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First Peter two, nine through twelve, but you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellence 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. Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

SPEAKER_01 1:36

And I have some of my brothers from the Christian Care Center with me. Could you guys raise your hand? If you guys could give them encouragement. Thank you so much for your encouragement. It means a lot, you know, being in the position that they are. I am also fortunate to be a graduate of that program, and that is where the Lord changed my life, you know, and just so thankful to share with you guys this morning. I've got two things I'm gonna try not to do. I'm gonna try not to preach all the way into the lunch hour, and I'm gonna try not to get too emotional up here when sharing on a passage like this that really touches me emotionally, knowing what it is to embrace your new identity. You know, I feel like one of the greatest struggles that many people face is where their identity comes from, finding that identity. The world constantly wants to put labels on us, it wants to label us either from success or failure. You know, often it comes from your career, the relationship you're in, the people you're associated with, your accomplishments. And if we're not careful, we start building our lives around those identities, you know, and they begin to define us. Some people find it in what they do for a living and are proud to say that that's who they are when introducing themselves and things like that. And other people get too caught up in what others think of them. But that's exactly why this passage itself matters so deeply whenever we think about it. You know, Peter, he's writing to believers at the time who were in Asia Minor, you know, they're in modern-day Turkey, and they are suffering persecution for their faith. They're facing a very difficult situation in their way of living, but still were encouraged to find their identity in Christ. They're pressured, treated like outsiders, being talked negatively of, and some even losing their life because they followed Christ. Peter even calls them at one point exiles. In other words, the world they lived in no longer felt like home. And before Peter tells them how to live, he reminds them who they are. And that's what God's word's meant to do for all of us. You know, and the important thing is that identity shapes behavior. And so that's why we often have to be reminded who we are. If you believe you're hopeless, you're gonna live defeated. If you feel like you're forgotten by God, you will struggle to have confidence in faith. But when we think about it, Peter assures us of one thing. You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own possession. I mean, what a statement. Reminding struggling believers that their identity is no longer rooted in what the world says about them, but their identity is now rooted in Christ. And assures them of what that is. That if all of us, if we're gonna live faithfully in this world, we have to do the same. And that is to find and root our identity in Jesus Christ. And that's our first point this morning. Trust who God says you are. When he starts off and lists these things, he's using a terminology that really explains Israel at the time and associates with it talking about this chosen race, royal priesthood, holy nation. But now it's gone beyond just the nation of Israel to all those who believe in Jesus Christ. And he's assuring them of that. You know, and this is one of the richest identity passages in all of Scripture describing who now believes in Christ. But before we can really embrace what this new identity is, we we have to recognize something important. That you, in order to be a chosen race, you have to be a believer in Jesus Christ. That before Christ, our easiest example this morning is we are all like that mic stand. We are fallen and broken, and there is no hope for us. But once you have put your faith in Jesus Christ, you are now a chosen race. The creator of all the universe has now stood you back up and has a new life, a new identity for you to live in, to walk in, to be assured of what that means. He called you out of darkness into marvelous light. And the reason I like to bring the end of the verse to explain the beginning is because it's significant for all of us to really know what it was to be pulled out of darkness before we can really appreciate what it is to be a child of God. That you were alienated, you were lost, there was no hope. But even though that was the case, God has now pulled you into light. That darkness in Scripture always refers to a separation from God, uh a slavery to sin and rebellion against the Lord. That's who we were. And that's why I push and think of how important it is to know that we were pulled out of that darkness to light. You know, for me, like I said, I am a graduate of the men's residence, the rehab program that we have there. And it was seven years ago that I was sitting in the dining room and I had just given my life to the Lord a few weeks prior. And it was actually at that moment, that day, I talked to my little brother on the phone who's with us this morning, and he told me about somebody I went to school with named John that had passed away. And it made me think about the last time I had seen John. And the last time I had seen John, we were drinking vodka together. We got into a fight, he passed out, and I stole from him. And then that made me think about the life I lived as a drug addict that started this snowball effect of the fact that when my grandparents were suffering from cancer, I was stealing their pain pills. It made me think of the good people who would let me into their home, and when they were asleep, I stole their jewelry and took it to a pawn shop. Of all the violent and horrible things I had done in my life, and I'm wrestling with how does this gracious and holy God love or forgive somebody like me? A junkie, a thief, and I just couldn't grasp it at that moment. And so I was reading the Bible and taking time to read, at that point, I was in Philippians chapter 3, and I come across verse 12. And Paul, at that point, he goes on to say, not that I have already obtained all this or am made perfect, but I press on to make it my own because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own, but one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead. And that was the very first time in my life that God spoke to me directly through his word and assured me that I was forgiven, that I was no longer the man who I was before, that I was given a new life. And it was such a blessing. And that was also the exact moment that I knew that I would be declaring His Excellencies with every breath in my lungs for the rest of my life. That I knew and had full assurance that God wanted me to tell other people that truth about them. Because we all struggle at times with identity and the world we live in. And that's why salvation, it's not a sense of self-improvement. It's transformational. You're given a new life. Peter says believers are now a chosen race. That means God, by his grace, has called people to himself through Christ. That you are now a child of God. Not because you earned it, not because you deserved it, but because of his mercy. To then say a royal priesthood, and this carries a lot of weight because at the time it was only priests who could, you know, be in the presence of God. So now that Christ had come and made that sacrifice, all who believe and now are given a new life are eligible to be in the presence of the one true and living God. And he reminds them that through because of Christ, you now have access to God, every one of you, that you have a relationship with God, and he will give you a purpose to declare his excellencies. He calls them royal. We are now to be a royal priesthood because you are a child of the king. It is nothing but a blessing. We're no longer defined by things of the world, whether that be our career, our worst mistake, shame, failure, anything like that. You are defined by Jesus. He then says, a holy nation. That means that if you are a believer in Jesus Christ, you are holy, significant, set apart for a specific purpose. That he declares you to be holy and separate, to live a life different than others. That you will declare those excellencies not only by what you say, but what you do and how you live. And it's one of the greatest things there is to take pride in that, to enjoy that. And I personally believe that, you know, for us, the best way we're really ever able to trust who God declares us to be is to consistently spend time in His Word. Because He's the one that will tell you who you are. Don't let the culture around you tell you who you are. You'll often be disappointed. But God assures you of these things. You know, we live in a we live in the internet world and we let the social media tell us who we are, or somebody else's opinion. But that's not the case. We can often be misled by emotions and other things like that, or even failure. But as a child of God, you have to root yourself in the word so that God Himself can declare who you are, that you can live by that, walk by that, and just take pride in it. You know, Romans 10 17 says, so faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. And so when you spend time in Scripture, your mind begins to change, just like Romans 12 2, that we heard this morning. That your thinking starts to become reshaped by the truth. The word reminds you that you're forgiven, redeemed, adopted, justified, and loved by God. There is nothing greater. Peter then says, believers have been called for a purpose that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him. God did not save us just to escape judgment. He saved us so our lives could display His goodness so that we could show who He is and how we walk. And so to declare His excellencies is speaking about His goodness, living differently, and boldly testifying of who Jesus Christ is with other people when given the opportunity. You know, when someone truly understands that they were brought from darkness into a marvelous light, silence becomes difficult. It's like I say often at the men's residence, I've got to tell somebody. You know, and people naturally talk about what amazes them. And as believers, you should never lose sight of the wonder of God's grace. Our second point this morning is marvel in the changes God has made. So now we're taking time to shift from the identity to remembrance. He wants believers to stop and think about what God has actually done in their lives. And we often should do the same thing. To slow down and look around at all the blessings we have. You know, I personally feel like sometimes one of the greatest dangers that Christians, believers, people that come to church on a regular basis, one of the greatest dangers we have is becoming too familiar with grace. We hear the words mercy, redemption, salvation all the time to the point that sometimes you forget how significant it really is. That sometimes you forget the price and what it costs so that you could have a relationship with God. We want to try and strive to marvel at that and get to a point of being speechless to think of the price that was paid so that you could know God. Peter says, You were not a people. You know, there was a time whenever you're separated from God, spiritually lost, without hope, trying to figure out life itself. You're outside of this covenant relationship. And then he moves on. But now you are God's people. That has significance. That that phrase carries belonging, security, and a relationship with the Creator. And that's what we can marvel at itself, to just be so overwhelmed by it. Because in the time that they lived, they were rejected by the world for being a believer and a Christian. And I think it's the same for a lot of us at times. That when we do inadvertently find our identity in our career, or, like I said, social media, our education, who we know, that we're misled, that we end up disappointed. But when you think of what this says and that heaven has claimed you, that's something to celebrate and marvel at. You know, one of the greatest ways that we marvel at the changes God has made is by honestly remembering where he brought us from and the price that was paid so that we could know who he is and how much he loves us. You know, and it's, I think we should always remember where he brought us from. And I don't think we should to do that to glorify our past or our life without him, to celebrate sin or anything like that, but it's to magnify the mercy that God has shown us. And that's why you want to remember the darkness that He's pulled you from, the price that was paid, and what it was. Because mercy only becomes beautiful whenever you realize and understand how much it costs and how undeserving you truly were. That is what is significant. You know, some of the ways that I marvel at the changes that God has made in my life is one of the first ways is just waking up every morning and looking at my wife. I think that she is just like God's grace. That she I am undeserving and not qualified to have someone that special and significant in my life. And I know that I wouldn't have her if it wasn't for God. It's the same thing for all my family that's here right now. All my brothers from the Christian Care Center, all of you that I can call family because of God. That is marvel at what he has done to pull us together to worship him this morning. You know, Peter says, once you had not received mercy, mercy means God withholding the judgment that we deserved. So every one of your testimonies should ultimately point back to this reality. I deserved wrath, but instead I have received mercy. We should never lose sight of the truth of what mercy is. That when we stop remembering mercy, unfortunately pride starts to get in the way. But when you do remember the darkness that you walked in, the emptiness that you carried in your life, the challenges you've met, and the sin that you've been forgiven of, it keeps your heart humble and thankful for who God is. You know, it's really similar to surviving a terrible accident and then years later stopping to think like I couldn't be here. People that go through experiences like this call it survivor's remorse. Like, I shouldn't be here. How am I still alive? And that remembrance changes how we live life afterwards. And that's how mercy works spiritually. That we never move beyond the gospel. We just want to grow deeper in our gratitude and love for that mercy. You know, I personally feel like one of the clearest evidences of like spiritual maturity and our growth and our walk, it's not pretending that you were never broken, but remaining completely amazed at the love, grace, and mercy you've been shown, even though you were broken. That when we just stay in awe of what it is to have a relationship with God, we we continue to grow and Get closer to him. Ephesians 2, 4. But God being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us. Those two words change it all. But God. That's this is the story of salvation. It's not ultimately how strong you were, but more about how merciful he was. Our third point this morning. Prepare for life's war. In verse 11, Peter now moves from the remembering, and now we're talking about the warning. And it's a warning that all of us deal with. That he reminds believers that although that you now have this new identity in Christ, you have to be on guard because you are at war. The Christian life itself is not always cakes and pies. It's not always going to be easy. Jesus Himself said, In this world you will face tribulation, but fear not, for I have overcome the world. So we have to keep it in our mind that we are at war, that there is going to be a lot of challenges. And there's urgency here because we have to understand something important. The greatest battle as a believer that all of us face is internal before it becomes external. We rage with that battle of the flesh and the spirit, as scripture talks about over and over again before it ever makes its way out. He says, the passions of the flesh wage war against the soul. I mean, wage war. That is an intense language that he's using to describe a military campaign for what each and every one of us as a believer goes through. That the enemy is not happy that you are in the kingdom, that you are going to deal with this war. And flesh itself is not passive in any way. Sin is not harmless. You know, the flesh constantly fights against being obedient and having a relationship with the Lord. Even after salvation, and you know that you are a child of God and you have this new identity, you still have this battle that the old nature keeps trying to creep its way back in. That doesn't mean that as a believer, you're unchanged by any means. Because there is sanctification. God does work in us and change us over and over again when we submit and put him first. But we have to be aware of the war, the passion of the flesh. You know, before Christ, the way that a lot of people live in sin, there is no conviction. It's a normal way of living. There's nothing wrong with it. But after salvation is when the Spirit of God creates that tension within us that assures us of that war. Galatians 5 says, for the desires of the flesh are against the spirit. So that war is going on. One part of you desires Christ, another part still battles a sinful desire. And there's moments whenever your mind feels attacked, you feel temptation, and you're overwhelmed, and it's just completely challenging. And so that's why we have to understand the battle and the war itself so that we can prepare for it. So we we know how significant it is and how to fight that battle. And sometimes it is just reflecting on that identity you have. That now as a child of God, I am no longer a slave to sin. That God Himself, the Spirit of the living God, lives in you as a believer to overcome that sin. But you want to be on guard. When you think about the waging the war, the just the vocabulary he uses, you know, if a soldier is walking in war and forgets the fact that they're in a battlefield, they're likely to get injured. And that's the same exact thing for every one of us who is a Christian and is a believer, that if we forget our spiritual disciplines, if we forget to put God first, we are likely to end up wounded. And that's why following Christ, a lot of times in the culture that we live in, it creates tension. You know, the culture, the people around us, they they tell you, do whatever makes you happy. That's it, go for it. But God's word tells us that not every desire should be followed. It says to crucify the flesh, pick up your cross. And that is what we want to remind ourselves to do on a regular basis. And serving at the men's residence, that's one of the main things I push at those guys all the time. Don't make compromises. Because one small compromise leads to death in one way or another. And we know that to be true. He tells abstain from sinful desires. And he's intentional on saying that because distance from God really weakens our soul. Because sin itself never, it never stays small. Unchecked sin will harden your heart. You know, and it it just damages the intimacy and the personal relationship you have. Those small sins, just those small compromises. And it's not that you're ever gonna lose that relationship or that identity because that's not the case. But the goal of the flesh isn't just to tempt you by any means, but it's to pull you away from that intimate relationship with Christ. And that's what can happen with those small compromises. So the same God who called us out of darkness, he also empowers us to walk in obedience for this war that we have to wage between the flesh and the spirit. That leads us to our fourth point this morning. Put God's work on display. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable. He now reminds believers that identity should produce a visible transformation. That now that you know who you are because of Christ, how you walk should show it. And that's what it is. Places like Colossians 1.10 tell us to conduct yourself in a manner worthy of the gospel. Remember the price that was paid. Live and carry yourself in that way. You know, the world should see evidence of Christ in the way that we live. Because Christ changes people. It's not that you will be made perfect, but you will be changed and transformed because of Jesus Christ. The Christian life itself, as Scripture assures us, it's meant to show fruit. That after God's work has assured me of this new identity and who I am, that each and every one of you should show those traits, that fruit, whether it be humility or compassion, integrity, the way that you carry yourself would just show a difference and remain faithful to who he is. You know, it's not because we're ever superior because of what Christ has done, but it's because Jesus transforms lives. And we we look at how he carried himself, the sacrifices that he made. And that's the encouragement for us to do the same thing. He did it to be an example. So we want to do the same thing. We want to be that example for somebody else. We want to love them, show compassion, show them Christ before you tell them who he is. And it's such a great thing. You know, sometimes the loudest sermon is not one that I'm gonna preach up here from this pulpit, but it's the one that a transformed life like yours can show somebody at the grocery store. That can be the loudest sermon. And Matthew tells us this in a clear way. Matthew 5, 16. Let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. Let your light shine so somebody else can see it, and then you will declare those mercies. You know, our conduct matters because our lives represent Christ before the world. And as we we come to a close this morning to wrap things up, you know, embracing your new identity begins with believing what God says about you through Christ. We looked at God's word to tell us who we are. You you were in darkness, but Christ has now brought you into light. Your past may explain part of your story, but it no longer has uh authority over your identity. Jesus defines you now. And so this morning, if if you belong to Christ, the old man is dead. Your past is no more. That man is dead. But if you are in Christ, you are redeemed, forgiven, chosen, and a child of God. But we don't want to leave here this morning without thinking and having time that if all of this doesn't quite make sense to you, if there's somebody out there that that doesn't truly know what it is to have a new identity because of Christ, or somebody you love also doesn't know Christ, and you need to pray for them this morning. Pastor Garrett and myself, we will be up here this morning after a time of prayer. We'll we'll have an invitation. But you don't you don't have to leave here this morning without being assured of what it is to have a new identity in Christ that we can we can take time to pray. And the same goes if it's somebody you love and care about. Let's pray. Our gracious and heavenly Father, Lord, we thank you so much for being a loving God. You paid the price so that we all could know you and we could be a chosen race. And we want to praise you and thank you for that this morning. Thank you for the opportunity we have to come and worship, and I pray that we could live this out as we move forward for the rest of the week. In Jesus' name. Amen.