The stone which the builders rejected

Sermon - Part 1193

Preacher

Rev W.Macleod

Series
Sermon

Transcription

Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions. Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt.

[0:00] What read this scripture, the stone which the builders rejected, has become the head of the corner. This was the Lord's doing, and is marvelous in our eyes.

[0:15] Jesus had to battle constantly against opposition and rejection.

[0:35] God was so good to the Jews, they were his chosen people. Yet, they rejected him.

[0:48] They rejected the Messiah. Down through the centuries in Old Testament times, there was this prophecy that a Messiah, a Savior was going to come.

[1:04] A Deliverer who would be the King of the Jews. And the Israelites in Old Testament times were looking forward to the coming of the great Messiah, the Christ.

[1:18] But when he came, they took him and they crucified him. They rejected the prophets, and they rejected the Son.

[1:36] The stone which the builders rejected, though, has become the head of the corner. And even although they rejected Jesus, God establishes him as the only Savior.

[1:53] There is no other name, no other way whereby men and women can be saved but through Jesus Christ. He is the head of the corner. I wonder, is he the head of the corner for you?

[2:09] Is he the altogether important one? The one upon whom you are building? The one who is the center of everything for you?

[2:21] Paul said, for me to live is Christ, to die is gain. Can we say that? First, let's look at the vineyard presented to us here.

[2:37] It's a kind of garden where vines and grapes will be grown. It wasn't a wild area.

[2:51] It wasn't even an open field. But it was specially planted and cultivated. A hedge was placed about it.

[3:04] A fence round it, so that no enemy could break in. So that no wild beasts could destroy it. And the one who planted the vineyard digged a wine press and built a tower.

[3:23] A tower which would act as a watchtower to guard against robbers. Everything that could be done was done for this vineyard.

[3:36] And everything was of the best. Jesus here is making a picture of Israel. More blessed than more than any other country.

[3:50] More than Eden and Moab. More even than Egypt and Assyria. God blessed Israel. To begin with, they were in a very low condition.

[4:03] They were slaves in the land of Egypt. But God took them from this poverty and this bondage. And brought them out in a miraculous way. And led them through the wilderness.

[4:15] Feeding them with manna bred from heaven. And with water from the flinty rock. Brought them to the land of Canaan. Cast out from before them seven nations greater and mightier than they.

[4:30] And planted them in this land of promise. Which flowed with milk and honey. And having planted them there as it were.

[4:43] He let out the vineyard to husbandmen. The husbandmen stands for, in this case, the leaders.

[4:56] Notice in chapter 11 and verse 27. Jesus walking in the temple there came to him. The chief priests and scribes and elders saying, By what authority doest thou these things?

[5:11] The chief priests, the leaders in the temple worship. The scribes, they were the doctors of theology. The professors, the teachers as it were, within the Jewish church.

[5:25] And then the elders. They were the leaders. The elders appointed in each town. Who were the leaders of God's people.

[5:38] Chief priests, scribes and elders. It was let out to husbandmen. Now let's think of our own church today.

[5:49] How good God has been to us. What a rich heritage he has given us. How he has blessed us. With his Bible. His own word.

[6:01] With a confession of faith that so beautifully expresses the leading teachings of the Bible. With scriptural worship and scriptural government. With godly ministers.

[6:14] And godly members in our churches. And he planted this vineyard. In the barren highlands of Scotland. In the glenies.

[6:26] And in the islands. God has planted a vineyard. And I wonder. Is God getting fruit.

[6:38] From the vineyard. That he has planted. That leads us then secondly. To consider the rent. Or the vineyard.

[6:48] Having let it out. He goes into a far country. But. He expects. To receive rent.

[7:00] He expects. The fruit of the vineyard. To be paid to him. But sadly. The husbandmen. To whom he let out the vineyard.

[7:12] Are self-seeking. Concerned about their own. Power. And wealth. And wealth. He sends a servant to them.

[7:24] Servants. Representing. The prophets. The servant comes with a master's authority. Thus saith the Lord.

[7:35] This is God's word to you. God is demanding action from you. God says repent. Remember the message of Isaiah.

[7:46] Cry aloud. Spare not. Lift up thy voice like a trumpet. Show my people their conscretion. In the house of Jacob their sins. The Lord's hand is not shortened.

[7:58] That it cannot save. Though it feels grown heavy. That it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated. Between you and your God. And your sins have heavy states from you.

[8:08] That he will not hear. And the call of the prophet says repent. Turn ye. Turn ye. From your evil ways. For why will ye die? And God is looking for rent.

[8:21] He's looking for repentance. And he's looking for faith. And he's looking for obedience. For good works. For love for himself. And for obedience to him.

[8:33] But what happens? The first servant comes along. And asks for the rent. And they take him. And they beat him up. And they send him back.

[8:44] Empty handed. And what does the owner of the vineyard do? Does he immediately return from the far country. In great anger. To deal with these hustling men?

[8:58] No. But he sends another servant. How long-suffering God is. If you and I were God.

[9:11] The moment our will was contradicted. In our wrath. We would destroy these people. But God. He's long-suffering.

[9:22] Not willing that any should perish. But that all should come to repentance. And he gives us opportunity after opportunity. To consider our ways.

[9:33] And to think about how we are behaving towards him. And whether we are properly responding to his word. He sends messenger after messenger. The second messenger comes looking for rent.

[9:45] And him. They cast stones at him. And wound him in the head. And send him away. And other servants came.

[9:59] Some they stoned. And some they beat. And some they killed. Blessed are you when men shall revive you. And persecute you.

[10:10] And shall say all manner of evil against you. Falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad. For so persecuted they the prophets.

[10:21] Which were before you. One after another. After another. Of the prophets. Persecuted. Remember Elijah. In many ways.

[10:32] The first of the. Of the prophets. The father of the prophets. He was described as a troubler of Israel. And rejected. Remember Micaiah.

[10:43] Ahab said of him. He never speaks well of him. And Ahab put him into prison. And fed him. With bread of affliction. And water of affliction. Remember Jeremiah.

[10:55] His feet were placed in the stocks. And then he was taken out of the stocks. And he was thrown in a dungeon. Where he would have died. But for Ebed-Melech. The Ethiopian.

[11:06] And he came. And delivered him. Remember Isaiah. The great evangelical prophet. Of the Old Testament.

[11:19] Tradition tells us. That he was thrown in pieces. The Jews come to Jesus.

[11:29] And they say. By what authority. Doest thou these things. They're trying to embarrass Jesus. What are your credentials? Show us.

[11:42] You are so dangerous. Show us your degrees. Your certificates. We're in control of the church.

[11:53] We're in control of God's people. And by what authority. Doest thou these things. Who gave me the permission. To chase the merchants.

[12:04] Out of the temple. Who gave me permission. To go out preaching. What is the way Jesus answers.

[12:15] If Jesus had said to them. I have no credentials. From men. But from God. They would have laughed at him. And mocked him.

[12:25] As having no credentials. If he came to have credentials. From God. Again. They would have. Laughed at him. But Jesus says.

[12:38] I also have a question. To ask you. The baptism of John. You all said. From men. Or from God. And they began to.

[12:53] Discuss the question. Amongst themselves. And it was a. A collected question. Because. John was the preparer for Jesus. He was the forerunner. He was the one.

[13:03] Who had said. He that cometh after me. Is prepared before me. The latchet of whose. She I'm not worthy to. Stoop down into unloose.

[13:13] Jesus. John was the one. Who pointed to Jesus. And said. Behold the Lamb of God. That takes away. The sin of the world. He's the Messiah.

[13:24] He's the one. On whom God's spirit rests. And said. The sin of the Lord. The sin of the Lord. The sin of the Lord. He's the one. And said. It was a connected question. Because. John was the one.

[13:37] Who pointed to Jesus. The baptism of John. Is it from heaven or of men? And they thought among themselves. If we say. It is from heaven.

[13:48] He will say then. Why did you not believe him? And why do you not accept me? As. The great preacher. The great prophet. The teacher. And if we say.

[14:01] The baptism of John. Is of men. Then they're in danger. Because. The common people. The crowds. And especially. All these pilgrims.

[14:12] Gathered in Jerusalem. For the Passover. They took Jesus. To be. They took rather. John. To be a prophet. And if they said. That John was.

[14:24] Not a prophet. Then. The crowds. Were in danger. Of. Stoning them. So. Replying to Jesus.

[14:35] They cannot tell. They don't know. That was a blatant lie. Wasn't it? They were being dishonest. They weren't prepared.

[14:48] To say. John. John was beheaded. And really. They were quite happy. Because they didn't like John.

[15:00] Or his message. I wonder. Do you and I. Make excuses.

[15:15] Out of lies. Do we. Do we. Do we. Do we give to God. The place he should have. Do we. Pay the rentiest wear.

[15:27] For the vineyard. Do we. Love Jesus. And worship. And follow him. And then.

[15:41] And then. Thirdly. Having sent. Prophet. After prophet. Or rather. Servant. After servant. To the.

[15:53] Husband men. To those who are looking after the vineyard. The owner of the vineyard. Having yet. One son. His well beloved.

[16:05] Sent him also last unto them. Saying. They will reverence my son. But what did they do. They said. This is the year.

[16:16] Come. Let us kill him. And the inheritance. Shall be ours. The owner of the vineyard. Eventually. Didn't just send his servant.

[16:28] But sent his son. Surely. They'll respect my son. This is the year. Come. Let us kill him.

[16:39] And the inheritance shall be ours. But in their folly. They forgot. That the owner of the vineyard. Was still alive. And sin.

[16:51] In its essence. Is folly. It's madness. To sin against God. The God who is almighty.

[17:02] And the God who will punish. Sin is foolish. The fool. Hath said in his heart. There is no God.

[17:13] It is the fool that lives. As if God did not exist. So. They took.

[17:24] The son of the owner of the vineyard. And they killed him. And they cast him. Out of the vineyard. God who at sundry times.

[17:34] And in diverse manners. Spake in times past. Unto our fathers. By the prophets. Hath in these last days. Spoken unto us.

[17:45] By his son. Whom he hath appointed. Heir of all things. By whom also he made the worlds. The prophets. The prophets. One after another.

[17:57] Speaking God's word. Calling for obedience. Calling for worship. For service to the Lord. And then the son comes. And these last days.

[18:09] Hath spoken unto us. By his son. But they took him. And they crucified him. He came unto his own.

[18:21] And his own. Received him not. They were running the vineyard. And they were running it. For their own benefit.

[18:32] To please themselves. Not. For the owner. But rather. For their own interests. Surely we must guide.

[18:44] And we must be very careful. That we do not run. Our churches. Or our lives. For ourselves. In a selfish way.

[18:56] For our own interests. Or our own advancement. Or our own glory. We must run our churches. For the glory of God.

[19:08] For what is the church? It is the vineyard of the Lord. And that vineyard is to be yielding fruit. To God. To God. It is not for us.

[19:20] To exploit. To make ourselves. As it were. Fat. On God's vineyard. And similarly. And similarly. When you think.

[19:31] Of the vineyard of your own soul. And my own vineyard. Again. As individuals. It is so important for us.

[19:42] To give. Our hearts. And our lives. To him. Son. Daughter. Give me thine heart. It is so important.

[19:53] It is so important for us. To have mercy on the vineyard. Finally. Notice. The anger. Of the owner. Of the vineyard.

[20:03] The vineyard. What will he do? He will come. And he will destroy them. And give. The vineyard.

[20:15] Unto others. They have not only. Maltreated. his servants but they have killed his son his well-beloved and so he will come and destroy them and give the vineyard to others and this is what happened God brought his destruction upon the Jews and gave the vineyard and gave the gospel to others and down through the centuries no people have suffered as the Jews have suffered and up to this point in time to a large extent the gospel has been taken from the Jews yes there is a remnant according to the election of Greece there are the ones and twos amongst the Jews who are born again and come to enjoy the blessings of the gospel but the majority the vast majority there is still a deal over their eyes a blindness a darkness and they don't know the way of salvation through the true Messiah what a warning this is to us will God take his vineyard from us the vineyard that he planted in the sky and in the highlands of Scotland in our land will he take the vineyard from the free church it's a challenge to us to consider our ways to remember that God sees selfishness he sees pride he sees lust he sees idolatry and God is looking for fruit the fruit of repentance being sorry for sin the fruit of faith trusting depending upon the Lord God is looking for the fruit of love

[22:28] God you and I loving him with all our heart he's looking for praise and worship from us he's looking for us to glorify him he's looking for us to be witnesses on his side he's looking for us to do his work living for him in this world and shining with his light in the darkness the stone which the builders rejected the traditional story which tells us that when we were building the temple of the Lord the Lord the stones were shaped in the quarry so that no no hammer would be used or chisery would be used in the stones at the building site of the temple on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem and then the stones were taken and carried to Temple Mount and there they were built and there was one odd shaped stone and they couldn't understand why a stone in this strange shape and they threw it to one side and there it lay covered in moss as they built the temple but as they built they discovered that there was one key stone missing one critical corner stone and they were looking everywhere for the stone they couldn't find it until someone thought of the odd shaped stone there it was covered with moss but it was the one which was the one that was the temple but it was the one which fitted exactly into the corner

[24:35] Christ the rejected one but the cornerstone chosen of God and precious how do you deal with Jesus do you throw him to one side or do you take him into your heart and life is he to you the missing stone the critical one the one who holds the building together the one on whom the building is built as it were what think ye of Christ at the end of the day there is no more crucial question than that if you love Christ and trust in Christ and receive and obey Christ then you are blessed but if not the Lord the Lord of the vineyard will come and will take from you the privileges of the vineyard and destroy you as individuals we have to make sure that we give to God his place and to Jesus his place and we have to look to in our churches to make sure that we are worshipping serving trusting in living for our God so that we are not self-seeking earthly worldly but rather

[26:18] God glorifying are we giving the fruit to God that we should or are we barren and unfruitful let us pray Gracious and ever blessed God help us to take thy word and to apply it to ourselves help us to learn from it and keep us from going astray in any way from thee and from thy ways to thou lead guide and direct us and show us the way forward and grant Lord that thou wouldst be our refuge and our strength our hope our stay our encouragement in thee we trust grant thy blessing to be upon us each one so that we would seek Jesus and make him the cornerstone of our lives in his name we pray amen