Brother Gary Sunday Morning 6/8/14

Brother Gary Sunday Morning 6/8/14

The desire of the Angels:

1Pe 1:12  Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.

It is marvelous that the angels desired to grasp what was available to men and women whose lives were in the process of perishing and then Jesus came.

1Pe 1:1  Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,

We are preaching this morning from an epistle written by one of the first converts of Jesus Christ. 

Mat 4:16  The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.

Mat 4:17  From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Mat 4:18  And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.

Mat 4:19  And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.

Mat 4:20  And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.

I was thinking of the thought of repentance recently.  It is what God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit of God designed so that mankind could deal with their past and be right with God.  It is to turn away from our past and to repent and confess and turn to God.

AD 31 Jesus said, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.”  31 years later, if it is as the historians say, Peter wrote the epistle of Peter.  He was inspired of God to write First Peter.  He wrote it and addressed it to those that are scattered and strangers. 

He begins verse 2 with the thought of, “To the elect.” 

1Pe 1:2  Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.

It is wonderful that we are called and we elect to choose to serve God.  It is a choice to serve God and I’m glad that we can make that choice.

God has a plan that we be saved, sanctified, and then for the peace to be multiplied.  The taxations, the uncertainty of our day is greater maybe than when my parents were traveling to Montana.  One reason may be because we have greater inputs from news.  Another may be these are the last days and as the scripture says, “As in the days of Noah, people will be eating and drinking and giving in marriage.”

I am shocked at how few people have respect to the first day of the week that is to be set aside and worshipped God in.  The best thing that we can do for Sister Margaret, she needs to be loved and cared for, but we must keep our priorities right so that we can have the reality of the Spirit of God in our life. 

There are a million of religious people that the vitality of the spirit of God is not alive in their life.  We must have God first so that we can be our best in the church of God and as we take the Word to the lost and dying world.

The way my sins got washed away is by the blood of the lamb.  I didn’t have money, cattle, or children to offer.  On the old rugged cross Jesus shed His precious blood that made an atonement for my sin.

1Pe 1:3  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

“I am saved by His mercy”, a song.  This is what Peter said, “According to His abundant mercy begotten us again to a lively hope.”  Isn’t it wonderful that you can have a lively hope, that you can be saved, sanctified, have fellowship with the saints, and even though all men don’t speak well of you, we are saved by mercy.

When things go adverse and people begin to shoot poisonous arrows with their tongues, and modern technology, you are blessed to be saved.

This hope is not only for this life.  We have hope in this life but we have hope of an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled.

1Pe 1:4  To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,

Isn’t it wonderful that that inheritance cannot be defiled?  There is no one that can mess it up as long as you and I stay true to God.  Anything that we would be in line for here it is such a short duration.  There is an inheritance incorruptible. 

Think of heaven, there is absolutely no immodesty.  Think of how wonderful that will be.  There will not be one individual with an ugly spirit. Or an individual with the attitude, “I’m going to get this one or that one.” 

There is one thing that counts and that is that we know that we have come through the blood of the lamb and that I know my inheritance is clear.

Jesus said that He’d go and prepare a place.  There will be no homeless there; everyone will have everything that they need.  There will be lots of children there.  It is a place of much singing and such music.  I would not want to miss it.

“Oh I would not want to miss it, walking up those streets of gold, with the saints and martyrs blood-washed playing on their harps of gold.”  Think of you and I being with those that gave their lives and wrote these marvelous epistles.

You stay true to God and the promise is true.  You have an inheritance, undefiled, imperishable, unable to be eaten up with anything, reserved in heaven for you.

No wonder the angels wanted to look into this.

Those that kept sweet in the times of losses.  Those that stayed true no matter what the crowd said. 

We are headed to a place where there will be no shortage of being able to get around.

What is this that the very son of God would give His life so that children don’t have to be all marred by sin?  That bright mind of these children: you don’t have to let it perish by being warped, by what’s wrong in the school or what is wrong with whomever in the crowd that would try to influence you. 

Think of how blessed we would be if we never had our past come to our mind.  My cousin is still living in the past instead of the present.  There is a way out of it, repentance.  You children don’t have to go that way.  You can keep your minds pure. 

Moms and dads are to teach their children, but it is up to the child to make the choice, “I’m not going to be disobedient or give myself to the lust of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes and the pride of life.”  Children face it when they are not very old.

You don’t have to give in to anything.  You can be kept by the power of God through faith in God.

1Pe 1:5  Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

There may be pressure that would try to move you away from being what God would have you to be but through faith in God you can be kept.

1Pe 1:6  Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:

When the trials and disappointments come and they will come.  When the one that you thought would be a rock chooses to not be anywhere around to support you, that is life.  When difficult seasons come, remember that the trial of your faith is more precious than gold that perishes. 

1Pe 1:7  That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

Think of the congregation of hard workers.  All that hard work in the tie plant, as loggers, all that we work for will all perish, gone, gone, gone. 

Listen, the trial of your faith being much more precious than gold that perishes though it be tried by fire…

All that you went through, all that was gained and lost: The trial of your faith, “I’m holding onto God.  He is the one that will see me through.”

1Pe 1:8  Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:

1Pe 1:9  Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.

When the trial comes or things are going good, hold onto God.

Isaiah 61 a prophecy of Jesus that He would bind up the broken heart.

Isa 61:1  The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;

The prophets received and looked at the promises.   They tried to grasp it.  The angels look and wonder.

That heart that was so broken… a broken heart is a part of life.  Some of you have experienced heartbreak that no one else knows.  Isaiah and the prophets read this and thought, “How can this be?”  The angels looked, “How can this be?” 

Then Jesus came.  Luke records, “I will heal the broken hearted.”  Life will leave you with a broken heart but if you openly confess to God, “Life has left me broken, I am not here to blame anyone, I want to be healed for the honor of God, so I can love, so I can work, so I can forget the past and step out, so I can go forth.”

Luk 4:18  The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,

Luk 4:19  To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

He came to preach the gospel to the poor: those that realize that they need the gospel.  He came to heal, not just to patch up and bind.  He said, “I will heal the broken hearted.”  

He said, “I will preach deliverance to the captives.”  Isn’t it wonderful that you can be totally delivered from lust, from a faultfinding or a mean spirit.  Sweet and bitter water doesn’t come out of the same fountain.

Recovering of the sight to the blind:  The prodigals need their sight recovered.  So they can see that the pleasures of sin do not recover what they have lost by leaving God.  I know what real pleasure is.

Liberty.  If you are bruised, if life has beat you up and you feel that you are about to fade away, when you feel, “If something doesn’t happen then this bruise will turn into bitterness and I will be lost,” Jesus came to heal the bruised.  To heal those things that would have worked toward bitterness.

1Pe 1:12  Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.

1Pe 1:13  Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

I want a ladder into my mind from heaven.  Not from Superior, not from Plains, not from the Kelly’s of west Virginia.  Gird up your mind. 

The riches or bestowment of His grace:  The inspiration of the Divine shining into our heart and then reflecting out.  Bestowment: We are so blessed to know about the grace of God.

As obedient children:  I’m not going to ask how tender these children are.  They need to be so tender that knowing just by the look from your mother what she wants you to do, that you are obedient. 

Not fashioning yourself: don’t go down that road again.

1Pe 1:14  As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:

1Pe 1:15  But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;

Be holy in all your conduct.  Be holy when you go to the bank, when you have a picnic be holy.  Be holy in your business.  Be holy in all manner of your conversation. 

1Pe 1:16  Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

1Pe 1:17  And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear:

There is no respecter of persons with God.  He requires holiness out of this congregation and out of this preacher.