Chosen
1 Peter 2:1-10
September 10, 2006 AM
If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you have experienced a change in your life. According to the Scriptures, you have been born again as a new living creature in Jesus Christ. You are a follower of Jesus Christ – a believer in Jesus Christ – a disciple of Jesus Christ. However, many times, the luster fades away after the initial decision.
Today’s Scripture should either rev you up to be what God wants you to be – or it will reveal to you that you need to trust Jesus Christ to be the Lord of your life. Listen closely this morning to the power of God’s Holy Word
“The grass withers and the flower fades, but the Word of our God will last forever and it will be preached to you this morning”
TEXT (2:1-10)
Once saved:
Believer will have a new nature and a desire to live by the new nature
Desire to be separated from the ways of the flesh and world
Follower will be in love with Jesus Christ (Intimate Relationship)
I. Change to take Place
a. Ephesians 4:22-24 (NKJV)
i. Put off concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness
b. 1 Corinthians 5:7-8 (NKJV)
i. Purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed, Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us not keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice or wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth
• Change must take place
o Lay aside the hypocrisies of the past
o Lay aside built up anger or malice
o Once saved, a hunger or thirst should be building for the Word of God
* ILL Baby thirsting/hungry for milk
• Must separate from the works of the flesh/ways of the world
o Man cannot do this alone – only by the power of the Holy Spirit – working within us can this happen
II. The Rock
a. Living Stone = Jesus Christ
i. Lived the sinless life on earth, was despised and rejected of men
ii. Overcame death and the grave by resurrecting and then ascending into Heaven
1 Corinthians 15:45
“The first man Adam became a living being. The last Adam became a life-giving Spirit”
iii. Scripture tells us of Christ being the “Rock” of the Church
Matthew 16:18
“You are Peter and on this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it”
Christ is the Foundation of the Church today
b. Lively Stones = Christians/Followers of Jesus Christ/Believers
i. Christians are born again of a seed that is incorruptible (1 Peter 1:23)
ii. You and I are little pebbles molded together to form the body of Christ or the Church.
Ephesians 2:19-22
“You are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit”
iii. Lively stones are to offer “Spiritual Sacrifices” unto God
1. Praise and Adoration
2. Offerings
3. Talents
4. Ourselves
c. Chief Cornerstone = Jesus Christ
i. Isaiah 28:6
1. Zion or Sion = NT Jerusalem
Psalm 118:22
“The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone – this was the Lord’s doing and it was marvelous in our eyes.”
ii. Precious Jewel
1. Those who consider the rock to be precious = Saved
2. Those who deny/disallow Christ – this precious cornerstone will be the basis of judgment upon the non-believer
III. Chosen
a. “People of His Own”
• 1.An elect race
o 2 Chosen groups in Scripture
Israel
Church
• Peter is writing to Jewish Christians (Diaspora) who are scattered about the Roman Empire
• God created us
o Made Us
o Sustains Us
o Loves Us
Shown through the sacrifice of His son – to shed His blood as a payment for our sins and shortcomings
Jesus said in John 15:16
“You have not chosen me, but I have chosen You”
• 2. A Royal Priesthood
o Once Israel sinned, God chose one tribe from that nation. Today every believer is a priest (The church is the priesthood)
• 3. A Holy Nation
o To be separated from the world – following the Word of God – making a difference in the world in which we live
• 4. A Peculiar People
o Not a bunch of goof balls, but as God has intended for us to be.
o A people of His own
o We are God’s possession, we belong to Him – thus we are to be different
Psalm 144:15
“Happy are the people whose God is the Lord”
Psalm 79:13
“So we, Your people and sheep of Your pasture, Will give You thanks forever; We will show forth Your praise to all generations”
IV. Mercy of God
a. Peter speaks of the people denying Christ in times past – but in the present, they have chosen God’s mercy and accepted His grace
Today we have the same option. Let’s look at a few different scenarios:
1. Been Saved, but not living the way Christ would be pleased (Rededicate)
2. Not sure if been saved or not – still living in the way of the world. (Salvation)
3. Been Saved, doing the best I can – but I can do better for Jesus, who did all for me. (Proclamation of Commitment)
Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow – God is the same – He’s waiting to change your life. However, the decision in yours to make – you either accept or deny. It’s either reward or judgment.
The choice is yours to make.
