The Cornerstone
Truck commercial - Like a Rock - Chevy
I’ve got a chevy, its a rock, just sits there, doesn’t do anything
The prison Alcatraz was called The Rock
People use the term Rock, as a nick-name for diamonds.
Insurance Co. - “get a piece of the Rock” (show Gibraltar)
These terms, phrases (and others) indicate something solid, dependable, tough, strong.
We are not recognized by the state yet, as Cornerstone Christian Church, but when we are, it’ll be very appropriate.
This body already has great strength and depth.
There are many youth & adults who are strong in the scriptures, who have served the Lord for years and been faithful in all things.
But the ultimate strength of the Church is not the body (you, I or even all of us combined); the strength is the Head, the Bridegroom, the Cornerstone - Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 2:19-20 reminds us, “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone.”
This & other scriptures we are looking at this morning remind us who this church & every other church must be built upon - CHRIST!
If we build our lives or this congregation on ANYTHING else but Christ, we will not last - we will fail!
Let’s see what the scripture says about this Cornerstone.
A. LAID IN ZION (Is. 28:16)
Dark period of history for the two kingdoms of Hebrew people.
Both Israel (northern 2 tribes) and Judah (southern 10 tribes) had turned away from God.
There was a few good kings to the south, but ultimately both groups turned their backs on Jehovah God.
The kings of Israel and Judah as a whole built their nations on cheap unstable stones, the workmanship had been shoddy and when the crisis came, they crumbled.
In the face of impending doom, destruction and instability, God speaks of a sure foundation, a ROCK!
The word, ZION, has several references in the OT & NT:
1. A section of the city of Jerusalem
2. The entire city of David, his home, the capital
3. The entire country of Judah
4. The heavenly Jerusalem
5. In general terms, people who are in the
presence of God and who have His protection
There is speculation about the who and what of this cornerstone.
1. Some say it refers to King David and his throne
2. Some say it refers to the city, Jerusalem
3. Still others say it is a prophecy about Jesus
I find it difficult to have confidence in the first two because of the four qualifying phrases in this verse.
King David, even though he “was a man after God’s own heart”, made serious mistakes in judgment and character.
His son Absolom actually forced him out of Jerusalem for a time.
Making reference to Jerusalem is even a more difficult stretch.
So many times it was t/home of idol-worshipping kings & queens, a place where prophets were ignored and even persecuted.
In history, Jerusalem was destroyed more than once.
The cornerstone seems best to be a prophecy about Jesus.
What does it say about Him?
1. Tested stone
A very hard stone that has undergone numerous tests & proved to be reliable and can be used as a measure against other stones.
Jesus is easily identified in this description.
Where others are weak, Jesus is strong.
Where others fail, Jesus succeeds.
Where others are limited, Jesus is limitless.
Where others sin, Jesus is perfect.
Where others die, Jesus lives.
Jesus passes all tests, w/out a blemish, He remains t/only standard.
2. Precious cornerstone
Is there anyone or anything more precious than Jesus?
Can anyone or anything lead you to life everlasting? NO not one
Lord, You are more precious than silver, Lord You are more costly than gold, Lord You are more beautiful than diamonds, And nothing I desire compares with You!
3. Sure foundation
By the time I was a teen, my grandmothers house was in shambles.
Of course it was well over 100 years old, and had weathered 9 kids and harsh Illinois country living.
I can remember walking from one room, to the next and feeling the floor sag beneath my weight. (my weight)
Floor joists rotten, thought we would go right through the floor.
Jesus is a sure foundation - tried and true!
4. The one who trusts will never be dismayed
The person who put his or her trust in God has a serenity and a calm deliberateness which is not possible otherwise.
To refuse to entrust my way to God is to open myself to a hectic & feverish existence in which I rush here and there trying with decreasing success to control every part of my life.
To commit my ways to Him may not increase my success but it’ll grant peace thru t/realization that my times are in His hands
The ultimate foundation for trust in God is the character of God as revealed in Jesus. In His life and work all that the Bible has said about the trustworthiness of God comes to fulfillment.
The bottom line is this; will we build our lives on human schemes or divine trustworthiness?
Is Jesus the Rock on which YOU stand?
B. THE BUILDERS REJECTED THE STONE (Ps 118:22)
A prediction of the future, a prophecy specifically about Jesus and how the religious leaders of His day would treat Him.
Seems hard to believe, after the descriptions we’ve just read concerning Jesus, but yes, He will be and was rejected.
In building a wall, you would only throw out blocks or stones that are damaged, making them unusable.
You would not get rid of any good stones.
Yet they did with Jesus. Why?
Because He didn’t fit their building plans!
They weren’t looking for a baby, they sought a man.
They weren’t looking for someone who loved all people, including tax-collectors & prostitutes, they sought one like themselves, a good Jewish man, who only hung out w/good Jewish men.
They weren’t looking for a man who followed God’s ways, they sought a man who obeyed their man-made laws.
They weren’t looking for a servant, they sought a powerful ruler.
Yet their efforts to destroy this stone were in vain.
Try as they might, THE cornerstone, remained the cornerstone.
Unfortunately for them, not their cornerstone.
They lived in a different building, waiting for THEIR cornerstone to arrive, & in t/mean time t/building collapsed w/them inside
You have seen the destruction of floods and earthquakes recently.
Building have been left in ruins, strong building. Yet in ruins.
If you were to look outside of “your spiritual house” would Jesus’ name be on the cornerstone?
If not, get out of the house, cause the rains are coming down & the floods are coming up and your house is about to go SPLAT.
C. CHRIST IS THE CORNERSTONE (Acts 4:10-11)
Peter and John have just healed a crippled man through the power of Jesus, most in the crowd think this is wonderful, but there are always those who are critical and negative.
The religious leaders threw Peter and John into jail and the next day interrogated them, specifically about the power used.
Peter said I’ll tell you, it’s by the power of Jesus, whom you crucified, but God raised from the dead.
Then Peter quotes from the passage we just looked at in Psalms.
Since these were men of knowledge, this revelation should have sent them to their knees heaping ashes upon their heads.
Jesus had fulfilled the prophecy and they were THE BUILDERS, they were guilty of rejecting the cornerstone, the very one they had waited on for so long.
Was there great repentance and sorrow? No only threats and warnings to be quiet - OR ELSE!
Peter stood before a powerful group of men & spoke w/boldness about Jesus, in such a way that he was risking his life.
He was not defending himself or John, he was defending Jesus.
What this court would do with him and John mattered not, his concern was to glorify Jesus as the Savior.
Peter realized his words and life rested on the cornerstone and even death could not shake this house.
Still today, Jesus builds strong homes.
If He is your cornerstone, your spiritual walls will be strong; strong enough to oppose the enemy and remain firm in the time of trials, tribulations and even crisis.
D. THE LIVING STONE & CHOSEN PEOPLE (I Pe 2:4-8)
Peter brings these scriptures together, adding one more ingredient, US! Yes we too fit into the picture.
1. We are being built into a spiritual house
We know that Peter’s name means rock, but now we too when we connect with Christ become a rock, a living stone, as part of Christ’s church, His building.
The Old Testament temple was the very presence of God. This was Israel’s connection to God.
Yet walls kept people from drawing close to God.
Now, the walls have all been torn down, God is in plain view, accessible to everyone at all times.
But He again begins to build anew.
He starts with Himself.
But He doesn’t build walls of earthly stones, no, He uses living, breathing stones.
People like you and I are invited into the very presence of God.
Christianity is therefore community, the individual Christian only finds his true place when he is built into the whole.
Those who say I don’t need to “go to church”, I can be a Christian right here by myself, have missed this vital message.
From my heart - this past several months, you by your lives have reminded me of this fact in vivid, beautiful colors.
Not only are we a part of this spiritual house, but:
2. We are a Holy priesthood
The priesthood and it’s ministry are a privilege enjoyed by all.
We are consecrated and separated to God, not by our own moral integrity, but by the blood of Jesus, that makes us worthy.
We all have access to God, everyone worships Him day & night.
3. We offer spiritual sacrifices
Not animals, for Christ’s died once for all, ALSO
No longer do a few offer sacrifices for many, now I offer for me & you offer for you.
We can know with certainty that our offering or sacrifice will be accepted and pleasing to God.
What do we offer:
We offer daily devotion and obedience, praise and thanksgiving, and practical ministry to meet the needs of man.
All three of these pieces fit together perfectly.
Here’s what it comes down to:
Christ is indeed the cornerstone - a tested, precious, sure foundation and those who place their trust in Him will not be dismayed.
Many have rejected Him, and that rejection has lead to their destruction, but He still remains the cornerstone.
Those who do accept Him are securely built into a spiritual house, have total access to God and offering their lives and a sacrifice of praise and worship.
Seems like a pretty easy choice to me - what about you?
If you need to build your life on the solid rock of Jesus Christ today - come up here while we sing this song.
Make this your Decision song - The Solid Rock!
