Author: Chuck Musselwhite

Anchor to the Cornerstone

For the longest time, our kitchen floor leaned a certain way. If something fell on the floor, it would roll till it hit the cabinets. It wasn’t till we had a water issue that our contractor discovered we had a cracked header, and if someone would’ve jumped hard, they would’ve fallen through. Our floor needed to be shored up with a new four-by-four header and cement post attached. After that, our floor was level. The church is to the anchor to the cornerstone, Jesus Christ, which keeps it level and true.

PSALMS‬ ‭118:22

“The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief corner stone.”

This psalm is what they call a Messianic psalm. It foretells something about the coming Messiah who will save God’s people. Here the psalmist is using a building analogy to say that the religious leaders during the Messiah’s time will reject him, but God will make Him the Cornerstone of the church. In Israel, they used stone to build their buildings because it was a resource that was in abundance. They would find a stone and chisel it into a perfect ninety-degree angle. This would be the cornerstone that they would set the rest of the stones of the building on, so it would be true.

Raised His Hands

In the movie The Patriot with Mel Gibson, he is charged to fight off trained British soldiers with a bunch of militia who are farmers by trade. At one of their first battles, as the soldiers get close, he tells them to hold off firing until they can see the whites of their eyes. That is too close for most of them, and many want to retreat or shoot. Mel Gibson repeatedly says, “Steady,” to remind them to wait and not move. That took a lot of trust. Moses showed the same trust as he raised his hands in battle.

EXODUS‬ ‭17:11

So it came about when Moses held his hand up, that Israel prevailed, and when he let his hand down, Amalek prevailed.

The nation of Amalek came against Israel. Moses instructed Joshua to gather some men and fight against them. Moses, Aaron, and Hur headed up to the top of the hill, where Moses raised his hands towards the Lord. As long as he raised his hands, Israel was victorious. As his arms began to sink because Moses grew weary, Amalek started to gain momentum. Aaron and Hur put a stone under Moses for him to sit on, and they held his arms up till the sun went down and Israel defeated the Amalekites.

It Packs a Punch

There is a video circulating online of a fight club somewhere in a warehouse. There is no ring, just an overzealous crowd looking for a good fight. The two fighters couldn’t have been more opposites. One was a native islander with his tribal kilt, war paint, and long hair. The other was a shirtless marine with a buzzcut. The islander tried to intimidate the marine by shouting and screaming and doing all these flips. When the bell rang, the marine rared back with his right hand and punched the islander right in the face, knocking him out. The marine walked away. His fist packed a punch. God has a one-two punch, His lovingkindness, and truth.

‭‭PSALMS‬ ‭117:2

“For His lovingkindness is great toward us, And the truth of the LORD is everlasting. Praise the LORD!”

This is the shortest of the Hallel psalms but the most powerful. Spurgeon wrote 36 pages about this psalm alone. It has prophecy about the Gentiles, revelation, instruction, and admonition, all in TWO verses! You could say it packs a punch. God’s lovingkindness and truth are great toward us. They are everlasting, so we should praise the Lord. The Almighty God shows us tender, loving mercy when He could easily be distant and cold. You can trust what He says because it never changes.

No Small Disturbance

There is a story about a man wrongly imprisoned in an eastern European country. The reason the man was being sent to prison? Leading a Bible study. The warden harshly treated him, but each morning he would get up and sing a hymn for all the prisoners to hear. This went on for years, and on the day he was to be executed, he was given his release papers instead and shoved outside the prison gate. His Bible study never stopped meeting nor praying for his release. When he got home, there was no small disturbance.

‭‭ACTS‬ ‭12:18

“Now when day came, there was no small disturbance among the soldiers as to what could have become of Peter.”

Peter had a habit of breaking out of prison. I’m joking, of course, but he was broken out of jail on several occasions. Soldiers have a sense of pride in doing their work. Peter was gone. He had escaped, but they couldn’t figure out how it happened. This was hard to accept. God sent several messages through this jailbreak. To Peter, the message was keep preaching the Gospel. No one is going to stop you. The message to the Scribes and Pharisees was, “Don’t mess with me.”

Ready for Good Works

There was a lady who was praying for God to use her. She was grocery shopping, and God told her to buy an extra gallon of milk. She didn’t have the money or the need, but she was obedient. As she drove home, she drove by a home, and God told her to stop and give the gallon of milk to the family. She argued with God for a while. She didn’t know the family, and she was in a hurry. Finally, she relented and walked up to the house. After she knocked on the door, a mother with three small children answered. The lady told her that God told her to give her this gallon of milk. The mother started to cry. They had just run out of food and had no money, and she had cried out to God for help. The milk was just what she needed for young children. This shows you need to be ready for good works.

‭‭TITUS‬ ‭3:14‬

“Our people must also learn to engage in good deeds to meet pressing needs, so that they will not be unfruitful.”

There will always be needs in the church. The people need to be ready to engage in the most pressing needs. Ignoring those needs will cause them to be unfruitful. Why does Paul say this to Titus? First, God designed the church to be self-sustaining. There are enough resources to meet the needs. If there is a shortage, it is because people are not stepping up and using their gifts. Second, unused fruit goes bad. If the Spirit grows fruit in your heart, it must benefit the local church. If you are holding back, the church becomes unfruitful, and you become spoiled.

Rescued from Death

There is a video of a woman on a scooter who gets hit by a car, then slides into a storm drain and disappears. Rescue workers have to pull her out by her boots to get her out. As I watched the video, I was reminded of today’s passage. We are rescued from death just like Israel was from Egypt and Jesus was from the Tomb.

‭‭PSALMS‬ ‭116:8-9

“For You have rescued my soul from death, My eyes from tears, My feet from stumbling. I shall walk before the LORD In the land of the living.”

The Psalms between 113-118 are known as the Egyptian Hallel Psalms. They recount God rescuing them from slavery and the hands of Pharaoh. Jesus made these Psalms His own as he sang them the night before His crucifixion. These words bring a whole new power if you look at them in that light. Jesus was resurrected from death. Hence we were rescued from death, our eyes from tears, and our feet from stumbling.

Remembered the Words of Jesus

Has someone wise ever given you advice you didn’t listen to, only for those words to ring true in your mind years later? That’s happened to me several times. That is what happened to Peter when he saw the Holy Spirit descend upon the household of Cornelius. Immediately he remembered the words of Jesus.

‭‭ACTS‬ ‭11:16

“And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.'”

Peter was preaching in Cornelius’ house, and during the middle of the message, the Holy Spirit fell, and they were filled with the Spirit. This left Peter a little bewildered. Gentiles received the Spirit as the Jews did on Pentecost. At the moment, He knew that everything Jesus had promised them was also available to the Gentiles. After the outpouring of the Spirit, Peter was reminded of the words of Jesus when He said, “John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” The prophet Isaiah prophesied that this would happen in Isaiah 44:3.

Structured for Success

If you want to build a building that will last, you start with an architect who will draw you some blueprints that the contractor will use. The church has a blueprint in the Bible that has structured it for success. In the Pastoral epistle, Paul lays out how older men are to provide an example for the younger men to follow to ensure that success.

‭‭TITUS‬ ‭2:2

“Older men are to be temperate, dignified, sensible, sound in faith, in love, in perseverance.”

Paul gave the church a structure that would ensure its success. Older men are to set the example in how they live by being dignified, sensible, and sound in their faith. Older women are to mentor younger women in how to raise their children. If this system is effective, the church will be sustained for generations. If there is a breakdown in any of these areas, you will see the church and families begin to crumble. It is the role of the church leadership to uphold this standard and hold everyone accountable.

Deserving of All of Your Praise

If you want to build a building that will last, you start with an architect who will draw you some blueprints that the contractor will use. The church has a blueprint in the Bible that has structured it for success. In the Pastoral epistle, Paul lays out how older men are to provide an example for the younger men to follow to ensure that success.

‭‭TITUS‬ ‭2:2

“Older men are to be temperate, dignified, sensible, sound in faith, in love, in perseverance.”

Paul gave the church a structure that would ensure its success. Older men are to set the example in how they live by being dignified, sensible, and sound in their faith. Older women are to mentor younger women in how to raise their children. If this system is effective, the church will be sustained for generations. If there is a breakdown in any of these areas, you will see the church and families begin to crumble. It is the role of the church leadership to uphold this standard and hold everyone accountable.

God Shows No Partiality

Inclusiveness is a popular word today. People sling it around to include everything from gender to religion. The intention is that no one is excluded, and people can come as they are. Did you know the church should be the same way? God shows no partiality. The Gospel is the solution for everyone’s spiritual ills….