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[Music] well good morning to each and every one here this morning we welcome each one to free grace baptist church especially those that are guests with us this morning we're glad to you that you can join us in a time of worship together by way of announcements let's just share a few there will be no bible study this coming wednesday night still bastler butler will be back i believe with us in the month of july and a luncheon next week there will be an email to follow so we can prepare for that also next week beginning uh in the morning we'll do the confession study as well again and you can join us this evening for uh evening service at 5 pm here as well and i see we have the latest attendee here little baby ruth way to go congratulations you guys wonderful see church growth in that way well let us call to worship our call to worship this morning we're going to read from psalm 118 would you join me reading from the scriptures psalm 118 and we'll start with verse 14. we'll read through verse 14 through to 29. the lord is my strength and song and he has become my salvation the voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tents of the righteous the right hand of the lord does valiantly the right hand of the lord is exalted the right hand of the lord does violently i shall not die but live and declare the works of the lord the lord has chastened me severely but he has not given me over to death open to me the gates of righteousness i will go through them and i will praise the lord this is the gate of the lord through which the righteous shall enter i will praise you for you have answered me and have become my salvation the stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone was the lord's doing it is marvelous in our eyes this is the day the lord has made we will rejoice and be glad in it save now i pray o lord o lord i pray send now prosperity blessed is he who comes in the name of the lord we have blessed you from the house of the lord god is the lord and he has given us light bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar you are my god and i will praise you you are my god and i will exalt you may the lord bless the reading of his word would you join me in standing singing hymn number 403 403 glorious things of thee are spoken [Music] is [Music] is [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] is [Music] is [Music] is [Music] is [Music] is [Music] is [Music] you may be seated well let's bow our heads in prayer this morning our heavenly father this morning we come before you lord for this first day of this week lord the lord's day and we come together as a body of believers to worship you and we pray that we would worship you in spirit and in truth help us oh god to put aside the things that distract us lord the things of this past week to holy focus on you lord this morning we thank you god for your plan of salvation for guilty sinners such as us the gospel of our lord jesus christ we thank you lord for that way of salvation help us to be a thankful praying body of believers lord that give you glory in all that we say and do and we would pray lord that the gospel would continue to go forth around the world and as we heard this morning lord those areas that are getting reached by fm radio lord we ask that you bless that ministry also from the pulpits in this country lord that your word would go forth that sinners would be saved and be with those lord that preached the word whether in churches here or across the land lord we have the freedom here to do so and but there are places lord that are under persecution lord that have the heavy-handed government on them and we hear those situations like in myanmar where they're crushed by fighting around them lord we ask that you'd keep them safe those that minister the word their lord we ask that you be with those that meet in churches here as well lord that we are affiliated with we think of sorry lord again we ask that you bless them this morning be with those in vernon as they meet also with the believers that are meeting in dryden lord again provide for them lord raise up men to lead and guide as well lord and be with our pastor jim and his wife rebecca as they continue to take time to rest and vacation together may they be strengthened lord in the body and in spirit and we also pray lord for those among us with health and strength and wealth for health and wealth and strength being or not wealth lord but for your goodness and care over us lord and your will lord that you would be with those that have may have injuries or illness lord we pray that you would heal their bodies lord we thank you again for providing for us as a church body we pray for many aspects of it as well as the finds that have been dropped lord we can continue to pray that these things would take place we pray too lord for this morning as we worship together and for the word that will be preached lord and we pray these things in jesus worthy and precious name amen well let's continue in worship singing 374 374 we could stand together 374 [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] is [Music] is [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] foreign [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] please be seated our scripture reading this morning will be from hebrews 7 hebrews chapter 7 as we read through the scriptures starting with verse 1 for this melchizedek king of salem priest of the most high god who met abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him to whom also abraham gave a tenth part of all first being translated king of righteousness and then also king of salem meaning king of peace without father without mother without genealogy having neither beginning of days nor end of life but made like the son of god remains a priest continually now consider how great this man was to whom even the patriarch abraham gave a tenth of the spoils and indeed those who are the sons of levi who received the priesthood have a commandment to receive tithes from the people according to the law that is from their brethren though they have come from the loins of abraham but he whose genealogy is not derived from them received ties from abraham and blessed him who had the promises now beyond all contradiction the lesser is blessed by the better here mortal men receive tithes but there he receives them of whom it is writ of whom it is witnessed that he lives even levi who receives tithes paid tithes through abraham so to speak for he was still in the loins of his father when melchizedek met him therefore if perfection were through the levitical priesthood for under it the people received the law what further need was there then another priest should rise according to the order of melchizedek and not be called according to the order of aaron for the priesthood being changed of necessity there is also a change of the law for he of whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe from which no man has officiated at the altar for it is evident that our lord arose from judah of which tribe moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood and it is yet far more evident if in the likeness of melchizedek there arises another priest who has come not according to the law of a fleshly commandment but according to the power of an endless life for he testifies you are a priest forever according to the order of melchizedek for on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment because of its weakness and unprofitableness for the law made nothing perfect but on the other hand there is the bringing in of a better hope through which we draw near to god and inasmuch as he was not made priest without an oath for they had become priests without an oath but he with an oath by him who said to him the lord has sworn and sworn and will not relent you are a priest forever according to the order of melchizedek by so much more jesus has become a surety of a better covenant also there were many priests because they were prevented by death from continuing but he because he continues forever has an unchangeable priesthood therefore he is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to god through him since he always lives to make intercession for them for such a high priest was fitting for us who is holy harmless undefiled separate from sinners and it has become higher than the heavens who does not need daily as those high priests to offer up sacrifices first for his own sins and then for the peoples for this he did once for all when he offered up himself for the law appoints his high priest men who have weakness but the word of the oath which came after the law appoints the son who has been perfected forever again may the lord bless the reading of his word let's just bow in a word of prayer before our pastor comes up our father again we thank you for this word that has been before us lord for the scriptures that lead and guide us lord we ask that you would that we as a people would take them as a light unto our feet lord to guide us as we walk through this life together lord also we ask that you be with this time as we come together and to worship again lord we thank you for this opportunity we thank you for this day we thank you for the word that will be spoken we ask through the holy spirit lord that you would guide pastor ryan too as he preaches this morning and be with those again that are elsewhere at this time preaching from the pulpits around this nation lord around this world and be with those that again that suffer for the word that they preach and we ask that their you would protect them and strengthen them through these times again lord we ask a blessing upon this time when we thank you thank you in jesus name amen our final hymn 402 number 402 we could stand together [Music] ah [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] oh is [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] is foreign good morning everyone good to be here again in the house of the lord you can turn with me in your bibles to the book of first peter as we continue our exposition through first peter we're in chapter two first peter chapter two this morning we'll look at um verses six through eight verses six through eight it will be sort of a two-part on the next the next from verses six to ten i'm going to do in two parts um next week we'll look at the second half of that they do they do go together but there's a lot of information in there a lot of uh a lot of covenant and uh and things like that that we need to work through slowly just to get a real understanding of what peter's doing um in uh in in uh this chapter here and then the comfort that he's uh that he's uh uh supplying and affording and teaching the the uh the pilgrims the that he's that he is uh teaching here and writing to in them pilgrims of the dispersion as he calls them so uh so we'll if you're uh in in first peter in chapter two i'll read the entirety of the of the chapter just to to get the context and then uh and then we will uh we'll pray so first peter chapter two therefore laying aside all malice all deceit hypocrisy envy and all evil speaking as newborn babes desire the pure milk of the word that you may grow thereby if indeed you have tasted that the lord is gracious coming to him as to a living stone rejected indeed by men but chosen by god and precious you also as living stones are being built up a spiritual house a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to god through jesus christ therefore it is also contained in the scripture behold eileen zion a chief cornerstone elect precious and he who believes on him will by no means be put to shame therefore to you who believe he is precious but to those who are disobedient the stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone and a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense they stumble being disobedient to the word to which they also were appointed but you are a chosen generation a royal priesthood a holy nation his own special people that you may proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light who once were not a people but but are now the people of god who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy beloved i beg you as sojourners and pilgrims abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul having your conduct honorable among the gentiles that when they speak against you as evildoers they may by your good works which they observe glorify god in the day of visitation therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the lord's sake whether to the king as supreme or to governors as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good for this is the will of god that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men as free yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice but as bond servants of god honor all people love the brotherhood fear god honor the king servants be submissive to your masters with all fear not only to the good and gentle but also to the harsh for this is commendable if because of conscience toward god one endures grief suffering wrongfully for what credit is it if when you were beaten for your faults you take it you take it patiently but when you do good and suffer if you take it patiently this is commendable before god for to this you were called because christ also also suffered for us leaving us an example that you should follow his steps who committed no sin nor was deceit found in his mouth who when he was reviled did not revile in return when he suffered he did not threaten but committed himself to him who judges righteously who himself bore our sins in his own body on the tree that we having died to sins might live for righteousness by whose stripes you were healed for you were like sheep going astray but have now returned to the shepherd and overseer of your souls amen let us pray our father in heaven we do thank you for your word and father we thank you for this glorious passage of scripture that teaches us so clearly of who we are as the people of god those whom you have called out of darkness and brought into the marvelous light through your son the lord jesus christ father i pray this morning that you would be here that you would send your spirit to be here in to to bless us lord as we as the word is preached in us and to apply these things to our hearts lord that we would be greatly encouraged by it that your people would be built up in their most holy faith they would be edified and and and leave here rejoicing in the great god that you are and lord if if there are sinners among us who have come in who have who have not closed with christ lord we know we are all sinners but but those who have not closed closed with christ and come to you through him for in repentance and faith lord if that today would be the day of salvation that they would see that there is there is no no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved as as in adam all die even so in christ all shall be made alive lord that that christ is the only way and lord i pray that you that you would be glorified christ would be exalted among us this morning and we pray this in his precious name amen well as we as we saw last week in this section here in in in chapter two is peter is is um dealing with the the the church as a corporate body and um and and he's and how and and the the building of that church and we saw last week about the about the the living stones that we are we are all living stones in the church of christ that we are all building blocks uh we could say in the in the church of christ so so the the um the whole the whole both chapter one and chapter two he kind of he he deals with the with the the the blessings of being one of the those who have been saved to be to the blessings of being one of god's people in chapter one it's uh it's this it's it's it's more personal and then he sort of segues in into chapter two now to being more uh more corporate we saw at the end of chapter one that the brotherly love aspect that we have to have as as believers in christ loving one another because we are a body and now he in chapter two he explains more in in in more detail here what this what it means to be the the body of christ or the or this this building that we are being being built up upon the cornerstone of of christ so so just to sort of unders again review i guess basically last week and and get ourselves uh understand that the context here you know we saw last week how in this in this building process we are all individual stones living stones he uh he calls us and um and our our responsibility we understand christ is building his church he says he tells us that very clearly in matthew 16 and elsewhere in acts we see christ as the one building the church but yet we are not just um we are not just just um passive you know participants and that we the church has been commissioned as to be to be the ones who go and and to go and make disciples of all the nations and the churches has been commissioned by by our head christ to do these things so our now our individual responsibility um personally then is that we as as the building block in there upon which other blocks will be will be built upon um we are to be a strong building block so first then how to we're in in versus one two three there we're supposed to cast aside those things that would hinder us from being a strong uh a solid building block and hinder our spiritual growth and then we're to have this this desire for the word just cultivate this uh the desire for the pure milk of the word that you may grow thereby says the new king james and which is obviously the point of of that the that we have the spiritual growth so that we may become a strong building block in there because again as i said last week the church is not is is more than it's not just you know individuals um you know abstracted from one another but rather we are one organism a a living organism which you which peter calls here a spiritual house and as we grow as the church grows as it as it marches through the ages the church has built layers we can look at it as layers upon layers and that and therefore the necessity of being a solid building block to to for the layers that that are built uh upon us those that we impact in life we think of children and and grandchildren of course that's you know very very um very easily to to see that there as as we impact them but also it's not just limited to that of course it's you know anyone in the anyone in in the church and i don't mean just a local church but the church you know church as a whole christians those who are maybe a bit younger more immature christians as they they come to you and you can build them up and strengthen them so that is you you being a solid building block in there we see that through the through the bible often the older women are are two are to teach the younger women you know that concept there um and of course not just limited to women but the concept is is through there that we are building ourselves up in our most holy face as jude says so that is the that is the the um that is our individual responsibility and of course that comes by that that begins by coming to christ he says in in verse four you know first of all coming in in in faith and true saving faith to to christ believing on him but then with a constant reliance on him for these things as we as we seek to grow in in the knowledge and the grace and knowledge of our lord and savior jesus christ and there so then so so and then christ here he describes him as a as a living stone now we didn't i didn't touch on this too much last week to um there but but again he's christ is uh christ is a living stone not simply because he's he's alive um you know yes there's of course there's an aspect but it's the fact that he was he once was dead and then and then now and he has been raised from the dead now he's now he is alive because that's the the reality of the resurrection is is really the the foundation of all christianity we paul says that very clearly to the corinthians that you know if if if christ is not if christ is not raised then then of all men we're of all men most most pitiable because we have nothing our hope is built on the fact that christ has risen from the dead so i say that the resurrection is the foundation of christianity or in other words uh we could say that christ is the the living cornerstone of the church to use the the peter's words here so so without the resurrection of christ there's no kingdom of heaven there's no there's no church there so and then we we become living stones because we are alive in christ we are we are uh we are we are joined with him in and we are alive in him john john 14 jesus says there he now he's foretelling his his resurrection to the disciples and he says a little while longer and the world will see me no more but you will see me because i live you will live also and at that day you will know that i am in my father and you in me and i in you so as believers we are united with christ with the crisis that is the head we are the body christ is the the cornerstone we are the we're the house that's being that's built upon that so christ is the christ is the the means by which we we we have spiritual life through we're united through christ through his life his perfect life that that earns that that that met that standard for eternal life we're we're united to christ in that way we're united to christ in his death whereby our sins are paid for paid in full atoned for and we're united by christ with christ in his resurrection where we become raised in in newness of life and we and we have this the spiritual the spiritual life there so so again i think and this reminds us of the words that um of of john the the baptist when he says to the to the pharisees if you remember that he's speaking to the pharisees and he's in indicting them and uh and he says you know that god can raise up up uh up from the from the stones lying around there um you know children children of abraham you know he says don't don't begin to say to yourselves you know we have abraham as our father you know so don't think that don't think that um you know being being just an israelite makes you right with god he says you know god can take you know the dead stones and and make you make make children of abraham true children of abraham from these from these dead stones so it's that uh that same concept there we're going to see the the covenant aspect of that a little bit in this um in this sermon as well of the the pharisees misunderstanding of that so um so again so we see that god taking dead stones raises them to life um makes them living stones in in his kingdom you know building blocks in this in the spiritual house of of of of christ christ's kingdom christ's house and that was where we that was where we ended last time there sort of halfway through verse five the and and you know just just this um to to sort of sum it all up i guess that we we're to be in communion with christ we're to be growing in christ you know so that you know through through our knowledge of the scriptures through prayer through through the means that god has has given ridding ourselves of these vices that would hinder that and um and and and you know hinder us from being that that strong building block in the church of christ so now i'm going to skip over the rest of verse 5 at this point just um the way i've sort of structured the the you know the going through the next um the next six or so verses here over the over uh next week as well so i'm going to skip over uh verse five we'll come back to you know to that practical side of things and um hopefully hopefully next week um i can i can get that all in there um you know so so we're gonna begin at uh at at verse six now and then um and then like i said we'll look at the the responsibilities of the church in terms of offering up spiritual sacrifices um acceptable through to god through jesus christ will we in verse 10 we see as well that the church is to is to proclaim the the the praises of him who called you out of darkness into marvelous light you know so kind of connect those things together and um and and lord willing next week hopefully we can uh we can we can look at that so so now then versus um with that with that you know back and fresh in our minds again then we can look at at verses six through eight so so basically in verses six we have the the foundational cornerstone of the church and then as foretold in the old testament and then in verses seven through eight we have the human response to that cornerstone so so then in in verse six then the the foundational cornerstone as foretold in the old testament that's what he begins here therefore it's also contained in the scripture the the the word contained there has this idea it's it's set down or it's established it's established in the scriptures well we can see right away that for peter obviously referencing the scriptures he's referencing the old testament and he's and what he's going to go on to do is is is teach on the church as the as the people of god and he you can see here he's he's grounding his whole ecclesiology ecclesiology means the the doctrine of the church he's grounding his whole ecclesiology in the old testament and that's um that's something that's that's noteworthy especially in our day and age with you know with dispensationalism teaching their you know the old testament the and the is the the israelites were one people of god the churches and other people of god and and the the church is sort of this mysterious the mysterious church age because it was never talked about well peter here very clearly is saying no this was prophesied in the old testament it was it was set down it was established in the scriptures in the old testament and then he reads this this prophecy from isaiah 28 here we also we also read it at the outset of worship as well this um the reference to this uh this this chief cornerstone behold i lay in zion a chief cornerstone elect precious and he who believes on him will by no means put to shame so in isaiah what's going on there is isaiah is prophesying against the the kingdom of israel both the northern and the southern kingdoms um at that time they were you know they had rejected the yahweh of israel they had rejected they broken the covenants and and god sent his prophets to say you know you've broken them you've broken them and then and i'm going i will destroy you and you will you will be exiled out of your land taken out of your land and um and and then but but this this promise that he leaves here he's i will i will i will lay in zion a chief cornerstone so he's he's promising the restoration of the of the nation of israel that god is going to set he's going to he's going after the exile and they're taken out they're removed out of their land god is going to lay in zion a foundation no you have to remember thinking like a like a jew you know the zion was jerusalem meaning jerusalem zion um and jerusalem was the place of god's abode um you know so to speak we you know we obviously we know god doesn't live in a place but but um you know the the temple signified the presence of god the temple was of course in in jerusalem that was the center of the nation of israel now now that we know this the temple was going to be destroyed that not one stone would be left upon another it was going to be completely completely annihilated in in lamentations um jeremiah he's he's you know he's he's bewailing this destruction and he says that yahweh has destroyed his place of assembly and and has purpose to destroy the wall of zion so so yahweh he destroyed the the temple and um and so his place of assembly referencing the temple it was completely destroyed and and and and as was the wall of zion there so but god promises he to set up a foundation there it's his promise that he's going to rebuild his kingdom now that promise of course was was you know for the immediate nation of israel there in that in that context a promise that they were going to be restored back to their land you know for one the the the abrahamic covenant it uh you know it was it was it promised to abraham that he would have a land and and that he would have a seed or a nation that would come from him and then from that nation would come the promised messiah who would who would restore you know not only not only israel but but all the nations of the earth would be blessed in him so it was it was the the promise of the land and seed for abraham was was um what the the the purpose of that was to bring about the messiah for the restoration of not only israel but but all of the nations isaiah 49 he's speaking to the messiah he says it is too small a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of jacob and to presure restore the preserved ones of israel i will also give you as a light to the gentiles that you should be my salvation to the ends of the earth so to understand then what peter's is doing here it's to it's it's to understand that the the the restoration of israel to the promised land is a is is a it's a type it's a it's a picture of the the restoration of you know the the the kingdom of heaven within the within the the bigger biblical setting there so it's not it's not you know of course so it is it is applicable to the israelites in terms of them coming back to the land that was that was what god promised because the the the the covenant with abraham had got god's purposes in bringing about the promised seed messiah had not yet been fulfilled so therefore he would be restored [Music] for that purpose but we it's applied peter applies it here now on on on a bigger on a bigger picture um the the restored kingdom on a global scale of all the nations of the earth so so to to to properly understand and what he's um what what he's doing and how this how this works uh we you know we have to have a proper biblical worldview and then that you know of course uh um requires us to go back to the garden back to genesis to understand what is what is going on in genesis there then and um hopefully you can track with me and as we as we go through this so genesis 1 in verses 26 to 28 we find then god said let us make man in our image according to our likeness let them have dominion over the fish of the sea over the birds of the air and over the cattle over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth so god created man in his own image in the image of god he created him male and female he created them then god blessed them and god said to them be fruitful and multiply fill the earth and subdue it have dominion over the fish of the sea over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves on the earth so we see here very clearly then adam was supposed to be fruitful and and multiply and fill the earth with with image bearers of god who were in communion with god living in service to god and and and in obedience to his his law and then and he was also supposed to have dominion over the earth he was supposed to to rule it and uh and protect it um in in we find that in genesis 2 15 that he was um to to tend it and keep it the word keep there is a it can is the idea of guarding or protecting so adam was supposed to have dominion over over the earth to rule it to protect it and then of course to expand the borders of the garden that that we in creation not all of not not all of creation was this beautiful garden of eden god planted the garden in the in the or god god planted a garden called eden but all of creation was not this beautiful garden-like setting we find that very clearly as well there was there was um you know there was no cultivated um and um where is that now there's in in chapter two of genesis um before any verse five before any plant of the field was in the earth and before any herb of the field had grown for the lord god had not caused it to rain on the earth and there was no man to till the ground so we see there's there's you know there's there's it was not all of a garden adam was there to to till the ground and to and to cultivate it and to create this garden to advance the the the the borders of the garden and to and to fill it with image bearers uh you know humans his his progeny who were who would be worshiping god and serving god and and would be the the the people of god there so we have to we so we have to think prophet priest and king for in terms of of adam's responsibilities there so so as a prophet he was to be fruitful and multiply and then to teach those descendants the the things of god so he used to he used to be god's mouthpiece in the sense of teaching his descendants the the things of god and and the law of god now as a priest he was to bring worship to the to the lord for one in in representing god as as as his image bearer and filling the earth with image bearers and then and then bringing bringing with him his his his um his offspring bringing with them in in worship to to yahweh which which would have been centered around the the seventh day sabbath but that's uh that's that's for another sermon um so uh so so representing him as an image bearer filling the earth with image bearers gk beal on this he says this this would occur especially in adam's progeny born in his image and thus reflecting god's image and the light of his presence as they continued to obey the mandate given to their parents so that's that's adam's role as priest and then as king of course he's that he's the the image bearer of the king of kings yahweh himself created in god's image so he was supposed to represent god throughout all the earth as as he expanded the garden and as he was fruitful and multiplied and had and had children in his image who were you know bearing the image of of the king of kings and and and the lord of lords there so so adam's that was adam's task so it wasn't it wasn't just that adam was created in the garden to sit there and enjoy the communion with god no he had to create a kingdom for uh for god a kingdom of of of image bearers for god worshiping and serving and serving god there so in in this in this garden which we would say was a is a is a um a temple or it's a house it's a dwelling of a dwelling place for god that was where adam walked with walked with god had this communion with god in the garden so we think i think garden of eden think temple think dwelling place of of god there but we we we of course we we know adam adam failed and and then in adam failed in his task he broke god's law and he did not he did not you know he did not even have one child in in his in his image you know unbroken image prior to this fall it happened before that so so adam did did nothing of what he was supposed to do and as a result of that of course then all all humanity becomes sinful of creation even becomes sinful but humanity it becomes a nation or a kingdom of of darkness now the bible refers to the kingdom of darkness it is it is all of sinful humanity but who is who is over that adam was supposed to adam was supposed to have dominion over the earth but we at on on a spiritual level then who who's over the kingdom of darkness well we find that very clearly in the bible that satan was given dominion over the earth after after the fall he's called the the god of this world second corinthians 4 the ruler of this world john 12 the ruler of the of darkness of this age ephesians 6 the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one first john 5 19 and satan himself says it very clearly in uh in luke chapter 4 this is at the at the temptation of the lord jesus then when he takes him out into the wilderness or the spirit drives drives drives jesus into the wilderness and satan finds him there and tempts him it says then the devil taking him up on a high mountain showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time and the devil said to him all this authority i will give you and their glory for this has been delivered to me and i will give it to you sorry i will give it to whomever i wish therefore if you will worship before me all will be yours so we see that now so we have so we have satan uh satan over the kingdom of darkness the fallen kingdom of humanity and all of all of humanity satan over that and and um rather than adam what adam was supposed to do so then we go we go back to the to the book of of first peter here and and and to see now why why is he talking about this this restored this or this um this foundation this cornerstone in terms of a restored people well that's that's exactly what he's what he's doing here and he's applying it on to on a spiritual level on a um on a big picture level there so we see then in terms of the nation of israel and and why this this um this prophecy was given for one to the people of israel is because the the the nation of israel god uses them and the and the historical settings and the historical things that happen to them as a you know the to the the things that take place concerning israel to show us in history what is going on on the on the big picture on on a spiritual level there so so the the the mosaic covenant then the covenant that god made with the nation of israel um it's uh sometimes we could say it's a it's a republication of the covenant of work sometimes that word is used we have to use that carefully i think but it is a it is it is a historical covenant god makes with with abraham or sorry with with the israelites next week we'll look more in detail at the one with with abraham but for now um because peter deals with it in this order i'll deal with it uh this way as well so the mosaic covenant a historical covenant a republication of the covenant of works but it's not replacing the covenant of works that's always very important that we understand that the covenant of works by which man is made right with god is never never changes that that man has to keep god's law perfectly and and do all the things that adam in the in the garden was supposed to do and and he's supposed to have this a perfect righteousness perfect obedience to the law of god without any sin whatsoever and therefore he's worthy of eternal life that never changes through all of through all of time through the you know the way of salvation is never is never different the covenant to works is not annulled it is still it still stands today we'll see that um we'll see that later on in in first corinthians we can we'll see that as well as other places so that so the the covenant of works is still there the the mosaic covenant did not did not you know and all that it's still there but rather what it what it is it's a it's a type of it it's so it's it's showing us in history things that are going on on a spiritual level there so so we think so first israel like adam they were given they were given a law at sinai they were given the law of god and then the the fall of israel or the the them you know not keeping this law them breaking the law and falling obviously representing the fall of adam or typifying or showing us showing us this giving us this reality now in history um here the the fall of adam so it was a failure to propagate a kingdom of priests offering worship to god now we find that in we find that very clearly in the bible in hosea chapter 6. hosea is indicting the the israelites chapter 6 verse 7 he says but like adam they transgress the covenant some translations will say but like man they transgress the covenant and and um and there's you know it's it's not because adam and man and the hebrew is the same is the same word um you know so is it referring to the original man adam or is it you know or is it just man in general but but i think in the context here in in hosea he's doing exactly the same thing he's indicting them and saying you've broken the covenant just like adam broke the covenant so have you and that's exactly what we find that's what that's what the the covenant with israel was all about was typifying the the the covenant of works and the breaking of it in in um by by adam and then the restoration of that by a messiah as we'll see so so we have that we have the breaking of the covenant we have the exile into babylon that's what happened when the babylonians came and well the assyrians took the northern kingdom and the babylonians took the took the took the southern kingdom they're they're exiled into babylon representing of course the exile of man from the garden which signified you know he was no longer dwelling in communion with christ or with uh with god sorry he did not have that he he had broken that relationship there he had been exiled out of the out of the of this this garden temple and and um you know just like just like israel was exiled out of their land and and sent into to babylon now babylon is a is a very big um topic in the bible i guess is maybe the right word um babylon represents the kingdom of darkness so as i said adam was adam was adam was in his fall he he cast him into darkness and then instead of him having dominion over the earth now he's under that he's under the kingdom of darkness which is ruled by by satan and all his all his uh his hosts there so so that is what we find now israel in babylon representing adam under in the kingdom of darkness and then we have the the in genesis 3 or sorry here we have this promise of a cornerstone laid you know it's a promise of restoration and it's it's the same this the same promise that we find in genesis 3 15 a promise of restoration that you know that that one day the the seed of the woman would come and undo and restore what what the the the the serpent had had um had done he would end in doing so he would he would crush the head of that serpent so it is the it's the it's the the restoration and the rebuilding promise that we find in the old testament in isaiah is here applied now to to the to the church of this you know representing the restoration the rebuilding of the true kingdom of heaven the the true people of god and now there's something very you know this uh this this promise given in the old testament was you know that that the messiah would come the the messiah is the hebrew the anointed one that he would come and he was he would be the one who would who would restore the kingdom now it's interesting to continue the the analogy here and this uh and the typology in isaiah chapter 45 it says thus says yahweh to his messiah or to his to his to his anointed i think um i think the king james says but it's it's the hebrews his meshach says the yahweh to his meshach to cyrus so he's comparing cyrus there cyrus is called the messiah or the anointed one the chosen one who's going to restore the nation of israel because we know it was cyrus who was the one who who decreed to let the people go and you know and to restore them back to their promised land so so um you know it was the and again this is this is the the old covenant cyrus you know they they had they they had they had um they were given the law they broke the law they were exiled and then they were restored by by cyrus who's called the messiah now of course we understand this is pointing forward to to the to our messiah the the christ you know the end and it's the restoration of the of man who has fallen in the in the garden and as you know as as in adam all die even so in christ all will be made alive so so all of us in adam have have have fallen have sinned are in the kingdom of darkness that's what peter says in in in in verse nine here he says you know you that you may proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light so so that's where we that's where we we find ourselves in the kingdom of darkness and then the messiah the christ is is comes to restore out of us out of darkness and bringing bring us into his his kingdom so what adam failed to do in the in the garden christ has come to do and again we were understanding what adam was to do it was not just in communion with with with god as um by his lonesome he was supposed to to create a kingdom he was supposed to to to be fruitful and multiply and build this kingdom well he failed to do that so now christ has come christ is restoring and and in doing so he's building up a kingdom and and and so so here peter tells us then this the the living the living stone the living cornerstone has he has been laid the foundation is there the foundation is it has been laid and and now it's being built on so so so so the work of christ is uh is not over yet it's simply that the foundation is there the house still has to be built the house is still being built this spiritual a spiritual house the the church the the kingdom of of christ that he is building so he's saying you know the the the the prophecy is fulfilled the foundation is laid and now the house is being is being built so we let's uh turn to first corinthians for a minute we can see that there as well the same the same concept first corinthians chapter 15 verse 20 to 26. first corinthians 15 but now christ has risen from the dead and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep for since by man came death by man also came the resurrection of the dead for as in adam all die even so in christ all shall be made alive but each one in his own order christ the firstfruits afterward those who are christ at his coming then comes the end when he delivers the kingdom to god the father when he puts an end to all rule and all authority and power for he must reign till he has put all enemies under his feet the last enemy that will be destroyed is death so we see there very very clearly that that christ christ yes his work is done in terms of his of his uh his his life his death his resurrection but yet you know that christ is the first fruit and then afterwards those who are christ you know so so this we're coming after being built upon christ christ is still at work he's still ruling and still reigning still putting his enemies under his feet and and as he does so he's conquering people out of out of darkness into into his light as he builds his his church so we can see christ christ continuing to work continuing to build his church turn to turn to acts 1 for a minute acts chapter 1 well starting in verse 1 it says the former account i have i made oh theophilus that's now speaking of the gospel of luke luke wrote acts and and he says the former account the first account i made oh theophilus of all that jesus began to do and teach so so if luke was what jesus began to do then axes is what jesus is is continuing to do there look at uh jump ahead to verse uh to verse six um for a minute here therefore when they had come together they asked him saying lord will you at this time restore the kingdom to israel and he said to them it is not for you to know times or seasons which the father has put in his own authority but you shall receive power when the holy spirit has come upon you you shall be witnesses to me in jerusalem and in judea and in samaria and to the end of the earth so they ask them they say are you gonna they were expecting the restoration of israel so but of national israel again they were thinking they're thinking in terms of of old covenant here that that israel you know like they had back in in you know 586 had been had been they had broken the covenant god god finally said that's enough they exiled them and then promised us restoration so they you know they were restored well they were expecting the same the same thing again here are you going to restore the the kingdom to israel but but notice what what jesus does here he doesn't say he doesn't say you know no you're all wrong you've got it all wrong but but he doesn't say he doesn't either he doesn't also doesn't say you know yes i am and then and then you know um but rather what he does is he explains how he's going to restore israel he's you know he says i'm going to i'm going to restore israel but it's not how you think it is it's not um you know you need to it's not it's not you thinking or don't don't be thinking of israel as a as a nation anymore but rather he says it's it's i'm going to restore it and how it's because through you being my witnesses in jerusalem in judea and samaria and to the end of the earth so it's you know it's a it's not going to be a you know a kingdom just a a nation a political nation of israel but rather it's going to be a kingdom of all those who believe your testimony your witness of me in all of the earth to the ends to the ends of of the earth so so very very clear there christ's work is building this this kingdom building this nation for himself a nation that or a kingdom house that that adam had failed to do and christ has come to restore that and and to build it um turn turn to acts 4 verse 8 for a minute then peter filled with the holy spirit said to them rulers of the people and elders of israel if we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man now remember this is the the context here is that they have um in the they healed the lame man in in who was in solomon's porch and you know the one that went walking and leaping and dancing that that one they had they had healed him everybody was in auth so they're preaching the gospel of christ and of him of him being resurrected and that they can you know the people can be saved through that well they're they're arrested and now they're they're addressing the sanhedrin here and and you know and saying you know if we if we're judged for a good deed done to a helpless man by what means he has been made well let it be known to you all and to all the people of israel that by the name of jesus christ of nazareth whom you crucified whom god raised from the dead by him this man stands here before you whole this is the stone which was rejected by you builders which has become the chief cornerstone nor is there salvation in any other for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved so we see it very clearly here now peter understands very clearly that this kingdom this this cornerstone that he references here as well is that that and and the the kingdom that's going to be built on this cornerstone is not a national kingdom but rather it is it is about the it's about those who have been rescued and saved from their sins and and and rescued out of darkness on a on a global scale but it's about it's about the salvation of your of your sins it's not about salvation from you know the roman empire salvation whatever it may be rather it's it's a it's a such it's a very different kingdom here that we're talking about so it's christ making a special kingdom of of of of people for himself out of those who are in darkness rescuing sinners out of darkness and bringing them into into his into his marvelous light into his kingdom making them his kingdom and his house and and and his temple having that uh having uh having having the um it's god and man dwelling together and we already have that that taste of that though with what paul says that we have the holy spirit as that deposit that that that guarantee but that it's that taste of that of that god and man dwelling together in which we know you know is is we're bringing to the consummation at the end of the age when we are truly with with um living in or in in that perfect communion with god for all of eternity so so that is the that is what peter's doing here in terms of of why he's why he's pulling this particular prophecy out of the book of of isaiah and applying it to the church here is because because as because israel as a as a historical nation with a historical covenant was there to typify what's going on on a on on on a global scale in terms of the of the the broken covenant of works and a restored uh restored people from that by the messiah the lord jesus christ building his church building his kingdom there so i hope that uh i hope you could i hope you can you know follow that that makes sense now i want to i want to move on then to the the human response to the cornerstone that uh that peter says here in verses seven and and eight so he says therefore to you who believe he is precious but to those who are disobedient the stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone and a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense so so the so he says to you who who believe he is he is precious but to those who are disobedient we'll go there in a second so so to you to um to you believe he is he is precious so the the um the sorry back up for a minute i i jumped ahead in in halfway verse six there he said and he who believes on him will by no means be put to shame so this uh so so the the idea here of being put to shame it means you know being being disappointed or being you know being being put to shame and disgraced by this by this stone being being you know left out to left out to dry so to speak if we want to use that that uh that language there it's um in isaiah the the prophecy there he says he says that um he says that he who believes in him will will not act hastily is is the way the king james new king james translated but the the idea is will not um you know it it's it's making uh the idea is one of making a hasty decision for which you know you'll become ashamed of later or you know it'll turn out actually turn out for your demise so that is so what he's saying very clearly then here is that is that you know this this will not ever happen to those who who believe in christ you know peter has been laboring to tell us you're very you know through chapter one and chapter two that we have this this this guaranteed inheritance this guaranteed salvation a sure hope that we have as as the people of god and i've as i've you know tried to point out as we've gone through this the sure sure solid hope that we have not not a hope as a subjective wish i hope this happens but uh but a hope of a you know built upon the the truth of of who our who our savior is you know so and and we will we will never be put to shame in in this it is not a and for one is because it's not an earthly kingdom you know by rule ruled by men men will always disappoint we see that all through through the old testament these kingdoms even david it was you know as a glorious kingdom in david's time but yet david david fell david sinned it was you know it was all there was always that disappointment there but christ christ will never let you down because we are members of his spiritual kingdom the the the the true people of god new covenant people of god christ has christ has rescued us christ has conquered us to use paul's terminology elsewhere he's conquered us out of darkness and brought us into into his kingdom and and you know he will never let you go there's there's there's nothing can snatch us out of his hand he tells us that very clearly when christ rescues you you cannot be you cannot be you know the the kingdom of darkness cannot capture you conquer you back in into their kingdom because christ is christ is sovereign over all things so so that is we can you know we can be greatly encouraged by that now it doesn't mean that our life is will be without uh difficulty of course we're still living in a in a sin cursed world we'll see that uh this evening hope to look at psalm 94 we see that very clearly there but the comfort that that the psalmist finds in psalm 94 is that he is of the inheritance of yahweh that yahweh's own special people there that's what that's what gets him through so we can we can know we can be assured that you know we will we will not and cannot be lost if we are christ's uh hebrews 7 25 we we read this morning therefore he is able to save to the uttermost all those who come to god through him for he always lives to make intercession for them um paul says in romans 8 for i am persuaded that neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor powers or things present nor things to come nor height nor depth or any other created thing shall be able to separate us from the love of god which is in christ jesus our lord so when christ conquers you rescues you restores you out of the kingdom of darkness there's no there's no going back there's you know he he will never let you down very very clearly by no means will you be put to shame will you be let down and then and then we have in uh in verse seven here he says unto you who believe he is precious now that's the the the the translation is a little bit different um i think in in the nasb says this precious value then is for you who believe and the esv says so the honor is for you who believe and i think that's uh i think that's the best the best translation i think that's the idea that's being conveyed there the word um precious is the subject of this of this sentence in the greek there so it's um i think that i think the new king james you know has this a little bit backwards maybe um there but the uh you know so this this uh the preciousness this honor this this value the the the honor it's it's speaking of the honor that the the the believer partakes in in in being part of the kingdom of heaven and that is that is uh that's an amazing reality when we think about it that this this honor this this value is for those who believe so those who by you know by god's grace repent believe in christ they they have the honor the privilege the the value of being in the kingdom of of of of god and to be one of god's special people now if we if we think of peter and the context he's writing to here you know he's writing to to a mixed audience primarily jews but but um but but uh a mixed audience for sure there would have been gentiles in that you know the the jews understood and they thought it was an honor to be you know to be a jew because they were god's special people and it and it most definitely was there was there was you know in in terms of the old covenant there was there was many blessings um to be by being belonging to yahweh of israel i mean we you can read the old testament and then watch their conquest through the land of canaan just to realize that uh wow what a what uh what a what an amazing blessing it was to be a jew and to be one of those those whom whom yahweh the creator had chosen as his special people and and um you know incredible blessings there you know but um in this context here now he's peter's trying to trying to to tell them well it's it's this this value of being one of uh of and this this this honor of being one of the people of god is for those who believe and it's not it's not limited to jews here so the perhaps the gentiles were were you know were jealous as the in the in the in the churches that he's writing to here looking at oh you know we're yeah we're saved they understood that but but maybe thinking there's still something special for about the jews whatever it may be peter's saying no no it's this is for for you who believe that the value is there it's it's for all of you it's not um it's not it's not just for for the jews all the the blessings of being in one of the people of god for those who believe so there's no distinction in uh in the kingdom of in christ's kingdom in the kingdom of heaven there's there's no there's no distinction there he doesn't he doesn't he doesn't he doesn't there's no there's no jew or greek there's not rich or poor whatever it may be there's there's there is it's all we're all one in christ and he does not make distinctions and neither does he turn anyone away based on you know whatever the distinction may be for there is none so whoever believes in christ will be saved and then we have the response of of unbelief in the second half of of chapter of sorry verse seven here the the stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone and a stone of stumbling in a rock of offense so so the stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone so first of all then we see that the the rejection of this stone did not did not cancel out or did not nullify the the importance of of the stone there we we saw that already in in acts chapter 4 when we read that there are peter applying that um you know directly to the chief priests and to the rulers he's saying you know you were you are the builders you were the builders uh the stone which was which was rejected by you the builders he says they're um applying it directly to them they were the religious leaders they were the ones um you know who were who were supposed to be who were supposed to understand these things but you know but instead they rejected this messiah but their rejection did not did not change anything from you know from him becoming the cornerstone of the of the true kingdom of god the true people of god and again as i said because that that true kingdom of god was never about um about national israel you know there was a you know they were god's special people in the old testament they had many benefits but there there was a purpose behind that a purpose to bring about the messiah to to to bring in his kingdom which was a a global kingdom of of all the of every tribe tongue people and nation so so that was uh they were there as a means to bring about the messiah and they were there as as types and examples and and shadows of this true kingdom of heaven so the the their rejection of the stone that was the the rejection was the means by which the stone became the the the chief cornerstone of the church we um we see that in in um actually no hang on for a second we'll look at that in a minute but um that how they re their rejection of christ was the means by which christ becomes the cornerstone so then it says here um he says here that the so so so the result then for those who who reject it says he becomes a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense so so the idea here it's not that they're they're stumbling you know they're they're stumbling over the idea over the concept whatever it may be or they're offended by the gospel message but it's the idea is one of of of destruction and ruin that that they're they're you know they're this it becomes a stumbling an offense the idea is is is ruined destruction um hebert a commentator he says by rejecting or evading the stone men only bring about their own injury and ruin peter and the rest of the new testament clearly do not consider encounter with the gospel a casual affair it is a matter of life or death i think that is a very very important um to understand that that that they do not consider encounter with the gospel a casual affair it is a matter of life or death i think that uh our lord said the same thing that whoever on whoever on whomever this stone falls it will grind him to to powder so there's a those who reject the the stone the stone of course you're being christ those who reject them it will be to their to their demise their their their utter destruction there so and then uh and then going on there he says that so they they stumble being disobedient to the word to which they also were appointed so they the word disobedient here it's it's it contains the idea of of refusing to allow themselves to be persuaded a willful rejection and unbelief so so willfully rejecting the the the messiah the savior the lord jesus christ so and again now we need to when we when we we come to this we understand that that you know man is dead in his sins man man is is is spiritually dead he's he's he's in darkness he's both both you know in terms of of his sin and his spiritual deadness but also in terms of his his cognitive you know ability to understand the gospel cognitive darkness there that man is you know man therefore you know he he is he is we do believe we teach the doctrine of total depravity man cannot understand but for the grace of god there but yet it is a willful rejection they're still god is not coercing man's will in their rejection of the of the gospel of christ and of the and of the messiah of this cornerstone there they you know those who reject do so willfully and they do so of course to their own to their own peril there but um so it's so it's um you know but yet so we see that we see that in in the in the in the word disobedient there this idea of of willful rejection but yeah and then in the second half of the verse it's just to which they also were appointed so we see the sovereignty of god over that now um you know again and he's so so first of all then what peter's doing here he's he's you know um assuring his his his readers that nothing nothing of this of this whole of you know the the rejection of the messiah the crucifixion all of this um you know not nothing of this is happening outside of god's sovereign control if you we can see that actually in acts chapter 2 now we'll turn there briefly if you want to follow acts chapter 2 where he explains that as well very clearly just to understand this is this is not this is not um you know the gospel is not plan uh plan b in any way here so acts chapter 2 verse 22 men of israel hear these words jesus of nazareth a man attested by god to you by miracles wonders and signs which god did through him in your midst as you yourselves also know him being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of god you have taken by lawless hands and have crucified and put to death whom god raised up having loosed the pains of death because it was not possible that he should be held by it so we see very clearly this was this was all done because of by the the determined purpose and foreknowledge of god so we see the sovereignty of god there this was you know this god is sovereign over all things but yet he says you by lawless hands so it's not you know it's not that they were just just you know innocent in this and god just in his sovereignty made it all happen and therefore they're not guilty no they they were they very willfully rejected the messiah their lawless hands are the ones that took him and crucified him so therefore they are they are responsible for that so so you know but but it was part of god's sovereign sovereign plan which is what peter wants to remind his his his uh his audience here you know that it is not um you know god's god's sovereignty is over all things this god is in control of all things and yet as our confession says he does so without violence to the will of the creature without violating without coercing uh well forcing the will of the creature so it's so um you know it's it's important to always understand that and and and important to also understand here the gospel you know and and christ and his work was always plan a you know we talked about adam adam you know supposed to do this in the garden adam failing and then christ coming and undoing it christ's coming and undoing was not plan was not plan b adam was not plan a and and christ plan b this was all part of god's sovereign plan whereby he you know he re redeems restores through his son the lord jesus christ a people for for himself there but that is the that is the way that that god orchestrates us all through history and uh with with adam in the garden there so so you know again so so to understand man is always responsible for his actions but yet god in no way is violating um god in no way is violating the will of the creature while he is in in his sovereignty so so that brings us then to the end of the of the exposition as far as i'd like to go um today like i said next week i'll look at verses nine and ten and then um and then as well verse five that we uh have a verse five that we skipped over there so just a few things then um just to to to to appreciate to to to marvel at as we as we look through this passage here and the first being the sovereignty of god i'm not not just as i as i mentioned now here but um but the sovereignty of god for one first over over the kingdom of darkness that you know satan satan may be powerful you know he he may be doing everything in his power to blind the the nations to to keep them from hearing the gospel whatever he whatever he may be uh be doing in in that you know he's powerful but yet that does not stop yahweh that's not to stop you know christ from from conquering his people out of the kingdom of darkness you know there's there's nothing that satan in any of any of those you know in in satan's domain that can do that can hinder that you know when christ comes christ and and christ you know his chosen christ will conquer them out of the kingdom of darkness there he is over all of those powers we just saw that in romans eight we see that very very often uh in scripture as well uh moses you know who is like you oh lord among the gods who is like you glorious in holiness fearful and praises doing wonders now when you read gods in the old testament um don't think figments of imagination think think you know spiritual beings you know that are there that are very that are very real but yet always remember their creative beings and that was the the comfort to the israelites we saw that last week when we looked in um at psalm 29 there that that you know yahweh of israel is over all of these these you know these these beings and this in the spiritual realm that are part of this kingdom of darkness that are doing what they can to to hinder the the gospel going forth and the building of christ church through through the gospel proclamation but yet christ is christ is is over that all who is like you among the gods obviously there is there is none among the gods there is none like you oh lord nor are there any works like your works psalm 86 and that's just those are just two examples of of of very very many so um you know so we can see that we can see the sovereignty of god over over the kingdom of darkness and over all the the powers that may be there and then we see the but another thing to appreciate is the is the sovereignty of god over history and i think and and particularly with the nation of israel as i've tried to to to show how the nation of israel and the things that happened to the nation of israel in history are are showing us what's going on on a grander scale on a global scale in terms of our in terms of salvation from our sin and and rescuing other from the from the kingdom of darkness rescuing from the from the punishment due to us because of our sin you know these things that are happening to the nation of israel are all are all pointing forward to that but these things really did happen god really did orchestrate history so that israel israel was became a nation israel was given the law israel broke that law was exiled into babylon israel was restored from babylon back into the land you know this is typifying what's going on on a grander scale so we can just appreciate god's sovereignty over over history as he as he um as he you know he brings brings these things to pass in history and then also his his inscription rating of these things and writing them down for us and and giving them to us so that we can have them and study them and learn from these things and and and see how they apply to us as as the true people of god that um that that we have as and having been rescued from the kingdom of darkness by our our messiah so um so the sovereignty of god over over over history and then also to look at the and to appreciate the the unified message of the bible as i said we have it we have it written down here for us but this this the message of god god rescuing his people from darkness bringing them into his kingdom you know it begins in in genesis 3 15 there's there's the the enmity between the seed of satan and and of christ you know but the the the the christ the seed of the woman but christ you know crushes the serpent and undone and and undoing first john tells us that christ came to undo the works of the devil so we see that god rescuing his his people we see that theme throughout throughout the bible we see that we'll look at it in more detail next week but god rescuing his people israel out of egypt you know and then god rescuing them out of out of out of babylon this this theme of rescues from from from from from darkness from wickedness um and then of course obviously that's all pointing forward to the church as we are as we are rescued out of out of darkness and become his his his chosen people if we if we look at um at verse 9 and just to just to see what we're going to look at next week but he says but you are a chosen generation a royal priesthood a holy nation his own special people so so that is who we are as the church of christ peter's made it very clear that that you know these things were that were that were talked about the nation of israel these are for you the whoever believes in christ whoever is part of this church you are the special people of of of of god of the creator you know so so we can just we can appreciate that we can we can marvel at that that we are the true the true israel of god that god that god has chosen us before the foundation of the world he's he's rescued us he's brought us into his kingdom and he's called us he calls us his special people first john 3 verse 1 it says behold what manner of love the father has bestowed on us that we should be called the children of god so i hope that we can appreciate that and just marvel as with john here behold what manner of love you know that god would do that he would call us and and and and make us his children his true people of god so so with that i hope we are encouraged this evening i want to look at psalm um 94 and we see that applied very clearly to you know to to such um issues and and problems and things that we deal with in in in day-to-day life in society um that you know the psalmist whether it was david whoever wrote that psalm um with the things that they that they struggled with that um you know the same things we struggle with but yet his comfort was that he was he was one of the the the people of god that the inheritance of you know that god had chosen for himself there to be his people so so we'll see that in more detail but for now we can just we can we can rejoice in that we are the children we are the children of god we are the people of god the the the building that is built upon our savior christ the messiah that true kingdom the kingdom the kingdom that will be with god for all of eternity so let us uh let's rejoice in that and let us let us close in prayer our father in heaven we do thank you for these amazing truths as we consider these things lord that you have called us out of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the son of your love lord how we rejoice in that that we can be called your special people people that you have chosen for yourself and lord we we are humbled by that we we know that it was not because of our doing not because of something that we did but that you chose us lord in and you rescued us for we were there we were dead in our sins against god hating god not wanting anything to do with you lord shaking our fists that you but you came and you conquered our dead hearts and you and you re regenerated our hearts and and showed us your son the lord jesus that and as the savior as the one who can rescue us from this this awful state that we were in so lord i thank you and i praise you for for this amazing truth and i pray that our hearts will be encouraged by this lord i pray if there are any here this morning who who have not come to the savior lord that that they would come fleeing running from the from the the from from darkness and seeing the light that is in that is in that christ offers lord that hope of eternal life and of and of of rescue from from the the punishment due to our sins so lord we do we do we do pray that you be glorified and you be exalted among us today and all that we do i pray that you would would bring us back together this evening if it is in your will to continue to examine your word together and see these these uh glorious truths fleshed out in in such practical way by the psalmist so lord i i just pray your blessing on us now we pray this in christ's name amen all right well we'll close with uh singing the doxology it's 568 in the in the hymnal if you like you can again stand as we sing together please is [Music] is [Music] [Applause] the grace of the lord jesus christ and the love of god and the communion of the holy spirit be with you all amen or you may be seated for a time of meditation when the piano is done you're dismissed [Music] you