As Christians, we face trials and temptations every day.
These trials and temptations may bring with them varied and different struggles.
We may be struggling with personal matters
What do I do in this situation?
How do I overcome this predicament?
We may be struggling with personal feelings
I feel depressed
I feel frustrated
I feel a failure
I feel used
I feel no one listens to me
We may be struggling with personal finances
It’s getting harder and harder to live comfortably these days
The bills just keep coming in…how am I going to pay them?
We may be struggling with personal hurts
I’m sick of people taking me for granted
I’m sick of people saying nasty things about me
No one cares about me…and there is no one to help me
We may be struggling with personal busyness
Life is so busy….why am I so busy?
I don’t seem to have time for this or that
I wish the world would just stop so that I can catch my breath
What are you struggling with this morning? What are your struggles in life?
When I am struggling with different things, I often think of Joseph. Joseph faced many trials and temptations in his life but he faced them with a godly viewpoint (Gen 45:4ff) and that made a difference to his attitude and countenance.
Generally speaking, life is about struggles, trials, and temptations.
We could say it is a normal part of life. As Christians, we should not be surprised by these
struggles because they are a normal part of our Christian life.
How can we face these struggles, these trials, these temptations and still live a normal, victorious Christian life?
I believe the apostle Peter gave us the answer in this passage that was read this morning.
In fact, he gave us four keys to open the door to a normal, victorious Christian life.
The first key to a normal, victorious Christian life involves…
1. Our ongoing fellowship with Jesus Christ (2:4a)
Look at the beginning of verse 4, “Coming to Him…”
Coming to Him speaks of our ongoing fellowship with Jesus Christ.
These three words are very special and significant for the Christian. Sometimes, we read over them and fail to see the fullness of what Peter is saying here.
Why should we come to Jesus? Why should we have ongoing fellowship with Christ?
A. He is the living stone—He is the giver of life (2:4b)
Look at the beginning of verse 4 again, “Coming to Him, as to a living stone…”
There are two aspect of coming to Jesus….
The first aspect involves coming to Jesus for salvation
Remember the words of Jesus, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light”
(Matthew 11:28-30).
We come to Jesus for salvation for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12).
When we come to Jesus for salvation, Peter says in 1:23 we are born again not of corruptible seen but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever.”
Yes, we come to Jesus for salvation but also…
We come to Jesus for life for our daily Christian walk.
Coming to Him introduces a repetitive approach to Jesus. Keep on coming to Him.
These three words are telling us to keep going back to the same source that brought us life in the first place.
As the apostle Paul said, “As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him…” (Colossians 2:6).
In other words, keep coming to Him. He is the source of your Christian life. After all, He is the giver of life.
B. He is the chosen stone [one] – precious to God (2:4c)
Look at the end of verse 4, “but chosen by God and precious.”
Remember Peter previously said in 1:20, “He [Christ] indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifested in the last times for you [for me].”
God chose Jesus Christ to be the vehicle through whom salvation would come but also Jesus Christ is the person through whom we live our daily Christian life.
Jesus is the chosen one—precious to God. Therefore, we need to come to Him.
C. We belong to the household of God (2:5a)
Look at the beginning of verse 5, “You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house…”
We belong to the household of God. We belong to God’s family. Family is special. It’s place of security, a place of protection, a place where we can find sanctuary.
We come to Jesus because He brings us security, protection, and sanctuary.
D. We offer our service through Him (2:5b)
Look at the end of verse 5, “…a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”
Our service, our ministry, our praises, all that we do as Christians are really based upon our fellowship with Jesus.
As Jesus works in our hearts, He works through our lives.
As Jesus said, “…without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5)
Jesus is the source of all that we are and all that we do. No wonder the apostle Peter encouraged his readers to come to Jesus…to keep coming to Jesus.
Is that your habit? Are you characterized as one who comes to Jesus?
Sadly, many will reject the one whom God has chosen to be our Savior and Lord.
Look at the middle of verse 4 again, “Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by
men…”
We reject Jesus to our peril.
The second key to a normal, victorious Christian life involves…
2. Ongoing trust in Jesus
Why do we need ongoing truth in Christ? Two reasons…
A. He is the chief cornerstone (2:6a)
Look at the beginning of verse 6, “Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, ‘Behold, I lay
in Zion a Chief cornerstone, elect, precious…”
The cornerstone here refers to God’s foundation stone.
Jesus Christ is the foundation on which our Christian lives are being built.
As the apostle Paul said, “For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:11).
Jesus Himself said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).
B. He will not let us down (2:6b)
Look at the end of verse 6, “And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.”
I believe as we put our trust in Him and build our lives upon the person of Jesus Christ, God will not put us to shame.
In fact, as we see God working in our lives, he will become more precious to us.
Look at the beginning of verse 7, “Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious.”
Again, the sad reality of the Christ message is that some will continue to reject Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
Look at the end of verse 7 and all of verse 8, “But to those who are disobedient, ‘The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone,’ and ‘a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.’ They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed.”
As I said before, we reject Jesus to our peril.
The third key to a normal, victorious Christian life involves…
3. Our ongoing identity with God
We are a special people in Jesus Christ (2:9a). Why are we special?
Look at the beginning of verse 9, “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people…”
A. We are a chosen people
B. We are a holy people—a people set apart unto God
C. We are a very special people of God
The fourth key to a normal, victorious Christian life involves…
4. Our ongoing witness for God (2:9b)
Look at the end of verse 9, “That you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”
Our privilege position carries a big responsibility.
A. We are called to proclaim the praises of God. Why?
We are no longer in darkness but we are in His marvelous light.
B. We have experienced the mercy of God
Look at verse 10, “Who once were not a people of God but are now the people of God, who had not obtain mercy but now have obtained mercy.”
If we have tasted the grace and mercy of God, you would think that we would tell others about it.
There is something special about sharing our faith in Jesus Christ. I believe God truly blesses us and we see the importance of being in close relationship with Jesus.
One of the greatest ways to share our faith is in the struggles that we face every day. People will see if we truly trust Jesus Christ.
Conclusion:
Living a normal, victorious Christ live involves…
coming to Jesus every day, trusting Him in all things, remembering that we are special people to God.
I believe when that happens in our life, we will reflect Jesus Christ in our struggles and we will be the witness God has called us to be.
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