In this sermon, Peter emphasizes two important points. Firstly, he highlights that the chosen foundation for the church is Christ. He urges the saints to lay aside all malice and deceit and to desire the sincere milk of the word. Peter also addresses the newborn believers, encouraging them to give thanks to the Lord and to desire spiritual growth. He then goes on to explain the gospel message to a man named Jim Elephant, emphasizing the need for Christ's sacrifice and resurrection for the salvation of sinners. Overall, the sermon emphasizes the importance of Christ as the foundation of the church and the need for believers to grow in their faith.

Srimad-Bhagavatam, Thirty-Seven Degrees. Seven, three, seven. Quiet, Lord, my thro'ward heart, Make me teachable and mild, Upright, simple, free from art, Make me, as a little child, From distrust and envy be, Pleased with all that pleases thee. Seven hundred and thirty-seven degrees. Again this evening, Peter, the second chapter, and we're going through from verse four, right through to the end of verse ten. As we try to take all this stretch in together this evening, it's one great mighty paragraph. Just seven verses, but it's quite a paragraph. You know, in this great paragraph, Peter, by the Spirit, is underlining two things. He's underlining, first of all, that there is a chosen foundation. And he makes it very clear that the chosen foundation for the Church is Christ. You remember, as we went down the first three verses last week, Peter was saying to the saints, because just in the finishing verses of chapter one, he was talking about them being born again. Well, to all these born-again ones, he said last week, laying aside all malice and all guile. You know, he wants the saints to be as gracious as their Master. And then he had a special word for the new-born babies. He wanted them to desire the sincere milk of the Word. Just because they had tasted and seen that the Lord was gracious. You know, the word etzogi can be translated, since. Since ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious. You see, he wants the children of God to have a desire for those gracious words that fall from the Master's lips. And he wants the children of God to be as gracious as their most gracious Lord. These are the things he was saying last week. And he ended with this note, talking about the Lord, who is gracious. And then he said this, this week, To whom come ye? Remember, he's talking about this gracious Lord. And this is the one we came to. He met us in grace, and he told us, His word was good to us, And we came to this gracious Lord. And Peter said, You see, this gracious Lord is the living stone. And he goes on talking about him being chosen of God and precious. And then he gets it up by Scripture, he says, So that you can see that Peter is pointing up the chosen foundation. The gracious Lord is the chief cornerstone. And there is no other. You know, I'm perfectly sure that when Peter turned this wonderful verse, this fourth verse, when he said, As unto a living stone, I think his hand may be trembled as he scratched these words out. Because his mind must have went right back to that time, in the early days of the Christian church, when he and John were arrested in Jerusalem. You remember, he was just coming to the beautiful gate of the temple one day, and the man lying at the beautiful gate asked for alms. And you remember how Peter spoke to him, In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk. And the great and mighty and memorable miracle took place. And of course, it gathered a crowd. The people saw the man walking and leaping and jumping for joy. And of course, when Peter got the crowd, he began to preach to them. And you know, he was arrested for that. Let's go back and see him being arrested just for the moment. It's in the Acts of the Apostles, and it's chapter four. The Acts of the Apostles, and it's at the fourth chapter. And verse one says, And as they spake unto the people, that is, as Peter and John spake unto the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, being grieved that they taught the people and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead. You see, these Sadducees were a great and mighty and powerful sect among the Jews. The Pharisees were a great sect, but so were also the Sadducees. And one of the differences between the Sadducees and the Pharisees lies just here. That the Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection, neither of saint or sinner. They didn't believe in the resurrection. And of course, when Peter and John stood and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead, it grieved them. And of course, they laid hands on Peter, it says, verse three, and they laid hands on them and put them in hold until the next day, for it was now even time. They kept them in prison all night. Howbeit, many of them which heard the word believed. And the number of the men was about five thousand. Why, it was a good day's preaching. I can remember standing at the beautiful gate of the temple in Jerusalem, and looking down the now rocked and rugged slopes of the Valley of Jehoshaphat. And I said to Mr. Prophet, who was with me, I said, you know, there were five thousand folks still here one day. He said, this is what we're in. This is the spot. Yes, but Peter and John were addicted. Sometimes, you know, when the Spirit of God is working in a real mighty way, the devil works too. Don't think that just because God comes down upon you with blessings that the devil runs and hides. Oh, you can look out for the storm at any time. So they were arrested, put in prison, kept all night. And then it says in verse 5, And it came to pass on the morrow, that their rulers and elders and scribes, and Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest, were gathered together in Jerusalem. That is what was called the Sanhedrin. That's an old Hebrew word, and it can be spelt with a name at the end or a name at the end. So don't be picking holes in it. You can say Sanhedrin or Sanhedrin, whatever you like. It's just both ways. But the old Jewish council, Dr. F. G. Mayer said, it was the most venerable council on the face of God's earth. It was a Jewish court, and these men were going to stand before the Jewish court on this morning. And it says, verse 7, And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power or by what name had you done this? They're thinking about the man that was sealed at the temple. And it's a very subtle question, you know. I think it was one of the old Jewish lawyers who asked the question, By what name or by what power have you done this miracle? Because there is a law in Jewry, and it's found in Deuteronomy chapter 13, that if anyone works for medical in any other name than the name of Jehovah, he can be put to death. And so somebody started the court proceedings with a very subtle question. By what name have you done this miracle? Now, Peter knew what they were getting up. He knew that his life was in danger at that moment. And it says here, verse 8, Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost. That's a great thing, you know. If you're going to have to stand for your faith, and if you're going to have to give an answer for the reason that is within you, see that you don't do it in any shape of bitterness or strife or bitterness. You'd be better to take a breath and ask the Holy Ghost to take care of you. So you would answer the way a Christian would answer. Sometimes, you know, you can let your blood boil and then... It's not Christian at all. Might be the devil's talking to you. Even Peter once. You can talk out of your throat if you don't watch. But Peter was a great character. He must have took a deep breath here. And he was filled with the spirits, and said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel. You see, he's quite respectful to the court. Because that's what we're taught to be. And he says, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel, if we must day be examined of the good deed done to the infidel man by what means he is made whole, be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, Now, he didn't put a tooth in it, did he? There was no crooked fiddling around with the answer. It just came out plain and clear. You can slay me if you like. But by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. There's no fiddling with the answer there. And then he went a bit further. He said, By the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucify. And he was bound to know that this bit would stick hard with the court. Whom God raised from the dead. My, I admire this character, you know. This was a great man. One day I'll meet him in heaven, and I'll shake his hand, and I'll thank him for the stand he took. Just looked the court full in the face and said, By the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucify, because it was that very court that crucified him. Whom God raised from the dead. My, he's speaking out all right. By him doth this man stand here before you all. And he begins to curse at you because it's always best to get back to the book. This is the stone which was set at lot of you builders. Which has become the head of the corner. Now the feet are talking. He didn't say, Mind you, I'm the foundation. Don't touch me. Ah, what a bit of a... He said, Jesus Christ of Nazareth. He's the foundation. You builders, touch him at lot. Let me tell you, he's become the head of the corner. He didn't like me, he must have gotten excited at this head. Neither is there salvation in any other. For there's none other name. That was good talk, wasn't it? There's none other name given among men whereby you must be saved. You can't get saved through the name of Moses. He's the woman that you want. You can't get saved through her name. And you can't get saved through King William's name. The last Christian, all is he lost. You can't get saved through that name either. And you can't get saved through the name of Protestant, nor Catholic, nor Baptist, nor Brethren, nor Presbyterian. You either get saved at the feet of Christ or you'll perish. There's no other way. There's no other door. There's no other land. There's no other! We'll come to that in a moment. Now he was quite clear about what he was about, you know, at all times. Yes, he's underlining something for us back here in 1 Peter 2. He's underlining that the chosen foundation of the Christian church is Christ himself, the chief cornerstone. And don't you notice that in our paragraph this evening, he not underlines the chosen foundation, but he underlines the chosen generation. You see, he's writing to these believers. You know now they're believers. You saw them being born again. You know that they're redeemed with precious blood. You know they've been regenerated. You know that they were re-elect. We've gone down the first chapter and we can see this crowd. Elect and sanctified and begotten of God are people born again and redeemed, people who have purified their souls, people who have an inheritance, incorruptible and undefiled, reserved in heaven for them. Now he's writing to them and he said this to them in 2 Peter here. He says, verse 9, But ye are a chosen generation. This is underlining that too. You see, he's making it very clear that Christ was the chosen foundation. And he's making it very clear that born again redeemed believers, Christians, they're the chosen generation in this age. You see what he said there in verse 4? He said, Whom coming as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God and precious, ye also as lively stones are built up a spiritual house. When we talk about the spiritual house, what are we talking about? We're talking about the church and the believers. They're the chosen generation and they're being built on the foundation that was chosen, which was our greatest Lord. These are things he's underlining very clearly in the paragraph of this evening. This is pointing out a chosen foundation, Christ, and a chosen generation, born again believers. But let's begin and do it properly. You can see that he's talking about our greatest Lord in verse 3, and he says to whom coming as unto a living stone. Mind you, this is something that Paul was dogmatic about. Paul was very dogmatic about the foundation. He had never any quibbles in his mind. He never thought it was Peter, you know, for the moment. Let's have a look at what Paul said for just a moment. We're at 1 Corinthians and the chapter 3, please. 1 Corinthians and we're at the 3rd chapter. Just to save time, the way down the chapter there at verse 11. Paul writing said, For other a foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. He had no problems about the foundation at all. Oh, he didn't think that Peter was the rock or anything like that, or the foundation. And I can tell you that Peter didn't think it either. Peter knew who the foundation was, our greatest Lord. And Paul says, For other a foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is, and he's being dogmatic now, which is Jesus Christ. Surely that's clear enough. And I think that Peter's very specific about this when he points to the chief cornerstone here. Yes, these two great apostles, one of them the great apostle to the Jews, and the other the great apostle to the Gentiles, one is perfectly dogmatic that there is no other foundation, and Peter is specific when he says Christ is the chief cornerstone. Now I want you to get this very clear, that right down through this paragraph of ours, he talks a lot about Christ as the stone, as the foundation. Watch what is said here. Let's look at verse four. To whom coming as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God and precious. You see, we want to get what this stone really means to God. And it means this, that God has elected Christ to be the stone. See down in verse six, wherefore also it is contained in the Scripture, behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect. You see, in verse four, he's chosen of God. In verse six, it is God that elects him to be the chief cornerstone. And in both verse four and verse six, the word precious is there. You see, God elects Christ. God chose Christ to be the foundation upon which the church would be built. And Christ was doubly precious to God because of this. Twice we have this word precious. You know, this is the precious foundation that God laid for his church, for the church of God. Yes, I want you to get the hold of that. You know, there's something there that you need to underline. I remember having some talks with a very brilliant doctor. He was a Roman Catholic doctor. And I think he was something of the elation. And I remember we were discussing this, this foundation question, when I brought him to this passage and took him through it very carefully, and then I said to him, Doctor, tell me this, quite merely, is Peter teaching here that he is the foundation, or is he teaching that Christ is the foundation? Now, he was a very honest man. He said, you know, from the way you put it and the way you underline it and the way you take it bit by bit, well, Peter is teaching that Christ was the foundation. But is that so in Matthew 16? That was his next question. He was reading the paragraph. But when you're friendly with a fellow, you're allowed to read the paragraph. I said, Doctor, we'll have a look at it then. Let's have a look at Matthew 16. Now, we'll take it piecemeal and then we'll get it all right. Matthew 16, verse 13. When Jesus came into the courts of Caesarea Philippi, and what a lovely place that is, right on the very edge of the Mediterranean. I can remember sitting here with my feet in the blue waters of the Mediterranean, and the water would have burnt you. It was so lovely. We were away down one day at Caesarea Philippi, and I gave some of them a Bible reading, almost like what I'm going to do now. When Jesus came into the courts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist. Some, Elias. And others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. Verse 15. He said unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And there wasn't one of them made and answered at all, only Peter. And Simon, Peter, answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. That was a wonderful answer, you know. You know quite well what Peter meant when he said that, don't you? You know so many times in the New Testament Christ is called the Son. Sometimes he's called the Son of Man. Well, that just has something to do with his humanity. He was the Christ of the human race. He was the Christ who knew everything about poverty and about pain. He knew everything about plunder and false witnesses, evil speeches. Yes, he was the Christ of the human race. Sometimes he's called the Son of David. That doesn't refer to his humanity at all. But the day he was born, he was the Jew of the house of the lineage of David. Sometimes he's called the Son of Abraham. And that has got nothing to do so much with his humanity, or even his royalty. That's got to do with his nationality, and he was a Jew, remember. And it was this little nation of Israel that brought Christ to the world, as it were. And it's because this nation brought Christ to the world that the old devil has been determined for countless hundreds of years to blot out the nation of Israel. And he used Hitler, and Hitler was determined. He had a wicked diabolical history in his heart. It was ingested into him by the devil. And he thought he would blot Israel out, but he failed. And then Nazareth, big broad-shouldered Nazareth, thought that he would blot them out. And one day stood and said, we'll drive them into the sea and exterminate them. And in six days he was finished. And he's finished now. Oh yes, so many have been against the little nation, you know. And I believe it's the devil that's at the back of it all the time, because yes, they'll always be in trouble until he rules on the throne of his father David. Sometimes he's called the Son of Man, it's got to do with his humanity. Sometimes he's called the Son of David, it has got to do with his loyalty. Sometimes he's called the son of Abraham, it has got to do with his nationality. Sometimes he's called the carpenter's son. That has got to do with his humility. Stood at the carpenter's bench, you know. Made chairs. And I assure you, if he made a chair, it was well made. But Peter's not calling him the carpenter's son, and he's not calling him the son of Abraham, or the son of David, or the son of man. Peter's looking into his face and he's saying, thou art the son of the living God. That's got to do with his deity. That's what that's got to do with. You know, no wonder the Lord turned round to him and said, flesh and blood hath not revealed it. He didn't learn nothing from it. And you know, it's a good thing to get along with God, because He tells you little things at times. Yes, this is the great answer. Thou art the son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bardona, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church. Now, does scripture bear out that Peter was the rock that the church was built on? I ask you again, did he preach this to the Sanhedrin? Or did he point to Christ? I ask you again, what did Paul think was the foundation? I ask you again to examine what he's teaching in 1 Peter 2. And you'll find that all these bear out that Christ was the rock. You see, what Christ was saying to Peter is this. Saying this is the great answer, this is the wonderful confession. And upon the rock of your confession of me, I will build my church. And that's what he said. That's what the rock is. It's the rock of Peter's confession. And the church was built on the rock that Christ was God and died for us. That's the rock. You know, I want you to get the hold of this which is the mighty statement, I will build my church upon this rock. I will build my church. You see, the church is built by Christ. Let's get the hold of that. I wish some of the modernistic evangelists would learn this. God made or not built into the church by evangelistic trickery. Oh, not at all. Oh, this evangelistic trickery won't build a church, I assure you of that. It will make false professions and damn people. Let us who preach the gospel get it into our hearts that Christ must build the church. Oh, he just sent you out with a message and you just stick to it and leave the building to him. I've seen a lot built in, you know, in my lifetime. But I never did any tricks to do it. I just trusted the builder. Yes, the church is built by him. I will build my church. And those of you who argue with me that the church was in the Old Testament, have another look at the text. I will build my church. It's still future, you know, from that spot. Oh, it was Israel, the nation that was there. The church was about to be built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets and Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone. It is still future. He says, I will build my church. It's built by him. Let me say this. It is built on him. On this rock, on the rock of thy great confession. On this rock, I will build my church. There is no other foundation. And Peter is saying that he is the chief cornerstone and you can't have two of them, you know. Yet I want you to get this, that the church is built by him. And the church is built on him. And I want you to get this quite clear. The church is built for him. It's my church. It doesn't belong to the Baptists, mind you. Nor the Romans. Nor the Brethren. God forbid if it just happens to be that it belongs to him. It's my church. And it's built by him. And it's built on him. And it's built for him. Mine. This is mine. You know, he loved the church. He gave himself for it. That he might think divine cleansing. That he might make it his very own. It's called his blight. Yes, it's his. And it's for him and it's for him alone. You know, this is a great saying that he said here. He said, upon this rock, I will build my church. And the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I want you to get the hold of that because you must get that in its right perspective. I know that the gates of hell is just a figure of speech that he's using. In fact, I don't know whether there are any gates on hell or not. But I know that this is a figure of speech. And I know what he's saying. You know, when we talk about hell, we get a lot of things into our minds at once. It's the unseen place of the dead. And you know, there's a world of... Ah, but they won't keep Christ back from building the church. They will not prevail. You know, when we talk about hell, sometimes we think about darkness. And there is a kingdom of darkness around us. Ah, well, the church is marching on. And the gates of hell, of the kingdom of darkness, will not prevail. You know, we are marching on. Don't think that we are hemmed in or anything. We are hemmed in. And we are marching against the gates, as it were. And they'll not prevail, you know. A world of perishing souls won't keep Christ back from building the church. And the kingdom of darkness won't keep Christ back. Sometimes we think of hell as made only for the devil and his angels. The devil, the devil, with all his diabolical powers, with all the energy that he possesses and all the activities he commands, will not keep Christ back from building his church. Sometimes we think of hell as the second death. Sometimes we think about eternal death. Ah, the enemy of death will not keep Christ back. In spite of a perishing world, in spite of the kingdom of darkness, in spite of diabolical powers, in spite of every enemy, Christ will build his church, and he's doing it. I had the joy of kneeling with a woman last night and saying a weeping way to Christ. Which, you know, it's built on him and by him and for him. And, you know, the gates of hell are all the forces of the enemy, if you like to put it like that. They will not prevail. It's a wonderful thing, you know, in this dark, devilish, diabolical world of ours. And I don't need to start to teach you that evil men are getting worse and worse. I don't need to teach that these days, not an ulster. In spite of hell and darkness and diabolical doings, man and woman are still in church. Christ will build his church. And, you know, when I got all this over out of me, the old doctor said, you know, you're harming me. You're stopping the verse short. Oh, doctor, I never did that in my life. I said, all right, go on to the next verse. And he's talking to Peter, and he said, And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. I said, would you not like to put another one to it when you're at it? Let's put another one. Have a look at John's Gospel for a moment. And read it, John's Gospel, chapter 20. John's Gospel, chapter 20, verse 19. Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst and said unto them, Peace be unto you. And when he had so said, he showed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad when they saw the Lord. Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you. As my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed unto them and said unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Whosoever sins you remit, they are remitted unto them. And whosoever sins you retain, they are retained. I said, we might as well put them all together, don't we? He said, well that's very fair of you, because I'm sure I should have turned you to that one anyway. You know, I want to do this for the class this evening, and I want to do it very carefully. You know, when he said, dear, I give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt bind in earth shall be bound, and whatsoever thou shalt loose, it shall be loosed from heaven. And then when he said to all his disciples here, whosoever sins you remit, they are remitted unto them, and whosoever sins you retain, they are retained. I said, tell me first of all what you're thinking, Doctor. Let me ask you this. Do you think in your mind just now that Peter was driven by the thought of Paul, that he should be saved? Do you think that means some of the other and whosoever sins they retain should be... Well, I said, you know, that's very simple to prove that you're completely wrong. Because you only want to watch Peter going out preaching, and see if he ever used this kind of authority and power. And I shall let you see him preaching, and I shall let you hear him preaching, and I shall show you certain things that he did. And you'll find he had no such power at all. Now, watch me doing this very carefully. Come to the Acts of the Apostles, and we're at chapter eight. The Acts of the Apostles, and we're at the eighth chapter. Now this is the place where Philip the Evangelist went down to Samaria. See, verse five, Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ unto them. He knew what to preach for, right? Verse twelve says, But when they believed, Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Then another character is introduced, then Simon. And if you've got the chapter, you'll see who he is. Verse nine, There was a certain man called Simon, which before time in the theme said they used sorcery and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one. Now this man Simon the sorcerer, verse thirteen, then Simon himself believed also. And when he was baptized, he continued with Philip and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done. And when he was baptized, he continued with Philip and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done. And now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John. These two apostles came down from Jerusalem. They didn't visit the Samaritans because the Jews didn't agree with the Samaritans, but now that the grace of God had come among the Samaritans, they thought they would send down Peter and John. Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, for these believers here among the Samaritans, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Ghost. Now these Samaritans, although they were true believers, had not yet received the Holy Ghost. And it explains here, for as yet he was fallen upon none of them, only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Ghost. Now I want you to see who's laying hands on. It is two apostles. It is Peter and John. And I want you to make sure who they're laying hands on. They are Samaritans. Because I hear people taking this up, you know, and they talk about laying hands on and giving people the Holy Ghost. Only they are not apostles and the people that they're touching are not Samaritans. You see, the Jews had no dealings with the Samaritans. In fact, there were two temples in Jerusalem. There was a temple up in Samaria and I was in the ruins of that one day. And, of course, there was a great temple down at Jerusalem itself. And there was a great danger that if the Samaritans, some of them, got saved, they would start a research of the Lord. And God was going to make sure that this wouldn't happen. And in a thought of a way, he forced the Jewish apostles to go down to touch the believing Samaritans. And if you ever hear of a fellow laying his hands on somebody, he will need to be an apostle and they will need to be a Samaritan without the Holy Ghost. And don't be reading anything more into it or you'll get into debauchery. But that's not the point that I'm flashing out. I want you to get this. It says, verse 18, And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, saying, Give me also this power that on whomsoever I lay hands he may receive the Holy Ghost. But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee. Mind you, that was a big saying for Peter, wasn't it? Not so many books that I read about talk like that, your money perish with you. I'll just tell you that's what he said. Thy money perish with thee. Because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. Thou hast made a partner lot in this matter. This fellow was only a professor. He wasn't a true believer at all. Ah, but Peter caught him on. Of course, when people begin to open their mouths you can catch them on all right. He just said too much. Peter said, you're not a believer. Oh, he'd lost Philip, I know that. And he'd got baptized by a merchant too. And the Pope would be baptized by a merchant. It broke me, you know. But you've not broke God. And certainly he didn't block Peter. Peter said, I can tell you right now, the way you're talking, you have made a partner lot in this matter. But Peter went on a bit further, you know. Peter said, thy money perish with thee because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. Thou hast made a partner lot in this matter. For thy heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this thy wickedness and pray God if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee. If he had authority to forgive the man, why didn't he do it? Ah, but he didn't do it. No, he just said, now look, away you and get on your knees and get right with God and pray God to forgive you. If he had the power, why didn't he forgive the man? I can remember the old doctor looking at this. He says, you're puzzling me. Oh, clear you up in a minute or two. Take your time. Yes. Peter had no authority. Not whatsoever. Only the authority that I will tell you in a moment or two. I said, what do you hear him preaching in the house of Cornelius? That's chapter 10, isn't it? You remember he came into the house of Cornelius to preach. And you know he was a great preacher. Here's what he preached. Verse 38 at the same time. He says, God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power. He went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil, for God was with him. And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom they slew and hanged on a tree. Then God raised up the third day and showed him openly, not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead. And he commanded us. What's the word now? He commanded us to preach unto the people and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the judge of quick and dead. For him give all the prophets witness that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. Tell me, was he preaching I can forgive you? Or was he preaching if you believe in Christ you'll be forgiven? I think you can see what the man preached. You see, when the Lord talks about giving him the kings of the kingdom and when the Lord talks about sending out his disciples and saying whosoever sins he remit they are remitted in heaven and whosoever sins he retain they are retained. He's not sending them out with a power and an authority that they can do the things. Let me tell you, he sent them out with a message. He commanded them to preach just like with a message man. Now I'll tell you how it works. There's a big man sitting over there I led him to the Lord just the other day blessed him and his face was shining and he's gone on with the Lord. And you know we sat together and I just led him very carefully and let him see the whole gospel story that's what I was intended to do because that's what I was sent to do. And I pointed out to Jim Irvin how that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. He's happened in all life. And I pointed out very carefully that before he could save sinners he must die for sinners because sin has to be dealt with in the sight of a holy God and only the sacrifice of Christ could do that. And I pointed out very carefully that he must not only come to save and die to save but he would need to rise again because any sinner coming to trust him will need a living saviour. Now you can't go on with a text or a church. Man, I would be drunk tomorrow if I had only a text. But I happened to have a living saviour you know. Real living saviour. And I pointed out you know that he not only came to save and died to save and lived to save but he promises to save. And he promises to save whosoever shall call upon his name. And you know we've gone together and I can see the tears falling you know. And I can feel this man's body trembling. And then I can hear him lifting his heart and saying Lord Jesus I'm coming for you now. Save me and teach me. And I could put my arm round him now and tell him that he was saved. And all heaven would say amen to what I was saying. And I'll tell you this and all heaven would say amen with me. Oh it is not an authority the only authority is the word of God and I can sincerely say you're saved. I can tell you you're saved. And if you spit in Christ's face I can tell you this you'll be damned. And only in that sense is it used. And that brings all scripture into harmony. That Christ is the only foundation. That only by faith are you saved. Friend I hope you're getting this clear this evening. Now let's get back to Peter. We're at 1 Peter chapter 2. We're going very slowly this evening but I can't help it. Now I want you to see this stone. What this stone was unto God. And now Peter shows what this stone is unto believers. Do you see verse 4? This stone is a living stone to believers. And do you see verse 6? This stone is the chief cornerstone is left precious to believers. This stone is something that gives them assurance. Because Peter says he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. He didn't say he that resteth on me. He's always pointing to Christ wherever you find him. That's the only message anyway. You must point to Christ. Yes you know, this stone to God is chosen and is left in precious. And this stone to believers is living and sure and precious. You know the builders of the Jewish nation this old Sanhedrin that we were looking at you see what this stone was unto the builders? It was disallowed. Oh they couldn't entertain that this man standing in a Nazarene garment that this could be anybody. They just disallowed him. Peter looked into their eyes that day and said this is the stone that was set at nought and he built it. This is my Lord at nought. How blind they were. And there's a lot of blind builders in this world just at this moment. Yes, I want you to get this. You know this stone is very precious to God. This stone is precious to God because it's on this foundation by faith in Christ that both Jew and Gentile come into the church. That's why he said I lay in Zion. He scored the stone. Because Jew and Gentile come into the church on this foundation when they come and accept Christ by faith. But you know to the Jewish nation of that day you see this here he says unto you therefore which believe he is precious but unto them which be disobedient the stone which the builders disallowed disallowed the sailors near the head of the corner and a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. You know that's what it was to Israel the nation. Why they were offended in him and they stumbled over Christ crucified. And you see the stone. How Peter so clearly so wonderfully so uniquely pictures Christ here as the only foundation. I don't know how men ever got it wrong. They only need to go to Peter himself and ask the question are you the foundation? And here's the answer. It's right there. Now he doesn't only talk here about a chosen foundation he talks about a chosen generation. See verse 9 he's talking to these believers but ye are a chosen generation. Let's go back to verse 5. Ye also are lively stones. You see he's the living stone, the foundation. For all the other stones that are built upon this living stone have to be living stones too. No dead ones built in here. It'd be of life to be in this building. You see we're being built up a spiritual house. Ah that's what the church is tonight. She's a spiritual house. I want you to get this. On holy priesthood. And I want you to look at verse 9 quickly. But ye are a chosen generation of royal priesthood. You see every living stone in the church tonight and remember we are not talking about male. We are talking about male and female. In the church there is neither male nor female. And every stone in the church is a holy priesthood. A royal priesthood. Forget that. You know when you say the word holy you say a separated step apart priesthood. When you say a royal priesthood you know we are not only priests unto God we are made kings and priests. The world doesn't know that yet but Christ has made us kings and priests. Now the bit that I want you to get is this. That every stone built on the foundation is a part of this royal and this holy priesthood. I want you to agree with me. The issue here is that I am upsetting God's order. That is what you are doing. Is only a part of the church a priesthood? Come on out into the open. Are we only writing to males? Or were there females here at this age? I will tell you the whole church today is a royal priesthood and a holy priesthood and stop you interfering with it. You have no right whatsoever to teach a woman to pray. This book teaches her how to pray. It doesn't teach her not to pray. It teaches her to have her head covered when she prays. Is that teaching her how to pray or not to pray? I get stuck talking to you sometimes. But it is a royal priesthood this church. And don't forget the church is a royal priesthood. Don't let anybody keep you back from praying. So long as you are properly acquired, the Bible is inviting you to pray. And you know this, this wonderful chosen generation is not only living strong in a spiritual house and a holy priesthood and a royal priesthood. You know, let's get this to my... We are a holy nation. You know that is wonderful because we have no country. I know we have a whole lot of talk about our land. I can tell you, friends, that we are strangers and pilgrims. We will be starting next week. Do you see verse 12? See verse 11? Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims. Because we are just a passing through this world. It is an old story, I know, but it is a good one. We are just a passing through. Let me tell you, no matter what way you feel, Ulster is not your home. It is not your home. You know, we are looking for a country that has foundations to build on and never is gone. That's where we are looking, you know. We are looking for a land that is fair one day. We are just strangers and pilgrims. We are a whole nation, you know. A nation set apart, no geographical location on earth. It is just a whole nation. We are a peculiar people. An old fellow said to me one day about a brother. He said, he is a peculiar person, isn't he? I said, he is indeed, man, he is. I said, because he belongs to a peculiar family. He said, he is far more than that. He was so jealous. He didn't know what I was talking about. Now, I want you to get this bit. This is the bit we must get in this evening. Watch this. You see, this chosen generation, this royal priesthood, this holy nation, this peculiar people, they are chosen for something. Have a look again at verse 5. He also asked lively stones that built up a spiritual house and holy priesthood to offer up sacrifices acceptable to God, by Jesus Christ, of course. You know, that is what we are saved for. That is why we are a peculiar people. That is why we are a spiritual house. You know, we are to be offering up sacrifices to God. And there is a word that is in the Scriptures continually. Look, let me show you how this works, because I think this is a very nice thing. Let's go to Hebrews, just back a page or two. In Hebrews 13, it says in verse 12, O bear toward Jesus also that he might sanctify the people with his own blood suffered without the gate. Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp bearing his reproach. For here we have no continuing city, but we seek one to come. By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, the fruit of our lips giving thanks unto his name. You know, I don't know why some people turn up their nose at male-voiced festivals. I just don't know. Because I don't think they are getting it properly, you know. I think it's from the last three nights of the male-voiced festivals. And I turn around and I see over one hundred men, which I think they are old and young. One of them was telling me that he was 74, singing like a lark. They are all behind me. And you know, I tested the choir out last night, turned around like a flash, and said every man saved from one day to five years old, stand up. About eight or nine of them stood up. Every man saved from one day to ten years, on your feet. Another bunch of them stand up. Every man saved from one day to twenty years. Another bunch. Every man saved from one day to forty years. Nearly all up. One or two old boys sitting along. I had to go on to the fifth one. I had a wee bald head at my throat last. Fifty years saved, you know, singing. My dear friends, this is what the Lord saved us for. To make of that spirit your heart, to offer this sacred sight of faith to God continually. Well, you can't sing, that's your trouble. Why, when men get up to praise the Lord, I don't know what's wrong with you. They are so nodder and miserable. Why, it's a good thing to give praise unto the Lord. Thank God for men that can praise the Lord. This is what he saved us for, so that we can sing. We've got to sing unto the Lord. Let's go back to Peter there. We've got to finish this now. Look at this. Verse nine. But he our chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people, that he should so force the praises of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvellous light. You know, this word praises here is the word virtues, if you've got a marginal reference. Sometimes it's the word excellencies, that he should so force the excellencies of him who has called you out of darkness into marvellous light. Do you know what the Lord has saved us for? He's saved us to sing and shine. That's it in a nutshell. Just to sing and shine. May God keep this song in our hearts, and may God keep our life shining, may we be burning and shining light. Now Peter goes on to a real practical bit next week, and those of you who were here last week know just exactly how Peter can preach practical truth. We're singing 805, please. 805. Brightly beams our Father's mercy from his lighthouse evermore, but to us he gives the keeping of the lights along the shore. 805, please. Dear Lord, part us in thy fear, and with our blessing, take us home safely through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.