Three Changes that Make an Eternal Difference, Our Cornerstone

First Peter chapter two we're going to be in verses 9 and 10 this morning and today we're talking about identity and the title of today's sermon is three changes that God makes that makes an eternal difference in our lives now in First Peter chapter 2 as I said we're talking about identity this is a really hot topic in our culture you think about our world there are a lot of people that are struggling with identity in general even entire nations you think of Great Britain in the 18th 19th centuries they were the world superpower right and they ruled an Empire where the Sun never sat I mean literally from East Asia all the way over into the American colonies they ruled with absolute Supremacy until America right and actually the British Empire continued to exist all the way until 1997. 1997 was the year that the British Kingdom actually gave Hong Kong to China but still guaranteed their their rights as Citizens and ever since really that point they've been trying to struggle with who are we as a nation and America is doing the same thing we are still leaders of the Free World yet we're trying to figure out what exactly that means in the 21st century and it's kind of weird you look at the New York Times They had a headline this week about you guys hear about their massive rap problem that New York City has you know I mean it's like literally hundreds of millions of rats are just out throughout the city and so much so that a woman was she

Writes for the New York Times she was thrown away her trash and as she's putting the trash in literally a rat comes up and grabs her trash out of her hand and takes it into the dumpster it's crazy it's bizarre and they're hiring a rat Czar you guys heard about that this rat Czar that's a an official title I'm not I'm not telling you guys a joke okay that's a real title I'm part of the job description there is that they need to be bloodthirsty okay to try to get rid of all of these rats it's Family Worship Sunday this is fun but the question arises how do you do this humanely you know how do you get rid of all these rats mainly and through their interviews there was several New Yorkers who said you know what rats aren't the problem people are the problem and I want you to notice that because that's a huge shift in our society right I mean ever since we've started going into post-modernism and secular humanism it's not elevating Humanity it's diminishing Humanity it's taking away from the value that human beings have because we're created in the image of God right that's what gives us our value every single person from conception all the way through to death are created in the image of God regardless of their their socioeconomic status regardless of their race and even as American Christians you know are just Americans in general we've got all these identity questions we've got cultural identity that we're talking about we've got gender and sexual identity that we're talking about there's religious identity familial identity gender identity

Educational identity identity identity identity right and I want to talk about today that the identity that you have will either be conformed to culture or it will be conformed to Christ you can't get out of those two options and if you think that you can ride the fence and have it both ways you will go with culture always 100 of the time Christian you must resolve in your heart of hearts that you will conform yourself to what God's word says about who you are but how can Christians remain stalwart remain sure to stand on that Firm Foundation when there's so many things in our world that are actively opposed to God how can we know what our identity is and remain in it with joy and how can we do this in love and truth well today that's what we're talking about and so if you would stand with me in honor of God's word as we read First Peter chapter 2 verses 9 and 10 God's word says this 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 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 amen let's pray Lord we thank you so much for allowing us to be here today to gather in worship thank you for children thank you for families thank you for the generations that have come before whose Mighty shoulders We Stand upon Lord we pray that you would help us God to rightly divide your word this morning let us be divided truth from error

Help us to conform Our Lives to the truth that is found here and may we discover Christ within these words that we look at today we love you and we thank you for what you're doing in Jesus name amen well this passage today it begins with a contrast and if you take notes with your pen pencil lipstick mascara or whatever you got that first word is of course but there's that it's a contrast word and you need to Circle it because it's in direct reference to the previous verse which says they stumble because they disobey the word as they were destined to but you are our chosen race a royal priesthood a holy nation a people for his own possession how are we transferred from one identity to another what is the difference between people who are saved and people who are lost well Peter he's already he's already told us what that is if we look in First Peter chapter 1 verse 22 it says having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth when you receive the Gospel message when you repent of your sins you believe in Christ when you come to God and you do business with God right it is at that moment when we receive with joy and with faith that message of the Gospel that's when our citizenship is transferred into the kingdom of God and when that happens we get a completely different identity and the first thing that God changes about us is that we receive a new position we receive a new position and this is huge because it's not like we do things and we become more pleasing to God it's not like you know you write a big fact check to the church right and you are somehow like way more cool in the kingdom of God that's not what the Bible says it's not like when you know if you don't repent of your sins you don't trust the Gospel

But let's say that you want to get baptized okay and you want to make that make that you think that's going to somehow change your status in the Kingdom that act that you do you're misleading yourself you can you can come and you can sit in a church but that doesn't make you a Christian any more than being in a garage makes you a car you have to be changed you have to come to Christ we were once if you look at that those previous verses that we were looking at in our community groups this morning you know it tells us what we were like we were disobedient we were offended by Jesus we were stumbling over the Gospel we were rejecting God we were filled with unbelief that's what Peter says in chapter one but now we are a chosen race and this is interesting because when we think of a chosen race in Scripture Our Minds automatically go to the Old Testament right goes all the way back to the Hebrews the people of Israel and that's where it should go right God he had made covenants with Abraham with Isaac and with Jacob he had promised to bless them and that their response would be to worship and be his people they would have the Covenant they would have the promises and yet through their sin through their Rebellion through their rejection of the Savior Jesus Christ salvation moved from being primarily for the Jewish people to being broader and more available so that anyone who calls upon the name of the Lord can be saved Paul he writes this in Colossians chapter 1 verses 21-22 and you who were once alienated and hostile in mind doing evil Deeds he has now reconciled in his body of Flesh by his death in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him we become part of God's chosen race not

By being born into it okay it doesn't matter what your parents what your grandparents have done doesn't matter what your spiritual Heritage is there was no richer spiritual Heritage than being a part of the Jewish people And yet when they rejected the Savior they lost that promise just as Esau lost the blessing and so you yourself must determine how you will respond to Jesus Christ will you reject him will you oppose him will you hate him will you disregard him is he unimportant to you or is he everything to you and yet being chosen is nothing to boast in as a Christian the Bible says Jacob I love but Esau I hate it what was Jacob's redeeming characteristics he hung out in the tent and cooked food with the women he wasn't masculine by any means he was deceptive in every way is that a redeeming quality Abraham from the land of UR lied about his wife my wife that's my sister is that a redeeming quality God he doesn't choose the best of the or the most elite or the coolest or the most wonderful no God he chooses the foolish the weak the hated the despised why did why did God do that why did God choose Israel is his Good Will and pleasure he is a God of love he made Covenant we read about that this morning in our family worship time as we were discussing that it's because of God's love that he has Mercy or Grace or even offer salvation to any of us it is because God is loving and we are completely undeserving of that let's look back at that verse in Deuteronomy chapter 7 it is not because

You were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you for you are the fewest of all peoples but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery we're also a royal priesthood a royal priesthood you can literally translate this as a Royal House of priests when you think of royalty you think of kings queens Thrones castles right you think of those type of things when you think of royalty and you should and did you know that because of your response to the Gospel if you have responded you have prayed and received Christ as your Savior and Lord if you have done business with God and he has made your heart new did you know that you are a child of God not only are you a child of the king of heaven but you are also co-heirs with Christ at Mount Sinai God he made a covenant with his people and he said this in Exodus chapter 19 verses 5 through 8 now therefore if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my Covenant you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples for all the Earth is mine you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation and that's what God Said to the nation of Israel and we do see this partially fulfilled in the Old Testament through the temple through the sacrificial system through the priesthood through the law however this is completely fulfilled and Finds Its total fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus Christ here's what it says in Revelation chapter 1 verse 6 to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom priest to

God and to his God and Father to him be glory and Dominion forever and ever amen now as Christians we are priests to God and yet we don't have a community Temple you know why it's because our bodies are the Temple of the Holy Spirit and now as we work and we Minister we are there to point people to God we can't save anyone we don't offer sacrifices on behalf of other people the whole purpose is to point people to the Living God and let God do the sorting out let God deal with their hearts the chief purpose of the priesthood wasn't primarily just giving offerings it was chiefly the worship of God and as a result of that as a result of that purpose you and I as being priests and ministers unto the Lord our main concern ought to be the worship of God as well and because we're a holy priesthood and because we get to enjoy something listen the world they only get to observe that they only get to see you and how you respond and then how you conduct your life listen I when I talk about worship I'm I'm not talking about just when we're doing congregational worship I'm talking about every aspect of your life as a Christian we're walking temples that are to function as ambassadors but I'm getting ahead of me let's look at the next Point here we'll get there in just a second a holy nation a holy nation is how else we're described here this is hagios ethnos okay which is the exact same phrase in the Septuagint that we saw in Exodus 19. Peter he is telling us that we are the treasured possession of God we are a kingdom and Priests and a holy nation you were called to be holy that's

Something that peers dealt with extensively he's already instructed us in you can watch that on YouTube but we have been made Holy by faith in Jesus Christ This is called being set apart it's when we talk about consecrating something and being holy is set apart for a specific use and yet we continue to grow in Holiness not just that we're Justified and we're made clean but that we grow in our sanctification we grow in the Lord and we become Holier and Holier in its depth by knowing God by increasing in our faith in our obedience to him as a holy nation we are called to be ambassadors of the kingdom of God and I believe with my whole heart that this includes everything from proclaiming the Gospel to opposing evil to making disciples to bringing all things visibly under the authority of Jesus Christ and Jesus he's already claimed all authority has been given to him it's literally how the Great Commission begins and so we can go with confidence that as Believers as ambassadors of the Kingdom as being that chosen race royal priesthood holy nation that we can go with the power the spirit of God knowing that he's already going before us and I also believe with my whole heart that this is best accomplished by going and making disciples of all the nations that's the means that God has given to us we're also a secure people what does the passage say it says a people for his own possession that means that God has bought you and he owns you what is Our Only Hope in life and death does anybody know the answer to that catechism question go ahead James

Christ Alone Lily we are not our own but we belong to God good answers both of you the fact is that you belong to the Lord Christian he has bought you at the price of his son when we think of a people of his own possession this is Peter directly quoting Malachi chapter 3. God he had just punished promised that there was going to be punishment for evildoers God he was going to bring about punishment for the wicked yet there were some among the people of God who believed the message and they repented and here's what God says in Malachi chapter 3 verse 17 they shall be mine says the Lord of hosts in the day when I make up my treasured possession and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves them serves him that word possession in Malachi and here in First Peter it means personal property and do you know what you do with personal property that is treasured you protect it you care for it you cherish it and God has done the same thing to you amen in John chapter 10 it says this my sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me I give them eternal life they will never perish no one will snatch them out of my hand my father who has given them to me is greater than all and no one is able to snatch them out of my father's hand God he doesn't just give us a new position though he also gives us a new purpose look at that last part of verse 9. It says that you may proclaim the

Excellencies of him who called you out of Darkness into his marvelous life as a result of our new position it automatically leads us to worshiping the Lord this is the primary reason that we gather together on the Lord's day it's not primarily just for the preaching of God's word although for us as Baptist that is the central thing but we gather together on the Lord's day for a worship service so everything that we do in the worship service is designed to proclaim the excellencies of God whether it's through worship and congregational singing whether it's through Worship in giving whether it's through worship and taking notes whether it's through Worship in Fellowship in community groups everything is designed in such a way to encourage people to know God and make God known we are called To Worship and that's not just a characteristic of Sunday morning Christianity it's the call of being a Christian period you are called to be a worshiper of God to as the passage says to proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of Darkness Into His Marvelous Light so we don't have permission to parcel out our lives and go well this is professional me and this is family me and this is ball game me and this is parent me and this here is worship Cody right this is where I put on my clothes and I do my hair and I shave and I do all that stuff to look good we don't have our permission from God to parcel out our lives like that in fact God hates it because he calls it hypocrisy and so if that's you if that describes you in any area of your life where maybe God is not the Lord of

Your job then you need to repent of that and bring that job under his authority amen or ouch and it goes like that over every single characteristic every single part of your life you are called to proclaim the excellencies of God and so what does that mean it means that you Delight in telling others about the glory and the majesty and the supremacy in the goodness in the most wonderful person ever which is God you are living for the glory of God and you are wanting to share about how amazing he is in every aspect of your life the most highest most good full of justice and wrath towards evil full of grace and mercy to those who repent and you want to tell people about that you want to lead your children to know that and believe that you want to share that with your grandchildren that they might grow up to know the Lord as well God he has saved you not primarily just for your salvation but so that you would worship Him you might think Cody that's so self-centered that's not God yeah it is what did you bring to the table were you so lovable and wonderful that God just said you know I just think that person is fantastic I'm gonna save them no if anything we are so undeserving of God's mercy and yet God he is good and he loves us and he deserves all of our glory and all of our praise and all of our honor and God he has redeemed your soul through the death burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ he has called you out of darkness and Into His Marvelous Light and Peter he's using creation language

There on the first day God said let there be light and there was light and in the same way salvation it moves us from spiritual Darkness into spiritual light H.B Charles Jr he wrote this about Marvelous Light he said that it is firstly Divine Light I should say Divine sorry God he put his own light in us that we may shine forth into the world it is also saving light that should be saving Paul he wrote this in second Corinthians chapter 4 verse 6 for God who said let light shine out of Darkness has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ it is also purifying life yeah see I caught it later sorry about that when God when God's light illuminates the dark corners of our hearts it's almost like a light that burns up all the evil and it scorches it away it's a guide in light not only does God give his word to Illuminator path he puts his Spirit within us as well that protects us that corrects us that instructs us along the court of course a lot like a lighthouse warning of the dangers that we might not shipwreck our faith God's word protects us and it's also an eternal light I should say Eternal Light the light has called the light that God has called us to will never dim and never fade one of the saddest evenings of the year is always Christmas night you know you turn off the lights and the season of Lights is over my kids are like I wish it could be Christmas every day

We need to watch Groundhog Day but it's true it's it becomes depressing because you know that season that's full of so much love and joy and light is over and one of the most wonderful things about heaven is that God is light and we find our rest and our being and every part of Joy within God the Third change that God makes is that we receive a new privilege a new privilege look at verse 10 once you were not a people but now you were God's people once you had not received Mercy but now you have received Mercy now this is a direct correlation between Hosea and us I should say Gomer in US Prophet Hosea was called by God to marry a woman who sold her body she had several babies and here's what God Said in Hosea chapter 1 verse 6 and verses 8 through 9. She conceived again and bore a daughter the Lord said to him call her name no mercy for I will no more have mercy on the house of Israel to forgive them at all going on to verse 8 when she had weaned no mercy she conceived and bore a son and the Lord said call his name not my people for you are not my people and I am not your God you see the paraphrase here do you see the wrath of God on his people his judgment was coming because his people weren't listening to the voice of the Lord they had broken the Covenant they had forsaken the Commandments they heard the call to repentance but they did not obey yet God still promised Mercy look at Hosea chapter 2. And I will have mercy on no mercy and I will say to Not My People You Are My People and he shall say you are my God we learned that this is not the promise of a restored nation of Israel but it is actually fulfilled in the New Covenant of Jesus Christ look at the look at the Gospel message

Here in Romans chapter 9. And it's not working now oh there it goes as indeed he says in Hosea those who are not my people I will call my people and her who was not beloved I will call beloved and in the very place where it was said to them you are not my people there they will be called sons of the Living God and that message is to you and I who were once alienated from Christ he is brought near through the blood of his son you were once separated from God you could not count yourself as being a part of God's people but through faith by coming to God you are now counted as a beloved child of God and this privilege it has a two-fold identity firstly as a community identity this is a radical change for the kingdom of God remember that according to God's word according to the Old Law only those who are bearing the sign of the abrahamic covenant could enter into the courtyard of gentiles if you didn't bear that sign of the Covenant then you could be tossed out stoned put to death killed immediately because you were not a part of that community but now we who are members of Christ those who have repented and believed the Gospel are members of this community and we publicly identify with Christ through the observance of baptism which we get to celebrate next week amen exciting Christianity is designed to be developed within a community and if you're not among brothers or sisters in Christ regularly especially in community groups especially in regular Bible studies change your mind about that repent brother okay repent sister get plugged into a community

Group and if you're not it will leave you exposed isolated to Satan's attacks or deceptions now this is a community identity and this is proven by the fact that when we look at the book of First Peter in the Greek every single one with the exception of two times in the book of First Peter you is always in the plural form every single time and yet people here is used in the singular form what does that mean it means that we are apart even though we're many We Are One people in the kingdom of God we also have a personal identity this verse that goes from very broad not my people to becoming narrier narrower his people it goes from being his people still a bit Broad to being you as a person you are no longer no mercy but you are now in Christ and you have received mercy and he invites you to receive his Mercy if you've never done so God he calls you to repent and believe the Gospel even right now and you can do that right where you're at today and you can do business with God if you want to talk about it catch me after service talk to your parents about it talk to the Christian that invited you here there is nothing more important than for you to do business with God Christian you might be in a tough season and you might think you know I really don't feel like I have a whole lot of Mercy from God right now and I want to encourage you that you might be walking through that Valley of the shadow of death you know what God promises but he doesn't promise that the valley is going to look very pleasant but he does promise that he would be with you

And isn't that enough for some of you might say actually it's not enough Cody you know what he has an answer for that too because he invites you to pray to him he beckons you to talk to him he invites you to literally come to him and ask him because he's a good father and he is good and you have received Mercy that Mercy which is totally undeserved he tells you to come to him with those needs with those burdens you have received Mercy that Mercy it's totally undeserved and Peter's closing out his first major thought in this book which began back in chapter 1 verses three through five it says according to his great Mercy he has caused us to be born again to a Living Hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance that is imperishable undefiled and unfading kept in heaven for you who by God's power be guarded through faith for a Salvation ready to be revealed in the last time it is this same Mercy that you have received because of God's goodness that has saved you he has given you a new position in Christ you're a part of that chosen race that royal priesthood that holy nation that secure people when you come to God in Christ you received Grace you've received mercy and now you have a new purpose which is to Worship the Lord and now you have a privilege as well now you have a community identity as well as a personal identity so you don't have to look at the world to find out who you are to stand sure on the firm rock on which we stand knowing that everything that we need is found in the person and work of Christ head hand heart head I want you to know that as a Believer

Your position in Christ determines your identity and your purpose I pray that you are in Christ I pray that you are walking with him it's so easy in our world to get confused with identity and stuff like that but God he has promised and provided in Christ assure and secure identity so walk in it hand I want you to take time this week to read the book of Hosea I mean I don't know if you've ever studied it or whatever but you need to take time it takes half an hour to read so if you just parcel it out over five days that's six minutes a day you can do six minutes a day anyone can do six minutes a day but find a reading plan set one up on the Bible app get some friends to walk through it and just discover God's great love even in the midst of unfaithfulness even when he says I am angry and I'm not going to have mercy he still offers a chance for Mercy through repentance and heart I want you to believe that God he has called you out of Darkness he's called you and he's still calling and he will still call until he returns so don't continue to live in sin open up your eyes and come to Jesus let's stand together and let's pray and respond Lord we love you we thank you for this day and I pray for anyone that's here that maybe they don't know you maybe they haven't received your mercy that today would be that day that they are taken from Death To Life by doing business with you that you would move in their hearts and give them understanding today of the Gospel message illuminate their their mind and I pray that if they want to make that public Lord they would

Do that today and if they have questions that they can just catch someone even myself after service say I need to talk about this so God we just rely on you we trust in you God that you would do a great work in us today we're thankful for what you're doing as we worship together may you be praised in Jesus name amen Hallelujah all I have is Christ Hallelujah Jesus Is My Life I once was lost in Darkest Night yet thought I knew the way the sin that promised joy and life had led me to the Grave I had no hope that you would own a rebel to your will and if you had not loved me first I would refuse you still [Music] but as I ran my hell-bound race indifferent to the cost you looked upon my helpless state and led me to the cross and I beheld God's love displayed you suffered in my place you bore the Wrath reserved for me now all I know is great ly lose Christ Hallelujah Jesus is my life now Lord I would be yours alone and live so all might see the strength to follow your commands could never come From Me O Father use my Ransom life in any way and let my song forever be my only boy boast is ears [Music]

Christ Hallelujah [Music] Jesus is my life Hallelujah yeah all I have is Christ Hallelujah [Music] Jesus Is My Life [Music] my name is PJ Garten and I get to serve as one of your deacons and also on the loving our world team I'm also a sinner saved by grace and it's been so good to be in the house of the Lord this morning with our brothers and sisters let's close in prayer father God I thank you and praise you that our identity is secure in Christ in the one who gave his life for us and paid our Cinda in full once and for all I pray that Lord as we leave this place now and enter our week ahead that Lord we would not lose sight of that identity for one minute but that we would take every opportunity to give testimony to who you are to what you've done for us and that Lord we would be active ambassadors for your kingdom till you come we ask this in your name amen