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I'd like to speak to souls today about our precious possessions in Jesus Christ. Our precious possessions. So please turn with me this Lord's Day to the 2nd epistle of Peter, chapter 1.
2nd epistle of Peter.
And we'll be reading verse 1 to verse 4. We'll be looking at other selected verses. But I'd like to begin with these verses here as we've been looking at 2nd Peter. Wonderful, wonderful book. Only three chapters, but it is really loaded up.
So hear the word of the living God, Simon Peter, a servant, a bondservant, and an apostle of Jesus Christ to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Savior Jesus Christ, grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, according as His divine power hath given unto us all good things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to the glory and virtue, verse 4, whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
Let's stop right there and let's pray and bow before the Lord and seek His face and ask His blessings upon us as we look into His rich, rich word this morning and need.
His help.
Let's pray. Father, we thank You. Bless Your holy name. Holy, holy, holy are You Lord. The whole earth is full of Your glory. Lord, we cannot exalt You enough, we cannot love You enough for the great salvation that is given to us through Jesus Christ, crucified, buried and resurrected, soon to come back again in great power and glory.
Father, You just give and give again and again out of Your abundant, free and sovereign grace, out of Your goodness. Lord, we thank You for that. Thank You for Your infinite and amazing grace. Lord, we thank You for the infinite, unchanging love that nothing can change You.
You are unchanging. We thank You for that. We're the ones that need to be changed from faith to faith, from glory to glory. Love so amazing, so divine, that it demands our soul, our life and all, as Isaac Watts said.
That's our prayer today. And Father, our prayer today is that Jesus Christ and Him alone would be exalted and.
Lifted up.
Hide me behind the cross this morning, Lord, and may Your words go forth in power and truth and love and warning and correction and righteousness correcting us and instruction in righteousness. So Father, help us to receive the encouraging words of Your truth as well as the correction.
And Father, we ask this for Your glory and honor. By the blessed power of the Holy Spirit, we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Simon Peter, a servant, an apostle, mentions literally six times in his two epistles here as we look at, and we've seen these as we went through the book of 1 Peter, of the great possessions that are precious, precious to the people of God.
These are precious only to those who have their eyes opened, to those that have been given new life in Jesus Christ, to those that have been born of the Spirit of God. Because it's not going to be precious to those that are blind, only to the Spirit of God that has opened our eyes today that we are privileged to see this.
And by His grace alone, it's nothing we have done. Now when we think of something precious, we think of something that is valuable, something that is of great worth, something that is to be cherished, something that needs to be put under guard, something that needs to be watched very closely, something that we love or someone we love.
Because of something that means everything to us, for parents, we think of our children as precious. For the grandparents, we think of our grandchildren as precious, rightly so. Some people even feel that way about the spouse, their spouse.
We cherish them. We desire to protect them as we hold them in high esteem, and rightly so. They are gifts to us from the blessed hand of God, and we are to be stewards of what God has given to us, and never take those things for granted.
Some people, or should I say many people in this world today, have things that they own, and yes, they have become idols because they are too precious to them. They clutch to those things that will perish.
They clutch to the valuables that are costly. And again, like what Vaughty Bachman says, it's not that having things is wrong. What's wrong is the things having you, when it becomes an idol. When God gives us something, the main thing is not to have those things before God.
God is to be first in all things. But these things that are precious, these valuables, are costly, like jewelry. We could take jewelry, or an automobile for instance. I think the women would cling to the jewelry more than the automobile, and I think us guys have a little bit more problem with the automobiles.
But whatever it may be that we hold to that is precious, is of great worth. That is exactly what that word means, of great worth. Very valuable. Let me give a little illustration here. In the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D .C., you may know this, there is a precious stone.
It's a diamond actually. It's a beautiful rock that is called the Hope Diamond. The Hope Diamond. This particular stone is considered to be absolutely priceless. This Hope Diamond is actually a 45 .52 carat diamond that was originally extracted in the 17th century from India.
Very valuable. It's encased in a huge glass encasement in Washington D .C. at the Smithsonian Institute. It has a beautiful blue color due to the trace amounts of boron that's within it.
It glows.
Beautiful, beautiful diamond. It's a huge diamond. It's one of the largest in the world. And the estimated value in the United States, in the United States, there's no telling how much it's valued in other parts of the world, but it is up to $350 million.
Quite a sum. And if you ever go there, I've never been there, but if you ever do, there's a lot of interesting things in the Smithsonian Institute. But that precious stone is literally there. That's encased.
You will look at it through a thick piece of glass and it allows you to gaze into the vault where this precious diamond is kept. Stone is also protected, as you well know, by an elaborate alarm system, which probably cost millions of dollars, and armed guards all around it.
Now, I mention this, and why do I go through this illustration, and why does someone go through that much trouble to guard such a stone? Well, actually, it's the reason why, because someone, and many people, considers this great rock, this diamond, to be very precious.
It's valuable.
And beloved, as I mentioned that, to the believer in Jesus Christ, there are things which we possess that are much, much more precious than that diamond. Now, according to the Word of God, all the material wealth, as you well know, and as you've read the Scriptures, and all that we see, and all that we esteem, is going to one.
Day perish.
And literally, Peter mentions it, it will burn up. It's going to burn up with intense heat. It's going to be put into the oven, God's oven. All the people that we count dear to ourselves, that precious as much as we love our family, we will leave them one day, or they're going to leave us.
The whole diamond, as people count precious, and so valuable to the world, and with all the millions of dollars that's poured into guarding it, and to watching over it, and the worth of it, is going to also perish.
The world doesn't see this. The Scripture says the world is passing away. It's going to pass away. But he that does the will of God abides forever. So however, we have been given some very, very precious things by God, and aren't you.
Glad?
It's all because of Jesus Christ. And He is the focal point. He is the focal point of everything that we have that is precious. And literally, not one thing that He has, or even of Himself, will never perish or be taken away.
Isn't that wonderful? That is something to really, to put a seal on right there, because that will never, ever.
Pass away.
It is eternal. And according to verse 3, as you can see in our text today, Peter says by the Holy Ghost, and I love this, according as His divine power hath given, God's a giving God, He has given unto us all things, not some things, all things that pertain unto life and godliness through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue, praise God.
So within this time of worship, I would like for us to just take a little journey this morning before we have communion, to travel together through the Scriptures from 1st Epistle of Peter and 2nd Epistle of Peter, the things that God has given to us that are precious.
Peter loves this word. He uses it several times. And I'd like for you to notice with me our precious possessions by Jesus Christ, in Jesus Christ, that are given to us by God through Christ. There are literally six of them, if I counted right.
And let's look at these six. The first one is the precious possession of faith. The precious possession of faith. We've already looked at this last week, but it bears repeating again. 2 Peter 1, chapter 1, verse 1b says, to those who have obtained, that means received, like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Now let us not miss what he just said. We have obtained, we've received like precious faith with us. It is a precious faith, and he goes to say, this is an apostle that's with us. It's the same kind of faith.
Peter literally is telling them, those who have obtained this like precious faith with us by the righteousness of Jesus Christ, the like, the same precious faith, basically what he's saying is equally valuable.
The faith that God has given to you is the same faith that was given to the apostle Peter, to the apostle Paul, to Abraham, to Isaac, to Jacob, to all those that are born again of the Spirit of God, and that will be in God's heaven, God's elect.
God has gifted them this faith, this instrument to lay hold of God. We cannot do this within ourselves.
It's impossible.
Literally, the scriptures speak, and Jesus speaks of it quite often. We have people in ourselves, and the world, as you well know, are totally unable. There's inability. We are not able. The ability is not there.
God must give them this gift, this ability to lay hold, just like the thief on the cross when he was dying. God was pressing upon him to lay hold of Jesus Christ. He could not have done that himself. It was the Spirit of the living God.
No one comes into the kingdom by their own good works, by their own merits, but no matter how hard they try, even if they go to church, all their lives can be damned by doing good works, trying to earn their way to heaven.
The only way that we can get into heaven is through the righteousness of Jesus Christ in which he has merited for us nothing else. It's Christ alone. And I like what Spurgeon said, faith is a gift from God to lay hold of God.
Even faith in and of itself does not save us. Jesus is the Savior. The faith is the gift, the instrument to lay hold of God. And I love that. But what he's saying here, this precious faith is equally valuable or equally privileged to us and among the faithful.
God sees no distinctions among Christians as he sees us. There's no distinction there. God has no favorites in his kingdom. There is no respecters of persons in the kingdom of God. Now, there will be different ranks in the kingdom of God, but as far as God is concerned, within the kingdom, we all enter in the same way, by faith in the Messiah, in Jesus Christ alone, through the way, the truth and the life.
Paul the apostle wrote this in Galatians 328, there is neither Jew nor Greek. There is neither slave nor free man. There is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
That's glorious, isn't it?
Basically, what he's saying is, all those who are one in faith with Jesus Christ are one with Christ of one body. Heirs of God join heirs with Jesus Christ. The same kind of faith, equal in rank, equal in position, equal in honor, equal in standing.
I love that.
Equal in standing, equal in price, equal in value. There is nothing, we come into the family of God by faith alone through Jesus Christ and Christ alone.
That's the gospel.
And it was used, actually, in ancient world, in ancient world with strangers and foreigners who were given equal citizenship in a city. And here, the apostle Peter says, he was emphasizing that believers have all received, obtained this same priceless, precious faith that is saving through Jesus Christ.
Basically, Peter is saying that there is no first class, there is no second class Christians, and the spiritual, racial, or gender distinctions, there's no respecter of persons with God. So here, Peter is writing mostly also his audience to Gentile believers.
These Gentile believers, and he's encouraging them, actually saying that you have received the same kind of precious light, precious faith as the Jews, a believing Jew has, by the righteousness of God.
Isn't that wonderful?
Only God's righteousness through Jesus Christ. Through Jesus Christ. And this is precious faith.
It's a gift.
As we saw last week, by grace are you saved, through faith, that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God. This is a free gift given to us by God's love, and God loves, and God has given a special love to His people through Jesus Christ, and this is it.
And as Paul says, thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift. Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift. So it causes us just not to, hey, I got this in my head, and I understand it. It's more than that.
It goes to the point where the heart believes unto righteousness, and it lifts our soul so much to God that we come to Him and adore Him for who He is and what He has done. And this is why we're going to love and praise Him throughout all eternity, because it's going to take an eternity to adore Him and to love Him for what He has done, and His greatness, and how gracious He is, because God did not have to give us this gift.
Actually, if He'd given us what we deserve, we'd be in hell right now, and God would be fair about it. Tell people in the world about that, and they'll fire back at you, I guarantee it. But the truth is, we know what the truth is, and we understand our inability, but we understand our depravity.
And when we recognize that, that's one of the first steps to salvation. Now, that's precious faith. That faith is precious. That's what Peter says. The second thing that he calls precious is the precious possession, and I love this,.
Is the trials.
Yes, the trials are precious. Turn with me to the epistle of 1 Peter, chapter 1. We've already been there, but let's glean at this once again. It's worth gleaning again and again, isn't it? Even David said this in Psalm 119, or the psalmist, whoever wrote Psalm 19, but I personally believe it was David, but we don't know for sure who the writer is, but no doubt the Holy Spirit was breathing upon him.
And he says, it was good, it was good that I was afflicted, that I may not stray away from God. God uses affliction to bring us close to Himself, because we have a tendency as God's people, God's sheep, as sheep so naturally does, to wander off and graze away, and to get away from the shepherd, and to do what they like to.
The sheep are naturally like that. So the shepherd has to go after him with a hook and a crook, and with great love, and bring that sheep in. Aren't you glad he does that? And he uses trials to do this.
Now notice in 1 Peter 1, verse 7, let me read it, that the trial of your faith, the trial of your faith being much more precious than of gold that perishes, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise, and honor, and glory at the appearing of Jesus.
Christ.
Now, these trials, or you could say the testing of your faith, is precious. Why is it precious? Well, that's the proof. He's talking about the genuineness of our faith, when it is tried by fire. That's how you could tell that faith is real, or faith is dead.
It's living or it's dead. The living faith is laying hold of God, and God's laid a hold of Him. But the faith that goes through the fire is not going to quit. It's going to be a faith that goes through it, and be purged, and sanctified for the Master's service.
And here he says this is the proof, the genuineness of your faith being more precious than gold.
Which is perishable.
Basically meaning proven faith in the furnace. You ever been through the furnace? Have you ever been through the furnace of affliction? I'm sure you have. But literally, at the end of it, after the purging takes place, it literally brings joy and confidence in God.
Although some Christians fear this, and fear the trials, and the persecutions, and the sufferings, and afflictions, but it can only rob them of their joy. You know, David said this. He says, restore unto me the joy of my salvation.
Restore that joy unto me. He didn't lose it. He basically said, I need it restored. And you see, he knew that God had called him, God appointed him. He knew that he was a child of God, but God took the rod, as you well know in David's life, he took the rod out on him and lovingly corrected him, and chastened him, and wounded him to bring him back.
Loving, that's great love. That God would be so concerned for his children to make them holy, to purge them, and I don't know about you, I desire this. I need purging. And if you pray enough on that, God will literally bring it to you, because you're his child, because he loves you.
And again, the joy, so many Christians lose this joy, but they don't understand. But Peter literally taught just the opposite of what most people think today, that, oh, I don't want the trials. Literally, we should desire the trials.
We should desire the trials because it has a great good for our soul. In fact, he said that joy comes not in spite of the trouble, but because of the trouble. That's because it's so easy to lose our joy if we doubt our salvation.
You see, when we do tamper with sin, and play around with sin, and flirt with sin, it has a tendency to rob us of our joy, does it not? It steals our joy, but God has a solution for that. It's called the furnace of affliction.
It's called the backside of a desert. And when our faith has been tested and proven to be real and genuine, the doubts will disappear. The doubts will go away. And you will have that blessed assurance that says joy unspeakable and that's full of glory.
So here in this verse, Peter used the analogy, and I love this, and if you notice in the text, he used actually an analogy of a goldsmith. This goldsmith is to illustrate the purging process. This purging process that produces only proven faith.
The fire is symbolic of trials. That's the trials, the fire. And the gold symbolizes our faith. So just as the refiner's fire burns away the dross and leaves only the pure gold, so God purges us through the trials in order to reveal the purity of your precious faith.
You can literally say that that faith is more precious than gold that is tried through the fire, but the trial is also precious because it does the purifying. And that's really an appropriate analogy, is it not?
Because gold was the most precious of all the metals and the very standard of that transaction. But it's as valuable as gold, but as valuable as gold is, proven faith is really infinitely more precious.
So gold is temporal, right? And perishable, but proven faith is eternal. Let us not forget that. That's why Peter says it's precious. It is precious. So when trials come your way, don't fear them, beloved.
Let me say this. Take heart and be encouraged that God is doing a work. He's purifying you. He's purging you. He's cleansing you.
That's what he's talking about.
He is beautifying us in Jesus Christ because he wants to make us clean and pure. You know, God's not going to have a dirty bride, is he? Christ isn't going to have a dirty bride. I like what Ravenhill said.
I heard him preaching on this, on holiness, and he talked about a bride. He says he's been to many, many weddings. He was of the World War I generation. Of course, he's with the Lord now, long years back.
But I remember him preaching on this. He said, I've been to many, many weddings, but I've never seen a dirty bride. I've never seen a dirty bride. God, for his church, for the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the bridegroom of the church, would not have a dirty bride.
He would have a pure bride. Actually, that's the very purpose of restorative church discipline. And that's why we believe it here, because it's scriptural. It's the very first thing Jesus mentions in instructions to the church, is correction, is discipline.
Why?
To purge out the impurities, the faults, the fakes, those that are coming to bring. And he knew, Jesus literally knows this as the head of the church. The devil will work hard to infiltrate, to contaminate the church that is pure.
And actually, these great churches, Church of the Tares, I call them in a great, great number, born like it, it's very dirty. God's going to have an elect rendement that's pure and holy. He is more concerned for the purity of the church, the quality.
And that's why he allows the purging process. I like what Malachi 3 .3 says, He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver. He will purify, not he might, he will purify the sons of Levi. That's God's people.
He will purify the sons of Levi and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer, here's the reason, that they may offer to the Lord an offering in righteousness. See, God is doing this, not only that we may be like Christ, but that our worship would be acceptable to him.
Because he's a holy God. He's not going to take strange fire, as you well know. He will strike it down because he would not accept that which is unholy. And when we come to worship, that's why it's soul searching, my brother Keith said this morning, it's soul searching because we must examine ourselves to see that we're in the faith and that our hearts, as he searches our hearts, that our hearts are pure before him.
And if we have sinned, we need to make sure it's confessed, it's forsaken, and that we take it serious and we come before God and if we struggle with it, well, may God help us. But we need to take this very serious because worship is to be taken serious.
God doesn't play around on this. But precious faith, precious trials. The third one is precious possession of exceeding great and precious promises. As I mentioned in the opening. But there is a word that Peter speaks of.
Here's 2 Peter 1, verse 4.
He says this,.
Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises that by these you might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. And see, there you have the call to holiness.
We escape, God brings us out of the world, cleans us up, puts us back into it, and keeps us clean. And the purpose is we have a mission, right? A great commission to fulfill that Jesus Christ uses us to take the word, the gospel of the kingdom, we herald the king's word, and we tell the lost souls, come, invite them to the feast.
And to make Jesus beautiful, without compromise, and do everything we can not to disgrace His name. And if we do, we will be disciplined by that. But here it speaks about there's precious faith, there's precious trials, here it's precious promises.
Precious promises given to us through and by His word. Don't you love that? The promises of eternal life through Jesus Christ. You know, it's been said that there are over 7 ,000 promises contained in the pages of Holy Scripture, the Bible, in these 66 books.
Over 7 ,000 promises. You know, I've never counted them personally, but I believe they're there. And however, I do know this, that every single promise God has ever made,.
God has kept.
And He will keep it. He cannot break His word. Praise His name. And it will come to pass. Let me give you some Scripture here. Go with me to Romans chapter 4. And I love this. I'm going to kind of connect some dots and cross some T's here.
But this whole chapter 4 is literally speaking about the faith of Father Abraham. And here the Apostle Paul brings up Abraham. Let me just read one verse here and then we'll see a couple of other verses.
We don't have, because of our time, we don't have time to go through the whole chapter, but in your devotional time, it would be well worth looking into. Verse 13, chapter 4,.
Says,.
For the promise that he should be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed.
What's he saying?
Basically he's saying through the law. It's not to him, through Abraham and to his seed,.
Through the law.
But, through the righteousness of faith. That's salvation. Even in the Old Testament, they were saved the same way that we are in the New Testament, under the New Covenant.
By faith.
And that's why Abraham's called the father of faith. Verse 20 and 21, notice this. Skipping down a little bit. He, speaking of Abraham, staggered not at the promise of God. I love that word. He did not stagger.
He did not sway. He did not waver. He stayed strong in faith. And he believed what God said. And notice what it says. He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully persuaded.
That what he had promised,.
He was able also to perform. Wonderful verse of scripture. That he was literally leaning upon God's word, no matter what it appeared. He literally, and when God told him to take his only son, Isaac, to offer him up, think of it in his day.
This is hard for us to imagine. But this was in a very pagan day that people offered up human sacrifices. And here God, the creator of the ends of the earth, is asking Abraham to take up his only son in which the promise is given, which God gave him in an old age.
Now, God says, you offer him back up to me.
He was a test.
God was testing his faith. And Abraham passed the test. Isn't that wonderful? He was strong in faith, giving glory to God. Hebrews chapter 11. Go with me to Hebrews chapter 11. You know this whole chapter.
This is the faith chapter in the word of God. Hebrews 11, 8 through 10. The writer of Hebrews says, By faith Abraham, when he was called out to go into a place.
Which he should.
After receive for an inheritance,.
What did he do?
He obeyed. See, living faith always obeys.
Dead faith,.
You will not see obedience in dead faith.
But he obeyed.
And when he went out, and notice what it says, not knowing whether he went, by faith he sojourned in the land of promise as in a strange country dwelling in the tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise.
For he looked for a city which hath foundations whose builder and maker is God.
That is faith.
That's the walk of faith.
And Paul the Apostle says this in 2 Corinthians 1, 20, For all the promises, not some of them, every promise, all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him amen, unto the glory of God by us. So there, there's precious faith, there's precious trials, there's precious great receiving of precious promises.
Number four, the possession of the precious blood of Jesus. And beloved, I'm telling you, each one of these is a full sermon and even more, right? But we're just gonna quickly just glean at them. But you and I know that this is one of the most precious things that God has given us.
Is.
The precious blood of Jesus Christ. How precious is this blood?
Oh my. Oh my.
I don't even know if I can answer that. It has such value and such great worth, it's beyond and staggers the imagination how precious this blood is. 1 Peter 1, 19 But with the precious blood of Christ as a lamb without blemish and without spot, verse 20 who barely was foreordained before the foundation of the world that was manifest in these last times for you.
For you. And here's this wonderful verse that we see the great price of redemption through Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone. The blood of Jesus Christ that was shed on Calvary's cross was and is and will always be precious to God's people.
Throughout all eternity is of infinite worth and value. Nothing compares to it. Absolutely nothing.
And if.
A person is a child of God and he has riches I'm sorry, if he has rags in this world and if he believes in this he's a king's child. He is rich in faith. He is not poor. One that believes in these precious possessions.
Infinite worth and great value. John the apostle in Revelation chapter 1 verse 5 and 6, listen to the word of God. And for Jesus Christ who is the faithful witness and the first begotten of the dead and the prince of the kings of the earth.
He's the prince of the kings of the earth. In other words, he's king of kings and lord of lords. And then John is basically just given some adoration by the Holy Spirit to Christ and he says unto him that loved us and washed us.
From our sins.
In his own precious blood. You hear that? In his blood. And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his father. To him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Notice how he just went right into doxology.
He went into adoration and praise because of the precious blood of Christ. He washed us from our sins in his own blood. In his own blood. And that's by faith. That preciousness of blood, precious faith, precious trials, precious promises, all connects.
Revelation 5, 9 and 10. And they sung a new song saying thou art worthy to take the book and to open the seals thereof for thou wast slain and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation and hast made us unto our God kings and priests and we shall reign on the earth.
Revelation 7, 14. And I said unto him, sir thou knowest it was a question given to him and he said to me these are they which came out of great tribulation.
Have washed their robes.
And made them white in the blood of the lamb. We're gonna be singing as we conclude this service today as the Lord leads us but we're gonna be singing are you washed in the blood. And that writer that hymn knew exactly what the scripture says.
Right here.
Washed their robes.
And made them white in the blood of the lamb. I tell you nothing else is gonna matter unless we have the blood. That is everything, is it not? The blood of Jesus Christ applied to the door post of our hearts and God says when I see the blood I will pass over you.
That's the only way that we can be saved from the wrath of God. The only way and that's through Jesus Christ and his precious blood. The only way we can overcome Satan. Revelation 12, 11 and they overcame him by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony and they loved not their lives unto the death.
Underscore that, they loved not their lives unto the death. You know we live in a day of self love, don't we? People love themselves. Well this right here even as Christian so called psychology talks about self esteem and self love this verse right here says they love not their lives.
Jesus says if you follow me you deny yourself. We love him.
Actually.
If there's self love there's something satanic about that because Satan has plenty of self love. God's people love not their lives unto the death. Precious is the blood of Jesus Christ that flows like a mighty fountain from Calvary's cross and still flowing today.
Still washing away.
The sins.
Washes whiter than snow. Romans chapter 5, 8 and 9.
I love this.
But God commended his love toward us and that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. Verse 9, much more than being now justified by his blood we shall be saved from wrath through him. That is straight out of the word of the living God that if we're washed in the blood we are justified by his blood we shall be saved from the wrath through him.
All these points, all these promises, all this points to the Lamb of God that was slain before the foundation of the world. Jesus Christ crucified for sinners his atoning sacrifice, his substitution or death that he took our place he represented us.
Christ the Lamb of God slain before the foundation of the world. I love what.
John.
Wrote down. And Jesus is speaking here in John chapter 3 and he speaks to a very religious man by the name of Nicodemus you know the story but in verses 14 through 17 Jesus says this to this very religious man that came to Jesus by night.
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness even so must the son of man be lifted up. And you know the rest of the story about this they were bitten by serpents but God gave instruction because of their sin.
God was chasing them chastising them disciplined them but there was a remedy God didn't leave them in that. He said there's a remedy you take this serpent and put it on the pole and lift it up and basically what he said.
You look to that, you look.
By faith and that's what we need to do. We look to Jesus by faith alone.
That's what Jesus is saying.
I'm going to be lifted up on a cross. Right there, the cross. You will see all of God's attributes, you will see Christ in all of his glory, even being crucified.
The world will see it and.
Disdain it and reject it thinking oh that's just another crucifixion, oh no that is the crucifixion of all crucifixions, the death of all deaths that Jesus Christ died to redeem us to God. And that's the way right there through that sacrifice of himself the son of man must be lifted up.
And then he says that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. He's telling this religious man this is the way to eternal life look to me the cross, the sacrifice. And then he says this glorious.
Glorious.
Statement. As Tozer says it's the burning bush of the bible for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world.
But that the world.
Through him might be.
Saved.
No condemnation just look at what happened to the woman that was caught in adultery in the very act of it.
They wanted.
To condemn and they tried to set Jesus up and these religious people. Basically there was probably very much part of committing immoral acts with this woman.
Caught.
In the act of it, think of that the shame that must have been on that woman brought her out in the streets and brings her before Jesus and they basically tempt him, does not the law.
Say that she needs to be stoned.
And Jesus didn't answer.
A word, scripture says.
He just stooped down and he wrote in the sand. Been a lot of sermons about this, what he wrote in that sand. I've heard love letters in the sand. I've even heard R .C. Sproul.
Say that possibly he was.
Writing.
Nate,.
Nathaniel, not the disciple or Sam, some of these Jewish people, we don't know, he was basically saying we don't know, he might have been writing some names that were those that was caught along in sinning but whatever the case was.
Jesus knew.
How to send them away. And then he says, he that is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone. Oh conviction hit, it hit me, he's without. In other words, he that is perfect.
In keeping the law.
Dare you cast that first stone, that's what Jesus is saying, and then we know the story, they all left dropping the stones and there's Jesus and the woman caught in the act of adultery and they ask her a question where are your condemners, there's just them two, and Jesus says neither do I condemn you.
But notice this.
This is such beauty. Go and sin no more. He loved her but love says go and sin no more.
It's repentance.
Cannot have the gospel message without repentance. Matter of fact God help any preacher that preaches and I'm speaking about myself leaving out any doctrine and anything about repentance that God commands repentance.
It's excluding.
The gospel, it's not preaching the full gospel, take away repentance.
And.
People can say anything they want about the love of God, yes the love of God has a great deal to do with it to bring us to Christ but repentance, that's the command we must turn from our sins so it's all through the precious blood of Christ by faith and we must like Spurgeon said, turn or burn.
So we've.
Seen our precious possessions of faith. Precious faith, precious trials precious promises, precious blood. Number five, we see our precious possessions of a precious stone. 1 Peter 2 4 says to whom coming as unto a living stone disallowed that means rejected, indeed of men but chosen of God and precious.
Verse 5. You also as lively stones are built upon a spiritual house a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Verse 6, wherefore also it is contained in the scripture.
Behold I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect precious and he that believeth on him shall not be.
Confounded, basically.
Shall not be ashamed.
If we truly.
Believe we will not be ashamed. Jesus Christ is the very source of every spiritual privilege that we have. Everything that we have and all these precious possessions comes through him whom is precious no one else, he is the way the truth and the life.
As he said no one comes to the father but by me Jesus said. And then he says to whom coming coming to him conveys more than initially just turning to Christ for salvation. But it means in the Greek here it implies a remaining in him to persevere in him, to continue in him and to abide in him to bear fruit.
And in the Greek translation in the Old Testament the old, the word was used to those who drew near to God for oncoming worship, ongoing worship. I'm sorry, and when we come to Jesus Christ it is literally a permanent relationship just not a one time act.
It is a continuing to the very end.
So we have.
Jesus Christ is that precious stone. The price he paid on Calvary's cross. And Peter's description of Jesus Christ as a living stone is paradoxical actually because the stones aren't alive right. In fact we sometimes speak of stones.
People's in a stone dead, you ever heard that? Well we know the stones aren't alive but that's the point. That's the paradox here. Peter's symbolism is actually profound because he's speaking about.
It beautifully.
Incorporates the three realities of Jesus Christ and I'll go through them quickly that Jesus is a long-awaited Jewish Messiah, they rejected him but he has come God sent the Messiah he kept his promise.
Second that Jesus is the stone in which the builders rejected and he is the focal point of the spiritual house which is the church he's the head of the church he is the cornerstone and that's appropriate is it not?
Wonderful.
Jesus is the third. Jesus is the living stone precious cornerstone. Well this leads me to my final point, precious possession is number six our precious possession.
Of our.
Precious savior, Jesus Christ.
He himself.
Is precious to us. Everything that we've already talked about is all connected to Jesus Christ. And now here in 1st Peter 2, 7 listen to what it says unto you therefore which believe he is precious he is precious but unto them which disobedient be disobedient.
The stone which the builders rejected the same is made the head of the corner.
I thought.
About that for a second. He first goes to those who believe he is precious and then he goes to the part he doesn't say he that is unbelieving. No he says he that is disobedient. See when one believes one obeys.
And the opposite of.
That disobedient the obedience is disobedience. So the stone which the builders rejected the same is made the head of the corner so beloved by God's holy standards. Jesus is that perfect cornerstone of that foundation.
We know that it's built upon the apostles and the prophets right. But Jesus is that main plumb line in a sense he is that main stone.
He is that head.
Perfect in every way without blemish.
Think of that.
Perfect in every motive he did every act that he committed not a one bad thought not one sin before God. God was so pleased with him. God spoke from heaven audibly and said this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased and we know the scriptures speak of it at least twice.
People thought it.
Thundered powerful that God the father put his approval. This is my beloved son whom I am well pleased perfect in every way. And in that day the leaders of Israel had faulty standards they had faulty measurements.
That's why they crucified him. They said he committed blasphemy because he makes himself equal with God. They basically said he was mad. No they were mad they were mad.
Nothing.
Changed. They inspected him they rejected him and he didn't fit their concept of a savior so they put him on a cross.
And sadly.
To say millions and millions of men and women throughout the ages and throughout history has followed their lead. Sad to say. And that's why Jesus says straight is the gate narrows the way that leads to life.
Few be there find it.
Every time I hear that it makes me examine my own heart oh God this is a straight narrow way.
Few.
And then he says on the day of judgment he was going to say to many many will call him Lord Lord. We prophesied we preached we cast out demons we did all these and Jesus says I never dare you. The most horrific.
Statement the most.
The most terrible thing ever that's the words we do not want to hear. The words we desire to hear is well done. Good and faithful servant enter into the joy of the Lord. So I got to close this. Let me give you a story.
These.
People.
Inspected God.
And rejected him. They had a wrong view of God. But God's view of his son Jesus Christ in whom he was well pleased is the only accurate standard which measures Christ's worth. It's the father's view because he's one with the father.
God's word says he is precious. Let me give you a story. I've told this story before when I was preaching on 1 Peter but it's a wonderful story. It's a true story that took place in a museum in Paris years back.
It was a conversation of one of the curators of a museum and a man with a great appreciation for art. He overheard two men discussing a masterpiece and one man said to the other I don't think much of that.
Painting.
I don't think much of it given his own view his own truth. As you hear today the curator feeling obliged to reply to the man's statement said to him dear sir.
He said politely.
But he says truthfully if I may interrupt that painting is not on trial.
You are.
The quality of that painting has already been established that's only your opinion. Your disapproval simply demonstrates the frailty and the ignorance of your measuring capability. That's powerful but I appreciate that statement.
So in a similar way Jesus Christ is not on trial before men, it's the other way around.
We need to tell people this.
Be bold be bold and God tell people this do it lovingly prayerfully with tears in your eyes but tell them.
You are on trial.
Before God.
God's already established it. He's made the approval.
We looked at this a few weeks back.
Psalm 2, 6 and 7. Yet I have set my king upon my holy hill. Zion. I would declare the decree. God would declare the decree. The Lord has said unto me thou art my son, this day I have begotten thee. And in Acts 17, let me give you this verse.
You know it. The Apostle Paul give you chapter and verse on this. Paul says. In the times of the ignorance God winked at but now commanded all men everywhere to repent because he hath appointed a day unto which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained whereof he hath given assurance unto all men and that he hath raised him from the dead.
In other words, you can guarantee it because God has raised Jesus from the dead and he stands there at the Father's right hand. And God has given Jesus the authority to judge the entire world from the beginning, first man living Adam, all the way to the last one that dies.
Whether they be saved.
Or unsaved, there's a great white throne judgment, then there's a beam of seat for the believers.
But there's going to be a judgment.
The believers are going to be judged according to their works in Jesus Christ and all those that are going.
Into hell.
At the great white throne judgment will be judged according to all their works. Makes me tremble when I think of this.
But.
He spoke about the judgment. What about Jesus being precious.
Much.
Can be said about him being precious but of him are you in Christ Jesus who of God is made into wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. We can take refuge in him. Solomon says in Proverbs 2 3 -5 Yea, if thou cryest after knowledge and lifteth up thy voice for understanding, if thou seekest her with silver and searchest for her as hidden treasures, then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.
We've got to cry out and seek him with all of our heart. Proverbs 3 -15 she is more precious than the rubies. He's speaking about wisdom but we know that wisdom is Jesus Christ. She is more precious.
Than rubies.
And all the things that Kenneth's desire are not compared unto her.
That's Jesus.
Proverbs 8 -19 riches and honor are with me yet durable riches and righteousness my fruit is better than gold yea, than fine gold and my revenue than choice silver well may Jesus Christ be more precious than anything in the world to us.
Amen.
That he is more precious than our dearest loved ones. Jesus said that he said you've got to love me more than your mother and your father. Yes, and he says yea, your own life. Fairest Lord Jesus, ruler of all nature.
O thou God man of the son, thee will I cherish thee will I honor, thou my soul's joy and crown. Fair are the meadows, fair are still the woodlands, robed in the blooming garb of spring, Jesus is fair Jesus is pure who makes the woeful heart to sing.
Fair is the sunshine fair is still the moonlight and all the twinkling starry host Jesus shines brighter, Jesus shines pure than all the angels heaven can boast.
Beautiful.
Savior, Lord of the nations, son of God son of man, glory and honor.
Praise and adoration.
Now and forever be thine, amen and amen, let's bow in prayer our father and our God. We thank you Lord for these precious possessions.
That's all.
In the Lord Jesus Christ.
O Lord.
Search our hearts now. May we find you more precious than gold and silver. Lord may we find you more precious and more costly than gold.
Lord.
That you are more beautiful than all the diamonds that nothing can compare that we desire compares with you. O God melt our hearts today as we come before you Lord and worship as we commune before you and one another.
And Lord we thank you for this and we praise you.
For these.
Precious possessions that's given to us because of your grace all because of your giving. We bless you, we bless you O Lord and we thank you in Jesus name amen and amen.