IRREPRESSIBLE HOPE
V. “Our High Calling”
5-11-08
Ken Peterson
1 Peter 2:4-12
INTRODUCTION
I recently read about a Merv Griffin Show where he was interviewing body builders. (For the young folks, the Merv Griffin Show was a T.V. program that ran for about 25 years from the 1960's to the early 1980's where he would have various guests on the show). While talking to these muscular body builders standing there in their traditional competition mode, rippling muscles glistening, Merv asked, “What do you use these muscles for?” One guy responded by flexing his muscles in one of those body builder stances. But Merv said, “No, you don’t understand. What do you USE these muscles for?” The guy said, “I’ll show you,” as he moved into another stance and again flexed his muscles. Once again, Merv said, “No, you still don’t understand my question. What do you USE them FOR?” And the guy moved into another pose.
On Pentecost, the greatest power in the universe was made available to us through the Holy Spirit. It is the power that created the universe. And, through Spirit-filled, Spirit-empowered believers, God’s plan is to channel that life-giving, life-transforming power to our world. What a calling we have! In our Scripture this morning, Peter reminds us of the shape of that calling. Our calling is not to use that power only for our own help and benefit. We are healed, redeemed, set free in order to be God’s agents in helping others to enter into that blessing.
There is an interesting juxtaposition today of our secular calendar and the church calendar with Mother’s Day and Pentecost falling on the same day. Just as we gain our human identity through our parents, and our sense of value and worth through a nurturing home, there is a spiritual parallel. The Holy Spirit is the means by which we are born again so that God becomes our spiritual Father. The life, power, and nature of Jesus is manifest in us through the gift of the Holy Spirit filling our lives– giving us a brand new identity. We are God’s children, equipped to do His work in His power.
Our Scripture this morning is about our identity– who we really are apart from anything this world can tell us. If we can get a hold of this incredible truth of who we are in God’s purposes, no matter what rejection we may experience in this life, we can stand tall, secure with who we really are. Peter's first letter is written to early Christians who are facing a lot of rejection. In fact, they are so rejected, they are being persecuted and are suffering for being a Christian. Peter offers these beleaguered believers a wonderful hope– the assurance of God's view of them. In spite of their adversity, they must not let that define their lives. Peter tells them to remember God’s call and His plan for their lives.
We’re using the same Scripture as last week, because the sermon today is like part two of this section on the church. The first half of our Scripture (vs. 4-8) focuses on the fact that God has called us to be together in the church, using the metaphor of a building with each one of us as “living stones are being built into a spiritual house” in which God can dwell by His Spirit. The foundation is Christ, “the Cornerstone.” Now, Peter moves on to our calling in ministry in the last half where we’ll focus this morning.
I Peter 2:4-12
TOGETHER
We talk a lot about a personal faith and a personal relationship with Christ in evangelical circles. That is important and necessary. Each of us must make our own choice of Christ as our Lord and Savior. It is a heart issue. Joining a church doesn’t make us a Christian. Each of us individually must surrender our hearts to the Lord.
However, once we come into relationship with Christ, there is the call, yes even command by our Lord to be united with other believers in His church. Last Sunday I mentioned the danger of the independent spirit of our culture in thinking I can be a Christian without participating in the church. It is not the way God has designed things. You see, God has unmistakably called us to be together and form the church. This doesn’t mean just a collection of individuals relating to God, but united together. It's His design, His way, and the way He works. And, ultimately, it is for our own good that we submit to serving and being together. Spiritual life that isn't formed in community has little value. It's as we are placed in this structure of “living stones” that we end up alongside boring and incompetent people as well as sinners whose sin is always a lot more obvious than our own. There we really learn the impossibility of truly loving as Christ loved and are forced to depend upon Him to fill our hearts with what's needed. Here we learn to let go of our wills and submit to His will. And we find we are healed as we let go of our masks and become vulnerable to others and open ourselves to receive their love.
Coming together in the church is not all there is to it, though. We are here for ministry to one another and for reaching out to our world. If we are only Christians to get our own needs met, we short-circuit everything. The Holy Spirit was given on Pentecost to fill the 120 gathered in the Upper Room with the power and presence of the risen Christ and give birth to the church. But also, the Spirit moved them outward to share that power with others around them. We need to be reminded of that. That is where Peter takes us this morning in verse 9-10. Let’s repeat these verses together:
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.
OUR IDENTITY
Before we can be effective in ministry, we need a clear understanding of who we really are, and the gifts entrusted to us in ministry.
We are constantly bombarded with messages that tell us our worth is wrapped up in our performance or our looks or the car we drive. Did you hear about the two cows grazing in a pasture? They saw a milk truck pass. On the side of the truck was written: “Pasteurized, homogenized, standardized, vitamins A and D added.” One cow sighed to the other, "Makes you feel sort of inadequate doesn't it?"
It is at great peril we listen to this world to discern our identity. The Bible tells us, every single person is created to reflect some aspect of the nature and the glory of God. We are designed to house His very Spirit. We are created in the image of God. C. S. Lewis writes:
...every fold and crease of your individuality was devised from all eternity to fit God as a glove fits a hand.
In verse 9, Peter gives us four descriptive phrases defining our mission and ministry.. Let’s unpack each phrase.
“A chosen people” moves now from being individuals to a collective group. The KJV uses “generation” which is also a legitimate translation. We hear about “Generation X,” “Boomers,” “Busters,” etc. defining groupings of us by birth demographics. The RSV use “race” in its translation. We are part of a large group of God's "chosen." We can take pride in that identity. People sometimes search genealogies for a sense of who they are.
A few years back I received an advertisement for a sweater with the Peterson Crest embroidered on it. Now I didn’t even know there was such a thing as a Peterson Crest. I knew the Scots and British take great stock in their family crests. But, when I learned that my family name had a crest, I ordered my sweater. The crest has what looks like three dog heads on it. I’m not sure what that means– I’d prefer lions or eagles– but dog heads? And the sweater is way too big, and in spite of Polly’s valiant attempts at shrinking it (which she’s usually pretty good at), it is still too huge to wear. BUT, it sits on my closet shelf, because it speaks of my identity.
Are you proud of your identity with God’s people? We belong to Jesus. I suppose our family crest would be the cross. We have common roots and a common identity. We are bound together with all Christians everywhere.
“A royal priesthood.” We are royalty, belonging to the King of kings. Royalty from birth are filled with promise and hope of what they are to be. There will be a future rule and authority. It is all promised to us. We will reign with Christ!
We are also priests. Priests are intermediaries between people and God. They are bridge-builders. They represented God to the people and the people to God. That’s also who we are, making necessary links between God and the people around us.
“A holy nation.” Holy means set apart for a special purpose, for God's purposes. Peter is drawing these phrases from the description given the people of Israel in Ex. 19:3-6. It is their first prolonged stop after being called out and miraculously delivered from Egypt. They are at Mt. Sinai to get the law. They were to be intermediaries bringing the whole earth to God. Now, the church is the new Israel, people of God assigned to that role. So, when we read the Psalms or other passages regarding promises to Israel, they are for us now in the church.
Also, we’ve noted the emphasis on being holy in this letter already. In the opening salutation, the second verse, Peter affirms we’ve been chosen “through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ...” The word “sanctifying” is making us clean, pure, cleansed of all sin and impurities. That is one of the roles of the Holy Spirit.
“A people belonging to God.” A great name gives value to that with which it is associated. I remember the Jackie Kennedy Onassis estate auction a few years ago. A worn footstool went for $33,350, because it had been worn out by Kennedy feet. A tobacco humidor that had belonged to President Kennedy went for over half a million dollars. Jackie’s fake pearls brought $211,500. JFK’s wooden golf clubs brought $772,500. None of these things had anything near that value in themselves. Huge value was added because of whom they had belonged to.
We belong to the Creator of all that is. We bear the very name of Christ. He has called us His own. What value, what significance does that give to us?
PURPOSE
The famous Christian commentator, William Barclay, noted that there are two great days in a person’s life– the day we are born and the day we discover why. As Peter has scrolled through these wonderful words of how God sees us, they all become a calling for us, the “why” we are here, and God’s purpose for our lives. All these truths about us are, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light (9b). We are commissioned and given a special assignment. God has chosen you because He loves you. And He has given us these wonderful identities, not just to make us feel superior, but so we can praise Him, honor Him and do His will. We do that with our words as well as our actions and lives that point to His grace.
How are you involved in ministry to others? I believe every Christian should be involved in ministry to others within the church and outside the church. If we are not giving out, we will stagnate spiritually. It is much easier to sit back and let others do it. But God has a place for each of you. Many of you are active in the church and are actively involved for Christ in our community. If you are more in the spectator category in the church and withdrawn from any Christian outreach in the world, begin to pray about offering yourself to serve God in some way.
Verses 11-12 are a powerful call to action.
Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. 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. (1 Peter 2:11-12)
Contrary to the popular impression, many Muslims today are converting to Christianity, though they often do so at the risk of their lives. An interesting study of these converts over a 16-year period , asking them what brought them to Christ, noted four significant factors:
1. The Muslim converts noted “there was no gap between the moral profession and the practice of the Christians they knew.”
2. “The power of God in answered prayers and healing.”
3. “The love expressed through the teachings of Christ.”
4. “When Christ’s love transforms committed Christians into a loving community, many Muslims identified a desire to join such a fellowship.”
How are we doing in those areas?
CONCLUSION
President Franklin D. Roosevelt once said,
“I doubt if there is a problem– political or economic– that will not melt before the fire of a spiritual awakening.”
Yes indeed. We need a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the church and in each of our hearts. Come Holy Spirit! Christianity is not about self-help. It is Spirit-born, Spirit empowered, and supernatural in the transformation it brings. And it impels us to keep moving outward to reach our world for Christ.
In conclusion, Becky Pippert wrote a classic book on evangelism entitled Out of the Salt Shaker. And, she often gives conferences based upon that book. She tells of giving such a conference in China where, even with persecution, they have few fears about witnessing. They willingly choose prison over silence. One of the talks she always gives is, “Overcoming Our Fears in Witness.” She told the conference leaders that, while she always gave that talk in Western countries like America, she thought she could certainly skip that talk there in light of their courageous witness. One of the leaders, a law professor from Beijing asked:
“Oh, are you in America concerned about losing your jobs as we are here if we speak for Christ?”
“No,” Becky answered.
“Then are you afraid of imprisonment?”
Again, Becky answered, “No.”
The professor continued, “Then may I please ask– what is it that you are afraid of?”