Sermon Central
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Who Are You? Series
Contributed by Ralph Juthman on Oct 7, 2011 (message contributor)
Summary: God made us who we are to show the world who He is.
WHY AM I HERE?
9But 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 into his marvelous light.
INTRODUCTION: God made us who we are to show the world who He is.
How do you view yourself?
Mary was having a tough day and had stretched herself out on the couch to do a bit of what she thought to be well-deserved complaining and self- pitying. She moaned to her mom and brother, "Nobody loves me ... the whole world hates me!"
Her brother, busily occupied playing a game, hardly looked up at her and passed on this encouraging word: "That’s not true, Mary. Some people don’t even know you."
Did you ever feel like nobody loved you or cared about you? Nobody loves me. Everybody hates me. I think I’ll go eat worms.
It’s an important question. How do you view yourself? And if you don’t answer this question biblically, you will be an unhappy person. You’ll drink too much or eat too much or eat too little or work too much or shop too much or please people too much because you aren’t happy with who you are.
How do you view yourself today? The Bible says that we have The Bible is filled with reminders of how much God cares for us, and what He has planned for us. Take for example this familiar verse which expresses God’s plan and purpose for His people,
Common English Bible (CEB)
11 I know the plans I have in mind for you, declares the LORD; they are plans for peace, not disaster, to give you a future filled with hope. 12 When you call me and come and pray to me, I will listen to you.
God says, “I have plans for you, and furthermore they are GREAT PLANS. Plans for your welfare, for your future, and for hope.
But even as I read this familiar passage, some of you are thinking, ‘That’s for somebody else, not for me.’
Some of you have been waiting on the Lord for months, even years for an answer, direction, and purpose. You have given up, because you feel that maybe you are not deserving of God’s best plans.
Listen, if that is what you are thinking, then you are believing a lie that is straight from the halls of Hell itself.
If you are trusting God today for direction and hope, then your hope is not misplaced.
The Bible says He is good to those who wait for Him. As Chuck Swindoll writes, ‘there is no need to be living each day crushed by fear and guilt or shame.
If you want to know what God thinks of you, then read His appraisal in romans 8:31-32.
New Living Translation (NLT)
31 What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? 32 Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else?
God is for us. WOW. Say those words slowly
GOD>>>>IS>>>>FOR>>>US
God is for us. Make it personal GOD IS FOR ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
In Peters letter, we catch a glimse of the delight God takes in us as the Apostle paints a vivid portrait of what it means to be God’s child.
English Standard Version (ESV)
9But you are(A) a chosen race,(B) a royal(C) priesthood,(D) a holy nation,(E) a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you(F) out of darkness into(G) his marvelous light. 10(H) 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.
I see in this one verse five descriptions of who we are that can make a huge difference in our lives if we can just get it. And this will really impact how we go about expressing our faith to others.
First of all, this verse declares that…
1. Jesus picked me out.
Has anyone had the unfortunate experience of ever being picked last for a sporting team.
When my kids were younger, they were always the first to be picked for soccer, or basketball, or any other sport.
Not me.
When it came to picking teams for the neighborhood baseball teams, I would usually be left alone after the person with the broken leg and pop bottom glasses was chosen.
But this is not the way God chooses. Peter declares,
But you are a chosen race…
He picked me and He picked you. Why? No reason. He just did. Theologians call this unconditional election.
