I think this may not be working. Nothing is happening when I turn it on. Does this take just like AA batteries or something? I don't know what it takes. Not that you need it for the sake of volume, but they do need it for the sermon audio. All right, well, we'll use this for the time being until they get that situated. But let's turn to 1 Peter while they're trying to get the technology working again. And we want to pick up in our study here in 1 Peter, in chapter 2. 1 Peter 2. We'll read the first eight verses. We're specifically going to be zeroing in here on verses 4 and 5, but we do want to give you the broader picture of where we're at here. So 1 Peter 2, beginning in verse 1. Wherefore, laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby. If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious. To 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 and holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. Unto you therefore which believe, he is precious. But unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner. And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient, whereunto also they were appointed. Father, please open our eyes, open our hearts in these moments. Give us eyes to see the glory and the beauty of our dear Savior, Jesus Christ. And it's in his name we pray, amen. At the end of 2 Peter, there is a rather remarkable statement that Peter makes concerning the writings of the Apostle Paul. And it looks like they've got me situated here, thank you. Let me see if this is working. Oh, and of course this thing got broken. Yeah, that's how it always is, right? Okay, we're good, we're good. All right, thank you for doing that last minute technology fix there. But at the end of 2 Peter, there is a remark that Peter makes about Paul's writings when he says that there are in Paul's writings some things that are hard to be understood. Now there's a bit of irony in that remark because those of us that have worked through Peter's writings could say much the same thing about the Apostle Peter. That there are some things in Peter's writings that are hard to be understood. I was engaged in a communication with this man that had found some things that I had written online. And he was inclined really toward kind of a posture of skepticism toward the Bible. He was very kind, very interesting guy to engage with. But one of the real sticking points he had was this thought that here you have this fisherman from Galilee that is writing these really complex sentences in Greek. And how could this be for someone of the stature of the Apostle Peter? Indeed, what we find in Peter's epistles, we find some very rich theology in these epistles. And in this portion that we have just read, really we find some things that, frankly, are a bit difficult to be understood. we get into some quotations of Old Testament material. And really, this tests those of us that are students of the Bible that we need not only to be able to engage with what Peter says here, but we also need to be able to reflect back on those Old Testament passages that Peter cites. But indeed, this is a passage that brings again into our focus are amazing, our wonderful Lord Jesus Christ. And, of course, we have this metaphor of Christ as the cornerstone for this building that is made up of believers. Now, in the previous section of 1 Peter that we've been examining, we know that there is a particular analogy that Peter uses to discuss our spiritual growth. We see it in verse 2. As newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby. We're to be just like newborn babies that are partaking of milk. That is to be our intake of the Word of God. We're to have that longing for Scripture in the same way that a baby longs for milk. And of course the imagery there is of a human being going through the normal stages of growth and development that humans go through. But the analogy shifts as we get into verses four and following. The analogy shifts away from this realm of physical growth and development of human beings into the analogy of a building. Now you see it all throughout this text. But notice especially verse five. Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house. And so we have shifted here from a growth analogy to an architectural analogy, wherein the believers, collectively, we are considered to be living stones that make up this spiritual house that God is putting together. All of us that belong to Christ, all of us who call on the name of the Lord, are being built up in this particular building. But really, the same truths are coming forth that we saw in the first three verses. That, of course, as newborn babies, there is to be this growth that is taking place as we are partaking of the Word of God. And as we get into this passage, the idea being that there's supposed to be growth, there's development taking place as we are built up a spiritual house in the family of God. Now we do want to bring ourselves back to where we're at in this context in 1 Peter. You'll recall that we've summarized the message of 1 Peter with a simple statement, Christians suffering in anticipation of future glory. So Peter's writing to Christians, those of us who belong to Christ, those of us who have trusted Christ as Lord and Savior, we are those that are being addressed in this epistle. But there is this indication that just because we've trusted in Christ does not mean we are exempt from suffering. In fact, Peter's readers were suffering a tremendous deal specifically because of persecution. These believers were ostracized because of their commitment to Christ. They were refused as being part of polite company in that day because of the fact that they declared their allegiance to Jesus Christ. You find all these references in 1 Peter to being spoken evil of. And indeed, these believers, they endured slander, they endured insults, they were ostracized from polite company, all because they trusted in Christ and were really allied with Him. It's probably not too dissimilar from what some of us have experienced from our unsafe family members. or maybe at your workplace where you've encountered those that are without Christ that think that you're some kind of holy roller, so to speak. But, even amid suffering, what are we anticipating? That word hope, critical word in 1 Peter, really a very important biblical word that indicates not just this kind of wishful expectation, but this confident expectation of what God is going to do in the future. And what we are looking forward to is future glory. That, by the way, is what gives us the strength to endure suffering in the present time. That as we anticipate Christ coming for His church, as we anticipate all those blessings that are awaiting us in the future, that, friends, is what gives us the strength to endure. And so that is why in the first 12 verses of 1 Peter that Peter goes through and he enumerates those blessings that we have because of our salvation in Christ. All of those things particularly that are awaiting us in the future. And then of course with verse 13 we go from these statements of fact to these statements of obligation. Wherefore, in verse 13, because all of this is true, gird up the loins of your mind. Be sober and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. And following verse 13, we're confronted again and again with these commands that relate to the fact that we've been born again. That relate to the fact that God has promised us this treasure trove of blessings in the future. All of that, dear friends, necessitates that we heed these commands that are given. So we saw here in verse 13, girding up the loins of your mind, having the spirit of readiness, the spirit of sobriety, and this anticipation for all that's going to be brought to us at Christ's appearing. In verse 15, we have that command to be holy as the one who called us is holy. In verse 17, we are told that we are to pass or conduct ourselves during the time of our sojourning with fear. In verse 22, we are told that we are to love one another with a pure heart fervently. And as we began in chapter 2 and verse 1, we saw that Peter relates back to what was just said in the previous paragraph. He says in verse 1 of chapter 2, And again, it's always a good hint for Bible study, when you see that word wherefore or therefore, that you need to find out what it's there for. And so Peter is relating back to this command that he gave to love one another with a pure heart fervently when he says, laying aside all malice and all guile, that is craftiness, deception, and hypocrisies and envies, and all evil speakings, or slanders, All of that is to be put aside in the same way that we would cast off an unwanted article of clothing. And rather than pursue those things, we are to, in the words of verse 2, desire the sincere milk of the Word, like newborn babies would desire milk. There is to be that earnest longing for the nourishment, the life-giving power of the Scriptures. That is what is to build us up. And that, dear friends, is how we grow in the words of verse 2. And in verse 3, you have this citation of Psalm 34, verse 8, where Peter says, If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious. The idea there being God is gracious. He's good. He's kind. And ultimately, Peter knows his readers have experienced that. But he also knows that as his readers continue to partake of the milk of the Word of God, as they continue longing for that milk, just as a baby longs for milk, they will grow and they will have even greater and deeper experiences of God's goodness and grace. So that's where we are at this point in the epistle of 1 Peter. In this particular passage, verses 4 through 8, especially verses 4 and 5, the main idea here is that we must draw near to Christ so that we can be built up as a temple for the Spirit of God. So what I want us to consider from this passage, verses four and five, are two urgent needs for the church as God's spiritual house and God's holy priesthood. So the first need of the church, number one, is the need to come. The need to come. And you see this language being used in verse four. To whom coming. coming. Let's consider first along these lines the privilege of coming. Now often when we use this type of terminology, as we so often do in our types of circles, when we speak of coming to Christ, we're usually referring to the initial conversion experience. So-and-so came to Christ. In other words, we would say that person is trusted in Christ, right? That person is turned from sin to Christ. So that's often how we use that terminology. But I would suggest, dear friends, that in this passage that the coming refers to more than just our initial conversion experience. In fact, in this context I would suggest that this is our coming to Christ for growth in the Christian life. Now, How do I know this? Well, I have a couple of reasons. The first of these is a bit technical, so you'll have to stick with me a moment. Try not to fall asleep. Otherwise, we'll have to get the feather out and try to wake you up. No, we won't do that. But in verse 4, you notice the way it's expressed in English, to whom coming. Now, in the original language, this is a present participle. And normally, in Greek, a present participle occurs at the same time as the main verb that it's related to. In this case, the main verb occurs in verse 5. Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house. The idea there is that we are being built up as a spiritual house. It's not just being built up once at some point in the past, but this is something that is ongoing in the present time. And so it stands to reason, based on the construction here, that our coming to Christ is not just something that is once for all, that we just come to Christ once and that's it. Rather, what is envisioned here is that we're going to be coming to Christ over and over and over and over again. This is a pattern of life. It is something that we do in order to grow as believers. Now, of course, the second reason is the immediate context of this passage. The preceding verses, as we saw, deal with spiritual growth. And you think of that imagery of that little baby that is drinking the formula or drinking from his mother's milk. That baby is so consumed with a desire to have that nourishment. And so the baby is coming to that milk over and over and over and over again. Really, in the context here, the idea then is that this coming is something that we are to be doing constantly. The idea of this word, interestingly, is the idea of approaching or drawing near to someone. Now in the Greek translation of our Old Testament, what we call the Septuagint, this word is often used for drawing near to God. Let me give you a few references here. If you go to Exodus, Exodus chapter 12, Exodus chapter 12 and verse 48, And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the Passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it. So, specifically referring here to the observance of the Passover feast, if you go over a few chapters, to chapter 16 and verse 9, Exodus 16 and verse 9, And Moses spake unto Aaron, Say unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, Come near before the Lord, for he hath heard your murmurings. Over in the next book, in Leviticus chapter 9 and verse 5, Leviticus 9 and verse 5, And they brought that which Moses commanded before the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the congregation drew near and stood before the Lord. So you see this over and over again, and we can point to other references in the Old Testament that this idea occurs of drawing near, coming near to God. But we recognize that in the Old Testament worshippers were greatly limited in their ability to draw near to God. What we find in the tabernacle and later the temple is that there was a curtain that separated the holy of holies from the rest of the worship property. And inside that veil was the Ark of the Covenant where God's special presence rested. But we find that this Ark of the Covenant where you had the special presence of God was separated by this curtain that was 60 feet high and according to Jewish tradition may have been four inches thick. And so it's quite remarkable when you come to the Gospel of Matthew, Matthew chapter 27, Matthew chapter 27 and verse 51 and this is of course in the context of Jesus giving up his life in verse 51 and behold the veil of the temple was rent in twain in other words it was torn in two from the top to the bottom now it would have been astounding enough for a curtain of this size to have been torn from the bottom to the top But the fact that it was torn from top to bottom indicates that this was an act of God. This could not have been accomplished by human means. God was at work in this. And of course, the whole significance of that, that as that veil is torn, that now the access is wide open. Whereas before, we were coming to God from afar, so to speak. Now we can draw near. This is a point that is really hammered into us by the author of Hebrews. A number of times we see this in Hebrews. In fact, the same word that is translated coming in 1 Peter appears multiple times in Hebrews to talk about our drawing near to God. Let's go over to Hebrews 4. Hebrews chapter 4. Hebrews chapter 4 and verse 15. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points like as we are, yet without sin. And of course that high priest is explained for us in verse 14 as Jesus, the Son of God. Then look at verse 16. Let us therefore what? Come or draw near or approach boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in the time of need. You go over a few other chapters to chapter 7 in Hebrews. Hebrews 7 and verse 25. Wherefore, he is able also to save them that to the uttermost that come unto God by him. And of course, the him there and the he is Christ. So again, this idea of coming to him, drawing near to him, approaching him. Probably the clearest description of this is in Hebrews chapter 10. flip one or two more pages over to Hebrews 10 and verse 19. Having therefore brethren boldness. Very similar terminology to what we saw in Hebrews 4, right? having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which he hath consecrated for us through the veil, that is to say, his flesh, and having an high priest over the house of God, let us, what, draw near with a true heart and full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water." Now, it would be one thing if we were simply approaching God from afar. It would be even another thing if we were coming near to God, but we were doing so with tremendous anxiety and fear. But the author of Hebrews envisions not only that we are going to come to God and not only that we're going to draw near, but that we're going to do so with boldness. I would suggest to you that that boldness does not come because we're inherently worthy. As the author of Hebrews makes plain, it is only because of the blood of Jesus that we are able to draw near. But because of the finished work of Christ, that veil in the temple has been rent in two from top to bottom, and now the way has been made clear. No more obstacles. No more hindrances. We come directly into the Holy of Holies. Directly into the presence of God. Isn't that an incredible privilege? And think of what kind of impact that should have on our prayer lives, dear friends. Is there some temptation you're struggling to conquer? Draw near to Christ. Is there some sorrow that threatens to overwhelm you? Draw near to Christ. Is there some trial that you just feel like you're not getting any traction on? You just feel like you can't get past it? Draw near to Christ. Whatever situation it is that you face, the author of Hebrews invites us, in fact he urges us to draw near to come to that throne of grace boldly. Knowing, dear friends, that we have a high priest that is able to assist us in our time of need. So that's our privilege, our privilege of coming. But let's consider next the object of our coming. And so we come back to 1 Peter chapter 2. And notice in verse 4 this wording, to whom coming. Now we know that the whom there is specifically Christ. That is made evident to us as we continue reading in this context. But this verse tells us a number of things about Christ. And probably any one of these could be a sermon series in and of itself. Don't worry, we won't do that. But let's consider first this person that we're drawing near to or we're coming to. First of all, we need to consider the fact that he is Lord. Now you don't see the word Lord in verse 4 but notice you have to whom coming at the beginning of verse 4 and that word whom is referring us back to verse 3. So notice what you read in verse 3. If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious. Now you may recall that this passage in verse 3 is really a quotation from Psalm 34 and verse 8. So let's turn back there if we could because I want us to note something that might be good to have in your tool belt as you're engaging with others. We talked recently on Sunday night about engaging with Jehovah's Witnesses about the deity of Christ. Well notice what you have in Psalm 34 and verse 8. Psalm 34 verse 8, O taste and see that the LORD is good. Blessed is the man that trusteth in him. Question, what do you notice about the word LORD in verse 8? All caps. And what does that mean? This is Jehovah. God's personal name. Now, if we relate this back to the context of 1 Peter, if you go back to 1 Peter, You have the word LORD appearing in verse 3, quoting from Psalm 34 verse 8. So the LORD that is referred to here is Jehovah. And Jehovah is the same one in verse 4 that is disallowed of men, that's he's rejected by men, and he's chosen by God and precious. In other words, this is Christ and he's being identified as LORD in all caps. Jehovah. Now, of course, this is not the only place in Scripture where we find a defense of the deity of Christ. Of course, we went through a number of those passages in the series on Sunday nights, and you can go back and listen to those if you need more ammunition to address this particular topic. But what you do find consistently is that throughout the New Testament, Christ is identified as Lord. And we have to note that in the Greek translation of the Old Testament, that word that is translated Lord is also used for Jehovah. That is consistently the word that is used. So the idea seems to be not just that Christ is Lord, He's Master, He's Ruler, though that is certainly true, but also I would suggest to you that He is Jehovah. A couple of passages where this becomes important. If you go to Romans chapter 10, Romans chapter 10 and verse 9, fairly well-worn passage on the so-called Romans road. But Romans chapter 10 and verse 9, that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, The idea there being, confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord. And shall believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. Interestingly enough, same passage that's quoted in 1 Peter, which we'll get into at a later time. Now I'm sure many of us have committed especially verse 13 to memory. Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. And I would suggest to you, friends, that this is not simply a casual recitation of the sinner's prayer. Rather, the idea here is that this is the confession that Jesus is Jehovah! He's Lord! And, of course, that has far-reaching implications for our lives, does it not? The acknowledgement that He's the true God, He's the King of Kings, He's the Lord of Lords. We are, in the words, as we come to Christ, we're in the words of 1 Thessalonians, we are turning from idols to the living and true God. It's a radical transformation. 2 Corinthians 4 and verse 5 says this, For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord. In other words, we're preaching Christ Jesus as the Lord. And ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. He's Lord, he's Jehovah. Colossians chapter two and verse six, as you have therefore received Christ Jesus, the Lord, or in other words, received Christ Jesus as the Lord, as master, as Jehovah. So walk ye in him. I think one of the greatest tragedies that we've seen in contemporary evangelical preaching and teaching has been the idea that a person can trust Christ as Savior and reject Him as Lord. There was a book that was written a number of years ago, a great book that I would highly recommend by A.W. Tozer entitled, I Call It Heresy. Tozer, a very clever mind, He had this expression that he developed for certain preachers. He called them nickel-in-the-slot theologians. The idea being that God is just kind of like this, you come to him by putting a nickel in the slot and then you walk away. That's the idea that many people have of salvation, right? It's just kind of this momentary thing. We're just putting the nickel in the slot and then we're walking away. That is certainly not what Peter's envisioning here. What Peter is suggesting here is that yes, we come to Christ at the moment of conversion, but we're coming to Him, we're drawing near to Him all throughout the Christian journey because we recognize that He's Lord. He's Jehovah. He's God. He has supreme authority over all. He deserves our, in the words of the old hymn writer, my soul, my life, my all, right? That's what we acknowledge. So He's Lord. I would suggest secondly, in this passage, as we go back to 1st Corinthians, I'm sorry, not 1st Corinthians, 1st Peter, 1st Peter chapter two and verse four, to whom coming as unto a living stone. So he's Lord and he's also a stone. Fairly uncommon description for Christ in scripture. We do find a number of passages in the Psalms, for example, that speak of God as a rock. Psalm 18 and verse 2, the Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my strength, and whom I will trust, my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. Verse 46 of the same song, the Lord liveth and blessed be my rock, and let the God of my salvation be exalted. Psalm 28 and verse 1, unto thee will I cry, O Lord my rock. Psalm 62 and verse 2, God only is my rock and my salvation. Now obviously this imagery of God or Christ as the stone is related to this image as a rock, but the emphasis here is really to be found in the subsequent context of the passage. If you go down to verse 6, where Peter says, wherefore it is contained in the scripture, behold I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone. Then in verse 7 he is called the head of the corner. This is that stone that the builders disallowed. Now some scholars have kind of debated this terminology. Some scholars think that this idea that is being referred to here is of a capstone that you would put at the high point of a peaked roof. But it is more likely, I would suggest, that what is really being referred to here is something that is at the foundation of a building. What we're told in verse 8 is that this stone is a stone of stumbling. In other words, people could actually fall and trip over it. Which suggests that it's not high up on the roof, but it is way down at the foundation. It's on the ground, right? It is, in the words of our translation, a cornerstone. And this cornerstone was critical for a building because this cornerstone was at the angle of the structure and all the rest of the building needed to be aligned with that cornerstone. Very pivotal. Paul uses this same imagery if you go over to Ephesians. Ephesians 2. Verse 19, Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God, and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone. So you have the image there, the apostles and prophets, these are those foundational members of the body of Christ, the church. But at that foundation there is the chief cornerstone which everything else is aligned with, and that would be Christ himself. The church's one foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord. She is his new creation by water and the word. From heaven he came and sought her to be his holy bride. With his own love he bought her and for her life he died. That's what we sing and that's the reality, right? But there's a fascinating adjective that Peter uses here and really creates in our minds quite an interesting mental image. Notice in verse four, to whom coming as unto a living stone. He's living. I can't say as though I've ever seen a living stone. Have you? If I saw such a thing, I might wonder what I had eaten the night before or something of that nature. Only place we find this terminology in the New Testament. What exactly though does it mean? What is Peter trying to tell us? I would suggest the best way to answer that question is to look at the context. So in 1st Peter, if you go back to chapter 1 in verse 3, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Our living, our lively hope, our living hope is the fact that Jesus is risen from the dead and that's of course what gives us the assurance that we too will rise from the dead, that we will be resurrected, receive new bodies. I would suggest to you that this image of Jesus as the living stone points back to his resurrection. Now you could point to the leaders of all kinds of world religions and you would find that they are dead stones Muhammad is a lifeless stone. Buddha is a lifeless stone. Confucius is a lifeless stone. But Jesus Christ is the living stone. That's why we draw near to Him. Revelation 118, I am He that liveth and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And have the keys of hell and of death. That same passage we quoted a moment ago, Hebrews 7.25, Wherefore He is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing that He ever liveth to make intercession for them. He's living. He's alive. There's one other point that I want to bring to our attention in the time that we have this morning, and this will segue into our time around the Lord's Table. And that's this expression we find in verse 4. He's a living stone disallowed indeed of men. Every other time this word appears in our King James it is translated rejected. Now there is one use of this term in Hebrews chapter 12 concerning Esau. It says in verse 17, for ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected. In other words, he's rejected by his father, right? But every other use of this verb in the New Testament pertains to Christ. And I would go a step further and I would suggest that not only does every other use pertain to Christ, but it pertains to a particular event in the life of Christ namely his crucifixion. Let me give you some examples. Mark chapter 8 and verse 31. And he began to teach them, this is Christ, that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected of the elders and of the chief priests and scribes and be killed and after three days rise again. Much the same thing in Luke 9, verses 21 and 22. Luke 17, verse 25, But first he, that is Christ, must suffer many things and be rejected of this generation. And every other usage of this term in the New Testament goes back ultimately to Psalm 118, verse 22. A passage that we'll examine in more detail in a future message. But this idea of Jesus being rejected, quite a remarkable thought for us to contemplate. Here is the Son of God, holy, pure. We find the consistent testimony in the New Testament that He's without sin. We saw this back in chapter 1 in verse 19. He is a lamb without blemish and without spots. 2 Corinthians 5.21 says He knew no sin. John 8, 29, Jesus asserted that he did always those things that pleased the Father. Can you imagine it? Can you imagine a man without sin? Never once did he lie. Never once did he cheat. Never once did he steal. Never once did he do anything that was less than total perfection. He always exercised perfect love. perfect mercy, perfect compassion. And yet, how was he received by the world? John chapter one gives us the sad commentary. If you go over to John chapter one, John chapter one in verse 10, Of course, the introduction to John's Gospel where he's talking about Christ. He was in the world and the world was made by him. We saw that, right, in our study of Colossians. And the world knew him not. Wow. This is the world that he created. This is the world that he spoke into existence. And yet, as Jesus comes into this world, they're not rolling out the red carpet for him, right? We know the humble circumstances surrounding his birth, the lowly manger. As Jesus comes into this world that he made, the world knew him not. Verse 11 even ups the ante even more. He came unto His own. That's the Jewish people. I mean, these are the people, they received the covenants. They received the promises of God. They received, as Romans 3 says, the oracles of God. A privileged people. A people that God had showered with His special blessing above all the nations on the earth. But even this people, as Jesus came to them, John tells us He came unto His own and His own what? Received Him not. Of course that prophecy in Isaiah 53 verse 3, He is despised and rejected of men. A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid as it were our faces from Him. He was despised and we esteemed Him he's disallowed, he's rejected by men. Now as we transition into our Lord's Supper time, I want to consider a couple of truths that are indicated here when we think about Christ being rejected of men. First of all, this reality, it suggests the depravity of man. Think of someone as wonderful as the Lord Jesus Christ, and how did we as humanity respond to him? We rejected Him. Isn't that something that points to the depravity of our hearts? Doesn't that suggest to you that in the words of Ephesians 1, we come into this world dead in trespasses and sins? We did not come to God because we were worthy, because of anything good we did, or because we even wanted to come. We came because of grace. Showered out on us through power. So as we partake of these elements, let's remember that. The depravity of man is one thing indicated here, but I would also suggest that this really suggests to us the need for substitutionary atonement. Jesus was rejected by men so that we could be accepted by the Father. We come near to Christ. Isn't that what we saw? Right? We can draw near. That curtain is torn in two. The way is made clear. But it was only made clear because Christ was rejected in our place. 2 Corinthians 5.21, He hath made Him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. 1 Timothy 2.6, Who gave Himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time. There's a collection of Puritan prayers that is called the Valley of Vision. I want you to listen to this excerpt from a prayer that is entitled Love Lustrous at Calvary. It says this, Christ was all anguish that I might be all joy, cast off that I might be brought in, trodden down as an enemy that I might be welcomed as a friend. Surrender to hell's worst, that I might attain heaven's best. Stripped, that I might be clothed. Wounded, that I might be healed. Athirst, that I might drink. Tormented, that I might be comforted. Made ashamed, that I might inherit glory. Entered darkness, that I might have eternal rest. What a testimony. That's what we're acknowledging here. That's what we're remembering. That Christ took our place. And when we don't do this, I think sometimes when we come to this occasion, we think of this as a really sober occasion, and it is. But there should also, friends, be a sense of celebration. Because the way has been made clear. That curtain is torn in two. Now we can come to God boldly. There's rejoicing in that. because Christ has taken our place. There are some of you in this room that may not grasp that because you've not yet been born again. You don't know Christ personally. If that describes you, friend, this is not for you. I can tell you that partaking of these elements will do nothing for you if you're without Christ. The only thing it will do is add to your condemnation as you're brought face to face with this pictorial representation of Christ's death. This is for those of us who have trusted in Christ. But for those that have trusted Christ, friends, let's do our due diligence. Let's examine ourselves, because friends, this is a glorious reality. That Christ has taken our place on the cross. he was rejected so that we could be accepted. I'm going to give you