Who Am I, And What Is My Purpose? Series

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.