New Vocation

John Updike was an American novelist, poet and short story writer.

In his short story, Pigeon Feathers, he presents a jarring description of the end of life according to secularism.

It is with its secularism's belief that human history is accidental by nature.

And therefore, because it's of accident, what we have in history is an accident.

Then everything is without purpose.

It's without a direction in life or any ultimate goal.

It is just what it is.

That's it.

And so in this short story of Pigeon Feathers, he has David, the character, has a vision of his end of life.

And he writes, David was visited by an exact vision of death.

A long hole in the ground, no wider than a body.

Down into which you were drawn while the white faces receded.

You try to reach for them, but your arms are pinned.

Shovels pour dirt in your face.

There you will be forever.

In an upright position.

Blind and silent.

And in time, no one will remember you.

And you will never be called.

And unaltering darkness reigns.

Where once there were stars.

It's pretty bleak.

That is the essence of secularism's view of all things.

You just end.

That's it.

And a worldview, whatever it is your worldview, it determines how you live now.

What you do with your life now.

If the end is an unalterable darkness, then accumulating as much as you possibly can right now, whether it be possessions or experience,

is the only thing in life because you've only got one shot at it.

That's it.

One shot at life.

Do whatever you can do to bring meaning to your life now because there is no meaning apart from whatever you do for it.

That's it.

In 1 Peter, which we're, our text as we've been told from John this morning, we see an equally jarring end, but it's a very different jarring end.

It's an eternally hopeful end.

It's quite simple.

All of history is heading towards the eternal reign of the risen, ascended Jesus Christ as Lord of all.

That's what 1 Peter, that is what Christianity declares.

So 1 Peter chapter 4 verse 11.

1 Peter 4:11

So that in all things, God may be praised through Jesus Christ.

To him be the glory and the power forever and ever.

Amen.

That is what awaits the Christian at the end is being in the presence of the truly glorious one,

the glorious God under the eternal reign of the merciful Lord Jesus Christ for our everlasting joy.

That's the end.

That is the Christian worldview.

And our vision series this year has been about what does it mean to live now with this new resurrected life in Jesus Christ.

So come back next week and we'll hear more about that and the plausibility and the reasonableness of the resurrection.

How does it mean now until we actually see him face to face?

How do we live?

That's what our vision series.

And our theme today is crucial for understanding life now.

And it's a, this is part three, if you like, of a three-part series.

Not that we've been communicating it like that.

Three-part series.

John, a couple of weeks ago, talked about God building a new people for himself.

I talked about last week about a new freedom that we have.

And it's a freedom.

We're being set free from slavery to self.

Selfishness in order to serve others.

So a new family, new service.

And now I want to just land that for us.

What does it mean for us now in the new vocation that God has called us to?

So three points right there.

If you want to, someone who wants to take notes.

Who are we called to be, first of all?

To be a Christian means, according to 1 Peter, that you are like living stones are being built.

It's a word there that means that you are being fitted together into a spiritual house.

What we are being built into is built into a temple, if you like, a place where God and people dwell together.

Now, to help us understand what 1 Peter is saying there, I'm going to preach the whole Bible to you.

No.

I'll just do a high-level survey.

I'll just do a high-level survey of what the Bible says in terms of one key theme.

The presence of God.

One key thing.

In the beginning, God creates humanity and dwells with them face to face.

It was for humanity's delight.

God is including us into his eternal joy.

People walked and talked with God in the cool of the Garden of Eden.

I cannot imagine what joy and what love of such a relationship with the infinitely powerful and beautiful and good God, created God.

I can't imagine what Adam and Eve experienced in that moment.

But the Bible tells us very quickly in Genesis chapter 3 that that wasn't enough for them.

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

And they wanted to do life their way.

This broke the relationship with God.

They broke the relationship with his world.

Broke humanity themselves.

It cost them God's presence as God removed them from his presence.

The very thing that they were designed for to enjoy the presence of God was now, no longer did they not only deserve it,

but it was also something that they could no longer cope with.

They could no longer cope with the presence of God.

We cannot cope with the truth and the majesty and the glory and the beauty of God's presence as sinful, broken, flawed humanity.

And the consequence of all of this is the world that we now live in.

I'm fast forwarding a whole heap here.

This is the world we live in.

A world that is a world of disease and injustice and violence and suffering and death.

That's our world.

Because God's presence was not enough for us.

And the good news for us is that God refused to leave us in this mess.

His plan was to make and gather to himself a people who would experience his presence again.

What we see in the early days of the Old Testament is that God's presence is manifested occasionally.

You know, it appears to Abraham, it appears to Jacob and to others.

Occasionally.

Comes and then goes.

And then God comes down to Moses at Mount Sinai and he makes a covenant with his people Israel who he has just rescued from slavery in Egypt.

And when God enters this covenant relationship with Israel, he promises that I will now dwell with you.

And he calls them, gives them plans to build a temporary temple, a tabernacle is what it was called.

And in the centre of that tabernacle, in a thing called the Holy of Holies, God's presence dwelt.

But only once a year, only once a year was the high priest and only the high priest was allowed to go in there into the presence of God.

A little bit later in the prophets in the Old Testament.

They look forward to a day when God's presence would be significantly greater and manifested amongst his people.

Isaiah 4 is one example.

Those who are left in Zion, who remain in Jerusalem, will be called holy.

And then the Lord will create over all of Mount Zion and over those who assemble there a cloud of smoke by day and a glow of flaming fire by night.

Over everything, the glory will be a canopy.

It will be a shelter and a shade from the heat of the day and a refuge and a hiding place from the storm and rain.

What that prophecy sounds like is that everyone amongst God's people is going to have the glory of God on them.

God's presence and glory won't be restricted to the tabernacle or the temple anymore.

And what's more, Moses asked God for a full display of his presence in Exodus 33.

And God said to him, no, I can't do that to you because you mere mortals cannot look upon the glory of God and live.

My presence is too much for you.

And Isaiah 4 strangely says that God's glory will be a shelter, a refuge, a hiding place for his people.

How would that be?

How can God's presence be a place of joy rather than a place of fear?

Well, the very end of the prophecy of Zechariah, which is right at the end of the Old Testament,

it says this in chapter 14, verse 20.

What Zach is saying there is that the day is coming when holy to the Lord will be written on every source,

on every pepper grinder, on every thermomix in Jerusalem and Judah, on all of it.

It used to only be written on the items within the temple.

God's holiness will break out and it will empower his people rather than kill them.

When's that going to happen?

Got to fast forward to the New Testament.

And what we're celebrating on Friday and remembering on Friday,

the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on a cross just outside the city walls of Jerusalem.

And when that crucifixion happened, the veil of the temple that separated the Holy of Holies

from every other part of the world, the veil in the temple was torn from top to bottom,

signifying an act initiated by God himself.

The veil was this huge piece of fabric that separated the Holy of Holies from everyone else.

It protected them from God's power and his presence and his glory.

And with the crucifixion of Jesus, it broke open.

Why?

John chapter 1 tells us that the word became flesh, we're speaking about God,

John 1 · chapter mention

and made his dwelling amongst us.

Literally, he tabernacled amongst us.

God's presence was amongst us.

We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son who came from the Father,

full of grace and truth.

God wouldn't let Moses see his glory because it would destroy him.

But in Jesus Christ, we get to see the full unveiled glory and fullness of God.

In fact, 2 Peter chapter 1 verse 3 says that when we become a Christian for the first time,

2 Peter 1:3

we see his divine glory in all its fullness as we gaze upon the crucified, resurrected Jesus Christ

and come to him.

And we also, in that moment, partake in his divine glory.

Because of the work of Jesus Christ to forgive us for our sin and rejecting God's glory,

because of that work, we are called back into the presence and glory of God.

I traced all of that really simply, high levels,

just to say that the Old Testament saints of old would be astounded.

They would be astounded by what we have in Jesus Christ and the permanent indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

The glory of God, the presence of God, and nothing less has broken out into our lives.

If you are a Christian, you are a living stone in the temple of the Holy Spirit.

What does that mean?

Chapter 2 verse 5 again.

You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood,

offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

The Holy Spirit comes into us as we are being built into.

It's a statement that means that we are being fitted together.

As we are being fitted together, we have access to the holiness and the power of God.

The imagery of the living stones being built into a single unit

implies the significance and the purpose of individual Christians cannot be,

cannot be realised apart from the community with other believers.

We have access to this incredible glory as we are fitted together with other living stones.

In fact, it says that God inhabits us as we are fitted together.

So here's one implication of this.

You can stay at home, away from the gathered people.

You can turn on a live stream, and you can say,

God, change me.

God, change me.

I don't want to be part of the Christian community.

Please change me in the privacy of my own home.

It makes perfect sense for God to come into our lives and bring about changes

as we are fitted together with God's new society, the church.

And the problem with staying isolated and asking God for change you

is that you didn't get the way you are by yourself.

Of course, you made some stupid decisions in life.

But most of it is because of other people in your lives.

It's because of the relationships in your life that you're as screwed up as you are.

Screwed up as I am.

As you come into the community of the church,

you access the glory and the presence of God.

Listening to a sermon like this in the privacy of your own home,

and I'm very mindful that there are some categories of people

where this is crucial for you right now.

You're sick.

You're unable to leave your home, so on and so forth.

COVID was a great blessing to have a live stream.

But listening to a sermon like this in the privacy of your own home

or to your commute to work or while you're walking the dog

is nowhere the same as experience of sitting amongst the gathered people of God.

Not even close.

The imagery of the living stones being built into a single unit,

I'll say it again,

implies the significance and the purpose of individual Christians

cannot be realised apart from community with other believers.

And so if you're of the ilk that says,

I've got the Holy Spirit in my life and that's all I need,

the New Testament and God does not agree with you.

It's a fallacy that you have built for yourself.

So that's who, what we are called to be.

What are we called to do?

Second half of verse five again.

To be a holy priesthood offering spiritual sacrifices

acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

The language Peter uses here is that of priesthood.

Again, he's looking back into the Old Testament.

We are not just a temple being built,

but we're also the priests in the temple as well.

Looking back to the Old Testament,

God's glory and his presence was in the temple.

And in those days, Israel had priests who pretty much did everything.

The people were by and large pretty passive in Old Testament Israel.

Only the priests offered the sacrifices.

And what he's saying here is not now, not now.

Because of Jesus, no longer.

Hebrews 13 is making a similar point of 1 Peter 2,

where it says,

Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God

a sacrifice of praise, the fruit of lips that openly profess his name,

and do not forget to do good and to share with others,

for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

Basically, what Hebrews tells us,

as you track the theology of Hebrews,

is that Jesus is the priest to end all priests,

and he's the sacrifice to end all sacrifices.

He is the priest who sacrifices himself for our sake.

He gave his body to atone for our sins once and for all.

And all who are in Jesus now,

who come to him,

become priests,

who are empowered to do ministry

that is pleasing to God.

That is,

ministry,

service of others,

is the new vocation of all Christians.

Of all Christians.

God delights in it,

and he honours it.

Hebrews 13 refers to ministry that involves the word,

the fruit of lips that confess his name.

When you sit with a grieving person

and just share out of your heart

biblical truths about God and Jesus

and grace and forgiveness,

or you're teaching in kids' church,

which some are doing right now,

or share your faith with a friend,

if you confess Jesus' name,

God empowers you as a priest,

and it is pleasing to him.

Regardless of whether people respond

in the way you want them to,

it is pleasing to him.

Hebrews 13 verse 16 also refers to deed ministry.

Hebrews 13:16

Do not forget to do good

and to share with others

for with such sacrifices,

God is pleased.

Some of us are specialists,

you might call it,

in word ministry.

There are others set aside

who are specialists for deed ministry,

but all of us are generalists to do both.

Because of the empowering presence

of the Holy Spirit,

even the weakest and newest Christian

are more empowered

than the Old Testament prophets and priests.

that's phenomenal.

Every Christian,

every single Christian,

even if you became a Christian yesterday,

has the ability to change lives

in a way that the Old Testament priests

and prophets weren't able to.

I'll push it in a little bit further.

One Corinthians,

sorry,

1 Peter 4.10,

which Jackie read out for us,

tells us that every single Christian

has got a gift.

Each of you should use

whatever gift you have received

to serve others

as faithful stewards of God's grace

in its various forms.

Every single Christian

has got certain talents,

certain experiences,

experiences,

aptitudes

that make you

as unique

as a fingerprint

in regard to ministry.

There are some people

in your life

that pretty much

only you

have an opportunity

to reach,

to comfort,

to serve.

And I want to say to you,

for you who are gathered here

right now,

online,

or right here,

you are not here by accident.

It is by God's design.

In God's providence,

you are here

because he wants you

to be part of his eternal plan.

And there are certain things

that he wants you to do.

So,

if you are only,

if you like,

taking

and not giving,

not serving,

not praying,

not being trained

in any way,

it means there are some things

that God

wants us to do

as a church family

for our neighborhood

that we are not

currently able to do.

We are all priests here

to offer spiritual sacrifices

and you are needed.

God is calling you

to minister.

And as we consistently

call you

week in and week out

to take your next step,

we are calling you

to step into your design.

We are calling you

to step into your vocation.

prioritizing God's people,

his eternal spiritual house

over our temporary dwellings

and personal improvement projects

are often too much for us though.

Expressive individualism,

which I talked about last week,

says,

you do you,

I'll do me,

I need to do this for me.

And it does not tolerate

sacrificing of self

for the sake of others.

It might occasionally

for immediate family

and for some friendships

from inner circle,

but really not anyone else.

We even read suggestions

in our day and age

that we would be

significantly happier in life

if we cut out

all the negative people

out of our lives.

And so even the Christian

finds it so much easier

to justify

curating a circle

of acquaintances

who confirm for us

our biases,

never challenge us,

and whose lifestyles

and circumstances

fit perfectly with our own.

We pursue personal preference

consistently in life.

And we are called

by God

in his providence

to do exactly the opposite.

And not just that,

he's empowered us

by his Holy Spirit

to do exactly the opposite.

Jesus went to the cross

for those people,

for all people.

That's the level

of commitment

that he requires

for each of us

and he's calling us into.

We are to cultivate

Christian communities

in which our common characteristic,

our cornerstone,

our foundation

is Jesus Christ

and his service

of all people.

As society fractures

into toxic tribalism,

it is essential

for churches

to form deep,

thick communities

based around

a lot more

than my personal convenience.

Our world needs it.

Do not choose churches

where there are people

just like you.

in fact,

a surefire test

for the gospel-centeredness

of any church

is its ability

to create deep community

across social

and cultural barriers.

And it will cost us.

It will cost us dearly

as we launch

into our vision

in the coming years.

prioritizing long-term

church relationships

may mean

foregoing career advancement

in another city

or stopping

the entertainment,

the cultural

or the sporting activities

that clash

with the gathering

of God's people.

It may mean

sidelining relationships

that merely reflect

my own interests

and preferences

for the sake

of the weaker,

the more needy

or the culturally

different from me.

Right now

at St. Paul's

we have got lots on

and we are taking

some pretty major steps

as a church family.

And there may even

be an assumption

amongst us

well they don't need

my gifts,

they don't need

my financial resistance,

they don't need

my prayers,

they don't need

my service.

I want to say

that is a deadly

assumption

for you.

For you.

If you are too

timid,

too busy

and I say this

gently,

maybe too selfish

to do input

and output

then that is

bad for you.

It is bad

for you.

It is also

bad for us

and it's also

bad for our

neighbourhood.

We have

20 people

right now

signed up

and progressing

through Arthur.

We are starting

a Thursday night

congregation

next term.

Big next steps.

The submission

for building

affordable

and social housing

on our site

has just been

submitted

and right now

in the next

week even

I think it is

we are seeking

to raise

$68,500

to see God's

spiritual house

continue to be

built in our

neighbourhood

and beyond us.

That's what we're

doing right now.

so far

we haven't

even hit

15% of that.

This is what

God is calling

us to do.

This is what

he is calling

you to do.

Give,

serve,

pray,

commit to

seeing God's

presence built.

You've got

one card

on your seat

which I'll

talk about

in a moment

another one

that's coming

in the next

couple of

weeks.

It's about

you taking

your next

step for

your joy.

So how

are we

enabled to

do this?

Where do we

get the power,

the motivation,

the confidence,

the freedom to do

all this?

It's right there

back to 4 and 5

again.

That's my text

for today.

As you come

to him,

the living

stone rejected

by humans

but chosen

by God

and precious

to him,

you also,

like living

stones,

are being built

into a spiritual

house to be

a holy

priesthood

offering spiritual

sacrifices

acceptable to

God through

Jesus Christ.

As you

come to

the living

stone,

Jesus Christ,

the living

stone,

is also

the corner

stone,

the foundation.

He's the

thing that

connects us

all and

holds us

up.

He is the

cornerstone

of what God

is eternally

building in

his people.

In verses

6 and 7,

if we relate

to Jesus

Christ as

our

cornerstone,

we then

will have

the amazing

power to

see change

in our

lives,

the power

to serve

people and

see other

lives changed.

How do

you relate

to him

as your

living

stone?

Four

things,

very briefly.

Firstly,

he is your

foundation.

The

cornerstone

is the

foundation

stone

of the

Old Testament

temple.

It's the

main stone

from which

all other

stones are

measured

and set.

It had

to be

perfectly

placed and

perfectly

true in

order for

the building

to be built.

friends,

it's not

simply enough

just to

believe in

Jesus.

What I

mean by

that is

it's not

simply enough

just to

give some

sort of

intellectual

assent to

him existing

and being

God.

He needs

to be

who he

says he

is to

us,

the

operating

foundation

of our

very

lives.

Our

entire

life is

to be

built on

him.

Every

human

heart has

got its

uttermost

foundation

from which

we get

our sense

of value,

worth and

self.

Every

single human

heart has

got a

foundation

and from

that foundation

our lives

are built

and our

eternity is

governed and

our decisions

are made.

Whatever it

is for you,

and I've

preached about

this twice

already in

this series,

whatever it

is,

it must

be displaced

by Jesus

Christ.

He has

to be

there.

And when

Jesus goes

to the

foundation,

he removes

or he

weakens

every other

identity

marker of

our life.

life, if

you want

to know

what the

identity

marker is

in your

life, the

deepest

foundation

in your

life,

see what

quickly

replaces the

community of

believers.

See what

quickly replaces

your engage

with him in

your Bible

and your

prayer.

And you're

getting an

idea of what

the identity

marker, the

strongest

foundation of

your life

is.

Secondly, for

Jesus to get

to that place

in our life,

he has to be

precious to

us.

See verse

four, rejected

by humans but

chosen by God

and precious to

him.

Jesus, his

grace and his

mercy has to

become more

precious to us

than anything

else, otherwise

he will never

become our

cornerstone.

He becomes our

foundation when we

see him and

regard him as

the pearl of

great price, the

greatest treasure.

Thirdly, he

becomes precious

to us when we

see him, when we

see him as, that

we are precious

to him.

He was rejected

by his closest

friends, he was

rejected by his

family, he was

rejected by his

society, he was

rejected by his

father, he was

rejected, he went

to the cross for

our sin.

Why would he be

so rejected?

Hebrews tells us

it's because we

were precious to

him.

When we see

ourselves as

being so

unworthy and

yet so precious

to him, that

will turn him

into being so

precious to us.

And that is

when he starts

to become the

cornerstone in

our life.

When we see

that cornerstone,

that foundation,

we are set free

and empowered to

serve others.

Lastly, to

swing us right

around back from

where I started

at the beginning,

he is the goal

of all things.

At the end of

the Bible,

Revelation 21,

we read of the

new heaven, the

new earth.

It's a new city

and we are told

God's dwelling

place is now

amongst the

people and he

will dwell with

them and they

will be his

people and

God himself

will be with

them and be

their God.

He will wipe

away every tear

from their eyes

and there will

be no more

death or mourning

or crying or

pain for the

old order of

things has passed

away.

And it says

those who are

victorious will

inherit all of

this.

And I will be

their God and

they will be

my children.

what you see

in Revelation

21 and 22

as it describes

the new heavens

and new earth,

there's no

temple there.

There's no

temple.

In fact,

Revelation tells

us the entire

new heavens and

new earth is the

temple, the

perfect temple

where the throne

of God is in

the middle.

God dwells

now with his

people forever

in eternal

bliss.

That is the

trajectory of

all of God's

plans to

build his

people in

Jesus Christ,

to eternally

dwell with

them.

And the

church is

the only

glimpse of

that that we

have right

now.

And so I

ask you,

call yourself

a Christian?

God has

called you

into a new

community and

here's a

community that

he's building

for his

glory to

permanently

dwell amongst

them.

Does your

life reflect

that goal?

purpose?

Are you

taking your

next step to

pursue that

purpose in

your life?

God's purpose

for all

things.

best

one

God's mother

have a

love

to

not

but

go to

allowance

for all

and

more

in

the

life

you