The Chosen Stone and His Chosen People: Part 3

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The Chosen Stone and His Chosen People: Part 4

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So today we have part 3, the chosen stone and his chosen people. We continue our study in the first epistle of Peter, as Brother Keith has mentioned.
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I've never looked at it like that, Brother Keith. It's almost like the book of James put us right into the surgery room and Peter kind of has a healing balm for us to help us.
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And then going toward 2nd Peter, Lord willing, when we ever get there, the Lord may come before then. But it's talking about the warnings of false teachers, don't we see that in our day?
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And also the coming of the Lord, the day of the Lord. But right now we're in 1st
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Peter and we're going toward, if you read, once you get into 1st Peter chapter 3, chapter 4 and so on, everything is, how can
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I put this, everything is out from the key, the core, is submission.
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And that's what I'm trying to say. Submission will be underscored. It's our submission to God, submission to government, submission to husbands and wives and so forth.
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And we're going to break that down and what the Word of God has to say. But first, we're in chapter 2 here.
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We'll continue our study in chapter 2. And we're reading from verse 4 to verse 10.
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And I'm just going to pick up where I left off last week and go from there. And there's a lot to say, what
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Peter has to say here about the chosen stone and his chosen people. It's a wonderful text for us to study.
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I pray that if you haven't studied this, please study this in your devotional time. Squeeze it in.
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If you're in the book of Psalms, in the mornings I hear the book of Psalms. And it's been feeding my soul so much in my personal devotional time as I go to work.
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I'm just listening to the Psalms. But I also study when I get home in the evening.
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I've been studying this and it's been such a wonderful study. But it's the apostle
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Peter. He was the head apostle of part of the twelve.
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And Jesus chose him. He was always the spokesman for the other. And God used him in a great way.
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This is what he says by the Holy Spirit. Verse 4. Reading to verse 10.
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And coming to him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men.
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But is choice and precious in the sight of God. You also as living stones are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood.
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To offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For this is contained in scripture.
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Behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious cornerstone. And he who believes in him will not be disappointed.
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This precious value, this precious value, then is for you who believe.
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But for those who disbelieve, the stone which the builders rejected, this became the very cornerstone.
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And a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. For they stumbled because they were disobedient to the word.
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And to this doom they were also appointed. But you, don't you love when he says that?
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But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation.
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A people for God's own possession. So that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
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For you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God.
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You had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
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Let's pray and let's seek our God's face within this hour. And ask his help and grace upon each and every one of us as we study and worship him and his word.
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Our Father and our God, oh how we thank you for your eternal word. Oh God, we pray that you sanctify us with that truth.
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That word is truth. Lord, that is the only way that we can be sanctified is through the word of the living
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God. Lord, these are great and precious promises before us.
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These are great privileges before us. And may we not take it for granted. Forgive us when we have, oh
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God. Privileges from you and from your hand. And you paid a dear ransom for it.
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Through the precious blood of Jesus. So Father, I pray within this hour, but also within our whole entire life.
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Save us from ourselves. Save us, oh God, from apathy.
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Save us, oh God, from lukewarmness. Deliver us, oh God. I pray that you would give us eyes to see
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Jesus and see only him. Also Lord, I pray that we have eyes, inner eyes by faith to see our own sin.
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Oh God, how horrible sin is in your sight. It's so horrible, it's beyond our comprehension.
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But how great is your love. How great is your love. May we not forget this.
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Lord, and may we understand who we truly are in Jesus Christ. Who we identify with.
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Only Christ. That we are your people. By your mercy. Father, and then we can give truly back to you.
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What is yours, rightfully yours. And may our worship be acceptable through Jesus Christ our
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Lord. And I pray this in Jesus name. Amen and Amen. Well we have seen from the beginning of his letter.
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That the Apostle Peter praised God. Who has given us new birth.
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By the Holy Spirit. Into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. You see that in chapter 1 verse 3.
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He actually says it. It is a blessing as a doxology. Blessed be the God and Father of our
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Lord Jesus Christ. Who according to his great mercy. Has caused us to be born again to a living hope.
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Through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. And then he says in verse 4.
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To obtain an inheritance. Which is imperishable and undefiled. And will not fade away.
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Reserved in heaven for you. He expands on this inheritance. Within this text of the great privileges we have in Jesus Christ.
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Then he exhorted the believers. If you notice in verse 2.
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To crave and to long for the pure spiritual milk of the word. So that by it we may grow up in our salvation.
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And then he says graciously. If that is the word. If you have tasted the kindness of the
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Lord. Now in chapter 1. He called the scattered believers. God's elect.
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God's elect. Exiles. In chapter 1 verse 1.
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He also in chapter 1 verse 17. He mentions foreigners. They were foreigners.
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And it's interesting to note that he declares. In chapter 2 verse 9. Which is a key verse.
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You are a chosen race. A royal priesthood.
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A holy nation. A people for God's own possession. So that you may proclaim.
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The excellencies of him who has called you out of darkness. Into his marvelous light.
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To those who had been scattered by persecution. And severe persecution.
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And seemed to have lost everything that they had. At the cause of their faith. In Jesus Christ.
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It was a must. And a vital. Must. And very vital to know.
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Who they were. In Jesus Christ. This was the exhortation.
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They needed to know. Why they were being persecuted. Now it may seem odd.
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But it was because of Jesus Christ. Not because of anything. Of themselves.
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They identified. With Jesus Christ. And. And Peter brings out.
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How they should live. I think that is very. It sounds very basic.
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But it is very important to us to know this. And this is what we are going to look at. This is very critical.
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Beloved because we live in a day. And let me bring it to our day today. Not only in this lost world.
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Which is depraved. And on its way to hell. Under the wrath of almighty God. But also within the church.
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I dare to say. That many of the tears within the church. There is the true church.
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Which is the wheat. But you have many tears. That only as scripture says.
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The angels are going to be able to. Pull up at the harvest time. They grow together right.
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And they look almost identical. You can read about that. Jesus spoke about that. But within this church.
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And within the world in which we live. There seems to be what I would call. A serious identity problem.
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Have you not noticed this. Today in the world we live in. Everywhere I go. When I work as a milkman.
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I see women. That are trying to be men. And men trying to be women.
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We have a serious problem folks. People are confused. And we know that the author of confusion.
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Is satan himself. And they are confused in their darkness. They don't know where they are going.
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They are displaced. Many people don't know. Where they came from.
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They don't know why they are here. And they don't even know where they are going. Now that is sad.
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They are lost. They are lost and they don't know where they are going. There are many people within the church. That feels the same way.
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They don't even know their identity. People seek to understand. Who they are in various ways.
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Through the eyes of others. Through subcultures they associate with.
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Or terms of career, possessions. Traditions. Family. Or nation.
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People try to identify. And be like somebody. Or try to find their identity.
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As somebody once told me. I am trying to find. My true self. Really. For some.
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It is through their personal demons and sicknesses. Sin sicknesses may I say.
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That they try to identify. And there is a serious crisis. Let me say this.
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A crisis among many. Who are obviously without hope. As the word of God says. And without God.
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That is the kind of world we live in. But it is sad when you see this within the church folks. And there is a judgment.
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God has given people. Over to a delusion. And that is what scripture says.
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People cannot identify. And again like they say. They don't even know whether they are male or female. And they should know.
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The way they are born. And that is what God made them. But. Would not.
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I would be wrong to say. That this is right on the verge. Or should I say. Right into the area of insanity.
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This is insane folks. We are. And we are living in a people.
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And people. They say as well. This is a mental sickness. Well yes if it is a mental sickness.
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First it was a sin sickness. It is because of the sinfulness of the heart. And the depravity of the heart.
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And they don't know who they truly are. And you know. I like what MacArthur says. This is the only book.
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That damns the entire human race. And if you really want to know who you are. Read this book here.
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You know we are lost. And we are depraved. And we need to know that we are lost and depraved.
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So we can run to somewhere. To flee from the wrath of God. To hide in the rock of ages.
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And that is in Jesus Christ. Because this book is all about the redemption. And it shows us that our only hope. Is in Christ.
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Now this is the world in which we live. And they cannot see this. Well. I say insanity.
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Yes it is insanity. People by the thousands. By the midrids of thousands.
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The mirids I should say. Looking where they cannot. They don't know who they really are.
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They look everywhere. But they fail to look in the right place. Or should I say. They fail to look at the right source.
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The right source. I think would be more appropriate. And the Bible. Is the word of God.
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Like I said. Is where we can truly find out who we really are. Before God. And who
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God really is. So I want to say. Peter is really honing in on this.
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So we can know. Who we really are in Jesus Christ. And who God really is. This is critical.
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Only by the word of the living God. And what God has given to us. And has written revelation in 66 books of the
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Bible. That can truly shape us. And our character. Guide us in our destiny.
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And the right way that we should go. God has given this. As Brother Ben was reading through Leviticus this morning.
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I was thinking. He kept speaking about how God abhors. And calls the nakedness of this.
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And the nakedness of that. And as an abomination. God doesn't miss anything. He has given us.
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Everything we need to know pertaining to godliness. All instructions of righteousness.
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Is right here. Contained in the Bible. The 66 books of the inspiration of God's word.
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Aren't you glad? It's the word of God. And I'm not talking about the word of men. We're talking about the word of the living
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God. Well. Through this message. Let us listen.
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With our inner ear. By the help of the Holy Spirit. To what God has to tell us.
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About who we are. In Jesus Christ. After all. This is what really matters.
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Who we are before Him. That's all that's going to matter. Because if we're not in Him. We're not
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God's people. Jesus made a line of demarcation. He said on this side.
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It's those that love me. And on this side. Those that love me not. It's that easy.
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And the world has kind of grayed that out. Straddled in defense.
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They want the world. And they want Jesus at the same time. It doesn't happen that way. We have to die to one.
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And live to the other. That's all there is. And Jesus said that. Now that sounds simple.
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But we've made it very complex. Because of our sin. That's why.
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Sin has complicated it. Well I'm picking up where I left off last week.
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Believers come to Jesus. Right? That's why we come to Jesus. The living stone. Notice in verse 4.
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And coming to Him as to a living stone. Which has been rejected by men.
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Jesus was rejected by men. He still is rejected by men. Peter says but is choice.
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And precious in the sight of God. We come to Jesus the living stone. Peter's word in verse 4.
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Now he takes it through verse 8. And actually it reflects the temple. And the sacrificial system of Israel.
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So in verse 4. These words. And coming to Him. This is key as to a living stone.
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Which has been rejected by men. But is choice and precious. In the sight of God.
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You know this reminds me of God's gracious. Repeated invitation to His people. To come to Him. The Jewish culture of Peter's time.
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And under the old economy. Centered on the temple. In Jerusalem. Apparently drawn from that picture.
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Very vividly. Peter used this language to teach. That God no longer dwells.
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In an earthly material temporal house. But in a spiritual house. This was the intention.
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That God really had all along. But the old economy. We have the shadows and the tides.
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To point us to the reality. Which is in Jesus Christ. And what God is really up to.
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We see the big picture. Now they could not see the big picture completely. In the
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Old Testament. But we could see it. As the old and new is before us. We have much light beloved.
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We have much light. And we should be on our faces before God. That God has given us much light.
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Because Jesus says much is given much will be required. Only Christians are united. With and receive the spiritual life.
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From the object of their worship. It is interesting. I mentioned that because you have the
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Buddhas. And Confucius. And the Mohammeds. None of them you ever say are.
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I am in Mohammed. I am in Confucius. I am in Buddha. Only the Christians can say
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I am in Christ. And we worship. The Lord Jesus Christ.
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He is the object of our worship. And our love. So when you and I come to Christ.
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The living stone. We become a living stone to ourselves. We possess his resurrection power.
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His resurrection life. And we draw from his spiritual resources. This is incredible.
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Because this can only happen. By the power of the Holy Spirit. The third person of the Trinity. That brings us right into the presence of Jesus.
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And Jesus brings us right into the presence. Of God the Father. All working together.
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Now that is what Peter meant. When he said that God has granted to us. God has granted.
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Don't you love that word. He grants repentance. He grants to us. His precious and magnificent.
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Precious promises. In order that by them. You might become. Partakers of the divine nature.
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God's holiness. Now we could be partakers. Of his divine nature.
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Now we are entering into holy ground. Beloved. Christians are so closely identified.
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And united with Jesus Christ. That the very life. That exists in Christ.
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Exists in us. Now you contemplate on that a little bit. That the power of the living
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God. Dwells within you. He abides within you. He dwells within you.
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You are the habitation of God. This morning. Much. It is so much. And this implies so much.
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Now in general. There is much. Specifics.
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But what I am saying is. We can look at the general part of it. But there is much specifics to look at.
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I am going to try to break this down a little bit. Let's look at the specifics. God is holy.
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And we are sinful. That is the problem. But that is the solution.
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God is the solution. But how can we get to God. If man is so unholy.
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And God is holy. Actually Paul said this. In 1 Timothy 6 .16. He gives a benediction.
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In the pastoral epistle here. And he said who alone. Possesses immortality. And dwells.
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In unapproachable light. Whom no man has seen. Or can see.
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And then he says. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen. You see God. Under the old economy.
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And this is where Peter is going. Under the old economy. God provided a high priest.
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There was a temple. And there was a sacrificial system. As you well know. In the temple there was the most holy place.
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Where God dwelt. His manifest presence. Dwelt. Between the cherubim.
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The seraphim. The mercy seat. And this is where his Shekinah glory.
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His manifest presence dwelt. And from there God spoke to his people. And this is how he did it.
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No one could enter there. Except through the high priest. Which was the day of atonement once a year. And outside.
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Was the holy place. Which ordinary Jews were allowed into. And as you well know.
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The Gentiles were not allowed there. They had to stay. In the outer court.
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Inscriptions was written in stone. Were mounted around the holy place. Warning that the Gentiles would be killed.
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If any would enter. Very serious isn't it. Very very serious. You just don't barge in on God's presence.
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They would immediately be put to death. God would kill them. And the system of mediation.
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Under the old economy. Was fulfilled. In and by Jesus Christ. And Jesus Christ alone.
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This is critical because we know it all centers on the cross. Of Jesus Christ. Now we look back at the cross.
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Since Genesis. And since the great promise. Of Jesus to come. The Messiah points to the cross.
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His great sacrifice. It all goes to that one point. This is why Paul says.
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I know nothing among you save Jesus Christ. And him crucified. He was talking about the great importance.
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Of the crucified Christ. On Calvary. And how everything comes together.
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At that point. Of how a sinful person. Can meet a holy
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God. And that's where they can meet. Because mercy and truth is kissed. Justice and mercy.
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Is met together. This system of mediation under the old economy. Was fulfilled by Jesus Christ.
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And when he died. On the cross. And you know the story. And as Christ died on the cross.
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And his sacrifice was accepted before a holy God. The just demands of a holy God. Was satisfied.
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The curtain of the temple was torn in two. From top to bottom. Now what does that tell us?
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That tells us a lot. Only God can do that. Number one. Only God can take that.
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That curtain from top to bottom. And rip it in two. Mark 15 .38
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says this. But this also indicated that the people. Could now come to God. Have access to God directly.
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Through Jesus Christ. No longer you need to go to the temple. That's not necessary now.
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Because that was. Tides and shadows of what is to come. The reality has come. And now
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God has showed. He has accepted the sacrifice. The perfect sacrifice. Of the great high priest.
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Once and for all. Aren't you glad? Oh it's wonderful isn't it? And the temple itself.
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And the curtain temple. Was rent in two. I like what Jesus said.
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There's a story in John 2. Chapter 2 verse 18 through 22. Let me read it to you. You don't have to turn there.
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But I'll read it to you. It says it right here. John chapter 2 verse 18 through 22.
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This is very important. To what is being said here. The Jews then said to him.
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They come to Jesus. What sign. Do you show us. As your authority.
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For doing these things. Now what things are they talking about. He just cleansed the temple. He went into the temple.
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And he cleansed it. And the zeal of God. The zeal of the Lord. Has eaten them up.
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That was the scripture that was given to him. And he overturned. The money changes.
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And they were selling and buying. In the temple. And he rebuked them and said. My father's house.
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Would not be a den of thieves. But it would be a house of prayer. He did this at the beginning of his ministry.
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And he also cleansed the temple. At the ending of his ministry. Got those bookends. And I think it is very significant.
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Because there is something important there. That God is saying the purpose of the temple. Was a place of prayer.
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But they defiled it. They made it into a marketplace. Of buying and selling. And these were people.
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Religious people that were doing this. And then after Jesus does this. They said what sign.
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Always a sign they want. What sign are you going to give us. Showing that you have authority to do these things.
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Well he answers them. Jesus answered them. Destroy this temple.
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Another literally means. That word temple means sanctuary. You destroy this temple. And in three days.
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I will raise it up. Well the Jews then said. It took 46 years to build this temple.
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And you are going to raise it up. In three days. Well what did
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Jesus say. But he was speaking of the temple of his body. Now they didn't get that.
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No one got that. Not even the disciples got it. Because in verse 22 it says. So when he was raised from the dead.
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In verse 22. His disciples. Now they got it. The Jews and the
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Pharisees didn't get it. But the disciples understood it. The Jews and his disciples remembered.
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That's the key word right there. They remembered that he said this. That they believed the scriptures.
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And the word which Jesus had spoken. Get that. They believed the scripture.
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And the word. Which Jesus had spoken. So Jesus is.
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That. Great cornerstone. So Jesus is the new and living way.
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Opened up for us to God. That's Hebrews 10 .22. Let us draw near to God.
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With a sincere heart. With a full assurance that faith brings. You know what an awesome and great privilege we have.
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We can enjoy. As believers in Jesus Christ. That we have access right into the presence.
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Of a holy God. We as we come to Jesus. And by the way that's why Peter says this.
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In coming to him. Coming to him. Keep coming to him. Keep coming to him. Keep remaining in him.
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Keep abiding in him. It's not a one time coming right. I don't know about you. I have to keep coming. I have to keep remaining.
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I have to keep going to Jesus Christ. And keep going to him. And keep repenting. And keep believing.
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And keep persevering. Until he comes back again. Or until he calls me home. You know he's the living stone.
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He's the living stone. What happens? Well I can honestly say a transformation takes place.
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Well the transformation. Let's look at this. First he makes us like living stones. I only got two points this morning.
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First he makes us like living stones. And builds us into a spiritual house. This is what
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God is doing. Verse 5. You also as living stones. You also as living stones.
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Are being built up as a spiritual house. For a holy priesthood. To offer up spiritual sacrifices.
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Acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. And we talked about a little bit. About this text last week.
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And I want to pick this up. And I couldn't help but think about. As what we used to be in Jesus Christ.
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In Ephesians chapter 2. 1 through 6. Says it so clearly as the apostle Paul. Brings this to light by the
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Holy Spirit. He says this. And you.
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In chapter 2 verse 1 through 6. Ephesians. And you being dead.
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Or were dead. Being dead sounds very good. That's a good translation. Being dead in your trespasses.
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And sins. Notice he keeps saying. In which you formerly walked.
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According to the course of this world. You're on a different course. According to the prince and the power of the air.
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He was Satan himself. Was our master. He was the task master.
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That was behind it. So if there's the world there. It's Satan that's behind this world system as well.
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So of the spirit that is now. Working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too.
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Were all formerly lived. In the lust of our flesh. In the desires of our flesh. And this next word.
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Really makes it so crystal clear. What we were doing. We were indulging.
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Indulging ourselves. In the desires of the flesh. And of the mind.
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The flesh and of the mind. And were by nature. We were born this way.
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We were born this way. We adopted that Adamic. Sinful depraved nature.
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It's part of us. That nature that we are children of. Wrath. Wrath is coming.
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To those who are in this way. We must be changed. We must be transformed.
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And then he says even as the rest. And verse 4. Is to transition. This is the greatest part of this text.
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But God. Being rich. He's rich. What's he rich in?
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He's rich in mercy. He's rich in compassion. He didn't have to be. But he was compassionate toward us.
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It was nothing we did. Because we were dead in our sins. And he was dead to dead sinners.
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Zombies. Dead zombies I like to say. Dead in our transgressions. And what did he do?
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With his great love. With which he loved us. Even when we were dead in our transgressions.
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Made us alive. Together. There it is. Together with who?
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Christ. Together with Christ. See there's the identity. We identify with him.
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We have our union with him. And then he says in parenthesis. Just to remind us. It's not by good works.
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It's nothing that we have done by grace. God's favor. That you have been saved.
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God has saved you solely upon his grace. Nothing that you and I have done.
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Because we were dead in our sins. And then he saved us. He didn't have to. He loved us.
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He showed us mercy. He raised us up with him. Seated us with him.
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In the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Then he tells us purpose here. Verse 7.
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So that in the ages to come. He might show the surpassing riches of his grace.
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And kindness toward us. In Christ Jesus. Oh hallelujah. We could just sit right there.
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And just praise God. And glorify him and worship him. Because he's worthy. What a savior we have today.
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When we come to Jesus. He breathes life into us. He breathes spiritual life into us.
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He raised us from the dead. We were dead zombies. We didn't come to Christ just making a decision.
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Or a sinners prayer. Or going to an altar. And somehow we decided. Okay today
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I'm going to make this. If we do make a choice. God initiated it first folks.
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Now. The choice that we make is Jesus. But first he chose us. We love him.
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Because he first loved us. We know that. Because the bible says.
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There's none that seeks God. No not one. There's none good. No not one. Paul made that very clear.
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And he quotes the Old Testament prophets to prove it. He breathes spiritual life into us.
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We become spiritually alive in him. This is what Jesus does. This is what he does.
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Believers are become living stones. Now think about it.
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Those stones are not for decoration are they? They're not for decorations. No.
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They are to be living stones. And they're being built stone by stone. In perfection to a spiritual house.
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This is the church. Beloved. The spiritual house being a metaphor.
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Which describes the invisible church. Of the living God. The ecclesia.
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The called out ones. Called out of darkness. That calling is the effectual calling.
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That God calls us out. There's an outward call. There's an inner call.
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But the outward call comes to us. But the inner call is the spirit of God. The effectual.
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And the word effectual means it is effective. It works. God has you selected.
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It's the universal church. It's the remnant of the church. Of God. It's God's people that God is building through Christ.
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And Christ is the head. And the chief cornerstone. Now we looked at this verse.
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If you turn to Ephesians 2. I say you didn't have to. But go with me to Ephesians chapter 2. And look at verse 19 through 22.
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He expands on this a little bit. Apostle Paul says this.
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So then in verse 19. So then. You're no longer strangers. Oh don't you love that.
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You're no longer strangers. And aliens. Foreigners. But you are fellow citizens.
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Fellow citizens. You are fellow citizens. You know. Heaven is going to be wonderful isn't it.
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With the saints. You know what the word saints means. Holy ones. God is all about.
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He is so holy. His city is holy. He is holy. Everything about God is holy. His people will be holy.
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There is no question to it. Or about it. And are the house. And are of the house.
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God's household. And notice what he says. Having been built on the foundation.
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Of the apostles. And the prophets. Christ Jesus himself.
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Being the cornerstone. That is the head. That is the stone in which the whole structure is lined up.
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Brother Keith and I were talking about this. It's the plumb line. It's the one that the whole structure is supported on.
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Jesus Christ himself. And then he says. He is being the cornerstone in whom the whole building.
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Don't you love this. Paul understood it. The whole building. Peter understood it. Being fitted together.
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There it again. The word is together. And growing into a. What kind of unholy temple.
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No. A holy temple. You know that word holy. It means separate. If anything it means cleansed.
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There is a cleansing. But when I see that word holy. I think. You are separated David. Remind myself.
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You are different from the world. You are called out of darkness. You are to be separate. Says the
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Lord. Come out from among them. And be you separate. You are to be separated from them.
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To be different from them. Because you are cleansed. Because God has called me.
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Out of darkness. You see. I have to remind myself of that. Because that is who I am in Jesus.
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Holy temple. But see. He has a purpose of separating us.
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Because God. Will have nothing to do with sin. Nothing. A holy temple.
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A sanctuary. In the Lord. In whom you also being built together.
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Into a dwelling of God. In the Spirit. Now there is the purpose. Jesus building the church that he is building.
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That we are a holy temple. God's people are a holy temple. A holy sanctuary. In the
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Lord. In whom you are also being built. He didn't say alone. No you are being built up together.
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But the whole household of God. Together. Into a dwelling of God.
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Where the Holy Spirit dwells. Within us. This is the church of the living God. This is the church.
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Christ is building. Christ is the cornerstone of the church. Built on the foundation of biblical truth.
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Now that is what it means. About the prophets and the apostles. These holy men of God was chosen of God.
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And they spoke for God. But it is basically. It was. They were spokesmen.
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They were different than Jesus. Now Jesus was more than just a spokesman. He was the word in flesh.
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These were. Holy men of God. Separated. God chose. And by the way. When usually
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God chooses people. God chooses them to suffer. Because the world is not going to like them.
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Ravenhill says you might as well. Just give your head to the butcher block. Because they are going to take your head off.
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When you get out there and speak the truth. And I am telling you. Go out there and speak this truth. The way the Bible says it.
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And I can guarantee you. You are not going to be. Oh yes. I have been waiting all day to hear this.
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No. Because it attacks their sin nature. And people love their sin.
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They love. Haven't we all been there? We love to indulge ourselves.
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And gratify the old flesh. Well. You know something.
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I know I am starting to meddle a little bit now. But you know. That is the truth. The old flesh likes to be catered to.
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It likes to be pampered. The flesh likes it. Scripture says it too.
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It is pleasure and sin. God doesn't pull any punches on that. But it is only for a season.
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And I like what. I think it was Watson that said this. What fools are they.
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That drink. A drop of pleasure. In comparison to. A sea of wrath.
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You see how blind people are. You see. You rather. Live your best life now.
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As people are mocking God. And doing it in the name of God. That is what is so bad about it.
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The world does it. But when the church starts promoting it. It is even worse. Because they are using the name of the holy
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God. It is blasphemy. And you know. It is soul searching too.
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But God. This is another reason why we are under the judgment of God. But the apostles and prophets.
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Were part. Of that foundation. Now not because of. Who they were in the sense of.
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Being men. It was because of the biblical. Inspiration.
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The divine revelation. That God the Holy Spirit was speaking through them. That is why.
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You see. That is why we say these 66 books. Are inspired of God. God breathed.
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Inerrant. Infallible. All sufficient. Because it is
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God's word. You see. And that is the reason why it is the foundation. R .C.
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Brought this out. I mentioned this last Lord's Day. But he sent me this message.
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About building your life. On the rock. The conclusion that Jesus made.
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On the Sermon on the Mount. And he gives the example of the house. And the foundation. And then he speaks about.
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That the early church. Studied the apostles doctrine. They were steadfast in it.
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Right? And that is what we need to be. But it is the apostles doctrine. But hold on.
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Why the apostles doctrine? Because everything the apostles spoke of was about Jesus. About his person.
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About his works. The prophets prophesied of him. The apostles pointed to him. They have seen him.
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There were eye witnesses of him. That is why we have Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. There were eye witnesses of who he was.
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What he did. And isn't that what our life. And our faith is based on? Jesus Christ.
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He is the cornerstone. It is because of the divine revelation. And what a privilege we have.
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Being united with Jesus. Think of that. I was studying this. And I am thinking this is almost so good.
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No wonder we have a hard time believing it. Because unbelief is there somehow. And it is so good to be true.
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But it is true. We are united with Jesus Christ. And part of the spiritual house.
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Go with me quickly to Romans. I want you to see this in Romans chapter 6. I call
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Romans chapter 6 and chapter 7. The sanctification chapter. Look at Romans 6.
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Look at verse 8 with me. To verse 14. Now if we have died with Christ.
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There is that word if. He always puts that in there. There is a possible chance.
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That you may not be in that if. But if we have died with Christ. We believe that we shall also live with him.
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So in other words. To live with Christ. We have to die with Christ. Knowing that Christ.
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There is a knowing. There is a knowledge of truth here. Knowing that Christ. Having been raised from the dead.
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That is key isn't it. The resurrection. Is never to die again.
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Death no longer. Is master over him. He defeated it. Verse 10.
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For the death that he died. He died to sin once for all. But the life that he lives.
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He lives to God. Even so consider yourselves. To be dead to sin.
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But alive to God. In Christ Jesus. There it is. Reckon it so. Account it.
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In other words. Believe this. That you consider yourselves.
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To be dead to sin. But alive to God. In Christ Jesus.
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Therefore. Do not let sin. Does that do not. In other words.
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This is sanctification folks. Do not let sin reign. In your mortal body. So that you obey it's lust.
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And do not. Go on presenting them. The members of your body.
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To sin as instruments. Of unrighteousness. But present yourselves to God.
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As those alive from the dead. And your members as instruments. Of righteousness to God.
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For sin shall not master over you. Shall not have dominion over you. For you are not under law.
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But under grace. Isn't that a wonderful. Wonderful verse. You know.
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MacArthur says. This does not mean that God has abrogated his moral law. The law is good.
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Holy and righteous. But it cannot be kept. So it curses.
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Since it cannot assist anyone. To keep God's moral standard. It can only show the standard.
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Thus rebuke and condemn those. Who fail to keep it. And he goes on to say this.
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But the believer is no longer under the law. As a condition of acceptance with God. Impossible condition to meet.
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And one designed only to show man. His sinfulness. But under grace.
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Which enables him. Don't you love that. Enables him to truly fulfill.
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The law's righteous requirements. End quote. That is so good. You know what
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I say. The law has its purpose. It shows me. It shows us our sin.
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But it shows us our disease. That we go to the remedy. And that is Jesus Christ. We go to him.
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Well God is the great designer. Isn't he. And the master builder. Who makes a beautiful and awesome spiritual house.
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Is a great mosaic of God's people. From every tribe. And every nation on the earth.
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So he makes us like living stones. Well this leads me to my second point.
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He makes us a holy priesthood. And this holy priesthood. Is offering up to God.
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Spiritual sacrifices. I like to look at this a little bit. We looked at this last week a little bit. But I like to finish it up here.
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And the purpose for this is for God. To have a habitation to dwell in. Now again this is staggering.
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That God the Holy Spirit. Dwells within our mortal bodies.
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And he does. By faith. He says you also as living stones.
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Are being built up into the spiritual house. For a holy priesthood. Notice what he says. A holy priesthood.
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To offer up spiritual sacrifices. Spiritual sacrifices. Acceptable to God. Through Muhammad.
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No he didn't say that. Through Jesus Christ. Not through religion. Not through anyone else.
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But Jesus Christ. Peter called the early Christians. A holy priesthood. Let's look at this a little bit.
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The spiritual sacrifices. Acceptable to God. Through Jesus Christ. And we looked at this last week.
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Only Jesus Christ the Father is pleased in. This is why he said. This is my beloved son. In whom
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I am well pleased. He said that several times. God even allowed this to happen.
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He audibly spoke. And they thought it thundered. They were frightened. These Christians may have looked at this time.
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When Peter was writing this. Looked like scattered defeated refugees. But to God.
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They were more than conquerors. To God they were holy priests. To God. They were a holy nation.
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To God. They were the righteousness of God. I was thinking about this.
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As Ben again. Was talking about reading Leviticus. I said God is concerned about covering.
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And God covers us. He covers us. In the righteousness of Jesus Christ.
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That's the only covering that's going to do. When we appear before a God. In which Paul says that no man can see.
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And look upon. And live. But Jesus. Comes to meet us.
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Jesus came. You know that's what's so beautiful about the gospel. Wicked glory in this.
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And you know the more I see this. I see it's God did it all. God has done it all.
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He just wants us to believe it. And trust Him. And die to ourselves. When it comes to that part.
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People say I don't think I want to be a Christian. Because I enjoy the fleshly life. Too much. But you know we come to find out.
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That everything God said in the law. I heard this by a minister years ago. And I never have forgotten it.
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I used to look at the law. In which it does condemn us doesn't it. It condemns our sinfulness.
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Because I've coveted. I've stolen. I grew up stealing watermelons.
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All my life. And I'm telling you a little bit. I don't want to go too much in detail. I was a thief.
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So when the bible and God says. Thou shalt not steal. I say good night. I need somehow to take watermelons back.
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I wish I could do that. But somewhere these folks died. And went off.
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But anyway in my heart. I'm pretending. I'm saying Lord I'm so sorry.
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I was a thief. But I was a liar too. And also
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I took your name in vain. And I coveted. And I didn't honor my mother and father.
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And all these things. That God says. Thou shalt not. Thou shalt not. And this is my point
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I'm getting to. I used to look at it. Thou shalt not. Thou shalt not. Thou shalt not. And God. You're such a mean God. Why are you forbidding me to do these things.
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Because I had fun in doing those things. Because my flesh liked it right. You know what I'm saying. But no
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I wanted what God wanted. But the minister brought this out. And I never thought of it this way.
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Did you ever think that everything. That God says about thou shalt not. Thou shalt not. Thou shalt not. It's because he loves you.
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And he loves the other. You can put love there. Because God cares. The thing about it is.
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We're so far. Holiness is far to us. And we see it different.
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Because we're in our sin. Our sin state. Not until we come into that part.
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We're so close to God. And then we start looking at the law. And I said you know. Oh I want to glorify your name.
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Not take your name in vain. And it becomes. Such a part of you. And you see the beauty of God's holiness.
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You see that. At one time holiness was foreign. But now we see God's beauty in his holiness.
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Because everything about God is holy. Well I had to throw that in. Because it's the beauty of God's holiness.
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Well in the old testament. Those who worship the true God. Had limited access. Now we want to talk about access. First we talked about union and communion.
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Now we talk about access. And as I spoke of. The average Jewish person. Could commune with God through prayer.
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But was forbidden to even. To approach God physically. And as we looked at.
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Only the high priest. Was allowed to enter into God's holy presence. And to the holy of holies.
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Once a year. On the day of atonement. At one minute. At one minute.
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And even then he had to go through. Through a ceremonial washing. He had to make sure he was cleansed.
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Externally. Offer a sacrifice. Externally.
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You see what grace has done. The law deals with all the externals. The grace deals with the internal.
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Grace gets to the motive. It gets to who we really are. And that's where you see the sermon on the mount.
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Jesus says but you have heard. You have heard of old. And then he quotes the old testament. Right? But you have heard.
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You have read. But I say unto you. But I say unto you.
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But I say unto you. See because Jesus dealt with the motive. Oh it's awesome.
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The inner thought life. The intents of the heart. Who we really are.
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Well if the priest failed to prepare himself properly. Externally. He could forfeit his life. But anyone daring to usurp the office of a priest.
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Was also in grave danger. Of severe punishment by God. For example.
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Comes to my mind. King Azariah. He was also known as King Uzziah. He was afflicted with leprosy.
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Remember? King Saul's lineage. His whole lineage was cursed. Because of the disobedience.
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And blasphemy in the name of God. And Korah. And his rebellious followers.
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And the Old Testament was destroyed. When the ground opened up. And swallowed them up. And God judged them.
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These are examples for us. Right? That we may learn. For our edification.
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Our admonition. But however. We as believers enjoy unlimited access. To the
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Father. As I quoted. Hebrews 10. 19 -22. Since therefore brethren.
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We have confidence. I want you to underscore that word confidence. We have confidence to enter into the holy place.
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By what? The blood of Jesus. That's why the blood of Jesus is the only.
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That is the only way we can have access to God. Is through the blood of Jesus. Through the cross. And this is what the writer of Hebrews says.
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By a new and a living way. Which He inaugurated for us. Through the veil. That is
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His flesh. His flesh was broken. His flesh.
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And since we have a great high priest. Over the house of God. What are we to do?
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Let us draw near. That's what we are to do. If there is anything.
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That you can remember from this message. Remember that. Let us draw near.
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With a sincere heart. And full assurance of faith. As members of the royal priesthood.
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You can approach Him with confidence. Knowing that He loves you and welcomes you. Right into His glorious holy presence.
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As much as He welcomes His own beloved son. Let me ask a question.
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So why do we take more time? Why don't we take up. Why don't we spend more time.
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In God's holy presence. Why do we. Why do we not.
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Make this a priority. In our lives. Why do we hold back. Of taking the full advantage.
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Of that what God has purchased. Through His son. And have wonderful access. By communion with Him.
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In prayer and offering each day. In spiritual sacrifices. As a sweet aroma to God.
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Why do we neglect that? As we are so busy. And we are concerned for the fleshly things of this life.
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We are too earthly bound. We are too worldly. We are too caught up in ourselves. But let me think of it.
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The death of Jesus Christ our Lord has provided. Unlimited access to God.
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For believers. Let me give you an application to this. Peter identified believers as holy priests.
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But many Christians don't know. Really know. What it means. Because priests aren't part of our culture anymore.
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And we are talking about a holy priesthood. The primary purpose of an Old Testament priest. Was to offer up.
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Acceptable sacrifices to God. On behalf of the people. That's why the priest went in. He was doing it on behalf of the people.
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And he couldn't make any mistakes. Because he can really forfeit his life. Priests were chosen by God Himself.
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Specially cleansed. Through prescribed ceremonies. Clothed in prescribed manner. Anointed with oil.
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Which was symbolic of the Spirit of God upon Him. And they were expected to obey
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God. Love His Word. And walk with God. They were expected to do that.
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They were to be faithful priests. And by the way. They had a positive impact upon the believers.
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And unbelievers. A priest was very important. Let me give you the importance of it.
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In closing here. I'm heading to application here. Malachi 2. Chapter 2.
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Verse 6 and 7. Says this. True instruction was in his mouth. Speaking about a priest.
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And unrighteousness was not found on his lips. He walked with me. That's God speaking.
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In peace and uprightness. And he turned many back from iniquity. You see the influence the priest has.
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A pastor should have. And then he says this. In verse 7. I love verse 7.
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For the lips of a priest. Speaking about the lips. We talk about this a lot don't we brother Keith. The lips.
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Because what the lips speak. Comes from the heart. That's what Jesus said. But the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge.
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And men should seek instruction from His mouth. For He is the messenger of the
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Lord of hosts. That's the reason. Beloved. Beloved. Let me take this a step further.
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Can I tell you that those qualifications are not just for pastors. That's for every believer.
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Study it. I'm a chapter and verse man.
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Listen to this. Revelation chapter 1. 5 and 6. And from Jesus Christ.
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The faithful witness. Aren't you glad He's the faithful witness. The first born from the dead. The ruler of the kings of the earth.
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There's some authority here. All authority. To Him who loves us.
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And released us. From our sins by His blood. And He has made us.
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To be a kingdom of priests. To His God and Father. He's made us.
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To be a kingdom. Priest. To His God and Father. He's talking about every believer.
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To Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Beloved you were chosen by Him.
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From the foundation of the world. You were cleansed by the washing of regeneration. And renewing of the Holy Spirit.
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He chose you. Why did He choose you? Ephesians 1. 4. Just as He chose us in Him for the foundation of the world.
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That we would be what? Holy. And blameless before Him.
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In love. In love He predestined. He marked us out.
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He selected us. To be the adoption as sons. Through Jesus Christ Himself. According to the kind intention of His will.
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Oh the kindness of God. The goodness of God. That God would even have us. To be priests.
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We should be following our faces. This wonderful scripture. Both has a purpose and a result.
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Of God's choosing those who are to be saved. Isn't that great? God tells you. Why we're here.
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Where you came from. Why you're here. And where you're going. We can know. And God's people does know.
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And we know that we know. We also are clothed in the righteousness of Jesus.
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And anointed by the Holy Spirit. Oh the privileges keep stacking up. And the more
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I see the privileges stacking up. I say God's goodness just glows and glows. Bigger and bigger.
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And I keep falling on my face. And I say oh God why? He's so good.
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He gives us purpose. To offer up spiritual sacrifices. And now here's my last application.
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So how do we do that? We need a how to don't we? Well scripture gives us the instruction.
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Because scripture tells us. That it gives us instructions. And righteousness to be thoroughly equipped.
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For every good work doesn't it? Romans 12 1 and 2. Romans 12 1 and 2.
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And I've got to close with this. Therefore I urge you. In other words I beseech you brethren.
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By the mercies of God. To present your bodies. A living sacrifice.
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Listen to this. A holy sacrifice. Acceptable. Well pleasing in other words.
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To God which is your spiritual act of service. It's your spiritual rational service.
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Act of worship. It's an act of worship in obedience. And do not be conformed to this world.
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But be transformed. By the renewing of your mind. You've got to renew your mind. Hey what did
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Peter say? Pull up the loins of your mind. There's a reason he said that.
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Because sin enters there. And then it goes to the heart. Then it contaminates the whole body.
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That's why God does not. Play around with sin. He gives us the solution.
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He says it must be put to death. Mortify it. We talk about this a lot.
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Don't we brother Keith? Hack a guy to death. Hack him to pieces before the Lord. Well you've got to do it with your mind.
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You must renew your mind. So that you may what? Approve or approve. What is the will of God is.
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That which is good and acceptable. Well pleasing and perfect. All because of Jesus Christ by faith.
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And by the way Hebrews 11 .6 But without faith it is impossible to please him. He that comes to God must believe that he is.
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And that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. That's what I would say. This is obedience.
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Faith in Christ. Obedience follows that faith. Obedience is faith in action.
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Obedience, love for the word of God. Communion with God. Prayer. Saturate yourself with the word of God.
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Put to death the deeds of the flesh. Should characterize our life.
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Saints and sinners alike should see Jesus in us. The priesthood of believers is a high and holy calling beloved.
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To which no one is suited apart from God's grace and power. But be assured that he who has called you.
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He who has called you. He will give you the power. He will accomplish his good pleasure.
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Because that's what the word says. He will accomplish it. God will accomplish it. In you. Be committed to that goal each and every day that you live.
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Be committed to obey God. To obey God is better than sacrifice.
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As you lean on his resources. And trust in his sufficiency. Christ has made the sure foundation.
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Praise God for the priesthood. That he's entrusted to you. May we live for his glory.
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And be a burning shining light to a lost and dying world. Let's pray. Father we thank you for this hour.
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Lord help us to obey your holy word. There's much here. But this is sufficient for us of what we've heard today
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Lord. May we meditate on it. But Lord more than just hearing it.
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Put it within our heart Lord. Burn it within our heart. Burn it within our mind. Help us
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Lord to draw closer to you. Oh just a closer walk with thee. Grant it Jesus is my plea.
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Forgive us Lord for the times we have neglected spending time with you.
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That's why sin. No wonder your word says pray without ceasing.
01:04:07
Because we sin without ceasing so often. So we must pray without ceasing.
01:04:13
And so Lord when we pray and we're praising and praying. Lord sin doesn't have room.
01:04:18
It chokes it out. May we mortify the members that we've displeased to.
01:04:26
Our members of our body. The things we've heard we don't need to hear. The things we've seen we don't need to see.
01:04:33
The things we think what we don't need to think. Sin is ever before us as David said.
01:04:40
But Father you have dealt with this sin in Jesus Christ once and for all. May we count ourselves to be dead indeed into sin.