I'm going to ask you to turn
in your Bibles to 1 Peter again, the first epistle of Peter. I'm speaking tonight on the word
of the Lord, the word of the Lord. I thought Brother Moore's prayer
was very appropriate and interesting. He kept commenting on the word
of the Lord, ask that the pastor might be able to teach us the
word of the Lord more perfectly, effectually. Now, when God is pleased to give
to a sinner eternal life, and eternal life is spiritual life,
and spiritual life and eternal life is the gift of God. Our Lord prayed in John 17, Thou
hast given me power over all flesh, that I should give eternal
life to as many as thou hast given me. And Paul said in Romans
6, the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal
life. And when God is pleased to give
eternal life, he does a work for us, and he does a work in
us, and both are by the Word. The work for us is by the incarnate
Word, our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Word of God. And he
was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities
and the chastisement of our peace was laid on him, and by his stripes
we're healed. He did a work, the Word of God
did a work for us, by his stripes we're healed. All we like sheep
gone astray, turning everyone to his own way, but the Lord
laid on him the iniquity of us all, and he justified us by his
blood and by his righteousness. And the Lord when he gives eternal
life to a sinner, not only does a work for us through the word,
the incarnate word, he does a work in us by the written word. Turn to Jeremiah. I do want you
to see this. The written word. Oh, how important
is the word of the Lord. In Jeremiah chapter 31, this
is a work in us. Jeremiah 31, 33, this shall be
the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel. After
those days, saith the Lord, I'll put my word in their inward parts. I'll write it in their hearts. I'll be their God. They'll be
my people. And they shall teach no more
every man his neighbor and every man his brother, saying, No,
they shall all know me. From the least of them, youngest
of them, to the greatest of them, saith the Lord, for I will forgive
their iniquities. I'll remember their sins no more. He chose us. He justified us. He sanctified us. He has given
us a good hope by his grace. and he teaches us. He teaches
us. He takes the word and puts it
in our heart and gives us an understanding of his word that
we may know him that is true and that we're in him that is
true. This is the true God. This is eternal life. Let me
show you some scripture. Turn to John 6. John chapter
6, verse John 6, 44. Our Lord said here
in John 6, 44, no man can come to me, no man has the desire
to come to me, the will to come to me, except the Father which
sent me draw him, and I'll raise him up at the last day. It's
written in the prophets, and they shall be, every one of them,
all of taught of God, taught of God. And every man therefore
that hath heard, heard what? His word, taught of God, and
hath learned, learned what? His word. Learned of the Father,
you come to me. Turn to John 16. Here's our Lord
talking to his disciples in John chapter 16, verse 12. He'd been with them for over
three years. But he says in verse 12 of John 16, I have yet many
things to say to you, to teach you, but you can't bear them
now. You cannot bear them now. They've
got to be taught at the appropriate time. They've got to be experienced. I've got many things to say,
but you can't bear them. How be it when He, the Spirit
of truth, is come? He'll guide you into all truth. He shall not speak of himself.
That is, he'll not speak in opposition to the Father, opposition to
the Son. Same message. Opposition to the
Scriptures. He'll not speak of himself. He
hasn't got a new message or a different message. He's got the same message.
The Holy Spirit takes the word. Whatsoever he shall hear, my
word. naturally speak, and the Holy
Spirit will show you things to come. Take God's word. All right, turn to John, chapter
14, back just a little. John 14, verse 16. John 14, 16, I will pray the
Father, and he shall give you another comforter, that he may
abide with you forever. even the Spirit of truth, whom
the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, and does not
know him. But you know him. You know the
Spirit of truth. He dwells in you, with you, and
shall be in you. Now to our text. And beginning
with verse 22, back in chapter 1, 1 Peter 1, beginning with
verse 22. Seeing that you have purified
your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit, the Spirit
of God brought the truth and revealed the gospel to you and
you believed it. Unto unfeigned love of the brethren,
see that you love one another with a pure heart fervently,
being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible by
the Word of God. Born again by the Word of God,
the seed, of his own will begat he us with the word. God hath
chosen by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. Sanctify them through thy word,
thy word is truth. The word of God which liveth
and abideth forever for all flesh is his grass. And all the glory
of man is the flower of grass. The grass withereth, the flower
thereof falleth away. But the word of the Lord, the word of the Lord endureth
forever. And this is the word which by
the gospel is preached unto you, the word of God. Begotten by
the spirit of God, he's in the word of God. Sanctified by the
word of God, justified by the word of God incarnate. Born of
the water, the word in the spirit. How vital, how important, how
precious is his word. All right, chapter two, now let's
look at Chapter 2, wherefore, because of who you are, because
of what God done for you, wherefore, laying aside all malice and all
guile and hypocrisies and in this and all evil speaking, lay
it aside. Someone said one time, if a person
is going to, is planning on writing with a new pen He's going to
write with a new pen. He lays aside the old pen and
picks up the new pen. If a man is going to do a work
with a new tool, he lays aside the old tool and picks up the
new tool. Wherefore, if we plan to walk
with God as Enoch of old and Abraham, then the old companion
with whom we did walk, and the old ways in which we did walk,
and the old habits with which we did walk, must be laid aside. Wherefore, laying aside, laying
aside, what malice, guile, deceit, dishonesty, hypocrisy, evil speaking. These are the
old nature. These are the attributes of the
old nature. Let's lay them aside. Put them
off. Put on the new man. That's what Paul said over here
in Ephesians chapter 4. Turn to Ephesians 4. Listen to
him here. Put off and put on. Lay aside
and pick up. In Ephesians 4 verse 21. Ephesians 4, 21, listen, if so
be that you have heard him, heard his word, heard his truth. See, everywhere we turn, it's
his word. You've heard him. He that hath heard and learned
of the Father. If so be you've heard him and
been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus Christ, that you
put off Put off concerning the former conversation, ways and
habits and language and companions and direction. Put off the old
man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lust. And be
renewed in the spirit of your mind that you may put on the
new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Skip down to verse 21, or 31,
I'm sorry, verse 31, same chapter, Ephesians 4, verse 31. Let all
bitterness and wrath and anger, clamor, evil speaking, be put
away. Put that away from you with all
malice, same thing Peter tells us, wherefore lay these things
aside and put on this, be ye kind one to another. tender-hearted, gentle, forgiving
one another, even as God, for Christ's sake, has forgiven you. Back to the text. Wherefore,
because of what God's done for us, in us, what God's mercy, God's shown
to us, lay these things aside. In verse 2, and as newborn babes,
little children, you know, This is a name that the true believer
does not resent. He doesn't resent being called
little children, because that's what we are. We're little ones.
Our Lord called us His little ones. One time when His disciples were
debating about who was going to be the greatest, He sent a
little child in their midst, and He said to those grown men, You be converted, changed, renewed
in your thinking, and become as this little child, you're
not going to enter the kingdom of God. A believer doesn't object
to being called little children, newborn babes. Let me show you
something over here in 1 Kings. This is something, if you haven't
looked at this, you'll want to look at it. 1 Kings chapter 3. I want you to listen to this.
First Kings chapter 3, here's a speech that pleased the Lord.
Here's a speech by a human being that pleased God. First Kings
3, verse, well here in verse 5, in Gibeon the Lord appeared to
Solomon in a dream by night and God said, ask what I shall give thee. I
listened to this speech, and Solomon said to the Lord, Thou
hast showed unto thy servant David, my father, great mercy,
according as he walked before thee in truth, in righteousness,
and in uprightness of heart with thee. And thou hast kept for
him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son, to
sit on his throne as it is this day. And now, O Lord my God,
thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father, and
I am but a little child. And I know not how to go out
or come in. I am just a child. And thy servant
is in the midst of thy people, which thou hast chosen, a great
people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. Give,
therefore, thy servant an understanding heart, a hearing heart, to judge
thy people, that I may discern between good and bad. For who
is able to judge this, thy so great a people? And the speech
pleased the Lord. And that's something. Here's
a man that fell before God when God said, what do you want? Ask
me. Well, he said, I'm just a child. I don't even know how to go out
and come in. So if you just give me understanding here and here. And that pleased the Lord. Okay,
verse two, as newborn babes, children desire first after,
as a babe a mother's breast, the sincere milk of the word,
as a newborn babe. You know there's a verse I want
us to look at in 1st Corinthians 14. Here's something I tried
to quote Sunday morning to my class and I didn't have it down
exactly because I hadn't looked at it for a while, but 1 Corinthians
14, 20. Brethren, brethren, be not children in
understanding. Howbeit in malice be ye children,
but in understanding be men. There are many ways in which
it's commendable to be like children. Children are usually tenderhearted.
Children usually are willing to be taught. Children usually
are ready to forgive. Children usually are free from
vainglory and pride. So in that way, be like children.
But in judgment, in thinking, don't be a baby. Act like a mature
man. Be mature in mind and leadership. That's what he's saying there.
As a newborn baby, thirsty and hungry for the milk of the mother's
breast, you desire the sincere milk of the word. Now listen
to me a minute. What is the sincere milk of the
word? Well, I'll tell you what it is.
You can put this word in there for sincere. It's unmixed. It's pure. It's the word of the
Lord. Now, I like books, and I like
writings, and we have them here, and we put them out, but let
me tell you this, too many helps become a hindrance. If we begin to depend too much
on the writings of men, and the thoughts of men, and the philosophies
of men, they're no longer a help, they become a hindrance, and
we become followers of men. So he says here, as a babe wants
the milk, the milk, you desire the sincere, unmixed, pure Word
of God. That's it, the Word. Use your
books to help you with the Word, but don't turn from this to that. It becomes a hindrance, leads
you astray. Stay with the Word. and desire
the sincere milk of the word, that ye may," what? "...that
ye may grow," grow, grow up. 2 Peter 3.18 says, "...desire,"
let's see, let's read that, 2 Peter 3.18, it says, "...but grow in
grace, and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, of the
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and do that by the by the word of God. All right,
go back to the text now, 1 Peter 2, verse 3. If so be that you
tasted that the Lord is gracious. That's a quote from Psalm 34,
and I like to go back and read David what he wrote over here
in Psalm 34 that Peter is quoting here. Psalm 34, verse 8, O taste
and see. Taste and see that the Lord is
good. The Lord is gracious. Blessed
is that man that trusteth in him. And Peter says, if you have
indeed, if I have indeed tasted and know by experience that the
Lord is good and the Lord is gracious and the Lord is merciful
and I have tasted and I know that his wisdom is the chief
wisdom, and to be his child is the greatest blessing, and to
be his heir is the greatest riches, and to be conformed to his image
is the greatest glory, then it won't be any problem to lay aside
these things that are contrary to this relationship
with him. It won't be any problem if we
have What he's saying here, you lay
aside the old man, the old nature, the old ways, the old habits,
the old companions, and as obey, desire the sincere, pure, unmixed
word of God that you may grow thereby. And if you have indeed
tasted of his wisdom and his son and his riches and his grace,
and you have found that he is the fairest of ten thousand and
altogether lovely, there won't be a problem to lay these things
aside. But if we're still wavering between
this life and that life, between this world and that world, it probably is that we haven't
tasted that the Lord is gracious. He's to be preferred above all. And the people who have tasted
that he is gracious, they know that. Moses, people talk about
Moses gave up so much. Moses didn't give up anything.
Moses gave up death. He gave up Egypt. You see, those
riches aren't lasting. That honor and power and fame
is not lasting. Moses knew. He had tasted that
the Lord is gracious. He knew that the riches of Christ
were far better than the treasures of Egypt. He knew that. If so
be, you've tasted. You're not going to have a problem
with this. None at all. None at all. All right, verse
four, to whom coming. And I'll tell you those three
words are the secret of salvation. to whom Christ coming, coming. Faith is still believing, always
coming to Christ. Repentance is always repenting. We're always repenting. We're
always asking forgiveness. Aren't you always asking forgiveness,
if not from me, at least from God? I'm always sorry. I'm always
coming to Christ. I'm always repenting. I'm always
looking. I'm always learning. I'm always laying aside. It's
not ever a once for all thing. I'm always laying it aside or
trying to. Always waiting. Always trusting. Nothing in this life, spiritually,
is perfectly given. That's the reason David said,
well, I'll be satisfied when I wake with his likeness. That's
when I'll be complete, and that's when I'll be satisfied. So this
is the secret of salvation. To whom coming? To whom coming? To whom coming? Our faith and
trust and hope is a person. The Lord Jesus Christ, to whom
coming? Listen, as a living stone. Our
foundation, that's what he's called a foundation. He's called
a rock. The Lord is my rock. But it's not a dead letter, a
dead doctrine, a dead creed, a dead tradition, a dead form,
a dead denomination. It's a living stone. To whom coming as unto a living
stone. He lives and he gives us life.
He's the foundation and he gives life to the whole temple. It's
a living temple. It's the dwelling place of God.
God doesn't dwell among the dead. He dwells among the living. To whom coming as unto a living
stone. Oh, disallowed indeed of men.
Yes. Rejected of men. Men said, there's
no beauty about him. We should desire him. He despised
and rejected of men. He's a man of sorrow. Disallowed,
rejected indeed of dead religion. Because religious people prefer
dead works, and dead doctrine, and dead form. But he is chosen
of God, anointed of God, and precious to whom coming. Not
to a dead experience, or a dead doctrine, or a dead creed, or
a dead letter doctrine, but to a living stone. the rock, the
foundation that gives life to the whole building. He's chosen
of God and he's precious. He's precious to God. He said,
mine elect in whom my soul delighteth. I read it to you a while ago.
In whom my soul delighteth. You also are living stones. You weren't living in that pit
from which he brought you and in which he found
you, remember the pit from which you were digged. He came to the
pit and dug us out of the pit and separated us by spirit and
built us, laid us on the foundation, Christ. And when we were grafted
in him, we lived. And we're the tabernacle of God.
And we're a, listen, you also are living stones built up a
spiritual house, a holy, sanctified priesthood. That's what you are. That's what we are. Because he
lives, we live. And God puts the stones in the
temple as it pleases him. They're fashioned and formed
by his almighty hand and purpose. And we are a holy priesthood
who go about the sacrifices of his holy temple, offering up
not blood sacrifices, but spiritual sacrifices of praise, thanksgiving,
faith, glory, which are acceptable to God by
Jesus Christ, through Jesus Christ. Amen. To whom coming, looking, believing, trusting,
resting, waiting, always on Him. Laid on the living stone, we
become living stone. We become a temple of God, a
holy temple of God. And we move about in that temple
as priest, holy priest, perfect priest, royal priest, king priest,
and offer up spiritual sacrifices. A while ago, when you were singing about the rock, he hideth my
soul. pleasing to God. He's singing
about his Son, glorifying his Son, rejoicing in his Son. God's pleased with him. God accepts
him by Jesus Christ. Wherefore, listen, here's a quotation
from Isaiah 28. Wherefore, also it's contained
in the Scripture, Behold, I lay in Zion, chief cornerstone, elect
and precious. He that believeth on him shall
not be confounded, shall never be ashamed." Let's look at that
Isaiah 28 from which Peter quoted that statement right there. Let's see what this is saying
here. We're talking about the foundation. We're talking about
the rock. We're talking about the hiding
place. We're talking about the cornerstone. And he said in Isaiah
28, verse 14, now these people were deceived. Wherefore, hear
the word of the Lord, ye scornful men that rule this people which
is in Jerusalem, these religious people, with a false refuge. Behold, you have said, we have
made a covenant with death. We are not afraid to die. And
with hell are we out of agreement. We are not afraid of hell. when
the overflowing scourge shall pass through it, it shall not
come unto us. We have a refuge. It's a refuge
of lies. We have a hiding place, a foundation,
but it's falsehood. Therefore, thus saith the Lord
God, behold, I lay in Zion a church, a foundation, a stone, a tried
stone, and never fail. A precious cornerstone, a sure
foundation, that's Christ. He that believeth shall not make
haste, he'll not be confounded, he'll never be ashamed. These
people over there built on a false foundation. They hid themselves
in a refuge of lies. And finally when the scourge
came through, it overwhelmed them and overcame them and destroyed
them, but our refuge is Christ. He's a living stone. And God says here in our text
in verse 6, I laid this stone. I laid this stone. I laid this
chief cornerstone. Elect, remember I read in Isaiah
42, mine elect? Christ is the first elect, God
said, and chose us in our head. Precious, oh, precious to the
Father. To you that believe, He's precious.
And he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. All
right. Unto you therefore. Unto you
therefore. Listen, tell me a few more moments.
Unto whom? Unto whom? All right, listen.
Unto you who obeys. Unto you who desire the word.
Unto you who have tasted that he's gracious. unto you who are
always coming to Christ. Unto you who are living stones
built on the living stone. Unto you who are holy priesthood
in his tabernacle. Unto you to whom he's precious.
Unto you. He's precious. But unto them, unto them which be disobedient,
The stone which the builders rejected, the same is made the head of
the corner, and he becomes a stone of stumbling to them. To you,
he's precious. He's life. What is your beloved
more than any other beloved? Well, he's altogether lovely.
He's precious. He cannot fail. He's my Lord. He's just a stone of stumbling,
but I'll tell you this, their rejection and their wrath doesn't
alter his position. He's still the chief cornerstone.
He's still the rock. He's still the foundation. He's still the head of the corner.
He's still the only foundation. And they see him, but they stumble
over him. They stumble at his birth. They said, can any good
thing come out of Nazareth? They stumbled at his family.
They said, well, we know him. We know his mother and father
and brothers and sisters. They stumbled at his trade. They said, well, he's nothing
but a carpenter. They stumbled at his education. They said,
how does this man know letters? He never learned. He never went
to school. They stumbled at his lifestyle. They said, he's a
winebibber and a gluttonous man. They stumbled at his followers.
They said, look at him. He's a friend of sinners. They
stumbled at his age. They said, he's not even 50 years
old. They stumbled at his doctrine. They said, it's a hard saying.
They stumbled at his claims. They said, you're a man. You
make yourself God. They stumbled at his death. They
said, if your son of God come down, we'll believe on you. They stumbled at his church. They said to them, have any of
us believed on this man? Have any of the rulers, have
any of the Pharisees believed on him? No. He's a rock of offense. But let me tell you something,
verse 8. He's a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, even to
them who stumble at the, what? The Word. The Word. This is our information. Stumble at the Word. And it's an offense. This Word
is offensive. It addresses, listen, it addresses
us as depraved, dead, defiled sinners. That's offensive. It
comes as a revelation, a revelation to those who are, listen, unable,
unwilling, and unwise. That's offensive. It comes as
a proclamation, a declaration announcement of a person who
redeemed all for whom he suffered. He shall not fail. Not do, done. That's offensive. It gives him
all the glory and saves none for any creature. That's offensive. But watch this last word in verse
8. whereunto also they were appointed." They're people whom God has appointed
to be instruments of good. They're people whom God has appointed
to be instruments of glory and grace. When God spoke to Ananias
and told him to go to Damascus and preach to Paul, Saul of Tarsus,
He said, I have appointed him, I have chosen him to be a vessel
to bear my name to the Gentiles. I've appointed him. There are
people also who are appointed of God to serve his purpose as
an instrument of evil. Pharaoh was one. God said, you won't let my people
go. But for this purpose I've raised
you up, that I might declare my name and get glory in you."
Judas was appointed to serve the purpose. The people who crucified
our Lord, Peter said, you did what God determined for you to
do before the world began. I don't want to be an instrument
appointed to serve his wrath. I want to be appointed to serve
His grace. Don't you? Proverbs 16. Listen to this. Proverbs 16, verse 3 and 4. Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established. Remember, the Lord hath made
all things for himself, yea, even the wicked, for the day
of evil. Verse 9, and this is my last
verse. But you, you're a chosen generation,
chosen of God and precious. You're a royal priesthood. That's
a king priest. You reign with Christ. You're
a holy nation. We're true Israel, who worship
God in spirit, who rejoice in Christ and have no confidence
in the flesh. You're peculiar people. That
word peculiar means special people. Deuteronomy, you can look it
up later, 7, 6 through 8, says you're special people. The Lord didn't set his love
upon you because you were the greatest. or because you were
more than all, you were the least and the fewest, but because the
Lord loved you and because you are a special people, that you should show forth the
praises of Him. You're not going to get the trophies.
You are the trophy. I always like to see the boys
when they win a game, when they win a tournament, and they come
out with a trophy. They're all ganging around holding
up the trophy. But we're not going to hold up
trophies in heaven. We're going to be held up as
a trophy. That's right. He's going to say, look at what
I did. Look where I found this scallywag and washed him and
bathed him and justified him and sanctified him and put him on display. That's
right. That he might show forth the
praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous
life. I hope that was a blessing.