Jesus, Priceless Treasure

Return with me please to circle O theater second Peter will be reading the first four verses of chapter 1 rewrites Simon Peter 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. Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, according as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain to 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 we might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust spray together. Father, thank you that in Jesus Christ.

You have poured out blessings beyond measure upon us. You have given us as Paul says, every spiritual blessing in Christ in the heavenly's we marvel at the wonder of what you have given above all else.

Father, you have given us your only son, you sent him to die in our place. You sent him to live a perfect obedience to you that you now count to us your promise that he will come again and receive us to himself, that we will forever be with him.

Thank you father for the wonder of your goodness and grace to us. We pray that your Spirit would teach us even to now that we might know you were deeply more fully. We ask it in Jesus precious name. Amen.

What is your most valued treasure the thing that you cherish above everything else thing that is to you most precious young.

We all have stuff that we cherish things that we value and yet we know that all the stuff is replaceable, it wins disaster strikes. We talk about the fact that things are replaceable. It's the people that were concerned about. We are grateful and we thank God when no one is hurt no one dies is just the stuff because we we value people. We value relationships.

We value our family, our friends, we value intangible things we value our reputation.

We value our standing in the various associations of life near where we value what we deem to be good in society and we are greatly concerned when we see our culture and our society, our nation headed in the wrong directions. In fact, we are currently in the middle of a election cycle, and we hear politicians talking about things like our American values and our family values and what is it that we truly esteem above everything else. What do we value more than anything else. What is for you. Your most priceless treasure.

Is this something that you pursue with all your mind. The apostle Paul made it crystal clear what he thought more than anything else in his letter to the church at Philippi, he wrote. I count everything is lost because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord knowing Jesus was for him pearl of great price that hidden treasure for which he gave up everything he wanted to know Christ above everything else in our text tonight Peter points us to the true value of this precious faith in the exceedingly great and precious promises that are given to us through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. This knowledge is one of the main ideas that Peter is concerned with. In the second letter at least six times.

He refers to this knowledge of God.

Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord says in the very opening salutation. His divine power has given unto us all things that pertain them to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that if called us. We are diligently to add knowledge to our faith so we will be fruitful in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ that we escape the pollutions of the world. He tells us in chapter 2 in the final exultation of the letter is to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Why such a focus on knowing our Lord the best answer is and what Jesus said in that high priestly prayer in John 17 as he was praying he said, and this is life eternal, that they may know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you sent secret to life the way to grow in grace and peace. The fountain of everything we need for life and godliness is the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. So that backdrop, let's dig into some of the specifics of these first four verses of the author of the letter is Simon Peter. If you have the ESV is my say Simeon Peter various ways that that name is used in different manuscripts but it's there. Peter the apostle, the one who was the leader among the disciples. Peter was a leader and yet he presents himself you're not as the apostle but as an apostle, just one among many.

He is an apostle, but he is also in first and foremost a servant identifies himself as servant of Jesus Christ as well as an apostle slave to Christ.

He also places himself among all believers. The addresses the letter to those who have obtained like precious faith with us, or is that ESV translated to those who have obtained a faith of equal standing. We have to be careful as we read this word obtained. Sometimes we read connotation into that as if this were something that we acquired in some way through our own efforts. The Greek word there really has the idea of receiving something and so we need to recognize that this is something we have received, it is a gift from God by faith. But it is something that is as it is a custom micro puts it, he said, faith is a gift from God by the will of God.

Jesus pointed us to this in the opening chapter of John's Gospel when he said that we are born in faith, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

This is a gift from God, and this word that is used here to two and since Peter introduces this way says we have obtained this faith like that.

The faith that he has. It's a word that really has to have the idea of receiving something in a lottery. The same word is used back in acts chapter 1, when they are replacing Judas as the weather this disciples, and says that Judas was allotted part in the ministry is like I think is something that is given and received, so we receive this faith as a gift. Peter is writing to believers to those who have received the gift of faith and is a faith which comes through the righteousness of God and our Savior Jesus Christ. He says out there something interesting in the Greek text there that we can't quite grasp and in the English language and trying to translated this. There's an idiom there where and in the Greek is actually a definite article, the God and when two nouns are put together in connection like that with the definite article they just use the definite article one time, but it connects the two as being equal, and so might translate that this is through the righteousness of the God our Savior Jesus Christ, and it identifies Christ as being God. That's something that's clear throughout the. The New Testament, it made makes it very clear that Jesus is equal with God. In fact, that's the very reason that the Jews wanted to put them to death because he claimed equality with God for himself, but this is something the disciples proclaimed early on. In fact, shortly after his resurrection. When Thomas saw the risen Lord. For the first time you cried out, my Lord and my God. We recited this morning in our worship the Nicene Creed, which we declared our belief in the triune God father son and Spirit equal and substance. So Jesus is our Savior and he is God. He, as Paul says in his letter to the Colossians in Christ dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Christ is God, and it is in him that we have received this wonderful precious faith.

So having identified himself and as neurotic as a writer and identifying those to whom he is writing as fellow believers. Peter then salutes the receivers of this letter with a greeting that is common to almost all the New Testament epistles grace and peace to you. Here Peter adds an interesting phrase he says something that is a clue to this one of the things that he's going to be focusing on throughout this letter. Grace and peace be multiplied to you. Peter longs for believers to grow and to mature and he'll give a lot of attention in the fist first chapter, especially to the development of faith and how Christians should diligently pursue the life of faith and not be negligent to be established in the truth. He tells them that right in front, and that this multiplying of grace comes through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord is significant. I believe that he uses a word in referring to this knowledge that that's an emphatic word not just a simple knowing ways might sort of readthrough hurriedly and and not really comprehend it's a compound word in the Greek that some have translated through the full knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord. When my wife and I were headed to the mission field we had to go to the language school down in Costa Rica. We studied Spanish and we found out that they have two different words for knowing and how you say it makes it completely different meaning if you were to ask me do you know Paris now and say yes and in Spanish. I would use the verb saw there, but if I had been there and gotten to know the city and lived there for a while I might say yes I knew that city and I would use the verb, scope, sale, because I knew it experientially. I think that's the kind of emphasis that Peter is giving us here with this word where he's speaking of this full knowledge. This experiential knowledge of God. It's not just an intellectual knowing about God, but it is knowing him. In verse three. Then he makes an astounding amazing assertion that when he says his divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness. Yeah I am amazed at the superlative degree that are used in Scripture when it speaks of what God has given us in Christ garden and mentioned Paul in his letter to the Ephesians, Joe said that God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing. Here he says that he's given us everything we need for life and godliness. There's another place where Paul talks about the fact that God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in every good work. You have everything you need for every good work God has given us everything in Christ, and so here he says that as believers we begin been given everything necessary for life and godliness. The NIV puts it like this. His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness, and again this is through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. God has given us through knowledge of him everything that we need for life and godliness do we treasure that we cherish this, Christ is everything to us. So the proposition I would say is this. We are to cherish Jesus as a priceless treasure because in knowing him we receive the gift of our precious faith and through knowledge of him. He has granted us precious and exceedingly great promises by which we become partakers of his divine nature that's astounding what God created us to be what we totally messed up with our sin or rebellion or disobedience. God in Christ restores in us and enables us to become partakers participants in his divine nature. So for the remainder of the time. I want us to focus briefly on two aspects of this treasure that we have in Christ. I read our text in the King James and it repeats this word precious. I like that this precious faith in these exceedingly great and precious promises that are given to us in Christ. That word in the Greek language has to do with how you significance and so we have a precious faith and are given precious promises in Christ so Peter says that we have received a like precious faith, or in your ESV of faith that is of equal standing as the one that he has a word like means that this is something that is common to all believers. This is no place for pride in any walk with Christ we are given grace by God's gift. And so, as Paul writes to the Romans by grace given to me. I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think what he thinks it with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith God has assigned you have great faith God David have little faith God David, whatever your measure of faith.

It's a gift from God. There's nothing for you to be proud of. Just grateful for is a precious faith because it is a gift from God. So given and not earned. We some things are precious to us because of who gave him to us. We have some things in our house that if you were to look at it is that why you handled this moving it all around the world like you have ran our 38th house.

I think now in 56 years one year on the mission field we were in three different houses in one year old.

Because the mission said you gotta move here and go there do this but we value these things because of who gave them to us. We got some rocks at our house that one of our grandchildren picked up and gave to mama and it's a treasure because of who gave it. In this case we treasure this faith both because of who gave it to us and because of its own intrinsic value.

God has given us a faith that is precious is precious.

Also, because it is faith that lasts your way we talk about precious metals, gold and silver and platinum and all these other metals that we call precious because they don't corrode very easily the rust away but this faith is precious to us because it is a lasting, it is lasting because of the price that it cost it is a costly gift for us.

Peter writes in his first letter knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold mentions of precious metals, so there perishable, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ on a costly faith.

Costly gift, but it is something that lasts and will endure because it is God's gift and it is God's work.

God gives the faith we've already mentioned. Ephesians 2 where God says to us that our salvation is by grace through faith.

And it's a gift of God not of works, nothing to boast about the gift of God. He gives the faith. He sustains a faith in Jude we have that wonderful benediction. The closing verse of Jude now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy. God is able to sustain every one. He calls to himself and present them to himself, blameless in the very presence of his glory, not in fear with joy. God gives the faith he sustains the faith and he sustains the faith of all to whom he gives it. Remember Jesus words in John he said all that the father has given the label come to me and he says it's the will of the father that I don't lose any of will raise him up on the last day everyone got his given the faith he sustains the faith and he keeps it in Peter's first letter he says he has caused us to be born again to a living hope to an inheritance that is imperishable and undefiled and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith God keeps it all talks about having kept the faith and we are to keep the faith is always responsibility on our part but it's a sure thing because God keeps it is For us this precious faith not only this Peter point us to this precious faith. He also points us to the precious promises that are given to us. These promises a says are exceedingly great. Some of the modern translations site very great.

Yeah. Very great out. I like that old light exceedingly great. The Greek word there is the word mega stock is the word from which we get words like megaphone and megabytes, and megalomania.

It means really big great God has given us great exceedingly great and precious promises.

These promises are great because of who made them. God always keeps his promises. Remember the words of Joshua and came to the end of his ministry and he said to the Israel. Not one word has failed.

Of all the good things that the Lord your God promised concerning you. God's promises are great because he made them, and he never goes back on his promises. They are great because of their purpose. Notice in verse four. There he says that these promises are given that by these you might be partakers of the divine nature out. We become like him in character in our nature not in essence God alone is God. In essence and substance. But we are made like him in character.

We begin to reflect the nature of God as he restores and arson renews and send and re-create sent us what his intention was from the very beginning so we are given these precious promises.

They are so great they are also great and precious promises because of their implications for us and of their revelation to us of God, and I want to close out our time by just reminding you of some of the marvelous promises that are given to us as believers, we have the promise of forgiveness.

If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from some of those sins. All unrighteousness, because he's nailed him all the cross every last one of promise of forgiveness.

The promise of reconciliation. All rights in Colossians and you who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him reconciled to God because you are now holy and blameless in Christ we have the promise of his presence. He was 13, five God has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. I had heard about this verse from men who know a lot more Greek than I do, but I was able to look at break and understand enough to realize there are five negatives in the Greek phrase we just read there and in the translation. I will never leave you nor forsake you. We don't have any way of doing that in English very well. In fact, when we put two legs together.

We set out each other's incorrect grammar site and not hardware something like that were due to negatives.

I guess the closest we've come to this in English is that wonderful him.

The stands of how firm a foundation says the soul that on Jesus death lien for repose.

I will not, I will not desert to his foes that so though all hell should endeavor to shake never know never know. Never force five negatives. We have the promise of his presence. He will be with us to the very end.

We have the promise of his power before Jesus ascended to the father.

He said to his disciples, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you pastor reference that power this morning and talk about how he just kinda stood out the way that it happened. It is the power of God in us at work in us that accomplishes in fact it's such a amazing thing in the New Testament says that the same power that raised Jesus from the did is the power that sent work in us. We can't comprehend that we've never seen anybody raised from the dead. We know Jesus was we didn't see it but just begin to get our minds around that we can't quite grasp. But that same power is at work in us and through us. We have the promise of this piece.

In Philippians, Paul writes do not be anxious about anything but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Jesus is our peace. Peace with God, our peace with others. Peace within ourselves. We have processed the mind of Christ in the mind of Christ. There is none of this fraction and fragmenting in and what one thing and another, you can't have both the mind of God is perfectly at peace because there are no conflicting desires and him we have that all the time.

Our minds are just torn. In fact, Paul says it is our desire is that Jane says that it's our desire secrete all these wars and conflicts within us. But in Christ we have peace we have the promise of glory. Paul wrote to the Corinthians. We all with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from 1° of glory to another and most of all, we have the promise of himself in John 17 that high priestly prayer, Jesus prayed father. I will that they also, whom thou hast given me the with me where I am, that they may behold my glory and call writes about the second coming, the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be called up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.

And so shall we ever be with the Lord you cherish him treasure him knowing him is the pearl of great price. The hidden treasure it all be worth everything we have everything we can do. We should pursue him with all that we are in one day we will be with him face-to-face.

As I was pondering this during the night, an old gospel song came to my mind, there is coming a day when no heartache shall come no more clouds in the sky. No more tears to dim the eye. All this piece forever more on that happy golden sure what a day.

Glorious day that will be what they think will be when my Jesus actions. I looked on his face.

The one who saved me by his grace when he takes me by the hand and leads me through the promised land.

What a day. Glorious day that will be.

Jesus is a priceless treasure spray all the way stand in all of your great love for the demonstration of that love. When you sent your son to die in our place. Even when we were in sin and rebellion and disobedience.

We thank you that in Christ we have been given faith, we have been given promises of forgiveness and reconciliation and peace in your presence and eternity of fellowship with you.

We thank you father the marvelous gift that is ours in Christ, we thank you for the miracle that you have not only given us Christ you have placed us in him and you now see us in the beloved fully closed with his righteousness, we thank you in Jesus name, amen