Living Stone

Lord have your way and Lord have your way in me.

Like a mighty storm, stir within my soul.

Lord have your way, Lord have your way.

My like a rushing wind and like a mighty storm, stir within my soul.

If that is our real prayer, if that's a prayer we are praying in our hearts.

Lord like a rushing wind and like a mighty storm, stir within my soul.

If he stirs our soul, if he stirs our soul, within our soul, if he creates a mighty wind

and mighty storm in our soul, what happens is if a storm catches you, when we go through

Facebook and now social media because of the storms that's happening even in Andhra, in

India and also in Indonesia and tsunamis, if there is a storm that happens any place,

what happens is like the movable things, the things that are not, that have not enough

root, strong root, they'll be taken away.

And if this happens in our soul, if a mighty storm and if a rushing wind pass through our

and if that happens, the things that are not from God, they will be taken away.

They'll be moved and they'll be taken away from our souls and that's what needed for

us.

And the things that are, the things that are from God, the things that are deposited by

God and the things that have seed, the imperishable seed, the things that are from God, they always,

they stay with us.

That's why he said, the fruit I give you will stand forever.

He has, when we came to Christ, when we were born, when we were born into his family, when

we were born from our emptiness, from our darkness to the fullness and to the life,

what happens is like the God gives us, puts us the seed that is imperishable and the enemy

comes and then deposited, he deposits things that are perishable, he deposits things that

have no root but attractive, he deposits things that are not from God but are very

much needed in that moment.

They just distract us towards them and then if we start to, if we start to hang ourselves

to those, to such kind of things, then when a hit, when a storm comes, then they will

be taken away and then we start to shake.

As the people of God, as the people of, as the sons and daughters of him, we start to

always cling to that things that are from God which cannot be shaken, which cannot be

moved and today I was asking the Lord about today's meeting and then God spoke to me

from 2 Peter chapter 3.

2 Peter 3 · chapter mention

Let's read 2 Peter chapter 3.

2 Peter 3 · chapter mention

Verse 1.

This is what I'm going to do, what I'm going to speak today and then may the Holy Spirit

minister to our souls as he wills.

This is how the second letter, this is now the second letter that I am writing to you,

my beloved.

In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder and today, today I

want to remind you a few things that we already know so that our sincere hearts, so that our

sincere souls can be stirred up.

When that happens, may the moveable things be removed from our heart and that's why

it's always, that's why fellowship is much needed.

When we come together what happens is like our hearts are stirred up always.

Our hearts are stirred up by one another, that's why Proverbs says, iron sharpens iron.

Because when iron meets iron what happens is like one of the other, the sharpness happens

between them and may the Lord stir our hearts today.

So few things that I want to remind you, so these are all very common and then very fundamental

and basic but I feel like this is the Lord wants to do amongst us.

Few things that I want to remind you today are, they're actually from 1 Peter chapter

1 Peter 2 · chapter mention

2.

1 Peter chapter 2 verse 3, if indeed you have tasted the Lord is good.

1 Peter 2:3

If indeed you have tasted the Lord is good.

The first thing that I want to remind you today is the Lord is good.

The Lord is good.

Can we all repeat this one?

The Lord is good.

God is good all the time, all the time.

One more time, one more time.

The Lord is good.

Our God is good.

God is good all the time.

All the time.

God is good.

Amen, amen.

May this be a reminder for us today.

God is good.

Even whatever the situations we are going through, God is good.

God is good.

God is good.

God is good.

Why he is good?

Because that's who he is.

That's who he is.

I started to look up the verses for God is good and then I cannot stop reading verse

by verse, verse by verse.

The Psalmist writes beautifully about how God is good to him.

And then I started to go and then kneel down and then I started to think how God has been

good to me in my life and there is endless list.

And if you, I bet if you start to go and then look your life one by one, how God has been

good to you, my goodness.

We might have to write many, many books.

The Lord is good.

The Lord is good.

The Lord is good.

My favorite was Romans, in Romans it's like the Lord, he loved us so much and he started

to demonstrate his own love for us, his own goodness for us, his own mercy for me that

while we are still sinners, he demonstrated his love by giving his son, his son to us

that Christ died for us while we are still sinners.

He started from there.

Even before, he started even before the foundations of the earth, even before the foundations

of the earth, he started to love us.

He started to care for us.

He started to think about us.

The Lord is good.

Trust that today the Lord is good.

Lord is good and he never failed anyone so far.

He never put anyone to shame so far, whoever has believed in him.

He never denied anyone who has come to him.

We even with what doesn't matter what kind of baggage he has.

But when he stepped one step towards the Lord, the Lord always waiting, the Father

is waiting and then the Lord is good and he's always there to meet you.

It doesn't matter.

He has no strings attached.

The Lord is good.

Our God is good.

Our God is good.

And out of those verses, my favorite three verses are from, verses are from Psalm 34,

Psalm 34, 8.

O taste and see that the Lord is good.

Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.

In fact, in Peter, the words the verse we read is we are we are people of God who have

tasted the goodness of God.

And Psalm is even some thousands years before he is like, oh, come and taste the goodness

of God.

We now we know we already know that the Lord is good.

And then we have started to taste the goodness of God.

Is there anyone here who have not tasted the goodness of God?

No, we all have tasted the goodness of God.

And we're still doing that every day.

If you have not tasted the goodness of God yesterday or today, then open your eyes and

ask the Lord to help you will taste the goodness of the God.

I have this beautiful story.

And this is something that I did.

What I did was I broke my phone, which is given by my company.

And before that, I lost the SIM card.

That's even worse.

So when I went to India, I took out the SIM card and put it in another phone and then

took this phone to India.

And then I guess Indian stones are very strong, maybe.

It slipped from my pocket and then I broke the screen.

Yeah.

And then I came home and then I was searching for the phone for the SIM card and I couldn't

find my phone.

So I went to work.

I didn't know what to do.

So I changed my phone number in all my context to my personal phone number.

And then after three months, I received an email saying, hey, this office number, it

did not receive any calls for three months.

So we are closing this account.

And then it went to my manager.

I was like, I didn't know what to do.

So but the guy who works in telecom office, I've seen him.

And he's very, very strict.

He's like a very angry person.

Because I remember one of my colleagues, he had some issue with the phone.

And then one day he came to his desk and started to yell at him, you know how many emails I

received?

He was yelling at him.

And then I looked at him and then I thought maybe this might be the last person whom I'm

going to make friendship with.

So now I didn't know what to do.

So I was like, then I applied for a new SIM card.

And then I received email from him saying, hey, I want you to come to my desk and explain

me what happened, how you lost the SIM card, because no one loses SIM card alone.

But your new SIM card is ready.

So I went to him and then now he wants to see my phone.

My phone is already broken.

I texted him.

I emailed him saying, hey, you know, I'm also from tech department.

So I know how to insert SIM card.

So can you just give me my SIM card?

Because I don't want him to see my broken phone.

But finally there is no choice.

So I went to him and then I gave my phone to him and he was like, why did you take out

your SIM card?

It's against the policy.

I said, I'm sorry.

And then how come you broke the office phone and then you have to pay for it?

I said, I'm sorry.

So all I said was like, I'm sorry.

I kept quiet.

And then he checked my entire phone and then he set it up and then he gave me my phone.

And then I'm back.

Oh, I was so happy.

And then last Sunday when I was coming to church, I felt like I was driving on 49.

And I felt like God is asking me to go to Starbucks on 49.

I wanted to go to Brecker, but I was like, OK, let's go to Starbucks.

And then I took the coffee and then I was running.

I was I wanted to come to church around one ish.

So but but I felt like God asked me to sit down there.

So the the 49 for Starbucks was almost empty.

So I sat down for I just sat down and then I took off my my bag and then I was waiting.

I don't know why God has brought me here.

And then all of a sudden there comes his name is Josh.

And then he was like he sat next to me.

I said, hey, Josh. And he's like, hey, man.

And then we started to talk.

He's from here. He started to open his life.

And then we both started to talk.

And then I said, I'm going to church.

Then, oh, do you go to church? Yes, I go to church.

And then and then he said, I said, I need to go because I'm running late.

And then while I was taking my bag and then he said, he called me, he said,

Jeevan, since I know you now, come and see me tomorrow at my desk.

I have a new phone for you.

I really want to test him, right?

I don't want to believe that.

So I was like, next day, I didn't go.

I didn't go to his desk.

And then again, he emailed me, hey, buddy, I was looking for you.

It's like, oh, my goodness. Now he's serious.

Oh, yeah.

So we both met at a meeting and he was like, he immediately he pulled a chair for me.

He's like, hey, come on.

And then we started to talk.

I was like, the Lord is so good.

The Lord is so good.

We have to taste God.

And then God is always waiting for us to enjoy him.

And that's what as a church together, we learned all of these years that he is so good.

And and and his goodness is endless goodness.

It's like story after the story, the life after the life, the instant of the incident,

day after day and moment by moment and night after night.

Lord is so good.

The Lord is so good.

And we got to taste him and we have already tasted him.

So that's the first one that I want to remind you that.

We are good tasters.

I can say that I have tasted the goodness of the Lord.

Can you say that?

Can we say that?

Yes, the Lord is good.

God is good all the time.

God is good.

Very good.

I want to do one more verse about the goodness of the Lord.

So we know that the Lord is good and then we got to taste him.

Psalm hundred and nineteen and sixty sixty eight.

I want to remind you that the Lord is good and then we got to taste him.

We are very experts now.

Psalm hundred and nineteen, verse sixty eight.

What happens when we taste the goodness of God?

When we start to taste the goodness of God, we start to open our lives to God.

I started to taste the goodness of God and I started to open.

I started to taste the goodness of my friend, Jas.

And then now slowly we started to open our lives.

So the goodness of God, when we start to taste the goodness of God,

the immediate prayer that comes out of our heart is like,

oh, Lord, you have shown me your goodness.

Now here I am.

I'm giving my life.

And this is what Psalm sixty eight hundred and nineteen and sixty says.

You are good and you do good, oh, Lord.

Oh, Lord, you're good and you do good.

And without any shadow, we have to believe that he is good and he does good to us.

Everything what he does is to good as the people might think.

The people might plan something bad for us, but God can bring goodness out of that.

Bad. So he is good and he does good.

And teach me your loss and teach me your principles and teach me who you are.

Oh, God. That's the prayer.

That the taste of good process moves us, compels us,

attracts us to this prayer, saying, oh, Lord, now teach me what you want me to do

for you. Teach me what you want me to do for you.

Help me guide me. In fact, in fact, when you start to read about the goodness

of the Lord, you start to read goodness of the father and goodness of Jesus Christ

and goodness of the Holy Spirit.

When you start to teach, read about this of the Holy Spirit,

it's like your good spirit lead me into your way.

Yes. The tasting of the tasting of his

goodness always leads us to say, oh, Lord, now I'm ready.

What do you want me to do?

What do you want me to do?

Now, how am I? Let's read this verse.

Chapter nine, verse 20.

Can someone read it before I find it?

Chapter nine, verse 20, I think I found it.

Chapter nine, verse 20.

Nehemiah, chapter nine, verse 20.

Ah, look at that.

Forty years, you sustained them in the wilderness and they lacked nothing.

That's his goodness.

His goodness, he's he gave his good spirit to instruct them.

His good spirit instructs us.

And then we lack nothing because he's always good.

He's always good. He's always good.

God is good. We know that.

And we have tasted goodness.

And then it leads us into the prayer, asking him, asking him, Lord,

what I'm going to do now, what do you want me to do?

And that's the prayer it leads us to.

The second one.

The second one from chapter first, Peter.

Chapter one, verse 17.

Since you call on a father who judges each man impartially,

live your life as strangers here in reverent fear.

Yes.

18, verse 18 to for you know that it was not with perishable things

such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life,

handed down to you from your ancestors,

but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.

The second point that I want to remind you today

to stir up your soul is that he we are redeemed to people.

We are redeemed to people.

For we know we already know this one, and I'm just reminding you.

We already know this one, that that we are redeemed.

We are redeemed from the empty way of life handed down by our ancestors,

from our ancestors, all the things from our ancestors.

We are handed down the empty way of life,

empty life that is being handed over to us from our ancestors.

But we are redeemed from that empty life,

empty way of life to the fullness of Christ.

For we for and we are redeemed.

It was not with perishable things such as silver or gold, silver or gold.

They are perishable things, but we are not redeemed by those perishable things.

But we were redeemed from the empty way of life

with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.

Blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.

I am redeemed. We are redeemed.

By the blood of Christ.

We are redeemed by the blood of Christ.

We are redeemed by the blood of Christ.

In fact, when we read Ephesians, that word Ephesians, Paul explains to the church in Ephesians, saying that,

see, you were in the kingdom of the darkness, your kingdom of the emptiness, your kingdom,

you were far away from peace.

But by the blood of Christ, you were drawn close to the peace.

By the blood of Christ, you were drawn towards his kingdom.

By the blood of Christ, you were adopted into his family.

We are redeemed to people. Always we have to remember that.

We have to remind ourselves that we are redeemed to people.

You know why he has redeemed? Because that's his pleasure.

For his pleasure, for his goodness, for his mercy,

he has redeemed us from the way of life, our ancestors.

It's not only from our saints that he has redeemed, but he has redeemed from the former things.

He has redeemed from the way of the world.

And that is why we no longer belong to the world.

Yet we live in this world, but we no longer belong to this world.

We no longer live to the standard and the way of life of the world.

But we have a new covenant and we have a new set of set of set of way of life that we are to live.

We are redeemed from the emptiness.

Empty way of life.

That is handed over by our ancestors.

And anything that is lacking in any area of any area of our life,

if we are lacking in anything, that means we got to check

and we have to open our lives because we have tasted the goodness of the Lord.

And then now we have to open our lives in that area and then saying, Lord, this is what's happening.

Can you show me your statues?

Can you show me your way of life?

Because he is the way.

If there is any emptiness, if there is any emptiness in our area,

immediately because he is the Lord, because he is the good, good father.

Lord, redeem me.

Redeem me. Redeem me from that Lord.

Redeem me from that.

Redeem me from that Lord.

And I want to remind you, I want to stir up.

I pray that God stirs up our soul deep down inside.

May his wind blow through our thoughts.

May his wind blow through our soul that the things that are not the empty things,

the shallow things, the things that don't have any root in you because you are a redeemed person.

You are a redeemed person.

You no longer have any connection with the world.

If there are any things that are deposited, and I pray that the Holy Spirit,

may he speak to you and may he create a wind in our hearts that he plucks all of those things.

That they are moved from our heart.

They are moved from our life.

Every time, every time when there is lack, that's why Psalm 23,

we know that he is the shepherd and we lack nothing.

He is the good God and we lack nothing.

And this is the prayer that we need to go and then say,

Oh Lord, show me your statutes.

Show me your way of life.

Is there a way of life?

If I'm having trouble with my finances, that's the way of life.

We need to go to him and then say, Oh Lord, you are so good.

I know you provided me.

I know you want to do that.

I know you have provided 40 years for them.

I know you're faithful to them.

You're faithful to me.

I have tasted your goodness, but there is emptiness in this area.

And would you please help me to find your way?

Would you please help me to find your way?

We are redeemed people and redeemed people.

They always move from emptiness to the fullness.

The reason why we always, the reason why,

why when the Holy Spirit stirs in our hearts as a redeemed person,

we move from lack, from the area of lack to the area of fullness is because,

is because that's a seat that God has deposited in us.

That's why he has redeemed us.

Because if the Lord is, if the Lord is Lord of our life,

and if he is the master of our life,

and if he's, if he's the, if he's the king over my life,

and if he's ruling my life,

and if I am under, under his, with him and in his kingdom,

under the statues of his wonderful kingdom,

then I lack nothing.

And if he is my shepherd, and I lack nothing,

I don't know what you're lacking.

I don't know what we are lacking.

Maybe it's peace or maybe it's rest or maybe it's something that you've been praying,

or maybe it's something.

But I pray that,

I pray that we open ourselves to God and then ask him,

Holy Spirit, what's your way of life in this one?

What's your way of life?

What's your statute in this one, oh Lord?

That's what, that's what verse 23 says.

It's since you have been born again, not of perishable seed,

but of imperishable through the living and abiding word of God.

We have been redeemed.

We've been born again through the,

not of the perishable seed, but of imperishable,

but of imperishable.

And this seed always grows because it is imperishable.

This seed always grows because imperishable.

And the third one,

the word of God is always living and abiding in our lives.

In other words, the word of God is always active and alive in our lives,

alive and active in our lives.

Hebrew chapter four, verse 12.

Hebrew chapter four, verse 12.

For the word of God is living and active.

Sharper than any two-edged sword,

piercing to the division of the soul of the spirit,

of joints and of marrow,

and discerning the thoughts and intention of the heart.

We are the people in our lives,

the word of God is active and always living,

is living and always active.

And that I want to remind again,

that the word of the Lord,

is alive and active in our hearts, in our lives.

That's the kind of people who we are.

The word of the Lord is always alive, is alive and active.

When the word of the Lord is always alive and active,

it takes us to the place of rest.

It takes us to the place of rest.

That's why verse 11 says,

let us therefore strive to enter that rest,

so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience,

for the word of God is alive and active and sharper than two-edged sword.

When the word of the Lord is alive and active,

it leads us to the way of life,

it leads us to live the way of life that God wants us to live.

It leads us to the righteous way of life that God wants us to live.

And that helps us to go into his rest.

That's why Isaiah chapter 32 verse 17.

Isaiah 32:17

Isaiah 32 verse 17.

Isaiah 32:17

The fruit of righteousness is peace

and the effect and the result of righteousness is quietness and trust forever.

The fruit of reinforces peace

and the effect and the result of righteousness is quietness, and trust forever.

forever. We got to make sure that the word of God is always alive in our hearts and this

is the part that we have to be cautious. Is the word of God is active in our life? And

this is the, these are the things that I want to remind you today, that the word of the

Lord is always alive and it must be active in our life. And this is active when we show

obedience to the word that is alive in us, in our hearts. When we show obedience to the

word that is spoken to us, when we show obedience to the word that is given to us, when we show

obedience to the word that is preached into our lives, then it is active. When this is

active, this leads to the right way, right standing with the Lord and that results in

peace and rest. And I want to remind you today that the word of the Lord wants, it always

want to be alive and active in my life and in our life. And all we got to do is to show

obedience, to show obedience to the word that is preached, the word that is you have learned,

the word that is imparted on your life, the word that is spoken over your life. We got

to show obedience to it. And the last one, 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 1. This is the people

1 Peter 2:1

of God. This is the kind of people that God, the Peter wants them to be. And the last one

is, so put away all old stuff and have hunger and long for the pure spiritual milk. And

the fourth reminder today, the last reminder today is, we are people, we are people who

called by God. When we put away our old stuff, old style, then we get the hunger for true

food, for pure milk, for pure spiritual stuff. As long as we have the old stuff, the food

that we have, the food that we have, the food that we have, the food that we have, the food

still within us, as long as we have the previous life or previous way of life is hanging around

us, then it's very hard to have this true hunger for the word of God. If we want to

get the hunger for the word of God, for the true word of God, we have to put away all

the old stuff, all the previous stuff, the previous way of life, the paths of life, the

methods of life that we have learned. When we start to put them aside, then the new hunger

is created in our hearts for the word of God and that's the pure, for the pure spiritual

milk and through which we can grow, through which we grow. And the Lord wants to remind

you today that, can you put away your old stuff? Because we have the seed, it's always

new, it always creates new things and that's why day by day his mercies are new and we

always grow from grace to grace. So this new imperishable seed, it compels us, it leads

us, it helps us to have a new hunger when we can deny our old stuff. When we start to

put our old stuff, then this new hunger is created in us. Peter was writing to this

church saying, these are the kind of people God always wants us and you are like that

and I want to stir up your souls by reminding that you are like this, you have tasted the

goodness of the Lord because the Lord is good and you are a redeemed people and you are

redeemed by the blood of Christ and now the word of God is alive and active and now you

have to put away old stuff and God creates a new hunger in you. And if we are this one,

if we say yes to all of this and if we say yes Lord you've been doing all of this in

my life and I'm so thankful to you and I'm so grateful to you because this is the kind

of people you have been preparing me and if you say yes to this and Peter, what's Peter

writing in the next verse is he's saying that if you say that and this is who you are. If

you say yes to those four things and this is who we are, we are living stones. We are

living stones and that's what Peter is saying, as you come to him, a living stone you are

rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious you yourself like living stones

are being built up as a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices

acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. And if you say yes to Jesus Christ, you are a

living stone. I was, as I showed the picture, the image from there, I was thinking about

it and I was praying to God like I was praying to God, I was giving thanks to God saying

oh Lord thank you so much for being my place of refuge. You are like a place where I can

go and hide. I'm hiding now and I was thankful to God for who he is as a tower of refuge

and then all of a sudden, all of a sudden God started to speak to me through this one.

He started to say that Jeevan that's what, that's what who you are. I've been calling

you for that. I've been calling you to live a life of like a living stone where people

can depend on you. Where people, where you are part of this wonderful building, wonderful

house of God through whom you are connected and then you are a part of this building and

upon you his kingdom can be built. And if we say yes to those four, those four and we

are the living stone and that's what God is calling us and that's what you are. And I

want to remind you that you are a living stone. And I want to remind you that you have seen,

you have already experienced for who he is and also you have seen people living this

kind of life and you have, and you might have people in your life. They have seen you as

this one, as a living stone, as living stone. And Peter was explaining to us, he was writing

that these living stones in the past, they were rejected by men, but now they're chosen

and they're precious to God.

You and I, we have to believe that, we have to believe that this is who we are. We are

living stone. And in fact, that's what Paul says, that's what Peter is writing. He's writing

from the, in verse six he says, for it stands in scripture, behold, I am laying in Zion

a stone, a corner stone, chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put

to shame. So Peter is saying Jesus Christ is the corner stone. Jesus Christ is the corner

stone. Corner stone is the reference. It's the first stone that is laid in a building

and it's a reference for all the other stones. And if we read from Ephesians chapter two,

verse 19, Ephesians chapter two, verse 19, so then you're no longer strangers and aliens,

but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built

on the foundation of the apostles and prophets and Christ Jesus himself being the corner

stone. So if Jesus Christ is the corner stone and the apostles and prophets are foundation

and you and I are the living stones, built upon them, then you are the living stones

and we are the living stones. So we are built on the foundations of apostles and prophets,

Christ Jesus himself being corner stone, in whom the whole structure being joined together

grows into a holy temple in the land, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling

place for God by the Spirit. And what is living stone? What does the life of a living stone

look like? The living stone, this life is always, and you and I are living stones because

that's what the Bible says. We are living stones, that's why we cannot exist individually

because we are living stone and then we are the part of his beautiful construction that

he is building, the house of the Lord. Whereas Jesus Christ is the corner stone and prophets

and apostles are the foundations and we are built. And the beautiful part about this one

is if we go through Old Testament, when God ordered Moses to build an altar, the altar

was built with different kinds of materials. Sometimes it was built with wood, sometimes

it was built with different stuff that is available there, but when God ordered Moses

to build an altar with the stones, he said, use uncut stones that no iron or no instrument

would touch them. It should not touch them because if an iron or instrument touches it,

then that means it is profane, it is defiled and I don't want that. So, when we are, if

we are living stone, a living stone is shaped by the Lord. When we are shaped by the world,

when we are shaped by any other instrument than the Lord himself, because let's say,

let's say there is a stone and that stone if we are using to build an altar, that means

that stone is actually designed, that stone is actually shaped by the Lord. That's why

no man would not break it or no man would not put it. The man has to, supposed to take

it and then put it into the, in the, plaster it with other stones. That's why, that's why

we are always, we must be shaped by the Lord, not by the world, not by the standards of

the world. That's why every time when there is a, when there is a storm or when there

is a rushing wind that happens in our heart, it would, it would take away, it would take

away all the attached things to the stone that are not from God. The stirring up, the

stirring up of the soul is so important that what it does is it removes, it makes us free.

The word of the Lord, the truth, it sets us free and prepares us to this one. You and

I are called to be living stones. Why? Because God has chosen us. God has chosen us and then

He is saying, you're so precious to me. You're so precious to me. And I call you as you are

because I made you and I've known you. You're so precious to me. And then I'm going to put

you into this one. That's the beauty of this, the beauty of being a living stone because

you cannot exist, you cannot function without the body. It's saying, verse 20, built on

the foundation of the apostles and prophets and Jesus Christ himself being the corner

stone in whom the whole structure, the whole structure grows and we are joined together,

being joined together and we grow into a holy temple. We all grow into a holy temple. We

are joined and built together. When, when we are part of the body, when we are part

of this wonderful house of the Lord that God is building, then we joined together and then

we grow together into the temple. It's not like, it's not like you grow outside and then

you come and then you be apart. No, when we are, this is, this is a living stone. It's

not a stone that is actually, it's not a stone that cannot be, that is not living. It's a

living stone. As we start to come together, as we start to plug in with the, with the,

the house of the Lord, we grow into together and we are being built together into a dwelling

place for God. And that's what the church has been learning for the past few weeks,

that we are the church and, and, and, and how we can grow as a church together. We started

off with the prevailing church and then when Chad came and then, and then in fact, Jacob

last, last week he started to talk about advanced gods. How can we, how can we live as advanced

God for this, for this house of the Lord? And when we say that, oh, oh, we are reminded

of those things and then God is reminding you today that you are a living stone and

you are a part of this one. You are built, Jesus Christ as your reference and your foundation

is as apostles and prophets. And then you are joined together and being built together

as a house of the Lord. Why? What's the reason for this one? What's the reason? Chapter three,

verse ten, verse ten. So that through the church, the manifold wisdom of God might now

be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was according

to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Jesus Christ, our God.

So why we are living stones? Because he chose us and we are precious to him and we know

how good he is and we are called to be a holy priesthood, a royal priesthood and that's

what Peter, the favorite verse for many people in Peter about people of who we are. It's

like verse nine, chapter one, first Peter chapter two, verse nine, he said, but you

are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own position. We

are that, we know that, we are excited about that. But you know why he has called us to

be a chosen race, why he has called us to be a royal priesthood, why he has called us

as a holy nation, why he has called us as people of his own position, that you and I

may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

This is all because you and I can go to the world and then say those four things, say,

hey, the Lord is good, I have tasted him, now see me, you can understand it. And you

can also taste it, that we will go into the world and proclaim the excellencies of him.

The beauty of our life lies in there. And what happens if I don't believe that I am

a living stone? Peter writes about that, he says, verse seven, so the honor is for you

who believe that you are a living stone. Verse six, he talked about how Jesus Christ being

the cornerstone, and verse seven, he's writing to the church, he's saying, it's our honor

to believe that we are living stones and he's the cornerstone and we are part of this and

growing together. But for those who do not believe, the stone that the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone and a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. They stumble

because they disobey the word as they were destined to do. So we believe that we are

living stones. We are living stones. So how can we start experiencing, start living out

this way of life? Because we already, as I said, nothing is new today. It's already explained

to you. It's already known to you. I'm just reminding you. And this way, being a living

stone is something, it's like the first point I wrote is like, I have to believe that God

is calling us, God has chosen us, and we are precious to him and he's calling us to be

a living stone. He's calling us to be a stone, get grounded in him and live a life of matured

Christian through which my actions, through my actions, through my words, the kingdom

of God can be revealed. It's a lifestyle. It's a lifestyle. And I have people in my

life who are like this. They were not moved. They were not shaken by the things that are

happening in their lives. And also every time when there is something that I need to, I

always have this kind of people, I can go to them and then say, hey, because I'm also

part of this building and I depend on them, I am plastered with them, I am together with

them, I am growing into his body. And then I go and then, hey, say, say, and go and then

say, hey, brother, hey, sister, this is what's happening. Can you help me? Can you sharpen

me? And then the words, they release, they are very sharp and then they help me. They

cut to the core of my soul. And then you have that kind of people. And now we have

to believe that God is calling us the living stone. And there are people who are waiting

for it. And you are a living stone. Second one, because we are living stones that God

is calling us and then he has called us to be royal priesthood and all of this is to

proclaim his excellencies. And the third one, we are immovable as we have been learning

about this. When I start to believe this one, that yes, Lord, you have chosen me and I am

precious to you. And you have called me, you have chosen me as a living stone to offer

spiritual sacrifices, to live that kind of life, to proclaim excellencies of you. When

I start to live, when I start to believe that, then God started to establish the truths in

me. And he does that in our life. And we are immovable. You know why we are immovable?

Because of his favor. Because he's always there. He's always there. That's why Psalm

30, that's what it talks about. Psalm 30, one of the verses says, we are immovable because

of his favor. We are immovable because of his favor. Psalm 30, verse 6, as for me, I

Psalms 30:6

said in my prosperity, I said, I shall never be moved by your favor, O Lord. You made my

mountain stand strong. Jacob taught us about favor last Sunday. He is immovable. He cannot

be shaken. And we are immovable because he is immovable and we cannot be shaken because

his favor, because of the truth that is deposited in us. And when we start to have this, when

we start to remind ourselves that we are a living stone, something that happens, something

miraculous that happens is we become the killers of hostility. We become the killers of hostility.

We become the killers of hostility. And Paul explains that beautifully in Ephesians chapter

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

2, how Jesus Christ has become the destroyer of the walls of the hostility. How he has

made Jews and Gentiles together as one family because of his sacrifice in the flesh.

I was, I end with this story. I went to India last time and I went to India last time. As

I said, I already explained to you that Jacob asked us to not to, we were in North India

and then Jacob, and our plan is to go to Nandigam and then train people. And then Jacob said,

God told, he gathered all of us and he said, hey guys, God clearly spoke to me that we

are not supposed to go to any other place than another mountain. That is called Little

Mount Chennai. So we all booked our flights to Chennai and then we all landed. And then

I asked Jacob, then Jacob, what about the plan to go to Nandigam? If you go to Chennai

and we kill one day, so we won't be able to go to Nandigam and then minister. Then he

said, can the boys and the girls, can they come to Chennai? It's very expensive and it's

like follow a train journey and it's the last moment. And then I told Jacob, I don't know,

Jacob said, at least if three or four people can come, that is also enough. So then I told

them and then there were like 24 people, they came, they took train and then they landed.

And then they came and then I was translating, I was translating Jacob, Jacob was talking

and then all of a sudden there comes a pastor from Chad's church. He entered and then he

came to give some envelope to Jacob. So he gave the envelope and then immediately Jacob

said, hey, why don't you share your testimony? And this guy came and then he stood up there

and then I was translating him. So he's speaking in English, he's sharing his testimony and

he comes from the same province, but he moved when he was very young, same province that

I come from. So he said, okay, I'm from this province and then we said, oh, we're all from

that province. And then he started to share his testimony and then he comes from the,

he comes from the Brahman's caste, the highest caste. And then he's standing next to me,

he's with us and then we were in a small room and then he was sharing testimony and then

I was translating, but I was in tears because I can see what God is doing in the spirit,

where God is breaking the walls of the walls, walls of this division, walls of this hostility

in a room, in a room where God is bringing this. And then this, the highest of the community and

the lowest of the community together as a body. And then he actually broke the, broke the wall

of the hostility that is in all of our minds. I was like, when I was reading this one, this one,

that as we start to live this life of a living stone, the living stone, we become the breakers,

we become the killers of the hostility. We, we, we destroyed the boundaries. We destroyed the walls

between the race, walls between the cast wall, but walls between the economical standards,

walls between the world. And we bring them, we, we be the, we be the, the mirrors of God's image.

And we show them this is what God is. This is how good he was. We start to proclaim the

excellences of him who called us, who, and we, we be the killers of that hostility. And as I was

translating there, God started to speak to me and I was in tears, like, how can this be possible?

Because I was thinking, oh, what if I had not listened to Jacob and then say, Jacob, this cannot

be possible. You should come to Nandigam at least for one hour or two hours. This wouldn't be

happen. I was like, oh Lord, thank you so much for this young people who showed obedience to you

and then took the, took the risk of traveling that many hours. And on that day, Chad came and then I

asked Chad just to spend 120 seconds. That's it. But he spent 40 minutes and then gave solid,

powerful the, the prophecy, the word that God is going to do amongst our lives. And that's set for

a new direction, for a new, new, uh, new standards and new way of life that God has called. And this

is the, this is what the Lord wants us to do through us. We all know this. I'm just reminding

this, as I said, to stir up your heart, to stir up your heart. These people are immobile. They're

not tossed by, by, by the waves. And that's what Peter asked them. He asked them, he said, he said,

abstain from every temptation, every passion that creates a war in your heart. That's the,

that's the beauty of living this one. God strengthens us. God keeps on reminding us to

abstain every passion, every passion that creates war inside of us because we are living stones.

We are immobile and there are people who want to depend on us because we are part of this one.

There are, there are stones that are attached, that are plastered to us. And this is the, this is

the, this is, this is what the, what the Lord wants to remind us today, that you are a living

stone. You are a living stone. As I said, if you said yes to all of these four, that means you are

a living stone. There is no other category. The Lord is good all the time and we are redeemed

people. We have experienced the blood of Christ forgiving our sins and also, and also we started

to, we started to move from the life of empty. And the word of, the word of the Lord is always

alive and active. We do everything in our power, everything in our, in our obedience to, to ask him

to, to show obedience for the word of God to be alive. And we are people called to put our

well, that's why we always, that's why every time when, when I see you, every time when we come

together, we always want to, want to give something to him and then take something from him. We always

want to get rid of the stuff that is, that is not needed. You are people like this. That's what God

is saying. You have lived this life. That means Peter is saying, Hey guys, if you have lived this

life, that means you are a living stone. You are a living stone built together, joined together,

built together, joined together and being built and being shaped to be the house of God, to be

the house of God. We cannot exist by our own. We grow together in whom the whole structure being

joined together grows into a Holy temple in the Lord. In him, you also are being built together

into a dwelling place for God by the Holy Spirit. This is all done by the Holy Spirit. This is all

done by the Holy Spirit. As you come to him today, you are a living stone rejected by men,

but in the sight of God, you are chosen, precious. You yourself, like living stones are being built

up as a spiritual house to be a Holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices. We are built

together as a living stones. We are built together to offer spiritual sacrifices. And I was reading

about spiritual sacrifices. I was asking the Lord, I was reading from Romans, the spiritual sacrifices

are Paul says, giving your body as sacrifice to him is a spiritual sacrifice. And he said, opening

your mouth and praising him as a spiritual sacrifice. Sacrifice is something you really want to

hold on to, but you give it with the heart. That's what we do with the body. We think this is our

body. We think this is our own. We think we try to make it this is our own. Yes, this is our own.

But at the same time, we are to give it to the Lord because this is the temple of the Lord. And

words, that is the most powerful thing. That is the most powerful thing because if as you give your

words as sacrifice, your praise as sacrifice, when you're praising, that means you're no longer are

the boss of your words. You're saying, Lord, you are the God. And this is you have given me and then

I give it back to you. I disconnect myself from the owner of this one. That's a sacrifice. That's a

sacrifice. It's a life that is seen. And the and the Peter and the last point Peter says, Peter,

Peter talks about this one. He says, he says, Hey, I urge you, I urge you. And he said, he says,

keep your conduct among all the people, Gentiles, and everyone among all people,

honorable, so that when they speak against you as evil doers, they may see your good deeds and

glorify the Lord. And they may see when they start to talk bad about you, let them see your good deeds

and they glorify God when God visits them. I pray these are all not new to us, but I'm reminding you

in an order how Peter wrote to the church. He's immovable and we know. And now God wants us to be

movable. And that's what who you are. It's in us. And may the Holy Spirit stir up, may the Holy Spirit

blow his wind and take away all the things that are not from him and make you as who you are as

he entered as he intended about you. Let's pray. This is the beauty of of Holy Spirit's leading.

The moment Jane started to lead the worship and people started to worship and she was like,

Oh, all the points is like, Oh, still be still. And we are immobile. It's like, Oh, Lord, this is

the word of the Lord for us today. He cannot be changed. He cannot be shaken. And God wants us

to be a people of him that cannot be shaken too. Let's pray. For me, I said in my prosperity,

I shall never be moved by your favor. Oh Lord, you made my mountain stand strong. By your favor,

Oh Lord, make our lives stand strong by your favor. Oh Lord, help us to taste more of your

goodness. And this is this is all have to be done by the Spirit, right? It's all must be happened

by the Spirit and then Spirit is willing that the one who has ears, let him hear. Thank you,

Father. It's a beautiful time, Father. We praise you. We praise you. I give myself because I have

tasted your goodness. Pray to him. Pray to him and then say.

Let's just sing the verse of this song.