Citizen of Heaven
Who am I • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Intro
Intro
This is week 3 in our series Who am I?
Week 1 - You are made in the image of God - masterpiece
Week 2 - You are a sinner saved by grace - cure
Week 3 - You are a Citizen of Heaven
We are going to look at this in 3 parts
Chosen People
Good News
Wild Animals
Part 1 - Chosen People
The scripture that we are going to look at today is 1 Peter 2:9-10. So Peter, a disciple of Jesus, is writing to Christians that have been scattered throughout the Roman Empire who are enduring significant persecution because of their faith.
He tells them: 1 Peter 2:9-10
9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Just those 2 verses alone are crazy powerful. Again this is Peter speaking, who spent 3 years as Jesus’ closest confidant, inspired by the Spirit of God to write this book of the Bible.
And this is who he says you are
Chosen People
Royal Priesthood
Holy Nation
God’s special possession
But what makes this even more amazing, is when we begin to pull back the curtain and see all the different threads and scriptures and references (Easter Eggs) Peter is making to the rest of the Bible and what God has done, is doing, and will do through Jesus and His Good News.
We have to look at the rest of the Bible to get what Peter is referring to.
What is the Bible?
It’s a collection of ancient documents written by dozens of authors over the course of thousands of years
That are all inspired by God to tell a single unified story that leads to Jesus and invites us to become like Jesus
It is kind of like the Marvel Cinematic Universe, specifically the Infinity Saga - starting with Iron Man up to Endgame
Different directors, actors, characters, storylines, all building to an epic showdown between the Avengers and Thanos
23 Movies, 11 years
Each movie can stand on it’s own, but they also come together to tell a larger story about the Avengers and their confrontation with Thanos, the big, bad evil guy
The Bible: dozens of authors over 1000 years. Telling of what God has been doing throughout history centering around different people all building up to the epic showdown between Jesus and the forces of darkness
At 1st, it seems like the good guys lose. Thanos wins. He wipes out 1/2 of all life int he universe. Jesus dies. The Messiah crucified. The disciples run and hide. But that’s not how the story ends. The Avengers assemble. They defeat Thanos and undo the damage he wrought on the world. Jesus rises from the dead, conquering sin, death, and the devil (the big, bad, evil guy) and now anyone who puts their trust in Him will be saved, made new, and reunited with God.
And the Easter Eggs. You see them in every one of the movies and when you put them together, you see so much more of the whole picture.
Peter here in verse 9 is referencing all the easter eggs from other books of the Bible
When you go back and look at those reference, it begins to open you eyes to the whole picture not seen by just reading the one story/book alone.
These Easter eggs alway lead back to Jesus
from the Old testament to the New testament where Jesus arrives on the scene kicking names and taking butts (!)
All these things that Peter is calling us are because of the work that Jesus has done.
Through His life, death, resurrection, and ascension we have become the people of God, we have been rescued from darkness, and we’ve received mercy.
This is why the Gospel is Good News, which brings us to part 2
Part 2 - Good News
We are going to look at the book of Mark
Mark was written by a guy named Mark. This guy was a close friend to Peter. That is important to remember...
9 At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
I love this! This is God the Father, telling God the Son, who He is. His Son. Loved. And He’s pleased with Him.
What Jesus models for us is what this series is all about.
Helping us understand that the most true thing about us isn’t what other people say or even what we think, but what God says
And the same words that God says to Jesus, He says to you.
God calls you His sons and daughters.
God Loves you
God is pleased with you
And He’s the kind of Father that will never stop loving His kids.
Let’s go on with Mark 1:12-13
12 At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, 13 and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.
So, the Spirit sent Jesus into the wilderness.... Some of you are spending so much time trying to famous that you don’t even realize God wants you to go to the wilderness. - to be alone
It’s often in the places nobody sees or know about that God does the greatest work in us.
Before Jesus went public in His ministry, He obeyed God behind the scenes.
Listen to where the Spirit is leading you, and follow Him into the uncomfortable and out of sight places where God wants to use you and shape you into who He wants you to be.
14 After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”
This is the Good News! The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news.
1st Question: What is the Kingdom of God?
A kingdom is a realm ruled by a king
The Kingdom of God is the realm where God rules
This is what Jesus is telling us, that the rule and reign of God is taking root in history. His Kingdom, a kingdom built on a foundation of justice and righteousness, a kingdom where love is the law of the land, where peace and power are found, that Kingdom has come near.
This is the Gospel...
The Gospel is the good news that the Kingdom of God is coming on earth as it is in heaven and everyone has been invited in.
So, how do we enter into that Kingdom? How do we accept the invitation?
We repent and believe
What does it mean to repent?
Change the way you think
Return
Jesus is inviting us to change the way we think about ourselves, others, and the world.
To allow the truth of who God is and what He’s doing to be our new reality.
To change our minds and change our lives by returning to God, our Creator who wants a relationship with His Creation.
To accept the Grace of our Redeemer, who wants to rescue us from our sins.
To allow God to be the King over our lives, because He is the true king of the world
This is the Good News of Jesus.
God’s Kingdom is coming near, and we have all been invited to be a part through repenting and believing in the Good News of what God has done, is doing, and will do in Jesus.
Which brings us to Part 3
Remember what we talked about earlier, the Bible is one interconnected story written by people and inspired by God that leads to Jesus...
Part 3 - Wild Animals
Bringing it all together
Remember Peter said we were a chosen people, royal priesthood, holy nation, God’s special possession
Mark, Peter’s buddy, said that Jesus went into the wilderness and was with the wild animals
Now to find the easter egg
Way back 700 years before Jesus was born, a guy named Isaiah wrote this:
16 This is what the Lord says—
he who made a way through the sea,
a path through the mighty waters,
17 who drew out the chariots and horses,
the army and reinforcements together,
and they lay there, never to rise again,
extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:
18 “Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
19 See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland.
20 The wild animals honor me,
the jackals and the owls,
because I provide water in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland,
to give drink to my people, my chosen,
21 the people I formed for myself
that they may proclaim my praise.
“The wild animals honor me” I don’t think that is an accident.
I think that is an easter egg of what was to come
It is the Holy Spirit drawing these passages together to point to the truth of who God is and what he is doing through Jesus...
Who is it that Peter says we are?
Chosen People, royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession that you may declare the praises of Him who has called you out of darkness and into His wonderful light. Once, you had not received mercy, but now, you have recieved mercy.
Who are you?
A citizen of Heaven
The good news of the gospel tells us that because of what Jesus has done, because of what Jesus is doing, because of what Jesus will do, the kingdom of God is coming on earth as it is in Heaven.
The place where things are as they should be, where God is ruling in justice and righteousness with holiness, with grace, with mercy, where all the things that we wish were true in our world are true.
That is coming near.
And we’ve actually been invited to be a part of that right now.
Even tho the kingdom of God is not yet here in full, it is here in part.
And we have been called to be a group of people living today under the rule of God as our king
That is who we are
When you put your trust in Jesus, when you receive the mercy that God offers, he calls you out of darkness and he brings you into a kingdom of light
So, who are you?
Chosen people, royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession
Because of Jesus, you are a citizen of Heaven
Let’s pray
Thank you for the good news of what you have done, what you are doing, and what you will do
Help us understand your words and how they interconnect - all to point to Jesus and what He has done for us and who we are
Help us to live as citizens of heaven, that we are who you say we are. Our value, worth, dignity come from you and not from others
And you tell us we are loved
