Redeemed With the Precious Blood of Christ: Part 4

And saying that, the message is redeemed with the precious blood of Christ.

Redeemed with the precious blood of Christ. So, please stand with me in honor of God's word this morning, as we turn to chapter 1 of the epistle of Peter, chapter 1.

And we're looking at verse 18 to 21. 18 to 21.

Hear the word of the living God. I'm reading from the New King James Version. Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold from your aimless conduct, received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.

He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, who through Him believe in God, who raised

Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

Praise God for His holy, eternal word. Let's bow in prayer.

Our Father in Heaven, all is vain and all will be vain, unless Thy holy, blessed

Holy Spirit comes and His quickening power, all of His quickening power, to kindle a flame of sacred love in these cold hearts of ours.

Oh God, as the hymn writer said, in vain we tune our formal songs, in vain we strive to rise.

Hosannas languish on our tongues and our devotion dies. Dear Lord, dear

Lord, and shall we ever live at this poor dying rate, our love so faint, so cold to Thee, and Thine to us so great?

Oh God. Our prayer today is, Dear Lord, oh

God grant, oh God grant, that we see only

Jesus and Him crucified. Grant that we only see Christ and all of His glory and His power through the crucifixion of the cross, through the shedding of His precious blood, through His burial, and His glorious resurrection.

Father, may we see Christ. In Jesus' name and for His sake we pray. Amen and amen.

You can be seated. Thank you very much. The Bible is compiled of 66 inspired books, all inspired the eternal

Word of God that really tells one story and that is the story of Jesus Christ.

It is how He is at work making all things new as it culminates in the book of Revelation.

He will make all things new. This is His goal and it's for His glory.

You know, understanding the great story of Jesus Christ, His birth, His life, His resurrection,

His death, His burial, His ascension, His second coming, is really all about redemption.

That one word, redemption. We must understand what that word means. You don't think about it, on the day of His resurrection when

He rose again from the dead, Jesus comes along the road of Emmaus as a stranger by the way.

They did not recognize who He was. He walked with two of His disheartened disciples.

They were very disheartened. And what were they disheartened about? The two were discussing and arguing about the events that had taken place in Jerusalem.

Jesus' arrest had just taken place. His trials took place.

His crucifixion. The one anointed one that they had hoped would be the

Redeemer of Israel was dead as so they thought. Although the tomb was empty, they had not seen the resurrected

Christ for themselves. One can only speculate here what they were thinking as they walked down the road of Emmaus expressing their disappointment that Jesus apparently hadn't risen from the dead according to them.

But one can easily imagine how they must have felt that very moment hopeless and despair and perhaps even very foolish and unwise.

In Luke 24, 25 through 26, the Word of God says this, Then He, Jesus, said to them,

O foolish ones and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets had spoken, ought not the

Christ to have suffered these things and had to enter into His glory? And then

Jesus did something amazing and really incredible here.

In verse 27, it says this, And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, listen to that, beginning at Moses at the

Pentateuch and all the prophets, He went through the entire Word of God.

He expounded to them in all the Scriptures, all the Scriptures, the things concerning Himself.

All about Himself. Now, in that moment,

I don't know about you, of course they didn't realize who

He really was. Isn't that amazing? You would think they would have picked that up. But Jesus revealed to them the glorious purpose of the entire

Bible. God's plan for salvation in Himself. All in Christ, none other.

Everything that God accomplished was in and through Jesus Christ, the story of redemption.

He showed them that the Bible isn't a collection of just stories. We've got to remember this.

Even though it does contain many great stories, but it's not about that. It's not even simply about the history of the single nation of Israel, even though it speaks of that.

But that's not really what it's about, is it? In a nutshell, it's really the story about redemption.

Redemption. Folks, you start thinking about this and meditating on this, this will make you shout for glory and shout hallelujahs till the day you go home to be with the

Lord. The glorious story of God's plan of salvation to rescue

His people, His people, from their sin and death and through life and death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Now, it continues in Luke 24. Listen to verse 30 -32. And now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, when they went on a little further, they went into a place and He stayed with them,

He lodged with them. And then the Scripture says, and He took bread, He blessed and broke it and He gave it to them.

Something happened. Right at that moment, the Scripture says, then their eyes were opened and they knew

Him. They knew Him. It was through the breaking of the bread and giving the drink to them.

It was through the communion, the blessed communion. And He vanished. Then, as soon as they recognized

Him, He vanished. He vanished from their sight. And they said to one another, then they started discussing and then reminiscing a little bit about on the road of Emmaus.

Listen to what one of the disciples said. Did not our hearts burn within us while He talked with us on the road and while He opened the

Scriptures to us? That's when their hearts were burning. Now, I don't know about you.

There's two glorious times that I would love, if I could, go back in that time period to witness

Jesus. It would not be just raising Lazarus from the dead after four days and he stinks and he comes out of the tomb.

That would be glorious. But one of the things I would love to see and witness and hear is to hear the

Lord Jesus Christ praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. That would have been glorious. Just to hear the

Son of the living God pray. Now, I would love to also hear Him teach on the Beatitudes and the

Sermon on the Mount. I don't know about you. That sermon does nothing like that. It's the greatest sermon ever preached by the greatest man who ever lived.

But there's another. I would love to have been there that day along with these two disciples and heard

Jesus Himself go through the Scriptures, go through these books and going through all the prophets and going through the

Psalms and expounding them powerfully under the power of the

Holy Spirit after Him being resurrected from the dead. And then they witnessed their hearts burned within them.

Our hearts would have burned too. Our hearts should burn as we hear this Word. You know, the theme is really redemption.

This is what the theme is. And this is what we look at in this rich and deep passage of Scripture from the

Apostle Peter. Have we been fixing our attention basically on the four questions that unfold for us in this great truth of redemption.

Now, these questions are not original with me. I borrowed them from Pastor John MacArthur. I think they were great questions.

And I love great questions. I don't know about you. So I kind of used them as an outline here. So the truth of redemption is really introduced to us in verse 18 when it says, listen to the

Apostle Peter, knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things. And then in verse 19, but with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.

So this is the theme, is redemption, right? This is the theme. And oh, may our hearts burned within us as the disciples' hearts burned to hear those glorious truths of Jesus Christ and all about Himself.

Well, we looked at the very first question. Previously, the first question, number one, was what were we redeemed from?

What were we redeemed from? And in short, let me just recap a little bit here. In short, the answer is sin.

We are redeemed from sin, right? Matthew 1 .21 says, And she, speaking of Mary, will bring forth a son, and you shall call

His name Jesus. For He shall save His people from their sins.

That's what He comes to do. He comes to save His people from their sins. Not in the sin, but from our sins.

Now, the Apostle Peter takes this a little bit further in his exposition, his letter here, that he gives to the persecuted church.

That's an affliction. What a great comfort this must have been to persecuted believers.

You've got to keep this in mind, the audience in which he is speaking to. These are persecuted believers that are scattered abroad, and he's coming to them and telling them of the great salvation that's in Jesus Christ, the redemption.

And then he says in verse 14, as we saw, 1 Peter points out four aspects of our sinful condition.

To understand, really, how great our redemption is, and what God saves us from and saves us to and by and with, we've got to understand how terrible our condition really was.

Our condition is really bad. Man's condition is bad. They are depraved. We were depraved.

We were without God, without hope. This is the world in which it is out there today, beloved.

They are blind. They are without hope, without the covenants of God, without the promise of God, living in despair.

No wonder the suicide rate is so high. No wonder people look to other things that will perish, because they don't look to the true source, the living hope, which is in Jesus Christ.

But we've got to understand our condition and people's condition. This is the way our condition was before we came to Christ.

The condition of the unredeemed. He says this, as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lust, as in your ignorance.

They lived in ignorance. We lived in ignorance, right? Ignorant to who God is and what great things

God has done. And in verse 18, he added two more dimensions that really help us and understand the sinful lost condition of the unredeemed.

And like I said, to see how great our redemption is, we've got to understand how low we were.

How down in the sewer, in the smut, in the garbage, in the slime of sin we were until God comes along and lifts us up out of the mire of clay and puts us on a rock and puts a song in our heart to stay.

Hallelujah. So then he says this, knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things like silver or gold from your futile, that word futile means aimless, your aimless conduct.

Old King James says conversation, but he's talking about your aimless behavior, your behavior, your conduct, received by tradition from your fathers.

He's talking about religion. Religion can't save us. Lip service isn't going to do it.

External service isn't going to do it. Jesus says you cannot pour new wine into old wineskins.

In other words, he says you can't have reformation on the outside. Something must be renewed and regenerated within.

We must have the new wine. It must come from within. Then it goes on the outward.

It's not the other way around. It's not outward, inward. It's inward, outward. There is futility.

There is a futile way of life. That is the unredeemed life, beloved. And that is to say that it is pointless.

Wasn't your life and my life pointless without Jesus? Absolutely it was pointless.

In vain, in vain. That's what he's talking about. He's talking about it was valueless. It had no value.

No value whatsoever. It was pointless. There was no destiny to go to.

And you notice people of the world, all they talk about and live for is what's in the past.

People that are stuck in the past, they constantly live in the past.

Because they got nothing to look forward to in the future. They have no future. Now they will say, oh,

I'm saved. And they go through the lip service and everything. But really if they had something to live for in the future, they would talk about Jesus and talk about heaven.

And then I'm going to go be with God. And God would be the center point. But it's usually self, isn't it?

Because people have not denied self and followed Jesus. So they are stuck in the past.

And that Birkin recorder constantly goes. And I have to remind one of my relatives, you don't live in the past.

Get out of the past. The past is gone, beloved. We got a future.

And that future is with God and Jesus Christ. And Jesus has made that way. He is the way, the truth, and the life.

No one comes to the Father but by Him, right? He's not just the best way. He's the only way. Okay. Futility of life, that's the way the unredeemed lives.

It's worthless. So the condition then of the redeemed man is a condition of being driven by what?

Their lust, their selfish pleasures, their desires. That's what a lot of people live for, you know?

They live to go fulfill their lust, their fleshly behaviors, their desires of the flesh.

A lot of people live for entertainment. A lot of people live for food. Even the apostle

Paul says their God is their belly. That's what the scripture says.

They live for that. Don't you see people like this? So the condition then of the redeemed man is a condition driven, they're driven, they're in bondage to their lust and by their lust and being a condition of being driven by the lust, being engulfed in ignorance, having a life that is absolutely useless and empty, that is simply the product of a tradition rather than divine truth.

You see, these things describe the condition of the unredeemed. Now, that pretty much covers that we are saved what we were redeemed from.

We were redeemed from that, right? God redeems us out of that lifestyle.

Then, the second question we looked at is that we have been looking at this, is what were we redeemed with?

Now this is glorious, isn't it? Now we can camp right here until Jesus comes and be preaching the gospel all day long because what have we been redeemed with?

The answer to that is we were redeemed with blood. Precious blood.

Precious blood. I love that word precious. You know, Peter did not use that haphazardly.

We'll look at that in just a minute. But verse 18 says that not with perishable things like silver or gold, verse 19, but with the precious blood of Christ.

And what is that to say? It is to say that through a violent death. And beloved, let me say this.

A violent death. You see, the gospel that's preached now in America is sugar -coated.

I like what Spurgeon says, and I sent this to Brother Keith the other day. It's the gospel of Jesus Christ that rips and it wounds.

And he's talking about the cross. He said that's what we should be preaching. You must deny yourself.

But when we look to Jesus, it was a bloody cross that He hung on. There was an execution.

It was a horrible act because of our sin. That's what we need to focus and tell people about.

It is to say through a violent act. Death. Death that we have been redeemed.

The price for that payment for our sins was death. The price that had to be paid to satisfy a holy

God was death. The soul that sinneth shall die, the scripture says.

There has to be a payment. You see, that's what the whole Bible is talking about.

There has to be a payment. Those wages has to be paid. That sin wage has to be paid.

Romans 6 .23 For the wages of sin is death. But the gift of God is the eternal life through Jesus Christ our

Lord. Hallelujah. In one scripture, Paul gave the gospel right there.

So the price was death. It was the death of His beloved Son. His one and only

Son. The price cannot be paid through corruptible earthly commodities. Even a valuable one like silver or gold.

But the price is higher than that. It's higher.

The price is the price of precious blood. Beloved, our redemption cost

God something. It was a high cost. You know, we can't wrap our minds around this.

I'm telling you, we're talking about the God of the universe. That became incarnate.

That lived among us and lived a perfect life. And perfect righteousness.

And every act that He did, He pleased God. Every thought. Every motive. Every day.

All the way. 33 years of His perfect, precious life. And then He offered Himself up to God.

A holy God. And satisfied His justice. Now only

Jesus could do that. None other. So the blood payment had to be...

It was a ransom. That was the ransom. It was His blood. The blood of the Lamb of God.

Third question is, Who will we be redeemed by? Who will we be redeemed by?

Don't you love these questions? Who were we redeemed by? Whose blood?

Whose death? Well, Scripture tells us. Look at verse 19. But with the precious blood of Christ.

Peter gets right to it, doesn't he? As of a lamb without blemish and without spot. Verse 20.

He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world. But was manifest in the... That's the incarnation.

In these last times for you. For you. For the believer. The focus is all on the person and work of Jesus.

This is what Peter preached. Even the day of Pentecost. It's amazing.

This is just a completely different man here. In this epistle. He speaks of humility.

He's preaching Christ. And this is the same man. When Jesus was being led away to the trials to be crucified.

He denied Him three times. Before the rooster crowed. Oh my,

I'm telling you. A different man here. He's full of the Spirit of God. And then, what is it? You know, really, what's the question?

From what were we redeemed? Well, we're redeemed from sin. By what we were redeemed?

By the blood of Jesus Christ. And now, through whom? Through Jesus. Through Jesus Christ.

He is that perfect Lamb. The spotless Lamb of God. That is unblemished sacrifice for sin.

And again, we cannot... This is a good verse for us to really absorb and meditate.

And get it branded on our minds and our hearts. But with the precious blood of Christ. The precious blood of Christ.

Precious. And why is it precious? Because it belonged to the Lamb of God. The unblemished

Lamb of God. Spotless and perfect. The Lamb of God in which John the Baptist said, Behold the

Lamb of God which takes away the sin of the world. The Lord Jesus Christ.

Because He is most precious, beloved. That means, does

He mean everything to you? Is He everything to me? Is He everything to you? Is He your all in all?

He is the most valuable person who ever walked on the face of this earth. He is the most precious person that will ever have walked this earth.

And is He precious to you? Hebrews 4 .15 says this. The writer of Hebrews. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses.

But was in all points tempted as we are yet without sin. Spotless, unblemished, most precious, most perfect Lamb of God.

Now let me ask the question here. And it seems like a simple question. But it is really a deep question.

Why is He most precious? Why? Did you ever think about that?

Why is He precious? Because He is the most perfect Lamb. But let me go a step further.

Because His blood is the most precious blood. Look at, go with me very quickly to 1

Peter chapter 2. Look at this with me. I want you to see this. Let me read a few scriptures here.

Look at this in chapter 2. Beginning with verse 4. The Apostle Peter is, we are approaching this here.

And Lord willing in a few weeks this will be great. Coming to Him. Speaking about God.

Coming to God is to a living stone. Rejected indeed by men. But chosen by God and precious.

Look at there. He uses that word again doesn't He? But chosen by God and precious.

You also as living stones. As being built up on a spiritual house. A holy priesthood to offer up the spiritual sacrifices.

Acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Therefore it is also contained in the scripture.

Now He quotes the verses from the Old Testament. Behold I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone elect.

What does it say? Precious. Precious. And he who believes on Him.

He will by no means be put to shame. And then it goes on to say.

Therefore to you who believe. He is precious. How many times does

He say precious there? Three I believe. But to those who are disobedient. He is not precious.

As a matter of fact He says. The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. And then He says.

A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. They stumbled being disobedient to the word.

That's why. To which they were also appointed. Wow. And then

He goes on to say. But you are a chosen generation. A royal priesthood. A holy nation. His own special people.

That means you're ransomed. You've been purchased. You've been redeemed. His own special people.

That you may proclaim the praises of Him. Who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

Who once were not a people. But now the people of God. Who have not obtained mercy.

But now have obtained mercy. We've obtained mercy. God has shown compassion.

Therefore Jesus is precious. That's why He's precious. Isn't that wonderful?

Jesus is that choice stone. That precious cornerstone. A precious value. Then for you who actually believe.

Three times. Jesus is precious. Jesus is precious. 1

Peter chapter 3. You just look over to chapter 3. Look at this. Verse 18.

I love this. You could just run it all the way through this little epistle.

He constantly exalts Christ. He goes to Jesus Christ. His person. His work.

His person. His work. At one time He didn't understand His work. He understood His person. He says they are the

Christ. The son of the living God. And Jesus says flesh and blood has not revealed this to you.

But my Father has revealed this to you. And then right immediately after He made that great confession.

The apostle turns around in disobedience and doubt. And basically says.

Far be it from you. That you go to the cross because Jesus spoke about His work.

Why He came. What He came to do was to die on the cross. Peter said no, no, no. Be it far from you

Lord. And Jesus looked right at him and said. Get thee behind me Satan. Because you speak of the things of men and not of God.

Because Jesus knew His mission. Was to be the Lamb of God. And go to that cross.

And die for the sins. You see for Christ. Verse 18 chapter 3.

For Christ also suffered once for sins. Isn't that what the writer of Hebrews says?

Once and for all. The just for the unjust. Not for the just.

For the unjust. See we are unjust. That He might bring us to God.

That's the purpose right there. To reconcile us back to God. Didn't Wesley say it?

God and sinners reconciled. Being put to death in the flesh.

But made alive by the Spirit. Oh hallelujah. The Apostle Paul said this in Acts 20 and Luke recorded it.

You don't have to turn there. But Paul says that basically those who minister in the church. Are the shepherd of the church of God.

They are under shepherds as Brother Keith said this morning. That's absolutely correct. Because they are overseeing the church.

In which Jesus purchased with His blood. And then he says this. Which He being Christ purchased with His own blood.

He paid the full price. He ransomed the church. That's a valuable commodity. Purchased by the

Lamb of God. Romans 3 24. The Apostle Paul goes through Romans. You know there's so many verses there.

We don't even have time to go through even a portion of them. But he says this in verse 24.

Being justified freely by His grace. Through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Verse 25.

Whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood. An atonement. An appeasement.

A satisfaction. That's what propitiation means. The blood of Christ. The precious blood of Christ.

Satisfied the justice of the holiness of God. It had to be satisfied.

That's the only way. See and Sproul said this. One of two ways that our sin is going to be paid for.

It will be paid for as we put our faith in the blood of Jesus Christ. Alone. Or it's going to be paid in eternal hell.

Wow. That's the gospel. That's all he's saying. He's just reiterating what the gospel says.

Whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood. Through faith. To demonstrate

His righteousness. To demonstrate His righteousness. Jesus did this because He is in His forbearance.

God had passed over the sins that were previously committed. Spurgeon says it is not your hold on Christ that saves you.

It is Christ. Don't you love that? It is not your joy in Christ that saves you.

It is Christ. It is not even our faith in Christ. Though that be an instrument.

It is Christ's blood and His merit. Praise God.

See that's where we go to. We go to Christ. In Christ alone. Our faith should be anchored in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Nothing else is going to do. Everything else is sinking sand. Right? Like the hymn writer said. The Lord Jesus purchased our redemption through the shedding of His precious blood.

Through His sacrificial death. He is the Redeemer. Hallelujah. He is the

Redeemer. 1 Corinthians 1 .30 Don't you love this verse?

If you want to sum up all the doctrines of grace in one verse. Here it is. But of Him you are in Christ Jesus who became for us wisdom from God and righteousness and sanctification and redemption.

There it is. He is all in that. He is all that. He is our wisdom from God.

He is our righteousness from God. If you want wisdom, get it in Jesus. If you want righteousness, it's

His righteousness. Right? Jesus is the wisdom of God. Jesus is the righteousness of God.

Jesus is the sanctification of God. Jesus is our redemption. Praise God.

Galatians 3 .13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law. Having become a curse for us.

Listen to that. For it is written. Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree. Jesus Christ became that curse for us.

Galatians 4 .4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son.

Born of a woman. Born under the law. Verse 5 tells us why Christ was born. To redeem those who were under the law that we might receive the adoptions of sons.

In other words, be part of the family of God. To have an inheritance to come.

To have the riches of the glory of Christ. All through the redemption of the blood of Jesus Christ. It's all been purchased through the blood.

All that is Christ. And all that's of God is in Christ. And Christ comes to bring it to us.

And then if Christ is yours, you have everything. Isn't that what Paul said? Heirs of God join heirs with Jesus Christ.

Oh, this is glorious. Ephesians 1 .7 I'm just hitting a few verses.

Ephesians 1 .7 In Him, speaking of Jesus, we have redemption through His blood. What else?

We not only have the redemption through His blood, we also have the forgiveness of sins. I think that's a great benefit.

How else can we approach a holy God? Brother Keith brought that out this morning. How else can we have a pure heart and clean hands?

Have cleanness before God and being clean before our brothers and sisters. And that is only through Jesus Christ.

Because He takes our sin and He remembers it against us no more. He forgets it.

It's put in the sea of forgetfulness. It's gone. The problem is we bring it up.

We remember it. It must be purchased. It must be covered.

It must be washed away by the blood of Jesus. Then He says, according to the riches of His grace.

All this is according to His favor. That He has showed to us something that we did not deserve.

Right? Colossians 1 .14 Paul just keeps reiterating.

It's like Paul keeps going back to the redemption. The redemption in His blood. You know why? Because it meant something to Paul.

Paul was once a Pharisee of Pharisees. The most religious fanatic on the face of the earth. He was a zealot of zealots, folks.

He knew the scriptures. But yet he didn't know God. He did not know

Christ. He persecuted the church of God until the day

Jesus came to him. And blinded him on the road to Damascus. Knocked him down and he was blind.

No one else saw the vision. He saw Christ. And Jesus says, why are you persecuting me? And he says, Saul, Saul!

Why are you persecuting me? Persecuted the church. Persecuted Christ.

The church and Christ is one, right? Titus 2 .14 Here's another great verse.

Who gave Himself for us. Oh, just meditate on that.

Who gave Himself for us. Isn't that what

Jesus said He came to do? He said, I came to give my life for a ransom. In other words,

I am that lamb. That spotless lamb of God that will pay the ransom of the sin debt.

That no one else could take care of. Jesus took care of it. He didn't have to do all this, did

He? Because we're deserving of hell. We're deserving of wrath. We're deserving of justice. But God in His favor sent

Jesus. Who gave Himself for us that He might redeem us.

There it is. Purchase us. Ransom us. From every lawless deed. Not some.

Every lawless deed. You know, when God does a thorough clean up, He does a thorough clean up.

And I'm not talking about entire sanctification and perfect sanctification here. But eventually we will be entirely sanctified.

That's only when we're glorified. But as of right now, we're in process of dealing with that.

We have a dead corpse tied to us, right? It stinks. And He says this, and purify for Himself.

You know, it's just not going around looking pretty and holy and righteous before the world, even though we are lights of the world and salt of the earth.

But He says, He purifies you for Himself. You know, isn't that the right perspective?

That we have a purity, that we are pure even as He is pure.

For Himself. Because you are God's purchased possession. You are valuable.

You think, oh hold on, I'm not valuable. In one perspective that's true. We're worms and we're dirt.

But God sees Christ in you. He don't see you. If He saw you, you'd be burning in hell.

Our brother Keith said, we're on a grease slide to hell. But you know something? In Christ. That's the only way we're going to enter into heaven, folks, and look upon God.

It'll be the blood of Christ hidden in Christ. In Christ because God's pleased in Christ.

All this awesome, wonderful is awesome. He purifies for Himself our own special people zealous for good works.

See, the good works follows. All this is awesome. Wonderful teaching about the redemption that culminates in the book of Revelation.

Oh, can I leave out Revelation? No way. Let's go to Revelation chapter 1 real quick.

I want you to look at this. Revelation 1.

Let me begin with verse... Look at verse 5. Oh, this is glorious.

Verse 5, And from Jesus Christ... You know, it's actually the revelation of Jesus Christ, right?

Not the Apostle John. The Apostle John is a servant. He is an apostle.

He was a chosen apostle, but it's not about the revelation of the

Apostle Paul. The revelation of Jesus Christ, the head of the church. The faithful witness.

Listen to what it says. The firstborn from the dead and the ruler over the kings of the earth.

Listen to what it says. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins and what?

His own blood and has made us kings and priests to God and the

Father and to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Can't leave out the next one, can you?

Look at verse 7. Behold, He is coming with clouds and every eye will see Him. Even they who pierced

Him and all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.

Oh my. That makes me just want to stop and just tremble right there.

Turn to me to chapter 5 of Revelation. Oh, now we enter into the heavens of heavens.

We enter into a glorious worship. But notice what the worship is all focused on. The Lamb of God.

Let me just begin reading it. Start with verse 2. Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice,

Who is worthy to open the scroll and loose its seals? No one in heaven, think of that, or on earth, or under the earth was able to open the scroll or even to look at it.

So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll and to look at it.

But one of the elders said to me, Do not weep. Behold, the

Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.

And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and in the four living creatures and in the midst of the elders stood a

Lamb, as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God, sent out into all the earth.

And then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. That's the Father.

Verse 8. Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the 24 elders fell down before the

Lamb. Oh, listen to that. They fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

It's our prayers. They sang a new song saying, You are worthy. This is a song in heaven.

You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals. We're going to sing this one day, beloved. For you were slain.

You have redeemed us to God by your blood. Out of every tribe, tongue, and people, and nation.

And have made us kings and priests to our God, and we shall reign on the earth. And then I looked and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne.

It just keeps getting better. Listen to this. The living creatures and the elders and the numbers of them were ten thousands times ten thousands.

And thousands of thousands. There's so many there. It could not be counted.

Saying with a loud voice, Could you imagine hearing this? With that kind of choir?

In heaven? Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and glory and strength and honor and glory and blessing.

That's a seven -fold perfect doxology. And every creature which is in heaven, on the earth and under the earth and such are in the sea, all are in them.

And I heard saying, Blessing and honor and glory and power to him who sits on the throne and to the

Lamb forever and ever. And the four living creatures said, Amen. And the four twenty -four elders fell down and worshipped him who lives forever and ever.

You're talking about worship. You're talking about glory. Folks, this is what we're going to be doing forever and ever.

And now people of the earth don't understand that because they're not redeemed, right? But we understand the infinite magnitude.

And actually to our little brain, we can't conceive it.

Because we're talking about the Almighty God who became flesh and who purchased us with His precious blood.

It's just beyond us. Praise God. Where as John the

Baptist said, Behold the Lamb of God. Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

That was a revelation given to him by the Holy Spirit. 1 Peter, back to 1

Peter 1. Verse 20 and 21 tells us, By whom did God redeem believers?

By whom? Well, Jesus Christ is that Redeemer. It was

Christ and was with His precious blood. But verse 18 and 19, Redeemed us from a feudal way of life inherited from our forefathers.

So Jesus Christ was indeed foreordained. Foreknown. Literally that means,

He haven't been foreknown. It clearly indicates that God planned to send His Son to the earth as the incarnate

Redeemer. Wow, listen to this. Before the foundation of the earth.

Before the foundation of the world. Folks, before the world was created.

Now I want you to think about this. God was not caught by surprise when man fell in the garden. You know, you hear people talk about that almost like God was taken off guard or by surprise.

No. He knew that Lucifer was going to rebel. He knew

Adam was going to fall. He knew it. A lot of people say, ask the question,

Why didn't He stop it? But folks, you know something? There's a lot of things we don't understand.

But I can tell you this. There's one answer that satisfies me to that one question.

Everything that is happening will be to the glory of God. I don't understand the secret things of the

Lord. But I do know this. In the plan of redemption and all that God did through His Son, Jesus Christ. Ultimately, Jesus will be highly exalted as King of kings and Lord of lords above the whole earth.

And God will glorify Him. He will judge all the earth in all glory. You know, we can't understand this.

We can't understand the magnitude and the depth of the glory and the splendor and the majesty of God.

God did not react to the fall with a last minute fix. Or scurry to fix it.

And said, hold on, I got to do something here. And when He called out to Adam, when He said, Adam, Adam, where art thou?

He knew where Adam was. He was like a parent coming to Adam wanting Adam to know where He was.

Adam was lost. And God knew it. And God sought Him. God came after Him.

God's the seeker. Even before the creation, before the foundation of the world,

God predetermined He had this all planned out to send His Son as the

Savior of the world. Acts. Go with me quickly to Acts.

We see this in Acts. Wish I had time to hit all of it.

I'll try to hit as many as I can very quickly as time clicks by. But look at Acts 2 .23.

Peter is preaching. This is a powerful word. Here's this man.

He was, as a fisherman, just a lowly fisherman. And he's full of the

Holy Ghost here. And now he's preaching the Word of God in power. And he's just wheeling off the prophets.

And he's preaching on the day of Pentecost. And after the power of the Holy Spirit came upon them. And listen to what he says in verse 22.

Men of Israel, hear these words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man. Don't you love that? Don't your translation say a capital

M there? A man. Attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which

God did through Him in your midst. As you yourselves also know.

And then he says this in verse 23. Him. Him. Notice what he's preaching. He's preaching

Christ. May we come back to this, folks, and preach Christ. Him.

Being delivered by the... Listen to this. The determined purpose and foreknowledge of God. God planned it.

You have taken by lawless hands and crucified and put to death. In other words, they were responsible.

But yet God predetermined it. Whom God raised up having loosed the pains of death because it was not possible that He should be held by it.

Death could not keep Him down. And He destroyed that last enemy, death.

And He gave the devil a headache that he would never get over. He crushed his head.

And He bruised Christ's heel. As pictured, He was crucified. But through that crucifixion, the head of the serpent was given a fatal blow, folks.

Aren't you glad of this? This is the gospel. Look at Acts chapter 4. Look at this very quickly.

Just a couple of verses. Chapter 4, verse 27 and 28.

For truly... Now this is another sermon here.

Addressing the Sanhedrin. Verse 27.

For truly against your holy servant Jesus. He's the holy servant, right? Whom you anointed, both

Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel were gathered together. Listen to verse 28.

To do whatever your hand and your purpose determined before to be done. God is sovereign.

He predetermined it. Now, Lord, look on their threats and grant to your servant that with all boldness they may speak your word.

May we be like that, beloved. Excuse me.

Christ Jesus was predetermined, foreordained before the foundation of the world. Next it says,

Peter speaks, He was manifest, has appeared in His incarnation. Peter says, in these last times for you.

Wouldn't that be comforting to know if you were going through some serious persecution and affliction that this was the kind of inheritance and salvation of your redemption that you have through the blood of Jesus Christ.

Wouldn't that encourage you? If you were under such brutal, we have no idea, brutal affliction.

The Greek word for times here refers to a chronological point in God's calendar of events.

Years earlier Peter used a similar expression when he quoted from the Old Testament on the day of Pentecost a miracle of the coming of the

Holy Spirit in Acts 2, 16 and 17. Let me read that very quickly.

Chapter 2, 16 and 17. He's talking about this is a prophecy that's being fulfilled.

For these are not drunk as you suppose. They thought they were drunk and people, they just sensed it was only the third hour of the day.

We're not drunk, full of the Holy Spirit. But this was spoken by the prophet

Joel. This is a fulfillment. It shall come to pass in these last days, says God. I will pour out of my spirit on all flesh and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy.

Your young men shall see visions. Your old men shall dream dreams. And on my maidservants,

I will pour out of my spirit in those days and they shall prophesy. You know what he's talking about is that God's calendar chronological events that has been fulfilled.

That's what took place. It's the same word. It refers to the entire period there between the birth of Jesus Christ and to the second coming.

The times, the Greek word for times refers to the chronological point. God's calendar events.

Aren't you glad that God has a calendar and He will fulfill everything He said on His time period.

His timetable, not ours. Years earlier,

Peter used a similar expression here. But that's what he's talking about. So Jesus was unique, right?

He was unique. There's no one like Jesus. He was foreordained before the foundation of the world. He was manifest in His incarnation.

Next, we can't miss this. He was unique in His resurrection. Who through Him believed in God?

Who raised Him from the dead? He was risen from the dead. Unmistakably powerful proof that Jesus Christ was the sacrifice for the sin and He has accomplished

God's redemptive work by raising Him from the dead actually gives the stamp of approval that God is satisfied with the payment of sin.

1 Corinthians 15. Go with me very quickly to 1 Corinthians 15. This is the resurrection chapter.

Much here. Don't have time to go through all this. This is a pretty long chapter. But I want to just hit a few verses.

Listen to these verses here. Look at verse 20.

But now Christ is risen from the dead, has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep, and since by man came death, by man also came the resurrection of the dead.

And notice in the translation when it speaks of Christ, that M once again is capitalized.

For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order.

God has an order. Christ the firstfruits afterward. Those who are Christ at His coming.

He's speaking about the second coming, beloved. Then comes the end. He's talking about the end of all things.

When He delivers the kingdom to God the Father and when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power.

And He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. And the last enemy that will be destroyed is death.

For He has put all things under His feet. But when He says all things are put under Him, it is evident that He who put all things under Him is accepted.

Now when all things are made subject to Him, the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.

All glory to God the Father. All glory be to Jesus the Son. All glory be to the Holy Spirit. Romans 1 .4

Paul said it right here. And declared that Jesus, speaking of Jesus, declared to be the Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead.

The resurrection. We serve a Christ that's living, right? He forever makes intercession for His church.

Then Peter gives the fourth uniqueness of Jesus. He gave Him glory. God the Father gave Him glory.

This phrase points to the ascension of Jesus Christ. You can read about that in Luke 24, 50 -53,

Acts 1, 9 -11 as Jesus was ascended on high. Christ returned to heaven, the heaven of heavens.

Beloved, He went through the first heavens and then He went past the second heavens. That talks about the first heavens, what we see out here in the blue skies, and then

He went past the stars, then He went to the third heavens where God's city is, the glorious manifest presence of God.

That was His home. And He's going back to the glory that He enjoyed with the

Father from all eternity and before He came. He prayed this in John 17, 4 and 5.

Listen to what He says. Jesus is praying. This is the high priestly prayer. I have glorified You, speaking to the

Father on earth, and I have finished the work which You have given Me to do, and now, O Father, glorify

Me together with Yourself. He and the Father is one, right? With the glory which

I had with You before the world was. The glory. Folks, what is that glory? That Shekinah glory.

It's the awesome presence, manifest presence of God Himself. And by the way, if it came out here in this room, we would disintegrate.

I mean, we would evaporate. It's so powerful. Because our God is a consuming fire. Well, in closing, very quickly,

I want to bring out for what did God redeem believers? What did God... Look at verse 21.

For through Him, believe in God who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory. Why? That your faith and hope are in God.

There it is. Your faith and your hope are in God.

Not man. Nothing on this earth. In God. Faith and hope.

As it is to underscore already the clear truth that Peter reiterates, all of his readers here, that they were to be impersecuted for the sake of Jesus Christ, that Christ's redemptive work was for the sake of you.

Personalize it. Isn't that glorious? For you. For you.

For Miss Lillian. For Sister Linda. For Elizabeth, and Teresa, and Fee, and Ben, and Keith, and me,

David. For you. I love

John 3 .16. We should come with sandals off our feet as Moses approached the burning bush, as we approach that great verse,

John 3 .16. For God so loved the world. And I like to put my name there. For God so loved David Harris.

For God so loved Keith Tyler. For God so loved Fee Tyler. For God so loved

Miss Lillian Smith. And Linda. And God so loved

Elizabeth. And God so loved Teresa. And God so loved Ben. You see what I'm saying? That God loved you so much that He gave

His only begotten Son. That whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

There it is. Believe. And we've got to know what that word believes, right? It's so important.

Let me wrap this up. No one can be a believer in God apart from the knowledge and the death, the resurrection, the sovereign lordship of Jesus Christ.

No one. In fact, all who do not believe the gospel cannot know God at all. And are subject to eternal destruction.

And since redemption is only through Jesus, produces believers in God, it is actually obvious that salvation is appropriate by faith alone.

And that's why it is by faith alone. And it is our total trust in God. Not just believe with head knowledge, but with the heart man believes unto righteousness, right?

We've got to believe it with all of our heart. And follow Him. No matter what it costs us.

The end. Verse 21 reveals the ultimate twofold blessing of redemption so that your faith and hope are in God.

Faith enables us to believe and trust in God, to lay hold of God. That is the instrument.

But it's Christ alone in His blood that saves us.

Necessary grace for midst of life's present circumstances, struggles, trials, anxieties. We need that, right?

Especially in this day we're living in. Our hope enables and believes the future grace to come.

The psalmist said it like this in 49 -15. But God will redeem my soul from the power of hell. From the grave.

From the power of the grave. The hope of the future resurrection of Jesus Christ. You know

Job said it. The oldest book in the whole Bible. This man

Job. We don't know who wrote Job, but I personally believe, no doubt, this is Job saying this. It might have been

Bildad or somebody that might have recorded it down, but we don't know. But the Holy Spirit inspired it and wanted us to know this.

And Job says in chapter 19, verse 25 -26, For I know that my Redeemer lives.

He knew it. Think of it, he didn't have a Bible. But he says I know my

Redeemer lives. He didn't have a Bible. We got all this revelation.

And then he says this, And he shall stand at the last day on the earth. Listen, good night.

He went all the way thousands of years into the second coming of Jesus. And listen to this,

And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God.

He's talking about a resurrection. That Jesus said that all that hear the voice of the Son of Man shall rise.

And then he says, My eyes shall behold in one another. And then what did he say last on that?

How my heart yearns within me. Does your heart yearn to behold

His face? And all of His glory? Let me close with this hymn.

It's an old hymn we don't sing. I know, I know my Redeemer lives. I know,

I know my Redeemer lives. And ever prays, and ever prays for me. I know, I know my eternal life

He gives from sin and sorrow free. He wills, He wills that I should be holy, be.

In word and thought, in word and thought indeed. Then I, then I, His holy face may see.

When from this earth lie freed. I know that until, until sinful men

His saving grace, His saving grace is nigh. I know, I know that I will come, that He will come again to take me home on high.

I know, I know that over yonder stands a place prepared. A place prepared for me.

A home, a home, a house not made with hands. Most wonderful to see.

I know, I know my Redeemer lives. I know, I know eternal life He gives. I know,

I know my Redeemer lives. Praise His holy name.

Let's pray. Father, we do thank You. This time in Your most holy word, and the fellowship that has been given to us.

Oh God, let me read this prayer. And I speak this for myself.

Unto You oh Lord and for each and everyone here. Lord this is our longing. Blessed Lord Jesus.

Before Thy cross I kneel and see the heinousness of my sin. Mine iniquity that calls

Thee to be made a curse. That evil that incites the severity of divine wrath. Oh God, show me the enormity of my guilt by the crown of thorns.

The pierced hands and feet. The bruised body and the dying cries. Thy blood is the blood of the incarnate

God. It's worth infinite. It's values beyond all thought.

Infinite must be the evil and the guilt that demand such a price. Sin is my malady.

My monster. My foe. My viper. Born in my birth. Alive in my life.

Strong in my character. Dominating my faculties. Following me as a shadow.

Intermingling with my every thought. My chain that holds me captive in the empire of my soul.

Oh God. Sinner that I am. Why should the sun give me life?

The air supply breath. The earth bear my trade. Its fruits nourish me.

Its creatures subserve my ends. Yet Thy compassions yearn over me.

Thy heart hastens to rescue. Thy love endear my curse. Thy mercy bore my deserved stripes.

Oh God. Let us walk humbly in the lowest depths of humiliation.

Bathe in Thy blood. Tender in conscience. Triumph and gloriously as an heir of salvation.

Redeemed, redeemed by love divine. Glory, glory. Christ is mine.

Praise God. Thank you Father for Your great redemption through the precious blood of Jesus Christ.

And we forever owe our all to Thee, oh Lord. Help us.

Help us to remember that we have been purchased with a high price.

May we glorify You in our body and our soul and our spirit. And give our all to You. Forgive us, oh

God. Oh God, save us from lukewarmness. For that makes

You sick. Help us to be burning hot. As the flame and the fire from off the tongues of the altar.

Touch us, oh God. Touch us. And then may we tell the world the great story of redemption.