this is incredible. Priests, just all the privileges and the responsibilities that were given to the Old Testament priests. Yep. But he said no, no. In the New Testament, there is more. You got a little added bonus here that the Old Testament priest did not have.

Can you imagine that? That you and I who are in Christ have extra privilege that the Old Testament priest who stood there in the temple did not have? Verse nine, he said, "You are a royal priesthood." You're not just any old priest. You're royal priesthood.

What does that mean? It means that you're not only related to God by redemption and calling, but you're also related to God by adoption. So you're not just a priest, but you are the child of the king. He's your daddy. You are the sons and the daughters of the royal blood of your Father, the King of kings and the Lord of lords.

And the reason many Christians don't take the role as intercessors as the priests did of old is because they don't understand the importance that God places on that priesthood. God in his wisdom said that he's going to respond to the intercession of the priests.

I am convinced that there are unclaimed blessings, that there are unclaimed promises, there are many unanswered prayers, and simply because we the spiritual royal priests have failed to understand the practice of our priestly intercession and the responsibility and the authority that God has placed in us.

Now I believe God is calling us at this very moment in history to be the church of Jesus Christ. His design is that we in obedience become the living stones, and we will receive all of the blessings that God has for us and the blessings that will bless the kingdom through us. I know in my own life, I know that for a fact. I know that my true blessing, my genuine blessing come when the kingdom and Jesus' glory and his name is above all else in my life.

Guest (Female): I grew up in a very traumatic living situation. I was sexually abused. I was very terrified of pretty much everything and I didn't trust anyone. And I had a great desire to be loved. My heart craved love.

As I look back, I can tell that there were many instances where the Lord was beckoning for me to draw near to him. Sometimes I would just walk by a church and I felt like the church was calling me to come inside. One day I was at home and the Lord impressed in my spirit that he was real. And I decided to ask the Lord to come into my heart and save me. And I was baptized.

As I grew in my Christian faith, I entered a phase in my life where it was very confusing. It was during that time of crisis that I started listening to Dr. Michael Youssef's teachings, which I found were very uncompromising. And that really drew me.

The Lord was showing me that I needed to hold fast to his word and that he could be trusted as a sure foundation. And Dr. Youssef preaches the uncompromising truth, the Word of God.

Dr. Michael Youssef: Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow. That's our God!

Guest (Female): By listening to Dr. Michael Youssef, my faith began to grow. As the Lord says, "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God." And when I found out that Dr. Youssef and the rest of the team were coming to DC, I was so excited. I just knew that I had to be there to hear Dr. Youssef proclaim the gospel and to be in prayer along with my brothers and sisters in Christ. It was such an amazing event.

In addition to Awake America, I am so excited about the Navigators. There are people all over the world who can access these Navigators and hear the gospel being proclaimed in their own native language. That is just so awesome. The Lord used Leading The Way with Dr. Michael Youssef in my life to help me greatly.

Now the way that the Lord is using me, he's just constantly connecting me with people and giving me a burden for people so that I can pray for them and share the good news of the gospel. You can trust the Lord. He loves you. His word is true.

Host (Male): Thank you for joining Dr. Michael Youssef for another life-changing episode in his I Belong series right here on Leading The Way. And we hope that Dr. Youssef's words have encouraged you to align with the cornerstone of the church, meaning with the living stone, Jesus Christ, who along with an active spirit-led faith guides and offers strength and courage through even your most difficult seasons.

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That's our broadcast for today. Thank you for being with us and do join Dr. Michael Youssef right here for Leading The Way. This program is brought to you by Leading The Way with Dr. Michael Youssef.