“Treasuring God’s Mission”
1 Pt. 2:4-10
Visiting an unfamiliar city, a man left his hotel to go to dinner. As he walked along the unfamiliar streets he saw a sign in the window of a shop which said, “Chinese Laundry.” The next morning he gathered his soiled laundry and went back to the shop, went in and laid his laundry on the counter. He said to the clerk, “I’m traveling. Could you have this done by 5:00 when I will pick it up? Just package it, light starch in the shirts.” The man behind the counter looked perplexed. “Sir, I don’t understand what it is you want me to do for you.” The traveler said, “I want you to do my laundry.” Still the clerk looked confused. So the traveler said, “Last night I saw the sign in your window that said Chinese Laundry - I’d like you to do my laundry.” “Oh,” said the clerk. “You don’t understand. This isn’t a laundry; it’s a sign shop.”
Sometimes signs can be misleading and people can be deceived. Let’s face it - signage is important. So we need to recognize that Hope Reformed Church is a sign to the world which communicates God. Do we treasure God’s mission so passionately that the world sees God’s heart in us? What is it we communicate? Are we deceitful or accurate in our representation of God to the world? Peter lays out a blueprint of three priorities for the Church to follow in engaging in the mission of God.
According to Peter one priority of God’s mission for the church is to engage in SHARING CHRIST’S LOVE. “As you come to him, the living stone ...you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house...” THE CHURCH IS A PRECIOUS COMMUNITY OF LOVE AND LIFE. Our life comes from a life-giving stone. Our community begins with Jesus Christ the life giver. In ancient times the cornerstone was more than symbolic and celebrative - it was literally the first stone put in place which provided the strength and stability to the entire foundation and building. Peter is saying that we have no meaning and life apart from Jesus Christ. He gives the life to our community.
Let’s understand, then, that Christianity is a community. When we confess that Jesus Christ is Lord we become part of Christ’s body; we become part of the church. To claim I can be a Christian but do not need the church is wrong. To claim Jesus Christ is to become part of his body in the world, the church. It’s to become a member of a community held together and given life by Jesus Christ. That’s why Peter goes on to say that WE ARE ALL LIVING STONES. While Jesus is the foundational cornerstone we are the living stones which make up the rest of the structure. Together we radiate the presence of God in the world. What a privilege! We are the living stones because God has chosen us and we belong to him! In Ephesians 5:25 Paul says that “Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her...” He loves the church; He loves Hope Church so much that he died for her! He did not choose us because of our worth or because we were the best available - rather he chose us because He chose us! Remember how the Old Testament talks about the choosing of Israel? “The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers.” The Lord loves - because He loves! The Lord chooses - because He chooses! He’s called each of us - because He’s called us! Nothing can explain the love of God for us. The wonder is not that God chooses some and not others, but that God chooses any at all!
What do people see when they look at us? Do they feel left out, unwelcome, unable to live life at our level? Or do they feel they can come as they are and be accepted and loved?
So we are living stones, A COMMUNITY OF GREAT VALUE SO WE CAN PASS ON A GREAT LOVE. There was once a family who brought their youngest child, a girl, to be baptized. When it came time for the baptism the family went forward, including a very happy three year old brother. When the baptism was over, the minister carried the baby into the middle of the congregation, expressing what a delight it was to welcome this little child into the larger famil, the Church. The little brother had followed the minister, and now standing beside him in the aisle he noticed a grandpa aged man sitting and smiling. In a voice that all could hear, the boy said, “Would you like to touch our baby?” “I would,” said the elderly man. So the minister gently held out the baby for the moan to touch. The man seemed so pleased that the little boy said, “Maybe someone else would like to touch her.” As the minister walked down the aisle hand after hand reached out and touched the baby.”Now,” said the minister, “those of you who have touched the child should pass that loving touch to others around you, until all have been touched.”
How do we touch the people who walk by us? How are we – how are you – sharing Christ’s love?
A second priority of God’s mission for the church is SHAPING CHRIST’S PEOPLE. “...To be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” Peter says we are, first of all, to have a SACRIFICIAL CHARACTER. Remember how Paul put it in Romans 12:1? “Therefore, I urge you, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - which is your spiritual worship.” WE ARE TO BE HOLY AS HE IS HOLY. To live a holy life is to live a life separated out for, dedicated to God. What, for example, makes the Bible “holy?” It’s God’s word. What makes Israel the “holy land?” It’s God’s land. What makes the temple holy? It’s God’s temple. So we are holy because we are set apart for God. We are to live lives wholly dedicated, wholly offered, to God.
The New Testament portrays several offerings. We offer our BODIES to God (2 Pt. 1:11-12): “...abstain from sinful desires...live such good lives among the pagans that, although they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” There are offerings of MONEY OR MATERIAL GOODS (referenced in many places). And there are sacrifices of PRAISE TO GOD AND OF DOING GOOD. (Heb. 13:15-16): “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” In other words everything we do should be offered to God. This is what makes Christians so special: it’s holiness - commitment - focus. And that’s what we’re called to - offer the free willing service of a royal subject. C. S. Lewis once wrote, “How little people know who think that holiness is dull. When one meets the real thing...it is irresistible. If even 10% of the world’s population had it, would not the whole world be converted and happy before a year’s end?”
What is the state of your holiness? F. B. Meyer once penned, “It is urgently needful that the Christian people of our charge should come to understand that they are not a company of invalids, to be wheeled about, or fed by hand, cosseted, nursed, and comforted, the minister being the Head Physician and Nurse; but a garrison in an enemy’s country, every soldier of which should have some post or duty, at which he should be prepared to make any sacrifice rather than quitting.” Does your life show the world a sacrificial character?
Secondly, we are to have a PRIESTLY CHARACTER. Twice Peter says we are to be a royal priesthood. We, like the Old Testament priest, are TO BRING OTHERS INTO THE PRESENCE OF GOD. In Latin the word for priest is pontifex. It means “bridge builder.” We are to build the bridges over which people can cross into the presence of Christ. It is our task to escort people into His presence. Are we sensitive to people’s needs? Do we really care for them and care about their needs? Are we willing to humble ourselves and serve them? Do we live such admirable lives that our very daily living draws them to Christ?
There are times when most of us have felt like Lucy in the Peanuts comics. There she stands, shaking her little fist in defiance, proclaiming: “I know everybody in this family hates me. I’m gonna go where I’m appreciated! There must be a place in the world where I’d be appreciated.” She turns to leave, then stops and sheepishly says, “Give me a hint.” PEOPLE NEED A PLACE WHERE THEY CAN FEEL PROTECTED, LOVED, APPRECIATED, AND ACCEPTED.
In ancient Israel, six cities were founded as “cities of refuge.” The law of Moses declared that if a person killed another person – without malice or premeditation – he could flee to one of those cities and live there free, without any harm coming to him. He could do so until the death of the High priest at which time he could return home without fear. Once each year, the roads leading to those cities were repaired and cleaned of any obstacles and stones so that the person fleeing for life would not stumble over any hindrance on way to the refuge. God still has in mind a place of refuge for our mistakes, a place of hiding for our sins – a place where they can feel protected, loved, appreciated, and accepted. The place is in Jesus Christ himself.
Thus our MISSION AS THE CHURCH IS TO CLEAR THE ROADS, TO BUILD THE BRIDGES, TO PROVIDE THE REFUGE so that others will not stumble over the trash and litter of life. Does your life invite others to come to Christ or is it so filled with garbage, litter, and obstacles that people never make it to the church and thus to Christ? If your life is the only reflection of God that some person sees, would he or she see a bridge or a blockade? Strive for priestly character.
The third priority of God’s mission for the church is SHINING GOD’S LIGHT. “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the wonderful praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” In addition to reaching out and meeting needs, as we have done throughout the service today, and which is part of shining God’s light, WE ARE TO BE EVANGELISTIC. We love in the name of Christ. We serve in the name of Christ. We care in the name of Christ. We give in the name of Christ. We are to declare the triumphs of Jesus Christ. We are to share His story of the cross, the tomb, the resurrection, the ascension. And we are to share His triumph in our lives, how He has called us to himself – we must share our stories. Not everyone is gifted to be an evangelist but everyone of us is to evangelize BY GIVING A REASON FOR THE HOPE WITHIN US AND BY INVITING OTHERS TO CHRIST.
In Fort Worth Texas a young man took his date on a motorcycle ride. They were headed from Fort Worth to Dallas, out for some fun and relaxation on a pretty summer evening. As they were riding down the freeway, the driver of a big semi truck in the left-hand-lane, not seeing them, pulled into and over the couple in the right-hand lane. The accident was immediate and furious; all traffic stopped instantly. The young man and his fiancé both died. Both being faithful Christians, their family, friends, and churches were stunned. A couple of months later a young man showed up in a local church for membership. He was asked for his testimony and to explain why he wanted to take such a sudden step. He replied, “A most cataclysmic even happened in my life just a few weeks ago. I was driving my car behind a huge semi truck. The driver of the truck didn’t see two motorcyclists in the right-hand lane and pulled his truck literally over the top of them. I pulled my car over and ran back to see if there was anything I could do. I found this young couple caught in the agony of dying. The girl had her arm completely severed. I soon found the boy and both his legs and one of his arms were gone. He clearly could not live long. I just didn’t know what to do. I leaned forward and said to the young man, ‘Is there anything I can do to help you?’ The young man said, and I quote, ‘No, there’s nothing you can do to help me. I’ll be dead in just a little while. But there’s possibly something I can do to help you. Have you ever asked Jesus Christ to become Lord of your life?’ In that moment I realized how stupid and foolish my whole life had been. I knelt by this dying man and committed my life to Jesus Christ. He died before the ambulance got there. But as a result of the hope I discovered that night, Christ is going to get the rest of my life for as long as I live.”
Considering Jesus’ death will He get the rest of your life as long as you live?
