And I also say unto thee, that thou art Peter,
and upon this rock I will build My church;
and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of the heavens:
and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven;
and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Ye also, as living stones, are built up a spiritual house,
to be a holy priesthood,
to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
For other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
But if any man buildeth on the foundation gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, stubble;
each man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it is revealed in fire;
and the fire itself shall prove each man’s work of what sort it is.
If any man’s work shall abide which he built thereon, he shall receive a reward.
If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as through fire.
Being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the chief cornerstone;
in Whom each several building, fitly framed together, groweth into a holy temple in the Lord;
in Whom ye also are builded together for a habitation of God in the Spirit.
Our heavenly Father, as we gather together in the name of Thy beloved Son, our Lord Jesus, tonight, we do praise and thank Thee that Thou dost love the church and gavest Thyself for it. We thank and praise Thee because Thou also lovest Thy kingdom.
And Lord, we do ask that we too may love Thy church, and may love Thy kingdom. We pray that Thou wilt increase within our hearts such love for Thy kingdom and for Thy church, because they are things that Thou dearly lovest.
O Lord, we just pray that tonight, as we open Thy Word, that Thou wilt, by Thy Holy Spirit, speak to our hearts and bring us into that which Thou art after. We commit this time into Thy hands, in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.
We look at the kingdom and the church from four different angles.
Number one: the kingdom is one with the church. When you come to spiritual reality, we find that the kingdom and the church actually are the same. They are two aspects of the same thing.
As we mentioned before, when you think of the church, you think of life. When you think of the kingdom, you think of authority. When you think of the church, you think of freedom. When you think of the kingdom, you think of government.
When you think of the church, you think of fellowship. But when you think of the kingdom, you think of order. When you think of the church, you think of love. But when you think of the kingdom, you think of discipline.
And we find that these two aspects have to work together. So, in spiritual reality, the kingdom and the church are one.
And then the second angle is this: the kingdom is bigger than the church. Now, even though the concept—the reality—of the church is in God, even before the foundation of the world, it remained a mystery.
Not until that mystery was revealed to the apostles and the prophets by the Holy Spirit did we come to know that mystery of the Christ, which is the church.
Our Lord Jesus Himself, while He was on earth, laid the foundation. He mentioned the church twice, as we find recorded in Matthew 16 and Matthew 18, but there was no church yet.
He laid the foundation through His death. Out of His side came blood and water, and with that material He would build His church. On the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came upon the one hundred and twenty who gathered together in one accord and prayed, then by one Spirit these one hundred and twenty believers were baptized into one body. That is the beginning of the church.
So, you know, as we say, the church begins, so far as history is concerned, with the first coming of our Lord Jesus. And it will continue on, and continue to grow, and continue to increase, continue to be matured, until the second coming of our Lord Jesus. And He will come to take His church to be His bride.
Now, when we think of the kingdom, we say that it begins actually with creation. When God created the heavens and the earth, He who is the Sovereign became the Sovereign of the universe. He who is the King began to have a domain over which He rules, and into which He may impart and manifest, express, His own character.
So we were saying that the kingdom of God begins with the first creation, and it is continuing on through the ages—not only in Old Testament times, but also in New Testament times. At one time, we find it is parallel to the church, and yet you find it is bigger than the church.
Why? Because whenever, wherever, the gospel of the kingdom of the heavens is preached, wherever the sound goes and people come under the influence of that sound, you will find an outward appearance of that kingdom of the heavens upon this earth.
And this outward appearance is found in the parables in Matthew 13, the mysteries of the kingdom of the heavens. Now, we must remember this: these parables, the mysteries of the kingdom of the heavens, represent Christendom.
That is, wherever the sound of the gospel spreads, you will find gathered into that wheat and tares. It is Christendom; it is not the church. So, in this sense, you will find that the kingdom is bigger than the church.
And then, of course, at the coming of our Lord Jesus, He will set up His kingdom upon this earth. When you come into the millennial kingdom, actually you find that there are two parts.
The lower part is the millennial kingdom, the Messianic kingdom upon this earth, where His throne will be set in Jerusalem. The nation of Israel will be the chief of the nations. They will be, as God has promised them, a kingdom of priests. They will go out and lead people to worship God—a nation of priests.
But you find at that time there is the other part, which is the heavenly part. In that heavenly part, you find the saints on high, those overcomers of the church. They will reign with Christ for a thousand years. So it is the time that the heavens rule over the earth.
So here you find the kingdom actually is bigger than the church. And then, of course, after the millennium there will be eternity. In eternity, you have the new heavens and the new earth, and the New Jerusalem will descend from heaven upon this new earth.
This is the time when you find the church is merged into the everlasting kingdom of God. So we say that the kingdom is bigger than the church.
Actually, there are two sessions on the kingdom and the church. We are just laying a foundation. What we really are burdened with is what we will have tonight, and, God willing, the full time: the interrelationship between the kingdom and the church.
Tonight, we would like to consider before the Lord together this matter: the kingdom builds the church.
In the four passages that we read, you find in every passage there is the word build. The church has to be built.
In Matthew 16, our Lord Jesus Himself says, “I will build My church.” The church is not just something suddenly springing up. The church is not just some stones thrown together. The church must be built.
But how is the church built? What is the key to the building of the church of God?
Today we have to recognize that, so far as we can see, it seems as if the church is not being built. It seems as if those living stones are not being built together.
Even though we do believe when the Lord said, “I will build My church,” He is building, it does not seem to us to be building as fast, as widely, as it should be. And probably this is one reason why we find the Bridegroom is still waiting for the bride.
So it is very important for us to know: How is the church built? What is the key to the building of the church?
Now, in Matthew 16, our Lord Jesus, in verse 18, said, “Thou art Peter,” a rock, a stone. “On this rock”—that is, Himself, that confession of Him as the Christ, as the Son of the living God—He said, “I will build My church.” That is what He is going to do. But how?
In the following verse, He said to Peter, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom. And whatsoever you shall bind upon this earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever you shall loose upon this earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
In the original, we are told that whatsoever you shall bind upon the earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatsoever you shall loose upon the earth shall have been loosed in heaven.
And these keys of the kingdom were not just given to Peter, because in Matthew 18 there is a parallel verse.
Verily I say unto you, what things soever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven;
and what things soever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Again I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask,
it shall be done for them of My Father Who is in heaven.
For where two or three are gathered together in My name,
there am I in the midst of them.
So here you find in Matthew 16 the keys of the kingdom of heaven were given to Peter, but then you find in Matthew 18 they are actually given to the church, to the believers.
Because whatsoever they shall bind upon this earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever they shall loose upon the earth shall be loosed in heaven. And who are these people doing this binding and loosening? If two of you agree; where two or three are gathered together unto My name, there am I in the midst of them.
So we can say that these keys actually are given to the believers, to the church.
Now there is another verse that can be connected with this. What is a key? What do the keys represent? Of course, the keys represent authority or power. That is what the keys represent. You have authority, the power to loose; you have the power and authority to bind.
What really is this authority? Now, in John 20, after the resurrection of our Lord Jesus, verse 22, He appeared to His disciples.
And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Spirit:
whose soever sins ye forgive, they are forgiven unto them;
whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.
In other words, the power and authority of the kingdom of the heavens is the Holy Spirit that is given—not Peter, not the believers, but the Holy Spirit in them. The Holy Spirit is the authority and the power of the kingdom of the heavens.
Now we know in Isaiah 22:22:
And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder;
and he shall open, and none shall shut;
and he shall shut, and none shall open.
The key of David. Then again, in Revelation 3:7:
And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:
These things saith He that is holy, He that is true,
He that hath the key of David,
He that openeth, and none shall shut,
and that shutteth, and none openeth.
So here you find the key of the house of David and the key of David. I believe we all know that David is a representation of kingship. So, in other words, you find that this is the key to the kingdom of God. This is the key.
And with that key, you can open the door to the house of David, to the kingdom, or you can shut it off.
Something interesting: here you find the key in the singular number. Now, you do not need two keys, one to open the door and one to close it, to lock it. One key is enough to open it and to close it.
So that is the reason why you find in Isaiah 22 and Revelation 3 that it is key in the singular number. But in Matthew 16, the keys are in the plural number.
Now, of course, the accepted interpretation is that Peter used two keys: one in opening the door of the kingdom to the Jews, and one key used to open the door of the kingdom to the Gentiles.
In Acts 2, on the day of Pentecost, after the Holy Spirit came upon these people and they began to magnify the Lord, great crowds began to gather around them. You remember how Peter stood up, and the eleven stood with him, and he preached the kingdom of the heavens to the crowd.
He concluded his message with this: that the Jesus Whom they had crucified, God had made Him both Christ and Lord. He is exalted. He is the Lord of the universe. He is King over all. That is the gospel of the kingdom of God that he preached.
Now, as he preached, people were pricked in their hearts. They were convicted. So they asked, “What shall we do?”
And Peter said, “Repent, and be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus for the remission of sins, that ye may receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
You know, to the evangelical Christians—because our brother mentioned evangelical, so I just follow his footsteps—to the evangelical Christians, we would say, “Peter, you are wrong. When people are convicted, you need to tell them they must believe in the Lord Jesus. You do not even tell them they should believe.”
But Peter did not say, “Believe in the Lord Jesus.” All he said was, “Repent, and be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus for the remission of sins, that ye may receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Now why?
Because to the Jews at that time, the crucifixion, the death, and the resurrection of our Lord Jesus were before their very eyes. In other words, it was something effected before them. So all they needed to do was repent—repent of their rejection of the Messiah—and be baptized unto His name, in other words, to belong to Him.
In doing that, their sins would be remitted, and they would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. So Peter used a key to open the door of the kingdom to the Jews.
Then you find in Acts 10, when Peter was sent to the house of Cornelius. Of course, we know that the house of Cornelius was composed entirely of Gentiles, and Peter began to preach again.
In Acts 10:43, Peter was only in the first part of his sermon. He had not finished his message yet. After he had taught something about the Lord Jesus, he had more to follow. So he made a small conclusion, not with any idea that he was concluding his message.
He just summed up what he had said before, and he was going to continue. Probably he had much to follow. So he concluded, “To Him”—that is, to the Lord Jesus, Whom I am telling you about—“all the prophets bear witness, and every one that believeth on Him shall receive remission of sins.”
Now here you find his message becoming evangelical. He said, “Believe. You need to believe on the Lord Jesus for the remission of your sins.”
These were Gentiles. They did not even know that the Lord was resurrected. So they had to believe in the Lord Jesus for the remission of their sins.
So people say Peter actually had to use two different keys, one for the Jews and one for the Gentiles. It may be so. I do not know.
Of course, if you want to find more than one key, you will find in Scripture other passages that mention more than one key.
In Revelation 1:18, our Lord declared to His beloved disciple John, “I am the first and the last. I am the living One. I have died, but I am living forever. And I hold in My hand the keys of death and of Hades.”
So here you find the keys in the plural number: death and Hades. Now, I wonder if there is a kind of contrast, or a kind of complement, there. The keys of death and Hades are negative; the keys of the kingdom of the heavens are positive.
Negatively, you find our Lord Jesus has the keys of death and of Hades. Now, our brother has already mentioned: Who has the power of death? The one who has the power of death is Satan, because the wages of sin is death.
As long as he can tempt people to sin, then you find they are under his domain. In other words, he has the key of death. He uses that key to threaten people, because in Hebrews 2, as our brother has already mentioned, you find that people are afraid to die, and he uses that fear of death to enslave people.
That is so powerful. When that comes, you cannot ask for five minutes’ grace. It is so powerful. Once it grips you, it will never let you go.
Throughout the centuries, countless people have entered into death, and no one had ever returned. Satan has the key of death. He opens it for all whoever sin, and then he just shuts it.
But thank God, there is a Man. In Peter’s message on the day of Pentecost, in Acts 2, he quoted Psalm 16, a prophecy about the Messiah, and he said that Hades could not hold Him.
In other words, our Lord Jesus purposely, voluntarily, entered into death in order to rob death of its power, in order to take the key away from the hand of Satan and take it into His own hand.
So, brothers and sisters, here you find that He has delivered us from the fear of death.
He that believeth on Me, though he die, yet shall he live.
That is the reason why, when a saint, a child of God, dies physically, the Bible says that they go to sleep. You are not afraid to go to sleep. I think you welcome sleep. After a very tiring day, you look forward to having a sweet night of sleeping.
And “sweet” means that you will wake up. You expect to be awakened. So, for believers, the sting of death is already gone. The sting of death is sin, and the power of death has been swallowed up by life.
Our Lord Jesus entered into death, robbed death of its power, and He came out of death in resurrection. He holds the key of death. Brothers and sisters, we are not under the fear of death.
Spiritually speaking, there is a law of death, just as there is a law of sin. But we who are the Lord’s, we are in Christ. We are above that law, because the law of the Spirit of life has overcome the law of sin and of death.
The law of sin is that you have to do what you know you should not do. The law of death is that you do not do what you should do. But thank God, He has overcome that, and we are able to do His will.
Not only the key of death, but the key of Hades.
Now, Hades is the place where the wicked dead go. It is like a detention house. All who are wicked—and by wicked, I mean in the sight of God—go there.
There may be many people who are very moral, very religious, but they do not have the life, the eternal life. When they die without believing in the Lord Jesus, without being saved, they will go to Hades. This is the place of the wicked.
Here you find our Lord Jesus said He has that key too. That is the reason why He said, “I will build My church upon this rock, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”
Now, we are told that in Matthew 16 there is no definite article before “gates.” Hades seems to have many gates, because the way to Hades is broad and there are many gates by which you can enter. It is very easy to get in.
But we are told that in Matthew 16 there is no definite article before “gates.” When that happens, it shows that the expression is of the character of the power instead of a definite object.
So, in other words, Hades represents the wicked power, the power of darkness, the abode of wickedness. Here you find our Lord Jesus said, “The gates of Hades shall not prevail against the church that I build.”
All the gates may be open, but only by His permission. He has the key. He can open the gates of Hades and allow wickedness to come to tempt and to test His church, but He can also shut it off.
So, brothers and sisters, whatever may happen—persecutions, attacks, whatever power seems to come out from Hades—remember, they are all under control, under the control of our Lord. He allows this; He permits them for a reason: in order to perfect us.
Now, thank God, we find that our Lord Jesus has the keys of death and of Hades. There is no fear for us, either of death or of the power of darkness.
That is negative. Then you find a positive thing: our Lord Jesus has the keys of the kingdom of the heavens, and He gave them to His people.
And I wonder—now, you do not need to agree with me—I wonder why He says “the keys.” If there are keys to death and Hades, and Hades actually is the next step after death, I wonder if the keys of the kingdom of the heavens have a similar meaning.
By that I mean that He uses one key to open the door to enter into the kingdom of the heavens, but the kingdom of the heavens has many compartments, and you need more keys to open the doors to each compartment, that you can really enter into the kingdom abundantly.
And, you know, so far as our experience is concerned, that seems to be the case.
We enter in by being born.
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except one be born of water and the Spirit,
he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Now, that is the key. It is opened, and we are born into the kingdom. But that does not mean because you are in the kingdom, you are of the kingdom. You need to be violent, to take it by force. Now, maybe that is another key.
But anyway, here we find that the key to the building of the church is the kingdom.
Let me explain. How does the kingdom build the church? First of all, it is in the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom. Without the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom, there will be no materials to build the church.
But unfortunately, when we preach the gospel, as our brother already mentioned, we preach the Gospel according to Luke and stop there.
When you read the Gospel according to Luke, when you come to the twenty-fourth chapter, after our Lord Jesus had resurrected and appeared to His disciples, then He said, “Go and preach repentance and the remission of sins.”
So sometimes we say the Gospel according to Luke is the gospel of grace. In other words, you just tell people Christ has died for you on the cross. Therefore, your sins can be forgiven. Only if you repent and believe in Him, then your sins will be forgiven, and you will be all right.
Now, that is the gospel that we preach today. But when you come to the Word of God, you find that of the four Gospels, God puts the Gospel of Matthew first.
In other words, the Gospel of Matthew is the gospel of the King, the gospel of the kingdom. That seems to be the principal part of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Now, we say there is only one gospel. It is not that you have a gospel of grace and a gospel of the kingdom, as if there are two different gospels. No, they are different aspects of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
May I say that the gospel of grace is for the gospel of the kingdom. The kingdom is God’s purpose; grace is His means to the end. Because without grace, you will never be able to come to gain the kingdom.
What is grace? Our two brothers have already spoken on that, and again I am going to follow their footsteps. What is grace?
Well, we say grace is unmerited favor to undeserving people that God gives freely, universally, without respect of persons, liberally, for everybody. We say, now, that is grace. That is true.
But do you know the word grace, in the original Greek, is composed of three different meanings, and they are together?
Grace being given liberally, freely, and universally—that is the middle of the three, and that is the only one we are reaching and receiving. But actually, the word grace, in the first place, means there is an object or a person that is beautiful, that is gracious to behold.
Grace does not begin with the giving. Grace begins with the Giver. Now, all we are concerned with is being given, but we forget the Giver.
So grace, first of all, is to see the One Who is so beautiful, Who is so gracious. Now, Who is the One Who is so gracious, so beautiful? Of course, our God. Of course, our Lord.
The Person first. Then out of that gracious Person, He gives graciously. That is the second part.
And the third part is this: whoever receives grace, that grace will so work in him, will so move him, will so change him, that he too will become gracious, like the One Who is so gracious.
If we say we receive grace, and yet we are not changed, we are not gracious, we are not beautiful—we are ugly—brothers and sisters, you do not know what grace is.
It is just like that servant being forgiven by his master of so much, and yet he went out and held the throat of his fellow servant just for a tiny little bit of debt. He threw him back into prison.
So, brothers and sisters, let us remember this: there is actually no opposition between grace and kingdom.
You know, sometimes we think grace, well, is free—you do nothing. And the kingdom, my, it demands a lot. It is very costly. You have to work for it. You find these are two entirely opposite poles.
But, brothers and sisters, this is not so. They are one. If you really know what grace is, when you see such a beautiful, gracious Person—our Lord—Who gave Himself for you, you are so constrained by His love that you cannot but give yourself over to Him.
You acknowledge Him as your King, as your Lord, and let Him rule over you. That is natural, spontaneous. And that is the kingdom: the kingship.
So you find there is no opposition there. It is just by grace that we enter or gain the kingdom.
Why is it the church is not built? It is because today there is a deficiency in the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We preach a cheap gospel.
Because we preach a cheap gospel, what is the result? Now, thank God, we are saved. Thank God, we have received life. But that is about it.
We know we are secure for eternity, and then we go away and live our own lives. The kingdom is not in view. The King is not in view.
We accept Him as our Savior, Who saves us, but we have not yielded to Him as our Lord, our King.
Can you build a church with people who are saved but carnal? There is no way to build a church.
The gospel of the kingdom has to be preached. What is the gospel of the kingdom? Jesus is Lord. Jesus is King. Jesus is Sovereign. The gospel is not only to be believed; it is to be obeyed.
In Romans 1, Paul said, “obedience unto faith.” In 1 Peter 1, he said, “the obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.”
In the gospel, there is not only believing, but there is also obeying. But today you find people believe, but what they believe is so deficient. They do not know the One Whom they believe—that He is the Lord of lords, the King of kings, the Majesty—that you have to yield yourself and obey.
That is the reason why in Romans 12 you find:
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God,
to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God,
which is your spiritual service.
Thank God, we who were dead are now alive. We are living stones. You remember Peter said these living stones will be built together into a spiritual house.
But do you know that even though you are a stone, a living stone—there is life there—there is also lots of rubbish, lots of dirt, lots of other things upon you?
I was told that when they try to mine gold, they have to mine maybe a ton of ore to get a tiny bit of gold. All the rest is garbage.
Brothers and sisters, do you know that even though we are saved, even though there is life in us, we have become a stone? Formerly, we were dirt, you know. We were made of dust, dirt. But the Lord said, “You are Peter now. You are a stone now.”
Even though there is a change within us, in our spirit—we are born anew, we become stone—yet the dust of the earth surrounds that stone. All you can see is dust, no stone.
It is just like Paul said: it is like a treasure in earthen vessels. We are the earthen vessels, and the treasure is hidden there. As long as this earthen vessel is not cracked or broken, there is no way for the radiance of the treasure to shine forth.
Brothers and sisters, that is what we are. We are living stones, but there is so much dust and dirt around us: our flesh, our old habits, ourselves.
Unless these things are being dealt with, being cast out, how can you build these stones? They cannot be together.
Now, suppose you have a stone here, a tiny little bit of stone, and that stone is surrounded with lots of earth. There is another stone the same way. When you put them together, they do not even meet.
What they meet is the earth. That is just what is happening in the church today. Brothers and sisters, we do not meet Christ in each other; we meet each other being Adam.
And that is the reason why the church can never be built.
That is why the cross has to work. You know, the cross is the law of the kingdom.
The cross has to work in our lives to take away all these earthly things. That which is earthly has to be taken away, that we may be a heavenly people.
That which is natural has to be dealt with, that which is spiritual may be manifested. That which is of our own selves has to be dealt with, that which is of Christ may be expressed.
Brothers and sisters, how much dealing we have to go through. That is the cross.
The cross is where we are crucified: “Away with him.” The cross is where we are put to death, that all these things may be taken away.
It is very, very interesting, because when you look into the Scripture, you find that the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 3 said the foundation has been laid.
The foundation is none other than Jesus Christ. There can be no other foundation. But he said, “Be careful how you build upon it.”
If you build with gold, silver, and precious stones, or you build with wood, hay, and straw, one day fire will appear.
If it is wood, straw, and hay, they will be burned up. You will be saved, but barely, barely saved. But if you build with gold, silver, and precious stones, then the fire will only bring out the brilliancy. You will be rewarded.
And, of course, we know the reward. Is that enough? You go into Revelation 21 and 22, and you find the New Jerusalem. What do you find there? That is the built, finished project.
What do you find there? You find that the whole city, the New Jerusalem, is built with gold, precious stones, and gold—nothing else.
Now, silver is not mentioned there because the work of redemption has done its work.
We know gold represents the divine nature, the life of God. Precious stones represent the character of Christ. Silver represents the patient work of the Holy Spirit.
You know, precious stones: we are not only living stones; we are to be precious stones. Just to be living is not enough. You need to be precious.
Our Lord Jesus Himself is a precious stone. You know, in Isaiah, I think Isaiah 28, God said, “I will lay in Zion for a foundation a tried stone, a precious cornerstone of sure foundation.”
So our Lord Jesus is not only a stone, a tried stone, a stone that has been tested; He is a precious stone. So that is the foundation. Now, the building on that foundation has to be precious stones.
Brothers and sisters, we are living stones, but are we really precious stones? We become living stones by receiving His life into us. But how do you become precious stones?
You know, precious stones are not elements; they are compounds. You find different elements sovereignly put together, organically put together, under pressure, under heat, in darkness, through a long period of time. That produces precious stones.
Therefore, precious stones are not cheap. They are precious.
How can we become precious stones that can be built into that city, the New Jerusalem? Unless we allow the Holy Spirit to so arrange our environment.
We call it the discipline of the Holy Spirit. Now, that is the kingdom law. He will arrange our environment, put us with certain people, put us in certain places, certain locations, and allow certain things to happen to us.
They are all pressure. Do you feel the pressure of the day? There is heat. Do you feel it? Sometimes you feel there is all darkness.
It is not just one day. You find that these things come upon you again and again for a long period of time. You do not understand why. You think your Christian life is smooth sailing. You do not know that it is the way of the cross.
You are under pressure, under fire, in darkness. Brothers and sisters, the Holy Spirit is putting together the different characteristics of our Lord Jesus into your life.
One may be like a jasper stone. You know, in the New Jerusalem, the whole city—the shining of the city—is like a jasper stone. The wall is built of jasper.
When you go back to Revelation 4, you find One sitting on the throne, and the appearance of the One sitting on the throne is like a jasper stone.
Jasper is an appearance of God, the shining of God.
It is the first stone that formed the foundation of New Jerusalem. It is the last stone on the breastplate of the high priest.
It has a blue color, the color of the sky. It speaks of the heavenly.
In ancient days, they thought jasper denoted satisfaction. In the early church, tradition referred jasper to Peter.
Peter found his satisfaction in the Lord: “Lord, Thou hast the words of eternal life; and whither shall we go?”
After so much dealing, Peter became a satisfaction to the heart of God. He became heavenly, not earthly. No more Simon, but Peter.
Brothers and sisters, is there such a transformation being done in our lives?
Do you expect that you can live a carnal life throughout your days, and when the Lord comes, suddenly you are transformed into a jasper, like Him? Never.
You are to be transformed today. The work is being done while you are alive.
You know, sometimes when I wake up in the morning, I thank the Lord that I am still alive. He gave me another day of opportunity.
He is for changing us from the earthly to the heavenly. Nothing earthly can enter into heaven. Only that which is heavenly can inherit the heavenly kingdom.
Brothers and sisters, do we find satisfaction in our Lord? Do we have to go to the world to get our satisfaction? Are we a satisfaction to our Lord? Is He satisfied with us?
That is a jasper stone. This stone can be built into that holy city, the New Jerusalem.
Take another stone: sardius.
Sardius is the first stone on the breastplate of the high priest. It is the sixth in the foundation of New Jerusalem. You go back to Revelation 4, and you find the appearance of God on the throne is like a jasper and a sardius.
Sardius, we are taught, in Hebrew, אָדֶם means red. It is a red stone.
Traditionally, it is connected to our Lord Jesus, our Savior, Who shed His blood.
We are told that this is a stone which, among all stones, can be polished very finely. It is so transparent that when you put it before the light, the light will shine through it.
Now, brothers and sisters, does that tell you that through the blood of our Lord Jesus, He has cleansed us to such a degree that we become transparent?