God's People: Identity & Purpose

It's good to see you all this morning.

Will you please go with me to prayer as we ask for the Lord's help?

Oh, Lord, we come to you this morning, and we come to your word.

And Lord, I pray this morning that we might tremble at it.

Lord, because it is awesome, because it is majestic, because it tells us truths.

It's, Lord, that we need to know and we need to hear.

God, I pray for our hearts this morning that we would be open to receive.

And Lord, in receiving, Lord, that you would press these truths deep in our hearts.

Lord, I pray for your help this morning.

Lord, in my weakness, Lord, will you give strength.

Lord, will you enable me to proclaim the word as I ought.

Lord, may we together sit under it.

And Lord, in response to it, worship you as truly a great God.

We pray these things in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Well, it's good to see you all this morning.

We are going to continue in our series in 1 Peter.

And we come to the end of the first section of the book, chapter 1-1 through verses 2, 11, and 12.

2, 11, and 12 is kind of a hinge chapter.

And so we're looking at the passage right before that, verses 4 through 12.

And one of the things you see is that this whole section is bracketed by Peter describing the church as exiles.

People who are living as strangers in a land that are not their true home.

And I wonder if you've ever experienced that.

I had the privilege of doing so for a couple years.

I got to live in China.

I remember the first week when we went, Brandy, my late wife, was on bed rest when we had first arrived.

And that was a serious crisis for me because she was one who knew how to speak Chinese.

And I didn't.

And so two days after we landed, I was sent out to get lunch.

And it could have been a movie because I'm sitting there with these transliterated Chinese characters on this piece of paper that my wife gave me trying to say,

can I please have eggplant and pork on rice in Chinese and failing.

And they kept saying, Shema, Shema, what are you saying?

And I would say it again.

They brought me menus that were all in Chinese.

I couldn't.

That didn't help.

It wasn't.

We weren't going to get anywhere doing that.

And it was.

And I felt so out of place, so alone, so helpless.

It was a terror.

Like it was a really hard experience.

And I was supposed to be providing for my wife who was at home on bed rest.

And this was her food, not just mine.

And it was.

I felt like an alien and a stranger in this world.

Maybe you've experienced that in cross-cultural situations.

Maybe you've experienced it because you follow Christ.

Maybe as a high schooler, your friends are full of social media mean tweets and disparaging remarks and comparisons

and some of the more destructive ways in which our culture tends to engage

while you seek to show grace and kindness to those around you.

Maybe in the workplace, you overhear conversations about politics or social issues

and you feel like there's no way to engage in the conversation

to express maybe or share your convictions without being seen as an alien.

An alien either as an invading threat to all that is good and decent in the world

or a hateful bigot promoting oppression and violence.

Maybe you've experienced it in your family.

You came to Christ and you've been seeking to bring redemptive and healthy patterns of relating

to deeply ingrained family dynamics that are destructive.

And you've been responded to with exclusion or anger or laughter.

There are lots of different ways in which we might feel like aliens, foreigners, outsiders in the places that we live.

And I will say this, if you don't feel this way today, I think you will.

I think you will in the coming days as our culture continues to move away from some shared values.

We will continue to feel the dislocation between what we are called to be as Christians in the world that we live in

unless God intervenes with a massive revival in both the church and the society.

And if you've ever felt this way, you know how hard it is.

It's crushing.

It's isolating.

It's a very hard tension.

We don't know where we fit in and we feel like, where do I find my bearings?

We lose our sense of identity and we're disoriented.

And often when we feel that tension, we try to resolve it.

One way we try to resolve that tension is we conform.

I'm going to become like this culture that I'm living in.

We lose our sense of who we are.

Sometimes, instead of conforming, we withdraw.

This happened, I saw this in China.

The expats created their withdrawal community where they didn't want to have anything to do with the local culture and local people.

They just wanted to reproduce their own culture in their own little conclave.

Sometimes, I think, we seek to control.

To resolve this tension, we want to impose upon others our expectations, our values, our ways of going in a way to enforce it on those around us.

We demand that the world affirm and embrace us for who we are.

In light of all of these dynamics, Peter's writing to this church to encourage them and to strengthen them in their Christian faith.

And he has pastoral insight, I believe, to help us think through how do we live as aliens and strangers in this world, as exiles.

So, Peter's writing as a pastor to these churches.

And he tells us two things in this passage that we're about to read.

He tells us about our identity and he tells us about our purpose.

Two places where we can put our feet down and know this is who we are, even as we feel like outsiders.

So, let's look at it together.

1 Peter, chapter 2, verses 4 through 10 is a passage.

1 Peter 2:4–10

It's 953 in the Pew Bible.

And let's read that together.

1 Peter, chapter 2, starting in verse 4.

1 Peter 2 · chapter mention

As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men, but in the sight of God, chosen and precious,

you yourselves, like living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house,

to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

For it stands in Scripture,

Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious,

and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.

So the honor is for you who believe.

But for those who do not believe, the stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,

and a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.

They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession,

that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness and into his marvelous light.

Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people.

Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Friends, Peter wants to tell us this morning that as we live in this world,

our identity in the world is not from this world, but it is from God to be God's people.

And our place and purpose in this world is for God,

that we would live declaring his greatness in the world.

Structurally, this passage breaks down.

Verses 4 and 5 in some ways are kind of a header statement, a summary statement of these two ideas.

This is who you are and this is why you're here.

And then he defends it with a whole litany of Old Testament quotes and allusions

to fill out our understanding of what this means.

So we're going to look at these two ideas, identity and purpose,

and try to flesh out what Peter is telling us about them.

And then we're going to talk about how that applies to us.

So first of all, God confers to us an identity as God's people based on Christ and distinct in the world.

So what does it mean that we have an identity as God's people based on Christ?

Well, this is the idea that we see in verse 4.

As you come to him, and that is talking about Jesus, you can look back in the context.

Verse 3, having tasted the goodness of the Lord, is referring to Jesus and his salvific work for us.

As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men.

And then you see as the argument goes on through the passage,

he is this cornerstone that God is laying.

Now, what is a cornerstone?

I'm not an architect nor a builder.

Maybe Antoine could tell you what a cornerstone is.

But from my reading, what a cornerstone is, and particularly in the first century,

it was the first stone that was laid from which all the lines of the building would be defined.

It defined level.

It defined the walls.

It defined the vertical plumbness of what was had.

It was the one that set all of those directions.

And what God says is, here, Peter is saying,

God has laid this cornerstone of a new building.

A new building which is this holy temple that is a living temple.

He's mixing metaphors, so you have to be creative.

But he's saying this is a bunch of living stones being built together into this incredible place.

And he's using, as he explains this idea, there's all this Old Testament richness, right?

Verse 6 is a quote from Isaiah 28, 16.

Where God says,

In the midst of the unfaithfulness of the leaders of Jerusalem as well as the nations around,

in the midst of the suffering that the people are experiencing and the threat of the northern exile,

he says, I'm laying a stone.

I'm laying something that is going to be an unmovable foundation.

So even though you feel so uncertain, hang in there because I have laid a cornerstone in Zion.

And whoever trusts in this will not be put to shame.

Whoever is connected to this cornerstone.

And he goes on and he says,

And this cornerstone is chosen and precious.

This has been God's sovereignty.

It wasn't like in the first century God was wandering around wondering,

Golly, this is a really bad situation.

The people are under the oppression of Rome.

They haven't seen the fulfillment of the promises.

What am I going to do?

Oh, look, here's a guy.

He's born in Galilee.

Maybe he'd be useful.

Just this Jesus guy.

I'll try to make him the savior of the world.

No.

God chose before the foundation of the world that Jesus would come

and to do this work of redemption.

And God chose to bring him in at just the right time

in the process of human history to be the savior.

And as such, and as God's son, the one who came from heaven to do this,

he is precious.

And Peter says, and he's not only chosen, he's not only precious,

but he is a living stone.

Because remember, Peter had seen Jesus.

Raised from the dead.

And this was the thing that made him distinct above all others.

This is, this is the cornerstone.

Peter says, this is the foundation that upon which you,

you, God's new people in the church are being built.

But he's not just a chosen and precious stone,

but he's also, as you see in verse four,

he is rejected by mankind.

He's rejected by humanity.

God's doing this work of redemption,

and yet in the midst of it,

God predicted and expected that there would be this rejection that would come.

Right?

As you look down in the verses that follow where he's defending this,

you see the turn in verse seven.

So the honor is for you who believe,

you who are living stones connected to the cornerstone.

But for the ones who do not believe,

he is the stone that the builders rejected.

And he is a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense

to those who do not believe and who disobey God's word.

The quote is from Psalm 118, 22, that Antoine read earlier.

And you know, this idea resounds throughout the New Testament.

Jesus himself used these verses to describe himself

when he said, you need to recognize this.

He's confronting, particularly in that day,

the religious leadership of the day that was rejecting him

and his claim to be the savior.

He said, you are, I am this stone that is rejected,

but I'm going to be a stumbling stone for you

as you try to live in this world.

You can see that in any of the synoptic gospels,

Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

And he said this actually at the end of the parable of the wicked tenants.

Do you know that parable?

A parable where there was a land

and the master left this land in the purview of some people.

And he went away.

And then the people said, oh, well, we're going to take this and make it our own.

And then he started to send messengers back saying,

no, you've got to do this under me.

And the master's coming and you have to do this.

And they rejected him.

They rejected him.

Finally, he sent his son.

And they killed his son rather than submitting to the master's ownership and leadership.

And it was in the context of this parable that Jesus quoted this verse to say,

I am the one who's come from the father.

I am the son.

And you are going to reject me and kill me.

So this is not a surprise in God's plan that this happened.

But it is a strong dynamic that we see throughout this.

In Acts 4, Peter, the apostle who wrote this letter earlier,

right after the resurrection of Jesus and his ascension

and the beginning of the church, the day of Pentecost,

Jesus identifies, or Peter identifies Jesus as this rejected cornerstone.

But he goes on.

And I want to read these verses to you because it's a powerful connection to this idea.

So in Acts 4, Peter's preaching to the crowd.

And he's talking about Jesus whom you crucified,

whom God raised from the dead.

By him, this man is standing before you.

Well, this Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders,

which has become the cornerstone.

And then he goes on and he says,

And there is salvation in no one else.

For there is no other name under heaven given among men

by which we must be saved.

So this cornerstone that God is building this new people on

is one who is a dividing stone in the world.

There are some who will believe and reject him

and believe and be connected to him as living stones.

And there are some who will reject him and who will despise him and who will refuse him.

This underlies the way that Jesus is an exclusive savior.

Not in the way where he intentionally is excluding people.

I don't believe that's the picture of him.

But more that he alone is the one who can do the work necessary for our salvation.

He alone, because of his person and his life, death, and resurrection,

he alone can be the savior of the world.

And he presents all people everywhere with this question.

What will you do with Jesus?

Will you accept him?

Will you receive him as he has revealed himself?

Will you believe in him and trust in him for your salvation?

Or will you reject him?

Will you commit yourself instead to another plan of your own self-salvation?

Will you commit yourself to some other way

that you are going to find your identity and purpose in the world?

Peter is writing to this church that's suffering,

that's feeling this dislocation of being an alien in the Roman Empire,

being in exile.

This world isn't my home.

And he's saying,

recognize that's what Jesus experienced,

and if you're going to be connected to him,

you're going to experience it too.

But recognize that when you're connected with him,

what a great privilege that is.

So Ephesians 2, Paul writes this,

so then you are no longer strangers and aliens,

but you are fellow citizens with the saints

and members of the household of God,

built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets.

Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone,

in whom the whole structure being joined together

grows into a holy temple in the Lord.

In him you also are being built together

into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

Church, this is what God says that we are.

We are the living stones connecting to him,

this cornerstone,

chosen by God,

but rejected by men.

And so when we experience that rejection,

we ought not be surprised,

for it's what he experienced for us first.

But then there's a second part of this identity.

If being connected to the cornerstone is the first part,

the second part is that our identity

is to be living as distinctly in the world.

And by distinct,

I don't mean weird intentionally.

I don't mean that we have to dress in a particular,

you know,

we don't have to wear doilies on our heads

or, you know,

dresses that,

or, you know,

suits the whole time

or whatever your image might be

of what,

yeah,

what cultic people

who identify themselves by dress would do.

However you want to fill in that gap.

But instead,

Peter is saying here,

we are called to live

distinctly with this close intimacy with Christ.

In verse five,

he says,

you're being built into a spiritual house,

a holy priesthood.

Nick preached on this two weeks ago.

You should go back and listen to his sermon.

But holy doesn't mean holier than thou

and more pure and self-righteous

and therefore looking down on the rest of us

for our imperfections and weaknesses.

Holy doesn't mean that.

What holy means is set apart.

Just like you might have special china in your house

that you would set apart for a special occasion

but not use commonly every day.

Jesus is saying,

God is saying,

you are set apart from this world

for particular purposes

and to be a particular people in this world

so that you might glorify me.

And he goes on then

and he describes it

and you see this is picked up in verse nine very strongly.

You are a royal priesthood,

a holy nation.

Let's make sure I get this right.

You are a chosen race,

a royal priesthood,

a holy nation.

He picks up this cascade of ideas

to say that we are the special people in the world,

a priesthood that God has set apart.

Now we need to be careful here

because priesthood sometimes could indicate

that what Peter means here

is we are priests mediating between God and the world.

And I don't actually think that's the idea here.

I think the idea here is that priests

had this immense privilege

of serving in the temple in Jerusalem

and having access to the inner courts

and the presence of God

in a way that others didn't.

And what Peter is saying here

is we all now have access to intimacy,

to the presence of God

through the,

in the Holy Spirit.

And this is what he's calling us to.

Why do I say this?

Well, look,

this is a quotation.

Verse nine is a quotation from Exodus 19.

If you remember the story of Exodus,

God has just released the people of Israel

from slavery

after 400 years of oppression in Egypt.

And he's brought them through the Red Sea.

He saved them from the marauding army of Pharaoh.

And he's brought them to the foot of Mount Sinai.

He's about to reveal to them the law.

But God comes to Moses

and he has this sort of clarifying statement

with Moses about,

this is what I'm up to.

So in Exodus 19,

God tells Moses to then say this to the people,

you yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians

and how I bore you on eagles' wings

and brought you to myself.

Now, therefore,

if you will indeed obey my voice

and keep my covenant,

you shall be my treasured possession

among all the peoples

for all the earth is mine.

And you shall be to me

a kingdom of priests

and a holy nation.

In the broader scope of redemptive history,

remember it was one man, Abraham,

who had the promise,

you will be a great nation,

you will be a blessing.

And through Abraham's descendants,

through Isaac and Jacob,

and then Jacob's children

who moved to Egypt

by God's provision and plan,

this now family line

had become a people.

And God was now bringing this people

out of that place of slavery

into the promised land,

into the place where Jerusalem lay,

into the place where God promised

they would dwell as a nation

to display God's glory in the world.

And Peter is saying,

do you see,

this is who you are,

church in the first century

and church in the 21st century.

This is who you are,

a people distinct.

And the key thing about it,

just like in Exodus,

this God's presence was with them

and he was leading them.

So now the distinctiveness

that we have

is that God's presence

is with us.

God chose us to do this.

Do you know the power of being chosen?

Do you remember being on the playground?

I don't know if they do this anymore.

It probably doesn't happen anymore,

but bear with me in the illustration, right?

The power of being chosen

to be on the kickball team, right?

And you're standing there in the line

and they're the two captains

and they're the cool kids

and you're like,

okay, well,

maybe they'll pick me,

hopefully not last.

And the power of,

when they look at you like,

I want Brian,

I want Brian to be on my team.

It's like, yes,

I'm chosen.

How awesome is that?

Right?

Now it feels terrible

when you're the last kid, right?

So that's part,

but part of it is that

the idea here is that

there's a goodness

about being chosen.

There's a preciousness.

Here's another example

of what it feels like

when someone gets down

on their knee and says,

will you marry me?

Among all the people of the world,

I choose you.

Will you marry me?

And this is what God is saying

to his people,

his chosen people.

I've set my love on you.

Will you marry me?

Will you be mine?

Grounded in his love for us.

And we have to see

that this is based

not on our own worth.

This is where the playground thing

breaks down, right?

Because you do pick

the athletic kids first

and it's the less athletic kids

who get picked last, right?

But God says,

I haven't picked you

because you're a particularly

righteous, attractive,

skillful,

you have potential,

you know, whatever it is.

You have a nice personality.

You know, whatever it is,

God isn't choosing us

for any of those reasons.

In Deuteronomy 7,

it says,

not because you were more in number,

but because I love you.

And this is what we see

throughout Scripture.

In 1 Corinthians 1,

Paul clarifies,

God didn't choose

the wise things

and the rich things

and the powerful things

of the world,

but he chose

the weak things

and the foolish things

and the things that are not

to shame the wise

so that no one may boast

that they were chosen for God

for any merit of their own.

So Paul writes to Titus,

but when the goodness

and loving kindness

of God our Savior appeared,

he saved us,

not because of works

done by us in righteousness,

but according to his own mercy,

by the washing of regeneration

and the renewal

in the Holy Spirit.

So there is this great privilege,

but this great privilege

doesn't come with arrogance

or triumphalism,

but it does come with confidence

that the God of the universe

has chosen his church

to be his people.

And Peter wants to say,

as you live in this world

and you feel disoriented

by everything around you,

know this is the identity

that will never change,

that will never be shaken,

that will never be undermined.

In fact, more broadly,

what you see is that

the scriptures are telling us

this identity becomes

our primary identity

under which all of our other identities,

our racial and familial and gender

and all the other identities

that we have,

find their place and their purpose

where they are enriched

and find their proper place

in our lives

under this purpose

that we might be God's people.

that the church would know

who we are

because we know whose we are.

So if you're a college student

or a high schooler,

recognize that your identity

is not based on your friend groups,

not based on your awards,

your achievements,

your GPA, your resume,

not on the approval and praise

of your professors

or your teachers

or your coaches

or even your parents,

for those of us

who are adults,

we just translate those

into different things,

don't we?

The success in our workplace,

whether it be a homework,

work that we do at home

or work in,

out in the workplace.

I think sometimes

even our families,

our roles as sons and daughters,

wives and husbands,

fathers, mothers,

our roles as lots of things,

we look at these things

and we want them

to give us our identity.

Peter says to us,

you are a living member

of the people of God.

This is a greater thing

than any of those

will ever give you.

And when you feel out of step,

when you feel like an exile,

relax into this truth.

you are a chosen people of God.

He has set his love on you

and has called you in salvation

to be a living stone

connected to the cornerstone of Christ

who was rejected by the world

but chosen and precious by God.

This is the honor that is

the churches

to hold humbly

in this world.

I've spent most of the time

on identity

because I think it's most

of what the passage talks about

but it's not just identity

that Peter says,

it's also purpose.

We see this,

this is then my main,

my big second point

if you're taking notes.

Here's my big second point

which is our purpose

is to proclaim

the greatness of God

in our words and actions.

This is what we see

in verse five.

Peter says,

he's called you

as you come to him,

you're being built up

into this temple

in order to present

spiritual sacrifices

acceptable to God

through Jesus.

What in the world

does he mean by that?

He's not talking about

going back to a religious ritual

or a sacrificial system.

I think actually verse nine

clarifies and fills out

what he means by that.

Verse nine you see

that Peter is saying,

you are a chosen race,

a royal priesthood,

a holy nation,

a people for his own possessions,

for a purpose.

So that,

so that you may proclaim

the excellencies of him

who called you out of darkness

and into his marvelous light.

This is the purpose

we have in this world,

to bear witness

to what God has done,

has done in our lives individually,

in our lives corporately.

He has rescued us from darkness

and brought us into

the kingdom of light

in relationship

to this living cornerstone,

this new eternal kingdom

that he has started.

This is what God is doing

in the world.

And this is our purpose.

And yes,

we may do this

in our workplaces

and in our families

and in our studies

and in our schooling

and in our retirement

and in our recreation.

And we may do it

in lots of different contexts.

But this is our purpose.

To make much of God

in the world.

How do we do this?

Well, the first thing is

we do this through worship.

We do this as we gather

in corporate settings

to declare the goodness of God.

I don't know if you think about

why you come to church.

Maybe it's to connect to friends.

Maybe it's because

you don't want to feel guilty.

There could be all sorts of reasons.

But Peter is giving us

one purpose

that will give you a reason

to get up every Sunday.

I get to go to church

so I can declare

that God is great.

And sometimes I feel like it

and that's really exciting.

And sometimes I'm dragging myself

out of bed

and I'm desperately saying that

because I need to remind myself of it

and I need to be with other people

who are reminding me of it.

But we gather together

to declare

this is what we do

when we sing.

This is what we do

when we preach.

This is what we do

when we pray.

This is what we do

when we share testimonies.

It's so that we would remember

how great God is.

That's why we call this

a worship service.

So we would lift up

the worthiness of God

in our midst.

It's not only here though.

It's also

in our everyday lives.

Romans 12, 1 and 2

offer your bodies

as living sacrifices

to the Lord.

Be not conformed to the world

but be transformed

by the renewing of your mind.

So recognize that

we are called

to live out this calling

not just as we gather

in the church building

but also as we scatter

into all the places

where we live every day.

And this is what

Peter is addressing

as we live as exiles

in this world

that we're to live

distinctly

in a way that points

people to

the person of God.

He'll say this later

in chapter 3.

He'll say

be ready to give an answer

to all who ask you

about the hope

that's within you.

How do you know

there's that hope?

Well because you live with it.

Because you go out

in the world

and verses 3 through 9

of chapter 1

shape the way

that you approach

your everyday life.

Though you're encountering

various trials

you are living

with hopeful confidence

in what God has done for you

and you're able to have joy

in the midst

of the suffering.

And not only that

but then we're going to live

distinctly

in the world

as he said

in verses 13

and following

that we're going to live

distinctly living

as those

who know

that they have

a heavenly father

who will judge the world

but who has accepted

them in Christ.

We're going to live

as people

who following

in chapter 1

verse 22

and following

we're going to live

as those

who love

one another.

And by this

all men will know

that you are my disciples

because you love

one another.

And so all of these

are acts of worship

spiritual sacrifices

that we offer up

so that people

would know

how great God is.

It's not about us

building our tribe

so that we can be

the conquerors.

It's not about

protecting ourselves

from the world

by withdrawing

away from them.

It's about engaging

as the people of God

being the lights

in the darkness

because God has called us

out of darkness

into light

so that we can

bear witness

to a God

who is here

to rescue

and save

sinners like us.

And we will see

in the weeks to come

what it looks like

to live

as this special

people of God

as we relate

to things like

government

and slavery

and gender roles

in marriage.

Buckle your seatbelts.

We're ready to go.

Two weeks.

We're doing it.

It's going to be great.

God's word is going

to speak to us

and instruct us

and it's going

to be wonderful.

But recognize

that all of this

is couched

in this broad

of how do we

live out this

life of worship

declaring the

greatness of God.

But it's not just that.

It's not just doing that.

It's also specifically

in evangelism.

It's specifically

in making known

the work

and the character

of God

in his salvation

through Jesus Christ.

Maybe many,

some of you

have heard the phrase

that's quoted,

sort of quoted

to Francis of Assisi.

Preach the gospel

and if necessary

use words.

That's not actually

a biblical idea.

It is true

that we need

to live it out.

Our actions

need to be

consistent

with how we live

but the Bible

is consistently

saying that

we are to use

our mouth

and our words

to tell of

the greatness

of God.

To proclaim

him to the world.

This is what you see

this word here

proclaim

or to declare

it's a public

speaking thing.

It's not a private

thing.

It's not something

that I say to myself.

Something that I say

out to others.

And I know

friends,

I know it feels

weird,

doesn't it?

Because we get

caught up with

feeling this.

Aren't you imposing

your beliefs on me?

Aren't you telling me

that I have to agree

to this

or I have to respect?

Isn't it disrespectful

to barge into

my life

with your religious

beliefs?

But Peter here

is helping us

reframe

what we are doing

so that we can

understand what

we are doing

and hopefully

so that it will

have a different

impact on those

around us.

Peter is saying

God is so great.

He has rescued

you from darkness

and into light.

If God is that

great,

how can we not

tell someone

about that?

Okay?

If I get

a new

iPod

that has

cool gadgets

that I've never

seen before

and I get

to start

using it

and it's awesome,

I don't stick

it in my pocket

and never

talk about it.

I usually

like,

hey Nick,

check this out.

Do you know

what this does?

This is really

cool.

That's a very

small,

very mundane

example

of what God

is saying

our purpose

in the world

is.

Because

not that we

have found

God

and that

God is

trying to

sell himself

and that

we are

trying to

sell God

but what

we're saying

is we

have been

called into

a relationship

with this

most amazing

being

who has

called us

out of

darkness

into light

and we

get to

tell you

about it.

How awesome

is that?

Can you

imagine

what it

would be

like for

you to

experience

a God

who loves

you the

way that

God loves

you in

Christ?

evangelism

is not

a duty

for us

nor is

it a

mission

where we

are to

beat people

over the

head

with a

message

that they

don't want

to hear

but it

is an

exuberant

response

to our

salvation.

It is an

overflow

of the

joy and

worship

that we

have

where we

share

with

others

the

amazing

things

that God

has done

and the

amazing

one

that we

have

found

in

Jesus.

And friends

this brings

us to

the end

of our

passage

because in

verse 10

Peter

reminds us

of this

again.

He says

once you

were not

a people

but you

are now

God's

people.

Once you

had not

received

mercy

but now

you have

received

mercy.

This

is a

paraphrase

a

significant

quotation

from the

book of

Hosea.

If you

don't

know the

story of

Hosea

Hosea is

a prophet.

God

tells him

to go

and marry

a woman

who is

going to

be unfaithful

and wayward.

And so

he goes

and he

marries

this woman

and then

this woman

wanders

off.

And it's

this parable

of how

God has

been treated

by his

people and

how God

is responding

to the

waywardness

and unfaithfulness

of his

people with

patient

persevering

pursuing

love

for her.

And this

is a

quote

where

the

children

of this

wayward

woman

are being

given

names

not a

person

or not

my

people

my

people

not

receive

mercy

receiving

mercy

these

names

are

given

and

Peter's

drawing in

this

Old Testament

story

to say

don't

you see

don't

you see

we are

all

everyone

in this

world

are like

the

wayward

woman

we have

all

gone

astray

we all

like

sheep

have

gone

astray

we've

gone

our

own

way

we've

rejected

God

and

chosen

our

own

thing

and

this

is

the

root

of

sin

and

alienation

with

God

but

God

in

his

loving

kindness

has

pursued

us

has

pursued

us

to the

point

of

sending

his

very

own

son

to

die

on

the

cross

for

our

sins

to

take

away

the

penalty

and

the

offense

of

our

sin

so

that

we

might

be

restored

and

reconciled

to a

living

relationship

with

him

forever

this

is

Jesus

for

us

and

what

Peter

says

is

when

we

understand

that

that

through

that

we

have

become

the

people

of

God

then

declaring

the

greatness

of

this

God

doesn't

seem

that

hard

does

it

it

doesn't

seem

awkward

it's

going to

be

counter

cultural

it's

going to

be

different

but

it

seems

right

because

of the

greatness

of who

God

is

so

Peter

is

writing

to

this

church

and

writing

to

us

saying

have

confidence

not

in

your

greatness

but

in

the

greatness

of

what

God

has

done

for

you

and

in

the

calling

that

he

has

given

to

you

as

living

as

exiles

awaiting

our

true

home

with

God

in

heaven

but

now

knowing

your

identity

in

Christ

and

living

out

this

purpose

of

declaring

his

greatness

in

the

world

this

is

what

he's

called

us

to

let's

pray

Lord

Jesus

we

confess

how

often

Lord

our

hearts

grow

cold

and

the

wonder

and

awe

of

our

salvation

is

replaced

with

a

lack

of

enthusiasm

Lord

disparagement

Lord

we

diminish

it

in

our

own

hearts

and

Lord

as

we

do

so

we

lose

sight

of

who

we

are

and

why

we

are

here

God

I

pray

this

morning

that

this

passage

would

help

us

Lord

restore

to

us

the

joy

of

our

salvation

that

we

may

know

who

we

are

and

why

we

are

here

we

pray

this

in

Jesus

name

Amen