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Sermon Of
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REMINDERS
FOR PILGRIMS AND STRANGERS
1 Peter 2:9-12
Intro: Peter tells
us, that as believers, we are "pilgrims
and strangers" in
this earth. The word "stranger"
has the idea of a person who lives for
an
extended time in a land that is not
his own. He is there long enough to
need a house to live in, but he is not
a permanent resident. He has no legal
rights, he has no social standing. He
is a stranger, an exile who lives in
a
foreign land. The word "pilgrim"
has a meaning that is more temporary
than the other. This word refers to
one who is merely passing through on
place on the way to another place.
Both of those
words describe who we are as children
of the Lord. We are
living in this world, but this world
is not our home, Phil. 3:20. We are
here,
God willing, long enough to need a house
to live in, and a job to feed us.
But, we are not permanent residents.
We are merely strangers living in
the midst of an alien culture. We are
pilgrims passing through earth on our
way to Heaven.
If you have
ever has the opportunity to meet someone
from another
culture, you soon recognize the fact
that they think and act differently
than
you do. Well, as believers, we are supposed
to think and act differently
than the natives of this planet. Our
new birth and our new nature are all
products of heaven. As a result, we
are to be heavenly minded. Our legal
status is in heaven. We are not to live
by man's laws and man's ways!
Man's laws and ways are lower than the
standards heavenly citizens are to
live by. We should obey the laws of
the land, but the law and will of God
is
far superior to that of this world.
In other words, if we are truly heaven
born people, then we are to live like
heaven born people! This is what Paul
had in mind in Col. 3:1-3.
Since we are
pilgrims and strangers in this world,
we need to know how to
conduct ourselves in an alien culture.
This passage has something to say
about that. In these verses Peter shares
some Reminders For Pilgrims
that we need to heed tonight.
I. A REMINDER
OF OUR PAST SITUATION
A. V. 9 We Have
A Dark Past - We are reminded that Jesus
found us in
the darkness of sin, Eph. 2:1-3. He
found us when we lived as we pleased
and were unaware that our freedom and
fun was nothing more than the
worst kind of bondage, Pro. 16:25.
B. V. 10 We
Have A Despised Past - We are reminded
that when He came
to us, we were not even part of a people,
Eph. 2:12, Col. 1:21. We were
outcasts! Part of a fallen race of people.
We were the enemies of God,
Rom. 8:7.
C. V. 10 We
Have A Deadly Past - When the Lord came
for us, we were
totally unworthy of the mercy and grace
He extended to us! May I remind
you that God owes us nothing! We everyone
deserve to be in Hell this
evening! It was grace that reached down
into the hell of our darkness and
delivered us from such a wretched existence!
It was grace and grace alone
that made the difference in your life
and mine, Eph. 2:8-9; 1 Cor. 15:10.
II. A REMINDER
OF OUR PRESENT STANDING
A. We Are A
New Creation - The term "chosen
generation" has to do with
the glorious truth that God reached
into the teeming masses of lost
humanity and chose a people for Himself.
He did this according to His own
will and He took these people He chose
and created a brand new race of
men. (Note: When the Lord called Abraham,
the Hebrew race of people
was born. A race that had never existed
came into being. The same thing
is true about believers. We are a distinct
race of men! We may be the
same as others physically, but we are
vastly different on a spiritual level,
1
Cor. 10:32; 1 Cor. 12:13.) That is the
reason why the world does not
understand us. It is why they do not
accept us and our beliefs. This is the
reason why we are aliens in this world!
B. We Have A
New Communion - We are called a "royal
priesthood".
When we were lost, we were totally separated
from God. Now, in Jesus,
we have been brought "nigh"
to God by the blood of Christ, Eph.
2:13. In
this new relationship we have unrestricted,
unhindered access into the
presence of the Lord. We do not need
another mediator for our Mediator,
the Lord Jesus, 1 Tim. 2:5, has broken
down all the barriers that once
stood between us and God, Eph. 2:14-19.
Since all of this is true, we can
come into the presence of the Lord and
we now have instant access to the
Lord of glory, Heb. 4:16.
C. We Have A
New Character - We are also called a
"holy nation". That
is, God, through Jesus, has produced
a change in us that now allows us to
be what we never could have been before:
holy! You see, lost men can do
good! They have no spiritual good in
them, Rom. 3:12. They can produce
some things that are good from a human
perspective, but they can never
produce anything that is spiritually
good in the sight of God, Isa. 64:6.
However, when a person is saved, they
are given a new nature, 2 Pet. 1:4.
This new, spiritual nature has the capacity,
through the work of the Holy
Spirit, to produce works of true holiness,
pleasing to the Lord! (Note:
Things like prayer, witnessing, acts
of faith, acts of love, kindness and
forgiveness are proof that God can take
a sinner, save him by His grace
and then He can make that person holy!)
A believer can and should be
holy! This is the will of God, 1 Pet.
1:16, and it is possible as we live
as
new creatures, 2 Cor. 5:17! It is possible
because we have been delivered
from the darkness and have been placed
into the light! (Note: The flesh
can produce a lot of things that look
good externally, but only the Holy
Spirit of God can produce genuine holiness
in a person's life. The lost man
may clean up his life, but the saved
man finds his life cleaned up for him!)
D. We Have A
New Classification - We are called a
"peculiar people".
Now that has been misquoted and taken
out of context for many years.
The real meaning of the word "peculiar"
is of "a purchased possession,
a
unique possession, some of rare beauty
and of a priceless nature." It
brings to mind the way Malachi referred
to the Lord's people in Mal. 4:17.
In fact, the word "jewel"
in Mal. 4, means the same thing as the
word
"peculiar" in this verse does!
(Note: This means that we are a precious
people. He paid a high price for us,
1 Cor. 6:19-20, and now He possesses
us and we are precious to Him. Of course,
this means that He keeps a
close watch on us. He looks after us
with the greatest of care. He protects
us and shelters us. Once we were a despised,
worthless people, now,
through the blood, we are God's prized
possessions!) (Note: Have you
ever lost a set out of a ring? Ever
lost a jewel or a prized possession?
We
all have! Thankfully, God will never
lose any of those who are precious to
Him, 1 Pet. 1:5; John 6:39.)
III. A REMINDER
OF OUR PRESENT SERVICE
(Ill. Well,
that's who we were and who we are. Here
is what we are
supposed to do with those truths. You
see, instead of being partakers of
the culture and mind set of this world,
we are to attempt to share the
culture and mind set of Heaven with
this culture. Remember, we are from
another world, John 15:19. We are literally
"ambassadors" from heaven
to this world, 2 Cor. 5:20. We are to
do all we can to share the culture of
our homeland with the earth bound people
living around us. We are to
show and tell them how the citizens
of Heaven live their lives!)
A. V. 9 We Are
To Declare The Truth About Our Savior
- The phrase
"shew forth the praises" means
to vocally declare what the Lord has
done
for us. The word "praises"
refers to "those qualities that
make Him
excellent." We are to declare to
a lost and dying world the excellency
of
the Lamb of God! We should be quick
to declare what He has done for us.
We should be a vocal people in our willingness
and our desire to share
Him with the world! (Note: There is
a right and a wrong way to do even
this good thing! You can be open about
your relationship with Jesus
without being obnoxious to those you
are witnessing to. You can point men
to Him without drawing attention to
yourself!)
B. V. 11-12
We Are To Demonstrate The Truth Of Our
Salvation - There
is a vocal side to our witness and there
is also a visible side to it. These
two verse speak about that aspect of
our walk with the Lord.
1. V. 11 By
A Pure Walk - Since we are citizens
of Heaven, we are to
avoid living like the citizens of the
earth. When we live to an earthly level,
we find our witness ruined and our lives
enslaved by the power of the lusts
of the flesh. (Ill. How Native Americans
became enslaved to alcohol after
it was introduced by an alien culture.)
2. V. 12 By
A Powerful Witness - Peter says that
believers are to live right
in front of a lost world. They may criticize
us for the standards we have or
for the things we oppose, but if we
are consistent and holy in our walk
and
dealings with them, they will be touched
by our good works. He even
indicates that some will be saved as
a result as the phrase "day of
visitation" indicates. (Note: When
I was lost, I certainly criticized my
share of Christians. I argued with them
and despised them for being
against the things I did. However, I
never could get past their love and
their devotion to the Bible. The truth
and honesty of their lives made a
statement for God that none of my arguments
could overcome. It was the
faithful witness of a few sincere, dedicated
believers that helped bring me
to Jesus. I said that to remind you
to be holy and consistent. You never
know who is watching and what a difference
will be made because of the
way you live!)
Conc: Until
Jesus comes, we will be "pilgrims
and stranger" in this world.
Let us remember that we are surrounded
by an alien culture that needs to
hear about Jesus and that needs to see
His truth lives out by those who
claim to know Him. They used to encourage
visitors to the national parks
to "leave them cleaner than they
found them." We should seek to
promote the culture of Heaven in this
world to leave it better than we
found it!
All Items Below
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Last Update
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1. Walk humbly with your God. Article
(Micah 6:8, )
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for Skits or Illustration
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7. Charles Haddon Spurgeon Audio Sermons,
Below http://www.higherpraise.com/CHSpugeon.htm
The Immutability
of God Mal.3:6
Remembrance Of Christ 1Cor.11:24
The Sin Of Unbelief 2Ki.7:19
Personality Of Holy Ghost Jn.14:16
Comfort Feeble Saints Matt.12:20
Spiritual Liberty 2Cor.3:17
Priestlhood Of Saints Rev.5:10
Peoples Christ Ps.84:19
Consolation to Spiritual Suffrings
Victory Of Faith 1Jn.5:4
The Bible Hosea.8:12
Pauls First Prayer Acts.9:1
Archers Attack Joseph Gen.49:23
David's Dying Prayer 2Sam.23:5
Carnal Mind Enmity To God Rom.8:
Christ People Imitate Him Acts.4:13
Caution to Presumptuous 1Cor.10:
Thought On Last Battle
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