Sermon Cloud

Question 2: What’s our purpose?

Read 1 Peter 2:4-5: God has changed our identity, and as a result we now offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God.  That’s what a priest does.  Romans 12:1-2 (the spiritual sacrifice of our life is worship) And so the metaphor of priest, is first and foremost a metaphor of worship.  God has made a way for us to go directly to God as his priests and worship him!  Once upon a time, there were few priests, and if you wanted to go to God you had to go through the priest.  But because of Christ, this is not the case.  We now have direct access to God and the ability to worship him freely. Because we are no longer our own, but are now God’s possession and God’s priests, our purpose is now to worship or glorify God.  (1 Cor 10:31, 1 Cor 6:19b-20)

Question 3: What does living out our purpose look like?

Read 1 Peter 2:9.  Here’s where the metaphor of priest meets mission.  While we have been saved by Christ and now delight in God and seek to worship him, we cannot ignore the fact that there are many in the world that do not delight in God.  They are in the same predicament that we were once in, children of wrath.  God’s wrath continues to be upon those who have not come to trust in Jesus Christ.  And therefore God’s love compels (2 Cor 5:14) our worship to go outward into the proclamation of the excellencies or goodness of God. While we are thankful that God has made us priests, we must not forget that we are not just priests for ourselves, but we are priests for the world as well.  The world needs priests!  The world needs to see and hear the excellencies of God!

Read 1 Peter 2:10-12 - There is something about the way we live on a daily basis that serves as a witness to the world we live in. Jesus says that the world will know we are Christians by how we love one another. (John 13:35) Another scripture cementing the missional aspect of our identity as priests of his Kingdom is actually found in Rev: 5:9-10.  Here we see the worship of people of tribes, languages, nations, and people juxtaposed with God making us a kingdom and priests.  God’s vision for his kingdom is meant to cross cultural, linguistic, tribal, and national boundaries.  Part of our responsibility as priests of his kingdom is to participate in making that Revelation vision a reality.   

Concluding Question: How do we begin to do this?

If you are truly a believer then I believe you’ve probably already seen evidences of this in your life.  Success or acceptance by God is NOT predicated on you sharing the four spiritual laws or telling someone to repent and believe every day at work.  God’s word promises us that he will build his church through the church and nothing will stop it.  He promises us that his church will bear fruit.  Bearing fruit is not optional for Christians, but it is in fact an evidence of our being Christians.  The fruit in proclaiming the excellencies of God as priests in our various contexts may look very different than what you think.  I really don’t believe it’s as much about opening up your bible at a company meeting and proclaiming, “Thus says the Lord!”, than it is about us living our lives and working our jobs and treating others in a way that is markedly different from the rest of the world.  The way we live in the daily routines of life through what we say and do speak volumes to the work that Christ has done in us. 

We don’t have it all figured out, but this I do know. We have a new Identity in Christ and as a result our hearts are changed to begin living out the rhythms of life differently.  We eat, celebrate, listen, bless, and play differently because we are now being informed by God’s story in every aspect of our lives.  And so we are compelled as priests and worshipers, not by guilt, but by love, to proclaim the excellencies, goodness, and praises of God for his glory and the world’s joy.