“Finding Your Identity”
1st Peter 2:5-10
I remember God speaking to me about entering the ministry when I was 11 years old. I was actively attending church and God had placed a call on my life. Sometimes it is hard to describe to someone who has not received that call but I have never doubted it. At times I tried to get out of it wondering if I was actually capable of being a pastor. But nonetheless when I was in the sixth grade our teacher told the class to draw a picture of what we wanted to be when we grow up. My friend Timmy sat next to me … he drew a picture of Elvis Presley-I guess his goals were bigger than mine and I drew a picture of me standing in the pulpit.
As I got older, especially my early 20s, I would frequently go and talk with my pastor. He quickly became my first mentor and the question was basically always the same-how can I know for sure if God wants me to enter full-time ministry? I read whatever books I could get my hands on, read the Bible completely through for the first time and prayed and asked God to speak to me. An audible voice would’ve been nice-never got that- but one thing is for sure-God never changed his mind and he never took that calling away from me. My mentor was always available and his advice and his ability to often just listen was incredible. One day he told me something that really stuck with me-really made sense-I have just never thought about it before. And this was it.
God calls every believer to full-time Christian service.
All of us are called to serve God full time. I also came to the understanding that serving him as my vocation, as my job, was indeed what he wanted from me. It is God’s desire that every believer will serve him full-time-nothing more-nothing less. For many believers, there is a separation-
• There is work and there is church life.
• There is a job and their walk with Christ. And that goes against everything Scripture teaches.
I don’t know if I’ve read a book that clarifies this more than the book “The Legend of the Monk and the Merchant.” I think everyone should read it. In the New Testament book of first Peter in chapter 2 we are given a very important truth. This is what the Scripture teaches:
I am a priest. You are a priest. All God’s people are priests.
This Scripture was given to us by Peter. When I remember him I think of several events that stand out...
• He denied Jesus three times
• He was a leader among the disciples
• He stood up for Jesus when they came to arrest him and drew his sword and cut off the ear of a man named Malchus. Peter was a very impulsive man.
Peter was writing this letter during a very difficult time. This was about 30 years following the resurrection of Jesus. Because of all of the persecution and suffering that had taken place, believers had scattered Asia Minor. Most were very poor. They felt like they were the least of society. They were looked down upon and things were only getting worse. So Peter writes for two reasons:
(1) To encourage his readers. Those in the first century and now in the 21st century. The gospel is referred to as the Good News for a reason. We are encouraged by Scripture.
(2) To strengthen his readers. Those in the first century and now in the 21st century. People felt hopeless at that time. And 2000 years later we see the same problem. But let me give you a few verses that tell us otherwise:
• Jeremiah 29: 11. I have plans for you, plans to give you hope and a future.
• Hebrews 6:19. Hope anchors our soul. It keeps us in place. Intact.
• First Peter 1:3. God has given us a new birth. We have living hope because of the resurrection.
• Psalm 42:5. Why are you downcast? Put your hope in God.
• First Peter 2:9. God sees us as his prized possession. If God had a refrigerator your picture would be on it. If he had a wallet your picture would be in it. As a result-
1. He has placed us in a new community. We call it the church. The church was God’s idea, not man’s idea. Peter tells us two things about this new community.
Next. This new community is built upon Jesus. Verses 4-5. Notice here that Jesus is referred to as a “living stone.” He has been raised from the dead. That means that those who reject him; reject his offer of salvation, are like dead stones. Those who know him are living stones. Then Peter goes on in verses 6-8. There is a lot going on here. We need to realize that Peter is weaving together two strands of prophecy in the OT. Isaiah 28 and Psalm 118. In both passages the writers paint a picture of Jesus, the cornerstone that many would reject. The cornerstone was the most important stone/10 in the building. It supported the structure.
Peter is making the point that from beginning to end, this new community, the church, is built on Jesus. It is built on Christ alone. But of course everyone does not accept Jesus. And to them Jesus is a stumbling stone-a rock of offense. But for us he says in verse 5, “you yourselves, like living stones, are being built up to be a holy priesthood. A spiritual house.” The temple was central to Jewish society. It was the place where God chose to make his presence known. And when Peter wrote this, the temple in Jerusalem had not yet been destroyed. So the Temple is what Peter had in mind. This beautiful temple, made of white marble, gold, precious stones. To be a priest in the OT, you had to be born into a royal/special/particular family. Your role was to mediate (go-between) God and his people. To go to God on behalf of the people and to go to the people on behalf of God. You could enter into the most holy places of the temple-everyone else was forbidden.
The High priest was the only one who could go into the Holy of Holies. That is the part of the Temple where God lived. Only the High Priest was allowed to go in. So older priests would tie a rope around their waist and if they happen to die while they were in the Holy of Holies they could be pulled out by the rope. Because no one could enter. Many of you have come from a Catholic background-we live in an area that has a strong Catholic influence so when we hear the word Priest we immediately think of an older man wearing a white collar. So we don’t think of ourselves as priests. But guess what, we are! And as a result we have direct access to God. You can pray through someone else but you don’t need to. You can go to someone else and asked them to ask someone else to ask someone else to ask God to forgive you, but you don’t need to. You can pray to Mary but why go to the doctor’s mother when you can go directly to the doctor? The position? You are a prized possession.
2. You/we have a new identity. Look how Peter describes this new identity. Vvs. 9-10. As children of God, first of all:
• We are chosen. God chose us. When I studied social work in college, we studied the adoption process. My primary professor told us that if you are working with a client who’s adopting a child, they need to know you should tell that child as early on as possible that they are adopted. Never hide that fact. And when you do, say “we looked everywhere for the right-child and we found you. We chose you to be our child. That is what Christ did for us. He chose us.
• We are royal. We have royal blood. Not only are you a holy priesthood, you are a royal priesthood.
• We are holy. Holy means to be set apart. We are set apart from the world. We belong to him in a way others do not. God has set us apart and has placed us in our neighborhood, in your family, your job to make a difference-to be light. You are holy.
• We are valuable. Scripture says we have been bought and paid for by Christ, so we belong to him. First Corinthians 7:23. You were bought at a price. Do not become slaves of people. No higher price could’ve been paid. God himself did that.
• We are forgiven. Our sins have been cleansed.
If you have been born again, you have trusted Christ as your Savior, you are forgiven. Your sins have been: Forgiven. Forgotten. Forever. Let that sink in. You have passed from spiritual death into spiritual life.
Finally, as a result, God has given us a new purpose. Surveys have shown that most people believe that God has a purpose for us. Most people believe God has a plan for us…. they just aren’t sure what it is.
The Washington post ran a story 10 years ago about a secretary in Washington-her name was Peggy. She was born in Ghana and moved to the United States. She received a phone call one day at 4 AM from a relative in Ghana. The news was unbelievable. The 90-year-old King had just died-and after a long process, the town elders had decided that Peggy would be called the new King. She would be the heir to the throne. She went through many months of sleepless nights trying to decide whether she would accept the throne or not. She kept asking, why me? She said the turning point occurred one morning as she drove to work... When she thought... You can’t escape this. It’s yours. You have been chosen. So she accepted. The article ended with these words... When she steps off the airplane in Ghana-at that moment, she will be royalty. You and I are royalty. Children of the King.
