God's Chosen People
Notes
Transcript
Stranger. Outcast. Stand alone. Foreigner. These are words no one really wants to be associated with.
These words are used to describe a person’s status or position within society or a group. These words denote places of loneliness, isolation, not fitting in, and misplaced.
So what are some words that a person would rather hear?
Accepted. Part of the group. One of the guys, or gals. Member. Citizen. These words promote belonging. These words highlight togetherness. These words speak of a person being a recognized and included in something larger than themselves.
These words speak of our… relationship. They speak of how we relate to those around us AND how we relate to the world around us.
Tonight we begin a journey through 1 Peter… a journey I am simply calling “No Strangers to God.” This title for this study comes straight out of our study for this evening. And I want you to see something important in the first verse given to us in Chapter 1.
1 This letter is from Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ.
I am writing to God’s chosen people who are living as foreigners in the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.
The author of the book is clearly identified and so is the intended recipient - God’s chosen people - also known as the elect in other translations. We are going to talk about that more in a moment.
Look at how Peter says these people are living in the different regions of the world - as foreigners… as strangers… as the exiled…
Peter is NOT speaking of nationality here… he is speaking of the relationship of God’s chosen people… with this world.
Believers then… and believers today are not of this world. This world, church, is not our home. We know that Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us in His Father’s house! We see this truth in John 14:1-3.
And this is NOT the first time in Scripture that we see Christians identified as strangers, foreigners, or aliens of this world.
The idea being conveyed is simple. As Christians, we don’t take on the qualities or the character of this world. Instead, we take on the qualities and character of Jesus. We are to stand out as someone who does not belong… we are to stand out like someone who is from far away.
This is true regarding our view of culture - believers should live in ways that are counter cultural - in ways that demonstrate Jesus’ love, not just the popular trends of the day.
This is true regarding our view of truth - believers should stand on the Word. The Word should be the foundation of our lives. It is absolute and will never change. The world stands on “truth” that is a matter of perspective. What might be true for you may not be true for me. That’s not truth… that’s opinion.
This is true regarding the way we view life in general - believers ought to have a biblical world view meaning we see EVERYTHING (say that word with me) EVERYTHING through the lens of Scripture. This means we need to know what the Word of God has to say and it means that the Word is central in our understanding.
Here’s the deal: we have been blessed, church, to live in a land that traditionally embraced Christian ideals and principals. But in recent decades, we are seeing a shift in what America believes.
As American values change… believers will/should find themselves living more and more as strangers or foreigners in the land. Our hope is to continue to be a light to the lost, but it is not for us to conform. God has called us… to stand out.
As America’s values shift… we must remain. As America’s morals shift… we must remain. As America’s standards shift… we must remain. Remain in what… or rather who? We must CHOOSE to remain in Christ.
How we see Jesus will greatly determine… how the world sees us. If we look and sound like the rest… then Houston, we have a problem! But if we look and sound like Jesus… we will look and sound different from the world. WE WILL STAND OUT.
The believers in the regions listed by Peter in verse 1 did exactly that… they stood out. They did not believe what the rest of the people believed. They lived as… God’s chosen people.
Peter listed five regions where the people of God had scattered to. All of these regions had one thing in common: They were all areas that had not yet been predominantly evangelized by any other Apostle.
Paul had done some work in Galatia, but Galatia was a very large area. The area in Galatia where Peter is presumably writing was an area un-reached by Paul. These believers were truly strangers in a foreign land.
The point is this… Our faith in Christ may cause us to be strangers in this world… but take heart… YOU ARE NO STRANGER TO GOD. You are a part of God’s CHOSEN people!
To be a foreigner of this world is to be a faithful follower of God. His ways might look foolish to a world that is perishing, yet His ways bring life and freedom to those who are willing to believe.
The relationship we have with God will impact the relationship we have with this world… and that is a good thing.
And we are going to talk about that relationship… we are going to look at what it means to be no strangers to God. I want us to understand this world is truly not our home… but our place… our home is in heaven. Our home in is the presence of God for all eternity.
We are simply passing through… but as we journey on, we are to be a light. As we journey on, we have a message to share. As we journey on, we are to remain faithful to the One who gave His life for us on the cross.
While the world might reject who we are… never forget that we are chosen by God.
Chosen by God
Chosen by God
What does this phrase mean? What does this truth reveal?
To be chosen of God… does that mean God picked us above the rest? What does it mean to be one of God’s elect?
First off, let’s break down the idea of choosing.
When I go to the grocery store (which is not often at all) I go there to select the best and proper food items I will need for whatever is coming ahead.
This is true if I am shopping for my family or if I am shopping for a church event. I look at dates, I look at packaging (torn or damaged), and in the case of produce, I look for freshness.
I want to make sure I get the best for the money the food is going to cost me. I do my best to choose wisely based off what I know regarding the product at hand.
This same pattern can be seen in other choices a person might make in daily life.
We want the best option for the situation at hand.
Which tool is going to offer the most power and lifespan?
Which part is going to keep my car on the road?
Which direction is the best way to get where I want to go?
Which investment is going to give me the largest return?
Which person is going to be the best addition to the team?
Stop for a minute and consider that last question again… which person is going to be the best addition to the team?
I think one of the most awkward positions to ever be in was found in the team selection in gym class. One by one, peers were chosen by a captain until all were a part of the team. And we know how it typically played out… the best were chosen first leaving the less skilled players standing out as last.
If we’re willing to be honest, church, this kind of thing isn’t isolated to gym class at school. And it leaves people asking… wondering… who am I that I could be… chosen? What do I have to offer? What benefit does my position in life bring to the team?
First off, with God, a person’s “position” in life does not give them an advantage or disadvantage when it comes to gaining eternal life or salvation.
In His parable of the workers in the vineyard, Jesus made clear that...
16 “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
His point was that salvation and eternal life is equally available to all who answer the call to come and “serve.” The landowner called for workers in the morning, and he called for workers in the evening, and they all received the same reward for their efforts.
God doesn’t “choose” people how we might think. God doesn’t predestine those who will go to heaven and who will go to hell. God’s chosen… are those who choose God.
Number One: God chose to give His Son for the sins of ALL people.
All people matter to God. Scripture tells us in 2 Peter 3:9
9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
God desires for ALL people to repent. He made a way for our sins to be forgiven. Jesus gave His life so that ANYONE and EVERYONE who calls on His name WILL BE SAVED.
The elect are not a group of people God set above the rest. We will look at what that term means in just a moment.
Number Two: Those who choose the Son become the chosen people of God.
God’s chosen are those who chose Him. Although God knows who will choose Him, He did not control that choice.
To better explain this, I want to read the next verse in 1 Peter.
Peter gives us what I call the “according to” formula in verse 2. This formula shows us how or the process through which a person becomes chosen of God.
Remember the list I gave a moment ago? We might choose according to skills, performance, availability, brand, convenience, etc. God has a completely different system. And what is presented in 1 Peter 1 is truly… amazing.
2 who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood:
Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
One, a person is chosen according to God and His foreknowledge
God knows… everything! He is omniscient which means all-knowing! He knows everything that will take place before it ever happens. Does that mean that… God controls a person’s choices? No it does not.
The Bible is very clear on this matter. All people have a choice whether or not to follow God and that choice determines whether or not they will spend eternity with Him.
Deut 30:19; Joshua 24:15; John 1:12; 6:37; 13:20 are just a few examples.
The fact that God knows all possibilities and eventual outcomes of any given situation does not mean that He causes the outcome. His will
God is aware of everything that has taken place in the past and everything that will happen in the future, yet that does not mean that God causes everything to happen that He knows will happen - including our choices and actions.
Faith in God is a choice we make.
Obeying the words of the Lord is a choice we make.
To worship God is a choice we make.
So if God has a will… or a plan… how is it that His plan becomes reality?
God’s plan becomes reality when as believers choose to follow God. Even Jesus made the choice… not my will but Your will be done.
So who are the elect? What does it mean to be a part of the elect?
Election refers to God’s choice to claim for Himself a people based on their choice to accept His forgiveness and yield their lives to Christ.
This is an amazing expressions of God’s goodness and love… that God willingly receives as His own all who willingly receive His Son, Jesus. Simply put, God chooses to accept those who willingly choose to accept Christ’s leadership and authority in their lives.
Two, a person is chosen according to the Spirit and His sanctifying work.
Sanctification means to make holy… for example morally pure, spiritually whole, separated from evil and dedicated to God and His purposes.
Sanctification is to separate from the ungodly patterns and practices of this world. It involves being set apart from sin so as to have intimate companionship with God, and to serve Him effectively.
Sanctification happens instantaneously and progressively.
When a person gives their life to Jesus, they are set free from sin’s power. They are redeemed and made perfect in the sense that they have taken on the righteousness of Christ.
Progressively, sanctification is a work of the Spirit in our lives that takes place every day. This work includes our spiritual growth, development, and maturity. A person must choose to refrain from all kinds of sin and evil.
Sanctification in the NT is not pictured as a slow process of giving up sin little by little. It is presented as a definite and decisive act by which the believer - by God’s grace - is set free from the control of the enemy and makes a clear break with sin.
When a person choose God, the Spirit of God begins a new, sanctifying work within the life of the new believer. This work causes growth and a deeper dependence in God.
Three, a person is chosen according to the Son, the Word, and the redeeming power of His blood.
Let’s go back to the word election for a moment. Election is completely centered on Jesus - through the blood of the Lamb and through accepting Him as Lord and Savior.
Jesus gave His life… He shed His blood that our redemption might be made possible.
The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. He gave His life that sinners might find their way back to the Father.
No one comes to the Father accept through Christ. A place among God’s chosen people is only possible because of the personal sacrifice of Jesus.
God had this in mind even in the days before creation.
4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love
Here’s the deal: election to spiritual salvation through faith in Christ is offered to all people. However, it becomes reality for individuals only as they repent of their sins and accept Christ as Lord and Savior.
So let’s break this down.
The idea that God “predestined” who would go to heaven and who would go to hell is not biblical nor does it speak of the goodness or love of our God.
Predestination removes ALL personal responsibility from the equation.
Predestination means to decide before hand. And while God did not decided before hand who would spend eternity with Him, He did make some choices that have made all the difference in the world.
He decided before hand to create us even while knowing we would sin.
He decided before hand to provide for us a Savior who would deliver us from sin.
He decided before hand to send His Spirit as our helper or advocate.
He decided before hand to show us grace… even when we did not deserve it.
The formula is simple. God knew what we would need, gave His Son to make a way, and sent His Spirit to guide us daily.
The entire trinity is at work here… there is not one part of God left out in this “according to” formula.
God didn’t sit back and say “I’ll take that guy and that girl and that kid and that elder and that grandmother and throw the rest out.” No… God said “I’ll make a way for ALL to come back to me. I’ll establish my chosen people through the redeeming blood of my son and through the santifying power of my Spirit!”
YOU ARE NO STRANGER TO GOD… if you are in Christ, YOU ARE A PART OF HIS CHOSEN PEOPLE!
Application
Application
Believers might stand out in a world so immersed in sin. Believer might feel as strangers… foreigners in an unknown land. This world will not feel like your home. BUT GOD, through His Son, has prepared a place for you IN HIS HOUSE.
The faithful will look different and sound different. They will go against culture, they will go against trends. They will stand against immorality. They will stand against sin. They will stand for the things of God. They will stand in the love of the Father. They will speak for those with no voice and they will lift up those who have fallen.
Our stance against the things and ways of this world is not a stance of rebellion or a stance of trouble making. It is a stance for truth. It is a stance for life. It is a stance against the principalities and the things of darkness that would otherwise bind and destroy this world.
And it is a stance… that WE WILL NEVER BE ALONE IN.
Even if we might be the ONLY person standing… GOD IS STANDING WITH US. God will NEVER leave His chosen ALONE. And… no attack or advancement will ever prevail against His church!
So the question tonight is… what or rather who will you choose?
A person can choose to assimilate to the ways of the world… or we can choose to stand faithfully for God.
That stance might cost us. That stance might be uncomfortable… it might be inconvenient… we may feel like strangers in the eyes of the world… but we are NO STRANGERS in the eyes of God.
He stands with us. He stand for us. And if God is for us… who can be against us! Greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world!
The world might make a believer feel alienated in their faith… but never forget who you are in Christ and what you are a part of.
As a believer… you are a part of the body of Christ. You are a part of something significant. You re a member of something made up of millions of parts. You have countless brothers and sisters in the faith and… a heavenly Father whose presence is everywhere! You cannot go were God’s presence isn’t… because His Spirit LIVES IN YOU!
This book of the Bible, 1 Peter, stands to remind us that we are no strangers to God. Those who are in Christ are God’s chosen people.
If you are not a part of that people… tonight is your opportunity to change that.
Prayer - Salvation
If you are struggling, feeling alone in your faith...
Maybe in your home, your work, your community, etc. Then I want to pray for you and encourage you. I want you to know God has chosen YOU! And… HIS GRACE AND PEACE BE YOURS IN ABUNDANCE!
Prayer - stay strong in the Lord.