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2026 Spring Bible Conference Message (3 of 4)
7 Plays11 minutes ago
Message recorded 23 March 2026
by Dr. Aubrey A. Fenton
First Baptist Church - Columbus, TX, USA
1700 Milam St.
Columbus, TX, USA 78934
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Praise
00:00:06
Speaker
Amen. Amen. Amen. You know, I'm almost intimidated to come up here after hearing such beautiful singing. yeah I don't sing, but I love the Lord.
00:00:18
Speaker
You know, you all look so wonderful. You I have to give you a little joke. First, I just want to let you know how much I love the Lord. God is good, isn't he? Aren't you glad you're here tonight, that we could all be in God's house and worshiping him and praising him? just give God some praise right now. Can you just clap your hands again to say thank you, Jesus.
00:00:37
Speaker
Thank you, Lord, for carrying each and every one of us and being our peace, our joy, and our strength tonight. We love you and we dedicate tonight to you to lift your name, to seek your face, to hear your voice, so that we can leave you changed and encouraged and strengthened by your word.
Humorous Anecdotes and Friendship
00:00:56
Speaker
In Jesus' name we pray and we say amen. Amen. Amen. I just want to say thank you, Pastor Victor, for this wonderful extension and opportunity. Thank you to my brother, Reverend Don Witt, and his lovely wife, Sister Rosita.
00:01:11
Speaker
you know, Don and I have no earthly reason why we should be such good friends. You know, when you look at us, we look like two opposites. And every restaurant we go into, they look at us like, should you two be together?
00:01:26
Speaker
And i it's by the power of the blood of Jesus we're When we are in common with Christ, we become one with everyone else who knows him. And you know just being here tonight, I could sense the spirit of the Lord in this house.
00:01:41
Speaker
I could sense the spirit of your pastor in this church. you know I get a chance to travel around, and and you're a wonderful church. And I can sense God's presence here.
Reflections on Town Sizes and Greetings
00:01:50
Speaker
You know, when I came in, they said, well you know um you know, we preach sometimes to thousands of people. And they said, you know, you're going into a nice town and it's ah it's a small town. and And I was talking to Josh. I said, only in Texas would you call this a small town. but This is not a small town when you're from New Jersey. This is not ah a small church, you know. You're used to everything being so big, but it's amazing how beautiful it is and how strong it is and what a wonderful edifice you have.
00:02:18
Speaker
So I just want to bring you greetings from everyone from New Jersey to to tell you a little bit about New Jersey, because, you know, as I travel, you know, when I travel with Don, they call New Jersey the place that's way up Amen.
00:02:31
Speaker
They said we're one of those people up north. We're not up north. We're east. That's what we call it. We're east. Our up north is higher. Okay. so So on behalf of your brothers and sisters in Christ, like I greet you from the eastern side of the body of Christ.
Introduction to 1 Peter and Transformation
00:02:46
Speaker
I want you, if you have a moment, just to open your Bibles to the book of 1 Peter. I want to jump right into the word this tonight.
00:02:55
Speaker
A brother greeted me in the back and he said, I want a good word. If this is a Bible conference, praise the Lord. i am delighted that we get to be amongst a group of people that want to seriously look at God's word.
00:03:13
Speaker
Hallelujah. Lord, be with us tonight as we look to your word. Let it strengthen us, encourage us, transform us. Remove in myself anything that would distract anyone from you.
00:03:25
Speaker
Let all of us be drawn by your presence. We don't want information. We want revelation. Let this be a divine exchange where we all hear from God together.
00:03:37
Speaker
We present ourselves to your throne, ready to hear and meditate upon whatever you share. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. In the book of 1 Peter, I'm going to share with you a passage. I'm going to start let me start with verse 1.
00:03:54
Speaker
It says, Peter, this is Peter identifying who he is, an apostle of Jesus Christ. This is 1 Peter chapter 1, verse 1. And then he uses a phrase,
Authority of Peter and Early Church Corrections
00:04:04
Speaker
to the pilgrims of the dispersion.
00:04:07
Speaker
the pilgrims of the dispersion, and then he starts to identify these different areas in Pontus and Galatia and Cappadocia and Asia and Bithynia. Then he says, "...Elet according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ." you could almost do a whole dissertation just on that first three verses of 1 Peter chapter 1.
00:04:39
Speaker
Because what he does is he identifies who he is. He says, I'm an apostle of Jesus Christ. In one of his other translations and other scriptures, he says, that which eyes have seen and ears have heard and hair hands have handled, that's what we present. In other words, I was there with Jesus.
00:04:57
Speaker
This isn't someone talking on behalf of someone else who said that they read a book, who saw something on social media talking about Jesus. He said, now I had a fresh encounter with the man.
00:05:08
Speaker
And so when he began to write, he was writing with and an apostolic authority so that he could bring clarity to people and Christians all throughout that first century church so they could begin to find out what was right And what was wrong?
00:05:24
Speaker
And I like to ask a lot of questions. So you're going have to talk to me a little bit tonight. All right. And how many people in here, you've heard things said in the name of Christianity that were right. And sometimes you heard people saying things that were a little wrong. Just raise your hand. Anybody here? have Have you ever heard something and something in your spirit said, okay, he's off the mark here. This train is off the rails here. you know Let's get him back on track here.
Christians as Pilgrims and Persecution
00:05:47
Speaker
He's going down the wrong path. and and And that happens sometimes where we have zeal without knowledge and information and people preaching on emotion without studying the word.
00:05:57
Speaker
And so what you had is you had the apostles like Peter who would hear all of the theology and And in the first century church said, hold up, let me write a book so I can bring everyone back online.
00:06:09
Speaker
And some some strong, sound doctrine. And so he's beginning to tell those people that. But he uses the phrase he calls the pilgrims of the dispersion.
00:06:21
Speaker
What's a pilgrim? You know, a pilgrim is someone who's walking through a land that they don't own. You know, when I came down and Josh was taking me down Main Street, is probably what it's called here, and he began to give me in his own, you know, Josh told me he's been here for 13 years, but he speaks about Columbus like he's been here for 50. But, you know, when he was... sharing with us the story about how one family lived on one side and how one other family lived on the other side. And he was sharing with me all all of the history. And I said, you know, i can actually feel the history of Columbus when I drive down Main Street.
00:06:59
Speaker
And I said, I actually feel like a pilgrim. you i i like you know I can see where the saloons were. you know We don't have anything like this in New Jersey. you You all are probably looking at me like, what's the big deal? we don't see you know These are things we see in movies and the main street and the the character of the buildings. and And you know a pilgrim is someone who's walking through a town where you're not a resident of that town.
00:07:20
Speaker
You're not from there. You don't have any rights there. You don't have any ownership there. You're just walking through the town. And so what Peter tells his church is he said, you're pilgrims. He said, you are pilgrims of the dispersion because they were going through a lot of persecution.
00:07:37
Speaker
And that persecution was pushing the Christians out of their home, pushing them out of their cities. And they began to go and visit other areas of the Greco-Roman Empire. And so what he was telling them is he said, wherever you are right now, that's not your home.
00:07:53
Speaker
Wherever you are right now, that's not your citizenship. Wherever you are right now, that's not your residence. You are pushed there, but you're not from there.
00:08:04
Speaker
It was his way of saying, you now, since you are in Christ, are of a different kingdom. You are of God's citizenship. You are of God's blood. You are God's holy people that you'll see later. You are God's righteousness.
00:08:18
Speaker
So he said, wherever you go, don't get too comfortable there because your home is somewhere else. And so the first chapter and the first verses, he's telling every believer, don't get comfortable where you are.
00:08:32
Speaker
Now, from New Jersey, and we have our cultures and our norms, and we have our favorite teams. When I come out here to Houston, Josh told me you this is astro country. Texan country.
00:08:43
Speaker
Texas A. He gave gave me all the teams. When I go back to the eastern side of the country, we have the Philadelphia Eagles and the and the Phillies. and you know We have all of these things that if you grow up there, it's true to your culture. And you think that's the way the whole world is.
00:08:58
Speaker
And you know when you look throughout the churches, sometimes we forget that heaven is our home.
Rediscovery of Faith and the Holy Spirit's Healing
00:09:05
Speaker
home. And so when we get together, we can't worship together because we all feel different.
00:09:10
Speaker
But the reality is we are all one in Christ. Do I have any amens to that tonight? Amen. he's saying, don't get comfortable. He said, you're a pilgrim of the dispersion.
00:09:21
Speaker
Now, pilgrim is a nice way to say you're a soldier or a foreigner walking through. Dispersion meant I know you're under persecution. The dispersion was the word that they used to mean you're being pushed there because you're running for your lives.
00:09:35
Speaker
They were under persecution. It was a way of him saying what the devil is trying to do into your life to push you somewhere. He's not pushing you out of God's providence. Right.
00:09:48
Speaker
You feel like you're forced there, but you're just a pilgrim there. Don't see yourself as a victim. Don't see yourself as someone on the run. Just see yourself as someone God's saying, I'm getting ready to disperse you, to move you forward, to move you to another area. It's a very loaded phrase he uses there.
00:10:06
Speaker
In verse 2, he says, but you're also the elect. Elect means God chose you. I just want to stop right there. God chose you.
00:10:18
Speaker
God's made a selection. How many people in here, you're saved and you know you're saved in your heart and your soul and in your mind and and you just know that you know that you know that you know that you're saved.
00:10:31
Speaker
Isn't it amazing that once you gave your life to Jesus and you reach that level of assurance, my I'm about to jump right off the stage right now. he it's because I feel it. you You know, once you say yes to Jesus, let me give you a little story. I i grew up in the church. My father's a pastor. My grandfather's a pastor. Goes back six generations.
00:10:50
Speaker
And at one point around the age of 11 or 12, I said, I want nothing to do with church. I want nothing to do with it. I said, what I'll do is I'll be a good boy because if you're bad and your dad is the pastor, people think your dad must not be a good pastor.
00:11:07
Speaker
They'll say, well, if he can't run his house right, who is he to teach us here, right? And so when you're the pastor's kid, you got used to acting like a Christian, even if on the inside you weren't, because you wanted to be a good son for your dad.
00:11:21
Speaker
so So it was almost like being forced to be a hypocrite. And I began to resent that experience, saying I don't want to do this stuff, but I have to do it just to make my dad look good. So I said, one day I'm going to go to college and I'm going to be free.
00:11:36
Speaker
And dad won't be around and mom won't be around and no one else will be around. And and the way the Lord would have it, he sent me up to the University of Delaware and I roomed with a college roommate and he got saved, I think the first week we were on campus.
00:11:52
Speaker
And that was the most, the meanest thing the Lord can do. And he preached my ears off every single night. And he was relentless. So I actually gave my life to the Lord in college.
00:12:05
Speaker
After I walked away from the church, walked away from my mom and dad. And and I'm going to tell you, I can tell you, that I see a lot of seasoned people here And I love, you can probably respect this. What had turned me off about the church in my childhood, it wasn't that I didn't think God was real.
00:12:23
Speaker
It was when I saw how people treated the church. And I would see people going up to my mother and father saying, oh, the Lord sent me here. We're going to stand with you and we're going to believe with you.
00:12:33
Speaker
And then the next day leave. And I just saw how carelessly people treated the church. I saw the infighting in the church. I i didn't understand why the church would struggle. i said, well, if it's God's house, why does it have to fight? So I didn't have the right theology and framework for endurance and patience. And I just said, I don't know about all of this. and And one day it all came to a head. I was playing with one of my friends and his mother was downstairs and she had a hair salon. And my mother's was from an island called Trinidad. So she had an accent.
00:13:04
Speaker
And I heard some ladies in the church mimicking her accent. And I said, wow, now you're talking about my mom. And I'm upstairs playing and they didn't know that the kids could hear them. And and I just said, wow, these are the same ladies that my mom prays for, serves with, and they're mocking her downstairs.
00:13:24
Speaker
And so I said, you know what, I don't want anything to do with these hypocrites. I don't want anything to do with this business. I'm gonna go out, get a job, become a millionaire, and be as far away from the church as I can. I don't think I've managed any of those three things.
00:13:37
Speaker
and and you know And what it was was I developed a sourness, scars, a bitterness to a lot of things that happened in church that I incorrectly thought was the church.
00:13:57
Speaker
And so the Lord had to take me out of that experience, bring me into a room with someone who really didn't know him but who had fire so that I could rekindle my love for the Lord and get to know the Lord for myself in a different environment.
00:14:15
Speaker
And then he brought me back in to the church. Isn't that an amazing story? And you know, so many people, they're turned off not about the Lord or the word, but by things that they've seen.
00:14:27
Speaker
Things that they've experienced. i have Can I talk the truth here tonight? And so so when we look at this scripture and we just think about that we're the elect of God and God's chosen, I also want you to think about what we know who of who we are and also begin to see some of the experiences that we've been through. Let me fast forward and and tell you how my story ended. I remember giving my life to the Lord in my college dorm room.
00:14:53
Speaker
And while I was making my prayer of confession right there, it wasn't even in a beautiful church like this. It was in a in know small dorm room, no carpet and in Newark, Delaware.
00:15:04
Speaker
And I remember crying and saying, Lord, okay, I'll be saved, but I don't want to go to the church. We're saying, Lord, I can't deal with the people, Lord. Lord, I'll follow you. Yes, yes, I'll follow you.
00:15:17
Speaker
But I've been hurt too much. I've been wounded too much. and And I thought that because I had dealt with those challenges all my life, that it would take the Lord the rest of the lot my life to heal me from them.
00:15:31
Speaker
But the Holy Spirit changed it in one sentence. You know the Holy Spirit told me? I'm going to share this with someone. He said, why are you holding against me? things I've never done.
00:15:43
Speaker
Isn't that deep? And in that one question, it's like an ax, oh help me Jesus, cut through all of that stuff that had me trapped.
00:15:56
Speaker
And I understood in my soul what the Holy Spirit was saying. He was saying, you're blaming God for things God never did. You need to hold people accountable for their actions.
00:16:08
Speaker
And you need to hold God accountable for his actions. And God has never failed you in your life. And that one, I thought i would it would take me 10 years to get healed.
00:16:20
Speaker
It only took the Lord one sentence. And I got up and I said, okay, I i had the entire situation upside down. God is good. God is faithful.
00:16:32
Speaker
God is pure. God is righteous. God is a healer. And you know what happened right after that? I began to see in my life, well, Don, I'm going way off. I didn't even touch the text yet yeah You know, but I feel like I should share this with someone. I i was there and and and right there, it's like the Lord showed me, the Holy Spirit showed me how I was being deceived Because the deception was, I remembered a few bad occurrences in the church.
00:17:01
Speaker
I remembered the couple ladies that mocked my mom. But what the devil wouldn't let me remember is all the people that stood by my parents. He wouldn't let me see all the faithfulness and see all the good things. And isn't that just how the the lord the Lord shows you the whole picture?
00:17:17
Speaker
But the devil will show you one bad thing and say, that's the way everyone is and try to do it. And and the Lord healed my perspective with one sentence. So before I go on any further, if you're here tonight and you know you've got some things that's going on in your mind and some bitterness and you're saying, I don't know, maybe I can only reach a certain level in my salvation. I want to tell you, God can heal you with one sentence.
00:17:41
Speaker
He can turn around a life full of bitterness, a life full of sorrow, a life full of hurt with one sentence, one prayer, one encounter with Jesus. Hallelujah. And God did that for me in my life. And I've seen him do it over and over again. How many people in here, your life has been changed by the Lord and you know it. Just go ahead and just say, thank you, Jesus.
00:18:05
Speaker
Thank you, Lord. Let's just thank the Lathorne. We thank you for all the changes you've done for us today. the transformational moments that you've set up for us in our lives. but When you we look at 1 Peter, and you just look at those verses, says, I'm going to take you down to 1 Peter, actually 1 Peter chapter 1.
Born Again and Living Hope
00:18:24
Speaker
There's a sentence of scripture I want you to see. says in verse 3, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his abundant mercy, look at this phrase, has begotten us again.
00:18:40
Speaker
You ever hear that phrase, we've been born again? He's begotten us again to what? You heard pastor talking about this last night, a living hope. Through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
00:18:55
Speaker
Verse 4. To an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away. Look at where it is. Reserved in heaven for you.
00:19:07
Speaker
You see, I'm a pilgrim here because it's a reservation for me in heaven. You're going to get this in a second. This is all hallelujah. Hallelujah. This is something, you know, in let not your heart be troubled.
00:19:21
Speaker
You believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would not tell you. For where I go, i will bring you unto myself, that where I am, there will you be also.
00:19:37
Speaker
So what the Lord is saying there is, there's a reservation for you. Thank you, Jesus. That this is not our home. He says, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you.
00:19:50
Speaker
And verse 5, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation, ready to be revealed in that last time. but When you look just at some of those verses,
00:20:03
Speaker
In 1 Peter chapter 1, he's saying, you're a pilgrim. you've been You feel like you're being pushed around, but God is still keeping you. You're a pilgrim. This isn't your home, but it's a reservation for you.
00:20:17
Speaker
And even though you're being pushed around, you feel like that God is keeping you by his power. That there's nothing happening in your life that's beyond the power of God's hand over your life.
00:20:29
Speaker
So he's giving them a whole theology, a doctrine of you can make it through it. It doesn't matter what's going on in your life. God's with you and you will make it through it.
00:20:40
Speaker
And in verse 22, let's go down. He says, since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the spirit and sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently.
00:20:52
Speaker
with a pure heart I'm going to read that phrase again. This is in 1 Peter 1, verse 22. Love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed, but incorruptible through the word of God, which lives and abides forever.
00:21:14
Speaker
That one of the hallmarks One of the characteristics of that incorruptible seed, the evidences of us being born again that the whole world should see, is the fervent love we have for one another.
00:21:29
Speaker
So we're going to make this practical tonight, all right? I want you just to look at the person next to you and just say, I love you with the love of the Lord. go ahead and tell them that.
00:21:39
Speaker
I don't think I saw any men say Come on, brothers, we can do this. I want to find someone else and say, I love you with the love of the Lord. go ahead and say that.
00:21:50
Speaker
You see, what this scripture is saying is that that is one of the characteristics that distinguishes us from every single culture that we're in. Everyone wants to tell us who we should love.
00:22:04
Speaker
Everyone wants to tell us how we should be. Everyone wants to tell us how we should think. But when we come together in Christ, the Lord says, I want you to love your brethren with a kind of love that begins to give a testimony to everyone about who
Cultural Practices and Christian Transformation
00:22:19
Speaker
God's children are.
00:22:21
Speaker
You know, Brother Don, going to put you on the spot tonight. You know, we were talking today, and when he and I talk, we can talk about anything because we talk about everything from two different perspectives. foods, everything, and and he was asking me some questions about how people up north think. you know And and so I was sharing with him just some of the reasons why when you live around New York City and you live around Philadelphia, why people think the way they think and the different movements.
00:22:50
Speaker
But i I shared with him, I said, but you know, there's so much deception. There's a lot of information, but not a lot of truth. And we live in a world where everyone wants it. When we go to Ethiopia, we go to Uganda, there's so much things in cultures and in tribal thoughts and where people want to tell you how to be and how to think. And and you know when we were in Uganda, i was actually doing, ah I was leading someone to the Lord and he was telling me about how in Uganda, in his tribe, they they interweave or interlace witchcraft in so much of their day-to-day living
00:23:28
Speaker
that when they get saved, they have learn a whole new way to live because they don't even see it as witchcraft. It's like if someone gets sick in America, they take an aspirin. you know We don't see that as a religious act. It's what you do. Well, they do practices like that, and then they have to learn that they can't do that anymore.
00:23:45
Speaker
And so he's saying it's interwoven in so many of our tribes so that we now have to get all of that pulled out of our life so that we can learn how to live a new life according to God's word. And as he was explaining to me, all the things he had to renounce and get rid out of his life, he had to change his name. He had to leave his job. He had to tell some people in his family I can't consort with you anymore. And he got shunned by others. He said, but i was willing to do it.
00:24:13
Speaker
For Jesus, my God, I was willing to make those stands because Jesus was the path and the way that I wanted to walk in my life. And I was so encouraged and moved by that, that when I came back to my church, I said, you know, one of the first things we all have to do when we get saved, we have to realize those things in our life that the Lord says, you've got to take that out now.
00:24:36
Speaker
Because there's some things that were interwoven in to who you are. That now that the blood of Jesus is there, the blood of Jesus is saying, this now has to come out. This has to come out.
00:24:48
Speaker
This has to come out. Because I'm washing you and I'm cleansing you. Do I have any witnesses of that in here tonight? How many people are here, when you got saved, you know you had to change something? And you said, i how many radical changes are you know where you know I had to make a a big change real fast? you know When I got saved, one of my sisters came up to me and she said, Aubrey, what happened? to And she said, you're super safe now. and And I was getting on her nerves because i was telling my older sister where she should go and where she shouldn't go. and and And she didn't like it. But it was because the fire of God was in me.
00:25:23
Speaker
And it was just natural because the Lord began to work some things out of me and in my own life. I want to show you this scripture here 1 Peter 2, verse 1. This is where I want us to focus.
Call to Remove Negative Traits
00:25:35
Speaker
It says, therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking. i'm going to list those five things again.
00:25:48
Speaker
this is chapter 2, verse 1. Laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking. First, Peter's talking to Christians.
00:26:02
Speaker
This book was written to the pilgrims of the dispersion. It's written to people that were the begotten of Christ. But he's saying, now I've got to remind my brethren some things.
00:26:13
Speaker
That now that we've said yes to Jesus, now that we're being born again by Jesus, now that there's a reservation for us in heaven, there's some things in our life that we have to lay aside.
00:26:26
Speaker
You know, that that phrase lay aside, it literally means it's like a person saying, I'm going to take something off me and I will never put it on again. I'm removing it forever.
00:26:37
Speaker
And the five things that Peter says here, and he's talking to these people going through persecution, is he's saying, you've got to get rid of the malice, the maliciousness. The tendency to deceive, the tendency to be hypocritical, the tendency to have envy, that's looking at someone, seeing them do well, and wanting them not to do well because you want what they have.
00:27:01
Speaker
That doesn't happen in the church, does it? know everyone got quiet on me tonight. You know, I can talk about my home church because I'm far away from here. And I i hope we're not streaming this and people are seeing this in New Jersey. You know, let the stream cut off while I, you know, tell some church business here. You know, this past is catharsis where I can be free.
00:27:23
Speaker
And, you know, we actually, when we have people that that want to serve on our worship teams, You know they always bring me in to interview them at the very end. I can't do the musical interviews because I'm not a musician. I don't sing as well. and But I get to do the character interviews.
00:27:38
Speaker
And every once in a while, I will see a person. i look at how worship leaders are in worship when they're not leading. And so I've seen worship leaders that are in the throne room of God when they have the microphone in their hand.
00:27:57
Speaker
But when someone else is leading worship, sitting off to the side. Like, I wouldn't sing it that way. I could have done it better. we should They sing that in the wrong key. They made something wrong. They're not there. and And in some cases, they they they what shows me some things about their character is, is there a spirit of envy?
00:28:17
Speaker
that this is well, all is right, as long as I'm leading it. But when I'm not leading it, if God is moving, there's a problem. And when you look at some of these traits that Peter's talking to, he's saying, now that we're begotten of God, these are some things that we have to take out of our nature.
00:28:40
Speaker
And we have to lay them aside. And remember, there's a reservation for us in heaven. And that these are some of the way that when we root these things out of us and allow God's power and the blood of Jesus to wash us, we will begin to look different than everyone else that's around us. Are you all hearing me tonight?
00:28:59
Speaker
And this is true for every single person and every single believer. But he says, we're going to lay all of these things aside. Now, when you look at these words, these aren't just five indiscriminate traits.
00:29:11
Speaker
Think of them like steps, steps going downward. You know, where you start off with malice, which is a condition of the heart. That's the working of evil. But that leads to deceitfulness, the inner work of maliciousness, where you say, i hope that person falls.
00:29:29
Speaker
tends to lead you to try to deceive someone into a fault. Think of it that way. And deceitfulness leads to hypocrisy. And hypocrisy can lead to envy. And envy to all kinds of evil speaking there literally means to say bad things with the intention to tear someone down.
00:29:46
Speaker
You know, how many times have we gone to church and we've heard that happen? that That was one of the challenges I had as a childhood. I want to encourage us here at First Baptist that when we speak to one another, just lift one another up.
00:30:03
Speaker
That our conversation edifies and builds up every single person. You know, one of the things that I was sensing in my spirit was just that how essential this church, your church is to this community.
00:30:18
Speaker
i was I was in my hotel room and looking at this word, pastor, and the Lord was just just downloading in my spirit just to share how essential this church is to the kingdom of God and some things that God wants to do through you for Columbus and some of the areas around it.
00:30:38
Speaker
That this is going to be a transformational season of your church's experience. And God wants to use every single person to be part of it. But part of it is we have some people here that have some strong values that have walked with the Lord for a long time.
00:30:53
Speaker
And now it's time to share what God has shown you. I want to set some people here on fire tonight. to release you, to share your testimony, to share what God has done. Because I sense that a change that's getting ready to come. And the Lord is preparing this place at this time to be instrumental in that change.
00:31:14
Speaker
But when they come, this is what they've got to see. They've got to walk into a place that's unlike any other place they've walked around. They have to hear people lifting up one another's reputation.
00:31:25
Speaker
They have to see the sincerity of heart and worship. They'd say, if God's name is being honored, then I'm fine with it. And it will let them see this house of worship differently than any other environment that they're in. Does that excite anyone in here tonight? I'm praying, Lord, let it be in the name of Jesus. Let it be.
00:31:44
Speaker
So he says, we're going to lay those things aside. But fortunately, he doesn't just say what we should get rid
Desiring God's Word and Spiritual Growth
00:31:49
Speaker
of. He says, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word.
00:31:56
Speaker
that you may grow thereby. you know When you look at that phrase, they're desiring the pure milk of the word. Think of that as if if you've ever seen a baby and that baby, right when a baby's born, and they say within a mother's milk is every vitamin in ah in and it helps the baby's immune system.
00:32:19
Speaker
to withstand anything in that environment in the first several months. That the genius of God, he he's given mothers the ability to inoculize their children. And so they're talking about how when the the most pure substance is that mother's milk.
00:32:33
Speaker
And so when you look at this as Peter's saying we should be going to the Lord's word, as the same way a baby approaches its mother, is he's saying God's word is what makes us clean.
00:32:44
Speaker
And then when we when we, the more of God's word that's in us, the more we can be infected by things that are outside and around us. Because we'll always be comparing what we hear to God's word. Oh, someone's going get this in a second.
00:32:59
Speaker
We'll hear someone say something. We went to ah a restaurant out here today. Brother Don took me to a place called Rudy's. And you know you you can sit in any of those places and you can hear any kind of dialogue, but someone may say something and say, that doesn't sound quite right because it didn't line up with the word of God. you can you can be in any setting and the more of God's word is in you, it conditions you to recognize what's false.
00:33:24
Speaker
Or what's an error of anything around you. So Peter's saying, don't just say, I've got to stop doing some things. Start saying that I've got to approach God's word because this word is going to allow me to grow and to recognize everything that is false that's in my world.
00:33:40
Speaker
And then he says, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious. I want to stop right there on that point. You know, there's a scripture in the Bible that says, come everyone.
00:33:51
Speaker
Taste and see that the Lord, he is good. and it's it's the same way that a child will look at his mom and say, that's the best thing for me to eat. Peter's saying, we need to look at God's word that way. We have to be hungry for God's word.
00:34:09
Speaker
but But, you know, being hungry for God, this is what I've learned. it's It's an acquired taste.
00:34:17
Speaker
You ever eat something and you didn't like it the first time, but you had to eat it a hundred times before it became palatable? well you know That's what devotions were like to me. you know This is for anyone who's new to the faith. and When I first read the Bible and I started reading it, I didn't understand lot of it, but I just had to keep reading it and meditating on it and then praying and then reading and meditating and praying.
00:34:41
Speaker
And the more I did that and the more I understood, the more I couldn't stop So that now when I if there is ever a day where I have not been in devotions, I can feel it.
00:34:52
Speaker
I can feel that something in me has been weakened spiritually, you know, to to the point my emotional state changes where I need God every single day. And I have no embarrassment by saying that. I have to start off my day in God's presence.
00:35:09
Speaker
I have to say, Lord, with her how do you want me to handle certain situations in my life? And every morning when I exit prayer, it's like my mentality, i leave with faith.
00:35:20
Speaker
That whatever I thought was difficult, all of a sudden doesn't seem that difficult. You know, whatever news I was trying to avoid, I'm ready to walk right in front of and engage because I've had that precious time with the Lord.
00:35:32
Speaker
And you know, when you think about the Lord that way, think of the Lord as I'm going to approach him to get everything that is good and that is pure and that prepares me. Amen. Did you all receive that tonight? How many people, you know that the new Lord is good right now. Can we just give God a praise? right just say Just thank him for being good in your life.
00:35:50
Speaker
Carrying you from season to season. Let me give you one last point. He says, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious. Look at verse four.
00:36:01
Speaker
it says, coming to him. as to a living stone rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious.
00:36:11
Speaker
There are so many phrases in that chapter that you just have to, he says, coming to him as to a living stone rejected by men, but chosen.
00:36:23
Speaker
He's talking about Jesus. Peter's saying, when we go to Jesus, the first metaphor was the metaphor of a baby to the mother. And then he's saying, now let me give you another metaphor.
00:36:35
Speaker
Now when we go to Jesus, we're going to a stone, but it's a living stone. You know, when you think of construction, you think of this building, one of the first things that has to get set after the earthwork is cleared is the foundation.
Jesus as the Cornerstone and Believers' Roles
00:36:52
Speaker
And what most carpenters will tell you is that the hardest and the most difficult stone to set, it's the first one. And what they do is when they actually, I wonder if we have any coach contractors in here, they will actually use some of their highest level tradesmen to actually set the corners of the walls, the masonry, and then what they'll do is they'll actually set the masonry, sometimes they'll put a pin at the corner of the masonry, and then they put thread along that pin, and then they'll connect all four corners.
00:37:22
Speaker
And once those guys do all the measurements and they set all those corners, then you can let all the journeymen in and say, now just put a piece of masonry up along that thread because you're going to be in a straight line because we've already set the corners.
00:37:36
Speaker
So they use the key guys, your skilled guys, to set the cornerstone. Why? Because if the cornerstone is wrong, Every other block will become increasingly wrong.
00:37:49
Speaker
And then your whole building will be, it won't be square. But if the corners are right, then every other stone will be. So Peter began to use, he went from the metaphor of a mother and a child to the metaphor of a contractor building a building.
00:38:05
Speaker
He's saying, when you look at what God is building, you better get the cornerstone right. You better set everything on who Jesus is and set everything on what Jesus represents because Jesus now will set the plumb line.
00:38:22
Speaker
Jesus now begins to set how far we should go and the boundaries we should never go against. And if we get the cornerstone wrong, then every other thing that we build will be increasingly erroneous.
00:38:37
Speaker
We'll go farther and farther offline. But if we get the cornerstone right, then all will be well if we keep building to the pattern of the cornerstone. But he said, but this cornerstone is a living stone.
00:38:50
Speaker
Oh my God. You see, underneath this building, there's a foundation and that foundation has a cornerstone. It's static. But our cornerstone is alive. Oh, yeah, yeah. Our cornerstone still still speaks to us. Our cornerstone is still at of work.
00:39:06
Speaker
You know, there was a song, it's a hymn, and it says, oh my Lord. he lives He lives. Christ Jesus lives today. He walks with me.
00:39:18
Speaker
He talks with me along life's narrow with of a long life narrow way. He lives. He lives. Christ Jesus lives today. You ask me how I know he lives.
00:39:30
Speaker
He lives inside my heart. And it's another way of saying, I know Jesus lives because every day he talks to me. He walks with me along my narrow way. You know, I was telling my church that was the old fashioned way of having swag where where a person will walk up to you and say, how do you know Jesus lives?
00:39:51
Speaker
When I read that book that you read, it you know, how do I know that it's just another series of principles or a series of thoughts or something you're making up? And someone says, well, I know Jesus lives because I talk to him.
00:40:03
Speaker
You see, once someone talks to you, it's not information, it's a revelation. You can never discount someone that had a personal encounter and experience.
00:40:14
Speaker
How can you disprove to me that someone exists when I've met them, and I've spoken with them, and I've touched them, and I've felt them? And so with that whole song, man, is I know he lives because I talk to him every day.
00:40:28
Speaker
So when we think of this scripture saying Jesus is a living stone, it's saying the one who I set my life on, I talk to every day. He walks with me. He talks with me. He tells me where to go, where not to go. And what Peter's saying here is we have this living stone in our life.
00:40:47
Speaker
But not only is Jesus a living stone, as he says then in verse 5, you also as living stones. So Jesus is at the corner, but he wants each one of us to be set upon the place that he's positioned us.
00:41:03
Speaker
Every one of us has a role. Oh, help me, Jesus. I want to speak this word right over your church, that every single person is essential. Every single person is essential.
00:41:18
Speaker
Everyone has a position. Everyone has a role. Everyone has a something to carry that it represents the kingdom of God. And when we all look back at the corner, we should see one person, Jesus.
00:41:32
Speaker
And say we are all going to line ourselves up in the straight line that the Lord has set. Because what Peter is saying there is he's saying that Jesus is the cornerstone.
00:41:43
Speaker
And we are all living stones. And then he says in verse 5, and we are being built up a spiritual house. A holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Let me give you this one last point.
00:41:58
Speaker
When he was describing Jesus as the cornerstone, he says he's a living stone who is rejected by men, but chosen by God.
00:42:10
Speaker
So he saying this living stone is precious to us, but unrecognizable to the world. That when they see the stone, they say, oh, that's a stone that should be discarded.
00:42:22
Speaker
Throw it out. It has no value. But what he says is the stone that they rejected has become the chief cornerstone. So he's saying, don't go by the world's perspective about what you should build your life on.
00:42:37
Speaker
When you get in tribulation and you get in difficult moments and you feel like you're battling for your faith, don't listen to the people who don't know Jesus and say, I should live my life the way that they
Worldly Rejection vs. Divine Chosenness
00:42:48
Speaker
say. Because there's this tendency for the world to reject who Jesus is because they don't know him.
00:42:56
Speaker
The stone that the builders reject is the one that God chose. And what he's saying here is the same way they did that to the cornerstone, you are also living stones.
00:43:10
Speaker
Don't expect everyone in the world to understand you either. But even if they are trying to reject you, just remember you were chosen by God. That the world, does in all of its wisdom and all of its information, it always misses God's movements. Oh, help me, Lord.
00:43:29
Speaker
When you look at the greatest works of God, some of the most indescribable people, people that seem so insignificant, God used. You know, I was and i was with ah Sister Rosita and we were in Ethiopia.
00:43:43
Speaker
This lady right here, when we do the leadership conferences, she speaks to the ladies and I speak to the men. And we've seen some miracles that God has done that I still don't share with people because they would not believe us.
00:43:57
Speaker
And you would never, when you walk into these rooms and just see God's power at work, it is mind-blowing. But one thing I can share with you is he tends to use the most sincerest people.
00:44:12
Speaker
The people that don't have all the big lofty words and the long entourages. He's looking for a man or a woman that has faith to seek him. To say, Lord, whatever you want me to do, I'll do it.
00:44:25
Speaker
I'll step out for you. I will represent you. I will be your voice. You can use my life. I'm not perfect, but I'm willing to change my life to be in alignment with you. And I'll step out for you. And when you do that, God's power begins to flow through your life.
00:44:41
Speaker
So I want to tell you tonight, the world may not recognize you, but God has chosen you. The world couldn't recognize Jesus, but he was a chief cornerstone. And when it says that the stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone, it's precious and gracious to us.
00:45:00
Speaker
But then later it says, but it's also a stone of stumbling and offense. In other words, although the world is rejected who he is, there's coming a moment where they will see him again.
00:45:11
Speaker
And he's coming to reveal who he is in all power. And so I would rather know him as a precious savior than as the ruling savior, if you know what I mean.
00:45:23
Speaker
I would rather find him and be able to be on my bended knees and say, Lord, i know you, I've chosen you, you've washed my life, you've changed my life, and I'm ready to see. I'd rather have him be gracious with me.
00:45:36
Speaker
than to have me see him in a different light. And what he says in this scripture is in the last closing words, he says in the same way that the Lord was elevated because the cornerstone has become the chief stone, he says you also are a chosen generation.
00:45:53
Speaker
So we have a chosen stone, which is Jesus, and then he makes the leap to chosen generation, which is who you are. a royal priesthood that would minister to God.
00:46:07
Speaker
The world couldn't recognize Jesus. The world won't recognize you. The world tries to reject Jesus. Sometimes the world might reject what you have to share, but it doesn't matter what the world does because Jesus rules and the Jesus in you will have all authority. Amen. Do you receive that tonight?
00:46:27
Speaker
Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. hallelujah I want to encourage you to walk with the fire of the Lord, to walk with power of God's authority.
00:46:38
Speaker
to stay and preserve the unity and the bonds that the Lord has perfected in your life. And I also just feel in my heart today just to pray for anyone here who you say, you know, Pastor, i came into this church tonight, and just like you had, I have some bitter experiences in my life, some things that I feel like I have to get over so I can move forward in my faith. Can we all just stand just for a moment?
00:47:02
Speaker
And I'm just going to lead you in a prayer. You know, sometimes we can love God, but still walk with hurts from wounds of our past.
00:47:14
Speaker
Sometimes we can have faith in God, but still have someone at home and say, Lord, what about this person, my son, my daughter, my grandson, my granddaughter, this situation in my life? I want us all tonight to give it to the Lord.
00:47:27
Speaker
Lord, in the name of Jesus, we thank you that we could come to you at any time, at any place, for any situation in our lives. And Lord, tonight, even in this Bible conference, as we're learning more and more about you and building our life on your cornerstone, we also know that you are a renewing God.
00:47:45
Speaker
You are the God of our restoration, that you can make us do well again and again at any given moment in our lives, that it doesn't matter what's happened to us in our past, that We can't be defined by what's happened in our past. We are defined by the words you say to us and your callings on our life.
00:48:04
Speaker
So right now, Lord God, we speak to each and every person in this room, Lord God, and um and everything that you are allowing them to become in you.
Prayer for Restoration and Commitment
00:48:13
Speaker
And we say right now in the name of Jesus, thank you, Lord, for the plans and the purposes you have for their lives.
00:48:21
Speaker
We come to you now, Lord God, and we ask you to renew us and to restore us and to heal us and rejuvenate us, Lord God. That even as we leave this place tonight, we can leave here with a new strength, a new joy, a new fire to serve you and to call on your name, Lord God. And that if there's been any roots of bitterness or any wounds or any hurts, we freely give them up tonight, Lord God, in the name of Jesus.
00:48:46
Speaker
That you can reunite our bonds and reignite our love and reignite our passion so that when we pray, there will be power. When we come together, there will be worship.
00:48:57
Speaker
And that the anointing that flows through this church will break every yoke that it's designed to break. In the name of Jesus. And Lord, we lift up every person. We lift up every family.
00:49:08
Speaker
We lift up every situation that's represented here tonight. And we present them to the throne of our God. Lord, we know that you are faithful to heal, faithful to touch, always listening, always hearing, and always speaking.
00:49:25
Speaker
Touch us tonight at the areas of the needs, at the areas of the wounds, and at the areas of the hurts. And we say thank you, Lord, for the work you are perfecting right now.
00:49:37
Speaker
In Jesus' name we pray. And we all say amen and amen. Thank you, Lord. We praise your name, Jesus. Amen. We thank you, Lord. We praise your name, Jesus.
00:49:48
Speaker
You know, even as you're standing here tonight, I want to give an appeal. You know, you might be here tonight and you're here and you're seeing Pastor Victor and maybe this is your first time here or maybe you've come repeatedly.
00:50:00
Speaker
But something in your heart is saying, I've got to become more serious with my walk with Jesus. Maybe you're here and you've never given your life to Jesus. Or maybe you've done it at some point and fallen away and say, you know what?
00:50:14
Speaker
Tonight's the night. I want to know Jesus and meet him in full grace. I want her him to root out some things in my life that are wrong. I'm ready to make the change tonight.
00:50:27
Speaker
If that's you you want to give your life to Jesus or rededicate your life to Jesus, I'm just going to ask everyone if you could just bow your head and close your eyes.
Invitation to Worship and Sacrifice
00:50:36
Speaker
I feel inclined to do this just tonight.
00:50:39
Speaker
Just raise your hand right where you are and I'm going to pray with you. I want to give my life to Jesus Christ. I want to accept him as my Lord and Savior. I want to rededicate my life to Jesus. Hallelujah.
00:50:52
Speaker
Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Just raise your hand right where I can see you. Hallelujah. I want to give my life to Jesus Christ. I want to rededicate my life to the Lord. Amen.
00:51:02
Speaker
And if you've made that decision tonight, where you've given your life to Jesus Christ, can you just wave your hand at me just so can make sure that we're all believers in here? I've made a decision. Amen, I see I've made my decisions to follow Jesus. Hallelujah.
00:51:16
Speaker
Lord, tonight, we just pray for every person who's here, every person that's making a decision, and every person that's made one, that you would continue to perfect it, continue to build upon it.
00:51:29
Speaker
Let them see how they fit in in your miraculous plan of salvation. But Lord, not only do we pray for the people here, we pray for everyone that they represent.
00:51:41
Speaker
Sons, daughters, coworkers, neighbors, friends, associates, clients, people that walk by them, or even just normal acquaintances, Lord God, that you would start a fire and a movement that you would use these people to share your word, to win people to you who your word is calling right now in the name of Jesus.
00:52:05
Speaker
that they might know you as Lord, know you as Savior, find you as the joy of their salvation, come to you and say, we want to learn more about you and follow you.
00:52:17
Speaker
Lord, we thank you for all that you're doing amongst us. And Lord, we thank you for the work that you shall do. In the name of Jesus, we pray. And we all say, amen and amen. Now, can we give God just a shout of praise in here tonight? you just go ahead and clap your hands and just thank with these guys?
00:52:36
Speaker
amen Amen. Amen. You're a royal priesthood. You're a chosen generation that's going to minister to God. You know, there's one part of that scripture that I love. and It says that you will present to the Lord acceptable sacrifices.
00:52:52
Speaker
It's another way of saying that when this church worships God, God will say, now that worship I accept. Sometimes people want to worship God any way they want to worship him. And they think he accepts it.
00:53:04
Speaker
But when you look throughout the Bible, God doesn't always accept sacrifices. And in this scripture, it says you're going to be the chosen generation, the royal priesthood, that when we worship God, God will say, now that worship I accept.
00:53:19
Speaker
There's some great days coming in this church. I thank God for being here tonight. And God's going do a great work through you. May God continue to bless you.
00:53:32
Speaker
This is a ministry of First Baptist Church located at 1700 Milam Street, Columbus, Texas.