OUR SPIRITUAL TRANSFORMATION
I PET. 2:1-10
Dorn Ridge and York Manor March 27, 2011
Sent this sermon in sample sermons for tryout cd at Burtt’s Corner 2012
I. WE WERE – NOBODIES: REJECTED.
1.) Before coming to Christ we were rejected from fellowship with God because of sin.
A.) By speaking of what we are to remove from our lives, Peter is in essence describing the old life of sin.
aa.) 1 Pet. 2:1-2
2.) Even after coming to Christ, many of the world would have viewed us as nobodies.
II. WHAT WE ARE: GOD’S OWN PEOPLE:PRECIOUS
1.) “You are a chosen people…”
A.) We have for the most part each one been born into a family and raised in that same family.
B.) Not everyone has been given that special privilege.
ba.) There are those who were born into one family, but for one reason or another could not be raised in that family of birth.
bb.) Sometimes people in such a situation can have feelings of abandonment, or rejection, or as though something was wrong with them that their parents either didn’t want, or else couldn’t raise them as a member of that family.
bc.) When a family chooses to accept and adopt such a child, particularly if it is an older child it can give that child a sense of belonging, and of being special as a chosen child.
bc.) That is the picture of us before God. God has chosen us for his own special child.
bc-1.) I am sure this is the idea Bill Gaither wanted to express when he wrote the hymn : The Family of God.”
1.) You will notice we say brother and sister round here—It’s because we’re a family and these folks are so near. When one has a heartache we all share the tears, and rejoice in each victory in this family so dear.
2.) From the door of an orphanage to the house of the King – no loner an outcast, a new song I sing; From rags unto riches, from the weak to the strong; I’m not worthy to be here, but praise God I belong.
Chorus: I’m so glad I’m a part of the family of God I’ve been washed in the fountain, Cleansed by His blood! –Joint heirs with Jesus as we travel this sod, For I’m part of the family, the family of God.
2.) “You are a people belonging to God…”
A.) Most of us spend our entire lives trying to earn acceptance. We want to earn it from our parents, peers, co-workers, family, our spouse, and everyone else.
B.) At times people do crazy things to be accepted?
ba.) Remember when you were a kid and you wanted to fit in? When the “cool” kids dared you to do something that was stupid or dangerous you would do it anyway because you desperately wanted to fit in.
bb.) When the team captains would choose players in school for baseball, you wanted to be one of the first kids chosen.
bb-1.) If you were not the best player, you hated it as three or four kids including yourself was still waiting to be chosen for a team.
bb-2.) Worse still you were the last one to be chosen for a team, and then only selected because there was no other choice.
C.) In God we are each one chosen as though we were the first choice, and the best that there is.
ca.) We love that feeling, the feeling that “I’m important.
cb.) As Christians we belong to God.
D.) Christ has accepted you and there’s no condition listed there.
da.) It’s not based on your performance, on something that you earned.
da-1.) In fact, you’ll never deserve it. God simply says, “I chose you, and I want you for my own.”
3.) “You are living stones…”
-- verses 3-7
A.) When we come to God, many of those things by which Christ is identified become our identity as well.
aa.) Just as Jesus is identified as the Living Stone we who come Him are also identified with a similar designation as well.
ab.) Jesus is the Corner stone or foundation stone of the Church.
ab-1.) But he is more than just a foundation stone He is alive.
ab-2.) He is the life-giving power to the entire human race.
ab-3.) When Jesus is in us, we become living stones, alive with the person of Jesus Christ as an influence in this world.
4.) “You are a royal priesthood and holy nation…”
-- verses 9-10
A.) Under the Old Testament system, none of us would have ever been qualified to become a priest unless we were descendents of Levi.
B.) Now, by the grace of God we have become a royal priesthood.
ba.) Jesus has removed the barriers between us and God.
bb.) Now as the redeemed of the Lord, we are each given the privilege of representing Christ to the world in which we live.
C.) You are a holy nation.
ca.) In the Old Testament, God had designated the Jewish people as a holy nation.
cb.) In Jesus Christ each one of us have also been given that special title and privilege.
5.) “Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”
A.) Verse 10
B.) Hosea 2:23
C.) At one time we were separated from God; we as Gentiles were not presented with the opportunity of salvation.
ca.) Today we can experience the mercy of God, and his love and his forgiveness.
cb.) Today we can come before the throne of God with rejoicing because we have been redeemed.
III. WHAT WE CAN BECOME: WITNESSES TO GOD’S MARVELOUS GRACE.
-- verse 9
1.) Our praise of God is a witness of the Grace of God.
A.) Part of our redemption is for our benefit that we would have salvation.
B.) But another part of our salvation is for the benefit of God.
ba.) God wants our praise.
bb.) One of the reasons God redeems us is so that we will bring Praise to Him for his grace, and love on us.
2.) Our transformation from darkness to the light is itself a witness of God’s Grace.
A.) If we compare the life of a person before and after coming to Christ there is often a major difference.
B.) To see a transformation from a life of darkness to the light of Jesus Christ is many times so amazing and even unbelievable, that nothing but Jesus Christ could have ever brought such a change.
3.) It is not our light that we are witnesses of, but the light of God through Jesus Christ.
A.) That is why it is so dramatic.
B.) We are reflecting a glory and light that is so much greater than our own, that people will see God in us.
