To You He is Precious

1 Peter 2:1-10 To You He is Precious Introduction: Sometimes I’ll turn to my wife, Grace, and out of the blue I’ll say, I really Like you, or I love you, or I’m glad it’s you; or something to that effect. Almost every time she asks, Why? Honestly, this first time it happened I was a bit put off. I thought, What do you mean why? Because I do. But it actually is a great question. It caused me to think about all of her lovely characteristics and why she is precious to me. Peter in these passages has made two statements concerning our relation or attraction to Jesus. He has referred to him first as being good to our taste; and secondly as being precious to us. These statements seem very much like the declarations I make to my wife and I can’t help asking myself and you, why? Why is the Lord good to your taste? Why Is Christ precious to you? In chapter three Peter has told us three main things about the Church: 1. The Church is to grow into salvation. 2. The Church is a spiritual house that offers to God spiritual sacrifices. 3. The Church is to declare the praises of God to the world and the surrounding community. Our power to accomplish this three fold calling will increase in direct proportion to how precious Jesus really is to us. 1. Why Is Christ Precious? a. “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” So the honor is for you who believe.” i. I like the way the NASB reads “This precious value, then, is for you who believe”. ii. Access 1. Christ is precious to us who believe because he is the only reason that we are where we are, that we are who we are. We by nature have no access to the presence of God. But it says here that “through Jesus Christ” we are living stones in the spiritual house of God, that now we can draw near and offer spiritual sacrifices, through Jesus Christ. iii. Assurance we will not be put to shame. 1. He is that anchor to our souls, he is that absolute assurance that, “though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved”. -Psalm 46:2-5 2. “See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire. -Hebrews 13:25-29 iv. If we have placed our hope in Jesus Christ we cannot lose! He who believes on him will not be put to shame! 1. We can have confidence, a sure hope, that whatever happens in this life, that we who have believed in Christ will not be disappointed, or ashamed, we will not be let down! b. See why He is precious? i. It is through him, and only through him, that your sacrifices are acceptable to God. ii. It is through him, and only through him, that you have been brought from darkness to light (from sin and chaos, to righteousness, order and peace). iii. It is through him, and only through him, that Gentiles like us, who had no right or claim to the promises of God have been made heirs of God. 1. “He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. -John 1:11-13 2. We could go on about why he is precious a. He is the bread of life; He is the light of the world; He is Yahweh made flesh (provider, righteousness, healer, strength and protection; our peace; shepherd; God who is present),He is the door to God’s sheepfold; he is the good shepherd; He is the resurrection and the life; He is the way, the truth, and the life; He is the true Vine; he is our great high priest, he is our passover lamb; He is our ransom, He is our righteousness, our sanctification and redemption, He is our propitiation...I could go on. 3. Jesus told a parable one time that describes how precious it really is to inherit the kingdom of heaven. And since he himself is the king of that kingdom and the one who makes it valuable, the parable applies to him too. He said, "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field which a man found and covered up; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field." Notice well: the man does not sell all that he has begrudgingly; he does it joyfully. The reason is because he sees how precious the treasure is. He knows that, whatever he pays for that field, it's a steal. Jesus is worth so much more than anything else in all the world, that every loss endured to have more of him can be endured with joy. 4. Paul gave us a living example of this parable. He said, a. “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ”. -Philippians 3:7-8 b. “Oh, Jesus! Thy power, Thy grace, Thy justice, Thy tenderness, Thy truth, Thy majesty, and Thine immutability make up such a man, or rather such a God-man, as neither heaven nor earth hath seen elsewhere. Thy infancy, Thy eternity, Thy sufferings, Thy triumphs, Thy death, and Thine immortality, are all woven in one gorgeous tapestry, without seam or rent. Thou art music without discord; Thou art many, and yet not divided; Thou art all things, and yet not diverse. As all the colors blend into one resplendent rainbow, so all the glories of heaven and earth meet in Thee, and unite so wondrously, that there is none like Thee in all things; nay, if all the virtues of the most excellent were bound in one bundle, they could not rival Thee, Thou mirror of all perfection.” -Spurgeon c. The precious value then is for you who believe. i. How precious is Christ to you? 2. Proclaim His Preciousness and Excellence a. “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” i. You know everyone is an evangelist for something or someone. Evangelist simply means an enthusiastic advocate. And sadly you don’t have to stir up emotions or boldness for your Apple product, you experience it’s usefulness/preciousness daily. Your mouth is always full of praises for what you value most. 1. Romans 1:16 Jesus is the antidote. b. But how about Jesus? How much is He worth? i. “who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.” ii. Who, “though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.”. iii. Who, “For our sake (was) made to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” c. If he is precious to you, if Christ is invaluable to you, then proclaim to the world why. Tell what Christ has done for your soul! i. Remember, The heart of evangelism is doxological.” - Edmund Clowney 1. Evangelism flows from a heart that is overflowing with praise for the preciousness and excellence of Christ. d. The text explicitly says that God chose us and made us his new people for the purpose of telling people about his excellencies, specifically, about how wonderful it is to be brought from darkness to light. Or to put it another way, we have been chosen in order to declare how precious Jesus is to us. -John Piper e. Tell your story! Everyone is telling their own Good news. Tell God’s good news. (Creation, Fall, Redemption, Restoration.) Tell how God took your life from Chaos to New Creation! i. This is what David is doing in the Psalm that Peter quotes in verse 3. “I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles.The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them. Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack! The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord.” Conclusion: “If you do not feel his preciousness, if you do not desire him like a baby desires milk, examine the roots of your faith and see if they are sucking up life from the precious blood of Christ and the promises of God, or if they are simply curled around the dry rocks of habit, tradition, custom, form, and peer pressure. Is Christ an allurement to your affections, or just duty to be performed? Are you moved by desire for him, or by the expectations of family and church? "To you who believe, he is precious." -John Piper The question we must ask ourselves is: How much is Jesus worth? You cannot bear a credible witness to the value of anything if you do not feel its value. If you ponder how much Jesus is worth to you and why, you will have your own personal authentic testimony. That's what the world needs to hear: Why is Jesus so precious?