I don't know exactly how long
it's been since I've been here, but I believe, if I'm not mistaken,
somewhere around 33 or 32 years ago. Long time. The interstates were not here.
I drove up Route 2, best of my memory. Drove up the river and
met with the folks here, and they're as sweet now as they
were then. Turn with me to the book of 1
Peter. 1 Peter chapter 1. This chapter begins with divine
election. It ends with a spiritual regeneration
brought about by the preaching of the gospel. He said we're
born again, born again. He talks about that gospel that
those old prophets set forth before us in types and symbols,
set forth in their prophecies of that coming one. And he said
they sought diligently to find out who What? What manner of people these things
were for? To whom it was revealed it wasn't
unto them, but it was for us. For us. And he said, those things
are now proclaimed to you by those who preach the gospel with
the Holy Ghost. Oh, how I hope that's what the
Lord will do with me tonight. My daughter was down visiting,
and one of my grandchildren, she was too young to sit in the
service at the time, and she had to go back to the back. And
as she passed by, she stopped and was staring at me. And I
turned to see what the problem was, and she said, Papaw. I said,
yes, honey. She said, Are you going to say
the words? Oh, I said, I hope so. I hope
so. I Peter 1 is the story of every
believer from Adam to the last of God's elect who shall be called
out of darkness. called out of the darkness of
sin and deceit. And I tell you, children of God,
never get tired of hearing the story. Do you? I don't care who
tells it. I love to hear it. God hath from
the beginning chosen you unto salvation through sanctification
of the spirit and belief of the truth. Whereunto? He called you
by our gospel. to the obtaining of the glory
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now my intention and my hope
and my prayer to God for you today is that you might see with
the eyes of your mind and heart that Christ is all, just as Paul
sang a few moments ago. And in that seeing and understanding
that you might embrace Him, not embrace it, embrace Him,
that you might see Him, that you might know Him, that
you might see yourself in Him, and oh, embrace Him, rejoice
in Him, and find rest for your weary souls. Now let me give
you several things to Help you get the full sense of this verse
before I get down to my text. First of all, I want you to see
whom Peter directs these words of comfort to. These words of
comfort and assurance. He writes in verse 2, elect. This world don't like that word.
I've learned that. It took me 30 some years, but
I've learned that. They don't like it. And the reason they don't like
it is because they're up here looking down instead of down
here looking up. When the Lord brings you down
and shows you what you are and who you are and what kind of
state you're in, all election looks good to end on it. Huh? Look there. God made provision. And like John, you see a door
open and affects your door. Everything written in this book
is written, preserved, and made known to God's elect. It is the
children's bread. Marvin and I tell him about a
passage I read in John 15 about the friends of God. Who are these
friends? Well, he said these friends are
those that my father tells what he's doing. This world don't
know what God's doing. God's friends know. They know. And I asked our folks, I said,
what does God the Father tell his son to tell his friends?
I made provision for you before the foundation of the world.
I appointed my son your surety, your covenant head, your representative. When the fullness of the time
has come, He's going to come. He's going to be made of a woman.
He's going to manifest a union like this world has never known.
And He's not going to take to Himself the nature of angels.
He's going to take to Himself the seed of Abraham. And as a
man, man and God in one person, He's going to stand before that
holy law and for His people obey that law in every jot and tittle. What does he tell his son to
tell his people? He's the end of the law for righteousness
to everyone that believe it. Oh my soul, what he tells his
friends. Everything in this book is written,
preserved, and made known to God's elect. It is the children's
bread. Now religion's quick to distribute
God's blessings to every man born of Adam. But you won't find
that in the scripture. They called the Lord the universal
Savior. The universal Savior, teaching
that His life, His death, and His resurrection was for all
men. I remember one time, I don't
remember how I came about the money, I used to do contract
work and I suppose somebody paid me in cash or something, but
I had Whoever it was paid me in $20 bills and they gave me
like four or five hundred dollars in $20 bills and I laid it up
on my dresser and my daughter was about seven or eight years
old and she saw that money up there and had no sense of what
it was and she took it and put it in her pocket and took it
to school. About 11 o'clock or so, the teacher
called my wife and said, are you aware, did you give your
daughter permission to pass out $20 bills to the class? Of course, we realized immediately
that she'd seen this money and not understanding the value of
it, the purpose of it, or the labor
of earning it. Only thing she knew was the benefits. You could go store and buy candy.
You can have anything you want if you have the money to buy
it. She understood the benefits of it. So she simply took it
and gave it out to anyone and everyone who would have it. And
it's the same thing in false religion. All they know about
Christ is the benefits. They don't know anything at all
about the justice of God that had to be satisfied. They know
nothing whatsoever about a law that had to be exalted and honored.
They know nothing whatsoever about an eternal purpose. They
know nothing whatsoever about that glorious character of God. All they know is the benefits.
And they're quick to pass them out to whoever wants them. Beloved, the death of Christ
is sufficient. I'll say this. It's sufficient
to save every man, woman, and child from the beginning of time
to the end of time. And I can preach it. and am commanded
to do so to every creature without prejudice, black or white, yellow,
red, old, young, male, female, bond or free. Whosoever will,
the scripture said, let him take of the water of life freely.
But this does not mean that his life, death, and resurrection
was a universal offer, had universal intent. or that His blood and
righteousness was given for all men. The willingness of men,
the hearing and obeying of men, the surrender and commitment
of men is but the evidence of their election of God. That's
what it is. It's the fruit of it. It's the
fruit of it. Let me show you these two doctrines
stated clearly in the Scriptures. Turn with me to John chapter
6. John chapter 6. And look down at verse 37. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me. Who's going to come? All that the Father gave Him. All that the Father gave Him.
What about if a man's willing to come and the Father didn't
give him? He won't be willing. My people, he said, and we know
who that is, my people shall be willing in the day of my power. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will in no wise
cast out. For I came down from heaven not
to do my own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this
is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he
hath given me I should lose nothing, but raise it up again at the
last day. Now here's the other doctrine.
And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which
seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting
life, And I raise Him up at the last day. It's the same people. Huh? It's the same people. And the Jews murmured at Him.
They murmured at His doctrine. They mocked His person and purpose. And verse 43, Jesus said to them,
He said, murmur not. Don't murmur. Are you listening? No man can come unto Me. except my father which sent me
draw him, and I'll raise him up at the last day. It's written
in the prophets, they shall all be taught of God. Every man therefore
that has heard and has learned of the Father cometh unto me. How do you know if you're one
of God's elect? How do I know if God the Father
taught me? How do I know that I'm standing
here before a crowd of people, some of you driven four and five
hours to be here, some of you more than that. How do I know that I know God? How do I know that I know Christ? How do I know that I'm not deceived
with the rest of the world? John said, we know we are God. How do you know that? I'll tell
you how I know it. I come to Christ. And that's
how you'll know it. You'll come to Him. You'll come
to Him. If you come to Him, you've been
taught of God. If you don't, you've not been
taught of God. Peter addresses this letter to
the elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father through sanctification
of the Spirit unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of
Jesus Christ. And he says, grace unto you,
grace, all my soul, grace unto you, and peace be multiplied. Beloved, it's not in my hands
or yours to determine who is or who is not the elect of God. I don't know who they are. It's
ours simply to declare the truth And wait for the God of election. And wait for the Lord of salvation. And wait for the Holy Spirit
to accomplish this sanctifying work. Tell them the truth. Tell them the truth. Preach to
them the gospel. And then watch to see what God
does. See what God does. Oh, I've known
so many preachers over the years that try to do the work. Try
to do the work. Get them down the aisle. Get
them to a bench. Get them to a pool. Get them
to a doctor. Get them to something. Get this
work done. Close the deal. Some of you salesmen
know exactly what I'm talking about. Close the deal. We got
to close with the sinner. No, you just point him to Christ. The Holy Spirit will take care
of the closing. He'll take care of all that. Well, election is not salvation,
it is unto salvation. Alright, here is the second thing
I want you to see in the text. That the blessings which the
Father purposed in our election were fully accomplished. Can
you hear what I am saying? Fully accomplished by His Son,
our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Now listen to this in verse 3
here in 1 Peter 1. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten
us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ
from the dead to an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, that
fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for years. All these eternal
blessings purposed by the Father to His elect has been trusted
to. It's not been trusted to any
of Adam's children. It's been trusted to His Son.
In Ephesians chapter 1, He tells us He first trusted in Christ. And that's not talking about
you. He talks about you in the next verse. That verse is talking
about God the Father who first trusted in Christ. you go back
to the garden, you go back to the end of creation, and all
the days are fulfilled. And it said, and God rested from
all His works. Didn't He know Adam was going
to fall? Did God not know Adam was going
to fall? Was God not aware that Satan
fell into the earth? and would deceive the woman?
Did God not know in a few generations every imagination of the thoughts
of man's heart was going to be evil continually? Did He not
understand that through the fall of Adam the whole human race
was going to be cursed? Did he not understand that man,
in just a few years, he would have to destroy the world and
just save a few souls in an ark? Did he not understand before
the building of the Tower of Babel and all the false religion
that scattered throughout, was God ignorant of those things?
No. Then how could he rest? He trusted
in Christ. In whom you also trusted after
you heard the word of truth. I tell you, if God can trust
him, you can. You can. The eternal blessings purposed
by the Father to His elect have not been trusted to any of Adam's
fallen race, but we are to the praise of the glory of God who
first trusted in Christ. Ephesians chapter 1 tells us
that we are predestinated unto the adoption of children by Jesus
Christ to Himself according to the good pleasure of His will. In verse 6, He said to the praise
of the glory of His grace wherein He has made us accepted in the
blood, in whom we have, not trying to get, but have redemption through
His blood, the forgiveness of sins. And everything that Jesus
Christ did upon this earth, He did to accomplish the redemptive
will of the Father toward His elect. What He did, He did as
their representative and substitute. And in our holy representative,
we fully humbled ourselves and become obedient unto death, even
the death of the cross. This is the mind of the believer. Let this mind be in you, which
was also in Christ Jesus the Lord. In our holy representative,
we exalted the law to its rightful place and made it honorable.
It's exalted as far as all people say, y'all just don't preach
the law at all. You just dishonor the law altogether. I was up in Washington, D.C.
a few years back, and I'm not really an art fan or an art lover,
I do appreciate good art, and we went over there, and I'm telling
you, I walked in that place, and hanging down that wall is
these, something I've read about in years gone by, the Dutch masters. Don said he thought that's cigars. Those paintings were so real
and dimensional, and you look at those, I'm telling you, Every
stroke, a stroke of genius on those paintings. No wonder they
called them masters. And I was sitting there, there's
a little bench there you can sit and look at these paintings,
and I was looking at these paintings, and I looked over in the corner,
and there's a big burly guy standing over there about 6'8", weighed
about 275, no fat on him whatsoever. I said, Rick, why he's over there?
He said, pull out a pen, knife, or a brush and head toward one
of those paintings and you'll see why he's over there. Can you imagine a man, a fallen,
sinful man, trying to touch up the glory of the righteousness
of Christ? Paul said, God forbid, and he
does. God forbid. It's perfect just
like it is. Anything that you do to it, you're
going to spoil it. Leave it alone. My point tonight,
what I'm working on, all these things are fully accomplished.
He's the end of the law. You take it any way you want
to take it. He's the end of the law for righteousness. Listen
to everyone who believeth. Not to some of them, all of them.
All of them. He exalted the law to its rightful
place and made it honorable. A law that allows compromise
is no law at all. A law that has respect to a man's
person is no law at all. A law that sets guilty men free
without satisfaction for their crimes is no law at all. But
in Christ, our holy representative and substitute, God's justice
has been fully satisfied. and His law upheld in perfect
harmony with His glorious character. In Christ alone, God can be just
and justifier of all that believe on His Son. God does not simply cast His
blessings on men at random and without purpose and reason. All
that God has purposed to bless His elect has been trusted into
the hands of our covenant surety who has accomplished all things. And this is that everlasting
covenant of grace which David uttered in his dying breath,
saying, it's ordered in all things and sure. You know why it's sure? Because of the surety. It's sure. It's ordained in all things by
God the Father, and it's sure by the accomplishments of Christ
our covenant surety. Listen to these words of assurance
that Peter writes by divine inspiration. He said we're begotten again,
raised to life out of spiritual death, begotten again unto a
lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Now let me tell you something.
If Christ did not fully accomplish the Father's redemptive will,
then He cannot help hopeless sinners. He can't help them. Can't help them. God is holy
and righteous and just, and He will not and cannot compromise
His character, not even to spare His own Son. It said He that
spared not His own Son. He didn't spare him. We would
have. But he wouldn't. When God raised
up His Son on the third day, He declared to heaven, earth,
and hell that all for whom He lived and died were fully and
freely justified once for all. In Romans chapter 4 verse 25,
Paul said, He was delivered for our offenses. Let that sink in. He was delivered
for our offenses, and He was raised again for our justification. Fully accomplished. Fully accomplished. in this living hope who is now
seated at the right hand of God, exalted, accepted, seated as the King of glory. And you know what he holds in
his hands? Our inheritance. Took possession of our inheritance
for us. It says in Ephesians chapter
2, He quickened us, those of us who were dead in trespasses
and sins, He quickened us together with Christ, raised us up together
with Christ. We stepped onto the cloud with
Christ and the angels as He ascended up into glory. And it said we
seated with Him in heavenly places, expecting. Till his enemies be
made his footstool. Took full possession of our inheritance. We don't have an inheritance
that... I don't know. I just don't know, you know.
I don't know if it's gonna be there or not, you know. My soul. He has possession of it. He told
those Jews over there. They said, if you be the Christ,
tell us plainly. Been telling them for 33 and
a half years. You be the Christ telling... He said, I told you.
I told you. You believe not because you're
not My sheep. As I said unto you, My sheep
hear My voice. They hear it. And they follow
Me. I know them. They know Me. And they follow Me. And I give
unto them eternal life. And they'll never perish. Never
perish. Can't perish. It's an impossibility
for him to perish. And no man gonna pluck him out
of my hand. Where's your hope? Huh? Where's your hope? Lord, mine's
in his hand. Huh? In his hand. in His hand. There's nowhere
I'd rather be in His hand. Peter said, in this living hope, who's now
seated at the right hand of God, exalted, accepted, seated as the King of glory,
is our inheritance, now listen to this, which is incorruptible. Not even a shadow of a possibility
of corruption. And it's undefiled and there
will be. And it can never fade away. Never fade away. Now listen. Reserved in heaven for you. Reserved in heaven for you. Brother Barnard told a story
one time about a dream he had. I don't know if he made it up.
I do sometimes. Fits the message. But he said
he had a dream. And he woke up and he was in
the middle of something like a great amphitheater is the way
he described it. And he said, as far as you could
see, there were people sitting singing. the most beautiful hymn
that ears have ever heard." Oh, he said, I wanted to get up there,
somewhere in that crowd, I wanted to get up there, but there wasn't
any place to get. It was full, there was people
just rows and rows, and they just went up on this great mountain
as high as you could see. And he said, all of a sudden,
he said, I looked way up there, and it looked like a little void
between two people up there. And he said, I took off running
up these steps. And, excuse me, excuse me, he
said, and he went down that aisle of people and he got all the
way down there to that seat. And when he got down there, it
said on the back of the seat, Roth Barnard, reserved in heaven
for you. Huh? An inheritance. In heaven? I'm telling you, people
chasing experiences and they're looking for dreams and vision
and looking for power to heal and power to get rich and power
to do this and power to do... We have an inheritance reserved
in heaven. Heaven's treasure. Right there. Set your affections on that,
Paul said, not on this. Set your affections on this.
reserved in heaven for you. God Himself came down in the
person of a man and fully accomplished our redemption and then He was
raised up into heaven itself to guarantee our salvation. That's
a living hope. And it's the hope of all God's
elect. Now watch this. Here's the third
thing I want you to see. This hope is sealed in the hearts
of all God's elect by the divine gift of faith. And they're preserved
in this faith by the power of God unto the day of His appearing. This inheritance which is incorruptible
and undefiled that fadeth not away is reserved in heaven for
you who are kept, see it there in verse 5, kept by the power
of God through faith unto salvation which is ready to be revealed
in the last time. Turn with me to Philippians chapter
1. I hope I don't do what I did
at the house the other night. I quoted Scripture for 15 minutes
and told them it was in Colossians and the Scripture was in Philippians. But he wrote to the Philippians
and encouraged them in the faith and listen what he was pleased
to say here. Here was his confidence down
here in Philippians 1 verse 6. Being confident of this very
thing. that I can convince you to come
down to the front. Ain't what he said. Being confident
in your commitment to Christ. Ain't what he said. Being confident of this very
thing that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform
it unto the day of Jesus Christ. All right, preacher, but how
does a man determine if God's begun a good working? Because
that work always leaves him hoping completely and fully upon the
Lord Jesus Christ. You're hoping in anything else.
It ain't God's work. It's yours. His work leaves you
hoping in His Son. It's not Christ plus your works. Not Christ plus your will, not
Christ plus your decisions, not Christ plus this or that or the
other. It's Christ alone. Christ alone. The hymn writer
said, in my hand no price I bring. Simply to thy cross I cling. Sink or swim, I trust in Him. In Him, Paul said, are hid all
the treasures. of wisdom and knowledge. He preached Christ alone. And
as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, he said, so walk ye
in him. Just that way. Walk in his righteousness. Walk in his love. Walk in his atonement. rooted and built up in Him, established
in the faith, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel. For in Him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily, and you are complete in Him who is the
head of all things. I listen to men talk about faith
who don't know about faith. It's not clenching your fist
and setting your jaw and trying, boy, I'm going to believe or
else. I like to see it. I just like to see it. I tell you, when God puts a new
heart in you and takes his finger and overcomes
that strong man and casts him out, You know, I didn't realize
until I read that the other day. When he's talking about taking
that strong man down, people visualize that a big bat on a
big... That's not what it says. It said
he took his finger and cast out the devil like a fly. Cast him out. When God does that work, faith
will be as natural as breathing. Huh? The reason it's so unnatural
to men is because they walk in darkness. They walk in ignorance.
They don't know God. They don't know what kind of
condition they're in. They don't know anything. They're
religious as all get out, but they don't know God. They don't
know God. And when He shows you these things,
and shows you Christ, and shows you your sin, convinces you of
these things, and then opens that door and lets you see Christ,
it's just as natural as breathing to trust in Him. Faith is hearing and understanding
that the Father's purpose is to save a people in Christ and
that Christ Himself has fully accomplished that salvation and
now sits, as I guarantor, in glory. And you surely shall, Peter said,
have this faith tried, but don't worry about it. It's just God
proving His gold. He's just getting rid of some
of the dross. Set it aside. These things are precious. They
have to be done. And it has nothing to do with
your inheritance. It has nothing to do with the
security of your soul. You're going through this. You're
His child. He's going to prove your faith
to this unbelieving world. And even though you go through
these things and your faith is tried and tested, it shall be
found under honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.
Peter said, whom having not seen you love, and whom though now
you see him not, yet believing you rejoice with joy unspeakable
and full of glory. Now watch this, here's my whole
text. I didn't say all that, just say
this. Verse 9, receiving the promise of your faith. No, that's
not what it says. Receiving the end of your faith. What's that mean? That means
if I receive Him, I've got it all. I've got it all. Receiving the end of your faith,
even the salvation of your soul. The gospel does not leave men
hoping in their works or will or ways. The gospel sets before
men an accomplished redemption in Christ that saves to the uttermost. all who come unto God by Him.
And this is my hope. May God reveal this to your hearts
for Christ's sake. May you be the happiest man this
side of heaven if He does. O my soul, thank you.