Brother Gary Sunday Morning 3/13/16

Brother Gary Sunday Morning 3/13/16

1Pe 2:9  But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

My thought this morning is of the purchased possession which is the better translation of “A peculiar people.”

We are a chosen generation: He chose us, called us, and we answered the call to be one of His very own.  We can have a changed heart, be a changed man or individual.  We can be a holy nation.

We are a possessed possession:  We have been called out of darkness.  Every once in a while our paths are allowed to cross the darkness in the world.  We live in a very dark world.  For some it is more than every once in a while.  We realize that it is a dark world and it is a wonderful thing to be called out of that darkness.

There is joy, peace, and fulfillment in life that far exceeds anything that this world can possibly offer.  We are called into this glorious light which gives us hope and direction for the day and prepares us for eternity.

We are a purchased possession.

Act 20:28  Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.

Paul had called a meeting of all the elders.  They came together and Paul was giving them the instruction that he was near the end of his journey.  It is vital that each pastor and each member of the congregation take heed to their selves.  It is good instruction.

Jesus came with a real goal, it was not only to bring salvation, but we thank God for bible salvation.  Without salvation we cannot receive spiritual life and more abundant life.  Not only did He come to cleanse us and purify us but to build a called out assembly that He purchased with His own blood.

The reason that we can be saved today is not because we joined church or learned some catechism but because Jesus came and shed His precious blood.

I am impressed with the accuracy of the prophecy of Isaiah.  God has not left us without proofs.  It was prophesied of.  History records it. And it is shown forth in lives today.

Isa 53:1  Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?

People say, “That cannot be true.”  Then they find that the archeologic facts prove it and come back and say that, “It is true.”

Every soul is important to God.  There is a prison of self-consciousness, or of feeling no self-worth.  If you are in a prison this morning, you can believe God’s report that He sent His Son to give us life and more abundant life.

Isa 53:2  For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.

Jesus is prophesied as growing as a tender plant.  Think of Jesus and all the splendor of heaven!

When Kathy left for college, it seemed that even the dogs cried.  We were glad that she was getting an education but there is never joy when the little treasures are leaving the nest.  It is a part of life.

Can you and I grasp God, Jesus the very Son of God and His only begotten Son? 

In Proverbs 9 it speaks of the Son being the delight of the Father.  We understand as a mother or a father the delight of a mother or a father. 

I hope I can some way convey to you the Father sending His only begotten Son.  He was tender. 

You and I know that Jesus came upon the scene in one of the very darkest days of our history.  It was approximately 460 years after the last prophet.  Men sat in darkness.  Light shone into the darkness and the darkness comprehended it not.  In the days of Eli, the lamp had almost gone out.

He who had never known sin was born into the world with the exact situation set up.  He was to be born in Bethlehem.  It was all ordained of God.  He had a very lowly birth.  There were those that came to see Jesus.  The king wanted to know all about it and it was not long until he issued a law that all the little boy babies should be killed.

Isa 53:3  He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

He was despised and rejected:  It was fulfilled in Christ but is still true today.  Jesus kept on His course.  He came with a purpose, to fulfil the will of God.  He came with the thought, “I am going to pay the price so that mankind will be our purchased possession.” 

You are bought with a price.  Glorify God in your body and in your spirit which are the Lords.  Don’t be servants of men.

God deserves our very best.  You might be here and not feeling well.  Maybe you had a challenging week or weekend.  Maybe you are sick and afflicted and are here doing the best that you can.

God designed that we glorify Him in our bodies and in our spirits that belong to God. 

We are to glorify God and not be servants of men.  Everyone in this audience is precious and important to us.  More than that they are important to God.  How vital that they keep everything rightly related to God.  One of the thoughts of the cross is “God help us to always keep things clear between us and God.” 

Be not servants of men:  This doesn’t mean that we are not to serve one another.  We are to love and care for one another but we are not indebted to each other in the thought of selling out for the gifts or praise of man.

Always remember that the plan of God is that we are all brethren.  I am not against a pulpit.  We need a place to have orderly worship and a place to lay our bible.  When we were building the building I told the deacons, “It is fine with me if I don’t have a raised platform, for we are brethren.”  My calling is different but there is no big I’s or little You’s.

Reverend and holy is God’s name.  I don’t want it.  I am brother or pastor Kelly.

He is despised and rejected.  He did it for you and me.  I think of what Jesus went through.  He was mistreated.  He did this for the sole purpose that he could buy your soul from the auction block of sin.

Romans 3:23, we all came into the world with the nature to sin.  Isn’t it wonderful that God sent Jesus that we could be saved?  He sent Him to pay the price.

Isa 53:4  Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

A man of sorrows, acquainted with griefs: He bore our sorrows.  Jesus carried our sorrows.  This spoke to me for myself and for everyone that is here.  Even little children know anxiety.  As you age anxiety becomes something that most deal with.  If you live your journey out, you will deal with anxieties. 

You will wonder “What is going to happen when I reach a certain age?”  You, as parents, will be challenged with the thought, “Are our children going to serve God?”  There will be the anxiety, “If they don’t...”

Young people will wonder, “Will I find that individual in life that will love me and I them?”  It is the desire of children to grow up and have a good home.  We live in a world where especially boys come into the world thinking that the world owes them a living and they look for someone to support them. 

The bible says, “The man that doesn’t work or provide for his own is worse than an infidel and denied of the faith.” 

I am not talking about that handicapped man with injuries or disabilities.  I am talking of the one that his grandfather spoke of, “I wish he would get to work.  He has the education, he needs to go to work.”

Isa 53:12  Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

Every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess.  He will divide a portion with the strong.  There is nothing too hard for my God to do.  He poured out His soul to death.  He took the place of a prisoner named Barabbas.  They bound Him like a prisoner

Van you imagine coming from the splendor of heaven to being bound like a prisoner.  He could have called 10,000 angels but He didn’t.  He bore the sting of death.  He bore the sins of many.  He became the author of salvation. 

Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world.  John the Baptist said this twice.  One of the times his disciples left and followed Jesus.  “Look at that one and follow Him.”

He prayed for me.  He prayed for every sinner.  After you get saved He doesn’t stop praying but makes intercession for His people.