Today on the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. In this broken world, We who have experienced so much Have these unique privileges, trust a unique person, have this unique purpose in life that wherever we go. You're gonna shine. Gracelight. Welcome to The Verdict, featuring the Bible teaching of Pastor Jean Monroe.
In a culture where people desperately search for identity and accomplishments, affiliations, or heritage. Scripture offers a radically different perspective. Today, as we continue in 1 Peter, John reveals five profound descriptions that reframe our understanding of who we are and why we're here.
Now, here's Pastor John Monroe with part two of his message. Shine Christ's light. In our study of 1 Peter 2, we've seen that Peter is setting out the implications of our great salvation. He's reminded us that we're called to be holy. Called to love one another.
called to long for the living word of God. Last time, we saw that while our salvation begins with a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, we soon realize that we're part of a spiritual house, a priesthood, a holy nation. As the people of God, We are in the family of God and have unique privileges. In the Old Testament, only those from the tribe of Levi were able to be priests, but now. As a follower of Jesus Christ, you have immediate access to God.
Let's learn more about how we as followers of Christ can make a difference in our world.
So now we come to verse four of 1 Peter 2. Let me read from Verse 4 through 10. Yeah. As you come to him, that is our Lord Jesus. A living stone rejected by men But in the sight of God, chosen and precious, You yourselves, like living stones, are being built up.
as a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood. To offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in scripture. Behold, I'm laying in Zion a stone. A cornerstone, chosen and precious.
And whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.
So the honor is for you who believe. But for those who do not believe, the stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone and the stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. They stumble. Because they disobey the word as they were destined to do so. But you, you're a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness.
into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people. Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received. What a wonderful passage of Scripture. Outstanding as Peter is describing who we are all because of who Christ is and what Christ has done.
Now, first of all, in verses 4 and 5, we see that God's people have unique privileges. We have unique privileges, and I will mention three of them. First of all, God's people are privileged. Because we come to Jesus Christ. Verse 4, as you come to him.
Isn't that wonderful?
So we're privileged. First, we come to Jesus Christ. Secondly, we're living stones in God's house. Third, We are a holy priesthood. Verse 5.
You yourselves. like living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house. To be a holy Priesthood, this is amazing, isn't it? To be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. A unique privilege, yes, coming to Christ, a living stone, holy priesthood.
But not only have we unique privileges, God's people trust. in a unique person. Verses six through eight. For it stands in Scripture. Behold, I'm laying in Zang a stone.
A cornerstone chosen of precious, and whoever believes in me will not be put to shame. For the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, the stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. Remember. A church. Jesus Christ.
is the cornerstone. Here in these verses, Peter quotes from three Old Testament passages, from Isaiah 26, Psalm 118, as we've already read, and Isaiah 8. to establish That in the Old Testament The Messiah was coming as a choice. Carner Solan. He's the rock, he's the cornerstone.
And great care is taken in building, isn't it? as to the choice and the laying of the cornerstone. And we who believe in him, this is an act of faith. will never be let down. Never disappointed it.
Is there anyone here who has believed in the Lord Jesus Christ? And he has let them down? No. To us who believe, He's precious. He's chosen by God.
He is a cornerstone and we come to him over and over and over again, don't we? To receive his mercy, his forgiveness, his strength, being assured that he is with us, as he himself said, for where two or three are gathered together in the My name. There am I in the midst of them. He is a cornerstone abbot also. Peter tells us he's a stone of stumbling.
Verse 8. A stone of stumbling. and the rock of offense, yes, the same stone That we come to for salvation is the same stone that is a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense to those who don't believe. To us who believe To us who come to the cornerstone rather. We receive his life.
But that rock. That stone is a stumbling stone to those who disbelieve.
So the central question The most important question that anyone could ever ask is: who is Jesus Christ to me? Let me ask you what How would you answer that? Is he a living stone? that you come for salvation?
Something else?
Some substitutes? He's the central figure of human history. The central figure of eternity, and as the gospel of Jesus Christ is preached. There is no neutrality. You want to sit in the fence, don't you?
You want a little bit of Christ and a little bit of the world. You want to obey Christ sometimes and Go your own way other times if that doesn't work. Not to us who believe he's precious. to the unbeliever He's a stumbling block. Paul puts it this way in 2 Corinthians 2 regarding Christ.
He said, He's either a fragrance from death to death. or a fragrance from life to life. The same Christ. Calls us.
Some reject him.
Some sit on the fence, but to us who believe. His choice. and precious. Relationship to Jesus Christ. Determinants You're eternal.
That's the name. Either eternal salvation or eternal condemnation. Either you come to Jesus Christ and are saved or you disobey the word, verse 8. They stumble because they disobey the word as they were destined to do. Listen to Peter.
You'll get the connection here. He's preaching. This is what he says. Think of his courage as he's preaching to the Jewish leaders. He says this.
This Jesus Is the stone that was rejected by you? Yes, they rejected Christ. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. You threw him away, you discarded him, but in actual fact, he is the cornerstone, in God's sight, chosen and precious. And then he says this: and there is salvation in no one else.
For there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. That's it. Salvation is only found in Jesus Christ. You put him on the cross, God exalted him. This is the day that the Lord has given us.
Let us rejoice and be glad in it. And our eternal destiny is determined by a relationship to Jesus Christ. A cornerstone? or a stumbling stone. God's people Trust in a unique person.
There's none like him. nor will there ever be anyone like him. And finally. God's people have a unique purpose. This really in verses 9 and 10, this is the climax of the first section of 1 Peter.
Wonderful words. And what a description. He gives of us. This will encourage your brother. This will encourage your sister.
First of all, we are set apart. as the unique people of God. What's this in verse 9? But you are a Chosen. Race.
He's ready to hold us your elect exiles. and to suffering and persecuted People. These words must have given them great comfort. I am chosen by God. In the Old Testament, Israel was God's chosen people.
Deuteronomy 7 says, God says, I didn't choose you because you're more than the others. It's not that you're a particularly impressive people, I chose you because I loved you. What did God Save me. I don't know. Was any better than the other boys in my my class at school?
No, no. It was the mercy of God, isn't it? And now Followers of Jesus Christ, Jew and Gentile, have been chosen by God. The barrier between the Jew and the Gentile has been demolished through our Lord Jesus Christ. We're now one in Christ, chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world.
Brother, don't allow the truth of election to bother you. The truth of election is a tremendous comforting and humbling truth. That God, in his grace, reached down and saved you. Here you are at church. And God in his grace has brought you.
Think of where you could have been. Think of what havoc you'd have made of your life. Apart from the grace of God. First of all, we're chosen by God. Secondly, we are a royal priesthood.
Verse 9: For you're a chosen race, a royal priesthood. We're priests of the heavenly king. Not just priests, we're royal priests. What dignity? We belong to the king.
All of the people of God are royal people. Price. We're part of the royal family. Part of the family of the king of kings and lord of lords. In verse 5, he says you're a holy priesthood.
In verse 9, he says, you're a royal priesthood. And every single one of us participates In worship of our Lord Jesus Christ. Can I ask you, as you come here on a Sunday morning, Don't come as a spectator. Come as a participant. Don't come as a passive observer of worship, but come to be actively engaged in worship.
Yesterday Good and I We're down in the night theater and we listened to the Charlotte Symphony Youth Orchestra. Yeah. And I thought. You know, they were pretty good. And uh was listening.
We were just spectators. We clapped when we were meant to clap. We responded as we want to respond. Totally different this morning, isn't it? Thou come I'm not a musician.
I sit there. And I come. to participate. I come. To worship.
You say, I'm not much of a singer. My grandmother used to say, she had a terrible voice, she said, God made the crows as well as the nightingales. You may be a bit of a crow, musically speaking. But you can make a a noise. You can try and get the tune.
More importantly, you can have a pure heart. that you want to praise your magnificent Savior. It's not about you. It's not about me. What royal priesthood thinks of the dignity of it?
Think of the wonder of it. that we can come and sing. And God gives us this gift of music. Part of our humanity, God gives us this gift. And think of all of the music going on in the world.
And yet we. Come, not just to have music. But to worship our great God. We're a royal priesthood. Also, he says, we are, verse 9: a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation.
Peter likes to remind us of our holiness, doesn't he? Set apart to God. He's told us. In verse 15 of chapter 1, As he called you as holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, you shall be holy, for I am holy. Yes, we rejoice that we're a royal priesthood.
Ah, but I've got to act in a certain way. Members of the royal family have to act. as members of the royal family. Stay apart from all. of the unholiness.
We're to be distinctive, we're special. I'm to be holy in all of my conduct. And then he says Again, verse 9: You're a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession. I love this. He's told us that we're redeemed with the precious blood of Jesus Christ, we belong to him.
In Exodus 19, verses 5 and 6, he says, Of Israel, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples. were God's treasured possession. Do you have some treasure?
Some gold, some jewelry, something really that you treasure. Uh at home. Your golf clubs, whatever it is. Your car. You treasure it.
You know what it is to treasure it. Think of this. that we are Gods treasured possession. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 6, you're not your own. You are bought with a price.
Christ has bought me. He's paid the price for me with his own blood. I am God's treasured possession. This is my identity. You know, at least.
two or three times a week as I speak to people. I don't know, I've heard this hundreds of times. Where are you from? I'm from Charlotte. No, I mean, where are you really from?
I I'm really from Charlotte. Been here 18 years, still struggling with the language, y'all. But Then they say, Well, where are you really from?
Okay, we go through this.
Well, you know, I'm from Scotland. Oh, Scotland, okay, yeah. My great-grandfather was Scottish, okay, who cares, right? All of my forefathers were Scottish. And you think?
Where are you from? Really the question is, where am I going? What's my destiny? I have a Scottish heritage. Yes, I am now an American.
becoming one in this beautiful city of Charlotte. Yes, I'm an American citizen. But the most important thing about me is not that I'm Scottish, it's not that I'm an American, it's not that even I'm a pastor. The most important thing is this: if you want to put a label on me, put it Christian. Peter is going to talk, use that word in chapter four.
I'm a Christian. That's my identity. I'm God's treasured. Possession. That's who we are, isn't it?
I'm a royal priest. Part of this holy nation. And then he says in verse 10: Once you were not a people, but now you're God's people. Once you had not received mercy, but now you've received mercy. Tim referred to this, a quotation from Hosea chapter 2: Once we were not God's people, Gentiles.
Once we didn't know God's mercy Ah, but now I've received mercy. She doesn't deserve it. Remember the story Jesus told? The Pharisee in the temple thanking God he wasn't like other men and telling God all that he did. And then there's the tax collector.
He's separated from people. His prayer is a very simple one, but it's accepted by God. I trust you prayed it. God, be merciful to me, the sinner. That's it.
That's my prayer. God, be merciful to me, the sinner. Think of all of the goodness of God over years, that God has showered His mercy upon me and you. You say, Well, I've got sufferings, I've got difficulties, I know that. I'm done spiritually.
That you, in the grace of God, have received the greatest of all gifts. Eternal life, a destiny in heaven. Once we were estranged from God, And we're no better than anyone else, and God and His grace has intervened. In my case, raised in a Christian home.
Some of your cases a friend talks to you about Christ. Different ways that God acts in our life, doesn't He, to bring us to the point where we hear the gospel. And we hear the call of Christ, and we come to Him and find rest for our souls, and joy, and forgiveness of sins. And now we are the people of God. And with all of these blessings, What are we to do?
Verse 9, that you may proclaim. Here it is. The excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. Think of all of the care taken in Old Testament worship. Giving our very best.
And we come. And we proclaim God and we do that with excellence. We do that because of who God is and what he has done in his son. And we announce that and we sing holy, holy, holy. And we sing wonderful.
Merciful Saviour. And we sing what he has done, and we proclaim that in our worship, and we proclaim that in our evangelism. That our worship and our evangelism must be God-centered. We're called out of darkness. Into his, I love this translation, marvelous light.
As Abu was praying, he reminded us that God dwells in unapproachable light, and I have been transferred from that darkness of my sin into God's marvelous light. And now, as a royal priest, I am to proclaim that. in the darkness of our world. As we have as our third theme for the year, I am to shine Christ's light. As you leave here, you're going into darkness.
Perhaps the darkness of your own home. of your school, of the stores, of the banks, of the offices. Filled with people who live in darkness. We have a broken anxious world, don't we? As we remembered in prayer, think of the problems in our world.
We could be on the very edge of a nuclear holocaust, couldn't we? With what's going on in the Middle East and with Yemen and the Iraqis and Iranians and all of us. You say about that? causes me anxiety. No, it doesn't cause me anxiety.
All under God's control. Whatever happens, I know I've been transferred into the light. that the a nuclear holocaust Can take away my salvation, but meantime. in this broken world. We who You have experienced so much.
Have these unique privileges, trust a unique person. Have this unique purpose in life that wherever we go. You're gonna shine. Christlight. Our Father, that's our prayer.
You've done so much for us. Maybe shine. with the beauty of Christ. And pray. No.
That all of us will respond.
Some have never yet come to Christ. Open their hearts, open their eyes. to see the beauty of our Saviour who is precious. In your sight and in our sight. And we who have been saved, Father, help us.
to shine. Christ light. wherever we go. That he is the light of the world, and that those who follow him shall not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. We ask it all.
In Christ's name, amen. This is the verdict with Pastor John Monroe and the conclusion of his message titled Shine Christ's Light. John has more to share in just a moment, so keep listening. Today's teaching powerfully reminds us that our true identity isn't found in nationality, profession, or achievements, but in who we are in Christ. And to further strengthen your faith, we'd like to offer you a free copy of John's helpful booklet for the time is near.
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Now, here's Pastor John Monroe with his closing remarks.
Well, what's your verdict? Are you trusting in Jesus Christ as your Savior? Do you believe that your relationship to the Lord Jesus Christ determines your future salvation or your future condemnation? Place your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ today. Receive God's mercy demonstrated in His Son, Jesus Christ, and experience the forgiveness of sins.
Be a part of the family of God. I know the power of a transformed life.
Now, shine your light for Christ in this broken world. Make a difference where God has placed you. Thanks for joining us today on The Verdict. I'm Michelle Davies. Today's program with Pastor John Monroe was produced and sponsored by Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
