2 Pet. 1:1-4 OUR PRECIOUS POSSESSIONS
Intro: Five times in his two epistles, Simon Peter mentions possessions that
are precious to the people of God. Now, when we think of something
precious, we think of a thing that is valuable, of something that is to be
cherished, of something that needs to be put under a guard and watched
very closely. We all think of our children as precious. Some even feel that
way about the spouse. We cherish them and want to protect them and we
hold them in high regard. Some of you own things that are precious to you.
It may be a family heirloom, a piece of jewelry or an automobile. Whatever
it may be that you hold precious, you know precisely what I am talking
about.
I remember going to the Smithsonian Institute in Washington. There in
the Museum of Natural History, they have a rock called the Hope Diamond.
This stone is considered to be absolutely priceless. If you ever go there and
view this stone, you will look at it through a thick piece of glass that allows
you to peer into the vault where that diamond is kept. This stone is also
protected by an elaborate alarm system and armed guards. Why go to all
this trouble for a rock? I mean it was big, but it didn't look all that special to
me. The reason? Someone, somewhere considers the Hope Diamond to
be a precious thing.
As believers, there are things which we possess that are truly precious.
Al the material wealth that we esteem will one day perish. All the people we
count to be so precious will also perish from this earth. Even the Hope
Diamond, with all the millions of dollars spent on its protection and
safekeeping will also perish. However, we have been given some very
precious things by the Lord that will never perish or be taken away. I would
like to share these precious things with you tonight. To accomplish this, we
are going to have to travel through both of Peter's epistles. However, it is
a journey worth taking. Notice with me Our Precious Possessions.
I. 1 Pet. 1:7 THERE ARE PRECIOUS TRIALS
1 Pet 1:7, "That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than
of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto
praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ"
A. Peter tells us that the trials of life are very precious things. We maylook at the valleys we are forced to navigate and think that our lives
are horrible things. Yet, Peter tells us that trials have a way of helping
us.
(Ill. Note that Peter refers to the refining process that is used to purify
gold. When we are put to the test in life, it has the effect of removing
the impurities from our lives. Often, it is the trials of life that will bring
us closer to the Lord.)
B. In the valleys of life, we are reminded of several great truths that we
often forget when life is easy. Allow me to share some of them with
you tonight.
1. We are reminded that Jesus is always with us - Heb. 13:5. (Ill.
The Disciples in the storm - John 6:16-20)
2. We are reminded that even our valleys are planned by the Lord -
Rom. 8:28; Isa. 45:7.
3. We are reminded that our trials are helping us grow in the Lord -
2 Cor. 4:17.
4. We are reminded that something better is waiting just down the
way - Rom. 8:18.
5. We are reminded that even when times are bad, God is still good -
Job 1:20-21.
C. The trials and valleys of life are no fun and we would all rather be
spared having to go through them, but when we have gone through
the valley and come out on the other side, we will know the Lord
better than we could have otherwise and we will be stronger in the
faith than we ever could have been.
(Ill. The Disciples would have never known that Jesus could walk on
water if there hadn't been a storm. Shadrach, Meshach and
Abednego would never have known that God would come to their aid
if there hadn't been a fiery furnace. Noah would have never known
that God could keep him safe in the ark if there had never been a
flood. Mary and Martha would have never known that Jesus could
raise the dead if Lazarus hadn't died. The 5,000 would have never
known that Jesus could fed the multitude if they hadn't first become
hungry. The list could go on, but the truth is plain to see. The valley
show us a side of God we could never see otherwise.)
I. There Are Precious Trials
II. 1 Pet. 1:19 THERE IS PRECIOUS BLOOD
1 Pet 1:19 "But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without
blemish and without spot"
A. Peter tells us that the Blood of Jesus is a precious substance. He
means that it is something that is of great price and is to be held in
honor and great esteem.
B. What is it about the blood of Jesus that makes it so special?
1. It is the price of redemption - 1 Pet. 1:19
2. It is the proof of God's love for us - Rom.. 5:8
3. It is the only substance known to God or man that can cleanse
away our sins - Rev. 1:5; 1 John 1:7.
4. It is pure blood that was shed by an innocent men. His blood and
His death were accepted in place of our own by the Father in
Heaven. His blood is precious blood!
C. Since the blood of Jesus is precious, it deserves to be cherished by
the believer. We make much of the cross in our Christian churches.
However, the cross doesn't save anyone! It was what happened at
the cross that makes the difference. It was when the Lamb of God
poured out His life in His blood that sin was forever atoned for, and
redemption completed!
(Ill. There are some that would take the Blood out of the hymnals.
There are those who like to preach a dry cleaned plan of salvation
that contains no references to the blood of Jesus. My friends, those
of us who still cherish the blood need to take our stand on the side of
right and guard the precious blood of Jesus. We must se to it that
there will always be a group somewhere that is preaching and
teaching that the blood, and the blood alone, makes me right with
God. His blood is precious blood and we need to cherish, protect and
proclaim the blood of Jesus.)
I. There Are Precious Trials
II. There Is Precious Blood
III. 1 Pet. 2:6-7 THERE IS A PRECIOUS SAVIOR
1 Pet 2:6-7, "Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I
lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth
on him shall not be confounded. Unto you therefore which believe he
is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the
builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,"
A. Peter now moves on to tell us that Jesus Himself is precious. The
word used here refers to a thing of great value. Peter is telling us that
Jesus is valuable to those who believe. In fact, His value to us is
beyond all human comprehension
B. Allow me to tell you why I believe Jesus is a precious to the saints of
God.
1. Because He loves us - Jer. 31:3; Rom. 8:38-39.
2. Because He cares about us - 1 Pet. 5:7.
3. Because He understands our needs - Heb. 4:15.
4. Because He is always near to help us - Psa. 46:1.
5. Because He paid the ultimate price to save us - John 15:13.
(Ill. You can't put a price on things like that! Men will fail you, those
you love will let you down. People all around you may never
understand you or what you are having to face in life, but there is a
precious Savior named Jesus who can and does understand and
care. He is a precious Savior.)
C. One more thing that makes Him precious to me is the fact that when
I came to Him for salvation, carrying all the baggage of my sins, He
still wanted me. He didn't turn me away, but He saved me by His
grace - John 6:37. Since then, there have been many time that I have
failed and many opportunities that I have wasted, but not once has
the Lord turned me away when I came to Him with a repentant heart.
He has been faithful to forgive and to restore that which I have broken
in my foolishness, 1 John 1:9. When these things are all added up,
it is easy to see why He is called a precious Savior!
I. There Are Precious Trials
II. There Is Precious Blood
III. There Is A Precious Savior
IV. 2 Pet. 1:1 THERE IS A PRECIOUS FAITH
2 Pet 1:1, "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 Saviour Jesus Christ:"
A. Now, Peter moves on to tell us that our faith, that is, our system of
belief is a precious thing as well.
B. Many of us grew up hearing about the cross, the blood and the plan
of salvation made possible through the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore,
we often take what we have in Jesus for granted and fail to realize
how special it truly is. You see, our faith is precious because it is the
only one that is valid in the eyes of God! All the people involved in all
the other religious systems in the world are being deceived by their
false doctrines. There is one, and only one, means of salvation and
that is through faith in Jesus Christ, John 14:6.
C. Our faith is precious because:
1. It is free - Rev. 22:17; Isa. 55:1.
2. It is open to all - John 3:16; Rom. 10:13.
3. It is complete - Heb. 7:25.
4. It is totally the work of God - Eph. 2:8-9; Heb. 12:2.
5. It is foolproof - Acts 16:31.
6. It is eternal - John 6:37; John 10:28.
7. It is something that can be lived - (Ill. In all works based religions,
I would always be worried that I had left out something and that
when I got to the end of the way, I'd be left out. Our salvation, on
the other hand, has been paid in full and we have been given an
internal guide to help us understand the road map (the Bible), and
to get us home - John 14:16-18; 26; John 16:13.)
D. Considering the precious nature of our faith, we should never be guilty
of taking it for granted, but we should promote it and protect it against
the evils of our day. You see, the way we believe is being attacked by
the world. We are called intolerant and narrow-minded because we
say that Jesus is the only way a person can be saved. However,
according to the Bible, we are totally right! Therefore, we must
cherish our faith. How? By living for Jesus with every fiber of our
being! By cherishing and seeing the value in the things He has given
to us. By protecting the faith and passing it on to another generation.
Faith is a precious thing, therefore, let us ever seek to treat it so.
I. There Are Precious Trials
II. There Is Precious Blood
III. There Is A Precious Savior
IV. There Is A Precious Faith
V. 2 Pet. 1:4 THERE ARE PRECIOUS PROMISES
2 Pet 1:4, "Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious
promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature,
having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust."
A. Peter's last statement about precious things is found in this verse. Hetells is that there are some promises of God that are valuable and are
to be held in great esteem.
B. Allow me to just remind you of a few. Some of which I have already
touched on this evening.
1. There is the promise of His Love - Rom. 8:38-39; Jer. 31:3
2. There Is the promise of His Presence - Matt. 28:20; Heb. 13:5
3. There is the promise of His Provision - Phil. 4:19; Matt. 6:25-33
4. There is the promise of His Grace - 2 Cor. 2:9
5. There is the promise of His Heaven - John 14:1-3; Rev. 21:4
C. It has been said that there are over 7,000 promises contained in the
pages of the holy Scriptures. I have never counted them personally,
however I do know this; every promise God ever made, He will bring
to pass! He will never be caught in a lie, because He can't lie - Heb.
6:18. He will never be found unfaithful, because He has the power to
do what He has promised - Rom. 4:21. If God promised it, then you
can take it to the bank!
D. In this world in which we live, there aren't a lot of things that we can
hold on to. People change, their promises fail, but the promises of
God are forever! You can hold onto them for they shall never fail!
That makes them very precious and valuable to the child of God!
Conc: I think it is plain for us all to see this evening that God has indeed
given us some very precious and valuable things. Are you cherishing them
as you should be? Are you guarding the things of God and passing them
along to others so that there will be another generation that knows God and
will walk with Him?
Maybe you need to claim one of His promises tonight, they still work!
Maybe you need to come and thank Him for being faithful to you. He is
worthy of your praise.
