So if you would, open your Bibles
to 1 Peter chapter 2. I didn't read our text in the course
of our Scripture reading because I have a very short text this
evening. The first phrase found in verse 7 of 1 Peter chapter
2. And to you therefore which believe,
he is precious. I sit in my study every day.
I don't even know how to say this
exactly. But what's driven home to my
heart is I read God's Word and I pray. I pray for you. I think
about you. I think about preaching to you. The utmost utmost is not even
a good word, utmost importance for us to know Christ. And there are many things that
we could talk about, some of them important things, some of
them not so important, things that easily get our attention. But I'm driven to this, to preach
Christ. Not preach about Christ, but
to preach Christ. I don't want you, as we read
there in Proverbs, about lying down to sleep. I don't think
he's talking about lying down to sleep. I think he's talking about
lying down to sleep and death. I don't want you looking to and
trusting to and having some confidence in the eternal state of your
soul because you know some things about Christ. You see what I'm
saying? I want us to know Christ, to
know Him. And that's what I hope to do
by God's grace this evening, is not preach about Christ, but
to preach Him in such a way that you leave here tonight so that
Christ is precious to your soul. That's my prayer. Peter says,
unto you therefore which believe He is precious. And actually,
that should read, he is preciousness. Christ is preciousness personified. He's the pearl of great price.
And human language is not sufficient to try to express how precious
Christ is to the soul of a believer. The Apostle Paul was a very smart
man. Besides being wise, he was a
very educated, smart man. The best he could do when he
talked about the Lord Jesus Christ was to say this. Thanks be unto
God for his unspeakable gift. He's so precious. It's too great
for even the Apostle Paul to find words to describe. Christ
is so precious. He cannot be bought at any price. There's nothing you can give
to buy him. Nothing you can give to have
him. He's so precious. Yet he's had without a single
cent. Look over at Isaiah 55. He's
so precious, you can't buy him at any price. But he's had freely
by sinners. Isaiah 55, verse 1. Oh, everyone that thirsteth,
come ye to the waters. And he that hath no money, come
ye, buy and eat. Yea, come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price. That's how Christ, who is so
precious, is had without money and without price. Now, there
are a couple of different ways that something can become precious,
something that can be counted as precious. And the first is
this, something that's rare is precious. If there's not very
many, that's why they make limited editions, I think a lot of times
There's a car. I remember seeing this car that
made a limited edition. I mean, it looked to me like
there's one in every driveway. I don't know how limited it was,
but if you can find something that is truly a limited edition,
well, it's precious because it's rare. It's not easy to get your
hands on. Well, the Lord Jesus Christ is
rare. He is the only perfect man that
ever lived. Never did he sin in thought,
word or deed. How many people lived in this
planet? Just one was perfect. The man, the God-man, the Lord
Jesus Christ. He's rare because He's the only
begotten Son of God. He's rare because Scripture says
He's the only Savior. There's no other. Just one. And He's precious to you that
believe. Second, something that is precious, becomes precious
if we say it has great intrinsic value. It's just valuable in
itself. You know, we say gold and silver and precious gems
are valuable because we look at them and we just, they have
value. The Lord Jesus Christ has great
intrinsic value just because of who he is. He's God. manifest in human flesh. He's
precious because of the majesty of his person, the glory of his
person. He is so precious. He's so valuable
that this one man saved a multitude of sinners. Nobody can number. That's how precious he is. And
in Christ, sinners. I'm not talking about pretend
sinners, I'm talking about real bonafide sinners. are not guilty
in Him. In Christ, vile, unrighteous
men and women are made to be as holy and righteous as God
Himself. Now that's precious. And it's
in Him. So He's precious. And there are
several different ways, and I want to give you five or six of them,
that Christ is precious to a believer. The first one is this. Christ
is precious in His character. This man receiveth sinners and
eats with them. He doesn't say I'm holier than
thou. No, this man receiveth sinners and he eats with them.
Throughout our Lord's earthly ministry and still true today,
publicans and harlots are comfortable in the presence of Christ. Publicans
and harlots are comfortable in the presence of the preaching
of Christ, preaching the gospel of Christ. They're not comfortable
with those Pharisees, but they are with Christ. He's patient
and kind to sinners. Does that mean something to you
that he's patient and kind to sinners? Now, he has harsh words
for the self-righteous, but he's kind to sinners. He heals the
brokenhearted, he strengthens the weak. Is that precious to
you? Well, it is if your heart's broken
over your sin and you see the weakness of your nature, that
he's precious to you. Scripture says a bruised reed
should he not break. And the smoking flats is just
so easy to put out. He won't quench it. He's so patient
and kind. The character of the Savior is
giving. He gives freely and he gives
generously. But now think about how he gives.
I see a lot of people Rich people, big companies, you know, they
give very generously. I question sometimes who they're
making these donations to. I think they get something out
of it, you know. Who does Christ give to? He gives to the undeserving. Scripture says He giveth more
grace. Well, now, if you need grace,
if He's giving you grace, you're undeserving. He giveth more grace. His character is giving. The
character of the Savior is forgiving. He's not constantly bringing
up past sins and beating us up for present sins. They're forgiven
in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. They're gone. The character
of Christ is to be a true friend. In Proverbs 18, Solomon said,
there's a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. And he's
speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is a friend who can truly
comfort your soul. I hope that you count me as your
friend. And if you need comfort, I'll
come sit. I'll cry with you. I'll tell
you I love you. I can't reach in and comfort
your soul. This friend can. He comforts
the soul of his people. This friend will never forget
you. He'll never leave you. Now those
qualities are hard to find. Janet told me she read one time,
if you come to die, you've got one true friend. You've accomplished
something. Those qualities are hard to find.
Here he is. A friend, a stick of closer than
a brother. He's precious in his character.
Second, Christ is precious in his offices. Prophet, priest,
and king. Christ is the prophet. And the
prophet's role is to reveal God to the people. Well, that's what
Christ does. He reveals the Father to men. Look over Matthew chapter 11.
We never know the Father, were it not for the Lord Jesus Christ.
He came and revealed the Father. Matthew 11 verse 27. All things are delivered unto
me of my Father, and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father. Neither
knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever
the Son will reveal him." This is how we know the Father through
Christ the Prophet, and He is precious to His people as our
King. His commandments are not grievous. His people delight to live under
the rule of King Christ. He always rules and reigns for
our good. This king never makes a mistake. And he never lacks the power
to protect his people. His kingdom is a calm, peaceable,
loving kingdom. And that's precious to his people.
He's precious to us as our priest. Now the priest represents the
people to God. Christ is our great High Priest.
You and I are sinners. We can never stand before God
in our flesh as we are, but our High Priest can. And He went
before the Father and He offered the sacrifice that makes His
people accepted in the Beloved. Unto you, therefore, which believe,
that have seen His sacrifice, have seen His work, He is precious. Third, Christ is precious in
His sacrifice. The one sacrifice of the Lord
Jesus Christ put away a world of sin. All of the sin of all
God's elect is put away forever, paid for through the sacrifice
of the Lord Jesus Christ. One of the meanings of this word
precious in the original is this, the price itself. Roy, that's
Christ. He's the price itself. Those Old Testament sacrifices,
there were many of them. Many animal sacrifices. How many
do you reckon they offered over thousands of years? Millions,
I suppose. All those sacrifices never put
away one sin. Not one. They were just pictures
of the sacrifice of Christ who would come. Look over at Hebrews
chapter 10. Not only did those sacrifices
not put away sin, The only thing those sacrifices accomplished
was this. The need for another one. Offer a bull and a goat. You've
got to offer another one. Hebrews 10, verse 3. But in those
sacrifices, there's a remembrance again made of sins every year.
Every time you offer those sacrifices, you remember your sin. Because
it's not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should
take away sins. Those things were just pictures.
Well, then the Lamb of God appeared to take away the sin of his people. And we don't offer blood sacrifices
anymore. We offer sacrifices of praise
and thanksgiving. We don't offer blood sacrifices
anymore. Because there's no need for them. Because Christ has
offered the one sacrifice. Look over the next page, verse
14 of Hebrews 10. Here's why we don't offer another
blood sacrifice. For by one offering he hath perfected
forever them that are sanctified." There's no more need. We're already
perfected. Now you think about this. There
aren't many things that are precious to both God and sinners. Our
natures are opposite. The nature of God is the complete
opposite of our nature. So it's very unlikely you'll
find anything that's precious to both because they're opposite.
But there's one. The sacrifice of Christ is so
precious that it's precious to both the Father and it's precious
to sinners. Christ is precious to God's elect
because he was first precious to the Father. Look back in 1
Peter 2. We looked at this verse two weeks
ago, verse 6. To you who believe, Christ is
precious to you because he was precious to the Father first.
Peter says, Wherefore also is contained in the Scripture, Behold,
I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect and precious. Christ is God's first elect.
He chose His Son to be the Savior of His people because He's precious
to the Father. Now, therefore, because He's
precious to the Father, because He was chosen by the Father to
be our sacrifice, therefore, unto you which believe, He is
precious. He that believeth on him shall
not be confounded, won't be found guilty, because he's precious
to the Father. The Father counted his blood,
the blood of the sacrifice of his Son, as the price itself
that put away the sin of God's people. So therefore, unto you
which believe, he's precious. He's precious in his sacrifice.
For the death of Christ is precious to his people. Now, if we're
completely honest, the death of a loved one is not precious
to those of us who are left behind. We can be thankful if this person,
our loved one, we know they know the Lord, we can be thankful.
But now we're just going to miss them so much. If you're honest,
a lot of times we don't want to be honest, we want people
to think I'm too religious for that, but now if we're honest. The loss of that person is not
precious to us. If we're just honest, I mean, we'd be thankful.
Certainly, but. Do you love the Lord Jesus Christ?
You who believe? I know you do. You love him.
You love Christ like you love no other. Yet his death is precious
to you, whom having not seen you love. Yet his death is one
of the most precious things you've ever heard. Because first of
all, the death of Christ is a substitutionary death. If you're still there
in 1 Peter 2, look over verse 24. It's a substitutionary death. Through His own self, there are
sins in His own body on the tree. That we being dead to sin should
live under righteousness by whose stripes you were healed. You were healed because He bore
your sickness. He bore your punishment. Look
over at chapter 3, verse 18. For Christ also hath once suffered
for sins, the just for the unjust. That substitution, the just died
for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to
death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit. 2 Corinthians
5.21. For he, God the Father, hath
made him. God the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ,
He made Him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might
be made the righteousness of God in Him. That's the great
exchange of the substitute and the sinner. Galatians 3.13, Christ
hath redeemed us from the curse of the law. How? He made a curse
for us as our substitute. His death is precious because
it's a substitutionary death. He died for me. Dale, he died
the death I deserve. That makes his death precious.
Look over John chapter 10. Second, the death of Christ is
precious because it's a voluntary death. John 10, verse 17. Therefore doth my Father love
me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No
man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power
to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment
have I received of my Father." You will only voluntarily lay
down your life for those that you love. How do you know God
loves you? His Son laid down His life for
you. It's a voluntary death. There's this Chansu. I would
gladly give my life if it would save hers. Gladly. Because I
love her. There's only one reason you do
that. If you love somebody. The greatest evidence that Christ
loves you is He laid down His life voluntarily as a ransom
for your soul to pay your sin debt. He said greater love hath
no man than this. That a man lay down his life
for his friends. voluntarily. Third, the death
of Christ is precious because his death sets us free from the
condemnation of the law. The law says sinner must die. All those for whom Christ died
are free from the condemnation of the law because he died voluntarily
as your substitute. Who is he that condemned him?
It's Christ that died. There's no condemnation. Fifth,
the name of Christ is precious. Because His name describes who
He is. His name is Immanuel. God with us. Can you imagine
such a thing? God Almighty clothing Himself
in human flesh so He could dwell the likes of you and me. So He
could save the likes of you and me. Can you imagine such a thing? That's precious. His name's Jehovah. God, my Savior. He saved me from
my sins. Wayne, that's precious. I don't
care how you slice it. That's precious. God, my Savior. His name is Jehovah Jireh. The
Lord will provide. What do you need? He'll provide
it. He has supplied everything the
Father requires. His name is Jehovah Sidkenu,
the Lord our righteousness. This is the name wherewith he
shall be called Jehovah Sidkenu, the Lord our righteousness. And
that union is so real. Jeremiah also said this is the
name wherewith she shall be called Jehovah Sidkenu. The Lord our
righteousness. Not to have to bear my horrible,
awful name anymore. But to bear His name. Jehovah
Sidkenu. It's so precious it just melts my heart. It's so precious.
Oh, that's precious. Jehovah Shema. The Lord's present. Here's that friend that sticketh
closer than a brother. He won't leave you. because his
name is present. He's always with his people.
He'll never leave you alone. Look over in Acts chapter 4.
The name of Christ is precious because of its saving power. Acts 4 verse 11. This is the stone which was set
at Nod of you builders, which has become the head of the corner.
Neither is there salvation in any other, for there's none other
name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. His name is precious. This is
the only name that saves. The Father has given Christ a
name which is above every name because he's got a precious name.
We just sang that song. There is a name I love to hear. I love to sing His Word. Why do you love to sing His Name?
And do you therefore which believe He is precious? His Name describes
who He is. Then anything we don't have is
precious. Anything you don't have is precious. Well, Christ is precious because
He personally is everything we need. He personally is everything
that we are not. He personally is everything that
we need, that we don't have. Water is precious to a thirsty
man. Now, you all sitting here right
now, you're not all that interested in water, more than likely. But
I've run some long-distance races, and during those long races,
there are times those water stops look like there's just this soft
glow around them, the most beautiful thing you've ever seen. I ran
a Charleston Distance Classic. First time I ran it, a number
of years ago, on Labor Day weekend. 15 miles in the hills of Charleston,
West Virginia. It was the hottest day of the
year. It was over 90 degrees. The humidity was 90%. I mean,
it was awful. I mean, it was so awful. I'm
trudging along just thinking, oh, I'm just going to die and
maybe it's fine. I mean, I was awful. Up ahead,
I saw a water stop. Oh, boy, that looked good. I
got there. I stopped running. I stood and
drank water. Got going again for too long.
That heat and humidity got me again. I just thought, I'm never
going to make it. Up ahead, I saw this mist in
the air. They were misting water so you could run through it.
I mean, that water looked like the most wonderful thing I'd
ever seen because I was a thirsty man. We die without water pretty quick.
We are dead spiritually with no water. But the Lord Jesus
Christ is what we don't have. He is the water of life. And
you don't have to run from spot to spot to spot to get Him. He's
a fountain of water springing up in the hearts of your people.
He's the water of life. Bread is precious to a starving
man. I've never been hungry for very long. But if you're starving,
bread's precious. For the Lord Jesus Christ is
a feast to a starving man. Look over at John chapter 6.
Christ is a feast to a starving man. John 6 verse 32. Then said Jesus unto them, Verily,
verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from
heaven, but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.
For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven and giveth
life unto the world. Then said they unto him, Lord,
evermore give us this bread. And Jesus said unto them, I am
the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall never
hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. He's a feast to a starving man.
Clothing is precious if you're naked. If you find yourself naked
in front of a big group of people, clothing will be very precious. will ever be found naked in Christ. No believer will ever be confounded,
ever be ashamed in Christ because we're clothed in His righteousness,
His perfect righteousness. Life is dead, or life is precious
if you're dead. And that's the way we're born
in this world, dead in trespasses and sins, dead in Adam. But Christ
is our life. We looked at this two weeks ago.
Peter said, you're made living stones. You who believe are made
living stones because we have life in Christ. He's given us
his life. He told his disciples, because
I live, you shall live also. I'm the resurrection and the
life. He that believeth on me, though he were dead, yet shall
he live. He gives us his life. Peace is
precious to a defeated enemy. Our carnal mind is enmity against
God, hatred against God. And we've declared a war that
we cannot win. It's a war against God. And rather
than crush all of Adam's race, God sent his son to make peace
with his people. And Christ came and made peace
with God through the blood of his cross. And there's no more
war. There's peace in his kingdom.
Righteousness is precious if you're unrighteous. Sinners are
made righteous in Christ. Sanctification is precious if
you're unholy. In Christ, He personally is our
sanctification. Wisdom. That's precious to the
ignorant. Now, it's hard for us to admit
that we're ignorant, but that's the way we're born. Spiritually
ignorant. We're ignorant of God's law.
We're ignorant of the spirituality of God's law. We're ignorant
of what true righteousness is. We're ignorant of who God is.
We're a bunch of know-nothings from nowhere. We're ignorant.
But the Lord Jesus Christ is our wisdom. In Him, you are the
wisdom of God. You see His wisdom. How God has
the wisdom to be just and justifier. Redemption is precious to anyone
who is sold under sin. If you see yourself sold under
sin in Adam, Christ is precious because He's our redemption.
He's the price itself. He is made unto us wisdom, righteousness,
sanctification, and redemption. Wealth is precious to the poor. Why do you think they have these
lotteries? And in some states, they've got to have two or three
of them going on at once. Why do they have all these lotteries?
Because nobody's got enough money and everybody's going to go buy
a ticket. I mean, imagine how many people buy tickets on these
lotteries. Because they're poor. Rather, when we're spiritually
bankrupt, what would you do to find wealth? Here He is. Christ is our wealth. He is all the riches of God. And in Christ, we're rich. We have God's rich mercy. We
have the riches of His grace. We have the riches of His goodness,
which leadeth us to repentance. Paul told the Ephesian church
that the Lord had called him to preach the Gospels among the
Gentiles. The unsearchable riches of Christ. That's my mission. To preach
the unsearchable riches of Christ to the spiritually bankrupt.
Everybody likes to be rich. You children, you listen to me.
I want you to remember this. I know, I know, I know. You grow up and you're in school
and you're going to school for this purpose. To get a good job.
We want you to get an education so you can go get a good job.
Put all this stuff out in front of you, but now you remember
this. The riches of this world are deceitful. They'll deceive
you now. You think you'd be happy if you
get them, and when you get them, you're not. That's the way the
riches of this world are. But the riches of Christ are
better than that. And you know why? The riches
of this world perish with the using. You spend that money and
it's gone. And what you bought is going
to decay and break. It's gone. The riches of Christ
are eternal. And the more you use it, the
more you use, the more you depend upon the Lord Jesus Christ, the
more you use and depend upon God's grace, the richer it is,
the fuller it is, the more precious it is to you. The riches of Christ
are eternal. The gifts and calling of God
are without repentance. If you have Christ, you're so
wealthy, you don't need anything else. You have need of nothing
if you have the Lord Jesus Christ. Freedom is precious to anyone
who's in bondage. People give their lives fighting
for freedom because they say, I'd rather die than live a slave. Give their life for freedom because
it's precious. Believers are God's free men.
Free in Christ. Free from the law. Oh, happy
condition. Free in Him. Light's precious. If you're in darkness, light's
precious. Electricity goes out and immediately
goes stumbling around for a flashlight. I've got a lantern sitting under
here in case the electricity goes out while I'm preaching.
So I just keep right on. I'll put that lantern up here
and keep going. Because I can't do it without it. I need to see
my notes. Light's precious. We're born
in darkness, aren't we? Stumbling around in darkness.
Christ is our light. He's the light of the world.
He shined in that darkness and showed his people the glory of
God in the face of Jesus Christ. Solomon said, light's sweet and
a pleasant thing. That's Christ to the believer,
a sweet and a pleasant thing. The right way is precious. If
you're lost, the right way is precious. GPS's fly off the shelves. You know why? Men won't ask corrections
and everybody hates being lost. Everybody hates it. Christ is
the way. You never be lost in Christ. He doesn't just show you the
way. He is the way. He's the way, the truth, and
the life. You cannot be lost in Him. Love is precious. People just need to feel loved. Just need to be loved. Wealthy
people. I know wealthy people. There's
several of them I know. And they're miserable. Just absolutely,
utterly miserable. And they trade it all for a family
that loves them. They run them all off just because
they're being ugly and selfish with their money and things.
And they run them all off. And then when they're all gone
and they've got all the money to themselves, They're miserable. You want to hear an amazing fact
of God's grace? God loves His people with an
eternal, unchanging love that cannot be measured. You can't
measure the length, the breadth, and the depth of it. He loves
His people. And that's precious to the unlovable.
Christ is the precious Father to the He's the precious husband
to the widow. He's the great physician to the
sin sick. He's the precious shelter from
the stormy blast. He is precious because Christ
is everything we're not. He's precious. He's everything
we need. There's 18 points there. Dale
Johnson would be proud, wouldn't he? 18 points. He's precious. And I had to limit myself to
them. He's precious. Now there are several things
that are called precious in God's Word. And every one of them are
precious because of how they relate to the Lord Jesus Christ.
First, God's Word is precious. In 1 Samuel 3, the Word of the
Lord was precious in those days. And that Word we know is the
Lord Jesus Christ. He's the living Word. You know
why this written Word is so precious? Because you can only find Christ
in this Word. You can't find Him looking at
the stars and the sun and the moon and the mountains and the
meadows. You only find Christ who is precious in the pages
of this book. That's why God's Word is precious.
Look at 2 Peter chapter 1. Second, the promises of God.
are precious, 2 Peter 1, verse 4, whereby are given unto us
exceeding great and precious promises, that by these ye might
be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption
that is in the world through lust." God's Word is full of
precious promises, the promise of redemption to the lost, the
promise of life to the dead, the promise of grace to the guilty.
The promise of mercy, the promise of His coming. Why is the return
of Christ, when that last trumpet blows and the world comes to
an end, why is that moment so precious to a believer? Because
that's the moment He's coming. That's the moment we'll see Christ
face to face. Those things are precious because
of how they relate to Christ. And the only way you'd ever believe
someone who's born a sinner could be a partaker of the divine nature
is the precious promise of God. You couldn't believe it any other
way. Psalm 139, verse 17. Third, David says, God's thoughts
are precious. Psalm 139, verse 17. How precious also are thy thoughts
unto me, How great is the sum of them? How precious is it to
you that the Lord thinks on you? He thinks on you. Can you imagine
that? How precious was it to that dying
thief when he said, Lord, remember me. When you come into your kingdom,
would you remember me? How precious is it that that
thief knew when our Lord appeared in glory, he wouldn't forget
him. He thought on that fourth day
and said, today you'll be with me in paradise. Oh, his thoughts
are precious. Fourth, faith is precious. Peter
said he was writing to those with light, precious faith. Why
is faith so precious? Because faith clings to Christ.
Faith looks to Christ. Faith believes Christ, who is
preciousness. There's no salvation without
faith. Without faith, it's impossible to please God. But he's precious,
therefore, unto you which believe, unto you who cling to him with
faith." Then the blood of Christ is precious. Peter said we're
redeemed with the precious blood of Christ. That blood is precious
because of whose blood it is. What can wash away my sin? Nothing
but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again?
Nothing. but the blood of Jesus. Well,
then, oh, precious is the flow. His blood is precious. And then
last, Scripture calls the death of the saints precious. Precious
in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints. And that
day is precious to the believer, too. It's precious because that's
the day we'll awake in His likeness. David said, I'll tell you when
I'll be satisfied, when I awake with thy likeness. Well, that
day the death of this body will be satisfied because we'll awake
in His likeness, the likeness of the Lord Jesus Christ, who
alone is precious to the believer. The death of His saints is precious
to the Lord because that's the event that brings His children
home to be with Him. You're the children of God. That
makes you, you who believe, Precious to God Almighty. That's precious. And it's easy to see how Christ
can be precious to me. I'm nothing. He's everything. It's easy to see how Christ can
be precious to me. Here's what I can't understand.
How I could be precious to Him. I can't understand it. I believe
it because I read it in God's Word, but I can't understand
it. We're precious to the Lord, precious
to the Father. Because of his son, he's precious
to him, because he sees us in his son. He's precious. Christ is precious in his character.
He's precious in his offices. He's precious in his sacrifice.
He's precious in his death. His name is precious, and He
is precious because He's everything I need. He is precious. All right. Let's bow in prayer. Our Father, how we thank Thee
for Thy Word. How we thank Thee that You've
given faith to Thy people, that we believe and see love the Lord
Jesus Christ. We do confess with hearts of
thanksgiving, he's precious, always precious to us. And Father,
I pray that you would make the Lord Jesus Christ to be precious
to each one of us gathered here together this evening. That he
would become so precious to everything else would fade into insignificance. That we be taken up with the
Lord Jesus Christ. Make Him to be so precious to
us that Christ is our all and in all. He's all we believe. He's all of our hope. He's all
of our love. He's all of our redemption. He's
all of our sanctification. He's precious. Cause us to lay
down anything that would keep us from coming to Him, clinging
to Him, staying by His side. Deliver us from being taken up
with the trinkets of this world and turning aside from Him who
is precious. Oh, Father, keep us by Thy grace,
we pray. For it is in the name of our
Lord Jesus Christ and for His sake