A Peculiar People

Scripture

1 Peter 2:7–10 KJV 1900

7 Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, 8 And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed. 9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: 10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

Body

Now this letter was written to the church by Peter in a time that it was under great persecution

It was under attack

It was under siege if you will

And Peter begins to use some Old Testament references to remind the people of God that even though the church is under assault

Although it is being persecuted and maligned and criticized that there is still much reason to give God some praise

It was Ecc 1:9 that said

Ecclesiastes 1:9 KJV 1900

9 The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.

And so instead of trying to find some new word or message to the Church the preacher just goes back to those old pillars to remind them That God still has it under control

We feel the pressure as ministers many times to find this new word, or this new revelation about God

Week in and week out endeavoring to find some fresh bread to serve to the people

But this scripture is a reminder that many times we don’t need a new word or a new presentation

We just need to go back into that old book to find the answers to what is going on in our life

Let me tell you this morning that the blood still works

It still washes and purifies the hearts and souls of humanity

And furthermore we still have a reason to praise him

I grew up in a home that did not make church a priority in the home

Oh sure my father loved our Bishop and his family and passed that love and respect down to me, but there was never an effort to prioritize God in our home

It was our grandparents that would come and pick us up for church and bring us home

It was our grandparents that made sure to bridge that lifeline so that even though my parents weren’t living for God, we still could

Church to me at that time was optional and just something that we could do

And whenever I had something else going on that immediately became my priority

Church I want to tell you today that it is the intention and the plan of the enemy to fill your life with so much stuff that you get bogged down in the busyness of life choosing things and events over church

My family knows that we are going to schedule our life intentionally around church, and not our church around life

Because God does not desire or deserve your leftover

Left over time

Leftover energy

Left over focus

He is a God that not only desires but he requires the first fruits of your life

We teach and understand that the tithe comes from the first fruits of our increase

I believe that taking that 10% is more than just a mandate not from the church but from God

Wherein have you robbed me except in your tithes and offerings

But I believe that there is a special blessing that is attached to giving God back those first fruits

We used to sing a lot that old song you can’t outgive the Lord

But I have seen and experienced that as we conciously devoted our tithe unto the Lord that many times through various forms we were not lacking but rather somehow some way God always used that giving and multiplied our lives

But to the person in the world and honestly to many parishoners across the world, tithing just doesn’t make sense

Like I said church is not optional in our home it is priority one

My children almost expect that if we all get in the car on a random afternoon that likely we are heading over to the church to do something

Turth is I love church, and I love churches

I never look at a church and think that we have too many in a city

I mean we never complain about having too many night clubs or dancehalls in the city

We never complain that there are too many liqour tucks in in our city

But sometimes you hear people say that there are too many churches

Let me tell you today that you cant get enough churches for the sin in this world

And we live in a time that people mock and make caricatures and parodies of the church and the people who go to church

They think what we do here on Sundays make no sense

It’s foolishness to them because the Bible says it is a stumbing block, its a stone of offense to them them

This tried and precious cornerstone for those who believe is one thing

But to the unbeliever it is a stone of offense

My friend let me remind you that the world is offended by the word of God

But this word was never intended to be a lullaby to ease you to sleep

2 Timothy 3:16–17 KJV 1900

16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

This word was never meant to pacify the believer, it was always meant to challenge and build, to edify

But you understand that many times in order to build you have to tear some things down

You have to get that backhoe or that dozer and get down into the dirt of this earth

You hjave to disturb the ground a little bit so that you can pour the footers or the foundation

Because with no foundation, a building will crumble

And there are some basic truths that your salvation must be founded on in this day

Or your relationship with Jesus Christ will crumble

Deuteronomy 6:4 KJV 1900

4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord:

John 10:30 KJV 1900

30 I and my Father are one.

John 3:3 KJV 1900

3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Nicodemus didn’t understand, so just for clarity Jesus answered once again in verse 5

John 3:5 KJV 1900

5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.+

Acts 2:37–39 KJV 1900

37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? 38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. 39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.

Acts 4:12 KJV 1900

12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

They think that we are deluded for coming here every week, listening to the same man say the same thing Sunday after Sunday.

He died, didn’t He die?

And this isn’t an Easter Message, but he died for you and for me

But early Sunday morning He rose from the grave. You’ve been hearing that for your whole life and you still come here every week.

People think it doesn’t make any sense for us to do what we do,

because it really doesn’t matter if you go to church or not,

t really doesn’t matter if there is a God or not—but we know from the Word of God that that’s not true.

Hear what the Scripture says: “Ye are a chosen generation.”

That’s what He called the children of Israel—but the church is the new Israel.

Just like God chose Israel, God chose us in the church.

And I say God chose us because we didn’t choose Him.

We were dead, as Ephesians says, in our trespasses and sins.

But God, through Jesus Christ, has done a new thing and brought us into His family.

Just like Israel was God’s chosen people, the church now is God’s chosen generation. God chose Israel through Abraham.

He made a covenant with them through Abraham, Moses, and David.

He made promises to them, established His statutes and laws with His chosen people Israel.

But now we who are in the church—God has made us promises.

We were aliens and strangers, cut off from the covenants of promise and strangers to the commonwealth of Israel.

But in Jesus Christ, the Levitical and Aaronic priesthood has been done away with, because now we have a High Priest.\

They used to have to go behind the veil that separated the Holy of Holies from the Most Holy once a year on the Day of Atonement.

The priest would wear his ceremonial ephod, sprinkle blood on the altar, and only once a year could he go behind that curtain.

He even had bells on the tassels of his robe—if he fell dead behind the veil, they could pull him out.

But on a cross, one Friday on a hill called Calvary, Jesus died and brought down the middle wall of partition.

We don’t need a high priest to go behind a veil to pardon us from our sins—we already have a High Priest who died to set us free.

For that reason, we are a chosen generation.

Even though I didn’t choose Him, He chose me.

Even though I wasn’t running after Him, He was running after me.

When I was lost and on my way to hell,

He still chose me from the foundation of the world.

You are a chosen generation—and as a chosen generation, that makes you a new creation.

Old things are passed away, and behold, all things are become new.

As you walk with the Lord, some things don’t bother you anymore.

Some places you used to go, some attitudes you used to have—those things start falling away as you mature in your faith.

Then He says you are a royal priesthood.

The Old Testament had a ritual priesthood, but the church now is a royal priesthood.

We are not saved by bullocks on the altar, not saved by lambs without spot or blemish, not saved by feast days or rituals.

The ritual has already been performed—Jesus paid it all.

Now my life is a living sacrifice.

I’ve been set free in the liberty wherewith Christ has made me free.

Whom the Son sets free is free indeed.

I don’t need a ritual to prove I love God.

We are a holy nation.

That means we have a new character.

Being Christian doesn’t make you better—it makes you different.

don’t act the same, don’t talk the same, don’t live the same, because God has changed my nature.

The devil wars against me to drag me back to the old man,

But I come on Sunday so the Spirit can pull me back to the new man I am in Christ.

Then He calls us a peculiar people.

That part of the verse has been grossly misunderstood.

The word peculiar does not mean odd, strange, crazy, or erratic.

That is a gross misrepresentation of the text.

Peculiar does not mean out of control.

It does not mean foolish.

It means I am a unique possession.

God treats me like a treasured possession.

When something valuable is lost, you turn the house upside down to find it.

We were lost, and God came and found us.

He holds us, keeps us, loves us—like a treasured possession.

And if you don’t think that about yourself, God does.

The Scripture says we are all of this so that we might show forth the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light.

DEVELOPING “PECULIAR PEOPLE” — APOSTOLIC BIBLE STUDY EXPANSION

KEY TEXT

1 Peter 2:9

“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.”

WHAT “PECULIAR” ACTUALLY MEANS

The English word peculiar comes from the Greek word:

περιποίησις (peripoiesis)

Meaning:

Purchased possession

That which is acquired

A people reserved for oneself

Valued property

This word has nothing to do with being strange or erratic.

Supporting Scriptures:

Ephesians 1:14“Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession.”

Acts 20:28“…the church of God, which He hath purchased with His own blood.”

1 Corinthians 6:19–20“Ye are not your own… for ye are bought with a price.”

Titus 2:14“Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.”

Apostolic Truth:

Peculiar does not mean odd — it means owned.

PECULIAR = PURCHASED

We are not self-made

We are blood-bought

We are God’s possession

Just like Israel was God’s treasured possession among the nations:

Exodus 19:5“Ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people.”

Deuteronomy 7:6“The LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself.”

PECULIAR = SET APART (BUT NOT ISOLATED)

Being set apart does not mean withdrawn from the world—it means distinct in purpose.

John 17:15–18 – “In the world, but not of the world”

Romans 12:2 – “Be not conformed… but transformed”

2 Corinthians 6:17 – “Come out from among them, and be ye separate”

We don’t act different to be noticed.

We live different because we belong to Someone.

WHY WE ARE PECULIAR

1 Peter 2:9 gives the reason:

“That ye should shew forth the praises of Him…”

We are:

Chosen → to testify

Royal → to intercede

Holy → to reflect His nature

Peculiar → to display His worth

Our worship isn’t strange—it’s reasonable

(Romans 12:1)

STRONG CLOSING THOUGHT (FOR PREACHING OR TRANSITION)

You’re not peculiar because you shout.

You’re peculiar because you were purchased.

You’re not different because you’re loud.

You’re different because you’re loved.

You’re not strange.

You’re set apart.

And the reason God bought you, chose you, called you, and kept you—

is so that your life would praise Him.