CHOSEN BY GOD

Preached by Gregory W. Lee
16 October 2005

I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to 1 Pet 2:9-12

9. But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
10. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
11. Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.
12. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

-- meeting at Brooke's School -- glanced at playground -- started thinking about what it was like to be in elementary school -- chosen for games
-- biggest, most popular kids always were the team captains -- rest stood in a group as one by one people are chosen -- I was not very athletic or very popular -- I was always one of the last ones chosen
-- remember what that feeling was like -- make you feel unwanted and unloved -- it's not a good thing to not be chosen
-- last year on Survivor, saw the same thing -- two team captains were chosen and then they had to pick team members to be on their tribe -- you watched as people were selected one after the other -- finally, there were only two people left who were not chosen, and they were told they had to go home -- once again, I was reminded that it's not a good thing to not be chosen
-- we all want to be chosen -- we all want to be picked out and separated from the crowd and invited to participate in something -- whether that's in sports or game shows or for something else -- we all want to be picked -- we all want to be chosen
-- the good news of the Christianity is that we were all chosen -- we were all chosen by God -- and we are going to look at that this morning

II. Chosen by God
-- Look back at verse 9

9. But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

-- this verse tells us that God always chooses us -- He made us just the way we are for a particular purpose and for a particular reason -- the good news of this verse is that we are not an accident -- we were formed and made and chosen by God for a reason
-- in Jeremiah 1:5, God says, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." -- in other words, before God formed us -- before we were created -- before time began -- God chose us
-- in God's kingdom, all are chosen -- all are called to salvation and to work in the kingdom -- none are left standing on the sidelines or are sent home because they are unwanted -- everyone has a place and a purpose and a reason for being chosen

-- in this verse, we read "You" -- "you" -- every single one of you -- you and you and you and you -- all of you -- have been chosen by God for a specific purpose
-- maybe you have been left standing on the playground while others played the game -- maybe you've been overlooked at work or at home or in other places -- but God always chooses you first -- He sees what the world doesn't and He chooses you -- not only because He loves you -- but because He has gifted you and given you the ability to serve Him in a way that no one else can
-- maybe the world doesn't recognize your gifts and talents and your heart -- but God does -- and He chooses you because of them -- in 1 Samuel 16:7, God tells the prophet Samuel to go and anoint the next king of Israel -- Samuel goes to the house of Jesse, and as Jesse's first son passes by, he thinks, "this must be the one who God chose to be king" -- but God spoke to Samuel and said "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." -- each one of you has been chosen by God because of your heart -- He chose you and He made you for a reason
-- the verse goes on to say "you are" -- present tense -- you are chosen -- you have been chosen -- you have already been set aside and picked for the work God has called you to do for His kingdom
-- you don't need to question what you are anymore -- you are a chosen child of the King and you need to live and serve as such -- God has called you and placed you where He wants you -- and you need to be actively working and serving Him right now -- not in the future -- not after you know the Bible better -- not after you've been a member for a certain number of years -- but right now -- God chose you before time began for this moment

III. Chosen for What?
-- Which brings up the question, "Chosen for what?" -- what did God choose us to do?
-- regardless of the particular calling that God has placed on your life, there are two things that this passage tell us that all Christians are chosen for

A. Royal Priests
-- verse 9 says that we are a chosen people, a royal priesthood -- that is the first thing we were chosen to be -- priests for God
-- if I had asked you this morning to raise your hand if you were a priest, probably very few of you would have done so -- we don't recognize ourself as priests -- as mediators of God's grace to others
-- we think of priests only as clergy -- as those who have been called by God to be pastors and ministers and to lead churches -- but, this passage says otherwise
-- every single one of you in here has been chosen by God to be part of the royal priesthood -- as it says in 2 Corinthians 5:18-20 -- we have all been chosen to be ministers of reconciliation -- to be ambassadors of Christ in this world in which we live
-- being chosen to be a priest of God is a high honor, and it carries with it great responsibility -- in Numbers 18, God chose Aaron to serve as the first high priest in the tabernacle -- and we can learn what our purpose and mission are from God's directions to the Old Testament priests

-- the first responsibility we have as a royal priest is to witness to others about God -- as Peter tells us here in verse 9, we have been chosen to serve as royal priests to "declare the praise of Him who called us out of darkness into His wonderful light."
-- in other words, as royal priests, our primary responsibility is to tell others the good news of Christ and to share with them the plan of salvation -- Jesus told us the same thing in Matthew 28:19-20 when He gave us the great commission of the church: "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

-- our second responsibility as a royal priest is to intercede for others in prayer -- this was one of the primary purposes of the Aaronic priesthood in the Old Testament -- to offer up prayers for the people -- not only the people of God but also for those far away from God
-- we should be praying for people to come to know God -- we should be praying for them to know God's will in their life -- and we should be praying that they would not only know God's will but take the steps to fulfill God's will in their life
-- this may mean salvation -- it may mean a lifestyle change away from sin and into God's grace -- or it may mean that Christians step into a closer relationship with their God

-- our third responsibility as a royal priest is to offer sacrifices to God -- not sacrifices of burnt lambs -- but the sacrifice of self
-- in Romans 12:1, Paul urges us to offer ourselves to God as a living sacrifice -- holy and pleasing to Him -- this means that we offer God all that we have -- our lives -- our family -- our job -- our things -- everything
-- it also means that we offer ourselves to others in service -- as royal priests, we are called to distribute God's grace to others in Jesus' name -- to be channels of God's blessings -- Hebrews 13:16 says, "And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased."
-- anytime you serve someone else -- anytime you offer yourself or your time or your money to help someone else, you are sacrificing yourself to God
-- additionally, we are also called to offer up to God a sacrifice of praise -- we sing that in our praise songs, which is taken from the Psalms, "We bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord" -- as royal priests, we have been chosen to come before God and to offer up to Him praise and worship -- as it says in Hebrews 13:15, "Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise--the fruit of lips that confess his name."
-- we call our Sunday morning services "worship" services -- the main reason we are coming here is not to hear the word being taught or to be entertained through the songs -- we should be coming here on Sunday mornings to praise God and to worship God
-- if you are coming to church on Sundays because you get something out of it, then you are coming for the wrong reason -- we should be coming to offer ourselves to God in praise and thanksgiving for choosing us to be part of His family

B. A Holy Nation, God's Own People
-- in addition to being chosen as royal priests, verse 9 tells us that we have been chosen to be a holy nation, God's own people -- when God tells us this in this passage, He is conferring on us a Jewish heritage -- He is making us the adopted sons of Abraham, and the history and the tradition of the Jewish people becomes our own -- we are children of the promises of God
-- In Galatians 3:7, Paul writes that "those who believe are children of Abraham." -- we are heirs to the throne through the faith of Abraham and through the blood of Christ
-- this verse makes the point that we are a holy nation -- a group of people joined together through the blood of Christ -- chosen to be one through the power of the Holy Spirit
-- this verse is talking about the church of Christ on earth -- we have been chosen and put with other believers to form the body of Christ on earth -- to be His hands and His feet in this world -- to share His grace and to tell others about Him as one people and one nation
-- God did not choose us to be lone ranger Christians -- He chose us to be part of a church -- to be part of a body of believers who would represent Him in this place and through which His power would be made manifest
-- being a holy nation and God's own people means more than just having your name on the church roll and a place in the pews -- it means that you know that you are chosen by God to serve Him and that you are actively engaged in ministry -- both within the walls of this church and outside in the dark world, bringing the light of Christ with you to all you meet

III. Live as Children of the King
-- we are chosen -- you are chosen -- to be a royal priest and to be part of God's church -- so, what does that mean for us in our day to day lives?
-- look down at verse 10

10. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
11. Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.
12. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

-- in these verses, Peter is telling us how to live as the chosen ones of God -- he is saying, "you were chosen, now this is what you do"
-- first, he says, remember who you are and where you came from and live accordingly -- you used to be distant from God, but now you are the chosen children of the King, so you should live as the children of the King
-- I heard Crawford Loritt's speak once at a Promise Keepers event -- Crawford serves in Atlanta as a representative for Campus Crusade for Christ -- he told the story about the time he and his wife went out for a quiet evening and left their children with a babysitter -- just before they left the house, he gathered them together and said, "don't forget that you are all Loritts -- that is your name and I expect you to live up to that name -- while we are gone, don't do anything to embarass us or to embarass the name of Loritts"
-- that is the same thing that Peter is telling us in this passage -- now that you are chosen by God to be His children -- to be His royal priests and His holy nation -- you need to live according to the name you were given
-- he tells us to abstain from sinful desires -- to live right and holy lives -- and to represent God in such a way that others might see us and be drawn to God simply through our lives

IV. Closing
-- as I close this morning, let me ask you this question, "are you living your life as a holy priest and as a holy nation? -- are you living your life and serving God as He has called you to do? -- or are you just calling yourself a Christian and doing your own thing?"
-- God has chosen us -- He has stood in the playground of life and He has picked each of us to be part of His team -- to be part of His church -- to represent Him here in this place through our lives and through our service to Him and to others around us
-- are you living like the chosen child of God? -- if not, then I would encourage you to make a committment to do so before you leave here today
-- maybe that means becoming more involved in the ministry of this church -- maybe that means promoting new and different ministries or taking over established programs
-- maybe that means joining the church and becoming active members of this holy nation
-- maybe that means giving your heart to Christ and asking God to forgive you for your sins and to save you
-- whatever it means to you, I would encourage you not to leave without first taking that step today
-- God loves you and He chose you -- before the beginning of time -- before you were formed in the womb -- to be here today and to serve Him with all your heart and your mind and your strength
-- God chose you -- now, will you choose God?
-- let us pray