Who We are:
1 Peter- Chosen Exiles • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 1 viewNotes
Transcript
Sermon Outline: "Who We Are" - 1 Peter 2:4-10
I. Introduction
I. Introduction
Story about why your identity matters:
Share about being pulled over on my way to see Amy, because they thought I had just robbed a convenience store-
I was speeding because I wanted to see Amy- They thought I was alluding arrest :)
Why did they get so mixed up? Because I looked like someone I was not. My actions looked more like a theif trying to run from Police than a guy in love with a giurl.
My car looked more like a getaway car than a poor Bible college students car.
OUR IDENTITY Matters.
What others see in our lives should reflect who we are by nature.
Transition
Peter in Chapter 2 begins by exhorting the church to to put away all of their former selfish ways Because that is no longer who they are in Christ.
And now in our text this morning
Peter exhorts the church to remember who they have been made to be in Christ.
and He gives them three new identities they have as follopwers of Jesus.
Friends our Big Idea for today is this:
Who we are in Christ Matters to How we Suffer in this world.
Look with me at the The first Identity we have in Christ,
1 Peter 2:4–5 (ESV)
4 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
II. We are stones in the same House
II. We are stones in the same House
Did you notice that Peter doesn't begin this illustration with us, He begins with the cornerstone that Holds it all together. Jesus Christ
Why? Because without a strong cornerstone the walls of a building cannot stand.
Friends Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of our faith,
From the beginning to the end, He is the Rock upon which everyone stone in the church is built
Next week, Lord willing, we are going to come back to this verse and look deeper into what it means for us that Christ is opur cornerstone.
But for today we want to consider who WE are in Christ.
Look again at what Peter says in verse 5
1 Peter 2:5 (ESV)
5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house,…
Christians, we are LIVIGN STONES in the spiritual house of God.
There is only ONE spiritual house of God- His Church.
There is only one Home that Jesus Christ is building - His church.
There are many different religions trying to help people get to heaven, Trying to give hope in a hopeless world, But If Christ is not the one building it, it is not his church.
Peter makes this clear at the beginning of verse 5 where He says “ AS YOU COME TO HIM” The stones in the church that Christ is building are only the the ones whom He has redeemed with his own precious blood,
No other stone ins part of His church except those Who have come to him and accepted His free gift of Salvation.
Brothers and sisters, if you have been redeemed through the precious blood of Jesus than “you are the church”.
The church is not this structure we are sitting together- it' us. We are the stones that Jesus Christ, as the master builder, is building up as the dwelling Place of God.
Notice He calls us Living Stones:
JESUS is the living stone because He was raised from the dead.
In calling believers "living stones," Peter emphasizes who we are in Christ.
Remember how Paul describes our salvation in Eph. 2:1-5
Ephesians 2:1–5 (ESV)
1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—
Friends- When Christ Saves us He makes us alive, we are no longer dead in our sins but alive in Christ, We are not dead stones We are Living stones because Jesus Christ has made us alive.
Whats the Point/
Friends God does not intend for his church to be dead.- He made it to be alive, To be living, to be the hands and feet of Christ to one another and to be a light in this dark world.
But we need to notice that God did not make you your own house, He does not intend for you to walk your christian life alone,
His plan has always been the church- A Corporate group of redeemed sinners liivign life together for the glory of God, Friends if you are in Christ - YOU NEED THE CHRUCH AND THE CHRUCH NEEDS YOU! Thats just how God designed it to be!
Just as individual stones are essential for building a structure, each believer plays a unique and significant role in the larger body of Christ.
Brothers and sisters- You matter in this church- because the master builder- Jesus Christ- has placed you here for a purpose.
What is his plan for the church....its very simple, To live out the one another commands in our midst and to proclaim the glory of God in this world.
And church family, it is only when we work together as one body that we can accomplish Gods masterplan for our church,
Friends God has gifted you in a special way to work together with the church.
God has put you in this body of believers to be alive and active for the spiritual good of others to the praise and glory of His name.
When Peter describes believers as "living stones in the house of God," he is emphasizing our identity as being spiritually alive and interconnected with one another for the purpose of glorifying God as one Body in Christ,
Friends, if our church is going to be the church that God intends His church to be than we all need to live out our true identity in Christ- We all need to be alive in our walk with Jesus.
Peter gives us a second identity we have in Christ
He says that..
III. We are Priest in the same Temple
III. We are Priest in the same Temple
(1 Peter 2:5, 9)
1 Peter 2:5 (ESV)
5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
and then in verse 9 He calls us a “Royal Priesthood. “
The idea of being a royal priest has significant implications for the identity and responsibilities of believers in Christ.
If you are a saved Beleiver in Jesus then You are a priest!
Why does this matter?
Old Testament
Old Testament
In the Old Testament, God’s People had a priesthood,
The priests had a unique role in mediating between God and the people. The Priest were Gods representatives chosen to carry his message to His people and were given the responsibility to lead them in their spiritual journey.
(That’s a big Responsibilty- TO be the mediator between God and His people.
the priest where the ones who offered sacrifices for the Atonement of Sin on behalf of the community
They were the ones who lifted up the prayers for the people, advocating and interceding on their behalf,
They were the ones who spoke the word of the God to His People.
Friends, In the OT, In order for someone to meet with God Personally they would have to go through the Priest, Because He was the mediator between God and Man.
But today, Jesus Christ is now our High Priest, and He has made His church a kingdom of Priest.
Think with me about Who Christ is as our hight Priest
Hebrews 4:14–16 (ESV)
14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
He is now the mediator between God and Man
His sacrifice on the cross Paid the penalty for all of our sins, No longer requiring atonement, because He provided perfect forgiveness and reconciliation with God.
He is the one who sits at the right hand of God and intercedes on our behalf,
Jesus, as our Great High Priest, understands our weaknesses, temptations, and struggles because He lived a human life on earth.
He can empathize with our experiences and provide the help and grace we need in times of need (Hebrews 4:15).
He is an eternal High Priest. A Perfect High Priest, this means that His priesthood is unchanging and will never end.
Because Jesus is our High Priest our salvation and access to God are secure and will never be revoked because they are held in His perfect nature (Hebrews 7:24-25).
And Jesus as the Great High Priest has made everyone of his followers to be part of His Royal priesthood.
This means that all Christians have been given a priestly role,
We are unified in what God has called each of us to do.
As Priest, We are all called to worship, serve, and represent God in the world.
Because we are all Priest in the same temple we all have a direct and personal connection with God through Christ.
and Because we have been made priest, We now have the responsibilities to offering spiritual sacrifices to our God, such as worship, prayers, and a life of obedience and holiness (Romans 12:1).
Because we are God’s Representatives, we are called to worship, to live in holiness, to serve one another, and to share the good news of God's grace and reconciliation with others, acting as ambassadors of Christ's kingdom in this world.(2 Corinthians 5:20).
The point here is this - as Priest We all have the responsibility to impart spiritual good into the lives of one another in the church, We all have the responsibility to offer spiritual sacrifices to God through Jesus, and we all have the responsibility to proclaim the message of Christ’s redemption to the world.
The third Identity Pewter wants the church to consider is that...
IV. We are Citizens of the same Nation
IV. We are Citizens of the same Nation
1 Peter 2:9–10 (ESV)
9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Friends we are all equal citizens of the same nation,
We have all been given our citizenship the exact same way- through the precious blood of Jesus.
Not one person has Gained their citizenship based on their own merit.
In fact, the Bible os very clear, no one has or ever will be worthy.
Everyone of us has beed gifted it through the grace of God compelled by His great love for us. This means that we are all equal in our standing as citizens of Gods Kingdom.
And what we need to understand this morning is that...
While we may all come from diverse backgrounds, cultures, social status’s and nationalities, our primary and most significant citizenship is in the kingdom of God,
and This citizenship that transcends all earthly divisions, unites us together equally as part of God's chosen nation.
Friends, there is nothing in this world more diverse than the redeemed church of Christ.
and yet there is nothing more common amongst believers than the salvation that everyone of us recieved in order to become citizens of Gods kingdom.
So what does it mean to be a citizen of God’s nation?
first Peter says, It means you have been Chosen
We have been Chosen by God- We are a chosen Race, a Nation Set apart as his own possession
I dont know about you but the fact that God chose me despite all of my sinfulness Blows me away.
This thought that God loved me even with all my baggage overwhelms me with thankfulness and gratitude.
But what we need to understand is that God did not just choose to save you, He chose you for a purpose.
Peter’s days you have been choses to be priest in this world- T represent Jesus Christ the high priest in all you do.
You have been chosen to be Holy - to live a life that adheres to the truths and teachings Of Gods Word the Bible.
he have been called to proclaim the glorious redemption of Jesus Christ That He so freely gave you at Salvation.
Listen to Pauls words in Eph.1
Ephesians 1:4–5 (ESV)
4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,”
Friends before Creation-Before you ever sinned, You where chosen by God for a purpose. He picked you to be part a citizen of His nation.
and as a citizen of his nation you have been chosen to look like Jesus in this sinful world.
To live a life that is Holy and blameless ion world that is saturated with sinfulness,
Friends God chose you, He has called you to live differently from the world. He has set you apart for a Holy purpose and that is to Proclaim the excellencies of him who CALLED you our of the Darkness of sin and into the marvelous light of Christ.
As Citizens of heaven we are all equally called to bear witness to God’s goodness to Gods grace, and to God’s Salvation in our lives.
Friends, "we are all citizens of the same nation"
And its This identity as citizens of God's nation that should empower us to live as lights in the world and to proclaim the praises of our heavenly King to those around them.
VI. BRING IT HOME
VI. BRING IT HOME
Illustration:
When I was first in ministry I would go to a lot of meetings with other pastors and leaders around the state. And they would love to ask me questions to get to know me better. to see who I really am.
Like : Where did you go to school? Where have you served before? What are you doing now?
They ask these questions to get to know who you are as a person and if you are in alignment with the,,.
All of these questions and answers where good, they described me well, But there there was one thing about me that I could share that gave my identify much more clarity to those other pastors..
I would say “I am the son of Pastor Dennis Reynolds?”
Why did that matter to these other Pastors?
Because in our Iowa baptist circle everyone knows my dad, Becaue he has been a faithful pastor for 50 years in central Iowa.
My identity as the son of Pastor Reynolds Helps people understoand who I am as a person. It tells them the model I follow in my life and ministry. It helps people see the example I follow in my life.
Friends Our Identity as Christians Matters.
Who we are represents the one we follow. If you are in Christ He is your identity!
-You are a living stone in His spiritual building - called to hold up your brothers and sisters in Christ
-You are a priest in His temple, called to offer your life as a living Sacrifice for his glory
And you are a citizen of His nation- Called to be an ambassador in this dark world.
Friends We are Not alone- God has given each of us the gift of the church - Once you were not a people but now you are God’s People
2. Once you had not recieved Mercy and were under Gods wrath but now you have recieved His Mercy.
I want to exhort you this morning to be the church that God intends his church to be
1. Embrace your identity as a living stone.
2. Fulfill your role as a holy priesthood.
3. Live out your citizenship as the chosen nation of God.
C. Closing Prayer