I'd like to ask you tonight,
if you will, to open your Bibles with me to 1 Peter chapter 1. Many years ago, and I mean quite
a few, I believe over 40 years ago, I prepared a message and
brought it to this congregation and in other churches as well,
and I entitled that message, Four Things That God Calls Precious. And I was preaching a message
recently, I don't remember when, but that came to my mind and
I named those four things. Well, since then, I found a fifth. So I'm going to bring this message
tonight, Five Things That God Calls Precious. We'll look at
those four things that I mentioned years ago, but one, it's not
new because it's been in the Bible all along, but it was new
to me when I saw it. Five Things That God Calls Precious. The first one is here in 1 Peter
chapter 1. God calls the blood of His Son
precious. God calls the blood of His Son
precious. You say, how does God do that?
Through His Apostle, the Apostle Peter, writing under the inspiration
of the Holy Spirit, God calls the blood of His Son precious. If you will, look in verses 18
through 20. For as much as you know that
you were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from
your vain or empty conversation received by tradition from your
fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb
without blemish and without spot. who verily was foreordained before
the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last
times for you. God calls the blood of His Son,
the Lamb of God, precious. Peter tells us that it is impossible
that anything such as silver and gold, that's what the world
calls precious, that's what the world esteems as precious, silver
and gold, but it's not possible that the soul be redeemed with
corruptible things. Now, silver and gold may be called
corruptible because silver and gold comes from the earth. It's mined out of this earth
and this earth is cursed. It's under the curse of God.
And all the gold in the world, all the silver in the world put
together cannot redeem a soul. Peter says the same thing that
the psalmist said in Psalm 49 when he said the redemption of
their soul is precious and it ceases forever. There is no other
way of redemption. That is what he means by it ceaseth
forever. There could be no redemption. There could be no redemption
accomplished had not Christ, who is both God and man, come
into this world. God calls His blood precious
and we know it has to be precious because of who He is. He's God. He's God, manifest in the flesh. When we sing and praise and pray
to, yes, even call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ in prayer,
we're not guilty of idolatry. We would be if He's not God.
But He is God. One of the brothers just a few
minutes ago, back in the study, read that Scripture in John chapter
11 where the Lord told Martha, Martha, I am. the resurrection
and the life. He's the resurrection and the
life. And God calls His blood precious. Now the word which is here translated
redeemed, here in 1st Peter chapter 1, literally means to release
or on receipt of a ransom. The ransom price to release a
captive. The blood of Jesus Christ is
precious because sin had us in captivity. Not only sin, but
Satan and death and hell. And yet the blood of Jesus Christ
is the ransom price that redeems from all iniquity. The blood
of Jesus Christ is precious. Christ redeemed all of His elect. All of those who were chosen
by the Father and given unto Him in an eternal covenant of
grace. They were given unto Him as His
sheep. He's the shepherd. They were
given unto Him as members of His body. He is the head. They were given unto Him as His
bride. He's the bridegroom. All of these
analogies are given unto us in the Word of God that speaks to
Christ and His church. And Christ redeemed His church
with His blood. The Apostle Paul, speaking to
the elders at Ephesus, he told them, Feed the church of God,
which He, and the antecedent of He, this pronoun here, is
God. feed the church of God, which
He hath purchased with His own blood." The blood of God, the
blood of the Son of God. You say, well, God doesn't have
blood. No, but as the God-man, He has blood. And that blood
is precious because of who He is. And that blood does effectually. Listen, the scripture said, He
shall not fail. He shall not fail. God's servant,
in Isaiah 42, if one for whom Christ died should be lost, then
he would fail. No, he shall not fail. The blood of Jesus Christ is
precious. It redeems each and every one
of those that God chose and gave unto Him. That's the first thing. God calls the blood of His Son
precious. Now look in 2nd Peter with me
just a moment. 2nd Peter chapter 1 and verses 3 and 4. God calls His
promises precious. Verse 3. According as His divine
power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life
and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to
glory and virtue, whereby are given unto us exceeding great
and precious promises, that by these you might be partakers
of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is
in the world through lust. These promises, not only are
they called precious, but they're great. exceeding great and precious
promises. God calls them precious. And these promises, now I know
there are many promises in the word of God. I think someone
counted them one time. I've seen a book that lists,
I forget how many hundreds of promises in the scripture. But
Peter has reference here specifically, I believe, to the promises of
the new covenant. These exceeding great and precious
promises. They are precious. Think about
this. God's promises here. They're
precious because they're God's promises. That's number one. They're God's promises. And number
two, they're precious because they are unconditional. Now there's
some promises in the Scripture which are conditional. They're
conditioned on man doing a certain thing. But these exceeding great
and precious promises are unconditional. If there were any condition,
the condition was upon Christ the surety of the covenant. And
since Christ has fulfilled all the covenant engagements of the
Father, they're unconditional promises for you and I. They're
precious because they're God's promises. They are precious for
they are unconditional promises. And they are precious for what
they bring, what they give unto us. Look back just a few pages
in Hebrews chapter 8. And let's just read a small portion
of these promises as they're given in the Scriptures. Hebrews chapter 8 and verse 10. For this is a covenant, this
is a new covenant. It's not like that covenant that
God made with the fathers, the nation of Israel at Mount Sinai.
This is a covenant that I will make with the house of Israel
after those days, saith the Lord. I will put my law in their hearts,
and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people. And they shall not teach every
man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the
Lord, for all shall know me from the least to the greatest. For
I will be merciful to their unrighteousnesses, unrighteousness, and their sins
and their iniquities will I remember no more. In that he saith a new
covenant, he hath made the first old." One of the promises that
we read here, if it was the only promise we
had, would be sufficient to give God's children comfort and assurance
throughout our life. God says, I will be their God. If God is your God, what more
could you want? If God is your God, what more
could you need? And that's one of these exceeding
great and precious promises. I will be to them a God, and
they shall be to me a people. Can we truly appreciate what
it is to have these precious promises that God promising to
us? You notice in this covenant,
God speaks as some of the old writers used to say. He talks
like God. He talks like God talks. He says,
I will and they shall. I will and they shall. Nothing's
going to impede God. Nothing's going to stop God.
When God says, I will, it'll take place. It'll happen. I will
and they shall. I will be to them a God and they
shall be to me a people. How in the world could we ever
truly appreciate these precious promises In this promise we see
provision. If God promises to be my God,
then He will provide for me. He will provide for me. Whatever
I need, God will provide. If God promises to be my God,
He will protect me. Whatever danger, whatever harm
may come my way, God will protect me. If God promises to be my
God, then I shall experience manifold blessings. God says, I will be their God. And then you add to the promise
His oath. God who cannot lie, who cannot
change, He promises, and then so that you and I might have
a strong consolation. We might be firm in our faith
and in our assurance. He takes an oath. Can you imagine
that? God takes an oath. And because
He cannot swear by anyone greater, because there's none greater,
He swears by Himself. We read that also here in Hebrews
chapter 6. The Apostle said, We have two
immutable things. Two immutable things. Two things
that cannot be altered. Two things that cannot change.
We have two immutable things in which it was impossible for
God to lie, to change. We... Now, listen to me just
a moment. We might have a strong consolation. Might have strong comfort, strong
assurance. Who are the we? That we, who
are the we? Well, he tells us, doesn't he? Who have fled for refuge to lay
hold upon the hope set before us. The hope, who is the hope? Christ. Christ, have you fled
for refuge to lay hold by faith upon the hope upon Christ who
is set before us? I trust you have, and if you
haven't, that you will, by God's grace, even now, not tomorrow,
but now. He is a refuge. Third, if you
still have your Bible open here to 2 Peter, God calls faith precious. Faith. 2nd Peter chapter 1 and verse
1. Simon Peter, a servant and an
apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious
faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Savior, Jesus
Christ. God calls faith precious. The believers to whom Peter wrote
had obtained, had obtained faith that was like that of the apostles,
like precious faith. Now Paul calls this faith common
faith, common faith. Sometimes that word common is
used to mean or to describe things that everybody has. But that's
not what the Apostle Paul means when he calls this faith a common
faith. He's not saying it's common to
all men. Now that's what most people believe.
Most religious people believe. I'd say you could go into over
90% of the churches in this city today and ask the preacher and
the people in the pews, do all people have faith? And the Scripture
says all men have not faith. And you could ask most people
in most churches that question. Does everyone have faith? And
they would say, yes. Everyone has faith. Everyone
has faith. Yet the Scripture says all men
have not faith. This faith, when Paul calls it
common, there are things about this faith. That everyone who
is given this faith, it's the same faith. It's the same faith. And that which is common is,
first of all, they have all obtained faith. They didn't have it. They were not born with it. Not
the first birth, at least. They were not born with this
faith. It is faith that they have obtained. Faith which was
given unto us. That?s what Paul said in Ephesians
2 when he said, ?For by grace are you saved through faith,
that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.? In Philippians
1 and verse 29 he also said this, and he?s writing to believers
when he makes this statement. He says, ?For unto you is given.?
He?s talking to believers. Here?s something you?ve been
given. ?For unto you is given in the behalf of Christ... Now
listen, not only to believe on His name. Yes, it's given to
you to believe on His name. But it's not only given unto
you to believe on His name, but also to suffer for His sake. God has given you this privilege
to suffer for His sake. But not only has He given you
that, He's given you faith. And all that have this faith,
they all have faith in the same object. To me, that's the most
important thing about faith. Don't you agree? A lot of people say, well, I tell
you what, I've got a lot of faith. They have a lot of faith. She
sure has a lot of faith. He has a lot of faith. Faith
in what? Faith in your faith? You can
believe in your faith and die and go to hell. The object. The object. Christ. Christ. Everyone who has this common
faith has obtained it. It's been given unto them, and
everyone who has this common faith has the same object of
their faith, and that is Christ. Looking unto Jesus, the author
and finisher of our faith. He's the author, that means the
originator. And He is the finisher of our
faith. He's the beginning and the end. He's the Alpha and the Omega
and everything in between. The object of our faith. God
sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that
the world through Him might be saved. He that believeth is not
condemned. And everyone who has this common
faith, not only has obtained it, not only has the same object
of their faith, but everyone who has this faith, now listen,
obeys and pleases God. Everyone. You say, where do you
get that? Well, this is His commandment. This is God's commandment. Here
it is. that we should believe on the
name of His Son, Jesus Christ. That's His commandment. You believe
on the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, you obey Him. The obedience of faith. And to
please Him, remember in Hebrews 11 and verse 6, the scripture
says, without faith, it's impossible to please God. Nobody pleases
God who does not have faith in Christ, but those who do, please
God. And number four, they all have
faith that works by love. Everyone who has obtained this
faith, it's the same common faith. It's a faith, it's not a dead
faith. It's not just an ascent of the
mind. But it is a faith that works
by love. By love for Christ. The love
of Christ constraineth us, the scripture says. Now here's something
that is not common to this precious faith. I gave us four things
that is common, but here's something that's not common. The degree. The degree. A person may have
this faith and have little faith. A person may have this faith
and have great faith. And when our Lord was here, two
people he said had great faith. And they were the most unlikely
people in the world. They were Gentiles. They were
not Jews. One was that Syro-Phoenician
woman, you remember. When she came to the Lord, at
first he didn't answer her word. And then when he did, he said,
it's not lawful to take the children's bread and cast it to the dogs.
Now that would have been the end for most people. He called me a dog. Remember Brother Mahan had a
message one time, he entitled, All Dogs Go to Heaven. All dogs
go to heaven. That's what Mephibosheth said,
wasn't it, when he came to David. David had fetched him up. David
was the king, and Mephibosheth came into his presence, and he
said, I'm just a dead dog. That's all. A live dog's not
worth a whole lot, but a dead dog? A dead dog? Truth, Lord, But even the dogs
eat the crumbs that fall from the master's table. Great, great
is our faith. And I would say this too, that in the same person, the
degree of our faith is not always the same. Sometimes we too have
little faith, and sometimes maybe our faith is a little bit greater.
But that doesn't mean it's always greater. I believe it fluctuates
myself. Alright, here's the fourth thing.
And this is the one. Turn back with me to Isaiah 43. This is the one that I didn't
say before in Isaiah chapter 43. And I guess I was just blind. But it was here all the time.
And I've preached from this passage. And you've read it, you're familiar
with it. Precious, precious passage of
scripture that speaks to us of God's promises, His faithfulness. Here in Isaiah 43, verse 1. But now thus saith the Lord that
created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, fear
not, for I have redeemed thee. I have called thee by thy name,
thou art mine. When thou passest through the
waters, I will be with thee, and through the rivers, they
shall not overflow thee. When thou walkest through the
fire, thou shall not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle
upon thee. For I am the Lord thy God, the
Holy One of Israel, thy Savior. I gave Egypt for thy ransom,
Ethiopia and Sheba for thee. Now notice, since thou wast precious
in my sight. God's people. God calls his people
precious and clearly they are his people here. Those that he
called those that he redeemed, he refers to as his people. Thou was precious in my sight. Thou has been honorable and I
have loved thee. Now the scriptures reveal that
from the same lump, I believe that's the term that is used,
the same mass, some are made vessels unto honor They are from
the same fallen race of Adam. Their preciousness is not in
themselves. It's not in themselves. It is
not that they by nature had intrinsic value more than others. That's not what God is saying
at all. But God sees them as precious
in His sight because He chose them He adopted them into His
family and He has blessed them with all spiritual blessings
in Christ. And Christ sees them as precious
in His sight for they are His bride given to Him by His Father. He desired them to be His and
undertook for them in eternity and came and died for them in
time. They make up His jewels. his
treasure and are precious. God calls his people precious. He calls you. You're one of his
children tonight. He calls you precious. Now the
world may not have time for you. The world may not think much
of you. And usually that's the case with God's people. But God
calls his people precious. Now here's the last one, if you
will turn with me to Psalm 116 and verse 15. Psalm 116 and verse 15. Precious in the sight of the
Lord is the death of his saints. Last Tuesday afternoon, it was
almost five o'clock I believe, and I was in this part of the
building working on some CDs. And I received a telephone call
and a text at almost the same time telling me that one of God's
children that I knew had just died. And I tried to stop, because
it seemed like, as I understood the message at least, this brother
had just died. He had just died. And I told
myself, sit down, sit down, and think of what he just experienced. I thought of a number of things,
but I want to give you four things. I thought of a number of things,
and let me say this, none of them were bad. Not one of them. The first thing I thought of,
he just now, I mean just now, he just now looked upon the one
who loved him and gave himself for him. He just now looked into
the face of Jesus Christ, his Savior. And you know, when the
Lord appeared to his disciples on the day of his resurrection,
in the evening, he appeared to the eleven. They were afraid
at first, but then he showed them his hands and his side. And the scripture says, then
were the disciples glad. My brother, he just looked into
the face of Jesus Christ. Number two, he just now joined
the heavenly choir singing praises to the Lamb of God. He just took
his place. Remember Ralph Barnard telling
that story. I think he probably made it up, but he said he dreamed
a dream. And in his dream he died and
he went to heaven. And he said it was like a big
stadium and all these people, just thousands of people around.
And the center was the Lamb. And he looked for a place to
sit down. And he saw there was an empty
seat way up there. Way up there. Cheap seats, as
they say. But there are no cheap seats
in heaven. But he said he made his way up there. Made his way
up there. And when he got there, he said
he looked down and There was his name, Rolf Barnard. And he took his place and he
began to sing. He said, I knew the hymn, I knew
the song, I've been singing it all of my life. Worthy is the
lamb who has redeemed us unto God by his blood. I thought, my brother, he's just
taken his place in the heavenly choir. And number three, He just
now left forever, He just now left forever everything to do
with sin. I mean everything to do with
sin. the old sinful nature that he
had. He left that behind, plus all
the consequences that are in this world because of sin. Sorrow,
tears, sickness, disappointments, death, misunderstandings, all
the thousands of things that trouble us and grieve us. He
just left all that behind. And number four. He just now
entered into eternal fellowship with the saints already there. And this brother was a pastor,
had been a pastor. And surely, I thought, he's reunited
with people that he pastored. And what joy it must be to be
in the presence of God, worshiping God with those Probably many
that heard the gospel from that brother. What a blessing. As
I said, the scripture says, precious in the sight of the Lord is the
death of his saints. And you just think of what a
saint experiences when he breathes his last here. And no matter
how many things you think of, I tell you what, they will all
be good. Good. I pray the Lord would bless
these words to us tonight. We'll sing.