The Cost Of Being Chosen Series

ILLUSTRATION: What Influence Do You Have on Others?

A man in a hot air balloon realized he was lost. He reduced altitude and spotted a woman below. He descended a bit more and shouted, "Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I don’t know where I am."

The woman below replied, "You’re in a hot air balloon hovering approximately 30 feet above the ground. You’re between 40 and 41 degrees north latitude and between 59 and 60 degrees west longitude." "You must be an engineer," said the balloonist. "I am," replied the woman, "How did you know?"

"Well," answered the balloonist, "everything you told me is, technically correct, but I’ve no idea what to make of your information, and the fact is I’m still lost. Frankly, you’ve not been much help at all. If anything, you’ve delayed my trip."

The woman below responded, "You must be in Management." "I am," replied the balloonist, "but how did you know?" "Well," said the woman, "you don’t know where you are or where you’re going. You have risen to where you are due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise, which you’ve no idea how to keep, and you expect people beneath you to solve your problems. The fact is you are in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but now, somehow, it’s my fault."

What Influence Do You Have On Others?

Are they drawn to God or to Man?

Up til now, Peter has talked about the Seed of Christ and Our Call to be a Chosen People.

Today, Peter encourages the Jewish Christians by reminding them that Regardless of what the world throws your way, YOU – HAVING TASTED THE SWEETNESS OF GOD – ARE TO BE A DIFFERENT PEOPLE!

Peter reminds us – THERE IS A COST ATTACHED TO BEING CHOSEN!

TEXT: 2 PETER 1-12

VERSE 1

‘therefore’ - (1.22) (b/cause we are purified so our love for other believers is sincere.

‘rid’ – put away – put off

5 ATTITUDES OF SIN listed that disrupt our sincere love:

1) ‘malice’ - ‘malicious behavior’: doing evil despite the good that has been received from others. Malice is often hidden behind deceptive good actions.

2) ‘deceit’ : deliberately tricking or misleading by lying (see 3.10)

3) ‘hypocrisy’ : saying one thing but doing another; playacting; presenting good motives that mask selfish desire.

4) ‘envy’ – ‘jealousy’: desiring something possessed by someone else. Resentment caused from making unhealthy comparisons to another.

5) ‘slander’ – ‘backstabbing’: destroying another’s reputation by lies, gossip, rumor-spreading, and participation with others doing the same.

‘GET RID’ OF THESE (anything hurting your example) THINGS – THEY DESTROY ‘SINCERE LOVE FOR YOUR BROTHERS & SISTERS’!

IMAGES – METAPHORS (Vses. 2-8)

VERSES 2 & 3

1ST Image - that of a baby and a mother’s milk

‘newborn baby’ – ‘tastes a mother’s milk’ - ‘crave’ – RESULT = ‘Growth’

(Image gives us a Spiritual meaning)

‘born again’ – ‘taste God’s Goodness’ (‘Word’ – 1.23) – ‘crave spiritual milk’ – ‘grow up’

DON’T MISS THIS APPLICATION:

1) It’s the feeding that causes a baby to crave a mother’s milk. Once the milk is tasted, the baby learns it is good and then begins to crave more! LIKEWISE, if you have REALLY tasted the Lord, then you know He is GOOD and LEARN to crave more!

2) The tasting brings growth to a baby. Many Christians fail to grow because they have forgotten the ‘taste’. The more you ‘taste’, the more you ‘crave’.

3) As believers are nourished, we grow into the fullness of our salvation, which is ‘ongoing’ and not completed until Christ returns. At that time, our salvation will be completed (1.5)

Vses. 4-12 draws from many OT texts that would be familiar to the Christians Jews : READ

Psalm 118:22 (NIV)

22 The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone;

Isaiah 8:14 (NIV)

14 and he will be a sanctuary; but for both houses of Israel he will be a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall. And for the people of Jerusalem he will be a trap and a snare.

Isaiah 28:16 (NIV)

16 So this is what the Sovereign Lord says: "See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who trusts will never be dismayed.

Exodus 19:6 (NIV)

6 you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites."

SEVERAL NEW METAPHORS. Let’s SEE THE IMAGE AND GET THE APPLICATION.

Under the old covenant, only the priests had that privilege (under certain times and conditions) to approach God. Under the new covenant, all believers can enter into God’s presence at any time, with any need.