Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church, located at 2709 Rock Springs Road in Kingsport, Tennessee, would like to invite you to listen to a message of Sovereign Grace by their pastor, Gabe Stoniker. For information and service times, visit www.ksgc.church. And now, Gabe Stoniker.

I will be speaking to you today from 1 Peter chapter 2. 1 Peter chapter 2. And our text will be one line in verse 7. 1 Peter 2 verse 7 says, Unto you therefore which believe, he is precious. unto you therefore which believe he is precious."

Now, I have a message today for believers, specifically for believers. This message is not for everybody. I know that is a strange way to start a program like this, but it's true. This message is not for everybody. This message is for believers. There are some who God gives true eyes of faith to and a true heart of faith to that causes them to look to Christ. to truly look to Christ and not look to their own flesh and not look to their own works and not look to their own goodness and not look to the law. But when faith comes, it points men and women to Christ and they cast their all on Christ and they hope in Christ and they believe on Christ. He is their salvation. They're not their own salvation. He is. And that's who I'm speaking to. those who have received faith, those who are believers.

And verse seven says, unto you, therefore, which believe, he is precious. All right, this is our message today. Unto you, therefore, which believe, he is precious. The word precious means all value. Think about that. Unto you therefore which believe, he is all value. It means all honor to the highest degree. Unto you therefore that believe, Christ. Christ is precious. Unto God, unto God the Father, unto God the Spirit, Christ is precious. Unto the eternal host of heaven, everything that exists in heaven, cherubims and seraphims and angels and unto the entire host of heaven, Christ is precious. And under all of God's people, the feeling is exactly the same. All of God's people cry, amen, amen. To those of us who believe, to those of us who have been caused by God to believe, Christ is precious.

The word precious is in the scripture many times, quite a few times. The places that we're gonna look at right now have to do with what makes Christ precious to us. What specifically makes Christ precious to us? The precious things about Christ that makes him so precious to God's people. Our text here says, unto you therefore which believe, he is precious. Here are some of the things that makes Christ precious to his people. And before we turn to him and look at him, let me just say, if we really think about it, what doesn't make him precious to us? Everything makes him precious to us. There is nothing concerning him that is not precious to us. we will spend all of eternity dwelling on the things that makes Christ precious to us. But for right now, for the sake of time, we're gonna just see a few of the scriptures that make him precious. And I believe we'll agree as we see this, I believe we'll be able to say, yes, he most definitely is precious because of that.

All right, here's the first one. First Peter chapter one, we just read chapter two, but if we look at first Peter one, verse 17, it says, and if you call on the father who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, past the time of your sojourning here in fear, for as much as you know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold from your vain conversation, received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ. as of a lamb, without blemish and without spot, who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you."

He said, you know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things like silver and gold. you were not bought, redeemed, paid for with corruptible things like silver and gold. You know, if a man has to pay his silver and gold, if a man has to lose his turnover and lose his silver and gold, he may hate that. He may regret that. A man may not want to turn loose of his silver and gold. But if a man loses his blood, If a man loses his blood, if something costs him his blood, not just his silver and gold, but his blood, that's not just regret. That's the end of life as he knows it. That's the end of life. That makes a man's blood infinitely more precious. infinitely more valuable to him. A man's blood is infinitely more valuable. You think about it for yourself. If you had to make a choice, I keep my blood or all the money that I have, which would you prefer? Which would you choose?

A man's blood is of infinite more value to him. And that's even talking about a man who, you know, you could say that a man who has sinful corrupt blood in the body, but this man, this man, how much more the incorruptible, spotless, sinless blood of the Lamb of God, the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, that's what was given to pay the redemption price for the sinful, wretched souls of his people. His blood, all value was given to pay the price for something that possessed no value in itself whatsoever. And that's talking about us. In us, all we possess is sin and death and there's no value here. There's no worth here.

God willingly gave the most costly substance of heaven That's what God gave, the most costly substance of heaven, the life of heaven. The scripture says the life is in the blood. And God gave the life of heaven to redeem the death of men, particular men. He did that to pay the price of the death FOR SINFUL MAN. THAT'S AMAZING. NOW YOU TALK ABOUT THE UNSPEAKABLE GIFT. THAT'S WHAT THE SCRIPTURE SAYS CONCERNING THE BLOOD, THE DEATH, THE CROSS OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. THE SCRIPTURE CALLS IT THE UNSPEAKABLE GIFT. IT IS UNSPEAKABLE. because of the value that was given to pay the debt.

So many people love to sing the song, Amazing Grace. You talk about amazing grace, not just grace, but amazing grace. How amazing. Amazing grace in the blood of Jesus Christ. Amazing grace by the blood of Jesus Christ. God gave everything, he gave everything to redeem a bunch of nothings. That makes him precious to us. Those of you who believe, those of you who have seen this, been caused to see this, does that not make him precious to you? You hear this and you say, that's so. Some hear this and they say, that's not so. I'm worth something. I'm a value. He was really buying something good here. Those of you who've been caused to see, that makes him precious.

where our sin abounded in the grace of Christ, in the blood of Christ. His salvation infinitely more abounded, and that makes Him precious to us. His blood, His precious blood makes Him precious.

All right, here's the next thing. In 2 Peter 1, if you're turning with me, 2 Peter 1, verse 1 says, Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, TO THEM THAT HAVE OBTAINED LIKE PRECIOUS FAITH. WHAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THIS WHOLE TIME. LIKE PRECIOUS FAITH WITH US THROUGH THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD AND OUR SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST, GRACE AND PEACE BE MULTIPLIED UNTO YOU THROUGH THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD AND OF JESUS OUR LORD, ACCORDING AS HIS DIVINE POWER HATH GIVEN UNTO US ALL THINGS THAT PERTAIN UNTO LIFE. and godliness through the knowledge of him that hath called you to glory and virtue.

Verse one says, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us. The key to faith being precious is in the fact that we have obtained it. We have obtained it. That's something that God's people know that the rest of this world doesn't have a clue of. And what that means is if a man or a woman is going to have faith, if a man or a woman is going to possess faith, God must give it to that man or woman. We've obtained it. from him. God must give it. It cannot be just conjured up. That's what people believe naturally about faith is it's in there somewhere. You just have to bring it out. You have to exercise it. You have to work it. You have to use it. That's not so. That's not so at all. If any man or woman is going to have faith, God must give that faith. It comes from God. It starts with God.

Hold your place here if you're with me and turn over to Galatians 2. In Galatians 2, verse 16 says, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ. And that's key wording right there, by the faith of Jesus Christ. It's the faith of Christ. Verse 16, Galatians 2 16, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ. What do God's people believe in Jesus Christ? What do God's people believe about Jesus Christ? Even we have believed in Jesus Christ that we might be justified by the faith of Christ. We believe in the faith of Christ and not by the works of the law for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

What that's saying is faith is not of ourselves. Faith is of Jesus Christ. It only originates in one place. It only comes from one place. There's only one source of faith. Jesus Christ. If we are going to have any, it is going to have to come from him. It has to. It must. Ephesians 2 says we are his workmanship. Philippians 2 says it is God that works in us to will and do of his good pleasure. Philippians 1 says if God has begun that work in us, God will perform that work all the way to the end. God will do it. Hebrews 12 says he is the author and finisher of our faith. The apostle said, Lord, would you increase our faith? If our faith is going to be increased, you're going to have to increase it. I can't increase my faith. You know, people say, well, I just need to have more faith. And what they mean by that is I just need to do better. I need to have more, use more. Lord, you're gonna have to increase my faith.

Does that cause us to understand how precious faith is? It only comes from him. And he does not give his faith to everybody. He does not cause every soul on earth to believe on Christ and to trust Christ and to truly bow to Christ. It's precious. It's precious in the sense that he only gives it to whoever he's pleased to give it to. So it's not something that God's people take for granted, not at all. It's a special, favorable bestowment of life, life through believing on Christ, the acknowledgement of our salvation being totally in him. That's what happens when faith comes. God's people see all salvation in him, all life in him, all work being performed in him, by him. So seeing the faith of Christ that has been freely given to us that makes him precious, that makes him precious. This like precious faith that we have freely graciously bestowed makes Christ so precious.

So his blood that he gave for us makes him precious. His faith that He gives to us makes Him precious. And here's the next thing.

Back in 1 Peter, this time chapter one, 1 Peter one, verse three says, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith. That's what we were just talking about. That's how God's people are kept. They're kept through the faith he gives, causing them to hope in Christ, look to Christ, wait on Christ.

Verse five, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. Wherein you greatly rejoiced, though now for a season, if need be, you are in heaviness through manifold temptations, that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ, whom, having not seen, you love. in whom though now you see him not, yet believing, you rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.

Not only does the faith that Christ has given to us, causing us to look to him and believe on him, not only does the faith itself make Christ to be precious to us, but the trying of that faith. He gives the faith and then he tries the faith. The trying of that faith, the trials that test that faith and prove that faith, those trials make Christ to be precious to us.

Now, if you're really with me, enter into this, because this is so, and you will say that it truly is so. The trying of that faith makes Christ so precious to us. No one wants trials. I know that nobody wants trials. I don't want trials. I know that you don't want trials. But whether we want them or not, they're going to come. Trials are going to come. And I'll tell you this, when they come, they will cause us to sincerely realize what Christ means to us.

When trials are not upon us, when we're not going through the middle of a trial, we think very little of our Savior. We think very little on our Savior. We're caught up in the world, we're caught up in our lives, everything is fine. We think very little of the great trial of the cross. that he endured for us. We're not thinking of everything he endured to deliver us, to save us, to secure an inheritance for us, like we just read about. We believe, but our minds and our hearts constantly get sidetracked. You know what I'm talking about. Just caught up with other things. Unimportant, insignificant things of this world.

But when a great trial comes, Oh, it turns us back to him. It causes us to look to him. He becomes precious again. Is that not so? All of these other things become stripped away and Christ becomes all that matters. We enter into a moment where we desperately need him. It's a deep trial of faith. That's when we realize that there truly is only one thing needful. Him. There's only one person needful. That thing is the person of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The trial of our faith, truly, is so precious. And painful? Absolutely. Trials are painful, but precious. They really are precious. If that's what God uses to keep me looking to Christ, amen. Every single trial that comes only makes Christ to be that much more precious to God's elect people. His blood is precious. His faith is precious. The trying of that faith is precious.

Here's the next thing. Back in 2 Peter again, back in 2 Peter 1, Verse three says, according as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue, whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises. Exceeding great and precious promises that by these you might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. That's a good one. Exceeding great promises, precious promises. The promises of God's word. are precious to God's people. Do you not hold on to these promises? Do you not cling to these promises and hope in these promises? We read of what he has done and what he will do, what his purposes are concerning his people, what he has prepared, and we're clinging to them. We are hoping in them. Every promise he has made is so precious.

What has our Lord said to us in the pages of this book? Does it not cause your heart to say, amen? Thank you, Lord. Thank you so much. What has he said to us that drives us to Christ and causes us to look and hope in him? What has he sworn to us? I love how Hebrews 6 says, because he could swear by no greater, he swore by himself. He swore to himself concerning every promise. He says he cannot lie. He will not lie because he cannot lie. He cannot change. Cannot change. His promises cannot be altered. Promises of love, promises of redemption, promises of deliverance, promises of reinstatement, fellowship, adoption, inheritance, union with him. oneness with God. How amazing is that? The promises that he will not leave us, he will not forsake us. The promises that he's prepared a place for us where sin cannot dwell. Is that not exceeding precious to you? Every soul there is in the image of Christ, the perfection of Christ. As he is, so are all of his people. What a promise. That's true life, liberty, and happiness. All the promises of God, which so far surpass anything we've ever seen or heard or thought in our minds, they make Christ precious to us.

A couple of more scriptures and we'll be done. Ephesians 3 verse 14, it says, for this cause, I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that he would grant you according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height, and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge. that you might be filled with all the fullness of God. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that worketh in us. Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end, amen. What that saying is, he has promised exceeding abundantly above. Anything we could ask, anything we could think, His promises exceed anything we could hope for. That makes Him precious to us.

I love how 2 Thessalonians 4 says this, it says, I would not have you to be ignorant brethren concerning them which are asleep, saints who have died and gone to be with Him already. that you sorrow not either as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trump of God and the dead in Christ shall rise first. These are promises.

Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words. How glorious. That's a promise to God from God to all of his elect people. And it shall come to pass. And that makes that promise precious, so precious to us.

His blood is precious. His faith is precious. The trial of that faith is precious. Every promise in his word is precious. And I don't have time to go into this last scripture, but I'll just tell you about it. In Psalm 139, David said, his thoughts toward me are so precious. He thinks on His people, knowing that He's thinking on me, knowing that He prays and makes intercession for me. That's so precious.

He said, Father, I pray for them. And that makes Him so precious. I pray the Lord has given all of us faith to see the preciousness that is in Christ. Amen.

You have been listening to a message by Gabe Stoniker, pastor of Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church in Kingsport, Tennessee. If you would like a copy of this message or to hear other messages of Sovereign Grace, you can call or write to the number and address on your screen or visit www.ksgc.church. Tune in at this same time next week for another message of God's free and sovereign grace.