Privileged to Serve
Notes
Transcript
We’re going to be studying 1 Peter 2 this morning. I hope you have your Bibles with you. If so, please go ahead and turn there.
American Express has a slogan that says “Membership has its privileges.” I like special privileges. I worked at a large international company a few years ago and had to fly to the paper mills where we installed our equipment. I dreaded the long lines at the security check points and despise the cramped seats on the plane. I was taking a pretty long flight to Minnesota and had a few pleasant surprises along the way. First of all I got to choose a seat with extra legroom when booking the flight that was normally unavailable to me. Then, I didn’t have to pay for my two very large bags filled with tools and clothes.
I arrived at the airport and checked my bags quickly. I handed my boarding pass to the security agent who was herding people into the lines. He directed me to a frequent flier line that was much shorter than the rest. I couldn’t figure out what was going on because I normally didn’t get such special treatment. I got to the gate and discovered that I had been placed in a zone that would board before everyone else. I was used to having to fight for some overhead space, but was able to leisurely board the plane and find my seat with extra leg room.
The flight went well and I arrived at the hotel. The clerk at the hotel gave me a warm welcome and told me that my room had been upgraded. I couldn’t believe my luck! While confirming my information we realized that my information didn’t match what was on file. I discovered our travel agency had booked me as someone else with the same name! This guy apparently travelled a lot more than me.
The next trip was back to normal. No special seat on the plane. I paid an arm and a leg for my heavy bags. I waited in a very long line to get through security. I boarded the plane last and had to check my bag because there wasn’t any room in the overhead compartments. I didn’t get my room upgraded and didn’t get any special treatment.
The privileges I received on the trip were because of someone else’s identity. Today we’re going to look at a passage of Scripture that will show how Christ followers have privileges, not because of our name, who we are, or what we’ve done, but because of who Jesus is and what He did. He offers salvation and a right relationship with God. He chose to save us through Jesus Christ and allowed us to be heirs to His kingdom. We are truly privileged people if we have repented of our sins and given our lives to God.
As the great philosopher Spider Man says, with great power comes great responsibility. We’re also going to see the responsibilities that come with the privileges we have through Jesus. Peter will use word pictures of living stones and holy priests to describe what kind of responsibility we carry with the privilege of being a child of God.
Let’s start in 1 Peter 2 verse 1 and see what Peter has to say. I’m going to be reading from the Christian Standard translation:
1 Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all slander.
2 Like newborn infants, desire the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow up into your salvation,
3 if you have tasted that the Lord is good.
4 As you come to him, a living stone—rejected by people but chosen and honored by God—
5 you yourselves, as living stones, a spiritual house, are being built to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
Peter starts by challenging us to grow in our faith and get rid of sin in our lives. He says we should want to grow because we have experienced God’s goodness. Don’t miss this. Do you want to grow in your faith? Have you become stagnant in your spiritual life? Do you have a deep desire to run from sin and run toward God?
Peter says we should be like a newborn infant longing for milk. I remember my kids when they were babies and how they screamed for food. When we had our first daughter, Emily, I wanted to let April get out of the house for a little bit. She was breastfeeding and left a bottle of milk for me to give Emily while she was gone. Emily wanted to eat, but didn’t want me to feed her! She screamed for about three hours straight until April got home. She was desperate to eat. We should be desperate to grow in our faith, just like a little baby wants milk.
Peter goes on to described Jesus as a living stone. He’s a living stone because he conquered death and is alive today and forever! We worship a God that is alive. He is actively involved in our world and in our lives. Peter says he isn’t any ordinary stone in verse 6 when he calls Jesus the chosen and honored cornerstone (Isaiah 28:16). The cornerstone is the first and most important stone laid in a building. All the other stones are laid in reference to the cornerstone. In other words, the cornerstone is used to align all the other stones and to tie them together.
Everything in our lives should begin at Jesus. He’s the most important part of us and without Him nothing in our lives will be properly aligned. Christ should be at the center of everything we do. He’s the reason we are blessed with grace and mercy.
Peter says we are also living stones being built into a spiritual house. In the Old Testament the temple represented God’s presence. Peter compares us to a spiritual house where God dwells. This is a beautiful picture of our relationship with Christ and of God’s presence in the believer’s life. We are joined with Jesus and the Holy Spirit lives in us.
Our greatest privilege as followers of Christ is the presence of God in our life and the personal relationship we enjoy with Him. Don’t take this privilege lightly. God says that those who haven’t accepted His forgiveness and redemption are far from Him. The most dreadful thing I can imagine is a life without God’s presence and even more so the thought of living for all eternity apart from Him. Praise God we can receive His grace and forgiveness and be a part of His family forever.
Let’s look at the next few verses:
6 For it stands in Scripture: See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and honored cornerstone, and the one who believes in him will never be put to shame.
7 So honor will come to you who believe; but for the unbelieving, The stone that the builders rejected— this one has become the cornerstone,
8 and A stone to stumble over, and a rock to trip over. They stumble because they disobey the word; they were destined for this.
God gives us free will to to repent from our sins and follow Jesus. Peter tells us that Jesus is not only the cornerstone, but also a stumbling block. You can’t dance around the decision to follow Jesus. You either accept Him as Lord and Savior, or you reject Him. There isn’t a middle ground. You can’t ride the fence.
You might be putting off a decision to follow Jesus. Maybe you think you can wait to follow Him after you’ve lived your life and had your fun. But God says life is like smoke that disappears quickly. We don’t know what is in store for us tomorrow. Please don’t put off a decision to follow Jesus.
Peter says that those who trust Jesus will never be put to shame and once we we trust Jesus with our lives, we become part of God’s chosen people:
9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Peter says we are a chosen by God to be his people. He’s referring to Deuteronomy 7 describing Israel’s role as God’s chosen people and expands that to include every believer in Christ. The believer experiences every spiritual blessing in Christ, an abundant life, God’s favor and mercy, and hope in an eternity spent in heaven with God. With that overwhelming privilege and honor comes the responsibility to serve and tell others about God’s love.
The description of believers as a chosen race, royal priesthood, and holy nation would have been significant for a Jewish believer, but might not make sense to us today. Peter is saying that we all have the privilege of being God’s chosen people brought out of darkness and into light. We receive God’s mercy and grace when we trust Him with our lives.
Notice that Peter repeats the idea of believers being a priesthood because it’s important. We need to look to the Old Testament about the original Jewish priests in Exodus 28-29 and Leviticus 8-9 to understand the priesthood. We won’t read these passages in their entirety today, but I’d like to draw your attention to some characteristics of the priesthood from those passages that will help us understand our role in God’s kingdom.
We Are Called to Serve
We Are Called to Serve
1 “Have your brother Aaron, with his sons, come to you from the Israelites to serve me as priest—Aaron, his sons Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.
Aaron and his sons were from the tribe of Levi. This was one of the least respected tribes in Israel. Their tribe was cursed because of its sinful violence (Gen 49:5-7). They were probably the last people in Israel who deserved to have the privilege of serving as priests. They served as a God’s representatives who brought the people to Him. They were called to do a holy task in spite of their past sin.
God also called you and me out of the curse of sin. He chose to redeem us even though we are sinful, selfish, broken, and unwise. Then he decided to use even the least likely of us to represent Him to the world. Just like the Levites, we’re called to serve in spite of our sin and weakness. All of this is meant to glorify God.
26 Brothers and sisters, consider your calling: Not many were wise from a human perspective, not many powerful, not many of noble birth.
27 Instead, God has chosen what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen what is weak in the world to shame the strong.
28 God has chosen what is insignificant and despised in the world—what is viewed as nothing—to bring to nothing what is viewed as something,
29 so that no one may boast in his presence.
30 It is from him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became wisdom from God for us—our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption
31 —in order that, as it is written: Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.
I’m amazed that we are called into relationship with God and then called to be His servants and ambassadors in the world. I’m amazed that God uses what is foolish by the world’s standards to shame the wise, and God has chosen what is weak to shame the strong.
God wants to use us in our weakness, our frailty, and our inexperience to glorify Himself. God chose to rescue us from our sin and has called us to salvation. Once we’re His child we’re called to greater things. His plan involves using me and you to bring Himself glory by serving others and telling them about His saving love.
I’m one of the last people on earth that thinks I’m qualified to stand here and preach this morning. I agree with Paul who said in 1 Corinthians 2:1 that he didn’t announce the testimony of God with brilliance of speech or wisdom! But God has called me, redeemed me, and compelled me to preach the gospel and so I do it today.
The twelve men Jesus chose to be His disciples were no rising stars. They were fishermen without any formal education or religious training. I’m afraid that church in America has been infected by professionalism. We’ve been trained to believe that only the most talented preachers, teachers, musicians, and executives can lead the church. We think that you have to be a professional in order to have an excellent church.
I believe that mindset tempts the rest of us to sit back and watch the show. If I can convince myself that I’m not good enough to preach, teach, sing, cook, visit, or minister then I can sit back and leave it to the professionals. I can expect the staff to get the job done, because they’ve been trained and after all that’s what they get paid to do.
We’re also tempted to ignore our responsibility and become complacent in our faith. I think one of the worst things that has happened to the church in North America is wealth. We’re comfortable in our lives. Even in the midst of a bad economy, we’re able to live, eat, and enjoy ourselves. We’re content to casually follow Christ and let others serve Him.
I have been blessed to meet a pastor in Kabwe, Zambia in South Africa. Gabrial pastors a small church (Kabwe Central Baptist Church) in an poor city. He lives in a home with no windows and barely makes enough to feed his wife and child. He has a story of a broken life abandoned by his family and left to fend for himself. The church took him in and he gave his life to serve God. The church worships in a school with very little resources. Gabriel is committed to serve despite the many challenges he faces and without the resources we have here. I’m humbled by the fact that people are serving God in the face of incredible hardship and persecution. Gabriel’s story also shows what happens when the church serves others:
When I look back and see where the Lord has brought from and what I have been through since my childhood, I see the hand of God and sometimes I shed tears. I was neglected by my own family including my biological father. I suffered with my grandparents while my father, who was a successful farmer with a car was enjoying life with his other two wives and children. My uncle came to the village to send me to school. And when I thought my future was brightening up, my aunt made my life difficult. I was called different names. I told that I will be a destitute in society.
I was going to school without shoes and the Church bought me a pair of shoes. I was going without food and the Church fed me. I was locked out of my uncles house and the Church found me a place to live. I went through many challenges which the Church helped me pull through. The church helped me go to seminary when I didn’t have money for tuition.
The Church has been there for me and it is one of the reasons I decided to serve as a pastor. The Lord has been there for me. Though I have been unfaithful to God, the Lord has been faithful and gracious to me. Indeed "God who has called me into fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ is faithful" (1 Cor. 1:9). God is God, He is Sovereign and powerful. He works in ways we cannot see. Like Henry Blackaby says, I have seen the hand of God at work in my life. I can simply say, to the King eternal, the only wise and true God, the Holy One of Israel be glory forever and ever. Amen!
The point I want you to understand it that we’ve ALL been called to serve no matter what our circumstances might be. I believe that we are good at thinking of excuses why we can’t serve. But God wants to use every person in this room to bring glory to Himself and salvation to a lost world. Even the most ordinary people in this room can serve God. Because we’ll see in a minute that anyone who is willing to obediently serve can accomplish great and mighty things with the help of the Holy Spirit. So we have been called to serve, and we are set apart to serve.
We are Set Apart to Serve
We are Set Apart to Serve
6 Then Moses presented Aaron and his sons and washed them with water.
The priests were given special clothes to wear that set them apart and then went through a ritual cleaning before they were able to serve. They were called to be different and holy.
14 He gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for himself a people for his own possession, eager to do good works.
We are cleansed from our sins when we ask Jesus to forgive us and trust Him with our life. God transforms us into a new creation. We are then set apart and should be different than the rest of the world. We live in the world but aren’t of the world.
I’m disturbed when I see people who claim to be Christians but don’t look, think, talk, or act any different than those who could care less about a relationship with Christ. We should not be enslaved to sin, but live as a holy and righteous people ready to serve God. Once we have been called and set apart, we are given power through the Holy Spirit to serve.
We Are Empowered to Serve
We Are Empowered to Serve
30 Then Moses took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood that was on the altar and sprinkled them on Aaron and his garments, as well as on his sons and their garments. In this way he consecrated Aaron and his garments, as well as his sons and their garments.
The anointing identified God’s power and presence that rested on the priests. The pattern of anointing is shown throughout the Old Testament when God was calling out someone to use them for His glory.
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Believers today are not anointed with oil but with the Holy Spirit. God’s full presence, power, and authority are at work in us. We are able to accomplish anything the He has called us to do. It might be intimidating or overwhelming to consider what God want us to do, but we should never be timid or afraid.
Service is not easy. There are many tasks that God gives us that aren’t fun or instantly rewarding. Our motivation shouldn’t be what we can do that makes us happy, but what we should do out of obedience to God. We should always prayerfully ask God what He wants us to accomplish to build His kingdom and then serve in His power and for His glory.
There are many other interesting aspects of the priesthood that I hope you’ll investigate on your own, but I hope that you’ve seen that we are all called to serve, set apart to serve, and empowered to serve. So now that we understand our responsibility to serve as priests, what does a priest do?
Peter says in verse 5 that we are a holy priesthood that should offer spiritual sacrifices. That was the priest’s primary responsibility. I want you to see the kinds of spiritual sacrifices that are described in the New Testament to give you an idea of how we can serve God by offering the sacrifices that are pleasing to him:
Ourselves
1 Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship.
2 Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.
We should give every part of ourselves to be used for God’s glory. That includes our mind, our heart, and our bodies.We should be willing to sacrifice everything that we are and everything that we have to God. This is a tough idea in a world that tempts us to give God excuses for why we can’t serve. We are tempted to only give God a slice of ourselves will devoting most of our time to other pursuits.
God wants all of you, but what if you started this week by giving him a tithe (10%) of your time, energy, and resources. If figure most of us are awake for about 16 hours a day for 7 days a week which comes to 112 hours. If we gave God 10% of that time we’d need to serve Him 11 hours a week. I know that seems like a shock to most of us. We barely have time to give him an hour on Sunday. Let’s just start with an hour every day and see what how God uses that to change us and those around us.
Praise & doing good
15 Therefore, through him let us continually offer up to God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name.
16 Don’t neglect to do what is good and to share, for God is pleased with such sacrifices.
Our witness to unbelievers
15 Nevertheless, I have written to remind you more boldly on some points because of the grace given me by God
16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, serving as a priest of the gospel of God. God’s purpose is that the Gentiles may be an acceptable offering, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
Love for each other
1 Therefore, be imitators of God, as dearly loved children,
2 and walk in love, as Christ also loved us and gave himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God.
Prayers
3 Another angel, with a golden incense burner, came and stood at the altar. He was given a large amount of incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar in front of the throne.
4 The smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up in the presence of God from the angel’s hand.
I hope you’ve seen that we receive wonderful privileges when we follow Jesus Christ. Maybe you’ve never experienced that privilege because you’re not a child of God. Maybe you’ve never felt the need to give your life to Jesus because you think you’re doing fine on your own. I want to urge you to consider that none of us is OK on our own. When we’re on our own we’re separated from God. We’re not only separated, but we’re actually God’s enemy because we’re in rebellion against Him. We need to be forgiven from our sins because God says the penalty for sin is spiritual death and eternal separation from Him in hell. Don’t ignore God calling you today to repentance and faith in Him.
We’ve also seen this morning that service is not optional in the Christian’s life. We are commanded to serve. I wonder how many of us today have been spectators instead of servants. I wonder if anyone in this room has felt unqualified or unwilling to serve.
You might be sensing God’s conviction in this area of your life. I hope you’re talk to God this morning and commit to obeying Him. As we’ve seen there are many spiritual sacrifices you can make in service to God. There are ways that you can serve God: greeter, usher, hospitality, music, small groups, youth, children.
Will you put a blank check on the altar today and ask God to fill it in? Will you ask Him to use you in any way He wants to bring glory to Him and to share the gospel? Will you step out in faith to serve God even if you don’t feel qualified?
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