Sermon
delivered on February 14th, 2016
By: Pastor Greg Hocson
Scripture Text:: 1 Peter 2:1-10
Introduction
For the last three Sundays we have
been contemplating on the preciousness of Christ. What makes Jesus Christ
precious? First of all, Christ is precious, because He is absolutely
unique. Secondly, He is precious because He is altogether lovely. Today
I want consider with me the third quality that makes Christ precious. Jesus
Christ is precious because of His infinite worth or value.
What do I hope to see take place these
days of contemplation?
My prayer is that, we would be like
the two disciples who found themselves walking with Jesus on the way to Emmaus.
While Christ opened the scriptures and they heard Him expound unto them in all
the scriptures the things concerning Himself their hearts burned within them (Luke 24:27-32).
My prayer is that something would
happen inside us and we would not be same person. A change so radical that it
will result in a deep longing to draw closer to the Saviour,
an increased love for the Saviour, we would love Him
not in only words but also in deeds.
1. Christ is absolutely
unique
Didn't out hearts burn within us when
we contemplated on Christ's absolute uniqueness?
Christ is absolutely unique. His life
is unparalleled in beauty, scope, character, and effect. No one ever spoke like
Jesus Christ, did the things He did, or made the claims He made. There is no
one single person that impacted the world like our Lord Jesus Christ.
I love the poem written by Dr. James
Allan Francis.
One Solitary Life
He was born in an obscure village
The child of a peasant woman
He grew up in another obscure village
Where He worked in a carpenter shop
Until He was thirty when public opinion turned against Him
He never wrote a book
He never held an office
He never went to college
He never visited a big city
He never travelled more than two hundred miles
from the place where He was born
He did none of the things
usually associated with greatness
He had no credentials but Himself
He was only thirty three
His friends ran away
One of them denied Him
He was turned over to His enemies
And went through the mockery of a trial
He was nailed to a cross between two thieves
While dying, His executioners gambled for His clothing
The only property He had on earth
When He was dead
He was laid in a borrowed grave
Through the pity of a friend
Nineteen centuries have come and gone
And today Jesus is the central figure of the human race
And the leader of mankind's progress
All the armies that have ever marched
All the navies that have ever sailed
All the parliaments that have ever sat
All the kings that ever reigned put together
Have not affected the life of mankind on earth
As powerfully as that one solitary life.
Amen!
2. Christ is altogether
lovely
Didn't out hearts burn within us when
we contemplated on Christ's beauty?
Song of Solomon 5:16 His
mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved,
and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.
John 1:10: He was in the
world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. 11: He came
unto his own, and his own received him not.
We know that the stone that the
builders despised and rejected is the very King of kings, and Lord of lords,
the "Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God,
The Everlasting Father. The Prince of Peace."
Yea, He is altogether lovely. There is
nothing undesirable in Him, there is nothing unpleasant in Him, there is
nothing lovely without Him. He is altogether lovely in His person, His offices,
His nature, His works, His ways, His sacrifice, His words, His promises, or any
other things belonging to Him; you will find Him altogether lovely. Everything
about Him is lovely!
Oh may we catch a greater glimpse of
the beauty of Jesus Christ. Just one glimpse of how beautiful He truly is,
I believe we will never be the same person again. You and I will be forever
changed.
Just one glimpse of Him in glory
Will the toils of life repay.
Onward to the prize before us!
Soon His beauty we'll behold;
Oh, to love Him wholly, and to
love Him only, so that we have no eyes for other beauty, no heart for
other loveliness since He fills our souls, and is to us "altogether
lovely."
3. Christ is of infinite
worth and value
This morning, may our hearts burn
within us as we contemplate on the infinite worth and value of Christ.
As we I have mentioned in the past
Sundays there are some stones that are rare but not beautiful, others
that are beautiful but not rare, still others are beautiful and rare
but are not useful. This is why diamond is on top of the list. In addition
to its rarity and beauty, diamonds are also useful.
The word "Diamond" is taken from the ancient Greek word "ada'mas", meaning "unbreakable" or
"unalterable". Diamonds are the hardest substance on earth, and
because of its hardness, it is immune to scratching, and resistant to wear and
tear. The only thing that can scratch or cut it is another diamond. The
hardness of diamond make it desirable for jewelry such as rings and bracelets
but also useful for industrial tools, such as drills and saw blades
to make them tougher and cut more easily. Though diamonds are useful, they
still have limited use and value. But O, Jesus, His value is limitless,
His worth is infinite.
Who can really understand the worth of
Christ? Who is able to understand and fathom
the preciousness of Christ? Consider how great Jesus Christ is? He is
incomparably, immeasurably, inconceivably precious.
"As for useful qualities, where
else shall we find such a variety of uses in one place? He is eyes to
the blind, ears to the deaf, feet to the lame, healing to
the sick, freedom to the slave, joy to the mourner, and life to the dead. Think of His
life, and how it gives life to the believer! Think of His death, and
how it redeems from hell all those who trust in Him! Think of His
resurrection, and how it justifies believers; and of His second coming,
and how it delights our hearts! Think of our Lord in all His offices, as
Prophet, Priest, and King! Think of Him in all His relationships, as husband,
brother, friend! Think of Him under all the types and figures with which
Scripture delights to set Him forth! Think of Him in all positions and
conditions, think of Him as you will, and as you can; but in every one of
these, He has a blessed use for the supply of some terrible need which afflicts
His redeemed. He is set for the removal of your condemnation, the pardon of
your sin, the justification of your person, the changing of your nature, the
presentation of your offerings, the preservation of your graces, the perfecting
of your holiness, and for all other good and necessary purposes. All good
things meet in Him, and meet in Him in Profusion (abundance), even to superabundance; wherefore, He is
precious indeed!" - C. H. Spurgeon
I like what was said by a child in the
Sunday school, when the teacher said, "You have been reading that
Christ is precious; what does that mean?" The children were silent for
a little while, but at last one boy replied, "My dad said the other day
that mom was precious, for 'whatever should we do without her!'" .
That's it! That's what it means when
we say that Jesus Christ is precious to us, for what should we do, what could
we do, what would we do without Him?
John 15:5 I am the vine,
ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in
him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for
without me ye can do nothing.
We are NOTHING, we have NOTHING, we
can do NOTHING without Christ. But we who have believed, have all and
abound. (Philippians
4:18) and can do all things through Christ
that strengthens us, ( Philippians 4:13).
Christ is all you and I need
John 8:58: Jesus said
unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
I am the Bread of Life. I am the Light
of the World. I am the Water of Life. I am the Good Shepherd. I am the Door. I
am the true Vine. I am the the Resurrection and the
Life. I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
He is our Father, our Husband, our
Brother, our Friend, our Physician, our Messiah, our Prophet, Priest, and King.
He is the Author and Finisher of our
faith, our Cornerstone, our Head, Our Bridegroom, our Mediator, Our Advocate,
our Deliverer, our Redeemer, our Saviour, our
Protector, our Provider, our Sustainer,
To us believers Jesus Christ is the
Passover Lamb. He is the High Priest, the Altar, and Lamb of Sacrifice. He is
the Pillar of Cloud by day and the Pillar of Fire by Night. He is the Captain
of Our Salvation. He is our Judge and Lawgiver. He is our kinsman Redeemer. He
is our Trusted Prophet. He is our Reigning King. He is the Rebuilder of the
broken down walls of human life. He is our Restorer. He is the Giver of
New Life. He is our Advocate. He is our Great Shepherd. He is our Wisdom. He is
our Hope of Resurrection. He is our Song. He is our Loving Bridegroom. He is
our Security.
To every believer He is the Suffering
Servant. He is the Righteous Branch. He is the Faithful Husband forever married
to the sinner. He is the One who Baptizes with the Holy Spirit of Fire. He is
the Restorer of Justice. He is Mighty to Save. He is our stronghold in the day
of trouble.
He is our Benefactor. He is our
Example. He is our Purity. He is our Pattern. He is our Motivation. He is the
Foundation of our Faith. He is our Coming King.
He is whatever we need. He is our
life, our light, our bread, our water. He is our Wisdom, Righteousness,
Sanctification, and Redemption. He is our Peace, our Joy, our Hope, our
Comfort, our Strength, our all. He is whatever we need.
Christ is yours, and all things are
yours
1 Corinthians 3:21
Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are your's;
22: Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas,
or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all
are your's; 23: And ye are Christ's; and Christ
is God's.
What J. C. Ryle said about our
attempts to describe Jesus Christ bears repeating ...
"We can never make too much of Christ. Our thoughts about
the Church, the ministry, and the ordinances, may easily become too high and
exaggerated or excessive. But we can never have too high thoughts about Christ,
we can never love Him too much, trust Him too implicitly, lay too much weight
upon Him, and speak too highly in His praise. He is worthy of all the honor
that we can give Him. He will be all in heaven. Let us see to it, that He is
all in our hearts on earth."
Applications
Let me draw some applications
Words to those which have believed
What a precious and perfect gift the
Lord Jesus Christ is! Just to think how poor, miserable, and undeserving
sinners we are all by nature. And yet He showed His favor to us and honored us
giving us the unspeakable gift of His Son. The only reasonable response to this
so great a gift is to believe Him, to trust Him, to love Him, to adore Him, to
worship Him, to serve Him, and to obey Him and proclaim Him.
Words to those which have not yet
believed
One thing about rare diamonds is that
only the wealthy or the elite investors can afford to own them. But not so with
Christ though He is extremely valuable and precious, though He is amazingly
beautiful, though He is of infinite value, He is offered to all and is given
for free without money and without price.
Isaiah 55:1 Ho, every
one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he
that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without
money and without price. 2: Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not
bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that
which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.
It is free not because it is
worthless, it given free because no one could afford it.
For those among us who do not see
Jesus as precious, may God, by His Holy Spirit, open your eyes and show you,
that Jesus Christ is sufficient to meet your needs, especially your need of a
great Saviour.
Isaiah 55:6 Seek ye the
LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: 7: Let the
wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him
return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he
will abundantly pardon.
Amen!