I want you to open your Bibles
with me to the book of 1 Peter. 1 Peter. Let's go verse by verse. I think
about everybody here loves to study the Word verse by verse.
And I'm going to read 1 Peter chapter 1, beginning with verse
17. And if you call him father, or
upon the father, who without respect of persons judgeth according
to every man's work, past the time of your sojourning here
in fear." Now Peter calls us the people of God, he calls us
pilgrims. He calls us strangers. He calls
us sojourners. And we are sojourners and pilgrims
and strangers. We're in this world, but we're
not of it. And we're here just for a little
while. And we call on the Father. And
we call Him our Father. But remember two things. Write
this down now, two things. It says here in verse 17, if
you call him father, who without respect of persons. That's the
first thing. Remember, God is without respect
of persons. People in this world are so impressed
with people. People in this world are so impressed
with who a person is, what he owns, what he has, whether he's
beautiful or ugly, whether he's got a lot of education or influence. But God looks on the heart. God
doesn't consider these things. He says here he's the true judge
of my daughter-in-law, Mindy. I'm going to tell a story on
Mindy. Her daddy started coming to our
church when she was about 12, 13, maybe younger. He owned a golf course. Only two in town, he owned the
best one. And he had a lot of people out
there, real Highfalutin people play golf on that golf course.
And Mindy lived there. They moved on the golf course.
And some of her town friends were there visiting with her.
And one little girl, maybe a little snooty, I don't know, but she
looked at Mindy and said, where do you go to church? Mindy said, I go to 13th Street.
She frowned. She said, who goes there? Men
just said, my preacher and me, and he tells me about the love
order. That's a good answer. God is no respecter of what you
have, what you own, what you know, how much education you
got. He's a true judge who looks on
the heart. Now you remember that. But you
call him father who without respect of person judges according to
every man's worth. Now here's the second thing I
want you to remember. Remember who He is. Now remember who you
are and who I am. And when you remember who He
is and who you are, then you will pass the time of your journey. It's not a long journey. I've
found that out. I'm going on 80 now, and it seems
like yesterday that I first started. We're sojourners, we're pilgrims,
we're strangers, we've passed the time of this sojourning in—watch
it now—four things. Fear of God. A man doesn't fear
God's a fool. Fear of God. In faith, believe
in God. A man who doesn't believe God's
a fool. and worship. If you call Him
Father without respect to a person who judges people for what, who
they are, looking on the heart, pass the time of your, whatever
time you got left, starting now if you have to, but pass that
time in the fear of God, in believing on Christ Jesus. in reverence. Be careful how
you take the name of God, how you use his name, and worship. Meet with the people
of God. Meet with the people of God. All right, here's verse 18. For
as much as you know, what do we know? I'll tell you. I know this, we're not redeemed
with corruptible things such as silver and gold from your
vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers.
I know that. I know we're not redeemed with
corruptible things such as silver and gold. What's Peter talking
about here, silver and gold? Well, I'll tell you. He's talking
about the law, ceremony, The temple, the tabernacle, awesome
things. Awesome things. Think of that
old tabernacle in the wilderness. That's an awesome place. An awesome
place. Inside is the most beautiful,
breathtaking thing you could look at. Think about that—think
about Solomon's temple, with its silver, its gold, with its
furnishings. with his vessels. Awesome. Awesome. But we're not redeemed with these
things. Silver and gold. Think about the priesthood. I
tell you, that fellow really dressed up, didn't he, Pop? I
mean that. You get to studying the garments
of the high priest. It's something else. The duties,
the workings, the washings, the garments, the ceremonies, awesome. But we're not redeemed. with
these things. Think of the art. Oh, think of
the art. When God had Moses build that
art, and put inside Moses' rod, Alan's
rod that budded, and the manna, and the Ten Commandments that
God wrote. Put it in there. Awesome. Cover
it with that gold. Put those cherubims on either
side, and stand back and gaze in wonder. But this your kind
of glory above. You're not redeemed with that
either. Or the brazen serpent. Write it all down, and put on
top of it, nahushka. Is that the word? Nahushka. Nahushka. What's that mean? worthless brats. That's awful to say that, but
it's so. We're not redeemed with corruptible things from our vain
conversation received by tradition from our fathers. We're not redeemed
with silver and gold. And just say what Paul said.
I count it done that I may win Christ and be found in Him. That's verse 18. That's how we're
not saved. Well, how are we saved? Verse 19. We're not saved with
silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, as
of a lamb without blemish and without spot. We're redeemed
with the precious blood of Christ, as a lamb without blemish and
spot." What's precious to God? What's precious to God? Well,
He talks about precious promises, talks about precious faith, and
talks about to you that believe He's precious, and He talks about
the death of believers being precious. But here he's talking
about something special. We're redeemed with the precious
blood of His Son. It's precious because it's the
blood of His Son. My beloved Son, in whom I'm well
pleased. His blood is precious because
it's the blood of the Lamb. Isaac said, Father, here's the
wood. Here's the fire, where's the
lamb? My son, God will see to it. God will provide himself the
lamb. That's why he's precious. He's
God's lamb. He's my beloved son, he's God's
lamb, and he's precious because his blood is without spot or
blemish. His blood is precious because
of its antiquity. It always has been precious.
Always has. The everlasting covenant. The
Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. All right, look at verse 19 again. We're redeemed with the precious
blood of Christ. as a lamb without blemish and
without spot. I want to show you what redemption
is and use of alliteration. The letter R. Well, first of
all, His precious blood redeemed us, bought us back. Jesus paid it all, all the debt
I owed. Sin left a crimson stain. He
washed it Why this snow? He redeemed us, brought us back,
redemption. He's buying back that which was
lost. Brother Gruver told me a story
that took place in Mexico. And he said that we went out
to Pueblo and a father had made a kite for his little boy. We
used to make kites when I was A boy like, I like that little
boy's father. We used to get two sticks and
then get some newspaper and get, my mother would get, make paste
out of flower water and put it around, you know, and stick it
on and then put a tail on it and fly. And this little boy's
daddy made him one of those homemade kites and it was a good one.
His daddy worked on it and labored on it He took it out to fly him. And he got out there high, and
the strain broke. And there his kite got in that,
in that mired wind, just leant. He just leant. And he stood there
and cried, probably watched his kite go. But a few days later,
he and his dad went into the little village, little Pueblo,
and they were walking by a shop. And the good boy stopped and
said, that's my kite. That man got my kite. So that
may not be yours. It is mine. Got my initials on
it. In fact, that's mine. Well, he
said, let's go see what the man take for it. So they went in,
and the man, he said, you want to buy this kite? The fellow
said, two pesos. So daddy said, he probably got
two pesos and gave it to the man, and the boy got his kite
and came walking out with his kite. You know what he said? He said, you're mine. You're
twice mine. I made you, then I bought you. And that's us. We're twice His.
He made us and He bought us. Precious blood. Precious blood. We're redeemed. We're restored
by His precious blood. He restored my soul. Lost in
Adam. Restored in Christ. He reconciled
me when the prodigal son came home. And he's been with a hog,
so the hog. He looked at Mass, I know, and
he smelled Mass, I know. But his father ran out, and what'd
he do? Kissed him. Kissed him. Reconciled. He said, Make me
a servant. Servant? Nothing. You're a son.
You've always been a son. And you're a son now. You always
will be a son. He kissed him. Reconciled him.
He made us righteous. He who knew no sin was made sin
for us that we might be made in Him the righteousness of God.
He regenerated us, renewed us. I'm not the same. I'm a new creature
in Christ. And then we're resting. I want you to leave my text for
just a minute and turn to Turn to Isaiah 32. Isaiah 32. Now keep these R's in mind. We're redeemed, we're restored,
we're reconciled, we're righteous, we're regenerated, and we're
resting. Isaiah chapter 32, verse 17. Read it with me. Look at it.
Isaiah 32, verse 17. and the work of righteousness
shall be peace, and the effect of righteousness, quietness and
assurance forever. And my people shall dwell in
a peaceable habitation and an assured dwelling and in quiet
resting places. Rest in the Lord. Come unto me,
all ye that labor and abelate, I'll give you rest. Take my yoke
upon you, and learn of me, and you'll find rest." More and more
and more, more and more. We're resting, resting. Well, look at verse 20. We're
redeemed with the precious blood of Christ as a lamb without blemish
and spot. Listen to verse 20. was foreordained before the foundation
of the world, but was manifested in these last times for you.
For you. Verily, for you. Foreordained. You see, our Lord,
the redemption of the Lord's people was no afterthought. No
afterthought. Before Adam fell. Before Adam
was created. before the world was made, he
was a lamb slain before the foundation of the world." That's what it
says here. We're redeemed with the precious blood of Christ
who barely was foreordained before the foundation of the world. Brother Dale, your daddy, Armour,
and Cecil Roach, came, our drogue came by the house and picked
him up one night. I had been invited to preach
at a little country church up the road from where y'all live.
Is that Sims Valley or? That must have been it. It's
been a long time ago. I mean, way back then. And they went with me. We went
to the service and I was going to preach and they were sitting
with me. And a quartet got up to say,
And this is the song that they sung. Once I was straying in
sin's dark valley, no hope within could I see. But they searched
through heaven and found the Savior to save a poor sinner
like me. And I looked over at your dad,
shaking his head. And Cecil was shaking his head.
After we got out of the service, I said, y'all didn't like that
song, did you? He said, did you? I said, no. They didn't search
through heaven and find a Savior. He was there before heaven was
made. The redemption of God's people
is not an afterthought. He was manifested in these times,
but He was four days before time. ain't deep, it's just salt. All right, now watch verse 20
and 21 here, 20 and 21. Who barely was foreordained before
the foundation of the world, but was manifested in these last
times for you. There's no period there, it's
a comma. Don't stop. For you who by him do believe."
That's who's manifested for. Talk about particular redemption.
There is no other kind. Effectually, there's no other
kind. He was manifested, he was ordained,
and he was manifested for whom? For you. who by him do believe
in God, who raised him from the dead. Old John Giel says, this
is my, this is my, this is my theology. This is my theology. This is
what he said. I the Lord created both the righteousness
and salvation for my people Israel. I, the Lord, appointed Him the
Lamb before creation. I, the Lord, prepared Him a body
and sent Him into the world. I, the Lord, made Him to be seen
and sent Him to the cross. I, the Lord, smote Him, bruised
Him, and left Him to die alone. I, the Lord, numbered him with
the transgressors, and he made his soul an offering for sin. I, the Lord, took him out of
the tomb. I, the Lord, raised him from
the dead. I, the Lord, exalted him to my
right hand, and I gave him a name, a name which is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus Christ every knee should bow, And every
tongue confess that he's Lord to my glory. That's my doctrine. That's what I believe. That's
what you believe. That's why you're here tonight. Believe
it. Look at verse 22. Now watch this. Seeing, seeing that you have
purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit,
unto unfamed love of the brethren. See that you love one another
with a pure heart, fervently. Peter now passes to another subject. He's talking here about the death
of the Lord Jesus Christ, the sacrifice of Christ, how we're
redeemed, how we're saved, how we're redeemed, and all these
things. And then he comes to another
subject. He says this. Let me paraphrase a little bit.
We know that we didn't purify our souls. What is Peter saying? He's saying that as an object
of God's grace, your souls have been purified. You didn't do
it. It was an act of God. Christ
purified your soul, and you have been enabled of God to look to
Christ. For in him there is all wisdom,
righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. So see, God has
by his grace purified your soul. You see that? But he said, I
want you to see something else. Freedom. Seeing you have purified
your soul and obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned
love, not hypocritical, unfeigned love of the way. see that you
love one another with a pure heart. See to it. You know when Isaac
said, Where is the Lamb? The Lord said, He'll see to it.
Well, you see to this. You see to this. Seeing God has
purified your soul. Now, you see to this thing that
God Almighty has instructed us to do, love one another with
a pure heart, fervently. This is the end of sanctification. This is the evidence of sanctification,
to love God and love one another. And if we don't love one another,
we don't love God. Let me go to another verse here.
Turn to John 13. John chapter 13. See that you
love one another with a pure heart. What is a pure heart?
Paul talked about serving God with a pure heart. Paul uses
that word pure in this way, sincere. truthful, sincere. And that's what this is. See
that you love one another with a true heart, with a pure heart. Look at John chapter 13. John
13, read verse 33. Little children, yet a little
while I'm with you, and you shall seek me. And as I said unto you,
the Jews, whither I go you cannot come. So now I say this to you,
I say this to you, a new commandment I give unto you, that you love
one another as I have loved you, and that you also love one another. And by this shall all men know,
you are my disciples if you love one another. This is a command. This is a
royal command. This is the king's commandment.
This is not a suggestion, is it? This is not a suggestion. This is a command that you love
one another. This is the Lord's commandment
that you love one another, and this is a family trait. Because
he said, by this shall all men know you're my disciple, if you
love one. That's a family trait. That's
the king's commandment, and that's a family trait. That's the way
God's people are. They love one another. They don't
stop loving people. They keep on loving them. Maybe
you don't agree with them everywhere. Maybe they don't do exactly what
you think they ought to do. But when you love somebody, you
love them. I never could understand a divorce. I'm not trying to understand
it. How can you love somebody and
then hate them? I don't believe it. This is a
family trait. You love one another. This is
a distinguishing mark of the people of God. For He said, Though
I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not love,
I am a sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal. If I give my body to
be burned, and have not love, it profiteth me nothing. So see
to it. Seeing you have purified your
souls in the precious blood of Christ, see to this too, that
you love one another with a pure heart." This love proceeds from
a genuine heart and a real heart, and it continues. It continues. Because Paul said, that kind
of love beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things,
endureth all things, and will not fail. He will not. I can't compromise the gospel
or the truth. You got to tell it. And people
just have to fit it. And when God saves them, they
start fitting it better. They just do. Here's my last one. I want to
try to do something here with these next three verses. Verse
23, 24, and 25. All right, verse 23, being born
again, not a corruptible seed, but an incorruptible by the Word
of God, which liveth and abideth forever. Being born again. This
is not a persuasion. It's a birth. It's not a decision. It's not a change of action.
It's not a change of activity. It's an act of God. being born
again, whereby an elect person has a new divine life created
in him. That birth is wrought by the
Spirit of God, of the incorruptible seed of God, and that man has
been created in Christ and given a new life that is in evidence
by change. a change from pride to humility,
a change from hatred to love, a change from turmoil to peace,
a change from loving this world and loving God. It's a new creation. It's a new creature. It's a new
life. That's what it is now. That's a new creature, born of
God, blessed of God, loved of God, motivated by God. It's the life of God. It's the
life of God in us. Christ in you. That's the hope
of glory. Christ in you. That's the hope
of glory. Now, look at verse 24. Now, the
other side is this. Listen. For all natural life,
And all flesh, that which is born of the flesh is flesh. That
which is born of God is spirit. But this is the second thing.
This is all flesh. What is it? It's grass. It's
not a new creature. It's grass. It's not a new being. It's grass. That's all it is. It's grass. And all the glory
of man, everything he He is and does in His own, that's grass. It's like the flower of the grass.
All the glory of man is just like the flower of the grass.
Somebody wrote and said that everybody, good, bad, white or
black, good or evil, born of natural parents, they spring
up like grass. They appear beautiful for a while.
I've never seen an ugly baby of you." They also put it. They come on strong, productive, live out their lives,
and then die like grace, and go back to the ground from which
they came. And that's all it is. Now verse 23 says we're born
again. And that nature that's born of
God is going to go to glory. And that grass nature is going
to be buried. And if all you've got is grass,
that's it. The grass withers, the flower
fadeth and falleth away. The flower dies before the grass. We don't look like much at the
end of the line. It's just like grass. But the
Word of God. The word of the Lord endureth
forever. And you know what this word is?
It's Christ. That's what Todd preached. It's Christ, Christ,
Christ. This is the word which by the
Gospels preached to you. And I want you to turn one more
verse, Romans 10. Romans 10. This is the word.
This is the word, Romans chapter 10. Let's look at this just a
minute. Romans 10, verse, start with verse 6. Romans 10, verse 6. But the righteousness
which is of faith. You know, Moses described the
righteousness of the law. A man does those things, will
live by these things, die by these things. But the righteousness
which is of faith speaks of this wise. Don't say in your heart,
who's going to ascend into heaven, bring Christ down. He's already
come down. God brought him down. Don't say
in your heart, verse 7, who shall descend into the depth deep to
bring up Christ from the grave? God raised him from the dead.
But what does it say? What is the word of faith? Here
it is. The word is now unto thee. It's
even in your mouth, it's in your heart. It's the word of faith
which we preach. That's what it is. How's Christ
known by you? By the word we preach. How is
the will of God revealed to you? By the Word we preach. How is
the truth that sets you free? By the Word which we preach.
That's what happened, Kelly. God set you free. Changed your
life. Turned you around. Started you
down the road to glory. He did it. And that's what it,
by the preaching of your pastor sitting right there behind you.
That's what happened. The Word of faith. That's what
it, the custom we preach. That's why we doing what we're
doing here, and how we're rightfully good, sending out these tapes
and all these things, preaching Christ. We're not putting on
a show. We're not trying to get people
to follow us, get disciples. We're trying to tell people how
to be saved. Who saves? God saves. Precious
Lord. I'm glad you let me be here.
Thank you.