The Priesthood of All Believers
--I Peter 2:4-10, Exodus 19:3-6, Matthew 5:13-16
God calls all Christians to be ministers of Jesus Christ, and this has been His plan for His people throughout the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures. Not all Christians are called to preach or pastor a Church, but we are all called into ministry for Jesus Christ and His Kingdom through the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. We as clergy and laity are partners together in ministry, and any local congregation in which the laity are not continually involved in ministry will soon close its doors unless they experience a true Holy Ghost Revival.
Our primary text for today’s message is found in our Epistle Lesson I Peter 2:9, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of Him Who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” Peter is speaking to all Christians, not just “professionally trained” clergy persons. He begins with this salutation, “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To the exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.” His readers are Christians that live throughout various regions of Modern Turkey or the Eastern Portion of the Roman Empire.
All of these disciples are “a royal priesthood,” commissioned by the Holy Spirit to “proclaim the mighty acts of Him Who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” Peter is straightforward in defining your calling and mine: “Everyone who is a Christian is to proclaim the mighty acts of Jesus, Who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light.”
God’s Spirit quickly directed my attention in preparation of this sermon to two important teachings of Jesus, Who tells us in John 8:12, “I AM the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” In Matthew 5:14-16 Jesus reminds us, “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”
When we were born again, Jesus “brought us out of darkness into His marvelous light,” and our ministry from that point on became and remains to “let our light shine for Him, so that others may see our good works and give glory to our Father in heaven.”
This was God’s original calling to the entire Nation of Israel as we read in our text from Exodus 19:5-6, “Indeed, the whole earth is Mine, but you shall be for Me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the Israelites.” The calling of the entire Nation of Israel was to be priests to the rest of the world to lead them to faith, repentance, worship and service to the One True, Living God. They were to be God’s light to bring the Gentiles to salvation.
Israel failed to fulfill their divine calling as missionaries to the rest of the world. Now Peter is picking up the same message for us as the Church of Jesus Christ. You and I are now His chosen priests whom He calls to “proclaim the mighty acts of Jesus” and lead those who are lost in sin, dying, and on their way to eternal hell to receive Him as their Lord and Saviour.
In the New Testament Church every believer was naturally a minister for Jesus Christ and His Kingdom. Laity never depended on clergy to do the work of ministry alone. Acts 4:20 was a motto by which they all lived, “we cannot keep from speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
When Stephen was stoned, a great persecution began against the Jerusalem Church. We read in Acts 8:1, “That day a severe persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout the countryside of Judea and Samaria.” The story continues in Acts 8:4, “Now those who were scattered went from place to place, proclaiming the word.”
Now Church, get the point. “Everyone except the Apostles was scattered throughout the countryside of Judea and Samaria.” If we were to call any of the New Testament Church “trained clergy,” it would be the Apostles, those who had spent three years being taught by Jesus. They remained in Jerusalem. The rest of the “scattered Church” went “from place to place, proclaiming the word.” These were just common, ordinary, everyday lay people like every one of you. These laity “went from place to place, proclaiming the word.”
That’s the way Revival “turned the Roman World upside down” for Jesus Christ for over three hundred years. Ordinary lay people like you “went from place to place, proclaiming the word.” It was only when Christianity became the official State Religion of the Empire and everyone was forced to forsake their pagan gods and turn to the Christian faith that the laity suddenly recanted their ministry and turned it over to “professionally trained” clergy. You can not share what you do not have. With such an influx of former pagans now practicing the Christian faith, they simply did not have a testimony or faith to share.
It remained that way for the most part for another 1200 years until God’s man Martin Luther came on the scene and the Protestant Reformation “reclaimed the priesthood of all believers.” Luther reminds us, “Not only are we the freest of kings, we are also priests forever, which is far more excellent than being kings, for as priests we are worthy to appear before God to pray for others and to teach one another divine things.” [SOURCE: --Martin Luther, “Martin Luther—The Early Years,” Christian History, no. 34.] Today wherever you find a vital, local Body of Christ you find a vibrant lay ministry where the people in the pews are partners with their pastor in ministry; where all disciples “go from place to place, proclaiming the word.”
I want to lift up three of our laity friends who by God’s Spirit are true priests and ministers of Jesus Christ in 2007. Carolyn Young is the Activities Director at Heartland Nursing Home and a member of First (American) Baptist Church in Canton, Illinois. Carolyn has been God’s priest to Lloyd and to Twila. Lloyd was 90 years old and had been a truck driver for Shell Oil for 38 years. He was tough, grouchy, and angry at his daughter for putting him in the nursing home. He thought Carolyn’s activities at the Home were silly.
One day, however, Carolyn asked Lloyd to attend Church with her. He said, “I will go with you, I think I need to.” Lloyd heard the message of Christ’s love and the invitation from the pastor to accept Jesus as his Lord and Saviour and pray with him the “Sinner’s Prayer.” When the pastor asked anyone who had repeated the prayer to raise their hand; Lloyd did. The pastor then talked and prayed with Lloyd personally. A few months later Lloyd became deathly sick but “kept hanging on.” Carolyn called their pastor, who reassured Lloyd that because he had been born again, it was okay to go and be with Jesus. Loyd squeezed his pastor’s hand acknowledging that he understood. Within two hours, he peacefully went to be with Jesus for all eternity. Carolyn was a priest who brought Lloyd to Jesus. [SOURCE: Carolyn Young, E-mail to author, 17 August 2007.]
Carolyn’s story with Twila is similar. Twila is in her late 80s with no family or close friends. Carolyn took Twila to Church. As Twila had never been on an airplane, Carolyn took her on a plane trip. Twila had not been to the movies since 1935; Carolyn took her to the movies. She took Twila on a fishing trip, and she caught a 10 pound cat fish. Twila also repented of her sins and accepted Jesus Christ as her personal Saviour and Lord. Twila is still living, but when she went into the hospital with a serious illness and almost died, Carolyn was there with her, sitting by her side, placing a wet wash cloth on her forehead and reassuring her, “Everything is going to be okay.” Twila is Carolyn’s Best Friend, and many people believe she is her Mother. [SOURCE: Carolyn Young, E-mail to author, 17 August 2007.]
Carolyn shares this testimony about their relationship, “We have both talked about how we know God placed us together these past ten years. You see, a clergy person could not have had this kind of relationship with her. God chose a lay person like me to be His representative in Twila’s life.” [SOURCE: Carolyn Young, E-mail to author, 17 August 2007.] Could God not do the same through you?
Our friend Pam Mauer is a hair stylist and member of First United Methodist Church in Metropolis, Illinois. I ministered to Pam’s mother Bettye Piland when she had terminal cancer and conducted her funeral during Holy Week 2000 when we were serving Crossville United Methodist Church.
Pam has a young man of 40 who is one of her clients at her salon. Last week she became his priest and ministered with him. He is totally lost in sin and does not know Jesus. This past year he was separated from his wife, slept with another woman, and was on drugs, and involved in abuse. He sat in Pam’s salon chair and began to pour his heart out to her. The two had previous conversations, but this time was a divine appointment and an answer to Pam’s prayers.
Billy Graham’s grandson Will Graham is conducting an Evangelistic Celebration next month in Paducah, Kentucky, and Pam and her husband Don are going to be counselors for the services. They are also doing “Operation Andrew,” a ministry in which they make a list of persons they want to see come to Jesus and pray for them each day. A few weeks ago Pam put this young man’s name at the top of her list and began to pray for him. Pam testifies, “Boom!! Did God ever answer that prayer!”
She listened closely to him; he asked her what he should do. Pam boldly replied, “You need a Savior! God will not bless you in these circumstances in which you are living, because they are not in His will.” She then took both his hands and prayed audibly with him like a prayer warrior. She prayed that he would surrender to God.
Pam recognizes this young man has an intellectual knowledge of God, but he wants to know God on his own set of terms. Pam told him he must immediately stop living this life style and get in Church on Sunday. She also got his cell phone number so she could check up on him after Sunday.
He went to Church last Sunday; and, not by accident, the preacher preached on the Prodigal Son. The young man “cried like a baby.” Pam continues, “This is not going to be something that changes overnight, but God has opened the door of communication, and I truly believe that when the Celebration comes in September, he will come forward.” Pam ends by saying, “We all have a mission field, and mine is my salon. How many salons do you know where the hairdresser will grab your hands and pray for you?” [SOURCE: Pam Maurer, E-mail to author, 17 August 2007.] How are you ministering for Jesus with others on your mission field?
My friend Steve Demaree was an Assistant Lay Director on my original Walk to Emmaus at Asbury Theological Seminary in October of 1996. Steve is a prolific Christian author who lives in Lexington, Kentucky. He shares his story of being a priest. “One time my pastor, Scott Martin, came and changed my flat tire in the pouring rain when I had a cold.
“I learned from that; and one day, when my wife Nell and I were on our way to a Church Ad Council meeting, I noticed a man of a different race rolling a tire down the road. With my wife’s approval, I hollered and asked him if he needed a ride. A few seconds later, he and his tire were ensconced in the middle seat of our van, and five minutes later we had him back to his girlfriend and her children.
“If he had had to roll the tire back without any assistance, it would have taken him another half hour to return to her, because he had to travel quite a distance before he found a service station open that could repair it for him. As for us, we were five minutes late to a church meeting that was ten minutes late getting started. We missed nothing, but felt better for helping someone, just as someone had helped us. The man asked us if he owed us anything, and I told him to just do something for someone sometime who needed help.” [SOURCE: Steve Demaree, E-mail to author, 17 August 2007.]
Carolyn, Pam, and Steve are contemporary disciples who live “the priesthood of all believers.” We have people at Trinity that do as well. Don Subblett visits Bud Campbell every Thursday. Lula and Lola make regular visit Florence regularly. Anne Crews, Pat Clemens, and Helen DuFour continually encouraged Kris; Rus Clemens always prayed with and for people who were suffering and requested his prayers. Mike Pitts always seems to be helping people of our Church family in need, which was something my own Father was always doing for people in our home Church and our neighborhood. Joan Baltz ministers in kindness, mercy, and tenderness through Compassionate Friends and Suicide Prevention Services. Jerry and Rhonda Legan minister with their quilts and Delores Piggish does with her afghans. I commend each one of you, and I am certain there are other unsung heroes I have overlooked or know nothing about.
I call upon each one of us, however, to be continually open to the Holy Spirit for God given opportunities to minister to others as “a nation of priests, His royal priesthood.” God does not call all of us to preach, to teach, to pastor, or to the ordained ministry, but He does call all of us to minister as His priests.
I remind you once more of three points I quoted last week from David Jeremiah’s Turning Point Magazine that will enable us all to be more conscientious priests to others:
1. Watch for openings to share a word for Christ.
2. If the right opportunity doesn’t come naturally, create one.
3. Leave the results with God.
Carolyn, Pam, and Steve faithfully practice these principles, and you and I must as well.
My first appointment at Marissa was a two point charge. The second Church was for years the smallest Church in the former Southern Illinois Annual Conference. It had only three members, and the main two who kept the Church going were an elderly sister and brother Miss Pearl and Mr. Alex Wildly. Neither had ever married. Although they were sweet people, they had many idiosyncrasies that made them strangely different. One Sunday during my first year as their pastor I asked Miss Wildy to lead us in prayer. Her response was, “No, Preacher, that’s what we pay you to do.”
By the way, no pastor is ever paid by their Church to pray or to do ministry. One of my former pastors the late Mode Powell once shared with his Pastor Parish Committee, “You don’t pay me to preach, you pay me to live.”
Every one of us can pray, love, and show our concern for people who hurt and have needs. God never calls the powerful, He empowers those He calls, and He calls all His disciples, all His children, to minister as His “royal priests.”
Any Christian can pray with anyone. You never need to worry what you will say, for when the need arises, we have the promise of Jesus in Luke 12:12, “the Holy Spirit will teach you at that very hour what you ought to say.” In Romans 8:26-7 Paul assures us that when we do not know what to pray, God’s same Holy Spirit, “helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”
This week, be open for opportunities to minister to your neighbors, your friends, you family, to strangers God may send your way. Be instruments of His love. Offer words of encouragement; visit and pray with the sick. Start your own “Operation Andrew List” of people you know that are lost and do not know Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. Make your prayer that of the Ira Sankey Chorus we sang last week:
Lord, lay some soul upon my heart,
And love that soul through me;
And may I nobly do my part
To win that soul for Thee.
Pray for them, and pray for opportunities to share a word for Christ with them as God opens the door.
God is calling every one of us to live the holy boldness of Carolyn Young, Pam Maurer, and Steve Demaree. By the power of the Holy Spirit working through you, be Trinity’s Carolyn, Pam, and Steve in ministry to those around you who hurt and are lost and dying without Jesus. God blesses every local Church where laity and clergy are “partners together in ministry” and obediently respond to His call to be His “royal priests.”
