Who am I, and what is my Purpose?
Am service August 31st 2008
1 Peter 2:9-10
Introduction
A beggar lived near the king’s palace. One day he saw a proclamation posted outside the palace gate. The king was giving a great dinner. Anyone dressed in royal garments are welcome.
The beggar went on his way. He looked at the rags he was wearing and sighed. Slowly an idea crept into his mind. He made his way back to the palace. He approached the guard at the gate. "Please sir, I would like to speak to the king."
"Wait here," the guard replied.
In a few minutes, he was brought before the king. "What do you want?" the king asked. "Yes, your majesty. I want so much to attend the banquet, but I have no royal robes to wear. Please sir, if I may be so bold, may I have one of your old garments so that I, too, may come to the banquet?"
The beggar was trembling in fear of what the king might do. "You have been wise in coming to me," the king said. He called to his son, the young prince. "Take this man to your room and array him in some of your clothes."
The prince did as he was told and soon the beggar was standing before a mirror, clothed in garments that he had never dared to even hope for. "You are now eligible to attend the king’s banquet tomorrow night," said the prince. "But even more important, you will never need any other clothes. These garments will last forever."
The beggar dropped to his knees. "Oh, thank you," he cried. But as he started to leave, he looked back at his pile of dirty rags on the floor. He hesitated. What if the prince was wrong? What if he would need his old clothes again? Quickly he gathered them up.
The banquet was far greater than he had ever imagined, but he couldn’t enjoy himself, as he should. He had made a small bundle of his old rags and it kept falling off his lap. The food was passed quickly and the beggar missed some of the greatest delicacies.
Time proved that the prince was right. No one came to ask for the royal clothes. Still the poor beggar was doubtful, clinging on to his old rags. As time passed people seemed to forget the royal robes he was wearing. They saw only the little bundle of filthy rags that he clung to wherever he went. They even spoke of him as the old man with the rags.
Many weeks later as he lay dying, the king visited him. The beggar saw the sad look on the king’s face when he looked at the small bundle of rags by the bed. Suddenly the beggar remembered the prince’s words and he realized that his bundle of rags had cost him a lifetime of joy. He cried bitterly at his foolishness to hold on to those old rags.
Who am I, and what is my purpose. A question that so many ask, but very few ever find the answer. Just like the old beggar we come to Christ and we are given royal robes, but we hold on to the old life before we came to Christ and we lose out on so much of what God has planned for our lives. Well today through this passage of scripture, my prayer is that you may be encouraged, and then take it and apply it to your life and leave with a different outlook on your life, after you find out who you are, and what your purpose is.
Read Scripture: 1 Peter 2:9-10
I. In order to know who I am, and what my purpose is, I must know what kind of person I am.
Vs. 9 “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”
Once you believe in God’s Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, you become very, very special to God. You become special because you trust His Son. God the Father has only one Son, only one Son who has God’s perfect nature, who is holy, righteous, and pure, loving, kind and gentle just as God is. Also, only one Son who came to earth to save you and me by dying for us by showing us how much God loves us.
God loves His Son so much that when we trusts His Son—really believe and trust Him. The person becomes very, very special to God. God takes all believers and does four wonderful things for them.
1. As believer we become a “Chosen People”. The Greek words for “Chosen People” actually mean a “chosen race.” The idea is that after we come to Christ we become a band new race, no longer are we red and yellow, black and white, we are a new chosen race. How can that be you ask? Because as believers we are all given the Holy Spirit which changes us inwardly not outwardly, we are not given new facial features or a new skin color.
These mean little; they are only superficial differences that change, age, perish, die, and decay. God is changing people within their hearts and minds and lives, changing them where it really matters. God is implanting His divine nature within believers. When a person believes in Jesus Christ, God’s divine nature is immediately implanted into his heart and life. WE ARE A CHOSEN PEOPLE.
2. As believer we become a “Royal Priesthood”. You take a small child and tell them, you are going to be a prince on day or a princess, you know what they will say, “Yes, I know”. You take an adult and tell them that very same thing, and they will say, “Who me, no not me.” Once you become a believer in Jesus Christ, you are royalty. You say well I don’t feel like royalty, I am still the same old me, I am not rich, I still have problems. We are a people of destiny, God’s Kingdom is not of this world, baby it is out of this old dying world.
3. As believer we become a “Holy Nation”. This very meaningful for us as believer, God is building a new nation of people. He is drawing people from all over the world in order to create this new nation. We must understand it is a “Holy Nation” the word “Holy” means to be “set apart”. We will be different from the other people of the world. We must not give our holiness away so easily.
4. As believer we become a “people who belong to God”. In the original language it that phrase means “a people for God’s own possession.” We are God’s possession, His very special people; therefore, He will provide and protect us and make us secure in every sense of the word.
Deuteronomy 14:2 “for you are a people holy to the LORD your God. Out of all the peoples on the face of the earth, the LORD has chosen you to be his treasured possession.”
II. My Purpose in this life is declare the Praise of Jesus Christ.
Vs. 9 “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”
The phrase “that you may declare” means to speak forth, to tell out, to publish abroad. Our Job as believers is to tell, to speak forth, to publish abroad the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ.
Why should we do this, because Jesus called us out of darkness into his marvelous light. We were stuck deeply involved in sin which leads to death in Hell. But Jesus called us out of that life into his wonderful light, now we are a people belonging to the God of the universe.
Our job is to tell that message. Are we telling that message that you don’t have to live like that, look at what Jesus did for me. Maybe we are hindered from telling because we are still holding on to those old rags. Maybe it is failure, or disappointment. Maybe it is scars from being hurt. We still must tell.
III. In order for this to make sense, I must understand what God has done for me.
Vs. 10 “Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”
I want you to see two great facts from this verse that God has done for me.
1. We are made into a “People of God”. You want to know what this actually means from the original language. The verse says, “Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God”. What does it mean “not a people”. It means without PURPOSE, and SIGNIFICANCE; to be MISSING THE POINT OF LIFE. “Now you are the people of God”, this means the opposite, God has given you PURPOSE, SIGNIFICANCE, He has given you a point to your life.
2. We have “Received Mercy” from God. Mercy means not getting what we deserve. Before we came to Christ we ignored and rejected Jesus. We refused to call on Jesus for salvation. When we repented, and turned to Jesus, we received mercy, instead of giving us what we deserve for our sin and rebellion, God had mercy on us and gave us salvation.
Conclusion
Today as we conclude this message, maybe some of you have repented and prayed to receive the Lord Jesus by faith, but you are still holding on to the rags of the old way of life and it has really hindered your service to Him, and you want to come today and lay those old rags on the altar and tell God that they have held you back long enough, you want to fulfill your destiny your calling for your life.
Maybe you have never turned and come to Jesus, you life is one of confusion, with no purpose, no hope, and today the Holy Spirit has told you it is time you cast aside these old earthly rags and go and get your royal robes that comes through Jesus Christ.
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