back in 1 Peter chapter 2. I
want to read again a verse of the psalm Bobby just
now sang to us. I think it will serve well as
part of my introduction to the message. The third verse says,
Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise, thou mine inheritance
now and always. Thou and thou only First, in
my heart. High King of heaven, my treasure
thou art. My treasure thou art. Verse 7 will be our text. Just three words. He is precious. Who else could it be talking
about other than our Lord Jesus Christ? He's our treasure. He's our inheritance. Peter reminded
these suffering believers, these persecuted, they were being severely
persecuted, these people that Peter wrote to, that he refers
to as pilgrims and strangers, but he reminds them, you have
an inheritance that Nero can't touch. That tyrant might drive
you from your home. He may take all your possessions. He may even take your life. But
he can't touch your real treasure. Can't do it. Your real inheritance. Our Lord said in his Sermon on
the Mount, Lay not up yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth
and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal.
But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth
nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through
and steal. For where your treasure is, where
your treasure is, there will your heart be also." He is precious. Again, the emphasis must be,
has to be, on the Lord Jesus Christ. I made a note of the
definition of the word precious. If you looked it up in the dictionary,
the adjective precious means of great price, costly, as a
precious stone, of great value or worth, very valuable. Proverbs 3, she is more precious
than rubies, highly valued, Much, much esteemed. 1 Samuel 3, the
word of the Lord was precious in those days because there was
no open vision. Three times, as we pointed out
in the reading, the word precious is used. First in verse 4, then
again in verse 6, and then in verse 7, our text. In verses
4 and 6, both times it refers to God's estimation of his son. Verse 7, it says unto us as well,
Christ is precious. But at the first two times it's
used in those verses, 4 and 6, it refers to God's declaration
concerning his son. He says concerning his son, he's
precious to me. Now think about that for a moment.
Let's pause. Let's just pause. God says Christ
is precious to me. I declare something must be,
it has to be, very, very special to be precious to God, doesn't
it? As a matter of fact, It's not
a stretch. No, it's according to God's Word. For something to be precious
to God, it has to be perfect. It has to be perfect. It can't
be anything less than perfect. Or it wouldn't be precious to
God. It wouldn't be pleasing to God. Where does the all-knowing
God, the all-seeing God, Where does he look? Where does he cast
his eye for such perfection? That merit's being called by
him, looking up on it, precious. Precious. Where else would he
look? Where else would he look except
the Lord Jesus Christ? And remember, remember, God's
not easy to please. Is that right, Louis? God's hard
to please. He's hard to please. He demands
perfection. It must be perfect to be accepted. That's what God said. God's hard
to please. Ask Adam. Ask Adam. He sewed
together some fig leaves to cover up his nakedness, his sin, and
he thought that would do, and God snatched them all. Didn't
please him. Ask Cain. Cain brought his own
sacrifice, the labor of his own hands, and he thought God would
accept it, and God had no respect to Cain's sacrifice. He refused
it. He's hard to please. I will probably,
I know, Lord willing, refer to what we all probably watched,
at least a portion of it, I did, of the inauguration of our new
president this past Friday. just before the swearing-in of
President Trump, there were prayers offered, first by a priest, and
then by a rabbi, then some Baptists, and then some pastors, a man
and a woman, covering all the bases, I suppose. And each of
them, if you would sit down and talk to them, and asked them
to define who God is, each of them, the priest, the rabbi,
the preacher, the pastors, they would all give you a different
characterization of God, their view of him. And yet, every one of them thought
that God Almighty heard them and accepted their prayers. After
all, it really doesn't matter because God's very tolerant,
you know. I hope you know I'm being facetious.
God is not tolerant. Really, is he? What a strange
God he must be. I mean, if you would ask the
rabbi, what must I do to be saved? He would give you an unscriptural
answer. He would say, keep the law, keep the law. What about
Jesus Christ? Oh, he wasn't the Messiah. We're
still looking for the Messiah. Ask the priest. How can a man
be just with God? And he would give you a different
answer. Their concepts of God are completely foreign to the
Word of God. And yet they believe that God
will accept everyone. What a strange character God
must be if that's true. He has no preference, no demands,
no standards. Wrong. Dead wrong. I would say it if that priest
and that rabbi and that man and that woman preachers If the whole
shooting match was sitting on that front pew, I would tell
them, wrong, you're dead wrong. And I'll tell you the reason
they think that they're not, because God himself said in Psalm
50, you thought that I was altogether such a one as yourself. Ah, there's
the mistake. There's the mistake. God's not
like us. God's not like us. I'm a frail
man of the dust. My life's a vapor. God Almighty,
he had no beginning. Roger, you remember when you
were a young fellow asking me that? I do. Your brother asked
me the same question before. I couldn't answer it then and
I can't answer it now. Where did God come from? He had
no beginning. Man, now you try to wrap your
brain around that. God had no beginning and he'll
have no end. God said from everlasting, from
everlasting, what he was saying, I am everlastingly God. High and lifted up. I'm not like
anyone else. To whom shall you compare me,
God said. God. Again, I ask you, where
does God look for satisfaction? That satisfaction that demands
and will never accept less than perfection must be as good, as
perfect as God himself is. Where does God cast his eye? Well, let's let God answer. Have
you ever had the experience, turn first of all to Matthew
chapter 3. Three times, at least three times in the Gospels, God
declares plainly, plainly, where he finds his pleasure, where
he casts his eye on that which is precious in his sight. Paul said, let God be true and
every man a liar. So let's hear what God himself
says about the matter. Not what I think, or you, or
a rabbi, priest, or Baptist, or Catholic. What's God say himself? Have you ever had the experience
where you're with someone, a group, a couple at least, and they're
talking about you, and you're standing right there? Have you not said, why don't
you ask me? Don't talk about me like I'm
not present. Ask me. God Almighty gives us
the answer. Let's ask him here in Matthew
chapter 3, the first time. That God tells us plainly that
which is precious in his sight and why. At the baptism of the
Lord Jesus, when he began, as we say, his public ministry.
Verse 16 of Matthew 3. Can you picture this? People
were coming to be baptized by John the Baptist. Some God had
really worked a work of grace in their hearts. Others did it
because it was the thing to do. Not much has changed, has it?
Verse 16, when Jesus, and when Jesus, when he was baptized,
oh, something happened that didn't happen to anybody else. He went
up straightway out of the water and, lo, the heavens were opened
unto him. Unto him. Nobody else. That didn't
happen. Nobody else. I saw a door opened in heaven.
I am the door. Heavens were opened unto him
and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting
on him. Emphasize him. He is precious. And, lo, a voice from heaven
sang this. No one else. No one else. This
is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. The second time,
turn if you will, still in Matthew's gospel, Matthew chapter 17. God
repeats, repeats this blessed testimony from his own lips concerning
the preciousness, the pleasure that he finds in his son. Matthew
chapter 17, you know the story. Our Lord is on the Mount of Transfiguration
as it's come to be called. And he's taken with him James
and John and Peter. And he's praying. And while he prays, he's transfigured. And then there appears Moses
and Elijah talking with him. And Peter and James and John,
they wake up. They got drowsy and dozed off and they wake up
and see this. And Peter blurts out, look at verse four. Peter was caught off guard. He
didn't know what to say. Maybe he was embarrassed for
sleeping. But verse four, then answered Peter and said unto
Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you will, let
us make here three tabernacles, one for you and one for Moses
and one for Elijah. One for the law giver and one
for the prophets. And Moses and the prophets, our
Lord said, all spoke of me. You don't need three tabernacles,
Peter, you just need one. The word was made flesh and tabernacled
among us. Verse 5, and while he did speak,
behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out
of the cloud which said, this is my beloved son. in whom I
am well pleased, hear ye Him." And that's not a suggestion.
That's a command. And when the disciples heard
it, they fell on their face and were sore afraid. And here comes
the mediator between God and man. And Jesus came and touched
them and said, Arise and be not afraid. Oh, and I love this verse. And when they had lifted up their
eyes, they saw no man, not Moses, not Elijah. They must give way
to the God-man, no man save Jesus only. God said, this is the one
in whom my soul delights. This is my servant, my righteous
servant, in whom I am well pleased. And we'll not turn there, but
in John 12, After our Lord made his triumphant entry into Jerusalem,
just days before his crucifixion, the Father spoke again in response
to our Lord saying, glorify thy name. And God said, I've glorified
it and I'm going to glorify it again. And people said, man,
what was that? Was that thunder? And Christ said, no, that's God.
God speaking concerning Jesus Christ himself. When I was a
boy at home and my father would tell me to do something, and
I've told you this before, I was stupid enough to think I didn't
have to listen to him, Lester. Louie, my daddy not one time
in my life when I was growing up did he ever tell me as punishment,
son, go stand in the corner. That's a piece of cake. I can
handle that. Or let's take a time out. No, no. The time out was that
belt on my hind end. That was the time out. But he'd
often say to me, son, I'm not going to tell you again. What
I told you, I'm not going to repeat. That's final. And God Almighty says this is
final. This is my beloved Son in whom
I am well pleased. Hear ye Him. That's final. That's final. Remember what we read in 1 Peter
2? Those who don't hear Him, They won't bow. He'll be a stone
of stumbling. He'll roll over them. He'll crush
them. God Almighty says, everyone will
bow to my Son. Hear ye Him. And then the second
time, here in 2 Peter, we read in verse
6, referring again to God's estimation of His Son. Behold, I lay in
Zion a chief cornerstone. And he's quoting from Isaiah
chapter 28 verse 16. God says, Behold, I lay in Zion
a cheap cornerstone, a let precious. Precious. And he that believeth
on him shall not be confounded. Again, watching the inauguration
the other day, Friday, there was one man that gave a speech before the swearing-in, a Senator
Roy Blunt from Missouri, I believe it was. And he spoke about the
first inauguration, George Washington, the first swearing-in in 1789. And he said something that caught
my attention. He said the second, the second
swearing-in was more important than the first one. You know
what he meant. In that first one, the first
president, they were laying a foundation for a new democracy, a new nation,
a new government independent from England for the first time
in the first inauguration. Oh, but the second time, why
was it more important? Because it showed that it succeeded. It continued. It didn't evaporate. It was still here. It endured. And thank God what we witnessed
Friday shows again, by God's mercy and grace, it yet endures. I remembered that there were
certain fellas who said if Mr. Trump was elected, they would
leave the country. I wonder if they've got it on
the plane yet. I wouldn't miss them. Oh, but concerning the
foundation that our God has laid in the person of the Lord Jesus
Christ, concerning that foundation that God has laid in that man,
he says he's elect. He's precious. He's the chief
cornerstone. He's the foundation upon which
I will build my church. Other foundation can no man lay,
Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians, other than that which is already
laid, the Lord Jesus Christ. We don't need another one. We
don't need another one. He's sufficient. He's the rock
of ages. Turn if you will, I've referred
to it in the reading earlier, but turn if you will to Psalm
118. Psalm 118. Peter quotes one of the verses
here. This is the Lord's doing. This
stone which the builders refused has become the headstone of the
corner. That's verse 22. This is referring to the, if
you will, inauguration of King David. Saul said he won't be
king. But God said, yes, he will. David
will be king. Saul said, I'll put him to death. God said, touch not my anointed
and do my prophets no harm. Saul said, he'll not set up on
my throne. And God said, oh, yes, he is.
Yes, he will. And he did. He did. Why? Because it was God's purpose.
It was God's will. Saul and all of his scheming,
all of his threat, all of his conniving couldn't stop it. God
Almighty had ordained that David sat upon the throne and David
sat upon the throne. But behold, a greater than David
is here. I know it speaks of David, but
it's speaking more of the Lord Jesus Christ. Think of him. The church is one foundation
when you read these words. Verse 22, the stone which the
builders refused has become the headstone of the corner. Our
Lord quoted that very verse to the religious leaders of his
day. This is the Lord's, or rather, yes, verse 23. This is the Lord's
doing, and it's marvelous in our eyes. The word is wondrous. This is the Lord's doing and
it's wondrous in our eyes. Isn't it? What a marvel. What a great God and Savior we
serve. And Paul in Ephesians chapter
2 said that we're built upon that one foundation. Jesus Christ
himself, the foundation of the church, of what he spoke when
he said to Peter up on this rock, I will build my church and the
gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I like a hymn that
a man named Samuel Medley, I think I'm pronouncing that right, wrote
many years ago along this very subject. He said, on Christ salvation
rests secure. The rock of ages must endure.
Nor can that faith be overthrown that rests upon the living stone. No other hope shall intervene.
To him we look, on him we lean. Other foundations we disown and
build on Christ the living stone. In him it is ordained to raise
a temple to Jehovah's praise. Composed of all his saints who
own no savior but the living stone. View the vast building,
see it rise. The work how great. This is the
Lord's doing, it's wondrous. The work how great, the plan
how wise. A wondrous fabric, power unknown,
that rests it on the living stone. But most, but most, adjure his
precious name. His glory and his grace proclaim.
For us the lost condemned undone, he gave himself the living stone. He is precious. Verse 7. The third time the word
is used here in 1 Peter 2. But this time it's somewhat different.
Because unto you that believe he is precious. It refers to
not his preciousness to God, but to his people, to those that
believe. Nobody else is his people. He
is precious. Ask any grandparent. about their
grandchildren. I just about bet the word precious
would get thrown in there, don't you? Oh, they're precious, they're
precious. My granddaughter, my grandson. Oh, there's not another. Let
me tell you why he's grand. He's precious. But speaking of believers, everything
else, everything else fades in comparison to Jesus Christ. He is precious. As a matter of
fact, here in verse 7, a literal translation of the word would
be not an adjective, but a noun. He is preciousness. That's how
it should read. He is preciousness. Peter, in
both his letters to these suffering believers, spoke about the precious
promises, precious faith, and precious blood. And they all
find their fulfillment in Jesus Christ. Gather them all up. All
the promises in Christ are yea and amen. The precious gift of
faith is in the object of the Lord Jesus Christ. Redemption,
Peter tells us in chapter 1, we're redeemed by the precious
blood of Christ. Everything concerning salvation
is summed up by its fulfillment, its meaning, its comfort in the
person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember when Simeon took the babe, that little babe, from the arms
of his mother. Oh, the word was made flesh. And Simeon held him in his arms
He had Christ in his arms and grace in his heart. And he was
holding all of God's salvation. All of God's salvation. He's
all of our salvation. He's all of our hope. God has
made him to be unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification
and redemption. In him dwells all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily. Where else would it dwell? Precious
faith. Precious blood. Peter said, you've
been redeemed with the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. No one else. No one else. We sang it just a moment ago,
didn't we? A few moments ago. The hymn asked
the question, what can wash away my sins? And there were probably
I'd say a lot of other people this morning singing that same
hymn, asking that same question. What can wash away my sins? And yet multitudes sing that
hymn and never consider the answer to the question. Never seriously
give a thought to the question, what can wash away my sins? What can do it? Or they think
that the answer would be just about anything. What can wash
away my sins? A lot of people tell us that
water will do it. Water will wash away sins. My decision will wash away my
sins. My religion will wash away my
sins. Me going to church will wash
away my sins. I once heard a preacher say,
being in a church doesn't make you a Christian. He said, any
more than standing in a garage makes you a car. I mean, it just
don't happen. Now what can wash away my sins? There's only one answer. Nothing. Nothing but the blood of Jesus. You've been redeemed with the
precious blood of Christ and for that reason, God says, when
I see the blood, The precious blood of Christ I'll pass over
you. Oh, precious is the flow that
makes me white as snow. No other fount I know or need,
nothing but the blood of Jesus. Remember an old song? Don't hear it much anymore. I
don't really remember a whole lot about it, how it went. But
precious memories, Precious memories, how they linger, how they ever
flood my soul. I would to God that he would enable us when we leave
today, be flooded with the sweet, sweet remembrance of the preciousness
of his son. Are you like me? Are you like
me? Most of the time, not some of
the time, most of the time, I just take it for granted. I read from Psalm 18, this is
the Lord's doing and it's wondrous. It's marvelous in our eyes. When
was the last time you looked at God's mercy and grace to a
rebel sinner like you and say, oh, my soul, it's marvelous. It's wondrous. It's amazing. Oh God, stir my cold heart to
praise the blessed gift of your Son to this needy sinner. I think I've told you this story
before. There was a little girl in her
Bible class and the teacher had asked, what does the word precious
mean? They had read it there, just
as we did in 1 Peter 2. What does it mean, precious?
All the kids sat for a minute, then a little girl raised her
hand and said, well, my father told me that mother was precious
because where would we be without her? Think about that. He is preciousness. Where would you be without him?
Where would you be without Christ? Where would I be without Christ? I'd be living in this world without
hope and without God and nothing to look forward to except lifting
up my eyes in hell. Where would I be without Him? Peter wrote to people who had
lost everything. as we mentioned a moment ago.
But he reminds them of their inheritance reserved for them
in heaven that will never fade away. During the time in England
of severe persecution of believers, there was a Bishop Bonner. They
called him Bloody Bonner. There was a poor believing woman
brought before him. And the bishop threatened her
and said, I'll take your husband. And she said, Christ is my husband. He said, I'll take away your
children. She said, Christ is better to me than 10 children.
And he said, I'll strip you of all your comforts. And she said,
Christ is mine. And you can't strip him from
me. Take whatever you will. You can never take away. Jesus
Christ for me. He's my preciousness. Last week, for some reason, I don't know
how, I talked to some, I spent the whole day on the phone talking
to some, what do they call them, geek techs from Apple. I mean all day long, eight hours
off and on, trying to help me figure out why I couldn't open
my iPad. It locked up. Couldn't open it.
Kept asking for a passcode. I only had one. It wouldn't accept
it. It shut down. So I called these people smarter
than me about these things, and finally they said, well, I'll
tell you what. Plug it into your desk computer. We'll get it open,
but you're going to lose everything. It's all going to be gone. What? Everything? Man, I've got pictures. I've got Bible tools, Bible study
tools. Man, our bulletins, you're going
to lose it all. Someone said, did you lose your
pictures? I said, I lost it all. Did you
lose all your notes? I lost it all. A double hell,
I lost it all. It all got erased. But I thought about what Mr.
Top Lady wrote that will never be erased. Isaiah, the Lord said
in Isaiah 49, I'll not forget you. I've engraving you on the
palms of my hands. You'll never be erased. Rejoice,
your name's written in heaven, Larry Crisp, and it'll never
be erased. My name from the palms of his
hands, eternity will not erase. Impressed on his heart, it remains
in marks of indelible grace. Yes, I to the end shall endure,
as sure as the earnest is given, more happy but not more secure,
the glorified spirits in heaven." You may have noticed already
that my message was just an outgrowth of the article in the bulletin
today. And again, referring to the inauguration,
I watched that with millions and millions of other Americans.
And I thought, man, what pomp. What a ceremony. What importance. What a momentous occasion. And
then I thought as I sat there, and I hit the mute on the TV,
because I was somewhat overwhelmed with the thought One of these
days, pretty soon, I'm going to behold the captain of my salvation. What an occasion. What a ceremony. And for the first time in my
life, Lester, for the first time in my life, I'm going to have
eyes only for him. this heart's not going to be
distracted or attracted to anything or anyone else. And then I'll
realize, and I believe it will grow upon me increasingly as
eternity rolls on, that he is preciousness. When I hear the wicked call on
the rocks and hills to fall, When I see them start and shrink
on the fiery deluge brink, then, Lord, shall I fully know, not
till then, how much I owe. Depart from me,
I never knew you. There shall be weeping and gnashing
of teeth. Who made you to differ? Enter into the joy prepared for
you. This is all for you. From the
foundation of the world, who made me to differ? When I stand
before the throne, dressed in beauty not my own, when I see
thee as thou art, love thee with unsinning heart, then, Lord,
shall I fully know, not till then, how much I owe. Amen. Thank you for your attention.