Messages from Malachi

SERMON NOTES

Sunday, September 26, 2004

THE NAME WE NEED
Name Above All Names, 1 of an 8-Part Series

Rev. Jimmy Painter

Cresthill Baptist Church

Diamonds: (Ladies, can I get an Amen?) Diamonds are beautiful. (Ladies, can I get a witness?) Diamonds are a treasured gem, a pure, hardened form of crystallized carbon, forged deep in the depths of the earth. That diamond is mined and cut and shipped and placed in a jeweler’s display case. And so it is that this rare gem is seemingly magically released from its jeweler’s prison by the mere opening of a brother in the Lord’s wallet! (Fellas, can you say Preach it, Pastor, Preach it!)

A diamond is beautiful because of its many facets, each reflecting brilliantly different beams of light. DeBeers Jewelers declared in their ads that Diamonds Are Forever. Ladies and gentlemen, members and honored guests, I am here today to tell you that they are not! One look at the Divorce Rate will tell you that! But, I’ll tell you “who” is forever – that’s Jesus! Jesus Christ the Lord is a multi-faceted “Diamond”. One of the ways that the Bible helps us to see the blazing, fiery facets of Christ is by the use of different names and titles to describe the different facets of His nature and His ministry. First Peter presents several different names for Christ Jesus our Lord. Let’s take a look at but three of His Wonderful Names. Let’s take a look at three Names We Need for Jesus.

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to God's elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance. (NIV)

Peter was among the inner circle of Christ’s first disciples. Peter was that one Jesus addressed when He said, “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18) Peter was that one who in a moment of fear denied Christ three times at His arrest. But Peter was also that one who was restored by the resurrected Christ to wholeness, wellness and fellowship. Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost, preached, and over three thousand people gave their lives to Christ! The Spirit came down, the Word went out, and the Church rose up! Peter preached Jesus, because Peter knew Jesus as His SAVIOR. Here in 1 Peter 1:- 3, he writes to saved, born-again Believers scattered in the five provinces of Asia Minor. Three of these five provinces were represented when Peter preached on the Day of Pentecost – Pontus, Cappodocia, and Asia were there on that day. (Acts 2:7-12) Paul went to Galatia and started churches (Acts 16:6) and Acts 16:7 tells us that Paul also ministered in Bithynia. All of these Believers experientially knew Jesus by the name “SAVIOR”. These saved saints were “scattered”, the Bible says, throughout these regions as “strangers in this world”. Why? It is because our King is Jesus and His Kingdom is Heaven. Hebrews 11:13 tells us that we are strangers, resident aliens, and pilgrims upon this planet. Our citizenship is in Heaven, and we are members of that colony of Heaven upon this planet called “the Church”.

“There is a traditional statement from the annals of antiquity that is attributed to Jesus. That statement is this: ‘The world is a bridge. The wise man will pass over it, but he will not build his house upon it.’ ” (Paul A. Cedar, Communicator’s Com., 1st Peter, p. 112) That is precisely what Peter is preaching! Life on earth is only temporary, BUT salvation offered to us in Christ, well, that’s ETERNAL!

That is why Peter, in 1Peter 1, verses 3 and 19 writes, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, … but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect." (NIV)

Salvation is ours by, through, and because of Christ. He is not just “the savior” but, bless God, He is “MY SAVIOR”! And He is “Your Savior” if you’ve accepted Him as your Savior. “SAVIOR”: That’s Jesus’ name, and that’s the NAME WE NEED!

1 Peter 2:4 and 6 declare, "As you come to him, the living Stone--rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him For in Scripture it says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” (NIV)

Jesus is not just any “stone”, He is the “LIVING STONE”, rock-solid, “rejected by (most) men, but (He is) chosen and precious to God the Father in Heaven. Jesus is not just a “living stone”, but He is God’s carefully selected ‘CORNERSTONE”. God has called us to a life of “building” not “destroying”. God has called us to accept Christ as Savior, and then to grow in our Spirit-Life, building up the Body of Christ, His Church. Peter is writing primarily to Jewish Christians dispersed throughout the world because of the persecution they are suffering just because they claim the name of Christ. Therefore, when Peter talks about building a “house” (2:5), he is talking about more than just “A HOUSE”. Peter is talking about building a “Spiritual House.” Peter is talking to his Jewish brothers and sisters in Christ about THE TEMPLE!

The Bible tells us that under the First Covenant with God, the original temple was built by King Solomon. The Bible also tells us that under the New Covenant, the “Spiritual Temple” is being built by none other than the Lord Jesus Christ Himself! It is being built with “living stones” (v. 5). And what exactly are “living stones”? They are the very lives of the likes of you and me, who have become spiritually alive, born again, saved through our faith in Jesus Christ. And the foundation of that Temple is none other than Christ, “the Cornerstone”.

And what is a “Cornerstone”? Webster defines a “cornerstone” as “a stone which lies at the corner of two walls and serves to unite them; specifically a stone built into a corner of the foundation of an important edifice as the actual … starting point in the building.” That is who Jesus is! He is “The Cornerstone”! He is our “Rock”! Church, Jesus is that Chief Cornerstone who seeks to be the master builder of our lives. Jesus is that master-builder who wants to build us together into His Holy Temple – His Church! That is why we can sing, “On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.” (Edward Mote)

But, Church, we also need to know this about that name of Jesus – Jesus the “STONE”. First Peter 2:8 tells us that Jesus is “a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall. They stumble because they disobey the message – which is also what they were destined for." The Greek word for “stumbling stone” is the word SCANDALON. In its verb form it means “to be offended”. Now to many this seems like such a strange way to refer to Jesus. But, Church, we must come to understand that if you stumble upon the name of Jesus, you will be offended by Him – you will be scandalized by the SCANDALON! First Peter 2:8 is a direct quote from Isaiah 8:14. Isaiah prophesied some 700 years before the birth of Christ that He would be “a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.” Isaiah prophesied that Jesus would be despised and rejected, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. (Isaiah 53:3) Jesus would be and continues to be a disturbing presence in our world, for Jesus “comforts the afflicted and afflicts the comfortable.” (Vance Havener)

“Jesus understood Himself as this SCANDALON. In Matthew 21:44 He says, ‘He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.’ There are only two possibilities of encountering Him; we must stumble either way. In the first, we stumble and are broken, so we can be made truly whole and useful to God, who works only through brokenness. In this case, stumbling becomes the occasion for true faith. The second outcome speaks of judgment. There are some who will never respond in faith to their fall over that stone. These are the ones who will say, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” Stubbornly they will not realize there is no place else to go. They will be crushed by the judgment. This “bad news” of the stumbling stone demands true faith and removes false expectations of what it means to follow Christ. The SCANDALON is the only answer.” (Michard Card, Moody Monthly, July/August 1987, p. 65)

The Stone. The “Living Stone”. The “Cornerstone”. The Stumbling Stone”. That is Jesus’ name, and that is the name we need!

1 Peter, Chapter 2, Verse 25 says, "For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls." (NIV)

Christ came, lived a sinless life, and died for your sins and mine upon the cross. The Bible says that He was buried, but three days later He arose victorious over sin, death, guilt, and the grave. The Bible says that He ascended into Heaven, and right this very moment He is seated at the right hand of God, where He goes before God the Father on our behalf. He is our advocate. He is our intercessor. He is our overseer. He is our SHEPHERD.

1 Peter, Chapter 5, Verse 4 tells us this: And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away. (NIV)

Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep … I know my sheep (said Jesus) and my sheep know me.” (John 10:11, 14) When our shepherd appears on that great and final day, we who have received Christ as Savior and Lord, we will receive that which verse 4 promises. For on that day, we will receive “a crown of glory that will never fade away.”

Paul, in 1 Corinthians, Chapter 9, utilizes terminology from the arena of sports. First Corinthians 9:25 declares, "Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown [read Super Bowl ring, Stanley Cup, NBA, World Series, or Olympic Gold Medal] … they do it to get a crown and that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. That’s the “Crown of Glory”! And that crown will never tarnish, never rust, never rot and never fade!

1 Peter Chapter One, Verses 3 and 4 declares, Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance [a crown] that can never perish, spoil or fade--kept in heaven for you,

Now, I have never worn a crown, and there are many, especially those in my immediate family who will tell you I don’t even look good in a hat. But I can’t wait for that day when I take off this old flesh, ascend to the heights of heaven, see my Jesus face to face, and He will place a crown right on the top of my head! And I will look gooood wearing it, too! And Christian, you will look good wearing yours, too. And Christian, in John 10:16, Jesus, our Shepherd said, I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. My fellow “SHEEP” – let’s get busy investing, inviting and including our lost and unchurched friends to come to church and come to Christ, for He has their crown just waiting for them to come and claim. And, oh, what a sight to see all of God’s children in that Celestial City, all wearing our crowns, and looking all around and seeing our friends and neighbors wearing their crowns, too. We will see them there because we followed our Shepherd after His lost sheep!

We need a SAVIOR to rescue us from sin. We need a STONE on which to build our lives. And we need a SHEPHERD to take care of us each and every day. Peter tells us that Jesus is just what we need! JESUS IS OUR SAVIOR! JESUS IS OUR STONE! JESUS IS OUR SHEPHERD! JESUS! JESUS! JESUS! JESUS IS HIS BLESSED NAME, AND JESUS IS THE ONLY NAME WE NEED!