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1 Peter 3 (Class) and Zechariah 3 – The Filthy High Priest (Sermon) – 07-12-2020 – Live Stream

In Bible Classes Videos, Live Streams, Sermons, Sermons by Aaron Cozort

Class: 1 Peter 3

Sermon: Zechariah 3: The Filthy High Priest

Automated Transcript

Good morning. We are in first Peter chapter three. It’s good to see everybody this morning for anybody asks. Yes, she is coming back now for those who haven’t asked me and might be looking for an update update and those on the stream as well. Um, Eddie sisters hip is not progressing from the surgery as quickly as they hoped. So she still is not what’s called load bearing on it,

which means she still can’t drive. So, um, Eddie’s hanging around for another week to help out with her grandmother because somebody probably Eddie’s dad is going to have to go back with her oldest sister back to her apartment where she can start getting ready for school, but somebody to drive her around because obviously with coronavirus, she can’t is not going to have a bunch of other people drive her around.

So of all things playing together into, well, it’s just gonna go be another week, But, uh, um, keep, keep Eddie and the boys in your prayers. They’re doing well. Uh, talk with them often video chat with them. It’s nice to have the technology to do that nowadays. So first Peter chapter three, we’ll begin with a word of prayer.

Our gracious father in heaven, we bow before your throne grateful for its blessings, grateful for all that you do for us on a daily basis, grateful for the time and the opportunity that we have to assemble together, mindful and grateful of that opportunity. In times like these, we pray for those who are not able because of health, reasons or health concerns,

to be able to assemble with us. We pray that your blessings and your hand be upon them, pray that you watch over us. As we go through this time of study and time of worship, may the sacrifice of praise that we offer to you, be acceptable in your sight, may all that we do and say, be that which is in accordance with your will.

We ask that you forgive us when we sin and fall short of your glory, help us to strive to realize when we do wrong and to repent of those things, help us to strive daily, to grow the borders of your kingdom, through opportunities that are placed in front of us in front of us. Every day we ask that you watch over us and protect us all this.

We pray in Jesus name. Amen. Okay. First Peter chapter three, in the end of chapter two, Peter is writing about the example of Christ. He quotes In verse 22 from Isaiah chapter 53. Of course, that passage there in Isaiah speaking concerning the lamb, that was slain speaking concerning the suffering servant speaking concerning the one who God gave our punishment to him when he didn’t deserve it.

And Peter uses this passage and uses this context to remind these Christians, you will suffer. Remember Paul wrote to Timothy and he told Timothy that all who live godly in Christ, Jesus will what will suffer persecution, The will Not tolerate. And I’m speaking in a global sense, not always in individual sentences, but the world by and large does not tolerate righteousness.

Why is that guilt on their part for not doing what’s right? Why was Jesus rejected? John says in John chapter one that the light came in the world and the world did not receive him. He came unto his own and his own did not receive him. Why? Because the light showed what their darkness, the, their deeds were evil. Their deeds were being done in darkness.

And when you introduce light, so this happens every once in a while you, uh, move a piece of furniture, you haven’t moved in a while. What do you find underneath and behind the piece of furniture you haven’t moved in a while? No telling that’s right. Does for sure. Now most likely that area back there behind, you know, a cabinet or,

or a dresser or a piano or a whatever, something, maybe even something on wheels, but it doesn’t get moved all the time. That area is likely to be cleaned. If you know it’s dirty, but because it’s behind something, it’s not the place that gets, it’s not the middle of the floor. It’s not the kitchen floor. It’s not the,

you know, the counter next to the sink. It’s not the place you clean all the time. Why? Because light’s not on it because it’s not right there. It’s not prominent. And that’s what the description is of these people’s deeds. They did them in the darkness. So they weren’t observable question scribes, Pharisees, and chief priests. When they decided to kill Jesus,

when they decided to pay Judas 30 pieces of silver to betray his master, think they did that in the public temple out where everybody could hear. Now, the things that are done today in making decisions that are in the interest of a few and not in the interest of many and yet are often claimed to be for the benefit of all. You think they’re done in the public square done at night around here?

Yeah. Why is that? Oh, I don’t think these people are sitting in a room with no lights on trying to make their deeds be done literally in the dark. They’re trying to hide what they’re doing. So that being said, Peter says your master, the one who remember he’s writing to these people, and he’s already said the one who you love,

who you never saw, the one who you obey, but you never even came in contact with. He suffered and notice what he says. He says, 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 him self to him who judges righteously,

couple of things. Number one, we sing a song 10,000 angels. The whole premise of that song is right here. He could have called. It comes from the statement concerning that Jesus made the pilot. If I chose to, I could have 10 legions of angels, but my kingdom is not of this world. Jesus suffered a fate. He didn’t deserve you.

And I, we go through life and sometimes we suffer at the hands of individuals who we didn’t do anything to, but they have chosen to take their anger, their rage, their whatever, out on us. But are we in our lives entirely faultless? No, we live in a world of sin and we have become part of that world of sin.

Because at some point in time, we have sin and fallen short of the glory of God. So to say that we have suffered, maybe not in that one time instance because of our own sin, but to say we have suffered because we live in a world where we included in that world do sin is to recognize that we don’t always get what we deserve.

Sometimes we get mercy when we should have gotten judgment. And sometimes we get, uh, people’s anger and animosity when we ought to get kindness. But the reality is we’ve done the same thing to somebody else for this world that wants to go head long into someone, did something wrong to me or my parent or my brother or my whatever in the past.

Therefore you owe me something. The problem with that is, has that person who believes they’re owed something, ever done something wrong to somebody else. And the answer is always, yes, the only person who was always owed and who never owed is the one who went to the cross for us. So Peter says in all of this, when you look at that person and you look at how he suffered and did not take the action,

he had the authority and the power and the ability to take in return. Then Peter says, now, you know how to suffer. Notice what he says. He says who, when he reviled, he did not revile in return. When me, when he was reviled, he 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 those stripes you were healed for. You were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the shepherd and overseer of your souls. The context of chapter three begins back in verse 13 of chapter two,

Peter says submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake. And then in chapter two, verse 18, he says, servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear for verse 21 for, to this, you were called because Christ also suffered you. When, when Peter tells a servant, by the way, that’s a slave in the context,

that’s what the Greek word is. Bond servant. When he tells a slave, you obey your master because Christ submitted himself to someone who was not worthy to be called his master cry, submitted himself to the judgment and to the punishment of, and pilot was nobody in comparison to Christ yet Christ didn’t stand up and say, you can’t touch me. You’re not worthy.

You’re a sinner. And I’m righteous. No Christ suffered being an example for us to tell Christians, to tell his servants you live, where I put you. That’s not to say that S a slave who’s given the opportunity to become free. Can’t take that opportunity. It is to say that one who knows what their status is in life ought to be a Christian first and everything else.

Second. So he’s going to talk about servants first, because he’s just finished talking about honoring the King and our relegation to being under the law that we live under, the ordinances we live under. So he says, first of all, Christians submit to the ordinances, submit to the law. Secondly, honor, the King, thirdly, servants honor your masters.

Now chapter three, verse one wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands that even if they do not obey the word, they without a word may be one by the conduct of their wives. If we come to this passage and when we ignore the rest of it, we’re, we’re going to miss something here because Peter is talking to wives and he’s talking to them in a historical context and a cultural context where wives were considered property.

They were above slaves, but not very far. Now, imagine you’re a Christian wife with an<inaudible> Christian, a pagan husband, and he considers you nothing more than property. He considers you nothing of inherent value. Maybe you’re one wife of many, and Peter still says, submit yourself to your husband. Even if some do not obey the word. Here’s the question.

If I’m a Christian and I’m married a non-Christian, do I still have to obey that husband that I have that spouse that I have because he’s not a Christian. And by the way, this is the same question that Peter, or excuse me, Paul answers in first Corinthians chapter seven, where he, yes, but he says, Peter says, in this context,

do it again. We’re we’re always reminding ourselves as we talk about submission. As we talk about obedience, as we talk about being under the law of the land, we’re always reminding ourselves, never, is there an excuse to countermand or go against or transgressed the laws of God to obey any man, doesn’t matter if it’s a King. And if it does,

it doesn’t matter. If it’s a government, it doesn’t matter if it’s a master in it doesn’t matter. If it’s a husband. If they tell you to do something, God tells you not to who wins God every time. So the context is not obey your husband over God. The context is always obey God first. And because you obey God, obey your husband.

He goes on to say that even if they do not obey the word, they, without a word may be one by the conduct of their wives. He said there is an opportunity placed in the hands of a spouse, specifically in this context of wife, who’s now a Christian who now doesn’t look at her husband the same way she did before. Peter’s going to talk about those in the world who become angry at Christians because they don’t go to the same level of excess.

They don’t go to the same level of debauchery. They don’t entertain and participate in sin the way the world does. And it makes the world angry at them. Now imagine a pagan husband who his wife used to involve herself in his paganism. And now she won’t. Now she won’t do the things she used to do. And he looks at that as though she’s judging him.

She’s not happy with him. He’s not doing what she’s doing. She, this is creating a barrier. But what if that spouse in every other area goes from being, I’m my own person. And I’m going to participate in these things with you too. I’m going to submit to you as I submit to God. Now, suddenly this husband who no longer has a partner in all of these things that he’s doing that are wrong,

has for the first time ever a real wife. I think sometimes those of us who roll up in the church or maybe have, have been in families that have are stable families. And, and even if they’re not Christians, those who have families that have been striving to put godly principles in action in their lives, those of us who have done that their entire lives.

And that’s been our, our little bubble that we’ve grown up in, sometimes fail to realize what a lot of the rest of the world goes through at home. And when you come in contact with that, or when you’ve lived through that, it changes you. But when you suddenly have one person in that household acting like a Christian, acting like someone who no longer looks out for themselves first,

but someone who looks out for the best interest of someone else, because they serve a God who paid a debt for them, they could never pay the whole relationship changes. And so Peter says, wives, you have an opportunity. When you have an unbelieving husband, you have an opportunity without telling him anything about the doc, the, the doctrine, without telling him anything about the gospel,

without telling him anything about Jesus, you have an opportunity to win his soul through your conduct at home. He goes on to say, when they observe your chaste conduct, accompanied by fear, do not let your adornment be merely outward, arranging the hair, wearing gold or putting on fine apparel. Rather let it be the hidden person of the heart with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit,

which is very presh precious in the sight of God. The formula that Peter puts here for a wife to when her husband is her inward person displayed in her outward person. So he says for in this manner in former times, the Holy women who trusted in God, also adorned themselves, being submissive to their own husbands. As Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him Lord whose daughters you are,

if you do good and are not afraid with any terror, what did they, what do they have to be afraid of this? Isn’t a statement you and I would probably make about husbands and wives and spouses at home. Why is the statement about fear terror here in Jewish society? And we’re not talking about Jewish society here, but in Jewish society, the chief priests and Pharisees Sadducees,

one of them, I think it was the Pharisees came to Jesus, Matthew chapter 19 verse one and said, is it law for a lawful, for a man to put away his wife for any cause now this is the group of people who grew up and lived under the law of Moses who are coming to Jesus and saying, can I get rid of my wife for any reason I want to now you and I,

we we’ve become pretty well accustomed in our society to people getting rid of their spouses for any reason we want to. But we also live in a society where if a woman is not married, she’s not looked down upon and she can go provide for herself and she can own property and she can own land and she can have a job. And she she’s got a lot of opportunities that they didn’t have a woman who was put away because the husband no longer had any interest in her was a woman who was destitute,

unless she found another husband. Why do you think Paul wrote to Timothy and said, here are the qualifications for a woman to come under the support or be supported by the church financially. Because if she was of an age and older age and had, had lived her life, she wasn’t likely finding another husband. And so she became very much like nail me in the book of Ruth who needed someone to provide for her because there was no opportunity for her to provide for herself.

Now, take yourself out of a context where God’s written laws and given them through Moses and put yourself in Rome. And if the Jews had a mentality of, I can get rid of my wife and put her out on the street for any cause what do you think the Roman empire would have let them do to their wives? Sell them? Yeah. You know what I’m done with this wife need a slave,

but Peter says, spouse, wife, you don’t do this out of fear and terror. You do this out of submission to God. So he says, you can be the daughters of Sarah. When you’re willing to look at this opportunity as an opportunity to bring and bring your husband, or in that idea, save your husband. You don’t do it out of fear and terror do it out of hope.

But then he says, husbands, likewise dwell with them with understanding giving honor to the life as to the weaker vessel and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered. We could spend the entire class period on this, just like we could have spent the entire class period on the first seven verses we won’t. But notice the very first thing that Peter places here,

by the way, something that’s interesting and worth pointing out. Number one is we know Peter was married. We know also he is an elder. Peter is not writing as sometimes. I think people interpret Paul’s writings go. Paul was single. Paul wrote all this stuff about marriage who listens to single men about marriage, who does, but Peter’s not. And one of the things Paul reveals to us about Peter is that Peter’s wife after the church was established and he began to go out into other places beyond Jerusalem.

Peter’s wife traveled with him and it’s this man who says dwell with her in understanding there’s a culture, a cultural mindset among some husbands that says you do what I say, because I say it and that’s not biblical. Now, ultimately there is a role in the household where that person is ultimately accountable and that person does ultimately have to make a decision if there’s not consensus.

And ultimately that person ought to be that husband submitting to the Lord and saying, God gets to make the decision and I get to enact it. But the very first thing that Peter tells these Christian husbands to do is get to a point of understanding with their spouses so that they are partners in submitting to Christ and not opponents. He goes on to say that they are to give honor.

First thing he says is put them on the same level with you and be understanding, communicate with one another. And the second thing is now you lift them up. Our society has done so much damage to the female gender, but it’s because the world and humanism has taught our society has taught people in our culture that having the same thing, someone else has means that you get everything they get.

And it’s not true. There are so many passages of scripture where men are commanded to lift up and praise their wives. I challenge you go through the Bible and find how many passages of scripture tell wives to do that. To husbands, they’re told to submit to them. They’re told to honor them in that form, but there’s not the same description. God puts a special place on women and a special value on women.

And Jesus did too. And who was it? That was constantly with Jesus, supporting him and helping him beyond the 12 apostles women. They were predominantly the strongest allies Jesus had in this life. And who came to his grave on Sunday morning women, the Bible in no passage, anywhere, denigrates women, it always places a great deal of value on them all the way through scripture.

And when we, as a society, allow ourselves to be deceived into saying, we need to treat each other exactly the same. That’s not a value proposition for women. That’s degrading them, but he goes on to say, finally, all of you, he’s taught to those who are under a law, which is all of them in some form or fashion,

they’re all live under some sort of ordinance of men. He’s taught to servants. He’s taught to husband two wives. He’s talked to husbands now says everybody, all of you be of one mind having compassion for one another love as brothers, be tender hearted, be courteous, not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this,

that you may inherit a blessing for now, he’s going to go back into the old Testament. He who would love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking to seat, let him turn away from evil and do good. Let him seek peace and pursue it for the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are open to their prayers.

But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil. Peter says, you want to, you, you want to have this peace. You want to pursue righteousness and peace and, and unity. Then you be of one mind. Now again, does that mean, all right? Let’s everybody get together and let’s talk about what we want our society and our world to be like,

and let’s make a decision on how we’re going to act. No, it doesn’t. We’re going to be of one mind under whose law gods. We’re going to be of one mind because we’ve all decided to take ourselves and put ourselves over here and submit to God. And that’s how we become of one mind. That’s how we become unified in action and,

and goal and purpose and motivation. That is how we look at slights against ourselves or people doing wrong to us or reviling us. And don’t throw it back in their face. But instead bless them. That’s a challenge. I’ll be honest. Uh, somebody gets up in my face and they’re angry and they’re mad and they’re frustrated. And they’re saying things,

they shouldn’t be saying it is a real challenge because I’ll, I’ll, I’ll give you my first reaction. It tends to be sarcasm. Doesn’t generally turn out all that. Well, I tried it with my brothers growing up, just saying by and large, that was when I got hit. My mother would say, Aaron, you do realize it is your mouth.

That gets you in trouble. Most of the time. Yes, mom, I do. I don’t tend to be the anger in exchange for anger. I generally turn it into sarcasm and, and, uh, that doesn’t go all that well either. Yes it is. Yes, it is. It is very difficult. When someone sees the world one way and someone sees the world another way,

and one party is blaming another party for something that didn’t even happen when either one of them were alive. And then the challenge to us as Christians is bless them. And that’s not the Southern version of, well, bless your soul. That that’s not that, that sarcasm. Okay. That is sarcasm wrapped in, in sweet Southern draw. That is not the blessing we’re talking about.

Okay. So he goes on to say, and who is he? Who will harm you? If you become followers of what is good. Okay. As, as, as, as he encapsulates this in pursue peace, do good. Be at harmony with one another, do right to one another be of one mind. And when someone does something wrong to you,

bless them in return, he then asked the question and who then is going to do harm to you if you become followers of what’s good. But even if you should suffer for righteous and Sancuso. So what, what Peter did is he left the rest of the explanation off. He said, who’s going to do harm to you. If you follow righteousness,

the answer is from somebody over here in the crowd. Somebody is this narrow he’ll kill us. But to this guy down the street, who’s not a Christian. Who’s just an ordinary Joe who respects people who respect others and despises those who mistreat others. Is he going to do wrong and harm to those who are living righteously? Who, when they’re reviled blessing,

return none. No, no, no. That person is going to look at these people and go, you don’t deserve that. What was the description in acts chapter two, the end of acts chapter two, the church has been established. Day of Pentecost is over the church, begins assembling together. They follow the Apostle’s doctrine. They continue in the Apostle’s doctrine and prayers and,

and breaking a bread. They do all of this and what’s the description of their relationship to the people around them. They had all things in common among the Christians, but what was their P their relationship to the Jewish society go back to acts chapter two. So continuing daily, verse 46, and with one accord in the temple and breaking bread from house to house,

they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God, and having favor with all the people that didn’t stay that way forever. Because the mood of crowds change. When you get over to acts chapter 12 and pilot or not pilot, uh, Herod sees that the Jews like it when he takes the head off of James, he goes and arrest Peter.

It’s not going to stay that way forever. But at that point in time, the Christians were in one accord. The Christians were in unity with one another. The Christians were doing what was right. And the people saw them doing good. And the people weren’t angry with them, reviling them doing harm to them. They had favor with them. So he says here,

verse 14. But even if you should suffer for righteousness sake, you are blessed and do not be afraid of their threats nor be troubled, but sanctify the Lord, God in your hearts and always be ready to give a defense to anyone. Or does he mean to everyone who asks you a reason to the hope that is in you with meekness and fear,

having a good conscience that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed for it is better. If it is the will of God to suffer for doing good, then for doing evil for Christ also suffered once for sins. The, just for the unjust that he might bring us to God being put to death in the flesh,

but made alive by the spirit, by whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison who formerly were disobedient when once the divine long suffering waited in the days of Noah while the Ark was being prepared in which a few that is eight souls were saved through water. There is also an anti type, which now saves us baptism, not the removal of the filth of the flesh,

but the answer of a good conscience toward God, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers, having been made subject to him. We’ll bring, we’ll come to this on Wednesday and bring some of this forward because you need to see verse 15 together with verse 13 together with verse 21,

going into chapter four, verse one. Okay. So we’ll get into that on Wednesday. Let’s go through the questions. How might women, when they’re disobedient husbands to the faith, their chase conversation, or manner of life, how our husbands to treat their wives understanding honor. Um, and, and, and another answer, and we even get into this,

but as fellow heirs, fellow heirs of God, what is a person supposed to do instead of returning evil for evil or insult for insult bless yes or no. Is a person blessed if he must suffer for the sake of righteousness? Yes. What should a Christian be ready to do? If someone should ask him concerning his faith, be ready to give a correct answer.

We’re going to go into that more, like I said on Wednesday, because there’s more to that passage than most of us give credit to it. It’s, it’s a, it’s a great passage to tell us, to be ready to explain why we believe what we believe, but it’s more than a passage on apologetics. I think I just gotta say it’s a whole lot more than a passage on apologetics.

How many times did Jesus Christ died for sins once and where is Jesus now? The right hand of God? Why does baptism save individuals? Okay. Because, well, let me do it from the passage because it is an answer of a good conscience and is connected to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Okay. Because it connects an obedient person to the resurrection.

That’s, that’s the passage right there. Uh, and the answer there. Okay. Thank you for your attention. We went a little long, but I appreciate your patience, your dismiss<inaudible><inaudible> good morning. Welcome to The Collierville church Christ Sunday morning worship service. It’s great to see each and every one of you and to our visitors. We are so glad that you chose to come worship God with us here this morning.

It’s Collierville the church of Christ visitors. If you don’t mind, if you would please take an opportunity to fill out a visitor’s card and drop it into collection a basket at the back so that we have record of your attendance. Also, uh, for those that are visiting with us for the Lord’s supper, we have the, uh, bread and the fruit of the vine and cups at the back of the church.

If you did not get that, when you first come in, please take an opportunity before the Lord’s supper to go back there and get that for yourselves announcements. Please remember our sick Rodel and Dorothy Wilson, Joan sprayer. They’re all still working with their chronic problems. So please keep all them. And your thoughts and prayers. Janie Marlin is dealing with a sinus infection.

Terry, Sanderson’s not sick, but he’s still waiting for his COVID-19 test results. He has not got those back yet. Pam chafing is having back problems and she will have an MRI on her back. This Wednesday, Sylvia pass is also having back problems. Mary Joe Todaro that’s Jenny sister-in-law is at home now and will begin treatments for colon cancer soon. And then a former member here.

Tom Allen has been diagnosed with stage four pack pantry, pancreatic cancer. Sorry, that’s a tough one to get out this morning. Please keep all these in your thoughts and prayers each and every day. Our other announcements, the nationwide gospel meeting, the call in is still going on for the entire month of July. The flyers are out there on the table and the four for this week and next week with the speakers for each night for that.

And then for the men today, immediately following service, we’ll have our July men’s business meetings. So please, uh, go into the fellowship hall as soon as we’re done with worship service this morning. So we can get that meeting going our service this morning. Our song leader will be Jacob Wallace. I have the opening prayer. Lord supper will be Jay Schaefer.

Sermon will be Aaron coats, art and closing prayer will be Joe casing. Thank you. Good evening or morning rather. How about that? Uh, Over 47. Holy, Holy, Holy, Holy, Holy, Holy Lord. God almighty. Uh, and, uh,<inaudible> a song. Shout to the Holy Holy Holy<inaudible><inaudible> three.<inaudible> he?

All the Holy Holy<inaudible> the casting down their crowns up around the crystal sea chair, a<inaudible> holding down B for the<inaudible> and a<inaudible> shall be whole the Holy Holy<inaudible> all day workshop, pray sign, name, and a time sky and see, Holy Holy, Holy<inaudible> it.<inaudible> it. Let us pray. God, our father in heaven,

we come to you at this time, thanking you for the opportunity to assemble here this morning and sing songs of praise, your great name, but most importantly, study another portion of your word. God, there are many amongst us that are dealing with various illnesses. We listed some of them, but we know there are many others. And we asked that if it be your will,

you provide them to return to a measure of their health, that they so desire so that they may come and assemble with us to worship your great name. God, we also ask that you look upon the leaders of this nation and the leaders of each nation in this world. And we pray that they will look to you for guidance on what to do in this day and age,

because there’s much turmoil going on in our country and in this world. And we pray that if it be your, will you help them to make the right decisions so that each and every one of us may come to a point where we truly understand that you are the one that is in charge and that we respect and honor you each and every day to make a better world to live In.

And as we prepare to, uh, study a portion of your word, we ask that you help each and every one of us open our hearts and our minds so that we may take the message that Aaron is going to bring to us this morning and apply it to our lives. So we may be become better servants of yours here on earth. We pray this all in your son.

jesus’ name. Amen. I saw him the foot Lord separate will be number 337. Number three, three seven, Man. Um, saw<inaudible> name for the son of God who came Ru<inaudible> claim. Holla what a savior, uh, bearing shame and scoffing and my place<inaudible> sealed my pod with his blood.<inaudible> when he comes out, Claudia skiing,

all his ride, some home to bring then a new, this song. We’ll sing holla<inaudible>. We now come to a very special time in our service, where we remember our savior, Jesus, who made the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. So as we go to God in prayer, help us each to displace all of our world, our thoughts,

our minds, and focus upon that cross and the sacrifice that he made. Heavenly father we’re indeed grateful for this privilege. We, as Christians have to assemble about this table to remember your son’s sacrifice for ours sins, help us to do so in a way that will be fitting in proper in your side. As we partake of this, which represents his body,

may we do so as we should in Jesus name, we pray amen and alike, man or father were mindful of the great sacrifice that your son made. And as we partake of this spirit of the vine, which represents the blood, and that was shed for the remission of our sins, help us to do so in a proper way, since his name that we pray,

amen, which concludes the Lord’s supper. We now find this a convenient time to lay by in store, as we’ve been blessed father, we’re so grateful for the many material blessings that we have to enjoy. You have blessed us far more than our needs truly are we thank you father for those blessings and help us always to remember that we’re merely stewards. So these things that all these gifts come from,

you help us to cheerfully return a portion of that, which is yours in Jesus name. We pray. Amen. Next song of worship would be number five Oh eight or 508. A wonderful Oh, wonderful savior is Jesus. My Lord, a wonderful savior to me. He hide it’s my soul in a cleft of dog, wherever this up slasher. I see he hide as my soul and Nicholas after the rock that shadows a dry thirsty land,

he hide is my life in the, and covers me that with his high sun and covers me there with his ah, Oh, wonderful savior on is Jesus. My Lord. He takes my burden away. He holds me up and I shall not be. He gave with me strength as my day. He hide. If I saw then the cleft of the rock that shadows a dry thirsty,

and he hide if my life in the tops of his love and covers me with his hand and covers me there with his hands when close to his brightness, transports it. I rise to me. Two men clouds up the sky, his perfect salvation, his wonderful shouts with the millions on, ah, hi. Hey, hi, that’s by Saul in the club of the rock that shadows are dry,

thirsty. He hide if my life in the cups of Islam and carvers me that with his high and covers me. There is, uh, the song for our lesson today will be number four 90 number four, nine zero. It is well with my son When<inaudible>, uh, 10. And, uh, my way when I was like sea billows,

roll wa uh, my Lord thou has taught me to say,<inaudible><inaudible>, Uh, With my soul. So<inaudible> say<inaudible> that<inaudible> stage and<inaudible> is, uh, with my soul. So is<inaudible> my<inaudible>, uh, the<inaudible> my son<inaudible>, but, uh,<inaudible> cross and<inaudible> praise<inaudible> is, uh, with my soul.

So<inaudible> and Lord haste the day when, uh,<inaudible> uh, the speed roll back, uh, uh, scroll. So the<inaudible> shall resound and the Lord<inaudible><inaudible>, uh, with my soul. So<inaudible> Good morning. Take your Bibles if you will. And open them to Zechariah Zechariah chapter three is where we will take our lesson from this morning.

Want to say thank you to Jacob and Becky for being with us this morning, and especially for Jacob leading singing on very short notice, we appreciate that greatly good to have the stacks back with us and, uh, glad that, uh, uh, we’ve been able to, to see them once again and appreciate their presence. Appreciate all those who are joining us online and aren’t able to get out,

are those joining us through the phone call as well as we’ve been going through this study of Zechariah, we’ve mentioned multiple times, this is a bridge book and like any bridge that was designed properly, it gets you from one place to another. It connects to locations and Zechariah is that book in the old Testament. Of course, if you recognize, as you’re turning a few pages,

you’re going to realize you’re, you’re almost at the end of the old Testament and it’s not placed there by accident. It’s not just, just happenstance that is there because these events are transpiring shortly before that 400 years of silence that comes in between the old Testament and the new, but Zechariah is prophesying at a time. And to a people that are struggling,

they are struggling with their own insignificance. He said, well, wait a minute, air XY recall when I go back and look at the old Testament and I go back and read the numbers from Nehemiah and from Ezra, there were, there were 40,000 plus people who went back to Jerusalem, try try putting 40,000 people in this room. It’s not going to work.

That’s not insignificant. It is in view of the world was watching some news coverage just this week, concerning the plans for the NFL opening up there, they’re seasoned and what different stadiums are doing. And, and the state, I think it’s the station where the Jacksonville Jaguars play is limiting their capacity to 15,000 people now for you and I going through day to day lives.

If we went to any place, I had 15,000 people at the same place. The same time we’d be going, where’s the door. But for people who go to NFL football games, they know that is a, an almost nonexistent crowd for stadiums seat, a hundred thousand people. That means you are 15% full. And when you’re in the bottom of that stadium stadium looking up and you only have 15,000 people there,

it looks empty. Now compare 42,000 to the world. God told Israel through Isaiah and Jeremiah through a Z keel, that I’m bringing my people back to Jerusalem and I’m going to bring my remnant back and I’m going to put them there. And I’m going to put my name there. Now, the last time God said, I’m going to put my name in this place.

And I’m going to build my house in this place was when Solomon was raining at the height, the very pinnacle of Israelite history. And God said, I’m going to put my name in this place, in this location, in this house. And I am going to dwell with my people and I will bless them. And they will dwell with me. And that occurred when they were at the height of their power militarily,

when they were at the height of their expansion by way of land, when they were at the height of their riches. And now they are 42,000 people with only about 15,000 of them dwelling in Jerusalem and the rest around the area. A city that was once a population of hundreds of thousands of people is now 15. And it has no walls. It has no fortification.

It has no army. God said, I am going to be in your midst. And I’m going to be a fire around you as if that were your wall. Then chapter three opens. And another vision occurs. As I’ve mentioned before, Zechariah is a vision book. It is a picture book. You are supposed to read the words and not just read them.

You are supposed to imagine this happening in your mind. Just the same way. The book of revelation is we’ll get into revelation. A few of the connections in our lesson this morning, but chapter three opens up. Then he showed me Joshua, the high who’s the he here. Okay? It is the angel of the Lord. Zechariah is having this vision and he’s being escorted through these visions by the angel of the Lord,

the angel, the Lord comes and says, here’s the next vision? And he shows him Joshua. Now Joshua here is Jeshua with an E in the book of Ezra. Okay? It’s not Joshua of the book of Joshua. It’s Joshua, the high priest, the son of Jehovah deck, the one who is a descendant of Zeta doc, who was placed as the high priest and the high priest lineage by Solomon.

You remember that in Solomon’s day, as Solomon was coming to power Jehoiada, who was the high priest and, uh, others backed, uh, the other son of David to come to the throne. And as a result of that, Solomon removed him as the high priest and put Zadar in his place. Okay. ZETAC is still from the lineage of Aaron.

He’s still rightfully able to be high priest, but this high priest come through D Z docks lineage. So Zechariah says, then he showed me Joshua, the high priest standing before the angel Lord. And Satan’s standing at his right hand to oppose him. Now, the word Satan here is not doesn’t carry with it. The same connotation that using the word Satan in the new Testament,

okay. In the new Testament, you’ve got a lot clearer picture of this individual who opposed God and who is the enemy of God and Christ, but that’s not really the connotation here. Now, was this a picture of Satan? Was this a visualization? Like the book of job opens up with, maybe it is, but it’s not really demanded here by the word.

The word is adversary. And literally what you have here is Zechariah in the original language going, I saw the adversary and he was being adversarial or accusing him. So you really have a wording, a language that goes, I saw the one who was the adversary or the one who was Satan. And he was Satanist him in a verb sense. Okay.

It doesn’t really translate well, but what you have is you have an accuser. Why is there an accuser of the high priest? Joshua has come back, was the rebel.<inaudible> the governor. Joshua is the high priest. There’s no King. And these two men, one of them leading the, and one of them leading the religion are struggling. They’re struggling with a people that is downcast.

They’re struggling with a people that has become disheartened. They’re struggling with a people that sees their own insignificance. And they’re struggling with the people. Who’s wondering, is it really worth being here? So now in chapter three, we see Joshua and he has one standing by him who is accusing him. And the Lord said to Satan, the accuser, the Lord rebuke you,

Satan, the Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you. Is this not a brand plucked from the fire? The accuser comes with Joshua. Imagine in your mind a court scene, you’ve got the one who comes. Who’s the defendant. And you’ve got the one who comes. Who’s the accuser. They come before the judge, they’re standing there. Here’s the high priest.

And he’s there. Here’s the accuser. And he’s there. And the accuser makes the accusation. Now we’re not told what the accusation is yet, but it’s going to be implied. In a moment. The accuser says, this is the accusation against this individual. And the defendant stands there silent. But the Lord, as the judge speaks from the bench,

the Lord says to the accuser, you be silent. My rebuke on you as if here’s the lawyer who is the accuser. And the judge hits, hits the gavel down and says, you be silent. You sit down. God’s not going to accept the accusation. God’s not going to tolerate the accuser. He is going to rebuke him. And then he describes the defendants.

He describes Joshua. Now, bear in mind here. Joshua is a high priest. The function of a high priest is to be the mediator to be the go between between the people and God. He represents the nation in such, at this time, he represents the remnant that is in Jerusalem and ultimately the entire nation that’s scattered over the face of the earth.

Joshua doesn’t stand by himself. When Joshua stands there, he stands there as the representative for the entire nation. And the accuser is accusing Joshua. And when the Lord says, is this not a brand plucked from the fire? It is a description, not just of Joshua. It is a description of Israel as if you were to take a brand and you were to put it in a fire and it begins to get hot and it begins to glow and you pluck it out of the fire.

And now it is on fire. And that is real. You look at that and you go, that’s insignificant. That’s not important. They’re not going to make a change. And God says, do you see what I’ve done? What happens if you take a brand, you wrap it up in cloth, wrap it up in, in other things. And then you put it in the fire.

What happens to all of the substance? That’s around it. That’s not the brand. It burns up. It burns away. And when you pull that brand out, the only thing left is the thing that really matters. God has a remnant of 42,000 people representing a nation. That’s scattered all over the face of the planet. And the accuser is accusing this group.

And God says, no, I put them here. I caused them to be in this condition because I know who they are. But then notice what we’ve got. We’ve got the description of Joshua and representative of the people of the brand plucked out of the fire. Now, Joshua, here’s the description. This lets us in on the accusation. As if you’re walking through this as a picture,

a series of images, you see the accusation, you know, there’s an accusation. Don’t know why. Now you get the picture of Joshua. Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and was standing before the angel. Here’s the high priest. He’s the one. If you go back to the book of Leviticus, he’s the one who was to be garbed in the priestly apparel.

He’s the one who was to wear the white robes. He was the one who was supposed to have the blue trim on. He was the one who was supposed to wear the breast plate with the stones and the gyms representing the 12 tribes. He was the one who was supposed to be on the day of atonement immaculate. Matter of fact, the very part of the whole process for preparing for the day of atonement was that he was to go into that brazen labor.

And he was to wash. And after having washed his entire body, he was to be garbed in the priestly apparel. And he stands in the vision clothed in rags, in filthy garments. And we’re supposed to understand this because he’s clothed in the sin of Israel, Leviticus, chapter 16, go back there. If you will, Leviticus chapter 16, we read in verse one.

Now the Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered profane fire before the Lord and died. And the Lord said to Moses, tell Aaron, your brother, not to come at just any time into the Holy place inside the veil, before the mercy seat, which is on the arc, lest he die for,

I will appear in the cloud, above the mercy seat. Thus, thus Aaron shall come into the Holy place with the blood of a young bull as a sin offering and of a Ram as a burnt offering, he shall put the Holy linen tunic and the linen trousers on his body. He shall be girded with a linen sash and with a linen turbine,

he shall be a tired. These are the Holy garments. God says, Aaron, don’t you come into my most Holy place dressed. However you want. You come in, dressed in Holy consecrated, set apart for a purpose garments. And you come in with the blood of an offering and a burnt sacrifice. And he shall take from the congregation of the children of Israel,

verse five, two kids with a goat as a sin offering. And one Ram as a burn offering and notice verse six, Aaron shall offer the bull as a sin offering, which is for himself and make atonement for himself and for his house. On the day of atonement. One time a year, the high priest would enter Into the most Holy place with two sacrifices,

one for him, which had to come first because he couldn’t represent the people before God. If he was clothed in his own sin and Zechariah pictures, Joshua still clothed in his own sin. And now, you know what the accusation is. The accuser is looking at Joshua’s filthy clothes and saying, that’s the high priest. That’s the representative of this ragtag group of people.

That’s your representative. That’s your mediator. God rebukes the accuser. But now watch what God does to Joshua. You go back to Zechariah, chapter three and chapter three. Then he answered and spoke to those who stood before him saying, take away the filthy garments from him and to him. He said, see, I have removed your iniquity. Now we know exactly what the garments represented,

the sin of Joshua and the people he says, I have removed your iniquity from you. And I will clothe you with rich robes. Take your Bibles, follow me through a few passages because we need to get this point. Ephesians chapter four, Fijian chapter four, verse 17 says this. I say therefore, and testify in the Lord that you should no longer walk.

As the rest of the Gentiles. Walk in the futility of their mind, having their understanding, darkened being alienated from the life of God. Notice here’s the picture of the Gentiles. They are separated from God. They act in futility. They are alienated from the presence of God. Now here’s a man in filthy clothes. Here’s a man who represents the people and they are covered in their iniquity and they’re covered in their sin.

And the accuser says, this man has no right to stand before God. He says they’re being alienated from their life of God because of the ignorance that is in them because of the blindness of their hearts, who being past feeling have given themselves over to lewdness to work all uncleanness with greediness. But you Christians have not. So learned Christ. If indeed you have heard him and have been taught by him as the truth is in Jesus that you put off concerning your former conduct,

the old man, which grows corrupt, according to the deceitful lust by the renewing in the spirit of your mind, and that you pull it on the new man, which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. Paul said, you do realize Christians that once you walked among the Gentiles and you were covered in decay and filth and your own Nick witty,

but God has closed you in holiness and righteousness. Turn over the book of revelation. This imagery is carried straight in to the book of revelation, revelation chapter seven, revelation chapter seven. And in verse 14, actually, let’s go back. Let’s go back a few verses diverse nine. After these things, I looked and behold a great multitude, which no one could number of all nations tribes,

peoples and tongues standing before the throne. And before the lamb and notice how they’re arrayed clothed with white robes, with Palm branches in their hands and crying out with a loud voice, saying salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the lamb, all the angels stood around the throne in the elders of the four living creatures and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God saying amen,

blessing and glory and wisdom, Thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might be to our God forever and ever. Amen. Then one of the elders answered saying to me, who are these arrayed in white robes? And where did they come from? John’s being asked this, remember here’s, here’s the visions again. Now it’s John and the vision and the elder is asking him,

who are these people? Who’s this multitude that’s come from every nation and every tribe all over the world and they’ve come together to praise God. And they’re all arrayed in white. And I said to him, sir, you know, that’s the answer you give. When you want the person who asked you to answer the question for you. So you don’t get it wrong.

The elder says, who are these? And John says, sir, you know who they are. So he said to me, these are the ones who come out of the great tribulation and washed their robes and made them white. But he doesn’t. And there does, he, he said, they’ve washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb.

They didn’t just change clothes. They purified their clothes and themselves by the blood of Christ. It’s called atonement. It’s called consecration. They were made Holy go to revelation. 16 revelation, chapter 16, Jesus says behold, verse 15, behold, I am coming as a thief. Bless it. As he who watches and keeps his garments lest he walked naked and they see his shame.

The picture of Joshua is a man standing ashamed, but not once God replaces his garments. God close him in holiness revelation, chapter 19 revelation chapter 19 verse seven, let us be glad and rejoice and give him glory for the marriage of the lamb has come. And his wife has made herself ready. By the way, the wife’s the church and to her,

it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he said to me, right, bless it. Or those who are called to the marriage, supper of the lamb. And he said to me, these are the true sayings of God. The church is represented in this same way,

clothed in righteousness. So go back to Zechariah. Chapter three, we’ve seen the imagery go forward. We come back and God says, I’ve taken your iniquity away, Joshua. And when God takes away the iniquity of the high priest, the high priest represents who the people, God says you 42,000, who are here as a remnant. I’ve taken away your iniquity,

But the remnant didn’t stand by themselves. They represented somebody else. The people, the people still in captivity, the people in Babylon, the people who were no longer in Israel and God is taking their iniquity away too. And I said, verse five, this seems to be Zechariah. So they close the high priest in clean garments. They’ve removed his iniquity,

but then Zechariah says, let them put a clean turban on his head. Now, if you paid attention, as we were reading in Leviticus, chapter 16, you remember that was one of the articles of clothing for the high priest. As if Zechariah Zechariah is standing there and he’s saying, Whoa, he’s not done. You finish. You make sure he looks like the high priest he is.

And they put the clothes on him. And the angel of the Lord stood by then the angel of the Lord and Monish, Joshua saying. So now the angel, the one who’s guiding Zechariah turns to Joshua and says, thus says the Lord of hosts. If you will walk in my ways, if you will keep my command, then you shall also judge my house.

Then you shall also judge my house and likewise have charge of my courts. And I will give you places to walk among these who stand here. God tells Joshua you, you will judge my people. You remember back in the old Testament, back in Exodus, Moses was judging the people. But as the priesthood came to be, one of the functions of the priesthood was to become the judges.

That’s part of the function they had. They were to judge the people in matters that were too hard for the judges. They took over Moses’s role. But then eventually it went to the King. God says it’s being put back where it belongs. Judging is going to occur in the priesthood, not with the rebel, not with the governor, not with a King because the priest stands as the representative of God.

But it is first and foremost necessary that the priest act like it. There’s a warning here to Joshua about a corrupt priesthood, because that’s what they had had. God tells Joshua much, like he told the other Joshua way back in Joshua chapter one. When Joshua takes over for Moses, God tells Joshua in that book, you walk after my paths, you do not turn to the right hand or the left.

You obey my commandments. And then I will prosper you wherever you go. God tells this Joshua a S uh, probably a millennia later, almost at this point, you walk after my path, you keep my commandments, you follow my instructions. And then I will give you places to walk among these who stand here. You will no longer stand as one covered in filth and iniquity and the sin of the people and the sin of yourself.

You will stand as one who can walk among angels because you’re Holy. Then verse eight says, hero Joshua, the high priest, you and your companions, who sit before you for, they are a wonderous sign for behold. And here’s the bridge because all of these events are happening there. They’re happening now, they’re in the old Testament, but now God looks forward.

He says, for behold, I am bringing forth my servant, the branch God tells Joshua you and your companions. You are a sign of something to come. You are a representative of a priest. Who’s my servant, the branch, the term branch shares imagery and prophecy from Jeremiah chapter 23 and chapter 33 in Isaiah chapter 11, where God says this sprout that comes up,

Israel is going to be wiped away, but there’s going to be a sprout that comes up and that’s going to be mine. And it looks towards Christ. And he says, my servant is coming. And you stand here as a representative, as a four runner to him for behold, the stone that I have laid before Joshua upon the stone are seven eyes behold,

I will engrave it’s inscription. This is God speaking. And God says to Joshua, I put a stone in front of you. There’s debate about what this is because elsewhere, the, the, the Messiah who’s coming is described as the, the stone of stumbling, the rock of offense, the bedrock, the foundation. And yet there are other things we we’ve got to keep it in its context.

What are they building in the context they’re building the temple. Joshua<inaudible> are building the temple and God hands them. The stone they’re building the temple that everybody thinks is insignificant. By comparison to the world. There are people that’s insignificant by comparison to the world. They don’t have power. They don’t have mining. God says, you have me and you have holiness.

And I’ve given you the stone and get over to chapter four and put this together, which we’ll do on the next Sunday or the Sunday. After, depending on how things go, we’re going to put together what stone this is, but here’s what you need to know about it. And chapter three, it’s a stone. That’s inscribed by God. Is there another time where we remember a stone being inscribed by God,

the very first stone that had the 10 commandments on it, that Moses went up into the Mount and received from the Lord. The second version, Moses inscribed, the first version, God inscribed, and now gone gives to Joshua A. Stone. And he is inscribed upon it. But not only is there an inscription upon it, there are seven eyes in it. Seven go into the book of revelation.

And here in Zechariah, seven is a number of perfection. It represents God, what’s God saying, Joshua, here’s the stone. And you look at it and there’s seven eyes. God is fully aware of everything that’s going on. He’s watching those seven eyes are to represent the eye of the Lord. And it’s not his knowledge of the actions in this world,

but where’s it watching from? Who did he give it to the high priest? God says, I’m going to dwell with you. And I’m going to put my name here and your going to be my brand plucked from the fire and your going to be my people and You, Josh. We’re going to be my high priest. And I will observe all the world from here in your midst.

He says, I have laid the stone before Joshua upon the stone or seven eyes behold, I will engrave its inscription says the Lord of hosts. And I will remove the iniquity of that land. In one day. In that day, says the Lord of hosts. Every one will invite his neighbor under his vine and under his fig tree. There’s more here than we might imagine because there was a day when John the Baptist,

who was the forerunner of Christ, saw Christ in the crowd and shouted behold, the lamb of God, which taken away the sin of the world. And two of John’s disciples who were with him at that time, went after Christ. But one of them before going went and found his brother, Peter and another one went and found Philip. He went and found Phillip,

who was sitting under a fig tree and broad it to Jesus. And Jesus said, a man, a Jew in whom is no guile. And Philip asked Jesus, how do you know me? And Jesus said, I saw you. I saw you when you were under the fig tree. And Philip immediately believed that he was the Messiah. She tells you what?

No one saw him under the fig tree in person, but Jesus saw him. And Jesus told him you believe, because I tell you, I saw you under a fig tree. You’ll see greater deeds than this. I’m telling you. Zechariah is the bridge book. Jesus Christ. The servant of God had come into the world and Jesus saw everything, not just fill up under the fig tree,

but the hearts and the thoughts of man that they thought they had hidden away. And no one would know, God knew Christ knew. And yet he, as one who was never clothed in filthy rags, one who could stand before God, without shame, without guile, without guilt took our sins upon himself and went to the cross and died for you and me.

We have a great high priest who cannot be untouched with the feelings of our infirmity, but was in all points, tempted like as we are yet without sin. And because we have such a high priest, Hebrews chapter four verse 16 says we may boldly come before the throne of grace to find help in time of need. Are you in a time of need?

Because Israel was Israel was in a time where they saw themselves as nothing but insignificant. There were probably knowing human nature. Those Israelites among that remnant, that looked at Joshua and Zerubbabel and said, we need to get some different leaders around here. These people aren’t cutting it. Josh was the wrong person. We need a different high priests. We need to replace.

We need it. And God says, no, this is my man. This is my high priest. And he’s no longer closed in iniquity, but he’s clothed in righteousness. And my presence is with him. And he represents my servant, who is coming the Messiah. What’s your relationship to God this morning. Are you clothed in your own filthy rags?

Are you a high priest clothed in sin? First, Peter chapter two, we just studied it on Wednesday night, told us that all Christians are high priests, all Christians, excuse me, our priests Christ as the high priest. And we all have a responsibility to offer a spiritual sacrifice our lives. What is your sacrifice? And how are you clothed?

Are you clothed as a priest? Are you clothed in iniquity? Because God is willing to wash you from your sins, whether you’re outside the body of Christ and you need to wash your garments in the blood of the lamb for the very first time, or you are a member of the body of Christ and you’ve soiled your garments. As those in the book of revelation said,

were told they had done among the churches, and God said, you need to wash and you need to be come clean. If you’re in either one of those two situations this morning, don’t stay there because you too can stand before God clothed in the blood of the lamb. If you’re outside of the body of Christ this morning, if you’re away word member of the body of Christ this morning,

if you were represented before God, by only your sin, why not change that? If we can help in any way, why not come as we stand? And as we sing No long, good things that are no blur. The<inaudible> Oh, well, Hey son to him. Hey son.<inaudible> jeez, uh, scrape this high. Yes.

I will come to the, I am resolved to go to the savior levy.<inaudible> he is the true one. He is the, just one. He had the<inaudible>. Oh, well, Hey son to him. Hey son. So<inaudible> hi. Yes. Uh, I will come to the, I am resolved to, and, uh, the King Dom<inaudible> fans may oppose me.

Foes may be set me<inaudible> well, Hey son to him. Hey<inaudible> hi. Yes. I will come to the, um, our closing song. This morning will be number eight Oh nine. Number eight zero nine, Lord dismisses with thy blessing. We’ll sing both verses of this song.<inaudible> dismiss us with<inaudible>.<inaudible><inaudible> try. I am fin Reedy being gray.

This is not the version. I thought it was. That’s my apology to you. I apologize. Um, let’s do number eight Oh eight abide with me. I’m sorry. It won’t be on the screen. I apologize for that different version of what I had in the book. Abide with me. Number eight Oh eight, abide with me fast falsity.<inaudible> the nasty Ben’s Lord with me.

Uh, when, uh, the, uh,<inaudible><inaudible> the helpless. So, uh, ride with me.<inaudible> shine through the glue, uh, and point me to the<inaudible>, uh, my money breaks and, uh, Spain, shadows flee and life and death. Oh, Lord abide with me please. Oh God. Our father In heaven,

we truly are grateful. And to the, for the love that has been shown to each and every one of us, we’re so thankful, dear God, that we’re your children. And then we’re able to come here and worship in the spirit and in truth, we’re so mindful. Dear father of the blood of your son, that was shed for us,

that we might have our sins cleansed. We pray father that we are robed in the righteousness of our savior, and they were trying to serve and glorify you with our lives and trying to reach others with the gospel of Jesus Christ father. We pray for those that are healed among our congregation and ask that you be with them and they might receive the help that they need to regain their strength and health.

We’re grateful father for our visitors today. And we pray that we might draw closer together with one another, be able to encourage each other as she would have us to in this life. We pray father that we always keep our eyes upon thee. And upon that home with the in heaven that we might have, if we’re righteous and faithful to you, father,

we pray that you be with us as we’re about to leave this building, help us to always be mindful of those outside your body. That we’re willing to give of ourselves to try to share your word with them, that they too might come to know your will and want to be a children of yours. We’re so thankful for Aaron and his family. We pray that you give his family a safe trip back home to,

to him. We’re grateful for his ability to teach and preach your word. And we pray that you bless him and help us to always be mindful of that word that he so eloquently delivered today, dismiss us and bless us in Jesus name. We pray. Amen.

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07-08-2020 – Wednesday PM – 1 Peter 2

In Bible Classes Videos, Live Streams by Aaron Cozort

PETER – 1 Peter 2
Instructions to Christians

  1. Are Christians priests?
    What kind of sacrifices do Christians offer?
    How? 1 Peter 2:5   ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
  2. For what purpose are Christians a chosen race? 1 Peter 2:9 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
  3. (yes or no) Are Christians to submit to those in authority? 1 Peter 2:13-14 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
  4. Peter said to __________ all men, __________ the brotherhood, __________ God, and __________ the king. 1 Peter 2:17   ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
  5. How are servants to treat their masters? 1 Peter 2:18-20  ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
  6. Servants are to follow the example of the steps of __________. 1 Peter 2:21  ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
  7. As a group, the Old Testament books of Isaiah through Daniel are classified as __________. See Lesson 166  ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

<inaudible> It is time for us to get started.<inaudible> No, it’s not yet. I’ll, I’ll turn it on. When we’re done with class, we are in first Peter chapter two.<inaudible> It is amazing how quickly we’ve gone all the way through the Bible. We were in Exodus not long ago. And then first Kings and here we are, we’re all the way in first it’s first,

Peter, we’ve just really moved along. Let’s begin with a word of prayer, Our gracious and bountiful father in heaven. We bow before your throne at this time, grateful for all of the many blessings that you’ve given to us and all of the ways that you bless us each and every day we ask that you watch over us, take care of us,

protect us, but also that you through your word, guide us in right paths that we might use that word to shine the light on our path. And that we might walk in the light as you were in the light that we might be Holy, because you are Holy. We pray that at this time, as we go through this period of study,

that the things that we learn and the things that we study from this letter that Peter wrote might encourage us and bring us closer to you. And our daily walk might grow our faith and knowledge and understanding of your will. We ask that when we sin and fall short of your glory, you will forgive us of those things as we are willing to repent of them.

And we pray that you be with all those who are struggling with illnesses, difficulties, ailments, those who are dealing with the coronavirus and, and have contracted it. And those who are under concerned that they may have pray that you be with them as well. All this, we pray in jesus’ name. Amen.<inaudible> Peter writes about redemption all throughout this epistle through this,

throughout this letter, he focuses on our hope because of redemption our righteousness because of redemption, our grace that has brought about our redemption and our example in Christ, which we’re going to get to that has provided us our redemption. But even though throughout this book, he he’s, he’s talking about our state as Christians, because we are redeemed. It always draws itself back to because,

Oh God, yeah, because God did this. We have this. And here in this chapter in chapter two, we’re going to get into who we are and what we are, because God did what he did. Everything that Peter writes about. He draws you back to the reason behind it all, which has God. Yes. In james’ writing that we just finished up with James.

It has a great deal of emphasis on God, but his focus is more on us, on what we should be doing, how we should be living, what we shouldn’t be doing and the reasons behind it. But Peter has a much clearer focus on God and the results. Why that changes us, notice what he says. We’re going to pick up in verse 22.

Um, actually I’m going to go back to verse 17. He’s called upon them to be Holy. But in having said what I’ve just said, I want to get this part right here. He says, and if you call on the father who without partiality judges, according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear again,

because God is available for you to call on. And because God is Holy, you ought to do this. Then notice what he says. He says, bud, uh, or she gives me verse 18, knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible, things like silver or gold from your aimless conduct received by traditions from your fathers, but with precious,

the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb, without blemish and without spot, you ought to be Holy. You ought to not follow your fathers. You ought to not follow traditions because God shed the blood of Christ for you. He then goes to verse 20. He indeed was fore ordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you who,

through him, believing God who raised him from the dead, gave him glory so that your faith and hope are in God, your faith, your all go back to because God did this. Okay? Everything that we do as Christians ought to ultimately go back to well, because God did that because God is this. And because God said to do this,

ultimately, that’s what it all goes back to the cause he exists because he’s acted and because he’s commanded us, therefore, that’s the reason for everything. That’s the reason for why we make choices. That’s the reason for living the Christian life. And that’s the reason we can have hope in eternity, but he goes on. He says, since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the spirit in sincere level,

the brethren love one, another fervently with a pure heart, because you live a life that is redeemed because you have been redeemed from your sins, purified in your souls because you have had your sins washed away with the blood of Christ. Loved one another. You know, it’s really hard to love someone who is an evil, evil person. Isn’t it?

I mean, let’s just use an example. If, if the, the former leader of China walks through the door, knowing that he murdered and executed millions of people, that would be a person who would qualify as somebody really hard to love. But if that was somebody who was, maybe we call Saul of Tarsus, who murdered and executed people who threw Christians in prison,

who took people to prison and to death and did it believing he was doing the right thing. And then we met him three days after he went to Damascus and he’d qualify as someone who’s very hard to love. As a matter of fact, we know that that would be the situation we’d likely be in because what happened when he went before the apostles, they wouldn’t see him until Barnabas went and brought him in.

Some people are really hard to love because of what they’ve done in their past. But Peter says, once you’ve been washed by the blood of Christ, that changes everything. That doesn’t mean that those aren’t things that you will, you will pay dearly for, and that you will suffer. As a result of Jesus said, Saul is going suffer so much because of me.

And he did That. Didn’t change the fact that he was a redeemed washed and cleansed individual from every one of those sins. And so Peter says, because you’ve been purified, you love one another as if they’re Holy, because they are. But then we go, he goes on to say this because, uh, or verse 23, having been born again,

not of corruptible seed, but incorruptible through the word of God, which lives and abides forever because all flesh is as grass. And all the glory of man is the flower of the grass, the grass Withers and its flower falls away. But the word of the Lord and doers forever, because God exists because God is Holy because God acted in sending Christ.

And because God, Okay, That is our reason for everything he says, but the word of the Lord endures forever. Now this is the word by which the gospel was preached to. You says, here’s, here’s the what’s behind the good news. God speaking. Paul says it this way. Turn over to second Timothy chapter three, Paul says in second Timothy chapter three In verse 10,

he says, but you have carefully followed my doctrine. That is my teaching. My manner of life, purpose, faith long suffering, love, perseverance, persecutions afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch and I conium Atlas. DRA what persecution I endured and out of them, all the Lord delivered me. Yes. And all who desire to live godly in Christ.

Jesus will suffer persecution, but evil men and imposters will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. But you must continue in the things which you have learned and ministered of knowing whom you have learned them. Notice what he just said. He said, you know how I acted? You know how I lived? You know how I suffered now, you should expect to suffer the way I did,

but you need to go back to what you’ve always been taught. You need to go back to what you learned. You need to go back to the word of God. He says that from a child, you have known the Holy scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith, which is in Christ. Jesus. All scripture is given by the breath of God.

It’s out by God, because God spoke. You go back to what you’ve learned. That came from the scriptures from the word of God, because God spoke because all scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction and righteousness that the man of God may be complete thoroughly equipped for every good work.

God, didn’t just speak in a vacuum. God, didn’t just speak to speak. God spoke because God, when he speaks, changes the world, it changes everything. We don’t live in a world that is as, as a deist would believe God spun up the world and then just let it go. No, because every time God spoke, it changed the world.

And it still does. Why? Because God’s word isn’t like the grass that fades away. God’s word. Isn’t like the flower that falls God’s word endures forever. So he says, therefore had to go back there because chapter two verse one begins with a conclusion of an argument, a drawing forward, the things that we just said, he said, therefore,

laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking as born babes desire, the pure milk of the word that you may grow, thereby because God spoke. And because God’s word endures forever, put aside sin and go to the word, go to the word, like a hungry baby goes to its mother, go to the word and desire it because he says you will grow from it.

One of the biggest struggles we have in the church are Christians who don’t grow, but you step back to the reason they don’t grow. And it’s always primary. It is predominantly one problem. They haven’t let go of sin and gone to the gospel. When we let go of sin and focus our lives on the gospel and read and study and delve into God’s word,

we grow. It’s a natural byproduct of doing that. But if delves into the word of God and studies it and reads and devours God’s word while holding on to sin, they won’t grow. They will become people who are manipulated by sin and use God’s word to their own purposes. And we know that’s true because that was the scribes and the Pharisees. They knew the word of God.

You could go to them and you could ask, what did Isaiah say about? And they’d tell you it, wasn’t a lack of knowing God’s word that caused them to be ignorant of God’s word. It was the sin that they didn’t take out of their lives saying same way. You take someone who they’re willing to remove sin, but they don’t replace it with God’s word.

And they become like Jesus spoke about the person who has seven devils removed from him. And then as a house that swept, but then not, not refurnished. When that person then doesn’t go to God, doesn’t put God’s word in the place of sin. Eventually what comes back sin and an even worse state. So it’s this combination. That’s why Peter doesn’t just say desire.

The word he says, remove sin and desire the word. But then he says in verse three, he says, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious right back to because God is gracious. And you have tasted that again, keeping the analogy of the, of the baby, the baby. If, if he is hungry and you put vinegar on his mouth,

he didn’t come back. He’s not going all. That’s what I was looking for. But one taste of his mama’s milk and he’s coming back. That’s the analogy he says, you’ve known God’s grace. And if you have known it, then the only logical conclusion is you do this. You remove sin and you go to bird. But then he says this.

He says, coming to him as to a living stone rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious God in the old Testament spoke concerning the cornerstone that he was going to lay the stone of stumbling the stone, the rock of offense. He said going to lay it in Zion, and it’s going to cause some to stand upon it and it’s going to destroy others.

And he describes there in Isaiah, what that stone, that rock was going to do. It wasn’t just going to destroy what it was laid upon. Those that were refusing those who rejected it, it was going to cause them to re crumble into dust. And ultimately it would be the entire Jewish system, the entire old Testament system and the entire power structure of the Israelites.

That would be completely annihilated because God said, if you reject me, I’ll destroy you. And they did. He says, 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.

Two analogies here to the life of a Christian. He says, you are a living stone. Now this description of us as a stone is not the idea that we’re hard as rock. It’s bringing itself off of the description of Christ as the stone. When you build a house using the old systems of doing it in the ancient world, you laid a foundation stone and every stone that laid upon the foundation stone.

If the foundation was laid. Sure. And if it was laid in, in correct way, every stone was a representation of the stone underneath it, the house, the floor plan, everything was a representation, was a reflection of the bedrock. It was laid on. And so he says, Christ is a living stone, and you are supposed to look like him,

but he says, not only are you a living stone, he also says you are a Royal priesthood. What did the priest do in the old Testament? They offered the sacrifices as what, as a common person or as this in a specific role. Okay. They were representing God to the people and they were representing who to God, the people, they were a mediator.

Okay. They between God and the people, the Holy or the high priest on the day of atonement offered two sacrifices. The first was for his sins. The second was for the peoples because he couldn’t stand before God as an imperfect mediator, as an imperfect representative, he couldn’t stand before God with his sins, but he couldn’t represent God to the people with his sins either.

And so the first sacrifice was for himself. That’s why the book of Hebrews says we had Aaron’s priesthood, but now we have a better high priest, one untouched by sin. He said, Jesus Christ is not only the better sacrifice because blood of bulls and goats couldn’t take away sin, but he’s also the better priest. And he’s the better mediator of a new covenant.

Jesus Christ, the sacrifice, the priest and the mediator stands as what the priesthood represented, which was somebody who was truly Holy. Every priest was imperfect. Every priest, sinned, every priest had problems, but Jesus didn’t, they represented the true thing. They stood in the place of Christ. But now here we are. And Peter says, he’s the high priest and you’re the priests.

Hmm. So what was the function of a priest? Two things we talked about, the first thing we stated was they did what they, they represent they’re they’re they’re mediators between God and men and they offer sacrifices here. He says, he, he highlights the priests office in regards to the second item, the offering of sacrifices. But he doesn’t say everybody,

go get your goats. Say everybody go, we’ll go. Make sure you got a flock so you can offer your lambs. What’s the sacrifice we’re supposed to be offering a living sacrifice, turn over to thank you. Romans chapter 12, I was about to say Romans chapter six. And I said, no, that’s the wrong spot. Romans chapter 12,

verse one, I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God that you present your bodies, a living sacrifice Holy acceptable to God, which is your reasonable and do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Now let me combine. The two passages do not be conformed to the world.

Peter says, put sin out of your life, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, which your mind is renewed through. What means spending time with the book, renew your mind, transform your mind, desire the word of God, and then offer a living sacrifice and then offer a living sacrifice, which is your life to him. That indicates to us two things you put together,

both of those passages saying basically the same thing. And it tells us two things. Number one, you can’t be a sacrificial offering to God. If your life is dedicated to sin, he won’t accept it. That one of the qualifications for a sacrifice under the old Testament is it had to be without spot and without blemish and God condemned Israel in the later chapters of the old Testament,

because they were bringing the lame and the blind and the lamb that wasn’t worth anything. And they were bringing that as a sacrifice. And God said, go offer it to your governor. See if he’ll accept it. If he won’t accept it, why do you think I will? God’s command and requirement was always, you give me your best. You give me your first.

When you give me your best in your first, you see what I’ll do for you. So God will not accept our lives as a sacrifice. If our lives are plagued with sin and given over to sin, if we won’t remove sin, we can’t be a sacrifice, but if we won’t bring God’s word into our lives, we can’t be a sacrifice.

So he says you are to be a, a living stone build up together as a spiritual house, which by the way, I know we’re, we’re not going to get very far. Uh, we’re we’re going to try, but we’re not doing very good. Um, whoever saw a house made out of one stone would be a pretty small place to live.

I mean, let’s even just take one of these cinder blocks. They’re heavy. They’re fairly good size. Let’s just use one of those as a house. Not gonna work very well as it. We were never intended as Christians to be stand alone stones. We were intended to be built together as a spiritual house because we all serve a purpose and we all have a function and we are to function together.

And without it, we’re a pile of stones, not a spiritual house, but then he says, coming to him as 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 also contained in scripture,

behold, I lay in 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. God, put his word out there and God put his son out there. God gave his son and God shed his blood. And God gave his word to tell us all the reasons why and all the reasons why it wasn’t necessary, that we believe on him. And yet for some, they will see it and it will cause them to reject him and go the other way.

And some of us will scratch our heads and go, I don’t get it. How could you know the truth go the other way? But all we gotta do is go right back to those scriptures and right back to those scribes and Pharisees and, and go. But they knew, I mean, Nicodemus came to him and said, we know, we know you are a teacher gum from God.

Jesus asked them when they asked him concerning, uh, or asked him a question and Jesus said, answer this John’s baptism. Was it from heaven or from men? And they knew the answer, but would they say it out loud? No. So he says, but you, again, always drawing it back to us, but you are a chosen generation.

Peter didn’t write that. Just to that generation. Every Christian generation is a chosen generation, a generation of people who refuse sin and serve righteousness. He says, 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 and into his marvelous light, who once were not a people,

but are now the people of God who have not, or who had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. He States in contrast where they were and where they are, but we don’t need to skip over this without catching that phrase that he said you were created as this, a chosen generation, a Royal priesthood, a Holy generation, or excuse me,

a Holy nation, his own special people that he’s at. This all happened for a goal. What does he say we’re supposed to be or supposed to do? We’re we’re supposed to offer spiritual sacrifices. We’re supposed to show forth his praises. That fundamental aspect of being a Christian is worship and living. Not just worship, but worship and living in a way that glorifies God go right back to Matthew.

Chapter five, you are a light. You are a city that is set on a Hill that cannot be hid. You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt’s lost, its savor, what is it good for? What do you do with salt? This loss to saver, cast it out. It’s not even worthy to be trodden on why?

Because when your life changes, because God has given you the opportunity to remove sin and replace it with a righteousness and the mold yourself into a spiritual sacrifice, you ought to be producing something. You ought to look like something. You ought to look like him. And when you live that way, God says, Jesus said, the world will see you and glorify him.

Now that’s all there so that he can lead into this. That he’s about to write. He says, beloved. I begged you as sojourners and pilgrims abstain from fleshly loss, which war against the soul. I am. I implore you. I besieged you look at these things that destroy the life of a Christian and abstain from them. Kind of funny.

The, the indications, at least we’re told the indications are that, um, teaching abstinence in school isn’t effective. Hmm. That’s very strange. It’s just awe inspiring to me that that being taught abstinence by people who don’t live righteously, isn’t effective. Like you should abstain from doing something that’s wrong while I do it. I never, I never imagined that would be ineffective.

I mean, maybe if we taught the teachers first abstinence, and then maybe they taught the students abstinence, we might have some effect on, but what he doesn’t seem to, we seem to be missing a step. You know, what’s not ineffective is when righteous people teach children to be righteous. That’s not ineffective. Now there are some children who will ultimately go the other direction,

but I’m sorry, you, you go back to God’s method of teaching children to be righteous. And you’re going to, most of the time end up with righteous children. But if you go, you know what? You need to do what I tell you and not what I do. I’m going to say that the odds of that one is they’re going to go with what you do instead of what you say,

but then notice what he says. He says not only abstain from these fleshly laws, but having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, now notice the presupposition here, Peter already assumes they will. If you’re going to live righteous and you’re going to live righteously among those who are unrighteous, you better be prepared for the reality.

They will lie about you. And they will claim you are an evildoer. He says, when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works, which they observed glorify God. In the day of visitation, people came to the King and they said, King, you commanded that. Nobody should pray to anybody but you for 30 days.

And we have observed Daniel praying to the God of Israel, but the King through all those years prior had observed Daniel being a man of righteousness. And so even though the King did what the King said, because it was the law he wrote when the opportunity came to bring about punishment on the real unrighteous people, the King made sure that happened too, because he saw the life of Daniel.

Then we noticed, he says, 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. That’s not one of the most fun verses in all of scripture, by the way, where Peter says,

Oh, by the way, obey the ordinances of men. Now, this also should be stated is a passage where we should remind ourselves. We are to obey the ordinances of men so long as they do not contradict the laws of God also so long as they do not require us to contradict or act against the laws of God heard one preacher a year number of years ago,

make this statement. He said, if, if our country, and this was like I said, years ago before they did, it said no public prayer in school. He said, I don’t like it. I don’t support it, but I could do that. But if they said, I have to pray to someone other than God, I can’t do that.

I can not do something and still be righteous, not do something that I do in private that I can do in other ways. And other means now. But what if they said you can’t pray? I can’t do that. So there’s a gleaning here of the responsibilities. We have to understand the ordinances, the laws of men, and also to understand what God requires of us.

And we have to be able to pull those things together and know when we can obey and when we can. But when God’s laws, don’t contradict man’s laws, God says you will Bay. You do what you’re supposed to do under that King. But then he also says for this as the will of God, that by doing good, you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish man 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. He said this obedience to the laws of man, to the ordinances of man. So that he says as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, he said, the reason why you obey the laws,

the reason why you obey the ordinances of men is because those laws and those governments, whether they’re, by the way, keep in mind. Peter’s writing this around a D 65 in two years, Nero’s going to be lighting Christians on fire in the streets of Rome. And yet Peter writes to Christians and says, you obey the government. He doesn’t say you obey good governments.

You, he doesn’t say you obey governments that give you freedom. He said, you obey the ordinances that you live under because that’s the will of God, because God put governments in place. Peter Jesus said to pilot, you would have no power, except it came from above because pilot said, do you not know I have the power to take your life or to give it?

And Jesus said, no, you don’t. He didn’t say no, you don’t have the power. He said, no, you don’t have it. Unless someone gave it to you. And I know who gave it to you. So he says honor, all people that phrase is, um, in, in the original language, it’s in an Eris tent.

It means you do it as a one time action. When people are worthy of honor, you honor them. But then he says, love the brotherhood, fear, God honor. The King. Those are present tense, verbs. These are things you do all the time. These are things you do and never cease doing servants. Be submissive to your masters with all fear.

Not only to the good in general, but also to the harsh for this is commendable. If, because of conscience towards God, one endures, grief, suffering, wrongfully, what credit is it? If when you take or excuse me, when you are beaten for your fault, you take it patiently. You do good. You be obedient to your masters.

You honor them. You honor the King because if you get beaten because you disobeyed the law, you got what you deserved, but he says, what credit is it? If when you were beaten by your faults, 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 suffered for us leaving us an example that you should follow his steps, who committed no sin nor was deceit found in his mouth. All of this, again, he pulls right back to you do it because Christ did because God 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 sin my 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. We’ll say a few more things about that section on Sunday.

Let’s go through the questions very quickly. And then we’ll be dismissed. Question one. Are Christians priests? Yes. What kind of sacrifices do Christians offer Spiritual sacrifices? Um, I just want to make sure we’re all on the same. Yes. Spiritual sacrifices. Um, How All right through Jesus Christ. Also another answer that that would be is by living as a spiritual sacrifice,

um, or by how we live, um, for what purpose are Christians a chosen race? Keep replaying the phrases again. Okay. To proclaim the praises of God. Yes or no. Are Christians to submit to those in authority? Yes. Even if you didn’t vote for them. Peter said to blank, all men honor blank. The brotherhood love blank.

God Fear, God and blank. The King honor the King. How are servants to treat their masters To be subject to them? Um, with all fear, uh, servants are to follow the example of the steps of blank Christ. Uh, and then a question from the old Testament as a group, the old Testament books of Isaiah through Daniel are classified as the major prophets,

minor prophets with a book after Daniel and go till the end. Hosea. Yes. Alright. You are dismissed. We’ll have her devotional in just a moment.<inaudible> Good evening. Welcome to the Wednesday evening devotional for the Collierville church of Christ. It’s good to see each and every one of you here tonight and to our visitors, we are so glad that you chose to worship our God with us this evening.

As you can see, there are still many of us that are not able to get out. And we understand that and we hope that you are able to, uh, attend this Bible study through either the call in or the, uh, live stream, several announcements here, uh, our sick route, Ellen, Dorothy Wilson, and Joan sprayer. Please keep all these in your thoughts and prayers,

Pam chafing and Sylvia pass both are having back problems. So please keep both of them in your prayers. Ava’s sister-in-law Kay Fisher is in rehab and she is not doing any better than what we reported on Sunday. So that’s not good for her. So please keep Kay in your thoughts and prayers, Mary Joe Todaro, that’s Jenny sister-in-law is, uh, been diagnosed with colon cancer and she still is in the hospital today.

They still have not released her from the hospital. So they’re working on what the plan is going to be for treating that. Uh, we have several that have been diagnosed with COVID, uh, Taylor Hodges, which is the Sanderson’s grandson, Vicky Wadsworth, which is Becky’s sister. And then, uh, Paula’s son, Luke Danley has also been diagnosed with COVID-19.

So please keep them in your thoughts and prayers. We do have a couple of members that are self quarantined yet, and that’s, uh, uh, Maury and Barbara Phillips. And then Terry and Jenny Sanderson’s Sanderson are, and that’s strictly a precautionary measure. As of right now, we still have not heard anything on their test results. You know, Alteri had a test,

but we have not heard anything from that. And Maury and Barbara, just, you know, a precautionary thing all together, just in case. Uh, the only other announcement I have is the nationwide gospel called meeting that goes on and every night at nine o’clock, Monday through Friday, that flyer, if you did not get one is out here on the table,

in the foyer. And that flyer there that we have is for the next, you know, this week and two weeks after that, and Gary is tomorrow night, right on there again, Gary college, the speaker tomorrow night on that, uh, tonight our song leader is going to be Marie sprayer, our devotional beer and coats art, and our closing prayer will be Terry Whitley.

Thank you, please. Mark. Number 82 in your book, 628, number six to eight. If the name of the Seder is purchased to you, if it’s care has been constant and tender and true, if the light of his presence brighten your away, who will you not out of your gladness today? Who will you not?<inaudible> if the light of his presence since brighten your way,

will you not here to<inaudible> if your faith in the savior has brought in three war, if a strength you have found in the strength of your Lord, if a whole Fama arrests in his palaces, sweet. Oh, where are you? Not brother. Those Dory repeat. Oh, will you not?<inaudible> if the light of his presence since brighten your way will not.<inaudible>.

If the souls all around you are living in sin. If the master has told you to bid, then come in. It’s a sweet invitation. They never have heard, Oh, well you not tell them the cheer bringing word. Oh, will you not tell it to your name? Hey<inaudible> if the light of his presence and brighten you way, William,

Hey,<inaudible> Take your Bibles. If you will. And open them. First, John First, John chapter four, John writes verse 17. Love has been perfected among us. The world will declare to us all sorts of things. It describes as love. But John says love has been perfected in us in this that we may have boldness in the day of judgment,

because as he is, so are we in this world? The love that’s been perfected in us is God’s love, but God’s love demands that we produce love in our lives. We know that Jesus said the greatest commandment in the law was thou shalt love the Lord, thy God, with all my heart, with all my soul, with all my strength and all my mind and thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself God’s love,

produces love in us. So John says love is perfected in us in that we can stand before God on the day of judgment, but he goes on to say, there is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear because love involves, or she me because of fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made. Perfect in love.

We love him because he first loved us. If someone says, I love God and hates his brother, he is a liar. Jesus told the people that the second greatest commandment in the law was thou shalt love thy neighbor as thy self and one man seeking to justify himself asked who is my neighbor? The clear cut answer that Jesus gives through the parable of the good Samaritan is everyone we are to love without bias.

We are to love without view of stature. We are to love the beautiful and the ugly people in this world. I fall into the second category, but it’s okay. I well loved. We are to love every race under heaven, because God said we’re all of one blood. And we are to do that because God did. We are not to love sin.

We’re not to love sin in other people or in ourselves. John, in chapter two said, if you love the world, the love of the father is not in you. But if you hate your brother, he said, the love of the father is not in you because the only reason we could have to hate our brother is because we first haven’t realized that we were undeserving of God’s love you see,

because what we would say is we hate that person and there’d be every part of our body that would want to finish the sentence because such and such and such and such and such means they deserve it. But that would be our own condemnation. You remember when the man came to David and he came with what he fought was good news. I killed King Saul.

And David said, you signed your own death warrant. You became a witness against yourself. And your judgment is death, because you said you put to death. God’s anointed. Now put yourself in the position of saying, this person is on worthy of love because of X, Y, or Z. Now, where do you stand? Jesus, put it this way to the one who will show no mercy.

They will receive no mercy. We need to be those who overcome partiality because that’s really the base thing here. We don’t love those whom we hate because for some reason we have justified or not. Can’t be thoroughly justified, but in our minds, justifiably or not, we have looked at them with partiality. Now, again, God, doesn’t say you love.

And therefore there is no judgment and there is no punishment. And we’re not talking about judgment and punishment. We’re talking about love. And God’s love said there will be judgment. There will be punishment. And I will act to keep you from facing it. I’ll send my son for you so you don’t have to be judged and you don’t have to be punished for everything you deserve.

Do we love the way God does? Or do we hold back our love? Because we’ve chosen a life of partiality towards others. What’s your life today. If you’re outside the body of Christ, understand how God loves. God loved you enough to send his son to die on the cross for your sins, that you might have redemption. One who was without sin died so that you who have sin could have eternal life.

But if you reject the sacrifice that God made, you should understand, there’s not another one. And when that sacrifice is rejected, you stand before God. With the only thing you have to declare your righteousness. But the only thing you have to declare your righteousness is actually your sin. And so you stand before God condemned. If you’re outside the body of Christ this evening,

don’t go home. That way entering into the body of Christ, entering into the salvation that is in Christ is done by hearing the word of God and believing that Jesus Christ is the son of God, repenting of your sins and confessing the name of Christ being immersed in water for the remission of those sins. And you can rise up redeemed no longer covered in sin,

no longer stained by the world, but washed in the blood of the lamb, pure white. If you remember the body of Christ and you’ve brought shame and reproach upon the church, you can come home, you can turn back to righteousness and we will pray with you and pray for You. If you have need of the invitation, for any reason, it is available.

Now, why not come as we stand? And as we sing, God,<inaudible> God<inaudible>. God is so good.<inaudible> he cares for me. He cares for me. He cares for me. He is so good to me. He answers prayer. He answers<inaudible>. Hey, answered prayer.<inaudible> Let us pray. Our heavenly father. We thank you for the privilege and honor to be in your house tonight.

Lord, we thank you for Aaron that stands before us Lord and explained your word that even the simplest person can understand it. Lord, Lord, we lift the ones who are sick, have the fear of the virus and everything, or just comfort them and bring them back. Lord, Lord, as we leave tonight, just let a slate was good to be in your house and just give us travel safety and forgive us where we fail you.

Lord, these things we ask in your name, amen.

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1 Peter 1 – Hope of Heaven (Class) & I Will Be The Glory In Her Midst (Zechariah 1:7-2:13)

In General by Aaron Cozort

CLASS:

Questions for 1 Peter 1
Hope of Heaven

  1. Who wrote the book of 1 Peter? 1 Peter 1:1  ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
  2. Why do Christians have a living hope? 1 Peter 1:3-5 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
  3. (yes or no) Are the readers of 1 Peter experiencing trials? 1 Peter 1:6  ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
  4. What is the outcome of a person’s faith? 1 Peter 1:9  ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
  5. By what have individuals been redeemed? 1 Peter 1:18-19  ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
  6. (yes or no) Was Jesus first known when he came as a man on earth? 1 Peter 1:20  ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
  7. How long will the word of the Lord last? 1 Peter 1:25  ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sermon: I Will be The Glory In Her Midst (Zechariah 1:7-2:13


Zec 1:7 ¶ On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet:
8 I saw by night, and behold, a man riding on a red horse, and it stood among the myrtle trees in the hollow; and behind him were horses: red, sorrel, and white.
9 Then I said, “My lord, what are these?” So the angel who talked with me said to me, “I will show you what they are.”
10 And the man who stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, “These are the ones whom the LORD has sent to walk to and fro throughout the earth.”
11 So they answered the Angel of the LORD, who stood among the myrtle trees, and said, “We have walked to and fro throughout the earth, and behold, all the earth is resting quietly.”
12 Then the Angel of the LORD answered and said, “O LORD of hosts, how long will You not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which You were angry these seventy years?”
13 And the LORD answered the angel who talked to me, with good and comforting words.
14 So the angel who spoke with me said to me, “Proclaim, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: “I am zealous for Jerusalem And for Zion with great zeal.
15 I am exceedingly angry with the nations at ease; For I was a little angry, And they helped-but with evil intent.”
16 ‘Therefore thus says the LORD: “I am returning to Jerusalem with mercy; My house shall be built in it,” says the LORD of hosts, “And a surveyor’s line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem.”‘
17 “Again proclaim, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: “My cities shall again spread out through prosperity; The LORD will again comfort Zion, And will again choose Jerusalem.”‘”
18 ¶ Then I raised my eyes and looked, and there were four horns.
19 And I said to the angel who talked with me, “What are these?” So he answered me, “These are the horns that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.”
20 Then the LORD showed me four craftsmen.
21 And I said, “What are these coming to do?” So he said, “These are the horns that scattered Judah, so that no one could lift up his head; but the craftsmen are coming to terrify them, to cast out the horns of the nations that lifted up their horn against the land of Judah to scatter it.”
(NKJV)

Zec 2:1 ¶ Then I raised my eyes and looked, and behold, a man with a measuring line in his hand.
2 So I said, “Where are you going?” And he said to me, “To measure Jerusalem, to see what is its width and what is its length.”
3 And there was the angel who talked with me, going out; and another angel was coming out to meet him,
4 who said to him, “Run, speak to this young man, saying: ‘Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls, because of the multitude of men and livestock in it.
5 ‘For I,’ says the LORD, ‘will be a wall of fire all around her, and I will be the glory in her midst.'”
6 ¶ “Up, up! Flee from the land of the north,” says the LORD; “for I have spread you abroad like the four winds of heaven,” says the LORD.
7 “Up, Zion! Escape, you who dwell with the daughter of Babylon.”
8 For thus says the LORD of hosts: “He sent Me after glory, to the nations which plunder you; for he who touches you touches the apple of His eye.
9 “For surely I will shake My hand against them, and they shall become spoil for their servants. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me.
10 ¶ “Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion! For behold, I am coming and I will dwell in your midst,” says the LORD.
11 “Many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and they shall become My people. And I will dwell in your midst. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you.
12 “And the LORD will take possession of Judah as His inheritance in the Holy Land, and will again choose Jerusalem.
13 “Be silent, all flesh, before the LORD, for He is aroused from His holy habitation!”

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Lesson 191 – Questions

In Bible Class Questions by Aaron Cozort

JAMES  – James 4
Quarrels and Conflicts

  1. The source of quarrels and conflicts is __________. James 4:1  ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
  2. What is the reason a person does not receive what he asks in prayer? James 4:3 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
  3. Individuals are to submit to __________ and resist ___________ . James 4:7 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
  4. When a person resists the devil, what does the Bible say that the devil will do?
    Name the blessing for humbleness. James 4:7, 10   ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
  5. (yes or no) Are persons to speak against or judge their brothers?
    Who is the only Lawgiver and Judge? James 4:11-12  ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
  6. James compares the length of life here on earth to a ___________. James 4:14  ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
  7. James said that if a person knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, he has ____________________. James 4:17 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Additional Scriptures:

1. Spiritual adultery – 2 Corinthians 11:2; Hosea 2
2. Demas forsook Paul and the gospel. – 2 Timothy 4:9-10
3. Jesus’ parable on the publican (tax collector) and Pharisee – Luke 18:9-14
4. Blessed are they that mourn. – Matthew 5:4
5. Jesus spoke on humbling oneself. – Matthew 23:12; Luke 1:52
6. Jesus’ words will judge on the last day. – John 12:48
7. Jesus has all authority in heaven and on earth. – Matthew 28:18