Good evening. It is a tremendous
privilege to be with each one of you, to be here, to be invited
to come up here with my wife and to see what God is doing
here in Northern California. I had the privilege when I immigrated
to the United States to come to Los Angeles. I lived in Los
Angeles for, I think, almost 20 years. So I do know California. And I love California. It's a beautiful state. I left
because I don't like the politics. I left Austria because of socialism,
Marxism. And I've seen all this come to
the United States. And I hated it with a passion.
Because it is not of God. It is from the prince of this
world. It is satanic. It is unacceptable. But in the
midst of all that, God is still in control. Our God is still sovereign. It
didn't change anything. It will never change anything
because He's the Creator, because He is God. He owns it all. He does as He pleases. Isn't
that marvelous? So regardless of the politics,
what is sometimes hard to just let go, but I had to learn to
just let go. Because it is not in politics.
It is strictly in the Word of God. Beloved, this is the issue. Jesus is God. This is the issue.
If Jesus is not God, we're literally fools. But because Jesus is God,
we are now what we are because of him, a people that were once
lost and now we are redeemed in Christ Jesus. Isn't that marvelous? And so we are truly a very privileged
people. We are very unique people. And
that in itself is greater than any nation, than any nation. To belong to the kingdom of God,
there is no greater citizenship than to belong to the kingdom
of God. If we want to be patriotic, let us be patriotic for Christ,
for his kingdom. Then we have something that is
the eternal kingdom. It is lasting, because all other
kingdoms must cease to be, including our beloved America. It is only
here for a season, and it must go and vanish in the heap of
ashes of man's imagination, of man's doings, of sinful man's
doings. But that which Christ has done,
the one who redeemed us, God manifested in the flesh. It's
eternal. It's lasting. And we, by his
work, are part of it. Isn't that marvelous? That he
called us, that he was the one giving us that call, that he's
the one, it was predestined to do such a mighty work. It's absolutely,
it's mind-boggling. It is incredible. And what a
privilege that we can gather together in regardless what location. God is with his people because
we are the temple of God. We don't need no building built
like in the old covenant. God changed it all around for
us, amen? And so it is an amazing life
to be a Christian. To be a true Christian, a biblical
Christian, is not easy. It's the hardest thing to be
a Christian. It literally is the hardest.
The hardest life to be a Christian is hard. Because why? It's hard because of self. I'm the problem. Christianity
is not the problem. Christ is not the problem. I'm
the problem. You know I was I was hearing
once, I don't remember exactly who it was, but I remember a
very good preacher said that it is so sad, we live in such
a sad time, that people could not tell you what is the gospel.
They cannot tell you in a simple sentence what is the gospel. And I thought that is really
interesting. Yeah, what is the gospel? What
is the gospel? When somebody asks you, what
is the gospel? And people give all kinds of answers, but to
put it in just one sentence, what is the gospel? One thing
we know what the gospel is, the gospel is the good news. The
gospel is the good news of deliverance. Deliverance of self-sin and the
righteous wrath of God. Through faith, in Christ Jesus. And what a blessed truth that
is. So in one sense, the gospel is the goodness of deliverance
from foul sin and the righteous wrath of God through faith in
the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the gospel. That is the
gospel. And what a blessing that is that
this gospel had been so faithfully preached by God's messengers
that you and I can meet in 2021 right here in this community
to love one another, to appreciate one another for what Christ is
doing in us, and that we can look into His Word. And I hope
and pray that the Lord will use me this evening as we look into
His Word, that we hopefully can rejoice in who God is and what
He has done for us and what He's doing for us. And so I hope I
have a little bit of an accent. I hope you'll be able to understand
everything I say. And I hope that my tremors will
not distract you, so just listen. If it would distract you, just
don't look at me then. But I'm grateful and thankful to God,
again, that you all have invited us so graciously. And I was just
absolutely blessed with meeting your pastor down in Birmingham,
Alabama. at that conference from Mark
Little. And the Lord allowed us that we appreciated our fellowship
with one another. And here I am with my wife and
we are just literally humbled. by what I see, what God is doing,
and knowing that your pastor is a much better preacher than
I am. He really is. No, I'm not kidding. You have an amazing, gifted man. And I trust and believe that
you know that, what God has placed here. Because it is truly God's
blessing when you have a faithful man because of what's going on
in the country. He didn't tell me to tell that,
no. He had no idea I was going to say that. But that's really
the truth. And to see young people here
as well, I want to encourage them to listen to their parents
and to learn the Word of God. To literally start reading in
the Word of God, even learn reading through the Word of God. And
soak it in as much as you can, because in it you will find life,
eternal life. Heaven and earth shall pass away,
but God's word shall never pass away. You can burn this Bible. It's true. They tried to get
rid of them. We know from church history.
And what they got to, he produced more of them. Because it's a
living word. You see, something that lives,
you cannot destroy. It's impossible. It's impossible. And that's the
beauty, and we are the testimony of God's gracious work. Isn't
that the truth? We are the testimony of what
He has done and what He still does. He didn't stop building
His church. If He would stop building His
church, then we wouldn't be meeting right now. He's still building
His church. That's the beauty of it. Till
He shall return, whenever that may be, Till then, till he returns
again, wherever that may be in the future, what the Father only
knows. Christ made it very clear. He said, no, only the Father
knows that time and that hour. Let us be busy for the kingdom
of God. Let us raise our offspring in
the midst of much confusion, of much deceptiveness, of much
evil. Okay? Let us raise our children
God has entrusted us with. for the glory of our Savior,
and if he is pleased to save him, hallelujah! Hallelujah! But we approach him in the sense
that he will save him. We don't approach him that he
may save him. Lord, we approach you that you
will save him because you came to save that which is lost. That's
the beauty. And if he does, we give him all
the glory. And if he does not do it, we
give him all the glory. Because He does all things well. There's not one beat that God
misses. There's not one thing God misses. He knows exactly what He's doing
because this creation is created to give Him glory. We are created
to give Him glory. Even the most ungodly individual
is created for God's purpose to give Him glory. to show His
holiness, His righteousness, His justice, and to display His
mercy, and they rejected it. They rejected it because their
nature could do no other than to reject God because of their
rebellion. And we know and understand from
Scripture that it must be God to save to the outermost. No
one else can except Him. And so we are that product of
such salvation, of such grace. So let us be busy. Let us love
one another. Let us encourage one another.
And that whole thing brought me to 1 Peter. I want you to turn to 1 Peter
with me, please, chapter 2. And my purpose for tonight My
desire for tonight is to encourage each one of us for how good God
is to us. And so let us read, but let me
pray before I do that. And then we start with verse
1 and we're going to read down to verse 12. And then we're going to look
at two particular verses in this text, 9 and 10. And I trust and believe that
it will be a blessing to each one of us this evening. Dear
Lord, I thank Thee so, so much. I'm so humbled. I'm so encouraged. I'm so privileged to God to be
here with Thy people. Thy people, O God. Lord, I pray
that you grant me the power of the Holy Spirit to bring your
word faithfully and truthfully, to minister that you will be
well pleased that your people can be truly fed and rejoiced
in the goodness of who you are. Please, Holy Spirit, grant me
that unction. For thy name's sake, O God, for
Christ's work's sake, use me. In Christ's name I pray. Amen
and amen. Chapter 2, verse 1. Of course
in chapter 1, Peter is doing the greetings and the importance
of speaking concerning being born again and the living hope
we have as believers and the importance that we as believers
have a call unto holiness. Be ye holy as I am holy. He calls
us under that holiness in another sense, it's that sanctification
we are experiencing, which is an ongoing process, sanctification. We understand from scripture
that we are positionally sanctified. If I die right now and I'm born
again, when I'm from above, born from above, I'm a new creature
in Christ Jesus, and I would die right now, all the work of
Christ is sufficient to allow me to enter into the kingdom
of God in glory. We're already in the kingdom
of God, but to enter in, as Paul says, to be absent of the bodies
being present with Christ. So positionally, it's all there.
Experientially, That sanctification, as we know, under holiness is
a process. It's literally a process. And
we experience that. And then Peter goes on in chapter
two with speaking of the living stone and the holy people. And let's read here. Wherefore,
laying aside all malice, Peter says, and all guile, and hypocrisy,
and envies, and all evil speakings, as newborn babes decide the sincere
milk of the word that ye may grow thereby." Look at the language
they are using here. To bring it down to earth that
we as creatures who are saved by that grace can identify with
it. and to learn how important it
is to grow like a child, that we need to take in that food
that God gives by His Word, that we need to learn to take it in.
We need to learn because it is the Living Word, it is so massive,
it is just unbelievable. the revelation that God has given,
and here he encourages them as newborn babes. Desire the sincere
milk. So we are to desire the Word
of God. We are to desire God, to know
God Himself as a newborn babe. As a newborn babe needs its mother
to be fed on the breast of the mother, to be able to live, to
be able to sustain life. So we are to do likewise. where
to literally be on our Heavenly Father, to be upon Christ, to
lean upon Christ in such a needy way as a child needs its mother. That's basically what Peter is
speaking here of. And then he continues, if so
be ye have tasted, the Lord is gracious. If that's the case
that you tasted it, Wow, what a privilege that is, what a privilege. To whom coming as under a living
stone, disallowed indeed of man, but chosen of God and precious. Hallelujah, is Christ precious
to you today? To the believer he is, and he
continually is precious to us. Beloved, that's besides the point
that I see my sinfulness more and more and I'm aware of how
unworthy I am, but I see the preciousness of Christ and my
dependency upon it is greater and greater that without Christ
I'm nothing. Absolutely nothing. So ye also, as lively stones,
as I already said, are built up a spiritual house, a holy
priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God
by Jesus Christ. Wherefore also it is contained
in the scriptures, behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone,
elect, he tells us, precious. And he that believeth on him
shall not be confounded, shall not be disappointed. An elect
cornerstone. Not just any cornerstone. The
cornerstone. God himself. That's incredible. Under you there for which belief
he's precious. So he's making the distinction
there, those who don't believe and those who believe. Okay,
that's what he's doing here. But unto them which be disobedient,
the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made
the head of the coroner." And a stone of stumbling and
a rock of offense. Can we see that today? How they
are offended with the gospel. How they are offended when a
Christian wants to live his Christian life. It is really incredible. even to them which stumble at
the word, being disobedient, whereunto also they were appointed." I mean, this is all very strong
language, isn't it? They were appointed for that
purpose, and all to give glory to God. all to bow on that day
their knees and to confess with their tongue, like we shall,
that Jesus Christ is Lord. So even those who were appointed,
even those who are rejecting Him, who despise Christ, will
bow and will confess that He is who He said He is. God manifested
in the flesh. and no one will be missing at
the scene. Everybody will be there. Everybody. The question is, you're going
to be on the left or on the right side? The left are the goats,
on the left side, on the right side are the sheep. That's going
to be the difference. A huge difference. Huge difference. Appointed. But now he goes on. And that's why I want to look
at this evening. But ye are a chosen generation. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. And a royal priesthood. A holy nation. A peculiar people. That ye should show forth. So the reason we are all that,
that we should show forth, we're being told, show forth the braces
of him who had called you out of darkness into his marvelous
light. Hallelujah. Which in time past
were not a people, but are now the people of God,
which had not obtained mercy which had not obtained mercy,
but now have obtained mercy. Hallelujah. We have been given
mercy. What a blessing. Dearly beloved,
I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims abstained from fleshly
lusts, which war against the soul, having your conversation
honest upon the Gentiles, that whereas they speak against you
as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall
behold, glorify God in the day of visitation. But ye are a chosen people. Here Peter now continues in the
text here, our privileged position we have in God. That's what he's
doing. Our privileged position we have
in God through Christ Jesus, that is of utmost importance.
That privilege, what Peter is speaking here, is strictly through
Christ. It can be no other way. Jesus
made that very clear, that he's the way, the truth, and the life,
and no man shall come to the Father except through him. Any other way is impossible.
It's absolutely impossible. The contrast is also evident. He spoke of those who believe
and those who do not believe. Those who obey and who do not
obey. Because he says, but ye, he uses
that but ye. That but literally makes the
difference between the disobedient unbeliever and God's chosen people. That's where it comes in. In
other words, I wrote this, BD is using the metaphor but ye
or but you, we could use ourselves, but you, okay. What he's doing here, he's making
a transition, a clear contrast with that pronoun, you, by addressing
us personally. because we are personally engaged
in that. We have personal part in it when we are in Christ,
when we are born above. So it speaks right to us. He
doesn't speak to anyone else except to the true born believers. That's what he's doing here.
And that should encourage us, beloved. What is in these few
verses is so encouraging. It is so humbling. It is so wonderful
that God would show mercy on us. On us. What Peter is actually doing
here is speaking of the true Israel, the church. That's what
Peter is speaking of. He's not speaking of the old
system, the old covenant people. No, he's speaking of the new
covenant people. The church, that's why he says right in chapter
1, verse 1, he says this, Peter an apostle of Jesus Christ, he
says. He identifies who he is. To the strangers, he says, scattered
through Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. These are
all Christian people. These are all churches. These
are not mosques. These are not old covenant people.
No, these are the people of God. That's what he's speaking of.
These are the people of God. But you're a chosen generation,
he says. A chosen generation. What a blessing
that is to be in the chosen generation of God. Check what he says in
the Old Testament in Exodus 19.5. You see, these terms are not
new ones. Peter was very familiar with all that. But he learned
to understand that this old system is going to be done away. They're
going to be all done away. Finally, that already was done
away when Christ did His work, but that physical temple will
disappear. God will bring it down, as he
said, as Christ said. Here in Exodus 19, verses 5 and
6, we read this. Now, therefore, if ye will obey
my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a
peculiar treasure unto me above all people. Hallelujah. We are a peculiar treasure. The
church is a peculiar treasure above all people. Period. For all the earth is mine. Hallelujah. What a declaration
of the sovereignty of God. In other words, he's saying,
I own it all. That's basically what he's saying. I own it. It's
all mine. It's all mine. In verse 6 he says, And ye shall
be unto me a kingdom of priests. People, look what God has done
for us. We have every reason to be encouraged. We have every reason to pray
for this nation that God may bring it on its knees that there
can be true revival in the church if God pleases so. And if God
sees fit to save more, hallelujah! But if God should never revive
America, He did us no wrong as a nation. Because we need to
recognize and understand, people will be judged in the vigil on
Judgment Day. But nations are being judged
in their lifetime. America will not be judged on
Judgment Day. America is being judged than
any other nation during their lifetime in their existence.
That's a very important part to understand. That is very important. And it is a great blessing. Therefore
we can see what is going on because it is God and God alone. And He does in the heavens and
He does on earth as He pleases. And what that means is not reckless,
that means that He does exactly who He is in His nature. Or in
other words, who He is in His attributes. He can do no other. And that's a tremendous blessing
for us. So he shall be unto me a kingdom
of priests and a holy nation. These are the words which thou
shalt speak unto the children of Israel. And in one sense,
these are the words we need to speak to the church, to God's
people. What a blessing. A holy nation.
We understand all of that, that we are all of that in Christ
Jesus. But that does not stop us, that
does not hinder us for sanctification. To die to self. as Paul is teaching
so strongly. The importance of Him dying to
the old man. So we need to do the same thing.
And it's tough. That's why I said earlier, to
be a true Christian is tough. Because I need to learn to die
to my old nature. I need to learn to walk in the
Spirit and not in the flesh. Because walking in the flesh
is very natural for me. I have absolutely no problem,
ask my wife, I have no problem walking in the flesh. But it
is quite different to walk in the Spirit and to be consistent
in it. What I, sadly to say, cannot
claim. But I'm longing for it. I'm looking
for that full redemption in Christ Jesus when I shall be as He is. that are very important. In Isaiah
43, 20 we're being told, These people have I formed for
myself, the Lord says in verse 21 of Isaiah 43, they shall show
forth my praise. Hallelujah. Beloved, there is
no greater praise, and I stay corrected in my understanding,
there is always something that you grow in grace, but in my
understanding at this point in my life, there is no greater
praise we as believers can give than to do everything we can
in our ability as we comprehend it, as we understand it, to serve
our God, to live for Him, and to be a true testimony for Him,
even with all the shortcomings we have, because He knows all
about it. Okay? But as you learn to grow in grace,
as you learn to grow to become more Christ-like, it is a privilege
to learn that. It is a privilege to learn to
get to know self and to see the ugliness and the sinfulness of
self. It's a privilege because before
I had no clue of self. Actually, before I was saved,
I didn't even know what self really was. I literally, and
I'm ashamed of it, thought life is all about money, cars, and
girls. And then you die anyway. I was taught a lot of humanism.
I literally, as a younger man, I thought maybe we are like a
machine. It could be like I have a piston
in here. I know I don't have a piston in here, but it's always
so mechanical. Though God showed mercy upon
me and saved me, I realized, wait a second, I have actually
a purpose. I actually have value. I'm made in the image of God. And not only I'm made in the
image of God, I'm unique in who I am, because there may be look-alikes,
but there's nobody except me. Same with you. You're unique,
you're peculiar, and our text is telling us that. That's who
we are. So a people have I formed, this
people have I formed for myself. They shall show forth my praise. Peter is not speaking here of
individuals relating to God, for his emphasis is collective. So Peter is not speaking here
just of an individual, he's speaking of the church, he's speaking
of the body of believers. That is very important. But ye,
are a chosen people, he says. It applies individually, but
it is corporately. It is the body of the church. We know that Christ, that we have, I wrote it this
way, we became through Christ the part in the body that is
chosen by Christ that relates to God. So we are chosen by the
God-man. We are chosen by God. Jesus is God. We are chosen by
God. And it relates to Him. In other
words, the Church as a corporate unity is the people, the priesthood,
the nation. And what I think is so humbling
in that in our text is that we are that chosen people, that
elect people. What teaches us that it had nothing
to do from self. I didn't do anything here. There's
nothing I could have done. If I'm not chosen, if one is
not chosen, in reality what that means, they have no part in it. And for some people that is very
tough to take. Especially it's tough to take when you do not
understand total depravity. Because self is always into self.
It thrives on self and it thinks itself so important. When I came
to truth I realized I'm not important at all. God don't need me. He really does not need me. No. But by His good pleasure, He
chose me for His glory. That I may glorify Him, give
honor to Him. And so that's the purpose you
have been chosen. And that's why it's so humbling. That's
why it's so humbling. In verse 2 of chapter 1, Peter
says, elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father.
So he tells us exactly where it comes from, God the Father.
By the foreknowledge of God the Father, that's where it comes
from. But the son knew all about it. The triungan is not divided
in what he does. They all work together in unity.
Complete unity. Through sanctification of the
spirit and obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ,
grace unto you and peace be multiplied, Peter says. So he brings in immediately
the triune God. He lays it all out what it is
all about. And what a blessing it is, elect according to the
foreknowledge of God the Father. What a privilege to understand
and to learn. And what an amazing truth that
that is what took place, that we are God's people. And that's
not important in preaching the gospel and ministering to the
lost. That is an after thing that comes later when you are
being born again. When you learn from the scripture,
all of a sudden you learn afterwards, wait a second, God has already
preordained me. He already chose me before the
foundation of the world. He already did that before I
even was born. Before I even knew there was
such a thing as a human being or this world that He created.
He already did that. But that's something I learned
through the scriptures. And what did it do? What does
such knowledge do? It elevates the power and the
glory of our God. And it shows that I'm as the
creature. I'm nothing. But because of His
grace and mercy, I am now that which He made me to be for His
glory. And what a privilege. What a
blessing. It is really incredible. BDA
writes the people who live before The destruction of Jerusalem,
I believe. The way I understand the scriptures, that's what he
did here. Peter himself being a Jew, addressing Jew Christians
as well as he is addressing Gentile Christians. That's what Peter
is doing. He's not addressing anyone else
except the Christians here. Jew or Gentile, it does not matter.
He is addressing them. In other words, Peter is speaking
to all believers in all ages. He's speaking to us right now.
The Word of God, the Living Word is speaking to us right now.
This what is written, He applies to us as it applied at the day
when it was written, as Peter wrote it, and as it was read
in the church. What a blessing. What a blessing.
He continues by saying, but ye are a chosen generation, a royal
priesthood, he says. Not only we are a chosen people,
a chosen generation, but we are also a royal priesthood. What he's doing here, Peter,
is he is describing the glorious riches, what we as believers
possess through Christ Jesus. And that is quite something,
isn't it? So we call them a royal priesthood. What does that mean
that we are called a royal priesthood? What that does is, as in the
old covenant, only the high priest could approach the holies of
holies. So now we can approach God. We can approach him literally
24-7, 365, because we are royal priesthood. We can commune with our God through
the scriptures, we can bow our heads, we can fall on our knees,
and we can cry out to God to commune with Him, and He hears
everything His people say. He loves when His people commune
with Him. You see, our God is a relational
God. He's not some false image of handmade perception of handmade
perversion of an image that has nothing to do with God. We're
speaking to the living God, the God, the only God. And as high
priests, we have access. We can serve Him because we have
access to Him. So now, because the high priest
was serving So we are now serving God through the preaching of
the word, so living the Christian life, wherever we are. And in
it, we are serving God. When you live faithfully your
Christian life, you're serving God that others see and watch
you. And say, wait a second, she's
different. He is different. Why? Because
we are Christ. Because we are serving Him. We
are these living stones. It's a lifestyle. Christianity
is tough, but it's also that privilege. It's tough because
I'm dealing with myself, I'm dealing with my sin nature, but
I'm redeemed, there's all the blessing, but it's a privilege
because now, even in my state, I still be able to serve God. Because I don't serve it under
my own merit. I'm not serving him with me doing
what I'm doing, no, I'm serving him because Christ in me the
hope of glory. It is Christ we preach, it is
Christ when we live, we imitate Christ, we do that which is written
in the scriptures. And in that we are serving our
God. We're sitting here, we're being on the word, we're serving
God. So I understand it in that application. And what a privilege it is. He says, Peter says in chapter
two, verse five, you also as living stones build up a spiritual
house, a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable
to God by Jesus Christ. There it is. It's all through
Christ. Nothing about me. I need the grace like you do.
I need Christ like you do. But we are what we are because
of Christ, and let us not be ashamed of it. Let us stand for
it, and let us do that which is required of us to do, to proclaim
these truths faithfully, and to not be ashamed, regardless
what comes our way. It don't matter, because our
God is in charge. The enemy can only do that which
God allows them to do, whatever it may be. And God, He's so faithful
to His people, He will give us that strength to endure. I believe
with all my heart, as God is lifting His channel of grace
upon any nation, At the same time, as he lifts this general
grace of a people, he increases his particular grace upon his
people to be able to live under such circumstances. How could
anyone endure such persecutions as we read in Hebrews where people
get thawed in thunder, skinned off their skins, literally skinned.
How could you live like that? How could you endure that without
God increasing that particular grace through the power of the
Holy Spirit upon that individual? It would be impossible. But all things are possible for
those who believe in Him. because he will never leave us
nor forsake us. These are eternal promises from
God. These are not just some empty
words. God is speaking here. Everything
is reality. It's the truth. It's the true
life. All this rest, everything we
see today is going to be gone one day. But everything about
Christ remains, and what a blessing it is to be literally part of
the royal priesthood, to have that privileged position, which
reveals to us that believers are priests in a royal priesthood. That's basically what he's saying,
a royal priesthood. It's right in the text. I mean,
it's pretty straightforward. Why? Because we know that Christ
Jesus is both priest and king. As we know that from Zechariah
the prophet in Zechariah 6.13, in Hebrews 7.14-17, and also
in Revelations 1.5-6 which reads as follows, and from Jesus Christ
who is the faithful witness, amen, and the first begotten
of the dead. and the prince of the kingdom
of the earth, unto him that loves us and washed us from our sins
in his own blood, hallelujah, and had made us kings and priests
unto God and his father, to him be glory and dominion forever
and ever, amen. Isn't that marvelous? And Peter says, but ye, our chosen
people, our royal priesthood. That's us. That's us, beloved.
That's you. That's me. All of us who are
truly born again, that's who we are in Christ. That is incredible. That is incredible that we can
say that, that we can come near. And then
he continues. He doesn't stop there. He says,
and a holy nation. That is incredible. Peter is
not speaking here of the believer's moral holiness. Although we know
that he does address that in chapter 1, as I already mentioned,
through verses 15 and 16, he's addressing that. No, he's not
speaking of that. Peter emphasizes our separation to God. that holiness,
he's speaking right here in the text, and a holy nation is that
we have been set up, set aside, that we have been literally set
apart from this world to serve our God, the only true God. And God did that separating.
So in other words, God has set Christians, or we could say the
believers, apart. to be His people, just as we
know Israel was set apart in the Old Testament. But now He
set apart the church. And the amazing part is that
now we are included, the Gentiles. We are part of it. That's the
amazing thing. It really is. God's own people,
the people of His possession, which verse 10 clearly shows
us. which indicates to us also that
we belong particularly to Him, for He has bought us, He has
bought us with His blood. That's what He did. In Peter
1.18, it reads like this, for as much as ye know that ye were
not redeemed with corruptible things, hallelujah, because corruptible
things could not redeem us anyway, it's impossible to do that, as
so in gold, You see, the funny part is, in Psalm 19, it tells
us that they make idols according to their own image, and they
are like the idols, and they make them out of gold and silver,
with ears they cannot hear, eyes they cannot see, noses they cannot
smell, a mouth they cannot read, I mean speak. And they're making
them out of gold and silver, and they think like they made
something because it's gold and silver, instead of looking to
the one who created gold and silver. The gold and silver means
nothing. The one who means something is
the one who created it. That's where the true value is
of the gold and silver of the Creator thereof. And he got it
all mixed up. He got it all mixed up. And so
he tells us that right there. Not of gold and silver from your
vain conversation received by traditions from your fathers,
but with the precious blood of Christ. Hallelujah. There is
no saving grace outside that blood. There is no redemption.
There is no forgiveness of sin without blood. Without the shedding
of blood there is no forgiveness of sin. It's absolutely impossible. Therefore he tells it right in
verse 19, but with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb
without blemish and without spot. Hallelujah! Perfect! Christ is
completely perfect. He is that which we could never
be. By God literally injecting Himself in His own creation by
taking on human form to do that work no one else could do except
Him. And He did it to become part
of His own creation. God becoming part of His own
creation. And we shall see Him face to
face. We're going to be able to sit, to speak, to touch. That's
going to be incredible. The God-man, Christ Jesus. A man that looked so nothing
to look about with being doled in the scriptures. Just a very
plain appearance. In other words, he was not somebody
the ladies really would look after, if I may say that. And
I don't mean that disrespectful to God. I mean it in the sense
that he was so plain and there was nothing really there to be
attractive. And you know what I learned out of that? That true
beauty is in the simple and in the plain.
That's where true beauty is. And that's what our Lord and
Savior is. He's true beauty. There's nobody more beautiful
than Christ himself. Just imagine, you don't need
to imagine, just think, God, the eternal God, the great I
Am, taking on human form. He didn't come and was the most
physically looking, handsome guy ever living. No, he didn't
do that. He came in a way that, okay,
he was able to vanish in the crowd,
nobody, where is he? I don't know where he is. Isn't
that something? The eternal God, when we are
made in his image, took upon him in his humiliation, in his
humility, that which was the least espoused by man. And he's the most glorious being
ever, ever. God himself took on that human
form and became a man. And now the eternal God put himself
into a body that is unbelievable. And he did it in a form that
is just so amazing, but to me it is the most beautiful appearance
that ever, by God's grace, when I see it myself face-to-face,
that beauty of Christ. Wow! The plainness and the beauty
of the Eternal God, to see God face-to-face, that's going to
be amazing. That's why Peter is telling us
what we have and who we are. That we are this holy nation. One of the purposes of this position,
a holy nation, is definitely not political. It has nothing
to do with politics. Absolutely nothing. But it has
everything to do for us to serve Him faithfully by proclaiming
His Gospel, by proclaiming His Word. That's why we are called
the Holy Nation. So forget the politics. There
are not going to be no elections. It's a theocracy. He's in charge. He always was in charge. He always
will be in charge. So He's not going to go vote it in or vote
it out. He is who He is. And we as His people are loving
it. We are loving it, that He is who He is. He's the true power. We as His people, beloved, even
as we have difficulties this time, but when we are truly honest
about it, when we are truly giving ourselves back to our God in
the sense that we humble ourselves and we lean upon Him, we are
safe and secure in Him. In other words, we could say
we are to publish abroad what God has done and what God is
doing. We are to proclaim it freely,
with joy and gladness in our heart, with conviction. Because we have the conviction
because God has saved us. We know that he is who he is.
The scripture tells us, but we know it personally because of
our conversion. Because the conversion we experienced
was a radical conversion. It's radical to be brought from
death to life. And so we all have a testimony
to share of how good God is and how faithful he is to his people. What a privilege, what a privilege.
That ye should show forth, here it is, the praises of him who
had called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. What a blessing. Peter is referring
here literally to our conversion. That's what he's doing here.
That ye should show forth the bravado of him who had called
you out of darkness into his marvelous light. That is speaking
of conversion. Because once was I lost in darkness and now I'm
alive, I'm in the light. That's conversion. And we are
to proclaim it with joy and gladness. The called ones, we have been
called to that. Paul puts it this way in Romans
8.30, Moreover, whom he did predestine, them he also called, and whom
he called, them he also justified, and whom he justified, them he
also glorified, Paul says. In 1 Corinthians 1.9, Paul says,
This God is fatal, by whom ye were called under fellowship
of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, he says. In Galatians 1.15
Paul says, but when it pleased God, he tells us, who separated
me from my mother's womb. So Paul is going back. I was
already separated in my mother's womb and called me by His grace. So what he's showing here that
God already separated him, but he still was called by God's
grace. Because those two work together. They don't work against
each other, they work with each other. That calling, when you're
called, you still need, that when you are elect, you still
need to experience that saving grace. I had no clue when I was still
lost in my trespasses and sin that I was of one of God's elect.
That's why we don't preach to the elect, because we don't know
who they are. We preach to all men. And in that preaching to
all men, those who are gods will hear the effectual call and will
come. They can but only come, they
can do no other. That's the beauty of it, because
it reveals the power of God. It shows that He is God, that
it is His work, and His alone. So Peter's emphasis is that the
elect are in God's marvelous light. It's all over the New
Testament as we know, there's nothing new about it. It's all
over. I chose a few verses to prove
that. It's in 2 Corinthians 4, 6. For
God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness had shined
in our hearts. Amen. To give the light of the
knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
So we also know where it comes from, Jesus Christ. In 2 Corinthians
6.14, Paul says, None. There it is again. Ephesians
5.8, For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord.
Walk as children of the light. Over and over again we're being
told. In Colossians 1.13 Paul tells us, who had delivered us
from the power of darkness and had translated us into the kingdom
of his dear son. In 1 John 1.5 we read, this then
is the message which we have heard of him and declare unto
you that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. What a blessed truth that is.
If we say that we have fellowship with Him, John continues, and
walk in darkness, we lie, and the truth is not in us. But if
we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship
one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses
us from all sin. And in the Old Testament we read
in Psalm 36.9, for with thee is the foundation of life, in
the light shall we see light. So therefore, Peter is exactly
saying what he's saying, that ye should show forth the praises
of him who had called you out of darkness into his marvelous
light. What a blessing that is. What
a privilege. And in verse 10, which in time
past were not a people, but are now the people of God,
which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.
Isn't that the truth about us? But what a blessing, as Peter
is ministering to the church, that this truth which he reveals
here, where we can look at it and rejoice in our Savior. So
we don't need to be ashamed of anything. It's all true, but
how glorious it is. In other words, we could read
it this way, once you had not received mercy, but now you have
received mercy. The Greek wording indicates here,
when you study that out, that the recipients had live without
God for a long time, it says, during which they had tried but
failed to obtain mercy for themselves. In other words, it's not a work
salvation. We are saved by grace. For by grace are you saved. So
faith in another of yourselves is the gift of God. Paul right
there in Ephesians. So this wonderful truth about
this verse is, we once were outside of God's favor. In other words,
we were rejected. Only God's people, only the Israelites
were allowed in. We do read, as we study the Old
Testament, there was such thing as proselytes. We know about
that. But God had a chosen people. God still has a chosen people.
Nothing changed. The covenants changed. Now it's
from all tribes and nations. That's the difference. But it's
still a chosen people. He chose them. Because he is
God. He does as he pleases. That's
the beauty of it. That's the beauty of it. So as
it tells us, for once we were not a people. We understand that
because that was Israel, as I already said. But in Jesus himself, And
we know from Jesus himself that he spoke, made it quite clear,
the point concerning the Gentiles. He made it very clear. I didn't
come. What are you talking about? When the Gentiles came, the Lord
himself made it very clear. He pointed out very clear. In
other words, Peter is making a reference of the past. But
now we know, having received saving grace, the blessed Holy
Spirit, we are his select, not just the people of God, but the
people of God. Not just the people, we are the
people of God. We are it. There is no other
people, except those who are called, those who are chosen
by God, that's it. And so let us rejoice in that.
Let us rejoice in that. In other words, we're the recipients
of God's mercy. In other words, we are under
his care and his concern. He cares for us, he's concerned
about us. Calvary proves all that, that
he cares for us and he's concerned about us. It's a big proof right
there. We know that God saved us through
the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, his son. We know that we ourselves who
are in Christ have received remission of sin and rejoice in the love
and the grace of God which each one received of us. We do, we
rejoice in that. In other words, we could say
it this way, we are the two accepted ones in the Beloved. That's what
we are. And of course, the Beloved is
the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul in Romans 9.25 puts it this
way, as he said also in Hosea, I will call them my people which
were not my people, and her beloved which was not my beloved, he
says. And it shall come to pass that in the place where it was
said unto them, ye are not my people, there shall they be called
the children of the living God. That's who we are, the children
of the living God. And I'm amazed what he says here
in closing. What he says in Malachi 3.17,
"'And they shall be mine,' said the Lord of hosts, "'in that
day when I make up my jewels, "'and I will spare them as a
man spares his own son "'that serves him.'" That's what he's
spoken about us. That is incredible. So let us,
as a church, as His people, as we are a chosen generation, as
we are a royal priesthood, a holy nation, let us rejoice in this
marvelous truth that God has called us and given us all these
privileges, these blessings. May we continually live for Him,
whatever it may cost us, beloved. Because all we possess, all that
is ours in this worldly life, or I need to say in this earthly
life, we are entrusted by God himself to have what we have.
He entrusts you with whatever you have, be content with that
which you have, because he has entrusted you with that. And
use that for the glory of Christ. Live for what you have for the
glory of Christ. In the best ability as you comprehend
and understand the scriptures. And rejoice as you read these
verses in 1st Peter and chapter 2. Rejoice that such truth belongs
to His church and is His and is ours because of Him. Because without Christ, we would
have nothing. All our worldly possessions is
all we would have. I heard once a preacher, in my
very early conversion, was preaching in a church. And he said these
words. And the ringing never stopped
coming back to my mind. For the non-believer, for the
non-believer, this is the only heaven he ever will experience. For the believer, this is the
only hell he will ever experience. And beloved, this is very powerful,
and it's absolutely true. And so may we rejoice, as we
are God's people, and as we have all these rich blessings, and
may the Lord continually bless each one of us, that we meet again by God's grace,
and rejoicing His goodness and kindness to us. Dear Lord, I
thank Thee so much for Your goodness and kindness. Forgive me of my
own feebleness, my own weaknesses. Please continually bless the
church, the pastor, the families, friends, loved ones. Need them
to gather closer, need us all to gather closer for Thy glory.
And may we truly live for Christ. In Your name I pray, Amen and
Amen.