Leading The Way

Announcer: In 1 Peter, we're told that those in Christ are a living stone, a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and God's special possession. Today on Leading The Way, Dr. Michael Youssef explores the advantages of being in Christ. And as you listen, your passion for Christ will be stirred. Listen along with me to this perspective-shifting episode of Leading The Way Audio.

Dr. Michael Youssef: The first characteristic, the first privilege that we experience when we come to Christ is that we become living stones, precious stones. I don't want you to miss what I'm going to tell you. It's really important because there are many people are confused. The only reason we as believers are precious in the eyes of God is because of the cornerstone being precious. Are you with me? Peter sees the elect of God from every nation and every language and every tribe as a magnificent building, as a magnificent spiritual building. In ancient times, of course, before the multi-story buildings and skyscrapers, the buildings, whether it be one or two stories, it was dependent on the cornerstone.

So they go out and they spend all of their effort, all of their energy to finding a strong boulder in order to place it as the cornerstone. Why? Because a building is as good as its cornerstone. It can stand or fall depending on the cornerstone. Cornerstone was everything to a building. The cornerstone was laid at the intersection of the corner, and that's why it's called cornerstone. And then every other stone, foundational stone that was laid next to the cornerstone is in relationship to the cornerstone. And then every other stone in the building even is chosen on the basis of its relationship to the cornerstone.

Every single stone. But there's something else I want to tell you that I don't want you to forget here. Why didn't Peter say, "We are living bricks"? Some years ago, somebody said, "Oh, Michael, well, they didn't have bricks back then." Oh, yes, they did. Many buildings used bricks. But he does not use bricks for a reason. He chose stones. You see, because bricks are all alike. Bricks have the same dimension. Bricks have the same shape. But God does not mass produce his children. God is not in the cookie cutter business. God does not expect you to fill the role of somebody else. God does not expect us to be all unified.

No. And that is why Peter called us stones. Stones are all different from each other. They are different in size. They are different in shape. They are different in dimensions. With all of our difference, the master builders shapes us to fit in a certain place in that body of Christ. You see, sometimes the master builder has to smooth the rough edges of a certain stone. Sometimes the master builder has to chisel the bulges in certain stones. Sometimes the master builder has to chip away at the jagged edges of a stone. Are you feeling the pain? I have felt that pain, and I dare say we'll feel it until I go home, because that is what God does to everyone whom he loves and everyone whom he wants to use.

But we need to rejoice when the Lord does that, and not to be grumbling and complaining like the people of old. No, no, no. We need to rejoice because you are so precious to him that he has to work you over. And that is why, beloved, listen to me, so many professing Christians stay away from the master builder. And that's why some professing Christians don't want to get close to other stones. Oh man, they're so prickly. Some professing Christians resent the rightful place. They want something else or some other place. Some professing Christians don't want to fulfill God's purpose for them as living stones chosen by God.

Some believers even try to minimize their contact with the cornerstone and with the other stones. Have I got under your skin yet? That's okay. I'm going to help you rejoice in a minute. It's all right. There may be some pain in the chiseling and in the smoothing over, but let me tell you something. There is far greater pain from running away from the master builder. There really is. Not only that, but a missing stone from a glorious building can only create a draft. But if you are a precious living stone, then the next natural question is, am I fitting in my rightful place in that glorious building, in that spiritual building?

Am I letting the master builder work me over so that he may place me in my rightful place? Or are you running away? Are you running away? There are some who are refusing to be a load bearers in that building. Today, we have some professing Christians who are mere consumers. They may go to church for the entertainment value, but they never give of themselves or of the resources because they don't want to fit in that rightful place for them. Which that means that you are balking at the first characteristic or the privilege of identity transformation. I pray to God not a soul would be in that position.

There are some Christians, some professing Christians who say, and I met some of them through the years, back yonder, I received Christ as my Savior. I walked down the aisle, I signed a decision card, and that's it. Tragic, tragic, tragic. If you're a true believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, you are a precious living stone, and don't you ever forget it. And you need the Master Builder to place you in your rightful place, and you must be willing to be placed. By the way, that's what it means to surrender. We talk about surrender in the Christian life. That's what it means. They say, "Place me where you want me to be placed, where you have planned for me to be placed, so that I may be a blessing to others." You have responsibility to the cornerstone, Jesus.

You have responsibility to other living stones. Responsibility to stand by them, and they stand by you. Responsibility to support them, and they support you. Responsibility to uphold them, and they uphold you. Are the other stones perfect? Absolutely not. They are flawed, just like you are. They have their own quirkiness, just like you do. They have their own idiosyncrasies, just like you do. They have weaknesses and strengths, just like we all do. And so the first privilege of our identity transformation is that we are a living stones. The second characteristic or privilege of this identity transformation is that we are members of a chosen race.

There are some people who are so proud of their race, some people who are literally making an idol of their race. But when you come to Christ, your earthly race kind of melts into the wall, and you become a new race. The term chosen race in the Old Testament was a term that applied to the people of God, of Israel. And here the Apostle Peter, a Jew of very Jew, lifts up that privilege that was given to Israel, and he applies it to the believers in Jesus Christ. We are now the chosen race. In the New Testament, the church of Jesus Christ, the elect of God from every nation and every generation, is the chosen race.

Galatians chapter 6 calls them the new Israel of God. What is the reason for that choice of being a chosen race? What is the basis on which we are a chosen race? Listen to me very carefully, because it's the same principle, the same God of the Old Testament is the God of the New Testament, and the same principle, the answer to that question is the sovereign will of God. It's not because there were a great civilization that God called Israel. It's not because they were smart people, not because they were obedient. I mean, they asked Moses, they gave him fits. But God said, "I choose whom I choose.

I'm sovereign. I'm God." But here's the problem. Some of us don't want to accept this. Our pride forbids us from accepting this because we get to vote for candidates and place them in authority. We think that we can vote for God. And just as the candidates for power and authority do not fulfill what we voted for them for, if they don't do what we tell them to do, we vote them out of office. So we think that we can vote for God, and when God doesn't do what we want him to do, we vote him out of office. Listen, I thank God for democracy. I thank God every single day I'm in this great country, but not when it comes to our relationship with God.

He is a sovereign God, and the quicker you come to grips with this, the more blessed you'll be in your life. When the people of Israel rejected the cornerstone, this cornerstone, Jesus, whom the Old Testament prophets longed to see, who prophesied about the anointed of Yahweh, the Messiah of God, what happened? According to Peter, God went ahead and chose other race made of people who are Jews and Gentiles, the believers in Jesus, people who have placed their whole faith in his Messiah, people who have complete obedience to the Messiah, people who have surrendered their life to the Messiah, those people are now the chosen race, regardless of their physical descent.

In the New Testament, the chosen race are the ones who have been adopted by grace. And that is why Peter is saying, beginning at verse 6, those who have surrendered to the cornerstone, Jesus, they are protected all the way until he takes them home. Nobody can touch you if you are in God's protection program. Ah, but those who reject the stone, the cornerstone, those who refuse to believe in him, that very stone is going to crush them. Living stones, chosen race. Thirdly, Peter said, the third privilege of a transformed identity is that we are a royal priesthood. Every man, every woman, every young man, every young woman, every boy, girl who surrendered their life to Jesus Christ, now they are priests in the service of God.

But not just any old priest. He says royal priests. You see, when you come to Jesus and you receive him as your Savior, you get blood transfusion takes place in your veins. Takes your old blood out and gives you royal blood. So you are royal now. What did the priest do in the Old Testament? He offered sacrifices to God. He interceded to God on behalf of the people. He spoke to the people on behalf of God. What is that in the New Testament? What does a priest need to do in the New Testament? It's exactly that. Because every believer now is a priest, we don't need priests in the New Testament. Every believer now has equal access to the courts of heaven, to the throne room of God.

Every believer now has the privilege of interceding on behalf of others. If Jesus is your high priest, you are a priest. And because your Savior Jesus is the high priest, you offer sacrifice of praise, worship, and adoration to him. You intercede on behalf of others. You are commissioned to speak for him to the world. Our high priest Jesus did not only make it possible for us to become priests, but we become royal priests because the king of kings is our Father. Amen. Living stones, chosen race, royal priesthood. Fourthly, we're a holy nation. Thankfully, this holy nation that Peter is talking about is not like any other nation you know about or read about or hear about.

No, it's a very different holy nation altogether. Most nations are self-centered. Most nations are basically looking for their own interest. Most nations are looking out for themselves, and it's just a fact of life. That's not to demean anybody, but it's just, it's a fact of life. But the holy nation that we are is made up of people from every nation on the face of the earth. A Korean believer is a member of that holy nation. A Brazilian believer is a member of that holy nation. A Middle Eastern believer is a member of that holy nation. An Israeli citizen believer, he's a member of this holy nation.

And Peter is saying, verse 9, that every citizen of that holy nation, like their leaders, they are too are holy. What does holy mean? It means that you have been set apart exclusively for the use of your king. It means that you are set apart for obedience to your king. It means that you belong exclusively to the king. Your loyalty is to the king. Precious stones, chosen race, royal priesthood, holy nation. The fifth privilege or characteristic of those who allow the Lord Jesus Christ to transform their identity from wherever it is to being in him alone is that God's own possession. Actually, literal translation, treasured possession.

In Malachi 3:17, God said, was talking about what is coming and then how the kingdom of God is going to be made of Jews and Gentiles, of people from all over, and he says, "These people are going to be my treasured possession." I want to ask you a question. What is your most treasured possession? And I'm talking real possession here in this life. It could be a person, it could be your material possession, it could be your house, whatever it may be. You're the one who's got to answer that. All right, you answered it? Pencils down. Now think about how hard you work to protect that. Think about how much time you spend on watching over it.

Think about the care you take in order that you may keep it and not lose it. Think about how you want to preserve it for the future. Now, here's what Peter's saying. This is how God feels about you. You are his most treasured possession. Think about this. The God who owns the billions of galaxies they keep to be discovering every day and every week and every month, the God who owns the universe, he says, "Yes, yes, they're all mine. I control them with the click of my finger, but you are the one I treasure the most. You are the one that I will protect the most. You are the one that I value the most.

You are the one that I guard all the way home to heaven. Now, I don't know about you, that rocks my world. That really does. It lifts me 10 feet above my circumstances. It lifts my soul. It makes my spirit soar. To know that I am God's treasured possession humbles me to the core, leads me to love him with all my heart, leads me to worship him with all my strength, leads me to serve him with all that I have, leads me to live for him alone. You are God's treasured possession, whether you are aware of it or not, whether you know it or not, you are God's treasured possession, living stones, chosen race, royal priesthood, holy nation, God's own treasured possession.

And finally, we are privileged to be tourists, sojourners, and travelers on this earth. This is not our home. We make the mistake of thinking this is our home, and we make our plans as if we're going to be here forever. No, this is not our home. We are travelers. The privileges that we have is that we know where we're going. But you see, in reality, every human being on the face of the earth is a tourist. Everyone, everyone. But sadly, the ones who reject the cornerstone, those who reject Jesus, they're going to end up in a dreadful destination when the tour is over. That's what breaks our heart for those who refuse to place their faith in Jesus.

Ah, but for those of us who love Jesus, those of us living stones who are in love with the cornerstone, those of us who are forever serving the cornerstone with all of our hearts, those of us stones who are occupying our rightful place in that holy building, not only we know that we are travelers and we are tourists and we are sojourners, but we know that we have a great home to go to when this tour is over. The question is, how should this impact your life? How that make you deal with your problem tomorrow morning at work when you face them, wherever you are, the relationships and all the storms of life?

Thankfully, verse 11 gives us the answer. I don't have to come up with the answer. Beloved, I beseech you as aliens and exiles, abstain from self-indulgence that wages war against your souls. Because we are living stones, therefore our focus is on the things that concerns the cornerstone. Because we are living stones in that magnificent building, we spend our time in glorifying the cornerstone. We spend our time and our priorities and our focus on witnessing for the cornerstone. We are concerned about what concerns him, and that, my beloved friends, can set you free in whatever problem you're facing today.

Amen? Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Lord Jesus, you are my cornerstone, and I cannot believe that I'm a living stone, chosen race, holy nation, royal priesthood. And Lord, now I want to surrender to the cornerstone, to the master builder, that he may place me in relationship with him and in relationship to him and in relationship to others. For I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Announcer: Thank you for making time for this episode of Leading The Way Audio. All right, would you like to talk with a Leading The Way pastor or counselor about experiencing your own identity transformation through Christ? Pastors and counselors are ready to connect with you. Start your conversation at ltw.org/Jesus. You know, each day the team at Leading The Way hears from people all around the world with faith questions, people who feel confident in approaching Leading The Way for biblical, practical answers to questions. And a note recently came to the Leading The Way office that we want to share with you right now, along with how the story played out.

So here is just a portion. I have been studying Christianity for a while now, beginning to understand more about God. One question that keeps coming to mind as I learn about Christ is, will I receive complete forgiveness for the sins I've committed, no matter my sins? Well, friends, the Leading The Way ministry team communicated that yes, the blood of Jesus is enough for all sins. And after several conversations, this person received Christ, quickly connecting with a caring local church. And as part of his testimony, he often shares the beautiful and complete forgiveness that he experienced through Christ.

What an encouragement it was to the Leading The Way team too. You know, it's so easy to get caught up in day-to-day tasks and challenges, but knowing that lives are being impacted for eternity, well, that brings added strength and courage. Learn ways that you can stand with Dr. Youssef, impact souls for eternity. Give us a call, 866-626-4356, and of course, LTW.org, LTW.org.

Dr. Michael Youssef: My beloved friends, as I get on the road and I meet so many of you, and you tell me how long you have been watching or listening to Leading The Way for years, and you've wanted to give financially in support of this ministry and our global impact for the gospel of Jesus Christ, but you haven't been able to focus on it. Now, I'd like to ask you to stop and do that right now. Our ministry together is more important now than ever before. And as you know, this is my labor of love. I have no financial consideration with Leading The Way whatsoever. I give it all of my time now. So would you join me in worshiping the Lord through giving?

Souls will be in heaven because of our partnership. Visit LTW.ORG for details. That's LTW.org. Thank you in advance. God bless.

Announcer: Leading The Way with Dr. Michael Youssef is listener supported. There are several ways that you can stand with Dr. Youssef and support Leading The Way's gospel impact around the world. Consider a generous one-time gift or become a frontline mission partner. Those are the friends who give monthly. Or you can join the community of cornerstone partners, those who give in and through their estate. Learn more at LTW. org. Or you could always get connected with a Leading The Way team member. Just call us 866-626-4356. This program is brought to you by Leading The Way with Dr. Michael Youssef.