Main Point: God sees the Church as living stones who are chosen and chiseled for His good purpose.
God calls “precious” what some have rejected
1 Peter 2:4-5 ESV
“As you come to him, 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.”
- Rejected Stones become Precious Stones
- Now, there are also some things in our life that we call precious that must be rejected
Our obedience to His chiseling shapes us into living stones
- There are some things in our life that we have chosen to live with, that God would like to get rid of
- Each day, we wake up in two core realities: one, you are perfectly precious to Him. Two, you are absolutely in need of chiseling. This never goes away!
- The spiritual house God is building is made up of many living stones fitted together
Genesis 2:18 ESV
Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.”
We are fitted together in both unity and diversity
Ephesians 2:19-22 ESV
“So then, you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.”
- Chosen Stones become Chiseled Stones which are then “being built up as a spiritual house”
- We don’t come to the household of God perfectly shaped already but rather we come as “rejected stones” that are chiseled and shaped into “living stones” and perfectly fitted in God’s House
- Our chiseling helps US FIT TOGETHER BETTER
- He saw all our potential even before we were born
Psalm 139: 13-14 ESV
“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.”
- Here is a practical prayer for chiseling that David gives us- I’ve prayed this hundreds of times
Psalm 139: 23-24 ESV
“Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!”
- Search me God for areas that need chiseling
- “Lead me in the way of everlasting”- start hammering Lord
Once I have begun being chiseled, I commit to a loving community of others who are willing to be chiseled and we are all “fitted together” for God’s Purpose.
Unity is diversity, not conformity
Ephesians 4: 11-12 ESV
“And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds, and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.”
- To be equipped is part of the chiseling process- I see it this way- chiseling has two purposes
- It gets rid of areas that don’t belong
- It reveals what is already placed in the stone
- I look out in this community, and I see beautiful blocks of marble who have gifts of Jesus
- I see apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, and evangelists
Closing:
This week let’s commit to setting aside time in prayer to allow God to chisel away things that do not belong. We submit our thought life, our emotions, our reactions, our actions, our words, our intentions, and our motivations to His hand.
Like David, simply pray: “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me and lead me in the way everlasting!”
Like the statue of David, all that God has called you to be is already in the stone, He just must chisel some things away to reveal it. Pray for our church as well, that we would be fitted together as a community being built up into a temple for the Lord.
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