Turn with me back to 1 Peter.
1 Peter chapter 2. You may have guessed my text
already. I've preached from this portion
of God's Word several times to you before. Verses 4 through
7 or verse 7 alone. My memory is not this good so
I went on free grace to see when I preached. 2012, I preached
on verse 7, the preciousness. 2013, our treasure. 2017, He is precious. 2019, June of 2019, our precious
Savior. And the last time was January
of 2020. Christ most precious. And I thought,
well then it's time. It's past time to preach again,
to take another look. And I'm in good company when
I do that. Turn, if you will, for a moment.
We'll come back to our text. Turn to 2 Peter, his 2nd epistle,
chapter 2. You'll see what I mean by saying
I'm in good company for coming back, reminding us of the preciousness
of Jesus Christ. Look what Peter says at verse
12. Did I say chapter 2? I meant
chapter 1. 2 Peter chapter 1 verse 12. Wherefore, I will not be negligent
to put you always in remembrance of these things, though you know
them. and be established in the present truth. Yea, I think it
meet, be it proper, as long as I am in this tabernacle, this
body of flesh, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance,
knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even
as our Lord Jesus Christ has showed me. Moreover, I will endeavor
that ye may be able after my decease to have these things
always in remembrance. So much of what Peter says there
is true of me, as your pastor. I'm supposed to go to Danville,
the Lord willing. Danville, Kentucky, to our dear
friends at Grace Baptist Church to preach the gospel there next
week. I may not live to make that trip.
Now that's just true. That's just a fact. Or I may
get there and not live to make the trip back. or some of you
or one of you may not be here if I do get back. Now I know
we usually don't think like that or plan like that with that in
mind, but it's the truth. So with Peter, with Peter as
we just read in the second epistle, let's take a walk down memory
lane and see if we can't stir ourselves up that God would stir
us to praise and gratitude and worship in consideration of our
great God and Savior. Brother Henry Mahan wrote in
one of his bulletin articles years ago, an article titled,
The Wonder of It All. That may ring a bell with you.
But in it, Henry wrote this, you will soon weary my head if
you don't warm my heart. And while I'm eager to learn
more of how and why and when I got to Christ, I would like
to rejoice and enjoy my relationship with Christ. I would too. I would too. Wouldn't you? Will
you pray with me that today we'll be enabled to do that very thing. We'll be working ourself down
to verse 7 in 1 Peter 2. The title of my message is Priceless
Preciousness. Priceless Preciousness. Besides
the three times that Peter uses the word precious in verses 4
through 6, he also uses it in verse 7 here
of chapter 2. He uses it again in chapter 1
concerning precious faith, chapter 1 verse 7. And also in his second
epistle, the very first verse of chapter 1, he speaks of precious
faith. And then again in chapter 1 here,
verse 19, he speaks of the precious blood of the Lamb, the Lord Jesus
Christ. And then again in 2 Peter chapter
1 verse 4, he speaks of exceeding great and precious promises. Precious, precious things, precious
things. But in every case, in every case,
the preciousness of Christ is the reason for anything spoken
of in those verses. Without a precious Christ, there
could be no such thing as a precious faith. I mean, Christ is the
object of faith, genuine faith, saving faith. Believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved, but take Christ out. There's no place for faith to
land. There would be no such thing. In Hebrews 11 and 1, now
faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things
not seen. Yes, yes, faith is the substance,
and Christ is the substance of faith. Without a precious Christ,
there's no precious blood to redeem us by. Is that not so? And without a precious Christ,
there's no such thing as precious promises. Because all the promises
of God are dependent on, and resteth on Him in whom they are
all yea and amen. In other words, they're all tied
up in Christ. They wouldn't exist without Him. Now notice again, if you will,
here in chapter 2, verses 3 and 4. If so be ye have tasted that
the Lord is gracious, to whom coming, to whom coming as unto
a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God and
precious." To whom coming. Coming. Believing on Christ is
not one isolated act of faith. But it's a continual coming to
Christ, a continual exercise of faith in Christ. We come to
Christ and a believer continually comes to Christ, all his life
long, until he's called to be with Christ in glory, when faith
shall give way to the actual sight of our Redeemer. It's a
coming. It's a living faith. They just
should live by faith. Now the reason I stress that
a little bit is because we live in a day when people associate
faith, and it shouldn't really even be called that, they associate
it with one isolated act. Notice what our text says, it's
a coming to Christ, not coming to the altar. And then it's a
one and done deal, and go your way, and just live like you always
did. Now, that's just getting a little
spasm of religion. No, no. Brother Moose Parks,
I read just recently in one of his bulletins that, if I remember
right, a fellow visited his church, and he came in, he looked around,
and he said, where's your altar? And Moose said, well, we've got
an altar. He said, well, where's it at? I don't see it. Well, I know you don't, but we
have one. He said, where have you put it? He said, Christ is
our altar. Christ is our altar. We come
to God through Christ. Christ is our mediator. And as
often as we come to Christ, as often as we come to Christ, 24-7. God's people come to Christ 24-7.
And as often as we come, will find Him precious. Is that
right? You will never find Him anything
other than precious. You will never come to Christ
regardless of what your need is and not find Christ able to
supply it according to the will of God. Again, looking at verse
4, He must be precious because He was chosen of God. He was
chosen of God. He was exalted of God. Chosen
of God and precious. Peter here is quoting from the
118th Psalm. In that Psalm, verse 22, we read
this, The stone which the builders refused is become the headstone
of the corner. Christ quoted that very verse
to the religious leaders, didn't he? And they perceived that he
spoke of them. Yes, he was rejected of men,
the builders, the religious leaders, the teachers, the instructors.
They were supposed to identify the Messiah and point him out
like John the Baptist did, but when he came, they rejected him.
You don't have a place in our religious structure. You just
don't fit in. Son of God, are you crazy? We
know who you are. You're just a Joseph's son. You're insane. plus other things
they said of him. But, did you see that again? But, chosen of God in verse 4,
and precious. Chosen of God. Whose choice prevailed? Whose choice prevailed? God's
choice. Again from Psalm 118. This is
the Lord's doing, and it's marvelous in our eyes. This is the day
which the Lord hath made. We will rejoice and be glad in
it." What a different reception the Lord Christ finds in God
the Father's esteem, in the esteem of His people, and that of the
world. What a contrast. In God the Father's
esteem, He is declared to be the chief cornerstone elect precious. God speaks of him as one in whom
his soul delights and so great and holy and gracious that he
that believeth in him shall never be confounded, will never be
put to shame, will never be confused. Standing before the holy Lord
God in that day when the judge of all the earth and every man
stands before that just and holy God, a child of God will never
be ashamed, will never be confounded, will never regret that he believed
on God's Son. Never, never. God is highly exalted
in Him. Christ is precious and highly
beloved and altogether lovely to God the Father and all that
believe on Him. He's the fairest among ten thousand. There's nobody like Him. Billy,
there's nobody that compares to the Lord Jesus Christ. But
to the world, what did we read here? He's a stone of stumbling. He's a rock of offense. That's
not his fault, that's their fault. He's despised and rejected of
men. His person, his offices, his
humble birth, his obscure life. and his death especially, all
that relates to him as our Savior, that believers rejoice in, renders
him an object of scorn to an unbelieving world, just like
it did in his day, it's the same today. Robert Hawker made this
observation in consideration of these verses. Oh, precious
Lord of your people, how is it that I was made to believe in
you? while thousands reject the counsel of God against their
own souls." Oh Lord, who am I? Yes, though Christ was thus disallowed
in esteem not by men, yet he's highly valued and esteemed by
God. Again, chosen of God and precious,
verse 4. Precious as the God-man mediator. He was chosen by God to that
high office. The Son, the surety of His people,
to Him, to God rather, He's precious. And by God, He's highly honored. He's made higher than the kings
of the earth, higher than the angels, than the heavens themselves. He sits down at the right hand
of God. That's a place of highest honor
and glory. It's reserved for one only. And that's the precious Lord
and Savior, Jesus Christ. And God's given Him a name above
every name. Now look at verse 6, the second
time we see this word. Wherefore? And now here, it's
a quote from Isaiah, chapter 28, verse 16. Let me read it. It's very much the same. Isaiah
28, 16. Therefore, thus saith the Lord
God, behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation. a stone, a tried
stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation. He that believeth
in him shall not make haste." Christ is here called the chief
cornerstone because he not only adorns and strengthens the building,
he unites all parts of that building. It's He that keeps it all together,
built upon Christ. Even all saints, whether they're
Jew or Gentile, in all ages and in all places, whether in heaven
or earth. And as such, He's chosen of God
for that purpose. And His precious boat to God
and man is a stone, not of men's laying, but of God's. God said,
I lay in Zion. In His covenant promises, in
the prophecies, in the mission of the Son of Man into this world,
and in the gospel, God has exalted Him. The place where He is laid
is Zion, His church. His church, of which He is both
the foundation and the chief cornerstone. Christ is all. Christ is all. It's no wonder
we're told, behold, behold, here's something wondrous. Here's something
worthy of our attention. Here's something worth looking
at. And child of God, we can have
blessed assurance and confidence. We should have. If our refuge
is Christ, if the testimony of your heart is, of the refuge
have I none, hangs my helpless soul on thee, then be confident
that he'll never let you go, because he's that stone precious
and sure, that God laid, and those who rest on Christ will
never be put to shame. Revelation chapter 6, we read
that when time shall be no more, and the heavens depart as a scroll,
and the Son of Man is seen coming in power and great glory, we
read that the rich men, the chief captains, the mighty men, hide
themselves in the dams and in the rocks of the mountains and
say to them, fall on us and hide us from the face of him that
sets up on the throne. Oh, he's not like we imagined.
This one that's coming in power and great glory that sets up
on the throne of sovereign majesty, he's not the little Jesus I thought
he was. Oh my soul, he's not a fire escape
out of hell. Oh no, he's not a doormat into
heaven, he's Lord of Lords. and King of Kings. And when they
see that, when they see Him, they pray, hide us from the face
of Him, for the great day of His wrath is coming. Who shall
be able to stand? Oh, I would to God that my children
and yours, our grandchildren, our great-grandchildren would
consider that. Who shall be able to stand? Who
shall be able to stand? Oh, they live. They plan, they
buy, they sell, they get gain, they grab everything they can
grab, but they never give a thought. When God Almighty brings them
before Him in judgment, who shall be able to stand? Only God. Only God can make them think
such a thing, consider such a thing. Oh, but in the next chapter of
Revelation is the answer to that question. After this I beheld,
John wrote, in low or great multitude, which no man could number, of
all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before
the throne." Stood before the throne. What
a contrast of those crying for the rocks to fall on them in
chapter 6. They stood before the throne and before the land,
clothed with white robes and palms in their hands. cried with
a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God, which setteth upon
the throne, and to the Lamb, O my soul." Can you wait to get
there? What a day that will be. Those
rich in grace are those that stand before the throne. Rich
in mercy, those that are robed in the rich robe of the perfect
righteousness of a precious Christ are absolutely accepted by God. Now listen to this. As accepted
as Jesus Christ himself is. They're accepted in to be loved.
God can accept Christ without accepting them. That's exactly
right. That's what the scripture says.
God cannot accept Jesus Christ without accepting all those that
are in Christ. And God can't reject one of those
without rejecting His Son at the same time. Oh yeah, that's
a refuge. That's a comforter. We're built
upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself
being the chief cornerstone. Look at verse 7. And this, I'm
going to read it, the first part of it, as it is literally. Now you know this, and you know
this. Those words you find in your Bible in italics means they
weren't in their original. So let's read it as it was in
their original. Unto you therefore which believe,
preciousness. That's how it reads. Not just
precious, but preciousness itself. Precious, what's that mean? Talk
about precious grandchildren, precious children, precious memories.
And all that's good. Oh, but Christ, he's preciousness
itself. Rare, valuable, unique, one of
a kind. Oh, like a man that's ascending
a high hill, and after he arrives at the top, he looks back. He
sees all the land, the terrain that he's transversed. He's on
the summit now, looking down. Oh, may we do something like
that in consideration of Christ, priceless preciousness to anyone
who has ever seen their guilt, and every believer has, who's
ever seen their inability, who's ever learned that it's not of
him that willeth or of him that runneth, but of God that showeth
mercy. In other words, everyone who's ever seen their need of
a Savior has seen the preciousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. He
is in all His names and titles as Immanuel, as God with us,
both in His divine nature and His human nature. The perfections
of His deity, His being in the form of God and equal to Him,
the brightness of the Father's glory and the expressed image
of His person render Him to the believer all together lovely.
I don't see a flaw. I don't see a flaw. He's all
together. In the song of Solomon, He's
the fairest among ten thousand. Peter said he's the only Savior
in Acts 4 in preaching to those religious leaders. He also said
he's the only foundation. He's the only one that we must
know, because whom to know is life eternal. And our text says
he's the only one that's preciousness. In Luke chapter 12, you're familiar
with this. Our Lord, we're told that he
spoke a parable and said, take heed and beware of covetous.
For a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things
which he possesseth. And he spoke this parable. A
ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully. And
he thought within himself, saying, what shall I do? Because I have
no room wherein to bestow my fruits. And he said, this will
I do. I will pour down my barns and
build greater, and I will bestow all my fruits and my goods. I
will, I will, I will. And I will say to my soul, so
thou hast much goods laid up for many years, take thine ease,
eat, drink, and be merry. But God said, God's will overrode
his will. Thou fool, thou fool, this night
thy soul shall be required of thee. then who shall those things
be which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure
for himself, and is not rich toward God." Is not rich toward
God, Billy? How can anybody, how can any
son of Adam be rich toward God? By having Christ's priceless
preciousness, in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and
knowledge. Turn, if you will, in your Bibles
back to 2 Kings for a moment. I think this story here will
illustrate what I'm trying to say. 2 Kings chapter 7. There's a famine in Samaria because
the king of Syria has surrounded the city. No one can go in, no one can
come out. It comes to the point where they're
starving to death. One lady even boiled her son. That's the background. There's
four lepers. They're surrounded as well. They're in Samaria. Verse 3 of
chapter 7, And there were four leprous men at the entering end
of the gate, and they said one to another, why sit we here until
we die? If we say we will enter into
the city, then the famine is in the city, and we shall die
there. If we sit here, we die also. Now therefore come, let us fall
into the hands of the Syrians. Let's just surrender. If they
save us alive, we shall live. If they kill us, we shall but
die. We're going to die anyway. And they rose up in the twilight.
to go unto the camp of the Syrians, to surrender. And when they were
come to the uttermost part of the camp of Syria, behold, there
was no man there. Can you imagine? Can you imagine
how they felt? For the Lord, and here's the
reason there was no man there, for the Lord had made the host
of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and the noise of
horses, even the noise of a great host. And they said one to another,
Lo, the king of Israel hath hired against us the kings of the Hittites,
and the kings of the Egyptians to come upon us. Wherefore, they
arose and fled in the twilight, and left their tents, and their
horses, and their asses, even in the camp as it was, and fled
with their life. And here come these four lepers."
Here they come. Can you just picture them? I mean, did they come in there
with their hands up? There's no enemy there. Nobody's there. They don't hear a sound. All
they see is everything more than they could ever imagine. There
it is, just waiting for them. They go to one tent and scarf
things up. They go to another and scarf
things up. They begin to bury and hide it.
It's too much to carry. Look, verse 8. And when these leopards came
to the uttermost part of the camp, they went into one tent
and did eat. They were starving to death before,
and drink. and carried thence silver, and
gold, and raiment, and went and hid it, and came again, and entered
into another tent, and carried thence also, and went and hid
it." Now here's the commentary on that. Psalm 23. This is what
that's a picture of. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall
not want. And also this. Thou preparest
a table before me in the presence of mine enemies. Thou anointest
my head with oil. My cup runneth over. Surely,
goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and
I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." Oh yes, I'd
rather have Christ and His rich grace, His rich mercy, and His
great salvation than all the riches this world can ever offer. Wouldn't you? How about that
rich man in Lazarus? We read in Luke 16 They both
lived, they both died, they both stood before God, and they both
received exactly what they deserved. The beggar received the best
that God could give because he received for Christ's sake. And
so did the rich man. Abraham, could you just dip your
finger? Just dip your finger. That's
all I want. Could you just do that much? Dip your finger. in water and cool my parched
tongue, I'm tormented in these flames." Abraham said, I can't
do it. Can't do it. I can't come to you. You can't
come to me. Can you imagine? I mean, how
much? If I dipped my finger in this water, how much would there
be? That's what he wanted. My soul, who was rich? Who was rich? The rich man was
Lazarus. He was rich in grace. On Mount
Calvary that day, when those dressed up religious hypocrites,
the Pharisees, and the high priest and the priest were mocking the
Son of God while he died, come down from the cross, we'll believe
you, you're the Son of God, well, come on down, prove it. But there
was one, there was one, dying right next to the Son of God.
And he said, Lord, would you remember me? Would you remember
me when you come into your kingdom? And the great Redeemer said,
I'll tell you what, today, today, before this day's over, you're
going to be with me in paradise. And in just a few hours, that
thief marched into heaven arm in arm with Jesus Christ as a
trophy of the Savior's mighty grace. But that religious hierarchy,
wouldn't they trade places with him then? Now, who was rich? who was rich. Because thou sayest,
I am rich and increased with goods, our Lord said to the church
at Laodicea, and have need of nothing, and knowest not that
you are poor, and wretched, and miserable, and blind, and naked."
That's a description of every unbeliever, especially religious
ones. I know thy works. In tribulation,
he said to another, and I know your poverty, But you are rich. But you are rich. Lay up for
yourselves treasures in heaven, our Lord said, where neither
moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through
and steal." I read this just the other day by Brother David
Edmondson, a pastor there in Madisonville, Kentucky. He said,
Concerning what the psalmist wrote, whom have I in heaven
but thee, and there is none on earth that I desire beside thee.
And David wrote, who but Christ came into the world to save sinners.
Who but Christ died as the mediator for sinners. Who but Christ knew
no sin and was made sin for his people, that they might be made
the righteousness of God in him. Who but Christ loved us and gave
himself for us. Who but Christ died just for
the unjust in order to bring us to God? When God, by divine
intervention, reveals these things to a chosen sinner, they must
conclude, and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. Christ is precious. A dear friend wrote this, until
I find the message more glorious than Christ crucified, more needful
than free grace, more delightful than infinite mercy, more comforting
than absolute forgiveness, more assuring than perfect righteousness,
more compelling than redeeming blood, more hopeful than heavenly
glory, more joyful than the infinite, immutable love of God in Christ.
I'm determined to preach nothing but Jesus Christ and Him crucified."
That was Don Fortnight. He also wrote this hymn, The
Bread of Life. Oh, poor starving souls trying
to feed on husks that cannot meet your needs. Behold the gospel
table spread, Christ Jesus is the living bread. David said
in Psalm 107, for he satisfies the longing soul and filleth
the hungry soul with goodness. Is that not true? Child of God,
have you not found it so? This bread which money cannot
buy will life impart and life supply. It fills the hungry with
delight and never spoils your appetite. I like that. This bread the carnal cannot
taste, but heavenly born souls upon it feast. Feasting we feast
and crave still more, to eat and live forevermore. All things are Christ, and Christ
is God's, and we belong to him. If God gives Christ, what can
he withhold? What will he withhold? This is going to be in next week's
bulletin by a man by the name of John James. I'll give you
a preview. He wrote the study of everything
that stands connected with the death of Christ, whether it be
in the types of the ceremonial law, the predictions of the prophets,
the narratives of the gospels, the doctrines of the epistles,
or the sublime vision of the apocalypse. This is the food
of the soul, the manna from heaven, the bread of life. This is food
indeed. and drink indeed, and if you've
tasted that the Lord is gracious, you know that it's so." Matthew
Henry said, come and see the victories of the cross. Christ's
wounds are your healings, His agonies are your repose, His
conflicts are your conquests, His groans are your songs, His
pains are your ease, His shame is your glory, His death is your
life, and His sufferings are your salvation. Precious, precious
Christ. There was a prince about to leave
home to travel somewhere, and he asked his tutor, his instructor,
his teacher, for some rules to live by, some maxims by which
to govern his behavior while he was gone. And his instructor
simply said this to him, remember that you're the son of a king. Let all of us, brothers and sisters
in Christ, remember that we're sons and daughters of the Lord
Almighty. And if sons, then heirs of God,
and join heirs with Jesus Christ, a believer is a child of the
King of Kings. Remember. Let me wrap this up. On page 334 of your hymn book,
you wouldn't hurt my feelings if you wanted to turn there and
read it with me. Be thou my vision. Bobby, you know it by heart.
You don't need to read it. I used to ask you to sing that
so much. So much. An Irish hymn, it says,
be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart. Not be all else to
me, save that thou art. Thou my best thought by day or
by night, waking or sleeping, thy presence my light. Be thou
my wisdom, and thou my true word, I ever with thee, and thou with
me, Lord. Thou my great Father, and I thy true Son, thou in me
dwelling, and I with thee one. That's just
amazing. Rich is he not, nor man's empty
praise, Thou my inheritance now and always, Thou and Thou only,
first in my heart, High King of heaven, my treasure, Thou
art. High King of heaven, my victory
won, May I reach heaven's joys, O bright heaven's sun, Heart
of my own heart, whatever befall, Still be my vision, O ruler of
all. O Christ, priceless preciousness. Amen. Amen. God bless you.