A Peculia Bunch O' Folks!

Sermon for Sunday August 16, 2009

A Peculiar Bunch o’ Folks!

NKJV 1 Peter 2:9 - But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

It is important to note that when studying a single passage of scripture, it is important to keep the context in mind! Ask questions of the scripture! Find out who it is talking to, and what instructions are being given, and how can we apply these instructions to our life!

But you are a chosen people

A royal priesthood

A holy nation

His own special people

That you may proclaim the praises of Him

Him who called you out of darkness

into His marvelous light

Who is this being written to? I believe that we as the First Baptist Church in _________ can take these words as God’s words to our hearts, lives, and situations that we are in today. We can follow these words, and we can live closer to God as a result of doing so.

In many ways this sermon is a paradox to last week’s sermon by Pastor Chris. We didn’t intend it that way - we didn’t consult each other on what we were preaching. Chris’ themes last week included the humility and the meekness of the Christian life. I’ll be talking to you today about the power we have through the Holy Spirit and the boldness by which we can live our Christian life. Are the two concepts in disagreement? Absolutely not! Christ modeled many things for us that at first glance seem to be a paradox, but they are not so...Christ practiced and preached how we are to be humble servants to each other, taking care of each other, while at the same time boldly confronting the adversary, not out of meekness but out of the knowledge of Who is within us! You see, Christ showed us humility and meekness (for example, when he washed the disciple’s feet) but also showed us boldness (when confronting Satan at the temptation) and even anger (when overturning the change tables at the temple).

There is indeed a time an a place and a situation for humility, and a time and place for boldness.

Ecclesiastes 3:

1 To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven: 2 A time to be born, And a time to die; A time to plant, And a time to pluck what is planted; 3 A time to kill, And a time to heal; A time to break down, And a time to build up; 4 A time to weep, And a time to laugh; A time to mourn, And a time to dance; 5 A time to cast away stones, And a time to gather stones; A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing; 6 A time to gain, And a time to lose; A time to keep, And a time to throw away; 7 A time to tear, And a time to sew; A time to keep silence, And a time to speak; 8 A time to love, And a time to hate; A time of war, And a time of peace

So as we pray and seek to walk in the Spirit with the mind of Christ, we will always endeavor to have our thoughts and actions and words conform to the likeness of Jesus Christ and to be pleasing in his sight:

Psalms 19:14:

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.

Anger isn’t appropriate when confronting a grieving friend, and meekness is probably not our best bet when we are resisting the attack of the enemy.

So how does 1 Peter 2:9 call us to boldness and to courage and to do the right thing (a person sometimes comes to the choice of doing what’s easy and what’s right)? Let us examine this verse together, and I pray you will be encouraged and strengthened by God’s words, not my own.

But You are a chosen Generation.

God has chosen You!

I believe personally that God’s plan has you sitting in the pew you are occupying this week for a reason! The providence of God is amazing!

How amazing is it that God created You, and loved You, and died for You, and that it is YOU that is being referred to in John 3:16?

I want to show you a little set of pictures to get us thinking how GREAT God is.

(earth distance slideshow - I did a slideshow of a zoom in from the universe all the way to a leaf and all the way through its molecular structure down to the proton and the quarks, to show the congregation an example of how great the testimony of creation is and how it points to the awesomeness of God)