Untitled Sermon

4. Chosen Race.

Chosen carries the idea of being picked. Basketball on the playground, and you wanted to be picked.Sports, you wanted to be piced. God picked you. Allusion to the unworthiness of Israel, likewise we are unworthy. We are a chosen race, but what kidn of race are we?We are not a race made of people from a certain place. We literally circle the globe. People in every land, from the visible churches across America to the underground churches in China, we make up the race of God.We are not a race of certain ethnic background, the church started out as primarily a Jewish community of believers. But persecution caused many to flee Jerusalem and literally sent the Gospel all around the World. Today, not only are we a people made of believers in every nation, but we are people coming from all kinds of ethnic cultures and languages. So what constitutes this people, we are all believers in the saving cornerstone of Jesus Christ. What makes Christians a chosen race is not our background of ethnic race, but principally we are believers in Jesus Christ. Every race has certain understood customs and beliefs. The Race of Christianity is cimposed by belief in the Gospel, knowledge of Scripture, Love for God, reflecting of Glory to God, and the transformation of the heart to reflect the love and compassion of God, as demonstrated chiefly in the cross. You know someone is a certain race by how the look, and likewise we know if you are a Christian by these kind of distinctions found in the heart. ILLUSTRATION:American Pastor goes to Russia and talks to a Russian pastor, only using his Bible. This is what churches have in common.

​ ESV4 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. 6 For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” 7 So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” 8 and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. 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.

May I suggest, that as a whole is a challenge to singular sacrificial service to Christ. According to our passage,

5. Holy Nation

Proposition: We ought to singularly and sacrificially serve God

This has the idea again of being constituted as a people, a nation. a nation is seperate and divided by political allegiance. What makes the nation of China diffirent from the nation of Japan. Partially ethnic/cultural diffirences. But especially political allegiances. Likewise, what makes believers a Holy nation.We do not have a parliment somewhere. We do not even vote on a leader.Instead, you become a part of this nation when you believe in the Gospel. You transfer your allegiance from the demonic forces of darkness in this World to the glorious Kingdom of God.You transfer your loyalty from self-allegiance and Demonic allegiance to Jesus Christ, the Creator and Savior of the world. You are purified Holy nation because your true political allegiance does not rest with the things of this world, but with Christ.Were ambassadors today, spread across the nations of this world. But remember, there will be a day when God will create a new heaven, a new earth, and a new Jerusalem composed entirly of believers. When that day happens, we will be able to look around and behold the Holy nation that God established in a very concrete and literal way. Illustration:Dirt, Ground means somthing deplyment, came back to US>

Transition: and this text gives us 6 descriptions of the people of God,>>>> that tell us why.

6. Purchased Possession of God.

Peter also describes us as the possession of God. There is saying, 9/10ths of the Law is about possesion. In other words, If I have it, I own it. The believer is owned by God. How so? Christ is both creator and redeemer. The idea of creator is that it was by God that each one of us came to be. The person who put life into us, who planned our entrance into the created world, was God.In This way, Christ owns us because he made us.Yet, if that wasn’t enough, Christ redeemed us.Redemption should be a word that brings great joy to the world. ILLUSTRATION:The origins of the idea of redemption go back to days of slavery in the Ancient Near East. If a person was fall poverty, they could sale themselves into slavery.If a person commited a crime, the punishment could be forced slavery.If a person failed to pay their debts, they could be forced into slavery. If a person was unfortunate to have their land conquered by a foreign nation, they could be forced into slavery. The time of exile much of Israel was forced into slavery because Babylonians conquered their land.Yet, at the same time, there was one way to get out of slavery.You could be redeemed. That is, someone could pay the price of slave and set you free.Christ purchased with his very blood, dieing on the cross for our sin. Which means - he paid the debt against us for Sin.And he set us free, redeemed us, from slavery to that sin. In that way, no Christian is his own master. We are each the purchased possession of God. Conclusion:Summary Statement

Now before we begin, I would like us consider the driving point of . If you were here last week, we looked at Christ the cornerstone in and how that cornerstone was the living, precious, chosen, saving cornerstone of the NT temple. introduced us to Christ as the stone that is the cornerstone described in . The quotation and reference is found in .

God has shown Exceeding Kindness to us.

​ ESV6 For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”

Peter tells us 2 ways that God has shown kindness to us.

So recall Peter’s point in about Christ, the cornerstone of our faith. He drives us to a decision regarding Christ. He makes the point that if you accept the cornerstone, then Christ brings the blessing of salvation. But if you reject the cornerstone, than that same stone is a judgement upon you because you have rejected God’s salvation.Today, I will demonstrate that Peter is communicating that the place of true worship by the true people of God is found in Christ.We saw the cornerstone in . The stone in is Christ.But in , Peter describes a set of different stones.

a. Chosen people of God.

​ ESV5 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.

b. Mercy from the hopeless power of Sin.

Now notice the first three descriptions use terms of the Temple.

1. Little Living Stones.

Proper responseSacrificial Obedient livingProclamation of his excellencies. God has called us to service as His priesthood giving him the glory that mans glorify God as an employeemother/Fathergrandparent How do we do that, we obey his commands with our life, and we praise the excellencies of his mercy to others.

We are described as living stones. Notice the clear parallel between v. 4 and 5. Christ is the living stone, and we are like living stones.Why does Peter call us living stones?Contrasting Illustration:Some of you ladies might think us men are block heads, but I don’t think that is what is meant here. In the broader context, Christ is also called the cornerstone in v. 6. Peter is making the parallel that Christ is the cornerstone, which makes us the little stones resting on the cornerstone. >>>>>>>>>>>>Show PPT of Cornerstone. What does this image Peter is describing mean for us?Notice the 2-fold logic in this passage. The little stones are designed to rest upon and be oriented the cornerstone. ILLUSTRATION/EXPLANATION:When someone lays the foundation of a stone building, they lay the cornerstone first, and then all the other smaller rocks are fit into the building based on that cornerstone.May I suggest, Christ ought to be the foundation of our lives. He ought to be that which we serve. Because Christ is the corner and we are the little rocks in between we ought to:Be Christ-centered. Christ is the focus of the believer. For the small stones, everything else doesn’t matter.How high is the building?Is it on a clift?Is it on a valley?Is it in a wet land or a dry desert?None of those questions matter. What matters is who the cornerstone is. In the same way, we are like stones being pointed and oriented and centered upon Christ. We are to be singularly and Sacrificially servants to Christ. Christ Dependent.Why do those question’s not matter?Because it makes no difference to what the stone is meant to do.The stone, rain or shine, is meant to rest on the cornerstone.In the same way, we not only should be Christ-Centered, but we should Christ-Dependent. That idea can be expanded in many different ways, but I may I suggest that our context is about Sanctification. describes how we can live purified lives. What is the first point Peter makes after this section.

​ ESV11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.

When it comes to living lives that glorify God, it is essential that we be Christ-Centered and Christ-Dependent. We rest on the Cornerstone for being able to live sanctified Holy lives. This means, what truth is more important to a Christians transformed life, then the Gospel that set the believer free. Because Christ is the cornerstone, and we are the little stones, we ought serve singularly and sacrificially Christ. But that imagery of the temple doesn’t end. Peter also describes us as a:

2. Spiritual house.

​ ESV5 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.

We as believers are like the little stones because we are being built into a Spiritual house. For the Jew, what other stone building would come to mind when Peter says believers are being built into a Spiritual house?CAVEAT: Admittedly, this is not a direct term for the temple, but as we work through this passage, we will again and again be reminded of temple service. The OT Religious sacrifices, prayer, and festivals were all oriented to the temple in Jerusalem. However, Peter makes the point that the true temple of God was no longer found in the temple, because the believer was in fact now the house of God. This means worship of God is not found in a physical place, but in the heart and mind of the believer. This is one of the truths Jesus told the Samaritan women in .

​ ESV21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Why should we singular and sacrificially serve Christ?Because Yahweh is no longer worshipped in the Temple, but in the heart, mind, voices, and choices of believers in Christ. ILLUSTRATION:This is why a church does not consist of the church building. The church consists of where ever the believers are gathered. The final term with reference to the temple is that believers are called the:

3. Holy and Kingly Priesthood

I have combined 2 different references to this idea. We find in as holy priesthood.

​ ESV5 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.

Holy is the idea of being sanctified and set apart; so this is to be a Priesthood that is sanctified and set apart for God. What is the greatest insult to God? To have his temple defiled. describes one of the reason’s God sends the Exile to Israel; because his temple was defiled.

​ ESV11 Therefore, as I live, declares the Lord God, surely, because you have defiled my sanctuary with all your detestable things and with all your abominations, therefore I will withdraw. My eye will not spare, and I will have no pity.

The fact is, corruption of the priesthood dishonors God. Part of living in service to God, is living a life which is sanctified by Christ. This does not mean we are perfect. But it does mean we ought progressively being transformed by the Gospel into greater and and greater conformity of Christ. We are to greater and greater degrees, set apart to God. We are also described as a Kingly Priesthood.

​ ESV9 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.

Our ESV translates this “royal”, but I think in the English mind it stands out better if we call it a “Kingly” priesthood. What does it mean that we are kingly or royal. Kingly or Royal clarifies we we are from a bloodline of a King.In this case our bloodline goes back to Christ the King. To be kingly priesthood, this means:a. We anticipate the future Kingdom.b. We recognize we are ambassadors for a King not of this World.c. Our lives identify with the King, we do not distract or dishonor the King. That is we are kingly or royal priesthood. We are aslo a priesthood.What did the Priests do?Conduct the daily activities of the temple.Included:Participating on Worship music (singing, instrumental)They Read and taught the scriptures.They prepared and conducted the offerings to God.They were suppose to embody purity to not dishonor GOd.Again, where would they serve, the temple.