Precious
Kunnil Wilson
We value many things in our life. Our health, our beauty, our family, our children, our job, our wealth, our dignity, our education, our siblings, our parents. If you look at it like that, there are many things and many reasons. Although these are all things that we need in life, each of them will leave us in different situations.
Whether we accept it or not, all these precious things will one day be gone. The Holy Bible has underlined some precious things. The things we value in the world once leave us or we have to leave them, the things we value in God's Word never leave us. Although many valuable topics are found in the Bible, only a few topics can be thought of today.
Let's read 2 Peter 1:1 to those who have received the same precious faith as we have:
The apostle Peter says that the faith we have received is precious. Have we thought about it? The faith in Christ that we have received by free grace, as the gift of God, is priceless. The faith that we have received is so precious that it cannot be bought with a price for those who lived in the world, those who are alive today, and anyone who will be born in the world.
While men in the world value material gains, my God values the faith we have received. What makes this faith so precious? This is saving faith. Salvation from what. Salvation from eternal hell. Deliverance from Satan. Salvation from eternal damnation. Rescue from fire. Salvation from eternal death. When no man in the world can save anyone from eternal hell, God delivers us from this punishment because of faith in Jesus Christ. That is why God considers this faith precious.
Two, what is the reason why this belief is so expensive? This is the faith that protects us. In many cases this faith has saved us. The faith that saved Daniel was Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego who were thrown into the fire. The faith they held extinguished the terror of the fire. When the soldiers who threw them into the fire were consumed by the same fire, the children of God who fell into the midst of the fire were extinguished by God's presence and kept even the clothes they were wearing from smelling of the fire because of their precious faith. Beloved, how precious is the faith we have taken before God. If Nebuchadnezzar comes to turn us from this faith, friends come, family comes, church leaders come to hold on to this precious faith?
If the God whom we serve can deliver us, he will deliver us from the fiery furnace and from the king's hand. If not (this is precious faith) we will not serve the king's gods. He answered that even if he knew that he would not bow down to the golden image that the king had erected. This is the faith that saves. I see four men walking on fire unbound; No harm was done to them; It was said that the form of the fourth one is like a Son of God. This is the essence of precious faith.
A valuable second topic. 1 Peter 1:7 The test of your faith is more precious than gold that dissolves and is tried in the fire. The world's largest gold mine is located in the Muruntau mining complex in Uzbekistan. In 2014, 2.6 million oz of gold was mined from there. Gold is not stacked in gold mines. The soil in that place is dug up, sifted and passed through the fire at an extremely high temperature. Then the gold is refined in fire and the mat is collected and taken. Think gold is saying oh what is this going to do. Are you going to set me on fire? Oh, don't put me there. It's terribly hot there. I will melt away. Gold, if people want to buy you as pure gold, they can melt you in fire. Otherwise no one will buy you.
Here the apostle Peter says that the test of your faith is more precious than this gold. When tests come in your life of faith, when your family, friends, and church people mock and insult the faith you have taken in Christ, the faith based on God's word, when your heart is hurt by seeing it, God reminds us of one thing. That's not all God's word says. Romans 5:3 We rejoice in tribulation, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope. When the test of faith comes in life, those hardships will give us endurance. That endurance will give us strength or character. We praise even in suffering, knowing that this character gives us hope. So let us sum up in our minds the test of our faith as more precious than gold.
The Third Precious Topic 1 Peter 1:18-19 For you know that you were not redeemed from your vain and ancestral ways with perishable things like gold and silver, but with the precious blood of Christ, a blameless and innocent lamb. Precious blood. Blood is associated with worship. The worship of Cain and Abel. Sacrifices of the Old Testament. The book of Leviticus says that blood contains life. The same blood contains germs. Sin is contained in the same blood. No matter what type of blood is taken, whether it is group A, group B, group AB, or group O, it contains all of this. Any blood taken is sinful blood. The Word says there is no difference, all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. This earth has seen only one sinless blood. Cyanide is the deadliest 'poison' the world has ever seen. A fifth of a gram or 200mg of this deadly poison, which looks like colorless sugar, can kill a healthy person within seconds. That's why no one has been able to say authentically what it tastes like till date. This was one of the ways Hitler used to kill the Jews. Hitler killed 6 million Jews. But Satan injected a deadly poison hundreds of thousands of times stronger than this into the first humans, Adam and Eve, in the Garden of Eden. In a moment, the entire human race became partakers of sin, sinners. And even this earth where Adam and Eve lived was filled with sin. Man was separated from God. The loving God looked to bring the people who had strayed away from God closer to God, and God, who looked for a sinless blood to cleanse the sinful man, could only see his own Son. In 1 Peter 1:18-19, the benefit of Jesus' blood is said. The precious blood of the blameless and innocent lamb, Christ. The blood of Jesus is the innocent blood. Now the specialness of the blood of Jesus Hebrews 12:24 and for the holy blood that speaks better than the blood of Abel. Abel's blood in the first bloodshed. The peculiarity of that blood cries out for vengeance. The specialness of the blood of Jesus is that those who are crucified look at the cross and cry out to the Father even as they take their last breath, Father, forgive them because they do not know what they are doing.
Let's read about the specifics of Jesus' blood Matthew 26:28 This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the forgiveness of sins; The New Testament is the New Covenant. Blood of the Covenant. What is the agreement that he left in the hands of Satan to go to hell where no one wants me and you, washed away the sin with the blood of Jesus and brought them to the presence of the heavenly Father and stood them upright Father, I have bought them with my life and blood, so Satan no longer has any power over them. Here's the deal.
Blood pacts are done by politicians in some part of the world. We take the pledge today. Don't bleed. We do not accept bribes. We will work correctly. It will not be unfair. and so on. Have you ever seen a blood oath take place? In Indian history, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose was someone who worked tirelessly for India's independence. With his eloquence, thousands joined the Congress and fought for freedom. When he landed at the Dum Dum airport in Calcutta and returned from Singapore, 7,000 youths gathered to meet him. While addressing them, he took a knife and cut his finger and applied the blood on his forehead and told the youth that we are taking blood today for the freedom of India. 7,000 youth took blood that day and formed an organization called INA. Indian National Army. The organization imploded. But 2000 years ago, blood was spilled in the middle of the earth. In the past 2000 years, millions and millions have been washed and purified even today.
In the Sikh community in India, their priests are known as Pancha Purohitas (five priests). They have a hierarchy of 5 priests. A man named Guru Nanak was the leader of the first Sikh community. After that came Guru Gobind Singh. He got a thought who after Guru Gobind Singh?. A conference of Sikhs was held during his time. On the last day of that conference, where thousands of Sikhs had gathered together, Guru Gobind Singh came on stage and waved his sword in the air and announced to the crowd. A Sikh youth should be sacrificed here for the smooth growth of our Sikh community. Therefore, he called and asked if there are any young people in this group who are ready to give their blood and life for this Sikh community. Immediately after hearing this question from Guru Gobind Singh, a handsome young man ran from the middle of the gathering and came up to the stage and beat his chest and shouted loudly that I am ready to give my life for my Sikh community. Taking this young man's hand, Guru Gobind Singh went backstage. Then a scream was heard.
Guru Gobind Singh came back on the stage with a bleeding sword. It is not enough to call out to the people, one life is not enough, one more sacrifice must be made. Therefore, he called and asked if there are any young people in this group who are ready to give their blood and life for this Sikh community. Immediately after hearing this question from Guru Gobind Singh, a second handsome young man from the middle of the gathering ran up to the stage and beat his chest and shouted loudly that I am ready to give my life for my Sikh community. Taking this young man's hand, Guru Gobind Singh went backstage. Then a scream was heard.
Guru Gobind Singh came back on the stage with a bleeding sword. The people shouted. The lives of two young men are not enough, but one more sacrifice must be made. Therefore, he called and asked if there are any young people in this group who are ready to give their blood and life for this Sikh community. Immediately after hearing this question from Guru Gobind Singh, a third handsome young man came running from the crowd of the gathering to the stage and beat his chest and called out loudly that I am ready to give my life for my Sikh community. Taking this young man's hand, Guru Gobind Singh went backstage. Then a scream was heard.
Guru Gobind Singh came back on the stage with a bleeding sword. The people shouted. It is not enough, the lives of three young people are not enough, one more sacrifice must be made. Therefore, he called and asked if there are any young people in this group who are ready to give their blood and life for this Sikh community. Immediately after hearing this question from Guru Gobind Singh, a fourth handsome young man from the crowd of the gathering ran up to the stage and cried out loudly that I am ready to give my life for my Sikh community. Taking this young man's hand, Guru Gobind Singh went backstage. Then a scream was heard.
Again Guru Gobind Singh came back on the stage with the bleeding sword. The people shouted. It is not enough, the lives of four young people are not enough, one more sacrifice must be made. Therefore, he called and asked if there are any young people in this group who are ready to give their blood and life for this Sikh community. Immediately after hearing this question from Guru Gobind Singh, a fifth handsome young man from the crowd ran up to the stage and scream loudly that I am ready to give my life for my Sikh community. Taking this young man's hand, Guru Gobind Singh went backstage. Then a scream was heard.
Guru Gobind Singh came back on the stage with a bleeding sword. The people shouted. I am happy now. I was worried about who will lead this Sikh community after my death. But now I am very happy to see that there are generations here who are strong enough to raise them so that this community can grow in peace. Those who gave their lives for this community are still the members of this group. I am introducing them to you. After saying this, Guru Gobind Singh went backstage and brought the 5 young men to the stage. These five people, who showed their willingness to give their lives for their own community, will continue to lead the way for this community. These are the Pancha priests (five priests). Taking each one of them to the back of the stage, Guru Gobind Singh returned to the stage with a blood-drenching sword and cut down the goat behind him, bleeding.
Sikhs were there to give their lives, to give their blood for the beloved community. Who is there to give blood, to give life for Christianity? Who is to say that I do not count my soul precious? Who is there to say that I live for Christ and die for gain? In 1:21, the apostle Paul wrote to the Philippians, "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. The specialness of this blood can be read in 1 John 1:7 The blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. The blood of Jesus is immortal. This is living blood. It is the blood that gives life. This is powerful blood. It is the blood that speaks positively. This is the justifying blood. It is the redemptive blood of the remission of sins. It is the blood that saves us from God's wrath. It is blood that heals by beating. It is the blood that brings us near who were far away. This is the blood of the atoning sacrifice. This blood is the new testament. This blood is the price of redemption. This blood sets us free. This blood removes bad conscience. This blood is the removal of condemnation. The blood of the Lamb makes us overcome. This blood gives entrance to the holy temple. Sinless blood.
A valuable fourth topic is promise. Let's read 2 Peter 1:4 by which he has given us precious and great promises. There are many estimates of the number of promises in the Bible. 3000, 5467, 7000, 8000 etc. But in a word, to a child of God, every word in the Bible is a promise. Because in this we have been given everything for life and devotion. What is special about these promises? Let's read 1 Kings 8:56 Blessed be the Lord, who has given rest to his people Israel, just as he promised; For of all His good promises which He spoke through His servant Moses, not one of them failed. God delivered his people Israel from Egypt and brought them to the promised land. These are the words of the prayer that Solomon sings in praise of the God who spoke to Moses, the God who kept the promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Here we see the unchanging God.
Now if we collect all the promises that are in this book of truth, we can see it in one word and read 1 John 2:25 This is the promise that he gave us: eternal life. Eternal life is the fulfillment of the promises. Eternal life is the promise made for us who have been lying in the pit of sin, in the pit of sin, and running towards eternal hellfire. Let's read what God has prepared for us Titus 1:2 Eternal life which God promised before all time. Before all time, in time immemorial, the privilege of eternal life was prepared for us. We must ask and receive this promise of eternal life regardless of merit. If we ask, Lord, give me a portion for this eternity, God who does not lie is willing to give us this promise of eternal life. I have heard a story. A man who is very financially struggling prays to God. Lord God I need a financial help to overcome my difficulties. You know the way I always walk. Now, as I walk there, show me a treasure on the way. He walked praying like this. One day, two days, three days, one week. Prayer is always going on. On the way, I looked at every spot and did not find any treasure. The next day he decided that all this past week I have been praying and looking at every spot on the way, but God has not given me any treasure. So today I am going to walk with my eyes closed. That day, God wrapped a treasure and carried it along the path of this man. Because he walked with his eyes closed, he couldn't see anything, he couldn't own it. But dear ones who listen to me, let us not walk with our eyes closed to receive the promises given to us, but let us boldly ask God to receive those promises according to His Word. He who promised is faithful. It is God who does not lie who has given us the promises.
May God Bless you..
