Back in 1 Peter chapter 2. I want to speak to you about God's
riches. God's riches in Christ. Our Lord often exhorted his followers
not to be caught up, not to be entangled with the cares of this
world. Don't lay up treasure on earth
because it's not going to last and it's not the true riches
anyway. But he said, lay up treasure
in heaven. Remember the parable he spoke
about the rich fool? He said, so is he that layeth
up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God. Rich toward God. My soul, what
an expression. How is that possible? How can
a lowly beggar, a sinner with nothing to pay, spiritually bankrupt,
how in the world can he be rich toward God? Peter tells us how
here in chapter 2 of 1 Peter. He uses that word describing
the riches of God is found here. in the Lord Jesus Christ. He
says so in verse 4, then again in verse 6, and then once again
in verse 7. He uses the same word all three
times, precious. Precious. And every time, each
and every time. Now precious as it relates to
God in the first use of it, verse 4. Precious in himself, and then
precious to his people. But in every In every instance,
it's talking about the Lord Jesus Christ, Christ most precious. If you would take a dictionary
and look up that word precious, you would find a definition something
like this, very costly, expensive, high price, invaluable, or priceless. Priceless. All those apply more
than they would to anything else to the Lord Jesus Christ. How
precious is Jesus Christ? How precious is He? How rare
is the Son of God? How valuable is He? Well, He's
one of a kind. You talk about rare, there's
not another like Him. He's one of a kind. He's the
only Savior there is. There'll not be another. Miss
Christ and you miss the riches of heaven. Have Christ and no
matter how little you have here, you have treasure laid up in
heaven. And Peter says, no robber can
break in and get that. It won't rust. It'll never corrupt. The only way to God, the only
mediator is Jesus Christ. Mary's not the mediator. A dead
saint is not the mediator. Christ is the only one that God
will hear. He's the only one that God will
listen to. Nothing comes down to a needy
sinner. Nothing from a sinner ascends
up to God except through the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. There is one mediator between
God and man, the man Christ Jesus. He's the only door. He's the
only door. There's not two doors to heaven.
There's only one. There's only one entrance to
heaven. There's only one way and it's
the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the only one by whom and
in whom God Almighty will accept a sinner. Only through his son. In verse 19 of chapter 1, look
there if you will. Now we're going to observe the
Lord's table today as he commanded the Lord's supper. And I hope
that we'll remember what Peter reminds us of here in verse 19. But, but, you're not redeemed
with silver and gold. But, what redeemed us? What paid
the ransom? What enabled God to deliver our
soul from going down to the pit? What did that? Who paid the price? But, you were redeemed with the
precious blood of Christ. As of a land without blemish,
and without spot. Or we often sing, oh precious
is the flow. In answer to the question, what
can wash away my sins? Nothing. Nothing I've ever done,
nothing I'll ever do. What can wash away my sin? Nothing
but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole? Whole. complete in the sight of an omniscient
God that knows everything, that sees everything. What can make
me whole in His sight? Nothing. Absolutely nothing but
the blood of Jesus. Oh, precious. Doesn't that make
it precious? The blood of God's Son, Jesus
Christ, cleanses us from all sin. Redeemed with His precious
blood, Oh, precious is the flow. There's nothing else like it.
That makes me white as snow. No other fount I know, nothing
but the blood of Jesus. I know that word precious is
used to describe children and grandchildren and especially
great-grandchildren. Oh, aren't they precious. Brother
Frank Tate wrote an article concerning and used that as an illustration.
He said, when a parent watches a child perform in a sporting
event or play, he or she really only watches one child. Is that
right, Bob? Only one child they're paying
attention to, because parents love their children. When God
the Father looks on his elect people, he only sees one, his
son. His son, because the Father loves
the son. He only loves and accepts his
people because they are in his son. Oh, no wonder Paul said,
in that day, in that day that I might be found in him. First of all, look at the first
instant where Peter uses the word precious, verse four. Verse four, Peter says, Jesus
Christ is precious to God, as was prophesied. He was disallowed
indeed of men. The leaders, it was the leaders
that said, we won't have this man rule over us. When they saw
him as the prophet foretold, There would be no beauty that
they would desire him. They looked at Christ with the
outward eye and they said, why do you listen to him? We know
who he is. We know where he's from. We know
his mother. We know his father. We know his
brothers and his sisters. He's nobody. Messiah indeed. And that was the leaders. That
was the builders that spoke thus. We will not have this man rule
over us. We don't have any king but Caesar. The builders, the builders. I
once heard Brother Henry Mahan preach a message and he said,
you know who keeps the gospel out of most churches today? It's
the pastors. It's the leaders. It's the builders
that keeps it out. Oh, but look, look, that doesn't
change God's estimation of his son. Yes, disallowed indeed of
men, but, but this makes all the difference in the world.
But chosen of God, and precious. Psalm 118, the stone, and I know
historically this is speaking of David, it applies to him,
but prophetically it's speaking of a greater than David, the
son of David. The stone, which the builders
refused, the same has become the headstone of the corner.
How did that happen? How did that come about? This
is the Lord's doing. God did this, God ordained this,
and it's marvelous in our eyes, but chosen of God. Now that means
something. That means something, doesn't
it? That matters. As a matter of fact, that makes
all the difference. Men rejected Him. Men refused
to bow to him, refused to believe on him, refused to acknowledge
him as who he said he was, the Son of God, the Messiah. But
whose choice prevailed? Whose will had their way? Was it man's or God's? Huh? Listen to what we read in
Matthew chapter 27 verse 62. Now the next day that followed
the day of the preparation, the chief priest and Pharisees came
together under Pilate, saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver
said while he was yet alive after three days I will rise again.
Command it therefore that the sepulcher be made sure until
the third day. Lest his disciples come by night
and steal him away and say unto the people he is risen from the
dead so that the last era should be worse than the first. Pilate
said unto them, ye have a watch, go and make it as sure as you
can. Do your very best. So they went and made the sepulcher
sure, sealing the stone and setting a watch. But God willed that
his son raise from the dead. They willed that he be put away.
They willed that everything he claimed would be buried with
him. They willed that after a matter of time people would never remember
the name Jesus of Nazareth of all the things he claimed to
be. But God willed otherwise. Now whose will do you reckon
is going to prevail? Man's or God? Listen to this. Psalm 2. This is God speaking. Why did the heathen rage and
the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers took counsel together against the Lord and against
His anointed, saying, Let us break their bands and cast away
their cords from us." Hmm. What do you think God's going
to do? I hear people talk about God as though He's caught off
guard, that there are things that take Him by surprise, that
He has to have a backup plan. Oh, no, no. This is how God reacted. He that saideth in the heavens
shall laugh, shall laugh. The Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak in them in
his wrath and vex them in his sore displeasure, yet that despite
all that they could do. You have a watch, go your way,
make it as sure as you can. And they did. Yet have I set
my king King Jesus. Children of God, we're children
of the King. I'm a child of the King. Oh no,
no earthly monarch. Oh no, I'm a child of the King
of Kings and Lord of Lords. I have treasure in heaven, treasure
in heaven, riches toward God in the precious Lord Jesus Christ. God says, I will declare the
decree. The Lord has said unto me, thou
art my son, this day have I begotten thee. I like what Peter and John
said to the Sanhedrin after healing the man lame at the gate of the
temple and the man is standing with them. and they're called
into the midst of the Sanhedrin, the spiritual somebodies, the
elite, and they look down their self-righteous nose and they
demand, who gives you the right to speak these things? We've
told you before not to preach in this man's name. This was
Peter's answer. If we this day be examined of
the good deed done to the infinite man, by what means he is made
whole? He's made whole. Be it known
unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the
name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised
from the dead, even by him, that is God, that this man stand before
you, stand here before you whole. Check him out. Yes, he was crippled,
but he's not anymore. Yes, he was a lame beggar, but
he's not anymore. He's not the same. He's whole. He's whole. Thank God a child
of God in the person of God's Son stands before God Almighty
whole. He's complete. He lacks nothing. God has made Christ to be into
us wisdom and righteousness. and sanctification and redemption
according that is written, he that glorieth let him glory in
the Lord. This is the stone, Peter went
on to say, which was set at nought of you builders. Y'all set him
at nought. He wasn't worthy of any consideration
from you, which has become the headstone of the corner despite
all of your plotting. All of your doing, all that you
willed to the contrary, everything you did has come to naught, but
God's will has prevailed. God's will that his son be raised
from the dead and be set in the glories of heaven at his own
right hand and given a name above every name. That's where Jesus
Christ is. He's not this pitiful little
creature trying to have his way. He's not looking down at this
mess that we're living in today and wringing his hands and saying,
oh, this is not how I planned it. I just don't know what I'm
going to do. No, he's doing exactly what he
wills to do. He always has and he always will. He wills the salvation of his
people. He died for his people. He shed
his precious blood for his people. We're gonna remember what Jesus
Christ accomplished, not what he took a stab at. When he shed
his blood, he didn't try to purge his people's sins. He by himself
purged their sins. Oh, glory to his name. And in
that day, they shall be looked for, the prophet said, and they
shall not be found. Oh, they're gone. Have you heard? The hymn writer said, have you
heard what Jesus did for me? Have you heard my sins? They're
all taken away. All taken away. He by himself
purged our sins. This is the stone which was said
of not of you builders. And if that wasn't enough for
him, Peter added this, neither is there salvation in the other. For there is none other name.
not Mohammed, not Buddha, not Pope, not preacher, not Baptist,
not Catholic. There is none other name under
heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. Jesus saves. Jesus saves and
he only. The apostles, you know, as you
go through the book of Acts and you study it, you notice that
the apostles didn't preach a doctrine of the resurrection. They preached
a risen Savior, a living Savior. Jesus lives today. Brother Tommy,
your former pastor, made this statement. Our speech betrays
us. Those who don't know Christ speak
great things concerning themselves, their religion, their church.
But those who know Christ speak great things concerning him. Mary, call his name Jesus. Before he was ever born, before
he was even conceived in the womb of the virgin, the angel
told her, when he's born, call his name Jesus, for he shall
be great. He shall be great. Who other
than the great God and Savior could bear the sins of His people
away? Who other than the great God
and Savior could satisfy the just and holy God? Who but Christ
could offer God a sacrifice that would be pleasing to Him, that
would satisfy Him, and He would say, it's enough? Who other than
the precious Son of God? In Ephesians chapter 1 verse
20, Speaking of God, it says in the power of God which he
wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead and set him
at his own right hand in the heavenly places far above. Oh, how high is Christ exalted. How prominent of a position does
he possess now in glory. He is so high, he is so lifted
up that there is nothing that's not under him. everything and
everyone is under his feet, far above all principality and all
power and all might. It doesn't matter who's sitting
in the White House, it's a matter of who's sitting in God's house,
in the Father's house, the Son of God. And dominion in every
name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that
which is to come. And that put all things under
his feet and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,
which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all. Philippians chapter 2, verse
6. Who, that is Christ, who being
in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with
God, but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of
a servant, and was made in the likeness of men, and being found
in fashion as a man, the word was made flesh and dwelt among
us. He humbled himself, he was made like unto his brethren,
and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Wherefore, God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a
name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every
knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth,
and things under the earth. and that every tongue should
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. People talk about making
Christ Lord. No, no, no. God made Christ Lord. To the glory of God his Father. Christ arose. Christ arose. God raised his son. That means,
that's evidence, that is proof positive that God was satisfied
with his son's offering of himself to him. That means the ransom
was accepted. That means my sins have been
put away. That means that Jesus Christ,
just as the word of God declares, and just as he said he would
do, Take, drink ye, drink ye, ye all drink from this, because
this is my blood, which is shed for many for the remission of
sin. The Son of Man came not to be
ministered to, but to minister and to give his life a ransom
for many, and praise God, he accepted the ransom. He was satisfied
with the ransom, the offering of his Son, and by it, when the
Lord Jesus Christ entered one time in the holy place, It was
because he had already obtained eternal redemption for his people. That means that God Almighty
now, in perfect absolute justice, without any infringement of his
holy law or character, can justify a sinner for the sake of his
son. Oh yes, how precious is the Son
of God to God Almighty. Well I tell you this, without
him God couldn't save a sinner. Without his Son he couldn't be
justified when he justifies a sinner. Without his Son there would be
no way to God. There'd be no hope, there'd be
no such thing as salvation, there'd be no reconciliation without
Christ our mediator. Here's the second thing at the
time, it's used in verse 7. Christ is precious to the believer.
Behold, I lay unto you therefore which believe, he is precious. Precious, oh isn't he? Where
would you be without him, like the little girl said? The Sunday
school teacher asked her class, how would you define precious?
This scripture says Christ is precious. The little girl raised
her hand and said, well, daddy told us this morning that mother
was precious because where would we be without her? Child of God,
where would we be without Christ? Where would we be without Christ? Every believing sinner declares
Christ is the most precious thing he has because there's nothing
that compares to him. This is why Moses counted the
riches in Egypt not worthy to the treasures he had in heaven. Paul counted all things he had
ever known before to be done compared to the knowledge of
the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, that I might know him. Billy, come. Isn't that a wonder? Billy, you often say to me, Larry,
when I think about heaven and seeing the Lord you did earlier,
seeing him face to face, looking to his eyes, touching him, worshipping
him, telling him I love him. He said, Larry, I just can't
grasp that. I can't either, Billy. Oh, but
one day, one day with Job, as Job said, I will see him for
myself, not by another, for myself, with my own eye, I shall see
him who loved me and gave himself for me. The Lord Jesus Christ
has a people in this world. He calls them His own. He claims
them for Himself. They're His because the Father
gave them to Him before the world began. And they're His because
He bought them. He bought and paid for them.
He bought us with His own precious blood. They're His because they're
called to Him in time. They're His. He loves them. And He cares for them. He leads
them as we sing in the Bulletin Hymn. He protects them, and he's
right now gone back to glory, preparing a place for them. And
he says, if I do that, you can count on this. You can count
on this. If I go prepare a place for you,
it's not going to be empty. Oh no, I'll come back and receive
you and take you back to the Father's house that you may be
with me where I am. Oh glory to His name. What a
blessed, blessed distinction to know the Son of God. I am
His. Oh my, I can lay down and rest
on that. I don't know what tomorrow holds.
I don't need to know what tomorrow holds, but I know who holds tomorrow. I am His and He is mine. We are precious to Him. He's
precious to us, but we are precious to Him. Notice again verse 4
here in 2 Peter. To whom coming? To whom coming? Oh, it's so sad. It's so sad
that there are multitudes this day. that will be exhorted to
come to a what? The front of a church, to come
to the altar, to come to the decision card, to come to the
sinner's prayer, to come to where the preacher is, instead of being
instructed to come to Christ. Come unto me if you labor and
you're heavy laden, if you're bent down with a load of sin,
come unto me. Look unto me and be ye saved. That's not a what. A what didn't
suffer and die on that cross? What was it made sin? Oh no,
flesh of our flesh and bone of our bone. One that was made like
unto his brethren. When that mob came for him in
the garden of Gethsemane, he didn't come forward and say,
well, here's my word, or here's my teaching, For here's my doctrine,
take this and go your way." No, he said, here am I. Here am I,
take me, take me, a precious redeemer. That brings us precious
salvation by his precious blood. What a precious savior. We trust
him, don't we? To whom coming, not what, we
trust Christ the person. Every believer values Christ.
Let others think what they will about him, say what they will.
All who are taught of God, think highly of him. They can never
honor him as they wish or be thankful enough for him. Every
believer discovers the exact, that Jesus Christ suits them
perfectly. I think it was old Spurgeon that
said, I have a great need of Christ. And I have a great Christ
for my need. He's enough. They need to be
saved and only Christ can save them. They need his blood to
cleanse them of all sin and procure their pardon. They need his righteousness. to clothe their souls and to
justify them before God. They need his constant, continual
intercession, and he right now appears in the presence of God
for us. What a representative, what an
advocate we have with the Father. They need his fullness of grace
to supply all their needs from earth to heaven. To whom coming? To you that believe, old John
Bunyan. I like old John Bunyan. He said
when he was under conviction of sin, seeking mercy from God,
he thought to himself, and I remember thinking these things, didn't
know any better. He thought, there is no way God
can forgive me. He thought, I'm just too great
a sinner. But so far was God in refusing
to receive him for Christ's sake. He said there was rejoicing in
heaven that day because old John Bunyan had come home. You remember
the prodigal son? The father had been watching
for him before he ever started down that road. Before he ever
came to himself, his father was on the roof watching for him
until that day when his son came home. And our Lord said, I say
unto you that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner
that repented more than over ninety and nine just persons
which need no repentance. None are sent away empty, old
Matthew Henry said. None are sent away empty from
Christ but those who come to him full of themselves. There's
never been a sinner, and thank God there never will be, that
ever came to Christ sincerely seeking mercy that Christ refused
to give it to them. Was there? Nowhere in the Gospels. Nowhere. Not one instance. Because he delights to show mercy. He delights to show mercy. There's
rejoicing in heaven over one sinner that repented. Like the self-righteous Pharisee,
he left the temple just like he came. He went in there needing
nothing. He said, I don't need a thing,
and he went home that way. Oh, but there was another one
in that temple our Lord talked about. Oh, he had nothing. He was nothing. He could do nothing,
he could offer nothing. All he could do was plead and
beg for mercy. God, have mercy on me. And I
love these words. From the lips of Jesus Christ,
he said, you see that publican? You see that despised tax collector
that everybody hates? My father has loved him with
an everlasting love. He's going home justified. Oh my soul, Billy, now you tell
me what that's worth. All the gold in Fort Knox can't
come close to that. All the treasures this world
can pile at my feet don't compare to the preciousness of lying
down tonight knowing that I'm justified, not in the eyes of
man, but in the eyes of God Almighty. He said, Larry Criss, go to sleep,
rest in my arms, rest in my covenant of grace, because you're not
guilty. Oh, my soul, is that not precious? To believers only,
God-given faith renders Christ precious. He's precious to the
eye because they see only beauty in Him. Oh, faith is like the
foot which travels to Christ, like the hand which reaches out
and touches Christ, the mouth which tastes, as Peter says here,
the graciousness, the sweetness, of Jesus Christ and it's the
new life within which cleans and cleaves to Christ. He will
never ever leave me or ever let me quite leave him. He won't
do it. He won't do it. He will not let
me go. Not unto you that work, sacrifice,
pray, give, preach. No, to you that believe. The vilest offender that truly
believes, that very moment from Jesus, a pardon received. a full,
free, irrevocable pardon. I remember, I may have told you
this story, Brother Mahan was telling about being in a prison
one time and preaching to a large group of men, prisoners. And
as he was going along preaching, he asked them, does anybody here
know what propitiation means? And they just looked at him blank.
Ain't nobody knows what that means. What about reconciliation? Any of you fellas know what reconciliation
is? No, no. What about pardon? Anybody out there know what pardon
is? He said every hand in the place for now. Oh, a pardon. A pardon not by man or from man,
but from God Almighty. Pardon thy sins which are many
are all forgiven thee. The Holy Spirit imparts a real
sense of personal sinfulness, but he also imparts a real sense
and awareness, a knowledge of Jesus Christ when he makes application
of his precious blood through our soul. Chosen of God and precious
too, the hymn writer said, is Christ to each believer's view.
Built upon him and established here, they all as living stones
appear. No other trust shall intervene
To him I'll look, to him I'll lean, All other foundations I'll
disown, But him who is the living stone. Here my salvation stands
secure, This rock of ages must endure, Nor shall my hope be
overthrown, Built upon Christ the living stone. Here's last
of all, verse 6. He's precious in himself. Wherefore,
also it's contained in scripture. This is from Isaiah 28 verse
16. God says, Behold, I lay in Zion
a chief cornerstone elect precious. Preciousness. And he that believeth
on him shall not be confounded. It's a conviction of Christ's
personal dignity and worth that gives faith to such a substantial
realization of the greatness and preciousness of his work.
It's who he is that gives value to what he did. His work owes
all its acceptance and efficacy to the value imparted to it by
who he is. His person, the personal preciousness
of Christ imparts an official preciousness to his work, all
he did on the behalf of his people. Notice it doesn't say Jesus Christ
was precious. He is precious at this very moment. He's precious to his people.
Christ is always the same yesterday, today, and forever. He never
loses any merit, any value, any efficacy. He never loses his
preciousness. I remember lying in bed, trying
to sleep that first night after God had spoken these precious
words to my heart, Larry, thy sins which are many are all forgiven,
thee go in peace. And I thought, is this so? Oh my soul. I'm saved by the blood of the
crucified one. I remember thinking to myself,
this is just too good to be true. I have peace with God. I know
who Jesus Christ is. He's the son of the living God. My old friends would drop by
when they heard, and they'd say, well, Larry, we heard you got
religion. And I would try to tell them
as best I could as a young believer, oh no, no, no, I didn't get religion,
God saved me. God saved me. Thank God I've
been saved by his grace. Another hymn writer put it this
way, Jesus is precious says the word, what comfort does this
truth afford? And those who in his name believe,
with joy this precious truth receive. not health, not wealth,
not sounding fame, not earth's deceitful empty name, with all
its pomp and all its glare, can with the precious Christ compare,
take it, let the world have the world. It's the best they're
ever going to have. He's precious in his precious
blood, that partening and soul-cleansing flood. He's precious in his righteousness,
that everlasting heavenly dress. As they draw near their journey's
end, How precious is their heavenly friend, and when in death they
bow their head, he's precious on a dying bed. I'll be with you always, even
unto the end of the world. I lay in Zion as a foundation,
this is from Isaiah, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone,
a sure foundation. He that believeth on him shall
not make haste. There's no need to panic, to
be confused, to be doubtful, to be afraid. Just rest easy. Rest easy. The foundation of
God standeth sure. Upon this rock I will build my
church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I love this old hymn by Toplady. Complete atonement thou hast
made, and to the utmost farthing paid, whatever thy people owed. Nor can God's wrath on me take
place, if sheltered in his righteousness, and sprinkled with his blood.
If thou hast my discharge procured, and freely in my place endured,
the whole of wrath divine, payment God cannot twice demand, first
at my bleeding surety's hand, and then again at mine. And now we're going to observe
the Lord's Supper. God help us to remember as we
read these verses that Christ himself said, you only do this
until I come again. And then we won't need this reminder
because we'll never be in danger of forgetting him, forgetting
him who paid for all of our sins, bore them away in His own body
on the tree. Hallelujah. What a Savior. God
bless you. Thank you for your attention.