1 Peter 2 - Identity
Notes
Transcript
TEEN TUESDAY
TEEN TUESDAY
TEEN TUESDAY
TEEN TUESDAY
Teen Tuesdays will be held beginning THIS WEEK from 7-9 PM
These will take place every week at least until the stay at home order is lifted and we can gather together again as God’s church.
Opening Prayer
Opening Prayer
Let’s open our time of study together today with a prayer.
This week I thought it would be useful to get an understanding of Palm
Lesson
Lesson
There is an ancient Indian story that tells of six blind men who attempted to describe an elephant based on what part of the elephant they were examining with their hands. Because of their blindness, they drew some pretty comical conclusions. One felt the leg and decided the elephant was a pillar. Another touched the tusk and determined it was a solid pipe. Still another grabbed the tail and proclaimed it to be nothing more than rope. The story goes on and in the end a man blessed with sight enters and sees the whole picture, that it was, in fact, an elephant.
This story is often used by world religions to describe what they incorrectly believe to be the different paths to God, but I want to use it to illustrate how incomplete our view and understanding is of ourselves. Often, we make the mistake of finding our identity without realizing that in our blindness we have seen only a tiny part of the big picture. For example, a guy may play a sport really well so he finds his identity in the fact that he is an athlete. A girl might be really pretty and therefore she’s finds her identity in her external appearance. The problem is, this is such an incomplete picture. Jesus sees so much more when He looks at us.
Read
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. 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.
What is wrong with finding your identity in the things that you can do, the way you look, the friends you hang out with, or so on? For starters, everything I just mentioned in that sentence can be taken away from you. Your actual identity, the part of you that truly and accurately describes who you are at the core of your being, cannot change. Someday you may no longer be the athlete you once were. What you see as “good looks” may change. Your true identity, is an amazing gift from God. Let’s look at a few of the things that are mentioned in those verses.
Chosen People
God, in all His amazing power and wisdom, has looked at you and said, “This is a person that I love. I want to know this person better. I chose you.”
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent?
Royal Priest
You are “royalty”, which means that you are an adopted child of the Creator of the Universe. He loves you, not as a friend or a follower, but as a son or a daughter.
You are a priest. That carries so many meanings. You have the ability to help lead others to that same incredible love that God has for you.
God’s People
You are a part of the Chosen People, those whom God has set aside as special to Him. You have the ability to change the world with His love and grace.
These are just a few of the things that the Bible says are your true identity. The best part is that no one can take that away from you. Nothing you do, no matter what life throws at you, your identity in Jesus Christ cannot be shaken or destroyed. Jesus sees the full picture of who you are. Allow Him to remove your blindness so that you can step into His wonderful light.
What is “it”?
What is “it”?
SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
In your own words, what is “identity”?
What are some of the “false” identities that people around you cling to? (for example: John’s identity is that he is the “smart kid”)
So that’s quite a promise that Jesus has made to the crowd gathered before! Just ask, and it will be given to you! This is one of the most beautiful promises of Scripture but also probably one of the most consistently misapplied because we try and apply this passage to our own lives without stopping to think about what exactly the IT is that we will be given! So, what is “it”?
Why is it important to know what your identity is?
What is dangerous about finding your identity in something that can change or be taken away?
The Oxford English Dictionary tells us that it is “used to refer to a thing previously mentioned or easily identified.” Well, that’s not very helpful, basically the dictionary’s definition of the word is that we should probably already know what “it” is!
touches on a few of the ways the Bible describes our identity. Can you think of any more?
This specific passage is used so regularly by so-called “prosperity preachers” to share a false gospel where God is our doting daddy and His promise to us is unlimited allowance. To these lost souls, “it” is whatever they want! Wealth, success, possessions, whatever they ask for from God they expect to receive, to “speak it into existence”.
I can confidently assure you, you do not define what “it” is, and praise God for that! Let’s read the passage one more time and see if we can identify what “it” is:
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent?
Mathew 7:7-10
I believe that a faithful reading of this passage will show, the “it” is all at once what we will be given, what we will find, and what will be opened to us. In order to receive we have to know what it is that we are asking for, seeking, and knocking on! Jesus goes on to describe that our Father in heaven will give us “good things” if we ask, so that’s reassuring! We know that whatever “it” is, “it” is good!
We also know that Jesus came to earth to accomplish the good things His Father has planned, so let’s assume that “it” is the good thing!
That makes our question into something new, why did Jesus come? Well conveniently, Jesus told us exactly why He came:
For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
Jesus is explaining in the servant on the mount, that because He is here, if we ask, we will be saved.
If we seek God, we will find Him.
If we knock, the door to the kingdom of heaven will be opened to us.
Unfailing Response
Unfailing Response
The great thing about promises of Jesus, is that they always come true. In this passage we are promised that if we “ask, seek, knock” then we will “receive, find, and be welcomed in”. So what do these things look like that we must do to be assured of our hope in Christ?
So now we know what “it” is that we can receive, it is our salvation! But our salvation from what exactly?
Weekly Challenge
Weekly Challenge
Watch the VidAngel series The Chosen which is a dramatization of Jesus’s calling of His disciples. VidAngel is offering a free month to everyone during the COVID-19 stay at home and we should take full advantage! Link is in the description below. https://www.vidangel.com/membership/plan
