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Oh Jesus, precious Savior, oh, when wilt thou return our hearts with woe familiar to thee our Master turn. Our woe is thine. Lord Jesus, our joy is in thy love.
But woe enjoy all lead us to thee in heaven above.
Hymn #23 in the appendix.
Nsnoise.
When they gave all the water and all our help and Thunder.
And Father we.
I suggest we start at verse 13.
First, Peter one verse 1344. Gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children. Not fashion yourselves according to the former lusts and your ignorance, but as he which has called you as holy, so ye be ye holy in all manner of conversation.
00:05:02
Because it is written, Be ye holy, for I am holy. And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons, judges, according to every man's work, passed the time of your sojourning here in fear. For as much as you know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold from your vain conversation received by tradition from your Father's, 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.
Who was manifest in these last times for you? Who by him to believe in God that raised him up from the dead?
And gave him glory, that your faith and hope might be in God, seeing you have purified your souls, and obeying the truth through the Spirit, unto unfeigned love of the brethren. See that you love one another with a pure heart, fervently being born again, not a corruptible seed, but of incorruptible by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever. For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away.
But the word of the Lord endureth forever, and this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.
And God brings the truth before us, says to our position and as to what is ahead and our standing and our hope. And whatever aspect of the truth it might be, there's always something to exercise our consciences and our hearts concerning our walk. There's a practical effect that the enjoyment of the truth is going to have on our lives.
And we've been speaking much from the first part of this chapter concerning our hope concerning the inheritance, looking forward to the appearing, the day of manifestation, and so on. But now he brings before us some some very practical statements in connection with our life and our conduct as those who have this wonderful hope and who ought to be living in view of that day of manifestation.
You have a similar thought in first John chapter 3 where he speaks of the time when we're going to be with and like Christ.
And there again it's the appearing. We know the change will take place at the Rapture. But in first John three he says when he shall appear, that's the day of manifestation. We shall be like him, for we shall see Him as he is.
And then he says, And every man that hath this hope in him.
Purifiers himself even as he is pure. That is in the measure in which you and I are living in the reality and the enjoyment of our hope and what is ahead. It's going to have a practical purifying effect on our lives. And so he exhorts us to gird up the loins of our mind. Be sober. He exhorts us as to obedient children, not fashioning ourselves after the former loss. Be holy.
And so on. Practical holiness, all these things are exhortations in view of what has gone before. That's what the wherefore indicates takes us back to what has gone before. And now he says this. The reality of these things in your soul will have, ought to have, and will have a practical effect even on your thought process.
This exhortation he begins with, I suggest, is really something that we need to take heed to. And I want to just say a little word, word of warning to parents who send their children to public school. And I've sent my children to public school. So I'm not saying a word against public school, but we need to be very watchful and careful because there is a great deal today in the public school system and in the world we live in.
That teaches us to empty our minds. We are never taught to empty our minds. We are taught to gird up the loins of our mind. We are taught to bring every thought into captivity and to the obedience of Christ. And it's done very insidiously in the Western world. It's done under the guise of relaxation. And I know even in the school system in the area I come from in eastern Ontario.
00:10:01
They get the children to sit in a circle and they get them to close their eyes and they get them to try to empty their minds.
And they say it teaches them to relax and so on. But if we try to empty our minds, brethren, then Satan's gonna have lots of things to fill the vacuum nowhere to fill up our minds with Christ. We're to store up our minds with the word of God. And that's really the thrust of the verse in Colossians chapter 3 that says set your I know the King James says affections, but.
Perhaps better translated. Set your mind. If you have a margin, you have a note to that effect, and Mr. Darby translates it that way.
Set your mind on things above where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God.
That is what we are to do. And so this is girding up the loins of your mind. And we're not to allow wandering thoughts either. Not only are we not to empty our minds, but we're not to allow our minds just to run every which way we would like them to run. Because if you allow that, Satan's got lots of tributaries to take those minds down that are going to lead to very bad things. And so we need to be careful. Satan seek seeks to use the mind to.
Fill us with anything but Christ, and if we allow that, then it's going to lead to unholy, unrighteous actions in our lives that will not be for our good or for His glory.
And I think that's the thought. And girding up the loins of the mind is to control your thoughts. Don't let them go helter skelter. Anyway, don't let.
Uh, the media control your thinking. It happens a lot more than people realize here in this country. And sometimes we as believers allow ourselves to let, uh, let our thoughts be controlled by the media or any other form this world has. We need to renew our thoughts with the word of God. And it's interesting going through the epistles almost.
Every epistle has something about our minds, our thoughts.
Here it is, gird up the loins of your mind. You know, they used to have long flowing robes and when they wanted to walk they had to control that. And so they gathered up their long flowing robes and they had some kind of a belt to put around it to control it.
We need to have our thoughts controlled too and brought into subjection to the Word of God.
Look at a verse in Second Corinthians chapter 10.
For one instance, because it's it's filled. The Word of God is filled with the.
Exhortations about our minds and our thinking. We are what we think about. As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. 2nd Corinthians 10 and verse.
Verse four, it says the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. There's strongholds of teaching.
In this world, humanism is one major stronghold of teaching in the Western world.
And it has a lot more effect on us than I think we like to realize at times, brethren. Verse five says, casting down imaginations or reasonings, and every high thing that exalted itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. How important to be careful of our thinking.
Have right thoughts about things. It's another verse, a couple of verses in Philippians chapter 4 that speak about the same thing.
Three that didn't.
Verse six of Philippians 4. Be careful for nothing.
But in everything by prayer and supplication, with Thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God.
And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts.
And mines, there's the thought processes through Christ Jesus. So when we've discharged the things that weigh us down, what do we occupy our minds with verse 8. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are a good report.
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If there be any virtue and if there be any praise, think on these things. There's quite a filter to put your thoughts through. Is it true?
Is it honest? Is it just? Is it pure? That'll filter out an awful lot in this world. Don't let your minds be occupied with stuff that is impure. That is not true.
It seems to me quite a scary thing in today's world, that truth and fiction is mixed together in a way that people begin to not be able to distinguish what's true and what's false. That is scary.
Brethren, the Lord give us a love of the truth.
That's what in Second Corinthians or Two Thessalonians 2 is mentioned.
Those that have not received the love of the truth will be deceived.
In the coming day by the Antichrist. So we need to be careful of our thoughts. One other place, I know there there's lots that could be mentioned, but in Hebrews 12, I think Don mentioned this this morning.
But Hebrews 12 and it says.
In verse 3 after Speaking of the Lord Jesus.
And how he went through the cross. He endured the cross.
The word is verse three. Consider him.
The old version of the Spanish reads it this way, translating it literally. Reduce your thoughts to him.
Instead of being thinking about ourselves.
Think about him.
Control your thoughts, don't let them go helter skelter after anything.
That is very important in today's world. I know myself, and I have to say to the dear young people, it's not easy. You have to learn to discipline your mind. Sometimes I'm reading the scriptures itself and my mind is way off over in some other direction, and I have to stop and bring my mind back. That's what it means to gird up the loins of your mind, control your thinking processes, bring them into subjection.
To God's thought, God's Word, how important?
And that's the key, because in Ephesians it's the first part of the armor that's mentioned.
Interesting, isn't it, Because it seems to be the foundation or criteria for effectively taking up all the rest of the armor and utilizing it in a proper way. And it says there, let your loins be gird about with truth. And so, as Bob said, it's not just bringing our thoughts into a certain circle of things, but it's based on the word of God. We've got to have a basis for our thought process.
If it's go, if we're going to think on the things that are pure and lovely and holy and so on. And that's why it's important, as we used to be exhorted by others when we were young people, to fill up our minds with the word of gods. And someone used to use the illustration of you fill a glass with water to the brim, there's no room for anything else. You fill the cup with wheat to the brim, there's no room for the chaff. That's what we need to do, and it's by reading.
The Word of God. We cannot have right thoughts unless they are based on the Holy Scriptures.
Somebody said my mind is like a sieve, the water just runs right through it. But how do you do with mine like that? You put the sieve right into the bucket of water and it'll stay full of water.
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Help Cat.
Umm live properly without a proper hope.
So we have to have our minds on the right object.
And steadfastly so, but as he says in the verse, and hope, Mr. Darby translates it hope with perfect stead and fastness. What a nice expression that we are to put our hearts on our home that is set before us, that is at the end, as the Lord Jesus did, is brought before us in Hebrews.
12 who, for the hope that was set before him, endured And uh, so it is with us too. We.
Man needs a hope if there's no hope, if there's, as he would say, no light at the end of the tunnel, there is a constant depression that comes upon the soul if it has no hope. But thank God, he's given us a hope. It's not that we don't have one, but He has given us a hope, and it's a perfect one. And so it's what we need to walk steadfastly toward the end.
When Caleb.
And Joshua's spies went into the land of Israel.
Caleb, 40 years after that, in fact more than 40 years by the time it came around because they'd always been in conflict in the land. He still had that piece of property that he had seen over 40 years before. And he says to Joshua, Joshua, I want it, let me have it and I'll fight for it. And so it is that a proper hope one can lay hold of and just.
Not give up, but keep on with it.
Say, because we've mentioned several times that Peter is the wilderness book. And if we were to go back to the 16th of Exodus where you have the children of Israel at the beginning of the wilderness journey, they, they get discouraged, they start to murmur and complain. They were looking back in the wrong direction. They were looking back to Egypt and Moses cried to the Lord. And what did the Lord tell Moses? He said tell the people to turn around. They're looking in the wrong direction.
And when they turned around and looked out over the wilderness, it wasn't particularly to see the miles and miles of hot sand and rock and.
All the things that were between them and the promised land. But it tells us there that they saw the glory of the Lord in the cloud.
And as long as they had that in view and the hope of the promised land.
Then they were encouraged to go on step by step when they started looking at present circumstances.
When they started looking back and hankering for the fish and so on, and I've eaten the fish and the melons and the leeks and the cucumbers of, of Egypt, I can well understand from a natural standpoint why they wanted to go back and get some. They're very good. But the point was they hankered after that, which in tight was the food of the world, but it was the result of losing sight of what was ahead.
As you say, Brother Dawn, man is made in such a way that to persevere, whether in natural things or spiritual things, he needs a goal, He needs a hope. Why does a person give up present advantage if they don't have an eye to the future? Why does a young fellow live in a room that doesn't have kitchen privileges and he heats his macaroni on a hot plate and doesn't go out with his friends when he like? Why does he do that? Well, he's studying, he's saving his money and he's getting his degree and he's got that in view. Graduation day and a job and so on.
If he loses sight of that, he's going to, he's not going to give up present advantage. And that's why it says in Proverbs where there is no vision, the people cast off restraint. And brethren, why is it sometimes we get so discouraged or we become so overwhelmed with the conditions of in our lives or in the world? Why is it we hanker after the things of the world and in our hearts go after those things?
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It's because we lose sight of the hope. It's because we lose sight of the end and the goal. And that's what Peter is setting before these these these believers. They'd lost everything. No use looking around or back. But he says you've got something hope to the end or hope in a steadfast way. Don't give up that hope because it is in Hebrews assure and a steadfast hope. But if you just allow me to back up, we missed the word sober.
And I want to make a comment because Bob was talking about it the other day in his meeting and it's very important. But let's just say this before we comment on the word in its context, it doesn't mean.
That Christians go around with long faces, does it, Bob? No, we don't want to go around like we're sad and justice always attending a funeral. No, a Christian ought to be a happy person and our faces and our countenances, countenances ought to show our joy in the Lord. But when he uses the expression sober in the Scriptures, it's in contrast to the spirit of the world, which is frivolity and amusement. This world is drunk today.
With frivolity and amusement and people going after pleasure. And it's Satan's way of keeping the unbeliever insensitive to his ruin and keeping the Christian from enjoying their portion in Christ and their hope. And we want to be very careful that we don't get caught up in the spirit of the age. There is a sobriety that is characteristic of a Christian, but it's a sobriety that we can practically manifest with a happy smile on our faces.
Go one step back again, further talking about disciplining our minds.
Most of our older ones, they had a job before they were retired.
I remember I had the job. I had to remember numbers and dials and drawings and I had to put them properly together. When I punch in in the morning, my mind had to be set on the drop that I was going to do that day, and that job had to show results in the evening after my 8 hours were over whatever I worked and these results were evaluated.
By my boss, not every day but at least every week. But that's the same with us. Our mind in the morning should be set on prayer 1St and then have a word with the Lord or read a scripture that would set us well on the day and that would even help us to do our our job properly because it reminds us from scripture what we are supposed to do.
Then our mind is sent that on our God too, and the same Avenger and the house when we have conversation, a very good thing to keep our mind.
Disciplined when we talk to neighbors usually, and that's what's the thing I heard in the East Germany when they lived under Co communism, people were so afraid to talk to each other, so they talked about nothing about the weather, mainly that they couldn't transgress.
While we have the liberty of the Lord, we can freely be occupied with the things of God.
And let us discipline our mind that way.
Soberness is acting in the full capacity and capability that God has given us. When a person is drunken, they are impaired in their ability for soberness, and I say a person.
Uh shows that he is drunk by the way he talks and by the way he walks.
And in the same way we are exhorted not to be drunk with wine, but to be filled with the spirit. And the person that is filled with the spirit is noticeable by the way he talks.
And by the way, he walks as well. And that's what is to be characteristic of the believer, because the Spirit of God is the one that's to guide us. Lord, help us, brethren, we are living in serious days, really serious days, and we need to do it with the full capacity that God has given us.
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I'd like to ask a question in verse 13. What is the grace that is to be brought unto us at the revelation of Jesus Christ?
As well as the world.
Is not occupied with Jesus Christ.
This is an important admonition for my soul.
I don't deserve this.
Occupation.
Tremendously important. Valuable.
To think on him.
His word, His ways, His thoughts, may they be my thoughts. I don't deserve it.
Because I have a different mind which likes to see what's going on in the world, newspapers and etcetera, etcetera.
But God would have.
My mind.
Centered around the thoughts, centered around the person.
Of the man.
Who stayed?
Firm and said.
At the end of his prayer and Father not.
My will, but thy will be done.
As to the matter.
I'm going to Calvary's cross or not.
Thankfully, he said.
Thy will be done.
What matchless grace this is.
That this man who never departed.
From the will of God.
And saw what was coming at the cross of gallery already. He saw and knew about that.
The Lord laid on him the iniquity of us all. Yes, he knew that. And he said, If it be thy will, take this cup from me.
You think on him?
And his words.
And his ways?
Let that occupy your heart and your mind.
Question. I would just suggest that at least part of the thought here in this expression is that, well, let me say this first. This morning we mentioned that one of the things that the day of manifestation will do is show the perfection of all God's ways with us in a way that we haven't seen and understood before.
But another thing it will do is to give us a sense and understanding of the grace of God like we've never had before.
When we see everything manifest in the light of His presence and His sense of what is commendable and so on, we're going to look back, brethren, and we're going to realize that everything in our lives was a result of the grace of God, not just our salvation. But if there was any response in our hearts and any fruit for His glory in our lives, it was God that worked in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure.
Maybe I can use a simple illustration. The Lord said that a cup of water given in His name would not lose its reward in that day.
But when it's all revealed and manifested in that day, we're going to realize that first of all, He provided the cup of water. Secondly, He provided the opportunity to give it. Thirdly, He put the desire in our hearts to give it. Well, brethren, that's going to give us an appreciation of the grace of God that we've never had before. No wonder we're going to cast our rewards back at His feet and give Him all the glory.
00:35:29
And So what a day of not only glory will be revealed, but grace will be revealed and manifested to our souls like we've never known and appreciated it before.
Maybe that's at least part of the thought in this expression. But maybe you have a thought, Bob. Oh, that's nice.
They enjoyed too, in connection with that in John 17.
Umm John 17.
And verse 23 in the Lord's Prayer here he says to the Father, I and them endow in me, that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that thou has sent me, and has loved them as thou has loved me.
This is the the world may know, uh, brings before us the day of the revelation of the Lord. That's when the world will know. And when the world knows, it will see us in association with the Lord Jesus and the world will say he loves them as he loves the Son. And that will be one of the at least expressions of the grace of God.
That Jim has been talking about everything that will be our place then is the result of the grace of God. And so it won't be because to our glory and honor, but it will be to him. And one of the things that will be revealed that the world will see is he loved them as he loved his own Son.
Don, give us that last statement. I I did. You dropped your voice. He loved them as he loved his own son. Yes, thank you.
To walk as obedient children are children of obedience, not because we're required to or it's a hard thing, but when we think of His love, of his grace, of the hope that's before us and all that we're going to share in that day. Isn't that really, brethren, the springboard or the motivation that there would be obedience in our lives now it's not hard to obey when we think of.
The person that loves us, what's provided and what's at the end and his well done and the fact that it's all going to be for his glory in the end. Is it hard to act in obedience in that way? And when we think of those things, and so he says as obedient children, and then he warns us. And not fashioning yourselves according to the former loss and your ignorance. Don't go back to the way you acted before.
Don't go back to what you were before. Keep the goal in view again with Israel.
They looked back too many times. Thank God they never got back into Egypt.
They never got back their positionally, but in their hearts they returned unto Egypt, into Egypt and it caused some sad consequences in their history.
In Ephesians chapter 2 it speaks of uh.
Our condition.
Before the grace of God.
Came into the picture and at the end of verse two, it speaks of us as children of disobedience. That's what's characteristic of the man without Christ. But now we are children of obedience. That's what's characteristic. You have a life and a nature that loves to obey God.
You're a believer in the Lord Jesus. That's the life you have.
And as we were mentioning earlier in verse two, it's the obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. It's the obedience of Jesus Christ. We're sanctified into that. So now the exhortation is to as obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts and your ignorance. So that's what's characteristic of.
00:40:27
The believer in the Lord Jesus. It's another verse or two I'd like to point out in the book of Romans, uh, first of all in chapter one.
And uh.
Verse 5.
He says by whom we have received grace and apostleship.
For obedience to the faith among all nations. For His name. And look at the last chapter of Romans.
And verse.
25 and 26.
Now to him that is of power to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ.
According to the revelation of the mystery which was kept secret since the world began.
But now is made manifest by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God.
Made known to all nations for the obedience of faith.
That's what's characteristic of faith. You really have faith in God. You're going to want to obey Him.
And if you don't obey him, it shows a lack of faith.
And so we were speaking this morning about Abraham. He trusted God, and when God asked him to do something that was extremely difficult, there was not even a second thought in another direction. He simply obeyed. How important that is in the life of the believer to obey implicitly, unquestionably, the Scriptures. You know, sometimes we try to.
Maybe we don't understand Scripture very well and perhaps that leads to problems in our lives, but we need to pay attention to the details of Scripture and sometimes give the illustration. And I have enjoyed it that when the Lord Jesus used Peter's boat to preach from the water's edge and afterwards to recompense Peter, he said launch out into the deep for a haul.
Of fishes and let down your Nets.
Peter maybe thought that he was a fisherman and the Lord was a Carpenter, and he said we fished all night and have taken nothing. But he said, that thy word I will let down the gnat.
What happened? He let down the net, but the net broke because of the multitude of fishes.
When we don't pay attention to the details of Scripture, we think we know a little bit better.
We get into problems. So they called their their friends and they brought two boats and they both just about sunk. There's a lot of problems connected when we don't pay attention in simplicity to the word of God. The Lord give us that kind of implicit obedience to His Word.
Involves the will.
And man is disobedient because he self willed.
But God has one, and only one perfect will.
And he forms children of obedience to do that one and only perfect will. So as the children of God, our place is to say, as the Lord Jesus, the perfect man did, teach me thy will. Oh my God, that's what we need. We need to know His will as his children so that we can do it.
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And the Lord Jesus whole life could be summarized in one sense. And I delight to do thy will, O my God, because he never acted as having a will of his own in his life of obedience. But the world is lawless.
Thus means it is self willed.
And it seeks to be independent, which is the other aspect of it. Self will and independence are what characterize man in his sinful condition. But the child of God is like the Lord Jesus as a man, perfect independence and perfect in obedience. He never acted just because something was good. He never acted because there was a need.
As for example, when he was told that Lazarus was sick.
He waits, He doesn't act. He might have said, oh, Lazarus is sick, we better get there right away and see what we can do, which is what the natural man would think and perhaps do. But he waits until it's the Father who gives the instruction, and then he acts.
And uh, so it says to when he was tempted, he was always tempted to get outside the will of God and act on his own will. And so when he is presented with temptation, as has been said before, we know the will of God through the Word of God. And he always responded, giving the will of God in the matter by the word of God, and he would not even for the necessary food for his body.
Act outside the will of God. He said. Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Father. And so even in the matter of eating, Satan tries to get the Lord Jesus out of his Father's will because he had been without food for 40 days. But he he doesn't rise to that temptation.
And shows us the perfect pattern that we need for our lives.
Which begins with that same purpose of heart, to do the Father's will.
And not exercise the will of our own.
Mm-hmm.
Well, practical to characterize us as well, isn't it? And so that's what we get in the, uh, 16th verse. But I, I just, uh, 15 and 16, but I, I just want to say a word about this word conversation. Now I realize that Mister Darby has a footnote that says that this word conversation really encompasses our whole manner of life. And certainly that's right. And that's the way we have it many times in our English Bible.
But if you'll just allow me for a moment to focus in on this word conversation, because it's part of it.
It's more than that, but it's part of it. And you know, we've been talking about that which we.
Here and listen to that doesn't encourage us, it distracts us. It spoils and hinders our fellowship.
With the father and with the son. And we need to be very careful what we listen to, but we also need to be very careful what we say.
What is our conversation in our first of all, in our interactions with one another? What do we discuss and we and speak of? Do we speak of that which edifies and encourages us? If our thoughts are governed by the Word of God, as we were saying earlier, out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. And David said, Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord.
And so we need to be careful what we say that our conversation and our words might be edifying. What about in our interaction with, uh, the world, our neighbors, those we go to school with, those that we work with, you know, the, in the, uh, early church, their conversation betrayed them. They took knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus. And so often in the word of God, we find that what a person said.
Made a statement as to who they were and and and so on. And so I just say yes, our whole manner of life and we need to have some exhortations and comments.
00:50:02
In that regard. But what about our conversation? But you know, if we listen to bad conversation, we're gonna speak bad conversation too. What comes out is usually what we have taken in, what we hear and what we listen to. And if you fill your ears with things that are unholy conversation and talk that is unholy. And you can get it lots of places by turning some buttons and push, pushing some buttons and turning some dials. And if that is what we feed on, then it's gonna come out through our mouths and we're not going to have holy conversation. I don't mean we can't enjoy natural things and.
And so on. That's not what I'm saying. But is our conversation acceptable in the sight of the Lord?
And for the blessing of others.
By, well, different ways. But one of the important ways that children learn is by imitation.
And any of us that have been parents have realized sometimes that we'll say to ourselves, where did the child ever learn that and suddenly will wake up to the fact that they had been imitating us in some aspect or another of our life.
And so here, when he says be holy for I am holy, he's speaking to us as his children.
And God himself, our Father, is holy. He has given us a holy nature.
And he, as it were, might say to us, imitate me, be what I am. And thankfully, unlike us as natural parents who sometimes are sorry when our children do imitate us and learn from us something that we wish they didn't, children learn values, not only just actions, but what is it that interests us? What is it that's motivating us in our lives? What is it we find our pleasure in very often?
That's how they learn what is of importance to them and what's of value to them in their lives. But as children of God, he says, be holy, for I am holy. And thankfully with God, his pattern is always perfect. We never learn anything from God as a Father which would lead us in the wrong way or in the wrong direction. It's inconceivable.
And so we need to be occupied with our Father, we need to be occupied with the Son, and we will have perfect pattern in which to learn from and follow.
The Psalms it speaks several times. I think it is of the beauty of holiness.
Holiness is beautiful.
To God first of all.
But I often think brother in holiness is separating from that which is contrary to God and delighting in that which is, uh, God's delight as well. That's holiness and.
We all like to go to a wedding. What's so attractive about a wedding?
Swear a woman separates herself from all the rest to just one.
And we enjoy that. It's beautiful.
Holiness is beautiful to God.
And so sometimes, I think sometimes young people get the idea that holiness is so unattainable and never going to be holy in this world. Yes, there is that aspect that it is something we are perfecting in the fear of God, as it says in 2nd Corinthians 7. But.
I think it is helpful to see that our position in Christ is one of perfect holiness.
We have been chosen in Him that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love. That's the position He has set us in. And now according to this verse, we should make it a practical thing as well.
And I sometimes say this, if a girl is going to be married and she has in this beautiful white dress and she goes outside into the parking lot and there's a bunch of cars that are kind of dirty out there, how's she going to walk around those cars? Let me tell you, she's going to be very careful. Why is she so careful? Because she has on a beautiful white dress. And brother, and it's when we enjoy the fact that God has brought us into this place.
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A perfect holiness. That's the position you occupy, not by your own efforts, but by the work of Christ.
Now let's walk in the enjoyment of that, and let's be careful that we walk in holiness of life practically as well. It's beautiful, brother, it really is.
Holiness means a delight in what is good and to abhor what is evil. God finds his delight in good.
But evil is a terrible offense to him, and he abhors it, and he wants his children to find their delight like himself in that which is good, and to have a if I could say re be repulsed by what is evil.
The flesh loves.
Evil.
The flesh loves it. That's why if we live in the flesh, we go after what the flesh wants. But as God's children, having God's divine nature, we have been given that which does delight in good and is abhorrent in its nature to that which is evil. And so he says, be holy as I am holy.
And part of what helps us in that is in the next verse he says, if you call on the Father.
Who, without respect to persons, judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear. That is, we live before the eye of holy God our Father.
And we need to live before him with proper respect of himself.
A lot of times children in their speech habits and patterns sometimes show that they don't have a correct respect.
For the place of the Father.
In Proverbs chapter one it says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, and a little few chapters later it says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. There's no man on earth and there's no man that has ever lived who has understood wisdom or knowledge, who didn't give God.
At the foundation of it all, His right place. Nothing is right, nothing in our thoughts is right, nothing in the order of our lives is going to be right unless it begins with God having His proper place of respect in our souls. It all begins with God. And so he says here. Our Father is God, He is holy. He will act toward us even as His children.
In a way that is consistent with himself. And so we better walk with that proper reverence, that proper respect for our Father. If we do not, he doesn't cease to be our father, but he will bring us under his discipline to teach us for our good.
Thought that I have enjoyed in this section of the chapter.
In the Old Testament, and it perhaps is something that Peter must have had in mind as he wrote this, we have in the seven feasts of the of Jehovah, the first feast was the Passover and the next feast that followed immediately really it was connected with the Passover was the Feast of unleavened Bread, and they too went together the.
Passover, of course, was on the 14th day of the first month, and then from that day they measured seven days, an entire complete period. And in those seven days, there was no leaven to be found in their food or in their houses. But it's connected rather than it's important that it be connected. And that's what you see here in these first verses. We're talking about holiness and obedience.
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It's the Feast of unleavened bread. But why do we live this way?
Because we, for as much as you know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold from your vain conversation received by tradition from your Father's, but with the precious blood of Christ. There's the Passover. And so the two things go together there in this chapter. And what gives us power to live as we ought to?
In holiness of life.
Is to realize the cost that the Lord Jesus paid on the cross to bring us into this position of blessing. And sometimes, you know, to eat bread with that has no leaven in it. It's kind of hard, isn't it? It doesn't rise and you put it in the oven, it comes out kind of hard.
People say live without sin, live holy. Come on, that's kind of hard in the world we're living in. That's kind of hard. Why is it hard? It's because we have not kept it connected with the feast of the Passover. It was to be eaten with on at least last, at that first day at least it was to be eaten with the Passover lamb, and that's where the lamb had to be.
Roasted in the fire, it could not be put in water or it could not be cooked in another way. It could not be eaten raw. It had to be roasted with fire. When we look at the Lord Jesus going in to those hours of darkness.
Where the fire burned directly on the land for three solid hours. No complaint from that center cross is the Lord Jesus undertook the judgment of God for our sins. Brethren, it makes the Feast of unleavened bread a real feast when we keep it connected as it properly is. And I say, sometimes our children say, oh, it's kind of hard. Why is it kind of hard?
Because we haven't kept it connected. As Scripture connects together, the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread go right together. The Lord help us to keep it in that connection.
We have in these first two chapters of First Peter at least three times the word precious. And it's interesting the order in which they appear because first of all, he speaks of the precious blood of Christ. That's the basis for everything. And when he speaks of the precious blood of Christ, that's not our estimation of it, that's God's estimation.
Back when the Passover lamb was killed and the blood was sprinkled, it was sprinkled outside the home for the eye of God.
God's eye rested on the blood of the Passover lamb, which spoke to the heart of God.
Of that which He was anticipating, when his Son would go to the cross, and as that Passover, he would offer himself there, and his blood would be shed. And so we find here that this isn't so much our estimation of the blood of Christ, it's God's estimation. Now, brethren, the blood of Christ ought to be precious to our hearts. But aren't you and I thankful that our acceptance before the Father?
Our redemption isn't based on our estimation or value of the blood of Christ.
And not only that, but we're not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold. You know, silver and gold change in value. If we were to go and check the money markets when they reopen on Monday, we might find that the price of silver and gold on the world market is very different than it was a week ago or a month ago or a year ago. Silver and gold change, money changes in value.
Sometimes from day-to-day.
But our redemption is based on something, brethren, that doesn't change in value.
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And the blood of the Lord Jesus is as precious to the heart of God.
As when it was shed at Calvary's cross. But then just to go on with what I said, if you notice in the sixth verse of the next chapter.
Wherefore also it is contained in the Scripture. Behold, I lay and sigh in a chief cornerstone.
Elect precious than he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.
Now here we have something else that's precious to the heart of God, and again, this is God's estimation.
And that's the person of Christ, because it's the person that gives weight to the work.
The blood of Christ is precious because the person of Christ is precious to the heart of God. And isn't it interesting that the first two times you have the word precious in Peter's ministry and there are several times that follow through. It's a word that.
Somewhat unique to Preeter's ministry, but the first two times it's God's estimation.
Of the work and the person of Christ. Aren't we thankful for that? And now he says in the seventh verse of the second chapter.
Unto you therefore, which believe He is precious. Now that's third, isn't it? Again, He ought to be precious to us. But what is it that's going to give us a sense of the preciousness of Christ? It's to, at least in some measure, view it from God's perspective, and to enter into the preciousness of the blood of the of that Lamb, and the preciousness of the person of Christ.
That's going to deepen the preciousness of the work and the person in our own soul. But I say again.
It's his value, it's his estimation first, because that's what we base our hope on.
We have precious faith in the first part of the chapter, too, don't we? Yes, you're right. Thank you. Yeah.
That's what.
Values those things that you spoke about. Yeah, it's nice.
Seven verse again.
It's and there's this brothers discussion of Jim, uh, it made it more price unto you, therefore, which believe, I trust that's 97% of in this room here today.
He Christ is precious, but unto them which be disobedient the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner.
I'm not just sure someone who understands about the stone more than I do might be able to give some more, uh, comments about it, but it's Speaking of Christ.
He from previous verses is Jesus, He is precious. But unto them which disbelief unbelievers do not have the Holy Spirit in them, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same has become the head of the corner.
God says.
Whether you believe it or not.
My son is going to be.
Put in his rightful place, he's going to be the head of the corner.
And we can't change that.
Because God has.
They these matters in his, in his, uh, mind and his affections for his son and I, I'll commit there, quit there.
My comment here that.
The world doesn't value things as God does.
And it's important for us to recognize that because.
We're taught in the Word of God to seek to understand how God puts a value on something and then let that be its value to our own souls.
The world looks in the Lord Jesus in a certain way and says he's worthless.
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They have no use for them. We don't want them, we don't need them, we got rid of them and so on. And it is very, very easy for us in our constant contact with the world to unconsciously take in its value system.
To the loss of our own souls.
But the Word of God is that which teaches us to understand and because we have the right life to appreciate and value things as God values them, and then hold on to them with that value. And so it is with the truths of Christianity. We might be able to lift them and say we believe them, and that might be true of us.
But when we get home to glory and we are going to give an account for the value that we placed on them, When the children came back from the captivity of Israel, they were entrusted with some of the holy things that had been taken into captivity to bring back to the land. And when they got back to the land.
They gave a count each one by number and by weight.
And we will also be giving an account at the end of our journey through the wilderness of those things of the treasure House of God that have been given to us to take through on the journey.
And come to the other end, and we will give an account for them by number and by weight. I'd like to think of it in my own soul this way, that God looks at your heart as a treasure chest, and he puts in your heart treasures concerning Himself and His Son.
And when he you get to the other end, he wants to open up the treasure chest of your heart, and he wants to see in it and mind those things that he has put there of himself and of his son and said, ah, it's here. It's been carried by measure and by weight.
And we hope there's not a lot of.
Of things that we have brought from Egypt.
Back to the land.
That, uh, we're adding to the.
Pressures that we get in the land.
You'll have to leave those at the door.
You won't get to take those in.
I appreciate the value of the blood of Christ and like Jim says, it's God's estimation first of all, that is important. When the destroying Angel went through the land of Egypt, there was only one question that was asked as he went from house to house. Is the blood on the door? If they didn't ask her, nice people living here or or kind of bad people that are living here, Nothing of that.
Only one question is the blood on the door and where the blood was on the door, He passed over that house. There's only one thing that God respects in connection with our salvation to protect us from that awful judgment that's going to fall. It's the precious blood of Christ. Oh brethren, how we need to value that deeply in our souls as of a lamb, without blemish and without spot.
Thank God.
For that Lamb 4 ordained before the foundation of the world, but manifest in these last times.
For you.
Wonderful. God had it all in mind before this world was ever formed.
But let's touch the last verses of this chapter, brethren, before we.
Close because this is the last reading of these meetings and and it's so wonderful this about the word of God now having purified seeing you have purified your souls and obeying the truth. There's that obedience again through the spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren. See that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently. There's those two words for love. One is.
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The filet O they brotherly love and the second one is the.
Divine love that Don was speaking at at the close of his meeting. Those two things go together in our Christian testimony. And then it says, Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever. For all flesh is as grass, and the glory of men as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower falleth away.
The word of our God endureth forever, and this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you. How wonderful to have the Word of God in our hands. What a precious thing it is, and it's so impressive.
How fast life goes by. I look at you young people and it's nice to see you here.
Beauty, strength, intelligence, and But how long is it gonna last? Where will that beauty be in 100 years? Where will that strength be?
It will be all gone. There's one thing that will remain. The word of our God abideth forever. Oh, how important it is. You see, youth.
Don, I've known you for quite a few years. You and I used to go down to South America together when we were younger.
You're not the same today.
The flower has fallen and the grass is withered, but there's something that I still enjoy with you, brother.
It's the word of our God that abideth forever. Isn't it treasure? Isn't it a treasure, brethren, to enjoy something in our hands today? It's gonna be the enjoyment of our lives forever. And that heavenly sphere.
And it's living as we, I think we said earlier in these meetings. And so for all eternity, we're going to have a fresh enjoyment of this blessed book that we hold in our hands. We'll never exhaust it. Now we know in part and we prophecy in part. And I realize that when we get home to glory, that which is in part shall be done away. But I suggest because it's a living book that will never really in a sense, exhaust it and will certainly never tire of it for all eternity.
And rather than to think that the precious things that we have touched on in these meetings, and we've touched on them in a very basic way, we've skimmed the surface of this chapter that we have sought to take up together for our edification. But to think, brethren, that this is one of the very chapters that we're gonna go over in the Father's house, we're gonna understand fully in the Father's house, and the whole word of God is going to be spread before us. You know, man has tried to get rid of the word of God.
They've tried to eradicate it from the face of the earth. They've burned it in bundles and.
Sought to get rid of those who orally propagated it by burning at them, at the stake, and so on.
But they never have, and they never will. Why, brethren, because the originals in heaven.
Forever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven, and So what a prospect, What a hope, brethren.
If we've enjoyed a little bit in these three readings that God is so graciously given us to sit through and share together.
What will the enjoyment of these precious things be for all eternity? Oh, if that doesn't quicken our feet through the wilderness and spur us on, then nothing will. But brethren, we have a hope, as Peter's been saying to us through the pages of the Divine Word.
What a hope it is, what an inheritance it is. What a word we have, brethren. May these things encourage our hearts. I know it's difficult today.
We are still in the wilderness. I know there's some here who perhaps weep within as they think of going back to the grind of life that we've had the privilege of being sheltered from for a few days. You say there's so many trials in my personal life, the family circle, the assembly, at work, at school. But brethren, if we keep this hope before us, I say again, every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself.
Even as he is pure.
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