Intro: I must be a special person, because when I check my e-mails I have messages that say, Steve you are a winner, you have been chosen for a trip to Disney World. Steve, would you please take a survey for us. Steve, could we send you on a dream vacation? Wow, I am special, I am a chosen one. Of course it is a marketers scheme to make me feel special or important, so that I will buy a product. But in God’s Word we find out, we are special, we have been chosen, and God does desire to bless our lives and use us in reaching our generation.
The Chosen Community
I Peter 2:9
background: God chose Israel to be His covenant people. He selected them out of the nations of the world. In Christ, the church is God’s chosen community to reach the world. Today, let’s look at the privilege and opportunity of being part of the chosen community.
I. Chosen–selected– God picked you to be part of His plan in this world. You are special in His divine kingdom.
God wants to make your life a blessing. He wants to use you in reaching souls.
a. God wanted you to be part of His work. God has a great destiny for your life. Out of the billions of people you are special to God.
b. the plans God has for your life are great plans. He expects your life to produce 30,60 or 100 fold. You are called out to be a blessing.
II. Royal Priesthood–you have been given a ministry in this world. You are not called to be idle, but to work in reaching the harvest for Christ.
a. we represent God to this world–as a priest, we are God’s representatives to the lost. We are a reflection of His love, grace and mercy to those we meet without Christ.
b. we represent people to God–we go before God’s throne on behalf of others. We offer up prayers, we ask in faith for God to do the impossible in the lives of our generation.
III. A Holy Nation–not that we are a group of perfect people, but we have been set apart for the work of God.
We are the called out, we love God with all our heart and might.
a. holiness isn’t an outward expression but an inward possession. God lives in us, and we are made the righteousness of Christ.
b. not our hair style, not the clothes we wear, but a holy desire to see people touched by God.
IV. Peculiar People–this isn’t a call to be strange or weird. What makes us peculiar is we live a spiritual life in a carnal world. We have spiritual dreams and goals, not just fleshly pursuits.
a. a good rule on being peculiar is: if you turn people off or repel people from Christ, you are just plain strange. If you draw people to God, your life is salt and light in this world, your difference is a good difference.
b. you can’t minister to people just by being different. We aren’t all called to come out of the desert and thunder out the judgments of God. The church doesn’t have the ministry of John the Baptist, it has the ministry of Christ.
c. to show forth the praises of him–our call is to give people Jesus. All through Acts we see the message to the world was Jesus Christ and him crucified.
Close: being chosen is a blessing and a responsibility. Being raised in the military, I always admired the men or women who worked the gate at the base. I am told that if they fell asleep or were caught sleeping on their watch, they could be given a dishonorable discharge from the service. Today, being chosen by God as watchmen, we must stay at it. We must redeem the time for the days are evil. We are chosen, set apart, made holy, so that we might impact our world for Christ
