He Is Good | Jesus the Cornerstone | Mark 12:10-11 | Coleton Segars

Today's teaching text is rather shorter than normal because we're picking up on a little bit of the text from last week that we read.

And so the teaching text is from Mark 12, verses 10 and 11.

Mark 12:10

This is what Jesus says as he's quoting.

He says, The stone the builders rejected, the stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.

The Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.

This is the word of the Lord.

Thank you.

Love it.

I was a kid growing up.

I had a nickname that my parents gave me, the Master of Disaster.

It's probably not original.

Maybe you had that as well.

It was well earned, well deserved.

Worked hard to keep it.

They would give me toys for Christmas or for my birthday or whatever.

It didn't matter.

But I would find a way to just obliterate it and just destroy it.

And then if my brother also had one, I would then begin searching immediately for his so that then I could have one that wasn't broken.

And oftentimes we got in fights because I took his and said it was mine.

And they were like, uh, no, that's your brother's.

And I'm like, no, he's lying.

I'm not lying.

It's mine.

And uh then my parents would be like, Colton, where is yours?

And I'd be like, here it is.

And it's all these pieces.

And so um, nickname Master of Disaster.

Now I actually love to build things and not tear things up.

Trying to do that with this church.

Um, but um, anyways, I say all that um because Jesus here gives himself, he's referencing a nickname.

Really, it's a title, but he calls himself something.

He's referencing something about himself.

And he's calling himself this cornerstone.

And it's a song, it's a Psalm 118 reference that David wrote.

And so he's just referencing himself and calling himself this cornerstone that the builders rejected is now gonna be the stone that was just kind of overlooked, is now the most important stone in the whole thing.

And so, what I'm gonna do today is talk about what a cornerstone is, because it's not something that we primarily use anymore.

There are still cornerstones in buildings, but normally it's like somewhere about chest high, it says like this is when the building was founded, or something like that.

It's not actually functioning the same way as it used to.

And so I want to look at two characteristics of what he means when he references a cornerstone, and then just why those things are important.

Why is he using this title for himself and calling himself a cornerstone?

What does it actually mean for us?

And then how we can actually go about making him making Jesus the cornerstone of our lives.

And so those two characteristics, and then how we can do that.

So the first, a cornerstone, historically, a cornerstone was the stone that was laid first in the ground before you're about to build a building.

It was laid first, and so it would be cut and it would be perfectly shaped the way that they want the entire building to look like.

And then it would be laid first, and then every stone after that would be laid in line with it.

And so it was laid first because it would serve as the directional guide for every other stone.

No other stone got to make the decision which way to go.

The cornerstone was the only one who gets to make the decision on which way to go and what it's gonna be looked like.

No stone could decide, I want to be like this shape.

You cannot do that if they had the opinion.

They can't do that.

They have to take the shape of their cornerstone.

And so we have some images here.

Um, that's the first one.

So the bottom would obviously be the cornerstone there, and then everything is taking its line and directional guidance based on that one.

Here's an actual one, I believe, is the next one.

So that would be the cornerstone there.

And so it's kind of like instead of laying it square and the building going out to the left and the right, this one is turned and kind of laid at an angle, and therefore the angles of the actual other stones go in an angle.

And so if it's a flat iron, then it's gonna be shaped like a flat iron.

That's the way it's gonna go.

If it's a square, it'll be shaped like a square, and so so on and so forth.

The the cornerstone itself dictated it was the thing that says, you are going to go this way, the angle is gonna look like this, and it won't look anything different.

It dictated every single thing about the other bricks, the other stones.

And so for us, this is why Jesus wants to be our cornerstone.

He wants to be the one that decides and directs the way that we go about living our lives.

He wants to be the one that helps us guide and direct our decisions.

He wants to be not, he's not trying to control us or to force us to do a thing, but he wants to be the one that's brought in every single time to decide which way am I going to go?

It's like, I want you to go this way.

And the reason is I'm trying to lead you out of something else, out of something lesser, into something more, into something better.

And so he wants to be that for us.

He wants the shape of our lives, he wants to be the person that shapes it into ultimately what the cornerstone is.

He wants us to become what he is like.

That's what he wants.

And so, for instance, the reason he wants this is like we are impatient.

We struggle to be impatient, and we struggle being impatient, but he is patient.

And so we I have this slide here, go to the next slide here.

We are impatient and he is long-suffering.

And so, what he wants to do is he wants to shape you into what he's like.

If he is patient and long-suffering, he's like, follow me, come in line with me, make me your cornerstone, because I will shape you to be the direction that I am.

And if you are impatient, I am patient and I can shape you in that direction.

We're selfish and he's selfless, and so he wants to shape us out of our selfishness into his selflessness.

We're arrogant and proud, and he's humble and meek.

We're discontent with what we have, but he is content, and he trusts that every single thing that he has is what he needs because the Father would provide his needs.

And he wants to shape us out of our discontentment into a way of contentment.

We're fearful and he's courageous, and he wants to shape us out of being free uh afraid into people who are courageous and trusting.

We're worried and he is peace.

We're busy and stressed and he's unhurried.

We're afraid of people, and he's just not afraid of people.

We're afraid of what people think about us.

And he's like, I'm not.

There was this, I was praying this week and uh do this thing where I listened to the scriptures being uh and it said one time he was talking to uh the Pharisees and he was saying, Woe to you, Pharisees, and someone says to him, after one of the uh lawyers of the law, one of the teachers of the law says, Hey Jesus, do you know that when you talk to them that way, you offend us too?

And he's been saying, Pharisees, woe to you, Pharisees.

And then the teacher of the law says, Hey, you're offending the teachers of the law too.

And then he turns to that teacher of the law and goes, Woe to you, teachers of the law.

It was like I was referencing somebody else, but now I'm gonna talk to you directly.

I'm like, that guy had, he was not afraid.

He just was like, Oh, you think I'm offending you inadvertently?

Now I'm gonna offend you to your face.

And and like he just was not afraid of anybody.

Um, we're busy, excuse me, you're anxious, he is restful, our love is conditional, his love is unconditional.

We struggle to forgive and he forgives indefinitely.

We struggle with lust and he is self-controlled.

We're afraid of rejection and being hurt by people, but his joy and his heart is wrapped up in the Father.

He is he knows I'm accepted by the only one who actually matters.

And so because I have his acceptance, I don't care if people reject me or receive me or don't, or if they love me, if they hate me, it doesn't matter because I'm received by the one that actually matters.

And he has this freedom and this confidence to just be around people without trying to try and please them or how do they feel about me?

Are we good?

Is that kind of thing?

He doesn't have any of that.

We're unfulfilled, and he has the bread of life that will fully satisfy your cravings, your longings, everything that we have in our lives.

We're empty and try to use things to fill us up.

And he is full and he wants to pour out.

And so he desires to be our cornerstone because we have to take our shape after him.

The other stones have to, they are forced directionally.

I must be shaped into the image of the cornerstone.

I do not have another option.

And so he's like, I want to be your cornerstone because if you will do that and make me your cornerstone, you will be shaped into my image.

I will form these things in you.

Everything that you long for, all of the virtues that we're all looking for, they are found in him.

He is them, he embodies them.

And so to be forced to make sure he is our cornerstone is to be shaped into whatever image he actually wants us to be.

And so for you, you will be shaped into whoever or whatever your cornerstone is.

Whatever you build your life on and line it up to, you will be shaped into its image.

There's no other way.

You get to choose who your cornerstone is.

You do not get to choose which direction you go.

You just get to choose which which cornerstone do you want to choose?

And so your life will automatically, automatically your life will be shaped into its image, whatever that thing is.

And so if you consider that idea that your life is going to be shaped based on whatever your cornerstone is, you can begin to actually figure out what your cornerstones in your life actually are because you can look at the direction your life is actually taking.

So the things that are dictating your decisions, the things that are determining I'm gonna go this way, I'm gonna say these words, I'm gonna act this way around people, your cornerstone will dictate how you do those things.

And so you can figure out what your cornerstone is by considering who's actually shaping those things, who's shaping me the most.

So, for example, if you're angry, who is shaping your anger?

If you're just an angry person, you got some anger, who is shaping your anger?

Is it Jesus who's shaping your anger?

Are you angry about the things that he's angry about?

Because if he's not your cornerstone, then the likelihood is that you are angry about things that if you made him your cornerstone, you wouldn't be angry about that stuff anymore.

Because your anger would be decided by him.

You would only be angry with the things that make him angry.

And so you would shift from your anger and actually follow the cornerstone.

But if it's not him, then your anger will be decided by somebody else.

And so what is dictating your anger?

Is it Jesus telling you to be angry at this point in your life?

Or is it your social media newsfeed?

Is it the news?

Is it your political beliefs?

Is it what's going on in the nation?

Is it how people are treating you?

Is it your own selfishness, your own pride?

Like, what is shaping your anger?

And would Jesus say, Yes, I too am angry about that thing?

Or would he say, like, I'm not angry about that at all?

You're angry about that because of your pride.

Your pride has become your cornerstone.

Your selfishness has become your cornerstone.

The news has become where you get your anger or your joy.

And so, what's shaping your anger?

What about the way you spend your money?

Who's the cornerstone of the way you spend your money?

Who's dictating the way you do that?

Are you spending your money on things that Jesus would say, heck yes, that's perfect.

That's great.

I would spend your money there too.

Are we is our money going in the direction that Jesus wants it to go in or in the direction that Amazon wants it to go in?

Like which one is dictating where your money goes?

That's the point.

But who gets to decide what you spend your money on?

Is it entitlement?

I deserve this.

I deserve this.

All I do is give, I deserve this.

It's like, well, that's not Jesus as your cornerstone of your money, that's entitlement.

Is it greed?

I can't afford this, but I'm gonna get it anyways.

Is it vanity?

I need this.

I need others to see me with this.

If I don't have this, then I will not look the way that I'm supposed to look, or have the optics that I'm supposed to have with the people in my life.

Or is it just lack of self-control?

I do have, I have somebody has the wheel and it ain't me.

I'm just spending my money just.

Is your money going in the way that Jesus wants it to go in?

What about the way that you treat people?

Who's dictating the way that you treat people?

Is it Jesus?

Is Jesus telling you and dictating the way that you treat people, or is it just you?

I treat people how I feel that day.

I had this thing in my family where apparently you could be cruel to people and mean to people and then say, I'm just tired.

I'm like, bro, we all are tired.

Like, what are you talking about?

Don't talk to people that way.

I was like, well, somehow that was carte blanche.

You can say whatever you want.

It's like, as long as you said, like, oh, are you sleepy?

Oh, then it's cool.

Thanks for punching me in the face.

He's tired.

So who dictates how you treat people?

Is it you and how you feel?

I'm just not in a good mood.

Just wasn't feeling it today, and so I treated you poorly because I don't feel well.

Is it how they treated you?

So it's basically selfish.

I will treat you well if you treat me well.

Is it where they whether they agree with you or not?

I treat the people who agree with me really well or that they share my political ideologies, then I agree with them and I talk with them and I treat them well.

But anybody who disagrees on those things, I don't treat them well at all.

It's like, well, then again, that's not Jesus directing that.

That's you directing that, or that's the media directing that.

Your cornerstone is something else.

You're shaped into an image that isn't the image of Jesus.

And to me, if it's hard for you or impossible to be in relationship with people who aren't like you, who are completely different than you, like, I cannot be in relationship with people who believe X, or I can't be in relationship and friendship with people who are who would disagree with me on this, then I would tell you your cornerstone isn't Jesus.

It can't be because he was a friend of sinners and he's the sinless one.

And so if the sinless one can be friends with sinners, then your cornerstone cannot be Jesus if you're like, I can't be in relationship with people who disagree with me or don't share my ideas on these particular things.

Your cornerstone is something, it's just not Jesus.

Whatever is your is guiding that decision is your cornerstone.

What about the way you speak to your spouse, treat your spouse?

Jesus told you to love your wife as Christ has loved the church, and uh wives should honor and respect their husbands.

That shows their respect for Jesus and their love for him.

And so if you criticize your spouse publicly, are you getting that from Jesus?

You think he's like awesome, perfect.

That's exactly how I wanted this to go.

If you yell at them, is that coming from him?

If you constantly find faults in them and you're just nitpicking every single thing that they do, are you getting that from Jesus?

Is that what Jesus told you to do?

Because if it's not Jesus actually directing the way that you speak in your marriage, if it's not Jesus directing the way that you treat your spouse, then something else is gonna form your marriage and it's not going to be him.

Your marriage will just natur if it's not Jesus, your marriage will naturally follow its cornerstone.

And so if it's not him, your marriage will take the shape of whatever that thing is that is making you treat them that way, talk to them that way, interact with them that way.

And your marriage will be formed that way.

And Paul says that what Jesus wants to do in every area of our lives is to transform us from one glory to another.

And so just consider your marriage.

Is your marriage being transformed from one glory to the other, or is it going backwards?

Was it better before, and now it's just getting it's being transformed from one crappy situation to the next?

Like, is that what's happening?

Because if that's true, then Jesus is not the cornerstone of your marriage because he will transform you from one glory to another glory to another glory.

And if you make anything else the cornerstone of anything else in your life, but your marriage specifically, then you'll be transformed and malformed into something lesser and lesser and lesser until you pivot and switch back and have him as your cornerstone.

But you know it's not Jesus.

You know the cornerstone of your marriage isn't Jesus.

You can say that he is, but you know it's not if your marriage is going backwards and being malformed, not being transformed from one glory to the next.

I have like 30 more of these because you could do this in every single area of your life.

You could do this with how you date.

Is Jesus the cornerstone of how you date?

Does he dictate who you date?

Or is it just the fact that like I have a dating app that dictates who I date?

Or is it like there's just honestly, there's just a lack of options.

So I'm dating the bottom of the barrel because there's really nobody else.

Like, is he the one that actually does it, or is it just lack of options, or is it just the impatience that you feel?

I just need to be in a relationship, and so anybody will do.

Are they breathing?

Do they have arms and legs?

They'll work.

Like, is he is it would he be like, mm-hmm, just look for somebody with breath?

Like that, that's or would he say, actually, let's have something better?

What dictates how or and when you forgive people?

Is it you or is it him?

Does he get to decide that?

Or are you the cornerstone of your life and your forgiveness?

What about how you raise and discipline your kids?

Is he the cornerstone of that?

Does he get to dictate how this goes?

What you watch, how much you scroll social media, what dictates the how much you serve others, how often you go to church, how much you eat, drink, how you dress.

I mean, you could just go all the way through all of these different things.

And something is deciding the decisions that you take and the directions that you take.

And the cornerstone idea that he's saying is like if you are lined up with me, you will be forced in a good way to do the things and go the way that I want you to go.

You will be forced to be shaped into the image that I want you to be because I am a cornerstone.

But if you replace that cornerstone and you put anything else in there, you'll be shaped into its image and it'll be far worse than anything that he can actually do.

And so this is why he actually wants to be a cornerstone, be the cornerstone in our lives.

You have to go the way your cornerstone tells you to go.

And he can just do a better job at shaping our lives.

So Jesus wants to be our cornerstone because he will shape us into his image and likeness.

And if we don't have him as our cornerstone, if it's anything else, you'll be malformed.

That's the first.

Number two.

The second characteristic of a cornerstone is that the cornerstone was the strongest of the stones.

It's always the strongest of the stones.

And the reason is because it has to carry the load of the entire building.

It has to be the strongest because it has to be able to withstand storms and rot and decay and that kind of thing.

And it had to be the strongest so that the building would not crumble.

So we have an image here of a really strong cornerstone.

And if you notice the building, some of the other bricks or stones have fallen off, but the structure still stands.

So some of the smaller ones fell out, but it doesn't matter.

That giant cornerstone at the bottom is still there.

If that one goes, then the building goes.

But no other stone has the power of any other cornerstone.

It's the strongest one.

And the reason it's the strongest one is because honestly, if it has to be, it has to be able to withstand, it has to be able to hold because it's carrying all of the weight of the whole thing.

And if it collapses, then the building collapses or the structure collapses.

And so again, that's why Jesus wants to be our cornerstone.

He knows more than we know that he is the most stable, secure foundation that we will ever find.

He is the cornerstone that cannot be shaken by anything.

If death could not hold him down, there are no other options to try and take him out.

Because the one death did take him out, and all of a sudden that that didn't hold very well.

And so all of a sudden it's like he is the most stable, most firm foundation we have.

God says this about him in Isaiah 28, when he talked about that Jesus was going to come, he says, this is what the sovereign Lord says.

See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation.

The one who relies on it will never be shaken.

Any brick that places itself on top of this stone will never be shaken because it can't be shaken.

If the cornerstone can't be shaken, then the other bricks can't be shaken.

And so if it can't fall, then these other things aren't gonna aren't gonna break either.

And so if he cannot be dethroned and Jesus cannot be stopped by death, then there's no one else that can actually hold your life better and more securely and more safely than he can.

The structure will stand as long as it stands.

And if that structure will never fall, then you will constantly be in this unshakable place where it's like, well, I'm laying on him, and so if he can't move, then I can't move either.

But if anything else, if anything else in your life is your cornerstone, you will fall apart when that thing falls apart.

And so if you any anything other than Jesus is your cornerstone, you will shake when that thing shakes.

You will be fearful when that thing's fearful, you will be worried when that thing's worried.

And so you get to ask yourself, like, when in your life do you feel like your life is falling apart?

You can figure out your cornerstone by just going, when do you feel like life is falling apart when it's like, ah, it's just not good right now?

I'm very worried right now, I'm very anxious right now.

When in your life do you feel like that?

Because realistically, whatever that thing is that's shaking your fear, that is the thing that you're teetering on top of.

And so for me, when I was in college, some of y'all know, Rainey, I just wanted that relationship so badly to work.

Like I was so, I was like, I finally met a girl that I was like, I don't want to break up with after six months of time with you.

Um, I'm like very interested in this working out, would love to marry you.

And I'd never met anybody that I wanted to marry.

And uh, and so all of a sudden I was wrapped with fear of like, oh no, one woman in the entire world that I want to marry, and like this really has to work out.

And she kind of knew I existed and didn't really like me that much.

And so I just pursuing her and pursuing her, and I got so wrapped up in this relationship.

And anytime the relationship was good, I was on cloud nine, like I was doing great.

If it the relationship was good, I was good.

If it was bad, or we were going through a tough spot or something like that, or she was up at school and her ex-boyfriend was there, and they talked that day, or something like, if if the relationship shook, I shook.

Because realistically, I built my life on that relationship with Rainey.

She was my cornerstone.

And so when that relationship shook, I'm over here in Memphis shaking.

Like there's something wrong.

There's something going on in my life.

And I could not figure out like, how do I ever get this stable space?

And what I felt was like, as soon as we can lock this down, just put a ring on her finger, and then we're just gonna make it.

Then I'll be, then I'll feel secure.

But it's still this space of going, but it's still the relationship that gives me stability.

The relationship itself is the only thing that's gonna make me secure.

And all of us have things like that.

That if it shatters, then I'm shattered.

And so, whatever you build your life on, when it's in trouble, you're in trouble.

When it shakes, you shake.

And so, for instance, if your cornerstone is success, I just need to be successful.

You will feel secure until you fail.

Go to the next slide here.

If your cornerstone is success, you will feel secure until you begin to fail.

Whenever success eludes you, you'll be like, I just, I just I'll just have to chase it.

I have to work longer.

I gotta put more hours in.

I gotta figure out another thing.

I gotta make sure I'm doing this.

Because when success is unstable, you are unstable.

If it's what people think about you, you will thrive when they think highly of you.

But you will fall and fail and shatter and be crumbled when opinions change about you.

If it's money, then you'll only feel safe when there's plenty of money in the bank, then you'll live in fear of losing it.

If it's your career or your job, your life will go up and down based on how work is.

If it's your own beauty or looks, then you'll go up and down with age and the scale.

That will decide you're how do you feel today?

Well, the scale read this, and so I don't feel great.

And it's like, you're shaking because it's shaking.

It's a scale joke.

If it's a relationship, you'll feel great when the relationship is going well, and you'll feel worthless or meaningless when you're not in a relationship.

If it's like, I just need to be in a relationship.

Life feels better when I'm in a relationship.

It's like, then that is your cornerstone.

And when you're not in a relationship, you're like, oh, why am what am I even doing?

Nothing even matters.

You've made that thing your cornerstone.

If it's your kids, you'll feel great when your kids are doing well.

But if they aren't doing well, your life will be in pieces and it will masquerade as love.

Be like, I just love them really well.

It's like, no, you've built your life on them.

It's too much.

They can't bear that weight, and it you're just never gonna enjoy the fullness of life that's offered if you build your life on them.

If it's the market, your life will go up and down with the market, good luck.

If it's the government, again, good luck.

What's going on with politics?

Your emotions will rise and fall with the news and so on and so forth.

And so you get to ask yourself, what throws you into a tailspin?

When is this, when is it this space where you're like, there's just, I'm just, this makes me feel insecure.

This is when life goes off the rails for me.

Is it when Jesus was dethroned?

Is that if is that what did it?

Because that can't happen.

And so if Jesus is the cornerstone that cannot be dethroned, cannot be killed, his plans for you cannot fail.

Nothing can arm against them and stop them.

If nothing can do that, then realistically we should be able to live in this space where we feel secure all the time, even when the world around us is being shaken.

What throws you into a tailspin?

And to me, I think we all struggle with it.

For Rainey, I got permission to say this one.

For Rainey, she struggles with making her cornerstone, how her class responds to her teaching.

How was your day?

It was really good.

I had a good class.

They really were engaged with this one.

How was your day?

It just wasn't very good.

The kids just weren't listening.

Like, I just I feel like I'm just not doing, I'm not a good enough teacher, I'm not whatever.

And like all of a sudden you see these things going up and down because her struggle is to place that, how they respond, to make that the centerpiece of everything.

And so if it's doing great, then she's doing great.

Or it's how much money we have in the bank, or something like that.

She cares a lot about the money that we have.

So clearly, marrying a pastor was a good idea.

But when things are good financially, she's good.

But she struggles with those two things.

They just get in the way.

And we recognize that.

For me, it's always, always, always primarily been my job.

Um, career, this being successful.

Enneagram three, gotta be successful.

And so it's always been my job.

Um, and I will be the best at my job.

And I was like, why?

Because you are doing it for the Lord.

It's like, no, because I need it.

I need to do well.

I have to.

If I don't, then I feel like a complete failure.

Like, why do I even matter?

Like it's always been my job.

And for so now it's this church.

Thank you.

And it's something I struggle with, like I know.

And even if the church is good though, I'm good.

I can sleep at night.

If I feel like the church is not good, I'm gonna, it's gonna be a rough day, a rough night.

I'm gonna wake up in the middle of the night thinking about random things that should not, I don't even know why I'm thinking about this.

Just go to bed.

And more specifically, it's this sermon.

Like it's not just this sermon, it's every sermon.

Like if we're just talking about like what is your cornerstone, it's like how the sermon goes really affects my Sunday.

And if it's it's it's how I feel it goes.

And so if I feel like I presented a sermon to you and I feel like it went badly, and anybody at the door says, hey, really enjoy what you said, in my mind, liar.

You're you're you're just being nice, no offense, you're a liar.

Like, I feel like it went terrible, and so it doesn't matter what you say.

So I'm not looking for more accolades because I don't trust your accolades to begin with.

And so if but if I feel like it went well, if I'm like, I feel like that that that went out the way that I wanted it to go, and then somebody didn't like it, I'm like, pagan, non-believer.

They're wrong.

They probably just didn't get it.

It's fine.

But like I have built my life and I struggle to like build my life on this performance thing.

And I had this pastor one time in New York just say, like, you have to get performance out of your preaching, it's gonna kill you.

And he's not wrong.

But it's a struggle, and I think we all have these things.

It's like we just want to build our life on something.

Like, if this works, then everything will work.

And if I don't have this, then I have nothing.

And whatever those things are, those are functional cornerstones in our lives that we're building our life on, and they just cannot hold the weight.

And so what I have to do in those moments when I'm nervous and teetering on the how the church is doing is uh I have to remind myself of the truth.

Like I have to go into my prayer closet that I go into, and I have this uh painting from Rembrandt's Christ in the storm.

I have it here.

Um there it is, it's a beautiful painting.

It's lost, nobody knows where it is.

Um, seriously.

Um, but it's a beautiful painting.

But to me, I go in there and just I I I stare, I stare at this painting because to me, uh, the ship, this is the disciples, Jesus is in the rear of the boat.

This is the church to me.

Like the church is the boat being wrecked by waves.

And when things are coming in, I just I just see the ship as the church.

I'm like, this is what it feels like.

Leading a church feels like waves crashing in.

And I sit there and I go from disciple to disciple, looking at like the guy in the middle, just like ripping some, he's just pulling nothing and everything at the same time.

Like, I don't even know if this will work.

But he's just yanking.

I'm like, dude, I am that guy.

Like I'm just I'm just running around being like, maybe this will do it, maybe this will do it, maybe this will make it like, and I just go from person to person.

There's one guy throwing up in the back.

Like, I'm like, me too.

Been there, bro.

Like just stressed out.

I'm like, what is this?

And I just look at it and look at it and look at it, and then I finally I get to Jesus, and he's just restful.

And he's just sitting there.

So because he's restful, I just had this moment.

He's asking me what he asked for disciples like why are you so afraid of?

And I'm like, bro, look around.

There are waves coming in, like, this thing is gonna sink.

It's gonna sink and not survive.

There's no way.

And he's like, why are you so afraid?

And then I rest a little bit.

And I'm like, look, man, if you're not afraid, then I guess I shouldn't be afraid.

If you're not shaken, then I guess I shouldn't be shaken.

And if you're at peace, then certainly I should just go sit with you and take a nap.

Like maybe that's if you're taking a nap in the midst of the storm, maybe I can too.

And so it's just helpful to go, this is what it feels like.

And so what is what is the actual cornerstone doing when this is what it feels like?

And it's like he's literally taking a nap, wakes up, and is like groggy, like, what's up?

Um, and he's completely at rest.

And so, if that's his experience, and that should be my experience too, because he is my cornerstone, it's this realignment that I have to remind myself of the truth and go, look, he can't fail.

And so I don't know what's gonna happen, but if my cornerstone is him in this, then like my life is secure and this is gonna be fine.

And don't build your life on shifting sand and all those different things.

And so for us, we need to do the exact same thing.

We just need to find ways that when our cornerstone begins to shift and then we start shifting as well, and it starts to shake and we start to shake.

You have to remind yourself of the truth.

And so if it's my career is shaking.

But the truth is, if you remind yourself of this, the truth is that he's not surprised by the things that are going on in your life or in your career.

If you got fired, he's not sitting there going, like, oh my gosh, are you serious?

Like he's not doing that.

He's like, I know, I've I've I've known.

And I have something for you.

I have plans that cannot be thwarted.

They, your career, whoever's in your boss cannot thwart what I have for you.

They don't have that power.

I run that.

The government is shaking, but Jesus still rules and reigns and governs the entire universe, and nothing happens outside of his purview.

Everyone has to get permission from him.

He is the ruler.

And so, but it's shaking, it's shaking, it's un it's insecure.

It's like, but he's not.

And he's not surprised or nervous.

My kids are shaking.

Yes.

But God loves your kids more than he more than you love your kids.

He has better plans for your kids than you do.

You have selfish plans for them.

Even your selfless ones are riddled with selfishness.

His aren't.

And he has a plan for them that into the future that he does not have for you, he has for them to accomplish in the world.

My relational life is shaking.

Yes, but Jesus says that your relational life isn't where you get fullness and abundance and joy and peace.

It's a gift, but it's not something you need to actually feel full.

That can be found in him, regardless of whether you're in a relationship or not.

My health is shaking.

Okay.

But all the days and hours of your life are already written in a book.

You will have no more, no longer than he says, and no shorter time than he says.

He has decided what happens there.

And now what he's turned death into is instead of something that steals from you and takes life from you, now death is the door that now opens you into actual life, real, abundant life.

Things that we're longing for here where your body doesn't decay and you don't grow old and get sick all the time.

Like that's what he's turned death into, the door to more life.

That's why Paul could say to live is Christ and to die is gain.

To die is gain.

And so Jesus wants to be our cornerstone.

He wants us to build our lives on him because his good plans for us cannot be shaken by circumstances.

They cannot be shaken by suffering.

They cannot be shaken by cruel people in your life or bad circumstances or things like that.

They cannot be shaken by that.

That's why Paul was saying, like, we can rejoice even in our suffering.

Like nothing can separate us from the love that he has for us.

Nothing can separate us and get in the way.

And so we can rejoice regardless of our circumstances.

But that's if we build our cornerstone, our foundation, and make it him.

And so those are the two things.

The first stone laid because it shapes everything and he wants to shape your life.

It is the strongest stone there because he wants to be the one that's like, I promise I will keep you secure because I am unshakable.

And if you will trust in me, as the Lord said back in Isaiah, he's like, you will have a life that's unshakable.

You also will be going through storms, sitting in the back of the boat, just crushing it with Jesus, being like, Man, this is a wild storm.

Like, yeah, it's gonna be okay.

And then you'll be able to experience that peace that Paul talks about that surpasses understanding.

And so those are the two things.

How much time do I got?

I'm okay.

All right, how do we make him our cornerstone?

Just a couple of practical things I want to leave you with, and then we'll close.

Um, how do you make him your cornerstone?

The first is Jesus says, you must put his word into practice.

You cannot just call him your cornerstone, and you cannot just hear his word.

You have to put it into practice.

He says this in Matthew 7.

He says, Anyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a man, a wise man, who builds his house on the rock.

The storms come and yet the house does not fall because its foundation is on the rock.

It's on the cornerstone.

But if you just hear these words of mine and don't put them into practice, that's building your life on the sand.

That's what it's like.

And so the storms will come and they will beat against that house and it will fall with a great crash.

There is a different experience between those who just hear a sermon or read the scriptures, and then you're like, that's nice, and then do nothing with it.

There is a different experience between those that hear those things, read them, and then they're like, I am going to physically, actually, practically take what he said and put it into my life.

And I talk, I talk about this verse so much because we want to practice the way of Jesus because your life will become more secure.

I talk about this verse a ton.

But the moment the more I talk about it, the more I realize people don't understand what it means to put his word into practice.

I'm like, literally do it.

Do it.

Teddy got Legos for his birthday, and uh I've used this illustration before, but they all come with a like a gigantic, like 400-step plan to build whatever crap he's gonna build.

And it's this whole thing.

And like we take whatever it says, the picture and then the words, we take that, and then we literally put those words into practice in our lives.

We grab that piece from that bag and we put those two together.

And we literally physically put the words into practice in our lives.

And if Teddy would have been like, hey, look, 400 steps, can we burn that in the fire?

I got an idea, and tried to build it himself.

I'm just gonna do, I'm just gonna do my thing.

Like he would have built something, but it would not have been what he actually wanted to build and why we got the thing in the first place.

It wouldn't be the Mario box or whatever it is.

It would be something, but it would be malformed and it would not be as firm, it would not be as secure, and it would not be what it could have been if we would have just taken the words and put them into practice.

Your life will not be what it can be, and the fullness of what it can be if you just hear a sermon, read the scriptures, go throughout your life calling him your cornerstone, and do nothing with them.

But if you will literally take the words, shove them into your life, it says Jesus is like, you will experience the same storms as everybody else, but something different will take shape.

You will be secure because you're built on the cornerstone.

You have to hear his words, read his words, and do them.

You have to do them.

Because to be a hearer of the word and not a doer of the word is to miss out on life that he actually has for you.

And so put his word into practice in your life.

This is why he says in the Great Commission, he's like, go, if you remember, Matthew 28, go and make disciples.

Teach them to obey, to do every single thing that I've taught you, every command, teach them to do everything.

And what he's saying is, teach them to make me their cornerstone.

Don't make disciples that are like, do I need to do what he says?

I don't know.

He didn't really talk about that.

Like, no, no, no, don't do that.

Because they will experience a very, very different life, and then they'll blame God for how terrible their life is.

And it's like, you never did any of the stuff I told you to do.

Like, tell them, tell them to do these things so that they experience life with me.

Teach them how to make me their cornerstone by being obedient to every single thing that I say.

Not so that I'll love them, but so that their life will be secure.

We have to do what he says.

Second, second way to make him your cornerstone is just to spend more time with him in his word and in prayer.

Spend more time with him.

If you spend a little bit of time with him, double it.

If you can add a minute, do it.

Spend more time with him.

You will be shaped by the information, by the influences, and the people in your life.

You will be shaped by those things.

Teddy has my taste in music, thank God.

Um and Raimi's, but he likes to listen to Charlie Daniels and Eric Church.

I'm a big fan.

And so he likes those things.

Devil went down to Georgia.

It's I don't know why he likes the devil, but it's like he loves that song.

Um, but he has my taste in music, not because I commanded it.

Like you will have my taste in music or else you'll get a whoopin'.

Like it was never that.

We just spent time together listening to songs, and now he developed similar mannerisms and he developed similar tastes for music and similar tastes for books and wants to read and all these different things.

And now like Larry has all these like one-liners that he says, and now Teddy will come home and say some of the one-liners that Larry says.

And I'm like, where'd you learn that?

Like, he just spent time.

Larry didn't command him to say the random junk that he says.

Like he just it wasn't like, make sure you go home and say this.

Like it wasn't that.

It was just like they just go to the in the car together, they do life together.

And so you are formed, you are formed by the people you spend your time with.

You will be formed.

And so don't spend more time on social media or watching the news than you do with Jesus, because you will be malformed.

You'll be formed into the image of the news, and good Lord, don't do that.

You'll be formed into the image of social media.

You'll be formed into whatever it's gonna do.

And he's like, spend time with me, let me form you.

Matthew 11, this is why, or Matthew 11 or 12, this is why he says, like, come to me.

Jesus says, Come to me, spend time with me, and I will give you rest for your souls.

Like you will ex- I'm I am rest incarnate.

And if you just spend time with me, you'll experience rest with me.

That's why Peter says in his epistle, he says, as we come to him, those in the church, as we come to him, the living stone, rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him, we too are being built into a spiritual house.

And so as we come to him, he's going to shape us and form us, but we must spend time with him.

And so spend more time with him.

Make a year plan.

Start doing it now.

There's two months left in the year or whatever.

Like, spend more time with him.

You will be shaped into his image.

You will be shaped into making him your cornerstone, and your life will become more secure because he is that way.

And then last, make alignment adjustments as you see them.

Make alignment adjustments.

And so this is what I meant.

Like you remind yourself of the truth of when you see your life shaking, and you're like, why is my life shaking?

Why do I care so much about this?

It's like, because that thing has slipped in there and become your functional cornerstone.

And so when you see that happening, just adjust and come back to the true cornerstone.

Remind yourself of the truth of who he is and what he says about this, and that your life doesn't hinge in the balance of whatever that particular thing is, that he holds the keys to death.

And so you get to come back to him and do that.

And so make an alignment adjustment.

When you see that you're being shaped by someone other than Jesus, shift.

When the Holy Spirit, who is called to, his role is to convict you of sin.

Like pain, your pain points are supposed to alert you to something is wrong.

You touch a hot stove or something, and pain happens, and you're like, ooh, we're thankful for that because otherwise our finger burns off or whatever.

The Holy Spirit is meant to speak something into your heart and to push on you like pain points and go, hey, this, we're off kilter here.

You're placing way too much importance on these things, and he'll push and convict you in a kind way to try and get you, not to hurt you, but to try and get you to shift and make an alignment adjustment.

And so when you see that you're just out of alignment with him, that the way that you interact inside your marriage, the way that you deal with your money, the way that you go about your life, the things that are directing the steps and the direction that you take, the stuff that's dictating your world is not Jesus.

Repent.

We get to come home.

We get to make him our actual cornerstone.

And so my encouragement to you, and I believe Jesus is too, would be to make him your cornerstone.

He wants to shape your life, and he can do a better job than you can.

And when you are shaking, you just know that's not because of him.

He's not.

He's never worried, he's never insecure.

And so when you see that, he wants to you feel that.

He wants to shift you out of that insecurity into a space of safety by building your life on him.

And so make him your cornerstone.

Let me pray.